Alan Watt on the Real Reason for the Brain Chip

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Agenda 21: Mind Control And Smart Growth

Freedom Outpost

Joseph Goebbels once said “It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion.”

“[I]f the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.” Candidus, Pen name of Samuel Adams during the era of the Sons of Liberty. Source: in the Boston Gazette, 1772

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Do you cherish your God-given constitutional right to own property? So do I! UN Agenda 21′s Smart Growth is in full bloom across our nation. In East Tennessee the five county local “Regional ” program is called Plan East Tennessee, (Regional Plan for Livable Communities), a plan which will eliminate private property rights in these five counties. Link It is a plan for Smart Growth. Rosa Koire, author of, “Behind the Green Mask,” defines Smart Growth on her website, as “Human habitation as it is referred to now is restricted to lands within the Urban Growth Boundaries of the city. Only certain building designs are permitted. Rural property is more and more restricted on what uses can be on it.”

In my recent article, Taxed Enough Already, I explained how our former Knoxville City Mayor, Bill Haslam (now Tennessee’s Governor) hired his Democratic opponent, Madeline Rogero to work in his Republican Mayoral administration since the election was very close. He wanted a second term without her running against him. Rogero is now the new Knoxville City Mayor. While she was in Haslam’s administration, she apparently received permission and applied for a federal grant from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. In fact, Governor Haslam has refused to even sign a resolution against Agenda 21 even though a Resolution has absolutely no power of law.

These grants, part of the Obama administration’s Partnership for Sustainable Communities, bring together HUD, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Two types of grants were awarded — those to update existing plans, and those to develop sustainability plans from scratch. Knoxville’s Plan ET is from scratch and Knoxville received $4.32 million from the HUD grant. Another $2.5 million came from a Consortium of partners which includes non-profits.

Knoxville is also a dues paying member of ICLEI since 2007. From Tom DeWeese’s article, Agenda 21 in One Easy Lesson, ” ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (formally, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives). Communities pay ICLEI dues to provide “local” community plans, software, training, etc. Additional groups include American Planning Association, The Renaissance Planning Group, International City/ County Management Group, aided by US Mayors Conference, National Governors Association, National League of Cities, National Association of County Administrators and many more private organizations and official government agencies. The Foundation and government grants drive the process.”

Community Forums and The Delphi Technique

From the Plan ET website, “Over the three-year PlanET process, three phases will lead to a targeted, meaningful outcome. Phase One (August 2011 – July 2012) will bring East Tennesseans together to establish a shared identity and vision (alleged data gathering). Phase Two (April 2012 – March 2013) will take that vision, and while educating and engaging the public, will develop a shared direction.(framework) Phase Three (January 2013 – December 2013) will produce and report the final product and focus on implementation activities.” (Action plan for Smart Growth)

Series II of Plan ET held a week of six forums in every one of the five “regional” counties (Blount, Knox, (2) Anderson, Loudon and Union) asking for “community input.” Yet, Plan ET’s definition of “community input” seems to be neutralization of any expressed opposition to their plans of eliminating private property ownership under the guise of Smart Growth. Their “community consensus” is scripted for their pre-determined outcome via their use of the evil Rand Corporation’s mind-control Delphi Technique. RAND developed the Delphi method in the 1950s for the U.S. Department of Defense. It was originally intended for use as a psychological weapon during the cold war.

These forums are headed by trained Delphi Technique facilitators at small table groups of 6 to 8 people. The facilitators or change agents are always likeable people who will smile and agree with your comments. The discussion consists of issues previously decided upon by the leadership of these forums. The facilitator manipulates the discussion in the desired direction, isolating and demeaning opposing viewpoints. Rarely does anyone ever challenge the process, thinking they were probably in the minority with their answers. Actually, the conclusions were established in the back room long before the meeting ever took place. The general public believes this program was theirs, but in fact, the outcomes had all been decided long before the meetings ever took place. The Delphi Technique is being used again and again to change our representative republic, given to us by our Founding Fathers, into a “participatory democracy.”

Who Are The Facilitators?

Wallace, Roberts, and Todd (WRT) architectural firm, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the Plan ET partner chosen to head the forums. They are paid $1.7 million to accomplish the pre-determined outcome of these forums through facilitation of the Delphi Technique. WRT was established in 1963 by David Wallace and they are expert “regional planners” with the firm’s origins rooted in “sustainability.” The American Planning Association (APA) has continually recognized this firm and their principal leaders for their contributions to sustainability and Smart Growth. The APA even has a “Policy Guide on Smart Growth.” In Tom DeWeese’s article, Lies and Doublespeak of the APA, these APA Sustainablists are teaching their planners to lie through their teeth to the opposition of their UN Agenda 21 Smart Growth policies.

The American Planning Association and their allies are countering the anti-Agenda 21 movement with these lies, double speak and stealth. Why? Aren’t they proud of their policies? I guess Seattle planner J. Gary Lawrence said it best when he admitted several years ago that “participating in a U.N. advocated planning process would very likely bring out many…who would actively work to defeat any elected official… undertaking Local Agenda 21. So we will call our process something else, such as comprehensive planning, growth management or smart growth.” Now, even those words have caught up with their secret agenda. So now they’re having to invent more new words.

All of the following leaders from WRT are members of the American Planning Association.

The leading facilitator and principal from WRT is John Fernsler. John’s bio states, “John is particularly adept at creating consensus among competing interests and in communicating Smart Growth planning concepts to diverse audiences.” It also states he is adept at helping communities “striving to contain sprawl.” Yes, they don’t want you living in the rural areas, and they hate the suburbs. Plan ET’s website contains pictures of downtown Knoxville, nothing of the rural community, suburbs, or Smoky Mountains. Fernsler has been the driving force from WRT since the very first Plan ET meeting in Knoxville last summer. I met him there and spent an hour talking with him. He said WRT had just “finished” Austin, Texas. He also said to me, “Maybe you’d understand a bit better if we called what we’re doing, “stewardship.” Now I see on their website they are using God’s Word for “care of the earth” as a euphemistic term for their total control of our lives and property through Smart Growth.

Another facilitator and Senior Associate from WRT is Rob Kern. Rob’s area of expertise is Transit design (they want us out of our cars and using public transportation, bicycles, or our feet). He is also adept, as they all are with Smart Growth planners, in urban design. (Once again, forget suburbia and rural communities).

Another WRT principal is David Rouse. His bio states, “David has a special interest in planning and design for sustainability, community engagement in the planning process, and capacity-building for implementation.” (Capacity building is the stack-em and pack-em mega multi-family high rises built in the urban landscape after you’ve been moved off your suburban or rural property.)

From WRT’s website, “Principal David Rouse is one of 11 members of the American Planning Association’s Sustaining Places Task Force, established earlier this year to address the use of the comprehensive plan as the leading policy document and tool to help communities of all sizes achieve sustainability. The Task Force is part of the Sustaining Places Initiative, announced in March 2010 by APA President Bruce Knight and Chief Executive Officer Paul Farmer at the United Nation’s Fifth World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Sustaining Places is a multi-year, multi-faceted program to define the role of planning in addressing all human settlement issues relating to sustainability.”

David Rouse, UN Smart Growth architect of Wallace, Roberts and Todd stated in the Times Free Press newspaper last fall that he is “committed to an open process, and that property rights won’t be impacted without the public’s consent.” (Note: He said “without the public’s consent, not the property owner’s.)

Knoxville’s Metropolitan Planning Commission

Mark Donaldson, the MPC Executive Director has been at every single forum meeting and is trained as a Delphi facilitator. At one of the first meetings in Series I, he did not present himself as Executive Director of MPC, but said he was Mark from Minnesota. Other members of MPC were also at many of the Plan ET meetings as well as countless members of Knoxville’s Energy and Sustainability Task Force. Also present at all the Series II forums was Knoxville’s “Regional” Transportation Planning Coordinator, Jeff Welch who, like Mark Donaldson is trained as a Delphi facilitator.

Invitees and Paid Attendees

Here’s the real rub with this whole “community input” nonsense this UN Agenda 21 Smart Growth bunch is pulling. At the majority of meetings, there were18 to 23 Plan ET members present who are Delphi facilitators, along with WRT and MPC staff. Then there were 20 to 25 invitees from local governments including local government Planning Committees, Community Development, Oak Ridge National Labs, University of Tennessee, etc. All of these invitees are employed by government and have a vested interest in this Plan ET coming to full fruition. I have attended nearly all of the Plan ET forums, and at every table, the “shills” who were invited answered all the questions with the pre-determined and ordained outcomes the Smart Growth facilitators desired. Then there are another 18 to 25 people who know what Agenda 21 really is all about. The majority of meetings have approximately 40 to 45 people, not counting the facilitators, but if those of us against UN Agenda 21 did not attend, the only people giving “community input” would be the invited government shills who have a vested interest in Smart Growth and should not be voting at these Delphi meetings as it is a conflict of interest! At one meeting, one of the invitees admitted she was a paid participant. By the way, these attendance numbers were also given by the Plan ET staff present at all the forums.

At the Plan ET South Doyle Middle School forum on Wednesday, April 25th, I sat across the table from a woman named Linda. She works for Knoxville County Mayor Burchett’s administration. Her boss, Grant Rosenberg, Community Development Director, was the invitee, but couldn’t attend, so he sent Linda. I made a comment about UN Agenda 21 at this table and Linda adamantly stated that she loved everything about UN Agenda 21. What a shocker to hear one of these planted shills actually speak the truth. Most of them tell you they never heard of Smart Growth or UN Agenda 21. I asked her if she agreed with the 85% population reduction of Agenda 21 and she answered that was a total lie. How about limiting our usage of water to 28 gallons a day? She said that was a lie too. She should have gone to see one of my friends across the room who had the UN Agenda 21 book with him and he could have shown her the truth.

At the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Plan ET forum at the Loudon County Technical Center on Thursday, April 26th, the leaders of the forum were in a hurry to usher us out of the building. One of our participants called the Tech Center the next day and asked if there was a time limit on how long we could be there chatting after the meeting. The person she spoke with told her there was no rush to close the building, but the Plan ET people had been there since 8 a.m. They had actually been taking the leading children in this Technical Center School and putting them through the Delphi Technique all day long! These are minor children. Then she called Public Affairs of Knox County Schools and found out children in other high schools in these counties were being Delphied as well. When she asked if the parents had given permission, she was told the school board had okayed the forums.

Finally, at the last meeting on Saturday morning, April 28th, at Union County High School in Maynardville, Tennessee, there were only six invited local government employees and about 10 or 12 of us. At one table, one of our people was tossed out of the forum for asking too many questions. Then his daughter was tossed out. When I began to scream that this was a community forum and we were allowed to ask questions, I was threatened with being thrown out. Another woman was asking questions as well, and Jack Rhyne, the City Manager of Maynardville, kept pointing at her and telling her to get out. She kept saying, “No, I want to hear what the gentleman is asking.” Rhyne actually took her elbow in an effort to grab her and escort her out of the building when facilitator Rob Kern of WRT stepped in to move her to another table. As an aside, this woman is a survivor of 9/11 at the Pentagon.

Conclusion 

At the Board of Mayors meeting, which was the kickoff of Plan ET’s Series II, several of us in the audience stood to ask questions of WRT’s Rob Kern and the Mayor of Anderson County after the initial presentation. There must have been 10 or 15 people asking questions and raising hands and stating they wanted to hear answers. Both the Mayor and Rob Kern said, “We’ll answer questions outside.” We didn’t want the questions outside in the foyer, we wanted them in the main room. Needless to say, these two men ended up running out of the room. At other meetings they would allow questions after the meeting in a corner with no microphone, but then we forced open mic questions and there were plenty.

Our property rights and God-given constitutionally guaranteed freedoms are being lost at exponential rates today. The 20 year anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio occurs next month, June 2012. The planners intend to make UN Agenda 21 into hard law. This plan has existed for decades and was written about by six Russians in a book entitled, The Ideal Communist City. It was translated into English in the 60s. It is all about Smart Growth. I would urge you to buy Rosa Koire’s book, Behind the Green Mask. It is available on Amazon.com, and from the Post Sustainability Institute and clearly and succinctly tells the whole story of the damnable UN Agenda 21.

Note: the following video is commentary/satire by TheBlaze, courtesy of Glenn Beck:
BECK EXPLAINS ALL THOSE ‘AGENDA 21′ ADS YOU’RE SEEING ON THEBLAZE TV — SORT OF

 

Biggest Move Yet to Destroy Freedom Rights – Secret Courts

12160 . com

‘The art of distraction’ - whilst we’re all looking in one direction and “they” know that they’ve got our attention with the help of “their” worldwide media covering a subject so close to our hearts and home and that affects all of us, - such as discovering we’ve been chomping of horsemeat in the guise of being a cow - and that this “news” dominated the world headlines for some weeks, though that mainly affected the working class masses, - so to help distract the middle-classes and fundamental Christian's all the attention was at Westminster and focused on whether to allow gay marriage in church,

...that under these guises; “they” were really working on another plan, - a plan much more sinister than finding out about horsemeat being in your burger or if Jesus would be turning in his grave, as "they" quietly used the Lions Paw and raised the corpse of its ‘Secret Justice’ Bill - that creates extraordinary new legal powers to keep official dealings hidden from us and to be able to detain people forever!

And it’s because of how important this plan is to “them”, that it appears “they” knew all along that this “horsemeat scandal” and gay marriage issue would soon hit the fan and that that these distractions would be the ideal time to sneak-in their secret agenda; as “they” recently slipped through this Justice and Security Bill.
 

This will include “Secret Court Hearings”, where you will have no right to legal representation or even be able to represent yourself!

What’s more revelatory about this Orwellian move, is that when such actions are taken, then we have to question; ‘Why is it MPs seem to work more easier as a “collective” when it comes to these types of Bills - and who are backing it?, yet why would they? Normally they're at odds with each other. Okay so you get the odd MP such as David Davis moaning and groaning, but that’s the act, it’s a game they are playing.

Why do they always seem to agree to such an introduction of unjust Bills knowing full well they should have nothing to do with them? After all the people didn’t vote for them to then sit down and devise plans on how to round up and imprison their fellow man. They are our public servants.

So it’s obvious the “orders” for those in the House of Commons come from an “outside” source and influence, - that you’ll find the majority of these members of parliament, and of course the U.S. Congress - and in fact all our worldwide governments - are also members of the very same secret society. There are at least three Masonic Lodges inside the Houses of Parliament alone.

How on earth can we permit them to be able to demand even more secrecy, when it should be the complete opposite; – the world is crying out for transparency – not more secrecy!

Just look at the colossal amounts of police and government cover-ups there’s recently been, let alone what’s happened in the past; Dr Kelly’s murder, WMD, and war on Iraq lie, - 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings, the Hillsborough disaster, Jimmy Savile crisis and with the help of the BBC in general, who we know blatantly deceive and pump-out the Illuminati cabals own propaganda. Even when things are meant to be in the ‘open’, they have for years been covering-up in secret, yet they want even more secrecy!

This secrecy means if similar circumstances were to arise again, such as the outcome of the recent Hillsborough Inquiry, bringing justice to 97 families, then this type of case would have never even been heard of, as this new Bill gives the authorities the ability to keep the truth hidden and a secret forever.

Not overlooking the often strange happenings that start to take place just prior or after such travesties like 9/11, and that new laws are always introduced following such major events – and that the public has to be convinced; ‘it’s the right thing to do.’ What recently took place in Aurora and Sandy Hook; goes without saying these are the kinds of acts and travesties “they” need in order for them to then have the guile and say why they need to introduce such draconian measures, which were brought in by the Bush Administration follow 9/11.

Despite Obama recently announcing and backing a ban on automatic rifles etc., the fact of the matter is that there’s been an increase in Homeland Security in the USA and who have recently bought enough bullets that could shoot the entire U.S. population five times over with its 1.5billion rounds of hollow-point bullets, - which must be food for thought: ‘1.5billion bullets, - who are they really for then?’

Yet the biggest threat of them all and what affects everyone single one of us, is the introduction of The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that gives power to the U.S. military to be able to arrest without any charges and indefinitely detain any American citizen for any reason and on grounds that the military does not even have to disclose to anyone!

This is a blatant abuse and disregard to habeas corpus, whereby any citizen cannot be detained for prosecution by a court of law without due process, and essentially having the right to know the charges being brought against him and the right to legal representation. This almost the same as our own Justice and Security Bill. We know what starts over there, and vice-versa, soon comes about as being law in either of our countries or continents.

This has nothing to do with “Terrorists” that we know are homemade and financed by the likes of the CIA and our own government Black-Ops programmes, so therefore invented, meaning their whole existence is false, - and that it is all to do with controlling us - and not some bloke with a rag on his head and flip-flops on his feet.

In the UK, if the Justice and Security Bill [1] becomes law this will permit judicial trials to be held in secret. Worst still it will even be illegal to tell anyone about it! This bill has now gone through all stages in the House of Commons and has been presented to the House of Lords for consideration, - which isn’t good news, for they too are members of the very ‘same’ secret society, - that they know such a Bill is in the interest of their society, that admits it’s a ‘society with secrets’!


The main slime-ball behind the introduction of this bill in the Commons is the Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke. His incredibly sad excuse for the purpose of the bill is to enable the government to defend itself against civil claims ‘with claimants typically seeking significant amounts in damages’, - when it’s more to do with the facts of the case that will no doubt reveal highly sensitive and embarrassing information if it was to become public. And besides, it’s the taxpayer who foots the bill, and a bill most don’t mind paying for, if it means everyone in life is entitled to the same legal rights and protection.

Remember; “Life’s a stage...” and all around us is “theatre”, which means the House of Commons is full of the “bad guys” and the House of Lords the “good guys”, whereas when the “bad guys” try and introduce a really dodgy Bill, they then bat it over to the ‘good guys’ who job it is, is to oppose such a Bill, find holes in it, etc. and then bat it back again after rejecting it.

The Lords passed two safeguards to slow the process down. The first said judges could grant the Government a secret hearing ‘only if other alternatives had already been considered, like, for example, asking permission from the judge in a case to withhold sensitive evidence altogether, under the longstanding system of ‘public interest immunity’, which is as good as a ‘yes’ anyway.

The second safeguard stated that judges could allow a secret hearing only after balancing the Government’s demand for one against the historic legal principle that justice must always be open, - which again is a ‘go-ahead’ and hardly a rejection or argument.

In mid February 2013 the passage of Amendment 55, was moved by the junior Justice Minister James Brokenshire, and both these safeguards were swept away. ‘In practice, it will now be very difficult for a judge to resist a closed hearing,’ one legal analyst said. - Under this Bill, it is now possible a prisoner in a British jail who tried to challenge his detention in the courts would remain incarcerated without hearing the evidence against him.

With this law passed the Government could insist on a closed, secret hearing, where it could present evidence denying such claims and no one could challenge it, because no one directly affected by the case would ever know what it was.

Though all this is just an “illusion” and gives the desired effect that it looks like we live in an open and honest democracy, and that it’s being given a fair and open hearing.

On the 5th February 2013, the same day of the vote on gay marriages, “they” slipped through the vote in the select committee which was rushed through at the last minute. The vote was held at the very same [time] as members were in the lobbies voting on the gay marriage Bill.

This law, when passed, as it will be, can then be applied to all and any offence, such as a traffic accident. If wanted, the accused persons will never be told of what they are charged off, and of course it is very unlikely they would be found ‘not guilty’ under such circumstances, as why else arrest under such? Activists could become main targets, as they’d never know why they are even being detained and could start disappearing without any legal process!

Shep Smith And Judge Napolitano Eviscerate Obama's 'Reprehensible' Drone Strike Policy

XRepuplic TV



Less than 24 hours after Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of John Brennan's appointment to the CIA over to White House's policy on droning American citizens, Judge Napolitano and Fox News anchor Shepard Smith railed against the controversial policy saying that even the discussion of its legality was "the craziest thing in the world."

Shortly after speaking with a Fox News reporter on Capitol Hill, Smith brought Napolitano, a Fox News libertarian contributor, onto his show to get his take on the president's drone policy. Napolitano explained to Smith that this fight began when the Bob Mueller, the head of the FBI couldn't explain if an American could be killed by a drone on American soil. Mueller said that they should "ask the White House" according to Napolitano.

Napolitano proceeded to walk Smith through the mixed messages administration officials provided on the question of whether or not the president has the authority to kill Americans on American soil without trial, specifically with a drone.

"There's many a slip between the cup and the lip," the judge said explaining the confusing response on this.

Smith suggested that all the confusion on what the actual official drone policy is has created a ripe breeding ground for conspiracy theorists to charge the administration with all kinds of things. He then went on to trash the growing surveillance culture in America.

"It's bad enough that they're putting the things up watching us. It's bad enough they have cameras on every corner, and stopping us, you know, if your car runs a redlight. Now all we're sure of is if I'm engaged in combat -- unless I am -- they can't kill me while I am sitting at the cafe down the street. I'm not sure they can't look in my window," Smith said.

The judge then explained the case of Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16 year-old that were both American citizens and killed by drones without any trial. Smith expressed outrage over an incident where former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs was pressed on this at the 2012 presidential debates he said that al-Awlaki should have had a more responsible father.

"It's reprehensible," said Napolitano.

"Now you understand why this question came about. If a government thinks it can do this and speak glibly about it and they can do it because he was in Yemen, can they do it he is in Greenwich Village.

Smith noted it's a slippery slope and said "If we have to ask this question even then we've gone so far beyond what that document has to say then we really need some mirror work."

Related: Nobel Committee Asks Obama “Nicely” To Return Peace Prize

Two-Tier 'Privileged Flyer' Program Advances in EU: Non-Approved Unable to Fly?

The Daily Bell
Staff Report

'Smart borders': enhancing mobility and security ... The EU is moving towards a more modern and efficient border management by using state-of-the-art technology. Today, the Commission proposed a 'smart border package' to speed-up, facilitate and reinforce border check procedures for foreigners travelling to the EU. The package consists of a Registered Traveller Programme (RTP) and an Entry/Exit System (EES) that will simplify life for frequent third country travellers at the Schengen external borders and enhance EU border security. – European Commission Press Release

Dominant Social Theme: "I'm from the EU and I'm here to help."

Free-Market Analysis: As we have mentioned numerous times, the ultimate goal of the current security regime seems to be to create a two-tier travel system in which some people – with government approved credentials – will be able to travel with relative ease while others will not.

We have in various articles catalogued US programs that allow one to be "pre-approved" and thus avoid the long lines of those who are yet, apparently, to be considered potential terrorists. Eventually, such system will turn into something more difficult, of course – as the emphasis shifts from the approved to the non-approved.

In other words, eventually those who are not approved to travel may have trouble taking advantage of modern travel conveniences such as planes, trains, buses and eventually automobiles.

This is the logical outcome of the kind of regulatory state that is now being constructed using the war on terror as a pretext. It is apparently a prelude to global (centralized) governance and must be instituted since most people don't want to live in a single world construct and therefore need to be herded – forcefully – in that direction. Travel restrictions are a useful tool.

If such a scenario is to be realized, it must be effective not just in the US but throughout the West and perhaps worldwide. Now in a press released, we are informed the EU is taking steps to harmonize its travel program with the US's and other powers.

For now, of course, it's pitched as a convenience. Here's a further excerpt from the press release:

"The use of new technologies will enable smoother and speedier border crossing for third country citizens who want to come to the EU. Our aim is to facilitate the access of foreign travellers to the EU. This will not only be in the interest of the travellers but also the European economy. It has been estimated that in 2011 alone foreign travellers made a €271 billion contribution to our economy. Modernising our systems will also lead to a higher level of security by preventing irregular border crossings and detecting those who overstay', said Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

Regulation on an EU Registered Traveller Programme (RTP)

1. A Registered Traveller Programme (RTP) will allow frequent travellers from third countries to enter the EU using simplified border checks, subject to pre-screening and vetting. It is estimated that 5 million legitimate non EU-travellers per year will make use of this new program. The RTP will make use of automated border control systems (i.e. automated gates) at major border crossing points such as airports that make use of this modern technology. As a result, border checks of Registered Travellers would be much faster than nowadays.

2. Business travellers, workers on short term contracts, researchers and students, third country nationals with close family ties to EU citizens or living in regions bordering the EU are all likely to cross the borders several times a year. Making it as easy as possible for them to come to the EU would ensure that Europe remains an attractive destination and help boosting economic activity and job creation.

Regulation on an EU Entry/Exit system

1. An Entry/Exit System (EES) will record the time and place of entry and exit of third country nationals travelling to the EU. The system will calculate the length of the authorised short stay in an electronic way, replacing the current manual system, and issue an alert to national authorities when there is no exit record by the expiry time. In this way, the system will also be of assistance in addressing the issue of people overstaying their short term visa.

2. The current practice used by Member States when checking a third country national wanting to cross the EU's external borders is based mainly on the stamps in the travel document. This practice is time consuming, does not provide reliable data on border crossings does not allow detecting overstaying in a workable way and cannot efficiently cope with cases of loss or destruction of the travelling documents. Moreover, today's systems will not allow the EU Member States to deal with the ever increasing pressure of travellers accessing and exiting the EU whose number, at the air borders alone, is expected to increase by 80%, from 400 million in 2009 to 720 million in 2030.

If there is anything encouraging in this release it is the timeline. We are informed that implementation of this program is years away and may only be viable in 2017 or 2018. First there must be "Negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council" and adoptions of the legal texts.

Conclusion: Is a kind of cage being constructed? It might seem so ...