BBC Propaganda explained

'Convenience', 'trendyness', 'new technology so why shouldn't we use it', are all unthinking responses to the bigger picture that these technologies are aimed at. At present they are in their infancy and all are fatally flawed and easily thwarted by criminals. Central databases of biometric information will be absolute hacker heaven for ID thieves and you cannot replace your fingers or change your eyeballs when someone starts using your pupil scan via a simple printout with a hole in, to do things in your name. It really is that easy to foil these systems. So the government claiming that Biometrics would have helped with this Missing Data Disks business is just pure BS and plausibly a fiasco only to help role out such schemes faster to the easily led. See here for just how easy http://www.badscience.net/2007/11/make-your-own-id/ (i love the part about leaving ones pin everytime you touch something, so shares in gloves maybe a good investment)

The leave those kids alone organisation has already exposed thousands of schools doing this seemingly innocent act. At present those databases are 'not networked and 'will be deleted on the childs departure from school'. Well that's reassuring, I'll go back to sleep. Remember however that there is no such thing as deletion from a hard drive ever, period. Someone can always retrieve the information and pc's are commonly chucked away intact when something breaks. Schools regularly get all their pc's stolen in burglaries too don't they? This info will fall into the wrong hands. The kids too will be conditioned to accept this form of life and privacy invasion, even though they don't see it that way yet. Might help if '1984' was on the curriculum. Though as Huxley showed in 'Brave New World' the public will practically beg to be enslaved and we are.

The BBC just announced plans for our supermarkets to go this way too. Combined with rfid in products and one starts to get a biometric purchase history plus checkout staff will be out of jobs when the rfid shows up too. Your ID can always be switched off aswell, leaving you up the creek with no alternative form of payment. Well apart from someone else's fingers perhaps.

'Pay by Touch' already exists over here to replace chip n pin, the roll out is gaining pace. I say 'give it the finger'.

I really don's see anything wrong with fingerprint recognition for school meals. It is not the thin end of the wedge, it is not the beginning of enslavementment, it is merely the use to technology for convenience. If you have the energy to complain, then complain about something that matters.