NO2ID News No. 52
17 August 2006
WE MUST PRESSURE ALL POLITICAL PARTIES TO ABOLISH ID CARDS/NIR
This
week David Cameron has released the Conservative party's 'mini-manifesto'[1].
Item 6 clearly states: "Abolishing ID cards if they are introduced." NO2ID would
like to see the leaders of *all* the opposition parties make such statements -
some already have - but we don't imagine for a minute that even this would
guarantee success. On the Parliamentary front, it will be in large part about
how high up the political agenda we can get 'ID cards' by the time of the next
general election. And then how clearly the electorate vote for abolition or
against the surveillance state.
A positive thing to do right now, if you
have a Tory MP, is to use
http://www.writetothem.com/ to draw their
attention to this particular mini-manifesto promise, and point out that this is
one issue about which you as their constituent are passionately concerned. This
first step should at least start the issue registering on the Conservative party
consciousness* but if you feel like adding some detail - e.g. "My key concern is
that the National Identity Register, i.e. the highly invasive database behind
the cards, is abolished too", or, "If you are going to abolish ID cards, then do
I have your assurance that a Conservative government would therefore repeal the
Identity Cards Act 2006?" - then please do.
At this stage it is not worth
taking an accusatory or negative approach - e.g. "Why should we trust you?" -
when the point is to get politicians thinking that abolition and repeal is the
right way to go. And for those of you with non-Tory/non-Labour MPs, there's
merit in pointing out Cameron's latest promise and asking their party's
position. A 'bidding war' could get interesting...
* MPs do take note of
how many letters they receive on each issue, even if they don't always
respond.
References:
[1]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/16_08_06_cameron.pdf
What's next?
Local groups & the new passport processing centres
Following our
appeal for volunteers to set up NO2ID groups near the passport processing
centres we heard from volunteers in a few of the areas including Shrewsbury,
Leicester and Barnstaple. To campaign effectively against ID cards and the
National Identity Register it is essential that we have local groups in each of
the 69 towns that will host these centres. Below is a list of the location of
all 69 centres. If you live in one of these locations and there is not currently
a local NO2ID group in your area then please consider helping us by setting up a
local group.
The 69 passport centres will be in:
Aberdeen,
Aberystwyth, Andover, Armagh, Barnstaple, Belfast, Berwick-upon-Tweed,
Birmingham, Blackburn, Boston, Bournemouth, Bristol,
Bury St Edmunds,
Camborne, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Coleraine, Crawley, Derby, Dover,
Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh,
Exeter, Galashiels, Glasgow, Hastings, Hull,
Inverness, Ipswich, Kendal, Kilmarnock, Kings Lynn, Leeds,
Leicester,
Lincoln, Liverpool, London, Luton, Maidstone, Manchester,
Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Newport, Newport, Northallerton,
Northampton,
Norwich, Oban, Omagh, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth,
Portsmouth, Reading, Scarborough, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, St
Austell,
Stirling, Stoke on Trent, Swansea, Swindon, Warwick, Wick, Wrexham,
Yeovil, York.
If you can set up a local group in one of these towns then
please contact us at (
office@no2id.net). A local group can start
with just one person but we will help you to grow.
NO2ID Beermats
Newcastle NO2ID have a few hundred NO2ID beermats for
sale at £15 per 100 including postage and packing - send cheques made payable
to NO2ID to North House, 17 North Street East, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8DF.
New Local Group in Shrewsbury
We now have a local group in
Shrewsbury, West Midlands. For more information contact Dr Rob Findlay at (
shrewsbury@no2id.net). A full list of
groups can be found at
www.no2id.net/localGroups
August - Inverness NO2ID Campaign stall
NO2ID Inverness will have a
campaign stall at various locations in and around Inverness throughout
August:
11 August Tain Gathering, 12 August Inverness High Street, 13 August
Abernethy Games
20 August Nairn Games, 21 August Crieff Games, 26 August
Inverness High Street
27 August Glenurquhart Gathering, Drumnadrochit, 3
& 4 Sept Glamis Castle Country Fair
See
http://www.no2id-scotland.net/local/inverness.html
August & September NO2ID Cambridge Campaign stall
Cambridge
NO2ID will be running street stalls outside the Guildhall, Cambridge, on the
following dates, from 10am onwards: Saturday 12th August, Saturday 2nd
September, Saturday 23rd September. Location:(
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=cb2+3qj&ie=UTF8&ll=52.204786,0.119251&spn=0.003971,0.012167&om=1).
Drop round to collect a badge and car sticker, or just to say "Hello".
Volunteers to help run the stall also welcome. Contact Andrew Watson via
cambridge@no2id.net, or on 07710
469624.
Cambridge NO2ID - Student volunteers needed
Cambridge NO2ID is
preparing to spread the word about government ID card legislation to students
arriving for the new term at both Anglia Ruskin University and the University of
Cambridge. If you're studying at either University, and would like to help
publicise NO2ID to your fellow students, please contact
cambridge@no2id.net as soon as possible
(and preferably before term starts).
4th September NO2ID Shrewsbury Initial Planning Meeting
Monday 4th
September 8.15pm at the Inn on the Green, Bank Farm Road, Radbrook Green,
Shrewsbury, SY3 6DU. The pub is next to the Radbrook Green shopping centre, and
there is plenty of parking. The function room has been booked - inside the pub
and turn right. See (
www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=52.6968&lon=-2.7754&scale=5000&icon=x).
For more details contact
shrewsbury@no2id.net
Saturdays throughout September - Highbury NO2ID stall/leafleting -
volunteers needed
Highbury NO2ID is trying to run a stall / hand out
leaflets on each Saturday during September in order promote the 'Renew for
Freedom' campaign before the 1st October passport changes. Anyone in the North
London area who can help out for an hour or so should contact Caroline Day at
(
highbury@no2id.net). The dates planned are
Sept 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd. Times: 11pm to 2-3pm ish. Place: Highbury &
Islington tube station.
12th September NO2ID Volunteers Meeting Central London - 'The European
Dimension'
Tuesday, 12th September at 7.00pm in the Brockway Hall at Conway
Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1 (nearest tube: Holborn). All are welcome to
NO2ID's next regular volunteers' meeting. The meeting will be on the theme of ID
cards and the EU. The meeting is free to attend but we will be asking for
donations to help cover the cost of the room hire.
1st October - NO2ID Comedy fund raiser gig - "Who do you think you are?" at
the Hackney Empire
Tickets will be available soon for NO2ID's comedy event.
Acts include: Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, Andrew O'Neil and Lucy
Porter.
What just happened?
Waltham Forest council vote against ID cards
Last month, a vote in
Waltham Forest to oppose ID Cards and affiliate with NO2ID passed comfortably
with the Conservatives siding with the LibDems against Labour opposition. See
http://chingfordandwglibdems.blogspot.com/2006/07/council-says-no-to-id-cards.html
and the council minutes at
http://www1.walthamforest.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.asp?CId=335&MId=1515&Ver=4&J=4
Youth Against ID website launches
The Youth Against ID website is
now up and running at
www.youthagainstid.org . It's the place
for young people and students to meet others concerned about ID cards and the
NIR and to get information and news on anti-ID card events and campaigns.
Scrambling for Safety 8
On Monday (August 14th) the Scrambling for
Safety 8 conference was held at University College London. The conference looked
at worrying new powers in Part III of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
(RIPA) that came into force in 2000. Slides of some of the speakers are
available at the foundation for information policy research (fipr)'s website and
there are plans to post up videos of the speakers. At the event was Lord
Phillips of Sudbury, who has given up his seat in the House of Lords to fight
"crap legislation" such as RIPA and the Identity Cards Act.
See
http://www.fipr.org/sfs8/index.html
ID Card themed short film
A short graduation film, 'In the Name of
Security', set in 2009 and exploring the subject of ID cards has been published
to the web. The film's director said: "
I wanted to make a film that was provocative and would
encourage debate on an issue that I feel is extremely important: mandatory ID
cards".See the film at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9fSLlJQRKU
(broadband internet connection required).
Video shows that ePassports can detonate explosives
Amidst the
heightened security measures imposed at UK airports last week restrictions were
placed on what passengers could carry on to flights. Items such as liquids and
electronic devices were not allowed in hand luggage because the authorities
claimed they could be used to blow up planes. One item that was allowed was
passengers' passports, including the new ePassports that contain an RFID (Radio
Frequency Identification) chip. Interestingly however security analysts Flexilis
have demonstrated that such passports can be used to detonate explosives. In
their findings the group said: "it may be possible to determine the nationality
of a passport holder by 'fingerprinting' the characteristics inherent in each
country?s RFID chips. Taken to a logical extreme, this security vulnerability
could make it possible for terrorists to craft explosives that detonate only
when someone from the U.S. is nearby". The group have released a video that
demonstrates their findings.
See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XXaqraF7pI
and
http://www.flexilis.com/epassport.html
"ID" in the news
'Crap' comms, ID legislation can still be beaten - The Register
16/8/06
The former Lord Phillips of Sudbury, civil liberties campaigner and
opponent of ID Cards, got sick of passing "crap legislation" while sitting in
the House of Lords, but thinks he can still help clear up the mess. "On ID
Cards, the battle is not lost, the battle is there to be won," he said. The
rallying cry is the first indication of how Phillips might spend his time since
he took the unprecedented step as a life peer by giving up his seat in the House
of Lords last month.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/16/ripa_id_sudbury/
Consult and communicate better, scientists tell government - eGov monitor
16/8/06
Concerns raised by Professor Angela Sasse (UCL Computer Science)
about the government?s approach to ID card technologies have been highlighted in
a report published by the Science and Technology Committee. Outside the inquiry,
she has warned of the vulnerability of a single database holding personal data
for the entire population, and of the interoperability problems in store if the
government does not decide definitively which departments will be plugged into
the system.
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/7211
Merseyside schoolchildren are being fingerprinted - 16/8/06 Liverpool Daily
Post
Schoolchildren across Merseyside are being fingerprinted in the
classroom, it was claimed last night. Five schools in Liverpool, Knowsley, St
Helens and Warrington are said to be among hundreds in the country to use a new
biometric system.
http://tinyurl.co.uk/a09o
E-Passports Issued Despite Security Concerns - Newsfactor magazine online
15/8/06
Privacy groups have raised concerns that the e-passports are
vulnerable to remote scanning, which would allow pirates to copy the holder's
details and create bogus travel documents. Such fears were heightened earlier
this month when a German computer security expert demonstrated at a conference
in Las Vegas how to crack the RFID chip and clone the new passports.
http://tinyurl.co.uk/z9bt
Government loses 24,000 ID passes - The Scotsman 14/8/06
More than
24,500 government security passes giving access to military sites and sensitive
Whitehall offices have gone missing in the past three years.
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1180692006
Brown to let shops share ID card data - The Observer 6/8/06
Gordon Brown
is planning a massive expansion of the ID cards project that would widen
surveillance of everyday life by allowing high-street businesses to share
confidential information with police databases. Far from intending to dump ID
cards once he is in Downing Street, Brown is quietly studying how biometric
technology - identifying people by unique markers such as fingerprints and iris
patterns - could be expanded over the next 20 years to fight crime.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1838363,00.html
Hackers Clone E-Passports - Wired News 3/8/06
A German computer security
consultant has shown that he can clone the electronic passports that the United
States and other countries are beginning to distribute this year. The
controversial e-passports contain radio frequency ID, or RFID, chips that the
U.S. State Department and others say will help thwart document forgery. But
Lukas Grunwald, a security consultant with DN-Systems in Germany and an RFID
expert, says the data in the chips is easy to copy.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71521-0.html?tw=rss.index(Please
send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor(
newsletter@no2id.net) )
Publication details: © NO2ID 2013 - This document may be freely redistributed
in one-to-one communications or physical copies as long as it is reproduced
in its entirety including this notice. It may not be mass-mailed without
the prior permission of NO2ID.
Newsletter Archive
