I told you yesterday that 300,000 cameras are watching every move Olympics attendees make. Today, the Wall Street Journal reported that nearly all of Beijing's 70,000 TAXIS ARE BUGGED WITH MICROPHONES, which are controlled and monitored not by the driver, but by central government authorities. The U.S. State Department says that hotel rooms, homes and offices are bugged, too.
1:29 PM * PERMALINK * 6 comments
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Comments:
This is only the beginning.... and it will soon be here. We are sheep... we need to be controlled-- just ask the government. I am sad for my grandchildren.
The microphones started on taxis in Beijing many years ago, and they do connect to police patrol command stations - but not as a means to monitor passenger conversation but as a safety insurance for the 1000s of taxi drivers' lives.
There was a time when taxi drivers become robbery's favorite target and each year some 10s of drivers were injured or killed.
So remote mic started being installed on taxis, which is actually controlled by the driver to quitely inform cops, when some suspicious passengers should come onboard.
IF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT DO WANNA HEAR WHAT YOU TALK ONBOARD, they shouldn't rely on such ancient equipment easily recognized by morans, right? Tens of spy mics can be easily embedded in a cab to catch your each and every breath, IF ANYONE DO CARE ABOUT IT!
Prejudice is the child of ignorance.
### microphones started on taxis in Beijing many years ago ###
They began installing them three years ago in preparation for the Olympics. Read the article.
### remote mic started being installed on taxis, which is actually controlled by the driver to quitely inform cops ###
According to the company that makes the systems: "whereas the devices in other countries can only record images, those devices in Beijing taxis can be remotely activated without the driver's knowledge to eavesdrop on passengers." Read the article.
### Prejudice is the child of ignorance ###
And ignorance is the child of nationalism.
By crushing opposition parties, the free press and all opposition, the Beijing government is answerable to no one.
Why do you believe them? And why do you defend them?
Mike Elgan
@Mike:
#### They began installing them three years ago in preparation for the Olympics. Read the article. ####
I saw the 1st mics with my own bare eyes 3+ years before anyone knew Beijing is to hold the Olympics. I talked to more than a dozen taxi drivers who get their asses saved because of the mic. READ MY WORDS!
#### According to the company that makes the systems: "whereas the devices in other countries can only record images, those devices in Beijing taxis can be remotely activated without the driver's knowledge to eavesdrop on passengers." Read the article. ####
That's what a mic does, as everyone can tell. And it's installed within easy sight, not hidden under passenger ass. And according to all mobile phone makers, your phone can be remotely turned on to eavesdrop on you without your notice AFTER you power it off, unless you pull out the battery. So what would you do? Drop your mobile and switch to fixed line? Ever heard about ECHELON? READ it first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON
#### And ignorance is the child of nationalism.
By crushing opposition parties, the free press and all opposition, the Beijing government is answerable to no one.
Why do you believe them? And why do you defend them? ####
What made you think I'm a hard-ass nationalist? Prejudice?
Believe in every word from the press? Pity you: http://a.viary.com/bizblog/posts/the-death-of-news-credibility
After decades of SEMMINGLY UNIMAGINABLY MISERABLE life under the ruling of a government answerable to no one, I still have access to info in many languages besides English, and from many sources besides WSJ, including those shut off by Beijing government. I can still see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears and think with my own brain, while congratulations that you seem to have an almighty government answerable-to-everyone who can do that for you :P
I am no pro-communism, I'm just anti-idiot and working hard towards a better planet: http://www.storyofstuff.com/
### After decades of SEMMINGLY UNIMAGINABLY MISERABLE life under the ruling of a government answerable to no one, I still have access to info in many languages besides English, and from many sources besides WSJ, including those shut off by Beijing government. I can still see with my own eyes, hear with my own ears and think with my own brain, while congratulations that you seem to have an almighty government answerable-to-everyone who can do that for you ###
I'm not clear on what you're saying here. Are you saying that a country ruled by a government like China's, which bans real opposition political parties and shuts down overly critical media enables citizens to think their own thoughts, but governments like those in the U.S., Canada, Western Europe and elsewhere where the government includes opposition political parties and cannot control the media somehow thinks citizens' thoughts for them?
Is that what you're saying?
Mike
@Mike 2:
No need to generalize everything to theoretical level comparison, pointless.
I'm talking about myself, still able to reach and analyze lots different sources of info before drawing any conclusion. But I doubt if you could.
First of all, surveillance cameras are becoming the norm: http://younghee.com/2008/03/27/surveillance-techniques/
Do a little math for yourself about the so astonishing 300,000 cameras:
Every major roads, crossroads and toll gates in the city is equipped with multiple cameras to monitor traffic -- that shall count for 10,000 at least
Every ATM is equipped with a camera with seeming reasons needless to explain -- that shall count for at least another 10,000, not much for a city with more than 10 mil people (1 per 1000)
Every decent hotel is equipped with surveillance cameras at the entrance and on every floor -- another 10,000, at least
Every major office buildings should have that too - - another 100,000
Every elevator -- another 100,000
...
Anything surprising in the end?
And given the urban area size of Beijing, around 300 square kms, divide that by 300,000, and you get each camera responsible for 1000 square meters (10,000+ square feet) on average - so frightening?
Or ask yourself a little question instead: How should they process all those data streaming in from everywhere?
Through labor? At least 100,000 hands are required to cover all those mic and cams you mentioned with 2 shifts, and count in those in the field, you get at least 1 million, which means 1/10 of the population are in the security forces - do you believe it?
Or maybe technology can help? Most cabs run all day long with 2 - 3 shifts each, so 70,000 cabs should generate more than 1.6 mil hrs of audio a day, 600+ mil hrs per year, which means 17+ perabytes of data at a mere 32KB bit rate. And keep in mind that's for the cabs only, since there are so many cams and mics, you should multiply that by 1000 at least, and you'll get some 20,000 perabytes per year! Put all the data on 1TB/$100 low end disks, the annual budget required should be 2 billion USD, for the storage for Beijing alone! Let alone the processors and hands.
And as I reminded, if the government do wanna hear your whispers on cab, they should try something more cutting edge, rather than those ancient equipment easily spotted. Since they still rely on ancient stuff, they are either too stupid to be able to leverage modern tech to process the huge amount of data, or they're just bluffing at most!
Either case, the credibility of the origin of the report is in great question! And I'd never credit those who repeat or quote without questioning as thoughtful minds.
Bottom Line: do you prefer those hundreds of VIPs from all over the world rush into a city without any security measures?
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