26 April 2007
Many thanks to those of you who
have already sent our ID questionnaire [see newsletter 69] to your candidates
for the local, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections on May 3rd.
We've had encouraging reports of responses from across the
The most straightforward way to do this is to write a letter to your local
paper or (if you're a member of a local group) to issue a press release
summarising the responses. You don't need to publish an exhaustive list, but
should be prepared to provide more detail if the media get back to you.
What you need is a headline figure and, preferably, one good quote. For
example, what did people write in the 'further comments' section and, of the
responses you received, how many candidates expressed opposition to the ID
scheme? E.g. "92% of prospective councillors oppose lifelong ID
tracking" or "4 out of 5 representatives oppose ID charges for council
services". Make sure you get your maths right and try to keep your letter
to 3 or 4 paragraphs at most.
If you're really having difficulty writing something, you can ask us for help.
Send an e-mail with a breakdown of your results to press@no2id.net
It's not too late to join in.
As this is largely about raising awareness, it is still worth surveying your
candidates. Some may never have been asked their views on ID. You can download
a copy of the ID questionnaire from the front page of our website - www.no2id.net -
and, after the elections, see if your representatives stick to what they said
once they are in office...
If you live in
There is a lot of potential. The Welsh Assembly has already passed a motion
against ID cards, and we look forward to an even stronger showing from AMs in
the new Assembly. The Welsh police forces are consulting the public on the
retention of DNA samples from innocent people, and we would also like to
get involved with that.
Please contact local.groups@no2id.net if you want to make it
happen.
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). If you can help to
set up a local group in one of the remaining towns then please contact us at (office@no2id.net). There is also a
detailed discussion of the interrogation centres on our forum (http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=13329)
NO2ID Edinburgh has resumed its regular Princes Street
campaigning stall on Saturdays - east end of Princes Street, opposite the
Balmoral Hotel, from 1pm - 3pm. 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 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/
Cambridge NO2ID will be running a street stall outside
Cambridge Guildhall from
Tuesday, 1st May
Tuesday, 1st May
Wednesday, 9th May,
Monday, 14th May,
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=N1+2LY&spn=0.005,0.02&hl=en
What better place to meet on a sunny evening than a lovely beer garden. We'll be having an informal meeting about forthcoming events and ways to highlight the campaign in the local area. All welcome.
Highbury NO2ID now has a new email mailing list - sign up
today to chat with present group members and meet new supporters in the local
area. To subscribe visit http://www.no2id.net/mailman/listinfo/no2id.highbury
Saturday, 19th May - Kensington NO2ID is organising a stall
at this event, which has been a festival of radical politics since 1975. Event
details from the Levellers Day web page (www.levellers.org.uk/levellers-day.htm). Volunteers to help,
please contact Jill Mannasseh of Kensington NO2ID (kensington@no2id.net)
Tue, 29th May
Volunteers needed to man the stall for 2 hour shifts from
Friday, 8th June
We have now managed to track down the location of 56 out of
the total 69 ID interrogation centres around the country. We already know 3 of
the remaining 13 locations are places where the UK Identity and Passport
Service (UKIPS) has so far failed to find anywhere suitable. Thanks go to Chris
Rimmer and all of the supporters who have helped us track down the centres.
There is a detailed discussion on the NO2ID forum about the centres at http://forum.no2id.net/viewtopic.php?t=13329
Manchester NO2ID has produced a special flyer targetted at
the local election on May 3rd. Councillors will be elected in over 30 wards to
Manchester City Council and the group will be giving Mancunians the information
they need to vote on the ID issue. Three motions have been put before the
council in recent years opposing ID cards but three times they have been voted
down by the pro-database Labour majority. Manchester NO2ID has also set up a
local election 2007 web page at http://manchester.no2id.net/le2007.html
with the latest views and comments from your candidates.
The psychology of security was the subject of Bruce
Schneier's packed keynote address to the 2007 Infosecurity Europe conference in
A petition has been set up on the
Another petition on the
The issue (or lack) of the latest ID cards six-monthly cost
report was raised in parliament this week. David Heath MP asked Jack Straw:
"may we have a debate on printing facilities in the Home Office and
whether they are fit for purpose? The Home Office is obliged by law to lay
before the House at six-monthly intervals a report on the costs of ID cards.
That has not been done. The deadline has been breached". The
production of a 6-monthly report is something the Secretary of State
"must" do - interesting that there is no penalty when the government
breaks its own law.
Two interesting interviews on Radio 4’s “Today” programme on
26th April about the security breach that published junior doctors’ personal
details on the Internet. Also covered are the security of the Summary Care
Record and the ID card database.
http://www.no2id.net/news/newsblog/?p=578
The "acceptable risk" for security at the 2012
London Olympics is that "no one gets killed", says the chairman of
the Parliamentary Olympic Group. He talked about London Transport Oyster cards
or Nokia mobiles being used as identity cards.
http://tinyurl.com/2ab9ue
The Spanish authorities have been clamping down on British
citizens who, whilst residing in
http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_headlines.php?id=1233
The Home Secretary has stuck to the Government's plans for
identity cards in a recent interview on GMTV. John Reid said: "We cannot
effectively control immigration, track who's coming into the country, who's
leaving the country; we cannot counter fraud, where people are trying to steal
your money from your bank account, or steal your other assets; and we cannot
counter terrorism unless we have a good, effective system of identity.
http://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/newsdetails.aspx?NewsArticleID=6861&imgID=1
The
http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/NEWS08/704250332
A private investigation firm has pleaded guilty to obtaining
and selling personal information on customers from the Department for Work and
Pensions. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it had successfully
prosecuted Infofind for illegally "blagging" the personal details of
over 250 individuals from the department.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/24/dwp_pretexting/
Science and technology minister Malcolm Wicks has suggested
that tracking technology could help people with Alzheimer's to be more
independent. Satellite technology could be used to help people with Alzheimer's
and vascular dementia to live independently, Wicks told the Commons Science and
Technology Committee.
http://tinyurl.com/yplp8s
(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.
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