Please understand that I wasn't picking on your item.  I had seen a
   bunch of flack in the last few days, from people who should have known
   better, braying about my postings concerning government misbehavior.  I
   knew that nobody would object to your posting (quite correctly!), and I
   took the opportunity to compare these two examples.  The peanut-gallery
   needs to learn that the Cypherpunks list covers not merely encryption,
   but issues somewhat collateral (including political) to that matter.
   The reason the 'shills' object to _my_ commentary concerning my history
   is that there is no longer any upside for the government, and in fact
   there is potentially a huge downside due to past government corruption
   that has virtually never been covered here.  (to my knowledge; until
   March 2012 I lived in a 'gated community'.  <guffaw>)  In contrast, as
   of right now in the Ross Ulbricht situation, the government can 'ride
   in on a white horse', pretending to save the day from evil
   drug-dealers.  No downside for the government (at least not yet), and
   so the shills remain quiet.
          Jim Bell
     __________________________________________________________________

   From: Mike Gogulski <mike@gogulski.com>
   To: Jim Bell <jamesdbell8@yahoo.com>; "cypherpunks@cpunks.org"
   <cypherpunks@cpunks.org>
   Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 2:40 PM
   Subject: Re: MEDIA RELEASE: Family of alleged Silk Road operator Ross
   Ulbricht launches legal defense fund
   Thanks, Jim. And I've never seen your posts as spam.
   Peace,
   Mike
   On 11/20/2013 10:34 PM, Jim Bell wrote:
   > BTW, I'm not accusing this material of being 'spam', the way some of
   > my posts on Cypherpunks are being labeled by a few.  In fact, I
   really
   > think this kind of thing should be posted here.
   > ([1]cypherpunks@cpunks.org).  But, other than the fact that Silk Road
   > used Tor, and thus onion routing, why would my situation and cases be
   > any less appropriate of comment than Ulbricht's situation?  I realize
   > that there are probably going to be some pro-government shills who
   > simply don't like what I did, and some of them have and will continue
   > to speak up.  But we should all be willing to pay attention to the
   > illegal means with which government(s) promotes its interests.
   > Particularly with Snowden's massively-important disclosures about the
   > USG's clearly-illegal surveillance activities, it is quite clear that
   > the Federal government has decided to treat these kinds of disputes
   as
   > if they were a 'war', and to use war-like tactics on civilians.
   > I fully expect that similar illegal activities will be used against
   > this 'Sanjuro' guy.  Google 'Assassination Market Sanjuro'.
   >        Jim Bell  (Veteran and one of the first POW's of the Crypto
   War)
   >
   >
   >
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
   -
   > *From:* Mike Gogulski <[2]mike@gogulski.com>
   > *To:* Progressbar General Discussion
   > <[3]general-discussion@lists.progressbar.sk>;
   "[4]c4ss@googlegroups.com"
   > <[5]C4SS@googlegroups.com>; System undo crew
   <[6]unsystem@lists.dyne.org>;
   > "[7]cypherpunks@cpunks.org" <[8]cypherpunks@cpunks.org>;
   > [9]PT-Refuge@yahoogroups.com
   > *Sent:* Wednesday, November 20, 2013 1:01 PM
   > *Subject:* MEDIA RELEASE: Family of alleged Silk Road operator Ross
   > Ulbricht launches legal defense fund
   >
   > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   >
   > Defense Fund Launched for Ross Ulbricht, Accused Silk Road
   Marketplace
   > Operator
   >
   > New York, NY, November 20, 2013 – The family of the man accused by
   the
   > US government of operating the Silk Road online marketplace has
   > launched a fund for donations to their son's legal defense.
   >
   > Ross Ulbricht, 29, was arrested on October 1st and charged with
   > creating and operating the web marketplace Silk Road, under the
   > pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts”. The allegations include a variety
   of
   > conspiracies, including narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and
   > money laundering, as well as planned acts of violence. Ulbricht
   denied
   > all charges in federal court in San Francisco in October. He will
   > appear at a bail hearing at the United States District Court,
   Southern
   > District of New York at 11:00 am EST on Thursday, November 21.
   >
   > On their website, the Ulbricht family states: “Our goal is to provide
   > Ross with what every American citizen is promised: a fair trial. In
   > the USA we are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a
   > reasonable doubt. We firmly believe in Ross’s innocence and are
   > working hard with the best legal team to prove it.”
   >
   > The family has retained New York-based attorney Joshua L. Dratel to
   > defend their son in court. Mr. Dratel stated: “It is crucial that we
   > have a level playing field for defending Ross, and that requires
   > resources from the communities that support him.”
   >
   > The Ross Ulbricht Legal Defense Fund LLC is a Wyoming-based
   > corporation established by the Ulbricht family. All donations are
   used
   > solely to pay attorney fees, fund accounting fees and ancillary legal
   > expenses.
   >
   > ###
   >
   > SOURCE: Ross Ulbricht Legal Defense Fund LLC, www.freeross.org
   >
   > CONTACTS:
   >
   > Joshua L. Dratel
   > Joshua L. Dratel, P.C.
   > 29 Broadway, Suite 1412
   > New York, New York 10006
   > United States of America
   > [10]jdratel@joshuadratel.com <mailto:[11]jdratel@joshuadratel.com>
   > Office: +1 212 732 0707
   > Fax: +1 212 571 3792
   > www.nycriminallawfirm.com
   >
   > Ross Ulbricht Legal Defense Fund LLC
   > www.freeross.org
   > [12]freerossulbricht@gmail.com
   <mailto:[13]freerossulbricht@gmail.com>
   >
   >
   >

References

   1. mailto:cypherpunks@cpunks.org
   2. mailto:mike@gogulski.com
   3. mailto:general-discussion@lists.progressbar.sk
   4. mailto:c4ss@googlegroups.com
   5. mailto:C4SS@googlegroups.com
   6. mailto:unsystem@lists.dyne.org
   7. mailto:cypherpunks@cpunks.org
   8. mailto:cypherpunks@cpunks.org
   9. mailto:PT-Refuge@yahoogroups.com
  10. mailto:jdratel@joshuadratel.com
  11. mailto:jdratel@joshuadratel.com
  12. mailto:freerossulbricht@gmail.com
  13. mailto:freerossulbricht@gmail.com