To: cypherpunks@toad.com J >From: jet@netcom.com (J. Eric Townsend) J >Actually, the Feds can do anything they want. Theyve taking to J >raiding off-short pirate radio statons in international waters, there J >was that bit with Noriega, etc etc. Reagan set a standard by J >completely ignore the world court. Omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence eh? We might as well give up and go home. <G> The feds have many powers including the ability to nuke the hell out of everything. The question becomes how usefull those powers are. After all, Caeser or Louis XIV could "destroy the city, leave no stone standing upon stone and sow the ground with salt." The difference today is that the "peasants" of the OECD countries are much more powerful than those of 18th century France. The Feds can apply point force but they can't apply it everywhere. They can do some things in international waters, they can kidnap some "drug kingpins" they can't go after every "criminal" *inside* the US much less overseas. Their limited current powers will be further limited once secure untraceable communications nets are in place. More than that, their power and prestige depend on how the people they rule view them. If we turn aside from them, their power will evaporate overnight. If the KGB couldn't block liberalization, the Fibbies, the Company, and Ft. Meade won't be able to either. Don't worry about it. Social change is underway. We'll achieve autonomy Just In Time. Duncan Frissell ************************************************************************* ATMs, Contracting Out, Digital Switching, Downsizing, EDI, Fax, Fedex, Home Workers, Internet, Just In Time, Leasing, Quants, Securitization, Temps - Not as sexy as Tim May's signature line but just as important. --- WinQwk 2.0b#0