KC GlobeNews JULY 2002 Privacy Special Vol.3, No.7 Current events, trends, travel, politics, eco and tech topics. Not your nine o'clock news. Add your favorite global citizens to our list - email: globenews-@-kahl.net CONTENTS U.S. COLLEGES MONITOR FOREIGN STUDENTS ANTI-SEMITISM RETURNS BIG BROTHER AWARDS NORTH DAKOTA: 72% OPT FOR OPT-IN MINNESOTA PASSES ISP PRIVACY LAW PRIVACY PLAYERS BIG BROTHER AWARDS BUSINESSES SWITCH TO ENGLISH IN EUROPE FLYING IS BAD - PART ONE & TWO ============ !!GLOBALERT!! ============ U.S. COLLEGES MONITOR FOREIGN STUDENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new US electronic tracking database is about to give foreign students a deal they just can't pass up. They already pay thousands to attend schools in the US. In return, under orders from Attorney General John Ashcroft, they will have to tell their school -- and the U.S. government -- what courses they take, what clubs they join, what countries they visit. Maybe even what they want to be when they grow up. "My privacy has been invaded, and the government is watching everything I do," said a Taiwanese graduate student studying at SF State. Ashcroft announced the advent of the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System, SEVIS in response to lax enforcement of student visas by the INS. Many of the Sept. 11 hijackers were in the country on student visas. The system will collect about 150 data points from each student so they can be tracked efficiently. "Monitoring is something we all support, but we want it done in a logical process," said Jay Ward, coordinator for international programs at SFSU. By January 2003 SEVIS will be mandatory, connecting 74,000 U.S. universities, colleges, trade and language schools to all U.S. consulates and ports of entry. While ACLU lawyers are researching SEVIS' privacy problems, some students have decided the loss of privacy is the price to pay to study at American universities. At SFSU, where foreign and out-of-state students pay about $8,000 in annual tuition compared with $2,000 annually for locals, revenue from some students barred from obtaining visas may see a sharp drop. "It will affect the U.S. economy, especially in California, where there are so many foreign students," Li said. [Source: SF Examiner] HOW TO KEEP IN TOUCH ------------------------------- Get great LONG DISTANCE RATES with GLOBALCOM prepaid calling services. Look at these sample RATES from ANY phone in the USA: * 5.5¢ per minute USA, Canada, UK, Hong Kong * 6¢ per minute Belgium, Germany, China * 14.5¢ per minute Philippines * Works worldwide (via web enabled CALLBACK)! * No Monthly Fees! No Hidden Fees! Go ahead, talk for hours...we know you'll love Click4Prepaid from GLOBALCOM: http://www.kahl.net/global/ ANTI-SEMITISM RETURNS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anti-Semitism is back, taking the place of intelligent criticism of Israel and its policies. And students are spreading the gibberish. Laurie Zoloth, director of Jewish Studies at SF State University, remarks "I cannot fully express what it feels like to have to walk across campus daily, past maps of the Middle East that do not include Israel, past posters of cans of soup with labels on them of drops of blood and dead babies, labeled 'canned Palestinian children meat, slaughtered according to Jewish rites under American license,' past poster after poster calling out Zionism=racism, and Jews=Nazis," she wrote -- and the details only became more shattering from then on. Did you hear that 4,000 Jews didn't show up for work at the World Trade Center on September 11. Many people actually thought this astoundingly crazy charge was plausible enough. Did it didn't occur to them to look at the names of the dead? The worst crackpot notions that circulate through the violent Middle East are also roaming around America, and if that wasn't bad enough, students are spreading the gibberish. Students! Students, whether progressive or not, have the responsibility of knowing things, of thinking and discerning, of studying. A student movement should maintain the highest of standards, not ape the formulas of its elders or outdo them in virulence. It should therefore trouble progressives everywhere that the students at San Francisco State are neither curious nor revolted by the anti-Semitic drivel they are regurgitating. The simple fact that a student movement -- even a small one -- has been reduced to reflecting the hatred spewed by others should profoundly trouble anyone whose moral principles aim higher than simple nationalism -- as should be the case for anyone on the left. It isn't hard to discover the sources of the drivel being parroted by the students at San Francisco State. In the blood-soaked Middle East of Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon, in the increasingly polarized Europe of Jean-Marie le Pen raw anti-Semitism has increasingly taken the place of intelligent criticism of Israel and its policies. Even as Laurie Zoloth's message flew around the world, even as several prominent European papers published scathing but warranted attacks on Israel's stonewalling of an inquiry into the Jenin fighting, the great Portuguese novelist Jose Saramago was describing Israel's invasion of Ramallah as "a crime comparable to Auschwitz." Saramago wrote in Madrid's /El Pais/: "Intoxicated mentally by the messianic dream of a Greater Israel which will finally achieve the expansionist dreams of the most radical Zionism; contaminated by the monstrous and rooted 'certitude' that in this catastrophic and absurd world there exists a people chosen by God and that, consequently, all the actions of an obsessive, psychological and pathologically exclusivist racism are justified; educated and trained in the idea that any suffering that has been inflicted, or is being inflicted, or will be inflicted on everyone else, especially the Palestinians, will always be inferior to that which they themselves suffered in the Holocaust, the Jews endlessly scratch their own wound to keep it bleeding, to make it incurable, and they show it to the world as if it were a banner." Note well: the subject of this sentence is: "the Jews." Not the right-wing Jews, the militarist Israelis, but "the Jews." Suddenly the Jews are reduced to a single stick-figure (or shall we say hook-nosed?) caricature and we are plunged into the brainless, ruinous, abysmal iconography that should make every last reasonable person shudder. The German socialist August Bebel once said that anti-Semitism was "the socialism of fools." What we witness now is the progressivism of fools. We are not on the brink of "another Auschwitz," and to think so, in fact, falsifies the danger. The danger is clear and present, though not apocalyptic. It's no remote nightmare that synagogues are bombed, including the one on the Tunisian island of Djerba, an apparent al-Qaeda truck bomb attack. This happened. It is no remote nightmare that hundreds of Palestinian civilians died during Israeli incursions into the West Bank. This, too, happened. The nightmare is that the second is being allowed to excuse and justify the first. [Source: Todd Gitlin, New York University professor] ============== THE GOOD NEWS ============== NORTH DAKOTA: 72% OPT FOR OPT-IN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a statewide referendum North Dakota voters chose to reestablish opt-in privacy protections for financial information. A "No" vote on rejected an opt-out standard for financial privacy that was adopted after the same weak standard passed Congress in 1999. Banks in opposition raised over $100,000 to try and defeat the measure. The referendum was the first time citizens have had the opportunity to vote directly on opt-in. MINNESOTA PASSES ISP PRIVACY LAW ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura has signed into law S.F. 2908, a bill that limits the use of data collected by ISPs. The bill requires consent of the user before an ISP can reveal browsing history or the user's personal information. The bill also places restrictions on the transmission of unsolicited commercial e-mail, including a prohibition on falsification of headers and the requirement of an "ADV" label. The bill affords Minnesotans a private right of action with liquidated damages and attorney's fees. KC TECHSHOP ----------------- Shop naked! Online at the NEW KC TechShop! * MONEY-SAVING RANKINGS Best sites for comparison shopping and reviews. * "SWEET SPOT" SHOPPING LISTS DESKTOPs and LAPTOPs. Best price-to-quality! * GREEN PC Section Helps you save energy. Hardware or software, deals on technology: http://www.kahl.net/shopping ========== GLOBESITES ========== PRIVACY PLAYERS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you're interested in privacy issues here are three key websites to bookmark. Privacy.org is a joint project of The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International. http://www.privacy.org/ Consumer Information Organization Privacy Site http://www.privacy.net/ The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) http://www.epic.org/ ========= GlobeNews ========= BIG BROTHER AWARDS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Privacy International present the "Big Brother" awards to government and private sector organizations which have done the most to threaten personal privacy in their countries. 15 ceremonies have been held in seven countries. 75 awards have been given to some powerful government agencies, individuals and corporations. "Big Brother" awards are presented to those have done most to invade personal privacy. A "lifetime menace" award is also presented. Awards are also given to individuals and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the protection of privacy. A recent ceremony in San Francisco, on April 18, 2002 had these awards: Most Invasive Proposal The Expanded Computer Assisted Passenger Screening Program to spy on and profile all travellers by the people who screwed up Enron and your credit reports. Runners Up The Washington DC video surveillance system for turning the national mall into j. edgar hoover park. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators scheme to turn your driver's license into a national ID card. Greatest Corporate Invader Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle for championing a national ID card using his software Runners Up Quest Communications for placing everyone in telemarketer hell and oppsing laws on keeping phone records private. The Financial Services Coordinating Council for fighting against bank privacy in every state Worst Public Official Attorney General John Ashcroft for attacking privacy and freedom of information Runners Up Cal. Governor Grey Davis for vetoing three workplace privacy bills, sabotaging financial privacy and proposing a Cal-Patriot Act so bad that his own counsel said it was illegal. HHS Secretary Thommy Thompson for gutting the HIIPA Medical privacy regulations to allow drug companies to have everyone's medical records without permission. Lifetime Menace Admiral John Poindexter for NSDD-145, "Sensitive but Unclassified" and the new Office of Information Awareness to spy on everyone just in case you are a terrorist. Runners Up Booze Allen & Hamilton for providing the FBI with CALEA, Carnivore, Magic Lantern and lots more surveillance toys that we don't know about (yet). Direct Marketing Association for ensuring that your junk mail is correctly delivered to you. Brandeis Awards: State Sen Jackie Speier For leading the fight for Financial Privacy and consumer rights in California Warren Leach For exposing the dirty deads of the credit bureaus for over 30 years SF Chronicle Editorial page (Special Mention) For opposing efforts by Governer Grey Davis to limit privacy in California Big Brother Awards http://www.bigbrotherawards.com EARTHLINGS! Interested in space, astronomy and extraterrestrial news? GET ASTRONEWS! Another free informative Kahl Consultants e-zine. Beam your request to: astronews-@-kahl.net ============= FUTURE IS NOW ============= BUSINESSES SWITCH TO ENGLISH IN EUROPE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As European banks and corporations burst national boundaries and go global, many are making English the official corporate language. Two years ago, when France, Germany and Spain merged their aerospace industries into one company, they not only gave it an English name - the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., or EADS - they also made English its language. In Germany, the national postal service, Deutsche Post World Net, increasingly uses English as its working language. Smaller companies are doing likewise. In Finland, the elevator maker Kone adopted English in the 1970s; in Italy, Merloni Elettrodomestici, a midsize home appliance maker, did so in the mid-1990s. Management meetings at big banks like Deutsche Bank in Germany and Credit Suisse in Switzerland are routinely in English. In part, the triumphal march of English through European business is symbolic, born of a wish to shed a parochial image and assume that of global player. But behind this choice also lies a reality that unsettles some Europeans: The use of English is mainly determined by the unchallenged dominance of the United States in industry, commerce and finance. ====== TravelTips ====== FLYING IS BAD - PART ONE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flying can dry out your skin as much as the desert. Temperature on a plane are about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and onboard humidity is about 10 percent. The same type of environment you would find in a desert If a person were to spend three days constantly in that type of environment, Le Fur continued, they likely would suffer the same skin cracking and peeling seen among people in desert conditions. "If you are in an airplane for more than three hours, then these are the conditions you have to deal with," she said. Le Fur advised travelers to use a moisturizer on long airplane flights to create a barrier that can keep moisture from evaporating in the high heat and low humidity conditions that can develop inside the fuselage. However, she said, "Don't spray water on your face or arms. That water will quickly evaporate and will intensify the drying conditions on the plane." Dr. Erwin Tschachler, professor of dermatology at the University of Vienna, Austria, and director of research at CERIES, noted, "We have had a lot of discussion in the media and among scientists about possible formation of blood clots among travelers on airliners, but no one thinks about what is happening to the skin." Le Fur explained normal humidity of 50 percent quickly decreases as an airplane pressurizes, dropping to 20 percent within half an hour after takeoff and continuing to decrease as the plane gains altitude, eventually dropping to a very dry 10 percent. The temperature gradually rises from a starting point of about 75 degrees to 82 degrees. The researchers not only measured environmental levels inside aircraft but the effects on the skin of the women who were asked not to use skin products as part of the study. "We saw a reduction of skin hydration of 13 percent on their foreheads, 37 percent on their cheeks and 26 percent on their forearms," Le Fur told attendees. She added it takes from six to eight hours in a normal environment for the effects caused by the airline travel to return to normal. Le Fur said there is no proven scientific link between drinking water and its effects in preventing skin dehydration. However, Tschachler suggested that drinking water on the flight would likely be beneficial to overall ability to deal with the conditions. Many people feel cool on airplanes despite their high temperatures because they are inactive and do not burn calories through movement, Le Fur said. Also, the interior air is kept moving so there is a constant draft, which can make people feel cooler. She said if airliners lowered temperature in cabins during long flights it might be beneficial for the passengers' skin. On the other hand, increasing the humidity -- which might also help the skin -- is impractical because it could increase corrosion of airplane structures. Additional studies are planned to investigate whether the effects are the same in men and if using of moisturizing products have any benefit. In another study, CERIES researchers found postmenopausal women who take hormone replacement therapy -- generally estrogen -- show improvement in skin condition. Dr. Frederique Morizot, director of the clinical research unit, said women on estrogen showed improved skin color, increased levels of helpful skin chemicals and increased skin hydration. "Hormone replacement therapy also appears to prevent the appearance of roughness of skin, especially in women who have been postmenopausal for more than 10 years," she said. FLYING IS BAD - PART TWO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Air travel is choking our world faster than any other form of transport. Do you recycle? Do you take buses and trains wherever possible? Support wind power? Then you're green, you care about the environment... But you blow it all by jumping on that cheap flight to Thailand. People should think twice before flying halfway round the world to an eco resort. You've just used up all your 'carbon credits', or environmental Brownie points, in one go. The average jet pumps around ONE TON of CO2 into the atmosphere for EVERY PASSENGER it carries from London to New York. One flight from London to Miami and you're responsible for more carbon dioxide production than A YEAR'S DRIVING. Air transport is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. The issue can no longer be avoided. It is on the agenda at the World Summit on Sustainable Development - dubbed Rio Plus Ten - in Johannesburg this August. Once the world's leaders and every green organisation on the globe has flown in and stepped from their aluminium tubes, they will be forced to reflect on the question: can we carry on shrinking the world without melting the planet? Aviation is the source of about 13 per cent of the carbon dioxide emitted by transport and represents two per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions from man-made sources. Viable alternatives to kerosene as aviation fuel are probably 50 years away. Jet engines give out not only CO2 but also nitrogen oxides. At cruise altitude, these increase ozone concentrations, contributing to the greenhouse effect. Are vapour trails just pretty patterns in the sky? These also have a greenhouse effect by preventing the escape of infrared radiation from the atmosphere. 80 per cent of the world's flying is over Europe and America, although Asia Pacific is growing fastest. Over distances less than 350 miles, air travel produces three times more CO2 per passenger than rail. High-speed long-distance electrified rail is on the up in Europe but there are still more than eight million intra-Europe flights a year. Global air traffic is set to double by 2015 to 3,400 billion passenger miles annually. The number of travellers using UK airports is expected to double by 2020 to 400 million a year. Air fares have fallen by 40 per cent in real terms in the past 25 years. The world's planes are twice as fuel-efficient as they were 30 years ago - but the volume of air travel has quadrupled. London Guardian article "Save the planet... stay on the ground": http://www.observer.co.uk/travel/story/0,6903,713881,00.html Thanks to all who wrote in! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GlobeNews by Kahl Consultants Visit us: http://www.kahl.net Email GlobeNews: globenews-@-kahl.net SUBSCRIBE: subglobenews-@-kahl.net Unsubscribe: unsubglobenews-@-kahl.net ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE PLUG ======== How has your small business or organization been performing lately? Are you happy with your work? Let Kahl Consultants help you. Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. If you got this far you obviously enjoyed GlobeNews. Pass it on! Please forward it to a handful of your friends. Remember, the best things in life are free. THE PUNCH LINE ============== CRIME TAKES BRAINS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police in Wichita, Kansas, arrested a 22-year-old man at an airport hotel after he tried to pass two (counterfeit) $16 bills.