December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> At 12:59 PM 10/3/98 -0400, Michael Motyka wrote: > >> There is a desert which is 1000 miles across. There is a camel who can > carry > >> 1000 bananas maximum. The camel eats 1 banana per mile travelled. The camel > >> has a total of 3000 bananas to begin with. What is the maximum number of > >> bananas that the camel can get across to the other side uneaten? > > > >My camels don't understand/can't eat fractional bananas. > > Why are bananas quantized in the presense of camels? Is this > a quantum-computing thing? > Can the camel increase his miles/banana ratio if he dries out the peels and smokes them??

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RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
by Matthew James Gering 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

"Corruptissima republicae, plurimae leges." -- Tacitus > -----Original Message----- > From: Robert Hettinga [mailto:rah@shipwright.com] > Most criminologists will tell that the more corrupt the > jurisdiction, the harder it is to be in compliance with > the law. That way, it's easier for the state's > functionaries to shake you down. > "'If we could just pass a few more laws', we could all be > criminals!"

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One Nation thank you
by Scott Balson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dear One Nation supporter in NSW Pauline Hanson would like to personally thank you for the outstanding support that you gave to the party before and during the election. Coverage of the events in Blair - including the One Nation party on election evening can be seen on-line at: <A href="http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/news/onenation/federal/live">http://www.gwb.com.au/gwb/news/onenation/federal/live --------- PARTIES CONSPIRE TO KEEP IMMIGRATION OUT OF ELECTION, BOOK SHOWSThe author of a new book called "This Tired Brown Land" has accused the majorpolitical parties of conspiring to keep immigration and population off theelection agenda. The book has already attracted good reviews.Author Mark O'Connor today claimed that both the major political partieswere suppressing discussion in order to deny One Nation 'the oxygen ofpublicity'. But it is exactly such bipartisan ignoring of public sentimenton immigration which caused One Nation, and led to the enormous success ofPaul Sheehan's book Among the Barbarianns.Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock recently launched the Coalition'spolicy in Perth-too late in the day for the Eastern media to pick up thestory. Says author Mark O'Connor, 'Clearly the Coalition knows its policyis not what the electorate wants.'Polls show that the electorate has made up its mind. Only 2% or 3% ofvoters want immigration increased; and they are outnumbered, some 30 toone, by the 65% or 70% who want it reduced. Neither ethnic Australians norAborigines support higher immigration. Most Australians supportmulticulturalism, yet want an immediate moratorium on immigration.'My book shows that in 1994-95 (under Labor) our net migration gain (ABSfigures) was 80,100 persons. Last year it was 83,700. Despite this, theCoalition has tried to give the impression of reducing immigration. Somecritics have even accused the government of "racism" for "reducingimmigration". This is false.'The book is available throough bookshops at $16.95, orby cheque or money order from Duffy & Snellgrove for $19.95 (includes p&p) atPO Box 177Potts Point NSW 1335fx 2 9386 1530<A href="mailto:dands@magna.com.au">dands(a)magna.com.au ------------------ GWB Scott Balson Pauline Hanson's One Nation web master

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Re: Another question about free-markets... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Sun, 04 Oct 1998 22:58:05 -0700 > From: "James A. Donald" <jamesd(a)echeque.com> > Subject: Re: Another question about free-markets... > > If this includes lying, denying consumers information, etc. > > what harm is done, they have fulfilled their responsibility > > to their shareholders (potentialy quite lucratively)=20 > > While there is a sucker born every minute, the strategy you > describe is for the most part unlikely to be profitable. Then you should begin to check your daily news, example after example is presented. (currently illegal) cell phone cloning, excessive rate levels, sub-standard construction practices, etc. People by their very nature understand and impliment the prisoners delima maximum pay-off strategy. Not only can it happen it deos. Given that such abuse is possible in a regulated market there is no reason not to deduce it will happen in a free market economy as well. If it happens the business enjoys an increased profit if for no other reason than their costs are reduced. Since there is no regulation or other oversight the consumer will be denied this information preventing fair competition. Since a companies strategic leaders have no duty other than maximizing profit they will impliment such strategies. Hence the free-market reduces to an opportunistic anarchy. This leads to one and only one conclusion, in a free-market there is no such thing as 'fair trade' without a third party being involved. This runs contrary to the definition of a free market on two counts (at least) and therefore the free market theory (as applied to human business, not Vulcan) is a circular argument based on faulty principles and a lack of understanding of human psychology (ie assumptions such as rational purchases). ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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by positzzzsu＠yahoo.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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US Secret Service checking laptops at airports
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I'd love to have two independent corroborations of this, instead of hearing it third-hand... Cheers, Bob Hettinga --- begin forwarded text From: "Sidney Markowitz" <sidney(a)communities.com> To: <cryptography(a)c2.net> Subject: US Secret Service checking laptops at airports Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1998 18:26:52 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3155.0 Sender: owner-cryptography(a)c2.net A friend of mine recently traveled from one of the Washington DC area airports to Ireland and reports that US Secret Service agents checked her laptop for the domestic 128-bit crypto versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer at the metal detector station. She said she saw about six other people who were checked as she was going through. As is now common, anyone carrying a laptop computer was asked to boot it up, presumably to demonstrate that if the case hid a bomb at least it was programmable with a reasonable looking user interface. But in her instance, people who identified themselves as Secret Service agents had her start up her web browser so they could check the encryption level, and made her uninstall her 128-bit Navigator. It didn't seem to matter to them that there are exemptions for devices that are for personal use as long as they are kept with the person while out of the country, or that she is an international banker who was going to conduct business with an overseas office. They didn't bother to determine whether she had a copy of the Navigator install file in a backup directory and could simply reinstall on the airplane. And of course it made no difference that she was going to Ireland where she picked up a locally produced 128-bit crypto plugin for Navigator that she says works just as well if not better than the version from Netscape. (I don't know if her "plugin" is simply one of the scripts that enable the Netscape strong crypto in the export version.) -- Sidney Markowitz <sidney(a)communities.com> --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)philodox.com> Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/> 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'

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Re: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
by lcs Mixmaster Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Matthew James Gering wrote: > > Jim Choate wrote: > > I'd say the obvious one, the Unix code tree is more stable > > than the MS tree. > > Sure, but does that mean the MS platform was less suitable than Unix, or > their MS platform programmers were inferior to their Unix counterparts. > I believe Netscape outsourced the Unix development, at least initially. > I would blame insufficient SQA at Netscape, and from what I've heard > that claim is justified. > > Matt My impression is that the instability described is due to fragmentation of the virtual memory space, which happens faster on NT than Unix because of the relative immaturity of NT memory management. The side comment about Mac's being even worse would support this hypothesis (as Mac memory management is a joke). The Netscape SQA theory doesn't explain why other products also become less reliable on NT (and worse again on 95).

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RE: I thought of an initialy regulated industry!... (fwd)
by Blanc 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From Jim Choate: : The bottem line as to why free-market economies don't work is that it isn't : in the producers best interest to have a educated consumer. They might buy : somebody elses product or start their own company. Both of those are bad for : profits. : : Free-market mavens forget that producers are just as greedy and corrupt as : everyone else, there is no fair competition in an unregulated market given : the pshychological make up of human beings. ................................................................................ ........ Free market economices don't "work", simply because they are run by humans, who regularly suffer psychological breakdowns, envy, and mistakes of judgement, not to mention disreputable marketing departments. Regulated economies, however, are run by government drones, and are therefore perfect vehicles which, with unfailing success, make all of their captive customers happy. Everyone knows this, as we witness the apparent success of all those regulated economies overseas which outshine the U.S. by three (maybe four) orders of magnitude. No one over there envies the U.S. productivity and standard of living, and they never are moved to leave and come live over here, to give up the benefits which extreme regulation confers upon them, in place of the (admittedly mixed) free-market fiasco which operates over here, where all things are uncertain and frighteningly unpredictable. In fact, many people become so disgusted with the monopolies and disfunctional liberty which exists here, that they regularly expatriate to go live in places like Sweden, Germany, even Canada, where they have the peace of mind and assurance that State coercion will provide for their every need - in a most efficient, timely, prompt, and user-friendly manner. They never have to worry about who has more or less, who is better or worse, or who knows better than anyone what is best for everyone. It's all been pre-established and exists incontrovertibly in their national consumer database. .. Blanc

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RE: Another question about free-markets..
by Blanc 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From Jim Choate: : Now in a free-market, by definition, there is no law. What then is the : responsibility of businesses other than the pure unadulterated pursuit of : profit? If this includes lying, denying consumers information, etc. what : harm is done, they have fulfilled their responsibility to their shareholders : (potentialy quite lucratively) and broken no law. Within this environment it : follows that a primary strategy for such executives is the elimination of : *all* competition. And since there is no law other than the measure of profit : all can be justified. ................................................................................ There might be no Law. But there would still be Reality - and for some people, this is *much* harder to deal with. If customers sit around like lumps on a log depending upon the kindness of strangers, well they're not doing themselves any favors. But such a person is not a customer. They are an invalid (or will be, eventually). In a free-market economy, everybody - not only corporations, not only customers - have to be rational about what they're doing. Everybody has to "be on their toes", alert to what truly is in their interest, and prevent themselves from accepting, from supporting, self-defeating offers from Trojans bearing spam. You learn or you die, just like in the movies. .. Blanc

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Re: Another question about free-markets... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 10:03:25 +0100 > From: Steve Mynott <stevem(a)tightrope.demon.co.uk> > Subject: Re: Another question about free-markets... > On Sun, Oct 04, 1998 at 11:53:28PM -0500, Jim Choate wrote: > > > Now in a free-market, by definition, there is no law. What then is the > > no in a free market there is no state > > there are laws based on natural rights Ok, who writes the laws? Who enforces the laws? Who decides what is natural? Remember, we have *NO* participants in a free market other than the producer and the consumer. Two, and *only* two, parties are involved. ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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