US to violate privacy of UK Travellers

08 Jan
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If only Blair had pushed his nose in a few centimeters further: 

Millions of Britons who visit the United States are to have their fingerprints stored on the FBI database alongside those of criminals, in a move that has outraged civil rights groups. 

The Observer has established that under new plans to combat terrorism, the US government will demand that visitors have all 10 fingers scanned when they enter the country. The information will be shared with intelligence agencies, including the FBI, with no restrictions on their international use.

…

Britons already have their credit card details and email accounts inspected by the American authorities following a deal between the EU and the Department of Homeland Security. Now passengers face having all their credit card transactions traced when using one to book a flight. And travellers giving an email address to an airline will be open to having all messages they send and receive from that address scrutinised. 

Crikey!

Oh, and BTW, looks like the entire process is pretty well useless at catching actual terrorists: 

A recent report by the civil liberties group Statewatch highlighted a Japanese study that tested 15 biometric systems and found 11 of them failed to detect 'false' fingerprints were being used in the form of a latex strip covering a person's fingers. 

But hey, why not further bankrupt our grandchildren, bankrupt our morality, and overload law enforcement with useless clutter – there’s a war going on!

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Camster1177 (not verified)Wed, 2007-01-10 20:10

Does it matter?

Does it matter whose rights are being violated and what the tax burden is? Shouldn’t the larger point simply be that rights at large are being violated - not just privacy rights, but human rights - whether Hispanic, Middle Eastern, North American, African, European, etc.? Security should be amped up - WITHIN the confines of the law. These standards SHOULD include the ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />UK – along with Germany, Canada, France and every other country in the world and the standards should be legal and uniform across the board. Correct me if I am wrong, but I get the sense that the above comment implies that this is all ok, as long as it isn’t happening to Brits. What I fins troubling is that ugly, fucked-uped attitudes like that are quite common these days...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> FYI to the author of the comment above: Richard Reed, the attempted shoe bomber, was British born - hence amped up security directed at western powers like Britain, France, Canada or others is not unjustified or unwarranted - the violation of civil rights however is, i.e. the recent Marar Arrar case. . Look it up if you don’t know what I’m referring to. Privacy is the LEAST of the civil rights abuses taking place
Jay DaverthThu, 2007-01-11 00:45

Re: Does it matter?

Cam, couldn't agree more. I posted this as one more example for the dungheap of civil rights abuses stemming from reactionary excess. The fact that this latest spate was directed against "western" states is merely a detail and not the story itself.

Camster1177 (not verified)Sat, 2007-01-20 05:39

Re: Does it matter?

Sorry for the writing quality in my comment (combo of being in a rush and trying to work off a French keyboard). That comment was more directed at someone else's response to your post - however, I may have misinterpreted the tone of his comment - so apologies if that's the case. In any case, you do a wonderful job on your blog and I read it regularly. Keep thinking outside the box and Keep up the fantastic work. - Cam
Jay DaverthSat, 2007-01-20 09:24

Re: Does it matter?

Cam, thanks for the ego boost!!  I lived in France for a while so I know how those keyboards can be - not sure I ever really got used to them!

Conqueror Worm (not verified)Mon, 2007-01-08 20:42

Re: US to violate privacy of UK Travellers

now we arn't just violating our own citizens we are violating British citizens too and wasting bucks doing it.