MediaVigil, Journal of Global Communications and Justice

House panel raps Planning Comm for breach of trust on new UID law FRIDAY, 30 MARCH 2012 00:40 SEEMA SINDHU Although the differences between the Planning Commission and the Home Ministry on Aadhaar or Unique Identification (UID) have been resolved, problems for the Plan Panel are not over yet. Now, the Plan Panel has been lambasted for breach of trust by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. The committee had raised concerns on some of the proposals of the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 and asked the panel to re-introduce the Bill accordingly but it didn’t do the same but got more fund allocated for the project instead. In a meeting on Wednesday, Committee Chairman Yashwant Sinha blasted the Plan Panel for its failure to re-introduce the UID Bill. According to highly-placed sources, Sinha sternly told Plan Panel Member Secretary Sudha Pillai that the panel was “bypassing parliamentary procedure and inviting serious problems by not having re-introduced t...

Although Turkey has not definitely retreated from its past wrong...positions on Syria, it seems Turkey is gradually distancing itself from the... hegemonic system on this issue and we take this as a good omen." Iranian lawmaker, Parviz Sarvari Member of the Iranian Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee says Turkey is gradually correcting its wrong past stances with regards to the crisis in Syria. “It is sensed that Turkey is gradually withdrawing from its past positions on [the crisis in] Syria and is correcting these incorrect positions,” Parviz Sarvari noted on Friday. The lawmaker added that Turkey first took positive measures in favor of anti-Zionist resistance, but a wrong analysis made it play along the lines of US policies in Syria and target Damascus which is the frontline of anti-Israeli resistance. “This was exactly the same goal which was pursued by the United States, the West and reactionary regimes of the region,” he noted. “By adopting wrong positions...

By EILEEN SULLIVAN 03/22/12 09:36 PM ET WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community will now be able to store information about Americans with no ties to terrorism for up to five years under new Obama administration guidelines. Until now, the National Counterterrorism Center had to immediately destroy information about Americans that was already stored in other government databases when there were no clear ties to terrorism. Giving the NCTC expanded record-retention authority had been called for by members of Congress who said the intelligence community did not connect strands of intelligence held by multiple agencies leading up to the failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009. "Following the failed terrorist attack in December 2009, representatives of the counterterrorism community concluded it is vital for NCTC to be provided with a variety of datasets from various agencies that contain terrorism information," Director of National Intelligence Ja...

India Biometric Identification // Gopal Krishna // Citizens' Forum for Civil Liberties // Gopal Krishna joins Dr Katherine Albrecht's Radio Show from India to discuss the urgent need to scrap India's Unique Identification Number system. The biometric card will include all 10 fingerprints and an iris scan and is referred to as Aadhaar (for foundation or base). US companies including L1 are involved. See Katherine's prior shows with Mark Lerner for more information on L1 and National IDs. Mark Lerner // Dangers of National ID // Katherine and Mark discuss the history of the attempt to impose a National ID and the dangers. With information there is power that can be used to control. You can have either a free society or a surveillance society. Not both. Some states are taking steps to impose such IDs. We need to stop them. Constitutional Tyranny by Mark Lerner Your Body is Your ID (Book & DVD combo) Constitutional Alliance Stop Real ID

Press Release Budgetary Allocation for Aadhaar/NPR-UIDAI in Contempt of Parliament Both Aadhaar and NPR are security projects 3.57 crore signatures submitted to PM seeking scrapping of Aadhaar March 16, 2012 The Govt ignores the PSC of Finance 42nd report of Dec 2011 and demonstrates contempt for parliament. Increased fund allocation in Union budget 2012-13 to Aadhaar / UID by Rs 1758 crs and other recommendations has made a mockery of the PSC of Finance report which is the considered view of parliament. The claims success by various pilots on themes of subsidy transfer and financial inclusion of Adhaar project are extremely suspicious and dubious. Minority Government's biometric data collection without statutory backing by NPR and Aadhaar violates citizens’ rights is uncalled for. Submission of 3.57 crores signatures of people all over the country against the UID/ Aadhaar project and which also shows the widespread opposition to the biometric profiling not only...

A memorandum opposing Aadhaar and other anti-people policies was submitted to the Indian National Congress-led government along with a big truck load of signatures numbering 3.57 crore to mark the 129th death anniversary of Karl Marx, one of most influential socialist thinkers post industrial revolution amidst a huge People's March to Parliament comprising about one lakh citizens on Mach 14 in the national capital. The meeting concluding the People's March underlined the need for internationalism and remembered Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, one of foremost anti-imperialist heroes of the world in glowing terms. His death remains unconfirmed since August 18, 1945. Marx died in London [ Images ] at the age of 64, two years prior to the formation of India [ Images ]n National Congress and Communist parties in India, but they claimed that his ideas influenced them. Under the Indian Constitution every political party in the country is registered as a socialist party. If they will prof...

बायोमेट्रिक और खुफिया तकनीकी से मानवाधिकार व संप्रभुता को खतरा मतदाताओ ने विदेशी पूंजी निवेश और मुक्त व्यापार समझौतों को भी खारिज किया दिल्ली, बंगलौर, चेन्नई, पटना -चुनाव के दौरान उत्तर प्रदेश में कांग्रेस पार्टी ने चिदंबरम, अहलुवालिया व निलेकनी की सलाह पर अंगूठे और आँखों की पुतलियो की तस्वीर की निशानदेही के 'आधार' (यू.आई.डी) पर ही उन्हें नागरिक मानने और सरकारी योजनाओ के फायदे देने की शर्त रखी थी. इसके जरिये देशवासियों के पूरे शारीरिक हस्ताक्षर को रिकॉर्ड में रखा जा रहा है. उत्तर प्रदेश के मतदाताओ ने उनकी इस गुस्ताखी की सजा दे दी है. राहुल गाँधी ने 'आधार' को पार्टी का अजेंडा बनाया था. अब जबकि उन्होंने पार्टी की हार की जिम्मेवारी ले ली है उन्हें चाहिए की वो मतदाताओ द्वारा खारिज 'आधार' परियोजना को रोकने के लिए कदम उठाये. कांग्रेस पार्टी की इस योजना को अमेठी और रायबरेली में भी अंगूठा दिखाया गया है. चुनाव से पहले इस पार्टी ने काफी प्रयास किया की चिदंबरम, अहलुवालिया व निलेकनी एक टीम की तरह काम करे और नागरिको को जनगणना कानून के उलंघन की सच्चाई छुपा कर गृह मंत्रालय ...

Press Release NPR for MNIC, UID Project & Interpol’s E-identity Database Unfolding Under World Bank, US & French Influence New Delhi/March 1, 2012: Chairman, Planning Commission’s Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and ex Chairman, Infosys Technologies hosted senior financial services executives from the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) were hosted by Nandan Manohar Nilekani on February 29, 2012. In a statement, industry delegation reaffirmed and commended their support for the competitive principles upon which the Unique Identification (UID) platform is being developed. The fact is that UID is a US Government’s initiative. The UID Policy of US Military is dated July 29, 2003. Thus, UIDAI’s claim that “UID system is a civilian application of biometrics” is misrepresentation of facts attempting to confuse legislators and citizens across the country. Earlier, Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Chief met Chairman of the UID Number project on December 4, 2009. What is ...