Internet Motions at AGM of NCCL/Liberty, London[#UK#]Sun19th.

[Dave Bird---St Hippo of Augustine]

 talk.politics.crypto, uk.politics.censorship, alt.religion.scientology
     <follow-up into individual newsgroup in necessary>

 #######################################################################
 ANNUAL_GENERAL_MEETING of LIBERTY/the NationalCouncil for CivilLiberies
 at the L.V.S.C. by Holloway Road ==0== London, on Sunday 19th July 1998
 #######################################################################

 There is a vague general motion on the Internet with amendments down on
 CRYPTYO(against specific insecrure schemes) & CENSORSHIP(against RSACi)
 in my name.There is also a motion down by representatives of the Church
 of SCIENTOLOGY saying in disguised terms how hard done they are,    and 
 amendments down in my name correcting falsehoods in it --- specifically 
 their disdain for the rights of others who according to Hubbard  should
 not have citizenship rights if not CoS members,     and their wonderful
 attitude to gay people whomHubbard talks of being"dispose[d] of quietly
 and without sorrow", and like lepers to be  "collected and destroyed".

 Details of attending and joining can be got from Liberty / NCCL at 21
 Tabard Street, London, SE1 4LA,     0171 403 3888 fone   407 5354 fax.

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 The problem with the Internet motion is that it is very waffly without
 specifics on Crypto and Ratings. 

 ORIGINAL MOTION:
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 This AGM, noting:---
 (a) the ease with which electronic communications are capable of being
 intercepted and the...potential for curtialment of the right to privacy
 (b) that the Labour Party's  manifesto for the election opposed the 
 introduction of compulsory key escrow....
 (c) that parents should nto abrogate their responsibility to monitor 
 how their children use the Internet; and
 (d) the moral panic which has arisen in response to the Internet,

 Resolves:---
 (1) to oppose any legislation limiting the availability of strong
 encyption; (2) to oppose any form of mandatory key escrow;
 (3) to oppose any disprroportionate attempt by government to limit
 access to material on the Internet;
 (4) that laws restricting the content of om-line speech should
 distinguish between the liability of content providers and [ISPs];
 (5) that Liberty should be actively involved in the protection and
 extension of human rights in relation to the Internet.

 all very well and good, but short on specifics....

 AMENDMENTS
 ~~~~~~~~~~

<A> In  (b) add at end ", and that the relevant policy document has
recently been removed from their website"

<B> At end of motion add "It opposes:-- the idea of handing encrytpion
keys to  'untrustworthy third parties' and any  linkage of this
irrelevant requirement to the provision of licensed digital signatures,
or pushing of unsafe encyption through semi-official bodies which will
set small businesses up for data theft, or  requiring hospitals etc to
use unsafe encryption thus putting at risk the confidences of their
clients.  It notes the objections of the law society and the BMA to
their memebers using unsafe encryption." 

<C>At end of motion add "It believes that the Internet is largely a text
medium with news and campaigning elements, which cannot be treated as an
entertainment to which sex & violence may  be aritrarily added to
increase sales.  It  notes that Microsoft's news service MSNBC was
forced to drop Microsoft's rating system RSACi, because it is
impracticable to require such ratings of news reporting e.g. of
newspaper sites where the very same text would not need such ratings in
paper form.  It opposes any attempts to foist such children's
entertainment ratings on an adult factual medium, whether by regulation
or by web-indeces etc censoring unrated material from their listings."

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     ORIGINAL MOTION:
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  This AGM of the N.C.C.L  BELIEVES:
  (a) That the majority rule in a democracy should not be used to
  restrict the rights of freedom of thought and expression of minorities
  (b) that there is a growing trend in some parts of Europe towards the
  use of governemtn power and infleunce to entice and encourage 
  intoloerance and discrimination  against ethnic, cultural and
  religious minorities as evidenced in particular by [.....]
  the report of the Ad Hoc Committee to investigate discrimination
  against ethnic and religious minorities in Germeny, 1977
  [which is by $cientology spokesman Lord Duncan MacNair].
  (c) that every effort should be made to prevent the spread of
  government policies and practices which encourage discrimination
  on the basis of race, religion or belief or which restrict the freedom
  of thought and expression of ethnic, cultural, or religious minorities
  and end such discrimination where it exists;  and this AGM of N.C.C.L
  hereby re-iterates its firm stand against any form of discriimination
  on the grounds of race, religion or belief.

  Or, put another way,  NCCL opposes all curbs on a profitmaking 
  corporation selling quack psychotherapy courses and UK#1500 a time
  and driving people to suicide pressuring them for the money, even
  when it decides to inflitrate goivernments or aims to remove
  citizenship rights from anyone who is not a member, as long as
  it calls itself a religion so that's all right then.  

   AMENDEMENT(S)
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MENDMENT <A>: in para (a), delete "minorities" and instead insert
"ethnic, cultural, religious and sexual minorities, including those  who
dissent against chosen religious or political opinions---that
governments should at all    times adhere to applicable national,
european and international laws and obligations (including the ECHR)
relating to the affairs of said minorities---and that said minorities,
to the extent they have power over people, have a moral duty to afford
those people the same rights they expect others to afford them [....];"
[......]
AMENDMENT <C>: in (c), delete "religion or belief" insert "sexuality,
religion or belief--including the criticism of religion or dissent from
orthodoxy--". 
Delete after "expression of", insert instead "such minorities.  It
further believes that such minorities and their representatives should
also not practice or encourage discrimination against other groups,
particularly against dissenters or sexual minorities; and [.....]" .


 Dave Bird,  July 1997.

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