[tor-talk] Iran cracks down on web dissident technology

[Joe Btfsplk]

On 3/22/2011 12:09 AM, Mike Perry wrote:
> To distill your argument down, you've said so far:
> 1. Tor was/is funded by a government.
>
> 2. Governments only act out of self-interest.
>
> 3. Governments often have ulterior movies.
>
> 4. Governments have inconceivable power.
Please, please - everyone (probably including me) is making the topic  
way more complicated than my main question.  No one's addressed the main 
question.  If there's no answer, that's fine.  Forget conspiracy 
theories.  If you have a plausible, possible explanation to one 
question, great.

Why would any govt create something their enemies can easily use against 
them, then continue funding it once they know it helps the enemy, if a 
govt has absolutely no control over it?  It's that simple.  It would 
seem a very bad idea.  Stop looking at it from a conspiracy standpoint & 
consider it as a common sense question.

Number 1 & 3 on your list are either fact or common knowledge.
# 2 - I didn't say govts ONLY act out of self interest.
# 4 is very likely for large govts - espec. for something like  
(electronically) monitoring internet traffic / email, listening to phone 
calls.  These actions are well documented in several countries.  It's 
not conspiracy - was well documented & investigated by US Congress & 
covered in documentaries.  Fact, not conspiracy.  How does that behavior 
relate to Tor?  Don't know - that's the question.