December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

counterTCM post
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

in the continuing series of counterTCMeme posts, I would like to address a recent TCMeme on the subject of government. TCM asserts that the president and congress have absolutely nothing to offer american citizens, that any attempt to deal with them is a total waste of time. I generally agree that our democratic system has degenerated over the decades, to the point of being scary and dangerous in places. however, we can ask, why did it get to that point? I believe it is not because of an inherent impracticality of the government or congress. rather, it is a failure of the citizens to maintain the authority over their congressmen and president. once upon a time, citizens saw congress and the president as their servants. it led to a particular kind of ideology reflected in the policies of the country. over time, people gradually gave away this authority. they saw the president and congress as having authority over citizens, instead of vice versa. TCM's idea of telling congress and the president to f*** off is actually, in my opinion, an extreme case of people giving away their authority. it is more of the same problem, not the solution. it is failing to address the root of the problem-- that the president and congress must be put in a subservient relationship to the desires of the citizens. citizens are failing to exercise their ability to remove and replace those in power. TCM quotes De ToqueVille, "the american experiment in democracy will last until people begin to realize they can pick each other's pockets at the voting booth". there is a fallacy and a truth in this at the same time. the truth is that the citizenry is beginning to discover that the government is the greatest pickpocket of all. if it redistributed its wealth, our economy would be better off. but instead the government ties up vast amounts of wealth into (1) social programs that redistribute only a fraction of the wealth they take in, the rest caught up in bureacracy (2) weaponry that sits idle, and is so horrific that it should never be used, and (3) a national debt of borrowed money. so people are no longer trying to pick each other's pockets at the voting booth, in my opinion, but realizing that the government itself is picking everyone's pockets at tax time. everyone who pays money via taxes to the government is the employer of those in government. when was the last time you exercised some control over this money? or do you just sign it off? there are many ways that individual citizens can create leverage over their government, and increase their power over it. it is the opposite of the process by which they have given their power away. it is reversable. but to unplug oneself from the monster one has created is not possible as TCM is always campaigning. the monster will run around some more. one must uncreate the monster in the same ways it was created. I commend CDT and all other online groups for their organizational motives and drive, and condemn TCM for his pissing on them. what is he doing? he is just unplugging himself and asserting that the monster will no longer exist if he refuses to believe in it. the road to greater power is greater organization and unity while preserving individuality. the individualism that TCM promotes is actually ultimately disempowering and dangerous. the individual has no power. the solution to an oppressive society is to fix the society, not to try to find increasingly ingenious ways of hiding from it. the society will always has means of becoming more orwellian and surmounting whatever obstacles individuals place in it. if something is broken, do you fix it, or abandon it? or shoot it? TCM is always advocating the latter two. it's not a solution, and he knows it, and everyone else here knows it too.

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INFO: SAFE pro-encryption bill passes first Congressional hurdle (5/1/1997)
by Shabbir J. Safdar 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

============================================================================= ____ _ _ _ / ___|_ __ _ _ _ __ | |_ ___ | \ | | _____ _____ | | | '__| | | | '_ \| __/ _ \ _____| \| |/ _ \ \ /\ / / __| | |___| | | |_| | |_) | || (_) |_____| |\ | __/\ V V /\__ \ \____|_| \__, | .__/ \__\___/ |_| \_|\___| \_/\_/ |___/ |___/|_| PRO-ENCRYPTION BILL CLEARS FIRST CONGRESSIONAL HURDLE. FACES TOUGHER TEST IN COMING WEEKS. SAFE BILL IS ASSAILED BY CLINTON WHITE HOUSE BECAUSE IT PROHIBITS EXPANDED EAVESDROPPING CAPABILITIES Date: May 1, 1997 Expires June 1, 1997 URL:http://www.crypto.com/ crypto-news(a)panix.com Redistribution of crypto-news is allowed in its entirety. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents What Just Happened What YOU CAN DO NOW! How to start or stop receiving crypto-news Press contacts ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT JUST HAPPENED On Wednesday April 30, 1997, Congress took a historic first step towards real reform of US encryption policy and promoting the availability of strong privacy protections for Internet users. The House Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual property, by a unanimous vote, approved the Security and Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act (HR 695). The bill will be considered by the full House Judiciary Committee in mid-May where it is expected to face tough opposition, The SAFE bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatee (R-VA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) currently has 78 congressional co-sponsors, including a majority of the House Judiciary Committee. The bill seeks to protect privacy and promote electronic commerce by liberalizing the export of privacy-enhancing encryption technology and prohibiting the the government from imposing mandatory key-escrow or key-recovery systems. The bill also contains a controversial provision which establishes new criminal penalties for the use of encryption in the furtherance of a felony. Privacy groups have expressed concern about this provision. During Wednesday's subcommittee vote, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) pledged to work with privacy groups and the bill's sponsors to address these concerns. The Clinton Administration is unhappy with the bill, claiming it will thwart law enforcement and undermine the administration's efforts to impose a global "key-recovery" infrastructure. In an April 30 letter to the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee chair Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), the Department of Justice said: "The bill could be read as prohibiting the United States government from using appropriate incentives to support a key management infrastructure and KEY RECOVERY." [emphasis added] The Administration's "Key Recovery" program creates a backdoor in encryption that would allow third parties to eavesdrop on individual's private conversations without their permission or knowledge. Because of the Administration's opposition, the SAFE bill is expected to face a much tougher fight before the full House Judiciary Committee later this month. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW The SAFE bill (HR695) is approaching the full committee for markup. Your help is needed in calling members of the House Judiciary committee to urge them to pass legislation. This is a critical issue to the future of the Internet as a secure and trusted means of education, commerce, and political discourse, but it will not happen without your help. Please take a moment to Adopt Your Legislator and let them know that you support efforts to refrom US encryption policy in a way that protects privacy, promotes electronic commerce, and recognizes the realities of the global Internet. Visit http://www.crypto.com/adopt/ For more information about the bill, go to http://www.crypto.com/safe_bill/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO START OR STOP RECEIVING CRYPTO-NEWS To subscribe to crypto-news, sign up from our WWW page (http://www.crypto.com) or send mail to majordomo(a)panix.com with "subscribe crypto-news" in the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send a letter to majordomo(a)panix.com with "unsubscribe crypto-news" in the body. Requests to unsubscribe that are sent to shabbir(a)vtw.org will be ignored. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRESS CONTACT INFORMATION Press inquiries on Crypto-News should be directed to Shabbir J. Safdar (VTW) at +1.718.596.2851 or shabbir(a)vtw.org Jonah Seiger (CDT) at +1.202.637.9800 or jseiger(a)cdt.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- End crypto-news =============================================================================

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EAR questions.
by das＠razor.engr.sgi.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[ Didn't get much response when I posted this to cryptography(a)c2.net. Hope there will be more response on cypherpunks. ] I couldn't find a solid answer to the following questions, after reading relevent sections of the EAR, and talking to some people. I am looking for considered opinions, not legal advice. 1) Does a software such as the DESCHALL client or Peter Trei's DESKR program, in object code form, need a license to be exported? Keep in mind that even thought there are some cryptographic functions inside the programs, they cannot be directly used to encrypt data, nor can they be easily modified (i.e. without reverse engineering) to make data encryption possible. 2) Does the "printed matter exception" apply only to publications? Is it legal, under the EAR, for somebody in the US to print out the source code for an encryption program on paper and send it to a private party abroad (not a country in the enemies list). Does it make any difference whether this is done for monetory compensation? Does it make any difference whether the sender intends to keep the source code secret between himself and the recipient? Btw, it looks like the language about scannable encryption source code, that was in the draft regulations, have been removed. One more, general question. 3) Is it correct to say that, as long as you are not selling it to a military organization and the software is intended for civilian use, the export of encryption software is now controlled exclusively by the EAR, and not by the ITAR? I ask this because many of the people who answered "only publications" to question 2) above, could only quote the ITAR in support of their position. Thanks. -- Anil Das

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Re: Layoffs at PGP
by Wesley Felter 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 5/1/97 6:41 PM, Martin Janzen said: >Well, PGP spokesman Mike Nelson wins the award for the Freudian slip of >the day: > > "Internet Fast-Forward is not as closely related to the tools we > develop for individuals for privacy," he said. And the fact that > Fast-Forward filters ads which are an "inimical part of some of the > ^^^^^^^^ > emerging Web commerce models ... we don't want to hinder this > development." Unless you take it to mean that banner ads are important for "emerging Web commerce models" which is what PGP doesn't want to hinder the development of, in which case I'd say that IFF is inimical indeed. Both ways, they lose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wesley Felter | Have you ever had your phone tapped | | | by the government? YOU WILL. | | wesf(a)mail.utexas.edu | And the company to bring it to you: | | http://adhoc.com.inter.net/ | AT&T | -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Bulk Emailing !!
by manager＠gte.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

MARKETING WITH DIRECT EMAIL / BULK EMAIL SERVICES NOW WITH "STEALTH" EMAIL PROGRAM AND NEWSGROUP EMAIL "ADDRESS GRABBER" I operate a custom email service. From my experience, your typical bulk email service just collects email addresses from any source they can rely on shear volume emailing to produce the desired results - the "shotgun" approach. I have found that by targeting emails to groups that would likely be specifically interested in your product, the response rate is much better than when using the "shotgun" approach AND you don't tend to annoy as many people (which is nice for both sides). By targeting emails, I mean that I collect the addresses myself from on-line areas (forums, newsgroups, etc.) so that I mail to people that are likely to be interested in my products based on their on-line participation. FLOODGATE is the renegade technology that helps me do this. This is the same software that all bulk emailing services use! ------------------------------------------------------------------ Floodgate Bulk Email Loader for Windows Version 5.02 now Supports 17 (really more with the free form filter) File Formats ------------------------------------------------------------------ SEND OUT 20,000+ MARKETING LETTERS EVERY SINGLE DAY! Or...every few days. In fact, when I send out just a few thousand marketing letters each day, it doesn't take long before I'm completely swamped with email inquiries and phone calls. This is very easy to do. And each one of these bulk mailings costs me nothing. I can teach you how to do this and provide you with the tools you'll need. If you've got a good marketing letter, I'll show you how to open the floodgates. You'll be deluged with inquiries, leads, and real sales, using nothing but email alone. Writing a good marketing letter is not easy. I often have to rewrite my marketing letters a half dozen times before I get the results I'm looking for. But once you have a good letter, as you probably know, you can use the same letter over and over again, predictably and consistently, closing sales, week after week, month after month. It takes me about one hour to send my marketing letter to 20,000 fresh email addresses. I can do this, thanks to a Windows program I use. It's called Floodgate. It's a bulk email loader. If you're interested in electronic marketing, you should know about this program. THE PROGRAM: FLOODGATE FOR WINDOWS The Floodgate Bulk Email Loader imports simple text files that anyone can download from CompuServe, Prodigy, Delphi Genie, or the Internet. These text files contain classified ads, forum messages, or data from the member directory. Each of these files is filled with email addresses. Floodgate is designed to read these files and strip out the email addresses. It then sorts the addresses, removes any duplicates, and formats them into an output file, with 10, 20 or 30 addresses per line. This is all done in one simple step. Just point and click. You'll need either a Windows based Internet account or an America On-line account to send out your marketing letters. Neither AOL nor the Internet charges to send email. Send your letter to 1,000 people or 10,000 people -- the cost is always the same. NOTHING! NEW! PREPARE A MAILING OF 50,000+ IN LESS THAN A 1/2 HOUR If you open an Internet account, you can send each letter to 2,000+ people. The new Floodgate now directly writes distribution lists. Some people are always collecting new addresses, but if you publish a newsletter or adsheet, you'll be using the same addresses over and over again. That's real power! When using addresses you've previously collected, you can press a few buttons and prepare a mailing of 50,000+ in less than a half hour. (To get a list of all the Internet access providers in your local calling area goto: http://thelist.com and click on your area code.) The Floodgate Users Guide will teach you, step by step, how to download the right files, how to strip the addresses, and finally, how to cut and paste the formatted addresses into your marketing letter. Or, if you have an Internet account, how to create distribution lists. One you've done this a few times you won't even have to think. It's that simple! FOR THE BRAVE & DARING: PUSHING TECHNOLOGY TO ITS LIMITS As you may know, the practice of sending unsolicited email is usually frowned upon, and most service providers have rules against it. But,like jay-walking, there is little enforcement. It's not illegal. If someone tells you that it is, ask them to provide the citation (and don't let them give you some nonsense about faxes - that's not email). They can't do it because it's not there. Sometimes, when a lot of people complain, I get a warning letter. And that's about it. About 1 in 200 will write back and tell me, "take me off the list", which I can do, thanks to Floodgates Remove List feature. Many people reply back thanking me for sending them my informative letter. That's always nice. Most people though, just reply and say, "send me more info." In this way, it usually takes me two or three letters to close a sale. The Floodgate Users Guide will provide you with proven formats for writing a successful marketing letter. You'll test and rewrite, test and rewrite. Then, once you've got it, just push a few buttons, and open the floodgates!!! THE FLOODGATE BULK EMAIL LOADER CURRENTLY SUPPORTS 15+ FILE FORMATS 1. CompuServe Classifieds: Send your marketing letter to everyone who is running a classified ad. I'll teach you how to download all the classifieds from any single ad category. This is one of the most responsive list of buyers. They check their email every day and they're already in business. 2. America On-line Classifieds: Download 1,000 addresses in 15 minutes. These are excellent lists for business to business sales. 3. CompuServe Forums: You can join a forum and download hundreds of forum messages in a matter of minutes. 4. America On-line Forums: Choose from dozens of forums. All good targeted lists. 5. Prodigy Forums: Prodigy allows you to easily export any group of forum messages. More targeted lists. 6. Internet Newsgroups: These are all targeted lists. You'll be able to send your marketing letter to everyone who posts a message in any newsgroup. Easily collect 1,000's of addresses per hour. 7. America On-line Member Directory: Most member directories only allow you to search by city and state. With AOL, you can search by business type, hobbies, computer type, etc. This is the gem of all member directories. Build huge targeted lists. 8. CompuServe Member Directory: This is a major resource. If you're willing to target your mailing to a single city, you can collect about 1,000 email addresses an hour. 9. Delphi Member Directory: The Delphi member directory allows you to search for people based on key words. These are good targeted mailing lists. A single search can easily generate 5,000 addresses. 10. Genie Member Directory: Similar to the CompuServe member directory, only you can download names much quicker. You can easily pull hundreds of thousands of addresses out of each of these member directories. 11. CompuServe File Cabinet: If you run classified ads, and save the responses in the CIM file cabinet, you'll be able to easily reuse these addresses. You can send your marketing letter to everyone in any single folder. Build master lists and clean UP your hard drive. 12. Free Form: If you have a text file with email addresses that floodgate does not support, chances are the Free Form filter will be just what you need. Just enter a key word to search for. 13. CompuServe Form Profiles (Forum Membership Directories): Easy to build targeted lists here. Each search can easily bring you 500+ addresses. 14. Genie Profiles: If you're building targeted lists, you'll get a lot of addresses very quickly from Genie. 15. Plain Addresses: Read Floodgate Master Files back into Floodgate to merge files and do selective mailings. Also useful for the management of email address lists that you might purchase. Floodgate also has filters to allow you to include or exclude any groups of addresses in your final distribution lists. For example, you could include only email addresses that ended in .com or exclude all with .gov. You could exclude all noc, root, and other addresses that almost guarantee a negative response. These filters are fully configurable and can be used together. BUILD REUSABLE MASTER FILES Floodgate maintains Master Files for each of your marketing letters. If you download from the same place on a regular basis, you only want to send your letter to the new people. Floodgate will compare the new addresses with those in the Master File, and prepare a mailing list of only new people. The new addresses are, of course, then added to the Master File. With each new mailing your Master File grows and grows. You may create as many Master Lists as you need. When you start a new marketing campaign, you'll want to send your new letter to everyone on your Master List. If you write a newsletter, each time you send your newsletter, you'll send it to everyone on a Master List. THE REMOVE LIST Very often, people will reply and tell you to take them off your mailing list. Place these addresses in the REMOVE.MST file and they will never receive another letter from you again. In this way, you will be operating your business with the most professionalism possible. DON'T BE FOOLED We have some new competitors that have tried to copy Floodgate. The following list describes why Floodgate is BETTER....... **Floodgate is a mature, bug free product. Not an initial release. **Floodgate comes with over 100 pages of step by step documentation. **Floodgate is the only one offering a money back guarantee. **Floodgate has more testimonials. **Filter for filter, Floodgate offers more capabilities, way more. **Floodgate does everything all the others *combined* claim. **Floodgate is by far the easiest to use. **There is NO *cutting and pasting* with Floodgate. **We have by far, the best technical support. SOME QUICK MATH Floodgate can pay for itself in a few days. It can also cut your advertising costs down to almost nothing. Think of what the competition will do when they get their Floodgate program. Don't be left in the dust - there are 75 million people out there, just a few keystrokes away. Let's do the math: - Email 50,000 sales letters (takes about 1-2 hours) - Let's say your product will bring you $5 profit per sale. - Let's also say you only get a 1% response (occasionally higher). * That's 500 orders x $5 = $2,500 profit !! Now imagine what 500,000 letters would do for your business !! WHAT CAN I MARKET ON-LINE? You can market anything on-line using direct email, that can be marketed using conventional postal direct mail marketing. The possibilities are practically endless. If it sells off-line, you can sell it on-line. EASY TO INSTALL AND EASY TO LEARN The Floodgate Email Loader requires Windows. The docs tell you where to go, what to do, and how to do it. All you need are basic computer skills that can be learned with a little practice or help from computer savvy friends. Floodgate has previously sold for as much as $2,499! The complete package is now available for just $499.95, postpaid. If you order within 72 hours, it can be your for only $349.95!! (Must be verified on out autoresponder log, by received email time stamp, fax time stamp, or voice message time stamp). These orders will also receive lifetime technical support and FREE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING (once your check has cleared the bank). Some say Floodgate is expensive. Compared to direct mail, where you pay for mailing lists, printing and postage, Floodgate is a bargain. For the cost of one traditional mailing, you'll own a Floodgate license and never again pay for lists, printing or postage. Those who know direct mail will agree, "Floodgate is the best advertising value on the Internet today!" MONEY BACK GUARANTEE: Try the Floodgate Bulk Email Loader for 10 days. Do a test mailing. If you're not delighted, return the package for a full refund. All Floodgate users receive unlimited technical and business support for 30 days, (and if you don't take up a lot of my time, for a lot longer.) To order the FLOODGATE Bulk Email Loader, send your check or money order for $349.95 within 72 hours from receiving this email letter to: Dave Mustachi P.O. Box 772261 Coral Springs, FL 33077 (954) 341-2924 You can receive a functional demo version of Floodgate by simply faxing us a short note with your email address to 1-954-255-3713. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 386 or larger Windows 3.1+ with at least 4 meg ram or Windows 95 with 8 meg ram Extra 5 MB hard drive space Floodgate can be run on a fast Mac with 24 MB RAM and SoftWindows. NOTES FROM FLOODGATE USERS "It is everything you said it was. Within one week of my first mailing, I received a record number of orders. All you need to print money is a decent sales letter. Thanks." Randy albertson, Wolverine Capital. "After using Floodgate and your utility program all day today, let me say these are as two of the finest programs I have ever bought in my 52 years! Your support has been superb. Thank You!" Vernon Hale, Prime Data Systems "My first day and I just used Floodgate and Pegasus to send 1,469 sales letters. So far I've got about 25 positive responses. It works GREAT!!! Thanks." Donald Prior "Floodgate is awesome!. I recently started a new business on-line. I stripped the addresses of the AOL & CIS classifieds. I sent out 3,497 email letters and got over 400 people to join my company in 5 days! Needless to say, it pays for itself." David Sheeham, OMPD "I was able to use Floodgate to extract the names from the Internet news groups. It works perfectly. Needless to say, I am very excited about the use of this new technology." Mark Eberra, Inside Connections "This is a great piece of software and an invaluable marketing tool." Joe Kuhn, The Millennium Group "I just thought you'd like to know that this program is fantastic. After loading it on my system, I wanted to test it out. In my first hour of using this, I collected 6,092 email addresses!" Richard Kahn, LD Communications "I just love the Floodgate program. It saves me hours and hours of time. This is the beginning of a wonderful FUN time marketing on-line. Thank you so much for writing this program." Beth O'Neill, Eudora, KS "Your software is brilliant, and from the technical support I've received, I can see you have a genuine love and respect of people...Floodgate is a divine package. Wish I had found it sooner." Tom Sanders, Peoria, IL "I really like the way the Floodgate software package works. It is very easy to use, and really does the trick. It has already saved me an incredible amount of time and energy." John Berning, Jr., Fairfield, NJ "It's going great with FLOODGATE! I like using Delphi. I just collected 50,000+ addresses within 20 minutes on-line." Richard Kahn, R&B Associates ------------------------------------------------------------------ FLOODGATE ORDER FORM: Please print out this order form and then fill in the blanks...... ______Yes! I would like to try your cutting-edge software so that I can advertise my business to thousands of people on-line whenever I like! I understand that I have 10 days to trial the software. If I am not fully delighted, I will cheerfully be refunded the purchase price, no questions asked! Please rush me the FLOODGATE package now! ______I am ordering within 72 hours! That qualifies me to receive the FLOODGATE package at a substantial discount! I am ordering the software for only $349.95. (Save $150 off the retail price....Software has sold for as much as $2,499.95) ______I am ordering within 72 hours! That qualifies me to receive free lifetime technical support. ______I am ordering within 72 hours and I want FREE overnight shipping! ______I am ordering within 72 hours and I want 25,000 FREE email addresses to get me started earning money with my marketing letter. YOUR NAME_________________________________________________________ COMPANY NAME_____________________________________________________ YOUR POSITION______________________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS_____________________________________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP______________________________________________________ PHONE NUMBERS______________________________________________________ FAX NUMBERS_________________________________________________________ EMAIL ADDRESSES_____________________________________________________ We accept Checks or Money Orders by mail. I agree to pay WebAware an additional $27 fee if my check is returned for insufficient or uncollectable funds. SIGNATURE: X_________________________________DATE:__________________ Please send all order forms and check or money order to payable to: Dave Mustachi P.O. Box 772261 Coral Springs, FL 33077 (954) 341-2924 *********************************************************************************************** OR: PLEASE PASTE YOUR CHECK HERE (If you fax a check, there is no need for you to send the original check by mail. We will draft up a new check, with the exact information from your original check that you faxed to us) Please fax the above order form and check to: 1-954-255-3713.

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But thank God we live in Amerika...
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

An Average Citizen wrote: > Just guess what the fine is for not having 2" high > numbers on my mailbox. > $1000/20days in jail. Must be a fucking felony. Gee, and when Tim May said he was a felon, then I thought maybe he was murdering children, or something. Actually, maybe Tim *is* murdering children, but the authorities are leaving him alone because the numbers on his mailbox (written in the blood of children) are 2" high, leading them to believe that he is a model citizen. If Orwell had put a reference to a law such as this, with severe penalities for illegal-sized mailbox numbers in his work, "1984", he would have been laughed at as an unrealistic lunatic. (Not that he wasn't, anyway.) Around the world, conspiracy theorists and psycho-thriller writers are starving to death because they can't compete with reality and the nightly news. Me? I used to be an activist, now I'm just another guy/gal taking violin lessons from Nero. (We meet Tuesdays at Motel 6. Come on by, we'll leave a light-bulb joke on for you.) FiddleMonger

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Paul Bradley is too paranoid.
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Paul Bradley wrote: > One cannot now go out of ones own house without being monitored, and for > those of us who are known heretics maybe even that is not true. > > Paul "Rapidly becoming a hermit in the name of privacy" Bradley Paul, Quit picking at your face, and clean up that mess in the kitchen. Not that I'm monitoring you... -- Toto "The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre" http://bureau42.base.org/public/xenix/xenbody.html

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SAFE Bill / Fuck You (an inch at a time)
by nobody＠huge.cajones.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Jonah Seiger wrote: > However, despite our concerns about the criminal provisions, we believe > strongly that the SAFE bill, and the bills in the Senate sponsored by Burns > and Leahy, are vitally important and should be passed. When is the last time you saw a Volvo ad that said: "It's the safest car on the road, unless you corner too fast." Or a Chrysler ad that said: "Our air bags will provide you with complete protection, although they may kill your children." When Ford had a problem with Pinto gas tanks exploding on impact, and Richard Pryor set himself on fire, freebasing, I started selling T-shirts in Austin, Texas, saying: "I'd rather freebase than drive a Pinto." Ford Motor Company sent TWO legal eagles down from Ford Country, to exhort me to cease and desist. Car companies have better sense than to broach these subjects, even when they are truthful, because they know that the citizens won't put up with it. If they have a problem, they deny and avoid it--totally. They know that the citizens will *vote* with their wallets. Government, on the other hand, has so totally snowed the citizens that they no longer even bother, in many cases, with the pretension of providing us with a product of superb quality. Instead, we get: "Our product/legislation has a few flaws, but hell, it's better than nothing at all." or, "I'm supporting this legislation because it will get me elected in my district. So what if it fucks a few dirt-farmers halfway across the country?" or, "We already have dozens of laws covering this issue, but its a current hot-topic, so we'll pass another one, and add a few dozen items for special-interests groups which fuck a variety of citizens in the ass, but which we can still justify as being 'for the greater good.'" I mean, let's get real, here. We put up with crap from our government that we wouldn't accept from someone trying to sell us a mouthwash. The reason that we're not all drinking the "New Coke" is that D.C. has siphoned off all of the spin doctors/brainwashers from the corporate advertising industry. I'll lay you even money that, given sufficient funding, I could be elected as the next President of the U.S. using slogans like: "I promise to only fuck you a little bit at a time." and, "As your President, I will move us more slowly towards a total Police State." Why do we put up with blatantly "flawed" legislation, when we wouldn't put up with the same thing in a consumer product? It is because corporations fear the consumers, to a certain extent, but government has no fear of the citizens, for the most part. The government used to fear the Press, at least marginally, but they now have them in their back pocket, so the Press no longer has the power to serve as an element of protection/information for the citizenry. So the government can pass legislation which gives us rights which we already have, without it, and cut off another inch or two of our freedom/privacy at the same time. And, in the process, we will hear, from both the government and the Press, about the virtues of "compromise." THE ONLY THING BEING "COMPROMISED" IS THE CITIZEN, THE BILL OF RIGHTS, FREEDOM & PRIVACY. An inch at a time. Slowly but inexorably. It's called "compromise." It's called "reality." It's called "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Of course, when its done all at once, then it's called dictatorship, and fascism. That's why we don't do it "all at once" here. Because this is a "free country." So we just do it an inch at a time. And then another inch. And then another... Personal aside, to Mr. T.C. May: "We'll drop the felony charges of 'using encryption in the commission of a crime' if you will plead guilty to the 'jaywalking' charges." (You never should have encrypted that letter to your mom, Tim, and put the floppy in your pocket. Sure, you can fight the jaywalking charges, if you're willing to risk 20 years in prison on the felony encryption charges.) TruthFelon

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Re: Privacy news: Oakland Cameras, Levi employee files,
by lucifer＠dhp.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

geeman wrote: > Brief radio piece on the red-light cameras in S.F. --- red-light running > appears > to be down at the 4 intersections where cameras are installed; some > well-placed official was > quoted as saying "The cameras are definitely having an effect on people's > behavior." Yes, a > Good Thing. They are continuing to move forward with plans to install more > cameras. > > This is fine for red-light-running. I'm just worried about the day when > the cameras > have an effect on people's behavior with respect to what they say, whom > they associate with, > the clothes they wear, the thoughts they think... They have also installed hidden cameras in geeman's home. This is fine for monitoring geeman. I'm just worried about the day when the cameras are put in my own home. TruthMonitor

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Re: Fingerprint Stego
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>|It seems the INS and FBI are unwilling to grant US citizenship to >|persons without legible fingerprints. .. >Does this mean that, ipso facto (I love it), physically challenged >individuals with missing or deformed hands are excluded regardless of other >qualifications? What a monstrosity of a rule! Or at least that some individual thugs working for La Migra think so. If your real fingerprints are <null set>, then those are your real fingerprints - and if the Thugs don't like it, fire them. >Was this carried over the wire? AP? (Hey, we weren't talking about Jim Bell here. Maybe we should?:-) >|"This is not something we take lightly," said INS spokesperson >|Irene Mortensen. "We can't just arbitrarily give out citizenship >|to just anyone." ... >Is it not possible to retroactively _remove_ the citizenship of such an >arrogant bureaucrat to test whether she could make the grade imposed on the >rest of the world's "refuse?" Only for treason; this may qualify. While the Constitution does give Congress authority to set procedures for naturalizing immigrants, it doesn't give them an option about _whether_ to do it. Just how. # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # You can get PGP outside the US at ftp.ox.ac.uk/pub/crypto/pgp # (If this is a mailing list, please Cc: me on replies. Thanks.)

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