Good evening, all... I don't know if the following story will hit any of you in the breadbasket or not, but it certainly made me sit upright in my chair and begin hurling expletives in all four directions. If the reactionaries in the DHS continue unabated with their master plan, it won't be much longer before the time comes when, as some suggest, we will need an ID card to buy food. Say, doesn't that sound just a TRIFLE familiar?
EMERGENCY ID CARDS RAISE PRIVACY CONCERNS An effort by officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prepare families and schoolchildren for terrorist attacks has some worried that increased identity theft will be a by-product of the initiative. DHS sent preparedness forms to school districts around the country, encouraging junior and senior high school students to fill out and carry ID cards with them at all times. The cards include space for home address, as well as birth dates and Social Security numbers for other family members. Patrick Lynch, attorney general for Rhode Island, said his office immediately sent a letter to DHS when he learned of the ID cards, asking that they be modified to exclude such sensitive information. Lynch said he has not received a response to his letter, dated October 14. Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Liberty Project, characterized DHS's actions as "grossly irresponsible." Representatives of DHS downplayed the risk of identity theft posed by the ID cards but said that newer versions of the preparedness kits do not encourage students to carry the cards in their backpacks. The cards still include space for Social Security numbers, though cards sent to younger students later this year reportedly will not. [SOURCE] Wall Street Journal, 24 November 2004 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110125761251482555,00.html [Seen at the used_kharma.technical newsgroup Dave -- Dave Laird ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) The Used Kharma Lot / The Phoenix Project Web Page: http://www.kharma.net updated 10/31/2004 Usenet News server: news.kharma.net An automatic & random thought For the Minute: Is your job running? You'd better go catch it! _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
