[no2id-supporters] NO2ID Newsletter No.96
no2id-supporters at no2id.net
no2id-supporters at no2id.net
Thu Apr 24 16:56:40 BST 2008
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++++ NO2ID SUPPORTERS' NEWSLETTER NO.96 - 24th April 2008 ++++
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+++ LET'S MAKE THE ID SCHEME A LOCAL ELECTION ISSUE +++
In just one week's time there will be local elections in England and
Wales. Once again this is an opportunity for us to raise awareness about
the government's ID scheme. It is not too late to contact candidates by
email, post or directly and ask them their views on the government's
costly and illiberal scheme. Writing to your local paper is also a good
way of highlighting your concerns to other local residents.
Much of the cost of ID cards and the National Identity Register will be
borne by local authority's funds as they integrate council computer
systems with the Home Office identity management databases, as well as
'verification charges' for council services. Do your local candidates
support this use of local funds? Dozens of local authorities, the Welsh
and London Assemblies and the Scottish Parliament have already passed
motions opposing the National Identity Scheme. Would candidates support
such a motion? Do candidates support plans to track the life-history of
every person over the age of 16 resident in your ward?
If you receive responses from your candidates then publicise them in
your local media. Many of our local groups are doing this already – if
all our supporters did this just imagine the impact.
The more people who know the facts about ID cards and the database
behind them the more likely we are to stop their introduction.
++ HUNT THE MINISTER ++
As reported in the last newsletter Meg Hillier, the minister in charge
of the ID cards scheme, is in the midst of a series of "invitation-only
Ministerial consultation events". When Hillier visited Cambridge NO2ID
were on hand outside the event to show their opposition to the ID
scheme. Anyone who considers themselves a business or civic leader, and
is interested in being invited by the Home Office to attend one of these
events (either to find out if there's one in your area, or to actually
attend and offer the minister some feedback) might like to contact the
Home Office at : (identitycards at ips.gsi.gov.uk). If you find out where
the ministerial road show is going then please let us know immediately
(national.coordinator at no2id.net), so that we can arrange for local NO2ID
supporters to demonstrate that there is dissent and get oppositional
voices heard.
++ THANKS ++
Our thanks to a supporter in Southampton for their generous donation of
£1,000 in April.
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+ +
+What's next? +
+ +
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25th April – COMEDY EVENT, Kilburn
Friday, 25th April 8pm at The Cock Tavern, Kilburn - "The Reality Show"
is a panel game chaired by friend of the NO2ID campaign, stand-up Ben
Norris. Tickets £10 from Ticketweb. This is not really a NO2ID event but
Robbie Williams has kindly autographed a T-shirt and some ladies
underwear to be auctioned on the night with the proceeds of the auction
going to NO2ID.
7th May — NO2ID Legal Group Social
Wednesday, 7th May. An evening meeting in a pub on Fleet Street, the
first of a regular series of events. This is a meeting for lawyers,
practising and academic, who are interested in the law of identity and
the database state. (It is not for the general public, and no one will
be giving legal advice). We hope to enlarge our group of lawyers
interested in finding out more, and who might be interested in taking on
related work. Contact Liz Norman legal at no2id.net for more details.
12th May - BioCentre event:Privacy & Surveillance:Monitoring Humans and
Monitoring Human Rights?
Monday, 12th May 3-5pm at House of Lords, Westminster. As we all become
more familiar with the 'online' lifestyle matters of security become
more important. When we do venture outside, the number of surveillance
cameras monitoring our every move evokes questions over the emergence of
a 'Big Brother' state. RSVPs are required. Please include your name and
the organisation that you represent in your response. There is no charge
for the event. To RSVP: email info at bioethics.ac.uk or call 0207 227 470.
More info at: http://www.bioethics.ac.uk/index.php?do=events&rid=150
+ LOCAL GROUPS NEWS +
We now have local groups in 44 of the 69 proposed locations for
interrogation centres - of which just 3 have yet to open. Parliamentary
answers indicate that the most active centres are: Belfast, Birmingham,
Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport,
Peterborough and Sheffield.
For information on your nearest interrogation centre, see
www.no2id.net/getInvolved/idCentres.php. If you can help set up a local
group in one of the remaining locations, or anywhere else in the UK,
please contact Matty on local.groups at no2id.net
+ Birmingham +
28th April – Birmingham NO2ID Meeting
Monday, 28 April from 7.30pm till 9pm at the Deritend Training Room in
St Martin's church in the Bull Ring for. The church asks that we use the
Arts Café entrance on the side of the church opposite Borders bookshop.
+ Cambridge +
26th April - NO2ID Cambridge Stall
Saturday, 26th April at 10am 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.
3rd May - Cambridge NO2ID benefit gig
Cambridge NO2ID will be holding a benefit gig on Saturday 3rd May from
8pm, at The Locomotive, 44 Mill Road, Cambridge CB1 2AS. The line-up:
Mousse - The Grisettes - Allotment. Admission £4 - proceeds go to
support NO2ID's London HQ. Many thanks to the bands for contributing
their time and talents: http://tinyurl.com/28da7v
http://tinyurl.com/2z6z4n http://tinyurl.com/yv6cwl
7th May - Cambridge NO2ID pub meeting
Wednesday, 7th May 7.30pm at the Salisbury Arms, 76 Tenison Rd,
Cambridge CB1 2DW (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 +
7th May - Canterbury NO2ID Meeting (1st Wednesday of each month)
Wednesday, 7th May 7pm at Coffee and Corks, Palace Street, Canterbury.
Email canterbury at no2id.net for more info.
+ Cornwall+
+ Cornwall County Council Pass Anti-ID Motion +
On 1st April Cornwall County Council passed a motion against the
government's ID scheme. The news comes after local campaigners had been
lobbying for a year. Councillor Cait Hutchings said: "The leaders of the
groups are now composing a letter to send to the government on behalf of
Cornwall County Council that ID cards are not supported by Cornwall
county council and the reasons why. I asked that the letter includes a
statement that Cornwall county Council has no desire for any part in
pilot schemes or feasibility studies with regard to the card."
+ Dorking +
Questionnaires have been emailed to all the candidates up for election
in May to find out their views on ID Cards and the Database State and
alert them to the probability that like so many government initiatives,
it will be local authorities who have to implement the new laws and the
ratepayer who has to pay.
Mole Valley MP, Sir Paul Beresford has agreed (assuming he has no
Parliamentary business) to be on our panel at the public meeting we will
hold in Dorking in October. More details to follow.
At our 2nd street stall (this time in Leatherhead), 130 people signed
the petition including the leader of Mole Valley Council. We have
decided to run street stalls every 2 or 3 weeks, mainly in Dorking but
also in the surrounding towns.
6th May - Dorking NO2ID meeting (first Tuesday of month)
Tuesday, 6th May 7.30pm. at The Old House at Home, West St, Dorking.
+ Dover +
26th April - Dover NO2ID Street Stall
Saturday, 26th April, from 10am, weather permitting, in Dover town
centre near St Mary’s Church in the Cannon Street pedestrian precinct.
+ Edinburgh +
+ Scottish Parliament briefing +
On 17th April NO2ID held briefings for MSPs and researchers at the
Scottish Parliament. The country-wide over 60s bus pass was introduced
in Scotland nearly two years before England. The card bears very strong
similarities to the proposed UK ID card. There has been a campaign
against the card from the beginning and the campaign's leader and
Edinburgh NO2ID group co-ordinator John Welford was amongst those who
spoke. In all, four MSPs, half a dozen researchers and a reporter
attended to hear the presentations - a small turnout but the meeting was
valuable in that it enabled certain issues to be clarified. It was
claimed that surveillance tools for bus travel were to be used simply to
oversee the bus companies not the passengers - but currently there is
nothing more than the Improvement Service's “assurance” that the
technology will not be used to record individuals' journeys.
30th April - NO2ID Edinburgh meeting
Wednesday, 30th April at 7.00 pm in The Library, Quaker Meeting House, 7
Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. The next Member of the Scottish
Parliament to talk to the Edinburgh group will be Margaret Smith, Lib
Dem, who proposed the civil liberties motion in the Parliament last
December. She said: “We reject the compulsory ID card scheme... It is
even more galling when one realises that people will be expected to pay
for the privilege of owning an ID card. That privilege could cost each
of us anything up to £300 for a card that polls have shown a majority of
people do not want.” All welcome.
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/
+ 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
+ Leeds +
26th April - Leeds NO2ID Street Stall
Leeds holds a street stall every other Saturday on Briggate between 1pm
and 3 pm. This Saturday 26th will be our 3rd. The last street stall was
very productive - we got a mix of opinions, and ideas abound for jazzing
up the next one!
1st May - Leeds NO2ID Meeting
Thursday, 1st May 7pm at the Peanut Gallery in Leeds Uni student union.
Leeds holds a meeting every other Thursday. Everyone welcome.
+ Manchester +
The 14th April screening of "Taking Liberties" by the OpenMedia society
at the University netted us an extra fifteen signatures for our own
Students Against ID. There were a lot of interesting and useful
questions from the packed audience which shows a high level of interest
among the student body in our campaign.
27th April - Manchester NO2ID Film Night @ FAB Cafe
Sunday, 27th April 7pm at the FAB Cafe on Portland Street, Manchester.
Manchester NO2ID will be sponsoring a dystopian film screening -
probably Terry Gilliam's excellent vision of a bureaucratic database
state gone mad, "Brazil".
10th May - Manchester NO2ID Street Stall
Saturday, 10th May 2pm-4pm in St. Ann's Square. We'll meet in the square
itself at 2pm 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!
14th May - Manchester NO2ID meeting
Wednesday, 14th May 7pm-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
(manchester at no2id.net).
+ Oxford +
We have sent letters to every candidate standing in the city council
elections in May, asking them about their position on the government's
ID card scheme. Their responses are on our website
(http://no2id-oxford.org.uk/?page_id=46). Last time we did this there
was a deafening silence from the Labour candidates. But this time around
we've had no fewer than four of them saying that they are against the
scheme, including former leader of the council John Tanner.
26th April - NO2ID Oxford Street Stall
Saturday, 26th April from 10am for a couple of hours or so. If you can
come along it would help if you let us know, but willing volunteers
turning up on the day are also welcome.
1st May - NO2ID Oxford Meeting
Thursday, 1st May 8pm at the Mitre, High Street, Oxford. We will be
having our regular monthly meeting for an hour or so to chat about our
campaign.
17th May - NO2ID at Levellers Day
Saturday, 17th May we will be helping to run a stall at Levellers Day in
Burford (http://www.levellers.org.uk/). If you'd like to lend a hand
please contact oxford at no2id.net
+ Redbridge +
19th May - Redbridge NO2ID 'Taking Liberties' screening
Monday, 19th May 7.30pm at St. Alban Church Hall, Albert Road, Ilford,
IG1 1HW. St. Alban is a large church located opposite the pedestrian
underpass which runs adjacent to Ilford Library. This highly acclaimed
and powerful film documents the attacks on Civil Liberties in Britain
today, including the proposed introduction of ID Cards. Entry is free.
+ Selby +
On the back of Selby District Council's anti-ID motion, we attended the
oversight committee and had good discussions with Selby MP John Grogan.
He has consistently voted for ID cards, but was unaware of many of the
implications! More to be done on this.
5th May – Selby NO2ID Street Stall
Monday, 5th May (Bank Holiday Monday). We are planning our first street
stall for the Bank Holiday Monday when Selby has a large street market.
13th May – Panel Discussion at York St John College
Tuesday, 13th May 6pm at at York St John College, NO2ID Selby will be
taking part in a panel discussion/debate.
Please email selby at no2id.net if you are interested in taking part in
either of these events.
+ Shrewsbury +
3rd May - Shrewsbury NO2ID street stall
Saturday, 3rd May between 11am and 1pm on Pride Hill. Drop by and say
hello, or if you can stay a little longer you are welcome to help by
handing out leaflets and chatting to the Bank Holiday shoppers.
19th May - Shrewsbury NO2ID pub meeting
Monday, 19th May at 8.15pm at the Armoury, Victoria Quay, Victoria
Avenue, Welsh Bridge, Shrewsbury, SY1 1HH (www.armoury-shrewsbury.co.uk)
at 8.15pm. Look for a table with NO2ID leaflets scattered around it. The
car parks behind the Armoury are free of charge after 8pm.
+ Southwark +
Southwark NO2ID will be attending the following events to distribute
NO2ID material, collect petition signatures and hand out copies of the
NO2ID Pledge:
26th April - Campaign for an English Parliament ‘The future of England’
Saturday, 26th April, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Campaign for an English
Parliament ‘The future of England’, an open one day conference on
England's future post devolution. Speakers include Frank Field MP, Simon
Lee (Senior Lecturer, Hull University). The event will be held at Conway
Hall, 25, Red Lion Square, WC1. Nearest tube : Holborn.
+ Yorkshire +
Yorkshire NO2ID now has a new regional coordinator, James Elsdon-Baker,
who can be contacted via (yorkshire at no2id.net). There is also now a
Yorkshire NO2ID website at www.yorkshireno2id.org
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+ +
+ What just happened? +
+ +
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+ Data Losses: The Information Commissioner won't say "I told you so" +
On Tuesday (22nd April) the Information Commissioner Richard Thomas
addressed the Info Security conference at Olympia in London. Speaking at
a seminar entitled 'Who Got Caught Out Last Year, and Why?', Thomas
spoke about the recent spate of data losses. Thomas said: "In my family,
in my organisation, we banned the phrase 'I told you so'". He spoke
about the recent Ministry Of Defence laptop data loss and the fact the
media had focussed on the person who left the laptop in the back of
their car rather that more fundamental questions about the data
gathered: "Why were there 600,000 details being collected in the first
place of casual enquirers about joining the armed forces and applicants
and recruits. Why so much information on 600,000 people? Why was it kept
for so long? Why was data there for 10 years? What use was it being put
to, why had it been collected and retained? Then why was the entire
database transferred to the laptop? Then why was the laptop not
encrypted? And only then do you get to the question why did it then get
left overnight in the back of a car?".
+ NO2ID feature in Guardian podcast +
Following on from NO2ID's London Mayoral hustings the Guardian's Tech
Weekly podcast had an item focusing on the government's ID scheme, data
loss and the NO2ID campaign. The item is 18 minutes and 30 seconds into
the programme. Listen at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/audio/2008/apr/22/tech.weekly.podcast
+ Criminal Justice and Immigration bill - Data Theft measures watered down +
This week members of the House of Lords debated measures in the amended
Criminal Justice and Immigration bill relating to unlawful disclosure of
information, which is finally being acknowledged as theft. The trade in
this now admittedly stolen data was highlighted in the Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO) report 'What Price Privacy?'. Data is stolen
by private investigators and others who have a range of buyers including
financial institutions, law firms, local authorities and the press. The
ICO called on the government to increase the penalty for data theft from
a fine to a prison sentence and the government accordingly put measures
in the Criminal Justice and Immigration bill when it was first published
last year. However since then there has been a strong lobbying campaign
led by the media that has resulted in these measures being watered down.
Lord Errol informed the debate that: "the Daily Mail tops the poll with
952 transactions positively identified, with 58 journalists buying
information from databases. That is sensitive information about people
that could be used."
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+ +
+ "ID" in the news +
+ +
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+ Home Office aims to drive down cost of ID cards - ZDNet 23/4/08 +
Surely even someone of minimal intelligence can see therefore, that the
most effective way to reduce the cost is to eliminate the central ID
cards database - the most expensive part of the system according to
Hillier and exactly the part of the system which people are concerned about.
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/talkback/0,1000001161,39397470-39001098c-20093391o,00.htm
+ Border Agency plans Olympic identity card - Kable 23/4/08 +
The Border Agency is developing a 'pretty inclusive and far reaching'
Olympic accreditation card for the 2012 games. The card will provide
access to both the county and to the venues, chief executive Lin Homer
told the Secure Document World conference in London on 23 April 2008.
http://www.kablenet.com/kd.nsf/Frontpage/974451FFE961D5F080257434003CACEB
+ Zero applicants blocked by 88,000 passport interviews - Kable 21/4/08 +
The Home Office has confirmed that compulsory interviews for first time
passport applicants have not led to a single rejected application. The
face to face interviews, introduced in June 2007 as a precursor to the
interviews intended for all applicants for identity cards, cost £50m to
set up with an annual budget of £30m. They add around £12.50 to the £72
price of a passport.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3689884.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797084
+ Secret pact allows the US to spy on UK motorists - The Inquirer 21/4/08 +
The UK Home Secretary secretively signed a "special certificate" last
year that gives foreign security agencies real-time access to traffic
camera images and related data monitoring British motorists on highways
throughout the UK.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/04/21/quiet-pact-allows-spy-uk
+ High Court quashes decision to release secret ID card reports -
OUT-LAW News 14/4/08 +
The High Court has quashed an Information Tribunal ruling ordering the
release of independent reviews of the Government's controversial
identity card scheme. The freedom of information case must now be
re-assessed by a new Tribunal, the Court said.
http://www.out-law.com/page-9043
+ 5,000 children a month added to DNA database - The Telegraph 7/4/08 +
One in four people being added to the DNA database is a child, it
emerged yesterday. The figure provides further evidence that the
Government's "Big Brother" national database is increasingly targeting
young people before they are old enough to vote.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/07/ncrime207.xml
(Please send me any items of interest you encounter -
Editor(newsletter at no2id.net) )
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