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On May 23, 2010, In News, By ruffwire
On April 21, 2010, In News, By ruffwire
A new type of speed cameras which can use satellites to measure average speed over long distances are being tested in Britain.
The cameras, which combine number plate reading technology with a global positioning satellite receiver, are similar to those used in roadworks.
The AA said it believed the new system could cover a network of streets as opposed to a straight line, and was “probably geared up to zones in residential areas.”
The Home Office is testing the cameras at two sites, one in Southwark, London, and the other A374 between Antony and Torpoint in Cornwall.
The `SpeedSpike’ system, which calculates average speed between any two points in the network, has been developed by PIPS Technology Ltd, an American-owned company with a base in Hampshire.
Details of the trials are contained in a House of Commons report. The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled “number plate capture in all weather conditions, 24 hours a day”. It also referred to the system’s “low cost” and ease of installation.
The system could be used for “main road enforcement for congestion reduction and speed enforcement”, and could help to “eliminate rat-runs” and cut speeds outside schools, it added. It could also reduce the need for speed humps.
The development of speed cameras has raised concerns about expanding state surveillance.
The Home Office said it was unable to comment on the trials because of “commercial confidentiality”.
The AA said it would watch the system “carefully” but it did not believe there was anything sinister. “It is a natural evolution of the technology that is out there,” a spokesman said.
Can You Say Police State – I Hate This Time In Earth Govt What Control Over All
On April 21, 2010, In News, By ruffwire
U.S. financial authorities showed on Wednesday its new $100 bill, which contains more security tools to combat counterfeiting.
The old bills will remain in circulation even when the new 100 dollar bill start to move in February 2011, explained senior officials of the US Treasury and Federal Reserve.
The new 100 dollar bill retains the traditional look, with the portrait ofBenjamin Franklin, but contains a security tape alternating three-dimensional images of bells and the number 100 is tilted to change the viewing angle.
It also has the image of a bell in the front that changes from copper color to green when tilted.
“Like the previous redesigns of U.S. currency, this bill incorporates the best technology available to ensure that we stay ahead of counterfeiters,” he said in a statement Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The new $100 bill is the most counterfeited outside the United States because of its wide circulation.
In recent years, authorities have tried to fight a high-quality counterfeit $100 notes, according to research that would be in North Korea. These counterfeit notes are called “super notes” and are virtually undetectable, even for experts.
The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said in a statement that unlike the past when the majority of dollar bills circulating in the United States, now nearly two thirds of the 890 billion dollars in banknotes circulate outside the country.
Bernanke said the authorities will work to inform people around the world about the new design and stressed that the old bills will continue to circulate.
“It’s important to understand that when the new ticket is issued on February 10, 2011, the nearly 6,500 million dollars in $100 bills with the old design still in circulation will remain a legal tender,” said Bernanke.
The Fed chief added that the new 100 dollar bill was important for the U.S. economy.
“A strong currency is a pillar of a strong economy. Therefore, the Government of the United States must stay ahead of counterfeiters and protect the integrity of our currency,” he said.