Last month, London's "Electronic Telegraph" reported that U.S. spy satellites are stealing the secrets of German businesses. Security experts in Germany have uncovered evidence of a big American industrial espionage operation in Europe using satellite listening posts in both Britain and Germany.

German business is thought to suffer annual losses of at least £7 billion through stolen inventions and development projects. With Europe already locked in a trade war with its American ally over bananas, Germany's high-tech industry wants its government to back a counter- offensive.

The main centers used for satellite tapping of millions of confidential company telephone calls, fax and e-mail messages are believed to be terrestrial listening posts run by the American National Security Agency (NSA) at Menwith Hill, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and Bad Aibling, Bavaria, with the backing of the American government.

 

"Industrial espionage is becoming increasingly aggressive. Secrets are being siphoned off to an extent never experienced until now," said Horst Teltschik, a senior BMW board member and a former security adviser to Helmut Kohl. He is currently trying to coordinate a German business response to the spying problem.

There's a lot more to it than just NSA and CIA spying on Europeans, though. Through listening posts in England, Canada, Mexico, and a few other countries, they also spy on most American communications -- and much of the communications of the world, for that matter. Actually, our government spook agencies get foreign governments (using our equipment) to spy on American citizens for them so they have plausible denial and can tell Congress that they do not illegally spy on American citizens.

The system is Echelon. It has been operational for many years, and all information gathered is routed to NSA in the United States.

As Niall McKay reported in "Wired" (http://www.wired.com) last week, Duncan Campbell, a British investigative reporter, was asked to investigate the system in the wake of charges made last year in the European Parliament that Echelon was being used to funnel European government and industry secrets into US hands. Dozens of investigative reports over the past decade have described the worldwide spy network, but the United States has never officially acknowledged the system. As reported, the spy network can intercept telephone, data, cellular, fax, and email transmissions sent anywhere in the world. To read that and other in-depth studies, go to: http://www.gn.apc.org/duncan

One interesting point made in the "Wired" report is that Lotus apparently programmed in a "back door" (discovered by the Swedish government) for NSA in its popular Lotus Notes business software. Apparently, these secret backdoors are also available in other software widely used by business and government.

Also busy in the international spy business is an international organization led by the FBI. Apparently a secret organization, called ILETS (International Law Enforcement Telecommunications Seminar), is working on building backdoors into all sorts of modern communications equipment -- including the Internet and satellite communications systems. No word on how the FBI got approval for an un-Constitutional general search warrant, but we trust that the FBI would not dare do such a thing without the necessary court approval. Right? Sure.

It gets better, though. A lot better.

When the European Union first learned of Echelon, a few years ago, they became a bit upset and called on our government to explain. Washington sent over a few representatives from our FBI and spook agencies and they "talked." Well, apparently we cut them in on the electronic spy business and the EU formed their own Echelon, called ENFOPOL. (http://www.fipr.org/polarch/enfopol19.html) So, it will soon be mandatory in Europe that the government(s) have easy access to all communications. In most cases, no search warrant will be required.

Now comes China, to the detriment of the rest of the world.

The world learned of parts of the China connection because a company named Loral Space Systems received permission to launch its satellites on Chinese rockets -- which exploded. Loral, and other companies, are required to place NSA Echelon circuit boards in their satellites so NSA can spy on us easily.

Well, a funny thing happened when one of those rockets crashed: The satellite was recovered almost intact, but without those special boards. The Chinese kept them.

NSA made a mad dash to change all its secret up and down-link encryption codes, but that's really only half the correction. All China need do is duplicate the circuitry (which Russia will be glad to help them do) and send up a satellite. NSA did not and cannot change the encryption up there, where the satellites relay information to each other.

Was this serendipity, or a plan? Who knows. All we know is that, unless we use strong encryption, most governments in the world will soon be able to copy any and all of our private communications at will.

So OK, some NATO ding-dong wasn't paying attention and they bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. That wasn't supposed to happen, so the international legal- eagles say. However, it did and three people were killed and 20 wounded. Now the communist dictators in China -- never ones for caring anything about a human life, other then their own -- are milking the situation for all it's worth.

"The great People's Republic of China is never to be bullied, the great Chinese nation never to be humiliated, and the great Chinese people are to be invincible forever," Chinese President Jiang Zemin stressed last week.

Jiang also complained that the U.S.-led NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia don't have UN authorization, are military intervention in a sovereign state and are therefore just hegemony and "gun-boat diplomacy." He forgot "wag the dog," but, in his case, that's understandable.

Thereafter, Jiang came out with a few demands to the United States: "The precondition for solving the Kosovo crisis is that NATO must immediately stop the bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," he said while meeting with Victor Chernomyrdin, the special Russian envoy, who was there on orders from President Boris Yeltsin.

Chernomyrdin said that President Yeltsin asked him to go to China specifically to brief Chinese leaders on the efforts Russia has made for a political solution to the Kosovo issue. That is probably true, but it is far from the complete story. In truth, Russia and China have been scheming for at least two years to set up a military alliance against the United States.

Anyway, both Russia and China are taking advantage of the situation and insuring the rhetoric stays ramped up as high as possible. Suddenly, China demands significant U.S. concessions on sensitive military, trade and diplomatic issues before normalizing relations after NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, the Financial Times reported last week. "It is up to the United States ... to take the initiative to get the relationship back to normal," an unidentified senior adviser to Chinese President Jiang Zemin was quoted as saying.

China demanded a formal apology for the bombing, a thorough investigation, the publication of the findings and the punishment of those responsible. That was for starters.

Other "conciliatory measures" China is seeking from the United States include: abandoning the idea of including Taiwan in the proposed development of a U.S.- backed missile defense umbrella in Asia; approving China's bid to join the World Trade Organization without demanding any substantial further opening of Chinese markets; and dismissing allegations that a Chinese spy stole U.S. nuclear secrets.

Yes, that was correct. China demands that we stop the bombing of Serbia, give up protecting Taiwan against communism, let China unconditionally join the World Trade Organization, and leave Japan vulnerable to attack. No word, though, about those millions of dollars in illegal campaign funds given to Clinton & Gore and other Democrats. Perhaps that is China's ace in the hole in this situation. Regardless, China seems to feel free to tell Washington to shut up about their stealing of all our nuclear secrets and Clinton is obeying orders.

Oh, and "if" the U.S. meets China and Russia's approval by installing a UN peace-keeping force in Serbia, both Russia and China signaled a willingness to dispatch troops to the area to help out. Which means, like Berlin after WWII, Serbia could ultimately be divided between free and communist zones, or a UN zone supported by NATO members and an anti-NATO sector. Stupid, in other words. Because, not reported here in the United States is the little fact that Russia's new premier, Sergei Stepashin, is also in charge of the internal security forces and was formerly head communist of what used to be known as the KGB -- and, as reported by AP, he was one of the principal architects of Russia's war in Chechnya

China is developing a world-class arsenal -- particularly missiles, thanks to the Clinton administration -- to counter the "NATO military machine." Last week, Beijing announced that it is working with Moscow to ensure the "multi-polar nature" of the new world order. Further "anti-hegemonistic" plans are to be worked out in a November summit between President Jiang Zemin and President Boris Yeltsin. A Western diplomat also added that Beijing has made veiled threats about resuming or upgrading "nuclear cooperation" with Iran and Pakistan. And, Beijing recently warned Japan not to provide a launch pad for US or NATO weaponry should the alliance target China.

As American citizens, we have a dog in this fight. That's because China has huge nukes pointed at our cities and could probably vaporize 25-million of us with the push of a button. Bill Clinton is most responsible for that -- and secondarily, those seventy negligent Senators who queered the impeachment trial. Because, let's face it, Gore might be little more than a goofy, liberal tree- hugger, but he probably would have listened to the Joint Chiefs of Staff military officers and stayed out of Serbia.

China is our enemy. Our reply, as American citizens, should be simple: Hit China where it hurts, in the pocketbook. Check those labels when you buy and reject anything from China. Because, really, the communist Chinese government is very well entrenched in Washington right now, and boycott is the only recourse we citizens have this year.

For current updates on the communist Chinese position, check out their embassy web page at:

<http://www.china-embassy.org>. Also see the South China Morning Post at:

<http://www.scmp.com/news/index.idc>

Has anyone else noticed that most newsworthy information that might be important to the American public is kept secret by the government?

For instance, ask the FAA how many bombs have been found in and around American aircraft in the past couple years. They'll say none. In truth, however, at least five have been found.

Terrorists? Nope. As long term Heads Up readers may remember, it was just bomb squads training dogs . . . and sometimes loosing their bombs in the process. Training officers sometimes hide bombs in traveler's baggage. And, if the dogs didn't find them in time, a traveler may get a big surprise when they got home. As we reported, one major airport lost two in one year. But, law enforcement officers being immune from prosecution for most actions, it was no big deal. Same thing happens with drugs.

Anyway . . . ask the FBI a question. In fact, ask the FBI just about any question. If the question is more complicated than the current time, you will not be answered. Yet, the FBI willingly shares information with other (non-law enforcement) branches of government, and even with businesses and foreign governments. But the FBI will not give information to an American citizen. Of course, if something is favorable to the FBI, ten to one it will "somehow" get the information leaked to the press -- as in the Jewell case, for instance.

Even the courts are at it. All trials are supposed to be public. Which means that at some point during a trial, all information pertaining to that trial is automatically public information. So, why are the attorneys involved in the Oklahoma City bombing case still under a gag order? Or, even more disturbing, why are people involved in that trial under a gag order that includes information that was not even presented at the trial?

And by the way, how could there have been an honest trial if part of the information was not used at trial, and is still not allowed to be released? Obviously, there is a problem here.

David Sentelle is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit, and John Butzner and Peter P. Fay were senior appellate judges. Back in 1994 they issued a ruling in a case involving The Wall Street Journal in which they told the Journal -- and the rest of the American press -- that it could not even print the court's ruling.

Got it? A court ruled in an important case (this concerned the Whitewater investigation) and then told the press it could not tell the American public anything about the case, or even that the court ruled.

It's the same with Congress. Information at "open" hearings, like the Thompson Senate hearing, is shared with nearly everyone in Washington. China knows all about it. Great Britain knows all about it. The White House knows all about it. The senators' favored reporters receive leaks of the information early so they can have their stories written up and ready to go before deadline -- and often before the event actually happened. Only the American people are kept out of the knowledge loop.

And, when the information concerns things like the communist Chinese making obviously illegal campaign "donations" to House and Senate campaign funds, it was hidden from the American public for 25 years. National security, they said. Members of Congress election security would be more like it.

Two years ago, a CIA briefing clerk testified before the Senate Committee about briefing John Huang. Everyone in Washington knows exactly who the CIA worker is. Foreign governments also know who he is -- every foreign agent in D.C. probably knows the guy on sight and has had lunch and/or drinks with him at one time or another -- 60% of the international career spook community know each other very well. Yet, he testified behind a screen so the American people cannot see him. Why?

The federal government has literally tons of secret documents, many dating from before the Second World War. At least six or seven foreign governments know almost everything in most of those documents. In fact, foreign governments regularly trade American "secrets" back and forth. The only people not allow to see this "secret" information, the people from whom the federal government protects itself, are the very same people who pay the bills: Us.

The fact is, this is a game of "who do you trust" with the federal government. And, more often than not, federal bureaucrats trust foreigners much more than they do the American people.

Isn't it about time we redefine the term "public servant" again? It appears that way too many federal bureaucrats have forgotten their place in the Constitutional order of things.

Let's get involved in the upcoming primary election and help people who will support our rights get elected.

The people working inside the Washington, D.C. Beltway share a culture foreign to most of us out here in the real United States. I mean, where else would a budget that's over extended by nearly 20% be said to be balanced?

The government newspeak in Washington is amazing. For instance, they say they are fighting discrimination when they legally require businesses to discriminate against the largest and most productive segment of American society. Or, they say they are "helping" society by making automobiles safer, when in fact all they did was mandate all sorts of unnecessary equipment, which drove car prices so high many normal working folks have to drive old clunkers.

Liddy Dole fits right in with that culture. She started in government as Deputy Assistant to President Nixon for Consumer Affairs in 1971. Next, she was a member of the Federal Trade Commission from 1973 to 1979. She was also Coalitions Director for Reagan & Bush, Director of the HHS Transition Team for the Reagan Transition (1980-81) and assistant to President Reagan for Public Liaison from 1981 to 83. Then she became Secretary of Transportation in President Reagan's Cabinet from 1983 to 1987 and Secretary of Labor in President Bush's Cabinet from 1989 to 1991.

Along the way, Liddy Dole "increased automobile safety requirements" by forcing mandatory seat belt laws down our throats and mandating other "safety" equipment that added over $1,500 to the price of a new car. She also takes credit for spearheading the campaign to raise the drinking age to 21 -- by illegally forcing all States to do her bidding through the threat of withholding highway funds. As Labor Secretary, sixty-two percent of her senior staff were (intentionally) women or minorities, which means that she discriminated against thousands of White men by setting hiring quotas. And, of course, she required private businesses to also set hiring quotas.

In other words, Elizabeth Dole is a big government loving liberal. She may be a Republican by designation, but that does not make her any less of a liberal in deed.

Now this perpetual bureaucrat wants to be our president. The problem is, she is no better at obeying the Constitution than Al Gore, John McCain, Dollar Bill Bradlay, or even Bill Clinton.

"I believe Americans want their presidents to be inspiring, effective and confident ... and determined to ensure the safety of our kids on the streets and in their schools -- even if it means having the guts to stand up to the gun lobby," Dole said. "It's the right thing to do and I won't shy away from tough issues, even if some in my party don't like it."

The right thing to do, Liddy? The right thing to do would be to study the Constitution and the Federalist Papers and tell the nation you want to lead that type of government.

However, she wasn't yet done telling Americans how little she trusts those of us living in the States:

"That includes issues like allowing people to carry concealed weapons. While that's a matter for the states to decide, I think police work is hard enough already. Nobody should make it harder. I think it's wrong to let people carry concealed weapons. I also think we need mandatory child safety locks on guns. ... Selling a gun without a child safety lock is like playing with fire," Liddy said.

No word, though, on why she (and Bob Dole) has so many well armed body guards around her when she travels. It appears that at least one of them was concealing an automatic weapon, too. Quite obviously she, like Sara Brady, does not trust the American public. That type wants well armed guards for themselves, but they could care less about us serf-citizens.

John R. Lott, Jr., a fellow in law and economics at the University of Chicago School of Law, indirectly answered most of Elizabeth Dole's concerns quite well in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece last Wednesday:

Potential victims use guns more than two million times a year to stop violent crimes; 98% of the time simply brandishing a gun is sufficient to stop an attack. Crimes are stopped with guns about five times as frequently as crimes are committed with guns. …

Nationwide there are more than 20,000 gun- control laws that regulate everything from who can own a gun and how it can be purchased to where one can possess or use it.

In 1996, 30 children under five died in gun accidents -- fewer than the number who died of drowning in water buckets. With some 80 million Americans owning 240 million guns, the vast majority of gun owners must be extremely careful or such accidents would be much more frequent. … More important, thousands of children are protected each year by parents or other adults using guns to defend themselves and their families.

All that being said, I think I'll keep the couple of old guns I have and reject Liddy Dole.

Surely, there must be someone out there running for President who will honor and obey the Constitution. We'll keep looking, so stay tuned.

  ** uhuh **

The President said he is reducing taxes.

uhuh.

Congress says they are balancing the budget.

uhuh. Sez who?

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