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THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY OFFSHORE A-LETTER
Your Link to Freedom, Privacy & Prosperity in the Offshore World
Friday, September 12, 2003 - Vol. 5 No. 108
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In This Issue:
* COMMENT: Just Say No!
* OFFSHORE: Swiss Hurt by 9-11. Grassley Hits Havens. EU Taxing, Trying. Do Cry for Argentina. Bits from Bahamas, Barbados. Come Home South Africans. Viet Nam Accounts. Offshore ATMs. Expat Credit Problems.
* WEALTH: Troubled Offshore Centers. Plunge Team Again. Russian Rich.
* PRIVACY & RIGHTS: Pre 9/11 Failures; 2 Years Later; Nothing Changes. Global Privacy. Mind Your Own Business. Chips Ahoy! UK DNA Database.
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COMMENT: Just Say No!!
Dear A-Letter Reader:
President George Bush is not a lawyer. For many people that status is probably a definite plus. But perhaps if the President had studied Con Law 1 & 2, as I did at Georgetown University Law Center many years ago, he might have some vague notion of that document's meaning.
That thought crossed my mind when I read yesterday that Pres. Bush wants a significant expansion of law enforcement powers under the USA Patriot Act. And he cynically used the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the trageic Sept. 11 terrorist acts to claim that "unreasonable obstacles" in the current law are impeding the pursuit of terror suspects.
This from a government that has thrown hundreds of alleged terrorists into jails without access to lawyers, their families and without charges filed against them.
Now Mr. Bush wants to allow the FBI and federal police to issue "administrative subpoenas" in terrorism cases without showing probable cause or obtaining approval from judges or grand juries. In other words, some FBI agent, on his own, will decide where to search and who to arrest.
These unbridled arrest powers were in the original bill considered after 9/11 but later dropped by Congress. The late FBI director J. Edgar Hoover repeatedly asked Congress to give his agents this broad power and was rebuffed. Timothy Lynch, director of the Cato Institute Criminal Justice Project calls "this as an end run around the Fourth Amendment."
Already, using the Patriot Act, Treasury Dept. bureaucrats are issuing orders to freeze millions in bank accounts, without any judicial review and without any charges filed against account holders. The extraordinary powers contained in what was said to be a law to curb terrorists are being used in hundreds of alleged cases of money laundering and a host of common crimes totally unrelated to terrorism.
I am a conservative and I voted for Bush. But in my opinion, this demand for more Patriot Act police powers should be soundly rejected. And if he is not more mindful of the U.S. Constitution, the President may suffer the same fate in the 2004 elections.
That's the way that it looks from here.
BOB BAUMAN, Editor
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COMMENT LINKS:
* Bush seeks new laws on terror, more FBI, police powers. LINKS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/national/11BUSH.html
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/09/11/bush_seeks_3_new_laws_on_terror/
* Bush's Patriot 2 Could Be a Hard Sell in Congress. (Hopefully!)
LINK:http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/11/national/11ASSE.html
* Anti-terror laws increasingly used against common criminals. LINK:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10137354&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6
* Congress carves up USA Patriot, but Bush threatens vetoes. LINK:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/09/10/MN268312.DTL
* Republican US Senators split over expanding Patriot Act.
LINK:http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/8/28/145206.shtml
* A Guide to the Patriot Act. LINKS:http://slate.msn.com/id/2087984/
http://slate.msn.com/id/2088106/
* U.S. Attorneys Ordered to Lobby by Ashcroft.
LINK:http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/6699272.htm
* AG Ashcroft's Boston visit sparks protests. LINK:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/09/10/ashcroft_visit_sparks_protest/
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* OFFSHORE *
SWITZERLAND HURT BY U.S. POST 9-11 DEMANDS
Major concern is US unwillingness to differentiate between terrorist
money, dirty money, or the proceeds of tax evasion.
LINK:http://nzz.ch/2003/09/10/english/page-synd4225443.html
* Sen. Grassley unjustly links tax havens with terrorist money.
LINK:http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/view_release.php?id=1679
* Citibank computers can't handle Patriot Act ID rules.
LINK:http://www.forbes.com/2003/09/08/cz_mm_0908citi.html
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EUROPEAN UNION KEEPS ON TAXING & TRYING
BRUSSELS: EU Commission wants to expand information sharing rules.
LINK:http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=13286
* EU "reforms" will hurt economic freedom. LINK:
http://www.libertarian.to/NewsDta/templates/news1.php?art=art375
* ISLE OF MAN business suffers from government over regulation.
LINK:http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=13270
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DO CRY FOR THEM, ARGENTINA
Yet another IMF bailout comes for yet another rescue. LINKS:
http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?storyID=3424186&type=bondsNews
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-445es.html
* THE BAHAMAS claims diversified offshore investors.
LINK:http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=13269
* BARBADOS annual audit shows economic health. LINK:
http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=3421772
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SOUTH AFRICAN EXPATS ASKED TO COME HOME
CAPE TOWN: RSA embassies woo expats 'to help build nation.' LINK:
http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271&fArticleId=233102
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VIET NAM SLOUCHES TOWARDS OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS
HANOI: Global trade requires global financial connections. LINK:
http://www.vnagency.com.vn/newsA.asp?LANGUAGE_ID=2&CATEGORY_ID=30&NEWS_ID=22701
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Wall Street Journal articles FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
* Use ATMs offshore to get better exchange rates, LINK:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106324231161129800-search,00.html
* Americans' credit problems on returning from living offshore. LINK:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106322993238201500-search,00.html
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* WEALTH *
OFFSHORE CENTERS TROUBLED
Hong Kong, Bahamas, Netherlands Antilles hurting. LINK:
http://www.portfolioint.co.uk/archive/article.asp?id=1769&a=7&j=1&r=1&m=91
* Research shows increase in referrals to offshore professionals.
LINK:http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=13268
* The IRISH perspective on tax efficient offshore funds. LINK:
http://www.portfolioint.co.uk/archive/article.asp?id=1740&a=23&j=1&r=1&m=91
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THE PLUNGE PROTECTION TEAM
How government secretly manipulates the markets.
LINK:http://www.eldoradogold.net/cornered_rats_030326.html
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RUSSIA'S NEW SUPER RICH
MOSCOW: Russia got its first millionaires and billionaires in 2002.
LINK:http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=40400
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* PRIVACY & RIGHTS *
JOINT 9-11 INVESTIGATION SAYS GOVERNMENT FAILED
A systematic failure of the United States intelligence community.
LINK:http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandDefense/wm322.cfm
* Two Years After 9-11; struggling to strike a balance. LINK:
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2051209
* The Day Nothing Changed; 2 years later, it's August 2001 again.
LINK:http://www.reason.com/links/links091103.shtml
* Reflections on 9-11; A Brighter Day is Coming. LINK:
http://www.libertarian.to/NewsDta/templates/news1.php?art=art377
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* Global privacy report is most comprehensive ever. LINKS:
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=globalprivacyrepor1063034355&area=news
Free Report at:http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/phr2003/
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* Let's Revive An Old Trait; Mind Your Own Business.
LINK:http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20030910/index.php
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* Big Brother's in the House; surveillance chips everywhere.
LINK:http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60373,00.html
* British Police Propose Universal DNA Database
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/archive/200309/FOR20030909e.html
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THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY OFFSHORE A-LETTER. *
Bob Bauman, Editor. * SUBSCRIBE FREE or send to a friend at
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