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.

http://rt.com/news/big-brother-street-lamps-286/

What the $%^&!?

More and informed and safer? ****, that would just make me paranoid, and I've never even done anything illegal.

I was talking to someone I know on JTV about this, and he said he doesn't mind. He doesn't do anything illegal, so he's not worried.

That's the problem with things like these. They seem innocuous at first, but they're really just setting the tone for what will more than likely come.

We're such pushovers right now, and it's driving me crazy.

More and informed and safer? ****, that would just make me paranoid, and I've never even done anything illegal.

My exact reaction when reading this...

This is a complete crock. Makes me think of Minority Report with all the monitoring and ads blurting out your name as you walk by. Scary start is what it is. More freedoms lost to fear and ignorance.

We have a few "crime cameras" in new orleans. They're posted on the more notorious streets to try and catch criminals in the act (see: murder,etc)

They have YET to work.