Apocalyptic Hope
BB 1 ................... BB 3 .................... BB 4
BIG BROTHER SURVEILLANCE ...page two
Always on CCTV ---
Sept. 6, 2004
Tracking individuals, she adds, should be
similarly balanced. "If you have someone coming out of
prison and you ask them to wear an electronic tag, that’s
proportionate because they’re still effectively serving a
sentence; but tracking people
just because you can is not legitimate.
"The state is using the ‘war on terror’ to claim
powers it should not have...
http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=1046602004
Passing patrol cars scanning your license -- Sept. 10, 2004
The scanners cost about $25,000 apiece and come with
laptop computers, an infrared scanning gun and other equipment.
The gun can be aimed out a car window at cars either passing by
or parked. The system takes two people to run in the field _ one
to drive the car and the other to aim the gun.
Cuticello said the system is much more efficient than other
methods used to track down scofflaws, such as sending tax agents
into neighborhoods to search for the cars of people who owe, or
sending notices in the mail, which many people ignore
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ct--catchingscofflaws0908sep08,0,5124748.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
Checking backgrounds: Employers Mining your past
--Sept. 9, 2004
Middle-market companies are asking for checks more than
they used to, and nontraditional organizations like
nonprofits and religious groups that haven't run checks in the
past are doing it now," said James Lee,
ChoicePoint's chief marketing officer. "People want to know
who they're hiring."
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Business/US/background_checks_040907-1.html
Chicago: Hundreds of eyes --Sept. 9, 2004
September 9, 2004 (Chicago) -- From a hi-tech command
center the City of Chicago plans to monitor a vast
security network. Thousands of surveillance
cameras will be linked -- and authorities will be alerted
to crimes and terrorist acts. The mayor unveiled the plans for
this new security network at a news conference this morning.
Some people are concerned about big brother invading their
privacy but Mayor Daley says the cameras will be located in
public areas [ not to worry,
right ? ]
from Stone Age to Star Wars in less than a decade. This
step in the evolution will link more than two-thousand
public surveillance cameras in Chicago into a unified system.
That includes every city department. That
includes the Chicago public schools, the CTA [ metro
transportation] , city colleges. That includes the
park district, any other sister agencies that have
cameras out there," said Mayor Daley.
When the system determines there's a camera in the
vicinity of the 911 call, it will automatically beam back
an image to the call-taker of the origin of where it
occurred," said Ron Huberman, Emergency Mgt. and Com. Dir.
The 911 dispatcher will have -- in many cases -- the ability to remotely
control cameras at the scene of a crime miles away. The
system is also equipped with software that can alert the 911
center to changes in traffic flow, or the presence of
people where they're not supposed to be [ no freedom of assembly ? ]
Critics say the cameras ought not be regarded as a panacea
in crime fighting. They say the more there are, the greater the
potential for abuse.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/090904_ap_ns_camera.html
LiveWave, helmet cams
and total surveillance --
September 6, 2004
In the past, dispatchers had to verbally describe suspects
and situations over radio calls. Advances in wireless
networks and handsets now allow either portions of the
surveillance film or still images taken from the film to be beamed
directly to sophisticated mobile phones, personal digital
assistants or laptop computers carried by officers or private
security guards on the front line.
At the concert, it was much more efficient for plainclothes
officers to receive images over Orange SPV smart phones or other
portable devices
LiveWave supplied law enforcement officers in
federal buildings in New York City near the Republican convention
site with "helmet cams," cameras on headgear
that allowed police officers on foot or horseback to film what
they were seeing and wirelessly transmit the information.
Consumers can also use the convergence of mobile and surveillance
video to protect their property..... The device can be placed
inside a home or boat and programmed to take images
automatically and send a photo over the cellphone network to the
owner.
In the United States, an increasing number of cities and towns
are asking for and receiving federal money to set up video
surveillance in public places and transmit the film to police
stations and mobile police units, said David Shatzkes, vice president
for government services at Computer Horizons, an information
technology services company based in Mountain Lake, New Jersey.
Police officers or security guards "can't be
everywhere, but cameras can," Shatzkes said.
"So in a sense Big Brother will be watching you."
http://www.iht.com/articles/537410.htm
Drivers trade privacy for insurance
discounts...Sept. 5, 2004
An electronic monitor the size of a matchbook closely
tracked Sevlie's driving time and behavior. If he had a heavy
foot or was a sudden braker, the auto data recorder would betray
him. "You have to surrender all that data to insurance
companies or they won't insure you," he said.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/biztech/09/03/blackboxdriving.ap/index.html
Radio tags read your purse
"RFID is clearly the future of commerce,
The fear is that the tags' tracking
ability could create an Orwellian world where law enforcement
officials and prying retailers could read the contents of a car
trunk or a handbag with RFID readers.
Privacy groups are concerned that if a person enters a store with
the tags - for example, in articles of clothing or in cards in a
wallet - retailers could compile a more complete
profile of shoppers without their knowledge.
Some, though, envision a darker future. Metro was
given a 2003 "Big Brother" award by FöBuD,
which cited a hypothetical example of a surprised consumer who receiving
a summons in the mail for littering.
The wrapping paper of a candy bar she bought was found in the
town park, floating in the duck pond, under the hypothetical. The
woman remembered that she gave the sweet to a child, but the
wrapper was traced back to her purchase and she was fined.
http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?file=527198.html
America: viewed by rest of world as Surveillance State of the
globe
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=9106
Computer Chips in Uniforms: Tracking Inventory or wearers ? Aug.
30, 2004
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2004-08-30-rfid-uniforms_x.htm
Various Identification Schemes
http://www.bibleplus.org/prophecy/id_schemes.htm
Highway Watch : American Trucking Association
We can lock and unlock a truck with
satellite," he says. "We can stop a truck dead in its
tracks with a satellite if it's so equipped [with
terrorists or bombs]. The number one thing to make sure our
highways are secure is to prevent the situation from getting to
that point anyway."
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=F5E128EB-0E0A-49D5-8F524434AF076018&title=Truckers%20Coo
Big Brother in your car: recording speed, belt use etc.
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/26215.htm
They're Watching You: A Team 4 Special Report
Video IQ can also recognize certain criminal behavior,
like a fight about to take place or a drug deal in progress.
Gomez told NBC4, "Someone would reach out and grab another
human. There would be a distinct movement transaction."
The computer would alert the police to move in on the
suspects. If the suspects try to flee, Video IQ can follow their
tracks.
Cameras with license plate recognition
that will automatically run the plate of the car ahead will
soon be available in patrol cars. Wang told NBC4 that
the device can check the plates to see if the vehicle is stolen
or if the person driving the vehicle is wanted.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5532531/
Video IQ....OkSolor.com (see photo) ..GE
Interlogix
VideoIQ can do this because it's smart. GE's
new Concept Coding™ technology
enables VideoIQ to work like a human brain. We've actually
taught VideoIQ how to recognize people, not just by shape and
color, but also by how they act. VideoIQ
brings the kind of intelligence to your surveillance system that
other forms of intrusion detection—including
traditional motion detection—fail to deliver.
VideoIQ remains accurate despite moving shadows, nighttime
light
conditions, or rainy weather: It’s ideal for dynamic outdoor
environments.
Helps guards work more productively.
VideoIQ delivers real benefits, too. It extends your perimeter by
using video to see beyond your fence and beyond the range of
traditional intrusiondetection devices—including motion
detectors—giving you more time to respond to a possible
intrusion
http://www.oksolar.com/cctv/video_iq.htm
VIQ -4HD (pdf) http://www.oksolar.com/pdf/security/video_iq_humandt.pdf (pictures)
Security Solutions--- Intrusion
Detection
Elvey International,
distributor of Kalatel, has introduced VideoIQ, an intrusion
detection solution which 'looks' through your surveillance
cameras to detect humans, not just motion. According to Elvey
International, Kalatel's new Concept Coding technology enables
VideoIQ to work like a human brain, by actually teaching VideoIQ
how to recognise people, not just by shape and colour, but also
by how they act. VideoIQ brings the kind of intelligence to
surveillance systems that other forms of intrusion
detection - including
traditional motion detection - fail to deliver. http://www.securitysa.com/news.asp?pklNewsID=12729&pklIssueID=365&pklCategoryID=7
GE Interlogix’ New VideoIQ™ Detects
People
CORVALLIS, ORE. – March 25, 2003 – GE Interlogix Video
Systems Group (NYSE:GE) today announced that its new VideoIQTM
technology provides a greater level of reliability to manned and
automated video surveillance by detecting the presence of people
in dynamic indoor and outdoor applications. With little setup,
VideoIQ distinguishes between humans and other moving objects,
such as animals, vehicles, tree branches and rippling water. It
even tells the difference between people and shadows or dramatic
lighting changes caused by clouds, events that foil traditional
systems. Upon recognizing a human, VideoIQ draws a red box around
the person to make identifying and tracking easy.
VideoIQ also alerts operators to the presence of people in
monitored areas so that guards only look at pertinent video,
boosting productivity by monitoring many more cameras.
Applications include airport gates, cell towers, construction
sites, equipment storage yards, automobile dealerships, hotel
swimming pools, parking lots, utility substations and water
facilities.
In future updates, VideoIQ will
let operators track a specific human, either live or recorded. The
system teaches itself all the attributes necessary to
distinguish a selected individual, even in the presence of
other human objects. VideoIQ will watch only that person and even
hand-off the target from camera to camera, a boon especially for
managers in retail outlets. http://www.brighamscully.com/pr/gecv/210-video%20iq.html
Sensors
and Sensibilities --
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/jul04/0704sens.html
Viisage: FACE pass FACE explorer; FACE finder
http://www.viisage.com/ww/en/pub/viisage___products.htm
http://www.viisage.com/ww/en/pub/home.cfm
Big Brother in your shopping cart -- July 28, 2004
Consider: supermarkets already compile shopping-pattern dossiers
on their customers, thanks to customer loyalty and
discount cards. They are known to sell this information.
With RFID, tracking can go beyond the point of sale; the chip
remains embedded in the product. Merchants interested in reducing
theft are excited by the prospect of being able to track stolen
goods outside their stores, right into people's homes, but
privacy advocates are less enthused.
If it was just one-time tracking, it might not be so bad. The
problems arise from two main sources:
a) the chips don't go away, and
b) the databases filling with information about which
products went where, were associated with which individual bank
accounts, etc., also won't go away.
What happens when countless government agents,
inspectors, detectives, etc. can have instant access to the most
detailed information imaginable about every single item every
single individual buys? Do I really want hordes of
faceless bureaucrats with clipboards poring over databases that
can tell them what style, color, size, and individual item of
sexy lingerie I bought my wife?
http://www.techcentralstation.com/072304B.html
5,000 criminals tracked with GPS transmitters _ July 18, 2004
fitted with electronic tags ..."antisocial behavior"
Antisocial behaviour is not just a matter of the
naughty child or the boozy adult," he said. "It is also
antisocial for the Government to pursue headline-grabbing
initiatives that risk criminalising whole groups of individuals
while doing little to tackle the causes of crime."
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=542144
Are they in your home ? They could be profiling you --July 2004
Firefighters etc.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/breaking_news/9114728.htm
Cop on the Beat a walking database -- July 3, 2004
Blackberry Locate-Plus wireless
A growing number of police departments now have
instant access via handheld wireless devices to vast
commercial databases that contain details on just about anyone
officers encounter on the beat.
In a time of terrorism worries, the information could
theoretically save lives, or produce clues that an eagle-eyed
cop could use to solve a case.
At the same time, many police departments have
been using desktop computers to search commercial databases to
help them learn more detailed information about people they are
investigating. These databases can hold billions of public
records from a variety of sources. Thousands of law enforcement
bodies now use them; five states have linked their own records
with a huge commercial database in a federally funded program
known as Matrix.
These new services ... literally alter the balance of power
between the individual and the state," giving the government
more power, said Chris Hoofnagle, associate director of the
Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington. "The
private sector has become Big Brother's little helper."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/25/tech/main626140.shtml
ISA Intelligent Speed Adaptation; GPS can stop your car -- July
2, 2004
An on-board computer linked to a satellite positioning
system will use the digital map to identify the local speed
limit. If drivers attempt to exceed the limit, they hear a series
of bleeps and the accelerator pedal starts vibrating.
The device will be offered initially as an optional extra by car
manufacturers but ministers have not ruled out eventually
making some version of the system compulsory.
The DfT has now invited expressions of interest from the
private sector to create a national speed limits
database.
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12389-1164393,00.html
One Step Closer to a Police State
Yet the signs of a police state are everywhere.
They have infiltrated all aspects of our lives, from the mundane
to the downright oppressive. We were once a society that valued
individual liberty and privacy. But in recent years we have
turned into a culture that has quietly accepted surveillance
cameras at traffic lights and in common public areas,
drug-sniffing dogs in our children’s schools, national
databases that track our finances and activities, sneak-and-peek
searches of our homes without our knowledge or consent and
anti-terrorism laws that turn average Americans into suspected
criminals.
http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/commentary.asp?record_id=285
Cyberalert System; Operation Liberty Shield; Threat Matrix
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/32705.html
How Big Brother is Watching You --June 8, 2004
You’re on your way to work in the morning
and place a call on your wireless phone. As your call is relayed
by the wireless tower, it is also relayed by another series of
towers to a microwave antenna on top of Mount Weather between
Leesburg and Winchester, Virginia and then beamed to another
antenna on top of an office building in Arlington where it is
recorded on a computer hard drive.
We have a police state far beyond anything George
Orwell imagined in his book 1984,” says privacy expert Susan
Morrissey. “The everyday lives of virtually every
American are under scrutiny 24-hours-a-day by the
government.”
But information from TIA will be used the DHS as
a major part of the proposed CAPSII airline passenger monitoring
system. That system, when fully in place, will determine whether
or not any American is allowed to get on an airplane for a
flight.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/printer_4656.shtml
You have no right to privacy out in public--- April 28, 2004
MANALAPAN, Fla. -- One of the nation's wealthiest
towns will soon have cameras and computers running
background checks on every car and driver that passes through.
Police Chief Clay Walker said cameras will take infrared
photos recording a car's tag number, then software will
automatically run the numbers through law enforcement databases.
A 911 dispatcher is alerted if the car is stolen or is the
subject of a "be on the lookout" warning.
Next to the tag number, police will have a picture of the
driver, taken with another set of cameras -- upgraded
versions of the standard surveillance cameras already in place.
Courts have ruled that in a public
area, you have no expectation of privacy,"
said Walker, one of 11 sworn officers who protects Manalapan's
321 residents. Still, Walker says Manalapan's data will be
destroyed every three months [ yeah.
right].
The 2000 Census listed Manalapan, about 15 miles south of West
Palm Beach, among the nation's richest cities, with two out of
every three homes worth more than $500,000.
[ ADS neighborhood ]
http://www.newsday.com/technology/business/wire/sns-ap-surveillance-cameras,0,3155512.story
"Police State" now called "public way"--April
13, 2004
Audio-listening devices added to cameras (watch what you say)
A Chicago Police Department that once included an infamous
Red Squad was "extremely concerned about . . . the
perception that anyone may have this is Big Brother,"
Huberman said.
"This device does not have the capacity to record
any discussion on the public way or to pick up any audio."
( yeah, right )
Last summer, Chicago dove head-first into the brave new
world of policing by installing 30 surveillance cameras
on street corners of high-crime neighborhoods.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-cam07.html
Broadband: A Backdoor to your computer (Patriot II )-- April 2,
2004
http://www.thesentinel.com/282609314556855.php
Jail time for downloading copyrighted music files
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,62830,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2
Monitoring Ships
New Orleans will be one of the country's first
ports to institute a new system of monitoring all large
commercial vessels. By January, commercial ships 65 feet or
longer, except fishing boats, will be blocked from entering the
port unless they're equipped with electronic boxes that
automatically transmit data about the vessels to the Coast Guard.
All large oil tankers, cruise ships and large tug and tow boats
on the [Mississippi] river's lower 280 miles
will show up as blips on computer screens in a downtown New
Orleans office tower. With a mouse click, Coast Guard workers
will be able to examine detailed information on each ship: where
it came from, where the captain is headed and what's being hauled.
"We'll be able to track him from the moment he enters our
coverage area for the entire time he's in that area. We'll be
able to do a much better job," said Lt. Cmdr. Mark V.
Kasper, who oversees vessel traffic on the lower Mississippi.
http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2004/03/24/news/news13.txt
"the flow of commerce"
We also hired hundreds of new inspectors at our
borders and ports, and gave them new tools so they could do their
jobs more efficiently and safely. In addition to
the gamma-ray inspection machines that can scan an entire sea
container within 2 to 3 minutes, and nearly 10,000 hand-held
PRDs, or Personal Radiation Detectors, we are now deploying
sophisticated radiation portal monitors to all major seaports.
To ensure that the flow of commerce is not impeded by these new measures, more than 5,000 companies have partnered with us under our Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. We work with them to help them reach a higher degree of security across their entire supply chain.
Those that succeed qualify for time- and
money-saving incentives such as "FAST" lane access and
reduced inspections. Traffic World magazine reports that
C-TPAT has "drawn some of the strongest praise business has
ever heaped on a government program." And the budget
the President signed last year is expected to double it
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=3382
NASA : Thought control ? March 2004
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994795
WASHINGTON (AFP) - NASA
(news
- web sites) has developed a computer program that comes close
to reading thoughts not yet spoken, by
analyzing nerve commands to the throat.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1540&u=/afp/20040317/sc_afp/us_space_health_science_040317232804&printer=1
‘Trusted Traveler' and e-voting --March 21, 2004
At issue is the Transportation Security Administration's
plans to implement its "Registered
Travelers Program," a concept that would allow
frequent fliers to fly through airport security checkpoints......
According to Forbes Magazine, anyone who wants to participate
must submit themselves to a deeper background check than
usual so-called commercial checks, such as those performed by
banks when you open a new account.
Once cleared, the traveler's information is coded into a
"smart card," complete with biometrics; an iris scan or
a thumb
print...........
But wait -- didn't it used to be
"voluntary" for persons to hand out their Social
Security numbers? Now, it seems, the entire country
revolves around what has become a
personal ID number, something the card was
never supposed to be when it was developed.
But the models are already in place—at Amsterdam's
Schiphol Airport and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, one of the
most security-conscious facilities in the world.
At Ben Gurion, more than 100,000 travelers have already registered for the frequent flier program. These passengers use a "smart card," which is encoded with this information as well as hand-geometry data, which contains dozens of measurements of the fingers, shapes of knuckles and distances between joints, Forbes said.
Electronic
Voting
In October 2003, Wired.com reported that an electronic
voting system manufactured by Sequoia Voting Systems was left unprotected
on a publicly available server, which led to concern there
could be vote tampering in future elections
Electronic security experts say e-voting machines
being purchased by increasing numbers of communities in time for
the 2004 election have not been sufficiently protected against
hacking
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/3/21/111950.shtml
Privacy erodes--March 15, 2004
As a result, the government is quietly pressing
ahead with research into high-powered computer data-mining
technology without the two most advanced privacy
protections developed for those terror-fighting tools.
Poindexter's new software tools, far more powerful than
existing commercial products, would have allowed
government agents to quickly scan the private commercial
transactions and personal health records of millions of Americans
and foreigners for telltale signs of terrorist activity.
Partly to appease critics, Poindexter also was
developing two tools that would have concealed names on records
during the scans. Only if agents discovered concrete evidence of
terrorist activities would they have been permitted to learn the
identities of the people whose records aroused suspicion.
One privacy project worked with Poindexter's Genisys program,
which scanned government and commercial records for terrorist
planning. The other was part of his Bio-ALIRT program,
which scanned private health records for evidence of biological
attacks.
Last fall's Intelligence Authorization Act
approved continued research on the type of powerful data-mining
Poindexter envisioned but said "the policies and procedures
necessary to safeguard individual liberties and privacy should
occur concurrently with the development of these analytic tools,
not as an afterthought."
The biosurveillance system
monitors symptoms of patients at emergency rooms and doctors'
offices and less-obvious sources such as increases in grocery
store orange juice sales and in school absenteeism in hopes of
detecting a biological attack. Names are concealed until evidence
suggests victims need to be treated.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040314/D81AE3O80.html
FBI seeks more, easier internet wiretaps-- March 14, 2004
The Justice
Department wants to significantly expand the government's ability
to monitor online traffic, proposing that providers of high-speed
Internet service should be forced to grant easier access for
FBI wiretaps and other electronic surveillance, according to documents and government
officials.
But the petition also moves beyond Internet telephony,
leading several technology experts and privacy advocates
yesterday to warn that many types of online communication,
including instant messages and visits
to Web sites, could be covered.
The proposal by the Justice Department, the FBI and the Drug
Enforcement Administration could require extensive retooling
of existing broadband networks and could impose
significant costs, the experts said. Privacy advocates also argue
that there are not enough safeguards to prevent the government
from intercepting data from innocent users.
But privacy and technology experts said the proposal is overly
broad and raises serious privacy and business concerns. James X.
Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy &
Technology, a public interest group, said the FBI is attempting
to dictate how the Internet should be engineered to permit
whatever level of surveillance law enforcement deems necessary.
"The breadth of what they are asking for is
a little breathtaking," Dempsey said. "The question is,
how deeply should the government be able to control the design of
the Internet? . . . If you want to bring the economy to a halt,
put the FBI in charge of deploying new Internet and
communications services."
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act
(CALEA), enacted in 1994, required telecommunications companies
to rewire their networks so police could have access for
wiretaps and other surveillance measures.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&ncid=716&e=20&u=/
washpost/20040313/ts_washpost/a54512_2004mar12
Dean wants Wave System -- Feb 1, 2004
Ed.
note: First we wave a card, then our hand
Dean .... called for standardized, computer-chip
identification cards with "universal" readers to
replace drivers' licenses.
The "smart cards" he envisioned to protect against
terrorist attacks and cyberterrorism would be used at security
checkpoints, to confirm voter identification, to purchase alcohol
and would contain health information.
They also would be required for individuals to access
their personal computers and state government workers to
log onto their computers.
The digital technology Mr. Dean called for was developed by Wave
Systems, which listed itself as a sponsor of the
workshop. Mr. Dean's former campaign manager, Joe Trippi, who
helped design the candidate's widely successful online campaign
fund raising, was a consultant for Wave from 1999 to 2003. Mr.
Trippi resigned from the campaign Wednesday.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20040131-113621-8009r
"Look what they've done to my song , Ma
Look what they've done to my brain,
Well they've picked it like a chicken-bone
And it's coming out all wrong, Ma
Look what they've done to my song." -- 1970's song
"And
I have known the eyes already, known them all--
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,,
When I am pinned and wringling on the wall,
Then how should I begin to spit out all the butt-ends of my days
and ways?"
from
The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot
MATRIX : the mother of all dossiers -- Jan 30, 2004
Profiling and labeling people arbitrarily
MATRIX — Multistate Anti-Terrorism
Information Exchange — is an intranet database regarded as the
nation's largest cyber-compilation of
personal records. It is touted as an efficient
crime-fighting tool that allows agencies to access information
with just a nimble fingertip.
Searchable databases allow law
enforcement agents to probe for people using Social Security
numbers, dates of birth, addresses, property records, motor
vehicle information and credit history. The information is
collected by states and forwarded to a database in Florida, where
a private company, Seisint Inc., builds and manages the database.
The program essentially cross-references
government records from both public and private databases, putting
together a dossier on individuals for use by law enforcement.
Verdi White II, the man
Leavitt tapped to be the state's homeland security specialist,
said any data gleaned for Utah's participation in MATRIX is
information already available to law enforcement — and in
some cases the public. White said Utah's participation is at a
limited level, and he described it as an "experiment."
Company officials are tight-lipped about what data it
collects, and Utah officials have been mum about the extent to
which the state is participating.
Stanley worries that MATRIX combines private police records
with commercially available data compiled by a
multibillion-dollar industry that specializes in "data
mining."
"They claim to cover 98 percent
of Americans — you, your neighbors, your family members,
your demographics, your lifestyle and purchasing habits," he
said.
A bigger concern is that Big Brother could be watching
every move, every purchase, every wrong turn.
"Do I want the government compiling all
these records on me through a super database to come up with a
dossier?"
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,590039368,00.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=Terror%20Database
Household appliances monitored and controlled by other (BB) --Jan
20, 2004
the new version of the Internet Protocol,
IPv6.
The new protocol allows for a virtually unlimited number of
addresses – enough to assign an address to every grain of
sand on all the world’s beaches.
Suitcase matching ticket
The perspectives are enormous for industry, consumers and privacy
with companies able to easily monitor their entire supply chain
and follow their products to the end-user, by use of a chip,
monitoring - if allowed - how often the product is used and
where.
When your printer is about to run out of ink, the company might
already know and be able to send you new supplies in due time.
In Japan 2000 taxis were used to give a city-wide overview of
congestion and weather conditions thanks to sensor information
from their speed and windscreen wipers.
Every package carried by the post office and every
electronic appliance in every home in the world, can be monitored
via the new IPv6. Lights turned off, heating switched on, locks
opened - from far away.
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?sid=9&aid=14156
Analytical lying:measuring voice and eye data --Jan. 26, 2004
Truth has a certain
parameter, and we are 98 percent accurate in
identifying it," Richard Parton, V's CEO told Newsweek.
Unlike earlier voice-stress-analysis programs, which simply
monitored voice frequencies, the company's "layered voice
analysis" software analyzes 129 aspects of sound.
The heart of Nemesysco's
security-oriented technology is a signal-processing
engine that is said to use more than 8,000 algorithms each time
it analyzes an incoming voice waveform. In this
way it detects levels of various emotional states simultaneously
from the pitch and speed of the voice.
Nemesysco's patented Poly-Layered Voice Analysis (LVA) measures
18 parameters of speech in real-time for interrogators at police,
military and secret-services agencies. According to Nemesysco,
its accuracy as a lie detector has proven to be less important
than its ability to more quickly pinpoint for interrogators where
there are problems in a subject's story. Officers then can zero
in much more quickly with their traditional interrogation
techniques.
The LVA technology measures voice for a variety of parameters
including deception, excitement, stress, mental effort,
concentration, hesitation, anger, love and lust. It works
prerecorded, over the phone and live, the company said. V
Entertainment recommends it for screening phone calls, checking
the truthfulness of people with whom you deal or gauging romantic
interest.
The display can show each measured parameter in a separate
window, with real-time traces of instantaneous measurements while
flashing the overall for each parameter, such as "false
probable," "high stress" and "SOS."
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enZone=Technology&enDisplay=view&enPage=BlankPage&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Articles^l605
Censorship on the Net ; robot.txt
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2004/01-26-2004/insider/embarrassing.htm
Supreme Court upholds Police Roadblocks -- Jan. 12, 2004
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040113/D8025OJ80.html
Gold, jewels, large sums of money: all registered--Jan. 12, 2004
http://www.newswithviews.com/Ryter/jon13.htm
Homeland Security Technological Invasion -- Jan. 13, 2004
Install biometric equipment and software at
all ports of entry to verify visitors so biometric passports
complete with a smart chip and full-face image can
be used. The deadline for this to take place is Oct. 26 2004
Expand the use of smart cards — a credit-card sized
plastic card with an embedded computer chip that can either be a
microprocessor or a memory chip. The chip connection
[ ed note: VeriChip ?] is
either via direct physical contact or remotely via an
electromagnetic interface.
Create a Transportation Worker Identification Credential
— a smart card to be issued by public and private
employees who have access to secure areas of ports, railways and
airports. TWIC production has begun in some areas of the country
It's the ability to take different types of information
and be able to share that information almost on a real-time basis
at all ports of entry," Alvarado said
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,108289,00.html
All U.S. airline passengers to be screened through databases for
clearance to fly -- Jan. 12, 2004
each person labeled by a number and color
The government will compel airlines and airline
reservations companies to hand over all passenger records for
scrutiny by U.S. officials, after failing to win cooperation in
the program's testing phase. The order could be issued as soon as
next month. Under the system, all travelers passing
through a U.S. airport will be scored with a
number and a color that ranks their perceived threat to the
aircraft
Privacy advocates say they are most concerned
about CAPPS 2, which would replace the airlines' existing
computer screening system. The TSA believes the current system is
based on old assumptions about terrorists, flagging passengers,
for instance, who paid with cash or bought one-way tickets.
Passengers targeted for additional screening commonly find an
"SSS" or "***" designation on their boarding
pass.
The TSA said the new
computerized system will provide a more thorough approach to
screening passengers. It will collect travelers' full name, home
address and telephone number, date of birth and travel itinerary.
The information will be fed into large databases, such as
Lexis-Nexis and Acxiom, that tap public records and commercial
computer banks, such as shopping mailing lists, to verify that
passengers are who they say they are. Once a passenger is
identified, the CAPPS 2 system will compare that traveler against
wanted criminals and suspected terrorists contained in other
databases. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3933838/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8504-2004Jan11.html
U.S. VISIT program
Visitors Fingerprinted, photographed
The U-S government has launched the
U-S-Visit program. Under the new rules, an estimated 23-million
travelers requiring visas to enter the United States will have to
be fingerprinted and photographed. The new measures take effect
amid heightened terrorist alerts.
The new border security measures have been introduced at 115
airports around the country, as well as cruise ship terminals at
14 U-S seaports.
U-S Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge says the process is not
invasive, and should take only about 15 seconds to complete
http://www.voanews.com/EnglishtoAfrica/article.cfm?objectID=C891A0AA-EC43-490B-9D2A062D62D20C6B
Prepare
to be scanned
The desire to tighten
security in every way possible, particularly in America,
also means the funds are being made available to deploy
technology that was previously regarded as too expensive to
bother with.
As a result,
biometrics are suddenly about to become far more widespread.
America will begin using biometrics at its airports and seaports
on January 5th. Under the new US-VISIT programme, all foreigners
entering on visas will have their hands and faces digitally
scanned. This will create what Tom Ridge,
America's homeland-security supremo, calls “an electronic
check-in and check-out system for foreign nationals”.
American citizens will also be affected, as new
passports with a chip that contains biometric data are issued
from next year. And the new rules specify that by October 26th
2004, all countries whose nationals can enter America without a
visa—including western European countries, Japan and
Australia—must begin issuing passports that contain
biometric data too.
Moves to
create a European standard for biometric passports are already under way, and many
other countries are following suit: Oman and the United Arab
Emirates, among others, will begin issuing
national
identity cards containing biometrics next year. Britain's planned new
national identity card will also include biometrics.
However, in the long term, biometrics, by their very
nature, will compromise privacy in a deep and thorough fashion.
If and when face-recognition technology improves to the point
where surreptitious cameras can routinely recognise individuals,
privacy, as it has existed in the public sphere, will in effect
be wiped out.
http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2246191
Bill Boards in California listening to car radios-- Dec. 17, 2003
Who
wants to know our persuasions ?? California KGB ??
What
else can they "overhear"?
Both billboards are run by Alaris Media
Network Inc. of Sacramento, which operates 10 such billboards in
California.
While the advertisements in Spielberg's film scan
a person's retinas to determine his identity, the electronic
billboards will be equipped with sensors that
pick up radio frequencies from passing cars and trucks.
Alaris President Tom Langeland
And when combined with
vast databases of consumer profiles, a favorite radio station is
a good indicator of a person's demographic group --
and buying tendencies.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/5349258p-6338265c.html
Can
these sensors pick up on our many embedded rfid tags ??
The
cameras have your license plates
Audio sensors and computers
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:v3fGN-dGRxoJ:www.lienhart.de/Publications/MRL-DD
SP-TR01_2003-ACMMM03.pdf+audio+sensors&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Audio-sensors in the facilitator room
http://www-white.media.mit.edu/facilitator/infrastructure-sensors.html
Verified audio detection
http://www.sonitrol.com/sonitrol/?pg=1,73,94
Sensors
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/research/mobile/SensorModelTask.html
RFID tracking at Internet Summit -- Dec. 13, 2003
The hidden chips communicate
information via radio frequency when close to sensors that can be
placed anywhere "from vending machines to the entrance of a
specific meeting room, allowing the remote identification and
tracking of participants, or groups of participants, attending
the event," the report said.
The photograph of the person and other
personal details are not stored on the chip but in a centralized
database that monitors the movement. Researchers said they are
concerned that database will be used for future events, including
the next summit to be hosted by Tunisian authorities
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031214-011754-1280r.htm
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20031217-115051-5373r.htm
ID Chips for all cars--Nov. 29, 2003
The main target of Electronic Vehicle
Identification is the eventual development of an electronic,
unique identifier for motor vehicles, which would enable a
wealth of applications, many of them of crucial importance for
the public authorities to combat congestion, unsafe traffic
behaviour and vehicle crime on the European roads. It is clear
that such an identifier as well as the communication means to
remotely read it should be standardised and interoperable
all over Europe.
This target of a European (and later hopefully global)
EVI device is very ambitious and complex.
the read-only chip or transponder containing the VIN
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/road/roadsafety/its/evi/index_en.htm
Orweillian Eyes are everywhere --Nov. 28, 2003
"It seems to have given the
green light to every sort of privacy intrusive technology
imaginable — it's just an orgy of privacy invasive
technology being developed by government and private
industry," Mr. Barr said.
The Republican former congressman from
Georgia said the government and private industry are lax in
safeguarding privacy and do not consider it a priority.
Computer secretaries are being developed by the Pentagon
to replace humans and handle scheduling and correspondence, with
a futuristic use of battlefield direction and combat assistance.
The Pentagon also is financing programs
that use radar to identify potential terrorists by the way they
walk. The technology sparked a "Gaitgate" among civil
libertarians who say the "surveillance monster" is
growing every day.
"We all have to ask ourselves do we
want to live in a surveillance society where every action or
utterance or every thought can be monitored or recorded and we're
going to be held accountable for the real or imagined sins of our
past," Mr. Steinhardt said.
There are scores of federal databases doing data-mining and
little is known about it," Mr. Wyden said
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20031126-113641-3955r.htm
We Know Where You Live --Nov. 25, 2003
8 devices--- see # 5...the future is here
The head chip: Microchips
planted under the skin will allow satellite tracking of football
hooligans, former royal servants and innocent people who might
have legitimate reasons for skulking about suspiciously. Because
of the complex technology involved the scheme will be voluntary,
although people without a chip may be denied access to secure
areas, foundation hospitals and Dixons outlets.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0%2C3858%2C4798616-105337%2C00.html
EU hi-tech crime agency created--Nov.24, 2003
ENISA --- European Network and Information Security Agency
It will also collect and distribute
information about the best way that businesses can protect their
networks and staff from all kinds of computer security threats.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3226178.stm
Britain Cements Plan for ID card --Nov 2003
LONDON – The British government said Tuesday it wanted to
introduce compulsory identity cards to protect against illegal
immigration, welfare fraud and terrorism, though implementation
is years away.
Home Secretary David Blunkett said the government would introduce
the scheme after building a national database of biometric
information using fingerprints, iris scans and facial recognition
technology.But the issue of identity cards has split Prime
Minister Tony Blair's government, with some ministers reportedly
claiming that they are too expensive and threaten civil
liberties.
Britain has not had compulsory identity cards for ordinary
citizens since shortly after World War II. Such ID cards are
mandatory in several Western European countries, including
Belgium and Germany.
Britain is already working on upgrading passports to
include chips containing biometric data, and the UK Passport
Service will soon begin a six-month biometric pilot to test face,
iris and fingerprint capture and recognition technology, the Home
Office said. It said officials also planned to use biometric
technology for driver's licenses.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/11/95209.shtml
DNA All Felons Bill --Nov. 18, 2003
With an estimated 8,000 new felony convictions
being handed down annually, the number of felons expected to have
their cheeks swabbed for DNA is expected to reach 100,000
over the next few years under the expanded legislation
the creation of Combined DNA Index System
(CODIS) six years ago.
INVESTIGATION: The DNA test is a tool used to
help solve a crime. The state could also be attempting to find a
match to another case.
IF ACCUSED: There is no pretrial entitlement to a DNA test. You
can pay for your own test, which costs at least $3,000 and
possibly more, but you'll need access to enough evidence to help
prove your innocence.
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/database11132003.htm
Tanker Truck shutdown via satellite --Nov. 5, 2003
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/gps-03zn.html
Fingerprints
to be on EU passports -- Nov. 1, 2003
In compliance with Homeland Security: "
a common international standard"
Tom Ridge, the US homeland security
secretary, said after meeting Otto Schily, the
German interior minister, that the two countries had agreed on
the need to upgrade travel documents by including biometric
features, such as fingerprints or facial features, the FT said.
The EU wants to introduce biometric information - digital
photos and fingerprints - on visas and residence permits
for third-country nationals first, before extending it to EU
citizens’ passports at a later stage.
However pressure is mounting as the US has said it will start
demanding visas from 27 countries - mostly European states - from
26 October 2004 if they do not have biometric data on their
passports.
http://www.euobserver.com/index.phtml?print=true&sid=9&aid=13318
Homeland Security "US VISIT" program: fingerprinting
for all travels -- October
28, 2003
The new, inkless fingerprint scanner is easy to
use. The visitor will be asked to put one and then the
other index finger on a glass plate that will electronically
capture two fingerprints.
Visitors also will be asked to look into a camera and their
picture will be taken. This can be done while
fingerprinting is in process.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=2080
EU plans ID card --
Health identity to store biometric, personal data on
microchip--Oct. 20, 2003
But civil liberties groups said it was the start of a scheme for a
harmonised data chip that would quickly evolve into an EU "identity
card" containing intrusive information off all kinds that
could be read by a computer.
During the first phase from June 1 next year, each country will
be able to choose whether to include photographs,
fingerprints and biometric data, such as eye measurements, on the
"national" side of the card. Britain is opting
for a minimalist version.
The European Commission said yesterday that the final phase in
2008 would add a "smart chip" containing a
range of data, including health files and records of treatment
received. "The ultimate objective is to have an
electronic chip on the card, as the technology improves,"
said a spokesman.
Tony Bunyan, the head of Statewatch, said it was part of a
disturbing Union-wide erosion of privacy since September 11 2001.
"We all know where they're heading with this," he said.
"They want a single card with all our data on one chip.
It'll be a passport and driver's licence rolled into one with
everything from our national insurance numbers, bank accounts, to
health records."
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/21/wid21.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/10/21/ixworld.html/news/2003/10/21/wid21.xml
America: Land of the Watched : CAPPS II
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2003/aug/16aclu.htm
Big
Brother monitoring continued on page three
www.cybertime.net/~ajgood/bigbro3.html
Salvation
www.cybertime.net/~ajgood/sal.htm
Bible www.blueletterbible.org