From: Bill Kingsbury
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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