Dave Emery wrote:
told him that Motel 6 gives their guest list to the FBI every day.
I'd find this fairly surprising, though the Fedz can obviously get it by subpoena or warrant if they feel like it. However, notice that most hotels you stay in want to know your name, address, company, etc. Some of it's for marketing reasons (so they can sell your name to advertisers), but I'd guess that in many jurisdictions there are legal requirements to collect it. Otherwise, all your basic motel needs to check is that the cash or credit card you pay them in advance is good (if it's not, they can evict you). (Modulo a few phone bills.) Immediate clearing works fine, no need for book entry or names. Of course, there are countries where they want to see your Citizen-Unit ID Card, or else your passport, and if you're a foreigner they'll keep your passport overnight to register it with the police. GAK... # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk/pub/crypto/pgp # (If this is a mailing list, please Cc: me on replies. Thanks.)