Power Grab Bills - Some pending

List of Power Grab Items

Some of these bills were pending at the time of posting

Ron Paul wrote in his "Terrorism and the Expansion of Federal Power": " History demonstrates that the powers we give the federal government today will remain in place indefinitely."

At 73 years of age, for several years I have watched Hitler history unfold. Take a look and see what you think. Third Reich Pages Online. Much more Hitler history in Topics.

Terrorism and the Expansion of Federal Power - Ron Paul alerts us to the power grab danger.

Way We Were - the trashing of the Bill of Rights. Ed Steele says in right.

Cheney says Office of Home Security is permanent

Executive power grab on tap at White House? Sarah Foster at WND; on Bush; great expose'.

EPIC maintains a great list of pending bills with a description.

Uniting and Strengthening America Act (S. 1510)- pending on 10-12-01.

Senate anti-terrorism bill (S. 1510) is available at: http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/s1510.html

House anti-terrorism bill (H.R. 2975) (PDF) is available at: http://www.house.gov/judiciary/hr2975terrorismbill.pdf

EPIC's analysis of the original Justice Department proposal (the

Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001) is available at: http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/ATA_analysis.html

Epic describes both laws at Uniting and Strengthening America Act (S. 1510) - This is a tough on. Pending as of 10-16-01. The House version is PATRIOT Act (H.R. 2975) at the same link.

Identity Theft - California Senate Bill 168 - SSN

DEFRAUDING AMERICA - we are being had big time. Encyclopedia of Secret Operations by the CIA, DEA, and Other Covert Agencies

Airport Security

Much Ado About Nothing has been forthcoming from Congress on the subject of Airport Security. Nothing worthwhile has been seen thus for. Forest

Who Didn't See This Coming? "We have learned that 80 percent of the (airport) screeners in San Francisco are not citizens. If they were federal employees, they could not be fired. The reality is that we will have the same people in new uniforms with higher pay and job security. Their job descriptions and standards of performance will be set by the demands of their union rather than a desire to enhance airport security." - Stan Ames, Las Vegas Review Journal, 1/1/02

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[1] International Coalition Urges EU to Safeguard Privacy

Nov 13, 01

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An international coalition of consumer and privacy organizations, organized by EPIC, wrote yesterday to Guy Verhofstadt, President of the European Union Council of Ministers, expressing their concerns about President Bush's recent letter requesting that the proposed EU Directive on the protection of privacy in the electronic communi- cations sector be altered to allow for data retention of telephone calls and Internet messages. EU lawmakers were scheduled to vote today on the issue.

Bush's letter contains a list of measures that he wants the EU to implement to fight terrorism. One of them asks that EU law enforcement authorities "permit the retention of critical data for a reasonable period." The proposed EU directive currently allows telecommunications companies and Internet service providers to retain data from phone calls and Internet communications for for billing purposes, for a period of time no longer than necessary. Bush's request is aimed at giving EU law enforcement authorities blanket retention powers on all communications data for hypothetical criminal investigations.

The coalition's letter emphasizes that many members of the European Parliament, EU Privacy commissioners, and the European Parliament Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, had all condemned routine data retention as violating the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection, freedom of expression, and presumption of innocence. It further notes that such a proposal would be inconsistent with international conventions on human rights. The letter also argues that Bush's request is a threat to the privacy of Americans, since nothing would prevent U.S. law enforcement authorities from obtaining data held in Europe that it could not legally obtain domestically. Current U.S. regulations do not require data retention, even after the recent enactment of the sweeping anti-terrorism legislation known as the USA PATRIOT Act.

EPIC has filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act seeking the text of President Bush's letter, as well as other information concerning U.S. efforts to erode privacy protections in Europe.

The coalition's letter is available at:

http://www.gilc.org/verhofstadt_letter.html

http://www.gilc.org/verhofstadt_french.html (version française)

Information on EU lawmaker's vote (choose Strasbourg, "November 13"):

http://www3.europarl.eu.int/omk/omnsapir.so/calendar?APP=CRE&LANGUE=EN

New York Times coverage of the issue is available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/13/technology/13NET.html

[6] EPIC Bill-Track: New Bills in Congress as of Nov 13, 2001

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*House*

H.R.3162 Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate

Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT)

Act of 2001. To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States

and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools,

and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr.

(R-WI). Latest Major Action: 10/26/2001 Signed by President.

Committees: House Judiciary; House Select Committee on Intelligence;

House Financial Services; House International Relations; House Energy

and Commerce; House Education and the Workforce; House Transportation

and Infrastructure; House Armed Services

H.R.3181 To establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas

for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program

participants, to improve procedures for issuance of nonimmigrant

student visas. To establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of

visas for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program

participants, to improve procedures for issuance of nonimmigrant

student visas, and to enhance procedures for admission at ports of

entry to the United States. Sponsor: Rep Bilirakis, Michael (R-FL).

Latest Major Action: 10/30/2001 Referred to House committee: House

Judiciary.

H.R.3205 Enhanced Border Security Act of 2001 To enhance the border

security of the United States, and for other purposes. Sponsor: Rep

Conyers, John, Jr. (D-GA) Latest Major Action: 11/1/2001 Referred to

House committee: House Judiciary; House Select Committee on

Intelligence; House International Relations; House Government Reform;

House Ways and Means; House Transportation and Infrastructure.

H.R.3221 To establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas

for nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program

participants and to improve reporting requirements for universities To

establish a temporary moratorium on the issuance of visas for

nonimmigrant foreign students and other exchange program participants

and to improve reporting requirements for universities under the

foreign student monitoring program. Sponsor: Rep Roukema, Marge

(R-NJ). Latest Major Action: 11/1/2001 Referred to House committee:

House Judiciary.

*Senate*

S.1618 Enhanced Border Security Act of 2001 A bill to enhance the

border security of the United States, and for other purposes. Sponsor:

Sen Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA). Latest Major Action: 11/1/2001 Referred

to Senate committee: Senate Judiciary.

S.1627 Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001 A bill to enhance the security of

the international borders of the United States.Sponsor: Sen Feinstein,

Dianne (D-CA). Latest Major Action: 11/1/2001 Referred to Senate

committee: Senate Judiciary.

EPIC Bill Track: Tracking Privacy, Speech, and Cyber-Liberties Bills

in the 107th Congress, is available at:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/bill_track.html

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[7] EPIC Bookstore - The Future of Ideas

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The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World, by

Lawrence Lessig.

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/partner?partner_id=24075&cgi=search/search&searchtype=isbn&searchfor=0375505784

"The Future of Ideas" is a highly readable and deeply engaging sequel

to Stanford Law professor Lawrence Lessig's "Code and Other Laws of

Cyberspace." In this book, Lessig, who is perhaps most famous for his

brief tenure as a court-appointed "special master" in the Microsoft

antitrust trial, also sees dominant players exercising control through

the law, technical standards and political might to resist the change

that might otherwise take place. He urges the Internet generation not

to forget what made the last 10 years exciting: an open platform that

did not discriminate among applications or content, an environment for

creativity and innovation, a public commons for an information age. In

a word: the Internet. And instead of calling for the removal of

regulation to encourage freedom, he recommends that there is a place

for some regulation, if we want to preserve liberty.

Lessig's argument is compelling at many levels. It is as good a

history of the development of Internet architecture as one is likely

to find in a book without pictures. It is also an extraordinarily

skillful interweaving of technical characterization and legal

argument. And it is a story well told, with a fair balance of clever

aside and clear purpose.

In time, companies such as Microsoft either acquired or drove out many

of the smaller players. But while the software industry shakedown

moved forward, the public was transfixed by the rapid emergence of the

Internet and a new era of creativity. It could be that in the steady

march today toward the cable companies' "walled garden" and the

software giant's ".NET platform," there are the early indicators of a

new revolution, what the business folks sometimes call "disruptive

technologies." But there is also reason to believe that the cycle of

innovation and consolidation may not continue endlessly. As more of

the commons -- as more of the intellectual material of innovation --

is controlled, the opportunity for new forms of production is

diminished. The monopolies of today sweep more broadly than the

monopolies of the past. Mr. Ford may have controlled the auto

industry, but he did not control the nation's roads. This is the

warning in Lessig's masterly exploration of the history of the

Internet and the future of innovation.

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

EPIC Publications:

"Privacy & Human Rights 2001: An International Survey of Privacy Laws

and Developments," (EPIC 2001). Price: $20.

http://www.epic.org/bookstore/phr2001/

This survey, by EPIC and Privacy International, reviews the state of

privacy in over fifty countries around the world. The survey examines

a wide range of privacy issues including, data protection, telephone

tapping, genetic databases, ID systems and freedom of information

laws.

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"The Privacy Law Sourcebook 2001: United States Law, International

Law, and Recent Developments," Marc Rotenberg, editor (EPIC 2001).

Price: $40. http://www.epic.org/bookstore/pls2001/

The "Physicians Desk Reference of the privacy world." An invaluable

resource for students, attorneys, researchers and journalists who need

an up-to-date collection of U.S. and International privacy law, as

well as a comprehensive listing of privacy resources.

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

"Filters and Freedom 2.0: Free Speech Perspectives on Internet Content

Controls" (EPIC 2001). Price: $20.

http://www.epic.org/bookstore/filters2.0/

A collection of essays, studies, and critiques of Internet content

filtering. These papers are instrumental in explaining why filtering

threatens free expression.

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

"The Consumer Law Sourcebook 2000: Electronic Commerce and the Global

Economy," Sarah Andrews, editor (EPIC 2000). Price: $40.

http://www.epic.org/cls/

The Consumer Law Sourcebook provides a basic set of materials for

consumers, policy makers, practitioners and researchers who are

interested in the emerging field of electronic commerce. The focus is

on framework legislation that articulates basic rights for consumers

and the basic responsibilities for businesses in the online economy.

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

"Cryptography and Liberty 2000: An International Survey of Encryption

Policy," Wayne Madsen and David Banisar, authors (EPIC 2000).

Price: $20. http://www.epic.org/crypto&/

EPIC's third survey of encryption policies around the world. The

results indicate that the efforts to reduce export controls on strong

encryption products have largely succeeded, although several

governments are gaining new powers to combat the perceived threats of

encryption to law enforcement.

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

EPIC publications and other books on privacy, open government, free

expression, crypto and governance can be ordered at:

EPIC Bookstore

http://www.epic.org/bookstore/

"EPIC Bookshelf" at Powell's Books

http://www.powells.com/features/epic/epic.html

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[8] Upcoming Conferences and Events

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Fifth Annual Cato Institute/Forbes ASAP Technology & Society

Conference: The Future of Intellectual Property in the Information

Age. November 14, 2001. Washington, DC. For more information:

http://www.cato.org/events/futureip/program.html

Information Operations: Applying Power in the Information Age. Jane's

Information Group. November 14-15, 2001. Washington, DC. For more

information:

http://www.janes.com/security/conference/info_op/info_op.shtml

Information Gathering in the 21st Century. Seton Hall Law School.

November 16, 2001. South Orange, NJ. For more information:

ilst@shu.edu

The 2001 Freedom of Information and Privacy Awards. BC Freedom of

Information and Privacy Association. November 19, 2001. Vancouver,

British Columbia. For more information: http://www.fipa.bc.ca/

Managing Privacy of Health Information. The Canadian Institute.

November 19-20, 2001. Vancouver, British Columbia. For more

information: http://www.CanadianInstitute.com/

CPO and Privacy Practitioners Workshop. Privacy & American Business

and Privacy Council. November 27, 2001. Washington, DC. For more

information: info@pandab.org

First Privacy Expo 2001. Privacy & American Business and Privacy

Council. November 27-29, 2001. Washington, DC. For more information:

info@pandab.org

Eighth Annual National "Managing the NEW Privacy Revolution"

Conference. Privacy & American Business and Privacy Council. November

28-29, 2001. Washington, DC. For more information: info@pandab.org

Privacy Law: New Developments & Issues in a Security-Conscious World.

Practising Law Institute. November 29, 2001. Satellite Viewing

Locations. For more information: http://www.pli.edu/

Call for Papers - December 1, 2001. 11th Annual EICAR & 3rd European

Anti-Malware Conference. European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus

Research (EICAR). June 8-11, 2002. Berlin, Germany. For more

information: http://conference.eicar.org/

Privacy By Design 2001: Building Privacy for Better Business.

ZeroKnowledge. December 3-5, 2001. Montreal, Canada. For more

information: http://www.zeroknowledge.com/privacybydesign2001/

Get Noticed: Effective Financial Privacy Notices. Federal Trade

Commission. December 4, 2001. Washington, DC. For more information:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/glb/

Call for Papers - December 10, 2001. Workshop on Privacy Enhancing

Technologies 2002. April 14-15, 2002. San Francisco, CA. For more

information: http://www.pet2002.org/

17th Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC). Applied

Computer Security Associates. December 10-14, 2001. New Orleans, LA.

For more information: http://www.acsac.org/

Call for Content - December 15, 2001. INET 2002 - Internet Crossroads:

Where Technology and Policy Intersect. The Internet Society. June

18-21, 2002. Arlington, VA. For more information:

http://www.isoc.org/inet2002/cfc/

Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit. January 7-8, 2002.

Washington, DC. For more information:

http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit0102/

Chief Privacy Officer Skills Development Workshop. PRIVA-C and Select

Knowledge. January 14-16, 2002 and February 18-20, 2002. Dallas, TX.

For more information: http://www.priva-c.com/cpoworkshop/

CFP 2002: The Twelfth Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy.

April 16-19, 2002. San Francisco, CA. For more information:

http://www.cfp2002.org/

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