September 2001 - cypherpunks-legacy

Freedom flees in terror from Sept. 11 disaster By Paul McMasters
by Matthew Gaylor 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

<http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=14924> Freedom flees in terror from Sept. 11 disaster Ombudsman By Paul McMasters <pmcmasters(a)freedomforum.org> First Amendment Ombudsman First Amendment Center 09.19.01 Last Tuesday's terrors were so calamitous that they threaten to shake us loose from our constitutional mooring. A civil liberties catastrophe looms as citizens surrender to fear, fury and frustration and as lawmakers throw money and shards of the Bill of Rights at the specter of terrorism. Some of our elected leaders predict a gloomy future for freedom. "We're in a new world where we have to rebalance freedom and security," said House Democratic Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-Mo. "We're not going to have all the openness and freedom we have had." Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., repeated the warning: "When you're in this type of conflict, when you're at war, civil liberties are treated differently." Even staunch First Amendment advocates, haunted by the suffering and devastation in New York City, near Washington, D.C., and the Pennsylvania countryside, are tempted to temporize in the face of insistent calls to suspend or re-examine our commitment to civil liberties. The First Amendment fallout commenced within hours of the airplanes crashing into their targets. Tuesday afternoon, FBI agents fanned out to persuade Internet firms and service providers to hook up e-mail sniffing software to monitor private citizens' e-mail. While the desire to marshal all resources in such circumstances is understandable, there are serious consequences for private speech and public discourse when ordinary citizens fear that law enforcement officials with broad powers to investigate and detain are listening in. Expressive activity was curtailed in a variety of places. A high school official reprimanded a student who distributed a flier asking her classmates to pray. Officials at the Baltimore Museum of Art took down a Christopher Wool painting containing the word "Terrorist" (later, they promised to provide "new interpretation" for the painting when it is reinstalled). New York police and members of the National Guard confiscated film from journalists and tourists. If only that were the worst of it. Government officials and policymakers immediately called for measures that would chill public discourse, disrupt reporting by the press, and interrupt the flow of information to the public. They want an expansion of law enforcement powers to spy on telephone and Internet traffic, to restrict the use of Internet encryption products that thwart online monitoring of private email, to slow down and divert funds from the declassification of secrets, and to force public libraries to reveal information about patrons' use of their computers. In Congress, prospects brightened for several troubling measures, including: * The Cyber Security Information Act, which among other things would blow a gaping hole in the Freedom of Information Act. * Anti-leaks legislation, dubbed the "official secrets acts" by those who are deeply concerned about its impact on speech and the press and the flow of critical information to the public. * The Flag Desecration Act, which would for the first time in the history of our nation amend the First Amendment to prohibit burning the flag as a form of political dissent. To compound the threat, there are disturbing examples of private or self-imposed restrictions on expression. Web pages shut down or removed content, a radio network circulated a list of songs that would be problematic to play, an employer confiscated American flags from the desks of workers, and a wire service withheld news footage after Palestinian threats against a photographer. It would be foolish to dismiss such events - public or private - as mere nibbling at the edges of our rights. In fact, each nibble diminishes our commitment to freedom and the principles that distinguish our way of life from all others. In such an atmosphere, voices of dissent grow silent, probing questions by the press are viewed as unpatriotic and subversive, and whistleblowers inside government with vital information are quieted. In such an atmosphere, propaganda, rumor and paranoia fester and infect. In such an atmosphere, citizens are denied their place as full partners in their own governance. By suspending some of our most precious principles, the risk becomes not just terrorists whose hearts have grown rancid with hate but also a citizenry whose hearts are filled with fear. There are things we can and should be doing rather than joining the stampede to ditch our rights. As columnist Thomas Friedman put it: "We have to fight the terrorists as if there were no rules and preserve our open society as if there were no terrorists." First, we must remember that we've gone down this road too many times before. We have suspended freedom of speech, press and assembly during wartime and other crises, to the point of sending prominent Americans to jail for long terms for uttering unpatriotic words. And always we've looked back in wonderment that we could have been so stupid, that we could have so easily cast aside our democratic heritage. We must demand of ourselves that a distinction is made - in public discourse as well as public policy - between what is merely inconvenient and what strikes at the heart of our most important freedoms. We must demand of those proposing a degradation of our freedom that they provide an immediate and convincing argument that such an approach represents a real solution rather than a false hope. Finally, before we begin to contemplate forfeiture of any of our essential liberties, we must thoroughly examine the lapses in public policy and operations that have become so cruelly evident in the wake of the disaster. Lapses in intelligence collection and analysis; in basic security measures at airports; in granting and monitoring of visas; in national, state and local emergency preparedness. As much as we wish to be safe forever from the horrors of last week, we simply cannot protect freedom by forsaking freedom. As much as we want relief from this time of national duress, we simply cannot make ourselves more secure by making fundamental freedoms less secure. The words of Samuel Adams, in a different time and context, present a challenge to our natural impulse to sacrifice freedom in the face of terrorism: "Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, What should be the reward of such sacrifices? If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom - go from us in peace. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you." What an affront to the courage and heroism shown by those who gave their lives in rescue efforts or in forcing hijackers into a crash if we give in easily to fear or panic. Fire from the skies and hatred from afar last Tuesday caused human carnage and suffering at an unthinkable level. They dealt terrifying blows to our financial institutions, our transportation and communications systems, our political and military nerve centers, and to a nation's sense of self and security. Do we really want to add constitutional freedoms to that sorrowful list of casualties? ************************************************************************** Subscribe to Freematt's Alerts: Pro-Individual Rights Issues Send a blank message to: freematt(a)coil.com with the words subscribe FA on the subject line. List is private and moderated (7-30 messages per week) Matthew Gaylor, (614) 313-5722 ICQ: 106212065 Archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fa/ **************************************************************************

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Re: CNN poll
by Steve Thompson 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

Quoting Trei, Peter (ptrei(a)rsasecurity.com) > While these online polls are rarely terribly meaningful, > I will note that CNN has one going now, at > http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/19/gen.america.under.attack/ > > It asks 'Would you accept more government involvement in your > life if it meant more security against terrorism?" > > So far: > > Yes: 70% 118946 votes > No: 30% 49938 votes > > Peter Trei I wonder why they bother with such polls. At this time, there is enough legislation and political will to mandate `more government' involvement in people's lives without the need for unscientific study. Not only is there a need for a war to boost the flagging economy, but obviously the future security of the human race _depends_ on omnipresent government intrusion in the affairs of man. What, exactly, is gained by these silly pretences at polling the people for their opinions when the unassailable logic of military necessity is sufficient unto itself? I suggest that journalists explain, in simple terms, the facts of national security to the public. Properly presented, the majority will easily accept the inevitable without complaint since the only other option will be to abandon facts and logick for chaos and uncertainty. Regards, Steve -- Several eye-witnesses report seeing a missile strike the WTC before it went down.

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CNN poll
by Trei, Peter 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

While these online polls are rarely terribly meaningful, I will note that CNN has one going now, at http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/19/gen.america.under.attack/ It asks 'Would you accept more government involvement in your life if it meant more security against terrorism?" So far: Yes: 70% 118946 votes No: 30% 49938 votes Peter Trei "They that give up necessary liberty to obtain temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

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CNN.com - China's dilemma in the fight against terrorism - September 19, 2001
by Jim Choate 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

OBL for Taiwan... http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/09/19/ret.china.dilemma/ -- -- ____________________________________________________________________ The future, as always, belongs to the dreamers. Heinz Pagels The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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SIG: A 'Tarpit' That Traps Worms
by Jim Choate 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,46964,00.html -- -- ____________________________________________________________________ The future, as always, belongs to the dreamers. Heinz Pagels The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Afghanistan asks CNN to leave
by Jim Choate 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010919/3/1hfgh.html -- -- ____________________________________________________________________ The future, as always, belongs to the dreamers. Heinz Pagels The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Search Results for 'Censorship Service'
by Jim Choate 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

Kahn (Chpt. 16, 1976 ed.) and NARA... http://search.nara.gov/query.html?col=0nara&col=2ardor&col=1pres&col=arch&q… -- -- ____________________________________________________________________ The future, as always, belongs to the dreamers. Heinz Pagels The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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"Banning strong encryption would prove as ineffective as shutting down Napster
by Subcommander Bob 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

"Banning strong encryption would prove as ineffective as shutting down Napster," >From some agitprop "The Terrorists Are Winning the Cyber War" http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-091901techspy.story

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Afghanistan Gems
by Subcommander Bob 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

The gem industry was helping the militant Afghans raise money back when they were US allies. In the bios below, helping the Mujahideen is listed as a cool thing, for both locals and US folks. http://www.gems-afghan.com/symposium/speakers.htm Anwar Pacha was born in Nuristan. He and his father, Fazel Manan Pacha, joined the Jihad in 1979. Together they organized the tribes, established hospitals and assigned doctors to care for the Mujahideen. From his great grandfather to present, his family has maintained leadership and a friendly relationship with other tribes in Northeastern Afghanistan. He has many followers in Mohamand, Safi, Salarzi, Mahmoond, Gujur, Shinwari tribes. Without these peoples, mining of gemstones is not possible. Mr. Aref Hanifi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. He has been involved in the Import-Export Business between the US, Europe, China, India, and Hong Kong. After this he was involved in helping the Mujahideen, in particular, Khalil Nuristani and Ubydullah Niazi of Northern Afghanistan (Kapisa). Mr. Bowersox received his BBA degree from Western Michigan University where he continued his post-graduate studies in the field of finance and investments. After graduation he joined the United States Army and obtained the rank of Major during the Viet Nam war. After his honorable discharge from the US Army, he worked in the gem industry in Brazil, Burma, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Thailand. In 1973 he began working and surveying the gem mines of Afghanistan. During 1976 he was awarded the exclusive rights for the export of lapis to the United States. After the Russian invasion, Mr. Bowersox worked with the Mujahideen in developing the gem mines in Afghanistan. This entailed many potentially dangerous trips into Afghanistan during the war. In 1997, he was appointed as consultant to the Minister of Mines and Industry-Government of Afghanistan.

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Re: Wartime Crypto Laws
by Tim May 19 Sep '01

19 Sep '01

On Wednesday, September 19, 2001, at 10:47 AM, Meyer Wolfsheim wrote: > Gentlemen, > > It was recently mentioned on this list that there were additional > restrictions placed on the use of ciphers by private citizens during > World > War II. I'm curious if anyone knows of a good resource for further > information on this topic. > > (Now, inevitably, Choate is going to sent me a Google URL. This is fine, > since I wasn't able to get Google to give me anything but information on > documents discussing recent export restrictions, happening to mention > WWII.) > Kahn's book on Codes has much on WW II, including mail opening laws, restrictions on radio use, etc. Computer crypto obviously didn't exist back then, so we need to look to letters, radio, microdots, etc. for what may be coming. --Tim May

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