April 15, 2002

ENOUGH TO KILL YOUR APPETITE

Here's an experience I hope isn't becoming a trend: I was walking out of McDonald's at Picadilly Circus here in London when my peripheral vision caught an image of something that made me think of a men's urinal. "Where has my mind been?" I chastised myself, and then went back to see what I had really seen.

A closed circuit tv monitor showed a man walking through the front door, then changed to a view of the counter area, then to the dining room, then to -- I kid you not -- men facing the plumbing in the washroom, then to women lined up in the other washroom. Okay, so they were sinks I saw, not urinals, and the cameras were photographing from their backs, but REALLY!! Video cameras in the toilets? And broadcast into the dining room?? It's enough to kill your appetite.

Worse, it's enough to make you avoid public places altogether. I don't know how much more of this "protection" for "our security and safety" we can take. I understand that it is possible in some cities to walk completely from one side to the other and never be out of range of a security camera.

Big Brother is watching. All the time. And now he's broadcasting it to the world. So be sure to wash your hands.

-- Jo Ann Skousen

email: jaskousen@mskousen.com

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