Linked by Guest on Tue 24th Apr 2012 08:53 UTC
The SOPA and PIPA laws were defeated in the U.S. just months ago, and already the forces for internet control are back. Up for vote this week, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) would override all privacy laws so that private companies (like ISPs) can share all information with the U.S. government. No warrants or other authorization required. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) points out the problems with this law. Like SOPA and PIPA, the privacy issues and monitoring could reach far beyond U.S. borders.
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Member since:2011-01-28
kwan_e,
"It strikes me that what we really need is to require scientific backing of the effectiveness of policy proposals before anything should be passed into law."
That's what should happen. In reality though even science is abused for political purposes. Whether it's banking, global warming, tobacco, big oil, telecoms, TSA, healthcare, etc, our politicians selectively embrace only the data that supports their opinions and reject everything else. Worse yet, some scientists are being paid to make the science support politically favorable results. I doubt many politicians would genuinely change their minds based on scientific data, however this would be a minimum requirement if we desired an uncorrupted form of science to drive public policy.
Member since:2007-02-18
kwan_e,
"It strikes me that what we really need is to require scientific backing of the effectiveness of policy proposals before anything should be passed into law."
That's what should happen. In reality though even science is abused for political purposes. Whether it's banking, global warming, tobacco, big oil, telecoms, TSA, healthcare, etc, our politicians selectively embrace only the data that supports their opinions and reject everything else. Worse yet, some scientists are being paid to make the science support politically favorable results. I doubt many politicians would genuinely change their minds based on scientific data, however this would be a minimum requirement if we desired an uncorrupted form of science to drive public policy.
"It strikes me that what we really need is to require scientific backing of the effectiveness of policy proposals before anything should be passed into law."
That's what should happen. In reality though even science is abused for political purposes. Whether it's banking, global warming, tobacco, big oil, telecoms, TSA, healthcare, etc, our politicians selectively embrace only the data that supports their opinions and reject everything else. Worse yet, some scientists are being paid to make the science support politically favorable results. I doubt many politicians would genuinely change their minds based on scientific data, however this would be a minimum requirement if we desired an uncorrupted form of science to drive public policy.
You raise a good point.
It really does require coming at it from above and below. The lawmakers need to be scientifically literate, and so do the voters.
Member since:2011-01-05
that's the best comment I've read for yonks
..hell yeah let's get a compulsory requirement in for
double-blind randomised controlled anti-wank trials of all policy and prospective legislation(heck, even current legislation!)
obviously the U.S., probably where I live, the U.K. can provide some of the wank law and policy data, you know - along with Iran, Zimbabwe, the Philippines and so on
and maybe Sweden and possibly Thom's place, on a good day - can provide some examples of better policy -- obviously this can't be fully interpreted until the results of the anti-wank trials are in.
but when they are eventually in, they can help inform, scratch that, mandate the implementation of similar laws by the new U.N. 3.0 - the government of us, aka the New Earth republic of Gaia
Features
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
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Member since:
2007-02-18
It strikes me that what we really need is to require scientific backing of the effectiveness of policy proposals before anything should be passed into law.