Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!mailrus!cwjcc!gatech!ken From: ken@gatech.edu (Ken Seefried iii) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Soviet Access to Usenet Message-ID: <17651@gatech.edu> Date: 21 Nov 88 02:23:41 GMT References: <7649@well.UUCP> <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> Reply-To: ken@gatech.UUCP (Ken Seefried iii) Organization: School of Information and Computer Science, Georgia Tech, Atlanta Lines: 107 In article <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> ajdenner@athena.mit.edu (Alexander J Denner) writes: > I do not think this would be a very good idea. Now that the Soviets >do not already have access to American networks (ARPANET, etc.). (I am >saying that I am sure the KGB intercepts as much internet information as >they can.) You are so sure, are you? You REALLY underestimate the Soviet intellegence gathering machine if you don't think they have clear access to a nation spanning, unsecure network linking the ccountries universities, companies and research institute. Wake up, the Soviets are not stupid. If nothing else, they probably have Portal accounts. > Although I have nothing against the Russin people, the Soviets >are NOT our friends. Yea....we wouldn't want those godless commies to be reading soc.singles and learning the latest in American going-to-a-bar-and-getting-laid technology, or fining out all our closely guarded, national security secrets dicussed on talk.bizzare...1\2 ;') > The Soviet KGB has an immense information gathering >network in this country, why make it easier for them to tune into >western scientific thought? Who the hell are you trying to kid? All any KGB agent has to do to tune into the latest western scientific thought is walk down to the library and pick up a copy of, say, IBM Technical Journal, The New England Journal of Medicine, ACM Transactions in Computer Science, etc., etc. Americas scientific thought is discussed, evangelised and paraded before the world every day in a thousand different journals, newspapers, lectures and TV programmes. Anything that is not suitable for those mediums is certainly NOT suitable for the Internet. In case you have forgotten, it is ILLEGAL for sensitive information to be availible on the Internet.... > Andrei Sakahrov has just said that the >changes are only superficial. Umm....last I heard, Sakarov was talking about how sencere Gorbachev was... > I do not think that he can trust the Soviet >government at all. (Even if one believes that Gorbachev is really >sincere and wants to destroy all weapons on the Earth, it is very possible >that he will be overthrown by conservatives who wil return to the "old" >way.) This kind of rabid xenophobia is sad...I bet you lose sleep wondering how long its going to be before the Soviets invade us.... > I think that we have seen how the Soviets have cut research costs >by copying our Shuttle, why let them get so much information so easily? One hundred percent, grade A+ bullshit. The news has paraded rocket scientist after rocket scientist across the tube and every one of them have said the same thign: "there are only so many ways to build a space plane, and that is one of the best..." The Soviets didn't copy our shuttle...thats just the way one is built.... > > Having a UUCP site would make it much easier for them to >spread a malicious virus in a time of friction. HAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHHA........absolutely ludicrous...you are again operating under the assumption that the Evil Empire dosent already have connections to the Internet. There are a few hundred students here with Internet accounts. I bet the commie pinkos have recruted at least one of them...;'};'} > Also, what if a virus >from the US leaks into Russia (or a virus from the USSR gets into the US)? >Such a situation would cause many problems and bad feelings. FINALLY! A marginally valid point! Probably would make noone very happy, but it isnt exactly the thing nuclear wars are made of... > >----------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Alexander J. Denner ajdenner@athena.mit.edu >234 Baker House, 362 Memorial Drive mit-eddie!mit-athena!ajdenner >Cambridge, MA 02139 ajdenner%athena@mitmva.mit.edu Lets have a little sanity check here...the way i read it, the Russians would have a lousy mail and news feed. You know, rec.humor, soc.culture.soviet, soc.mtoss (KGB would LOVE that!), heavy technical stuff like comp.unix.questions (;'}), a few electronic pen pals. I didn't here anyone mention accounts on 'sri.com' or 'brl.gov'. Now I'm as patriotic and anti-communist as the next guy, probably more so. And I'm not about to advocate jumping in bed with the Soviets just cause Gorbie is a helluva guy, but christ, there simply is NOTHING wrong with a little friendly communication and a little exposure to another culture. This little 'Electronic Exchange Programme' sure isn't giving the KGB any oportunities that it didn't already have, and it might give Joe-(Boris)-Average-Russian-Computer-Jock a chance to say, "hey, these guys aren't so bad for a bunch of imperialistic money-grubbing opressors of the working class..." Maybe that will go both ways... And remeber kids: Joe McCarthy died 20+ years ago...lets keep it that way. ken seefried iii ...!{akgua, allegra, amd, harpo, hplabs, ken@gatech.edu masscomp, rlgvax, sb1, uf-cgrl, unmvax, ccastks@gitvm1.bitnet ut-ngp, ut-sally}!gatech!ken ``The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and to see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and to clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.'' -- Ghengis Kahn