IP: TOTALITARIAN TECHNOLOGY

["Vladimir Z. Nuri" <vznuri@netcom.com>]

From: Bill Kingsbury <kingsbry@gte.net>
Subject: IP: TOTALITARIAN TECHNOLOGY
Date: Thu, 05 Nov 1998 14:47:59 -0500
To: ignition-point@majordomo.pobox.com

 from:  http://www.newdawnmagazine.com.au/50a.htm=20


 TOTALITARIAN TECHNOLOGY --
 The Truth is Closer Than Fiction
 ---------------------------------
 By SUSAN BRYCE=20

 Over the last decade, Hollywood has sensitised us to totalitarian
 technology. Block buster movies portray our heroes and heroines
 using the weapons of the new millennium. Militarised police forces
 keep citizens safe; android warrior personnel, part human, part
 robot are gainfully employed as global peacekeepers; prisoners are
 incarcerated in high tech electronic jails, controlled with
 implanted microchips, while the free population is kept under
 surveillance through the use of biometric identity systems.=20

 Science fiction perhaps? Reality yes! Much of what we see on the
 big screen is not the latest fantasy of Hollywood script writers,
 but is based on fact. Any film maker wanting a picture of the
 future need look no further than existing military technology and
 research. =20

 A recent report published by the European Parliament, "An Appraisal
 of the Technologies of Political Control", shows just how far these
 new technologies have come, and how they are being actively
 employed against citizens in countries across the globe.=20

 The report warns of "an overall technological and decision drift
 towards world wide convergence of nearly all the technologies of
 political control", including identity recognition; denial;
 surveillance systems based on neural networks; new arrest and
 restraint methods and the emergence of so called `less lethal'
 weapons.=20

 Developments in surveillance technology, innovations in crowd
 control weapons, new prison control systems, the rise of more
 powerful restraint, torture, killing and execution technologies and
 the role of privatised enterprises in promoting such technologies
 pose a grave threat to our immediate and future freedoms.=20


 Trade in Technologies of Control=20

 Cutting edge developments made by the Western military-industrial
 complex are providing invaluable support to various governments
 throughout the world. The report "Big Brother Incorporated", by
 surveillance watchdog Privacy International, presents a detailed
 analysis of the international trade in surveillance technology. =20

 Privacy International says it is concerned about "the flow of
 sophisticated computer-based technology from developed countries to
 developing countries -- and particularly to non-democratic regimes
 where surveillance technologies become tools of political control." =20

 The international trade in surveillance technology (known as the
 Repression Trade), involves the manufacture and export of
 technologies of political control. More than seventy per cent of
 companies manufacturing and exporting surveillance technology also
 export arms, chemical weapons or military hardware.=20

 The justification advanced by the companies involved in this trade
 is identical to the justification advanced in the arms trade --
 i.e.: that the technology is neutral. Privacy International's view
 is that in the absence of legal protection, the technology can
 never be neutral. =20

 As "Big Brother Incorporated" points out, "even those technologies
 intended for `benign' uses rapidly develop more sinister purposes.
 The UK manufactured `Scoot' traffic control cameras in Beijing's
 Tianamen Square were automatically employed as surveillance cameras
 during the student demonstrations. Images captured from the cameras
 were broadcast over Chinese television to ensure that the
 `offending' students were captured." =20

 Privacy International cites numerous cases where this type of
 technology has been obtained for the express purpose of political
 and social control...=20

    -- ICL (International Computers Limited) provided the
       technological infrastructure to establish the South African
       automated Passbook system, upon which much of the function of
       the apartheid regime depended. =20

    -- In the 1980s Israeli company Tadiram developed and exported
       the technology for the computerised death list used by the
       Guatemalan police. =20

    -- Reported human rights abuses in Indonesia -- particularly
       those affecting East Timor -- would not be possible without
       the strategic and technological support of Western companies.
       Among those companies supplying the Indonesian police and
       military with surveillance and targeting technology are
       Morpho Systems (France), De la Ruue Printak (UK), EEV Night
       Vision (UK), ICL (UK), Marconi Radar and Control Systems
       (UK), Pyser (UK), Siemens Plessey Defense Systems (UK),
       Rockwell International Corporation (USA) and SWS Security
       (USA). =20


 Tools of Repression for 'Democratic' States=20

 We should not forget that the same companies supplying regimes with
 repression technology, also supply `democratic' states with their
 totalitarian tools. =20

 Leutcher Associates Inc. of Massachusetts supplies and services
 American gas chambers, as well as designing, supplying and
 installing electric chairs, auto-injection systems and gallows. The
 Leutcher lethal injection system costs approximately $30,000 and is
 the cheapest system the company sells. Their electrocution systems
 cost =A335,000 and a gallows would cost approximately $85,000. More
 and more US states are opting for Leutcher's $100,000 "execution
 trailer" which comes complete with a lethal injection machine, a
 steel holding cell for an inmate, and separate areas for witnesses,
 chaplain, prison workers and medical personnel. Some companies in
 Europe have even offered to supply gallows.=20

 In the 1970's, J.A. Meyer of the US Defense Department suggested a
 countrywide network of transceivers for monitoring all prisoners on
 parole, via an irremovable transponder implant. The idea was that
 parolees movements could be continuously checked and the system
 would facilitate certain areas or hours to be out of bounds, whilst
 having the economic advantage of cutting down on the costs of
 clothing and feeding the prisoner. If prisoners go missing, the
 police could automatically home in on their last position. =20

 Meyer's vision came into operational use in America in the mid
 1980's, when some private prisons started to operate a transponder
 based parole system. The system has now spread into Canada and
 Europe where it is known as electronic tagging. Whilst the logic of
 tagging is difficult to resist, critics argue that the recipients
 of this technology appear not to be offenders who would have been
 imprisoned, but rather low risk offenders who are most likely to be
 released into the community anyway. Because of this, the system is
 not cheaper since the authorities gain the added expense of
 supplying monitoring devices to offenders who would have been
 released anyway. Electronic tagging is however beneficial to the
 companies who sell such systems. Tagging also has a profitable role
 inside prisons in the US and in some prisons, notably, DeKalb
 County Jail near Atlanta, where all prisoners are bar coded.=20


 'Non-Lethal' Technology of Control=20

 The increasing militarisation of police forces throughout the world
 is reflected in the spread of "less lethal" weapons such as pepper
 gas. Benignly referred to by the media as "capsicum spray", pepper
 gas was recently used by Australian police in the state of Victoria
 to subdue a man. According to media reports, the Victorian police
 also used "a weapon they don't want to disclose". =20

 The effects of pepper gas are far more severe than most people
 realise. It is known to cause temporary blindness, a burning
 sensation of the skin which lasts from 45 to 60 minutes, upper body
 spasms which force a person to bend forward and uncontrollable
 coughing making it difficult to breathe or speak for between 3 to
 15 minutes.=20

 For those with asthma or subject to restraining techniques which
 restrict the breathing passages, there is a risk of death. The Los
 Angeles Times has reported at least 61 deaths associated with
 police use of pepper spray since 1990 in the USA, and the American
 Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has documented 27 deaths in custody of
 people sprayed with pepper gas in California alone, since 1993.=20

 The US Army concluded in a 1993 Aberdeen Proving Ground study that
 pepper spray could cause "Mutagenic effects, carcinogenic effects,
 sensitization, cardiovascular and pulmonary toxicity,
 neuro-toxicity, as well as possible human fatalities." =20

 The existing arsenal of weapons designed for public order and
 control will soon be joined by a second generation of kinetic,
 chemical, optico-acoustic, and microwave weapons, adding to the
 disabling and paralysing technologies already available. Much of
 the initial work on these new technologies has been undertaken in
 US nuclear laboratories such as Oak Ridge, Lawrence Livermore and
 Los Alamos. The European Parliament Report "An Appraisal of the
 Technologies of Political Control" lists a Pandora's box of new
 technologies including:=20

    -- Ultra-sound generators, which cause disorientation, vomiting
       and involuntary defecation, disturbing the ear system which
       controls balance and inducing nausea. The system which uses
       two speakers can target individuals in a crowd. =20

    -- Visual stimulus and illusion techniques such as high
       intensity strobes which pulse in the critical epileptic
       fit-inducing flashing frequency and holograms used to project
       active camouflage. =20

    -- Reduced energy kinetic weapons. Variants on the bean bag
       philosophy which ostensibly will result in no damage (similar
       claims were once made about plastic bullets). =20

    -- New disabling, calmative, sleep inducing agents mixed with
       DMSO which enables the agent to quickly cross the skin
       barrier and an extensive range of pain causing, paralysing
       and foul-smelling area-denial chemicals. Some of these are
       chemically engineered variants of the heroin molecule. They
       work extremely rapidly, one touch and disablement follows.
       Yet one person's tranquillisation may be another's lethal
       dose. =20

    -- Microwave and acoustic disabling systems. =20

    -- Human capture nets which can be laced with chemical irritant
       or electrified to pack an extra disabling punch. =20

    -- Lick `em and stick `em technology such as the Sandia National
       Laboratory's foam gun which expands to between 35-50 times
       its original volume. Its extremely sticky, gluing together
       any target's feet and hands to the pavement. =20

    -- Aqueous barrier foam which can be laced with pepper spray. =20

    -- Blinding laser weapons and isotrophic radiator shells which
       use superheated gaseous plasma to produce a dazzling burst of
       laser like light. =20

    -- Thermal guns which incapacitate through a wall by raising
       body temperature to 107 degrees. =20

    -- Magnetosphere gun which delivers what feels like a blow to
       the head. =20

 "An Appraisal of the Technologies of Political Control" says "we
 are no longer at a theoretical stage with these weapons. US
 companies are already piloting new systems, lobbying hard and where
 possible, laying down potentially lucrative patents." For example,
 last year New Scientist reported that the American Technology
 Corporation (ATC) of Poway, California has used what it calls
 acoustical heterodyning technology to target individuals in a crowd
 with infra-sound to pinpoint an individual 200-300 metres away. The
 system can also project sonic holograms which can conjure audio
 messages out of thin air so just one person hears them. Meanwhile,
 Jane's reported that the US Army Research Laboratory has produced a
 variable velocity rifle for lethal or non lethal use -- a new twist
 to flexible response. Other companies are promoting robots for use
 in riot and prison control.=20


 Advances in Biometric Identification=20

 Through the inevitability of gradualness, repression technology, in
 the form of biometric identity systems, is permeating our every day
 life. Biometry involves using a physical characteristic such as a
 fingerprint, palm print, iris or retina scan to identify
 individuals. These unique identity charact-eristics are digitally
 stored on a computer system for verification. This way, the
 identity of each person can be compared to the stored original.
 Christians will be interested to note that with biometric systems,
 the original print is stored not as a `picture' but as an
 algorithm. The number of your name will be literally in your hand
 (thumb print) or in your forehead (eyes).=20

 Biometric identification is not something that we just see at the
 movies. It is here, it is with us now. Governments in Australia,
 the USA and the UK are planning its widespread introduction by
 2005. =20

 Both the Dutch and Australian public rejected plans for a national
 information and identification scheme en masse several years ago,
 but have reacted more passively to equally intrusive (but less
 blatant) schemes in the 1990's.=20

 Uses of the Social Security Number in the USA, the Social Insurance
 Number in Canada, the Tax File Number in Australia, the SOFI Number
 in the Netherlands and the Austrian Social Security Number have
 been extended progressively to include taxation, unemployment
 support, pensioner benefits and, in some cases, health and higher
 education. Functional creep is rampant.=20

 Large scale government computer based schemes have been shown in
 several countries to be much less cost-effective than was
 originally estimated. Years after the governments of the United
 States and Australia developed schemes to match public sector data,
 there is still no clear evidence that the strategy has succeeded in
 achieving its goals. The audit agencies of both federal governments
 have cast doubt that computer matching schemes deliver savings. =20

 A nationwide survey by Columbia University last year reported that
 83% of people approve of the use of finger imaging. Biometrics is
 being embraced on a global scale. The Australian company,
 Fingerscan, a subsidiary of Californian based Identix Inc, recently
 won one of the biggest bank contracts for biometric security in the
 world. Fingerscan is working with the Bank of Central Asia in
 Jakarta, Indonesia to replace numeric passwords for employees at
 5000 branches with fingerprint based system access.=20

 Fingerscan also has the world's largest application of biometrics
 in the servicing of automated teller machines. In conjunction with
 contractor Armaguard, which services ATMs for Australian banks,
 many ATMs are now unlocked by the representative's fingerprint. The
 representative brings a portable scanning device that plugs into
 the back of the ATM and connects the bank's server which grants him
 or her admittance. =20

 The US government has a deadline of 1999 to implement electronic
 benefits processing for welfare recipients, but this may be delayed
 to accommodate biometrics, which is currently being piloted in five
 American states. The Australian government will introduce a
 biometric identity system for welfare recipients by 2005.=20

 Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the USA have plans to introduce
 nationwide fingerprinting for hospital patients. This may be
 extended into other medical applications. The Jamaican Government
 is planning to introduce electronic thumb scanning to control
 elections. Social Security verification using biometrics is used in
 Spain and South Africa. In 1994, the UK Department of Social
 Security developed a proposal to introduce a national
 identification card, which recommended a computerised database of
 the hand-prints of all 30 million people receiving government
 income assistance. =20


 Big Brother's International Network of Surveillance=20

 Biometric identification is the technology of today and the future.
 It is not a matter of if, but when, a global network of computers
 will link all stored biometric images in a central location,
 managed by a collective of international authorities. =20

 In 1994, under the leadership of US Centre for Strategic and
 International Studies (CSIS), a consortium of the world's leading
 companies formed the Global Information Infrastructure Commission
 (GIIC). Headed by the president of Mitsubishi, the chair of EDS,
 and the vice chair of Siemens Corporation, the GIIC intends to
 create a conglomerate of interests powerful enough to subsume
 government interest in the regulation of biometric and other
 technologies. The effort is being funded to a large extent by the
 World Bank.=20

 Governments in 26 countries are, at this moment, monitoring and
 cooperating with project FAST (Future Automated Screening for
 Travelers). FAST was first piloted in 1993 by US immigration
 authorities when a new lane at New York's John F. Kennedy airport
 was opened. The technology for the system is known as INPASS
 (Immigration and Natur-alization Service Passenger Accelerated
 Service System) which is a biometric identification system used to
 expedite passengers through customs at international airports in as
 little as 20 seconds.=20

 Applicants for registration with FAST are interviewed, and identity
 confirmed. Hand prints are taken, converted to a template and
 stored digitally on a smart card. Once the last of five green
 lights appear at the tips of the fingers, the glass exit door opens
 and the passenger continues to the baggage claim and customs zone.
 The system is currently a voluntary trial for frequent travellers
 to and from the USA who are US or Canadian nationals. =20

 With new technology, travelers can rest assured that their security
 is always in good hands. The US Militech Corporation has developed
 a Passive Millimeter Wave Imaging system, which can scan people
 from up to 12 feet away and see through clothing to detect
 concealed items such as weapons, packages and other contraband.
 Variations of this through-clothing human screening are under
 development by companies such as the US Raytheon Corporation, and
 will be an irresistible addition to international airports
 everywhere.=20

 Once upon a time, surveillance was targeted at certain groups and
 individuals. In our time, surveillance occurs en masse. Much of the
 `harmless' computer based technology necessary for our daily lives
 could actually be used to keep the entire population under
 surveillance. =20

 Telephone systems lend themselves to a dual role as a national
 interceptions network, according to "An Appraisal of the
 Technologies of Political Control". For example, the message
 switching system used on digital exchanges like System X in the UK,
 supports an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Protocol.
 This allows digital devices, e.g. faxes, to share the system with
 existing lines. The ISDN subset is defined in their documents as
 "Signaling CCITT"-series interface for ISDN access. =20

 What is not widely known is that built-in to the international
 CCITT protocol is the ability to take phones `off hook' and listen
 into conversations occurring near the phone, without the user being
 aware that it is happening. This effectively means that a national
 dial up telephone tapping capacity is built into these systems from
 the start. Further, the digital technology required to pinpoint
 mobile phone users for incoming calls means that all mobile phones
 in a country when activated, are mini-tracking devices.=20

 The issues surrounding the uncontrolled and unregulated spread of
 tyrannical technology are immediate and ongoing. The technologies
 of repression that are trialed in so-called non-democratic
 countries are now being aggressively marketed in the West, while
 Hitler's Germany becomes a vague memory. It is up to us to do what
 ever we can to stop the insidious spread of this technology, and to
 demand the right to choose whether we participate in the biometric
 system or not. We should ask ourselves... who will heed our cry for
 help once these technologies are fully implemented? =20


 REFERENCES=20

 Davies, Simon, "Touching Big Brother", Information Technology
 People, Vol 7, No 4, 1994=20

 Elllerman, Sarah, "The Rise of Tempest", Internet Underground
 Magazine, June 1996.=20

 European Parliament, Scientific and Technical Operations
 Assessment, 1998, "An Appraisal of Technologies of Political
 Control", available at http://jya.com/stoa-atpc.com=20

 Jane's US Military R & D, "Human Computer Interface, Vol 1, Issue 3
 1997=20

 O'Sullivan, Olara, "Biometrics comes to Life",
 http://www.banking.com/aba/cover_0197.htm=20

 Privacy International, 1995, "Big Brother Incorporated",
 http://www.privacy.org/pi=20

 US Scientific Advisory Board, "New World Vistas", the proceedings
 of Fiftieth Anniversary Symposium of the USAF SAB, November 10,
 1994, (republished by International Committee for the Convention
 Against Offensive Microwave Weapons).=20



 Susan Bryce is an investigative journalist and researcher whose
 interests include issues which affect individual freedom,
 environmental health, surveillance technology and global politics.
 She can be contacted c/- Mapleton Post Office, QLD 4560


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