Further ID Card FAIL...

Seems I was off the mark when wondering why the Manchester Evening News didn't report about the latest ID Card cock-up. Instead, they were actually doing some investigating and found:

Customer service staff at nine major travel companies – including British Airways, Eurostar and BMI baby – told M.E.N reporters posing as customers that the cards could NOT be used instead of passports.

Not just P and O Ferries then...

Eight of the nine companies later issued statements saying staff had given the wrong advice – and that the cards COULD be used after all. But Eurostar remained unsure. A spokesman said: “We are unable to confirm whether the ID cards are valid on Eurostar at this time.”
Meanwhile two major German airlines said they would not accept the cards until they had been officially recognised by the German federal authorities.

So, on the assumption you can get on Eurostar  in the current weather, take a passport and not an ID Card, and probably not an idea to use one why flying on German airlines...

ID Cards, the gift that keeps on giving.

ID Card Epic Fail!

On the way to work this morning, the radio had a story about a Salford man who tried to use his new shiny ID card - here in Manchester we're trialling it - and it was declined. Oops. The local paper hasn't run the story yet, possibly as one of their 'journalists' had a Polly Filler review on them, but El Reg has picked it up.

However P&O staff at check-in had never seen the card before and didn't know it was a valid travel document. The unfortunate Eastwood was told he would need his passport - which he had left at home - to travel.
"We had no idea the ID card was being trialled," a P&O spokesman explained. "Mr Eastwood turned up with a form of ID we didn't recognise."

If that's not bad enough:

A spokesman for the ferry firm told us that UK borders agency staff at the port (Hull) didn't know about the ID card either, a suggestion strongly denied by a Home Office spokeswoman.

Of course we all know how trustworthy and downright honest the Home Office is...

After Meg Hillier forgetting hers when trying to foist it on the Scousers, the fact that it's not being taken up very much - and those who are taking it up are finding it doesn't do what it says on the tin - time to say goodnight to this terrible idea.

Trafigura

Carter-Fuck are back to injunctive ways, this time hitting the beeb.

So, as CF is requesting bloggers put this Newsnight video on their blogs:

Balancing the Politically Correct Books...

I've blogged in the past in the North West Asian Mafia, and how in places like Oldham the police and council have been terrified of doing anything about it lest we have another riot.

Well, after a couple of deaths they've grown some balls and clamped down on the asian areas where drugs gangs have been openly operating. Reading it though, and well, it looks like they're doing the bare minimum:

Police have also arrested 12 people aged between 16 and 28 on suspicion of crimes ranging from drugs offences to carrying a knife

Operation Advice was launched in Werneth in the summer and officers are now targeting Glodwick.

They are carrying out extra patrols and encouraging people to come forward with information.

The vehicles confiscated for expired MOTs are worth around £18,000 and include a VW Polo, Vauxhall Frontera Sport and a Toyota Yaris.

 Hmmmm. Perhaps if they tried again around after midnight at weekends? More comedy though, in that in order to appear fair they've had to go raid some non-asian areas. The quote:

Those arrested are predominantly white.

Says it all. I mean I'm happy they're cracking down on the gangs, it's just pretty pathetic when it's taken a couple of murders and some beatings to force them to tackle it the asian areas, and political correctness to make them go after the non-asian gangs.

Is this what our policing system has become? Where the police only go out and only do that inconvenient protecting the public thing when things get so bad, they have to do something rather than bullshit some stats?

Sigh.

Cliff Notes - If You're Black *AND* a Cunt...

It may be worth considering the reason you're so thoroughly disliked is nothing to do with your skin colour, and everything to do with you being an unfettered and unrepentant arsehole of the first order.

The PBR

What was I expecting? Well, I wasn't expecting much, which from this government is usually a wise thing to expect. But this?

I knew hoping for some plan to reduce the public sector was a pissing-in-the-wind exercise, structural deficits not being something Labour governments grasp. But this?

They plan to increase NI, a tax on growth there badger-face, well done. VAT is still going back up at a very stupid time, and they're going to teach the bankers to give out bonuses. Oh yes, a 10% on money made from patents. Another anti-growth measure...

Now, as a one-off, I'm really not giving a shit about the bonus tax as it's a bit like complaining about the White Star Line's canape collection, post-iceberg. Windfall taxes are nothing new, and as long as there's a bit of understanding no one really gets inconvenienced - the government gets to look all banker bashing, when in actual fact no bonuses were harmed in the making of this desperate plea for votes. Sure, the bank have to go dig out the abacuses in order to circumvent the tax, but circumvent it they will.

Take a look at the other stuff though and you have a PBR straight from the Brothers Grimm book of fairytales. The original ones, the ones without the Disney endings.

Under 24? Shit out of luck working for the last 6 months? We'll guarantee you training! Want some insulation? Have some! For free!

I'm seeing plenty of spending, but very little in the way of where the fucking money is coming from. The sums don't appear to add up on the face of it, which is pretty bad as you usually have to dissect a Labour PBR to find the nasty surprises - this time the nasty stuff has crawled into view, however the banker bonus tax will probably outshine them...

We needed a statesmen like PBR, we got another political sop. We can rid ourselves of this troublesome lot soon enough, surely to the gods of shit and piss Cameron and his facile blue Vogons can't be any worse?

Back Doing IT in the NHS

Ironically just when the Government has announced they're cutting the NHS's IT upgrade. Nothing about stopping financial penalties for any trust avoiding Lorenzo - so they're all paying for it and promptly ignoring it on the basis it's shit.

In the last PCT I worked I encountered a couple of amazingly skilled people who wouldn't survive in the private sector, in this one the previous person managed to monumentally fuck up. It really is amazing the difference in how different aspects of the NHS function, in skills, funding and general handling of IT.

And that's where the government has gone so horribly wrong in how it handles IT in the NHS, the insane fuckers have tried decentralized and centralize at the same time. Lorenzo's an expensive boondoggle, the spine and upgrade is a good idea done wrong - instead of having the same bloody software, how about just requiring the same data retention and use XML to transfer data between systems?