Slashdot Mirror
Visitors To US Now Required To Register Online
mytrip sends a reminder that starting today, visitors to the US from 35 visa-waiver countries will be required to register online with the Department of Homeland Security in advance. The DHS is asking people to go online for the ESTA program 72 hours before traveling, but they can register any amount of time ahead. Approval, once granted, is good for 2 years. DHS says that most applications are approved in 4 seconds. If an application is rejected, the traveler will have to go to a US embassy and get a visa. CNet reports that information from applications will be retained for 12 years, and eventually up to 75 years.
The Prison and Welfare systems, the two main pillars of the Poverty Industry, depend on the notion that criminals are irredeemable. It's a "corrections" system, not a rehabilitation system. "The System" is designed to produce recidivism. Prisons all over the US are being privatized, and new private prisons are being built. This is nothing short of state-sponsored slavery.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
"Step 1: Gather Information."
Step 2: Once any one government has our finger prints, then that government contacts many other governments, to ask them if they want to buy the finger print details. (Or exchange their sets of data, with the other governments data for free).
The point being, information is getting spread around ever more these days and we can't change our finger prints, once that info leaks. Plus businesses are being used to out source a lot of government work. So what if they also leak (or more likely sell) their records.
Same worry in a few years time, with the potential to misuse DNA records. (Try getting insurance once that happens, if you have any chance of developing long term illnesses).
I didn't know finger prints were even needed to get into the US. That just feels wrong.
We seem to be suffering ever more information leaks. For example, I didn't know until recently, that all our credit card purchases were also being sold onto governments and other businesses. Thats just great, because it means governments can then workout exactly who are political opponents, based on which books they buy, which films they buy, etc..
The more information the people in power have on everyone else, then the more power they have over everyone, to hold back or punish anyone who disagrees with their point of view. So therefore the more info and power they get, the more they undermine democracy and move everyone ever closer to a totalitarian level of control and monitoring over everyone.
So much for democracy. I thought all politicians were voted in to just do a job and help us improve our countries. Looks like each group that gets into power, are slowly moving the world towards ever more power for them, for their own gain.
Looks like George Orwell's 1984 book was an instruction manual after all.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.
State sponsored slavery is taking people's money to pay for prisoner's housing. Prisoners should be charged for their living expenses, and pay with forced labor if they can't afford. That's assuming they should be in jail in the first place, which is clearly not the case of the 500M prisoners on drug related charges.
\u262D = \u5350
"absolute separation of a politician and the business world"
I think that is a major aspect of the problem, but unfortunately the people who seek higher positions of power in business are the same kind of people who seek higher positions of power governments. Both jobs have money and power over others. Also when career politicians find they cannot climb any higher in politics, they so often jump ship, into big business and continue to climb up the corporate business ladder to ever more money and power. Politicians and upper corporate business people are the same kind of people.
It makes good sense for politicians to have friends in business, as it provides them with avenues of self-advancement if they cannot climb up any higher in politics. Also it makes good sense for business people to have friends in government, as that way, they can much more easily lobby for more favorable law changes, that help their businesses grow ever larger (at the expense of smaller businesses, that so often get wiped out).
In principle, I don't care about my finger prints as such, but each new step towards total information on all of us, is something I think we need to resist until at least, the people in power (in government and big business) can be prevented from abusing their positions of power. Currently they are acting like they have a blank cheque and can write into law any amount of additional controls on everyone for their own gain. Profile us all to the Nth degree, so advertising and politics can greatly benefit.
Far too many career politicians, are lacking a great deal of empathy for the result of their actions. Some have extreme arrogance and contempt for the suffering their actions cause others. Too many of them are myopic in their desire for ever more power, at the expense of others. These are people who seek power over others often for decades of their lives, as they seek to climb up the to higher levels of power. Almost by definition they seek to dictate the rules to others, so even their basic need to gain power, means they seek to prevent others having the right to choose how they should live. These are not fair people. Giving them ever more powers is very dangerous in the longer term. They will continue to slowly keep on treading us all down, just as they are already doing. They don't want fairness, they want to be in power, for their own gain.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.