Tag Archives: Technocracy

Ohio secretly uploaded all drivers license photos into police database

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“A powerful facial recognition system with access to driver’s licenses photographs and mug shots went live on June 2. The system is designed to take advantage of the increasing prevalence of security cameras. In Cincinnati alone, police already have access to 118 security cameras, but anticipate having access to over 1,000 by the end of 2014. That number doesn’t include footage from cameras that law enforcement can acquire when private businesses cooperate in investigations. Anyone with access to the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway can acquire personal information — including home addresses or driver’s license and social security numbers of strangers.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/26/ohio-attorney-general-state-secretly-uploaded-all-drivers-license-photos-into-police-database/

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Southern California Cities Further Reject Red Light Cameras

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“Embattled red light camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems has lost another contract. The Escondido, California city council voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the Australian company’s right to issue near $500 tickets expire on December 12, and ticketing will cease even sooner.  Councilmen were swayed by the $89,000 cost per intersection to run cameras compared to $2400 to coordinate signal timing and $5000 per year to add protected left-hand turns.  Escondido loses $177,000 a year on the program while Redflex and the county and state governments profit from it. That turned out to be too high a financial cost for other city officials who otherwise support photo ticketing.”

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/41/4186.asp

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New York City bike share tech woes enrage normally even-keeled New York bikers

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“More than 38,000 New Yorkers have paid $103 for a year-long subscription, but many are still awaiting their blue key — needed to access the bikes. Officials have said ‘batches of keys’ are going out daily to fix the problem. But those with weekly and day passes are also dealing with spotty problems.  Sometimes, docking stations in popular neighborhoods are full and users cannot park their bikes. Other times, the locking mechanisms do not work. And near busy Midtown offices, it is sometimes impossible to find a bike at night.  And at some stations, payment via debit or credit card — the only way to purchase a short-term pass — does not function.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/14/new-york-city-bike-share-tech-woes-enrage-normally-even-keeled-new-york-bikers/

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Copenhagen Bike-Sharing Program To Be Most High-Tech Yet

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Copenhagen Bike-Sharing Program To Be Most High-Tech Yet

“For the next generation of bike-sharing innovations, take a look at Copenhagen and smile. Trains and a bike-sharing program working as one travel option now offer a GPS built into the bike. Not only do you know where to pick up your next connection – you have a schedule of all local train times between your front bars. The Europeans and Copenhageners (again) increase a bike lover’s convenience in transit with this new innovation. With an Android tablet offering a built-in GPS, real-time train departures and ticket integration, and real-time info on available bikes and docks in the area, one glides easily from destination to destination.”

http://cleantechnica.com/2013/08/19/copenhagen-bike-sharing-program-to-be-most-high-tech-bike-sharing-program-yet/

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Housing Vouchers: Equal Opportunity Crime-Sharing

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“There is an alliance. Libertarians do not like tax-funded education, so they oppose vouchers. The teachers’ union does not like inter-school academic competition, so they oppose vouchers. Suburban parents do not like forced integration, so they oppose vouchers. All in all, vouchers have been a gigantic failure. After 50 years of failure, HUD has decided to use another form of vouchers: vouchers that are not subject to local voting. HUD has broadened the scope of vouchers. Entire families will be granted tickets out. HUD will offer subsidies of all kinds to persuade cities to let the inner cities of America spread into the suburbs.”

http://www.garynorth.com/public/11444.cfm

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A View Down The Road

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“The latest versions of these GPS systems have ‘real time’ functionality. They can adjust route guidance to take account of accidents along your planned route, for instance. This is handy. But the same functionality can be put to other uses, too. For instance, there is no technological reason why the new Lincoln MKZ’s ability to keep abreast of the speed limit wherever you happen to be driving could not also be used to limit the speed you drive – or at least, record your failure to abide by the speed limit and perhaps report your noncompliance to the authorities. Or more likely, your insurance company. Perhaps both.”

http://ericpetersautos.com/2013/08/15/a-view-down-the-road/

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Facial Scanning Is Making Gains in Surveillance

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“The federal government is making progress on developing a surveillance system that would pair computers with video cameras to scan crowds and automatically identify people by their faces, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with researchers working on the project.  The Department of Homeland Security tested a crowd-scanning project called the Biometric Optical Surveillance System — or BOSS — last fall after two years of government-financed development. Although the system is not ready for use, researchers say they are making significant advances.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/us/facial-scanning-is-making-gains-in-surveillance.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all

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Your identity will become “property of the U.S. government” under new rules

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“Requirements in Senate Bill 744 for mandatory worker IDs and electronic verification remove the right of citizens to take employment and ‘give’ it back as a privilege only when proper proof is presented and the government agrees. Any citizen wanting to take a job would face the regulation that his or her digitized high-resolution passport or driver’s license photo be collected and stored centrally in a Homeland Security database. The pictures in the national database would then need to be matched against the job applicant’s government-issued ‘enhanced’ ID card, using a Homeland Security-mandated facial-recognition ‘photo tool.'”

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/opinion/sobel-id-immigration

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Maryland: Motorist Rights Group Sues Over Camera Data

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“The town eventually responded in June 2012, demanding that Ely pay a schedule of fees for the involvement of various town employees, including $200 an hour for the town attorney. The total cost to access the documents was left open-ended. Ely is not seeking obscure or difficult to obtain records. Instead, he wants the calibration certificates and daily setup logs that must be ‘kept on file’ under the state’s speed camera authorization statute. Already, two localities have been caught violating state law in allowing a private company to operate cameras without documenting the calibrations, as required.”

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/41/4184.asp

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Secret Service nabs Oklahoma driver’s license equipment burglars

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“Two men are accused of committing multiple felony burglaries at metro area tag agencies. They were after the equipment and supplies needed to make Oklahoma driver’s licenses and ID cards.  591 customers had their personal information stolen along with the equipment. We keep piling on security feature like biometrics to our state driver’s license but the weakest link is the local DMV or tag agencies.  This sort of crime is happening all over the country.  All the personal data and high tech security features in the world will not make the card secure.  Instead what it does is make the document a hot commodity for crooks.”

http://axiomamuse.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/secret-service-nabs-oklahoma-drivers-license-equipment-burglars/

See also:

http://freedomwat.ch/2013/07/22/the-secret-service-agent-who-collared-cybercrooks-by-selling-them-fake-ids/

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