From: Toto <toto@sk.sympatico.ca>
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 21:27:07 -0700 (PDT)
To: Martin Minow <minow@apple.com>
Subject: Re: Swedish Narcotics Police Demand Telephone Card Database
In-Reply-To: <v03102803af7468aac645@[17.219.103.108]>
Message-ID: <334F08BA.5CE7@sk.sympatico.ca>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Martin Minow wrote:
> 
> the Stockholm narcotics police has asked the national police and
> State Prosecutor to require that purchasers of a new telephone
> card used for mobile telephones be registered, and that the police
> have access to the purchaser database.
> 
> A similar card is in use in France. However, the French security
> service made the government force the telephone company to require
> that purchasers show an id card when tbey purchase the card.

  I smell a market here for enterpreneurs. I'm certain that there are
more than a few wino's sleeping better at night, having earned a little
extra cash by purchasing telephone cards for parties who require them.
  So a thousand customers will have to pay the inflated prices for the
cards as a result of the extra paperwork, in order that one alleged
criminal will also have to do so.

  I would like to see a study done that shows how many regular folk 
have had to engage in illegal activities in order to be able to 
afford all of the extra costs they face in their daily activities, 
in order for the authorities to 'catch criminals'.

  How about if we have Congress pass legislation that supplies 
drugs to users at a low cost, but requires them to steal a TV
in order to get the special price?
  Is this more ridiculous than keeping the prices of drugs 
artificially high and getting the same results?

  The up-side of laws making the spread of strong encryption  
illegal is that perhaps it will flood the jails and force the
authorities to release drug users.
  Of course, this may backfire, since drug users can become
dealers and make enough money to be able to afford strong 
crypto, no matter what the cost.
  
  I realize that I'm being silly, again, but maybe this twisted
trail of logic might get me an executive position in the legal
administrative system.
  (It has worked for others.)
-- 
Toto
"The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre"
http://bureau42.base.org/public/xenix/xenbody.html