http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2006/09/27/the-news-just-keeps-sneaking-across-the-border/ Protect yourself from government gaffes, bureaucratic blunders and incumbent incompetence Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:25:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2006/09/27/the-news-just-keeps-sneaking-across-the-border/#comment-11335 State Department proposes $20 RFID passport cards - Homeland Stupidity Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:06:20 +0000 http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2006/09/27/the-news-just-keeps-sneaking-across-the-border/#comment-11335 [...] As part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Congress has required that all U.S. citizens traveling by land have passports by January 1, 2009. A regular passport costs $95. The UHF vicinity technology would allow reader equipment to link to the card from a distance of about 32 feet, in contrast to the HF proximity technology that functions within three feet. Proponents of both the technologies tout their current or future security benefits, while some privacy activists have questioned or denounced the use of RF technology of any kind for secure credentials. [...] [...] As part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Congress has required that all U.S. citizens traveling by land have passports by January 1, 2009. A regular passport costs $95. The UHF vicinity technology would allow reader equipment to link to the card from a distance of about 32 feet, in contrast to the HF proximity technology that functions within three feet. Proponents of both the technologies tout their current or future security benefits, while some privacy activists have questioned or denounced the use of RF technology of any kind for secure credentials. [...]

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