[IP] BTC Files Comments With U.S. State Department

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Esther Dyson <edyson@edventure.com>
Date: Sun, 03 Apr 2005 17:08:26 -0400
To: <dave@farber.net>
Subject: Fwd: BTC Files Comments With U.S. State Department

not from your standard left-wing bleeding-heart alarmist think tank!

Esther



>PRESS RELEASE
>
>
>For Immediate Release
>
>
>U.S. State Department Proposal to Place Americans In Harm's Way
>
>BTC files comments with State Department; directly petitions Secretary
>Rice; alerts Congressional Committee Leaders
>
>RADNOR, PA., April 3, 2005-The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) today filed
>comments with the U.S. State Department on behalf of government and
>private-sector organizations concerned that Americans would be required to
>have radio frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in their passports.
>
>BTC also wrote directly to Secretary Condoleezza Rice urging her to heed
>the concerns of experts and abandon further consideration of a deeply
>flawed policy. Nuclear engineers, security experts, intelligence officers,
>privacy advocates, academics, scientists and business travelers are among
>the 40 organizations and individuals who provided comments via BTC to the
>Department. (See BTC letter to Secretary Rice and Department filing at
><http://btcweb.biz/rfid.pdf>http://btcweb.biz/rfid.pdf.)
>
>The Department's proposal would put Americans traveling abroad at risk of
>identity theft and physical harm. The chips would be able to be read by
>anyone with a powerful reader from up to 60 feet away in airports, hotels
>or anywhere a business traveler might frequent. Terrorists, criminals and
>kidnappers would be able to easily identify Americans from other foreign
>nationals.
>
>BTC chairman Kevin Mitchell wrote to Secretary Rice, "On the prudent
>advice of your organization, American business travelers have taken steps
>when traveling abroad to maintain a low profile. While most U.S. citizens
>do not expect their government to protect them while traveling in foreign
>lands, they do not expect to have their government knowingly put them in
>harm's way."
>
>The Coalition today also brought its concerns to the attention of the
>Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Committee on Appropriations,
>House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Senate Committee on
>Appropriations and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation.
>
>###
>
>CONTACT Kevin Mitchell | 610.341.1850 |
><mailto:mitchell@btcweb.biz>mitchell@btcweb.biz.
>
>
>Founded in 1994, the mission of the Business Travel Coalition is to lower
>the long-term cost structure of business travel. BTC seeks to bring
>transparency to industry and government policies and practices so that
>customers can influence issues of strategic importance to them.
>
><mailto:btcmitchell@yahoo.com?subject=Unsubscribe>Please unsubscribe me
>from the BTC email list.



Esther Dyson              Always make new mistakes!
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