I want everyone seeing this to read a book. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a book aimed at late teens to young adults. This is irrelevant. It is a must read for anyone who doesn't understand the nature of the problems. It is a DEVASTATING treatment of several current event topics, including anti-terrorism approaches, internet privacy, and more.
I find one of the best sections of the book to be its treatment of "false positives". The exact same mathematics applies to this ITAR export prevention problem. The cost of dealing with ITAR is so high in comparison to catching the real events that it should be the poster child for stupidity of the entire approach to security. It has, in my opinion, NOT been worth the cost and I believe in safeguarding those things which are in the interests of U.S. security. I am not a believer in stupidity. I do not subscribe to civil disobedience on this topic because of the cost to my family and friends and it has cost me the ability to talk to my friends for YEARS. U.S. "enemies" have developed on their own or done effective espionage to get all of the technology they need. This has been a truly tragic episode for U.S. space corporations and a great boon to those nations who aspire to be space faring nations rather than be trapped by we and our "friends" to the earth's surface. A spacecraft, or anything associated with the launch of spacecraft, including ground systems (including amateur radio equipment) is DEFINED to be an ITAR covered item. No one says it is a munition as in a gun. It is DEFINED to be an ITAR covered item. Discussion of it with foreign nationals by U.S. citizens is a "deemed export" and requires an export license AND THEN, the most insidious of all, a technology assistance agreement. The technology assistance agreement in most cases must contain language that the foreign entity (person, group, etc.) must agree to be bound by U.S. law even if they are NEVER enter U.S. I believe now that AMSAT-NA is going to be allowed to talk to our friends. I believe in the end it will not be an onerous set of restrictions. But I am SO glad I am not attempting to sell a satellite or ground equipment as a U.S. person (individual, corporation, green card holder) to a foreign national. The pucker factor is so high because the cost of a mistake is punitive, that you simply cannot afford casual conversations much less technical discussions without an army of lawyers and minders present. I wish I could find the words to impart the depth of my despair on what this has meant to everyone involved in space in the U.S. from lowly amateur radio operators trying to build satellites to major U.S. corporations. It has done NOTHING effective in my opinion but make lots of lawyers wealthier and insure the long term survival of bureaucrats. Bob -- (Co)Author: DttSP, Quiktrak, PowerSDR, GnuRadio Member: ARRL, AMSAT, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. "You don't need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.", MLK. Twitter:rwmcgwier Active: Facebook,Myspace,LinkedIn _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
