RFID, GPS Technology and Electronic Surveillance

New Theme Park Wristbands Carry Ability of a Debit Card

May 25, 2009

Los Angeles Times - ...Here, in the northern stretches of suburban Los Angeles, the private company that began producing plastic hospital wristbands out of a Burbank garage more than 50 years ago has become the nation’s top producer of a new microchip-enhanced wristband for amusement parks, concerts, resorts and gyms.

The wristbands use the same technology as electronic toll booths, security key cards, and the newest U.S. passports. But at Precision Dynamics Corp., this sophisticated electronic know-how has found its niche at theme parks, where the high-tech wristbands act as high-security admission passes, cashless debit cards, hotel room keys, and a form of identification to reunite lost children with parents...

Obama-backed plan volunteers Americans to pay global taxes
The most “popular” proposals, which could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for global purposes, involve taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and financial transactions such as stock trades.Mexico’s Calderon Wants “Green Fund” Paid by U.S.
Countries “historically responsible” for green house gas emissions would have to pay Mexico and other developing nations.U.N. to Emerge as Global IRS
The United Nations is proceeding, with President Obama’s acquiescence, to implement a global plan to create a new international socialist order financed by global taxes on the American people.

Central Texas Farmers Voice Concerns on USDA Program

May 20, 2009

News 8 Austin - The federal government has proposed a program to identify and track farm animals, and the move has some local ranchers and farmers unhappy. At a U.S. Department of Agriculture hearing Wednesday, more than 100 farmers and ranchers voiced their concerns, many telling the government to butt out. The hearing was part of an effort by the USDA to get feedback from food producers in Central Texas and across the country.

"We're talking about a program that would be very costly and very intrusive," Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance Director Judith McGeary said. "You're talking about anyone who owns, you know, a couple of backyard chickens having to report their movements to the government."

The USDA said not every farm animal would be tracked, but rather the purpose of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) program is to keep up with animals in the food supply chain.

The NAIS program would tag farmers' and ranchers' animals "to help us provide trace ability information in the need of a disease outbreak, investigation or surveillance effort," NAIS Senior Staff Veterinarian Dr. David Morris said.

Morris said the program currently operates on a volunteer basis. Those opposed to the NAIS program like Gretchen Boyett, of Buda, fear the program could become mandatory and have a detrimental economic impact especially on small producers.

"Everyone would be affected eventually," Boyett said. "I mean if you want to buy organic products at the grocery store, you're going to be affected, because small farmers are going to end up being overtaxed and overworked to accommodate a program that doesn't solve the problem."

Joe Ross from Sonora is a retired veterinarian who believes a better solution lies in compromise.

"We need to work together," Ross said. " And one shoe doesn't fit all, but let's don't be criticizing the government for everything."

For the government, animal tagging is about food safety, but producers see it as government encroachment on their private property rights. Now, Central Texas producers will wait and see if they've convinced the government to keep the program voluntary. According to the USDA, states and tribes can choose whether or not they want to participate in the NAIS program. Some states have already passed anti-NAIS bills.

Microchips Tell Doctors If You are Taking Your Pills, or Not

April 13, 2009

Daily Mail - Microchips in pills could soon allow doctors to find out whether a patient has taken their medication. The digestible sensors, just 1mm wide, would mean GPs and surgeons could monitor patients outside the hospital or surgery...

NYPD Moves to Cloak Midtown with Camera License Plate Readers, and Radiation and Bio Scanners

April 1, 2009

The NYPD wants to cloak midtown with the same security blanket it rolled out for lower Manhattan: camera license plate readers, and radiation and bio scanners. Those measures covering Manhattan south of Canal St. will slowly be applied to midtown, from 34th to 59th Sts., river to river, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the City Council Public Safety Committee. “We want to take that model, protecting the 1.7 square miles south of Canal and replicate it in midtown Manhattan,” Kelly said after the hearing Tuesday.

The NYPD wants $21 million in federal homeland security dollars to put toward the midtown project, estimated to cost $58 million. Aside from iconic buildings that could be terror targets, many financial companies relocated into midtown after the 2001 World Trade Center attack, police said.

Kelly did not outline how many cameras, license plate readers or radiation scanners would be deployed in midtown. The announcement is the latest in the NYPD’s attempts to use technology to scan huge swaths of the city...

London Police Turn ‘Big Brother’ for G20 Summit

April 1, 2009

Sky News - With security fears rising in the build-up to the G20 summit on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police have been given access to more than 3,000 CCTV cameras around London. The police will be watching over 3,000 CCTV cameras from the hub in Lambeth. Scotland Yard’s Central Communications Command in Lambeth, South London, will become the eyes of the city tomorrow when more than 100 officers monitor live links across the capital.

As the world’s most powerful leaders arrive in London, the priority will be to ensure their safety while also keeping an eye on the thousands of protesters expected to turn out.

The surveillance team will be managed by a team of 20 senior officers including tactical advisers and counter-terrorism staff. The team will be backed up representatives from the fire brigade and ambulance service. The control room will be the hub for co-ordinating the several-thousand strong police force who will work to ensure security throughout the G20 summit.

The huge operation, known as Operation Glencoe, is one of the biggest to have taken place in recent times.

The Liberal Democrats say they will be keeping a close eye on the policing of the G20 protests. The party’s justice spokesman, David Howarth, said: “We do not want to see a repeat of the policing of last year’s (climate change) camp at Kingsnorth, which was disproportionate, heavy-handed and provocative.

“I was encouraged to hear the Metropolitan Police talking seriously about proportionality when I met them today. I very much hope the that the rights of the protesters to make their important point peacefully will be fully respected.”

3,000 Cameras to Monitor G20 Summit

Big Brother is Watching: Surveillance Box to Track Drivers in Europe is Backed

April 1, 2009

Guardian - The government is backing a project to install a “communication box” in new cars to track the whereabouts of drivers anywhere in Europe, the Guardian can reveal.

Under the proposals, vehicles will emit a constant “heartbeat” revealing their location, speed and direction of travel. The EU officials behind the plan believe it will significantly reduce road accidents, congestion and carbon emissions. A consortium of manufacturers has indicated that the router device could be installed in all new cars as early as 2013.

However, privacy campaigners warned last night that a European-wide car tracking system would create a system of almost total road surveillance. Details of the Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems (CVIS) project, a £36m EU initiative backed by car manufacturers and the telecoms industry, will be unveiled this year...