December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: CHALLENGE response
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> What form are your primes (did you use Maurers idea to increase the > relative hardness of factoring compared to discrete log, or did you > just use more smaller primes?) How many primes have you used, and how > many CPU hours did it take to calculate the discrete log to discover e? N is the product of two primes, but each p-1 has about 16 small prime factors (about 25-35 bits) to allow calculating the discrete log efficiently. With this choice of primes it took about three hours to run the discrete log. > Also is the code for finding discrete logs given the prime > factorisation of the modulus available? Here you go. This uses cryptolib by Jack Lacy of AT&T (not to be confused with cryptlib by Peter Gutmann), available from ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/crypt/cryptography/libs/cryptolib_1.1.tar.gz /* Calculate discrete log using various algorithms */ /* Algorithms based on Handbook of Applied Cryptography by Menezes et al */ #include "libcrypt.h" /* Modular multiplication - m1*m2 mod n */ static void bigMultiplyN (BigInt m1, BigInt m2, BigInt n, BigInt result) { BigInt tmp = bigInit(0); bigMultiply (m1, m2, tmp); bigMod (tmp, n, result); freeBignum (tmp); } /* Modular addition, m1+m2 mod n */ static void bigAddN (BigInt m1, BigInt m2, BigInt n, BigInt result) { bigAdd (m1, m2, result); if (bigCompare (result, n) >= 0) bigSubtract (result, n, result); } /* Iterate the pollard rho. Modify x, a, b with next values */ static void prhoiter (BigInt base, BigInt val, BigInt mod, BigInt order, BigInt *x, BigInt *a, BigInt *b) { int xgroup; /* First decide what group x is in */ /* This is a cheat to be fast */ xgroup = ((unsigned)(*x)->num[0]+1) % 3; switch (xgroup) { case 0: bigMultiplyN (*x, val, mod, *x); bigAddN (*b, one, order, *b); break; case 1: bigMultiplyN (*x, *x, mod, *x); bigAddN (*a, *a, order, *a); bigAddN (*b, *b, order, *b); break; case 2: bigMultiplyN (*x, base, mod, *x); bigAddN (*a, one, order, *a); break; } } /* Pollard rho algorithm for discrete log */ BigInt pollardrho (BigInt base, BigInt val, BigInt mod, BigInt order) { BigInt x = bigInit(1), a = bigInit(0), b = bigInit(0), x2 = bigInit(1), a2 = bigInit(0), b2 = bigInit(0); int cnt = 0; for ( ; ; ) { prhoiter (base, val, mod, order, &x, &a, &b); prhoiter (base, val, mod, order, &x2, &a2, &b2); prhoiter (base, val, mod, order, &x2, &a2, &b2); if (bigCompare (x, x2) == 0) break; if (++cnt % 1000 == 0) { printf ("%d\r", cnt); fflush (stdout); } } if (cnt >= 1000) printf ("\n"); if (bigCompare (b, b2) < 0) bigAdd (order, b, b); bigSubtract (b, b2, b); if (bigCompare (a2, a) < 0) bigAdd (order, a2, a2); bigSubtract (a2, a, a); if (bigCompare (b, zero) == 0) { printf ("Pollard rho failed\n"); exit (1); } getInverse (b, order, b2); bigMultiplyN (a, b2, order, a); return a; } /* * Do the CRT with multiple congruences. congs are the values that the * answer should be congruent to, mods are the moduli for each congruence. * n tells how many in each array. */ static BigInt crtmult (BigInt congs[], BigInt mods[], int n) { int i; BigInt prod = bigInit(0); BigInt prod1 = bigInit(0); BigInt sum = bigInit(0); BigInt quot = bigInit(0); BigInt rem = bigInit(0); BigInt dum = bigInit(0); BigInt inv = bigInit(0); BigInt term = bigInit(0); /* Compute product of moduli */ bigCopy (one, prod); for (i=0; i<n; ++i) { bigMultiply (prod, mods[i], prod1); bigCopy (prod1, prod); } for (i=0; i<n; ++i) { bigDivide (prod, mods[i], quot, dum); bigDivide (quot, mods[i], dum, rem); getInverse (rem, mods[i], inv); bigMultiplyN (congs[i], quot, prod, term); bigMultiplyN (term, inv, prod, term); bigAddN (term, sum, prod, sum); } return sum; } /* Pohlig-Hellman discrete log algorithm for composites */ /* Return the exponent such that base^exponent == val modulo mod. */ /* Group order is product of factors[], of which there are n */ /* Assume each factor is to the first power */ BigInt phlog (BigInt base, BigInt val, BigInt mod, BigInt factors[], int n) { BigInt prod = bigInit(0), prod1 = bigInit(0), exp = bigInit(0), dum = bigInit(0), b = bigInit(0), v = bigInit(0); BigInt *dlogs; BigInt dl; int i; dlogs = (BigInt *) malloc (n * sizeof (BigInt)); /* Compute product of factors to get group order */ bigCopy (one, prod); for (i=0; i<n; ++i) { bigMultiply (prod, factors[i], prod1); bigCopy (prod1, prod); } /* Sanity check */ bigPow (base, prod, mod, b); if (bigCompare (b, one) != 0) { printf ("Inconsistency in group order on b\n"); fBigPrint (b, stdout); } bigPow (val, prod, mod, v); if (bigCompare (v, one) != 0) { printf ("Inconsistency in group order on v\n"); fBigPrint (v, stdout); } for (i=0; i<n; ++i) { bigDivide (prod, factors[i], exp, dum); bigPow (base, exp, mod, b); bigPow (val, exp, mod, v); printf ("Trying dlog with factor: "); fBigPrint (factors[i], stdout); printf ("b: "); fBigPrint (b, stdout); printf ("v: "); fBigPrint (v, stdout); /* Special case for 2, pollardrho doesn't work too well on it */ if (bigCompare (factors[i], two) == 0) { if (bigCompare (b, v) == 0) { dlogs[i] = bigInit(1); } else if (bigCompare (v, one) == 0) { dlogs[i] = bigInit(0); } else { printf ("Inconsistent b, v for factor == 2\n"); exit (1); } } else { /* Now find log of v mod b, has group order factors[i] */ dlogs[i] = pollardrho (b, v, mod, factors[i]); } printf ("dl: "); fBigPrint (dlogs[i], stdout); bigPow (b, dlogs[i], mod, b); if (bigCompare (b, v) != 0) { printf ("Error in discrete log calc!\n"); exit (1); } } /* Combine results with CRT */ dl = crtmult (dlogs, factors, n); return dl; }

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Re: Stego-empty hard drives... (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 20:29:28 -0400 > From: Sunder <sunder(a)brainlink.com> > Subject: Re: Stego-empty hard drives... (fwd) > Why would they implement it when they can simply have their software scan the > BIOS code if that's what they feared? It may cost them $10k each, but it'll > cost them millions to design and scan every notebook type on the planet, and No, again, they only have to scan the BIOS types and there are only a couple thousand (if that many) of those. It really isn't that complicated, there are only a few cpu's, there are only a few glue chip sets, only a few video driver chip sets, only a few LCD panels, etc. Admitted when multiplied together there are a lot of combinations. Now the board manufacturers, the BIOS manufacturers, and the various glue chipset makers get together and share data and the manufacturers look to their marketing to define their target point. Then they do a cost analysis on the chipset combo's and pretty soon you find the market only handles a handful of fundamentaly different machines. If there was as much variety at the hardware level as you assume nobody could afford to introduce new computers every few months. > then they'll have to get their hands on newer models as soon as they hit the > market. You're talking about a project that's bigger in magnitude than the > NSA. No it isn't. All it takes to get the BIOS before it hits the market is get a license agreement with the BIOS manufacturer. Hell, when I worked at Compu-Add we did this sort of stuff with Award and Phoenix all the time. We would get alpha copies to test in our new hardware on a regular basis. > Why should YOUR BIOS need to contain encryption code or device drivers for that > matter? All it needs to do is to HIDE the existance of the extra partition. And the code in the BIOS which means it needs to be hidden just like some viruses. Realisticaly it isn't this complicated. All one needs to do is write a program that allows the operator to talk directly to the hard drive controller. At that point it's a trivial matter to go out and find those hidden partitions. You could use normal drive recovery software if you had a mind, and that only costs a few hundred to a few thousand dollars and can be bought in the back of Computer Shopper. > You patch your BIOS by replacing a few bytes of code with CALL's and NOP's. > Maybe 4-8 bytes at most to modify. The routine that checks for the track range > is only several bytes: > > > Somehwere in INT13 code: > blah > blah > blah > CALL biospatch > NOP ; to fill in the overwritten code to the next opcode > > > biospatch PUSH AX ;save the register if you need it > MOV AX,switch ;get the value of the hack switch switch > JE popbye > POP AX > CMP AX,1234 ;or whatever register or whatever value > JLE bye > deny MOV AL,FAIL ;some reg and some value that says error, likely AL > RET > > popbye POP AX > bye ;insert the code that you overwrote with your CALL to this patch > re > RET > > > Homework: Someone please take this code, optimize it for size and build a TSR > patching INT 13 that JIM can install and run under DOS. Don't bother, I already know how to do that. This would stand out like a sore thumb. ____________________________________________________________________ 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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IP: Police seek to intercept emails without warrant: UK
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: Police seek to intercept emails without warrant: UK Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 11:13:14 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: London Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000150689433551&rtmo=wMontQMb&atmo=99999 999&P4_FOLLOW_ON=/98/9/20/nemai20.html&pg=/et/98/9/20/nemai20.html UK News Electronic Telegraph Sunday 20 September 1998 Issue 1213 Police seek to intercept emails without warrant By David Bamber THE police will be able to intercept private emails without obtaining a warrant, under a new agreement being finalised with Internet providers. The Telegraph has discovered that the police are negotiating the right to monitor electronic letters by examining information held on disks at the offices of the computer companies providing the links. Because the laws on interception were drafted before emails were widely used, the police do not need to obtain individual warrants to read the correspondence. Telephone tapping and the interception of ordinary post require a warrant from the Home Secretary, Jack Straw. The police say they need access to emails sent by the country's eight-million Internet users so that they can monitor criminal activity, especially paedophile and pornography rings. Mr Straw is backing the proposed agreement. The police want all Internet providers to keep copies of emails for a week. But the far-reaching moves have led to fears that the private correspondence of innocent people and businesses will be routinely monitored. Liz Parratt, of the civil liberties organisation, Liberty, said: "Allowing the police to read emails without a warrant would be akin to allowing them to steam open our letters as soon as we put them in the post box. I'd be interested to hear if any Internet providers signed up to this shabby deal." The first of three forums between Internet providers and the Association of Chief Police Officers will be held in Edinburgh on Tuesday. © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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SLICK WILLIE'S SHITHOUSE SPECIAL!!!
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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German court: DES is no good
by pgut001＠cs.auckland.ac.nz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

http://www.thestandard.net/articles/display/0,1449,1780,00.html German Court Ruling Another Blow To U.S. Encryption Standard By Mary Lisbeth D'Amico MUNICH - A German district court has ordered a bank in Frankfurt to repay a customer 4,543 marks (US$2,699) for money withdrawn from her bank account after her bank card was stolen. The decision, made public Monday, again points to the holes in the 56-bit encryption technology used in Eurocheque cards, called EC Cards, according to the Chaos Computer Club, a German hackers group. Calling the encryption technology for the EC bank cards "out-of-date and not safe enough," a Frankfurt District Court held the bank responsible for the amount stolen from the 72-year old plaintiff in February 1997. Neither the bank's name or that of the plaintiff were revealed. An EC card is like a bank card which can be used at bank automats and point-of-sale terminals throughout Europe. The cards feature the U.S. government's data encryption standard, which uses 56-bit encrypted code to scramble the security information. [Rest snipped]

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NSF grants to Internet at risk)
by Declan McCullagh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 20:28:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> To: politech(a)vorlon.mit.edu Subject: NSF grants to Internet at risk [Seems to me that this dispute involves two perils: class action suits and government funding of technology that can be easily paid for by the private sector. I mean, it's not like the world's corporations hasn't figured out the Internet is important. Besides, government funding often means greater control. Early on in public broadcasting, the government barred TV stations from editorializing. Currently government grants to community radio stations don't go to ones with eclectic and thus probably more interesting programming -- which need the cash the most. And remember that Senate encryption bill that basically said government-funded networks must use key escrow? Obviously the details of the suit and the fund are important here, but the broader point is worth keeping in mind. --Declan] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 20:40:17 -0400 From: David Lytel <david(a)lytel.com> To: Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> Subject: Fwd: URGENT breaking news: Internet funding crisis [personal note snipped. --dbm] Internet Funding Crisis: A Call to Action for CyberCitizens For more information call David Lytel of Sherpa Consulting Group at 1-315-473-8996 or 1-888-GUIDING Unknown to the rest of the world, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is engaged in an effort to remove millions of dollars from the budget of the National Science Foundation (NSF) that the Congress has previously made available to invest in new Internet technologies. Lott is trying to repeal action earlier this year that ratified the Internet Intellectual Infrastructure Fund as a congressionally authorized tax on the registration of Internet domain names. This was necessary because of a lawsuit brought against Network Solutions, Inc., which has been acting as a domain registration authority for the Internet under a cooperative agreement with the NSF. In Thomas v. Network Solutions, Inc., 1998 WL 191205, US District Court Judge Hogan ruled that the domain name registration fee was an unauthorized tax. Based on Congress's belated ratification of the fee (in the VA/HUD Supplemental Appropriation bill earlier this year), Hogan ruled that it was authorized. This issue is being appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Regardless of the outcome of the Lott amendment, this means that the DC Circuit will consider the lawfulness of the fund. Lott's maneuver is to add the repeal of the ratification to the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which has passed the House and may reach the floor as early as this week. In the Senate, the Internet Tax Freedom Act has passed both the Commerce and the Finance Committees without the change, but Lott is circulating a draft managers amendment that would repeal the ratification. What is at stake: At stake is about $60 million that the NSF would no longer have available to invest in research and development of high speed networks and bandwidth-intensive applications. If this is settled in the courts, about $15 million would go to the attorney for the plaintiffs and most of the rest would be lost to administrative fees as Network Solutions finds ways to make rebates people who have registered domain names. The payoff to individual domain holders would be only a few dollars. The NSF would lose funds that are supposed to be available to aid universities as they upgrade their connections from today's commodity Internet connections to tomorrow's Internet 2 level connections. For the commercial Internet, this means that advanced research on different approaches relieve Internet congestion will be slowed or stopped. The NSF funds experimental networks that address the fundamental problem of traffic congestion on today's Internet. The problem goes beyond the limitations of access technologies such as today's modems or even access technologies such as ISDN. There are segments of what are supposed to be the Internet's high speed corridors that are significantly blocked during periods of peak use. Part of the solution is building more and bigger pipes to carry Internet traffic. But it is also quite likely that demand is growing quickly enough to fill much of this capacity. The Internet traffic problem is not unlike the automobile traffic problem in our major cities in the 1960s, when no matter how many new bridges and highways we built we never managed to get ourselves out of a traffic jam. This is why a significant part of the Internet's original academic pioneers are experimenting with new technologies to separate and prioritize Internet traffic. The Internet's underlying technologies are designed to implement what is called a "best effort" level of servicemeaning that if packets cannot be delivered the Internet keeps trying to send them for three days before giving up. Just as HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes have been part of the solution to the problem of highway traffic, tomorrow's Internet will support quality-of-service or QoS distinctions so that the bits containing an MRI moving between a primary care physician and a specialist are given the priority they deserve over more playful uses of the Internet. While industry is addressing the problem of congestion in various ways, it is often the university research community that produces the innovative solutions that no one has yet thought of. This ability to prioritize packets, in conjunction with the ability to reserve bandwidth in advance rather than just hoping for the best, may be the foundation of tomorrow's multimedia Internet. With the right underlying technologies, tomorrow's Internet will handle voice and video services with greater ease than it handles email and Web pages today. Some of the next generation of Internet success stories will once again come from the networking laboratories of university-based researchers. Who is behind this: The driving force behind the lawsuit is Attorney William Bode in Washington (202-862-4300) on behalf of a client called the American Internet Registrants Association. If Lott is successful the ratification will be repealed and the lawsuit will be settled in favor of the plaintiffs. Although it is not yet possible to link Bode to Senator Lott's actions, a search of the Federal Election Commission's campaign contributors on the Center for Responsive Politics site (www.crp.org) reveals Bode as an active financial supporter of the Republican National Committee, former Senator Bob Dole, and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who is chair of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. What CyberCitizens can do: The most important members of the Senate to contact are Lott, Senator William Roth (R-DE, chair of the Finance Committee) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) chair of the Senate Commerce Committee and the bill's Republican floor manager). It is also useful to contact the Democratic floor manager, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND). A staffer in the office of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has sponsored the Internet Tax Freedom Act, says Wyden will not make any effort to get the objectionable amendment removed, saying "we do not have a dog in that fight." Others worth contacting are Finance Committee members Senator Al D'Amato and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from New York, the state with the highest number of 4 year, Ph.D.-granting institutions and the highest number of students at 4 year schools, who would benefit from the NSF funding. Their e-mail addresses: Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) senatorlott(a)lott.senate.gov or fax 202-224-2262 Senator William Roth (R-DE) comments(a)roth.senate.gov Senator John McCain (R-AZ) senator_mccain(a)mccain.senate.gov Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) senator(a)dorgan.senate.gov Senator Alphonse D'Amato (R-NY) senator_al(a)damato.senate.gov Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) senator(a)dpm.senate.gov Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) senator(a)wyden.senate.gov In addition, universities, Internet industry associations and companies should consider supporting Network Solutions in its legal battle over the lawfulness of the Internet Intellectual Infrastructure fund. If any group or individual is interested in filing an amicus brief in support of the lawfulness of the registration fee, they should contact Mark Davies at mdavies(a)mayerbrown.com for more details. For more on the Internet domain name controversy see the Domain Name Handbook at www.domainhandbook.com Others who could be interviewed include: Joel Widder, Deputy Director of the NSF's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs at 703-306-1070 or jwidder(a)nsf.gov Tony Rutkowski, formerly Executive Director of the Internet Society and now head of the independent Center for the Next Generation Internet (www.ngi.org) at 703-437-9236 or amr(a)ngi.org Howard Sartori (202-917-2935), president of the American Internet Registrant's Association (www.aira.org or 202-862-4363) Gabe Battista 703-742-4842) president of Network Solutions, Inc. (www.netsol.com or 703-742-0400) **version 1.2 **end new address: 5 Brattle Road Syracuse, NY 13203-2803 315-473-8996

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Does God know Peano Algebra?
by strawman＠ehmail.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

or does she not care if strong atheists couldnt reason their way out of a trap made of Boolean presumptions? a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, but zero knowlege is absolutely subversive... --------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Get free personalized email from Canada.com at http://www.ehmail.com

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IP: US Easing Bank Rules on Big Cash Transactions
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: IP: US Easing Bank Rules on Big Cash Transactions Date: Mon, 05 May 1997 15:44:45 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/cash-transactions-reuters.h… September 22, 1998 U.S. Is Easing Bank Rules on Big Cash Transactions By REUTERS WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department announced Monday that it was trimming its requirements for reporting large cash transactions. The measures had been introduced to try to curb money laundering. Banks had criticized the requirements, the Treasury said, "because they mandated repetitive paperwork" for routine transactions. The changes will lighten the banks' paperwork load but will make bankers responsible for acting as monitors and reporting anything to the authorities that they think is out of the ordinary and that might indicate criminal activity. The new rules will permit banks to conduct most transactions with "cash intensive businesses" without having to report to the Government under the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act. But banks will still have to file reports on transactions of $10,000 or more with individuals and with certain types of businesses. "This rule does not exempt banks from reporting suspicious activity involving those exempted activities," the Treasury said. "In addition, certain categories of businesses, such as real estate brokers, automobile dealers and money transmitters, may not be exempted." The reporting requirements were originally established to help law enforcement officials combat money-laundering by drug dealers and other criminals who pass large amounts through businesses and banks to give an appearance of legality. The new rules, published today in The Federal Register, will permit a bank to exempt a domestic business that routinely needs large amounts of cash simply by filing a form stating that the business is exempt. The business must have been a customer of the bank for at least a year. Banks, savings institutions and credit unions can begin using the new rules on Oct. 21. The Treasury said businesses exempted from reporting rules by a bank must have their exemptions reviewed every two years. But it said it was dropping a requirement that banks include details about all of a customer's transactions on the renewal form. In 1997, the Treasury said, more than 12 million currency transaction reports were filed. It said that as a result of the latest rules changes, as well as an earlier streamlining of reporting requirements for transactions between banks, financial institutions should be able to reduce such filings by about 30 percent. Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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Key Goal for UN: Accelerating Fight Against Terrorism
by Vladimir Z. Nuri 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: believer(a)telepath.com Subject: Key Goal for UN: Accelerating Fight Against Terrorism Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 15:48:01 -0500 To: believer(a)telepath.com Source: USIA http://www.usia.gov/current/news/latest/98092101.plt.html?/products/washfile /newsitem.shtml 21 September 1998 KEY U.S. GOAL FOR UNGA: ACCELERATING FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM (Ambassador Burleigh cites U.S. priorities for 53rd UNGA) (1110) By Judy Aita USIA United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Emphasizing the Clinton administration's "full measure of support" for the United Nations, the chief U.S. delegate to the 53rd General Assembly said that U.S. priorities include furthering international cooperation against weapons proliferation, terrorism, and international crime. Ambassador A. Peter Burleigh, head of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said, "We face in the 53rd session of the General Assembly a crucial agenda of work, in a year of crucial significance for the United States and its relationship with the world body, and at a time when it is more imperative than ever for nations of the world to face united the threats to our common economic, political, social, and environmental security." "The UN provides political and economic options benefiting Americans in the form of a safer, more prosperous world, and at a savings through collective cost-sharing rather than unilateral burdensharing," he said at a press conference September 18. "We are convinced that by remaining engaged in the UN we promote vital American leadership, and reflect the depth of quiet support felt for the UN among the American people," Burleigh said. The General Assembly began September 9 overshadowed by crisis situations around world: the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May, terrorist bombings at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, growing tension between Iran and Afghanistan, Iraq's refusal to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors, and continued fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Citing the terrorist bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania and U.S. efforts to bring to trial two Libyan suspects in the Pan Am bombing almost 10 years ago, Burleigh said "the U.S. and UN are engaged in a struggle against international terrorism. Our weapon of choice is international cooperation." "Our policy is this: No deals with terrorists, bring terrorists to justice, and pressure states that sponsor and harbor them," he said. Burleigh noted that the United States remains committed to UN reform, which has been a major U.S. concern for several years. "Progress is occurring," the ambassador said. "The UN has cut its budget and staff, established an inspector general's office, and strengthened both peacekeeping and administrative operations. The secretary general's reform initiatives, endorsed by the General Assembly, are in large part the same as our own goals and will substantially improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the UN system." Ironically, during the 53rd UNGA session, the United States could lose its voting rights unless the U.S. Congress appropriates the funds requested by the Clinton administration for UN dues. According to Article 19 of the UN Charter, any UN member that owes two years' annual dues loses its voting rights in the assembly. As of August 31, 1998, the United States owed the United Nations more than $1,600 million. Of that, $572 million is for the regular budget; $1,041 million for peacekeeping; and $2.8 million for the international tribunals. In January the U.S. 1999 assessment of $297.7 million will be due. "Article 19 does not affect our participation in the Security Council or other UN bodies and it does not alter our joint agenda for the coming UNGA session," the ambassador said. The US delegation will pursue a "vigorous, active agenda," he stressed. "We were disappointed this year that the legislation passed by Congress to enable the U.S. to pay its UN arrears included provisions on international family planning that were totally unacceptable to the (Clinton) administration," Burleigh said. "The president has repeatedly voiced his determination that the U.S. must start repaying its UN arrears," the ambassador said. "I don't think Congress wants to see a situation where the U.S. loses its vote," he added. "We hope before adjourning in October Congress will appropriate the funds. The president and secretary of state are actively lobbying to make that happen." President Clinton will be one of more than 30 heads of state or government who will be addressing the assembly during its traditional two-week general debate, which begins on September 21. Burleigh pointed to the president's recent speech on global economic challenges to the Council on Foreign Relations as significant for U.S.-UN work as well. Clinton said that "at this moment of financial turmoil, we are called upon once again to lead -- to organize the forces of a committed world to channel unruly energy into positive channels that advance our interest, reinforce our values, and enhance our security...Now it is time for us to rise to our responsibility, as America has so many times before, so that we can redeem the promise of the global economy, and strengthen our nation for the 21st Century," Burleigh recalled. "President Clinton's words call (upon) us too, at the start of the UNGA, to redeem the full promise and potential of the United Nations for the world," the ambassador said. The assembly will deal with a wide variety of issues on its 165-item agenda -- including human rights, arms control and disarmament, the environment, refugees, drug trafficking, and population. U.S. goals for the UNGA include: -- recommitting the international community to human rights during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; -- convincing India and Pakistan to adhere to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and discouraging other potential nuclear weapons states from conducting nuclear tests; -- supporting the work of the Middle East peace negotiators to renew momentum in the process and avoiding condemnatory resolutions of past assemblies; -- keeping the 1998 budget within the approved $2,533 million and continuing more reforms; and -- encouraging countries to meet reporting obligations under the UN Register of Conventional Arms and the Wassenar Arrangement on conventional and dual-use technology exports. The Security Council also will take advantage of the large number of top officials attending the debate to hold a ministerial-level meeting on Africa September 24. This will continue its major initiative of last year to focus attention on the African continent. This year the council members, including Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, will review Secretary General Kofi Annan's report on Africa entitled "The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa" released in April. In that report Annan stressed that the time is long past when the responsibility for producing change in Africa can be shifted onto others' shoulders. Both African nations and the international community must "summon the political will" to end wars on the continent, take good governance seriously, and invest in Africa's resources, he said. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo(a)majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************

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Re: Speaking of political consims - Land of the Free (fwd) [fun]
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: >From consim-l-return-15556-ravage=ssz.com(a)net.uni-c.dk Tue Sep 22 23:33:14 1998 Mailing-List: contact consim-l-help(a)net.uni-c.dk; run by ezmlm Reply-To: consim-l(a)net.uni-c.dk Delivered-To: mailing list consim-l(a)net.uni-c.dk Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 04:04:54 +0000 (GMT) From: Tracy Johnson <tmj(a)primenet.com> To: consim-l(a)net.uni-c.dk Subject: Re: Speaking of political consims - Land of the Free In-Reply-To: <85037379.36082228(a)aol.com> Message-ID: <Pine.BSI.3.96.980923040158.6538C-100000(a)usr09.primenet.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Actually Justin Thyme has been doing these games for years with our player teams at conventions, but without computers. On Tue, 22 Sep 1998 BillR54619(a)aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 9/22/98 5:18:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > olboggy(a)hotmail.com writes: > > Hasbeen Interactive announces its new, Java-enabled, interactive WWW gaming > experience, BILLOMACY. "Billomacy" extends the concepts pioneered in the > classic TAHGC game, DIPLOMACY, placing you in a virtual social computing world > full of sovereign, petty, and touchy players. How many of them can YOU piss > off, and still stay in the game ? For the goal of BILLOMACY is not to win, but > to keep the game going for as long as you can. Chat and email functions allow > you to communicate with the other players almost instantaneously, to plot your > vast right wing conspiracies, or to indulge in hurling anathemas in the form > of press releases. The possibilities are endless !! Each game lasts as long as > you want to keep playing, from just one evening, or until kingdom come. > BILLOMACY supports an infinite number of strategies and playing styles, from > the passive-aggressive "Kaiser Wilhelm" mode to the sneaky, unprincipled, > "Guilliame Talleyrand" mode, not to mention the famous "Wild Bill" cowboy > mode, and of course, the ultimate in popularity, "Bill Clinton, Secret Agent > Man", which allows you to enter our special "adults only" area for phone sex > and other goodies. And for the spiritually inclined, we have included the high > toned "Billy Graham" sermonizing option, for a low extra price. BILLOMACY, the > favorite interactive game of (who else) Bill Gates, is an experience we think > you'll really like !! > > --- > > Bill R. Tracy Johnson tmj(a)primenet.com

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