Smile or flip them the bird. You're being watched more and more.

[Contrary1]

Public surveillance video mushrooms despite lack of evidence it works

"After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, local governments across the country set aside concerns over privacy and installed surveillance cameras in public streets and plazas.

Now — even after a damning report by the head of London’s extensive surveillance network and with little evidence that the systems work — police in many cities are trying to add thousands more cameras to their networks.

“‘Cameras Everywhere’ continues to be the best description of the trend in the video surveillance market,” security market analysts J.P. Freeman Co. said in a report in 2006 that estimated that a quarter of major U.S. cities were investing in the technology.

Two years later, the trend shows no sign of slowing. Officials in many cities are eager to take advantage of money from state and federal security agencies to install the cameras on street corners and intersections, and in cities that already have dozens of cameras, officials are seeking real-time access to thousands more in schools, transit facilities and private businesses..."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25355673/

[LaurenG]

1. Yeah there is no privacy anymore.

Being able to see through walls was something that only certain superheroes have ever been able to do, and it's something that many people have dreamt about, mostly for perverted reasons. Well, mortal crime fighters and perverts, I have good news for you. The technology to allow you to see through walls is here.

The Lexid cam takes its cue from how lobsters see by "beaming X-rays, then focusing on the reflection (rather than refraction) of objects." This allows it to see through materials such as wood, concrete, steel, and, presumably, bathroom walls. It'll go on sale to people at places like the Department of Homeland Security first, then presumably to perverts eventually.

http://dvice.com/archives/2007/12/lexid_cam_allow.php