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01/14/2004 Archived Entry: "National Identification Systems"

After an absence due to deadline pressure and to illness (just a continuing cold/flu cycle), it feels good to be back at McBlog for which Brad has cared so well.

Good news! And, yes, this is both a promo and a sales pitch. The anthology "National Identification Systems: Essays in Opposition," edited by Carl Watner with Wendy McElroy is finally in my hands; it will not be officially offered for sale until April BUT it is available here and now from this site. The list price is $45 US and anyone who makes a $50 donation to McBlog at the PayPal button on the front page (or by writing to mac@zetetics.com for other methods of donation) will receive an advanced copy inscribed by me with thanks.

The Table of Contents is as follows:

Part I: A History of Government ID and Citizen-Tracking
--Men Ahead of Their Times
by Jeremy Benthan and Luis Reyna Almandos
--Government Surnames and Legal Identities
by James C. Scott, John Tehranian, and Jeremy Mathias
--Genocide and Group Classificaiton on National ID Cards
by Jim Fussell
--The Compulsory Birth and Death Certificate in the United States
by Carl Watner
--A National Fingerprint System for the United States
by Pamela Sankar
--Drivers Licenses and Vehicle Registration in Historical Perspective
by Carl Watner
--The Russian Card: The Propiska
by Nicolas Werth
--Population Registers in the Netherlands During World War II
by Bob Moore
--The English Identity Cards
by C.H. Rolph
--A History of the Census
by Carl Watner

Part II: Contemporary Issues
--Systematic Federal Surveillance of Ordinary Americans
by Charlotte Twight
--National ID: Our Line in the Sand
by Clarie Wolfe
--The Australian Card: Campaign of Opposition
by Simon Davies
--The Social Security Number in America: 1935-2000
by Robert Ellis Smith
--My National ID Card is a Threat to Your Civil Liberties
by Gregory Dicum
--How Computers Are a Menace to Liberty
by Hans Sherrer
--Why I Oppose Government Enumeration
by Carl Watner

Part III: The Future and Resistance
--Gandhi's Story in South Africa
by Calvin Kytle
--Give Me Liberty
by Rose Wilder Lane
--Resist Enumeration
by Scott McDonald
--National ID for All Public Servants
by Patricia Neill
--An American Refusenik
by Claire Wolfe
--Red Tape
by Blood Donor K
--Why I Refuse to Be Numberef
by Anonymous
--Slavery and National ID
by Carl Watner
--ID Without Big Brother
by Sunni Maravillosa
--Epilogue: National ID and the Police State
by Clarie Wolfe and Aaron Zelman

To continue the tekkie themes that Brad has happily introduced to McBlog, our unofficial co-blogger Gordon P. writes, "Nick Morgan says he confesses to a bit of "schadenfreude" over Micro$haft's reaction to the announcement that Hewlett Packard has teamed up with Apple, and will be selling their vomputers with iTunes pre-installed, Nick quotes: 'General manager of Microsoft's Windows digital media division David Fester has suggested that iTunes' emerging dominance would be bad for consumers, because it would limit them to the iPod. He told journalists at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: Windows is about choice - you can mix and match software and music player stuff. We believe you should have the same choice when it comes to music services.'

Gordon continues, "Windoze is about _choice_ ?! Excuse me while I pick myself up off the floor where I've been laughing, and clean the hot chocolate off my monitor screen..."

Sad news -- for us, not her -- from Claire Wolfe who is taking a break from blogging and politics in order to focus on the satisfactions of private life. Take good care of yourself Claire -- and come home soon.

My best to all,
mac