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WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Reynolds on Thu 06 Nov 2008 04:56 PM GMT | Permanent Link | Cosmos

Jacqui Smith says public demand means people will be able to pre-register for an ID card within the next few months.
The cards will be available for all from 2012 but she said: "I regularly have people coming up to me and saying they don't want to wait that long."

The fuck!?

"Please Jacqui - let me pay you £30 or more so that you can store my data on a huge database that will almost certainly not go missing (unlike many, many other cases of dataloss) all so that you can catch those nasty, nasty terrorists. I'm more than happy to have £50.1 billion of my tax money going into this scheme rather than into, I dunno, the NHS".

When is it we can get to vote this shower of fools out of government?

Here is my statement of intent :

I refuse to carry any national ID card that is based around a national database and would rather go to prison than submit to this attack on my privacy and security. They will have to get my biometric data* by force and I will shred any ID card of this type that I am sent.

I would rather emigrate (And I love London and the UK) than be forced into this scheme of waste and evil. I will vote for any political party that guarantees scrapping this white elephant.

*Which is still hideously flawed and throws up too many false positives and negatives. To be fully informed please visit No 2 ID.

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Comments

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Adrian Jones at 05:02PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

Well, apparently NO2ID have got Wacky Jacqui's dabs already...

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Joan at 05:10PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

And elephant throw-up is going to make a HUGE mess...

Well, the US is going to be somewhat less awful, and we ticket anyone who gets in the way of an emergency vehicle. Just, you know, a thought.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Flipping Heck! at 05:45PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

Hear hear!

I think Ms. Smith must be on a little planet of her own. I'd like to know exactly who has been approaching her (and how they got around her entourage) - has the local mental hospital reported any missing patients recently?

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Ketherian at 07:39PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

The Last Enemy has been airing here in Canada/US over the last few weeks. It deals with this topic directly (in a London where the system's in place and the database is massive, everyone has an id card, etc). And it's a good story to boot.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by si99 at 07:46PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

This really is the limit. And the depressing thing is no matter what name the governing party will go by this will be legislation. For 15 or so years I've had the feeling this wasn't the country I was born in....'Will the last out please turn off the lights...'

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Bevan at 09:15PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

"I would rather emigrate (And I love London and the UK) than be forced into this scheme of waste and evil.!"

My husband and I *are* emigrating, and our timescales have been entirely set by the timescales of the ID cards. The idea of all of my personal details being on a database which is only as secure as the idiot who copies it onto a datastick is one I will not even entertain.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Vetnurse at 09:31PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

Wonder if we could send a photo of a dog and say a dna scrape from a passing feral cat along with the fingerprint of a drunk and have a retina photo taken with a fancy lens in the eye and see if they produce an id card with those biometrics. The worrying thing is they probably would :-))

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by EmT Vessel at 10:24PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

So much for the magna carta eh?
FFS! silly bint.

Mark Thomas for prime minister, i say!

Emigrate! You know you want to...

by NZ Monkey at 10:32PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

If you're planning to emigrate, New Zealand will have you! Happily in fact - we need more medical personnel. You may have to change WoW servers though....

Re: Emigrate! You know you want to...

by NZ Monkey at 10:39PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

Also, we're mostly CCTV camera free. :)

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by olix at 10:58PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

I moved to away from Scotland 5 years ago, with the intention of eventually returning to the UK. However, I am currently in the process of giving up my British nationality, this is something that makes me sad, but I prefer to give up my nationality of birth rather than trust the Blair/Brown establishment with any more of my details. I agree with you 100% Tom - any data they get from me will be through force, any ID card I receive from them will be shredded. Who on earth are these people Jacqui Smith has been talking to? *Everyone* I know back in the UK is against ID cards and as far as I can tell so are pretty much all of the people who are experts in counter-terrorism, the kindest thing I've heard any of them say so far is that they wouldn't be any use.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Paul at 11:23PM (GMT) on Nov 6, 2008 | Permanent Link

I fully agree with you there. If it gets that bad I might just emigrate myself.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by quixote at 12:03AM (GMT) on Nov 7, 2008 | Permanent Link

(A bit tangential: I'm very interested in biometrics from a scientific standpoint, being a biologist who did quite a bit of morphometric work. So I'd like to learn more about the failures of biometrics as ID systems. I scanned the No2ID site, but I didn't see any links to that kind of information. If it's easy for you, could you list a link or two? Otherwise, I do realize that Google can be my friend. :) )

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Vic at 10:37AM (GMT) on Nov 7, 2008 | Permanent Link

I so much look forward to having all my personal data being left on a train by some spotty civil servant herbert.

Procedures may be in place, but (unlike computers) people don't do exactly as they are told.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Matt at 11:12AM (GMT) on Nov 7, 2008 | Permanent Link

I'm actual in Favour of an ID scheme it seems I might be in the minority on here. Sadly I have no faith in the ability of this Government or future governments bringing the scheme live without major faults/holes & on budget.

But I did have to laugh at NO2ID site and there claim a massive 50 categorise to be on the NIR(register) as far as I can see the government has all this info currently on me anyway except the Bio data link my physical persona with my paper persona

Info to be on NIR as a British national would (1)Name, (2)DOB, (3)Place of birth, (4)Gender, (5)Address, (6)Bio Info, (7)Nationality, (8)Passport Number, (9)Driving licence number. Not sure where they got the 50 categorise from??

other info would be historical on card issuing losses & changes to NIR database or supporting evidence on work permits if not a British national.

The above is read from Schedule 1 of the Act of parliament that NO2ID site links to

Re: Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Nick at 02:13PM (GMT) on Nov 7, 2008 | Permanent Link

Matt,

Your right about the information, it is the same that is on a passport and like a passport you can only have one (as a British National) if you apply. They are not compulsory. Yes some jobs will require them so that’s about half a percent of the population covered.

Tom you already carry a government id card and actually have 2 with all but biometric data on (driving license, NHS).

Anything else regarding national id cards, including being made to show them will require a new primary law (Act of Parliament). If you have a passport which has biometric details on it already there is no change.
The NO2ID website has more mistakes on it than the government makes, and that’s saying something!

Re: Re: Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Reynolds at 07:09AM (GMT) on Nov 8, 2008 | Permanent Link

The simple question is this - do you trust the government with all this data being centralised - and then do you trust every other successive government?

How about if the BNP get elected in, would you be happy with *them* holding all this data on you in one easily searched (and lost) database?

Perhaps you need to explain to me what the benefit in having such a database is - after all it will cost us all a pretty penny and put us more at risk of identity theft.

So why have it when it is obvious that it won't stop the things that the government claims it will?

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by hairyfatboy at 12:12PM (GMT) on Nov 7, 2008 | Permanent Link

What bothers me most is not so much the card itself, but more the way in which they propose to issue them. A news article I heard yesterday suggested the Government were considering using Post Offices and other high street stores to enrol people on the system. As someone with a professional interest in Immigration and Border Security, I have grave concerns that genuine ID cards will be issued on the back of stolen/forged/counterfeit passports or other ID. The reason applicants for new UK passports now have to attend an interview is to combat just this type of fraud - if WHSmith are going to be handing out ID cards along with your morning newspaper then the new UK Border Agency might as well just throw in the towel now...

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by EmT Vessel at 09:32PM (GMT) on Nov 7, 2008 | Permanent Link

The basic premis is that it should make life harder for terrorists.
Ye Gods! If we only had terrorists to combat life'd be comparitively simple.
Anyway the modern terrorist has a brand new style passport in his/her back pocket before Joe Bloggs has even applied for one.

I may have various bits of i.d. but i do not always carry it with me.
If i so wished i should be able to walk in to any b&b, pay by cash and remain anonymous. Not for any security reason but just to escape from reality for maybe a few hours. A day or two.
It is legal and hurts no one but that kinda basic right that harms no other could become illegal if no i.d. is carried.
Big Brother is becoming too much of a reality for my liking.
I have no secrets but i have my private thoughts and i do not wish to be questioned about everything i do and say with legal implications.
If i randomly wish to do a day trip of a few hundred miles then i should be able to do so without intervention from Her Majesty's Govt. and it's cronies.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by StoryGuy at 02:09AM (GMT) on Nov 8, 2008 | Permanent Link

I want an ID card, they had em during the war, I have no probs with it. So they keep info on me big deal, it'll help id me, and help me in my daily life proving who i am instead of the current, passport, driving license, bills with your current address etc

Re: Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Reynolds at 07:04AM (GMT) on Nov 8, 2008 | Permanent Link

They did indeed have ID cards during the war - so did Germany. How do you think they knew who was Jewish or not?

A physical card isn't too much of a worry, but tying it into a gigantic national database is a recipe for disaster, especially if you rely on biometrics. If someone steals your biometric data it's not like you can change it - not without introducing your fingers to some acid.

Re: Re: Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by StoryGuy at 01:32PM (GMT) on Nov 10, 2008 | Permanent Link

But this is not Nazi Germany, as the next post states people need id now, and which id changes from circumstance to circumstance so I'd rather have one. I am not out to commit id fraud and I hope my data will be safe, but as there are already so many databases unregulated ones that have my details atm I have to trust this one will have safeguards.

Re: Re: Re: Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Reynolds at 05:35PM (GMT) on Nov 10, 2008 | Permanent Link

It's not Nazi Germany *yet*. But who is to say if the next government, or the one after that, doesn't take a distinct turn down that route?

And your logic about unsecure databases is flawed - If one window of your house is insecure, leaving your front door open does not mean that the chances of a theft are the same.

'I *hope* my data will be safe' is a bit of a jump for something that will cost us all loads of money and will not provide any benefit at all beyond the convenience of not having to provide a paper bill or some such.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Matt at 10:21AM (GMT) on Nov 10, 2008 | Permanent Link

Let's be honest they are coming & will in the end be the primary peace of Id used in years to come & nearly everyone will have one. Not through government pushing but by virtue of ease. I see that opening a bank account, new mobile, new job, booking a holiday, getting insurance or any other situation needing Id would be one stop with Id card or bring fifteen other types & wait a week for confirmation. People cant wait for anything nowadays so the instant & ease of Id cards will mean people in the future will wondered how we operated without them.

Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by PeteBassMan at 07:12PM (GMT) on Nov 10, 2008 | Permanent Link

I could not agree with you more. Our Privicy is being attacked and violated from all directions.
This ranges from the likes of BT harvesting peoples internet data and passing it to an agency for analysis, through to this government who seem determine to lay everybody's business but their own bare.

The amount of data mining that will be required to get anything remotely useful about potential terrorist attacks from these databases is much worse than finding a "needle in a haystack". I fail to see how adding more hay to it will improve things.

I will now climb down from my soapbox. :))

ps - what do you do with all the private (but probably inaccurate) data you collect when making people sign-up before issuing a comment? Pot, kettle, black? :)))

Re: Re: WTF, And A Statement Of Intent

by Reynolds at 12:03PM (GMT) on Nov 11, 2008 | Permanent Link

To be honest, I thought that I'd never get to see any of the 'reader account' information, it's a function of the Blogware software.

However, having a dig through the admin of this site, I do indeed get to read the information that is supplied.

As it is I'm sure that I'm bound by the Data Protection Act (which is why I have a passcode on my iPhone, otherwise if someone stole my phone I could be accused of not taking every possible caution).

Needless to say, I'm not about to go selling your email addresses off to spammers...

(And, yes, this is a reply to a throwaway jokey comment, because I do feel strongly about such things... *grin*)

Welcome to Random Acts Of Reality, a Blog based in London, England, written by an E.M.T working for the London Ambulance Service. Also, number one search result for "Womble porn". All names have be changed to protect the guilty. This Blog was previously known as "Why I Hate Humanity" but the antipsychotic medication seems to have kicked in.
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