[ubuntu-uk] Completely off topic

[Paul Sladen]

On Wed, 7 Feb 2007, Martin Castle wrote:
> http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/sign
> this is a paste from the mail sent to me:

Like any sort of publicity campaign, chain letters are always better when
somebody writes from the heart, rather than copying and parroting another's
words.

> [..] because we drive a car or bike,

Oooh, I have a bicycle and I do ride it on the roads. It's a folding
Brompton one and doesn't have a petrol engine.  The Brompton also travels on
high-speed railways, passenger ferries and aeroplanes.

> The government's proposal to introduce road pricing will mean you having
> to purchase a tracking device for your car and paying a monthly bill

Lots of people actively choose to purchase a television and get 'tracked',
and do so very willingly.

> A non working Mum who used the car to take the kids to school paid £86 in  
> one month.

"A non-working mum who walked her kids to the local school half-a-mile away
for a month soon saved herself over 100 GBP in fuel and tax, in addition to
giving the whole family more exercise and a safer journey to school."

> Somebody will know where you are at all times.

Lots of people choose to carry a switched-on cellular phone.  GSM phones
carry a unique EMEI number.  This provides tracking to approximately 100m in
the populated areas of virtually every country in the world;  *not just in
Britain*.  Virtually everyone chooses to pay the associated costs and
continue to do so "in case they get cut-off".

> so even if you accidentally creep over a speed limit

Generally when people choose to speed, they take that choice intelligently
and fully-aware of the surroundings and the situation.

Somebody who "accidentally" ended up speeding would be somebody who was
*not* in a fit state to be driving.

> http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/

Perhaps I could interest you in some of the suspected root causes of
government mis-expenditure;  lots of them involve huge multi-billion pound
tendered IT projects, that over-run.  I think that /is/ on topic.

Two of these /do/ appear on the petitions list;

  http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/trident/
  http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/IDcards/

	-Paul
-- 
Why do one side of a triangle when you can do all three.   Southampton, GB