December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Style gettting in the way of clear reporting
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:28 PM 7/7/96, Raph Levien wrote: >Declan McCullagh wrote: >> >> "We are writers, not crytographers." >> >> -Declan > > Well done. Very well done. I'm not sure why Brock is constructing >this hard-drinking bad-boy persona (perhaps he's trying to become the >Trent Reznor of crypto journalism), but the piece was great. I found it unreadable. No doubt some fine reporting, but the "faux Chandler" touches made it unreadable for me. "The last gin joint in cyberspace, and I had to to be the one to break it the babe, a thirty-two bit floozy with gams as long as, well, let's just say they made me forget about the Feds waiting to send me up the river for the long one..." With no _personal_ criticism of either Brock or Declan, I find that most modern cyberspace journalism--much more so than the mainstream press--is this kind of "performance piece" stuff, where pastiches of Chandler, Hunter S. Thompson, Jack Kerouac, and all the like are lathered all over the articles. The clearest and most extreme examples of this trend are the columns by Spencer S. Katt, Robert X. Cringely, and the other rumor-mongers of the trade weeklies, where a few morsels of actual reporting are buried in vast amounts of phony stuff. Such as endless crap about "Pammy," a dingbat--and utterly fictional--Valley Girl who one of these columnists uses to pads his columns with. This New Journalism kind of stuff is also rampant in "Wired." I suppose some people like it. I call them easily impressed. Or as Raymond S. might put it, "She was the kind of dame impressed by a paint by numbers Mona Lisa." Sadly, simple expository prose must be considered to be too boring, too banal. (Actually, were only a few writers doing this, it might be mildy tolerable. Speaking for myself, that is. But so _many_ "cyberspace journalists" are doing bad pastiches of famous stylists that the reportage is being lost in the noise. "A screaming comes across the screen." Wake up, Brock and Declan! And all the other too clever by half New Journalists. I'd like to read some of your stuff, not hit the delete key as soon as see the style-laden ersatz Chandler larding up the article. --Tim May 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, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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EYE_son
by David K. Merriman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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

17 Dec '03

At 9:19 PM 7/7/96, John Young wrote: >Would anyone know more about the DEA "process the intercepts by computer" >in the excerpt below from today's Wash Post? Any connection to Peter >Neuman's remarks at the CRISIS press conference about LEA training and >technology as alternatives to breaking strong crypto? > and process the intercepts by computer. The FBI is plowing > millions into developing new intercept techniques for > digital lines and expanding its cadre of agents who use the > bureau's high tech surveillance gear. I have no way of knowing (and I doubt anybody knows and can also speak publically about it), but my informed speculation would be that the FBI is continuing its cooperation with the NSA (as noted by Ken Bass at last week's SAFE forum) and is using COMINT processing gear and programs developed at the Agency. It has been widely reported, from Bamford on, that much of the Agency's computer power is devoted to keyword analysis from audio intercepts. While computer translation programs may not have progressed much beyond "The vodka is strong, but the meat is rotten" stage, it is quite reasonable to assume that computers can mark for later analysis vast amounts of audio surveillance material, based on words said, voiceprints of known targets, etc. The trend of the next few decades is likely to be the turning of the government's Big Ears and Big Eyes on its _real enemies_, namely, the people. > "I don't think J. Edgar Hoover would contemplate what we > can do today in terms of technology," Reno testified during > a Senate hearing in May. Actually, I think Hoover could well imagine the capabilities. Minaret and such programs were in place while he was alive, and his use of confidential dossiers as an instrument of power predated the current use by the Clintons by several decades. > The total number of federal wiretaps is just one measure of > the rise in federal surveillance. The build-up also is > evident in the increased use of electronic devices that > record the numbers dialed by a target telephone, and the > origin of calls to it. > > These devices allow agents to identify a person's > associates. Beginning in 1993, Justice agencies began using > the court-authorized monitors more often and leaving them > installed for longer periods of time, according to a > Justice Department report. Needless to say, key escrow is quite useful in compiling contact lists. A virtual pen register, as it were. --Tim May 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, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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

17 Dec '03

Tim, You have a very good point about what goes on in this thread. I wasnt speaking about you yelling at me.. some of the members decided to write me 'personal' memos..one idiot being 'AOL SUCKS KILL ALL AOL SUCKS' or some stupid idiotic undereducated statement like that. Thanks for the response though..it was appreciated. :) Adam

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Re: Style gettting in the way of clear reporting
by James A. Donald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Believe it or not, this has some very slight cypherpunk relevance. (Gasp) At 10:06 PM 7/7/96 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote: > Sadly, simple expository prose must be considered to be too boring, too banal. > > (Actually, were only a few writers doing this, it might be mildy tolerable. > Speaking for myself, that is. But so _many_ "cyberspace journalists" are > doing bad pastiches of famous stylists that the reportage is being lost in > the noise. When news media were concentrated into fewer and fewer hands during the twentieth century, the appearance of neutrality, objectivity, and authoritativeness became a major selling point, and so media adopted a tone and manner of neutrality, with an accompanying "just-the-facts" style, though in reality they became far less neutral Now that everyone can grab the megaphone, people are not so worried about objectivity. If something is unfair to Nazis or blacks or evil polluting capitalists, they know they will hear about it from the Nazis, the blacks or the evil polluting capitalists. As a result, people no longer value the superficial appearance of neutrality and objectivity. Suddenly colorful and openly biased reporting has become popular. This has led to some people engaging in florid excesses of colorful style and concocting totally phony attitudes., just as when word processing programs first gained the capability to handle a wide variety of fonts, some people produced memos that looked like ransom notes. Soon enough they will settle down. English prose was at its greatest in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when many voices could be heard, and some of them were on the florid side. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | 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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Re: Style gettting in the way of clear reporting
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 12:40 AM 7/8/96, James A. Donald wrote: >When news media were concentrated into fewer and fewer hands during >the twentieth century, the appearance of neutrality, objectivity, >and authoritativeness became a major selling point, and so media >adopted a tone and manner of neutrality, with an accompanying >"just-the-facts" style, though in reality they became far less neutral An interesting point. You are probably right that journalism is becoming more florid as "amateurs" flood the market. However, I don't quite buy the concentration argument, as things were pretty concentrated in the Hearst era, and the explosion of magazines in the past few decades has not been as concentrated. (In any case, these are hard things to quantify without more research, which I for one am unlikely to pursue.) >Now that everyone can grab the megaphone, people are not so worried >about objectivity. If something is unfair to Nazis or blacks or evil >polluting capitalists, they know they will hear about it from the >Nazis, the blacks or the evil polluting capitalists. > >As a result, people no longer value the superficial appearance of >neutrality and objectivity. Suddenly colorful and openly biased >reporting has become popular. I still think of "The Wall Street Journal" and "The Economist," two of my favorites, as being _careful_ in their reporting (careful is different from unbiased). But my main focus in this thread was on the _styles_, and this I think is more explained by faddishness. And advertising. To get "mind space," as with "shelf space," the packaging must entice, fool, and trick the reader. >This has led to some people engaging in florid excesses of colorful >style and concocting totally phony attitudes., just as when word >processing programs first gained the capability to handle a wide >variety of fonts, some people produced memos that looked like >ransom notes. Yes, and many of the newsletters we're seeing--as many are cc:ed or forwarded to our list--are the kissing cousins of "zines." Same faux style, same emphasis on "flash" over substance. (Not all of them of course.) --Tim May 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, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Re: more about the usefulness of PGP
by Steve Reid 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> make sure that you are protected from replay attacks. > a good idea would be to make the server to send cookies by request of > the remote user (you can limit the number of people to whom the server > sends cookies) and make sure that messages without the latest cookie > will NOT be executed. A simpler solution would be for the user to number each message. He would send message #1, then message #2, then #3, etc... Skipping some numbers should not be a problem. The server would just have to keep track of the most recently recieved message number, and only accept messages with a larger number. The user would also have to keep track... It would be very easy to do; the user could number each message based on date and time. ===================================================================== | Steve Reid - SysAdmin & Pres, EDM Web (http://www.edmweb.com/) | | Email: steve(a)edmweb.com Home Page: http://www.edmweb.com/steve/ | | PGP (2048/9F317269) Fingerprint: 11C89D1CD67287E68C09EC52443F8830 | | -- Disclaimer: JMHO, YMMV, TANSTAAFL, IANAL. -- | ===================================================================:)

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List of reliable remailers
by Raph Levien 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I operate a remailer pinging service which collects detailed information about remailer features and reliability. To use it, just finger remailer-list(a)kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu There is also a Web version of the same information, plus lots of interesting links to remailer-related resources, at: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html This information is used by premail, a remailer chaining and PGP encrypting client for outgoing mail. For more information, see: http://www.c2.org/~raph/premail.html For the PGP public keys of the remailers, finger pgpkeys(a)kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu This is the current info: REMAILER LIST This is an automatically generated listing of remailers. The first part of the listing shows the remailers along with configuration options and special features for each of the remailers. The second part shows the 12-day history, and average latency and uptime for each remailer. You can also get this list by fingering remailer-list(a)kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu. $remailer{"extropia"} = "<remail(a)miron.vip.best.com> cpunk pgp special"; $remailer{"portal"} = "<hfinney(a)shell.portal.com> cpunk pgp hash"; $remailer{"alumni"} = "<hal(a)alumni.caltech.edu> cpunk pgp hash"; $remailer{"c2"} = "<remail(a)c2.org> eric pgp hash reord"; $remailer{"penet"} = "<anon(a)anon.penet.fi> penet post"; $remailer{"flame"} = "<remailer(a)flame.alias.net> cpunk mix pgp. hash latent cut post reord"; $remailer{"mix"} = "<mixmaster(a)remail.obscura.com> cpunk mix pgp hash latent cut ek ksub reord ?"; $remailer{"replay"} = "<remailer(a)replay.com> cpunk mix pgp hash latent cut post ek"; $remailer{"ecafe"} = "<cpunk(a)remail.ecafe.org> cpunk mix"; $remailer{"amnesia"} = "<amnesia(a)chardos.connix.com> cpunk mix pgp hash latent cut ksub"; $remailer{'alpha'} = '<alias(a)alpha.c2.org> alpha pgp'; $remailer{'nymrod'} = '<nymrod(a)nym.jpunix.com> alpha pgp'; $remailer{"lead"} = "<mix(a)zifi.genetics.utah.edu> cpunk pgp hash latent cut ek"; $remailer{"treehole"} = "<remailer(a)mockingbird.alias.net> cpunk pgp hash latent cut ek"; $remailer{"nemesis"} = "<remailer(a)meaning.com> cpunk pgp hash latent cut"; $remailer{"exon"} = "<remailer(a)remailer.nl.com> cpunk pgp hash latent cut ek"; $remailer{"vegas"} = "<remailer(a)vegas.gateway.com> cpunk pgp hash latent cut"; $remailer{"haystack"} = "<haystack(a)holy.cow.net> cpunk mix pgp hash latent cut ek"; $remailer{"ncognito"} = "<ncognito(a)rigel.cyberpass.net> mix cpunk pgp hash latent"; $remailer{"lucifer"} = "<lucifer(a)dhp.com> cpunk mix pgp hash"; $remailer{"jam"} = "<remailer(a)cypherpunks.ca> cpunk mix pgp hash latent cut ek"; catalyst(a)netcom.com is _not_ a remailer. lmccarth(a)ducie.cs.umass.edu is _not_ a remailer. usura(a)replay.com is _not_ a remailer. Groups of remailers sharing a machine or operator: (c2 alpha) (flame replay) (alumni portal) Use "premail -getkeys pgpkeys(a)kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu" to get PGP keys for the remailers. Fingering this address works too. Note: The remailer list now includes information for the alpha nymserver. Last update: Mon 8 Jul 96 6:48:30 PDT remailer email address history latency uptime ----------------------------------------------------------------------- alumni hal(a)alumni.caltech.edu *+*#+*#-*### 3:36 100.00% replay remailer(a)replay.com **+*******+* 4:23 99.99% jam remailer(a)cypherpunks.ca ******** 16:45 99.98% c2 remail(a)c2.org +-++++++-+++ 46:47 99.97% nemesis remailer(a)meaning.com +*********** 17:25 99.97% nymrod nymrod(a)nym.jpunix.com #+#-##*##### 2:49 99.97% lead mix(a)zifi.genetics.utah.edu ++++++++++++ 38:37 99.96% vegas remailer(a)vegas.gateway.com *___.+#*+#*+ 4:34:27 99.95% mix mixmaster(a)remail.obscura.com .------+++++ 5:42:01 99.92% flame remailer(a)flame.alias.net .-++---+--++ 3:59:13 99.91% haystack haystack(a)holy.cow.net +###+#* #+## 3:07 99.80% lucifer lucifer(a)dhp.com +++ -+++++++ 48:41 99.78% ncognito ncognito(a)rigel.cyberpass.net .__.___-... 24:13:12 99.68% extropia remail(a)miron.vip.best.com ----.----.- 7:38:28 99.39% amnesia amnesia(a)chardos.connix.com ---- -----+ 3:42:52 99.31% alpha alias(a)alpha.c2.org +++*****++++ 38:39 99.29% penet anon(a)anon.penet.fi ...--....- 27:11:56 99.00% ecafe cpunk(a)remail.ecafe.org --##* ### 1:26:57 98.73% portal hfinney(a)shell.portal.com #+*####- ## 3:52 98.05% treehole remailer(a)mockingbird.alias.net +++- --+ + 2:18:51 97.06% exon remailer(a)remailer.nl.com **+**** ** 4:35 95.60% History key * # response in less than 5 minutes. * * response in less than 1 hour. * + response in less than 4 hours. * - response in less than 24 hours. * . response in more than 1 day. * _ response came back too late (more than 2 days). cpunk A major class of remailers. Supports Request-Remailing-To: field. eric A variant of the cpunk style. Uses Anon-Send-To: instead. penet The third class of remailers (at least for right now). Uses X-Anon-To: in the header. pgp Remailer supports encryption with PGP. A period after the keyword means that the short name, rather than the full email address, should be used as the encryption key ID. hash Supports ## pasting, so anything can be put into the headers of outgoing messages. ksub Remailer always kills subject header, even in non-pgp mode. nsub Remailer always preserves subject header, even in pgp mode. latent Supports Matt Ghio's Latent-Time: option. cut Supports Matt Ghio's Cutmarks: option. post Post to Usenet using Post-To: or Anon-Post-To: header. ek Encrypt responses in reply blocks using Encrypt-Key: header. special Accepts only pgp encrypted messages. mix Can accept messages in Mixmaster format. reord Attempts to foil traffic analysis by reordering messages. Note: I'm relying on the word of the remailer operator here, and haven't verified the reord info myself. mon Remailer has been known to monitor contents of private email. filter Remailer has been known to filter messages based on content. If not listed in conjunction with mon, then only messages destined for public forums are subject to filtering. Raph Levien

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Hurricane Bertha hitting Offshore Information Services
by Vincent Cate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hurricane Bertha is almost certainly going to hit Anguilla, where Offshore Information Services is located. It will probably be at the strongest about 9 am Eastern time Monday morning. This is still not a really big hurricane, so we will not get anything like the trouble we had with Luis last year. Still, there is some chance that we will be offline at some time. If so please understand why. I have about 8 hours of battery backup. If power is out at our location for longer than that I will relocate the server to another location, as I did after Luis. There is little chance that power will go out everywhere for longer than 8 hours. There is a good chance that we get through this without going down, but I just wanted to let people know what our status is. Be patient if sometime tomorrow you can not get to our site. -- Vince Cate Offshore Information Services, Ltd. Anguilla http://online.offshore.com.ai/

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Re: Style gettting in the way of clear reporting
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 06:38 PM 7/7/96 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote: >At 12:40 AM 7/8/96, James A. Donald wrote: > >>When news media were concentrated into fewer and fewer hands during >>the twentieth century, the appearance of neutrality, objectivity, >>and authoritativeness became a major selling point, and so media >>adopted a tone and manner of neutrality, with an accompanying >>"just-the-facts" style, though in reality they became far less neutral > >An interesting point. You are probably right that journalism is becoming >more florid as "amateurs" flood the market. However, I don't quite buy the >concentration argument, as things were pretty concentrated in the Hearst >era, and the explosion of magazines in the past few decades has not been as >concentrated. (In any case, these are hard things to quantify without more >research, which I for one am unlikely to pursue.) It is probably true that journalism was more concentrated in the late 1800's and early 1900's, since it consisted of a few newspapers. However, I think a good argument could be made that because government was dramatically smaller than today, that concentration was not nearly as detrimental as it would be today under similar circumstances. Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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