ANPR cameras are beatable, maybe.

There are ANPR cameras on some roads that are connected to an LED screen which flashes up the number of the last vehicle that went past, like at the entrance to supermarket car parks. (I have no idea why, is it just supposed to act as a reminder that Big Brother Is Watching Us? But that's not the point of the story.)

I was stuck in some slow moving traffic recently, and I idly watched the numbers of the cars ahead flash up on the screen, until the screen flashed up the word "MORRISONS".

That's not a registration plate, is it, I thought? Then I noticed a large van, a car or two ahead of me, emblazoned with the company name/logo "MORRISONS" (a local business, not the supermarket, again, that's not the point of the story), so I assume that the camera just reads the first thing it recognises as text, flashes it up and then waits for the next vehicle.

So I suppose what you could do is write something in large capital letters (I assume they are not programmed to recognise lower case) across the front of your boot ("FUCK ANPR" springs to mind) and then enjoy watching that message flash up on all these screens as you drive past.

"NSA spying: France summons US envoy over Wikileaks claims"

From the BBC:

France has summoned the US envoy in Paris over claims that the US spied on President Francois Hollande and his two predecessors, officials say.

Whistleblower website Wikileaks reports the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on Mr Hollande, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac between 2006-12. Mr Hollande called an emergency meeting and said France would "not tolerate" acts that threaten its security.

Ned Price, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, added that the US was "not targeting and will not target the communications of Mr Hollande" and more controversially, that the top secret minutes of Mr Hollande's emergency meeting revealed that the beleaguered president was actually just looking for a scapegoat to distract from his domestic political problems.

"John Kerry tells fugitive Edward Snowden he's doing the right thing"

From the BBC:

US Secretary of State John Kerry has admitted that intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is probably "doing the sensible thing" as a fugitive from justice, who has "manned up" and accepted that he can never return home.

Mr Kerry added that if Mr Snowden, 30, "still believes in America, then he clearly doesn't know much about the American system of justice".

His comments come in the wake of an interview with NBC in which Mr Snowden said he sought asylum in Russia because the US revoked his passport. Mr Snowden also described himself as a trained spy, not a low-level analyst.

"There are times when even for a patriot, doing the right thing means running away," Mr Kerry said on Wednesday. "If Mr Snowden wants to come back to the United States… he knows that we'll be ready to lock him up immediately."

Mr Kerry also hoped that the former National Security Agency contractor was becoming "confused", adding "the United States wants to do great damage to this man."

"We're vaguely hoping that in a moment of loneliness, he'll be stupid enough to come back to the US," Mr Kerry said.

"Edward Snowden banned from flying to insignificant little country on other side of world"

From the BBC:

An insignificant little country thousands of miles from Hong Kong, where NSA whistleblower is currently in exile, which he has never expressed any intention of visiting, fearing a fate similar to that of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, has warned airlines not to allow an ex-CIA employee who leaked secret US surveillance details to fly there, according to reports.

The Associated Press news agency reported seeing a document from the insignificant little country - whose foreign policy seems to consist of doing absolutely everything which it thinks the USA or the EU want it to do - at a Thai airport telling carriers to stop Edward Snowden, 29, boarding any flights.

The travel alert - reported to feature the overly grand emblem of its Home Office - said Mr Snowden "is highly likely to be refused entry to our pathetic little island..."

Bangkok Airways, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines confirmed they had received the notice, which was not supposed to be seen by the public, AP reported, although they confirmed that they had no scheduled flights to the country in question anyway as "nobody in his right mind wants to go there".

"Communications Bill: 'No plans' to spy on postcards"

Bob E sent me this splendid spoof of a BBC article:

The Home Office says it has no current plans to force the Royal Mail to store data on all letters and postcards passing through its system.

The provision is included in the government's draft communications data bill, published this week. But the Home Office said the bill would just maintain existing powers relating to postal data. And it stressed that only data about mail - not its contents - would be retained if the law was ever enacted.

Under the draft bill, the Royal Mail and other postal services could be asked to retain "anything written on the outside" of items for up to 12 months so they can be accessed by the police, security services and HM Revenue and Customs.

But a Home Office spokesman said only information relating to the "communications data of mail — who sent the letter to whom, when it was sent and the origin and destination" would, potentially, be stored.

Ah... right.

The Naughty List

I think congratulations are in order!

Three organisations at least partly controlled and/or funded by the UK government have put together a Naughty List of bloggers who are a thorn in the side of the anti-tobacco industry, or "Big Anti-Tobacco" as we might call it:

So well done to:
Simon Clark
Dick Puddlecote
Chris Snowdon
Dave Atherton
Carl V Philips
Tim Haigh
John Luik
Frank Davis
-------------------------------
I'm a bit miffed that the following two didn't make the Naughty List, because I would have voted them if it had been democratically decided:

Pat Nurse
Leg-Iron
-------------------------------
And may I remind people that doing propaganda against its own citizens is not really something that governments should be doing?

Is this cyber warfare or just funny coincidences?

Witterings from Witney's blog started showing lots of Error 503 Service Unavailable messages at around the same time that solicitors started sending him threatening letters.

"Gordon Brown was in 'unbalanced state of mind' when he 'declared war' on me"

From The Daily Mail:

Rupert Murdoch today recalled when an 'unbalanced' Gordon Brown 'declared war' on his media empire after [it switched] sides to support the Tories at the last election. Mr Murdoch, appearing before the Leveson inquiry, dismissed claims that Mr Brown had ‘roared at an aide for 20 minutes’ as a 'colourful exaggeration'.

But he did recount in detail listening in to a private telephone conversation between the former Prime Minister and a civil servant. The 81-year-old media mogul recalled how Mr Brown asked "Do you know what's going on here?," when the front page of the Sun was published declaring support for David Cameron in September 2009.

Mr Murdoch, 93, said the civil servant replied "I was not warned of the exact timing, I'm not aware of what they're saying, but I'm sorry to tell you Gordon, that Aussie bastard will support a change of government if there is an election."

Mr Murdoch, 105-year old NewsCorp chairman, said that he subsequently hacked into Mr Brown's email account and found an email declaring "Well, that wrinkly old f- has declared war on the government. We have no alternative but to declare war on him."

The 117-year old Mr Murdoch chuckled as he recounted the scene between Mr Brown and his wife later that evening, filmed using a secret camera which Scotland Yard detectives had installed for him in the master bedroom at No 10.

Feind hört mit!

Fun Online Polls: Police database and Cheryl Cole

On an OK turnout (thanks to everybody who took part) the results to last week's Fun Online Poll are as follows:

Do you think you are on the UK police database?

Yes, as a victim of crime - 15%
Yes, as a criminal - 12%
Yes, both as criminal and as victim - 12%
I don't think so - 49%
Other, please specify - 11%

So that's only about half who reckon they won't be on it, rather less than the official estimate that three-quarters of us won't be on it, which gave rise to mucho shock-horror headlines just over a week ago.
----------------------------
Another shock-horror story which caught my eye was in the weekend's red tops, see e.g. Daily Mirror: "Ashley Cole is to jet back to the UK for a reunion with ex-wife Cheryl so they can discuss their future together. The Chelsea star is due back from his US holiday next week and his number one priority is to meet Cheryl and try to convince her to take him back. And friends of the former X Factor judge say she is considering giving the serial love cheat another chance."

So that's this week's Fun Online Poll: Should Cheryl Cole go back to her serial cheat love rat overpaid prima donna ex-husband?

Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar. I based the spelling on back issues of VIZ and the online English to Geordie translator, don't blame me if it's not perfect.

Fun Online Polls: Fukushima & The Census

On a high turnout, the results to last week's Fun Online Poll were as follows:

Has the Fukushima catastrophe changed your attitude towards nuclear power?

No. I'm still against nuclear power - 5%
Yes. I'm now more negative about nuclear power - 5%
Yes. I'm now more positive about nuclear power - 29%
No. I'm still in favour of nuclear power - 61%
Other, please specify - 0%

Given the right-wing nature of most of this 'blog's readership, I'm not surprised that a majority are in favour of nuclear power anyway, but I'm (pleasantly) surprised to see that so many, like me, are more positive (or less negative) than they were before. As it happens, there are six nuclear power stations in the earthquake/tsunami zone, so I find the fact that only one was badly affected rather reassuring.

As ever, thanks to everybody who took part.
-------------------------------------
Health Minister Dick Puddlecote highlights another example of the ONS fighting back against the government - in the great tradition of bureaucratic warfare, they are continuing this war despite the change in government.

I actually trust the ONS. For sure, they'll bend with the political wind and publish statistics showing that alcohol-related deaths have trebled in a short space of time (or whatever) but they'll leave coded messages like "Due to a change in the way that the figures are compiled, later series are not directly comparable with earlier series" which is ONS-speak for "These figures are all complete bollocks."

All of which reminded me that I hadn't completed our Census form yet. Happily enough, you were supposed to complete it as at 27 March 2011 (yesterday) so I duly completed it this evening and answered every question with a straight bat. For the 'optional' religion question I entered 'smoker' as previously agreed (for the life of me, I can't remember which 'blogger first proposed this - I'll link if anybody tells me who it was. UPDATE: ViewFromTheSolent reminds me it was Leg-Iron). For 'nationality' I chose 'English' (not 'British') and for 'racial origin' I put 'Other - European' (being a mish-mash of anything between Northern Ireland and Poland).

So that's this week's Fun Online Poll - have you completed your Census form yet?

Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.

"Armed with nothing but a heightened sense of smell.."

The Daily Mail on top form:

Drivers who light cigarettes in company cars are being hunted down by 'sniffer wardens' after a council teamed up with police to smoke them out.

Tendring District Council and Essex Police are so eager to catch employees having a puff behind the wheel that they've set up road blocks across the county. Armed with nothing but a heightened sense of smell, the sharp-nosed enforcers lie in wait, sniffing inside the cars of suspected lawbreakers, and scouring for used ashtrays...

Honduras shows us how to do it!

From The Times of India:

Lighting up a cigarette at home could bring a visit from Honduran police if a family member or even a visitor complains about secondhand smoke.

A new law that took effect on Monday banning smoking in most public and private spaces doesn't actually outlaw cigarettes inside homes, but it does have a provision allowing people to file complaints about secondhand smoke in homes.

Violations would bring a verbal warning on the first offense . After that could come arrest and a $311 fine — the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage in the country.

Even some anti-smoking advocates suspect that part of the law may not work. Armando Peruga, a program manager at the World Health Organization's Tobacco-Free Initiative, said the clause allowing family members to call police on their smoker relatives is confusing.

The clause "does not make much sense since the law clearly does not prohibit smoking at homes" , Peruga said. Some also say that the law will be almost impossible to enforce in a country of 8 million people with a rampant crime problem and only 12,000 police officers.

Note that the bansturbator-in-chief does not say that the law is completely insane and repressive; he merely says that it's "confusing", which is short hand for "an outright ban would be nice and simple".

That police-to-public ratio of 1:667 is impressive, that's about half European levels.

Things I learned today at the swimming pool.

1. The little lass invented a wonderful new game: two or more people put their heads underwater and then one of them shouts as loud as they can. It is just about possible to understand what that person is saying if you are only a few inches away from him or her. I wouldn't describe it as 'hours of fun' but it's certainly 'seconds of fun'.

2. There is a solemn black and white notice next to the ticket desk, which says something like: "For your privacy and security, photography is not allowed in the swimming pool area. If you wish to take photographs, please speak to a member of staff to arrange a suitable time. All unauthorised photographic equipment will be confiscated."

Right above that is a big yellow sign which says something like: "For your comfort and security, the swimming pool area is under CCTV surveillance"

Doth not compute

From The Metro:

A dentist who hid a pen camera in a changing room to film two women getting undressed has been suspended...

WTF???

Who gets undressed when they go to the dentist? Not the patients, surely, and I know that dental assistants usually wear a white coat or something, but surely they just wear that over their normal clothes?

The Wit & Wisdom of SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives)

From the FT:

All tax returns – both of companies and individuals – should be made public and listed companies should lose the right to appoint their own auditors, according to local authority chief executives.

At a time of huge public spending cuts, the move would help close the £42bn gap that HM Revenue and Customs says exists between the amount of tax that should be collected and the amount actually paid, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives said on Wednesday.

It would also ensure that the greater transparency over spending now being demanded of the public sector was matched by similar transparency over how the money is raised, Derek Myers, chairman of Solace’s management board, said.

Mr Myers, chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea, one of the top performing councils, said local authorities had no problem with the coalition’s demand that every line of expenditure above £500 should be published, along with council salaries...

In case you're wondering, Kensington & Chelsea is a hardcore Tory-run council.

iDave parrots Labour

From the BBC:

David Cameron has defended plans to use credit rating firms to "go after" people fraudulently claiming benefits (1)...

"If you are entitled to welfare and can claim it then you should claim it but if you are not entitled to it you should not get and should not claim it." (2)

He said the £1.5bn a year fraud was enough to pay for 40,000 NHS nurses (3), and cutting fraud, error and waste in the benefits system was the "first thing" the government ought to do as it cuts spending...

1) To heck with that, it's just an excuse for more government contracts to fakeprivatecompanies. The problem is the Yuman Rights Act and Data Protection nonsense that prevents the police or DWP from making the most basic checks. A few years ago I contacted Scotland Yard vis à vis some terrorists who had been renting a one-bedroom flat from me (long story), and one of the many multiple identities they had registered was a woman who had had a baby in the hospital round the corner. I asked the officers why they didn't just pop round there and do a bit of digging but they told me that the maternity unit would refuse to tell them anything.

Neither could they check up on the National Insurance contributions records (there were letters with NI numbers on them) or ask the DSS/HMRC which passports had been presented to support the applications for NI numbers. Even the bank statements looked weird - instead of add amounts going in regularly (benefits or wages) and small, regular withdrawal of £10 or £20; small, round amounts were being paid in and a round £100 was withdrawn once or twice a week. But they couldn't check those either, nor demand CCTV footage of the people doing the withdrawing from the cash machine. And so on.

2) Agreed. Which is yet another advantage to a radically simplified welfare system, i.e. Citizen's Income, or what the DWP are now referring to as Universal Credits. And instead of trying to hound people into job training, civil servants could spend a bit more time on tracking down fake identities etc. Let's abandon 'conditionality' as regards family status, number of job interviews attended and have a bit more conditionality as to people proving that they are who they say they are and that they live where they say they live. Make people re-apply each year or two, whatever.

3) This is the bit that sticks in the craw - every time the Tories ever suggested modest tax cuts, Labour would immediately express that in terms of how many teachers' or nurses' jobs would be lost. But let's assume that 40,000 nurses cost £1.5 billion per annum (just under £40,000 each, seems about right); there are 400,000 nurses in the NHS, so they'd cost £15 billion per annum in total.

Ho hum. The total annual cost of the NHS is well over £100 billion, so where does the rest of the money go? The Tories, kept missing this open goal while in opposition and don't appear to be aware that it's still there now.

What about PayPal? And "known" to whom?

From the BBC:

Credit and debit card companies should face fines if their products are used to buy child pornography on the internet, an MP says. The Labour MP, Geraint Davies - whose motion is being debated on Wednesday - said he wanted an end to anonymity for pre-paid credit cards. He said as long as the users of the cards remained anonymous the credit card firms were "complicit" in the viewing of child pornography. Forty MPs have so far backed his call.

Mr Davies told BBC Radio 4's Today: "The major abuse now in terms of use of credit cards for downloading child pornography is through pre-paid credit cards, which you can pick up for around £100 a time at your local shop or service station. They're completely anonymous, you can register as Donald Duck at Buckingham Palace, and then use these, through a password or directly, to download abusive images."

Geraint Davies' motion in full: "That leave be given to bring in a Bill to impose penalties on credit and debit card providers for the facilitation of the downloading of child pornography from the internet; and for connected purposes"

The Swansea West MP said the identity of the person who owned a pre-paid card should be known.

These arguments fail for use of the word should and in any event, "known" to whom?

Further, he is muddling two completely separate issues: fines can be levied on the credit card companies whether the identity of the person using it is known or not. And if PayPal goes "legit", then as sure as eggs are eggs, there'll be plenty of others to take its place.

One out, one in.

Stupid rule kicked out via the front door: Child abuse vetting scheme cancelled as 'draconian'. The original vetting plans covered one in four of the adult population. Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that registration, due to begin next month, has been put on hold. There will be a review of the entire vetting and barring scheme, with a scaling back to "common-sense levels"... The government says the vetting scheme would have been "disproportionate and overly burdensome"...*

Ah... but look what's trying to sneak in via the back door: Clearer and tougher rules are needed to help protect people visting children's farms, experts say. The recommendations were made by an investigation into the biggest ever farm E. coli outbreak. More than 90 people were struck down by the potentially fatal 0157 strain of the bug at Surrey's Godstone Farm last year... The assessment of risk by the farm was inadequate as it primarily relied on visitors washing their hands**, the inquiry said...

* I trust that the ContactPoint database will be scrapped as well, it's not entirely clear.

** How about putting up a couple of big signs saying "Now wash your hands"? Job done. And while this strain may well be 'potentially fatal', none of those 'more than 90 people' appear to have died.

Word Of The Week

studentification

The HMO (Houses in multiple occupation) rules are an absolute disaster; it was never clear to anybody what they were supposed to achieve, apart from having an excuse to employ an army of council snoopers. As somebody pointed out to me once, the only really relevant elfin safety consideration with housing is fire and smoke.* Not only is this the least of our worries, in statistical terms, the people most likely to die in fires are children (who hide in wardrobes and then suffocate) and the elderly or disabled. And conversely, the people least likely to die in fires are healthy adults.

So if a house is let to one or two families with children, it is not an HMO (to be an HMO it has to be let to three unrelated tenants) and so there'd be no inspections for fire safety; conversely, if it is let to four unrelated adults, who are not really at risk, it will be inspected.

Furthermore, yes, I accept there are a lot of people living in fairly crap and/or expensive accommodation, but that is just the way the market works; if you deliberately restrict the supply of housing while simultaneously subsidising rents (via Housing Benefit) then people will end up overpaying.

* And gas or carbon monoxide leaks, but it has long been a requirement for landlords to have annual checks carried out in this regard, which is fair enough. What is a bloody outrage is the requirement for an annual check on electrical safety and the fact that every bit of metal (radiators, pipework etc) has to be 'cross bonded', which is a complete scam perpetrated by The Honourable Guild Of Electricians.