Re: China

[dlv@bwalk.dm.com (Dr. Dimitri Vulis)]

Julian Assange <proff@suburbia.net> writes:
> [...]
> > bottle. Remember that starting this year, satellites of Iridium and other
> > LEO satellite projects will start to go up, spreading bandwidth around
> > the world. How will the Chinese government build a firewall against
> > satellites? Say, for instance orbiting anonymous remailers with pgp? Will
> > happen some day.
>
> Radio *reception* of non goverment approved frequences is illegal in a
> number of countries, China included. Possesion of the equipment needed
> to received these frequencies is also illegal in a number of countries
> (including Australia). Sale of that equipment is illegal in still more
> countries, including the USA.

Governments and organized religions sought to regulate book printing
almost since the time in was invented.

In the last few decades, oppressive governments controlled the possession of
short-wave radio receivers (confiscated by several sides during WWII to prevent
citizens from listening to enemy propaganda); xerocopiers and computer
printers; even typewriters (I read that in today's Iraq every typewriter must
be registered and the government must be supplied with type samples).

It's not difficult to imagine that governments will seek to regulate the
possession of modems again. Some may recall that in the U.S. it used to be
technically illegal to connect a modem to the phone jack without a permission
from AT&T.

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<a href="mailto:dlv@bwalk.dm.com">Dr. Dimitri Vulis</a>
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps