freedom's weakest link

Writing to my MP a few days back about why I thought she should not support the ID card legislation, I pointed out that any system is only as strong as its weakest link. And there are some remarkably weak links in the systems. In fact freedom is only as strong as its weakest link and this tells us how "A study earlier this year by a group of scholars called the OpenNet Initiative revealed what no one had thought possible: that the Chinese government is succeeding in censoring the net(8). Its most powerful tool is its control of the routers — the devices through which data is moved from one place to another. With the right filtering systems, these routers can block messages containing forbidden words. Human-rights groups allege that western corporations — in particular Cisco Systems — have provided the technology and the expertise"
It's a reminder of why eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
George Monbiot � The Net Censors: