From: Anonymous <nobody@REPLAY.COM>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 10:44:18 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Message
Message-ID: <199709281255.OAA02545@basement.replay.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



On Sat, 27 Sep 1997 21:04:51 -0500 Black Unicorn foolishly blurted:

> Try to keep in mind that Bell went to jail for crimes only 
> semi-related to his AP ranting.

> The AP ranting is just the way he managed to attract attention.

Try to keep in mind that that is how the government plays the 
game, here and elsewhere. Even in countries that have laws
against irritating the government a hip regime always now tries
to prosecute for only semi-related or even completely unrelated
"crimes." Maybe you, too, could be found to have engaged in
juvenile activities like ordering noxious substances, much to 
your surprise and horror, after calling attention to yourself 
in a way that touches a sensitive spot on the body bureaucratic.
Although Bell might in fact be a complete idiot and have given
them the levers they needed to destroy him, it would be a 
grave mistake to assume that there is any truth at all to the
charges. This is political prosecution a la 1997 in the land of
the Freeh, home of the slave. In this climate the risk of 
expressing any opinion that touches government's hot buttons is
that you will be investigated. Being investigated can easily
ruin you, being charged almost certainly will -- both pre-trial 
punishments that make a mockery of the entire set of constitutional
protections against prosecutorial and judicial abuses. The modern
equivalent of the Crown's former ability to target someone with
a law is the ability of the government to mine a rich cache of
laws for the one that can circumstantially be applied to the
victim. The odd thing that works in their favor is that anyone
who practices as he preaches is more likely than others to have
vulnerabilities of the sort government looks for when targetting
him. It's one of those things that provides the black hats with
a heavy strategic advantage. Not that they're satisfied with 
that, of course. They'll use it, but they'll also black bag you,
maybe send in some orders in your name to chemical supply houses,
whatever it takes once you get on their list.