December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Science News - article on Quantum Crypto
by David E. Smith 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- The new Science News that showed up in today's mail has a short but informative article on quantum cryptography. It explains what quantum crypto is for us newbies and gives the history of a recent success in Lake Geneva (Switzerland, not Wisconsin) - an encrypted message was sent 22.7 km over fiber-optic cable successfully. It's a nice article. dave -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBMSLAYzVTwUKWHSsJAQHAPQf6A4h68OSIUK7qOkZVrZByDg/1VGZweiti 3FpCGC/GHqZ9jZwJJOVqx7DucWEeXkeJtnepQsGr+SB/RBEnBfPwpkbSAS0wQnMX D9mUR/p8yRPVWA8baodcG8NRWd4CMiA2+x/vxJEht6/gUx5YfSNQ5wOWQWA1AN4U 5BH/yqSe53m6Rm4h5r3z7ve9OU37wd1gjDgmqwRsiN2UsyZ035om63cPqqMFTIfd 0+PX+cQxag2tz1AXcwwyMpkKhKEmRL3FvW0eyOKXS0b9EcuYRPBEBLDmXzJnIaId lt9EN4iyRgbux4S3M4OmMJB80kaTK2TPurb2fFO+LeuJJdnWa6MfGw== =jLBT -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ----- David E. Smith, c/o Southeast Missouri State University 1000 Towers Circle South MS 1210 Cape Girardeau MO 63701 dsmith(a)midwest.net, dsmith(a)alpha.c2.org, PGP 0x961D2B09 (573)339-3814 http://www.midwest.net/scribers/dsmith/ "Reality is only for those lacking in true imagination."

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Re: The Internet Party
by jamesd＠echeque.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 01:01 PM 2/14/96 -0800, Brian D Williams wrote: >Why not form our own Party? > >The Internet party........ No matter how excellent the people and the goals of such a party: such a party would be a first step to creating a world state. Good intentions, dreadful consequences. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | 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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Safdar and Seiger at EF Forum
by Jon Lebkowsky 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Thursday, February 15, Electronic Frontiers Forum http://www.hotwired.com/club or telnet://chat.wired.com:2428 7PM PST 8PM MST 9PM CST 10PM EST Jonah Seiger and Shabbir Safdar Jonah Seiger is policy analyst/online presence for the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), and Shabbir Safdar is the driving force behind Voters Telecommunication Watch (VTW). Both have worked to track the evolution of the just-passed telecommunications reform bill and other legislation that would negatively impact the existence of a free and open Internet. Join us in Electronic Frontiers with host Jon Lebkowsky on Thursday, 15 February at 7 p.m. PST (Friday, 03:00 GMT). -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Jon Lebkowsky <jonl(a)well.com> http://www.well.com/~jonl Electronic Frontiers Forum, 7PM PST Thursdays <http://www.hotwired.com/club> Vice President, EFF-Austin <http://www.io.com/~efaustin> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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(cpx) secure web page ideas
by John Hemming - CEO MarketNet 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From: Jon Lasser <jlasser(a)rwd.goucher.edu> >For those people who have Netscape / an SSL-enabled web-browser, wouldn't >it be useful to have secure web pages that did the following: >(2) A pgp-sending web page (type in key id into field, send message to > address given, encrypted) This isn't a bad idea for the same reason that > (1) above is a much better idea. >How hard would this be to implement? Would it be worth waiting until the PGP >3.0 API is released? I have been slogging away with my own SSL browser trying to make it crash less frequently (it actually crashes more often than Netscape). Before I started on the latest round of changes I had managed to PGP enable the browser (using my own implementation of PGP) with two web linked functions: a) In the mailto: Link a PGPKEY="ABCDE" field contains the PGP public key of the recipient the program then encrypts the mail before sending it. b) In forms using mailto a similar function acheives the same. I have almost certainly broken the PGP implementation through all the work I have been doing on the code recently although I think I should be able to sort this relatively soon. In other words: It has been done (ish) see ftp://193.119.26.70/mktnet/pub/horse.zip (It also covers 128bit SSL)

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[S1567] Leahy vs CDA
by Dave Del Torto 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[This was Senator Leahy's reply to my mail to him on the CDA. -dave ] >From: Senator_Leahy(a)leahy.senate.gov >Date: Wed, 14 Feb 96 15:52:36 EST >To: ddt(a)lsd.com >Subject: Rule: Re: Thanks, Senator > >I really appreciate getting your message about the so-called >"Communications Decency Act." > >On February 9, I introduced S. 1567, a bill to repeal this misguided >attempt to censor the words used and topics discussed on the Internet. You >can find the text of the bill and a copy of my full statement at: > <http://www.senate.gov/member/vt/leahy/general/protect.html> > >Rather than use the heavy hand of government censorship, I believe we >should encourage parents to use the growing number of technical tools >available to control what their children may access on-line. > >We have a long, hard struggle ahead of us to reverse this misguided law. I >am heartened and encouraged by the outpouring of support from Internet >users all over the country in support of my efforts to protect our First >Amendment rights when we go on-line. We must all keep working to convince >a majority of Senators that we need to approach this whole issue >rationally and sensibly. Grassroots support like yours is important to >make this happen. > >Please stay in touch.

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RE: Re:
by Kurt Buff (Volt Comp) 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>}The United States is a sovereign nation. Do you dispute that ? The >}constitution is a binding agreement between the government and its >citizens >}that determines how that sovereignty will be exercised, the elements in >which >}the nation will not interfere with citizens, and the duties which it will >}carry out. > Haven't read much Lysander Spooner, or merely ignoring him? If the former, try his essay: No Treason: The Consitution of No Authority. You can find it on the web, just use your favorite spider/whatever. If the Constitution is a binding agreement, show me where I signed. A contract requires two things of which I am aware (maybe some others that I am not, since IANAL :-) - Agreement by all signatories, and performance. We have at least one missing item in that list. If you wish to make the argument that since I have paid taxes, I have agreed, then I will most heartily beg to differ. I pay under protest, sometimes silent, sometimes not, but never do I pay willingly. If on the other hand you wish to argue from different grounds, I will listen. But, with all due respect for your opinions (which is considerable, actually) I expected better. Kurt >

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Re: fortune and predictions...
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 08:55 PM 2/14/96 -0500, Jean-Francois Avon (JFA Technologies, QC, Canada) wrote: >GREETINGS! > >>(BTW, why don't you respond to the list?) > >Actually, I just did. I was tempted to mail the stuff directly to you but then, >I realised that you might have interpreted what I said as a threat. Huh? I didn't even notice. Well, I guess after a few months of promoting "Assassination Politics", I'm so thick-skinned that nothing fazes me anymore. >So I posted it >publicly. (Isn't CPunks about being untrustfull... :) The reason I'd prefer most of the discussion on the list is simple: I have a limited amount of time, and I'm promoting an idea. If you have a good argument that I should be able to address, I want everyone to have the benefit not only of your comment but also my response! >I brought an argument in my post. I could develop it further on private e-mail with you. I'll read it. However, my mail has slowed to a trickle today. There's something wrong, somewhere. It'll come flooding in, in a few hours I'll bet. >You will certainly understand my argument. I'd be delighted if you can prove me wrong. We shall see...

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Re: [ASSASSINATION NOISE] Re: V-chips, CC, and Motorcycle Helmets
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 08:11 PM 2/14/96 -0800, Bill Stewart wrote: >At 11:36 AM 2/13/96 -0800, you wrote: > >>The Rushdie incident is simply so far removed from "Assassination Politics" >>that it can't possibly be used to refute it; I still believe it actually >>demonstrates how much effort somebody has to go to, to protect a targeted >>person. One targeted person is easy to protect. 10,000 would be FAR >>harder. And the moment a few of those guys got "whacked," the rest would >>want to resign their jobs and hope they would be allowed to retire in peace. > >Rushdie is just low on your target list. I agree that it's much harder >to protect 10,000 people (say the Iranians put out a contract on Baha'is >and other heretics, at $X/head...) but it's still abusable. Does the fact that some system is "abusable" mean that it is not better than the current system? Or are you under the impression that the current system is NOT "abusable"?!? The reason I mention this is that I get the strange impression that the system I advocate is being judged by a different standard than the status quo. "Double standard," is the usual term. Is this fair? Let's consider the Rushdie situation in more detail. Why is he in danger? Because, obviously enough, some high-ranking LEADERS in the Moslem faith put a contract out on him. Okay, if they're high-ranking, and they're well known, and they're putting out contracts on people, RECIPROCATE! See how this works? If "Ayatollah X" says, "Kill Rushdie and we'll give you a couple million dollars," then "AsPol" that Ayatollah to death, a dollar at a time. Pretty soon, no "high-ranking" Moslem would DARE put out a contract on a Rushie-like character, for fear of getting killed himself. Of course, it is true that individual Moslems could ALSO use the "Assassination Politics" mechanism, but they would have to be self-motivated, because the system is designed to be anonymous. Keep in mind that "nobody" would have ever heard of the name "Rushdie" if it hadn't been for that contract. > Maybe the >Anonymous Captains of Industry put out a contract on strike leaders. People keep talking about "leaders" as if we NEEDED leaders SHEESH! Stay stuck in your old ruts if you want, but the fact is the world is changing from a "leader-centric" system to a distributed-control system, assisted by digital anonymity. >>From a cypherpunks perspective, yes you could run an assassination lottery, >though it might be hard for the assassin to collect - how do you prove >that _you_ were the hit man, and not merely the nearest person to a phone >after it happened? How do you prevent an anonymous escrow agency from refusing >to deliver the cash? Some of the protocols may be difficult to work out. There are a lot of interesting questions implied by the above paragraph, and I will be happy to discuss them, in the next note, tomorrow. If anything, I am surprised that there hasn't been more commentary along these lines than has occurred up to now. Frankly, if I want to discuss the POLITICAL aspects, I typically do that in NWLIBERTARIANS(a)TELEPORT.COMO, not Cypherpunks. The main reason I subscribed to Cypherpunks is that I wanted the TECHNICAL issues discussed, debated, and perfected. The problem, I think, is that people (like, for instance, Perry) complain about the political-implications discussion of AsPol, but he clearly doesn't want to move the discussion to a more technical "Cypherpunks"-type level, with detailed discussions of protocols, trust issues, etc. I _DO_. >Meanwhile > WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE > JIM BELL > REWARD 13 demo-cyberbucks Hey, I'm not easily offended! Actually, while I think this is rather funny, I am fully aware that the truth is that my idea will upset a few million apple-carts. And yes, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm one of the first victims of this system. (I am careful to point out, however, that I believe a system such as this to always have been inevitable; Jim Bell is merely one of the first to notice the ultimate implications of this system.) As I said long ago, there are some words in "A Tale of Two Cities" which describes my feelings on the subject. > >An assassination-sponsoring society is _not_ a polite society. Question: How would you know? Since we've never had anything even remotely approaching the system I advocate, how can you say how "polite" it would be? Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com Klaatu Burada Nikto -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMSLpnPqHVDBboB2dAQESewP/X2KCgxxdWtCe/T26Pp7QadhwgkYv7bHT PFj9SYKh07WlMQKQaL6kWvwtlx/LWJGjEWvU5wBBgp4Xrslmy6KKkjtjl0TwiGnA sEKYCrjvXthSjcydt9O7zHRV+z9/khN+qw1WumCzQHSbbaW7DpaK4eQRmmOqcqD6 565Ay/AFJVY= =/dWe -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Another CDA Protest Idear
by Rich Graves 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- To the message_fronter of the public majordomo lists I control (win95netbugs and win95netbugs-digest), I have temporarily added the following, as a way of limiting my liability: ############################################################################ ## WARNING: Any use of this mailing list in violation of section 502 of ## ## the Communications Decency Act of 1995 will immediately be referred to ## ## the appropriate authorities for prosecution. See http://www.eff.org/. ## ############################################################################ I will of course remove this notice, or maybe move it to the footer, after a couple messages go by with the notice prepended. No need to be *totally* obnoxious. I'll probably also post a notice that all submissions to comp.os.ms-windows.announce (I'm the new moderator) must comply with the CDA. Hmm, I haven't had time to put up a "submissions guidelines FAQ" yet. This could be fun, but I will keep it clean. - -rich llurch(a)networking.stanford.edu WARNING: Use of the above email address across international boundaries implies consent to monitoring by the National Security Agency and other lawfully recognized bodies. All domestic USA use of the above email address must also comply with the Communications Decency Act of 1995. Violations will be reported to the Federal authorities for prosecution. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMSMFE43DXUbM57SdAQFyCQP9EPAgWF2xRLVyKYQww7xl92uK8kS/tFx6 4mUzkI2MhFTwfKCeEZvtmBzcGYhICDuJXZGGnHVNpaFSJKBJvRGfRazAMrcf1/Aq V8RHXqBA6OgFpHTAh90dpuB/azGcOsP5YN9lVe3t+bCnlivVXA0N71PXC82e/ORd 5DZnU/3LPo0= =esOC -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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No Subject
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Something for Jim Bell and his ilk to think about: "If we could climb the highest steeple And look around at all the people, And shoot the ones not wholly good As we, like noble shooters, should, Why, then there'd be an only worry --- Who would be left to bury us?" - Walt Kelly

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