December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

DOJ Computer Seizure Guidelines
by bart＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Seen on comp.society.privacy. This document was obtained by an FOIA suit by EPIC. I ftp'd from the cpsr.org but even at 2:30 a.m. PST the 315 Kbytes took an excruciating 481 seconds. For those on netcom its on /ftp/pub/ba/bart easily available, if others can get through to ftp.netcom.com at least the transfer might be faster than cpsr. Encrypted information is dealt with on pps 54-55 in particular. I'll leave conclusions to our lawyerly types.

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Pseudo-anon Ecash with GAK -- Sandia Proposal
by L. McCarthy 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

While browsing through the program for the 6th annual ACM-SIAM SODA (http://www.netlib.org/confdb/soda95/prog.html) which concludes today in SF, I noticed the following scheduled for this morning: 8:55 Trustee-based Tracing Extensions to Anonymous Cash and the Making of Anonymous Change Ernie Brickell, Peter Gemmell and David Kravitz, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque I haven't been able to find a pointer to an actual paper, but I did find an abstract of sorts at http://www.cs.sandia.gov/HPCCIT/el_cash.html. Their proposal purports to elaborate the notion of GAK ("key escrow") to cover an otherwise-anonymous ecash system, according to my reading of this. Caveat emptor. Here's an extended excerpt of the doublespeech: "We introduce the first electronic cash system that incorporates trustee-based tracing, while provably protecting user anonymity. This effort expands on provably anonymous electronic cash systems. Our system maintains completely provable user anonymity with the exception that, only with the cooperation of several publicly appointed trustees (e.g. key-escrow agents), the government can trace a user's spending with certainty, determining to whom the user gave his/her money and how much s/he gave. The trustees can answer the question of whether a particular payment was made by a particular user, without revealing any additional information. This allows for authorized forward and backward tracing that does not impinge on the privacy of anyone other than the parties of the one transaction in question. Some of our trustee-based tracing require no tamper-resistant hardware, and all can be implemented as either on-line or off-line systems." Electronic cash is a subject of great economic, political, and research importance. With advances in computer networks, in processor speed, and in databases, and with advances in note counterfeiting technology and with both individuals' and businesses' desire for remote and more convenient financial transactions, some forms of electronic cash are likely to become widespread within 5 to 10 years. Although unconditionally anonymous electronic cash systems have been proposed in the literature, governmental and financial institutions are unwilling to back a completely anonymous system. Their reasons for opposing complete untraceability have to do with the containment of user fraud and the desire to restrict the new kinds of crime that unrestricted, remotely withdrawable, and spendable electronic cash could facilitate. Because of the necessary concern over crime control, they have previously proposed systems with little or no protection for the users' privacy. Our system provides the capability required by government for crime control while maintaining privacy for all other users." -L. Futplex McCarthy; PGP key by finger or server; I'm seeking an internship/ job for summer 1995 --- BS CS Cornell / 2 yrs. MS-level work in algebraic algorithms, Ph.D. planned --- send private email for resume etc.

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New anonymous remailer.
by Craig A. Johnston 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Ok, I'm happy to announce a new anonymous remailer, the Tower Anonymous Remailer, at remailer(a)tower.techwood.org Standard cpunks remailer, installed from the remailer installation script 1.01 from ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, supporting pgp. Here's the server's public key, which I have submitted to io.com: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQBNAy8iqAQAAAECALHjiFPr7Is0NptniDkYJ9UnRFM3Pn9Lz7mrPd58uo/EPMF5 bm3TjfAmdMlw2oBTtm7Ch3dsfBY44XEEwzVRkb0ABRG0NlRvd2VyIEFub255bW91 cyBSZW1haWxlciA8cmVtYWlsZXJAdG93ZXIudGVjaHdvb2Qub3JnPg== =Rfb5 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Response times should be good. (Note that my network's connection to the backbone is being changed in the next few days, and this may affect things in the meantime.) Anyplace else I should submit the key for maximal exposure? How might I go about being added to the "ping list" ? -- Craig Johnston caj(a)tower.techwood.org

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Re: LOCKSMITH'S GUILD WANTS L
by doumakes＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- tcmay(a)netcom.com (Timothy C. May) wrote: > Again, I'm not claiming anything about PGP making conventional doctors > obsolete. Just the increased freedom of a wide range of services to be > negotiated electronically, without benefit of official guild approvals. > > (This is an actual concern the professional organizations have. They worry > about online medical diagnoses, about "unlicensed" consultants, and about > data bases over which they have no jurisdiction.) I certainly agree with your implication, that professional groups can and sometimes do use licensing to restrain trade, with an eye toward feathering their own nests. But I don't buy your other implication, that it is a Good Thing to unleash the unlicensed. Licensing serves, or should serve, a public good under the following conditions: (a) consumers don't have the information necessary to make an informed choice between professionals, and (b) it is pretty fucking important that the job be done right. Doesn't make any sense to license those who program video games. DOES make sense to license those who design skyscrapers. Now, there are ways to alleviate the consumer's lack of knowledge. In my former racket (professional nursing), there is a lot of talk about benchmarking: comparing patient outcomes at different hospitals and publicizing the results. Market forces could then react to a nice, measurable reputation. But what about new, untested, solo practitioners? What about the architect whose buildings are all going to fall down, ten years from now? Even with well-publicized reputations, the consumer doesn't have the necessary information to keep from getting hurt. In those circumstances, it's useful to have standards, and a trusted public agency that certifies a person meets the standards. - -- ______________________________________________________________________ Don Doumakes Finger doumakes(a)netcom.com for PGP public key Foxpro databases built to your specifications. Email me for details. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBLyWC1xtumcu2AjihAQGnRAP/UYqpg7gUpAyt7CMHgAUSApGHi9AFOJON UPns4os25F2B7op0uCdOQibbTJTUO5cjcDnpZ1VoYD00dFVN64IhoL/vYasoI1LV xm/grDW2bd4NKfOIYvbdYYwp8/BxtvCp9p8fGNksmHyWBPV017qieEo2rTHxuOWM lLwwSQYPp4o= =TW+P -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Here's what will happen to U.S. based remailers
by Brad Dolan 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I just got a call. Supposedly Clinton just pulled an executive order out of his navel last night, confiscating the assets of 12 "terrorist groups" and 18 disfavored people. CNN is reporting a few of the names, but not all. The ones they mention are associated with groups like "Islamic Jihad". These groups are hard to defend, but if he can do it to them today, he can do it to you tomorrow. My old German acquaintance says that Hitler used to do this, issuing midnight decrees to seize property, make new prohibitions, etc. I assume that the Republican congress approves of what Bill is doing, or they would be impeaching him. After November 8, I thought we had a couple of years of breathing room. Now, I'm not so sure.

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Clinton freezes U.S. assets of Mideast groups
by joshua geller 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

here's something I found in my mailbox: ___ WASHINGTON (Reuter) - President Clinton has ordered a freeze on the U.S. assets of 12 Middle East ``terrorist'' groups, the White House said Tuesday. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton had signed an executive order ``to block the assets in the United States of certain terrorist organizations that threaten to disrupt the peace process'' in the Middle East. ``The action will specifically prohibit certain kinds of financial transactions with these groups,'' McCurry said. The groups include Hamas, Hizbollah, Islamic Jihad, Abu Nidal, Black September, the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Kach, the Palestine Liberation Front, and the Islamic Group, McCurry said. He did not name the others, but said there would be more information released at a 2 p.m. EST White House briefing with officials from the Treasury, State and Justice departments and the National Security Council. Under the order, charitable contributions to these groups in the United States will also be blocked, McCurry said. He said Clinton had also frozen the U.S. assets of 18 individuals suspected of involvement in Middle East terrorism, but McCurry did not name them. Clinton signed the order Monday night and it took effect at midnight EST the same day, McCurry said. He said the president acted under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Clinton plans to discuss the matter in his State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night, McCurry said. ``One of the things the president will address in the State of the Union tonight is the new world in which we live, in which there are new types of threats to our security and to global security,'' he told reporters in his office. ``We just had a very painful and tragic reminder of that in Israel in recent days, and that's the impact of terrorism,'' McCurry said, referring to a weekend terrorist bombing that killed 18 Israeli soldiers and a civilian. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing. McCurry said the decision was the result of a detailed and lengthy review within the U.S. government of how to combat terrorism. The goal was to make it harder for these groups to finance their activities by cutting off their U.S. sources of support and blocking their access to the U.S. financial system, he said. Clinton is also preparing anti-terrorist legislation, McCurry said. ``We do need additional legislation that would further assist the efforts to combat terrorism, and the president will soon send the Congress a comprehensive anti-terrorism package that would stregnthen our ability to prevent terrorist acts, to identify those who perpetrate violent acts and bring them to justice,'' McCurry said.

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Australian Constitution (and more) on FTP
by rishab＠dxm.ernet.in 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

dave(a)esi.com.au > Obviously - it's handy having an on-line copy of the Australian > Constitution. Anyone want a copy? I don't run an FTP site. I posted something to this effect ages ago: ftp://wiretap.spies.com/Gov/World/australia.con The same directory contains constitutions and charters of many countries, from China to Slovakia, as well as the covenant of the Hamas, and the Magna Carta. Other useful data on Wiretap include various UN documents, international charters and treaties, and loads of (particularly US, but also other) legislation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rishab Aiyer Ghosh "In between the breaths is rishab(a)dxm.ernet.in the space where we live" rishab(a)arbornet.org - Lawrence Durrell Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410 Voicemail +91 11 3760335 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA

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Clinton's Executive Order
by slowdog 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Anyone know just what the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is, and what else a President could in theory do with it? - dog

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Re: Here's what will happen to U.S. based remailers
by shamrock＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 9:11 AM 1/24/95, Brad Dolan wrote: >I just got a call. Supposedly Clinton just pulled an executive order >out of his navel last night, confiscating the assets of 12 "terrorist >groups" and 18 disfavored people. CNN is reporting a few of the names, >but not all. The ones they mention are associated with groups like >"Islamic Jihad". These groups are hard to defend, but if he can do it >to them today, he can do it to you tomorrow. > >My old German acquaintance says that Hitler used to do this, issuing >midnight decrees to seize property, make new prohibitions, etc. Many years ago, I read a poem by a German priest that stated that the Nazis first start with the groups that nobody likes, then those that most people don't like, until at last they knock on your door. The more things change, the more they stay the same? -- Lucky Green <shamrock(a)netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred.

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Money and Banking
by kkirksey＠world.std.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Message-Id: <v01510103ab4996dfb4fc@DialupEudora> This came to me from the Laissez Faire mailing list. Looks like this book might present a good case for non-government e-cash. Ken ---------------------------------------------- A powerful case for "free banking"-- government failure far worse than market failure MONEY AND BANKING The American Experience George Edward Durell Foundation introduction by Clifford F. Thies (reviewed by Jim Powell) This comprehensive history of American banking helps show why the most serious monetary crises occur because of government failures, not market failures. Consequently, we need less government intervention in banking, not more. Ultimate objective: "free banking" which would enable everyone to be best-protected by open competition. Contributors here include many leading lights of "free banking" scholarship and central bank criticism: Kevin Dowd, Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, Dwight Lee, J. Huston McCulloch, Joseph T. Salerno, Anna J. Schwartz, George A. Selgin, Richard Timberlake and Lawrence H. White. Their papers--10 altogether--were originally presented at the 1990 Durell Conference on Money and Banking. They cover the entire history of banking in the United States. They show why, contrary to conventional dogmas, "free banks" were remarkably dependable and gained widespread acceptance for their banknotes... how private bank clearinghouse associations helped maintain overall stability while disciplining bad bankers. The authors go on to make clear why banking crises resulted from government intervention... how states undermined "free banks" by forcing them to load up with state government debt, often defaulted on... four ways Civil War era federal banking laws hobbled the U.S. banking system... how government-enforced unit banking (no branches permitted) promoted bank failures, especially in agricultural and mining regions... why government deposit insurance triggered conflagrations of corruption and banking crises... why U.S. banking was decidedly more stable before the advent of the Federal Reserve System--and how it caused chronic inflation as well as crushing depression. This book shares many other revealing insights as well. For example, why the Supreme Court once ruled that legal tender laws violate the Fifth Amendment... how, despite their wretched failures, Federal Reserve officials successfully lobbied for even more power over banking and the economy. Excellent material here. "Virtually all major monetary and banking problems in U.S. history appear to have their root cause in government interference of some sort. The major historical banking problems-- banking instability before the Civil War, banking instability, recurrent financial crisis, the inelastic currency, and the stunted growth of U.S. banking after the Civil War; the banking instability of the 1920's and the banking collapses of the 1930's, and the failures of historical and contemporary liability insurance schemes--can all be traced to a great or lesser extent to government interference in banking." --Kevin Dowd in *Money and Banking* Book No. CB6245 (hardcover) 271p. publisher's price $59.50 LAISSEZ FAIRE PRICE ONLY $29.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please send this review to anyone who you think might be interested ------------------------------------------------------------------- *Money and Banking* will be available from Laissez Faire this week. You can order it now. Call toll-free 1-800-326-0996 or (415) 541-9780, fax (415) 541-0597 or write to: Laissez Faire Books, Dept. L41, 938 Howard St., #202, San Francisco, CA, 94103. To order via E-MAIL: Simply reply to LFB(a)panix.com, or write to Eric Shoemaker, our customer service manager, at 74741.2631(a)compuserve.com. For your security, you might want to first call and leave us your credit card information and mailing address. (If you're already a customer we probably have it.) After that you can order at anytime by e-mail using only your name and the zip code of the address we have on file. (Your zip code will verify your identity.) We will process your order using the card and address we have. (If you would prefer to pay by check, you can join our pay-in-advance book club, and order in the same way. Call or e-mail for details.) * Every order comes with a surprise free gift * 30-day money back guarantee You can pay for your order with a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover, or with a check or money order. Include $4.35 for shipping. California residents must include sales tax. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let me know. Thanks, Chris ------------------------------------------------------- Chris Whitten LFB(a)panix.com Laissez Faire Books 1-800-326-0996 ---The world's largest selection of books on liberty--- ------------------------------------------------------- Ask me about free Book News e-mail list, print catalog, http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/lf/Laissez-Faire.html -------------------------------------------------------

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