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I do not support Digital IDs (part 2)

Since I last published a blog post about the UK Governments Digital ID plans, a few things have happened.
I remain unsatisfied by the governments responses and attitudes and I am still concerned about this proposal.

First, the petition on the government website has reached nearly 3 million signatures.
That’s nearly 1 in 25 people in the country that disagree with the plans.
The government gave a useless response to this, and it is awaiting a debate in parliament

I also wrote an email to my local MP (who is a member of the Labour Government), detailing my concerns.
The response I got back failed to accurately address any of the points that I had raised, and stinks of PR-drivel that they’ve obviously been instructed to copy and paste back to anyone that broaches the subject.

  1. It doubled down on the line that this was merely a proposal and there would be a consultation. I’ve read and responded to a few public consultations in the past few years, I know how they work. The government has an idea, and they ask just enough questions worded in a leading way to get answers that can lightly reshape what they’re planning, but never enough to risk the possibility that the project should be substantially changed or cancelled altogether.
  2. The response reiterated that this would in effect be a digital ID card – already a deviation from the initial idea that it would simply be a digital right to work check.
  3. It used mealymouthed jargon about “encryption and authentication and decentralising”, reminding me that “the highest data security standards will be followed as well as best practice”. Unfortunately for my MP, I actually understand cybersecurity, and these buzzwords with no substance behind them do not fill me with any kind of confidence.
  4. The response uses fearmongering, scaring me about the risk that having multiple documents creates opportunity for “forgery and fraud” should I not have a digital ID, without addressing the very obvious question of how consolidating ID into a single point of failure reduces the risk of identity fraud, rather than heightening it because now there’s only a single document you need to forge.
  5. It repeats the nonsensical doublespeak that the scheme “will not be compulsory”, while beginning the very next sentence with the words “It would be mandatory”.
  6. The MP attempts a final cynical tug at my heartstrings talking about how this will help disabled people, therefore the scheme is justifiable for everyone.

Not once did he answer my concerns about the ultimate goals of the scheme, how accessible the implementation would be, nor what the security of implementation and trust of management would actually look like.
I have given up hope of my MP taking my concerns seriously on this issue.

Yesterday (at time of writing) the UK Government recently held an informal debate (we are still awaiting the full scale debate demanded by the aforementioned petition) about their forthcoming Digital ID plans.
In it the official responses from Labour party representatives revealed yet more cause for concern.
They attempted to deviate discussion by accusing the SNP of hypocrisy because in Scotland they have smart cards (entirely voluntary), digital government accounts (entirely voluntary and nothing to do with a national identity scheme), and previously had a COVID system (necessary in the midst of a global deadly pandemic, mothballed when it was no longer needed, and again nothing to do with a national Id scheme).
They failed to address any of the concerns that opponents brought up, surrounding what the goals of the scheme would actually be achieved, how issues with digital connectivity would be addressed.
The government has repeatedly made claims that because it works in Estonia it must therefore be able to work in the UK, with no mention given to the fact that Estonia has been perfecting and adapting this for decades, on top of more decades of non-digital ID use, whereas the UK is jumping into this idea completely virgin.

A point of great concern rose when the government started talking about federation of data storage during this debate.
It seems the government has completely dispensed of the idea of this being a simple digital right to work check, even though barely a month has passed since the last big announcement of this project being exactly that and nothing more.
Instead, the scheme (card? app? single sign on? API? dashboard?) will no longer be the digital equivalent of some sort of right to work check, and now might instead be some sort of federated data sharing service between government departments.
Federated data storage brings with it huge considerations about privacy and security – you need to design endpoints for accessing data and making sure they are entirely secure, you may need to digitise whole datasets to make sure they can interact with this, you need to ensure that permissions, controls, logging, implementation security is standardised across every government department and public body that might interact with this.
While I would in fact be very pleased if the government were to make improvements in these areas as a matter of course, the fact these requirements seem to have been tacked on to this proposal as an afterthought does not fill me with confidence.

Viewing this cynically, it is clear that the government does not actually want to commit to detailing what exactly the digital ID scheme will look like, and I suspect there are 3 reasons for this:

  1. The government does not actually know what they want to do here. Some advisor behind the scenes suggested this proposal because they need to be seen to do something about immigration, only because they themselves have been making such a big issue of it, so they suggested an ID system and tried to water it down to make it palatable.
  2. When the backlash happened and they were faced with serious questions about how it would actually be implemented and run they realise that the scheme is likely unworkable. So they are deliberately keeping it nebulous and fluid that way it can change while still keeping the same name, so that much like the ship of Theseus, in a few years time before the next election they can claim they successfully implemented “something” that they promised, regardless of whatever it actually is.
  3. By keeping the details vague, it stifles debate and accountability. You can’t challenge someone if the thing you’re challenging changes to fit whatever your opponent desires most in the moment. You can’t later accuse someone of lying or failing to deliver if they never actually promised anything concrete.

I will still keep raising my concerns, but I am at a bit of a loss as to what I can actually do short of screaming into the void.

lonm.vivaldi.net/2025/10/22/i-…

#DigitalID #politics #privacy #security #UKPol #UKPolitics #Politics



“Are the NPCs in Pokémon Legends: Z-A okay?” — “Ma gli NPC in Leggende Pokémon Z-A stanno bene?”


È intrigante vedere che, se da un lato ci sono i gamer brainrottati come me, che con Pokémon Z-A stanno godendo, e dall’altro tutti quelli ancora sani che, loro malgrado, anche questo giochino non riescono proprio a farselo andare giù… in mezzo ci sono tutti quei pazzi che ogni giorno mi danno l’ispirazione per continuare […]

octospacc.altervista.org/2025/…


“Are the NPCs in Pokémon Legends: Z-A okay?” — “Ma gli NPC in Leggende Pokémon Z-A stanno bene?”


È intrigante vedere che, se da un lato ci sono i gamer brainrottati come me, che con Pokémon Z-A stanno godendo, e dall’altro tutti quelli ancora sani che, loro malgrado, anche questo giochino non riescono proprio a farselo andare giù… in mezzo ci sono tutti quei pazzi che ogni giorno mi danno l’ispirazione per continuare a vivere che, anziché pensare alle cose importanti dell’esperienza, vanno a cercare i dettagli inutili ma pazzurdi… tipo i dialoghi degli NPC in giro per Luminopoli, e la grande scoperta che viene da una passeggiata del genere è che questi individui sono quasi tutti assolutamente cucinati. 🌚

youtube.com/watch?v=c2Gzqglt_X…

Lasciando stare il dibattito su se sia buono avere la maggior parte degli NPC nella città con questi dialoghi pop-up che si leggono in automatico, e non solo quelli vecchio stile a cui bisogna parlare interagendoci (che ci sono, ma di meno), per cui ora una parte dell’esplorazione è stata uccisa, perché ora sia i dialoghi spassosi che quelli chiave non sono da scoprire con fatica, ma lo si fa totalmente per caso camminando… È evidente che stavolta, quelli che nel team di sviluppo sono soliti dare voce ai personaggi circa inutili, si sono divertiti parecchio, e forse questa è l’unica cosa che a Game Freak ancora si salva (nel contesto di Pokémon, si intende, perché tolto quello per qualche motivo i giochi li sanno fare apparentemente bene). 😤

La varietà è grande e vale la pena guardare tutto il video — mi secca solo che sia in inglese, perché scommetto che in italiano tutte le cose sono solo più divertenti… magari farò un video o un articolo io con la stessa premessa, chi lo sa — ma bene o male tutto si può classificare in delle precise categorie: vecchi che vivono crisi di terza età, membri della forza lavoro o gente non meglio specificata che parla di cose e problemi spaventosamente reali, e allenatori che nelle loro giornate hanno idee o modi di agire decisamente bizzarri, e in certi casi preoccupanti. A tratti le cose sembrano pensieri intrusivi usciti direttamente dalle teste degli sviluppatori, ed altre volte frasi uscite direttamente da biscotti della fortuna, quindi che dire. 📜

Comunque sia, un filo rosso di pazzia lega tutte queste persone, e beh… nei commenti c’è chi dice che forse è colpa della deprivazione del sonno, che in effetti ha senso: da un lato, per chi partecipa alla Royale Z-A, e passa la notte a fare lotte… e, dall’altro, chi semplicemente subisce l’infinito inquinamento acustico che dalle zone lotta si diffonderà fuori (anche se, in realtà, ogni notte la posizione cambia, quindi la possibilità di dormire ogni tanto la avrebbero… vabbé). Però, caspiterina, queste abilità di scrittura sono sprecate per un RPG a mondo statico come Pokémon… sarebbe invece bellissimo avere dialoghi di questo tenore in un gioco di simulazione a conversazione dinamica come Animal Crossing… (Immaginiamo a questo punto se Game Freak e Nintendo si scambiassero i dipendenti…) 🤖


Gli NPC in questo gioco faranno piangere, ma le nuove lotte dinamiche sono bellissime, e io non me lo aspettavo. Scopri precisamente tutta l’epicità nel nuovo articolo stufocttato: Le sfavillanti lotte in tempo reale di Leggende Pokémon: Z-A. (Messaggio promocttionale, abbiate pazienza.)

#dialoghi #GVG #Pokémon #PokemonZA





Climate-Warming Methane Emissions from the World’s Biggest Livestock Companies Are Bigger Than From Major Oil and Gas Companies


Ahead of the United Nations climate talks in Brazil, advocacy groups are pushing for companies and governments to set meaningful emissions targets to lower emissions from livestock.

The world’s biggest meat and dairy companies are responsible for emitting more climate-warming methane than all of the countries in the European Union and United Kingdom combined, according to a new assessment published Monday.

They looked at 45 major livestock and dairy companies, finding that they generated about 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023—roughly the same amount as reported for Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest oil producer.

Questa voce è stata modificata (3 giorni fa)
in reply to solo

Because oil and gas don't emit methane into the atmosphere if they can help it. It's a sellable product to them.

I do agree that agriculture methane emissions should be dealt with, but the headline is misleading.

in reply to Duamerthrax

I don't think it's a misleading title because leaks are considered emissions.

The leaks from oil & gas are huge to begin with, and some of them are even called super-emitting methane leaks. From another article:

About 40% of human-caused methane emissions come from leaks from fossil fuel exploration, production and transportation. These rose by almost 50% between 2000 and 2019. Another 40% comes from agriculture(...) All are forecast to rise.


Not only that these leaks and are not visible to the naked eye, so

the big challenge is knowing exactly how much methane is being emitted, where it is being emitted and for how long it has been emitted. [source UN environment program]
Questa voce è stata modificata (3 giorni fa)


‘Chiraq Team 2’: Oak Park attorney catches glimpse of federal agents’ group chat during arrest • The TRiiBE


Attorney Scott Sakiyama stood in front of reporters in Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Oct. 10. Paul Ivery, a 26-year-old intellectually disabled Black man and Oak Park local, was leaving the courthouse after enduring nearly two weeks of criminal proceedings. The government claimed Ivery assaulted a Border Patrol agent at a protest at the suburban Broadview ICE facility on Sept. 27, only to drop the case two weeks later. Sakiyama, a fellow Oak Park resident, didn’t represent Ivery in court but offered to act as a spokesperson for his family.

“If the case had gone forward, it probably would have lasted for months, and so it’s just such a relief to have it over now,” Sakiyama told reporters on Oct.10.

Ten days later, Sakiyama ended up in the back of a vehicle used by federal immigration agents himself. The masked agents detained him at gunpoint on the morning of Oct. 20 and brought him to the same Broadview ICE facility. He sat in the vehicle with agents for about a half hour outside the facility before another agent gave him a citation for impeding a federal officer.

They then returned him to his own car and wished him a good day, he said.



Chi di voi usa alternative a social popolari?


Escludendo lemmy ovviamente, cosa usate? Matrix al post di whatsapp, bluesky al posto di twitter?

Mi sto interessando a cambiare social(e magari aiutare pure i miei amici a cambiare social) e mi chiedo, avete consigli per delle alternative libere a discord? Ho visto Revolt e non so bene se valga la pena

in reply to Axolotl_cpp

Uso “molto” telegram e signal al posto di whatsapp. Totale: 100 contatti su whatsapp e 4 fuori -.-

Sono alternative che supporto, ma non hanno trazione tra i miei contatti, quindi penso che resterà così. Meglio che niente

reshared this

in reply to Eq0

Effettivamente spesso torno a whatsapp perchè tutti lo usano...


Blackout: A new movement to ban social media for under-16s has a huge blind spot.


to be enforced by way of biometric scanning and ID tokens


Do we really want to do a biometric scan to access websites in New Zealand?



This Month’s Two Tiny Changes

Each month during 2025 we’re offering two tiny changes which may help improve your life. This month …

  1. Do a timed 10-minute tidy every day. Improving the cleanliness & tidiness of the house will help relieve depression.
  2. Brush your teeth standing on one foot. It’ll strengthen your legs and improve your balance.

#blog #changes #improvement #life #personal #zenmischief



What's Your "Digital Comfort Food"?


We spend so much time online, but how much of it genuinely feeds us?

We all have our go-to websites, apps, or online rituals that feel like a warm blanket. Maybe it's a specific niche forum, a calming puzzle game, a curated music playlist, or a blog you've read for a decade.

I'm curious: What's your digital comfort food? What's that one corner of the internet you retreat to that always leaves you feeling a little bit better, calmer, or more inspired?

For me, it's organizing my digital spaces. There's something deeply satisfying about decluttering my phone's home screen and customizing my most-used apps to be as minimal and efficient as possible. It makes the digital world feel a little more like my world. This drive for a personalized experience even extends to using tools that offer more control, like wa gb apk for a cleaner, more tailored messaging setup.

So, what's yours? Share your links and reasons below—let's build a list of wholesome corners of the web



Le sfavillanti lotte in tempo reale di Leggende Pokémon: Z-A


In questi ultimi giorni, nel continuare a giocare al nuovo gioco di Leggende Pokémon: Z-A — mettendo un attimo da parte tutti i non pochi problemi

stuff.octt.eu.org/2025/10/lott…



L’uomo dall’altro mondo. Storie da un’Italia (im)possibile


reshared this




in reply to sabreW4K3

Yikes. They might’ve been jerks in the second Mighty Ducks movie but dang, they don’t deserve mosquitoes. Nobody does.
in reply to sabreW4K3

Noooooo, my last summer refuge from the mosquito scourge!

(Lol as if I could afford to leave the most prosperous and bestest nation on Earth).





Are We Living in a Golden Age of Stupidity? - Slashdot


Test scores across OECD countries peaked around 2012 and have declined since. IQ scores in many developed countries appear to be falling after rising throughout the twentieth century. Nataliya Kosmyna at MIT's Media Lab began noticing changes around two years ago when strangers started emailing her to ask if using ChatGPT could alter their brains. She posted a study in June tracking brain activity in 54 students writing essays. Those using ChatGPT showed significantly less activity in networks tied to cognitive processing and attention compared to students who wrote without digital help or used only internet search engines. Almost none could recall what they had written immediately after submitting their work. She received more than 4,000 emails afterward. Many came from teachers who reported students producing passable assignments without understanding the material. A British survey found that 92% of university students now use AI and roughly 20% have used it to write all or part of an assignment. Independent research has found that more screen time in schools correlates with worse results. Technology companies have designed products to be frictionless, removing the cognitive challenges brains need to learn. AI now allows users to outsource thinking itself.





Federal immigration and customs agents raid vendors in NYC's Chinatown











Mass Call: What's Next After No Kings? · No Kings


This starts at the top of the hour, for anyone curious about where the movement goes from here.

This is my first time wading into these waters, so I have no idea what to expect, but this seems the sort of thing some here might be interested in.



in reply to silence7

It's easier to change banks than it is to make your bank change.

The (sadly messy) website of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values lists ethical banks around the world. I'm very happy with mine. 😀



Zuckerberg to testify in landmark social media trial


[quote]The trial, expected in January, is among the first to advance from a wave of litigation accusing social media companies of making their apps addictive and enticing to young people despite being aware of mental health and other risks.[/quote]
The trial, expected in January, is among the first to advance from a wave of litigation accusing social media companies of making their apps addictive and enticing to young people despite being aware of mental health and other risks.




Suddenly, Democratic Politicians Are Running Away From AIPAC


cross-posted from: sh.itjust.works/post/48345159

When he launched his campaign last week for a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat, Representative Seth Moulton made sure that one of his first moves was to announce that he is returning campaign donations that he received from individuals affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and would no longer accept campaign support from the group. Also last week, popular podcast hosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan pressed Senator Cory Booker to answer whether he considered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal; The Ringer’s Van Lathan told Governor Gavin Newsom that Lathan would not support a 2028 candidate who took money from AIPAC, resulting in the governor literally squirming and using the word “interesting” repeatedly; radio host Charlamagne tha God asked Governor Josh Shapiro if AIPAC donations improperly influence U.S. decisions on Israeli-Palestinian issues; and MSNBC’s Eugene Daniels asked Kamala Harris if Israel’s actions over the last two years constitute genocide.


Dal 2007: La Scienza Svela perché il Retinolo è l'Alleato Infallibile Contro i Segni del Tempo


Per decenni, il Retinolo, derivato della Vitamina A, è stato il "Santo Graal" della cosmesi anti-età. Ma questo mito è supportato dalla scienza? Assolutamente sì, e la prova risale a un rivoluzionario studio del 2007. Diciotto anni fa, una ricerca pionieristica dell'Università del Michigan ha dimostrato che il Retinolo non solo riduce le rughe, ma agisce in profondità, stimolando la produzione di procollagene e glicosaminoglicani, essenziali per l'idratazione e la struttura della pelle.

Da allora, la scienza ha trasformato questa intuizione in una certezza, rendendo il Retinolo il "gold standard" raccomandato dai dermatologi. Oggi, le sue azioni - aumento di collagene ed elastina, e accelerazione del rinnovamento cellulare - sono ampiamente confermate. Il segreto è la consapevolezza: un uso graduale e, soprattutto, una costante protezione solare. Il mito è reale, e la scienza lo celebra.



Sondaggi Grande Fratello, Chi vuoi salvare? Rasha, Benedetta o Matteo?


Sondaggio Grande Fratello: chi salveresti tra Rasha, Benedetta e Matteo?

Durante la puntata di ieri sera del Grande Fratello, sono stati messi in nomination tre concorrenti:

  • Rasha Younes, originaria della Giordania ma residente in Italia da molti anni
  • Benedetta Stocchi, affascinante partecipante di Norcia
  • Matteo Azzali, proveniente da Parma

La consueta domanda è: chi vuoi salvare tra i tre? Il sistema di votazione rimane invariato: si vota per chi si desidera salvare. I due concorrenti che ricevono più preferenze saranno al sicuro, mentre quello con meno voti verrà eliminato dal programma.

Il sondaggio, aperto ieri sera, ha già fornito i primi risultati:

  • Rasha Younes guida con il 49% delle preferenze
  • Benedetta Stocchi segue con il 27%
  • Matteo Azzali chiude con il 23%

Chi sarà eliminato? Ai fan l'ultima parola!



Nitro annuncia “INCUBI”: il nuovo album esce venerdì 14 novembre. Pre-order attivo e grande ritorno live al Fabrique (1 aprile 2026)


Un portale spalancato dentro la mente, dove sogni e paure prendono forma: Nitro torna con “INCUBI”, in uscita venerdì 14 novembre. Il pre-order è già disponibile e inaugura un capitolo che mette al centro l’immaginario più viscerale dell’artista: il confine tra desiderio e vuoto, tra ciò che cerchiamo e ciò che ci divora quando lo otteniamo.

SCOPRI I DETTAGLI: Nitro annuncia “INCUBI”: il nuovo album esce venerdì 14 novembre. Pre-order attivo e grande ritorno live al Fabrique (1 aprile 2026)




Ascolti TV 20 Ottobre 2025: i dati Auditel della prima serata


Ascolti TV 20 Ottobre 2025 – Come ogni mattina, ecco i dati Auditel ufficiali della prima serata di ieri lunedì 20 ottobre 2025.

Gli ascolti TV di ieri, lunedì 20 ottobre 2025, incoronano Blanca 3 su Rai 1 come regina del prime time. La fiction con Maria Chiara Giannetta continua a macinare successi, conquistando 3.915.000 spettatori e il 23,9% di share.
Sul fronte Mediaset, Grande Fratello su Canale 5 si ferma a 1.873.000 spettatori con il 14,2%, mentre Italia 1 ottiene buoni risultati con Jack Reacher – La prova decisiva.

TUTTI I DATI: Ascolti TV 20 Ottobre 2025: i dati Auditel della prima serata



‘Le Iene presentano: Inside’ torna su Italia 1 con il caso Garlasco: anticipazioni della puntata di martedì 21 ottobre 2025


Il primo appuntamento stagionale di ‘Le Iene presentano: Inside’ riaccende i riflettori sul delitto di Garlasco, il caso di Chiara Poggi che, a distanza di quasi vent’anni e cinque processi, continua a dividere l’opinione pubblica. La puntata, in onda oggi, martedì 21 ottobre 2025, promette testimonianze esclusive, rivelazioni inedite e un quadro aggiornato dei possibili sviluppi investigativi.

LE ANTICIPAZIONI: ‘Le Iene presentano: Inside’ torna su Italia 1 con il caso Garlasco: anticipazioni della puntata di martedì 21 ottobre 2025





In un video Trump sparge letame sui manifestanti


Certo che un video in cui IL PRESIDENTE da un aereo sparge letame sui manifestanti è proprio quello di cui avevano bisogno i nazionalisti de noantri per andare in pellegrinaggi alla sua corte youtube.com/shorts/71jSyYNHSvQ
E ora spuntano anche messaggi in cui Meloni dichiara di voler abbandonare l'Europa e annettersi agli USA.