Brad Dolan writes:
It's time to leave when... ... I can't say what I want. ... I can't own a gun. ... I can't use good crypto. ... I can't leave and enter the U.S. freely.
It's getting closer to this situation in all areas. Entering and leaving freely is still solid, but talk of checking tax status on both ends implies this may be lessened. (Don't forget that the main way the Jews in the USSR were denied exit visas was an argument that they had not "fulfilled their obligations to the country," that is, that they had not paid enough taxes.) Computerized dossiers will make it much easier to check all kinds of such details on both entering and exiting folks.
Somewhat related: Does anybody find it interesting that no one noted for over a decade that Ames had (1) a lavish lifestyle and (2) a foreign-born (Colombian!) wife. Normally, spooks aren't allowed either.
In the Ames case, he explained away his Columbian wife and his lavish lifestyle by telling coworkers she was involved in the CIA's cocaine business, shipping coke into the Mena, Arkansas airfield with the blessings of Governor Bill Clinton and Cocaine Inhalers Anonymous. His coworkers just congratulated him and asked how they could find a similar deal. (For the humor-impaired, fearing disinformation, this is only partly true.) For the cynics, note the *timing* of the announcement on Tuesday. The Feds have known about Ames for at least 2 years, they claim, and Clinton was briefed 10 months ago on the charges. And complete media packet were available at the time of the announcement on Tuesday. So why the exact timing? Why now? Probably to derail the Russian peace initiative in Bosnia. To embarrass Yeltsin. To cause an orgy of Russia-bashing, even though Russia's great sin was recruiting a mole in the CIA who ratted on the American mole in the KGB! And we can't have the Russians sending peace-keeping troops into Bosnia...that's America's right! Hence, the announcement at this particular time. Sleazy? What else would you expect? --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."