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Fake IDs in the age of the internet

melmagazine.com

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Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boston is the real deal when it comes to ID crackdowns. About 150k college students so some tens of thousands of fake IDs, plus a history of blue laws. I believe that legally they are even allowed to refuse legitimate out-of-state US drivers' licenses (most places do not do this, but they can). Foreign passports also can be refused. And that's not even counting the notorious "box scanners" which, to my knowledge, are…

Meanwhile in the UK I have had many places accept my expired US license from a rural state most have not even heard of. Once at a supermarket, a cashier asked me for ID and I absent mindedly said "No thanks". He was satisfied with that answer, and I didn't realize what I had said until I had already left with my drinks in hand.

The UK is pretty relaxed.

If you're 16+ you can drink beer, wine or cider with your meal if it's bought by an adult. And in that scenario it would be rare to be asked to prove you aren't 15

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#122
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a big part of the problem is that America is very large and very car focused. If you can reasonably walk to where you're drinking (or more importantly, walk home from there), then you're less likely to drive drunk. Many bars in America essentially require driving to and from.

This doesn't make any sense. Doesn't matter your age if you have to drive to/from the bar and drink driving is illegal, what difference does being 18 or 21 make?

I guess when you're 16 (you can drive at 16 in US) you're more likely to make a bad decision about driving and drinking maybe.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#123
post #99
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't let it stop you. Despite the anecdotes most people pass through the border with no issues at all, certainly no more than the grilling you'll get flying into parts of Europe (UK and Denmark come to mind from my personal experience - nothing too crazy just a lot of questions vs some of my US crossings where they barely look at you). Likewise with the violence you'll see in the media. Most of America is safe and p…

Being in EU, we don't know the grilling at UK, Denmark or any other EU (Schengen participants to be specific), (it's more or less like going from one state to the other in USA), so the comparison doesn't help much to parent poster.

Correct. My main issue is that in fact I worked (led development / designed the whole security system) at an encrypted email service and CEO claimed police investigated into us before we ran out of money. It might be bullshit, but I'd rather not risk getting humiliated by some asshole at border control, especially considering how much more interesting many countries in EU are.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite confused by your comment. I like beer. And if I could have non-alcoholic beer that tasted as well as standard beer I'd prefer that. (IMO todays alternatives still taste very different.)

To be fair, the alternatives don't taste like standard beer because they lack an important part of the taste, that is, the alcohol.

As far as I am aware the ethanol is only part of the missing taste. (I think other flavours are created in the same process and during storage.)

But anyway my point still stands: I'd still drink beer if didn't get drunk. Actually I think I would drink more beer then.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#125
post #92
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the car-orientation of the US would greatly benefit from a European-style approach to teaching kids about alcohol. I lived in Germany for a year as an exchange student when I was 16, the age at which kids can drink without a parent present. They can't get a license until 18. The vast bulk of kids there, in my experience, seemed to figure out sane drinking well before they got behind the wheel. Coming back to…

> the US simply seems culturally incapable of healthy approaches to easing kids through becoming adults on a number of dimensions I couldn't agree more, and numerous problems are pretty much a direct result.

The worst part is that teaching kids about alcohol safely at home, European style, is ILLEGAL in much of the US, meaning that social services might come take your kids if they discover you gave them a glass of wine at Christmas.

I grew up in Europe. I was planning on letting my kid try a small glass of wine with food in their early teens. But doing so in the US, I actually risk jail and loss of parental custody. Let that sink in...

The US has a really unhealthy attitude towards alcohol that results in binge drinking and excess in college, and society here almost prefers it that way which is depressing.

PS - I know many parents ignore these laws, but the point remains, the law makes no exception for parental consent or at home.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#126
post #58

The mass use of fake IDs of this sort is a bizarrely American problem. In the UK, you're considered an adult at age 18. Most (aside from the unfortunate 17-year-olds) university students can legally purchase alcohol, smoke, or gamble if they so choose. But we don't have MADD, I guess.

I think a big part of the problem is that America is very large and very car focused. If you can reasonably walk to where you're drinking (or more importantly, walk home from there), then you're less likely to drive drunk. Many bars in America essentially require driving to and from.

This. MADD really is fighting the wrong battle and should be a lobby for real mass transit in most major US cities. The idea that America is "too spread out" is a terrible myth.

Every America city I've lived it use to have amazing tram systems. They're all gone now; killed by the desire of Ford and GM to see us a car future. There is an amazing amount of advertising that trained Americans to love their cars and consider buses as the means of transport for the poor.

More walkable spaces and better community transport; removing the necessity for a car, would greatly reduce the amount of drunk driving more than fines/jail-time/campaigns. It's insane that the US drinking age is still 21 when so many of other countries, from most of Europe to Australia to Canada to Singapore, all have 18 as their drinking age.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#127
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and there is even push back against under 21 sqadies /grunts being able to drink - you can put your life on the line for your country but cant get a beer

Same thing with weapons. Go shoot automatic rifles with the government, oh you want to buy hand gun ammunition? Sorry you can't, have to be 21.

Not only automatic rifles. Hand grenades, fully-automatic grenade launchers, anti-tank rocket launchers, claymore mines... You name it. The infantry can be pretty fun.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#128
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the US simply seems culturally incapable of healthy approaches to easing kids through becoming adults on a number of dimensions I couldn't agree more, and numerous problems are pretty much a direct result.

The worst part is that teaching kids about alcohol safely at home, European style, is ILLEGAL in much of the US, meaning that social services might come take your kids if they discover you gave them a glass of wine at Christmas. I grew up in Europe. I was planning on letting my kid try a small glass of wine with food in their early teens. But doing so in the US, I actually risk jail and loss of parental custody. Let…

It boggles my mind that outside my small social bubble, people around my age (23) spend their whole weekends drunk. I'm not out to stop them and I accept their choices, but I wonder if it's also a result of our alcohol culture. Most people can't seem to enjoy just one or two beers.

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#129
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the US simply seems culturally incapable of healthy approaches to easing kids through becoming adults on a number of dimensions I couldn't agree more, and numerous problems are pretty much a direct result.

The worst part is that teaching kids about alcohol safely at home, European style, is ILLEGAL in much of the US, meaning that social services might come take your kids if they discover you gave them a glass of wine at Christmas. I grew up in Europe. I was planning on letting my kid try a small glass of wine with food in their early teens. But doing so in the US, I actually risk jail and loss of parental custody. Let…

In Wisconsin, at least:

> Can an underage person possess and consume alcohol beverages on licensed premises?

> Yes. Persons under age 21 may possess and consume alcohol beverages if they are with their parents, guardians or spouses of legal drinking age; but this is at the discretion of the licensee. The licensed premise may choose to prohibit consumption and possession of alcohol beverages by underage persons.

https://www.revenue.wi.gov/Pages/FAQS/ise-atundrg.aspx

Re: Fake IDs in the age of the internet

#130

The mass use of fake IDs of this sort is a bizarrely American problem. In the UK, you're considered an adult at age 18. Most (aside from the unfortunate 17-year-olds) university students can legally purchase alcohol, smoke, or gamble if they so choose. But we don't have MADD, I guess.

>The mass use of fake IDs of this sort is a bizarrely American problem. In the UK, you're considered an adult at age 18. Most (aside from the unfortunate 17-year-olds) university students can legally purchase alcohol, smoke, or gamble if they so choose. In the late 90s, when I was 16-17 and doing my A levels in the South East, plenty of people had fake "Prove It" cards and the like. If you wanted to grab a drink at a…

That's one thing the scrapped national ID Card scheme may have helped with.

A lot of teens aren't learning to drive in the UK anymore due to the high cost and quality of public transport in cities. So they by extension don't get a driving license until well into their 20s (if at all). So their choice was either, as you said, take out your passport (dangerous/impractical) or use a fake ID.

That's why they had to create the PASS scheme (Proof of Age Standards Scheme)[0][1]. In essence it is a non-driving licence/non-national ID card, card which only exists to prove your age. It costs £15, but that's still cheap relative to getting a driving licence (inc. test/cost to learn £200+) or replacing a lost passport (£72.50).

It is a good scheme.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_Age_Standards_Scheme

[1] https://www.validateuk.co.uk/official-UK-ID-Card

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