15 February 2007
'TAKE A HIKE, TONY'
New campaign promotes passport *applications* before April 2007.
On Monday 19th February NO2ID launches a new campaign called "Take a hike, Tony". We need your help to get the message out. If you scroll down to the end of this newsletter, you will find the text of an e-mail that explains what action people need to take and why.
Please copy and paste this text into an e-mail of your own and forward it to your friends, family and colleagues - in fact anyone with whom you might normally exchange e-mail. Write a letter about it to your local paper. Post it on forums, MySpace, Facebook, etc. to which you contribute, so long as this doesn't break their rules or 'netiquette'.
The campaign aims to get as many (young) people as possible to apply for their first adult passport BEFORE April 2007, so they can avoid the upcoming ID interrogations.
The e-mail at the bottom of this newsletter is, however, something you can send to people of ALL ages. Most people will know someone to whom it is directly relevant, and we hope that the 'viral' effect will take hold and propagate the message to those who need to hear it - approximately 300,000 16-24 year olds, just for starters...
Thanks in advance for your prompt action. The sooner we get the message out, the sooner the it will begin to spread. Other organisations are already doing likewise.
What's next?
Join in: London-wide practical activities
NO2ID is setting up a group for people who want to do practical things London to help the campaign. "ID-action" will be a reserve list of people who are willing to go out on regular evening and weekend sorties to leaflet events, help local groups to man stalls, or target other places where groups of people gather. (An example would be the successful pub crawls organised by Hackney's Martin Twomey to publicise the fingerprinting in pubs schemes backed by the Home Office.) It should be informal and fun, a commitment of 2 or 3 hours once or twice a month to a sociable activity.
If that sounds like something for you, please go to http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/id-action and join the list. If you think you could lead and manage id-action teams please contact Guy Herbert
Local groups
We now have a new local group in Thurrock (contact thurrock@no2id.net). We have groups in 36 of the 69 locations of ID interrogation centres. If you can help to set up a local group in one of the remaining towns then please contact us at (office@no2id.net). A full list of local groups can be found at (www.no2id.net/localGroups), a list of the interrogation centres can be found at (www.no2id.net/getInvolved/idCentres.php) , there is also a detailed discussion of the interrogation centres on our forum (http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=13329)
Saturdays - NO2ID Cambridge campaign stall
Cambridge NO2ID will be running Saturday street stalls outside Cambridge Guildhall from 10am onwards on Saturday 10th March and Saturday 7th April. Location Map: 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 Christmas and Hogmanay NO2ID Edinburgh has resumed its regular Princes Street stall. The usual location is at the east end of Princes Street, opposite the Balmoral Hotel, from 1pm - 3pm. We raise public awareness of the Identity Cards scheme, collect donations and entries for the NO2ID petition, and aim to increase membership of our group. Please do pop by for a chat if you happen to be around. We aim to have the stall up and running most Saturdays, and new volunteers are always very welcome. You can see photos of our stall and group contact details at: www.no2id-scotland.net/edinburgh/
1st Tuesday of the month - Hackney NO2ID meets (next meeting: Tuesday 6th March)
The Hackney local group covering London E8, E5, E9 & N16 areas at 7:30 in Cafe Bohemia by Hackney Central Station. New support very welcome. Join our active campaigning over the coming months
20th February - Glasgow NO2ID meeting
Tuesday, 20th February at 7:30pm in Mono. Map: www.glasgow-no2id.org.uk/meeting.html
22nd February - Manchester NO2ID meeting
Thursday, 22nd February 7pm at the Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester. After a long Christmas break, we'll be discussing getting our campaign back on its feet, making more of an impression on the local media, forging stronger links with local parties and unions, organising events and involving Manchester Students Against ID more closely.
28th February - Swindon NO2ID meeting
Wednesday, 28th February 28th 7.30pm at The George (note change from usual venue) Eastcott Hill, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 3JG. Please come. We need all the help we can get. For more information contact swindon@no2id.net
8th March - NO2ID Edinburgh meeting
Thursday, 8 March 7.00-9.00 pm at The Library, Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL. Street map: (http://tinyurl.com/lubac). Light refreshments available. The Edinburgh NO2ID group will continue planning to intensify its campaigning. With the forthcoming elections for the Scottish Parliament, where all the parties apart from Labour have declared themselves against ID cards, with the imminent opening of the local ID Interrogation Centre and with the continuing farce of the Scottish National Entitlement Card, there is plenty for members to get their teeth into. All are welcome.
23rd March - NO2ID Norwich: Public Meeting
Friday, 23rd March 2007 7pm-9pm at Hellesdon Community Centre, Middleton Lane, Hellesdon NR6 5SR. Norwich NO2ID will be holding a public meeting, speaker details TBC. All are welcome. Map: http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?pc=NR65SR
24th March - Glasgow NO2ID Comedy Gala Benefit
Saturday, 24th March 8pm until late at the Old Fruitmarket. In what is sure to be one of the highlights of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, some of Britain's top comedians and comediennes will be performing in a NO2ID benefit gala. Tickets are on sale now! Phone 0870 013 5464 or buy your tickets on-line at http://www.secxtra.com/Action/WhatsOnSearch?EventId=BENEF07
More details at http://www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com/acts/no2id.htm
What just happened?
Hackney campaigners drink for freedom
Last week the Hackney group held a pub crawl to distribute flyers and beermats. As well as ID cards the group were highlighting the issue of fingerprinting in pubs. Hackney co-ordinator Martin Twomey said: "We got a very good reception from landlords and punters and got several pages of petitions signed. The management were also happy to take a stock of beer mats." A street opinion poll is lined up for Saturday 24th in three locations around the borough.
See newsletter 58 for more information of fingerprinting in pubs at www.no2id.net/news/newsletters/newsletter.php?issue=58
Swindon public meeting highlights depth of concern
Lord Stoddart and Michael Wills MP joined a cross party panel in Swindon on Tuesday(13th February) to debate 'Whose Identity is it Anyway?' Party representatives pledged to the audience that they would work towards the repeal of the ID card act if elected. Lord Stoddart called those present to remember that the government was there to serve the people, not the opposite. The depth of concern in the audience surprised even the organizers.
Conservatives launch campaign against ID cards
Last week the Conservative party launched its 'Bad IDea' campaign, vowing to scrap ID cards if it wins the next election. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis wrote to Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary warning him of the financial dangers of contracts to set up the scheme. The Conservatives have not emphasised that they will also remove the National Identity Register, the database behind the ID scheme. The data-sharing agenda that goes along with it is the central problem. It is vital that we continue to stress that there is much more to it than a card.
See the NO2ID forum for more information on data sharing at http://forum.no2id.net/viewforum.php?f=57
China - The shape of things to come?
"Anyone can now send a text message or visit the country's population information centre's website, to check if the name and the ID number of a person's identity card match," the official news agency Xinhua reported on 9 February. "If they do match, the ID cardholder's picture also appears." Looking on the bright side, Xinhua points out that open access will help to "correct mistakes if an individual discovers that their name, number and picture don't match". Perhaps that is just as well. Last year, a Beijing newspaper revealed that about a million people in China have "overlapping" ID card numbers. This heroic blunder was probably due to a switch from 15 digits to 18. Completed at the end of 2006, China's Population Information Database is the world's largest, containing data on 1.3 billion citizens.
Biometrics "breach human dignity" - Austrian Supreme Court
Biometric checks can constitute an affront to human dignity, the Austrian Supreme Court has ruled. It was giving the final judgement on a biometric system for clocking in and out of a workplace. The "intensity of intervention and control" within these systems makes them different to more "usual" work time checks, such as punchcards, the court found. But it did add the rider that the intrusion was disproportionate to the aims pursued - so the ruling is not necessarily applicable to other, less trivial use of biometrics such as in passports or ID cards. Nevertheless, this is the first time that the highest court in an EU country has found biometrics to be demeaning. The judgement means that biometric timekeeping now requires the prior agreement of Austria's workplace-level industrial democracy bodies, the works councils. That consent is unlikely to be given. In the view of one leading consultant, the case "basically means the end of biometric timekeeping systems". In Austria, at least.
EU data retention directive under fire
Concern over trends in EU-wide data legislation has led the Electronic Frontier Foundation to open a Brussels office. "Europe is at the forefront of policy developments that threaten Internet users' freedom," said EFF International Affairs Director Gwen Hinze. In Germany and Austria, meanwhile, opposition is growing to the new EU directive imposing the retention of phone, e-mail and web traffic data for up to two years. The Austrian Internet providers' association says the measure would cost "millions" to implement in Austria alone, and is in any case technically ill-conceived. In Germany, the e-business federation BVDW has joined a 35-organisation alliance opposing the changes needed to bring German law into line with the EU directive. The BVDW says the data retention rules would infringe customer privacy and cause "immense costs" for Internet commerce. This might shift business to countries outside the EU. 10,000 Germans have declared their support for a complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court on the civil rights and privacy implications of the new law. The European Court of Justice is examining a complaint from the Irish government over the procedure used for approving the directive.
ID in the news
US: House panel says national ID cards violate rights - The Salt Lake Tribune 14/2/07
Some lawmakers want Utah to go on record opposing the federal REAL ID Act that makes states implement a national identity card. A House committee on Tuesday passed a resolution urging Congress to repeal or suspend enforcement of the Act.
http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_5223627
Australia: Heading for an identity crisis - The Australian 12/2/07
That lumbering, cosmic political wheel has turned a half revolution and yes, it's groundhog day again. Just as with the Australia Card, the claims made to support the Government's access card proposal are nebulous, speculative and almost fact-free.
http://tinyurl.com/2uzy6f
A cracking row over ID card lobbying for us all to savour - The Times 10/2/07
A blazing row broke out this week between the Conservative Party and the IT industry. Though it has a critically important bearing on the government policy at issue — Labour’s compulsory identity card scheme — this row is really about our unwritten constitution.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article1361785.ece
Health Select Committee outlines NPfIT inquiry - eHealth Insider 9/2/07
The House of Commons Health Committee has announced details of what it intends to look into as part of its inquiry into the NHS National Programme of IT.At a meeting this week, the committee said that the NPfIT inquiry will focus on current progress on the development of the NHS care records service and the national data spine - and why delivery of the new systems is up to two years behind schedule.
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/item.cfm?ID=2471
Dangers of the UK Borders Bill - Institue of Race Relations 8/2/07
The UK Borders Bill, which had its second reading on 5 February 2007, continues the trend of previous legislation, giving immigration officers further powers, decreasing the rights of those subject to immigration control and creating further duties and penalties for them.
Under the Bill, anyone subject to immigration control must have a biometric ID card.
http://www.irr.org.uk/2007/february/ha000021.html
New blow to ID card microchip - The Mirror 7/2/07
Identity microchips in new 10-year electronic passports are only guaranteed for two years, it was revealed yesterday. The revelation about ePassports is another blow to planned ID cards which use the same technology.
http://tinyurl.com/36rw7t
Schools warned on fingerprinting - BBC News Online 7/2/07
Schools will be urged to seek parents' permission before taking children's fingerprints, under new guidelines.But calls to outlaw the controversial practice altogether have been rejected by the government.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6336799.stm
**** 'TAKE A HIKE, TONY' EMAIL TEXT *********
COPY FROM BELOW THIS LINE TO END
This is real - and it could affect you, your friends or family members.
Before you think this as a hoax chain mail, it's not. I checked with the Passport Office after hearing it.
If you are 16 or over and haven't yet got a ten-year adult passport, then you should apply for one BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF APRIL 2007. And if you have a friend or family member in this position then let them know, quick!
This is why:
On March 26th this year, the Identity and Passport Service (did you even know they'd changed the name?) opens some new offices as part of the build up to the ID card scheme that the government wants to introduce. By the end of the year there will be 69 of these interrogation centres, and people applying for their first adult passport from April 2007 will the guinea-pigs for a process the government is calling "Authentication by Interview".
There's NOTHING in it for you - though the government is currently spending lots of taxpayers money trying to tell young people there is.
All the information collected will be kept on file for ever. It will certainly end up more expensive than the £66 passports currently cost, too, since you'll have to pay for officials to gather a dossier on you and the perform an "intrusive interview" as part of the price - as well as losing a day of your life to visit an interrogation centre.
If you want to know more about how things will work once the system is in place, please scroll down.
If you care about your freedoms, and not having government officials poking around in your private life - or your friends' and family's - then please apply for your first adult passport BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF APRIL 2007, and pass this message on.
You could save yourself or someone close to you a lot of trouble.
--
How ID interrogations will work:
When you apply for a passport you will be asked to give lots of information about yourself: official numbers, addresses for the last few years, your educational institutions, that sort of thing. And you'll sign to declare that it's the truth.
That information will be used to look up everything that can be found out about you on all the government and private sector databases they can lay their hands on: school records, social services, police, credit checking, perhaps family details... to build a single dossier on you containing personal information. "Data-rape", some people call it.
First a few people, then every new applicant, will be called in to their nearest interrogation centre. There you will be fingerprinted and photographed (once they have installed the equipment), and put through an "intrusive interview" - the government's own words - to check that you can give answers about private details of your life that agree with the official ones. If you can, you'll get your passport. If not... it is not clear, but trying to get a passport under 'false pretenses' - if the computer says "no" - could be quite serious. If nothing else, it will mean delay and more intrusion.
In fact, the government has already estimated that 1 in 4 people who apply under this new procedure will have to cancel their trip because they don't get their passport in time.
The government's plan is that all passports will be issued like this eventually. But you can take simple action now to keep off the database for ten years. And ALL opposition parties have now promised to abolish the ID scheme - so if you escape for 10 years, you may escape for ever.
If you haven't got one already, get yourself a full ten-year passport now. As long as you apply before many interrogation centres are open, and the system is fully operational, your chances of avoiding data-rape are good. And by doing so you help to stop the same thing happening to everyone else by telling Tony Blair and his bullying government to "Take a hike".
For more information on the progress of passport procedures, check out http://www.renewforfreedom.org - the Identity and Passport Service website currently tells you very little.
Get a passport NOW. And tell your friends, if you think their private lives should be their own.
Publication details: © NO2ID 2010 - This document may be freely redistributed
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