Flying problems

[FG Lurker]

But I can't seem to get upset about fingerprints and photos - I fail to see how my freedom could possibly be curtailed by this.

I'm not upset by the fingerprinting, since they probably still have mine on file anyway (It was still a requirement when I first came). Same with the photos, there must be dozens of photos of me in govt. files all over japan, for licenses, etc etc.

There are some big differences being glossed over here.

When my driver's license photo is taken it is for the purpose of identifying me when I am behind the wheel of a car. I also have a document with my photograph in it for the purpose of identifying me when I travel -- my passport. And another one that identifies me as a resident of Japan, my gaijin card.

This immigration database is different though. This is building a centralized database containing my uniquely identifying information. This is information about me that I have NO way to change should it be stolen. Do you trust the Japanese government to keep this information safe? I'd put a laugh icon here, but it's very unfunny. I have no faith in the Japanese government to keep this information safe. Hell, they can't even keep their own citizens' data safe! How much lower a priority is the data of a bunch of gaijin going to have?

No one thinks that a massive database of biometric information will be a tasty target to hack? I can cancel a credit card if it gets stolen, I don't know of any way to cancel my fingerprints.

As biometric identification becomes more and more important this is going to be a bigger and bigger issue. 10 years from now I really do not want my fingerprints floating around in some digitized form. It is hard to imagine the ways in which this could be used in the future, but I would just as soon not be one of the ones to find out.

[omae mona]

There are some big differences being glossed over here.
No one thinks that a massive database of biometric information will be a tasty target to hack?

FGL, you are absolutely right, and I agree. I am extremely concerned about this from an identity theft point of view. It's a big potential problem. My previous response was about civil liberties, though, in response to Hokuto-Shinken's comment that we were losing our freedom. A crook causing me financial harm is a big problem, but a different issue than the government repressing me. I do not think I am giving up rights by letting the government get my biometric data. I do think I'll be REALLY ticked off at them, though, if they leak my fingerprints to hackers.

[FG Lurker]

Your identity is critically linked to your freedom. Just ask anyone who has had their identity wrongly placed on the US no-fly list.

I do think I'll be REALLY ticked off at them, though, if they leak my fingerprints to hackers.

If? IF!?! When. Look at the j-govt's track record on data security. It is not a pretty sight.

[Greji]

Your identity is critically linked to your freedom. Just ask anyone who has had their identity wrongly placed on the US no-fly list.


If? IF!?! When. Look at the j-govt's track record on data security. It is not a pretty sight.

What record Lurk? You got have even bad security at a minimum to establish a track record. They ain't got a track record cause they ain't got any security period!

[Kuang_Grade]

I also disagree with the statement that "its not like anyone in the US really gives a shit". This was true until the current administration, which is obsessed with negative media coverage, if it has any chance of leaking back to the U.S. and affecting elections.

Sorry for the late reply, but you lost me there Omae Mona. I just got back from a drive through the midwest and checking out the papers in Indianapolis, Columbus OH, and Pittsburgh, I can say with that if people were looking for national news in their local paper beyond wire services, they are completely out of luck...the only things these papers clearly spent any effort on was coverage of local sports teams coverage. None of these guys are going have a piece with foreign media as the primary source unless its from a wire service.

Outside the top 5-7 US papers, there aren't likely even that many US reporters covering national or federal issues. So its not that likely that anyone in the US is going to say, damn, El Pais or Le Monde certainly has the inside line on the straight dope on what's going on at the pentagon. Even if a foreign reporter uncovered a big story on the US, personally, I wouldn't believe it until it was confirmed by a US media outlet...Not that I have a bias against foreign reporters but simply because I wouldn't necessarily trust their reporting because I don't know their reporting style and competency...are these guys the NYT or World Weekly News of their country? Outside the UK newspapers, I wouldn't be able to tell, and I'm certain that I'm in 99.99% percentile for media awareness in the US. I suspect that less than 10% of the native born US population could even name one foreign newspaper. Most Americans don't even read a US newspaper nowadays, so I wouldn't be banking that they hold much value for the views of non US media.

Look how much foreign reporters covering Japan get trashed on FG...while the US may be a bit more open to foreigners and the language issues may not be as great, but foreign reporters often make the exact same mistakes in their coverage of the US as they do of Japan...the same over simplification of people's lives, the romanticization of traveling the road, the overuse of the cowboy mythos to explain almost every aspect of US life, including those parts of the US that predate cowboy era by two centuries, ect.

And I don't detect any overt concern by the Bush white house with the media in general, let alone foreign media. After the US press corps swallowed the whole WMD story, Bush's handlers haven't seen much need to even communicate with the US press all that much (outside outing blowing the occational CIA agent's cover), let alone foreign press whom, you know, speak funny. Bush's speechs usually have a snippet of how the US media is blowing the story/burying the lead of the "truth" of his fantasy world and they are doing this because they are either stupid, lazy or borderline traitors or all three.

[omae mona]

Kuang_Grade, you might want to look at some of these articles regarding Bush's obsession with the media. Both, coincidentally, have the same title. I post them because the authors are much smarter than I am and can state the point better than I.

Bush's War On The Press (The Nation)

Bush's War On The Press (commondreams.org)

Corrupting PBS. Tomlinson's tenure at the CPB, which annually distributes $400 million in federal funding to broadcast outlets, was characterized by an assault on the news operations of the Public Broadcasting Service in general, and Moyers in particular, for airing dissenting voices and preparing investigative reports on the Administration.
..
Faking TV News. Under Bush Administration directives, at least twenty federal agencies have produced and distributed scores, perhaps hundreds, of "video news segments" out of a $254 million slush fund.
..
Paying Off Pundits. The Administration has made under-the-table payments to at least three pundits to sing its praises, including Armstrong Williams, the conservative columnist who collected $240,000 from the Education Department and then cheered on the ill-conceived No Child Left Behind Act.
..
Turning Press Conferences Into Charades. Bush has all but avoided traditional press conferences, closing down a prime venue for holding the executive accountable. On those rare occasions when he deigned to meet reporters, presidential aides turned the press conferences into parodies by seating a friendly right-wing "journalist," former male escort Jeff Gannon, amid the reporters and then steering questions to him when tough issues arose.
..

(the list goes on)

They sound obsessed to me. As far as foreign media goes, they have been dogged by foreign reporting on many occasions. Apologies for not researching more carefully, but if I remember correctly off the top of my head, I think the foreign press broke the whole Paul Wolfowitz thing with the World Bank, which ended up in all the U.S. newspapers and was a big headache for the Bush administration. As far as obsession goes, just to throw out a single incident I remember, how about the plan to bomb Al-Jazeera? Yes, he is obsessed.

edited to correct bad url

[Mulboyne]

Taipei Times: Japan to introduce neighbors to new fingerprinting policy

The Japanese government plans to dispatch officials to four Asian locations, including Taiwan, later this month to brief the public about the imminent implementation of a fingerprinting policy at gateways to Japan, a Japanese daily reported yesterday. The Mainichi Shimbun said that beginning Nov. 1, all foreign visitors will have their fingerprints taken at customs upon entering into Japan after an amendment to entrance management laws is brought into force. The amendment, aimed at keeping terrorists at bay, was passed by the Japanese Diet in 2004. Officials from the Japanese Ministry of Justice are expected to visit Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea this month to meet journalists and travel agencies to give people of the four countries and areas a better understanding of the fingerprinting policy, the Mainichi Shimbun said... Visitors from these four areas made up about 60 percent of foreign visitors who traveled to Japan last year.

At Japanese customs offices, in-bound foreign nationals will be asked to place their two index fingers on a fingerprint reading machine so that their fingerprints may be taken to help the Japanese law enforcement authorities identify individuals of interest and prevent those persons from entering the country, the newspaper reported. The report quoted a senior Ministry of Justice official as saying that fingerprinting is a vital measure to keep lawbreakers and other unwanted visitors at bay. To date, only a few countries, including the US, have imposed a similar fingerprinting policy on foreigners visitors. Japan's policy will not be implemented until November since many private groups -- including the federation of Japanese bar associations -- have expressed strong opposition to its implementation. These groups have claimed that the the policy would infringe upon the privacy of foreign visitors.

[amdg]

... to brief the public about the imminent implementation of a fingering policy at gateways to Japan, ....

The report quoted a senior Ministry of Justice official as saying that fingering is a vital measure to keep lawbreakers and other unwanted visitors at bay...

Dammit, my printer's on the blink.

[Korrito]

Flying commercial sucks, which is why I bought my own jet.

[Korrito]

A pic.