December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

digital cash & politics
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

------- Forwarded Message Date: Thu, 16 Oct 1997 11:40:46 -0500 (CDT) To: believer(a)telepath.com From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: End of National Markets Forwarded: - ----------- >From the USIA Daily Washington File >http://www.usia.gov/products/washfile.htm > >15 October 1997 > >THE END OF NATIONAL MARKETS (Electronic cash makes regulation difficult) > >by Stephen J. Kobrin > >(Copyright (c) 1997 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. >Reprinted with permission from FOREIGN POLICY magazine, Summer 1997. >Permission has been obtained covering >republication/translation/abridgment by USIS and the local press >outside the United States.) > >---------------------------- > >Twenty-six years ago, Raymond Vernon's "Sovereignty at Bay" proclaimed >that "concepts such as national sovereignty and national economic >strength appear curiously drained of meaning." > >Other books followed, arguing that sovereignty, the nation-state, and >the national economy were finished -- victims of multinational >enterprises and the internationalization of production. While >sovereign states and national markets have outlasted the chorus of >Cassandras, this time the sky really may be falling. The emergence of >electronic cash and a digitally networked global economy pose direct >threats to the very basis of the territorial state. > >Let us begin with two vignettes. Fact: Smugglers fly Boeing 747s >loaded with illicit drugs into Mexico and then cram the jumbo jets >full of cash -- American bills -- for the return trip. Fiction: Uncle >Enzo, Mafia CEO, pays for intelligence in the digital future of Neal >Stephenson's novel Snow Crash: "He reaches into his pocket and pulls >out a hypercard and hands it toward Hiro. It says 'Twenty-Five Million >Hong Kong Dollars.' Hiro reaches out and takes the card. Somewhere on >earth, two computers swap bursts of electronic noise and the money >gets transferred from the Mafia's account to Hiro's." > >The 747s leaving Mexico are anachronisms, among the last surviving >examples of the physical transfer of large amounts of currency across >national borders. Most money has been electronic for some time. >Virtually all of the trillions of dollars, marks, and yen that make >their way around the world each day take the form of bytes -- chains >of zeros and ones. Only at the very end of its journey is money >transformed into something tangible: credit cards, checks, cash, or >coins. > >Hypercards are here. Mondex, a smart card or electronic purse, can be >"loaded" with electronic money from an automatic teller machine (atm) >or by telephone or personal computer using a card-reading device. >Money is spent either by swiping the card through a retailer's >terminal or over the Internet by using the card reader and a personal >computer. An electronic wallet allows anonymous card-to-card >transfers. > >It is not just the current technology of electronic cash (e-cash) or >even what might be technologically feasible in the future that >presents policymakers with new challenges. Rather, policymakers must >confront directly the implications of this technology -- and, more >generally, the emergence of an electronically networked global economy >-- for economic and political governance. As the U.S. comptroller of >the currency, Eugene Ludwig, has noted, "There is clearly a freight >train coming down the tracks...Just because it hasn't arrived yet >doesn't mean we shouldn't start getting ready." > >ELECTRONIC MONEY > >Many different forms of "electronic money" are under development, but >it is useful to look at three general categories: electronic debit and >credit systems; various forms of smart cards; and true digital money, >which has many of the properties of cash. > >Electronic debit and credit systems already exist. When a consumer >uses an ATM card to pay for merchandise, funds are transferred from >his or her account to the merchant's. Credit cards are used to make >payments over the Internet. Computer software such as Intuit provides >electronic bill payment, and it is but a short step to true electronic >checks --authenticated by a digital signature -- that can be >transmitted to the payee, endorsed, and deposited over the Internet. > >Electronic debit and credit systems represent new, more convenient >means of payment, but not new payment systems. A traditional bank or >credit card transaction lies at the end of every transaction chain. >Smart cards and digital money represent new payment systems with >potentially revolutionary implications. Smart cards are plastic >"credit" cards with an embedded microchip. Many are now used as >telephone or transit payment devices. They can be loaded with currency >from an atm or via a card reader from a telephone or personal >computer, which can then be spent at businesses, vending machines, or >turnstiles that have been equipped with appropriate devices. At this >most basic level, a smart card is simply a debit card that does not >require bank approval for each transaction; clearance takes place each >day and the value resides in third-party accounts. There is no reason, >however, that smart cards have to be limited in this way. > >Banks or other institutions could provide value on smart cards through >loans, payments for services, or products. The immediate transfer of >funds between bank accounts is not necessary; units of value can >circulate from card to card -- and from user to user -- without >debiting or crediting third-party accounts. Assuming confidence in the >creating institution, "money" could be created on smart cards and >could circulate almost indefinitely before redemption. > >Finally, electronic money can take true digital form, existing as >units of value in the form of bytes stored in the memory of personal >computers that may or may not be backed up by reserve accounts of real >money. The money could be downloaded from an account, supplied as a >loan or as payment, or bought with a credit card over the Internet. As >long as digital cash can be authenticated and there is confidence in >its continued acceptance, it could circulate indefinitely, allowing >peer-to-peer payments at will. These are big "ifs," but they are well >within the realm of the possible. > >Imagine a world where true e-cash is an everyday reality. Whether all >of the following assumptions are correct or even immediately feasible >is unimportant; some form of e-cash is coming, and we need to begin >the process of thinking about its as-yet-unexplored consequences for >economic and political governance. > >The year is 2005. You have a number of brands of e-cash on your >computer's hard drive: some withdrawn from a bank in Antigua, some >borrowed from Microsoft, and some earned as payment for your services. >You use the digital value units (DVUs) to purchase information from a >Web site, pay bills, or send money to your daughter in graduate >school. Peer-to-peer payments are easy: You can transfer DVUs to any >computer anyplace in the world with a few keystrokes. > >Your e-cash is secure and can be authenticated easily. It is also >anonymous; governments have not been able to mandate a technology that >leaves a clear audit trail. Public-key encryption technology and >digital signatures allow blind transactions; the receiving computer >knows that the DVUs are authentic without knowing the identity of the >payer. Your e-cash can be exchanged any number of times without >leaving a trace of where it has been. It is virtually impossible to >alter the value of your e-cash at either end of the transaction (by >adding a few more zeros to it, for example). > >DVUs are almost infinitely divisible. Given the virtually negligible >transaction cost, it is efficient for you to pay a dollar or two to >see a financial report over the Internet or for your teenager to rent >a popular song for the few minutes during which it is in vogue. >Microtransactions have become the norm. E-cash is issued -- actually >created -- by a large number of institutions, bank and nonbank. >Electronic currencies (e-currencies) have begun to exist on their own; >many are no longer backed by hard currency and have developed value >separately from currencies issued by central banks. DVUs circulate for >long periods of time without being redeemed or deposited. Consumer >confidence in the issuer is crucial; as with electronic commerce >(e-commerce) in general, brand names have become critical. > >The early 21st century is described as a world of competing >e-currencies, a throwback to the 19th-century world of private >currencies. The better known brands of e-cash are highly liquid and >universally accepted. It is a relatively simple matter for you to set >up filters in your electronic purse to screen out e-currencies that >you do not want to accept. > >GOVERNANCE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD > >E-cash and the increasing importance of digital markets pose problems >for central government control over the economy and the behavior of >economic actors; they also render borders around national markets and >nation-states increasingly permeable -- or, perhaps, increasingly >irrelevant. In a world where true e-cash is an everyday reality, the >basic role of government in a liberal market economy and the relevance >of borders and geography will be drastically redefined. > >While at first glance this concern appears to reflect a traditional >break between domestic and international economic issues, in fact the >advent of e-cash raises serious questions about the very idea of >"domestic" and "international" as meaningful and distinct concepts. >The new digital world presents a number of governance issues, >described below. > >-- Can central banks control the rate of growth and the size of the >money supply? Private e-currencies will make it difficult for central >bankers to control -- or even measure or define -- monetary >aggregates. Several forms of money, issued by banks and nonbanks, will >circulate. Many of these monies may be beyond the regulatory reach of >the state. At the extreme, if, as some libertarians imagine, private >currencies dominate, currencies issued by central banks may no longer >matter. > >-- Will there still be official foreign exchange transactions? E-cash >will markedly lower existing barriers to the transfer of funds across >borders. Transactions that have been restricted to money-center banks >will be available to anyone with a computer. Peer-to-peer transfers of >DVUs across national borders do not amount to "official" foreign >exchange transactions. If you have $200 worth of DVUs on your computer >and buy a program from a German vendor, you will probably have to >agree on a mark-to-dollar price. However, transferring the DVUs to >Germany is not an "official" foreign exchange transaction; the DVUs >are simply revalued as marks. In fact, national currencies may lose >meaning with the development of DVUs that have a universally accepted >denomination. Without severe restrictions on individual privacy -- >which are not out of the question -- governments will be hard-pressed >to track, account for, and control the flows of money across borders. > >-- Who will regulate or control financial institutions? The U.S. >Treasury is not sure whether existing regulations, which apply to both >banks and institutions that act like banks (i.e., take deposits), >would apply to all who issue (and create) e-cash. If nonfinancial >institutions do not accept the extensive regulatory controls that >banks take as the norm, can reserve or reporting requirements be >enforced? What about consumer protection in the event of the >insolvency of an issuer of e-cash, a system breakdown, or the loss of >a smart card? > >-- Will national income data still be meaningful? It will be almost >impossible to track transactions when e-cash becomes a widely used >means of payment, online deals across borders become much easier, and >many of the intermediaries that now serve as checkpoints for recording >transactions are eliminated by direct, peer-to-peer payments. The >widespread use of e-cash will render national economic data much less >meaningful. Indeed, the advent of both e-cash and e-commerce raises >fundamental questions about the national market as the basic unit of >account in the international economic system. > >-- How will taxes be collected? Tax evasion will be a serious problem >in an economy where e-cash transactions are the norm. It will be easy >to transfer large sums of money across borders, and tax havens will be >much easier to reach. Encrypted anonymous transactions will make >audits increasingly problematic. Additionally, tax reporting and >compliance relies on institutions and intermediaries. With e-cash and >direct payments, all sorts of sales taxes, value-added taxes, and >income taxes will be increasingly difficult to collect. More >fundamentally, the question of jurisdiction -- who gets to tax what -- >will become increasingly problematic. Say you are in Philadelphia and >you decide to download music from a computer located outside Dublin >that is run by a firm in Frankfurt. You pay with e-cash deposited in a >Cayman Islands account. In which jurisdiction does the transaction >take place? > >-- Will e-cash and e-commerce widen the gap between the haves and the >have-nots? Participation in the global electronic economy requires >infrastructure and access to a computer. Will e-cash and e-commerce >further marginalize poorer population groups and even entire poor >countries? This widened gap between the haves and the have-nots -- >those with and without access to computers -- could become >increasingly difficult to bridge. > >-- Will the loss of seigniorage be important as governments fight to >balance budgets? Seigniorage originally referred to the revenue or >profit generated due to the difference between the cost of making a >coin and its face value; it also refers to the reduction in government >interest payments when money circulates. The U.S. Treasury estimates >that traditional seigniorage amounted to $773 million in 1994 and that >the reduction in interest payments due to holdings of currency rather >than debt could be as much as $3.5 billion per year. The Bank for >International Settlements reports that the loss of seigniorage for its >11 member states will be more than $17 billion if smart cards >eliminate all bank notes under $25. > >-- Will fraud and criminal activity increase in an e-cash economy? At >the extreme -- and the issue of privacy versus the needs of law >enforcement is unresolved -- transfers of large sums of cash across >borders would be untraceable. There would be no audit trail. Digital >counterfeiters could work from anywhere in the world and spend >currency in any and all places. New financial crimes and forms of >fraud could arise that would be hard to detect, and it would be >extremely difficult to locate the perpetrators. The task of financing >illegal and criminal activity would be easier by orders of magnitude. >E-cash will lower the barriers to entry and reduce the risks of >criminal activity. > >Most of the issues raised in the recent National Research Council >report on cryptography's role in the information society apply >directly to electronic cash. Secure, easily authenticated, and >anonymous e-cash requires strong encryption technology. Anonymous >transactions, however, cannot be restricted to law-abiding citizens. >Encryption makes it as difficult for enforcement authorities to track >criminal activity as it does for criminals to penetrate legitimate >transmissions. Should privacy be complete? Or should law enforcement >authorities and national security agencies be provided access to >e-cash transactions through escrowed encryption, for example? What >about U.S. restrictions on the export of strong encryption technology? >E-cash is global cash; how can governments limit its geographic >spread? Can they even suggest that strong encryption algorithms be >restricted territorially? > >GEOGRAPHIC SPACE VERSUS CYBERSPACE > >A recent U.S. Treasury paper dealing with the tax implications of >electronic commerce argues that new communications technologies have >"effectively eliminated national borders on the information highway." >It is clear from the paper's subsequent discussion, however, that the >more fundamental problem is that electronic commerce may "dissolve the >link between an income-producing activity and a specific location." >The source of taxable income, which plays a major role in determining >liability, is defined geographically in terms of where the economic >activity that produces the income is located. Therein lies the rub: >"Electronic commerce doesn't seem to occur in any physical location >but instead takes place in the nebulous world of 'cyberspace.'" In a >digital economy it will be difficult, or even impossible, to link >income streams with specific geographic locations. > >Digitalization is cutting money and finance loose from its geographic >moorings. The framework of regulation that governs financial >institutions assumes that customers and institutions are linked by >geography -- that spatial proximity matters. E-cash and e-commerce >snap that link. What remains are systems of economic and political >governance that are rooted in geography and are trying nonetheless to >deal with e-cash and markets that exist in cyberspace. The obvious >disconnect here will only worsen over time. > >The geographical rooting of political and economic authority is >relatively recent. Territorial sovereignty, borders, and a clear >distinction between domestic and international spheres are modern >concepts associated with the rise of the nation-state. Territorial >sovereignty implies a world divided into clearly demarcated and >mutually exclusive geographic jurisdictions. It implies a world where >economic and political control arise from control over territory. >The international financial system -- which consists of hundreds of >thousands of computer screens around the globe -- is the first >international electronic marketplace. It will not be the last. E-cash >is one manifestation of a global economy that is constructed in >cyberspace rather than geographic space. The fundamental problems that >e-cash poses for governance result from this disconnect between >electronic markets and political geography. > >The very idea of controlling the money supply, for example, assumes >that geography provides a relevant means of defining the scope of the >market. It assumes that economic borders are effective, that the flow >of money across them can be monitored and controlled, and that the >volume of money within a fixed geographic area is important. All of >those assumptions are increasingly questionable in a digital world >economy. > >Many of our basic tax principles assume that transactions and income >streams can be located precisely within a given national market. That >assumption is problematic when e-cash is spent on a computer network. >It is problematic when many important economic transactions cannot be >located, or may not even take place, in geographic space. > >The increasing irrelevance of geographic jurisdiction in a digital >world economy markedly increases the risks of fraud, money-laundering, >and other financial crimes. Asking where the fraud or money-laundering >took place means asking "Whose jurisdiction applies?" and "Whose law >applies?" We need to learn to deal with crimes that cannot be located >in geographic space, where existing concepts of national jurisdiction >are increasingly irrelevant. > >The term "disintermediation" was first used to describe the >replacement of banks as financial intermediaries by direct lending in >money markets when interest rates rose. It is often used in the world >of e-commerce to describe the elimination of intermediaries by direct >seller-to-buyer transactions over the Internet. Many observers argue >that e-cash is likely to disintermediate banks. Of more fundamental >importance is the possibility that e-cash and e-commerce will >disintermediate the territorial state. > >To be clear, I argue that we face not the end of the state, but rather >the diminished efficacy of political and economic governance that is >rooted in geographic sovereignty and in mutually exclusive territorial >jurisdiction. Questions such as: "Where did the transaction take >place?" "Where did the income stream arise?" " Where is the financial >institution located?" and "Whose law applies?" will lose meaning. >E-cash and e-commerce are symptoms, albeit important ones, of an >increasing asymmetry between economics and politics, between an >electronically integrated world economy and territorial nation-states, >and between cyberspace and geographic space. How this asymmetry will >be resolved and how economic and political relations will be >reconstructed are two of the critical questions of our time. > >WHAT IS TO BE DONE? > >The question asked here is not "What is feasible?" but "What are the >limits of the possible?" Whether the picture presented here is correct >in all -- or even some -- of its details is unimportant. A digital >world economy is emerging. Imagining possible scenarios is necessary >if we are to come to grips with the consequences of this revolution. >The purpose here is to raise problems rather than to solve them and to >imagine possible futures and think about their implications for >economic and political governance. A digital world economy will demand >increasing international cooperation, harmonizing national regulations >and legislation, and strengthening the authority of international >institutions. > >The harmonization of national regulations will help to prevent >institutions, such as those issuing e-cash, from slipping between >national jurisdictions or shopping for the nation with the least >onerous regulations. However, it will not address the basic problem of >the disconnect between geographic jurisdiction and an electronically >integrated global economy. > >If it is impossible to locate transactions geographically -- if the >flows of e-cash are outside of the jurisdictional reach of every >country -- then the harmonization of national regulations will >accomplish little. The basic problem is not one of overlapping or >conflicting jurisdictions; it stems from the lack of meaning of the >very concept of "jurisdiction" in a digitalized global economy. >The erosion of the viability of territorial jurisdiction calls for >strengthened international institutions. It calls for giving >international institutions real authority to measure, to control, and, >perhaps, to tax. The Basle Committee on Banking Supervision -- an >international body of bank regulators who set global standards -- >could perhaps be given the authority to collect information from >financial institutions wherever they are located and formulate and >enforce regulations globally. Interpol, or its equivalent, may have to >be given jurisdiction over financial crimes, regardless of where they >are committed. That does not mean a world government; it does mean a >markedly increased level of international cooperation. > >The questions we must face are whether territorial sovereignty will >continue to be viable as the primary basis for economic and political >governance as we enter the 21st century, and what the implications >will be for the American economy -- and Americans in general -- if we >refuse to cooperate internationally in the face of an increasingly >integrated global economy. > > --------------------- > >ELECTRONIC CASH: A GLOSSARY > >DIGITAL DATA: Information coded into a series of zeros and ones that >can be transmitted and processed electronically. > >DIGITAL SIGNATURE: A code that allows absolute authentication of the >origin and integrity of a document, check, or electronic cash that has >been sent over a computer network. A blind signature allows >authentication without revealing the identity of the sender. > >DISINTERMEDIATION: The substitution of direct transactions for those >that are mediated. The term originated when rising interest rates >caused savings to be withdrawn from banks -- whose interest rates were >capped -- and invested in money market instruments that were the >direct debts of borrowers. Banks were disintermediated. In electronic >commerce, the term refers to the rise of direct buyer-to-seller >relationships over the Internet, disintermediating wholesalers and >retail outlets. > >ELECTRONIC MONEY: Units or tokens of monetary value that take digital >form and are transmitted over electronic networks. Digital Value Units >are the basic units of denomination of electronic money; they may or >may not correspond to units of national currency. > >ENCRYPTION: The coding of information for security purposes, such as >credit card numbers or electronic cash used over the Internet. >Public-key encryption uses a mathematical algorithm comprising a pair >of strings of numbers to encrypt and decrypt the data. For example, >the sender would encrypt the data with the receiver's public key and >the receiver would decrypt with his or her private key. > >INTERNET: A global network of linked networks that allows >communication and the sharing of information among many different >types of computers. The World Wide Web is a graphical system on the >Internet that allows rapid movement between documents and computers >through the use of embedded (hypertext) links. > >SMART CARDS: A plastic card, similar to a credit card, containing a >microchip that can be used to retrieve, store, process, and transmit >digital data like electronic cash or medical information. > ----------------------- > >(Stephen J. Kobrin is the director of the Lauder Institute of >Management and International Studies and the William Wurster professor >of multinational management at the Wharton School of the University of >Pennsylvania. This paper develops themes raised at a discussion of >electronic money at the 1997 annual meeting of the World Economic >Forum in Davos, Switzerland.) ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: subscribe ignition-point email@address or unsubscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** http://www.telepath.com/believer ********************************************** ------- End of Forwarded Message

1 0

Is mixmaster dead?
by Russell Nelson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Lance hasn't updated his mixmaster page in over a year. Is mixmaster dead? -- -russ <nelson(a)crynwr.com> http://www.crynwr.com/~nelson | Freedom is the Crynwr Software supports freed software | PGPok | primary cause of peace. 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | Taxes feed the naked Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | and clothe the hungry.

5 6

6 weeks in jail for carrying vitamins [CNN]
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> MAN SPENDS 6 WEEKS IN JAIL AFTER VITAMINS MISTAKEN FOR HEROIN > > October 29, 1997 > Web posted at: 7:21 p.m. EST (0021 GMT) > > NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- For six weeks, Malvin > Marshall sat in jail because police thought he was carrying heroin > in his pocket. Police didn't believe him when he said it was mushy > vitamins. > > On Monday, the charges were dropped. Lab tests showed he was > carrying mushy vitamins. [remainder deleted]

6 6

Crypto FTP for NT?
by Evil Erik 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Anyone know of a crypto based FTP for NT? At this point, freeware, shareware, commercial is fine.. We'd prefer not to have to roll our own.. (Yes, I know about F-Secure's SFTP, but that is still a few months off..) Thanks, -=erik.

1 0

PGP 5.5 available outside US
by Jeff A. Hale 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

It seems that unknown Cypherpunks have yet again shown their disrespect of US export laws by exporting the latest version of PGP. The Windows version of PGP 5.5 is now available for your downloading pleasure at ftp://ftp.replay.com/pub/crypto/incoming/PGP55.zip PGP 5.5 features superior LDAP keyserver integration, multiple signature categories, and automatic decryption (set Preferences -> Email -> Automatically Decrypt). "You heard the rumors. Now try it yourself." :-) -- Lucky Green <shamrock(a)cypherpunks.to> PGP encrypted email preferred. "Tonga? Where the hell is Tonga? They have Cypherpunks there?"

1 0

[URGENT] Secure checksums
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Warning: if you fuck Timothy C[unt] May in the ass, a rabid tapeworm might bite your penis. \0/ \0/\ \ / / \0/ \0/ \0/\ \ / /\0/ \0/ Timothy C[unt] May | / /) | (\ | | / /) | (\ \ | / \__/\__/0\__/0\__/0\__/ \__/ \__/\__/0\__/0\__/0\__/\__/ \

2 1

WOMEN!! LIVE AND WAITING!!
by 1900＠qui.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

GUYS! WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!!! WE'RE LIVE AND WAITING!!! 1-900-407-2273 Extension 4688 24 hr hotline USA ONLY $3.99 per min Must be 18 yrs. Procall Co. (602)631-0615 To be removed from this mailing list, auto-reply with remove in the subject field

1 0

The Anti-Privacy Agenda of Gary Burnore/DataBasix (was: Re: Netcom ripped me off)
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

moonman3(a)ix.netcom.com wrote: > > Close, except that you post under the pseudonym "moonman3" instead. > > So unless your "real name" is "Moonman", it's more of the typical > > hypocrisy that spews forth from Gary Burnore and the DataBasix gang. > > Since most of Gary's "supporters" (including you) seem to post from > > Netcruiser accounts with phony pseudonyms ("eridani", "moonman3", > > "wotan", "tweek", etc.) it's counter-productive for you to whine > > too loudly about posting with "real names". Could it be that Gary > > is pi**ed when he sees a post with which he disagrees and which > > doesn't have an address which he can "spam bait", mail bomb, etc.? > > moonman3(a)ix.netcom.com is my legitimate address. > > Too bad for you that you have to hide behind the skirts of a remailer. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > Something about your childhood? > > > Gary Burnore could suddenly acquire even more "supporters" like you if he > > could only afford to pay for a few more throwaway Netcom accounts with > > cutesy "names". > > "eridani", "moonman3", "wotan", "tweek", etc. are all valid addresses. > We do not hide behind a remailer. More classic double-speak from the DataBasix Gang, I see... Nice try at changing the subject, but it's you, Gary Burnore <gburnore(a)databasix.com>, and Belinda Bryan <eridani(a)ix.netcom.com> that made such a pitiful whine about the need to post with "real names". It's irrelevant whether the pseudonyms you use at Netcom are "legitimate addresses" or not. Anonymity involves concealing your NAME, not your ADDRESS. Since your post does not contain your name, it's an ANONYMOUS post, just like mine is. Unless you're trying to claim that "moonman3" is your "real name", then you're a whining hypocrite. Personally, I don't care what your "real name" is. You have every right to "hide behind the skirts of" a pseudonym, if you so choose. But if you do so, you have no right to criticize someone who utilizes a remailer to protect his/her privacy rather than an ISP like Netcom. Like it or not, my e-mail address is my personal property. If I want someone to send e-mail to me, I'll give it to them. I need not broadcast it indiscriminately to accomplish that purpose. I need not subject myself to the abuse that seems to befall those who dare to publicly challenge Gary Burnore and his tactics as the price of free speech. Such abusive tactics are a form of de facto censorship. -- Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind. -- General William Westmoreland

1 0

Crypto-update: Magaziner on Clinton, Senate on crypto-czar
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[Reminder: There //is// a DC cypherpunks meeting this Sunday afternoon! Email me for details if you don't have 'em yet. --Declan] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:53:07 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> To: fight-censorship-announce(a)vorlon.mit.edu Subject: Crypto-update: Magaziner on Clinton, Senate on crypto-czar Ira Magaziner, Clinton's Net-advisor, spoke today at the District of Columbia Bar Association, Computer and Telecommunications Law section conference. A brief report, as told to me by someone who was there: >Magaziner said Clinton and Gore specifically oppose mandatory >domestic key recovery. Said they're still fighting it >out within the administration and hope to work out a >reasonable compromise. Aligned himself pretty clearly >with the commercial, not the law enforcement side. Said >that when Freeh waves around the "four horsemen," he's >hard-pressed to come up with an informed answer. Said >NSA had been involved in lobbying on the Hill. Also, a Senate committee today approved the nomination of David "Crypto-Ambassador" Aaron to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade. Aaron has been for the last year trying to export the FBI's crypto-proposals for mandatory Big Brother cryptoware. (And unconfirmed reports say he's been getting into fights not just inside the OECD in Paris, but outside: apparently he's tussled with Parisian cabbies more than once...) Aaron's nomination now goes to the full Senate; no vote has been scheduled yet. -Declan

1 0

Swallow all liquids before reading this...
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

... as you may blow it all out your nose... Cheers, Bob Hettinga --- begin forwarded text Resent-Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 18:38:23 -0800 (PST) X-Authentication-Warning: weber.ucsd.edu: procmail set sender to rre-request(a)weber.ucsd.edu using -f X-Authentication-Warning: weber.ucsd.edu: Processed from queue /usr/spool/mqueue/rqueue Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 18:31:31 -0800 (PST) From: Phil Agre <pagre(a)weber.ucsd.edu> To: rre(a)weber.ucsd.edu Subject: Appraising Microsoft and Its Global Strategy Conference Resent-From: rre(a)weber.ucsd.edu Reply-To: rre-maintainers(a)weber.ucsd.edu X-URL: http://communication.ucsd.edu/pagre/rre.html X-Mailing-List: <rre(a)weber.ucsd.edu> archive/latest/1714 X-Loop: rre(a)weber.ucsd.edu Precedence: list Resent-Sender: rre-request(a)weber.ucsd.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help(a)weber.ucsd.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [I don't have the original header.] Appraising Microsoft and Its Global Strategy Conference November 13 and 14, 1997 The Omni Shoreham Hotel Washington, D.C. Please join Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, Roberta Katz, General Counsel for Netscape Communications and Christine Varney, Former Federal Trade Commissioner among others at the Appraising Microsoft and Its Global Strategy Conference cosponsored by Ralph Nader and Essential Information. The following is a list of confirmed speakers: Garth Saloner, Stanford University Morgan Chu, Irell & Manella Roberta Katz, General Counsel for Netscape Communications Audrie Krause, NetAction Bill Wendel, The Real Estate Cafe Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems Christine Varney, Former FTC Commissioner Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate Steve Susman, Susman and Godfrey Gary L. Reback, Esq., Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati Financial services: Bill Randle, VP Huntington Bancshares Consumer products: CEO and President Philip Monego, NetChannel Bryan Sparks, CEO Caldera, Inc. James P. Love, Consumer Project on Technology Graham Lea, Principal Analyst of Heterodox (London) Andrew Schulman, Consulting Editor O'Reilly and Association Steve Hill, Esq., Snow Christensen Rick Ross, Java Lobby Daniel Nachbar, Public Software Institute John Perry Barlow, Co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation Sam Goodhope, Texas Attorney General's Office. Wendy Goldman Rohm, author Please see our web page for more information and registration materials. If more than five people from your organization/company would like to attend, we will give a 30% registration discount. http://www.appraising-microsoft.org/ For more information please call Caroline Jonah or Donna Colvin at (202)387-8030. --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

1 0