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Surveillance Cameras in Britain Not Effective?
zymurgy_cat writes "An interesting piece in The Christian Science Monitor questions whether or not the 4 million plus cameras in Britain are effective in deterring crime. It touches upon the usual issues of privacy, who has access to the tapes, and so forth. Despite this, people still seem to prefer the cameras."
"Britain is a pretty sad place to live in."
And then you say you live in Belgium! hahahah! That's hilarious. Thank you.
--- any post that takes longer than 20 seconds to write, isn't worth writing
I'll take the bait.
The UK weather sucks, it rains more and is colder than in Belgium.
UK transport sucks. Trains are shitty and expensive, roads are congested. Belgium has good public transport and only moderate congestion at times.
The UK is insular compared to the cultural mix in Belgium. Many people here speak two, three languages, and cities like Brussels are rich and varied, even while they're quite small.
Belgian taxes are painful. But the Belgian tax service is always happy to negotiate. UK administration is efficient and minimalistic but if you make a mistake you can get in serious trouble.
Belgian girls are way cuter than British girls, who put on too much makeup and tend to look cheap and nasty. Or fat and pasty. I could never go for that 'fair English rose' type. Belgian girls range from the blonde northern (repeat after me: "Hmmm, blondes" in a Homer voice) to the dark hispanic. This, actually, was the reason I stayed in Belgium.
Belgian beer is of course an inspiration to drinkers everywhere. There are some good beers in the UK these days but they're largely inspired by Belgian brews, and honestly, if you've never tried a triple-hopped Orval, you don't know what _real_ beer can taste like.
The Belgian music scene is amazing: underground and frantic: electro jazz, trance, salsa, jazz, congolese-arab fusion, it's just eclectic and vibrant.
The UK has these ridiculously paternalistic ideas about forcing people to drink only within certain hours, resulting in a nation of binge drinkers. Amateur alcoholics! Belgians drink professionally.
Brussels is 1.5 hours by train from Paris, from London, from Amsterdam. If you can't get what you want in Brussels, it's simple to find it.
Belgium has a relaxed attitude to soft drugs, meaning young people can enjoy themselves without becoming criminals.
The UK has the English. Belgium has Dutch tourists. OK, par on that one.
The Belgians got over their empire ages ago. We do not believe it's our moral obligation to topple foreign dictators just because they pull faces at us.
The UK strip searches asylum seekers and tourists who are pigmentally gifted. My Congolese sister in law had a full anal probe last time she visited the UK. "Stiff upper lip, old girl!" Belgium gives them 30 days to leave the country, and then forgets about them.
I could go on, but I'm going to go to the Pain Quotidienne on Dansaertstraat to have a breakfast: espresso, dark bread, fresh orange juice, one egg.
Have a nice day!
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