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Progress...is it good or bad?
PROGRESS is a wonderful thing, isn't it?
Or are you, like me, beginning to think that it's not all it's cracked up to be.
Some progress is, of course, absolutely brilliant, even if poor Aaron Evans doesn't agree.
He was the dimwit who had his name and date of birth tattooed on his neck then fell for a police sting. They left lots of goodies in a car. They also left a security camera and waited for someone to bite. I bet they couldn't believe their luck when Aaron took the bait. Still at least he can't have any argument against the Government's crackpot plans for ID cards. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve.
Advances in science and medicine are saving countless lives. But, let's be honest, they are causing quite a few problems too. It's all very well coming up with cures – and thank God they do – but if the NHS can't afford to pay for them it leads to all sorts of complications. Like postcode lotteries, inequalities and personal tragedies. Drugs companies are not in business for the good of their heath – they want a return on their investment and research. And their products don't come cheap, which leads to winners – and losers.
If it wasn't for some determined individuals like former Halifax MP Alice Mahon battling for Lucentis and the doctors who found loopholes in the system, which allowed some cancer patients to buy extra treatment, there would be a lot more losers.
But there are many aspects of progress which, in retrospect, might not be so great. Like keeping massive amounts of secure data on tiny computers. Well, they are so easy to lose, aren't they?
The MoD is the latest victim, or rather the 100,000 people listed on the latest lost hard drive are. Nobody is quite sure whether it has been mislaid by its main IT contractor or stolen. One thing is for sure – it contains bank and driving licence details, passport numbers, addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers details of 600,000 potential recruits. And none of it is encrypted.
It begs the question: why aren't these things kept secure. And what was wrong with the old system? Okay, it was slower and bulkier – but that's the point. Reams of heavy ledgers are a whole lot less appealing to your average thief than a dinky little laptop.
And then there's the so-called progress in the financial markets. Globalisation hasn't worked out quite as well as everyone thought, has it?
Who would have dreamed that some dodgy mortgages in America would have triggered a process that brought the banking world to its knees and left the mighty HBOS facing being taken over by Lloyds TSB and part-nationalisation?
Still progress throws up some intriguing ideas – like the esteemed Women's Institute using the internet to teach people about energy saving, good housekeeping... burlesque dancing and sex.
Well it beats jam and Jerusalem, doesn't it?
Perhaps this progress lark isn't so bad after all.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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