From: azur@netcom.com (Steve Schear)
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 13:35:36 -0700 (PDT)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: NAVAHO
Message-ID: <v02130504ae8bddd2ae79@[10.0.2.15]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


As most all on this list are aware, the U.S. Army made frequent and
successful use of our indigenous people (often Navaho) for battle field
communications during WW II.  Now obviously Navaho is a widely recognized
language and even our 'oppressive" government wouldn't dare tell such
speakers, who might be under investigation for some alledged criminal
activity, that were engaging in international communications that they
could not use this or a similar form of communciation because LE might not
be able to interpret its meaning.

What would be the legal status of communicating with a language, too
complex for easy human use, which required a computer to structure and
translate between other human languages?  What would be the ITAR
implication of exporting such linguistic software?

What about speaking or writing riddles or other 'indirect' coding in which
the true meaning of spoken or written communication is other than the
appearent (literature, especially mysteries have them)?  Could export of
software designed to create/interpret such riddles or 'hidden' meanings
come under ITAR regulation?

-- Steve



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