December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Death Penalty Expanded
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

What's next, the death penalty for unregistered crypto? No doubt Swinestein plans to introduce her own version of this in Amerika. --Tim # Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 6:43:53 PST # # TAIPEI, Nov 24 (AFP) - Taiwan brought in new heavy penalties # Monday to curb illegal firearm possession in an effort to tackle a # rising crime wave here. # Under an amended law effective from Monday anyone caught # manufacturing, selling or transporting illegal firearms faces the # death penalty. Previously the law stipulated a maximum penalty of # seven years jail. # The move comes just five days after the island's most wanted # fugitive gave himself up to police. # "The amened law is expected to emerge as a deterrent force to # effectively keep at bay illegal holding of firearms," President Lee # Teng-hui said. # In the past, nearly 80 percent of offenders under the law faced # only 18 months jail and were often released on parole after serving # a third of their sentence, official statistics show.

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Re: Another Anti-Privacy Bigot Heard From (was: The Guilmette/Burnore deba
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

gburnore(a)netcom.com (Gary L. Burnore) wrote: > On Sun, 30 Nov 1997 03:48:14 GMT, eridani+spam(a)netcom.com wrote: > > : In article <c87feca75aa95fb3e51fe7ad0c72f17d(a)anonymous.poster>, > : Anonymous <Use-Author-Address-Header(a)[127.1]> wrote: > : [same ole same ole] > : > : Gary said THE anon asshole. That's you, bubba. Your writing style and > : your tiresome beating of the same old drum give you away every time. > : > : Don't try to make this into Gary L. Burnore (and me, of course, don't > : forget me) against everyone who posts anonymously. It wasn't that way > : from the start and it ain't that way now. This is about YOU and the > : smear campaign that YOU conduct from behind an anonymous remailer. > > The anonasshole is now working on his "way out of this". Expect many more of > his posts to contain bits of how more than one person posting anonymously is > making the accusations. All is falling down around the anonasshole. > > : <cue more lies and distortions from THE anon cretin> > > We'd expect no less. I do wonder how long it will take before those who > believe remailers are a good thing start to realise this asshole has it in for > them. Everything it posts could be used by the anti-remailer front as a > reason to shut them all down. > > > gburnore@netcom dot com or gburnore@netcom databasix com > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > How you look depends on where you go. > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Gary L. Burnore | ÝÛ³ºÝ³Þ³ºÝ³³ÝÛºÝ³Þ³ºÝ³Ý³Þ³ºÝ³ÝÝÛ³ > | ÝÛ³ºÝ³Þ³ºÝ³³ÝÛºÝ³Þ³ºÝ³Ý³Þ³ºÝ³ÝÝÛ³ > DOH! | ÝÛ³ºÝ³Þ³ºÝ³³ÝÛºÝ³Þ³ºÝ³Ý³Þ³ºÝ³ÝÝÛ³ > | ÝÛ³ 3 4 1 4 2 Ý³Þ³ 6 9 0 6 9 ÝÛ³ > spamgard(tm): zamboni | Official Proof of Purchase > =========================================================================== > PGPprint: C63B CF4E 1B71 4D7E C6F8 AF4E 338D 5CB4 > KeyID: 0x0F7EDBD9 (RSA) finger gburnore(a)netcom.com for public key > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- That was an impressive tantrum that you and Belinda just staged. I suppose you thought it would distract attention from the fact that you still refuse to reveal what your motive was for harassing Jeff Burchell this summer in a failed attempt to get him to turn over the logs containing the names and e-mail addresses of everyone who either sent or received an anonymous message through his remailer. Your attempt to spread F.U.D. (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) among the remailer user community is reminiscent of the "Church" of $cientology's similarly rabid anti-remailer tactics. Your fanciful posts about "anonymous assholes", "cyber stalkers", and other bovine excrement don't even make good fiction anymore. I'll take ElRon's sci-fi over yours any day. If posts from "anon assholes" really offend your sensitive feelings, then you might want to stay away from most of the NGs where you've been posting your blather. SUGGESTION: stick with "safe" groups like comp.org.cauce where anonymous posts are banned and content is censo^h^h^h^h^hmoderated to ensure an appropriate level of political correctness.

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Re: New free speech oriented civil rights site
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Anonymous <nobody(a)REPLAY.COM> wrote: >Cypherpunks need to build bridges to minority communities, to show >them how these technologies can advance their cause. Members of abused minority groups should be pretty much in sync with a lot of concerns held by cypherpunks. When we talk about police brutality and concentration camps, most of us, as well as our friends and relatives, have little direct experience. This is not true of many members of minority groups. Sounds like a nice project. Good luck! >Racist comments by supposedly respected list members are harmful and >must be countered in order to show that these views do not reflect >the feelings of most cypherpunks. If we do our job properly, the cypherpunk public image won't matter. ;-) >Cypherpunk technologies will be a major force to eliminate racism. >With privacy protected transactions, the color of a person's skin, >his religion and his ethnicity are no longer apparent. People will >be able to succeed on merit - and not the "good old boys" definition >of merit, where somehow only white males seem to have what it takes. White males are a minority group. Also, I believe you are overestimating the effects of racism when it comes to hiring talented technical professionals. If not, there is a tremondous arbitrage opportunity out there. 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 iQEVAwUBNHuIqJaWtjSmRH/5AQHkxAf/VzMTu+RlDclEyiBJQ+79rGjZDa+M2G9E cRoHdL42kxa4FBTHOa7v+unqBXI1tLuz2AqGJFuAPQTSu3FIh4xR3BfHj3q35qOX NpkqH7bVNNgY/DUnB6vIxjgCkEu+GNDEtIuuCuKU0wCW8IJBe/iDIBDLDQZQUuVt DJk19LnyZ0DO1cfmJquJiyh3hIECowEnXHODwhybM9hzHq+l0xrgjmQ5deIOhXuY KH7QiQn8nv5wEYeantDsfTfitHfUIZKge4eLrLNqeva4E8sgf7CQrt3vEw+rjhXP WLnvYbsCLOLQOdjIQA3c0DG9a0HU28oecHcUG0IeZ+sgwDWf61J+KA== =tuE3 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Fw: Virus Warning!! IMPORTANT!!!!
by Crandall 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- : Date: Sunday, November 30, 1997 10:22:19 : From: THE.DUKE a.k.a. Perrin : To: Biscuit; my_bath_tub(a)innocence.com; parcha(a)hotmail.com; Jeff Crandall : (work); deanna(a)keylink.net; cjensen(a)smtplink.rockford.edu; yablo(a)hotmail.com; : Doug; Here; Denise; flood69(a)hotmail.com; Goddess; Guipe; : nailbomb666(a)hotmail.com; pierre(a)netins.net; jewlie(a)nwiowa.com; : mansonswonka(a)hotmail.com; jonesy(a)mindless.com; Luvdust; Me; Wales; Nick; : Nicole; philip(a)infospeedway.net; khanshaw(a)mindspring.com; Ryan; Sara Wilson; : shandave(a)hotmail.com; tabnit(a)hotmail.com; thetigress_(a)hotmail.com; Tom : Tindell; Tony Ortega; Yankee1428(a)aol.com; wrightk(a)tron.cochise.cc.az.us : Subject: Virus Warning!! IMPORTANT!!!! : : : : -------------------------------------------------------------------- : **************************************************************** : WARNING, CAUTION, DANGER, AND BEWARE! : Gullibility Virus Spreading over the Internet! : **************************************************************** : : : WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Institute for the Investigation of Irregular : Internet Phenomena announced today that many Internet users are : becoming infected by a new virus that causes them to believe without : question every groundless story, legend, and dire warning that shows : up in their inbox or on their browser. The Gullibility Virus, as it : is called, apparently makes people believe and forward copies of silly : hoaxes relating to cookie recipes, email viruses, taxes on modems, and : get-rich-quick schemes [perhaps conspiracy theories should be included : here]. : : "These are not just readers of tabloids or people who buy lottery : tickets based on fortune cookie numbers," a spokesman said. "Most are : otherwise normal people, who would laugh at the same stories if told : to them by a stranger on a street corner." However, once these same : people become infected with the Gullibility Virus, they believe : anything they read on the Internet. : : "My immunity to tall tales and bizarre claims is all gone," reported : one weeping victim. "I believe every warning message and sick child : story my friends forward to me, even though most of the messages are : anonymous." : : Another victim, now in remission, added, "When I first heard about : Good Times, I just accepted it without question. After all, there : were dozens of other recipients on the mail header, so I thought the : virus must be true." It was a long time, the victim said, before she : could stand up at a Hoaxees Anonymous meeting and state, "My name is : Jane, and I've been hoaxed." Now, however, she is spreading the word. : "Challenge and check whatever you read," she says. : : Internet users are urged to examine themselves for symptoms of the : virus, which include the following: : : * the willingness to believe improbable stories : without thinking : : * the urge to forward multiple copies of such : stories to others : : * a lack of desire to take three minutes to check : to see if a story is true : : T. C. is an example of someone recently infected. He told one : reporter, "I read on the Net that the major ingredient in almost all : shampoos makes your hair fall out, so I've stopped using shampoo." : When told about the Gullibility Virus, T. C. said he would stop : reading email, so that he would not become infected. : : Anyone with symptoms like these is urged to seek help immediately. : Experts recommend that at the first feelings of gullibility, Internet : users rush to their favorite search engine and look up the item : tempting them to thoughtless credence. Most hoaxes, legends, and tall : tales have been widely discussed and exposed by the Internet : community. : : Courses in critical thinking are also widely available, and there is : online help from many sources, including : : * Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory : Capability at : <a href=http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html>here</a> : : * Symantec Anti Virus Research Center at : <a : href=http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html>here</a> : : * McAfee Associates Virus Hoax List at : <a href=http://www.mcafee.com/support/hoax.html>here</a> : : * Dr. Solomons Hoax Page at : <a : href=http://www.drsolomons.com/vircen/hoax.html>here</a> : : * The Urban Legends Web Site at : <a href=http://www.urbanlegends.com>here</a> : : * Urban Legends Reference Pages at : <a href=http://www.snopes.com>here</a> : : * Datafellows Hoax Warnings at : <a : href=http://www.Europe.Datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm>here</a> : : Those people who are still symptom free can help inoculate themselves : against the Gullibility Virus by reading some good material on : evaluating sources, such as : : * Evaluating Internet Research Sources at : <a : href=http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/evalu8it.htm>here</a> : : * Evaluation of Information Sources at : <a : href=http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm>here</a> : : * Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources at : <a : href=http://refserver.lib.vt.edu/libinst/critTHINK.HTM>here</a> : : Lastly, as a public service, Internet users can help stamp out the : Gullibility Virus by sending copies of this message to anyone who : forwards them a hoax. : : ******************************************************************* : : This message is so important, we're sending it anonymously! Forward : it to all your friends right away! Don't think about it! This is not : a chain letter! This story is true! Don't check it out! This story : is so timely, there is no date on it! This story is so important, : we're using lots of exclamation points! For every message you forward : to some unsuspecting person, the Home for the Hopelessly Gullible will : donate ten cents to itself. (If you wonder how the Home will know you : are forwarding these messages all over creation, you're obviously : thinking too much.) : : ***************************************************************** : ACT NOW! DON'T DELAY! LIMITED TIME! NOT SOLD IN ANY STORE : ***************************************************************** : : : : ______________________________________________________ : Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com :

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Re: [RePol] Denizen
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Rabid Wombat sayeth: >Harrasment of Dr. Grubor will be a demonstration sport during the next >Olympic Winter Games. Ah, another easy gold for the U.S. Would the people who had him disbarred be allowed to compete, or are they considered "professionals" in this event? GruborMonger

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launch memes
by Zooko Journeyman 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

------- Cypherpunks reject politics. They know that it is unnecessary, counter-productive, and wrong. Terrorism and violent confrontation are the ultimate form of politics. ------- Cypherpunks don't fixate on their enemies, real or imagined. Reactionary Christians do. Reactionary Muslims do. Wacko leftists do. Wacko rightists do. In fact, probably every penny-ante cult and fringe political movement does. Perhaps it makes it easier to avoid doubt by thinking and feeling about your enemies (real or imagined) in order to keep from thinking about your self. But cypherpunks don't fixate on their enemies. They have more important things to worry about. ------- Cypherpunks think strategically. Cypherpunks act strategically. -------

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Minsky skeptical of privacy
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Bob Hettinga wrote that Marvin Minsky wrote: >>There's always a plausible reason that can be used to override >>whatever privacy policies and safeguards are designed into such a >>system. > >If the reasons really are plausible, then those overrides should be >added to the system design. There is a curious belief implicit in this statement. Nobody wants a backdoor in their own privacy. This means that the overrides will have to be mandated by law. Thus, what Minsky is arguing against is the right of people to protect their own privacy. >Perhaps, instead, we should try to design tracking systems that >include public review mechanisms -- so that whenever anyone (e.g., >your employer) accesses your record against the privacy policy, >they'll be subject to legal sanctions and damages. It is possible that Minsky is unaware of how ineffective these sorts of laws are. Today we have many laws regarding financial secrecy and the like. However, there are people who are able to get this sort of information fairly routinely. These people tend not to be poor. They tend to be close to employers. The tend not to advertise what they do. Not to mention the fact that legal systems and governments can flip into bad modes where they exploit the authority with which they have been entrusted. It is somewhat naive to claim that any government is not prone to this and that it hasn't happened repeatedly throughout all of human history. >Ed Fredkin once asked a number of people how they would feel about a >new device with which you could select almost anyone in the world, >and make the device produce a loud noise near them. They all >objected angrily. Then Ed said, "It already exists. It's called the >telephone." This is a cute line and I'm sure it was a hit with the crowd, but telephones are a major problem. We can tell how much illegal wiretapping is going on by the which authorities by how loudly they scream when people - people who have not been tried or convicted of any crime! - start encrypting their conversations. Incidentally, does anybody know what percentage of the research funding Marvin Minsky has used in his career was directly or indirectly related to the defense establishment? The interesting thing about the privacy "debate" is that there is an exceptionally high correlation between opposition to privacy and the consumption of public money. Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm Subject: Minsky skeptical of privacy To: cypherpunks(a)algebra.com 16A5942B6EED349ECF4594C784DFD177 [Cantsin Protocol No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Re: Freemen and Serfs
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This model of "sheeple" doomed to slavery while cypherpunks comfortably live independent of the state is even less plausible than the original idea of crypto anarchy. It appeals to our elitist instincts and makes us feel comfortably superior, but it has little connection to reality. This idea overlooks the "fax effect", where the value of a technology rises in proportion to the number of people who use it. Cypherpunks will have to set up a virtual Galt's Gulch, trading only with themselves, and unlike in Rand's fantasy the limitations of such an economy will soon be apparent. Early cypherpunk experiments like "Magic Money" showed how pointless a virtual cypherpunk bank would be. Cypherpunk technologies create a protected boundary within which transactions can be conducted free of third party surveillance and tampering. Only by extending this secure boundary to include the masses will there be enough value generated within the secure region to be worthwhile. Cypherpunks who can only trade and work for each other will not be able to generate sufficient economic growth to survive. In an increasingly interdependent world economy, the only hope for cypherpunk technologies to succeed is to extend them as far as possible throughout society. This includes reaching out to foreigners and minorities, to the dismay of some cypherpunks. We must oppose the elitism and racism which some list members cling to, replacing it with inclusion and openness to members of other cultures. Making fun of foreign accents and calling for the deaths of innocents does not move us toward our goals.

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Defense of the Homeland
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The National Defense Panel is to release its study tomorrow, "Defense of the Homeland," which recommends that Defense focus on domestic protection from weapons of mass destruction: http://jya.com/ndp-wmd.htm In line with this, and Tim's NBC prognostications, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Emergency Prepareness has a new Web site which describes its domestic counter terrorism program: http://www.oep_ndms.dhhs.gov/oep/terrorism/terrorism.html These tidbits derive from the new list "Terrorism-L," which offers terrifying scenarios for apocalypse by friend and foe and voodoo doll, and survivalist tips for first responders: "There's nothing we could do." To subscribe, send E-mail to listserv(a)mediccom.org with the following text in the message body: SUBSCRIBE terrorism

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Re: Minsky skeptical of privacy
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Monty Cantsin wrote: >Incidentally, does anybody know what percentage of the research >funding Marvin Minsky has used in his career was directly or >indirectly related to the defense establishment? > >The interesting thing about the privacy "debate" is that there is an >exceptionally high correlation between opposition to privacy and the >consumption of public money. Monty's customary reasonableness goes bizarro with these statements. In that direct or indirect defense funding implicates just about every US citizen, even world denizen, not holed up in a treetop for the last half century of national security octopussing. This is not to say that that's the way it should be, just that defense funding has been the deep pocket for nearly every commonweal at least since WW II. And the same for the future appears to hold true as every federal state and local government eagerly calibrate their demands for urgent aid according to national and economic security guidelines -- dual use brought into the open as heretofore hidden by duplicity. Under national security programs DoD has funded through its pervasive tentacles scientists and mathematicians, libertarians and socialists, elite and trailer trash, Wall Street and underworld, on and on. Not a chance of stopping it any time soon. It is doubtful that any other more bountiful and widespread source of condoned bribery has ever existed, and it shows no sign of slackening, in the US or elsewhere, whether democracies, oligarchies, communist, or offshore outlaw, even allowing for the burgeoning private armies, cops, gun faith forces, each loading up with new and "surplus" arms. Curiously, when the details of how it all works is pointed out, no one seems to be bothered by it, except to comlain that others are getting too much, to wheelle more leads on how to leverage more for their affinity gang, and, to conceal sly avarice, to blame the competition for cheating better. So, Monty, for comparing to Minsky's well-known federal work at MIT, as with many here, how about demonstrating the correlation of your work with inescapable defense funding complicity?

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