December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

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

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 14:35:41 -0500 > From: Petro <petro(a)playboy.com> > Subject: Re: Another potential flaw in current economic theory... (fwd) > >aware of the dangers to personal freedom that governments represent. The > >goal of the Libertarians is to provide a system that minimizes government > >and maximizes personal freedom. In the US this system takes the form of a > > The creation of government is incompatible with concept of freedom, Then freedom is incompatible with human psychology. People are social animals and will build social institutions (ie government), it's in their genes. > it is like a doctor saying that he/she will introduce "a little cancer" to > help cure you of something. The point is to create a market with 'fair competition', something that won't occur naturaly because of a variety of reasons. If you'd like to see some of them then refer to: Inidividualism and Economic Order FA Hayek ISBN 0-226-32093-6 Individualism: true and false, Section 7 (pp. 45 in my copy) ____________________________________________________________________ To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Tea
by Jeff Penrod 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tea in a Whole new Bag by L. Neil Smith More and more it seems that nothing can bring this country's politicos and bureaucrats back under control (to the extent they ever were) as the Founding Fathers intended. Bureaucrats are more anonymous and unreachable every year: no matter how incensed we get -- or how many of us get that way -- politicians reelect themselves like clockwork. Though it's all the rage among those concerned with such matters, I've never been satisfied that term limitation won't achieve the opposite of what's intended, removing a final curb on runaway do-goodery and social experimentation. With respect to recent passage of what's supposed to be the 28th Amendment, the most naive American today knows more than James Madison did of the way politicians fix things to suit themselves. They'll override ratification, agree to vote raises for their successors, or simply make their mercenary move early in their terms, in the comforting knowledge that voters will have forgotten what they did by Election Day. It should be clear now that the imposition of Bill Clinton on the productive class -- by 43% of the electorate -- has only made things worse. In an age where half the average person's income already goes to taxes of one kind or another and the other half for goods and services with prices doubled by taxation and doubled again by regulation -- and where bureaucrats represent a greater threat to life, liberty, and property than politicians -- what's needed is something more certain than term limitation and harder to get around than Madison's schedule for congressional pay hikes. Allow me to introduce the "Taxpayers' Equity Amendment": 1. No elected or appointed official at any level of government may receive more in total salary, benefits, and expenses during his term of office -- or for 5 years afterward -- than his average productive-sector constituent; individuals, and employees of companies deriving more than 10% of their revenue from government will be excluded for purposes of calculating the average. 2. Those subject to the Taxpayers' Equity Amendment will be required to participate in the Social Security system for as long as it continues to exist; all outside income (from a business, inheritance, investments, a spouse's wealth, speaking fees -- to name only a few examples) will be "invested in America" by being placed in randomly-selected savings and loan institutions until the 5-year period expires. 3. Those subject to the Taxpayers' Equity Amendment will be required to file weekly income/expenditure forms for scrutiny by the IRS, the media, and the public; telephone hotlines and lavish rewards for "whistle-blowers" will be provided; all salary and benefits of officials under suspicion of having violated the Taxpayers' Equity Amendment will be suspended pending the results of any investigation. 4. Violations of the Taxpayers' Equity Amendment will result in summary removal of that official, loss of salary, benefits, expenses -- along with all deposited monies -- and no fewer than 25 years in that federal maximum security prison currently deemed most violent; introducing, sponsoring, or voting for legislation meant to evade the Taxpayers' Equity Amendment, or to falsify the statistical base on which calculations are made, will be treated as violations. The primary goals of the Taxpayers' Equity Amendment are: (A) to punish politicians and bureaucrats for past, present, and future crimes against the lives, liberties, and property of "We the People of the United States", (B) to make sure their fortunes rise and fall with ours -- so they're forced to scrape along by day by day like the rest of us, one paycheck away from bankruptcy -- and, (C) to give them something better to do with their time than to continually threaten, at our expense, our fundamental rights and well-being. It'll also save taxpayers around $300 billion a year. The Taxpayers' Equity Amendment can begin working now, before it ever passes into law (even if it never does), if it's circulated widely via computer bulletin board networks and other means, appears frequently in magazine and newspaper letter columns, and if it's sent to all your favorite office holders. Have fun.

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

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 13:12:48 +0100 > From: "Frank O'Dwyer" <fod(a)brd.ie> > Subject: Re: propose: `cypherpunks license' (Re: Wanted: Twofish source code) > Well then, "Cypherpunks write code". Wide deployment of crypto > components in closed-source programs (especially by cluebags) is neither > necessary nor sufficient to achieve "more strong crypto" in the sense > that Cypherpunks mean it, in my opinion. (Yes, it's better than nothing, > but not much better.) > > > The conclusion in the GNU vs. BSD/SSLeay/etc. license debate should be clear. > > Well, it clearly isn't, as evidenced by the large number of fairly > bright people arguing about it. :) Which is why this discussion is a perfect example of why thematic or monotonic solutions don't work for 'people' systems. The GPL folks want credit, reward, and a say in the life cycle of their work. The BSD folks aren't interested so much in their own credit as an economic incentive to distribute and develop code. While the PD group cares not one whit about credit, economics, or distribution, just so it's available. Then there is the 'other license' group which without specificying the prefered license is a smorgasboard of beliefs and tastes piled into one category because of a lack of other clear characteristics. Clearly implying that even the GPL-BSD-PD-Other categories are insufficient to reasonably define this issue. An apparently simple but very complex set of issues and goals. It simply must be admitted that one license won't fulfill any groups goals in toto, cypherpunk goals or not. What I find really interesting about this discussion is the clear examples of inertia in personal taste regarding licenses, all the arguing in the world won't change that. The second aspect is that way people talk about 'cypherpunks' as some homogenious entity with definable and fixed goals. Especialy when it is clear cypherpunks are anything but. It's almost like some folks believe being a cypherpunk is like joining a lodge. ____________________________________________________________________ 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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Crypto AG: The NSA's Trojan Whore?
by Jukka E Isosaari 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://caq.com/cryptogate Are people familiar with this document? Why shouldn't NSA have implanted this kind of back-doors in various software and operating systems as well? It seems to have worked so very well in the past. ++ J

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No Subject
by Tom Allard 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

To: "'m1tca00(a)frb.gov'" <m1tca00(a)ccgate.FRB.GOV> Subject: Request for Assistance From: Gordon Jeff INSP <Jeff.Gordon(a)inspection.irs.gov> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 10:42:12 -0400 Return-Receipt-To: Gordon Jeff INSP <Jeff.Gordon(a)inspection.irs.gov> Hello, The IRS and United States Attorney's office are looking for assistance in a criminal investigation involving threatening messages which were posted to the Cypherpunks mailing list. This e-mail address was noted to be one of those which receives the Cypherpunks list. I would appreciate it if you would contact me to discuss whether you would be willing to assist us in this matter, and what records or information you have relating to the Cypherpunks list. You can contact me at this e-mail address or at (503) 326-2787. Thanks Jeff

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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: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 14:47:34 +0000 > From: Michael Hohensee <mah248(a)is9.nyu.edu> > Subject: Re: I thought of an initialy regulated industry!... (fwd) > The latter does not necessarily follow from the former. Consider the > example of natural gas and gasoline. You don't get to conclude your > argument that easily! :) And you don't get to try such short ones either.... What specificaly is there about the relationship between natural gas and gasoline that leads you to believe that the comparison of lethality between the waste products of a coal plant vurses a nuclear plant is such that the waste of a nuclear plant is more lethal because there is more toxic byproduct and it is in higher concentrations? ____________________________________________________________________ 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: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 06:56:06 -0700 > From: "James A. Donald" <jamesd(a)echeque.com> > Subject: RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd) > Then your argument that free markets lead to monopoly collapses. No it doesn't. > You cannot have monopoly (in the sense of the power to extract monopoly of > profits) except by state intervention as has been proven by experience time > and time again. Examine history with an unbiased eye. > You have been unable to provide any examples of monopolies except those > created by state intervention, such as the railaways, and those existent > soley in your fevered imagination, such as the garment industry. Incorrect. I have listed several examples (eg meat-processing in the 1920's) where the resultant involvement of the government came *AFTER* (not before as you claim) there was evidence of wide spread abuse of the consumer and the employee of those producters. ____________________________________________________________________ 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: propose: `cypherpunks license' (Re: Wanted: Twofish source code) (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1998 08:06:51 -0600 (MDT) > From: Jim Burnes <jvb(a)ssds.com> > Subject: Re: propose: `cypherpunks license' (Re: Wanted: Twofish source code) (fwd) > On Thu, 8 Oct 1998, Jim Choate wrote: > > > Especialy when it is clear cypherpunks are anything but. It's almost like > > some folks believe being a cypherpunk is like joining a lodge. > > > ssssshhhhhhh..... > > BTW: I see your dues are not payed up. I've checked the records and > the polaroid of you spitting on the cross is missing. You can run, > but you can't hide, Mr Choate. Good your falling for it.... Always choose where your battles are fault and deny your opponent that decision. Now, chase me just a little farther.... ____________________________________________________________________ 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: NT 5.0 and EFS -- A victory for widespread use of crypto?
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

geeman(a)best.com writes: > > EFS is being deployed because They realized that with NTFS-readers > available for other OSes besides NT there was no longer even the illusion > of security offered by the NT architecture. This is all true. However, the manner in which you state it sounds very much like a deliberate attempt to trash Microsoft and NT. The fact is that the identical arguments could be made toward any of the standard Unix-like and all other popular operating systems. Linux, *BSD, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, et al.--even where the vendors have a `trusted' version--are all susceptible to the same attacks. Hence, by your reasoning, one would have to say that the architectures of every one of these operating systems do not offer `even the illusion of security'. - Frondeur

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Are there any web sites offering bounties for Americans, like the Americans have for foreigners? Or have their domain names been deregistered, their spines pinched at the backbone, their WANs LAN'd? Surely the well-funded jihads could do this. And they haven't got some law prohibiting assasination to hold them back.

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