Tag Archives: Technocracy

Loews, Homeland Security Promote ‘Trusted Traveler’

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“Loews Hotels is offering YouFirst Platinum loyalty rewards members complimentary enrollment in the Global Entry program via an online process by incurring the cost of the $100 application fee for its most loyal guests. With a Global Entry membership, U.S. citizens are automatically qualified to participate in expedited screening with TSA PreCheck.  Said Tisch in a statement. ‘Our collaboration highlights the importance of the public and private sectors working together to improve hospitality for all our guests, whether that be at our hotels or traveling through an airport.'”

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/183657/loews-homeland-security-promote-trusted-traveler.html

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How close are we getting to a “papers please” society?

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“The TSA’s trusted traveler program doesn’t cost anything, at least not yet. And what’s the harm in surrendering a little personal information in exchange for access to a faster screening line where you can leave your shoes, light outerwear and belt on, and are allowed to keep your laptop in its case and your 3-1-1 compliant liquids and gels bags in a carry-on?  Plenty, actually.  Pre-Check represents the latest step toward what many TSA-watchers consider a ‘papers please’ society, a darker version of America that before 9/11 only existed in the pages of dystopian novels.”

http://tsanewsblog.com/6210/news/how-close-are-we-getting-to-a-papers-please-society/

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Florida: Court Approves Detaining Motorists at Toll Booth

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“Under FDOT policies in place at the time, motorists who paid with $50 bills, and occasionally even $5 bills, were not given permission to proceed until the toll collector filled out a ‘Bill Detection Report’ with data about the motorist’s vehicle and details from his driver’s license. Many of those who chose to pay cash did so to avoid the privacy implications of installing a SunPass transponder that recorded their driving habits.”

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/39/3904.asp

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Enemy at the gait: New cameras identify you by your walk

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“A new biometric ‘gait recognition’ system has been developed by Britain’s National Physical Laboratory, meaning that individuals can now be recognized and located by their ‘signature’ walk.  Serious privacy concerns have been aired about the system and its potential surveillance applications.  Simultaneous research has been carried out by Professor Martin Hofmann and colleagues at the Technical University of Munich. They have developed an even more intrusive version that takes information from a person’s image, such as shadows on their clothing, creating a considerably more detailed ‘signature’.”

http://rt.com/news/identify-walk-system-britain-668/

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Why Facebook Would Have Banned Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin

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“A story about Facebook went around twitter last night that provoked quite a reaction in privacy advocates like me: Facebook, it seems, is experimenting with getting people to ‘snitch’ on any of their friends who don’t use their real names.  Zuckerberg is getting too cozy with the government and this anti-anonymous rule plays right into the hand of the totalitarian, snooping government that wants to know every move everyone makes.”

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/09/why-facebook-would-have-banned.html

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Facebook drops facial recognition tool following privacy investigation

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“Facebook said Friday it had switched off the facial-recognition tool that prompts users to ‘tag’ photographs uploaded to its website following a privacy investigation. The feature was identified by regulators as one of the main privacy threats posed by the social networking site.  Facebook was keen to encourage members to ‘tag’ their friends in photographs because it ensures they are shared more widely, but it has been a controversial addition to the site.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/21/facebook-drops-facial-recognition-tool-following-privacy-investigation/

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Angry bikers protest EU-imposed tests on two-wheelers

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[The State giveth, the State taketh…]  “More than 4,500 angry bikers roared around European Union headquarters Saturday to protest plans by Brussels to introduce regular road-worthiness tests on motorbikes and scooters.  EU transport commissioner Slim Kallas wants to toughen technical tests on four-wheel vehicles and introduce regular compulsory testing for so-called powered two-wheelers in order to keep ‘potentially lethal’ vehicles off the roads.  But some bikers’ groups believe his July proposal to set EU-wide rules are unnecessary and that the new plan is a sop to the vehicle inspection industry which stands to make bigger profits.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/22/angry-bikers-protest-eu-imposed-tests-on-two-wheelers/

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Medicare Bills Rise as Records Turn Electronic

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“When the federal government began providing billions of dollars in incentives to push hospitals and physicians to use electronic medical and billing records, the goal was not only to improve efficiency and patient safety, but also to reduce health care costs.  But, in reality, the move to electronic health records may be contributing to billions of dollars in higher costs for Medicare, private insurers and patients by making it easier for hospitals and physicians to bill more for their services, whether or not they provide additional care.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/22/business/medicare-billing-rises-at-hospitals-with-electronic-records.html?smid=fb-share&pagewanted=all

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Massachusetts Crime Lab Investigation; 34,000 Cases Tainted

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“As the press has been reporting over the last several days, serious misconduct at the Hinton crime lab in Jamaica Plain has led the Governor to close the lab. This lab handled evidence for prosecutions in Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties and the apparent misconduct dates from the present back to at least 2003.   This unfolding investigation indicates that some or all of the evidence from that lab is tainted and cannot support prosecutions. The spokesperson for the State Police has indicated that as many as 34,000 cases may be involved.”

http://www.macdl.com/Default.aspx?pageId=1403886

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“Zero Tolerance” Hits Bottom — And Starts to Dig

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“More than 4,000 inmates of San Antonio’s government schools have been conscripted into a pilot program involving mandatory tracking with ID tags containing embedded RFID computer chips. The so-called ‘Student Locator Pilot’ badges must be worn at all times, and will be monitored through a system of undetectable sensors.  The RFID technology has inspired considerable opposition among people jealous of their privacy. The public school system, however, offers an ideal environment in which to test elements of this system using a captive population.”

http://prolibertate.us/index.php/zero-tolerance-hits-bottom-and?blog=7

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