| -Caveat Lector-
http://www.etherzone.com/2002/blow082602.shtml THOUGHT POLICE ON STEROIDS BRAIN FINGERPRINTING By: Joe Blow Orwell’s vision of 1984 inches closer to realization every day, yet how many people are even paying attention to Big Brother? The headlines alone should convince most citizens that the trend is negative and invasive, despite the rhetoric coming from the feds. Apparently, it isn’t enough that some airlines are using low level x-ray machines that enable newly hired federal "security" screeners to see through the clothing of passengers and fully expose their naked images on screen. Now NASA is planning to read the minds of terrorists at airports by using space technology to monitor their brain-wave patterns. Frank J. Murray writes, "Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have told Northwest Airlines security specialists that the agency is developing brain-monitoring devices in cooperation with a commercial firm, which it did not identify. Space technology would be adapted to receive and analyze brain-wave and heartbeat patterns, then feed that data into computerized programs "to detect passengers who potentially might pose a threat,"…NASA wants to use "noninvasive neuro-electric sensors," imbedded in gates, to collect tiny electric signals that all brains and hearts transmit. Computers would apply statistical algorithms to correlate physiologic patterns with computerized data on travel routines, criminal background and credit information from "hundreds to thousands of data sources," NASA documents say." The federal government is again searching for a technological fix. It will spend millions of dollars on research and testing, purchase some new Buck Rogers black boxes, and presto! there you have it, airport security at its finest. At least that’s what the press release will say. My guess is that the reality will be much different. We already know that the newest, very expensive weapon screening systems don’t work, yet they are still being manufactured, purchased, and installed. It’s all a show. It’s all about maintaining the illusion of safety and security, without getting your hands dirty. Don’t forget: this mind reading system will be run by the same people who are currently confiscating 2" plastic G.I. Joe toy guns because they are "replicas" as defined by the TSA. I’m convinced that this acronym actually stands for "Too Stupid Already." "NASA aerospace research manager Herb Schlickenmaier told The Times the test proposal to Northwest Airlines is one of four airline-security projects the agency is developing…He likened the proposal to a super lie detector that would also measure pulse rate, body temperature, eye-flicker rate and other biometric aspects sensed remotely. Though adding mind reading to screening remains theoretical, Mr. Schlickenmaier says, he confirms that NASA has a goal of measuring brain waves and heartbeat rates of airline passengers as they pass screening machines." At this point some readers may raise the question of a warrantless search, but the feds have already got that legal angle covered. "Last year, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional police efforts to use noninvasive "sense-enhancing technology" that is not in general public use in order to collect data otherwise unobtainable without a warrant. However, the high court consistently exempts airports and border posts from most Fourth Amendment restrictions on searches." "We're getting closer to reading minds than you might suppose," says Robert Park, a physics professor at the University of Maryland and spokesman for the American Physical Society. "It does make me uncomfortable. That's the limit of privacy invasion. You can't go further than that. We're close to the point where they can tell to an extent what you're thinking about by which part of the brain is activated, which is close to reading your mind. It would be terribly complicated to try to build a device that would read your mind as you walk by." The idea is plausible, he says, but frightening." That’s all you need to know. If it is plausible, you can expect that it will become a reality, whether or not it actually works, because the "need" exists, the proposal is already underway, and unlike privately funded projects, the feds have no spending limit. The concept isn’t exactly new. Lawrence Farwell, a neuroscientist from Iowa, co-published a "Brain Fingerprinting" article in the Journal of Psychophysiology in 1991. Julia Scheeres also wrote a piece about it ("Thought Police Peek into Brains") for wired.com in October 2001. The disturbing portion of her article comes from one of Farwell’s detractors, his former professor and mentor at the University of Illinois, Emanuel Donchin. "We made it very clear in that paper that ours is just a lab demonstration of the feasibility of the approach and that considerable research is necessary before this can be used in an applied setting as help in any kind of investigation," Donchin said. "As far as I know, none of the necessary work was done in the intervening 10 years." [Emphasis added.] "But a leading brain researcher at the University of California in San Diego -- who also happens to be a former student of Donchin -- said brainwaves can't hand down a guilty sentence either. It's like saying you can measure brain activity from someone's scalp and read their mind," said Marta Kutas. "You can see differential electrical activity, but you can't read the electrical activity as if it were words. You can say it's different, but you can't interpret it." Brain fingerprinting is also limited by the fact that it depends on the examiner's subjective interpretation of the results, she said. But Kutas did allow that neuro-imaging may be useful to investigators if it is in conjunction with other physiological tests, such as the polygraph." In other words, in the not-too-distant future you can not only expect to have to remove your shoes before boarding a commercial flight, you may also have your brain-wave activity monitored remotely by TSA/NASA, before being pulled aside and wired to a brain-wave monitor computer system to determine if you are guilty of not conforming to Big Brother’s idea of what constitutes proper thinking for an air traveler in a free country. Only in America. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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