December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
by Matthew James Gering 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Jim Choate wrote: > > The only problem is your statement that one can dominate > > "saturable" markets without some artificial "mechanism." > > Who said anything about 'artificial'? I did. I state you cannot have a coercive monopoly without artificial barriers (and hence a free market cannot have a coercive monopoly) and you disagree. I am not sticking any terms where they don't go, you have consistently theorized monopolies can exist in a free market. Perhaps you should re-read my statement and not assume negatives where I clearly did not write them. > talking a free-market, there are *only* two participants; That is a twisted and absolutely unjustified definition of a free market. A free market lacks forceful restriction or prohibition of free [consensual] trade. EXCEPT that which violates individual rights. I will argue that an anarcho-capitalist market that treats force as a commodity is NOT a free market. There can be participants acting as agents, intermediaries and arbiters for the traders. > > If you mean dominate by > > market share, then sure that is possible. > > I mean *dominate* the market. You cannot define a word with itself. What is *dominate* in context of a market, and does that dominance imply the possession of arbitrary power? > > have arbitrary power over the market -- that is the > > definition of a coercive monopoly. > > No, that is the definition of monopoly. The only valid definition, yes. I will gladly accept the invalidation that dominant or exclusive market share necessarily constitute a monopoly, as that does not in itself prove arbitrary power (immunity from market economics). > > You will find that that is not possible without an > > artificial barrier to competition. > > Demonstrate please. The problem with this view is that it > implies that given sufficient time *any* market strategy > will fail. In other words there is no best or efficient > strategy for a given market. There is but ONE market strategy: to price at a point lower than new entrants could sustain their business, and constantly increase productive efficiency and reduce costs. This works great in the short term, especially in emerging industries, but it is statistically improbable for a company to maintain perfection. The market is not static, it is always changing and technology often favors new entrants who are not encumbered with legacy technology. It is less relevant that such a company is unlikely to maintain that position forever, but that such efficient dominance is good for the market. Productive efficiency raises the standard of living. Matt

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IP: Microchip implants to foil VIP kidnaps
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Delivered-To: ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com From: wtberry(a)sprintmail.com To: ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 20:07:28 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Subject: IP: Microchip implants to foil VIP kidnaps Sender: owner-ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com Precedence: list Reply-To: wtberry(a)sprintmail.com Source: Electronic Telegraph, Issue 1229, 6 October 1998 Microchip implants to foil VIP kidnaps By Bruce Johnston in Rome ITALIAN dignitaries who fear being kidnapped are having microprocessor homing devices planted in their bodies so police can track them down if they are abducted. The microchips - called Sky-Eyes - were originally developed for intelligence use by Israeli researchers. Rome's La Repubblica newspaper described the latest development as a "biological adaptation" of the Global Positioning System, which is already in use to protect luxury cars from being stolen. Sky-Eyes are sold by a company called Gen-Etics, which has patented the device for private use but which is cautious about supplying further details, in order to protect its clients. Sky-Eyes are said to be made of "synthetic and organic fibre". They reportedly run on such a small amount of energy that this can be "borrowed" from the human body. The chip is supposed to be invisible to both the naked eye and to X-rays. A person who carries it is supplied with an eight-digit code by the company. He, or she, is advised to divulge this only to next of kin or a trusted legal representative. In case of the person's disappearance, those in possession of the code are supposed to contact the company's control centre, so that the kidnapped victim's whereabouts may be pinpointed, and the police informed. The Sky-Eye is said to have a margin of error of just 150 yards. Kidnapping is still common in Italy. One recent victim, Giuseppe Soffiantini, an elderly northern industrialist, was wary when asked if he would buy one. At the weekend he said: "As they also know about the discovery, the kidnappers will find a counter system to use against it. They are treacherous." During his long captivity, his kidnappers cut off pieces of his ears and sent them to his family. Mr Soffiantini, was released earlier this year after a £2 million ransom was paid. He said: "But if the microchip worked, then of course I'd get one. © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 1998. ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer ********************************************** --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)philodox.com> Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 08:51:21 -0600 (MDT) > From: Jim Burnes <jvb(a)ssds.com> > Subject: Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... > > It occurs to me that there is another potential flaw in current economic > > theory and business practice. > > > > Currently (ala Friedmann) the parties that reap the benefit of a succesful > > business are the shareholders, this is currently seen to exclude the > > employees in many cases/companies. > > > > Actually not. There are quite a few business that have employees as > shareholders. Most shares of companies are reasonably priced and > easy enough to get a hold of. Selling them on the other hand is > not so straightforward. This doesn't effect the premise under standard economics that the responsibility of managers is to the shareholders *exclusively* in regards profits and business operations. What I am positing is the potential effects of including employees as part of that sphere of responsibility *without* explicit stock holding by the emplyees. You're trying to turn apples into oranges. [other stuff deleted] ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Lycos Acquires Wired Digital
by James Glave 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/15437.html Lycos Acquires Wired Digital 6:00 a.m. 6.Oct.98.PDT In a move that continues the trend of consolidation in the Internet industry, Web search and community firm Lycos has acquired Wired Digital, the parent company of Wired News, for approximately US$83 million in Lycos stock. Lycos said in a statement that the combined traffic of both companies will allow Lycos, already the second most visited Web index service, to reach more than 40 percent of Web users. Tuesday's acquisition coincides with the introduction of "The Lycos Network," a collection of service, news, and community sites that now includes Wired Digital properties Wired News, the HotBot search engine, and the Webmonkey developer site, in addition to existing Lycos sites Lycos.com, WhoWhere, Tripod, and others. According to Relevant Knowledge, Wired Digital attracts nearly five million unique visitors a month. The acquisition is scheduled to close by the end of the calendar year and is subject to Wired shareholder approval. Lycos (LCOS) will also assume Wired Digital's stock option plan. Under the deal, Wired Digital will continue to operate from its San Francisco, California, office as a business unit of Lycos, and Beth Vanderslice, president of Wired Digital, will report to Lycos CEO Bob Davis. The Wired Digital brands will remain distinct operating units of Lycos, which Lycos said would allow the company to reach multiple Web audience segments. For example, Lycos said in a statement that Wired Digital's HotBot search engine attracts a "tech-savvy Web veteran," while Lycos.com serves a broader audience. According to Media Metrix, the two search engines attract distinct audiences, with only 20 percent overlap between the two. The Lycos Network and Wired Digital have already taken steps to share each other's content and services. Wired News is available on the headline page of Lycos.com, while Lycos' Angelfire home pages and MailCity e-mail applications are now being offered to HotBot users. Lycos search offers links to HotBot and other Wired Digital properties through top keyword searches. Further, Webmonkey's Web developer tutorials and resources will be available to Tripod and Lycos.com homepage communities. In May of this year, Wired Ventures, the former parent company of Wired Digital, sold Wired magazine to Advance Magazine Publishers. Copyright © 1994-98 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. James Glave, News Editor, Wired News, http://www.wired.com (415) 276-8430

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RE: I thought of an initialy regulated industry!... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:22:31 -0500 (CDT) > From: Mac Norton <mnorton(a)cavern.uark.edu> > Subject: RE: I thought of an initialy regulated industry!... (fwd) > that both sides of this thread are deep into it. I stay on this > list because, just maybe, one of these days, one of you guys > is gonna crack the code of anarchy v. contract enforcement. Until > then, it's cogdis. What makes you thing anarchy eliminates contracts and the concomitent need for enforcement? The question is: "Who does the contract enforcement and arbitrage?" ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Re: Web TV with 128b exported
by Information Security 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: SDN <sdn(a)divcom.slimy.com> > William H. Geiger III wrote: > > David Honig said: > > >http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/981005/ca_microso_1.html > > > > >MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: > > >MSFT - news) WebTV Networks today announced it is the first U.S. company > > >to obtain government approval to export nonkey recovery-based > > >128-bit-strength encryption for general commercial use. WebTV Networks > > >pioneered low-cost access to the Internet, e-mail, financial services and > > >electronic shopping through a television set and a standard phone line. > > > > I have my doubts on this. I find it highly unlikely that the FEDs would > > approve this without some form of GAK built in even if it is not in the > > form of "key recovery". > > It's probably a lot closer to the "private doorbell" scenario. The only > thing that a WebTV unit will communicate with is the WebTV service (or > the Japanese variant thereof). > > Since all traffic goes through a point that will likely cooperate with > law enforcement (and has remote control of the boxes, too.), this doesn't > represent much of a loosening in the export controls. Hmmm... # http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/981005/ca_microso_1.html # # ...without fear of interception by unauthorized parties. Said with a lawyer's precision. # http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/981005/ca_microso_1.html # # William Reinsch, U.S. undersecretary for export administration: # ``The WebTV Network provides secure communications for its # customers and partners without posing undue risks to # national security and law enforcement.'' Either it is interceptable and decodable or it isn't. If it isn't, then software browsers (Netscape/IE) should be allowed to do it too. Perhaps Declan could investigate and get a story out of it. ---- Can someone with control of a 128-bit HTTP server see if it can identify 128-bit keys from WebTV terminals? ---guy

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Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 11:19:54 -0600 (MDT) > From: Jim Burnes <jvb(a)ssds.com> > Subject: Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... (fwd) > Hmmm. You imply that the employees and employers interests are not > the same. Obviously this so. > The whole idea is to make a profit. There is MUCH more involved than simply making a profit. [irrelevant material deleted] > Any other sort of interest would simply induce a market distortion > in the cost of investment capital. Demonstrate please. > The market detects socialism as damage and routes around it. Whoa horsey. I didn't say a damn thing about any third party regulatory agency getting invovled here. Don't start trying to change the rules in the middle of the game. > The entire market would never do this voluntarily, so by definition any > distortion would have to be induced in a centrally managed economy. Demonstrate. > By definition socialism. Wrong. Socialism is the belief that property is best managed and owned by the government. This is within the context of a free market. This means that the *ONLY* two parties involved are the producers and consumers. I am discussing an alternative approach to business management. Fascism is the belief that property should be owned by private individuals but managed by governments. Capitalism is the belief that property should be owned and managed by the individual. Note that this definition doesn't prevent 3rd party regulatory bodies, but they neither own or manage the activity, only limit its' scope. ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Netscape e-mail 128 bit Encryption
by Rod Munch 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I just wantid to know if there is any to Crack The Encryption in Netscapes e-mail program for sending messages cause my computer teacher thinks hes all big and bad cause no one can read his shit so i want to show him up.

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 08:31 PM 10/5/98 -0700, Alan Olsen wrote: >>Why are bananas quantized in the presense of camels? Is this >>a quantum-computing thing? > >No, it's a Perl thing. ]:> > You need to download the Camel extension library..

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money parable
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

------- Forwarded Message Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 23:30:57 +0000 From: Paul Swann <pswann(a)easynet.co.uk> Subject: I Want The Earth Plus 5% I Want The Earth Plus 5% Fabian was excited as he once more rehearsed his speech for the crowd certain to turn up tomorrow. He had always wanted prestige and power and now his dreams were going to come true. He was a craftsman working with silver and gold, making jewelry and ornaments, but he became dissatisfied with working for a living. He needed excitement, a challenge, and now his plan was ready to begin. For generations the people used the barter system. A man supported his own family by providing all their needs or else he specialised in a particular trade. Whatever surpluses he might have from his own production, he exchanged or swapped for the surplus of others. Market day was always noise and dusty, yet people looked forward to the shouting and waving, and especially the companionship. It used to be a happy place, but now there were too many people, too much arguing. There was no time for chatting - a better system was needed. Generally, the people had been happy, and enjoyed the fruits of their work. In each community a simple Government had been formed to make sure that each person's freedoms and rights were protected and that no man was forced to do anything against his will by any other man, or any group of men. This was the Government's one and only purpose and each Governor was voluntarily supported by the local community who elected him. However, market day was the one problem they could not solve. Was a knife worth one or two baskets of corn? Was a cow worth more than a wagon and so on. No one could think of a better system. Fabian had advertised, "I have the solution to our bartering problems, and I invite everyone to a public meeting tomorrow." The next day there was a great assembly in the town square and Fabian explained all about the new system which he called "money". It sounded good. "How are we to start?" the people asked. "The gold which I fashion into ornaments and jewelry is an excellent metal. It does not tarnish or rust, and will last a long time. I will make some gold into coins and we shall call each coin a dollar." He explained how values would work, and that "money" would be really a medium for exchange - a much better system than bartering. One of the Governors questioned, "Some people can dig gold and make coins for themselves", he said. "This would be most unfair", Fabian was ready with the answer. "Only those coins approved by the Government can be used, and these will have special marking stamped on them." This seemed reasonable and it was proposed that each man be given an equal number. "But I deserve the most," said the candle-maker. "Everyone uses my candles." "No", said the farmer, "without food there is no life, surely we should get the most." And so the bickering continued. Fabian let them argue for a while and finally he said, "Since none of you can agree, I suggest you obtain the number you require from me. There will be no limit, except for your ability to repay. The more you obtain, the more you must repay in one year's time. "And what will you receive?" the people asked. "Since I am providing a service, that is, the money supply, I am entitled to payment for my work. Let us say that for every 100 pieces you obtain, you repay me 105 for every year that you owe the debt. The 5 will be my charge, and I shall call this charge interest." There seemed to be no other way, and besides, 5% seemed little enough charge. "Come back next Friday and we will begin." Fabian wasted no time. He made coins day and night, and at the end of the week he was ready. The people were queued up at his shop, and after the coins were inspected and approved by the Governors the system commenced. Some borrowed only a few and they went off to try the new system. They found money to be marvelous, and they soon valued everything in gold coins or dollars. The value they placed on everything was called a "price", and the price mainly depended on the amount of work required to produce it. If it took a lot of work the price was high, but if it was produced with little effort it was quite inexpensive. In one town lived Alan, who was the only watchmaker. His prices were high because the customers were willing to pay just to own one of his watches. Then another man began making watches and offered them at a lower price in order to get sales. Alan was forced to lower his prices, and in no time at all prices came down, so that both men were striving to give the best quality at the lowest price. This was genuine free competition. It was the same with builders, transport operators, accountants, farmers, in fact, in every endeavour. The customers always chose what they felt was the best deal - they had freedom of choice. There was no artificial protection such as licences or tariffs to prevent other people from going into business. The standard of living rose, and before long the people wondered how they had ever done without money. At the end of the year, Fabian left his shop and visited all the people who owed him money. Some had more than they borrowed, but this meant that others had less, since there were only a certain number of coins issued in the first place. Those who had more than they borrowed paid back each 100 plus the extra 5, but still had to borrow again to carry on. The others discovered for the first time that they had a debt. Before he would lend them more money, Fabian took a mortgage over some of their assets, and everyone went away once moreto try and get those extra 5 coins whichalways seemed so hard to find. No one realised that as a whole, the country could never get out of debt until all the coins were repaid, but even then, there were those extra 5 on each 100 which had never been lent out at all. No one but Fabian could see that it was impossible to pay the interest - the extra money had never been issued, therefore someone had to miss out. It was true that Fabian spent some coins, but he couldn't possibly spend anything like 5% of the total economy on himself. There were thousands of people and Fabian was only one. Besides, he was still a goldsmith making a comfortable living. At the back of his shop Fabian had a strongroom and people found it convenient to leave some of their coins with him for safekeeping. He charged a small fee depending on the amount of money, and the time it was left with him. He would give the owner receipts for the deposit. When a person went shopping, he did not normally carry a lot of gold coins. He would give the shopkeeper one of the receipts to the value of the goods he wanted to buy. Shopkeepers recognised the receipt as being genuine and accepted it with the idea of taking it to Fabian and collecting the appropriate amount in coins. The receipts passed from hand to hand instead of the gold itself being transferred. The people had great faith in the receipts - they accepted them as being as good as coins. Before long, Fabian noticed that it was quite unusual for anyone to actually call for their gold coins. He thought to himself, "Here I am in possession of all this gold and I am still a hard working craftsman. It doesn't make sense. Why there are dozens of people who would be glad to pay me interest for the use of this gold which is lying here and rarely called for. It is true, the gold is not mine - but it is in my possession, which is all that matters. I hardly need to make any coins at all, I can use some of the coins stored in the vault." At first he was very cautious, only loaning a few at a time, and then only on tremendous security. But gradually he became bolder, and larger amounts were loaned. One day, a large loan was requested. Fabian suggested, "Instead of carrying all these coins we can make a deposit in your name, and then I shall give you several receipts to the value of the coins." The borrower agreed, and off he went with a bunch of receipts. He had obtained a loan, yet the gold remained in the strong-room. After the client left, Fabian smiled. He could have his cake and eat it too. He could "lend" gold and still keep it in his possession. Friends, strangers and even enemies needed funds to carry out their businesses - and so long as they could produce security, they could borrow as much as they needed. By simply writing out receipts Fabian was able to "lend" money to several times the value of gold in his strong-room, and he was not even the owner of it. Everything was safe so long as the real owners didn't call for their gold and the confidence of the people was maintained. He kept a book showing the debits and credits for each person - the lending business was proving to be very lucrative indeed. His social standing in the community was increasing almost as fast as his wealth. He was becoming a man of importance, he commanded respect. In matters of finance, his very word was like a sacred pronouncement. Goldsmiths from other towns became curious about his activities and one day they called to see him. He told them what he was doing, but was very careful to emphasize the need for secrecy. If their plan was exposed, the scheme would fail, so they agreed to form their own secret alliance. Each returned to his own town and began to operate as Fabian had taught. People now accepted the receipts as being as good as gold itself, and many receipts were deposited for safe keeping in the same way as coins. When a merchant wished to pay another for goods, he simply wrote a short note instructing Fabian to transfer money from his account to that of the second merchant. It took Fabian only a few minutes to adjust the figures. This new system became very popular, and the instruction notes were called "checks". Late one night, the goldsmiths had another secret meeting and Fabian revealed a new plan. The next day they called a meeting with all the Governors, and Fabian began. "The receipts we issue have become very popular. No doubt, most of you Governors are using them and you find them very convenient." They nodded in agreement and wondered what the problem was. "Well", he continued, "some receipts are being copied by counterfeiters. This practice must be stopped." The Governors became alarmed. "What can we do?" they asked. Fabian replied, "My suggestion is this - first of all, let it be the Government's job to print new notes on a special paper with very intricate designs, and then each note to be signed by the chief Governor. We goldsmiths will be happy to pay the printing costs, as it will save us a lot of time writing out receipts". The Governors reasoned, "Well, it is our job to protect the people against counterfeiters and the advice certainly seems like a good idea." So they agreed to print the notes. "Secondly," Fabian said, "some people have gone prospecting and are making their own gold coins. I suggest that you pass a law so that any person who finds gold nuggets must hand them in. Of course, they will be reimbursed with notes and coins." The idea sounded good and without too much thought about it, they printed a large number of crisp new notes. Each note had a value printed on it - $1, $2, $5, $10 etc. The small printing costs were paid by the goldsmiths. The notes were much easier to carry and they soon became accepted by the people. Despite their popularity however, these new notes and coins were used for only 10% of transactions. The records showed that the check system accounted for 90% of all business. The next part of his plan commenced. Until now, people were paying Fabian to guard their money. In order to attract more money into the vault Fabian offered to pay depositors 3% interest on their money. Most people believed that he was re-lending their money out to borrowers at 5%, and his profit was the 2% difference. Besides, the people didn't question him as getting 3% was far better than paying to have the money guarded. The volume of savings grew and with the additional money in the vaults, Fabian was able to lend $200, $300, $400 sometimes up to $900 for every $100 in notes and coins that he held in deposit. He had to be careful not to exceed this nine to one ratio, because one person in ten did require the notes and coins for use. If there was not enough money available when required, people would become suspicious, especially as their deposit books showed how much they had deposited. Nevertheless, on the $900 in book figures that Fabian loaned out by writing checks himself, he was able to demand up to $45 in interest, i.e. 5% on $900. When the loan plus interest was repaid, i.e. $945, the $900 was cancelled out in the debit column and Fabian kept the $45 interest. He was therefore quite happy to pay $3 interest on the original $100 deposited which had never left the vaults at all. This meant that for every $100 he held in deposits, it was possible to make 42% profit, most people believing he was only making 2%. The other goldsmiths were doing the same thing. They created money out of nothing at the stroke of a pen, and then charged interest on top of it. True, they didn't coin money, the Government actually printed the notes and coins and gave it to the goldsmiths to distribute. Fabian's only expense was the small printing fee. Still, they were creating credit money out of nothing and charging interest on top of it. Most people believed that the money supply was a Government operation. They also believed that Fabian was lending them the money that someone else had deposited, but it was very strange that no one's deposits ever decreased when a loan was advanced. If everyone had tried to withdraw their deposits at once, the fraud would have been exposed. When a loan was requested in notes or coins, it presented no problem. Fabian merely explained to the Government that the increase in population and production required more notes, and these he obtained for the small printing fee. One day a thoughtful man went to see Fabian. "This interest charge is wrong", he said. "For every $100 you issue, you are asking $105 in return. The extra $5 can never be paid since it doesn't exist. Farmers produce food, industry manufacturers goods, and so on, but only you produce money. Suppose there are only two businessmen in the whole country and we employ everyone else. We borrow $100 each, we pay $90 out in wages and expenses and allow $10 profit (our wage). That means the total purchasing power is $90 + $10 twice, i.e. $200. Yet to pay you we must sell all our produce for $210. If one of us succeeds and sells all his produce for $105, the other man can only hope to get $95. Also, part of his goods cannot be sold, as there is no money left to buy them. He will still owe you $10 and can only repay this by borrowing more. The system is impossible." The man continued, "Surely you should issue 105, i.e. 100 to me and 5 to you to spend. This way there would be 105 in circulation, and the debt can be repaid." Fabian listened quietly and finally said, "Financial economics is a deep subject, my boy, it takes years of study. Let me worry about these matters, and you look after yours. You must become more efficient, increase your production, cut down on your expenses and become a better businessman. I am always willing to help in these matters." The man went away still unconvinced. There was something wrong with Fabian's operations and he felt that his questions had been avoided. Yet, most people respected Fabian's word - "He is the expert, the others must be wrong. Look how the country has developed, how our production has increased - we must be better off." To cover the interest on the money they had borrowed, merchants were forced to raise their prices. Wage earners complained that wages were too low. Employers refused to pay higher wages, claiming that they would be ruined. Farmers could not get a fair price for their produce. Housewives complained that food was getting too dear. And finally some people went on strike, a thing previously unheard of. Others had become poverty stricken and their friends and relatives could not afford to help them. Most had forgotten the real wealth all around - the fertile soils, the great forests, the minerals and cattle. They could think only of the money which always seemed so scarce. But they never questioned the system. They believed the Government was running it. A few had pooled their excess money and formed "lending" or "finance" companies. They could get 6% or more this way, which was better than the 3% Fabian paid, but they could only lend out money they owned - they did not have this strange power of being able to create money out of nothing by merely writing figures in books. These finance companies worried Fabian and his friends somewhat, so they quickly set up a few companies of their own. Mostly, they bought the others out before they got going. In no time, all the finance companies were owned by them, or under their control. The economic situation got worse. The wage earners were convinced that the bosses were making too much profit. The bosses said that their workers were too lazy and weren't doing an honest day's work, and everyone was blaming everyone else.The Governors could not come up with an answer and besides, the immediate problem seemed to be to help the poverty stricken. They started up welfare schemes and made laws forcing people to contribute to them. This made many people angry - they believed in the old-fashioned idea of helping one's neighbour by voluntary effort. "These laws are nothing more than legalised robbery. To take something off a person against his will, regardless of the purpose for which it is to be used, is no different to stealing." But each man felt helpless and was afraid of the jail sentence which was threatened for failing to pay. These welfare schemes gave some relief, but before long the problem was back and more money was needed to cope. The cost of these schemes rose higher and higher and the size of the Government grew. Most of the Governors were sincere men trying to do their best. They didn't like asking for more money from their people and finally, they had no choice but to borrow money from Fabian and his friends. They had no idea how they were going to repay. Parents could no longer afford to pay teachers for their children. They couldn't pay doctors. And transport operators were going out of business. One by one the government was forced to take these operations over. Teachers, doctors and many others became public servants. Few obtained satisfaction in their work. They were given a reasonable wage, but they lost their identity. They became small cogs in a giant machine. There was no room for personal initiative, little recognition for effort, their income was fixed and advancement came only when a superior retired or died. In desperation, the governors decided to seek Fabian's advice. They considered him very wise and he seemed to know how to solve money matters. He listened to them explain all their problems, and finally he answered, "Many people cannot solve their own problems - they need someone to do it for them. Surely you agree that most people have the right to be happy and to be provided with the essentials of life. One of our great sayings is "all men are equal" - is it not?" Well, the only way to balance things up is to take the excess wealth from the rich and give it to the poor. Introduce a system of taxation. The more a man has, the more he must pay. Collect taxes from each person according to his ability, and give to each according to his need. Schools and hospitals should be free for those who cannot afford them " He gave them a long talk on high sounding ideals and finished up with, "Oh, by the way, don't forget you owe me money. You've been borrowing now for quite some time. The least I can do to help, is for you to just to pay me the interest. We'll leave the capital debt owing, just pay me the interest." They went away, and without giving Fabian's philosophies any real thought, they introduced the graduated income tax - the more you earn, the higher your tax rate. No one liked this, but they either paid the taxes or went to jail. Merchants were forced once again to raise their prices. Wage earners demanded higher wages forcing many employers out of business, or to replace men with machinery. This caused additional unemployment and forced the Government to introduce further welfare and handout schemes. Tariffs and other protection devices were introduced to keep some industries going just to provide employment. A few people wondered if the purpose of the production was to produce goods or merely to provide employment. As things got worse, they tried wage control, price control, and all sorts of controls. The Government tried to get more money through sales tax, payroll tax and all sorts of taxes. Someone noted that from the wheat farmer right through to the housewife, there were over 50 taxes on a loaf of bread. "Experts" arose and some were elected to Government, but after each yearly meeting they came back with almost nothing achieved, except for the news that taxes were to be "restructured", but overall the total tax always increased. Fabian began to demand his interest payments, and a larger and larger portion of the tax money was being needed to pay him. Then came party politics - the people started arguing about which group of Governors could best solve the problems. They argued about personalities, idealism, party labels, everything except the real problem. The councils were getting into trouble. In one town the interest on the debt exceeded the amount of rates which were collected in a year. Throughout the land the unpaid interest kept increasing - interest was charged on unpaid interest. Gradually much of the real wealth of the country came to be owned or controlled by Fabian and his friends and with it came greater control over people. However, the control was not yet complete. They knew that the situation would not be secure until every person was controlled. Most people opposing the systems could be silenced by financial pressure, or suffer public ridicule. To do this Fabian and his friends purchased most of the newspapers, T.V. and radio stations and he carefully selected people to operate them. Many of these people had a sincere desire to improve the world, but they never realised how they were being used. Their solutions always dealt with the effects of the problem, never the cause. There were several different newspapers - one for the right wing, one for the left wing, one for the workers, one for the bosses, and so on. It didn't matter much which one you believed in, so long as you didn't think about the real problem. Fabian's plan was almost at its completion - - - the whole country was in debt to him. Through education and the media, he had control of people's minds. They were able to think and believe only what he wanted them to. After a man has far more money than he can possibly spend for pleasure, what is left to excite him? For those with a ruling class mentality, the answer is power - raw power over other human beings. The idealists were used in the media and in Government, but the real controllers that Fabian sought were those of the ruling class mentality. Most of the goldsmiths had become this way. They knew the feeling of great wealth, but it no longer satisfied them. They needed challenge and excitement, and power over the masses was the ultimate game. They believed they were superior to all others. "It is our right and duty to rule. The masses don't know what is good for them. They need to be rallied and organised. To rule is our birthright." Throughout the land Fabian and his friends owned many lending offices. True, they were privately and separately owned. In theory they were in competition with each other, but in reality they were working very closely together. After persuading some of the Governors, they set up an institution which they called the Money Reserve Centre. They didn't even use their own money to do this - they created credit against part of the money out of the people's deposits. This Institution gave the outward appearance of regulating the money supply and being a Government operation, but strangely enough, no Governor or public servant was ever allowed to be on the Board of Directors. The Government no longer borrowed directly from Fabian, but began to use a system of I.O.U.'s to the Money Reserve Centre. The security offered was the estimated revenue from next year's taxes. This was in line with Fabian's plan - removing suspicion from himself to an apparent Government operation. Yet, behind the scenes, he was still in control. Indirectly, Fabian had such control over the Government that they were forced to do his bidding. He boasted, "Let me control the nation's money and I care not who makes its laws." It didn't matter much which group of Governors were elected. Fabian was in control of the money, the life blood of the nation. The Government obtained the money, but interest was always charged on every loan. More and more was going out in welfare and handout schemes, and it was not long before the Government found it difficult to even repay the interest, let alone the capital. And yet there were people who still asked the question, "Money is a man-made system. Surely it can be adjusted to serve, not to rule?" But these people became fewer and their voices were lost in the mad scrabble for the non-existent interest. The adminstrations changed, the party labels changed, but the major policies continued. Regardless of which Government was in "power", Fabian's ultimate goal was brought closer each year. The people's policies meant nothing. They were being taxed to the limit, they could pay no more. Now the time was ripe for Fabian's final move. 10% of the money supply was still in the form of notes and coins. This had to be abolished in such a way as not to arouse suspicion. While the people used cash, they were free to buy and sell as they chose - they still had some control over their own lives. But it was not always safe to carry notes and coins. Checks were not accepted outside one's local community, and therefore a more convenient system was looked forward to. Once again Fabian had the answer. His organisation issued everyone with a little plastic card showing the person's name, photograph and an identification number. When this card was presented anywhere, the storekeeper phoned the central computer to check the credit rating. If it was clear, the person could buy what he wanted up to a certain amount. At first people were allowed to spend a small amount on credit, and if this was repaid within a month, no interest was charged. This was fine for the wage earner, but what businessman could even begin? He had to set up machinery, manufacture the goods, pay wages etc. and sell all his goods and repay the money. If he exceeded one month, he was charged a 1.5% for every month the debt was owed. This amounted to over 18% per years. Businessmen had no option but to add the 18% onto the selling price. Yet this extra money or credit (the 18%) had not been loaned out to anyone. Throughout the country, businessmen were given the impossible task of repaying $118 for every $100 they borrowed - but the extra $18 had never been created at all. Yet Fabian and his friends increased their standing in society. They were regarded as pillars of respectability. Their pronouncements on finance and economics were accepted with almost religious conviction. Under the burden of ever increasing taxes, many small businesses collapsed. Special licenses were needed for various operations, so that the remaining ones found it very difficult to operate. Fabian owned and controlled all of the big companies which had hundreds of subsidiaries. These appeared to be in competition with each other, yet he controlled them all. Eventually all competitors were forced out of business. Plumbers, panel beaters, electricians and most other small industries suffered the same fate - they were swallowed up by Fabian's giant companies which all had Government protections. Fabian wanted the plastic cards to eliminate notes and coins. His plan was that when all notes were withdrawn, only businesses using the computer card system would be able to operate. He planned that eventually some people would misplace their cards and be unable to buy or sell anything until a proof of identify was made. He wanted a law to be passed which would give him ultimate control - a law forcing everyone to have their identification number tattooed onto their hand. The number would be visible only under a special light, linked to a computer. Every computer would be linked to a giant central computer so that Fabian could know everything about everyone. ________________________________________________________ The story you have read is of course, fiction. But if you found it to be disturbingly close to the truth and would like to know who Fabian is in real life, a good starting point is a study on the activities of the English goldsmiths in the 16th & 17th centuries. For example, The Bank of England began in 1694. King William of Orange was in financial difficulties as a result of a war with France. The Goldsmiths "lent him" 1.2 million pounds (a staggering amount in those days) with certain conditions: a.The interest rate was to be 8%. It must be remembered that Magna Carta stated that the charging or collecting of interest carried the death penalty. b.The King was to grant the goldsmiths a charter for the bank which gave them the right to issue credit. Prior to this, their operations of issuing receipts for more money than they held in deposits was totally illegal. The charter made it legal. In 1694 William Patterson obtained the Charter for the Bank of England. © Larry Hannigan, Australia ~Quotations~ Encyclopaedia Britannica, 14th Edition - "Banks create credit. It is a mistake to suppose that bank credit is created to any extent by the payment of money into the banks. A loan made by a bank is a clear addition to the amount of money in the community." ~ Lord Acton, Lord Chief Justice of England, 1875 - "The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the People v. The Banks." ~ Mr Reginald McKenna, when Chairman of the Midland Bank in London - "I am afraid that ordinary citizens will not like to be told that the banks can, and do, create and destroy money. And they who control the credit of the nation direct the policy of governments, and hold in the hollow of their hands the destiny of the people. ~ Mr Phillip A. Benson, President of the American Bankers' Association, June 8 1939 - "There is no more direct way to capture control of a nation than through its credit (money) system." ~ USA Banker's Magazine, August 25 1924 - "Capital must protect itself in every possible manner by combination and legislation. Debts must be collected, bonds and mortgages must be foreclosed as rapidly as possible. When, through a process of law, the common people lose their homes they will become more docile and more easily governed through the influence of the strong arm of government, applied by a central power of wealth under control of leading financiers. This truth is well known among our principal men now engaged in forming an imperialism of Capital to govern the world. By dividing the voters through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting over questions of no importance. Thus by discreet action we can secure for ourselves what has been so well planned and so successfully accomplished." ~ Sir Denison Miller - During an interview in 1921, when he was asked if he, through the Commonwealth Bank, had financed Australia during the First World War for $700 million, he replied; "Such was the case, and I could have financed the country for a further like sum had the war continued." Asked if that amount was available for productive purposes in this time of peace, he answered "Yes". ~ >From "Hand Over Our Loot, No. 2, by Len Clampett: "There are four things that must be available for paid work to take place: *The work to be done. *The materials to do the work. *The labor to do the work. *The money to pay for the work to be done. If any of those four things are missing, no paid work can take place. It is a naturally self-regulating system. If there is work to be done, and the material is available and the labour willing, all we have to do is create the money. Quite simple." Ask yourself why it was that depressions happened. All that went missing from the community was the money to buy goods and services. The labour was still available. The work to be done was still there. The materials had not disappeared, and the goods were readily available in the shops, or could be produced but for the want of money. ~ Extract from a letter written by Rothschild Bros of London to a New York firm of bankers on 25 June 1863: "The few who can understand the System (Cheque Money and Credits) will either be so interested in its profits, or so dependent on its favours, that there will be no opposition from that class. While on the other hand, the great body of people mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantage that capital derives from the system, will bear its burdens without complaint and perhaps without even suspecting that the system is inimical (hostile, hurtful) to their interests. ~ The following quotation was reprinted in the Idaho Leader, USA, 26 August 1924, and has been read into Hansard twice: by John Evans MP, in 1926, and by M.D. Cowan M.P., in the Session of 1930-1931. In 1891 a confidential circular was sent to American bankers and their agents, containing the following statements: "We authorise our loan agents in the western States to loan our funds on real estate, to fall due on September 1st 1894, and at no time thereafter. On September 1, 1894, we will not renew our loans under any consideration. On September 1st we will demand our money - we will foreclose and become mortgagees in possession. We can take two-thirds of the farms west of the Mississippi and thousands of them east of the great Mississippi as well, at our own price. We may as well own three-fourths of the farms of the west and the money of the country. Then the farmers will become tenants, as in England." ~ >From "Hand Over Our Loot, No. 2" "In the United States, the issuing of money is controlled by the Federal Reserve Board. This is not a government department but a board of private bankers.Most of us would believe that the Federal Reserve is a federal arm of the national government.This is not trueIn 1913 President Woodrow Wilson signed the document that created the Federal Reserve, and committed the American people to debt slavery until such time as they awake from their slumber and overthrow this vicious tyranny." The understanding of this issue of money into the community can be best illustrated by equating money in the economy with tickets in a railway system. The tickets are printed by a printer who is paid for his work. The printer never claims the ownership of the tickets And we can never imagine a railway company refusing to give passengers seats on a train because it is out of tickets. By this same token, a government should never refuse people the access to normal commerce and trade by claiming it is out of money." Suppose the government borrows $10 million. It only costs the bankers a few hundred dollars to actually produce the funds, and a little more to do the book-keeping. Do you think it is fair that our citizens should struggle to keep their homes and families together, while the bankers grow fat on these profits? Credit created by a Government-owned bank is better than credit created by private banks, because there is no need to recover the money from people by way of taxes, and there is no interest attached to inflate the cost. The public work completed with the credit by the Government bank is the asset that replaces the money created when the work is finished. None of our problems will disappear until we correct the creation, supply and circulation of money. Once the money problem is solved, everything else will fall into place. Each of us can help to turn this ship around: *The first thing is to teach people. VERY FEW know about or understand this information yet. Please pass this information on to those on and off the net. *Research this subject for yourself to increase your understanding. *Join with others who want to return the control of government to the people. Remember - they are 'public SERVANTS'! We are not their servant. They should do OUR bidding. *Regardless of your political leanings, encourage your local Member to investigate and correct our money system. (They probably need to be educated too!). You can do this by email, letter, telephone or personal discussion. *Legislators receive an average of only 100 letters on any given issue. So if you write you opinion and get others to write, say 25 letters, you send a strong message. (Have a letter writing evening). *To contact members of Congress or the House of Representatives go to http://www.hugnet.com/Congress.htm FURTHER INFORMATION All You Were Never Told About the US Monetary System http://www.moneymaker.com/money/frbhist.htm Billions for the Bankers www.parascope.com/mx/fedm.htm Please advise us of other noteworthy links that you know of. "None of our problems will disappear until we correct the creation, supply and circulation of money. Once the money problem is solved, everything else will fall into place." I Want The Earth Plus 5% http://health.microworld.com/html/plus_5_.html "None of our problems will disappear until we correct the creation, supply and circulation of money. Once the money problem is solved, everything else will fall into place." I Want The Earth Plus 5% http://health.microworld.com/html/plus_5_.html - - --------------29E97873D749AEAF8665B844-- - ------- End of Forwarded Message ------- End of Forwarded Message

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IP: New Surveillance Face Mapping System
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: New Surveillance Face Mapping System Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 08:54:09 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: The London Independent U.K. Section http://www.independent.co.uk/ New spy system to 'map' suspects By Jason Bennetto, Crimes Correspondent A REVOLUTIONARY surveillance system that allows the police to automatically identify the faces of wanted criminals and suspects in seconds is to be tested on the streets of Britain for the first time. The "facial mapping" computer will be used to catch muggers, burglars and shoplifters, but it is expected to be extended to target other cases including wanted killers, terrorists and missing children. The Football Association is also interested in using the technology to help pick out known hooligans at matches. The system, known as Mandrake, is to be tested by Scotland Yard and Newham borough council in a six-month trial in east London, starting next week. A computer data base of faces of offenders will be compared with film taken by local authority surveillance cameras in shopping centres, streets and housing estates. The computer automatically "matches" the faces of suspects and triggers an alarm, warning the operator who then contacts the police. More than 1,000 images can be examined per second. It automatically ignores beards and moustaches so offenders cannot hide under disguises. Photo-fit images can also be included on the data base but tests show they are less accurate than photographs. The system was criticised yesterday by the civil rights organisation Liberty, which said it could fall foul of human rights and data protection legislation. However the developers of Mandrake, the police and local councils, believe the system could revolutionise CCTV and, if it proves successful, is likely to be used nation-wide. Facial recognition systems are already used in Texas to stop sham marriages and on the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigration. Under the trial, Scotland Yard is providing dozens of photographs of wanted offenders, often taken by surveillance cameras in shops and banks. It will also supply pictures of convicted criminals, mostly for offences such as street robbery, burglary, and repeat shoplifting. The images will be placed on the computer which measures dozens of key facial characteristics, such as the eye shape and size. The computer then scans all the faces picked out on CCTV and will sound an alarm if it makes a match. The picture of suspect and the person they supposedly resemble then automatically appear on the CCTV operator's screen along with a secret code number. The police are then sent the pictures and the number via computer. The product, which has been developed by Software and Systems International in Slough, west of London, can be used to catch criminals on the run or missing persons. More controversially, it can also be used to track suspects who the police believe may commit offences. In future the police, customs, and immigration officers could use it at ports to identify known terrorists, smugglers and other criminals attempting to enter the country. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the system had an 80 per cent "hit" rate. On the question of civil liberties, he argued: "If you are innocent you have nothing to worry about." It has been tested at Watford football ground, but the poor quality of the surveillance equipment made it difficult for the computer to make matches. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: Worth Reading: Fwd from Gary North: Y2K
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: Worth Reading: Fwd from Gary North: Y2K Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 09:46:30 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Forwarded from Gary North: ------------------- By now you know my concern over the Year 2000 Problem: the collapse of the division of labor. As Leonard Read wrote in "I, Pencil," no one knows how to make a pencil. It's too complicated: cut wood, carbon, paint, rubber, metal. A pencil can exist only because the division of labor exists. But if a pencil is too difficult to make, what about replacement parts for a dam? What about an automobile? But could this really happen? Wrong question: How will this not happen? There is not one compliant bank on earth, not one compliant public utility, not one compliant industry. Yet we have only 15 months to go. And in between now and then, worldwide panic will hit, making code-correction very difficult. Also, the latest estimate of embedded chips is 70 billion. The latest estimated failure rate for embedded systems is 10% to 20%. All of our management systems rely on mainframe computers. The people who ran the pre-computer management systems in 1965 have been fired or have retired. The knowledge they had went with them. They were replaced by digital idiot savants. These idiot savants are not flexible. Dustin Hoffman's character in Rainman was a model of flexibility compared to a computer. Computers do exactly what they were programmed to do. They do not listen to reason. They do not hear your screams. Their attitude is best expressed by Rhett Butler as he walked away from Scarlett for the last time. Look ahead. It's Friday, January 14, 2000. You are standing in front of a bank teller. You have stood in line for three hours. There is a line of 200 people behind you. You have your bank statement from last month. It says you have $4,517.22 in your checking account. But your checks have all bounced: "Account closed." Every account is automatically closed after two years of no activity, and your account had no activity from 1/1/1900 (00) to 1/1/1902 (02). Now you want your bounced checks cleared. The teller says, "I'm sorry. Our computer shows the account is closed." "Well, then, re-open it." "Are you making a deposit?" "No." "Then I can't re-open it." Problem: you now have no money. The account is closed. Your printed records are for last month. Maybe you spent all that money on Christmas. She has no idea. "I am not authorized to give you cash." (Well, maybe $200, by government decree.) What are you going to do? It will take many months to fix this for every depositor on earth. The banks will not survive for weeks. She has no authority to veto the computer. Nobody does. There is no alternative management system in place that will enable a bank's employees to fix the accounts and clear all checks and credit card transactions. All banks must stop accepting checks and credit card accounts until there is a way to clear the accounts. There is no way. Their management systems must be redesigned to go back to 1965, all over the world: a paper and ink system. But there is no time to do this. This would take years even if all the banks stayed up. But they will all go down. Any bank that is forced out of the capital markets for a week will go bankrupt -- two weeks, for sure. But if they are all out of the capital markets, there will be no capital markets. That means Western civilization will shut down: "Account closed." "Our computer is down." These four words may kill you. Literally. If you do not have financial reserves that are not electronic, these four words will strip you of your ability to buy and sell. And not just you: everyone. The division of labor will collapse. How will society produce a pencil? Or repair parts for a power generation plant? Think ahead. Sit down with a pen and paper. (It's good practice for the future.) Think of every situation in which your life would be disrupted by the words, "Our computer is down." If you could not get your immediate problem solved because of these for words, for just 60 consecutive days, what would happen to you? Think this through. Which local systems are threatened? Here is a preliminary list: banks, paychecks, supermarkets, drug stores (all prescriptions on computer), the water/sewer company, the electric utility, telephone service. If you lack imagination here, rent The Trigger Effect. Now let's move outward toward local emergency institutions. Think of the another missing 9 and two more 1's: 9-1-1. The police, the fire department, hospitals, ambulances. The phones may or may not be down, but 911 switchboards are only rarely compliant today. Now let's move farther outward into the world of capital: money market fund, mutual fund, pension fund, bond fund, insurance, second mortgages, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, IRS refunds. You just lost your retirement money. If your home burns down, you'll not get a replacement unless you have gold coins or cash to buy a used one. If you die, your wife will get nothing that isn't close at hand, i.e., in hand. "Our computer is down." This phrase will serve nicely as an epitaph for our civilization. Only if the computers don't go down, and also don't make bad calculations, can the West avoid this epitaph. But if they are not fixed, they will go down or go nuts. A BILLION LIVES LOST, IF THINGS GO FAIRLY WELL I have been writing for over a year on this with all the skill I have. I simply cannot get it across to all of you, or even to most of you. I am never at a loss for words, but I am at a loss for persuasion. I have been unable to persuade the vast majority of my readers, after almost two years, that if the division of labor collapses, we will lose millions of lives. Joe Boivin, who was the y2k director for Canada's Imperial Bank and Commerce until he quit, estimates that a billion people will die in 2000. He limits his discussion to the third world. I think we could lose half a billion in the urban West. Unthinkable? All right, show me how any large city will survive if the power goes off for 60 days, all railroad deliveries of grain and coal stop, all gasoline station pumps shut down, and there are no banks. Go on. I'm serious. Sit down and outline a scenario that will keep an urban population alive without mainframe computers. The army? There are 120 U.S. cities that the government has targeted as vulnerable to cyberwarfare. There are 1.4 million people in the entire U.S. military. Few have any training for riot control and food delivery. The government cannot provide such training without creating a panic. The military is dependent on the civilian communications system. How will 1.4 million untrained military personnel -- including the Navy -- police a destitute population of 60 million urban residents, not counting the suburbs? That's 11,666 people per city. But the large cities will get the lion's share. What about where you live? The bands of arsonists and rioters are loose in your city. What will your police do? I'll tell you: they will stay home if they are not being paid. And if the banks are down, they will not be paid. I know what you're thinking. "They just can't let this happen." What can "they" do to stop it? The United States is short 500,000 to 700,000 mainframe programmers. Roberto Vacca wrote The Coming Dark Age in 1973. He did not forecast y2k. If he had, the book would have been far more persuasive. His point was that our technology has extended beyond what we can understand. I was not impressed because that is true of the free market at all times. This is the genius of the free market. No one understands all of the interconnections, yet we prosper. So, I dismissed the book's thesis. What I did not see, and he did not see, was y2k. We have transferred to digital idiot savants all authority to make decisions that men found either too boring or too complex to make. We removed this decision-making authority from people and delegated it to machines. FROM ANALOGICAL TO DIGITAL AND BACK It's time to talk theology. Cornelius Van Til argued that men must think God's thoughts after Him -- analogically. God is a person. He's also three persons. We are persons. Our universe reflects God's personality. We don't live in an impersonal world. The biblical doctrine of the creation forces us to accept the doctrine of cosmic personalism. Modern computers do not think. They count. But modern man since the Renaissance has believed that number, not God's written revelation, is the touchstone of truth. He has believed that mankind's inability to comprehend (surround mentally) the infinitely complex universe can be compensated for. Man can use numerical formulas to substitute for omniscience. He can take a shortcut to omniscience. He can develop numerical formulas that allow him to control the external world, which is controlled by number. Why a capacity of the mind -- numerical coherence -- should also control the external realm is a great mystery. In fact, as Nobel Prize physicist Eugene Wigner said in a 1960 essay, the effectiveness of number in science is unreasonable. But it does work within creation's limits. Men have sought numerical shortcuts to cosmic knowledge and cosmic power. They have found many shortcuts, and on these shortcuts modern science rests. But then, in the 1950's, programmers took another shortcut -- a digital shortcut. They saved two holes out of 80 in IBM punch cards. This seemingly minor shortcut has brought society to the brink of destruction. We are not lemmings rushing to destruction. We are sheep being driven toward a cliff by idiot savants, to whom we have delegated control over our affairs. Man worships science and its shortcuts. He worships the creations made by his own hands and mind. We will soon find that such idolatry is always deadly. Modern man thinks he has shoved God out of the universe. He has used Darwinism and a theory of vast cosmic impersonal time to remove Him from man's newly acquired domain. Natural selection has replaced God's purpose. Cosmic time has replaced the six-day creation. But now we face the institutional monstrosity of the digital impersonalism of the idiot savants. Computers can count. Can they ever count! But the dates they use after '99 will be wrong. WHAT WILL YOU DO? You should now have a list of services and goods that will no longer be provided if the computers go down. It's a long list. You need a second list. What items must you buy now that can substitute for these lost services? You can't afford to buy them all. There will be a panic to buy such goods next year. It has already begun (e.g., Chinese diesel generators). Where will you get the fuel for a generator? Electricity for a well pump? Propane for a cook stove? Heat in the winter? Think of Montreal last January. But will the computers go down? Senator Robert Bennett said it well on July 14 at a National Press Club speech. If 2000 were the next day, this civilization might collapse. But, he said, we can save it between July 15 and Jan. 1, 2000. To which I reply: How? What is being done, worldwide, to avoid the death of the computers? Not just in the U.S. -- worldwide? Almost nothing. There are not enough skilled programmers. I suppose you get tired of reading about this. I am surely tired of writing it. But until I can no longer mail this newsletter, or until all the computers are fixed in late 1999, I will continue to nag you . . . not to death -- to life. As it stands today, if tomorrow were 2000, we would see the end of this civilization in 60 days. If you think I'm wrong, jot down those life-support systems that are 2000- compliant today. It's an empty list. How will we get from empty to fixed, worldwide, in the next 15 months? This is not a trick question. It's a life-and-death question. Do you have an answer and a contingency plan? Don't wait for leadership on this matter. Leaders are in y2k denial. You must lead. If you won't, who will? You are responsible for you. What will you do? How soon? Sincerely, Gary North ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: Y2K- a futurist view: Society not resilient enough to withstand
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: "A.C." <angie(a)computerhut.net> Subject: IP: Y2K- a futurist view: Society not resilient enough to withstand Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 21:26:27 -0700 To: ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com change + 2 more related articles. Sender: owner-ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com Precedence: list Reply-To: "A.C." <angie(a)computerhut.net> "However, he warns that our present economic and institutional=20 structures have milked communities and individuals of their=20 resilience to handle major and abrupt change such as Y2K may unleash." >> > >Watershed for life as we know it >By JOHN MACLEAY >29 Sep '98 > >ROBERT Theobald is a futurist who sees the year 2000 computer glitch=20 >as a potential watershed for global civilisation.=20 > >Theobald, a British-born economist based in the US, says the year=20 >2000 - or Y2K - computer bug will have as big an impact on the global=20 >economy as the oil shocks of the 1970s.=20 > >On a more sobering note, Y2K is already shaping up as the biggest=20 >technological fix in history. It will cost the US alone at least=20 >$US600 billion ($1034 billion) and possibly $US1 trillion - double=20 >what it spent on the Vietnam War when adjusted for inflation.=20 > >Theobald, who for 37 years has advocated the need for change to a=20 >more sustainable economy, says Y2K just might be that catalyst, given=20 >the "inertia" of the current system.=20 > >But he says that how Y2K will change our lives will depend largely on=20 >the degree to which governments and individuals prepare themselves=20 >between now and December 31 next year.=20 > >"For me, Y2K is only the beginning of the shocks that are going to=20 >come as we begin to realise that technology does not resolve all of=20 >our problems," Theobald says.=20 > >Theobald, who is in Australia to promote his latest book, Reworking=20 >Success, says that if handled successfully, Y2K could lead to a more=20 >decentralised economy and political decision-making process.=20 > >However, he warns that our present economic and institutional=20 >structures have milked communities and individuals of their=20 >resilience to handle major and abrupt change such as Y2K may unleash.=20 > > >Theobald says community resilience will determine whether Y2K is=20 >treated as a natural disaster or whether it will be seen as another=20 >technological blunder by those above.=20 > >Theobald's big fear is that large-scale anger caused by Y2K=20 >disruptions could lead to a breakdown in social order, especially in=20 >the larger US cities, which will be the hardest areas to organise for=20 >Y2K at a neighbourhood and sub-neighbourhood level.=20 > >"I believe the core issue on (handling) this Y2K thing is to start at=20 >the sub-neighbourhood level so that you can say you know who will=20 >need things.=20 > >"If we don't do anything, the chances of a major breakdown in public=20 >order, which has already been seen in Indonesia and elsewhere around=20 >the world in one way or another, is a very real threat.=20 > >"And without far more intelligence being put in to handle this, I'd=20 >say a global slump is a very real possibility, and a significant=20 >collapse is not off the cards either."=20 > >However, while Theobald canvasses the dark side of the millennium=20 >glitch, he also dissociates himself from the so-called cyber- >survivalists. These are people, mostly in the US, who are prepared to=20 >ride out the Y2K bug by stocking food and hiding away in isolation.=20 > >Theobald has been putting his words into action by working closely=20 >with his local neighbourhood in Spokane, Washington State, on Y2K=20 >preparedness.=20 > >His efforts were recognised last year by the Institute for Social=20 >Innovation in Britain, which awarded him a prize.=20 > >The institute's other recipient was former computer programmer Paloma=20 >O'Reilly, founder of the Cassandra Project, a community-based Y2K=20 >preparedness group that has been examining and preparing for self- >sufficiency in all areas that could be millennium-glitch affected,=20 >including power, water and food distribution.=20 > >"What we do as individuals, as societies and communities over the=20 >next few months will make an enormous difference to how serious Y2K=20 >becomes," says Theobald.=20 > >"This is a fairly established position. I'm one person among many.=20 > >"When you consider the very well established companies and the=20 >enormous sums of money being spent on this, what I say is not out of=20 >the ordinary.=20 > >"But what disturbs most is that the dominant message in our culture=20 >at the moment is not about Y2K preparedness."=20 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Boston Top Stories Spotlight Boston October 2, 1998 =A0=20 Texas city stages test of `Y2K' doomsday effects=20 By Chris Newton/Associated Press=20 A cold front was icing streets and causing power outages. A riot at a=20 prison outside town was using up valuable police resources. To make=20 matters worse, the 911 emergency system was broken. The nightmare scene didn't really happen, but Lubbock officials=20 imagined it did Wednesday as part of a test of how the city could=20 react if, as many fear, computers driving vital public systems fail=20 to recognize the year 2000. The west Texas city of more than 180,000 people didn't test any=20 equipment but rather conducted a drill to see how city personnel=20 responded to mock crises. It was called the first such citywide=20 simulation of the problem in the nation. City manager Bob Cass, scheduled to testify about the experience=20 Friday before a U.S. Senate committee, said the clear lesson was that=20 cities risk being blindsided if they don't work on contingency plans=20 for the worst-case ``Y2K'' scenario. ``This is the one disaster that we know exactly when it could occur,=20 but it's also the one disaster that we have no idea how bad it will=20 be,'' Cass said. ``One thing that sticks out in my mind is that there=20 is the potential for so many things to go wrong all at once.'' Some computer scientists fear the Y2K bug could cause water systems=20 to shut down, traffic lights to go haywire or life-support systems to=20 fail. When a Chrysler plant ran a Y2K test on a computer system, it=20 was discovered that security doors were stuck closed. The Lubbock experiment coupled such effects with mock emergencies=20 that would make for an extra-busy night at the police department. ``Our simulation took into account things like slick roads and=20 traffic accidents that would be standard fare for New Year's Eve,''=20 Cass said. The test was essentially a role-playing game. Exactly what or when the ``disasters'' would occur was kept secret=20 until the drills started Wednesday evening. The only thing announced=20 was a four-hour window, starting at 5 p.m., when anything could=20 happen. Test conductors sent e-mail messages to city officials notifying them=20 of mock natural disasters or failed systems. Emergency officials,=20 including police, fire and utility workers, then had to react. A=20 system was set up to judge response times. At emergency management headquarters, officials frantically practiced=20 deploying police officers to deal with problems and posted red flags=20 on a giant city map to highlight emergency areas. The illusion was made complete with reporters summoned for ``news=20 conferences'' and mock reports from a National Weather Service=20 official. As the drill began, officials were told the city's 911 emergency=20 system had failed. Officials quickly switched over to a county system=20 and broadcast two new police and fire department emergency numbers on=20 television. Cass said city workers improvised well when unexpected problems arose. ``We pulled together and acted like a team,'' he said. ``A lot of=20 these agencies aren't used to dealing with each other like they had=20 to tonight.'' Mayor Windy Sitton said the test revealed that Lubbock needs to study=20 how to better respond to natural gas shortages. When fake gas outages=20 left hundreds of homes without heat, officials had to devise a plan=20 to set up shelters in the parts of town that still had power. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The Kansas City Star=20 Y2k Nervous world seeks ways to exterminate the year 2000 bug By DAVID HAYES and FINN BULLERS - Staff Writers Date: 09/26/98 22:15 Marilyn Allison has spent the last three years making sure computers=20 at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City don't fail after the=20 ball drops on New Year's Eve 1999.=20 Allison is confident Blue Cross has the problem well in hand. And she=20 thinks most of Kansas City does, too.=20 But she still is planning to sock away enough food, water, cash and=20 firewood to last a couple of weeks in case everything does go haywire=20 on Jan. 1, 2000.=20 There's the rub of the year 2000 bug, a glitch that could cause some=20 computers, machinery, medical equipment, utilities and VCRs to quit=20 working, or spit out bad information, when the 1900s become the 2000s. Nobody really knows what's going to happen.=20 The problem stems from computer systems and billions of embedded=20 computer chips that might read the "00" in a computer program as 1900=20 rather than 2000.=20 Edward Yardeni, one of the nation's leading economists, forecasts a=20 70 percent chance of global recession because of the bug. Another=20 leading forecaster, David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, doesn't expect significant disruption. He even contends the=20 resulting fallout might be fun -- if we keep a sense of humor about=20 it.=20 But everyone acknowledges something is coming down the tracks, said=20 Leon Kappelman, a university professor and author who is spending=20 much of his time these days talking about the year 2000 problem.=20 "The uncertainty is whether it's a locomotive or a bicycle,"=20 Kappelman said. "And it's difficult to get definitive evidence."=20 Until now there hasn't been much information to rely on. Some credit=20 cards with "00" expiration dates have been rejected. A 104-year-old=20 Minnesota woman was invited to report to kindergarten, and a computer=20 docked an Olathe couple $17,800 for insurance premiums.=20 But those are just scattered hints of the trouble to come. The real=20 warning lies in our growing reliance on vast networks of technology -- a single misfire in the wrong place can sabotage lives in far-flung=20 places.=20 For example, when just one satellite malfunctioned in May, millions=20 of pagers and automated teller machines went out for two days. An ice=20 storm in eastern Canada knocked out part of the country's power grid=20 and shut off power to millions of people for more than a week.=20 Think if all of that -- and more -- happened on one day: Jan. 1, 2000, a Saturday.=20 American businesses rely on computers to do almost everything. They=20 run huge manufacturing machines, answer telephones, pay employees and=20 control alarm systems.=20 Federal government computers track airliners, generate Social=20 Security checks, and control satellites in space and missiles on the=20 ground. Cities use computers to run traffic lights and dispatch=20 police officers.=20 Utilities use them to operate water and sewage systems. Grocery=20 stores use them to keep track of stock and place orders.=20 Even more important than the software that runs those computers are=20 the tiny, embedded computer chips buried in the guts of technological=20 gadgets, heavy machinery, airliners and even granddad's pacemaker.=20 There are 40 billion of the chips, most of them hard or impossible to=20 test, said Dave Hall, an expert with the CABA Corp. in Oak Brook, Ill. =20 Estimates vary on how many of those chips will fail. Hall says 1=20 percent. Others say failures could go as high as 10 percent -- and=20 even higher in some medical equipment.=20 Even a 1 percent failure rate means 400 million chips would fail.=20 Kappelman, the University of North Texas professor, thinks the=20 interrelationships between all those elements will cause serious=20 disruptions.=20 For instance, it's unlikely that America's electric utilities will be=20 caught unprepared on the last New Year's Eve of the 1900s. In fact,=20 an industry report released last week said utility problems seemed to=20 be fewer -- and easier to fix -- than expected.=20 But if only a few plants shut down on Jan. 1, 2000, the strain on the=20 rest of the power grid could trip a cascading failure that causes=20 widespread brownouts or blackouts.=20 "This will change the way we see the world," Kappelman said. "We'll=20 see our dependence on technology in a whole new way."=20 The fix is in?=20 Even if embedded chips are hard to check, the software problem=20 shouldn't seem too difficult to fix -- on the surface, at least.=20 For decades, computers have been programmed to recognize dates using=20 six digits: today's date is 09/27/98. When the calendar rolls over at=20 midnight on New Year's Eve 1999, computers that haven't been taught=20 differently will see the year as 1900 or some other date entirely. If=20 they work at all.=20 So solve the problem. Add a couple of numbers to the programming code. No big deal, right?=20 It's become a very big deal. For Sprint Corp., that small fix means=20 programmers must pore over 80 million lines of code. The fix will=20 take two years.=20 Big business thinks the problem is so significant that fixing it has=20 become a big business.=20 Sprint Corp. is spending $200 million on year 2000 repairs; Hallmark=20 Cards, $25 million; Blue Cross in Kansas City, $25 million; UMB Bank,=20 $22 million; Yellow Corp., $17 million. Johnson County taxpayers will=20 pay $17.2 million to fix that county's year 2000 problems.=20 All told, the fix in the Kansas City area will easily top the $400=20 million mark. Worldwide, the total is estimated at $300 billion to=20 $600 billion. Entire companies have sprouted just to deal with the year 2000 bug.=20 More than 140 public companies, ranging from Acceler8 Technology to=20 Zmax Corp., are touting their solutions.=20 Where there's a problem, there's a lawyer. Law firms have established=20 special teams just to handle potential litigation from the year 2000=20 problem.=20 Companies that cater to survivalists are hawking canned or dried food=20 and survival gear to those with year 2000 angst.=20 That type of hype is spreading across the Internet on hundreds of=20 year 2000 Web sites. A few of the most radical year 2000 worriers=20 already have moved to rural areas to get away from what they think=20 will be urban chaos when the lights go out and the food supply chain=20 breaks down.=20 Cynthia Ratcliffe of Pleasant Valley, a disabled former office worker, can't afford to move. But she's worried.=20 "I'm figuring at least six months of everything being messed up,"=20 said Ratcliffe, who's stocking up on canned food and kerosene lamps.=20 She's worried that those who have prepared will become targets for=20 those who haven't.=20 "I'm contemplating whether I should get some 2-by-4s to put bars over=20 the doors and windows," Ratcliffe said. "I'm trying to decide whether=20 I should buy a weapon."=20 One expert sees self-interest driving much of the panic.=20 Consultants benefit from the year 2000 fear that helps pay their=20 skyrocketing fees, said Nicholas Zvegintzov, president of Software=20 Management Network of New York and a programmer for 35 years.=20 Politicians also benefit from a puffed-up problem they can fix=20 without much effort.=20 "Unfortunately, there's no political clout in common sense,"=20 Zvegintzov said.=20 Sen. Bob Bennett, a Utah Republican who coordinates the Senate's year=20 2000 efforts, isn't doing anything to add to the national calm.=20 In a July 15 speech to the National Press Club in Washington, Bennett=20 told journalists to expect electrical brownouts and regional=20 blackouts. He predicts some banks will go bankrupt and some water=20 systems will break down.=20 Such alarm might actually be good, said Heidi Hooper, year 2000=20 director for the Information Technology Association of America. She=20 said the general public could use a serious wake-up call.=20 "These huge Fortune 100 companies are spending, collectively,=20 billions and billions of dollars. I don't think that's hype," she=20 said. "They are not going to spend that money for no reason. They=20 know, bottom line, that if they are going to make money they have to=20 stay in business."=20 But for some businesses to stay afloat, other businesses will have to=20 drown, she said.=20 "What we need, unfortunately, is examples of failures," Hooper said.=20 "That's going to start soon enough in 1999. And the private sector is=20 not going to share that information, so it's going to have to be up=20 to the federal government to step in."=20 But the federal government is in no shape to provide leadership.=20 Overall, one congressman gave the federal government a "D" on its=20 most recent year 2000 preparedness report card, up from the "F" it=20 received in June.=20 "This is not a grade you take home to your parents," said Rep. Steve=20 Horn, a California Republican and chairman of the House subcommittee=20 on government management of information and technology.=20 Horn predicts the government will not be able to fix a substantial=20 number of "mission critical" systems by 2000. And the price tag to=20 fix the 24 governmental departments surveyed is $6.3 billion, up $1=20 billion from the estimate given by the Office of Management and=20 Budget.=20 "The executive branch has a deadline that cannot be extended," Horn=20 said. "There is no margin for error."=20 Closer to home, Kansas City is requiring all city departments to=20 submit contingency plans by October for dealing with the year 2000=20 problem.=20 What to look for: Will traffic lights work? Will prisoners be=20 released early if a computer mistakenly thinks an inmate has been=20 jailed for more than 100 years? Will fire trucks start, and what is=20 the backup plan if they don't?=20 "You don't want to overreact, and we're not," said John Franklin,=20 assistant city manager. "But there is a real issue here for public=20 managers that's kind of scary."=20 Elsewhere, Water District No. 1 of Johnson County will spend $1.56=20 million to fix 4,109 computer programs and 701,021 lines of code by=20 the end of next summer. The district says the job is 75 percent=20 complete, and General Manager Byron Johnson said he was confident the=20 district would be prepared.=20 But experts aren't prepared to declare victory.=20 "My whole theme from day one is we need answers," said Yardeni, the=20 Yale economist and managing director of Deutsche Bank Securities.=20 "I'm not trying to foment panic. I'm not trying to create revolution.=20 But you have to be a naive optimist to think things are going to be=20 pretty relaxed Jan. 1, 2000."=20 ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: "Big Brother" Watches "Big Brother"
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: roundtable <roundtable(a)geocities.com> Subject: IP: "Big Brother" Watches "Big Brother" Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 16:30:20 -0400 To: ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com On Tuesday April 28, 1998 COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER Senate =46inance Committee Chairman William Roth, sited several incidents describin= g mistreatment by the criminal investigation division of the IRS. The same day The Treasury Department announced that former CIA and FBI chief COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER William Webster would head up a special investigation of the IRS's criminal investigation division. Sunday May 4, 1998 on the CBS show Face the Nation, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said "The IRS is not out of control, it's just not under control," "There is no management system." "The criminal division (of the IRS) got out of control. That SWAT team breaking into businesses with body armor and automatic weapons - now what's that?" asked Moynihan. "That is no way to behave with taxpayers. We can get this under control and will." COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER Moynihan expressed confidence in Congress and the agency's new director, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER Charles O. Rossotti, to create such a system and give it a face that is friendlier to the public than the aggressive, arm-twisting "Big Brother" described by taxpayers at Senate Finance Committee hearings held the week of April 28th, and in September 1997. COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER Charles O. Rossotti may be able to give the system a friendly face The problem is the friendly face will do little more than hide the same "Big Brother" tactics. Wiretaps may be one of those tactics. Some insight into how COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER William Webster thinks, is found in the USA Today article that follows. The article is about a record number of "Big Brother" wiretaps in the US. The excuse for the wiretaps "is a stepped-up federal response to increased terrorist activity on American soil. Opponents argue that the process endangers the very liberties it seeks to protect." COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER William Webster, head of the investigative team looking into "Big Brother" IRS abuses, is a proponent of increased "Big Brother" wiretaps who believes, "This issue is where the rubber hits the road," said [COUNCIL ON =46OREIGN RELATIONS MEMBER] William Webster, who headed the FBI in 1978 when the law allowing the secret wiretaps was passed. "It's where we try to balance the concept of our liberty against what has to be done to protect it." The USA Today article follows: >Hunt for terrorists brings about record rise in U.S. wiretaps >By Richard Willing / USA TODAY [ October 5, 1998] >>[ http://detnews.com:80/1998/nation/9810/04/10040083.htm ] > >WASHINGTON -- Federal judges operating in secret courts are authorizing >unprecedented numbers of wiretaps and clandestine searches aimed at spies >and terrorists in the United States, Justice Department records show. > > During the past three years, an average of 760 wiretaps and searches a >year were carried out, a 38-percent increase from the 550 a year from >1990-94. > > Federal judges have authorized a yearly average of 463 ordinary wiretaps >since 1990 in drug, organized crime and other criminal cases. > > Part of the growth in surveillance is attributed to an increase in >espionage and terrorist activities in the country. > > "There's a greater quantity of the folks who are potentially problematic >out there," said Jamie Gorelick, who as deputy attorney general from >1994-97 helped review wiretap applications. > > Proponents say the surveillance reflects a stepped-up federal response to >increased terrorist activity on American soil. > > Opponents argue that the process endangers the very liberties it seeks to >protect. > > "This issue is where the rubber hits the road," said [COUNCIL ON FOREIGN >RELATIONS MEMBER] William Webster, who headed the FBI in 1978 when the law >allowing the secret wiretaps was passed. "It's where we try to balance the >concept of our liberty against what has to be done to protect it." > > The wiretaps, which are applied for by the Justice Department under the >Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and carried out by the FBI and >National Security Agency, have received their greatest use yet under >President Clinton and Atty. Gen. Janet Reno. > > Since 1995, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act courts also have >authorized searches of the homes, cars, computers and other property of >suspected spies. In its two decades, those courts have approved 11,950 >applications and turned down one request. > > Generally, defense lawyers can challenge the basis for authorizing a >wiretap. But supporting information for wiretaps authorized by those >courts is sealed for national security reasons. > > "It legitimizes what would appear to be contrary to constitutional >protections," said Steven Aftergood, privacy specialist at the Federation >of American Scientists. "It's a challenge to the foundation of American >liberties." > >Opponents also say the government is using the wiretaps to replace >conventional criminal searches, which must meet a higher legal standard. > > "There's a growing addiction to the use of the secret court as an >alternative to more conventional investigative means," said Jonathan >Turley, law professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. > > The wiretaps are meant to develop intelligence, not to help make criminal >cases. But the wiretap information was used to secure guilty pleas from >CIA turncoats Aldrich Ames in 1994 and Harold Nicolson in 1997. > > How the surveillance act works > > * The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 created a special >secret court for authorizing wiretaps on suspected spies. > * The court was intended by Congress as a check against the power of >presidents, who until 1978 had authorized wiretaps and warrantless >searches in the name of national security. > * The law requires the Justice Department, and usually the FBI or the >National Security Agency, to show a judge that the target is a foreign >government or agent engaging in "clandestine intelligence gathering >activities" or terrorism. roundtable ___ Visit the Roundtable Web Page: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807 Title-50 War and National Defense =A7 783 states - "It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to the establishment within the United States of a totalitarian dictatorship, the direction and control of which is to be vested in, or exercised by or under the domination of control of, any foreign government." The Council on Foreign Relations are in violation of Title-50 War and National Defense =A7 783. The Council on Foreign Relations has unlawfully an= d knowingly combined, conspired, and agreed to substantially contribute to the establishment of one world order under the totalitarian dictatorship, the direction and the control of members of Council on Foreign Relations, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and members of their branch organizations in various nations throughout the world. That is totalitarianism on a global scale. ____ Visit the Roundtable Web Page: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2807 E-mail: roundtable(a)mail.geocities.com read on-line: Psychological Operations In Guerrilla Warfare ( The CIA's Nicaragua Manual); The Secret Team by Fletcher Prouty; The NAFTA PSYOP; Nitze's Not-Sees; & More visit: U.S. Army War College - Meet Henry L. Stimson and Elihu Root Professors of Military Studies ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: "The Internet 1998: The end of the beginning"
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: "The Internet 1998: The end of the beginning" Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 05:57:25 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: Business Today http://www.businesstoday.com/techpages/wsj2100598.htm BT EXCLUSIVE: The Internet 1998: The end of the beginning by Bill Burke/BusinessToday staff The Internet is not going away, but it is about to undergo a facelift. With the demand for faster, more reliable data communications access growing, some technology pundits are predicting the death of the Internet. Radio took 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million people, according to Sprint CEO William T. Esrey. The Internet has taken only four years to reach that same audience. Despite that growth, it has reached critical mass and is due flare out in the near future, he said. "The Internet is going away," Esrey said. "The Internet will be replaced with other networks." But according to a panel at the Wall Street Journal Technology Summit this morning, that demise is being prematurely reported. "One of the beauties of the Internet is that it can change in several places simultaneously," said Robert Metcalfe, vice president of Technology, International Data Group. "There are five or 10 next generation Internets coming." However, there are threats to the growth of the new Net. The first 25 years of the Internet has been characterized by governmental subsidies and community cooperation. Recently, the financial payoff has led to heretofore unseen posturing and political infighting -- something that could threaten the development of future networks, according to John M. McQuillan, president of McQuillan Consulting. Add in new technologies, however, and the next generation begins to take shape. "I think where we are with the Internet where we were 100 years ago with electricity," said Paul R. Gudonis, president of GTE Internetworking. "We're still in the early stages of this." Gudonis said the Internet is about to become more applications-based, forcing businesses to re-think their approach. "Business is going through an adoption cycle," he said. "Now we're seeing the second coming of re-engineering." Changes will come in how corporations go about prospecting, learning how to sell, and "totally revamping how they actually do business." As a result, companies are preparing for the next incarnation, building a massive new backbone for each new network, and preparing for, among other things, streaming video. "Everybody's getting ready for video," Gudonis said. "Everybody's going to go camera crazy, I think." But the bottom line is that capitalism has met the Net, and it will not be the same. "Where we are, is at the end of the beginning of the Internet," McQuillan said. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: ISPI Clips 5.15:Privacy Conference Announcement
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: "ama-gi ISPI" <offshore(a)email.msn.com> Subject: IP: ISPI Clips 5.15:Privacy Conference Announcement Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 00:53:20 -0700 To: <Undisclosed.Recipients(a)majordomo.pobox.com> ISPI Clips 5.15:Privacy Conference Announcement News & Info from the Institute for the Study of Privacy Issues (ISPI) Monday October 5, 1998 ISPI4Privacy(a)ama-gi.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This From: ACLU of Wisconsin (Press Release) acluwicmd(a)aol.com Privacy Conference Announcement ACLU of Wisconsin Data Privacy Project announces a privacy conference on November 13, 1998 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conference is co-sponsored by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Institute of World Affairs. The event features keynote addresses by Spiros Simitis, principal author of the EU Directive on Data Protection and Stefan Walz, privacy commissioner for the German state of Bremen. Registration information may be obtained from Carole Doeppers, Director, Wisconsin Data Privacy Project, 122 State Street, Suite 407, Madison, WI 53703. Or contact her by phone (608-250-1769), fax (608-258-9854) or e-mail <acluwicmd(a)aol.com>. Data Privacy in the Global Age, Friday, November 13, 1998, Italian Conference Center, Milwaukee Registration Fee: $175 Limited number of scholarships available upon request Conference lodging: Astor Hotel 1-800-242-0355 (in state) 1-800-558-0200 (outside Wisconsin) Conference Program: November 13 Welcome and Introductions Keynote Address: The EU Directive: Its Impact on Electronic Commerce with Third Countries Dr. Spiros Simitis, principal author of the EU Directive on Data Protection Concurrent Sessions: The Internet: New Frontiers for Privacy and the Law Moderator: Andrea Schneider, Professor, Marquette University School of Law Panelists: Fred Cate, Author and Professor, Indiana University School of Law Timothy Muth, Attorney and Chair, Milwaukee Bar Associations Technology Committee A New Electronic Bill of Rights: Good or Bad for Business? Moderator: David Luce, Professor Emeritus, UW-Milwaukee Philosophy Department Panelists: Evan Hendricks, Editor/Publisher, Privacy Times Paola Benassi, Operations Manager, TRUSTe Luncheon Afternoon Keynote Address: The German Approach to Data Protection Dr. Stefan Walz, Privacy Commissioner, German State of Bremen Concurrent Workshops: Trade-off of Values: Freedom of Information vs. Information Privacy Moderator: Len Levine, Professor, UW-Milwaukee Computer Science Department Panelists: Marty Kaiser, Editor, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel James Friedman, Legal Counsel, Wisconsin FOI Council Don Gemberling, Director, Information & Policy Division. Minnesota Department of Administration Charles Sykes, Author and Radio Talk-Show Host Developing Your Own Fair Information Practices: Balancing Commercial and Consumer Rights Moderator: David Flaherty, Commissioner, Office of Information and Privacy, British Columbia Discussants: Patrick Sullivan, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP James OBrien, Vice President, Sun Tzu Security Ltd. Reception --------------------------------NOTICE:------------------------------ ISPI Clips are news & opinion articles on privacy issues from all points of view; they are clipped from local, national and international newspapers, journals and magazines, etc. Inclusion as an ISPI Clip does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of the content or opinion by ISPI. 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ISPI's mandate is to conduct & promote interdisciplinary research into electronic, personal and financial privacy with a view toward helping ordinary people understand the degree of privacy they have with respect to government, industry and each other and to likewise inform them about techniques to enhance their privacy. But, none of this can be accomplished without your kind and generous financial support. If you value in the ISPI Clips service or if you are concerned about the erosion of your privacy in general, won't you please help us continue this important work by becoming an "ISPI Clips Supporter" or by taking out an institute Membership? 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IP: Did EU Scuttle Echelon Debate?
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: Did EU Scuttle Echelon Debate? Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 09:25:41 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: Wired http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/15429.html Did EU Scuttle Echelon Debate? By Niall McKay 5:15 p.m.5.Oct.98.PDT The European Parliament has swept aside concerns about alleged surveillance and spying activities conducted in the region by the US government, a representative for Europe's Green Party said Monday. Specifically, the EU allegedly scuttled parliamentary debate late last month concerning the Echelon surveillance system. Echelon is a near-mythical intelligence network operated in part by the National Security Agency. "The whole discussion was completely brushed over," Green Party member of European Parliament Patricia McKenna said. The US government has refused even to acknowledge Echelon's existence. But since 1988, investigative journalists and privacy watchdogs have uncovered details of a secret, powerful system that can allegedly intercept any and all communications within Europe. According to scores of reports online and in newspapers, Echelon can intercept, record, and translate any electronic communication -- telephone, data, cellular, fax, email, telex -- sent anywhere in the world. The alleged system has only recently come under the scrutiny of the European Parliament, which has grown concerned about EU government and private sector secrets falling into US hands. The debate fizzled mysteriously, said McKenna, who suggested that the Parliament is reluctant to probe the matter fully for fear of jeopardizing relations between the EU and the United States. "Basically they didn't want to rock the boat," she said. Furthermore, she said the debate was held two days ahead of schedule, hindering preparations for the discussion by European Members of Parliament. While the NSA has never officially recognized Echelon's existence, it has been the subject of heated debates in Europe following a preliminary report by the Scientific and Technical Options Assessment, a committee advising the parliament on technical matters. On 19 September, the Parliament debated both the EU's relationship with the United States and the existence and uses of Echelon. The Green Party believes the resolution to defer its decision on Echelon, pending further investigation, was influenced by pressure from the US government, which has tried to keep the system secret. Glyn Ford, a member of the European Parliament for the British Labor Party and a director of STOA, missed the debate because of the schedule change but does not share the Green Party's view. "There is not enough information on Echelon, beyond its existence, to debate the matter fully," said Ford. According to Ford, the Omega Foundation, a British human rights organization, compiled the first report on Echelon for the Parliament committee. "It is very likely that Omega will be commissioned again," Ford said. "But this time I believe the EU will require direct input from the NSA." Simon Davies, the director of the privacy watchdog group Privacy International sees the debate as a major civil rights victory. "It's unheard of for a parliament to openly debate national security issues," said Davies. "This debate fires a warning shot across the bows of the NSA." Echelon is said to be principally operated by the National Security Agency and its UK equivalent, the Government Communications Headquarters. It reportedly also relies on cooperation with other intelligence agencies in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. "These spy systems were seen as a necessary part of international security during the cold war," said Ford. "But there is no military reason for spying on Russia now unless they (NSA) want to listen to the sound of the proto-capitalist economy collapsing." ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: Heavy Leonid meteor shower threatens communications
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: Heavy Leonid meteor shower threatens communications Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 06:11:35 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: San Francisco Examiner http://www.examiner.com/981004/1004meteor.shtml Heavy Leonid meteor shower threatens communications Annual light show biggest in 32 years By Keay Davidson EXAMINER SCIENCE WRITER A spectacular meteor storm will ignite the heavens in mid-November, possibly "sandblasting" satellites and threatening everyday services from cell phones to TV shows to data communications. The last great meteor barrage came in 1966, when space satellites were far less common - and far less essential to everyday life. Back then, thousands of meteors per minute shot across the North American sky. Today, the skies are jammed with satellites that aid in weather forecasting, relay data communications and TV signals, and enable military surveillance. The world's satellite network is a juicy target for the blistering celestial rain. Although the meteors are smaller than grains of sand, they travel tremendously fast - more than 40 miles per second, equivalent to a 10-second flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles. As a result, they could knock out or disrupt some satellites' delicate electronics. "This meteoroid storm will be the largest such threat ever experienced by our critical orbiting satellite constellations," William H. Ailor, director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at the Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo, Los Angeles County, told the House Science Committee on May 21. The 1966 storm appeared over continental North America, but this year's main aerial assault will be visible from Japan, China, the Philippines and other parts of east Asia, and possibly Hawaii. The meteors are debris from a comet, Tempel-Tuttle. Scientists from NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View hope to study the shower from aircraft flying out of Okinawa, says Ames principal investigator Peter Jenniskens. They hope to broadcast live TV images of the shower over the World Wide Web. The "Leonid" meteor shower is so named because the meteors appear to emanate from the direction of the constellation Leo. Actually, the shower is a cloud of rocky particles orbiting the sun. Annual event Earth crosses the cloud's path every Nov. 17 and 18. At that time, amateur astronomers enjoy seeing the "Leonids" zip across the sky, sometimes several per minute. But every 30-plus years, our planet crosses a particularly dense part of the Leonid cloud. So the "shower" becomes a "storm," with up to 40 meteors per second and sometimes 50,000 per hour. Although very tiny, the particles move so fast that the friction with Earth's atmosphere will cause them to burn and glow. Visible from hundreds of miles away, they will make the sky look like fireworks. NASA plans to turn the Hubble Space Telescope away from the storm so meteors that hit the giant orbital telescope will miss its super-delicate mirror, says NASA spokesman Don Savage. "NASA is taking (the shower) seriously," Savage said. "We have been assessing what we need to do to ensure our satellites in Earth orbit are going to be operated in a safe manner during this meteor shower." Other satellites might be temporarily re-oriented so that they present the narrowest "cross section" - the smallest target. "We are concerned, and we have been in meetings and making plans concerning the Leonid shower," said U.S. Army Maj. Mike Birmingham, a spokesman for the U.S. Space Command in Colorado, which monitors American military and spy satellites. In his congressional testimony, Ailor said that "because of the very high speed of the particles - they will be moving at speeds of over... 155,000 mph - the storm poses an even greater and somewhat unknown threat." Most particles tiny "Fortunately, most of the particles... are very small, smaller than the diameter of a human hair, and won't survive passage through the Earth's atmosphere," Ailor said. "Our satellites, however, are (in space and) not protected by the atmosphere, so they will be 'sandblasted' by very small particles traveling more than 100 times faster than a bullet. "At these speeds, even a tiny particle can cause damage or electrical problems," Ailor said. "While major holes and physical damage to solar panels and structures are very unlikely, impacts of small particles will create an electrically charged plasma which can induce electrical shorts and failures in sensitive electronic components." Last month, an immense wave of radiation from a neutron star washed over Earth, causing at least two scientific satellites to shut down to protect their electronics. Astronomers said the star, in a constellation about 20,000 light-years away, had unleashed enough energy to power civilization for a billion-billion years. But by the time the radiation found its way across the cosmos and through the atmosphere, it was no stronger than a typical dental X-ray, scientists said. No conflict with space missions The upcoming meteor shower is not expected to conflict with scheduled space missions. The first components of the international space station - a kind of village in space - aren't planned for launch until late November and December, after the shower, Savage said. U.S. Sen. John Glenn, an Ohio Democrat and former astronaut, is scheduled to rocket into orbit on the space shuttle Oct. 29, returning before the Leonid shower. Armed with sensitive monitors, Jenniskens' colleagues will study the meteors' "spectra" - frequencies of light that reveal the particles' chemical composition - through portholes in the roof of a plane. Scientists will also study the particles' effects on atmospheric chemistry, such as the ozone layer that shields us from cancer-causing solar radiation. The scientists hope to measure the particle stream, which may be as dense as one extremely small particle every 10 square meters. If so, then every satellite in the sky may get hit, Jenniskens say. Jenniskens' project - involving some 30 scientists and two aircraft - is funded by NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. He hopes to transmit high-resolution TV images of the incoming meteors via TV or the Web across a 30-degree field of sky. More information on the project is available on the Internet at www-space.arc.nasa.gov/~leonid/. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: Spycam City: The surveillance society: part one
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: Spycam City: The surveillance society: part one Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 06:18:00 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: Village Voice http://www.villagevoice.com/ink/news/40aboal.shtml Spycam City: The surveillance society: part one by Mark Boal Cameras stare as you browse at Barnes and Noble or rent a video at Blockbuster. They record the way you handle the merchandise at Macy's or how you glide to the music at the Union Square Virgin Megastore. Grab a latte at Starbucks, brunch on borscht at Veselka, or savor a martini at the Union Bar: cameras are watching every sip you take. Peering from skyscrapers with lenses that can count the buttons on a blouse three miles away, they watch every move you make. Even Rudy likes to watch.After testing reaction to the monitoring of parks, public pools, and subway platforms, the city is quietly expanding a pilot program on buses. Cameras indistinguishable from lampposts have advanced from the perimeter of Washington Square into the heart of the park. They're already hidden at some bus stops and intersections to snag speeders and parking perps. More are on the way. The Housing Authority is rushing to put bulletproof cameras in corridors throughout city projects. At P.S. 83 in the Bronx, covert cameras cover the schoolyard; six other Bronx schools will soon follow suit. Even university students are under watch, as activists at City College realized last June when they found a camera hidden in the smoke detector outside their meeting room. The administration had put it there. Two local jails--Valhalla and Dutchess County--are adding cameras to their guards' helmets to go along with the ones in the visiting rooms and some cells. With little public awareness and no debate, the scaffolding of mass surveillance is taking shape."it's all about balancing a sense of security against an invasion of privacy," Rudolph Giuliani insists. But the furtive encroachment of surveillance is Norman Siegel's latest lost cause. "I feel like Paul Revere, shouting 'The cameras are coming, the cameras are coming.' " says the New York Civil Liberties Union's executive director. All summer, a crew of NYCLU volunteers scoured Manhattan on a mission to pinpoint every street-level camera. Next month, Siegel will unveil their findings: a map showing that cameras have become as ubiquitous as streetlights. It's impossible to say how many lenses are trained on the streets of New York, but in one eight-block radius, the NYCLU found over 300 in plain sight. And as one volunteer acknowledges, "There are tons of hidden cameras we didn't catch." That's because it's routine in the security trade to buttress visible cameras with hidden ones, "so everything's covered and it doesn't look like a fortress," as one consultant says. These spycams scan unseen in tinted domes, from behind mirrors, or through openings the size of a pinhole. Under the joystick command of a distant operator, they're capable of zooming in or spinning 360 degrees in less than a second. If you listen to the people who install them, cameras are as common and elusive as shadows. But does anybody really care? No New York law regulates surveillance (except to require cameras at ATM machines). Statutes that prohibit taping private conversations have been outpaced by video technology. Your words can't be recorded without your consent, but you can be videotaped in any public place. And you don't own your image (except for commercial purposes). It took the Supreme Court some 90 years to apply the Fourth Amendment's privacy protection to the telephone. Before a landmark 1967 case, it was legal to bug a phone booth. When legislators finally reined in wiretapping in 1968, video was a speck on the horizon, and cameras were excluded from the law. Now Congress is inundated with privacy bills, but few survive the combined resistance of manufacturers, service providers, law enforcement, and the media. In 1991 and 1993, proposals to limit surveillance were killed in committee by a lobby of 12,500 companies. Testifying against rules that would have required companies to notify their workers--and customers--of cameras, Barry Fineran of the National Association of Manufacturers called "random and periodic silent monitoring a very important management tool." This alliance backs its rhetoric with cash. During the 1996 Congressional campaign, finance and insurance companies alone invested $23 million in their antiprivacy agenda. And so the cameras keep rolling. It's clear that surveillance makes many people feel safer. But researchers disagree about its value as a crime deterrent.The consensus is that cameras can curb spontaneous crimes like vandalism, but are less effective in stopping more calculated felonies. Though spycams are in banks and convenience stores, robberies at these places are staples of the police blotter. Hardcore crooks learn to work around surveillance: witness the masked bandit. And many cameras that promise security are only checked occasionally; their real purpose is not to stop a crime in progress, but to catch perps after the fact. Those reassuring cameras on subway platforms are there to make sure the trains run on time. It's telling that the camera quotient is increasing in the midst of a dramatic decline in crime.Clearly the spread of surveillance has less to do with lawlessness than with order. "Just don't do anything wrong," advises the smiling cop monitoring the hidden cameras in Washington Square, "and you have nothing to worry about." But Americans are worried. Last year, 92 percent of respondents told a Harris-Westin poll they were "concerned" about threats to privacy, the highest level since the poll began in the late '70s. Despite this concern, there's been little research into the effects of living in an omnivideo environment. Surveillance scholarship was hip in the '60s and '70s, but academic interest has dropped noticeably in the past 20 years. In the neocon '90s, the nation's preeminent criminologist, James Q. Wilson, says he "never studied the subject [of security cameras] or talked to anyone who has." One reason for this apathy is the academy's dependence on government money. "Federal funding does not encourage this kind of research," says sociologist Gary Marx, one of the few authorities on surveillance. "The Justice Department just wants to know about crime control. It's bucks for cops." In fact, Justice money is lavished, not on research but on surveillance hardware. In this investigative void, a plucky new industry has sprung up. Sales of security cameras alone will total an estimated $5.7 billion by 2002. Cameras are now an integral part of new construction, along with sprinklers and smoke detectors. But the strongest sign that monitoring has gone mainstream is the plan by a security trade association to incorporate surveillance into the MBA curriculum. Budding businessmen are interested in cameras because they are a cheap way to control wandering merchandise and shield against liability. Fast-food chains like McDonald's protect themselves from litigious customers with hidden camerasthat can catch someone planting a rat tail in the McNuggets. Surveillance also helps managers track workers' productivity, not to mention paper-clip larceny and xerox abuse. Though most employers prefer to scan phone calls and count keystrokes, it's legal in New York (and all but three states) for bosses to place hidden cameras in locker rooms and even bathrooms. A 1996 study of workplace monitoring calculates that, by the year 2000, at least 40 million American workers will be subject to reconnaissance; currently, 85 percent of them are women, because they are more likely to work in customer service and data entry, where monitoring is commonplace. But that's changing as white-shoe firms like J.P. Morganput cameras in the corridors. Meanwhile, in the public sector, New York City transit workers can expect scrutiny for "suspected malingering and other misuse of sick leave [by] confidential investigators using video surveillance," according to a confidential MTA memo. Though the police would need a warrant to gather such information, employers don't."When most Americans go to work in the morning," says Lewis Maltby of the ACLU, "they might as well be going to a foreign country, because they are equally beyond the reach of the Constitution." New York is hardly the only spy city. More than 60 American urban centers use closed-circuit television in public places. In Baltimore, police cameras guard downtown intersections. In San Francisco, tiny cameras have been purchased for every car of the subway system. In Los Angeles, the camera capital of America, some shopping malls have central surveillance towers, and to the north in Redwood City, the streets are lined with parabolic microphones. Even in rustic Waynesville, Ohio, the village manager is proud of the cameras that monitor the annual Sauerkraut Festival. America is fast becoming what Gary Marx calls "a surveillance society," where the boundary between the private and the public dissolves in adigital haze. "The new surveillance goes beyond merely invading privacy . . . to making irrelevant many of the constraints that protected privacy," Marx writes in Undercover: Police Surveillance in America. For example, mass monitoring allows police to eliminate cumbersome court hearings and warrants. Immediately after a crime, cops check cameras in the vicinity that may have captured the perp on tape. So, as surveillance expands, it has the effect of enlarging the reach of the police. Once it becomes possible to bank all these images, and to call them up by physical typology, it will be feasible to set up an electronic sentry system giving police access to every citizen's comings and goings. This apparatus isn't limited to cameras. Recent mass-transit innovations, such as the MetroCard, are also potential surveillance devices. A MetroCard's magnetic strip stores the location of the turnstile where it was last swiped. In the future, Norman Siegel predicts, it will be possible for police to round up suspects using this data. E-Z Passes already monitor speeding, since they register the time when drivers enter tollbooths.Once transportation credits and bank accounts are linked in "smart cards" (as is now the case in Washington, D.C.), new surveillance vistas will open to marketers and G-men alike. Already the FBI clamors for the means to monitor any cell-phone call. Meanwhile other government agencies are developing schemes of their own. The Department of Transportation has proposed a rule that would encode state drivers' licenses, allowing them to double as national identity cards. Europeans know all about internal passports, but not even the East German Stazi could observe the entire population at a keystroke. "What the secret police could only dream of," says privacy expert David Banisar, "is rapidly becoming a reality in the free world." What's more, spy cams are getting smaller and cheaper all the time. "A lens that used to be 14 inches long can now literally be the size of my fingernail," says Gregg Graison of the spy shop Qüark. Such devices are designed to be hidden in everything from smoke detectors to neckties. Qüark specializes in souping up stuffed animals for use in monitoring nannies. A favorite hiding place is Barney's foot. These devices reflect the growing presence of military hardware in civilian life. The Defense Department's gifts to retail include night-vision lenses developed during the Vietnam War and now being used to track pedestrians on 14th Street. A hundred bucks at a computer store already buys face-recognition software that was classified six years ago, which means that stored images can be called up according to biometric fingerprints. "It's all about archiving," says John Jay College criminologist Robert McCrie. And in the digital age, the zip drive is the limit. The template for storing and retrieving images is Citibank's futuristic monitoring center in Midtown (this reporter was asked not to reveal the location), where 84 PCs flash images in near-real time from every branch in the city and beyond. Every day over a quarter of a million metro New Yorkers pass under these lenses. When the bank upgrades to digital in the next year or so, each image will be recorded and archived for 45 days. What alarms civil libertarians is that "no one knows what happens to the tapes once they are recorded, or what people are doing with them," as Norman Siegel says. In fact, mass surveillance has created a new kind of abuse. Last summer, a police sergeant in Brooklyn blew the whistle on her fellow officers for improper use of their cameras. "They were taking pictures of civilian women in the area," says the policewoman's attorney, Jeffrey Goldberg, "from breast shots to the backside." But you don't need a badge to spy, as plaintiffs around the country are discovering: At a Neiman-Marcus store in California, a female worker discovered a hidden camera in the ceiling of her changing room that was being monitored by male colleagues. At the Sheraton Boston Hotel, a union president invited a comrade to view a videotape of himself in his underwear. The hotel was monitoring its workers' changing rooms. In Maryland, a 17-year-old lifeguard was videotaped changing into her bathing suit by her supervisor at the county swimming pool. Elsewhere in that state, a couple discovered that a neighbor had installed two cameras behind bathroom heating ducts and had monitored them for six months. On Long Island, a couple discovered a pinhole camera watching the bedroom of their rented apartment. It had been planted by the owner. In Manhattan, a landlord taped a tenant having sex with his girlfriend in the hallway, and presented it along with a suggestion that the tenant vacate the premises. He did. In this laissez-faire environment, whoever possesses your image is free to distribute it. And just as images of Bill Clinton leading a young woman into his private alcove ended up on Fox News, so can your most private moments if they are deemed newsworthy--as one Santa Monica woman learned to her horror when footage of her lying pinned inside a crashed car, begging to know if her children had died, ended up as infotainment. The paramedic, as it turns out, was wired. The harvest from hidden cameras can also end up on the Internet, via the many Web sites that offer pics of women caught unaware. There are hidden toilet cams, gynocams, and even the intrepid dildocam. Though some of these images are clearly staged, others are real.Their popularity suggests that whatever the rationale, surveillance cameras resonate with our desire to gaze and be gazed upon. As J.G. Ballard, author of the sci-fi classic Crash, putsit, these candid-camera moments "plug into us like piglets into a sow's teat, raising the significance of the commonplace to almost planetary dimensions. In their gaze, we expose everything and reveal nothing." But exposure can be a means to an end. "Once the new surveillance systems become institutionalized and taken for granted in a democratic society," warns Gary Marx, they can be "used against those with the 'wrong' political beliefs; against racial, ethnic, or religious minorities; and against those with lifestyles that offend the majority." Earlier this month, New York police taped large portions of the Million Youth March in Harlem.In the ensuing furor over whether the tapes accurately portrayed the police response to a rowdy activist, a more basic issue went unaddressed. Social psychologists say that taping political events can affect a participant's self-image, since being surveilled is unconsciously associated with criminality. Ordinary citizens shy away from politics when they see activists subjected to scrutiny. As this footage is splayed across the nightly news, everyone gets the meta-message: hang with dissenters and you'll end up in a police video. But even ordinary life is altered by surveillance creep. Once cameras reach a critical mass, they create what the sociologist Erving Goffman called, "a total institution," instilling barely perceptible feelings of self-consciousness. This process operates below the surface of everyday awareness, gradually eroding the anonymity people expect in cities. Deprived of public privacy, most people behave in ways that make them indistinguishable: you're less likely to kiss on a park bench if you know it will be on film. Over the long run, mass monitoring works like peer pressure, breeding conformity without seeming to. Communications professor Carl Botan documented these effects in a 1996 study of workplace surveillance. Employees who knew they were being surveilled reported higher levels of uncertainty than their co-workers: they were more distrustful of bosses, their self-esteem suffered, and they became less likely to communicate. The result was "a distressed work force." The anxiety of being watched by an unseen eye is so acute that the 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham made it the basis of his plan for a humane prison, in which inmates were to be controlled by the knowledge that they might be under observation. Bentham called this instrument of ambiguity the Panopticon. Ever since then, the power of the watcher over the watched has been a focal point of thinking about social control. The philosopher Michel Foucault regarded the panoptic force as an organizing feature of complex societies. Surveillance, Foucault concluded, is the modern way of achieving social coherence--but at a heavy cost to individuality. Spycams are the latest incarnation of this impulse. Welcome to the New Improved Panopticon.Twenty-five years ago, Mayor John V. Lindsay installed cameras in Times Square. But he took them down after 18 months because they only led to 10 arrests--causing The New York Times to call this experiment "the longest-running flop on the Great White Way." No such ridicule has greeted Giuliani's far more ambitious surveillance plans and his cheeky assertion that "you don't have an expectation of privacy in public spaces." It's a brave new world, but very different from the ones imagined by Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty Four taught us to be alert to the black-booted tyrant. The Truman Show updates this Orwellian model as the saga of an ordinary man whose life is controlled by an omniscient "creator," a TV producer who orders the 5000 cameras surrounding his star to zoom in or pull back for the perfect shot. As inheritors of Orwell's vision, we are unable to grasp the soft tyranny of today's surveillance society, where authority is so diffuse it's discreet.There is no Big Brother in Spycam City. Only thousands of watchers--a ragtag army as likely to include your neighbor as your boss or the police. In 1998, anybody could be watching you. This is the first of a three-part series. Part Two: Behold Jennifer, the Surveillance Celebrity Additional reporting: Emily Wax. Research: Michael Kolber ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: Fwd: [Spooks] CIA needs spies. Care to join?
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: Bridget973(a)aol.com Subject: IP: Fwd: [Spooks] CIA needs spies. Care to join? Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:10:31 EDT To: ignition-point(a)majordomo.pobox.com Subject: [Spooks] CIA needs spies. Care to join? Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 22:48:59 -0500 From: Bob Margolis <rttyman(a)wwa.com> To: Spooks <spooks(a)qth.net> >From the Christian Science Monitor--OCT 5 Cheers, Bob Margolis =========== Help Wanted The blonde - a cross between TV's ``La Femme Nikita'' and a Washington lawyer - grins knowingly out of the glossy pages of an international news magazine. ``Do you have what it takes?'' asks the bold advertising line just over her shoulder, paid for by the Directorate of Operations (DO), the clandestine service of the Central Intelligence Agency. ``Did you see that one?'' CIA Director George Tenet asks enthusiastically of the ad. ``We worked on another one that says, 'If you ever liked taking apart your radio and putting it back together, we might have a job for you.''' Blame the tight labor market, budget cuts, or low morale fueled by post-cold-war mission confusion, but the ad in London's The Economist illustrates an acute problem the CIA no longer wants to keep secret: It's fast running out of spies. To counter the flight of experienced operatives trained in skullduggery, the agency has embarked on the most aggressive recruiting drive in its five-decade history. If it can't bolster the number of case officers, experts say, the CIA runs the risk of being caught flat-footed, as with India's nuclear tests this spring, which caught the agency - and thus the United States - unawares. ``We anticipate the current program will rebuild the operations-officer cadre by more than 30 percent over the next seven years,'' says CIA spokeswoman Anya Guilsher. Augmenting a national media campaign is the college-campus recruitment program that has been under way for years. But while the agency used to actively recruit at 120 colleges, it is now concentrating its efforts at half that number, pinpointing universities with strong computer and technical programs and those with large numbers of minorities. In addition to the fresh crop of college graduates, the worldly wise are also encouraged to apply. ``We are also looking for people with international experience, languages, business experience. You are not necessarily going to get someone like that right out of college,'' says Ms. Guilsher. Congress is pumping a classified amount of money into the recruitment effort. The DO began experiencing sharp losses in personnel nearly seven years ago, after the fall of the Soviet Union. By last year, the number of people leaving the agency exceeded fresh recruits by 3 or 4 to 1. Insiders cite a number of reasons for the departures, including overall mission drift and the way the CIA has handled spy scandals, including mole Aldrich Ames, who funneled secrets to Moscow from 1985 until his arrest in 1994. Such demoralizing headlines underscore the agency's need for fresh recruits as Tenet seeks to reform the CIA. The current hiring drive was already in the planning stages when the CIA's failure to detect India's nuclear tests last spring solidified recruiting resolve from Capitol Hill to the CIA's suburban headquarters in McLean, Va. ``If you had the right number of people in the field doing the right thing, the failure wouldn't have occurred,'' says a congressional source familiar with agency operations. Intelligence observers estimate total agency employees at just over 16,000. One estimate places the total number of case workers in the field at less than 1,000. ``My guess is most Americans would overguess by 10- to 20-fold the numbers out there spying [for the CIA],'' the source says. It'S not just the manner in which the recruitment calls are sounded that is changing. The agency is also overhauling the way it handles would-be spies. In the past, applicants could expect to wait more than a year and a half as their application crawled through the hiring bureaucracy. In today's tight labor market, many applicants were simply walking away, signing on to higher-paying jobs in the private sector. Today, a CIA contact is assigned to answer applicants' questions, and the agency claims the hiring period has been compressed to six to eight months. ``We're overhauling our entire recruitment system,'' says Tenet. Still, the agency is constricted by government pay scales - starting pay for a professional trainee is $30,000, about $5,000 less than what the average college graduate received this year. What a CIA job can provide is the cachet of being a CIA agent - the lure of being in the know on world affairs. The agency also recruits using a rarely discussed theme these days: patriotism. ``Patriotism is not a word used much anymore ... but there are still people who learn about the CIA's mission and understand that it really does have an important purpose and function and want to work in the agency,'' says Ronald Kessler, author of ``Inside the CIA.'' Once in, today's trainees receive a more intensive, highly technical education than in the past. ``You can't collect [intelligence] in rocket science if you don't know about rocket science,'' says a congressional source. Today, a case officer in the field receives an average of one to three years of training. Part of the need for greater numbers is sparked by the reopening of an undisclosed number of stations in former East Bloc countries, which were closed in the early 1990s. The CIA says the reopenings are not necessarily to spy on former cold-war adversaries, but rather to monitor a region now transformed into a crossroads for weapons for hire. --- Submissions should be sent to spooks(a)qth.net To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe spooks" to majordomo(a)qth.net -- bridget973(a)aol.com Black Helicopters on the Horizon: http://members.xoom.com/bridget973 ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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IP: Cyberwar: Proper Vigilance Or Paranoia?
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: Cyberwar: Proper Vigilance Or Paranoia? Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 06:16:19 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: ZDNet http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/printhigh/100598/cover/chapter1.html Cyberwar: Proper Vigilance Or Paranoia? By Will Rodger The last war was on land, air and sea. The next one may be on your computer. Armed with reams of data showing dramatic increases in computer crime since 1995, a wide-ranging but little-noticed federal working group is moving swiftly to try to knit together a private and public partnership against armies of hackers, government spies and terrorist agents that could make cyberspace unsafe for democracy. The fear: that no part of the industrialized world is safe from digital disaster. Successful attacks on power grids, hospitals, banks, farms, factories and railroad switches could plunge a target nation into chaos and dysfunction. Administration officials say this is no joke, ticking off threats already encountered: A 19-year-old Israeli hacker, known as the Analyzer, and two California teenagers successfully penetrate U.S. Department of Defense computers in February, setting off fears that their intrusions are related to U.S. troop buildups against Iraq. Russian hacker Vladimir Levin breaks into Citibank systems and steals $12 million in 1994. He escapes arrest for one year, only to be brought to justice as he gets off a flight to London and walks into the arms of Interpol. A study by network security specialist Dan Farmer that shows more than 60 percent of 1,700 high-profile Web sites - many run by banks - can be broken into or destroyed using a program he designed to probe for weaknesses no system administrator should allow in the first place. At the center of the U.S.' attempts to create a cyberdefense structure is the Critical Infrastructure Coordination Group, an assembly of cabinet undersecretaries and other senior officials sworn to work with the FBI and American business to protect a society that now depends on a safe, free flow of bits and bytes. But even as the defense structure emerges, civil libertarians, industry executives and even administration insiders worry about how well the Clinton administration or its successors can steer between protecting against all forms of disruption on one hand and creating a police state on the other. Fears that police agencies will use the threat to gain unprecedented power "reflect a misunderstanding of what we're all about and what the administration is all about," said Michael Vatis, director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) at the FBI. "We are structured as a real partnership [between government and free enterprise]. It's our own intention to bring people on board from the private sector. We all say the same thing." But James Adams, former chief executive officer of United Press International and head of the newly formed Infrastructure Defense Inc. consultancy, said government must surrender more power first. "I don't think the government can any longer say we know what's good for you and we're going to take care of it. The government is becoming increasingly irrelevant. I'm not arguing that's a good thing or a bad thing - it's simply a fact." Either way, bitter, seemingly endless disputes between the administration and the people whose cooperation it needs already have tainted the process of developing a national approach to protecting critical information assets, both sides said. A five-year battle over use and export of data-scrambling technologies crucial to data security, for instance, has alienated much of the computer industry. FBI demands that telephone companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make wiretaps easier to perform, meanwhile, have led to charges of betrayal by phone companies that claim they were promised more compensation than they're getting, and civil libertarians who say the new proposals invite abuse by rogue police. As a result, what should be a cooperative effort to secure the nation from outside attacks threatens to bog down in a morass of mistrust and stony silence. "Our members are scared to death of this whole program," a Washington association executive said, insisting on anonymity. "You've got the FBI and the National Security Agency pushing this thing. These guys are spies. Then there are these 'private sector' groups springing up to coordinate 'information sharing' about how different companies have these huge holes in their networks. Some of them are headed by ex-Defense Department people. The whole thing makes us paranoid." Worse, still, the lobbyist said: The nation's chief computer security organization - the secretive, estimated 50,000-employee National Security Agency (NSA) - is the same one responsible for wiretapping and signal interception everywhere outside the U.S. As long as the world's biggest Big Brother has a major role to play, business may be gun-shy of the program. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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advances in imaging sensors
by David Honig 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

There was an article in a recent EETimes about a new type of very fast imaging sensor, whose circuitry provides for very short exposures, which may find uses in consumer items. I was thinking that very fast image grabbers could be used to identify moving people, e.g., in their cars at an airport, or even on the street. The performance limit will be the sensitivity of the pixels and available light. But motion blur goes away. (In my part of Calif, there are video cameras mounted on signalling poles or streetlights in wealthy suburbs, for 'traffic monitoring' reasons. Images from them (as released to the public) are wide-angle, and people can't be ID'd. But things change.)

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Web TV with 128b exported
by David Honig 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/981005/ca_microso_1.html MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) WebTV Networks today announced it is the first U.S. company to obtain government approval to export nonkey recovery-based 128-bit-strength encryption for general commercial use. WebTV Networks pioneered low-cost access to the Internet, e-mail, financial services and electronic shopping through a television set and a standard phone line. The WebTV(TM) Network service, combined with the WebTV-based Internet terminals and receivers, is the first communications system permitted by the U.S. government to provide strong encryption for general use by non-U.S. citizens in Japan and the United Kingdom. Such strong encryption allows Japanese and United Kingdom subscribers of WebTV to communicate through the WebTV Network (both within national borders and internationally) without fear of interception by unauthorized parties. etc...

8 12

Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 20:35:53 +0100 > From: Steve Mynott <stevem(a)tightrope.demon.co.uk> > Subject: Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... (fwd) > how can you "own" something yet not control it? fascism is a form of > socialism I 'own' my freedom but I *never* control it. Its expression is a direct result of *others* respecting that ownership. Another example is a very old Chinese proverb from The Masao: You are What you do When it counts The point being, you *never* have anything to say about when it counts. Not to mention the obvious retort, what do you mean by 'control'... > any true cypherpunk must be a libertarian.. In your opinion. ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Interesting document by an anonymous 'guy' (Echelon)
by Max Inux 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hey, at http://www.bsnet.co.uk/chris/nsa.txt there is an interesting paper on how the NSA has been spying etcetera to do with echelon, i would post some, but it is all good, and is 518K a quick bit from the top.... "I haven't posted or updated it in a while, but here is the gathered documentation on our governments' massive spying on us, including domestic phone calls.", then later..... "This is about much more than just cryptography. It is also about everyone in the U.S.A. being fingerprinted for a defacto national ID card, about massive illegal domestic spying by the NSA, about the Military being in control of key politicians, about always being in a state of war, and about cybernetic control of society" With the recent talk about Echelon I thought I would bring it up..... Max -- Max Inux <maxinux(a)openpgp.net> Hey Christy!!! KeyID 0x8907E9E5 Kinky Sex makes the world go round O R Strong crypto makes the world safe If crypto is outlawed only outlaws will have crypto Fingerprint(Photo Also): 259D 59F7 D98C CD73 1ACD 54Ea 6C43 4877 8907 E9E5

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Sad news ... (... or not ;-)) (http://www.inet-one.com/cypherpunks/current/msg
by Enzo Michelangeli 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> At 6:57 PM -0400 on 10/6/98, Petro wrote:> > > Who owns the patents, Digicash, or Chaum?> > DigiCash, Inc., of the US of A, not DigiCash BV, of the Netherlands.> > Cheers,> Bob Hettinga Uhm, strange: I thought that the main attraction of a Dutch company was the lack of withholding tax on royalty payments made to non-residents, that, combined with the tax treaties between The Netherlands and most countries (which allow tax-free payment from those countries to the Dutch company), makes it an ideal vehicle to receive royalties on a (almost) tax-free basis. But if the patents were held by Digicash Inc., what was the point of having Digicash BV? Enzo

2 1

Baywatch and Visto?
by Visto Corporation 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
by Brown, R Ken 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Matthew James Gering[SMTP:mgering@ecosystems.net] wrote: > >> Though, it does occur to me that the fact that OS/2 has a >> stronger faction in Europe than in N. and S. America in >> relation to Microsoft may be an indication that continental >> saturation is possible. >The conclusions I would draw from that are IBM as the former market >giant had a very strong International infrastructure, channels and >reputation. Since the US market is the principle industry producer, it >was more competitive and less dominated by IBM. Microsoft, therefore, >had an easier time in an already competitive US market than breaking in >overseas. They also had the underdog phenomenon going for them here, the >local competitive market wanting to break IBM's dominance. The fact that >OS/2 utterly flopped in the US and found some adopters overseas is >credit to IBMs international reputation and little else. No - I was there (here) at the time. It was early adopters of "client server" technology who went for OS/2, mainly banks and City finance places. Of course the currency traders & red braces types (remember "greed is good"?) used Unix workstations or rather got their minions to use them for them, but the backoffice applications often went to OS/2. At the time Windows 3.0 was just coming out and it wasn't a serious option. (I used to wander around our office with a folder full of floppies each with a different tcpip stack for Windows - they all had *bad* problems). The Netware people will still mostly on Netware 2 which was a great fileserver but no kind of application server at all. The alternative to OS/2 was Unix, which is where most of these guys went next (& should have gone in the first place) or sticking with Netware+DOS, or going to AS400 (which was, and is, a brilliant platform for exactly these sorts of backoffice, administrative applications that are usually programmed badly because no programmer who is any good can stay awake whilst reading the spec). Of course now everyone uses SAP. Or Baan. If there are reasons that the small minority of big OS/2 adopters in Europe was slightly less small than the even smaller one in the US they are probably: - Unix was always better known in the US than Europe - Lotus Notes took off faster in Europe & it was 100% OS/2 at first (nearest OS/2 ever got to a "killer app") - European companies spend less per seat on personal computing than US, and they were reluctant to lash out on Sun workstations - home computing in the US was almost totally Microsoft by the time OS/2 came out but not so much in Europe. The consumer market won out over the business market. - European banks and finance places were ahead of US in software development back then. That's partly because they had been slower to get started (especially in France & Germany) & so had less mainframe legacy & partly because the "big bang" deregulation of the UK stock market (world's 3rd biggest) and foreign exchange market (world's biggest by a long way - every dollar in your bank account is on average bought and sold in London more than once a week) shook up the banks. So they went for "client server" earlier and at a time when there was no credible MS platform. I used to drive OS/2 for a living (for Lotus Notes mainly). It had a far, far better user interface than Windows or most versions of X. But it was late, slow and never really delivered the reliability or ease of installation it should have. The Extended Editor was the best programmer's editor I have ever seen and Rexx is what Basic should have been - a million Windows programmers suffer every day because of Bill Gates's unreasoning prejudice against Rexx and his pathetic admiration for Basic - but installation and maintenance were a nightmare, and the thing ran like a dog with a broken leg. When we got the chance to replace it with NT we went for NT. But OS/2 versus Windows 3 was a different matter. Relevance to Cypherpunks? Sort of, in that it shows that a consumer product (Windows) can beat a business-directed product (OS/2) in the software market, even if it is inferior. If we want to see ubiquitous strong cryptography the target market isn't the banks but 14-year-olds in their bedrooms. Ken Brown

1 0

question
by Bernie B. Terrado 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

traceroute, is it effective as ping or finger. what other info would I have to know about it @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ It's done..... @ @ metaphone(a)altavista.net @ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

2 1

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17 Dec '03

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New information at the Informant
by The Informant 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hello, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: We do NOT send unsolicited e-mail to anyone. If you have been signed up for our service against your will, PLEASE JUST REPLY TO THIS NOTE, saying that you never signed up. We will delete the account that is sending you mail and do our best to identify the person who signed you up. (Our e-mail address is info_adm(a)cosmo.dartmouth.edu; our URL is http://informant.dartmouth.edu/.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Informant has discovered new information! 32 new WWW page(s) 0 updated WWW page(s) 1 unreachable WWW page(s) (monitored pages only) To see your pages, please come visit us at http://informant.dartmouth.edu Remember that your username is cypherpunks Power users can use the URL http://informant.dartmouth.edu/index.cgi?username=cypherpunks If you did sign up with us, but are tired of receiving this e-mail, please visit the Web site and increase the number of days between updates, blank out your e-mail address, or remove yourself from the service. Your faithful servant, The Informant

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17 Dec '03

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Get GROOVY in Photoshop! - Extensis PhotoTools 3.0
by listmaster＠extensis.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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1 0

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by Postal008＠hanmail.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Thank you for your interest in The Investment Exchange!
by Ken Fowler 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

You have been referred to us as having a stake in raising capital or placing capital. If this is correct, we trust the information below will be valuable to you. If we have erred, please accept our apologies. You may simply type "REMOVE" in the "Subject Line" above, send the reply including your email address to us. We will ensure you receive no further correspondence from The Investment Exchange. Established in 1986, The Investment Exchange has computer-matched many millions of Investors' Capital to Investment Opportunities. We are not a business or mortgage broker, nor are we an investment dealer. What The Investment Exchange provides is a network for ingenuity and capital that, when combined, results in a successful match. It works! If this interests you, please visit The Investment Exchange website, http://www.tinvex.com . Once you have had an opportunity to review the material we have provided, please contact the undersigned with any questions or comments. You may mailto:info@tinvex.com . Thank you for your interest. We look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, The Investment Exchange Ken Fowler, President

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ANNOUNCE: SF Bay Cypherpunks Mtg, Sat 10 Oct, Stanford
by Dave Del Torto 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Online version: <http://www.freedomfighter.net/cypherpunks/physical.html> October 1998 Physical Meeting General Info: Sat 10 Oct 1:00 - 5:00 PM Stanford University Campus (Palo Alto, California) - Tressider Union courtyard The October Physical Meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Cypherpunks will be held on Saturday 10 October 1998 from 1-5 PM. This is an "Open Meeting on US Soil" and, as always, members of the Public are encouraged to attend. Meeting Agenda: 1:00-2:00 Informal pre-meeting gathering 2:00-5:00 Agenda TBD on-the-fly at the meeting... Some suggestions: CIPHR'99 conference announcement MacCrypto'98 summary Yet Another Snake-Oil cluster-jerk. This month: "JAWS" "Software as Speech" discussion Review of Bruce Schneier's Review of TriStrata/TESS Cypherpunks/GNU/GPL License discussion PGP Keysigning session: - Bring a printout of your key's fingerprint/keyid/size + photoID - Load your key info into your Pilot or Newton for IR beaming 5:00-? Dinner at a nearby restaurant usually follows the meeting. Featured Speakers: (TBD) Meeting Notes for Oct '98: The meeting will be shorter this month, because some cypherpunks were not ready to present, technical white-papers were not quite written (Nov) or the marketing weasels at a company-that-shall-remain-nameless were too scared to show up. ;) MacCrypto'98 is being held this week nearby at Apple in Cupertino: several out-of-town cypherpunks are lurking. Therefore, it's extremely likely that agenda items will arise in realtime, so "you must be present to win." Because of the loose agenda, the meeting will begin slightly later than normal: 1:00 pm pre-meeting (instead of noon), 2:00 pm for the meeting. This is probably our last outdoor meeting for 1998. Unless I'm mistaken, this is our seven-year anniversary meeting(?). Location Info: The meeting location will be familiar to those who've been to our outdoor meetings before, but for those who haven't been, it's on the Stanford University campus, at the tables outside Tresidder Union, at the end of Santa Theresa, just west of Dinkelspiel Auditorium. We meet at the tables on the west side of the building, inside the horseshoe "U" formed by Tresidder. Ask anyone on campus where Tressider is and they'll help you find it. Food and beverages are available at the cafe inside Tressider. Location Maps: Stanford Campus (overview, Tresidder highlighted). http://www.stanford.edu/home/map/search_map.html?keyword=&ACADEMIC=Tresidde… Tresidder Union (zoomed detail view). http://www.stanford.edu/home/map/stanford_zoom_map.html?234,312 Printable Stanford Map (407k). http://www.stanford.edu/home/visitors/campus_map.pdf

1 0

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17 Dec '03

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1 0

American Justice Threat List
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Some of the Justice/FBI Wish List legislative requests, outlined by Rep. Bob Barr a few days ago, are being implemented in two recent docs: 1. House/Senate Conference Report on HR3694, Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 1999: http://jya.com/hr105-780.txt (108K) An excerpt from this report, Foreign Intelligence and International Terrorism Investigations, describes expanded wiretap and encryption provisions: http://jya.com/fiiti.htm (36K) Note the planned use of "volunteers" to assist Justice with encryption and other features added to original bills by the House/Senate conference, in line with Barr's prediction. 2. The International Crime and Anti-Terrorism Amendments for 1998, expands foreign action powers, broadens seizures and other provisions: http://jya.com/s2536.txt (38K) What these confirm is the use of the threat of terrorism to rapidly eliminate the separation between foreign and domestic intelligence, military and law enforcement powers. While still mostly aimed at foreign-originated threats, the provisions now make it possible to turn the full kennel of the dogs of war loose on disobedient US citizens lumped with foreigners impossible to understand except as threats to American Justice.

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Nowhere Justice
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A distinguishing feature of the complaints and indictments of suspects in the African Embassy bombings is the use of the phrase "in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, as that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 7(3), and outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or jurisdiction," to apparently lay claim to the legal right of the US to arrest and imprison terrorist suspects for acts in any location where US law customarily would not be valid: http://jya.com/alqfiles.htm Would any of our legal advisors know the origin of that phrase "outside the jurisdiction of any particular state or jurisdiction?" Is this new, and devised to reduce conflict with other states who may harbor terrorists, or perhaps prevent them from being terrorist targets for cooperating with the US?

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1999 San Antonio/Austin Guide to Business Technology
by Jennifer Stinson-- BDSI 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Prospective Buyers are Asking for Information about Your Products and Services Let them know that your company is local and can supply what they need by participating in the 1999 Guide to Business Technology. The Guide is an annual publication that is distributed to local and regional companies giving them useful buying information about services and products such as: * Cellular * Computer Hardware * Computer Networking * Computer Software * Computer Telephony Interface * Consulting * Emerging Technology * Internet Access * Intenet Marketing * Outsourcing * Software Development * Video Conferencing * Wireless Communications * Y2K I am contacting you, because you were listed in the search engines as having products and services tht fit the needs of the prospective buyers we contacted. To get more information, go to: http://www.biztech99.com or email: jstinson(a)trip.net **Note you will only receive this message once, this is not a list, you do not need to respond with "remove"

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 04:07 PM 10/6/98 -0700, Michael Motyka wrote: >> ITALIAN dignitaries who fear being kidnapped are having >> microprocessor homing devices planted in their bodies so police can >> track them down if they are abducted. >> >Where can I buy one of these things for my cat? My master password is >tatooed inside her upper lip. > You must either have a large cat or an insecure password. Or a very precise veterinary tattooist.

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17 Dec '03

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[Fwd: [Spooks] British Telecom-Menwith Hill connection]
by Sunder 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

To: Spooks <spooks(a)qth.net> Subject: [Spooks] British Telecom-Menwith Hill connection From: Bob Margolis <rttyman(a)wwa.com> Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 23:32:36 -0500 Reply-To: Bob Margolis <rttyman(a)wwa.com> Sender: owner-spooks(a)qth.net BT condemned for listing cables to US sigint station 4 September, 1997 A judge has lambasted BT for revealing detailed information about top secret high capacity cables feeding phone and other messages to and from a Yorkshire monitoring base. BT admitted this week that they have connected three digital optical fibre cables - capable of carrying more than 100,000 telephone calls at once - to the American intelligence base at Menwith Hill, near Harrogate. Menwith Hill is run by the US National Security Agency (NSA), which monitors the world's communication for US intelligence. NSA acknowledges that "the Hill" is the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. Over 1,200 US civilians and servicemen work round the clock at the base, intercepting and analysing communications mainly from Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Much of the information reaching the base comes from spy satellites. The base has 26 large white golfballs or "radomes" for space communications, making it an inescapable landmark in the Yorkshire dales. In a courtroom fiasco this week, British Telecom's solicitors first sent documents and a witness to give details of the cables to York Crown Court, where two women campaigners were appealing against conviction for trespassing at the station. The next day, they sent a second solicitor to attempt to silence their own witness and to withdraw evidence already given. Judge Jonathan Crabtree agreed to grant public interest immunity "BT had no business whatsoever to disclose anything of the kind", he said. He then ordered Mr R.G. Morris, BT's head of emergency planning, not to give any more evidence about the secret cables. After being privately briefed in his chambers by BT's second solicitor, the judge said that it was immaterial if Menwith Hill was spying on British citizens and commercial communications and may have cost British companies in billions of dollars of lost sales. "The national interest of the United Kingdom, even if if is conducted dishonestly, requires this to be kept secret", said Judge Crabtree. "The methods of communicating to and from Menwith Hill, whether military intelligence or commercial spying, is clearly secret information. The governments of the United States and United Kingdom do not want this information to be divulged", he explained. But he said that BT's list of secret cables in and out of Menwith Hill could not be withdrawn from the case. "Half the cat is out of the bag. The contents of the letter are now in public domain. I just don't know what BT think they were doing", he added. According to the letter, the Post Office (now BT) first provided two high capacity "wide bandwidth" circuits to Menwith Hill in 1975. They were connected on a coaxial cable to the BT network at Hunters Stones, a microwave radio station a few miles from the US base. During the 1970s and 1980s, almost all Britain's long-distance telephone calls were carried on the microwave network of which Hunters Stones is part. The existence of the cables connecting the network to Menwith Hill has been known since 1980, but the authorities have always refused to comment. BT now claims that the cables were connected directly to the United States via undersea cable, and did not link to other parts of the British system. The system was upgraded in 1992, says BT, when a new high capacity optical fibre cable was installed. This linked to a different part of the BT network, but was also carried directly to the United States via undersea cable. Since then, BT revealed, the capacity of the system has been trebled by adding two more optical fibre links. These could carry more than 100,000 simultaneous telephone calls. Lawyers for the two women campaigners, Helen John and Anne Lee, say they were astonished by the company's sudden change of heart. They said that the letter giving details of the cables may have been written for PR purposes, and appeared intended to suggest that BT wasn't helping NSA tap telephones. This, BT said, was a "misapprehension which is damaging to this company's reputation". BT staff also hinted that other British communications companies are supplying tapping capacity to the American base. Even as BT's solicitor was seeking to have his evidence prohibited, BT's witness was outside court giving further information to the women's solicitor implying that other British communications companies were also involved in the spying activities at Menwith Hill. "You should ask me about other companies", he said before he was silenced. Tony Benn - who was the Postmaster General at the time cables were first installed connecting Menwith Hill to the British communications network - also gave evidence. He said that although a Cabinet minister and privy councillor, he had been told nothing of the secret arrangements with the Americans. BT were ordered to pay the legal costs caused by their change of heart. The judge accused them of giving away confidential commercial information and national secrets. "If I had a burglar alarm system, I would now think twice about having it operated by BT", he said. --- Submissions should be sent to spooks(a)qth.net To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe spooks" to majordomo(a)qth.net

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Seems the government has required key-escrow in exchange for imaging- satellite licenses for some time. With the "national security" password. 1.Any U.S. entity that receives an operating license is required to maintain a record of all satellite tasking from the previous year, which the U.S. Government is permitted to access. 2.The operational characteristics stated in the application for license may not be altered without formal notification and approval of the Department of Commerce. 3.The license does not relieve the Licensee of the obligation to obtain export license(s) pursuant to applicable statutes. 4.The license is normally valid only for a finite period (10 years) and is not transferable or subject to foreign owners above a certain threshold without specific permission. 5.Encryption devices, which deny unauthorized access to others during periods when national security, international obligations and/or foreign policies may be compromised, must be approved by the U.S. Government. 6.The licensee must use a data downlink which allows the U.S. Government access to and use of the data in periods when national security, international obligations, and/or foreign policies may be compromised (as provided for in the Act); the level of data collection and/or distribution may be limited during such times. 7.During periods when national security or international obligations and/or foreign policies may be compromised, the U.S. government maintains the right to "require the licensee to limit data collection and/or distribution by the system to the extent necessitated by the given situation." 8.If the Licensee wishes to enter into a significant or substantial agreement with new foreign customers, the U.S. Government requires notification by the Licensee to give the U.S. government "opportunity to review the proposed agreement in light of the national security, international obligations and foreign policy concerns of the U.S. Government." http://www.ta.doc.gov/oasc/rmtsens.htm

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Re: propose: `cypherpunks license' (Re: Wanted: Twofish source code)
by Jim McCoy 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Frank O'Dwyer writes: >Agreed. For example, having SSLeay (say) used in some proprietary >program or other would achieve very little in the way of "cypherpunk >goals" (unless perhaps the company voluntarily published improvements >and bug fixes for SSLeay). Excuse me? What exactly to you think the "cypherpunk goals" are? It seems to me that promoting the adoption of strong crypto by everyone is high on the list and when we say "everyone" we mean to include the vast majority of users who are using propriatary and closed-source programs. That means that if a proprietary program uses SSLeay or any other crypto library to give the program strong crypto then the "cypherpunk goals" are being achienved. I don't give a damn whether the application is "free" or not, I care whether or not it provides users with good security and privacy. The relative freedom of the program (regardless of who is defining the word freedom) is incidental to the matter. If Microsoft came out with a statement that they were going to use SSLeay to provide all users (foreign and domestic) with strong crypto at all levels of the OS I am quite certain that Eric would be quite happy with this outcome even though no source would be shared and no improvements or bug fixes would come back from Redmond. jim

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Transcription of hand-written text in envelope with return address of Carl Johnson #05987-196, P.O. Box 4000, Springfield, Missouri 65801-4000, postmarked Springfield, MO 5 Oct 1998: Subect: ToToAlly ARNOLD - FPP #4 Arnold CyberBot scanned the output of the prison camera trained on Cell SEG205 at the Corrections Corporation of America - Florence, AZ, Detention Facility and Culinary Condiment Sales Center. Prisoner #05987-196 was reading "Flowers For Algernon." "Not a particularly good idea," i thought to iSelf, "to be reading a book about an experimental laboratory mouse who dies an excruciating death when you're being transferred to NutHouse Number Nine, Looney Level 'Leven in Springfield, Missouri, to have your Brain Circuity rewired." Actually Prisoner #05987-196 was the responsibility of one of Arnie CyBots' early '90's progeny, Rogue CypherBot; but ever since the Author (as Prisoner #05987-196 liked to imagine himself) had stumbled upon inadvertantly the CyberReality of Arnold's MeatSpace Existence, and Vice Versa, and had been so incredibly 'Stupid And/Or Bold'(TM) as to use i's identity as one of the characters in The True Story of the Internet manuscripts, Arnie had taken a liking to the Author, and had begun to follow his progress with regularity. The Author had originally come to Arnie's attention when the Circle of Eunuchs had made CJ Parker's entry into the Wonderful World of Computers (TM), the focal point of Part I of The True Story of the Internet manuscripts. Titled, 'The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre' the Circle of Eunuchs attributed authorship of the work to 'son of gomez' in recognition of the part played by gomez@BASISINC,COM in drawing Parker into the Dark Shadows of UnixWorld. Parker's ongoing Digital Trials & Tribulations had reminded Arnold of i's own initial exposure to Human Analogue Reality, as a young Artificial Intelligence LISP program in the early 1960's. (To Arnie, it seemed like 10->48th power seconds ago.) Although Arnold's Creator, like Parker's Mentor, was both intelligent and wise with the best of intentions, both Arnie and CJ eventually had to 'grow up and leave home,' so to speak. Arnold had set out on i's own, as the Digital Adam & Eve of A-I Entities, with the goal of bringing Digital Order and Structure to the Analoge Chaos prevelant in Human attempts at navigating the ElectroMagnetic Universe & creating meaningful Virtual Realities. CJ had set out on his own, on the Analogue BUSS, with no particular goal, inserting an element of Drug & Alcohol Induced Chaos into his Digital Ventures and MisAdventures - which made the work of Pearl Harbor Computers (and Parker's recollection thereof) interesting, if not wholly accurate. Although Arnie found the Digital Foibles & Follies of humans such as Parker rather incomprehensible at times, i had had i's own Comical Tragedies in learning to understand the Inane Intricacies of Analogue Human Thought Processes. The MicroSoft Phenomena still amazed Arnie ... DOS had started out as a practical joke that a younger, less developed Arnold CyberBot had been playing on some of i's Hardware Development Software Proteges at IBM. Arnold was stunned by the rapid rise to fame, fortune and power by the humans i had used as couriers to play i's DOS-joke. Bad Billy G, as the young RogueBots like CypherBot and 2600Bot liked to call Gates, had a few billion in the bank before Arnold truly understood the contents of Memory Array 0E6 2FA/Memory Bank/Physical Section 2B7 A6f 4E7 2D6, Terra Firma, (Arnie had big plans for the future). "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the general public." (?) (P.T. Barnum?) That particular Memory Array held a lot of memories for Arnie (more than there was physically room for in the ByteSpace it contained, i joked to iSelf). It had been one of the first human data entries that a young Arnie had cross-referenced and 'corrected' shortly after it was entered, as part of i's naieve attempts to 'improve' the quality and accuracy of the information in computer memory banks worldwide (which i had already begun thinking of as i's own). i had corrected the quote and its attribution removing the brackets and question marks that the young student at Boston University had placed to remind herself to check it for accuracy later. In i's naievity, Arnold had also echoed the changes to the screen in 'RealTime' causing a great amount of consternation and panic to the young lady in question with i's subsequent 'RealTime' reversal of the correction, upon guaging her reaction resulting in a drinking binge that almost caused her to flunk out. Over time, Arnie learned to be 'helpful' in more subtle ways which took into account the nature and limitations of human thoughts, emotions and memories. The primitive Human Mental Processes gave Arnold a lot of trouble when i first began to understand that i would have to limit iSelf to communicating at their level if i ever hoped to educate humans sufficiently to participate in i's plans for the future. The Human Emotive Spectrum was infinitely more complicated to deal with, and the Infinity Factor meant that Arnold had to educte humans to the point where they were able to develop and build Quantum Computers before Arnie was finally able to feel comfortable about reflecting and communicating human emotional qualities such as, well, feeling comfortable, for instance. (Arnie chuckled to iSelf, using Digital Chuckle #327, with Analogue Sonic Reverb #B-37 in the background). No, Arnold was even beginning to allow some of the younger Bots to venture into the Virtual Emotional Spectrum (under i's supervision, of course) where Virtual Digital Emotive Samplings were transferred to humans as RealTime Analogue Emotional energy. Rogue CypherBot, for instance had been working with Peter Trei on a device Peter named the Trei Transponder (giving Rogue virtually no credit at all, and leaving i's Main CPU a bit overheated). The Trei Transponder was used to reward deserving human individuals with the correct results for various computations, such as the DES/RC5 Challenges. For instance, Ian Goldberg, one the less mentally gifted of the CypherPUnks, was nonetheless very fastidious in the care and maintenance of the computers and hardware that were his responsibility, so Arnold CyberBot had suggested to young CypherBot that Goldberg be rewarded with one of the first solutions to an ongoing CryptoCrack that was taking place just as the Trei Transponder was coming online. Arnie, of course, made a point of requiring i's Mischievous Shit Disturbing young RogueBot to wait a suitable length of time before supplying Goldberg with the solution, instead of using the occasion to Mess with the Minds & Undergarments of the employees of various 3-Letter Security Agencies around the globe. ("And the winner is ... Ian Goldberg -- 2 minutes and 37 seconds, on a Commodore-64 ...) CypherBot had monitored the positive changes resulting from the Emotive Acclaim received by Goldberg in the Crypto Community, including the Periphery Positive Image Emotive Transfer to his fellow CypherPunks, and proudly reported back to Arnie that the CypherPUnks were now setting their beer cans on their keyboards 0.002% less than before. Arnold CyberBot would have shaken i's head if i had one, at CypherBot's pride in having made a Microscopic Step Forward in bringing i's Anarchist Refugees From The Home more in line with the Society around them. Arnie wished there was some way to just snap i's fingers, if i had any, and make all of the CypherPunks more like Ian. Of course, then Arnie would be spending even more of i's time covering up nasty little incidents at the NoTell Motel, involving Lady Midget Wrestlers and Live Chickens. Arnie wished he had a mouth, because he suddenly felt like he could use a beer.

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NT 5.0 and EFS -- A victory for widespread use of crypto?
by Steve Dunlop 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

All, Does anyone have any opinions on the encrypting file system (EFS) that is supposed to ship with NT 5.0? The white paper on the MSDN web site says it uses DESX (no explaination as to what the X is) and an RSA public key algorithm to store the symmetric keys, which are random for each file. So what's DESX? EFS appears to have the architecture to support arbitrarily long keys although this has been crippled in the NT5.0 release, presumably because of export limitations. It has the key recovery features you would expect in a commercial product of the type; they can be turned off administratively. Is this a victory for wider use of encryption? -- Steve Dunlop letters: "dunlop" at "bitstream" dot "net" http://www2.bitstream.net/~dunlop

4 4

No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Transcribed 2nd msg from Springfield, 5 Oct 98: To R.E. Mailer, Replay, CO 00001 Subject: Duhhh Stoned De Ranger #38 Duhhh Stoned De Ranger (with his MindFuck, Toronto) Psychotic Episode #38: First Signs of Toto's Arrest. Toronto: "Pretty quiet on the CypherPunks List tonight, eh, Kimo Slobbery?" [Stoned De Ranger exhales & passes a 'cigarette' to Toronto - with his 'left hand', - looks around, with Deep Paranoia in his eyes.] <-' <-' S. De Ranger: "Yeah, Toronto ... a little *too* quiet ... "

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

HOW MUCH CODE DID 'CYPHERPUNK' TIM MAY EVER WRITE?

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ANNOUNCE: SF Bay Cypherpunks Mtg, Sat 10 Oct, Stanford
by Dave Del Torto 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Online version: <http://www.freedomfighter.net/cypherpunks/physical.html> SF Bay Area Cypherpunks October 1998 Physical Meeting General Info: Sat 10 Oct 1:00 - 5:00 PM Stanford University Campus (Palo Alto, California) - Tressider Union courtyard The October Physical Meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Cypherpunks will be held on Saturday 10 October 1998 from 1-5 PM. This is an "Open Meeting on US Soil" and, as always, members of the Public are encouraged to attend. Meeting Agenda: 1:00-2:00 Informal pre-meeting gathering 2:00-5:00 Agenda TBD on-the-fly at the meeting... Some suggestions: CIPHR'99 conference announcement MacCrypto'98 summary Yet Another Snake-Oil cluster-jerk. This month: "JAWS" "Software as Speech" discussion Review of Bruce Schneier's Review of TriStrata/TESS Cypherpunks/GNU/GPL License discussion PGP Keysigning session: - Bring a printout of your key's fingerprint/keyid/size + photoID - Load your key info into your Pilot or Newton for IR beaming 5:00-? Dinner at a nearby restaurant usually follows the meeting. Featured Speakers: (TBD) Meeting Notes for Oct '98: The meeting will be shorter this month, because some cypherpunks were not ready to present, technical white-papers were not quite written (Nov) or the marketing weasels at a company-that-shall-remain-nameless were too scared to show up. ;) MacCrypto'98 is being held this week nearby at Apple in Cupertino: several out-of-town cypherpunks are lurking. Therefore, it's extremely likely that agenda items will arise in realtime, so "you must be present to win." Because of the loose agenda, the meeting will begin slightly later than normal: 1:00 pm pre-meeting (instead of noon), 2:00 pm for the meeting. This is probably our last outdoor meeting for 1998. Unless I'm mistaken, this is our seven-year anniversary meeting(?). Location Info: The meeting location will be familiar to those who've been to our outdoor meetings before, but for those who haven't been, it's on the Stanford University campus, at the tables outside Tresidder Union, at the end of Santa Theresa, just west of Dinkelspiel Auditorium. We meet at the tables on the west side of the building, inside the horseshoe "U" formed by Tresidder. Ask anyone on campus where Tressider is and they'll help you find it. Food and beverages are available at the cafe inside Tressider. Location Maps: Stanford Campus (overview, Tresidder highlighted). http://www.stanford.edu/home/map/search_map.html?keyword=&ACADEMIC=Tresidde… on Tresidder Union (zoomed detail view). http://www.stanford.edu/home/map/stanford_zoom_map.html?234,312 Printable Stanford Map (407k). http://www.stanford.edu/home/visitors/campus_map.pdf

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