GCHQ and data leaks
 

Just to show it’s not just the USA.

Funny thing, every time I try and post the original story, there’s a error…

That's because they're watching Orac...

Why do they trust him to obey the conditions set for him to stay at home?

They don't but TBH there isn't a lot of space to bang up everyone who might do something stupid

Perhaps if more were "banged up" for being stupid.....some of the less stupid might learn to avoid such "stupid" mistakes.

Our prisons are full of stupid folk - the clever crooks are in the City - though why we bang up twice as many as other European countries I'm not sure

Especially when only the very silly crooks get caught by the very few police.

There is also the very complicated relationship with declining religious belief: most faiths teach that we should be "good" ...... do as you would be done by is central.
Being "good" for the sake of an immortal soul is very much yesterday for many people. Death has been banished, people just pass. Seemingly, if one can get away with misdeeds, why not?
But then the old f@rts like me on the forum were taught to open doors for ladies [ladies? what are ladies, we cannot even define women?] , walk on the outside of the pavement, take hats off in church and fear the consequences of being naughty.
Just saying.

There was crime and criminals back in Henry II's time....perhaps LB can tell us what it was like back then from his personal experiences.;)

Things had gone to hell in a handbasket by then..............

One can still have beliefs and values that recognise right and wrong, despite declining religious belief. People have been committing wrongs since time immemorial so it’s not a recent societal phenomena.

I think that L/B is merely bemoaning the decline of civility, one to another, in our national life. I have to agree with him.

I don't see an issue here:

• Women are perfectly capable of opening their own doors or walking on either side of the pavement, just as they're capable of making important decisions and occupying senior roles.
• Once we accept that what people can and can't do isn't defined by their gender, we can stop being obsessed by what other people's genders are, it doesn't actually matter.
• Fewer people seem to wear hats these days, but I'd have no more problem taking my hat off in a church than I would taking my shoes off in a mosque.
• I always felt that fearing the consequences to oneself of being naughty was missing the point, whether those consequences are in this life or in some afterlife. I don't beat up old ladies and steal their purses, but it's not because I might get caught and punished, or even because I might get away with it but then go to Hell, it's because it's not very nice for the old ladies.

I agree with BB's take on the matter.

We should focus upon the content and not the person.

Mark Twain was far ahead of society during his time.

His views portrayed in this video are as pertinent today as when he first authored this story.

For what it is worth, I do not disagree with any of your bullet points.