crypto import

[smb at research.att.com]

	 > if a law was broken.  And Sternlight is right -- if they decide to i
	ndict,
	 > they may throw in charges of importing IDEA ...

	 THERE IS NO LAW AGAINST THE IMPORT OF CRYPTOGRAPHY!

	 How many times does this idiocy have to be squashed?

Perhaps not now, but the statutory and regulatory provisions exist:
>From the ITAR:

120.1 -- General authorities and eligibility.
   (a) Section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778) authorizes the
   President to control the export and import of defense articles and defense
   services.

120.5 -- Relation to regulations of other agencies.
   If an article or service is covered by the U.S. Munitions List, its export is
   regulated by the Department of State, except as indicated otherwise in this
   subchapter. For the relationship of this subchapter to regulations of the
   Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory
   Commission, see ^U 123.20 of this subchapter. The Treasury Department controls
   permanent imports of articles and services covered by the U.S. Munitions Import
   List from foreign countries by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction (31 CFR part
   505).

123.2 -- Import jurisdiction.
   The Department of State regulates the temporary import of defense articles.
   Permanent imports of defense articles into the United States are regulated by
   the Department of the Treasury (see 27 CFR parts 47, 178 and 179).

etc.

I confess that I don't happen to have a copy of the Munitions Import List.
Are you certain that crypto gear isn't on it?  Are you certain it wasn't
added last week?  Or next?  But the same authority -- dubious though it
may be -- that lets them ban export of crypto would let them ban import
if they chose to try.

	 	John

	 PS:  I heard a rumor it's against the law to breathe.

Only if there's a coded message in the timing.