On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, Declan McCullagh wrote:
Actually, Bell's plan was simply the ultimate adolescent revenge fantasy. Government thugs got your goat (or your computers, your car, your guns?) Wipe them out. Supermarket clerk taking too long? Rub her out. Minivan cut you off on the way to work? Kill them off.
This is the best description of AP so far. Jim had about as much chance of implementing it as most adolescent fantasies. (At least he was not posting about porn fantasies involving the Brady Bunch meets Gilligan's Island or somesuch...) The general consensus of those who met him at the first Portland physical meeting was that he was pretty far into fantasy. (There is a certain childish glee that tends to accompany such thoughts. He had that glee when talking about AP and the carbon fiber threat. (Although he did not give actual methods on the carbon thread one. Just vague comments about "something wonderful".))
When I pointed out to Bell that his plan if implemented would allow you to knock off not just government thugs but annoying neighbors, his response was that assassins might opt only to eradicate the Feds -- hardly a reassuring thought.
You were not the only one to point that out to him. He was so attached to his little plan that he was totally unwilling to see any flaw in it. I pointed out that people with the amount of cash and scruples of Bill Gatesw would use it to wipe out compeating companies staff and/or management. (Though, if they were smart, they would just take out the lead engineer on the most threatening projects.) The big problem I had with AP, other than implementation and concept, was that he was unwilling to do his own dirty work. He reminded me of people who eat meat, but could not concieve of killing Bambi. You don't go into a scheme like that and still think that you won't get blood on your hands. alano@teleport.com | "Those who are without history are doomed to retype it."