WRITTEN ON Thursday, April 30th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Data nitwittery, Foundation of Trust, Transformational Government, What do we want?

Someone I’ve never heard of called Delyth Morgan of Drefelyn writes to me in my capacity as a ContactPoint National Partner (I had no idea I was one. How did I get on this database. More to the point, how do I get off?) Anyway, Delyth of Drefelyn says
I’m writing to you because of your [...]

WRITTEN ON Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 BY Ruth Kennedy AND STORED IN Foundation of Trust, Identity, Pertinent Art, What do we want?

The Grauniad reports that the instigator of serious efforts to introduce ID cards in the UK, D Blunkett Esq, has just suggested we don’t need them after all.
Scrap ID cards plan, says David Blunkett. Passports with biometric data would do same job and be cheaper than £5bn scheme, says former home secretary
I think this [...]

WRITTEN ON Monday, April 27th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Foundation of Trust, What do we want?

Eekamouse. This photo (from Zombie on Flickr via ORG) shows Sheffield City Centre notice about the illegality of producing fake ID.

Thus the spiritual problem of bored teenagers trying to drink is solved by creating a universal climate of mistrust and repression…
Wibbi we solved the teenage drinking problem in a different way?

WRITTEN ON Sunday, April 26th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Foundation of Trust, What do we want?

Of course stockbrokers drive expensive cars like lunatics. But every time I drive to London now I feel like a suspect (innocent until proven otherwise, of course). The speed cameras on the A3 is the first issue my MP Jeremy Hunt has failed to reply to me about. It seems they’re run by the Surrey [...]

WRITTEN ON Thursday, April 16th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN What do we want?, Wibbipedia/MindtheGap

Banish frustration and pointless griping about public services. We can all stop shouting at the radio. From today there’s an easy way to share the customer view of public services, and suggestions about how they might be better.

WRITTEN ON Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Foundation of Trust, What do we want?

James Sturcke in The Guardian:
The inventor of genetic fingerprinting, Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, today warns that the government is putting at risk public support for the DNA national database by holding the genetic details of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Jeffreys, whose pioneering discoveries revolutionised police investigation techniques, condemned the government for leaving innocent [...]

WRITTEN ON Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Data nitwittery, Foundation of Trust, What do we want?

The EU is to take action against Britain over its poor implementation of online privacy, says Reuters.
The European Commission started legal action against Britain on Tuesday for what the EU executive called a failure to keep people’s online details confidential. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said the action related to how Internet service providers used [...]

WRITTEN ON Monday, April 13th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN What do we want?, Wibbipedia/MindtheGap

Ok *deep breath* Forget all the bad stuff. Let’s dispel this weekend’s smeary vibes and engage in some public discourse using only the language of Wibbies: Would It Be Better If…
We need help!
Sam, Emily and I plan to put into circulation a brand new UK Feedback-style web site which asks for the unvarnished account of [...]

WRITTEN ON Friday, April 10th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Data nitwittery, Foundation of Trust, Transformational Government, We told you so..., What do we want?

Watch out Goliath.
First the Godalming Quakers decided they were “acting under concern” about the database state. That’s pretty much as strong as language gets in the Society of Friends before it’s deemed to be “provocative”.
Now the Oaklands medical practice of Yateley Hampshire has ripped gloves off in its fight against the database state, according to [...]

WRITTEN ON Friday, April 10th, 2009 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Foundation of Trust, Pertinent Art, We told you so..., What do we want?

The Tomlinson death shows how much sousveillance is now simply a normal part of life. When did that happen? And when will it become culturally acceptable to the police to be routinely filmed by the public as they go about their business?
No-one asked us if we wanted to be subjected to CCTV all [...]