December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

RE: Risk v. Charity (was: RE: Workers Paradise. /Political.
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 03:44 PM 9/18/96 EST, jbugden(a)smtplink.alis.ca wrote: >I did not respond to the other poster because it seemed clear that he was not >informed on the subject. While people debate the precise reasons for it, the >Canadian health system spends about two thirds as much as the U.S. system as a >percent of GNP while covering more people as a percent of population. This is a >fact. Canada has the world's second most expensive system (after ours) and I think is a bit closer to 80% of our per cap expenditures. Canada's costs and ours used to track pretty well. When Canada adopted the Provincial Health Systems model in the mid '60s they fell 20% (relative to us -- while our costs were exploding because of Medicare-Medicaid). Since then, Canadian costs have risen at approx the same rate as ours. Per cap expenditures on the uninsured in America are approximately the same as on the insured. As are average number of days in hospital, etc. Most of the uninsured just go to hospitals and don't pay. States have various methods of sharing this cost out. Interestingly, even though government expenditures here are 60% of the total, per cap government expenditures on health care are higher here than in the UK under the Nattie Health. Our system is much more expensive than it has to be because the unrestricted insurance model encourages over consumption. Americans are very assertive about getting what's coming to them. They don't like to wait. They can only be restrained by market pricing. >This is another way to create risk pool seperation as well as reduce health >costs. Some people will not be able to afford tobacco, reducing the potential >candidates for tobacco related illness. The additonal revenue can be used as a >"risk premium" to fund the related long term medical expenses. Course Canada lost it when smuggling defeated the high tax levels on cigarettes. This will be more of a problem in the future as more efficient markets enable more smuggling. >If all you do is replace Big Brother with Big Business, then all that has >changed is the name. GM shoots fewer people than the US Gov. And if they started shooting more people, their cash flow would suffer. People are willing to accept less violence from private institutions, however large, than from governments. In addition, average institutional size is down. Big business is smaller. DCF

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RE: Risk v. Charity (was: RE: Workers Paradise. /Politica.
by jbugden＠smtplink.alis.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Black Unicorn <unicorn(a)schloss.li> wrote: >> jbugden(a)alis.com wrote: >> But I did site one example of a government >> funded system that *is* less expensive than a market driven one. > >I believe this cite was refuted by another poster, that is if you mean the >Canadian health system. I did not respond to the other poster because it seemed clear that he was not informed on the subject. While people debate the precise reasons for it, the Canadian health system spends about two thirds as much as the U.S. system as a percent of GNP while covering more people as a percent of population. This is a fact. >> >> Not every victim of lung cancer smokes. >> >I'll tell you what. I will give you a dollar for every non-smoking >> >related lung cancer case, if you give me one for every smoking >> >related case. >> >> Agreed, with one condition. I get to create a tax on tobacco products >> and keep this additional revenue. > >Uh, what's your point here? This is another way to create risk pool seperation as well as reduce health costs. Some people will not be able to afford tobacco, reducing the potential candidates for tobacco related illness. The additonal revenue can be used as a "risk premium" to fund the related long term medical expenses. >Markets, however, fail far less often then the left would have us believe. >They also have the rather potent effect of reducing government >involvement in everyday life. I don't speak for the left, nor for the right. I don't think that there is a unified voice on either side of the political spectrum. However I do find it ironic that market driven health insurance has the potential to be more intrusive into personal life than many government systems (cf. genetic screening). If all you do is replace Big Brother with Big Business, then all that has changed is the name. Ciao, James "what are cast as one-sided ... guidelines can be recast beneficially as two-sided trade-offs" - Webb Stacy

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Re: IBM_gak
by paul＠fatmans.demon.co.uk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Apparently, senile Tim May (fart) is a Clinton administration troll planted > here to sabotage any discussions of actual crypto work and to flood this > mailing list with lies and personal attacks and to make it unusable. You would appear to be an accomplice.... Datacomms Technologies web authoring and data security Paul Bradley, Paul(a)fatmans.demon.co.uk Http://www.fatmans.demon.co.uk/crypt/ "Don`t forget to mount a scratch monkey" -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6.3ia mQCNAjH9j+cAAAEEAMBvREiQR0ot9dFCO0TiSCSunAYLv2g1Bc6I3bz8FzKXNH53 6mieJf/W4rD+CxJpT0q9RQaaoRtkHJLwbjfK2il3D7mEahMAyqvF/xRJNqkXfhM3 sRJM0Jh43l+W0M5vwokbEbk25/bxWWGspTsLD3YHbzKnG6pOcL5OPIRbv66xAAUR tCdQYXVsIEJyYWRsZXkgPHBhdWxAZmF0bWFucy5kZW1vbi5jby51az6JAJUDBRAy NwfvNkCBjDT0xHEBATQPA/9TORmN/UjNecj03q4anpvdyCLiez5sKuNbnYK50RiP Jj4QpWWvST3smyQ0A86DrZY/re056MXwQmARESx0rFZxdnD0oORICl5r8dJLIy3b j8rbA5olXwZwKz73/X5s13v/pvHYX4cIsbVK8NHXqh5llSKt6TBAuGgkIGF29z5k C4kAlQMFEDI3B9mdtf/umVkv7QEBcRYD/1FBteLqsUmr81euxqqnnrpLlyHb58B/ 9sdATuua4uSjX46hXDZ264YozspNrzSB4NEdrmXOWVX3fiE0ga6XkSSkIeF23V90 En37Z0BdbFzgF00FRYTFyTq8eezQrdg/+rBPUsZUmG5wpq3e12FKHQsX01i+1mB2 YmqqwCV5e95eiQCVAgUQMh8uSb5OPIRbv66xAQEqJwP/fxQyiCasjFcbDpsFfsYp put5cCC/9pOx6X3DlbKShPMpUOS+A9HsTEmJQN8Iawv1nSwPdtc2cR/GhW6ilVjW LSloGdMVLabm9pGpZZMkRaZlXFUkOv7VhfgsUiL+vIDryBCAwUZCzQiWycjt/cPi mUqFH41Z7NkyO8ZFdi5GGX0= =CMZA -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

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Re: [NEWS] Crypto-relevant wire clippings
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From varange(a)crl.com Wed Sep 18 10:09:46 1996 Received: by bwalk.dm.com (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Wed, 18 Sep 96 11:07:02 EDT for dlv Received: from mail.crl.com by uu.psi.com (5.65b/4.0.061193-PSI/PSINet) via SMTP; id AA17510 for dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com; Wed, 18 Sep 96 10:09:46 -0400 Received: from crl11.crl.com by mail.crl.com with SMTP id AA03347 (5.65c/IDA-1.5 for <dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com>); Wed, 18 Sep 1996 07:10:14 -0700 Received: by crl11.crl.com id AA21244 (5.65c/IDA-1.5 for dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com) Wed, 18 Sep 1996 07:01:51 -0700 From: Troy Varange <varange(a)crl.com> Message-Id: <199609181401.AA21244(a)crl11.crl.com> Subject: Re: [NEWS] Crypto-relevant wire clippings To: dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com (Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM) Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 07:01:50 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <3kJFuD96w165w(a)bwalk.dm.com> from "Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM" at Sep 17, 96 10:32:37 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 19290 > > Money Laundering Alert: August 1996 > > 'Unauthorized' Banks Pose Laundering Threat > > They are subject to none of the recordkeeping or reporting requirements > of the Bank Secrecy Act, receive no examinations from any banking > regulator, and may be on your bank's currency transaction reporting > exemption list. > > The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency refers to them as > "entities that may be conducting banking operations in the U.S. without > a license." Money launderers probably refer to them as dreams come true > and, unless legitimate financial institutions are alert, can use them to > place illicit proceeds into the financial system. > > They are "unauthorized" banks, and for the past five years the OCC has > been disseminating advisories to legitimate U.S. banks - but not to > consumers - in an effort to expose their existence and halt their > illegal operations. > > These so-called "banks" offer a variety of banking services, often at > lower fees and better interest rates than legitimate banks offer. What > makes them different from a legitimate bank - and attractive to money > launderers -- is that they are not licensed by any U.S. banking agency > and thus do not have to meet regulatory standards. > > Because the OCC and other federal bank regulators are not investigative > agencies, they can do little more than report these institutions to > those who are. If the entities are found to be operating a bank without > a license they can be prosecuted under the Glass-Steagell Act (Title 12, > USC Sec. 378(a)(2)). > > Such prosecutions are rare. In one case in 1994, initiated by Federal > Reserve Board examiners, the principals of Lombard Bank, Ltd., were > charged with operating an unauthorized bank through a payable-through > account at American Express Bank International in Miami. Lombard, which > had been "licensed" in the South Pacific money laundering haven of > Vanuatu, offered its Central American customers virtually full banking > services in the U.S. through its PTA (MLA, Sep. 1994). > > Earlier this year, the OCC released a list of more than 50 "banks" known > to be operating without authorization. OCC officials say the number > grows steadily. Some of the "banks" say they are licensed by foreign > countries or U.S. states to conduct banking business. Others, such as > the Swiss Trade & Commerce Trust, Ltd., of Belize, continue to offer > services in the U.S. despite edicts from foreign banking authorities to > cease doing business. > > The unauthorized entities have a common trait. They usually have names > that are similar to those of well-known legitimate institutions. The OCC > list includes the Bank of England, a Washington, D.C., entity not > associated with London's famous "old lady on Threadneedle Street" and > Citicorp Financial Services, a Beverly Hills firm not associated with > the better-known institution of that name. It also includes the First > Bank of Internet, which heralds itself as the first bank in cyberspace. > > Through its periodic "special alerts," the OCC warns banks to "view with > extreme caution any proposed transaction involving any of the listed > entities." It makes no effort to educate members of the general public > who unknowingly place their money and trust in those uninsured > institutions. > > > > > American Banker: Friday, August 30, 1996 > > Swift Near Alliance in Trade Document Automation > > By STEVEN MARJANOVIC > > Swift, the international banking telecommunications network, wants to > play a bigger role in trade finance and the exchange of related > documentation. > > Sources said the Brussels-based organization will soon take a position-- > perhaps as early as its September board meeting-- on whether to work on > trade automation in cooperation with another consortium, called Bolero. > > Such a move would involve an increase in nonbank participants on a > bank-owned network that has approached such liberalization cautiously. > > Swift, formally the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial > Telecommunication, is used by 5,300 banks for exchanging messages in > such areas as funds transfer, foreign exchange, and securities. > > The network averaged about 2.7 million messages a day in July, > representing daily dollar volumes exceeding $2 trillion. > > Officials said Swift is nearing a decision to work with the Bolero > Association, which is forming an electronic registry for the so-called > "dematerializing" of trade documents. Swift could provide the "platform" > for allowing banks and corporations to exchange such documentation as > letters of credit and bills of lading. > > Bolero was formed in 1994 with funding from the European Commission, but > has not formulated concrete operating plans. Its members include > Citicorp, Barclays Bank PLC, and other multinational banks and > corporations. > > Peter Scott, trade services market director at Swift, said it has been > in discussions with London-based Bolero since December 1995 about > joining forces to automate the exchange of trade documents. > > "Bankers are beginning to sense both the opportunities in those areas > and the threats to them from an intermediary stepping in and potentially > taking away the business," Mr. Scott said. > > Trade-document capability "is not a heavily utilized area within Swift > at the present time," he said. > > The potential in automation is obvious to Bolero officials. At the New > York Banktrade Conference recently, John McKessy, the association's > North American representative, said the annual value of goods moved > internationally approaches $4 trillion. > > He estimated current international trade requires some three billion > documents to be issued and managed. > > The cost of dealing with paper alone eats up about 7% of the total value > of those goods, as much as $280 billion, Mr. McKessy said. > > Bank revenues from issuing letters of credit last year were just over $1 > billion, according to a soon-to-be-released survey by the U.S. Council > on International Banking. > > Anthony K. Brown, senior vice president of trade services at MTB Bank, > described trade transaction processing as "extremely cumbersome and > tedious, prone to mistakes and delays (that) can be a hindrance to the > completion of a transaction." > > MTB is a $400 million-asset merchant bank based in New York. About 80% > of its $100 million in loans are trade-related. > > The paper-shuffling costs are not borne entirely by banks. Import/export > companies, insurers, freight forwarders, and various government > inspection agencies are also involved. > > "The question is whether Swift wants to do it," said Dan Taylor, > president of the New York-based U.S. Council. > > "Swift is going to act fairly quickly on this," he added. > > Mr. Taylor said Swift officials will likely grapple once again with the > political and philosophical issues of giving nonbanks more access to > Swift, and to payment systems generally. > > In 1995, the network granted partial access to nonbanks after years of > heated debate. > > "You always have this push and pull, where some banks would like Swift > to do certain things" while others want the network to focus on the > money transfer business, Mr. Taylor said. > > "If Bolero succeeds and Swift joins, I think it will move fairly > rapidly, but I'm not sure that Bolero is going to be the only thing out > there." > > He said Bolero might evolve using value-added networks - or intranets - > like the IBM Global Network and General Electric Information Services > Co., or perhaps even the Internet. > > Indeed, another member of Bolero, CSI Complex Systems Inc., New York, is > apparently talking to several providers of private, value-added networks > and may soon enter a contract with one. > > CSI letter-of-credit software leads the pack in banking, with about a > 16% market share, Mr. Taylor said. > > The company recently formed a business unit called Electronic Documents > International, which has developed an Internet-based system for > initiating letters of credit. CSI spokesman George Capsis said the > software, Import.com, creates "about 30 key documents involved in > international trade." > > The Internet, enhanced with security features, may help the trade > industry reduce paper-related costs, especially at smaller companies > overseas. > > CSI managing director Andre Cardinale said customers need only to "dial > into a bank's Internet server, pull up the Import.com application, and > actually fill in the details to create a new letter of credit or an > amendment to an existing one." > > While Bolero may find a place on the Internet or a GE-type network, Mr. > Cardinale said the ultimate push may yet come from the banking industry > working collectively through Swift. > > He said Swift opposition from nonbank constituencies that are concerned > the telecommunications cooperative will be more sympathetic to banks > when disputes arise. > > But "if Swift does it," he added, "it will bring banks into the universe > far more - pardon the pun - swiftly." > > > Crain's New York Business: August 26, 1996 > > Bloomberg to Detail Growth of Information Empire > > Michael Bloomberg made a name for himself on Wall Street with his > trading acumen and mastery of the computer systems that were becoming > crucial to success in the securities business. > > But no one suspected when he left Salomon Brothers in 1981 that in the > next decade he would build the fastest-growing provider of financial > information in the world. > > Mr. Bloomberg, whose company Bloomberg Financial Markets has estimated > sales of $600 million, will be the keynote speaker at the fifth annual > Crain's ''Growing a Business Expo,'' to be held this year on Thursday, > Oct. 24. > > The event will take place at the New York Hilton & Towers from 8 a.m. to > 1 p.m. It is presented by Citibank and co-sponsored by Con Edison and > Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield. > > Last year, more than 1,000 growing business owners and managers attended > the expo, which provides information for companies operating in the city > regarding potential suppliers, financial resources and government > programs. > > The cost to attend the event is $45 and includes a continental > breakfast. Individuals registering before Sept. 6 can bring a colleague > for free. To register, call Flagg Management at (212) 286-0333. > > In addition to Mr. Bloomberg's speech, attendees will be able to attend > seminars on financing and other help available from the city, financing > techniques, energy cost savings programs and how to reduce health > insurance costs. An expected 135 exhibitors will be offering products > and services of use to growing companies. > > Crain's New York Business editors will discuss how a growing business > can get coverage in Crain's and in other publications. > > The heart of Mr. Bloomberg's empire is a news gathering operation that > sends information through 62,000 computer terminals installed on the > desks of investment professionals around the nation. His company > provides the latest financial news and sophisticated tools to analyze > information. > > The company he has built is noted for its lack of bureaucracy despite > its growth to 2,000 employees. Its hallmarks are hands-on leadership and > an entrepreneurial atmosphere where employees receive perks such as free > food. > > Mr. Bloomberg has extended his reach to include an all-news radio > station in New York, WBBR; Bloomberg Personal TV; syndicated television > shows; a monthly personal finance magazine; and a similar magazine for > institutional investors. > > > American Banker: Friday, September 6, 1996 > > America Online Opens a New Banking Channel > > By DREW CLARK > > Nineteen banks - national home banking stalwarts such as Citicorp and > BankAmerica, plus a complement of less prominent regionals - have > climbed onto the America Online bandwagon. > > Most already offer their customers several options for banking via > personal computer and view America Online, with its six million > subscribers, as a way to appeal to a broad cross-section of computer- > literate consumers. > > Fourteen of the AOL banking partners will be delivering services through > BankNow, a software package developed for the interactive network by > Intuit Inc. > > The other five banks have opted to use their own software. One of them - > Security First Network Bank, which operates entirely on the Internet - > will invite AOL users in through their Web browsers. > > With its announcement this week, America Online Inc. takes its place > among the many alternative "channels" for on-line banking. > > Many of the banks on AOL's list are simultaneously cooperating with > other companies that are themselves competitors, such as Intuit and > Microsoft Corp., suppliers of the Quicken and Money financial management > software, respectively. > > Also crossing competitive lines, America Online said its subscribers > will be able to bank from home with PC software from three suppliers > other than Intuit: Checkfree Corp., Online Resources and Communications > Corp., and Visa Interactive. > > "Everyone understands that there is competition in the home banking > arena," said David Baird, general manager of the personal finance > division at America Online, based in Dulles, Va. "To align ourselves > with exclusively one company would be a mistake." > > Intuit can count on 14 initial bank users of BankNow. Spokesmen for the > other three system vendors declined to say when they expect to have home > banking products available for the AOL channel. > > Experts noted that AOL and Intuit could be a strong tandem, in that they > dominate their respective businesses. > > Intuit's Quicken is the leading brand in personal finance software. The > company claims more than 9 million active users and a market share of > about 80%. > > America Online's subscriber base of six million is as big as those of > its next two competitors, Compuserve and Prodigy, combined. > > The financial institutions currently offering BankNow are: American > Express, Bank of Stockton (Calif.), Centura Banks Inc., Commerce Bank of > Kansas City, Mo., Commercial Federal of Omaha, Compass Bank of Alabama, > CoreStates Financial Corp., Crestar Financial Corp., First Chicago NBD > Corp., Laredo (Tex.) National Bank, M&T Bank of Western New York, > Marquette Bank of Minneapolis, Sanwa Bank California, and Union Bank of > California. > > More plan to offer BankNow-based services through AOL later this year: > BankAtlantic of Florida, Bank of Boston, First Hawaiian Bank, First > Michigan Bank, Mellon Bank, Signet Bank, and U.S. Bank of Oregon. > > Unlike Quicken, BankNow software is available free to America Online > subscribers. > > Banks' fees will vary. First National Bank of Chicago said it will > charge $3.95 a month for on-line banking and $9.95 a month for other > services that include bill payment. > > Centura Banks Inc. said it will offer on-line banking free, and charge > $5.95 a month for bill payment. > > Intuit officials declined to disclose what its Intuit Services Corp. > processing unit will charge to handle these transactions for banks. > > Some of Intuit's larger bank partners chose not to offer BankNow because > they already promote their own PC banking programs. > > For example, Citicorp, First Union, and Wells Fargo each support > Quicken, but passed on BankNow. Instead, they are paying a premium for a > "button" on America Online's banking screen that will eventually link > users to a proprietary home banking program. > > > > AP Online: Thursday, September 5, 1996 > > House Probes Money Laundering > > By ROB WELLS > > House Banking Committee members on Thursday urged a Treasury Department > agency to step up its efforts to halt money laundering by Mexican drug > lords. > > Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., urged the Financial Crimes Enforcement > Network to put in place new regulations to plug a significant loophole > that allows Mexico's drug dealers to place their ill-gotten profits back > into the U.S. > > Bachus, chairman of the House Banking oversight subcommittee, said > Congress gave authority to FinCen in 1994 to put in place new rules that > would prevent drug dealers from using foreign bank drafts, a type of > check, to evade currency reporting restrictions. > > ''That effort is long, long overdue,'' Bachus said. > > Rep. Henry Gonzalez, D-Texas, asked the agency to provide further > details about suspected money laundering in his home town of San > Antonio, particularly the source of a $3 billion cash surplus in the San > Antonio Federal Reserve Bank. > > The issue arose as Bachus' panel began exploring the dramatic rise of > narcotics traffic along the 2,000 mile long U.S.-Mexico border, and the > ease with which drug dealers can ship their profits to the south. Money > laundering refers to the practice by which drug dealers, mobsters and > others funnel their illegal profits into the banking system through > businesses or other means. > > Bachus said estimates of drug profits laundered through Mexico range > from $6 billion to $30 billion per year. Stanely E. Morris, FinCen's > director, defended his agency's record, saying a combination of new > rules and tougher enforcement in the past decade has ''made it more > difficult to launder money in the U.S.'' and increased the costs of > money laundering. Morris' agency enforces the Bank Secrecy Act, a key > weapon against money laundering. > > As for the new rules aimed at foreign bank drafts, Morris said the > regulations are more difficult than first expected because such > restrictions also could hinder legitimate commerce. He said the proposal > would be released soon. > > FinCen is working on other fronts to combat money laundering, which > includes a new computer system that tallies bank fraud to help > regulators gain an early warning of money laundering. > > In addition, the Clinton Administration assisted Mexico in adopting new > anti-money laundering rules earlier this year. And Treasury Secretary > Robert Rubin convened a conference of 29 nations in December 1995 to > focus on the money laundering problem. > > One committee member, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., addressed the > political context of the hearings. > > Waters said she was suspicious that the Republican-led Congress was > holding ''a rash of hearings this month ... on the subject of drugs just > as Presidential candidate Dole tries to use the issue as part of his > campaign strategy against President Clinton.'' > > Waters said if the GOP-led House ''is truly serious about the impact of > drugs'' it should hold hearings about charges raised in a San Jose > Mercury News investigative series last month concerning the role > CIA-backed rebels in Nicaragua played in bringing crack cocaine and > weapons to Los Angeles and other cities. > > Bachus told Waters the hearing wasn't motivated by politics and that he > had personally been involved in anti-drug efforts prior to his election > to Congress. > > --- > > Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Fuckhead.

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Re: 56 kbps modems
by craigw＠dg.ce.com.au 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Interesting. . . Oh well, I bet their competition doesn't mind. That is the major problem. We have only 2 carriers in this country. The market is not being deregulated untill mid 97. Optus the other carrier has only just installed local access (rather than STD, ISDN only) and it covers ~ 11% of the population with this service. The other problem is that they use lines leased from telstra as many councils and communities are complaining about the laying of new cables (arrr joe public). In a recent case where optus decided to try and lay the cables against council wishes the council impounded several of the vehicles used. Is it not great to live in the "lucky country". Here in Au we seem to delight in first complaining of the poor line quality, and than stop new line being installed Craig ,'~``. \|/ ,'``~. (-o=o-) (@ @) ,(-o=o-), +--.oooO--(_)--Ooo-----oOO-(_)-OOo-------oooO--(_)--Oooo.------+ | | | Soon, we may all be staring at our computers, wondering | | whether they're staring back. | | | | [Network Admin For WPA Business Products. aka doshai >;-) ] | | .oooO http://pip.com.au/~doshai/ Oooo. | | ( ) Oooo. .oooO ( ) | +-----\ (----( )-------oooO-Oooo--------( )--- ) /---------+ \_) ) / \ ( (_/ (_/ \_) Key fingerprint = 2D F4 54 BB B4 EA F1 E7 B6 DE 48 92 FC 8D FF 49 Send a message with the subject "send pgp-key" for a copy of my key. (if I want to give it to you)

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Re: Assassination Politics, is now Mercenarial Stuff
by Michelle Thompson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From: kwheeler(a)intellinet.com >Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 20:08:18 -0500 >X-Sender: kwheeler(a)intellinet.com >To: Michelle Thompson <mthompso> >Subject: Re: Assassination Politics, is now Mercenarial Stuff > >Loosely the term mercenary means one who does a job solely for >profit. Technically, as outlined in Article 47 of Protocol I >Additional to the Geneva Convention of 1949: > >" 2. A mercenary is a person who: > > (a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to > fight in an armed conflict; > > (b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities; > > (c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities by the desire > for private gain, and, in fact, is promised by or on behalf > of a party to the conflict, material compensation substaintially > in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of _simliar_ > ranks (my added emphasis -KMW) and functions in the armed forces > of that party; > > (d) is neither a national of a party to the conflict nor a resident of > terrritory controlled by a part to the conflict; > > (e) is not a memeber of the armed forces of a party to the conflict; >" > > >The foreign legions of France, Spain, and Libya are considered to be >part of the armed forces of those nations, and therefore, strictly speaking, >personnel enlisted in these forces are _not_ mercenaries. > >I had to go dig that info up to see if I had remembered things >somewhat correctly... > >-K > > >

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[NEWS]
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

American Banker, 9/17/96 CHASE TO OFFER DEALERSHIPS AUTO LOAN DECISIONS OVER INTERNET Chase Manhattan Corp.'s auto financing division has begun using the Internet to provide dealerships with loan-approval decisions. The bank is the first of eight financial institutions that have committed to using the system, developed by IBM Corp. By computerizing loan applications and sending data electronically, Chase officials said the bank can grant approvals in as few as two minutes. Up to 50% of the division's auto loans will be running through the system within the next 18 months. Chase, the largest car lender not affiliated with a car company, is connected to six dealerships currently using the system and will establish connections to 100 dealers with the official introduction in October. Other financial institutions planning to use the on-line system include NationsBank Corp., G.E. Capital Auto Financial Services Inc., Regions Financial Corp., and Citibank Puerto Rico. The dealer's computer is connected to the Internet through the IBM Globa l Network, which is also used to retrieve an encrypted report from a credit bureau. The dealer's pre-established "key" decodes the report and causes the screen to display one, two, or three stars -- representing poor, fair, or good credit. This gives the dealer an idea of which financial institutions are most likely to approve the loan. --- Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps

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Re: 56 kbps modems
by declan＠well.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From "Technical Aspects of Data Communications" by John E. McNamara: BAUD: A unit of signaling speed equal to the number of discrete conditions or signal events per second. In asynchronous transmission, the unit of signaling speed corresponding to one unit interval per second; that is, if the duration of the unit interval is 20 milliseconds, the signaling speed is 50 baud. Baud is the same as "bits per second" only if each signal event represents exactly one bit. A baud is the reciprocal of the unit interval. In other words, McNamara says (p148), in common 2400 bps modems, the "baud rate" is 1200 baud. -Declan Chris writes: >On Mon, 16 Sep 1996 12:16:08 +0200, Gary Howland wrote: > >>craigw(a)dg.ce.com.au wrote: >>> well here in Australia Telstra our national carrier only "garantees" >>> 2400 baud to work. >>As I am sure has been discussed at length before, baud does not equal >>bps. AFAIK, V32bis is only 2400baud. >This is correct. The difference is in the number of values for each of the >2400 signals sent per second. > ># Chris Adams <adamsc(a)io-online.com> | >http://www.io-online.com/adamsc/adamsc.htp ># cadams(a)acucobol.com | V.M. (619)515-4894 >"I have never been able to figure out why anyone would want to play games on >a computer in any case when the whole system is a game. Word processing, >spreadsheets, telecoms -- it's all a game. And they pay you to play it." > -- Duncan Frissell

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Interesting article in Upside ...
by Ernest Hua 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Article on the political side of crypto with respect to this year's election: http://www.upside.com/print/oct96/election.html Ern

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Re: Fuckhead
by dlv＠bwalk.dm.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From varange(a)crl.com Wed Sep 18 10:09:35 1996 Received: by bwalk.dm.com (1.65/waf) via UUCP; Wed, 18 Sep 96 11:07:01 EDT for dlv Received: from mail.crl.com by uu.psi.com (5.65b/4.0.061193-PSI/PSINet) via SMTP; id AA17484 for dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com; Wed, 18 Sep 96 10:09:35 -0400 Received: from crl11.crl.com by mail.crl.com with SMTP id AA03230 (5.65c/IDA-1.5 for <dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com>); Wed, 18 Sep 1996 07:10:02 -0700 Received: by crl11.crl.com id AA21359 (5.65c/IDA-1.5 for dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com) Wed, 18 Sep 1996 07:08:08 -0700 From: Troy Varange <varange(a)crl.com> Message-Id: <199609181408.AA21359(a)crl11.crl.com> Subject: Fuckhead To: dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com (Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM) Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 07:08:08 -0700 (PDT) Priority: Fuckhead Precedence: Fuckhead Reply-To: dlv(a)bwalk.dm.com In-Reply-To: <Fuckhead> X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 10 Fuckhead.

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