🚀 go-pugleaf

strnlght@netcom.com (David Sternlight) writes:
>
>Mark Henderson, writing from Canada, advises a Bulgarian National
>writing from Germany on how to get the RSAREF and RIPEM files
>without reading or agreeing to the license agreement.
>
>I think this is both a disgrace and a violation of ITAR. I would
>not be surprised if it is also a violation of Canadian Law.

Just one thing, David; in a very large fraction of the jurisdictions
in the United States virtually any sort of sexual activity other than
the missionary position engaged in by a married couple is against the
law. Do you go about haranguing young couples you see on the street
who aren't married (either heterosexual or homosexual) telling them
that if they are having sex they are breaking the law and what they
are doing is a disgrace?

>Since I take this personally, given the efforts of many to provide a
>free, usable, legal public key system for non-commercial use in the
>U.S. I have copied Mark's message to the President of RSA, for what
>action he may wish to take.

Tell me, David, Do you go about finding married couples engaging in
oral sex and turning them in to the cops? Do you go around turning
gays in to the local District attorney? You honestly seem like the
type.

As you may have surmized by now, although you are a prudish bluenose,
no one else here gives a damn about the ITARs. Any official of the US
Government who actually believes that the ITARs serve to keep the "bad
guys" from getting cryptography has to have taken more LSD in the
hours before coming to that conclusion than Dr. Leary has taken in his
lifetime. All the information needed to construct cryptosystems is
available in the public domain and can be "exported" with an ordinary
phone call, or even just by memorizing a few simple facts and crossing
the border.

Given the fact that the ITARs are next to useless, and that in
fact there is no way whatsoever to stop the bad guys from getting
cryptosystems (as has been demonstrated), most of us have long since
chosen to regard the exportation of public information, regardless of
the attitude of the US Government, in the same light as premarital sex
or "sodomy", i.e., something we societally tolerate regardless of
putative legality. You, of course, are the equivalent of the
fundamentalist christian who harangues people even for having
lascivious thoughts. Fine. Go off and preach to the walls. Leave the
rest of us alone. You haven't a single supporter on this newsgroup.
Obviously all your harangues have served to do nothing other than
assure that you will never get a job at any company that anyone
reading sci.crypt works for again. Now that you've successfully
wrecked your own reputation, why not go off and bore some other
people. We frankly no longer care.

--
Perry Metzger		pmetzger@shearson.com
--
Laissez faire, laissez passer. Le monde va de lui meme.