NO2ID Supporters' Newsletter No. 57 - 26th October 2006
Contacting us: Call or email the office - 020-7793-4005 or (
office@no2id.net). Please do not reply to this email. (The from address is the not a working email address)
THE HUNT FOR ID INTERROGATION CENTRES
Once again we need your help tracking down the ID interrogation centres due to open at 69 locations around the UK[1] next year. The contract to supply the offices was won by Mapeley[2]. The exact locations of the centres has not been revealed but they can be ascertained via planning applications and then our local groups can lodge objections to the applications. Last weekend in a heroic tight-deadline effort, NO2ID Cambridge managed to reach two local residents and get them to put in written objections before Monday's deadline in Ipswich. As we find more planning applications - or as Mapeley submits them - theses initial deadlines are likely to come thick and fast. There is thread on the NO2ID forums[3] where people are currently posting interrogation centre planning applications as they discover them (this information will shortly be moved to a page of its own on the main website). Please look out for local council planning application notices. If you have any information then please post it to our forum or contact us at (
office@no2id.net). We would also like advice from anyone with any planning expertise and able to give us some hints on how to draft good objections to the applications.
Many thanks to all those who have volunteered to set up new groups in towns due an interrogation centre, we are still looking for more groups in the remaining locations[4].
References:
[1] Map of centres -
http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,295266,00.jpg[2] See 'Passport offices deal won by Mapeley' in Newsletter 41
[3] Planning application details on our forum -
http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=13329[4] The remaining locations are: Aberdeen, Andover, Armagh, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blackburn, Boston, Bury St Edmunds, Camborne, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Crawley, Derby, Dover, Exeter, Hastings, Ipswich, Kendal, Kilmarnock, Kings Lynn, Lincoln, Liverpool, Luton, Maidstone, Middlesbrough, Newport, Northallerton, Northampton, Norwich, Oban, Omagh, Peterborough, St Austell, Stirling, Stoke on Trent, Warwick, Wick, Wrexham, Yeovil.
What's next?
Local groups
We have a new local groups in Dumfries, one of the places earmarked for an ID interrogation centre. The groups can be contacted at (
dumfries@no2id.net). We now have local groups up and running or being setup in 31 out of the 69 locations of the interrogation centres which are due to open next year. To campaign effectively against ID cards and the National Identity Register it is essential that we have local groups in each of the towns that will host these centres. If you live in one of these locations and there is not currently a local NO2ID group in your area then please consider helping us by setting up a local group. A full list of local groups can be found at
www.no2id.net/localGroupsAct now to avoid being fingerprinted for a pint!
A Home Office-backed and instigated fingerprinting pubs scheme is being expanded from Yeovil to Coventry, Hull, Sheffield, Leeds, Gwent, Nottingham, Taunton and possibly Swindon. Drinkers in Yeovil have their thumbprints scanned before they enter seven participating pubs. They must also supply their name, address and date of birth when they enrolled onto the system. If you are in any of the towns affected, especially Yeovil, and are willing to do something then send an e-mail to
phil@no2id.net (please put "pub fingerprinting" in the Subject, as I get a lot of mail). It appears that Yeovil council have coerced some pubs into cooperation by threatening to revoke their licence, so we've asked one of the large beer-drinker's organisations if they'd do something about this - and they agreed. Full announcement in due course. Don't get depressed, don't give in and get a home-brew kit - get angry and DO something!
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 4th November, and every third Saturday into the new year. Location: (
http://tinyurl.com/eo42r). Volunteers to help very welcome - contact Andrew Watson via
cambridge@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/.
27th October - NO2ID Volunteers Meeting Central London - 'ID in history'
Friday, 27th October at 7.00pm in the Brockway Hall at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1 (nearest tube: Holborn). All are welcome to NO2ID's next regular volunteers' meeting. The meeting will be on the theme of ID cards in history. The meeting is free to attend but we will be asking for donations to help cover the cost of the room hire.
29th October - NO2ID Galashiels Kick-off Meeting
Sunday, 29th October at 3pm in the function room, 1st floor, King's Hotel, 56 Market Street, Galashiels, TD1 3AN. The meeting will provide an opportunity for people to learn more about the issue, as well as discussing what actions can be taken locally to aid the campaign. It is hoped that the meeting will result in the formation of a new local group in this Borders town that will soon be hosting an ID/passport interrogation centre. Any questions: please e-mail (
Scotland@no2id.net). Map:
http://tinyurl.com/yhb37p2nd November - Swindon NO2ID meeting
Thursday, 2nd November - 7.30pm at the Clifton Inn, Clifton street (off Kings Hill). Very informal. Everyone welcome. For more details contact
swindon@no2id.net13th November - Shrewsbury NO2ID meeting in Telford
Monday, 13th November at the White Horse in Ironbridge, at 8.15pm on Monday 13th November. The landlords are anti-ID and they serve excellent beer. For more details contact
shrewsbury@no2id.net or just show up on the night.
14th November - Highbury NO2ID Informal Meeting
Tuesday, 14th November 6.30 for a 7pm start at Jorene Celest on 153 Upper Street. All welcome!
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/gathering29th 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 - 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 'We Know Where You Live', 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 20th November at 9pm and 29th November at 10pm on More 4.
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What just happened?
NO2ID Edinburgh at the Scottish National Party Conference, Perth
NO2ID campaigners attended the SNP Conference in the Perth Concert Hall earlier this month. NO2ID Edinburgh was there in time to set up its campaigning stall by the entrance during the couple of hours when delegates were arriving and the media circus was getting into full swing. The SNP is, of course, firmly opposed to identity cards, and so there were many welcome expressions of support from delegates. Jimmy Reid of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders fame and a recent convert to the SNP made a brief friendly aside as he entered the conference hall.
NO2ID's new Activ8 film
NO2ID launched a new film on the Community Channel website last week as part of 'Activ8'. The film, 'In the name of security', which is in two parts is a dark vision of an all-too-possible future under the government's proposed ID scheme. A slightly longer version than the one on the Community Channel site can check be seen at
. Many thanks to Ric Forster and all those involved for the fantastic film and for allowing us to use it. Activ8 is a joint venture set up by the Community Channel and BBC Action Network. The project will follow eight social activists and their campaigns on TV, the web and broadband for the next 12 months.
See
http://www.communitychannel.org/content/view/908/101/NO2ID's Guy Herbert writes Times op-ed piece
Last week the Times published an op-ed piece by NO2ID's general secretary Guy Herbert on the dangers of ID cards and the 'stalker state'. Guy eerily described the modern state as a stalker that knows everything you do and uses CCTV cameras and the growing number of databases to control the population. Guy pointed out that: "a controlled society is a fearful, passive one, where the desire for safety strangles change because people are afraid to stand out, to move off approved paths". Guy will be speaking at the Battle of Ideas, organised by the Institute of Ideas with The Times, on October 28-29 ( see
www.battleofideas.co.uk).
See
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2410540,00.htmlUKIPS staff strike as passports rise but pay doesn't
On October 13th a one day strike involving up to 2,500 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union(PCS) working for the UK Identity and Passports Service (UKIPS) caused severe disruption across the UK. Over 95% of appointments cancelled and only a handful of passports were issued. Staff are angry that whilst the cost of a passport has gone up by 50% in the last twelve months many have seen their pay rise below the cost of inflation by just 1%. It will be interesting to see what effect poor industrial relations at UKIPS have on the forthcoming ID interrogations centres opening next year around the country.
See
http://www.pcs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=905189RFIDs: Europeans want legislation
Only 15% of the respondents to the European Commission's online consultation on RFIDs think that industry self-regulation would be enough to protect their privacy. 55% want the EU to legislate on the issue. The figures were announced by Information and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding in Brussels on 16 October, at the end of the consultation.
UKIPS wont test biometrics
It has emerged that the UK Identity and Passport Service(UKIPS) won't be testing biometrics properly before they launch live ID cards. UKIPS were also slated by the House of Commons Science &Technology committee and have been forced to publish a mealy-mouthed response - using it as an excuse to attack yet again the LSE, who have (coincidentally) just published a report on the government's recent so called 'Dobson' cost report.
See
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2167262/id-test-plans-fuel-controversyCaptain pop sings against ID cards
An anti-ID card song and video, 'Your Papers Please', has been released by Captain Pop. The track is from their album 'Shutup and sing' which is available from their website. Captain Pop describe themselves as "a co-operative crew of musicians and singers in love with Pop music". Captain Pop resides in 4 different counties spread around the UK. Some of them have played with mighty big bands on TOTP, others play the local pub. The band also have details of forthcoming gigs on their website. See
http://www.captainpop.com for more details and watch the video at:
Freedom to fascism on DVD
Aaron Russo's film 'America: Freedom to Fascism' has been released on DVD. The film looks at, amongst other things, ID cards and the surveillance society. The DVD can be ordered from the film's website and costs around £19 including postage to the UK. See
http://www.buyaftf.com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ID" in the news
Government conceals ID cards reviews - Computer Weekly 24 October 2006
The government this week strengthened its opposition to disclosing the Gateway reviews of the ID cards programme, arguing that publishing any information about the reviews could undermine their usefulness. Last week, Computer Weekly disclosed that the Home Office is spending tax-payers’ money to fight an order from the information commissioner, Richard Thomas to publish the reports.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2006/10/24/219362/Government+conceals+ID+cards+reviews.htmDNA database 'should include all' - Daily Telegraph 24/10/2006
Tony Blair called yesterday for the national DNA database to be expanded to include every citizen. He said there should be no limit on the development of the database because it was vital for catching serious criminals. Downing Street said later that no thought had been given at this stage to requiring everyone to give a DNA sample, although they will have to give scans of their eye and fingerprints for a passport and eventually a national identity card.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/24/ndna24.xmlPassport police wipe smiles off applicants' faces - TheRegister.com 24/10/06
The Identity and Passport Service [UKIPS] shredded the travel plans of their sometime nemesis - Simon Davies of campaign group Privacy International. On Monday he [...] was told he couldn't renew his passport [...] because an inch of laminate covering the data page of his passport had come free.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/25/pedantic_passport/print.htmlEstonian eID card passes 1 million threshold - europa 23/10/06
The number of eID cards issued in Estonia has exceeded 1 million. Nearly 90% of the Estonian population between the ages 15 and 74 now has a valid eID card. Mari Pedak noted that a number of changes will be made as a result of early experiences with the card. In particular, from January 2007, the validity period of the card will be reduced from ten years to five, while the validity of the certificates on the chip will be extended from three years to five.
http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/6216/194ID cards plan remains "worryingly vague" - Silicon 23/10/06
The government's ID cards plan and cost estimates remain "worryingly vague", according to academics at the London School of Economics (LSE). The LSE response follows the Home Office's first "section 37" report, which will be given to parliament every six months, on the latest cost estimates for the UK's national ID cards scheme.
http://www.silicon.com/publicsector/0,3800010403,39163460,00.htmGovernment plays safe with ID card roll-out - Computer Weekly 20/10/06
The government yesterday confirmed that it intends to de-risk its £5.4bn ID card programme by rolling the project out in a gradual incremental way rather than take a big bang approach. The Treasury has appointed Sir James Crosby, former chief executive of HBOS, to head a group of public and private sector specialists to make recommendations on identity management by Easter next year.
http://tinyurl.com/yf9mygThe limits of liberty: We're all suspects now - The Independent 19/10/06
Identity cards. Number-plate surveillance. CCTV. Control orders. The list of ways in which the Government has sought to manipulate and define the limits of our liberty grows ever longer. The trouble is that it’s happening so very quietly, so very discreetly that few really see it. You have to concentrate very hard to understand what’s going on and put the whole picture together because so much has been buried in obscure corners of legislation.
http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/must-read-the-limits-of-liberty-were-all-suspects-nowAcademics set up wiki to monitor NHS IT - eHealth Insider 18/10/06
The 23 academics who wrote to Parliament outlining their concerns about the progress of the National Programme for IT have set up a wiki to track media reports and act as a resource for NHS IT. The NHS 23 wiki, available at
http://editthis.info/nhs_it_info/, features links to articles tracking problems with various suppliers and coverage of the academics' open letter and the agreed statement.
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/item.cfm?ID=2204(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor(
newsletter@no2id.net) )
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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. We are particularly keen to set up groups in the location of the 69 ID interrogation centres.
See
http://www.no2id.net/localGroups2. Joining NO2ID or donating to the campaign
Please join NO2ID, if you are not already a paid-up member. (There's a membership form at
http://www.no2id.net/downloads/membForm.pdf) OR Donate some money towards campaign expenses. NO2ID, Box 412, 19-21 Crawford Street, LONDON W1H 1PJ
* We also maintain a list of things you can do on our website at
http://www.no2id.net/getInvolved/other.php-------------------------------------------------------------------
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
