Re: EE Times on PRZ

[paul@poboy.b17c.ingr.com (Paul Robichaux)]

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Hal wrote about the PRZ case:

> (Sometimes it seems like the gov't is dragging this case out
> intentionally.  I believe the uncertainty does have a chilling effect on
> private development of strong crypto, which would be gone if the
> government announced it was not going to pursue the case, or if they did
> bring charges and lost.)

I've been slogging through a book on Dr. Gerald Bull, the semi-notorious
gun designer who was assassinated by parties unknown in the midst of
helping the Iraqis build several superguns.

In the late '70s, Bull was prosecuted and spent 4 months at the
Allentown pen for ITAR violations.  His company exported "technical
data," shell blanks, and various equipment useful for designing &
building howitzers to South Africa. The prosecuting US Attorney took
more than two years from original indictment to the actual trial. It
seems that the same mechanism is at work here.

Incidentally, Bull had at least made some effort to check with the
Office of Munitions Control about the legality of his exports; a
letter he received from them seemed to say that his planned exports
were legal.  The judge citec OMC's screwup as a factor affecting the
length of sentence.

- -Paul

- -- 
Paul Robichaux, KD4JZG       | Good software engineering doesn't reduce the 
perobich@ingr.com            | amount of work you put into a product; it just 
Not speaking for Intergraph. | redistributes it differently.
                  ### http://www.intergraph.com ###

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