Naked Science Forum
General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: Petrochemicals on 19/01/2022 16:27:46
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-60051861
This fellow has been convicted of possessing the "Jolly Roger's anarchists cookbook". It contains various recipes such as the making of nitroglycerin from potassium nitrate sulphiric acid nitric acid and glycerin, the production of plastic explosive from bleach using home brewing equipment and thermite from aluminium filings and rust with a sprig of magnesium as an instigator.
I know this as I had a copy of the "anarchists cookbook" when I was younger on my sadly long departed Amiga 500, did anyone else? It did the rounds. Given the improbability of using enough bleach to make plastic explosive, the dangers of nitro glycerin production and the sheer fact that would anyone really take the chance on the methodology of a badly written scrapbook it is not really a viable manual.
The fact terrorists seem to prefer fertiliser and hydrogen peroxide as it is far more easily procured and processed makes this seem a bit pedantic, plus the fact that this information is easily obtained elsewhere. Is this just the nanny state trying to ban everything? Surely knowledge is only illegal if its 1984?
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Worth reading the small print. The guy was convicted under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act, which is, to say the least, controversial.
It could be argued that any scientific or copyright library, or the Patent Office, necessarily "collects or makes a record of information that is likely to be useful to a person involved in terrorist activity". In this case, said material was part of a body of evidence that he held extremist views but I haven't seen any suggestion that he intended to hurt anyone or had the physical material and capacity to cause damage.
If the reports are to be believed, the jury convicted him solely on the count of possession of "useful" material, which on the face of it is as bizarre as another jury deciding that the admitted actual destruction of public property was not criminal.
The Terrorism Act really needs careful revision. On the one hand it is claimed that police powers granted by the Act have prevented many serious incidents, but on the other hand it supported the arrest of a Labour Party conference attendee who called a politician a liar.
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Worth reading the small print. The guy was convicted under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act, which is, to say the least, controversial.
It could be argued that any scientific or copyright library, or the Patent Office, necessarily "collects or makes a record of information that is likely to be useful to a person involved in terrorist activity". In this case, said material was part of a body of evidence that he held extremist views but I haven't seen any suggestion that he intended to hurt anyone or had the physical material and capacity to cause damage.
If the reports are to be believed, the jury convicted him solely on the count of possession of "useful" material, which on the face of it is as bizarre as another jury deciding that the admitted actual destruction of public property was not criminal.
The Terrorism Act really needs careful revision. On the one hand it is claimed that police powers granted by the Act have prevented many serious incidents, but on the other hand it supported the arrest of a Labour Party conference attendee who called a politician a liar.
Much of the laws now sent through Parliament are either questionable or seem to be the reenactment of existing laws. The current mysogeny debate I do not really understand, is it not threatening behaviour harassment etc by a different name? Laws are better when they are all encompassing rather than niche.
Nuclear secrets like the teller uam H bomb design is still a guarded secret, but any nation that has the capability to build a nuke will have the knowhow to make a H bomb. But you cannot make the information illegal.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Teller%E2%80%93Ulam_design
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2 more, one off the hook, the other jailed, admittedly the one fellow is distasteful but the judge does stipulate that he is not being jailed for his views.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/oliver-bel-salford-manchester-court-20652704.amp
https://theintercept.com/2017/10/28/josh-walker-anarchist-cookbook-terrorism-act-uk/
And you can quite easily buy a copy.
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780974458908/Anarchist-Cookbook-Powell-William-0974458902/plp
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I would like to say it is the difference between subjects and citizens but all governments now are largely lawless.
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The problem is that almost any information about the manufacture of various types of bombs, drugs or anything else illegal at home can be stored directly in Google's open library and it sounds strange to imprison people for having already seen it. The problem of laws that work only in one direction and have blurred boundaries was, is and will be the most demanded.