FC: Turkey bans typewriters, claiming useful for sedition, in 1901

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed Aug 29 2001 - 06:12:11 PDT

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    From: "Herb Lin" <HLinat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 00:37:59 -0400
    Subject: for politech
    
    You might be amused about this one
    
     >From the July 2001 Scientific American
    
    in July 1901, Scientific American said this:
    
         State Security vs. Technology
    
         "The inexplicable conservatism and arrogance of the Turkish customs
         authorities was recently shown by the prohibition of the importation
         of typewriters into the country.  The reason advanced by the
         authorities was that in the event of seditious writing executed by
         the typewriter being circulated, it would be impossible to obtain
         any clew by which the operator of the machine could be traced.  A
         large consignment of 200 typewriters was lying in the custom house
         at the time the above law was passed, and will have to be
         returned."
    
    Many things are not new...
    
    herb
    
    
    
    
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