Darren Grimes journalist investigated by police for comments made by his interviewee.

[guy]

Isn't Navan in the republic of Ireland

[Mikeandvan]

The whole country has become a prison camp, and it has become so because we have allowed those in power to make off with our liberties and rights. We were warned often enough not to relax our vigilance. We have also permitted a political police to establish itself - another of the hallmarks of a dictatorship.

We certainly do not live in a free country and free speech has been in casualty for some time now and the outlook for survival does not look good. . The highly politicised police force is just another weapon the state is using against us. Even without the farcical emergency powers the Westmonster mountebanks have just passed under the pretence of public health, we were in a parlous position in our relations with the state. It is very powerful and we are very weak, unless we band together.

The politicians have made no secret of their astonishment at how easy it was to lock down the country and how the pliability of the people has encouraged them to search for new reasons to impose even more 'emergency' regulations. One minsiter has suggested that the environment could be a useful 'reason' to set up new restrictions on freedom of movement. I imagine they are thinking hard on how to make tempoary measures into permanent ones. How is it that emergencies always mean we have less not more rights?

Back in 2015 David Cameron told us that keeping within the law would no longer protect citizens from harrassment by the state. Think about that - even if you have not broken any law (which is becoming harder and harder as more and more repressive laws governing speech and movement are passed) you may face persecution by the state authorities. For once I thnk a politician was being open about what was going on.

Regardless of how you felt about the referendum on EU membership here, there's no doubt that the powerful and rich felt the ground shake under them and took note that they could no longer rely on the ballot box even with the massive power of the media pushing the dominant group's narrative. Resistance to the state in France was so tumultuous that government here issued D notices in an attempt to keep us in the dark about the people a few miles away willing to push back hard against the set up. They prison warders are scared, and they seem especially so of working-class people organising.

Freedom and democracy and the free flow of information are lethal to the power and wealth of elites.

And yet there is no reason why every citizen eligible to vote cannot take a direct part in the business of Parliament. We have the technology to make that happen right now. The MPs can still have their vote on legislation under consideration, only we'd all have a vote too. That's the last thing the politicians and their sordid parties want to happen, the last thing the media want, the last thing the CBI and the TUC want, the last thing the university chancellors want, the last thing the banks want, the last thing the churches want, the last thing the IMF wants, the last thing the UN wants, the last thing, in fine, that those who run the crooked show here and abroad would welcome.

I want to take control of my own affairs as befits free man. I want to see my peers take control of their affirs as free men and free women should.

The EU ref was ok, but the aftermath is something of a come down! Its ok being all gung ho, but people really have little to rally around these days, apart from being anti what are you for? I agree with much of your post though concerning state control and surveilance.