On 13 Feb 2007 at 10:14, Marvin Johnston wrote: I first came across this topic when it was published as an article in IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. I've subsequently read critiques of the cited book as being inaccurate and biased. I can only observe that commercial interests will chase a profit no matter where it comes from. Henry Ford sold trucks to Stalin; Prescott Bush and George Herbert Walker did business with the Third Riech. The Forbes and Delano families sold opium to the Chinese. The Chinese in turn are getting oil and gas from Sudan. And so it goes. It's the nature of human existence. Poke at almost any pile of money long enough and you'll find a scoundrel, murderer or horse theif. What this has taught me that corporate monied interests are amoral, looking only to increase profit. Similarly, governments largely exist to serve their own interests and, for the most part, not the interests of the governed. Our job as citizens of the world is not to expect these tigers to change their stripes, but rather to make sure that their actions are kept in the bright light of public scrutiny. Attempts to hide under some notion of confidentiality or secrecy usually provide fertile ground for mischief and need to be resisted. Cheers, Chuck