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08.28.01. Police Vs Privacy. A-Letter
THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY OFFSHORE A-LETTER
Your Link to Freedom, Prosperity & Privacy in the Offshore World
Tuesday, August 28, 2001 - Vol. 3 No. 68
In This Issue:
* COMMENT: Police vs. Privacy
* PRIVACY: Court Says No Phone Privacy. Carnivore Spies on Wireless. Finland Cell Phone ID Chips. FBI Keystroke Attacked. Secret Web Page Spies. No Cable Privacy. US Customs Assaults on Foreign Arrivals.
* OFFSHORE: Gibraltar Threat. Swiss Officials Trouble. Putin Unclean. Philippines Bank Tax. Columnist's OECD Calumny. Where's Tonga?
* WEALTH: Major Internet Fraud. More US Forfeiture. UK's Worst Tax. U.S. 'Green Card" Means High Taxes.
COMMENT: Police vs. Privacy
by Bob Bauman, Editor
Those of us who advocate the personal benefits of the offshore world consistently point to greatly increased asset protection, avoidance of law suits, reduced or deferred taxes and financial privacy guaranteed by law.
With strict legal limits imposed on possible tax savings for US persons who do "go offshore," the assault on financial and personal privacy in America has become one of the strongest reasons to move at least part of your banking and business abroad.
I am not too pessimistic when I say that privacy in the USA is in its death throes, if not already dead. If you doubt that, check the article. LINKs listed below in our "Privacy" section for the latest anti-privacy assaults.
Until recently it's been a given that the state, especially the police, had no right to pry into the affairs of citizens, unless and until authorized by proper judicial review based on "probable cause" of some criminal offense.
In financial affairs this rule now is now abandoned. Wealth alone is a statutory reason for American banks to impose constant surveillance on customers. Federal laws force banks to report to government money police "suspicious transactions" and the creation of client profiles is now common, all done under the expansive excuse of finding dirty "money laundering." Of course encryption is one defense against these assaults.
LINK: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nf/20010827/tc/13088_1.html
Now unthinking politicians in nations as far a field as South Africa and Australia are pushing new laws that crush privacy and allow police conduct that would be a crime if committed by anyone else.
LINKS: Click Here
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46124,00.html and http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24172
This senseless trend reminds one of the old question: "Why does a dog lick itself?" Because it can. Modern technology has allowed police to try virtually anything with their new spy toys, and they do.
LINK: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2001/nf20010823_686.htm
As the Christian Science Monitor observed, "The line between permissible probing and surveillance that erodes constitutional barriers must be maintained, particularly since modern technology tends to blur it." They note a recent US Supreme Court decision clarified that line, ruling that police use of thermal imaging devices without a search warrant overstepped the Fourth Amendment.
LINK: http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0817/p10s2-comv.html
In spite of US tax and offshore reporting laws, it's still possible, with a little effort, to place your cash and assets safely in a haven nation where financial secrecy -- yes, secrecy -- is guaranteed by law, waived only by court decision after due process.
No one, police, government or otherwise, has reason to know your personal business unless you want them to know. Preserving your financial privacy is an excellent, compelling reason to go offshore.
A survey of the state of privacy in 50 nations,
LINK: http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/
Electronic Privacy Information Center, LINK: http://www.epic.org/
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* PRIVACY *
COURT SAYS TELEPHONE PRIVACY IS DEAD
George Orwell might glow with prescient delight, as a state supreme court rules that, given methods of telephone communication widely used now, individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy in telephone calls made to their own homes.
LINK: Click Here.
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CARNIVORE EXPANDS TO WIRELESS
Communications experts say the FBI's Internet spying system, CARNIVORE, can now intercept wireless transmissions.
LINK: http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/12051-1.html
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FINS CONSIDER CELL PHONE I.D. CHIPS
HELSINKI. The Finnish government is considering using modules inside cell phones to serve as national identity cards.
LINK: http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/tech/yourphoneisyou.jsp
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F.B.I. COMPUTER KEYSTROKE SPYING ATTACKED
Big Brother may be watching every key stroke on your computer.
LINK: http://washtech.com/news/regulation/11866-1.html
But the FBI wont even explain keystroke spying to a federal judge.
LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/25/technology/25CODE.html
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YOUR WEB PAGE MAY BE A SPY
Your personal web page may be tracking those who visit and sending the information to third parties.
LINK: Click Here.
A US district court judge orders a cable company to give police private details about one of its subscribers and bars the company from telling the customer.
LINK: Click Here.
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U.S. FOREIGN VISITORS BEWARE
Customs officials humiliate with body searches those entering the US, assuming profiled racial groups smuggle drugs.
LINK: Click Here.
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* OFFSHORE *
GIBRALTAR TAX CUT MOOTS E.U. COMPLAINT
As we reported last Friday, the Gibraltar government continues its defense against a European Union demand to repeal its offshore legal regime. If it loses a court action against the EU Gibraltar says it will reduce all corporate taxes, as Ireland did with great success.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5081
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SWISS OFFICIALS IN TROUBLE?
GENEVA: Switzerland's fight against money laundering takes a new turn with a possible criminal investigation of the head of the Post Office and a top Finance Ministry lawyer.
LINK: http://www.iht.com/articles/30412.htm
GERMAN police step up Swiss border controls to catch undeclared cash.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5084
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PUTIN NO LONGER 'MR. CLEAN'
MOSCOW. Russian Pres. Vladimir PUTIN served as a director of a company suspected of using LIECHTENSTEIN to launder operations of Russian mobsters and Colombian drug dealers.
LINK: http://www.msnbc.com/news/619591.asp?cp1=1
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PHILIPPINES OFFSHORE BANK TAX
MANILA. Short on budget cash the government says it will impose a 10-30% transactions tax on offshore banking.
LINKS: http://www.inquirer.net/bus/2001/aug/24/bus_4-1.htm
http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5083
But the same government says it will preserve bank secrecy under its stringent new, FATF demanded, anti-money laundering.
LINK: http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS/2001-08/BS082404.asp
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TEXAS COLUMNIST SWALLOWS OECD LINE
AUSTIN. Easier than thinking; a caustic Texas columnist knows little about offshore, so she regurgitates the OECD line.
LINK: Click Here.
And the OECD forces TONGA to change its tax laws. Apparently no one told the Pacific island the OECD tax blacklist is a dead letter.
LINK: http://www.afxpress.com/afxpress2/html/story_24558.xml
What's a Tonga? Check here to find out.
LINK: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tn.html
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* WEALTH *
MAJOR FLORIDA INTERNET OFFSHORE FRAUD
MIAMI. 48,000 victims in 19 countries paid in excess of $13 million to a nonexistent network. Victims could exceed 70,000.
LINK: http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/broward/digdocs/086243.htm
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MORE U.S. CIVIL FORFEITURE
WASHINGTON. New US Treasury Under Sec. for Enforcement says government should go after financial assets in fighting money launderers and other criminals.
LINK: Click Here.
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THE U.K. 'WORST TAX'
LONDON. A fervent plea to take the pain out of Britain's worst tax - the estate tax.
LINK: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,37-2001293354,00.html
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U.S 'GREEN CARD' MEANS TAXES
U.S. permanent resident aliens get privileges of citizenship and lots of high taxes. Do you really need that?
LINK: Click Here.
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NIXON KILLED THE GOLD STANDARD
Just 30 years ago the American dollar's gold backing died. Now it's 'value' is a matter of faith; some interesting history.
LINK: Click Here.
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THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY OFFSHORE A-LETTER. E-mail to: info@sovereignsociety.com. * SUBSCRIBE FREE or send to a friend at LINK: http://www.sovereignsociety.com
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THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY Ltd., 5 Catherine St., Waterford, Ireland. TEL: 353-51 844 068 FAX: 353-51 304 561. Copyright (C) 2001. All domestic & international rights reserved.
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