[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.89
no2id-supporters at no2id.net
no2id-supporters at no2id.net
Fri Jan 18 13:26:55 GMT 2008
NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 89 - 17th January 2008
*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)
ID INTERROGATIONS BEGIN IN EARNEST
The ID interrogation centre network has begun to creak into action, with
centres now opening their doors in dozens of locations across the UK. To
find the status of your nearest centre, please visit
http://www.no2id.net/getInvolved/idCentres.php
Interrogations are still ONLY for those applying for their first adult
passport - and we understand that not everyone applying for their first
adult passport is being called in for an official grilling. The Identity
and Passport Service (IPS) will not say exactly who, or why, it is
calling people in.
We need to know more.
NO2ID is already receiving reports from people who have been
interrogated, but we would like to understand the process in more detail
so that we can advise people better. If you are due to apply for your
first adult passport, or if you have been called in for 'interview'
please do get in touch by sending an e-mail to passports at no2id.net
N.B. People being interrogated at present ARE NOT being issued with ID
cards, nor are their details being entered onto the ID database (the
'National Identity Register' or 'NIR'). The contracts to build the
database haven't even been issued yet. Even were IPS to retain the
information it is now gathering, it would not be sufficient to form a
complete NIR record - e.g. no fingerprints are being taken.
If you haven't already, it *is* still safe to 'Renew for Freedom' if
your passport has just a few years to run - see
http://www.RenewForFreedom.org
*STOP PRESS - REQUEST*
Have you been personally affected by the recent government data breaches
- HMRC Child Benefit, DVLA theory test details, NHS records, DWP
benefits or pension data?
Have you also, or as a result, signed the NO2ID Pledge?
We want to hear your story.
If you or a member of your family have been affected by government
mishandling of personal data, and you feel strongly enough about it that
you will now refuse to comply with the National Identity Scheme ('ID
cards') and have made the NO2ID Pledge, please send an e-mail to NO2ID's
press office - press at no2id.net - and let us know.
Please ONLY get in touch if you would be happy to have your story
reported, e.g. in the newspapers or on our website. We can offer no
guarantee that anyone's particular story will be published.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's next?
Local groups news
We have local groups all over the country and 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
*Data sharing consultation - (closes 15th February)*
A consultation on data sharing has been launched by the Ministry of
Justice. The consultation document is at
(www.justice.gov.uk/publications/data-sharing-review-consultation.htm).
Please also send NO2ID details (with evidence) of occasions where public
authorities or others are demanding more information than necessary for
the purpose. Our address is NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street,
London W1H 1PJ or send by e-mail to (office at no2id.net). The consultation
ends on 15th February.
There is also a discussion of how to go about submitting evidence for
the consultation at http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=20073
_Bradford_
*19th January - Bradford NO2ID meeting
*Saturday, 19th January at The Old Dolphin, Highgate Rd, Clayton
Heights, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD13 1DR. Contact Jason Smith at
bradford at no2id.net for more details.
_Cambridge_
*26th January - NO2ID Cambridge Stall*
Saturday, 26th January 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 Andrew on 07710 469624 if
you can make it.
*6th February - Cambridge NO2ID pub meeting (1st Wednesday of each month)*
Wednesday, 6th February 7.30pm at the Salisbury Arms, 76 Tenison Rd,
Cambridge CB1 2DW. Map: (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=cb1+2dw). For
more details contact cambridge at no2id.net, or text/call Andrew on 07710
469624.
_Canterbury_
*6th February - Canterbury NO2ID Meeting (1st Wednesday of each month)*
Wednesday, 16th February 7.30pm at Coffee and Corks, Palace Street,
Canterbury. Email canterbury at no2id.net for more info.
_Edinburgh_
*Previous newsletter link correction*
In newsletter 88 the link at the end of the item 'Scottish Parliament
gives resounding thumbs down to ID cards' should have been
http://www.jwelford.demon.co.uk/snecnews.html
*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/
*30th January - Edinburgh NO2ID Meeting - Green Party MSP to speak to
Edinburgh Group*
Wednesday, 30th January 7.00pm in The Library, Quaker Meeting House, 7
Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. The Edinburgh NO2ID group will
welcome Patrick Harvie, Green Party MSP and Scotland's principal
political opponent of identity cards, to its meeting on Wednesday 30
January. All are welcome at the meeting. Further details, including
posters to download, may be found at
http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=20496.
_Glasgow_
*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.
_Leicester_
*31st January - Pledge signing event*
Thursday, 31st January from 7pm at the Blues pub in Oadby. Instead of
the usual Wednesday meeting we will be signing the NO2ID pledge to
refuse to register for the national ID card. Everybody welcome as we'll
be including this event in a press release and we would like a good turnout!
_Newcastle/Gateshead_
*20th February - Taking Liberties showing*
Wednesday, 20th February 7.30pm at the Star and Shadow Cinema. The
acclaimed film Taking Liberties, featuring NO2ID, will be shown.
_Oxford_
Oxford's Interrogation centre will be opening this month and we're
planning to have an event to mark it, and to raise people's awareness
that they might be called in for an intrusive interview. We don't yet
know the exact date of the event as we don't yet know the exact date the
interrogation centre will be opening. We're thinking at this point in
time of holding a "BBQ for the Grilling Centre". We will of course keep
everyone posted.
_Southampton_
At our January meeting we decided to work towards the local elections in
May and to this end will be writing to all councillors and candidates to
discover their position on ID cards and the Database State over the next
eight weeks. We are also looking to build towards a press event shortly
before the local elections to raise awareness of the issues locally. We
are also working to set up a NO2ID group at the University of
Southampton, so that our student activists can operate freely on campus.
Finally, we want to organise a 'visit' to a local interrogation centre.
If members from Portsmouth or Bournemouth could get in touch that would
be very welcome so we can work together on this.
*6th February - Southampton NO2ID Meeting (1st Wednesday of each month)*
Wednesday, 6th February 8.00pm at the Dolphin pub in St Denys,
Southampton. We hold irregular stalls in Southampton and environs.
Please contact Southampton.no2id at gmail.com if you would like to take
part, or come to the next meeting.
_Thanet_
*25th January Thanet NO2ID Meeting*
Friday, 25th January 7pm at Pascucci Cafe,14 Buenos Ayres Rd, Margate.
The café owner agreed to open especially in the evening for our meeting.
The café is right opposite Margate railway station, and next to a pub
which will be the backup venue. Contact thanet at no2id.net for more details.
_Worcester_
*6th February - Worcester NO2ID pub meeting (No meeting in January)*
Wednesday, 6 February 2000 at The Portobello, Bransford Road, St John's,
Worcester
(http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=383268&Y=253763&A=Y&Z=1).
Our regular, meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month. This
month: Roles, Recruitment and the Rest of Worcestershire. Contact
Worcester at no2id.net or 01905 735986
_Worthing_
*January 26th - Worthing NO2ID Street Stall*
Saturday, 26th January 11am at Montague Place, Worthing. Contact
worthing at no2id.net for more information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What just happened?
Welsh Assembly renews anti-ID stance
Yesterday (16th January) Welsh Assembly members voted to renew their
opposition to ID cards. The motion called on the Assembly to "direct the
Government not to allow ID cards to be used as a requirement for access
to public services in Wales which are within the remit of the Assembly".
The motion was passed unanimously. Labour members voted for the motion -
interestingly when the motion was originally passed in 2005 they
abstained. No Labour members defended the government's ID-scheme during
the debate.
Details of the debate can be found at http://www.assemblywales.org/
Taking Liberties gets BAFTA nomination
The British civil liberties documentary 'Taking Liberties' has been
nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) award.
The film is up for the 'Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a
British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film'. The
British Academy Film Awards will be held on Sunday 10th February.
See
http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/film-awards-nominees-in-2008,224,BA.html
Medical data -- store it yourself?
News of the NHS data losses has travelled far and fast. One of the
doctors' federations in Germany says the British disaster should prompt
second thoughts about German plans for electronic health cards linked to
a centralised database. The doctors suggest that each patient's data
could be kept on a USB card or USB stick, which would remain in the
person's possession. But the German government looks set to press ahead
with the database.
Deja vu - Kiddyprinting and data leaks - same story, different
country
Just like here in the UK where thousands of children have been
fingerprinted at school, children at Espiritu community schools in
Phoenix, USA have been fingerprinted without their parent's permission
(see http://tinyurl.com/3c5xfx - includes an abc15 news video).
Manufacturers of the equipment and the schools collecting the biometrics
are using the stock answer that it's okay because the fingerprints are
stored as a numeric code. Little mention is made of the fact that such
practices teach children that it's okay for authorities to take this
information and to accept that there is no privacy. Two states in the
USA outlaw the fingerprinting of children: Michigan and Iowa. Meanwhile
Sweden has had a mini Revenue and Customs style data breach after an
employee of the armed forces misplaced a USB memory stick which
contained both unclassified and classified information such as
information regarding mine threats in Afghanistan (see
http://tinyurl.com/2agvrd).
New leaked data fiasco
Patients with serious illnesses such as cancer are having their personal
details passed to medical researchers.
See http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=754
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ID" in the news
*FBI wants instant access to British identity data - The Guardian 15/1/08*
Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an
international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists. The
US-initiated programme, "Server in the Sky", would take cooperation
between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints
across the Atlantic. Allies in the "war against terror" - the US, UK,
Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the
International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,2241005,00.html
*Biometric ID card to be issued to foreign nationals within a year, Home
Office says - ComputerWeekly 14/1/08*
Foreign nationals who wish to stay in the UK will be issued with a
compulsory biometric ID card within a year, the home office minister,
Liam Byrne, said today. The scheme is one of 10 measures announced today
that aims to tighten control of the presence and movement of foreigners
in the UK.
http://tinyurl.com/28hmc6
*All visa applicants to be fingerprinted from today - The Guardian 14/1/08*
All visitors to Britain requiring visas will have to be fingerprinted
from today. The immigration minister, Liam Byrne, said a programme for
installing biometric visa controls has been completed three months ahead
of schedule.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,2240642,00.html
*Prisoners 'to be chipped like dogs' - Independent on Sunday 13/1/08*
Ministers are planning to implant "machine-readable" microchips under
the skin of thousands of offenders as part of an expansion of the
electronic tagging scheme that would create more space in British jails.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3333852.ece
*Generation ID: lessons in kiddyprinting - red pepper 13/1/08*
Jim Knight, the minister for schools and learning, also said this summer
that the police could help themselves to the children's fingerprints if
they are trying to solve a crime -- regardless of whether they have ever
previously been in trouble with the law.
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/article921.html
*I'm one of 'them' - The Guardian 13/1/08*
If Gordon Brown has his way I'll soon be forced to choose between my
husband and my liberty. As a Canadian resident in the UK, beginning this
year I'm required to carry an ID card under the Labour government's
national identity cards scheme. As Brown put it in last week's prime
minister's questions: "I suggest the whole of the country supports ID
cards for foreign nationals."
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/juliana_farha/2008/01/im_one_of_them.html
*PM re-commits to ID cards - Computing 9/1/08*
The Prime Minister is insisting the ID card plan will "move ahead"
despite Tory protests following the scandals involving lost personal
data by his government. Speaking at his first Prime Minister's Questions
session of 2008, Gordon Brown said a parliamentary vote on making the
card compulsory would take place after the voluntary system has been put
in place, depending on the success of the initial scheme.
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2206844/pm-commits-id-cards
*Inquiry into police dna use - Daily Express 9/1/08*
Ministers are funding a major inquiry into the operation of the police
DNA database, it has been announced. Official government advisers the
Human Genetics Commission will oversee a so-called "citizen's inquiry"
into the way DNA records are archived to fight crime.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/30865/Inquiry-into-police-DNA-use
(Please send me any items of interest you encounter -
Editor(newsletter at no2id.net) )
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Publication details: © NO2ID 2008 - 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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