Big Brother
Tom Burghardt
Global Research
Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:59 EDT
That social networking sites and applications such as Facebook, Twitter and their competitors can facilitate communication and information sharing amongst diverse groups and individuals is by now a cliché.
It should come as no surprise then, that the secret state and the capitalist grifters whom they serve, have zeroed-in on the explosive growth of these technologies. One can be certain however, securocrats aren't tweeting their restaurant preferences or finalizing plans for after work drinks.
No, researchers on both sides of the Atlantic are busy as proverbial bees building a "total information" surveillance system, one that will, so they hope, provide police and security agencies with what they euphemistically call "actionable intelligence."
Build the Perfect Panopticon, Win Fabulous Prizes!
In this context, the whistleblowing web site Wikileaks published a remarkable document October 4 by the INDECT Consortium, the Intelligence Information System Supporting Observation, Searching and Detection for Security of Citizens in Urban Environment.
Hardly a catchy acronym, but simply put INDECT is working to put a human face on the billions of emails, text messages, tweets and blog posts that transit cyberspace every day; perhaps your face.
According to Wikileaks, INDECT's "Work package 4" is designed "to comb web blogs, chat sites, news reports, and social-networking sites in order to build up automatic dossiers on individuals, organizations and their relationships." Ponder that phrase again: "automatic dossiers."
This isn't the first time that European academics have applied their "knowledge skill sets" to keep the public "safe"--from a meaningful exercise of free speech and the right to assemble, that is.
Simon Davies
The Guardian
Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:10 EST
Labour is right to think plans to snoop on our internet use will harm its election chances - but have they really been shelved?
The government is playing a two-handed game over its
plan to snoop on all our communication and internet activity. On the one hand, officials have put it about that the
scheme has been indefinitely shelved because of concerns raised in the public consultation on the proposals. On the other, Home Office insiders assure me that the government has no intention of putting the scheme on hold. Any statements to the contrary are designed to mitigate the risk of a negative campaign in the run-up to the general election.
The government quite rightly perceives an election risk because of its surveillance plans. It is, after all, proposing to reach deep into the private life of everyone in the nation. From your phone records and emails to your activity on social networking sites such as Facebook, the government wants to know everything you do.
Sarah Stricker and Anat Shalev
Ynet
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:51 EST
Ilan Pappe
Anti-Zionist historian Prof. Ilan Pappe, one of the most important "New Historians", was scheduled to speak last weekend at the Pedagogical Institute of Munich. But a letter received from the "Israeli-German association of Munich", claiming that Pappe's lecture would turn into "an anti-Israeli propaganda show," led the Munich Municipality to reconsider the event.
The municipality eventually did not let Pappe use the room, claiming its decision was prompted by fears of violent clashes breaking out in the area. The Munich police insisted that there was no danger of fear for the security of those attending the lecture.
The Munich mayor refused to comment on the issue despite appeals from German media outlets. Pappe's associates eventually organized a room not owned by the authorities and the lecture took place as planned.
Kevin Grasher
Lancing State Journal
Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:47 EST
A police officer who Tasered a man after the man had been handcuffed and subdued was suspended without pay for two weeks for violating department policies and procedures, officials said Thursday.
Lansing Police Chief Mark Alley said the incident began early Aug. 16 after police responded to a call of a dispute between Rocky Allred, 43, and a former girlfriend.
Alley said there was a scuffle between Allred and Officer Ryan Smith, a two-year veteran, and that Allred head-butted Smith while Smith tried to handcuff him.
Two other officers subdued and handcuffed Allred, Alley said, and Smith then used his Taser on Allred, causing him to fall to the ground.
Breitbart
Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:42 EST
The Dutch government said Friday it wants to introduce a "green" road tax by the kilometre from 2012 aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent and halving congestion.
"Each vehicle will be equipped with a GPS device that tracks how many kilometres are driven and when and where. This data will be then be sent to a collection agency that will send out the bill," the transport ministry said in a statement.
Ownership and sales taxes, about a quarter of the cost of a new car, will be scrapped and replaced by the "price per kilometre" system aimed at cutting the Netherlands' carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent.
Comment: Faulty science used to tag, tax and monitor every road user.
The Flu Case
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:35 EST
© Unknown
Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko leads the way
On a cold, overcast December afternoon in 2004, I briefly met with Viktor Yuschenko, the Ukrainian President.
He had been treated for poisoning at a hospital in Döbling and when he was released, he held a press conference surrounded by doctors and attended by scores of journalists.
Yuschenko stood there barely saying a word, looking haggard and with a bluish pallor: his face was pock marked and his hair was an unnatural colour; his eyes were full of mistrust and fear even though the private Rudolfinerhaus clinic held few threats.
Five years on, this shattered looking individual,
who was once the head of a pro democracy movement, is about to proclaim himself a dictator.
Ukraine is the first country to come under the control of the WHO and the UN under the International Health Regulations 2005, and
the reality is that Yuschenko and his Prime Minister Julia Timoschenko are just carrying out the orders from WHO and the UN when they suspend civic rights and democracy under the pretext of fighting a pandemic emergency.
The Week
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00 EST
© moodboard/Corbis
Could insurance dodgers potentially face hard time?
The House health reform bill would require all Americans who can afford insurance to buy it, raising a thorny question: What happens to those who opt out, then suddenly get sick, and stick the rest of Americans with their medical bills? President Obama
supports a "penalty...high enough that people don't game the system."
How high exactly? Republicans point out that the House bill specifies "a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years." Could Americans really go to jail for forgoing health insurance? (
Watch Obama's comments about penalizing the uninsured)
The Dems have gone too far this time: "This is the ultimate example of the Democrats' command-and-control style of governing - buy what we tell you or go to jail," says Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), as
quoted by Nolan Finley in
The Detroit News. Obama's health care reform is looking more and more like the product of "a totalitarian regime." - "
Buy insurance or go to the gulag"
Lewis Page
The Register
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:20 EST
US Navy Intelligence is soon to deploy radical new computer monitoring software able to sniff out "deviations" among hundreds of thousands of sailors at sea on the world's oceans.
Rather than some kind of Orwellian porn-enforcement system for use on the USN's own matelots, however, the so-called Predictive Analysis for Naval Deployment Activities (PANDA) technology will instead be used to sift a global plot of worldwide shipping movements to identify vessels acting in a menacing fashion.
"With tens of thousands of ships on the world's oceans every day, it is very difficult to identify behaviour that may indicate a threat," said Rich Dickinson, PANDA honcho at Lockheed Advanced Technology Labs, providing the kit. "We believe PANDA provides a great improvement for [maritime domain awareness] by automatically detecting deviations and alerting operators to them."
The idea is that the Office of Naval Intelligence will deploy PANDA at its National Maritime Intelligence Centre in Maryland, where the new tech will be able to monitor tracking information covering much of the watery globe.
The Mail Online
Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:12 EST
© PA
A high-flying city lawyer was fired from her £150,000-a-year job after a 'routine security check' revealed her DNA was held on the national database - over a 'false allegation' made against her.
Lorraine Elliott said that she felt 'gobsmacked and depressed' after bosses spotted her file during 'background clearance' checks as she was just about to start work on a new project.
The mother-of-three today described her reputation as having been 'tainted' after she was dismissed from her post following the discovery of her DNA profile - despite never having been charged with an offence.
Reuters
Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:09 EST
© Reuters
A Canadian civil liberties group has accused police of quietly buying a high-tech audio weapon for possible use against protesters at next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The so-called long range acoustical device can fire a concentrated blast of sound powerful enough to cause hearing damage and temporary vision disruption, according to the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.
The group, monitoring security for the 2010 Games, said there should have been independent safety testing of the 'sonic gun' before Vancouver Police were allowed to buy it, executive director David Eby said.
The purchase, which was never publicly announced, "reduces the credibility of blandishments from city officials about not interfering with lawful and peaceful demonstrations", the civil liberties group said.
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