Intelligence network worries the right, left

They could call it MATRIX Reloaded.

Less than a year after Utah Gov. Olene Walker pulled the plug on the supercharged crime-fighting computer known as MATRIX, the U.S. Congress is poised to implement its own national information-sharing network that would link hundreds upon hundreds of government and commercial databases. Its goal: To fight terrorism.

The National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 — currently being debated in the Senate — contains a provision for an "Information Sharing Network" to coordinate data from "all available sources." Citing the findings on the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, the bill states, "The effective use of information, from all available sources, is essential to the fight against terror and the protection of our homeland. The biggest impediment to all-source analysis, and to a greater likelihood of connecting the dots, is resistance to sharing." That, and a resistance from civil libertarians and conservatives who believe such an all-seeing computer system threatens fundamental constitutional rights by creating a mechanism for the government to spy on every American.

"It really, really bothers me that none of us have any privacy anymore," said Gayle Ruzicka of the Utah Eagle Forum, who finds herself on the same side of the issue as the American Civil Liberties Union.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595094704,00.html


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - October 2nd, 2004

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,7445,1315957,00.html


Informant: m.e. onullder

Cell phones are giving employers new ways to check up on employees in the field--and raising fresh workplace privacy concerns as a result. On the leading edge of the trend is Nextel Communications. The wireless provider began selling its Mobile Locator service last November, giving bosses an easy way to find employees who carry GPS-equipped cell phones.Earlier this month, mobile tracking firm Xora showed off the latest version of its Nextel GPS (global positioning system) phone software. The company says 1,600 corporate customers have signed up for its services, including "geofences" technology that sets off an alarm at the office when field workers go to preprogrammed off-limits sites, such as a bar or a park. "There's no electro shock--yet," Xora CEO Sanjay Shirole said.

Employee-tracking devices are gaining steam thanks to ever-more-accurate GPS technology and a U.S. mandate requiring wireless companies to develop ways for emergency workers to find the physical location of people who dial 911 on a cell phone.

http://news.com.com/Big+boss+is+watching/2100-1036_3-5379953.html?tag=nefd.lede


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - September 30th, 2004

In der heutigen TZ ist folgender (erschreckender) Artikel. Bei uns macht man einen Umweg über die Haustiere. Diesen muss bis 2011 der Chip implantiert werden - dann sind wir wohl selber dran! Orwell lässt grüßen!

Manuela Knapp

Die Schüler-Kontrolle

Tokio - Schöne neue Welt in Japan: Dort hat die elektronische Überwachung von Schülern begonnen. Der Konzern Fujitsu rüstete 40 Buben und Mädchen einer privaten Grundschule mit einem Computer-Chip aus. Dieser sendet Nachrichten direkt auf dei Mobiltelefone der Eltern. Die wissen künftig immer genau Bescheid, wann ihre lieben Kleinen das Schulgelände in Tokio verlassen. Bis zum April sollen alle 717 Schüler mit dem System ausgestattet werden.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65091,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_6


Informant: kevcross5

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040927005620&newsLang=en


Informant: Harry Mobley

Chicago Becomes Oceania: Big Brother is Watching

It may have taken a couple extra decades for George Orwell's predictions in his book "1984" to come true, but Big Brother is watching. In Orwell's book, the residents of Oceania were under near constant surveillance. Sounds like Chicago of the near future. Mayor Richard Daley is developing a network of more than 2,000 surveillance cameras that would be linked to a computerized network programmed to recognize suspicious or emergency situations. Most of the cameras are already in place at O'Hare International Airport, on transit lines, in public housing buildings and schools and in high-crime areas. The new development would be the software designed to detect unusual activity, notify emergency officials and allow 911 operators to access the image. There is something vaguely discomforting at the thought of being watched by government cameras, even if they are in public places. In reality, more of these unblinking eyes probably look at us every day -- even in Bloomington-Normal -- than any of us realize.

http://www.infowars.com/print/bb/chicago_oceania.htm

From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - September 24th, 2004

Former CIA director sees slow creep toward nationwide fingerprinting:

American citizens face the prospect of having to submit fingerprints to the government to make it easier to fight terrorism, former CIA director James Woolsey says...

http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/27362-1.html


From Information Clearing House