y.st./source/pages/en/weblog/2015/10-October/01.xhtml

<?php
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$xhtml = array(
	'title' => 'The Republic of Vanuatu',
	'body' => <<<END
<p>
	I logged into my Discover account today to look at but not modify some of the settings, and much to my horror, I found that Discover has tightened their grip on the cards they issue.
	I refuse to make purchases online under my legal name, preferring my real name instead.
	There&apos;s no reason why merchants need to have any name from me, but if they&apos;re getting one, it&apos;s the one that <strong>*I*</strong> choose and the one that I call myself.
	The reason my Discover card is the only one I use is because Discover allowed me to set up a second card attached to the account, a card for an &quot;authorized payer&quot;.
	In short, I authorized my real name to make purchases on my legal name&apos;s behalf, allowing me to spend money online under my real name.
	However, Discover now requires a Social Security number for each authorized payer, meaning that unless the government recognizes a name as belonging to a person, that name cannot be used on a Discover card.
	If Discover ever revokes this card, I will never be able to get it back.
</p>
<p>
	I looked into the <a href="/en/URI_research/ccTLDs.xhtml#vu"><code>//vu.</code> $a[ccTLD]</a> today and found that Vunic offers these domains without requiring a telephone number.
</p>
<p>
	I finally completed my taxes today.
	The tax preparation website said that it would be a good idea to register an online account with the Social Security Administration, so I did that as well.
	It&apos;s not exactly like I can avoid dealing with the government, so having an online account with them can&apos;t do much harm.
	After setting up the account, I was able to see income information given to the $a[IRS] up to eight tax seasons ago, which is when I first got a job and started paying taxes.
	I don&apos;t know if the Social Security Administration is keeping income records forever or if I just haven&apos;t been working long enough to see the cutoff point, but it was a little unnerving to see that they still have that information on record.
</p>
<p>
	My <a href="/a/canary.txt">canary</a> still sings the tune of freedom and transparency.
</p>
END
);