From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 21:00:49 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: [SCARE]:  "If you only knew what we know..."
Message-ID: <add00ed304021004f629@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 3:52 PM 5/26/96, Paul J. Bell wrote:
>a good idea.  what we really need to do is to obtain, by whatever means
>seems available, a copy of "the briefing", and to publish it,
>on the web/net, with detail anotations of each point. having
>their story in public view would certainly take away a lot of it's power.
>also, on the off chance that there were any errors in their version of
>the facts, it could make for an interesting q&a session when the next
>receiptent didn't buy the pitch.
>
>        -paul
>ps.. no, i don't know, right off-hand, how to obtain such a copy,
>but if the employee manual that was making the rounds a few years was
>what it porported to be, well, there's hope for this document to
>see the light of day. (-:

I doubt this. The "NSA Employee's Manual" which was published (first by
2600 or Phrack, then on the Net by Grady Ward) was of course just the
typical stuff handed out to the 25,000 or so employees of the NSA...any of
them could have passed the stuff on to 2600 or Phrack. Nothing very
sensitive for such a large "corporation."

"The Briefing" is an altogether different thing. A private briefing, with
photos, maybe audio and video clips, and definitely "personal." Classified
information, intelligence sources revealed or hinted at, etc. It is almost
certainly not some kind of printed document. And certainly not sent out to
lots of people.

In any case, I don't think this is something one really "refutes." Because
the events are likely real events, and are thus irrefutable. (As to
catching the NSA in outright lies, I doubt this. Enough real stuff that
they wouldn't have to invent history. In my opinion, of course.)

What can be refuted are the possible claims that particular events imply
that civil liberties need to be restricted, or that crypto needs to be
controlled. That is, the philosophical points.

And for this we already have anticipated most of the likely scenarios, aka
the Four Horsemen.

Sure, I'd like to hear what is being whispered to the burrowcrats to scare
them so much....but "obtain, by whatever means seems available" is
something I'll leave for you black bag operatives to take care of. Good
luck!

--Tim May

Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.
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