At 4:32 PM 7/27/96, Nathan Syfrig wrote:

This is very worrysome, as it truly is a "world stage" event that could really serve to galvanize various governments into uniting against strong non-escrowed crypto. Hey, it will look good for the international PR, never mind the fact that not everybody will be so 'diligent' in registering their keys and/or use the "approved" crypto.

Well, the large crowds milling in public squares with massive numbers of world journalists watching...a classic series of "soft targets." If several million-dollar bomb sniffers are placed in all airports, the terrs will just shift to _trains_, as experts point out. Or _ships_. Or _crowds_. Next time you're out driving around, think of places where a car bomb could take out dozens of people, or where a bag or backpack could take out crowds. (The Mad Bomber in New York or Boston killed quite a few people by using lockers in public places....kind of hard to put bomb sniffers in all such places. And bomb technology, timers, detonators, etc. have advanced apace in the last several decades since the Mad Bomber.) While I don't claim there is nothing to be done about terrorism, the fact is that modern nations highly value free travel and often mingle in "soft target" areas. Even a police state wherein people's movements are carefully controlled cannot fully avoid such acts. By the way, the airline solution is not too difficult to visualize: 1. Eliminate checked baggage, or at least require those with checked baggage to deposit it enough hours in advance to be inspected and to pay any surcharges for this inspection. (I try to only have carry-on baggage, and this seems to be a major trend.) 2. Let the market decide. Airlines could announce their baggage inspection policy, and customers could decide on the tradeoffs between increased inspections and higher costs, and greater confidence in security. I think I'll repost my "Soft Targets" piece of a few weeks ago, in the light of TWA 800 and this morning's bomb in Atlanta. --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."