December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

John Brown
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Robert Hettinga wrote: >> And so on. Throughout history there have been those who spoke their >> mind. And others who told them to cool it, to not anger the local >> prince, to not rock the boat. > >No, Tim. Your analysis is too simple, here. My point is, all John >Brown & Co. did was get shot up one afternoon in Harper's Ferry. They >didn't help the cause of abolition one whit. "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen, pages 167 through 169: "After 1890 textbook authors inferred Brown's madness from his plan, which admittedly was farfetched. Never mind that John Brown himself presciently told Frederick Douglass that the venture would make a stunning impact even if it failed. Nor that his twenty-odd followers can hardly be considered crazed too. Rather, we must recognize that the insanity with which historians have charged John Brown was never psychological. It was ideological. Brown's actions made no sense to textbook writers between 1890 and about 1970. To make no sense is to be crazy. "Clearly, Brown's contemporaries did not consider him insane. Brown's ideological influence in the month before his hanging, and continuing after his death, was immense. He moved the boundary of acceptable thoughts and deeds regarding slavery. Before Harpers Ferry, to be an abolitionist was not quite acceptable, even in the North. Just talking about freeing slaves - advocating immediate emancipation - was behavior at the outer limit of the ideological continuum. By engaging in armed action, including murder, John Brown made mere verbal abolitionism seem much less radical. "After an initial shock wave of revulsion against Brown, in the North as well as in the South, Americans were fascinated to hear what he had to say. In his 1859 trial John Brown captured the attention of the nation like no other abolitionist or slaveowner before or since. He knew it: `My whole life before had not afforded me one half the opportunity to plead for the right.' In his speech to the court on November 2, just before the judge sentenced him to die, Brown argued, `Had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, it would have been all right.' He referred to the Bible, which he saw in the courtroom, `which teaches me that all things whatsoever I would that men should do to me, I should do even so to them. It teaches me further, to remember them that are in bonds as bound with them. I endeavored to act up to that instruction.' Brown went on to claim the high moral ground: `I believe that to have interfered as I have done, as I have always freely admitted I have done, in behalf of His despised poor, I did no wrong but right.' Although he objected that his impending death penalty was unjust, he accepted it and pointed to graver injustices. `Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I say, let it be done.' "Brown's willingness to go to the gallows for what he thought was right had a moral force of its own. `It seems as if no man had ever died in America before, for in order to die you must first have lived,' Henry David Thoreau observed in a eulogy in Boston. `These men, in teaching us how to die, have at the same time taught us how to live.' Thoreau went on to compare Brown with Jesus of Nazareth, who had faced a similar death at the hands of the state. "During the rest of November, Brown provided the nation graceful instruction in how to face death. In Larchmont, New York, George Templeton Strong wrote in his diary, `One's faith in anything is terribly shaken by anybody who is ready to go to the gallows condemning and denouncing it.' Brown's letters to his family and friends softened his image, showed his human side, and prompted an outpouring of sympathy for his children and soon-to-be widow, if not for Brown himself. His letters to supporters and remarks to journalists, widely circulated, formed a continuing indictment of slavery. We see his charisma in this letter from `a conservative Christian' - so the author signed it - written to Brown in jail: `While I cannot approve of all your acts, I stand in awe of your position since your capture, and dare not oppose you lest I be found fighting against God; for you speak as one having authority, and seem to be strengthened from on high.' When Virginia executed John Brown on December 2, making him the first American since the founding of the nation to be hanged as a traitor, church bells mourned in cities throughout the North. Louisa May Alcott, William Dean Howells, Herman Melville, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Walt Whitman were among the poets who responded to the event. `The gaze of Europe is fixed at this moment on America,' wrote Victor Hugo from France. Hanging Brown, Hugo predicted, `will open a latent fissure that will finally split the Union asunder. The punishment of John Brown may consolidate slavery in Virginia, but it will certainly shatter the American Democracy. You preserve your shame but kill your glory.' "Brown remained controversial after his death. Republican congressmen kept their distance from his felonious acts. Nevertheless, Southern slaveowners were appalled at the show of Northern sympathy for Brown and resolved to maintain slavery by any means necessary, including quitting the Union if they lost the next election. Brown's charisma in the North, meanwhile, was not spent but only increased due to what many came to view as his martyrdom. As the war came, as thousands of Americans found themselves making the same commitment to face death that John Brown had made, the force of his example took on new relevance. That's why soldiers marched into battle singing `John Brown's Body'. Two years later, church congregations sang Julia Ward Howe's new words to the song: `As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free' - and the identification of John Brown and Jesus Christ took another turn. The next year saw the 54th Massachusetts Colored Regiment parading through Boston to the tune, en route to its heroic destiny with death in South Carolina, while William Lloyd Garrison surveyed the cheering bystanders from a balcony, his hand resting on a bust of John Brown. In February 1865 another Massachusetts colored regiment marched to the tune through the streets of Charleston, South Carolina." -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGpBnj7jyGKQlFZpAQEF5wf+Ld2UdeRWbtoYKqptJPbRArQX3xyP7r5t TQuLWdYqHfEmvO4RVbCnsk0qKqFYfRHN1hPRUeaj7Zf8Y3QRghUBn7QkrIPiP6bz TU8N/Jf0RLwMOJq+bl1/BgdT8Ax9FKTMYU/i5Ye6aC9cnMAGmXmx6XTGvrhFhhFM eoyj6dHm91vr5qSJBUMZto1hlXDeSee3RsrnfN8f24hagEEIppHsYFz8kKZQ/5I5 aHWewMZTYI4H6mSbmj51mXzTrhmGfxEK+qx8GIevh4zuF6uZ7/CvO2czERuIIMIO oJOICZQlDYsx8dgGHxGpmpGM/jkLeQjCngv7moQ0Kjd0KoVe84DDhw== =ESwB -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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RE: Bell vs. Woodward--ju
by harka＠nycmetro.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- -=> Quoting In:tcmay@got.net to Harka <=- In> As for Australia, your countrymen acted like sheep in giving In> up their guns. If they try that kind of shit here in this In> country, a *lot* of cops are going to get killed. Hmm, I somewhat doubt that. After all, restricting guns more and more has also been happening in the US for quite a while now and overall resistance has been rather minimal. While there may be a few, who'd actually take up guns "in the defense of liberty" the gross majority of Americans seems just as "sheepish" as people anywhere else. Too many hours of watching (the good) "Cops" has left an imprint in many minds... Granted, America does have a constitution establishing civil rights for it's citizens, but America is also the country (among others) of "But I have nothing to hide" and "If it just saves one child"... In> (Not necessarily by me, though I'll defend my property and my In> constitutional rights as best I can. But the militia and In> patriot and anti-New World Order movements are preparing for In> war.) "Defending my property" is probably one of the more clear situations, where it is fairly easy to make a judgement call, and I support having the choice over necessary actions to take, if your property gets forcefully invaded by whomever and your personal freedom is being threatened. But on a more general basis things tend to become more complicated, IMHO. What if it's somebody else's liberty being taken? How many people would then take up arms (see Waco, Ruby Ridge, Roby/Ill. etc.)? It is much harder then to decide, if it's time for action or not. Especially because of pre-filtered information, that make it hard to base such a decision on "available" facts. When Reuters reported about the Shirley Allen Siege, in the first line they mentioned her to be "mentally disturbed" (implying for many, that the police-action was justified and correct in order "to save her"). People not immediately within the vicinity will have a hard time to decide, if the media-information is correct and subsequently, if "the war has now begun". (In Shirley Allens case, her fellow neighbors _did_ protest the police-action because they _knew better_, but people further away had other information and thus no incentive to defend her in any way.) The same happened in Waco, Ruby Ridge etc.etc., even with Jim Bell to a degree. Thus the .gov is able to pick us off one by one and I doubt, that a lot of "cops are going to get killed" because of it. It'd be rather interesting to devise a "Cypherpunks-911" system, that immediately provides others all over the country/world with necessary information, if something happens, and more importantly, _what_ happens (before the media faithfully recites the police-stories of "what happened") Ciao Harka /*************************************************************/ /* E-mail: harka(at)nycmetro.com (PGP-encrypted mail pref'd) */ /* PGP public key available upon request. [KeyID: 04174301] */ /* F-print: FD E4 F8 6D C1 6A 44 F5 28 9C 40 6E B8 94 78 E8 */ /*<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>*/ /* May there be peace in this world, may all anger dissolve */ /* and may all living beings find the way to happiness... */ /*************************************************************/ ... "Use a Cipher - Be Free!" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAgUBNGiG/zltEBIEF0MBAQGlIQf9HfcmkDmcx2uSq1s97lGpWsqGycUYgZN6 qbUTG1NhxRiKTvnGgB+5L7ki2kVF3BR89V7I02pDKZYo3cAHakO5hKmp1bVsWcIU FQhnRINsdLERVTQOdOVvcxUg5iHnPuEl1FQtRPP93051AWZeals+CDW4UrIAOycD /RS7TRc/tn4TaFR2ZSIj9sDd2Q/51hUYuoFKMPhX121lCCYr8SjDYVb9fGRY92pb 9wUqO+gWtxqMl/lPPf2SFrfR3QOXFRe9dQ5IPsyC9SOQQMLxdUuBWwx9fKyK7JlQ BdIoFqHhxMDH3l9sDRqQVlyrAZ38dYe31i3+RwTJcyissbT+tGrdBQ== =3NTr -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- If encryption is outlawed, only outlaws will have encryption...

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SWAT: A Growth Industry
by Dan Veeneman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

US News & World Report 11/17/97 Everyone gets into the terrorism game Too many SWAT teams spells confusion BY DAVID E. KAPLAN In 1995, Bill Clinton signed a presidential directive stating that the nation has "no higher priority" than stopping terrorists who have weapons of mass destruction. Congress responded with new laws and allocated more than a billion dollars in support. The result has been an extraordinary proliferation of counterterrorism programs, making this one of the few areas of rapid growth in the federal budget. But in the rush to respond, say critics, government agencies have failed to coordinate their efforts, and no one is even tracking how much taxpayer money is being spent. According to a September report by the General Accounting Office, more than 40 federal agencies have roles in combating terrorism. All of them appear eager to gobble up the new funding. Among the big winners is the Pentagon, which is getting $52 million to train local officials to cope with chemical, nuclear, and biological attacks. Other agencies have set up units inspired by NEST, the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Emergency Search Team, begun in the 1970s to thwart nuclear extortionists. The FBI has added DEST, its new Domestic Emergency Support Team, and the State Department now runs FEST, the Foreign Emergency Support Team. The Public Health Service is busily planning MMSTs, or Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams, for 100 cities. And on Energy Department drawing boards are plans for BEST, a Biological Emergency Search Team, and CEST, its chemical counterpart. (Critics contend that the Energy Department lacks both expertise and a mandate to deal with biological and chemical weapons, but that has not stopped it from seeking funds.) And if an emergency is big enough, one can always call in the Marines, who have formed their own $10 million Chemical Biological Incident Response Force. Among the biggest beneficiaries is the FBI, which has seen its counterterrorism budget nearly triple to $243 million since 1994. Bureau officials vow to "double the shoe leather" of agents working on chemical and biological terrorism and are outfitting their elite Hostage Rescue Team with $3.3 million worth of gas masks and protection suits. The bureau also wants to build a multimillion-dollar Level 3 biolab, a tightly sealed facility that would permit work with many of the world's deadliest pathogens. Some experts note that the Army and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already have more than a dozen Level 3 labs; the bureau says it can best conduct forensic investigations in its own facility. The private sector is cashing in as well. Contractors are arranging much of the Pentagon's $52 million local training program, while millions more are available for research and development. "It's the latest gravy train for consultants," says Larry Johnson, a terrorism consultant. Even the toughest critics acknowledge that many of the new programs are needed. For example, they agree that the training of local emergency workers to deal with a chemical or biological attack is long overdue. The problem, they say, is that the various programs have grown so quickly that coordination and oversight have yet to catch up. A classified study this year for the CIA and Energy Department calls for a national response program to deal with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, directed by the White House. "The system is not well organized at all," says former CIA head James Woolsey, one of the study group's co-chairs. One sign of the lack of oversight can be seen at the Office of Management and Budget, the White House agency charged with managing the federal budget. An OMB guide lists over 600 areas of specialization by the agency's staff, including entries for Micronesia and marine mammals. Yet nowhere is there an analyst tracking the budget for counterterrorism, a national security priority. "It's not something we have a hard number for," says an OMB analyst. The rapid expansion of programs--likely to cost billions of dollars overall--has left some observers dismayed. "It was not our intent to create this thing," says John Sopko, who as deputy chief counsel to Sen. Sam Nunn played a key role in drafting legislation to respond to the new terrorism. "We did not want a massive entitlement program for counterterrorism." -- cypherp(a)decode.com (Dan Veeneman) Cryptography, Security, Privacy BBS +1 410 730 6734 Data/FAX

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Mad as Hell
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Several swirling themes here.... * More versions of the CDA...which the Supreme Court may let stand. (Cf. my comments about "death by a thousand cuts" and the Constitution, which is being "exceptioned" and "reinterpreted" into oblivion.) * Crypto legislation is far from dead...it is just dormant right now. * Game theoretically, Congress and the other bureaucrats win by expanding the number and scope of laws. There is little constituency for lessening the number and scope of laws, despite public opinion. * Anti-militia rhetoric continues, with politicians saying militias must be reigned in. (See misc.activism.militia for many examples.) * The U.N. is trying to get the U.S. to "ban racism." Meaning, ban free choice in whom one hires (already the case with Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act, despite what this means for freedom of association). Meaning, place even more limits on free speech. Meaning, pass laws against certain organizations. (If Paladin is upheld, expect more use of the civil law system to put various clubs and organizations out of business.) * And so it goes. More laws, more prisons, more pressure points on us all. But the public is getting fed up. Here in my state of California we decisively shot down the use of hiring quotas and admissions quotas based on race. And the courts have upheld this. The free ride for unqualified minorities and "people of color" is over, at least here in California. (And a dozen or so other states are considering similar moves.) Right-wing talk show hosts are more popular than ever. Here's just the latest example, in the article below. The article makes some good points. Note especially the part about the murder of Donald Scott, the guy murdered in his bedroom by BATFag agents. No doubt Bob Hettinga thinks my mention of this case is dangerous, that good little bunny rabbits don't make Big Brother angry. Well, I will say what I said before: the BATF and LA County Sheriffs responsible and involved in this case should be tried in a criminal court, should be convicted (based on what I have seen), and they should then be sentenced to die in the gas chamber at San Quentin. This is, after all, what they do to gang bangers who shoot up liquor stores. Cops should face execution. In this case, a mass execution of the dozen raiding officers would send a strong message to other cops.) Here's the item: Hollywood Producer Says "Enough Is Enough! AARON RUSSO IS MAD AS HELL Aaron Russo, the Hollywood producer who produced The Rose with Bette Midler and Trading Places with Eddie Murphy is now on a crusade to wake up Americans to the wholesale assault on their liberties being launched by governments at every level. "America is becoming a totalitarian police state!" thunders Aaron Russo as he paces back and forth across the stage of the colorful "Mad As Hell" TV talk show set. He's not at all happy with the sinister turn that America has taken in recent years and, like the name of the new show, he is "Mad as Hell." But he's determined to do something about it and that is what "Mad As Hell" is all about. A pilot for the show, including the above scene, is being aggressively marketed to the networks and cable channels. Preview showings of the show have drawn full houses in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and Russo's angry outbreaks have provoked wild, enthusiastic response wherever he goes. It appears that Russo isn't the only one who's "Mad as Hell." The theme of the first pilot, which was sent to ISIL staff for evaluation, featured interviews and vignettes with Frances Plante Scott; Brenda Grantland president of FEAR (Forfeiture Endangers Americans' Rights), and Judy Osburn, herself a victim of civil forfeiture and author of the book Spectre of Forfeiture. Frances Plante Scott told of her chilling ordeal with Park Service officials attempting to seize their ranch and of the SWAT team raid in which her husband, Donald Scott, was shot to death by trigger-happy police. Ventura and Los Angeles County Sheriffs, D.E.A. and the Park Service were all vying to get a piece of the action and seize the valuable property using trumped up marijuana charges (there was no marijuana as if it mattered). Following this event, Ms. Scott's ranch house was burned in the Malibu firestorm and later was subjected to punitive harassment by the IRS. Colorado state Senator Charles Duke, also in the studio audience, spoke about the 10th Amendment Sovereignty Resolution, a modern version of Magna Carta designed to force a constitutional showdown with the federal government. At this point in time 22 states have emulated Duke by passing the resolution in their states. Duke, incidentally, is scheduled as a speaker at the ISIL world conference this August (see our conference web page). The video ends with an eloquent statement on modern slavery by Rod Taylor. In mid-June, ISIL pres. Vince Miller, Exec. VP Jim Elwood, and Board Member Jarret Wollstein had a meeting with Aaron Russo to discuss the terrible dangers facing America today. We all agreed that a majority of people have been kept almost completely in the dark regarding the massive abuses of police power in this country. I remembered the joke about how the govenment must think we are all mushrooms because they seem to enjoy keeping us in the dark and feeding us horseshit. "How could they know," I exclaimed. "The national media is as controlled as Pravda in the old Soviet Union." Any real news is scrupulously excised from national news sources and the waves of government propaganda are so pervasive that even some of our own members believe the government line in spite of themselves and think we have lost our marbles. We agreed that there must be a vehicle for a wake-up-call and Russo's new program could be the ticket. Russo also talked of establishing, with the assistance of ISIL, a massive early-warning fax network to warn citizens of dangerous legislation about to be passed. He has also created an action manual with the phone and fax numbers of Members of Congress so that you will know at whom to vent your wrath With ISIL's world wide communications network computer, fax, phone plus a network of correspondents we will be able to feed the data and expose abuses of power before they get off the ground. A merchandise line with caps, t-shirts with the blazing "Mad As Hell" logo is also planned. Stay tuned for more developments in fuure issues of the FNN. FREEDOM NETWORK NEWS International Society for Individual Liberty - The World's Foremost Liberty Network Editor: Vincent H. Miller * Assistant Editors: James R. Elwood * Tim Starr * Anton Sherwood * Mark Valverde * June/July 1996

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Re: FC: CDA: The Sequel -- introduced in the U.S. Senate
by Marc Rotenberg 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Danny - Since you have associated EPIC's position on the White "compromise" with CDT's, I feel some obligation to correct the record. We did not, as you recall, support that bill which included the harmful to minor standard because we believed it was contrary to generally accepted First Amendment standards. CDT supported the White measure and went to great pains to blame the members of the conference committee who did not endorse it. (I'd be happy to dig out the news reports on this point if there is any question). The Court's opinion in Reno v. ACLU seems to support our position. I do not think the White bill that you supported would have survived a Constitutional challenge. I wish to make a second point also. You accused Declan of mischaracterizing CDT's position on the White legislation. I'm still not clear exactly what he got wrong. But you have surely mischaracterized Larry Lessig's position in suggesting that he supports passage of new legislation. The O'Connor opinion, which by the way is a concurrence and not a dissent, relies on an article by Lessig in which he observes that restrictions have been upheld where procedures are established to segregate (zone) adult content. Thus the so-called Ginsburg statute. I read Larry's analysis and his subsequent commentary more as a warning than a recommendation. Establish such zones and content-based controls become permissible. Thus O'Connor's opinion seems to suggest that labels used to distinguish content based not on traditional library classifications (history, literature, etc) but on whether such information is suitable for minors would make it easier to permit regulation. I am not particularly interested in a lengthy back and forth on this topic. I do think it is important to set the record straight on EPIC and CDTs views on the White bill. We did not agree then. You cannot change that now. I also think you should think a little more carefully about whether the rating systems you promote will make it easier for a CDA II to survive a Constitutional challenge. Regards, Marc. At 12:05 AM -0000 11/13/97, Daniel J. Weitzner wrote: >Declan, > >It's kind of you to get the word out about this new Coats bill, but you >have managed to seriously mischaracterize CDT's position on the White >legislation of 1995. We did not believe that Congress should have passed >the White Compromise, and certaily never "embraced" it, as you write. >Based on my initial reading of the Coats bill, we will certainly oppose it. > >The Coats bill, with it's emphasis on age verification as a means to >"protect" kids and provide online publishers with liability limitation, is >actually a direct result of Justice O'Connor's dissenting opinion in the >CDA case and her desire to try to "zone" cyberspace. Following Larry >Lessig, she suggests that instead of relying on individually-controlled >blocking and filtering software, it is better for the government to require >that certain content be placed behind age verification firewalls. Prof. >Lessig prefers this zoning to what you have characterized as "censorware." >I hope that you, as an opponent of user empowerment filtering tools like >Larry, do not prefer this O'Connor/Lessig approach too? > >I can't remember whether you were actually around in 1995, either as >journalist or activist, so let me remind you of what we and other civil >liberties advocates like Marc Rotenberg of EPIC said. > >In the New York Times (12/2/95, p.A1) > > "While it does embody much of the original Exon proposal, it does so in >a way >that tries to embody a constitutionally recognized standard," said Jerry >Berman, director of the Center of Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit group >that focuses on civil rights and technology issues. > >and Jerry went on to say: > >"I don't think we need any legislation at all." > >Marc seemed to take a similar position: > >"It is preferable to the Exon bill, but ultimately this issue will be >resolved in the courts, which is where it should be resolved," said Marc >Rotenberg.... > >Both CDT and EPIC recognized that as a plain matter of constitional law, >the "harmful to minor" standard is more broadly accepted by courts around >the country, but that the legislation was still an unwise infringement on >Internet speech. > >We still believe that. > >We can certainly have a discussion about the various legislative strategies >employed during the final days of the CDA debate and House-Senate >conference, but frankly I think there's more important work to do. > >I hope that future discussions on this list can focus on how to defeat >misguided efforts like the Coats bill, instead of misleading >characterization of the past. > >Finally, Declan, I would suggest that when you want to characterize CDT >positions you talk to someone at CDT, or at least find some documentation >of your assertions. I know that you recognize you have an obligation as a >journalist to check facts and sources with some care. That sort of care >would also help in discussions among activists. I'm never exactly sure >whether you think of yourself as a journalist or activist when writing to >FC, but whichever it is, I hope you'll try to avoid this confusion in the >future by talking to us. > >At 5:01 PM -0500 11/12/97, Declan McCullagh wrote: >>Just when you thought the Internet was safe from government >>censorship, Sen. Dan Coats has introduced a sequel to the >>notorious Communications Decency Act. >> >>The bill punishes commercial distributors of material >>that's "harmful to minors" with six months in jail and a >>$50,000 fine. Unlike the original CDA, it applies only to >>web sites -- not to chatrooms, newsgroups, or email. >> >>Like the original CDA, it's certain to be controversial. >>Sen. Coats (R-Indiana), chief GOP sponsor of the original >>CDA, said his bill takes into account the Supreme Court's >>unanimous vote in June that struck down his first try. "I >>have studied the opinion of the Court and come before my >>colleagues today to introduce legislation that reflects the >>parameters laid out by the Court's opinion," he said on the >>Senate floor. >> (ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/c105/s1482.is.txt) >> >>Coats' brainchild is strikingly similar to (and in fact not >>as broad as) an ill-fated version of the first CDA that >>Rep. Rick White (R-Wash.) and the Center for Democracy and >>Technology embraced as a "compromise" in December 1995. >>Like Coats' bill, the White-CDT measure restricted material >>that was "harmful to minors." >> (http://www.epic.org/cda/hyde_letter.html) >> >>A Coats staffer said the measure requires adult >>pornographers to place images behind a firewall. "If you're >>involved in the commercial distribution of material that's >>harmful to minors, you have to take the bad stuff and put >>it on the other side of a credit card or PIN number," David >>Crane said. >> >>But the bill applies to more than just visual pornography. >>Its definition of material that could hurt minors includes >>any offensive sexual "communication" or "writing" without >>redeeming value. It applies to text-only web pages -- or >>bookstores that place sample chapters on the web. >> >>Since it covers anyone who "through the World Wide Web is >>engaged in the business of the commercial distribution of >>material that is harmful to minors," it could apply to >>Internet providers and online services as well. >> >>The FCC and the Department of Justice would be required to >>publish on their web sites "such information as is >>necessary to inform the public of the meaning of the term >>`material that is harmful to minors.'" Solveig Singleton, a >>lawyer at the Cato Institute, says: "The Supreme Court >>struggled for years to come up with a national defintion of >>obscenity. They failed. Harmful to minors is >>obscenity-lite. The FCC and Department of Justice won't >>have any luck coming up with a definition of >>obscenity-lite." >> >>Not a problem, predicts former porn-prosecutor Bruce >>Taylor, now the head of the National Law Center for >>Children and Families. "This bill will ensure that the >>hardcore pornographers don't get off the hook," he says. >> >>Next step for Coats is to attract co-sponsors and to forward >>his bill to the Senate Commerce committee. Some judges >>criticized Congress for holding no hearings on the original >>CDA; Coats isn't going to make that mistake again. "There >>will be a concerted effort to build a substantial >>legislative history," says David Crane. >> >>This bill won't be the end of Congressional interest in >>cyberporn. "You'll probably see other legislation come >>forward. Introducing this is not abandoning our other >>concerns," Crane says. >> >>-Declan >> >> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>This list is public. To join fight-censorship-announce, send >>"subscribe fight-censorship-announce" to majordomo(a)vorlon.mit.edu. >>More information is at http://www.eff.org/~declan/fc/ > > >============================================================================ >* Value Your Privacy? The Government Doesn't. Say 'No' to Key Escrow! * > Adopt Your Legislator - http://www.crypto.com/adopt > > ------------- > >Daniel J. Weitzner, Deputy Director <djw(a)cdt.org> >Center for Democracy and Technology 202.637.9800 (v) >1634 Eye St., NW Suite 1100 202-637.0968 (f) >Washington, DC 20006 http://www.cdt.org/ > ================================================================== Marc Rotenberg, director * +1 202 544 9240 (tel) Electronic Privacy Information Center * +1 202 547 5482 (fax) 666 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 301 * rotenberg(a)epic.org Washington, DC 20003 USA + http://www.epic.org ==================================================================

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Re: CDA: The Sequel -- introduced in the U.S. Senate
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Danny, Trying to deny that CDT supported the White harmful to minors "compromise" is a sad attempt at history revisionism. As Marc Rotenberg said, "CDT supported the White measure and went to great pains to blame the members of the conference committee who did not endorse it." Which is of course true. After the vote you lost on the harmful to minors "compromise": -- Comm Daily reported: Jerry Berman, exec. dir. of Center for Democracy & Technology, which had tried to forge compromise on issue, said he had been betrayed "by liberal Democrats, who are supposed to be protectors of the Constitution. -- IISR reported: Jerry Berman, executive director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, called the [vote on the] White proposal "a significant defeat for civil liberties in cyberspace. -- EETimes reported: "The House came within an inch of getting it right," says Jerry Berman, Center for Democracy and Technology. Either the world's population of journalists are in a vast clandestine conspiracy to misrepresent your organization's position or ... CDT (gasp!) did in fact embrace the HTM so-called compromise. You must remember, after all, that CDT declined to sign a December 5, 1995 coalition letter that told Congress to "to reject *all* proposals to impose new government censorship regulations on cyberspace." Why didn't you sign it? (http://www.epic.org/cda/hyde_letter.html) Instead, as I recall, CDT was up on stage with the anti-porn advocates to unveil the "compromise." (I admit my memory's fuzzy on this point. I'm sure you'll clarify.) Where was I then? When the news of the "compromise" broke in December 1995, I was in Cambridge having brunch with Harvey Silverglate (who's now defending the Au Pair case) and other local free-speech advocates. As I wrote in a post to f-c at the time, all of us were astonished to see the headline in the New York Times: "Civil liberties groups accept compromise." Of course it was CDT that accepted it. ACLU said at the time here on f-c that "no true civil liberties group" would ever agree to supporting that kind of censorship. Also, contrary to what you claim, I'm not an "opponent" of filtering software. Parents have the right to use it with their children. I believe, however, that public institutions must abide by the First Amendment when installing it. I'm glad you provided this opportunity to clarify these issues. Now perhaps we can move on to discussing the Coats bill. -Declan On Wed, 12 Nov 1997, Daniel J. Weitzner wrote: > Declan, > > It's kind of you to get the word out about this new Coats bill, but you > have managed to seriously mischaracterize CDT's position on the White > legislation of 1995. We did not believe that Congress should have passed > the White Compromise, and certaily never "embraced" it, as you write. > Based on my initial reading of the Coats bill, we will certainly oppose it. > > The Coats bill, with it's emphasis on age verification as a means to > "protect" kids and provide online publishers with liability limitation, is > actually a direct result of Justice O'Connor's dissenting opinion in the > CDA case and her desire to try to "zone" cyberspace. Following Larry > Lessig, she suggests that instead of relying on individually-controlled > blocking and filtering software, it is better for the government to require > that certain content be placed behind age verification firewalls. Prof. > Lessig prefers this zoning to what you have characterized as "censorware." > I hope that you, as an opponent of user empowerment filtering tools like > Larry, do not prefer this O'Connor/Lessig approach too? > > I can't remember whether you were actually around in 1995, either as > journalist or activist, so let me remind you of what we and other civil > liberties advocates like Marc Rotenberg of EPIC said. > > In the New York Times (12/2/95, p.A1) > > "While it does embody much of the original Exon proposal, it does so in > a way > that tries to embody a constitutionally recognized standard," said Jerry > Berman, director of the Center of Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit group > that focuses on civil rights and technology issues. > > and Jerry went on to say: > > "I don't think we need any legislation at all." > > Marc seemed to take a similar position: > > "It is preferable to the Exon bill, but ultimately this issue will be > resolved in the courts, which is where it should be resolved," said Marc > Rotenberg.... > > Both CDT and EPIC recognized that as a plain matter of constitional law, > the "harmful to minor" standard is more broadly accepted by courts around > the country, but that the legislation was still an unwise infringement on > Internet speech. > > We still believe that. > > We can certainly have a discussion about the various legislative strategies > employed during the final days of the CDA debate and House-Senate > conference, but frankly I think there's more important work to do. > > I hope that future discussions on this list can focus on how to defeat > misguided efforts like the Coats bill, instead of misleading > characterization of the past. > > Finally, Declan, I would suggest that when you want to characterize CDT > positions you talk to someone at CDT, or at least find some documentation > of your assertions. I know that you recognize you have an obligation as a > journalist to check facts and sources with some care. That sort of care > would also help in discussions among activists. I'm never exactly sure > whether you think of yourself as a journalist or activist when writing to > FC, but whichever it is, I hope you'll try to avoid this confusion in the > future by talking to us.

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about RC4
by Nobuki Nakatuji 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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INFO-RUSS: Action alert: A. Nikitin (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: >From INFO-RUSS-request(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu Wed Nov 12 18:39:46 1997 Message-Id: <9711121841.AA10833(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu> Errors-To: INFO-RUSS-request(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu Sender: INFO-RUSS-request(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 12:53:13 -0500 To: info-russ(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu From: Union of Councils <ucsj(a)ucsj.com> Subject: INFO-RUSS: Action alert: A. Nikitin --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is INFO-RUSS broadcast (1200+ subscribers). Home page, information, and archives: http://psi.ece.jhu.edu/~kaplan/IRUSS/inforuss.html To post, or to subscribe/unsubscribe, mail to info-russ(a)smarty.ece.jhu.edu INFO-RUSS assumes no responsibility for the information/views of its users. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sen. Bingaman and Rep. Skaggs Appeal to Colleagues to Urge Review of Nikitin Case UCSJ encourages human rights supporters to call their Senators and Representatives and act on Nikitin's behalf Below is a "Dear Colleague" letter from Congressman David Skaggs (D-CO) on the case of Alexander Nikitin. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is circulating a similar letter in the Senate. Please call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to sign these crucial letters. Maximum pressure and publicity is needed to help convince the Russian authorities to drop this case. It is essential that Nikitin's rights are protected and that the Russian security apparatus not be permitted to win this power struggle. (For more on the Nikitin case, please email Jason Silberberg at jsilb(a)ucsj.com.) Union of Councils ucsj(a)ucsj.com November 4, 1997 RUSSIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST CHARGED WITH TREASON FOR WARNING OF NUCLEAR WASTE DISASTER Dear Colleague, I am writing to bring to your attention new developments in the case of Alexander Nikitin, a case that has broad repercussions for the future of democracy, free speech, and due process in Russia. I ask you to join me in sending the attached letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Alexander Nikitin, a Russian environmentalist who co-authored a report that revealed a nuclear waste disaster in the making, has been charged with treason by the Russian Federal Security Service (the former KGB), which completed its investigation on September 19. The Russian Procurator, Yuri Skuratov, who was appointed by President Boris Yeltsin, will now have to decide whether to move to trial in this case. Nikitin co-authored a report published by the Norwegian environmental group, Bellona, that revealed that unprotected nuclear waste is stored at bases and shipyards near Murmansk, and that retired nuclear-powered submarines docked in the Arctic Circle still contain highly radioactive spent fuel. Despite the fact that all the information used for the report was taken from open sources, Nikitin was charged with having released state secrets. Nikitin had been charged with violating secret Defense Ministry decrees -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits such charges. He has now been charged with violating a Defense Ministry decree that was issued seven months after Nikitin was arrested -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits ex post facto prosecution. Federal Security Services investigators have changed their determination five times regarding the choice of decrees on which to base their investigation. This case is critical, not only for Russian environmental policy, but for the future of Russian democracy. It is disturbing if Russia is unable to face up to these enormous environmental problems without prosecuting the citizen that exposed them. It raises questions about whether free speech and the publication of reports critical of the government will be permitted. The grave issues of due process in the Nikitin case cause doubt about whether Russia has truly put Soviet-style justice behind it. Please join me in sending the attached letter to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, asking him to seek a thorough review before any decision is made to take this case to trial. If you would like to cosign the letter, or if you have further questions, please call Sue Hardesty of my staff at 52161. Sincerely yours, David E. Skaggs -------------------------------------------------------------------- His Excellency Boris Yeltsin President of Russia Moscow, Russian Federation Dear Mr. President: We are writing to bring to your attention the case of Alexander Nikitin. We understand that the Federal Security Service has completed its investigation, and the Procurator General must now decide whether to take the case to trial. We applaud the enormous strides Russia has taken since the end of the Soviet era to establish a rule of law, and end the old Soviet-style approach to criminal prosecution. That is why we are very concerned that this case, if pursued, would mark a serious setback for the rule of law in Russia. Alexander Nikitin co-authored a report published by Bellona, a Norwegian environmental organization. The report revealed that unprotected nuclear waste is stored at bases and shipyards near Murmansk, and that retired nuclear-powered submarines docked in the Arctic Circle still contain highly radioactive spent fuel. Despite the fact that all the information used for the report was taken from open sources, Nikitin was charged with having released state secrets. Nikitin had been charged with espionage for violating secret Defense Ministry decrees -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits such charges. He has now been charged with violating a Defense Ministry decree that was issued seven months after he was arrested -- even though the Russian constitution prohibits ex post facto prosecution. Federal Security Services investigators have changed their determination five times regarding their choice of decrees on which to base their investigation. It appears that the rule of law as embodied in the Russian constitution has not been followed in this case. We urge you to ask your government's Procurator General to order a thorough review. We believe that such an unbiased review of the case would lead to a dismissal of the charges against Alexander Nikitin, and ask that you take steps to see that such a review is conducted. We see this case as extremely significant. Thank you for your consideration of our views.

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Re: Minor Language Note
by nobody＠neva.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tim May wrote: >>> While it was not Tim's intention to make Jim look like a criminal, >>> the use of a defendent's full name is often used to connote >>> criminality. >>> >>> Lee Harvey Oswald, John Wilkes Booth, John Wayne Gacy, Richard >>> Milhous Nixon, William Jefferson Clinton... there are many >>> examples. > >George Washington Carver, James Fennimore Cooper, Richard Dean >Anderson, Clare Booth Luce, Robert Anton Wilson, Francis Scott Key,..... We don't usually think of these people as defendants. >(Sometimes people have three names, sometimes two names, popularly >used. Criminality has little to do with it. For example, Richard >Speck, Charles Manson, John Walker, Aldrich Ames, Ted Kaczynski, >Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols. Most of them presumably have middle >names.) I did not say that the use of middle names was required for defendants. >Oh, and as to divining what Tim's "intention" was, this mindreading >and psychoanalysis shtick is getting old. My opening sentence was intended to be friendly. It was supposed make clear that it was not suggested that you thought Jim Bell was a criminal. Certainly that was obvious, but a little redundancy never hurts. It looks like the meaning didn't convey properly, so I'm sorry if I seemed to be psychoanalyzing you. It's generally considered courteous to call people by the name they wish to be called. Jim Bell seems to go by the name "Jim Bell". (This would not hold if somebody makes an inappropriate request such as asking to be addressed as "James Dalton Bell, Defender of the Faith, God of Vengeance, and Lord of the Universe.") Back to the original point, I believe that it's hard to find instances in which two-named people are involuntarily converted to three-named people when they are not charged with a crime. Lee Oswald became "Lee Harvey Oswald" after the Kennedy Assassination, for example. I've also noticed that Wardens have a marked tendency to refer to inmates on death row by their first name, even when speaking publicly. As in, "Don's death was very upsetting as it was obviously very painful." (Paraphrased from a real example.) I believe the wardens are expressing a few things with this name choice. One is that they have complete power over the inmate. Teachers call children by their first names, and it seems to me that there is an element of that here. (Admittedly, this is a troubling image.) Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGpi1JaWtjSmRH/5AQEsLwf9H4ZmvsVVkQgh9WU/HOUZYdet7+9p9nBf frvYBTgRNoOPiM0pl7Yusl/GhAK6nhCpEb0dCUaWjFLW889I5CyvrbqkzWoA6tj0 k5ULieQs390JEzGAn1LEkvzUCjlEBn5WFgpzJCFYzWpAMaQPT6qcczRIXqoCPG7l R822+EBuL9eikWruy+8V6Bt45mQyB/aHemhmIa/V4YKCn7mc8FmfZ/qQHknaPdFP wJz3cXmw1im4Br/0UkLv9bD2CfZCqcq74VpbujMvUFnsAOmbrWJVqlSV+Gs1MDXf Zli7VCarhzAU9j4sPU9gbTBYsuApRYd8IrJtvOfQcDDMw0dEd9/tjA== =Az6E -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Mad as Hell
by Blanc 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim May wrote: >Colorado state Senator Charles Duke, also in the studio audience, >spoke about the 10th Amendment Sovereignty Resolution, a modern >version of Magna Carta designed to force a constitutional showdown >with the federal government. This sounds interesting! This is what I had in mind, in that other thread about "What Will Revolution Look Like" >[...]A merchandise ine with caps, t-shirts with the blazing >l "Mad As Hell" logo is also planned. However, this is unfortunate. Trinkets like these may bring in useful and needed funds, but they take away from the seriousness of the effort, from the respect the cause deserves. They make the wearers look like weenies playing a child's game, rather than serious individuals in their rights minds with the concentration and commitment to do important work for the purpose at hand. (In a silly mood, I could see a gathering of such supporters in a large, crowded courtroom, all wearing T-shirts saying, "It's *ShowTime* !!!" ) .. Blanc

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