Tag Archives: Technocracy

What’s in Your Wallet? Coming Soon: a National ID Card

Posted on by

“An interlinked system is a far greater security risk than a decentralized one, with each state issuing ID cards according to its own rules. That’s because if hackers manage to penetrate it, they’ll have access to identity documents in all 50 states – not just one. That means hackers will be able to copy your birth certificate, your passport, your Social Security card, and any other document you submitted to get your ‘secure’ driver’s license.  Moreover, since there’s no requirement that the data on your Real ID be protected in any way, private companies can use the information in it at will. Every retailer that requires identification will swipe your Real ID and then sell the data.”

http://www.nestmann.com/whats-in-your-wallet-coming-soon-a-national-id-card

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Should Cities Be in the Business of Issuing Debit Cards? [2013]

Posted on by

“The city of Oakland already offers residents a municipal ID card, a form of identification thought to help undocumented immigrants, in particular. Now, they’ve upped the ante, becoming the first city to add a pre-paid debit-card function to its ID.  Residents can reload the card at Western Union, direct-deposit paychecks to it, withdraw cash from it at ATMs, and shop with it like any other pre-paid Mastercard.  With nearly one in 10 households considered ‘unbanked’ in the U.S., Oakland’s initiative is part an effort by many cities to broaden the financial options available to low-wage workers beyond check-cashing stores and payday lenders.”

http://www.citylab.com/work/2013/08/should-cities-be-business-issuing-debit-cards/6474/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

The FBI just used facial recognition to catch a fugitive of 14 years

Posted on by

“Neil Stammer speaks nearly a dozen languages, so when he fled the country using false papers, it left law enforcement with few clues as to where he might be. The case languished for 14 years until this January, when a new facial recognition system found a face that matched Stammer’s. The Diplomatic Security Service had his face on file under the name Kevin Hodges, thanks to a recent visa application to the US Embassy in Nepal. The DSS contacted the FBI, and a few months later Stammer was in custody. In Stammer’s case, both of the photos were passport-style photos taken from close range, with the subject directly facing the cameras.”

http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/12/5996557/the-fbi-just-used-facial-recognition-to-catch-a-fugitive-of-14-years

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

New York knows where your license plate goes

Posted on by

“In a crime-fighting tactic that sets civil libertarians’ teeth on edge, police in Monroe County and other urban counties across New York state are collecting and archiving tens of millions of records that track vehicle movement. The records are stored in a series of loosely connected secure computer servers, accessible directly or indirectly by police from one end of New York to the other and by federal Homeland Security officials. Each of the records, which are gathered by license plate cameras mounted on police cars or at fixed locations, includes a photograph and the time and place that a particular vehicle was imaged. Strung together, the records can paint a picture of where a person has traveled.”

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/07/26/new-york-license-plate-readers/13179727/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Venezuela To Mandate Fingerprinting Grocery Shoppers By Year End

Posted on by

“Venezuelans could soon have to scan their fingerprints to buy bread.  President Nicolas Maduro says a mandatory fingerprinting system is being implemented at grocery stores to combat food shortages by keeping people from buying too much of a single item. He calls it an ‘anti-fraud system’ like the fingerprint scan the country uses for voting.  Critics said the new system is tantamount to rationing and constitutes a breach of privacy.  Venezuela has been grappling with shortages of basic goods like cooking oil and flour for more than a year. In the spring, the administration tried out a similar system in government-run supermarkets on a voluntary basis.”

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/venezuela-proposes-fingerprinting-shoppers-25073950

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Iceland EU accession talks break down over mackerel quotas

Posted on by

“Negotiations over mackerel fishing quotas have fallen apart, extending a dispute dubbed ‘the mackerel war’ that has been a thorny issue in Iceland’s EU membership bid.  The European Union, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway left a meeting in Edinburgh without reaching an agreement for 2014.  Fishing is the main obstacle stopping Iceland from joining the EU. Reykjavik pulled out of accession talks indefinitely in September despite public support for a promised referendum on joining the bloc.  Iceland and the Faroe Islands, a Danish territory with autonomy in fishing matters, have been engaged in a ‘mackerel war’ with the EU since they unilaterally increased their quotas in 2010.”

http://phys.org/news/2014-03-eu-iceland-nordic-mackerel-quota.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Fewer Uninsured Face Fines, as Obamacare Penalty Exemptions Swell

Posted on by

“Almost 90% of the nation’s 30 million uninsured won’t pay a penalty under the Affordable Care Act in 2016 because of a growing batch of exemptions to the health-coverage requirement.  The architects of the health law wanted most Americans to carry insurance or pay a penalty. But an analysis by the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation said most of the uninsured will qualify for one or more exemptions, including suffering domestic violence, experiencing substantial property damage from a fire or flood, and having a canceled insurance plan, on top of exemptions carved out for groups including illegal immigrants, members of Native American tribes and certain religious sects.”

http://online.wsj.com/articles/fewer-uninsured-face-fines-as-health-laws-exemptions-swell-1407378602

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

NHS introduces £1,500 talking plate which warns fat families [2011]

Posted on by

“Doctors have a new weapon in the battle to beat obesity – a talking plate that tells people not to bolt their food.  The Mandometer monitors the amount of food leaving the plate and tells users who gobble: ‘Please eat more slowly.’  Now the £1,500 Swedish device is to be used in an NHS initiative to help hundreds of obese families lose weight.  Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, who is leading the initiative, said obese children and adolescents using the Mandometer ate from 12 to 15 per cent less per meal at the end of the 12-month trial.   Six months after they stopped using the device they still ate less and continued to lose weight.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2063851/NHS-introduces-1-500-talking-plate-warns-obese-families-eating-habits.html

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Red-light cameras under scrutiny in state legislatures

Posted on by

“The South Dakota state House passed a bill that would ban both red-light cameras and speeding cameras by a whopping 69-1 margin. A Missouri state House panel on Monday heard testimony on a similar bill.  A measure has been proposed in Iowa to require cities to justify their need for photo enforcement cameras, and a 2013 bill to ban them outright is still pending in Ohio. Opponents of the red-light cameras span the partisan divide, complaining of invasions of privacy or back-door tax increases — even that the red-light cameras result in more fender-benders at intersections. In some states, the ACLU is a prime driver behind camera-banning legislation; in others, it’s the tea party.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/02/07/red-light-cameras-under-scrutiny-in-state-legislatures/

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet

Directed History and the Promise of Cannabis in the 21st Century

Posted on by

the-daily-bell-top-logo61

“The evolution of decriminalization is not merely an elite-driven sociopolitical movement; it is surely a purposeful effort to reset how the world responds to drugs.  But such a reset will tie to globalist ambitions to address drug issues on an international basis.  In this way, the cessation of the drug war would benefit proponents of internationalism.  Entrepreneurs can draw numerous conclusions from this emerging social theme.  Not only will other opportunities become apparent, but they will likely be long-lived.  At the same time, there will be increased multi-national regulation, legislation and interference. Businesspeople will be able to take advantage of the trend if they understand why it is occurring.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/public/files/Institutional-Reports/cannabis-whitepaper-June2014.pdf

Scan to Donate Bitcoin to Freedomwat.ch Staff
Did you like this?
Tip Freedomwat.ch Staff with Bitcoin
Donate via Installed Wallet