Monday, April 26, 2004
Pah. I knew I should have touched wood yesterday, talking to Angel I said I hadn't had much of a problem with the old insomnia for a while, and what happens last night? So, is insomnia the actual condition of not being able to sleep, or the emotional feelings you get while in that state of non-sleep? Because to be honest when it happens I don't mind it that much, the most unpleasant bit is lying there thinking "I should be asleep! I should be asleep! Argh fuck!"
Shiteyes Blunkett was on the BBC Breakfast News this morning, which is not a pleasant thing to have to face when you're sleep deprived, or in any mental state really. Now, to be fair to the racist xenophobic shit who shows less respect for the rule of law than a left-wing anarchist dedicated to violent overthrow of the state, he did make a pretty good pretense of being a reasonable human being. All too often, as soon as someone get's a little power it goes straight to their heads and far too many Government ministers du jour appear on news programs with an attitude of 'how dare you question me you lowly maggot?'. Blunkett did at least appear to be listening to the questions people were asking. But because it was cuddly Dermot Murnaghan running the show he wasn't really pressed on some of the gaps in his policy, so at it's most charitable, ID Cards is Blunkett's solution which is now in pursuit of a problem.
Take illegal immigration, which is the 'problem' the British people are most worried about. During the forty-five minutes or so we learnt many seperate things. There will be a three month grace period on people moving to this country to get an ID Card. There will be no compulsion to carry an ID Card and people will be required to bring it to a police station within a certain period to verify who they are. For health checks people will be required to show their card when signing up with a GP or if they are going in to hospital for major but pre-planned surgery. Someone turning up in A&E with a serious injury will not be expected to show their card in order to receive treatment.
So I don't see how this will all stop illegal immigration. It won't stop working of the kinds that killed those cockle-pickers. They are working illegally at the moment. ID cards will just be another thing they aren't using, and another part of the danger.
Big business will have their own links to the card database in order to verify someone's card says they are who they say they are (Blunkett seemed completely convinced that biometrics makes ID fraud impossible) though currently they won't be able to do much more than check the ID, one of the first changes I suspect will be made if ID cards come in will be employment history will be made available to employers, and I guarentee the Government minister who proposes this will look innocent at the camera and say "well, this is just building on what currently happens when you fill in a form that asks for your employment history Jeremy". But interestingly Blunkett mentioned that small businesses will have to check ID at Job Centres or 'main libraries'. I wait with baited breath to see what libraries are involved in this and how, but it rather suggests that whoever is in charge of recruitment for a small business will have to walk out of the office mid-interview and march the person to their nearest Job Centre or Library to check their card.
Shiteyes Blunkett was on the BBC Breakfast News this morning, which is not a pleasant thing to have to face when you're sleep deprived, or in any mental state really. Now, to be fair to the racist xenophobic shit who shows less respect for the rule of law than a left-wing anarchist dedicated to violent overthrow of the state, he did make a pretty good pretense of being a reasonable human being. All too often, as soon as someone get's a little power it goes straight to their heads and far too many Government ministers du jour appear on news programs with an attitude of 'how dare you question me you lowly maggot?'. Blunkett did at least appear to be listening to the questions people were asking. But because it was cuddly Dermot Murnaghan running the show he wasn't really pressed on some of the gaps in his policy, so at it's most charitable, ID Cards is Blunkett's solution which is now in pursuit of a problem.
Take illegal immigration, which is the 'problem' the British people are most worried about. During the forty-five minutes or so we learnt many seperate things. There will be a three month grace period on people moving to this country to get an ID Card. There will be no compulsion to carry an ID Card and people will be required to bring it to a police station within a certain period to verify who they are. For health checks people will be required to show their card when signing up with a GP or if they are going in to hospital for major but pre-planned surgery. Someone turning up in A&E with a serious injury will not be expected to show their card in order to receive treatment.
So I don't see how this will all stop illegal immigration. It won't stop working of the kinds that killed those cockle-pickers. They are working illegally at the moment. ID cards will just be another thing they aren't using, and another part of the danger.
Big business will have their own links to the card database in order to verify someone's card says they are who they say they are (Blunkett seemed completely convinced that biometrics makes ID fraud impossible) though currently they won't be able to do much more than check the ID, one of the first changes I suspect will be made if ID cards come in will be employment history will be made available to employers, and I guarentee the Government minister who proposes this will look innocent at the camera and say "well, this is just building on what currently happens when you fill in a form that asks for your employment history Jeremy". But interestingly Blunkett mentioned that small businesses will have to check ID at Job Centres or 'main libraries'. I wait with baited breath to see what libraries are involved in this and how, but it rather suggests that whoever is in charge of recruitment for a small business will have to walk out of the office mid-interview and march the person to their nearest Job Centre or Library to check their card.
