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UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
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Toni Torino
2299 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
Apr 28, 2004, 16:55
Democracy: Dangerous in the hands of the Public....
cubesville
5 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
Apr 29, 2004, 11:02
Brilliant. Two thoughts on the accompanying ID card photograph:
1) Give the cops a laugh next time you're pulled over - do a bottle of whiskey before you pile into the photobooth in Boots the Chemist. Certainly one for the "green" activists like.
2) We've all got dopplegangers, so get someone who looks a bit like you and use their photo instead. Ideally, get someone who looks a bit like you did 20 years ago. You can return the favour by lending them your ID card so they can get into pubs and stuff. Charge them a premium while you're at it like.
PMM
PMM
3155 posts

Re: free at last
Apr 29, 2004, 14:13
spill the secrets, and take the beans to your grave. They might come in handy for the afterlife.
cubesville
5 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
Apr 30, 2004, 14:12
Brilliant! This is exactly what we wanted to hear. Two thoughts on ID cards:
1) When it comes to the photo, do a bottle of whiskey before jumping into the photoboothe in Boots the Chemist. Perhaps ammend your card to read "OD card" instead. And if plod remarks you're looking a little ill on the photo, tell him you're a "green" activist.
2) We've all got dopplegangers, so find yours and trade photos. Preferably find one who looks like you did at 15 years of age. That way you can lend them your card to get into pubs and stuff. What the hell, charge the little runt a premium for the service.
cammyb
62 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
May 02, 2004, 09:35
"What staggers me are the results of this survey that says the British public supposedly support the idea of ID cards"

Whit? imagine that, the British public daring to disagree with you. The cnuts.

"I don't know who did this survey, but it seems a bit dodgy to me"

Bite ma banger. The pop sample have spoke. Deal with it.

"I reckon the questions must have been quite leading, to come up with the answers the government wanted to have"

Pishflaps.
Lord Lucan
Lord Lucan
2702 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
May 03, 2004, 16:53
Quite a way you have with words there.

" imagine that, the British public daring to disagree with you. The cnuts."

That's not what I meant. I don't actually know anyone who supports the idea, which is why I'm surprised at the result.
RiotGibbon
1527 posts

Re: more details
May 04, 2004, 11:47
oh shit, forgot about this ...

basically, smartcard technology just doesn't work on a large scale. No-one can make any money out of it, not in the public sector, anyway. People are just too unreliable and crap (in a nice way) to be trusted with something as fiddly as a smartcard

you can just about run the card systems for a small group if there's clearly something in it for the holders (eg getting through the office door everyday), but for a large population, most of whom don't care, forget it

each card is *really* expensive, and slow and difficult to encode. For the system to be worth having, you have to get all the correct details for all the correct people all at once, otherwise by the time you've got halfway through the list, the first lot of people have started losing and selling and destroying their cards - for confidence in the system to hold up, they have to be reissued, thus forming a new version of the Xeno's (?) paradox - you never actually get it done because you have to keep going back ...

The other thing that's making me chuckle is the idea of having all this biometric info on a card. In other words, the biggest ever roll out of a fairly new and still unreliable technology. On budget, on time and accurate? Don't think so.

The idea is to stop forged id by taking iris scans and finger prints. But you've got to collect all this data in the first place. When the scans are being taken (60 million people, shouldn't take more than a morning), how do you know who the person is who they are claiming to be? Why, by the production of various documents. All of which can be forged and currently illegally used. So, all the card will mean is it will require you to carry a smaller form of possibly forged info. And more expensive

All the September 11th hijackers had valid id. ID wasn't the problem, the fact that they were learning to fly and not land was ...

But in short, there are little pockets of ID Card fanatics scattered around local, national and european government. They've been trying to get ID cards brought in for *years*, and always failed (for a number of reasons, but basically because ID Cards Are A Bad Idea). Since 911, they've jumped at the chance to bring them in. The first line in the "discussion document" that came out a couple of years ago was that TERRORISM was responsible for the re-evaluation of the idea, even though they would have no effect. Now, Blunkett just wavers between saying it's about preventing terrorism or illegal immigration, depending on what day it is

is this giving you a clue? The whole smartcard thing came about because European phonelines were never good enough to do online credit card clearing (US phone lines have always been much better). Since the telecommunications infrastructure in Europe has improved, smartcards have been desperately looking for a purpose. Chip and Pin is good, because it's relatively simple - is the person trying to use the card allowed to. That's all it does, it's pretty good at it. Anything more complicated ...

now, how about eVoting? the happiest 3 months of my life, delving into eVoting cryptographic systems ... pretty much the same problem as smartcards - nice idea, unworkable in practice on a national scale with clever, well-motivated, well-funded people with a financial incentive to break it ...

now, who's got a job for me ...

RG
cammyb
62 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
May 04, 2004, 14:07
I know of plenty of people who are for it - outnumbering the no's & don't knows of my acquaintence. No doubt, they'll be dismissed as angst-ridden Daily Mail readers or some such sweeping, arrogant remark.
For the record, I don't have a problem with the concept.
anthonyqkiernan
anthonyqkiernan
7087 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
May 04, 2004, 14:09
What? Dismissing them as angst-ridden Daily Mail readers?
Lord Lucan
Lord Lucan
2702 posts

Re: UK ID card Bill 'within four weeks'
May 04, 2004, 14:42
Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder about my views on this?

You seem to think my remarks are sweeping and arrogant, but I'm more curious than anything. Like I say, most people I know aren't into this idea, and that includes my tory dad, so I was just wondering where all this support for the idea was coming from. Oh, and I wouldn't presume to judge you or the people you know as I don't know you. Maybe you shouldn't make assumptions about me either.

However, the idea that people could be obliged to carry something with their HIV status on it does disturb me.
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