Big Brother Just Got Bigger

Big Brother Just Got Bigger

www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk

[B]TALKING lampposts which dish out a stern telling-off to anyone caught misbehaving [/B]have been unveiled as the latest weapon in the war against crime.

The scheme in Stalybridge will soon keep a watchful eye over thousands of young revellers who pour into the town centre every Friday and Saturday night.

Speakers fixed to CCTV cameras will allow operators based at Tameside Council’s control room in Ashton to bellow messages warning trouble-makers they are being watched.

Cabinet deputy Councillor John Taylor admits some may be alarmed by the [B]‘Big Brother’ [/B]tactics but insists [B]most people [/B]will have nothing to fear.

"It is a little bit [B]more invasive [/B]and I accept the suggestion 100 per cent," he said.

"But in my experience, [B]big brothers are there to look after you and make sure you’re safe.[/B] The CCTV cameras are manned from the control room in Ashton. The operators are trained to watch out for flashpoints and spot trouble brewing. Stalybridge can be quite lively on a Friday and Saturday night. If anyone needs assistance, the operators can tell them help is on the way."

Inspector Bill Callaghan, of Stalybridge police, said: "It’s an extra pair of eyes for us and an unusual way to nip disorder in the bud before it begins. If anything does occur, a big stern voice will tell people they are being filmed. Police are linked in to the system via radio and operators can direct us anywhere within seconds. It’s an inventive idea. We want people to come and enjoy a good night out, enjoy themselves and feel safe. That’s what we strive for."

[B]Daylight will bring no respite either. CCTV operators control the cameras round-the-clock and could administer an embarrassing public dressing down at anytime.[/B]

Councillor Taylor added: "[B]These cameras will be monitored 24-hours-a-day, 365 days a year. So anyone caught dropping litter or dog fouling during the daytime can also be dealt with on the spot."[/B]

(visit the link for the full news article)

Ok I think things are now going a bit to far, This is an article from our local newspaper. I knew they had voices speakers at our local hospital when you are smoking outside and a voice tells you that this is a no smoking area and everyone looks around a stares at you. Reminds me of the invasion of the body snatchers when they all turn around and point at you LOL. But this is ridiculous, it's gonna be used to watch every little mistake people make that is classed as illegal.

www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Well I can't say that I'm surprised.

Line two

[edit on 4-4-2009 by Kaytagg]

Well, well, the country with the most CCTV cameras in the entire world is pioneering the creation of an Orwellian, mass surveillance state ala "1984".

Why am I not surprised Britain?

You know a lot of people talk about America edging ever closer to that line in the sand between "intrusive government" and all-out totalitarian, Fascism but I think the emphasis is sometimes misplaced.

The British are light years ahead of the US in establishing a true, total information awareness concept where they can monitor their citizens activities at an unprecedented rate.

I love this line:

But in my experience, big brothers are there to look after you and make sure you’re safe.

Yeah, and to occasionally kick your ass and take your things just because they love a power trip and you can't defend yourself.

[edit on 4/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

To be fair to this scheme, Staly-Vegas actually could do with this. The place can be a nightmare on the weekends - as for some reason lost on me - it seems to have become the drinking destination for the whole borough of the nine towns.

I'd be interested in whether this results in more or less police being on the ground over the weekend there too. I've a feeling it will result in less coppers actually on patrol with this scheme trying to 'pick-up the slack'. With the bulk of Tameside's coppers based a few miles west of Staly-Vegas, I can imagine that by the time a response unit is pulled away from the canteen and gets to Staly', then most of the people involved will have moved on anyway.

reply to post by Merriman Weir

I'd be interested in whether this results in more or less police being on the ground over the weekend there too.

What do you think a bumbling drunk is going to say to a talking lamppost at 2 in the morning, that suggest to him he needs to go home?

You think any drunk lout is seriously going to heed the words of a lamp post as an authority figure?

The inevitable result of this is that police will be dispatched to enforce the law, which is what CCTV cameras and talking lamp posts cannot do, which should have been the government's first response anyway.

Not more Big Brother/Spy tech nonsense, but more honest policing and enforcing of the law.

Getting officers off their asses and patrolling the streets instead of sitting in office cubicles, another town away, yelling instructions to people to obey the law via lamp posts.

This may be a hoax. Someone please try to find a second source because i haven't been able to.

The date of this article is April 1st. So you tell me if we need more sources or not to separate this from an April Fools joke.

Originally posted by The Godfather of Conspira
reply to post by Merriman Weir

 

I'd be interested in whether this results in more or less police being on the ground over the weekend there too.

What do you think a bumbling drunk is going to say to a talking lamppost at 2 in the morning, that suggest to him he needs to go home?

You think any drunk lout is seriously going to heed the words of a lamp post as an authority figure?

The inevitable result of this is that police will be dispatched to enforce the law, which is what CCTV cameras and talking lamp posts cannot do, which should have been the government's first response anyway.

Not more Big Brother/Spy tech nonsense, but more honest policing and enforcing of the law.

Getting officers off their asses and patrolling the streets instead of sitting in office cubicles, another town away, yelling instructions to people to obey the law via lamp posts.

Did you actually read the rest of my post, or just the part you quoted?

I don't actually think this is a good thing but there needs to be an alternative to what actually happens at the moment.

Are you actually from this area?

[edit on 4-4-2009 by Merriman Weir]

An identical system was installed in Athens during the hosting of the Olympic Games. Obviously when the games finished, over 70% of the cameras/speakers were destroyed either via riots or by unkown's using sling shots with ball bearings. To add if im not mistaken in Rome to this day they have similar units installed but then again, they do have the Army along with police officially patrolling the city.

edit:
www.telegraph.co.uk...

I was just over there 2 weeks ago and its normal to see them everywhere. So when i read about the army patrolling the streets in America i find abit funny at the reactions many people have. Then again, many European nations have army personal in discreet locations scattered around their cities.


[edit on 4-4-2009 by tristar]

Originally posted by projectvxn
This may be a hoax. Someone please try to find a second source because i haven't been able to.

The date of this article is April 1st. So you tell me if we need more sources or not to separate this from an April Fools joke.

This is not an April Fools joke - this is very serious. Trials have already been conducted elsewhere in the past. This would be the first real deployment of the technology.

I agree that this is policing on the cheap. Not only that, but the councils just gained another ounce of power, which is already many times more power than a council should have. They are trying to run their little bit of the country as if it *was* their own country. Councils have far too much power, and far too little oversight or accountability. To me, that is more scary than the idea of a talking lampost.

[edit on 4-4-2009 by mirageofdeceit]

I remember years ago, i spoke to an irish geezer,a nd he said people in northern ireland believed the english put microphones in lamp posts to record people conversations.

The big brother society is far more along than just cameras and people talking back at you. These newspaper articles are just there to throw you off that it is much further along.

The big brother is actually in the hands of the people. Who doesn't carry around a camera phone these days, ready to take a vid?

All the videos popping up on youtube were not taken by government officials.

It is not the government buying all the tabloids so the paparazzi stalk celebrities like predators.

It is not the government that is passing info around in emails around the world at lightening fast speed.

It is not the government that publicly dsiplays people's information, pictures, and every little bit of information on sites like myspace and facebook.

It is not the government that twitters what you are doing every moment of everyday, and texting every detail of your life.


And the ironic part is, that people will defend this "right" to the death.

First line...spray paint

Second line...alligator clips