TASPO is an age verification ID card launched in Japan to ensure that anyone purchasing cigarettes was indeed old enough to do so. The ID cards were invented to stop minors from buying cigarettes from vending machines, which until the launch were available for anyone of any age to use.
The Tobacco Institute of Japan believe that the cumbersome procedures involved in applying for the cards resulted in the poor uptake.
The flip side of the problem is that convenience stores and retailers are benefiting from the unpopularity of the ID card scheme.
5,740,579 ID cards had been issued by June 14th, which represents just 22% of 26 million people who smoke in Japan.
Approximately 9.44 million Japanese use the cigarette vending machines to buy their cigarettes, of which 61% own ID cards.
The fact that many smokers have decided against using the ID cards as they feel the process too long winded, or that it requires too much personal information, have opted instead to use conventional shops where the ID cards are not required to prove the customer’s age.
Business leaders, councils and even charities are looking closely at the proposed identity card scheme in Edinburgh. The home office minister for Identity, Meg Hillier, is to meet the group to discuss the government’s plans for ID cards, which were presented in March this year by the home secretary.
The group discussion will not be attended by the group NO2ID, an anti ID Card body, as their requests to attend the discussion had been refused.
This group event is part a nationwide plan to allow organisations and interested parties to give their feedback on the proposed scheme.
According to Meg Hillier:
We are committed to providing people with the option of having an identity card which will make day-to-day life much easier.
I am convinced, like people everywhere, the people of Scotland are keen to protect themselves and their families against identity fraud, as well as protecting their communities against crime, illegal immigration and terrorism.
However the fact that NO2ID have been refused access to the event suggests that the government don’t want an honest debate over the issue. Geraint Bevan, of NO2ID, stated:
The ID database will result in a massive erosion of privacy for individuals. But the government refuses to listen to anyone.
In Edinburgh today, they are excluding campaigners and ordinary members of the public. Ministers have declined our invitations to attend genuine public meetings. They are clearly scared of hearing what the public might say.
News emerged this week that police raided three different restaurants in Cumbria and found as many as thirteen illegal immigrants working. The raids occurred on Thursday in Grange over Sands, Barrow and in Sedbergh. The cost of employing the illegal works could prove very expensive to the restaurants as they all face potential fines of up to £10,000 for every illegal worker they had hired.
Officers from Cumbria and officers from the immigration office in Liverpool carried out the raids and they found 4 Bangladeshi men working illegally.
The three restaurants all were found to have illegal workers, with the Taj Mahal restaurant in Sedbergh having to be closed down after all 6 of its Bangladeshi male staff members were found to be illegal immigrants.
All 13 men now face deportation.
By the end of this year the government plans to introduce ID cards for all foreign nationals to help businesses ensure that they are not employing illegal immigrants.
Washington D.C., the capital of the United States of America, has become the first major US city to introduce a unified, all purpose ID card. This card will combine all of the major services a citizen will require on the one card.
The plan is for the card to be compulsory for government employees and school students, but would be open for other citizens to have them as well if they wish.
The new card, christened ‘The One Card’ would be used for such activities as booking out library books, monitoring school attendance and using public recreation services such as swimming pools and leisure centres.
They also plan to add a chip to the card so that it can be used on the Metro.
The scheme is set to roll out over the coming months, with students and government officials being giving the cards this autumn. The cards will also be safe from the possibility of identity theft as no personal information is to be stored on the cards.
The farcical election in Zimbabwe that is about see a landslide victory for tyrant Robert Mugabe has come to pass in part due to the president’s theft of the voter’s ID cards.
This election should have been the chance for Zimbabwe to finally get rid of the disastrous dictator, but due to terror tactics and bullying he is poised for victory. The first round of voting saw Mugabe told in no uncertain terms that his electorate were against him; however that is now a thing of the past.
Morgan Tsvangirai was standing against Robert Mugabe, but has since pulled out due to intimidation, even though his name is still on the ballot paper.
Everyone who votes in the election will have their fingerprints taken, so that once they have cast their ballot, Robert Mugabe’s militia will know who they voted for and will be able to identify anyone who votes against him. As they have already killed nearly 90 of the opposition, anyone who votes against Mugabe is taking a chance with their life.
Voters in the rural areas have even been stripped of their ID cards, being told they won’t get them back until they have voted… and voted the right way!
Identity cards have been big news for the last couple of years with the Government planning to spend millions of pounds on them should the bill eventually be passed.
While not everyone wants the type of identity cards that the Government has in mind, a simple white plastic card with a person’s photograph and name on it could save a lot of hassle. This particular type of card would be a lot cheaper than the planned identity card that proponents suggest should carry iris and fingerprint recognition data.
Many companies now use simple identity cards to distinguish company members from visitors and unauthorised personnel on the company premises. These identity cards serve a simple and useful purpose and are easy to produce with the right hardware.
White plastic cards come in a variety of thicknesses, from a very thin card that is suitable for scratch cards and other short term needs, to a much thicker variety, which is suitable for many different purposes, including an identity card. It is also possible to get a chip card as a basis for business identity cards. Chip cards are especially useful if there are certain areas of your premises that should only be accessed by authorised staff.
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer believes that the US government is opening up the door to identity thieves by printing Social Security numbers on the Medicare cards for senior citizens and the disabled. The concern over identity cards, and their apparent lack of security, has something that has been raised recently in various different sectors across the globe.
Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, wants the Medicare administration to rescind all of the current cards, and to reissue them without the Social Security numbers printed on them. With the information contained on the ID cards, unscrupulous identity thieves could use the information to apply for credit cards, or even to remove funds from the cardholder’s bank account.
However the proposed cost of reissuing the cards without the numbers printed on them is $500 million, as there are over 40 million card carriers in the United States. Medicare also say that there has been no proof that anyone has had their identity stolen, or has had fund stolen, as a result of their cards.
Jeff Nelligan of Medicare stated:
While we share concerns about identify theft, to date we have not seen significant evidence that the security of Medicare cards has been compromised.
As a result, we still believe that our limited administrative dollars are better spent on inspecting hospitals and nursing homes and ensuring physicians and hospitals have their bills paid on time.
However a report issued by the Government Accountability Office stated that the Social Security numbers on the Medicare cards posed a significant risk of identity theft.
This month, Transport for London (TFL) insisted that it was mandatory for all children who were aged between eleven and eighteen to have an Oyster Card if they wished to gain free travel.
However, the admission by the TFL that the data contained on their database about the children who carry the cards will be shared with third parties has angered parents, who fear that children are being put risk by the TFL.
The TFL has also come under fire from the Information Commissioner’s Office who claims the TFL will be gathering the data without any real need for it.
The TFL insist that they are gathering the information, and have stated they’ll share it with third parties, with a view to curbing anti-social behaviour on their transport systems. They insist they’re acting with the best interests of the public at heart.
They say that they take the security of the data very seriously, however the Police do use data from the Oyster card scheme regularly to track movements of passengers. According to reports the police made over 3,000 individual requests for data on passengers using Oyster cards in the last year.
Rachel Rolfe is a mother whose children would be expected to use the Oyster cards, and have their data on the database.
I don’t think that children need ID cards, once your information is out there you can never get it back. And I think you can’t protect it.
However the TFL have commented that passengers must adhere to their behaviour code if they wish to use their transport system:
In order to enforce these specific cases, personal information is requested by the Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police Service and British Transport Police
In these times, where we live in the constant threat of terror, the United States is on a heightened sense of alert. With this in mind, the news that French electronics maker (Safran) submitting a bid for ‘Digmarc’, which is a US based ID card manufacturer that has government contracts with the Department for Homeland Security, has raised concerns for security.
Robert LaPenta is the chairman and the chief exec of the US company L-1 Identity Solutions. He claims that Safran would never get approval from the government for the bid, a $300 million offer for Digimarc. L-1 Identity have already made a bid of $263 in cash, plus stock. They’ve been told by their legal team that the proposed bid by the French company might be superior to their offer.
Digimarc however is holding talks with Safron, while not ruling out the offer from L-1 Identity.
Placing the credentialing of US citizens in the hands of a foreign entity calls to question many potential dangers, including concerns of national security,” said Mr LaPenta. “I am certain that the federal government . . . will not prefer to place US citizens’ personal information . . . in the hands of a company outside our national borders.
In the past US based companies battling with foreign companies for US business has been food for political debate. This is expected to be no different.
