Surveillance & Loss of Freedom
Other topics: Homeland Security & Signs of the Times
Relevant Articles: Homeland Security and the transformation of America
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Surveillance & Loss of Freedom Other topics: Homeland Security & Signs of the Times Relevant Articles: Homeland Security and the transformation of America |
See Psalm 27:1-3 and Psalm 32:7When freedom & privacy fades, our only real security is in Jesus Christ. But those who belong to Him need not fear the future.
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April 2016
Saint or Sinner, Government Eyes Are Watching Every Move You Make: “They’re supposed to know virtually nothing about what we do: that’s why we’re called private individuals. ...the hallmark of a healthy and free society has been radically reversed. Now, they know everything about what we do..." See An International Information System
July 2015
Obama’s secret database forces ‘racist’ smear on innocent citizens: "The Obama administration is profiling the entire population in a rigid new world where people will be catalogued as racists—not because they really are but all because their government tagged them that way. It’s a system where innocence of the charge doesn’t count. In a society where every white American is tagged a racist, citizen life will become a Soviet-like living nightmare.... Your every move will be kept on file." See Homeland Security and the transformation of America
September 2014
Unmasking the Five Eyes’ Global Surveillance Practices: "The Five Eyes alliance – comprised of the United States National Security Agency (NSA), the United Kingdom’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Canada’s Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC), the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), and New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – is the continuation of an intelligence partnership formed in the aftermath of the Second World War. The patchwork of secret spying programmes and intelligence-sharing agreements implemented by parties to the Five Eyes arrangement constitutes an integrated global surveillance...
"The Five Eyes agencies... have found ways to infiltrate all aspects of modern communications networks.... and sabotaging encryption standards and standards bodies, thereby undermining the ability of internet users to secure information." See An International Information System
“Hello, Computer” -- Intel’s New Mobile Chips Are Always Listening: "A new line of mobile chips unveiled by Intel today makes it possible to wake up a laptop or tablet simply by saying 'Hello, computer.' Once it has been awoken, the computer can operate as a voice-controlled virtual assistant. You might call out 'Hello, computer, what is the weather forecast today?' while getting out of bed.
"Tablets and lightweight laptops based on the new Core M line of chips will go on sale at the end of this year. They can constantly listen for voice instructions thanks to a component known as a digital signal processor core...”
June 2014
Europe to Monitor Intolerant Citizens: "...the European Parliament is quietly considering a proposal that calls for the direct surveillance of any EU citizen suspected of being 'intolerant.' Critics say the measure -- which seeks to force the national governments of all 28 EU member states to establish 'special administrative units' to monitor any individual or group expressing views that the self-appointed guardians of European multiculturalism deem to be 'intolerant' -- represents an unparalleled threat to free speech in a Europe where citizens are already regularly punished for expressing the 'wrong' opinions, especially about Islam." See Trusting God as Freedom Fades
April 2014
Drones that 'perch' on power lines to recharge, never have to land: "Imagine a world where drones never have to touch the ground after takeoff. That's what MIT PhD. candidate Joseph Moore did, and now he's on the cusp of creating a drone that can 'perch' on power lines just like birds to recharge its batteries." See An International Information System
February 2014
Snowden to testify to European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee: "A European Parliament committee has voted in favour of allowing whistlebower Edward Snowden to testify to the chamber in a special hearing. The proposal has divided MEPs and risks undermining US/EU relations.
"The former US National Security Agency worker would testify by interactive video link from Russia, where he has been granted temporary asylum. Washington is seeking to have Snowden extradited to the US to face espionage charges." See An International Information System
December 2013
Judge: NSA phone program likely unconstitutional: "A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency program which collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely unconstitutional. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon found that the program appears to violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures....
"Edward Snowden himself praised the decision. 'I acted on my belief that the NSA’s mass surveillance programs would not withstand a constitutional challenge, and that the American public deserved a chance to see these issues determined by open courts.”
See video: The NSA is Coming to TownGoogle Wants Microphones In Your Ceiling & Microchips In Your Head: "Google engineering director Scott Huffman says that within five years people will have microphones attached to their ceilings and microchips embedded in their brains in order to perform quicker internet searches.... 'It will bring you the information you want,' said Huffman, adding that 'five years from now….Google will answer you the same way a person would answer.'
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When challenged on the likelihood of such a system being vulnerable to NSA wiretapping, Huffman glibly responded that people should just trust Google (a company that allowed the NSA to mine data from its cloud network 'at will') to safeguard their information." See Trusting God as Freedom Fades
Snowden documents show NSA gathering 5bn cell phone records daily: "The National Security Agency is reportedly collecting almost 5 billion cell phone records a day under a program that monitors and analyses highly personal data about the precise whereabouts of individuals, wherever they travel in the world."
November 2013
Top NSA Whistleblower: “[NSA] Management had made the plan to spy on the United States and the people...even before 9/11": "And 9/11 was just the excuse to roll out mass surveillance."
Utah NSA Spy Center Goes Up In Flames Due To Electrical Problems:
"The National Security Agency’s $2 billion mega spy center is going up in flames. Technical glitches have sparked fiery explosions within the NSA’s newest and largest data storage facility in Utah, destroying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and delaying the facility’s opening by one year. And no one seems to know how to fix it." See first news item here: Surveillance
September
2013: "The uproar in Europe over revelations from fugitive former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the United States spied on as many as 35 government leaders, including Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, has become so great that early Friday 28 European leaders said Merkel and French President Francois Hollande would open negotiations with the United States over a 'no-spying agreement."The World's Anger at Obama Policies Goes Beyond Europe and the NSA
U.S. Government Employs 35,000 to Break and Decrypt Codes: "In the latest revelation provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, it is now known that the federal government pays 35,000 civilian and military specialists to break and decipher encrypted messages sent across the Internet. ...The document also revealed that 21% of the intelligence budget (about $11 billion) is dedicated to the Consolidated Cryptologic Program that staffs 35,000 employees in the NSA and components of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines." See Homeland Security and the Transformation of America
July 2013
Pentagon to deploy huge blimps over Washington, DC for 360-degree surveillance: "The airships are part of Raytheon’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and when all is said and done they’ll offer the United States military what the defense contractor calls 'an affordable elevated, persistent over-the-horizon sensor system' that relies on 'a powerful integrated radar system to detect, track and target a variety of threats.' ... Once above the nation’s capital, JLENS will allow the Army to see for 320 miles in any direction from 10,000 feet above the earth....
"When the government is conducting real-time aerial surveillance within the United States... there are privacy issues that need to be addressed."
See Homeland Security and the Transformation of AmericaEU confronts U.S. over reports it spies on European allies: "[The European Union]...contacted U.S. authorities in Washington and Brussels about a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the U.S. secret service had tapped EU offices in Washington, Brussels and at the United Nations."
Brazilian police, government agencies initiate criminal probe of NSA spying (Video): "Federal law enforcement officials and other agencies in the Brazilian federal capital of Brasilia on Monday announced that they will conduct far-reaching criminal and civil investigations of the U.S. National Security Agency's alleged illegal spying activities, according to a U.S. federal law enforcement source." See Trusting God as Freedom Fades
Obama administration paid contractors millions to snoop through Americans’ financial data: "A secretive data collection program run by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau allows private contractors access to millions of Americans’ personal financial information, according to a government accountability group." See An International Information System
June 2013
Jeff Duncan questions IRS gun usage: "As chairman of the House Homeland Security oversight subcommittee, Duncan (R-S.C.) toured a federal law enforcement facility in late May and noticed agents training with the semi-automatic weapons at a firing range.... [Why are] IRS agents...training with a semi-automatic rifle AR-15, which has stand-off capability....Are Americans that much of a target that you need that kind of capability?”
Meet PRISM / US-984XN - The US Government's Internet Espionage Super Operation
: "PRISM is from the government, and it is here to help you. But the question is why are some of the biggest private companies explicitly collaborating with what is now the biggest exposed spying operation in history, companies which include such household names as Microsoft Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple."Obama: “Nobody is listening to your phone calls.” But What About Your Dishwasher? "Obama says no one is watching. Or are they? The fact is, a much wider system of surveillance is being built. It goes well beyond monitoring phone calls and e-mails. The computer you are reading this on, your washing machine, coffee maker, and other devices will be 'wired' in the near future....
"According to CIA chief David Patraeus these technologies will have a monumental impact on 'clandestine tradecraft.'... RFID chips and wireless internet connections enable devices like televisions, refrigerators, printers, and computers to communicate with each other and generally make life easier for us.... [But] Your privacy is eliminated."
See Trusting God as Freedom Fades
David Petraeus at Bilderberg to Craft “Big Data” Spy Grid: "Former CIA Director David Petraeus is in attendance at the 2013 Bilderberg Group conference to help construct the 'big data' spy grid, which is set to become the new frontier of clandestine statecraft as Internet connectivity becomes ubiquitous. Bilderberg’s official agenda for 2013 lists one of the areas of discussion as, 'How big data is changing almost everything,' a reference to how the 'Internet of things' along with the ubiquitous growth of social media is transforming the world of surveillance and the ability to foresee and manipulate future events.
"At almost the exact same time, a Homeland Security subcommittee in the United States will also be discussing 'big data' and its implications in the context of social media. Bilderberg’s effort to push the 'big data' agenda ties in with the secretive organization’s close relationship with Google..." S
The hi-tech tattoo that could replace ALL your passwords: "MC10 originally designed the tattoos, called Biostamps, to help medical teams measure the health of their patients either remotely..."
US spy device 'tested on NZ public': "A high-tech United States surveillance tool which sweeps up all communications without a warrant was sent to New Zealand for testing on the public, according to an espionage expert. The tool was called ThinThread and it worked by automatically intercepting phone, email and internet information."
May 2013
Xbox One: Constantly Listening To Conversations: "...Microsoft’s next generation gaming console, the Xbox One... carries a device that will be ‘constantly listening’ to gamer’s conversations. During a PR move designed to make the Xbox One appear more attractive, Microsoft’s hardware program manager, John Link, let slip that a component bundled with the console, the Kinect, will contain a microphone that never turns off."
Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government? "...a seemingly spontaneous admission this week by a former FBI counterjihadism agent provides a rather startling acknowledgment of just how vast and invasive these surveillance activities are.
"...every telephone conversation Americans have with one another on US soil, with or without a search warrant - 'is being captured as we speak'. ...'telephone calls, emails, online chats and the like - are automatically recorded and stored and accessible to the government after the fact." See George Orwell's 1984
April 2013
IRS to Spy on Our Shopping Records, Travel, Social Interactions, Health Records and Files from Other Government Investigators: "[The IRS] will use in robo-audits and data mining [and] it has told government and industry groups that its computers are capable of scanning multiple networks at the same time to collect 'matching' comprehensive profiles for every taxpayer in America. Such profiles will likely include shopping records, travel, social interactions and information not available to the public, such as health records..." See George Orwell's 1984
April 2013
U.S. gives big, secret push to Internet surveillance: "Justice Department agreed to issue '2511 letters' immunizing AT&T and other companies participating in a cybersecurity program from criminal prosecution under the Wiretap Act....
Note from a friend: "Facebook 'gave' me a big list of websites and people asking if I want to 'like' them. That list included four people that were totally unrelated to anything that I have done on Facebook. Mixed in among the others -- probably to avoid special notice -- they were Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Barak Obama and Michelle Obama. I wonder if they were trying to profile me as to whether I support the administration or am a political dissident."
March 2013
Education, Indoctrination and Data Mining in Common Core: Here’s Why America’s Schools May Be in More Trouble Than You Think: "One of the most troubling aspects of this federal program is that government bureaucrats are currently mining sensitive and highly personal information on children through Common Core’s tracking system. The data will then reportedly be sold by the government to outside sources for profit..."
February 2013
Will US Predator drones being sold to United Arab Emirates become terrorist tools? "The agreement would mark the first time a non-NATO country has obtained the American-made technology, which has reshaped modern warfare. The deal has drawn scrutiny from critics who worry about the technology falling into terrorists' hands or being used by governments against their own citizens....The sale would still need the approval of Congress, and there are federal restrictions on selling large drones. But General Atomics, which builds the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper hunter-killer drones used by the U.S. Air Force and CIA, has designed a new unarmed version of the Predator that would qualify for export." See Trusting God as Freedom Fades
Tiny robot mosquito drones being researched by the US government: "It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in production, funded by the US Government. It can be remotely controlled and is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on your skin. It can fly through an open window, or it can attach to your clothing until you take it in your home." See George Orwell's 1984
Worried? New Drone-Mounted Camera Can Tell What You’re Wearing From 17,500 Feet: "PBS noted that ARGUS can actually see much more details than just attire. It can see objects as small as six inches. ...a white object in the field of view is a bird flying."
Army developing ‘synthetic telepathy’: "A new Army grant aims to create email or voice mail and send it by thought alone. No need to type an e-mail, dial a phone or even speak a word. Known as synthetic telepathy, the technology is based on reading electrical activity in the brain using an electroencephalograph, or EEG. Similar technology is being marketed as a way to control video games by thought." See Steps toward Global Mind Control
Video.
The Next Generation of Surveillance
January 2013
NSA whistleblower says government illegally reading all our emails, phone texts, internet:" Ten years go, this would have been called a conspiracy theory. Now it's an admitted fact: the Orwellian Big Brother nightmare is already..." This is worth watching! Then, see the next link from last March:
Older. The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say): "...this temple will be filled with servers, computer intelligence experts, and armed guards....Under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world’s communications."
U.S. Spy Law Authorizes Mass Surveillance of European Citizens: Report: "...according to a new report produced for the European Parliament... has warned that a U.S. spy law renewed late last year authorizes' purely political surveillance on foreigners' data' if it is stored using U.S. cloud services like those provided by Google, Microsoft and Facebook." For important background information, read this article: An International Information System
December 2012
For important background information, read the next article:U.S. Spy Law Authorizes Mass Surveillance of European Citizens: Report: "...according to a new report produced for the European Parliament... has warned that a U.S. spy law renewed late last year authorizes'purely political surveillance on foreigners' data' if it is stored using U.S. cloud services like those provided by Google, Microsoft and Facebook."
Global Surveillance. An International Information System(1996): "The UN has called for a sophisticated international computerized information system that would disseminate its politically correct data and pseudo-scientific risk assessments into every community, build consensus based on its visions, goals, values, and choices, then monitor individual and collective compliance everywhere-in homes, schools, offices.
"'Develop gender-sensitive databases, information and monitoring systems,' states the Beijing Platform for Action. It calls for the 'consistent flow of information' among 'national, subregional/regional and international institutions'... -- all under the watchful guidance of the UN's Social and Economic Council.
"The UN plan matches the Clinton plan for social transformation through a vast government-controlled information and surveillance system."
November 2012
DARPA Sponsors Surveillance Technology to Predict Future Behavior: "The dizzying speed of the growth of the surveillance state and the increasing sophistication of the tools used to build it are paid for in large measure by funds doled out by the Army’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). ...once a person has been identified by the federal government as a potential threat, that person will be unable to seek refuge anywhere as emerging technology... will put every spot on the planet within the field of vision of the all-seeing, never-blinking eye of government....
"...who are the members of the Nlets community? According to its website, every state police force in the United States, the Secret Service, the FBI, the DHS, the Federal Aviation Administration, TSA, the State Department, and Interpol, among others. That is a coalition of such immense power, reach, and resources that no one can escape it..."
See George Orwell's 1984
Armored truck with cameras will roam St. Pete neighborhoods: "Coming soon to a St. Petersburg neighborhood near you: an armored truck that you cannot miss and that cannot miss you, at least not with the four cameras mounted behind bullet-resistant glass, pointed in all four directions." See Homeland Security and the Transformation of America
September 2012
Obama Ready to Sign Surveillance Grid Executive Order: "The latest Obama EO – he has issued 135 thus far – is a response to the failure of a cybersecurity bill to pass in the Senate. ... Instead of protecting Americans, Obama’s unconstitutional EO will allow the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security to extend their surveillance capability."
August 2012
City To Be Watched By Permanent Eye In The Sky: “Lancaster appears to be the first city where a camera will send video continuously. ...the idea of having a permanent eye in the sky, whether that be via manned aircraft or surveillance drones, remains the priority of law enforcement bodies across the country despite the significant costs involved during a time of economic hardship when some cities are struggling to afford vital services such as firefighters. ...The use of surveillance drones... is expected to accelerate...." See An International Information System
Austin Kids To Be Tracked With GPS Device: "Austin is by no means the only city to use GPS technology to keep tabs on schoolchildren. Similar programs are in place across the country.... Schools across the country have also installed surveillance cameras in bathrooms to spy on children. The story also serves as a stark reminder of how the role and responsibility of parents to discipline their own children is being eviscerated..." See George Orwell's 1984
US military surveillance future: Drones now come in swarms? "A small insect or a mosquito over your ear may now be much more than simply annoying. Those could easily be micro drones which now come in a swarm of bug-sized flying spies. ...The University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab showed off a network of 20 nano-quad rotors capable of agile flight, which could swarm and navigate in an environment with obstacles." See No Place to Hide?
Pentagon reveals DARPA's creepiest spy robot yet (VIDEO): "Video released last week by DARPA shows researchers controlling a small, low-cost silicone robot that relies on air and fluids to move across an array of terrain, using its surroundings to alter its color and temperature along the way."
Washington's new massive snooping plan – 'biosurveillance': "Barack Obama announced today the next phase of government national surveillance – with a budget of billions. It’s called 'the National Strategy for Biosurveillance.' But, don’t worry, it’s all for the public good...
"Early threat detection and sustained situational awareness are critical to saving lives and improving outcomes when there is a national health emergency. The... National Strategy for Biosurveillance aims to unify national effort around a common purpose and establish new ways of thinking about providing information to enable better decision-making.... But what does it all mean? ...BioWatch has already cost the U.S. taxpayers approximately $1 billion. The next phase ...is expected to cost $3.1 billion over the next five years."
June 2012
Washington's new massive snooping plan – 'biosurveillance': "Barack Obama announced today the next phase of government national surveillance – with a budget of billions. It’s called 'the National Strategy for Biosurveillance.' But, don’t worry, it’s all for the public good...
"Early threat detection and sustained situational awareness are critical to saving lives and improving outcomes when there is a national health emergency. The... National Strategy for Biosurveillance aims to unify national effort around a common purpose and establish new ways of thinking about providing information to enable better decision-making.... But what does it all mean? ...BioWatch has already cost the U.S. taxpayers approximately $1 billion. The next phase ...is expected to cost $3.1 billion over the next five years."
?VIDEO: Obama Makes Free Speech a Felon
64 Drone Bases on American Soil [with map showing their locations]: "The possibility of military drones (as well as those controlled by police departments and universities) flying over American skies have raised concerns among privacy activists. As the American Civil Liberties Union explained in its December 2011 report, the machines potentially could be used to spy on American citizens. The drones’ presence in our skies 'threatens to eradicate existing practical limits on aerial monitoring and allow for pervasive surveillance, police fishing expeditions, and abusive use of these tools in a way that could eventually eliminate the privacy Americans have traditionally enjoyed in their movements and activities.'"
Prying eyes in US skies raise privacy fears: "As Predator drones obliterate targets in Central Asia, an armada of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is forecast to take over the United States' skies....US Senator Rand Paul has introduced the Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012, which would require agencies to acquire a warrant before using drones to spy on people, unless extraordinary circumstances exist." See Homeland Security and the transformation of America
Big Brother’s all-seeing eye - Use of military surveillance drones overhead would be un-American: "The photos that the drones will take may be retained and used or even distributed to others in the government so long as the 'recipient is reasonably perceived to have a specific, lawful governmental function' in requiring them. And for the first time since the Civil War, the federal government will deploy military personnel inside the United States and publicly acknowledge that it is deploying them 'to collect information about U.S. persons.'
"It gets worse. If the military personnel see something of interest from a drone, they may apply to a military judge or 'military commander' for permission to conduct a physical search of the private property that intrigues them. Any 'incidentally acquired information' can be retained or turned over to local law enforcement. What’s next? ...
"The quoted phrases above are extracted from a now-public 30-page memorandum issued by President Obama’s secretary of the Air Force on April 23. The purpose of the memorandum is stated as 'balancing … obtaining intelligence information…and protecting individual rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.' Note the primacy of intelligence-gathering over protection of freedom..."
May 2012
Bilderberg Pushes Mandatory Internet ID for Europe: "While the international ACTA treaty and United States’ CISPA legislation are setting the stage to clamp down on the world wide web, technocrats are working overtime to try to pin down your identity and make sure all your activities are thoroughly monitored and under control. The European Union is now moving to create a mandatory electronic ID system for all EU citizens that would be implemented across Europe to standardize business both online and in person." See An International Information System
Powerful surveillance cameras read texts: "...the average person is digitally recorded about a dozen times a day – and even more if they use email and social media frequently.... In Britain, drone cameras, mobile cameras on cars and cameras on police helmets are in frequent use. Soon, technology will exist that can pick up on raised voices, and sniffing devices will be able to detect drug residue....Civil liberties lawyer Michael Bott warned against becoming desensitised to digital surveillance. 'It's quite worrying when we, by default, move to some sort of Orwellian 1984 where the state or Big Brother watches your every move. ...we don't realise what we are giving up when we give the state the power to monitor our private lives."
April 2012
The TSA's mission creep is making the US a police state: "The out-of-control Transportation Security Administration is past patdowns at airports – now it's checkpoints and roadblocks. ...apparently more in an attempt to live up to the inspirational motto displayed at the TSA's air marshal training center since the agency's inception: 'Dominate. Intimidate. Control.'" Trusting God as Freedom Fades
Is there a drone in your neighbourhood? Rise of spy planes exposed after FAA is forced to reveal 63 launch sites across U.S.: "The un-manned planes – some of which may have been designed to kill terror suspects – are being launched from locations in 20 states."
March 2012
The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say): "...this temple will be filled with servers, computer intelligence experts, and armed guards....Under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world’s communications....
"Flowing through its servers and routers and stored in near-bottomless databases will be all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails..."
January 2012
18 St. Louis Schools Place Monitoring Devices on Students: "Missouri elementary schools plan on monitoring their students in and out of school, while they sleep and while they’re awake.... Moreover, the report goes on to say that the data collected from each student will be used to assess 'achievement and behavior.' First through fifth graders are subject to the testing assuming that the parents give parental consent; however, at least one parent had discovered the testing device on her child after the fact, and had given no permission."
December 2011
Idea of civilians using drone aircraft may soon fly with FAA: "Drone aircraft, best known for their role in hunting and destroying terrorist hide-outs in Afghanistan, may soon be coming to the skies near you. Police agencies want drones for air support to spot runaway criminals. Utility companies believe they can help monitor oil, gas and water pipelines. Farmers think drones could aid in spraying their crops with pesticides. ... Still, there are vast privacy concerns to be confronted by government officials, such as what kinds of surveillance should be allowed and who should be permitted to use these drones."
Future drones: Kill by software, not by humans: "More than 50 countries have purchased surveillance drones, and many have started in-country development programs for armed versions because no nation is exporting weaponized drones beyond a handful of sales between the United States and its closest allies.'... Last year, (Iran) also claimed two of its drones, the Rad and Nazir, were 'capable of conducting long-range reconnaissance, patrolling, assault and bombing missions with high precision.'...
"Climbing to 800 and 1,000 feet over the military base, 'the automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own, with no human guidance."
Feds Saving All Tweets Forever On Massive Database: "Watch what you Tweet, because the government will be able to retrieve it for years– or decades– to come."
September 2011
Getting Iinked up electronically (Video). See Outline of End-Time Events
June 2011
Union Wants Mailmen To Thwart Terror Attacks: "As the United States Postal Service looks at ways to cut budgets and deal with declining revenue, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers is going against the grain by suggesting the agency should be increasing the services offered, including thwarting terrorists....'There’s things they could do with sophisticated scanners because they go everywhere.'” See Your friendly community spies
May 2011
Americans, Everything You Do Is Monitored: "Transparency, it seems, had nothing to do with making government more visible. It did, however, have everything to do with making your life more transparent."
April 2011
Facebook knows plenty about you: "Julee Morrison has been obsessed with Bon Jovi since she was a teenager. ...Then it dawned on her why all those Bon Jovi ads appeared every time she logged onto the social-networking site. 'Facebook is reading my profile, my interests, the people and pages I am ‘friends’ with and targeting me,' Morrison said. It’s brilliant social media, but it’s absolutely creepy.'...
"Now, the company is looking to cash in by helping advertisers pinpoint exactly whom they want to reach.... Facebook doesn’t have to guess who its users are or what they like. Facebook knows, because members volunteer this information freely — and frequently — in their profiles, status updates, wall posts, messages and 'likes.' ....'Facebook has perfected a stealth digital-surveillance apparatus that tracks, analyzes and then acts on your information, including what you tell your friends.”
Apple, Google Collect User Data: "Google and Apple are gathering location information as part of their race to build massive databases capable of pinpointing people's locations via their cellphones. These databases could help them tap the $2.9 billion market for location-based services—expected to rise to $8.3 billion in 2014."
INTERPOL eyes biometric IDs for international workers and travelers: "Such an electronic ID would ensure that a traveler can be identified in different countries using the same identification document. Participating countries would be tasked with issuing electronic residence and work permits that conform to a single universal standard. ...the card would likely include biometric data of an individual, including DNA and fingerprints that would also be uploaded to a global database."
March 2011
Fed instructs teachers to Facebook creep students:
"Education Department officials are threatening school principals with lawsuits if they fail to monitor and curb students’ lunchtime chat and evening Facebook time for expressing ideas and words that are deemed by Washington special-interest groups to be harassment of some students. There has only been muted opposition to this far-reaching policy....The agency’s threats...have the support of White House officials, including President Barack Obama, who held a Mar. 10 White House meeting to promote the initiative as a federal 'anti-bullying' policy...."Under the new interpretation, principals and their schools are legally liable if they fail to curb 'harassment' of students, even if it takes place outside the school, on Facebook or in private conversation among a few youths.....
"Facebook is developing new features that will make it harder for principals to miss episodes of online 'harassment,' and so will increase the likelihood of government action against the teenage users of Facebook and other social-media....
"The leading advocate for the expanded rules is Kevin Jennings... Jennings founded the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network advocacy group, and raised at least $100,000 for the Obama campaign in 2008....
"
The primary purpose behind the administration’s initiative is to 'create a social and political climate where it is impossible to express conservative moral beliefs' about sexuality, even when research data shows those beliefs help many people live prosperous and happy lives....Children... have a right to speak their minds and champion their beliefs." See Spiritual Warfare
October 2010
India launches universal ID system with biometrics: "Starting this month, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will begin processing people in various locations around the country. ...and to ID 600 million people in the next four years!... While residents are not mandated to get a UID, a growing list of services including social welfare and even some bank accounts will soon require the identification number. If successful, this will be the first biometrically verified universal ID implemented on a national scale."
Iris Scanning Set To Secure City in Mexico, Then the World: "When you get masses of people opting-in, opting out does not help. Opting out actually puts more of a flag on you than just being part of the system. We believe everyone will opt-in.” See An International Information System
September 2010
Controversial Program Tracks Preschoolers with Electronic Tags: "Officials in Contra Costa County, California are using RFID (radio frequency identification) technology to track some 240 preschoolers as part of a new Head Start program to keep the children safe and to make better use of its teachers. [Really?] ...The county received a $115,000 stimulus grant... under [Obama's] American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009....
"...the child is assigned a little jersey with a number on it that has a tracking device, or RFID tag....Using software, teachers and administrators can then monitor the children’s activities on a computer screen. The children are displayed as moving dots. If a child moves out of the area, the system sounds an alert....' [Wouldn't it be better if actual adults watched and encouraged those children? An RFID mentor sounds rather impersonal.]
"'I don’t think kids should be treated like guinea pigs or farm animals,' [said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center] 'Up until now these tracking devices have been used for farm animals or house pets.'" See No Place to Hide?
June 2010
[EU] 'Targets include: “Extreme right/left, Islamist, nationalist, anti-globalisation etc”: "[On April 26] the General Affairs Council of the Council of the European Union 'nodded' through without debate Council Conclusions 'on the use of a standardised, multidimensional semi-structured instrument for collecting data.... Firstly by analyzing the 'various environments' where 'radicalisation' occurs, then secondly by introducing 'systematic ways' of exchanging information on individuals or groups who use hate speech or incite terrorism....
'“Nationalist'? There are lots of different 'nationalist' groups many of whom hold moderate and 'radical' views on seeking to establish rights for their nation. Equally many liberation struggles could be defined as 'nationalist'. 'anti-globalisation etc' seems to be a general 'catch-all' covering just about every group that is opposed to the status quo.
"Who is going to be using this 'instrument' placing a very wide spectrum of people and groups under surveillance? EU police forces, security and intelligence agencies plus 'EU institutions and agencies' (eg: SITCEN Europol are mentioned....
"The individual or groups on which the information is to be gathered and exchanged are called 'AGENTS' and: 'data assessment will therefore automatically be built into tactical operational decision-making, with the measures and steps considered appropriate here being taken.”
Britain to Participate in Controversial EU Citizen Surveillance Scheme: "European governments are planning to force all of the continent’s telephone carriers, mobile network operators and Internet service providers to store details of their customers’ web use, e-mails and phone calls for up to 2 years.... 'The ‘instrument’ is not primarily about people or groups intending to commit terrorist acts. But rather directed at people and groups who hold radical views described as those propagating ‘RM’ (radical messages).'... In Britain’s current political climate, Christian and politically or socially conservative groups have already been heavily targeted for state interference." See Seeds of Persecution
U.S. School District to Begin Microchipping Students: "A Rhode Island school district has announced a pilot program to monitor student movements by means of radio frequency identification (RFID) chips implanted in their schoolbags.... Parents or school officials could log onto a school web site to see whether and when specific children had entered or exited which bus, and to look up the bus's current location as provided by the GPS device....
"The school is perfectly entitled to track its buses, he said, but 'it's a quantitative leap to monitor children themselves.' He raised the question of whether unauthorized individuals could use easily available RFID readers to find out students' private information and monitor their movements."
Such tracking may seem justifiable at first, but it's likely to be the start of oppressive government surveillance.
Babies' DNA given to military database: "A report that the state of Texas forwarded the DNA from hundreds of newborn babies to a military database without parental permission or knowledge raises some very alarming questions. The paperwork trail the publication uncovered revealed federal officials wanted to share the database worldwide 'for international law enforcement and investigation in the context of homeland security and anti-terrorism efforts.'"
February 2010
School Spies on Students at Home With Webcams: "Lower Merion School District officials are spying on students and their families inside their homes with Web cameras installed in pupil laptops, claims Blake J. Robbins in a lawsuit against the district.... Robbins’ father, Michael Robbins, got confirmation from Matsko that the school district does in fact have the ability to remotely activate any of the students’ webcams at any time -- even if the computer is not being used. 'Occasionally a green light would go on on your computer which would kind of give you the feeling that somebody’s watching you,' Harriton High School student Drew Scheier told NBC..."
During the Olympics, The Feds Will Be Reading Your Tweets: "As the winter Olympics begin, the Department of Homeland Security has disclosed that it will be monitoring the comments and posts on websites and social media like Twitter for information on possible terror threats."
January 2010
... As far-fetched as that sounds, systems that aim to get inside an evildoer's head are among the proposals floated by security experts thinking beyond the X-ray machines and metal detectors used on millions of passengers and bags each year.... The reaction could be a darting of the eyes, an increased heartbeat, a nervous twitch or faster breathing.... 'One by one, you can screen out from the flow of people those with specific malicious intent.'"Google...They're telling us they will turn data over to the feds': "Who in the world knows as much about you and your private thoughts as Google?...'It would blow people's minds if they knew how much information the big search engines have on the American public..."
Mind-reading systems could change air security: "A would-be terrorist tries to board a plane, bent on mass murder. As he walks through a security checkpoint, fidgeting and glancing around, a network of high-tech machines analyzes his body language and reads his mind.
Probably not if their conscience is dulled or they're mentally trained for jihad and death.
See also
Surveillance: 2003-2004 ~ Surveillance: 2004-2006 ~ Surveillance: 2007-2009