December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Building in Big Brother, from The Netly News
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- http://cgi.pathfinder.com/netly/opinion/0,1042,1385,00.html The Netly News Network (http://netlynews.com/) September 10, 1997 Building in Big Brother By Declan McCullagh (declan(a)well.com) The U.S. Congress, bowing to law enforcement demands for more wiretap powers, is preparing to approve a scheme that endangers the personal freedom of every American. Nobody doubts that wiretaps are useful tools for law enforcement agents. FBI Director Louis Freeh, who as a young agent built his career on them, knows this well. But Freeh's plan would expand the FBI's eavesdropping ability by building Big Brother into every word processor, every e-mail program and every web browser. All computer software distributed after 1998 would have a special, secret backdoor for government access to your most private files. Even your Internet provider would be deputized as a cyber-snoop. It's the technological equivalent of requiring that every homeowner turn over a spare copy of his front door key to the FBI. This is the same FBI that has a long and disturbing history of abusing Americans' privacy. As director, J. Edgar Hoover built a successful career out of illegal wiretaps, secret files and political blackmail. Hoover despised Martin Luther King, Jr. -- branding him an "obsessive degenerate" -- and once sent him an anonymous letter, using information gathered through illegal surveillance, to encourage the depressed civil rights leader to commit suicide. Hoover's legacy? Having the FBI headquarters bear his name today. [...]

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Re: Renaming TEA remailer
by Antonomasia 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Alex de Joode <adejoode(a)replay.com>: > Do they own the trademark in the UK ? If not you can still use > Anonymizer for whatever service you are providing in the UK. Don't know, don't care. There was a Nice Thing To Do. (Don't forget Lance Cottrell is connected with Infonex, and without him we wouldn't have mixmaster remailers to run.) -- ############################################################## # Antonomasia ant(a)notatla.demon.co.uk # # See http://www.notatla.demon.co.uk/ # ##############################################################

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Re: economic espionage (@#$%^&*)
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>>> >It was said that Pres. Clinton had given a speech while >>> >visiting the CIA HQ in Langley/Virginia. He allegedly >>> >said in this speech that obtaining industrial >>> >informations has the highest priority and this were the >>> >new task for the spies. Dr. John Deutsch, speaking to the National Press Club, also mentioned economic espionage, with the State Department as a primary customer, but was concerned about definitions of goals, etc. He did reassure the NPC that the CIA would continue to work with drug dealers and corrupt South American military and other scum who have information to sell, as well as cooperating more closely with the FBI and DEA, but on the other hand he does apparently view domestic operations as clearly outside the CIA's job. One set of content in his speech was the planned combination of the various satellite data interpretation organizations into one group of CIA/Pentagon/NRO/NSA/etc. ObCrypto: One questioner asked him about the growing use of encoding and would the CIA be able to keep up eavesdropping on people. "We're very good at eavesdropping" was his main reply; he did acknowledge that there was an issue but didn't go into the party line about needing to have escrow to get GAK. Clinton, meanwhile, reassured guests at a $1000/plate fundraising lunch that the Republicans' economic plans would mainly affect the poor and wouldn't trouble the rich too much... :-) #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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Cypherpunks Bay Area Meeting, This Satuday September 13th
by Hugh Daniel 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

What: Cypherpunks September 1997 Bay Area Meeting When: Saturday September 13, 12 noon till 5pm Where: PGP World Headquarters, 2nd floor meeting room Bayview Bank Building, just south of Hwy. 92 2121 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo California http://www.pgp.com/pgpcorp/contactpgp.cgi#head Agenda: Forbes Article background, everyone Cypherpunks at HIP'97, Lucky Green, David Del Torto Ecash announcement, Jeremey Barrett, BlueMoney Software Corp. Linux Onion Router, Jeremey Barrett Diffie-Helman Free of Patent, ??? New FBI Anti-Crypto Bill, how to react, everyone Domain name conference report, John Gilmore Attacks on US remailers etc., Bill Stewart ??? After: Eat dinner somewhere yet to be decided... PGP Building Access: This is an Open Meeting on US Soil and it is free for anyone to attend. There is a minor building security formality due to the facilities being in a bank building: anytime after 12 noon, approach the Bayview Building's Information window (in the plaza, see below for directions), and ask the Guard on Duty to let you up to the 2nd Floor for the Cypherpunks meeting (use the passphrase "cypherpunks release code"). If you have any difficulty (eg. if the guard is on a break), simply call DDT at +1 415 730 3583 he I'll let you in. You can arrive at any time during the scheduled meeting hours, though earlier is better if you want to hear the interesting stuff.

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Re: Another Netscape Bug (and possible security hole)
by Halvor Kise jr. 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- On Fri, 22 Sep 1995, Ray Cromwell wrote: > I've found a Netscape bug which I suspect is a buffer overflow and > may have the potential for serious damage. If it is an overflow bug, > then it may be possible to infect every computer which accesses a web > page with Netscape. To see the bug, create an html file containing > the following: Yes! Nice! At last I can include a big Netrape icon on my homepage. Maybye with the text "Netscape users, click here.." All the link does is to crash netscape... At last! Thanks Ray! :-) - - Halvor. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: PGP Signed with PineSign 2.0 iQCVAwUBMGJlamzoaW8/SAL5AQGGigP/Q0K5tT8pAxNp7xigYP3r8WB6oxQXa7n1 G6L9umkfIBhPeZ9hFhCmSNvZLds31qoczl9QW2u+kSV10QYBuDsTlW56R9Hjh6PM /U5h6Ig9eD3jcf74388YEw4iUyKT+kNbcYSiCCvcK22MdA3T8W5ZXpg7f9ODaLSk uVZBl+pEA3Q= =HBzy -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- *** MEMENTO MORI *** PGP-key by fingering halvork(a)frodo.hiof.no http://www.hiof.no/~halvork/ * Support The Phil Zimmermann legal defense fund * http://www.netresponse.com/zldf

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Firefly Welcome
by Firefly 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

----------------- Welcome to Firefly: Thank you for becoming a Firefly Passport holder and a member of our community. Every month we'll be updating you on what Firefly is up to and the latest benefits of your Firefly Passport. We'll even point out the people you can meet and places you can experience in a way that is completely personalized for you. Here are September's highlights: - BARNESANDNOBLE.COM goes live with personalized book recommendations. Get a SNEAK PREVIEW and your own recommendations at <http://members.barnesandnoble.com/books>. - PERSONALIZATION WITH PRIVACY: Find out more about OPS, a standard for supporting web privacy proposed by Firefly, Netscape, and Microsoft, in the OPS resource center <http://www.firefly.net/OPS/index.html>. - TEST DRIVE new applications showcasing Firefly technology in the Studio <http://www.firefly.net/studio/index.html>. - CHECK OUT the latest news on our products at <http://www.firefly.net/Home.html>, currently being used by companies like Barnes & Noble, Yahoo!, and Ziff-Davis. Firefly firmly believes that you are in control. If at any time you want to remove yourself from this mailing list, simply send an email to unsubcribe(a)welcome.firefly.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Looking forward to seeing you online. Sincerely, Pamela LaTulippe Director, Customer Support Firefly

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Income Tax Reform
by Jon D. Luman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A great way to reform the Federal Income Tax is to file and start enjoying your exempt status (you qualify if born in one of the 50 states). Then, these taxes will no longer apply to you. If enough people exercised their right to their exempt status, the government would have to live within it's means. Get details at: http://FutureGate.com/tax_buster ............................................... To be removed from future mailings, send to remove@futuregate,com with Remove in the subject line.

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[Fwd: Fwd: Engineers] Fwd: Engineers
by EFF 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Crypto-czar nominated for Commerce Dept undersecretary (fwd)
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 10 Sep 1997 16:26:04 -0700 (PDT) From: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> To: fight-censorship(a)vorlon.mit.edu Subject: Crypto-czar nominated for Commerce Dept undersecretary Clinton Nominates Aaron to Commerce Department Post WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- President Clinton today announced his intent to nominate Ambassador David L. Aaron for the position of Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce. Aaron, of Sag Harbor, N.Y., has extensive experience in both national and international issues. Since 1993, he has served as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 1996, the White House announced his appointment as Special Envoy for Cryptography, giving him the responsibility of promoting the growth of international electronic commerce and robust, secure global communications in a manner that protects the public safety and national security. In 1962, Aaron entered the Foreign Service where he served in a variety of posts including NATO, the United Nations, and the Strategic Arms talks. After leaving the Foreign Service, he continued in government at the National Security Council, on the staff of Sen. Walter Mondale, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Carter. Upon leaving government, Aaron became vice president for mergers and acquisitions at Oppenheimer and Co. Prior to becoming ambassador, he was a senior fellow at the Twentieth Century Fund, served on the board of the National Democratic Institute and the International League for Human Rights, and was a member of the Overseas Development Council and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a recipient of the National Defense Medal, the Pentagon's highest civilian award, and the author of three novels. Aaron is a graduate of Occidental College and Princeton University. As head of the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, Aaron will be responsible for policies and programs that promote world trade and strengthen the international trade and investment position of the United States.

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

17 Dec '03

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

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