Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be shocked, be worried, be angry. Find out what the government is doing in your name. , 14 Jun 2007
Indefinite detention without charge; house arrest under horrendously strict and punitive conditions where there is not enough, perhaps not any, evidence to prosecute; the demonisation of children and the criminalisation of bad behaviour (did you realise you can now be given an on the spot fine for using bad language? What actually qualifies as bad language will depend on how sensitive the policeman/woman who happens to be passing you as you say it is - if they happen to be your granny you're probably in trouble); the erosion of the right to protest; complicity in torture; and a return to eugenics - you better hope your unborn child doesn't fit the government's notion of being likely to pose a future problem to society. As this excellent book makes plain, these are just a few of the things the political establishement has done and continues to do in your name. This book cannot fail to make you angry, and so it should. As a law student I have been a aware of many of these laws for a while, but having them outlined beside one another with there practical implications plain to see, made me realise just what dangerous times we are currently in. The authors are probably correct that politicians have our best interests at heart, but that cannot be a justification for the path which our country and its legal system are being led down. But what is most worrying, is the attitude that so many of us hold, that 'these laws wont affect me' or 'it can't possibly be that bad. For god sake, we're a democracy). Read this book and think again. Tell that to the 87 year old who was given an ASBO for being sarcastic. Tell it to the young girl who landed a criminal record for simply reading out the names of the dead in Iraq, civilians and soldiers, without political comment. Tell it to men who were held for more than two years without charge, without ever being told what evidence the government had against them, and then placed on house arrest when the Law Lords told the government it was breaching their human rights; including one man who was perviously acquitted of the Ricin plot because the prosecution had virtually no evidence against him but whose head the tabloid press demanded. While the book focuses on the erosion of the ancient right to liberty, its analysis suggests that values more generally are taking a back seat to political prudence. This is an unacceptable state of affairs, particularly for a country that so often claims the moral high ground on the international stage. Read this book, be angry and realise that all of us have a respsibility to speak up and take action.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond the usual suspects...., 18 Jun 2007
It is famously said of George Orwell that you cannot ask for the time without him pulling out his hankie and weeping about the brutal working conditions in the watch making industry. A great man, heart in the right place, but you would not want to be stuck in a lift with him.
The same goes for many rebels with a cause. They are so obsessed with their hobbyhorse that they miss how boring they are to the average reasonable person.
Chris Atkins, I am delighted to say, is a mile-wide exception. His book, 'Taking Liberties', utilises that underused weapon in the fight against tyranny, humour.
'Taking Liberties' takes liberties with the readers' funnybones, demonstrating that the most appalling attacks on our freedoms have their absurd side. Arrested for reading 'Vanity Fair', arrested for wearing a tee shirt, banned for saying the word 'grass', the list goes on. Chris Atkins uses these absurdities to illustrate the seriously unfunny state of the UK today at the fag end - but don't light it - of Tony Blair's reign.
A major problem for those of us who want to go about our day-to-day business without being spied on, questioned and generally harassed by bureaucracy backed by internment, is that our warnings of trouble ahead only get through to the usual suspects. These are like-minded people who see the way things are going but number not one person in one hundred. We are far too few to matter. What we need is to break out from the usual suspects and reach the mainstream. 'Taking Liberties' is a major step in that direction. This book is not only full of ammunition for the usual suspects, but stands as an interesting, mainstream book in its own right and will make an excellent coffee-table Christmas gift. For those who don't read books, Chris has been good enough to produce it as a film! How considerate is that!
Nothing to hide, nothing to fear? Chris gives the best rebuttal of this argument I have come across. Have you ever sent two emails complaining about something? That is an offence under the Harassment Act.
I am expecting the knock at any moment.
'Taking Liberties' proves that noble causes can be exciting, enlightening and even funny. Its main strength is that it breaks out from the usual suspects and confronts the mainstream. Memo to zealots; should you become interesting you will rock the world.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Vital, 5 Jun 2007
Don't hesitate to buy this book. While perhaps not a call to arms, as such, it is at least a summons to the battlements. It is exactly this kind of literature that will help shape the future of Britain, but only if you read it. Let the politicians know that the real agenda is not schools, hospitals or even terrorism, it is the need to preserve our basic rights. Buy this book, you won't regret it.
The first privilege of a democracy is the freedom to criticise the government.
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