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Author: 2-11-2002: The federalgov is planning on blackmailing states |
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Date Posted: 08:30:58 02/11/03 Tue National I.D. The idea of issuing National I.D. cards is now being discussed by the U.S. and British governments. Polls say that up to 70% of the people think that it is a good idea. Unfortunately, these people do not know the history of how governments always remove our freedoms bit by bit, or they would not be so quick to accept the cards. Here is a probable scenario if the cards are issued: At first it will be no big deal, carry the card if you want to or decline to have the card. Later you will need the card to buy gasoline for your car as gasoline will considered a dangerous weapon that can be used by terrorists. After that you will need the card for medical services. Soon all credit cards will be "attached" to it, so if you desire to charge anything, you have to have the card. All of your medical, dental, driving, arrest, and education records will be on the card. Authorities say no body will be able to access these personal records. Update 2-11-2002: The federal government is planning on blackmailing states in order to force them to change drivers licenses to conform to a "national" standard. The licenses will have an electronic chip embedded within and will carry the same information as a national I.D. All licenses from every state will be compatible with other states, and all information can be easily shared and obtained. The federal government has in effect created a national I.D. without creating a national I.D. What happens if you lose the card? How will you get another? How will you purchase things while you are waiting for it? How will you ever know what is on it? Already in some European airports smart cards are "scanned" from an individuals wallet and the information is used to prepare tickets. There will be areas where your National I.D. card, which has a microchip, will be scanned and the information sent to the authorities and/or sold to corporations who want to track your traveling and buying habits. If you are out on a jog and you forget your National I.D. card, the law will require that you be arrested (your papers please) Sounds like Nazi Germany. Why do authorities want to issue these cards, simple: control, fear, votes and profits. The strings for creating the card are being pulled by big business. Big business knows that the more information they collect on us, the more they can sell us. If they can "know all" and "see all", then they can "sell all". Contrary to public knowledge, big business writes the laws, they pay off our "lawmakers" to back and vote for their laws. ID cards "don't stop crime" LONDON (Reuters) - Civil liberties groups are crying foul over the possible introduction of identity cards in Britain, claiming they would infringe liberty but have little impact on the West's newly declared war on terrorism. Britons have only ever had to carry identity documents during wartime, unlike the majority of Europeans, who have to produce ID cards at the request of police or officials. But the September 11 suicide attacks in the United States, which left nearly 7,000 dead or missing, have focused attention on whether Britain strikes the right balance between individual liberty and public safety. Home Secretary David Blunkett says the possible introduction of identity cards in Britain was being studied "very seriously indeed". Civil liberties groups accused the government of planning to exploit the U.S. calamity to rush through legislation. "I think it's just one of a series of anti-civil libertarian measures they (the government) want to put in place and they have been waiting years to do it," said Trevor Hemmings, a spokesman for Statewatch, which monitors civil liberties across Europe. Building a database in Britain would not solve the problem, said the London-based group. "People who perpetrate these kind of things usually use false ID." Leading politicians have also expressed caution. Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said ID cards had failed to stop terrorism in other countries such as France, Spain and Italy. "Rushed legislation, particularly if it's got all-party agreement, history teaches, is usually bad legislation," he said. Liberty, a group which campaigns for personal freedom, insisted that bringing in ID was neither necessary nor desirable. Mark Littlewood, its director of campaigns, told Reuters: "Our concern is that this is, however well-intentioned, a very misguided response to the necessary war on terrorism. It will potentially significantly undermine civil liberties, but it will have no impact in reducing crime or terrorism." The case for and against identity cards (Filed: 25/09/2001) THE Government is thinking of introducing compulsory identity cards. But would they cut crime and protect us from terrorism? Philip Johnston reports Have we had ID cards before? ID cards were introduced during the First World War as part of a statutory registration scheme. It ended in 1919. They were reintroduced in 1939 and remained in force for several years after the war until they were abolished by Churchill in 1952. They were only considered tolerable in times of emergency and the public came to resent the police checks in times of peace. The last Conservative government toyed with the idea in 1995. Michael Howard, then Home Secretary, issued a Green Paper setting out the various options but decided not to proceed. Would they cut crime? The police think ID cards would help in a number of areas, including tracing suspects or identifying accident victims. But this could only be of benefit if the card was compulsory and carried at all times. The police already have many powers to ask people who they are in specific circumstances. Critics say a burglar is breaking the law anyway so penalties for not carrying an ID card are unlikely to deter. They could be useful in cases of low-level disorder such as fights or football hooliganism where the police want to establish identities quickly without taking them back to the police station. The Commons home affairs select committee, which looked into ID cards in 1996, said there was "no firm evidence" that ID cards had reduced crime in countries which use them. Would they stop fraud? Police told the Commons committee that an ID scheme would "have a deterrent effect on offenders who profit by practicing criminal deception". Other witnesses, however, pointed out that most fraud is not identity-related. The Department of Social Security said only five per cent of benefit fraud related to identity and the major cause was "misrepresentation of circumstances" which would not be caught by an ID card. MPs concluded that an ID card could have a deterrent effect. Where bank and retail fraud was concerned an ID card would be a straightforward means of establishing identity but machines would have to be set up in shops to ensure that the card was not forged. Would they stop illegal immigration? Arguments were being made for ID cards even before Sept 11 by those who think they could help reduce the number of illegal immigrants. However, many people who are described as illegal immigrants are, in fact, asylum-seekers. An ID scheme would not prevent their arrival in the country. It could help prevent illegal working by asylum-seekers, who are not meant to take jobs for six months and only then with permission. But existing restraints - such as national insurance checks and minimum wage requirements - are already flouted. Unscrupulous employers will not ask to see an ID card. One reason why the Government wants ID cards is that ministers removed embarkation controls at all ports three years ago and it is no longer possible to establish who has left the country so that their whereabouts can be checked. If there was a national ID scheme, the police could also be given powers to demand that visitors produce their passports on demand. Would an ID card stop terrorism? Countries with compulsory cards or voluntary cards have not stopped terrorist attacks. These countries also have large numbers of illegal immigrants. The terrorist is more likely to have the ability to forge cards and, in the case of suicide attackers, the card will not be a deterrent, even if it makes tracking them easier for the police. As well as producing no obvious benefits, it could also give people a false sense of security when vigilance is required. What information could they contain? Cards could be a basic means of ID, with photograph, name, address and date of birth. But no Government introducing ID cards could resist the smartcard micro-chip technology that allows masses of information to be included - ranging from a person's criminal record to his credit-worthiness and marital status. It could also be proof of eligibility to public services such as the NHS. Are they secure? Basic photo-based identity cards would be fairly easy to forge to get past a cursory check. For more complex cards, biometrics provides a means of ensuring that the holder of a card is who they say they are. A biometric is a unique measurable human characteristic that can be used for automatic identification. This can be anything from a fingerprint to an iris scan. Babies could be scanned for their biometric characteristics at birth for later use on the ID card. One drawback is that the police would need to carry scanning equipment around with them to carry out random checks. But this is being developed. What are the main objections? The principal objections to ID cards is that they are an infringement of the citizen's right to remain anonymous if he chooses. They give the state powers it has only ever had before in wartime. There is no evidence they provide additional security for citizens. And the benefits are outweighed by privacy and data protection considerations. An ID scheme would also be hugely expensive. The last official estimate, in 1996, put the cost of setting up a national registration data base at £600 million and annual running costs at up to £100 million. More recent, though unofficial, estimates have suggested setting up a scheme could cost £1 billion. What happens in other countries? About 100 countries have compulsory ID cards, including Germany, Belgium and Spain. Some, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, have no ID cards at all. Others, such as France, Italy and Austria, have voluntary schemes under which it is not compulsory to carry a card at all times. 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| Payment of living costs in vouchersintroduction of “ID smart cards” | 3 November 2001 | 08:39:58 02/11/03 Tue |
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