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gregorio
Too Damn Old
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Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes
#5313436 - 02/18/06 01:43 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2006/160206privatehomes.htm
And just when you thought you have heard it all:
Quote:
The Associated Press reports,
"HOUSTON Houston's police chief is suggesting putting surveillance cameras in apartment complexes, downtown streets and even private homes."
"Chief Harold Hurtt today said it's another way of combatting crime amid a shortage of officers.
Scott Henson with the American Civil Liberties Union calls Hurtt's proposal to require surveillance cameras as part of some building permits -- "radical and extreme."
In the meantime, Homeland Security grants are being used to blanket major cities and even small sleepy communities with arsenals of spy cameras.
All over the United States, Canada and Britain, surveillance camera systems are being installed on street corners, in public bathrooms, in residential neighborhoods, and even in parks and forests. We are asked to trust the government underlings who control them that they are working for our best interests as said underlings are caught using the cameras to spy on naked women in their homes.
In the UK, government programs encourage citizens to spy on their neighbors and report suspicious activity as part of a CCTV channel subscriber package.
Homeland Security funding is being utilized to fund this mass expansion of the surveillance state in the US as city and state officials clamor at the teat of Big Brother to milk the cash cow of the police state and win the contracts for installing more and more sophisticated spy cameras.
The government demands to know everything about our private lives and catalogue, file and index every aspect of our existence, yet government itself becomes more and more secret with each passing day as it engages in escalating criminal activities.
The agenda behind surveillance cameras is not simply to track the movements of certain individuals. There are not enough watchers to catalogue all the information. The cameras are about behavior control and creating an omnipresent atmosphere whereby the citizen consciously regulates his own behavior so as not to seem suspicious. The surveillance cameras are there to make a statement. We are the prison guards, you are the prisoners.
As George Orwell described it in 1984,
"The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard."
"There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized."
This is the prison without bars. This is the panopticon, a prison so constructed that the inspector can see each of the prisoners at all times, without being seen. This is a portrait of the accelerating movement by western governments to erect giant, powerful, all-pervading mass surveillance, tracking and control grids that will keep all populations firmly under the baleful and watchful gaze of Big Brother.
Edited by gregorio (02/18/06 01:48 PM)
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wilshire
free radical
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: gregorio]
#5313495 - 02/18/06 02:07 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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here is the AP article for anyone that wants it:
http://www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060215/APA/602151135
"I know a lot of people are concerned about Big Brother, but my response to that is, if you are not doing anything wrong, why should you worry about it?" Chief Harold Hurtt told reporters Wednesday at a regular briefing.
when people say that it makes me want to slap them.
Building permits should require malls and large apartment complexes to install surveillance cameras, Hurtt said. And if a homeowner requires repeated police response, it is reasonable to require camera surveillance of the property, he said.
this guy's off his rocker.
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gregorio
Too Damn Old
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: wilshire]
#5313505 - 02/18/06 02:11 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
wilshire said:
when people say that it makes me want to slap them.
You and me both. I am sick and tired of hearing that line.
And thanks for providing, shall we say, a more legitimate link.
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Phred
Fred's son
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: gregorio]
#5313607 - 02/18/06 03:01 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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The question to be asked is --
Who monitors these cameras?
If I lived in an apartment complex I wouldn't object in the slightest to the landlord installing surveillance cameras to cover the grounds, the parking garage, the lobby, maybe even the hallways. As a matter of fact, I'd prefer to live in an apartment building with these security measures than one without.
Same with shopping malls. In my opinion, any sizeable mall without such a surveillance system is negligent and not providing adequate service to the shops renting space from the mall.
I read the AP article. Nowhere does it mention or even imply that it would be the police monitoring all these cameras. That would be the responsibility of the apartment buildings owners or of the mall owners. If a burglary or whatever occurs and the cameras catch it on tape, the tape can be turned over to the police to assist in their investigation, and to the prosecutors when and if the perps are ever caught and brought to trial.
The fundamental principle to remember here is that the owner of any piece of private property (and apartment buildings and shopping malls and office towers are all private property) has every right to install such a surveillance system.
Phred
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wilshire
free radical
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: Phred]
#5313710 - 02/18/06 03:35 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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The fundamental principle to remember here is that the owner of any piece of private property (and apartment buildings and shopping malls and office towers are all private property) has every right to install such a surveillance system.
this guy is suggesting building codes be amended so as to violate their fundamental right not to.
those who claim not to believe in private property rights: take note of this one.
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Redstorm
Prince of Bugs
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: Phred]
#5313808 - 02/18/06 04:05 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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I have no problem with surveillance cameras as long as they are not actually within a citizen's domicile.
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Learyfan
It's the psychedelic movement!
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: Redstorm]
#5314291 - 02/18/06 06:54 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Redstorm said: I have no problem with surveillance cameras as long as they are not actually within a citizen's domicile.
I think government shoud install cameras in every room in every home. We could probably stop terrorist attacks. If you don't agree with me, then you hate America.
-------------------- -------------------------------- Mp3 of the month: Sons Of Adam - Feathered Fish
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SirTripAlot
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: Learyfan]
#5314548 - 02/18/06 08:39 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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Try living in Chicago.....they have cameras everywere. They actually have red, white, and blue police lights flashing over them, to let you know they are watching
-------------------- “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
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blaze2
The Witness
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: SirTripAlot]
#5314827 - 02/18/06 10:15 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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thats crazy tripsalot.
-------------------- "Religion without science is blind, Science without religion is lame." Albert Einstein "peace is not maintained through force it is acheived through intelligence." Albert Einstein "Those who desire to give up Freedom in order to gain Security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." Thomas Jefferson "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." --Thomas Jefferson
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beatnicknick
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: blaze2]
#5315372 - 02/19/06 12:58 AM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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They keep pushing this more and more, who knows, in fifteen years maybe we'll all be scared into having cameras operated by government underlings all over our homes! It wouldn't be too hard to do with how Americans are today, sacrifing privacy for safety at any chance(but without privacy from our government, how safe are we really? who should we fear? what are we turning into?)
-------------------- I don't think for myself. I think as though I'm explaining my thoughts to someone else. I'm concerned only for those listening.
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SirTripAlot
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: beatnicknick]
#5315404 - 02/19/06 01:10 AM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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-------------------- “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
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psilomonkey
Twisted brainwrong of a oneoff man mental
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: gregorio]
#5315519 - 02/19/06 02:28 AM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
gregorio said: http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/february2006/160206privatehomes.htm
In the UK, government programs encourage citizens to spy on their neighbors and report suspicious activity as part of a CCTV channel subscriber package.
This it bull. I don't know of any such thing, the closest would be having the front door camera in a block of flats available as a cable channel so people can check the front door with their TV.
While it is true that the UK has somewhat of an obsession with CCTV, in fact is is often quoted that there are more CCTV cameras in London than are in the entire United States, use of these cameras are regulated by Law (Data Protection Act 1998, previously Data Protection Act 1984 )
When setting up an CCTV system it is a legal requirement to ensure that the area covered is either private property you have consent for or public highway used a access the site.
Quote:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/documentUploads/CCTV%20Small%20User%20Checklist.pdf
CCTV Small User Checklist
* Cameras have been sited so that their images are clear enough to allow the police to use them to investigate a crime.
* Cameras have been positioned to avoid capturing the images of persons not visiting the premises.
* There are signs showing that a CCTV system is in operation visible to people visiting the premises and the controllers contact details are displayed on the sign where it is not obvious who is responsible for the system.
* The recorded images from this CCTV system are securely stored, where only a limited number of authorized persons may have access to them
* The recorded images will only be retained long enough for any incident to come to light (e.g. for a theft to be noticed).
* Recordings will only be made available to law enforcement agencies involved in the prevention and detection of crime, and no other third parties.
* The operating equipment is regularly checked to ensure that it is working properly (e.g. the recording media used is of an appropriate standard and that features on the equipment such as the date and time stamp are correctly set).
* The controller knows how to respond to requests from individuals for access to images relating to that individual. If unsure the controller knows to seek advice from the Information Commissioner as soon as such a request is made.
Police will often not pursue a case if they believe there is no realistic chance of a conviction. Good quality CCTV evidence that is admissible in court can go a long way.
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SirTripAlot
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Re: Houston's Police Chief Wants Surveillance Cameras Put In Private Homes [Re: psilomonkey]
#5316294 - 02/19/06 12:13 PM (18 years, 1 month ago) |
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-------------------- “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
Edited by SirTripAlot (02/19/06 12:14 PM)
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