August 2004 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: JYA in NYT
by Tyler Durden 29 Aug '04

29 Aug '04

A nice little rant, I must say. BUT...there are some interesting undertones here. First and foremost, I see no mention of JYA being an 'anarchist', and indeed there's a slightly positive spin given to his efforts. The first (and lesser) implication of this is that NYT and its employees are smart enough after 9/11 to realize that their continued physical survival will depend on being fairly practical. A "don't look over here" approach didn't work before, and it won't work now. More than that, it may indicate that the business managers at major media are starting to realize that they can't continue pissing off huge chunks of the public and still sell papers, etc.... Note the move from "Iraqi terrorists" to "Iraqi insurgents". Wait for them to start calling al-Sadr "hardline" rather than "Radical". Wish I had some kind of punchline here, but it seems some kind of small tide has turned. -TD >From: Sunder <sunder(a)sunder.net> >To: Nomen Nescio <nobody(a)dizum.com> >CC: cypherpunks(a)al-qaeda.net >Subject: Re: JYA in NYT >Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 10:03:57 -0400 (edt) > >Let's dissect this mother. > >On Sun, 29 Aug 2004, Nomen Nescio wrote: > > > http://nytimes.com/2004/08/29/nyregion/29pipeline.html > > > > August 29, 2004 > > Mapping Natural Gas Lines: Advise the Public, Tip Off the Terrorists > > By IAN URBINA > > > > John Young says he is an agent for change, hoping to point out places > > where the government needs to bolster national security. Since 1996, > > he has been posting documents on his Web site, ranging from detailed > > maps of nuclear storage facilities in New Mexico to aerial > > photographs of police preparations for the Republican National > > Convention. He has never attracted much attention from the > > authorities, and what he does is fully legal. > >So where's the beef then? > > > But last month, Mr. Young, a 68-year-old architect originally from > > Odessa, Tex., began publishing maps and pictures of natural gas > > pipelines in New York City on his site (www.cryptome.org) One > > photograph was of a large sign in Midtown Manhattan warning about the > > presence of a major gas main, a sign that had been meant to prevent > > deadly accidents. Within a week, the company that owns the pipeline > > took the sign down. > >Yeah, those were pictures taken from public locations, I'd assume, right? >No different than taking a picture of the Statue of Liberty or of the >moon. > > > "They posted the signs because they thought someone might > > accidentally blow the pipeline up,'' Mr. Young said. "Now, they're > > taking them down because they think someone might intentionally blow > > it up.'' > >Sounds like a lose lose situation to me. > > > For Mr. Young - and for a range of experts across the country - the > > strange and unnoticed little episode in Manhattan underscores one of > > the great tensions of the post-9/11 world: how to balance the desire > > for secrecy with decisions on what is best for public safety. > >So there, you go, Mr. Young has become an expert. What's the problem? > > > Few issues highlight that tension better than the topic of natural > > gas. > >Or perhaps flatulence? > > > Private industry and local governments have spent much of the last > > several decades trying to make natural gas pipelines safer by > > publicizing where they are. Natural gas, highly explosive and > > transported in pipes underneath unknowing residents or uncharted > > along waterways, has been the cause of scores of lethal accidents - > > fiery explosions caused by misdirected backhoes or wayward boat > > anchors. > >There you go. They've made their bed, now they can't complain when >someone points at it and says "Uh, look at that!" > > > But recent concerns have pushed in the opposite direction. > > Increasingly, gas companies have been clearing their Web sites of > > pipeline maps previously used by contractors before excavating. > > Almost all nautical charts once indicated where gas pipes run. Fewer > > do now. > >So, we're back to someone accidentally dropping anchor in the wrong place >and boom... can't have it both ways boys. > > > "Federal regulations require companies to make these lines as obvious > > as possible and educate the public about where they are,'' said Kelly > >So John was simply helping the companies follow Federal Regulations. > > > Swan, a spokesman for Williams, the company that owns the pipe > > supplying Manhattan. "But local laws indicate that we were allowed to > > get rid of that particular sign, and after the recent publicity about > > it, we did.'' > >Oops, too much publicity, couldn't handle the spin control. > >... > > > > Natural gas arrives in New York City through six so-called city > > gates, reached after traveling thousands of miles in pipes running > > from deposits deep beneath southeastern Texas and Sable Island, off > > the east coast of Nova Scotia. Here it enters a local grid of smaller > > pipes owned by Consolidated Edison in Manhattan, the Bronx and > > portions of Queens, and owned by Keyspan in the rest of the city. The > > gas is used for heating, cooking, and increasingly for fuel in city > > power plants. > >And now the author of this article is feeding the terrorists vital intel - >or following Federal regulations? > > > But natural gas is also at risk of sabotage. > >So is water, so is air, so is everything. Hell, if the CIA thought they >could implant a transmitter in a cat and set the cat loose in a park where >Soviets, Commies, and Spies (Oh My!) might talk, what's to stop the >terrorists from doing the same style of thing? > > > > "This tactic actually comes from our own playbook,'' said Thomas C. > > Reed, the former secretary of the Air Force under President Gerald R. > > Ford and the author of "At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the > > Cold War.'' In 1982, the C.I.A. hacked into the software that > > controlled Soviet natural gas pipelines, causing vital pumps, > > turbines and valves to go haywire, he explained. The result, Mr. Reed > > said, was the largest nonnuclear explosion and fire ever seen from > > space and a major blow to Soviet sales of natural gas to Western > > Europe. > > > > "The tactic was a stroke of genius,'' he said. > >Sure, why didn't he also say that flying 747's into high buildings were a >stroke of genious too? Oh, but that would be telling. > >Never mind that they ran something called The School of the Americas that >trained Terrorists^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HFreedom Fighters in South Americas >torture^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hinterrogation techniques, and never mind that when >the USSR wanted to take over Afghanistan, our valiant boys were teaching >the Afghani Freedom fighters the fine art of asymetrical warfare, some of >which I'm sure now belong to Al Qaeda... > >Or did we sheeple forget about that incident there? > > > Jose Padilla, the former Chicago gang member who grew up in Brooklyn, > > and who was accused of becoming an operative for Al Qaeda, intended > > to use natural gas to blow up three tall buildings, the authorities > > say. According to government documents, Mr. Padilla intended to rent > > apartments in three high-rise buildings that used natural gas, fill > > each apartment with fumes and detonate the three buildings > > simultaneously using timers. > >Yeah, and Napoleon intended to be Emperor of the world too. Neither >happened. And sure, lots of asteroids out there intended to hit the >earth, but that didn't happen either. > >... > > > A 2002 report conducted by the National Academy of Sciences drew the > > same conclusion, explaining that restoring power after an attack on > > the natural gas system could take several weeks since spare parts for > > many of the mechanisms, especially those at compressor stations, are > > expensive, hard to find and often made only overseas. The report also > > predicted logistical challenges: every nonelectronic pilot light in > > the city would have to be manually relighted to avoid explosions. > >Waaaa, we outsourced and didn't plan for an emergency... Waaaa.... Oh >wait, what about that electric grid? IS that fixed yet? Well is it? No, >don't ask Niagra Power, don't ask Con Ed, don't as Ohio Power, dig and >find out what caused it. We still don't know. Some say it was a Windows >virus - if so Billy G should pay for that, some say it was a moron at the >switch. What did happen there? Yeah, were talking gas in this article, >but denial of service is denial of service. Where's your research Ian? >Aren't you just pining for that Pulitzer? do your homework. SPouting >words like terrorists, fbi, and gas line ain't gonna get you that. So is >every other cub on the beat. > > > > "We take security of natural gas very seriously,'' a Con Ed > >Sure, and if you asked American Airlines if they took security seriously >before 9/10, do you think they'd say "No?" > >If you asked my previous immediate boss (at a very sleazy dot.com) if he >took security seriously, he said, and I quote from memory as he did say >this infront of me to a client on the phone "Sure, we do quarterly scans >of all the machines, and we're using a security company, which we're not >at liberty to name, that does scans for Fortune 500 companies and they say >we're secure." (And no, not a single scan was done, and no security >company was hired, because they were cheap bastards. The only scan that >was done, was by me, only because I wanted to play with Nessus, and boy, >it said the opposite of secure, which I then had to patch all them boxes, >but this was later on.) > >If you had asked the FBI if they cared about terrorists before 9/11, they >would have said "Hell yeah, we're gonna get'em all." But if you worked at >a Pilot school where a guy wanted to learn how to fly and not land, and >you repeatedly called the FBI to look into it, what did the FBI do >exactly? Bubkus? > >A-Yup.... so why do reporters bother talking to Spindocs from public >relations instead of doing some investigative reporting and figuring out >the truth instead of eating bullshit with a spoon and smiling for the >camera like it's Frosted Flakes? they'rreee grrrreat! Mmmmm, public >relations spinbullshit... yummmm! > > > "The fact that pipelines run largely underground reduces their > > exposure to external threats,'' said a study concerning > > infrastructure safety conducted by the Congressional Research Service > >Um, didn't we read about backhoes and anchor drops a bit earlier in this >article? Is it red or is it blue? Is the sky falling or not? > >Oooh! Wait! I get it! they'll wait for an accident with a backhoe, or >boat anchor - or when the wind blows out a pilot light so that they can >blame it on the terrorists! Why? so they can collect on the insurance >money and get some Federal Aid too! Ok, I see it now! > > > This is today's central conundrum, Mr. Young said, adding that he > > will continue posting on his Web site the results of his daily prowls > > searching for weak spots. In the meantime, he added, "I imagine law > > enforcement will probably be keeping an eye on me.'' > >Yup, it's always the guy that points out the Emperor's New Clothes ain't >that gets an extended visit at the dungeon, not the tailor, nor the >emperor... > > > In fact, Mr. Young got his first visit from F.B.I. agents several > > weeks ago. But the issue was not all the nuclear reactor information > > he has put in the public domain. Rather, they wanted to talk about > > the natural gas pipeline maps, he said. > >Oooh, John is an evil, evil man, he posted information about that there >them Nucular thinggies too, ooh, ooh, like the same kind Saddam has, never >mind, we'z just loookin' for'em, a-yup.... we'll find'em some day, maybe >in 2009 or 20010 - but only if you elect me again... a-yup... but never >minda dat, Saddam had to go, he was a very bad man, he didn't like our >daddy... and John Young is just like Saddam... > >Lesss go rustle up some more of dem Nooo Yawk yankee fuck terrorists... >vote for me, and I'll make you safe... _________________________________________________________________ Get ready for school! Find articles, homework help and more in the Back to School Guide! http://special.msn.com/network/04backtoschool.armx

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EFGA?
by Nomen Nescio 29 Aug '04

29 Aug '04

What happened to Electronic Frontiers Georgia (efga.org)? Are they gone for good? They did operate the cracker remailer did they not? And they did have a newsletter on privacy issues? Anyone knows?

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JYA in NYT
by Bill Stewart 29 Aug '04

29 Aug '04

The JYA and Gas Pipelines story keeps having legs; at least one formerly well-marked pipeline fingered by JYA no longer has a sign, presumably because the Republicans are chicken that somebody will try to blow them up. (New York may be on Orange Alert, but they're still Yellow...) The on-line NYTimes requires registration - if the old "cypherpunks" login doesn't work, you can create your own fake id. http://nytimes.com/2004/08/29/nyregion/29pipeline.html Mapping Natural Gas Lines: Advise the Public, Tip Off the Terrorists By IAN URBINA Published: August 29, 2004 ---- Bill Stewart bill.stewart(a)pobox.com

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My we;bcam is up and ready for you to see!
by Charles Bamber 28 Aug '04

28 Aug '04

You must enable HTML to view this message. 6584.sae

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nodes listing
by Nomen Nescio 28 Aug '04

28 Aug '04

Can someone post a listing of all active CDR nodes please? Information from pages like this one lists some inactive nodes I'm sure http://www.al-qaeda.net/cpunk/

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[IRR] Army: JetBlue Data Use Was Legal
by Eugen Leitl 28 Aug '04

28 Aug '04

Army: JetBlue Data Use Was Legal By Ryan Singel 02:00 AM Aug. 23, 2004 PT An Army data-mining project that searched through JetBlue's passenger records and sensitive personal information from a data broker to pinpoint possible terrorists did not violate federal privacy law, according to an investigation by the Army's inspector general. The inspector general's findings (PDF) were accepted by some, but critics say the report simply highlights the inability of the country's privacy laws to cope with 21st-century anti-terrorism efforts. News of the Army project came to light in September 2003 when JetBlue admitted it had violated its privacy policy by turning over 5.1 million passenger records to Torch Concepts , an Alabama-based defense contractor. Torch subsequently enhanced the JetBlue data with information about passengers' salaries, family size and Social Security numbers that it purchased from Acxiom , one of the country's largest data aggregators. The Army says it was testing the data-mining technology as part of a plan to screen visitors to Army bases. ... http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64647,00.html ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07078, 11.61144 http://www.leitl.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE http://moleculardevices.org http://nanomachines.net [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature]

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the minder node...
by Tyler Durden 27 Aug '04

27 Aug '04

Sheeit. I think I'm the only one left on the minder node...I ain't gettin shit. A quick googling revealed nothing about how to subscribe to the al-qaeda node, which I have been avoiding doing (but then again, St Bernardus Belgian ale does not really help). Can someone send me the instructions? -TD _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

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RE: [IP] Air travel without ID. (fwd from dave@farber.net)
by Tyler Durden 27 Aug '04

27 Aug '04

This actually pisses me off. Unlike more hard-line cypherpunks, I'm not (yet) convinced that government-originated laws are an inherent evil, even when I don't agree with them. The main problem comes when administration of these laws pretty much boils down to the whim of a local "authority". In this case the traveler didn't "look" like a terrorist, so he was OK. If the very same guy attempted this same procedure on the very next day, though wearing a "Stop Bush" shirt, I'd bet any amount of money he'd be denied the right to fly. So what it all boils down to is the personal whim of the law "enforcement" official, who at best is corrupt and at worst stupid and incompetant. -TD >From: Eugen Leitl <eugen(a)leitl.org> >To: cypherpunks(a)al-qaeda.net >Subject: [IP] Air travel without ID. (fwd from dave(a)farber.net) >Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 18:40:55 +0200 > >----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave(a)farber.net> ----- > >From: David Farber <dave(a)farber.net> >Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 11:42:19 -0400 >To: Ip <ip(a)v2.listbox.com> >Subject: [IP] Air travel without ID. >X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.619) >Reply-To: dave(a)farber.net > > > >Begin forwarded message: > >From: "Trei, Peter" <ptrei(a)rsasecurity.com> >Date: August 27, 2004 11:03:58 AM EDT >To: dave(a)farber.net >Subject: Air travel without ID. > >[For IP, if you wish - pt] > >From RISKS 23.50: >http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/23.50.html#subj6 > >----------------- > >U.S. air travel without government identification > ><Dan Wallach <dwallach(a)cs.rice.edu>> >Thu, 19 Aug 2004 19:41:02 -0500 > >Recently, John Gilmore has been publicly decrying the unstated Federal >requirement that one must present government-issued identification >(e.g., a >driver's license) in order to travel via air within the U.S. >Unfortunately >for me, I got to test this requirement on a recent trip to give a talk >at >Fermilab when I managed to leave my driver's license at home. Here's >what >happened. > >For what it's worth, I've recently taken to carrying two wallets. The >large >one has my money, credit cards, receipts, and other assorted junk. The >small one has my business cards and the two ID cards I most often need: >my >driver's license and my university ID card (a magstripe card that I >need to >get into my building after hours). In order to make my flight at the >ungodly hour of 7:35am, I had to get up quite early. In the confusion >of >the morning, I managed to leave the little wallet at home. I didn't >notice >this oversight until I was standing in front of the ticket counter at >7:00am. In order to have gotten my driver's license, I would have had >to >miss my flight. Instead, I decided to see how the system would work >without >it. > >== Intercontinental Airport: Houston, Texas > >I pleaded my case to the Continental ticket agent. "Do you have any >picture >ID on you at all?" Nope. I showed her my Continental frequent flyer >card, >my credit card, and my social security card (which I probably shouldn't >have >had in my wallet, but that's a story for another day) as well as my >boarding >pass, printed that morning on my home computer. She escorted me to the >security guard, with all my cards in her hand, and briefly described the >situation. The guards expressed some confusion, but decided to let me >through. After that, everything proceeded normally. > >== Fermilab: Suburban Chicago, Illinois > >My hosts at Fermilab had helpfully arranged a rental car for me. It >dawned >on me that I'd never get out of the rental car lot without a driver's >license. I called Fermilab's travel agent and explained my >predicament. As >it turns out, Fermilab has a limo service that they regularly use. The >travel agent made a reservation for me with the limo service, who >happily >picked me up at the airport and delivered me to Fermilab. > >If you're into high-energy physics, you know all about Fermilab. For >the >rest of us, they have a ring, about 1km in radius, around which they >fling >protons and anti-protons at very high energies, arranging for them to >collide inside a massive detector. Those high-energy collisions cause >all >sorts of interesting subatomic particles to come flying out, hopefully >to be >detected by a variety of impressive devices. (My high school physics >teacher quipped that it's like trying to learn how cars work by smashing >them together and seeing what falls out.) Before September 11, the >Fermilab >campus was wide open, and the locals could go fishing in the lake, >jogging >around the ring, and so forth. These days, you have to go to a guard >shack. > >Visitors get a limited pass and are instructed to only go to specific >places >where they're allowed (e.g., the education center). I'd been told that >a >badge would be waiting for me. The guard asked for my ID. "Let me >tell you >a story," I began. Ultimately, the guard had to telephone my hosts who >drove down to the guard shack to pick me up. After that, it was smooth >sailing. > >== O'Hare Airport: Chicago, Illinois > >Everybody to whom I'd told this story was amazed that I'd gotten as far >as I >did, and I was repeatedly warned that O'Hare security was quite >stringent. >Just to make sure, I had the limo get me to the airport a full two hours >before my 11:00am flight. I printed out my boarding pass using the >Continental kiosk, using my credit card to authenticate myself to the >system, and then explained my story to the ticket agent. "Do you have >any >government issued ID?" Sorry, no. She wrote "SSSS" in big letters on >my >boarding pass, highlighted it in pink, and pointed me at the security >checkpoint: the special security checkpoint without a line in front of >it. >I walked up and presented my boarding pass to the guard. "ID?" I began >my >story, but the only phrase that seemed to matter was "No ID", which she >wrote onto my boarding pass. She then wrote "SSSS" again and circled >it, >also circling the original pink-highlighted copy. On I went. First the >normal X-ray machine, take your laptop out, etc. Then, on the other >side, >they gave me the extended treatment, which normally occurs when I've >been >"randomly" selected. They X-rayed my shoes, swabbed my laptop for >explosives, and unzipped every compartment of my luggage. After I >passed >all of those tests, they let me through, never once examining any of the >cards I had in my wallet. > >Moral of the story > >While my story is hardly the same thing as a conclusive examination of >the >policies of all major U.S. airports, my experience shows that it is, >indeed, >possible to do interstate air travel without a driver's license. >You're no >longer using the "fast path" of the airport security apparatus, and >there is >clearly some variation in how the rules govern your slow path through >the >system. However, if you're willing to put up with the "SSSS" treatment, >then it appears that you can legally travel by air within the U.S. >without a >government-issued ID. (Gilmore acknowledges this in his lawsuit, which >is >focused on finding out where the requirement for presenting ID came >from, in >the first place.) > >Postscript > >As a Continental frequent flyer, I was invited to show up at the >airport to >be measured for a new biometric-based system that they've installed in >Houston. (I think it measures fingerprints, but I'm not entirely sure.) > I >was out of town, and thus unable to give that system a shot. They do >require several forms of ID to get yourself registered, so it will have >to >wait for another day. Maybe I'll give it a try and write something >about it >later for RISKS. For all the known issues with biometric >authentication, >it's quite difficult to leave your fingerprints at home in the wrong >trousers. > > >------------------------------------- >You are subscribed as eugen(a)leitl.org >To manage your subscription, go to > http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip > >Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ > >----- End forwarded message ----- >-- >Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> >______________________________________________________________ >ICBM: 48.07078, 11.61144 http://www.leitl.org >8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE >http://moleculardevices.org http://nanomachines.net ><< attach3 >> _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! hthttp://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/

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[IP] Air travel without ID. (fwd from dave@farber.net)
by Eugen Leitl 27 Aug '04

27 Aug '04

----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave(a)farber.net> -----

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Re: the minder node...
by Nomen Nescio 27 Aug '04

27 Aug '04

Tyler Durden said: > Sheeit. I think I'm the only one left on the minder node...I ain't > gettin shit. A quick googling revealed nothing about how to > subscribe to the al-qaeda node, which I have been avoiding doing > (but then again, St Bernardus Belgian ale does not really help). > Can someone send me the instructions? I'm pretty sure you are not the only one there. I'm seing these in my mail so I guess I'm on minder too? And I do get mail. > Return-path: <owner-cypherpunks(a)minder.net>

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