Petition Tag - privacy

A request for an urgent review of Spain's new requirement for the reporting of assets held outside Spain and the compatibilty of that requirement (as set out in Law 7/2012 and Decreto Real 1558/2012) with EU Treaties and Laws, particularly those relating to non-descrimination, privacy and free movement of persons and capital.

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NHS proposals to compel GPs to discloses patient medical records to a centralised database without patient consent are illegal under existing legislation and should be abandoned without delay.

ECHR : Article 8: Right to privacy

Everyone has the right for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

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At present, on Facebook, you can be added to groups without your knowledge or consent. A notification will be sent to you, but if you don't notice it you can discover that you're in groups that you do not endorse.

People are often added to ideological groups whose views they oppose to inflate their numbers, or for political mileage.

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PLEASE SIGN & PASS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW IN THE ROCKTON COMMUNITY!

We would like to keep our neighborhood closed off from the commercial business' that are being placed in our backyards. The new buildings will offer more traffic & easier access to our neighborhoods!

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The federal government is proposing to update legislation which will allow police, security and intelligence agencies to have complete access to our online activities, without requiring our knowledge or consent, for up to two years.

This proposed change is a breach of Australian cultural boundaries, not to mention a potential breach of international law. The Australian public's privacy is being violated by a government plan that will be ineffective in stopping the 'bad guys', as encryption and IP proxy techniques are ways of avoiding detection online.

This means that those targeted by this government plan will be unaffected, leaving the Australian public to forgo its right to privacy for nothing.

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The Gillard regime has been trying to censor the media and several other groups for a while. Now they have passed Legislation allowing them access to your internet details, to collect and keep Australians' internet records, including their web-browsing history, social media activity and emails.

We can either sit back and watch this Legislation be abused to a point where a Government will have a complete profile on each of us, or we can act now and ensure even if this Gillard regime doesn't reverse it, the Coalition is left with no doubt we do not want it and we expect them to reverse it if they win the next election.

The book 1984 had the administration divided among four Ministries:

the Ministry of Truth, which deals with news, entertainment, education and fine arts,
the Ministry of Love which maintains law and order,
the Ministry of Peace which wages war and the
Ministry of Plenty which handles economic affairs.

The very vocabulary of the people was under Party Control; a system called “newspeak” was encouraged. One of the most dreaded words in the arsenal of Newspeak was the most heinous offence according to the Party – that of “thoughtcrime” which was sure to be punished by the Thought police.

The slogans of Newspeak are “War is Peace” Freedom is Slavery” and “Ignorance is Strength.”

LET'S NOT HAVE THIS HAPPEN FOR REAL.

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Facebook is hypocritical.

They tell you you may not send a friend request to people you do not already know, but they turn around, share your account information, and use it to recommend possible Friends to add, Pages to follow, Groups to join, and even People to POKE.

Stop the Big Brother mentality and tell Facebook enough is enough.

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In the news today facebook will soon make the timeline mandatory.

Until now, Timeline, the new feature of Facebook (FB), has been voluntary to its 800 million users across the globe. But looks like a majority of the users are not too happy about the fact that it has been made compulsory, as they no longer have a choice.

A survey conducted by the security firm Sophos reveals that out of 4,000 Facebook users, only eight per cent of those polled said they liked the change. The new Timeline will group all publicly viewable messages, comments and photographs by date. The idea is to create a scrap book format, profiling a user’s virtual life story, which can be seen by friends on their homepage. A good number of city’s Facebook users too are miffed at the mandatory Timeline.

Neelam Jain, a commerce student, opines, “apart from the cover picture, nothing about the Timeline is interesting. Nobody is interested is what one has done on Facebook page ages ago. It’s confusing, annoying and definitely not user-friendly.” Agreeing with her a corporate sector employee, Srinath Dhalavai, points out, “FB was known for the freedom it gives to its users and this is so unlike them to make anything “mandatory”. Also, it clearly has a lot of privacy issues because not everyone likes to share everything about their past.”

The privacy issue appears to be the sore point for almost everyone. Vishnu Mamidipudi, a regular FB user, muses, “with Timeline, nothing is private as in anything or everything you ever did on Facebook is there all the time and privacy is gone. But, I guess if you update your privacy settings it shouldn’t matter.”

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/compulsory-facebook-timeline-no-way/225697-60-121.html

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HARD COPY OF THIS EXACT TEXT CAN BE FOUND AT www.kaURna.webs.com I encourage all Australian residents to download the PDF hardcopy, collect a few signatures (no address needed) and return as per the PDF. There is NO citizenship requirements to sign the hardcopy or electronic petition, however Australia's Parliament won't accept the electronic format, only hardcopy.

Point ONE(1):
The intent to to stop enforced segregation of harms which could take a victim their entire adult life or well over 30 years to progress through the civil courts or otherwise logistically impossible for one person to deal with.
Stalking and assault and torture and surgery without legal authority are all unlawful in Australia, they all carry the potential of lengthy penal sentencing under criminal law, however Australian legislation has one huge loophole that forces a victim of these crimes to prosecute each single incident separately under civil or common law (state) or human rights treaties (federal or High court). That is if you are stalked by say 20 persons and police refuse to investigate each one and each of the 20 individuals assault you in separate incidents you have to prosecute each separately as unconnected events despite evidence that strongly suggests they are connected as one crime. Unlike the treatment of defamation, there is no allowance to deem multiple assaults as one stalking event that generates many incidents.

Point TWO (2):
The intent is to remove the expectation that only an "expert" is be legally entitled to define the existence of a foreign item a radiology film. Presently you must have a signed letter from a medical practitioner to say you have a hatchet poking out of your head if you want it removed, that is to say in the event that you do have a hatchet poking out of your head which you also want removed.

Point THREE(3):
Jane is being stalked by many persons, most are strangers to her or persons she knows but is unaware they are the stalkers. The stalkers have caused Jane to be considerably surgically raped the evidence is in radiology diagnostic film funded by Medicare Australia between 2005 and 2010 inclusive. The film has been falsely interpreted on paper omitting to describe foreign items inside Jane that are very clearly seen in the film. The stalkers have falsely defamed Jane. The question of did the surgical rape of defamation come first is insignificant in the presence of the fact that both are considerably criminal, more so if there was premeditation and where both exist concurrently and begun around the same period of time then clearly there was premeditation.

Point FOUR(4):
The "choice" to investigate or not investigate a crime is removed as an option for a law enforcement official. That Federal police refuse to investigate these crimes against the Commonwealth of Australia then there is clear evidence that police are amongst the stalkers. Police should seen in legislation in a different light from the rest of us insomuch as they should have less room for error as they have more trust. Police should never be allowed to refuse to investigate any crime. It should not be up to police to choose what crime they want to investigate because that leaves individual police department "law enforcement" "public officials" open to be contracted by any third party as tools of stalkers. Under the present system of Australia police governance career criminals must presently be employed as senior police and aspiring cadets and everywhere in-between. Law enforcement officers are not necessarily police officers.

Point FIVE(5):
No land-line telephone number should be allowed to be blocked - as a society of humans who are defined as the superior race on earth because we are able to speak then we MUST all have full confidence in the ability to identify a person we encounter through verbal communication. If someone wants to preserve their telephone privacy they can call on a public phone. In these days of technology awareness rampant identity theft and sophisticated electronic crimes and the expectation that all government public officials must be accountable under statute, public official anonymity is totally unacceptable.

In 2011 just about every commonwealth of Australia department land-line telephone has it's number blocked from the persons they are calling, they expect you to divulge personal information under these circumstances.

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We’re constantly warned by security experts not to divulge detailed personal information about ourselves on websites. Well, now we don’t have to, because the recently revamped 192.com is doing it for you. And then selling it on for as little as 35p per record.

192.com collates information from various public records and databases – electoral rolls, phone directories, Companies House – and then packages them altogether in one convenient lump.

Simply type in someone’s name and their rough location and you’re near instantly presented with a staggeringly detailed record of that person. You’ll get their full name and address, their telephone number and age (if they have a record at Companies House). You’ll also get the full name of any other adults who live in their house, as well as details of how long they’ve each lived in the property (gleaned from the electoral roll) and how much the house is worth.

If any of the occupants are registered as directors at Companies House, you can get their director information, including company names, addresses and telephone numbers. So now you’ve got the full set of details for someone’s work and home.

Scroll down a bit and you’ll also find full details of the person’s neighbours, including their full names and addresses and telephone numbers. Why would anyone want such information for legitimate purposes? In case your elderly mother wasn’t answering her phone and you wanted to contact her friend next door, is the best reason 192.com can come up with.

IDENTITY FRAUD

192.com insists none of this information is of any real use to fraudsters. “The sort of data we use here is not the data used to validate transactions of any sort,” Dominic Blackburn, technology director at 192.com.

True, you might not be able to apply for a credit card in someone else’s name using just the information provided by 192.com, but it would certainly give you a pretty good head start. The more information you have on someone, the easier it is to hunt them down on sites such as Facebook, MySpace or personal blogs where you can get more. Combine the person’s birthday from their Facebook profile with their age from 192.com, for example, and you’ve got their date of birth.

The ease of such data harvesting techniques is why organisations such as the Government-backed Get Safe Online warns you not to reveal too much personal data online. “Be wary of publishing any identifying information about yourself. In particular things like: phone numbers, pictures of your home, workplace or school, your address, birthday or full name,” the site advises in its safe social networking section. Too late. 192.com’s done it for you.

Read more: Is 192.com Britain’s most invasive website? | PC Pro blog http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2009/07/07/is-192com-britains-most-invasive-website/#ixzz12iXIicAy

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a) 'Smart Meters' do not promote 'energy conservation'.

b) 'Smart Meters' are, and can be used in such a way that violates the privacy of every citizen under of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, specifically The Privacy Act.

c) 'Smart Meters' pose a possible serious long-term public health hazard using continuous radio-frequency radiation bursts (unlike cellular phone radiation).

d) 'Mandatory' installation of 'Smart Meters' is un-Constitutional, eliminating the citizens right of freedom of choice.

e) 'Smart Meter' installations have yielded irate customers throughout Ontario, Canada, and the United States who have noticed drastic increases in their energy bills, even without 'Time-of-Use' billing implemented. Leading to speculations of corporate profits under the guise of 'energy conservation'.

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This treaty will not prevent piracy. It will just invade our privacy so let's not let that happen.

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Developers Balfour Beatty have applied for planning permission to erect eight 23 foot (eight metre) high floodlight columns on the sports and games areas at St Aloysius School in Hornsey Lane. The pitches are next to a woodland conservation area and the floodlights will be clearly visible to homes on all sides of the school. This contrary to policy.

The facilities can accommodate 3 football games, the users of a large sports hall and associated spectators. The planning application requests permission to use floodlights until 9pm weekdays and until 7pm weekends and Bank Holidays.

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The Press Complaints Commission has failed, as a self-regulatory body, e.g., by the continual and scientifically unjustified stigmatisation of schizophrenics in tabloids of different political hues. Self-regulation was deemed inadequate for the police - it is also inadequate for the press.

A previous attempt at a petition of this nature was disqualified by the Downing Street website on the perhaps somewhat spurious grounds of time (see http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/PressCompltsAuth/).

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Background:
The Martins at 8116 La Fon Avenue, Zelma Fields Subdivision, in Louisville KY are breeding and selling dogs in their residence basement, garage, and privacy-fenced backyard. On multiple occasions, there have been as many as 6 adult dogs and 10-15 puppies in the backyard of this residence.

The backyard is less than ¼-acre lot, which is adverse to the new Louisville Animal Control ordinance restricting a homeowner to have a minimum of ½ acre of property for 3 dogs. This “business” results in unacceptable noise levels and sanitation concerns.

The noise problem has been addressed to the owners by the neighbors with no correction. The situation was also reported to Louisville Animal Control. When Animal Control responded, the dogs were put in the basement before responding to the door. The privacy fence hides the “business” from the street, but not from the neighbors in the adjoining backyards.

Owners of the adjoining properties in the subdivision must deal with noise, odor, and feces run-off from the dog-yard onto our adjoining properties. Clean up has been observed using a water hose with a spray nozzle to breakdown the dog feces in the yard and driveway. The run-off drains onto the adjoining properties. When the dogs are kept in the basement of the home, is cleanup of the dog breeding area washed into the city sewage and drainage system?

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Celebrities every day are getting unwanted photos taken of them and put in newspapers. Just yesterday Australian spinner Shane Warne was being harassed by paparazzi photographer Jamie Fawcett.

Shane Warne's not the only one to be harassed by Jamie, years ago the same thing happened this time including Nicole Kidman. This has been happening for years and needs to stop NOW!

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1) that picture they have overall doesn't even look like her!!!! Any girl who looked the least lbit like her at all could pose like that!!!

2) why would she do that right on her front porch?!!?!?!!?!?!? no derr somebody is gonna take a picture! shes smarter than that.

3) if u think about it, that picture is too clear and perfectly symmetrical to be real!!!!!! it should be at least the slightest bit blurry or crooked!!!!

4) not that i was really lookin to be lookin but... doesn't kristen have bigger breasts than that?

5) Even if that is her she has her own humane rights to smoke! if an ordinary person who lives down the street from you who eats cereal while wearing a robe all day smokes pot do you think that would be in a magazine? so what if she is a role model to some girls? you don't have to be EXACTLY like your role model so just don't smoke pot! she has her own life to live and she can live it however she wants! where is the line between her being a normal human being and a "star"?

6) What does it matter if she smokes pot anyway??!? i don't see the problem with it! of course i would NEVER smoke or smoke pot for that matter but like i mentioned before: she is a human being and has i life that she can live however she wants!

7) the only reason that is bad she smoked pot (i don't see what else is bad about it but her being a role model) is because she is some girls' role model and even then its not that bad to smoke pot but anyway... why is she your role model (if she is for that matter) anyway? huh? whats that? i cant hear you! no offense to kristen stewart (i love her anyway) but she shouldn't be your role model just because she starred in your favorite book. was she your role model before she was casted as bella? hmmm? was she? if you love twilight bella should be your role model! if you did like her before twilight than i respect you liking her and having her be your role model but not just because of twilight!

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On 28 May 2008, a new Victorian law passed through state parliament and was reported in the article (below):

"New sex offender laws passed"
Article from: AAP
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23776735-5005961,00.html
May 29, 2008 10:09am

This Petition is to register PUBLIC SUPPORT for the Victorian Government's Law Reform in regards to managing Sexual Offenders in the State of Victoria.

This Petition respects and upholds the Law and Order reforms made by the Victorian Government.

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The Charles Jago Northern Sports Center has introduced finger scanning as the sole means of access to the facility. This means that in order to access the center one must submit to finger scanning which will then be coded and used at all main entry points.

Anyone not submitting to this new policy will not be able to access the facility. Students of the University of Northern British Columbia are forced to pay for membership to this facility which they then may not have access to.

Regardless of how this information is being stored or coded being forced to give this biometric information is a violation of personal privacy and the Personal Information Privacy Act as it is not essential for the running of the facility.

We also object to the gathering of this data on the grounds of lack of consultation with the population at large, failure to inform the public, lack of consistent informed freely given consent, and issues with coerced consent. The first time members heard about this system was when they tried to access the facility. Staff at the front desk are unable to adequately explain the need for such a system or how the data will be handled.

Many people have explained to us how they felt rushed or pushed through the process, and how they were treated as though any questioning of the new system was very unusual and inappropriate. This action taking place at the front desk in front of staff and other students entering the facility can be interpreted as coerced consent by means of embarrassment and withholding the right to refuse submitting of personal information.

Although reaction against the collection of this data on campus is widespread, the fact that certain subgroups are reacting more strongly against it means that this policy is having the unintended effect of being differentially exclusive (specifically with regards to gender as well as minority and historically disadvantaged populations).

We ask that the Charles Jago Northern Sports Center cease the use of this system or introduce clear options for access to the facility for those who are against this policy.

We also ask that there be visible signs indicating the alternative to using biometric data so that students are aware of the alternatives and are not rushed or shamed into submitting personal information when they approach the front desk.

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NO CELL PHONE TAPPING. Leave our cell phones alone! Give us our privacy back.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation can now hear everything you say even when
the cell phone is turned off. By using your phones tracking device, authorities can now activate the microphone inside of the phone allowing them to eavesdrop on you and your conversations. This is serious business.

The FBI is using this to keep tabs on critical conversations by people the FBI calls "known members" of the mafia.

Experts say the only way around it is to take your battery out.

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The introduction and length of sound dips during the live feed of Big Brother has been increasing year by year.

Originally intended as a safeguard for the privacy of housemates', their friends and family, or as a precaution against libellous statements about others, and to prevent advertising of products, it is now evident that the sound dips are being employed indiscriminately and, in most cases, without justification (this is evident when something that was sound dipped during live feed is later shown on the Highlights show).

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A few days ago the government allowed airports to use a new scanner that would see though a person's clothes. This is an attack on our privacy rights!

Please help us reach our goal of one million names by April 1st! You may also help by writing to your state rep and senator and tell them you stand against this scan!

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Petition against development – Planning Application S/06/2223

We the local residents strongly appose Planning Application S/06/2223

This comprises of the demolition of 1a 9 and 11 Northern Road. Garage lockups, nursery glasshouses and erection of 31 2,3,4 bedroom dwellings and associated works - to include a new access road.

Having seen the above plans and spoken to a planning officer we are writing to express our concerns and strong objections to this proposed development.

We submit the following reasons for this objection:

RISK TO SAFETY FROM INCREASED TRAFFIC

The demolition of the 2 houses and the build of the new road and 31 dwellings will invariably cause a huge amount of noise, disruption and general disturbance to residents and commuters along the length of Northern Road.

There are 2 primary schools on this road. As this will be the main route in and out of the development, the increased traffic flow at peak times causes us great concern. In addition the local amenities will not stretch to an increased population – in particular the schools and car parking.

UTILITIES

We fear that the added burden to the Utilities could in turn be passed onto the residents – increased Council Tax, extra demands on refuse collection, road maintenance, street cleaning and lighting, and sewage costs.

INCREASE IN NOISE, DISTURBANCE & SMELLS

The proposed road would run within feet of, and in parallel to, the full length of the rear gardens of no's 7 & 13.

This would greatly increase noise and environmental pollution levels, be a potential risk to both home and personal security due to the public highway access, and result in a loss of privacy to surrounding houses.

ADVERSE EFFECT ON TREES AND OPEN SPACE

An established tree at the front of the properties would need to be
removed.

EFFECT ON DAYLIGHT AND/OR PRIVACY

The proposed 31 dwellings - comprising of 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms is extremely excessive given the space available, as well as incredibly intrusive to the existing properties - a one metre gap between our rear gardens and the new buildings is just preposterous!

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I believe drug testing is an unreasonable search, and that it forces people to incriminate themselves. Many who take the same position believe drug testing violates the 4th and 5th amendments. The counter argument is that the Constitution doesn't apply to private organizations.

It comes down to these values. An employer's right to know who s/he is
hiring stands in conflict with an individual's right to privacy. I wrote
this petition because I value the right to privacy more.

I also believe people SHOULD have the right to consume any substance
they want [without limits] given that they are knowledgeable about that
chemical. Employers, like anyone, have been effected by the Reafer Madness
Movement.

The government pushed massive amounts of misinformation throughout communities and schools, and I don't believe that employers are
well informed enough yet to dictate what drugs will harm the workplace.

The only effective way to select workers is to evaluate their
performance on the job. Drugs can actually improve performance. Aspirin
relieves pain, allowing a worker to continue. Marijuana (when consumed on
the job) makes repetitive factory oriented work more interesting, which
lengthens a workers attention span. Marijuana will actually make some
people more alert. After intensive testing, someone I know can solve the
Rubix Cube 20 seconds faster when stoned (not scientific proof, yet
interesting). Stimulants will keep workers productive at the end of long
work days. If the negative effects of drug use begin to show in the
worker's performance, their employer has a number of options for dealing
with it.

Phil Smith summarizes an article in March 1990 Scientific American:
[The article] suggested that workers who tested positive for marijuana only: 1) cost less in health insurance benefits; 2) had a higher than average rate of promotion; 3) exhibited less absenteeism; and 4) were fired for cause less often than workers who did not test positive. Since marijuana is the most common illicit drug used by adults, and the one detected in up to 90 percent of all "positive" drug tests (half of which are false),
this fact has radical implications for current public and employer policies.

I could hardly believe what I was reading, but this article did carry
sufficient statistical evidence.
I see greater negative effects in drug testing than in drug use. In my
opinion, drug testing is un-American because guilt is assumed until the
test proves innocence. Our current conservative totalitarian Congress is
extremely irresponsible, and the peoples' civil liberties are suffering.
The Senate is even more threatening to our rights than Congress. This
particular privacy violation costs businesses $1.2 billion a year for
urinalysis of their workers. The military is notorious for their strict
drug tests. (note that marijuana helped soldiers in times of war). If you test positive in California, your drivers license is automatically
suspended for 6 months. Nightbyrd has "counseled several, very straight,
elderly workers - close to retirement -who were fired and lost their
pension benefits because they 'failed their drug test'" (Jeff Nightbyrd).

Bernard Williams of the Philadelphia Eagles failed the drug test for
marijuana. He was suspended from the NFL for six games for using a drug
that doesn't enhance performance. If anything, marijuana would detract
from an athletes performance. Let the coach judge Williams performance.

Now it's becoming popular for parents to drug test their children. Perfect; let's break up the families; cut down those lines of communication
and sneak around spying on our kids. Let's violate the child's privacy. We
use DARE like the salem witch hunts - to get children to turn in their parents. Now with DrugAlert, parents have a weapon to use on their kids.
The U.S. Supreme court just ruled June 1995 that public high schools
can require drug test for all student athletes. Many high schools already
do random searches on students; not for weapons, but for drugs. After all,
the Constitution has failed to protect children in the classroom, why not
expand? Students have lost 1st, 4th, and 5th amendment rights, and I think
it's absurd. We have patriotic history teachers telling children of their Constitutional rights, yet children aren't given these rights on campus. Kids get kicked out of school for questioning rules that violate the
Constitution.

It's also important to consider the discrimination factor. People with
dark skin may fail the urine test due to the false positive melenin. Drugs
are detected easier in dark haired people when the hair test is used. We are sacrificing too many important rights by allowing drug testing
to continue. Until this unjust drug testing frenzy is put to an end,
children, workers, military service people, and parolee's need to learn how
to protect themselves from the drug test.

I have no medical or legal credentials. I haven't even been drug tested myself (because I refuse to). I use the internet to research drug testing, and compile this paper from that information. I've talked to several knowledgeable people who either drug test, or get drug tested. I'm an activist against the War on [Some] Drugs, and I think that the government has taken the drug war to a ludicrous level. Laws created by the
legislature to protect me from myself demonstrate how totalitarian this
country has become. NORML reports that every *9* seconds someone gets
arrested for marijuana posession.

Please sign this petition if you think the government is violating your personal life by drug testing.

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The compulsary nature of the ID card added to the storage of data from individual transactions amounts to a serious infingement of individual privacy and the human rights afforded to individuals.

The added risk of profiling and restrictions upon personal freedoms flowing therefrom is un-acceptable within a free society.

Please sign this petition if you wish to remain free.

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Santa Barbara has initiated strict set-back requirements for home owners. Requirements that restrict the use of sometimes up to 25% of one's property; for the sake of a obsure definition of 'Quality of Life'. Yet these requirements are only applied in the horizontal plane and not also in the vertical plane and over all building zones. For example, a home owner and developer can build vertically, next to single story building, which cut off all 'rights of privacy', 'light' and even 'air' from their neighbors.

or

If restrict vertical development if two or more story structure (house, condo or office building) affects their neighbors 'right of privacy', 'air' and 'light'. Right of privacy is defined as 'can the neighbor see right into the back yard of their neighbor'.

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Some of the successes of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's and 70's included the implementation of programs that sought to address the marginalization of communities of color caused by our nations racist history. For example, affirmative action programs in college admissions and public contracting essentially involved the issue of access and were designed to counter the massive discrimination found in colleges and the workplace. But unfortunately, since the 1990's there have been successful attempts to eliminate many programs that are meant to help communities of color in specific and society as a whole. And now, with the possible passage of the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative, our ability to detect continuing disparities due to current and past discrimination practices is threatened. Ultimately, the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative will prevent state and local governments from collecting data "by race, ethnicity, color, or national origin in the operation of public education, public contracting or public employment."

In 1995, the Regents of the University of California, pioneered by Ward Connerly, passed Standing Policies 1 and 2—which banned the University of California from considering race, ethnicity, and gender in admissions, hiring and contracting. Not satisfied there, Ward Connerly then became one of the main proponents of California's Proposition 209 in 1996 which abolished all affirmative action programs in the State of California. The controversial initiative (Prop 209), which passed by a slim margin, has had devastating effects on our society.

Since the abolishment of race conscious programs in California, a series of disturbing phenomena have emerged. Our institutions of higher education, for example, are resegregating. In fact, according to a Harvard study, Black and Latina/o students are in many instances more segregated today than they were in the 1960's! Critical problems like resegregation can be detected due to the legal collection of racial data. Now imagine the effects of banning the collection of such information. The consequences can be devastating.

Furthermore, the Information Ban/Racial Privacy Initiative will greatly affect the health field. It is common knowledge among individuals in the health sciences that health related data based on race is necessary in order to adequately address the varying health related necessities of specific racial groups. For example, without racial information in the health sciences, we would not know that Vietnamese women have the highest invasive cervical cancer incidence rates of all women and that Latina women rank second highest (Coalition for an Informed California, 2002).

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End the USA Homeland Security Act. Protect our Civil Rights and privacy. There are other ways to protect our Nation. First one right then them all. I understand the concern to protect our Nation but what has been done to restore our rights?

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The latest and most disturbing threat to privacy is the FBI's latest toy "Carnivore". Carnivore is an eavesdropping device that devours private e-mail and spits out interesting parts for scrutiny. The FBI already has attached Carnivore to the e-mail hardware at some Internet service providers. Though it won't say where. Carnivore is intended to rifle through potential criminals' Internet traffic after police obtain a court order. But the tool gives the FBI the ability to track not just the individual named in the court order, but also everyone who uses the same server at the Internet service provider. This program brings to a peak government attempts to control Internet users. This petition will be sent to the Attorney General Janet Reno and hopefully increase pubic awareness that big brother can now read your e-mail's.

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