Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!mailrus!ncar!ames!vsi1!octopus!avsd!childers From: childers@avsd.UUCP (Richard Childers) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: "Spycatcher" in the UK (was: Soviet Access to Usenet) Keywords: Espionage arpanet Message-ID: <424@avsd.UUCP> Date: 8 Dec 88 21:34:39 GMT References: <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <2672@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> <348@kps.UUCP> <2304@ficc.uu.net> <379@eda.com> <1283@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk> Reply-To: childers@avsd.UUCP (Richard Childers) Organization: AMPEX Corporation, Redwood City, CA Lines: 56 In article <1283@stracs.cs.strath.ac.uk> jim@cs.strath.ac.uk writes: >...the book being banned in the UK are wrong. The Government decided that >Wright's book was a threat to "national security" - in reality it was >politically embarrassing - and tried to prevent its publication in the >UK under the Official Secrets Act. I understand that was just upgraded to "The Official Secrets Bill", and it is now an Even More Serious Offence to share Official Secrets with anyone, ever, throughout your life. I also understand that the author of _Spycatcher_ is still staying out of Great Britain, as he is a wanted man by the government. I don't expect this will change. >... The Government's case was laughed out of court even after a >succession of appeals that only made the Government look more and more >ridiculous. I wouldn't count on that alone as a sufficient bulwark against injustice. It seems clear they are intent on concealing a profusion of misdeeds that are just waiting for another responsible individual to share them with the public, which would no doubt bring down the current government. I've heard the BBC discussing things like MI5 interfering in Sir Harold Gilliam's (??) communications and such, damaging his period as Prime Minister seriously - because he was a Communist. Ah, the free world struts its stuff, again !! It was only a year ago that BBC, as a whole, went on strike when the government attempted to establish its "right" to control what the BBC said. The tensions remain, and the BBC is fighting for its freedom even as we speak, as you can rest assured that the parties that mounted the last assault on the BBC haven't given up. The Bill Of Rights is out the window if you're *accused* of being a terrorist ( who's seen the movie _Brazil_? ), what's next ? House-to-house searches without a warrant, I'll bet ... Now, they say that you can't discuss any State Secrets with anyone ever, as long as you live, under threat of Life Imprisonment or worse. This is best viewed by comparing it with the USSR's disinclination towards letting Soviet Jews leave the country, only recently translated into a specific amount of time that must lapse before people with sensitive information are allowed out. What does Britain have that must be kept a lifelong secret ? Torture ? Sabotage and murder, a la the French Secret Service ? Whatever it is, I'm sure a lot of people are becoming more and more curious about what dirty laundry they need to hide, *who* needs to hide it, and why, and I'm sure this discussion will have more substance as time goes on. >UUCP: jim@strath-cs.uucp, ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!strath-cs!jim -- richard -- * "... where there is no movement, there is no perception." * * Ribot, _The Psychology of Attention_ * * ..{amdahl|decwrl|octopus|pyramid|ucbvax}!avsd.UUCP!childers@tycho * * AMPEX Corporation - Audio-Visual Systems Division, R & D *