Neil and ID Cards. Again. No, really.

Neil Harding: the Mouth of NuLabour. Just because I haven't kicked him for a while, doesn't mean that it isn't worth it...

Your humble Devil hasn't turn his baleful eye towards his old foe, Neil Harding, for quite some time. However, he does enjoy The Longrider's occasional discourses and The Longrider has been engaging with everyone's favourite Labour lunatic.

The Longrider has been indulging in rants upon his favourite topic, that of identity, recently; mainly, it has to be said, in response to Neil, who highlighted a story about people being able to track other people by mobile 'phone.

For those who are freaked out about the government and their use of new tracking technology (yet they don't worry about having a bank account, mobile phone, internet etc. placing their most intimate details with unknowns), where is their campaign against this?

The thing is that Neil just doesn't fucking get it. Ever. He was about the only bastard blogger, on the Left, the Right or hanging in the air near the fucking ceiling who was ever in favour of the ID Cards scheme. Eventually he backed down, after nearly everyone had flamed him, conceding that this particular scheme might be a bit of a fuck-up.

Now The Longrider has reminded us of the fact that if you do not keep your data on the National Identity Register (NIR: the database behind the ID Card scheme) up to date, then you can be fined £1,000.

Courtesy of the NO2ID blog, this story in the Daily Mail:

A police force will be set up to issue £1,000 fines to anyone who fails to update their personal details on the Government’s new database, it has emerged.

While the use of the term “secret police” may be somewhat hyperbolic, the principle remains; the government wishes to keep tabs on us; every intimate detail; and if we fail to keep them informed they will punish us. Not that this should come as any surprise; the foul demagogue, Blunkett was proposing this when he came up with his “entitlement” card plans some five years or so ago. Now, there is another example of the left twisting language... “Entitlement”, Hah! A nice cosy sounding word that equates to the home office spying on us under threat of penalties if we don’t. Still, at least they dropped any pretension of this scheme being about entitlements.

Although this fine has always been part of the plan (as far as I know), it is worth reminding ourselves that this government really are a bunch of authoritarian cunts. But, of course, in our oh-so-fucking-wonderful democracy, even totalitarian bastards like NuLabour needs some supporters.

So just in case you are wondering what kind of fucking scum would be leading this police force, just in case you want to know what kind of shit will be kicking down your granny's door in the middle of the night and hauling her off to spend a night in the cells with Garry the gerontophile rapist, look no further than the kind of devious, lackwit fucker who said this...

Personally I have no problem with the database state and tracking people etc. There are huge benefits to be had if it is done right (and most people who object IMHO are just scared of government and use ridiculous scenarios of big brother and futuristic fascist states - they might as well go and live in a cave if they think like that).

No, bring it on. I think we should track everyone and put their location on the internet for all to see (this way we can watch the watchers), we should DNA test all babies at birth and then every rapist/murderer/criminal etc would be caught first time (and know they can't get away with it). I know it sounds horrible that nobody could lie about their location and partake in criminal activity and easily get away with it- but what would be really horrible are all the victims who suffer because we shy away from using available technology that would protect them.

This is the kind of hideous little cunt who would remove people's freedom simply because they might, one day, commit a crime. This is the kind of hideous little cunt who believes that all governments are benign, who will not learn the lessons of history, who will not understand that employees of the state are our servants and not our masters, who will not understand that it is not for the state to tell me who the fuck I am.

This is the kind of bastard for whom any means justifies the end.

Can you guess who it is...?

UPDATE: Not Saussure has an excellent and very detailed post on this.

UPDATE 2: did you know that in Germany you cannot buy cigarettes without your ID Card? England Expects explains how innocent all this really is...

If anybody dare suggest [ID Cards] will ever be used to regulate our behaviour they are denounced by the powers that be as scare mongerers and so on.

So imagine my suprise when in the lobby of the Berlin hotel in which I am staying I saw this. Apparently since January 1st this year all fag machines in Germany require you to put your EU ID card in to allow you to buy cigarettes. Of course this is just to ensure that kiddywinks don't buy cigs.

Of course. Silly me...