December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Kook of the Month
by Bruce Baugh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Cypherpunks don't just write code, they engage in petty vote fraud! =-=-=-=-= From: mlegare(a)wetware.com (M. Legare, etc.) Newsgroups: alt.usenet.kooks,news.admin.net-abuse.misc Subject: KotM Winners for May 1996 - SOMEONE'S miffed! Date: 3 Jun 1996 16:05:12 GMT Organization: Castle Wetware's Western Keep Lines: 112 Message-ID: <4ov2fo$1mm(a)numbers.wetware.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: news.wetware.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Well... it's June and here we go with the Winners for May - at least I'm more on-schedule than I was for April... KOOK OF THE MONTH MAY 1996 - DMITRI VULIS (dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com) In one of the most HOTLY contested KotM races in the history of the award under my watch, Dmitri Vilus NARROWLY edged out vote taker Dave C (tale) Lawrence in a race that was right down to the wire. Let's recap: Dmitri Vulis nominated tale for KotM because tale was involved in a "conspiracy of thousands" to send out "forged rmgroup" messages for a newsgroup that Dmitri wanted to create. Dmitri then posted evidence of somewhat dunious validity, and someone nominated Dmitri. And the votes started pouring in. Some from congress.gov, some from algebra.com, some from bwalk.dm.com... hundreds of votes. Well, after an initial surge ahead by the tale backers, a DELUGE of email backing Vulis for KotM poured in, and, since I had to assume that ALL votes were valid (as Dmitri kept forging posts to misc.test in my name to show his displeasure at my INSINUATING that he might have forged any votes), Dmitri won by a narrow 30 vote margin! Vote Count: Dmitri Vulis - 428 votes David C Lawrence (tale) - 398 votes Ed McClosky - 18 votes Yehuda Silver - 9 votes Bill Palmer - 4 votes ellisd(a)netcom.com - 4 votes Mr SAM - 2 votes None of the Above - 3 votes George Conklin - 1 vote Rachel Ewing-Pace - 0 votes smokindude(a)aol.com - 0 votes Clueless Newbie of the Month for May 1996 - MARGE KRICK Marge won in a less vopulumnous but just as hotly contested race. As you may know, Marge is offering a list of ALL USNET NEWSGROUPS for a very reasonable price - JUST the thing we need, unless you know how to look at your ..newsrc file. Oops. Vote Count: Marge Krick - 12 votes Bill Byers - 11 votes Brian Dear - 7 votes John Turco - 7 votes None of the Above - 5 votes Hook Line & Sinker for May 1996 - NONE OF THE ABOVE Apparently, Charles "Chuckie Monster" Newman didn't impress enough people. Sorry, Charlie. Vote Count: None of the Above - 19 votes Charles "Chuckie Monster" Newman - 9 votes The Victor Von Frankenstein Memorial "Wierd Science" Award - THE USA PARLIAMENT Brainchild of politial mover and reformer James Ogle (joogle(a)netcom.com) the USA PAR is the ONLY "fair" and truly representative governing body in the US. Plan? Scheme? Deluded ravings? Well, several members of the USA PAR (who also post to alt.politics.greens) have voted to disband the USA PAR, to replace James Ogle as secretary, and a few dozen other self- destructive things, yet the ballots just keep rolling out... Vote Count: USA PAR - 19 votes Joly*s 4-Dimensional Speakers - 6 votes the Music Theory of Alber Silverman - 4 votes Church of Scientology (write-in) - 4 votes None of the Above - 15 Votes THE GOLDEN KILLFILE - DR. JAI MAHRAJ I'm not gonna explain, because if you don't know, you're better off. Check soc.culture.hawaiian and a few thousan related newsgroups. Vote Count: Jai Mahraj - 30 votes None of the Above - 13 votes the alt.religion.scientology spammer (write-in): 1 LAW DOCTOR JOHN GRUBOR (write-in): 1 Ted Holden (write-in): 1 OK. That's it for May. Nominees go to alt.usenet.kooks, and I'll have the new nominees post out soon. Oh, and by the way, if anyone sees ANYTHING that is nominally from me BUT is also cross-posted to misc.test, you have my express written permission to CANCEL that article. You know who you are. And no more naughty forgeries ok guys? Matthew Legare KotM Vote Wrangler

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Re: [NOISE] Re: whitehouse web incident, viva la web revolution
by hallam＠Etna.ai.mit.edu 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>>it is an insult to the 10 million civilians >>murdered by Hitler to use the term facist simply as a term of abuse, >You insult everyone's intelligence by equating fascism to genocide. >Suggested reading on the origins, meanings and definition of fascism include >Friere, Foucault and even the damn Utne Reader among many others. Meeks was intending to link Clinton's crypto policy to Hitler's. I see no evidence from Meeks' style that he has read Foucault. If Meeks wanted to be effective he could have accused Clinton and Freeh of seeking to build a Stalininst secret police, or make such an organisation possible. It would probably be more accurate to link Freeh to Hoover and point out how such power has been abused in the US political system before. The point was that Meeks' article is not the type to advance our cause. It basically says "if you are a democrat you believe in cypto-control". Err yes, well done, you have just told half the country that they support the opposite policy to the one we are trying to get them to believe in. Plus Bush and Reagan advocated the same policy so he is also saying Republicans are against our cause. If you want you could reduce the ranks of those fighting for crypto regulations to be removed to members of the Libertarian party, but it would be more effective to widen the base. Phill

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<<Vitamin B>> (June 6, 1996) Reality Check
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Speak of the devil... Cheers, Bob Hettinga --- begin forwarded text To: DAILY DOSE <DAILY_DOSE(a)notes.worldcom.com> From: VitaminB <VitaminB(a)bionomics.org> Date: 6 Jun 96 20:31:04 Subject: <<Vitamin B>> (June 6, 1996) Reality Check Mime-Version: 1.0 Vitamin B: Your Daily Dose of Bionomics June 6, 1996 Reality Check Everyone knows that you can't predict the future. The question is: Can traditional economics understand the present? Not too many years ago, on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the leading economics textbook had this to say: "The Soviet economy is proof that, contrary to what many skeptics had earlier believed, a socialist command economy can function and even thrive." -- Paul A. Samuelson, Professor emeritus, MIT (in Samuelson & Nordhaus, Economics, 1989) We wonder what "conventional wisdom" of 1996 will prove to be as, ummm, quotable in the not too distant future. --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "If they could 'just pass a few more laws', we would all be criminals." --Vinnie Moscaritolo The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/

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Tell it like it is, Perry
by attila 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Addressed to: Cypherpunks <cypherpunks(a)toad.com> Perry Metzger <perry(a)piermont.com> now, why would anyone want to send Perry a PerryGram? --Perry's prose is far too elegant to warrant criticism, particularly the closing remark! = Your attitude seems to be "you can't prove anything so you must assume = that they are innocent." My attitude is "I can't prove anything so = they can't go to jail, but that doesn't mean I have to believe that = they are innocent -- in fact, I'm an idiot if I believe that." = = > I think that given Perry's ad-hominem attacks and the fact that this = > has nothing to do with cryptography that its about time someone sent = > Perry a Perry-gram. = = Cypherpunks no longer is a cryptography mailing list. Its a sewer. = = Perry = -- When you can't say 'fuck,' you can't say 'FUCK THE CDA!' --Lenny Bruce rephrased

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DCSB Cocktails Over Back Bay
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Date: 6 Jun 96 10:13:48 EDT From: "Julie Rackliffe" <RACKLIFFE(a)tcm.org> Subject: DCSB Cocktails Over Back Bay To: "dcsb" <dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu> Sender: bounce-dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: "Julie Rackliffe" <RACKLIFFE(a)tcm.org> Greetings! As those who attended yesterday's lunch already know, We Have A Date! I am simply delighted to announce that Open Software Foundation has generously agreed to sponsor our first ever cocktail party for the Digital Commerce Society of Boston. I promises to be a memorable evening and I hope that you will plan to come, and please feel free to introduce a friend to this unique group. Our intention is that this event should be used as a networking opportunity in addition to getting some more people interested in DCSB (and, of course, expanding our mailing list!) So, here's the specifics: When: Thursday, June 20, 1996 5-8 pm Where: The Harvard Club, One Federal Street, 38th floor in The Lounge (sunset over the Back Bay will be featured!) Hot and Cold Hors D'oeuvres ala The Harvard Club and cool libations compliments of OSF and DCSB. What's the Catch?- No Catch! Just RSVP to me before June 17 Do Come! Julie Rackliffe The Computer Museum Annual Fund/Membership Manager 300 Congress St, Boston 02210 rackliffe(a)tcm.org 617.426.2800 X432 ******************************************************************************** The Walk-Through Computer 2000 is open! This is a "must see"! Museum Membership:SR/STU $25...IND $35...FAM $50...NON-PROFIT $250...LIB $500 Web Site: http://www.tcm.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe from this list, send a letter to: Majordomo(a)ai.mit.edu In the body of the message, write: unsubscribe dcsb Or, to subscribe, write: subscribe dcsb If you have questions, write to me at Owner-DCSB(a)ai.mit.edu --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "If they could 'just pass a few more laws', we would all be criminals." --Vinnie Moscaritolo The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/

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Re: Terrorism Hysteria on the Net
by Sandy Sandfort 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C'punks, At 05:35 PM 6/5/96 -0700, Rich Graves wrote: >Pooh-poohing the potential risk is not a winning proposition. Pointing out >that the government's policies against properly secure systems have created >this house of cards in which we live is. A classic case of government being a disease posing as its own cure. S a n d y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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NSA/CIA to snoop INSIDE the U.S.???
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

What?! What the *@#!! is wrong with the people who supposedly smart people representing us?! Ern -------- From SJ Mercury: NET FEVER ON THE HILL Published: June 6, 1996 BY RORY J. O'CONNOR Mercury News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- The White House wants a coordinated task force to fight terrorism on the Internet. Some senators think the CIA should be allowed to work hand in hand with the FBI to fight computer crime on U.S. soil. Meanwhile, the federal courts are deciding a major First Amendment case that might ban certain information from the Net. The nation's capital is in the throes of Internet fever. For the past several months, the condition has become acute, and by the end of the year the Internet itself may look far different as a result: more tightly regulated, more carefully monitored and more expensive. The latest symptom: a suggestion Wednesday for the elimination of laws that prohibit U.S. intelligence agencies -- notably the National >>> Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency -- from snooping <<< >>> on home soil. The reason: The potential for computer crime and <<< terrorism is so great, and the Internet so decentralized and international, that police and the FBI must combine forces with spy agencies in order to successfully analyze the threat and investigate criminal activity. ''If we're going to live in this kind of world, we're going to have to link the intelligence world with law enforcement,'' said Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga. For many people in government who work on computer and law-enforcement issues, the course of the disease seems painfully slow. They often describe the Internet as the Wild West that's sorely in need of a good marshal. But for many people who use the Internet, the government's efforts are moving far ahead of any real knowledge of a technology that, two years ago, almost nobody had heard of. ''There are not dead bodies in the street,'' said Donna L. Hoffman, a professor at Vanderbilt University who studies the Internet. ''It just doesn't make sense to rush into legislation.'' [ SNIP ]

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Re: [Off-Topic] "Curfews"
by Jean-Francois Avon 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 6 Jun 96 at 11:19, jim bell wrote: > >>I _do_ believe, however, that the number of people unjustifiably > >>targeted will be rather low. <snip> Retaliation is possible, in > >> that case. Sorry Jim, I did not get that at all in the past. I assumed a context where the inner workings of AP would not be well understood by the population while here, you seems to indicate that everybody would operate under the threat / deterrance of mutual anihilation principle. A argued that an impulsive guy might target somebody unjustifiably while I overlooked that he could think twice before doing so. But by his nature, being a violent or thug at heart, he will understand this "peace based on threat" maybe even better than a pacifist at heart. So, my arguments might not stand. Have any constructive comments? (hey, just play devil's advocate from time to time :) Ciao JFA DePompadour, Societe d'Importation Ltee; Limoges porcelain, silverware and crystal JFA Technologies, R&D consultants: physicists, technologists and engineers. PGP keys at: http://w3.citenet.net/users/jf_avon ID# C58ADD0D : 529645E8205A8A5E F87CC86FAEFEF891

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Re: How can you protect a remailer's keys?
by mccoy＠communities.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Lance Cottrell writes: > At 11:55 PM 6/1/96, Bill Stewart wrote: > >Encryption is critical for protecting against traffic analysis, > >but it's tough to protect a remailer's keys. Unlike regular email, > >where you can type the key in as you read it, remailers need to > >run automatically once you set them up. Some of the choices are: > >- leave it around in plaintext with only Unix file protections > >- type it in to a long-running remailer process > >- SSL-based remailers, where the web server handles crypto on > > a per-machine basis instead of per-remailer > >- use unauthenticated Diffie-Hellman > >- off-line or off-site remailer such as a POP3 winsock remailer > >- human intervention on every message > > > >Anybody have any other approaches? These are mostly weak, > >annoying, or both. > > The best solution I could come up with (and was willing to write and use) > is to specify the passphrase on the command line argument to the compiler This is little better than leaving it around in a plaintext file, a pass or two with gdb on your binary and I have your private key. The "difficult, expensive, and pain in the ass code to write" solution that I favor is to use secure multiparty computation to create the remailer. It does not exist on a single host, but is rather the sum of a collection of hosts running on widely seperated machines. It has the same type of drawback as a per-execution password entered into a long-lived process (anyone with root access to the host can yank it out of memory with little difficulty,) but this is spread out across a larger collection of hosts, making the task of actually getting the complete password somewhat difficult. Getting a subset of the individual host passwords does not provide any partial information about the collective password (similar to secret sharing.) The other drawback is that certain operations can be very slow, you end up emulating a circuit with a _very_ slow clock (8-10 Hz. Not MHz, not KHz, but 8-10 ticks/second); as compensation you get a word-size that if effectively infinite. I have to continue work on a subset of these methods for a secure digital poker/card-playing system over the next couple of months and if I have some spare time I might see just how difficult creating a toolkit for building such virtual circuits really is... OTOH, a secure PCMCIA or smart-card will probably end up being a better practical solution. jim

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Re: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:18 PM 6/6/96, Igor Chudov @ home wrote: >Jim McCoy wrote: .... >> As long as that person is not the President of the United States (at least >> for U.S. citizens.) This was the issue which initiated this thread, the >> implied threat made by our favorite nutcase. > >Are you sure? Can you cite references? From my readings on the 1st >amendments, any general kind of speech is legal, even if it advocates >killing certain officials, including us presidents. *If* instead of >general advocacy a person gave specific orders or concrete requests to >kill the prez, then it would not be speech. Please correct me if I am >wrong. * First, I disagree with Bruce Baugh's earlier comment that there is a nonzero chance this list could be "shut down." (Well, "nonzero" covers a _lot_ of numbers, but as it usually understood in hackerspeak, "nonzero" means "finite," and "finite" means "a credible chance." It is this with which I disagree.) There is virtually no chance that even fairly egregious threats would allow the government to "shut down" a public forum. Prior restraint and all that. I suppose there is some slight chance that John Gilmore could be held liable in some way for messages flowing through his "toad" machine, and that hence the instantiation of the Cypherpunks list _on toad_ could be affected. But I am skeptical even of this. In past cases where the government felt a newspaper or magazine had published or planned to publish material they felt was illegal ("The Progressive" and "The New York Times," for example), the ongoing operations of these newspapers were not stopped. (There may be cases people can dig up where some newspaper or newsletter was "shut down," but I think such cases would be hard to find in the last several decades. Am I wrong on this?) * Second, there are indeed various laws about threatening the President. And there are laws about directly threatening others as well. ("Directly threatening" is a fuzzy idea, which I don't plan to debate here.) However, recall that Senator Jesse Helms elliptically threatened President Clinton by saying that Clinton had probably better be wearing a bullet-proof vest if he ever visited Helms' part of the country. (Even the Republicans were shocked by this, and, I surmise, cast Helms into the outer darkness, as Helms has been keeping a low profile for the past 18 months.) * Third, while I am bored with Bell's "single note" point of view ("I have a solution for this") and while I feel his "assassination politics" is both naive and derivative, I don't think his advocacy of AP constitutes a direct threat to anyone. He is not actually setting up the betting markets which would make AP more of a reality, nor is he calling for the killing of any particilar persons. * Fourth, merely discussing alternative political systems is not enough to trigger legal action, at least not today. * Finally, there may be provisions in the Terrorism Act (don't know precise name, but Clinton signed it into law a few months ago) which could conceivably trigger having certain groups classified as "terrorist groups." The law is too new and too untested, I think, to have any implications for a mailing list such as ours. Frankly, the list is much likelier to die off from debates about fascism and Hillary's investments than it is to be "shut down" by government action. --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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