December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Militias, reputation capital, unfounded rumor-mongering, and the DNS
by Rich Graves 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Anatomy of a paranoid troll: http://fight-censorship.dementia.org/fight-censorship/dl?thread=FBI+monitor… Someone sent a message to Declan alleging that the FBI, with the cooperation of ISPs, was reading/disrupting/censoring the email of people interested in "patriot" movements. Declan said hmm, I can see the FBI doing that, and forwarded the message to fight-censorship. I pointed out that the story was complete bullshit, which is easily verified (yvv.com's incompetence in managing their DNS affects all users, including postmaster(a)yvv.com, not just the paranoid), but evidently my reputation capital on the moderated fight-censorship list is so low that instead of my objections, subscribers to the fight-censorship list got to read another, more paranoid rant. I do not expect this story to die, even though it's completely false -- it's too good. The meme in the subject line is awfully strong, lots of people won't take the time to read more than the title, and who really listens to a FUCKING STATIST anyway. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction, but seldom in the way you think. -rich

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Re: You have been deleted
by attila 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

To: Black Unicorn <unicorn(a)schloss.li> From: attila <attila(a)primenet.com> Reply-To: attila <attila(a)primenet.com> Subject: Re: "You have been deleted" Addressed to: Black Unicorn <unicorn(a)schloss.li> Tim May <tcmay(a)got.net> ** Reply to note from Black Unicorn <unicorn(a)schloss.li> 04/24/96 03:01am -0400 = On Tue, 23 Apr 1996, Timothy C. May wrote: = = > its route and landed on my hill, abducting me for medical experiments I am = > too embarrassed to describe (except that Chelsea was also involved). I am = > back now, albeit subtly changed (for the better). = = That a medical experiment including Chelsea could improve a man is beyond = the bounds of reason. = = Mr. May, are you making this up? = attila sez: Not necessarily. it may be speculation or wishful thinking on the part of Chelsea, or even Bubba and Hillary. -- Obscenity is a crutch for inarticulate motherfuckers. Fuck the CDA! cc: Tim May <tcmay(a)got.net> Cypherpunks <cypherpunks(a)toad.com>

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Anonymous banking
by E. ALLEN SMITH 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Speaking of the below information, what is anonymous banking like in Austria, Colombia, Venezuela, and Thailand? -Allen >Copyright 1996 Nando.net >Copyright 1996 Reuter Information Service >VIENNA (Apr 24, 1996 11:18 a.m. EDT) - The United Nations, fighting a >rearguard action against illegal drugs and money laundering, on Wednesday >turned its fire on sloppy banking laws and called on all states to ban a>nonymous accounts. [...] >Experts say anonymous bank accounts are a safe haven for drugs money and >are an ideal vehicle for laundering cash. >They say the drugs trade must be attacked at its roots by cracking down on >transfers of narcotics-based "dirty money." [...] >Drug barons use a number of ruses including anonymous bank accounts and >specially set up front businesses, such as restaurants, to channel large >sums of money and obscure its origins. The money comes out "clean," or >laundered. >Helmut Butke, who chaired the meeting of the 53-member Commission of >Narcotic Drugs, said the United States was the main sponsor of the >resolution which seeks to streamline and increase international cooperation >against money laundering. >The draft resolution, which was shown to Reuters, "urges states to prohibit >banks and other financial institutions from offering accounts identified >only by a number, anonymous accounts or accounts in obviously false names." >It also urges states "to take all reasonable measures to ensure that such >institutions are informed of the identities of beneficial customers in all >transactions." [...] >Austria, the only country in the EU which allows anonymous bank accounts, >was adamant its current legislation did not run counter to the resolution. [...] >The Vienna government is clinging on to its banking system, saying the >accounts were useless for money laundering as they do not extend to >deposits over 200,000 schillings ($19,000). >But Washington last year ranked Austria alongside Colombia, Venezuela and >Thailand in a league table of nations that tolerate money laundering.

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Re: arbiter/escrow agent for hire
by E. ALLEN SMITH 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: IN%"bryce(a)digicash.com" 24-APR-1996 10:05:20.14 >1. Acceptable digital signature upon the "bet statement" >from each bettor. (Note that PGP signatures from PGP key >pairs which are not connected to me via the Web of Trust, or >which are not verifiable by me via an out-of-band >connection, are not acceptable digital signatures. This is >because of the MITM attack problem, not because I need True >Names to be connected to the signatures.) IIRC, currently Black Unicorn doesn't have any signatures on his public key of others. Therefore, this requirement, while understandable, could cause a bit of a difficulty in the current situation. >3. Amount of the bet from each bettor. This chunk of money >will be known as the "ante". Note that depending upon the >details of the "bet statement", each bettor may submit a >different ante. (Yes, up front. Yes, I get antes from both >bettors. Yes, I keep them while the bet is being settled. >Why do you think my fee is so low?) Chuckle. -Allen

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Kill Files
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 2:04 PM 4/24/96, s1113645(a)tesla.cc.uottawa.ca wrote: >One must note that capital punishment is an excellent means of >unsuvscription. > > >(Ps. Just joking, Jason or whoever you are.) On a serious note, I hereby predict that the term "kill file" will soon be picked up by the clueless media and/or Congress as a sign that the Internet is dangerous. (I'm sure it already has been used as a negative, but I'm predicting a more visible focus on this term, however briefly. To the average American, it conjures up images closely related to Jim Bell's ideas!) I had one of our "unsubscrive" newbies asking me what I meant by "putting him in my kill file," and saying he was planning to let his site manager know about "your threat." --Tim 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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Re: Nazis on the Net
by E. ALLEN SMITH 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: IN%"tallpaul(a)pipeline.com" 24-APR-1996 00:24:46.89 >> It would >>have been better if the atomic bomb had been ready in time to use against >>Germany and Stalinist Russia. >It was ready "in time" to use against "Stalinist Russia" (which, BTW, was >Stalinist "Soviet Union,"). It was not ready to use against the USSR/Russia (as should probably be evident from current nationalist movements in the non-Russian portions of the USSR, Russia tended to dominate that union) before the USSR was an ally of the United States. (I refer you to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany.) After the war, they were still tied by various agreements; by the time that it became obvious that Russia had broken those agreements, it had nuclear weapons and an attack would have been suicidal. -Allen

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Re: Meta: The Arguing about the Terms of the Wager Continues
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 2:07 PM 4/24/96, jamesd(a)echeque.com wrote: >At 11:45 PM 4/23/96 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote: >> And so the back-and-forth continues...taking up even more list space >> arguing, waffling, finessing, rebutting, disputing, and on an on. >> >> Exactly as several of us have predicted. > >True, but one should note that it is Jim Bell that is weaseling, >and that Unicorn is not weaseling. It doesn't matter too much who's mainly to blame--the result is the same. And game-theory-wise, there is little incentive to quickly push the wager to a well-defined final state. These "bets" are largely tail-feather displays, anyway, so the posturing and weaseling serves the purpose of one or more of the parties. Which is precisely why these bets take up so much list bandwidth. On the Extropians list, during the last few months I was on it, a huge fraction of the list traffic was devoted to such arguments (along with "pending court cases" involving one party filing charges against another, searches for mediators, countersuits, judgments, arguments about punishments, and on and on). Frankly, I thought that Black Unicorn claimed to have seen the error of his ways (in terms of debating with Bell) and was going to stop? --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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Re: [NOISE] Re: Nazis on the Net
by E. ALLEN SMITH 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: IN%"bryce(a)digicash.com" 24-APR-1996 06:43:13.96 >For what it's worth, Webster's defines: >rac.ism \'ra--.siz-*m\ \-s*st\ n 1: a belief that race is > the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and > that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of > a particular race 2: RACIALISM - rac.ist n [...] >Thus no two of "racists", "separatists" and "race-haters" >would be identical sets of people. ? >But with a high degree of overlap, I'd warrant. Fully agreed. I don't dispute that most people calling themselves separatists are racists; it's just that I'd prefer not to call someone a racist who isn't one.... just as I'd prefer not to call a liberal a Communist unless they are one. (Communist referring to the whole dictatorship of the proletariat business, not just state socialism - the former, which is not classical Marxism, is where the abuses of rights other than private property come in). >This means that Abraham Lincoln was a racist, by the way. Abraham Lincoln is one reason I _don't_ use the above definition; by mine, he'd be a separatist (wanted to move Blacks to Liberia, if I recall correctly). I trust that everyone involved in this discussion (with the exception of the neo-Nazi) would agree that Abraham Lincoln was better than those in the South who wanted to keep blacks enslaved? >(That definition isn't too good, though. "_The_ primary >determinant"? I would have to classify as racist those who >believe that race is _a_ primary determinant of those >qualities.) The definition is bad enough that I checked a concise OED for comparison; see the results and my commentary below. >Sorry to be off-topic, but if a thing is going to be >discussed I might as well try to add signal. (The "[NOISE]" >tag that I left in the subject line doesn't indicate noise, >but off-topicness.) Perhaps we could just drop the >"Cc: cypherpunks" part and continue this discussion? Thank you. The dropping of the cc:cypherpunks part would be rather inconvenient. This phenomenon is one reason that I'd like to see a list server capable of setting up mini-lists on demand, easily. >Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th Ed., Copyright 1991 Oxford Univ. Press >/racism/ <<"reIsIz(@)m>> n. >1. > a. a belief in the superiority of a particular race; prejudice based on > this. > b. antagonism towards other races, esp. as a result of this. >2. the theory that human abilities etc. are determined by race. This has some differences from the Webster definition, specifically the inclusion of prejudice as a definer. The latter definition is silly. It is scientifically well-proven that different races have different physical attributes - blacks tend to have higher blood pressures, for instance. Is this definition saying that believing what is known is racism? Of course, with this definition I can see why Herrnstein and Murray keep being called racists. (Incidentally, I don't believe they are correct regarding the genetic component of intelligence as having a racial correlation - the existing (and unfortunate) environmental differences are a perfectly adequate explanation. Unfortunately, we can't tell the existence or non-existence of such differences until the genes affecting intelligence are significantly better understood; until then, the most pragmatic assumption is the lack of any such difference, given the lack of any obvious evolutionary cause for it. In other words, I call _The Bell Curve_ mistaken in its conclusions on race - not racist. Incindentally, I also believe that such differences are environmental for the emotional reason that I would be very uncomfortable believing otherwise. I don't think this is biasing my evaluation of the science, however.) Both of these definitions involve "superior" and "superiority"; I thus also looked this up. >/superior/ <<su:"pI@rI@(r)>>, <<sju:->>, <<sU->> adj. & n. >adj. >1. in a higher position; of higher rank ("a superior officer"; "a superior > court"). >2. > a. above the average in quality etc. ("made of superior leather"). > b. having or showing a high opinion of oneself; supercilious ("had a > superior air"). >3. (often foll. by "to") > a. better or greater in some respect ("superior to its rivals in speed"). > b. above yielding, making concessions, paying attention, etc. ("is > superior to bribery"; "superior to temptation"). I don't think anyone would disagree that blacks are currently (and unfortunately) in a lower position in US society overall. Moreover, the 2nd and 3rd part of the definition make "racism" as defined above a rather over-inclusive term. For instance, it would call any scientist who does a study and finds lower IQs among members of some race a racist. Such differences are well-known to exist, and (as I state above) are probably environmental in origin. In other words, unless one makes the "prejudice" and/or "antagonism" parts mandatory (in which case it would be narrower than my definition of racist, which essentially hinges on definite prejudice existing), the Webster definition of racism is over-inclusive by any reasonable standard. -Allen

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Crypto Software Review Wanted
by Travis Hassloch x231 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

There's a ton of only semi-organized stuff out there. I would like structured info... more that just a filename, without having to install it myself, etc... Review of the packages would be real nice. PS: I heard CFS requires having NFS installed (ick!) and someone mentioned this opens you up to "portmapper assisted attacks"... I've avoided NFS and RPC until now so I don't know... does this have any credibility? Will I have to install a firewall to protect NFS just so I can use CFS to encrypt on disk? :) CC me in the replies please, since I'm not on the list... although I might get on coderpunks if the volume is small. Hmm, I just noticed the cypherpunks-ratings list, I wonder if this is what I'm looking for... too bad it doesn't have a description or an info file. -- travis(a)evtech.com | Virtual Reality Bites | P=NP if (P=0 or N=1) There's a thin line between an email message and its signature.

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The Iron Mountain Report
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Some years ago the federal government set up a special [inaudible] group. For two-and-a-half years they met in secret at Iron Mountain, New York. Their findings were called "Report from Iron Mountain on the Possibility and Desirability of Peace." Their document, by some of the leading thinkers, was suppressed. Later, it was printed in a limited edition, with the *names* removed. Some were shocked by what they read. Throughout history, permanent peace was dangerous to established governments. War, and the threat of war, are the principal organizing force for most societies. They divert attention from *other* economic and political problems. War keeps the factories going, wasting government manpower and material that would otherwise be of surplus. Peace brings unemployment, the collapse of prices of goods and property, and knocks down the government. In simple terms, war prevents [economic] depression. (By the way, sooner or later, whatever nation loses a war is overthrown. So it has been all the centuries. The American ruling circles lost the Vietnam War. The aftermath is bound to scatter the rulers to the winds.) As the report says, in Europe, over the years, the typical standing army consisted of troops unfit for employment in commerce, industry or agriculture, led by officers unfit to practice any legitimate profession or to conduct a business enterprise. A large standing army is a form of social welfare program; a form of control of the population. War, and the threat of war, keep all levels of society busy. The newspapers are kept rich reporting it. Pundits are employed to mouth off. Wars speed up so-called scientific development. War goods do not have to show a profit or be the lowest price. In permanent peace there are vast cutbacks in research and development. And yes, wars kill off surplus population; young men with no good job waiting for them. The [Iron Mountain] report points out that the war system makes stable government of society possible. The end of war means the end of national sovereignty. Without an identified enemy, why would the CIA have a large secret budget to assassinate political leaders and overthrow other governments the White House does not like? To promote their secret agenda, the CIA has taken over a part of the savings and loan system to funnel men and money for "dirty tricks" here and overseas. The CIA likewise manipulates the federal bankruptcy courts to grab up companies for use as covert action fronts. In Chicago, this is done with the help of foreign intelligence agencies, such as Mossad. Chicago bankruptcy trustee William A. Brand (sp?) jr. is a top honcho of the CIA and other spy shops. In the name of national security, the mass media have been *ordered* to "soft pedal" or "stay shut" about spy agencies doing such things. The CIA involvement in bankruptcy court should have made headlines as the number one item on the evening TV news. Yet not one word is said by the liars and whores of the press. Play it again: Fermilab and weather modification. (312) 731-1505. New message Monday; we change it several times a week. Donations appreciated. Citizens' Committee to Clean Up the Courts, 9800 S. Oglesby (sp?), Chicago, 60617. For the latest on courts, banks, espionage agencies, political assassinations and the news media. On 24 hours.

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