At 4:08 PM 1/25/96 -0500, hallam@w3.org wrote:
Why is he our patron saint? He was a government official coming out against invasion of privacy. Isn't that what we are all after, in the end?
There is a considerable difference between running a government and being an individual. It is not merely ethical for one government to read another's mail, it is a duty.
I am not sure that I believe this line of reasoning my self, but here goes: The US government is "owned" by its citizens. Therefore US citizens should have a high degree of protection from their government. However, non-US citizens do not enjoy this same high standard (not being "owners"). They perhaps should enjoy a similar standard in relation to their own governments. Another way of putting it is that while gentlemen do not read each other's mail, gentlemen read non-gentlemen's mail. Bill