A 'chilling' proposal for a universal DNA database

[hedgetrimmer]

Source: Independent News and Media Limited

You'll need to go to the link in order to read due to this keyboard being on the blink - deepest apologies

Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2934322.ece

[Gman]

1. If we get a Republic WH and Congress next year

we're looking at the very same thing... of course it will be outsourced and a no bid contract for somebody.

[Bitwit1234]

2. A lot of people in this country are volunteering submitting their DNA

to genealogy databases. This is fine but I wondered if these DNA samples fell into the wrong hands what would happen.

[Trillo]

4. Data Mining and everyone's filed DNA could equal Genetic Assassination

It all reportedly depends on what those with access do with the database and further what individual scientists deem ethical, which as you may or may not know, reportedly varies widely.

read more ---> http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0120,baard,24752,1.html

My main objection to it is that the cell wall is like a locked door that scientists must dissolve to access the DNA inside, therefore I find mandatory confiscation of DNA a 4th Amendment violation (though I'm no attorney).

[woodsprite]

21. I'd would have loved to submit mine to a genealogy database,

but the database for my family name is run by a girl with a similar last name who is in the military. Call me paranoid, but I didn't feel real comfy with that idea.

[jody]

28. You might want to consider Nation Geographic Genographic Project, link below.

https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/?fs=www3.nationalgeographic.com&fs=www5.nationalgeographic.com

[1monster]

3. Enclosed in the annual back to school package of information and things that had to be

signed was a kit containing a swab and a tube to put it in. The swab was to collect DNA from my son.

These DNA collection were sent home with all the school children in our district, supposedly for the child's future safty in the event s/he is ever lost...

We opted not to use it...

I wonder how many parents chose to collect their child(ren)'s DNA for the government?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

5. Oh, that's scary.

As a parent of a college student, I can tell you that was NOT part of being enrolled in school as little as ten years ago.

Good for you. MKJ

[noel adamson]

7. Maybe we should just give them the family dog's dna and keep a sample of our children's at home.

Exactly how they would use a dna sample to find someone still eludes me.

[iaviate1]

11. My thoughts exactly...

Eventually they will probably require DNA samples for passport applications and then it'll be a little tougher to get away with. Information is power and our government already has too much control over it. Just wait until they find a gay gene, gene A, or gene B. People may trust our government now, but this data will NEVER be deleted and you have NO idea how it would be used. Maybe somebody would want to round up all the gays, Jews, blacks, whoever.

[lonestarnot]

9. Wow! Unbelievable. Did they press you for it?

[Crayson]

17. Just swab your dog... or just anybody else

I wonder what would happen...

Would you be contacted?
Would they tell you what kind of diseases your cat possibly would get in the next 50 years?
Would their DNA sequencer throw an error message?
^_^

[BadgerKid]

6. I want a genetics bill of rights

because you damn well know insurance companies are going to want to screen your DNA, which you cannot control. All the more reason for universal health care.

[AX10]

24. I do too!

[Quantess]

8. First, I could not access your article.

Second, why would this not be an excellent technological asset to solving crimes?

Third, why are some people opposed to it?

[hedgetrimmer]

10. I do not know why you are unable to access the article.

I do hope you find the answers to your questions and that those answers fulfill the part of you that asks also I was able to pull the link without trouble - try again

[Quantess]

13. Hello, yes. I did access and read the article. Thanks!

It was probably my dial-up connection.

In my mind, questions #2 and #3 are still unanswered.
Don't you want to solve unanswered crimes?
Don't you want to exonerate wrongly imprisoned innocent people?

Explain this to me, please: Why do you distrust DNA?

[treestar]

26. That can already be done; the people give the samples voluntarily

or the court orders it. This is for an overall collection. That's the issue here.

[iaviate1]

12. I suppose it could be used to solve crimes...

But warrant-less searches could help with that too. And if we gave everybody ankle bracelets that would help. So could martial law and cerfews. If you don't have anything to hide, you shouldn't have a problem with it, right?

[Quantess]

14. Ahem......what does DNA testing have to do with

...warrant-less searches....ankle bracelets....martial law and cerfews(sic)...?

[Quantess]

15. I'm just so baffled that I am so diametrically opposed to every poster, and the OP as well.

DNA factual checking is bad, for some people?
:crazy:

I'm wearing a shirt that says "I'm with stupid"

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. It's a question of how much you trust the government

If DNA matching is only done for the purposes of detecting crime, it might be acceptable - and if I could trust my government to only do that, then the judge's proposal of having everyone's DNA on records would be far fairer than the current situation, where anyone who is arrested ends up on the database, even if they are never charged, or are subsequently found innocent. This means that at present those who are the victims of bad police work continue to be victims later - they have had their rights compromised, while other people haven't (note that the government themselves acknowledge there are 'civil liberties concerns' about keeping innocent people's DNA on record).

But many people do not trust their government to use something like this purely for fighting crime - and with good reason. The police, and MI5, often misuse their powers to track legitimate protesters, and a DNA profile could be used like this too. It could potentially be used to classify people by genes - which might affect the insurance or healthcare available to them, for instance.

[Igel]

22. It's a question of what information is obtained and kept.

They might just keep the kind of information that they use in court cases and then chuck the actual sample. This doesn't include the kinds of genetic information that insurance companies would love to have. While it might lead to abuse--you could fake a sample to make sure somebody's arrested, as soon as the person's arrested another test could be run to show that the database is correct or corrupt. Since the test would have to be run anyway, no problem.

Sure, the information could be used to track or trace people. Names are good for that, too. But it requires getting a sample from the person being illegally tracked or traced, and that would be, well, illegal. If it's not illegal, then the information could be obtained and all that's missing is the first step in the person's movements.

If they keep each sample, properly labelled, that would take up a lot of room and resources. They might do it, and but it would mean having to process a lot of samples in a short time later. While the lab comissioned to analyse 5.9 million samples for the X number of genes associated with diabetes might love the contract, I can only imagine the nightmare when the contractor's told he has 6 months to produce all the data.

[Crayson]

18. It's the same with DNA and forms and all...

Fill in as few gaps as possible.
Information can and will eventually be used against you.

If they want to press you on some minor information... lie.
Or at least be vague, most of the time some clerk just wants to make sure that you write something into the gap.

Same with DNA, give it to them, just make sure it's NOT yours.
^_^

if you give them nothing,your're already suspect. Much better to give them a false lead

[jody]

19. Those who want to register every firearm should not object to registering every person's DNA.

In both cases, such a law assumes government can be trusted.

What will prevent a rogue president, using executive orders and signing statements, from using a person's genetic profile via DNA to move us closer to the fictional societies of "1984" and "Brave New World"?

[qdemn7]

20. Damn straight jody.....

Let's see how people react when the shoe is on the other foot. :nopity:

EDIT: bad link in original post. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article2934322.ece

[SteveM]

23. Good timing on this thread: let 'em string out, then POW!

[demoleft]

25. "...the national DNA database..."

Ehi, I thought Matrix was only a movie...
We're heading to that, straight and quick...

Well, another country I'll have to cancel from my journey list...
(But English people are tough and liberal and in the name of 1648 and 1688 I trust them to reject the judge!)

[HockeyMom]

27. Rudy called for this years ago

He becomes President, perish the thought, you might just be looking at this.