The 'Bladerunners' are right
Discussion
Have you heard of the Blade Runners? They're the chaps cutting down the ULEZ cameras in London.
I tend to think of myself as somebody who has a reasonable awareness of the things that are happening in politics and the things that are happening in the world of motoring. I used to live in London as well. At the time that the second Wrath of Kahn began for unsuspecting Londoners.
If you believe that democracy does in many ways prevent violence and criminality in our civil societies you will not be surprised to see this substantial effort by a group tagging themselves as the Blade Runners. I dunno quite what they mean with that name, but I guess the press will be amplifying it for sensational effect.
The point is, nobody in all seriousness really asked Londoners if they wanted an ANPR network monitoring every journey for the purposes of fining them for owning vehicles they were told to buy not 10 years prior.
I know they're criminals... but I think they're right!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12404209/...
I tend to think of myself as somebody who has a reasonable awareness of the things that are happening in politics and the things that are happening in the world of motoring. I used to live in London as well. At the time that the second Wrath of Kahn began for unsuspecting Londoners.
If you believe that democracy does in many ways prevent violence and criminality in our civil societies you will not be surprised to see this substantial effort by a group tagging themselves as the Blade Runners. I dunno quite what they mean with that name, but I guess the press will be amplifying it for sensational effect.
The point is, nobody in all seriousness really asked Londoners if they wanted an ANPR network monitoring every journey for the purposes of fining them for owning vehicles they were told to buy not 10 years prior.
I know they're criminals... but I think they're right!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12404209/...
Panamax said:
UK is believed to be the most "monitored" country on this planet.
Believed by whom exactly? Someone monumentally clueless, I suspect. Regarding the original question - there's lots of laws I disagree with, most far more important than the ULEZ, but vigilantism is rarely the solution.
kambites said:
Believed by whom exactly? Someone monumentally clueless, I suspect.
Regarding the original question - there's lots of laws I disagree with, most far more important than the ULEZ, but vigilantism is rarely the solution.
Unless you're looking to make a kick ass action film, with witty, quotable lines... Then it's exactly the solution. Regarding the original question - there's lots of laws I disagree with, most far more important than the ULEZ, but vigilantism is rarely the solution.
kambites said:
Believed by whom exactly? Someone monumentally clueless, I suspect.
You suspect wrong.Even in China, where facial recognition cameras are used to fine pedestrians who jaywalk, only a relatively small area of the country has close surveillance of what's happening on the ground. Nowadays you're on camera pretty much anywhere you go in UK. I was walking up a suburban road today and the houses were literally bristling with CCTV. Whenever there's a crime where do the police go? - Asking the public for dashcam footage and CCTV.
"While China yet again dominates this study for its vast surveillance tactics, there are other countries whose surveillance tactics are of growing concern, including several Indian and Russian cities, Seoul, Singapore, London, Dhaka, New York, and Los Angeles."
Bear in mind this is was based on just public CCTV systems. The UK bristles with private CCTV as well.
https://www.comparitech.com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds...
Bear in mind this is was based on just public CCTV systems. The UK bristles with private CCTV as well.
https://www.comparitech.com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds...
Panamax said:
"While China yet again dominates this study for its vast surveillance tactics, there are other countries whose surveillance tactics are of growing concern, including several Indian and Russian cities, Seoul, Singapore, London, Dhaka, New York, and Los Angeles."
Bear in mind this is was based on just public CCTV systems,
https://www.comparitech.com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds...
Err yes exactly! Bear in mind this is was based on just public CCTV systems,
https://www.comparitech.com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds...
Pickle_Party_247 said:
Morons committing vandalism and wasting public money. Anyone kicking off about ULEZ charges is a complete child in any reasonable person's book. What's next, vandalising DVSA offices because they charge VED?
welcome to the forum Mr Kahn.You forgot to call them racist, right wing anti vax bigots though in your above post....
ChocolateFrog said:
I do enjoy their videos.
The cameras seem comically vulnerable, almost like they were meant to be stolen.
Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the ULEZ, you're right that the standard of the camera installations are nowhere near what it should be for a public place.The cameras seem comically vulnerable, almost like they were meant to be stolen.
I saw somewhere that they were cutting the cables with a tree lopper - have they not heard of armoured cable, or protecting it using decent conduit?
Compared to the original GATSO speed cameras which were pretty much indestructible to vandals unless they had an angle grinder, the ULEZ kit does all look rather flimsy.
CheesecakeRunner said:
Furthermore...
With any argument which says "all these things have to be done to lower pollution" so is with ULEZ that by creating the bureaucracy, buying and installing a ton of cameras and computer equipment and paying people to operate them you are creating pollution. All the effort put into running the scheme (effort = pollution) must be subtracted from the diminishing difference between compliant and non-compliant vehicles. i.e. for ever camera erected Londoners could make 3000 journeys in a non-compliant vehicle and we'd still be breaking even.
That's not the point I'm making though. It just seems to me like they didn't properly ask people about this and now we've got real vigilantes hacking down cameras. Quelle surprise.
Pickle_Party_247 said:
Morons committing vandalism and wasting public money. Anyone kicking off about ULEZ charges is a complete child in any reasonable person's book. What's next, vandalising DVSA offices because they charge VED?
Kicking off about the lack of democratic accountability... infinitely more substantial than the issue of paying the charge itself. I quite like the idea of being forced to buy an old petrol fuelled car to avoid a fine from the mayor. Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff