Hergest Ridge

What do WalMart, BestBuy, Procter & Gamble, and Travelocity have in common? Come to think of it, too much – forget I asked. But there is one thing I’d like for them and their likes to continue doing, and that’s pulling advertising money out from propaganda aired on FoxNews. (If this dream turns reality, FoxNews as a whole will go off air and the stupefied Under 50IQ Paranoiacs-R-Us will be left to wonder the streets, thus increasing their chances of getting killed by a speeding vehicle.)

Reports suggest that the list of companies requesting their advertisements not be part of Glenn Beck’s Duckspeak has now reached 20. (Source: The Huffington Post)

Even God is pleased; using angels’ blood He signed a self-imposed Cease to Kill Kittens, normally executed by the Almighty at a 1:1 ratio for each act of human masturbation. (Since the Reforms of ‘79, acts of ape and chimp masturbation do not result in kitten executions. Ever since, humans have tried and failed to work out a similar deal with God, leaving many to feel shame and guilt over simply being human.)

The cease is valid on all days a new company pulls its advertising from FoxNews, a gesture which outraged the Mice Consortium, but to which the K9 Units responded with an enthusiastic wag of the tail.

 
 
… brought to you by Clean & Clear (R) and PhotoShop. And I suspect the first ingredient was PhotoShop.

Sometimes I can’t help but feel that certain people need to be reminded that commercials are not designed to inform the customer – that their purpose is to drive profit for the maker, to sell the product to as many people as possible, to push it to anyone with the money to buy it regardless of need.

While I’ve failed to keep abreast of the progression and the justifications given for it, my observation is that our city began with a single red light camera at an intersection with the highest accident rate, and since expanded the campaign approximately hundred fold.

According to a local newspaper’s February 11th story by Geoff Kirbyson, “46 dedicated traffic officers have been removed from the street” – plenty of room to make a counter claim against “photo-radar making the streets safer.” Unlike the original, cameras are now installed at intersections with low accident rates. The city and the firm which provides the photo service are both paid commission style, with no independent body overlooking their practice.

A “2006 City Audit of the Photo Enforcement Program shows that the city used misleading statistics in an attempt to cover-up the program’s failure to reduce accidents. Independent evidence cited in the report indicates that the number of insurance claims for accidents, injuries and property damage expenses went up significantly at sites using camera enforcement in the year following the introduction of the devices.” (Audit PDF)

But perhaps most frustrating about the whole situation is that few question the authorities when a claim about safety is made. When someone at an airport tells you to get rid of your water, few seem to realise that the ceased containers are stored inside the airport loaded with people. If it all really was a threat, should it not be removed immediately? And how many of all the “safety regulations” are a placebos to problems which have always existed, and will continue to exist until each and every citizen has all their liberties removed?

What I’m getting at is that in the name of safety, you’re likely getting ripped off financially while being stripped of your privacy – both often done by your own government.

If you live in the Winnipeg area, please review and consider signing the petition against current photo-radar practices, set to be presented in court in April.