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09.21.01. Ghoulish Demagogues. A-Letter
THE SOVEREIGN SOCIETY OFFSHORE A-LETTER
Your Link to Freedom, Prosperity & Privacy in the Offshore World
Friday, September 21, 2001 - Vol. 3 No. 75
In This Issue:
* COMMENT: Ghoulish Demagogues. Swiss Co-operation. Left Says 'Free Market Dead.' N.Y. Times Smears Sen. Gramm. Terrorism Must Be Defeated. Sovereign Society, 173 Groups Join In Defense of Freedom.
* OFFSHORE: Terrorist Alleged Cash Everywhere: Panama, Caymans, Bahamas, Antilles, Switzerland, Cyprus. Foreigners Detained by Haven Police.
* PRIVACY & CIVIL RIGHTS: Huge New Powers Asked; Wiretaps, Internet Surveillance, Encryption Curbs, ID Cards. What Kind of Nation?
* SPECIAL REPORT: Rethinking the American Economy (Business Week)
COMMENT: Ghoulish Demagogues
by Bob Bauman, Editor
Webster's dictionary defines "ghoul" as "a legendary evil being that robs graves and feeds on corpses." In the wake of the horrific New York and Washington terrorist attacks, with the number of dead and missing approaching 7000, the conduct of some opportunistic anti-offshore politicians is nothing less than just that -- ghoulish.
Shamefully playing on heightened emotions, revulsion and justified national anger, the traditional opponents of financial privacy and offshore havens are recasting their anti-freedom nostrums as anti-terrorist measures, demanding immediate adoption. Their demagogic false premise is that "total surveillance" by government will somehow thwart such terrible tragedies. Forget that these same incompetent governments, already armed with enormous spy powers and billions of dollars, were helpless to to stop the terrorist madmen.
LINK: Click Here.
Leading the opportunistic ghouls was UK Chancellor Gordon Brown, who called for a United Nation agency to administer new international anti-money laundering rules, (oddly aimed more at tax collecting than terrorism). Brown will ask the European Union officially to adopt his perverse view this weekend. Preposterously, he threatened allegedly uncooperative nations, including Switzerland, with being cut off from the global banking system unless they end all bank secrecy.
LINK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/wtccrash/story/0,1300,554405,00.html
SWITZERLAND CO-OPERATES
Brown's wrath was misdirected, as Swiss authorities cooperated immediately with all requests for account freezes, finding only one questionable link to possible suspects.
LINKS: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAW197VURC.html
http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5441
Joining Brown's irrational smear of tax havens was US Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich), a notorious demagogue on offshore issues, and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), usually a far more sensible legislator.
LINK: http://www.msnbc.com/news/631214.asp?cp1=1
LEFTISTS GLOAT, N.Y. TIMES SMEARS SEN. GRAMM
The New York Times tried to implicate Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) in the tragedy, charging he was responsible for killing a Clinton proposal last year that would have given the US Treasury secretary unlimited power to bar foreign countries and banks from access to the American financial system. The bill was strongly opposed by the banking industry, Sen. Gramm and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and thankfully it died. Your editor was the only witness to testify in congressional hearings against this totalitarian scheme and I can assure you that the legislation would have done nothing whatsoever to stop these attacks. Instead it would have killed your offshore financial privacy for no good reason. (Our Capitol Hill sources say the Bush administration does not support the Clinton proposal, hoping it will not be in any anti-terror legislative package).
LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/business/20MONE.html
Leftist openly gloated that the terrorist attacks meant "Curbs on the freedom of markets are back in fashion. The new enemies for governments are tax havens that facilitate movement of funds to finance terrorism"
LINK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,554778,00.html
The Manchester Guardian outrageous claimed that the terror attack "means an effective end to client confidentiality when it comes to money. It means an end to things such as Liechtenstein foundations and Nevis registered companies where equity is only issued in bearer form."
LINK: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4260096,00.html
Daniel Mitchell of the Heritage Foundation, a leader in defense of offshore financial freedom and the sovereign rights of tax havens, put all this in proper perspective. Said he: "There are those who wish to exploit tragedy for political gain...opponents of tax competition are using the terrorist attacks as a reprehensible prop in their campaign against low-tax jurisdictions. The OECD agenda is designed to help high tax nations tax income earned in low tax jurisdictions, not to identify and catch terrorists." For Mitchell's informative memorandum see -
LINK: http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/Papers/m09-20-01/m09-20-01.shtml
TERRORISM MUST BE DEFEATED
I know that every American, every decent person worldwide, every member of the Sovereign Society, is willing to do whatever may be necessary to find and punish the terrorist perpetrators. That includes support for reasonable actions to trace the financial activities of terrorists. But it does not include surrender of our constitutional rights. As has been well said, we must not become the evil we oppose.
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IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM
The Sovereign Society has formally joined as a member of a coalition of 173 public interest groups from across the political spectrum formed to prevent the US Congress and the Bush administration from rushing to enact counter terrorism measures before considering their effect on privacy and civil rights. The group is called "In Defense of Freedom." LINKS: http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/ ; http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=14942 ; http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46959,00.html
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* OFFSHORE *
HAVENS ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN BIN LADEN CASH
This week wild rumors circulated alleging links between various offshore tax and asset haven nations and the terrorist network of Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks on the US, who supposedly used bank accounts and companies in haven countries to finance his activities. They have so far proven false.
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PANAMA. Pres. Mireya Moscoso acted on news reports that bin Laden used an offshore company with headquarters here. Our sources tell us investigation showed the reports were wrong.
LINKS: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5457
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3A19THSRC
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CARIBBEAN. A French report alleged that bin Laden had financial connections in the Netherlands Antilles, Curacao and The Bahamas.
LINK: Click Here
In the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten and the Cayman Islands foreigners were detained in connection with the attacks.
LINK: Click Here.
The CAYMAN ISLANDS is a major focus area for investigation of possible bin Laden financial activities.
LINK: http://www.miami.com/herald/content/business/digdocs/092323.htm
BARBADOS says it is already feeling a harmful economic impact resulting from the American terror attacks.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5438
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The government of CYPRUS denied charges the island was used as a financial conduit by bin Laden.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5481
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* PRIVACY & CIVIL RIGHTS *
GOVERNMENT DEMANDS VAST NEW POWERS
The Bush administration asks for more power to eavesdrop on domestic phone calls, the Internet and voice mail even without a court order.
LINK: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46953,00.html
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Proposed legislation provides expanded electronic surveillance, detention of suspects and deportation of immigrants, makes easier subpoenas, search warrants and seizure of assets.
LINK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59050-2001Sep19.html
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Income tax information privacy restrictions may be waived.
LINK: http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story.asp?storyname=5466
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Encryption may have been used by terrorists, so encryption may be curbed.
LINK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52687-2001Sep18.html
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Congress may consider requiring all Americans to carry electronic "identification cards." Americans may resist. LINK: http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3ba7b2774ea4.htm
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A NEW KIND OF NATION?
Where electronic identification may become the norm, immigrants may be tracked and airspace over cities like New York and Washington may be off limits to all civilian aircraft.
LINK: http://www.iht.com/articles/32991.htm
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WHAT'S NEXT IN ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING?
A summary of where we are and where we may be headed.
LINK: Click Here.
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SPECIAL REPORT: "Rethinking the American Economy" LINK: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_40/b3751701.htm
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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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