From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 1997 08:28:29 +0800
To: Jim Ray <fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
Subject: RE: Hiawatha Bray's column on key-recovery crypto
In-Reply-To: <3.0.16.19970911185752.0e5f917c@pop.gate.net>
Message-ID: <v03102806b03e38033026@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 4:30 PM -0700 9/11/97, Jim Ray wrote:

>Bernstein? I can understand (while not agreeing with...) my local
>rag's opposition to the second amendment, but the total apathy
>shown to dangers faced by the first is hard to fathom. I read the
>Herald pretty carefully, yet there has been NOTHING this week on
>the crypto-controversy. Nothing. While I often disagree with the
>Miami Herald's reporting decisions (both substance and emphasis)
>it is rare that I find it this scary. <sigh>

As Declan noted, when he wrote,

"* Ban on sale of crypto without a backdoor. Five year & fine (maybe
$250,000?) if violated. Prosecutions can be held in closed-door
courtrooms, publishers of info about case to be held in contempt of court."

this means newspapers may not write articles on this case, or the law.

This is why the "Miami Herald" dares not cover this.

(But seriously, the above example cited, that publishers of info being held
in contempt of court, seems too wacky even for the current Congress. Have
they no understanding of what a free press is? Free press applying to any
of us, of course, and not just to the "officially recognized major news
sources." I can't beleve that could withstand court scrutiny.)

And the prosecutions in closed-door courts would seem also to violate
various provisions of the Constitution, including the 6th. (That the
"foreign intelligence surveillance court" (FISUR) has not been challenged
perhaps has to do with its origins under one of the Emergency Powers
things, and its limited applicability to ordering surveillance. But to
extend this to, say, the prosecution of someone, even a citizen, seems like
a blatant "star chamber" situation.)

The rest of this verison is equally bad--sounding. (I mention "this
version," because each of the committees--Intelligence, Commerce, National
Security, whatever--is fighting to make their versions more Big Brotherish.)

What a fucking bunch of criminals.

--Tim May


There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
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,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."