> Of James Wentworth >This morning I heard two ABC radio news reports about a plan for >a new nationwide standard US drivers license. The new license >is intended to make it easier for the authorities to match its >data with data (including foreign passport data) on potential >terrorists.
The US driver's licence is supposed to be for *driving* not citizen tracking. The clue is in the name. The UK government is trying similar things. It has decided that all phone calls, emails and web page visits of all citizens should be logged. This privacy invasion is forbidden under UK constitutional law however a loophole allows it to do draconian things in wartime. So we are officially at war. It also wants to introduce an ID card. Despite over 25 years of experience with terrorism, the UK has no ID card. UK police have to give 7 days written notice if they want to see a UK driver's licence, which is only a piece of paper and does not have to have a photo (and yet UK roads are the safest in the world). I am more afraid of government surveillance than of terrorists. Have the innocent got anything to fear? You bet. -- Terry Simpson Human Factors Consultant [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.connected-systems.com Phone: +44 7850 511794
