The truth seeps through grasping fingers across forked-tongued mouths… and dribbles away, unseen by the many, reviled by the few…

Ministers also announced that the new agency will operate a passport verification service so that businesses can guard against identity fraud by checking the credentials of their customers against the biometric database. The Home Office claims this could be worth £325m in benefits to business.

And the benefits to individuals…. ?
There you go. You will be asked for your ID card by anyone who wishes to ask. And you will be denied service if you refuse to comply.

This was tagged on the end of a piece in the Grauniad noting that the Safety Elephant will charge you the full price of an ID card plus passport, even if you ‘opt out’ of having the physical card itself. This is to make having the card seem like a bargain, obviously!

One notable thing is that the Guardian (not alone, but…), while obviously opposed to ID cards, appears to be doing nothing to spell out their danger. They pick up on minor quibbles, like cost, and ignore major stuff like unfettered database access to anyone who will pay! Government charging people for data-rape, and then selling access to the data!! Ignored!!!

Why am I surprised? I’m not. Just very disappointed.

So instead, be inspired. Remember the wise people who came before us and Got Things Done. Remember those who despised the way things were, the way they were going, and got up and changed them themselves.

Today, I remember Margaret Mead.

Remeber what she knew to be truth:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 31st, 2006 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Insanity, Politricks, Remember, Someone Clever Said.