From: Dale Thorn <dthorn@gte.net>
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 11:08:08 -0800 (PST)
To: "Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM" <dlv@bwalk.dm.com>
Subject: Re: PGP Security
In-Reply-To: <5PTX4D3w165w@bwalk.dm.com>
Message-ID: <33342DE2.30BD@gte.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM wrote:
> Suppose I want to bet $1000 that Chris Platt's cat, "Ben", won't be
> assassinated until the end of March in some excruciatingly painful way
> (say, skinned alive, soaked in acid, and cut into pieces with an
> acetilene torch :-). What protocols can someone use to bet against me
> and to collect the winnings? (Assume that I'll cheerfully pay up if
> I lose, and that the other party wants to remain anonymous.)

Like Christians and lions - could scalpers resell the bets for a
commission?  Will we have to create an organization of escrow
agents to process the paper?  The possibilities are mind-numbing.

> Another thought just occurred to me - LEA's often advertize hotlines for
> anonymous tips - a "stukach" is given a code and if his tip works,
> supposedly collects a payoff. Doesn't he have to give his ss# so his
> income can be taxed?

Well, the feds will have to create massive new databases to track
the "street" language that develops around this stuff, so they can
present the "untainted evidence" of "intent" in court, in case they
can't establish a conventional audit trail.

The feds have supposedly been using the old "compartmentalization"
(multi-tier) technique of running their illegal operations, where
one layer (essential for tracing) can be eliminated by eliminating
one person in some cases, so maybe something along that line will
do the job here.