Sunday 20 January 2013

Some things are just scary!


Coming soon, to a stalag near you, the new BC Internal passport.
When East Germany and the USSR had these, they were called internal passports, travel documents that you had to show to go from one city to another. Either the Stasi or the Militsiya checked you and asked you to explain why you want to go to Gorky, for instance, a 'closed' city in Russia, or Rahnsdorf in East Germany.
Checkpoint Charlie, keeping you safe

The BC Services Card will combine your drivers licence with your Care card in one document. Making it a convenient multifunction card. Convenient for who? BC Liberal MLA Mary MacDairmid assures us that no information will be given to unauthorized people. She seems to be overlooking the fact that your current BC Medical information is sent to accounting firms in the US or US firms operating within Canada. Either way, all the information handled by any American corporation is subject to scrutiny by Homeland Security in the States.

Despite the Patriot Act's laudable goals, Canadian privacy commissioners have criticized it for compromising the privacy rights of Canadian citizens. Indeed, under the Act the U.S. government can obtain personal information about Canadians via American companies operating in Canada, or about Canadian companies that outsource to the U.S. Once the U.S. government has made a request, the company must release the information. And the company is bound by law not to tell you. Anyone like Mary MacDairmid who believes your info is safe with an American corporation is naive to say the least.

So, much more of your personal information will now be available to those who can get it. Your medical history can now be shared by the police. And not just in BC. Reassurances by Canadian politicians have no weight at all. Indeed, in Britain the same proposal brought down a government when the people rejected the idea of even more surveillance even though it included no cameras or recordings. Electronic documents are much more sinister. It is called 'data mining'.

Yes, a very few are wondering about this. Or if you will need your 'documents' to go to Pentiction next year. Or New Westminster. "Why do you want to go to Prince George, Sir? Can I see your BC Services card, please? Are you still sick?" Or even if you need to be stopped at all with RFID chips in everything that only need you to pass card reader technology somewhere along your path. And that technology can be installed by anyone with the ability to do it. Yes, your information is NOT safe, even within your pocket.

The BC Liberal Government says the BC Services Card will take advantage of modern card technology that provides better security features and will keep everyone’s personal information more secure and help prevent fraud like identity theft or misuse of government services.
At least until it is scanned into an electronic reader for the first time. Then all bets are off.

Maybe this so called multifunction card will become a malfunction card? When implemented by a malfunctioning government I would say the latter.

Meanwhile drive safe and stay healthy and don't go anywhere that attracts attention.


thetyee.ca/News

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