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Microchip / RFID Implants: Issues, Concerns & Ramifications

Jonfairway

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Messages
1,384
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2005--Applied Digital (NASDAQ: ADSX), a provider of Security Through Innovation(TM), announced today that VeriChip Corporation, its wholly-owned subsidiary, has completed the acquisition of eXI Wireless of Vancouver, British Columbia

link

Would seem Digital Angel now has tracking as well as biometics.

Mark of the Beast ? for the American People to follow ?

How long before these chip implants are compulsory by law in the USA ?
 
I very much doubt that chip implantation in humans will take place on some grand scale. You're reading far too much into this.
 
Maybe I am Jerry

Infact I sure hope I am

I would say that I have been following this Digital Angel thing for a long time now and there does seem to be progress with the company over the last 6 months.

cheers for the comment
 
If we see more incidents like the Malaysian finger chopping gang I think people will be even more reluctant to chip themselves up, after all if you get mugged you hand over your wallet and shrug and walk away, if your digital wallet is subdermal you will end up losing which ever limb it's embedded in.

Malaysian finger choppers are discussed here.
 
Just a passage I found


You are experiencing a grand deception orchestrated by a number of elite
banking, oil and criminal families, inlcuding the Bush Dynasty, who control
up to 75% of the financial power on this planet. Have you got that yet? You
must realize that they see you, among the mass of humanity, as mere cattle
to be branded and tracked. Your mind has been manipulated by these people
for one reason only: to put you under their total control. So far you have
been deceived into accepting their version of events since 911, and now you
are being deceived doubly into accepting their solution, a radical fascist
Police State in which every man, woman and child will be registered to a UN
central database, issued a global ID card and eventually tagged like a wild
animal with a microchip implant that will be the only means to identify you,
do business and even to track you with from GPS satellites in the very near
future. Still don't believe it? Just read the articles in the mainstream
news below. They are rolling it out right now and they are making it seem
like its fun and for your own good. Children raised on TV and the internet
may think this is a cool idea, but grown up adults who know something about
history, the Constitution and human reality know this to be nothing but an
Orwellian system of ultimate control. The entire system is totally corrput. It is an
antichrist system that is both producing the terror attacks AND providing these
"solutions" to stampede humanity into slavery.
Will you be herded like a mindless sheep or will you be a brave human being
and stand up against this tyrrany? That is the central question of today.
 
2+2=10?

Yes there is something essentially wrong with the erosion of civil liberties, yes a number of governments have their own agendas. To assume from this a global cabal or an Orwellian UN plot is taking things too far.

I assume you posted the above as an amusing aside (can you supply the source?) rather than a crystalisation of your own views?
 
yep I was amused by the piece as well !!!! :D :D

made me smaile fr the first time today..


hey what about this tho

This is a little more constructive notice the bond between Carlyle and Matrics and Verichip ;)

The point is that the subdermal RFID chips are now approved for human injection here in this country. The point is also that that is what there has been a huge investment by this administration to get medical and personal records into databases and onto chips. The government (Medicare and Medicaid) is the largest purchaser of health care, so it is a near certainty they will transform the industry and promote widespread use of electronic patient records—and as we now know from the last debate, this is the really important part of addressing the nation’s healthcare crisis.

I don’t know about you, but whether it makes me a conspiracy theorist or not, I think we ought to be paying close attention to the advent of this practice—for all kinds of reasons including the fact that Matrics is one of the top manufacturers of RFID chips and is the “global leader in the design and manufacture of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems that “is already becoming the preferred reader within a wide range of vertical markets including retail, supply chain, pharmaceutical, government, and aviation.” And what is Matrics? Why, it’s a subsidiary company of the Carlyle Group.

http://wsrblood.typepad.com/wiserblog/2 ... troni.html
 
Hello Folks

More info on Verichip

Digital Angel Corporation To Acquire OuterLink Corp, A Leader In Satellite Tracking And Mobile Satellite Data Communications Systems; OuterLink CEO, Van Chu, To Become CEO of Digital Angel

http://www.digitalangelcorp.com/about_p ... ASE_ID=100
About Digital Angel Corporation
Digital Angel TM technology represents the first-ever combination of advanced sensors and Web-enabled wireless telecommunications linked to Global Positioning Systems (GPS). By utilizing advanced sensor capabilities, Digital Angel is able to monitor key functions - such as ambient temperature and physical movement - and transmit that data, along with accurate emergency location information, to a ground station or monitoring facility. The Company also invented, manufactures and markets implantable identification microchips the size of a grain of rice for use in humans, companion pets, fish and livestock. Digital Angel Corp. owns the patents for its inventions in all applications of the implantable microchip technology for humans and animals. On March 27, 2002, Digital Angel Corporation completed a merger with Medical Advisory Systems, Inc., which for two decades has operated a 24/7, physician-staffed response center in Owings, Maryland. Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSX) is the majority owner of the company. For more information about Digital Angel Corp., visit www.DigitalAngelCorp.com.



Come on peeps
this looks ominous to me

Digital Angel/Verichip
GPS tracking via satelite
Wireless tracking from EXI wireless

If this is only for Medical use why all the space technology ?

and

Silicom.com is reporting that, not satisfied with the introduction of biometrics, the US Department of Homeland Security has decided to trial RFID tags for tracking visitors to the US.

Has the country gone RFID mad !!!! :shock:

I take it the USA still want tourists ???? ;)
 
To be honest, my inner-'tin foil hat wearer' does subscribe to the idea that we will end up in a society that is based on survelliance and control rather than some utopian ideal. It seems now that every aspect of our lives is tracked and followed and my instinct say that this will get worse rather than better.

I honestly see chipping as an inevitability and it's just a case of creating the right circumstances in which people will accept a rationale for introducing such a scheme. In my opinion, things like the Patriot Acts are legislative 'dipping toes in the water' and if the events of September 11th weren't orchestrated by the American's themselves* then the fall-out (no pun intended) was nothing more than an opportunity to be used in order to bring in measures that were already in-waiting and not a reaction to the actual events per se.

Whilst there is a lot of antagonistic feelings towards these schemes now I really wonder about how young people will feel in 10, 20 years time. I think young people now are growing up in a technologically-aware society where the idea of being 'plugged-in' and 'interconnected' are actually seen as positive things rather than as things to be suspicious of. Everything these days seems connected to a database, to a camera, to an electronic network and so on and whilst much of this is sold as benevolent progression it undeniably has its more malevolent shadow.

Babies and children now are growing up not knowing a world before the internet, electronic banking, interactive and subscribable broadcast media, cars without Global Satellite technologies, speed cameras, CCTV in the streets etc., etc.. I think what seem unfeasible and unlikely large steps towards a controlled, surveillance-based society for us will be relatively small steps for them.

As for people asking for proof that this is happening or will happen, I'm open to hear suggestions, ideas, evidence that this won't.



*sometimes I genuinely believe American hands were involved in this, other times I'm not so sure - but that's another argument.
 
Digital Angel Delivers 50k Bio-Thermo RFID Chips to UK
Tuesday, February 8 2005
Digital Angel Corporation announced today that it has delivered 50,000 Bio- Thermo (temperature-sensing) implantable RFID Microchips to its distributor in the United Kingdom. The company also announced that it plans to offer Bio- Thermo for U.S. distribution this summer.

I wonder what these will be used for !
 
Womaniac said:
As for people asking for proof that this is happening or will happen, I'm open to hear suggestions, ideas, evidence that this won't.

I think conspiratorial perceptions of this subject are not really seeing the wider picture. The wake of 9/11 is still causing some turbulance, and the current US administration is possibly helping it along. However, such things will pass in time. Todays' political hot potato is tomorrow's cold leftovers that no-one really has an interest in. Companies are willing to try and explot any possible market, but again such things come and go as far as being perceived as a useful, need commodity. They also tend to somewhat exaggerate their products capability and it's future market - that's just part of the hard sell. This doesn't mean that is anything set in stone. All things security-wise in teh US are possible cash-cows at the moment - but only at the moment. This doesn't mean that this will be the case even in the short-term future.

I doubt that actual implantation will take place. If one country decides to do it, this doesn't mean that any or many other will follow suit. It's a bit much to assume that it will become a general thing - few countries could afford to implement and maintain such a system, after all.
 
JerryB said:
I think conspiratorial perceptions of this subject are not really seeing the wider picture. The wake of 9/11 is still causing some turbulance, and the current US administration is possibly helping it along. However, such things will pass in time. Todays' political hot potato is tomorrow's cold leftovers that no-one really has an interest in. Companies are willing to try and explot any possible market, but again such things come and go as far as being perceived as a useful, need commodity. They also tend to somewhat exaggerate their products capability and it's future market - that's just part of the hard sell. This doesn't mean that is anything set in stone. All things security-wise in teh US are possible cash-cows at the moment - but only at the moment. This doesn't mean that this will be the case even in the short-term future.

Are you suggesting that security measures such as the Patriot Acts will withdrawn and done away with when the need arises, perhaps similar to the Defcon colour status? Also "todays' political hot potato is tomorrow's cold leftovers that no-one really has an interest in" actually works in a government's favour in that 'out of sight, out of mind', once the immediacy has gone from an issue and the public's focus has shifted then they aren't necessarily keeping tabs on whether particular 'safety' measures that were recently brought in have also been taken back out.

I doubt that actual implantation will take place. If one country decides to do it, this doesn't mean that any or many other will follow suit. It's a bit much to assume that it will become a general thing - few countries could afford to implement and maintain such a system, after all.

I'm always surprised* when I hear of countries that can't afford various things yet suddenly manage to pull out billions when it suits them. Besides, who actually would be paying for this anyway? Didn't the government want us to pay for these? It'll be interesting to see whether the issue of ID cards becomes an issue when that pesky election goes away.

I'm not sure whether it's necessary or even relevant whether other countries follow suit either. Not all of Europe are always in agreement with itself, not all of Europe always agree with America, America rarely agrees with the rest of the world, the far East hardly unified, same goes for the Middle East...

*actually, I'm not.
 
The Patriot Act could always be repealed, or at least have the stuffing taken out of it. Sometimes laws and acts are passed in the heat of current events - this doesn't mean that they'll stay the course. What I meant by the 'hot potato' thing was that, just because some legislation seems important now, doesn't mean it will be so in future. It may never swing into place, or it may only develop in muted ways. It depends how long it takes to get through the political machinery and if it survives that journey intact.

What the US decides to do in terms of this subject does not mean that it will be the template for any other country. What seems like the big issues of today will not always be in the future. The hoo-ha about the current US administration is not the be all and end all of how things will go in the future in the US. Just because there seems to be a neo-con backlash at the moment, this doesn't mean that there will be something counter to that in future. In fact, neo-con ideas may seem a little hokey in years to come, who knows. So perhaps maybe possibly at some point there may be a discussion about possible uses of ID implantation in the US - perhaps not. It really depends on how much you know about political systems from country to country - alot of conspiracies tend to get dreamed up by armchair 'experts' who don't actually know much about what they're talking about ;)
 
JerryB said:
The Patriot Act could always be repealed, or at least have the stuffing taken out of it. Sometimes laws and acts are passed in the heat of current events - this doesn't mean that they'll stay the course. What I meant by the 'hot potato' thing was that, just because some legislation seems important now, doesn't mean it will be so in future. It may never swing into place, or it may only develop in muted ways.

Yet this doesn't mean that because the issue is no longer projected as being important, the actual legislation/laws will be removed. The United States and the United Kingdom are well known for still having archaic laws and bylaws on their books as the web sites devoted to 'daft/funny/stupid laws' akin to can't walk a cow on a Tuesday whilst whistling attest.

I knew what you meant by it, but as I said, it can also work in the government's favour because the public focus will have moved on: it's the "cold leftovers" that no-one is interested in anymore. Why repeal or remove if no-one is raising questions or eyebrows about it anymore?

It depends how long it takes to get through the political machinery and if it survives that journey intact.

How long things take to actually get through "political machinery" is often down to the actual governments themselves. Governments can and do rush things through at amazing speed when it suits them: the Patriot Acts are an example of this.

What the US decides to do in terms of this subject does not mean that it will be the template for any other country. What seems like the big issues of today will not always be in the future. The hoo-ha about the current US administration is not the be all and end all of how things will go in the future in the US. Just because there seems to be a neo-con backlash at the moment, this doesn't mean that there will be something counter to that in future. In fact, neo-con ideas may seem a little hokey in years to come, who knows. So perhaps maybe possibly at some point there may be a discussion about possible uses of ID implantation in the US - perhaps not.

But this doesn't mean that there won't be anything that affirms and compounds what's happening now later either. From my point of view, there are precedents being set now, whether it's Patriot Acts or ID cards (and whilst it looks like they are not being brought it at the moment, it's been made blatantly apparent that the government would like to bring them in, it's just it's not vote-winning material at the moment) or various other civil liberties infringements like double jeopardy. Your point of view - which of course, you're more than entitled to - on the other hand, seems based on 'it might not happen'.

It really depends on how much you know about political systems from country to country - alot of conspiracies tend to get dreamed up by armchair 'experts' who don't actually know much about what they're talking about ;)

I'm not sure as to whether this is aimed at me or not.
 
Hi all

This Hot potato has only just started if you ask me.

Carlyle has a hand in Applied Digital. Bush Senior is on the Board of Carlyle !
Verichip and digital angel are owned by Applied Digital
Matrics is owned by Carlyle!

The US goverment bailed out ADSX when they were in a bit of a stew some years ago.
They couldnt get the FDA to approve the verichips in humans then suddenly they got a cash boost from ????? who knows where and then they get approval, now the stocks in ADSX are well on the way up.
Applied Digital have 80% of the RFID market at present so almost all UK and US chips will be supplied by them.
The Chips on our ID cards that will be heading our way soon when Tony wins again are supplied by Matrics/Symbol same company !!
Verichip have bought a wireless technology company and Digital angel a Satelite company.

If all visitors to the US are to get a RFID chip will you visit them ????

Verichip are also tendering for the glastonbury security and I beleive there is a night club in Glasgow also that is considering to implement them for access to the club and paying at the bar !! a so called tab..

The US goverment are not trying to water down the Patriot acts they are trying at the moment to make it permanent by taking out the sunset clause !!!! Jerry read the news mate !!!!! Gonzales will not let this get altered mark my words he wants more power not less.
:eek:

I certainly don't want a chip in my arm Thank you !!!
Thats my visit to USA off the agenda ;)
For that matter i,m not going to Glasgow now either :D
 
You could both spend alot of time chasing your tails about this 'issue'. However, this is all a very long way from anyone being implanted with a chip. I think you're both still overly reacting to the current US administration - which, in the grand scheme of things, is somewhat short-lived. Whether they pass any laws of any real import that have a lasting effect is anyone's guess - and any laws can be repealed. I also think you're assuming to much that people will simply roll over on their bellies and take everything quietly. Even the basic idea of ID cards being a possibility is something which is very much contested here in the UK - any more draconian measures are likely to have even more problems getting through.
 
Hi Jerry

I think you are mistaking the current US goverment with some other democratically elected administration.

Short lived yes maybe, god I hope so for all our sakes.

Who's next on the invasion list do you think ?

Germany invaded Poland and all hell breaks loose.
USA invade afghanistan and IRAQ and its, well freedom for the world.
Bo***ck*
You know why the US attacked Afghanistan and Iraq same as we all know.
Now they are tightening the screws on the wheels so they can get on with stage three and four.

The world gets smaller everyday and no where is safe from US enforced democracy.

You will vote
you will elect
you will follow US
This is the way the world will go and down with anyone who does not toe the line. US freedom will be spread throughout the world.
Ever listen to RICE speaking ??

People and races come to their own decisions its not up to an elite few to drag them there kicking and screaming and dying.
 
Techybloke said:
People and races come to their own decisions its not up to an elite few to drag them there kicking and screaming and dying.

It's very easy to see things in a strict black and white, US government bad, all things US government do is bad, but life really isn't that simple.

Let's not start twisting every action the US government takes into a meglamaniac conspiracy theory, Bush isn't a Bond villain.

You can be tracked by CCTV anywhere you go, any transaction you make with plastic are logged and recorded, if the government wants to track you, it already can. Why it should care about 90% of the population is beyond me, this isn't Orwell, nor in my opinion will ever become Orwell, the required infrastructure for this level of Thought Police control is enormous. Most of us aren't important or in the slightest bit interesting to the government (shadowy or otherwise) so why would they want to track you with a chip in your arm?
 
Techybloke - go back and read what I've said. You're focusing too much on the hoo-ha created by the current US administration - but such things come and go. I dunno what you're on about with your mention of Germany's invasion of Poland - what's that got to do with current events? Are you perhaps comparing current US actions as similar in intent to Naziism?

I agree with what Heckler is said. As long as you pay your taxes and don't break any laws, you're not a feature in the mind's eye of the State (if it has such any eye anyway).
 
JerryB said:
You could both spend alot of time chasing your tails about this 'issue'. However, this is all a very long way from anyone being implanted with a chip. I think you're both still overly reacting to the current US administration - which, in the grand scheme of things, is somewhat short-lived.

Firstly, my feelings on the introduction of ID in this country is hardly a reaction to the US administration! Secondly, even if it is short-lived, that doesn't mean it's acceptable.

Whether they pass any laws of any real import that have a lasting effect is anyone's guess - and any laws can be repealed.

Yes they can, but how often do they actually get repealed?

I also think you're assuming to much that people will simply roll over on their bellies and take everything quietly. Even the basic idea of ID cards being a possibility is something which is very much contested here in the UK - any more draconian measures are likely to have even more problems getting through.

The Mori poll figures that I saw last year suggested that the basis of much of that hostility wasn't a civil liberties issue (which ties in with my earlier points regarding the orchestration of the fall-out of September the 11th etc.) but more down to the cost and the fact that the Labour government has a record of ballsing up large-scale IT projects.
 
Heckler said:
Let's not start twisting every action the US government takes into a meglamaniac conspiracy theory, Bush isn't a Bond villain.

I like to think of him as a fat, white cat with a chimps face sat in the lap of the real Bond villain as the plush, luxuriously upholstered chair swivels round to face us! :lol:

Seriously though, I personally don't see it quite as black and white as that.

nor in my opinion will ever become Orwell, the required infrastructure for this level of Thought Police control is enormous.

Even considering recent pledges for cuts, do you know how many civil servants there are? :p
 
Womaniac said:
Even considering recent pledges for cuts, do you know how many civil servants there are? :p

Considering how badly civil servants manage most other things, an Orwellian Big Brother society in this country would be quite amusing in it's ineptitude. ;)

If there are any Civil Servants listening I of course am making a grossly inaccurate sweeping statement for the purposes of comedy.
 
Hello All

Thanks for the comments we seem to be getting a conversation going now.
This is applicable to the ID thread yep Heckler :D

In terms of infrastructure needed I think it does not take people it takes technology.
One big computer system once wired in can trace the movements of millions of shoppers, car users etc.
It does not need people to monitor it , it needs programs that monitor it for you.
And lets not forget Identity theft will not go away with this technology so the security aspects are not the single reason goverments want ID cards.

If it was only ID why do they need satelite traking companies ?
I may be a little paranoid but it sure as damn seems suspiciuos that Verichip have bought SATELITE TECNOLOGY why not just out source this.
Why get Carlyle to buy the company?

Its all very interlinked and puroposeful if you can,t see the links Jerry thats fine mate, you pay your taxes and keep your head down.

Some people are not happy with invasions into civil rights and these cards and implants are just that invasionary.

BY the way I mention Poland as a direct comparison to IRAQ
It was a soverign nation now conquered by another country and had its goverment installed by the victors.

Is this ok ?????????? what happened when the French attacked us over the ages ???? Do you think we were happy about it as the french tried to
force their type of freedom on us !!!!

Yet we back the US to do this invasion WHY did we ?????
Did you want Iraq invaded ????
DID you beleive what Bush said about Iraq ? and Bin Laden ?
Do you still believe 911 was organised by Bin Laden ?

If the US was so vunerable as too loose 4 aircraft in one day and then to let the 4 cause so much damage while Norad slept,,,, well it beggars belief !!!!

Even with out all the ins and outs and speculation about 911 its still shocking to think that such a thing could even have happened.

Why did they target the twin towers ?
why not target a nuclear power station ?
they could have flown all 4 planes into it and killed what 5 million people over a long period.

Doesnt make sense mate.

Were being fed false info all the time.

Just forget all you heard from the news about 911 for a minute

now 4 planes have been hijacked and have crashed into both towers of the world trade centre and one into the pentagon !!!

Please !!!!!
And what were Norad doing playing chess ??? footy match ???

A bomb in a city i can beleive but 4 jets and all that arsing about ?

The Carlye Group would love to have everyone on earth trackable, we're just consumers with Money to spend.

The less we feel we have any say in how things work the better for them.

Our civil rights and personal freedom are the single most important thing to us.

They are using terror scare tactics to get changes and new laws passed that will restrict the very things we cherish so much in life.

Freedom

I don't remember us being asked to vote for ID cards ?
With something so important maybe it should go to a public vote.

I know what I will vote for

NO WAY
 
Techybloke said:
In terms of infrastructure needed I think it does not take people it takes technology.
One big computer system once wired in can trace the movements of millions of shoppers, car users etc.
It does not need people to monitor it , it needs programs that monitor it for you.

Yeah but why? So Blair knows where you are, so what? Between 9 and 5 he knows where I am anyway, if he even cared. So this all seeing computer monitors millions and does exactly what with the information?

BY the way I mention Poland as a direct comparison to IRAQ
It was a soverign nation now conquered by another country and had its goverment installed by the victors.

Is this ok ?????????? what happened when the French attacked us over the ages ???? Do you think we were happy about it as the french tried to
force their type of freedom on us !!!!

Yet we back the US to do this invasion WHY did we ?????
Did you want Iraq invaded ????
DID you beleive what Bush said about Iraq ? and Bin Laden ?
Do you still believe 911 was organised by Bin Laden ?

If the US was so vunerable as too loose 4 aircraft in one day and then to let the 4 cause so much damage while Norad slept,,,, well it beggars belief !!!!

Even with out all the ins and outs and speculation about 911 its still shocking to think that such a thing could even have happened.

Why did they target the twin towers ?
why not target a nuclear power station ?
they could have flown all 4 planes into it and killed what 5 million people over a long period.

Doesnt make sense mate.

Were being fed false info all the time.

Just forget all you heard from the news about 911 for a minute

now 4 planes have been hijacked and have crashed into both towers of the world trade centre and one into the pentagon !!!

Please !!!!!
And what were Norad doing playing chess ??? footy match ???

A bomb in a city i can beleive but 4 jets and all that arsing about ?

Excuse me but what does any of this have to do with implanted microchips?

The Carlye Group would love to have everyone on earth trackable, we're just consumers with Money to spend.

Why apart from the targetted advertising revenue a la minority report?

At the root of this is the recurring question what does the government gain from this? The answer seems to be nothing more than they have already.
 
Am I afraid, of this bunch, hardly!:

MI5's computers will be over budget and under-powered
By Lucy Sherriff
Published Friday 8th April 2005 09:49 GMT
MI5's new computer system will go over budget by at least 50 per cent, according to a report (pdf) released yesterday by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. This being a report from an intelligence committee, the actual cost of the system (planned or otherwise) is not made public.

The report also warned that a project called SCOPE, a secure web-based information system that would connect the producers and consumers of intelligence, is running three years late.

Describing the renewal of IT infrastructure, the report says that the project has "given rise to a number of problems. We have been told that the project will now deliver less capability than previously planned and it will cost at least 50 per cent more than originally estimated."

The good news is that this expensive and under-powered system will be online earlier than expected.

Regarding SCOPE, the committee says that it is concerned that the system has yet to deliver any benefits, although it acknowledged that the delay has allowed a "more robust" system to be developed. In response, the government said that "it is important to devote the necessary time to getting it right".

The report also warns that there are too few project managers, and too little IT expertise within the agency. In its official response (pdf) the government said that MI5's Director General was aware of the problem, and that "some measures have already been taken to introduce more specialised project management expertise into the Service". ®

Source

Hardly a cutting edge intelligence organisation, I think your all seeing computer might be some way off.

Doesn't get much better on the other side of the pond:

FBI blew $170m on doomed IT upgrade
By Thomas C Greene
Published Friday 14th January 2005 15:46 GMT
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has finally conceded defeat in developing a crucial case management system called Virtual Case File. The system, by Science Applications International, was to be part of the Bureau's "Trilogy" modernization scheme, an urgent mandate since the 9/11 atrocities.

The system was intended to allow all FBI offices to search for and access case files and related documents, and to permit separate offices to collaborate on line. The Bureau's inability to organize information and share it among field offices has been cited as one reason why the 9/11 plot was not discovered in advance. There were clues, but no one was in a position to see enough of them to recognize their significance.

The Virtual Case File project has been plagued by cost overruns and delays since its inception. But the Bureau stuck with it, a process that US Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) described as "a slow-moving train wreck where no one had sense enough to apply the brake".

Approximately $170m of taxpayers' money has been sunk in the perpetually delayed, and now doomed, venture, out of nearly $600m allocated for technology upgrades. The Bureau concedes that the system is capable of only 10 per cent of its requirements, and cannot be salvaged, except perhaps for minor bits that might be recycled in a future replacement.

Unfortunately, the Bureau has blown its budget and will have to come crawling to Congress for the money it needs to start over from scratch. While there is no question that Congress will, in fact, authorize whatever funds the FBI needs, there is also no doubt that Director Robert Mueller and his top project managers will be forced to endure a lengthy and humiliating round of public excoriation, during which their intelligence and trustworthiness with public funds will be brought into question continually.

We can hardly wait. ®

Source

These government agencies can't find someone to plug in their computers let alone find anyone on the planet with Big Brother technology.
 
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