Re: RFD: create unmoderated newsgroup uk.politics.id-cards

From: Tom Giarmo (TomGiarmoI_at_use.net)
Date: 05/26/05 

Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 08:27:23 -0400

Fukken go for it, dude.

On Thu, 26 May 2005 03:25:05 +0100, A. J. Moss wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>
> REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD)
>
> This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the following changes
> in the uk.* Usenet hierarchy:
>
> create unmoderated newsgroup uk.politics.id-cards
>
> Newsgroup line:
> uk.politics.id-cards The Government bill to create a national ID register.
>
> *** ALL DISCUSSION MUST TAKE PLACE IN UK.NET.NEWS.CONFIG ***
>
> This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time.
> Further procedural details are given below.
>
> RATIONALE: uk.politics.id-cards
>
> For several decades now, Home Office civil servants have been
> advocating the creation of a compulsory system of identity cards in
> Great Britain. Following the events of 11 September 2001, this idea
> has been taken up by a government desperate to be seen to be doing
> something to counter a vague threat of terrorist attacks.
>
> Numerous outlandish claims have been put forward by the proponents of
> ID cards, none of which stand up to scrutiny: for example, that they
> would prevent terrorist attacks (a similar system of ID cards failed
> to prevent the bombings in Madrid on the eve of the last election),
> and that they would help protect people against violent crime (this
> from the same government that refuses to countenance the sale of
> pepper sprays or Tasers).
>
> One oft-quoted statistic for which there is little evidence either way
> is that 80% of the public are if favour of the introduction of ID
> cards. This may mirror the previous experience of an Australian ID
> cards bill: most of the public were initially in favour of it, but
> when its Draconian implications became widely known, public pressure
> forced the government to abandon it.
>
> Campaigners against the British ID cards bill need somewhere to air
> their politics. At present, there is a campaigning announcements
> mailing list, a few web sites devoted to the subject (none of them
> with web fora), and the occasional thread on the subject in uk.legal
> and uk.politics.misc. These discussions, although heated and vibrant,
> cannot be sustained indefinitely in a large group devoted to a wide
> range of other subjects.
>
> An open discussion forum will be particularly useful in educating
> people as to what the ID cards bill truly implies. It could be argued
> that without it, the process of informing the public about this
> particularly pernicious bill would be stymied.
>
> Note also that previous hare-brained Government bills were the direct
> cause of the creation of uk.politics.guns and uk.politics.animals.
>
> CHARTER: uk.politics.id-cards
>
> This group is for the discussion of all aspects of the UK bill to
> create a National Identity Register and associated identity cards.
> Historical (e.g. wartime ID cards and their repeal) and possible
> future (e.g. implanted RFID tags) developments may also be discussed.
>
> Advertising
>
> Advertising is forbidden. However, announcements of relevant political
> campaigns are welcome.
>
> Binaries & Formatting
>
> Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, compressed files, etc.) are
> forbidden. Such material belongs on a web or FTP site to which
> a pointer may be posted. Cryptographic signatures (e.g. PGP)
> may be used where authentication is important and should be as
> short as possible.
>
> Posts must be readable as plain text. HTML, RTF and similarly
> formatted messages are prohibited. To see how to make some
> common newsreaders comply with this, read
> <http://www.usenet.org.uk/ukpost.html>.
>
> END CHARTER
>
> PROCEDURE:
>
> This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of
> the process, any potential problems with the proposal should be raised
> and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of 10
> days, starting from when this RFD is posted to uk.net.news.announce
> (i.e. until June 6th) after which a Call For Votes (CFV) may be
> posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it.
> Alternatively, the proposal may proceed by the fast-track method. Please
> do not attempt to vote until this happens.
>
> This RFD attempts to comply fully with the "Guidelines for Group Creation
> within the UK Hierarchy" as published regularly in uk.net.news.announce.
> Please refer to this document if you have any questions about the process.
>
> DISTRIBUTION:
>
> This RFD has been posted to the following newsgroups:
> uk.net.news.announce
> uk.net.news.config
> uk.legal
> uk.politics.misc
> alt.privacy
>
> Proponent:
> A. J. Moss <ajmoss@macpaint.fsworld.co.uk>
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> Version: GnuPG-v1.2.4-(GNU/Linux)
> Charset: noconv
>
> iQCVAwUBQpUz1GOfGXkh8vHZAQHWagP/eLXksGfs7I51FrpJF62lojiGhXt3u089
> Mp5WLgw+3aRS3izrKV8ywGAL+l33JjmRoZfM6By7gckpa9GpyI8ZF2GGToCdCOAh
> Vp0l77VRPRmVoZqidCi9Z3UVa79uFFEECYZQix1IS8SO5CTN3pdQFIWJyY9E09xq
> VGAIDaZLWCQ=
> =eYm1
> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----