ID

Couple of ID card stories have caught my eye recently.

Holland is famed in Europe anyway, for its liberal mindset. ID cards became compulsory there in January. It's proven to be quite a revenue earner for the Dutch government with over 47,000 people having so far been fined for not immediately producing a card when requested by a Dibble. Henk Ruyssenaars writes on the story here and likens the Dutch system to the compulsory passes coloured people were required to carry in South Africa under apartheid;

Thirty years ago I saw in Johannesburg what will happen in Holland next week: the inhumane spectacle of hundreds of people who have been dragged into court because they - in their own country - could not immediately show an ID card and are punished. And remember: we were promised a European Union without borders, where we all would be able to travel freely, not even needing a passport. None of it was true: it was all a pack of lies.

Do we want this in Britain?

Legislation is also in place for an ID card system in the US. Tom DeWeese writes on the potential for mistakes and his fears for what it will mean to the future of America;

"Once this system is set up, you as an American no longer have control of your life. That will now fall under the whim of any government official or bureaucrat that controls the data in your file. "Do you know how much information currently in government data files is incorrect," I asked. Then I answered my own question; "Over 25 percent. Underpaid, undereducated government employees are paid to input information into massive data banks. They make mistakes. "Have you ever tried to get credit, only to find a mistake on your credit report?" I asked. "Have you ever tried to fix it? Now take that experience and consider what happens when such mistakes block you from accessing your checking account so you can't buy groceries. Consider what might happen if a mistake puts a false arrest warrant under your name. How do you prove you're the wrong guy? How do you get it fixed? Now you have no money, no driver's license. No ability to travel. You are completely cut out of society. What do you do now?"

Bliar and Clarke want ID cards for Britain. We cannot allow this to happen. Join the NO2ID campaign, there is a link on the right.

While we're on the subject of campaigning, remember that there is a national demonstration against the continued occupation in Iraq on Saturday, assembling at 12 noon in Parliament Square. Considering some of the news that has been leaking out this week about what the British army are up to in Basra it is essential that the government are told firmly that we do not want this happening in our name.