This has got to be the "Book of the Year"...If you only read one book before the end of the year, or even one book ALL of next year, this is the book you MUST read: The Electronic Privacy Papers by Bruce Schneier and David Banisar Wiley Computer Publishing/John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 0-471-12297-1 I just got it this morning, and cruised though the first chapters (I'm a fast reader...) and its positively explosive. The book consists of information gleaned from public sources and pried out of the Government via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and logically takes the reader through a chronological history of government surveillance and public reactions to it. Schneier and Banisar examine the arguments for and against state surveillance and how these policies are formulated and how (from my reading so far) they are often implemented with little or no public discussion or input by agencies that seem to deeply distrust and dislike the lawmaking process and constitutional protections that are supposed to protect Americans from overzealous agents and Government abuse. Positively riveting.... For you Amazon.com junkies, here's the URL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ats-query/9615-8912043-502933 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David HM Spector spector@zeitgeist.com Network Design & Infrastructure Security