Smile! You’re on candid police camera
Bringing Finland ever so closer to a police state that resembles a Philip K. Dick novel, The Ministry of the Interior and Communications plans to carry out more speed controls, breathalyzer tests, and spot drug tests. (except in a PKD novel, the cameras would be much much smaller than those giant grey boxes on the side of the road - and Tarja Halonen would be a simulcra, not a human)
Fixed automatic camera speed controls will be extended to 1,600 kilometres of highway. Twenty mobile units are earmarked for urban use.
I find it interesting how so many people can get angry if your company wants spot drug tests but if the government is doing it randomly out on the side of the road, it’s perfectly okay!
“I find it interesting how so many people can get angry if your company wants spot drug tests but if the government is doing it randomly out on the side of the road, it???s perfectly okay! ”
Don’t you know Phil that the government is only interested in the wellbeing of it’s citizens. Whatever it does is good.
Comment by Hunser — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 12:45 pm
Don’t you ever ever again say anything like that about PKD again!
But seriously, I for one think the speed-cameras are OK, on site drug tests not, since they are unreliable and so f*****g what if someone had smoked some pot like a week beforehand (At least some saliva-tests show cannabis even after several days, when the driver is not intoxicated by a long shot.)
Comment by Tiedemies — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 1:05 pm
Exactly, let’s say you just returned from a trip abroad where marijuana is legal. Traces of that plant can stay in your system for up to a month, so if you get pulled over during that time - you could get arrested for “drugging and driving”
And for the speed-cameras, I probably wouldn’t have such a big problem with them if the fines weren’t so insane here. If you’re gonna get fined thousands of euros, I think you deserve to have a human being to talk it over with.
Comment by Phil — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 2:10 pm
you’ll have your friendly bank manager to talk it over with…
Comment by Hank W. — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 2:25 pm
Speed controls make a police state, oh my. It is not a violation of privacy if you are driving on a public road. This Anglo-Saxon contempt for the police is something I can’t understand. Could someone please explain this or give a link to an article?
Comment by sepisp — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 9:05 pm
“Exactly, let???s say you just returned from a trip abroad where marijuana is legal.”
Ahem, I think you should still note that the police is not randomly testing whether or not people have been smoking but whether or not drivers are under influence of substances that might cause them drive dangerously. If you just returned from Amsterdam and were caught in one of these test, you wouldn’t be accused of a drug crime but a traffic violation.
Comment by Tom — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 10:37 pm
Oh and thanks a lot for the choice of the picture.
Comment by Tom — Fri, Apr 29th, 2005 @ 10:39 pm
What bothers me about Finland is the hysteria about drugs, while being drunk is a fully accepted, drinking much is even a quality. Drugproblems in Finland are in no comparison to the problems alcohol is causing. Last year 33.000 Fins neaded hospitaltreatment as a result of too much drinking , 20.000 Fins where catched while drunk driving, 600.000 Fins have severe alcoholproblems. And about Finland as a policestate, it’s more about character than measures. It’s strange for me as a foreigner in Finland to see how easy Fins obey order and hierarchy. So what the state tells you to do, you do. It’s somewhat different in my hometown of Amsterdam (I never smoked pot bytheway). This acceptation of statecontrol in the form of cameras doesn’t surprise me at all, in Holland they burned these cameras down, so they stopped using them. Anyway, Finland is sympathatic, it’s orderly and clean, and also save when you avoid the drunk…
Comment by mol9 — Sat, Apr 30th, 2005 @ 10:18 am
Look, Tom: The thing is marijuana doesn’t impair your ability to drive, but it is detectable by saliva tests (at least some - I’m not sure about the ones the police is using) sometimes even after several days. Driving is impaired really only for a few hours.
Comment by Tiedemies — Sat, Apr 30th, 2005 @ 3:25 pm
mol9 - the thing is Finns are used to authority and also disobeying authority; but in such a subtle manner one does not really realize it. Thats also why foreigners stick out as “bad people” when they don’t obey “the rules”. Rules are ment to be obeyed… then ther is the Finnish resistance but you need really to be here to know. Blatant disregard is “who the f* do they think they are!?”
Comment by Hank W. — Sat, Apr 30th, 2005 @ 8:16 pm
And one thing - drink driving is frowned upon mostly.
Comment by Hank W. — Sat, Apr 30th, 2005 @ 8:17 pm
mol9 wrote: “What bothers me about Finland is the hysteria about drugs, while being drunk is a fully accepted, drinking much is even a quality. Drugproblems in Finland are in no comparison to the problems alcohol is causing.”
One explanation is the fact that alcohol brings a lot of money back to the state in tax income, drugs don’t. If alcohol was invented now, it would probably be illegal too.
Finnish drug hysteria has stared for ages already in primary school for pre-teens and has been greatly supported by the mass media, so it’s actually no wonder why especially mid-age and older people share this sensitive attitude. Young people are much more open-minded towards drugs, but I don’t know if it’s any better. Critical thinking would be the best choice.
Comment by Tero Lehto — Sun, May 1st, 2005 @ 3:08 am
Hank W; I have no idea where you’re talking about. subtle manner of disobeying authority? What’s that? Making your own boose? Shooting deer illegally?
Tero Lehto; There’s nothing better than to be aware of the dangers of drugs, When i say “hysteria” i don’t mean that people have to be more openminded towards drugs. The real problem here is although alcohol, i participated in a youth-drugsprevention project here in the south of Finland, we just walked the streets, helping and talking to drunk youth, and it’s incredible what you see, children drinking loads of alkohol. There was a possibility for the parents to come along with us, nobody came. So i think; the Finnish drinking habits are a disaster for the youth of this country, and i hope finnish people start question more their authorities ( local authorities, and this government which lowered alcohol tax) to change this situation, and also look at theirselves as parents, giving their children an alcoholfree future.
Comment by mol9 — Sun, May 1st, 2005 @ 1:01 pm
moI9 - I think Hank W is seeing Finnish stubborness and sullenness as a kind of “subtle resistance” to authority. It’s actually just bad attitude, in other countries.
Comment by Finnpundit — Sun, May 1st, 2005 @ 4:14 pm
The Finnish government aren´t interested in the wellbeing of it´s citizens. They are only interested in the money the speedcameras bring to the chest. We are getting FUCKED every day. Everyone who thinks different are plain stupid. Realize that SUCKERS!!!!!
Comment by Andy — Thu, Feb 14th, 2008 @ 9:59 pm