Current Events
See also:
False Christs
Antichrist
Image of the Beast
Modern Technology
Smart Cards
Notice: Sources often remove their news links after a period of time. Some of them move older stories to a subscription-only section. Even if the story is no longer on line, our summary will still be available on this page.
Credit Cards, An Endangered Species
May 4, 2012 - A new feature of smart phones, called near field communications (NFC), will eventually replace most credit cards.
This technology enables rapid point-of-sale payment directly from one's phone to the vendor. The system is in use already and growing
in popularity.
- In locations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, money is often stored in a mobile account and transferred to another one during a
purchase by bringing the buyer’s and seller’s cell phones into close proximity.
The smart phone could eventually replace the need for cash, checks or credit cards, and will provide real-time feedback on account and
payment information.
- Source: The Daily Reckoning
New Microchip Knows Your Location To Within Centimeters
April 10, 2012 - Paul Joseph Watson starts his column with this sentence:
"Forget a chip in your forehead – the ‘mark of the beast’ is the cell phone."
His announcement follows the release of information about a new chip by Broadcom for smart phones that will give the location of
the user to within a few centimeters - even inside a building. This will eventually enable such commercial magic as instant, personalized
discount coupons for each person as they enter a store. The writer concludes that the Bible's prediction about the "mark of the beast" will
not require an implanted chip.
- Coercion was not necessary because people have been enticed into willingly giving up their privacy for convenience.
- Source: Infowars.com
- Ed. note: We have been saying this for a couple of years already, but an implanted chip will probably also be a part
of the ultimate technology for the mark. The phone would be linked to the implant so that if it were lost or stolen it would not work, and
its valuable information could not be copied apart from its rightful owner.
-
Does PayTag mean the end of cash in your pocket? - Telegraph - UK
Britain: Internet activity 'to be monitored' under new laws
April 2, 2012 - Legislators in Britain are planning to introduce a bill that would call for the installation of equipment
that will allow GCHQ – the Government's electronic "listening" agency – to examine "on demand" any phone call made, text message and email
sent, and website accessed in "real time. They believe that this capability is necessary to deal with terrorism.
- Although GCHQ would not be able to access the content of such communications without a warrant, the legislation would enable it to
trace... how often and for how long they are in communication.
- Source: Telegraph
National ID threatens 'ultimate control'
April 1, 2012 - The Real ID Act of 2005, which mandated “costly and restrictive” nationwide standards for a drivers’ license database.
- The plan, although made into law, never has been implemented, and according to John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute, half the
states adopted resolutions or other prohibitions on the federal plan.
A coalition of organizations is urging members of Congress not to even consider plans to revive the legislation. Whitehead said, "A national ID
card would enable the government to track citizens and, thus, jeopardize the privacy rights of Americans.”
- Source: WND
Nokia May Turn Tattoos Into More Than Body Art
Mar. 20, 2012 - Nokia has filed a patent application for a magnetic tattoo that could alert the "wearer" to incoming
calls or messages to their mobile device. James Canton, CEO of the Institute for Global Futures predicts that this is just the
beginning of developments toward a fully functional device attached to the body. He said,
- With this convergence, you start to see a new technology platform, one that could make mobile phones of today seem like a
very minor story."
Another analyst, Ian Fogg of the IHS Screen Digest, said, "All the mobile phone companies have R&D labs that look very far into the future."
However, he added that practical applications may still be years off.
- Source: TechNewsWorld
In Sweden, cash is king no more
Mar. 19, 2012 - Many businesses in Sweden won't accept cash any more. The convenience and safety of electronic transactions had
practically eliminated the use of cash, and some people predict that Sweden will stop printing bank notes within 20 years.
- Source: Lompoc Record
The CIA wants to spy on you through your TV: Agency director says it will 'transform' surveillance
Mar. 18, 2012 - In a Wired's 'Danger Room' blog CIA Director David Petraeus says that new inexpensive technology will make it
feasable to connect the Internet not only to computers, phones, and televisions, but to an endless variety of devices like cameras, doorbells,
kitchen appliances, etc.
- Petraeus says that web-connected gadgets will 'transform' the art of spying - allowing spies to monitor people automatically
without planting bugs, breaking and entering or even donning a tuxedo to infiltrate a dinner party.
- Source: Daily Mail
- CIA Chief: We’ll Spy on You Through Your Dishwasher - - Danger Room - Wired News
Concern about Google's new privacy policy
Jan. 31, 2012 - The new privacy policy announced by the major search engine on the Internet reveals that their most-popular search engine,
Gmail, YouTube, and Android phones will collect information about your Internet habits and preferences. There are differing
opinions about how much they will know about you and what they will do with that information. Like all "advances" in technology, this ability
could be used for good or evil purposes.
- Source:
- How Google knows everything about you - WorldNetDaily
- New Google Privacy Policy> - Google
- Privacy Tools - Google
U.S. Supreme Court tackles GPS-and-privacy conundrum
Jan. 31, 2012 - The Supreme Court has limited the use of GPS tracking. Police had argued that following a suspect
by use of the satellite tracking device was like assigning people to physically follow people of interest.
- The court ruled unanimously that secretly tracking people's movements by attaching GPS devices to their cars violated the
Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches unless police first get a warrant from a judge.
- Source: Winnipeg Freepress
Cashless Society: India Implements First Biometric ID Program for all of its 1.2 Billion Residents
Jan. 12, 2012 -India has launched a nationwide program that will be directed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
under the premise of preventing identity theft and social welfare fraud. It will assign a Unique Identification Number (UID) to every person.
Each number will be llinked to the biometric data of the recipient using three different forms of information – fingerprints, iris scans,
and pictures of the face.
- Major banks, state/local governments, and other institutions are planning to use the UIDAI for identification verification
purposes and, of course, payment and accessibility.
- Source: InfoWars
See earlier articles: Before January 1, 2012
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