September 2001 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Death of \'nations\'?
by auto301094＠hushmail.com 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Jim wrote: >Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the concept of 'nation'? Are we >faced with the incontrovertible truth that we either abandon the concepts >of science/technology, accept a autocratic state where our every move is >reviewed for threat potential, or do we find another solution to the >problems of mankind other than the 'state'? Are these the only three >choices? No, I hope not. Unfortunately, to quote Bernard Brodie, I suspect this may be a case in which the rigidity lies in the situation, not in the thinking. As long as the technology exists, it's going to be problematic. So then the really interesting question becomes finding a way to translate a more pro-freedom, idealistic approach into practical policy within the situation and institutional framework as it exists now. You know, it sort of gets back to Herman Kahn's idea of "men of influence" as those who "write the documents that are placed in the hands of the decisionmaker at key moments." As a "community", (if a term like that even makes sense) we could use a few more Men of Influence in the policy arena, rather than leaving it entirely in the hands of the statists. We turn up our noses at participating in the process and then wonder why it all turns out so badly. What a surprise. A useful exercise might be the following: pretend Condi Rice asked you to draft up a point paper of policy recommendations related to technology and security to be presented to the President next week. Could you distill your approach into a set of bullet points--short, to the point, and easy enough for George Bush to understand? If anyone gives it a try I'd certainly be glad to see it. Even getting it out in a public forum like this might be beneficial, who knows. *** If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose that freedom; and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that, too. - --Somerset Maugham We live in a world where emergencies are always possible, and our survival may depend on our capacity to meet emergencies. Having said that, it is necessary also to say that emergency measures however good for the emergency do not make good permanent policies. Emergency measures are costly, they are superficial, and they imply that the enemy has the initiative. - --John Foster Dulles -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: Hush 2.0 wl8EARECAB8FAjuuY68YHGF1dG8zMDEwOTRAaHVzaG1haWwuY29tAAoJEKadvsVlUK4P qTUAoINUXPrdyYgnIu+B4BaKmAbICIO3AJ92/YxjG2Y8lyE5FO2fZH3yGUUaQQ== =jrHQ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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STUFFING ENVELOPES
by DONNA GROEBLINGHOFF 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

I NEED SOMETHING ,USEFULL TO DO IN MY EVENINGS. I QUIT SMOKING, NOW I. NEED SOMETHING TO DO IN ORDER TO KEEP MY HANDS, BUSY, AND SO THAT I DON'T THINK ABOUT THEM , OR STUFFING FOOD IN MY FACE. I WOULD RATHER BE DOING SOMETHING OTHER THAN JUST EATING ALL THE TIME IN THE EVENINGS. I Came across your home job, stuffing envelopes. That would be perfect, instead of stuffing food in my mouth, and just gain weight. I'd rather be stuffing envelopes, and have a little extra money to help out on my bills. Plus I don't need to gain weight, but I do need some extra cash, and this might be it. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION! DONNA GROEBLINGHOFF

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Rumsfelt vs. bin Laden
by An Metet 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

Looking at the pictures of Rumdumb and Osama side by side on the CNN page today, I was struck by the undeniable fact that Osama was a whole lot more appealing. Likewise when I see him next to Dubbya. And I have no interest in Islam or the radical Muslim cause.

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Re: Op-ed on encryption: Privacy is no longer an argument
by Bill Stewart 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

At 03:10 PM 09/23/2001 -0500, Jim Choate wrote: >On Sun, 23 Sep 2001, Bill Stewart wrote: > > It is bait and switch, but the argument is that if the > > cops have keys to the house of the guy who drove the car into yours, > > they can go see if he's got any co-conspirators and arrest them, > > so the risk of getting caught is a deterrent to wouldbe co-conspirators > > in future wouldbe crimes, and meanwhile it lets the cops look good > > by catching the guys who helped do it. > >I think driving through my house qualifies as 'probable cause' to search >his house IF there is evidence or a clear line of reasoning that it >couldn't be done alone... Well, of course. But the analogy here was comparing house keys to crypto, which, unlike houses, can only be opened and searched if the cops have access to the keys, or if somebody left the back door open or used weak enough crypto for brute force to let them break in.

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Re: Op-ed on encryption: Privacy is no longer an argument
by Bill Stewart 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

At 01:01 AM 09/21/2001 -0500, Jim Choate wrote: >Speaking of ringing hollow... >How does having keys to my house keep somebody from throwing a fire bomb >on it, or driving a car through it? > >It don't. It's a bait and switch. >After it's burned down or a big hole in its side a key is rather >redundent. It is bait and switch, but the argument is that if the cops have keys to the house of the guy who drove the car into yours, they can go see if he's got any co-conspirators and arrest them, so the risk of getting caught is a deterrent to wouldbe co-conspirators in future wouldbe crimes, and meanwhile it lets the cops look good by catching the guys who helped do it. It's interesting to me that this looks like Ashcroft was somewhat on our side back when he was in the Senate, though of course that doesn't mean he'll stay that way as AG. >On Fri, 21 Sep 2001, Declan McCullagh wrote: > > http://www.wartimeliberty.com/article.pl?sid=01/09/21/0450203 > > > > Crypto Op-Ed: Privacy No Longer an Argument > > posted by admin on Thursday September 20, @11:39PM > > > > M. W. Guzy has a provocative and not entirely coherent essay > > in Wednesday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Excerpt: "(Then-Senator > > John) Ashcroft wrote that mandating deciphering tools was tantamount > > to requiring 'individuals to surrender the keys to their house... to > > the FBI just in case they are someday suspected of breaking the law.' > > Somehow, that argument rings a little hollow when viewed through the > > smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center

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how not to be mistaken as a terrorist
by citizenQ 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

Grow a beard Be argumentative Draw attention to yourself Park in no-parking zones Wear eastern clothes Don't pay your rent on time Cause trouble in your neighborhood Be chatty in public Don't join the gym Drink a lot and fuck. Sounds ALmost like any card-carrying cypherpunk to me. >http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20010921_1525.html > > > Terror manual gives instructions for attackers on how to blend in > > The Associated Press > > > > NEW YORK (AP) No beards or other "Islamic characteristics." Do not > speak loudly or otherwise draw attention to yourself. Rent apartments > in areas where neighbors do not know each other well. > The suicide hijackers in last week's attacks apparently practiced > terrorism by the book a 180-page manual for Muslim operatives living > undercover among their enemies in "godless areas" of the world. > > The manual, "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants," was > discovered last year during an investigation of Osama bin Laden, and > gives terrorists precise instructions on how to act while they await > their orders to strike. > > Investigators have not said whether the 19 hijackers ever read the > manual, but glimpses of their lives suggest they conducted themselves > according to its instructions during the months they spent in the > United States. > > Experts say the manual illustrates the inner workings of bin Laden's > al-Qaida organization, the prime suspect in the attacks. It also > foreshadows the suicide hijackings themselves, in which the terrorists > used boxcutters and knives. > > For example, the manual's "Assassinations" section gives precise > instructions on how to use weapons with blades, saying the "enemy must > be struck in one of these lethal spots: Anywhere in the rib cage, both > or one eye, the back of the head, the end of the spinal column." > > The hijackers "seem to have followed (the manual) as closely as they > could ... making sure no one knew the whole picture," said George > Andrew, former deputy head of anti-terrorism for the FBI's New York > City office. > > The manual says anyone willing to "undergo martyrdom" should be "able > to act, pretend and mask himself" behind enemy lines. > > Among its instructions: > > Do not address others with traditional Islamic greetings in which > Allah's name is invoked. > > Do not cause trouble in your neighborhood. Do not park in no-parking > zones. > > Do not live near police stations. > > Do not appear to be overly inquisitive. > > Burn letters immediately after reading them and get rid of the ashes, > too. > > Rent apartments "in newly developed areas where people don't know each > other." > > Use codes when talking on the telephone. > > Try not to be "chatty and talkative" in public. > > Maintain an appearance "that does not indicate Islamic orientation > (beard, toothpick, book, long shirt, small Koran)." > > Most television images of the men thought to have been aboard the > airliners show them without beards. And people who met them said they > wore Western clothes. > > Neighbors of some of the men in California, Florida and Maryland said > they lived in suburbs where they did not stand out. In Florida they > moved frequently, staying in motels and apartments around the state. > > They also joined gyms. One made small talk with a neighbor about > sports. Another posted a personal ad on the Internet. > > People who came into contact with them described them as quiet, > friendly and sometimes timid men who gave few, if any, hints that they > harbored deep resentment against the United States. > > Nawaq Alhamzi, a suspected hijacker aboard the jet that crashed into > the Pentagon, lived last fall in a new 175-unit San Diego apartment > building where so many people came and went that he was barely > noticed. He always paid the rent on time. > > Some of the hijackers appeared to bend a rule in the manual stating > that "there is nothing that permits ... drinking wine or fornicating." > > Days before the World Trade Center attack, Mohamed Atta and Marwan > Al-Shehhi were seen drinking at a sports bar in Hollywood, Fla. Majed > Moqued was spotted perusing adult videos in two Laurel, Md., stores. > He did not buy anything. > > FBI agents discovered the manual last year in Manchester, England, in > one of several "guest houses" authorities say al-Qaida used to harbor > terrorist cells. The FBI was investigating bin Laden and his suspected > role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. > > A translation of manual from the original Arabic was made public last > spring, when prosecutors in New York introduced it as evidence in the > embassy bombing trial that ended with the convictions of four bin > Laden associates. > > After studying the manual, the FBI suspected that bin Laden's soldiers > were attempting to infiltrate American society, said Andrew, the > former FBI anti-terrorism official. But investigators apparently did > not conclude that terrorists had already put themselves in position to > strike. > > They "didn't think they were at that chapter yet," Andrew said. > > > Associated Press Writers Pat Milton and Larry Neumeister contributed > to this story.

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Larry Ellison, Nazi Collaborator: Oracle for Natl ID
by Subcommander Bob 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/ellsn092301.htm Idea driven by security concerns BY PAUL ROGERS AND ELISE ACKERMAN Mercury News Broaching a controversial subject that has gained visibility since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison is calling for the United States to create a national identification card system -- and offering to donate the software to make it possible. Under Ellison's proposal, millions of Americans would be fingerprinted and the information would be placed on a database used by airport security officials to verify identities of travelers at airplane gates. ``We need a national ID card with our photograph and thumbprint digitized and embedded in the ID card,'' Ellison said in an interview Friday night on the evening news of KPIX-TV in San Francisco. ``We need a database behind that, so when you're walking into an airport and you say that you are Larry Ellison, you take that card and put it in a reader and you put your thumb down and that system confirms that this is Larry Ellison,'' he said. `Absolutely free' Ellison's company, Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, is the world's leading maker of database software. Ellison, worth $15 billion, is among the world's richest people. ``We're quite willing to provide the software for this absolutely free,'' he said. Calls for national ID cards traditionally have been met with fierce resistance from civil liberties groups, who say the cards would intrude on the privacy of Americans and allow the government to track people's movements. But Ellison said in the electronic age, little privacy is left anyway. ``Well, this privacy you're concerned about is largely an illusion,'' he said. ``All you have to give up is your illusions, not any of your privacy. Right now, you can go onto the Internet and get a credit report about your neighbor and find out where your neighbor works, how much they earn and if they had a late mortgage payment and tons of other information.'' Attempts by the Mercury News to reach Ellison for further comment Saturday were unsuccessful. Many questions about the proposal remain unanswered, such as whether foreign nationals would be required to have a card to enter the country. The hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks are not believed to have been U.S. citizens. In the TV interview with anchorman Hank Plante, Ellison said shoppers have to disclose more information at malls to buy a watch than they do to get on an airplane. ``Let me ask you. There are two different airlines. Airline A says before you board that airplane you prove you are who you say you are. Airline B, no problem. Anyone who wants the price of a ticket, they can go on that airline. Which airplane do you get on?'' Oracle has a longstanding relationship with the federal government. Indeed, the CIA was Ellison's first customer, and the company's name stems from a CIA-funded project launched in the mid-1970s that sought better ways of storing and retrieving digital data. Civil libertarians said caution is needed. ``It strikes me as a form of overreaction to the events that we have experienced,'' said Robert Post, a constitutional law professor at the University of California-Berkeley. ``If we allow a terrorist attack to destroy forms of freedom that we have enjoyed, we will have given the victory to them. This kind of recommendation does just that.'' Post said while such a system may catch some criminals, it could be hacked or faked or evaded by capable terrorists. Nor is it clear that such a system would have foiled the Sept. 11 attacks, he said. Strong support But polls last week show many Americans support a national ID card. In a survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, seven of 10 Americans favored a requirement that citizens carry a national identity card at all times to show to a police officer upon request. The proposal had particularly strong support from women. There was less support for government monitoring of telephone calls, e-mails and credit card purchases. The FBI already has an electronic fingerprint system for criminals. In July 1999, the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System became operational. That system keeps an electronic database of 41 million fingerprints, with prints from all 10 fingers of people who have been convicted of crimes. Faster response The system has reduced the FBI's criminal fingerprint processing time from 45 days to less than two hours. Paul Bresson, an FBI spokesman in Washington, said Saturday that he is unaware of the details of Ellison's proposal and declined comment. Howard Gantman, a spokesman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said that she would be interested in discussing the idea with Ellison. ``She does feel that we do need to make some important advances in terms of increasing our security,'' Gantman said. ``A lot of people have brought up ideas about how to create more security and she's interested in exploring them. She'd like to find out more.'' One group certain to fight the proposal is the American Civil Liberties Union. A statement about ID cards posted on the ACLU's national Web site says: ``A national ID card would essentially serve as an internal passport. It would create an easy new tool for government surveillance and could be used to target critics of the government, as has happened periodically throughout our nation's history.''

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Barcodes, DNA, and you.
by citizenQ 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

Dear Diane & Larry: I thought you'd be interested in this company, who perhaps could donate the technology to complete the tasklist for tagging the citzenry. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- AgInfoLink utilises leading data tracking and transfer technology to record, analyse, report and deliver information. These technologies make the process of data collection easier, faster and more accurate than ever, allowing high-speed and real-time capture of accurate data, and on-time transfer of information among individuals or networks. Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) A Radio Frequency Identifcation Device (RFID) is a device used for electronic identification. An RFID ear tag can be applied to an animal's ear in the same way as a visual ID tag. The RFID contains a microchip with a unique identification number and specialized micro-electronic circuitry (a transponder) for communicating this unique number to an RFID reader. The RFID is called a passive communication device because it does not contain a battery. Rather, it uses electromagnetic energy received from the RFID reader to power the transponder and send a radio signal containing the unique identification number back to the reader. This number can then be fed directly to a computer for recording. RFID technology works in dirty, dusty and moist environments and does not require a direct line-of-sight to work. This means the technology works exceptionally well in livestock and carcase processing environments. Barcodes Barcodes are used extensively in many applications around the world, including on tags and labels. Barcoded eartags are available for individual animal identification. Information is stored in the barcode by making parallel lines with certain thickness and gaps. When a barcode is scanned using a barcode reader, the reader decodes the barcode to reveal it's unique identifying number. The barcode scanner can be linked to a to a computer to record these unique numbers. Genetic (DNA) Traceback Every animal has a unique genetic makeup (it's DNA). Genetic testing to determine an animal's unique DNA profile can be used to trace the identity of meat products back to individual animals for source verification and quality assurance. DNA diagnostics can also be used to determine the parentage of animals to allow sire or pedigree testing and for the selection of livestock with desirable traits. Via strategic partnership, AgInfoLink can offer our clients a number of DNA based processes and services. These products include Gene Marker Technology, for carcase and meat quality, plus DNA services fingerprinting for parentage and traceback. An important part of these service includes DNA sample gathering and storage labels, for both meat/blood samples and for hair samples, plus services to store and analyse these samples. Example 1 Bull Selection. For cattle producers, selection of bulls is critical to introducing or modifying specific traits of progeny. It is not usually achievable to directly link performance of progeny animals and carcases to bulls because of multiple sire mating. Not all performance characteristics of stock and carcases can be attributed to genetics, however, genetics do play a major factor. If producers can be presented data that highlights animals as being exceptionally good or poor performers, it would be very beneficial to be able to know what bulls could be linked, thus enabling replacement bulls to be selected that mirror the bulls linked to exceptionally good progeny. Bulls linked to poor performing progeny would be culled. To achieve the outcome of objectively based bull selection, AgInfoLink offers producers DNA sampling and Storage tools to gather DNA from Bulls at a property level and to gather DNA from progeny at a carcase level. AgInfoLink systems can be used to gather and store! live animal data and carcase data, plus, link the DNA sample numbers for live animals and carcases to eartag numbers carcase ticket numbers. Using AgInfoLink's reporting tools, key performance data can be reported to show exceptional animals (good or bad) and list their DNA sample numbers. Producers can identify progeny of interest. Using the DNA sample numbers stored in the AgInfoLink system, a DNA parentage test can then be undertaken DNA from carcases is then linked to bulls.

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UK lameness, with apologies to Brown, Trei, etc.
by Subcommander Bob 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

[On MI6 deep cover agents] They are the closest thing the intelligence services have to James Bond. They are even licensed to kill but only in self-defence. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/4326959 [ LOL. Here in the states, we don't need a *license* to kill in self defense. You don't ask permission for something that is your birthright. ] A MASSIVE 85 per cent of British people want identity cards introduced in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, it was revealed yesterday. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/4326804 [ How about ear-tags? There must be plenty left over from the UK livestock industry... ] [ Yes I know, the US will be there in a decade or two... ]

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Fwd: Re: FC: Sen. Hollings plans to introduce DMCA sequel: The SSSCA
by keyser-soze＠hushmail.com 24 Sep '01

24 Sep '01

----- Forwarded Message ----- >From: Someone >> >>Working to keep our neighbors awake and informed is our best hope, in my >>view - that is the only way democracy will ever work. > >Historically this has often failed (e.g., the lack of outcry against Japanese internment camps). Neighboors are willing to sell their liberty and their neighbors at the drop of a hat if someone in government promises them greater security, even though these same liars failed them time and time again. > >Since the New Deal Americans and corporations have become increasingly reliant on government to provide for them, shield them from their own poor judgement and folly and transfer the responsibility to the rest of us. (Citizens of a like mind should structure upcoming tax filings to deduct Congress' largess to the airlines and others). We cannot depend on these cowards and weaklings. > >You'll notice that no Declaration of War was formally given. Even so Congress has moved to curtail civil liberties. From my perspective both life and liberty are equally dear. Those that attempt to take either I will treat the same. > >Its time to water the tree...

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