[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.59
no2id-supporters at no2id.net
no2id-supporters at no2id.net
Fri Nov 24 09:24:58 GMT 2006
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NO2ID
NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 59 - 23rd November 2006
*Contacting us:* Call or email the office - 020-7793-4005 or
(office at no2id.net). Please do not reply to this email. (The from address
is the not a working email address)
EPASSPORTS - WE NEED MORE DATA
You will hopefully by now have seen that we are exploring the properties
of the new 'biometric' ePassport. Last week's Guardian[1] and Daily
Mail[2] coverage was just the beginning. We hope to force a recall
(unlikely - though we applaud Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary,
Nick Clegg MP, for immediately calling for one) or to allow people to
*legally* disable their own chips, if they have concerns[3]. We need
your help with some further research that we are doing.
If you renewed your passport recently, you may have one of the ones with
a chip in it - you may not(chipped passport have the International Civil
Aviation Organisation(ICAO) ePassport logo on the front[4]). As we have
said, the information stored on the chip at present is no more than what
you see on the photo page PLUS (we can now confirm) some measurements
that have been derived from a scan of your photo. All very useful to
identity thieves...
If you are willing to help, please e-mail passports at no2id.net with:
1. *just* the first FOUR digits of your 'MRZ number' - that is, the
first four digits (reading from the left) of the bottom row of
numbers on the photo page of your passport,
2. the date your passport was issued,
3. the office from which it was issued,
4. whether or not your passport has a chip in it. If more than one
person in your family renewed their passport, we be very grateful
for this data from each of you.
Please DO NOT send any more than the above information. We do not wish
to compromise your privacy or the security of your own passport in any
way, and what you will be sending is useless to anyone except for the
specific problem that we are tackling.
Phil Booth
National Coordinator, NO2ID
References:
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/idcards/story/0,,1950226,00.html
[2] http://tinyurl.com/yx6v3v
[3]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/17/techie_reads_bio_passport_shock/
[4] Photos of the new passport with the ePassport logo can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/yad4yb
What's next?
Local groups
We now have a new local group in Coventry(contact via
coventry at no2id.net) and we are in the process of setting up a group in
Ipswich. We have local groups around the country and in 36 of the 69
locations of ID interrogation centres. If you can help to set up a local
group in one of the remaining towns then please contact us at
(office at no2id.net). A local group can start with just one person but we
will help you to grow. A full list of local groups can be found at
www.no2id.net/localGroups
Your chance to make an anti-ID news programme
The BBC's Newsnight programme is running a competition for viewers to
make a 2-minute news programme on any news item they wish. This would be
an ideal opportunity to highlight the dangers of the National Identity
Register and ID cards. The deadline for submitting films is 4 December 2006.
More info at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/6114950.stm
1st Tuesday of the month - Hackney NO2ID monthly meetings
The Hackney local group covering London E8, E5, E9 & N16 areas meet on
the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30 in Cafe Bohemia by Hackney
Central Station. New support very welcome to help raise awareness over
the coming months.
NO2ID Cambridge Campaign stall
Cambridge NO2ID will be running Saturday street stalls outside Cambridge
Guildhall from 10am onwards on 25th November, 16th December, and every
third Saturday into the new year. Location: (http://tinyurl.com/eo42r).
Volunteers to help very welcome - contact Andrew Watson via
cambridge at no2id.net, or on 07710 469624.
Saturdays 1pm - 3pm - NO2ID Edinburgh Campaign stall
After a short break during the Edinburgh Festival NO2ID Edinburgh has
resumed its regular Princes Street campaigning stall on Saturdays. We
shall be at our usual location at the east end of Princes Street,
opposite the Balmoral Hotel, from 1pm - 3pm this coming Saturday. We
use our stall to raise public awareness of the Identity Cards scheme,
collect donations and entries for the NO2ID petition, and also to
increase membership of our group. Please do pop by for a chat if you
happen to be around. We shall be aiming to have the stall up and
running most Saturdays, and new volunteers are always very welcome. You
can see photos of our stall and contact details at:
www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/.
24th November - Luton NO2ID informal social evening
Friday, 24th November. The Luton Group will be holding an informal
social evening (dinner + pub) New and existing members very welcome.
Please email luton at no2id.net for details.
25th November - Defy-ID National Gathering
Saturday, 25th November, from 11am onwards at The Sumac Centre in
Nottingham. Meeting to discuss opposition to ID Cards and the National
ID Register. This is not so much a public meeting to discuss the overall
implications of the ID scheme, as a planning day of how we are going to
stop it. See http://www.nottingham-defy-id.org.uk/gathering
25th November - NO2ID Bristol Benefit Gig
Saturday, 25th November - Bristol NO2ID will be holding their second
benefit gig at the White Bear at the top of St Michael's Hill. Bands
include 'Cobra Kai' and 'We Take Flight'.Tickets £3 on the door. Cheap
drinks inside... Map:
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=51.4607&lon=-2.6024&scale=5000&icon=x
For more details (you need more?) please e-mail bristol at no2id.net
28th November - Hull NO2ID Fingerprint in pubs meeting
Tuesday 28th November 7:30pm at 'The Kingswood' Beefeater Pub on
Kingswood Retail Park, Hull.
29th November - NO2ID Public meeting: Civil liberty vs. the
database state
Wednesday, 29th November, 7.00pm - 9.00pm at Clore Lecture Theatre,
Huxley Building, Imperial College - Queen's Gate/Prince Consort Road,
South Kensington, London SW7. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, QC, MP and Henry
Porter (further speakers to be confirmed), consider where we go from
here. The Identity Cards Act 2006 is law, and must be repealed, but
meanwhile the government is already working on extending its scope,
through "information sharing" across the public sector and an "Identity
Management Action Plan" to be produced by the end of this year. What new
threats does this offer to personal liberty? How can the slide to the
database state be halted? Open to all.
29th November - Manchester NO2ID Flyering at Victoria Station
Wednesday, 29th November 5.30pm - 6.30pm - We will be returning to
Victoria Station for a spot of evening flyering. Meet outside station.
29th November - Channel 4 documentary to look at ID cards
A documentary looking at privacy intrusive technology is to be broadcast
on Channel 4 in November. In the programme, called 'Suspect Nation',
journalist Henry Porter will explore how a number of new technologies
are being used to support an authoritarian push against our privacy and
civil liberties - including ID cards. The documentary will air on
Saturday 25th November at 7.05pm and 11.55pm and on Wednesday 29
November at 10.00pm on More 4.
4th December - Shrewsbury NO2ID meeting
Monday, 4th December 8.15pm at The Armoury in Shrewsbury. Look for NO2ID
leaflets on our table. The Armoury has a huge selection of good beers
and is well located by the river. It's also only 600m from the railway
station. All welcome.
4th December - NO2ID Edinburgh Meeting - 'CAMPAIGN 2007'
Monday, 4 December 7.00-9.00 pm at The Library, Quaker Meeting House, 7
Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. As we approach key elections next
year, how can we fight for our freedoms, and begin to recapture our
hard-won democracy? Come along to this meeting, and explore these vital
issues. Light refreshments available. Street map: http://tinyurl.com/lubac
7th December - NO2ID Nottingham - 'Fingerprinting in Pubs' meeting
Thursday, 7th December 7.30pm - NO2ID campaigners in Nottingham will be
"plotting" in the oldest pub in Britain: Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem,
Brewhouse Yard, Nottingham.NG1 6AD (See http://www.triptojerusalem.com/)
12th December - Highbury NO2ID Meeting
Tuesday, 12th December 6.30 for a 7pm start at Jorene Celeste pub on 153
Upper Street. All welcome!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What just happened?
Ipswich ID interrogation centre planning application
On Wednesday 15th November a large group of Ipswich NO2ID supporters put
on a good show for the cameras outside Ipswich Borough council offices.
Campaigners then went in to voice planning objections to the proposed
Home Office ID card interrogation centre in the town. Planning committee
papers and links to the media coverage are on the newly-formed Ipswich
NO2ID web site: http://no2id-ip.web-brewer.co.uk. Ipswich NO2ID
supporters filed a total of six objections on planning grounds such as
traffic, parking & loss of amenity. Mapeley ABI provider Ltd, applying
on behalf of the Home Office to convert the offices at Crown House,
claimed that only 16 people per day would be going there, all first-time
passport applicants. Geoff Brace, speaking on behalf of all the
protesters, pointed out that this figure would increase by as much as
ten times when everyone renewing a passport is also forced to go to
these centres to be biometrically scanned for an ID card. Even though
Mapeley didn't send anyone to speak at the meeting, the planning
committee chose to believe the company's figures, not Geoff's, and
discounted his estimate on the grounds that: "The supporting letter from
the applicant makes no mention of ID cards, only passport applicants.
The possibility that the Government will introduce ID cards is not a
material consideration for this application." Ipswich NO2ID is
considering appealing the decision on the grounds that the application
materially misrepresented the facts.
Meanwhile, outside the meeting NO2ID activists were leafleting people
going into both the Borough Council and Suffolk County Council's offices
opposite. They got a good reception, and signed up a few dozen more
NO2ID supporters. Overall, with blanket coverage across all Ipswich's
three local radio stations and in the local papers (scans and recordings
on the web site), this was a good day for the fight against ID cards in
East Anglia.
For more details on what happened at the planning meeting, contact Geoff
Brace (07779 272225) or Andrew Watson (07710 469624).
Fingerprinting in pubs
Many thanks to volunteers in Coventry, Hull, Leeds, Nottingham,
Sheffield, Swindon, Trowbridge and Yeovil for responding our
fingerprinting in pubs call to action in the last newsletter. Also well
done to Martin Twomey in Hackney for producing (and distributing) the
first flyer! As can be seen in the 'What's next' above there are
forthcoming meetings in both Hull and Nottingham to plan campaigning on
this issue. We still need more volunteers - if you are in any of the
towns affected and are willing to do something then send an e-mail to
phil at no2id.net (please put "pub fingerprinting" in the Subject). We
would also like to hear about pubs and clubs that are operating blanket
ID checks regardless of age.
Redbridge council votes against ID cards
The London borough of Redbridge passed an anti-ID cards motion last
Wednesday(16th November). There was overwhelming support for the motion
to affiliate to the NO2ID campaign and refuse to cooperate with the
scheme unless compelled to do so by the Government. There was a heated
debate with numerous passionate and well informed contributions,
particularly from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Each
member had been sent an information pack in advance by the local NO2ID
group. During the earlier part of the meeting the Redbridge NO2ID
coordinator was also allowed to put questions to the leader of the
council. The first, which was included on the agenda, concerned the
cost to local council tax payers of the scheme. This was followed up
with a question on whether there were more useful things on which this
money could be spent locally. The motion was passed by 43 votes to 15
with unanimous support from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and
from the one BNP member. The 15 votes opposing the motion were from the
Labour group, although it was striking how few of them apparently felt
able to contribute towards the debate.
New poll shows that ID card not as popular as government claim
The results of an ICM poll commissioned by NO2ID utterly refute Tony
Blair's assertion earlier this month that "surveys" show the public are
"overwhelmingly behind" ID cards. Asked what they think of the
Government's proposed introduction of identity cards that, in
combination with their passport, will cost around £93, 18% said they
thought it was "a very good idea", 32% "a good idea", 26% "a bad idea"
and 23% "a very bad idea"-a finely balanced split of 50% for and 49%
against ID cards. ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1007
adults aged 18+ by telephone between 8th-9th November 2006. Interviews
were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to
the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling
Council and abides by its rules.
Full details of the poll will be available shortly at
http://www.icmresearch.co.uk/reviews/latest-polls.asp
Police begin testing handheld fingerprint readers
Ten police forces in the UK have begun testing mobile fingerprint
readers which will check fingerprints against a central database. The
system is to be trialed for a year by police in Essex, Hertfordshire,
Lancashire, North Wales, Northamptonshire, West Midlands and West
Yorkshire, as well as by British Transport Police and the Metropolitan
Police. When police in these areas stop motorists and ask for a means of
verifying their identity they may ask the motorist to volunteer for a
fingerprint check to compare their print against those in the police
database. If the motorist declines the offer then the police officer may
arrest the individual, resulting in their fingerprints and DNA being
taken at the police station. Another interesting use of the word
"voluntary".
Currently the police do not have fingerprints for most of the population
and they say that once they have checked someone's print they will
delete it from their system. Of course the police said the same about
fingerprints and DNA samples collected from arrested people - they
promised to destroy those of the innocent. In fact they illegally
retained 50,000 sets of fingerprints and DNA samples. Subsequently
Section 64 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 was brought in to
validate the illegality and allow fingerprints and DNA to be stored in
future whether or not a citizen has been convicted or even charged with
an offence.
The technology being trialed, called 'LANTERN', has been developed by
the Police Information Technology Organisation(PITO) and is part of
IDENT1 formerly known as the National Automated Fingerprint
Identification System(NAFIS), which has been in development since 1987
(see www.pito.org.uk/products/ident1.php). PITO state in their 2006-7
business plan that they expect "to prepare an outline business case for
national video identification systems, define standards and link video
images with facial images stored within FIND[Facial Images National
Database], during the coming year".
Ant-ID card petition launched on Number 10 website
A new petition website has been developed by mySociety and the civil
servants at the 10 Downing Street site. One of the most popular
petitions on the site is against ID cards(see
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/IDcards/). The petition was not set up by
NO2ID, we ran a petition, submitted to the cabinet office, for the three
weeks immediately before the introduction of the original ID cards bill
in 2004. Clearly ID cards is a hot issue and getting hotter.
Dutch anti-ID party gains ground
Compulsory ID should be abolished in the Netherlands, says the party
that made the biggest gains in the Dutch general election on 22
November. The Socialist Party will have 26 seats in the new Dutch
parliament - a major advance over its previous 17 seats in an election
which saw most parties lose ground. The SP will now be the third-biggest
parliamentary party. It sees compulsory ID as "a typical example of
symbolic legislation. It is sold to people as a measure that promotes
security, but in practice it is just a nuisance. People who are really
out to do wrong will of course make sure that they have their ID (forged
or not) in their pockets." The SP says that "every day, on average, 150
people in the Netherlands are fined for not producing ID."
Proportionately, that would be about 750 fines per day in the UK. The
strongly law-and-order CDA remains the biggest parliamentary party, but
its score went down slightly, from 44 seats to 41. The CDA and its
junior coalition partner, which also saw its vote drop, imposed the
obligation to show ID on 1 January 2005. The opposition Labour Party,
which supported the ID measure at the time but has gone silent on the
issue recently, is still in second place, but lost a lot of votes to the
SP. Labour's seats have been cut from 42 to 32. There are now 10 parties
in the Dutch parliament, so it may take some time to hammer out a
coalition policy package. But anti-ID parties are likely to be inside
the next Dutch government.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ID" in the news
ID cards could aid healthy eating - The Westmorland Gazette 22/11/06
Students at a Furness school could be given photo ID cards as part of a
bid to encourage healthy eating and cut down on the number of people
leaving school without permission. Head teacher Karen Hanks wants year
11 pupils - who all wear school uniforms - to each have a credit-card
sized identification, which would allow them to be served in shops by
stating they had permission to be out of school.
http://tinyurl.com/y8om3e
GPs threaten to block national patient database - eHealth
Insider 21/11/06
One in two GPs have signalled their intention not to upload patients'
clinical details to the NHS Care Records Service (NCRS) without explicit
patient consent, in direct opposition to Department of Health (DH) policy.
http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/item.cfm?ID=2280
Where do we stand on fingerprinting pupils? - The Guardian 21/11/06
Fingerprints on clay tablets were used in ancient Babylon to signify
business deals and thumbprints have been found on seals dating back to
the second century BC in China. In 1891, Juan Vucetich, an Argentinian
police officer, began to collect the first fingerprint files to use in
criminal investigations. These unique skin patterns have supplied
cast-iron alibis, and brought about criminal downfall, for more than a
century. Now they are at the heart of a controversy that is angering
parents and posing a dilemma for governors.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/teach/story/0,,1952673,00.html
ID card centre to be set up in the city - Norwich Evening News
21/11/06
A passport centre which people fear will help pave the way for the
government's controversial ID cards to be introduced looks likely to be
opened up in Norwich. The Home Office wants to set up an "interview and
administration" centre - one of 69 across Britain - at St Crispin's
House in Duke Street.
http://tinyurl.com/yjjrbr
Ireland: Government rolls out ePassport scheme - europa 20/11/06
The Irish Passport Office has begun issuing electronic passports, or
ePassports, for Irish citizens. The new documents feature a secure,
contact-less electronic chip that can store encrypted digital information.
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/6282/194
ID cards will help abusers, says Wales AM - News Wales 20/11/06
He said today: "I have listened to the concerns of domestic abuse groups
who are worried about the massive amount of information which will be
accessible on anyone with an ID card. It will be far easier to track
down those women who are in hiding because they have experienced abuse
and feel threatened.
http://www.newswales.co.uk/?section=Politics&F=1&id=9989
Only the guilty should be in fear of ID cards - mknews 19/11/06
When you attend your appointment at the ID office in Luton's Stuart
Street at some stage in the next few years, you will have your
fingerprints taken, your eyes scanned and 59 varieties of personal
information taken from you.
http://tinyurl.com/y7dnm6
U.K. ID card procurement timetable revealed - ZDNet Asia 20/11/06
The contracts to build and run the United Kingdom's national ID card
system will not go out to tender before April of next year, the head of
the Identity and Passport Service [UKIPS] has admitted. James Hall, the
new CEO of the UKIPS, revealed more details on the ID cards timetable
when he met with suppliers last week at a meeting hosted by the British
IT industry trade body Intellect.
http://tinyurl.com/y6k922
US: Student shot with Taser by UCPD officers - The Daily Bruin
15/11/06
University of California Police Department officers shot a student
several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library CLICC computer lab
late Tuesday night before taking him into custody. At around 11:30 p.m.,
CSOs asked a male student using a computer in the back of the room to
leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard[ID card] during a random
check.
http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38958
Controversial ID cards have support of 53 per cent of Canadians:
Study - canada.com 14/11/06
The controversial idea of Canadians carrying a national identification
card that bears their personal information has the support of more than
half the country, a new study of public attitudes towards privacy suggests.
http://tinyurl.com/u4h6f
China: Halt to school fingerprinting, China strikes blow for
privacy - The Register 9/11/06
The Hong Kong privacy commissioner has ordered a school to stop
fingerprinting children before it becomes a runaway trend that is too
late to stop. The school, in the Kowloon District, installed the system
last year but, under the order of the Hong Kong Privacy Commission, has
ripped it out and destroyed all the fingerprint data it had taken from
children.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/09/hongkong_kiddyprinting/
Interrogation centre set for Reading - The Reading Chronicle 9/11/09
The government is coming to Reading to snoop into your personal life by
opening one of its "Big Brother" interrogation centres in the heart of
the town. Civil liberties groups fear the Big Brother office is the thin
end of the wedge, with the centres becoming a treasure trove for
criminal gangs eager to get their hands on criminal data to sell to a
host of salivating marketing men.
http://tinyurl.com/y6an3t
(Please send me any items of interest you encounter -
Editor(newsletter at no2id.net) )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What you can do
You can help us by:
1. Getting involved with local groups
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
2. Writing to your local paper
Personal letters to the local press can be effective persuaders and a
great way of raising awareness of our campaign.
* 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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Publication details: © NO2ID 2006 - 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.
NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street, LONDON W1H 1PJ
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