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USA: "Federal ID would be literally 1984!" Also USA: > The entire population of Afghanistan was biometrically catalogued - supported by the German Bundeswehr.
by xg15 4y ago
USA: "Federal ID would be literally 1984!"
Also USA:
> The entire population of Afghanistan was biometrically catalogued - supported by the German Bundeswehr. The motivation for this systematic collection of fingerprints, irises, faces and DNA was to enable the distinction between good and bad people. Programs such as the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) were designed to identify known criminals, as well as local collaborators or Afghan security forces, at any time.
- horns4lyfe 4y agoYes and the same people (ie feds) would do it and other worse things they’ve done overseas to American citizens, always worth remembering. These people aren’t your friends, and they certainly don’t have your best interest in mind.
- thinkalittlebit 4y ago[flagged]
- Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago>Who are these “feds”? Anyone who knew what Snowden did and did not report it is a fed. There are no two ways about it. DoD, Congress, the executive branch (CIA, FBI, NSA) are all feds.
- dsfyu404ed 4y agoInstitutions tend to trend toward power consolidation and authoritarianism over time. It's just how it is. Free society needs to constantly work to prevent it. I'm far more concerned about the Americans, many here, who's knee jerk reaction is to engage in all sorts of mental gymnastics to give the government the undeserved benefit of the doubt and minimize the significance when these things come to light. If I wanted to give them the same undeserved benefit of the doubt they give government I would say they are ignorant of the danger.
- dmix 4y agoIt will typically start like this on HN: “I dont know why people are surprised the government is doing [x]… [insert minimization]”
- hotpotamus 4y agoWhat I don't understand is the tendency to limit this thinking to the government. Look at Google's evolution from "Don't be Evil" to today as an example, but they're far from the first to follow that path. People will decry China's Social Credit score, but seem fine with America's private credit scores.
- horns4lyfe 4y agoBecause Google doesn’t take my money under the threat of violence to fund their escapades.
- dylan604 4y agoIf we based what should/shouldn't be allowed for a corporation or any individual based on if it physically causes harm to any person, then we'd have a really shitty place to live.
- sennight 4y agoThat actually sounds like an awesome place to live, where victimless crimes have been eliminated and obnoxious busybodies have no recourse but to impotently whine.
- dylan604 4y agoYou seem to be confused on my intent. Victimless crimes are completely different than crimes that do not cause physical harm to the victim. I'm suggesting things like hacking where your bank account is drained, but without any form of violence. The person I replied to implied that would be okay, so I was pointing out that violence should not be a precursor. You've taken it as something totally not what was the spirit of the thread. But sure, eliminating laws that make victimless crimes a possibility seems like a good idea. Have fun getting that to happen.
- runsWphotons 4y agothey already do this w american citizens, at least w faces. and likely have full access to the commercial dna databases.
- Teever 4y agoTo become an American citizen you need to provide a blood sample. Some countries require fingerprints for passports. I'm not sure why all of this is a big deal?
- gingerbread-man 4y agoI read this in disbelief, picturing a uniformed INS employee drawing vials of blood in some poorly sanitized strip mall. It turns out US green card applicants are required to show proof of vaccinations and undergo a physical exam by performed by USCIS certified physician. For adults, the exam includes a blood test for syphilis. Source: https://www.uscis.gov/tools/find-a-civil-surgeon https://www.uscis.gov/tools/find-a-civil-surgeon
- malandrew 4y agoWow. Just got citizenship and I was in disbelief. So glad I missed this. Absolutely dystopian to have to submit to a physical for citizenship for any country.
- anonymous9747 4y ago[flagged]
- paledot 4y agoObviously, it's to prevent people with chronic medical conditions from pursuing citizenship so they can access free health ca- oh wait.
- mikeodds 4y agoAlso a chest X-ray to check for TB, a lazy question to the crowd - could that not also be performed via blood test?
- zie 4y agoIt's not that simple, Once you have been exposed to TB, you will always test positive. A chest X-ray is the only way to know if the TB is active or not(that I'm aware of currently). Source: I'm one of those that always test positive to TB tests.
- kube-system 4y agoThe federal government would absolutely be okay with a federal ID. They even offer a few already. It is the states who are against mandating one.
- habnds 4y agowhy are the states against it?
- rayiner 4y agoIt gives more power to the federal government.
- bbbbb5 4y agoWhy would they not be against subjecting their citizens to such a mass surveillance system?
- emptyfile 4y ago[dead]
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> why are the states against it? Cedes control, which is a political and minor economic issue.
- kube-system 4y agoThe status quo is that the states already have IDs that are exactly how they want them. There’s no practical benefit to them, and it’s a politically convenient argument for privacy rights and states rights.
- Spooky23 4y agoThe states are fine with it, as it would make their lives easier and yield more federal dollars. National ID was a core GOP platform issue post 911. It never happened because both extremes of the political spectrum are against it. Right wingers are into the mark of the beast stuff and see it as a tool of government tyranny. Left wing types see it as a way to disenfranchise voters and deny resources to marginalized people. Both are right and wrong. So the status quo prevails.
- zaroth 4y agoSo in fact the people in the US decrying Federal ID are exactly correct as shown by the reality in Afghan?
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> the people in the US decrying Federal ID are exactly correct as shown by the reality in Afghan? Sort of. The defence in America against a Taliban-style takeover is more in its decentralisation. From politics to financial records, the data are held in multiple spots, making an automated canvassing difficult. The downside of that decentralisation is a lot of corruption and fraud can go uncaught.
- Spooky23 4y agoNot really. For law enforcement purposes, all of your identifying data is readily available.
- Vt71fcAqt7 4y ago>USA: "Federal ID would be literally 1984!" That's the people, not the government. Federal government has wanted it's cattle bran- I mean Federal ID for decades now.
- jeroenhd 4y agoWho needs a federal ID when you have credit companies that already track everything you do from the shadows anyway? This way the program can run without oversight, transparency and that pesky freedom of information act!
- afpx 4y agoJust FYI, I downloaded the document that they referenced, and it doesn't say that the entire population was biometrically catalogued. It says that people "of interest" and "threats".