December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

UK police chase crooks on CCTV
by Tim Griffiths 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The Associated Press via The Wash. Post, Oct 17, 1998 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/searches/mainsrch.htm#ap Chasing Crooks on Closed Circuit TV http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19981017/V000263-101798-idx .ht ml LONDON (AP) -- An ``intelligent'' computer system that uses closed circuit television to match faces in a crowd to mug shots of known criminals is likely to become London's latest weapon against crime. Scotland Yard and a local council have installed the $100,000 CCTV system on a trial basis in Newham, a poor district in London's East End. Newspapers reported Thursday that the computer system, called Mandrake, is linked to 144 CCTVs in Newham's shopping centers, railway stations and car parks and can scan up to 150 faces at a time and compare them with a database of criminals stored on a computer at the council's headquarters. If there is a match between a face in the crowd and a known criminal, the computer alerts a monitoring team in the town hall, who in turn alert the police. Civil liberties groups said they were alarmed by the new system, but police defended its use. ``The only people entered on to the system will be convicted criminals who, through our intelligence, we believe are habitually committing crimes in the area,'' The Daily Mail quoted police Chief Superintendent Dave Armond as saying. ``If people are not committing crime they have nothing to fear, but if they are among the small minority who are, the message is, 'We are watching out for you.''' The newspaper reported that police initially will use the system to concentrate on catching robbery suspects. In the future, however, it could be used to search crowds for hooligans who stir up trouble at soccer matches. CCTV's developer, Software and Systems International, says the system is accurate enough to discern people hiding behind make-up or eye glasses. And growing a beard won't help either, the company says. Britain has 150,000 close circuit television cameras. While most Britons appear happy the devices are being used to tackle crime, civil liberties groups oppose both the cameras and the facial matching. ``The accuracy of facial mapping like this is limited. You only need a handful of photographs of celebrities to see how different the same people can look in different pictures,'' the Mail quoted Liz Parratt, spokeswoman for Liberty, a civil rights group, as saying. ``Even if you did have a system which worked, it would have to be regulated very carefully to protect people's privacy.'' \ Copyright 1998 The Associated Press -- Tim Griffiths griffith(a)wis.weizmann.ac.il Center for Submicron Research http://tim01.ex.ac.uk Weizmann Institute of Science (972)-8-934-2736 Rehovot 76100 Israel PGP Public key available - finger tim(a)tim01.ex.ac.uk The real value lies not in what I say or do, but in your reaction to it. -DF

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UK police chase crooks on CCTV (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 14:21:04 +0200 > From: Tim Griffiths <griffith(a)wis.weizmann.ac.il> > Subject: UK police chase crooks on CCTV > Civil liberties groups said they were alarmed by the new system, but > police defended its use. > > ``The only people entered on to the system will be convicted criminals > who, through our intelligence, we believe are habitually committing > crimes in the area,'' The Daily Mail quoted police Chief Superintendent > Dave Armond as saying. ``If people are not committing crime they have > nothing to fear, but if they are among the small minority who are, the > message is, 'We are watching out for you.''' > > The newspaper reported that police initially will use the system to > concentrate on catching robbery suspects. In the future, however, it Excuse me.... Since when does 'suspected of' equate to 'convicted criminal'? Also, in order to wath you (sic) they have to watch everyone - in effect guilty until proven innocent by the computer software. What sort of civil recovery are provided for the inevitable software errors? I bet nadda, and that's wrong too. This is Big Brother Spin Doctor BULLSHIT. We need a law or court ruling pretty quickly in the US that sets the standard that a group of people have no more or less rights than an individual. This will required LEA's to provide probable cause prior to any actions against groups of people (such as this). If they can't audio tape me, or seize my papers and correspondences without a warrant then they bloody well can't video me without a warrant either ,within the context of criminal proceedings. Does anyone know if *any* PAC/SIG/whatever has this as their main political agenda? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a similar note, here in Austin they are finishing up with putting hundreds of cameras around town. It isn't long before these sorts of social theory X'ers get their teeth in the shank of American society. We've got(!) to put a stop to this sort of stuff. The law should basicaly ok the use of cameras for vehicular traffic control (this does NOT include execution of speeding infractions and such), this means no police or other LEA's may be involved or view the tapes *without* a warrant. The operators and support personnel should be required to abide by a strict non-disclosure agreement as well. If they notice a wreck or whatever they should notify the relevant emergency personel and *IF* the police serve a warrent only then turn over the tape. This is a perfect example of why I, personaly, believe that a polycratic democracy is the only workable kind in the real world. The 'seperate but equal' doctrine should effect every aspect of a democratic society. ____________________________________________________________________ To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Women cannot commit rape? (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 14:19:57 +0200 > From: Tim Griffiths <griffith(a)wis.weizmann.ac.il> > Subject: Women cannot commit rape? > French Supreme Court rules that women cannot commit rape > "The material element of the crime of rape is only realized if the > perpetrator > commits the act of sexual penetration on the person of the victim," it > said in > its judgment. Can a man get a STD from a women? Do men not have the same civil liberties and concepts of personal privacy that women do? Are we now faced with the ultimate in sex discrimination - having two sets of laws that are specific to sex? Rape is about an invasion of personal physical privacy. More big brother spin doctor bullshit. ____________________________________________________________________ To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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RE: UK police chase crooks on CCTV
by Brown, R Ken 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Tim Griffiths[SMTP:griffith@wis.weizmann.ac.il] forwarded (yet > another) report on the Mandrake facial recognition system, this time > from http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/searches/mainsrch.htm#ap > > [...snip...] > CCTV's developer, Software and Systems International, says > the system is accurate enough to discern people hiding > behind make-up or eye glasses. And growing a beard won't > help either, the company says. [...snip...] According to SSI at http://www.ssi-ltd.co.uk/latenews.htm#Law the program uses the position of facial features to recognise you. > Even if offenders try to disguise their appearance, > say S&SI, the system will still identify them, as it is > based on recognising facial structure, such as the > spacing between the eyes, nose and mouth. It takes > into account, and disregards, variations of head > orientation, lighting conditions, skin colour, > make-up, facial expression, facial hair, spectacles > and ageing. So presumably can be confused by obscuring the exact postion of features - such as a dense moustache that covers the mouth, or the presence or absence of a hairstyle that seems to change the shape of the head. I shave my head - if I grew back some "big hair", or wore a wig, would the sytem be able to tell where the top of my skull was? Maybe a full beard would change the apparent width of the whole head. Maybe dark glasses would obscure the exact position of the eyes. As we all know criminals are too stupid to use strong cryptography without an export license, there is no way any of them would think of novel high-tech solutions such as wearing a hat or a scarf. Just to add some irony, the main line used to sell this to the British public is control of football (soccer) "hooligans". Like child pornography or the "war on drugs", football fans are easy target for repressive measures. No respectable citizen wants to be associated with the "trouble makers". And of course, football fans are notorious for not wearing scarves or hats, aren't they :-) Ken Brown (& not his bosses)

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cypherpunks archives, books
by Joseph 'Anonymous' Howe 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Could someone post the address of the current cypherpunks archives again? Everything seems to be missing or out of date. Also, what's the name of that book... The Crystal Palace? Maybe I'm confused. Thanks for the info. --THE LIE

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RE: UK police chase crooks on CCTV (fwd)
by Michael Motyka 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The toys are just getting too easy to deploy. Imaging, compression, networking, mass storage etc...Fucking engineers, oops! A few fronts: Political - this is the preferable way of dealing with this crap but also the most disturbing because many of those in power seem to think snooping is a wonderful idea. Tough to convince them that a little uncertainty is a *good* thing. Technical: Briefcase-sized EMP - fun idea but I don't know how to make it workable. HV generator on the end of a stick - not too tough. High power LASER to burn out CCDs - buy anonymously, nice, works from a safe distance. What's needed are moles to leak detailed info on systems as they're planned and installed. Then it would be easy to determine the weak points. If each camera had to be guarded there would be a *huge* problem just keeping the systems alive. Mike

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Biztravel.com Free $50 Gift
by Member Benefits 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Y2K...
by concerned＠aol.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

10/22/98 Y2K Solution... 8 Pine Circle Dr., Silicon Valley, Calif. OTC Company "TCFG" 21 st. Century Frontier Group has through several members of their administrative research department leaked vital information about their companies efforts. Everyone was tight lipped and interviews were refused, and through un-named sources we have learned that the technology and software solution are in the process of being patented! In over 1640 trials, using various data systems the use of the new technology and software solved the Y2K problem 100% of the time. This small publicly traded company "TCFG" which is just 3 years old is through various sources now negotiating with the "Big Boys"! "TCFG" the letters to look for..... ----------------------------------------------------------------

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The Trouble With Harry
by HyperReal-Anon 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

John Young <jya(a)pipeline.com>: >Can you tell more about the lack of support from Austin cpunks, >any change, or are you left to fend for yourself? tis is why i am not a cypherpunk. you people have no care for your fellow man! first jim bell, then toto, now choate, soon youll all be gone....

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The Trouble With Harry (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: 22 Oct 1998 00:20:03 -0000 > From: HyperReal-Anon <nobody(a)sind.hyperreal.art.pl> > Subject: The Trouble With Harry > John Young <jya(a)pipeline.com>: > > >Can you tell more about the lack of support from Austin cpunks, > >any change, or are you left to fend for yourself? > > tis is why i am not a cypherpunk. you people have > no care for your fellow man! first jim bell, then > toto, now choate, soon youll all be gone.... Hold on hear a second, let's get the facts straight. I am NOT being accussed of anything. I have been asked to act as a witness for the prosecution (not explicitly the target thereof). Unfortunately for the prosecutions case, I'm not a witness to anything relevant. If I were aware of some kook running around building bombs with the intention of using them on people, their property, or animals I'd be the first to turn their nutty butts in. ____________________________________________________________________ To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice. Confucius The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

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