Re: What is the EFF doing exactly?

> If anyone objects the officals responsible make a wide gesture and say "We
> didn't take away your phones, CRIMINALS took away your phones."

Indeed. It appears the Unabomber has taken away the privelege of 
dropping stamped mail weighing over 16ozs into street-side mailboxes. 
One is now instructed to take these packages to a post-office mail 
clerk for mailing.

(Of course it's unclear just what would be done if a package 
weighing over that magical 16ozs was left in a mailbox)


> The real question is this, what are you going to do to anihilate anonymous
> communication, because if you think its harmful that's what you have to
> do.
> 

What strikes me as odd is that the arguments against anonymous 
communication are nearly identical to those against strong crypto.  
ie. the same four horsemen flare up in these discussions.  Yet we 
have parties who are ostensibly pro-crypto but anti-anonymity.

To put it in a nutshell, in a free society I can have a private 
conversation, but I must essentially announce that I am having one 
and who I am having that conversation with?


Do you believe the benefits of privacy outweigh the costs?  Do you 
feel the same about cryptography and believe it to be an essential 
tool to advance the privacy of individuals?  

Then you _must_ be an advocate of anonymity and anonymous 
communications.  Privacy as a right and a reality does not exist 
without the capability for anonymity.

me
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> One is now instructed to take these packages to a post-office mail 
> clerk for mailing.
> 
> (Of course it's unclear just what would be done if a package 
> weighing over that magical 16ozs was left in a mailbox)

They get sent back.

Was in line @ USPS. Guy showed up with 40-odd Priority Mail
Packages that had come back. Clerk stamped each one & off they went.

1) It was obvious from conversation the customer was a local.

2) The hand cancel stamp is TRIVIAL to forge. After all, until now,
who has WANTED to falsely zero-out the value of her stamps?


-- 
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

David Lesher <wb8foz@nrk.com> writes:

> > One is now instructed to take these packages to a post-office mail 
> > clerk for mailing.
> > 
> > (Of course it's unclear just what would be done if a package 
> > weighing over that magical 16ozs was left in a mailbox)
> 
> They get sent back.

What happens if there is no return address, or the return address is
in another state?  Do they throw out the package?  Do they open it?
Do they have a bomb squad destroy it (could get expensive if a lot of
16 oz packages are incorrectly mailed).

Ah, but we all know, now, how to send a package with a miscellaneous 
device in it -- return address is the company.  

And we certainly know how to do likewise if we ever want to do anything 
postal.

But I make peace.

-Millie
sfuze@tiac.net


On Fri, 6 Sep 1996, David Lesher wrote:

> 
> > One is now instructed to take these packages to a post-office mail 
> > clerk for mailing.
> > 
> > (Of course it's unclear just what would be done if a package 
> > weighing over that magical 16ozs was left in a mailbox)
> 
> They get sent back.
> 
> Was in line @ USPS. Guy showed up with 40-odd Priority Mail
> Packages that had come back. Clerk stamped each one & off they went.
> 
> 1) It was obvious from conversation the customer was a local.
> 
> 2) The hand cancel stamp is TRIVIAL to forge. After all, until now,
> who has WANTED to falsely zero-out the value of her stamps?
> 
> 
> -- 
> A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
> & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
> Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
> is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
> 
>

The Unabomber used his intended victim's address for the return address on 
several if his mail bombs, and then used insufficient postage on them to ensure 
that they would be "returned to sender." It would seem that the same tactic 
could be used now, if packages over 16oz are "sent back."  How are we any safer 
now?