Big Brother Does More Than Watch

[The Straight Story]

Big Brother Does More Than Watch

Dutch authorities adapted surveillance cameras in Groningen and Rotterdam, as well as on trains and in local stations, to listen for voices raised in anger. Microphones attached to the cameras filter sounds to software that can detect voices considered aggressive in tone. "Aggressive people tend to tense their larynx, and the sound made by their vocal cords is distorted," said Peter van Hengel of Sound Intelligence, the division of the University of Groningen that developed the system.

Britain's first talking closed-circuit television cameras have been installed to combat anti-social behavior by publicly berating and shaming offenders. According to the Daily Mail, the system, which was introduced in Middlesbrough by Mayor Ray Mallon, allows control-room operators to monitor activity in the city center through seven surveillance cameras fitted with loudspeakers and warn people who behave inappropriately, from littering to brawling. "Most people are so ashamed and embarrassed at being caught, they quickly slink off without further trouble," said Jack Bonner, who manages the system. "We always make the requests polite, and if the offender obeys, the operator adds 'thank you.' We think that's a nice finishing touch."

The FBI has developed a new form of electronic surveillance, which remotely activates a mobile telephone's microphone and uses it to eavesdrop on nearby conversations. The technique, called a "roving bug," was approved by the Justice Department for use in criminal investigations. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan upheld its legality, noting that the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off." Nextel and Samsung handsets and the Motorola Razr are especially vulnerable to the technique, according to counter-surveillance consultant James Atkinson, who told CNET News that the only practical defense against roving bugs is to remove the batteries from cell phones when they aren't in use.

http://www.bwcitypaper.com/1editorialbody.lasso?-token.folder=2007-03-08&-token.story=187874.112112&-token.subpub=

[Skidmore]

1. Sounds like an episode of "The Prisoner."

[AuntPatsy]

2. No big surprise, thankfully some are trying to limit this behavior

that has been going on in this country for far far too long...

[napi21]

3. BOY! Am I glad they don't have one of those mics near me when

Shrub comes on the TV! IF they think they've heard an agressive tnoe in a voice...they ain't heard nothin yet! Fortunately, this is usually in my LR and the only ones who hear me are my dogs!

[WiseButAngrySara]

5. LOL! Exactly the same here. ...n/t

[southerncrone]

4. So, that's why those particular brands of cell phones are used by

the wireless phone carriers as special cheap deals. Need to get as many out in the public as possible.

My family has these brands, so does that make us accomplices in the FBI's eavesdropping?

I hate cell phones! This just gives me more reason to hate them!

They have a whole generation of young people who are already addicted to them to use as their spies!

:rant: