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From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Lotus Marketplace
Message-ID: <_P57PB8@xds13.ferranti.com>
Date: 23 Nov 90 18:15:23 GMT
References: <5010@rsiatl.UUCP> <1990Nov20.181212.28545@looking.on.ca> <5020@rsiatl.UUCP> <86565@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV> <5039@rsiatl.UUCP>
Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
Lines: 27

In article <5039@rsiatl.UUCP> jgd@rsiatl.UUCP (John G. DeArmond) writes:
> Same with my proposal.  If you consider the penalty for violations
> to be too severe, you simply don't use others' personal data.
> Simple as that.

Simple as that. If you don't want your life ruined, simply don't speak out
against your employer if that happens to be certain arms of the U.S.
government, simply don't use certain drugs that are no more harmful than
legal ones, simply don't engage in certain sexual practices.

This is the argument that is used again and again to enlarge the powers of
the police, and that has pushed the United States far down the slope towards
a real police state. All you have to do is have enough laws on the books with
harsh enough penalties and everyone is in technical violation of one or
another of them, and subject to having their life destroyed at the whim of
a DA.

At this point you don't need to worry about the constitution. If someone
does something the pwers that be don't like, just find out what he's doing
wrong and bust him for something.

> [With DUI] If you look like a loser, 0.10 will get you
> jailed.  If you look respectable, 0.2 can often be pled down to reckless
> driving. 

And of course if you're someone the DA likes, you never get busted for data
abuse. Listen to yourself...
-- 
Peter da Silva.   `-_-'
+1 713 274 5180.   'U`
peter@ferranti.com