DNA tests sought 'for every Briton'

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Post by Alyeska »

BoredShirtless wrote:Don't. It was an insult, dumbass.
Comming from you that makes it a compliment.
I was asking questions, not making arguments, you fucking moron.
With an argument in mind no less. Somehow I don't see you as playing Devils Advocate here.
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Post by RedImperator »

BoredShirtless wrote:
RedImperator wrote:Again, I reiterate: your body belongs to you and only you, and you, not the state, not some corporation, not anybody else so long as you're of sound mind and abide by the laws of a free society, can make decisions about it for you.
If you don't have a problem with compulsory registeration of cars, why should you have one for bodies?
Um, because my car, much as I love it, is just a machine. It isn't ME. I don't have an unalienable, fundamental right to a car, but I do have an analienable fundamental right to life, and that by definition means my body belongs to me in a way that no other piece of property does.
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Post by BoredShirtless »

Alyeska wrote:
BoredShirtless wrote:Don't. It was an insult, dumbass.
Comming from you that makes it a compliment.
Really? So if I called you a petty little shit who let a personal grudge get in the way of his responsibilities, you'd take that as a compliment?
Alyeska wrote:
I was asking questions, not making arguments, you fucking moron.
With an argument in mind no less. Somehow I don't see you as playing Devils Advocate here.
What's my argument then?
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Post by Stravo »

RedImperator wrote:
BoredShirtless wrote:
RedImperator wrote:Again, I reiterate: your body belongs to you and only you, and you, not the state, not some corporation, not anybody else so long as you're of sound mind and abide by the laws of a free society, can make decisions about it for you.
If you don't have a problem with compulsory registeration of cars, why should you have one for bodies?
Um, because my car, much as I love it, is just a machine. It isn't ME. I don't have an unalienable, fundamental right to a car, but I do have an analienable fundamental right to life, and that by definition means my body belongs to me in a way that no other piece of property does.
Is your body truly yours? The Government can force you to go fight a war and get your DNA splattered all over a foreign land, the Government can make you take foreign germs into your body (Immunization), You used to have to have blood tests done before getting married. It can make you do many things with your body that you would not normally choose to do, so what's a vial of blood? Hell every baby born from this instant on gets a DNA swab taken and thats that. I don't understand the problem here? Its not like its forced sterlization or surgery (which the Supreme Court said was unconsitutional)
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Post by RedImperator »

SirNitram wrote:
Alyeska wrote:"and we find these truths to be self evident"

It would seem certain people are a little obtuse.
I don't really recall any part of that line referring to your body being sacrosanct. Luckily, this is in Briton, where the 'Individual is always greater than society!' crowd is not in control(Honestly, given the arguments I've heard from that subsection of the world, it sounds like something the result of a slippery slope.)
Looking for ways that the government can abuse DNA is a red herring for the anti-testing side. The fact remains that individuals who have commited no crime should not be compelled to submit their DNA to a national database. Their bodies are NOT the property of the state.

And by the way, Alyskya perhaps didn't pick the best line. Try, "...certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". I have always held that liberty means never having to justify your actions unless they cause direct harm to someone else, including telling the government to go piss up a flagpole when the nurse from the National DNA Database shows up at the front door.
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Post by SirNitram »

RedImperator wrote:
SirNitram wrote:
Alyeska wrote:"and we find these truths to be self evident"

It would seem certain people are a little obtuse.
I don't really recall any part of that line referring to your body being sacrosanct. Luckily, this is in Briton, where the 'Individual is always greater than society!' crowd is not in control(Honestly, given the arguments I've heard from that subsection of the world, it sounds like something the result of a slippery slope.)
Looking for ways that the government can abuse DNA is a red herring for the anti-testing side. The fact remains that individuals who have commited no crime should not be compelled to submit their DNA to a national database. Their bodies are NOT the property of the state.
As long as that state doesn't have a draft. As they can legally conscript people with the draft, they can certainly legally take some of your spit. But again, this is 'The individual is ALWAYS more important than society', a philosophy thankfully not embraced by all countries.
And by the way, Alyskya perhaps didn't pick the best line. Try, "...certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". I have always held that liberty means never having to justify your actions unless they cause direct harm to someone else, including telling the government to go piss up a flagpole when the nurse from the National DNA Database shows up at the front door.
Well, the definition of liberty is:

The condition of being free from restriction or control.
The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing.
The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. See Synonyms at freedom.

..And having a copy of your DNA fingerprint does not, in fact, violate any of those. Unless we are now supposed to take anyone's personal definition as legal/moral grounds, in which case we might as well absolve alot of scum who justify via wordplay.
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Post by RedImperator »

Stravo wrote:Is your body truly yours? The Government can force you to go fight a war and get your DNA splattered all over a foreign land,
That's part of the social contract. Occasionally, when the survival of the state is at stake, everyone of fighting age has a responsibility to take up arms.
the Government can make you take foreign germs into your body (Immunization), You used to have to have blood tests done before getting married.
Both are necessary to prevent the spread of epidemics. The small invasion of privacy that is forced polio innoculations was worth thousands of people not getting polio. Because of the nature of disease, everybody has to get innoculated.
It can make you do many things with your body that you would not normally choose to do, so what's a vial of blood? Hell every baby born from this instant on gets a DNA swab taken and thats that. I don't understand the problem here? Its not like its forced sterlization or surgery (which the Supreme Court said was unconsitutional)
The issue here is that the government's goal (solving and ultimately preventing crimes) does not justify the methods used, which essentially treat free people like pieces of government property--remember, I don't object to what they're doing, I object to the fact that it's compulsory. Most offenders are repeat offenders--in a few years, Britian will have a database of practically the entire criminal population already. Crime can be prevented in a number of ways that don't involve creating a giant DNA database, and forensic technology is advancing fast enough that there are methods besides DNA testing to solve crimes.
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Post by BoredShirtless »

RedImperator wrote:
BoredShirtless wrote:
RedImperator wrote:Again, I reiterate: your body belongs to you and only you, and you, not the state, not some corporation, not anybody else so long as you're of sound mind and abide by the laws of a free society, can make decisions about it for you.
If you don't have a problem with compulsory registeration of cars, why should you have one for bodies?
Um, because my car, much as I love it, is just a machine. It isn't ME. I don't have an unalienable, fundamental right to a car, but I do have an analienable fundamental right to life, and that by definition means my body belongs to me in a way that no other piece of property does.
Straw man. I said it's compulsary to register cars, not own them.

Please answer the question without appealing to emotion or creating straw men; if you don't have a problem with compulsory registeration of cars, why should you have one for bodies? Btw, your rights to your body and life aren't really yours, seeing how the State can strip you off them against your will given the right circumstances.
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Post by RedImperator »

SirNitram wrote:
RedImperator wrote:As long as that state doesn't have a draft. As they can legally conscript people with the draft, they can certainly legally take some of your spit. But again, this is 'The individual is ALWAYS more important than society', a philosophy thankfully not embraced by all countries.
See my response to Stravo. The draft is a method by which the entire society ensures its survival. It's necessary, or was necessary, to infringe upon the rights of a few citizens to preserve the rights of all of them.

"The individal is ALWAYS more important than society" is a strawman of my position. Admittedly, it's not a distortion of the positions of some who would take my side in this debate, but it is mine. I've never argued that the individual is always more important--such a situation would not be sustainable.
Well, the definition of liberty is:

The condition of being free from restriction or control.
The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing.
The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. See Synonyms at freedom.

..And having a copy of your DNA fingerprint does not, in fact, violate any of those. Unless we are now supposed to take anyone's personal definition as legal/moral grounds, in which case we might as well absolve alot of scum who justify via wordplay.
I was unaware that the dictionary was the final arbiter of hotly contested philsophical debates on the nature of central concepts of Western society.

And, no, you can't absolve scum who justify via wordplay, because (I'm assuming by "scum" you mean criminals, abusers, and whatnot) your rights stop as soon as you start violating the rights of others. Laws that punish people who assault, rape, murder, steal, vandalize, defraud, and what have you are perfectly justified and in fact necessary if society is to continue to function.
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Post by RedImperator »

BoredShirtless wrote:Straw man. I said it's compulsary to register cars, not own them.

Please answer the question without appealing to emotion or creating straw men; if you don't have a problem with compulsory registeration of cars, why should you have one for bodies? Btw, your rights to your body and life aren't really yours, seeing how the State can strip you off them against your will given the right circumstances.
The difference between a car and my body is that my car is not a fundamental part of me, and THAT'S why I don't object to registering it whie I do object to being forced to register my body.

As for having your right to life stripped, I would have thought that I've attached "unless forefited under due process of law" to the end of "you have a fundamental right to life/liberty/property" so often that I thought it would be understood. Do you honestly think I missed the fact that the government can execute you if you shoot somebody, and that blows a gigantic hole in my entire argument?
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Post by RedImperator »

And for that matter, since you can be thrown in prison for breaking the law, does that mean you don't really have a right to liberty? Or since the state can take away your house if you don't pay taxes on it, you don't really have a right to property?
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Post by InnerBrat »

RedImperator wrote:
Stravo wrote:Is your body truly yours? The Government can force you to go fight a war and get your DNA splattered all over a foreign land,
That's part of the social contract. Occasionally, when the survival of the state is at stake, everyone of fighting age has a responsibility to take up arms.
the Government can make you take foreign germs into your body (Immunization), You used to have to have blood tests done before getting married.
Both are necessary to prevent the spread of epidemics. The small invasion of privacy that is forced polio innoculations was worth thousands of people not getting polio. Because of the nature of disease, everybody has to get innoculated.
It can make you do many things with your body that you would not normally choose to do, so what's a vial of blood? Hell every baby born from this instant on gets a DNA swab taken and thats that. I don't understand the problem here? Its not like its forced sterlization or surgery (which the Supreme Court said was unconsitutional)
The issue here is that the government's goal (solving and ultimately preventing crimes) does not justify the methods used, which essentially treat free people like pieces of government property--remember, I don't object to what they're doing, I object to the fact that it's compulsory. Most offenders are repeat offenders--in a few years, Britian will have a database of practically the entire criminal population already. Crime can be prevented in a number of ways that don't involve creating a giant DNA database, and forensic technology is advancing fast enough that there are methods besides DNA testing to solve crimes.
Wha...?
So the Government has a right to sacrifice your life in the interests of a dotted line, but not to have access to your saliva in the interests or preventing rape and murder on your own doorstep?

How is a DNA database that works to prevent crime more "treating you like Government property" than havign you killed for what, more often than not, is economic reasons?
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Post by BoredShirtless »

RedImperator wrote:
BoredShirtless wrote:Straw man. I said it's compulsary to register cars, not own them.

Please answer the question without appealing to emotion or creating straw men; if you don't have a problem with compulsory registeration of cars, why should you have one for bodies? Btw, your rights to your body and life aren't really yours, seeing how the State can strip you off them against your will given the right circumstances.
The difference between a car and my body is that my car is not a fundamental part of me, and THAT'S why I don't object to registering it whie I do object to being forced to register my body.
The distinction that your car is property and your body is you doesn't make sense; you're appealing to emotion. Why do you think it's mandatory to register cars? To catch people who break the law. Same with DNA testing. You have no drama with the indignity of registering your car like you're a criminal in waiting; so why the different attitude to your body? Because...your body is you? Does that really make any sense beyond appealing to emotions?
RedImperator wrote: As for having your right to life stripped, I would have thought that I've attached "unless forefited under due process of law" to the end of "you have a fundamental right to life/liberty/property" so often that I thought it would be understood. Do you honestly think I missed the fact that the government can execute you if you shoot somebody, and that blows a gigantic hole in my entire argument?
No, but do you acknowledge that your rights to life and your body don't really belong to you? The circumstances, which strip those rights, are basically irrelevant. We live in a civilised society, and as part of living in one we surrendered our rights to life and body to the State. Think of it as a loan: the State loans us these rights. But as soon as it wants it back, it will take it.
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Post by EmperorChrostas the Cruel »

I am having a hard time seeing spiting inot a cup as invasive.
What this arguement REALY boils down to, is how much info the Gov can have about you, and under what circumstances.
Babies are footprinted at birth. Now we will add a swab to the process.
I realy don't see how the Gov knowing this can hurt you, and I see NO right being voilated.
You do NOT have a right to be anonymous, if you step one foot outside your property, EVER! This includes everyone. School must be attended by children, and immigrants fill out forms prior to entry.
So being born here, or immigrating, means you must leave the house, or first get to the house. That covers about everyone dosn't it?
As Wong concluded in a thread asking the definition of "rights", they are what time has shown are workable rules to minimise suffering.
I have you to see, the "Right of anonyminity" listed in any piece of law.
Because you HAVE none!
Privacy is NOT anonyminity, it is the ability to be unoberved, not unknown!

You are constantly giving up DNA samples all the time. Every time you move around, skin flakes fall off. Every time you drink a soda, you leave DNA on the straw. Spitting or blowing your nose is the same.

Is anyone here proposing that the Gov doesn't have a right to know you exsist, and keep record about you identity?
DNA is just a better picture, and fingerprint.
Hmmmmmm.

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Post by Companion Cube »

Frankly, I don't care. If they want some DNA, they're free to have it.
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Post by Zac Naloen »

Im not bothered by this, they already have my finger prints and things on file... my dna won't make much of a difference *shrugs*
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Post by SirNitram »

RedImperator wrote:
SirNitram wrote:As long as that state doesn't have a draft. As they can legally conscript people with the draft, they can certainly legally take some of your spit. But again, this is 'The individual is ALWAYS more important than society', a philosophy thankfully not embraced by all countries.
See my response to Stravo. The draft is a method by which the entire society ensures its survival. It's necessary, or was necessary, to infringe upon the rights of a few citizens to preserve the rights of all of them.
And a method to more easily solve murders is not going to preserve society? It's fine to risky bodily harm against an army, but not to give up some fucking spit to stop massive bodily harm against a murderer?
"The individal is ALWAYS more important than society" is a strawman of my position. Admittedly, it's not a distortion of the positions of some who would take my side in this debate, but it is mine. I've never argued that the individual is always more important--such a situation would not be sustainable.
I'm glad, but that doesn't change the fact the objections are silly. Your spit is worth more than a quicker, and in some cases, any conviction against a killer? I reiterate that is what this database is proposed for, and I would push for it to be restricted to murder and rape.
Well, the definition of liberty is:

The condition of being free from restriction or control.
The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing.
The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor. See Synonyms at freedom.

..And having a copy of your DNA fingerprint does not, in fact, violate any of those. Unless we are now supposed to take anyone's personal definition as legal/moral grounds, in which case we might as well absolve alot of scum who justify via wordplay.
I was unaware that the dictionary was the final arbiter of hotly contested philsophical debates on the nature of central concepts of Western society.
No, but it does happen to be the arbiter of the meanings of words. Why should your definition of liberty be the one everyone uses?
And, no, you can't absolve scum who justify via wordplay, because (I'm assuming by "scum" you mean criminals, abusers, and whatnot) your rights stop as soon as you start violating the rights of others. Laws that punish people who assault, rape, murder, steal, vandalize, defraud, and what have you are perfectly justified and in fact necessary if society is to continue to function.
And laws that speed the capture and punishment of these people are not necessary, if they step on what you draw as a little comfort zone around you? What is so precious about your spittle, exactly?
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Post by Uraniun235 »

As long as that state doesn't have a draft. As they can legally conscript people with the draft, they can certainly legally take some of your spit. But again, this is 'The individual is ALWAYS more important than society', a philosophy thankfully not embraced by all countries.
I distrust most people ergo I see more power to the individual as a good thing.
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Post by CelesKnight »

BoredShirtless wrote: We live in a civilised society, and as part of living in one we surrendered our rights to life and body to the State. Think of it as a loan: the State loans us these rights. But as soon as it wants it back, it will take it.
I can't speak for Britian or Germany, but in America, the opposite is true. The people loan the government rights.
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Post by Darth Wong »

RedImperator wrote:
Stravo wrote:Is your body truly yours? The Government can force you to go fight a war and get your DNA splattered all over a foreign land,
That's part of the social contract. Occasionally, when the survival of the state is at stake, everyone of fighting age has a responsibility to take up arms.
So you acknowledge that the government can compel people to sacrifice their very lives for the good of society. Why, then, do you oppose the taking of DNA samples for the good of society?
the Government can make you take foreign germs into your body (Immunization), You used to have to have blood tests done before getting married.
Both are necessary to prevent the spread of epidemics. The small invasion of privacy that is forced polio innoculations was worth thousands of people not getting polio. Because of the nature of disease, everybody has to get innoculated.
Again, you acknowledge that it is acceptable for the rights of the individual to be infringed for the sake of the good of many. Again, you don't seem to acknowledge that this is the same principle underlying DNA registration.
The issue here is that the government's goal (solving and ultimately preventing crimes) does not justify the methods used, which essentially treat free people like pieces of government property--
So preventing murder is an unacceptable justification for DNA identification, but preventing disease is a perfectly acceptable justification for forcing you to take injections which have a small but real chance of injuring or killing you, and maintaining soverignty is a perfectly acceptable justification for forcing you to risk or perhaps sacrifice your life in a war?
remember, I don't object to what they're doing, I object to the fact that it's compulsory. Most offenders are repeat offenders--in a few years, Britian will have a database of practically the entire criminal population already.
Doesn't help in serial killings, where the killer often has no rap sheet at all.
Crime can be prevented in a number of ways that don't involve creating a giant DNA database, and forensic technology is advancing fast enough that there are methods besides DNA testing to solve crimes.
I would like to know what these methods are, particularly as they apply to things like serial killings.
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Post by BoredShirtless »

CelesKnight wrote:
BoredShirtless wrote: We live in a civilised society, and as part of living in one we surrendered our rights to life and body to the State. Think of it as a loan: the State loans us these rights. But as soon as it wants it back, it will take it.
I can't speak for Britian or Germany, but in America, the opposite is true. The people loan the government rights.
No. Rights are defined by the society you live in. If you lived outside a society, you would define them yourself.
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Post by MarkIX »

boredshirtless wrote: The distinction that your car is property and your body is you doesn't make sense; you're appealing to emotion.
You can solve this one with a simple test first you live without your car for a week, and then you live without your body for a week. Can you see the point?
Really I don't (dis)agree with your point about DNA testing but I think this point about bodies compared to cars is foolish.
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Post by MKSheppard »

Well, this thread broke down exactly the way I expected it to...on one side
you had those from countries which adopted the Napoleonic code, and the
English Common Law system, as opposed to the American Judicial System,
in which the government is at the beck and call of the people, rather
than the other way around as it usually is in Europe.

Benjamin Franklin, in my opinion said it best:

"Those who give up liberty for the sake of security deserve
neither liberty nor security."

Here's a nice little hypothetical:

Lets say for example, we institute this national DNA database,
and sometime in the future, scientists isolate a particular gene
sequence that causes/influences homosexuality.

And of course, we get a fundie in office....oooh that will be fun
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InnerBrat
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Post by InnerBrat »

MKSheppard wrote:Lets say for example, we institute this national DNA database,
and sometime in the future, scientists isolate a particular gene
sequence that causes/influences homosexuality.
Well, that wouldn't affect scrap, because it is your Genetic Fingerprint on file, and not your genome.

Next?
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BoredShirtless
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Post by BoredShirtless »

MarkIX wrote:
boredshirtless wrote: The distinction that your car is property and your body is you doesn't make sense; you're appealing to emotion.
You can solve this one with a simple test first you live without your car for a week, and then you live without your body for a week. Can you see the point?
Really I don't (dis)agree with your point about DNA testing but I think this point about bodies compared to cars is foolish.
Do you know what a red herring is?
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