[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.47

Thu Jun 8 16:08:16 BST 2006

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    NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 47 - 8th June 2006

      NO2ID call for budding (and experienced) film-makers

NO2ID National Coordinator, Phil Booth, has been chosen as one of eight 
campaigners to be followed for 12 months as part of a new web/TV project 
called 'Activ8'. The project has been set-up by the Community Channel 
and BBC Action Network and will involve making a series of short films 
and possibly a longer documentary on NO2ID and the issues surrounding ID 
cards.

We are asking for volunteers to get involved in the production of one or 
more of these pieces, the theme of which will be agreed in advance. 
We'll be filming around the country, as the NO2ID roadshow travels the 
UK, so don't feel that you necessarily have to be in or near London to 
get involved. We're looking for people with experience of camera work 
and sound recording, as well as groups doing anti-ID activities 
(protests, public meetings, stalls, benefit concerts, etc.) that would 
get across not only our message, but how we go about spreading it.

If you're interested, and especially if you have (DV) camera and/or 
sound recording experience, please get in touch by sending an e-mail 
with the Subject: Activ8 to national.coordinator at no2id.net

N.B. It's not just about Phil! Anyone can set up their own Action 
Network campaign site on the BBC website at 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/. For those of you who haven't 
had a go at 'blogging' before, it's an easy way to get started. The more 
people that write regularly, and from a personal perspective, about what 
they are doing to fight the ID scheme in their area, the higher profile 
the issue will become on the BBC generally. Action Network issue pages 
are now regularly linked from BBC News Online articles and some 
campaigns have been picked up by the TV news.

      'Renew for Freedom' - May was not a deadline

Well done to everyone that took part in our 'renew for freedom' passport 
renewal campaign in May. During the month there were over 300,000 
visitors to our factsheet download page and numerous groups affiliated 
to the campaign, including the Liberal Democrats and UKIP. We hope that 
our renewal drive will register on the home office's passport renewal 
figures(which we will publish when we get them). We would like to stress 
that May was not a deadline, just the focus of our campaign. If you 
haven't renewed your passport yet it is still safe to do so, the next 
big deadline is October, so we will be leaving the renew for freedom 
website open over the entire summer. For more details and to download 
our factsheet go to http://www.renewforfreedom.org/

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      What's next?

        Local groups - the backbone of NO2ID

We have new local groups in Manchester, Taunton and at last we have our 
first group in Northern Ireland - Belfast. Local groups are the key part 
of our campaigning arsenal. It is through them and their activities that 
we keep the public informed and stop the ID card issue slipping from 
peoples' minds. We still need more local groups, particularly for the 
Midlands: Coventry, Wolverhampton, Leicester, and Derby are the largest 
cities without NO2ID groups. If you are interested in setting up a local 
group please contact us at (local.groups at no2id.net). A list of groups 
(and a new interactive map) can be found at www.no2id.net/localGroups

        Vacancy - local group coordinator in Peterborough

Our current local group co-ordinator in Peterborough, Mark Ringer, has 
gone on tour with Snow Patrol. Peterborough is an important area as 
there is a passport office there. Anyone able to volunteer for this role 
should contact us at (local.groups at no2id.net).

        New Councils, New Motions

Following the local elections in May many local councils have changed 
complexion. Now is a good time for supporters to contact their council 
asking them to pass resolutions against ID cards, with at least a policy 
of non co-operation where not required by law. Local councils will be 
hit with costly expenses when ID cards are introduced. A list of similar 
motions passed by councils around the country is available from 
www.no2id.net/resources/motions/index.php

        NO2ID Brighton Art Exhibition

Brighton and Hove NO2ID will soon be calling on artists across the 
country to submit work for a unique exhibition in autumn 2006, drawing  
together the best creative ideas on the theme of identity and what it 
means to be entering 'the database state'. They are also looking for 
sponsors as well as artists, contact brighton at no2id.net for more details.

        13th June - NO2ID Glasgow Meeting

Tuesday, 13th June at 7:30pm in Mono, Kings Court, King Street, near the 
Trongate. Our alternative venue, if Mono is too noisy, will be Laurie's 
bar across the road. All are very welcome to attend! More details 
available from glasgow at no2id.net

        15th June NO2ID Volunteers Meeting Central London - 'ID - a gold
        standard for discrimination?'

Thursday, 15th June at 7.00pm in the Bertrand Russell room at Conway 
Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1 (nearest tube: Holborn). All are 
welcome to NO2ID's next regular volunteers' meeting. The meeting be on 
the theme of 'ID - a gold standard fro discrimination?'. Guest speaker: 
Marianne Nienhuis - Policy Officer at the Joint Council for the Welfare 
of Immigrants(JCWI). The meeting is free to attend but we will be asking 
for donations to help cover the cost of the room hire.

        15th June - Helensburgh NO2ID Public Meeting - "What are ID
        cards and how will the affect me?"

Thursday, 15th June at 7pm in Victoria Halls, Sinclair Street, 
Helensburgh. Helensburgh NO2ID has called a public meeting on the topic: 
"What are ID cards and how will the affect me?" Speaker: Geraint Bevan. 
All welcome. For more details contact Anna-Linnéa Rundberg 
(helensburgh at no2id.net).

        22nd June - St Helens NO2ID Meeting

Thursday, 22nd June, 6.30pm at the Grove Social Club, Knowsley Road, St 
Helens, Merseyside. NO2ID St Helens will be holding their second 
meeting. Informal, friendly and informative. For anyone in the area: 
come along if you can, you'll be very welcome! More information from 
(st.helens at no2id.net).

        27th June - North Staffs NO2ID Meeting

Tuesday, 27th June 7.30pm in the snug at the Swan, St. Edward's Street, 
Leek. This meeting will take the form of planning our stall at the Leek 
Show to be held on Saturday 29th July. For more details contact Laura 
Marcus (leek at no2id.net).

        4th July - Homeland and Border Security Conference (£695+vat)

Tuesday, 4 July at QEII Conference Centre, London, UK. a one-day event 
that will look at the next steps for the security community. Featuring 
"key figures from the IT sector, government, the police, justice, and 
the international community". Cost - £695+vat for private sector, 
£175+VAT for public sector.
See http://govnet.co.uk/security/index.php

        8th July - Rise Festival - Higbury NO2ID stall

Saturday July 8th at Finsbury Park. Entrance is free, and the line up 
can be found at (http://www.risefestival.org/). Last year one campaigner 
handed out over 100 NO2ID leaflets in about 20 minutes. Come along to 
one of the biggest free events in London this summer and help to spread 
the word. Please note: a stall has been booked but no written 
confirmation has been received yet. For more information contact 
highbury at no2id.net

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      What just happened?

        Cambridge NO2ID boost passport renewal

Cambridge NO2ID volunteers manned a stall at the city's Strawberry Fair 
on Saturday 3rd June, collecting the names of 750 new supporters and 
distributing 400 information sheets on how and why to renew passports 
this summer. We plan to run further stalls in the city centre every few 
weeks across the summer. For more information, or to volunteers, contact 
Andrew Watson via cambridge at no2id.net.

        Southwark NO2ID descend on Borough Market

Last Saturday(3rd June) volunteers from NO2ID Southwark were out in 
force to speak with shoppers at Borough Market. The group got about 70 
signatures on the NO2ID petition and handed out around 500 leaflets. 
Group coordinator, Martin Smith, said: "We had a very positive reaction 
from shoppers," cautioning that many people were not aware of the extent 
of the proposed scheme.

        Letters to the media swell enquires

We have had a very noticeable increase in public enquiries arising from 
people mentioning NO2ID in letters to the press.  Mr Mills of Co. Durham 
got a single paragraph mentioning our address details in the Mirror and 
that prompted dozens of enquiries on its own.  We've also had plenty of 
feedback from a mention in the Western Daily Press.  So we know that 
writing letters to the local and regional press works, and that people 
are hearing about us that way who would never do so otherwise.

        Home Office fix fake passport law ... and some

Yesterday(7th June) the government finally made possession of fake 
passports an offence once again, after repealing the previous law when 
the ID cards act became law in March. The new statutory instrument, 
introduced under the enabling powers of the ID cards act, also makes it 
illegal to hold a forged passport, driving license or other identity 
document even if no deception or intent to deceive can be proved.

        Costly Biometric passports - No discount for pensioners

It was revealed last week that the government has no plans to discount 
biometric passports for pensioners. In a parliamentary written answer, 
Home Office minister Joan Ryan, revealed that only "those born prior to 
2 September 1929 who are already entitled to free passports will 
continue to be eligible for free biometric passports". Passport have 
already risen by over 20% to £51 and expected to reach at least £93 when 
compulsory fingerprinting, iris scanning registration on the national 
identity register are added. Pensioners should avoid spiralling costs by 
renewing their passport now. See www.renewforfreedom.org for information 
about passport renewal.

        E-surveillance of Belgian hotel registers

Hotel guests in Belgium will soon be electronically registered with the 
police, the government has announced. The process will be available 
shortly for Belgians, who are now being issued with electronic ID cards, 
and for foreigners from 2009, when e-IDs and e-passports are expected to 
be the norm. Hotel guests are already obliged to show ID when 
registering. In future, "hoteliers will have less administrative work"  
thanks to "digitalisation of the registration slips and digital 
transmission to the police". Good news for the constabulary, too, as 
they will "no longer have to fetch and file the slips". The government 
did not say for how long foreigners' e-identities will be stored in 
Belgian hotels, B&Bs and police stations, nor how the data will be 
protected.

Belgium, where it has long been compulsory to carry ID, is rapidly 
switching over to electronic cards. It is one of the first countries in 
the world to bring in e-ID for all. The LSE study of the British scheme 
caused a small ripple in the Belgian parliament last year. Elio Di Rupo, 
Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of Labour's counterpart the PS, 
sought to reassure the House. The new Belgian cards do not contain 
biometrics, he explained (true enough, although there is spare capacity 
on their chips, 33 of which fell off last year due to weak glue). Also, 
an e-ID costs 10 euro in Belgium, plus any local taxes, while "the cost 
of an identity card, without a passport, in the United Kingdom is put at 
52-60 euro". The UK's ID cards and NIR "diverge widely" from the Belgian 
ones, he said, so "the criticisms made of the former are in no way 
transferable to the latter". That's all right then.

        Calling All Scots Against ID

A curious exchange, that looked rather like a planted question, took 
place in the House of Commons this week between two Scottish Labour MPs:

"Mr. Jim McGovern (Dundee, West) (Lab): Does my hon. Friend agree that 
the people of Scotland deserve the same level of protection against 
terrorism and identity fraud as their fellow citizens in England and Wales?"

"David Cairns: My hon. Friend goes to the heart of the matter. It often 
amuses me when others seek to represent the people of Scotland as being 
wholly opposed to identity cards. I have never seen any evidence of 
that. Identity cards have been introduced because there has been a big 
increase in identity theft and fraud, because 30 per cent. of terrorist 
suspects have been using false identities, and because of ongoing 
problems of illegal immigration. That move will be welcomed in Scotland, 
as it will be throughout the rest of the United Kingdom."

Perhaps some of our supporters north of the border could write to the 
MPs in question and ask how exactly they thinks ID cards will protect 
Scots from the zero levels of terrorism experienced by the people of 
Dundee and putting them straight on the levels of support for their 
costly scheme.

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      "ID" in the news

        DNA database is shared overseas - BBC News 7/6/06

The Home Office has revealed that other nations have made 519 requests 
for details from the database since 2004. All of the requests were 
granted and the Liberal Democrats fear there are not enough checks on 
the system. It emerged in January that 24,000 under-18s never cautioned, 
charged or convicted are on the database, which was established in 1995.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5056450.stm

        Biometric whitewash gathers pace - The Register 22/5/06

Europe has passed the "tipping point" over which citizens fall head over 
heels in love with the idea of a society regulated by biometric identity 
scanners, according to a survey published today. The survey was 
commissioned by LogicaCMG, who installed an optional biometric fast lane 
at the customs in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. That was five years ago. 
A mere 20,000 people have enrolled to use it, whereas 42.5m people used 
the airport last year. What does that say about how eager the Europeans 
are for biometrics?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/22/biometric_whitewash/

        Austria presents "fraud resistant" passports

The Austrian government has recently presented its new electronic 
passport which will be available to Austrian citizens as from this 
summer. No date has been fixed yet, but issuing of the new document will 
start before 31 August 2006. The new ePassports are in line with EU 
Regulations (Regulation 2252/2004) calling for the introduction of 
electronic passports in all Member States by the end of August this year.
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/5595/194

        MPs want an inquiry into NHS IT scheme - Computer weekly 30/5/06

Members of the House of Commons Health Committee want to hold a series 
of hearings into the NHS IT programme later this year in response to an 
open letter from 23 experts in computer-related sciences. The committee 
would investigate the case for an independent audit into whether the 
programme, as originally announced by the Department of Health, is 
feasible and will help clinicians improve patient care.
http://tinyurl.co.uk/vvit

        US: ID Theft the Potential Reward for 26.5 million US Veterans -
        Defense Industry Daily 25/5/06

In a shocking illustration of the truism that more integrated databases 
make for larger and more lucrative honeypots/ disaster magnets, the data 
of approximately 26.5 million US veterans was stolen recently. A 
Veterans' Affairs employee disregarded security protocols and took a 
laptop with sensitive data home, then the laptop was taken during a 
burglary at the employee's residence. Information stolen included the 
veterans' Social Security numbers, birthdates and in some cases a 
disability rating.
http://tinyurl.co.uk/wmam

        US: Fake ID Sellers Dismiss Tamperproof Push - Associated Press
        2/6/06

Luis Hernandez just laughs as he sells fake driver's licenses and Social 
Security cards. The joke to him and others in his line of work is the 
government's promise to put people like him out of business with a 
tamperproof national ID card. "One way or another, we'll always find a way".
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/02/ap/national/mainD8I07PHG0.shtml

        US: Verichip injects itself into immigration debate

Scott Silverman, Chairman of the Board of VeriChip Corporation, has 
alarmed civil libertarians by promoting the company's subcutaneous human 
tracking device as a way to identify immigrants and guest workers. He 
appeared on the Fox News Channel earlier this week, the morning after 
President Bush called for high-tech measures to clamp down on Mexican 
immigrants.
http://www.spychips.com/press-releases/verichip-immigration.html

(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - 
Editor(newsletter at no2id.net) )

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      What you can do

You can help us by:

        1. Writing to your local paper

Personal letters to the local press can be effective persuaders and help 
to promote NO2ID. Make sure to include NO2ID's web address in your letter.

        2. Getting involved with/setting up a local group

Organise leafleting, a stall or a public meeting to educate the public 
about the database that lies behind the proposed ID card scheme.
See http://www.no2id.net/localGroups.

* We also maintain a list of things you can do on our website at 
http://www.no2id.net/getInvolved/other.php
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NO2ID, Box No.412, 78 Marylebone High Street, LONDON W1U 5AP
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