Saturday, January 23, 2010

Rethinking the Escape

I've considered the UK a potential alternative to staying in the states after the meltdown but with some of the latest developments in 'big brother' I might have to rethink that whole scenario. The thought of spy drones circling over the Cotswold's or the Peaks just doesn't seem proper.

Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the ­"routine" monitoring of antisocial motorists, ­protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers,1 in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.
The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police.
....Five other police forces have signed up to the scheme, which is considered a pilot preceding the countrywide adoption of the technology for "surveillance, monitoring and evidence gathering". The partnership's stated mission is to introduce drones "into the routine work of the police, border authorities and other government agencies" across the UK.
1British slang for people who illegally dump trash anywhere other than an authorized landfill.

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