-----Original Message-----
From: OffshoreMax.com <courier@offshoremax.com>
To:  <offshoremax@topica.com>
Date: Monday, September 10, 2001 5:43 AM
Subject: [OffshoreMax] "Echelon Does Exist!"

"ECHELON DOES EXIST!"

An alleged worldwide spy network dubbed Echelon and led by the United States does exist and European nations should set up an encryption system to guard against it, the European Parliament said Wednesday.

The European Union assembly voted 367 to 159, with 34 abstentions, to adopt 44 recommendations on how to counter Echelon.

The parliament, meeting in Strasbourg, France, also accepted a 140- page report confirming the spy network's existence, despite official U.S. denials.

''There were those who said we would not be able to find sound evidence, said Carlos Coelho, chairman of the investigative committee. "We can say very clearly that Echelon does exist.''

The committee released a report in May after seven months of testimony from communications and security experts.

EU committee members went to Washington in May but both the CIA and the National Security Agency, believed responsible for Echelon, refused to meet with them.

The report said Echelon was set up at the beginning of the Cold War for intelligence-gathering and has grown into a network of intercept stations across the globe. Its primary purpose, the report said, is to intercept private and commercial communications, not military intelligence.

[...]

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/248/world/European_Parliament_approves_r:.shtml


COMMENT: Echelon does exist, and unencrypted communications are not safe from prying eyes! Check out the actual report from the European Parliament:

http://www.europarl.eu.int/committees/echelon_home.htm

More background on Echelon:

http://fire.net.nz/echelon.htm

Download the best free encryption software:

http://www.pgpi.com