December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by JR＠ns.cnb.uam.es 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hey Perry, I think you are taking this too far. I believe that almost nobody (there are always some exceptions) will deny the existence of disease. And while Tim may not be a great doctor and even totally wrong in the case he stated, the original point was not to discuss a specific medical case. You may -or not- agree that there is abuse. You may -or not- be esceptical on the statistics. But there is no point in denying that it is far easier in most cases to fix the symptoms than actually solve the problem. Not that I say doctors do. God forbids. And from the very onset Tim explained his point in not building a mental control society. And there's no point in denying that it is far easier for most societies to have full mental control of their subjects (to which technology aids) than to fix the big social problems. If you can't see the parallel, I'd advise a visit to the doctor. Not to consult him, but to stay with her or him for a while and see what patients demand and how well educated is our society into looking deep to the problems instead of taking shortcuts. My experience as MD before I switched to computing was very illustrating. Long ago, granted, but interesting indeed. jr

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by JR＠ns.cnb.uam.es 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> >Yeah, you know, I bet your body doesn't get infected for lack of >penicillin, either. I suspect that taking Penicillin prepares you for >drug dependancies. Why, next, you might take insulin to deal with >diabetes, or worse! > Or worse! You could take penicillin for an infection. Why the hell do you think we need doctors? And antibiotics beyond penicillin? Just because too many damn schmuck take it for almost anything, and have been creating resistences giving the rest of us worst, resisting diseases that were originally easy to treat and are now letal. >Thank god most of those heroin addicts never had Ritalin as kids -- you >never know how much worse off they might be now. And if they'd gotten >antibiotics, why, forget it. > >Quit from modern medicine cold turkey. Its the only way. > >Perry The thing to remember is always that there's a place for everything under the sun, but that one shouldn't allow it to extend beyond reasonable ground or look upon it as some magic solution to everything. There's a place for crypto. It's been OK while only a few guys used it because only a few guys needed it. But when we talk about allowing the government to impose a crypto policy that will allow them to have more power than needed, we are stating the basis for future, worst diseases. You speak of insulin. Most diabetics can just manage with a good diet. Even insulin dependant ones can make dietary excesses from time to time if they know how to. Giving those who don't need it insulin or forbidding the occasional party to those who depend on insulin -as has been done by doctor for years- is teaching people to depend on "doctor's control magic" or "drug control magic". It's as bad encouraging people who don't need a drug to take it as encouraging people to believe doctors won't make mistakes. It's as bad to let people believe that strong crypto for them will solve their problems as encouraging them to believe that they should leave all crypto control on the government's hands because they won't make mistakes or abuses. So what? We need strong crypto as we need strong antibiotics, but we also need to teach people when and how to use it, what its pros and cons are, and form people into a more conscious use of technology and not to believe in crypto- drug- or technology-magic at all. jr

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by gdunn＠sciborg.uwaterloo.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 2:32 96.7.9 -0700, William Knowles wrote: >Below is a list of famous people with Attention Deficit Disorders >and/or Learning Disorders, and I'd be willing to bet that Perry Metzger >either has, or knows someone with ADD. > >Albert Einstein, Galileo, Mozart, Wright Brothers, Leonardo da Vinci, >Bruce Jenner, Tom Cruise, Charles Schwab, Henry Winkler, Danny Glover, >Walt Disney, John Lennon, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford, >Stephen Hawkings, Jules Verne, Alexander Graham Bell, Woodrow Wilson, >Hans Christian Anderson,Beavis, Nelson Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, >Gen. George Patton, Agatha Christie, John F. Kennedy, Whoopi Goldberg, >Rodin, Thomas Thoreau, David H. Murdock, Dustin Hoffman, Pete Rose, >Russell White, Jason Kidd, Russell Varian, Robin Williams, Louis Pasteur, >Werner von Braun, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robert Kennedy, alberto Tnmba >Prince Charles, Gen. Westmoreland, Eddie Rickenbacker, Gregory Boyington, >Harry Belafonte, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Steve McQueen, George C. Scott, >Tom Smothers, Lindsay Wagner, George Bernard Shaw, Beethoven, Carl Lewis, >Jackie Stewart, "Magic" Johnson, Weyerhauser family, Wrigley, John Corcoran. > >One can only wonder how much more great some of the people on this list would >be today if they knew ADD back then. > > >William Knowles >erehwon(a)c2.org OTOH, one could argue that their lack of attention to daily matters was what allowed them to be 'great' in the first place. Picture a Mozart on Ritalin. Boss - "Hey, Wolfgang, thanks for getting that presentation together so quick, it really impressed our client. And that was a really snappy jingle you wrote for the opening slide show, too ..." So, he's a 'great' worker at the office, and undoubtably undergoes nowhere near the mental stress he would off Ritalin. But I cannot, for the life of me, imagine _this_ man writing the music that the non-medicated Mozart did. So should the medication you take be decided by the area in which you want to be successful ? (or even better, vice versa: Personality engineering, here we come). Regards, Graham Dunn --- No PGP signature. Who would _want_ to impersonate me ?

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Re: Transforming variable- to fixed-length keys
by pgut001＠cs.auckland.ac.nz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>For iteration-0, CFB (or some other feedback mode)-encrypt the passphrase from >the input buffer to the output buffer (assuming the library doesn't require >that the plaintext and ciphertext be in the same buffer) This doesn't work because the input and output buffer will almost always be of different lengths. >Questions: Are you using the previous chaining-variables/hash for each >successive chunk? No. Each chunk is a new hash with <whatever>, where <whatever> defaults to SHA1. Since (for SHA1) 64 bytes of input affect each 20 bytes of output, I don't think there's much need for chaining. I'm trying to keep the specification as simple and easy to check as possible (one of the problems with the PGP data management was that it was rather complex and hard to follow. I suspect it would be difficult to implement a compatible version going only from a written specification). >How do you pad passphrases that are smaller than the minimum input for a hash >function? The input wraps, just like the output, so for example the letter "a" would be hashed as: <length>a<length>a<length>a<length>a<length>a<length>a[...] >Hash the user's input, prepended with a 0x00. Use this for the first 0..160 >bits of key. If more than 160 bits is needed, write over the 0x00 with 0x01. >Hash again. This is much like your solution, but no wrapping. Note there is no >problem truncating hash output. That's another possibility. The only thing here is that you're only changing one byte for each pass, and I'm not sure if this is healthy. I'll see what the sci.crypt crowd (those who've survived the spamming) has to say about this - it may actually be stronger than my increment-by-one method if you're worried about related-key cryptanalysis. Peter.

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by JR＠ns.cnb.uam.es 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>One can only wonder how much more great some of the people on this list would >be today if they knew ADD back then. > That a fallacy. First, there's no way to know what they suffered if anything at all. Second, there's no way to know what would have happened. Third, there's what they themselves said. I know of many people who has your same signs. Hey you should see *my* office. And you should have seen it when I could devote myself to interesting things instead of XXXX(whateverI don't like) crap. Someone said about a kid not concentrating on grammar. Hell, I couldn't stand half of my professors in class, though I would perfectly listen to the same subject with other people. I don't know about you and don't pretend to tell you anything. But there are lots of cases in which the problem is *on the other side* (society, teachers, work, parents, priests, erroneous expectatives). I wonder how can we know from the external manifestations that those people were ADD and not just brilliant guys with dull teachers. As for those people you mentioned. Maybe if they had prozac they would have been perfect, quiet and compliant citizens, concentrated on what the power-that-be asked them to do. Think of Einstein happily working for Hitler, not worried about other themes (like ethical implications for instance). Thing is, it's very easy to keep everybody uniform. Easier than giving equal opportunities to less-good workers or allowing one to attempt many projects lest one succeeds and changes the stablishment! Let's make everyone into a uniform clone, and those who can't be made -say Down syndrome people- be exterminated. Let's enterprising people be forced into non-creative jobs, and if they don't like, be given drugs. Yeah! Let's monitor what everybody says, detect those guys who spend too much time at work reading cypherpunks or worrying about politics (which is not their job) and control them. Let's tap all their conversa- tions and force them to fit our idea of a uniform world of mediocre wits who just work perfectly in what we tell them and never question anything. I also wonder how those people you mentioned would have been allowed to do such great discoveries and destroy the grounds of their societies under the society we are heading to. "The World turning around the Sun? C'mon! Everybody knows it is flat and the Center of the Universe. That Galileo guy is obviously sick. Let's calm him down with some drugs so he can concentrate on Theology as it should well be"... Sorry, I think we need unfitted people, feeling unhappy about the society to make it evolve. jr

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by smith＠sctc.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 8:01 PM 7/8/96, John F. Fricker wrote: >Ever hear of home schooling? Home schooling has its own set of disadvantages. I've done enough teaching to respect it as a profession, especially when dealing with a small, evolving set of students. I also respect my own limitations. >Seems like if your child needs drugs to go to school than perhaps school is >the problem not that your child's body lacks Ritalin. I tend to agree, but it doesn't make the problem any easier to solve. Another alternative to Ritalin would simply be to let him struggle with school. It worked for me, I guess. >So it happens that I was talking with a fellow Saturday who grew up on >Ritalin. He's 36 now and strung out. Life with Ritalin prepared him for >drugs, you know. They were natural. I definitely see that as a risk. Without knowing how his parents and associated medical gurus (if any) were managing the drug, it's hard to tell if the situations are parallel. Life without Ritalin prepared me for a life as a coffee addict, I guess. Rick.

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stupid national security excuse again ...
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Ok. Not that I really care, at this point, who really killed Kennedy or whether there was this or that conspiracy, but I am really sick of this bull shit "national security" excuse. What kind of "national security" excuse could there be for the CIA to say whether they confirm or deny the employment of some guy (whom they could easily discredit by saying that they have nothing to do with him)? This sort of maneuvoring by (insert your favorite TLA) is just exactly why I am so against encryption regulation by the government. They can snowjob anyone just by saying "national security". Ern -------- COURT REJECTS BID FOR FACTS ON ALLEGED KENNEDY PLOTTER REUTERS SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court Monday rejected a bid to force the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to disclose whether it employed a man who claimed he was involved in the murder of President John F. Kennedy. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied an appeal by a California judge who sued to try to force the CIA to disclose information about Claude Capehart. Capehart, who died in 1989, claimed to have been a CIA agent involved in the November 1963 assassination of Kennedy in Dallas, according to the court ruling. In February 1992, David Minier, a municipal court judge in Chowchilla, California but acting as a private citizen in this case, made a Freedom of Information Act request to the CIA to say whether the agency had ever employed Capehart. Minier, 61, later asked the CIA for all records of the ''activities, assignments, actions and whereabouts of (Capehart) during the month of November 1963,'' according to the Appeals Court ruling. The CIA denied Minier's request, saying that to confirm or deny a relationship between the CIA and Capehart ``would jeopardize national security and compromise CIA sources and methods,'' the ruling said. ...

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CERT Advisory CA-96.13 - Alien/OS Vulnerability
by stevenw＠best.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Subject: CERT Advisory CA-96.13 - Alien/OS Vulnerability From: CERT Bulletin <cert-advisory(a)cert.org> Newsgroups: comp.security.announce, rec.humor ============================================================================= CERT(sm) Advisory CA-96.13 July 4, 1996 Topic: ID4 virus, Alien/OS Vulnerability - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center has received reports of weaknesses in Alien/OS that can allow species with primitive information sciences technology to initiate denial-of-service attacks against MotherShip(tm) hosts. One report of exploitation of this bug has been received. When attempting takeover of planets inhabited by such races, a trojan horse attack is possible that permits local access to the MotherShip host, enabling the implantation of executable code with full root access to mission-critical security features of the operating system. The vulnerability exists in versions of EvilAliens' Alien/OS 34762.12.1 or later, and all versions of Microsoft's Windows/95. CERT advises against initiating further planet takeover actions until patches are available from these vendors. If planet takeover is absolutely necessary, CERT advises that affected sites apply the workarounds as specified below. As we receive additional information relating to this advisory, we will place it in ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-96.13.README We encourage you to check our README files regularly for updates on advisories that relate to your site. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Description Alien/OS contains a security vulnerability, which strangely enough can be exploited by a primitive race running Windows/95. Although Alien/OS has been extensively field tested over millions of years by EvilAliens, Inc., the bug was only recently discovered during a routine invasion of a backwater planet. EvilAliens notes that the operating system had never before been tested against a race with "such a kick-ass president." The vulnerability allows the insertion of executable code with root access to key security features of the operating system. In particular, such code can disable the NiftyGreenShield (tm) subsystem, allowing child processes to be terminated by unauthorized users. Additionally, Alien/OS networking protocols can provide a low-bandwidth covert timing channel to a determined attacker. II. Impact Non-privileged primitive users can cause the total destruction of your entire invasion fleet and gain unauthorized access to files. III. Solution EvilAliens has supplied a workaround and a patch, as follows: A. Workaround To prevent unauthorized insertion of executables, install a firewall to selectively vaporize incoming packets that do not contain valid aliens. Also, disable the "Java" option in Netscape. To eliminate the covert timing channel, remove untrusted hosts from routing tables. As tempting as it is, do not use target species' own satellites against them. B. Patch As root, install the "evil" package from the distribution tape. (Optionally) save a copy of the existing /usr/bin/sendmail and modify its permission to prevent misuse. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The CERT Coordination Center thanks Jeff Goldblum and Fjkxdtssss for providing information for this advisory. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you believe that your system has been compromised, contact the CERT Coordination Center or your representative in the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST). We strongly urge you to encrypt any sensitive information you send by email. The CERT Coordination Center can support a shared DES key and PGP. Contact the CERT staff for more information. Location of CERT PGP key ftp://info.cert.org/pub/CERT_PGP.key CERT Contact Information - ------------------------ Email cert(a)cert.org Phone +1 412-268-7090 (24-hour hotline) CERT personnel answer 8:30-5:00 p.m. EST (GMT-5)/EDT(GMT-4), and are on call for emergencies during other hours. Fax +1 412-268-6989 Postal address CERT Coordination Center Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh PA 15213-3890 USA CERT publications, information about FIRST representatives, and other security-related information are available for anonymous FTP from http://www.cert.org/ ftp://info.cert.org/pub/ CERT advisories and bulletins are also posted on the USENET newsgroup comp.security.announce To be added to our mailing list for CERT advisories and bulletins, send your email address to cert-advisory-request(a)cert.org Copyright 1996 Carnegie Mellon University This material may be reproduced and distributed without permission provided it is used for noncommercial purposes and the copyright statement is included. CERT is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University. -- Moderators accept or reject articles based solely on the criteria posted in the Frequently Asked Questions. Article content is the responsibility of the submittor. Submit articles to ahbou-sub(a)acpub.duke.edu. To write to the moderators, send mail to ahbou-mod(a)acpub.duke.edu. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steven Weller | Technology (n): | | A substitute for adulthood. stevenw(a)best.com | Popular with middle-aged men.

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by Rick Smith 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim writes more about Ritalin: >From what I've read--and I'm no expert, having long had essentially the >_opposite_ of "attention deficit disorder," assuming it really even >exists!--most children getting Ritalin are just being sedated. Behavior >control in its purest form. While the kids stop their wandering attention >and constant physical motions, it's because they're in a mental fog, just >one step away from drooling. (The 8-year-old friend of my friend's son is >so zoned out he can't play video games well at all...until the drugs wear >off.) That's very interesting, especially the part about video games. It sounds like overdosing to me. My wife says that a Ritalin overdose can also affect your heart rate and ability to sleep. Regarding video games, we went through some elaborate assessment process before Alex ended up on Ritalin. The school people did an assessment declaring he wasn't "learning disabled" but may have ADHD. Then he saw a behavioral psychologist for a few hours of observation, yielding the diagnosis. Lastly a different psychologist measured his behavior using some computer based game/test. The actual dosage was calibrated according to his effectiveness on the game/test, which involved memory, coordination, and ability to concentrate on something fundamentally boring. The test was performed 3 times to compare his performance before and after dosage. The point of all this is that there are other ways of using Ritalin. I don't think I'd tolerate its use on Alex if I didn't trust my wife. She has a much better background in such things than I, as well as a family doctor's experience with seeing the results of drug abuse. >>BarelyObCrypto: ADD is more about lack of attention *control* than lack of >>attention itself. Hyperfocus is also a trait of ADHD, and computers tend to >>cause hyperfocus for a lot of ADDers. >BTW, I saw a comment that Bill Gates is almost certainly an ADD person...or >maybe the comment was that he is borderline autistic? This matches my own experiences with ADHD. That's the thing about the raw phenomenon and its overall lifestyle effect: you either find your niche and do OK, or you get sidelined. Rick.

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Put Uncle Sam in your Calling Circle
by Ray Arachelian 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hey guys, I just got a really cool poster from RSA. It's a big circle split off into several sections showing people talking to each other, the upper right hand corner shows two NSA dweebs looking like Bevis & Butthead in suits, one smoking, the other seated infront of an old 60's reel to reel audio tape recorder, a sign on the wall behind them says "Key Escrow" There are several logos for various government agencies including our friends at No Such Agency and the FBI, a small quote next to the Copyright (C) RSA notice says "One of a series of public relations posters that never made it out of Fort Mede." Very very funny! Many many thanks to the cool person(s) at RSA who sent it my way. ========================================================================== + ^ + | Ray Arachelian |FL| KAOS KERAUNOS KYBERNETOS |==/|\== \|/ |sunder(a)dorsai.org|UL|__Nothing_is_true,_all_is_permitted!_|=/\|/\= <--+-->| --------------- |CG|What part of 'Congress shall make no |=\/|\/= /|\ | Just Say "No" to|KA|law abridging the freedom of speech' |==\|/== + v + | Janet Reno & GAK|AK| do you not understand? |======= ===================http://www.dorsai.org/~sunder/========================= Key Escrow Laws are the mating calls of those who'd abuse your privacy!

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