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From: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.sysadmin
Subject: Working for the Government
Message-ID: <5624@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sun, 25-Oct-87 14:02:59 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.5624
Posted: Sun Oct 25 14:02:59 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Oct-87 04:16:04 EST
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu ()
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Xref: mnetor news.admin:1256 news.sysadmin:428

Mr. Lippman has accused me of making a false statement.  I will
clarify:

1)  Mr. Lippman has made at least three attempts to get Mark Ethan
Smith's accounts pulled--once by calling the Big Electric Cat
and twice on news.admin and news.sysadmin.  During the course
of those attempts, he claimed that Mark Ethan Smith was a pseudonym.

2)  In Article 21371@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Michael Robinson said to
Mr. Lippman:

>You mentioned that your firm is associated with the Government and has
>connections.  Just out of curiousity, does part of your relationship with
>the government involve using these valuable resources to attack vocal
>feminists and disrupt a privately run news network?  Just a thought.  It's
>not like things like that haven't happened before.

Michael Robinson was referring to two items:

A) An article in which Mr. Lippman says he will:
>report back to the Net; even though I happen to be in Buffalo, NY, I have
>the resources available to me to obtain this information from any U.S.
>District Court, regardless of location.

B) A claim that Mr. Lippman made in email to Michael Robinson:

[From hplabs!kitty!larry@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU Sun Oct 18 22:24:03 1987]

>Wrong, chum.  It's not the least bit inconvenient.  And you
>DON'T KNOW my level of committment.  And you also have a short memory
>concerning my available resources - the article in which I shattered
>your naivete about the FBI and the legal system should have clued you in
>that my organization has some government affiliation.

3)  Then there is Mr. Lippman's threat to Michael Robinson:

In Message-ID: <2133@kitty.UUCP>
>(You're wrong, friend.  I am serious.  And I do have a "presence" in the
>state of California, even though I am in Buffalo, NY.  And I'm no person
>you want to tangle with, so cool your threatening email.)

I will say it again.  The combination of these three points is very
disturbing.  Exactly what is Mr. Lippman's government affiliation?  Why
is he on a campaign to discredit Mark Ethan Smith and anyone who defends
him?  

I know that Mr. Lippman will now begin attacking me.  I would not be
surprised if he contacted my SA.  But I also know that, despite his
article in soc.women suggesting that he was done with his attacks on
Mark Ethan Smith, he will almost certainly continue to do so in these
groups.  It seemed to me of vital importance, therefore, that the readers
of news.admin and news.sysadmin understand him as the readers of soc.women
have come to.

(I would not normally post email, by the way, but happen to feel that
this was a special and serious case.)

-skyler
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