🚀 go-pugleaf

Article 217 of sci.crypt:
Path: ames!lll-lcc!ptsfa!hoptoad!gnu
From: gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore)
Newsgroups: sci.crypt
Subject: Re: Keywords
Message-ID: <1749@hoptoad.uucp>
Date: 6 Feb 87 02:28:15 GMT
References: <804@randvax.UUCP> <305@tifsie.UUCP>
Organization: Nebula Consultants in San Francisco
Lines: 38

In article <305@tifsie.UUCP>, kent@tifsie.UUCP (Russell Kent) writes:
>     2. _IF_ your practice were to be effective (and I'm not saying it
>        is), you would (presumably) be over-loading the scanning ability,
>        or follow-up investigation ability, of the/any Intelligence Agency.
>        This is not in the best interests of your country (and therefore
>        yourself), in that _real_ security threats might be over-looked.

This is the idea.  Telling our "elected representatives" to stop the
government from wiretapping every phone call or telegram that goes in
or out of the country doesn't seem to have any effect; perhaps
a little grass roots action (all perfectly legal) is called for.
I don't believe that, on balance, the civil liberties of free association
and privacy that are lost, are worth the increase in "security".  I think
it's a lot more likely that my liberty will be lost by my own government
taking it away, rather than by the actions of foreign powers.

>     3. You are bringing yourself to the attention of the Intelligence
>        Agency.  Believe me, THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.  Those
>        people are _dead serious_, and more often than not, DO NOT
>        PLAY UNDER THE SAME RULES THAT YOU AND I DO.  They have powers
>        and abilities (albeit infrequently used) that you don't even
>        want to have nightmares about being used against you. (Ever
>        thought about what a cramp in your lifestyle it would be if you
>        just disappeared without a trace? :-)

I heard a rumor that we have laws and a Constitution around here.

If I suddenly disappear due to my net postings I hope that some of you all
will raise a big enough stink to make sure it doesn't happen again.
I would rather risk myself (in an effort to rid our society of people who
think they have these obscene "powers and abilities") than have the whole
population held hostage, terrified to complain about what our government is
doing.
-- 
John Gilmore  {sun,ptsfa,lll-crg,ihnp4}!hoptoad!gnu   gnu@ingres.berkeley.edu
Love your country but never trust its government.
		     -- from a hand-painted road sign in central Pennsylvania
(terrorist, cryptography, DES, drugs, cipher, secret, decode, NSA, CIA, NRO.)