JBJ's e-snips on privacy matters
extracts deemed relevant from a European perspective,
compiled [and complemented] by the Swiss Investors Protection Association,
box 2580, 1211 Geneva 2   -   tel&fax: +4122-7400362  -  e-mail: swissbit@solami.com
www.solami.com/brad - www.solami.com/privacyhome - www.solami.com/Orwell
www.solami.com/QInews - www.solami.com/lexamericana
____________

J.Bradley Jansen (JBJ) is with the Free Congress Foundation, Washington (202-5463000, www.freecongress.org); he was on the staff of U.S. Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas)
Washintgton office: 202-2252831; rep.paul@mail.house.gov - www.house.gov/paul/privacy

____________

"I think that we should have absolute protection of financial privacy as well as medical privacy."
U.S. Vice President Al Gore, as quoted by William Safire, New York Times, 15 June 2000

"What they really need to do is to stop deputizing bank tellers as law enforcement agents."
Rep. Ron Paul, commenting on HR 3886, the global KYC bill;
"We should be able to more clearly define what a crime is.
 And when an act violates the rights of another individual, that is a crime.
But when government comes in and decides they are going
to teach people about their behavior and their habits, that becomes the crime,
because that violates the right of the individual to make a choice."
commenting on HR 4419; and
"Some members of Congress will claim
that the federal government needs the power to monitor Americans
in order to allow the government to operate more efficiently.
 I would remind my colleagues that, in a constitutional republic,
the people are never asked to sacrifice their liberties
to make the job of government officials a little bit easier.
 We are here to protect the freedom of the American people,
not to make privacy invasion more efficient."
commenting the House adoption of his amendment to protect medical privacy on 14 June 2000

Yes to Tax Competition:  "the OECD demanded that low-tax nations or so-called tax havens
agree to dismantle financial privacy or face financial protectionism ...
Moreover, the financial protectionism that the OECD wants to impose against low-tax regimes
is against our national interests and would also endanger the economies of other nations. "
House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas),
letter to Sec. Summers http://www.freedom.gov/library/economics/oecdletter.asp
more key quotes
____________

4 Dec 2000  -  QI Regulations: Stop This Train - Or It Will Stop You!

"The Pyrrhic Victory of the IRS - Following the Flag: The IRS enlists foreign banks and brokers for global tax enforcement,  BARRON'S editorial  by Thomas G. Donlan
20 Nov 2000  -  The IRS Money Laundering Machine: QI Regulations
More Government & Protection for Mafia, Less Legitimate Investments & Privacy

17 Nov 2000  - Eizenstat pledges global KYC will continue to haunt us

25 Sep 2000  -  Fight Against OECD and for Financial Privacy Picks Up Steam

OECD to speed sanctions talks with tax havens
Eizenstadt Urges IMF, World Bank to Fight Laundering
Heritage Foundation Lunchon on Tax Competition
Cato Institute on Sovereignty and Privacy
14/21 Aug 2000  -  OECD under attack; OECD hypocrisy; praise for tax competition; IMF protests;CEI on privacy
Should U.S. tax policy be made in Paris?
OECD war on low tax countries
OECD must assess itself - down to its private wine cellars
Right to Privacy Too Often Overlooked
Politics & Privacy
Internet users take hard line on privacy
21 Jun 2000  -  Drug war hypocrisy and the U.S. Government's indifference to privacy
White House admits Web privacy breach
REDISCOVERING THE FOURTH AMENDMENT
"Police Have No Duty To Protect Individuals"
Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition
19 Jun 2000  -  H.Res. 495 lauds OECD's Financial Action Task Force FATF, where unelected modern-day Prohibition bureaucrats wage war on our financial privacy
Caribbean Havens Fight Back arrogant OECD/FATF finger-pointing
British Virgin Islands Bends to OECD Demands
IRS Might Get Offshore Bank Information
The Terrorism Excuse
Swiss Haven Days, Not Bank Accounts, Numbered  [not, if we can help it]
Liechtenstein Faces More Money Laundering Problems
Sparbuch Dead: Austria Escapes FATF Pressure
Denmark: To Bank or Not to Bank?
UK Net Spy Plans Cause Furor of Protests
The decriminalisation debate
15 Jun 2000  -  Al Gore: "I think that we should have absolute protection of financial privacy", as quoted by William Safire in the New York Times
Medical Privacy hearing
FTC's privacy recommendations, lawmakers query Clinton
14 Jun 2000  -  Paul Amendment Protecting Privacy Passes Congress
Austria caves in to pressure by OECD's international fiscal police FATF
How Much is Your Privacy Worth?
in U.S., total estimated compliance cost: $108,982,512 for 1999
12 Jun 2000  -  European Union hardball pays off on privacy awareness and protection

9 Jun 2000  -  Global KYC passes House Banking Committee

Privacy advocates lose telephone records case
Caribbean protest over Forum ratings
BIG BROTHER 2000 AWARDS
CONGRESS IS WORRIED ABOUT WHO HAS YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
8 Jun 2000  -  KYC-lite strong-armed through banking cmte
Paul medical privacy amendment vote in House
Keep Big Brother Out of Your Doctor's Office!
7 Jun 2000  -  Amendments to money laundering bill HR 3886

6 Jun 2000  -  [Internet Tax Poll Results]

OECD FORUM fingers Cayman Islands and others for privacy practices
2 Jun 2000  -  Same old threats to privacy
WAR ON DRUGS:  JUST SAY `NO MORE'
Internet, Privacy and the Open Source Movement
CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY APPROVES INTERNET TAX MEASURE
SNIFFING OUT YOUR CIVIL RIGHTS
FLIERS MAY FACE SECRET SEARCHES
Ion-scanning in Canada, Britain, Australia
RENO'S OUTRAGEOUS SECRET SEARCHES MEASURE
FILTERS KOWTOWING TO HATE?
RIGHT TO ANONYMITY ON THE INTERNET
BIG LEAP FORWARD FOR LEGALLY BINDING IDS
FAITH-DESIGNATION ON ID CARDS
DELETE "BIG BROTHER" FILES
BRITAIN JOINS INTELLIGENCE-SHARING SYSTEM
JOIN THE COALITION FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES
31 May 2000  -  KYC under new name rears its ugly head
Secrets and spies
25 May 2000  -  Taking cash into custody - Across U.S., police dodge state seizure laws

24 May 2000  -  Selective privacy concerns

Privacy Takes Center Stage
FREEDOM Watch
WIRETAPS AND GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE
COALITION FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES
French Push EU Sanctions Against Offshore Havens
OFFSHORE MONEY MANUAL 2000
World Federal Bureau of Investigation?
Age of the Eavesdroppers
CyberCrime Excuse Destroying Internet Privacy
Upcoming Conferences and Events
8 May 2000  -  ["End the 'Bank Anti-Secrecy' Assault on Financial Privacy", Richard W.Rahn, Competitive Enterprise Institute, www.cei.org/OnPointReader.asp?ID=980]

5 May 2000  -  Privacy rules delayed; hypocrisy; real help

1 May 2000  -  Clinton follows on privacy issue; Ron Paul continues to lead

28 Apr 2000  -  OECD attack on privacy,  E c h e l o n , CAF, and other news

[PRIVACY IN THE YEAR ORWELL PLUS 16  -  part I  -  part II
OECD - its genesis, original purposes and secretive conversion into an Orwellian tool
Why and how U.S. lawmakers may help to re-establish real wealth privacy]
13 Apr 2000  -  Multilaterals attack privacy; CAF win;  E c h e l o n  again; military media?
"Close the World Bank and the IMF", K.R. Timmerman in The Wall Street Journal
12 Apr 2000  -  KYC-lite; Reg B; IMF/WB protests

7 Apr 2000  -  The global battle against financial privacy continues

4 Apr 2000  - "Suspicious Activity Reports" Having Little Impact

LIECHTENSTEIN under pressure
Israel a Money Laundering Paradise?
Feds Want Financial  E C H E L O N  Spy System
SEC's automated Web snooping scheme
JUDGE PUTS BRAKES ON CENSUS BUREAU ATTORNEY
European Parliament: Inquiry on  E c h e l o n
CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ATTEMPTS GLOBAL 'KYC' SCHEME
Reports catch few crooks but trample privacy
Ending secrecy
Concerns raised over savings tax proposal
9 Mar 2000  -  KYC goes global

2 Mar 2000  -  60 Minutes  E C H E L O N  transcript; IMF/$ laundering; WB/corruption

24 Feb 2000  -  E C H E L O N  Echoes at European Parliament Hearings

Hearing Report (http://www.iptvreports.mcmail.com/stoa_cover.htm)
Electronic surveillance among allies
Microsoft Funded/Founded by NSA?
Property rights continue to be an endangered liberty
Don't tread on freedom!
17 Feb 2000  -  E c h e l o n  unmasked; other privacy news

16 Feb 2000  -  S A I C  monitoring your bank account

S A I C  (Science Applications International Corp): a major  C I A ,  N S A  & Pentagon contractor
15 Feb 2000  - FATF gunboat diplomacy  /  E c h e l o n  admission
Financial Action Task Force FATF
A listening station
11 Feb 2000  - WHEN POLICE TAKE PROPERTY, WHO DO YOU CALL?
Beyond Fighting "Know Your Customer" and other Privacy Infringements
On behalf of 78 million credit union members
10 Feb 2000  -  Civil asset forfeiture and privacy
$ laundering/CAF hearing
Internet shutdown of Yahoo
Surveillance bill under fire - At issue is the burden of proof
historic forfeiture reform legislation is in danger of stalling in the Senate
9 Feb 2000  -  Privacy alerts; civil asset forfeiture
Secret Evidence
Senate must stop law enforcement from seizing American's property!
U.S. Senate vote expected on bill to reform civil asset-forfeiture laws
4 Feb 2000  -  Gov't violates privacy, medical privacy threatened, encryption
Medical Privacy Threatened
Rep. Barr Thanks Net Task Force for Rejecting Wiretaps
Clinton's Convoluted Encryption Policy
3 Feb 2000  -  "Tax cash?  Just Say 'No!'" -  Oppose "carry tax" on cash

31 Jan 2000  -  More laundering IMF; civil asset forfeiture; web privacy attacks by DoJ

IMF: Body probes Ukraine allegations
UKRAINE: Funds affair stirs debate on US ties
UKRAINE: Former PM alleges $613m fraud
Civil Asset Forfeiture (aka Legal Robbery)
28 Jan 2000  -  Medical privacy and EPIC forward
 The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century
28 Jan 2000  -  Carry tax and Endangered Liberties excerpts
Supreme Court upheld the Driver's Privacy Protection Act
Federal Reserve Ideas
E c h e l o n
Justice Dept. Tells Armey to Cool It On FIDNeT
South African Parliament passes 'big brother' law
27 Jan 2000  -  UN backing KYC; Civil asset forfeiture; IMF protests?
 WTO Follow-Up Protests
25 Jan 2000  -  KYC fight to renew with new congress
BANKING: Electronic crime prospers
24 Jan 2000  -  Battle for privacy
Getting to know you: The battle for privacy
Few Bank Laws Expected
20 Jan 2000  -  Know Your Customer is back
CORRUPTION: Crackdown on dirty funds
14 Jan 2000  -  "Endangered Liberties" and private money
Banks lose control of money
12 Jan 2000  -  Financial privacy fight gains strength
DMV Can't Sell Personal Info
Race Data Collection Opposed by Bankers
Liechtenstein fights to maintain privacy standards
11 Jan 2000  - KYC follow-up; Financial Cryptography in Anguilla
New Capital Standards Loom Large
Lisa Dean: KYC follow-up, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN
Payment Systems: The Next Generation
Self-Scrambler Anonymizers
National Security and Encryption in Israel and the United States
10 Jan 2000  -  KYC in the news
suspicious activity report, or SAR
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN
22 Dec 1999  -  "Hawkeish" on privacy
U.S. Comptroller of the Currency John Hawke:
"Privacy has become a key competitive factor"
Coalition for Constitutional Liberties
Biometrics at the ATM Machines
Laws Turn Banks Into Government Agents
Deciding What Is Suspicious
Frequently, activities that look suspicious later turn out to be easily explainable
Sometimes customers pay a stiff price for a bank's misunderstanding
Following the Money
August 27, 1999  -  Consumers want more bank privacy
 
 
 
more memorable quotes
(send in your own preferred key quote)

 
“No one shall be subject to arbitrary interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence . . .”
Everyone has a right to “protection of the law against such interference.”
U.N. Declaration of Human Rights (Article 12)

Commenting on the OECD's marauding and finger-pointing international finance police arm FATF,
Barbados Premier Owen Arthur said
it is "dangerous to accept that institutions with no standing in international law
'can dictate to sovereign states.'" "It's the law of the jungle --
the big countries using their power against little countries,'' he said.

        "Since 1996, using powers by the Bank Secrecy Act,
the government has imposed Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) regulations
on 23,000 banks and depository institutions throughout the U.S.
 Similar rules are to be imposed on all other financial institutions eventually.
 Revolutionary in character, these broad rules
converted bank officers and employees into proxy police. ...
        The banks have little choice but to enforce these ridiculous regulations. ...
 In 1997 in the United Kingdom 14,148 SARs were filed.
 According to the European Union (EU) parliamentary report on money laundering,
between 1994 and 1996 there were 45,000 SARs filed in the U.K.
 Yet to this day, out of a grand total of 25 U.K. convictions for money laundering,
only one prosecution resulted from filing a SAR!
         In the U.S. from April 1996, when the rules took effect, to September 1, 1997,
110,000 SARs were filed.  That’s according to a sketchy FinCEN, May 1998 report
that raised far more questions about effectiveness than it answered.  ...
There was no report as to what, if anything, happened to these cases. ...
         For just such magnificent crime fighting results,
the financial freedom and privacy of everyone has been destroyed."
former Rep. Robert E.Bauman, speaking on 9 March 2000 at a hearing of the
Committee on Banking & Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives

“Privacy is a fundamental human right.
No individual should be required to explain
why they wish their business to remain confidential,
just as no one has to justify why they should not
be subjected to arbitrary arrest or imprisonment.”
Marcus Killick, writing in Offshore Investment (November 1998)

Like Richard Rahn, author of "The End of Money and the Struggle for Financial Privacy",
Fred Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington,
is optimistic that the public will ask for and prevail,
and that the financial market of the future will thus be shaped by
the new-old "right to anonymous, undisclosed private property"
AGEFI, 6 December 1999

"... there is as much evidence that anti-money laundering activities by the government
are more apt to create organized crime than to curtail it.
Overzealous law enforcement creates a market for more sophisticated money handlers,
thus increasing the size of the criminal network. ...
 To expand their money laundering business, the organized crime leaders
have a vested interest in increasing the number of local drug pushers and common thieves.
FinCEN has claimed that the precious metals industry has been criminalized by money launderers.
If true, it is likely that the increased presence of the anti-money laundering cops
helped turn a non-criminal industry into a criminal one."
Richard W.Rahn, in "End the 'Bank Anti-Secrecy' Assault on Financial Privacy", 8 May 2000
Competitive Enterprise Institute  http://www.cei.org/OnPointReader.asp?ID=980

"If you know what your adversary is up to and capable of,
who are you to stand by idly, instead of rising to the tasks which are incumbent upon you,
who are you to waste the resources and neglect the responsibilities God entrusted you with,
 who are you to listen to the blind, spineless and mischievous ones and
to fool yourself with the mirage of fate to resolve matters without damage also to your soul -
is that, my trusted adviser and betrayer, your real you in the mirror?"
Akhnaton, 18th dynasty Pharaoh, to his most empowered Horemheb, 12th regnal year

"Speaking for the bank which has been in the vanguard of strict fiduciary practices,
I see it is as a moral imperative to protect assets of fiscally harrassed people
from the juggernaut of their own marauding authorities.
Whoever must pay taxes and duties exceeding 50% of his fruits of legal activities
is in fact a state slave who needs and deserves our sympathy and help.
In this matter, the time has come to call off our gutless defensive murmurings
and to develop a principled and dignified, yet offensive position ...
Ancient principles and wisdoms have lost nothing of their relevancy.
E.g.: when in a hole, stop digging,
and - as always - the way out of a dead-end street begins with an about-face."
Hans-Dieter Vontobel, President Vontobel Holding AG, Zurich
General Assembly, 21 April 1999 (unauthorized translation)

"The venerable Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD,
i.e the Paris-based club composed of 29 industrialized countries,
may be even more obscure, dangerous and in need of a radical cleansing
than its own self-portrait unwittingly suggests.  For according to its web-site
 (http://www.oecd.org/about/general/index.htm), it has been called
a "think tank, monitoring agency, rich man's club, an unacademic university.
 It has elements of all, but none of these characteristics captures the essence of the OECD."
 And once this essence will have seeped into the mind
of the constitutional lawmakers of Western democracies,
change will be inevitable, lest discredited agendas
undermine the economic well-being of all OECD member states.
 That then may be the moment for action by lawmakers who know
to effectively use their power of the purse for bringing
an out-of-control self-serving international organization
back into step to genuinely serve the citizenry and the market."
Philip Wainwright, Legal Adviser
___________

If you're part of the solution - rather than of the problem -
in the endless fight for liberty and privacy,
you may already be honored among the privacy guardians
see also:  fiscal relief & privacy pearls

___________

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