"Tim Bedding" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4357759.stm
>I wonder whether others on the list are aware of this. I wasn't. >Here is a quote >"For the first time in English law, one of the main witnesses >was granted total anonymity" >This looks like a serious development which has the potential >to compromise the ability of a person to defend himself. Interesting, thanks. Anonymity and identification each pose challenges to our system of law & gov't. Clearly the fear here is that identification of the witness will lead to illegal reprisals, such as murder. In general, however, the fear of anonymous accusers has been partly as stated in the article (loss of ability to probe credibility), but also that it would encourage false accusations. The same problems exist with respect to election voting. The secret ballot exists to prevent coercion of voters after the fact. However, Robert Lefevre pointed out that it also removes accountability. Maybe we want to know how individuals vote, so that we CAN treat them differently according to how they voted -- i.e. so that we know who our friends & enemies are. If it's good to know how our representatives vote, isn't it also good to know who voted them into office? Your Sin: Liberty, Robert _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list Libnw@immosys.com List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
