Getting nasty

After all the talk of Cameron, Osbourne and their [alledged] mate Charlie, now it looks as though Fox is on the receiving end of a major smear. Apparently, in an interview with the London Evening Standard, Fox was questioned about his sexuality – questions to which he didn’t […]

So you think you want an ID card pt2

Neil’s responded to my piece of yesterday here and, again, there are several points worth responding to: Firstly the price tag of £30. You are right, it may well be inaccurate. But by the government coming out and stating this figure so loudly, aren’t they making it more […]

So you think you want an ID card?

I feel a bit guilty about this as I’ve generally got quite a bit of time for Neil from the Brighton Regency Labour Party blog, but as its ID cards and Neil’s comments exhibit clear naivety as to what all the fuss is about then not only is […]

e-Gov head talks bollocks and the database state

e-Goverment is apparently dead and we should all be getting ready for ‘t-government’ – at least that’s according to e-Government supremo Ian Watmore. ‘t’ in this case, appears to stand for ‘transformation’ which will be at the ‘heart of the government’s new vision and strategy for technology in […]

ID don’t add up and meaningless concessions

First, if there were any doubt, let me point you to this article in The Register which demonstrates exactly how the Safety Elephant’s claim to have fixed the price of an ID card at £30 works – or rather doesn’t work as his assumptions on costs are a […]

Yeah , right!

Looks like ‘Basher’ Davis is getting into his stride. Only yesterday he reported as saying that he was not seeking to exploit Mr Cameron’s discomfort over the drugs issue. Today, in the Evening Standard, Basher is going to be publicly backing Sir Ian Blair’s drive to crack down […]

The not-so-liberal democrat

See if you can spot the difference between these two statements: “…the use of evidence possibly obtained by torture should be “proportional and not fixed”, so that material relating to major crimes, rather than lower level ones, may be considered.” “Each State Party shall ensure that any statement […]

The Lidless Eye of Sauron

Has anyone else noted the proliferation of frankly creepy posters emanating from government agencies of late? You know the one’s I mean, where the subtext of the poster is ‘beware, we’re watching you!” From memory, it all seemed to start with the TV Licencing Authority and their posters […]

Rogues Gallery

You come across some strange things on the net, few stranger than the ‘Heads of Government‘ online exhibition by photographer David Partner which, taking its name literally, consists of lots of artistic photographs of the heads of assorted government Ministers – although Messrs Blair, Brown and Prescott (thank […]

So is it £30 or not?

People will have to pay £30 for a stand alone identity card, Home Secretary Charles Clarke has announced. Thing is a bit later on in the Beeb’s article is says this: “The latest cost estimates come from a report compiled for the Home Office by accountancy firm KPMG, […]