December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Copyright violations
by Matthew J. Miszewski 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>> American Banker: Thursday, October 31, 1996 > > Two Retail Giants Sue Visa Over Debit Cards > > By LISA FICKENSCHER > > Two of the largest retailing companies have filed a lawsuit against Visa > U.S.A., claiming the bank card association illegally forces merchants to > accept debit cards. (major snip) This is the first step towards repudiation of real electronic cash. I am not in favor of "forcing" companies to act (BTW, they are not forced to do anything, they can choose not to accept Visa), but if Visa will go to bat to support their debit cards, they may be willing to support ecash the same way. Matt -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.2 mQCNAzDq+FoAAAEEANM9+JcJmUp4aCSGpdOG4Y1b6m4630XA8H41Utbvr7Tr6wEH CD6tlxZ+k+Pycj4w/f8WQa8fC50skoLjUNeP4lYsR7NYaMGRp6WkqCLMI/3Nohvk pfLDqnzZZdwVL2liB7mfTURoF6doQaVehHmMBjSaVTfD12tzNGm6VvyEc77JAAUR tClNYXR0aGV3IEouIE1pc3pld3NraSA8bWptaXNraUBleGVjcGMuY29tPg== =lkx1 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

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US Exit Tax Wrapup in Forbes
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The current Forbes has a good short article wrapping up the status of the "taxpatriate" control movement in Congress. The Health Care Bill that passed in August didn't include an Exit Tax as previously reported. What it did contain was a provision that states that taxpatriates with a net worth of more than $500K who renounce their citizenship will still be on the hook for ten years for income taxes on their US source income. This provision is easily dodged however by tax planning techniques that assure that the individual involved has no US source income. Borrowing and trusts can be substituted for an income stream. The second provision was in the immigration bill. It subjects all those who renounce their US citizenship (for any reason) to a visa requirement for entry to the US. State can then deny visas in cases where the expat is a taxpat. This applies to new citizens of those OECD countries that have visa-free entry to the US. How State will filter recent expats out of the flow for special treatment is unclear, however. Nation of birth is shown on passports, so that might be able to be used. This gimmick is also easily dodged by entry into Canada or Mexico with a low profile border crossing into the US. Gee, I wish I had enough assets to become a taxpatriate. DCF "Vote for the only Swiss Citizen in the Presidential race -- Harry Browne."

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Re: Sliderules, Logs, and Prodigies
by Sean Roach 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A quick note, I consider myself to be a nerd. This is in part "reclaiming", as I found myself uninterested in sports, as my classmates were, and found computers fun.(good reason too, considering I had access to one of those, an old TI99/4a, longer than I had classmates). I didn't grow up un either log tables or slide rules, but I did learn how to do basic arithmetic on both the traditional slide rule, and a round one designed for engineers. At one time, nerds were the intellectuals, the only thing that has really changed is that now the nerds are in control, making intellectual arts a little more appealing. I'm only a 21 year old college student who is still somewhat ignorant, make that quite ignorant, about the world, but I do feel that just because it was an unpopular term to describe you, it isn't disrespectful to consider ourselves nerds. Relevance to Crypto, none. Just attempting to defend myself in the ether. >From ???@??? Sun Nov 03 22:49:13 1996 To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com From: Sean Roach <roach_s(a)alph.swosu.edu> Subject: Re: Sliderules, Logs, and Prodigies Cc: Bcc: X-Attachments: A quick note, I consider myself to be a nerd. This is in part "reclaiming", as I found myself uninterested in sports, as my classmates were, and found computers fun.(good reason too, considering I had access to one of those, an old TI99/4, longer than I had classmates). I di

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AOL / CyberPromo email blocking
by Three Blind Mice 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This was in the Daily Brief on 11/05: * A federal Judge ruled yesterday that America Online can block junk e-mail from Cyber Promotions Inc. - said neither the First Amendment nor the constitutions of Pennsylvania or Virginia allow Cyber to send unsolicited computer ads to AOL members. Does anybody know where I can find a full article on this? It sounds like it might set some precedent for other cases dealing with the Internet. Thanks, --3bmice

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Kill Files
by ph＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I've been experimenting with a kill file. It is quite effective, takes very little time to set up, and imposes minimal overhead on my machine. In general people who have written worthwhile articles continue to do so. Those who have not in the past, tend not to in the future. So, I sort by poster into three categories: the A-list, the maybe-read list, and the killfile. My A-list has about 35 names and the resulting messages are, in my opinion, almost entirely signal. I use the maybe-read list to find people who should be on the A-list. The kill file I don't read. If people post on things that don't interest me, I killfile them. If they bore me, I killfile them. If they are rude, I killfile them. If they use obscenities I am likely to killfile them. If they make naive statements, I killfile them. If they whine too much, I killfile them. I now have a cypherpunks list which is worth reading. I was surprised that so many core cypherpunks allowed Dmitri Vulis to upset them so much. That was obviously his intention. Is it really so shocking to learn that somewhere out in the world there is one loser? Follow Tim May's fine example - killfile him and forget him. Killfiles are easy to set up. You don't need to write a line of code. I use the filters in Eudora. Eudora is available for Macs and PCs. If you are using a Unix box, procmail will do the trick. If you don't know much about these tools, you probably know somebody who does. If you don't, you can probably find people on the cypherpunks list who will be more than happy to help you. I will be happy to help you. It is wonderful that John Gilmore and Hugh Daniels have done so much to keep this list running. John can do anything he wants with his machines and with this list. But, I was disappointed to see him remove somebody from it. Why? I prefer to choose for myself who to killfile and who not to. Unfortunately, beggars can't be choosers. Peter Hendrickson ph(a)netcom.com

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[NOISE] [philosophypunks] Re: Dr. Vulis
by Bryce 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Dr. Phillip Hallam-Baker <hallam(a)ai.mit.edu> wrote: > > And of course this is not an action that can be strictly justified in > terms of absolute rights which many are fond of prating on about. > Rights are limited, as Mills observes they are a product of law. Society > finds it necessary to enact laws to protect rights. Dmitri's posts were > affecting other people's right to speak. There is thus the traditional > liberal conflict, that of having to infringe rights to protect them. to which I, Bryce <bryce(a)c2.net> replied: > > Dear Sir: I humbly put it to you that the above reflects a > misunderstanding about the libertarian conception of "absolute > rights". I personally do _not_ subscribe to said theory, but > I try to understand a thing correctly before criticizing it in > public. to which he, <hallam(a)ai.mit.edu> wrote: > > Given that the only recognised philosopher to take the libertarian > position is Nozdic and he has semi-recanted I think it perfectly > reasonable to base the libertarian position on the views of > people calling themselves libertarians. Okay. Normally I would rather argue about viewpoints expressed in written opinions by writers like pre-communitarian Nozick, Ayn Rand, David Friedman and so forth than about difficult-to- pinpoint "views of people calling themselves libertarians", but in this case it will make little difference to my argument, which is that your article quoted at the beginning of this message reflects a misunderstanding of those views. > If you don't ascribe to "absolute rights" based in natural law > then it sounds as if you accept that rights are derived > from prior principles. If you accept that then you are a > simply taking the traditional liberal position. Hm. This is as may be, but it is tangential to my purpose in publically calling you on your (presumably innocent) misrepresentation. <snip on Hallam-Baker on Mills on "'absolute' rights"> Sure, I agree with you that Mills doesn't start with rights as an assumption, but rather argues for them from prior assumptions. When I said that Mills argues for "absolute ('unbalanced')" rights, I meant that he argues for individual rights with (almost) no exceptions, in constrast to your your assertion that "the main theory it advances is of the *balance* between the rights of communities and the rights of individuals.". I doubt very much that Mills _ever_ used the phrase or the concept of "rights of communities" and I know that the main theory that _On_Liberty_ advances is the (almost) total sovereignty of individual rights. (I see now that I shouldn't have called Mills' conception of rights "absolute", because of the existence of that "almost" there...) But this, too, is tangential to my point... > Mill was not an anarchist, he was a classic liberal utilitarian. > Its rather ironic that nobody on the list has recognised that I > advance a classical utilitarian position and that if I quote Mill > I'm quoting a principle authority. Hm. I was taught that Mills recanted Benthamism and became a vigorous philosophical adversary of it before writing _On_ _Liberty_. Are you counting _On_Liberty_-era Mills as some kind of "neo-Benthamite utilitarian" or is one of us mistaken on his self-identification? But this, too, is tangential to my point, which I will get around to now. You wrote, in the article that spawned this thread: > And of course this is not an action that can be strictly justified in > terms of absolute rights which many are fond of prating on about. Now I must strongly assert that this _is_ an action that can be strictly justified in terms of absolute rights as understood by people who call themselves libertarians. I don't believe that Dr. Vulis _should_ have been banned from cypherpunks, and I don't believe in absolute rights as understood by people who call themselves libertarians, but I must state that your assertion quoted above reflects a profound misunderstanding of that viewpoint. The idea of absolute rights as understood by libertarians states that no-one is justified in exercising "the use of force" against another person unless in self-defense against similar "use of force" from that person. [Note: "the use of force" is in quotes because it has a particular meaning in this context which is essential to appreciating the theory. The meaning of "the use of force" in this theory is: "One of: a. performing physical violence upon the subject, b. threatening to perform physical violence upon the subject, c. stealing the subject's property.".] Now if you are able to read and comprehend the above paragraph then you must find it obvious that this theory does not forbid John Gilmore from banning Dr. Vulis from cypherpunks. If you are able to read and comprehend the above paragraph and _also_ understand its deficiencies and begged questions, then more power to you, but you must still admit that the theory, as understood by people who call themselves libertarians, fully permits John Gilmore to ban Dr. V. I look forward to your reply. Regards, Bryce -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2i Comment: Auto-signed under Unix with 'BAP' Easy-PGP v1.1b2 iQB1AwUBMn97m0jbHy8sKZitAQGiPgL9GJqxboWmhOoMheYpPZTgPyRB6eMbf4J6 q2EmtQPoQB8HwhFLR4AV9C9TgZ4wb2lH2gCCDjqaUi0I+0Kc5AMUBfXvmh3tU/Q6 BkztyVtRQsM/IJ0ruLItYqJmrRTAmDou =QQJG -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Information
by kb4vwa＠juno.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm a new Cyberpunk! I apologized if this is not the place to post this message request. I have some interesting projects and questions for the Cyberpunk world. I would like to know if there is any Cyberpunks in S. Florida (Miami) who could converse with me about Crypto? I am very interested in making new Cyberpunk friends, meeting places, etc.., or please send me E-mail. I would like to know where to place my Public Key? Note, I only have E-mail access at this time, and not the Net access, but could have a friend place the key for me. Last, I would like to know once and for all, is PGP compromised, is there a back door, and have we been fooled by NSA to believe it's secure? Ed - kb4vwa(a)juno.com

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Announcement-- Reward for Errors...
by pcw＠access.digex.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At this moment, I'm preparing the second edition of my book _Digital Cash_. In order to reduce the errors and improve the book, I'm announcing rewards of $10.00 per technical error to the first person to report each particular error to me. They will also receive a personal mention in the thanks given at the front of the book if they don't want to remain anonymous. Naturally, I need to limit this offer. All awards are subject to my whims. Errors in grammar and spelling are not eligible. I will make the decision of which person is the first to make a bug report. If something seems more like a feature than a bug, I may not pay a reward. Also, I am free to decide upon the basic granularity of the errors. My decision is final, but I hope to be as inclusive as possible to reward people who take the time to write. I want to be as generous as my pocketbook allows. If this works out well, the second edition will sell more books which will allow me to offer even larger rewards when I prepare the third edition. I'm also asking that people forward any suggestions for additional topics to me. A copy of the table of contents can be found on my web page (http://www.access.digex.net/~pcw/pcwpage.html) If you're a company or a researcher with an interesting contribution to the world of digital transactions, please write. I want to be as inclusive as possible. My thanks to everyone who takes the time to consider this offer. The offer is in effect for a limited period of time and may be withdrawn at any time. See my web page for announcements. -Peter Wayner pcw(a)access.digex.com

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Re: URG_ent
by droelke＠rdxsunhost.aud.alcatel.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Not to beat up on Medcom - but doesn't this sound like a nice DES cracking target? > > "Medcom introduces a "Super Cafe" data encryption product" > > Medcom's latest data encryption product, the Secure Socket > Relay (SSR), features strong encryption with full key length > (56-bits DES). A demo version can be downloaded at > http://www.medcom.se/. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Oelke Alcatel Network Systems droelke(a)aud.alcatel.com Richardson, TX

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"Fortune" article on crypto
by Timothy C. May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Wading through 150 or more messages from while I was away (a huge fraction of them either about or from Vulis), I didn't see mention of the long article on crypto, export issues, RSADSI, Bidzos, the NSA, etc., in the current issue of "Fortune" magazine, 11 November. One think caught my eye, though I haven't finished reading the whole thing. "Bidzos professes what seems sincere respect for the spy agency--several of its former staffers even work for him. But he insists that it needs a gadfly: "I've gone there a few times and listened to their dark-side folks. I always come out feeling that I'm a traitor. I deserve to die. I'm causing the early demise of society and should just scuttle the company, But an hour after I leave the agency, my head clears and I think, "Okay, back to reality."" This echoes the feeling I often have (though I have never been given the "If you knew what we know" spiel, though I have a vivid imagination and have known for the last half-dozen years what the implications of strong and untraceable crypto implies). That is, I understand the role of the NSA and the longterm "threats" strong crypto implies. (I avoid blather about how all it is useful for is to protect the democratic and privacy rights of citizen-units. That's comforting twaddle, popular with some journalists and some namby pamby privacy advocates. In fact, strong crypto is a tool for deconstructing and demolishing democratic institutions, which is why I support it. Obviously. Yes, I sometimes get concerned about the lives which will be affected, but, ultimately, the ubermensch must do what he must do, regardless of how some in the herd are affected.) Also Sprach Tim, "The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology." [NYT, 1996-10-02] We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I 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: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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