From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 00:31:30 +0800
To: John Young <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: What we are Fighting
In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.3.95.980907064846.7404C-100000@well.com>
Message-ID: <v0313030bb219b85ab18e@[209.66.100.36]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 8:39 AM -0700 9/7/98, John Young wrote:
>It would be fitting for this list to be distinguished as
>the place where crypto-in-a-crime was first committed.
>
>What might that be? A match of the crime committed
>to prevent widespread strong crypto?
>
>Crypto-criminal anonymity in the national interest (governmental
>secrecy) fighting to prevent crypto-criminal anonymity in the
>public interest (private secrecy).
>
>This is not a troll, but query on what could be done to to tip the
>hand and identify those unnamed who are most fearful of strong
>cryptography, not their public rougers in the 3 divs of gov.

Well, there are just so many things that are now called "crimes" in these
Beknighted States, that it's really a matter of what the Authorities decide
to prosecute.

For example, do they prosecute J. Random Cypherpunk for his support of the
freedom fighters of Hezbollah, which is on the State Department's list of
"terror"-supporting organizations? (Meaning that citizen-unit sheeple are
breaking the law if they provide any financial or technical support to
Hezbollah.) If they prosecute J. Random Cypherpunk, and can show he used
PGP to send messages to the freedom fighters, or even supplied them with a
copy of PGP....

Or how about the religious organization known as Aum Shinretsu. Apparently
I am breaking a U.S. law by tithing to the Aum religion, as it is also on
this list.

And then there are those RICO laws. Arranging cutout organizations to let
foreign nationals consult and write code is probably a violation of various
laws.

I can think of lots of "crimes" in the eyes of the burrowcrats that many of
us are committing constantly.

However, "crypto in a crime" has not become law yet. And if we can keep
those pesky "civil rights" lobbyists in D.C. neutralized, maybe it never
will be. With any luck, these curriers of favor are inside the fallout
pattern from Bin Laden's nuke.

--Tim May




"The tree of liberty must be watered periodically with the blood of
tyrants...."
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist              | black markets, collapse of governments.