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Showing posts with label DNA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DNA. Show all posts

Monday, March 11

11.Mar.2013 - DOCUMENTARIES, Part 2: Facade of the American Dream, Professional Prisoners, 7 Ancient World Wonders, War on Nature, Special Forces Diver's Training, Human Cloning, 10 Mafia Commandments, Fat Head.

The Facade of the American Dream
The documentary depicts how the US removed Africans from their country of origin, worked them to death as slaves and today, in schools, is brainwashing them to make believe they are inferior in many aspects. A cross section of people discuss the fraud of the American dream and how systemic racism keeps millions of people down while offering others hope and opportunity.


Professional Prisoners
It isn't easy to live a normal life after you have been in prison. It is difficult to find a job and sometimes the prisoners haven´t got families or friends to rely on in this difficult time. Prisons in Russia try to help their prisoners by giving them the chance to work while being imprisoned.  They can learn something completely new and sometimes hidden talents are revealed.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Built by the ancient people in a time before Christ, the Seven Wonders exemplify remarkable architecture and massive structures that is world-renowned. All of them were massive construction projects that took years if not decades to build. Of the original seven in the list, only the Great Pyramid of Giza is standing as of this day. The others have fallen, taking with them the secrets of their history and construction.

Culture in Decline: War on Nature
War. We love it, right. Blowing stuff up, watching people suffer and die… it’s exciting. Violence, domination, retribution and other attributes of this competitive “warring” fascination clearly dominates our media with films, television and other expressions constantly glorifying and reinforcing this gesture of conflict. In fact, it has been found that by the time an average kid reaches the age of fourteen, in the west, he or she has visually witnessed over 8000 depicted acts of murder. So given all this it might make you wonder, does art imitate life, or does life imitate art. Likewise isn’t it interesting how most of the people in America sleep quite well at night while their military forces routinely invade, slaughter and steal from other nations at will, as of course all global empires have done historically. This time the global civilian death toll is well over one million in the past decade alone, many of them women and children, and yet the same American culture shutters in horror and confusion when some dude stumbles into an American school yard and randomly wipes out a couple dozen or so kids.


Surviving the Special Forces Diver’s Training
The six week diving course, attended by 53 of the best divers in the military, is done in Florida. Day 1 begins with a test of swimming across half a football field in a single breath. Safety instructors are also in the water to check the vitals and health of each swimmer. The next activity is ‘drown-proofing’ and this aims to test the confidence of each candidate in water. They are required to swim across a pool and do some other tasks while their hands and feet are tied. Signs of panic can cause them to fail the test and the course all together.

Human Cloning and its Evolution
Science has no limits for some scientists. Over the past ten years, Dr. Panayiotis Zavos and his team have experimented on injecting the DNA of an individual to a women’s egg to generate a replica. His quest for human cloning brings him to dangerous and far flung places in the world.

The 10 Commandments of the Mafia
The first commandment talks about who can or who can’t belong to the group. You have to be invited to the Mafia and anyone with a close relationship to the police cannot be one. Interestingly, you also have to be of Sicilian heritage to be a member. Even Al Capone was barred from being a member because of this. Find out the rest of the commandments by watching the documentary below.

Fat Head
While most people saw the documentary Super Size Me as an expose of the fast food industry, comedian and former health writer Tom Naughton saw it as a dare: He’d show that you could lose weight on a diet of burgers and fries.

Sunday, March 3

03.Mar.2013 - HEADLINES: Militarized Police State, US War Crimes, Billions for Wall Street, Homeland Security, Warrantless Eavesdropping, Battling Monsanto's Greed, EU Slams Israeli Settlements, PTSD Study Results, Big Bank Criminals, The Pope's War, more.

Walling Ourselves Inside a Militarized-Police State

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/27-1

Revelations about US war crimes continue
http://www.socialism.com/drupal-6.8/?q=node/2100

Billions For Wall Street, Sacrifice For Everyone Else
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34115.htm

'Homeland Security': The Trillion-Dollar Concept That No One Can Define
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/02/28-6

Supreme Court Shields Warrantless Eavesdropping Law From Constitutional Challenge
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34110.htm

In Battling Monsanto's Greed, Tenacity Matters
http://www.opednews.com/articles/In-Battling-Monsanto-s-Gre-by-Jim-Hightower-130227-566.html

EU Slams Israeli Settlements, Urges Sanctions in New Report
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/02/27-2

Army denies requests to reveal results of PTSD study
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/28/army-denies-requests-to-reveal-results-of-ptsd-study/

Are Big Banks a Bunch of Organized Criminal Conspiracies?
http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/are-big-banks-bunch-organized-criminal-conspiracies

Former Catholic Priest on "The Pope’s War" and Clergy's Child Molestation
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/former-catholic-priest-popes-war-and-clergys-child-molestation

Int’l law expert: Israel’s violations against prisoners amount to war crimes
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/intl-law-expert-israels-violations-against-prisoners-amount-to-war-crimes/

Why is Bradley Manning still in prison?
http://socialistworker.org/2013/02/27/why-is-manning-still-in-prison

Jill Stein launches Climate Voter Power Pledge at D.C. climate protests
http://www.jillstein.org/dc_climate_protests

Reviving Pinkwashing and Zionist fantasies of violence against queers and transgender people
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/benjamin-doherty/reviving-pinkwashing-and-zionist-fantasies-violence-against-queers-and

The U.S. Is Building Massive DNA Databases
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=united-states-building-massive-dna-databases&WT.mc_id=SA_DD_20130227

Manning: Before Wikileaks, Leaked Docs Offered to NYT, WaPo
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/02/28-4

The Uncommon Courage Of Bradley Manning
http://www.countercurrents.org/cohn010313.htm

Theocracy via ‘Democracy’
http://www.countercurrents.org/rawat010313.htm

HIV Infection Tends To Be Concentrated Where Sex Education Is Lacking
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/03/02/hiv-infection-tends-to-be-concentrated-where-sex-education-is-lacking/

America's Incarceration Rate Is Crazy -- Here's How to Fix It
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/americas-incarceration-rate-crazy-heres-how-fix-it

“Greater Israel”: The Zionist Plan for the Middle East
http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/greater-israel-the-zionist-plan-for-the-middle-east/
_____________ essential letter from the editor _____________

Hello friends, supporters and newcomers!
This is Steve, dustcircle.com's editor. 
Don't forget to subscribe to our updates on the website! 
Also, it has come to my attention that some of the VIDEO digests don't show some of the videos in the mailings. These are accessible on the website. The next VIDEOS emails I send out, I'll provide a link to the website so you can view the videos, instead of seeing just a list. 
I maintain the website mostly on my own, usually putting in a couple of hours per day on the digests, reading and sorting through websites and websites of news, picking and choosing the best and most relevant headlines for you all. 
If you've appreciated and have benefited from these mailings, use the WEPAY button on the website to donate any amount to the upkeep of the website, and to help offset the hours I put into this project. I'd thank you immensely. 
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Again, thank you much for reading and participating in this website. I do it not for me, but for you. 
- Steve
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Thursday, February 28

28.Feb.2013 - HEADLINES: Warrantless Wiretapping, Denial of Equality, Israel Torturing Palestinians, JP Morgan Chase Job Cuts, Fix the Economy, Humanity's Future, DOMA Challenger, God's Racket, Surveillance Law, Copyright Alert System, Keyboard Commandos, DNA Collecting, more.

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Supreme Court Effectively Says There's No Way To Challenge Warrantless Wiretapping
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130226/14360422120/supreme-court-effectively-says-theres-no-way-to-challenge-warrantless-wiretapping.shtml

Corrupt Capitalism - The Denial of Equality of Opportunity
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article34084.htm

Could Humans Go Extinct?
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/animal_forecast/2013/02/human_extinction_could_a_mass_extinction_kill_homo_sapiens.html

How Israel Gets Away With Torturing Palestinians to Death
http://www.alternet.org/world/how-israel-gets-away-torturing-palestinians-death

JPMorgan Chase Job Cuts: Bank Announces Plans To Slash Up To 4,000 Jobs
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/26/jpmorgan-chase-job-cuts_n_2764819.html

How the Fed Could Fix the Economy--and Why It Hasn't
http://www.opednews.com/articles/How-the-Fed-Could-Fix-the-by-Ellen-Brown-130225-281.html

What does humanity's future hold?

Witnessing farce and cruelty in an Israeli military court
http://electronicintifada.net/content/witnessing-farce-and-cruelty-israeli-military-court/12225

DOMA challenger files brief with US Supreme Court
http://jurist.org/paperchase/2013/02/doma-challenger-files-brief-with-us-supreme-court.php

God’s Racket: Why It’s High Time to Shut Down the Vatican Bank
http://www.alternet.org/world/gods-racket-why-its-high-time-shut-down-vatican-bank

Were Early Christians Really Persecuted? Historian Reveals the Surprising Truth
http://www.alternet.org/belief/were-early-christians-really-persecuted-historian-reveals-surprising-truth

Surveillance law: US group can't challenge it, Supreme Court rules
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/0226/Surveillance-law-US-group-can-t-challenge-it-Supreme-Court-rules

Welcome to the U.S. Copyright Alert System, Where Companies Can Slow Your Internet If You Download Illegally
http://gawker.com/5986813/welcome-to-the-us-copyright-alert-system-where-companies-can-slow-your-internet-if-you-download-illegally

The Copyright Alert System: How the New “Six Strikes” Anti-Piracy Program Works
http://lifehacker.com/5986961/the-copyright-alert-system-how-the-new-six-strikes-anti+piracy-program-works

Obama Admin Aims Keyboard Commandos at Gun Control
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/obama-admin-aims-keyboard-commandos-at-gun-control_022013

Chief Justices Should Not Allow DNA Collection During an Arrest Booking
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/02/25/editorial-chief-justices-should-not-allow-dna-collection-during-an-arrest-booking/

Thursday, September 13

13.Sept.2012: Failed U.S. Economics, Farm Wage Theft, Drone Spying, FISA Amendments Act, Restoring Human Rights, Plutocrats and Inequality, Chicago Teachers' Strike, Blasphemy Riots, Secular Groups, iPhone Labor Issues, 9/11 Cancer Connection, Occupy Politics, Homeland Security Pre-Crime, Wind Power, Student Lunch Boycott, Corporate Power Grab, Professional Media Liars, U.S. Libya Envoy Killing, Absurdity of American Empire



I hope everyone's been liking the new format: The DH Digests. 
I should quickly inject a Disclaimer: These are articles I (Steve) have found interesting and relevant, but I do not necessarily endorse any or all content. 
Enjoy. 
- Steve


Worldwide Distrust of US Intentions Follows 11 Years of War

"American influence on the world stage is being sapped by widespread distrust of US intentions, not just in the Middle East and south Asia but also among traditional European allies," according to the Guardian newspaper, citing a new survey performed by its media partner and global research company YouGov.

Numbers, Analysis Show 30 Years of Failed US Economic Policy

The latest US Census Bureau numbers on poverty, income inequality, and healthcare, coupled with newly released economic analysis of US public policy reveals the reality and the reasons behind the persistent rut of the poverty-stricken, the working-poor, and the middle class in America.

Farmworker Wage Theft: As Common as Dirt

In the latest report by the Food & Environment Reporting Network, “As Common as Dirt,” produced in collaboration with The American Prospect magazine, reporter Tracie McMillan investigates how farm labor contracting–a ubiquitous, but relatively unknown, practice–often blatantly disregards labor laws governing wages, safety and health. She writes that it could be the most insidious source of abuse faced by farmworkers.


Domestic Drones and Spying

From Townhall Magazine's September feature, "Domestic Drones and Spying," by Justice Gilpin-Green: 

Administration urges terror surveillance renewal

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration maintains it is unable to say how many times one of the government's most politically sensitive anti-terrorism surveillance programs -- which is up for renewal this week on Capitol Hill -- has inadvertently gathered intelligence about U.S. citizens.

No amendments for FISA Amendments Act reauthorization

The House approved Sept. 11 in a 223-179 vote mostly along party lines (Republicans for, Democrats against) a rule (H.Res. 773) outing terms of floor consideration of the reauthorization act (H.R. 5949).
http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/no-amendments-fisa-amendments-act-reauthorization/2012-09-12

This week, Congress prepares to abuse the Constitution again, by extending its 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). With the House of Representatives poised to vote today on a premature five year extension, will members remember what they heard when theatrically reading the Constitution on the House floor, or instead entrench the Bush-Cheney legacy beyond even the next administration?

Tips for Talking About Voting

Over the next eight weeks nonprofits around the country will be busy running nonpartisan election activities. They’ll be registering voters, educating voters and candidates on all sides about their issues, and encouraging voters to turn out on Election Day.

Restoring Human Rights and Civil Liberties: Funding Advocacy After 9/11

Eleven years after 9/11, it is important to take a moment to reflect on how the national tragedy continues to affect our society, and to highlight the efforts of those who are working to address these negative impacts. What is particularly striking – more than a decade out – is the degree to which the events of 9/11 have led to an erosion of some of our most important rights and liberties.

Politics and Plutocrats: A Parade of Inequality
America is currently engaged in the most expensive presidential contest in world history. In the United States, money doesn’t just talk – it dictates. How can we hope to make progress on the path to sustainability when the road is blocked by barricades of bullion backed by battalions of billionaires? How do we break through the political gridlock?

The Pauperization Of America
It’s been an unrelenting process. Survey after survey—most recently “The Lost Decade of the Middle Class“—has shown that wages haven’t kept up with inflation since the wage peak in 2000. Periods when real wages rose, for example during the deflationary stretch between March and October 2009, a godsend for struggling workers, were stepped out by the Fed like nasty brushfires. So, families ended up making less at the end of the decade than at the beginning, a phenomenon not seen in the US since World War II. And the middle-income tier actually shrank in size—the process of hollowing out the American middle class.

The Democrats' Fake Freedoms

The president's party can't seem to distinguish between defending rights and soliciting subsidies.


New Evidence About DNA, And Old Patterns of Resistance to New Ideas
A huge research project about DNA (ENCODE) has provoked more scientific controversy over just what proportion of that huge molecule plays an active role in making us us. When DNA research first began decades ago, it was thought that only a couple percent of all those millions of pairs of Adenosine (As) and Thymine (Ts), and Cytosine (Cs) and Guanine (Gs), actually do anything that is biologically relevant to humans. The rest was labeled junk (many scientists winced at the imprecision of the term but when one coined it, it stuck). 

A Guide to Chicago’s Ongoing Teachers’ Strike

Chicago's public schools are a grim, decaying warehouse system for futureless children, unless you live in a rich white neighborhood or are smart enough to test your way into a magnet school, in which case there are a couple really good schools (go Northside College Prep!). Generally, though, they've been in crisis for years. The system ended last year with a $1.2 billion deficit. Fingerless ghoul Rahm Emanuel is determined to fix that by, essentially, crushing the teachers union—opening hundreds of charter schools that don't employ union teachers, instituting merit pay, and tying performance evaluations to hard metrics like test scores.

Blasphemy riots: less about theology, more about power plays

Although riots in Egypt and Libya were said to be provoked by a blasphemous portrayal of the prophet Muhammad, Islam scholars say the teachings are ambiguous and co-opted for political ends.

PROMINENT ATHEISTS LASH OUT AT DNC‘S REINSTATEMENT OF ’GOD’: ‘PRECISELY WHAT OUR FOUNDERS AIMED TO AVOID’

Atheists were likely elated by the Democrats’ initial decision to remove “God” from the party’s 2012 platform. But, their joy was quickly diminished when liberal political leaders, realizing the political fallout from its decision, quickly moved to reinsert the language. Now, secularists are responding with disappointment and frustration, claiming offense, discrimination and poor manners on the behalf of Democrats.

Secular Group Wants Less Religion in Government

The Secular Coalition for America has been around for a decade but has not been involved at the state level. Rather it focused on federal government. Spokeswoman Lauren Anderson Youngblood says that's about to change. 

China Contractor Again Faces Labor Issue on iPhones

As Apple prepares to unveil the latest iPhone this week, the company’s manufacturing partner in China, Foxconn Technology, is coming under renewed criticism over labor practices after reports that vocational students were being compelled to work at plants making iPhones and their components.

47 Percent of Chicago Voters Support Teachers’ Strike

A 500-person poll conducted by the Chicago Sun Times found that 47 percent of Chicago’s registered voters support the Chicago Public Teachers strike. 39 percent oppose the strike, while 14 percent claimed they don’t know.

9/11 - Cancer Connection Acknowledged, First Responders Get Health Care Coverage

First responders to World Trade Center have suffered major medical problems, both physical – caused by exposure to toxic dust – and mental. Some 1,000 deaths have been linked to illnesses caused by the environmental hazards at Ground Zero

Bold Civil Disobedience Actions Blockade Entrance to Site of TPP Negotiations in VA

Lansdowne, VA -- Two people were detained this morning after a tense stand off with police while blockading international trade negotiators from entering the Lansdowne Resort, site of the secretive Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations takingplace this week. Other activists greeted the arriving international negotiators with a 75-foot high banner suspended by weather balloons shaped like giant buttocks that read "Free Trade My Ass: Flush the TPP."

Occupy the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative Branches

Today, the U.S. government has descended from a rich and vibrant democracy of three independent and equal government branches with real checks and balancesinto an abusive, secretive, bankrupt, and corporate-driven oligarchy. All three government branches of public officials now work as one to enrich themselves and their corporate benefactors on the backs of the American people. 

Homeland Security Envisions Being Able To Detect Crime Before It Happens

Like The FBI- The Department Of Homeland Security Is Also Developing Their Own Sci-Fi Recognition Program

The Sky Is the Limit for Wind Power

The amount of power to be reaped from tapping low- and high-altitude winds dwarfs global demand

Researchers claim they’ve made progress in cloning a woolly mammoth

There may be some life left yet for the woolly mammoth, according to controversial research by Russian and South Korean scientists that has raised hopes the extinct animal could be cloned.

Fox News falsely claims unemployment nearly doubled under Obama

The Fox News show Fox & Friends used two separate measurements of unemployment to falsely claim that the unemployment rate had nearly doubled under President Barack Obama.

Chicago teachers are fighting for all of us

The teachers' fight in Chicago is part of a larger struggle to save public education.

Is education a ticket out of poverty?

The ongoing attacks on public education are reducing the odds--which were already long to begin with--that working people and the poor can improve their social conditions with a better education. So what can help? Sarah Knopp, co-editor of Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation, sees an answer in the Chicago Teachers Union strike.

Food fight: Students boycott lunch menus

Beginning this year, there are strict limits on calories, sodium and meat portions. Whole milk is off the menu altogether, and kids are required to take a fruit or vegetable. As parents with fussy eaters might guess, some student's aren't salivating over those options.

What You Need to Know About a Worldwide Corporate Power Grab of Enormous Proportions

The corporate cabal behind a new trade agreement including Cargill, Pfizer, Nike and WalMart, has done an exceptional job of maintaining an almost total lack of transparency as they literally design the future we will all inhabit.

TechdirtEbook Authors Continue To See Self-Publishing Stigma Disappear

As the recent news about ebooks has mostly revolved around the price-fixing settlement that was just approved, it's worth pointing out, or reiterating, how the ebook market continues to take off despite being a digital marketplace with all the same potential pitfalls as the recording industry. Despite those potential troubles, we continue to see a rise in the popularity and saleability of self-published authors, long sufferers of the antiquated myth that if you weren't published by a big publishing house you weren't really published at all.

Estimating Gender Disparities in Federal Criminal Cases

This paper assesses gender disparities in federal criminal cases. It finds large gender gaps favoring women throughout the sentence length distribution (averaging over 60%), conditional on arrest offense, criminal history, and other pre-charge observables. Female arrestees are also significantly likelier to avoid charges and convictions entirely, and twice as likely to avoid incarceration if convicted. 

We're Not 'The Entitlement Generation'

ast weekend, Representative Walsh said he was "offended" by me, a "life-time student," and that he wanted me to stop acting "entitled" and "get a job." He explained that it wasn't my fault because my generation has been raised this way and doesn't know how to take care of ourselves.

TPP: A Worldwide Corporate Power Grab of Enormous Proportions

s international trade negotiators gathered this week at a posh golf resort in rural Virginia to hammer out details of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), they sought to project an image of inclusion and receptivity to public input. 

Professional liars in PR and the news media

Romney Vs Obama - Same Issues, Same Answers!


How to handle Search Warrant-less Police at your door



TSA Detains Woman Due To ‘Attitude’


Thousands Rally in Chicago Teacher's Strike Against Corporate-Backed Education Reform




Killing of US envoy to Libya underscores threat of unchecked religious fanaticism 


Conventions 2012: The Price of the Party



Laura Flanders and Chris Hedges: The Absurdity of American Empire




"500 Days": Author Kurt Eichenwald’s New Account of How Bush Admin Ignored Warnings Before 9/11




Behind the anti-Muhammad movie – a new pastor Terry Jones?




Chicago Teachers Strike Rooted in Community Struggle




Steve Dustcircle can be found at:

http://www.dustcircle.com

Friday, April 13

13 Ways You Can Be Tracked By the US Government


Here's how some of the biggest government agencies and programs track people.

Sign up to stay up to date on the latest headlines via email.


Privacy is eroding fast as technology offers government increasing ways to track and spy on citizens. The Washington Post reported there are 3,984 federal, state and local organizations working on domestic counterterrorism. Most collect information on people in the US. Here are thirteen examples of how some of the biggest government agencies and programs track people.

One. The National Security Agency (NSA) collects hundreds of millions of emails, texts and phone calls every day and has the ability to collect and sift through billions more. WIRED just reported NSA is building an immense new data center which will intercept, analyze and store even more electronic communications from satellites and cables across the nation and the world. Though NSA is not supposed to focus on US citizens, it does.

Two. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Security Branch Analysis Center (NSAC) has more than 1.5 billion government and private sector records about US citizens collected from commercial databases, government information, and criminal probes.

Three. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times recently reported that cellphones of private individuals in the US are being tracked without warrants by state and local law enforcement all across the country. With more than 300 million cellphones in the US connected to more than 200,000 cell phone towers, cellphone tracking software can pinpoint the location of a phone and document the places the cellphone user visits over the course of a day, week, month or longer.

Four. More than 62 million people in the US have their fingerprints on file with the FBI, state and local governments. This system, called the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), shares information with 43 states and 5 federal agencies. This system conducts more than 168,000 checks each day.

Five.
Over 126 million people have their fingerprints, photographs and biographical information accessible on the US Department of Homeland Security Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT). This system conducts about 250,000 biometric transactions each day. The goal of this system is to provide information for national security, law enforcement, immigration, intelligence and other Homeland Security Functions.

Six. More than 110 million people have their visas and more than 90 million have their photographs entered into the US Department of State Consular Consolidated Database (CCD). This system grows by adding about 35,000 people a day. This system serves as a gateway to the Department of State Facial Recognition system, IDENT and IAFSIS.

Seven. DNA profiles on more than 10 million people are available in the FBI coordinated Combined DNA index System (CODIS) National DNA Index.

Eight. Information on more than 2 million people is kept in the Intelligence Community Security Clearance Repository, commonly known as Scattered Castles. Most of the people in this database are employees of the Department of Defense (DOD) and other intelligence agencies.

Nine. The DOD also has an automated biometric identification system (ABIS) to support military operations overseas. This database incorporates fingerprint, palm print, face and iris matching on 6 million people and is adding 20,000 more people each day.

Ten. Information on over 740,000 people is included in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) of the National Counterterrorism Center. TIDE is the US government central repository of information on international terrorist identities. The government says that less than 2 percent of the people on file are US citizens or legal permanent residents. They were just given permission to keep their non-terrorism information on US citizens for a period of five years, up from 180 days.

Eleven. Tens of thousands of people are subjects of facial recognition software. The FBI has been working with North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and other state and local law enforcement on facial recognition software in a project called “Face Mask.” For example, the FBI has provided thousands of photos and names to the North Carolina DMV which runs those against their photos of North Carolina drivers. The Maricopa Arizona County Sheriff’s Office alone records 9,000 biometric mug shots a month.

Twelve. The FBI operates the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (SAR) that collects and analyzes observations or reports of suspicious activities by local law enforcement. With over 160,000 suspicious activity files, SAR stores the profiles of tens of thousands of Americans and legal residents who are not accused of any crime but who are alleged to have acted suspiciously.

Thirteen. The FBI admits it has about 3,000 GPS tracking devices on cars of unsuspecting people in the US right now, even after the US Supreme Court decision authorizing these only after a warrant for probable cause has been issued.

The Future

The technology for tracking and identifying people is exploding as is the government appetite for it.

Soon, police everywhere will be equipped with handheld devices to collect fingerprint, face, iris and even DNA information on the spot and have it instantly sent to national databases for comparison and storage.

Bloomberg News reports the newest surveillance products “can also secretly activate laptop webcams or microphones on mobile devices,” change the contents of written emails mid-transmission, and use voice recognition to scan phone networks.

The advanced technology of the war on terrorism, combined with deferential courts and legislators, have endangered both the right to privacy and the right of people to be free from government snooping and tracking. Only the people can stop this.
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Bill Quigley is a human rights lawyer and professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. He is also a member of the legal collective of School of Americas Watch.
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