Europe Moves to Fingerprint Travelers

Project seeks to use biometric clues to point out bad guys

(NEWSER) - It sounds like something out of Minority Report, but Homeland Security scientists are actually working on a projects they think will be able to identify potential terrorists based on the way they blink, breathe, or balance their weight. Researchers are testing a variety of biometric sensors, in the hopes of identifying malicious intent. “We're looking pre-event,” one researcher tells the LA Times . “We're trying to detect a crime before it has occurred.” More»

(NEWSER) - The global recession has sparked a conservative, anti-immigrant impulse in Europe—see the right’s victory in European Parliament elections—and US liberals should take notice, Michael Lind writes for Salon. Though “it would be a mistake to read too much into the elections” as the “European Parliament has more symbolism than power,” Lind writes, the tide is turning. “Symbolism counts for something.” More»

Low turnout across 27 nations leads to extremist gains

(NEWSER) - The center-right won a clear victory in this weekend's European parliament elections, while a record low turnout helped far-right and extremist groups make gains across the 27-nation bloc, the BBC reports. The ruling conservative parties in France, Germany and Italy performed well, while in Britain Labor came in a dismal third behind an anti-EU party. The hard right picked up seats everywhere from Holland to Hungary. More»

Across continent, angry voters set to punish ruling parties

(NEWSER) - Citizens of 27 nations begin voting today for elections to the European Parliament, and across the continent voters are expected to punish ruling parties and encourage the opposition, including the extreme right. From Ireland to France to Hungary, governments are braced for a protest vote spurred by the economic meltdown, reports the Wall Street Journal. The most closely watched result will be in Britain—where a poor showing for the Labour Party could force Gordon Brown out of office. More»

Technology will match passengers' mugs to biometric passports

(NEWSER) - New facial recognition technology in which computers scan faces and match them to information encoded in biometric passports will be used at UK airports for the first time this summer, the Guardian reports. Authorities say the machines will outperform humans and improve security, but critics fear the technology will cause flight disruptions by generating too many false negatives. More»