September 2001 - cypherpunks-legacy

An Open Letter on Privacy and Anonymity (fwd)
by Jim Choate 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 14:37:11 -0700 From: Eric Hughes <eh-cypherpunks(a)grace.speakeasy.net> Reply-To: cypherpunks(a)ssz.com To: cypherpunks(a)lne.com Subject: CDR: An Open Letter on Privacy and Anonymity 2001 September 12 An Open Letter on Privacy and Anonymity Fellow Citizens of the United States of America: I am moved to write as a founder of a movement that, far beyond my own efforts, has eloquently expressed an ideal, the ideal of privacy in society. Privacy is not uniquely American, yet it is at the core of the American ideal, at the core of free speech that enables human connection, at the core of free association that builds society up from a savage state, at the core of liberty. I helped to start cypherpunks, a movement for privacy in the digital world. Cypherpunks is a diverse movement with no explicit doctrine, yet with a deep shared desire for human liberty. Let none who call me friend say that the events of September 11 are anything other than a dark day upon humanity. In the midst of the violence, I see a thirst for the taste of the blood of vengeance in the mouths of many of my fellow citizens. I see that destruction will ineluctably ride upon the opponents of the country of these my fellow citizens. So be it. I do not seek here to forestall or to avoid the violence directed toward the perpetrators of these deeds. I write as a citizen of the United States that our country may avoid a self-inflicted wound against liberty. The terrorists have struck a blow against liberty, it is said. The terrorists will strike again, it is said. I say to all, let us not strike the second blow against ourselves. Today we are seeking an enemy unknown, an enemy who is hiding, as well they ought to. The thirst that drives our country forward now cannot be slaked without the apprehension of those responsible, and we have yet to identify or find them. We now have a great temptation before us, to lash out at those amongst ourselves who may be thought to have given succor to our enemies, at those amongst ourselves who may be thought to still provide them solace and deception, and at those amongst ourselves whom some dislike for unrelated reasons. I wish to repeat again the words of Governor Davis of California, who spoke yesterday that "we are all Americans." We are all Americans, and we should not attack ourselves. We are all Americans, and we should not fight each other in the streets. We are all Americans, and we should not turn our law enforcement apparatus and our national security infrastructure against the very liberties that we all hold dear. The goal of these terrorists is to restrict freedoms in America, to steal its essence and to weaken it. I shall pray we do not cooperate with this their goal in a hot-headed rush to immediate results. Let the anger of this country be cold and calmly directed, that the accompaniment of wrath be precision. The terrorists are cowards, it is said. Shall America be a coward to itself? We have an excess of strength to expend upon our opponents, be they external or internal. We will find that there are internal champions of liberty that have without conspiracy or knowledge furthered the plans of our opponents, who have taken advantage of the liberties that America offers all who enter her shores. Many of these champions I know personally, because cypherpunks have enabled liberty on-line to all takers, without discrimination and without distinction. Let the prevailing wrath be directed not against those to promote liberty, but those who consciously seek to destroy it. We need not curtail our liberty in order to save it. The message is seductive that we may more effectively fight for liberty if we limit our freedoms for a time whose end has yet to be announced. Yet this is not the message of America, but of several of its vanquished enemies. For liberty is not fair-weather clothing that may only be worn when the weather is good. Liberty is rather the jewel in the locket, the most prized possession short of family and life itself. We diminish ourselves if we rationalize our freedom away in an evanescent fog of rhetoric about efficiency. Liberty is not efficient; it is expensive and tortuous, and as an American people we desire it before most everything else. As we enter a new century, let us demonstrate the true strength of an open society -- that it can withstand the threat of demagoguery even as it remains a powerful actor against an external threat. This is the ideal that our strength may manifest, that a democracy may express its power as a democracy itself, and not as a police state masquerading as one. I stand with the Federal Congress and sing "America, my home, sweet home." For I live upon this land and soil, with other people who have set their lives along the course of freedom. I pray that we may all pass through this dark time with the dignity of our own ideals intact, that we may pass through to the other side with renewed vigor to pursue the cause of freedom over all the earth. My heart grieves with those who have lost, yet it also rejoices that we might yet undergo this ordeal as a country and emerge stronger and more faithful to our own nature. May peace be with you all, with the fullness of your existence in tow. Eric Hughes [Please feel free to post this at will.]

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Eric Hughes' email
by Dr. Evil 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

Hi, does anyone have a copy of the email Eric Hughes sent out? I somehow didn't get it and I can't find it in the archive. Thanks!

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C E L L O D E P O T . C O M INITIAL OFFER
by Cellodepot.com 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

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Re: An Open Letter on Privacy and Anonymity
by Nomen Nescio 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

Eric Hughes wrote: > 2001 September 12 > An Open Letter on Privacy and Anonymity It's a well written letter, unquestionably. But there's a problem. While the title of the letter refers to privacy and anonymity, these terms are hardly used in the body. Privacy is referred to only in the first paragraph were Eric introduces himself as a founder of the cypherpunks, a privacy organization. And anonymity is never mentioned at all! Any essay which purports to address a topic ought to mention it, don't you think? What if he had titled it, an open letter on pedophilia and child abuse? Would the arguments in the letter then automatically mean that we should support those activities? Mostly the letter contains calls for the preservation of liberty. Unfortunately, every politician in the United States, while voting for the most Draconian martial law curfews ever seen, would endorse each paragraph in Eric's message. Without some specifics tying these calls for liberty to concrete policy questions, the letter is not as strong as it should be. > We need not curtail our liberty in order to save it. The message is > seductive that we may more effectively fight for liberty if we limit our > freedoms for a time whose end has yet to be announced. How broadly do we take this? What about the elimination of curbside baggage checkins at airports? Is this a curtailment of our liberty? Is it a sign that we have diminished ourselves? Or is it a reasonable precaution in the face of terrorist hijackings? The letter from Sean Hastings suffered from the same vagueness: > Do not let your natural reactions of fear or anger help ANYONE to > further their short term political goals, or impose any "temporary" > measures. No "temporary" measures? They shouldn't have banned flights on Tuesday? Why not, exactly? Seemed like a wise precaution to most people. And no furthering of short-term political goals? The politicians have been wanting to dip into the social security "lockbox" for months. Now they can. Is this wrong? Isn't it just a matter of changing priorities which everyone will support? Why are we seeing such vague generalities from obviously talented writers? Let's see people go to the heart of the issue. If you want to argue for privacy and anonymity, make the case! The fact that no one will come out and make an argument for these technologies suggests that it is because they are afraid that any argument will be too weak to stand. Eric Hughes, take on this challenge. Write an essay, not in defense of liberty, but in defense of privacy and anonymity, as you promised in your title. And do it at a time when some of the best leads towards tracing these attackers are possible exactly because of a lack of privacy and anonymity. Tell us why the world would be a better place if it were impossible to trace these men. It's not an impossible argument. But it's not easy, either, like supporting freedom. Let's see it done, by someone as talented as you.

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re: \"Ending States That Support Terrorism\"
by keyser-soze＠hushmail.com 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 02:36 PM 9/13/2001 -0700, Eric Cordian wrote: >It looks like the game that is being played here, is that all countries are being given an opportunity to pledge unconditional support and cooperation for Bush's "War" against those rendering aid to terrorism, now declared to be the primary focus of his administration, and whoever declines will constitute the enemy. Reminds me of the scene in Gladiator in which Crowe's character is asked by the new Emperor (who has ascended the throne Klingon-style) to kiss his ring (the one he just took off his father's still warm body) as a sign of allegiance. He tell's Crowe, "I will ask you only once..." -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: Hush 2.0 wmAEARECACAFAjuhMqIZHGtleXNlci1zb3plQGh1c2htYWlsLmNvbQAKCRAg4ui5IoBV n+ddAKCJ5EEuOQfswvXRoYrg8SoZrRhfkACfRPZ3b2NhVz3hm0UxQTW2rkgjkwI= =LMHT -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Com profundo pesar...
by info＠giganetstore.com 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

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Re: MARTIAL LAW Cypherpunks and terrorism
by cubic-dog 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

On Thu, 13 Sep 2001, !Dr. Joe Baptista wrote: > Arabs are by default very nobel, trustworthy and honourable people. But > they are not cows. They will not bow their heads as their civilization is > brutalized and raped. They will fight back with the vengence that is > the holy jihad. Not too sure, I certainly agree that these folks are not "cows", but as to rising up in arms when provoked, that takes a specific type. An example would be the so called silent majority of gun owners in America, all of whom expressed outrage over Ruby Ridge, and then later, Waco. A lot of these folks, if you follow the boards, bbses in those days, claimed that after then president G.Bush Sr's assault weapons ban, that further action on behalf of the feds would predicate a call to arms. Well, they all stood by as these events unfolded, and they stood by as the "fed" whitewashed all of it recently. > Kill Osama Bin Ladin and you create another arab saint and many more holy > warriors take his place. That is the nature of the beast. Back to the previous analogy, The silent majority of gun owners had a Bin Ladin in Timmy McVea. They backed away from him as fast as possible after the bombing, and no new Timmy has stepped up to take his place. So, in my ignorance, I think that a few extremists basically screw up the dialogue for everyone involved, the sooner these folks are out of the equation, the better for all parties. I think a lot of "victims of American Policy" believe this as well. It was different for the last 8 years when the commander in chief lacked resolve and seriously emboldened many forigen enemies. These "surgical" air strikes do little more than really piss folks off. A "war" has to be won on the ground. I think there is a certain level of resolve that has galvanised over these last few days. I expect that action, when taken, will be pretty decisive. As to your other points, I belive they are well stated, I just disagree.

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Shades of X-Files
by keyser-soze＠hushmail.com 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Unconfirmed reports just coming in that one of the WTC recovered bodies may be that of Chandra Levy... -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: Hush 2.0 wmAEARECACAFAjuhEE8ZHGtleXNlci1zb3plQGh1c2htYWlsLmNvbQAKCRAg4ui5IoBV n78HAJ9JGJ6PIj115wGElkbvFFZ97Swl9gCcDh3zUlLiYPI+s3TlIfsMJG4y8X0= =723M -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Sarah Thompson M.D.'s Response to Suicide Bombings
by Matthew Gaylor 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

[Note from Matthew Gaylor: Sarah Thompson is a psychiatrist in Salt Lake City]

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Cypherpunk Threat Analysis
by Aimee Farr 13 Sep '01

13 Sep '01

For the sick people in here that like to call for TNA's (target name and address) for judicial officials etc. -- NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary Thursday, September 13, 2001 -- "Technological Advances in Assessing Threats to Judicial Officials" Sheriff (08/01) Vol. 53, No. 4, P. 34; Calhoun, Frederick S. The majority of sheriff offices throughout the country assign personnel to handle threats made to judges according to which situations pose the greatest risks. Los Angeles security consulting firm Gavin de Becker has developed an advanced threat-management system that incorporates computers. Assessing which threat poses the most risk to court officials or jurors is difficult. According to the U.S. Marshals Service's case files, people making threats rarely carry them through. Gavin de Becker's MOSAIC program provides a series of questions designed to assess the potential risk posed by different situations and people. The Supreme Court Police use the program for ensuring the safety of the chief justices. (www.sheriffs.org) ~Aimee

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