"Every move you make...I'll be watching you." Sting

by read good books 20 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  read good books

  More proof Big Brother really is watching... ... Camera & Mic Found Inside Digital TV Box

  Reason for forced digital switchover in US and UK: Government and industry watching us to build profiles, launch invasive advertising

  Paul Joseph Watson
  Prison Planet.com
  Wednesday, February 18, 2009

  A popular video circulating on You Tube shows the discovery of a spy camera and a microphone hidden inside a digital TV converter box. Such devices are part of a government and industry surveillance program that is undoubtedly connected to the forced digital TV switchover being rolled out in the UK and US.

  “I could not believe my eyes,” states the blurb accompanying the video clip, “I have a friend who is kind of a conspiracy theorist. He was trying to convince me that many of the digital TV convert boxes that are coming out have microphones and cameras built into them. Knowing a bit about electronics I bought one of these devices opened it up fully intending on proving him wrong. To my surprise he was right. This device has both a miniature camera lens and what looks like a microphone. I was so shocked I took pictures and video. Please send this out to everyone you know who is using one of these devices.”

  The camera and microphone were hidden inside a MAGNAVOX TB110MW9 Digital to Analog Converter box.

  Watch the clip below.

  The need to mandate a mass roll out of such hidden surveillance devices is undoubtedly one of the reasons that governments in both the UK and the US, as well as eventually the entire planet, are overseeing a forced switchover to digital TV and killing traditional analogue broadcasts. The vast majority of TV’s require a digital decoder box to receive digital TV transmissions.

  By installing covert spy devices and hidden microphones inside our all but mandatory digital boxes, the government and whatever corporate entities get a slice of the pie, have direct access to our living rooms. This is the ultimate Big Brother scenario whereby the majority of Americans and Europeans will have Orwellian telescreens watching their every move.

  Many will dismiss such claims as conspiracy fodder, but the fact is that Americans have been spied on for decades, previously under the Echelon program and more recently as part of the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

  As former National Security Agency analyst Russell Tice recently revealed, “The National Security Agency had access to all Americans’ communications — faxes, phone calls, and their computer communications,” Tice claimed. “It didn’t matter whether you were in Kansas, in the middle of the country, and you never made foreign communications at all. They monitored all communications.”

  (ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)

  

  As we highlighted three years ago, private industry and eventually government is planning to use microphones in the computers of an estimated 150 million-plus Internet active Americans, as well as similar devices installed inside digital TV boxes, to spy on their lifestyle choices and build psychological profiles which will be used for surveillance and minority report style invasive advertising and data mining.

  Digital cable TV boxes, such as Scientific Atlanta, have had secret in-built microphones inside them since their inception in the late 1990’s and these originally dormant devices were planned to be activated when the invasive advertising revolution was being rolled out, a watershed that is quickly becoming a reality.

  The advent of digital video recording devices such as TiVo (Sky Plus in the UK) introduced the creation of psychological algorithm profiles - databases on what programs you watched, how long you watched them for, and which adverts you liked or didn’t like. This information was retained by TiVo and sold to the highest bidders - an example being Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction during the 2003 Super Bowl half-time show; TiVo were able to compile lists of how many people had rewound the clip and how many times they had replayed it.

  In 2006, Google announced that they would use in-built computer microphones to listen in on user’s background noise, be it television, music or radio - and then direct advertising at them based on their preferences.

  In March last year, Comcast announced that they were “experimenting with different camera technologies built into devices so it can know who’s in your living room.”

  The cameras would use body-form recognition to confirm who was in the room and then tailor program recommendations, as well as commercials, to target that member of the family.

  The video below covers the issue of secret cameras installed inside digital TV boxes and their relation to the forced digital switchover. A further video explores other motives behind the digital switchover.
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  keyser soze

  Damn, I can't smoke pot in front of the television anymore.
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  sir82

  Umm, wouldn't cameras in converter boxes only work for the 6% or so of the US population that actually need a converter box?

  The vast majority of Americans either have dish, cable, or a compatible TV already - and so wouldn't buy a converter box. The only people who would actually buy them are technophobe geriatrics and hillbillies.

  Wait - I've got it - the government spies are really really interested in watching 98 year old women fall asleep in front of re-runs of "Murder She Wrote".
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  cameo-d

  Hello Goodread.

  I posted the video earlier. I think many are quick to "pooh-pooh" the very idea that such a thing exists.

  I don't know why.

  That don't believe that Xe will be silently coming for the ex's and church drop outs either.
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  Leolaia

  I wonder why so many are so quick to uncritically believe a claim without seeing compelling evidence supporting it. I suppose it is because the claim reinforces a belief or position already held by the person. That is how hoaxes and fallacious claims are quickly adopted and disseminated.

  BTW, even at the bastion of error known as Prison Planet (where the pattern seems to be that if X is claimed, X is false), this "article" is being widely criticized by commentators as uncritically accepting an "obvious hoax" at face value without attempting to verify its claims. The erroneous character of the claims in the "article" is probably more easily discovered since electronic expertise is rather common.

  qbit Reply:
  February 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am

  Possible hoax

  Paul, I’d recommend you take this story down temporarily and do some of your own research before it spreads around. The camera is not connected to anything and is in a place that wouldl cause massive EM interference and likely disrupt the operation of a camera.

  storky Reply:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:58 am

  You guys are so gullible!

  Did you fall for the video showing cell phones that made corn kernels pop?

  How about the one with the surfers riding a wave made by a stick of dynamite tossed into the Thames?

  If your first reaction is to trust the veracity of a viral YouTube video, then you deserve to be swindled for all you’re worth.

  OldSchool Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 9:24 am

  Attn: foil hatters, this is quite obviously a hoax as no manufacturer would mount a component in such a fashion, nor are there any visible leads going to the PCB from the CCD device. I’m sure you will all dismiss me as some sort of lizard person or illuminati, but I beg you to use some rationality when vetting these claims.

  Dees Nutz Reply:
  February 18th, 2009 at 11:35 am

  Not to take sides or anything but I kinda agree with Old School’s skepticism. As an electronics technician, I have much experience with electrical components and I can say with certianty that from what the video shows there is no way to tell that these components are what the author claims they are without further testing of such components.

  OldSchool Reply:
  February 18th, 2009 at 11:59 am

  Indeed.

  It seems that many stories such as this are propogated due to ignorance of the technical issues involved, coupled with a tragic predisposition to paranoid delusion. It is quite apparent that the person who made this video really has little understanding of electronics and their function, the device he identifies as a “microphone” appears to be (again, the video is very blurry and I am sure this is no coincidence) a potentiometer with 3 leads. Being an electronics engineer myself, if I were to employ such nefarious techniques I would surely use a basic monaural mic which have 2 leads and look nothing like the blurry component pictured (that is assuming I can get it past the rest of the engineering department, or they are lizard people as well in collusion with me). And yes, it would be foolish to mount a CCD on a power transformer due to interference, not to mention the way that it is mounted would hardly be ideal for large scale manufacturing purposes.

  I can see how one with a predisposition to paranoia would draw the conclusion that mandating a conversion to digital broadcasting standards would somehow have treacherous undertones, due to the fact that these devices would end up in a large number of households. I assure you there are plenty of legitimate technical justifications such as freeing up more RF spectrum for other uses, as well as superior transmission distances and picture clarity.

  andy Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 9:44 am if there were camers or mics they would have to work as part of an internal feature. these set top boxes are a one way device. they do not broadcast any information only receive. the cost to manufacture this in would be prohibitive. only catv boxes woud be capable of such a feature.

  mofofo Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:14 am Hoax. Blurry footage, no shot or pics of circuitry leading into camera.
  Also, note when he removes the faceplate- there is a small window for the remote control sensor to “see”, BUT NONE FOR THE CAMERA.
  Also, as andy said above at 9:44 am - these are ONE-WAY devices, for receiving only. Show me the outward-bound transmission circuitry, in addition to clear images of the “camera” circuitry leading into the PCB.
  Any good engineer worth their salt would back up these claims with something a little better than blurry hand-held video fodder.
  It’s this sort of stuff that undermines the truth-seekers and gets us a Tinfoil Badge of DisHonor.

  JB in FL Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:20 am

  Prison Planet Editors… please remove this story. It is absolutely ridiculous and makes those that truly seek true principles and articles based on fact look like complete idiots.

  At the very least paint this article in the light it should be painted in, which is one of uncertainty. Or you could have done your homework as journalists and bought one yourselves before posting some nonsense from a youtube video that was clearly designed to be a hoax/spoof.

  No Rulz Reply:
  February 18th, 2009 at 11:15 am

  I have this same model converter box and just opened it up. THERE IS NO CAMERA OR MICROPHONE! The guy must have super glued something that looks like a camera to the existing circuitry. The “microphone” was just a resister. Please retract this story cause its making you look bad.

  ElectroPig™ Von FökkenGrüüven Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:39 am

  Well, I agree with the video critiques…while it was pretty blurry, the “microphone” looked more like a capacitor to me, and the “camera” might have been anything but, as I don’t recall seeing a window in front of the “camera” so if no light gets through, even it was, it’s effectiveness would be severely limited, to put it mildly.

  sambo Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:51 am

  Hey guys this is a Hoax.

  The camera is mounted on a transformer. You would get to much noise for the spy cam to function.

  Plus if you want the mic to to pick up audio, the front plate needs a little opening , or the audio is going to get muffled.

  For the box to transmit back to home base. it also need a modem to be installed as well.

  Jim Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:58 am

  Wow, this piece of disinformation - an obvious hoax - makes it to Prisonplanet.com’s Featured Stories?!?! AND a write up by none other than Paul Joseph Watson?!

  Time to find a different “truth” site, folks.

  JFK Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 10:59 am

  This is obviously a f*cking hoax. Can you guys check your sources before making a big article on a subject that has absolutely no evidence besides a shady Youtube video? Crap like this only discredits Prisonplanet and makes more people laugh at you when you use Alex Jones as a source.

  Mike Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 11:06 am

  OldSchool is right. For a group of people who consider themselves to be enlightened or simply able to see beyond the veil, I am shocked at how quickly you take a goddamn youtube video to be factual, verifiable documentation. The video is obviously a hoax, and the fact that people who read this site are willing to believe a random youtube video without investigating for themselves is much scarier than the video itself.
  If I duct tape a vhs camcorder to the ceiling fan in my bedroom and title the video “THIS WASN’T THERE WHEN I LEFT THIS MORNING” will you all believe that I am targeted by the CIA?

  Be discriminating!

  Bain Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 11:45 am

  PLEASE TAKE THIS FAKE STORY DOWN FOR THE SAKE OF INTEGRITY.

  Chericher Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 12:34 pm The significant thing about this hoax is that once it goes totally viral and everyone eventually learns it is untrue, everyone will remember the concept as a silly conspiracy theory.

  Tv Repair Man Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

  This is a hoax. Pull this before you look stupid.

  ‘Camera’ mounted on transformer - would never get a UL listing with that, period.

  ‘Camera’ mounted behind masked area of front cover - What? is it an x-ray camera? Ha!

  ‘Microphone’ is a potentiometer ( variable resistor) - NOT a microphone.

  Kevin D. Murray, CPP Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

  A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
  They should never have taught this guy (on the video) how to use a screwdriver.

  Some things to consider…
  • The video is not stable/focused/clear enough to positively identify the components.
  • The items vaguely look like an annunciator and a variable resistor.
  • There is no logical reason why the manufacturers (or government) would want to spy on the very few people who can’t afford to switch to a digital TV.
  • Converter technology does not lend itself to the re-transmission of covert audio/video.
  • Comcast and similar companies do not connect to these boxes. In fact, these are stand-alone units, not connected to the outside world.
  • There is no reason why (that I know of) for anyone to spy via a method as prone to discovery as this one.
  • If there were a reason to do this, “THEY” would have used much less obvious components.
  etc., etc., etc.

  File this: BUSTED
  Kevin D. Murray, CPP Mr. Clear Thought Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

  Shoddy and lazy reporting produced for the desired result of wanting to cause alarm in the public. Do not cover a ‘you tube’ clip for your source on this one. Do a proper study and buy one of each of the major brands out there and test for yourself. Also, the ‘findings’ are hardly convincing at all. This piece is on par with junior high gossip. Please learn what actual journalism is and investigate.

  Dees Nutz Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 1:05 pm

  I agree With Kevin D. Murray,

  This guy is an idiot and not even qualified to operate a screwdriver if he thinks a variable resistor is a microphone!

  Go to college numnuts!

  Phil Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 1:27 pm

  Fake - no way would a camera pasted onto the transformer work - Magnetic interference. The plug is the type you’d find on a pinhole camera purchased online - not hardwired into a device.

  Take it down - it makes us look bad.

  …and that mic looks like a simple diode to me - most device mic’s are canister shaped - like a capacitor but smaller and usually black.

  ppforumguy Says:
  February 18th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

  This is a hoax. Confirmed. Check the Prisonplanet.tv forums under General Discussion. Sorry but it should be corrected. This is obviously dis-info.
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  Finally-Free

  That's nothing! What about GPS capabilities in cell phones??? The government can find out where you are at any time. Not only that, but since many of these phones can take pictures and video the government can even look at your teeth while you're talking and tell whether or not you brushed after your last meal!

  Scary stuff!

  W
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  read good books

  Post 1941 of 1942 Since 7/30/2008	Hello Goodread. I posted the video earlier. I think many are quick to "pooh-pooh" the very idea that such a thing exists. I don't know why. That don't believe that Xe will be silently coming for the ex's and church drop outs either. -Sorry Cameo-d I missed that post. RGB
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  New light for you

  OK. this is the idea. I lead a pretty boring life. I take care of kids.. make dinner, do laundry..

  MAYBE i'll be crazy once in a while and watch porn... but WHO cares what i do? and if they watch.. more power to 'em. Most likely... i'm guessing NOONE CARES. If someone is making an evil plot to take over the world, i honestly dont mind if they can catch them quicker. Violate my rights if it will keep me safer. I really am ok with that.
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  neverendingjourney

  I wonder why so many are so quick to uncritically believe a claim without seeing compelling evidence supporting it. I suppose it is because the claim reinforces a belief or position already held by the person. That is how hoaxes and fallacious claims are quickly adopted and disseminated.

  You may be too gracious to point this out, but another reason why some people accept such wild statements without much proof is because it plays into the needs of the have-nots of society to feel like they really have an upper hand on the haves. It's sort of the way we used to feel about the "world" when we were witnesses. We would say something like, "Those poor fools out in the world with their fancy degrees and social positions think they have everything figured out. Little do they know that Jehovah selected us lowly ones from the world to discover the real truth." We didn't feel the need to actually work hard, go to school, and make a name for ourselves. We didn't need to do that. We had a "true" understanding of the world because we were somehow lucky enough, or humble enough, to have simply been given the answers to all of life's great mysteries.

  In a similar fashion, conspiracy enthusiasts believe they've somehow come across "secret" knowledge that the rest of the world doesn't have. The people who are actually talented and have worked hard (e.g., scientists, historians, archaeologists, professors) don't have a "true" understanding of how the world really works, and they're too haughty to see the real truth. They don't know the truth about [insert conspiracy theory of choice]...
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  read good books

  .

  [In a similar fashion, conspiracy enthusiasts believe they've somehow come across "secret" knowledge that the rest of the world doesn't have. The people who are actually talented and have worked hard (e.g., scientists, historians, archaeologists, professors) don't have a "true" understanding of how the world really works, and they're too haughty to see the real truth. They don't know the truth about [insert conspiracy theory of choice]...

  Well how nice of you ending journey, assuming that we Alex Jones listeners don't have degrees or professions and don't work hard that is. However Alex does have a host of people on his show who are scientists, historians, archaeologist, professors, and I'll add economists and politicians, doctors, etc. who agree with him.