How the GPS causes paranoia amongst New York Muslim Taxi drivers

Jihad Watch: Fear and loathing in New York: Taxi union says GPS targets Muslims


September 4, 2007 -- Fear and paranoia are driving the taxi strike planned for tomorrow and Thursday, industry sources said yesterday.

The global-positioning systems being installed in all 13,000 cabs will be used to target and spy on Muslims, according to pro-strike literature being distributed by members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, the group behind the two-day walkout.

"This is where deep racial, ethnic and religious prejudices and biases come into play," one flier reads. "DNA samples are obtained, scrutinized and archived. Personal and family histories are scoured for evidence of ethnic and religious fervor. Clearly, surveillance technology can be a death sentence once you are in its crosshairs."

Taxi and Limousine Commission officials say the city has no such sinister motives. The GPS will be used to automate the paper trip sheets each driver has to keep, and will transmit only the start and end location of each fare, officials said.

The new technology system, which will also allow for credit-card payments, was approved in 2004 as part of the same deal that gave drivers a 26 percent fare hike.

It's unclear how many drivers are represented by the Taxi Workers Alliance, which claims 8,000 members - roughly one fifth of the total cabby workforce. But even those who disagree with the group may choose to stay home, sources say, because threats have been made against drivers who pick up passengers rather than strike.

"We are extremely disappointed to hear that that kind of fear mongering is taking place," TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said. "No one should be operating in that kind of environment."

It would seem that the union is behind a scare mongering campaign based upon invalid information regarding the need for surveillance and vigilance against possible terrorist attack. The GPS has a number of benefits for taxi drivers and their passengers:

• it can chart the best route to a destination.
• the devices that are being fitted will accept credit card, and that means taxi drivers have less cash in their cars.
• trip sheets are automated

However, it seems that this is an opportunity to sow fear amongst the drivers, and to cause a chaos in downtown New York city at the same time. There is no reason to believe that family histories will be checked, or that DNA samples will be taken. This is the kind of talk that is meant to cause fear and loathing in order to make people hate the government.

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