December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Secure Hashing for Entropy
by nobody＠neva.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Jon Leonard wrote: >Monty Cantsin wrote: >> Often we have a source of entropy whose output we use as the input to >> a secure hash function. >> >> Does it matter if the hashing function is secure? I don't think so. >> All that really matters is that the function hashes evenly so that any >> input string is about as likely as any other input string to result in >> a particular hash. Even if the hash function is weak and collisions >> can be found, if it is even the same level of entropy is still >> available. >> >> Have I got this right? > >In the case where: >1) Your entropy source is as good as you think it is >2) Your opponent knows nothing about the data from your entropy source >and >3) Your entropy mixes the way you expect it to. > >this is indeed the case. > >If you're not completely sure about the above, using a cryptographic >hash requires your hypothetical opponent to be able to reverse the hash >to exploit what they know, rather than simpler computations. > >Since it seems that paranoia pays off in the design of cryptographic >software, I'd recommend always using a strong hash. Let's say you are using the entropy to create a session key for a symmetric cipher. If The Enemy can guess the session key, you have already lost the game. It doesn't matter if the original entropy-containing string can be guessed because the hash was weak. If your entropy source is weak and the original string can be guessed, then you've lost the game even if the hash function is strong. The Enemy knows how to compute hashes as well as you do. But, I think I now see a way a secure hash can sort of help you. Let's say you have an entropy source which gives you a base 3 number of arbitrary length. There is no even way to map base 3 numbers into base 2 numbers. Use of a hash function obscures the mapping. For example, we want a random 8 bit number. We can get this by generating a 6 digit base 3 number, P, and computing P mod 2^8. This has the unappealing property that it overlaps unevenly. 3^6 = 729 = 2 * 256 + 217. There is an 89.3% chance that the resulting number will be between 0 and 216, inclusive. The probability should be 84.7%. This gives The Enemy an edge if there are a number of messages to be broken. The cost to guarantee a break on a particular message is still the same. The use of a secure hash means that we can hope that the nature of the overlap cannot be determined. The downside is that there are no secure hash functions whose properties are completely understood. All we know for sure is that not much is really known to the public. So, the secure hash function in your crypto system could be reducing your effective entropy substantially if your entropic strings just happen to hash down to a smaller subset of possible hashes than expected. The use of the secure hash function may obscure what is happening from The Enemy. All we know for sure is that it obscures it from ourselves. Ideally, we want to match our sources of entropy with the base of the random number desired and eliminate the question. In the field, the most widely available and reliable entropy generator is a six sided die. If we are using a cipher which takes a base 2 key, this is inconvenient. You can only get one really good bit out of each throw. How hard would to be to construct a secure symmetric cipher which accepted a base 6 key? Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGoiSJaWtjSmRH/5AQFzaAf+Jm1wlPlC9obQQLoRoss2qpLv5z900X9Z 2u3NO5eG/W9QQRUWTeqzeXOK3Ps8DYKhYXhgYy35AJy6uRrd5820MUUGULAhr0zH JqfVFU6FUGEgEpZsxxLTAVvU/OPx5g3LqeQJfsp92pOsIoeObhiBh6+1zxNLWHU5 fxSrDJAe9eANeUJ5nXlLBGtGwg9ZfvVw4+OWsLpO3ZsQXp+mke+dvz423WukqaQi VJ1VM+XTRBetRCZIuIcqKoCdkYrB2h/S0KIprp/7lHFOpIZWfo++p87BZm0LQuF5 Suo+NGSMtooCZwLYpPQrlQLtB51An8TjdVfr7k2YkUXpxPLcEp6CEg== =om47 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: FREE PSYCHOANLYSIS NIGHT ON THE CYPHERPUNKS LIST!!!
by nobody＠neva.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tim May wrote: >There seems to be an unhealthy desire by some to "armchair >psychoanalyze" the motivations and inner motivations of others. In >recent days, me. (And in the past, too. This recent episode of >moaning about "What makes Tim say the things he does? is not >new...we've seen this script before.) It's not too hard to figure out what is going on here. I don't think there is much question that Tim is the backbone of the list. The collective output of his critics has yet to reach even 10% of his contribution. Of course, writing interesting articles is hard work. It's easier to rain on the parade. Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGotXZaWtjSmRH/5AQEQnwf8Dd7JKKKw5ub0ou2nRLgsZs4JKP0J7uHZ 0gZNYq8NBcvflcjak8tCIICFnasksXL8lXkHUN6DYb54LsqxJ8W++hm2r0kLzybt i3JhwfZe8/TURRi+G886OwqvFl0+/ideVXivr72a6Vbt/Uufhf1xEENZncoaFgd+ Plc3u4Huk9nsSQJ9WtjAWclYDuLdLGbJQ9gVYTLo8lszhUYhiSCvBi4EQgQWAipO RDDs8X29Q9R7lw9Q/4ABCKM+uKD8lVpTXFVkV7eTgltFt77fJkzHAecT1BQYWQi/ yYxsnDVKItrfnCgNOn+IssisgQN04k16cRiKdCcdkkkP+6MzDBGA8Q== =Apu7 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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RE: Bell vs. Woodward--ju
by harka＠nycmetro.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- -=> Quoting In:tcmay@got.net to Harka <=- In> As for Australia, your countrymen acted like sheep in giving In> up their guns. If they try that kind of shit here in this In> country, a *lot* of cops are going to get killed. Hmm, I somewhat doubt that. After all, restricting guns more and more has also been happening in the US for quite a while now and overall resistance has been rather minimal. While there may be a few, who'd actually take up guns "in the defense of liberty" the gross majority of Americans seems just as "sheepish" as people anywhere else. Too many hours of watching (the good) "Cops" has left an imprint in many minds... Granted, America does have a constitution establishing civil rights for it's citizens, but America is also the country (among others) of "But I have nothing to hide" and "If it just saves one child"... In> (Not necessarily by me, though I'll defend my property and my In> constitutional rights as best I can. But the militia and In> patriot and anti-New World Order movements are preparing for In> war.) "Defending my property" is probably one of the more clear situations, where it is fairly easy to make a judgement call, and I support having the choice over necessary actions to take, if your property gets forcefully invaded by whomever and your personal freedom is being threatened. But on a more general basis things tend to become more complicated, IMHO. What if it's somebody else's liberty being taken? How many people would then take up arms (see Waco, Ruby Ridge, Roby/Ill. etc.)? It is much harder then to decide, if it's time for action or not. Especially because of pre-filtered information, that make it hard to base such a decision on "available" facts. When Reuters reported about the Shirley Allen Siege, in the first line they mentioned her to be "mentally disturbed" (implying for many, that the police-action was justified and correct in order "to save her"). People not immediately within the vicinity will have a hard time to decide, if the media-information is correct and subsequently, if "the war has now begun". (In Shirley Allens case, her fellow neighbors _did_ protest the police-action because they _knew better_, but people further away had other information and thus no incentive to defend her in any way.) The same happened in Waco, Ruby Ridge etc.etc., even with Jim Bell to a degree. Thus the .gov is able to pick us off one by one and I doubt, that a lot of "cops are going to get killed" because of it. It'd be rather interesting to devise a "Cypherpunks-911" system, that immediately provides others all over the country/world with necessary information, if something happens, and more importantly, _what_ happens (before the media faithfully recites the police-stories of "what happened") Ciao Harka /*************************************************************/ /* E-mail: harka(at)nycmetro.com (PGP-encrypted mail pref'd) */ /* PGP public key available upon request. [KeyID: 04174301] */ /* F-print: FD E4 F8 6D C1 6A 44 F5 28 9C 40 6E B8 94 78 E8 */ /*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*/ /* May there be peace in this world, may all anger dissolve */ /* and may all living beings find the way to happiness... */ /*************************************************************/ ... "Use a Cipher - Be Free!" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAgUBNGiG/zltEBIEF0MBAQGlIQf9HfcmkDmcx2uSq1s97lGpWsqGycUYgZN6 qbUTG1NhxRiKTvnGgB+5L7ki2kVF3BR89V7I02pDKZYo3cAHakO5hKmp1bVsWcIU FQhnRINsdLERVTQOdOVvcxUg5iHnPuEl1FQtRPP93051AWZeals+CDW4UrIAOycD /RS7TRc/tn4TaFR2ZSIj9sDd2Q/51hUYuoFKMPhX121lCCYr8SjDYVb9fGRY92pb 9wUqO+gWtxqMl/lPPf2SFrfR3QOXFRe9dQ5IPsyC9SOQQMLxdUuBWwx9fKyK7JlQ BdIoFqHhxMDH3l9sDRqQVlyrAZ38dYe31i3+RwTJcyissbT+tGrdBQ== =3NTr -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- If encryption is outlawed, only outlaws will have encryption...

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SWAT: A Growth Industry
by Dan Veeneman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

US News & World Report 11/17/97 Everyone gets into the terrorism game Too many SWAT teams spells confusion BY DAVID E. KAPLAN In 1995, Bill Clinton signed a presidential directive stating that the nation has "no higher priority" than stopping terrorists who have weapons of mass destruction. Congress responded with new laws and allocated more than a billion dollars in support. The result has been an extraordinary proliferation of counterterrorism programs, making this one of the few areas of rapid growth in the federal budget. But in the rush to respond, say critics, government agencies have failed to coordinate their efforts, and no one is even tracking how much taxpayer money is being spent. According to a September report by the General Accounting Office, more than 40 federal agencies have roles in combating terrorism. All of them appear eager to gobble up the new funding. Among the big winners is the Pentagon, which is getting $52 million to train local officials to cope with chemical, nuclear, and biological attacks. Other agencies have set up units inspired by NEST, the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Emergency Search Team, begun in the 1970s to thwart nuclear extortionists. The FBI has added DEST, its new Domestic Emergency Support Team, and the State Department now runs FEST, the Foreign Emergency Support Team. The Public Health Service is busily planning MMSTs, or Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams, for 100 cities. And on Energy Department drawing boards are plans for BEST, a Biological Emergency Search Team, and CEST, its chemical counterpart. (Critics contend that the Energy Department lacks both expertise and a mandate to deal with biological and chemical weapons, but that has not stopped it from seeking funds.) And if an emergency is big enough, one can always call in the Marines, who have formed their own $10 million Chemical Biological Incident Response Force. Among the biggest beneficiaries is the FBI, which has seen its counterterrorism budget nearly triple to $243 million since 1994. Bureau officials vow to "double the shoe leather" of agents working on chemical and biological terrorism and are outfitting their elite Hostage Rescue Team with $3.3 million worth of gas masks and protection suits. The bureau also wants to build a multimillion-dollar Level 3 biolab, a tightly sealed facility that would permit work with many of the world's deadliest pathogens. Some experts note that the Army and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already have more than a dozen Level 3 labs; the bureau says it can best conduct forensic investigations in its own facility. The private sector is cashing in as well. Contractors are arranging much of the Pentagon's $52 million local training program, while millions more are available for research and development. "It's the latest gravy train for consultants," says Larry Johnson, a terrorism consultant. Even the toughest critics acknowledge that many of the new programs are needed. For example, they agree that the training of local emergency workers to deal with a chemical or biological attack is long overdue. The problem, they say, is that the various programs have grown so quickly that coordination and oversight have yet to catch up. A classified study this year for the CIA and Energy Department calls for a national response program to deal with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, directed by the White House. "The system is not well organized at all," says former CIA head James Woolsey, one of the study group's co-chairs. One sign of the lack of oversight can be seen at the Office of Management and Budget, the White House agency charged with managing the federal budget. An OMB guide lists over 600 areas of specialization by the agency's staff, including entries for Micronesia and marine mammals. Yet nowhere is there an analyst tracking the budget for counterterrorism, a national security priority. "It's not something we have a hard number for," says an OMB analyst. The rapid expansion of programs--likely to cost billions of dollars overall--has left some observers dismayed. "It was not our intent to create this thing," says John Sopko, who as deputy chief counsel to Sen. Sam Nunn played a key role in drafting legislation to respond to the new terrorism. "We did not want a massive entitlement program for counterterrorism." -- cypherp(a)decode.com (Dan Veeneman) Cryptography, Security, Privacy BBS +1 410 730 6734 Data/FAX

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Re: FC: CDA: The Sequel -- introduced in the U.S. Senate
by Marc Rotenberg 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Danny - Since you have associated EPIC's position on the White "compromise" with CDT's, I feel some obligation to correct the record. We did not, as you recall, support that bill which included the harmful to minor standard because we believed it was contrary to generally accepted First Amendment standards. CDT supported the White measure and went to great pains to blame the members of the conference committee who did not endorse it. (I'd be happy to dig out the news reports on this point if there is any question). The Court's opinion in Reno v. ACLU seems to support our position. I do not think the White bill that you supported would have survived a Constitutional challenge. I wish to make a second point also. You accused Declan of mischaracterizing CDT's position on the White legislation. I'm still not clear exactly what he got wrong. But you have surely mischaracterized Larry Lessig's position in suggesting that he supports passage of new legislation. The O'Connor opinion, which by the way is a concurrence and not a dissent, relies on an article by Lessig in which he observes that restrictions have been upheld where procedures are established to segregate (zone) adult content. Thus the so-called Ginsburg statute. I read Larry's analysis and his subsequent commentary more as a warning than a recommendation. Establish such zones and content-based controls become permissible. Thus O'Connor's opinion seems to suggest that labels used to distinguish content based not on traditional library classifications (history, literature, etc) but on whether such information is suitable for minors would make it easier to permit regulation. I am not particularly interested in a lengthy back and forth on this topic. I do think it is important to set the record straight on EPIC and CDTs views on the White bill. We did not agree then. You cannot change that now. I also think you should think a little more carefully about whether the rating systems you promote will make it easier for a CDA II to survive a Constitutional challenge. Regards, Marc. At 12:05 AM -0000 11/13/97, Daniel J. Weitzner wrote: >Declan, > >It's kind of you to get the word out about this new Coats bill, but you >have managed to seriously mischaracterize CDT's position on the White >legislation of 1995. We did not believe that Congress should have passed >the White Compromise, and certaily never "embraced" it, as you write. >Based on my initial reading of the Coats bill, we will certainly oppose it. > >The Coats bill, with it's emphasis on age verification as a means to >"protect" kids and provide online publishers with liability limitation, is >actually a direct result of Justice O'Connor's dissenting opinion in the >CDA case and her desire to try to "zone" cyberspace. Following Larry >Lessig, she suggests that instead of relying on individually-controlled >blocking and filtering software, it is better for the government to require >that certain content be placed behind age verification firewalls. Prof. >Lessig prefers this zoning to what you have characterized as "censorware." >I hope that you, as an opponent of user empowerment filtering tools like >Larry, do not prefer this O'Connor/Lessig approach too? > >I can't remember whether you were actually around in 1995, either as >journalist or activist, so let me remind you of what we and other civil >liberties advocates like Marc Rotenberg of EPIC said. > >In the New York Times (12/2/95, p.A1) > > "While it does embody much of the original Exon proposal, it does so in >a way >that tries to embody a constitutionally recognized standard," said Jerry >Berman, director of the Center of Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit group >that focuses on civil rights and technology issues. > >and Jerry went on to say: > >"I don't think we need any legislation at all." > >Marc seemed to take a similar position: > >"It is preferable to the Exon bill, but ultimately this issue will be >resolved in the courts, which is where it should be resolved," said Marc >Rotenberg.... > >Both CDT and EPIC recognized that as a plain matter of constitional law, >the "harmful to minor" standard is more broadly accepted by courts around >the country, but that the legislation was still an unwise infringement on >Internet speech. > >We still believe that. > >We can certainly have a discussion about the various legislative strategies >employed during the final days of the CDA debate and House-Senate >conference, but frankly I think there's more important work to do. > >I hope that future discussions on this list can focus on how to defeat >misguided efforts like the Coats bill, instead of misleading >characterization of the past. > >Finally, Declan, I would suggest that when you want to characterize CDT >positions you talk to someone at CDT, or at least find some documentation >of your assertions. I know that you recognize you have an obligation as a >journalist to check facts and sources with some care. That sort of care >would also help in discussions among activists. I'm never exactly sure >whether you think of yourself as a journalist or activist when writing to >FC, but whichever it is, I hope you'll try to avoid this confusion in the >future by talking to us. > >At 5:01 PM -0500 11/12/97, Declan McCullagh wrote: >>Just when you thought the Internet was safe from government >>censorship, Sen. Dan Coats has introduced a sequel to the >>notorious Communications Decency Act. >> >>The bill punishes commercial distributors of material >>that's "harmful to minors" with six months in jail and a >>$50,000 fine. Unlike the original CDA, it applies only to >>web sites -- not to chatrooms, newsgroups, or email. >> >>Like the original CDA, it's certain to be controversial. >>Sen. Coats (R-Indiana), chief GOP sponsor of the original >>CDA, said his bill takes into account the Supreme Court's >>unanimous vote in June that struck down his first try. "I >>have studied the opinion of the Court and come before my >>colleagues today to introduce legislation that reflects the >>parameters laid out by the Court's opinion," he said on the >>Senate floor. >> (ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/c105/s1482.is.txt) >> >>Coats' brainchild is strikingly similar to (and in fact not >>as broad as) an ill-fated version of the first CDA that >>Rep. Rick White (R-Wash.) and the Center for Democracy and >>Technology embraced as a "compromise" in December 1995. >>Like Coats' bill, the White-CDT measure restricted material >>that was "harmful to minors." >> (http://www.epic.org/cda/hyde_letter.html) >> >>A Coats staffer said the measure requires adult >>pornographers to place images behind a firewall. "If you're >>involved in the commercial distribution of material that's >>harmful to minors, you have to take the bad stuff and put >>it on the other side of a credit card or PIN number," David >>Crane said. >> >>But the bill applies to more than just visual pornography. >>Its definition of material that could hurt minors includes >>any offensive sexual "communication" or "writing" without >>redeeming value. It applies to text-only web pages -- or >>bookstores that place sample chapters on the web. >> >>Since it covers anyone who "through the World Wide Web is >>engaged in the business of the commercial distribution of >>material that is harmful to minors," it could apply to >>Internet providers and online services as well. >> >>The FCC and the Department of Justice would be required to >>publish on their web sites "such information as is >>necessary to inform the public of the meaning of the term >>`material that is harmful to minors.'" Solveig Singleton, a >>lawyer at the Cato Institute, says: "The Supreme Court >>struggled for years to come up with a national defintion of >>obscenity. They failed. Harmful to minors is >>obscenity-lite. The FCC and Department of Justice won't >>have any luck coming up with a definition of >>obscenity-lite." >> >>Not a problem, predicts former porn-prosecutor Bruce >>Taylor, now the head of the National Law Center for >>Children and Families. "This bill will ensure that the >>hardcore pornographers don't get off the hook," he says. >> >>Next step for Coats is to attract co-sponsors and to forward >>his bill to the Senate Commerce committee. Some judges >>criticized Congress for holding no hearings on the original >>CDA; Coats isn't going to make that mistake again. "There >>will be a concerted effort to build a substantial >>legislative history," says David Crane. >> >>This bill won't be the end of Congressional interest in >>cyberporn. "You'll probably see other legislation come >>forward. Introducing this is not abandoning our other >>concerns," Crane says. >> >>-Declan >> >> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>This list is public. To join fight-censorship-announce, send >>"subscribe fight-censorship-announce" to majordomo(a)vorlon.mit.edu. >>More information is at http://www.eff.org/~declan/fc/ > > >============================================================================ >* Value Your Privacy? The Government Doesn't. Say 'No' to Key Escrow! * > Adopt Your Legislator - http://www.crypto.com/adopt > > ------------- > >Daniel J. Weitzner, Deputy Director <djw(a)cdt.org> >Center for Democracy and Technology 202.637.9800 (v) >1634 Eye St., NW Suite 1100 202-637.0968 (f) >Washington, DC 20006 http://www.cdt.org/ > ================================================================== Marc Rotenberg, director * +1 202 544 9240 (tel) Electronic Privacy Information Center * +1 202 547 5482 (fax) 666 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 301 * rotenberg(a)epic.org Washington, DC 20003 USA + http://www.epic.org ==================================================================

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about RC4
by Nobuki Nakatuji 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Is inhabit RC4 sourcecode same RC4 developed RSADSI perfectly ? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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INFO-RUSS: Action alert: A. Nikitin (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: >From INFO-RUSS-request(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu Wed Nov 12 18:39:46 1997 Message-Id: <9711121841.AA10833(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu> Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 12:53:13 -0500 To: info-russ(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu From: Union of Councils <ucsj(a)ucsj.com> Subject: INFO-RUSS: Action alert: A. Nikitin --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is INFO-RUSS broadcast (1200+ subscribers). Home page, information, and archives: http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/inforuss.html To post, or to subscribe/unsubscribe, mail to info-russ(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu INFO-RUSS assumes no responsibility for the information/views of its users. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sen. Bingaman and Rep. Skaggs Appeal to Colleagues to Urge Review of Nikitin Case UCSJ encourages human rights supporters to call their Senators and Representatives and act on Nikitin's behalf Below is a "Dear Colleague" letter from Congressman David Skaggs (D-CO) on the case of Alexander Nikitin. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is circulating a similar letter in the Senate. Please call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to sign these crucial letters. Maximum pressure and publicity is needed to help convince the Russian authorities to drop this case. It is essential that Nikitin's rights are protected and that the Russian security apparatus not be permitted to win this power struggle. (For more on the Nikitin case, please email Jason Silberberg at jsilb(a)ucsj.com.) Union of Councils ucsj(a)ucsj.com November 4, 1997 RUSSIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST CHARGED WITH TREASON FOR WARNING OF NUCLEAR WASTE DISASTER Dear Colleague, I am writing to bring to your attention new developments in the case of Alexander Nikitin, a case that has broad repercussions for the future of democracy, free speech, and due process in Russia. I ask you to join me in sending the attached letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Alexander Nikitin, a Russian environmentalist who co-authored a report that revealed a nuclear waste disaster in the making, has been charged with treason by the Russian Federal Security Service (the former KGB), which completed its investigation on September 19. The Russian Procurator, Yuri Skuratov, who was appointed by President Boris Yeltsin, will now have to decide whether to move to trial in this case. Nikitin co-authored a report published by the Norwegian environmental group, Bellona, that revealed that unprotected nuclear waste is stored at bases and shipyards near Murmansk, and that retired nuclear-powered submarines docked in the Arctic Circle still contain highly radioactive spent fuel. Despite the fact that all the information used for the report was taken from open sources, Nikitin was charged with having released state secrets. Nikitin had been charged with violating secret Defense Ministry decrees -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits such charges. He has now been charged with violating a Defense Ministry decree that was issued seven months after Nikitin was arrested -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits ex post facto prosecution. Federal Security Services investigators have changed their determination five times regarding the choice of decrees on which to base their investigation. This case is critical, not only for Russian environmental policy, but for the future of Russian democracy. It is disturbing if Russia is unable to face up to these enormous environmental problems without prosecuting the citizen that exposed them. It raises questions about whether free speech and the publication of reports critical of the government will be permitted. The grave issues of due process in the Nikitin case cause doubt about whether Russia has truly put Soviet-style justice behind it. Please join me in sending the attached letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, asking him to seek a thorough review before any decision is made to take this case to trial. If you would like to cosign the letter, or if you have further questions, please call Sue Hardesty of my staff at 52161. Sincerely yours, David E. Skaggs -------------------------------------------------------------------- His Excellency Boris Yeltsin President of Russia Moscow, Russian Federation Dear Mr. President: We are writing to bring to your attention the case of Alexander Nikitin. We understand that the Federal Security Service has completed its investigation, and the Procurator General must now decide whether to take the case to trial. We applaud the enormous strides Russia has taken since the end of the Soviet era to establish a rule of law, and end the old Soviet-style approach to criminal prosecution. That is why we are very concerned that this case, if pursued, would mark a serious setback for the rule of law in Russia. Alexander Nikitin co-authored a report published by Bellona, a Norwegian environmental organization. The report revealed that unprotected nuclear waste is stored at bases and shipyards near Murmansk, and that retired nuclear-powered submarines docked in the Arctic Circle still contain highly radioactive spent fuel. Despite the fact that all the information used for the report was taken from open sources, Nikitin was charged with having released state secrets. Nikitin had been charged with espionage for violating secret Defense Ministry decrees -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits such charges. He has now been charged with violating a Defense Ministry decree that was issued seven months after he was arrested -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits ex post facto prosecution. Federal Security Services investigators have changed their determination five times regarding their choice of decrees on which to base their investigation. It appears that the rule of law as embodied in the Russian constitution has not been followed in this case. We urge you to ask your government's Procurator General to order a thorough review. We believe that such an unbiased review of the case would lead to a dismissal of the charges against Alexander Nikitin, and ask that you take steps to see that such a review is conducted. We see this case as extremely significant. Thank you for your consideration of our views.

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Re: Minor Language Note
by nobody＠neva.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tim May wrote: >>> While it was not Tim's intention to make Jim look like a criminal, >>> the use of a defendent's full name is often used to connote >>> criminality. >>> >>> Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, John Wayne Gacy, Richard >>> Milhous Nixon, William Jefferson Clinton... there are many >>> examples. > >George Washington Carver, James Fennimore Cooper, Richard Dean >Anderson, Clare Booth Luce, Robert Anton Wilson, Francis Scott Key,..... We don't usually think of these people as defendants. >(Sometimes people have three names, sometimes two names, popularly >used. Criminality has little to do with it. For example, Richard >Speck, Charles Manson, John Walker, Aldrich Ames, Ted Kaczynski, >Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols. Most of them presumably have middle >names.) I did not say that the use of middle names was required for defendants. >Oh, and as to divining what Tim's "intention" was, this mindreading >and psychoanalysis shtick is getting old. My opening sentence was intended to be friendly. It was supposed make clear that it was not suggested that you thought Jim Bell was a criminal. Certainly that was obvious, but a little redundancy never hurts. It looks like the meaning didn't convey properly, so I'm sorry if I seemed to be psychoanalyzing you. It's generally considered courteous to call people by the name they wish to be called. Jim Bell seems to go by the name "Jim Bell". (This would not hold if somebody makes an inappropriate request such as asking to be addressed as "James Dalton Bell, Defender of the Faith, God of Vengeance, and Lord of the Universe.") Back to the original point, I believe that it's hard to find instances in which two-named people are involuntarily converted to three-named people when they are not charged with a crime. Lee Oswald became "Lee Harvey Oswald" after the Kennedy Assassination, for example. I've also noticed that Wardens have a marked tendency to refer to inmates on death row by their first name, even when speaking publicly. As in, "Don's death was very upsetting as it was obviously very painful." (Paraphrased from a real example.) I believe the wardens are expressing a few things with this name choice. One is that they have complete power over the inmate. Teachers call children by their first names, and it seems to me that there is an element of that here. (Admittedly, this is a troubling image.) Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGpi1JaWtjSmRH/5AQEsLwf9H4ZmvsVVkQgh9WU/HOUZYdet7+9p9nBf frvYBTgRNoOPiM0pl7Yusl/GhAK6nhCpEb0dCUaWjFLW889I5CyvrbqkzWoA6tj0 k5ULieQs390JEzGAn1LEkvzUCjlEBn5WFgpzJCFYzWpAMaQPT6qcczRIXqoCPG7l R822+EBuL9eikWruy+8V6Bt45mQyB/aHemhmIa/V4YKCn7mc8FmfZ/qQHknaPdFP wJz3cXmw1im4Br/0UkLv9bD2CfZCqcq74VpbujMvUFnsAOmbrWJVqlSV+Gs1MDXf Zli7VCarhzAU9j4sPU9gbTBYsuApRYd8IrJtvOfQcDDMw0dEd9/tjA== =Az6E -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Mad as Hell
by Blanc 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim May wrote: >Colorado state Senator Charles Duke, also in the studio audience, >spoke about the 10th Amendment Sovereignty Resolution, a modern >version of Magna Carta designed to force a constitutional showdown >with the federal government. This sounds interesting! This is what I had in mind, in that other thread about "What Will Revolution Look Like" >[...]A merchandise ine with caps, t-shirts with the blazing >l "Mad As Hell" logo is also planned. However, this is unfortunate. Trinkets like these may bring in useful and needed funds, but they take away from the seriousness of the effort, from the respect the cause deserves. They make the wearers look like weenies playing a child's game, rather than serious individuals in their rights minds with the concentration and commitment to do important work for the purpose at hand. (In a silly mood, I could see a gathering of such supporters in a large, crowded courtroom, all wearing T-shirts saying, "It's *ShowTime* !!!" ) .. Blanc

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Re: Tim May's offensive racism (was: about RC4)
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Anonymous of EFGA wrote: >This illustrates what a liability the poster has become to the cypherpunks. >The group is becoming just another militia front, identified with racism >and white supremacy, applauding violent murder of government agents, >one step from applauding the Oklahoma killings. Its original purpose >all but forgotten, the list has died, poisoned by the hatred flowing from >its leader. Wait a minute, that list is way too short. This list is far more diversely mean-spirited, and venomously hilarious, than that. It offers a lot more hatred and humor than you give credit for, or maybe can enjoy. All praise to Tim, beloved mad as hell assassin, he's one of the sharpest killer humorists-satirists here, call's the jokes and the buffoons as he sees them, insults hot shot leaders and fawning beggars indiscriminately. Hate and love on both Glocks. Check the anarchives: Tim's no leader, says it often, proves it more so by destroying anyone who pretends to be, scares off anyone who tries to suck up to him for protection, and promises to kill (filter) the bloodsuckers if they send PGPed tips. Kill them with ridicule for not thinking for themselves, paying their own way, lapping others' blood and brains. If that doesn't work he tells a public joke about their overtures. Then the anon shits fly. Is he not these very days razzing the big iron folks, taunting the tank in Tienamen Square? We'll yet see some anon turds for this, too, maybe yours is one. Some have weird sense of playfulness, cut your throat to see you flop. Call you a leader, a bullseye target. Hettinga, helluva beloved Bob, another bleeding edge satirist, self-flagellator for philo-fun and E$, this is adose of clap also for your exemplary rant of a schtick of a buffoonery of a calling them as you deadeyedly see them miraging the desert of Maine.

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