December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

"An who shall guard the guardians?"
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The Latin maxim "And who shall guard the guardians?" has some relevance to the headlong rush into converting the U.S. into even more of a security state than it is now. The investigation in Atlanta is now focussing on a rent-a-cop who may have planted the pipe bomb and then "discovered" it. Check the usual Web news sources for more details. Whether he is the bomber or not is not the point, which is, "who watches the cops?" A string of arsons up and down the north-south highways of California was finally shown to correlate with the travels up and down those highways (at those same times) by a Glendale arson investigator! And cases where cops have planted evidence, drugs, and guns are almost too much a part of our culture to even notice anymore. My point is not that all cops are corrupt. Indeed, I suspect that they are no more corrupt proportionately than is the general population...which is not too reassuring to me, though. ObClipper: "Who shall guard the guardians?" While the various Clipper proposals have putative safeguards to limit access, think of Craig Livingstone, a rent-a-cop the Clintons hire to work on their Enemies List. And think of the dossiers of J. Edgar Hoover. And think of Nixon. And think of what President Pat Buchanan would do with Government Access to Keys. No thanks, I'll lock my own doors. I have no plans to "voluntarily escrow" my door keys with the local cops. "Secure in one's papers and person" rings a bell, doesn't it? --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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****Tacoma, Washington Starts Taxing Internet Access 07/30/96 (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi all, Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 11:26:59 -0400 > From: "Joseph M. Reagle Jr." <reagle(a)rpcp.mit.edu> > Subject: ****Tacoma, Washington Starts Taxing Internet Access 07/30/96 > > >WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 1996 JUL 30 (NB) -- By Bill Pietrucha. > >Tacoma, Washington, has just gained the distinction of being the > >only municipality in the United States to tax Internet Access > >providers (IAPs) like telephone service providers. > > Somebody needs to do their homework. Austin, TX has been taxing ISP's for at least a year now. A recent Internet Provider meeting on this issue resulted in a return to ISP's of a goodly amound of their taxes because of various issues (read that I didn't go to meeting, I don't run an ISP but a SOHO consultancy w/ Internet services). > >The city of Tacoma has extended its six percent gross receipts tax on > >telecommunications services to include Internet services, Information > >Technology Association of America (ITAA) spokesperson Bob Cohen > >told Newsbytes. I have to pay the state 8.25% interest on any funds my customers deliver to me. > >If other cities attempted to follow Tacoma's lead in taxing IAPs, > >Miler said, it could cause the "Balkanization of the Internet, a > >hodgepodge of confusing, conflicting, and difficult to administer > >Internet tax rules and regulations. Agreed. Jim Choate

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Re: DESZIP
by Julian Assange 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Photo IDs (Re: A Libertine Question)
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 3:12 PM 7/31/96, Duncan Frissell wrote: >was allegedly requiring *two* pieces of ID for flights. If they are talking >about two pieces of photo -- government-issued ID, I wonder where the 80% of >Americans without a Passport (x the 90% of Americans who are not government >employees) get the second piece of ID. [Is it a violation of something if >you Heil Hitler od Sieg Heil the airline clerk when they ask to see your ID. >It's not a threat, it's an expression of honor.] Yeah, this "two photo IDs" is strange, given that: a. many ordinary people have only one form of photo I.D., namely, their driver's license (and many don't even have that) b. terrorists and other such persons are _very_ likely to have multiple forms of I.D., though of course not in their "true name." Hence, the policy looks ineffectual and just a sop to public relations. And just what is a "true name" for the purposes of this law, anyway? Birth name? And what is that? What about people who marry, change names, etc.? Given that there is no "standard" for photo I.D.s, will my Official Cypherpunks Card count? I can easily make my own photo I.D.s, or even order "fake I.D.s" from various mail-order outlets advertising in the Usual Places. If I show up at the airline with two photo I.D.s, one showing me to be "Security Officer Mickey Mouse" and the other showing me to be "Mickey Mouse, Internal Security Agency," will I be violating any laws? --Mickey Mouse (I just changed my name--if you don't like it, FAA, fuck off)

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"adjust your attitude with their billy club"
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 6:28 AM 7/31/96, Alan Horowitz wrote: >I am a strong libertarian. Sell crack cocaine, rent your pussy to horny >middle-aged businessmen, do any non-violent, >non-damaging-to-others-property you want, but damn well maintain public >order and decorum. Or I will scream to my councilman for the cops to >adjust your attitude with their billy club. When the local cops adjust my attitude with a billy club for dressing like a hippie and lounging around in a public place that my taxes have helped pay for, I'll remember that a "strong libertarian" said that he was doing the right thing. .... In my town, the City-State decided to crack down on the homeless by arresting people for "giving away food" in a public park. They charged the soup providers with various failures to have Health Department permits and for not having a permit to operate a restaurant, pay various fees to the City-State, and so on. I went to a City Council meeting when this was happening (1991-2) and spoke up in the public comment part of the meeting. I pointed out that the very same park at which these "food criminals" were doing their dastardly deeds in was a park at which other people and groups were cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, ladling out bowls of chili, serving potato salad, and generally "distributing food." All, of course, without benefit of licenses, health inspections, OSHA inspections, and so on. I suggested arrests of the picnic groups begin immediately, using the same exact charges used to harass the homeless helpers. The Council members, most of them leftist liberals, had no answer. --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: Photo IDs (Re: A Libertine Question)
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:56 AM 8/1/96 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote: >I can easily make my own photo I.D.s, or even order "fake I.D.s" from >various mail-order outlets advertising in the Usual Places. If I show up at >the airline with two photo I.D.s, one showing me to be "Security Officer >Mickey Mouse" and the other showing me to be "Mickey Mouse, Internal >Security Agency," will I be violating any laws? > >--Mickey Mouse (I just changed my name--if you don't like it, FAA, fuck off) They want "government-issued" photo ID. They haven't said which government have they. Time to get my Barbados driver's license. DCF

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Re: "An who shall guard the guardians?"
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:46 AM 8/1/96 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote: > >The Latin maxim "And who shall guard the guardians?" has some relevance to >the headlong rush into converting the U.S. into even more of a security >state than it is now. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

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RE: SECURITY GUARD
by Blanc Weber 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From: Sandy Sandfort > >As per Duncan's lead, I say the government should stop spreading >terrorist bomb making information via police, military and >intelligence training. ............................................. Speaking of "security" and all the excitement about getting people's IDs (two of them), inspecting everyone's packages when they board planes, etc. -- It has been mentioned in the news that there was a warning call to 911 about 30 minutes or so before the blast. But "it didn't get to" the right people until it was too late for them to do much about it. There have been many other instances where the police or other security personnel have been been sent notice that there was a bomb or other such device to be on the alert for, but the warnings went unheeded. Or as in this case, the message "didn't get to" anyone in time. So I was thinking that it makes a joke of the need for telephone wiretapping to catch certain criminals and their dastardly plots, when warnings go unheeded or the security departments themselves are totally unprepared to respond appropriately in an emergency (also in the case of a lone pipe-bomber, there wouldn't be any conspirators making calls to coordinate the event). Furthermore, checking on the security guard's ID didn't prevent the bomb from going off and killing a couple of people. And knowing that no one's baggage in a plane contains explosives doesn't prevent some imaginative loon from using other ways to create havoc & destruction - from *outside* the plane or the building in which all those clean, examined people are sitting. Just more ironic notes on the issue of the needs of law enforcement and our "national security". .. >Blanc > >

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ANNOUNCE: 2nd trip to National Cryptologic Museum
by Zorak Ramone 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The DC Cypherpunks are pleased to announce our second (annual?) National Cryptologic Museum Field Trip (and lunch) Featuring a talk on the Enigma cipher Co-sponsored by DC-SAGE -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- What: A gathering of folks at the National Cryptologic Museum for a day of exploration, education, and general schmoozing. Who: Cypherpunks, coderpunks, crypto enthusiasts, computer nerds, crypto liberationists/crypto anarchists, system administrators, political activists, hackers, rug-chewing wannabes, and Digex employees. Not forgetting Feebs, Case Officers, ATF Agents, and Counter-Intel Specialists. When: Saturday, August 10, 1996, 11am Where: The National Cryptologic Museum, Ft Meade, MD (just outside Washington DC, about 1/2 hr from Baltimore) Why: To give us a chance to catch up on things in a relaxed and stimulating environment, as well as give those who didn't get to come along last time a second try. General Information: The National Cryptologic Museum is located on Ft. Meade (NSA National Headquarters) and is dedicated to educating the public about the history of cryptography. The majority of the museum's exhibits pertain to cryptanalysis during WWII, with special attention given to the Enigma system. Immediately following the museum tour, which may take approximately 1 hour, a talk on Enigma will be given by cryptographer Carl Ellison (cme(a)cybercash.com) The talk will take place in the museum's conference room. Following the lecture, we will be going over to Henckles (10 minutes from the museum), a local resturaunt reported to be a favorite hangout for NSA employees. Henckles has amazing sandwiches as well as good beer on tap. Further information on the National Cryptologic museum, as well as a pretty good map to the museum can be found on their web site at URL http://www.nsa.gov:8080/museum/. If you would like more information about DCCP, please see our web page at http://www.isse.gmu.edu/~pfarrell/dccp/index.html. Otherwise, you can send email to Kathleen Ellis (auntie(a)thunderdome.goucher.edu) This year's gathering promises an even greater attendance than last year's, and we anticipate a great time for everyone. Please post this announcement anywhere you feel relevant and invite some friends along! DIRECTIONS: The following is adapted from the NCM web page. If you're coming from ... Baltimore, MD Take the B/W Parkway (Rt. 295) South towards Washington, D.C. Exit at Rt. 32, heading towards Ft. Meade. Before you reach the first light, make a left onto Colony 7 Rd. Go past the Shell station to reach the Museum. Washington, D.C. Take the B/W Parkway (Rt. 295) North towards Baltimore. Take the exit for Rt. 32. When you reach the light at the end of the exit ramp, make a left, towards Columbia. Take the first right, onto Colony 7 Rd. Go past the Shell station to reach the Museum. Annapolis, MD Take Rt. 32 towards Columbia. Go past NSA, and take the first right after Canine Rd., onto Colony 7 Rd. Go past the Shell station to reach the Museum. Laurel, MD Take Rt. 198 towards Ft. Meade. Make a left onto Rt. 32, heading towards Columbia. Go past NSA, and take the first right after Canine Rd., onto Colony 7 Rd. Go past the Shell station to reach the Museum. Columbia, MD Take Rt. 32 towards Annapolis. Take the first left after crossing the B/W Parkway (Rt. 295) onto Colony 7 Rd. Go past the Shell station to reach the Museum.

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Re: Taxes in the digicash world
by nv89-pla＠nada.kth.se 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Jim Bell wrote: > If, for every $1 somebody paid in taxes, he instead (or, in addition to) > paid 10 cents to a fund to eliminate the tax collectors, at the end of that > year he wouldn't be paying any taxes anymore. That's why AP will work so well. > > > Jim Bell > jimbell(a)pacifier.com > Isn't getting rid of the tax collectors a public good? If I pay money to this fund, everyone will benefit (assuming getting rid of the tax collectors is good). -Peter

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