- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

[Fwd: *DLS Lecture -Robert Morris - NSA - Tomorrow*]
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 10:31:13 -0500 From: Richard Lethin <lethin(a)etcons.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 To: dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu Subject: [Fwd: *DLS Lecture -Robert Morris - NSA - Tomorrow*] Sender: bounce-dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Richard Lethin <lethin(a)etcons.com> Return-Path: <bbarry(a)hq.lcs.mit.edu> Received: from life.ai.mit.edu (life.ai.mit.edu [128.52.32.80]) by deer-park.etcons.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id KAA10234 for <lethin(a)etcons.com>; Wed, 19 Nov 1997 10:34:27 -0500 (EST) Received: from LCS.MIT.EDU (mintaka.lcs.mit.edu [18.26.0.36]) by life.ai.mit.edu (8.8.5/AI1.15/ai.master.life:1.18) with SMTP id KAA24223; Wed, 19 Nov 1997 10:18:58 -0500 (EST) Received: from hq.lcs.mit.edu by MINTAKA.LCS.MIT.EDU id aa27207; 19 Nov 97 10:18 EST Received: from [18.49.0.239] (bronte-mac.lcs.mit.edu) by hq.lcs.mit.edu (4.1/NSCS-1.0S) id AA15548; Wed, 19 Nov 97 10:18:30 EST Message-Id: <v03020905b098a38d820a(a)[18.49.0.239]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 10:17:47 -0400 To: seminar(a)ai.mit.edu, seminars(a)lcs.mit.edu, help-teach(a)lcs.mit.edu, assistants(a)ai.mit.edu, mas-students(a)media.mit.edu, support(a)media.mit.edu, eecsfaculty(a)eecs.mit.edu, dchamber(a)warren.med.harvard.edu, wmurphy(a)mediaone.net, Kenneth_Burrell/CAM/Lotus(a)lotus.com, vijak(a)eecs.harvard.edu, CMCampos(a)aol.com, Stephanie_Leung(a)cmp4.ccmail.compuserve.com From: Barbara Barry <bbarry(a)hq.lcs.mit.edu> Subject: *DLS Lecture -Robert Morris - NSA - Tomorrow* (Please excuse multiple posts) *SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT ****************************** MIT Lab for Computer Science Distinguished Lecturer Series Thursday, November 20, 1997 Lecture, 3:30pm Location 34-101 Refreshments, 3:15pm 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge Robert Morris, National Security Agency, Retired Protection of Valuable Information Over the past few decades, there has been a considerable shift in the area of protection and exploitation of valuable information. In the past, the relevant skills were exercised by governments to protect or exploit military and diplomatic information. Nowadays, much of the interest in information protection is by individuals wishing to protect their privacy and by organizations wishing to protect their financial interests. Here are the questions that come up that are worth some thought: - does the breakup of the Soviet Union significantly reduce the exploitation of U.S. Government information? - has the world wide spread of ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) led to a great deal of electronic theft - and, if so how are they protected? - is cryptography more important than careful handling of information and is cryptanalysis more important than burglary, bribery, and blackmail? Host: Ron Rivest *************************************************** for the DLS season schedule check out http://www.lcs.mit.edu/web_project/dls97.html *************************************************** --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>

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Rep. Smith on Lifting Crypto Export Ban
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

[Congressional Record: November 13, 1997 (Extensions)] ON LIFTING THE ENCRYPTION EXPORT BAN ______ HON. ADAM SMITH of washington in the house of representatives Thursday, November 13, 1997 Mr. ADAM SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about an issue that is very important to me--lifting unfair export controls on encryption technology. Mr. Speaker, protecting our National Security interests is among my highest priorities. If I thought controlling encryption exports worked toward this end, I would be its strongest proponent. Unfortunately, export controls on encryption software simply disadvantage the United States software industry. Under current law the United States allows only 40 bit encryption codes to be exported, although software companies sell encryption codes of up to 128 bits everywhere in the United States. Forty bit encryption technology is so elementary, it took a graduate student a mere 3\1/2\ hours to break a code last January. Fifty-six bit encryption is 65,000 times more difficult to decode than 10 bit encryption and it only took students three months to break the encryption code. One hundred twenty eight bit encryption has not been broken yet. Naturally, foreign companies do not want to buy 40 bit encryption software, because it is so vulnerable and insecure. The possibilities for ``computer hackers'' to break into the system and wreak havoc are enormous and dangerous. Therefore, foreign companies are purchasing high-level encryption from foreign software providers instead of American ones. The international demand for encryption software is growing exponentially because of the tremendous rise in electronic commerce. For instance, German Economics Minister, Guenter Rexrodt, said, ``Users can only protect themselves against having data manipulated, destroyed, or spied on by strong encryption procedures * * *. That is why we have to use all of our powers to promote such procedures instead of blocking them.'' Our export restraint has not kept the technology from proliferating. It has merely allowed foreign producers of strong encryption technology to fill the vacuum. In fact, American companies are partnering with foreign firms to distribute their software--taking jobs and revenue with them. American-owned Sun Computers has recently joined with a Russian software company to avoid the U.S. export ban and sell to foreign markets. Foreign companies can also purchase American-produced 40 bit encryption technology and upgrade it in their own countries to 128 bit encryption technology. This ``add-on'' industry is among the fastest growing software industries in Europe today. Clearly, if someone wants high-level encryption technology, he or she can easily obtain it. The ability to obtain both powerful and affordable encryption will now become easier with recent developments in Canada. The Canadian Government includes encryption software in decontrolling mass market software under the Generic Software Note. This means any software sold over-the-counter, by mail or on the phone may be exported without limits. Entrust, a Canadian software company, is freely marketing and selling internationally a 128 bit encryption program right now. It sells for less than $50, and Entrust provides a version of the encryption technology free on the Internet. Even our most steadfast ally sees that export controls can no longer help stem the overwhelming demand and spread of unbreakable encryption. Mr. Speaker, if the United States continues to impose these restrictive export bans on its own companies, ``foreign competition could emerge at a level significant enough to damage the present U.S. world leadership'' in the software industry, according to the National Research Council's blue-ribbon panel on encryption policy. If our export ban continues, the United States will not be the worldwide leader on encryption technology for long, and that would be a true risk to our national security. I strongly oppose any unilateral sanctions or regulations that put the United States at an unnecessary disadvantage. Our current export ban on encryption software is a perfect example, and I intend to continue the fight to change our policy and allow the United States to compete in the global software market. ____________________ Archived at: http://jya.com/smith-crypto.txt

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Online Success Direct E-Mail: Get Paid to Advertise!
by marmac＠online-success.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

ONLINE SUCCESS-THE DIRECT E-MAIL COMPANY THAT DOES IT ALL FOR YOU! If you have been looking at the exciting possibilities and INCOME that bulk e-mailing can bring to you, Online Success is the program for you, and it is a brand-new way to make money with 35million prospects online and more joining daily! We do ALL phases of bulk e-mailing for you. You collect the profits from your e-mail ads, and we do the work, month after month! Consider the benefits of having a professional bulk e-mailing firm working for you: ELIMINATE the hassles of lost dial-up ISP accounts, mail-bombs, undeliverable addresses, and expensive bulk e-mail software that doesn't perform as advertised! No more technical headaches and frustrations with so-called "bulk-friendly" providers that come and go every day. GET YOUR AD DELIVERED to 10,000 people every month! Best of all, we collect all the addresses, remove those we know that don't want e-mail ads, take out addresses like governments,schools,military and "flamers" BEFORE your mailing is ever sent! Your sales message only goes to buyers, not people who don't want bulk e-mail or should never be sent it! SIT BACK AND RECEIVE only prospects,sales, and further information responses. All mail is sent from Online Success, and all replies go directly to your account on our bomb-proof servers. We take out what you DON'T want: the flames,remove requests,and counter-offers, then send YOU the responses that lead to profit! GET PAID by Online Success a very nice 50% commission for those you refer to our complete bulk e-mail services! Two ways to earn money: the results from your own 10,000 e-mails every month, and anyone you sponsor into the Online Success program! NO GIMMICKS OR CATCHES to slow you down! Your ad runs completely by itself, and you are allowed up to 200 lines to promote your business or service with the monthly 10,000 e-mails. Say GOODBYE to fly-by-night companies or silly pyramid schemes......Online Success is a PROFESSIONAL organization consisting of 10 bulk e-mailing experts that are dedicated to helping you turn the Internet into your personal gold mine! For the exciting full details on this one and only Direct E-Mail Plan, see the Online Success company's web site at: http://www.online-success.com or http://www.direct-email.com Thank You- Marie SPONSOR ID#368 P.S. Join NOW and get a MONTH of e-mails for FREE! You'll receive 20,000 e-mails instead of 10,000, potentially DOUBLING your profits! Hurry, this offer from Online Success is for a limited time. Make sure you do not miss this new and exciting opportunity that will take the Internet by storm! To be removed from any future mailings from our company and many others, please reply with REMOVE as the subject.

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Re: Report on UN conference on Internet and racism
by Mikhael Frieden 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 09:39 PM 11/18/97 -0700, Tim May wrote: >At 9:58 PM -0700 11/18/97, William H. Geiger III wrote: > >>Well at one time there was a demand for cheap labor by US industry that >>supported the infux of immagrents. In modern times their is no such demand >>( if there were we have plenty of bums on welfare that can fill this need) > >This is actually not the case. I live between Santa Cruz and Salinas and >Monterey, home to some of the most fertile soil in the world (most of the >lettuce, strawberries, artichokes, and other vegetables consumed in the >U.S. is/are grown within 30 miles of me). Every day I see stoop laborers, >up from Jalisco or Michuchan or other provinces, glad to make more in a few >months here than they make in a few years back in Mexico. > >And every day I see bums, drifters, winos, layabouts, and derelicts, >holding up their pathetic "Will work for food" signs. (Which are lies, of >course. Anyone trying to get some decent work out of these bums will find >zilch.) > >I saw a great bumper sticker on the back of a truck filled with spray >painting gear. Driven by a black guy, interesting enough. It said: > >"I _do_ work for food." Which is precisely the issue. The US was and is dedicated to people who will do what they can without restriction. I'll take 38 wetback greasers who will work and escort every bum to the Mexican border and be proud to call those beaners Americans. (Did I overdo the namecalling?) Just because those folks south of the border get their jollies producing a dozen kids does not obligate me in the least. If they produce productive people, fine. If they once show up in the frigging welfare line, I'll show them the way to Mexico City not San Jose. ONLY if they HATE welfare and public services are they welcome. If there were such a filter at the border that worked both ways I would have it. This is not pie in the sky platitudes. We do not live in the sky. This is reality. It is real nasty down here. Wishes are not fact. Piety ain't jack shit. I appreciate the woman's desire for the best treatment for her child at the moment of birth. But for the long term, if they like the US system so damned much let them institute it in Mexico. If they want the benefits of the US system them duplicate it in Mexico. Do not ever pretend to wanting the best of both worlds where you can have two digit offspring in Mexico and the US has to pay for it. We need to get the message to them, that if you can't keep your fly shut and your legs crossed the US is not liable for your prurient interests, period, next question, over. We do not give a rat's ass how many Vatican approved babies you produce. your recourse is not in the US. If their damned economic system will not support them, that is not the responsibility of the US and do not really give a rat's ass if there are automatic weapons that kill on sight at the border. The US did not create Mexico's problems, Mexico did. If they need guns to correct it, they know where to get them. If they like the Mexican system (and we know they do) and want to use the US, reload those border guns. >>but there is a demand for cheap votes. The current Statest have been >>watching their power base erroding over the years as more and more >>Americans refuse to beleive thier socialist lies. The only way that they >>can continue in power is to import new voters who are easier to hoodwink >>and cheaper to buy. Confermation of this policy can be seen in the >>behavior of the INS durring the last election cycle where large numbers of >>immigrants were naturalized before the elections. >By the way, this massive purchase of votes is now being rolled back. >Immigration is planning to reverse many of these "instant citizenship" >deals. Too late to have an effect on Clinton's '96 election, but nothing >could have saved Dole. Fornicate Dole and the elephant he rode in on. The vote needs be a quid pro quo other than birth and living. -=-=- The 2nd guarantees all the rest.

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Disposable Remailers
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Jonathan Wienke wrote: >Woodwose (who appears to have borrowed my last name for his "True Name") >appears to have done a variation of this--except that if there are >complaints about messages being sent from woodwose(a)mailexcite.com, I doubt >anything will happen other than the woodwose account at mailexcite.com >being closed. Hence, his "disposable remailer" claim. Any shmuck can log >on and input a fake name, address, and demographic data to create a new >account at hotmail, mailexcite, or juno. In this way, as existing >remailers are harassed out of existence, new ones can be created on a daily >or hourly basis. It would probably be interesting to find out how much >info these outfits collect (cookies, etc.) that could be definitively >linked to a True Name. I played around with Hotmail recently, and I didn't pick up any new cookies in my cookies file. The only distinguishing information that Hotmail seems to collect (aside from the demographic info you feed them when you open an account) is the IP address you log in from. A public proxy is sufficient to shield your IP address. I created the account from one IP address and sent the email during a separate session from another IP address. The X-Originating-IP header showed only the second address. I don't know if Hotmail keeps track of all IP addresses that access each account. Question: can anyone suggest some information/studies regarding the security of public proxies? Thanks. Nerthus -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQEVAwUBNHJtpeFWwZe05jcJAQElEQf+MbBbTWtbiRnekJ9jIyyaTfDX3s2KV8Qm jGERIyCBF1OcZ1l35ZMm0xGKOCpGAWOBZVs/1zHzgTKB6Pxk0UZIP8+2nRmS4Dqt 7AxXa4zufVl9xVgWirCab86MvmTIrDlOdga8YZKS2h4RzLPPvo/ZySUqgjUzH0g2 y2LzKGv5KqxkgY/rRIg95I9Doqwg0iRsN2ieVXqI9E//+ZByAQpopLIADcDus4Ez UGFl6P1Ix8eLr2DBeg6nLRS84cTJs6MqAiQsHPaKUAHkS72bgv1t5lTxPcMtt6ah NK5bJfs9HEY20RXtN2kASXBkGjAzC2LMNIZ0heqmJRB471AZ4j30lg== =FOsD -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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News from Music Boulevard
by http://www.musicblvd.com/ 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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Sincerely, The Staff of Music Boulevard -------------------------------- TODAY'S CONTENTS 1. Store Features 2. Special Sales 3. New Releases 4. Advance Order Items 5. 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He's back with a new one at last! 11/25 http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/1314_43_462198 Babyface - "MTV Unplugged" 11/25 http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/1314_43_457297 Sublime - "Second Hand Smoke" 11/25 http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/1314_43_455798 Diana Princess of Wales - "The Tribute Album" 12/02 http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/1314_43_461933 Bryan Adams - "Unplugged" 12/09 http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/1314_43_462709 --------------------------- AN ONLINE MUSIC EXCLUSIVE! --------------------------- We've been working with one of our favorite bands, The Verve Pipe (http://www.musicblvd.com/cgi-bin/tw/1314_42_168858) to bring you a special offer exclusively for online music fans. Here's what they asked us to tell you: "A few weeks ago we were approached with an opportunity that we loved. We learned about a cool new technology now available from AT&T, that brings our music directly to our fans. We asked for the cooperation of both our label RCA/BMG, and our publisher EMI, to allow us to deliver a special live performance track in its entirety. As many of you know, the Internet has been an huge part of our ongoing communication with you. One of our favorite songs, "Reverend Girl", from our album "Villains", was recorded live at the State Theater in Kalamazoo, MI. We were very happy with the quality of the recording and performance of that night. After a lot of thought, we chose this live track to make available to you in its entirety -- at no cost! We have been assured by the folks at AT&T that the quality of the download is as good as the original live recording, and it will only be available for a limited time through our web site: http://www.thevervepipe.com We hope you enjoy and thanks to all." The Verve Pipe --------------------------- TO UNSUBSCRIBE --------------------------- To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an Email to: remove-musicblvd(a)sparklist.com and you will automatically be removed from this list. T H A N K S F O R S H O P P I N G A T M U S I C B O U L E V A R D !

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Nonookie Matsurbatshi's final offer...
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

TruthMonger wrote: > > * News of the Weird reported in 1994 on the controversy over who > owned the world's largest cow hairball > In the course of his work at a local beef plant, > Canchola plucks out the non-championship hairballs, dries them, > has colleague Frank Alcala paint faces or scenery on them, and sells > them for $50 each. For more details: http://misty.com/chop_chop.htm

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Jeffery Dahlmer Finds Work!
by bureau42 Anonymous Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

* United Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., announced in May that it was looking for someone to take over curating its collection of more than 14,000 human hearts, each stored in a plastic bag and the collection featuring specimens of nearly every kind of heart disease. Dr. Jesse Edwards, who started the collection and is now 85 years old, is retiring, and says maintenance of the hearts by a staff of five costs $650,000 a year.

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Re: e$: Snakes of Medusa on Wall Street? (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Tue, 18 Nov 1997 18:10:17 -0500 > From: Robert Hettinga <rah(a)shipwright.com> > Subject: Re: e$: Snakes of Medusa on Wall Street? (fwd) > > > Is your claim that there was a > > second Great Awakending or are you saying the traditional (if you will) > > dating is incorrect? > > I'm saying that I think you're confusing the Renaissance with the Great > Awakening. :-). Hardly, the Renaissance started toward the beginning of the 1400's (eg Galileo) and ended by the end of the 1500's (eg Newton). Did you know that Galileo died the same year that Newton was born? Some contemporary of Newton made the comment that the world could support no more than 1 such intellect at a time. > BTW, Emerson, Dickenson, Whitman, Thureau, etc., were part > of the same ideological outpouring which, in the theological arena, was the > Great Awakening. A lot can be said for the view that this was American > Romanticism, as Chopin, Byron, the Brontes, Austen, etc., were all > happening in roughly the same couple of generations. Later, like libertines > and enthusiasts throughout history, they became extremely repressive. We > eventually came to call them Victorians. (Sound familiar, you baby boomers?) After thinking about this I am certain that you are speaking of a movement other than the Great Awakening. I can't remember or find a convenient name for the religous/ethical awakening that occured prior to the Civil War. In thinking about this it occurs to me that immediately after each such occurance of a 'Great Awakening' there is a war of global (or at least what passes for the know world) proportions. Fortunately I can lay claim to being either the last of the baby boomers or the first of the gen-x'ers depending on whose definition you use. Personaly, I consider the labels spin-doctorisms intended to focus folks on the differences instead of the similarities. > > > that Vlad Dracul, the Impaler, was Transylvanian > > > > Actualy, to be accurate his name was Vlad Teppish. He was eventualy killed by > > his lord for carrying on excesses such as killing a woman because she let her > > husband walk around with a tattered coat. Dracul and Dracula are derived > > from dragon and imply a connection with the devil (which also derives its > > own existance from this lexical tree). > > Okay. I have to go back and look now, I woudldn't be surprised if you're > right. Anyway, there were two Transylanian nobelmen, father and son, and > one, the impaler was, among other things, called Vlad, son of Dracul, > which, I think, gets you Dracula, but I'm not sure. The Teppish part sounds > like it's more right, now that you mention it. Maybe we're looking at Vlad > Dracul the father, and Vlad Tepish, Dracula, (son of Dracul)? Oh, well, as > I said in my rant, the cost of error is bandwidth. :-). Someone here > probably has all the, um, gory details... Actualy 'dracul' is a word that means devil, it has the same roots as 'dragon'. Neither father or son used that in their name, it's what others called Vlad when they weren't calling him the Impaler. > > That doesn't change the fact that the opinion, anonymous or not, originated > > from a single source. > > I think I could argue for multiple simultaneous sources of the same opinion > pretty successfully. :-). Yes, but each of those were individuals. Opinions are tied to individuality and not geography or chronological ordering. What you actualy have is a group of individual opinions that once the observer is aware of the set then forms their own opinion of what the original opinions meant. > > While I can accept that testable facts can be isolated > > from source biases it escapes me how an opinion can be so isolated. > > I think this sums up Socrates' "Right Opinion" statement pretty well. Have > you read Plato, by chance? ;-). Folks later called this the Mind/Body > problem. How do we know what we think in here is what we see out there, > etc. Big problem in philosophy. Science solves it to most people's > understanding of it. Or mine, anyway. A better and more fundamental question: How do we know what we think is what we think? If you can't demonstrate this then you have no way of demonstrating there is even an 'out there' to see. The point that always seemed clear to me is that there is an implicit assumption with the whole mind/body question, in short; there is more to reality than what we experience. Therefore our experience of reality is fundamentaly different than reality. A further problem I see is that the implied assumption that the observer is seperate and isolated from that being observed. > I said later on in the rant that when we got to > science, that that was better. With science, we got as close to "truth" as > we're ever going to get, asymptotically closer, but not to truth itself. You are using a fundamentaly different science than I use. At no time does science assume there is a truth, only interactions that can be manipulated and are simple enough in their core interactions for us to understand. > Science gives a way to keep getting *closer*... Science is nothing more than a methodology for asking questions that fit particular and well defined forms. At the core of this is a basic assumption about nature, it is homogenous and isomorphic. > > Perhaps opinion & fact are unwittingly being confused. Opinions tell the > > observer about the holder of the opinion, not the subject the opinion is > > direct toward. > > Maybe, but remember my smart crack about hueristics. It's all we've got, in > any practical sense. Please be so kind why heuristics is the only thing we got? Seems to me that serendipity has raised its head more than once. As I understand heuristic algorithms (ie rule base) is that they pre-suppose a system for goal meeting and then go through a itterative process comparing the current position with the goal and then reducing that distance. > We can't just go around testing every opinion we hear, > more than once, anyway, :-), and, frankly, most of us just take other > people's word for things, especially if we respect their reputation. :-). Ah, but there is a rub here. Respect is an opinion. > Remember the story about Gauss, who, in the middle of some guy's > announcement that he'd discovered the normal distribution(?), said > hueristic: Gauss is usually right, so he must be right here, too. (An > appeal to authority, for you informal fallacy counters out there... :-).) Yeah, he did this several times. He nearly caused Bolya to quit mathematics. He made many such claims through his life, quite a few of them were never born out when his papers were examined after his death, though quite a few of them were as well. He also told his son to ask his wife to wait a moment to die while he finished his cyphers (calculations). > Well, actually, it's more about how to make replicable results, I'd say. > The "how to ask questions" might come from a theory (brought about by > observing reality with replicable results), and the creativity of the > questioner. If you don't know how to ask a question in a scientific manner you can't test it. Science itself doesn't say anything about the results directly other than they are homogenous and isomorphic, the observer does however when we examine the goals and reasons for the experiment in the first place. To observe nature requires a fundamentaly different methodolgy than 'commen sense' observation. Further, the realization that there are processes in nature that are fundamentaly un-repeatable is what forced the creation of statistics and the study of families of events. > > Science is a non-intuitive mechanism whereby we can regulate how > > we think about the world around us. > > And, my understanding is that at the core of that is the replicability of > experiment. And the predictivity of theory, of course. Replication of experiments comes from a base assumption in science (which unlike other axiomatic systems are open to refutation) that nature is fundamentaly homogenous and isomorphic, in other words the rules of nature are the same irrespective of geography. Should we find such a non-homogenous or non-isomorphism in nature then the fundamental reliance on science as we impliment it now would be shown wrong. The flip side to this is that if the universe turns out to be so arranged then we have in effect a non-relativistic frame of reference because we have now proven by exception that a given point or particle in the universe is truly unique and identifiable through some mechanism. > > What to do with the results is engineering. > > How to make the results *profitable* is what engineering is... ;-). No, that is business management. At no point in an engineering study is the issue of cost v price examined. Study Nikola Tesla to understand why your statement is fallacious. > > Never confuse popularity with influence. > > Well, since I don't know how to define one in terms of the other, I won't. > How's that? Popularity means that the issue is well known, influence is that people use it as a reason for their actions. > Still, I think the idea of opinion/influence/reputation/identity as linked > this way allows you to think about it better. > > Or at least it helped *me* think about it better, anyway. I agree that they are linked. I don't think that in the grand scheme of getting through life they are nearly as important as some would have us believe. I personaly am more interested in the fundamental question of whether the meme or paradigm works in the sense of providing me the return on my resource investment that I intended. I guess a simpler way to put it is that intellectual capital should not be avaluated by the same methodology we use to select books or movies to buy. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there | | be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves. | | | | -Alan Greenspan- | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage(a)ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|

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Re: export restictions and investments
by Rich Salz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>How do the US export restrictions affect investments into non-US crypto >companies? Is it legal for US private persons or companies to invest >money into companies developing strong crypto applications for example in >Europe? We got an official legal opinion, which was that wholly-owned subsidiaries of US entities are subject to US regulations in this area. >Since Sun bought the Russian Elvis+ company Are you really sure that they bought it all? That would go against what we had been told, and I have a great deal of respect for the legal/crypto expertise of "Barry an Jay" at the Washington, DC, law office of Hale & Dorr. /r$

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