Zimmermann's guilty shame... what a farce.

[Meyer Wolfsheim]

On Fri, 21 Sep 2001, Anonymous wrote:

> Grow a spine, Phil, you jellyfish. You think Ford is upset because
> their U-Haul truck was used by Timmy to blow up the Federal Building?
> Tears in the shower? Please... spare me. This isn't a fucking Dickens
> novel or the goddamn string section of the orchestra in an Elgar
> piece. Do we have to get Brando to slap you around in the smoky back
> room and tell you to be a fucking man? Unreal.

Before launching your tirade against Phil, did you perhaps stop and think
that this could be an entirely inaccurate representation of what Phil
actually said to the reporter?

In an earlier article, Phil is quoted, and does not sound "guilty" or
"ashamed" for having written PGP:

http://www.washtech.com/news/netarch/12557-1.html


> Zimmermann should have hit the lecture circuit immediately with
> passionate resolve for his cause, rather than being reduced to a
> withering pool of Jello by some 90 IQ random with an AOL account. What
> a farce. To think I once had respect for the man.

Frankly, I wouldn't know of any diplomatic way to respond to the email in
question either.

> Shame on you for fostering a thinly-veiled anti-crypto op-ed piece.

I *highly* doubt that Phil would have given this interview if he had known
that was the slant the reporter was going to take.

This is why I generally do not speak to reporters. Most are self-serving
sensationalistic jackasses, or simply clueless. Poor Phil, still believing
in the idea that unbiased journalism is a realistic concept.

> And really, in the end, how absolutely arrogant of you to think that
> you somehow reach the level of importance in world affairs that could
> genuinely self-attribute a significant degree of responsibility for
> the events of September 11th.

Again, I see nothing quoted in that article that would lead me to believe
those are Phil's thoughts, rather than the reporter's.

>From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1234-2001Sep20.html

Let me break this down here:

"Like many Americans, Phil Zimmermann, a stocky, 47-year-old computer
programmer, has been crying every day since last week's terrorist
attacks."

Many of us, indeed, shed tears because of the events on Tuesday. Because
of the loss of life, because of the actions of our own country that led to
these attacks, because of the anticipation of the loss of liberties we'll
face in the future, because of the fact that such violence is possible...
many reasons why one would cry over the attacks and deaths of more than
5000 people.

"He has been overwhelmed with feelings of guilt."

Notice, no quote that would confirm this.

"Zimmermann is the inventor of a computer program called Pretty Good
Privacy, or PGP. He posted the tool for free on the Internet 10 years
ago;"

Incorrect. Kelly Goen posted it, not Phil.

"it was the first to allow ordinary people to encrypt messages so only
those with a "key" could read them."

Also incorrect. PEM based systems existed.

"No government or law enforcement agency has been able to get in."

Tell that to our dear mob friend in New Jersey sitting in jail right now.
Clearly this journalist does not believe in checking her facts.

"People warned Zimmermann back then that he could be putting powerful
technology into the wrong hands. He knew that was theoretically possible,
but he also knew that the program could do good: His work created a way
for people in oppressed countries to communicate without fear of
retribution."

True.

"Now the government is investigating whether Zimmermann's technology or
another scrambler was used by the hijackers to coordinate last week's
attacks, and U.S. lawmakers are calling for new restrictions on the use
and distribution of the technology."

There has been no evidence made public whatsoever to suggest that
hijackers used PGP to coordinate these attacks. The reporter made that up
out of whole cloth. The US government is investigating a lot of things; no
where has it been stated that they are paying any special attention to a
PGP - bin Laden link.

"Zimmermann and other fathers of encryption say it may be too late, given
that the technology has spread all over the world."

Too late for what? Too late to provide any "safety" to citizens by
depriving them of the security that PGP affords, that's what. This is a
watered down version of the argument that laws against crypto will not
stop criminals from using it, since it is widely and freely available.

"In a telephone interview from his home in Burlingame, Calif., Zimmermann
said he doesn't regret posting the encryption program on the Internet. Yet
he has trouble dealing with the reality that his software was likely used
for evil."

Phil probably said that he doesn't regret *writing* PGP, since he is
always very clear that he did not post it. If he were in fact overwhelmed
with guilt, he'd be regretting having written it. And the idea that "his
software was likely used for evil" has nothing to do with reality. Another
error on the part of the journalist.

"The intellectual side of me is satisfied with the decision, but the pain
that we all feel because of all the deaths mixes with this," he said. "It
has been a horrific few days."

Ah, finally an actual quote. Or one that appears to be, anyway. Note it's
pain because of the deaths, not because of any link to PGP, that he is
referring to. Conjecture on the part of the journalist.

"Zimmermann read the words over and over again the next day, trying to
think of a way to respond. But in the end, the man who is known in the
technology world for his rousing speeches and meticulous debates didn't
know what to say."

I wouldn't know what to say to such an ignoramus either. Delete.

"He raises some points that many people are raising right now, namely that
terrorists can use the technology," Zimmermann said quietly. "But it
overlooks the strong need for good crypto."

This is nothing new. It is not new to us, nor is it new to Phil. It is,
however, apparently quite a new idea that Ariana Eunjung Cha has yet to
grasp -- tools, in the hands of good people, can be used for good. In the
hands of evil people, can be used for evil. Tools are not inherently good
or evil.

To the Washington Post: unemployment rates are high. Can you not find
journalists with a smidgeon of intelligence to staff your offices?

If I were Phil, I'd sue for libel.


-MW-