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UK Pushing ID Cards
lga writes "David Blunkett will attempt to introduce "entitlement cards" after the next general election in the UK. This is despite an overwhelming response against the idea through stand.org.uk. Carrying the cards will not be compulsory, but registration for the national database will be. Not only that, but the cards will be paid for by a £25 price increase on passports and driving licences! More information can be had at The Register and The Guardian."
...how long before someone will compromise the database. I have yet to see a security solution, developed in a closed environment, which is indeed secure. (GSM, anyone?) I wish more people had read Bruce Schneier's books. But what do I know? I don't have lobbiests in EU... *sigh*
Karma: Positive (probably because of superiour intellect)
Why do we need yet another form of forgable identification. I have a passport and a drivers license, I can get credit cards with my phot on them, all of which go to identify me as a person. Does having an ID card stop criminals? I don`t think any of the european countries have had a sudden drop in crime because of it. Will it stop terrorism? No more than passports have I suppose. But then I'm just a pleb that that think that the government is there at out sufferance to serve our purposes, and I don`t think I asked them to start implimenting ID cards.
But maybe thats just me.
CJC
David Blunkett will attempt to introduce "entitlement cards" after the next general election in the UK. This is despite an overwhelming response against the idea through stand.org.uk.
And not too long ago the UK went to war with Iraq despite the overwhelming response against the idea. I guess the US isn't the only "democracy" (or representative republic) that ignores the will of the people. I don't know whether to feel sorry for the British or feel relieved that we in the US will have company "at the bottom".
GMD
watch this
Where is the outrage? Where is the "End of the world!", "Only in capitalistic GB is this possible!", "The government hates us and will kill us all!"?
Any time the US thinks of anything of this sort we have people flocking to Canada or better yet China, where they still have freedoms. This has been posted almost 30 minutes when I reply here, yet there is not a single post modded above 2 (my threshold).
When the US even thinks of doing a national id card/database there is outrage and hate and spittle against the US. Why not when GB thinks of doing this?
Norris/Palin 2012
Fact: We deserve leaders who can kick your ass and field dress your carcass.
There haven't been any posts yet, but I look forward to getting home and reading quite a lot of FUD posts about how they're taking away our rights and the government is coming to get you, and how having an ID card is one step away from martial law and taking away your homes. Fun.
Let's look at some facts. Some countries which currently have national ID cards are Israel, Germany, Austria, Norway, France, Sweden, and Finland. How many of these are police states?
Only one, and that's justified when people are trying to blow you up. Still, even in Israel, there's no loss of privacy. Security guards are posted at the entrance to every mall, and military personnel are on every corner, but none of them ever asked me for ID. They'll search your bags, sure, but not in depth. If you looked suspicious, they'd probably wave you over to check you out, but I don't know of anyone who's been unfairly hassled for their ID card. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it doesn't seem to happen often enough.
Norway, Sweden, and Finland, very socialist countries, people-oriented. (Relatively) strong economies, technologically sound, and very 'european'. France, Germany, and Austria, say what you will, but Germany isn't 'like that' anymore. Well, some people are, but not the country as a whole. Police states? Not hardly. In fact, in the EU, it's largely trivial to cross borders between countries compared to elsewhere in the world. That doesn't seem suspicious.
In Israel, you use your national ID number for such things as military service, but you don't have to use the ID card as ID - you can use a passport. Doesn't matter though, since either way, the point is to prove who you are. In Germany, you can use official documents, but the ID card is popular. In Austria, paper birth certificates are used commonly, in France the ID card or passport is used. Sweden can use a multitude of cards with your civil number, and in Finland, an ID card, passport, driver's license, or social security card.
In the US, there is no 'national ID card', but you can't drive without a license, and in most US cities, public transportation isn't practical, so cars are very important to most people. There is a Social Security Number, which you do not have to show people that aren't the IRS or your employer, but everyone asks for it anyway, and most people give it up because they don't care, or don't want to deal with the hassle. Plus, most Americans use credit cards, so if the government wanted to track you for terrorism, they could court-order VISA or your bank and find out where you spend your money anyway.
In Canada, there is also no national ID card, but no one asks for your Social Insurance Number either. It's usually very easy to get around middling-to-large cities using public transportation, but for any degree of travel outside of the major metropolitan areas, a car is needed. This results in dozens of disparate licenses, which don't all follow the same patterns, and therefore I could forge an old (4 years, I haven't seen them recently) Alberta driver's license, then go to BC and use it as ID, since it's plastic with pictures printed on it, basically. If I went to Nova Scotia, it could be the most horrible fake on the planet, and most police wouldn't know the difference. I understand the same is true in the US.
What would a National ID card do? It would provide one card, which could be identified by everyone, and would be harder to fake (laser-engraved holograms, like on BCID, would be effective, when combined with other methods). It would let all stores ask for one specific piece of ID, and thus remove barriers - for example, in British Columbia, both President's Choice Financial and Roger's Video - very large national chains - would not give me an account without a BCID or BC driver's license. I had a birth certificate, an Alberta driver's license, my Social Insurance Card, two pieces of student ID, a library card, and a passport, but still, they needed BCID. Thus, to have the privilege of doing b