Does America need a giant database of everyone? Could be voluntary.?
90643
How about the U.S. Census?  \n\nA database of everyone would not be feasible to update and maintain and impossible to verify.  If people are going to defraud the government, they will find ways to do so.
957476
Why do we have to have either? We have a totalitarian government. ID cards will not solve terrorism. And the potential for bureaucratic cock-ups is immense.\n\n'Neonbabe' is incredibly naive, you do have something to fear, the misuse of the information.
34159
A National ID card is NOT needed... Why, because we already have one, and its called a Drivers License...\nAny information that is needed on a person can be found on it, and if not, it could be added...\nJust another matter where the Government is trying to take total control....
944954
the fact that everything we are doing and will be doing in the near future will be documented automatically in your own personal profile on the central government database .Early next year they are going to be puting everyones medical info on the database ,do people realise this?.\nit starts with ID cards then its taking dna with out consent ,then face recognition cameras on every corner tracing your every move and constantly adding to your profile in the government central data base ,then its biometric finger scanning everytime you buy everything everywhere you go eventually turning us into a cashless society in which you use your finger to pay for everything all numbers ,being randomly stopped on the street and being asked to place your finger on there machine being tested in england and wales at the min ,all info going into your profile .\nat this point i hear people say ive got nothing to hide .then they want retina scans everytime you enter any building all still adding to your profile and face recognition cameras are not enougth they want to inject a sat nav chip in your arm the size of a tic tac how long before you have no choice in the matter of having it done because the system does not work if all are not part of it .sounds science fiction yet all science fact the micro chip was made by M.I.T and has been implanted on over 100 people this is an rfid chip yet sat technology exists,retina scan technology has been created ,biometric finger scanning yet not hooked up to the governments data base ,is being used in many school librarys and cafeterias to precondition this generation,its normal,the guinea pigs if you will ,and face recognition in early stages in the public is at the right standard to be implemented as part of the new world orders way of enslaving us. when it happens and you dont want to be part of this society you have to way up if you want to live in the wilderness or go along with being enslaved .this is gonna happen in years not decades.and all ive said isnt even half of it click on this link http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-4839556520925774502&q=suspect+nation its a documentary that was on channel 4 last week ,this programme only really tells half the story yet if you dont know anything about this ,its eye opening stuff.\n\nif you want to go further and realise why there actually doing this click on this link\nhttp://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=786048453686176230&q=terrorstorm \n\ni will definately opose this everywhere i go and debate it as much as i can but mainly try and inform people of what this means for humanity ,big brother is just a tiny piece of the big picture sadly. \nlaters.
744503
The arguments put forward in favour of ID cards are largely a blind. There's little or no reason to believe that these would have a significant impact in fighting terrorism or dealing with illegal immigration and benefit fraud. I've been involved in this kind of area and there is no document that cannot be forged, given the will, money and technology. Terrorists and criminals running major fraud operations are the very people with the will and means to do this. And so they will. Sure ID cards might have an impact on, say, your more opportunist benefit fraud but to nothing like the extent necessary to justify such enormous expense. And don't for a moment believe that even the several billion pound cost presently projected won't rise to a still more astronomical number - this invariably happens with government IT contracts.\n\nSo ID cards will be hugely expensive and of marginal value in fighting serious organised crime. Exactly what does justify the cost ? It's all speculation really but best bet is probably a national database, storing large amounts of data for each of us. Does sound very 'big brother' I know but then we've now reached the point where chips in bins to check we're disposing of rubbish correctly are becoming a reality - bets are off, I'd say.\n\nThe interesting thing about a national database is what would be included ? Name, address, date of birth, place of birth, blood group, driver or not - maybe. But how about criminal record, relationship history, medical history, sexual orientation, employment, income ? How about more commercial information, useful to the private sector. If that sounds ridiculous just think about the ever growing amount of private sector involvement in the public services - cleaning hospitals badly, running prisons for profit. This might be alarmist and wrong but, think about it, what else justifies the cost ?
233389
It is daunting.  I have heard that they are planing on using a small chip the size of a rice grain to hold all your medical information and insert it under the skin.  Should you go to a doctor, he would be able to access all you medical records by scaning this chip.  My opinion does not matter because if the government wants to do this, I don't think there is much we can do about it.  I will worry about it when the oppertunity is present and real.
72778
That all depends on the public records you want. Most are not available online.
1147935
I think the whole business about privacy has gotten really stupid. There's these data brokers out there that will sell your records online, to ANYBODY, for a small fee. The Information Age brings with it a Big Problem, and lays open your average person to all sorts of things, phishing, ID theft, the whole show. On the other hand, 'follow the money' is a valid concept in catching the Bad Guys, and you'd rather have the cops have the stuff they need to catch 'em. I think it needs good oversight, and if we can 'get it in writing' that there will be such oversight, then it's at least more re-assuring in terms of abuse prevention. But, as they say, 'knowledge is power', 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely', and absolute knowledge...well, draw your own conclusions...I just hope they use some of that great information to nail some of these credit card companies' asses to the wall for card fraud, because they got NO business issuing cards to some people. If this administration shows some signs of going after fraudulent lenders and ID thieves, and some of these data-miners themselves, I'll have a whole lot more confidence in the whole thing. But, as long as money buys trial lawyers, companies can engage in mis-using people's data, and so could our very own government, and hide behind the courts in doing it. I think citizens deserve a whole lot more respect than we seem to be getting, and public accountability ain't a bad place to start with that...hopefully the House going to The People on the immigration issue won't be the last time we see more active solicitation of the Vote...For, By, and Of The People, is what it says, not For, By, and Of the Investment Bankers etc...
659087
Why not? Yahoo is worldwide. Why do so many Americans think everything revoolves around them?
894069
We already have this, it is called the Social Security Card.\n\nEvery employer can call the SSA and verify the information of a given social security number.  Our government has just made it so difficult to do this that most employers will not take the time.\n\nWhen you are hired for a job, you are supposed to provide I-9 documentation.  You can use a passport, or state issued id & social security card (not just number), or birth certificate & ss card, etc.  \n\nThere are already laws and fines in place regarding improperly documenting your workers.  The problem is our elected officials would rather waste our money & time by presenting completely new regulations (justifying their jobs) instead of making the appropriate government administration enforce the laws we already have.\n\nPoliticians are becoming better and better at doing nothing but creating redundent worthless laws.  And we keep re-electing them.\n\nSo I would NOT vote for this ridiculous limit on my freedom and waste of the American taxpayers' monies.
652627
Do you mean try to find out who's typing your name into search engines and stuff?  If you do, there's so many ways to search for people that this is not really feasible.  Not to mention this would require being able to see the logs of all the major search engine companies, which for privacy concerns are generally not released except to the government or to law enforcement.
270830
Yes.  It's kind of scary, actually that a church would keep such records on just about everyone, not just their members.  I went to such a place in Denver when I was looking for my birth-mother, but since I had no last name, they were unable to help.
433259
What is your suggestion?  Do we need greater surveillance?  Or will our problems be solved by the meeting of a variety of great thinkers with diverse philosophies?\n\nGreater surveillance impinges on the rights of the many to protect the lives of the few.  We must be careful to consider the long-term consequences of greater surveillance.\n\nThe collaboration of a variety of great thinkers, however, would be valuable as we navigate through these difficult times.  (Hitler does NOT constitute a great philosopher, though!)
591532
All be the same-doubtful. we are, and will always be different. However, i do think everyone will hear of mcdonalds or famous people one day. Technology is expanding. Anyone who lives in developed countries or has acces to the internet will have. Progress economically will match peoples knowledge. One day, everyone won't be able to drive for a few hours without passing fast food restaurants
865711
No database yet because they're not required until June 2007. Best thing - call the referring doctors and start your own database.
837620
Alarm bells rang the minute they went into number 10!!\nHere is another:\n Warning over privacy of 50m patient files\n\nCall for boycott of medical database accessible by up to 250,000 \nNHS staff \nDavid Leigh and Rob Evans\nWednesday November 1, 2006\nThe Guardian \n\nMillions of personal medical records are to be uploaded regardless of patients' wishes to a central national database from where information can be made available to police and security services, the Guardian has learned.\nDetails of mental illnesses, abortions, pregnancy, HIV status, drug-taking, or alcoholism may also be included, and there are no laws to prevent DNA profiles being added. The uploading is planned under Whitehall's bedevilled £12bn scheme to computerise the health service.\nAfter two years of confusion and delays, the system will start coming into effect in stages early next year.\nThough the government says the database will revolutionise management of the NHS, civil liberties critics are calling it "data rape" and are urging Britons to boycott it. The British Medical Association also has reservations. "We believe that the government should get the explicit permission of patients before transferring their information on to the central database," a spokeswoman said yesterday.\nAnd a Guardian inquiry has found a lack of safeguards against access to the records once they are on the Spine, the computer designed to collect details automatically from doctors and hospitals. The NHS initiative is the world's biggest civilian IT project. In the scheme, each person's cradle-to-grave medical records no longer remain in the confidential custody of their GP practice. Instead, up to 50m medical summaries will be loaded on the Spine.\n\nThe health department's IT agency has made it clear that the public will not be able to object to information being loaded on to the database: "Patients will have data uploaded ... Patients do not have the right to say the information cannot be held."\nOnce the data is uploaded, the onus is on patients to speak out if they do not want their records seen by other people. If they do object, an on-screen "flag" will be added to their records. But any objection can be overridden "in the public interest".\nHarry Cayton, a key ministerial adviser, warned last month of "considerable pressure to obtain access to [the] data from ... police and immigration services", but he is confident that these demands can be resisted by his department.\nAnother concern is the number of people who can view the data. The health department has issued 250,000 pin-coded smart cards to NHS staff. These will grant varied access from more than 30,000 terminals - greater access for medical staff, and less for receptionists. Health managers, council social workers, private medical firms, ambulance staff, and commercial researchers will also be able to see varying levels of information. Officials say the data will be shared only on a need-to-know basis. But Guardian inquiries show a lack of safeguards.\nAlthough data protection laws supposedly ban unnecessary build-ups of computer information, patients will get no right to choose whether their history is put on the Spine. Once uploading has taken place, a government PR blitz will follow. This will be said to bring about "implied consent" to allow others view the data. Those objecting will be told that their medical care could suffer.\nThe government claims that computerised "sealed envelopes" will allow patients selectively to protect sensitive parts of their uploaded history from being widely accessed. But no such software is yet in existence. It is being promised for an unspecified date. Some doctors say "sealed envelopes" may be too complex to be workable. The design also allows NHS staff to "break the seal" under some circumstances. Police will be able to seek data, including on ground
984547
My social security number! Why does everyone think they need it when the "experts" tell everyone not to share it??