March 2001 - cypherpunks-legacy

more than spread spectrum
by cme＠ellisun.sw.stratus.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

There are alternatives to spread spectrum, if we're threatened with loss of freedom to communicate. We could lay our own wires/fibers. We could set up a mesh network of infrared lasers through the air. Last time I looked, there were no laws against shining lights out your window as long as they didn't bother anyone. An infrared laser could hardly bother anyone. We could produce a line of cheap cards to plug into a PC which would do packet routing, using a variety of physical links -- our own wires, lasers, very low range radio, .... Each card would connect to three or more neighbors and become part of the global mesh. Adaptive routing with no global map would suffice for the card and would keep the whole system peer-to-peer with no need for central control and no chance for central tapping. Of course all of these solutions require a high density of users. A college campus might be the right place to start. We could then branch out to cities. I suspect that a place like Chicago or NYC with high rise apartments might be the place to start -- many options for line-of-sight communications. The benefit isn't just for Cypherpunks. It's a free network for the masses -- like the original USENET (with each user donating routing and store/forward) but with unrestricted, low-range, continuously operating physical links. I'll volunteer to do the software for the node card. Does anyone have hardware design/fab to donate to the effort? - Carl

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Screwing Jim Bell and Cypherpunks
by John Young 10 Apr '01

10 Apr '01

Declan offers his motion to quash the feds subpoena: http://www.mccullagh.org/subpoena/motion.032901.html Worth reading not for the customary hoary press privilege, but for the protection requested to avoid what Jim Bell allegedly wants to use McCullagh for, and for Declan's affirmation that he covers the " 'cypherpunk' movement," gathering and archiving information for future use. Did you write this yourself Declan or your mouthpiece working alone without privileged sources about what you intend for the "cypherpunk movement?" WTF movement, by the way is being alleged and what is the evidence being concocted? Smells like the feds are feeding the evidentiaries all around the legal and press privileged pigtroughs, jesus fucking christ.

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Mr. Choate, an important message from Justice Scalia....
by Aimee Farr 04 Apr '01

04 Apr '01

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar01/scalia14031301a.asp Scalia on originalist constitutional philosophy, versus the "living document" approach, in reference to recent Choate-spawned questions and threads. <snip> But Scalia also insisted that only his approach - interpreting the Constitution based on the Framers' precise words and the meaning they intended at the time - can preserve the Constitution's guiding principles. "The Constitution is not an organism," the justice said, "it is a legal document." <snip> <snip>That "living Constitution" approach, Scalia observed, has led to U.S. Senate hearings in which candidates for federal judge or Supreme Court justice are grilled about which rights they believe are in the Constitution. Eventually, voters will choose and demand judges based not on their ability to interpret the Constitution but on the political positions they hold, he warned.<snip> Eventually???? Somebody toss out the link for the Ashcroft hearings.... -Aimee

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Re: Robert Leen, and getting Jim Bell a fair trial
by John Young 03 Apr '01

03 Apr '01

Seth, I've publicly asked that no private e-mail be sent to me about the Bell case. Do it in public or not at all. You could be tarring me as others have done, for whatever noble reason. Offense intended. You are way behind the curve on this matter, and privately whispering advice is cowardly, not unlike noble journalists and attorneys have done to me. Show your face, no stalking, thanks. John Seth Finklestein wrote: >[you wrote] >> No call back from Leen on my inquiry about being a witness >> for Bell. Fuck him, bedwetting with the feds. >[Elsewhere ...] >> Feds and Leen in the same peapod with Jim: all lust for the >> spotlight and like the WWF have no shame in faking stalking >> each other as if serious, preening in the mirror. > > Check out Leen's record. He DOES NOT look to be the type who >gets in bed with the Feds. I think at the very least you should get >his side of the story. > >http://www.mndaily.com/daily/gopher-archives/1990/10/29/Man_jailed_for_sayi ng_he_would_punch_Bush.txt > >http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/shot283.shtml > >http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/971229/29mili.htm > >http://firms.findlaw.com/rleen/ >http://firms.findlaw.com/rleen/affiliates.htm >http://firms.findlaw.com/rleen/memos.htm > > If you want to do something to help Jim Bell in getting a good >defense, here is my suggestion, take it for what it's worth to you: > > Take some more initiative to get in touch with Robert Leen. His >contact info, including a mail form, is available on Martindale-Hubble, at > >http://lawyers.martindale.com/Executable/listing.php3?lid=2076060org=1 > > Explain the whole "cypherpunks", err, state of mind. Give the >guy a chance. Look at it this way - if he is in collaboration with the >prosecution, your discussion with him can hardly make things much >worse. However, if he is not, if he is an honest defense attorney >doing the best he can in a bad situation, then you are in a good >position to aid him. The risk is low, the potential benefit is large. > >__ >Seth Finkelstein Consulting Programmer sethf(a)mit.edu http://sethf.com >

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PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!
by Sandy Sandfort 02 Apr '01

02 Apr '01

You are invited to our fabulous: "GOOD FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH" First Millennium II Anarcho-Dilettante Masquerade Ball Your formal invitation is at: http://danger-island.com/party/ Your hosts: Black Unicorn Sandy Sandfort Randy French Bob Smith

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[ANNOUNCEMENT] OpenSSL 0.9.6a Beta 3 released
by Richard Levitte 02 Apr '01

02 Apr '01

The third beta release of OpenSSL 0.9.6a is now available from the OpenSSL FTP site <URL: ftp://ftp.openssl.org/source/>. OpenSSL 0.9.6a is a bug-fix release of version 0.9.6, and currently contains 52 documented changes. Among others, this release should build on all Windows platforms, which 0.9.6 failed to do. Just as for version 0.9.6, this one comes in two variants, one containing the now well-known ENGINE code and one that doesn't. The tar files are: openssl-0.9.6a-beta3.tar.gz openssl-engine-0.9.6a-beta3.tar.gz The news section for 0.9.6a gives the following: o Security fix: change behavior of OpenSSL to avoid using environment variables when running as root. o Security fix: check the result of RSA-CRT to reduce the possibility of deducing the private key from an incorrectly calculated signature. o Security fix: prevent Bleichenbacher's DSA attack. o Security fix: Zero the premaster secret after deriving the master secret in DH ciphersuites. o Reimplement SSL_peek(), which had various problems. o Compatibility fix: the function des_encrypt() renamed to des_encrypt1() to avoid clashes with some Unixen libc. o Bug fixes for Win32, HP/UX and Irix. o Bug fixes in BIGNUM, SSL, PKCS#7, PKCS#12, X.509, CONF and memory checking routines. o Bug fixes for RSA operations in threaded enviroments. o Bug fixes in misc. openssl applications. o Remove a few potential memory leaks. o Add tighter checks of BIGNUM routines. o Shared library support has been reworked for generality. o More documentation. o New function BN_rand_range(). o Add "-rand" option to openssl s_client and s_server. The next (hopefully real) release is scheduled for Tuesday 2001-04-03. To make sure that it will work correctly, please test this version (especially on less common platforms), and report any problems to <openssl-bugs(a)openssl.org>. -- Richard Levitte levitte(a)openssl.org OpenSSL Project http://www.openssl.org/~levitte/ Software Engineer, Celo Communications: http://www.celocom.com/

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None
by brainteaser 02 Apr '01

02 Apr '01

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VREY URGENT
by SOLOMON BALOGUN 02 Apr '01

02 Apr '01

No 9 EZEANI CLOSE, NEW HAVEN, ENUGU ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA FAX:234-1-7597635 VERY URGENT BUSINESS TRANSACTION DEAR SIR, IN ORDER TO TRANSFER OUT (USD 26 MILLION DOLLARS) FROM OUR BANK. I HAVE THE COURAGE TO ASK YOU TO LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND HONEST PERSON WHO WILL BE CAPABLE FOR THIS IMPORTANT BUSINESS BELIEVING THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN EITHER NOW OR IN FUTURE. I AM MR. SOLOMON BALOGUN THE EASTERN DISTRICT BANK MANAGER OF UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. (UBA). THERE IS AN ACCOUNT OPENED IN THIS BANK IN 1980 AND SINCE 1990 NOBODY HAS OPERATED ON THIS ACCOUNT AGAIN. AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS I DISCOVERED THAT IF I DO NOT REMITT THIS MONEY OUT URGENTLY IT WILL BE FORFEITED FOR NOTHING. THE OWNER OF THIS ACCOUNT IS MR. SMITH B. ANDREAS, A FOREIGNER, AND THE MANAGER OF PETRO TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES, A CHEMICAL ENGINEER BY PROFESSION AND HE DIED SINCE 1990. NO OTHER PERSON KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT OR ANY THING CONCERNING IT, THE ACCOUNT HAS NO OTHER BENEFICIARY AND MY INVESTIGATION PROVED TO ME AS WELL THAT THIS COMPANY DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT AND THE AMOUNT INVOLVED IS (USD 26 MILLION DOLLARS). I WANT TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY INTO A SAFE FOREIGNERS ACCOUNT ABROAD BUT I DONT KNOW ANY FOREIGNER, I AM ONLY CONTACTING YOU AS A FOREIGNER BECAUSE THIS MONEY CAN NOT BE APPROVED TO A LOCAL BANK HERE, BUT CAN ONLY BE APPROVED TO ANY FOREIGN ACCOUNT BECAUSE THE MONEY IS IN US DOLLARS AND THE FORMER OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT IS MR. SMITH B. ANDREAS IS A FOREIGNER TOO. I KNOW THAT THIS MASSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE AS WE DONT KNOW OUR SELVES BEFORE, BUT BE SURE THAT IT IS REAL AND A GENUINE BUSINESS. I ONLY GOT YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS FROM THE COMPUTER ,WITH BELIEVE IN GOD THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN IN THIS BUSINESS YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON THAT I HAVE CONTACTED IN THIS BUSINESS, SO PLEASE REPLY URGENTLY SO THAT I WILL INFORM YOU THE NEXT STEP TO TAKE URGENTLY. SEND ALSO YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND FAX NUMBER INCLUDING THE FULL DETAILS OF THE ACCOUNT TO BE USED FOR THE DEPOSIT. I WANT US TO MEET FACE TO FACE OR SIGN A BINDING AGREEMENT TO BIND US TOGETHER SO THAT YOU CAN RECIEVE THIS MONEY INTO A FORIEGN ACCOUNT OR ANY ACCOUNT OF YOUR CHOICE WHERE THE FUND WILL BE SAFE. AND I WILL FLY TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR WITHDRAWAL AND SHARING AND OTHER INVESTMENTS. I AM CONTACTING YOU BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO INVOLVE A FOREIGNER WITH FOREIGN ACCOUNT AND FOREIGN BENEFICIARY. I NEED YOUR FULL CO-OPERATION TO MAKE THIS WORK FINE. BECAUSE THE MANAGEMENT IS READY TO APPROVE THIS PAYMENT TO ANY FOREIGNER WHO HAS CORRECT INFORMATION OF THIS ACCOUNT, WHICH I WILL GIVE TO YOU LATER IMMEDIATELY, IF YOU ARE ABLE AND WITH CAPABILITY TO HANDLE SUCH AMOUNT IN STRICT CONFIDENCE AND TRUST ACCORDING TO MY INSTRUCTIONS AND ADVICE FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT BECAUSE THIS OPPORTUNITY WILL NEVER COME AGAIN IN MY LIFE. I NEED TRUTHFUL PERSON IN THIS BUSINESS BECAUSE I DONT WANT TO MAKE MISTAKE I NEED YOUR STRONG ASSURANCE AND TRUST. WITH MY POSITION NOW IN THE OFFICE I CAN TRANSFER THIS MONEY TO ANY FOREIGNERS RELIABLE ACCOUNT WHICH YOU CAN PROVIDE WITH ASSURANCE THAT THIS MONEY WILL BE INTACT PENDING MY PHYSICAL ARRIVAL IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR SHARING. I WILL DESTROY ALL DOCUMENTS OF TRANSACTION IMMEDIATELY WE RECIEVE THIS MONEY LEAVING NO TRACE TO ANY PLACE. YOU CAN ALSO COME TO DISCUSS WITH ME FACE TO FACE AFTER WHICH I WILL MAKE THIS REMITTANCE IN YOUR PRESENCE AND TWO OF US WILL FLY TO YOUR COUNTRY AT LEAST TWO DAYS AHEAD OF THE MONEY GOING INTO THE ACCOUNT. I WILL APPLY FOR ANNUAL LEAVE TO GET VISA IMMEDIATELY I HEAR FROM YOU THAT YOU ARE READY TO ACT AND RECEIVE THIS FUND IN YOUR ACCOUNT. I WILL USE MY POSITION AND INFLUENCE TO EFFECT LEGAL APPROVALS AND ONWARD TRANSFER OF THIS MONEY TO YOUR ACCOUNT WITH APPROPRIATE CLEARANCE FORMS OF THE MINISTRIES AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE DEPARTMENTS. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS BUSINESS, YOU WILL BE GIVEN 35% OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT, 60% WILL BE FOR ME, WHILE 5% WILL BE FOR EXPENSES BOTH PARTIES MIGHT HAVE INCURED DURING THE PROCESS OF TRANSFERING. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR EARLIEST REPLY BY FAX ONLY. FAX LINE: 234-1-7597635. YOURS TRULY, SOLOMON BALOGUN. ____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? For regular News updates go to http://in.news.yahoo.com

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U.S. Secret Service raids E-Gold currency exchanger
by Declan McCullagh 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,42745,00.html Secret Service Raids E-Gold by Declan McCullagh (declan(a)wired.com) 11:10 a.m. Mar. 30, 2001 PST WASHINGTON -- The Secret Service has raided a New York state business that exchanged dollars for grams of the digital currency called e-gold. A bevy of agents from the Secret Service, Postal Service and local police recently detained the owners of Gold-Age, based in Syracuse, and seized computers, files and documents from the fledgling firm. U.S. Attorney Daniel French said Friday that the investigation involved charges of credit card fraud. "We haven't brought charges yet," French said. "We're in the investigative phase." Gold-Age owner Parker Bradley says that during his eight-hour interrogation on March 12, the Secret Service seemed less interested in credit card fraud and more interested in the mechanics of e-gold. Until last year, Bradley accepted credit cards and paid out e-gold, but said he quit because too many people used stolen credit cards when conducting business with him. "The interrogation became less about me and more about politics and e-gold," Bradley said. "They were trying to get me to blame e-gold for fraud. Just to be blunt, these guys have no clue about how e-commerce works, how e-gold works or what I was doing." E-gold is a 5-year-old firm based on the Caribbean island of Nevis that provides an electronic currency backed by physical metal stored in vaults in London and Dubai. The company says it has 181,000 user accounts and stores about 1.4 metric tons of gold on behalf of its customers. Bradley's Gold-Age company, which he ran with his wife out of their home until the raid, was one of about a dozen e-gold currency exchange services: He took dollars and credited grams of gold, silver, platinum and palladium to a customer's account, less a modest fee. [...] Still unclear is why the raid took place. French indicated that it could be more than a routine credit card investigation, saying "at this point, it's being investigated as a credit card fraud." One possibility is a broader investigation directed at some users of e-gold, which is less anonymous than cash but more anonymous than credit cards. Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has warned of malcontents using the Net and encryption to dodge taxes, and it's possible that the feds don't exactly approve of a system that's more privacy-protective than the heavily regulated banking system. Current federal regulations require banks and credit unions -- about 19,000 in all -- to inform federal law enforcement of all transactions $5,000 and above that have no "apparent lawful purpose or are not the sort in which the particular customer would normally be expected to engage." Because e-gold is not a bank that lends money -- it's more akin to a warehouse that stores gold on behalf of its customers -- it's not covered by those rules. Mike Godwin said the raid evokes memories of the notorious Steve Jackson Games raid by the Secret Service a decade ago, which led to the formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. [...]

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Louis Freeh and False Alarms [RISKS]
by Bill Stewart 01 Apr '01

01 Apr '01

Obviously this calls for wiretaps on Freeh's phones and email and hidden cameras in his house to prevent future occurrences.... From [risks] Risks Digest 21.28 ========================= Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2001 13:57:54 -0500 From: Graystreak <wex(a)media.mit.edu> Subject: Risks of self-induced false alarms http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38625-2001Mar7.html FBI Director Louis J. Freeh said he and his wife had been baffled by a series of false alarms from the security system in their Great Falls area home. Fairfax County police responded each time, but no suspects had been nabbed. It seems that two of his six sons, then ages 5 and 4, had been amusing themselves by making their 2-year-old brother run in circles in the basement to set off the motion detector. "They would sit and watch for the police to come," Freeh said. [AW notes: no discussion of why the motion detector was on in the basement while the children were home, nor why the police didn't adopt a "call before responding" policy after some number of false alarms.] =================================================

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