i'm gonna have to go with the latter.

How is it a conspiracy?

Nobody has to have a passport, unless they travel overseas.

The information on the chip will only duplicate what is already written into the chip.

This will be a low-powered chip, which has to be within 2" of the reader in order to be scanned.

By the way, with the right equipment, many drivers license scan bars can be read at the same distance.  So can credit card magnetic strips.  Do you propose we remove those as well?  And the RFID chip will be encrypted.  Neither DL or credit card information is encrypted.

If something like this worries you, simply never get a passport.  Then you can sit at home with your tin-foil hat on and wait for the UN invasion (or UFO invasion).

i think it's funny that the trial subjects for the RFID chips has been cattle and prison inmates.

on its own maybe it's not so bad but it seems to be part of a pattern of more and more government intrusion into our lives. personally i think the government has far more than enough control over the people already. and yes, having to either get one of these goofy things or be prohibited from leaving the country is actually a big deal. wasn't that the problem with the soviet union that they couldn't leave?

the whole tinfoil hat/ufo thing is dopey, too easy, and meaningless. i thought we weren't supposed to be insulting each other?

the whole tinfoil hat/ufo thing is dopey, too easy, and meaningless. i thought we weren't supposed to be insulting each other?


No, it only works in the third person: You're not supposed to be insulting each other.

All the more reason to just use my Canadian passport exclusively.

All the more reason to just use my Canadian passport exclusively.


my folks are applying for u.k. citizenship. i might try and get on that gravytrain, man! although i have the funny feeling the u.k. will be doing the same dang epthing. this is really something where i want to get with people and organize some resistance to this, because i have no interest in getting one of these passports but i also need to be able to travel out of the country. gotta put your foot down somewhere, yes?

i dare say if a democrat were in office mushroom might feel a little differently about this.

No, it only works in the third person: You're not supposed to be insulting each other.


OK, let me say again how I make my posts.

I am sorry if anybody thought the "you" was personal.  It was not.  The "you" I was refering to was the "conspiracy theory - new world order - suspicious of government anything" type of person.  I am talking about the ones who believe that the reflective strips on the back of road signs are the markers for a UN invasion, and who think that UFOs are hidden at Area 51 (it is called "Are 51" because anybody who believes in it is at least one card short of a full deck).  You know, the nutcases.

It was in no way intended to refer to the poster that I was responsing to.  If her or anybody else thinks that was my intent, I apologize.  Part of the problem with English pronouns, is that so many are missing.  It allows for things like this to happen.

By the way, Timothy McVey thought the Government put an RFID chip into his butt.  That is why he blew up the Federal Building in Oaklahoma.  That is the kind of nutcase I was talking about.

For an FYI here:

RFID tags come in many different forms.  The most passive ones are like those we have been putting in our pets and livestock for years.  They have to have the detector placed almost against them to react.  This is the type they are planning to use.

It is also the kind of RFID that goes into "Smart Cards".  You know, the kind that lets you get into elevators in security buildings, parking garages, and the like.

The kind that Wal-Mart uses are a lot more powerful.  They also require much more power to read them.  They also have a shorter "shelf life".

RFID is an amazing technology.  I have a mouse & mouse pad that I use which uses RFID technology.  There is no wires to the mouse, and no battery.  The current is passed through the pad, which then passes it to the mouse.  It is rather amazing.  But you have to use the special pad for it to work.  If the mouse is moved more then 2-3 inches away, it looses all power.

http://www.extrememhz.com/bfmouse2-p1.shtml

And expect many more RFID devices to come out in the future.  Some are already looking at it as a way to eliminate Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.  And increasing personal security systems, by RFID tagging your personal possessions.  This way you will know if something is removed from your house.  And there are already test systems out where even your groceries are RFID tagged.  This way, your refrigerator knows they are no longer inside, and need to be replaced.

I may be worried about a lot of things, but RFID technology is not one of them.

And did you know that this requirement is one that is in place because of the UN?  Here is an interesting clip I found in a UK report on the new passports:

The system is designed to follow the biometric standardisation developed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) – a UN-level body that acts on behalf of governments to create international standards for airline navigation, safety and security – in 2003. This provides that the initial international biometric standard for passports is facial mapping, although additional biometrics such as fingerprinting can be included.

The EU is already looking at putting RFID into their passports as well.  And once the new passports are in place, any EU citizen will be able to enter the US without a VISA.  Those who have passpors without the biometric chip will have to obtain a Visa to enter the US.  And the reverse is true as well.

Several EU countries are looking into getting the technology for their passports, including UK, France, and also Russia.

All the more reason to just use my Canadian passport exclusively.

I suspect the Land of Molson will soon follow suit...

Conspiracy theory and nut case stuff aside, I think that governments, and not just our are too intrusive already when it comes to personal lives.  Survailance cameras are everywhere, data banks are filled with info on all of us.  Between me, my son, and a cousin there are at least 50 Google entries when I plug in my name and I found one site that lists my address and phone number.  Not to mention my FBI file, which is purely political (unless a speeding ticket - one, is reason for survailance).  Meanwhile, the corporate giants and their CIOs get a free pass from the SEC and other "watchdogs".  Sounds a lot like 1984 to me.

aw! the conspiracy stuff is kinda fun though. and it's such an unhappy topic otherwise.

i've long been of the opinion that the government tends to see the people as a problem to be managed rather than constituents to be protected. i think we saw that in the aftermath of katrina, when the chief concern was perception management rather than helping the people who were in trouble. i think the government has aggregated so much power to itself and is chiefly concerned with hanging on to that power, and sees the population chiefly as the source of potential revolution... and they need to be alternately mollified with bread and circuses, and closely managed and monitored so that they can't organize sufficiently to take some of this power back from the government. that's really what the government is after. managing the population and making sure they don't get too uppity.

i guess if that makes me part of the tinfoil brigade so be it. this really seems sorta obvious to me. the government doesn't really care about you or me, just about keeping the gravy trail rolling.

Conspiracy theory and nut case stuff aside, I think that governments, and not just our are too intrusive already when it comes to personal lives.  Survailance cameras are everywhere, data banks are filled with info on all of us.  Between me, my son, and a cousin there are at least 50 Google entries when I plug in my name and I found one site that lists my address and phone number.


I am curious though, how many of those sites are Government sites?

I have done such a search on my name, and found about the same number of returns.  The closest thing I found to a "Government" site though was my membership to the DAV.  Most were from news sources, Professional References, and things like that.