Education In America

By Judith Moriarty
10 -6 -7

There are pockets of people, and the shadow people you meet along life’s way, who are baffled and confused as to why people today (family members - neighbors - local politicians, etc) seem so disinterested, apathetic or downright complacent concerning world affairs. Many today cannot name the branches of government, discuss the workings of our monetary system (Federal Reserve), the labor movement, the robber barons, the reasons for the various wars (throughout history), the civil rights era, the Constitution, nor the details of the various trade agreements (not discussed or debated in Congress) and how these agreements, are systematically bringing about the ruination of our country and causing (globally) a mass exodus of people from the land of their birth to strange lands and cultures. Forget trying to have a conversation on the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, the Bilderbergers, CFR, or the various economic summits deciding the real business of the world.

Serious issues, such as the genetic altering of crops, sterilizing of seeds, our massive debt (growing by the second), our great trade deficit (imported junk), our decaying schools, our imploding infra-structure, autism, echoing factories, outsourcing of steel, textiles, information technology, manufacturing, absence of an energy policy, H-1B visa workers (others) replacing American workers, our medical crisis, the privatization of the commons, etc — all these and more are never discussed in the media or by those hoping to catch (already decided) the golden ring for the presidency.

Instead, the people are subjected to the buffonery and nonsensical round the clock reporting of ‘news’ on the antics of dysfunctional sports stars, panty-less rock stars, starlets, newspaper ads, car chases, OJ’s Rolex, murders, immigration riots, demands for more billions for war, or the locker room, the slapstick of Foggy Bottom politicians wallowing in name calling, or the ethics of a toe-tapping bathroom perversion. If that all becomes too much, there are 500 TV channels that will numb the mind into a fantasy world of sports, car races, sitcoms, prison lock-ups, wrestle mania, or loud mouth hirelings screaming their scripted abuses at each other or guests.

Caught up in a whirlwind of flags, ribbons, parades, elephants, jackasses, of red - white - and boo; the herd is manipulated into believing that a moneyed candidate (red or blue) will save them from their dreary, fearful, tumultuous, indentured servitude to the machine. Surely this candidate will deliver us from war, from poverty, from emergency room medical care, from illiterate kids, from rising fuel prices, from shuttered mill towns, bankrupt farms, moldy homes, and broken levees? But each time the disappointment grows more burdensome. The power brokers of global business, are not to be found in Foggy Bottom. They (the politicians) are mere props, though better cared for than the masses, but in reality powerless to effect change on a global scale. They are nothing more than mere middle management…beholden to the money-changers who support (own) them in their cradle-to-grave elections.

Perhaps the apathy and the anger from friends and family - when confronted with reality - comes from the fact that people have been dutifully conditioned (programed) these many decades through public ‘education’ and TV and have devolved into a servile, sniffling, whining, obedient herd of workers and consumers. They are nameless - non-persons, units, nodes, human resources, cattle, acceptable risks, collateral damage, victims, queers, illegal immigrants, activists, soldiers, heroes, prisoners, etc, all numbered and catalogued. I’m nobody, who are you? Are you nobody, too? Systematically, social engineering over these past decades, (government schooling - TV programing) has everyone compartmentalized and labeled. This is no mistake - only today it’s more blatant and accelerated than at any point in history.

School used to be an oasis of fun, creativity, learning, discovery, and encouragement by teachers (not change agents).

Almost all CCTV systems are illegal, says expert

As many as 95 per cent of CCTV systems in the UK are operating illegally, according to a CCTV expert. The revelation comes as new legislation is about to take effect in Scotland which could render even more systems illegal.

Companies whose premises have CCTV systems in operation must alert the Information Commissioner that they are gathering personal information about the people they are recording. They must also put up signs to warn the public that recording is taking place.

A new law will come into force in Scotland on 1 November requiring those operating systems on a contract to have a separate licence. The law, which is already in effect in England and Wales, does not apply to operators working directly for the company whose premises are being surveyed.

Bernie Brooks of CCTV compliance consultancy DatPro told OUT-LAW Radio that he comes across few systems that operate within the law.

“From my own my experience after personally surveying many, many hundreds of buildings, I would say probably less than five per cent are compliant,” said Brooks. “I would say that 95 per cent are non-compliant in one way, shape, form or another with the [Data Protection] Act. Obviously, that’s quite a worrying thing. If the system is non-compliant it could invalidate the usefulness of the evidence in a court of law.”

Brooks’s assessment matches that of non-profit CCTV awareness raising body Camerawatch. It said in June that its research showed that over 90 per cent of the UK’s 4.2 million CCTV systems were not compliant with the Data Protection Act.

“That has profound implications for the reputation of the CCTV and camera surveillance industry and all concerned with it,” said Camerawatch chairman Gordon Ferrie in June.

The new law in Scotland could push even more systems into illegal territory. The new licences for individuals is operated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

“If you operate CCTV equipment monitoring public or private space and you are monitoring members of the public then it is likely you will need a SIA licence,” said SIA head of investigations Jennifer Pattinson. “The reason for licensing is to remove the criminal element from the private security industry but also to improve levels of training and professionalism in the industry.”

People who work directly for the firm which owns the monitored premises do not need a licence. Pattinson said that this was because companies which directly employ security workers are likely to conduct the kind of thorough background checks that it does when issuing a licence.

The news that almost all systems are likely to operate illegally will raise questions about the effectiveness of CCTV.

The news follows the revelation last week that London’s dense network of CCTV cameras may not have an effect on the solving of crimes. An analysis of London’s 10,000 cameras showed that boroughs with many cameras had no better crime-solving statistics than those with few cameras.

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