An interim agreement signed in October 2006 and expiring in July 2007 gives the US access to passenger record data - including names, addresses, telephone numbers and credit card details - from European airlines conducting transatlantic flights.

So the next time your flying to the United States, your data might could land on the Foreign Desk of Homeland Security. Even though they won't be able to access ec cards, which are more widely used than credit cards in Germany, it's amazing what German's interior mininster is throwing at Mister Chertoff. Oh wait, information that might point to passengers’ religious denominations falls under European data protection and anti-discrimination laws. The ACLU has been against this in the past and present. Still, privacy issues are more lax in the States and homeland yadiyada is the excuse non-pareil. Will we see less tourism westward bound or will cheaper flights make for happy consumers?