statism watch

Jeffrey Denning, Washington Times
July 8, 2008

Just when you thought you’ve heard it all…

A senior government official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expressed great interest in a so-called safety bracelet that would serve as a stun device, similar to that of a police Taser®. According to this promotional video found at the Lamperd Less Lethal website, the bracelet would be worn by all airline passengers.

This bracelet would:

• take the place of an airline boarding pass

• contain personal information about the traveler

• be able to monitor the whereabouts of each passenger and his/her luggage

• shock the wearer on command, completely immobilizing him/her for several minutes

The Electronic ID Bracelet, as it’s referred to as, would be worn by every traveler “until they disembark the flight at their destination.”  Yes, you read that correctly. Every airline passenger would be tracked by a government-funded GPS, containing personal, private and confidential information, and that it would shock the customer worse than an electronic dog collar if he/she got out of line?

Clearly the Electronic ID Bracelet is an euphuism for the EMD Safety Bracelet, or at least it has a nefarious hidden ability, thus the term ID Bracelet is ambiguous at best. EMD stands for Electro-Musclar Disruption. Again, according to the promotional video the bracelet can completely immobilize the wearer for several minutes.

So is the government really that interested in this bracelet? Yes!

According to a letter from DHS official, Paul S. Ruwaldt of the Science and Technology Directorate, office of Research and Development, to the inventor whom he had previously met with, he wrote, “To make it clear, we [the federal government] are interested in…the immobilizing security bracelet, and look forward to receiving a written proposal.” The letterhead, in case you were wondering, came from the DHS office at the William J. Hughes Technical Center at the Atlantic City International Airport, or the Federal Aviation Administration headquarters.

In another part of the letter, Mr. Ruwaldt confirmed, “It is conceivable to envision a use to improve air security, on passenger planes.”

Would every paying airline passenger flying on a commercial airplane be mandated to wear one of these devices? I cringe at the thought. Not only could it be used as a physical restraining device, but also as a method of interrogation, according to the same aforementioned letter from Mr. Ruwaldt.

Would you let them put one of those on your wrist? Would you allow the airline employees, which would be mandated by the government, to place such a bracelet on any member of your family?

Why are tax dollars being spent on something like this? Is this a police state or is it America?

As we approach July 4th, Independence Day, I can’t help but think of the blessing we have of living in America and being free from hostile government forces. It calls to mind on of my favorite speeches given by an American Founding Forefather, Patrick Henry, who said,

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Source | See Also: Air passengers to undergo ‘virtual strip search’ |  Could humiliation be the next weapon in our war on crime? | Ottawa Proposes Band-Aid ‘Bill of Rights’ for Airline Travellers | Pistol Pendant Causes Airport Holdup | US Homeland Security Keen on ‘Novel’ Israeli Airport Security Technology | Tanks, Face-Scanning Cameras Part of ‘Discreet’ 2010 Games Security | Ontario Privacy Czar Worried about High-Tech Licences | American Border Officers Want to Fingerprint Canadians at SPP Bridge | Airport scanner a ‘virtual strip search’ | U.S. to collect DNA at border | Surveillance cameras to keep an eye on downtown Calgary | Canada on way to brave new world of surveillance | Privacy issues surround planned TTC cameras

Alan Travis, The Guardian
July 8, 2008

Police used their powers to stop nearly two million members of the public in the street and demand they account for their behaviour or actions, Ministry of Justice figures published today revealed.

The “stop and account” statistics, being published for the first time, reveal the scale of police use of the powers, and show that black people are two and a half times more likely than whites to be questioned on the street.

The use of these powers, and the need for police officers to complete a lengthy form on each occasion they are used, sparked political controversy earlier this year.

The row led the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, to pledge that alternative ways of recording each stop would be found.

A Home Office green paper on the future of policing, to be published next week, will replace the forms with new radio technology allowing officers to transmit the details of each stop.

Today’s figures showed that the number of times the police stopped members of the public had risen from 1.4m in 2005-2006 to 1.87m in 2006-2007 – an increase of one-third.

The decision to start recording police stops in April 2005 followed a recommendation by Sir William Macpherson’s inquiry into the racist murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The recent Flanagan inquiry into policing reported that recording such stops consumed more than 48,000 hours of police time.

While each encounter lasted for an average of only seven minutes, it usually led to suspicion of the police on the part of the member of the public involved.

The figures confirmed that such police stops disproportionately involve the black community.

Full Story | See Also: Police to demand blood, urine at roadside stops | Armed Police to Roam Toronto High Schools | Berlusconi puts 2,500 troops on streets of Italian cities to patrol alongside police | Justice Critic Brands Street Racing Vehicle Seizure Law as “Police State-ism” | British Terror Bill Divides Labor | Hats banned from Yorkshire pubs over CCTV fears | Youth Worker Subjected to Warrantless Raid on Secret Evidence | Crimestop: UK Police Now Expected to Collect Social, Dietary, Sexual Information | Man spends 18 hours in police cell and has his DNA taken for ‘dropping an apple core’ | In UK, anti-terror laws used to crack down on dog fouling, littering | Machine Gun-Toting Officers To Patrol NYC Subway | Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of ‘Fear’ | CBC Radio Broadcasts Expose of North American Police State

Tim Harper, The Toronto Star
July 8, 2008

WASHINGTON–The war in which Canadians are dying in disproportionate numbers has long been America’s “forgotten war.”

Until now.

Pushed by a spike in American fatalities and a series of grim intelligence assessments, Afghanistan is now on the agenda in the U.S. presidential election, with the urgency of the situation driven home by a massive suicide bombing yesterday in Kabul that killed 41 people.

With the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan finally emerging on the American radar, the Bush administration has extended the tour of 2,200 U.S. Marines in the volatile south for 30 days.

More importantly, there will be a renewed push by both presumptive presidential nominees, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, for a stronger NATO presence on the ground, which could offer help to Canadian troops in the south.

Canada has lost 87 soldiers in the Afghanistan mission, including Pte. Colin Wilmot who died Saturday after an explosive device detonated while he was on patrol with an infantry unit in the Panjwaii district.

Either Obama or McCain would be in a stronger position than U.S. President George W. Bush to make the argument that Ottawa has long been making – that the tough fighting has fallen to Canadian and British troops while other NATO nations are carrying a lighter load.

Beyond pushing European NATO allies, however, there are more differences than similarities between the two presidential candidates.

With a resurgent Taliban and a porous border with Pakistan aggravating the danger on the ground in Afghanistan – just as Iraq is showing signs of stabilizing – Obama would redeploy troops from Iraq to fight in Afghanistan.

McCain believes success in Iraq would ultimately mean success in Afghanistan.

Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the war in Afghanistan has been known as the “forgotten war,” or the “other war,” as this country obsessed over a war of choice that has claimed more than 4,000 American lives.

But in June, for the second month in a row, more U.S. and allied soldiers died in Afghanistan than in Iraq. There were 46 fatalities in Afghanistan last month, including 28 Americans. In Iraq in June, 31 Americans died.

“Afghanistan is sliding toward chaos,” Obama’s foreign policy adviser Susan Rice told reporters on a conference call last week.

Obama has pledged to add two U.S. military brigades, about 7,000 soldiers and support personnel to Afghanistan, as part of a two-pronged strategy that begins with a planned draw down of U.S. troops in Iraq.

…

Successive National Intelligence Estimates, a report which reflects the consensus of America’s 16 intelligence agencies, have concluded Al Qaeda is growing in strength and the threat from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is the single biggest threat to American security.

The Government Accountability Office, an independent watchdog, concluded earlier this year that the U.S. has no strategy in countering that threat.

Full Story | See Also: Afghanistan suggests Pakistan responsible for embassy bombing | Brilliant or a sham? Questions asked over Ingrid Betancourt rescue | Canadian, NATO forces stood down during Afghan jailbreak | Canadian military silent on Afghan civilian deaths: UN investigator | Pipeline Opens New Front In Afghan War | Israelis ‘rehearse Iran attack’ | US Counterinsurgency Manual Leaked, Calls for False Flag Operations, Suspension of Human Rights | Report: U.S. Gave Green Light For Taliban Prison Attack | Israeli official says attack on Iran ‘unavoidable’ | U.S. National Intelligence Estimate: Iran stopped nuclear weapons work in 2003 | Canada’s military exports soar as numbers go unreported: CBC investigation | Cheney Orders Media To Sell Attack On Iran | U.S. sending third aircraft carrier to the Middle East | The Lies that Led to War | Investigative Reporter Seymour Hersh: US Indirectly Funding Al-Qaeda Linked Sunni Groups in Move to Counter Iran | British Special Forces Caught Carrying Out Staged Terror In Iraq? | Former CIA Officer – US Plans Nuclear Attack On Iran | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation

CBC News
July 8, 2008

Afghanistan is linking Pakistan to Monday’s deadly bombing outside the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Humayun Hamidzada, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said Tuesday that the attack had the “hallmarks of a particular agency that has conducted similar attacks inside Afghanistan.”

He would not identify the agency by name, but appeared to be strongly hinting at Pakistan’s intelligence agency. He told reporters it should be “pretty obvious” what agency he was talking about.

At least 41 people were killed when a suicide car bomb detonated outside the embassy, while some 140 people were injured.

But on Tuesday, Pakistan’s prime minister denied his country’s intelligence agency was involved. Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, speaking during a visit to Malaysia, said that his country has no interest in destabilizing Afghanistan.

Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained since both gained independence in 1947, with the two sides fighting three major wars against each other. One of the prominent sources of tension is the Himalayan province of Kashmir, which both countries claim as their own.

Relations have been improving somewhat between the two, with peace talks held in recent years.

Source | See Also: Canadian, NATO forces stood down during Afghan jailbreak | Canadian military silent on Afghan civilian deaths: UN investigator | US Counterinsurgency Manual Leaked, Calls for False Flag Operations, Suspension of Human Rights | Report: U.S. Gave Green Light For Taliban Prison Attack | Don’t look, don’t tell, troops told in response to Afghani child abuse | Post-traumatic stress disorder’s hidden scars | Over 100 complaints about access to govt. info on Afghan mission: report | Canada sets up new military spy unit | Bid to Block Afghan Detainee Inquiry Slammed | Army begins using $150,000 artillery shells | FBI documents contradict 9/11 Commission report | Truth or Terrorism? The Real Story Behind Five Years of High Alerts | 9/11 widows call for new investigation after revelations of White House, commission ties | Director of 9/11 commission “secretly spoke with Rove, White House” | Eight U.S. State Department Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11 | Twenty-five U.S. Military Officers Challenge Official Account of 9/11 | Ex-Italian President: Intel Agencies Know 9/11 An Inside Job | Afghan poll not as clear as it seems | 9/11 – the big cover-up? | New Bin Laden Video: 100% Forgery | What Ottawa doesn’t want you to know: Government was told detainees faced ‘extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial’ | The Lies that Led to War | U.S. Government Caught Red-Handed Releasing Staged Al-Qaeda Videos | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation