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Post by Cranky on Dec 2, 2015 15:20:56 GMT -5
I went to the US several times this year but for the first time, I went on a rainy day and as I was entering their border patrol booth, I got a nice high resolution picture taken of me in the car.
So now, our Yankee neighbors and best friends are taking high resolution photographs of Canadians for facial recognition and linking it to their names of ANYONE who crosses the border to the land of Freedom Fries.
But wait...there is more...
When I asked the nice young man who seems to have failed the classic CIA entry exam, he got very snappy about it. I asked about when this started and his best most courteous response was.....YOU DON'T HAVE TO ENTER OUR COUNTRY IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. Wow....he said that and didn't even have to pull out his machine gun for an exclamation point.
Apparently it's going on for while but I only noticed it now since they had to use a flash to get all the wrinkle details.
So there you go, in Canada, you can cover your face for something as important as getting your citizenship, but the real issues like getting Canadians faces on American government databases is not that important. Heck, why even bring it up, after all, they and our government is consenting and going along for your own good.
Freedom Fries anyone?
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 2, 2015 16:51:11 GMT -5
Which border crossing was this, HA ... interesting ... sounds like your guy might have benefited from a good dose of fibre ... but that's just me ... I've never had a problem anywhere in the US ... airports, border crossings, wherever ... had a border agent show me his Chicago Bears pin just as soon as he saw me wearing Packers green and gold ... one thing I've noticed, though ... went to Vegas/LA recently and we flew out of Ottawa ... however, we had to clear US customs in Ottawa prior to departing ... when we got through US customs, it was like we had entered another airport all together ... it was poorly lit, dull, almost austere when compared to the Canadian side of the airport which we'd seen umpteen times ... there were two small differences in the screening process ... everyone was made to take off their shoes and there always seemed to be an officer assigned to yell instructions to the crowd ... Vegas was like this, too ... LAX wasn't, though ... very friendly, efficient system of screening passengers ... they probably got their recommended dosages of bran ... dunno ... still had to take off my shoes ...
Cheers.
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Post by Cranky on Dec 2, 2015 20:25:27 GMT -5
Dis, I couldn't care about the fiber content of the nice young man, but i certainly do care about our ever decreasing privacy and 1984 governments.
I'm starting to believe I'm a dinosaur in thinking that we have ANY rights to privacy. All in the name of....."we're doing it for your oen good".
Just a thought....but will I be around when everyone will have to wear a surgery embedded ID chip in their spinal cortex? I HOPE NOT....
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 2, 2015 21:20:41 GMT -5
Just some levity, buds ... no other intent ... chances are you've had a high-resolution photo taken of yourself if you've ever gotten close to someone of high importance ... you can't tell me that CSIS doesn't film/photograph people surrounding the prime minister, the queen, or someone else of importance ... the amount of liberties American citizens are losing is shameful ... the Patriot Act stripped many such liberties citizens had ... but here's the thing; both your incident and the Patriot Act are residuals of 9/11 ... things tightened up after that ... I read in some online papers that C-51 wasn't as bad as people make it out to be ... just my opinion, but if Harper had his way we'd be well on our way to where the Americans are ... if you have any questions about security concerns here at home, maybe read this ... it pertains to just about every government/military employee we have ... this is only the tip of the iceberg ... Can't post as much as my damn work has blocked the site as "suspicious". There's more than enough sites I can't access at work ... anything requiring 'flash' or streaming will not work ... I make sure that anyone wanting to contact me at work, knows that DND email and internet is monitored by 'Big Brother' ... access to any social media is not authorized ... Facebook, Twitter and certain functions on LinkedIn, all blocked ... personal flash drives are detected immediately and will result in a 3-month suspension of privileges ... when you can't do your job without a computer, the company gets involved and it could lead to a temp layoff ... in the meantime the company finds a replacement and if might take you a while to get back to work ... accessing this website is no problem, however ... could care less if 'Big Brother' knows I visit here multiple times a day ... never know, though ... might give them something good to read for a change ... Cheers. |
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Post by BadCompany on Dec 3, 2015 9:54:32 GMT -5
Dis, I couldn't care about the fiber content of the nice young man, but i certainly do care about our ever decreasing privacy and 1984 governments. I'm starting to believe I'm a dinosaur in thinking that we have ANY rights to privacy. All in the name of....."we're doing it for your oen good". Just a thought....but will I be around when everyone will have to wear a surgery embedded ID chip in their spinal cortex? I HOPE NOT.... Privacy is dead my friend, dead. Technology fired the final bullet, and the up-coming generations willfully dove in front of it. It could be argued that The Man has always tried to know more than he should know about The People, but his ability to do so was always limited, and people generally didn't want him to know so they kept a watchful eye on his watchful eye. Now though? There is enough technology that exists to know pretty much everything about anyone, and unlike in the past people just don't care. If you want to find it, you can find it, and most people just don't care. I used to think it was ignorance, that people just didn't realize how much of themselves they were revealing, but now I think it's just apathy. They know, and they just don't care. What used to take weeks of surveillance and dumpster-diving can now be accomplished with a simple Google search, and some basic hacking skills. Everybody knows this, and nobody cares. I work next to an online travel agency call center. It's staffed by exactly the sort of people you would expect to work at an online travel agency call center; young-ish students and/or recent graduates, kids who grew up in the internet age. 20-30 year olds in other words. Do you know how these people get into their office every day? Not by badge, or key, or even passcode. They have a fingerprint scanner. That's right; a travel agency has a fingerprint record of every employee that has ever worked for it. Now maybe they won't do anything with it. What could a travel agency do with your fingerprints anyways, right? But what could a hacker do it with it I wonder? It's a True Crime Drama waiting to happen, no? Could a government agent hack into that fingerprint database (I'm guessing a travel agency probably doesn't have the greatest security) and then use that database to frame somebody? Bribe somebody? Blackmail somebody? Maybe it's useless now, but 20 years from now? Maybe that person is someplace else in their life and having their fingerprints on some sort of secret record could be used against them. I don't know. Maybe I'm being overly suspicious, but if a travel agency can require all it's employees to be fingerprinted then how far away is it from becoming a government requirement? How long before some Republican presidential candidate suggests that all Muslims be fingerprinted? Or DNA swabbed? And if we do it for Muslims, shouldn't we do it for Mexicans and blacks too? And if we accept that, then might as well do everybody in the name of fairness, right? I don't think it's far off, or far-fetched. Because like I said, the next generations just don't care. And if they're not going to stand up and say no, then it will be done. |
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Post by franko on Dec 3, 2015 10:12:20 GMT -5
Privacy is dead my friend, dead. Technology fired the final bullet, and the up-coming generations willfully dove in front of it. . . . If you want to find it, you can find it, and most people just don't care. I used to think it was ignorance, that people just didn't realize how much of themselves they were revealing, but now I think it's just apathy. They know, and they just don't care. funny you should say that. oh, the angst about Bill 51. the horror! the (channeling my inner WKRP) humanity! the government will know too much about me. and, oh, by the way, let me tweet and Facebook everything I am doing moment by moment. it doesn't take much. as to going to the States, I've learned to say "Yes" or "No" and leave comments to a minimum. Gets me into the States much quicker. Going it's like "How dare you come and how are you going to abuse us?". Coming back it's like "Hey we've missed you, how have you been?". |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 3, 2015 15:53:26 GMT -5
Dis, I couldn't care about the fiber content of the nice young man, but i certainly do care about our ever decreasing privacy and 1984 governments. I'm starting to believe I'm a dinosaur in thinking that we have ANY rights to privacy. All in the name of....."we're doing it for your oen good". Just a thought....but will I be around when everyone will have to wear a surgery embedded ID chip in their spinal cortex? I HOPE NOT.... Privacy is dead my friend, dead. Technology fired the final bullet, and the up-coming generations willfully dove in front of it. It could be argued that The Man has always tried to know more than he should know about The People, but his ability to do so was always limited, and people generally didn't want him to know so they kept a watchful eye on his watchful eye. Now though? There is enough technology that exists to know pretty much everything about anyone, and unlike in the past people just don't care. If you want to find it, you can find it, and most people just don't care. I used to think it was ignorance, that people just didn't realize how much of themselves they were revealing, but now I think it's just apathy. They know, and they just don't care. What used to take weeks of surveillance and dumpster-diving can now be accomplished with a simple Google search, and some basic hacking skills. Everybody knows this, and nobody cares. I work next to an online travel agency call center. It's staffed by exactly the sort of people you would expect to work at an online travel agency call center; young-ish students and/or recent graduates, kids who grew up in the internet age. 20-30 year olds in other words. Do you know how these people get into their office every day? Not by badge, or key, or even passcode. They have a fingerprint scanner. That's right; a travel agency has a fingerprint record of every employee that has ever worked for it. Now maybe they won't do anything with it. What could a travel agency do with your fingerprints anyways, right? But what could a hacker do it with it I wonder? It's a True Crime Drama waiting to happen, no? Could a government agent hack into that fingerprint database (I'm guessing a travel agency probably doesn't have the greatest security) and then use that database to frame somebody? Bribe somebody? Blackmail somebody? Maybe it's useless now, but 20 years from now? Maybe that person is someplace else in their life and having their fingerprints on some sort of secret record could be used against them. I don't know. Maybe I'm being overly suspicious, but if a travel agency can require all it's employees to be fingerprinted then how far away is it from becoming a government requirement? How long before some Republican presidential candidate suggests that all Muslims be fingerprinted? Or DNA swabbed? And if we do it for Muslims, shouldn't we do it for Mexicans and blacks too? And if we accept that, then might as well do everybody in the name of fairness, right? I don't think it's far off, or far-fetched. Because like I said, the next generations just don't care. And if they're not going to stand up and say no, then it will be done. Multiple choice question. Pick one. 1...i have nothing to hide2....what are you afraid of?3...the government has no interest in me.I always choose 4, GO F**K YOUSELVES Twenty years ago, i would never believe that we land up with willful surrender society. In my generation of 20 year olds, you didn't trust The Man under any circumstances. The last thing anyone wanted then was to be on some gooberment database. Now, what's the big deal? Just go read my latest tweet about my Mexican gas..... No good will come out of this...... |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 3, 2015 15:58:05 GMT -5
Privacy is dead my friend, dead. Technology fired the final bullet, and the up-coming generations willfully dove in front of it. . . . If you want to find it, you can find it, and most people just don't care. I used to think it was ignorance, that people just didn't realize how much of themselves they were revealing, but now I think it's just apathy. They know, and they just don't care. funny you should say that. oh, the angst about Bill 51. the horror! the (channeling my inner WKRP) humanity! the government will know too much about me. and, oh, by the way, let me tweet and Facebook everything I am doing moment by moment. it doesn't take much. as to going to the States, I've learned to say "Yes" or "No" and leave comments to a minimum. Gets me into the States much quicker. Going it's like "How dare you come and how are you going to abuse us?". Coming back it's like "Hey we've missed you, how have you been?". Are you talking about the needy generation? They needy to talk to their "friends" who are just as needy to talk to them. Because life is so different and full of experience every two minutes. Wait, i also have a tweety account....with exactly ONE tweet on it.....ONE. Although i will probably make it two by next year. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 3, 2015 17:32:20 GMT -5
1...i have nothing to hide This argument holds no water with me, whatsoever ... why not ask one of those inmates who spent 20 years in prison, only to be exonerated by DNA later, what they had to hide ... Cheers. |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 3, 2015 18:47:30 GMT -5
1...i have nothing to hide This argument holds no water with me, whatsoever ... why not ask one of those inmates who spent 20 years in prison, only to be exonerated by DNA later, what they had to hide ... Cheers. A child is molested 2 blocks away, cops pull out a book of man in the neighborhood and voila, you have something to work with. "Where were you on Sunday, September 18th at 3 pm"? Umm....I. don't have a clue what I ate 3 days ago and I will remember a month or three ago? But wait, it gets better. My phone records show that i was in the "vacinity". Give or take whatever they decide is a "vacinity". Which given how far one can drive in ten minutes, i could be all thr way to work and still be in the "vacinity". Try fighting phone record and half assed descriptions. I'm not going to get trapped is some dragnet and first thing I will do is get a lawyer. Bingo. Obviously I'm guilty and have something to hide. Fine, it will cost me a pile of money but they are not going to trap me, but what happens to Jamal? And Mohammed? And talking about money, lawyers cost a bundle, who is going to pay me back for my losses? Oh, that's right, how dare I complain, think about the child suffering! None of this happens if there is no database. The cops actually have to work harder to dig out suspects. Real suspects, not some dragnet and pot luck. Try explaining that scenario to the slow ones who think it's about their "safety and security". In fact, what they will take out of this is that. .....obviously only child molesters worry about this. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 3, 2015 19:11:54 GMT -5
funny you should say that. oh, the angst about Bill 51. the horror! the (channeling my inner WKRP) humanity! the government will know too much about me. and, oh, by the way, let me tweet and Facebook everything I am doing moment by moment. it doesn't take much. as to going to the States, I've learned to say "Yes" or "No" and leave comments to a minimum. Gets me into the States much quicker. Going it's like "How dare you come and how are you going to abuse us?". Coming back it's like "Hey we've missed you, how have you been?". Are you talking about the needy generation? They needy to talk to their "friends" who are just as needy to talk to them. Because life is so different and full of experience every two minutes. Wait, i also have a tweety account....with exactly ONE tweet on it.....ONE. Although i will probably make it two by next year. Not sure how many countries have my photo, to be honest ... just off the top of my head ... Canada, US, Germany (Inc East), France, Belgium, England, Switzerland, Israel, Syria, Cyprus ... that's where I've been in uniform ... given all that, though, I'd probably still be a little miffed if I had to get out of my car to look at a picture of myself, taken by someone who figures he's doing me a favour ... change of direction; I know of a few Canadians who complain about the level of security in their airports ... they should actually be grateful, though ... have you flown out of Frankfurt ... tandems of armed guards in armour, with automatic weapons slung over the front of them ... that was back in '82 ... also took me an hour to get through security in Tel Aviv ... my Canadian passport did not help me, it actually hurt me ... me and those I was with, were interrogated by the Israelis for an hour before boarding the plane ... this was done at the security check so they had my passport before they started with the questions ... the one questioning me was a very attractive young lady who couldn't have been 20 years old ... then her supervisor came over when they saw I was finally starting to lose it ... BC's right about the internet, social media, etc ... these would only be starting points for security agencies, though ... Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 3, 2015 19:33:25 GMT -5
as to going to the States, I've learned to say "Yes" or "No" and leave comments to a minimum. "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir ... here's how much I bought" ... it seems to work alright for us ... I can't remember the last time I was searched coming back into Canada ... maybe in the early 90's ... Cheers. |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 3, 2015 19:34:07 GMT -5
Are you talking about the needy generation? They needy to talk to their "friends" who are just as needy to talk to them. Because life is so different and full of experience every two minutes. Wait, i also have a tweety account....with exactly ONE tweet on it.....ONE. Although i will probably make it two by next year. Not sure how many countries have my photo, to be honest ... just off the top of my head ... Canada, US, Germany (Inc East), France, Belgium, England, Switzerland, Israel, Syria, Cyprus ... that's where I've been in uniform ... given all that, though, I'd probably still be a little miffed if I had to get out of my car to look at a picture of myself, taken by someone who figures he's doing me a favour ... change of direction; I know of a few Canadians who complain about the level of security in their airports ... they should actually be grateful, though ... have you flown out of Frankfurt ... tandems of armed guards in armour, with automatic weapons slung over the front of them ... that was back in '82 ... also took me an hour to get through security in Tel Aviv ... my Canadian passport did not help me, it actually hurt me ... me and those I was with, were interrogated by the Israelis for an hour before boarding the plane ... this was done at the security check so they had my passport before they started with the questions ... the one questioning me was a very attractive young lady who couldn't have been 20 years old ... then her supervisor came over when they saw I was finally starting to lose it ... BC's right about the internet, social media, etc ... these would only be starting points for security agencies, though ... Cheers. Even I have a photo of you! Actually, I don't have it but at some point in the distent past, you posted it. What irked me most was the sneaky way they did it at the border. If they said that we are photographing you and you have a choice of turning around, I would still "volunteer" because the vast majority of my business us US based. I'm waiting for my RFD chip. For my own good..... |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 3, 2015 20:05:02 GMT -5
Not sure how many countries have my photo, to be honest ... just off the top of my head ... Canada, US, Germany (Inc East), France, Belgium, England, Switzerland, Israel, Syria, Cyprus ... that's where I've been in uniform ... given all that, though, I'd probably still be a little miffed if I had to get out of my car to look at a picture of myself, taken by someone who figures he's doing me a favour ... change of direction; I know of a few Canadians who complain about the level of security in their airports ... they should actually be grateful, though ... have you flown out of Frankfurt ... tandems of armed guards in armour, with automatic weapons slung over the front of them ... that was back in '82 ... also took me an hour to get through security in Tel Aviv ... my Canadian passport did not help me, it actually hurt me ... me and those I was with, were interrogated by the Israelis for an hour before boarding the plane ... this was done at the security check so they had my passport before they started with the questions ... the one questioning me was a very attractive young lady who couldn't have been 20 years old ... then her supervisor came over when they saw I was finally starting to lose it ... BC's right about the internet, social media, etc ... these would only be starting points for security agencies, though ... Cheers. Even I have a photo of you! Actually, I don't have it but at some point in the distent past, you posted it. What irked me most was the sneaky way they did it at the border. If they said that we are photographing you and you have a choice of turning around, I would still "volunteer" because the vast majority of my business us US based. I'm waiting for my RFD chip. For my own good..... What irks me is the inconsistency of security across DND ... if you try getting onto a base that is home to a brigade, or combat group, you'll have to have a sticker on your car window ... the gates are monitored and if you don't have your sticker, you'll be pulled over and undergo a full ID check, sign in, sign out, all that stuff ... bases like Kingston, however, are considered "open" bases ... the gates to both sides of the base are not manned; however, in times of conflict they are manned and everyone is checked for ID ... fingerprinting: Not only does the CF have my photo, they have my finger prints, blood type, attitudes, yada, yada, yada ... they weren't sneaky about it, it just came with the job ... your photo, though ... I remember a very good friend of mine taped a conversation between me and him without me knowing it ... he just wanted to test out his new pocket-sized tape recorder and he was good about letting me listen to it before he got rid of it ... he was a bit perplexed over my reaction ... I didn't take it as a joke, I was actually quite offended by it and it took a while for me to fully trust him again ... it was only a gag, but this photo business and then showing it to you later is no joke at all ... Cheers. |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 3, 2015 22:24:02 GMT -5
Deliberate and sneaky are two different worlds.
As a side discussion, why exactly is our government not telling how they are usurping our privacy? Is it that we are too dumb? Is it that they are elite and can't be bothered with us pee-ons? What? And this is not a "conservative/liberal" issue. Both of them are equally arrogant, deceitful and hypocrites.
This never gets old....”Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither.”
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Post by BadCompany on Dec 4, 2015 11:45:26 GMT -5
and, oh, by the way, let me tweet and Facebook everything I am doing moment by moment. It's not just Facebook and Twitter, or whatever your social media preferences might be. It's the whole internet phenomena. If I have your name and location (and location probably isn't required) I can probably, without any computer hacking skills, find out what you look like, your age, your job and employment history, education, marital status (past and present), and income range. If I get lucky I can find out where you post and what your username is, and from there I can often figure out your favorite sports teams, political affiliations, attitudes and beliefs, and your personality. Probably get a lot of your hopes and fears too. All that with little to no computer skills, and without leaving my office. If I sit outside your house and hack into your wifi or router I can again probably find out where you post, what you browse and read, your shopping history, eating history, banking and credit information, and your sexual tendencies. And those of your wife and kids too. From there I can track down THEIR friends and families, and learn everything about them too. With just a little hacking skills I figure this would take me one or two days, maybe a week at most. It's THAT easy to find out information on people these days. |
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Post by seventeen on Dec 4, 2015 13:37:55 GMT -5
I find some major surgery every couple of years helps keep me incognito.
And removal of my fingerprints
and spinal fluid injection to re-arrange my DNA
And a stolen ID or six
It's not that difficult, really.
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Post by Andrew on Dec 4, 2015 16:45:42 GMT -5
Citizenfour was a pretty great documentary on this topic. Quite a bit of the focus is on the messenger (Snowden), chronicling his decision to release the classified information, with footage of him meeting with journalists before and during the process. There's also a fair bit of information about the NSA and its covert surveillance practices, which is the information that Snowden felt compelled to share. I believe it's on Netflix, and well worth a watch.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 4, 2015 17:28:20 GMT -5
Good timing for the thread ... Toy Maker VTech Hack Affects 5M
Customers, Including Kids
by KEITH WAGSTAFFElectronic toymaker VTech was hacked last week, exposing the personal information of around 5 million customers. While no credit card numbers were stolen, hackers did get access to profile information like names, email addresses, passwords, mailing addresses and IP addresses. The hacked database also included information related to children, including names, genders and birth dates. VTech did not disclose how many of the 5 million accounts contained children's personal information. More ... |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 4, 2015 20:25:43 GMT -5
Citizenfour was a pretty great documentary on this topic. Quite a bit of the focus is on the messenger (Snowden), chronicling his decision to release the classified information, with footage of him meeting with journalists before and during the process. There's also a fair bit of information about the NSA and its covert surveillance practices, which is the information that Snowden felt compelled to share. I believe it's on Netflix, and well worth a watch. Most of the "right" thinks Snowden is a traitor. These are the same people who spout and yelp about freedom from big government yet when someone comes out and nails big brother in the forehead, they whine. Hypocrisy writ large. The left is confused and partisan. As long as their favorite politician doesn't get it between the eyes, they will murmer some support....and check in on twitter world to see if they have chosen the "correct" meme. Apathy writ large. Somewhere in between lays an ever decreasing minority that puts personal freedom above the tiny risk of "terrorism" and spying on us "for our own good". When someone like Snowden comes along and nails them, as long as he hasn't put someone in jeopardy, then he is my hero. |
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Post by Cranky on Dec 4, 2015 20:40:41 GMT -5
and, oh, by the way, let me tweet and Facebook everything I am doing moment by moment. It's not just Facebook and Twitter, or whatever your social media preferences might be. It's the whole internet phenomena. If I have your name and location (and location probably isn't required) I can probably, without any computer hacking skills, find out what you look like, your age, your job and employment history, education, marital status (past and present), and income range. If I get lucky I can find out where you post and what your username is, and from there I can often figure out your favorite sports teams, political affiliations, attitudes and beliefs, and your personality. Probably get a lot of your hopes and fears too. All that with little to no computer skills, and without leaving my office. If I sit outside your house and hack into your wifi or router I can again probably find out where you post, what you browse and read, your shopping history, eating history, banking and credit information, and your sexual tendencies. And those of your wife and kids too. From there I can track down THEIR friends and families, and learn everything about them too. With just a little hacking skills I figure this would take me one or two days, maybe a week at most. It's THAT easy to find out information on people these days. Unfortunatly, i agree with you. Other then here, i never post on any other forum without my rotating vpn. Plus other then you, Franco and two others, i wont join online "get togethers". On the other hand i know where you stand on almost every subject. And vice versa. I'm not sure how valuable that is other then target advertising. Where it gets murky and dangerous is when people shoot off their mouths. Boasting on Stormfront how they hate *n***** is not going to help them if they get into a serious situation that has racial implications. |
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