[46751] in Cypherpunks
Re: NSA says strong crypto to China?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jeff Weinstein)
Mon Jan 8 03:08:46 1996
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 1996 23:57:06 -0800
From: Jeff Weinstein <jsw@netscape.com>
To: Alex Strasheim <cp@proust.suba.com>
Cc: cypherpunks@toad.com
Alex Strasheim wrote:
> That's what this list is all about: we're trying to impose certain civil
> liberties on the world using a strategy that's based on anarchy theory.
> That theory tells us that if we can distribute tools and establish
> standards we'll secure privacy and free speech rights regardless of what
> governments do. That's a very startling idea, and I believe it's sound.
> I believe that it's possible to impose the first ammendment on the entire
> world by distributing crypto software.
>
> So the question we ought to be putting to the NSA is this: isn't it in
> the best interest of the United States and the other capitalist Western
> democracies to impose the first ammendment on the rest of the world?
>
> I don't see how anyone could argue that it isn't.
I think that you are putting too much faith in both the western
governments and the citizens of those countries. If you read the article
that I originally quoted, you will find that the author (in the UK) feels
that the first ammendment gives us in the US too much freedom of speech.
I think that many (perhaps most) feel the same way. They are willing to
give up their liberty for some dubious protections as Ben Franklin spins
in his grave.
--Jeff
--
Jeff Weinstein - Electronic Munitions Specialist
Netscape Communication Corporation
jsw@netscape.com - http://home.netscape.com/people/jsw
Any opinions expressed above are mine.
