4 ms·

In 1977 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) scheduled a symposium at which several important papers on cryptography were

In 1977 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) scheduled a symposium at which several important papers on cryptography were to be presented. Research had established a basis for developing powerful new encryption schemes, using fundamental concepts of computer science, and examples of these schemes were included in the papers. Prior to the symposium, however, a letter arrived at IEEE headquarters warning that the presentations might subject the authors and the IEEE to prosecution under the Arms Export Control Act of 1976. The letter was signed by an IEEE member, Joseph Meyer, who gave only his home address, but who turned out to be an employee of the National Security Agency (NSA). 40 years later, we still repeat the same arguments and make the same mistakes.

DINKDINK 11y ago
>the same arguments and [...] the same mistakes. Would you elaborate?
legittosser112 11y ago
This shouldn't be too big of a surprise. Our current politicians views of the world were largely molded by the people in office when the Arms Export Control Act was voted in. It would be interesting to see a visualization of our political "family tree". For example, Rep George Miller from California was in office from 1975-2014. Who worked for him over those years, where are they now? Or flip it around, who did our current pols work/mentor under? Keith Sebelius was a rep for KS in 1976. Father-in-law of Kathleen Sebelius. No direct ties to the 1976 bill, but that isn't the point I'm making. Nepotism and family ties run deep. Rep Paul Tsongas voted Yea for the bill in 1976. His widow is now a Rep for California. Rep John Conyers is the longest serving member of the house, having been elected in 1965. Senator Trent Lott retired in 2007. Was elected to House in 1973. Senator Chuck Grassley elected to House in 1975. Recently retired Senator Tom Harkin elected to house in 1975. Rep John T. Myers in office 1967 to 1997. His son-in-law takes over the seat 2001-2003. Senator Paul Sarbanes served in the House from 1971-77 then moved over to Senate until 2007. Rep Charles Rangel in office continuously since 1971. Rep Norm Mineta server from 1975 to 1995, then went on to Sec of Commerce and Sec of Transportation. Not all these people voted for the bill. Again, not the point. The point is, our system makes the same stupid decisions because it's a lot of the same stupid people. The more I look at the govtrack.us page for this bill, the more names I recognize, the more I think "we really need to get away from politics being a legit `career` option."
- kbenson 11y ago
  > The more I look at the govtrack.us page for this bill, the more names I recognize, the more I think "we really need to get away from politics being a legit `career` option." Which has been tried, and the extreme on the other end isn't pretty either. Strict term limits in California (prior to some revision in 2012) meant that Senators and Congresspeople were almost never around long enough to truly get involved and understand an issue. There was a lot of freshman lawmakers all trying to make their own mark, perpetually blind to the prior efforts. The question really is how many years in congress, the senate, or both is too much, and how low of term limits is too low? If we can't find a happy middle ground (I honestly don't know), then maybe we need to step back and examine the question again, and decide whether there are some other levers and incentives and regulations we can use to our benefit. Note: It's also worth looking at whether passing institutional attitude (knowledge?) as you described is actually a bad thing, or a natural correlation. If that district or state has a particular leaning, it could be that it's just natural that a similarly positioned person will be more likely to pick up the seat later.
  - deciplex 11y ago
    Term limits are a band-aid, even at the Presidential level as far as I'm concerned. If someone is a shitty rep, then stop electing him, and likewise if he's a great rep then all term limits do is give you more chances to elect a shitty rep.
  - numbsafari 11y ago
    "There was a lot of freshman lawmakers all trying to make their own mark, perpetually blind to the prior efforts." Sounds a lot like our own industry...
    - kbenson 11y ago
      I won't lie, that connection did come to mind as I wrote that. Especially since the submission regarding Javascript Fatigue[1] the other day which covered it quite a bit. 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11294218 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11294218

DINKDINK 11y ago

>the same arguments and [...] the same mistakes. Would you elaborate?

legittosser112 11y ago

This shouldn't be too big of a surprise. Our current politicians views of the world were largely molded by the people in office when the Arms Export Control Act was voted in. It would be interesting to see a visualization of our political "family tree". For example, Rep George Miller from California was in office from 1975-2014. Who worked for him over those years, where are they now? Or flip it around, who did our current pols work/mentor under? Keith Sebelius was a rep for KS in 1976. Father-in-law of Kathleen Sebelius. No direct ties to the 1976 bill, but that isn't the point I'm making. Nepotism and family ties run deep. Rep Paul Tsongas voted Yea for the bill in 1976. His widow is now a Rep for California. Rep John Conyers is the longest serving member of the house, having been elected in 1965. Senator Trent Lott retired in 2007. Was elected to House in 1973. Senator Chuck Grassley elected to House in 1975. Recently retired Senator Tom Harkin elected to house in 1975. Rep John T. Myers in office 1967 to 1997. His son-in-law takes over the seat 2001-2003. Senator Paul Sarbanes served in the House from 1971-77 then moved over to Senate until 2007. Rep Charles Rangel in office continuously since 1971. Rep Norm Mineta server from 1975 to 1995, then went on to Sec of Commerce and Sec of Transportation. Not all these people voted for the bill. Again, not the point. The point is, our system makes the same stupid decisions because it's a lot of the same stupid people. The more I look at the govtrack.us page for this bill, the more names I recognize, the more I think "we really need to get away from politics being a legit `career` option."

kbenson 11y ago
> The more I look at the govtrack.us page for this bill, the more names I recognize, the more I think "we really need to get away from politics being a legit `career` option." Which has been tried, and the extreme on the other end isn't pretty either. Strict term limits in California (prior to some revision in 2012) meant that Senators and Congresspeople were almost never around long enough to truly get involved and understand an issue. There was a lot of freshman lawmakers all trying to make their own mark, perpetually blind to the prior efforts. The question really is how many years in congress, the senate, or both is too much, and how low of term limits is too low? If we can't find a happy middle ground (I honestly don't know), then maybe we need to step back and examine the question again, and decide whether there are some other levers and incentives and regulations we can use to our benefit. Note: It's also worth looking at whether passing institutional attitude (knowledge?) as you described is actually a bad thing, or a natural correlation. If that district or state has a particular leaning, it could be that it's just natural that a similarly positioned person will be more likely to pick up the seat later.
- deciplex 11y ago
  Term limits are a band-aid, even at the Presidential level as far as I'm concerned. If someone is a shitty rep, then stop electing him, and likewise if he's a great rep then all term limits do is give you more chances to elect a shitty rep.
- numbsafari 11y ago
  "There was a lot of freshman lawmakers all trying to make their own mark, perpetually blind to the prior efforts." Sounds a lot like our own industry...
  - kbenson 11y ago
    I won't lie, that connection did come to mind as I wrote that. Especially since the submission regarding Javascript Fatigue[1] the other day which covered it quite a bit. 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11294218 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11294218