January 2020 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

[WAR] The ministry of truth: NATO liberation of Libya, 2011
by Zenaan Harkness 30 Jun '20

30 Jun '20

If the following were not true, we'd be incredulous that someone would propose such an unbelievable and lame movie plot. Sadly, this is what North America and NATO stand for. I Thought NATO “Liberated” Libya in 2011? http://journal-neo.org/2016/08/04/i-thought-nato-liberated-libya-in-2011/ “Operation Unified Protector is one of the most successful in NATO’s history… We have done this together for the people of Libya, so they can take their future firmly and safely into their own hands. Libyans have now liberated their country. And they have transformed the region. This is their victory” - Former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaking in October, 2011. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_80052.htm “In Libya, the death of Muammar al-Qaddafi showed that our role in protecting the Libyan people, and helping them break free from a tyrant, was the right thing to do” – US President, Barack Obama, speakingin October, 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-obama-foreignpolicy-idUSTRE79L0MH20111023 “I am proud to stand here on the soil of a free Tripoli and on behalf of the American people I congratulate Libya. This is Libya’s moment, this is Libya’s victory, the future belongs to you” – Former US Secretary of State and Democratic Nominee for President, Hillary Clinton, speaking in October, 2011. https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/19/172519.html On August the 1st, US warplanes bombed Islamic State (IS/ISIS/ISIL) targets in the Libyan city of Sirte, almost exactly five years after Western imperialists declared NATO’s 2011 war in Libya a complete success. http://journal-neo.org/2015/10/17/nato-s-humanitarian-intervention-in-libya… These strikes are not the first conducted by the US in Libya this year, in a broader campaign that is officially aimed at defeating an enemy that the US had a major hand in creating in the first place (I’m sure the military-industrial complex isn’t complaining however). Peter Cook, the Pentagon’s Press Secretary, said in a statement released on the 1st of August in relation to the strikes that: http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/881794/… “Today, at the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), the United States military conducted precision air strikes [which is Orwellian/Pentagon-speak for dropping bombs (not uncommonly on civilians)] against ISIL targets in Sirte, Libya, to support GNA-affiliated forces seeking to defeat ISIL in its primary stronghold in Libya… The U.S. stands with the international community in supporting the GNA as it strives to restore stability and security to Libya.” Wait a minute though, have I missed something? I thought Libya was “liberated” in 2011 and the country is now a beacon of ‘freedom and democracy’ for the Middle East and North Africa? Are the Libyan people not enjoying being “free from a tyrant;” similar to the liberty the Syrian people will experience if Assad the ‘tyrant’ is overthrown and the country is handed over to al-Qaeda? Since the future belonged to the Libyan people in 2011, is the country not a vibrant and prosperous democracy today? Is Libya not one of the major hubs of the Mediterranean, with trade booming and flocks of tourists travelling from across the world to sample the delights of the country – from the fascinating culture of the indigenous people to the stunning (I must admit) Roman ruins? I thought the standard of living for the average Libyan was much higher than it was before the tyrant was deposed? Is Libya not helping to build the African continent up to try and alleviate the millions of people who live in poverty? I thought the “most successful” campaign in NATO’s history meant that terrorism could not gain a foothold in the country, considering the Western alliance spends the majority of its time (after antagonising Russia that is) talking about fighting terrorism? I thought NATO’s love-bombs only hit the baddies, and never killed or maimed any civilians? Are the Libyan people not enjoying the fruits of another Western foreign policy success story? Are the Libyan people not enjoying the stability that always follows a Western war of aggression? I thought the Libyan “kinetic military action” was yet another triumphant imperial endeavour, just like Afghanistan, Iraq and the numerous other countries that were lucky to be the targets of Western ‘humanitarian’ forces? Steven MacMillan is an independent writer, researcher, geopolitical analyst and editor of The Analyst Report, http://www.theanalystreport.net/ especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”. http://journal-neo.org/

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Personal Black Box?
by jim bell 24 Jun '20

24 Jun '20

A few weeks ago, I got done binge-watching every episode of NCIS, and am now up to Season 4 of Criminal Minds. Naturally, this induces a bit of what I'll call cinematic paranoia. In what seems to be a majority of episodes, a victim gets attacked, usually ends up dead, and the plucky investigators are stuck trying to figure out what happened. Naturally, they usually do, but only after about 45 minutes of high-tension showtime. It occurs to me that what people may need, for physical security, would be what might be called a "personal black box", analogous to an airplane flight recorder. Or, a civilian version of a cop's body-cam. Any modern smartphone would have the basics of such a device: A high-resolution camera, microphone, and a huge amount of storage. And a quick 911-call if necessary. The mere possession and use of such a device would probably deter the large majority of potential attackers. And even if it does not completely protect a given user, it would allow far more easy identification of the perpetrator. Parts of this, of course, are not a new idea. https://www.sparkfun.com/news/702 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/gadgets-and-gear/gadgets/your-ow… https://www.zdnet.com/article/fitbit-activity-data-as-evidence-in-court-wea… https://www.medgadget.com/2005/08/cpod_a_personal.html https://newatlas.com/australia-black-box-flight-recorder-soldiers/51267/ However, storage is not enough: In use, in some instances, an attacker would presumably be aware enough to take or break the device, so some sort of continuous or discontinuous upload of the data could be done, to be available no matter what else happens. Say, a frame per second when nothing seems to be happening, and a greater rate when triggered somehow. Could a heart-rate monitor be employed, sensed one axis of the phone's accelerometers? Or if the wearer falls down? Or if a sufficiently-loud noise is heard, etc. Or if a trigger-word is spoken a la Siri? Can the data transfer be made economical? Even an average of 1 megabit/second would be over one gigabyte during a 3 hour usage per day. That's substantially greater than most people currently use. One possibility is that the phone could upload the data to the cell phone company, where it could be "parked" for a few seconds or minutes. If nothing happens to the phone to cause a trigger (some sort of attack) the phone could instruct the cell phone company to abandon the data. Conversely, if a trigger occurs, the cell phone company would move 100% of the data to a backup system for later retrieval. Presumably, the cell phone company would offer discounted rates for such transfers, and only offer that service if the local service is sufficiently unloaded at that moment. Jim Bell

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(no subject)
by \0xDynamite 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

The censors are now making it difficult for people to edit wikipedia pages and other mediawiki sites. If you don't believe in their liberal, gaytheist religion, they bombard you with impossible captchas and don't give you linking. \0xD

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Box for simple Tor node.
by jim bell 05 Jun '20

05 Jun '20

Somebody asked me a question, but because I am far from being an expert, I couldn't answer. Suppose a person wanted to implement a TOR node, simply by buying some box, and plugging it into his modem, and power. And NOT needing to become an expert on TOR, or even on computers in general. And NOT having to follow pages and pages of instructions. I did a few minutes of searching, and even the 'simple' explanations seemed 'clear as mud'. Don't bother with long explanations challenging the usefulness, or trustworthiness of TOR. Yes, we've discussed them to death. That's a different subject. Jim Bell

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Michael Flynn discovers 1st in America: lawyers "betrayed" him (SHAWK!)
by Zig the N.g 28 May '20

28 May '20

>From the "Consequences for literally failing to lie for the USA public prosecution" dept. Imagine our SHAWK, SHAWK I tell ya! Flynn's Defense Files Motion Saying His Former Legal Team "Betrayed Him" https://www.zerohedge.com/political/flynns-defense-files-motion-saying-his-… Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn ... denied that he lied to the FBI during the White House meeting with then FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and FBI Special Agent Joe Pientka. The meeting was set up by now fired FBI Director James Comey and then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was also fired for lying to Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s investigators. Strzok was fired by the FBI for his actions during the Russia investigation. “... nor do I remember if we discussed the details of a UN vote on Israel.” ... Powell said prosecutors reversed course on their decision to not push for jail time for Flynn in early January because she said, her client “refused to lie for the prosecution” in the Rafiekian case.

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Write Ross Ulbricht
by grarpamp 18 May '20

18 May '20

https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/85y9im/ross_ulbricht_turns_34_on_marc…

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Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is DEAD!!!
by jim bell 17 May '20

17 May '20

What a relief!!!Thank heavens for leaks!!! Jim Bell

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HuffPost: Julian Assange Faces Federal Charges. But Let's Not Forget What We've Learned From WikiLeaks.
by jim bell 17 May '20

17 May '20

HuffPost: Julian Assange Faces Federal Charges. But Let's Not Forget What We've Learned From WikiLeaks.. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wikileaks-top-stories-julian-assange_u…

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[RUS] Who split Germany after WW2?
by Zenaan Harkness 11 May '20

11 May '20

Most us propagandized flunkies in the inglorious West don't actually know our history. For those who appreciate a quick catch up here and there, read it and empathize: http://russiafeed.com/divided-germany-cold-war-washington-moscow/ Who divided Germany during the Cold War – Washington or Moscow? The Soviet proposal for a neutral, united Germany was refused by the West, in order to create their own puppet state by Nikolay Starikov December 8, 2017, 12:17 pm

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IQNets - low b/w end user nodes - maximise 'user experience'
by Zenaan Harkness 10 May '20

10 May '20

End user nodes which have low or relatively low total bandwidth BW, Node End-user Low Bandwidth => NELB might usefully provide only small or "marginal" b/w links, and link contracts with reduced time T. Where the end user 'experience' arising from his available b/w is already reduced/low/frustrating, any overlay which treats that end user as anything but an "mostly end user only" node, will likely be switched off/ disabled/ uninstalled, by said end user. So for a "compelling user experience", at least with NELBs, by default we ought limit both time duration T and bandwidth BW, for all link contracts handed out to incoming requests. Low T means "problematic" (from end user experience point of view) link contracts will time out "relatively soon". Low BW, as a percentage of total NELB BW, should minimize "obtrusive slowdowns due to the overlay net", again, from the end user perspective. Some aggregate numbers of global Internet users, e.g. "how many Internet users, globally, onramp at X kbps b/w?" Presumably there are still millions who have sub 256kbps? In any case, with the limit case, at least for certain groups of users, being groups of such low b/w links, a useful overlay net must usefully use "many micro connections". We can at some point test and establish useful minimum T and minimum BW for T. To optimize for such lithe links (rather, link contracts), we need to minimize "overlay network switch contract nego" latency. So various previously listed concepts are essential at the core of the overlay net - seamless utilization of many "micro" links, link aggregation, seamless handling of links that drop out, possibly fan-out (single high BW to many low BW) and fan-in hops, etc.

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