Yes we have all heard the argument and result over Tony's terrible terror laws. I just haven't got round to ranting my personal opinion about it...

Okay, so yes this world is a terrifying place to live in these days. And yes, we need to do everything possible to stop terrorist attacks. And yes, if holding a possible suspect without charge does reduce the risks of terror attacks then its a great idea. And i agree, maybe in this situation 14 days is nowhere near long enough...

But 90 days?!

Put this proposed law in hand with another piece of legislation...

ID Cards. Your entire life on plastic. Everywhere you go. Everything you do. Who you are held on some secret database somewhere.
And now imagine if a data clerk somewhere gets something wrong. Types a digit incorrectly. Incorrectly spells something. And suddenly Mr Joe Never-even-got-a-parking-ticket Bloggs is terror suspect number one.
(You may think im talking crazy and this could never happen, but read The Nu Sci's specials on The Identity Revolution - 10th - 17th Sept 2005)
And plus, it wouldn't be the first time that police have made tragic mistakes.

So now poor old Joe could be arrested in front of his wife and kids and held for 90 days. And because its without charge, he doesnt even know why.

90 days!

90 bloody days.

3 months.

1/4 of a whole bloody year.

Thats 6 times longer than the previous 14 days. Its fucking crazy!

The result, 28 days is a much more sensible medium in my opinion. But the ID revolution and the fact that such crazy laws even made it to debate in the House of Commons are a scary prospect.

Do we really want to live and raise our families in such a world?