As the surveillance state continues to expand, the push to track the movement of individuals across state borders has also expanded. Automatic license plate recognition technology is at the forefront of this move, not only capturing thousands of license plates per minute and storing the information in a database, but also recording the GPS location of where it was "pinged." According to the ACLU of Washington, law enforcement agencies don't delete any of this information.
This creates a vast database of personal data of where a person traveled, when and for how long. Data firms and multinational intelligence companies are also jumping on the bandwagon, furthering the reach of the surveillance matrix.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
This isn't all bad. Might help to find kidnapped victims and carjackers. Even stolen cars. Tough to be a criminal these days, possibly one reason crime is down.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
This was used in the town I lived in while in Texas.
All they have to do is drive past you and their computer is giving all kinds of info.
I understand the positive side but geeeez....This is a little scary.
Interesting how readily some will accept surveillance because there is a minor benefit. Ignored in all this is the potentially much larger downside of such information being used inappropriately. Let's face it, George Orwell's 1984. utopian fiction is slowly but steadily becoming a reality, a nightmarish vision of the future in a totalitarian world.
Rockdoc Franz wrote: Interesting how readily some will accept surveillance because there is a minor benefit. Ignored in all this is the potentially much larger downside of such information being used inappropriately. Let's face it, George Orwell's 1984. utopian fiction is slowly but steadily becoming a reality, a nightmarish vision of the future in a totalitarian world.
Unfortunately I agree. Those that are going willingly are the entitlement crowd. As long as someone else pays, they're good. Until they realize that they've been tagged and bagged - then it's too late.
Technology and money are incredibly analagous. Both are not inherently good or evil, but both can empower those wishing to do great good or evil.
That's why I'm all for smaller government. The more power they usurp in our daily lives, the more control they can exert.
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
It isn't too hard to defeat this technology, simple mud obscuring one number or letter will make you invisible.
More than a year ago, NPR did a story about people's daily habits and it was scary how seldom people venture from their daily habits/commutes, less than 5% of the time.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
There used to be the presumption of innocence and the idea that privacy was a right we could expect unless there was reasonable suspicion or probable cause. The right of free movement without being constantly monitered by the police state.
We have allowed it all to slip away- starting with the traffic cameras years ago. They swore that they would never be used for law enforcement, only for traffic control. Now they are being used everyday for law enforcement. No one has said a word about it so they took each little step until they now have full access to the camera system and they are even installing systems exclusively for law enforcement.
They have installed a few hundred cameras downtown to watch the movements of people walking in some neighborhoods and in LODO.
Some people are obiviously ok with this- you know the Nazi's had a low crime rate too- a police state works if you want to give up all your freedom for security. Hitler had this down pat.
It's scary when you think that your trip to the supermarket included your local police state logging the location and time your vehicle was here or there. They do all this everyday now- without our permission, without any reason to suspect any wrong doing - and without any probable cause.
And we all just let it happen.
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That's why I'm all for smaller government. The more power they usurp in our daily lives, the more control they can exert.
They obiviously have way way more money than they actually need- which is why I am also for smaller government. A government without the funding for this police state is badly needed.
