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Regarding the mobile phone regulations: I don't see that it's all too different from many of the provisions in America's Patriot act.
I don't agree with it as a move, but it is following the same path that many western countries are following in their War on Terror.
rk, this is nothing whatsoever to do with the rules regulating the messages that political parties or individuals can put into the public domain. This is about 'homeland security' and is a response to having buses bown up in London. Again, I stress, I disagree with the move. I also stress, again, that your country and many others have instituted measures that other countries consider draconian: many of the security measures in air-travel for example, or the right to monitor email communications.
Regarding the drugs testing: again, not the way I would tackle the problem. What that is unlikely to be, however, is a top-down operation. Police forces are managed regionally and locally and in order to do that effectively, most hold regular 'Police Community Forums'. These are bi-weekly, or monthly meetings held in local community venues where residents from the local community can come along and air their grievances, get to know their local team, keep the Police uptodate on where trouble spots are developing and recieve feedback on police activity.
The police force which decided to utilise this testing method will have done so, in al probability because that particular pub had been mentioned regularly by residents as a source of fear and concern and will also have been a place of regular call-out activity. This is a local response to a local situation. It is no more of a 'Big Brother' move than State legislation which disallows under 21s from drinking, or Town bye-laws that won't allow people to drink alcohol in parks.
There is no difference between what those police have done and a police officer going to a known dealers pub and shaking people down....and that's been going on for as long as there've been dealers in pubs.
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