Big Brother In Britain? Rubbish!
by Ian Mosley
The United Kingdom continues to slide into exactly the kind of surveillance state that George Orwell predicted in his futuristic novel “1984.” Virtually every street corner and shopping mall in Great Britain today is monitored by closed circuit TV cameras. Now Britain has taken another step along the path to a total surveillance state. The London Daily Telegraph reports that “A council is to hide a camera in a bin (garbage) bag to catch residents who do not follow new rules about putting out the rubbish. A spy camera will be put in a rubbish bag left in an alleyway. Householders in a seaside town [Weymouth] have been told to put their bins out at the front of their homes and not in an alleyway to the rear. They must also leave their rubbish out between set times to ensure it does not attract pests or miss the dust cart. To enforce the new rules, a camera will be placed in a rubbish bag and left in an alleyway to blend in with the surroundings to catch offenders. Those filmed breaking the rules will be given a ticking off. Repeat offenders could be handed a fixed penalty notice or even be taken to court and fined up to 1,000 pounds.”
A thousand pound fine for not taking out the trash?
The Telegraph goes on: “The tiny covert camera, which has cost Weymouth and Portland Council, Dorset, up to 10,000 pounds, will also help catch householders who put their rubbish out too early or too late. The initiative has shocked local taxpayers. The spy camera is being introduced in the Park district in Weymouth… Residents in the area will have to follow strict rules which come into force on June 22. They will only be allowed to put out their rubbish between 8pm and 6am the night before collection and it will have to be at the front of their homes.” (more…)