From: Lucky Green <shamrock@netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 1997 16:46:05 +0800
To: Tim May <cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: Re: Dr. Dobbs CD-ROM outside the US?
In-Reply-To: <3.0.2.32.19970903220104.006f2348@netcom10.netcom.com>
Message-ID: <3.0.2.32.19970904013353.0076a3d8@netcom10.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 10:48 PM 9/3/97 -0700, Tim May wrote:
>Since when does it take 48 hours for a FedEx delivery to Europe?

Actually, some recent FedEx packages I sent to Europe took about that long.
Add   to that the overhead of going to the mailbox and putting it up for
ftp and 48 hours is cutting it pretty close.

>(Not to mention a direct transmissio, except there the chances of detection
>are actually greater.)

That depends. Some printed matter I sent to Europe not too long ago arrived
with a tag stating that diversion to certain countries would be in
violation of US export laws. I am not 100% certain, but I do not recall
that tag being on the box when it was shipped from the mailbox place. Which
suggests that somebody along the way opened the package and inspected its
contents.  When asking FedEx about this, the clerk assured me that it was
routine for US customs to inspect outgoing packages. The clerk seemed quite
confused that I was unaware of this fact.

I strongly suspect that if some Cyphercriminals were to aid in exporting
the information contained on that CDROM, they would use electronic means. I
may be wrong.

OK, I'll offer a prize: $10 in Ecash to the person that best predicts the
time it will take to export the entire contents of the Dr. Dobbs crypto CD.
The time span of interest is the average of the time during which the first
three US purchasers stating they received the CD and the time its contents
are received by a European or Asian crypto archive as determined by its
curator. If no US purchasers provide me with the time at which they
received their CD, I will use the time at which I received my CD. I am the
final judge of the contest.

Entries go to me, not to the list.


--Lucky Green <shamrock@netcom.com>
  PGP encrypted mail preferred.
  DES is dead! Please join in breaking RC5-56.
  http://rc5.distributed.net/