December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Keep the pressure! Cryptographers Against Cryptography EXPOSED!
by jamesd＠echeque.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:16 AM 3/20/96 -0800, anonymous-remailer(a)shell.portal.com wrote: > I am proud to report that > the majority of us have the good sense to see [the Leahy bill] for > what it is but > a few cypherpunks continue to lie to us and have > not recanted. I do not like the Leahy Bill, but it is not so plainly and flagrantly bad that good people cannot have different opinions of it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | 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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PGP and Human Rights, continued
by Philip Zimmermann 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A few days ago, I posted a note to the cypherpunks list from a human rights group in Central Europe, regarding their use of PGP. Here is a followup note from the same guy. I have edited it to preserve his and his group's anonymity. This version may be freely circulated. -Philip Zimmermann Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 10:35:00 +0000 (GMT) >From: [name and email address deleted] Subject: New Message from Europe To: prz(a)ACM.ORG I hope our story helps. Here is a little tale of pre-PGP days. In the bad old days before we had PGP and before the revolution in Romania, we used to send couriers to Romania to meet with dissidents and help collate information about their troubles. Organisings such trips was a nightmare because briefing couriers to be able to find people, and then bring out accurate reports was quite difficult. Any document was liable to be confiscated, and any notebook with names and addresses would be taken if found by the Police and every Romanian in the book would be visited by the security Police. Yet sometimes we would be given large files of documents to take to the Human Rights Agencies in the West, and couriers would have to visit several dissidents. As Foreigner's you were required to stay in designated hotels, it was illegal to stay in a private home. You were followed, and meetings with dissidents were a stressful experience for everyone. We eventually started to use handheld psion computers to carry information about travel directions, name and addresses, and to input files etc. No sensitive information was carried in the memory of the psion but in a separate memory cartridge. The cartridge resembled a battery, and the psion looked like a sophisticated calculator, so we relied on the Romanians ignorance of that technology, and on keeping the two items separate when travelling. This worked very well until the late eighties when a courier was arrested at the Romanian\Hungarian border, during the initial search the memory cartridge was overlooked, and as such the courier was able to keep the memory cartridge. Later in the day, he was being walked between two buildings when he had opportunity to throw the memory cartridge into a fast moving river ! All very heady stuff, but everyone back in the office was off the wall for several days until the courier was eventually released and able to confirm the destruction of the memory cartridge. Since PGP, we have been able sleep better at nights. The following story is not for publication as we could easily be identified... [story deleted] ... So as you can see the issue of Privacy here is not about tax evasion or child pornography, but the on-going determination by various groups including parts of the media, and Government Agencies, to know everything and to then to profit by such knowledge financially or by the destruction of those opposed to them. In this part of the world PGP is a common sense idea that protects ordinary people from those who have power that they are prepared to abuse. There is no Constitution, enforced by capable courts in this part of the world able to protect us from such abuses, so we must have the right to protect ourselves from abuse. If the NSC considers PGP a restricted weapon system that can't be legally exported, why can't at least Americans who have the right to bear arms have an ongoing guaranteed right to keep uncompromised encryption\PGP under their pillow at night along with their magnum. If you are allowed fatal force to protect your physical person, why can't you have equally powerful protection for your personal thoughts. Now I am no fan of the Gun Lobby, but if Americans can ensure their right to uncompromised encryption, the rest of us can argue for the same more effectively. Anyway I must get back to work... Do keep in touch sometimes.. Best regards [name deleted] ---

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Is the IRS a paper tiger?
by Gary Lee Jeffers 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From STRATEGIC INVESTMENT March 20, 1996 Strategic Investment 1217 St. Paul St. Baltimore, MD 21202 It is published monthly for US$159 per year for U.S. residents (C$190 for Canadian residents and US$200 for other non-U.S. residents). behind the lines - by Jack Wheeler Is the IRS a paper tiger? One definition of a pioneer is a guy with an arrow in his back. So notice the above headline is a question, not an assertion. But it is nonetheless a question being asked by a lot of folks these days, from Bill Archer, Chairman of House Ways & Means, to a number of smart tax attorneys. The federal tax code has mutated into this gigantically in- comprehensible Rube Goldberg monstrosity that day by day gets closer to collapsing under its own weight. Couple that with the fact that the IRS computer system is about to go belly up. The IRS originally computerized itself AD HOC, with the regional centers getting various platforms and software that can't communicate with each other very well. The agency has now spent over $8 billion on the TSM project to re-computerize, which an independent review recently concluded is a colossal failure. As the IRS teeters on the brink, a fellow named Eddie Kahn has stepped forward and may be about to push the whole creaking mess over the edge. He hasn't got an arrow in his back yet, so he might just succeed. Dis- dainful of "tax protests" such as 5th Amendment or legal tender arguments that quickly get their advocates behind bars, Eddie looked into the stru- ture of federal law. When Congress passes a law, codified as a statute, it then delegates to a regulatory agency the authority to issue the im- plementing regulations specifiying to whom and under what circumstances the statute applies. These regulations must, by law, be published in the Federal Register. Lacking these implementing regulations, the law cannot be applied and has no force. Well, it turns out that the implementing re- gulations for IRS' enforcement statutes-things like the requirement to file a tax return and the authority to place a lien-cannot be found in the Federal Register. When queried on this, the General Counsel for the Office of the Federal Register, Michael White, replied in writing, "Our records indicate that the Internal Revenue Service has not incorporated by reference in the Federal Register a requirement to make an income tax return." This is starting to get interesting, isn't it? And yes, I see that big smile on your face. If Eddie is right, the IRS has no assessment autho- rity, no collection athority to enforce a lien or seize property, no au- thority to pursue criminal penalties for failure to file a return or make a false/fraudulent return. I am not at all suggesting you be a pioneer. But if you should have any difficulty with the lovable folks at the IRS, you might consider making an appointment to see them in person at their nearest office, and tell them face to face that you need to see a copy of the implementing regs published in the Federal Register that show they have the authority to require you to do what they want. Not one of the close to a thousand people who, following Eddie's advice, have done so received a copy-and not one has been further harassed. Better to let these folks drop out of the system quietly than risk a negative decision in court, which would be for them an ultimate catastrophe. You can get more info from Eddie at: 1-800-419-7512. --------------------------------------------------------------------- PUSH EM BACK! PUSH EM BACK! WWWAAAYYY BBBAAACCCK! BBBEEEAAATTTT STATE! Gary Jeffers P.S. This reminds me of something else that I read a few months ago. There is a book with the title The Law that Never Was - the 16th Amendment (this was the title or close) that had a similar affect on the IRS. I believe it was the SPOTLIGHT that said that when the then Commissioner of the IRS found that the book was published, he gave gave instructions that people citing the book in arguments with the IRS be left alone. The 16th Amendment created the IRS.

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Re: Dorothy Denning attacks Leahy's crypto bill
by Erik E. Fair 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I feel a bit stupid right now. I read Leahy's bill from top to bottom shortly after it was submitted, and aside from the provision which separately criminalizes the use of encryption in a the comission of a crime or to obstruct justice, I fail to see the flaws that you see. Could you spend a little time enumerating the flaws in this bill as you see them, with reference to the particular wording in Leahy's bill? thanks for your time & trouble, Erik Fair

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RC2 or RC4 in silicon
by Chris Liljenstolpe - SSDS INFOSEC Eng. 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Greetings, Is anybody aware of an RC2 or RC4 implimentation is silicon? If so, any pointers would be appreciated. Please respond directly. Regards, =Chris -- ( ( | ( Chris Liljenstolpe <Chris.Liljenstolpe(a)ssds.com> ) ) (| ), inc. SSDS, Inc; 8400 Normandale Lake Blvd.; Suite 993 business driven Bloomington, MN 55437; technology solutions TEL 612.921.2392 FAX 612.921.2395 Fram Fram Free! PGP Key 1024/E8546BD5 FE 43 BD A6 3C 13 6C DB 89 B3 E4 A1 BF 6D 2A A9

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Re: Pepsi World - Gotta Have It!
by David K. Merriman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- At 06:46 PM 03/20/96 -0600, you wrote: >Hey Squatter! > >Don't forget to cruise back by Pepsi World! ... >Don't forget your squatter id 'cypherpunk' and password >'cypherpunk', you'll need them to maintain your Squatter's >rights in Pepsi World. Gee. Lucky us. :-b Dave Merriman -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMU/9s8VrTvyYOzAZAQEtbwP/c1TamDTSafhTqzbBYIMA1NhgNia3HgnB EsOu0IBe5/G5kxh8AboFLSSAp6jKVQcSkE+7UlqyPwhWSxSNlQqy1TfNdPh8Qk8W T9avJAjIdno/tEvcCZCnSyXwNSqqdCJCtNfxwMyviMxY7g1jbZ3E2onvSRPh+1RW IjLbkhoa1NE= =Z2c7 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------------------------------------- "Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." P. J. O'Rourke (b. 1947), U.S. journalist. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> http://www.shellback.com/personal/merriman/index.htm

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Re: unsubsrcribe
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 4:00 AM 3/21/96, thrdina(a)ibm.net wrote: >How can I unsubsribe from this mailing list? > > >From: THOMAS HRDINA > Manager - Networks > Bank of Nova Scotia > New York Agency Well, do you want to "unsubsrcribe" or "unsubsribe"? Not that it matters which of these you choose, but perhaps you ought to use a correct spelling ("unsubscribe"). Note to others: Other lists I am on have had the same frantic demands that people be "unsurscribed," "unscribed," and "unnsubscrubbed." I chalk it up to a nation filled with illiterates. (Remind me not to open an account at this "Bank of Nova Scotia.") --Tim Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! 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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RE: Yeo, Pea-brained Imbecile
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 09:15 PM 3/18/96 +0000, "Michael Peponis" <peponmc(a)fe3.rust.net> wrote: >Here is my two cents on the whole subject of countries wanting to recieve the >technical and economic benifits of the internet, but reject groups they have >moral or ethical problems with. ... >Given the plethera of reports like this, I will start maintaining a list of >country that will not be given access to my site, no FTP, no HTTP, no nothing, >on top of that, I will hard code into all the new versions of my network aware > programs to check for a domain subfix, if it is on of the black > list, the software will not function. .... >They want isolation, let them enjoy the full benifits of that decision. I've got the opposite view - I think it's worth making access to widespread parts of the Internet _easier_ for people from countries whose governments don't want their subjects\\\\\\\\citizens to access them. Aside from any good that can be accomplished by building, say, a Singapore Banned Religion/Politics web index (since Singapore's recently announced policy is to censor Usenet access but not http access, so auto-indexing newsgroups would work), any technology that makes it easier to work around censorship will be useful for Yankees who want to access controversial groups after Buchanan's elected (:-) One part of the problem is building convenient mirrors in free countries; another is building packet/mail/http/etc. laundries that can be easily ported to make it difficult to block access to _them_. Some of the Andrew File System approaches for the Zundelsite project were interesting, since it's harder to block access to widely supported back channels, and since it provides people with non-subversive reasons to support a relay site, they're more likely to be widespread and supported at sites that censors don't want to totally block. Now, building a blacklist of censorious _government_ sites, like *.gov.sg (or whatever) and blocking them is more interesting. #-- # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com, +1-415-442-2215 pager 408-787-1281 # "At year's end, however, new government limits on Internet access threatened # to halt the growth of Internet use. [...] Government control of news media # generally continues to depend on self-censorship to regulate political and # social content, but the authorities also consistently penalize those who # exceed the permissable." - US government statement on China...

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Re: A MODEST PROPOSAL
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Wed Mar 20 1996 Sandy Sandfort wrote: : Having said that, I am totally put off by the gradiose and : devisive ravings of this commentator. During the Second World : War the Nazis required Jews in the occupied countries to wear a : yellow star of David to identify themselves. In Denmark, the : king so identified himself, and soon so did most of his subjects. Ohh pleeez!!, give YOUR ravings a rest Next you'll be raving about soap and lampshades made out of Jews. The story about the Danish King and the Yellow star is a famous wartime lie by the US. When Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, the king of Norway fled to London to continue resistance. The king of Denmark surrendered. Many in the US thought the Danish king was a coward. During the war the story about the yellow star was made up to make the king look better. For more details try out IHRs web site on http://www.kaiwan.com/~ihrgreg. A recent article from a British on-line newspaper:- The Electronic Telegraph Tuesday 29 August 1995 Denmark's resistance to Nazis 'is a myth' By John Keegan, Defence Editor DANISH resistance to German occupation during the Second World War is largely a myth, according to a leading historian. The civilian population was not involved in resistance and the celebrated rescue of Denmark's Jews from Nazi deportation was facilitated by the German occupiers themselves. Those caught assisting the Jews' escape were either not punished or else given nominal prison sentences. These astonishing claims were made by Prof Henning Poulsen, of Aarhus University, at a conference on "The Second World War as Myth and History" held in the Swedish Houses of Parliament. The conference was opened by the Swedish foreign minister, Lena Hjelm-Wallen, and closed by the speaker of the Swedish parliament, Birgitta Dahl. Prof Poulsen insisted that his views were not controversial, a view supported by another Danish professor. The official story of the resistance was, he said, no longer accepted by most young Danes, who found it exaggerated and boring. He reminded his audience of fellow historians from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Russia, Canada and Germany that Denmark capitulated on the day of the German invasion, May 9, 1940, and was not treated by Germany as a conquered nation. The elected government remained in office and German officials belonging to the administration in Copenhagen made visits to Danish ministers, not vice versa. Danish political parties were allowed to function normally and to maintain democratic debate. The only limitation on their activities was that criticism of Germany was not permitted. The occupation remained a benign one. Werner Best, the SS officer representing the German foreign office, did not wear his black uniform and was not allowed by Himmler to use his high SS rank title. The foreign office was the agency chosen by Hitler to represent German power in Denmark during the occupation. After August 1943, when there were riots in Copenhagen following misbehaviour by German troops, conditions worsened, said Prof Poulsen. The Germans dissolved the elected government and imposed direct administration. Nevertheless, he said, the occupation remained a benign one. Danish civilian rations were more generous than those in Germany and when German police were called on to put down demonstrations in Danish cities they did so under the regulations governing police response to civil disorder in Germany. In his most sensational revelation, he said that the only concentration camp set up by the Germans on Danish soil, at Froesley, never held more than 4,000 inmates, 2,000 fewer than it was designed to contain. Denmark "won a war in which it had not taken part" It was administered by the Danish prison service and was the only concentration camp in the Nazi system where the German guards asked for the same food as the prisoners. It was ironic, Prof Poulsen said, that Denmark was included among the victor nations in 1945 by Britain, America and the Soviet Union. It had thus "won a war in which it had not taken part". Prof Poulsen conceded that there had been resistance in Denmark, but of a military, not civilian, character. By that he appeared to mean that sabotage operations against the Germans were the acts of unrepresentative groups, working in co-operation with the British Special Operations Executive, and did not represent the attitude of the majority of the population. Prof Poulsen's paper is likely to provoke argument, particularly in Britain, America and Israel, where the Danish success in arranging the escape of 95 per cent of the country's 7,000 Jews to neutral Sweden in September, 1943, is hailed as an example of what might have been achieved elsewhere had domestic populations shown the same determination. He suggested that the escape succeeded because the Germans did not try to prevent it and because the worst penalty visited on those fishermen who were caught after smuggling Jews abroad was three months' imprisonment.

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Mailing Lists
by crisper 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Could anyone direct me to some other mailing lists dealing with either computer security or current communication technology, routers,modems etc. Thank you ahead of time. Also could anyone direct me to some good beginner books on cryptography of computer security. When referring books could you make them recent so that they would be regularly available at Barnes&Noble or Borders. Thanks

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