Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes issued his warning after it emerged that the Gresham Hotel in Dublin is the latest employer to introduce a 'biometric' system. Workers claim they were not consulted about the introduction of the system that reads handprints.
It was brought in just months after the Abbey Theatre came under fire for launching a system that reads fingerprints.
The Data Protection Commissioner said he was "concerned" about the growing use of biometric systems in the workplace "regardless of the type of biometric information collected or the technology used".
And the hotel's SIPTU branch, which represents Gresham workers, said it was investigating the new clock-in method to see whether it infringed their rights.
A Gresham employee, who did not want to be named, said staff had no problem in clocking in and out but the new system had "gone too far".
"There was no dialogue between the union and management," he told the Irish Independent.
"I've been working for the Gresham for a long time and no one spoke to us about bringing this in.
"We were left completely in the dark.
"I'm not a trouble-maker and had no problem clocking-in and out, but this worries me. ...   more »

Two-Year Project to Include 200 Patients: 21 Patients Have Already Enrolled and Received the VeriMed Microchip; 85 Potential Enrollees to Attend Next Week
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriChip Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIP - News), a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, and Alzheimer's Community Care, a local non-profit agency serving Alzheimer's patients and caregivers, announced today the official launch of the VeriMed(TM) Patient Identification Project. As previously announced on February 22, 2007, this project will evaluate the effectiveness of the VeriMed Patient Identification System in managing the medical records of Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers. The kick-off will take place at Alzheimer's Community Care headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 28, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Patients will have the opportunity to enroll in the project and receive the VeriMed microchip by a licensed physician. In the two-year, 200 patient project, participating individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, as well as their caregivers, will receive the VeriMed microchip, providing emergency department staff easy access to those patients' identification and medical information. 
Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of VeriChip, said, "We are very pleased to officially launch this important ...   more »

Bush's SPP power grab sets stage for military to manage flu threats
By Jerome R. Corsi
David Nabarro is new U.N. system influenza coordinator
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit in Canada released a plan that established U.N. law along with regulations by the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization as supreme over U.S. law and set the stage for militarizing the management of continental health emergencies.
The "North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza" was finalized at the SPP summit last week in Montebello, Quebec.
At the same time, the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, has created a webpage dedicated to avian flu and has been running exercises in preparation for the possible use of U.S. military forces in a continental domestic emergency involving avian flu or pandemic influenza.
With virtually no media attention, in 2005 President Bush shifted U.S. policy on avian flu and pandemic influenza, placing the country under international guidelines not specifically determined by domestic agencies.
The policy shift was formalized Sept. 14, 2005, when Bush announced a new International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to a High-Level Plenary Meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, in New York.  
The ...   more »

George Conger,
Peace in the Middle East and the resolution of property and tax disputes with the Roman Catholic Church will top the agenda of President Shimon Peres's September 6 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.
On Friday, Vatican Radio announced the two will meet next month at Castel Gandalfo, the Pope's summer palace outside Rome.
Peres will travel to Italy on September 5 and will also meet with his counterpart, President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
While the trip will be Peres' first since assuming the Presidency, as foreign minister and prime minister the veteran politician has been a frequent guest of the Vatican. In April 2006, while out of public office, he had a private meeting with Pope Benedict to discuss the political situation in the region.
Benedict wrote Peres in July, congratulating him on his election and stating that he hoped his presidency would serve as a vehicle for peace.
In Nov 2005 Benedict met with then President Moshe Katsav in Rome and the Israeli leader extended a formal invitation to visit Israel.
Benedict responded positively, but no date has yet been set. A papal visit to Israel is understood to be contingent on the successful ...   more »

The European Union has strongly criticised death penalties carried out in Texas, calling on its authorities to halt the 400th execution in the US state.
In a statement released on Tuesday (21 August), the Portuguese EU presidency said the bloc viewed with "great regret" the upcoming executions and urged Texas Governor Rick Perry to halt them and consider a moratorium on the death penalty.
"We believe that elimination of the death penalty is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, and to the progressive development of human rights. We further consider this punishment to be cruel and inhumane," Lisbon stated on behalf of the EU.
"There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime and the irreversibility of the punishment means that miscarriages of justice - which are inevitable in all legal systems – cannot be redressed."
On Wednesday the 400 mark since capital punishment was reintroduced in Texas in 1976 is due to be reached with the execution of 32-year old Johnny Ray Conner for killing a grocery store clerk in 1998.
Commenting on the EU's appeal to call off his death sentence, Governor Perry replied that it ...   more »