---
Photos of Independence Hall:
http://www.mccullagh.org/cgi-bin/photosearch.cgi?name=independence+hall
Philadelphia police at 2000 GOP convention:
http://www.mccullagh.org/theme/gop-convention-protests.html
---
Date: Tue, 08 May 2001 12:28:22 -0400
To: declan_at_well.com
From: e cummings <bernies_at_netaxs.com>
Subject: more perverse national park police surveillance
declan,
a couple of years ago i noticed a new, high-power, remote controlled (pan,
tilt, zoom) video surveillance camera hanging in the bell tower of
independence hall here in philadelphia. it was a large Burle unit--like
those i remember seeing in the maximum-security federal prison i was held
in without bail in 1995 (for an offense the government later admitted in
writing involved "no victims.") this particular high-power video camera
has a huge lens and the ability to zoom in on the smallest details--like
newspaper text--far outside the confines of the small independence national
park area it points out towards.
the perversity of such a camera being installed in the bell tower of
independence hall--a historical building in which our founding fathers
signed our constitution and risked their lives to revolt against a
government that failed to respect its subjects' privacy--was hard to
ignore. from where liberty had once rung, now our federal government was
using sophisticated electronic surveillance technology to spy on its citizens.
i brought this ironic situation to the attention of a local newspaper
writer, gwen shaffer, who wrote a cover story about
it: http://www.citypaper.net/articles/122498/coverstory.shtml later that
week, some federal park police officers i spoke with were upset about the
public revelation of their new surveillance system, and claimed it would
impede the system's effectiveness at preventing crime (rape was the example
they gave.) when i asked them how effective a deterrent it could be if the
system remained a secret, they became indignant.
shortly thereafter, black netting was placed over the bell tower opening,
making the camera very difficult to see. then an identical camera was
added looking south.
-ed cummings
"CALEA's First Casualty"
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Received on May 08 2001
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