Re: Jim Bell 2

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 9:34 AM -0800 5/20/97, John Young wrote:
>   The Oregonian, May 20, 1997, Metro Section P-1:
>
>   IRS says suspect discussed sabotage
>
>      An affidavit says a Vancouver man arrested Friday talked of
>      sabotaging Portland's 9-1-1 computer and Bull Run water
>
>   By John Painter, Jr., of the Oregonian staff
>
>   Vancouver, Wash. -- A Vancouver man arrested Friday by Internal
>   Revenue agents discussed sabotaging the computers in Portland's
>   9-1-1 center and talked about using a botulism toxin to contaminate
>   the Bull Run water supply, a federal agent said Monday.

(It's hard for me to avoid sarcasm, by saying things like "Of course, talk
is now covered by the Safe Streets and Water Source Protection Act of
1997," but I will eschew such sarcasm and simply state the obvious.)

Nothing in the "Orgonian" (named after Reich's banned books--sorry, I
slipped) indicates anything more than _talk_ was ever involved. No bombs
went off, no water supplies were poisoned, and apparently no botulism was
cultured. The finding of a 3-foot carbon pole in the home of a radio
operator....such things are found in many places, and the nexus with a
conspiracy to actually do something is nonexistent.


>   He is accused of obstructing government officers and employees and
>   using false Social Security numbers. But government agents think he
>   is far more dangerous than the charges suggest, the affidavit filed by
>   IRS Inspector Phillip G. Scott said.

About these charges I can of course say nothing. (Though I note that _my_
SS card says quite clearly it is for tax and SS purposes ONLY, and is not
be used for identification. When I pointed this out down at the Department
of Motor Vehicles, I was met with a shrug and told that if I did not give
my SS number as ID number I would not get a registration tag, and that if I
persisted in arguing this at the counter that "security" would be called in
to have me removed or arrested or tortured or whatever. By the way, would
it be useful guerilla theater exercise to have our SS numbers tattooed on
our forearms?)


>
>   Scott's affidavit said Bell, who has a chemistry degree from the
>   Massaschusetts Institute of Technology, had discussions about using
>   carbon fiber particles to attack computer systems with Greg Daly, a
>   friend who is an electronics specialist overseeing Portland's 9-1-1
>   communications center.
>
>   "Daly stated that he and Bell had 'laughed' about attacking the 9-1-1
>   center with fiber," the affidavit said.

Who of us hasn't brainstormed about how to attack the security of a system,
or the security of a water supply? Who of us hasn't thought about how easy
it would be drop LSD or botulins in the water supplies of a major site? Is
this also called "contingency planning"? Or "tiger team analysis"?

It could be argued, and I hope it will be, that Bell was helping his friend
Daly improve the security of his computer installation.

(Not to mention the vastly more important argument to use: First Amendment
protection of speech. Conspiracy and RICO charges are hardly valid when
only speech is involved...I'm not a lawyer, but I believe there has to be a
realistic expectation that a crime is being planned to be carried out, with
some reasonable chance of being completed, before a "conspiracy" can be
charged. A few friends sitting around brainstorming about threats,
counterthreats, and possible attacks does not a conspiracy make.)


>   Daly also told IRS agents that he had hypothetical discussions with
>   Bell about contaminating water supplies and about making botulism
>   toxin from green beans, the affidavit said.

And?


>   In the April 17 and 18 interviews with IRS agents, Daly said that as part
>   of his job, he "has keys and direct access to the Portland Bull Run
>   water treatment facility."

And? (I can see scared officials firing Daly, unless he is protected by
other interventionist laws.)


>   Daly said Monday that the conversations that he and Bell had were
>   merely "intellectual fun-and-games discussions" between old friends
>   who enjoy technical things.
>
>   "There's a difference between reasonable freedom of speech and
>   unreasonable probability of attack," Daly said. "Standing around and
>   flapping our lips about how it would be funny is way different from
>   even contemplating actual attack."

Exactly. Seems some folks don't understand the First Amendment...this seems
to be endemic in America today, especially amongst public officials.


>   Thursday, IRS agents searched the home of Robert East, a merchant
>   radioman and a friend of Bell's. Among items seized was 3-foot length
>   of carbon fiber.

Gee, could this carbon fiber be involved in his radio work? Gee.

("The BATF who raided Tim May's compound reported finding suspicious books
describing biological warfare and a gas cylinder which could be used to
spread Sarin gas in an attack on the Bay Area Rapid Transit. Agents found a
message on his computer, dated May 20th, 1997, in which Sarin and BART were
mentioned.")



>   The affidavit said East told agents that he and Bell had discussed "the
>   possibility of putting the fibers down the air vents of a federal building"
>   to kill its computers and about using the fiber against the IRS.

Sounds exactly like the sort of "what-if" theorizing that all technical
people (and novelists, screenwriters, etc.) like to do. Also the staple of
the "Infowar" mailing lists, not to mention "rec.pyrotechnics" sorts of
newsgroups.

I rather doubt dropping a carbon fiber down an airshaft would do anything
to the computers, but, hey, it's a theory.

(I also don't see what disrupting a 911 computer for a few hours or days
would mean for any of Bell's assumed longterm goals, so I surmise that he
was indeed just playing with some "techie" ideas. And one can imagine the
911 folks thanking, or even paying, him for analyzing potential weaknesss
in their security. But I guess, as with Randall Schwartz, killing the
messenger remains the favored course of action.)


Free speech is under massive assalt in the Terror State of America.

--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!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
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