This post appeared on the RenounceUScitizenship blog.
Once upon a time in America – Protection of freedom from within
“Freedom and the dignity of the individual have been more available and more assured here than in any other land on earth. The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price. … I do not believe in a fate that will fall us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing.”
Today in America – Freedom is CrimeThink and the citizens live in fear of FormCrime
Must Read!! The Guardian: “Edward Snowden – saving us from the United Stasi of America,” by Daniel Ellsberg http://t.co/O5VGPBqzzo
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) June 12, 2013
U.S. Government admits to spying directly on “foreigners” using PRISM
Interestingly when the Obama spy scandal broke, the President was quick to point out that the U.S. government was only spying on “foreigners”. To be specific: the government through the PRISM program was monitoring the email, chats and photos of “foreigners” that was running through U.S. internet servers. (Note that to be monitored the data must run through U.S. servers. Approximately one week ago I explained why this is driving the growth of “offshore email and internet servers”. I also suggested that it won’t be long before the U.S. forces its citizens to disclose all “offshore email accounts” to the U.S. government – “FEARBar“. But I digress.)
U.S. Government now wants to force “foreign governments” to spy on “foreign citizens” – That’s the FATCA of the matter!
FATCA exists for one purpose. The purpose is for the U.S. to obtain information on bank accounts in other countries. That’s it. No other reason. But, FATCA operates to force “foreign governments” to spy for the U. S. on residents of their countries. Yes, it’s the return of the Stasi – U.S. style.
Hmm, FATCA IGA anyone?
At the same time the U.S. admits that it has been spying on residents of other countries (“foreigners”), it is now asking forcing them to spy on their residents and turn this data over to the IRS. I wonder if the “PRISM Chronicles” will have any effect on the FATCA IGA process.
On this question, listen to the following interview with anti-FATCA advocate and member of European Parliament Sophie in ‘t Veld. She echoes the comments of Canadian Civil Liberties Association Abby Deshman that the U.S. has an insatiable appetite for data. At a minimum the EU is angered by the NSA PRISM program.
And now on to Sophie …
European Union Angered by N.S.A. PRISM Program – The Takeaway http://t.co/1MxQ0BuZ80
— U.S. Citizen Abroad (@USCitizenAbroad) June 12, 2013
What do you think? Will this slow the IGA process?
German Bundestag Backs US FATCA IGA
I guess the hope that the outrage over NSA spying would undermine the FATCA IGA is not happening in Germany.
http://opiniojuris.org/2013/06/12/foreign-intelligence-%E2%89%A0-foreigner-intelligence/
‘“Foreign Intelligence” ≠ Foreigner Intelligence (Expatriate Americans in PRISM)’
by Peter Spiro
“…Under the conventional reading of the Supreme Court’s 1958 decision in Reid v. Covert, constitutional rights are portable to US citizens. If you’re American, you have the same rights against governmental action in Paris as you do in Detroit. But even in the non-virtual world, it’s tough to know the citizenship status of people behind foreign doors you are about to knock down. There’s no evidence that anyone in the intelligence apparatus is even trying to stay true to the constitutional rule. Perhaps yet another reason for several million expatriate Americans to feel second class….”
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EU parliament urges blocking U.S. data access after spy leaks
(Reuters) – The European Parliament called on Thursday for the scrapping of two agreements granting the United States access to European financial and travel data unless Washington reveals the extent of its electronic spying operations in Europe.
A non-binding resolution, passed by 483 votes to 98 with 65 abstentions, said the United States should come clean about its surveillance of email and communications data or risk seeing the transatlantic information-sharing deals, created in the wake of the September 11 attacks, torn up.
The parliament cannot revoke the agreements without the support of European Union governments and the bloc’s executive Commission, which looks unlikely.
DATA challenges of FATCA… How best to get data into structures to make it easier for NSA hacking! Here is what you need to do, to COMPLY! 🙂
“linking peopoe to people”. What a clusterfiretruck
Scandals at NSA and IRS Are Equally Alarming
Both agencies reveal a government that’s out of control.