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From: cs4571ao@ariel.unm.edu
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Soviet Access to Usenet
Summary: Don't increase access
Keywords: Espionage arpanet
Message-ID: <3990@charon.unm.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 88 23:50:57 GMT
References: <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <2672@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
Sender: news@charon.unm.edu
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Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
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I do _not_ think Soviet access to Usenet is needed or justifiable.  As
someone else here pointed out, we do not need any more KGB access to 
this or any other net.  It simply makes their intelligence gathering
that much easier.  While it is true that classified systems are not
connected to any network, the system is cross connected to Arpanet, and
access to this net is effectively access to Arpanet.  Not good.

BTW to the original poster--the reason modems are a precious commodity
in the USSR is that the government considers many forms of information
to be secrets to be carefully guarded from the general public.  
Modems transmit information too quickly to be managed or tracked, and
they are entrusted only to those who are deemed trustworthy.