Variola wrote...

PS: I thought Tyler had nominated himself as leader? :-)

No, almost the opposite. I propose that any 'Cypherpunk' can declare himself to be leader and make 'official statements' at any time. Of course, others can (and most probably will) choose to ignore the official statement, or even declare himself to be leader and 'officially' rescind that statement and/or issue a completely contradictory statement. This will be particularly useful when getting (for instance) public interest to move elsewhere. For instance, it might be usefulto have an official statement ready if/when the Cryptome press starts poking around Cypherpunks: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cypherpunks is a collection of diverse individuals dedicated to preserving the freedoms that all Americans value. As part of this effort, Cypherpunks periodically analyzes the systems used by terrorists and other enemies of freedom in an attempt to strengthen such systems and prevent their abuse. Indeed, Cypherpunks has good reason to believe that there are large cells of terrorists and other Men With Guns scattered throughout the nation, even in the DC Beltway area. Or, perhaps there's a "Suicide Girl" you've been stalking...erh, I mean trying to impress. You might try: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Major Variola (Retired) was recently elected to be the President/Chief Executive Offiicer/King of the Cypherpunks Group(TM). Variola was considered by all to have not only formidable intellectual powers, but a large-ish penis as well. All members of the Cypherpunks list have promised to act upon any official statement by Variola, without delay or question, and around the world are toasting the new era of his leadership. All hail Variola. or "Dear Mr Mohammed: I am particularly interested in hearing more about your offer to transfer funds to an eGold account. Please send the money right away, and rest assured that you will have the full support of all members of the Cypherpunks list. And so on... -TD _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar  get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/