On Nov 5, 2007 9:42 PM, John H. Robinson, IV <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Bob La Quey wrote: > > > > So I aks you, John. Are you suggesting I _should_ care? I assume > > you have read my other responses in this thread. > > > > If so why? > > I can only really insert two arguments. > > 1) Do you send your postal mail in an envelope, or on a postcard?
Both. They have different attributes. Each has its uses. > This argument is that postal mail, in an envelops is protected from > occasional scrying. Certainly an interested party can intercept, open, > and resend the leter probably without the sender nor recipient from > noticing the tampering. A postcard lets anyone read it. > > If you use an envelope, then you are showing some interest in privacy. And if I feel I need more privacy I may use a variety of extended services, e.g. a bonded private courier service, etc. > I have to except the letters with enclosures. This is a crappy > argument these days as no one writes personal letters anymore. But many people still transmit legal documents for signature by physical mail of various forms. > 2) The camel's nose. Eroding freedoms is not done overnight. It is done > piece by piece until the Powers That Be have amassed enough power to > erode the rest in one fell swoop without fear of retaliation. This has nothing to do with whether or not a particular form of email service is or is not secure. One must always expect that the "Powers That Be" will want more power and try by hook or crook to get it. > It comes down to this: Do you value your freedom? Do you value your > privacy? If you do, that is why you should care, and why you should > insist. If you don't value, then don't care. It will be of no loss to > you. I should _not_ waste my efforts caring about those things that do not matter though, such as the absolute fact that many forms of email are inherently insecure. If I care about my security I will have alternatives to the insecure methods. Even a brief survey of the history of spycraft will provide you with many ways of sustaining secure communications in the face of very real oppression. BobLQ -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
