Re: Ex Underground

Michael Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Mon, 09 Mar 1998 18:52:07 -0500


Dan Clemmensen wrote:

> Yak Wax wrote:
>
> > A few people on this list, myself included, have commented on taking
> > illegal research underground and possibly attempting to control
> > political movements that may counter progress. And while it may be
> > futile to even try this, it has a certain undeniable appeal. Besides,
> > why do we all seem so intent on obeying the law? Nobody's holding a
> > gun to your head!
> >
> > So, how about some people share their wisdom as to why it wouldn't
> > work, what such an organisation should do if it could work, and how to
> > go about implementing it. I have some ideas of my own, but for now
> > I'm going to keep them shadowy and elusive...
> >
>
> At least in the U.S., it is a felony to participate in a conspiracy. If
> you make
> an exhortation in an e-mail that somebody else do simething illegal, and
> the person enetes into a discussion with and subsequently performs that
> illegal act, then you have technically committed conspiracy. I'm less
> clear
> on whether or not the other participants in the discussion are also guilty
>
> of consciracy, but they might be. In light of this, please hold such
> discussions
> only among those who wish to be involved. Thanks.

Since it isn't illegal right now for private citizens to clone, then it can't
be conspiracy to do so right now.

Besides, there can be a decent case made that the federal prosecution of
public email discussions as conspiracy, if and when it becomes illegal, for
cloning in private could be found to be capricious enforcement, since the past
few years millions, if not billions of email messages have been sent across
the US, and across our internaitonal borders which contained the
RC4-3lines-PERL encryption algorythm. That they have not prosecuted one person
who engaged in this mass act of civil disobedience is a significant precedent
against their use of public mail list messages as evidence of conspiracy. That
this discussion is public, and not private, indicates that this is more of a
forum for public protest than secretive conspiracy.

--
TANSTAAFL!!!
   Michael Lorrey
------------------------------------------------------------
mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive
MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering
------------------------------------------------------------
How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?