Esther Dyson: Pro-crypto in Poland

[Joel McNamara <joelm@eskimo.com>]

I'm in Warsaw doing some consulting for a local ISP and got invited to an
Internet conference last night  targeted toward government ministry
officials.  Even though I speak no Polish, I decided to go because Esther
Dyson was one of the keynotes.

The three day conference is being held outside of Warsaw.  The location
has to be one of the most unique conference settings I've ever seen.  How
about in a classroom of what appeared to be the government police training
barracks.  Guarded gates, barking German shepherds in kennels, and armed,
marching cops in camo fatigues.  Interesting.  Got to suggest it to the
DefCon folks instead of Vegas.

Anyway, not knowing what Esther was going to talk about, I started to
smile when she launched into a very pro-crypto (as in anti-key escrow)
presentation.  Through a translator, she did a good job of covering most
of the issues near and dear to Cypherpunks's hearts.  She closed with
urging the Polish officials to make their own decisions regarding privacy
and crypto, and not be swayed by the actions of the US government.

Someone in the audience asked what the average American thought of the
ongoing crypto controversy.  Esther answered correctly, that they're
mostly clueless.  Of course I had to stand up and mention the grassroots
Cypherpunk efforts just to let folks know not everyone besides EFF is idly
standing by (I think my host did a pretty good job of translating).
Esther's comment was that Cypherpunks weren't average.  You decide if that
was a compliment or not.

I don't know.  Despite the bashing she got on the list about anonymity, I
was impressed.  Presenting the issues  in a very logical and rational
manner to government officials in "crypto-neutral" territory counts for
something in my book.

Anyway, based on all of the nonsense going on in the US, it's interesting
to be in an environment where there are strong concerns about privacy and
government abuses by the average citizen.  I think Americans have taken
for granted many things, that only living under a repressive regime would
make them appreciate.

Joel