At 09:09 PM 3/29/01 -0800, Jonathan Wienke wrote:

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What about Islam?

What about men?

- -----Original Message----- From: Steve Schear [mailto:schear@lvcm.com] Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2001 7:30 PM To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net Subject: Re: Face Recognition Technolgy Is Next - Big Brother Arrives

At 09:09 PM 3/29/01 -0600, you wrote:

...

http://www.sightings.com/politics6/dwbb.htm

There have been a few discussions on this list of possible means for defeating such systems operating in public places. I recall suggesting a new religion, whose worshipers are encouraged to appear with veils and masks, might make an interesting legal challenge to anti-mask laws in effect.

steve

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Mask laws in the US, when they're not about bank robbers, are generally targeted against the Klan. The KKK occasionally claims to have religious content - they're out burning crosses - but that hasn't stopped enforcement that often. At 09:51 PM 03/29/2001 -0800, Steve Schear wrote:

At 09:09 PM 3/29/01 -0800, Jonathan Wienke wrote:

...

What about Islam?

What about men?

Islam is highly varied - some of the Arab and Persian cultures are heavily into veils for women, some aren't. Not sure about Indian. The Taliban have recently been requiring that men grow beards (I'm not sure if they require long ones or if short is ok.) Some of the Arab traditional headdress for men has the relatively lightweight kaffiyehs, like Yassir Arafat wears, while some go for heavier, more concealing coverage such as the turban-like things the Tuareg and other deep-desert folks wear. That doesn't have religious significance - it's about sunburn and sand and wind and heat and cold, and immensely practical stuff if you live in that climate, as well as culturally familiar, just as cowboy hats and bandannas are sometimes practical and sometimes just for style. Many of the Sikh turbans cover the beard as well as the hair. And Sikhs do get hassled at airports. You can always go with Nun outfits. It's easier to get away with if you're female, but here in San Francisco that's certainly not a requirement... Sports events should give you lots of options. Ski masks, football helmets, hockey goalie masks, green paint - just make sure you're wearing a jersey for the right team :-)