Computer underground Digest Sun Aug 14, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 72 ISSN 1004-042X Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET) Archivist: Brendan Kehoe Retiring Shadow Archivist: Stanton McCandlish Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala Ian Dickinson Copywrite Editor: Eatingin Shrdlu CONTENTS, #6.72 (Sun, Aug 14, 1994) File 1--Jacking in from the "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" Port (Cyberwire) File 2--Jacking in from the "Just Nationalize It" Port (Cyberwire) File 3--Police Checkpoints on the Information Highway File 4--CyberSpace Forum - ReIntroduction File 5--"What Computers Still Can't Do" by Dreyfus (Book Review) File 6--Essay Contest - Future of Print File 7--GovAccess.043: ACT.ALERT! Two CRUCIAL ITEMS Aug.8th Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are available at no cost electronically. CuD is available as a Usenet newsgroup: comp.society.cu-digest Or, to subscribe, send a one-line message: SUB CUDIGEST your name Send it to LISTSERV@UIUCVMD.BITNET or LISTSERV@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-0303), fax (815-753-6302) or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA. Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;" On Delphi in the General Discussion database of the Internet SIG; on RIPCO BBS (312) 528-5020 (and via Ripco on internet); and on Rune Stone BBS (IIRGWHQ) (203) 832-8441. CuD is also available via Fidonet File Request from 1:11/70; unlisted nodes and points welcome. EUROPE: from the ComNet in LUXEMBOURG BBS (++352) 466893; In ITALY: Bits against the Empire BBS: +39-461-980493 UNITED STATES: etext.archive.umich.edu (141.211.164.18) in /pub/CuD/ ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) in /pub/Publications/CuD aql.gatech.edu (128.61.10.53) in /pub/eff/cud/ world.std.com in /src/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/ uceng.uc.edu in /pub/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/ wuarchive.wustl.edu in /doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/ EUROPE: nic.funet.fi in pub/doc/cud/ (Finland) ftp.warwick.ac.uk in pub/cud/ (United Kingdom) JAPAN: ftp.glocom.ac.jp /mirror/ftp.eff.org/ COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and they should be contacted for reprint permission. 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Digest contributors assume all responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not violate copyright protections. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 5 Aug 1994 11:18:07 -0500 From: Brock Meeks / CyberWire Subject: File 1--Jacking in/"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" Port (Cyberwire) CyberWire Dispatch // Copyright (c) 1994 // Jacking in from the "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" Port: Washington, DC -- For months now a kind of high stakes privacy poker has been played out here behind the closed doors of congressional subcommittees as the FBI, telephone industry executives, congressional staffers and civil libertarians have played a kind of five card draw with the privacy of all your future telephone calls, faxes and electronic mail. The betting's all but over now; Congress has "called" the hand and laid its cards on the table: A soon to be introduced bill that will mandate --forever -- that all the nation's telephone networks be designed to give the FBI easy wiretap access. The bill's sponsors, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Don Edwards (D- Cal.), have fought through a numbing array of options, opinions and (FBI) obfuscation in order feel comfortable enough to sign their names to a bill that, just years ago, was laughed off Capitol Hill because it was severely flawed. My how time changes things. It's been two years since the FBI first introduced what amounted to an "Easy Wiretap America" bill. Now we have a new President, a new FBI director and suddenly, a new bill that requires the nation's telecommunications providers to reengineer their facilities so the FBI can do wiretaps easier. The Leahy and Edwards staffs have dumped hundreds of hours of "sweat equity" into this bill, which could be introduced as early as today (Friday) but certainly before next Tuesday. Leahy and Edwards have never been known to tape "kick me" signs on the back of American privacy rights. The bill that's been hammered out here -- and that phrase isn't used lightly -- by Leahy and Edwards is a damn sight better than the FBI's laughable attempts at drafting legislation. In fact, it was Leahy and Edwards that stepped into the breach to thwart those early FBI proposals from being passed "as is." An earlier version of this bill, which, among other things, gave the Justice Department the right to shut down any telephone company's network, regardless of size, if they didn't comply with the wiretap statute, was set to be introduced by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), with heavy support from others in congress. That bill, if introduced, would have passed, congressional sources have said. But the Leahy and Edwards tag team effort took Sen. Biden off the scent. So, we get a more palatable bill. Call it the "cod liver oil act" of 1994. It tastes horrible, but it's necessary, considering the earlier alternatives. Without this Leahy/Edwards bill our privacy rights would have really been fucked over. At least now we get kissed. (Sorry, no tongues.) Still Got The Power ==================== A draft copy of the latest bill, obtained by Dispatch, shows that the Justice Department and FBI still have the tools to intimidate and harass the future development of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure. The bill, as it stands, does keep Justice and law enforcement from mandating any "specific design of features or system configurations to be adopted." But the requirements to build wiretap capability into all public telecommunications carrier systems is steadfast. This means that while the FBI can't expressly tell a company "how to get there," it can definitely say, "just get there." Never again, under the provisions of this bill, will a telecommunications provider be able to develop a service or technology without first and foremost asking the question: How can I design this so that it pops off the assembly line wiretap ready? Read it again. The key word there: Never. There is an "out" however, and it comes thanks to Leahy. If a new technology doesn't fit with the mandate, that is, if you can't make that new hand held satellite phone wiretap ready and you've made every "reasonable effort" to make it so, it can still be sold. How? "The court can enforce the (wiretap) requirement of this act only if compliance with the act is 'reasonably achievable' through the application of 'available technology,'" said Jeff Ward, director of governmental affair for the Nynex telephone company. Ward -- who says the bill has been an "albatross" around his neck for 2 years -- has focused his efforts during this 2 year time frame, on ensuring that such "reasonably achievable" provisions allow telephone industry and equipment makers to be "good corporate citizens." That is, these companies are required to consider [wiretap] design factors, but if after "due consideration, we can't do it, we've got to be able to proceed." This effort is supported by the bill; however, it is a court of law that decides what is "reasonable" or not. Such litigation, brought by Justice no doubt, could tie up a new technology for years while the case is decided, thus giving Justice and the FBI a kind of de facto control over the development of new technologies. Make That Check Out To... ========================= Then there's cost. The FBI insists that the cost to industry to retrofit all their networks will be only $500 million. But that's a bullshit figure and everyone from FBI Director Louis Freeh to the newest line programmer at AT&T knows it. In fact, so many lines of code will have to be written and maintained to comply with these wiretap mandates that one Internet pioneer, Dave Farber, has called the FBI proposal "the programmers full employment act." Provisions in the bill make it basically a blank check for the FBI. Within the first 4 years, there is $500 million approved to be spent on "upgrading" all the nation's telephone systems to provide law enforcement with easy wiretap access. There are provisions in the bill that require the government to repay all costs of installing wiretap software throughout all networks forever, with no cap. What's not clear, however, is what happens when FBI demands for wiretap capability exceed the $500 million mark (and it will) during those first 4 years. Maybe we'll get some answers when this bill (in whatever language is finally passed) is discussed at joint hearings to be held by Leahy and Edwards on it August 11th. Take It or Take It =================== Take it or take it. Those are your only choices here. This bill is a slam dunk for passage. But you didn't lose everything. All electronic systems will be exempt from complying with the bill's mandates. But hold on before you cheer... This simply means that the FBI can't tap your Email from, say, America Online's computers; rather, they can do what they've always been allowed to do: Snag it off the telephone company's central switch. But at least we don't have the Internet being hung with "FBI: Tap In Here" signs. Transactional data, Dispatch has been told, will get some beefed up protection. Just how this language shakes out remains to be seen, however. Yeah, but Can They Count? ========================= At the very end of the draft we obtained, the FBI is given a curious additional reporting requirement under its annual wiretap reports. The addition, in our draft copy, says the Bureau must quantify "the number of interceptions encountering electronically encrypted communications, specifying the number of such interceptions that could not be decrypted." Throughout the history of this bill and the now ignominious Clipper Chip proposal, the FBI has touted the fact that it's investigations are continually stymied by encryption technologies. Small problem: The Bureau refuses to provide any kind of documentation to back up those claims. At first blush, then, this extra requirement finally means the G- men will have to give us some concrete numbers. All well and good... *if* that's what this requirement actually is used for. There's potentially a much darker use for these stats... yes, I see all you Crypto-rebels nodding your anxious heads. You see, such a formal gathering of statistics could be used by the Bureau or... say, the National Security Agency, to "prove" that private encryption schemes are just too great a threat to "catching bad guys." Citing these newly gathered statistics the White House could, one day, order the banning of private encryption methods. Far fetched you say? Yeah, it's far-fetched... something on the order of, oh, say a bill that mandates telephone companies give the FBI easy access to all conversations from now until forever. Meeks out... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Aug 94 13:30:37 EDT From: "W. K. (Bill) Gorman" <34AEJ7D@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> Subject: File 2--Jacking in from the "Just Nationalize It" Port (Cyberwire) You might find this of interest. >----------------------------Original message---------------------------- CyberWire Dispatch // Copyright (c) 1994 // Jacking in from the "Just Nationalize It" Port: Washington, DC -- The most recent draft of the FBI's digital wiretap bill turns control of the nation's communications network over to the Justice Department. It's a twisted policy that, in essence, ponies up more than $500 million in an effort to nationalize all telephone and electronic communications networks, a move that's unprecedented in U.S. history. For although private companies retain control over profits and revenues, this bill puts them at the technological beck and call of the Justice Department. Think of it as Attorney General Janet Reno moving her lips, but it's FBI Director Louis Freeh making all the noise. The July 19 draft of the FBI bill obtained by Dispatch, gives the Justice Department the authority to make technological demands of the nation's communications networks that must be complied with or risk severe penalties. However, the bill specifically states that law enforcement agencies can't dictate a "specific design or system configurations," but that's little comfort. The bill gives the government the authority to dictate -- forever - -specific capabilities each communications company has to met or be held in contempt, forced to pay as much as $10,000 for every day they can't met the government's demands of easy wiretap access to their customer's conversations, electronic mail messages, faxes or file transfers. The draft also dramatically expands the scope of the bill, from just "common carriers" (which are mainly your local and long distance telephone companies) to a new category of "telecommunications carriers." This new category, penciled in at the insistence of the telephone companies facing the threat of having to bear the entire burden for making the FBI's job easier, includes "any person or entity engaged in the transmission or switching of wire or electronic communications for value for unaffiliated persons, but does not include persons or entities engaged in providing information services." This means all networks, including the one that delivered this Dispatch article to your electronic mailbox, will now have to be "wiretap ready," according to FBI blueprints. The only companies that escape are free BBSs and systems that must prove they are information services rather than communications services. Just how America Online, Prodigy and CompuServe will deal with this is unknown, since systems like these split the fence between information providers and communications facilitators. If this bill is passed, the Attorney General has one year to draw up its easy wiretap access battle plan and present it to the industry. Included in that plan must be a written notice of the maximum capacity required to "accommodate all the communications interceptions, pen registers and trap and trace devices" the Attorney General "estimates" the government will need. All "telecommunications carriers" then have 3 years to comply with those requests. The catch is, the Justice Department can "periodically" provide updates to that original plan, which "increases the maximum capacity" first stated. For each upgraded estimate, the industry has 3 years to cooperate or get hammered. If a carrier fails to comply, the Justice Department can order compliance, up to and including ordering manufacturers to redesign their products so they can be installed on U.S. communications networks -- yes, that includes the amorphous Internet, at least on the U.S. side. Noncompliance carries the possible fine of $10,000 per day. However, the current bill takes away the veritable "Thor's Hammer" authority from Justice, that is, the ability to shut down a carrier's network for not complying with the bill. Standards? We Don't Need No Stinking Standards ========================== Just to make sure that all this "easy use wiretap" software gets codified, there will be standards written. This means every public telephone network and communications system, will, forever, now come with built in eavesdropping capability, courtesy of Uncle Sam. The bill doesn't actually demand that wiretap access be written into the standards, but the sub-text of the bill clearly intends for them to be there. "The absence of specifications or standards for implementing" wiretap access won't be considered an excuse for carriers to claim noncompliance, the bill says. Enter the Federal Communications Commission. Under this bill, the FCC is made out to be court of last resort for any wiretap standards disputes. "[I]f industry associations or bodies fail to issue specifications or standards, any person may petition" the FCC to "establish... specifications or standards" that implement easy wiretap access, the bill says. In other words: If industry tanks on creating specs, Uncle Sam, impersonating the above referenced "any person" will compel the FCC to write the damn things. The FBI gets its wiretap software written voluntarily or by force. They don't care which route they have to take. Of course, the FCC is woefully equipped to write standards; they are enforcers after all of such standards, not creators of them. So, in order to help out with this egregious task, the bill allows the FCC to assess and collect fees that it will levy against telecommunications carriers for, well, there's no nice way to say this, doing their fucking job. And get this, the FCC gets to use that penalty tax money to help it pay for writing the wiretap rules. You gotta love these bill writing wonks for creating: Self-help Agency Funding or "Bigger Appropriations Through Fines." The Bottom Line ============== What's it going to cost to allow the FBI to eavesdrop from virtually any "remote" location of their choice, as the bill states? The first bite from the taxpayer wallet is a healthy $500 million in the first 3 years. (Remember, now, FBI Director Louis Freeh, as late as last month, was on television telling the world this electronic Trojan Horse would cost only $300 million.) However, the bill contains a "blank check" clause, which allows the government (Hint: This is really you and me) to continue paying for upgrades to this wiretap software from 1999 "and thereafter" in "such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of this act." You can thank the telephone companies for this clause. Without the endless credit line, they said they would fight the bill with all their resources. Now they'll just whimper a lot and roll over. Although the telephone still oppose the bill on principle -- they just don't like the government telling them to do anything -- they're just happy not to have to pay for this themselves. As long as every other telecommunications company gets stung and the taxpayer foots the bill, well, hell, they can live with it. Besides, they have bigger fish to fry, like squeezing Congress to let them into the long distance market where they can really make some coin. So, what we get now from the telephone industry -- trust me on this -- is token opposition to the FBI bill. "This thing is beginning to smell like law," said a telephone company executive familiar with his industries efforts on the bill. Dispatch suggested a more colorful "smells like" phrase. The executive simply smiled. All Said And Done ================ The bill, while not the final version, is "pretty damn close," a congressional staffer said. The fight over language hasn't been pretty and it's likely to continue to be ugly until the final bill is submitted, which will be before the August recess. "We will have a bill one way or another," another congressional staffer said. The staffs of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Joe Biden (D.-Del) and Rep. Don Edwards (D-Cal.) have all had a crack at melding this bill. EFF's been in there fighting, too. In fact, EFF's legislative liaison cancelled a trip to Japan to stay and "fight" for better language in the bill, according to a message he posted online. If that's the case, someone needs to fight harder. There is, however, some evidence of EFF's fingerprints on this bill. The bill specifically states, for example that "any law enforcement agency" is NOT authorized to "prohibit the adoption of any feature or service by providers of wire or electronic communication service." This means that if your "telecommunications provider" provides some kind of encryption capability -- even non-government approved encryption -- this bill doesn't force you to turn over the encryption keys to the cops. And in the area of transactional data, the bill limits the cops to just getting your telephone number and address, without the ability to scavenge through all your private transactions and billing records. This ends the threat of the bill having the effect of turning the telephone network into "a nationwide surveillance tool" of the FBI, as EFF Executive Director Jerry Berman said previous versions of the bill would allow. Just remember, as this bill stands, the FBI bought your privacy rights for a mere $500 million-plus. That cheap at twice the price. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Aug 94 14:14 CDT From: jdav@MCS.COM(James I. Davis) Subject: File 3--Police Checkpoints on the Information Highway POLICE CHECKPOINTS ON THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY By Jim Davis The so-called "electronic frontier" is quickly turning into an electronic police state. New computer technologies provide powerful tools for protecting privacy and sharing information. To maintain control over the new technology, information and the people who use it, the U.S. government is clamping down on several fronts. Here are a few recent developments: -- The FBI wants to require all computer bulletin boards and communications carriers and makers of electronic communications equipment to give it a way to spy on everyone who communicates. According to draft FBI standards recently obtained by the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, "every carrier must ensure that its equipment allows for interception of a communication concurrent with a transmission and provide call identifying information to a remote government facility. "Manufacturers and support service providers must also assist by developing equipment and software with these capabilities." -- The federal government is pushing ahead with its so-called "Clipper Proposal," a plan to subvert private communications. New technologies allow people to code messages and conversations so that they are virtually impossible for anyone except the intended recipient to read. Even the government would have great difficulty spying on such mail or conversations. The government's proposal, designed with substantial assistance from the National Security Agency, will require people to give the government their secret keys to allow it to decipher messages whenever a police agency wants. -- The Commerce Department has recommended changes in the copyright law that will outlaw the use of technologies that can break "copy protection" schemes. In today's economy, information products like music, videos and computer software account for billions of dollars in business. Industry associations like the Software Publishers Association (SPA) want strict laws against unauthorized copying. Because information is so easy to copy, enforcing copyright laws -- and preventing people from getting access to culture unless they pay for it -- will require a police state. The SPA already encourages people to turn in co-workers who make unauthorized copies of computer programs. -- On July 28, a Memphis, Tennessee jury convicted a couple who ran an adult computer bulletin board in California of 11 counts of transmitting obscenity through interstate telephone lines. A U.S. district attorney used conservative Tennessee "community standards" against the couple because he was able to copy pictures from the couple's computer, 2,000 miles and several states away. With computer networks, what is legal in one state or country can still be prosecuted in another place where that same activity is illegal. -- In late May, the White House announced plans to start a nationwide system for delivering military pensions, food stamps, Social Security and other public assistance electronically. Instead of receiving a check, the recipient would receive an "automated teller machine" card. The system will extend government control over the lives of everyone who receives government benefits, greatly increasing the government's ability to monitor what they buy and where they buy it. The government claims that it needs these proposals to protect us from drug dealers, child pornographers, welfare frauders and terrorists. However, these proposals are giving the government the ability to squelch any activity that it doesn't like or that threatens the status quo. Controlling citizens is becoming more necessary as the economy worsens and money becomes harder to come by. The government wants to use the technology to spy on its citizens. A better solution? Putting technology to use for everyone. For more information on privacy and civil liberties issues on the information superhighway, contact these organizations: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility P.O. Box 717 Palo Alto, California 94302 Phone: 415-322-3778 E-mail: cpsr@cpsr.org Electronic Privacy Information Center 666 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E. #301 Washington, D.C. 20003 E-mail: info@epic.org Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G St. N.W. Suite 950 East Washington, D.C. 20001 Phone: 202-347-5400 E-mail: info@eff.org ****************************************************************** This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition), Vol. 21 No. 33 / August 15, 1994; P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 For free electronic subscription, email: pt.dist-request@umich.edu Feel free to reproduce; please include this message with reproductions of this article. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 13 Aug 1994 00:17:53 -0600 (MDT) From: adunkin@NYX.CS.DU.EDU(Alan Dunkin) Subject: File 4--CyberSpace Forum - ReIntroduction (MODERATORS' NOTE: Alan Dunkin resumes his periodic commentary with this issue. He's completed the gargantuan task of update the CuD cummulative index through Vol. 5, which we'll run in about two weeks). THE CYBERSPACE FORUM - AUGUST 13, 1994 by Alan Dunkin [adunkin@nyx.cs.du.edu] It's been awhile since I've written here last, because of work and other problems I have been unable to contribute much of anything for the past few months. Now that things have calmed down a bit, I can now get back to doing what I had originally planned, making this a regular feature of the Computer underground Digest. One of the things I hope to provide is a list of new resources available that may be of interest to you. The list may consist of a listing of World Wide Web URLs; sites which, by the way, are growing exponentially. Sites that are only accessible by telnet, FTP, or other forms of connections will also be listed. Another feature I hope to bring are the updates on some of the texts I am working on. Constant readers of CuD know that I'm working on the new volume of the cumulative index, and I would like to announce that there will be a similiar index for EFFector, EFF's newsletter that has been going on, in less quantity, since CuD's inception. Yes, and there are other things in the works. So, without further ado . . . *** Estimated Times of Arrivals for the following projects: Computer underground Digest Cumulative Index [Volumes 1 through 5] - Right about now EFFector Cumulative Index [Volumes 1 through 6] - About three weeks The CuD Index will be posted here first, and the EFFector Index will be put straight in the EFF archives. *** Those of you interested in cryptography, encryption, Clipper, cypherpunks, PGP public key databases, may want to stop by Fran Litterio's Cryptography, PGP, and Your Privacy WWW page. It contains links to cryptography-related FAQs, information on PGP version 2.6 As you may guess there's bunch of stuff there, and Fran has done a really good job getting everything together and organized. You can visit seperate sections on PGP, articles about or by cypherpunks, newsgroups related to cryptography, more papers on various topics, and even more than that. The URL is http://draco.centerline.com:8080/~franl/crypto.html *** That's about it for now. Look for the new CuD Cumulative Index in your mailbox or at the EFF site, or it's mirrors within the next few days. Next time, a look into the early life of CuD and a few views of the Amateur Access BBS case decision. And hopefully the time lag between the forum issues will be a few months less :) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Aug 1994 13:33:09 -0600 (MDT) From: "Rob Slade, Ed. DECrypt & ComNet, VARUG rep, 604-984-4067" Subject: File 5--"What Computers Still Can't Do" by Dreyfus (Book Review) The MIT Press 55 Hayward Street Cambridge, MA 02142-1399 USA Robert V. Prior, Editor - Computer Science prior@mitvma.mit.edu Maureen Curtin, Int'l Promo. - curtin@mit.edu "What Computers Still Can't Do", Dreyfus, 1992, 0-262-54067-3, U$13.95 There are two kinds of classics. In one, an important idea is held up, explained and illuminated from all sides. This exposure is both pleasurable and thought-provoking; so much so, that even an opponent of the central thesis still enjoys the work and may be inspired by it. The second type of classic takes an important idea and beats it to death. This is what Dreyfus did with his original work, which is basically unchanged here. One suspects that his work would not have produced such animosity had he not taken the tactic of a direct attack on all of the major artificial intelligence work of the time. (And of the time since: the introductions to the various reprintings continue attacks on each succeeding generation of AI.) After a while, even the most sympathetic reader starts to respond, "So it's limited. So it doesn't work yet. So what?" That, however, only applies to the introductions, and part one. Parts two and three move completely out of the technical realm and into the philosophical. The second part looks at the philosophical beliefs of the devotees of AI. "Belief" is the correct term. As Dreyfus points out at the beginning of part three, committed workers in the field of artificial intelligence seem to have, consciously or unconsciously, an almost religious assumption that man, and the brain, is a calculating device of some kind. Dreyfus points out that these beliefs are unfounded, in the sense of not being based upon clearly demonstrable evidence or principles. However, as one moves into the last part of the book, it becomes evident that Dreyfus is *not* presenting a critique of artificial reason or intelligence. He is primarily attacking "cognitive simulation". Part three presents an alternative view, not of computing or AI, but of cognition. Unfortunately, this part of the book, while somewhat interesting, is not as compelling as the negative parts. The central thesis of the book, that there are limits to computing and that we tend to hold unquestioned beliefs about computing power, is still an important one. The failure, however, to update the book in terms of current beliefs and aspirations, robs the work of some impact. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKWCSCD.RVW 940519 ====================== DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 DECUS Symposium '95, Toronto, ON, February 13-17, 1995, contact: rulag@decus.ca Date: Sun, 07 Aug 94 18:07:24 EDT From: AdamRCohen@AOL.COM Subject: File 6--Essay Contest - Future of Print I thought you might like to hear about an essay contest sponsored by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The subject is, "Print: Roadkill on the Information Superhighway - Yes or No?" Top prize is $2,500. Essays are due 9/7/94. Basic information about eligibility and the Audit Bureau follows. For more complete information and entry forms, call ABC's Colleen O'Grady at 708-605-0909. Please share this notice with anyone who might be interested. Many thanks. Entry Requirements: Entrants must be employees of ABC-member companies and have worked in the advertising, marketing or publishing industries for 5 years or less as of 9/7/94. Over 4,000 publishers, advertisers and ad agencies are members of ABC. To verify your eligibility, call Ms. O'Grady at 708-605-0909. The Audit Bureau of Circulations is the first and largest circulation-auditing organization in the world. ABC establishes ground rules for circulation auditing and provides buyers and sellers of print advertising with independent verfication of the circulation information needed to make well-informed media decisions. Adam R. Cohen Member, ABC Young Media Professionals Committee AdamRCohen@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 10:03:08 -0700 From: Jim Warren Subject: File 7--GovAccess.043: ACT.ALERT! Two CRUCIAL ITEMS Aug.8th Aug.04, 1994 I *think* I have *finally* purged the GovAccess list of those who do not wish to continue to receive these postings. If not, flame me one more time.] &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Fact: California legislators consider 10 to 15 letters and faxes to be a *strong* showing of support for a bill (in a state of 31-million population!). One of the worst things about democracy is that citizens must occasionally *act* to inform their representatives of their desires. :-) These are two such instances. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& CRUCIAL VOTE ON MONDAY: PRECEDENT-SETTING EXECUTIVE-BRANCH ONLINE ACCESS Last year, AB 1624 opened California's legislative-branch info to free public access, online - a model now being pursued in perhaps a dozen other state legislatures. Now, we're afer the executive-branch. On Monday, Aug. 8, California's Assembly Bill 2451 (AB 2451) by Assemblyman Tom Bates will face a crucial vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 2451 passed the California Assembly unanimously (to my amazement), but some inside sources say it may have trouble in the Senate. *Faxed support letters are needed immediately!* <===!! And ... letters arriving on Monday will probably be useless! This bill would require that already-computerized state information, that is already public information under the California Public Records Act, be made available to the public via the Internet, without charges by the state. (Implementation is contingent on fetching-back some loot from the federal government to cover costs, but fed "information infrastructure" grants are already splattering around.) Online access to state-agency public records would greatly aid business, help local government to be more efficient, and permit a better-informed citizenship. Letters should be *short*, polite and to the point. (And, if there is state agency or regulatory information that could be helpful in your business or work, it's especially valuable to mention it.) Even if you've written a letter before, supporting this bill, PLEASE WRITE AGAIN (these new players need to know you're still interested -- and watching!). Our new targets: Senate Appropriations Committee (and their fax numbers) Bob Presley, Chairman (D-Riverside) 916-445-9781 (voice only; no fax?!) Bob Beverly, Vice Chairman (R-Redondo Beach) 310-540-2192 Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) 916-445-9263 David Kelley (R-San Diego) 916-327-2187 Bill Leonard (R-Upland) 916-327-2272 Alfred Alquist (D-San Jose) 916-323-8386 Ralph Dills (D-Gardena) 916-323-6056 Leroy Greene (D-Sacramento) 916-327-6341 Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton) 916-327-4213 Henry Mello (D-Gilroy) 916-448-0175 Art Torres (D-LA) 916-444-0581 Diane Watson (D-LA) 916-327-2599 Also, be sure to fax a copy of your letter to bill-author Bates' office at 916-445-6434. (His aide is Rachel Richman, rrichman@igc.apc.org, but the emerging reality is that emailed support letters are proving *NOT* to be very persuasive when shown to fence-sitting committee members - "They all look alike." The mummies in the legislature still need to see things that *look* like letters or faxed-letters! ) If you care enough ... send the very best! :-) And email this to all your friends und associates. Pronto! &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& STILL TRYING TO GET CAMPAIGN-FINANCE DISCLOSURES ONLINE (Senate Bill 758) Another crucial precedent-setter - if we can get it passed (and this election-year is the time to do it!) - is Senator Tom Hayden's SB 758. It would require candidates and campaign committees receiving significant loot to file their public disclosures in computerized form (cheap! fast!), and would make the info freely available via the Internet. It's stuck in the Assembly Elections Committee, but can be reconsidered *IF* the committee Chairwoiman permits it - *soon*! There are some powerful insiders working on it, so it has a reasonable chance - *if* there's evidence of public interest. A fax to her as soon as possible can help pry SB 758 out of her committee, so it could still be passed in this session. Short, polite faxes advocating reconsideration of SB 758 (with a few reasons why it's important that citizens have *modern* access to these public disclosures) are needed, NOW!, to: Chairwoman Diane Martinez, fax/916-324-1393 (D-East Los Angeles) with a copy to bill-author Tom Hayden, fax/916-324-4823. And tell your friends! &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ERRATA: TWO GovAccess.041's On June 11th, I exuded #041 concerning the Peninsula CivicNet Symposium. On June 29th, I sent another #041, having nothing to do with civic networking; entirely-concerned with California's computerized campaign-finance disclosures. Please consider it GovAccess.042. Hot dang! I neu I'd mak a misteak somedae. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& "If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. ... If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed." -- Thomas Jefferson from Chris Casey, Sen. Ted Kennedy's staff] ------------------------------ End of Computer Underground Digest #6.72 ************************************