…the almost right word

a few months ago, rolling stone published an article titled “china’s all-seeing eye.” the article’s subhead read: With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export. the article details the investments made in preparation of a truly totalitarian society, one that the u.s. supports. over the past two years, more than 200,000 security cameras have been installed in one chinese city alone. the majority of these cameras, developed by a quickly advancing technology corporation known as “l-1,” (a company with offices around the globe, including many in the u.s.) are hidden under the guise of lampposts. l-1 is continually working to develop more and more technology designed to watch your every move. they capture your face on camera and create what is called a “face print” — essentially the exact same as a fingerprint, only more dangerous. of course, many representative of the technology claim that it is only dangerous for criminals. in fact, this is stated multiple times throughout the article. it begs the question, how does one define a “criminal?” the cameras are just part of this system to control the public.

Remember how we’ve always been told that free markets and free people go hand in hand? That was a lie. It turns out that the most efficient delivery system for capitalism is actually a communist-style police state, fortressed with American “homeland security” technologies, pumped up with “war on terror” rhetoric. And the global corporations currently earning superprofits from this social experiment are unlikely to be content if the lucrative new market remains confined to cities such as Shenzhen. Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you….Liu Zhengrong, a senior official dealing with China’s Internet policy, has defended Golden Shield and other repressive measures by invoking the Patriot Act and the FBI’s massive e-mail-mining operations. “It is clear that any country’s legal authorities closely monitor the spread of illegal information,” he said. “We have noted that the U.S. is doing a good job on this front.” Lin Jiang Huai, the head of China Information Security Technology, credits America for giving him the idea to sell biometric IDs and other surveillance tools to the Chinese police. “Bush helped me get my vision,” he has said.

the writer of the article describes his experience of reentering the u.s. after his trip to china. he mentions the jfk security cameras and customs line, the “fly clear” brochure he receives as he exits the airport terminal — a brochure advertising “an easier way to travel” via the scanning of ones fingerprints and irises, after which you are given a “clear card” with a biometric chip that allows you to pass easily through security. the end of the article reads: Later, I look it up: The company providing the technology is L-1.

go on, continue fooling yourself into thinking that we’re a democracy, a free nation. but we’re on the verge of some serious changes. personally, i have hope that, if obama wins, these changes will be delayed, if not prevented. but perhaps that is my naiveté speaking. if our current president is the “inspiration” for this repressive form of technology, what does that say for the future of our country? what does that say for the present?