"...I do use airline frequent flier numbers because the airlines demand to know my identity anyway."
"...However, I absolutely refuse to take Amtrak trains because they check passengers ID (sometimes, not all the time)."
Are these two statements contradictory, or is there something special about what Amtrak do that threatens privacy more than the disclosure of identity to an airline? This is a genuine question, I have never visited the US.
(In the UK, you can still walk into a railway station and buy a ticket for cash without showing ID anywhere within the mainland. You will not be asked for anything other than the ticket on the train unless you are using a Student or Senior Citizen's railcard to claim the discount.)
The more I think about the nature of software, the more I find Stallman's views about software freedom compelling.
You managed it over a pretty small hop, compared to what you'd have to do to get anywhere from the US.
Anyway, it casts light on the apparent contradiction simply because life is made of trade-offs. The choice to prefer (say) Greyhound (or a personal vehicle) to Amtrak is a wholly different thing than the choice to visit or not visit (say) Indonesia. The same concern may merit the former but not the latter.
"...However, I absolutely refuse to take Amtrak trains because they check passengers ID (sometimes, not all the time)."
Are these two statements contradictory, or is there something special about what Amtrak do that threatens privacy more than the disclosure of identity to an airline? This is a genuine question, I have never visited the US.
(In the UK, you can still walk into a railway station and buy a ticket for cash without showing ID anywhere within the mainland. You will not be asked for anything other than the ticket on the train unless you are using a Student or Senior Citizen's railcard to claim the discount.)
The more I think about the nature of software, the more I find Stallman's views about software freedom compelling.