The Hightower Report

Watching You Watch Ads

From national surveillance of our e-mails to local street cameras monitoring our movements, we've learned that Big Brother definitely is watching us. But his Little Brother is watching, too.

Little Bro is the spreading network of corporate cameras that are hidden in malls, big-box stores, supermarkets, and other retail outlets. These are not security cameras to detect theft but "face tracking" systems that are put in advertising kiosks that are cropping up in more and more shopping areas.

The kiosks contain life-sized screens that run a constant series of flashy, 15-second videos touting various products. The videos entice shoppers to pause and see what's being offered. But, as you're watching the ad, the ad is watching you! Embedded in the screen, or hidden around it, is a camera connected to software that can detect your gender, age range, and possibly ethnicity. The system then quickly pulls up a video of a product that might appeal specifically to someone of your profile – maybe an ad for video games, cosmetics, motorcycles, etc.

"This is proactive merchandising," exudes a lady whose title is "chief measurement officer" for one of the peddlers of this sneak-a-peek technology. More to the point, it's proactive snooper-vision that secretly tracks who watches the ads and for how long – info that is passed on to the advertisers. The companies insist that no pictures or identifying data are stored, so, hey, it's okeydoke – trust us!

Uh, no. They are monitoring us for profit without telling us or revealing what details they're collecting and for what purpose. Who's watching them? There are no privacy protections built into these secret systems. To keep up with this creeping commercial intrusion, connect with the Center for Democracy & Technology at www.cdt.org.

Obama's Third Surge in Afghanistan

Apparently, springtime is surge time in Afghanistan.

President Obama is launching a new, expanded American adventure to "stabilize" this historically unstable, impoverished, warlord state that's ruled by hundreds of fractious, heavily armed tribal leaders. Some 36,000 American troops are already there, but it has not gone well for them. They've lost ground in a grinding, deadly war that's now in its eighth year, costing us taxpayers $2 billion a month.

What to do? Spend more, cry the war hawks! So, Obama has announced a double-surge strategy for Afghanistan. First will be a surge of 17,000 more soldiers. Second will be a "civilian surge" of hundreds of U.S. economic development specialists, who will try to win the hearts and cooperation of Afghan villagers through various efforts to lift their living standards.

But, look – what's that coming over the hill? Why it's a third surge that Obama didn't mention: private military contractors! It was such profit-seeking outfits as Halliburton and Blackwater that ran rampant in Iraq, doing deep damage, yet here we go again with a private army in Afghanistan.

More than 71,000 of these corporate freelancers are already operating there, and hoards more are preparing to go as Pentagon spending ramps up for Obama's war. Pentagon chief Robert Gates claims that these armed employees – i.e., mercenaries – are necessary to provide security for U.S. bases and convoys.

Say what? America has to hire private security firms to guard our Army? Yes, we're told, with no explanation or even a wink at the absurdity of it.

Meanwhile, here's an interesting twist to the contractor surge: The private guards protecting our troops will most likely not even be Americans. Of the nearly 4,000 security firms in Afghanistan, only nine are from the U.S.

For more information on Jim Hightower's work – and to subscribe to his award-winning monthly newsletter, the Hightower Lowdown – visit www.jimhightower.com. You can hear his radio commentaries on KOOP Radio, 91.7FM, weekdays at 10:58am and 12:58pm.