Big brother is taking my picture.

Say "cheeeeseee!"

I gotta hand it to the government, they're getting better and better at getting me on film. Before it was a guy in a car or a black and white photo from space, but now they've got some very beautiful high resolution pics without anyone having to be physically behind the camera. So you may say, "Saint, what on earth are you babbling on about?" Well, I could tell you but I think it's a whole lot more fun to show you.

Play with this:

maps.google.com... and click on 'satellite' on the right. Type in any address and bingo! Color pics that you can really zoom up on. What's interesting is what happens when you type in the white house's addy's.

I recently had my arse pictured by a:


intersection. I didn't even know I ran it until I got a letter in the mail with not 1, nor 2, but 3 color photos! One looked like this:



That's me and my biker gang. You might have heard of us? "Heaven's Angels". Just kidding , I was in a car. Then a pair of pics like this:



I've also noticed the upcropping of cameras in lots o' places on public property I never thought I would. There's one on the side of a school (which doesn't look like it's pointed at the school, rather the side-walk). Another sitting on a weather-station looking thing at a random intersection. One while I'm at the beach:

www.bethanycam.com...

Oh and don't get me started about the eyes in the sky at work. Yeah, I'm being watched. I guess it's because I'm a redlight runnin', sidewalk strollin', weather curious, workin', and sometimes beach goin' criminal


[edit on 21-4-2005 by saint4God]

When you employ the use of "government", your implying what: State or Federal government?

Last I heard, this is a state initiative, not a federal.




seekerof

Yeah, I looked at the aerial pics from google. Low grade images in my opinion. Anyone in my state can download statewide coverage better than that if you have the software to use it. I update highway centerline files for my local couties and the state transportation cabinet. I used higher resolution to overlay newly mapped roads and "tweak" those which may not have been fully captured. Its no big deal. Sometimes we go around a curve that doesn't get captured because of trees or mountains. These images help me edit in the curve. I use ESRI's ArcGIS workstationbut there are others. They make a free viewer called Arc Explorer that you can download from esri.com and overlay any layer on these aerial photos or DOQQs (digital ortho-photo quarter quadrangles) as they are called. You just cannot edit them.

As for cameras at intersections, I guess we are just looking at technology being used to better enforce traffic laws and monitor for accidents. I have been in the "war room" of my state's highway department and not only do they monitor still cameras, but live video feeds of every major bridge and tunnel as every local EMS and Law enforcement agency as well. Its like a wall of screens and they had it all up and cooking for my tour but I just knew once we left, they went back to their Xbox and soap opera.

Trying to use this Google thing to find area 51, no luck so far

Chicago has them too. I pass dozens of them every day on my way to school.

They had them here in one area of Dallas, but they were declared illegal. We still have them at the toll roads, though, to catch people who run through the booths without paying.

Originally posted by Seekerof
When you employ the use of "government", your implying what: State or Federal government?

Last I heard, this is a state initiative, not a federal.

seekerof

I think this would be a topic unto itself. I think a case can be made that at times they work together and others they do not. Here's what I mean.

Operation Falcon:

Operation FALCON is an excellent example of President Bush’s direction and the Justice Department’s dedication to deal both with the terrorist threat and traditional violent crime,” said Attorney General Gonzales. “This joint effort shows the commitment of our federal, state, and local partners to make our neighborhoods safer, and it has led to the highest number of arrests ever recorded for a single initiative of its kind. We will use all of our Nation’s law enforcement resources to serve the people, to pursue justice, and to make our streets and Nation safer.”

“This operation, which produced the largest number of arrests ever recorded during a single initiative, would not have been possible without the cooperation of our law enforcement partners on the federal, state, and local levels,” said Director Reyna. “Working together, we were able to take more than 10,000 fugitives off the streets, making our communities safer for everyone.”
(source: www.usmarshals.gov... )

I don't think this is anything new, I just think we're getting better at it. I'm grateful for this operation, just wondering what they're doing looking at me. There are lots of easier ways to keep watch of me I think. In fact, I'm fairly certainly they do in ways I don't realize. Is it good? Yes....so far.

Now, ask "Who's responsibility is immigration?" and you'll get the state pointing at the fed, and the fed pointing at the state:

"Please call your Senators and ask them to oppose S.A. 3871:

The enforcement of federal civil immigration laws is a federal responsibility. This amendment represents an unacceptable shift in both responsibility and cost from the federal government to state governments."
www.ncsl.org...

So is the government "united we stand" or "divided, we the republic"? Well, the answer is in the:



Not that I blame anyone really. Capitalism is what we proudly built as our foundation. There is only one thing I can think of that is more important to the Federal Government than the picture above and that is control. If you think I'm kidding, check the price tag on one of these babies:



I'm feeling very pictorial today, apologies if it gets annoying. So, as I was yapping...er...saying. Control control control. If the state has information the FBI, CIA or any-bloody-else in the District of Amerigo Vespucci wants to have. The state gets lots of those green pieces of paper for this info upon request. You and I have a number. Now, there is more than one but I can assure you, you're life fits onto one page according to a national database and a .doc file is sub-atomic in storage space and cost.

Is any of this bad? Well, not really in my opinion...but you're asking me, who's never been falsely accused or jailed for something I didn't do.

Here's a cut & paste from truth-justice.org...
________________________________________________________________________
Scenario:

We had not heard anything from my wife's aged, invalid mother for about 36 hours; we usually talked to her every day like clock work to find out how she was feeling and if she needed anything. Alarmed at her failure to call us, my wife and I went to my mother-in-law's apartment and found her dead on the floor in a pool of blood. My wife and I were in a state of shock and disbelief at finding our loved one dead, possibly due to a fall or even by violence.

After I had phoned the police to report the death of my mother-in-law, police homicide investigators arrived and were everywhere in our apartment collecting evidence. They immediately separated my wife and me and began independent interrogations regarding the lifeless body on the floor. At one point, investigators informed me that my wife's and my accounts of discovering my mother-in-law's body did not match.

It appeared that the homicide investigators did not believe our accounts surrounding who discovered my mother-in-law's body first. They indicated that they had a problem with the results of our interrogations and they would have to go through the whole interrogation again. They were quite aggressive and it appeared they were trying to link us to her death even though they themselves had not determined if the death was due to a fall or was by violence. Two interrogations later we were numb. Our shock of finding our loved one was overwhelming, but it was now turning into fear because it was becoming more and more evident that the investigators were attempting to link us to my mother-in-law's death.

At 49 years of age and after living a happy life focused around God and family, I had never been the brunt of a criminal investigation. I was scared to death, and could only imagine that my wife who was being interrogated in the next room had the same feelings.

It was at this time that I began to remember the newspaper and television stories of people being accused, tried, convicted, and incarcerated for crimes that they did not commit. Some were sentenced to 25 years, others 50 years, others for life, and still others to Death Row. Where was this terrible event going to lead us? I was petrified to believe that we could be caught up in a problem, a problem from which we might not be able to extract ourselves. We were people of modest means and had no money set aside to hire a highly experienced, well-known defense team. What were we to do? How far was this going to go? Would we be taken to jail and indicted for murder? How could this happen?

Note: Many, many people experience the same real-life situation described above. Some are able to clear themselves; yet, others are processed through the judicial system. Competent sources estimate that between 3% and 15% of the inmates in prisons across the USA, are innocent. This means that of the 2 million people incarcerated in America today, from 60,000 to 285,000 innocents are in prison. These numbers grow at the same ratio regarding over 5 million Americans who are under some form of control by the Corrections System outside the nation's prisons, e.g., parole, payment of fines, etc.
___________________________________________________________________________

Let me say that too, "Competent sources estimate that between 3% and 15% of the inmates in prisons across the USA, are innocent. This means that of the 2 million people incarcerated in America today, from 60,000 to 285,000 innocents are in prison." Now tell me each human life is not significant. This gets a total from me.

or a victim of "pick and choose" human rights:
web.amnesty.org...

They may have a different story. Eyes and ears open please! Take daily notice of change and be advised . I truly believe this is the best country in the world (that's an opinion, not a fact) and would like to keep it that way.

I'd like to hear of unexpected places people are being observed. No fits of paranoia, but rather interesting notes to heighten awareness.

Originally posted by skippytjc
Trying to use this Google thing to find area 51, no luck so far

just search for rachel, nv and scroll west a little bit

Originally posted by GibsonM111

Originally posted by skippytjc
Trying to use this Google thing to find area 51, no luck so far

just search for rachel, nv and scroll west a little bit

Now THAT is cool! There are these green circles that look like giant poker chips in the middle of the desert. Maybe aliens are giant poker players...which makes sense as to why they go to Nevada....

[edit on 21-4-2005 by saint4God]

If you look at the capitol building in DC, it's all blurred.

Originally posted by ug87
If you look at the capitol building in DC, it's all blurred.

Heh heh, reminds me of today's "Fox Trot" comic.

Jason : "Like if you zoom in on Washington , D.C. , Congress appears as a big, unfocused mess."
Paige : "Are you sure that's not just how it is?"

Jason : "Like if you zoom in on Washington , D.C. , Congress appears as a big, unfocused mess."
Paige : "Are you sure that's not just how it is?"

Ahahahahaha!

We've got cameras swarming everywhere here in KC too. Here on the Missouri side theyre usually just at very major intersections and highway offramps, but a hop skip away in Kansas theyre EVERYWHERE. Nearly every intersection with lights has them over there. Friggin Johnson County, Kansas.. 3rd richest county in the country... Nazi's I tell yah (dont even get my started on the authorities on the KS side... ack). They can't drive either.
Anyway... gotta remember that a lot of cameras are owned by things like local news stations, "CityCam" groups, etc... most are totally innocent. Most.

Originally posted by saint4God

Originally posted by GibsonM111

Originally posted by skippytjc
Trying to use this Google thing to find area 51, no luck so far

just search for rachel, nv and scroll west a little bit

Now THAT is cool! There are these green circles that look like giant poker chips in the middle of the desert. Maybe aliens are giant poker players...which makes sense as to why they go to Nevada....

[edit on 21-4-2005 by saint4God]

Those are signatures or irrigation systems. What you're seeing is the contrast of the wet soil on the dry soil. Don't be ashamed, I had no idea either until IntelGurl brought it up in another thread and I use DOQs daily. Its just that my region needs no irrigation for crops so I had never seen it before from the air. It does look strange and at first I thought it was a method for blocking out what was really there. But, upon closer inspection, once can actually see roads leading out into the fields.

Originally posted by astrocreep
Those are signatures or irrigation systems. What you're seeing is the contrast of the wet soil on the dry soil. Don't be ashamed, I had no idea either until IntelGurl brought it up in another thread and I use DOQs daily. Its just that my region needs no irrigation for crops so I had never seen it before from the air. It does look strange and at first I thought it was a method for blocking out what was really there. But, upon closer inspection, once can actually see roads leading out into the fields.

On second thought, they did look a bit too orderly to be anything the government built . Kidding guys, kidding...please don't take my social security away. Ooops, too late

I do like this country. I can razz the government all you want, yet it smiles gracefully as it does it's best to protect me.

[edit on 23-4-2005 by saint4God]

well, this is only related in a weird way.

I've been lucky enuf, to have 3 unique memories....one of which was a cpl of clues about the era [ time-frame ] of my death.

[ there would be surveillance cameras everywhere , and I would hear some sort of a weird vibration/harmonic noise , [ not an explosion ]]





that's all I can really tell you about it....sorry...

"Big Brother" has been taking our pictures for ages now. Anyone who is deemed to be of a subversive nature has been photographed. Proof of this is all over the net. I feel the main reason the govt. has been doing this is to get as many photos. in a fed. database for futher use down the road. These photos. hold a type of value for the fed. If they can identify everyone, they will have even more power.

Originally posted by FLYIN HIGH
"Big Brother" has been taking our pictures for ages now. Anyone who is deemed to be of a subversive nature has been photographed. Proof of this is all over the net. I feel the main reason the govt. has been doing this is to get as many photos. in a fed. database for futher use down the road. These photos. hold a type of value for the fed. If they can identify everyone, they will have even more power.

I know what you mean, but I did want to make mention that I'm in absolutely no way subversive. I'd walk around naked if it weren't illegal do to so. Nothing to hide here. Totally nothing.

Over in the uk, they are taking a different approach to things. We have a new 'speed camera' of which is 99% accurate in all weather conditions.

They are recognised by a tall blue coloured poles and a small aerial pole next to it. The system does not use instantaneous speed like the cameras we're all familiar with, instead mile. How? By reading your license plates and matching them up camera -to-camera. The license plates are stored and can/are/could be used by the police to verify your perticular where-a-bouts at a certain time.

This is a new system which has now entered service after successful trials on the M1 and M20 in the UK. SPEEDCHECK SVDD (Sureway Video Detection Device) is a system similar in concept to the GATSO, but with a new twist. SVDD deploys cameras at either end of a measured baseline, (up to 500 metres) to monitor vehicles 24 hours a day. Using machine vision, vehicle number plates are read, and the precise time of each observation recorded and as a vehicle passes the second camera, the number plate records are matched, and an average speed for the vehicle is calculated. If this is above the trigger speed, then the vehicle's identification is recorded along with it's speed.

When triggered, the detection technology used in these cameras automatically records the date, precise time, location and speed of the offending vehicle, along with a detailed image of the front of the vehicle, which clearly records the number plate, make, model, who is driving and colour of the vehicle.

Six reasons why these are a pain in the ass is:
1. It works 24 hours a day.
2. Needs no film!
3. Uses no flash!
4. Uses no radar!
5. It's been proven to be over 99% accurate in almost all weather
conditions.
6. It doesn't do spot-speed checking.

Because it's automated, the system is entirely self-sufficient. It's hooked up to the DVLA computers, and can automatically process the fines and send out notices in the post.

It's Big Brother. Don't believe for a moment that this technology will only be used to catch speeders. It can be used to keep track of where every single car in the country is at any given moment in time once the network of these things becomes broad enough.

They can deal with 60,000 tickets EVERY HOUR.

Does anyone else find this SCARY?

I am totally not kidding, it is soooo cool! High resolution too.

After you get your citation in the mail, go to www.viewyourticket.com... , put in your citation # and license plate number and you can watch a 5 second video of your car cruising through the red light. I wish I could show you! But...there's a lot of personal information like license number, location, and last time I had a dental filling.

What's that? You don't have a citation number? Well then go out there and run a red light ! Believe me, it's worth the $75.00.

[edit on 5-5-2005 by saint4God]

Big brother is watching me, and is pry board by now.