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June 29, 1998 - Alex Jones Show
25:42
Alex Jones interviews John Hurt TX DOT
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alex jones
13:19
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alex jones
And it is Mr. Hurt, the head public relations person for Central Texas.
This is ridiculous.
It's about...
He's a nice guy, but...
Just watch the whole thing, and we'll repeat some of the things he says for you.
unidentified
...the street from the Texas Department of Transportation.
alex jones
And we're fixing to go over there and talk to Mr. Hurt, their head person in public relations.
unidentified
We suspect that that is a camera pod.
alex jones
I've been telling everybody that those are what they plan to put cameras on because in other cities I've seen poles just like that with a question mark wire, a lightning rod, with cameras.
We're fixing to go over and find out right now.
Sir, what's your position, Mr. Hurt, here at the Department of Transportation?
unidentified
I'm the Public Affairs Officer.
alex jones
Alex Jones, nice to meet you.
unidentified
Nice to meet you.
alex jones
We're doing a story about Big Brother.
And we know that San Antonio and Dallas and Houston are putting up quite a few cameras.
Can you tell us exactly what the name of these systems are and where they're integrated, where the video monitors are, and exactly what it's for?
unidentified
Well, they go by different names.
San Antonio calls theirs TransGuide, and Houston calls theirs TransStar, and each city has a different name for their own particular setup.
It's called an Intelligent Transportation System, or ITS. And it uses a...
alex jones
Smart highways?
unidentified
Smart highways, yeah.
It uses an array of changeable message sign boards along with closed-circuit television cameras, sensors that are built into the road, all of which are monitored at a remote location to give traffic management people...
A clear picture of what's going on in the city as a whole at any given moment.
alex jones
So it's actually better than helicopters because you can just punch a button and see any area you wish.
unidentified
Right.
They actually monitor this at a traffic management center that looks very much like mission control at NASA, where they've got banks of people sitting behind computer terminals, but they also have a large display in the front of the room that's like a schematic map of the city.
alex jones
Mr. Hurt, do you know how many cameras Houston or San Antonio has?
unidentified
No, not just right off hand, on the selected roadways, they're about every eighth of a mile.
There are quite a few of them.
alex jones
Hundreds?
unidentified
Yeah, I think San Antonio right now has about probably 200 some odd miles that are under camera.
alex jones
So every eighth of a mile?
We're talking about thousands of cameras.
unidentified
I'm not sure in the entire system of every eighth of a mile, but in the locations where they're particularly congested.
alex jones
The mixed masters.
unidentified
Yeah, that's exactly right.
When we start out here, we'll have some online, at least a couple by August of this year, down around the upper-lower level split, and we'll just monitor them here at our district office.
What we ultimately hope to do is build a traffic management center in a couple of years.
Where we'll be there, the police department will be there, fire department, EMS, the capital metro.
alex jones
Just a whole integrated system.
unidentified
Right, we'll all be together.
alex jones
I've seen them putting up polls.
You were saying, Mr. Hurt, that right across the street here is a poll that they're planning to put a camera on.
unidentified
Right.
What we've got is the polls.
183, you can see a lot of them.
There's some on Interstate 35. They'll mount the cameras on those, the little question mark-shaped wire that comes out of it.
It's a lightning arrestor.
It's supposed to be like a lightning rod.
alex jones
I've seen those.
I've seen the poles with the cameras on Arnia, and they have a little question mark.
unidentified
Yeah.
We don't have any cameras mounted yet, but those poles are where they'll be.
alex jones
I've seen a few cameras down by y'all's main office off 35th Street.
unidentified
Right.
alex jones
I mean, off 35th Street.
unidentified
Right.
alex jones
What are those cameras?
unidentified
We've done some testing of different types of cameras to see which ones we like the best.
alex jones
That's a testing area.
unidentified
Right.
alex jones
Now, listen very carefully to the head of the Texas Department of Transportation, public relations person, Mr. Hurt.
He was a nice person and pretty honest with us, but he would try to say, oh, well, it's for safety, it's for EMS, it's for this, it's for that.
And then later, off-camera, he says, well, yes, we plan to give tickets with these cameras.
That is a federal plan.
It's done in California.
Then we turn the cameras back on, and he admits it, but not like he did off-camera.
But we'll get to some other clips.
He tries to act like it's all for safety and all this other BS. That'd be fine if the government could be trusted.
This is about tracking and controlling.
It is about control of populations.
Everything is done with the best of intentions, and most of the people pushing at the low levels, like Mr. Hurt, think they're doing that.
But we need to think about our liberties.
Can this government be trusted?
Can the IRS be trusted with these tools?
Can they be trusted with national ID cards, thumb scanning?
It just goes on and on.
Now, the important point for everybody to note here is the contradiction.
Mr. Hurt says that they're not planning to watch people drive around town, that this is all for EMS, all for fire, all for police.
Just like with Starflight here locally, for surveillance, they got you to pass the Travis County bond package under the guise of Starflight, but then the sheriff, on tape, And many others admit that they're going to be using these two new helicopters for surveillance.
Now, he says that they're not going to use it for that, and then later contradicts himself.
It's called doublespeak.
What are those cameras?
unidentified
We've done some testing of different types of cameras to see which ones we like the best.
alex jones
That's a testing area.
unidentified
Right.
But what it's not going to be is a situation where somebody's going to be sitting there watching you drive around town.
It's basically to monitor traffic as a whole.
Wreck, fire.
alex jones
Right.
unidentified
It's not going to monitor speed as far as...
alex jones
What about fugitives?
I mean, that might help in some of those cases.
unidentified
Well, I suppose you could use it for that, but that's not its intended purpose.
It's a traffic management tool.
alex jones
Now, you were saying, Mr. Hurt, that this is mainly just for emergencies and clearing up traffic and directing people around traffic, which sounds great.
But I would say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I think we need cameras, but the problem is I don't trust our federal government.
And I think any systems we put in, they can easily step in and take control of whatever they wish.
Take California, for instance, and some other states, where they take snapshots with snapshot cameras, snapshot video cameras, and then mail you a ticket.
Now, certainly you could say, well, you were breaking the law, but I really don't just like the whole climate that I see growing around the country.
What would you say to that?
unidentified
Well, this is not a law enforcement tool.
It's not something I think that law enforcement would be...
Disappointed if they actually and they will be part of the but I mean if they if they look at the camera and see the picture it's not like they're going to see your face it's really more of a a broad view of an entire stretch of a highway.
alex jones
Some of these cameras in San Antonio and Houston do have zoom capability though don't they?
unidentified
Right and we will have some zoom capability.
We pan, tilt, all of that you know to be able to get an entire look at a problem area.
But as far as being used to give you a ticket, that's not the purpose, and I don't see that being the purpose.
It's a traffic management tool, and it's all part of an entire complex where we've already got sensors put in the road in parts of Interstate 35. What it does, it tells how fast the traffic is moving.
alex jones
That's the little black rubber bands that go across the street?
unidentified
No, those are counters.
What you see, it's like a loop.
It's like it's been cut into the concrete down around 51st Street or in front of the airport.
You'll see like a square.
It's been cut into the country.
alex jones
So the black bans are counters.
unidentified
Those are traffic counters, right.
alex jones
Well, that's all very understandable and very reasonable and needed to, I'm sure, in the modern age, control roads, find out where you need more roads, all that.
The point I keep making is that I know the federal government gives Texas and most of the states a lot of highway funds.
unidentified
A lot of it, yeah.
alex jones
And sends along recommendations and advisors and ideas that they want implemented.
And I just see the trend.
That's going on nationally of federal control.
Just to give you an example, just a month ago, I went to San Antonio with Chief Ali Philippus, who threw out the Delta Force for attempting to bribe him.
And if you think I'm kidding you, you can call down there and ask them.
The Delta Force is going to train here, and our little TV show and my radio show were able to stop them from training here.
And I know that's not your purview and your area.
I just want to communicate to y'all that that is our fear.
We'll put in these systems that are there to help the public, that are there to ensure safety.
And that law enforcement will become more and more under federal control.
You say that law enforcement, though, will be stationed at the main center that y'all plan to construct?
unidentified
Well, there'll be a representative of the police department, maybe several, and the object there is to be able to identify and dispatch, identify the type of problem they may have and dispatch, even before somebody dials 911. They'll be able to say, we've had an accident there.
What about EMS? EMS will be there.
The fire department will be there.
Capital Metro will be there.
It's going to be a joint center where all of us are there that are involved in traffic management.
alex jones
Here's my example.
They're building a $2,031,000 helicopter hangar, three acres under the roof, according to the commissioner's board, the documents that I've gotten from them.
And they called it Starflight.
This is just a microcosm of the problem I'm talking about.
They called it Starflight, but the two new helicopters are going to be used by the sheriff's department for surveillance.
We have Margo Frazier, the sheriff.
On tape, and you'll see that tonight again, saying that, yes, they're going to be for surveillance, but then it says nowhere in the document people voted for the bond package.
And I know that this is local, whereas your state...
Just the point I'm making is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions over and over.
They'll tell us it's for this, and then we'll say, great, we're for it.
You think it's reasonable, because that's what you believe.
Then they put in somebody else.
And they go along with what it was really set up for.
That's my only point.
unidentified
Well, again, this is going to be a state, city, capital metro type of operation.
I don't see the federal government having any type of authority to take over the center and use it for something different.
The Texas Department of Transportation is not a law enforcement agency.
We have no authority to enforce the law.
And that's not our interest.
Our interest is in making sure that the transportation system in Austin and in the state of Texas is safe and efficient and effective.
With Interstate 35 being a major NAFTA corridor, we're going to see more and more traffic on this road, and it's, for better or worse, it's Austin's main street.
And anything we can do to facilitate the flow of traffic, that's what we're trying to do.
And we're at an age now where we're able to use quite a bit of high technology.
And give the motorist a good deal of information that he or she may not have had in the past before they get into a situation where they're just stuck in traffic.
alex jones
Well, it sounds very reasonable to me.
Just three years ago, I wasn't the way I am now.
But when you read the statesman and they tell you what a good idea it is, in the May 10th metro and state, it's not a matter of when a chemical or biological attack is happening or not.
The statesman's exact quote was, in the May 10th metro and state was, It's not a question of will it happen, but when it happens.
Then you find out that secret military teams have been dispersed all over the country.
And again, I had the police chief of San Antonio saying this.
I have articles from around the country.
They crashed a helicopter in Houston.
The media totally covered it up.
And you have this whole move going on.
And the statesman also wrote that in Chicago and other cities, the Marines and Delta are practicing taking over police stations, water facilities, the communication systems.
Now, people can say, well, that's in case terrorists take it over, but I just want you all to know, and this is in the media, but they're telling us how wonderful it is, that secret military teams are practicing taking over communication, transportation, water, energy, and police departments, mainly.
And again, I don't want to, you know, get off into some conspiracies.
This is a conspiracy.
There's a lot of stuff that people aren't paying attention to, and I just see Germany as the leader of cameras.
And I see Britain as the leader of cameras.
And Germany, just two months ago, passed the law, unanimously almost, to where they can actually bug homes and actually put cameras in homes.
But politicians and psychiatrists and lobbyists are exempt.
And that's in Germany, in good old Deutschland.
And we know they're the home of Big Brother.
unidentified
Well, we're not into that.
We're not into getting into your house or getting and listening or seeing anything that goes on into your house.
alex jones
At least not in 1998. Not at this point.
unidentified
2005. Our dealing with the federal government has always been basically through the Federal Highway Administration, and our interest has always been design, capacity, safety.
Was it $260-something billion just got passed?
Yeah.
Oh, you're talking about the highway bill?
Yeah.
alex jones
Big one, huh?
unidentified
Yeah, that's going to mean some additional money for Texas.
alex jones
Well, I'll tell you, I like big roads.
I'm a car enthusiast, so I love it.
unidentified
Yeah, well, that was good news for us because we ought to get probably somewhere in the neighborhood of an additional $713 million a year in this state, which we've been giving away more money than we've been getting back.
alex jones
I would think Texas being the most second-populous state, I think we should get more than $700 million?
unidentified
$713 million, probably.
alex jones
$713 million?
unidentified
Overall, it'll be about $2 billion over the course of the bill.
But that's what it is every year.
alex jones
Oh, every year.
unidentified
So it's a good deal for us.
alex jones
Is the bill for four years?
unidentified
Six years.
alex jones
Six years.
Oh, now I see.
We're visiting with Mr. Hurt.
He is the head public information officer in Central Texas or for all of Texas?
unidentified
For the Austin District.
alex jones
Austin District.
unidentified
Central Texas, uh-huh.
alex jones
Now, you said earlier that the cameras are mainly going to be at the main intersections and mixed masters and areas where congestion generally tends to be or where wrecks happen more often.
How many cameras do you think Austin will get over the next six years?
unidentified
Well, I think over the period of six years, it will probably number into close to 100 or so.
We'll put 183, the new additions to 183 were built with this in mind.
That's where you'll see it first.
We've got the pull boxes where we can pull the cables already in place and we don't have to retrofit the road.
So you'll see that.
You'll see some of 183 as time goes on.
You'll see additional roadways like Ben White, possibly 71. And as the freeway facilities are expanded east of the interstate towards the airport, I'm sure you'll see it on there as well.
alex jones
You talked about the over $700 million and the $2 billion numbers that Texas will be getting over the next six years as part of this new transportation bill.
Is any of that money going for cameras?
unidentified
Well, no, not at this point.
The money that was just passed by the transportation bill doesn't have any place to go right now.
I mean, it's not designated for anything.
That will be up to the Transportation Commission.
As they fund long-term projects to decide where that money is going to be spent.
alex jones
Does the federal government encourage cameras?
unidentified
Well, you mean like for traffic management?
Yeah, I would think that all of us do as far as traffic management goes because it's the quickest way to determine what's going on in a roadway.
You don't have to wait for a police car, an ambulance to get there, or a fire truck.
So in the length of time it takes to punch up a button, you know what's happening on the roadway.
alex jones
That way you can give your people the correct information.
Right.
But did that...
Is the $700 million and the $2 billion over the next six years, is that going to help y'all free up other funds to build y'all's new command center, or what would you call it?
unidentified
Well, the traffic management center is going to be paid for jointly through the city, the county, the state, all of us that are participating in it.
The money from the transportation bill, we hope, will go more towards constructing and maintaining the infrastructure.
And that includes everything from multimodal Projects like bicycle trails, HOV lanes, as well as highway construction itself.
It's going to have its fingers in a lot of pies before it's all over.
alex jones
Basically, if you see a tower or structure with a question mark wire, which I've seen many of, that is the site of a future camera.
unidentified
That's correct.
That's where we're going to be putting a monitoring camera.
183 is where you see most of them right now.
alex jones
And every eighth of a mile in the key areas?
unidentified
Well, that's what they've typically been like in Houston and San Antonio.
I think ultimately we'll probably get to somewhere like that in this district, but not right off the bat.
alex jones
But again, Texas has no plans in the future to, like California, put cameras in to ticket people.
unidentified
No, not at this point.
What happens down the road, that's a law enforcement issue.
But as far as the Department of Transportation goes, that is not our plan or our function.
How do you all work with the DPS? Well, we work very closely with the DPS because it is the state law enforcement agency as far as patrolling the highways.
Once you get outside the city limits, if you have an accident or traffic control or traffic tickets or whatever, that's the responsibility of the Department of Public Safety.
How do you all work with the DPS? Well, we work very closely with the DPS because it is the state law enforcement agency as far as patrolling the highways.
Once you get outside the city limits, if you have an accident or traffic control or traffic tickets or whatever, that's the responsibility of the Department of Public Safety.
It's an extremely professional organization.
We work very closely with them, and they have been of immeasurable help to us on a number of occasions.
alex jones
Thanks a lot for your help, sir.
unidentified
Okay, appreciate it.
Enjoyed it.
alex jones
Thanks for all the time.
unidentified
You bet.
alex jones
See, he makes it sound so good.
unidentified
I don't know.
alex jones
You should have heard what he just said.
unidentified
He said, frankly, the tickets are coming on the pole.
alex jones
His opinion.
unidentified
What I was saying was there have been some projects where they've actually tested.
Nobody's ever gotten a ticket from it.
They've just tested it to see if it works.
alex jones
Here in Texas?
unidentified
Yes, in Texas.
Here in Austin, at railroad crossing.
alex jones
I mean, they're actually giving tickets out for, what, five, six years in California?
unidentified
Yeah, but we haven't done any of that, and it's purely...
It's something that a law enforcement agency would have to do.
And it's something that right now, I don't know if it's going to come to fruition, whether there's any interest in it.
It's just one of those things...
alex jones
You said it's probably coming as your opinion.
unidentified
No, I think that as far as that goes, it's here because we've already tested, like at railroad crossings.
But if we can use a device like that to keep people from running around crossing arms at a...
At a railroad crossing and save the life of some kid that's in a car seat that doesn't have any choice about that.
I understand.
I'm all for it.
Save the kids and the children.
alex jones
Save the children, like Clinton and Buddy the dog.
No, seriously.
Now see, yeah, now, they're already in Kansas and other states.
You go through and the toll is almost nothing if you have the transponder in your car.
unidentified
Right.
alex jones
K-Tag and all the rest of this garbage.
And the problem is, the lady at the toll booth was like, I love K-Tag.
I'm like, yeah, you'll love it when everybody has it, and your job's gone, lady.
And at the same point, we see more and more of these smart highways and pole systems.
And it seems to me like in the future, well, it's not just the future, the April 27th issue of Time, the future of money.
You can probably find one in there.
unidentified
Read on page 44. It talks about the best part.
alex jones
Quote, the best part is the chip.
Under your daughter's skin in the near future, you won't have to buy the drinks for her at the bar.
And that's on page 44. That's the type of mental illness that's in our mainstream media.
And I challenge you to go read that and then they talk about tollways and transponders and one card for everything and chips under the skin and how wonderful it is and the best part for your daughter is.
Blah, blah, blah.
Of course, it's always for the children.
And you sit there and you read that and then you realize, wait a minute, if the IRS doesn't like me now and they're a bunch of criminals, that's been proven, Well,
unidentified
that would take a great deal of technology that hadn't been invented yet to turn your car off.
All the technology does now is it uses What in effect is a high-tech metal detector to read the speed of the car as it goes over.
Well, now that's the KTAC. I'm talking about the sensor and the road that measures the speed.
alex jones
Well, it's all these integrated systems.
And, you know, technology's doubling every four and a half years now at this current rate.
And the point I'm making is, is they do have systems, and it's been on Discovery Channel, microwaves that are harmful to people, other things.
If they aim at your car for an instant, the engine will instantly stop.
And they're already making new cars that have more and more transponders and things inside of them.
I mean, again, this is not a conspiracy.
If you go and read that sickening article in Time Magazine, The Future of Money, it is a six-page propaganda article, so we'll accept a technocracy.
That's all I'm saying.
unidentified
I understand.
alex jones
Well, we've preached at you.
I appreciate it.
unidentified
Okay, no problem.
Thanks.
alex jones
We're a bunch of conspiracy theory maniacs.
unidentified
No problem at all.
alex jones
Mr. Hurt was honest.
In the respect that, hey, I'm here with the Texas Department of Transportation.
Transportation is our job.
Yes, we work with law enforcement.
What they do is what they do with this system.
And yes, they are practicing and training and doing tests here in Texas to give tickets with cameras, and it's being done in other states.
But earlier in the interview, he was giving us the Department of Transportation here in Texas party line.
And then later off-camera began to actually speak personally.
And then, of course, here on Exposing Corruption and the Freedom Report, we went ahead and prodded him some more and got some of the information.
And you heard it from him himself.
We're going to have cameras that need to be for emergencies and for roadway construction and to reroute traffic.
They do not need to be for a technocracy.
This is growing up all around us on every single front.
So again, thanks to Mr. Hurt from the Texas Department of Transportation for being more honest than most bureaucrats.
I think the guy may actually have a soul.
Usually bureaucrats just sit around and lie.
But again, this is the choice you have.
If we're going to have these cameras, we need strict laws against it being used to give people tickets or as a police state.
You should have heard what he just said.
unidentified
He said, frankly, the tickets are coming on the polls.
His opinion, what I was saying was there have been some projects where they've actually tested.
Nobody's ever gotten a ticket from it.
They've just tested it to see if it works.
alex jones
Here in Texas?
unidentified
Yes, in Texas.
Here in Austin, at railroad crossings.
alex jones
I mean, they're actually giving tickets out for, what, five, six years in California?
unidentified
Yeah, but we haven't done any of that, and it's purely something that a law enforcement agency would have to do.
And it's something that right now, I don't know if it's going to come to fruition, whether there's any interest in it.
It's just one of those things...
alex jones
You said it's probably coming, is your opinion?
unidentified
No, I think that as far as that goes, it's here because we've already tested, like at railroad crossings.
But if we can use a device like that to keep people from running around crossing arms at a railroad crossing and save the lives of some kid that's in a car so he doesn't have any choice about that.
alex jones
I understand.
unidentified
I'm all for that.
alex jones
Save the kids and the children.
unidentified
Save the lives of some kid that's in a car.
Save the kids and the children.
alex jones
Well, I kind of belabored it there, but I just want to make the point.
unidentified
And as soon as we turn the camera on, if he starts going, well, well, they're going to give tickets, uh, and then we turn the camera back on.
alex jones
Well, I did say kind of, maybe.
unidentified
That's the way it always is.
He does have a job to protect, so to speak.
alex jones
What was your point about that?
unidentified
I mean, it does for me to call someone of his stature.
One of the points I wanted to make was, I've seen one of the tests that he's talking about, and I don't know if it works off a radar gun system or whatever, but near Lake Travis right now, there's a certain road, I can't remember the name of it.
alex jones
Capital Texas Highway.
unidentified
No, actually, I think it's when you go down...
alex jones
Well, I put them on Capital Texas Highway.
unidentified
Okay, but it's a big sign.
alex jones
The trailer.
unidentified
Yeah, it tells you how fast you're going, and I think that's the idea, testing it.
And also, too, just to get people to slow down when they see how fast they're going.
But I'm sure that's part of the test that he was talking about.
So I've seen this.
alex jones
What are we going to do to stop this?
unidentified
I think it takes, number one, just spreading the information, letting people know that, you know, I say this again and again on all kinds of shows, you don't have to buy into conspiracy one little bit to not see how damaging many of these things can be.
All it takes is a little bit of common sense and not much extrapolation to understand that this is something that can easily be abused and misused to the detriment of Americans everywhere.
It's just like putting uniformed officers in high schools like I talked about earlier.
You don't have to believe that that's part of some UN conspiracy or Illuminati or global elitist.
All you have to understand is use some common sense.
If kids get used to having cops around everywhere they go, they come to your house if you're absent from school, they're in your school.
If you go to school, they're going to grow up and be adults.
They're going to get used to seeing cops everywhere.
So when sheriffs stand up or DPS guys and say, hey, we need a cop in every house or some ridiculous thing like that, they're just going to buy right into it.
They'll be used to it.
Incrementally, they're getting used to having things like this around, whether it's done on purpose or not, whether you believe in the motives of it or not, it doesn't matter.
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