Re: [CNN] Stolen Laptops and lame 'solution'

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 10:22 AM -0700 6/11/97, Raymond Mereniuk wrote:

>I assume most notebooks which are recovered are found to be in the
>hands of a buyer rather than the person responsible for the actual
>theft.  But, the eventual buyer is indirectly responsible for the
>initial theft of the notebook.

I could not disagree more.

The buyer of some item, be it a laptop or a bicycle or a painting, is not
"responsible" in any way for actions taken by others at earlier times,
unless he speciffically commission a theft (as happens in some markets).

It may be that the buyer of some item may have taken away from him, as the
item was in fact stolen property within some reasonable time window (*),
but this has nothing whatsover to do with the buyer of some item being
"indirectly responsible" for the theft.

(* I mention "reasonable time window" because there are moves afoot to try
to have 50-year-old purchases of art negated, because of allegations of
Nazi looting.)

--Tim May


There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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