HI Bob,

On Sat 2038-Jun-19 07:17, Bob Ackley (1:300/3) wrote to Richard Webb:



BA> The US government has been trying to stifle the free exchange of
BA> information and opinion via computer networks for almost 30 years. 
BA> They have been trying to shut down BBSes and Fidonet almost since
BA> they were invented. 

OF course they have, and  all one needs do is look at the
history.  But, we eschew terrestrial broadcasting for the
cable, and willingly give them this kill switch.  I'd be
willing to bet there are homes where they don't have
anything for reception of terrestrial radio or television
broadcasts.

 RW> Consider for a few moments what you might find if you were
 RW> displaced from your home by disaster to one of those Red
 RW> Cross shelters, or, worse yet, as in NEw ORleans, whisked a
 RW> thousand miles from your home with few resources except
 RW> whatver cash and credit cards you might have had in your
 RW> pocket at the time.

 RW> OUr government's new motto in any type of large scale
 RW> incident is "spin control is job #1."

BA> Yes it is.



 RW> YOur government would love to have a "kill switch" on
 RW> information flow outward from such an event.

BA> Yes it would.  As I noted, the government has been trying to stifle
BA> the free exchange of information and opinion via computers almost
BA> since the beginning.

BA> Note also that the US government also doesn't want its citizens to
BA> be hiding their secrets from it.  When Phil Zimmerman invented PGP
BA> and made it publicly available the government went ballistic and
BA> tried to throw him in jail for distributing "munitions."  Also note
BA> that the government at least briefly considered charging Tom
BA> Jennings with doing the same thing for making Fidonet technology
BA> freely available around the world. 

YEs, and some of that history can be found in back issues of fidonews from
that period.  Bureaucracy hates the light.

Regards,
           Richard
--- timEd 1.10.y2k+