From: Richard Johnson <Richard.Johnson@Colorado.EDU>
Date: Thu, 22 Sep 94 16:10:44 PDT
To: ianf@wiley.sydney.sgi.com (Ian Farquhar)
Subject: "Legitimate" needs of LE (Was Re: (Fwd) Internet Security: Secure Communications Over Untrusted Networks)
In-Reply-To: <9409230835.ZM1769@wiley.sydney.sgi.com>
Message-ID: <199409222310.RAA02405@spot.Colorado.EDU>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

| > ... networks while meeting the legitimate needs of law enforcement
|                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| Has anyone else noticed how this exact phrase keeps popping up time
| and time again?  I for one don't consider it axiomatic, and have
| ...

That "legitimate needs of law enforcement" phrase raises my hackles every
time I see it.  My contrary nature makes me want to shout questions like,
"Just what *are* the legitimate needs of law enforcement?" and, "Who
decides what the legitimate needs of law enforcement are?  Law enforcement
personnel?  Bwahahahah."

A more effective response might be to point out (with sufficient force)
that "we still, as a nation, haven't decided what the legitimate needs of
law enforcement are."  Therefore, anyone, especially someone with a
political power interest in the matter, who asserts we have decided is
attempting to end-run our democracy and usurp power.

This whole business that Freeh keeps peddling, for example, about the
number of wiretaps (oh, excuse me, the number of wiretaps and remote
listening posts and oh so many other kinds of surveillance) to back up his
demands for big brother powers over all of us, well, it begs the
question.


Rich

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.3a-sterno-bait

iQCVAwUBLoIcBPobez3wRbTBAQHCCwP+JTeAes5mxXq/KzazC1VYKTS6Zk+sLreE
X3J3ZJU6LKM/DHqeXIe0XGWMNUM1chwh87kd0NGxe9n01XIR73a4slKKsIqk00vS
lW8xfCBEJlFNDatbmfcvV2eirBF3cFVeRf63uIB//Qnc3yUFKWBXUuPZrEyqvLlq
49hmB+VDDCk=
=QAa2
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

-- 
Loudyellnet: Richard Johnson | Sneakernet: ECNT1-6, CB 429, CU Boulder
Phonenet:    +1.303.492.0590 | Internet:   Richard.Johnson@Colorado.EDU
   RIPEM and PGP public keys available by server, finger or request
   Speaker to avalanche dragons.   Do you really think they listen?