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US wants all 10 fingerprints on entry

theregister.co.uk — Currently foreign travelers must have their index fingers scanned into a database when they enter the US by agents of the Department of Homeland Security. Those prints can then be checked against a database of fingerprints held by police forces or the FBI. That number will increase to all 10 fingerprints.

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  • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -8/+62They are paranoid, that's all I can say.
    I'm right now in the process to applying for a Visa to the USA and the amount of information they want and question they want answered is insane. They also want a personal interview at the embassy. And I mean, this is from Sweden. I can't believe that you need Visa from Sweden to USA.
    • rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -6/+89Yeah, pretty soon the USA will require Visa AND MasterCard to come here from Sweden.
    • spatznick, on 10/12/2007, -3/+30oh, but I lost THAT finger in an accident...
    • saikhan, on 10/12/2007, -5/+32My cousin Gries told me this was the land of the free!
    • RogerStrong, on 10/12/2007, -8/+27This is more about tracking Americans than tracking foreigners.

      Americans aren't required by Canada to have a passport when they visit. They are however required by the U.S. to have one in order to return home. As for any purchases you make, your credit card data is already sent back home too.

      The U.S. has also made argeements to receive information whenever a U.S. passport is flashed by someone travelling from a second country to a third country.

      Now, don't have a warm fuzzy feeling of security?
    • NX910a, on 10/12/2007, -4/+46I think the U.S. is not all being concerned enough about this. When national security is at stake, 10 fingerprints clearly is not sufficient. At least five more fingerprints should be required, and ten more would be ideal
    • dominasian, on 10/12/2007, -5/+32ive got eleven fingers( an extra one on my left hand)
      so ***** you FBI
    • nreynolds, on 10/12/2007, -17/+6eeewwwwww
    • capiCrimm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21@NX910a

      20 fingerprints just won't do it. I propose placing all foreigners in a carbon-freeze. If they commit a crime then we can just thaw them out, and we save the hassle of hunting them down.
    • supermanred, on 10/12/2007, -7/+21LOL a few more Patriot Acts or Freedom Proclomations or Go GI Joe Sign This You Idiots bills and you guys down south will have UPC tattoos like in the Idiocracy movie.

      Tell them the Patriot Act and all these Big Brother schemes are Un-American and Un-Patriotic.

      If you don't bitch about it, you aren't a patriot. Protest, write an email, hell make a bumpersticker or something. Try everything you can non-violent and legal to get your rights back, and if that doesn't work burn the ***** down to the ground.

      I would love to see the United States restored to the free-est country in the world.

      Get rid of these idiots that are trying to scare you into converting your country into 1984 Big Brother ***** no freedom land. You're half way there. Stop them now.

      Good luck.

      "Freedom Or Death"
      - Motto I've personally seen on some State's license plates.
    • Ryosen, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21@RogerStrong

      "As for any purchases you make, your credit card data is already sent back home too."


      Could that be because the bank issuing that credit card is in the US?
    • Ngai, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9There will be a day when we will all have to stand up and fight!

      sorry its the Indian in me....
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -11/+4you know what happened to the indians when they fought ;|
    • kevintvos, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1why not?
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9"I can't believe that you need Visa from Sweden to USA."

      You don't. Sweden is part of the Visa waiver program for the USA. If you mean you need a visa to come here to work or live, then yes, everyone needs that apart from maybe Canadians.
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -7/+12"This is more about tracking Americans than tracking foreigners."

      No. They don't fingerprint US Citizens or Legal Permenant Residents on entry to the USA, only non-resident aliens and visitors.
    • toppgun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5supermanred

      Live free or die. In New Hampshire

      by the way, having it on the license plate is a violation of the first amendment as decided by the supreme court in case Moody vs xxx (cant remember the other party). The govt is speaking for the citizen and violating the free exercise clause of the amdendent
    • SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -17/+4If you want to come here, deal with it. Otherwise, stop coming to the United States you hate so much.
    • tamrix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have two different finger prints on both my thumbs ^_^
      ahh i loved forensic science in high school..
    • honus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@ RogerStrong.

      Like someone else mentioned, of course your credit card purchases get sent back to the US. It'd be fantastic to go to another country and be like, "Well I'm not paying for it because what's purchased in Canada stays in Canada." I'm not really sure what you're trying to say there.

      And if you're an American citizen you do not need a passport to get back into the United States from Canada. You either made that up or were the victim of a nazi customs officer. As it stands, through the rest of this year, a simple birth certificate with seal will suffice.
    • hdtvdust, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2saikhan...what is unfree about this? No one has a right to anonymity.
    • 0o0Moylan0o0, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8hahahah its pretty funny... Its as if they think that there are people that Want to go to America
    • unruled, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I do believe you only need a visa for the US if you plan no staying for more then 4 months. (that goes for the entire EU as far as I can remember).

      and yes... if you have to get a visa.... there is a rediculous amount of red tape.. I was looking into it myself a while ago.
      I think this whole scenario is rediculous and mostly an intrusion on privacy.
    • Cytranic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3They have my fingerprints since I'm a registered concealed weapons holder. no worries.
    • happyberks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3door closing, horse bolted in 2001, comes to mind!
    • niteskunk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@0o0moylan0o0:

      Live in any third-world country for a while, we'll see how quickly your mind changes when you can't even get clean water. Pure ignorance.
    • RogerStrong, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1> Like someone else mentioned, of course your credit card purchases get sent back to the US.

      This information used to be kept reasonably secret from the government; they needed a good reason to get a court order to look at your purchases. The current administration has changed this. While the "Total Information Awareness" program was defunded by congress after the outcry when it became public, parts of it have continued under different funding.

      > And if you're an American citizen you do not need a passport to get back
      > into the United States from Canada. [...] through the rest of this year, a
      > simple birth certificate with seal will suffice.

      Aw, c'mon. the law is already in place. In a few months, you WILL need a U.S. passport to return from Canada, and most other countries where it was never required before. You didn't need the birth certificate with seal until just recently. The deals with other countries to send back information on your travels *between* other countries is new too.
    • Clearz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7The USA can suck my balls. I'd rather spend my vacation in China these days rathar than that fascist state. I hate to break the news to America but NOT EVERYONE is trying to get into your country. There are better destinations out there these days.
    • DrGee2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Fine with me. I'd be happy to do the same when overseas.
    • djAnakin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3I think all you guys are paranoid.

      I welcome all this security. Makes me feel better.

      You guys act liek the FBI is sitting outside your house listening to what you say. When, the truth is, no one gives two flying ***** that you're eating Cheerios in your underware at 2am after you just got done spankin it to some fat chick on myspace.

      I guess the point i'm trying to make is that IF YOU'RE NOT A CRIMINAL, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!
    • RogerStrong, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1> I welcome all this security.

      One universal observation about any form of government: Whatever they can justify watching, they can justify controlling.

      "Political criticism is our enemies' best friend."
      - Bernard Kerik, Bush nominee for head of Homeland Security

      (2003) The Department of Homeland Security just selected it's first ever privacy czar, to make sure they don't invade people's privacy. Their selection? A former executive for DoubleClick (who, according to many lawsuits and the Federal Trade Commission, routinely violated people's privacy...)

      "The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."
      - Hermann Goering, at the Nuremberg trials.

      "Even the Four Horsemen of Kidporn, Dope Dealers, Mafia and Terrorists don't worry me as much as totalitarian governments. It's been a long century, and we've had enough of them."
      -- Bruce Sterling
    • 3Den, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0honus:
      "And if you're an American citizen you do not need a passport to get back into the United States from Canada. You either made that up or were the victim of a nazi customs officer. As it stands, through the rest of this year, a simple birth certificate with seal will suffice."

      Depends if you are flying. If you are flying, you require a passport.

      If you are driving, new rules don't seem to go into effect for two more years.

    • knickerbocker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1djanakin

      "I think all you guys are paranoid."

      I think you're just the kinda person who loves all this oversight

      "I welcome all this security. Makes me feel better."

      I love Big Brother. All these whiners are doubleplusungood

      "I guess the point i'm trying to make is that IF YOU'RE NOT A CRIMINAL, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"

      Don't worry. Sooner or later, they'll get around to categorizing you as a criminal too. THEN you'll have something to worry about
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why are you surprised that they require visa? Because you are probably blonde and non muslim?

      Funny is the struggling to get into USA for holiday and spending money.
  • allaboutdatiki, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20What about retinal scans?
    • goeatsmsht, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15as soon as the technology becomes inexpensive.........
    • sparkmonkeyz, on 10/12/2007, -10/+1@goeatsmsht yeah, because what they are doing now is on such a big budget

      [/sarcasm]
    • Silencer7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The technology is the problem, though, because if they were going to require old-fashioned ink-and-paper fingerprints for everyone, with all the staining and the wipe-up tissues, we'd all be up in arms. Where do you draw the line? The new x-ray machines equal a strip-search without actually removing your clothing; are you not still violated in a similar fashion?
    • mjhamilton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4They will check the fingerprints against criminal records. You don't leave eyeprints at a crime scene unless you are that crazy woman who can stick her eyes out of her head.
    • jono10, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0Only circumcised males and uncircumcised females will be let in.

      You can work out why, it's a little racist, Doh!!!
    • esquilax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2silencer7: from what i've seen from crossing the border recently, they don't use ink. the fingerprints are digitally scanned.
  • strangerzero, on 10/12/2007, -10/+47America has turned into a Kafkaesque police state.
    • LittleGreenLzrd, on 10/12/2007, -54/+7You pussy-ass liberal-lefties would think that wouldn't you? America is trying to protect your civil liberties and ungrateful ass from terrorists and all you can do is call your protectors and government a police state? Typical.
    • EyeSeaEwe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12They might as well give the balls a lil jiggle so we can at least get something out of all this cause it isn't going to stop terrorists.
    • DaneArden, on 10/12/2007, -4/+26"America is trying to protect your civil liberties "

      civil liberties?
      You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
    • thefirstenemy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22"America is trying to protect your civil liberties"

      Haha. Irony.
    • t3hmun, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20'Terrorists' can't touch our liberties.
      Only your government can take away your liberties.
    • sexycommando, on 10/12/2007, -19/+4I seem to remember an incident when a Danish newspaper printed a cartoon of Muhammed, and after terrorists declared jihad, media outlets around the world banned any image referencing Muhammed. I think that DOES have something to do with one of our civil liberties, namely the 1st Amendment.

      I can understand how some people consider the US evil, or the US government evil, or Bush as Satan or whatever, but let's not forget who the real enemy is. Terrorists don't care if you are a liberal or conservative, they want to kill you all the same. Burying your heads in the sand (ala South Park) and pointing the finger at the government won't make terrorists go away.
    • LittleGreenLzrd, on 10/12/2007, -24/+1Of course terrorist can touch your freedoms. God damn, you are so ignorant toward the fact that terrorist live among us. It is only when our government that tracks our fingerprints and monitors our phonelines that they may find the terrorist that live next door. They protect you and you ignorant fools don't even konw it.
    • LittleGreenLzrd, on 10/12/2007, -25/+1Yeah, and listen to sexycommando, he knows that muslims=terrorist and that they are to blame when the media decides to cencor themselves. And he also knows that the government is the only thing that can protect our civil liberties. But bury him anyways becuase he, like me is right.
    • kronix2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Thank you, littlegreenlzrd, for reminding us that many people are still gullible enough to accept the eroding of their civil liberties in the "fight" against terror.
    • DougO, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8More americans died last year by having snack machines fall on them than by terrorists. Something to ponder while wiping the ink off your fingers...
    • InstantABS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yes, America has grown to the land of absurd.
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I see some people are like some other religion trying so hard to get into Germany in 1939. You know what I mean.
  • SmartITGuy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Won't be long before the US gov't and the "department of wonderland security" issue a decree that every person entering the US, will be accompanied/followed by an agent for the entire duration of the visit. (...And STILL collect urine/blood/dna samples)

    ...That should reduce the unemployment rate too at the same time.
  • ganjadude4391, on 10/12/2007, -14/+0normally i am all on the hands off i didnt do anything bandwagon. but in this case in peticular..... you already are giving up your index finger.... what is the difference????


    go ahead dig me down but think about it


    now if you were for having them do away with it all together than that might be an aproach to follow
    • Travelsonic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8What would these extra finger prints really do to help us?
  • rappermas, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11Ah, but I still have my toes. Let's see what happens when I use my feet to rob something!
  • LGFAlbatross, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2Give up the prints of all ten digits or stay at home - just send money.
  • matrix0f8h, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14...from my cold dead hands...
    • supermanred, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Yep. Good thing you guys are stil allowed to carry guns in most states. If you keep re-electing these bozos, the time will come again for American civil war, this time it will be North united with the South to remove the government from Saudi Arabia and Dubai (You know, those Bushes and Cheneys who steal your money and move it to Dubai... Those bushes and cheneys who's best buddies are Saudi Arabia (you know, the ones who knocked down those towers in New York)... The bushes and cheneys who rather than smack Saudi Arabia in the face, decided to invade Iraq and steal more of your money and get your loyal brave soldiers killed)

      Dont let it get to that point. Stop them now legally and non-violently. Vote them out and demand your rights back. Freedom or death. Nothing inbetween can be considered the American Dream.
    • JimLahey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Im gonna stay in Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Nova Scotia and get drunk as ***** with Randy-Bo-Bandy. ***** going to some commie country where you have to ***** in a cup and have your eyeballs scanned to get in.
    • benijuana, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Beware of the winds of *****...

      Go ***** yourself Lahey!
    • rheaume, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1matrix0f8h

      "From my cold dead hands"

      Lets test that shall we, hold still...
    • HexagonOne, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0supermanred:
      Do you know what a civil war even is? The north and south of the USA fighting Saudi Arabia doesn't really qualify. Dubai is not a nation but a city, part of the United Arab Emirates, one of the most developed states in Asia.

      "Nothing inbetween can be considered the American Dream."
      o.0
      In between voting Republicans out or killing oneself, nothing qualifies as the American Dream?
  • welk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Perosnally i just don't see that the USA is worth visiting for a vacation/holiday anymore, it all just seems too much trouble. Does not seem very welcoming, being fingerprinted on arrival. don't get me wrong, countries are free to have any requirements for visitors they want, but people are also free not to visit places that have requirements like these. I can't imagine these requirements help the tourist industry in the USA much.
    • toppgun, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3there is some pretty good skiing in colorado
    • johnboyholmes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I like what Brazil did, they now fingerprint and photograph all US citizens when they enter the country. Yes it is slightly childish, and I know if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear, but as someone who has nothing to hide I find customs checks are annoying enough without adding more hassels. I have never heard any evidence that shows the current measures are doing anything, so why make them more tedious.

      I think every other country should adopt a similar policy and fingerprint US citizens on entry and see how much they like it.
    • leunghoi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Freedom will win. The free market system (for common people) will adjust for the inconvenience. No, European countries should not introduce such an inconvenience. Let more travelers go to Europe instead.
    • DoubtfulSalmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15I agree. Actually, this new move has zero effect on me. I resolved that America was the one country on this planet that I will never, ever visit back when they started this photo/fingerprint *****.

      My view is that there's still the 90% of my own country (Australia) that I haven't seen yet, and there's a *lot* of really great countries in Asia and the Pacific to visit. Why would I bother with an arrogant and disrespectful place like America?
  • LogicalThinker, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9I'll bet the US gov. is using this as an excuse to cover up the fact that they single out and target Middle-Eastern looking people and anyone who's not white
    • rabidjade, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4I thought they fingerprinted everyone? Not just "Middle-Eastern looking people and anyone who's not white". Nice way to throw racism in there though.
    • eleventybillion, on 10/12/2007, -3/+25@rabidjade

      Ever go through US Customs?

      I walk straight through (white male). My fiance (Thai woman with dark complexion) is stopped every time, and her brother (Thai and even darker) is usually brought to an interrogation room every time. Granted his English is not as good as either of the two of us, but he has a valid passport, a valid visa, all required information, etc.

      My friend is a light-skinned black man, and his brother is considerably darker. Guess which one gets hassled coming back from Canada.

      Profiling isn't real? You're either white, or clueless, or a nice healthy mix....
    • rheaume, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You are right, lets waste resources searching white grandmas
  • schwit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I wonder if the fingerprints get checked against the Interpol database immediately.

    Wait till they want DNA.
  • yoda17, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9

    Hey, if you don't like it, you can always walk across from Mexico.

    Last I heard, you still don't even need a Visa.
  • cpuenvy, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1I really don't have an issue with this.

    If you come here, we need to know who you are, and be able to id you.

    • supermanred, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15Keep your huge government spying and non-freedom military state to yourself, bud. Up here in Canada we're rooting for your freedoms to be restored and it saddens me to hear that people like you are okay with losing your freedoms in order to protect your freedom.

      It's like this. You have a beloved Apple Macbook. I am the government. I come into your house, smack you upside the head (without a trial, because I can.) then I take your macbook away and as Im driving off I tell you "I'm only doing this to protect your macbook. ". You never see your macbook again and cry about it all day long, but when you finally decide to come get your macbook back, I've already passed 23 laws that make it illegal for you to talk about your macbook, attempt to get your macbook, look at a macbook, or gather in public to discuss macbook rescues." Your *****. No more macbook for you.

      Like I say. Freedom or death. Anything inbetween is not the American Dream.
    • eleventybillion, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3You lost me at 'beloved Apple...'

      Apple is taking away my freedom to talk about MP3 players without someone gently stroking their iPud, to discuss graphical design without a lesson on how iMac does it better, or some other nonsense.

      Not to divert the thread, but next time try another analogy. One that doesn't involve Macintrash.
  • mattmoto, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3I'm confused, what is so bad about taking fingerprints upon entering a country? I'm not taking one side or the other, I just want someone to explain how this makes the US a police state, or how this is infringing upon any rights.
    • rabidjade, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I bet this was the same type of argument that we saw when they wanted just wanted one finger print. Ohh god how we all suffered from that era.
    • johnboyholmes, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1

      Yeah finger prints aren't that bad. Even better why not tattoo little numbers onto peoples fore arms like the Nazi's did to the Jews.



      For some people it is like been finger printed every time they travel inter-state. Unless the US takes fingerprints of all of their own citizens every time they travel fingerprinting foreigners is discrimination. Do you want to be fingerprinted every time you travel?
    • mattmoto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Two things:
      Why was a buried? I asked a question..... Would someone look at that and say, "Hm, he's asking a question... I won't answer it, but I will bury it!"

      Second:
      "Yeah finger prints aren't that bad. Even better why not tattoo little numbers onto peoples fore arms like the Nazi's did to the Jews."
      Good lord... I didn't want an answer THAT stupid.
    • johnboyholmes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Good lord... I didn't want an answer THAT stupid."

      Sorry how stupid did you want the answer to be?

      My point was that ultimate progression of finger printing people and interfering with freedom is what the Nazi's did to the Jews. The US is at fingerprinting now where will it end and would their own citizens put up with fingerprinting every time they travelled?
    • jakem1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here's a practical example for you.

      I'm not sure if the article mentioned this ,but all these fingerprints are being stored in the FBI criminal database. Now everytime the FBI does a fingerprint search it will include my information. That includes partial fingerprint searches which are notoriously inaccurate. Next thing I know, I could be arrested/questioned just because I happened to be at a place where a crime was committed regardless of whether I was there at the actual time that the crime occurred.

      Because this information is in the FBI criminal database it is also available to other police forces such as Interpol or various government police forces that have made arrangements with the US government to share this sort of information.

      I fail to see why I should potentially become a criminal suspect just because I entered a country. I also fail to see why any government let alone a foreign government needs to keep track of me or needs so much personal information about me.

      It's not so long ago when a government proposing laws to fingerprint anyone other than convicted criminals would be met huge protests. These days they can get your fingerprints, your DNA, everything without the slightest bit of trouble and nobody does anything about it.
  • bonlebon, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Why do you all complain?, give them the finger and move on.
  • dorkyone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13As a Canadian citizen, this is one more reason that I refuse to vacation in the U.S. any more. I find the fact that I will be required to be finger printed by a foreign country to be especial offensive and an invasion of my personnel privacy.
    • naughtyus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4How long ago was the one fingerprint rule started? Is it for US citizens only? As a Canadian, I've never had my prints taken going into the states.
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4They take fingerprints of any visitor or non resident alien (they do not take fingerprints of US Citizens or Green Card holders). Canadian border security is being ramped up, so expect within the next 12 months to start having your fingerprints taken at the Canadian border, along with the requirement that you need a passport.
    • unknownpoltroon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The fingerprinting is part of getting a visa. It is done electronically, and takes 5-10 seconds per print. The prints are taken as part of the visa interview process, which can be less than 60 seconds in some places. The prints are checked against criminal databases, and are checked to make sure that the same person who interviewed is the same person who shows up at the border. Currently, most places only take the index prints, that will be changing in the next year or two as they go to 10 prints.
    • LGFAlbatross, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2@welk
      Good. Then stay the heck home.
    • leunghoi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4By the way, US can detain (meaning hold in jail forever) Canadians of middle eastern descend while they stopped by a US airport to Canada, too.

      9-Year-Old Canadian Citizen and Iranian Parents Imprisoned in Texas Immigration Jail To Be Allowed Back Into Canada

      It really sickens me.
    • antechinus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6As an Australian citizen I second that. There are lots of friendlier, cooler and more interesting places to holiday in anyway. Here, one only gets fingerprinted if one is suspected of wrongdoing (i.e is arrested) and we don't fingerprint holiday makers.

      I will certainly advise anyone I know to think twice about going to the US. Innocent people don't like their fingerprints being recorded. The US also gives no warranty that they will not share the information with other parties. You guys have a police state in the making.


    • 3Den, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Fingeprinting applies not to all visitors, but to people entering under the visa-waiver program.

      Canadians, although they do not require a visa, are not part of this program; our right to visit the US comes from different, unrelated legislation.



      - If you are a canadian but hold a visa for the US, that's different... but if you are just going down as a tourist, you are fine.


  • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@supermanred: wouldn't it have been easier to simply not vote them in? All this comes back to that single detail in 2004 and 2000
    • supermanred, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Im not sure they voted him in at all. I've watched a special here on CBC that showed how easy it was to hack one of those voting machines with a palm pilot, basic network knowledge and a copy of microsoft office. LOL the database completely un-encrypted. Just have to edit a couple excel files. L O L!!!!
  • rda52, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4this has been standard for the last couple of years for the SENTRI program http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SENTRI
  • PastorFrancisCC, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Kudos Accenture! Glad to see that you are making your filthy money by helping to paint yellow stars on brown people. Accenture is to USA2007 as IBM was to Germany1940.
  • crash2005, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3what if I shaved off my fingerprints from my fingers?? would they let me in lol lol lol lol
    • drlha, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Most likely they would not.
    • SavageOwnage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2What if i cut my fingers off?
      We can say "What if's" all day, but it is a waste of time because no one will do it.
    • Flamekebab, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Actually, my father has this problem.
      Whilst he is a businessman, he also has spent so long doing manual labour that his fingerprints are apparently faint enough to cause problems upon entering the US.
  • Franey97, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Bush has done a fantastic job creating a culture of fear.
    • Osjpr, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1What i hate is seeing people buying into it like gullible fools.
    • SavageOwnage, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3So as you say Bush has made "a culture of fear" by increasing the security at the borders?

      Yeah, I swear what you said makes perfect sense.



      not



      sorry i had to throw in the borat.
    • HairyPoter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4and making the world hate americans...
  • archer75, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1I see nothing wrong with this.
    • supermanred, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Re: archer75

      hey look everybody, the White House isn't completely out of touch. They have one of the interns posting comments on sensitive topics on Digg. Nice try archer75. We're backtracing your IP to the White House. Nice try Bushie! You're finally getting the hang of the ol' internets and the google!
  • edm1950, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I dunno, scared rich people are a pain in the ass.
  • vsujohn2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Maybe not 10 fingerprints, just 1, my ***** middle finger
  • p51d007, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1Our country, our rules.......don't like it? Don't come here. Simple as that.
    I don't complain about the rules/laws in your country. You're free to bitch about
    the laws of YOUR country, but kindly leave your nose out of the U.S.A.'s business
    until such time as you become a LEGAL citizen of the USA.
    Thank you.
    • tactix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Ok. So the same will work in reverse will it. If my country decides to impose fingerprinting on you if you ever want to come here (US citizens only of course), then you will be OK with it??.

      And since when has the US kindly left its nose out of other countries business. Pot calling the kettle black aint it.
      Your free to bitch about the the laws in your own country, but kindly leave your nose out of the rest of the worlds business"

      I think any comments along the lines of "well if you dont like it dont come here" are kneejerk at best, blatantly idiotic at worst. I think you may retract your comments when the multi billion dollar tourism industry falls to these sorts of policies, and you are unable to leave your own shores due to perverse travel restrictions and invasion of personal liberties as you arrive in other countries. Many countries may start to believe in an eye for an eye. I would certianly love a separate line for US citizens (and those citizens member states of the war for oil) at all airports worldwide. Maybe this will be the only way to show the populations of these countries how out of wack with the rest of the civilised world (minus the UK and a few others) policies like this are. What does the US population need to get a reality check of the common opinion of the world community, A "f@@K" you attitude will only work for so long, or you will end up the ones f@@ked

    • DoubtfulSalmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@p51d007: "Our country, our rules.......don't like it? Don't come here. Simple as that."

      Yes, you're right. It is your ***** up country and they are your ***** up rules. You can keep 'em. I'll stick to travelling the other 99% of the planet that isn't ***** up.

      @tactix: "US citizens only of course), then you will be OK with it?"

      Actually, I think that would be great. All border points have a single "Americans" lane and twenty "Humans" lanes. The humans get treated like humans, and the Americans... well, we treat them as they'd treat us. Arseholes! (that's Australian for "assholes")
    • riumplus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You could say that, but unfortunately those who aren't of the USA aren't given any say as to what goes on, and those who are of the USA normally don't care about it since it's not happening to them. By US law, if you're born on another piece of dirt than the USA, they're claiming you're guilty until proven innocent of absolutely everything. The US Constitution should apply to everyone who the US is trying to prosecute - foreigners should be able to be treated and protected under it just as equally as citizens.

      FTA, this has only caught 1,800 people so far, almost all for normal crimes and not 'terrorism', out of an estimated 80 million scanned. 79.998 million people who had their privacy invaded with no proof other than the fact that they wanted to visit the USA. Would you like to systematically go through one quarter of the USA's entire population and do complete scans on them - collect their fingerprints, do facial ID scans on them, complete financial background checks, complete phone call record checks to see if you ever called someone who called someone who has been flagged, scan them for remnants of explosives (which can be set off if you were on a farm and have traces of fertiliser on your clothing), all because there was 1,800 crimes committed. Just shy of 3000 people were killed when the World Trade Center collapsed (source), but in 2005 there was 16,692 murders in the USA (source), not to mention the other crimes people committed that year (you can see exact numbers of a number of crimes at that source link). 2,503 were murdered in California alone in 2005 (source) with a total number of reported crimes committed in California in 2005 being 190,178, with the population of California is estimated to currently be at around 36 million (source). 1800 crimes of various kinds for 80 million people, compared to 190,178 crimes of various kinds for 36 million; they would be better-suited to scan everyone in the state of California just for murders alone (2,503 in 36 million). Assuming the police have already managed to solve 9 in 10 cases, and assuming the scan only solves half the number of remaining cases, they'd still be more likely to find guilty parties by scanning California than if they scanned everyone who entered the country. Scanning a group of people in privacy-invasive as well as expensive scans (not just the equipment's initial cost, maintenance and training for use of the equipment, but paying wages of the people who run it) in an attempt to detect 0.00225% of the population or 1 in 45,000 people is an absurd expense, when the money could be better used in MANY other places, even to make the airports more secure (I don't need to have my passport, ID and ticket checked 4 times along a corridor with no doors along it - they could check it once at each end if they're really worried, put one person on as security somewhere else (even just monitoring video cameras to check for 'suspicious activity' would be better than checking something two other people have already checked) and do away with the fourth person altogether - saving money as well as slightly increasing the actual security of the place.


      Their increased data collection practices for foreign visitors used to bother me, until I realised that the reason they don't scan USA residents upon arrival is probably because various three-letter agencies have already collected enough data on them in the past for them to use to detect "potential terrorists". Until they drop the required scans at least for people who are from their VISA waiver countries list, I'm choosing to holiday elsewhere. I don't want to be fingerprinted as I enter the country, nor do I want to be fingerprinted as I enter Disney World. I want to keep my private life private.
    • riumplus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Aaaand all of my sources got removed for some reason. I'll just list the URLs again here, in case anyone was doubting some of those numbers.

      http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/victims_list.htm
      http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/State/statebystaterun.cfm?stateid=52
      http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/State/statebystaterun.cfm?stateid=5
      http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html
    • android32, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm a legal citizen and I'm exercising my right to bitch. No other ***** country has this stupid policy, and even if they fingerprinted EVERYBODY - what would that accomplish? Wasted tax money, wasted time, even if they had the possibility of finding a terrorist, they'd have to do records searches that would take forever. It's not like it'd prevent anything anyways.

      Maybe we should get DNA samples from everybody in the country. Get papers to go where you want to, even if you're a citizen because everybody is suspect.
    • Topher06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That's a great mentality, if you don't like our rules f*ck off. Fine, the US is overrated anyways, and most of the world is really starting to get annoyed with them. There is a big wide world out there, full of great vacation and travel spots that do not include US soil, so I will be more inclined to go there rather then being held up and strip searched at the US border.

      There was just recently a Canadian boy locked up with his Iranian parents for six weeks in the US that was just released. I mean, this is how the US treats tourists and travelers, by locking up kids in detention centers rife with disease and sickness.

      Its funny in a country that charishes its own freedoms they are so quick to deny it to others because they have darker skin then the average God fearing Bible thumping right wing hick.

      Unless I am forced to by work or something else, the US is off my list of travel destinations, which is an increasingly popular opinion.
  • friedcalamari, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Be aware, this is a conspiracy to spread the germs!
  • LGFAlbatross, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Wazzamatta fingerprinting is required by some professions working with the extremely young or old in our country.... wanting to keep track of those who enter the US too much for the faint of heart?

    PAleeze.
    • DoubtfulSalmon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Hey, the fact that American citizens are prepared to sell themselves out does not mean that everybody else on the planet needs to be equally non-clued.
  • imperiousrex, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Can I give them a print of my oh so masculine 11th finger?
  • d03boy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2What's the big deal about having all 10? Who cares? How is that any worse than only 2?
    • tactix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Two's too many. Two is the lesser of two evils true, but two wrongs dont make a right
  • chaddles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"
    -Ben Franklin

  • ropers, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Either the US are totally ignorant and don't know that fingerprints can be spoofed in 10 minutes*, or they're incredibly malicious and are trying to get people's fingerprints so they can conveniently manufacture "evidence" as needed, with the desired suspect's fingerprints all over it.

    But to quote Robert Steele** (from memory): "Given a choice between incompetence and conspiracy always go for incompetence, because incompetence is vastly more likely." So the US are probably just ***** clueless.


    *Relevancy link: http://wiki.whatthehack.org/index.php/Spoofing_fingerprints_in_10_minutes
    **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_David_Steele
  • HairyPoter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2they should scan just the middle finger...
  • Litespeed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Travel agents are advising against traveling via the USA now due to these security requirements. It's stupid enough having to carry all on-board belongings in clear zip-lock bags.
    • ropers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yea, I heard that as well.
      These new "requirements" are what Bruce Schneier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Schneier and http://www.schneier.com/ ) calls "security theater". Europeans don't like to put up with this kind of nonsense. I've personally complained at a European airport where they had unified the US and EU check-in and because of that were asking even people travelling inside the EU to take their shoes off. What worries me most is that there are too many inept officials even in European countries who "monkey see, monkey do" habitually and unthinkingly copy even the most inane US "initiatives". Sometimes they are successfully brought to their senses (case in point: software patents), but far too often they still manage to establish the most counterproductive measures imaginable.
  • nanboya, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Next thing you know, they'll want to scan the skin pattern of my sack everytime I cross the border...

    "Sir, please remove your pants and T-bag the scanner please..."
  • Swivelstick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The only people this is going to stop are those with a criminal record i.e someone who did something stupid as a teenager or smoked a bit of weed and got caught.. Me think 99% of terrorist won't have a criminal record and by the time they do umm you wont be able to get fingerprints anymore..So all these people in favor of these stupid laws look at it from the correct perspective as all it does is make the person who did a crime and who in almost all cases did the time to be punished again..

    Therefore we aren't giving people the right to actually rehabilitate due to laws that have nothing to do with catching terrorist and more to do with controlling us not just the criminal or terrorist.. That said this will also affect commerce and not just tourism
  • Valnar300, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Who would I have to write to repeal this? Please I'd like to know cuz this is getting ***** up.
  • nanboya, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have an acquaintance who is approaching nearly 75 years old. Back in the day when he was in his early 20's, he was a visiting grad student who got into a fight with a fellow student over some dispute and had charges pressed against him even though it was little more than a scuffle. 50 years later, that STILL haunts him every time he's had to visit the U.S. and even resulted in being stopped on his way to his son's wedding a few year's back.

    Talk about a ***** up system...
  • nyx210, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Next thing you know, they'll be asking for penis and breast scans for extra verification...
  • Leomarth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Give it a decade and it'll be all 10 fingerprints, your DNA and facial pattern, for everyone in the country.
  • ThisIsBob, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2And the reason we want to let people into this country who don't want us to know who they are is...?
    • Syntaxis, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6For the sake of freedom? I'm not going to the USA so I shouldn't bother, right? Wrong. I bother because your country has the most advanced military in the world and their leaders are becoming more and more threatening to the rest of the globe.

      Make no mistake: your image of freedom is laughed at world wide already. Your democracy looks like a cruel joke. Nobody likes you. We only like Hollywood and the nice movies and tv-shows coming from it. Oh, the Grand Canyon is nice, too. But that's all you have going for you.

      The respect is gone. And when your tourists want to visit Hollywood or the Grand Canyon you scare them away by taking their fingerprints for no good reason. The reason? War against terrorism? Please.

      "According to these fingerprints it was Muhammed Ali Baba who blew himself up! But that was a false ID."

      Yeah. Enjoy your knowledge.
  • drilldown, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Such a waste of good space on the server, unless you wanna blackmail someone.
  • djames82, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0This country is smarter than you think...if you come here without 10 fingers...chances are...you're up to no good...
  • thripper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is so fuscked up. You should do smth whith all this non-sense or you might lose your country.
    US is like a fish out of the water, it'll live a little longer.
  • redsrule2500, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Am I alone when I say GOOD? What's the problem, you got something to hide on your other 8 prints?
  • jellygraph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Have faith. Scanning 10 fingers and eventually taking DNA samples, scanning your brain waves and force injection of truth serum will eliminate crime and terrorism altogether in the future. It makes sense, doesn't it?

    "No sir, it doesn't. These measures haven't made the world any safer."

    Ah, well, that's true. To be honest, it's really only about treating the rest of the world as second-class citizens and eventually treating our own citizens as second class citizens. But, hey, Karl Rove doesn't have to testify under oath!

    ...Erg, this actually sickens me. I really don't feel like visiting the US anymore, just because I feel violated every time I fly through already as it is.
  • TheJenks, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Ive got to be honest and say I think the more security the better. I work for a bank in London and everyone always complains about all the security checks we do and how much information we require, that is until some of their money isn't where they expect it to be. As soon as something goes wrong we are always shouted at and told there should be more security. Security is a pain and the new 10 finger prints might not be that worth while but if more security saves one persons life then isn't it kind of worth that extra 15 minutes out of our terribly important lives.
    • thripper, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3And that teaches us that .... if somebody wants to break to law they will do it. And get away with it. Having a couple of 10's of millions of fingerprints doesn't help that much, does it ?

      Saving lives you say ... Is one person's life worth the freedom of all others ?

      Working for a telco I can assure you that your privacy is already worth next to *****, and this a highly appreciated telco.
    • bickdigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4TheJenks: spending 15 minutes for each of the 50 million visitors a year is more valuable than a single life saved ?... this check is wasting 1/(4*24*365)*50*10^6 = 1427 years / year...

      you'd better save a Mozart.
    • Swivelstick, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Saves one life? How many of the people locked up in the US without any recourse have been proven guilty of a crime and how many have died in this pursuit? More to the point the laws that were in place sufficed it's just that inept people somehow get themselves into positions of power by using manipulation or they steal elections etc.. The ironic thing is whenever we've had wars in the past people have been asked to give up something so rationing comes into play or we end up with higher taxes..This time we have a war which is causing sky rocketing debt but what would happen if people were asked to give from the hip pocket? the poor are getting poorer the troops are being screwed over by both poor health care and then the "private armies" whose soldiers are paid triple... Anyway these are all games played to show that "we" (the government) are serious about the wellbeing of our society and its all a crock of shyte its about a certain section of society screwing over those below them..
    • crash999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Or the terrorists could just walk across the Mexican border...
    • ilgaz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Name at birth: Eric Arthur Blair

      George Orwell was the pen name of Eric Blair, who was born in India and educated in England.
  • teaBagger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3USA SIR,
    YOU MAY LICK MY BALLS...
    • uslacker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Mr TeaBagger - guess what? we won't miss you!
  • MasterDwarf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Nigel Tufnel: Ten fingerprints? Why not eleven? Well, it's one better isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be giving ten prints. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten. Where can you go from there? Where?
    Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
    Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
    Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
    Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One digit more.
  • baramunchies, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Soon you will be required to have an RFID chip put under your skin when entering the us.
    It's funny to protect a country from foreign threats and still selling guns in supermarkets to anyone.
  • zhulien, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0if you have
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