Too much fun for the conspiracy buffs ... Did Ron Brown's plane really fly off course due to pilot error? No, don't even bother replying to me on this matter. I'm just up too late, and I tossing this one out there on a whim ... Ern -------- INCLUDED ARTICLE (From: New York Times "CyberTimes"): Commerce Department Urges Easing of Encryption Controls By Bloomberg Business News WASHINGTON - The Commerce Department will recommend easing export controls on encryption software after a study by the department and the National Security Agency found that American companies are being hurt, Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown said last week. Such a move may pit Mr. Brown against the military and intelligence agencies, setting the stage for a White House battle over one of the last computer technologies still covered by export controls. "I'm interested in promoting American exports," Mr. Brown said in an interview on Friday. "If your foreign competitors are exporting products with encryption capability and you are not, that puts you at a tremendous competitive disadvantage." The Government bans United States companies from exporting encryption software - hard-to-break computer codes that turn information, like files and credit card numbers, into indecipherable material that can be sent across computer networks without fear of tampering. The United States justifies the export restrictions by saying law-enforcement agencies would be hamstrung in their efforts to stop terrorists or spies from using encryption to send information worldwide.