[EAS]More Big Brother

[pjk]

Subject:   More Big Brother

It's getting almost too easy to celebrate last week's 100th
anniversary of Orwell's birth.  --PJK

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little
temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
                                         - Benjamin Franklin

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(from Edupage, July 02, 2003)

PLANNED SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM RAISES EYEBROWS
A new surveillance system being developed by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency has some scientists and civil libertarians
concerned about potential civilian uses of the system. The Combat
Zones That See project is intended to use software to analyze images
from many thousands of cameras in an urban setting to identify cars,
license plates, and even passengers. The goal is to protect U.S.
forces in urban settings by spotting license plates on watch lists
or discerning suspicious behavior. Despite assurances from the
Pentagon that the technology is intended only for military uses,
some observers have expressed concern that it could be used by
civilian law enforcement agencies in a manner that intrudes on
personal privacy. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org said, "Government
would have a reasonably good idea of where everyone is most of the
time." Washington Post, 2 July 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61389-2003Jul2.html