[ale] [OT] encryption rights under attack - was Reignited: Linux apparently illegal in MA

Sat May 23 19:08:42 EDT 2009

> This is why I refused to get bent out of shape about this when the
> news first hit. ...  Cops being
> douchebags is nothing new, the judge checked them down. And that
> happens *alot* more often than people would believe, but too many
> people assume that the exception is the rule.

 A silent voice harks no dissent.  Which is exactly WHY I get bent out of shape, 
and so should every American when this happens.  Not getting bent out of shape 
and voicing it is exactly why cops being 'douchebags' happens a lot more than 
people believe.  ;cD

> The important thing that everyone needs to know is thus - Never
> Talk To The Police. They're like bill collectors, they will lie to
> you and try to intimidate you in order to get what they want. If
> the police are being oppressive, stfu, get a lawyer, and let either
> judge or jury decide your fate.

Precisely!  Have you ever wondered why it is illegal to lie to the police but it 
is not only permissible but even encouraged for the police and prosecutor's 
office to lie to the citizen.

Interestingly, and bringing it back closer to the list topic than how to handle 
a LEO encounter (closer, I said, but not necessarily 'on'), a number of years 
ago the U.K. shat a bill titled the "Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill", 
or RIPA.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmbills/064/2000064.htm
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmbills/064/2000064.htm>

Note that this law was written shortly after the Clinton Administration and the 
Justice Department headed by Janet Reno and the FBI headed by Louis Freeh, 
attempted, and failed, to make strong encryption illegal for citizens to possess 
or use without authorization as well as to force backdoors into encryption via 
the Clipper Chip and other legislation.

http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html 
<http://www.philzimmermann.com/EN/essays/WhyIWrotePGP.html >

http://csrc.nist.gov/keyrecovery/clipper.txt
<http://csrc.nist.gov/keyrecovery/clipper.txt>

The U.K. bill became law, with a few changes, and was named the "Regulation of 
Investigatory Powers Act 2000", or RIPA.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000023_en_1
<http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000023_en_1>

However, Part III (Part 3) was embroiled in controversy.  To spare you from 
having to reach for the nitro tabs in an effort to prevent your heart condition 
from developing an infarction while reading it, Part III included a provision 
that made it illegal for you to forget or lose your encryption key as well as 
force you to divulge it under penalty of law.  Generally, this kept Part III 
from being used because Brits bristled at this, as well as many in legal and 
privacy circles around Europe and the U.S., and the loophole which allowed for 
Brits to prevent non-incrimination was used to prevent its use.

Unfortunately, around last Halloween (October 2008) a nightmare unfolded:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/14/ripa_self_incrimination_ruling/
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/14/ripa_self_incrimination_ruling/>

"Well, sure," you say, "those silly Brits have no written Constitution to 
protect them!  We have the Fifth Amendment!" 

Do you actually believe that?  I used to.  This can, and has, happened _here_ in 
the U.S.  Just three months ago, and only three months after the above ruling on 
RIPA Pt. III, we get this decision:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10172866-38.html
<http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10172866-38.html>

Coincidence?  You tell me.  The Fifth Amendment may will survive once this gets 
higher into the appeals courts.  But it never should have gotten to *any* court 
in the first place, much less to a federal judge who reversed himself and 
decided the bizarre workaround the Fifth Amendment passed Constitutional muster.  
(Ironically, this judge is shares his name with  William Sessions, the FBI 
Director under Reagan and Bush Sr. and whom was ousted and replaced by Louis 
Freeh the day before Vince Foster's body was discovered.)

Don't hold out HOPE for the Obama administration to save us.  Back during 
Clinton's reign, our current Vice President Joe Biden wrote, sponsored, and/or 
introduced some disturbing bills and laws such as the "Comprehensive 
Counter-Terrorism Act" and the "Omnibus Counterterrorism Act".  It gets better 
when you remember one of the worst ones: CALEA, or the "Communications 
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act".  In fact, these bills are what led Phil 
Zimmerman to release PGP's source code and many were precursors to the Patriot 
Act.

It isn't suprising, then, that then-Senator Biden also voted FOR the Patriot Act 
and the Real ID Act.