Re: A correction, and another motive for Clipper
Eli, Of course the guys with the STU phones will keep them, this is Type II security, which is of a lower level. The people who really need these phones are the civil servants in these departments: Agriculture Commerce Education Energy EPA HHS HUD Interior Justice Labor State Transportation Treasury Veterans Affairs ...that is, people in positions to missapropriate funds, or create overly generous contracts with their future employers. There is no good argument that these functionaries shouldn't be Clippered, except that nobody should be. ""National Security"" doesn't apply here. You also seem to be thinking with two cliches: 1. You can't fight city hall. 2. This is the way things have always been, this is the way they always will be. The guys who put this in motion certainly aren't thinking with 2), but they sure are hoping you're thinking with 1). Please expunge both of them from your mind and replace then with an appreciation of forces and masses: Judo. -a2.]
From: Arthur Abraham <a2@well.sf.ca.us>
Your point is that government employees in non-critical positions might end up using Clipper, and this would either reduce corruption or, alternatively, drive the government to repudiate the entire scheme. The latter will not happen (at least not for this reason). Labeling of cliches notwithstanding, there is no reason why government employees could not use a different standard if they found it necessary. This would be no more politically disagreeable than many steps taken in the past. The former I don't understand. The direct effect of Clipper would be to make eavesdropping by other than LE more difficult. There could be an impact on corruption only if it were known or believed that the level of surveillance had concomitantly increased -- if all calls were tapped and archived, perhaps. This would be bad. It would undoubtedly increase the likelihood of such a policy's being implemented w.r.t. the general population.
-a2.]
Eli ebrandt@jarthur.claremont.edu
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Eli Brandt