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Arise, you have nothing to lose but your barbed wire fences!

1996-01-26 - Re: “Gentlemen do not read each other’s mail”

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From: hallam@w3.org
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Message Hash: ccadb90c5c8ace6b0d9fd0a325bd506606550034115dfe162496062da7dc5661
Message ID: <9601252108.AA13595@zorch.w3.org>
Reply To: <199601251947.OAA16586@jekyll.piermont.com>
UTC Datetime: 1996-01-26 00:44:30 UTC
Raw Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 08:44:30 +0800

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From: hallam@w3.org
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 1996 08:44:30 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: "Gentlemen do not read each other's mail"
In-Reply-To: <199601251947.OAA16586@jekyll.piermont.com>
Message-ID: <9601252108.AA13595@zorch.w3.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



>Why is he our patron saint? He was a government official coming out
>against invasion of privacy. Isn't that what we are all after, in the
>end?

There is a considerable difference between running a government and being an 
individual. It is not merely ethical for one government to read another's mail, 
it is a duty.

By not taking adequate steps to inform itself of the Japaneese intentions the US 
suffered the loss of a substantial part of the US fleet at Pearl Harbour. Had 
sufficient resources been avaliable the naval codes could have been cracked in 
time.  The closure of the Black chamber was a key reason why US espionage 
efforts were inadequate at the start of WWII.

Given the choice between the US Army and the CIA plus NSA I would choose the 
latter any day. The millitary hardware is useless without intelligence 
operatives. Unless Perry is advocating an absolutist pacifist stance I don't see 
that his stance is credible. I don't know many pacifists who oppose intelligence 
gathering. 

Diplomatic trafic has always been considered fair game. Long may it remain so.


		Phill

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