NO2ID News No. 102

17 July 2008

++ TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE DATABASE STATE ++

Over the last few weeks the Database State has been a topic of discussion on radio talk shows and in newspaper editorials, thanks in large part to the resignation and re-election of David Davis MP. But just one day after Davis' victory a review of data sharing was published that ignored the Database State and encouraged the government to remove legal barriers to data sharing. Clearly we still have a lot to do.

On the plus side, a growing number of people are beginning to realise that the only way to stop abuse of your confidential information is not to give it to the authorities in the first place. If enough people say *now*, "No, I will not cooperate", then the ID system simply cannot be implemented.

The NO2ID Pledge is a way of publicly declaring that you will not cooperate with the government seizure of personal identity. To make the pledge simply sign a pledge form and get the signature of a witness. Then display the pledge form somewhere that other people can see it - hopefully this will encourage friends and family to ask about the pledge and you can then encourage them to take the pledge too.

If you haven't done so already and you want to resist, please make the NO2ID Pledge - NO2ID Pledge certificates and instructions can be downloaded from www.no2id.net/pledge

The NO2ID Pledge is perfectly legal, but it is as revolutionary in implication as the ID scheme itself. If we all say no, then the ID scheme will fail.

What's next?

+ Appeal for defence funds - NO2ID Scotland campaigners to appear in court +
Nine NO2ID campaigners arrested after they staged a peaceful protest at an invitation only Home Office so-called "public consultation" will appear before Edinburgh Sheriff's Court on 24th July. All nine have been charged with breach of the peace, eight with causing "alarm and distress" and one with causing "alarm and disturbance". If anyone would like to contribute to legal costs, cheques made payable to "Glasgow NO2ID" (together with an indication of the intended purpose) would be gratefully received at 3e Grovepark Gardens, Glasgow G20 7JB. Any surplus after the cases have all concluded will be used for NO2ID's general campaigning.

+ 18th - 20th July - Volunteers needed - NO2ID at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival +
Friday 18th - Sunday 20th July, Tolpuddle, Dorset. NO2ID will be hosting a stall at Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and we need some more volunteers to help run the stall. Please contact Christina Zaba on union.liaison@no2id.net if you'd like to help. (See http://www.tuc.org.uk/the_tuc/tuc-14521-f0.cfm for more info on the festival).

+ 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@no2id.net

+ Bristol +

+ 6th August - Bristol NO2ID meeting +
Wednesday, 6th August 7-8pm at White Bear on St Michael's Hill. Come and meet your friendly local campaigners. If you'd like to keep up to date with what the Bristol group is getting up to, please join the mailing list at http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.bristol

+ Cambridge +

+ 2nd August - NO2ID Cambridge Stall +
Saturday, 2nd August 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@no2id.net, or text/call Andrew on 07710 469624 if you can make it.

+ 6th August - Cambridge NO2ID pub meeting (1st Wednesday of each month) +
Wednesday, 6th August 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@no2id.net, or text/call Andrew on 07710 469624.

+ Camden & Islington +

+ 3rd August - Camden and Islington NO2ID Stall +
Sunday, 3rd August 10am-2pm at Islington Farmers Market. Contact Matty on camden@no2id.net if you can attend.

+ 4th August - Camden and Islington NO2ID Meeting +
Monday, 4th August at 8pm. We'll be at our new(ish) venue, The Castle, 54 Pentonville Road, London. We'll try and sit at the big table on the top level at the back of the pub - if not just look for the table with the NO2ID flyers. Nearest tube is either Angel or Kings Cross. (http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/clubs_bars/venue-2471.php)

+ Cardiff + -

Cardiff NO2ID Benefit Gig a Great Success
We had an absurdly good benefit gig on the evening of the 11th July - many good bands and everybody had a good time. We just about managed to break even and scored two interviews on local radio about it. Thanks to everybody who came, and those who couldn't but were with us in spirit.

+ Dorking +

Monthly meetings at 7.30pm every first Tuesday of the month at The Lincoln by Dorking main line station. Next 2 street stalls will be in Horsham, then back to Dorking. Anyone from Dorking or surrounding towns interested in helping out is very welcome. Please come along or email (dorking@no2id.net). First steps have been taken in getting a political consensus to pass a local motion against ID.

+ 25th September - Question Time on ID Cards and the Database State +
We have 2 guest speakers to put the case against ID Cards at our Sept 25th public meeting (Paul Beresford MP and Dr Edgar Whitley of the LSE), but still none to put the case against.

+ Edinburgh +

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@no2id.net), and for more group information see http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/

+ Epsom +

+ 24th July - Epsom NO2ID 1st Meeting +
Thursday, 24th July 7.30pm at Cricketers Pub, Stamford Green Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 7SR. All welcome. Please bring a friend. Further details: Geoff Cox on (epsom@no2id.net). If you're unable to attend, but are interested in the activity of the group, please join the Epsom mailing list at http://lists.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.epsom

+ 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@no2id.net

+ Hackney +

6th August - Hackney NO2ID Meeting
Wednesday, 6th August 7pm at The Pembury Tavern, 90 Amhurst Road, London, E8 1JH. If you'd like to keep up to date with what the Hackney group is getting up to, please join the mailing list at http://lists.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.hackney-and-shoreditch

+ Manchester +

Manchester NO2ID co-ordinator Dave Page recently appeared on Liverpool's City Talk 105.9FM on the 105th anniversary of George Orwell's birthday to discuss his vision of the future in "Nineteen Eighty-Four". An MP3 of the interview will be made available soon. See http://manchester.no2id.net/content/appearance-city-talk-1059fm-liverpool

+ 9th August - Manchester NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 9th August 1pm-5pm in St. Ann's Square to raise awareness among the public and engage people in discussion about the National Identity Register. This month, we're going to try splitting into two shifts - a 1-3pm "early" shift and a 3-5pm "late" shift, to get more presence and coverage through the day. Pick a shift you're likely to make and if we can get at least four volunteers for each shift we'll make a whole day of it! Simply enter your name (or a pseudonym) and choose a shift at: http://www.doodle.ch/vgurr73b5in6mvdh

+ 13th August - Manchester NO2ID Monthly Meeting +
Wednesday, 13th August, 7pm-9pm in the Town Hall Tavern, Tib Lane, Manchester. Sadly, this venue is not wheelchair-accessible; please contact us on manchester@no2id.net if you have accessibility needs. This month, due to a double booking, we will be meeting in side area just off the main bar rather than in our usual function room. See minutes of our previous meetings at http://manchester.no2id.net/taxonomy/term/5

+ Oxford +

+ 2nd August - NO2ID Oxford Street Stall +
Saturday, 2nd August from around 12 noon for a couple of hours, on Cornmarket, Oxford. As usual, helpers are very welcome. All you need to do is hand out a few leaflets and direct people to sign our petition. You don't need to tell us you are coming, but it helps with planning. For more, contact Jim (gadjie at gmail.com) who is coordinating this.

+ 7th August - NO2ID Meeting +
Thursday, 7th August (back on the first Thursday of the month) 8pm at the Mitre on the High Street to discuss the next steps in our campaign.

+ Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells +

"David Davis and the Surveillance State" Public Meeting Report
Our public meeting "David Davis and the Surveillance State" on 7th July was little short of standing-room only, and the political spectrum, age-range and demographic of the attending public could hardly have been wider. The only pro-ID attendee was given a warm round of applause for a game but lonely defence of the government scheme. As there appears to be a strong public appetite for such debate we will hold more such events. But we need HELP - PLEASE: our only problem is to find any official figure willing to speak on the pro-ID side of open public debates. Every time we invite any official figure to bat for the pro-ID side we see only a pair of heels and a cloud of dust. (Is there an embargo on pro-ID officials speaking at *genuinely open* public debates?) Any help in locating such a volunteer willing to speak in the Tunbridge Wells area will be much appreciated, and we will treat them well, give them cups of tea and promise we won't have them arrested for Breach of the Peace for attending our meeting with a view that is different to ours.

Stalls continue in the Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge town centres throughout the summer - please email if you are able to help on the rota (tunbridge.wells@no2id.net).

What just happened?

+ Data Sharing Review Gives Green Light to Data Sharing +

Last Friday the Data Sharing Review by the Information Commissioner and Mark Walport of the Wellcome Trust was published. The report disgracefully fails to recognise the magnitude of the database state. The 'Data Sharing Review Report - annexes' acknowledges that: "A recurring theme among members of the public was the disparity in power between the citizen and the state in relation to data sharing", and that, "It was said that the citizen has no choice but to use public (or publicly administrated) services, but equally had no choice or say over how their personal information is used once it was in the public sector". However the report recommends the removal of legal barriers to data sharing: "We recommend that where there is a genuine case for removing or modifying an existing legal barrier to data sharing, a new statutory fast-track procedure should be created". We have consistently warned that the removal of existing firewalls will lead to the abolition of privacy - the report's authors clearly disagree. Or don't care.
Read the review and submissions at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/reviews/datasharing-intro.htm
NO2ID's submission is at http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/NO2ID-Data-Sharing-Response.pdf
For analysis of the review see: http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2008/07/11/data-sharing-review/

+ Italian fingerprinting - How to policy launder at home +

The Italian government has been the subject of worldwide controversy after they introduced a mandatory programme to fingerprint gypsies. The Italian government said they had begun fingerprinting tens of thousands of gypsies in nomad camps across the country to help fight crime. Various groups accused the Italians of racism and many compared their action to that of the Nazis during the Holocaust. However such calls of discrimination, rather than the principled argument that fingerprinting anyone is wrong, have given the Italians the way out they probably wanted all along - fingerprint everyone and so dodge the criticism of discrimination. On Wednesday an Italian parliamentary panel gave initial approval to the 'fingerprint everyone' plan. The move will introduce fingerprinting from 2010, for national identity cards which are required for all Italian citizens and foreigners living in Italy.

+ Home Office gets down with the youth, sort of +

The Home Office has set up a web site to promote the National ID scheme to young people. The site says: "We want to know what you think, so contribute contribute contribute.", and not at all creepily adds, "Don�t be shy". However things haven't been going so well on the site as the pesky youngsters haven't all been as on message as the government might have hoped. For instance a quick scan of the discussion topics reveals: "We don't want the ID Card", "Number of The Beast", "What could 4.4Bn of taxpayers money be better spent on?", "Carrying on the Stalinist security state dream", "Creepy" and "Stopping the ID card scheme".

+ German ID fingerprints will be voluntary +

Germans will not have to submit to fingerprinting when their new electronic ID cards are introduced in 2010 [where have you heard that year before? - ed]. An interior ministry document circulated to industry and local authorities confirms that the government has abandoned compulsion, following widespread controversy. Germans who want their fingerprints on their IDs will have that option, but it will no longer be a requirement. The ministry briefing reportedly insists that "the high German security level should also form the basis of an EU-wide standard for electronic identity cards". This prompted the ITC news service Heise Online to look at ID practices around Europe. It found widely differing systems. "A Spanish particularity is that the ID card is associated with a central database in which the full biometric information of all citizens (photos, fingerprints) is stored. In Britain, misgivings over such central registration have made the introduction of electronic identity cards highly controversial."

"ID" in the news

+ Doctors repeat call for inquiry into CFH - eHealth Insider 14/7/08 +
Doctors� representatives have called for an independent inquiry into Connecting for Health and demanded that trusts be allowed to seek solutions directly from IT providers.
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3943/doctors_repeat_call_for_inquiry_into_cfh

+ Airports slam plan for staff ID cards - Travel Trade Gazette 12/7/08
Airport operators have written an open letter to the home secretary protesting about a plan to issue airport staff with ID cards. The British Air Transport Authority (Bata) wrote to Jacqui Smith MP saying that the introduction of biometric ID cards for about 200,000 airport workers, scheduled for the second half of 2009, will be costly but have no tangible benefit.
http://tinyurl.com/59wm2c

+ Report fingers prints as ID scheme's point of failure - The Register 10/7/08 +
Yet more trouble assails the government�s £4.4bn National Identity Scheme (NIS), as an official report puts the boot into the preferred scheme for �exception handling� � and a bunch of techies show how the recommended system can be beaten.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/10/id_national_identity_scheme/

+ Privacy issue will dictate data debate - Computing 10/7/08 +
The oldest and truest clich� about data privacy is that technology is both the problem and the solution. There have already been murmurings that ministers want to relax elements of the Data Protection Act to allow further cross-matching of data in different Whitehall systems.
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/analysis/2221224/privacy-issue-dictate-debate-4113166

+ Cost of surveillance "costing UK £20billion" - The Mirror 7/7/08 +
The cost of our surveillance society has topped £20billion, a report claims today. The figure, which is said to work out as costing £800 per household, includes £19billion for the planned ID card system and £500million spent on CCTV cameras.
http://tinyurl.com/629tgk

+ ID cards chief casts doubt on scheme security - ZDNet 4/7/08 +
The chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service has said the ID cards database will not be completely secure. James Hall said on Thursday that, after a string of high-profile data breaches in the past year, people should be concerned about the security of their personal information held by the government.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39443163,00.htm

+ ICO slaps TfL over Oyster data hoard - The Register 27/6/08 +
Last month Transport for London made it compulsory for children using the network to carry Oyster photocards. This has raised concerns about the amount of data the company is collecting.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/27/tfl_photcards/

(Please send me any items of interest you encounter - Editor(newsletter@no2id.net) )

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