PowerSwitch

I hope you won't feel this is OT, but in parallel with Peak Oil we have seen the geopolitical consequences, which include dramatic, but stealthy reductions in civil liberties both here and in the USA.

I have become increasingly worried about the government's ID card scheme, which is really a cover for the National Identity Register (NIR), a computerised database of quite unparalleled intrusion* on our personal lives.

For example 85 different bits of data about everyone are going to be tracked, with ?1000 fines for failing to notify the authorities that you have moved house, for example.

Passports are shortly to be integrated into the fledgling database, with biometrics and apparently interviews with officials when you apply. I recently renewed my passport, even though it had three years to run, because I want to avoid this procedure.

The No2ID site is full of valuable and worrying information, which the media hardly cover.

http://www.no2id.net/IDSchemes/whyNot.php

How does this relate to Peak Oil? Although I have my doubts as to whether this Govt takes any notice of the issue, I do think that it will find it very handy to have tools of coercion, if there is domestic unrest as the economic consequences of PO arrive.



NOTE: * unparalleled in democracies. You'd have to look at places like East Germany under the Stasi for similar surveillance of every individual in society.

You forgot to mention Australia also, despite the lack of there ever being a terrorist attack there.

I feel these measures are being put in place, because at some high level know there's hard times coming, and are putting the infrastructure in place to deal with dissent.

This excellent report highlights why the control paradigm is increasingly likely to fail, and proposes a shift towards sustainable security:

Sustainable Security for the 21st Century

I also renewed my Passport this month, btw.

For how much longer can the ordinary passports be obtained?

What will we need passports for post PO?

I'm not too concerned about the privacy thing.

In South Africa, violent crimes reduced tremendously when they introduced CCTV. Why? Because people realised they could be identified.

However since the electric fences bordering Zimbabwe powered down, there is now a rise in violent crime, mostly being perpetrated by "unknown" people.

I'd rather people be tagged. 99% of people in this country couldn't give a toss about Peak Oil or Climate Change. They just want to feed their family and enjoy luxury. When those luxuries disappear and all of their home-bound equity disappears there will be a lot of unhappy and potentially desperate people around. People are going to be effectively coerced into low-energy living and there will be a shit fight on the way down.

jcw wrote:For how much longer can the ordinary passports be obtained?

It might not be too late.

See this page http://www.renewforfreedom.org

GD wrote:

jcw wrote:For how much longer can the ordinary passports be obtained?

It might not be too late.

See this page http://www.renewforfreedom.org

I renewed my passport quite recently, it already has the chip in it.

The thing people were really trying to avoid by renewing early as I understand it, was the interviews which everyone will have to take, from what was originally autumn, but is now early 2007, and will probably get pushed back again.

I think the idea with these interviews is eventually to scan your retinas, and build up a biometric profile, etc.

How easy is it to get another european country passport?

Then you wouldn't need a uk one.
Or would you?

My passport runs out in 7 years, but I plan on being out of the UK for good in 2-3 years, so seems pointless renewing it.

If you watched Panorama last month you would have seen how their girl almost managed to collect the whole set! It wasn't exactly legal though.

Don?t know about getting another European country passport but turning the question around we can see how, say a French man could get a British Passport. It would seem you have to gain British citizenship, see this chart:

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/1 ... chartb.pdf

You will be able to apply for
naturalisation after living here for five
years. You must be of good character,
have sufficient knowledge of English,
Welsh or Scottish Gaelic (depending on
your age and physical and mental
condition) and intend to stay closely
connected with the United Kingdom (see
leaflet BN7).

I can only assume other European countries would be similar.

Welcome to the forums!

Wish we'd get a recesssion asap, when people got work and money they cease to have time to stop and think. Hopefully the public will wake up before this lot happens - sadly I cant see it and eventually it will all end in tears