Brad "Big Brother" Woodside is watching you
Now I know it's not quite as bad as Britain's shouting spy cameras, but the latest news that Mayor Brad Woodside is serious considering installing live spy cameras in Nashwaaksis that will stock people's every move as they walk along the street near the field house is not good. Will the summer of 08 be marked as the season in which Fredericton politicians pushed for increased government intrusion into our daily private conduct? Let's hope not. As you know with these types of things, one thing leads to another and before you know it, our civil liberties have eroded so much that our society resembles that of the declining years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or Hitler's Germany, or Stalin's Russia where everybody's paranoid and looking over their shoulder.Let's not allow Mayor Wooside to force daily human/electronic surveillance down the throats of the people of Nashwaaksis. This is one time that you can't let the "It can't happen here" attitude towards totalitarianism get the better of you. Let the Mayor know you are displeased with his decision to spy on private citizens.
To reach Mayor Wooside’s office:
Home: (506) 472-8677
Phone: (506) 460-2085
Email: click here
Fax: (506) 460-2134
6 Comments:
Normally I agree with your sentiments, but perhaps not this time. Having lived in the UK for several years I got used to being watched by CCTV. I was uncomfortable at first but then I grew to accept it. They are everywhere. The average person gets filmed about 20 times a day, but since I am a law abiding citizen I had nothing to worry about.
And the benefits are immediate. They helped solve many crimes, prevented vandalism, aided in finding abducted children quickly, rounded up suspects and in general aided in keeping the peace.
The problem was they never really stop crime as the criminals just move their activity to where there are no cameras. Consequently governments always want more. That could be trouble for privacy, but there is no doubt that they are an asset to solving crime.
I would hate to be caught picking my nose.
Can't side with you on this one NBT (and that doesn't happen often). This is about placing cameras on a public building to try to catch scumbag vandals. I really don't think anyone has to worry about anything except lawbreakers. If the video can help police catch them that's great. In the last couple of days in Fredericton the indoor pool has been vandalized and a daycare has been destroyed by arson. If there's evidence of the cameras being used for anything else but catching criminals then I could see the argument but there is no evidence to suggest that. It's a shame places need to have them but they do.
I would have no trouble with a dedicated camera here or there, but as Britain proved, this stuff works in progressive stages. First, they install closed circuit TV cameras to take a few pictures. Then some were given microphones in order to "listen in" on conversations in public places. (This approaches the two-way home telescreens in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.) Now they hector people in public (and in some reported cases, they were doing nothing). And as kit said, the true criminals take their activities somewhere else, so in retrospect, they are preventing a few petty crimes like the gathering a too many skateboarders "way you go boys" or someone tipping over a garbage can "hey, replace that!" while all the while invading other people's privacy. Sorry, but I don't like it because the level of surveillance is over-the-top.
In my opinion, the lack of policing is the issue.
Maybe some tougher penalties for doing crimes. Might make them think twice if the penalty hits the criminal where it hurts.
Good point. And that's one thing I think the feds are doing a good job of...so far anyway.
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