Re: "And who shall guard the guardians?"

At 06:11 PM 8/2/96 -0400, David Lesher wrote:
>> The English-Only bill just passed in the House bans the use of
>> non-English languages by government officials.  Does Tim's sudden 
>> avoidance of the Latin mean that _he_'s the Fed??  
>
>What about Navajo?

Foreign diplomacy was one of the exceptions.

Algol wasn't, since it's designed to describe algorithms to humans,
even though it's additionally useful for diplomatic relations with
our Mechanical Companions.  (Actually, they are allowed to use it
for teaching purposes, or if really necessary for National Security,
and the Bureau of the Census can use it to help count people.)

Section (I), however, is disappointing - means we can't sue them for
putting "E Pluribus Unum" on the coinage....

============================
`(2) OFFICIAL BUSINESS- The term `official business' means governmental actions,
          documents, or policies which are enforceable with the full weight
and authority of the Federal
          Government, and includes publications, income tax forms, and
informational materials, but
          does not include--
               `(A) teaching of languages;
               `(B) requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act;
               `(C) actions, documents, or policies necessary for--
                    `(i) national security issues; or
                    `(ii) international relations, trade, or commerce;
               `(D) actions or documents that protect the public health and
safety;
               `(E) actions or documents that facilitate the activities of
the Bureau of the Census in
               compiling any census of population;
               `(F) actions, documents, or policies that are not enforceable
in the United States;
                (G) actions that protect the rights of victims of crimes or
criminal defendants;
               `(H) actions in which the United States has initiated a civil
lawsuit; or
               `(I) using terms of art or phrases from languages other than
English.
===================================================
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#			Thanks;  Bill
# Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts@ix.netcom.com
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Does the English Only bill conflict with the UN Declaration of
Human Rights (Article 2):

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.

Note: "freedom of language"

For that matter, does the escrowed crypto legislation conflict with
Article 12:

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and
reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.

My understanding is that the United States is (finally) a signatory
to the Declaration.

Martin Minow
minow@apple.com