Chocolate Rations, Strange-Looking Seed Pods, and quid for "The Wassenaar Arrangement"

[Bill Stewart]

At 11:28 PM 12/7/98 -0800, David G. Koontz wrote:
>John Gilmore wrote:
>>> PS:  I particularly like Ambassador Aaron's characterization that
>> this new development will help US industry, by censoring foreign crypto
>> publishers in the same way the US government censors US publishers.
>> A giant step forward for freedom and commerce everywhere, eh Mr. Aaron?
>> What an incredibly talented liar, I mean diplomat, he is.
>
>A glorious anouncement!  The chocolate ration has been raised to 20
>grams today, from 24 grams!
>
>(for those of you who thought it would never get here)


"The Wassenaar Arrangement" really does sound like 
the title for a bad Robert Ludlum novel.....
But the posting about the Blair Administration taking their
anti-key-escrow positions off their official web sites
does sound like the History Department's been at it again.

I've been going through yet another round of airline security people
imposing some new requirement and claiming it's "always been that way" or
"been that way for a long time, ever since I started working here."
The latest round is wearing hats through the X-Ray machine - 
they insist you take your hat off, even if you didn't beep,
and that it's an "FAA requirement".  
San Jose started doing this about a year ago, but this is the first time 
San Francisco has done so, even though they claim otherwise
(though I probably haven't worn a hat there since last rainy season.)

Most people who wear hats at San Jose airport are Mexicans in
cowboy hats, who probably don't care all that much; I'd expect that
the first guard at LaGuardia or Kennedy who tries to insist
that the Lubavitchers take their hats off in submission to the government
will find themselves surrounded by annoyed bearded men talking
about religious discrimination lawsuits....

Personally, I wear a hat because it keeps my head from getting cold,
now that I no longer have as much OEM insulation on it as I used to,
and while I don't have any religious rules requiring me to wear a hat,
I _am_ a Quaker, and we have a history of getting uppity about
governments insisting that everybody take their hats off in 
submission to government officials, or address them as "Your Highness",
or other things that suggest one child of God is worth less than another.




				Thanks! 
					Bill
Bill Stewart, bill.stewart at pobox.com
PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF  3C85 B884 0ABE 4639