From: Alan Olsen <alan@ctrl-alt-del.com>
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 12:26:38 +0800
To: mpd@netcom.com (Mike Duvos)
Subject: Re: Jim Bell goes to Jail!
In-Reply-To: <3.0.2.32.19970518195535.00af3100@mail.teleport.com>
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970518211245.00ac1200@mail.teleport.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


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

At 08:41 PM 5/18/97 -0700, Mike Duvos wrote:
>Alan Olsen <alan@ctrl-alt-del.com> writes:

Actually I was quoting from the Oregonian, the local fishwrap.

> > IRS agents arrest Vancouver man who called for killing
> > federal workers
>
>As I recall, Bell never called for anyone to be killed. He merely
>suggested that the construction of anonymous wagering pools would
>faciliate a market in the disposal of tyrants.

Some of his statements could have been taken as advocating the killing of 
federal employees of various sorts.  The question is whether he actually
tried 
to arrange it in real life.  (Which I doubt.)

> > Federal agents since have focused on a Bell theory that
> > carbon fibers could be used to sabotage computer hard
> > drives, thus disabling them.  East confirmed Bell's interest
> > in using carbon fibers as a "computer killer" but dismissed
> > it as a "goofball idea."
>
>I thought microscopic amounts of airborne silicone were the
>preferred method of causing large numbers of drives to
>mysteriously fail.

I found that part quite interesting.  I remember Jim going off about this 
(without refering to any specific method) at the first Portland Cypherpunk 
meeting.  He got pretty pissed when I mentioned it on the list.  (As well as 
my post that I thought he was a loon.)  Interesting to see that there is an 
actual method mentioned.  (And that his friend also thought it was kind of 
nutty...)

>I can't imagine how one would get the carbon fiber into the
>interior of the drive.

Neither can I.  Maybe it was supposed to short out the electronics.  Imagine 
what that would do to your lungs!  Youch!

> > The search warrant for East's home shows that the
> > government also is interested in determining whether Bell
> > and others have experimented with volatile chemicals in
> > preparation for attacks on IRS offices and agents.
>
>The government is only lending credibility to Bell's paranoia by
>behaving like jackbooted thugs.

It is interesting that they have kept the warrent sealed.  This, more than 
anything makes me question the legitamacy of the whole affair.  Sounds like 
the IRS is planning a preemptive strike on the Common Law Courts and the 
people behind them.

>Is this federal agent Bell is supposed to have interfered with
>one of the agents who arrested him?  Sounds like fabrication from
>whole cloth to me.

That is not explained.  I think it was an excuse to arrest him without having 
to reveal the real reasons.  Be interesting to see what they accuse him of 
later...

The IRS seems to have overstepped a little in this case...  The sealed 
warrents are an attempt to keep it from being examined in more detail.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 5.0 beta
Charset: noconv

iQEVAwUBM3/TO+QCP3v30CeZAQGYawf/Q5oKg5nkrWF9sNCkEFo2kSINNcUE7Osp
YmIoSAPDZxIbgWZYFxEgU36+YwtDgPN9dS2k40pGlFdHKAiVGAPfHO72lSYGSv5d
APnXu6WMyG4hqaCR1JI1dW/yicA5NyyFrIx3k3VeaowvvgFiGxJiZJtD4N4yQSmS
u9glmpPr3OqQ2BwlU6SBPRPib+toQuKf57KUJZXRgvoJc9nm3zU5Izi2cnm8joEN
+HzOQYBSgkiyWFXezeoUVmDMJA4Pcxn5AatayiIvxROxYR+/zZxw33t5JoxxTTnG
/GuLlYLvdUclTQCtmF0ZYW+jiGDNsex6aNaMoArMSEgDDOYcb60tQw==
=pToF
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

---
|     "Bill Clinton - Bringing back the sixties one Nixon at a time."    |
|"The moral PGP Diffie taught Zimmermann unites all| Disclaimer:         |
| mankind free in one-key-steganography-privacy!"  | Ignore the man      |
|`finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key  | behind the keyboard.|
|         http://www.ctrl-alt-del.com/~alan/       |alan@ctrl-alt-del.com|