WRITTEN ON March 20th, 2007 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Uncategorized
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced this week that it will start fingerprinting all 10 fingers of tourists’ hands when they enter the country, raising fears of increased delays for travellers
The weirdly named Bob Mocny, acting director of US-Visit Programme, says the new technology will
improve…the airport experience for passengers
. Who are you mocking, Mocny? If you believe that patent claptrap is it worth trying to reason with you about the shortcomings of routine identity and wholesale surveillance in achieving security? This is control-phreakery, and it’s far from Ideal. Apparently US VISIT doesnt routinely give all British fingerprints to the FBI, Mocny reassures us. The FBI has to ask. And
“US security is no worse than what Americans face when coming into London.” He said other countries would end up employing the same technology at security checkpoints in the future.
Well hurrah.
Respiratory viruses are often spread by hand contact: eg. By touching dirty door handles etc.
The UK DoH has recently revived the old health message that “coughs & sneezes spread diseases!”
These public finger-print readers will be ideal for rapidly transferring accidental – or intentional – infections between large numbers of people; many of them prominent businessmen.
Will these readers survive the first SARS or Bird-Flu scare?