Newsletter No. 68
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Free Pint
"Helping 30,000 people use the Web for their work"
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ISSN 1460-7239 3rd August 2000 No.68
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IN THIS ISSUE
EDITORIAL
MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
from Sam Vaknin
FREE PINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
Reviewed by Simon Collery
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
"Netting your Ancestors:
Genealogy Sites on the Internet for tracing UK Ancestors"
By David Ogden
BOOKSHELF
"Dan Janal's Guide to Marketing on the Internet"
Reviewed by Lindsey Annison
FEATURE ARTICLE
"Surveillance and Privacy"
By Stephen Lafferty
PORTAL, EVENTS, GOLD AND FORTHCOMING ARTICLES
CONTACT INFORMATION
ONLINE VERSION WITH ACTIVATED HYPERLINKS
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EDITORIAL
After many hours of design and development we are delighted to
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Since there are certain things in life you can't escape - apart from
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including articles on using the Internet to research your ancestors
and surveillance techniques. Both of these topics are covered in
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MY FAVOURITE TIPPLES
from Sam Vaknin
* Cjb.net - My favourite URL redirect service. They provide a great
service for e-mail and web sites, WITHOUT advertising! The addresses
look like this: you.cjb.net. <http://www.cjb.net>
* Cartia.com - Highly unusual map of the net - themes or sub- themes
(subjects or topics and their sub-categories) are linked in a
topographic or synoptic map - an intuitive interface for surfing the
web. <http://www.cartia.com/>
* Adobe conversion - If you want to convert your documents to FDP this
site will provide you with ten conversions free of charge.
<http://cpdf1.adobe.com/index.pl?BP=IE>
* Coolmail.net - Send e-mail in dozens of languages - the translation
phase is transparent to the user and performed on site. Also,
translates your e-mail to many languages on-line.
<http://www.coolmail.net/>
* Wordreference.com - An on-line dictionary (Collins Unabridged 1998)
- install a 76 Kb program and click on any word in any web site to
receive an extensive, up to date list of definitions plus
translation to 5 languages. <http://wordreference.com/>
Sam Vaknin is an economic and political columnist and a published and
awarded author of short fiction and reference books. He is the author
of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain -
How the West Lost the East". <http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/>.
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To submit your top five favourite tipples see the guidelines at
<http://www.freepint.co.uk/author.htm> or email <simon@freepint.co.uk>
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Join the InfoPro Alliance at <http://www.factiva.com/infopro>.
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FREE PINT BAR
In Association with Factiva
a Dow Jones & Reuters Company
Reviewed by Simon Collery
http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/030800.htm#bar
There have been several puzzlers on the Bar in the last couple of
weeks about ISPs (4154, 4369, 4162) and they have not been answered
adequately yet. I know <http://www.internet.com> is supposed to be
the bee's knees in these matters but I haven't found it very useful in
the past. It's hard to search and a lot of its data seems to be out
of date. So if you know of good ISP sites, please do drop into the
Bar and tell all.
But most questions do get an answer and we have been telling people
how to find cybercafes (4293), domain suffixes (4184), UK local
authority information (4262), the current time anywhere in the world
(4115), telephone area codes (4302), government sites of the world
(4349) and application service providers (4138). Sometimes people
even answer their own questions (4241).
Tipplers have informed us about good resources for medical research
(4118), engineering (4230), plastics (4220), handhelds (4153), travel
(4287), immigration to the UK (4289), news feeds and tracking services
(4239, 4301). And though we have had suggestions about finding
business information (4252), company director information (4356),
employment patterns in the media (4130) and Internet growth rates
(4297), we are always on the lookout for reliable sites with this sort
of information. In fact, we can't get enough of it.
Searchers have been asking about downloading problems (4202), European
bookseller sites (4178), tracking changes in Web sites (4166), private
company information (4193), search tutorials for Web designers (4286)
and the reliability of information on the Web (4335). We have had
reviews of two interesting search engines (4144, 4248), Web site
evaluation resources (4177, 4269) and a search tool which allows you
to find contact details for any Web site (4365), including this one.
On the technical front there have been questions about scanning
software (4226), embedding a RealPlayer window in a browser (4240),
databases for intranets (4357), managing discussion lists (4363), Web
developer rates (4129) and cheap domain name registration (4299).
What's the future for RPG-400s (4305)? Not good, according to one
imbiber. Maybe I won't bother finding out what they are.
Some are wondering when ADSL and unmetered Internet access will be
available to all in the UK (4276). The latter is coming slowly but
the former may be some time yet. On the minds of others are aviation
documents (4141), licensed landfill sites (4163), recruitment agencies
(4212), KM vendors (4277), court case transcripts (4281), greeting
cards (4300), distance learning (4192) and combining training with
holidays (4214). It must be that time of year again.
Simon Collery, Content Developer
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TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/030800.htm#tips
"Netting your Ancestors:
Genealogy Sites on the Internet for tracing UK Ancestors"
By David Ogden
Tracing your ancestors is an increasingly popular hobby and one I
would like to encourage you to take up. The Internet has
transformed genealogy and today the majority of searches can be done
at your PC rather than sifting through dusty archives. I will focus
on research that can be done without leaving your home rather than
making personal visits.
Family Historians Start Here - a quick way into genealogical
information from the Family Records Centre
<http://www.pro.gov.uk/genealogy/starthere.htm>.
The Public Record Office <http://www.pro.gov.uk/> is the repository
of the national archives for England, Wales and the United Kingdom.
It was founded by act of Parliament in 1838 to bring together and
preserve the records of central government and the courts of law,
and to make them available to all who wish to consult them.
The records, beginning with Domesday Book (1086), span an unbroken
period from the 11th century to the present.
The Public Record Office's Research Information Leaflets
<http://www.pro.gov.uk/leaflets/riindex.htm> have been developed over
the years by members of staff and are another essential resource.
The Family Record Office, located at 1 Myddelton Street London EC1R
1UW ( Tel 0208 392 5300) has the following records:
- indexes of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales since
1837 and indexes of legal adoptions in England and Wales since 1927
- Microform copies of Census of Population returns, 1841-1891
- Microfilms of registered copies of wills and administrations up to
1858 from the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
The centre provides a family history service to visitors, advising
them on how to use the wealth of genealogical records. It can also
advise on matters relative to the registration of births, adoptions,
marriages and deaths, because the Public Record Office shares its
facilities at the FRC with the Office for National Statistics.
<http://www.pro.gov.uk/about/frc/default.htm>
To order birth, marriage or death certificates by post, see the Office
for National Statistics <http://www.ons.gov.uk/regist_f.htm>.
To order birth, marriage and death certificates online, try Big Family
- UK/Ireland Family History Research Centre
<http://www.bigfamily.co.uk>. Enter the info you have
and the research you require and they reply with a quote.
The 1901 Census for England and Wales was taken on 31 March 1901. The
population of England and Wales at the time was over 32 million. The
1901 Census returns will be made available for public consultation at
the Family Records Centre on the first working day of January 2002.
The Public Record Office is planning to digitise the 1901 Census
returns and make them available electronically via the Internet. This
project is seen as one of the first steps towards achieving the PRO's
vision that in the 21st Century, its services and records will be
accessible electronically on-site and around the world.
An essential site to bookmark is GENUKI: the UK and Ireland
Genealogical Information Service <http://www.genuki.org.uk/>.
The aim of GENUKI is to serve as a "virtual reference library" of
genealogical information that is of particular relevance to the
UK and Ireland. It is a noncommercial service, provided by an
ever-growing group of volunteers in cooperation with the Federation
of Family History Societies and a number of its member societies.
Have a good look at the wide range of resources available.
Rootsweb: this claims to be the Internet's oldest and largest free
genealogy site. Join an email mailing list to share your research with
others who have similar interests and have more experience. See the
Rootsweb site for individual counties at
<http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail_country-unk.html> and
surnames at <http://www.rootsweb.com/~jfuller/gen_mail.html#SURNAMES>.
Cyndi's List <http://www.cyndislist.com/> has an amazing 62,000 links
to other genealogy resources, with "Internet stuff you need to know"
(helpful technical advice) at <http://www.cyndislist.com/internet.htm>
and an excellent list of genealogy software at
<http://www.cyndislist.com/software.htm#Software>.
Ancestry <http://www.ancestry.com> offers to help find your ancestor
from its database of 550 million names. It is a subscription service
but there is lots of helpful information available for free.
The Society of Genealogists <http://www.sog.org.uk/> is slowly adding
material to the web site - currently available are several
information leaflets, a list of Parish Register copies in the
Society's Library, details of articles in Genealogists' Magazine and
Computers in Genealogy. The Society has an extensive library at
14 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London, EC1M 7BA
(Tel 0207 251 8799) - I would highly recommend becoming a member.
The Society runs two electronic mailing lists: one is a discussion
list for Society members, the other is a news and information
list open to all.
Scots Origins <http://www.origins.net> is the official, Governmental
source of genealogical data for Scotland. It is an online
"pay-per-view" database of indexes from the genealogical records
of the General Register Office for Scotland - the GROS. It costs
6 UK pounds for 30 "page credits". Each page consists of a maximum
of 15 search results. The initial 30 page credits are valid for
24 hours from the time of payment (ie the clock starts when you pay).
Further credits can be bought in 30 page increments for a further
6 UK pounds charge each time. Each further purchase restarts your
24 hour user period from the time of payment.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) produce the
International Genealogical Index <http://www.familysearch.org/> -
over 600 million names extracted from vital records from throughout
the world. Easy to search.
Familia is a web-based directory of family history resources held in
public libraries in the UK and Ireland - updated and maintained by the
Family History Task Group of the EARL Consortium, Familia is the on-
line starting place to find information about materials in public
libraries which will help you trace your family history.
<http://www.earl.org.uk/familia/about.html>
Useful books:
Genealogical Services Directory 2000 4.95 UK pounds - details of over
3500 organisations with Internet and email addresses.
<http://www.genealogical.co.uk>
Ancestral Trails by Mark D. Herber and John Titford
paperback, publ. 2000, Sutton Publishing; ISBN: 0750924845
Useful journals:
Family Tree Magazine <http://www.family-tree.co.uk>.
Rootsweb Review: receive two free weekly e-zines. See the Rootsweb
site listed above.
Finally, for finding people who are still alive... try
PhoneNetUK <http://www.bt.com/phonenetUK/>.
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David Ogden is Director of Library and Information Services at
Sinclair Roche and Temperley, a major law firm specialising in
international trade and transportation. For several years David has
sought to trace his family history: the family mostly lived in
Liverpool during the nineteenth century. Please note that he is not a
professional genealogist and does not undertake research, but would
be delighted to receive comments on the above information sources and
exchange ideas. He may be contacted at <portrise@hotmail.com>.
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Environmental Information on the Internet - 5 September 2000. The
Internet is an excellent resource to use as a starting point for many
Environmental queries. It offers access to unique collections of data
and multimedia whilst complementing traditional hardcopy and online
sources. This workshop is suitable for environmental workers,
information professionals and business people. For further details tel
020 7412 7915 or email: antonio.catarinicchia@bl.uk or see our website
at http://www.bl.uk/services/stb/courses.html
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FREE PINT BOOKSHELF
http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf
"Dan Janal's Guide to Marketing on the Internet"
Reviewed by Lindsey Annison
"Online marketing is a new branch of an old tree". How true! There's
nothing new under the sun and many people who view the Internet and
its related technologies as a totally new medium, and have
corresponding doubts and fears about how to approach it and benefit
from it, will have those dispelled by this book.
Dan Janal's Guide to Internet Marketing is a comprehensive, but clear
and non-technical breakdown of online marketing strategy, website
design for promotion, customer relationship management, copy writing
for the online consumer, web PR, advertising, market research on the
Net, and much more. His explanation of the paradigms of the 'new'
marketing and their incorporation into existing marketing plans,
corporate policy and responsibility, and advertising, is clear and
precise. Coupled with the enforcement of the message that the
Internet brings one-to-one relationships closer to all businesses, his
explanations and descriptions will be welcome not only to those just
entering the arena, but also act as timely reminders to those with
experience who are suffering the Internet blight of information
overload!
Dan was part of the team responsible for the PR and promotion at the
launch of America Online 15 years ago. His wide experience with
corporate sites, non-profit making sites, entrepreneurs, at
conferences, and at 'ground level' through his website
<http://www.janal.com>, and consultancy show clearly in this book.
Case studies and examples of technologies/tools available occur
throughout this book, and his 103 reasons for being online are useful
pointers to consider in extending your Internet presence to include
further products, methods of delivery of information to target
audiences, developing your business and marketing plans etc.
Dan reiterates the valid point that the surfing consumer is first and
foremost looking for information, and not hard sell or persuasion.
His words should have all of us reaching for our FTP clients to upload
facts, figures, surveys, reports, text, images and interactivity about
our products to our websites immediately!
Although several topics are covered thinly in this book (eg website
promotion) there are plenty of other books, such as the Poor Richard
and Guerrilla series, which cover these topics in more depth. As a
reference book for established and successful marketing techniques,
this is worth adding to your bookshelf if you are serious about
bringing your products and services to the attention of an
international consumer base.
I feel this book will have a fairly long shelf life, even in this
fast-changing world of the Internet, which is not true of some of the
other marketing books on my bookshelf!
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Lindsey Annison is a Web PR Consultant with Cybersavvy UK,
conducting website quality appraisals, online PR and promotional
campaigns for SMEs around the world. Details of campaigns, free
articles, advice on search engines, META tags etc can be found on the
website at <http://www.webpr.co.uk>.
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Related Free Pint links:
* Find out more about this book online at the Free Pint Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/janal.htm>
* Read about other Internet marketing books on the Free Pint Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf/marketing.htm>
* Read customer comments and buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
<http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471349763/freepint0c>
or Amazon.com
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471349763/freepint00>
* Search for and purchase any book from Amazon via the Bookshelf
<http://www.freepint.co.uk/bookshelf>
To propose a business-Web-related book for review, send
details to <bookshelf@freepint.co.uk>.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
http://www.freepint.co.uk/issues/030800.htm#feature
"Surveillance and Privacy"
By Stephen Lafferty
This article is a brief introduction to the main subjects that make
up the concept of surveillance. It is not comprehensive in breadth or
depth, but it serves to illustrate the amount and quality of
information, either personal or about surveillance technologies,
available through the Internet.
There are many different forms of surveillance, from closed-circuit
television (CCTV) cameras through to DNA databases and loyalty cards.
Many functions of British society, such as obtaining a credit card or
a mortgage, would not be possible if one organisation or another did
not collect information about individuals for later analysis.
Surveillance is bound up with privacy. Britain is a signatory to two
international agreements regarding Human Rights: the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights <http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html>
and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
<http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html>. The latter will be
incorporated into British Law on the 2nd of October 2000; giving the
British public the power to challenge alleged breaches to article
eight (privacy) in the British courts for the first time.
One of the best-known surveillance methods today is CCTV. Industry
news can be found in CCTV Today <http://www.cctvtoday.com>, a
bimonthly magazine with articles from industry professionals and
academics. It gives an excellent insight into developing
technologies and crime prevention successes. One of the high-profile
CCTV schemes to be featured in the magazine is the 'Ring of Steel'
around the City of London. The City of London Police
<http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/citypolice/policing/index.htm> have
some information about this.
One unofficial organisation that presents an alternative view of CCTV
is <http://www.spy.org.uk>. The site contains many links to sites
about the technology and its applications around the world, including
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), biometrics and the
Trafficmaster system <http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk> currently used
to monitor traffic flow. There are also links to official reports
about the effectiveness of CCTV in crime reduction, produced for the
Scottish Office.
Biometry is a method to electronically capture measurements of parts
of the human body that are unique to individuals and do not change
over time, such as the iris or fingerprints. Iris recognition systems
have been piloted in Britain since 1994, and facial recognition
systems have been in used for events and places such as Euro '96, the
France 1998 World Cup and the London borough of Newham. A good
introductory site for biometrics is Avanti
<http://www.biometric.freeserve.co.uk>, maintained by a former deputy
chairman of the Association of Biometrics. An American perspective on
the issue can be found at the Biometric Consortium
<http://www.biometrics.org>; the "US Government's focal point for
research, development, test, evaluation, and application of
biometrics-based personal identification/verification technology."
This site contains records of official research into the
technologies, together with an extensive series of links to other
projects and organisations.
Civil Liberties groups keep a regular watch over the activities of
Governmental and non-Governmental organisations, relative to the
development of technologies and policies that can be used for
surveillance purposes. A good site for global current awareness is
Privacy International <http://www.privacyinternational.org>, run by
Simon Davies, who has held visiting professorships at the LSE and
Essex University. The site contains an extensive archive of global
news stories and links to other groups, but is not regularly updated.
Statewatch is a European Government
monitoring group, and publishes the 'Statewatch Bulletin' and
'European Monitor' bimonthly on a subscription basis. The site also
contains a searchable database with over 25,000 references, but the
content is kept a year out of date.
Cyber Rights and Cyber Liberties <http://www.cyber-rights.org> is a
Leeds University-based group founded by Yaman Akinedez. It maintains
an archive of news relating to the British and European Government's
policies about freedom of information and surveillance, together with
commentary on the legislation by individuals with legal
qualifications. The site also publicises forthcoming public events
and contains links to mailing lists about cryptography and
surveillance. It is updated irregularly. The Foundation for
Information Policy Research <http://www.fipr.org> is a London-based
group run by Caspar Bowden, designed to "stud[y] the interaction
between information technology and society". It contains extensive
archives of documents relating to (among other items) the new
Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill. The site is regularly
updated and the content is presented in a readable manner.
An American perspective on Civil Rights and Liberties can be found at
the Electronic Freedom Foundation <http://www.eff.org>. The site has a
bias towards American society, but contains lots of useful information
relating to cryptography, digital privacy, censorship and free
expression. The EFF also have a regular email newsletter that can be
subscribed to from the homepage, and also broadcast news items on
their own Internet radio station. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
<http://www.privacyrights.org> is a California-based group with
extensive resources about identity theft. The site contains fact
sheets about actions to take if you find yourself to be a victim of
identity theft and an extensive archive of cases that the group took
up on behalf of individuals. The site has an American bias and all
sections are updated regularly.
The British Government has several Bills relating to privacy and
surveillance going through Parliament at the moment. The RIP Bill
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmbills/064/2000064.htm>
is the most contentious, reversing as it does the burden of proof
on an individual to prove that they have lost their private key for
encrypted emails, and providing a two-year jail sentence too. The
Government introduced this Bill to unify LEA powers of surveillance
scattered across other Bills. Commentaries on the Bill and its
amendments can be found at the Civil Liberties sites mentioned above.
The Freedom of Information Bill
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmbills/005/2000005.htm>
arose out of Tony Blair's 'Your Right to Know' 1997 White Paper
about open government (Cm. 3818). This, along with the Data
Protection Act 1998
<http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/19980029.htm> will allow
the British public to discover what information is held about
themselves on various public and private databases.
Several companies that deal in reselling personal information are used
for credit reference purposes. Two of the main credit reference
agencies are Experian <http://www.experian.com/uk/> and Equifax
<http://www.equifax.com/>. Any individual can obtain their credit
history by writing to either agency (Equifax Plc, PO Box 3001,
Glasgow, G81 2DC; Experian, Consumer Help Service, PO Box 8000,
Nottingham, NG1 5GX) with a cheque for 2 pounds (UK) and a list of
addresses for the past five years.
Companies use these credit histories when individuals apply for HP
agreements, credit cards, mortgages etc. People who find incorrect
information held on file can ask for it to be amended. Experian
signed an agreement in January with the Higher Education Statistics
Agency in order for companies to validate the academic qualifications
of interviewees by matching applicants' details with Experian's
databases. Experian also resell their databases to direct marketing
firms in order to better correlate campaigns with customers.
A useful place to start looking for direct marketing information is
the Direct Marketing Association <http://www.dmonline.org.uk/>. The
site is divided into members and non-members' sections. The non-
members' section deals with codes of practice, how-to guides, industry
-self-regulation and events. This section also has details of mail
and telephone preference services, where unwanted direct marketing
mail and telephone calls can be reduced once an individuals' details
have been entered on to the relevant registers. Mailing label
information can be found at <http://www.marketingfile.com/>, a key
site for those interested in direct marketing. Registration is
required.
An alternative view of direct marketing strategies can be found at
Junkbusters <http://www.junkbusters.com/>. The site includes advice
on how to minimise cold-calling companies, email spamming, banner
adverts such as those provided by Doubleclick and cookies.
Information is provided for a variety of operating systems and in a
variety of languages. The site is updated regularly and free from
advertising. Privacy Journal
<http://www.townonline.com/privacyjournal/> is an American
subscription newsletter that has been active since 1974. The web site
offers privacy tips and latest news, together with adverts for books
by the author. The web site is unreliable to download, frequently
returning blank pages.
Personal information can be found in the Electoral Register and
telephone directories. These can be searched online at 192.com
<http://www.192.com/>. This site requires users to register (name,
address and email address) and gives twenty free searches of the
database per month. People not wishing to appear on the databases can
complete and send a fax-back form (provided) at a cost of 1.50 pounds
per minute. Information provided from searches includes the name,
address, telephone number, email address and map location courtesy
of Multimap <http://www.multimap.com/>, together with door-to-door
directions to the desired location.
One of the largest companies to compile and resell individuals'
Internet histories is Doubleclick <http://www.doubleclick.com>. This
American company uses cookies to display advertising banners on web
pages. It has over 100 million cookies scattered world wide,
recording individuals' web browsing habits. Doubleclick also owns
Abacus <http://www.abacus-direct.com> and its database of two billion
consumer credit transactions, which has the potential to be used for
data-matching purposes (i.e. recording who you are, what you have
bought, sites you have visited and how often, etc). Individuals can
opt-out of Doubleclick's advertising network using the information
provided at <http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy_policy/privacy.htm>.
An unofficial site that reveals the type and amount of information
given to Doubleclick by a web browser can be found here
<http://www.tiac.net/users/smiths/privacy/banads.htm>. Information on
cookies can be found at Cookie Central <http://www.cookiecentral.com>,
together with tips and software for managing and editing those cookies
that are on your system. The site also provides news and analysis of
how companies are using cookies and errors that arise in cookie codes.
Web browsers frequently send out information to sites viewed without
the knowledge of the user. Privacy.net <http://www.privacy.net/analyze/>
offers the opportunity to discover the type and amount of information
that a web browser broadcasts. The Gibson Research Organisation
<http://http://www.grc.com/default.htm> also offers a similar service,
together with software that can keep information private.
Some groups create software to demonstrate security weaknesses in
computer operating systems. L0pht Heavy Industries
<http://www.l0pht.com/> are such a group, who have been regularly
updating their web site with information about operating systems and
patches for weaknesses discovered since 1992. Another group is The
Cult of The Dead Cow <http://www.cultdeadcow.com/> (so named after the
abattoir in which the leaders first met) who offer the program Back
Orifice 2000 (BO2K), a Trojan program offering remote access to any
Windows machine. An impartial opinion about the capabilities of BO2K
can be found at Sophos <http://www.sophos.com/> along with details of
many other Trojan programs and viruses. Other Trojan programs include
Net Bus <http://www.welcome.to/Net-Bus> and Sub Seven
<http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/sub.seven.20.html> and
impartial information can be found at CERT <http://www.cert.org/>,
Symantec <http://www.symantec.com/> and
Kumite <http://www.kumite.com/myths>, all of which are
regularly updated.
Aside from CCTV cameras, the road-using public are also surveilled by
Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) using speed cameras. UK GATSOs
<http://www.ukgatsos.com/> and American mirror at www.gatsos.com/> is
an amateur site dedicated to providing the locations of GATSO speed
cameras on a county-by-county basis . Users are encouraged to
contribute information together with map references from Multimap, and
the site is updated regularly. The site also provides a disclaimer as
to the accuracy of the information and does not encourage users to
break speed limits.
Another unofficial site relating to LEA surveillance technologies is
Chris Longhurst's Speed Trap Bible
<http://www.brakehorsepower.com/speedtrap/speedtrap_bible.html>. This
amateur site provides detailed information relating to the varieties
of road traffic surveillance technology in use today, together with
traffic legislation and subjective commentaries. The site also
provides links to a mailing and discussion list about speed traps.
From national to international surveillance, and the ECHELON network.
No statement has ever been made in any Journal of Record by any
alleged member of the network. All reports of this global
telecommunications surveillance system are as a result of
investigative journalism or an individual who has allegedly had
contact with the technology or bureaucracy. An unsubstantiated FAQ
can be found at the American Civil Liberties Union web site
<http://www.aclu.org/echelonwatch/echfaq3.htm>, part of the ECHELON
Watch set of web pages. In November 1999, the BBC reported
<http://www.news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid%5F503000/503224.stm>
that Bill Blick, Inspector General of Intelligence and Security of
Australia's Defence Signals Directorate admitted that Australia played
a part in gathering telecommunications signals for the network. The
European Union has an official interest in investigating ECHELON,
having commissioned two reports; 'An Appraisal of the Technologies of
Political Control' <http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/eu_stoa_2.htm> and
'Interception Capabilities 2000'
<http://www.cyber-rights.org/interception/stoa/interception_capabilities_2000.htm>.
The latter report was written by Duncan Campbell, a journalist who has
investigated privacy and surveillance issues at a Governmental level
for more than twenty years. His original report on ECHELON
<http://www.gn.apc.org/duncan/echelon-dc.htm> was published in the New
Statesman in 1988.
Finally, the British Secret Service (MI5)
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- Publication Date: 2nd August 2000
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