RE: RemailNet

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werewolf@io.org (Mark Terka) wrote:

> I'm not sure what other people think of the "trustworthiness" of various
> remailers, but when chaining I usually bounce it through two, AND the
> first leg goes offshore to hacktic which seems superably reliable. After
> that, it goes to either wimsey or ghio. Be better to hacktic and then
> another Euro-mailer before going back to North America, but what other
> European remailers are as reliable as hacktic?

There might be at least one good reason for NOT going overseas on 
that first leg.  The NSA's charter restricts it to international 
operations.  By making that first leg a foreign one, you've made 
your transmission, the one with your address visible, fair game 
for them.  I don't know how closely they obey the "rules", given 
their inherent lack of accountability, but if you forced them to 
break the rules to monitor you, they might at least be a bit more 
hesitant to use the info against you.

 -- Diogenes

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>There might be at least one good reason for NOT going overseas on 
>that first leg.  The NSA's charter restricts it to international 
>operations.  By making that first leg a foreign one, you've made 
>your transmission, the one with your address visible, fair game 
>for them.

In theory, yes. But I've heard rumors from Canadian Bell people that
their American counterparts routinely call them up to ask that they
"throw switches" that they cannot legally throw themselves.

That, plus well documented history, is enough for me to always assume
that they *don't* follow the rules.

Phil

> 
> >There might be at least one good reason for NOT going overseas on 
> >that first leg.  The NSA's charter restricts it to international 
> >operations.  By making that first leg a foreign one, you've made 
> >your transmission, the one with your address visible, fair game 
> >for them.
> 
> In theory, yes. But I've heard rumors from Canadian Bell people that
> their American counterparts routinely call them up to ask that they
> "throw switches" that they cannot legally throw themselves.
> 
> That, plus well documented history, is enough for me to always assume
> that they *don't* follow the rules.

Yeah, and I got a recent report that "Long Lines" and other microwave
tower lines were deliberately routed so as to cross over Indian
Reservation lands in several places. Why? Allegedly because Indian
lands are legally treated as "sovereign nations" and the (purported)
rules against NSA listening could be ignored.

And of course we've all read Bamford's account of the UK-USA
Agreement, in which the UK spies on us and we spy on them, and all the
legal niceties are thus met.

Someday, when many people act as remailers, it won't matter as much.


--Tim May


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..........................................................................
Timothy C. May         | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,  
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