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Alternate title for graphic as well as post: Invasion of the Privacy Snatchers. |
In case you haven’t heard, a company called TrapWire has
been analysing and storing data collected from High Value Targets – stadiums,
monuments, power plants, tourist spots – all across America, as well as in Canada,
the UK, and the rest of the developed world.
TrapWire’s board of directors reads
like a who’s who from the intelligence industry. Of the tech, the claim “better than facial
recognition” was made in 2005. If this is uncomfortably close to science
fiction, then the goals have already crossed over, specifically, into the most
popularized scenarios from Minority Report.
The TrapWire family of companies is creepier still. And, making my hair stand on end, the local
evidence of these shenanigans is straight out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Specifically, the municipal transportation systems of Santa
Mira, where, if the buses and trains do not always run on time, I am pretty
sure there’s an app that citizens can download onto their smartphones. And if we don’t have smartphones? How convenient – a system whereby, instead of
waiting out in the cold, we can receive a text message, sent to where ever we
happen to be, and so while we wait we can remain warm, comfortable, and… …safe.
It goes without saying, these days – or it should – that if
you download information from the Panopticon, the Panopticon also downloads
information from you.
So here in short order and probably not enough context. We can reproduce the order I instructed a
dear friend of mine to follow, for lack of a more convenient model.
Do a search for
(not in quotes) SURVEILLANCE BETTER THAN FACIAL RECOGNITION. The first article
to come up should be Russia Today. Here
is some of the best bits, with a link,
of course.
What is believed to be a partnering agreement included in the Stratfor files
from August 13, 2009 indicates that they signed a contract with Abraxas to
provide them with analysis and reports of their TrapWire system (pdf).
“Suspicious activity reports from all facilities on the TrapWire network
are aggregated in a central database and run through a rules engine that
searches for patterns indicative of terrorist surveillance operations and other
attack preparations,” Crime and Justice International magazine explains in
a 2006 article on the program, one of the few publically circulated on the
Abraxas product (pdf).
“Any patterns detected – links among individuals, vehicles or activities –
will be reported back to each affected facility. This information can also be
shared with law enforcement organizations, enabling them to begin
investigations into the suspected surveillance cell.”
In a 2005 interview
with The Entrepreneur Center, Abraxas founder Richard “Hollis” Helms said his
signature product “can collect information about people and vehicles that
is more accurate than facial recognition, draw patterns, and do threat
assessments of areas that may be under observation from terrorists.” He
calls it “a proprietary technology designed to protect critical national
infrastructure from a terrorist attack by detecting the pre-attack activities
of the terrorist and enabling law enforcement to investigate and engage the
terrorist long before an attack is executed,” and that, “The beauty of
it is that we can protect an infinite number of facilities just as efficiently
as we can one and we push information out to local law authorities
automatically.”
An internal email from early 2011 included in the Global Intelligence Files
has Stratfor’s Burton allegedly saying
the program can be used to “[walk] back and track the suspects from the get
go w/facial recognition software.”
Since its inception, TrapWire has been implemented in most major American
cities at selected high value targets (HVTs) and has appeared abroad as well.
The iWatch
monitoring system adopted by the Los Angeles Police Department (pdf) works in
conjunction with TrapWire, as does the District of Columbia
and the "See Something, Say Something" program conducted by law
enforcement in New York City,
which had 500 surveillance cameras
linked to the system in 2010. Private properties including Las Vegas, Nevada casinos
have subscribed to the system. The State of Texas reportedly
spent half a million dollars with an additional annual licensing fee of
$150,000 to employ TrapWire, and the Pentagon
and other military facilities have allegedly signed on as well.
Read more
Then search for ROOTS ABRAXAS TRAPWIRE – but if you follow
this blog perhaps you have already seen my post. Here is a relevant bit, originally from Cryptome.
On 13
August 2012, Cubic Corporation released a press statement entitled
"Cubic Corporation Has No Affiliation with Trapwire, Inc.", indicating
that "Erroneous reports have linked the company with Trapwire, Inc.".
They
further state that "Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) acquired Abraxas
Corporation on December 20, 2010. Abraxas Corporation then and now has
no affiliation with Abraxas Applications now known as Trapwire, Inc."
However,
as the merger agreement and subsequent exhibits in Cubic Corporations
SEC filings, available below, show, Cubic Corporation also acquired
Abraxas Dauntless as part of their merger-acquisition of Abraxas
Corporation. Abraxas Dauntless is a wholly owned subsidiary of Abraxas
Corporation, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cubic Corporation.
Read more
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all stills: the Invasion of the Body Snatchers |
And now, the creepy part.
There is a service ‘round these parts, maybe where you are too. It is called NextBus, and, in their own words,
From the comfort and security of a protected place, they can learn when the next bus will arrive at your stop
And look at that! at the bottom of the page.
"From a protected place." "Where you are warm, and safe"
When you get a message from the Panopticon, the Panopticon also gets a message from you, or rather, your GPS enabled device.
I hear they also own the company that makes those cards that can be used on more than one type of transportation system. Track you across train, bus, underground.
Be seeing you, and have a nice day.