I find it symptomatic that the enemies of free speech use "spam" as a generic term for any kind of speech they don't like. I don't think the following piece needs much commentary, but it probably will. Path: altavista!news1.digital.com!uunet!in1.uu.net!192.108.254.3!news.teleport xtm!kelly.teleport.com!jh From: Jack Hammer <jh@teleport.com> Newsgroups: or.politics,wash.politics,alt.rush-limbaugh,alt.fan.tom-leykis Subject: IRS SAYS INTERNET SPAMMER SABOTEUR (fwd) Date: Wed, 21 May 1997 17:15:35 -0700 Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 Lines: 155 Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.96.970521171344.16635E-100000@kelly.teleport.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: kelly.teleport.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Xref: altavista or.politics:25633 alt.rush-limbaugh:79911 alt.fan.tom-leykis:5 xt Subject: IRS SAYS INTERNET SPAMMER SABOTEUR Government affidavit says an Internet author plotted to sabotage an Oregon 9-1-1 computer and poison city water with botulism. VANCOUVER, Wash.- Is there any truth to the rumour that Assassination Politics (AP) author Jim Bell, who was arrested here Friday by the Internal Revenue Service, plotted with Portland, Oregon 9-1-1 overseer Greg Daly to poison the Bull Run resevoir with botulism made from green beans, and shut down the 9-1-1 emergency center's computers by dumping carbon fibers into the air vents? The IRS is accusing Vancouver resident James Dalton Bell, 38, of conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government. He appeared Monday afternoon in U.S. Distict Court in Tacoma and was accused in an 18-page affidavit. AP is a Murder Inc. like plot about a risk-free way of rewarding assassins through a lottery. Bell was seen frequenting local Libertarian functions and a so-called common law court. The murder conspiracy was applauded by some high ranking Libertarians. The plot has circulated widely on the Internet. An April search warrant accused Bell of directly soliciting others to murder. AP would supposedly protect the identity of the murderers. The strategy, which Bell says he wrote and posted solely for speculation, involves uses of encryption to predict and confirm assassinations and electronic digital cash to pay for the gruesome killings. Criticism of AP predicted a reign of anarchy and terror should the plan be allowed to develop. Bell responded to criticism personally and with vehemence. Federal agents raided Bell's Vancouver home April 1 and then accused him of obstructing government officers, and employees, and using false Social Security numbers. Bell is far more dangerous than the charges suggest, the affidavit filed by IRS Inspector Phillip G. Scoff said. Scott's affidavit said Bell, who has a chemistry degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had discussions about using carbon fiber particles to attack computer systems with Greg Daly, a friend who is an electronics specialist overseeing Portland's 9-1-1 communications center. "Daly stated that he and Bell had 'laughed' about attacking the 9-1-1 center with the fiber," the affidavit said. The affidavit went on to say that Daly also told IRS agents that he had hypothetical discussions with Bell about contaminating water supplies and about making the botulism virus from green beans. In the April 17 and 18 intertiews with IRS agents, Daly admitted he had keys to Portland's pristine alpine watershed and direct access to the Portland water treatment facilities. Daly tried to defend himself Monday by saying that the conversations he and Bell had were "merely intellectual fun-and-games discussions" between old friends who enjoy technical things. But Daly also described his friend of 15 years as "bit of an odd unit". And during the interview Daly appeared to crack and turn state's evidence when Daly offered to "rat (Bell) out in a heartbeat." The investigation had been expanding Thursday when IRS agents searched the home of another friend of Bell's, merchant marine radio man Robert East. Among items seized in the East address raid was a three foot length of carbon fiber. The IRS affidavit reported that East told agents he and Bell had discussed "the possibility of putting the fibers down the air vents of a federal building" to its computers and about using the fiber against the IRS. Bell was recently published in The Oregonian daily newspaper where he appeared to avoid an explanation of his plan, writing mostly of what he predicted would be AP's positive impact. Bell did not say in the article how exactly AP would be implemented, who could be killed by it or even why it was called Assassination Politics. But the Internet version, repetively posted for more than a year on libertarian e-mail lists and newsgroups, revealed a darker vision. Some recipients of Bell's complained of the excessive "spamming", others of AP's ethical lapses. The Oregonian seemed to accept Bell's story without question, and Bell's idea was defended by some Libertarians. Responding to the arrest, Tonie Nathan, the first woman and only Libertarian to receive an electoral vote for Vice President, appeared to endorse Bell's assassination plan. "I find them basically rational, mind-opening, intellectually stimulating," she wrote Tuesday. She went on to say that AP "should be considered." Found inside what the IRS reports was Bell's car were documents from the Multnomah County Common Law Court (MCCLC), a group that elects themselves the case judges and purports to administer "common law." Bell was seen at a court meeting held in a Portland pizza parlour back in February. Bell has denied ownership of the car. The self-appointed court met in an all-you-can-eat buffet where it put Attorney General Janet Reno, IRS Commisssioner Margaret Richardson and other IRS officials on trial. The mock trial was the result of a complaint by Oregon resident Louis Wispell, one of the MCCLC "Justices." It has been observed in this "court" that complainants can select their judges from the buffet line, some who confessed to stealing food, having snuck past the cashier on the pretense of being on the camera crew. The judges have also been observed to switch places with complainants in other meetings of the MCCLC in trhe basement of a Russian church. The MCCLC has recently been in the news in regards to charges of its clerk, Richard Lancial, and his son, Thor Lancial, of simulating court process. Charles Bruce Stewart is the Chief Justice of that court and also the owner of an e-mail list, nwlibertarians@teleport.com, on which Bell posted much of his material. Stewart insists his court is constitutional. The IRS says Bell has a history of tax disputes with them and reportedly has a large, outstanding, unpaid balance. Friday was set for Bell's detention and preliminary hearing. The government has asked that Bell be held without ball because he is a danger to the community, and reportedly is seeking a grand Jury indictment. From your friend, Your best friend, Your only friend, Jack Hammer ;-) --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps