[42748] in Cypherpunks
Re: FBI seeks huge wiretapping system
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Perry E. Metzger)
Thu Nov 2 20:27:13 1995
To: hallam@w3.org
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Thu, 02 Nov 1995 18:08:42 EST."
<9511022308.AA08199@zorch.w3.org>
Reply-To: perry@piermont.com
Date: Thu, 02 Nov 1995 18:33:17 -0500
From: "Perry E. Metzger" <perry@piermont.com>
hallam@w3.org writes:
>
> >Indeed, I have searched both the constitution and my collected works
> >of Nietzsche and found no reference to the inalienable right of
> >governments to listen in on any conversations, let alone the 1% of
> >conversations the FBI wants access to.
>
> Nietzsche is not a recognised authority on the US consititution nor
> are his works on ethical systems particularly definitive.
I was being facetious. The point is that the government has no
inherent right to tap our phones -- indeed, it didn't do so for nearly
the first 200 years of our existance, and we did just fine -- better,
in fact. Who among us has felt SAFER since they gained the ability?
Has anyone been feeling more and more safe with time, since the more
and more draconian laws granting the government more and more
authority should have been "fixing" things, right?
> Even within the Nietzschian system of ethics it is very clear that
> listening in on the telephone conversations of "the botched and the
> bungled" would lie well within the rights of super-man. Indeed he
> is very explicit that there is no logical need for these people to
> have rights of any sort. Their lives are at the disposal of the great
> leader.
Actually, thats a complete misinterpretation of Nietzsche, but thats
another story.
Perry
