You WILL be a slave :)

They're going after the kids folks.

This generation of kids and all those that follow will think nothing of scanning hands or having RFID chips monitoring, tracking and reporting on their every move. Of course, this mentality will last right through adulthood thorugh this early conditioning.

Bye bye freedom. Bye bye anonymity.

Quote
"It means no more lost dinner money - and protects the identity of pupils who are entitled to free school meals"

Honestly? Protects identity if children who are entitled to free school meals. Right.

For every evil there will always be a justification. What happens to this data? Who collects it? Where does this type of biometric scanning end? Where does this leave privacy?

#1 Gerry - that's right. They go after the kids first and write off most of the adult population who remember what civil liberties are/were.

Unfortunately the education level of 90% of the public isn;t sufficiently high enough to understand the road they're beijng frog marched down.

Is there any point asking people to wake up?

Big brother hath cometh to a school near you.

BEWARE THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

I don't see what the big deal is?
This is no different to having a photo of each child and comparing the photo to face.

Nothing is taken from the children (unlike the proposed biometric passports/recent DNA databank debates), simply a 'photograph' of their hand print.

If it means they need carry no cash then there is the possibility of reduced bullying (no cash to be stolen), it means they cannot go and get a bag of chips everyday instead of a proper meal, they may not have money to try to buy cigarettes or alcohol.

So Why the hue and cry over this from the above posters? Is a photograph of a hand print anymore sinister than a facial photograph?

I think its a good idea and something that was bound to happen. It is good to see a Scottish school at the front of the technology wave.

Malky #2 - go and research about how schools currently identify 'free meal pupils' and then you will see how and why these sorts of systems do protect the identity of these kids.

Gerry #1 - Go and ask the right sort of questions regarding data protection and you will find that the image or any form of biometric in a school is covered under the DPA as long as parental consent is given.

Wake up folks - technology in the 21st century has arrived

Quote

"and what they've selected from the menu in the past, so they've got the option of choosing something more healthy"

The option? No, the child will be forced to choose the healthy option.

I sggest Jill and Southern Skye take a look at http://www.leavethemkidsalone.com/ to see what the "hue and cry" is all about.

Southern Skye #5 - If you don't see what the big deal is then you may have a huge problem in the future.

The governmant of this country want to control your life from the cradle to the grave. They want to know where you go, what you do, who you associate with, what you eat and drink, what you spend your money on. They want to control you in everything you do.

By using a biometric scan from the school children they can now log their details into a computer from where information can be distributed as the government sees fit. They can use this information in the future to decide things like is this person eligible for benefits, can this person have a passport, could this person be involved in activities we don't agree with.

Look at what it is alrady planned to do - tell children what they can eat because someone decides a different diet. Also registering attendance (big brother is watching), taking out library books (we know what you are reading). This is the very thin edge of the wedge.

There are many very serious implications regarding the gathering of biometric information. Not least the missuse of power by the government.

It is vital that the people of this country stand up to the government and say enough is enough.

#9 Ian.
Exactly the same can, and probably already is, done with cards. Unless you are paid in cash, have no bank account and do not use 'plastic' the "where you go, what you spend, what you spend on, where you take out cash from ATM's - your movements - etc." are already possible to trace. So is your mobile 'phone.

Your passport is logged whenever you leave/enter a country and your face checked against the photograph in the passport.

How a picture of a hand could be used to decide whether you are allowed benefits is beyond comprehension, could a facial photograph also be used for this?

The diet requirements being chosen for children is a good thing. Diabetic kids should not be allowed sugary foods. Certain children will have allergies, peanuts or certain E-numbers. If it is used to stop the potantial problems then it is of great benefit.

NB: I totally disagree with ID cards and storage of DNA data.This story relates to a photograph of ones hand.

As a further point, I wonder whether or not the parents of these children were asked, or told about the introduction in advance.

What if some parents do not wish to have their child's biometrics registered. Does the child not receive a lunch, does the child become classified as a truant because the system does not register them as being present.

So many questions, problems and risks. Such schemes should be thrown out before they are even born!

Southern Skye #10 - Read the article. It is not a photograph. It is a scan of the internal vein patters.

Ha Ha! Told ya! now let me out!

I think a DNA database is a must. Every child born in this country should have their DNA taken. Every immigrant the same. Unsolved murders and serious crimes could be eliminated in no time. Remember folks, if you got nothing to hide, you got nothing to worry about.
Lets get with the 21st Century

Pete's right. Every child is a potential murderer!

Hate to say this but biometric technology is still miles away from being foolproof, fingerprint, Iris, facial scanning all have very high false positives (FAR & FFR) which means all trials to date have been failures.(although the sales teams claim they work).
So if i take a negative of my vein patterns using the same technique as the scanner does then place it against the reader do you think i'll get a free lunch ?.

READ THIS! READ THIS! READ THIS! OPEN UP YOUR MINDS PLEASE!!!!! This is yet another attempt to control us all completely, and the sick thing is that they are doing it through the kids. The SAD thing is that people actually think they are trying to protect our children, but lets look at the poxy reasons they have put forward for the hand scanners. It'll stop kids from having to take cash and maybe losing it. SO WHAT! Having my child feel responsible for their own money is a valuable life lesson, and if they lose their money, yet another valuable lesson is learned. If my child has a food allergy, then I'd rather they learned to be responsible about it for themselves. Another LIFE LESSON. And so it goes on....even forgetting about civil liberties, this is DENYING our children the right to LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS, which is the WHOLE POINT of schooling!!!!!!! What a totally stupid set of arguements, and anyone who falls for them is EQUALLY STUPID. If this rolls out across Scotland, I'll be teaching my children from home, thankyou very much!!!

13:16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads;

13:17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Mandy, having your child nutted and beaten every day for their dinner money is also a good life lesson. The lesson being that the school does diddly squat and the child grows up a gibbering wreck or else turns into the bully that has bullied them.

#!2 Ian,
"....Scan of internal vein pattern...."
When you scan a document into a PC it produces what? A photograph, a likeness, an image?
We seldom have external veins so it would be the internal ones.

#17 Mandy.
Should your child keep getting a kicking and having his money stolen then, I assume, he should learn to run faster? If he has a nut allergy he is 100% sure the meal he chooses has no nut traces?
Hard lessons to learn.

Almost every child has a mobile 'phone so anyone with the authority to do so can trace their whereabouts to within a small area.

Please explain to me how a scan (I have changed my phrase Ian) of a hand can be used for these sinister purposes you all seem to be shouting about?

rgds
Southern "Equally Stupid" Skye

NB: Morning Dave W.I.

This IS going to be rolled out across Scotland. The Executive has set itself against paying for free school meals for all schoolchildren. See the new Bill in front of the Executive. It gives no money to authorities, does not tell the school boards to provide free school meals for all, BUT puts a duty on the schools to produce schemes like this to ensure children who get free school meals are not traceable to the other children.

Apparently we have too few children, (all these school closures, unles you want a new faith school?) and the population of Scotland is falling and we live in the 5th richest country in the world, but we can't afford to feed our children lunch every schoolday.

So poorer children often get stigmatised as they have to go into the free school meals system, yes, well lets spend lots of money on a technological, highly privacy invading technology instead.

Yes, and get the children used to the idea, that the government is allowed to keep lots of highly personal info about them. So in future, if you want to take a child into care, well summon up the school records and see if the parents have "taught" the child to eat unhealthy foods and are bad parents...

* Mandy - check out:

www.schoolhouse.org.uk

If you have any questions about home based education you can contact me by filling in an enquiry form there.

It is very easy to stop children who receive free school meals from being identified without using scanners, etc. Each is given a simple credit card style pass which can be uploaded remotely (we have these in my office so I know they exist and work). That way nobody (except the official concerned) sees anything about anyone else. Problem solved.

ARCH is an internet-based children’s rights organisation with a particular focus on civil rights. Doing an amazing amount of excellent work see:

http://www.arch-ed.org/

Morning SS.

Dreich here today. What like with you? Back in Skye yet?

Hi Pete, nice to speak with you. For a start, this article isn't about bullying, and in any case, a hand scan in a dinner hall doesn't stop the bullies! I was unfortunately bullied at high school quite badly for over 2 years (and YES, the school did diddly squat!), but I can definitely say that it has been a great life lesson. I suppose it depends on how you view life. I wouldn't attempt to convert you, but there are some terrible times ahead for the human race if we give up any more of our freedoms to the other side. They want to control us, because we are the very thing that gives them power, but are also their biggest threat, because if we all catch wind of what they're up to, then they won't succeed. If this is just gibberish to you, then you are probably a lovely person who believes that there couldn't possibly be a mass conspiracy at work. There is, unfortunately, and don't be mistaken, I'm not patronising you, my friend. It's just the truth, that's all. By the way, don't worry about your child, I'm sure having a caring parent like yourself, they will turn out fine. xxx

#16 Derek - he is right, there is a long way to go before this type of technology is foolproof. At present though vein patterns is by far the best form of biometrics. It is also the best for security reasons out of all bio scans. I studied the pros and cons of bio scans and although there are roughly the same on each side this was only for other projects such as biometric passports.

However having this technology for a school will NOT have the same downfalls as biometric passports. This is a GOOD idea and can only benefit children. All those who think national security is at risk because it can detect if u have had a healthy lunch or not are too narrow-minded. Not only will it allow parents to pay directly the money to schools so that the cash is not spent on sweets and juice on the way to school. If we don’t help the kids now then they will all become lard pots!

Technology is the future so instead of thinking its turning into a 'big brother' society, for once look at the benefits! 21st century, not the 12th century!

#25 Dave: Still away with work. Quiet day too !
back for 3 weeks at Christmas though :-)
Was 25 degs here yesterday. Herself tells me it was bad at home but less so than Dingers/East side.

Hi Southern Skye. Nice to speak with you. I'm sorry for saying the thing about being "equally stupid". Something about articles like these gets me a bit worked up, and I fell into the trap of being patronising and sarcastic. Wrong move - sorry everyone! You know, all I can say is, there will never be any magic device that will stop bad things from happening. You are so well meaning - a good person. Most people are. Sadly, most of our troubles come from the minority, and most of their troubles too!!! But the REAL troubles come from the minority at "the top". I can't explain it all in a few short sentences, but since you asked, all I can say is this -take the time to really look at where our race is heading. Quietly ask for the truth, and it'll be shown to you. Treat everyone you meet with love and respect, especially yourself, and reject all feelings of anger and hate. xxx

Yes, but as Ian (23) said, it is very easy to do all this without hand scans. A simple swipe card will do the job just as well. And if they forget their card, make them queue up outside the school secretary's office and ask for a temporary pin number (that is only valid for that day).

The lesson learn that way, is that we all need to remember to take items with us in the morning, and if we forget, or can't be bothered, then our day will be more inconvenient.

25 degs SS?? Aye, we got a good blast of weather alright but as you sadi dingers got it bad! Hope you got a good tan mate!

Ref yesterday's debate on unruly children, here is an opportunity to correlate a child's behaviour with school attendance, nutrition received at school, and potentially a host of other factors.
If this technology can be used to help identify the factors that result in bad behaviour and contribute to their improvement then I welcome it.
Remember, the good guys have less to fear from big brother than the bad yins.

Mandy #29.
Nay bother. I'm playing Devil's advocate to a degree here anyway.
But I am really interested in what contrary and well argued points can be made about this subject.

I am vehemently against things such as the DNA database that was featured on here yesterday.

But then when i begin to think of posts such as #30 Andrew...as an example...
The job can be done just as well with a swipe card.

It probably can, however, not so long ago, the job of ID for a credit card was done with a signature. Now it is moving towards PIN only. The job was done as well with a signature yet we now have PIN.

We now have GSM and 3G UMTS mobiles. The job was adequately catered for with the old anologue system, yet still we embraced the new technology.

Cordless home 'phones as opposed to ones afixed with cable. Home PC's, remote control for the TV...better than getting up to change channel?

First we had barter, then we had gold and silver, then we had promisary notes (money), then we had cheques, then we had credit cards, now we have a newer system of being identified in relation to purchase of goods.

how can anyone believe this will stop bullying?
if a kid decides to hurt another kid, no amount of hand scanning will stop them.

in my sons school they use a smart card system, my son goes to lunch and eats nothing because its mostly health food. i dont advocate him eating junk food but, id rather he ate than not at all. you cant force them to eat something at school, would it not be better to dress up healthy food to make them try it.
the school also does not notice that kids are doing without because of thier stubborness to try new things. my boy comes home starving in the evening looking for a bowl of stovies, mince and tatties etc.
healthy food does not have to be a salad.

if they put this scan in my sons school, i will pull him out.

Southern Skye, mandy & Others - Hi there, I have already made comments on this article but I would like to come back to something you mentioned at #32.

You demonstrate rightly that over time peoples way of livfe has changed along with technology. However in the cases you highlight as examples only very limited personal data is involved.

What for me is the major concern is the linking of personal (biometric) data into the system. As someone mentioned in the DNA debate yesterday or earlier today we will soon have chips inserted into us at birth. Such technology can then tell others about almost everything you do, including who you are sleeping with.

It is the creeping threat of control that is my major concern not the advancement of technology per se.

Hi Southern Skye. Thanks for your forgiveness!!! I can totally understand what you are saying. In a different world, none of this is sinister at all - it's simply progress and new technology, but you are against the DNA database, so you can obviously see the cons as opposed to the pros. I am as much against swipe cards, credit cards, CCTV, ID cards, etc, as I am against this, but the important factor is that they are now getting public backing for taking methods of information gathering devices into schools. The reason behind it is that our children will grow up being totally familiar and comfortable with being scanned, traced and watched. At some point in the future, the plan is to have humans micro-chipped. The problem with micro-chipping is that your freedom is now gone completely, and on a more sinister level, apart from holding information, it seems that a microchip can RECEIVE information, and our bodies, and more importantly our minds, respond to certain frequencies. I'm not an expert at all, but I don't want to become someone's robot. By accepting this seemingly innocent little bit of technology in our PRIMARY schools, we are moving closer to that reality. I WILL take my kids out of school. I WILL! I hope that you can do some research yourself, and EXPLORE this as something which could make some sense. Don't take my word for it. We all have to make up our own minds - and you've got a good one!!!

#35 Mandy 'At some point in the future, the plan is to have humans micro-chipped.
How do you know this please?

#34 Ian - Do you own a credit card? A bank card? A store card? A supermarket points card?

The fact is that all these items store information on you. Where you shop, what you buy, how much you spend. Its not a new idea of holding information on someone. However people only seem to be concerned when a sophisticated technology is mentioned. All these new technological advances are just a further step into the future.

Although you did say its not the technology that’s your major concern but the control, if you go about every day life there would be nothing to control over you. Anyone of us could be investigated and tracked by the government at any time no matter what technology is around. How do you think they done it before it was invented??

All these biometric systems are aiming to do is make is simpler for the user. Just like credit cards, just like cordless phones, just like wireless networks. People will accept things when they are convenient.

eg How many of us would complain if there was no internet? But how many of us have put details onto the internet? Bought over the internet? Looked up different sites on the internet? Anyone checking could see you’re a reader of the Scotsman online, whats the difference with having your hand scanned to say your diabetic and cant eat certain foods?

I have to say I wouldn't want my two children attending a school that embraced this kind of unnecissary technology. Its for me as a parent to decide and try to convince my children what is good to eat and what a healthy balanced diet is, Not the state, Quite frankly its none of thier buisness.

And I'd have to agree with those of you that feel that this is the thin end of the wedge towards a big brother style governmnet. Taken by itself I could see it as just an advance of technology. But taken in the context of what the government has been upto recently with its plans for ID cards and centralised databases containing an increasing amount of our personal details. Then I fear that this desire to control and monitor everything we and our children do is a very rocky road to go down.

I thought this country was all about resisting totlitarian governmnets but it looks like some of us want one of our own.

If those of you who see this use of technology as a benifit wish to use it thats fine, but please don't force me and my children to use it.

Hi Ian, nice to speak with you. YES! You've got it in one. See my last comment. People need to, DESERVE to, know the truth!

Hi again Pete, nice to speak with you again. Where do any of us get our information from? Is it a worthy source? How do we know that anything is ever the truth? I can't answer your question, Pete, I only know my own truth. If you want to find out your own answers, you will have to look for it yourself, my friend, and the truth shall set you free, as they say! If you meditate on anything for long enough, you will know yourself what's right and wrong for you. I don't pretend to know everything. Best of luck, my friend.

The difference between childrens and adults hands and fingerprints is that childrens will change as they grow, They will have to be periodically updated to accommodate the system. So even if your childs prints etc are on record, they would not be valid in later life.
Alan is technically correct when he says that cards could be used, but common problems with cards are misuse (swapping), loss, copying and damage. I have 3 children and can just imagine the problems associated with this. Biometrics would undoubtedly be more efficient (the pupil need not remember or carry anything).
The system will not be used for registration - as yet, however there is no reason why it could not be extended to other areas. In Holland they have a system called Pupil Performance Monitoring, which links parents via internet to the school which can report not just attendance, but also exam results etc.
As a parent I must say I welcome a system whereby academic performance and any unexplained absence could be relayed through text or other means.

Mandy, I'm afraid at my age if I meditate long enough I fall asleep! :o)

Pete, you could always ask for all the answers in the dream state! However, answers may be dependent on whether you've had a tipple or not! (chuckle)

Alan -Please also read Mandy's comments.

I do own a bank card but I use it to withdraw cash and make almost all my payments in cash. I even bought my last car with cash.

I do not wish any agency, be it the government or otherwise to know what I do in my PRIVATE life. The use of more and mor biometric and chip systems takes away our liberty.

You suggest that mobile phones can be used to track you. How so if you are not registered with anyone. I use a pay as you go scheme on a phone I received from a friend. I am not therefore registered.

If people are not concerned about technology moving on and personal data being recorded why then do we not all have a government issued ID card. Why because people are concerned, indeed scared, of the levels of control that could be applied and even more about the abuse that may arise.

People say ID cards would stop criminals. That is rubbish, professional criminals would get round the ID cards just the same as they get round credit cards and passports.

Sorry but this is all a smokescreen trying to cover up control being imposed by the government.

Technology is fine but it must stay in its place.

Mandy, now you're talking, all great ideas and inspirations come to me after a wee drop of the golden stuff :o)

I agree with you Ian. We're still relatively okay just now, and I manage with cash most of the time, but the problem will come when too many people back moves forward like this one, there will come a point in the future when it's a case of, if you don't conform, you're not one of us, and people like ourselves just won't be a part of society at all. They'll probably pass some Act that makes it illegal not to conform, and we'll be slung in a cell, or worse!

Pete @ 36.

Children are being microchipped in the US already.
Voluntarily at the moment, but someone will decide that it should be mandatory before long; and where the US goes we always follow thanks to people like Tony Blair and his cronies.

Wake up now all you sleepy complacent people who think that it shouldn't concern you. If we don't start reacting against it now I fear for us all. www.No2ID.net

Peter, hi, nice to speak with you. Luddite? I had to look that one up, but I'm certainly not against technological change. I love gadgets and gizmos, and think it is a natural process, but of course, it's the USE of them that's important. Your message sends chills down my spine, because I KNOW we are quite a way down the track already (thanks to our previous generations), but it's a bit too early to give up! As Ian says, there are ways round a lot of the technologies in place just now. If they want more from us, they must NEED more from us. I'm not giving them any more! Peter, you have a great mind - use it wisely. All the best, my friend.

Unless you live in the woods and have no contact with other humans then the government agencies will have plenty of information on you. As Peter points out, buying items with cash doesn't get you out of it.

Peter, I know, when you look at it all in that way, it's scary isn't it? We had parked our car, and the ticket had been put on the window back to front in error. The sent us a fine along with close up photos of our car, taken from different angles. SPOOKY - scarier than anything you'll see on Halloween, that's for sure!

Hi Peter #50 - I am all too well aware that the government in particular has already gathered information about me. It does not mean that I have to agree to them gathering even more in a devious way.

Although they have some information they don't have a lot vis-a-vis my personal habits. They don't know for instance if I smoke, drink, enjoy foreign foods, have sex with different partners, etc. In the future they seem hell bent on having all this kind of information. I have no intention of volunteering it.

p.s. re the mobile phone - they need to have some way of linking me to that identifiable phone. If I am not registered then there is no link.

#53 I think you will find that personal information as you mention is only TOO easy to discover. Your doctor will know exactly how you live.

EVERYBODY! READ THIS! Look at all of your comments. If it is looking difficult to get out of this system now, just think about what it will be like in 10 years, 20 years. Do we want this future for our kids and grand-kids? It's time to start being responsible, is it not? We are all agreed that they already know too much. LETS JUST NOT GIVE THEM ANY MORE OF WHAT THEY WANT! SAY NO TO HANDSCANS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS! IT'S A START!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're right mandy, it IS a start. Like you say, if we just roll over and accept everything then who knows where it will all end up. Having served many years in the forces I never had a passport, serving abroad even didn't call for one. Now I'm thinking of going to Italy next year and find that I will have to report to the passport office and be interviewed and asked why I have never had one before! Also I will have to prove that I truly am British! I'm seriously thinking of not bothering

What a bunch of raving dinosaurs we have here.

....and as for my friend, Pete, that wee drop of the golden stuff should provide you with enough bravado to stand up for what's right!!!! (chuckle)

Hi there "In Favour of Progress". Nice to speak with you. Sadly, the real world just doesn't do it for me! Go in peace, my friend.

Peter McClelland #54 - Doctors as you say may know some things about my personal habits but not everything. It is only if I inform them would they know. I, like most people, don't tell my doctor everything. Do you?

All this is an attack on our personal freedom and civil liberty. It should be stopped. Where do you think it will lead?

I can foresee that in years to come when you go to a supermarket to buy your meat and vegetables that you will be refused because you had such and such a meal two days earlier and you must have a variety- Or you cannot have a 2nd beer because you might be driving.

Or perhaps you want to go on holiday. Under big brother you could be refused - perhaps your skin type is more sensitive to cancer. Or perhaps the government has not won a contract with the country where you want to go to. Or perhaps your religion is not in favour.

My comments may sound a bit of a joke, some would say that this would never happen, but believe me it isn't if the pace of government control continues as it is.

Hi there Peter McC, my friend. Don't stand down on the Italy trip. It's standing up which is needed. Make a complaint.

Mandy, aye then the government will have me down as a trouble maker! GRRRR!

# 53 Ian - They could easily know all your personal habits if they wanted to mate. In fact if they wanted to know, they could ready all your worries right here on the Scotsman website but as I said earlier you using the internet can give plenty of information away about yourself.

doesn’t matter if u pay by cash, use pay as you go or even don’t use any technology at all (impossible these days) If needed they could easily tell you everything about you and more without you even realising. As was said above, although you paid with cash for you car they will still have you on record if you have paid your road tax, mot is up to date, your address and how many points (if any) are on your licence.

You cant get away from information being stored on you, but thinking its a global conspiracy will just get your head spinning!

Peter McC, hi. That's the thing, Peter. People are afraid of being controlled, but soon, if not already, people will be afraid of the consequences of being themselves. It's much easier to conform, much less hassel, and if we're honest, we fear for our families and the consequences on them. Fear keeps us very firmly rooted in our place! They use fear as their biggest weapon.

Alan, my friend, you make valid points, but the people we are dealing with here are not ordinary guys like ourselves, wanting a nice life with a nice family, hoping to make some impact in a positive way before we pop our clogs. There are people out there on a quest for power and control. They are not like you and I. How do you think someone like that would use your information. History tells us they will use it as a weapon!

Alan#64 - Please read my comments before answering. I have never said that they couldn't find out a lot about me.

I have already agreed that a lot of information is held. I just don't want them having more.

If they want more they will have to work hard for it, this would take time and money.

There is no global conspiracy as you rightly say, it is just our own government who are likely to abuse the information for their own purposes. In the long term we will all suffer, even those who think that scanning, DNA databases, etc. are harmless.

Think of how any government can manipulate business, etc. and you can start to see how that will affect you.

Peter #66 - The numpties as you call them probably couldn't work this out as it is not the norm. They possibly have never been faced with it before therefore decide that the applicant is doing something wrong or illegal.

We are beinging controlled in everything we do. Fight back.

When will 'they' realise that high-technology never solves any problems - only makes things worse?
What happens to a kid when the scanner refuses to recognise them for whatever reason? What happens when if recognises a kid with allergies as someone else and force-feeds them three courses of nut cutlet etc?

Simple pre-payment cards don't make these mistakes, cost far less to implement, are useless if stolen by bullies etc etc...

For Alan & Peter McClelland - Another potential an dpossible act of control by governments having too much information.

Lets assume that you enjoy occasionally a beer or whisky, just being sociable. Assume also that you are aresponsible person and would never drink and drive.

Now let's assume that your partner was driving your car, registered under your name, etc. and she had an accident. Nothing related to drink driving, just unlucky.

Let's assume that the car is too badly damaged and you need to buy a new one. Not an unlikely scenario. Once the government takes control of your data they could well refuse you the right to buy a new car because, A) you enjoy a drink now and then, B) you had an accident (don't forget the car was registered to you).

Far fetched - not so far away as you would think.

This story is not worthy of column inches.
It is and advert.

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Everybody, go watch _Demolition Man_...

It seems to me that all of the conspiracy theorists who have commented here assume that there will one day be a government that is either smart enough or has the competence to use data in some sinister way. That's a big leap.

The Mark of the Beast? Isn't the latest research on the matter from very early Biblical translations indicating that the "Mark" is really something like "626", instead of the ever-frightening "666"? Heavens. My former brother-in-law owned a Mazda 626. Whatever could this mean?

Peter #66.
I did keep my papers but sadly this is not good enough any more

Governments come and go. the civil service stays the same. who calls the shots?

First was the chip to identify you. Next is the camera to follow your moves. Then comes the watching of your activities in your own home to insure they abide by the rules big brother sets forth. Lost is your liberty and freedom.....

Ever watch The Fifth Element? Perfect example of the future to be.... it started with a chip

Just a thought
We have seen our civil liberties eroded by basic mind control/social condtioning(detention without proof of guilt,climate of fear)Yes i know about interment in the 70s for supposed IRA suspects I refer you to the guildford 4 and a few others to demonstrate why its wrong(also refer you to the "ice cream wars killers" that were jailed for so long due to corruption in both the police and government and since proven innocent )
The justice system was built on the assumption Your innocent until proven guilty by a jury of your peers Thats what made the it fair(but not foolproof i admit)
We now seem to have a government that does not care about basic civil liberties nor the rules regarding treatment of prisoners of war(not even going to go into the amount of innocent civilians killed in an illegal war)
Just for those that dont know perhaps you may want to consider the fact that on 9/11 and 7/7 there was the same company that was running a "simulation" of exactly the same scenario that actually happened (one of the directors of the company was interviewed on BBC radio stating the scenario they were "running a simulation of " was exactly what happened on 7/7)
Wake up people your being conditioned,
and your kids are being conditioned to accept as the norm that they should be scanned and tracked so when they are adult its nothing strange
If you do not beleive this can or would happen i suggest you "google"the phrase "MKULTRA" or "CIA EXPERIMENTS IN THE 50s and 60s and 70s) and then investigate further
The experiments are a matter of public record(although censored)
Never believe that the government works for the people
They work for the people that donate to their party and finance their own goals(Rarely for the ideals they pretend to have)
Are you really happy to have your kids(and later adults)part of a social conditioning programme?

There's probably a good reason why you're (not your) called monkey

I agree with you Gerry. Sadly, we live in a world where the masses have grown drunk on "Convenience" no matter where you look, you can see people lured by that word and its supposed benefits. "But its convenient darling..." Hey, we don't even have to cook anymore.. its so much more convenient to just nuke our foods... " Oh but its much more convenient to do this, that and the other. And all its done is birthed a lazy generation who can't do crap for themselves. Thinking they've advanced in all their "Conveniences" and yet they've only walked deeper and deeper into a very dark maze. The same people who advocate this biometric/chip whatever are the same people who will be crying foul in about 15 years when all their personal information has gotten into the hands of the wrong people. Unfortunately, kids have nothing to compare these conveniences to since they are merely part of the fabric of their lives. Slaves who are born slaves rarely discover that what they deem as freedom, is not really freedom at all.
Sincerely,
Lynn

p.s anonymity has its pluses.

My God, this blog certainly attracts the lunatic fringe. Any parent who has had kids coming home hungry because their dinner money has "got lost" - it happened to my daughter just yesterday - is bound to see that this is a good idea.

Those of you - that's you, the flat-earthers and lentil-knitters in the corner, happy to greet like bairns about the iniquities of the world but never EVER prepared to get off your fat arses and make a more worthwhile suggestion - who think this is an infringement to your civil liberties and who would rather teach their children at home - come *ON*, get a grip!!

great idea,only someone with a guilty conscience might protest,once again proud to be scot.for a wee country we dont do so bad in the technology department, aye awa the noo. if only ms. brodie were around.