Computers as instruments of liberation

"Wired News" carried an article reporting on a plan to  (somehow) spread
computers around the world, blah blah, and quoting John Gage at Sun on how
this would promote peace.

A couple of paragraphs have Cypherpunks resonances"

--begin excerpt--

Conference tackles ``techno-inequality''

By Judy DeMocker

SAN FRANCISCO (Wired) - When US farmers can call their cows home
individually using animal pagers, but the average teenager in Burkina Faso
has never made a
.....
Wiring developing nations could have some far-reaching consequences. One
might be that computer-based communications would be used to keep the
peace, according Net
Day co-founder John Gage, who works by day as Sun Microsystems' chief
scientist. When content from The New York Times can be translated into 30
Arab dialects, for
example, or when a remote Rawandan village has access to more perspectives
than the local magistrate, the Internet may become an instrument in
preventing violence.

``The Web gives people access to other voices, and instant access to
speaking about how the world really is,'' said Gage. ''If people can get
that, maybe that band of villagers
will think twice before going down the road and killing its neighbors.''

--end excerpt--

Fatuous nonsense. After all, those folks down the road may be taxing them,
and may need killing. Or those folks may use computer networks to connect
to others for the purposes of liberation.

I see computer networks as promoting secessionism, freedom fighting, and
resistance in general.

The New World Order, the One Worlders, see this as "terrorism."

Which is why strong encryption is needed. Which is why "they" oppose strong
encryption.

John Gage has a typically Fabian socialist view that somehow
computerization will lead to an orderly, peaceful world.

Me, I view networks as  the key to retribution and justice.

--Tim May


Y2K: A good chance to reformat America's hard drive and empty the trash.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.

At 2:22 AM -0500 11/2/98, Tim May wrote:
>Fatuous nonsense. After all, those folks down the road may be taxing them,
>and may need killing. Or those folks may use computer networks to connect
>to others for the purposes of liberation.
>
>I see computer networks as promoting secessionism, freedom fighting, and
>resistance in general.
>
>The New World Order, the One Worlders, see this as "terrorism."
>
>Which is why strong encryption is needed. Which is why "they" oppose strong
>encryption.
>
>John Gage has a typically Fabian socialist view that somehow
>computerization will lead to an orderly, peaceful world.
>
>Me, I view networks as  the key to retribution and justice.

	Then again, it could be that after all the "secessionism and
freedom fighting" are done with, the resulting "disorder" (as in lack of
rulers) will be so ubiquitous that *WARS* will no longer happen, as there
is no one to lead the armies. and no one paying taxes to support those
armies.

	That then would be peasce, no?
--
"To sum up: The entire structure of antitrust statutes in this country is a
jumble of economic irrationality and ignorance. It is a product: (a) of a
gross misinterpretation of history, and (b) of rather nave, and certainly
unrealistic, economic theories." Alan Greenspan, "Anti-trust"
http://www.ecosystems.net/mgering/antitrust.html

Petro::E-Commerce Adminstrator::Playboy Ent. Inc.::petro@playboy.com