In a way, a contiuation of yesterday's theme for me. See those loud speakers on the post near the street sign? They have recently appeared around central Sydney, and are touted as "public information" and "security" devices, enabling public broadcast of warnings, crowd instructions etc. in the case of terrorist attack or emergency.I can't wait for Soviet- style military marching music, or Maoist or Dear Leader propaganda lectures to begin...
Taken on the corner of Druitt and George Sts outside Sydney Town Hall.
By the way, it's the first day of Spring here today.
All these Daily City Photo Bloggers have signed up to particpate in the theme day.http://www.twincitiesdailyphoto.com - Cleveland (OH), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - Boston (MA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Mainz, Germany - Evry, France - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Nottingham, UK - Toulouse, France - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Manila, Philippines - Mumbai, India - Montpellier, France - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Moscow, Russia - Paris, France - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Lyon, France - Stockholm, Sweden - Hyde, UK - Hong Kong, China - Joplin (MO), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Chandler (AZ), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Arlington (VA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - San Diego (CA), USA - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Nelson, New Zealand - Quincy (MA), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Bend (OR), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - New Orleans (LA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Detroit (MI), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Selma (AL), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Arradon, France - Sheki, Azerbaijan - New York City (NY), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Tenerife, Spain - Auckland, New Zealand - Forks (WA), USA - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Chateaubriant, France - Madison (WI), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Ajaccio, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Budapest, Hungary - Lyon, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Le Guilvinec, France - River Falls (WI), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Naples (FL), USA - London, UK - La Antigua, Guatemala - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Trujillo, Peru - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Oslo, Norway - Grenoble, France - Shanghai, China - Toronto (ON), Canada - Durban, South Africa - Zurich, Switzerland - Cape Town, South Africa - Singapore, Singapore - Torino, Italy
OMG, Sally, I cannot believe this police state we seem to have become. It is all too-too much.
ReplyDeleteAh, but apparently becoming a police state is a just a small price to pay to protect our "freedoms".
ReplyDeleteJust that those freedoms don't include free speech and demonstrations....freedom to continue to consume at ever-increasing rate, I think, Freedom for the rich to get ever richer...freedom for george Bush to parade through the city with a 20vehicle motorcade....freedom to be sniffed in the crotch by a dog on railway platforms....freedom to be held in custody and interrogated without charge and no right for people to know wher eyou are, or for you to talk about it afterwatds.
Aaaaaaaaaaaah, freedom.
Yup, Big Brother is everywhere it seems! Happy Theme Day!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it will play out Classical Music!
ReplyDeleteHopefully they wont be used as advertising speakers. haha..
Singapore actually has gigantic speakers too on the top of many buildings. They are the Civil De fence sirens. They have been around for years and usually it will sound on Civil Defense day.
Sounds pretty depressing, folks. Let's hope that these "freedoms" may soon disappear.
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring to you, Sally, and my wishes are for quiet from those loudspeakers.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure in time the speakers will become as normalised as CCTV we now have everywhere, as well as speed cameras, red light cameras etc.
ReplyDeletei just hope the powers that be don't abuse it and don't strat blasting noise at us. It happened a few years ago on railway platforms - huge video screen advertising boards at an incredibly intrusive volume. Afer much protest at least the noise went down.
How cool and scary at the same time. A real unique post Sally. Now, spring arriving is like a tease to us who have had no summer, but a very, very long Fall. Ahhhh
ReplyDeleteAt least you don't have video cameras mounted on every street corners like London and New York City....well, not yet.
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring to you, Sally! Beautiful bright light in this shot...
ReplyDeleteLike some of your other readers, I, too, wonder if they're going to be airing ads over the speakers. Gap jeans on sale, 450 George St. Two for one happy meals right around the corner.
The first link on your theme list seems to be a little messed up...
Sally, I think you've got the freedoms downpat. :( Though at least the friendly neighborhood speaker-setting-up folks will have made hearing all that marching music easier, if you live off the parade route. Great photo.
ReplyDeleteHi Sally,
ReplyDeletethats so typical for "oversees not European countries" such as the USA and Australia, Typical are all this HIGH streetnumbers, you cannot imagine that we don't have that....
Are they still use this loudspeakers now-a-days? NO? Ithink not that thats possible, just wondering... do they?
Have a great weekend :) JoAnn from HOLLAND
Great choice of subject and photo for today. We lose more and more of our freedoms in the name of safety. Perhaps if we are not a 'baddie', we shouldn't mind. I seem to remember the London bombers wouldn't have been caught without CCTV cameras all over the place. Maybe there's no answer to this except to go and live on a desert island somewhere?
ReplyDeleteIs that scary or funny, I dont know but i do know that your explanation made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteI didn't mind it too much, Sally, until I read the "sniffed in the crotch part..." and ugh. I can imagine that. Then I remembered the lies that got us in this paranoid state.
ReplyDeleteI didn't participate this month as I found nothing worthwhile to photograph among the few street signs and lights that we have where I live. Maybe next time.
Wonder what else we might be subjected to in the name of "protection"...
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring Day!
lets give 'em heaps! 'on ya! And you visitied when maybe I'm not on the theme list
ReplyDeleteSeveral places in the UK have these things -- they tell people to pick up their litter!
ReplyDeleteI'll refrain from commenting more as I don't want to raise my blood-pressure.
Happy Spring -- alas for us that means the end of summer [the wettest on record].
The loudspeakers hve been placed there to call my ex husband: Geoooooorrrrrrrrrgggggggeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! (he's a bit deaf) :-))
ReplyDeleteNice blue sky. But why is spring in Sydney on September 1st?
The last time I went to Sydney,they haven't had that yet.Did they only put this up this year?
ReplyDeletewhat the heck!!!! does every streetsign some many speakers :) :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out my post of a old cold war warning siren overlooking Greenville ... It is sad when society lives in fear ... We give the terrorist small victories ever time we look over our shoulder.
ReplyDeleteOooh Sally, your photos and commentaries of both yesterday and today are perfect. Is that idiot Bush seriously doing all that crap? Ugh. I hope to God my country will learn from the mistakes made at the last election this time around.
ReplyDeleteBTW, before I read your commentary I heard the Star Wars "Imperial March" (you know, Darth Vader
s theme) in my head coming out of those loud speakers! How's that for appropriate?
Wow. I guess this is the price of so called freedom.
ReplyDeleteSometimes living in a third world country such as Jamaica doesn't seem so bad.
An overpopulation lives on your standard lamps
ReplyDeletedijah: they have only just gone up in the last few weeks - but we are told it is NOTHING to do with the APEC meeting!
ReplyDeleteMArie: it's always been convention in Australia that seasons start on the first of months : September, Spring; Dec - summer; March - autumn; June - winter
It fits.
Wow, this is really odd. I thought this was the kind of equipment you'd find in communist dictatorships... (I know, I'm being the devil's advocate!)
ReplyDeleteThis is so scary Sally - what the hell is this rubbish all about. I reckon take it all down and let them have a go at him!!!
ReplyDeleteMarie - I fell about laughing at your comment - you are a real card!!!!
But maybe they will play music to soothe the savage beast over the loud speakers! seriously.....safety is safety I guess....nice shot.-
ReplyDeleteOh, Sally, sally, Sally. The chattering classes' inability to understand simple concepts such as "police state" (sic) confirms my worst fears about the damage our education industry is doing to its victims.
ReplyDeleteSadly, evolution doesn't seem to have worked out too well. The cognitive dissonance which once played such a useful role in our species' early survival, now plays havoc with the Tooth Fairy Brigade's well-intentioned interpretations of what's happening around us.
Thank God hemlock's no longer fashionable, or there'd be even fewer willing to risk suggesting that defining our terms [as opposed to simply deciding what conclusions 'should' be?] is the most appropriate way to approach all political discussion.