From the Publisher's Desk
Winter 2002 - 2003

"There never was a good war, or a bad peace."...
Benjamin Franklin letter to Josiah Quincy 1773

A sneak preview into the future!
Hardly a week goes by that some new law to save us from ourselves is enacted somewhere in the world. Just pick up a newspaper, turn on the radio or a TV news program and it doesn't take long to hear the bad news. The feedback and horror stories from subscribers and browsers would astonish you!

Most constitutional scholars consider the US Patriot Act (and its amendments) to be the single greatest attack on the Constitution in the history of the United States. The American public could care less.

In spite of the fact that less than 1/10th of one percent of terrorist funds go through the United States, the authorities ignored this fact and penalized 99.999% of the innocent public with Draconian new money laundering laws since 9/11. Worse, even more laws are soon to be enacted that will make the Patriot Act look like Kindergarten play. Ditto for most of the rest of the western world. As we've written on many an occasion, what happens first in Amerika is soon to follow elsewhere in the world.

Canada is advising its citizens NOT to enter the United States. That's right; those persons born in Syria, Lebanon and other Arab nations who became Canadian citizens are subject to being fingerprinted, pictures taken amongst other things when entering the US. The Canadian authorities have protested Amerika's new laws in the strongest possible terms short of putting out a travel advisory NOT to travel to the USA.

30 years after the start of the War on Drugs, American policies are a disaster upon their own. Yet nothing has changed, only good money being poured after bad continues. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted on this war. And the authorities actually believe they are going to do any better with the War on terrorism? We think not, at least not until and unless they change their policies.

In Australia biometric passports are becoming the norm and Oz is the first western country to implement this technology. You can be sure more countries are soon to follow.

Face recognition cameras are up and running at most US airports, the UK and all of Western European. Ditto for Oz and Japan. New Zealand will be on board soon.

Nearly all western countries will be tightening their boarders and are forging information exchange packs with other countries regarding whose entering and departing their respective countries by trains, planes and automobiles, plus boats! The programs and databases for that very alliance are being installed as we write these words.

Data gathering with and without warrants are becoming more common place worldwide, especially in Amerika. In the good ole USA, the Terrocrats no longer require a warrant to search your home or office if they 'suspect' you of being a terrorist. Please note that the American authorities have and intentionally use a VERY loose definition of what they call a "terrorist." This can mean someone who throws a firecracker at a government building, or civil disobedience, which they define as a terrorist threat and/or criminal conspiracy.

Warrants are no longer required for government agents to plant Trojan key logger programs onto person's computers and laptops who are under suspicion. Only a possible 'crime' that has YET to happen has to be alleged for this travesty to occur. No one is watching those who are watching you!

National US driver's licenses are being introduced in all 50 states plus US territories. This will include the social security number as a part of the DL process, though not all states will show the SS number on the actual license.

The European Union is hard at it to standardize all EU passports. In other words there won't be any French, Italian or UK passport, only an EU passport. Plans are in the works for this to happen when the ten new and mostly former eastern block countries enter the EU in 2004.

The muscles in Brussels want to make sure that the new countries won't be discriminated against with a Latvian EU, or Estonia EU passport. They just want an EU passport. Nice work if you can get away with it, eh?

In Germany, Switzerland and Austria the Gestapo is alive and well. Privacy seekers would be well advised to stay clear of those countries for anything longer than a few months visit at a shot.

Switzerland in particular has to have some of the most nosey people in the world. So called 'neighbors' called the police on one of our subscribers because he moved into an apartment that had been vacant for a few years. Since he was a foreigner, (a Canadian) the police were called in. He was asked for his 'papers' and a copy of the rental agreement. Clearly there are no laws that require such a request unless a crime has been committed. None the less the Swiss police demanded them. So a foreigner renting a flat (apartment) is a crime is it now? In the immoral words of Louis Armstrong when asked to perform for then US President Nixon at a White House soiree, Armstrong replied:

"F**k that shit."

Any UK citizen who owns real estate or resides in Spain, are being reported back to the UK authorities. Why? Your guess is as good as ours, but taxes would top our best guess list.

Privacy as we knew it, no longer exists. Long live freedom.

What are you going to do about it?

- Editor's note

If you want to be a serious player and save what's left of your privacy, (not much) then a solid consultant with a non-American offshore expert could be worth many times the cost of this service.

Our consultants are conversant with American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, British and European law.

To get started with your preliminary consultation with one of our offshore experts, just E-mail and place "Consultant" in the subject heading for full particulars.

If you're interested in obtaining the advice of an expert, check out what they have to say at: consultants.

"Mick" Adams,
Publisher

To read some of our previous "missives" just click here for our archive!
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