December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: in defense of Lon Horiuchi
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Zooko Journeyman wrote: > > Anonymous <anon(a)anon.efga.org> mumbled: > > > > It's amazing that Freeh would admit that shooting an unarmed > > woman holding an infant is what "he was trained to do" and was "within > > the scope of his authority" and that he "reasonably believed [it] was > > proper" to do so. What are they teaching at FBI school nowadays? > > > > Horiuchi's defense is really no different than Timothy > > McVeigh's: "yes, it was a mistake but he felt it was justified and > > reasonably believed at the time that what he was doing was proper..." > > Too bad McVeigh didn't have a badge saying FBI on it. > > Lest any naive readers who aren't familiar with the details of > the event buy this kind of spin-doctoring, please be aware that > the woman in question was probably not visible to the sniper, > and it is almost certain that he was aiming at her armed > husband who was shooting back. The bullet travelled through a > door or some such obstruction I think (I forget the details) > before hitting the victim. Zooko fails to take into consideration that the FBI's role in the affair was to back the unnecessary fascist actions of those who had decided it was their right to interfere in the life of a family which was largely minding their own business and seeking to live their lives free from constant subjection to a wide variety of often senseless and/or meaningless, arbitrary laws. Truthmonger

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How to use PGP without wasting your time
by Zooko Journeyman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The trick is: 1. don't go overboard with security. For example, I sometimes use PGP keys without passphrases. This is secure _enough_ for my more innocuous messages, and it is a lot more convenient. 2. get a scriptable/configurable e-mail agent which you can train (or have me or some cypherpunk train) to do PGP for you automagically. Regards, Zooko, Journeyman Cryptorebel

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Re: in defense of Lon Horiuchi
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Zooko Journeyman quoth: > Lest any naive readers who aren't familiar with the details of > the event buy this kind of spin-doctoring, please be aware that > the woman in question was probably not visible to the sniper, > and it is almost certain that he was aiming at her armed > husband who was shooting back. The bullet travelled through a > door or some such obstruction I think (I forget the details) > before hitting the victim. Zooko, About the best spin that you can put on this is that the agent was trying to shoot (again) the retreating Randy Weaver and showed an utter disregard for the safety of the others in the cabin; who were known to include women and children. This is the point. Not that all Fibbies are demonic baby-killers but that the arrogance of their agency and its government allow them to mark someone--Randy Weaver or even Jim Bell--as 'bad guy' and call out unreasonably huge campaigns against them. Once so marked, the "victim" is then helpless, completely without recourse, the "justice" system by then having been poisoned against them by the Fibbies and the prosecutors. [For those that survive long enough to have an encounter with the justice system.] > You could more reasonably blame the husband for having the > stupidity or carelessness to get in a firefight with his wife > and child in the building. I don't find that at all reasonable; since Weaver was on his own property, minding his own business before agents started shooting at him. Yes, I know he was wanted for failure to appear for a court date--that hardly justifies the whole exercise. > More generally, don't buy any of the spin that anonymous > cypherpunks (and plenty of named ones) like to put on such > stories without reading the more balanced accounts yourself. > Anonymous, above, would _like_ you to think of the FBI sniper > Lon Horiuchi as a murderous baby-killer who chuckled gleefully > when he saw his opportunity to take out a toddler. Perhaps he didn't chuckle gleefully, but he obviously didn't show much regard for the Weavers' lives either (/before/ Vicky Weaver's death that is). BTW, neither I nor anyone else has accused him of killing a toddler. > Anonymous > is no different from hatemongering pamphleteers and propaganda > ministers in any penny-ante revolution or Orwellian minitru. > Perhaps he's on the side of the good guys, but his tactics > have the same stink that I recognize from reading the > propaganda blurbs of the bad guys. Yes, I can see why you would recognize such a smell.

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"Thewer Thites" of the WWW
by Mike Duvos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

For those who are following the CPAC/Sewer frivolities, there is now a parody of Mike Paladino's "Sewer Site" at... http://www.darktimes.com/thewer/ This was apparently done by "Stereotype", the editor of Darktimes magazine, whom Paladino has been libeling for the past several weeks on the real Sewer Site. -- Mike Duvos $ PGP 2.6 Public Key available $ enoch(a)zipcon.com $ via Finger $ {Free Cypherpunk Political Prisoner Jim Bell}

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in defense of Lon Horiuchi
by Zooko Journeyman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Anonymous <anon(a)anon.efga.org> mumbled: > > It's amazing that Freeh would admit that shooting an unarmed > woman holding an infant is what "he was trained to do" and was "within > the scope of his authority" and that he "reasonably believed [it] was > proper" to do so. What are they teaching at FBI school nowadays? > > Horiuchi's defense is really no different than Timothy > McVeigh's: "yes, it was a mistake but he felt it was justified and > reasonably believed at the time that what he was doing was proper..." > Too bad McVeigh didn't have a badge saying FBI on it. Lest any naive readers who aren't familiar with the details of the event buy this kind of spin-doctoring, please be aware that the woman in question was probably not visible to the sniper, and it is almost certain that he was aiming at her armed husband who was shooting back. The bullet travelled through a door or some such obstruction I think (I forget the details) before hitting the victim. You could more reasonably blame the husband for having the stupidity or carelessness to get in a firefight with his wife and child in the building. More generally, don't buy any of the spin that anonymous cypherpunks (and plenty of named ones) like to put on such stories without reading the more balanced accounts yourself. Anonymous, above, would _like_ you to think of the FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi as a murderous baby-killer who chuckled gleefully when he saw his opportunity to take out a toddler. Anonymous is no different from hatemongering pamphleteers and propaganda ministers in any penny-ante revolution or Orwellian minitru. Perhaps he's on the side of the good guys, but his tactics have the same stink that I recognize from reading the propaganda blurbs of the bad guys. Regards, Zooko, Journeyman Engineer

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Freeh says FBI doing great, supports Weaver killer
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

WASHINGTON (AP) - FBI Director Louis Freeh today declared his agency "in great shape" despite a recent spate of public relations embarrassments and said he has no plans to step down from his job. Timothy McVeigh's conviction for the Oklahoma City bombing, the capture of CIA shooting suspect Mir Aimal Kansi of Pakistan and other recent successes have helped restore public confidence in the FBI, he told reporters today. The agency's image has suffered in recent years in the wake of a variety of controversies, including its conduct in the investigation of the Atlanta Olympic bombing, allegations that its crime lab had mishandled evidence and accusations that he had failed to fully brief the White House on China's alleged efforts to contribute money to U.S. political campaigns. "I think in large part that we're past it," Freeh said of the FBI's public relations problems. "We will always be controversial. ... But I think that how the FBI responds to those problems is what's important." In an April edition of Newsweek, an article quoted Freeh as saying he had considered quitting his job. But today, Freeh said he may even serve out his 10-year term. "I'm staying on," he said. "I've got no current plans to leave." He also said the FBI is close to hiring a new assistant director for the crime lab, choosing from a list of candidates that includes "world-class scientists." He also said the FBI continues a vigorous investigation of a June 1996 bombing that killed 19 American airmen in Saudi Arabia, despite the fact that Hani al-Sayegh, a Saudi dissident, had reneged on an agreement to provide information on the case. "His reneging on that agreement is not a serious setback to our own investigation," Freeh said. The FBI will continue to stand behind Lon Horiuchi, an FBI sharpshooter charged last month by local authorities with involuntary manslaughter for the shooting death of Vicky Weaver, wife of white supremacist Randy Weaver, during a deadly standoff in Idaho, Freeh said. "We fully support him," Freeh said. "It was a horrible tragedy. It was a mistake on his part, but we believe he was acting as he was trained to do. He was within the scope of his authority. ... He reasonably believed at the time that what he was doing was proper."

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selective prosecution [was Re: House National Security committee guts SAFE, worse than no bill]
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- in response to Bubba Rom Dos <bubba(a)dev.null>: unfortunately, the US DOJ indulges in "selective prosecution" when confronted by mass disobedience. there is nothing in the code which requires them to prosecute a 'class' of 'lawbreakers'. What they want is a few high profile targets who will be reported by their captive pet, the 'press' to set an example. the last figures I saw on the feds body count was still over 90% of those who go to trial. in most US districts, the mere fact the 'guilty scumbag' was charged by the feds indicates to most jurors (federal jurors have a tendency to be older, whiter, wealthier, etc.) that the man in the dock is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (whose?). secondly, particularly in the federal courts, you have a man sitting 36in above you, in a black robe, with an IQ of 50, who answers to: "your honor" --and you better believe with all your heart and soul that the ignorant fool is Judge Roy Bean, the Law West of the Pecos, himself --or worse. for instance, do you think the feds would ever have a Chicago Seven trial again? what do you think the outcome would have been if they took 'em down, one at a time, in different courtrooms? think Tom Hayden would be a CA legislator today, representing the Peoples Republic of Santa Monica? dont get me wrong --if nothing else, the evidence of the absurdity of the feds actions trying to regulate an amorphous global network can always be introduced. maybe enough repetition will get the message across. and, the actions in Washington are fast approaching the necessity for the Jeffersonian call to arms: "God forbid we should ever be twenty years without a rebellion." --Thomas Jefferson, (1743-1826) I'm sure you would hav Jefferson, Franklin, Paine, etc out on the front line if they were here today (if they did not die from digust from what the Fed has become, but the trick is to make sure you are not a minority of one: "Revolutions, we must remember, are always made by minorities." --Prince Peter Kropotkin (1842-1941) unfortunately, it will take the foolishness in the face of fire as so graphically sketched in 'les miserab' to move Washington off their sacrosanct fat asses. -- I'll get a life when it is proven and substantiated to be better than what I am currently experiencing. --attila When I die, please cast my ashes upon Bill Gates. For once, let him clean up after me! ______________________________________________________________________ "attila" 1024/C20B6905/23 D0 FA 7F 6A 8F 60 66 BC AF AE 56 98 C0 D7 B0 on or about 970911:0953 Bubba Rom Dos <bubba(a)dev.null> expostulated: + Also, if need be, a system could be set up in Canada which +automatically +forwards received email to the U.K. and a chain-mail type of campaign +could begun, exhorting people to send a copy of strong encryption to +the Canadian email address, without referrring to any further +destination. + This is just a possible example, the goal being to make any possible +prosecution as convoluted and difficult as possible, just as the Govt +passes unconstitutional laws that serve their purpose for the ten years +it takes to get them struck down by the Supremes, and then they pass a +similar one to accomplish the same unconstitutional ends. +2. The same type of system could be set up, but programmed to only +forward crypto products illegally once a certain number of citizens had +forwarded a small amount of hash-cash (CPU generated funds) to the +originating computer/program. + Several thousand people openly colluding in even a single act such as +this could be effectively used to provide a challenge to the fascist +censors. If not successful, then the amount and destinations of the +exported crypto could be increased to the point of making the export +restrictions a total joke. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBNBhClb04kQrCC2kFAQH+JwP/ZnrJZHXZIiR+ddt/XH2tOfb33/uOYQ+Z CSNlUd2tS8ujgVqzfcywKhKPU6f4gFQzwXX76S7Ahf6mWagVzLoxqfTuCrzHdCFb 8PkLct5uXHcmUH4LGDVwTYr7R/or7ZozPEW9ERFJK1N6fPwhukFSl83WYtCR8kKl yhhx97VTuGk= =zvaj -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: House Intel Committee Approves Sweeping New Crypto Restrictions... (fwd)
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 15:19:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)pathfinder.com> To: fight-censorship(a)vorlon.mit.edu Subject: Re: House Intel Committee Approves Sweeping New Crypto Restrictions... The House Commerce Committee markup was postponed. -Declan On Thu, 11 Sep 1997, Jonah Seiger wrote: > PS - we are also awaiting word from the House Commerce Committee -- expect > more soon. >

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Re: your mail about Dr. Dobbs CD-ROM.
by Unicorn 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- On Sep 12, Garrard, David apparently wrote -------------------------------- > Has anyone gotten a copy of the Dr Dobb's Cryptography CDROM outside the > US yet ? Nope. But where did you hear that it was available inside the US already? > David Garrard --- and thus sprach: "Garrard, David" <David.Garrard(a)EXCH.EDS.com> ------------ Ciao, Unicorn. -- ======= _ __,;;;/ TimeWaster ================================================ ,;( )_, )~\| A Truly Wise Man Never Plays PGP: 64 07 5D 4C 3F 81 22 73 ;; // `--; Leapfrog With a Unicorn... 52 9D 87 08 51 AA 35 F0 ==='= ;\ = | ==== Youth is not a time in life, it's a State of Mind! ========

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Major Political Appointments
by Secret Squirrel 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Clinton Nominates Aaron to Commerce Department Post > WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- President Clinton today > announced his intent to nominate Ambassador David L. Aaron for the > position of Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department > of Commerce. and > WASHINGTON (AP) - FBI Director Louis Freeh today declared his > agency "in great shape" despite a recent spate of public relations > embarrassments and said he has no plans to step down from his job. > But today, Freeh said he may even serve out his 10-year term. > "I'm staying on," he said. "I've got no current plans to leave." Freeh denied reports that Froomkin, Junger, Broiles, Karn and Shostack had large vacant portions at the back end of their calendars, or that Crispin and Toto had not even bothered to order one for next year.

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