[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.70

Thu Apr 26 19:53:39 BST 2007

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    NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 70 - 26th April 2007

*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 not a working email address)

      MAKE 'EM SUFFER: ID SURVEY, PART II

Many thanks to those of you who have already sent our ID questionnaire 
[see newsletter 69] to your candidates for the local, Scottish 
Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections on May 3rd. We've had 
encouraging reports of responses from across the UK. Now is the time to 
publicise your results.

The most straightforward way to do this is to write a letter to your 
local paper or (if you're a member of a local group) to issue a press 
release summarising the responses. You don't need to publish an 
exhaustive list, but should be prepared to provide more detail if the 
media get back to you.

What you need is a headline figure and, preferably, one good quote. For 
example, what did people write in the 'further comments' section and, of 
the responses you received, how many candidates expressed opposition to 
the ID scheme? E.g. "92% of prospective councillors oppose lifelong ID 
tracking" or "4 out of 5 representatives oppose ID charges for council 
services". Make sure you get your maths right and try to keep your 
letter to 3 or 4 paragraphs at most.

If you're really having difficulty writing something, you can ask us for 
help. Send an e-mail with a breakdown of your results to press at no2id.net

It's not too late to join in.

As this is largely about raising awareness, it is still worth surveying 
your candidates. Some may never have been asked their views on ID. You 
can download a copy of the ID questionnaire from the front page of our 
website - www.no2id.net - and, after the elections, see if your 
representatives stick to what they said once they are in office...

      What's next?

        FOCUS ON WALES

If you live in Wales and you can help develop NO2ID's presence there, 
please get in touch. We'd particularly like to hear from people willing 
to take over as contact in Swansea or Cwmbran, both of whose 
coordinators have recently had to drop out, and from anyone in Newport, 
where Wales' first interrogation centre will open shortly.

There is a lot of potential. The Welsh Assembly has already passed a 
motion against ID cards, and we look forward to an even stronger showing 
from AMs in the new Assembly. The Welsh police forces are consulting the 
public on the retention of DNA samples from innocent people, and we  
would also like to get involved with that.

Please contact local.groups at no2id.net if you want to make it happen.

        Local groups

A full list of local groups can be found at (www.no2id.net/localGroups) 
, a list of the interrogation centres can be found at 
(www.no2id.net/getInvolved/idCentres.php). 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).  There is also a detailed discussion of the 
interrogation centres on our forum 
(http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=13329)

        Saturdays 1pm - 3pm - NO2ID Edinburgh Campaign stall

NO2ID Edinburgh has resumed its regular Princes Street campaigning stall 
on Saturdays - east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel, 
from 1pm - 3pm. 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 aim to have the stall up 
and running most Saturdays, and new volunteers are always very welcome. 
You can see photos of our stall and group contact details at: 
www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/

        28th April - Cambridge NO2ID Campaign stall

Cambridge NO2ID will be running a street stall outside Cambridge 
Guildhall from 10am onwards on Saturday 28th April, Saturday 5th May & 
Saturday 19th May. Location Map: http://tinyurl.com/eo42r. Volunteers to 
help very welcome - contact Andrew Watson via cambridge at no2id.net, or on 
07710 469624.

        1st May - Surveillance Society Inquiry oral evidence session -
        the Information Commissioner

Tuesday, 1st May 10.15 am. The Home Affairs Committee's first oral 
evidence session with the Information Commissioner. More information at 
http://tinyurl.com/25ja8w . The session can be watched online at 
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/

        1st May - Hackney & Shoreditch NO2ID meeting (Meetings the 1st
        Tuesday of every month) (**VENUE CHANGED**)

Tuesday, 1st May 7.30pm. NB - the venue for Hackney & Shoreditch NO2ID 
meetings has changed to:- The Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Rd, London E8 
1JH. Details:- http://www.individualpubs.co.uk/pembury/ , 
http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/27/27595/Pembury_Tavern/Hackney

        3rd May - NO2ID Hull Planning Meeting

Thursday, 3rd May 2007, 6pm to 7 pm, at The Royal Hotel (lobby bar), 170 
Ferensway, Hull, HU1 3UF(Map at 
http://deals.hotels.com/hotels-united-kingdom/hotels-hull/quality-hotel-royal-hull/). 
We are going to meet on the first Thursday of every month. More info 
from hull at no2id.net

        9th May - NO2ID Action NO2ID Central Chelmsford 12 noon

Wednesday, 9th May, 11.30am-12.30pm noon, central Chelmsford. We are 
gathering as many people as possible to attend outside Chelmsford's new 
Identity and Passport Service (IPS) offices. We will be inviting the 
press to attend for this photo opportunity around 12 noon. WHAT TO BRING 
(if possible) : 1. Download and print a barcoded "Speak Up" mask 
(http://www.no2id.net/resources/graphical.php) 2. Also, if you have a 
NO2ID T-shirt, please wear it. 3. Your passport - useful to wave for a 
photo-opprtunity. For more info contact thurrock at no2id.net

        14th May - Highbury NO2ID Meeting  (**NEW VENUE**)

Monday, 14th May, 7pm at The Canonbury - What better place to meet on a 
sunny evening than in the Canonbury's lovely beer garden.  We'll be 
having an informal meeting about forthcoming events and ways to 
highlight the campaign in the local area.  All welcome. Address:  
Canonbury Place, N1 2NS 
(http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl&q=N1%202NS)

        New Highbury NO2ID Mailing List

Highbury NO2ID now has a new email mailing list - sign up today to chat 
with present group members and meet new supporters in the local area.  
To subscribe visit http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.highbury

        19th May - NO2ID stall at Levellers' Day, Burford, Oxfordshire

Saturday, 19th May - Kensington NO2ID is organising a stall at this 
event, which has been a festival of radical politics since 1975. Event 
details from the Levellers Day web page 
(www.levellers.org.uk/levellers-day.htm). Volunteers to help, please 
contact Jill Mannasseh of Kensington NO2ID (kensington at no2id.net)

        29th May - Classical Recital, Covent Garden for benefit of NO2ID

Tue, 29th May 7.30pm. A concert: Violin and Piano Duo- Mozart, Schumann, 
De Falla, Gershwin. Seats for roughly 270 people - tickets on sale soon. 
At St. Paul's Church, Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ED ("The Actor's Church")

        2nd June - NO2ID Stall at Cambridge Strawberry Fair

Volunteers needed to man the stall for 2 hour shifts from 10am until 
10pm: please contact cambridge at no2id.net, or text/call Andrew Watson on 
07710 469624. We signed up 750 supporters last year - we'd like to 
double that number this year. (Strawberry Fair info: 
http://www.strawberry-fair.org.uk)

        8th June - Cambridge NO2ID Public Meeting: "Whose identity is it
        anyway?"

Friday, 8th June 7.30pm at Parkside Community College, Cambridge CB1 1EH 
(Map: http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?pc=CB11EH). Platform 
speakers: David Howarth (MP for Cambridge, Lib Dem Energy Spokesperson), 
Ian Gibson (MP for Norwich North, Labour), James Paice (MP for SE Cambs, 
Conservative Agriculture spokesman), Phil Booth (NO2ID National 
Coordinator). All welcome. Free (but donations appreciated).
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      What just happened?

        Nearly all ID Interrogations centres found

We have now managed to track down the location of 56 out of the total 69 
ID interrogation centres around the country. We already know 3 of the 
remaining 13 locations are places where the UK Identity and Passport 
Service (UKIPS) has so far failed to find anywhere suitable. Thanks go 
to Chris Rimmer and all of the supporters who have helped us track down 
the centres. There is a detailed discussion on the NO2ID forum about the 
centres at http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=13329

        Manchester NO2ID and the local elections

Manchester NO2ID has produced a special flyer targetted at the local 
election on May 3rd. Councillors will be elected in over 30 wards to 
Manchester City Council and the group will be giving Mancunians the 
information they need to vote on the ID issue. Three motions have been 
put before the council in recent years opposing ID cards but three times 
they have been voted down by the pro-database Labour majority. 
Manchester NO2ID has also set up a local election 2007 web page at 
http://manchester.no2id.net/le2007.html with the latest views and 
comments from your candidates.

        Bruce Schneier explains the climate of fear to London conference

The psychology of security  was the subject of Bruce Schneier's packed 
keynote address to the 2007 Infosecurity Europe conference in Olympia 
this week. Schneier drew on the large body of research in risk science 
and the work of evolutionary biologists looking at how humans have 
evolved and how they handle risk trade-offs. He pointed out that people 
exaggerate risks that are spectacular, rare and talked about but 
downplay risks that are pedestrian, common and not discussed.  Delegates 
were told that "being scared affects judgements" and when combined with 
biases (terrorism is a risk that is rare and spectacular, endlessly 
repeated by the media), there are  "a whole lot of reasons why the brain 
is going to respond to terrorism risks irrationally". He added: "I'd 
like it if world leaders recognised that and be a back-stop." 
Unfortunately of course politicians are all too keen to fuel the 
rhetoric of fear and take away our liberties. Schneier has written an 
essay on the subject which can be read at 
http://www.schneier.com/essay-155.html

        Petition against retention of DNA data

A petition has been set up on the 10 Downing Street website calling on 
the prime minister "to legislate to require all UK Police forces to 
delete DNA data from persons not convicted of an offence". The Home 
Office is consulting on plans to massively expand the National DNA 
Database by taking DNA on arrest (e.g for dropping litter in shopping 
centres). Read more about the consultation on the GeneWatch 
website(www.genewatch.org/sub.shtml?als[cid]=551990). Sign the petition 
at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/StopDNAbystealth/

        Spoof(?) petition calls for human chipping

Another petition on the Downing Street website (that we certainly hope 
is a spoof) came to our attention this week. It calls for electronic 
tagging and entry into the DNA database of all citizens at birth. The 
proposal points out that some people may try to remove the chip and so 
proposes that "tags would be inserted in the hippo-campus area of the 
brain. Removing the tag would result in death or lobotomisation". 
Amazingly the petition has two signatures - perhaps by people who've 
already performed the removal procedure! See 
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/human-chip/

        ID cards costs report

The issue (or lack) of the latest ID cards six-monthly cost report was 
raised in parliament this week. David Heath MP asked Jack Straw: "may we 
have a debate on printing facilities in the Home Office and whether they 
are fit for purpose? The Home Office is obliged by law to lay before the 
House at six-monthly intervals a report on the costs of ID cards. That 
has not been done. The deadline has been breached".  The production of a 
6-monthly report is something the Secretary of State "must" do - 
interesting that there is no penalty when the government breaks its own law.

        Junior doctors, the Summary Care Record and ID cards

Two interesting interviews on Radio 4's "Today" programme on 26th April 
about the security breach that published junior doctors' personal 
details on the Internet. Also covered are the security of the Summary 
Care Record and the ID card database.
http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=578
------------------------------------------------------------------------

      "ID" in the news

        'No death' aim for cyber security Olympic MP - Technology news
        25/4/07

The "acceptable risk" for security at the 2012 London Olympics is that 
"no one gets killed", says the chairman of the Parliamentary Olympic 
Group. He talked about London Transport Oyster cards or Nokia mobiles 
being used as identity cards.
http://tinyurl.com/2ab9ue

        Spanish authorities clamp down on Gibraltar Registered vehicles
        without ID cards - gibfocus.gi 24/5/07

The Spanish authorities have been clamping down on British citizens who, 
whilst residing in Gibraltar and with the relevant passport as 
documentation, have not possessed an ID card.
http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_headlines.php?id=1233

        ID on GMTV - Professional Security Magazine 25/04/2007

The Home Secretary has stuck to the Government's plans for identity 
cards in a recent interview on GMTV. John Reid said: "We cannot 
effectively control immigration, track who's coming into the country, 
who's leaving the country; we cannot counter fraud, where people are 
trying to steal your money from your bank account, or steal your other 
assets; and we cannot counter terrorism unless we have a good, effective 
system of identity.
http://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/newsdetails.aspx?NewsArticleID=6861&imgID=1

        US: TISD Giving Out Kits As Tools For Parents To Identify
        Children - The Tyler Paper.com 25/4/07

The Tyler Independent School District is distributing more than 10,000 
identification kits to students in kindergarten through sixth grades 
Thursday as part of the FBI's National Child Identification Program. 
Each kit contains an inkless fingerprinting card, DNA swab and 
preservation envelope and wallet card. All information can be completed 
by a parent or guardian and stored at home.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/NEWS08/704250332

        PI firm nicked for pretexting - The Register 24/4/07

A private investigation firm has pleaded guilty to obtaining and selling 
personal information on customers from the Department for Work and 
Pensions. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it had 
successfully prosecuted Infofind for illegally "blagging" the personal 
details of over 250 individuals from the department.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/24/dwp_pretexting/

        Minister proposes "tagging" for dementia - Kable 19/4/07

Science and technology minister Malcolm Wicks has suggested that 
tracking technology could help people with Alzheimer's to be more 
independent. Satellite technology could be used to help people with 
Alzheimer's and vascular dementia to live independently, Wicks told the 
Commons Science and Technology Committee.
http://tinyurl.com/yplp8s

(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - 
Editor(newsletter at no2id.net) )
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Publication details: © NO2ID 2007 - 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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