On Sat, 27 Sep 1997 21:04:51 -0500 Black Unicorn foolishly blurted:

Try to keep in mind that Bell went to jail for crimes only semi-related to his AP ranting.

The AP ranting is just the way he managed to attract attention.

Try to keep in mind that that is how the government plays the game, here and elsewhere. Even in countries that have laws against irritating the government a hip regime always now tries to prosecute for only semi-related or even completely unrelated "crimes." Maybe you, too, could be found to have engaged in juvenile activities like ordering noxious substances, much to your surprise and horror, after calling attention to yourself in a way that touches a sensitive spot on the body bureaucratic. Although Bell might in fact be a complete idiot and have given them the levers they needed to destroy him, it would be a grave mistake to assume that there is any truth at all to the charges. This is political prosecution a la 1997 in the land of the Freeh, home of the slave. In this climate the risk of expressing any opinion that touches government's hot buttons is that you will be investigated. Being investigated can easily ruin you, being charged almost certainly will -- both pre-trial punishments that make a mockery of the entire set of constitutional protections against prosecutorial and judicial abuses. The modern equivalent of the Crown's former ability to target someone with a law is the ability of the government to mine a rich cache of laws for the one that can circumstantially be applied to the victim. The odd thing that works in their favor is that anyone who practices as he preaches is more likely than others to have vulnerabilities of the sort government looks for when targetting him. It's one of those things that provides the black hats with a heavy strategic advantage. Not that they're satisfied with that, of course. They'll use it, but they'll also black bag you, maybe send in some orders in your name to chemical supply houses, whatever it takes once you get on their list.