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Beast System: Laying The Foundation Of The Beast

Allow 'active euthanasia' for disabled babies, doctors urge

Allow 'active euthanasia' for disabled babies, doctors urge

Doctors are urging health regulators to consider allowing the "active euthanasia" of severely disabled newborn babies.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology has put forward the option of permitting mercy killings of the sickest infants to a review of medical ethics.

It says "active euthanasia" should be considered for the overall benefit of families who would otherwise suffer years of emotional and financial suffering.

Deliberate action to end infants' lives may also reduce the number of late abortions, since it would allow women the chance to decide whether their disabled child should live.

"A very disabled child can mean a disabled family. If life-shortening and deliberate interventions to kill infants were available, they might have an impact on obstetric decision-making," the college writes in a submission to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

"We would like the working party to think more radically about non-resuscitation, withdrawal of treatment decisions, the best interests test, and active euthanasia, as they are ways of widening the management options available to the sickest of newborns."

Such mercy killings are already allowed in the Netherlands for incurable conditions such as severe spina bifida. John Harris, a member of the official Human Genetics Commission and professor of bioethics at Manchester University, welcomed the college's submission. "We can terminate for serious foetal abnormality up to term, but cannot kill a newborn," he told The Sunday Times. "What do people think has happened in the passage down the birth canal to make it OK to kill the foetus at one end of the birth canal but not the other?"

Dr Pieter Sauer, co-author of the Groningen Protocol, the guidelines governing infant euthanasia in the Netherlands, said British medics already carry out mercy killings and should be allowed to do so in the open. "English neonatologists gave me the indication that this is happening."

But the paper quoted John Wyatt, consultant neonatologist at University College Hospital, as saying: "Intentional killing is not part of medical care... once you introduce the possibility of intentional killing you change the fundamental nature of medicine. It becomes a subjective decision of whose life is worthwhile."

Simone Aspis of the British Council of Disabled People said: "Euthanasia for disabled newborns tells society that being born disabled is a bad thing. If we introduced euthanasia for certain conditions, it would tell adults with those conditions that they are worth less than other members of society."
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Three in four young black men on the DNA database

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Three in four young black men on the DNA database

Race watchdogs are to investigate the national DNA database over revelations that up to three quarters of young black men will soon have their profiles stored.

Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), vowed to examine whether the database breached race relations laws following the findings by The Sunday Telegraph. "This is tantamount to criminalising a generation of young black men," he said.

An estimated 135,000 black males aged 15 to 34 will be entered in the crime-fighting- database by April, equivalent to as many as 77 per cent of the young black male population in England and Wales. By contrast, only 22 per cent of young white males, and six per cent of the general population, will be on the database.

All arrested crime suspects have their DNA taken and their profile stored for life, even if they are later cleared or the arrest is found to be a case of mistaken identity. Even children under 10 can have their DNA recorded. Mr Phillips disclosed that his officials will investigate whether the policy of retaining DNA from suspects who are never convicted of a crime results in discrimination against black men, who are more likely to come into contact with police than their white counterparts.

"Stop and search statistics suggest that black males are more likely to be stopped simply because they are young black males," he said. "This database figure is just perpetuating this stereotype, and does nothing to instil confidence in a measure that seeks to serve all members of our community. It is provocative, unfair and unjust and will do little to reduce crime.

"It would be fairer to have a database that restricts itself to storing the DNA profiles of those who are convicted, rather than this fast and loose approach, which opens up the potential for discrimination.

"As enforcers of the Race Relations Act, the CRE will be investigating if this complies with the race equality duty to promote positive race relations. If we discover that the database fails to comply with the law, than we have to consider what legal steps we can take."

The new figures, calculated from the Home Office's own projections, will fuel fears that Britain is becoming a "surveillance society" in which some ethnic groups are monitored more closely than others. They will also spark alarm about levels of criminality.

The figures arise from Home Office projections released to Bob Spink, a Conservative MP, which show that by April 2007 the DNA database will hold 3.7 million profiles, including three million "white-skinned Europeans" and 257,099 "Afro-Caribbeans".

The Home Office could not break down the figures for each ethnic group by age or sex. But, in general, 82 per cent of individuals on the entire database are male, while 64 per cent are aged 15 to 34. It means that, assuming a similar sex and age balance for all ethnic groups, there will be 135,000 young black men on the database next April. Figures for the last census in 2001 showed there were 175,000 black men, aged between 15 and 34, in England and Wales.

The calculation method has been endorsed by experts, including Dr David Owen, of Warwick University's Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, who described the figures as "disturbingly high".

Henry Potts, a statistician at University College London, said: "The available data points firmly to this conclusion." Dr Potts said, however, it remained slightly unclear how individual police officers record the ethnic group of mixed-race crime suspects.

He pointed out that if some were recorded in the database as Afro-Caribbean, then the true proportion of young black men who are on the database could be below 77 per cent, but confirmed it would still be more than 60 per cent.

Prof Sir Bob Hepple, QC, who is leading an inquiry by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics into the DNA database, said the figures would add to concerns about discrimination. The inquiry is considering whether it would be fairer to hold the DNA of everyone, not just crime suspects.

A Home Office spokesman said that a full age, sex and ethnic breakdown for the database was "not currently available" and added: "We cannot corroborate the calculations."
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Blair to take on ID card critics

Blair to take on ID card critics

Tony Blair will use his monthly press conference today to confirm his commitment to the introduction of identity cards and take on opponents of the controversial scheme.

The prime minister is expected to counter criticism that the project is too expensive and could infringe civil liberties by saying that it will help authorities to tackle crime, illegal immigration, terrorism and identity fraud.

He is also likely to challenge doubts over the success of one of the biggest IT projects in the world by saying that the scheme is on budget and on schedule to be working by 2008.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph today, Mr Blair confirmed that all non-EU nationals would need to carry ID cards in order to seek employment or gain access to public services.
He said that the cards would be compulsory even for overseas citizens resident in the UK for less than three months and would be required in order to obtain a national insurance number.

"This will enable us, for the first time, to check accurately those coming into our country, their eligibility to work, for free hospital treatment or to claim benefits," he wrote.

Mr Blair's defence of the multi-million pound policy came after a report by the government's information commissioner last week warned that Labour had presided over the creation of a "surveillance society".

The prime minister used his article in the Daily Telegraph to argue that such criticisms were out of step with the views of the public, who were in favour of the use of technologies, especially in tackling crime.

"It was very clear from last week's arguments about surveillance and the DNA database that the public, when anyone bothers to ask them, are overwhelmingly behind CCTV being used to catch or deter hooligans, or DNA being used to track down those who have committed horrific crimes," he wrote.

"That's what surveys suggest, too, about their position on ID cards."

Mr Blair said that the argument that the ID card scheme would infringe civil liberties no longer "carries much weight" in a world where people routinely provide information to a range of companies and organisations on a voluntary basis.

He said that safeguards, including the right of individuals to see what information is held on them and the requirement that organisations obtain the consent of individuals before accessing their details, should "meet reasonable concerns".

Mr Blair said that the inclusion of biometric information including fingerprint or iris recognition would make it harder for people to falsify the cards and therefore build false identities.

"What I do believe strongly is we can't ignore the advances in biometric technology in a world in which protection and proof of identity are more important than ever," he wrote.

In a television interview yesterday, the home secretary, John Reid, indicated that measures to control mass immigration - "the biggest new phenomenon in the world in the last decade" - would loom large in next week's Queen's speech.
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USA to ground all travellers until 'cleared'

USA to ground all travellers until 'cleared'

No one will be permitted to board an aircraft or a marine vessel leaving or bound for the United States until cleared by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), under proposed regulations.

Under current regs, the US requires airlines to transmit their manifests no later than fifteen minutes after a plane is in the air, wheels up. This, according to DHS, allows known terrorists to board, then hijack or blow up, commercial planes during the deadly window of opportunity provided between boarding time and when the aircraft is finally diverted or shot down by fighter planes scrambled to "escort" it.

However, if the manifests were to be transmitted before the planes leave the gate, DHS would have time to ensure that "high-risk passengers" are prevented from boarding in the first place, with a subsequent reduction in the number of commercial aircraft needing to be blown out of the skies by their military escorts. Other benefits would include fewer diverted flights, with fewer holidays spoiled and business appointments postponed. Which all sounds quite reasonable.

For DHS, it's a public relations dream come true. No longer will their crummy databases with their prolific false positives create entire planeloads of hateful citizens at each go. Now, only one poor bugger in a turban at a time is going to be inconvenienced for no good reason. When handled individually before boarding, "selectees" can easily be detained, intimidated, humiliated, cavity-searched, and then released as soon as DHS realises its error, without other passengers, and most importantly, the press, taking notice.

Using its Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), DHS has the ability to screen an entire manifest within one hour, or to screen individuals within fifteen minutes of boarding. Airlines will be given a choice between transmitting an entire manifest under the one-hour rule, or transmitting the required "biographical information" on each passenger in real time under an optional fifteen-minute rule.

"Under both options, the carrier will not permit the boarding of a passenger unless the passenger has been cleared by CBP," the Department explains.

Naturally, at a major airport launching planes every minute or so, there's not going to be time enough to check each passenger's identity carefully. The passport will be read or scanned electronically, and if the name under which it's issued doesn't ring any bells, and the picture matches the bearer, it won't be challenged. Indeed, DHS already permits passengers to supply their own APIS information well in advance of travelling, conveniently via the Internet.

During a recent international flight - prior to which I had registered with DHS online - I noticed that no attempt was made to verify my identity. I had a pre-printed boarding pass, and when I arrived at the security checkpoint, a uniformed TSA guard merely glanced at my boarding pass and passport, verified that the names matched, and observed that my face matched the passport photo. It took about two seconds. If I had been a terrorist, I'd have needed only two easily-acquired items: a credit card under a clean alias with which to buy the tickets and obtain a boarding pass, and a passport under the same alias with which to register with APIS and later to scam the TSA guard.

From a security point of view, the new APIS regulation is just another useless counterterrorist rain dance. But from a civil-liberties point of view, there are some curious implications.

According to a public comment submitted to DHS by the Identity Project, World Privacy Forum, and (who else?) John Gilmore, we have here a dramatic escalation in travel restrictions.

But that isn't so. DHS is essentially admitting, without embarrassment, that it is the arbiter of who can travel. This has been the case for some time, since APIS compliance became an obsession in the wake of 9/11. DHS has been diverting flights at will, and removing (usually innocent) "undesirables". What's new here is merely the language: all passengers must be "cleared" in advance by the Department.

In a practical sense, this has been going on for years, only it's been buried under steaming piles of counterterrorist rhetoric. DHS is finally admitting the plain truth: every one of us is on a no-fly list. We are all unfit to travel, until some government clerk verifies that our names don't match his sloppy list of suspected evildoers. Even US citizens cannot enter or leave the USA until they are approved - until they've passed the database test.

The North Korean government has the same basic arrangement, only they don't try to hide it. It's about time Uncle Sam came clean about his own travel approval process. And now, finally, he has.
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Re: HBO SPECIAL | Hacking Democracy

oneofmany said:
HBO SPECIAL | Hacking Democracy

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Politicians, employees & everyone involved in this scam at Diebold, et. al., is guilty of treason against the United States of America and its citizens and should be tried, convicted, imprisoned, and executed.
 
Re: HBO SPECIAL | Hacking Democracy

oneofmany said:
HBO SPECIAL | Hacking Democracy

<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-7236791207107726851&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed>
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Politicians, employees & everyone involved in this scam at Diebold, et. al., is guilty of treason against the United States of America and its citizens and should be arrested, tried, convicted, imprisoned, and executed. :angry:
 
Chemical pollution 'responsible for silent pandemic of brain damage'

Chemical pollution 'responsible for silent pandemic of brain damage'

MILLIONS of children worldwide may have suffered brain damage as a direct result of industrial pollution, scientists said yesterday.

An explosive report from researchers in the United States and Denmark talks of a "silent pandemic" of neurodevelopmental disorders caused by toxic chemicals spilling into the environment.

They include conditions such as autism, attention deficit disorder, mental retardation and cerebral palsy.

The scientists identified 202 industrial chemicals with the potential to damage the human brain, and said they were likely to be the "tip of a very large iceberg". More than 1,000 chemicals are known to be neurotoxic in animals, and are likely to be harmful to humans.

The researchers made an urgent call to tighten worldwide controls, and for a "precautionary approach" to testing.

Tough regulations being introduced by the European Union do not go far enough, said the researchers. In the US, there are only minimal requirements for companies to carry out safety tests on chemicals, which often go unenforced.

Dr Philippe Grandjean, from the department of environmental medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, the study's co-author, said: "The human brain is a precious and vulnerable organ. And because optimal brain function depends on the integrity of the organ, even limited damage may have serious consequences. Most chemicals are not regulated to protect the developing brain."
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Republicans hacking YouTube searches

Republicans hacking YouTube searches

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CCTV is checking your rubbish

CCTV is checking your rubbish

CCTV cameras have been installed at a household waste site in the district which was recently rebuilt.

The news comes at a time when it has been revealed that the UK has more surveillance than most other countries with a CCTV camera for every 14 people.

The latest Big Brother cameras have been placed at various locations at the Dark Lane depot in Harpenden including the entrance and exit to enable Herts County Council to check vehicle registration plates.

A spokesperson for Herts County Council was at pains to stress that the cameras were primarily there because of problems which occurred at waste sites and not to spy on people going about their business.

CCTV cameras have been installed at four waste sites in Herts as part of the construction contracts. The county council's assistant waste manager, Mark Simpkins, said they had proved invaluable and were used to analyse trends by monitoring who was using the centre, what was being thrown away and how often.

He added: "Council employees at County Hall can remotely assist the on-site contractors if needed via a live secure internet connection. Due to the high clarity of the camera images, HCC can confirm or deny if certain materials are acceptable for disposal at the site.

"They also act as a good deterrent to anyone abusing council employees or the centre itself."

The county council spokesperson said there were "real problems" at some sites which suffered vandalism, break-ins and theft, particularly those on which scrap metal was stored.

"It is in place in the same way as CCTV is in car parks or shopping centres."

He added: "We are not trying to spy on people using the site but it does help us to see how they are being used and the number of visits. The primary purpose is security and we are looking to install them in some of the older sites.
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Time to stand up to the database stat

Time to stand up to the database state

Are your readers waking up to the surveillance society? Recent media coverage reveals just the tip of the iceberg; the database state that threatens us all.

Plans just revealed include intimate questions on your personal life in the next census. Fail to answer, and you'll be fined £1,000. Under similar threats, most UK properties will have every detail catalogued by a tax inspector visiting with a camera. There are plans for wide-ranging databases on all our children, not just those at risk. And Big Brother Blair would like everyone's DNA to be held on a criminal database.

The Government presses on with plans to make everyone over 16 report to an interrogation centre to be fingerprinted like a criminal, answer personal questions based on detailed background checks, then be charged for the issue of an ID card.

Every time you use the card or its number, your movements will be tracked on the national ID database - while the Government makes money for 'verifying' your details to all and sundry. Your personal life becomes their profit.

Just this summer, the Department of Work and Pensions found staff colluding with criminals to steal identities on an industrial scale. Yet the Government plans to multiply these risks by sharing our personal information across all departments.

I hope your readers will join NO2ID in calling upon the Government to drop its intrusive and dangerous plans. The database state will not only divert billions from essential public services, but could cost us our very freedoms.
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Biometric ID cards coming for airport workers

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Biometric ID cards coming for airport workers

The federal government will introduce biometric ID cards for workers at 29 major airports by the end of the year, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon said Friday.

The cards are aimed at improving airport security by allowing scanners to check two unique human characteristics — fingerprints and iris patterns.

The government is moving on a two-year-old test, which began operational trials at airports in Vancouver and Kelowna, B.C., in October 2004.

The biometric card, called the Restricted Area Identity Card, uses fingerprints and iris patterns to identify 120,000 workers, including flight crews, refuellers and caterers, who have access to restricted areas at the country's major airports.

It's the world's first dual biometric airport ID system, but access to restricted areas will only require a check of only one of the two characteristics, the government said in a release.

The card has a small computer chip, which stores two kinds of biometric data, fingerprint and iris templates.

When a worker approaches a restricted area at one of the 29 airports, a biometric reader will scan the individual and the card.

The reader then does three things:

• Compares the information people present through their irises or fingerprints with the data on the card, to ensure the person is the cardholder.
• Confirms the government has issued a security clearance to the cardholder.
• Confirms the airport administration has given the cardholder access to the particular restricted area.

Airport workers who get cards will still be subject to random screening and background security checks, the government said.

The airport administrations will issue cards and decide which workers can go where.

The proposed amendments to the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations will be published Saturday, starting a 15-day period for comments.

The government hopes to issue the cards by Dec. 31.
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Warrantless Wiretaps Unlikely to Be OK'd

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Warrantless Wiretaps Unlikely to Be OK'd

WASHINGTON - Legislation aimed at President Bush's once-secret program for wiretapping U.S.-foreign phone calls and computer traffic of suspected terrorists without warrants shows all the signs of not moving ahead, notwithstanding President Bush's request this week that a lame-duck Congress give it to him.

Senate Democrats, emboldened by Election Day wins that put them in control of Congress as of January, say they would rather wait until next year to look at the issue. "I can't say that we won't do it, but there's no guarantee that we're going spend a lot of time on controversial measures," Democratic Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois said Thursday.

In Senate parlance, that means no.

Republicans for months have known that no bill accomplishing Bush's goal could get filibuster-proof support from 60 senators. Sealing off any hope was what Democratic leader Harry Reid put on his lame-duck to-do list. The warrantless domestic surveillance bill was conspicuous in its absence.


As for next year, Bush should not expect Democrats to allow such legislation to pass without language establishing considerable congressional oversight of any expansion of warrantless wiretaps.

"We have been asked to make sweeping and fundamental changes in law for reasons that we do not know and in order to legalize secret, unlawful actions that the administration has refused to fully divulge," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the next Judiciary Committee chairman. "If legislation is needed for judicial review, then we should write that legislation together, in a bipartisan and thoughtful way."

The Bush administration has a backup plan. In speeches over the next few weeks, the Justice Department will launch a new campaign for the legislation by casting the choice as one between supporting the program or dropping it altogether _ and appearing soft on al-Qaida.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will make the eavesdropping program the focus of a Nov. 18 speech at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Kenneth L. Wainstein, assistant attorney general for the national security, will make a similar pitch Wednesday to the American Bar Association.

Leahy said that monitoring communications of suspected terrorists is essential but that "it needs to be done lawfully and with adequate checks and balances to prevent abuses of Americans' rights and Americans' privacy."

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bush ordered the National Security Agency to monitor communications potentially related to al-Qaida between people in the U.S. and those overseas. He bypassed normal requirements for court approval of such eavesdropping, and the program came under harsh criticism after it was disclosed last December by The New York Times.

Democrats and Republicans on the intelligence and judiciary committees spent much of the year trying to find out details from the administration, to little avail. Much of the information is classified, and the White House has insisted that revealing it would mean compromising the war on terrorism.

The House passed a bill in September to allow warrantless wiretaps under certain restrictions. House and Senate intelligence committees and congressional leaders would have to be notified, the president would have to believe that a terrorist attack is imminent, and certification would have to be renewed every 90 days.

A Republican measure in the Senate favored by the administration would require the Justice Department to report twice a year to the House and Senate intelligence committees the number and kind of any such operations. It would permit the surveillance to continue for up to one year without a warrant.

The House bill is H.R. 5825; the Senate bill is S. 3931.
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District to teachers: Get fingerprinted or else

District to teachers: Get fingerprinted or else

Fifty-two teachers in the Phoenix Union High School District were told not to come to work this week and stay away until they have valid fingerprint clearance cards, as required by state law.

The move is costing the district $25,000 a week in substitute costs, and as many as a half dozen teachers are missing from each of the district's 11 high schools. At Cesar Chavez High, both the band director and choir teacher are out because of expired fingerprint cards, and holiday concerts are coming up.

The teachers won't be back anytime soon. Background checks can take three to five weeks to complete.

Teachers who have expired fingerprint cards must use vacation days or take the time off without pay.

"It's unfortunate, but it just got to a point that we had to do something," district spokesman Craig Pletenik said.

The 52 teachers let their fingerprint cards expire despite repeated warnings to get them renewed, Pletenik said.

Since 2000, all teachers must have Arizona Department of Public Safety fingerprint clearance cards to be certified by the state Board of Education. The cards are valid for six years and cost $52.

The background checks screen out teachers with criminal offenses, and the fingerprints cards are kept in a computer at DPS. If a teacher is arrested, state education officials are immediately notified, and they alert the school district.

Ultimately, teachers are responsible for keeping their fingerprint clearance cards up-to-date, said Vince Yanez, executive director of the state Board of Education. Some districts, as a service, do monitor expiration dates and remind teachers when they are coming due.

Districts are responsible for enforcing compliance, though the law does not say exactly how to do it, Yanez said.

"Districts have the option to enforce it however they see fit," he said.

The state only notifies districts when teachers fingerprint cards are expired or suspended because of an arrest.

However, teachers cannot renew their teaching certificates without a valid fingerprint card. Teaching certificates also are good for six years, though new teachers must renew every two years.

Yanez has known other districts to bar teachers from their classrooms if they are out of compliance with the law, though most teachers are diligent about maintaining valid fingerprint cards.

Officials in other districts said they occasionally come across teachers who let their lapse but not the kind of numbers in Phoenix Union.

The Phoenix teachers got their first warnings that their fingerprint cards were about to expire in December. In March 2006, principals also contacted teachers and, on Sept.8, teachers received another notice from the district.

On Nov.2, the district issued a notice that teachers with expired fingerprint cards would not be allowed back in the classroom beginning Monday.

"It's an unpleasant, sad situation," said Ed Bufford, president of the district's Classroom Teachers Association.

Teachers are upset, of course, especially those who must take the time off without pay. Some already had applied but are awaiting approval.

"Right now, the Number 1 concern is what the ramifications could be if something happened and that person didn't have that valid fingerprint card," Bufford said. "It puts the district in a very awkward situation."

He said teachers are working to get back to school as soon as possible.

Phoenix Union is the city's largest high school district, with 1,500 teachers and 25,000 students.
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Under the thumb?

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Under the thumb?

Hiring a car can now mean leaving a fingerprint. And check-out staff are scanning the customers as well as the shopping. Biometrics are entering every day life.

Getting your fingerprints taken would once have meant only one thing. You were helping the police with their inquiries. Now such "biometric" identification is entering the mainstream of every day life.

If you want to hire a car at Stansted Airport, you now need to give a fingerprint.

The scheme being tested by Essex police and car hire firms, is not voluntary. Every car rental customer must take part.

These are stored by the hire firms - and will be handed over to the police if the car is stolen or used for another crime.

Detective Sergeant Vic Murphy, from the CID team at Stansted Airport, says it's a response to criminal gangs targeting airport car hire firms - where cars are driven away using false passports, false licences and false credit cards.

"It's not intrusive really. It's different - and people need to adjust to it. It's not Big Brother, it's about protecting people's identities. The police will never see these thumbprints unless a crime is committed."

Print works

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But it hasn't been well received by all customers. Ciaran Moore from Belfast was "astounded" when he was asked for his fingerprint. He thought the staff were joking.

Making fingerprints compulsory, he says, is "disproportionate" and he has written to complain.

Mr Moore says that if a fingerprint is needed because cars are being hired with forged passports - then by the same logic, fingerprints should be required for getting on planes.

And he also has concerns about the storing of information such as fingerprints. What happens if someone steals your biometrics?

But the police say the extra security check is reducing fraud. And Europcar, one of the participating firms, says it could be rolled out to all its other locations if the pilot scheme is successful.

In many ways this is the debate over biometrics and ID cards in microcosm. On one side, there's the pragmatic security approach - arguing that old-style checks are no longer effective in a highly-mobile, hi-tech society, and the innocent have nothing to fear.

And on the other, there's an instinctive suspicion about handing over such personal information and about where this security-first approach will lead.

Touch paper

But regardless of any ideological arguments, the use of biometric technology - where someone is identified by a physical characteristic - is already entering the mainstream.

Biometric UK passports were introduced this year, using facial mapping information stored on a microchip, and more than a million have already been issued.

A shop in the Bluewater centre in Kent has used a fingerprint checking scheme to tackle credit card fraud. And in Yeovil, Somerset, fingerprinting has been used to cut town-centre violence, with scanners helping pick out troublemakers.

It's not just about crime. Biometric recognition is also being pitched as more convenient for shoppers.

Pay By Touch allows customers to settle their supermarket bill with a fingerprint rather than a credit card. With three million customers in the United States, this payment system is now being tested in the UK, in three Co-op supermarkets in Oxfordshire.

Terror fears

Once a customer registers, and has their finger scanned, they can use a fingerpad for payment, with the money directly debited from their bank account.

In the United States, the firm has also launched a version for online shopping, with a touchpad attached to a home computer - with the aim of reducing identity fraud.

The drive towards using biometrics is also reflected in an acceleration of identification research.

"It seems as if it's going to become part of everyday life," says Dr Maria Pavlou, at the University of Sheffield, the base for the International Centre for Advanced Research in Identification Science.

But no system is without flaws - and this, rather than blocking the use of biometrics, will mean developing multiple checking systems in the future, says Dr Pavlou.

"If someone worked with their hands, such as a builder, there could be cuts or marks that make it difficult to use fingerprints," she says. So identification systems, such as for airport security, would need to be combined with iris or facial recognition.

Iris recognition - using an image of the eye - is particularly reliable, says Dr Pavlou. And it's already being tested in Manchester and Heathrow airports.

There are also projects investigating identifying individuals by their voice and how they walk.

Human rights

While the technology might be emerging, so are the difficult questions? Where will this information be stored? Who will have access? Should there be a centralised control? Why should the records of innocent people be kept in this way?

Human rights organisation Liberty warns that there has been insufficient public debate about the expansion in use of biometrics - and that so far "there are many more questions than answers".

"Is this technology really necessary for what they want to achieve?" says a Liberty spokesperson. "The technology is moving so quickly - but is society being consulted?"

Once these biometric databases are gathered, will the police be able to gain access on "fishing expeditions" for information, asks Liberty. And the campaigning group rejects the argument that "if you've nothing to hide, you've nothing to fear".

"Just because you value your own privacy, it doesn't mean that it's about hiding criminality."
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Most Americans Surprised, Concerned that 90 Percent of Flu Shots Contain the Toxin Me

Most Americans Surprised, Concerned that 90 Percent of Flu Shots Contain the Toxin Mercury

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- As health officials step up their effort to vaccinate Americans against the flu, a new survey suggests serious concerns over the toxin mercury, an ingredient in over 90 percent of this season's flu shot supply. PutChildrenFirst.org, a parent-led organization advocating vaccine safety, commissioned a survey of over 9,000 Americans to learn their plans for getting flu shots, their knowledge of its ingredients, and who they hold responsible for making sure vaccines are safe.

The survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of Americans were unaware that most flu shots contain mercury and that they would refuse a shot with mercury. (See page two for the key findings.)

"More than 75 percent of Americans feel a mercury-containing flu shot should not be given to a pregnant woman or a child, despite recommendations from medical authorities to do just that," said Lisa Handley, a founding parent of PutChildrenFirst.org. Her own son, Jamison, had an adverse reaction to a flu shot containing mercury in 2003. "I know firsthand how life-changing a flu shot with mercury can be, since our son began his regression into autism after his flu shot."

In 1999, government agencies called for the removal of Thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative in most vaccines. Then, in 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that, "mercury in all of its forms is toxic to the fetus and children, and efforts should be made to reduce exposure to the extent possible to pregnant women and children as well as the general population." Despite these actions, 90 percent of this season's flu vaccines still contain Thimerosal, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are recommending the vaccine for pregnant women and children six months and older.

These recommendations come on the heels of recent studies that reveal new findings about the neurological effects of mercury and question the effectiveness of flu shots. Mercury, the second most toxic element after plutonium, is estimated to be 500 to 1,000 times more toxic than lead.

"A common myth is that Thimerosal is added to vaccines in 'trace' amounts," said Mike Wagnitz, who has over 20 years experience evaluating materials for mercury and is employed as a senior chemist with the University of Wisconsin. "The concentration of mercury in a multi-dose flu vaccine vial is 50,000 parts per billion. To put this in perspective, drinking water cannot exceed 2 parts per billion of mercury, and waste is considered hazardous if it has only 200 parts per billion. Is it really safe then to inject pregnant women, newborns, and infants with levels of mercury 250 times higher than what is legally classified as hazardous waste?"

Agreeing that mercury has no place in vaccines, seven states have passed Thimerosal bans in recent years: California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New York, and Washington. California is the first to have implemented the ban for the current flu season, but Governor Schwarzenegger temporarily overturned the ban on November 2 after a shortage of mercury-free flu shots led to pressure from state medical groups.

"Parents need to be informed about all aspects of their children's healthcare, including vaccines," said Deirdre Imus, President and founder of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University Medical Center and co-founder and co-director, with husband Don Imus, of The Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. "It doesn't make common sense to inject Thimerosal, a known neurotoxin, into the bloodstream of our babies."

This fall, two studies were published in leading medical journals admitting that limited data exists to support the effectiveness of flu shots. One study, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, noted that, "there is scant data on the efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccine in young children."

"So, not only is the flu shot's effectiveness in doubt, there is plenty of evidence revealing the devastating effects of mercury," said J.B. Handley, Lisa's husband and a founder of PutChildrenFirst.org. "Our health authorities are not being forthcoming about mercury's presence in shots and its toxicity to the nervous system. Our children deserve better."

"With everything we know about the dangers of mercury and the havoc it can wreak on young, developing brains, there is no excuse for any vaccine to contain mercury," said Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN, President of SafeMinds, a nonprofit committed to ending mercury-induced neurological disorders. "The survey reveals that Americans are overwhelmingly in the dark about what is in most flu shots. They do not want a known neurotoxin injected into their children, and they believe Congress and medical professionals must be more vigilant about keeping vaccines safe and mercury-free."

Key findings from the poll, conducted October 27-30 by Zogby International, include:

* 74 percent of respondents are unaware that most flu shots contain mercury. * After learning that mercury is an ingredient, 74 percent are less likely to get a flu shot and 86 percent of parents say they are less likely to get their child a flu shot. * 78 percent of respondents believe mercury should not be an ingredient in flu shots given to pregnant women and children. * 73 percent believe the government should warn pregnant women not to get a flu shot if it contains mercury. * More than 70 percent agree that Congress, doctors and medical groups (e.g., the American Academy of Pediatrics) should take responsibility for ensuring that vaccines do not contain mercury. * 80 percent of respondents and 82 percent of parents are willing to pay the $2.50 additional cost for a mercury-free flu shot.
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Britain kills EU attempt to regulate net video clips

Britain kills EU attempt to regulate net video clips

The British government is set to fight off proposed European rules that would make it responsible for overseeing taste and decency in video clips on sites such as YouTube and MySpace.

Under a clause in the European media regulation directive TV Without Frontiers, national governments would be responsible for regulating the internet for the first time. Britain's media watchdog, Ofcom, backed by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, argued that the plan was unworkable and would stifle creativity and investment in new media across Europe.

Ofcom said internet users should be left to police themselves within the bounds of the law. Because internet technology does not respect borders, it argued, users would simply turn instead to websites in the US and elsewhere. In a statement of "general approach" before a vote in the EU assembly, the council of ministers yesterday bowed to pressure to limit government oversight to "TV-like" services on the web. That means Ofcom will regulate TV-style video downloads from major broadcasters, but not video clips on social networking websites.

When it first objected, Ofcom had the support of only a handful of other EU member states, but it has since won them over. "Today's outcome is testament to the substantial progress we have made in persuading our European partners to take our arguments on board," said the creative industries minister, Shaun Woodward. Britain also won majority support for its line on the "country of origin" principle, which makes national regulators responsible for broadcasters operating from within their borders.
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Controversial ID cards have support of 53 per cent of Canadians: Study

Controversial ID cards have support of 53 per cent of Canadians: Study

The controversial idea of Canadians carrying a national identification card that bears their personal information has the support of more than half the country, a new study of public attitudes towards privacy suggests.

The cards - strongly opposed by privacy commissioners and civil libertarians despite calls for their use in the wake of the 9-11 terror attacks - are considered a good idea by 53 per cent of Canadians, according to a study released Monday by Queen's University.

Still, 48 per cent of the study's 1,001 Canadian respondents expressed concern that post-9-11 laws aimed at protecting national security are too intrusive - exposing a Canadian public "polarized" on issues of privacy, said one of the researchers behind the study.

"It's a hotbed topic," said Linda Harling-Stalker, a post-doctoral fellow at Queen's.

"The thing that we're really pointing out is the connection to anti-terrorism laws as it relates to your sense of a breach of personal information."

The study, which looked at how 9,000 people in eight countries view surveillance and privacy, found Americans even more wary of post-9-11 legislation than Canadians.

The margin of error for the Canadian respondents portion of the study was plus or minus 3.1 per cent.

While 48 per cent of respondents in Canada felt such laws intrude on their privacy, that number rose to 57 per cent in the United States.

Although the United States is working on an ID card, only 44 per cent of Americans agreed with the idea.

The global move toward ID cards makes the argument against them moot, said Denis Coderre, the former immigration minister who spearheaded the campaign to bring them to Canada.

"You have over 176 countries right now with a national ID card," said Coderre, who called the Conservative government "short-sighted" for suggesting an ID card program would be too expensive.

"The government won't have any choice, because at the end of the day it will be imposed by international standards."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the ID cards are not an option his government is leaning toward.

In 2003, Coderre proposed a plastic card that would contain not only personal data but also biometric information - such as fingerprints or retina scans.

"It's more than the technology," said Coderre.

"There's a social conscience that should be attached to it. ... We don't want to create a (police state)."

The government agency issuing the cards would also become a central repository for the personal information contained on them. That has raised concerns from privacy commissioners and constitutional lawyers.

"It's a bad idea because we don't know exactly what will happen to the information that's contained on the card," said lawyer Morris Manning, who made submissions in 2003 to a Commons committee studying the issue.

"We have no assurance that the card itself will be used in a limited fashion, and that the information that's stored cannot be accessed by those whom we don't want to have access to it."

Some Canadians appear to share that concern.

While 53 per cent either "strongly" or "somewhat" agreed with the idea of an ID card, only 43 per cent said they were confident Ottawa would be able to safeguard the information from privacy abuses.

Overall, less than half of Canadians said they trusted the federal government with their personal information, with the Americans at 38 per cent.

Brazilians proved especially suspect, with only 20 per cent saying they trust the government with their information.

By contrast, 63 per cent of Chinese respondents said they trusted their government.

Earlier this month, a study released by the London-based Privacy International ranked Germany and Canada the best defenders of privacy.

The Queen's University study, which asked questions on a number of privacy-related issues, also found that two-thirds of Canadian respondents were worried about providing personal information on websites.

Also, 58 per cent of Canadians rejected racial profiling at airports for security purposes while 48 per cent of Americans raised the same objection.
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The nursery rhyme police - parents to take lessons in reading and singing

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The nursery rhyme police - parents to take lessons in reading and singing

Parents could be forced to go to special classes to learn to sing their children nursery rhymes, a minister said.

Those who fail to read stories or sing to their youngsters threaten their children's future and the state must put them right, Children's Minister Beverley Hughes said.

Their children's well-being is at risk 'unless we act', she declared.

And Mrs Hughes said the state would train a new 'parenting workforce' to ensure parents who fail to do their duty with nursery rhymes are found and 'supported'.

The call for state intervention in the minute details of family life followed a series of Labour efforts to reduce anti-social behaviour and improve educational standards by imposing rigorous controls on the lives of the youngest children.

Mrs Hughes has established a national curriculum to set down how babies are taught to speak in childcare from the age of three months.

Her efforts have gone alongside a push by other ministers to determine exactly how parents treat their children down to how they should brush their teeth.

Tony Blair has backed the idea of 'fasbos' - efforts to identify and correct the lives of children who are likely to fail even before they are born - and new laws to compel parents to attend parenting classes are on the way.

This autumn is likely to see an extension of parenting orders that can force parents to attend parenting classes so that they can be used on the say so of local councils against parents.

For the first time, parenting orders are likely to be directed against parents whose children have committed no criminal offence.

The threat of action against parents who fail to sing nursery rhymes was unveiled by Mrs Hughes as she gave the first details of Mr Blair's 'national parenting academy', a body that will train teachers, psychologists and social workers to intervene in the lives of families and become the 'parenting workforce'.

Mrs Hughes said that it was necessary for children to develop 'emotional intelligence and flexibility, and to have good problem-solving and interpersonal skills too.'

She added: 'These attitudes start with good family experiences, in the home, with strong, loving, aspirational parents. So supporting parents and providing good early years education can pay dividends here.'

Mrs Hughes said: 'It is now clear that what parents actually do has a huge impact on children's well-being and capacity to succeed, both at the time and in future.

'Some parents already know that reading and singing nursery rhymes with their young children will get them off to a flying start - often because this is how they themselves were brought up.

'For other parents without this inheritance these simple techniques are a mystery and are likely to remain so - unless we act and draw them to their attention.'

She added: 'If friendly and skilful early years practitioners work in partnership with disadvantaged parents, as co-educators of their children, these gaps in children's development and achievement can be narrowed.'

The National Academy for Parenting Practitioner, Mrs Hughes said, would operate from next autumn to train a parenting workforce and 'support the Government's parenting agenda as it develops'.

She did not mention any figures for the cost of the scheme.

Mrs Hughes condemned the way governments before 1997 thought they had no role in the upbringing of children, which it 'regarded as the entirely private arrangements families make.'

She praised the Government's record of pouring billions into state benefits for single parents, into providing subsidies for childcare, into pushing mothers into work, and into the 'Sure Start' children's centres.

'Over the past 10 years what I have described is, I believe, an example of the enabling 21st century state in action,' Mrs Hughes said. Without Labour's policies, she said, 'we would be on the road to ruin, that is back to where we were 10 years ago.'

Mrs Hughes did not refer to independent reports on the success of Sure Start commissioned by Whitehall which say that despite £20 billion of planned spending it has been a failure in helping the most deprived children who are its target.

Critics of Government family policies condemned the 'nursery rhyme' intervention plan as intrusive and arrogant yesterday.

Jill Kirby of the centre right think tank Centre for Policy Studies said: 'This is the micro-management of family life.

'They have told us the books that our children should read and how to brush their teeth. Now they tell us what we should sing to them.

'This is what happens when a government has failed to do anything at all about the real problems of family breakdown, fatherless families and neglect of children. It is setting about wasting its time and our money.'

Anastasia de Waal of the Civitas civic values study group said: 'The problem in the real world is not that people are bad parents but that they are not parenting at all. We know that some children hardly see their parents and many don't have two parents at all.

'This is just one more worthless scheme that will have no impact at all on children's lives.'

New powers for councils to impose parenting orders are expected to be announced in the Queen's Speech tomorrow.

Part of Mr Blair's 'Respect Agenda', they extend current powers for courts to instruct parents of children who commit crimes to attend parenting classes.

Mrs Hughes' parenting workforce will include local council social workers who are likely to have the new powers.

Her speech to the National Family and Parenting Institute - an organisation set up by Labour eight years ago to further its family agenda - ignored the question of two-parent families which has begun feature in left-wing debate.

Mr Blair's Government has long declared that all families are equal. However, in recent weeks Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton has acknowledged that children with two natural

Last week the Blairite think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research, also acknowledged that children brought up by single parents are more likely to end up without jobs and on state benefits.
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ACLU: Warrantless surveillance program threatens democracy

ACLU: Warrantless surveillance program threatens democracy

CINCINNATI - Warrantless wiretaps that the government says are necessary to fight terrorism pose a threat to American democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union said in court papers filed Tuesday.

The ACLU is asking the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate a lower court decision that said the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program is unconstitutional.

President Bush has said the program is needed to detect terrorists. Opponents argue it oversteps constitutional boundaries on free speech, privacy and executive powers.

"The government's sweeping theory of executive power would allow the president to violate any law passed by Congress," the ACLU said. "This theory presents a profound threat to our democratic system.

"The government complains that the district court overreached, but it is the government's theory that is radical, not the district court's rejection of it."

The government argued in its brief filed last month that the surveillance program is necessary to protect the nation from an ongoing national security threat.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit ruled Aug. 17 that the program violates the rights to free speech and privacy and the separation of powers.

A three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based appeals court ruled Oct. 4 that the administration could keep the program in place while it appeals Taylor's decision.

The surveillance program monitors international phone calls and e-mails to or from the United States involving people suspected by the government of having terrorist links. A secret court has been set up to grant warrants for such surveillance, but the government says it can't always wait for a court to act.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit in January seeking to stop the program on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers claiming it has made it difficult for them to do their jobs because they believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets.

"The terrorist surveillance program is a critical tool that ensures we have in place an early warning system to detect and prevent a terrorist attack," said Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller.

"In the ongoing conflict with al-Qaida and its allies, the president has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people. As we stated in our appeal, the Constitution gives the president the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty, and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil liberties."
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AP Wire | 11/19/2006 | Global Hawk to fly 1st mission over U.S.

Global Hawk to fly 1st mission over U.S.

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - They've become a fixture in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan, a new breed of unmanned aircraft operated with remote controls by "pilots" sitting in virtual cockpits many miles away.

But the Air Force's Global Hawk has never flown a mission over the United States.

That is set to change Monday, when the first Global Hawk is scheduled to land at Beale Air Force Base in northern California.

"This landmark flight has historic implications since it's the first time a Global Hawk has not only flown from Beale, but anywhere in the United States on an official Air Combat Command mission," base spokesman Capt. Michael Andrews said in a statement.

Beale-based pilots are flying the drones daily on combat missions in the Middle East, Andrews said. The planes are operated by four-person crews from virtual cockpits the size of shipping containers.

The planes are designed to fly at high altitudes for 40 hour-missions covering as much as 10,000 miles, mostly providing aerial surveillance. The aircraft, which can cost more than $80 million each, can reach an altitude of 65,000 feet and send back high-resolution imagery.

The Hawks are among a growing fleet of unmanned aircraft that also includes the missile-carrying Predators and five-pound Ravens that are small enough to be carried in soldiers' backpacks.

Beale is to have seven Global Hawks by 2009. It is currently the only U.S. base with the drones. Eventually the Air Force's fleet will include 54 of the Global Hawks, but most will be based overseas.
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New England families sue over mercury in childhood vaccines

New England families sue over mercury in childhood vaccines

DOVER, N.H. -- A New Hampshire lawyer is representing 85 New England families that claim a mercury-based compound in vaccines caused autism and other disabilities in their children.

Michael Noonan said thimerosal, used for decades as a preservative in childhood vaccines, is a neurotoxin that damaged thousands of children.

Studies that have tracked thousands of children have found no association between autism and thimerosal. That hasn't dissuaded critics, who claim the studies are flawed.

Noonan said a big increase in autism in the 1990s coincided with an increase in the number of vaccinations children received. Several injections during a single doctor's visit hit their developing nervous systems with too much mercury, he said.

"Thimerosol was never used to enhance the vaccine or because it was good for kids," he noted.

Some of those suing have videos of their children behaving normally the day before a medical visit, then regressing the next day, demonstrating "specific cause and effect," Noonan said.

The families he represents include some children with severe disabilities, he said.

Since 2001, all vaccines given to children 6 and younger have been either thimerosal-free or contained only trace amounts of the preservative. Thimerosal has been phased out of some, but not all, adult vaccines as well.

Most doses of the flu vaccine still contain thimerosal, though manufacturers produce versions free of the preservative for use in children.

Nationally, 5,200 legal claims of damage from childhood immunizations are pending, mostly involving boys. Those suing are seeking money from the Vaccine Injury Compensation program, a government insurance pool funded by a vaccine tax. At a hearing in June, a special master, or judge, is expected to decide whether thimerosal caused autism and other disabilities critics associate with it. The U.S. Department of Justice will defend the fund and vaccine manufacturers.

If his clients and others are successful, that could open the door to individual trials.

Noonan said he would represent many more people if New Hampshire did not have a three-year deadline for lawsuits based on immunizations. He hopes the next Legislature will extend the deadline.

"It's horribly unfair," he said. "In New Hampshire, if a child is injured in any other way, the statute of limitations isn't until two years from their eighteenth birthday."
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Judge Rejects Request for NSA Documents

Judge Rejects Request for NSA Documents

The National Security Agency is not required to release details about its secret wiretapping program, a federal judge said Monday.

The People for the American Way Foundation, a liberal advocacy group, sued to obtain records under the Freedom of Information Act. The group sought to find out how many wiretaps were approved and who reviewed the program.

President Bush has acknowledged the existence of the program, which he calls the Terrorist Surveillance Program. The National Security Agency monitors phone calls and e-mails between people in the U.S. and people in other countries when a link to terrorism is suspected.

Civil liberties group criticize it as an expansion of presidential power, and a federal judge has said it is unconstitutional. The Justice Department says it is a necessary tool to fight terrorism.

The NSA denied the request for documents, saying the records would jeopardize national security. The advocacy group argued that the law can't be used to protect the government from disclosing details about illegal programs.

U.S. Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle disagreed, saying that even if the program is ultimately determined to be illegal, it doesn't change the fact that the materials are classified and are not covered by the Freedom of Information Act.
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Couple Assaulted, Home Ransacked, Arrested For Accidentally Dialing 911

Couple plan to sue RCMP over 911 reaction

NORTH VANCOUVER - A North Vancouver couple has complained to District of North Vancouver council and said they will sue the North Vancouver RCMP after officers responded to their hang-up 911 call by breaking down their door, making a forceful arrest and jailing them overnight when the couple refused to allow a house-search.

The RCMP said, however, that in this case, federal policy commands a home-check, designed to ensure public safety.

North Vancouver resident Marget Lieder said that in the early evening of Oct. 25 she was having wine with her partner and a guest when she misdialed the emergency number, meaning to call 411 instead. After promptly hanging up, the police contacted her, saying two officers were dispatched and warned her her home would be searched to confirm she wasn't in danger.

"I don't want my privacy to be invaded just because I misdial a number," she said. Once the officers arrived, she only spoke to them on her porch, refusing entrance. "They didn't have a search warrant and they didn't have anything to do in my house."

She insisted she had nothing to hide and there was no cause for distress. Three more officers arrived shortly after, broke down the door and arrested Lieder and her partner, Larry Pierce, for obstruction of justice, she said.

"I was sitting on the couch. They stuck a Taser in my face, threatening me with 50,000 volts," said Pierce, a well-known lawyer. "They threw me on the floor, twisted my left arm. A police officer stuck his knee into my ribs and jumped on me." Later he found out that his two ribs were cracked, recalled Pierce. The couple said the officers began taping them right away even though their rights weren't read until they were in the car. Once in jail, Pierce remembered he was interrogated for over an hour.

North Vancouver RCMP Const. John MacAdam said police are obliged to search the premises after a hang-up 911 call. Pierce maintained his rights were violated and he will go ahead with a lawsuit.
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Child database 'will ruin family privacy'

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Child database 'will ruin family privacy'

Parents will be devalued and family privacy shattered by the mass surveillance of all 12 million children in England and Wales, says a report today commissioned by Parliament's Information Commissioner.

In what is likely to be a major embarrassment to Tony Blair, it says proposals for a £224 million database containing details of every child will waste millions of pounds, undermine parental authority and actually put children in more danger.

The report comes amid Government fanfare about "supporting" parents with parenting classes backed by a "super nanny" army of child psychologists. Mr Blair defended the super nanny idea saying it was right to give families a "helping hand". "No one's talking about interfering with normal family life," he added.

But experts in child protection, law and computers, who have written today's report, express astonishment that a Government which emphasises the importance of good parenting also plans to devalue the status of the mother and father with a Big Brother surveillance system which violates the law and is not secure.

Such a system may also hold inaccurate information, tarnishing families or children unfairly. "Families' privacy and autonomy is being shattered as the Government puts them all under surveillance," they say. "Government policy proposes treating all parents as if they cannot be trusted to bring up their children."

Doctors, schools and the police will have to alert the database to a wide range of "concerns". Two warning flags on a child's record could trigger an investigation.

One of the report's authors, Dr Eileen Munro, of the London School of Economics, said: "The Government is extending the surveillance needed for child protection concerns to all concerns about a child's health and development. It reduces parental authority and risks damaging their willingness to seek or accept help."

The database - officially called the Children's Index - follows the horrific death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie in 2000. She was tortured and starved by her aunt and her aunt's partner both of whom were later jailed for life.

It is hoped that the index, which is due to be operational within two years, will sound an early warning in such cases by recording health and other developmental information about all children.

The index - or those computer systems linked to it - will carry details of everything from vaccinations to whether a child is eating enough fruit and vegetables, or is struggling in the classroom.

But today's report says the compulsory collation of such a plethora of information violates British and EU data protection and human rights law.

The IT systems are also not secure, and 400,000 civil and public servants will have access to the information, so ministers cannot not possibly claim the gigantic database will be totally confidential, it adds.

Experts point out that collecting such a vast amount of information will make it harder to spot those in genuine danger. "When you are looking for a needle in a haystack, is it necessary to keep building bigger haystacks?" asked one. "The new IT based strategy will divert resources and attention away from these children, potentially posing more dangers."

The report adds: "The main focus is on spotting the babies and children who may become a 'menace' or a cost to society in later life by, for example, having babies in their teens, under-achieving at school, or being delinquent.

"(But) this raises the issue that labelling can become a self-fulfilling prophecy as all adults treat the child with suspicion. If this 'screening' of children did happen, would there be a place for parental responsibility?"

The Department for Education has defended the index. It said: "Our proposals balance the need to do everything we can to improve children's life chances whilst ensuring strong safeguards to make sure that information stored is minimal, secure and used appropriately."

A spokesman for Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said the views expressed in the report were not necessarily his own.
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Fluoride And Babies Don't Mix, Says ADA

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Fluoride And Babies Don't Mix, Says ADA

Most cities in Tennessee add fluoride to their water systems. Experts have debated for and against the practice.

A new recommendation has put fluoride back in the spotlight, with babies in the center of the debate.

Julie Pusser prepares her 10-month-old's formula only with bottled water.

"It's all ready, I don't have to boil it, sterilize it and it stays at the room temperature," she said.

According to the American Dental Association's website, Julie Pusser is doing the right thing for little Jacquline. The ADA now recommends parents not mix baby formula with fluoridated city water.

That recommendation comes on the heels of the National Research Council's findings that, on a per body weight basis, infants and young children have approximately three to four times greater exposure to fluoride than adults.

Dan Stockin thinks cities shouldn't add fluoride to their water supply, because he claims it causes big problems.

"When the teeth are forming, the fluoride affects the teeth," Stockin said.

Overexposure to fluoride, or dental fluorosis, leaves permanent markings on the teeth.

Stockin feels keeping fluoride out of formula is one way to help stop dental fluorosis, but worries some families who have no choice but to use tap water.

"Who's gonna pay for the expensive filtration system for a single mom who's living on minimum wage? Who's going to pay for the bottled water? Who's going to get the information to the people who needed it the most?" he said.

When using formula, the ADA recommends parents use fluoride-free bottled water or use ready-to-feed formula that comes in a can or bottle.

Breast milk is the safest alternative.

The ADA's recommendations are just for infants. The group, as well as state leaders in Tennessee, said putting fluoride in the water supply is safe and effective.
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Nurses fear 'Big Brother'

Nurses fear 'Big Brother'

Hamilton Health Sciences is looking into using electronic tracking to monitor its employees.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada has been asked to give an opinion on using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to track the whereabouts of staff and certain patients.

"At this point, do we have plans to do it? No," said Bill MacLeod, vice-president of research at Hamilton Health Sciences. "I can't say we're never doing it because the technology has that potential."

Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart was unavailable for comment yesterday, but spoke out against this type of continual surveillance of employees in a speech at Ryerson University this week.

"Continual surveillance is dehumanizing," she said. "There is a line to be drawn when it comes to surveillance and where this line is drawn cannot simply be dictated by whatever the latest technology can offer. Just because we can put workers under extreme surveillance doesn't mean we should."

MacLeod said HHS is interested in tracking employees because it would be helpful during outbreaks of infectious disease to know where exposed employees have been. But the union representing nurses at HHS believes it's to make sure staff are using their time effectively.

"It's in case we are stealing, thieving, horrible employees take a moment too long for our breaks," said Pat MacDonald, president of the Ontario Nurses' Association Local 70. "It's a horrible, horrible invasion of our privacy. That's like having a prisoner with a bracelet on the ankle."

HHS is already trying out the technology to track medical equipment on a cancer ward at McMaster University Medical Centre. MacLeod said tracking equipment is HHS's primary interest in RFID.

However, RFID tags could also be put on hospital bracelets to keep track of patients requiring higher security such as newborn babies or people with Alzheimer's, who have a tendency to wander. Tags could be put on the personnel badges of staff. It's the reason the McMaster University RFID lab working with HHS contacted the privacy commissioner for advice.

"The issue is how to weigh it off against privacy issues," said MacLeod. "Under what circumstances would it be the right thing to do?"

So far there is no answer. RFID has only recently become affordable enough to use for employee tracking. The most controversial instance was an Ohio security company that implanted two workers with RFID chips earlier this year to allow them to access company property.

The privacy commissioner specifically mentioned the Ohio case before saying she's "increasingly concerned about human dignity in the context of surveillance." MacDonald said she can't see any circumstance where monitoring employees with RFID would be acceptable.

"We have a right to privacy even at work. To know where we are every second of our existence in that building, that's too much Big Brother. It's very scary."
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Fury Over Mercury Vaccine For Scots

FURY OVER MERCURY VACCINE FOR SCOTS

CHILDREN and pregnant women in Scotland are being given a flu vaccination that has poisonous mercury.

Two years ago, the UK Government announced the withdrawal of mercury-based thiomersal vaccinations after they were linked to autism.

But Scottish Health Minister Andy Kerr last week confirmed it is still being used in flu vaccines north of the Border.

In reply to a question from the SSP's Carolyn Leckie, Kerr said: "In this year's flu programme, there is only one vaccine (Fluarix) which contains thiomersal and could be offered to pregnant women and children."

Furious Bill Welsh, chairman of Edinburghbased Autism Treatment Trust, said last night: "Mercury is the world's second most toxic substance. How can anyone justify its use in the vaccination of pregnant women and young children?"

MSP Leckie said: "I am shocked that the health service in Scotland still has thiomersal."
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Bill would ban ‘mercury vaccine’

Bill would ban ‘mercury vaccine’

The first bill in the legislative hopper for the 2007 session is one near and dear to Lawrence’s Linda Weinmaster and a number of parents across the state.

Senate Bill 1 would ban the use of mercury-based thimerosal in childhood vaccines.

“I’m somewhat optimistic that it will pass this session,” Weinmaster said. “We’re going to give it our best try.”

Weinmaster and many others claim that thimerosal, which is used as a preservative in some vaccines, has caused the recent increase in the number of autistic children. Weinmaster’s 15-year-old son, Adam, has several impairments that she attributes to vaccinations.

Federal officials maintain there is no association between the disorders and thimerosal. Critics, however, say the studies are flawed and note that mercury is a known toxin.

In recent years, thimerosal is being used less and less in vaccines, according to health officials. And at least six states have banned or are phasing out the use of thimerosal.

“If mercury is not a necessary element, I don’t think we should have it in vaccinations,” said Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, who has authored the bill.

During the 2006 legislative session, the bill didn’t survive the crush of last-minute legislation.

Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, chairman of the committee that considered the measure, said he would be glad to take it up again.

“We will give it very careful and thorough consideration,” Barnett said.
Click to expand...
 
Britain Worried About Excessive Surveillance

Britain Worried About Excessive Surveillance

Many Britons are concerned about the increased use of cameras and biometrics in their country, according to a poll by YouGov published in the Daily Telegraph. 79 per cent of respondents believe the country can accurately be described as a surveillance society.

In 2004, home secretary David Blunkett strongly campaigned in favour of a national identity card system. The plan contemplates setting up a database that would contain the fingerprints and/or eye scan of every single person in Britain. The government estimates that the full implementation of the plan will cost $10.5 billion U.S. over the next 10 years.

In November, British information commissioner Richard Thomas discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "Two years ago I warned that we were in danger of sleepwalking into a surveillance society. Today I fear that we are in fact waking up to a surveillance society that is already all around us."

Polling Data

Because of the increased use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, speed cameras, biometric passports, fingerprinting and so forth, Britain is increasingly being described as a ‘surveillance society’. Do you think that is, on balance, an accurate description or not?

Yes, it is an accurate description

79%

No, it isn’t an accurate description

16%

Don’t know

5%
Click to expand...
 
Nice posts oneofmany.

Im getting sick of the people in this country.

Our gov't is getting away with everything. From the mercury in the vaccines to the flouride in the water. Unbelieveable.

I've read into what mercury does to the brain. And it causes MASSIVE neuron explosions that can result in permenant brain damage. This is why we have sections in hospitals dedicated to kids with Autism. Which hardly existed 30-40 years ago. But its now common to have an autistic child.
Increase_in_autism_diagnosis.png


An 800% increase in the span of 11years. and Its around 900% now. You can't convince anyone that these vaccines are good.

Here's a Nice Gov't propoganda piece Mercury is GOOD for you
<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=6573260071406331854&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed>

This gov't has given thousands of blackmen syphilis during the Tuskegee experiments. They've forced sterilized over 400,000+ women during the 40's. They have also funded Isreal to radiate thousands of CHILDREN during the "ringworm children experiments". They have staged the gulf of tonkin (this is admitted), which in turn claimed countless lives in Vietnam. But ofcourse they couldn't kill 3,000 peolple on 9/11 :rolleyes: . These people will kill 2 billion people in a heart beat without even blinking if it would help their cause. WAKE UP FOLKS. End rant :cool:
 
Polling Data

Because of the increased use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, speed cameras, biometric passports, fingerprinting and so forth, Britain is increasingly being described as a ‘surveillance society’. Do you think that is, on balance, an accurate description or not?

Yes, it is an accurate description

79%

No, it isn’t an accurate description

16%

Don’t know

5%
Click to expand...


How many willing to do something to stop it

2%
 
'MyKad' for cars

'MyKad' for cars

KUALA LUMPUR: A MyKad for cars is set to take off early next year. A high-tech anti-theft device, it will involve microchips set into tamper-proof car registration plates sealed into the body of vehicles.

The microchips will bear details of the driver, vehicle and model.

This will make it easy for Road Transport Department officers to identify stolen vehicles at roadblocks, using hand-held scanners.

The e-plate, as it will be called, is the RTD’s latest strategy to make it difficult for car thieves to escape by merely changing the registration plates.

Nearly 30 cars are stolen daily around the country, most of them luxury vehicles.

RTD director-general Ahmad Mustapha said the system will be implemented in stages — first with new cars, followed by cars already on the road.

"Our main aim in introducing this system is to reduce car thefts nationwide. This is being done as the first thing thieves do after a car theft is change the registration plates."

He said the Transport Ministry had given the go-ahead for the implementation of the system.

Ahmad said countries like Japan had reduced car theft drastically by using the e-plate system.

"The microchip acts as a MyKad. During operations, our officers will have special hand-held scanners to scan the plates."

Ahmad said some people also escaped speeding summonses by switching or duplicating the number plates.

"The summonses then go to an innocent party who no longer drives the car bearing the registration plate, or whose plate has been duplicated," he added.

Only authorised mechanics will be allowed to fit the registration plate onto cars. The seal on the microchip will be broken if anyone tries to tamper with the plate.

And unlike the present system, the font and size of letters and numbers will be standardised on the e-plate.

"At present, there are different fonts. Some are big and others small. The space and sizing are also different," he added.

On the material used to make the registration plate, he said it would be aluminium-based, with an amalgam of other substances to make it difficult to break.
Click to expand...
 
Mother Says School Wants Her Son On ADD Meds

Mother Says School Wants Her Son On ADD Meds

Sabrina Nichols says they've tried half a dozen medications for her 9-year-old son Jacob's attention deficit disorder.

Meds, she says, have turned him into a zombie. His eyes are barely open in this years' school photo all because she says his Manteca school has strongly recommended it.

“He needs this for his education. He'll focus but after two years it's not working,” said Nichols.

While Jacob has a lot of energy his parents think the school should test him for a learning disability and not be so quick to make assumptions at parent teacher conferences.

“It's always been the same answer: Ritalin ADHD. They're there to help educate your son but I feel like they just want to push meds on him. It's a pacifier not a solution,” said Nichols.

Sabrina says her personal doctor has written the prescriptions to work with the school. School principal Rick Mello would not comment on this case specifically but said schools do not make medicine recommendations.

“Schools don't diagnose medical conditions; we don't prescribe medication. They might say 'check with a family pediatrician,” said Shasta School Principal Rick Mello.

According to a National Health Institute report in 2002, 9 million children were prescribed Ritalin Adderall and other ADD drugs despite numerous medical studies questioning long term changes in brain function. ADD is now considered an official disability, so public schools get $10,000-$20,000 per student. But Sabrina and her husband say they've taken Jacob off medication for now-- and just want other parents to do their homework.
Click to expand...
 

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