Slashdot Mirror

under this argument, the white house(white house dot gov), or President Clinton, could seek an injunction against the porn site that takes advantage of the user forgetting to put .gov instead of .com (link here)

Now, could I also be getting /. in trouble for having a link to a porn site? possibly... if pat buchanan or bush get elected...

While your healhty dose of realism is certainly appreciated others have already shown that Apache is not just used on "I love my dog"-sites, but also on high-traffic e-commerce (fah!) sites like Amazon. And while your attempt at associating Apache with the porn-industry as something bad is funny, you should not forget that those sites probably get more traffic than your average small or medium business IIS user.

• The real-world, usable, easy to set up, high transaction internet infrastructure of tommorrow is being built by Microsoft

Please! I am not an experienced NT user, but that's no problem since that is exactly what my point is about: Coming from a Unix background I found the IIS interface extremely confusing (compared to a straightforward and well commented Apache config file) and the management console less than stable. I glad I convinced one of my clients to switch to a more sensible solution for a site I have to maintain remotely.

Ah! Netcraft finally knows what this site is running. Very cool. (Yes, I'm a lisp bigot.)

it has a .com instead of a .gov

Actually the USPS website is available at both http://www.usps.com and http://www.usps.gov, probably to end the possible confusion caused by differing sites like http://www.whitehouse.com and http://www.whitehouse.gov

One person running the Electrohippy javascript is not creating a DoS. Thousands together are, in a new electronic form of protest.

People, the transferrence of activist activities to the electronic sphere is something we should be happy about. After sending email to president@whitehouse.gov and feeling like it didn't really matter, it's good to see some opportunities for collective action.

Why do terrorists/anarchists/whateverists have a higher profile?

As a quick note, please do not confuse terrorists and anarchists.

The former create heirarchy through violence against people, the latter seek to liberate people from all incarnations of the former.

To put it another way: Terrorists == cracker, Anarchists == hacker.

Michael Chisari

For those of you who don't know, you can send Mr. Gore an email telling him just how much you like/dislike his corporate smoozing. If he likes your email enough, he might just come to your birthday party and do the macarana once his political career is in shambles! (For a small fee I'm sure)

So start churning out those emails fellow slashdotters.

Don't vote Democrat or Republican; vote intelligently!

For those of you who don't know, you can send Mr. Gore an email telling him just how much you like/dislike his corporate smoozing. If he likes your email enough, he might just come to your birthday party and do the macarana once his political career is in shambles! (For a small fee I'm sure)

So start churning out those emails fellow slashdotters.

Don't vote Democrat or Republican; vote intelligently!

Just because some guy with a Pakistani or Indian sounding name says that Pakistan is breaching the line doesn't mean its _just_ Pakistan.

Read the press briefing at the Whitehouse on July 4, 1999, after Bill Clinton had talks with the Pakistani prime minister and told him to get his forces back behind the Line of Control.

Let me apply this situation to our own situation in the 1700s. What if France hadn't helped us against Britian?

France did what they did because of their enmity with Britain. What about Quebec today? Should Quebec secede from Canada? What about Ireland, and Scotland? What about the Basques in Spain? All of these countries have a democractic framework.

I'd like to see how much of what the Indian muslims want their government to do gets done. India is democratic only if your Hindu.

False. Fundamental Rights are guaranteed to all under the Indian Constitution.

if India is so open to religions, then why is the government funding a campaign to drive out catholics? Please explain. We have see reports about 6 churches being destoryed and christians being persecuted, please explain why India is doing this?

Please provide unbiased, reliable, verifiable sources of your claims. It can be argued that the United States, with its many church burnings[1] [2], is a greater threat to Christianity.

I disgree with your statements on the Muslims of East Pakistan being abused by West Pakistan. It sounds like more FUD to me.

Read about Bangladesh's independence, especially about the holocaust and the US involvement.

...and us pissing off another country or two sitting on the security council.

This is a real danger. US actions have made the UN and Security Council increasingly irrelevant in the last few years. The US government attitude runs on the lines of I'm taking the ball home if you don't play by my rules. Dues to the tune of millions of dollars to the UN have been witheld. Continuing action against Iraq is being undertaken with a rather elastic view of previous Security Council resolutions. The Kosovo intervention was without the Security Council's approval(since Russia would have vetoed any military action). This is going to make other countries justifiably scared. Can the EU expect to be bombed in the future if the banana dispute is not resolved in favour of the US? Independent-minded countries like France and China will be giving serious thought to countering the growing US influence.

Here is the actual whitehouse briefing. The articles had no info on online or free software distribution, because the press release had no information. Our media has gotten so absurdly lazy, they don't bother to inquire about anything.

It would be good if someone could find an online copy of the actual Executive Order.

----

Here is a good source:

Economic Statistics Briefing Room

The point is, spread it around! We've seen the slashdot effect with servers, yes? Well, the only person to experiance a Slashdot effect with email has been Mr. Katz, which hardly seems fair. Get the word out! If enough people have the truth shoved in their faces, they have to listen to reason.
And let's all do it before it's too late for our little version of reality. I like being a geek. At this point in my life, I don't think I could start over.

The point is, spread it around! We've seen the slashdot effect with servers, yes? Well, the only person to experiance a Slashdot effect with email has been Mr. Katz, which hardly seems fair. Get the word out! If enough people have the truth shoved in their faces, they have to listen to reason.
And let's all do it before it's too late for our little version of reality. I like being a geek. At this point in my life, I don't think I could start over.

The idea of a web site being "open sorce" implis that it's compiled. Okay, Al, so where's the SGML?
Actually, Al Gore is probably the first major public figure to grab ahold of the burgeoning tide of the internet, computers, etc. The White House site still smacks of a ten minute session with Netscape Composer. I expect Gore's focus on "hip new technology" will win him support in 2000, mostly from the part of the win/mac crowd who think that AOL or Microsoft owns the internet. (I guess they bought it from Gore.) If this wins more public exposure of computer monopolies, the CDA, etc., then all power to him. The public needs a public figure to represent technology, and nobody to yet come forth (Gates, Jobs, Case, Ellison, even Linus) has captured the eye of the media, at least in the right way.

ACTION:

MS Product and Corporate Questions: Waggener Edstrom at (503) 245-0905
MS email contact info is at http://register.microsoft.com/regwiz/regwiz.asp

The USPTO phone number is 800.786.9199 (800.PTO.9199). They say they are "not yet equipped to handle general email correspondence". What a shock.

US Asst. Attorney General for Antitrust: Joel Klein.
* "If your comments relate specifically to the Antitrust Division's suit against Microsoft Corporation, please direct your correspondence to Microsoft.atr@usdoj.gov". Seems like this qualifies, eh?
* Other DOJ email contact info is at http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact/emails.htm
* DOJ Antitrust phone contact info: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact/phoneworks.htm

Vice President Al Gore (cheerleader for hi-tech and, um, less distracted than others at the White House)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Mail/html/Mail_Vice_P resident.html
Or email direct at vice.president@whitehouse.gov

US Senate Commerce, Science, And Transportation Committee
John McCain, chairman: John_McCain@McCain.senate.gov
http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/
508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510-6125
(202) 224-5115
http://www.senate.gov/committees/committee_detail. cfm?COMMITTEE_ID=419 -- lists all members, with links to their homepages.

The House Committee on Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2927
Commerce@mail.house.gov

House Committee on Science
2320 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-6371

Bogus Patent petition:
http://ethepeople.com/affiliates/national/fullview .cfm?ETPID=0&PETID=98938 &ETPDIR=affiliates/national

INFO:

W3C copyright terms: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice

W3C software license: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-softw are.html

"Microsoft Awarded Style Sheet Patent"
Reprinted from The Bulletin: Seybold News & Views on Electronic Publishing, Vol. 4, No. 19, February 4, 1999
http://webreview.com/wr/pub/1999/02/05/style/index .html
This article apparently broke the story.

Wired News: "MS Wins Patent for Web Standard" by Chris Oakes
2:05 p.m. 4.Feb.99.PST
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/17 741.html

WEB STANDARDS PROJECT CALLS FOR CLARIFICATION OF WHETHER PATENT GIVES MICROSOFT CONTROL OVER TWO KEY WEB STANDARDS
(press release: Feb. 4, 1999)
http://www.webstandards.org/patent.txt
(Also discussed at http://webreview.com/wr/pub/1999/02/05/style/index 2.html)

At this writing (11:30pm PST Feb. 5), nothing on this story has appeared in/on:
* C|Net
* ZD Net and all related publications/sites
* CNN
* NY Times, et al.
* Seattle Times (www.seattletimes.com)

ACTION:

MS Product and Corporate Questions: Waggener Edstrom at (503) 245-0905
MS email contact info is at http://register.microsoft.com/regwiz/regwiz.asp

The USPTO phone number is 800.786.9199 (800.PTO.9199). They say they are "not yet equipped to handle general email correspondence". What a shock.

US Asst. Attorney General for Antitrust: Joel Klein.
* "If your comments relate specifically to the Antitrust Division's suit against Microsoft Corporation, please direct your correspondence to Microsoft.atr@usdoj.gov". Seems like this qualifies, eh?
* Other DOJ email contact info is at http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact/emails.htm
* DOJ Antitrust phone contact info: http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/contact/phoneworks.htm

Vice President Al Gore (cheerleader for hi-tech and, um, less distracted than others at the White House)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Mail/html/Mail_Vice_P resident.html
Or email direct at vice.president@whitehouse.gov

US Senate Commerce, Science, And Transportation Committee
John McCain, chairman: John_McCain@McCain.senate.gov
http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/
508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510-6125
(202) 224-5115
http://www.senate.gov/committees/committee_detail. cfm?COMMITTEE_ID=419 -- lists all members, with links to their homepages.

The House Committee on Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-2927
Commerce@mail.house.gov

House Committee on Science
2320 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-6371

Bogus Patent petition:
http://ethepeople.com/affiliates/national/fullview .cfm?ETPID=0&PETID=98938 &ETPDIR=affiliates/national

INFO:

W3C copyright terms: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice

W3C software license: http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-softw are.html

"Microsoft Awarded Style Sheet Patent"
Reprinted from The Bulletin: Seybold News & Views on Electronic Publishing, Vol. 4, No. 19, February 4, 1999
http://webreview.com/wr/pub/1999/02/05/style/index .html
This article apparently broke the story.

Wired News: "MS Wins Patent for Web Standard" by Chris Oakes
2:05 p.m. 4.Feb.99.PST
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/17 741.html

WEB STANDARDS PROJECT CALLS FOR CLARIFICATION OF WHETHER PATENT GIVES MICROSOFT CONTROL OVER TWO KEY WEB STANDARDS
(press release: Feb. 4, 1999)
http://www.webstandards.org/patent.txt
(Also discussed at http://webreview.com/wr/pub/1999/02/05/style/index 2.html)

At this writing (11:30pm PST Feb. 5), nothing on this story has appeared in/on:
* C|Net
* ZD Net and all related publications/sites
* CNN
* NY Times, et al.
* Seattle Times (www.seattletimes.com)

================================================== ====================
SCAN THIS NEWS
1/31/99

Global Electronic Commerce Plan Hits Public Acceptance Snag

Who instructed Intel to program digital IDs into their new Pentium III
computer CPUs? Was this something they came up with independently, or was it
done in furtherance of a larger agenda?

Who instructed all four of this nation's banking regulatory agencies to
simultaneously propose "Know Your Customer" identification regulations
coincidentally at the very same time that lawmakers in other countries were
also instituting KYC policies? Did all of these entities propose nearly
identical laws and regulations at the same time just by chance, or did
someone plan and orchestrate the event?

Whatever you believe, you should not dismiss the fact that plans are
presently being made and implemented on the global scale which will
ultimately determine how you conduct business - possibly all business - in
the future. The fact that plans are underway is no secret; however, the
precise details are very secret. The overall plan has been made public; but
the intricacies will not become public until the necessary national laws and
regulations are securely established, and the agreed upon technologies have
been incorporated.

The establishment of a global framework under which all business will
eventually be conducted is every bit as profound as the establishment of the
Federal Reserve Banking system here in the U.S. in 1913, which placed total
control of this nations economy solely in the hands of a few, un-elected
individuals. Although the Federal Reserve system has been the focus of much
talk of "conspiracies" and secretive planning, few people today are even
aware that the establishment of a vastly more ominous global financial
system is being instituted right under their collective noses. Global
planners are now spreading their tentacles of economic control over the
entire globe which will eventually afford them complete and total power over
the world's economies.

Before all commerce can be conducted electronically however, a number of
foundational provisions must first be put into place. Perhaps chief among
these is the ability to positively identify all parties who engage in
electronic business - particularly over the Internet. This will require a
combination of technologies to identify both the user and the equipment from
which a transaction originates.

Contracting parties will be identified through the use of either "digital
signatures" that will be assigned to each individual by the government, (see
linked article below), or by using digitized fingerprints captured and
transmitted at the time of a transaction. Digital fingerprint readers are
now available for use with PCs, and Windows 98 already includes an
Application Programming Interface (API) which allows for easy hook-up of
personal fingerscanner devices. Recently, Compaq computer company announced
that it had begun marketing a PC-based fingerscan reader for under $100
each.

Another prerequisite to the global transactions system will be the
establishment of Electronic Commerce Taxation agreements so that local,
state, and national taxes can be collected at the "point of sale." As more
and more purchases are made over the Internet, various government agencies
are beginning to clamor about lost revenue due to electronic sales that are
not taxed. Tax revenues diminish in direct proportion to the increase in
un-taxed electronic sales. This issue will have to be addressed very soon,
one way or another.

Computer chips with electronic IDs and personal digital signatures (or
electronic fingerprints) will satisfy both the taxing and the contractual
requirements by associating every electronic sale with originating locations
and participant individuals. Legally, the "identified person" and the owner
of the "identified terminal" will be liable for whatever tax is imposed at
the time of the transaction. The tax will be levied and collect when the
sale is conducted.

Law enforcement interests will be central to whatever electronic commerce
technologies are eventually established. Therefore, assurances will be
provided for the ability to trace all transactions back to an individual,
identify the originating address, and verify the computer terminal used.
These system's inherent traits will provide the ability to track all
transactions so that illegal activity can be monitored.

Because of the tax component of the electronic commerce equation, and
because of law enforcement interests, "anonymous" electronic activity may be
outlawed under the system currently being planned. A gossamer form of
anonymity may be permitted to the extent that the veil of privacy can be
lifted in the event unacceptable activity is detected.

The planners may allow "pseudo-encrypted transactions," but only if
designated governmental entities (probably international in nature) have the
"keys" to all approved encryption algorithms. Only approved encryption
schemes will be permitted in the global electronic commerce system.
Un-approved technologies and encryption schemes simply will not be allowed
over the international transactions system.

Not only will the system provide a means to monitor suspicious transactions,
but the technologies that are being developed will also certainly
incorporate methods for identifying all other un-approved, un-authorized, or
otherwise illegal online activity. Therefore, the same identification
standards that are finally agreed upon for electronic commerce will most
likely also be required for all other electronic correspondence transmitted
over the Internet.

On July 1, 1997, President Clinton released his Presidential Directive on
Electronic Commerce which sets out the agenda for accomplishing the above
objectives. On that date, he also announced the release of "A Framework For
Global Electronic Commerce;" the official administrative plan for the
development of a global electronic commerce system.

The President's Directive delineates the fundamental areas in which
government agencies are to work with law enforcement and private sector
businesses, both nationally and internationally, to develop new technologies
which will assure that electronic transactions can be conducted "securely."
Clinton's Directive states:

"According to several estimates, commerce on the Internet will total tens
of billions of dollars by the turn of the century and could expand rapidly
after that, helping fuel economic growth well into the 21st century.

"For this potential to be realized, governments must adopt a
market-oriented approach to electronic commerce, one that facilitates the
emergence of a global, transparent, and predictable environment to support
business and commerce."

"In promoting robust security needed for electronic commerce, the
Administration has already taken steps that will enable trust in encryption
and provide the safeguards that users and society will need. The
Administration, in partnership with industry, is taking steps to promote the
development of market-driven standards, public-key management infrastructure
services and key recoverable encryption products."

"Many businesses and consumers are still wary of conducting extensive
business over the Internet because of the lack of a predictable legal
environment governing transactions. This is particularly true for
international commercial activity where concerns about enforcement of
contracts, liability, intellectual property protection, privacy, security,
and other matters have caused businesses and consumers to be cautious."

"Today I have approved and released a report -- "A Framework For Global
Electronic Commerce" -- outlining the principles that will guide my
Administration's actions as we move forward into the new electronic age of
commerce. This report articulates my Administration's vision for the
emerging digital marketplace by declaring a set of principles, presenting a
series of policies, and establishing an agenda for international discussions
and agreements to facilitate the growth of electronic commerce."

"Accordingly, I am hereby directing that executive department and agency
heads should be guided in any future actions they take related to electronic
commerce by the following principles:"

"7. I direct the Secretary of Commerce to work with the private sector,
State and local governments, and foreign governments to support the
development, both domestically and internationally, of a uniform commercial
legal framework that recognizes, facilitates, and enforces electronic
transactions worldwide. I further direct the Secretary of Commerce within
the next 12 months to seek to gain agreement with the private sector, State
and local governments, and foreign governments, both domestically and
internationally, on common approaches for authentication of electronic
transactions through technologies such as digital signatures."

The Framework itself states:

"The United States, through the Department of the Treasury, is working
with other governments in international fora to study the global
implications of emerging electronic payment systems. A number of
organizations are already working on important aspects of electronic banking
and payments. Their analyses will contribute to a better understanding of
how electronic payment systems will affect global commerce and banking.

"The Economic Communiqué issued at the Lyon Summit by the G-7 Heads of
State called for a cooperative study of the implications of new,
sophisticated retail electronic payment systems. In response, the G-10
deputies formed a Working Party, with representation from finance ministries
and central banks (in consultation with law enforcement authorities). The
Working Party is chaired by a representative from the U.S. Treasury
Department, and tasked to produce a report that identifies common policy
objectives among the G-10 countries and analyzes the national approaches to
electronic commerce taken to date.

"As electronic payment systems develop, governments should work closely
with the private sector to inform policy development, and ensure that
governmental activities flexibly accommodate the needs of the emerging
marketplace."

"Of particular importance is the development of trusted certification
services that support the digital signatures that will permit users to know
whom they are communicating with on the Internet.

[The Framework on Electronic Taxation]

"The taxation of commerce conducted over the Internet should be consistent
with the established principles of international taxation, should avoid
inconsistent national tax jurisdictions and double taxation, and should be
simple to administer and easy to understand.

"Any taxation of Internet sales should follow these principles:

"* It should neither distort nor hinder commerce. No tax system should
discriminate among types of commerce, nor should it create incentives that
will change the nature or location of transactions.

"* The system should be simple and transparent. It should be capable of
capturing the overwhelming majority of appropriate revenues, be easy to
implement, and minimize burdensome record keeping and costs for all parties.

"* The system should be able to accommodate tax systems used by the
United States and our international partners today.

"Wherever feasible, we should look to existing taxation concepts and
principles to achieve these goals.

"Any such taxation system will have to accomplish these goals in the
context of the Internet's special characteristics -- the potential anonymity
of buyer and seller, the capacity for multiple small transactions, and the
difficulty of associating online activities with physically defined
locations.

"To achieve global consensus on this approach, the United States, through
the Treasury Department, is participating in discussions on the taxation of
electronic commerce through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the primary forum for cooperation in international
taxation.

[End of excerpts]
-------------------------

THE FATF AND KYC

The individual pieces of the Global Electronic Commerce plan are being put
into place currently worldwide. One element of the plan is the banking
industry's "Know Your Customer" program which establishes standards banks
must use in identifying individuals for all banking-related activities. The
Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) - established by the same Global-7
organization mentioned in the "Framework" - is the international
organization charged with developing and globally implementing the KYC
standards. The FATF's plan, called the "40 Recommendations," established the
KYC requirements that all member countries are now working to implement.

Although the KYC proposal has recently suffered a setback in the U.S. due to
public rejection of the identification and monitoring provisions, the
international FATF organization has not - and will not - abandon the
concept. The FATF identification measures must be put into place before the
electronic commerce system can go forward. Don't expect KYC identification
requirements to go away. In fact, federal regulators have stated that nearly
all of the KYC provisions are already in place at all major, and most
smaller, U.S. banks.

Related to this is the bank policy - which most banks have adopted -
requiring all non-member customers to submit a fingerprint in order to cash
checks. As electronic fingerscanners become cheaper and more readily
available it can be expected that banks will soon begin requiring digitized
fingerprints in order to open accounts and even for established customers to
transact regular banking business. Digitized fingerprints will also likely
be required for conducting conventional business whenever chargecards and
checks are used. The justification will be to "protect the customer and to
prevent fraud;" the now familiar chorus sung by all data-collecting
entities - public and private.

INTEL AND THE ID CHIP

The Framework for Global Electronic Commerce additionally proposes the
development and incorporation of new technologies that will assure that
"secure transactions" can be conducted over the Internet. The "Framework"
states that government will work with private sector industry to develop the
necessary technology and to assure that the requisite standards are put into
place by commercial concerns.

Intel spokesman Tom Waldrop was quoted in Wired Magazine (1/31/99) as saying
the purpose of the digital ID that has been programmed into Pentium chips
was to develop a method for "the consumer to have a secure transaction over
the Internet." This is essentially the same wording as used in President
Clinton's Directive and Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. Intel's
plan to assign a digital ID to all of its new Pentium III computer chips is
consistent with the Framework's objective for global electronic commerce.

Due to strongly vocal objections from the public - particularly those
concerned with privacy issues - Intel has agreed to alter their chip design
so that the ID feature will be turned off by default. The ID feature can,
however, be turned on using Intel-provided software.

If the emerging global electronic commerce system ultimately requires that
all CPUs have an ID feature, and that all users "identify" themselves when
logged on to the Internet - as is currently being planned - there may be no
option but to either acquiesce to the privacy-invading stipulations or
simply stop using the Internet altogether.

Scott McDonald
-------------------------------------------------- ---------------

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE INITIATIVE
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/Commerce/remarks. html


PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/Commerce/


See also:

"Feds want a digital certificate in every pot,
July 16, 1998" - CNN News
http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9807/16/digicert.idg /index.html


"Firm Sidesteps Intel on Chip ID" - Wired Magazine
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/17 624.html
"...the purpose of the digital ID is so that "the consumer
to have a secure transaction over the Internet."

"Let Your Fingers Do the Login" - Wired Magazine
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/13 507.html


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2) it is consistent with what you already know to be true.
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SCAN THIS NEWS
1/31/99

Global Electronic Commerce Plan Hits Public Acceptance Snag

Who instructed Intel to program digital IDs into their new Pentium III
computer CPUs? Was this something they came up with independently, or was it
done in furtherance of a larger agenda?

Who instructed all four of this nation's banking regulatory agencies to
simultaneously propose "Know Your Customer" identification regulations
coincidentally at the very same time that lawmakers in other countries were
also instituting KYC policies? Did all of these entities propose nearly
identical laws and regulations at the same time just by chance, or did
someone plan and orchestrate the event?

Whatever you believe, you should not dismiss the fact that plans are
presently being made and implemented on the global scale which will
ultimately determine how you conduct business - possibly all business - in
the future. The fact that plans are underway is no secret; however, the
precise details are very secret. The overall plan has been made public; but
the intricacies will not become public until the necessary national laws and
regulations are securely established, and the agreed upon technologies have
been incorporated.

The establishment of a global framework under which all business will
eventually be conducted is every bit as profound as the establishment of the
Federal Reserve Banking system here in the U.S. in 1913, which placed total
control of this nations economy solely in the hands of a few, un-elected
individuals. Although the Federal Reserve system has been the focus of much
talk of "conspiracies" and secretive planning, few people today are even
aware that the establishment of a vastly more ominous global financial
system is being instituted right under their collective noses. Global
planners are now spreading their tentacles of economic control over the
entire globe which will eventually afford them complete and total power over
the world's economies.

Before all commerce can be conducted electronically however, a number of
foundational provisions must first be put into place. Perhaps chief among
these is the ability to positively identify all parties who engage in
electronic business - particularly over the Internet. This will require a
combination of technologies to identify both the user and the equipment from
which a transaction originates.

Contracting parties will be identified through the use of either "digital
signatures" that will be assigned to each individual by the government, (see
linked article below), or by using digitized fingerprints captured and
transmitted at the time of a transaction. Digital fingerprint readers are
now available for use with PCs, and Windows 98 already includes an
Application Programming Interface (API) which allows for easy hook-up of
personal fingerscanner devices. Recently, Compaq computer company announced
that it had begun marketing a PC-based fingerscan reader for under $100
each.

Another prerequisite to the global transactions system will be the
establishment of Electronic Commerce Taxation agreements so that local,
state, and national taxes can be collected at the "point of sale." As more
and more purchases are made over the Internet, various government agencies
are beginning to clamor about lost revenue due to electronic sales that are
not taxed. Tax revenues diminish in direct proportion to the increase in
un-taxed electronic sales. This issue will have to be addressed very soon,
one way or another.

Computer chips with electronic IDs and personal digital signatures (or
electronic fingerprints) will satisfy both the taxing and the contractual
requirements by associating every electronic sale with originating locations
and participant individuals. Legally, the "identified person" and the owner
of the "identified terminal" will be liable for whatever tax is imposed at
the time of the transaction. The tax will be levied and collect when the
sale is conducted.

Law enforcement interests will be central to whatever electronic commerce
technologies are eventually established. Therefore, assurances will be
provided for the ability to trace all transactions back to an individual,
identify the originating address, and verify the computer terminal used.
These system's inherent traits will provide the ability to track all
transactions so that illegal activity can be monitored.

Because of the tax component of the electronic commerce equation, and
because of law enforcement interests, "anonymous" electronic activity may be
outlawed under the system currently being planned. A gossamer form of
anonymity may be permitted to the extent that the veil of privacy can be
lifted in the event unacceptable activity is detected.

The planners may allow "pseudo-encrypted transactions," but only if
designated governmental entities (probably international in nature) have the
"keys" to all approved encryption algorithms. Only approved encryption
schemes will be permitted in the global electronic commerce system.
Un-approved technologies and encryption schemes simply will not be allowed
over the international transactions system.

Not only will the system provide a means to monitor suspicious transactions,
but the technologies that are being developed will also certainly
incorporate methods for identifying all other un-approved, un-authorized, or
otherwise illegal online activity. Therefore, the same identification
standards that are finally agreed upon for electronic commerce will most
likely also be required for all other electronic correspondence transmitted
over the Internet.

On July 1, 1997, President Clinton released his Presidential Directive on
Electronic Commerce which sets out the agenda for accomplishing the above
objectives. On that date, he also announced the release of "A Framework For
Global Electronic Commerce;" the official administrative plan for the
development of a global electronic commerce system.

The President's Directive delineates the fundamental areas in which
government agencies are to work with law enforcement and private sector
businesses, both nationally and internationally, to develop new technologies
which will assure that electronic transactions can be conducted "securely."
Clinton's Directive states:

"According to several estimates, commerce on the Internet will total tens
of billions of dollars by the turn of the century and could expand rapidly
after that, helping fuel economic growth well into the 21st century.

"For this potential to be realized, governments must adopt a
market-oriented approach to electronic commerce, one that facilitates the
emergence of a global, transparent, and predictable environment to support
business and commerce."

"In promoting robust security needed for electronic commerce, the
Administration has already taken steps that will enable trust in encryption
and provide the safeguards that users and society will need. The
Administration, in partnership with industry, is taking steps to promote the
development of market-driven standards, public-key management infrastructure
services and key recoverable encryption products."

"Many businesses and consumers are still wary of conducting extensive
business over the Internet because of the lack of a predictable legal
environment governing transactions. This is particularly true for
international commercial activity where concerns about enforcement of
contracts, liability, intellectual property protection, privacy, security,
and other matters have caused businesses and consumers to be cautious."

"Today I have approved and released a report -- "A Framework For Global
Electronic Commerce" -- outlining the principles that will guide my
Administration's actions as we move forward into the new electronic age of
commerce. This report articulates my Administration's vision for the
emerging digital marketplace by declaring a set of principles, presenting a
series of policies, and establishing an agenda for international discussions
and agreements to facilitate the growth of electronic commerce."

"Accordingly, I am hereby directing that executive department and agency
heads should be guided in any future actions they take related to electronic
commerce by the following principles:"

"7. I direct the Secretary of Commerce to work with the private sector,
State and local governments, and foreign governments to support the
development, both domestically and internationally, of a uniform commercial
legal framework that recognizes, facilitates, and enforces electronic
transactions worldwide. I further direct the Secretary of Commerce within
the next 12 months to seek to gain agreement with the private sector, State
and local governments, and foreign governments, both domestically and
internationally, on common approaches for authentication of electronic
transactions through technologies such as digital signatures."

The Framework itself states:

"The United States, through the Department of the Treasury, is working
with other governments in international fora to study the global
implications of emerging electronic payment systems. A number of
organizations are already working on important aspects of electronic banking
and payments. Their analyses will contribute to a better understanding of
how electronic payment systems will affect global commerce and banking.

"The Economic Communiqué issued at the Lyon Summit by the G-7 Heads of
State called for a cooperative study of the implications of new,
sophisticated retail electronic payment systems. In response, the G-10
deputies formed a Working Party, with representation from finance ministries
and central banks (in consultation with law enforcement authorities). The
Working Party is chaired by a representative from the U.S. Treasury
Department, and tasked to produce a report that identifies common policy
objectives among the G-10 countries and analyzes the national approaches to
electronic commerce taken to date.

"As electronic payment systems develop, governments should work closely
with the private sector to inform policy development, and ensure that
governmental activities flexibly accommodate the needs of the emerging
marketplace."

"Of particular importance is the development of trusted certification
services that support the digital signatures that will permit users to know
whom they are communicating with on the Internet.

[The Framework on Electronic Taxation]

"The taxation of commerce conducted over the Internet should be consistent
with the established principles of international taxation, should avoid
inconsistent national tax jurisdictions and double taxation, and should be
simple to administer and easy to understand.

"Any taxation of Internet sales should follow these principles:

"* It should neither distort nor hinder commerce. No tax system should
discriminate among types of commerce, nor should it create incentives that
will change the nature or location of transactions.

"* The system should be simple and transparent. It should be capable of
capturing the overwhelming majority of appropriate revenues, be easy to
implement, and minimize burdensome record keeping and costs for all parties.

"* The system should be able to accommodate tax systems used by the
United States and our international partners today.

"Wherever feasible, we should look to existing taxation concepts and
principles to achieve these goals.

"Any such taxation system will have to accomplish these goals in the
context of the Internet's special characteristics -- the potential anonymity
of buyer and seller, the capacity for multiple small transactions, and the
difficulty of associating online activities with physically defined
locations.

"To achieve global consensus on this approach, the United States, through
the Treasury Department, is participating in discussions on the taxation of
electronic commerce through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the primary forum for cooperation in international
taxation.

[End of excerpts]
-------------------------

THE FATF AND KYC

The individual pieces of the Global Electronic Commerce plan are being put
into place currently worldwide. One element of the plan is the banking
industry's "Know Your Customer" program which establishes standards banks
must use in identifying individuals for all banking-related activities. The
Financial Actions Task Force (FATF) - established by the same Global-7
organization mentioned in the "Framework" - is the international
organization charged with developing and globally implementing the KYC
standards. The FATF's plan, called the "40 Recommendations," established the
KYC requirements that all member countries are now working to implement.

Although the KYC proposal has recently suffered a setback in the U.S. due to
public rejection of the identification and monitoring provisions, the
international FATF organization has not - and will not - abandon the
concept. The FATF identification measures must be put into place before the
electronic commerce system can go forward. Don't expect KYC identification
requirements to go away. In fact, federal regulators have stated that nearly
all of the KYC provisions are already in place at all major, and most
smaller, U.S. banks.

Related to this is the bank policy - which most banks have adopted -
requiring all non-member customers to submit a fingerprint in order to cash
checks. As electronic fingerscanners become cheaper and more readily
available it can be expected that banks will soon begin requiring digitized
fingerprints in order to open accounts and even for established customers to
transact regular banking business. Digitized fingerprints will also likely
be required for conducting conventional business whenever chargecards and
checks are used. The justification will be to "protect the customer and to
prevent fraud;" the now familiar chorus sung by all data-collecting
entities - public and private.

INTEL AND THE ID CHIP

The Framework for Global Electronic Commerce additionally proposes the
development and incorporation of new technologies that will assure that
"secure transactions" can be conducted over the Internet. The "Framework"
states that government will work with private sector industry to develop the
necessary technology and to assure that the requisite standards are put into
place by commercial concerns.

Intel spokesman Tom Waldrop was quoted in Wired Magazine (1/31/99) as saying
the purpose of the digital ID that has been programmed into Pentium chips
was to develop a method for "the consumer to have a secure transaction over
the Internet." This is essentially the same wording as used in President
Clinton's Directive and Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. Intel's
plan to assign a digital ID to all of its new Pentium III computer chips is
consistent with the Framework's objective for global electronic commerce.

Due to strongly vocal objections from the public - particularly those
concerned with privacy issues - Intel has agreed to alter their chip design
so that the ID feature will be turned off by default. The ID feature can,
however, be turned on using Intel-provided software.

If the emerging global electronic commerce system ultimately requires that
all CPUs have an ID feature, and that all users "identify" themselves when
logged on to the Internet - as is currently being planned - there may be no
option but to either acquiesce to the privacy-invading stipulations or
simply stop using the Internet altogether.

Scott McDonald
-------------------------------------------------- ---------------

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN ANNOUNCEMENT OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE INITIATIVE
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/Commerce/remarks. html


PRESIDENT CLINTON'S FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/Commerce/


See also:

"Feds want a digital certificate in every pot,
July 16, 1998" - CNN News
http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9807/16/digicert.idg /index.html


"Firm Sidesteps Intel on Chip ID" - Wired Magazine
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/17 624.html
"...the purpose of the digital ID is so that "the consumer
to have a secure transaction over the Internet."

"Let Your Fingers Do the Login" - Wired Magazine
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/13 507.html


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You'd think the straight media would be blaring this out, since it's a BIG story that the secret codes that banks and such rely upon are essentially worthless. Wouldn't you? But no ... instead we get (on ABCNews) stories like "Which airline did consumers like best," and "Are you a Type A Driver?"

Well folks, maybe it's time for cyberdemocracy in action. Here's a list of emails where you can tell the government and the media about this story. I would ask that you please, please, pretty please be courteous and informative and to the point when you email these sites. Maybe this time we can get the message to people that our e-commerce infrastructure is lacking because of government boneheadedness.

The President
The Vice-President
The ABC News comments page
The CNN Feedback Page
The CBS News Feedback Page
The MSNBC Feedback Page.

As my favorite rock star once put it, "Don't just criticize the media...become the media."

You'd think the straight media would be blaring this out, since it's a BIG story that the secret codes that banks and such rely upon are essentially worthless. Wouldn't you? But no ... instead we get (on ABCNews) stories like "Which airline did consumers like best," and "Are you a Type A Driver?"

Well folks, maybe it's time for cyberdemocracy in action. Here's a list of emails where you can tell the government and the media about this story. I would ask that you please, please, pretty please be courteous and informative and to the point when you email these sites. Maybe this time we can get the message to people that our e-commerce infrastructure is lacking because of government boneheadedness.

The President
The Vice-President
The ABC News comments page
The CNN Feedback Page
The CBS News Feedback Page
The MSNBC Feedback Page.

As my favorite rock star once put it, "Don't just criticize the media...become the media."