Rampart News Update

New Zealand takes step towards becoming cashless society

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 14:20:05 PDT

Revellers in New Zealand who dream about living without cash will be able to attend two festivals on New Year's Eve without taking their wallets with them.The La De Da festival in Martinborough and the Rhythm and Vines event in Gisborne will both adopt cashless payment systems, the New Zealand Herald reports.Partygoers will be fitted with a wristband on entry to the two sites, which will be

New App Can ID Complete Stranger's Facebook and Social Security No.in 60 Seconds

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 06:08:24 PDT

Google and Carnegie Mellon University have created a system capable of alarming invasions of privacy The application's name is PittPatt and it allows a complete stranger to find your identity -- your real identity -- in under 60 seconds. Here's how it works. A client code calls the PittPatt interface with a picture it's taken. PittPatt jumps online and compares that picture to millions of

Pre-Cog Is Real – New Software Stops Crime Before It Happens | Singularity Hub

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:07:55 PDT

Cover of Minority Report [Blu-ray]The police officers arrived at the parking garage in downtown Santa Cruz and spotted two women behaving suspiciously. No crime had been committed, but peering through the windows of the parked cars was sketchy enough. The officers questioned the women: one had outstanding warrants; the other was in possession of illegal drugs. What’s strange about this scenario

Florida studying a possible universal ID for everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:11:45 PDT

Gov. Rick Scott is on the prowl for new ways to reduce the cost and size of government. He has a group patrolling for duplication in law enforcement. He wants agencies to scrutinize their budgets. And he helped create a Government Efficiency Task Force of 15 business leaders and legislators, who will suggest cuts in state spending by up to $3 billion. Your input is welcome at

Real Names: Google+, Government & The Identity Ecosystem - Search Engine Watch (#SEW)

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:13:01 PDT

There has been a lot of speculation about why the push for real names on Facebook and now Google, with Google taking a much harder line than even Facebook, not allowing for even the simplest derivation of “nyms” (pseudonyms). Add to this the fact that Facebook and Google have both purchased facial recognition software companies and you have a puzzling picture. Why do these two need facial

Hospital Patients Now Being Microchipped with "Electronic Tattoos"

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:57:57 PDT

Human Tracking Chip Tries to Safeguard Against Kidnapping - Mobiledia

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:32:10 PDT

Image via WikipediaTraditionally, companies develop radio frequency identification (RFID) chips for use in products where they exchange data with nearby readers. They can be found in a growing number of devices and objects, including mobile phones, passports, credit cards, price tags, and even medical implants, and are used with sensors and connected devices to create a large pool of information

Privacy and Security Fanatic: Future TSA: Track All 'Daily Travels To Work, Grocery Stores & Social Events'

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:25:21 PDT

Image via Wikipedia Senior policy analyst at the Center for Health and Homeland Security Vernon R. Herron told MSNBC that your official travel document "will not only have information as to who you are and where you have traveled, but it will also ... allow government officials to track your travel not only in the air, but your daily travels to work, grocery stores and social events." In the

Electronic tattoo 'could revolutionise patient monitoring'

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:49:28 PDT

"An 'electronic tattoo' could herald a revolution in the way patients are monitored and provide a breakthrough in computer gaming, say US scientists. They used the device, which is thinner than a human hair, to monitor the heart and brain, according to a study in the journal Science. The sensor attaches to human skin just like a temporary tattoo and can move, wrinkle and stretch without

Wrist band is part ID, part PayPass

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:49:50 PDT

Sans purse and wallet, Jennifer Swenson approached the cashier at CVS. When asked for $1.84 to pay for her drink, she waved a silicone bracelet above the credit card reader and headed back to work.Swenson is among the thousands of U.S. Bancorp employees who are testing the VITAband, a cross between a reloadable prepaid card and medical identification bracelet.The wrist band uses a radio frequency

Digital Totalitarianism | The conspiracy to abolish cash

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 06:11:54 PDT

"NEW YORK--For years, figures on the political fringe have claimed the government and its corporate owners want a cashless society. Their warnings about the conspiracy against paper money fell on deaf ears. Now, those who want to do away with liquid currency are stepping out of the shadows, talking about increased efficiency and profit potential, but their real agenda is nothing less than

Hi-tech eye scanners that track passengers in airport go on trial in UK

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:15:47 PST

"Passengers will have their eyes scanned as soon as they check in as part of a new trial a major UK airport.High-tech machines that can recognise an individual's iris as they walk around will be installed at Manchester Airport at check in during the government-backed pilot.The technology has the potential to overhaul security and customs, with airport bosses hoping it could help in the fight

| INTERPOL: Calls for international identity verification system

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:57:45 PDT

SecureIDNews: "During a keynote at the first INTERPOL Information Security Conference, co-hosted by the world police body and Hong Kong Police, INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble called for law enforcement worldwide to develop an international identity verification system.“Considering the anonymity of cyberspace, cybercrime may in fact be one of the most dangerous criminal threats ever. A

Concerns Raised over Use of Computer RFID Chips to Track Preschool Children

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:46:22 PDT

Privacy advocates are raising concerns over the use of RFID chips to help track students at a public preschool in California. The technology is being tested on 240 preschool students in the Head Start Program in Richmond. Preschool students have been outfitted with jerseys carrying tiny computer chips that have a radio antenna that can be tracked from a distance. We host a debate. [includes rush

Sweden weighs benefits of ditching cash

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:50:48 PDT

"Over the past 10 years, the value of card payments made in Sweden has increased fivefold, while the number of card payments has increased by a factor of eight.'The technology exists for a cashless society to work,' says Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics at the London Business School.Cash survives, he says, despite the nuisance of bulging pockets and looking for ATMs that work, partly because

The Next Generation May be 'Chipped' - PCWorld

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:03:13 PDT

You may reject the idea of a microchip implant, but your grandchildren could embrace them, according to an Australian professor. Katrina Michael, associate professor of the University of Wollongong's school of information systems and technology, and author of scientific paper Towards a State of Uberveillance, said subdermal chip implants in humans could be commonplace within two to three

Darpa’s Beady-Eyed Camera Spots the ‘Non-Cooperative’

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sun, 30 May 2010 09:52:48 PDT

Soon, keeping your head down won’t be enough to stump high-tech security cameras, thanks to Pentagon-funded researchers developing mini-cameras that can nab threats by hunting down — and scanning — their eyeballs. A team of electrical engineers at Southern Methodist University (SMU), led by Professor Marc Christensen, first created the cameras with funding from Darpa, the Pentagon’s

FOXNews.com - Where’s Jimmy? Just Google His Bar Code

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:26:05 PDT

Scientists tag animals to monitor their behavior and keep track of endangered species. Now some futurists are asking whether all of mankind should be tagged too. Looking for a loved one? Just Google his microchip. The chips, called radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, emit a simple radio signal akin to a bar code, anywhere, anytime. Futurists say they can be easily implanted under

Polish bank claims Europe's first biometric cash point

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:14:52 PDT

WARSAW — Poland's cooperative BPS SA bank claimed Tuesday to be the first in Europe to install a biometric cash point allowing its clients to use their fingertips rather than a bank card to withdraw money."Our bank is the first in Europe to provide its clients with a new means to secure transactions to complement the secret code of their banking card," BPS SA Bank vice-president Krzysztof

U.S. Supreme Court: Justices might like national ID card - UPI.com

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:54:50 PDT

"If the biometric national ID card provision of the draft bill becomes law, every worker in America would have to be fingerprinted and a new federal bureaucracy -- one that could cost hundreds of billions of dollars -- would have to be created to issue cards," the organization said in a statement. "The ACLU strongly opposes the inclusion of a biometric national ID in this or any

The Money That Is Sold Abroad Is You!

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:15:57 PDT

“Biometric ID,” The Mark of the Beast, and Immigration Reform

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:40:40 PDT

If Arizona’s draconian new law has put immigration back in the public consciousness, the proposal for a national “biometric ID” is about to trigger nightmares in this country’s Christian id. The Democrats who drafted a new immigration law aren’t just “tone deaf,” as blogger John Cole says (although they’re certainly that.) The bill’s content and language are going to terrify and outrage

Democrats: "BELIEVE" in biometric Social Security cards

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:36:17 PDT

"Believe" = BIOMETRIC ENROLLMENT, LOCALLY STORED INFORMATION AND ELECTRONIC VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT"This truly is a devilish acronym for a national ID cardDemocrats: "BELIEVE" in biometric Social Security cards (THIRDFACTOR.COM)There are varying reports on whether immigration reform will be discussed in Congress in 2010, but if it is addressed one aspect that will likely be included is a

National ID Card Included In Democratic Immigration Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:09:00 PDT

Democrats pushed forward on an immigration overhaul on Thursday evening with no Republican support, as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) continues to hold out, arguing that the divisive issue will make progress on climate change legislation impossible. The Senate is also in the middle of debating Wall Street reform, which is expected to take up the next few weeks of floor time. Reid, however,

Centralia Jr. High Students To Pay For Lunch With Scan of Finger

noreply@blogger.com (Ace) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 05:31:11 PDT

The way Centralia Jr. High students get lunches will change in Fall.Centralia City Schools Superintendent David Rademacher says the school will begin using a biometric scanner to identify students and keep track of their lunch "tickets." Students place a finger or thumb on the scanner which recognizes them and accesses their lunch information. The system does not scan fingerprints, but