I assumed you were being sarcastic, I was going further by noting that the real thing could be had cheaper than a copy, and are probably already for sale in every major Asian city. The only drawback is that many Asian knockoffs are better than the original documents, which gives them away.
If they aren’t going to maintain control from manufacture to issuance, there is no control. It’s all security theater, not the real deal.
]]>I had a few different passports and papers in my *other* career. All legit (well, Gov produced, with everything up to my birth records changed to match). I also had a couple spare sets for emergencies.
Belgiam and Thailand… That’s funny! LOL I wouldn’t trust either an inch (But, more than I’d trust Israel)! Amazing…
Makes one wonder what the *real* goal is…
We could use the exact same presses that we use for money, and use the same procedures, including watermarking. The RFID chip is just silly and expensive, especially when you have to carry it through all of the scanners at the airport.
For $100 you should get “rich Corinthian leather” and gold embossing, with the information entered in calligraphy. Oh, yes, and a picture that is flattering while actually looking like you.
I had both a tourist passport, and an official duty passport when I was in Europe, but almost all of my traveling was done with my military ID and NATO orders. The orders were a just typed on plain paper run off a copy machine. It was absurd that no one cared about my passports, but the military wanted me to carry them.
]]>The last time I returned from Canada to the U.S., I happened to have my passport with me, as Stella did not. I mean, good grief, we were only going to Victoria, BC for a night. But hey, that was before 9/11. They let her back in with no hassle. I was also not hassled, though they did scan whatever electronic stuff that old passport had into some sort of reader. I wonder what they did with the fact of my transit.
I have no real confidence in paper documentation of any sort. Currency is difficult (not impossible) to forge in quantities large enough to (ahem) make money, but personal documents can be forged for the use of a single individual, and are therefore worth the trouble to produce… I won’t say “forge,” because as you note, even the “real” things are often enough outsourced. I bet our government got a really good price on the contract in Thailand.
Here I sit, about two feet away from my shiny new passport renewed last year, presumably containing an RFID chip or some such. Say, I wonder what would happen if I stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds…
Steve BatesĀ“s last blog post..Anti-Choice Terrorists
]]>It doesn’t occur to anyone that only honest people obey the law. They really are trying to crush tourism to the US.
]]>In North Dakota there are farmers who are going to have to buy GPS units for their tractors so they don’t end up in another country while plowing.
It’s stupid, expensive, and worthless, from a security standpoint.
Jill, it’s for a local festival that runs through next Monday night.
]]>Heil Cheney (and Bushes)!
The NEXUS card and FAST card are TSA boondoggles, and many US states and Canadian provinces arenāt sure they want to spend money on the RFID chip equipped āenhanced driverās licenceā [that’s license in the US].
S
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