Brits destroying hundreds of traffic cameras weekly

Singapore Straits-Times ^ | Aug. 25, 2002

[Jimmy Valentine]

God Bless our good old cousins on this one. We need to do the same here.

If you go through Washington, D.C. and are looking, you will see more cameras than you could ever beleive.

Regards,

[Robert Drobot]

"We had rock, dirtclod, snowball, and bottle-rocket battles. We played army, jumped our banana seat (no BMX back then) bikes over trash cans with no helmets or wussy pads, and shot BB guns, bow and arrows, wrist rocket slingshots and .22 rifles. We chased girls and tried to get them to kiss us and we played 'smear the queer' football. We had lawndarts. We built bombs from jars of gasoline and sometimes gunpowder from our firecrackers."

"Guess what? None of us are in counseling, none of us are in prison, none of us (or our kids) are on anti-depressants or some mind-numbing crap.

"Fast forward 25-30 years to the present and ask yourselves how possible any of what I just described is now. The pussification of American men continues."

This is one of those rare occasions where something is worth repeating. Thanks Looking4Truth.

NEWS MEDIA !
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR ?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

[winodog]

We have cameras on many intersections on top of the pole next to the red light here in Vegas. They broadcast a pic (large view) back to traffic control and who knows where else.

[uncbob]

Maybe there is hope for the BRITS afterall

[Prodigal Son]

We had rock, dirtclod, snowball, and bottle-rocket battles.

Green pine cones...

[Prodigal Son]

Thanks for posting this!

But a Department of Transport spokesman said: 'Research has shown that the number of people killed or seriously injured on some dangerous stretches of road has fallen by 47 per cent after the installation of speed cameras.

You see, that's how socialism always tries to get you... One day they'll claim they can make us all 100% safe by keeping us locked in cages all day.

[A. Pole]

Although thousands of cameras have been damaged, police have not received a single message from any passing driver reporting a vandalism. As a result, no one so far has been caught damaging a camera.

Brits do not like to be watched by a Big Brother?

[Cloud William]

I must say, I really like the part about dousing the cameras with gasoline and setting them ablaze. The companies that build the things are worried about making them bulletproof (to an extent), but the "flamethrower" attack works just fine.

I'm sure it must be something familiar expressed in the Queen's English, but what exactly is a "blow lamp"?

[handk]

"Randall Flag" was the name chosen by the character depicting Satan in the Stephen King "made-for-TV" movie, "The Stand."

But I guess you already know that.

[FenianOfEire]

Blow lamps, or blow torches as they call them in USA, burning gasoline (petrol) and kerosene (paraffin) to create a concentrated flame of heat have been used since around 1800. From this address... http://www.geocities.com/hanst46se/Home/home.htm

[putupon]

I say old chap, that will give the Yard a sticky wicket.

[Prodigal Son]

"blow lamp"

I believe that would be a blow torch (handheld). It's odd. They call a flashlight a "torch" even when you take one scuba diving.

[par4]

'There has been an alarming increase in the number of cameras being vandalised and this could lead to deaths on the road, through speeding.'

This is just another example of using hyperbole to justify intrusions into people's lives. The number of deaths due to speeding would not change regardless of the camera's working condition. The mere presence of the cameras (or of reasonable facsimilies, i.e. - fake cameras) will do the same to reduce speed.

If you want proof, just drive down any interstate and watch the traffic slow as soon as they see a police car parked on the side; drivers slow down even if they are doing the legal limit. I would assume that the same will then be true for camera enforcement - posting large signs that these spies are in use and making them very visible will slow drivers down; one cannot tell at a glance if the box is actually a camera or a fake.

[dennisw]

I love it. They may not have their guns but the Brits have the gumption to trash the spycams.

[Cloud William]

I believe that would be a blow torch (handheld). It's odd. They call a flashlight a "torch" even when you take one scuba diving.

Thaks, I figured it must be a propane torch. Gotta love those old pressurized gasoline blowtorches, though - first cousin to the military flamethrower.

My cousin and I spent a *long* summer back in the '70s, using two of those old contraptions to soften the paint on our grandmother's house. Heat, scrape, heat, scrape, ad infinitum. Amazingly, neither of us wound up in the hospital.

We did discover, though, that the things could produce a three-foot-long flame, for a short period of time. :-)

[Richard Kimball]

Cool!!!

[HangFire]

Nowhere is safe...

All of your privicy are belong to us...

[HangFire]

Ping!

[Bella_Bru]

On the "Fove O'Clock Funnies" on KLOS the other day, there was this comedian whose bit on the cameras went like this:

"So, I got this ticket in the mail with a picture of me running a red light. They don't pull you over anymore, just send you a picture. So, I sent them back a picture of me mailing a check. They sent me one of the L.A. County jail. So, I sent them one of Johnny Cochrane."

[Consort]

If the authorities made the live pictures available for public access at a Web Cam site, then the public would demand more and more cameras at more and more locations — and not just at traffic locations.