Longrider

I’ve been trying to get a picture like this for a long time. There’s something comical about the way cats split their heads wide open when they yawn. But just try getting them to do it when you’ve got a camera handy. Well, it looks like we’ve finally cracked it. My wife, Frankie stands out of shot and yawns loudly at the subject (in this case, Ptolemy) and right on cue - a head splitting fang filled yawn. Cracking.

This article by Muriel Gray is succinct and insightful. In it she makes a simple argument against ID cards that outlines why ordinary people will be inconvenienced by them. For example, she rubbishes the old mantra, nothing to hide, nothing to fear.

” When questioned on why compulsory cards would be a good or a bad thing, the favoured response among such deep thinkers is inevitably: “If you’ve nothing to hide, what’s the problem?”

Here’s the problem. Plenty of innocent people have things to hide, things that are absolutely nobody else’s business but their own, and is their right to keep concealed. There are many people who choose to live under an alias for perfectly valid reasons: women fleeing violent relationships who fear their fist-wielding partner will track them down; parents who gave up their babies for adoption and never wish to be tracked down by their adult children, or even an ex-colleague of mine who was sexually abused as a child and wanted rid of the family back in Ireland who never believed her story and kept trying to find her. She wanted their name erased from her life and memory, and to ensure that her own children would never find them and make contact. “

She goes on to point out that fraud is just waiting in the wings - not to mention the infallibility of technology:

“As you read this, there is doubtless someone already perfecting the reproduction and forgery of biometric cards. There are so many reasons why ID cards are an obscene infringement of human rights, and so very few why they will increase security and improve services. After the CSA example of outstandingly botched IT, you can bet the technology to introduce ID cards will throw up some nightmares. Sorry madam, you can’t travel/get health care/a library card/ your university place. Why not? Card says you’re a convicted felon. But I’m not. Sorry, computer says no.”

Perhaps, most chilling of all is her summing up:

“Make no mistake; the government will sell your data. No coincidence that Blunkett made the allusion to the supermarket loyalty card. And what will that data include? HIV positive? Member of a political party? Recovering addict? Who can be sure? I’m innocent and I have much to hide. It’s called my private life.”

Quite.

Full article here.

Today at 15:30, Big Blunkett will unveil the ID Cards Bill - not that there’s much unveiling to be done, as it’s pretty much in the public domain. Well, it is if you’re reasonably news savvy. Anyway, Tony Blair told his monthly media conference that:

“ID cards would help secure the UK’s borders, tackle crime and ensure public services were not abused.”

Oh, yeah, right. This feeble, dishonest argument has been thoroughly discredited, yet still they keep trotting it out. I guess the Big Lie tactic is still in favour - keep saying the same thing loud enough and often enough and people will believe it no matter how untrue it is.

ID cards will not have any effect on terrorism, organised crime (apart from increasing it) or benefit fraud because identity is not the issue - intent is.

The Lib Dems at least are vowing to do the right thing and try to block it. The Tories are more ambivalent - but then, in 1995, their glorious leader was Home Secretary and guess what? He had a bright idea; let’s have compulsory ID cards. Sheesh!

Getting back to the main story….Here’s the real clincher:

“A national database would be created holding personal information such as names, addresses, and biometric information for all those who are issued with a card.

Biometrics include fingerprints, facial scans and iris scans, all of which are unique to each individual. “

Be afraid, very afraid. Contrary to Mr Blair’s assertion that this is not Big Brother government, Big Brother Government is exactly what we will get if this goes ahead.

Full Story
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The BBC’s Breakfast Programme had a piece on internet fraud this morning. In particular was the vexed question of rogue diallers. Those little Active X programs that silently install onto your computer then disconnect your dialup session and replace it with their own premium rate "service". The first the user knows about it is when they get their bill - in the case being discussed, £300. Ouch. The phone companies (BT in this case) take the line that there is nothing they can do after the event, merely warn customers about what my happen in the future and what to look out for. Consumers, however, are taking the line that the phone companies have the means to detect unusual usage and warn the customer before it gets out of hand.

All of this is perfectly true - but, the customer really should be taking a bit more personal responsibility here. Dialler fraud is nothing new, any more than is phishing, timeshare scams or the Nigerian 419 fraud. If people haven’t heard about them where have they been?

Protecting yourself against dialler fraud is a simple matter:

1. If you really must use Internet Explorer, switch off the Active X facility in preferences. That way, it will not automatically download these things without asking you.
2. Dump IE and use an alternative browser with more security. Firefox, for example.
3. Install good, proactive anti-spyware and antivirus software. I use a combination of Norton Antivirus and Webroot’s Spysweeper.
4. If you think you’ve been hijacked, disconnect your computer from the phone line physically until you’ve got rid of it.
5. Upgrade to broadband - this fraud only works with diallers.
6. Stay away from porn sites as that is where they tend to hang out.

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According to today’s headlines Blunkett’s personal life may spill into his professional one. While I have always taken the line that the two should always be treated separately, on this occasion, there may be a bonus for those of us who have watched in dismay at this authoritarian’s dismantling of our basic rights and freedoms.

As a colleague of mine once said:

Couldn’t happen to a better bloke.

One can always hope.
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I was watching an interesting programme on the history channel this morning over breakfast - Local Heroes. According to Adam Hart-Davis, Isaac Newton became distracted from his experiments by his cat being on the wrong side of the door. Now anyone who has cats knows that they are always on the wrong side of the door - it’s one of the great feline laws of the universe.

Newton’s solution was to cut a hole in the door and put cloth over it to keep the draught out. The cat could then come and go as it wished. So, Isaac Newton demonstrated that light was made up of different colours and gave us an insight into gravitational pull. A master of physics, he also gave us the catflap - which, I wonder, was his most important achievement?

Meow?

I’ve done a little travelling in my time. Confined to continental Europe, mostly it has been with my wife and a motorcycle. Although occasionally the formula has been different such as the time I enjoyed a trip to Mojacar with the late Ken Craven in 1984.

I always make sure that I have medical cover and I always make sure that I have cover for getting myself, passenger and bike back if it all goes wrong. During the summer of 2001, it did. I was struck down with a migraine shortly after disembarking from the ferry at Le Havre. I managed to make our planned overnight stop at Gaçé and turned in for the night with a dose of migralieve. Or, at least, that was the plan. Severe vomiting meant that I was unable to keep the medication down. The local doctor had to give me an injection and by morning the worst of the symptoms had abated sufficiently for us to carry on our journey. Unfortunately, progress became very slow as I tired so quickly. We made it to the services on the A71 at Volcanes where we stopped early. The following day I was feeling so unwell that I was taken to the hospital. Although nothing was found, I was still unable to carry on and another doctor informed my insurance company that I would have to be repatriated.

Bad enough, it would seem. When the bike arrived home about three weeks later, it had been dropped, causing about £300 of damage. Eventually my insurers settled and I more or less broke even. We made a rail trip to Lodéve a few weeks later to make up for it.

Reading this though, reminds me that our adventure was minor in comparison. At least there were no elephants.

Boris Johnson gives his latest thoughts on ID cards over at the Telegraph.

As he points out:

"Worse than the cost and the bother, however, there is the sheer dishonesty of the arguments in favour. If I understood Her Majesty correctly, her Government conceives of these cards as essential weapons in the "war" on terror.

But the maniacs who performed the 9/11 massacre would not have been prevented by ID cards: the problem was not their identities, but their intentions. And if a terrorist really needed a new ID card, it would probably not take long to procure a forgery, biometric or not. "

He also makes a valid point about cost - £85 each for the privilege. This is a tax by any other name.

The most worrying point he makes and it is one I’ve noticed myself, is the way that the British people seem so willing to trade their freedoms for a mirage of increased security.

This quote is oft used in these circumstances, but I guess people still need to be reminded.

"They that would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Benjamin Franklin

This story is also covered over at White Rose Blog
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