---BREAKAWAY CIVILIZATION ---ALTERNATIVE HISTORY---NEW BUSINESS MODELS--- ROCK & ROLL 'S STRANGE BEGINNINGS---SERIAL KILLERS---YEA AND THAT BAD WORD "CONSPIRACY"--- AMERICANS DON'T EXPLORE ANYTHING ANYMORE.WE JUST CONSUME AND DIE.---
The turnover of the shadow banking globally is now greater than the
total GDP of the G20 and requires tighter control to prevent another
recession, the Financial Stability Board reports.
Shadow banking includes all types of financial institutions that
operate like banks but without a banking license, and fall outside
current oversight. This category includes hedge funds and a large part
of investment funds, financial activity of many multinational companies,
and even individuals engaged in stock trading.
According to the
FSB, the main part of the shadow banking sector is concentrated in the
USA – 23 trillion dollars, followed by the Eurozone – 22 trillion, then
Great Britain – 9 trillion. The rest of the world accounts for 13
trillion dollars.
“Appropriate monitoring and regulatory
frameworks for the shadow banking system needs to be in place to
mitigate the build-up of risks,” the FSB said in the report published on its website.
The
FSB says events of 2007-2009 saw negative processes on the market of
structural financial products tied to US mortgages spread to the global
banking market and affected the real sectors of the global economy. “The
global shadow banking system …grew rapidly before the crisis, rising
from $26 trillion in 2002 to $62 trillion in 2007. The size of the total
system declined slightly in 2008 but increased subsequently to reach
$67 trillion in 2011", which is equivalent to "111% of the aggregated GDP of 11 jurisdictions and the euro area,” the FSB reports.
The FSB was set up to co-ordinate the work of international regulatory authorities.
The
body wants to bring in rules for this sector that are close to those
being introduced for mainstream banks, such as a minimum level of
high-quality assets that must be held as a safety buffer. Final rules
will be submitted to leaders of the Group of 20 nations at a summit in
St. Petersburg in Russia next year, the FSB said. ess-operations-071/
It’s the biggest mystery on Wall Street.
Hurricane
Sandy floodwaters inundated a 10,000-square-foot underground vault
downtown, soaking 1.3 million bond and stock certificates — including
bearer bonds that function like cash — and putting them in danger of
turning to mush.
A contractor working for the vault owner, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., is feverishly working to restore the paper.
But the value of the threatened notes under 55 Water St. remains unknown to all but the innermost circle of Wall Street bankers.
One source said $70 billion in bearer bonds were in jeopardy.
Bloomberg
LIQUID ASSETS: Thousands of bearer bonds — which could
be worth as much as $70 billion — are now in danger of turning to pulp
after Hurricane Sandy flooded the downtown vault that had been storing
them.
DTCC — a depository controlled by the biggest financial firms on Wall
Street — won’t say exactly what was in its vaults, how much the notes
are worth, and who owns what.
Most of its member firms, including Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, UBS and Citi did not return calls.
The
exception was Goldman Sachs, whose spokesman Michael DuVally confirmed
Friday to The Post that his firm stored bearer bonds in the DTCC vaults.
He acknowledged they would be nearly impossible to redeem if destroyed.
Yesterday
morning, DuVally elaborated, and said the value of the Goldman bonds
was “less than $1 million.” An hour later, he called back to say, “The
market value of bearer bonds potentially impacted is less than $10,000.”
DTCC
spokeswoman Judy Inosanto would say only that “a variety of equities
and bonds” were damaged. “I can’t go into details. We do not provide
values for security reasons.”
Even a contractor who bid on the
cleanup and recovery job — the notes were drenched in diesel- and
sewage-tinged water that filled 55 Water Street’s three sub-basements —
clammed up when asked about the damage.
“It’s nobody’s business,”
he said. “The public doesn’t need to know what’s in that vault. It’s
between them and their customers.”
What is known is that for
decades the vault housed millions of bearer bonds — worth many times
that amount in dollars. In 1990, two-thirds of the 32 million notes in
the vault were bearer bonds, DTCC records showed. Even as bearer bonds
matured and the notes were removed, the vault continued to hold 5.4
million bearer bonds at late as 2003.
Experts say the only hope
for saving the stacks of bonds would be to freeze-dry them in a cold
vacuum chamber. As the air pressure in the chamber is reduced, and heat
is increased, moisture in the documents would evaporate.
Security
would have to oversee a tight chain of custody during the procedure,
and the entire process could cost upward of $2 million.
Belfor, a
Texas-based recovery firm rumored to have won the job, had a trailer
parked outside 55 Water St. yesterday. When asked about a contract with
Goldman to recover $70 billion in bearer bonds, Belfor spokeswoman Alex
Gort said, “We have very strict confidentiality.”
Belfor workers
at the site yesterday described a “complete restoration job” under “very
high security,” but claimed to know nothing about the bonds.
“There are three vaults,” a hardhat said outside the building. “I wasn’t
in the vault where the bonds are. Security is very tight down there. I
know they were all under water. Billions of dollars’ worth, soaked. I
know they are trying to pack them up.”
Bearer bonds are paper
certificates, usually issued by governments, that are redeemable after a
prescribed term. The bearer submits an attached coupon to receive
payment. Because they are typically unregistered and can be used like
cash, they were commonly used by those wishing to hide, and not pay
taxes on, assets. They were banned in 1982.
But those that haven’t been fully redeemed remain in circulation.
Andrew
Kintzinger, a securities lawyer, said that if a Wall Street firm were
holding bonds as a custodian for investors, there would be electronic
records documenting payments that would provide investors with proof of
ownership.
But if Goldman or the other banks owned the damaged bonds themselves, redeeming them could be “a problem,” he said. Additional reporting by Mark DeCambre and Kevin Fasick.
Are Operatives From Both Parties Systematically Committing Election Fraud?
By Michael, on October 22nd, 2012
The election is still more than two weeks away, and already a
tremendous amount of evidence has emerged that operatives from both
major political parties have been committing election fraud. There have
been reports of dead people being registered to vote, of voter
registration forms being tossed in the garbage, and of activists
purposely helping people get registered to vote in more than one state.
We have not had a presidential election this closely contested since
Bush v. Gore back in 2000, so there has been a tremendous amount of
concern that one side (or potentially both sides) may be tempted to
cheat. Supporters of Obama and Romney have both been charged with
breaking the rules before. We all remember the ACORN voting scandals from the 2008 election, and what Romney operatives did to Ron Paul in the state of Maine
during primary season was absolutely criminal. Anyone that believes
that there are not operatives on both sides that would be willing to do
"whatever it takes" to win this election is simply being delusional.
Politics in America has become a very dirty game in this day and age,
and the truth is that an increasing number of activists on both sides
truly believe that "the ends justify the means" when it comes to trying
to win an election.
The integrity of our elections is of paramount importance. After
all, if our right to vote is taken away, what other way do we have to
change things?
Sadly, the integrity of our elections has been called into question
in recent years. We all remember what happened back in 2000. If
another presidential election ends in similar fashion it could shake our
system to the core.
A study that was released back in February by the Pew Center on the
States found some very disturbing things. The following are a few of
the statistics from their report...
-Nationally, one out of every eight voter registrations is inaccurate.
-Approximately 2.8 million Americans are registered in two or more states.
-Somewhere around 1.8 million registered voters are dead.
Those are some very disturbing numbers. But the truth is that our
system of voter registration is very vulnerable to fraud. Just check
out what has been happening down in Florida...
Strategic Allied Consulting is the company founded
and head by Nathan Sproul, the former executive director and leader of
the RNC in the state of Arizona. In 2012, Sproul was employed by the RNC
and the Mitt Romney campaign to do voter work in five swing states:
North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Nevada and Colorado. The public
record shows that Sproul was paid more than $3 million this year by both
the RNC and the Romney campaign to do voter registration drives in
those five states. In Florida, from January through September 2012,
Strategic Allied Consulting was paid $1.3 million. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has launched an
immediate criminal investigation of Sproul and the Strategic Allied
Consulting because of allegations of criminal acts of voter fraud across
the state of Florida. There are allegations of dead people being
registered to vote as well as numerous other voter registration
infractions in attempt to increase Republican voter rolls. As soon as
the news hit about the criminal allegations, the RNC’s national office
fired Sproul and his firm.
Democrats have been howling over that incident and another incident that just happened down in Virginia.
One Republican operative has been accused of throwing voter
registration forms into a dumpster. The following is from a recent
article posted on the Brad Blog...
A man originally reported to have been working for
the Republican Party of Virginia was arrested by the Rockingham County,
VA Sheriff's office on Thursday and charged with attempting to destroy
voter registration forms by tossing them into a dumpster behind a
shopping center in Harrisonburg, VA. "Prosecutors charged him with four counts of destruction of voter
registration applications, eight counts of failing to disclose voter
registration applications and one count of obstruction of justice,"
according to a report late Thursday afternoon from TPM's Ryan Reilly. More charges could be forthcoming, according to officials.
If any of these allegations are true, they are deeply, deeply
disturbing. Nobody should be cheating when it comes to voter
registration.
There is evidence that Democrats have also been involved in
widespread voter fraud this election season. In fact, apparently Obama
campaign staffers have been very willing to help Obama voters get
registered to vote in more than one state. The following is from a
recent article by Mac Slavo....
When undercover reporters visited various locations
across the country they received the same response from Obama campaign
staffers – that it’s basically okay to vote multiple times if you happen
to be registered in two or more states. In Houston, Texas, for example, the Project Veritas
reporter made her intentions known, and rather than being rebuffed for
her planned illegal activity, she was provided assistance with obtaining
the proper forms to be registered in two states and was told to say “I
don’t know” if the double-voting ever became an issue. Similar situations unfolded at other DNC funded community organizations.
Sadly, the mainstream media has brushed most of these stories under
the rug. They want us to continue to believe that there are no
significant problems with the integrity of our elections.
But obviously we do have some problems.
So what can be done about them?
Well, some states have passed strict voter ID laws in recent years in
an attempt to cut down on election fraud, but Democrats have been
attacking these new laws like rabid attack dogs.
In fact, they have been very successful in getting courts to strike
down many of these new laws. The following is a list of voter ID laws
that have been struck down in recent months that is from a recent
article that was posted on Ohio.com...
Texas voter ID law struck down Aug 30 Pennsylvania voter ID law struck down. Wisconsin voter ID law disallowed for 2012 election. Ohio voter ID law struck down by two courts and rejected by Supreme Court. Arizona "proof of citizenship" voting law struck down. Florida voter registration law and shortening early voting days struck down. Missouri voter ID law struck down. South Carolina's voter ID blocked by court for 2012 election.
Democrats attacked these laws because they believe that voter ID laws would hurt their candidates.
But shouldn't the integrity of our elections be more important than who wins or who loses?
You would think, but that is not the way things work in America today.
Both sides deeply hate each other and are incredibly suspicious of one another.
The Democrats are so afraid of potential fraud by Republicans that
they have even complained to the United Nations. So this election day
there will be 44 UN observers stationed around the country watching for "voter suppression activities by conservative groups"...
United Nations-affiliated election monitors from
Europe and central Asia will be at polling places around the U.S.
looking for voter suppression activities by conservative groups, a
concern raised by civil rights groups during a meeting this week. The
intervention has drawn criticism from a prominent conservative-leaning
group combating election fraud. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a
United Nations partner on democratization and human rights projects,
will deploy 44 observers from its human rights office around the country
on Election Day to monitor an array of activities, including potential
disputes at polling places.
Of course the biggest source of potential election fraud is our
voting machines. In recent years there have been a multitude of very
serious "irregularities" that have been produced by computerized
voting. For much more on this, just check out this article for a long list of very serious voting machine problems over the past decade.
It is just so easy to hack into computers these days, and just
changing a very small percentage of the votes can completely change the
outcome of an election.
On this upcoming election night, stay alert for any reports of voter
fraud or statistical "irregularities" in the results. I have a feeling
that the integrity of the results may be a major issue this time around.
ehehehehe
Patriots And Christians Have Been Repeatedly Labeled As Potential Terrorists Since Obama Became President
By Michael, on October 4th, 2012
Since the beginning of 2009, there has been a significant shift in
the focus of the "war on terror". Right after 9/11, the American people
were told that the terrorists were Islamic radicals and that we needed
to go fight them in the Middle East so that they would not come attack
us here at home. But now many anti-terrorism reports put out by the
government barely mention Islam at all. Instead, many of them are
primarily focused on "domestic right-wing extremists". You may not
think of yourself as a "domestic right-wing extremist", and I certainly
do not, but the truth is that patriotic Americans and conservative
Christians have been repeatedly labeled as "potential terrorists" since
Barack Obama became president. If this had just happened one time, it
would be easy to dismiss. Sadly, there has been a steady pattern of
this happening over the past several years. Large groups of people that
are the heart and soul of this country have been systematically
demonized over the past four years. When you consider what history has
taught us, it is absolutely chilling to think about what this could
eventually lead to.
Just this week another example of this phenomenon surfaced. Wired Magazine was able to obtain a leaked U.S. Army document that contained a chart entitled "Radicalization into Violent Extremism". This chart identifies the following as characteristics of potential terrorists....
-"Complains about bias"
-"Believes in government conspiracies to the point of paranoia"
-"Is frustrated with mainstream ideologies"
-"Visits extremist websites/blogs"
-"Establishes website/blog to display extremist views"
-"Attends rallies for extremist causes"
-"Exhibits extreme religious intolerance"
-"Is personally connected with a grievance"
-"Suddenly acquires weapons"
-"Organizes protests inspired by extremist ideology"
Do any of the above apply to you?
You might think not, but if you complain about the bias of the
mainstream media, if you refuse to identify with either major political
party, if you visit websites such as this one, or if you believe that
your religion is true and that some religions are false then you
probably fall into at least one of the categories above.
Let's look at another example.
The following characteristics of potential terrorists are from a presentation entitled "Terrorism Training For Law Enforcement"
which was produced by the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training
(SLATT) program. The SLATT program is funded by grants from the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. Do any of the
following characteristics describe you?....
-"Militia or unorganized militia"
-"General right-wing extremist"
-Has "bumper stickers" that are patriotic or anti-U.N.
-those that refer to an "Army of God"
More examples of this demonization of patriots and Christians can be
found in a DHS report that was released early in 2012 entitled "Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States, 1970 to 2008".
That report identified characteristics of those that have committed
terrorist attacks in the past and of those that are likely to do so in
the future.
Once again, as you are reading this list see if any of these characteristics apply to you....
-"fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation)"
-"anti-global"
-"suspicious of centralized federal authority"
-"reverent of individual liberty"
-"believe in conspiracy theories"
-"a belief that one’s personal and/or national “way of life” is under attack"
-"a belief in the need to be prepared for an attack either by
participating in paramilitary preparations and training or survivalism"
-"impose strict religious tenets or laws on society (fundamentalists)"
-"insert religion into the political sphere"
-"those who seek to politicize religion"
-"supported political movements for autonomy"
-"anti-abortion"
-"anti-Catholic"
-"anti-nuclear"
Most Americans would fall into at least one of those categories.
That is one of the reasons why these reports are so frightening. Once
they identify most of us as "potential terrorists", they can use all of
the "anti-terrorism laws" that have been implemented in recent years
against us whenever they want.
Another example of this trend is a Department of Homeland Security
report that was published shortly after Barack Obama became president in
2009 entitled "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment".
Among other things, that report claims that a belief in Bible prophecy
"could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food,
ammunition and weapons."
The following are some of the other things that particular report was extremely concerned about....
-"rightwing extremists"
-"returning veterans"
-those concerned about "illegal immigration"
-those that "believe in the right to bear arms"
-"ammunition stockpiling"
-"fear of communist regimes and related conspiracy theories"
Once upon a time, it was "anti-American" not to be concerned about the "red menace".
Now it is "anti-American" if you are concerned about communism.
What a strange world we live in today.
Let's examine yet another example of this phenomenon.
Shortly after Barack Obama took office, the State of Missouri issued a report entitled "MIAC Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement". That report warned that the following types of people may be potential terrorists....
-anti-abortion activists
-those that are against illegal immigration
-those that talk about "the New World Order" in a "derogatory" manner
-those that have a negative view of the United Nations
-those that are opposed "to the collection of federal income taxes"
-those that display the Gadsden Flag ("Don't Tread On Me")
-those that supported former presidential candidates Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin and Bob Barr
Perhaps the most disturbing element of that report was that it
identified support of particular political candidates as a threat to
national security.
Sadly, the truth is that our most basic freedoms are under attack. Our country is slowly being transformed into a giant prison camp, but most Americans don't even realize what is happening.
It is like the story of the frog in the kettle. The heat is being
turned up so slowly that most people don't even feel it, but eventually
that water will be boiling.
The federal government is pouring billions upon billions of dollars
into "anti-terrorism" efforts, but much of that money is being wasted
and much of it is being spent on monitoring innocent Americans. The
following is from a recent article posted on the Blaze....
A multibillion-dollar information-sharing program
created in the aftermath of 9/11 has improperly collected information
about innocent Americans and produced little valuable intelligence on
terrorism, a Senate report concludes. It portrays an effort that
ballooned far beyond anyone’s ability to control. What began as an attempt to put local, state and federal
officials in the same room analyzing the same intelligence has instead
cost huge amounts of money for data-mining software, flat screen
televisions and, in Arizona, two fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoes that
are used for commuting, investigators found.
Instead of focusing on real threats to national security, our government has become absolutely obsessed with watching all of us.
This is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the
brave, but instead America is being turned into an Orwellian police
state.
Data Mining: Big Corporations Are Gathering Every Shred Of Information About You That They Can And Selling It For Profit
By Michael, on June 21st, 2012
When
most people think of "Big Brother", they think of the FBI, the CIA, the
NSA, the Department of Homeland Security and other shadowy government
agencies. Yes, they are definitely watching you, but so are many big
corporations. In fact, there are some companies that are making tens of
millions of dollars by gathering every shred of information about all
of us that they can and selling it for profit to anyone willing to pay
the price. It is called "data mining", and these data miners want to
keep track of literally everything that you do. Most people know that
basically everything that we do on the Internet
is tracked, but data mining goes far beyond that. When you use a
customer rewards card at the supermarket, the data miners know about
it. When you pay for a purchase with a credit card or a debit card, the
data miners know about it. Every time you buy a prescription drug,
that information is sold to someone. Every time you apply for a loan, a
whole host of organizations is notified. Information has become an
extremely valuable commodity, and thanks to computers and the Internet
it is easier to gather information than ever before. But that also
means that our personal information is no longer "private", and this
trend is only going to get worse in the years ahead.
You have probably never even heard of many of these companies that
are making millions of dollars selling your personal information.
Acxiom and Epsilon are two of the biggest names in the industry, and
most of the time they are selling your information to companies that
want to sell you stuff.
Almost every single day, very personal information about you is being bought and sold without your permission and it is all perfectly legal.
A recent article in The Week says the following about Acxiom....
An Arkansas company you've probably never heard of
knows more about you than some of your friends, Google, and even the FBI
— and it's selling your data
The scale of the information gathering that Acxiom does is absolutely
mind blowing. If you can believe it, Acxiom actually keeps track of more than 190 million people inside the United States....
The company fits into a category called database
marketing. It started in 1969 as an outfit called Demographics Inc.,
using phone books and other notably low-tech tools, as well as one
computer, to amass information on voters and consumers for direct
marketing. Almost 40 years later, Acxiom has detailed entries for more
than 190 million people and 126 million households in the U.S., and
about 500 million active consumers worldwide. More than 23,000 servers
in Conway, just north of Little Rock, collect and analyze more than 50
trillion data 'transactions' a year.
So what does Acxiom want to know about you?
Everything.
The following is from a recent New York Times article about Acxiom....
IT knows who you are. It knows where you live. It knows what you do. It peers deeper into American life than the F.B.I. or the I.R.S.,
or those prying digital eyes at Facebook and Google. If you are an
American adult, the odds are that it knows things like your age, race,
sex, weight, height, marital status, education level, politics, buying
habits, household health worries, vacation dreams — and on and on.
Companies such as Acxiom literally want every shred of information about you that they can possibly get.
Once they gather all that data, Acxiom analyzes it, packages it and
sells it to large corporations such as Wells Fargo, HSBC, Toyota, Ford
and Macy's.
And being in the "Big Brother business" is very, very profitable.
Acxiom made more than 77 million dollars in profits during their latest fiscal year.
Some members of Congress are very alarmed by all of this. According to U.S. Senator John Kerry, this industry is virtually unregulated....
"There's no code of conduct. There's no standard. There's nothing that safeguards privacy and establishes rules of the road."
So what do big corporations do with all of this data after they purchase it from companies like Acxiom?
Well, for one thing, they use it to try to predict how you will behave. A Daily Beast article gave some examples of how this works....
Predicting people’s behavior is becoming big business—and increasingly feasible in an era defined by accessible information. Data crunching
by Canadian Tire, for instance, recently enabled the retailer's credit
card business to create psychological profiles of its cardholders that
were built upon alarmingly precise correlations. Their findings:
Cardholders who purchased carbon-monoxide detectors, premium birdseed,
and felt pads for the bottoms of their chair legs rarely missed a
payment. On the other hand, those who bought cheap motor oil and visited
a Montreal pool bar called "Sharx" were a higher risk. "If you show us
what you buy, we can tell you who you are, maybe even better than you
know yourself," a former Canadian Tire exec said.
I don't know about you, but I find that a bit creepy.
Later on in that same article, how some U.S. companies are using this kind of information was explained....
Other industries have bolstered their bottom lines by
predicting how consumers will behave, according to Super Crunchers. UPS
predicts when customers are at risk of fleeing to one of its
competitors, and then tries to prevent the loss with a telephone call
from a salesperson. And with its “Total Rewards” card, Harrah’s casinos
track everything that players win and lose, in real time, and then
analyze their demographic information to calculate their “pain
point”—the maximum amount of money they’re likely to be willing to lose
and still come back to the casino in the future. Players who get too
close to their pain point are likely to be offered a free dinner that
gets them off the casino floor.
So is all of this data gathering harmless?
Does it simply make our economy more efficient?
Or is there a greater danger here?
At some point could all of our personal information be used for more insidious purposes?
One thing is for sure - this is a trend that is not going away any time soon.
As our society becomes even more integrated through the Internet, data gathering is going to become even more comprehensive.
Eventually these complicated computer algorithms will be able to make
very detailed predictions about your future behavior with a very, very
high degree of accuracy.
When you add government snooping into the equation, it becomes easy to see why privacy advocates are going crazy these days.
Our society is literally being transformed into a technological monitoring grid. Virtually everything we do is monitored, tracked and recorded in some way.
If we are not very careful, eventually we could end up living in a
society that is much more oppressive than anything George Orwell ever
dreamed of.
So what do you think of all of this snooping, spying and data mining?
Do you believe that it is harmless or do you believe that it represents a significant threat?
Feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below....
The
US Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun rolling out its new $1
billion biometric Next Generation Identification (NGI) system. In
essence, NGI is a nationwide database of mugshots, iris scans, DNA
records, voice samples, and other biometrics, that will help the FBI
identify and catch criminals — but it is how this biometric
data is captured, through a nationwide network of cameras and photo
databases, that is raising the eyebrows of privacy advocates.
Until
now, the FBI relied on IAFIS, a national fingerprint database that has
long been due an overhaul. Over the last few months, the FBI has been
pilot testing a facial recognition system
— and soon, detectives will also be able to search the system for other
biometrics such as DNA records and iris scans. In theory, this should
result in much faster positive identifications of criminals and fewer
unsolved cases.
According to New Scientist,
facial recognition systems have reached the point where they can match a
single face from a pool of 1.6 million mugshots/passport photos with
92% accuracy, in under 1.2 seconds
[PDF]. In the case of automated, biometric border controls where your
face and corresponding mugshot are well lit, the accuracy approaches
100%. Likewise, where DNA or iris records exist, it’s a very expedient
way of accurately identifying suspects. So
far, so good — catching criminals faster and making less false arrests
must be a good thing, right? Well, yes, but there are some important
caveats that we must bear in mind. For a start, the pilot study has only
used mugshots and driving license photos of known criminals — but the
FBI hasn’t guaranteed that this will always be the case. There may come a
time when the NGI is filled with as many photos as possible, from as
many sources as possible, of as many people as possible — criminal or
otherwise. This might be as overt as parsing CCTV footage and collating
every single face into a database; or maybe you’re just unlucky and your
face ends up in the system because you’re in the background of a photo
starring a known criminal.
Imagine if the NGI had full access to
every driving license and passport photo in the country — and DNA
records kept by doctors, and iris scans kept by businesses. The FBI’s NGI,
if the right checks and balances aren’t in place, could very easily
become a tool that decimates civilian privacy and freedom. Time to
invest in a hoodie, I think…
29 Signs That The Elite Are Transforming Society Into A Total Domination Control Grid
By Michael, on November 21st, 2012
The elite want to tightly control almost everything that we do, say
and think. When most people think of "tyranny", they think of thugs
with guns and little dictators running around barking orders at
everyone. But that is not how the elite are accomplishing their goals
these days. They want us to actually believe that we have freedom and
that we are choosing our own leaders, but in the background they are
exerting "soft power" in a way that is absolutely ruthless. They fund
the political campaigns of our politicians, they own nearly all of the
large corporations and financial institutions, they exert very tight
control over the media and their agenda is being promoted through the
education systems of virtually every nation on the planet. What the
elite are doing is not illegal. In fact, they use the government and
they use the law to accomplish their purposes. That is one reason why
the elite love big government. For them, it is an instrument of
control. The larger the government is, the easier it is to watch,
track, monitor and control the rest of us. As you read this, a "total
domination control grid" is being constructed all around us that is far
beyond anything that George Orwell ever dreamed of. This system is
advancing on hundreds of different fronts, and it is getting tighter and
more restrictive with each passing day. We may think that we still
have a certain degree of liberty, but if you start doing things that the
system does not like, the system has a way of getting you back in line
very quickly. In the end, it is all about control. There are many
among the elite that actually believe that a tightly controlled society
that is dominated by government institutions that they control is what
is best for humanity. Many of them honestly believe that society would
descend into chaos without a strong hand guiding it. Many of them truly
are convinced that those that are "enlightened" are doing a noble thing
by guiding humanity into the "bright future" that the elite are
designing for them. But of course the freedoms and the liberties of the
common people must be greatly limited in order to get us to that
"bright future". We are like cattle that need to be penned in for our
own good. This is how the elite actually think. I spent many years
being educated by them and rubbing shoulders with them. They should not
be trusted. Once our liberties and freedoms are gone, they will be
nearly impossible to get back. And once the elite have total control,
we will be faced with a tyranny unlike anything humanity has ever seen
before.
The following are 29 signs that the elite are transforming society into a total domination control grid... 1. A new bill in the U.S. Senate would allow more than 20 different government agencies to read your email without a search warrant. 2. Next generation facial recognition cameras that can identify a person in less than a second and "send authorities all known intelligence about anyone who enters a camera’s field of vision" are being put up in southern California. 3. A highly sophisticated surveillance grid known as "Trapwire"
is being installed in major cities and at "high value targets" all over
the United States. Unfortunately, most Americans do not even realize
that it exists. 4. Police departments all over America are beginning to deploy unmanned surveillance drones
in the skies over their cities. But don't think that a drone is not
watching you just because you don't live in a major city. The truth is
that the federal government has been using unmanned surveillance drones
to spy on farmers in Iowa and Nebraska. There could be a drone over your house right now and you might not ever know it. 5. Individual politicians know more about you than
they ever have before. The amount of information that the Obama campaign
has compiled on potential voters is absolutely frightening...
If you voted this election season, President Obama
almost certainly has a file on you. His vast campaign database includes
information on voters’ magazine subscriptions, car registrations,
housing values and hunting licenses, along with scores estimating how
likely they were to cast ballots for his reelection.
6. The UK is often five or ten years ahead of much
of the rest of the world in implementing "Big Brother" police state
measures. Over there it is now against the law to insult someone with your speech.
If you say something that is "likely" to insult a Muslim or a
homosexual you could end up being dragged in front of a judge. It is
only a matter of time before we see these kinds of laws all over the
planet. 7. Could you imagine the government telling you what the temperature inside your own home can be? A new law in France would do exactly that...
Heating a French home could soon require an income
tax consultation or even a visit to the doctor under legislation to
force conservation in the nation's $46 billion household energy market. A bill adopted by the lower house this month would set prices
that homes pay based on wages, age and climate. Utilities Electricite de
France and GDF Suez will use the data to reward consumers who cut power
and natural gas usage and penalize those whom regulators decide are
wasteful.
8. Control freak bureaucrats love to tell others how
to run their lives. For example, one man down in Orlando, Florida was
recently ordered to rip out the vegetable garden
that he was growing in his front yard. Will we eventually get to the
point where even the smallest details of our lives are micromanaged by
the government? 9. Most Americans don't realize this, but the DNA of almost every newborn baby in America is collected and stored by the government. What plans do they have for all of this DNA? 10. All over America, schools are beginning to require students to carry IDs with RFID microchips in them wherever they go. Fortunately, some students are fighting back...
The San Antonio sophomore who opposed microchipping
student IDs that would track their every movement has inspired a
groundswell of 300 students in her huge district who now refuse to wear
the identification chips over religious, personal privacy, safety and
civil liberties concerns. In addition, some 700 other people have signed
petitions opposing the microchipping program.
11. There is more crossover between our education
system and our law enforcement system than ever before. An increasing
number of schools in the United States have police officers roaming
their hallways, and today there are more than 70,000 children behind bars in America. 12. When you rely on FEMA to take care of you, it
can literally feel like you are in prison. The following is a
description of what life is like in one FEMA camp that was set up in New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy...
“Sitting there last night you could see your breath,”
displaced resident Brian Sotelo told the Asbury Park Press. “At (Pine
Belt) the Red Cross made an announcement that they were sending us to
permanent structures up here that had just been redone, that had washing
machines and hot showers and steady electric, and they sent us to tent
city. We got (expletived).” Sotelo said Blackhawk helicopters patrol the skies “all day and
night” and a black car with tinted windows surveys the camp while the
government moves heavy equipment past the tents at night. According to
the story, reporters aren’t even allowed in the fenced complex, where
lines of displaced residents form outside portable toilets. Security
guards are posted at every door, and residents can’t even use the toilet
or shower without first presenting I.D. “They treat us like we’re prisoners,” Ashley Sabol told Reuters.
“It’s bad to say, but we honestly feel like we’re in a concentration
camp.”
13. Your cell phone collects information about you
wherever you go, and law enforcement authorities in the United States
requested that cell phone data be turned over to them more than a million times in 2011 alone. 14. The federal government has created an iPhone app that is designed to encourage all of us to take photos of "suspicious activity" and report our neighbors to the authorities. 15. The U.S. government is increasingly using spyware to monitor the behavior of their employees while they are at work. 16. According to three NSA whistleblowers,
the agency "has the capability to do individualized searches, similar
to Google, for particular electronic communications in real time through
such criteria as target addresses, locations, countries and phone
numbers, as well as watch-listed names, keywords, and phrases in email." 17. Private corporations are gathering every shred
of information about you that they possible can. One of the largest
companies involved in "mining our data" is known as Acxiom. It turns out that Acxiom has compiled information on more than 190 million people in the United States alone…
The company fits into a category called database
marketing. It started in 1969 as an outfit called Demographics Inc.,
using phone books and other notably low-tech tools, as well as one
computer, to amass information on voters and consumers for direct
marketing. Almost 40 years later, Acxiom has detailed entries for more
than 190 million people and 126 million households in the U.S., and
about 500 million active consumers worldwide. More than 23,000 servers
in Conway, just north of Little Rock, collect and analyze more than 50
trillion data ‘transactions’ a year.
18. We are being trained to give up our privacy and
our dignity in the name of "security". For example, what the TSA did
recently to one woman who was dying of leukemia was absoutely shameful...
A dying woman says a a security pat-down at Sea-Tac Airport left her embarrassed in front of crowds of people. Michelle Dunaj says screeners checked under bandages from recent
surgeries and refused to give her a private search when she requested
one.
19. According to one recent survey, nearly one-third of all Americans would be willing to submit to a "TSA body cavity search" in order to fly. 20. Law enforcement authorities all over the United
States will soon be driving around in unmarked vehicles looking inside
your cars and even under your clothes using the same backscatter technology currently being used by the TSA at U.S. airports…
American cops are set to join the US military in
deploying American Science & Engineering’s Z Backscatter Vans, or
mobile backscatter radiation x-rays. These are what TSA officials call
“the amazing radioactive genital viewer,” now seen in airports around
America, ionizing the private parts of children, the elderly, and you
(yes you). These pornoscannerwagons will look like regular anonymous vans,
and will cruise America’s streets, indiscriminately peering through the
cars (and clothes) of anyone in range of its mighty isotope-cannon. But
don’t worry, it’s not a violation of privacy. As AS&E’s vice
president of marketing Joe Reiss sez, “From a privacy standpoint, I’m
hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be.”
21. A company known as BRS Labs has developed
"pre-crime surveillance cameras" that supposedly can identify criminal
activity before it happens. These cameras are being installed at major
transportation hubs all over San Francisco. 22. According to Gizmodo,
the Department of Homeland Security will soon be using laser-based
scanners that can scan your body, your clothes and your luggage from 164
feet away...
Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body,
clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from
164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your
clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your
body—agents will be able to get any information they want without even
touching you. And without you knowing it. The technology is so incredibly effective that, in November 2011, its inventors were subcontracted by In-Q-Tel to work with the US Department of Homeland Security. In-Q-Tel is a company founded “in February 1999 by a group of private citizens
at the request of the Director of the CIA and with the support of the
U.S. Congress.” According to In-Q-Tel, they are the bridge between the
Agency and new technology companies. Their plan is to install this molecular-level scanning in airports and border crossings all across the United States.
23. A complex network of automated license plate readers
carefully track the movements of millions of vehicles as they move in
and out of Washington D.C. and the surrounding suburbs. Most people do
not even know that they are there. 24. The FBI is spending a billion dollars
to develop a biometric identification system that will reportedly be
far more sophisticated than anything that law enforcement in the United
States has ever had before….
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun
rolling out its new $1 billion biometric Next Generation Identification
(NGI) system. In essence, NGI is a nationwide database of mugshots, iris
scans, DNA records, voice samples, and other biometrics, that will help
the FBI identify and catch criminals — but it is how this biometric
data is captured, through a nationwide network of cameras and photo
databases, that is raising the eyebrows of privacy advocates. Until now, the FBI relied on IAFIS, a national fingerprint
database that has long been due an overhaul. Over the last few months,
the FBI has been pilot testing a facial recognition system — and soon, detectives will also be able to search the system for other biometrics such as DNA records and iris scans.
25. If the government decides that you are a "bad
guy", they can put you on a "no fly list" that will ban you from flying
indefinitely. This can be done to you at any time, without any notice,
and you won't be told that it has happened. In fact, as one prepper discovered recently, you might only find out that you are on the list when you try to board a flight. 26. Those that revere individual liberty are now being labeled as "potential terrorists" in official U.S. government documents. 27. A National Guard whistleblower recently revealed that members of his unit were told that "doomsday preppers" will be treated as "terrorists" when civil unrest breaks out. 28. One family in Idaho recently had their home raided by a SWAT team because a computer identified them as "constitutionalists" after someone had phoned in and complained about a domestic disturbance at their address. 29. Today, the mainstream media in the United States is totally dominated by just six giant corporations.
Those corporations own television networks, cable channels, movie
studios, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, music labels and
large numbers of popular websites. The way that almost every American
looks at the world is being constantly influenced by these media
corporations every single day.
Please share this list with as many people as you can. We desperately need to wake people up while there is still time.
U.S. looks to replace human surveillance with computers
Security
cameras that watch you, and predict what you'll do next, sound like
science fiction. But a team from Carnegie Mellon University says their
computerized surveillance software will be capable of "eventually
predicting" what you're going to do.
Computerized surveillance can predict what
people will do next -- it's called "activity forecasting" -- and
eventually sound the alarm if the action is not permitted. Click for
larger image.
(Credit:
Carnegie Mellon University)
Computer software programmed to detect and report illicit behavior could
eventually replace the fallible humans who monitor surveillance
cameras.
The U.S. government has funded the development of so-called automatic
video surveillance technology by a pair of Carnegie Mellon University
researchers who disclosed details about their work this week --
including that it has an ultimate goal of predicting what people will do
in the future.
"The main applications are in video surveillance, both civil and military," Alessandro Oltramari, a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon who has a Ph.D. from Italy's University of Trento, told CNET yesterday.
Oltramari and fellow researcher Christian Lebiere
say automatic video surveillance can monitor camera feeds for
suspicious activities like someone at an airport or bus station
abandoning a bag for more than a few minutes. "In this specific case,
the goal for our system would have been to detect the anomalous
behavior," Oltramari says.
Think of it as a much, much smarter version of a red light camera: the
unblinking eye of computer software that monitors dozens or even
thousands of security camera feeds could catch illicit activities that
human operators -- who are expensive and can be distracted or sleepy --
would miss. It could also, depending on how it's implemented, raise
similar privacy and civil liberty concerns.
Alessandro Oltramari, left, and Christian
Lebiere say their software will "automatize video-surveillance, both in
military and civil applications."
(Credit:
Carnegie Mellon University)
A paper (PDF)
the researchers presented this week at the Semantic Technology for
Intelligence, Defense, and Security conference outside of Washington,
D.C. -- today's sessions are reserved
only for attendees with top secret clearances -- says their system aims
"to approximate human visual intelligence in making effective and
consistent detections."
Their Army-funded research, Oltramari and Lebiere claim, can go further
than merely recognizing whether any illicit activities are currently
taking place. It will, they say, be capable of "eventually predicting"
what's going to happen next.
This approach relies heavily on advances by machine vision researchers,
who have made remarkable strides in last few decades in recognizing
stationary and moving objects and their properties. It's the same vein
of work that led to Google's self-driving cars, face recognition software used on Facebook and Picasa, and consumer electronics like Microsoft's Kinect.
When it works well, machine vision can detect objects and people -- call
them nouns -- that are on the other side of the camera's lens.
But to figure out what these nouns are doing, or are allowed to do, you
need the computer science equivalent of verbs. And that's where
Oltramari and Lebiere have built on the work of other Carnegie Mellon
researchers to create what they call a "cognitive engine" that can
understand the rules by which nouns and verbs are allowed to interact.
Their cognitive engine incorporates research, called activity
forecasting, conducted by a team led by postdoctoral fellow Kris Kitani,
which tries to understand what humans will do by calculating which
physical trajectories are most likely. They say their software "models
the effect of the physical environment on the choice of human actions."
Both projects are components of Carnegie Mellon's Mind's Eye
architecture, a DARPA-created project that aims to develop smart cameras
for machine-based visual intelligence.
Predicts Oltramari: "This work should support human operators and automatize
video-surveillance, both in military and civil applications."
Alan Korwin – Author Gun Laws Of America GunLaws.com
Here it is, folks, and it is bad news. The framework for legislation
is always laid, and the Democrats have the votes to pass anything they
want to impose upon us. They really do not believe you need anything
more than a brick to defend your home and family. Look at the list and
see how many you own. Remember, it is registration, then confiscation.
It has happened in the UK, in Australia, in Europe, in China, and what
they have found is that for some reason the criminals do not turn in
their weapons, but will know that you did.
Remember, the first step in establishing a dictatorship is to disarm the citizens.
Gun-ban list proposed. Slipping below the radar (or under the
short-term memory cap), the Democrats have already leaked a gun-ban
list, even under the Bush administration when they knew full well it had
no chance of passage (HR 1022, 110th Congress). It serves as a
framework for the new list the Brady’s plan to introduce shortly. I have
an outline of the Brady’s current plans and targets of opportunity.
It’s horrific. They’re going after the courts, regulatory agencies,
firearms dealers and statutes in an all out effort to restrict we the
people. They’ve made little mention of criminals. Now more than ever,
attention to the entire Bill of Rights is critical. Gun bans will impact
our freedoms under search and seizure, due process, confiscated
property, states’ rights, free speech, right to assemble and more, in
addition to the Second Amendment. The Democrats current gun-ban-list
proposal (final list will be worse):
Rifles (or copies or duplicates):
M1 Carbine,
Sturm Ruger Mini-14,
AR-15,
Bushmaster XM15,
Armalite M15,
AR-10,
Thompson 1927,
Thompson M1;
AK,
AKM,
AKS,
AK-47,
AK-74,
ARM,
MAK90,
NHM 90,
NHM 91,
SA 85,
SA 93,
VEPR;
Olympic Arms PCR;
AR70,
Calico Liberty ,
Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle or Dragunov SVU, Fabrique National FN/FAL,
FN/LAR, or FNC, Hi-Point20Carbine, HK-91, HK-93, HK-94, HK-PSG-1,
Thompson 1927 Commando, Kel-Tec Sub Rifle; Saiga, SAR-8, SAR-4800, SKS
with detachable magazine, SLG 95, SLR 95 or 96, Steyr AU, Tavor, Uzi,
Galil and Uzi Sporter, Galil Sporter, or Galil Sniper Rifle ( Galatz ).
Pistols (or copies or duplicates):
Calico M-110,
MAC-10,
MAC-11, or MPA3,
Olympic Arms OA,
TEC-9,
TEC-DC9,
TEC-22 Scorpion, or AB-10,
Uzi.
Shotguns (or copies or duplicates):
Armscor 30 BG,
SPAS 12 or LAW 12,
Striker 12,
Streetsweeper. Catch-all category (for anything missed or new designs):
A semiautomatic rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and has:
(i) a folding or telescoping stock,
(ii) a threaded barrel,
(iii) a pistol grip (which includes ANYTHING that can serve as a grip, see below),
(iv) a forward grip; or a barrel shroud.
Any semiautomatic rifle with a fixed magazine that can accept more than
10 rounds (except tubular magazine .22 rim fire rifles).
A semiautomatic pistol that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine, and has:
(i) a second pistol grip,
(ii) a threaded barrel,
(iii) a barrel shroud or
(iv) can accept a detachable magazine outside of the pistol grip, and
(v) a semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds.
A semiautomatic shotgun with:
(i) a folding or telescoping stock,
(ii) a pistol grip (see definition below),
(iii) the ability to accept a detachable magazine or a fixed magazine capacity of more than 5 rounds, and
(iv) a shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
Frames or receivers for the above are included, along with conversion kits.
Attorney General gets carte blanche to ban guns at will: Under the
proposal, the U.S. Attorney General can add any “semiautomatic rifle or
shotgun originally designed for military or law enforcement use, or a
firearm based on the design of such a firearm, that is not particularly
suitable for sporting purposes, as determined by the Attorney General.”
Note that Obama’s pick for this office, Eric Holder, wrote a brief in
the Heller case supporting the position that you have no right to have a
working firearm in your own home. In making this determination, the
bill says, “there shall be a rebuttable presumption that a firearm
procured for use by the United States military or any law enforcement
agency is not particularly suitable for sporting purposes, and shall not
be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely
because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event.” In plain
English this means that ANY firearm ever obtained by federal officers or
the military is not suitable for the public.
The last part is particularly clever, stating that a firearm doesn’t
have a sporting purpose just because it can be used for sporting purpose
— is that devious or what? And of course, “sporting purpose” is a
rights infringement with no constitutional or historical support
whatsoever, invented by domestic enemies of the right to keep and bear
arms to further their cause of disarming the innocent.
Respectfully submitted, Alan Korwin, Author Gun Laws of America http://www.gunlaws.com/gloa.htm
Forward or send to every gun owner you know…
Watch This, If You Want More Proof:
YouTube – CNN- Obama To BAN Guns SPREAD THIS FOLKS, PLZ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv3p2lLmjGk
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION - Final Report “Proposed Studies on the
Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs”
Proposed
Studies
on the
Implications of Peaceful Space Activities
for
Human
Affairs
by
DONALD
N. MICHAEL
with the collaboration of:
Jack Baranson
Raymond A. Bauer
Richard L. Meier
Aaron B. Nadel
Herbert A. Shepard
Herbert E. Striner
Christopher Wright
A Report Prepared for the
COMMITTEE ON LONG-RANGE
STUDIES of the
NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
by
THE
BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
NOTE:
I received the FOIA requests documents including this final report on Friday,
August 2, 1996. I scanned the entire document (276 pages) using a Visioneer
PaperPort Vx scanner. The entire document was processed through Omni Pro
Professional V6.0 to convert it from a scanned document to a text document. The
document was then fully edited using Microsoft Word V6.0.1. to correct all
errors. The original page numbers of the document are shown with [-page
number]. The table of contents refers to the original page numbering. I have
made all attempts to insure that the document is identical to the original.
There will probably be typos extant in the document. These would result from
the conversion process. If you have any comments please feel free to email me
at danwoolman@earthlink.net. Thank you
DEAR MR. JOHNSON: I am pleased to
transmit herewith a report on “Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful
Space Activities for Human Affairs,” which has been prepared for your Committee
on Long-Range Studies of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
pursuant to Section 102(c) of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958
This section specifies that the
“aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be so conducted
as to contribute materially” to several objectives, among which is “(4)
establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from
the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of
aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes.”
In seeking assistance in carrying out the
objectives of this section, NASA, through your Committee, and the Brookings
Institution agreed that there was a wide range of studies in the social
sciences that could be made of the potential benefits and problems arising from
the peaceful use of space. In fact, the full range of possible studies was so
great that some guidelines bad to be established to aid in the orderly
selection and proper support of those studies that would contribute most effectively
to the policies and purposes of the Congress as stated in the National
Aeronautics and Space Act. It was believed, therefore, that if a program of
such studies were to be developed, NASA would be in a better position to
discharge its statutory responsibilities. The attached report is designed to
assist in the development of that kind of comprehensive and long-term program
of research and study. The report recommends for the consideration of NASA a
wide range of studies regarding the social, economic, political, legal, and
international implications of the use of space for peaceful and scientific
purposes.
The agreed upon multiple objectives of
the report would be well served if it generates research activities within as
well as outside of NASA, in accordance with the interests of those in the
academic community, private research organizations, industry, and other
government agencies. Therefore, some material is included which, while familiar
to NASA, is felt to be necessary background for those who have not been close
to some of the problems discussed.
The Brookings staff members and the
consultants responsible for the study collaborated through a series of monthly
two-day conferences. In addition, over 200 people were interviewed throughout
the course of the project. These persons by contributing their experience,
imagination, and critical insight have been of great assistance in the
preparation of this report. Throughout the preparation of the report the
Institution has bad the wholehearted cooperation of your Committee on
Long-Range Studies, whose assistance the Institution acknowledges with
gratitude.
Midway in the project, the views of the
staff were evaluated and enhanced by the participation at a two-day conference
of:
Lincoln P. Bloomfield,
Director, United Nations Project, Center for
International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; George
Clement,
Assistant to the President, the RAND Corporation; Deane Davis, Project
Engineer, Centaur, Convair Astronautics, Alfred J. deGrazia,
Director, Center for Applied Social Research, New York University;
Joseph
M. Goldsen,
Senior Staff, the RAND Corporation; H. Field Haviland, Jr., Director of
Foreign Policy Studies, the Brookings Institution; Bert F. Hoselitz,
Director, Research Center in Economic Development and Cultural Change,
University of Chicago; Melvin Kranzberg, Editor, Technology and Culture,
Case Institute of Technology; Daniel Lerner, Professor of International
Communications, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts
Institute of
Technology; Jiri Nebnevajsa, Professor, Department of Sociology,
Columbia University; Jack C. Oppenheimer, Executive Secretary, NASA
Committee on Long-Range Studies,, Harvey Perloff, Director, Program of
Regional Studies, Resources for the Future; Henry W.. Riecken, Head,
Office of Social Science, National Science Foundation; and Oscar
Schachter,
Director, General Legal Division, United Nations.
The study was directed by Donald N.
Michael, who is primarily responsible for the interpretations, conclusions,
and recommendations in, and the final drafting of this report. Collaborating
with him were Jack Baranson and Herbert E. Striner of the
Brookings Institution; Raymond A. Bauer,
Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business
Administration; Richard L. Meier, Professor, School of Natural
Resources, University of Michigan; Aaron B. Nadel, Technical Military
Planning Operation, General Electric Company; Herbert
A. Shepard, Professor of Behavioral Science, Case
Institute of Technology; and Christopher Wright, Executive Director,
Council for Atomic Age Studies, Columbia University. Substantial contributions
in the form of work papers on specific topics were made by Jack Baranson
and Mary E. Robinson of the Brookings Institution; Curtis H. Barker,
Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Earl
W. Lindveit, Washington, D. C.; and Messrs. Nadel, Wright, and Bauer
(with Edward E. Furash, Assistant Editor, Harvard Business Review).
Research assistance was provided by Ruth Darmstadter, Leonard Schwartz,
and Jane Webbink. Charles Clapp, Robert W. Hartley, H. Field
Haviland, Jr., Bert G. Hickman, Mark Massel, and Ralph R.
Watkins, all of the Brookings staff, reviewed sections of the report;
appreciation is expressed to them as well as to Kathleen Sproul, who
edited the transcript. The study was made under the general supervision of
James M. Mitchell, Director of the Conference Program on Public Affairs.
The
Brookings Institution is particularly indebted to the following people who took
time out of their busy schedules to review specific sections of the draft
report: Lloyd V. Berkner, President, Associated Universities, Inc.;
Scott Buchanan, Consultant, Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions; John
J. Corson, Director, McKinsey and Company; Cora Du Bois, Professor,
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University-, Morton M. Grodzing,
Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago; Caryl P.
Haskins, President, Carnegie Institution of Washington; James R. Killian,
Chairman of the Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Herbert
E. Krugmen, Director of Research, Raymond Loewy
Associates; Nathan Maccoby, Professor, Mass Communications, Stanford
University; Margaret Mead, Associate Curator of Ethnology, American
Museum of Natural History; Rhode Metraux, Associate Directori Project on
the Factor of Allopsychic Orientation in Mental Health, American Museum of
Natural History; Charles Morris, Professor, Department of Philosophy,
University of Florida; Oscar Schachter, Director, General Legal
Division, United Nations; Gerald W. Siegel, Lecturer on Business
Administration, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration; and Stephen
B. Witbey, Director, Public Affairs Studies, Survey Research Center,
University of Michigan.
Finally, it should be noted that the time
available for the completion of this report has been short in view of the broad
range of subjects and the new areas of research to be considered. The authors
have made a pioneering exploration into new fields of investigation in the
attempt to foresee types of research which space activities make desirable. The
treatment, findings, and recommendations are those of the authors and, in
accordance with usual procedures, do not necessarily reflect the views of other
members of the Brookings staff, its administrative officers, or members of its
Board of Trustees.
1. In November 1959 the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration contracted with the Brookings Institution
to “undertake... the design of a comprehensive and long-term program of
research and study regarding the social, economic, political, legal, and
international implications of the use of space for peaceful and scientific
purposes.”
2. The long-term program of research set out
in the report (and briefly outlined in this Summary) includes:
a. Sufficient description and evaluation of
speculations on the implications of space activities to provide a basis for
judging which implications may have sufficient impact on human affairs to merit
research.
b. Specification of criteria for selection of
high priority research.
c. Specification, when feasible of high
priority research areas for initiating a long-range research program;
specification of other research areas which will extend the utility of the
initial research; and specification of research which may become central under
later circumstances.
d. Suggestions as to methods, persons, and
organizations that might assist the conduct of research. (The suggestions are
made chiefly through footnote citations of pertinent publications and projects
and are therefore not included in this Summary, which carries no footnotes.)
e. Suggestions on the organization and
function of a NASA research capability to implement the program (Chapter 2).
3. Space
activities require great investments of money, men, material, and creative
effort and thereby compete with the needs of other areas of human endeavor.
They contribute to rapid rates of technological change and thereby give rise to
social and personal readjustment problems. Thus it is most desirable that the
problems and opportunities they may imply for society be understood. Since the
potentialities of space activities are wide ranging, so, too, must be a research
program on their implications: examined herein are the problems and
opportunities that may be introduced by hardware (such as a weather satellite
forecasting system); events (such as the adventures of astronauts in space);
and ideas (such as those embodied in discussions of the degree to which
national prestige may be dependent on success in space accomplishments),
certain
implications may be directly related to
aspects of a specific social environment; in such cases, these aspects will be examined.
4. Research on the implications of space
activities requires a reasonably clear picture of the associated larger social
context. Given the complex problems facing various components of world society
and the technological developments, that are believed possible in fields other
than space, it appears impractical to speculate beyond the next twenty years,
and perhaps even beyond the next ten. Even within this time span, however, the
consequences of space activities can be foreseen only in part, since the effect
of any given development in space may be vitiated by unexpected but contingent
scientific, technological, or a society developments. This report, therefore,
does not attempt to predict what will happen to society as a result of space
activities. Rather, it poses questions about what might happen and specifies
contingent factors which may affect the likelihood of one implication being
realized rather than another,
5. Certain potential products or
consequences of space activities imply such a high degree of change in world
conditions that it would be unprofitable within the purview of this report to
propose research on them. Examples include a controlled thermonuclear fusion
rocket power source and face-to-face meetings with extraterrestrials.
6. The impact of innovation is no respecter of
differences in academic disciplines. To stress the interdisciplinary nature of
research on the implications of space activities and to permit a coherent
exploration of specific products, events, and ideas the report is organized
into chapters that (except for Chapter 2) each represent a major area of
problems and opportunities. Within these major areas., all pertinent aspects of
the problems are discussed, whether economic, political, or social, or
combinations thereof. Certain chapters necessarily overlap, since some of them
cover general aspects of problems which are specific to the subjects of other
chapters.
7. Time, resources, and especially the lack of
a single formulation of social science theory, broad-ranging enough to
encompass the variety of problems involved, imposed arbitrary limitations on
the amount of research undertaken to back the speculation underlying the report.
Thus, the report is not exhaustive in its research recommendations, but the
descriptions of the problem areas (developed through interviews, conferences,
and reading) are intended to provide the reader with a basis for proposing
specific research projects in connection with the study areas recommended here.
It is important to note that, as a consequence of this approach,
the first specific research project to be undertaken with regard to many of the
problems here discussed should be an assessment of the literature to determine
what existing knowledge, if any, can be applied directly and what further study
needs to be done.
8. Suggesting a comprehensive research
program makes it necessary to examine the range of implications needing study,
irrespective of who might conduct the research. Not all -the research suggested
should or could be sponsored directly by NASA; some proposals are more properly
within the interests of other groups.
9. “Research” is broadly used herein to
refer to a variety of approaches, including “think-pieces,” sophisticated
logical and/or mathematical evaluations and analyses, and empirical studies in
the field. Studies would range from broad programmatic research to detailed
inquiries. Most of the projects are phrased in terms of space activities, but
many of the suggested investigators could as well be stimulated by or applied
to a number of other major on-going or contemplated scientific developments.
Examination of the implications of space activities also provides a new standpoint
from which to observe human behavior before, during., and after social change
resulting from innovation. This, the proposed research program offers
extraordinary opportunities for fundamental social science research as well as
applied.
10. The recommended high priority research
areas (listed at the end of each Summary section) are intended to provide NASA
with a “mix” of projects to be an initial basis for a long-range research
program. The priority criteria emphasize:
a. That
the results of the research would have important applications to the social
consequences of specific space activities.
b. That the study is urgent in order to
identify and resolve operating and policy problems associated with imminent or
on-going developments.
c. That the study is non-deferrable in that if
the data and methods are to be available when needed it is necessary to begin
acquiring them now;
d. That the study would significantly forward
the development of a program of peaceful and scientific uses of space.
e. That the study would, through the
development of methodology, facts, or theory, contribute exceptionally to
understanding or foreseeing the social implications of space activities.
Which projects NASA may choose to
implement, even among those which might be thought of as urgent, will depend on
factors not within the purview of this report, including budget, availability
of research capabilities, important events which have transpired, and the
extent to which previous research has paid off.
11. Research areas are included in the report
which are not now considered of high priority, but which are likely to become
so as social developments and space activities evolve and as high priority
research is completed.
12. No assumption has been made as to whether
that or not specific studies are already underway. If an area recommended for
study is presently being competently researched, the priorities here assigned
to the area would alter.
13. The magnitude and direction of a
long-range research program on the social effects of space activities will
depend on the organization NASA establishes to select, monitor, and conduct the
studies. One of the most pressing and continuing research challenges for this
capability will be to:
• develop effective methods to detect
incipient implications of space activities and to insure that their
consequences are understood.
14. Each
section of this Summary corresponds to a chapter of the full report and sets
forth the main points of the chapter and the recommended high priority research
for the problem area. In the body of the report, the presentation of potential
implications involves discussion of and suggested research on all the issues
that seem to be pertinent to a problem area including some that do not warrant
research at the present stage of the problem area's development, and some that it would be inefficient
to study until other recommended research is completed. This supportive
discussion constitutes the bulk of the report and in a summary can only be
suggested. Its intent, however, is to make clear (1) the significance of the
research recommended, (2) the variety of the projects implicit in the research
areas, (3) the order in which related projects could be carried out, and (4)
the opportunities for approaching various problems in broad or narrow contexts
of research and application. Therefore, although for some readers this Summary
chapter may provide sufficient information
-since these four clarifications may not be of central interest to
them -- itis assumed that the potential researcher will find it essential to
read the body of the report.
II. COMMENTS ON THE ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS OF A NASA SOCIAL
SCIENCE RESEARCH CAPABILITY
1. An integral part of the research
program as proposed herein is the development of a research facility capable of
conducting and evolving a series of long-range research projects pertinent to
NASA's directive to study the problems and opportunities implied in peaceful
and scientific space activities.
2. To develop within NASA an understanding
of the need for these studies and support for their conduct, to assure the maximum
likelihood that the research findings will be applied, and to keep in close
touch with the technical developments which presage social implications, it is
recommended here that the research capability consist of a NASA inhouse core
of senior social scientists, which would have available to it over time the
services of outside organizations. Which functions can best be conducted
in-house and which might be handled through the services of outside
organizations can only be determined as the scope and pace of the program
evolves.
3. The functions that a social science
research facility must be able to perform if it is to organize and implement a
long-range research program include the following:
a. Identification
of problems to be researched. (This report is intended to be a major aid in
this area, but its suggestions will need frequent revision, redefinition, and
supplementation.)
b. Selection of high priority research. (This
report suggests criteria for selecting research, but these must be supplemented
by criteria pertinent to NASA goals and circumstances.)
c. Determination of resource allocations,
including funds, available research personnel, and field situations for
specific studies.
d. Informing and stimulating potential
researchers in other government organizations, universities, foundations,
nonprofit organizations, and private research organizations.
a. Developing and stimulating potential
supporting facilities to provide research tools and other services.
f. Selecting, developing, and implementing
research proposals.
g. Liaison - - with divisional groups within
NASA, with potential research personnel, and with interested government
agencies whose research or activities
have significance for the social implications of space activities.
h. Assessing the progress and direction of research in
progress, to insure that the studies continue to be pertinent to the evolving
situation and that their quality merits continued support.
i. Distributing the research findings to those for whom they
were specifically developed and to other pertinent professional
people and organizations.
J. Assisting in the application of the
findings. (Arrangements regarding applicability of findings should be initially
planned, with the participation of the user, during the early definition and
selection of the research to be undertaken.)
k. Keeping track of pertinent social science
research that is applicable to space activities research, but not a part of
NASA's program.
4. In establishing an organization to fulfill
these functions, three general points are important:
a. The research which NASA will regard as
appropriate to sponsor directly will vary with circumstances. Systematic means
should be devised for (1) anticipating the important studies which other
research organizations, foundations, and government agencies might be better
adapted to carry out and (2) encouraging participation by other research
facilities in the program.
b. Recommended
research will vary in duration from a few months to several years. Operations
procedures for supporting research will differ for longer and shorter time
spans, and these procedures will need to be developed.
c. Research
is also a device for training researchers. It will be beneficial to support a
certain amount of research whose aim is in part to help train social scientists
to deal with the implications for society of space activities.
5. To provide the necessary intellectual
stimulus for the development of a vigorous program and to carry out the
intricate and varied tasks that will be required, it is recommended that no
fewer than three senior social scientists of high competence compose the
professional staff of the inhouse core. Their first tasks are seen as
including:
a. Selecting
first-order research.
b. Establishing
in-house relationships.
c. Establishing
outside connections with the research fraternity.
d. Laying
the organizational groundwork for the conduct of the firstorder research.
e. Establishing
a library of selected social science materials especially useful for fulfilling
the functions of the facility.
6. The research
facility, as a staff function, should have access to those concerned with the
over-all interests of NASA. Formal arrangements should also be made to insure
the social science staff access to information on technical, political, and
economic aspects of the space developments that derive from NASA's divisional
activities. Such information will familiarize the social scientists with the
space program's operating problems and with the possible research opportunities
implicit in them.
7. A person
familiar with both the social sciences and the technological activities of NASA
and versed in interagency relationships should be responsible for arranging
interagency liaison so that research on the social implications of space
activities will be forwarded efficiently through the sharing of information on
pertinent activities.
8. A committee
is needed to assess and review research in progress.
9. A committee
analogous to the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences is
needed to keep the in-house organization cognizant of on-going or anticipated
social developments related to an evaluation of the implications of space
activities.
10. Aside from the
liaison function and the awarding of contracts and/or grants, other functions
could, as time and circumstances dictate, gradually be transferred to outside
organizations. However, the in-house core will need to keep in close touch with
assisting services and with personnel carrying out research projects to insure
participation at all stages of those who will most directly use the findings
and to maintain its essential role as the spark and drive of the program.
III. IMPLICATIONS
OF SATELLITE-BASED COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
1. Involved
scientists and engineers believe that in a relatively few years the world will
be wrapped in a communications net based on the several advantages of
communication satellites. The problems and opportunities associated with financing
the development and application of communication satellites, with legal and
political arrangements for their use, and with their specific applications are
closely related to their technological characteristics. Research and
development efforts have been concentrated on two operational types of systems:
the passive reflector (e.g., “Echo”), which requires very large ground-based
transmitting and receiving antennas and powerful transmitters, and the active
repeater, which is itself a complex transmitting and receiving station, and
thus requires much less large ground-based transmitters. Under many
circumstances, signals from repeater satellites could be received directly on
private receivers. Careful scheduling is required, however, if active satellites
are not to be overloaded, whereas passive satellites can be used anytime they
are in range of any facility with transmitting and receiving antennas. To
varying degrees, technological problems remain to be solved for both systems --
problems having to do with system capacity, reliability, weight, and the use of
higher frequencies for radio and television.
Organizational problems and implications
1. The economics, technology,
organization, and utilization of satellite communications cannot be resolved
wholly within the framework of the United States' interests and operating
methods. Since such a system will be of major utility to international
communications, planning must take into account the potential users abroad and
the problems that international use will imply. Research will be necessary to
delineate and suggest resolutions for such organizational and operational
problems as these:
a. Frequency allocation and/or sharing. Here and abroad,
frequency control is already rife with economic, social, and legal
problems which would be intensified by the broad coverage and
relative nondirectionality of satellite signals and the different
frequency control requirements of active and passive systems.
b. International agreements or comparability of equipment
components used by various nations and produced by various
manufacturers.
c. Privileges and priorities of satellite use. Cost-sharing
arrangements may be more difficult to enforce with passive systems, and
the scheduling of messages requires special agreements when the active satellite system is used.
d. Receiver antenna control and sharing (and in some cases,
transmitter antenna, too).
e. Access to audiences: privileges and priorities. Active
satellites provide better opportunities for control over transmission.
Passive satellites provide better opportunities for control over
reception.
f. Program content control, including: amount and type of
propaganda, advertising, entertainment, information, and education.
2. Central to the resolution of these
organizational problems are the national philosophies which have defined the
structure of local operational procedure and organization of present
telecommunication facilities. The difference between one philosophy and another
as to the purposes and proper use of telecommunications may have substantial
implications for the way satellite systems might be used and for the
negotiations and organizational inventions necessary to reconcile competing
interests within each involved nation, competing national interests, and
international interests. Systematic study of these problems is recommended.
3. The United States' role in developing
and using a satellite communications system is complexly bound up with
questions covering the relationships of our national (government) interests and
private profit motives. For example, under what circumstances should the United
States government provide launching facilities and research and development in
connection with satellite development? If taxpayers are to finance portions of
the technological development of communication satellites, what provisions are
to be made about patent ownership and satellite utilization? If the government
is the major developer of a satellite communications system, what should its
policy be about present privately owned and operated systems which may be
displaced or made obsolete?
4. The possibility that the USSR and/or
other nations will develop competing communications satellites has implications
that need study. Further, some informed observers argue that only by placing
satellite system radio and television facilities under United Nations or other
international agency auspices can frictions resulting from their use be
minimized and the benefits maximized. Anticipation of either competition or
internationalization would affect the evolving relationship between the United
States government and private enterprise concerning development and
use Of a satellite system, since private incentive to invest in research and
development depends on the profitability that could be expected from the
system's operation.
Possible uses and their implications
1. With the initiation of a satellite
communications system, large amounts of the newly available channel capacity
will most probably first occur for radio telephony rather than for television.
High-speed, inexpensive voice communications should provide- a far-flung
business and other organizations with a further capability for extending
themselves through the increase in control and coordination thus made possible.
Ever larger organizational entities might thus be encouraged, to the detriment
of existing small organizations. Alternately, the increased communications
capacity might increase the ability of small organizations to survive, through
better control and coordination of their resources. The implications of these
alternatives and their consequences for organizational growth and stability
merit study.
2. The advantages of increased
voice-to-voice communication for world diplomacy are not clear, since the
present pace of diplomatic communications is sometimes deemed already too swift
for careful analysis. However, the availability of sufficient telephone
channels might encourage the evolution of an international “secretariat” at the
working level, in the long run more identified with task goals than specific
national interests. Research should help clarify the special problems and
opportunities for diplomatic relations.
3. World-wide data search, coding,
retrieval, and processing and the integration of far-flung systems operating
automatically via computers and feedback control would be made possible by
large-capacity communication satellites (or by their freeing-up of conventional
facilities for this use), to the great benefit of scholarship, science,
business, and government. Handling of data for a world-wide weather forecasting
facility (as discussed in Section IV) and coding the contents of the major
libraries of the world for machine search are important examples of this
utility. Substantial increases in computer production and data-coding personnel
would be required, and computer programming and system building and maintenance
would involve extensive operations. international standards of component
compatibility and reliability would be mandatory, thus further extending
multinational interdependence. The social, economic, and political
prerequisites and consequences of these potential developments need study,
especially because such facilities may provide a tool and stimulus for a
concerted attack on the problem of efficiently using the overwhelming amount of
data presently threatening to swamp this civilization.
4. In view of the possibly radical
increase in the pace of organizational activities resulting from high-speed
interlocking of data, decisions, and actions, it is not clear whether more or
less strain would be put on decision makers. Further, the opportunities for
coping with increased organizational complexity could make society vulnerable
to serious disruption should the communication system break down. The
possibility of tying together data, men-, and decisions in a world-wide
interdependence has vast implications for attitudes about man and his meaning
in the context of his society. Preliminary inquiry may help provide perspective
and prepare the way for more systematic study as the situation evolves.
5. The use of satellite-based radio and TV
for teaching in underdeveloped areas has been much discussed. However, unless
the development of satellite based, multichannel TV is accelerated specifically
for this purpose, other more conventional teaching means may develop to a
degree that would challenge the advantages of education via telecommunications.
In any case, behaving and believing according to the standards and information
conveyed by telecommunications involves a number of complex cultural and
psychological factors, especially in an area which may lack the literacy and at
least some degree urbanism normally associated with learning from TV and radio.
Research is clearly necessary to specify and understand these pertinent
factors. Problems are also posed and study is needed in regard to the
capacities in such localities for distribution, maintenance, and replacement of
receivers
6. In already advanced nations, the
immediacy of exposure to worldwide events and ideas via radio and TV could
affect general education levels. However, important changes in perspective that
might lead to greater tolerance and understanding merely on the basis of this
exposure are not guaranteed by the evidence so far available. Research will
help clarify the factors involved here.
Using satellite communications for formal learning sessions may not
be generally efficient in view of expected developments in film and
video tape libraries, teaching machines, and air-borne TV. Nevertheless,
special “live” events, which otherwise would have to be taped and distributed
singly to local schools or local transmitters, could be presented by
an active repeater system if such problems as scheduling and time zone
differences can be solved. A satellite system could also transmit TV
tapes from central libraries to local schools for retranscription. The
costs of TV tapes might thus be lessened, and access would be provided to a much
larger and up-dated library of materials than many schools otherwise
could afford. The social and economic costs and benefits of these
schemes will need careful examination.
7. A combination of powerful active
satellites and simple receivers and antennas could be used to enhance or
splinter political identification via propaganda, incitement, or information in
areas lacking local groundbased transmitters. Research will be necessary to
determine under what circumstances such communication methods would be
sufficiently effective to merit their use -- and if effective, how to control
their use.
8. If large TV charnel capacity becomes
available -- via satellite or via conventional facilities freed-up by the
satellite -- conferences via multiple closed circuit linkages are possible.
This would save time, inconvenience, and physical risk and permit a greater
marshaling of ground-based resources for each participant. Technological
capabilities and social, psychological, and economic considerations will decide
whether such conferences would become routine. Should they become routine, the
consequences might be serious for the travel and hotel industries, for which
conferences of all kinds have been of great importance.
To provide social criteria for decisions regarding communication
system design, research should determine:
• The
specific sources of demand for increased communications capability, and the
assumptions made by those claiming that they would pay for the use of satellite
services, about the capabilities of the communication system for meeting their
needs. What are the implications for system design?
An important group of decisions related to government policy for
communications system development support would benefit from study
to discover:
• The
advantages and disadvantages of various means whereby the government might
fulfill its obligations to private enterprise, the nation as a whole, and
special interest groups with regard to: supporting the development of a
satellite system; ownership; frequency assignments; allocating profits and
costs; and assuring the use of the product in the best interests of the nation.
What are the most appropriate and effective roles for government, private
enterprise, and other organizations in financing, developing, owning,
controlling, using, and negotiating for the use of satellite communications
domestically and internationally?
A good place to begin studies which will
help in eventual negotiations on satellite use is to determine:
• What
economic, cultural, and technological factors, in each nation or region
involved, could complicate or facilitate the conciliation of interests in using
and controlling satellite-based communications?
What technological, economic,
organizational, and legal arrangements could be developed to
overcome specific major
difficulties for conciliation as
detected in the above? To take advantage of specific major
opportunities?
Since the benefits for society could depend on the organizational
approach taken, and since these problems are better studied before imminent
developments obscure Issues, research should be begun now to determine:
• The cost and benefits of turning over to an international
agency those communication functions which are inherently unprofitable
for private interests and/or which have the potential for
stimulating international unrest. Under what conditions would such a
transfer of function be in the interests of the United States? In the
event the facilities, were internationalized, what activities might
be prohibited or subjected to international control and what should be
the functions and powers of such an inter national body?
Because the effective use of satellites for teaching purposes will
require much more understanding of learning factors in relation to
telecommunications than we now possess and because the application of such
findings would be very important for world society, it is most desirable to
begin now to:
• Apply
and further develop knowledge of and methods for under standing the factors --
such as, culture habits, literacy, subject matter, auspices, format, and
opportunities to use what is learned -- which affect the degree and type of
learning from telecommunications. These studies must be aimed at meshing the
content and purposes of telecommunications with other forms of communications
from interested government groups, private organizations, and international agencies.
Posts
The turnover of the shadow banking globally is now greater than the
total GDP of the G20 and requires tighter control to prevent another
recession, the Financial Stability Board reports.
DTCC — a depository controlled by the biggest financial firms on Wall
Street — won’t say exactly what was in its vaults, how much the notes
are worth, and who owns what. 
By Michael, on October 22nd, 2012
By Michael, on June 21st, 2012 
When
most people think of "Big Brother", they think of the FBI, the CIA, the
NSA, the Department of Homeland Security and other shadowy government
agencies. Yes, they are definitely watching you, but so are many big
corporations. In fact, there are some companies that are making tens of
millions of dollars by gathering every shred of information about all
of us that they can and selling it for profit to anyone willing to pay
the price. It is called "data mining", and these data miners want to
keep track of literally everything that you do. Most people know that
basically everything that we do on the Internet
is tracked, but data mining goes far beyond that. When you use a
customer rewards card at the supermarket, the data miners know about
it. When you pay for a purchase with a credit card or a debit card, the
data miners know about it. Every time you buy a prescription drug,
that information is sold to someone. Every time you apply for a loan, a
whole host of organizations is notified. Information has become an
extremely valuable commodity, and thanks to computers and the Internet
it is easier to gather information than ever before. But that also
means that our personal information is no longer "private", and this
trend is only going to get worse in the years ahead.
The
US Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun rolling out its new $1
billion biometric Next Generation Identification (NGI) system. In
essence, NGI is a nationwide database of mugshots, iris scans, DNA
records, voice samples, and other biometrics, that will help the FBI
identify and catch criminals — but it is how this biometric
data is captured, through a nationwide network of cameras and photo
databases, that is raising the eyebrows of privacy advocates.
So
far, so good — catching criminals faster and making less false arrests
must be a good thing, right? Well, yes, but there are some important
caveats that we must bear in mind. For a start, the pilot study has only
used mugshots and driving license photos of known criminals — but the
FBI hasn’t guaranteed that this will always be the case. There may come a
time when the NGI is filled with as many photos as possible, from as
many sources as possible, of as many people as possible — criminal or
otherwise. This might be as overt as parsing CCTV footage and collating
every single face into a database; or maybe you’re just unlucky and your
face ends up in the system because you’re in the background of a photo
starring a known criminal.
Computer software programmed to detect and report illicit behavior could
eventually replace the fallible humans who monitor surveillance
cameras.
A paper (PDF)
the researchers presented this week at the Semantic Technology for
Intelligence, Defense, and Security conference outside of Washington,
D.C. -- today's sessions are reserved
only for attendees with top secret clearances -- says their system aims
"to approximate human visual intelligence in making effective and
consistent detections."
