‘Big brother’ lamp posts can hear, see and bark ‘Obey!’ at you

[The Lawspeaker]

‘Big brother’ lamp posts can hear, see and bark ‘Obey!’ at you

America welcomes a new brand of smart street lightning systems: energy-efficient, long-lasting, complete with LED screens to show ads. They can also spy on citizens in a way George Orwell would not have imagined in his worst nightmare.

With a price tag of $3,000+ apiece, according to an ABC report, the street lights are now being rolled out in Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh, and may soon mushroom all across the country.

Part of the Intellistreets systems made by the company Illuminating Concepts, they have a number of “homeland security applications” attached.

Each has a microprocessor “essentially similar to an iPhone,” capable of wireless communication. Each can capture images and count people for the police through a digital camera, record conversations of passers-by and even give voice commands thanks to a built-in speaker.

Ron Harwood, president and founder of Illuminating Concepts, says he eyed the creation of such a system after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. He is “working with Homeland Security” to deliver his dream of making people “more informed and safer.”

“The system represents Big Brother on steroids,” commented the website InfoWars.com, which sees Intellistreets as a major threat to privacy.

Source: Russia Today (15 May, 2012)

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[~Elizabeth~]

There is something like this where I live.

[The Lawspeaker]

There is something like this where I live.

That's a scary thought.

[Siberyak]

police state

[~Elizabeth~]

I don't mind it. I know the police are watching.
Now there is a sign that says 24/7 video & audio surveillance.

[Siberyak]

I don't mind it. I know the police are watching.
Now there is a sign that says 24/7 video & audio surveillance.

do you live in a bad area?

[SilverKnight]

This is just the beginning...

[~Elizabeth~]

And there are lampposts or posts at one intersection that says, from a speaker, "wait!". It's connected to the traffic signal somehow.
And if you look up you can see security cameras there, the kind they have in stores. I noticed the cameras way up high one day when I was drinking from my water bottle waiting for the light to change so I could walk across.

Another crosswalk has some sort of lamppost with a round mirrored panel that I think is a hidden camera or motion sensor, but I'm not sure.