December 2017 - cypherpunks@lists.ogf.org

Privacy News, Money as Control, Zcash Research
by grarpamp 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/top/?sort=top&t=month https://hn.algolia.com/?query=privacy&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateR… and Money As System Of Control https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyK4P7ZdOK8 Empirical Research into Zcash Privacy https://z.cash/blog/new-research-on-shielded-ecosystem.html

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Dating Sites Continue Creepy Privacy Invasions / Mining Tactics
by grarpamp 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/7lkt6j/okcupid_used_to_advise_aga… https://www.reddit.com/r/OkCupid/top/?sort=top&t=week https://www.reddit.com/search?q=okcupid&t=week https://www.reddit.com/r/AskWomen/comments/7lhhxk/what_are_your_thoughts_on… https://www.reddit.com/r/polyamory/comments/7lf2n2/okcupid_is_dropping_user… https://wikipedia.org/wiki/IAC_(company)#Match_Group A single creepy media company named IAC InterActiveCorp owns many tens of topsites, spunoff yet controlled entities, etc. In the dating arena, they've been trending towards socially engineering (NLP) and forcing users to upload face photos, enforcing only face photos through twisted user reporting / rating / cajoling schemes, to submit and use real names / dob, report normal awkward / misunderstood / casual / debative / alternative messages and content as harassment, have swiss cheese TOS/AUP/Privacy policies that are utterly repulsive to genuine privacy, engage in nanny / sjw activities including staff inappropriately reading user messages instead of empowering users to manage other users, etc. And like Craigslist, these dating sites store, datamine, and sell every single message, picture, profile content / changes, and all metadata... forever. Just like Facebook... companies forcing / tricking users into dropping guard / sharing, opening themselves to abuse by corp and others from public / online, and raping them for profit when they're most vulnerable... in the social nets. Huge potential for new paid / donation / cryptocurrency endowment based (not "free" dataselling) online services that actually stand for privacy. Related conglomerations... https://wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Facebook https://wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Alphabet

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Linux on the loose - actually, native penguin in NZ on the loose, but friendly as, eh bro?!
by Zenaan Harkness 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

Linux on the loose - actually, native penguin in NZ on the loose, but friendly as, eh bro?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83_442AUqus https://sputniknews.com/viral/201712231060267366-penguin-new-zealand/ "Australia, in which all animals want to kill you, New Zealand, where penguins roam like stray cats, one of these countries is cruelly harassed," Ramen Junkie wrote.

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Apple iPhone - blatant crooks
by John Newman 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

There are lots of stories out there about this from the past few days, I'm just pasting in what I was just reading - https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2017/12/21/apple-iphone-battery-li… Basically, iOS has a "feature" that deliberately slows down the phone based on the age of the battery. Apple's incentive here is obvious - get you to upgrade to the latest & "greatest", because damn the current model is really starting to feel it's age... Of course they never publicized that they were doing this or that a far cheaper battery replacement would restore performance, a trade off that no doubt many users would've made rather than shell out for a whole new model they don't really need. Some of the most crass and blatant profit driven software engineering I can think of.... Cheers John

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Historic! Norway's Parliament Votes to Decriminalize ALL Drugs
by Zenaan Harkness 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

This is a "scientific" experiment I believe is worth conducting - is there more or less harm when drugs are decriminalized and /or legalized - I suspect that overall harm is minimized note for example the comment "drastically reducing crime". ----- Forwarded message from Jim <jim.sovereign(a)optusnet.com.au> ----- Subject: Historic! Norway's Parliament Votes to Decriminalize ALL Drugs Historic! Norway's Parliament Votes to Decriminalize ALL Drugs The Mind Unleashed Claire Bernish Dec 18, 2017 http://themindunleashed.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ecsss-1440x814.jpg In a bid to assist addicts, rather than lock users in cages, Norway’s parliament voted last week to decriminalize all drugs — citing Portugal and its general success lowering addiction and incarceration rates, getting those who need it into treatment, and drastically reducing crime and other issues related to the illegality of substances for personal use — thus, becoming the first Scandinavian nation to do so. Four major political parties campaigned in favor of the revolutionary shift in policy, and a majority vote <http://mixmag.net/read/norway-votes-in-favour-of-drug-decriminalisation-news> in Storting, Norwegian parliament, brought to fruition their efforts to, as Nicolas Wilkinson, health spokesman for the Socialist Left (SV) party, explained <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/norway-parliament-drugs-decriminal…> , “stop punishing people who struggle, but instead give them help and treatment.” “It is important to emphasise that we do not legalise cannabis and other drugs, but we decriminalise,” Storting Health Committee Deputy Chairman Sveinung Stensland told <https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/rusmidler/historisk-i-stortinget-slutt-…> national publication, VG. “The change will take some time, but that means a changed vision: those who have a substance abuse problem should be treated as ill, and not as criminals with classical sanctions such as fines and imprisonment.” The Independent reports <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/norway-parliament-drugs-decriminal…> the parties backing the measure included the Conservatives (Hoyre), Liberals (Venstre), the Labor Party (Ap), and the Socialist Left (SV) — with those voting in favor of full decriminalization directing the Norwegian government to reform its drug policies accordingly. It wasn’t just the relative success <http://pontiactribune.com/2015/04/portugals-success-story-decriminalizing-a…> in Portugal that motivated Norwegian politicians to act in addicts’ better interests, but Norway’s own timid experimentations with decriminalization. Newsweek reports <http://www.newsweek.com/norway-wants-decriminalize-drugs-748356> of the historic vote, “It’s a big next step for the Scandinavian country, which has been dancing around the possibility of decriminalization for several years. In 2006, it started to test a program that would sentence drug users to treatment programs, rather than jail, in the cities Bergen and Oslo. In early 2016, the country gave Norwegian courts the option to do this on a national level.” “The goal is that more addicts will rid themselves of their drug dependency and fewer will return to crime,” Justice Minister Anders Anundsen, quoted by <http://www.newsweek.com/norway-wants-decriminalize-drugs-748356> Newsweek, asserted at the time. “But if the terms of the programme are violated, the convicts must serve an ordinary prison term.” In the broadest strokes, this mimicked what Portuguese officials initiated on July 1, 2001, with its groundbreaking — indeed, all but unheard of at the time — decision to offer compassion and effective patient care for addicts wanting treatment, while saying no to the U.S.-led and utterly failed planetary war on drugs. Mic elaborated <https://mic.com/articles/110344/14-years-after-portugal-decriminalized-all-…> on Portugal’s policies in February 2015, “If someone is found in the possession of less than a 10-day supply of anything from marijuana to heroin, he or she is sent to a three-person Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction, typically made up of a lawyer, a doctor and a social worker. The commission recommends treatment or a minor fine; otherwise, the person is sent off without any penalty. A vast majority of the time, there is no penalty.” With nonviolent drug offenders cramped into overcrowded prisons, decriminalization frees space for violent criminals and others most traditionally given lengthy prison terms, while clearing overstuffed court dockets and freeing resources needed in other areas of law enforcement. Portugal had experienced the worst of opioid crises and the highest proportion of drug-related AIDS deaths in the European Union prior to mass decriminalization, notes <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/norway-parliament-drugs-decriminal…> the Independent — which notes the nation now ranks second lowest in the same for all drug-related deaths. Further, as journalist Glenn Greenwald, who authored an oft-cited Cato Institute white paper, Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies, published in April 2009, reiterated <http://www.newsweek.com/greenwald-what-portugal-can-teach-us-about-decrimin…> for Newsweek two years ago, “none of the nightmare scenarios touted by preenactment decriminalization opponents — from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for ‘drug tourists’ — has occurred.” Nonetheless, decriminalization hasn’t garnered unanimous support among parliament — detractors cite both legitimate and propagandically false information in argument — and concerns linger over the ostensive message sent to criminals, addicts, and users, when punitive measures are considerably loosened. Portugal, the Netherlands, Uruguay, and a smattering of locations and cultures around the world — and, now, Norway — have opted for the common sense and proven efficacious treatment of addicts as patients in medical need, instead of wholly useless punishment and incarceration. Although a smattering of articles in the international press reporting on decriminalization in Norway included <http://www.ladbible.com/news/news-norway-has-just-decriminalised-drugs-to-g…> ‘several U.S. states’ among those having loosened drug laws, it must be noted the legalization and decriminalization measures in various states — and, almost exclusively pertaining to cannabis, only — come weighted with governmental red tape and sticky fingers in the form of questionable taxation codes, restrictions, and more. And the United States remains gripped in the dark vortex of a spiraling opioid crisis — a situation mirroring that of Portugal years ago. In September, economist and professor, Jeffrey Miron, of Harvard University and the Cato Institute, opined <https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/could-legalizing-all-drugs-sol…> for Fortune the probable benefits should America choose to examine the crisis sans the goggles of decades of anti-drug propaganda, asking, “Could Legalizing All Drugs Solve America’s Opioid Crisis?” Miron concludes <https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/could-legalizing-all-drugs-sol…> , appropriately, “Around the world, liberal drug policies have had great success in reducing the harms from drug addiction, such as HIV and overdoses. Faced with a raging opioid crisis, the U.S. would be wise to model its own drug policy after countries that have undergone similar experiences.” Indeed <https://merryjane.com/news/portugal-drug-decriminalization-more-effective-t…> . http://themindunleashed.com/2017/12/norways-parliament-votes-to-decriminali… _____ ----- End forwarded message -----

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RAYZER'S WET DREAM COME TRUE: BITCOIN CRASHES LOL
by Gaycoin 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

Coin went from ~20K to almost half it's value in a few days. 1,000,000.00 100,000.00 10,000.00 <--- You are here 1,000.00 100.00 10.00 1.00 0.01 Plebbit is in full meltdown. This faggot lost it all: reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/7leq7t/bought_at_19500_ama/ Pic related. Should have invested in Gaycoin. Lol.

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Vinay Gupta (Ethereum Project ) on BTC
by g2s 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

"It's becoming increasingly necessary to split the "making the internet work properly" faction from the "holy shit free money" faction in the crypto-currency situation. THERE IS NO FREE MONEY. There's only risk: if we can't make the global economy more efficient, your BTC hits $0" Thread https://twitter.com/leashless/status/944379528322994176

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Fw: Fwd: Fw: WHAT HAPPENED?
by Happy Birthday ! 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

> Marina Brown catskillmarina at gmaíl.com > Fri Dec 22 13:03:42 PST 2017 > It would be ever so nice if the list got back > to talking about privacy and cryptography This is a political list. Privacy and Cryptography are two of many topics. Though Socialism and Gommunism are the same thing. > rather than worshipping hitler. You're the only one bringing up Hitler. Pic related. Some say he did nothing wrong. I disagree. Joyful Yuletide to you and your cats, Marina.

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Re: RAYZER'S WET DREAM COME TRUE: BITCOIN CRASHES LOL
by g2s 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

Read the Vinay Gupta post. null

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RAYZER'S WET DREAM COME TRUE: BITCOIN CRASHES LOL
by Happy Birthday ! 23 Dec '17

23 Dec '17

> grarpamp grarpamp at gmaíl.com > Fri Dec 22 13:33:54 PST 2017 > plebbit > non-broken links Lol. Pic related. > Cryptocurrency is still early days McAfee agrees. Though I think he might be a terrorist. Second pic related. Joyful Yuletide to you and your family, grarpamp.

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