And this is why you NEVER give biometric data to any government agency or corporation when it is not absolutely mandatory (ie: you're starting in the military, taking the bar exam, got arrested in a bar, applying for a security clearance, etc).
Don't end up like this guy.
Even as we speak, Ayatollah Razmada and his cadre of fanatics are consolidating their power!
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Re: J. Walter Weatherman Says...
Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 12:59:07 PM EST
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I had a Clear card. It was a very good thing when I was traveling 150k/year. I didn't renew it as I was no longer traveling as much and they seem to have improved the speed of regular security. And you can get faster through security via frequent flyer lanes....
As far as giving over your biometric information, give me a break. Here in CA you already have your prints scanned and newer passports will require some sort of biometric data. Besides, I used to have a security clearance, so the gov't. pretty much has all my data anyway.
Never mind the fact that the government is way to disorganized to do anything with this or any other data. Do not mistake incompetence for some sort of master plan...
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Re: J. Walter Weatherman Says...
Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 01:27:12 PM EST
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Getting a security clearance or joining the military is a choice. So are these CLEAR cards. If people want to give up their prints to do that it's fine with me.
As for me, the point I'm trying to make is that the best way to avoid being a victim of government shenanigans is to stay out of the database. They can't make a false positive match to something that isn't in the computer. The government doesn't have to be inherently evil to screw your life up, idiotic bureaucrats can do that just as well without any malicious intent.
♫You's a superstar boy, why you still up in the hood?♫
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Re: J. Walter Weatherman Says...
Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 02:41:26 PM EST
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Your prints are already in a computer somewhere. All newborns have had their prints take since at least the 1960's.
If you want to be worried about something, worry about crack heads stealing your SSN.
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Re: you say
Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 09:51:36 PM EST
5.00 (astute)
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Re: J. Walter Weatherman Says...
Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 02:54:46 PM EST
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Really? I had never heard of that. If that's the case how come people need to be printed for humdrum things like teacher's licenses and such? How come so many crime scene prints come back no match? Hoenstly I have never heard of this before.
And yeah, the SSN thing is a major issue. Happened to my dad. And it's not just crack heads, its illegals, white colar criminals, con men, disgruntled clerks, etc. Actually my dad's SSN got jacked off his job application by a clerk at the place he applied to work at (a city board of education). Cops in that town said it was happening a lot, they even recognized the address all the stolen shit was sent to. But the employer refused to cooperate with the investigation. God bless government bureaucrats and their unions.
♫You's a superstar boy, why you still up in the hood?♫
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I wouldn't worry
Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 04:09:05 PM EST
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That may be, but how many of us are going to be committing crimes with our bare feet?
- derumi (del-me)
"It is the farewell kiss, you dog!" - Muntadhar al-Zaidi
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Re: J. Walter Weatherman Says...
Thu Jun 25, 2009 at 07:51:44 PM EST
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It does seem like newborn fingerprints would probably be pretty useless in attempting to identify an adult fingerprint.
Many of us, however, also got fingerprinted sometime during grade school, ostensibly to help in case we were kidnapped.
Except, y'know, not.
Not only was this a dumb idea from a business standpoint (the only people I could see willing to pay for this, frequent travelers, are the ones who will probably get the smallest benefit), it shows how dumb our government's idea of security has gotten since 9/11. Basically there's a government-sanctioned end-run around the pathetic excuse for airport security that's now in place
The Bush administration was all about collecting and collating data. Intelligence agencies' inability to communicate with each other was a scapegoat for the failure of the administration to listen to what information was given to them. The problem though is that information consolidation isn't really a panacea, especially when the government is still so bad at information security.
Private corporations aren't any better. There's still no accountability, and few states have laws that even require corporations to tell people when data losses occur (hence sites like the DataLossDB).
The quote from the TSA ("violation of private data", not security risk) is laughable. Airport security is already so abysmally bad, and what little there is relies entirely on the type of information that was lost. Moreover, this data was identifying information on people who were going to be checked less. And the TSA honestly can't see a security risk there? It might just be placating nonsense, and for once I hope that's the case.
Q: What do you think of western civilization? Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea.
Anyone know the privacy & data security agreement that came with the Clear pass? I hate to travel, so I didn't even think about them. But whenever a company goes into bankruptcy whose only assets are personal data, it makes me go hmmm. Odds that they'll sell the personal data -- unless explicitly prohibited by the ageements -- 100%. Odds that the people who buy them will either be, or resell to, people who are not on the right side of the law? 99%. If you had a card, I would advise watching your credit reports very carefully for a while.
T.
