[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.81

Fri Sep 28 12:31:13 BST 2007

    NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 81 - 28th September 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)

      PET SHOP BOYS SAY NO TO THE DATABASE STATE

Preparing to relaunch their anti-ID single, 'Integral', the Pet Shop 
Boys - outspoken critics of the government's National Identity Scheme - 
asked NO2ID to create some new pages on our website. We were more than 
happy to oblige:

    http://www.no2id.net/psbs/

Picking up on the song's themes of ID cards and the erosion of civil 
liberties by the government, Pet Shop Boys worked with new creative 
group the Rumpus Room to create a sinister mix of surveillance type 
footage and information technology as content for their new music video.

Embedded in the dystopian film are single frames of Quick Response Code, 
a new barcode technology which works in a similar way to supermarket 
checkout scanners. Fans are able to access embedded codes linking to 
featured websites, such as NO2ID's, by pausing the video on the QR Code 
frame and taking a snapshot with their mobile camera.
--

**** STOP PRESS ****

Thanks to everyone who joined in the anti-ID debate at Friction.tv - we 
are now one of the top Hot Debates on the site. Why not upload your own 
video, and start a new debate on the aspect of the database state that 
disturbs you the most? Or continue debating at: 
http://www.friction.tv/debate.php?debateno=851

      What's next?

        Local groups news

We have new local groups in Newcastle and Gateshead (see below for 
details of their first meeting), the groups can be contacted at 
(newcastle at no2id.net) and (gateshead at no2id.net). We now have groups in 
36 of the 69 locations of ID interrogation centres (see 
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). A full list of local groups can be found at 
www.no2id.net/localGroups

        Taunton NO2ID needs your help

Our Taunton local group co-ordinator is stepping down. Anyone in the 
Taunton area interested in taking over this role should contact 
local.groups at not2id.net

        Still showing - "Taking Liberties" documentary film featuring
        NO2ID at cinemas around the country

The documentary which features NO2ID is still showing at a few cinemas 
across the UK. The film is described as "a shocking but hilarious 
polemic documentary that charts the destruction of all your Basic 
Liberties under 10 Years of New Labour". More info at 
http://www.noliberties.com/cinema.htm

        Saturdays 1pm - 3pm - NO2ID Edinburgh street stall

Every week, weather permitting, you will find our campaigning stall at 
the east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel.  Do drop by 
for a chat.  New volunteers - please contact John (edinburgh at no2id.net), 
and for more group information see http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/

        Most Saturdays 2pm - NO2ID Glasgow Street Stall

Most Saturdays there are stalls in Glasgow city centre (usually Buchanan 
Street) from about 2pm. Volunteers are always welcome, please contact 
Geraint if you would like to help: glasgow at no2id.net

        Passport interrogations (Glasgow)

Glasgow NO2ID are keen to hear from anyone who has been summoned to 
attend the interrogation centre at Blythswood House after applying for 
their first passport. Please contact Geraint at glasgow at no2id.net or 
Charlie at myspace.com/no2idglasgow

        October - Proposed Liverpool NO2ID meeting

Liverpool NO2ID are currently scouting for venues to get something 
together for an evening meeting in October. If anybody can make the 
meeting, the objective will really be to throw ideas into the hat and 
discuss things.  If people can't make the meeting, they can fire stuff 
over via email for the meeting to discuss. Contact liverpool at no2id for 
more information.

        2nd October - Newcastle & Gateshead NO2ID meeting

Tuesday, 2nd October 7pm at Bridge Hotel in Newcastle 
(http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/12/1218/Bridge_Hotel/Newcastle). 
The Newcastle and Gateshead group will be holding their inaugural meeting.

        2nd October - Highbury NO2ID Meeting

Tuesday, 2nd October 7:30pm. Highbury NO2ID has a question tabled at the 
council's public meeting.  The meeting starts at 7.30pm and you will 
need to be there at this time, however our question has an early slot on 
the agenda and you can leave afterwards. NO2ID supporters are very 
welcome to come along! Venue: Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, 
Islington, N1 2UD. Contact highbury at no2id.net for more information.

        2nd & 3rd October - Cambridge University Student Union
        Societies' Fair

Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd October - Cambridge NO2ID will have a 
presence at the Cambridge University Student Union (CUSU) Societies' 
Fair (http://www.cusu.cam.ac.uk/societies/fair/). Volunteers to help 
very welcome - contact Andrew on 07710 469624, or email cambridge at no2id.net.

        3rd October - Cambridge NO2ID pub meeting

Wednesday, 3rd October 7.30pm at the Free Press (pub), 7 Prospect Row, 
Cambridge CB1 1DU - Cambridge NO2ID's informal pub meetings are on the 
first Wednesday of each month. Location map at 
(http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=cb1+1du). For more details contact 
cambridge at no2id.net, or text/call Andrew on 07710 469624.

        4th October - Hull NO2ID Meeting CANCELLED

Hull NO2ID runs a monthly meeting on the first Thursday of every month. 
October's meeting is cancelled due to holidays etc. Contact 
hull at no2id.net for more information.

        13th October - NO2ID Cambridge Stall

Saturday, 13th October at 10am - Cambridge NO2ID'S next street stall 
will be in the usual spot outside Cambridge Guildhall. Location Map: 
http://tinyurl.com/eo42r. As ever, volunteers to help very welcome - 
please email cambridge at no2id.net, or text/call Alex on 07811 917096 if 
you can make it.

        13th October - Manchester NO2ID Street Stall

Saturday, 13th October 1-3pm in St. Anne's Square. The main objectives 
of the afternoon will be to raise awareness among the  public, engage 
people in discussion about the NIR, and collect petitions for the NO2ID 
petition to keep people in touch with the campaign. We'll meet in the 
square itself at 1pm to set up shop; feel free to join us to lend a hand 
or just chat. You don't need any experience or equipment, just a bit of 
time to spare and a friendly smile!

        17th October - Manchester NO2ID Meeting

Wednesday, 17th October 7-9pm in the upstairs function room of the Town 
Hall Tavern, Tib Lane, Manchester. Sadly, this venue is not 
wheelchair-accessible; please contact us if you have accessibility 
needs. At our monthly meetings we discuss the state of the NO2ID 
campaign, what we've been up to recently and where we're going in 
future. Everyone is welcome, newcomer or not, curious or committed. The 
Town Hall Tavern serves reasonably-priced, good quality food until 8pm 
so you don't need to pop home for tea - you can even order your meal 
brought up to the function room.
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      What just happened?

        More than 15,000 attend "Freedom not Fear" demo in Berlin

On Saturday, 22 September more than 15,000 took to the streets of Berlin 
under the slogan "Liberty instead of Fear - stop the Surveillance 
Mania!". Several civil liberty organisations affiliated in the "Working 
Group Data Retention" (Arbeitskreis Vorratsdatenspeicherung) organised 
the march. "This is the largest protest for civil liberties and privacy 
protection since the census in 1987", Thilo Weichert, data protection 
commissioner of Schleswig-Holstein said to news portal tagesschau.de. 
Rena Tangens of FoeBuD e.V. said: "The overwhelming success of this 
protest shows that by now a large proportion of the population are 
worried about our constitutional state. Citizens do not want our 
democracy to be turned into a surveillance state." There have been 
reports on Indymedia Germany of heavy-handed police action including use 
of tear gas against a person carrying a mask of minister Schauble as 
well as widespread filming of demo participants which was naturally seen 
as provocation at a march against surveillance. A German TV news report 
of the demo can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOJZCGAcniI

        Bus pass wars in Edinburgh

Four sixth-formers researching for projects on ID cards, along with a 
teacher, were a welcome addition to the usual audience at the Edinburgh 
group meeting on 20 September.  They heard a talk by retired academic 
John Welford describing his campaign to publicise the fact the the 
Scottish National Entitlement Card (SNEC), an ID card in all but name, 
has been deceitfully foisted on to pensioners and the disabled under the 
guise of a bus pass.  Dundee for example is already extending its use to 
cover libraries - classical function creep - and there are proposals to 
extend it to other council services and to health services.  The 
introduction of the system is reminiscent of the Poll Tax, being tried 
out in Scotland before being imposed in England.  Having returned his 
SNEC John Welford has been campaigning for over a year to receive a 
'proper' bus pass and has meanwhile collected over £300 worth of tickets.

        Manchester NO2ID relaunches Students Against ID

Manchester NO2ID, with support from OpenMedia, Liberal Democrat Youth 
and Students, the Industrial Workers of the World Union and Young 
Greens, has relaunched the "Students Against ID" society at Manchester 
University. This society will work to spread the word of the National 
Identity Register among students and encourage the Students' Union to 
oppose the scheme. Similar societies will be launched at Manchester Met 
and other universities soon.

        Kensington & Chelsea NO2ID News

On the 1st September we had a successful stall at St Barnabas Community 
Fete where we attracted attention and obtained 219 signatures and over 
£40 in donations. We were greatly helped by members from Islington and 
Brixton. There was an element in favour of ID cards but few could 
produce a coherent reason for their view. Kensington and Chelsea still 
have NO2ID mugs - £7 by mail order, contact kensington at no2id.net for 
more details of how to order.

        AC Grayling presents the principled argument against ID cards

The philosopher A. C. Grayling has answered the question 'Are ID cards 
either philosophically or pragmatically justifiable?' in October's 
Prospect Magazine. And Professor Grayling's answer is: "Emphatically no. 
A requirement for every citizen to carry a device that enables the 
authorities to demand immediate information about them dramatically 
changes the relationship of individuals to the state, from being private 
citizens to being numbered conscripts. An ID card or device (technology 
will rapidly supplant plastic cards because the latter are too easily 
lost or stolen) is a surveillance instrument, a tracking device, like a 
car number plate or the kind of tag punched into a cow's ear". See 
http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=9816

        Banking and the Government's Data-sharing Agenda

As the credit-crunch hits the financial market surely it won't be too 
long before we hear once again about the government's proposals for 
data-sharing, this time in the banking sector. Back in January they 
closed a consultation into "the removal of barriers to the sharing of 
non-consensual credit data". The government has suggested allowing banks 
and lenders to share details of 33 million current accounts with credit 
reference agencies, without the consent of the individuals concerned. 
Such proposals are part of an ongoing data-sharing agenda that if 
allowed to proceed will abolish privacy in the UK.  Groups such as 
checkmyfile have raised concerns about the sharing of bank details that 
the government claim will help tackle over-indebtedness. Barry Stamp, 
Joint Managing Director of checkmyfile.com, the online supplier of 
credit reports to UK consumers, said: "For the Government's proposal to 
come into effect it would have to change the law in such a way that it 
would drive a coach and horses through consumer civil rights, data 
protection and banking confidentiality laws."
Details of the proposals can be found at 
http://www.berr.gov.uk/consumers/consumer-finance/over-indebtedness/index.html

        Germany to introduce electronic national ID card

According to a report by the "Koelner Anzeiger" ("Cologne Advertiser"), 
the German coalition government is planning to introduce an electronic 
national ID card. The paper was quoting the main points in the amendment 
to the German "Personalausweis-gesetz" (German National ID Card Act). 
The Koelner Anzeiger went on to say that the proposal by the German 
Interior Ministry was met with agreement from home affairs experts in 
the conservative CDU/CSU coalition and the SPD. The new ID card will 
reportedly be the size of a cheque card and - as is the case at the 
moment - carry a visible digital photo of the holder. Two fingerprints, 
i.e., one each of the holder's left and right index fingers, and a PIN 
code will also be stored invisibly on the card. The report said that 
holders will have to use the PIN code to register themselves in future 
when dealing with the authorities, e.g., when registering a new car or 
obtaining official information. The report said that the new card could 
also be used when registering to vote.

        Government responds to child fingerprinting petition

This week the government responded to a number 10 website e-petition 
against child fingerprinting. The predictable response can be read at 
http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page13319.asp
------------------------------------------------------------------------

      "ID" in the news

        Patient records found on drive sold on eBay - e-Health Insider
        26/9/07

A hard drive of a trust computer containing patient data was sold using 
auction website eBay, with data improperly wiped. The trust has now 
launched an investigation into how the computer part was made available 
online. It is feared the hard disk may have been stolen from one of the 
trust's hospitals.
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3063/patient_records_found_on_drive_sold_on_ebay

        Government awards biometric IT deal - IT Pro 21/9/07

The Home Office has placed an order worth $4.4 million (£2.2 million) 
for fingerprint scanning devices as part of its new UKvisas programme. 
The Florida-based scanner vendor, Cross Match today announced it had 
been awarded a contract through the UK's Home Office Biometrics 
Framework Agreement.
http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/news/126098/government-awards-biometric-it-deal.html

        Celebrity's details illicitly viewed by NHS staff - e-Health
        Insider 20/9/07

Reports that the records of a celebrity were illicitly viewed by over 50 
members of staff at an NHS hospital look set to further fan fears about 
the confidentiality of patient records in the NHS Care Records Service 
now under development. Ironically, the incident was cited in board 
papers for North Tees Primary Care Trust only as an illustration of why 
it was necessary to tighten procedures for staff to access sensitive 
personal medical records.
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3045/celebrity's_details_illicitly_viewed_by_nhs_staff

        The rest of Britain must follow in the footsteps of the Scots
        when it comes to DNA record storage - The Guardian 19/9/07

The question we need to ask about the storing of DNA samples is the same 
as the one bedevilling our approach to identity cards, and stiff 
anti-terrorism legislation. Crudely, it is this: how much interference 
with our liberties are we - as a society, as individuals - prepared to 
countenance in the cause of public safety?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2172282,00.html

        UK ID card bidders in conference with IPS - Security Document
        World 18/9/07

In the region of fifty interested suppliers have met with the UK's 
Identity & Passport Service (IPS) at a conference last week especially 
designed to explain the goals of the complex procurement process. IPS 
commercial director Bill Crothers said: "Today's bidder's conference for 
the National Identity Scheme (NIS) marks the successful conclusion of 
the next stage of the procurement process for the Scheme. The conference 
was very well attended and the Identity & Passport Service and its 
partner agencies engaged effectively with a good mix of suppliers."
http://www.securitydocumentworld.com/public/index.cfm?&m1=c_10&m2=c_4&m3=e_0&m4=e_0&subItemID=1129

        Whitehall stalls release of reports using FOI Act - Computer
        Weekly 17/9/07

The government is exploiting a feature in the Freedom of Information Act 
which allows it put off indefinitely the release of internal reports on 
the ID cards scheme and the NHS IT programme, despite rulings that they 
should be published. Until any final decision is taken, which is likely 
to be 2009 or 2010, the Cabinet Office is entitled to keep the Downing 
Street papers secret. The papers are already five years old.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=226789

        Treaty could pave way for European ID card - Daily Telegraph 17/9/07

Euro passports and ID cards could be on the way under new powers written 
into the EU Treaty, it was disclosed yesterday. The Daily Telegraph has 
learned that existing safeguards preventing EU interference with 
national identity documents have been quietly dropped.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/14/nimm314.xml

        US: Fingerprinting kids Simple step helps police with ID -
        CantonRep.com 16/9/07

Not one of the 300 youngsters that Stark sheriff's deputies 
fingerprinted at the Stark County Fair this summer was a criminal. Like 
thousands of law enforcement agencies, civic groups and organizations 
across the nation, the sheriff's department asked children to place 
their pinkies and all of their other digits on record in the name of 
safety.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=376450&Category=15&subCategoryID=0

        Firms invited to bid for tenders to supply controversial smart
        cards - The Scotsman 16/9/07

Every adult Scot is to be offered a controversial smart card to access 
council services as part of an expansion of the use of electronic 
information. As part of a move described by a Scottish Government 
official as the "tip of the iceberg", the 'National Entitlement Card' 
will store personal details and could potentially be used to access 
healthcare and to pay for public transport.
http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1481482007

        Spain: eID scores a million - epractice.eu 14/9/07

Spain's national basketball squad got their new eID cards from the 
country's interior minister in person, to mark the issuing of Spain's 
millionth electronic identity card. According to the interior ministry, 
the eID project will "put Spain in the world vanguard of security and 
identity technologies".
http://www.epractice.eu/document/3905

(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 
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mass-mailed without the prior permission of NO2ID.

NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street, LONDON W1H 1PJ

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