December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

None Murder, Inc. (was "Deterrence")
by nobody＠alpha.c2.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> In my essay, "Assassination Politics," I pointed out that it would be > relatively easy to deter such official-type actions if enough of us simply > said, "NO!" and denominated it in terms of dollars and cents. After all, > with four million Compuserve users, if they each were willing to donate a > penny to see this latter-day Fuhrer dead, that would be $40,000. (Pardon > me if I don't translate this into marks and other currencies.) > > In practice, of course, if such a system were in place, it is highly > unlikely that he would have even dared try to put pressure on Compuserve, > and Compuserve wouldn't have dared respond cooperatively to such > outrageous influence. In reality, four million compuserve users would not donate a penny each. It is likely that a few hundred people who felt strongly about the cause (and didn't mind a little bloodshed) might be willing to put up funds in amounts of around $20. Of course nobody would want to advertise under their real name that they have a contract out on some gummint agent. This would require the existance of a "Murder, Inc." as an escrow agent for the money. (There would likely be several such agents as it it unlikely people would trust just one.) Each person would give the escrow agent their contribution toward the elimination of the gummint troublemaker. Anyone who was willing to do the hit could post an encrypted claim, in advance, stating the time and date or method he plans to use, and where to send payment. Once the act was done, the hitman posts the decryption key so that everyone can see that he did it, and he collects the money. If after some reasonable amount of time, nobody takes out the gubmint asswipe, then the escrow agent returns all the money. It's quite feasable, and not especially difficult. The hardest thing is convincing people that the escrow agent is trustworthy, and to convince people that they really want to pay to have someone murdered. There is something a little chilling about that thought... On the other hand, the US government seems to feel that it's okay to kill people if they can get away with it (Ruby Ridge, Waco, that guy in California (forgot his name) who got shot on his ranch over bogus drug charges, etc.) So although murder is a Bad Thing(tm), the gubmint has set a very bad precedent in making it look "okay". Hence it becomes "okay" for people to do the same to them (for example the recent Oklahoma incident). It's okay for the government to randomly pick on innocent people to make a statement, hence it becomes okay to derail random trains to make a statement. (For the record, I am absolutely not defending what those people did to that Amtrak train in Arizona, just pointing out the psycology of it. If you're mad at the government then fucking kill some government people - What the hell did the amtrak passengers do to you?) Unfortunately it seems to be becoming okay to pick on random people to make an unrelated point (or just boost your ego) The government is using this tactic too, for example pick on a few porno collectors to demonstrate your "authority" in cyberspace. Same thing with picking on random gun owners to make a statement against RKBA. So maybe it will become popular to kill a random politician (or anyone) just to make a statement against the government. This is turning into a rant. I'll shut up now.

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Is Dr Fred Cohen a Loon???
by Anonymous User 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Trolling for Flames(just another anonymous poster destroying the 'net) :) The Subject says it all... I believe Fred suffers from a severely inflated ego and suffers from the "false expert" syndrome detailed by various self-help orgs... what say you fred?? Another anon poster destroying the integrity of the net

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Positive Implications of the Compuserve Moves
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 3:54 PM 12/30/95, tallpaul wrote: >Among the other effects *already* visible, the decision has: > >1) Led to an enormous amount of anti-net publicity by incompetent editors >on the national news; On the positive side, I've heard some commentators (mainly on CNBC, and all-business news channel) ask pointed questions, and note that if every country imposes its own standards on the Internet/Usenet, then the implications are dire. The strong reaction developing against Compuserve could rebound to the benefit of killing off the Exon/Hyde language, in the best of all situations. (The Telecom Bill is still being thrashed out, and the CS controversy may remind folks of the implications of their actions.) >4) Promoted more dishonesty as a perfectly reasonable and perfectly >acceptable means of engaging in social discourse; I predict Compuserve will lose so much of what little respect they have eked out amongst Internet users that they will be eventually forced to provide the 200 dropped newsgroups, issue an apology, and probably retire or reassign a few executives as a show of public remorse. You heard it hear first. And many users are seeing the problems with monolithic, primitive ISPs like Compuserve, AOL, Prodigy, etc., and are moving to get "real" Net connections. This is a Good Thing. >Finally, I am not sure that Carp's economic analysis of the CompuServe >decision is correct. The large internet service providers (LISP) form an >oligopoly and, I think, the LISP all abandon hopes that they can become a LISP? (define CompuserveSucks (lambda () (display ".") (CompuserveSucks))) (CompuserveSucks) Recurses, foiled again! --Tim May 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, Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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January meeting
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi all, Just a reminder that the next general meeting will be held on January 7, 1996 from 6-8pm at the Central Market HEB on N. Lamar at 42nd. We will be discussing further issues related to the video and setting a schedule of meetings and deadlines for various production points. Hope to see you folks there! Jim Choate

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Re: CHU_chu Search Engines, Branded Communities
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

riverrun John Young writes: > 12-29-95. FinTimes: > "Engine of the superhighway" muses on search engines and > branded communities, and how their convergence will > barb-wire lecher Tio Web from wild-legger Tia Juana. > CHU_chu I can't get much out of the second clause above. Much as I truely value John's notices of articles from the paper world, I sometimes wish he would not obfuscate his text. speaking for myself Peter Trei trei(a)process.com riverrun

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Re: Zensoren ueber Alles
by shamrock＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:54 12/30/95, tallpaul wrote: [On the CI$ issue] >I predict it will also be used for additional attacks on issues of >encryption, privacy, and anonymity. That is, I think we will see >statements like "We need to be especially vigilant to make sure that the >perverts are not smuggling banned material into the country via the >internet. This means we have to block encryption, monitor user accounts >even more carefully for potential perverts, etc. etc. Nothing new here. Pornography and the other Three Horsemen will be use to ban the spread of 'dangerous' thoughts on the Internet. This was clear years ago. Let me emphasize a few facts: o Non-GAK Encryption will be outlawed. o 'Immoral' texts and pictures will be banned. o The dissemination of 'dangerous ideas' will become a felony. At best, Cypherpunks can hope to provide the infrastructure that will allow an underground to communicate semi-securely. We are unable to stop the global tidal wave of fascism. Let's not waste our time on bemoaning the freedoms crushed in its path. We have more important work to do. -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred.

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Re: (fwd) DigiCash licencing?
by James A. Donald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Jyri Kaljundi <jk(a)digit.ee> wrote: > Does anyone know about the terms and costs of licencing ecash software? I > have tried contacting DigiCash directly with these questions, but have > got no answers This experience (total lack of coherent response from Digicash) seems to be widespread, on many issues. The answer to your question has to be decided by DigiCash on a case by case basis, and they are not noted for thinking on their feet. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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PLA_gue Germ Terrorism
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

12-30-95. To update the list of terrorist threats, the Wash Post reports on the purchase in May of bubonic plague germs by "white supremacist" Larry Wayne Harris, his bust by the FBI and germ teams, prosecutors amazement that possession of such deadly micro-organisms is not illegal, and the consequent plea bargain of wire fraud with probation. The article explains that possession of "terrorist" mites is not prohibited due to a legal loophole which allows scientific trade in wee supremacists. There are calls for outlawing the meat-eaters by closing the gap in the anti-terrorism bill before Congress. But scientists say how dare you spit in our nanodeath soup. It notes that offshore spread is Commerce regulated. BTW, why this story now about summer events? For the anti-terrorist bill, TLA-plague growth, any germ any? PLA_gue

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Re: Massey, CEO of Compuserve, on Internet
by Gary Howland 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Peter D. Junger wrote: > > One should also notice that Bavaria is only one state in the German > Federal Republic; this case is more like Texas investigating > Compuserve than the United States federal government investigating > Compuserve. Bavaria is the stronghold of what can properly be called > the (Catholic) Religious Right in Germany. It should also be noticed > that in general German publications and television seem to be less > constrained in publishing materials that in the United States would be > called ``indecent'' by some than are United States publications and > broadcasters. > In some areas they may be a tad more liberal, but in general they are not. They do indeed have laws preventing freedom of speech (especially with regard to right wing politics, the holocaust etc.) Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that all German ISPs do not carry various political/controversial newsgroups such as alt.revisionism due to legal reasons. A more serious problem for those of us in EU countries is that the German government have influence on other EU states - only a week or two ago they tried to push through European wide legislation restricting freedom of speech. Gary - -- "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence." -- US Supreme Court Justive Louis Brandeis - --- [This message has been signed by an auto-signing service. A valid signature means only that it has been received at the address corresponding to the signature and forwarded.] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Gratis auto-signing service iQBFAwUBMOWKESoZzwIn1bdtAQEBQwGA1jg9rwAJgB/PlkzItUp4JOjScswcqxR5 hqSJK/rj2o6cNN7Z9OGVD8+9VMJi7BEp =XTJn -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: last straw
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 07:34 AM 12/30/95 -0800, you wrote: >I've decided to cancel my CrampuNerve account and send the weasels a msg to >telling them why. I encourage everyone here to do the same with your CI$ >account (if you still have one). These [insert colorful expletive here]s >only understand one thing: cold ca$h. Thus, the only effective way to send >them an indication of one's displeasure at their poor precedent-setting is >to vote with one's wallet. > >Any who are still unfortunate enough to rely on CI$ for Internet/Usenet >access are getting reamed price-wise anyway, not to mention suffering poor >reliability and now access, so maybe a few of them could also take this >opportunity to migrate to an ISP with some real "backbone." I don't have a CSERVE account, and never have. But yesterday, I called a friend (who has such an account) I talk to every two weeks or so. The conversation went something like this: "Hi Greg." "Hi Jim." "I suggest that you get rid of your Comp..." (he cuts me off in mid-sentence, anticipating the entire subject of the call) "I'm doing that as we speak, Jim" "...because they just..." (I continued the thought, but he cut me off again) "That's EXACTLY why I'm doing it, Jim." (mutual laughter as we realize the irony of the situation.) Somehow, I think Compuserve is going to get the message.

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