[79290] in Cypherpunks
Re: Rejecting Dialog with Government Vermin
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Tim May)
Wed Apr 30 01:10:45 1997
X-Real-To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
In-Reply-To: <199704300419.VAA27846@mail.pacifier.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 21:32:25 -0800
To: jimbell@pacifier.com (Jim Bell), cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Reply-To: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
At 9:15 PM -0800 4/29/97, Jim Bell wrote:
>At 11:33 4/29/97 -0800, Tim May wrote:
>>(I was informed by an esteemed member of our list that I "frightened" a
>>D.C. journalist in the lobby at CFP when I answered her question about what
>>I thought about the role of crypto in hiding the actions of nuclear
>>terrorists. I gave her my stock answer: maybe a nuclear bomb smuggled into
>>D.C. could be the best thing to happen to the country...get rid of hundreds
>>of thousands of leeches and almost a million welfare addicts.
>
>I'm certainly not going to criticize you for teasing these media-types with
>such faux-extremist commentary. However much fun you had, perhaps it would
>have been better to move to challenge her implicit assumption that crypto
>makes us MORE subject to nuclear terrorism, rather than less.
I agree, but modern political discussion is usually centered around gossip
and sound bites. (Most of the evening news' political discussion is about
whom Hillary Rodham is sleeping with, whom Bill Clinton has accepted
donations from, and so on. Rarely are actual political ideas discussed.
America is in many respects an apolitical nation.)
>For example, I consider a major nuclear powers' possession of nukes to be
>one of the most serious examples of "nuclear terrorism" there is, but on the
>other hand I believe that an appropriate use of crypto (AP) could force any
>owners of nuclear weapons to dismantle them. Few people challenge this
>claim. If I'm right, crypto is a solution rather than a problem. Why not
>remind that journalist that her false impression is the real problem, not
>crypto.
I believe you are incorrect that AP would force dismantling of nukes, for
reasons I am weary of repeating (you repeat your matra, I repeat mine), but
I agree that serious discussion of such game-theoretic issues is just too
scary, too extreme, too un-American for almost everyone.
--Tim May
There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."
