NO2ID News No. 121

23 April 2009

+ JOIN NO2ID AND HELP US FIGHT THE DATABASE STATE +

As the recent The Joseph Rowntree Trust report [1] highlights the Database State continues to expand. To fight it - via campaigning, lobbying politicians and journalists, printing information leaflets and adverts, or organising public events - inevitably takes money. Which means we need members.

Almost all our funding comes from membership fees and donations from individual supporters - we are hardly likely to get a government grant even if we wanted it, and we stay independent of any political patronage of any kind.

Join NO2ID [2] and encourage someone else to join too. Word of mouth is one of the best ways for us to expand - and talking about the issues relating to the ID scheme and the database state is a great way of informing people and getting our message across.

Individual membership of NO2ID starts at £15 a year but if you can give more, please do - every pound spent is an investment in your and your family's freedoms. You can download a membership form from our website: http://www.no2id.net/downloads/membForm.pdf

If you are already a member, then thank you. You are the reason we are able to do our work at all.

--
Notes:
[1] See http://www.jrrt.org.uk/
[2] For more details of how to join NO2ID see http://www.no2id.net/getInvolved/join

What just happened?

+ Fear fuelling fear +

37% of people in the UK feel frightened more often than they used to, according to a survey for the Mental Health Foundation. �Institutionally-driven fear� is one of the reasons cited for this steep rise. Drawing on official figures, the foundation�s new report 'In the Face of Fear' suggests that 7.2 million (1 in 7) people now have anxiety disorders in the UK - 800,000 more than in the early nineties. �Social policy aimed at controlling risk and quelling fear often seems to increase it,� the report says. �Measures based on installing visible signs of �security� such as CCTV cameras (the UK now has 4.2 million, more than in the rest of Europe put together) appear to be counter-productive � they don�t lead to people feeling safer. Creating visible signs of security may make some people more fearful, as they sense high security must mean high risk.� Anxiety is a major cause of both mental and physical ill-health, the foundation points out. Among the suggested remedies: governments �should stop unnecessarily using the language of fear as an instrument to promote their own policies and approaches�.

+ Lords debate regulation, collection and retention of personal data +

On Thursday 2nd April peers debated data collection, retention and sharing. Baroness Neville-Jones raised the controversial issue of retention of communications data such as emails that was to be introduced as primary legislation but was snuck through as secondary legislation (The Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009) - she said: "Are we going to get any primary legislation? The Government would do well to come clean on their intentions, since failure to do so obliges one to examine the scenarios that could develop without primary legislation".
Watch the debate at: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/VideoPlayer.aspx?meetingId=3756
Read the transcript at: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2009-04-02a.1180.8

+ Fife council passes anti-ID scheme motion +

Fife council has passed a motion in opposition to the government's ID card scheme stating that it believed the scheme would lead directly to a loss of civil liberties without guaranteed greater security for Fife's citizens. Councillor Keith Legg said: "I am increasingly concerned about the slow creep towards the 'database state' within the UK. Although this may just be a small step, if more local authorities were prepared to take this stance then it would become increasingly difficult for the government to implement these illiberal proposals." The council resolved not to co-operate with the introduction of ID cards or to require ID cards to access council services "unless specifically required to do so by legislation".

+ NO2ID Legal Group joins the debate +

A letter from Paul Kaufman, a lawyer at Wiseman Lee and member of NO2ID's lawyers group has been published in the Law Society�s weekly publication the Law Gazette. The letter was in response to a recent Law Gazette article which claimed that: "solicitors are going to be early adopters of the ID infrastructure, whether they like it or not". Kaufman points out that in light of the unpopularity of the ID scheme, coupled with the lack of card readers "solicitors will therefore be very foolish to start planning to use ID cards in 2011". If lawyers are to be in the front-line as the ID-scheme rolls out then they are ideally placed to fight it - any lawyers who would like to join the NO2ID Lawyers Group, which has a private invitation-only discussion list and holds occasional social meetings close to Fleet Street, should contact Liz Norman at (legal@no2id.net).
Read the full letter at http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/opinion/letters/mistaken-identity

What's next?

+ Magazine layout skills required +
Do you have any experience in magazine design, preparation and layout? If so would you be willing to help put together a 6 monthly internal NO2ID print newsletter? Contact Matty Mitford at local.groups@no2id.net if you're able to help.

+ Volunteers needed for Mark Thomas gigs +
Mark Thomas has invited NO2ID to help at some of his shows this year. NO2ID needs volunteers to help out as Mark tours around the country - please contact the NO2ID office (office@no2id.net) and we will put you in touch with relevant local group. We need two or three reliable volunteers to help out at the Mark Thomas gig in Exeter on 4th May. Also volunteers required for Belfast 6th May, Nottingham 11th May, Andover 12th May and Colchester 14th May. Please contact Matty on local.groups@no2id.net if you're able to help.
For details of gigs see http://www.markthomasinfo.com/section_gigs/

+ UK Tour of Anti-ID play +
The UK tour of the play 'Another Paradise' is now underway. The play asks "What will it actually mean if all our personal information is at the fingertips of a civil servant � or a hacker? Does that violate our individuality - who we are, what we are?". The tour will visit Yorkshire, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Stockton-on-Tees, Leeds, Plymouth, Coventry and London
Details at http://www.kalitheatre.co.uk/whatson/Another_Paradise.htm

+ LOCAL GROUPS NEWS +

To see if there's a group in your area check our list at http://www.no2id.net/localGroups/
Or, if you're interested in starting a group yourself, please contact Matty on local.groups@no2id.net to discuss what's involved and what we have in place to support coordinators and their groups.

+ Birmingham +

+ 28th April - Birmingham NO2ID Meeting (last Tuesday of month) +
Tuesday, 28th April 7.30pm in the boardroom in Bennett's Bar, Bennett's Hill, B2 5RS. NO2ID Birmingham holds regular monthly meetings on the last Tuesday of the month. This month's meeting will be taking a further look at the databases that make up the database state. There will be no stall this month due to other NO2ID commitments.

+ Bristol +

+ 6th May - Bristol NO2ID Meeting +
Wednesday, 6th May 7.30pm at Deco Lounge, Cotham Hill (just off Whiteladies Rd). Everyone welcome.

+ Cambridge +

Cambridge NO2ID and Mark Thomas
On 20th and 21st April Cambridge NO2ID volunteers helped with comedian Mark Thomas's latest show "It's the Stupid Economy" by collecting the audience's suggestions for Mark to use during the show. Both Mark and Will Hodgson (who does a stand-up monologue as part of the show) are very supportive of NO2ID, and Will has performed at NO2ID benefits in the past. During the show Mark describes having his DNA removed from the English DNA database after having been arrested but later acquitted when the court found no evidence of a crime having been committed in the first place. NO2ID volunteers manned a stall in the foyer and signed up over 70 new NO2ID supporters, as well as watching the show themselves. We're very grateful to Mark, Will and Mark's team for two enjoyable and productive evenings. Mark's show is touring the country over the coming months, and is well worth seeing: http://www.markthomasinfo.com/

+ 6th May - Cambridge NO2ID pub meeting (1st Wednesday of each month) +
Wednesday, 6th May 7.30pm at the Salisbury Arms, 76 Tenison Rd, Cambridge CB1 2DW (http://www.aardvarkmap.net/mape/CYXNES29). For more details contact cambridge@no2id.net, or text/call Andrew on 07710 469624.

+ 9th May - NO2ID Cambridge Stall +
Saturday, 9th May at 10am in the usual spot outside Cambridge Guildhall. Location Map: (http://www.aardvarkmap.net/mape/T5LZATLS). Please contact Andrew on 07710 469624 if you'd like to help.

+ 6th June - NO2ID Stall at Cambridge Strawberry Fair +
Volunteers needed to man the stall at Cambridge Strawberry Fair for 2 hour shifts from 10am until 6pm: please contact cambridge@no2id.net, or text/call Andrew Watson on 07710 469624. We signed up 500 supporters last year - we'd like to improve on that number this year. (Strawberry Fair info: http://www.strawberry-fair.org.uk)

+ Camden and Islington +

+ 5th May - NO2ID Camden & Islington Meeting (1st Tuesday of month) *NEW LOCATION * +
Tuesday, 5th May 8pm at The The Kings Head, 59 Essex Road, Islington, N1 2SF (http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub469.html). Directions from Angel tube: Turn right and walk up the High Street keeping to the left. Go through the antique market area and pass the Tesco's Metro. Walk for a further 2/3 minutes (passing the Queen's Head pub) and cross the road using the zebra crossing - the Kings Head is in front of this zebra crossing. For more info email camden@no2id.net or join the mailing list at: (http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.camden). All welcome.

+ Canterbury +

+ 16th May - Canterbury NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 16th May 10am - 1pm in Canterbury High St: We'll be meeting afterwards to get materials together for the Dover protest.

+ 21st May - Canterbury NO2ID Meeting +
Thursday, 21st May, 7.30pm at the Bell and Crown, Palace St.

+ 30th May - Joint action: Protest at Dover Interrogation Centre +
Saturday, 30th May (joint action with Dover NO2ID) protest at Dover Interrogation Centre. More details to follow. Please contact us or come to the May meeting if you're interested in taking part - cantebury@no2id.net / 07792 567087.

+ Cheltenham +

+ 30th April - Cheltenham NO2ID Meeting +
Thursday, 30th April 19.30 at The Swan, 37 High St, Cheltenham, GL50 1DX.Please come.

+ Daventry +

+ 13th May - Daventry NO2ID Meeting (2nd Weds of month) +
We meet at 8pm every 2nd Wednesday in the month in the "Dun Cow" pub, Brook Street, Daventry.

+ 2nd May - Daventry NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 2nd May we will be manning a stall in Daventry High Street from 8.30am to 1.30pm.

+ Dorking +

+ 5th May - Dorking NO2ID Meeting (1st Tuesday of month)+
Tuesday, 5th May 7.30pm at the Lincoln Arms, near Dorking mainline station. All welcome. Also beginning to prepare for our big Public Meeting / Question Time on 9 Sept with the Shadow Home Sec. We need to fill a hall with 350 people, so every bit of help is needed.

+ Dover +

+ 9th May - Dover NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 9th May, weather permitting, from 10am in Dover. Location: In front of War Memorial by the Town Hall (Biggin Street/High Street). Please come along and help if you can. Contact Ian Taylor � dover@no2id.net

+ 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/

+ 1st May - Edinburgh NO2ID Meeting +
Friday, 1st May at 7.00pm in The Meeting Room, Quaker Meeting House,7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh. Guest speaker: John Barrett, MP for Edinburgh West. Further details at: (http://www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/future_meetings.html). All welcome.

+ Epsom +

Dear Epsom NO2IDers � now is the time to get involved. On Sept 9, there will be a public meeting/Question Time at Bourne Hall, with Epsom MP, Chris Grayling (Shadow Home Sec) and other names to be announced. The hall seats 350 people, so we will need to do plenty of advertising including street stalls, leafleting at train stations, raising awareness through local LibDems / Conservatives / Independent networks, contacting schools etc. If you can help, email Geoff on epsom@no2id.net.

If anyone wants to get involved in the Epsom area, please email or phone NO2ID South East Regional Coordinator Geoff Cox on south.east@no2id.net or call 01306 631377.

+ Glasgow +

+ 5th May - Glasgow NO2ID Meeting (reverting to 1st Tuesday of month) +
Tuesday, 5th May at 8pm in Mono. All welcome. Please contact Geraint for further details: glasgow@no2id.net

+ Hammersmith & Fulham +

Hammersmith & Fulham group is going through a renaissance. Co-ordinator Brian Mooney requests activists to pencil in 14th May for a possible evening meeting. A stall will be held outside Shepherds Bush station/West 12 shopping centre late morning on Sunday, 10th May. More details soon, 07976 414913.

+ Hebden Bridge +

+ 28th May - Hebden Bridge NO2ID Meeting +
Thursday 28th May 7.30pm at the Fox and Goose. This time around we will be planning practical activities that the groups can undertake. Please email hebden.bridge@no2id.net for further information.

+ Kensington and Chelsea +

+ May (TBC) - Kensington & Chelsea NO2ID Street Stall, Portobello Road +
May date to be agreed but probably the 2nd Sunday in Portobello Road.

+ 13th June - Kensington & Chelsea NO2ID Street Stall, Constitution Group Conference +
Saturday 13th June The British Constitution Group Conference at Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ

+ 20th June - Kensington & Chelsea NO2ID Street Stall, TUC Conference Hall +
Saturday, 20th June 09:30-16:30 at TUC Conference Hall, Congress House, 23-28 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS

+ 21st June - Kensington & Chelsea NO2ID Street Stall, Earl�s Court +
Sunday, 21st June Earl�s Court Street Fair

July date to be agreed but probably the 2nd Sunday in Portobello Road. It is with regret we will not be able to attend Levellers� Day in Burford this year. All offers of help will be gratefully received (kensington@no2id.net).

+ Kingston-Upon-Thames +

+ 25th April - Kingston NO2ID Meeting +
Saturday, 25th April 4pm at the Kingston Mill, 58-62 High Street, Kingston, Surrey, KT1 1HN. For more details contact Charlotte Turner at (kingston@no2id.net). If you are interested in the work of the Kingston group or planning on attending the meeting, please join the Kingston-Upon-Thames mailing list here: http://lists.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.kingston-upon-thames

+ Lanark +

+ 10th May - Lanark NO2ID 1st Meeting +
Sunday, 10th May 3pm at the Cydesdale Inn in Lanark. Dr Geraint Bevan the Scottish coordinator for NO2ID Scotland will be present. The informal meeting will concentrate on how to raise awareness of the NO2ID campaign in and around Lanark, and seek to provide answears to any questions the attendees may have about ID cards and the database state.

+ Leicester +

+ 29th April - Leicester NO2ID Meeting +
Wednesday, 29th April 8pm in The Blues pub on Uplands Road/Severn Road corner in Oadby.

+ Manchester +

+ 1st May - Mark Thomas gig, Warrington +
Friday, 1st May 8pm at the Parr Hall in Warrington. Comedian and activist Mark Thomas has invited NO2ID to help out at his gig. We will need around five volunteers. If you're free to be in Warrington on 1st May, and prepared to spend your evening helping out and listening to a satirical comedian, supporting the NO2ID campaign and having fun, then please contact Dave on north.west@no2id.net
http://manchester.no2id.net/content/mark-thomas-its-stupid-economy-gig-warrington

+ 6th May - Manchester Students Against ID AGM +
Wednesday, 6th May 7pm in the Jabez Clegg pub. Items for discussion include the executive committee positions for the September 2009 academic year, campaigns and activities, and Fresher's Fair. All welcome, even if you're not an existing member of the society.
http://manchester.no2id.net/content/students-against-id-agm

+ 9th May - Manchester NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 9th May 2pm-4pm in St. Ann's Square in Manchester City Centre (down near the big Marks and Spencer), to raise awareness among the public and engage people in discussion about the National Identity Register. We'll be collecting signatures for the NO2ID petition to keep people in touch with the campaign. 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!
http://manchester.no2id.net/content/street-stall-may-2009

+ 13th May - Manchester NO2ID Monthly Meeting +
Wednesday, 13th May 2009 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. We are always looking for volunteers to take and type up minutes from our meetings; it's an easy way to help the campaign! The Town Hall Tavern serves reasonably-priced, good quality food until 9pm so you don't need to pop home for tea - you can even order your meal brought up to the function room.
http://manchester.no2id.net/content/monthly-meeting-may-2009

+ Norwich +

+ 24th April - Norwich NO2ID Stall at Mark Thomas Event at The Playhouse +
Friday, 24th April sees Mark Thomas bringing his political comedy to Norwich. He has helpfully agreed to let us put a stand up to inform people about the cause, starting 7pm-8pm and then after the show 10pm-11pm approx.

+ 9th May - Norwich NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 9th May from 1pm until 3pm at The Haymarket on Gentleman's Walk. Show your support for the campaign by spreading the word to the general public. We're also neatly positioned to sample the manifold delights of The Puppet Man, if you so desire.

+ 12th May - Norwich NO2ID Group Meeting +
Tuesday, 12th May at The Workshop (opposite The Black Horse) on Earlham Road from 7.30pm-9pm. Action stations! Support is steadily building in the Norwich area. We're preparing a range of events, talks, debates and activities and would like you to come along to participate. Everybody welcome from newbie to expert.

If you are interested in the work of the Norwich group, please join their mailing list on: http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.norwich

+ Oxford +

We now have a date for our summer event - this will be on the evening of Thursday 25 June, so put it in your diary now. We are in the process of confirming the panel for this, but rest assured there will be some well-known speakers.

+ 25th April - NO2ID Oxford Street Stall +
Saturday, 25th April in East Oxford from noon until 2pm. If you'd like to help with this, contact Jim (gadjie at gmail.com) who is organising it. This is our most important activity and the best way to raise awareness, so come and lend a hand!

+ 25th April - Faringdon Peace Group �TAKING LIBERTIES� event +
Saturday, 25th April 2-6pm at the Corn Exchange, Faringdon. Admission free. All welcome. Refreshments. An afternoon of speeches and debate on the theme of the erosion of our civil liberties. Speakers: Tony Benn, Henry Porter, Scilla Elworthy, Derek Wall and Ed Vaizey MP. Chair: Malcolm Harper. More information from Jennie Chesterton 01367-710308, or Karen Vogt 01367-241707 or email karen@vogt.org.uk

+ 7th May - Oxford NO2ID Meeting +
Thursday, 7th May from 8pm at the Mitre on the High Street.

See the website for more: http://no2id-oxford.org.uk/

+ Reading +

+ 25th April - Reading NO2ID Street Stall +
Saturday, 25h April 11am-2pm on Broad Street.

+ Sheffield +

+ 6th May - Sheffield NO2ID Meeting (1st Wednesday of month) +
Wednesday, 6th May at 7.30pm upstairs at The Harlequin Pub, 108 Nursery St, Sheffield, S3 8GG (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=s3+8gg). The plan is to carry on meeting on the first Wednesday of every month. We hope to welcome along all those who wished to come to the first meeting but were not able!

+ York +

+ 29th April - York NO2ID Meeting +
Wednesday, 29th April 7.30 pm at the Black Swan, Peasholme Green York YO1 7PR. The newly formed York NO2ID group will be holding their second informal meeting to discuss plans for future activities. Everyone is welcome, whether vaguely interested or deeply committed.

"ID" in the news

+ Pupils on school buses can now be tracked by parents thanks to GPS tickets - Daily Mail 22/4/09 +
A new satellite system has been launched which will allow parents and teachers to keep closer tabs on schoolchildren. Peter Daniels, of Denbighshire County Council, said: 'The system is actually very secure. There's no information on the cards that the pupils will be given themselves. It's all held on a database and it's obviously governed by data protection'.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1172531/Pupils-school-buses-tracked-parents-thanks-GPS-tickets.html

+ Spy chiefs size up net snoop gear - The Register 21/4/09 +
The security minister has confirmed officials are considering installing technology that could enable on-demand wiretapping of all communications passing over the internet by the intelligence services and law enforcement.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/21/imp_dpi/

+ ID card 'chip and PIN' proposal raises security fears - ZDNet 16/4/09 +
The government has proposed adding chip-and-PIN capabilities to ID cards, but questions remain over whether such a move would be beneficial � or even possible � at this late stage in the £4.7bn project.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39640836,00.htm

+ Audit Commission criticises data quality - e-Health insider 16/4/09 +
A report published by the Audit Commission has concluded that data quality is still �often not what it needs to be to meet the demands now being placed upon it.� The report, Figures You Can Trust: Data Quality in the NHS, says that although there have been some improvements since its 2004 report on Data Quality, its conclusions are still �largely relevant� because there has been �limited progress.�
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/4756/audit_commission_criticises_data_quality

+ UK's visa fingerprint system fails - The Register 15/4/09 +
The UK Border Agency, which became fully independent this month, is already celebrating its first technology failure - the system by which applicants for UK visas must send their fingerprints to London for checking went down last week.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/15/visa_finger_problems/

+ My £1 run-in with the Met's Oyster car squad - Daily Mail 11/4/09 +
They wanted ID. I produced a credit card, a Press card, a business card for this newspaper and, to top it all, a Matalan card. How amazingly normal could I be? But it wasn�t good enough. By now I was mystified. And late. And annoyed. �We want a driving licence or a passport.�
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1169360/SUZANNE-MOORE-My-1-run-Mets-Oyster-car-squad.html

+ Are passport fees paying for ID cards? - Computer Weekly 8/4/09 +
So as more money is spent on ID cards the cost must be recovered from fees. It is politically unacceptable to charge too much for ID cards; few people would want to buy them. But the market for new and replacement passports is big and captive. There is also the potential to charge the public to have changes of addresses made on the new systems.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/04/08/235570/are-passport-fees-paying-for-id-cards.htm

+ UKBA to exchange fingerprints with US - The Register 3/4/09 +
The organisation, which gained full executive agency status on 1 April 2009, says in a business plan issued on the same day that it plans to work with the USA, Canada and Australia to "introduce a system of appropriate data protection arrangements for fingerprint checks and data sharing". This is intended to help identify and bar foreign criminals from entering the country, and is planned for "early 2009".
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/04/03/ukba_overseas_fingerprint_exchange/

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

Publication details: © NO2ID 2010 - 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.
Newsletter Archive