Blah Blah Flowers

ID cards haven't been issued yet and already they can be cloned in under a quarter of an hour.

Labels: Government, ID cards, Labour, privacy

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from filtering content for UK users.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to commission a momument to Oliver Postgate, Peter Firmin and the children's TV characters they created.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to acknowledge that a large proportion of the workforce in this country is single, and that reference should be made to 'the hard-working population' of this country rather than the constant references to 'hard-working families'.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to scrap ID cards. (again!)

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to cancel the 2012 Olympics in the face of the current recession and the country's existing debt burden.

Labels: censorship, children, Government, ID cards, internet, Internet Service Providers, Olympics, petitions, Television

The vast failure and capitulation to terrorists that is the UK ID Card scam rumbles on. The Government continues to be deaf to evidence that this whole enterprise is a waste of time and money and is this the excuse the Tories will use to continue the ID Card scheme after campaigning on it's abolition. It's only right to be sceptical, Boris Johnson started reversing on his few clear campaign pledges barely after finishing being sworn in. Tony Blair might have been a Tory masquerading as a Labour politician but David Cameron isn't even that, more a mirror to whatever strong opinions surround him at each moment.

Labels: Conservatives, David Cameron, ID cards, identity theft, Labour

Labour want to control you, The Tories would like to control women's bodies. A plague on both your houses.

Labels: abortion, Conservatives, ID cards, Labour

Plan for ID cards announced.

...The first people to get ID cards will be non-EEA foreign nationals living in the UK. They will begin carrying cards in November of this year. The roll-out will start with people historically most likely to abuse the system - including people living here on student visas or marriage visas.

Define 'system', define 'abuse', back this up with some proof or otherwise apologise.

Labels: Government, ID cards, Labour

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop seeking to further extend pre-charge detention.

Anyone suspected of having committed an extremely serious offence, such as murder, can be held without charge for a maximum of 4 days. Police can already detain people under anti-terrorism legislation for seven times as long (28 days). Prolonged detention without charge or trial undermines fair trial rights, including the right to be promptly informed of any charges, the right to be free from arbitrary detention and the presumption of innocence.

Everybody arrested is entitled to be charged promptly and tried within a reasonable time, in proceedings that fully comply with fair trial standards, or to be released. The UK already has by far the longest period of pre-charge detention of any Common Law country. Any further extension of pre-charge detention risks being counterproductive, damaging community relations and undermining the UK’s moral authority around the world.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Close Charring [sic] Cross Gender Indentity [sic] Clinic.

Charring [sic] Cross G.I.C. should be closed down due to it's failiure to comply to the standards as laid out by Harry Benjiman [sic]. They bring thier [sic] own personal wiews [sic] into work with them and only select those who fit thier [sic] idea of what a woman / female is and should be each person is different, no two people are the same, we should therefore not be treated as stereotypes in one catagory [sic].

(Aside: As all the petitions are supposedly personally vetted by someone before they are posted for people to vote on you'd think they'd run them through a spell-check first)

Notice the first person to sign this petition seems less interested in Miss Sommer's thrust and is just against the surgery for anyone.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Hold a referendum on ID cards and the National Identity Register.

There are any number of ID Card petitions up on the site there, yet supposedly one of the criteria for turning down a new petition is if it covers the same ground as other petitions. I got one turned down a few months back which asked Gordon Brown specifically to give up the scheme.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to to not allow the import of biofuel from countries which are destroying rain forest to grow the crops..

We need to cut down on the current forms of travel, rather than transfer to using up a different natural resource.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Hold a public referendum on Trident and the defence of our country.

Labels: Government, ID cards, petitions, sex/gender, The War Against Terror, transport

Massive cock-up as Government shows yet again it can't handle IT. And these are the people we're supposed to trust with our private information for ID Cards.

The sensitive personal details of 25 million Britons could have fallen into the hands of identity fraudsters after a government agency lost the entire child benefit database in the post.

Bloody Postman Pat. I never liked the look of him or his black-and-white cat.

Labels: Government, ID cards, stupidity

ID cards plan behind schedule and soaring in cost. How come no-one saw this coming? Oh, wait...

Labels: ID cards, United Kingdom

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to rebuff the suggestion by Lord Justice Sedley (05 September 2007) that a DNA sample be provided by all UK citizens/visitors, to call for the abolishment of the current DNA database and halt plans for an identity card scheme - on the grounds of civil liberties and respect for the British Citizen.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to outlaw the practice of Gazumping, when buying or selling a property, or land.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Allow people to do voluntary work and stay on long term income support.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Scrap ID/DNA/Surveillence database plans.

Labels: ID cards, petitions

Minister says ID Cards will become 'a great British institution'. Yeah, just like (insert your own three large long-term failures here).

Sorry, I know you're expecting incisive political comment but I'm choking up over the news that Bernard Manning has died. No, wait, not 'choked up', what's the word what's the word? Oh, that's right, 'celebrating'. Marcus Brigstocke sums it up nicely. Farewell you evil, bigoted, racist fuck.

Labels: Government, ID cards, racism

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Make it legal for Mark Thomas (the political activist / satire comedian) to demonstrate in parliament square without the need to apply for permission under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reject the home secretary's proposition of allowing non-firearms officers to carry taser guns.

The BBC issued the following article - More frontline police officers could soon be carrying 50,000-volt Taser stun guns under government plans. The Home Secretary John Reid made the announcement at the Police Federation of England and Wales' conference. Currently officers can only use the guns if they are opposed with a weapon. The change will also allow them to be used when confronted with any form of violence or threat. Amnesty International are opposed to the move, stating the guns have caused more than 70 deaths in america where they are most commonly used.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Repeal the Identity Cards Act 2006.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to award Alan Moore with an honour.

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Refuse any application submitted by the ‘Church’ of Scientology for recognition as a Religious Organisation.

Labels: Alan Moore, Government, ID cards, Mark Thomas, petitions, Scientology, SOCPA

It's definitely a good day for bad news. If only once big contracts went over budget the ministers responsible had to pay themselves. Work's hardly started on the Olympics or the ID Card scheme and already money that could have been spent on rebuilding schools or paying nurses wages so they can live as well as work in London is being pissed away on them.

Labels: Government, ID cards, Olympics, Tony Blair, United Kingdom

There's a fresh ID Cards petition here.

Labels: ID cards, petitions

The Government will set up ID Card interview centres where everyone will have to visit to set up their ID Cards. And whereas passports are 'voluntary', in the sense you don't have to leave the country so therefore could be said to be choosing to stand outside an office all day to get your passport sorted, ID Cards will be mandatory. For a pointless and fairly unpopular 'security' measure the Government aren't making much of an effort to win hearts and minds over this, I wouldn't be surprised if they announce that everyone has to sign up for ID Cards at Christmas and at the centre closest to where they were born.

Labels: Government, ID cards, waste of money

Prominent single man describes marriage as a boon to society, though only if it's between a man and a woman of course, because any other combination would be yucky . Oh dear. I do actually have some time for Rowan Williams, when I heard him in conversation with John Humphrey's he did an admirable, if not entirely successful, defence of why bad things happen in the Christian God's universe (if only Humphrey's would shut up a bit more, as his interruptions allowed Williams to avoid answering some difficult questions fully).

Tories warn any companies still interested in being involved in the Government's ridiculous ID Card scheme that they'll scrap it if they get in at the next election. More a statement of their exiting policy than anything new, I think it worth pointing out as a rare example of a Conservative party having a conservative policy. It does unfortunately allow John Reid the chance to talk about something other than the Government's ridiculous plan to lock everyone up and sort out the mess later:

"The Tories' ill-considered opposition highlights their lack of leadership on security issues - they can't be trusted with Britain's safety. David Davis has shown that he and David Cameron talk tough while acting soft. They are more interested in political point-scoring than backing Labour's tough and necessary measures to keep the country safe."

Yes, yes, we've heard it all before and it was bollocks the first time. The Tories have the same problem as Labour, in that they seem to think the danger to this country is from outsiders attacking inwards and ignoring the evidence of most terrorism in the last decade, but as Labour's stated reasons for why the ID Card will be great don't stand up to the mildest scrutiny it's ridiculous to claim that Labour's ineffective policies are better than the Tories for keeping people safe from a mostly illusory danger.

And I saw that Hazel Blears on Saturday. She was standing outside the TUC Congress. I almost wanted to ask her to move on the grounds of 'loitering around the TUC might give people the false idea that New Labour give a shit about the opinions of people in trade unions'. I didn't of course, I just walked past and wished I had some condoms filled with purple powder and a good throwing arm...

Labels: Conservatives, ID cards, Labour, religion, Rowan Williams

The ID Cards scheme continues to get sillier. A few weeks back it was announced that they wouldn't be making a big new database for the cards, probably something to do with the NHS one going so spectacularly badly even by Government IT project standards. Now reality is forcing them to slowly drop the biometric elements as well. At this rate, when the ID Cards are finally reached, they won't have any information about you at all and will not allow you to do anything. Everyone will wander around with t small white piece of plastic, looking confused.

Labels: biometrics, Government, ID cards

The Government's ID Cards schemes might be falling apart around them but they struggle on regardless, with claims of it being a voluntary scheme buried in the dim and distant past with the careers of Blunkett and Clarke, we now have the fines you can expect if any of the data is incorrect. I wonder who gets the blame if any of the biometric data doesn't work?

Labels: biometrics, Government, ID cards

Biometric passports already cracked.

Anti ID-Cards petition on the number 10 website.

Labels: biometrics, ID cards, petitions

Blair's latest tack is to claim ID Cards are the spirit of 'modernity', modernity being the quality of being modern. Civil liberties, it would seem, are not modern, they are very 'last century', which is why we need to get rid of them.

An "action plan" would be published by the Home Office in December to "explore the benefits" people could get from ID cards in 10 years' time, he said.

Let me get this straight, ID Cards have been on the hot plate for several years now, there's been legislation through Parliament on this and only now the Government is investigating what ID Cards could do?

This is, of course, not the situation at all. All this reveals is that the Government currently have to force through a pointless plan because they figure it's less embaressing than to u-turn but have run out of arguments as to the benefits because all of them have been revealed to be false. New arguments please!

I'm hoping that before he leaves office Blair claims the argument for ID Cards is that they are 'post-modern' and that everyone will be forced to carry around half a dead shark tattooed with the names of everyone they've ever slept with.

Labels: freedom, Government, ID cards, Tony Blair

Labels: ID cards, The War Against Terror, Tony Blair, waste of money