Where Are We Now
Does this sound strangely familiar…
"The greatest industry on Earth centered about Multivac - Multivac, the giant computer that
had grown in fifty years until its various ramifications had filled Washington, D.C. to the suburbs and had reached out tendrils into every city and town on Earth.
An army of civil servants fed it data constantly and another army correlated and interpreted the answers it gave. A corps of engineers patrolled its interior while mines and factories consumed themselves in keeping its reserve stocks of replacement parts ever complete, ever accurate, ever satisfactory in every way.
Multivac directed Earth's economy and helped Earth's science. Most important of all, it was the central clearing house of all known facts about each individual Earthman. …
With its knowledge of all of you, Multivac will be able to help Earth adjust its economy and its laws for the good of all. If you have a personal problem, you may come to Multivac with it and with its knowledge of all of you, Multivac will be able to help you.
Now you will have many forms to fill out. Think carefully and answer all questions as accurately as you can. Do not hold back through shame or caution. No one will ever know your answers except Multivac unless it becomes necessary to learn the answers in order to protect you. And then only authorized officials of the government will know.
It may occur to you to stretch the truth a bit here or there. Don't do this. We will find out if you do. All your answers put together form a pattern. If some answers are false, they will not fit the pattern and Multivac will discover them. If all your answers are false, there will be a distorted pattern of a type that Multivac will recognize. So you must tell the truth." (1)
Make sure you recalibrate your timeframe … this was written in the late 1950’s … the only computers were large scale mainframes used by governments, universities, some big businesses and the military. Like Asimov’s fictional “Multivac”, the room-sized apparatuses had names like ENIAC, UNIVAC and the FILE COMPUTER, which were just transitioning from vacuum tubes to integrated circuits!
“"Every time you use a key, you just identified yourself to your house. Every time you throw down a credit card, everywhere you log into a system, you're identifying yourself," says Recognition Systems' Bill Spence.
But there's always the option to opt out by paying cash or using another anonymous method. Hurley (Deborah Hurley of Harvard's Information Infrastructure Project) sees a dark future if we become a society where the majority of our daily activities are uniquely identifiable and records can be accessed by others. Personal privacy is necessary all through the day, she says: "It's an important part of what it means to be human."" (2)
"The firm that is making the most tricorder-like gizmo is arguably Scanadu, based in
Mountain View, California, which was among the first companies to enter the Tricorder X Prize competition. Its device, like Dr McCoy’s, consists of a small hand-held sensor unit that communicates wirelessly with a display unit (in this case, a smartphone). The sensor unit, called Scout, is placed in contact with the patient’s temple and detects a range of vital signs, including heart and respiration rate, blood oxygenation, pulse transit time and temperature. The current prototype includes electrodes to measure the electrical signals of the heart and an infra-red temperature sensor, among other things. A smartphone app displays and stores the data." (3)
Maybe my observation is inaccurate, but I think I saw a political diversion and end-run with the Obama Care health reform. When particular Obama Care items (on pages 1001 and 1004) related to mandatory national identification were publicized and vigorously debated in the Senate and Congress, the FDA Unique Device Identifier (UDI), was placed in the approval loop. I might be missing something, but between joint replacements, heart stents/valve/pacemakers, ingestible diagnostic sensors, external skin sensors, etc, etc … there is now the potential for a mandatory ID registry framework (with associated personal data) waiting for a future crisis to require it. The Federal Register is currently reviewing 77 FR 69393, before it is made law in late 2013. The FDA UDI pie chart color codes the implemented and proposed UDI features.
"MUMBAI: Very often, people do not seem to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack. But what if a heart patient was fitted with a special pacemaker that could inform his doctor as soon he starts feeling unwell? Such a thing is indeed possible, says Gopal Motilal Agarwal, one of the first few Indians to be fitted with a pacemaker that can directly send an email and an SMS to his doctor in case of an emergency. Not just that, Agarwal can travel the world and still consult his doctor in Mumbai for a routine check-up." (4)
It’s interesting to note that India has several leading-edge implantable medical technologies and the Unique Identification Authority of India has assigned biometrically-generated ID’s to more than 400 million citizens.
"In 1990, when the FBI began building its master DNA database—the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS—investigators could generally use DNA analysis only for cases in which they possessed both crime-scene evidence and a specific suspect. Not anymore.
Now police can compare genetic evidence gathered at the crime scene with millions of known DNA samples, finding matches, generating new suspects, linking together seemingly unconnected crimes, and identifying people who had been missing for decades." (5)
Couple the implantable biometric chip statement (September 12, 2005) that Delaware
Senator, Joe Biden made to Supreme Court Chief Justice candidate, John Roberts, with the fact that he heads the F.I.S.A. court. Now you have a very strange situation with unaccountable power in only a few hands...
"Chief justice of the U.S. is a pretty big job. You lead the Supreme Court conferences where cases are discussed and voted on. You preside over oral arguments. When in the majority, you decide who writes the opinion. You get a cool robe that you can decorate with gold stripes.
Oh, and one more thing: You have exclusive, unaccountable, lifetime power to shape the surveillance state.
To use its surveillance powers -- tapping phones or reading e-mails -- the federal government must ask permission of the court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. A FISA judge can deny the request or force the government to limit the scope of its investigation. It’s the only plausible check in the system. Whether it actually checks government surveillance power or acts as a rubber stamp is up to whichever FISA judge presides that day.
The 11 FISA judges, chosen from throughout the federal bench for seven-year terms, are all appointed by the chief justice. In fact, every FISA judge currently serving was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts, who will continue making such appointments until he retires or dies. FISA judges don’t need confirmation -- by Congress or anyone else." (6)
Is this uniquely a United States issue? Dr. Katina Michael and Dr. MG Michael from Australia, have issued several studies on technology, identification and privacy.
"Whether noticeable or not by users, the change has already begun. Technology is increasingly becoming an extension of the human body, whether it is by carrying smart cards or electronic tags or even PDAs and mobile phones. Furui predicts that "people will actually walk through their day-to-day lives wearing several computers at a time". Cochrane described this phenomenon as technology being an omnipresent part of our existence. Not only will devices become small and compact, they will also be embedded invisibly in our bodies….
Now, while auto-ID itself is supposed to ensure privacy, it is the ease with which data can be collected that has some advocates concerned about the ultimate use of personal information. While the devices are secure, breaches in privacy can happen at any level--especially at the database level where information is eventually stored. How this information is used, how it is matched with other data, and who has access to it, has caused many citizens to be cautious about auto-ID. Data mining also has altered how data is manipulated, filtered, and utilised all in the name of customer relationship management. It is not difficult to obtain telemarketing lists, census information aggregated to a granular level, and mapping tools to represent market segments visually. Rothfeder states:
“Medical files, financial and personnel records, Social Security numbers, and telephone call histories--as well as information about our lifestyle preferences, where we shop, and even what car we drive--are available quickly and cheaply.”
Looking forward, the potential for privacy problems linked to chip implants is something that has been considered but mostly granted attention by the media. Privacy advocates warn that such a chip would be disastrous for civil liberties. Even Professor Warwick, who has temporarily been implanted on several occasions, is aware that chip implants do not promote an air of assurance:" (7)
““The one thing we know with certainty about databases is that they grow,” said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which includes national ID cards on its list of threats. The official urge to amass and use information, he told me, “takes on a life of its own.”
But on the subject of privacy, we are an ambivalent nation. Americans — especially younger Americans, who swim in a sea of shared information — are casual to the point of recklessness about what we put online." (8)
In the aerospace industry, the use of surface mounted strain gages, thermocouples and other sensors is just part of the process when collecting data for engineering purposes. Now a similar application is available in the biometric arena.
"According to the University of Illinois, “Skin-mounted electronics have many biomedical applications, including EEG and EMG sensors to monitor nerve and muscle activity. One major advantage of skin-like circuits is that they don’t require conductive gel, tape, skin-penetrating pins or bulky wires, which can be uncomfortable for the user and limit coupling efficiency. They are much more comfortable and less cumbersome than traditional electrodes and give the wearers complete freedom of movement.”
The report said the technology will allow a more accurate understanding of how the human brain functions." (9)
"Nanotechnology, which is the motivation behind many of these marvelous medical wonders, will interconnect with the surveillance field and quite literally make the notion of “privacy”- that is revealing ourselves selectively- an artifact. We must do whatever is in our lawful power to check, mitigate, and to legislate against the unwarranted and abusive use of uber-intrusive surveillance applications. We are talking about applications with such incredible capabilities which will potentially have the power to de-humanize us and reach into the secret layers of our humanity. These are not unruly exaggerations when we consider wireless sensors and motes, body area networks (BANs) and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are already established technologies and that the era of mind control, particularly through pioneering advancements in brain-scanning technology, is getting steadily closer." (10)
Understand that the NSA’s activities have a marginal history concerning domestic surveillance. Under subpoena, NSA Director Lieutenant General Lew Allen was questioned by the Senatorial Church Committee in the mid 1970’s concerning domestic telecommunication monitoring. Also, the secret NSA operated totally off everyone’s radar, from its formation in 1952 to1975. If your only source of information on the NSA surveillance issue has been headlines and water cooler conversations, read Princeton educated Randy E. Barnett’s observations.
“Due largely to unauthorized leaks, we now know that the National Security Agency has seized from private companies voluminous data on the phone and Internet usage of all U.S. citizens. We've also learned that the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has approved the constitutionality of these seizures in secret proceedings in which only the government appears, and in opinions kept secret even from the private companies from whom the data are seized.
If this weren't disturbing enough, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform, is compiling a massive database of citizens' personal information—including monthly credit-card, mortgage, car and other payments—ostensibly to protect consumers from abuses by financial institutions. …
By banning unreasonable "seizures" of a person's "papers", the Fourth Amendment clearly protects what we today call "informational privacy." Rather than seizing the private papers of individual citizens, the NSA and CFPB programs instead seize the records of the private communications companies with which citizens do business under contractual "terms of service." These contracts do not authorize data-sharing with the government. Indeed, these private companies have insisted that they be compelled by statute and warrant to produce their records so as not to be accused of breaching their contracts and willingly betraying their customers' trust. …
The secrecy of these programs makes it impossible to hold elected officials and appointed bureaucrats accountable. Relying solely on internal governmental checks violates the fundamental constitutional principle that the sovereign people must be the ultimate external judge of their servants' conduct in office. Yet such judgment and control is impossible without the information that such secret programs conceal. Had it not been for recent leaks, the American public would have no idea of the existence of these programs, and we still cannot be certain of their scope.” (11)
You’ll feel more uneasy when you view the NSA website, under the title, “Why We Collect Your Data”, this is their explanation:
“Under the authority of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6, which defines the integration and use of screening information to protect against terrorism, the NSA is authorized to collect and disseminate information about suspected foreign and domestic terrorists. In the past, this meant gathering information AFTER a target had been identified. This often led to missed intelligence and lost opportunities.
But what if we could collect the information in advance, before the target was known? What if the mere act of collecting information could result in the identification of new targets? What if we could build a national data warehouse containing all available information about every person in the United States? Under the authority of the classified Homeland Security Directive 15 (U.S. Strategy and Policy in the War on Terror), we can.”
All of this is based on the NSA banner that is repeated several times:
“Your Data: If You Have Nothing to Hide, You Have Nothing to Fear”
The original schedule for the UDC (Utah Data Center) to be operational is September 2013
The previous NSA quotes are from: www.nsa.gov1.info/utah-data-center (Accessed 5-21-2013)
The Unique IDentity Authority of India (UIDAI) has been issuing ID numbers to the Indian population at an average rate of 11 million per month. In less than three years, they have completed 400+ million people. Logistically impressive, when you consider that two-thirds of the population doesn’t have power ! This effort appears to be the template that will be used world-wide.
The Nigerian document titled, “Nigeria National Financial Inclusion Strategy“, describes a near-term launch, similar to UIDAI. The NIMC (Nigerian National Identity Management Commission) was established by the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, the NIMC established, owns, operates, maintains and manages the National Identity Database in Nigeria. Registered Nigerians are assigned Unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) and receive General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC). The goal … to harmonize and integrate existing identification databases in Nigeria. Initial NIN’s assignments started April 2013 for Nigeria’s 167 million citizens.
When I started this research in the mid-1970’s, most people wrote it off as an extremely remote possibility at best. When Dr.Willard Cantelon stated :
"My first public utterance on the subject was in the summer of
1939 … my message on 'Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy' was somewhat different from what the congregation had been accustomed to hearing under Dr. Robinson." (12)
I’m VERY sure Dr. Cantelon’s sanity was questioned! Now you see national healthcare plans, FDA implementations, child safety legislation, engineering development and the list continues on … all addressing something incredibley close to a prediction made by an old Jewish fisherman imprisoned off the Greek coast!
“It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.” Revelation 13:16-18 NIV
“A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.”
Revelation 14:9-10 NIV
What does all this mean? You can have the “peace that passes understanding”, despite all of the surveillance uncertainty, you can have the assurance of eternity in Heaven. How does this happen?
The law demands a death payment for imperfection.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 NIV
Everyone is imperfect. Allowing imperfection into Heaven would ruin it.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 NIV
We can make the required death payment for an eternity in Hell or we can allow the perfect Sacrificed Lamb of God to be our substitute. Paul describes how:
“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness (perfection) for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4 NIV
Eternity is paid for, it’s a gift why not accept it now!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
Why wait to get your eternity settled … do it now. All you have to do is receive the Gift of Everlasting Life. Just the best you know how, talk to God and tell him that you know you are imperfect and that the price for a home in Heaven is death. That you are accepting his offer of Eternal Life by faith (trust) in Him, because He made the death payment in your place.
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God (Jesus = the God who keeps, saves & defends) so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 NIV
- "All The Troubles Of The World"
One of several short stories compiled in, "Nine Tomorrows"
1959, by Isaac Asimov, pages 137, 141-142
Copyright 1958, by Headline Publications, Inc. - “Body May Be Key To A Foolproof ID”
USA Today
April 8, 1998 page 4D. - "The Dream of the Medical Tricorder"
The Economist
December 1, 2012 - "A Pacemaker that can SMS the Doctor if you miss a beat"
by Pratibha Masand, TNN
The Times of India, May 12, 2013 - "Combined DNA Index System"
by Rena Marie Pacella
Popular Science, Novemeber 2011 - "Chief Justice Roberts Is Awesome Power Behind FISA Court"
by Ezra Klein
Bloomberg.com, 07-02-2013 - "Microchipping people: The Rise of the Electrophorus"
by Katina Michael and MG Michael.
Quadrant, Vol. 49, No. 3, March 2005 - "Show Me Your Papers"
by Bill Keller
The New York Times, July 1, 2012, page A15 - "Embedded Chips for Cyber Connectivity"
by Bob Unruh
WND, 09/25/2011 - "Uberveillance: Microchipping People and the Assault On Privacy"
by M. G. Michael & Katina Michael
Quadrant, 53 (3), 2009, pages 85-89. - “The NSA's Surveillance Is Unconstitutional”
by Randy E. Barnett
The Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2013 - “The Day the Dollar Dies.”
by Willard Cantelon,
Bridge-Logos, 1973, page 15