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


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