From: Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 03:53:48 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Internet blamed for pipe bombs
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960728173842.00e15cbc@mail.teleport.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 08:30 AM 7/28/96 -0700, Lucky Green wrote:
>At 5:36 7/28/96, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote:
>
>>>   Across the country, latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
>>>   Tobacco and Firearms show a 20 percent jump in pipe bomb incidents
>>>   between 1990 and 1994.
>>
>>[...]
>>
>>>   "We've been incredibly busy," said sheriff's bomb technician Judd
>>>   Holiday. "As crime in other categories is dropping, this is going up."
>
>The friendly Anarchist's Bookstore in San Francisco sells several books on
>building bombs. No Internet connection required. I would like offer another
>possible explanation for the increase in pipe bombings. The People are
>getting frustrated and a pipe bomb can be very useful device releasing
>one's frustration.

The local PBS station had a program on bomb detection and manufacture.  It
included a section with someone from the BATF explaining how Pipebombs work
and included slow motion video.  (It might have been an episode of NOVA.  I
came in in the middle.)  It even included information about how nails and
screws would be included for extra schrapnel.  (Maybe this is part of a plot
to remove funding from PBS once and for all...)

The media and government types who are blaming the Internet for pipebombs do
not get out enough.  I have seen good working descriptions in books since I
was a small child.  (Of course, I actually read books as a child.  And not
just the pablum they expect kids to read nowadays.)  Of course, since when
have government and media pronouncements have had anything to do with the
real world and/or truth...
---
Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
                http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
  "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon
                "Microsoft -- Nothing but NT promises."