A few responses to Jim Bell: * Why would Sen. Burns introduce *this* particular crypto bill? Would you believe that he wanted to appear cyber-clueful and net-friendly, but didn't know exactly how to do that -- so certain people suggested that this bill would be an appropriate way to do it? * Why would Sen. Burns introduce this particular bill *now*? One word: CFP. * Why would Jim Bell post anonymously? He writes:
That is a silly conclusion. The primary reason for anonymity with such postings is to avoid controversy being associated with one's name. I, as
No, the primary reason for anonymity is to avoid being *associated* with one's name. I know this may be attributing an undeserved sense of precedence, but perhaps Jim Bell has realized that his opinions are discarded out-of-hand by many on this list, so he posts anonymously to regain some credibility. A message from anonymous would also work nicely to reinforce his own position, allowing Jim Bell to claim additional allies. Anyway, last night I sat next to Dorothy Denning on the bus to the EFF Pioneer Awards reception and dinner, and we chatted for about 20 minutes. She's a sweet old lady -- I can't think of anyone with whom it's easier to agree to disagree. I asked her what she thought of a number of people -- on Tim May she said: "Let's not talk about that." She also said she's educating a House committee about crypto next week -- I dearly hope our side will have some experts there as well. -Declan Excerpts from cypherpunks: 29-Mar-96 Re: New crypto bill to be i.. by jim bell@pacifier.com
It's not that I'm suspicious of the wording of this new bill; I haven't even seen it yet. What is a bit suspicious is its timing. Let's see, where do I begin? When the Leahy bill was first discussed around here, there were claims (which, arguably, might be true) that this bill "couldn't be passed" without the negative portions of the bill (key escrow commentary; criminalization of encryption use, etc.) More recently, it was claimed that the Leahy bill was dead, and couldn't be revived by the end of the session due to lack of time. I don't necessarily challenge these claim; but I note them and I also note that this new bill is going to run into the same kind of time restraints as the Leahy bill would have, even more so. Even worse, this new bill will split off support from Leahy, meaning that (everything else being equal) it is hard to imagine how this new bill (even if it is everything we want, and nothing we don't want) will get passed.
Maybe that's the idea: As Tim May pointed out, at this time maybe no bill is better than any bill. And maybe what is needed is a bill to siphon support away from Leahy, to ensure it's dead, which I presume this new bill will do quite well even if it's never voted on. If that's the case, this new bill may be a "conspiracy," but it might be a conspiracy that I can actually sympathize with and support, even like.
Nevertheless so, I would at least like to look that gift horse in the mouth, a nd understand the motivations of the people proposing this new bill.
* Jim Bell says we're "overdoing it on this 'List of Shame' thing." Not at all -- we're proud to be on it! And you, Jim Bell, are one of my primary suspects for authorship.
That is a silly conclusion. The primary reason for anonymity with such postings is to avoid controversy being associated with one's name. I, as anyone who's read my writing can attest, not only do not try to avoid controversy, but in fact appear to seek it out, perhaps even to revel in it. Having taking a strongly anti-Leahy position before this anonymous poster first appeared, it would be pointless for me to add my commentary in anonymous form to that which I've already posted under my own name.
Furthermore, I've pointed out that there is no reason to exclude the possibility that this anonymous poster isn't deliberately going too far, mixing "deserving" names in with undeserving ones, in order to discredit those people who are criticizing the supporters of the Leahy bill. I can't say this for certain, because there were a number of names on this "list of shame" whose positions on Leahy I haven't even seen. Nevertheless, propaganda techniques are sophisticated, and I do notice a suspicious number of people who appeared to want to "stand up for those people" rather than standing up for the positions they took. (Whatever they were.)
The implication is that the people who oppose this "list of shame" are doing so primarily for PERSONALITY reasons, rather than on the issues. I would feel better about the whole thing if the people who volunteered for the list had engaged in some sort of serious effort to show that the placement of the other people on that list was unjustified. Lacking even the most rudimentary effort along these lines, I really wonder who (and what) these people think they're supporting.