No Smiling for Passport Photos in Germany

[SWC Bonfire]

Jue vill not smi-yule or jue vill be SHOT!

No Smiling for Passport Photos in Germany

BERLIN - Germans were ordered Thursday to stay serious when having their photographs taken for new passports, wiping away any grins, smirks or smiles so that biometric scanners can pick up their facial features.

Interior Minister Otto Schily ordered passport authorities to only accept pictures taken from the front showing the "most neutral facial expression possible," starting Nov. 1.

Facial recognition systems match key features on the holder's face and work best when the face has a neutral expression with the mouth closed.

"A broad smile, however nice it may be, is therefore unacceptable," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

German officials showcased the new passports in June, saying that they would be much harder to forge or tamper with. Two scanned fingerprints are also to be stored on a chip built into the passport cover from March 2007.

The passports are part of a host of security measures passed by the German government after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Biometric passports have already been introduced in Canada and the United States.

The European Union agreed common standards in December last year.


The last time no one in Germany smiled anymore they invaded their neighbors. France and Czech Republic need to send comedians and beer pretty quickly. :lol

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I can just picture a disaster at the airport.

Security: Gutten tag. How are hue today?

Woman: (smiles) I'm fine.

Security: She's a terrorist!

[GrandeDavid]

In Brasilien man musst die gleiche Sachen tun, also echt Beschissen! Doch! Who else speaks fluent German, besides Jurgen?

[Drachen]

In Brasilien man musst die gleiche Sachen tun, also echt Beschissen! Doch! Who else speaks fluent German, besides Jurgen?

Also, ich weiss nicht warum dass so eine Ueberaschung ist. Das Gesetz is genau wie in den USA.

[nkdlunch]

Shit! my sister is going to oktoberfest in Germany! sometimes she's been known to smile!

[bigzak25]

well, that is some badass technology, and fingerprints stored on the chips as well...

that's what i call border security...i hope GW reads this shit...

i have no problem letting peeps from mexico come here to work, but damn it, lets document everyone of them, lets go hightech, this is America gotdamit...

[Marklar MM]

Uh I can say some German, albeit from Rammstein.

Du Hast, Ich Will, etc. etc.

And the universal...


1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0

[bigzak25]

all i know is frecken zee doich baby...and i don't know what it means or how to spell it correctly...oh, i also leaned some from diehard...good ol hanz. :tu

[ObiwanGinobili]

I used to speak fluent german as a child..... now I'm down to "tourist" german:

haben zie Zigaretten?
haben zie stadtplatz?
sprechen zie langsam, bitte

etc etc.....

[Vashner]

It's just another form of Bio Metrics... they use it at seaworld on your hands.. drivers license with fingerprints etc. It's a face print basically.
As far as the comment "I hope gw reads this"... please.. CIA is not going to tell you everything they are up to. Like that guy that told Cheney F** you etc...

I bet he has a camera up his ass by now haha.. and more.

[spurs=bling]

I can just picture a disaster at the airport.

Security: Gutten tag. How are hue today?

Woman: (smiles) I'm fine.

Security: She's a terrorist!
:lmao :lmao

[Drachen]

all i know is frecken zee doich baby...and i don't know what it means or how to spell it correctly...oh, i also leaned some from diehard...good ol hanz. :tu

sprechen sie Deutsch? and it means do you (formal) speak German?

[Horry For 3!]

I know some German.

[Drachen]

I know some German.

wirklich?? wieviel?

[NZHayden]

alot of germans speak english

[Drachen]

Well they take both english and french (or russian and english in the former east) from 4th or 5th grade up until the 8th grade then decide which they would like to continue with and most choose english.

[NZHayden]

german girls are so hot to, i like germans there cool

[Drachen]

Yeah, they rock the house, and I totally agree with you on the whole "German girls are hot" thing.

[bigzak25]

As far as the comment "I hope gw reads this"... please.. CIA is not going to tell you everything they are up to. Like that guy that told Cheney F** you etc...I bet he has a camera up his ass by now haha.. and more.



oh, i beg to differ, i get the cia 'top secret' newsletter and am quite well informed. whether they tell us what they are upto or not, it is quite obvious that there is a problem on our boders. this is not news. we have rednecks taking potshots at any mexican they choose to and God knows who sneaking across with nuclear components or whatnot...

Time to do it right...if Bush want to let immigrants come over here to work, then so be it, but it's time to fix it.

[BlueShark#6]

endlich wieder neue noten neue schweinerein fiese lieder, harte worte so soll es sein ich seh' euch schon im dreieck springen eure eltern hoer' ich schrein lieber gott steh uns bei das muss die neue onkelz sein