Big Brother Really Is Watching Us All

siddesu writes "The BBC has a nice high-level overview of some technologies for surveillance developed in the US and the UK. 'The US and UK governments are developing increasingly sophisticated gadgets to keep individuals under their surveillance. When it comes to technology, the US is determined to stay ahead of the game ... But it [a through-the wall sensing device in development] will also show whether someone inside a house is looking to harm you, because if they are, their heart rate will be raised. And 10 years from now, the technology will be much smarter. We'll scan a person with one of these things and tell what they're actually thinking.'"

Re:Ineffective

[Cassius Corodes]

Or use drugs to achieve that effect. (They are already using amphetamines to lower the number of people who chicken out).

Re:Revolting against over-surveilance

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean that eventually there are going to be rogue groups going around and destroying government surveilance equipment?

Already on that

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=speed+cameras+destroyed [google.co.uk]

Re:NOT BS.

[Peyna]

Kyllo v. U.S. [cornell.edu] is probably what you're looking for. The legal standard has fluctuated a bit in recent years, but right now the Court is sticking with "general public use," for determining whether a particular type of technology constitutes a search.

which is why I use

[talledega500]

http://www.mysecureisp.com/ [mysecureisp.com]

Re:They can do this now, sort of-Physics.

[vix86]

We can detect magnetic field changes of neurons, its called MEG [wikipedia.org]. The only problem is that you have to have a room thats shielded to block out the Earth's magnetic field, and then you need a very sensetive magnetic sensor that costs millions of dollars, placed next to the persons head.

Re:Where do they get their numbers?

[xkr]

Here is your reference. Its a Harris Poll. Twist the numbers around a bit, and one can come up with "75%."

http://seclists.org/politech/2003/Mar/0034.html [seclists.org]

Re:This is the world we live in

[Hal_Porter]

Well the US has been involved in a greater number of wars than everyone else. And worse, the US military has relied on massive air strikes - especially in the period from the end of WWII which was arguably won by carpet bombing to the end of Vietnam which was arguably forfeited because the US public disagreed it. And while I think for most of that period the US government has been more squeamish about collateral damage than its opponents purely because of reliance of strategic air power it has probably been a more visible civillian kiler. Not that its opponents had more qualms about killing civillians on purpose on did it less often by mistake, quite the reverse [wikipedia.org]. They wouldn't normally have allowed journalists to film it though, so it doesn't enter the popular imagination in the way that poor Phan Thi Kim Phuc [wikipedia.org] did.

But if you just look at pictures of Trang Bang and don't read the backstory it does seem as if the US is particularly guilty. And I think totalitarian enemies of the US exploit this gut reaction for their own purposes. Incidentally Kim Phuc, the girl in the photo, later criticized the Vietnamese government for exploiting it after she defected to Canada. She also forgave the South Vietnamese pilot who dropped the bomb and the American advisers who supplied the wrong coordinates.

Re:Ineffective

[heinousjay]

Nothing is hotter than remaining calm and emotionless during sex

Re:This is the world we live in

[Anonymous Coward]

Well the US has been involved in a greater number of wars than everyone else.

Dude... Go read a history book.

The U.S.A. was founded less than 250 years ago
Many European States have been around for more than 1,000 years.
China has had Dynastic rulers for more than 4,000 years.

I could go on, but honestly, once your ignorance has been dealt with, do you really still think "the US has been involved in a greater number of wars than everyone else"?

This post brought to you by the captcha obstacle

Re:Meanwhile in Massachusetts

[DavidTC]

Except that that plan is merely a proposal by a non-partisan body, one that's chaired by a Republican, and has no legislative support.

Why are Republicans always projecting their faults onto everyone else?

Re:Possible genetic disorder

[Anonymous Coward]

Inability to feel pain is usually the result of a genetic disorder. Start here:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/01/27/rare.conditions/index.html [cnn.com]

or here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002079182_nopain02.html [nwsource.com]

Well, in other words, just google...:-)