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Re: German Government censors dutch site www.xs4all.nl
by tank 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded: a letter by Felipe Rodriquez, Managing Director XS4ALL Hello, This is an email I just wrote to Michael Schneider, the guy that adviced German Internetproviders to censor www.xs4all.nl and www.serve.com. He will probably forward the text to the German Public Prosecutor General, who should also read it. I try to make them understand that censoring is not very effective on the Net, and that they should stop it right now. At the same time I threathen to sue both of them for free-speech infringement and damages. We'll see what happens. Censoring the Net is _the way_ to make bestsellers, when will the governments understand ? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello Michael, > http://www.anwalt.de/ictf/p960901e.htm > > It now contains a digest of the complete occasion including parts of the > letters I wrote to the Public Prosecutor General. I read it yesterday. Thanks. > I would appreciate, if you portray the activities of ICTF entirely and > exactly. I consistently state that the German providers where forced to censor by the Public Prosecutor. This is also what people understand from the press-releases we sent. Evenso the entire www.xs4all.nl website is blocked, with 3100 pages, in order to censor 1 single homepage. Regardless who is responsible for the censor-actions, it is an outrage that 3100 xs4all customers are censored by Germany. Without a single phonecall, fax, email or letter to Xs4all internet or the user that placed the Radikal pages on our website. If there are pages that are not accepted by Germany, then Germany can always confront us, or the website owner, in a Dutch court of law. It may interest you to know about some developments: There are a number of mirrors for the Radikal site. All sorts of people have spontaneously started to copy the websites to their own system: http://burn.ucsd.edu/%7Eats/RADIKAL/ http://www.jca.or.jp/~taratta/mirror/radikal/ http://www.serve.com/~spg/ http://huizen.dds.nl/~radikal http://www.canucksoup.net/radikal/index.html http://www.ecn.org/radikal http://www.well.com/~declan/mirrors/ http://www.connix.com/~harry/radikal/index.htm http://www.ganesa.com/radikal/ http://www.denhaag.org/~radikal There are more mirrors than just these, but i did not get the entire list. According to the German General Prosecutors opinion these sites would also need to be blocked. Expect the list of mirrors to grow, and expect to be forced to block that growing list of sites on the Net. Realize that a lot of internetusers consider it a sport to redistribute censored information. The way to write a bestseller on the Net is to have it censored by some government. It has the opposite effect. The entire issue 154 of Radikal has been posted in German newsgroup by anonymous users. German users can still use remote (non-german) proxy-servers to access all the Radikal information on Internet. People have posted information about these remote proxyservers in German newsgroups. Xs4all uses rotating IP-numbers for its services. The IP-numbers of certain sites and services are changed every couple of hours. A static ip-filter would certainly not be enough to block www.xs4all.nl. We have asked our parliament and department of Foreign Affairs to help us fight this blunt German censorship. We have also asked the EFF, CPSR and EPIC for advice, and to spread our press-release. A fax was also sent to CNN, Wired, and other press-services. We have discussed starting legal procedures against Germany and the ICTF with our lawyer. If any political and diplomatic actions fail to stop this act of blunt censorship, then we will most probably start litigation against the German government and the ICTF, for damages and violation of the European right on free-speech. It is clear that censoring 3100 pages, to prevent one of them from being published, is an infringement of European free-speech legislation. We have adviced the provider behind www.serve.com, that is also censored, to engage in the same kind of procedures. Please inform the German Public Prosecutor General that the censoring actions have been ineffective, and that Radikal is now on many different websites and is being distributed widely on the entire Internet. Continuing to block this growing list of sites would be an impossible task, what happens if Germany demands to block AOL, EFF, Compuserve, Prodigy, The Well, Netcom and Demon Internet next week ? Providers would be forced to block large part of Internet. I don't think that's what anyone would like to happen. Kind regards, Felipe Rodriquez -- Felipe Rodriquez - XS4ALL Internet - finger felipe(a)xs4all.nl for http://xs4all.nl/~felipe/ - Managing Director - pub pgp-key 1024/A07C02F9

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Job for netescrow ? (was Secure anonymouse server protocol...
by peter.allan＠aeat.co.uk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

In the talk about replyable nym-mailers I haven't yet seen netescrow mentioned. You DID all read this ? > Oblivious Key Escrow > Matt Blaze AT&T Research > mab(a)research.att.com > 12 June 1996 > > Abstract > We propose a simple scheme, based on secret-sharing over large-scale > networks, for assuring recoverability of sensitive archived data e.g., > cryptographic keys. In our model any one can request a copy of the > archived data but it is very difficult to keep the existence of a > request secret or to subvert the access policy of the data owner. This all hinges on a policy to be followed by archive holders defining the conditions under which they release their shares. This could be receipt of a signed request from the owner (remailer). Maybe the table relating nyms to reply addresses could be stored in netescrow style so that captured remailers reveal nothing. The problem of operator coercion is not addressed by this. Police investigations might apply "angry mob cryptanalysis" to find a sender - convincing a sizable number of operators that a crime had been committed with some particular piece of traffic. Anybody want to estimate traffic + storage requirements ? Or number of participants needed for a viable scheme ? -- Peter Allan peter.allan(a)aeat.co.uk

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Re: Court challenge to AOL junk-mail blocks
by Ross Wright 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Or About: 6 Sep 96 at 18:04, E. Allen Smith wrote: > list-managers list, a consent arrangement would thus be preferable. The > other argument of the Cyber Promotions jerks is nonsense - how does AOL > blocking affect the rest of the Internet? It's affecting the rights of these fine spammers, Cyber Promotions. That affects spammers everywhere. More rules by our government affects all of us. > >PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Sep 6, 1996 12:23 p.m. EDT) -- A federal judge has = <<<<SNIP>>>>> > >"We feel that America Online has violated the civil rights of their = > >members and has violated our rights to send e-mail through the Internet, = > >which AOL does not own," he said. > > >Although unsolicited mail sent through the post office in the United = > >States is not considered illegal, the rules have yet to be defined in = > >cyberspace. That's the real point I have always made. No rules and we should not want rules. Why are we INVITING the government into OUR internet??? Just cause we have to read spam? That is just plain stupid!!! Just cause we have to read spam, oh well, let the government come on in. Do we let the government into our bedrooms because our wife says no to sex tonight or because we don't like to make our beds?? Everyone on this list seems to want to limit government intervention EXCEPT when it comes to spam, then every one just holds the door open wide and let them in. If they get that inch, they WILL take the whole 9 YARDS!!!!!! Get a clue, delete or killfile those who spam and keep the government out of cyberspace!!!!!! By the way, I get about 2 or 3 spams a day in my mailbox and it is not killing me! Don't get the wrong idea, I don't like it. I like the government WAY LESS!!!!! =========== Ross Wright King Media: Bulk Sales of Software Media and Duplication Services http://www.slip.net/~cdr/kingmedia Voice: 415-206-9906

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Re: Race Bit: C
by Jean-Francois Avon 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 6 Sep 96 at 10:50, jim bell wrote: > Since red liquid running in the streets is generally so reviled, one > of the things which mystifies me is why there aren't more > simulation-type programs used to test out hypotheticals, for example > a "SimEconomy." For example, you'll occasionally hear about a > media news organization gathering a dozen or so volunteers in a > room, and asking them to solve a problem like "The Budget Deficit" > or some such. The result of their interplay is generally used to > explain why these problems are hard to solve. Why do you suppose that solving the problem they created is their goal? On a more fundamental level, why do you assume the their goal is to improve life at all? Ask yourself if this is what they truly want. jfa Jean-Francois Avon, Montreal QC Canada DePompadour, Societe d'Importation Ltee Limoges porcelain, silverware and crystal JFA Technologies, R&D consultant physicists, technologists and engineers PGP keys at: http://w3.citenet.net/users/jf_avon ID# C58ADD0D : 529645E8205A8A5E F87CC86FAEFEF891

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Re: What the NSA is patenting
by Jean-Francois Avon 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

A maybe usefull program would be a little tsr that constantly overwrite unused sectors of the entire drive with random patterns (maybe seeded with a fast keyboard interval timer). Like at the very moment I am writing this, my HD has been idle for several minutes... One more of my silly ideas JFA Jean-Francois Avon, Montreal QC Canada DePompadour, Societe d'Importation Ltee Limoges porcelain, silverware and crystal JFA Technologies, R&D consultant physicists, technologists and engineers PGP keys at: http://w3.citenet.net/users/jf_avon ID# C58ADD0D : 529645E8205A8A5E F87CC86FAEFEF891

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Re: PRESS RELEASE: GERMANY CENSORS DUTCH WEBSITE WWW.XS4ALL.NL
by nobody＠replay.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>A Modest Proposal: > >* as Germany is bent on blocking sites which carry this subversive >pamphlet, "Radikal," let us mirror it on thousands of sites around the >world. > >* when the Germans went into Danmark and insisted Jews wear badges, >ordinary citizens (and the Danish Royal Family, as I recall) also took to >wearing these Star of David badges. Add this plug to signatures and web pages: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Lebt und lest radikal! http://www.xs4all.nl/~tank/radikal/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Then, your messages are "promoting a terrorist organization" (cf. http://www.anwalt.de/ictf/p960901e.htm) and may no longer be carried in Germany. [It just says to live radically, and to read "radikal". But "radikal" is a terrorist magazine after all.]

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GAM_lin
by jya＠pipeline.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

8-8-96. Wash Tech: "Internet Betting Spurs Regulatory Interest." A new commission to investigate the nation's $40 billion gambling industry will initiate Congress' latest effort to curb the fast-growing gambling industry, and may open up additional efforts to regulate the burgeoning Internet industry. Extra legislation is not needed to suppress on-line gambling, said Bernie Horn, National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. "If the Justice Department wanted to, it could make things unbearable for companies offering on-line gambling from outside the country," he said. ----- http://jya.com/gamlin.txt (5 kb) GAM_lin Thanks to BC.

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Re: Cellular phone tracing
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 05:49 PM 9/6/96 EDT, E. Allen Smith wrote: > From comp.risks: > >Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 22:24:13 -0400 (EDT) >From: glassman(a)sunsite.unc.edu >Subject: FedEx monitoring of cellular phonecall locations > >[...] nowhere near either of those places, so I did not bother to mention my >current location to the operator. The next day, Saturday, I called FedEx >with the same cell phone from Blowing Rock to arrange the pickup. The >operator immediately asked if I wanted them to come to the intersection that >I had placed my call from the day before. > >Two days later, a FedEx operator confirmed that they are getting "new >systems" at some locations that are able to record the locations from which >cellular calls are placed. > >I have now asked Cellular One three times to explain to me why they do not >tell subscribers that they pass this location information through the >system, but to no avail. [...] > >========== end fwd. You should DEFINITELY start worrying when the FexX operator says something like, "I see you're the guy in the red shirt and brown pants." Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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Re: Junk Phone Calls, Metered Usage, and Cellphones
by Martin Janzen 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

tcmay(a)got.net (Timothy C. May) writes: >I am about to start worrying about "junk phone calls" more so than I have >been. I just bit the bullet and bought a digital cellular phone, with a >nifty rate plan called Digital Flex: I get unlimited free airtime from 7 >p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays, and unlimited free airtime all weekend. From south >of Salinas to north of Santa Rosa and as far east as the Central Valley. In >other words, the entire Bay Area and outlying communities. I can send and >receive calls over this entire region, from anywhere in the region (of >course), without any charges. > >The downside is that calls _from_ or _to_ my phone during "business" hours >are charged 42 cents a minute, airtime (tying up a channel and all), plus >whatever other fees may be applicable at each end. Thus, every "junk call" >I get trying to get me to buy aluminum siding, or to vote Democratic, or to >switch my long-distance carrier (!), costs me a minimum of 42 cents, >depending on how fast I can realize who they are and get rid of them I have a similar plan. My cell phone company includes call forwarding in the package, so I deal with the possibility of junk calls by forwarding calls from my cell phone to my regular number (which has voicemail) during the day, then turning off the cell phone. This way, the calls are intercepted right at the switch (I assume), so no airtime is used, and no charges are incurred. Works for me... -- Martin Janzen janzen(a)idacom.hp.com

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Re: Metcalf and Other Net.Fogies
by Alan Olsen 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:27 AM 9/5/96 -0700, Timothy C. May wrote: >Robert Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3COM, and how >publisher of "Infoworld" and sailing enthusiast, was interviewed on CNBC a >few minutes ago. He repeated his prediction of an "Internet collapse" in >1996, based on overuse, on bad pricing models, on lack of controls, and on >other concerns. Some are griping just to gripe. Metcalfe may have a valid prediction here. I have a machine that I use for work that is connected to the net via ethernet. No 28.8k bottlenecks involved. Most of the time I am lucky if I can exceed 14K bps to anything outside the local area. When I run traceroutes, the blockage is in MCI or Sprintnet land. (Except for the one to ftp.funet.fi early this week where where two of the machines somewhere in California were caught in some sort of weird DNS loop.) The bandwidth to the net has been oversold. If the government were *Really* concerned about "protecting the net", they would be on MCI and Sprint's cases, not looking for virtual terrorists. (Virtual Terrorists are to Terrorists the same way that Virtual Reality is to actual reality.) There have been days where you could not move anything at any reasonable speed from certain areas of the country. Yes, people have been predicting the end of the net (GIF/JPEG/WAV at 11!) since it was founded. In this case, I think that the person has enough network experience to be right. With the way things are now with oversold bandwidth, the DNS numbers getting close to being used up, many of the routers needing to be replaced and/or upgraded, and software that uses bandwidth like candy (phone conversations, video conferencing, huge interactive web page animations (like shockwave), real audio, and more as the marketing droids can sell you on it.), the chances of a west coast power-system style collapse does not seem that far from reality. (There are many who I know in the industry that are amazed that it has lasted this long.) On a smaller scale, those collapses happen in a small regional area, get fixed and things go on. But just like the earthquakes in California, everyone is waiting for "the Big One". (At least this one is preventable. Lets hope that the fixes can occur before the government gets involved, otherwise the net *IS* really doomed.) --- Alan Olsen -- alano(a)teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction `finger -l alano(a)teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon "Microsoft -- Nothing but NT promises."

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