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UK Plans To Monitor 20,000 Families' Homes Via CCTV

Posted by timothy on from the words-fail-but-pictures-deliver dept.

metrix007 points out a story in the Sunday Express with more surveillance-camera madness from the UK, where the government now wants to place 20,000 CCTV cameras to monitor families ("the worst families in England") within their own homes, to make sure that "kids go to bed on time and eat healthy meals and the like. This is going too far, and hopefully will not pass. Where will it end?"

17 of 693 comments (clear)

  1. Holy shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is an actual, verbatim representation of Orwell's vision for the future (today's present). There isn't any needed for interpretation, it's literally 1984. Wow.

    1. Re:Holy shit. by buchner.johannes · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think there is a plan behind it. A project was founded to find out how much surveillance people will endure until seriously, unavoidable riots occur in a well-off society. I also think the reason the project was started so that people, after revolting against cuts into their privacy, have a better foundation and understanding for freedom and privacy.

      However, the Brits didn't react according to the expectations of project coordinators. Unfortunately, no end date was agreed upon for the project.

      --
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    2. Re:Holy shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's always been 2009.

    3. Re:Holy shit. by Jurily · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Does anyone have anything original to say, or are we going to end up with 500 "OMG 1984!!!!1!1!1!1!" comments?

      Dude, we're talking about surveillance cameras to make sure the kids go to bed in time. What did you expect?

      Here's another application of cameras, which would've been unthinkable even 5 years ago. Pretty soon, you'll get used to it like you did with public cameras, and a bit later, you'll find it natural that everyone is monitored constantly for their own safety. Or you won't, and it will cost you dearly.

      How is that not 1984?

    4. Re:Holy shit. by haifastudent · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is an actual, verbatim representation of Orwell's vision for the future (today's present). There isn't any needed for interpretation, it's literally 1984. Wow.

      Somebody should give Amazon a call, I hear they have experience in making these "1984" matters disappear.

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    5. Re:Holy shit. by Saint+Stephen · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The ironic thing is the original definition of Proletariat or "Prole" in 1984 in Latin were people who offered no benefit to the state other than raising children. The Proles didn't have Big Brother in their homes, and Winston longed to live like them. Somebody should tell the UK they're not doing it right :-)

    6. Re:Holy shit. by nyctopterus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      2. Youngsters don't get into crime because they have a chaotic family life. They do it, because it's cool, they have too much free time, and they live in a neutered society.

      I think you'll find this is flat wrong. The number of children from stable families that get involved with crime is dwarfed by the number who do have a "chaotic" family life--or no family life at all. Experiencing neglect or abuse, or worse, going into the care system, dramatically increases your risk of juvenile and adult crime. Something like half of the kids in care will go to prison.

      I will find cites if you think I'm wrong. Making stuff up, as I suspect you have, isn't a good way of diagnosing the causes of societies complex problems--yet it seems to be the most common method.

    7. Re:Holy shit. by dna_(c)(tm)(r) · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Is it?

      So you give one (1) anecdotal example that says "welfare state does not create the problem" and from there draw the conclusion "welfare state does create the problem"? I think you just introduced a whole new class of logical fallacies.

  2. Oh god, the Daily Express by ttlgDaveh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For the love of jebus, ignore the Daily/Sunday Express just as much as the Daily/Sunday Mail. They are terrible, borderline-racist, reactionary publications with a fixation on Big Brother (Orwell, not the terribe reality show) and 'foreign types stealing our jobs'.

    There's a site dedicated to the terrible nature of these publications, which is well worth a read, if only for a giggle.

  3. CCTV part probably fake by Florian+Weimer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Other news sources (Telegraph, Daily Mail) mention "24-hour supervision", but no CCTVs. Without the CCTVs, it's not really that different from homes for the elderly.

  4. Re:Big Brother by arogier · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is no freedom if everything is criminal.

    --
    http://www.aaronrogier.net
  5. Re:Jesus Fucking Christ by mustafap · · Score: 5, Informative

    I wouldn't worry about it too much. As an englishman living in england, I can tell you these newspapers are rubbish. Page 3 probably has "Elvis is alive and working as a roadsweeper".

    There are about 50 million people in the uk, so it only takes a *tiny* fraction of the population to have enough idiots to write this rubbish and the remainder to buy newspapers printing it..

    --
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  6. Let me be the thirst to say ... by gerddie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In the UK, TV watches you!

  7. Good! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I know your all going to compare it to 1984, say this is a big brother police state, but to be honest, if you live on an area affected by youths who make you terrified to go outside, who intimidate you if you do, who will not hesitate to key your car, smash in it's windows or even set it on fire, who make it the norm to set of fireworks in the street and even post them through letter boxes, then you wouldn't be moaning about their human rights.

  8. Two words by ledow · · Score: 5, Informative

    Two words tell you everything you need to know about this story:

    Sunday Express.

    Move on. Nothing to see here. And, Slashdot, for God's sake... please check your sources in future rather than the random cranks.

    For those who don't know, imagine that bit in Men in Black where Tommy Lee Jones checks the papers for "information"... one of those would be the Sunday Express.

  9. Re:Don't let them have children by rohan972 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Yet another eugenicist. You get to decide who is worthy to breed, compulsory sterilisation or prison camps for the rest.

    You're the type of person that makes it necessary for the rest of us to maintain the right to keep and bear arms.

    Too many people on the planet as it is.

    Show us you have the courage of your convictions, kill yourself. Oh, that's right, it's the others who are the too many, you'd be one of the chosen ones, correct?

    --
    http://marriedmansexlife.com/
  10. Use their own law against them by Hojima · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There are currently no laws stating that minors must wear clothes inside the house, so tell them not to. Then, the government records CP and they all burn at the stake!! It's flawless!!

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