Subject: Clinton follows on privacy issue; Ron Paul continues to lead
   Date:         Mon, 1 May 2000 15:49:25 -0400
   From:        JBJ

[Privacy again is making headlines: It wouldn't be an election year, would it? William Safire names Ron Paul as privacy pioneer; Clinton jumps on (wrong) bandwagon; Poll vindicates Ron Paul on Reg B fight; Echelon still making headlines; and other stories--JBJ]

Consenting Adults

By WILLIAM SAFIRE

Politicians of the left and right, in the House and the Senate, are finally beginning to pay attention to the  groundswell of resentment about invasions of privacy.

"In the House, Texas Representative Ron Paul's bill to prohibit the use of the Social Security number as an all-purpose identifier is no longer in limbo."  http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/safire/050100safi.html
More information can be found at http://www.house.gov/paul/privacy/
 

Clinton promotes consumer privacy

http://www.msnbc.com/news/401586.asp?cp1=1

A plan to track Web use stirs up privacy concerns http://www.msnbc.com/news/401945.asp?cp1=1
Lauren Weinstein, founder of the online Privacy Forum, an advocacy group.  Because they can't afford monthly Internet fees, he says, "a lot of people would be basically coerced into giving up their personal information."

[Where is the "coercion" in offering a service to people?  Sounds
like a plan to address the oft-lamented "digital divide"...]

*******

Echelon

http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=echelon
 

Those perfidious Anglo spies
Allegations that Britain helps America and others spy on its European allies have annoyed some across the Channel

The Economist  Online edition Apr 29th - May 5th 2000
http://www.economist.com/editorial/freeforall/current/index_br9568.html

This is an Anglo-Saxon Protestant conspiracy. So much for Britain's commitment to European solidarity; its real union is with America.  So complained Jean-Claude Martinez, a French member of the European Parliament after a debate on eavesdropping by Britain and other English-speaking countries.  Is electronic snooping in danger of driving a further wedge between Britain and its European allies?

The spy system Mr Martinez decried, dubbed Echelon, has long been a target of conspiracy theorists and campaigners for civil liberties.  They claim that western spies routinely gather and share private information by monitoring electronic communication and satellites. In particular, the Anglo-Saxons (American, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as Britain) are said to listen to Europeans by using equipment set up during the cold war.

A recent report for the European Parliament by a British journalist, Duncan Campbell, detailed how easily communications can be monitored.  He described various sites in Britain (some used by American security services) where information is gathered and processed.  This report, along with earlier ones and allegations in the French press, spurred demands from more than 170 MEPs for a further inquiry: it is a very dangerous attack on the sovereignty of member states, complained one speaker.  The MEPs will get a temporary committee of inquiry and Portugal, the current president of the European Union, plans a discussion of industrial espionage for an informal meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers next month.

There are two broad accusations against Britain and its English-speaking allies: that they illicitly monitor communications among European governments and businesses, and share that information between themselves; and that such monitoring is done for commercial gain.  [...]

*********

POLL INDICATES 4 IN 5 VOTERS WANT RACIAL PRIVACY
From: "Kevin Nguyen" <kn@sna.com
April 28, 2000   Contact: Royce Van Tassell  (916) 444-2278
SACRAMENTO A survey released today by the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) indicates that an overwhelming majority of Americans want to reclaim their racial privacy. The poll, conducted by Zogby International, showed strong, broad-based support for eliminating the race question on government forms.

"Americans are tired of these silly little boxes," said Ward Connerly, Chairman of ACRI. "They want to put an end to America's long affair with racial classifications."

A few of the polls findings include:

-  Nearly 4 in 5 voters (77 %) want the government to completely dispense with race boxes on government forms.  Similar levels of support came from Democrats (71.7 %) and Republicans (79.5 %).  Along racial and ethnic lines, black (64.6 %), Asian (81.9 %) and multiracial (78.1 %) people expressed the strongest support. A strong majority of Hispanic people (59 %) supported getting rid of the boxes.

-  Even when told that getting rid of these boxes may prevent authorities from identifying some discrimination, a majority (58 %) of American voters want to get rid of the race boxes on government forms.  This level of support is common to Democrats (54.0 %) and Republicans (61.5 %), as well as to Hispanic (58.6 %) and black (58.9 %) people. Asian (68.6 %) and multiracial (70.0 %) people showed the strongest support.

-  An overwhelming majority of Americans (91.2 %) oppose having the government decide what race a person is, if the person declines to volunteer that information. Republican, Democrat and Independent voters all voiced strong support for this position (88.1%, 92.8 % and 93.8 % respectively). This support was also uniform among the black (89.3 %), Hispanic (86.2 %), Asian (100 %) and Multiracial (93.8 %) populations.  This issue has pertinence, for example, in current efforts by the U.S. Census to guess the race of Americans who either leave the race boxes unmarked or put "American," "human" or some other nonracial response.

-  The American public no longer believes in the "One Drop" rule for deciding who is black.  When asked what race the child of one black parent and one white parent, more than 5 in 6 answered "multiracial."  The "One Drop" rule is a remnant of the days of slavery and Jim Crow laws.

ACRI Chairman Ward Connerly, who is traveling and in Washington, DC, is available for interviews Thursday afternoon and Friday. Please call Kevin Nguyen at 916/444-2278 to arrange an interview.

Based in Sacramento, ACRI is a nonprofit research and educational organization working to inform the public about issues relating to racial classifications, and racial and gender preferences.

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More info on race and financial privacy can be found at
http://www.house.gov/paul/press/press99/pr121399.htm

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CIA & NSA on ECHELON
http://cryptome.org/echelon-cinsa.htm

"The heads of the American intelligence agencies, NSA and CIA, have denied before Congress conducting
economic espionage by means of Echelon. They claim to have no interest in European secrets, and believe such secrets would not be worthwhile.

"In March former CIA Director James Woolsey said the opposite in the Wall Street Journal, "that it was well-known that the CIA had spied on the Europeans" because "your businesses use bribery". Now his successor in the office, George Tenet, in his first public Congressional hearing goes against that view: The CIA has no "interest" in economic spying..."
 

EU to Relax Rules on Data-Encryption Exports

Regulatory Gap Is Still a Hindrance To U.S. Companies   http://cryptome.org/eucrypt-rule.htm
 

U.S. Confused About Privacy   http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,35979,00.html
 

CIA on Key Recovery Encryption Policy   http://cryptome.org/cia-gak.htm
 

NSA Defends Eavesdropping   http://cryptome.org/nsa-snoops.htm
 
 

[It's an election year, (I'll let readers figure that one out).  The GLB financial privacy rules are still in process--why do the same people demanding immediate action on privacy turn to the government for help?  That has to be the least responsive method available; then again, if one can't win in the battle place of ideas (the market), one can always resort to coercion.  Hypocrisy of "government protection" abounds.  Also, real help for individuals looking to protect their privacy - JBJ]

American Banker
WASHINGTON

        Privacy Rules' Effective Date Seen Delayed to Mid-2001

WASHINGTON - Responding to industry pressure, federal regulators next week will postpone until July 1, 2001, the effective date of consumer privacy protections required under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, according to sources.  The protections were originally scheduled to take effect in November.  A delay will give financial firms eight extra months before they are required to notify customers of their privacy policies and give them an opportunity to block the sharing of information with third parties. Information could not be shared until 30 days after notices are mailed.

Read the full story FREE:
http://www.americanbanker.com/cgi-bin/read_freestory?20000505NONE967

===============================================

American Banker
BITS Announcement
    Want to have a say in the development of electronic payment
    authentication systems and products, including smart cards, PKI,
    token-based systems, and biometrics? Through May 5, BITS'
Financial  Services Security Laboratory is seeking help in establishing test
    criteria for such technologies. For information,
    go to <http://www.globalintegrity.com/bitslab/criteria>.

===============================================

From Rep. Ron Paul's Freedom Watch:

Government Snoops Threaten Privacy
Time To Put Chains on the Feds, Not Give Them More Power
by US Rep. Ron Paul

        Let's say you broke your arm and the doctor gave you a cast on the wrong arm. If you broke your leg one week later, would you go back to the same doctor to have your leg set?

        When I see President Clinton suggesting he is going to protect the privacy rights of Americans I start to feel like the fella in the example just cited.  Do I really trust Bill Clinton, or any U.S. President, to protect my privacy?  Would the founding fathers accept the notion that the federal government is supposed to protect our privacy?  Did they authorize that in the constitution?

        Bill Clinton has been a terrible custodian of the public records with which he has been entrusted. He has allowed secrets to slip into the hands of the communist Chinese, but that is not all. This President has been found in violation of the Privacy Act by a federal court. Moreover, we all know the sad story of "filegate," when the White House improperly obtained private FBI files. [snip]  http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2000/tst050800.htm

===============================================

Forwarded by Chad Thevenot (Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, rcthevenot@igc.org, http://www.cjpf.org):
Please take a moment to read an extremely important column by Arianna Huffington: Elian And The Drug War (Filed May 4, 2000) http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/files/050400.html
 

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Forwarded with permission from former Congressman Bob Bauman:
===============================================
                           THE SOVEREIGN A-LETTER (abridged)
                 A Web Publication of the Sovereign Society, Ltd.
  Your Link to Freedom, Privacy & Prosperity in the Offshore World
                          Vol. 2 No. 18 - May 4, 2000
 ===============================================

 UK Tax Havens Resist OECD Crackdown

 Last week we reported an unexpected delay by the Organization for  Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) in applying sanctions to  tax haven nations. The Times (London) reports a major reason that a  worldwide crackdown on tax havens promoted by the UK and others has  been forced into retreat is "stiff resistance" from British overseas dependent territories including the Cayman Islands and the Crown dependencies in the Channel Islands. Independent since 1972, the Bahamas has also raised strong objections. The offshore financial centers rightly fear OECD-forced economic ruin if they raise taxes and relax financial privacy.
        LINKS: http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/04/24/timbizbiz03020.html
 http://www.lathamsgroup.co.uk/taxinv/newsinfo.htm#0400news09

===========================
 

Crucial Swiss Vote May 21 on EU Links

 SWITZERLAND's future as a financial haven could hang in the balance in a May 21 national referendum on a series of agreements with the European Union. Opponents see the accords as surrender to the EU.  Swiss voters have previously rejected EU membership and many see this as just that in all but name. Approval could seriously compromise what remains of Swiss banking secrecy laws and financial privacy safeguards.
        News LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/html/stories/st_swissvote_02_05_00.html
 Analysis (in French) by the Tribune de Geneve at LINK:
http://dossiers.edicom.ch/tdg/geneve/html/bila1404.html
==================

Just Out: "US International Narcotics Strategy Report," annual country-by-country review of alleged money laundering. NAURU heads the accused list where the US State Dept. claims US$70 billion has been washed for Russian mobsters.
        LINK: http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1999_narc_report/index.html
.
=====================

The UK Labour government continues to hound its offshore tax havens to pay higher taxes, but at home the black market economy in Britain is estimated to be worth between ?60 billion and ?80 billion a year, almost entirely eclipsing over-the-counter trading in some of the UK's most  economically deprived areas.
        LINK: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/04/30/stinwenws01016.html

 =================

 IRS Annual Scare Tactics

Just in time for America's annual tax day, the IRS weighed in with its annual frighten the taxpayers press releases. For a renewed IRS warning on "abusive trusts," foreign and domestic, check out,
        LINK:  http://www.quatloos.com/taxscams/fraudtrt.htm

 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 Faced with embarrassing publicity, the IRS dropped efforts to collect hundreds of dollars in penalties from a taxpayer who inadvertently underpaid taxes by one US penny.
        LINK:  http://dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/71758_PENNY30.html

 ========

 Tax Treaties

 For a comprehensive data base of all tax treaties, go to LINK:
 http://www.danzigerfdi.com/dtas/taxtreaty.htm

 ===============================

 Text of New US Civil Forfeiture Reform Law

US Rep. HENRY HYDE's "Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000"  was signed into law April 25 as Public Law No: 106-185. While more reform is definitely needed, this new law imposes the first real curbs on much abused US police forfeiture powers. Downloadable PDF text,
        LINK: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/t2GPO/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bi
 n/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_bills&docid=f:h1658enr.txt.pdf

 For more about the law and the need for more reforms, LINK:
 Forfeiture Endangers American Rights - http://www.fear.org/menuidx2.html

 ============================

 Resentment Grows at Invasions of Privacy

 New York Times columnist WILLIAM SAFIRE says US politicians of the left and right are finally beginning to pay attention to the groundswell of resentment against invasions of privacy.
        LINK:  http://www.nytimes.com/library/opinion/safire/050100safi.html

===================

Rise of the Surveillance State

 In the American Spectator (May), noted anti-statist expert JAMES  BOVARD writes: "A 1998 American Civil Liberties Union report noted, 'The Administration is using scare tactics to acquire vast new powers to spy on all Americans.'" For the chilling list of government violations of US liberties, read carefully Bovard's article at LINK:
 http://www.tas.org/archives/0005TAS/bovard0005.htm

========================

 Terrorism: The Anti-Privacy Excuse

 The US State Dept. just released its annual "Patterns of Global  Terrorism" report, noting that threats to American allies have decreased in the Middle East but have risen in South Asia, especially Afghanistan. US continues to designate 7 countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba -- as "state sponsors" of terrorism, a list unchanged since 1993. These nations' threats are the excuse for which Americans' personal, business and financial privacy is willingly sacrificed by the US government -- or so it claims.
        LINK:  http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51410-2000May1.html

  =======================

 UK Imposes Online Spy Network

 The British Labour government raised fears of an Orwellian future  when it announced its intention to build a $39 million center that can monitor all e-mail in and out of the UK.
        News LINKS:  http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,36031,00.html
 http://news.excite.com/news/r/000430/14/net-rights-mi

==========

Inside Echelon

 New Zealand's role in the international spy network is a classic example of how government works in secret to destroy privacy.  Nicky Hager details one man's epic battle to get the truth about the NZ Echelon connection.
        LINK:  http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/co/5993/1.html

==============================

 Software that Makes Your PC Files Invisible

* "PGPDisk," part of "PGP Personal Privacy 6.5" creates a hidden partition on your hard PC drive where you can hide your files.     LINK:  http://www.beyond.com/PKSN103084/prod.htm

 * Steganography software takes a different approach. It hides files within other files. A leading program is Steganos II Security Suite.     LINK:  http://www.steganography.com/english/steganos.

 * Or you can make e-mail messages "disappear" by giving them an expiration date, a free service from Disappearing, Inc. LINK:  http://www.disappearing.com

 * Another free service comes from "ZipLip." After your e-mail message is read by the recipient, ZipLip securely deletes it. Messages are also encrypted and password protected. LINK: http://www.ziplip.com

 ==============================================

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