Thursday, November 17, 2011

Oxford City Council - Jobsworths gone crazy?

I know people think I have downer on local authorities, and local government "officers" and God knows we've seen some extremes locally at both district and county level but blimey, it's looks like Oxford city council have elevated themselves to a new high in terms of well, either righteous regulation, stupidity or contempt for privacy and civil liberties. 

In the unlikely event that this hasn't cropped up on your news radar, Oxford's city council, has decided to insist that all taxis must be fitted with CCTV or what most of us would view as spy cameras recording, what would otherwise be private conversations, read this report in the Mirror, if your unfamiliar.


Still it seems that Oxford City council publicrats are, defiant in the face of mix of astonishment, incredulity,  and outrage at the casual way the Oxford City council presumably advised by "officers" have decided to treat this invasion of privacy which what appears that contemptible "we know best attitude" common in the public sector.

Here's some excerpts from their recent statement on the matter ""Most licensed vehicles will only require one camera positioned above the rear view mirror, however larger vehicles (such as people carriers) may require an additional camera to ensure that the whole of the vehicle interior is viewable. Only one?

Oxford City Council considers that so long as clear notices are provided in vehicles which inform passengers that video and audio recording may be taking place, the risk of intrusion is acceptable  I suppose the like Stazi in the old East Germany.

Anyway of if you'd like to read Oxford City's view and make you mind up as to whether they are bonkers or what?

My advice is simple this, if you value your privacy and freedom Keep away from Oxford City, if you know whats good for you.

30 comments:

  1. Oh dear, you really have, with this post, confirmed that you have become obsessed with public sector workers and media stories about them. It also confirms that you have a very unpleasant and nasty way of commenting about people.

    But do carry on, because you are providing lots of people with a laugh - at your own expense.

    Now let me Google "railway track workers"...

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  2. 11 05 oh dear someone's upset you, maybe you approve of a creeping interference in every aspect of your life commenting in support of civil liberty is hardly nasty.

    Presumably you are of that smug group of lefties, perhaps even a member of local labour who are a tad bitter a my recent comments

    Maybe you'd be more comfortable living in north Korea or china good luck to you

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  3. The establishment are becoming seriously paranoid now, and who can blame them?

    They have committed thousands of crimes against humanity and are now preparing for "the big cull", (or a bit of mass global genocide, depending on which side you are on.)

    So it is understandable that they want to keep tabs on what the proles are up to.

    Cameras hidden in lamp posts, complete with telescopic mics, are another paranoid waste of taxpayers' money.

    Didn't Mussolini finish up swinging from lamp post? Hmmm, there must be a lesson there.

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  4. No, Tony, you have, as usual, missed the point entirely. The issue is your perpetual use of offensive terms and language in your posts about what has become a pet subject (or rather an obsession) for you - public sector workers.

    Just think about your "officers" here and your "jobsworths" in another post and consider whether you can post any items without resorting to language that is inflammatory, unnecessary, and more in keeping with certain other local blogs you have strongly criticised in the past. And consider your reaction when someone turns the language back on you or railway track workers - your retreat into the corner and cry of foul.

    Beyond those issues, there may be a valid point here about civil liberties to discuss.

    And I am not a member of any political party.

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  5. 0925 You may not be a member of any politiocal party but your left wing leanings are blatantly obvious.

    Whilst I have a tendency to agree with you about inflamatory language, I am with Tony all the way on the seemingly never ending abuses and inefficiencies exposed in the public sector. There is a need to expose certain practices which seem to have replaced the good old fashioned standards of the CS in particular.

    As for Tony's, at times, colourful prose, you have not been above calling other bloggers liars in the past and even 'a bit of a shit' in one exchange with me. What's could for the goose and all that, eh!

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  6. In the last post for 'could' read 'good' - still half asleep I guess.

    WR

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  7. Will Roberts, just as, for you, something is only snide when you disagree with it - an earlier exchange - inflammatory is only (really) inflammatory when you disagree with it. You have extremely flexible standards and principles!

    Yes I was hostile towards you, but, as with all your other carefully chosen creations, you are ignoring a large part of the "story" - what you dished out beforehand. And, again, my left-wing bias is matched by your bias toward the (extreme) right, so snap.

    But none of this really matters - all just the ramblings of a few local nobodys.

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  8. Anon 11:05 Tony may have been uncompromising in his disdain for another encroachment on the freedom to speak but that is fair comment surely.

    Had he wished to be nasty he might well have pointed out to you, your unpleasant character in condoning creeping authoritarianism by pea brained idiots, suggesting your some sort of fascist.

    Tony said "make your mind up" not quite as dogmatic as you imply and inclusive to defenders of repression such as yourself.

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  9. Tony, you may not recall that a few years back Gravesend's taxi drivers called on the local council to help them install CCTV for safety reasons. But it was to late to save one of the drivers who was murdered. If you speak to Gravend taxi drivers today you will find out that attacts on them has fallen.
    Some Dartford taxis also have them and these two Kent towns are not alone.
    I think you will find it is the drivers that instigate the installation of CCTV and not some council jobsworth.

    So if you happen to be in Gravesend or Oxford in the future, you have the choice, dont use the taxis or use them but make sure you have nothing to hide.

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  10. Previous your right but I don't think they wanted these to record conversations something that council jobsworths do want.

    See the problem with you is you don't as with your ilk understand that the public have a right to be protected from nosey parkers such as yourself.


    You are one of those sad people who would have a camera and microphone listening to everyone, your best bet is to get a visa and go live somewhere like cuba, iraq, Saudi arabia, Zimbabwe, north korea, tibet, china you'll be happy you sad little conformist

    I suggest you get a camera and stick it where the sun dont shine.

    Face it 11:05 & 3:54 your a voyeur, just one step away from hiding a camera in the changing rooms, you pervert!

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  11. It's Oxford. The public servants are most unlikely to be able to understand the cab conversations there. The Oxford Police don't have anyone left who understands the academia patois. Gone to hell in a handcart since old Morse passed on.

    We didn't used to do too badly in Ramsgate. I remember throwing a chap out of Neros whereupon he decided to ask what qualifications we bouncers had. After "Once I mastered trigonometric functions I found calculus a piece of p-ss" from one bouncer he moved on to question the next. A Masters Degree agricultural scientist from New Zealand.

    A taxi drew up to take him home and it was driven by a retired PhD chemist. A bouncer bundled him into the taxi. "Just not your night physically or intellectually mate. I take it you will be back to work as a Rovex manager Monday morn ?"

    In fact the police and local govt officials would oft times call at the club door to ask for help to explain the knottier conversations they had eavesdropped.

    A hardy perennial question was "Who's this Cyril they are talking about ?" The Chief Exec thought Cyril must be a boxer as he had frequently heard mention of him knocking out Dollar Bills.

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  12. What's your thoughts on having CCTV on trains Tony?

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  13. As ever, this started off as a reasonable discussion following the thread of interfering jobsworths and suddenly it's all got rather silly. Before you know it we will have letter boxes with CCTV cameras mugging passing policemen. Think I'd rather be doing something else, if you catch my drift, nudge, nudge!

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  14. Its quite obviously to most that big brother has gone completely bonkers and are just waiting to how much people will put up with. Scrap all the camera's apart from on private premises such as in shops etc they really dont do anything apart from make you want to wear a hoody.

    Funny how they are never working when it suits them.It us who need cctv to keep an eye on what they get up to and for our own protection from the corporate bodies.

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  15. Like I just said, sillier and sillier, and not even literate with it. Evidently the dumbing down process is working 8:27!

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  16. Norman Brickhouse, your post is full of totally flawed deduction and rather silly assertions. If you read my earlier comment, you will see that I said there may well be an issue here, but it has been clouded.

    Frankly, I am more impressed by the sound questions and points raised subsequently about other areas of CCTV coverage - which have prompted only foolish and immoderate outbursts by those supposedly interested in civil liberties.

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  17. I see you haven't even mentioned the arrest of the Tory former TDC leader on fraud charges Tony. I can just imagine your reaction if the same thing had happened to Clive Hart.

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  18. Why would he in an article on CCTV cameras in Oxford? Mind you, 2:48 has managed to bring it into the frame although completely off thread. Quite bizarre, but let's start a tit for tat list of all the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem, for that matter, politicians who have been arrested over the years. Funny what pleases little minds but then, you couldn't really have a big one and support Labour, could you?

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  19. Obviously I meant in a new thread.

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  20. You're right, Anon, that it's a much bigger and more locally relevant story than what Tony has posted here, but a) it is a separate story and b) few facts are known yet. It may turn out that no fraud has been committed and Sandy Ezekiel is as pure as the driven snow.

    What you can be sure about is that most of the right-leaning local blogs will have little if anything to say on the subject, however it tuns out. But hey, that's politics.

    We'll have to wait and see if the local Tory tradition for wrong-doing - for example Aitken for fraud, Watt-Ruffell for animal cruelty, Cameron for drunk-driving (mirrored in Canterbury by one of the former Tory Councillors there) - is "proudly" maintained.

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  21. Peter I work on the rail infrastructure, it doesn't make me a flipping rail enthusiast so my thoughts are limited to earning a living and making sure that I and those I work keep well clear of trains.

    2 48 Why would I mention Sandy Ezekiel, I know nothing more than the Gazette story and didn't feel the need delve any more into it, many people have forgotten, that this country has a tradition of trial by jury admitedly this has gone by the board as the press now run endless conjecture in high profile cases, including the disgraceful episode, when the press attacked an innocent man last year during the murder in Bristol last christmas. The infference that I would treat a similar event involving Clive Hart is bollix.

    I've been rude and critical of both Clive Hart and Sandy Ezekiel are two different people, it seems to me one is big enough to understand what I'm about and the other has all the maturity of a petulant child.

    2 48 I can understand where you're coming from though as a Labour supporter you might well be one of those rare sypathisers who believes in justice equality etc. so me commenting on Thanet Labours attacks on Social Housing (ask Clive) or the odd de-selection of Mark Nottingham (ask Clive) or attack on Jobs (ask Clive)must be uncomfortable. Add to that the fact that Sandy Ezekiel actual has made a tangible contribution to the area and no wonder you keep up a barrage of abuse. Please go elsewhere you silly person.

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  22. It is interesting to see the Freemasonic compass on the Stasi emblem.

    Also noteworthy is that former Stasi boss Markus Wolf went to the USA in 2001 to assist in setting up Homeland Security.

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  23. So you have an opinion on CCTV in taxis but not in trains? OK........

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  24. Add logic and consistency to the list of characteristics that never appear in or influence the thinking and rants of Tony Flaig. But hey this is (unmistakably) his blog!

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  25. I know that Clive is a good looking man but your obsession with him is bordering on the psychotic!

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  26. 10 05 AKA 2 48 you've raised labour local leader not I

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  27. The point about CCTV on trains, buses and taxis is that you have a choice not to use them. They are there for the safety of the staff and I am sure that Tony will agree that people at work are entitled to safety of the highest standard.

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  28. Both 2.48 and 10.05 posts are from anonymous commentators, Tony, so why the "aka". They probably are the same person, so what? No-one has suggested otherwise. And I am neither of them, for the record.

    I really would suggest that if you only want people to comment who agree with you, have no even vague leanings toward the political left - for which you appear to have a visceral loathing - and share your wish to ignore facts, history, logic, and consistency...you should limit your blog to nominated individuals.

    All the time you maintain an open blog, you will be criticised for your ill-informed, and hopelessly unbalanced rants. Still, you can always reply with your customary insults.

    Bring back Eastcliff Richard, the bikers and several others. They knew you so well.

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  29. "All the time you maintain an open blog, you will be criticised for your ill-informed, and hopelessly unbalanced rants. Still, you can always reply with your customary insults."

    Thank you 10 05 AKA 2 48 & 11 40

    Yes I shall continue to allow liberal views and think little of your scatty comments even the last very weird attack, a familiar but odd attack.

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