You Think our Nannystatism is Bad...

I love going to England, but this level of nannystatism is impressive even by European standards:

Britain is already one of the most watched nations on earth and now "talking" CCTV cameras are to be installed in 20 areas across the country.

The loudspeakers will allow CCTV operators to bark orders at people committing anti-social behaviour.

They are already used in Middlesbrough, where council workers in a control centre can monitor pictures from 12 cameras in town and communicate directly with people on the street.

Supporters of the scheme there say it has prevented fights and criminal damage, and cut litter levels.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, has set aside nearly £500,000 to fund the expansion of the scheme, which opponents have criticised as "Big Brother gone mad"....

...Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, gave a stark warning last year that Britain is turning into a Big Brother society where the lives of millions of inhabitants are tracked from cradle to grave.

A study commissioned by his office concluded that within 10 years, surveillance will be all-pervasive, spurred on by Government claims that it is needed to fight terrorism. The report appeared to reinforce Mr Thomas' claim two years earlier that "we are sleepwalking into a surveillance society''.

Clearly, I am glad to see that the Brits are taking care of cutting litter levels through surveillance.

Then again, maybe this is indicative of the current problems with British politics; too busy worried about what the average British citizen is doing instead of worrying about finding ways to deal with internal threats and ways to avoid appeasing Iran.