Technocracy

Security experts say new electronic voting machines can be hacked

"The 2010 discovery of the Stuxnet cyberweapon, which used a thumb drive to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and spread among its computers, illustrated how one type of attack could work. Most at risk are paperless e-voting machines, which don’t print out any record of votes, meaning the electronically stored results could be altered without anyone knowing they had been changed. In a tight election, the result could be the difference between winning and losing. A Monitor analysis shows that four swing states – Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, and Florida – rely to varying degrees on paperless machines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecurity experts say new electronic voting machines can be hacked

Honduras court bans private cities project

"The Honduran Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional a project to build privately-run cities, with their own police and tax system. The 'model cities' project was backed by President Porfirio Lobo, who said it would attract foreign investment and create jobs. By 13 votes to one, Supreme Court judges decided that the proposal violated the principle of sovereignty. An American company was expected to invest US$15m in the initial phase of construction of the first city, on the Caribbean coast. The inspiration for his 'model cities' were Singapore, Macao and Hong Kong, President Lobo said." Continue reading →

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Voters in Three States Take on Traffic Cameras

"Residents in in five cities in California, Texas and Washington state have battled for the right to have a say in whether automated ticketing machines are installed in their community. The November 6 results could raise to 25 the total number of municipalities nationwide that prohibit cameras. Anaheim and Newport Beach are unique in having councils propose the charter amendment. Elsewhere, photo ticketing companies and city leaders fought the ballot measures at every step of the way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVoters in Three States Take on Traffic Cameras

Get a U.S. Passport Now – While You Still Can

"Until a century ago, almost anywhere you went in the world, passports were not required for international travel. Rare passports were used mainly to insure passage of diplomats sent to negotiate peace treaties or carry official papers. Now governments use passports as another part of citizen control and surveillance. Official passport control marked the Cold War years, but now it is applied with a bureaucratic, computer-driven vengeance, justified by the endless 'War on Terror.' I often get questions about the possibility of currency and capital controls, but thinking Americans should be equally concerned about foreign travel controls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet a U.S. Passport Now – While You Still Can

Federal government now ruthlessly stealing thousands of dollars from small farmers’ bank accounts via ‘Bank Secrecy Act’

"If you run a family farm or other small business in which you regularly make large cash deposits at the bank, you could be in violation of a little-known federal law called the Bank Secrecy Act. Making regular cash deposits of any amount, in fact, could land you in the crosshairs of government tyrants who, according to CBN News, have already seized tens of thousands of dollars from family farmers whose only 'crime' was depositing their hard-earned cash in their bank accounts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal government now ruthlessly stealing thousands of dollars from small farmers’ bank accounts via ‘Bank Secrecy Act’

Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Random License Plate Scans

"Judges in Kentucky have no problem with police randomly scanning the license plates of motorists who are not suspected of any crime. The state Court of Appeals last week upheld the conviction of Timothy Gentry who was stopped on October 3, 2009 because a Lexington police officer conducted what he said was a random license plate scan. The court also dismissed Gentry's complaint that Officer Newman acted arbitrarily because the Lexington Police Department had no official policy guidelines to limit random information checks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKentucky Appeals Court Upholds Random License Plate Scans

Iowa: Proposed Citizen Initiative Would Ban Traffic Ticket Drones

"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is taking up the fight against red light cameras and speed cameras in Iowa. Earlier this month, lawyers from the left-leaning activist group sent an affidavit to the city council in Iowa City containing the text of a proposed initiative banning the use of all forms of photo enforcement -- including license plate recognition cameras (ALPR or ANPR) and the use of drones. Residents had called the ACLU for help after city attorney Eleanor M. Dilkes took action to block citizens from ever voting on the topic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIowa: Proposed Citizen Initiative Would Ban Traffic Ticket Drones

Now Mexico Bans Cash Transactions

"Outgoing Mexican President Felipe Calderon has signed into law a ban on large cash transactions. Under the law, a Specialized Unit in Financial Analysis operating within the Attorney General's Office will be created to investigate financial operations 'that are related to resources of unknown origin.' For real estate transactions, cash payments of more than a half million pesos ($38,750) will be forbidden and, for automobiles or items like jewelry, art, and lottery tickets, cash payments of more than 200,000 pesos ($15,500) will be forbidden. The law carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow Mexico Bans Cash Transactions

Honduras ‘Free Market Paradise’ Charter City

"This new Libertarian City-State, inspired by New York University economist Paul Romer, has the backing of the libertarian-minded government in Tegucigalpa. It has also received plaudits from noted economists, pundits, and policymakers across the globe since it emerged nearly two years ago." Continue reading →

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Tracking School Children With RFID Tags? It’s All About the Benjamins

"Just as the U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates Radio Frequency Identification Device chips to monitor livestock, a Texas school district just begun implanting the devices on student identification cards to monitor pupils’ movements on campus, and to track them as they come and go from school. Tagging school children with RFID chips is uncommon, but not new. A federally funded preschool in Richmond, California, began embedding RFID chips in students’ clothing in 2010. With the RFID tracking, students not at their desk but tracked on campus are counted as being in school that day, and the district receives its daily allotment for that student." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTracking School Children With RFID Tags? It’s All About the Benjamins