textfiles/groups/DAMAGEINC/damage.015

     ____ _____________ ___________ _____
 ____\  |_\_  |  _ _  |_\_  |  _  |  _  |__________       _   _   ___
 |   _  |  _  |  | |  |  _  |  |  |  |  |-| _ |   | ______\   |     /___
 |   |  |  |  |  | |  |  |  |____ |  ___| | | | |-| \         |zZ!     /___
 l______|_____|__|-|__|_____|__/__|___\___|_|_|___|_  ___________ ___________
                      |  _  |  _  |  |-|  | ___/_  |  |  _ \_ __/_|_ _  |    \_
 D a m a g e , I N C .|  |  |  |  |  | |  |___  |  |  |  |  | \_  _/ |  |  |__/
                      |  |  |  ___|  | |  |  |  |  |--|  ___|  |  |  ___|  |
 N e w s l e t t e r  |__|__|___\ |_______|_____|_____|___\ |__|__|___\ |__|

                               Volume 2, Issue #15
                              (Released:  05/31/99)

                            "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

                            http://surf.to/damage_inc
                           email:  damage_inc@dope.org

ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
                                C O N T E N T S :

þ INTRODUCTION - An Introduction to the Damage, INC. Newsletter.

þ ADVISORIES - More information on telco mergers and alliances.
   ¯ Search String: {ADVISORIES}

þ BIG BROTHER BASHING - TEMPEST Eavesdropping.
   ¯ Search String: {BIG BROTHER}

þ BLACKENED'S TIP OF THE MONTH - Detecting phone taps Part 1.
   ¯ Search String: {BLACKENED}

þ BREAKER'S REVIEWS - H/P Con Reviews.
   ¯ Search String: {REVIEWS}

þ CONSPIRACIES AND COVERUPS - Bob Lazar/Area S-4 Part 2:  Lazar's experiences.
   ¯ Search String: {COVERUPS}

þ CROSSED WIRES - Advertisement for CyberCrime International Magazine.
   ¯ Search String: {WIRES}

þ H/P INFORMATION AND NEWS - Inside Merlin Mail.
   ¯ Search String: {H/P}

þ INTERVIEWS AND INTERROGATIONS - An interview with Overfien of 9x.
   ¯ Search String: {INTERVIEWS}

þ OBJECTIVE OPINIONS - America the Hateful.
   ¯ Search String: {OPINIONS}

þ REPORTS FROM THE FRONT - Intel's Pentium III chips and other privacy issues.
   ¯ Search String: {REPORTS}

þ THOUGHTS, POEMS AND CREATIVE WRITING - Oppression.
   ¯ Search String: {WRITING}

þ CLOSING COMMENTS - BLACKENED's Explanatory Closing Comments.
   ¯ Search String: {CLOSING}

ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ


< DISCLAIMER >

All articles contained in the Damage, INC. Newsletter are for informational
purposes only.  Damage, INC. is not responsible for how any of the information
presented is used.  It is not intended to be a manual with instructions to be
followed.  We won't be held responsible for any damages caused, illegal acts
committed etc. by our readers.  If/how you use the information given is entirely
up to you.


< COPYRIGHT NOTICE >

All articles and source code contained within this file are (C) Copyright by
Damage, INC. (unless stated otherwise).  No part of this work can be modified,
reproduced or changed in any way without the expressed written consent of
Damage, INC.  That means, electronically or otherwise, in part or in whole
this file must not be altered.  It cannot be included with any other releases.
You cannot claim that you wrote it, or alter any articles and source code that
has been written and Copyrighted by us.  Also, do *not* distribute any
Damage, INC. releases in "packages" with other text files or utilities.  They
must only be distributed alone in their present, original form.  You are
permitted to read and distribute the Damage, INC. Newsletter freely to quality
h/p boards only.

                         Copyright 1999 by Damage, INC.
                              All Rights Reserved.
_______________________________________________________________________________


INTRODUCTION:

"For Whom the Bell Tolls.  Time marches on."  - Metallica.  There's irony in
our use of that quote for this 15th issue.  As many of you know, the quote that
we've chosen for this issue is the name of a song, a movie and a book by
Ernest Hemmingway.  It's also a fairly common expression.  But that isn't why
I chose it.  And it wasn't selected just to spoof or mock Bell either.  I'll
attempt to explain.  Many unforseen, disturbing events have occurred in the last
two months or so.  On Thursday April 8th, 1999 the house of one my friends was
raided.  The RCMP in Quebec (along with the Provincial Police and Bell Canada
security officials) performed a search and seizure at the residence of
THC Phreak, a Damage, INC. Member.  With a search warrant in hand, they broke in
and proceeded to gather up everything with an electric cord attached, including
all of his computer and electronics equipment, stereo equipment, disks and CDs,
etc.  They also confiscated hard copy materials such as manuals, documents,
scrap paper, etc.  Basically, anything that was near his computer system on the
desk, shelves or stored in drawers.  Everything was hauled away and taken into
their custody, excluding clothing, furniture and large household appliances such
as his dishwasher, fridge and stove.  Other than that, everything was removed
from the premises.  With complete and utter disregard for his humble dwelling
and belongings, they broke two of his doors down and ransacked the house.  They
charged in like cowboys with their guns drawn, hands on their triggers.  He was
placed in custody (in handcuffs) and questioned by a detective with an officer
standing guard.  Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience for him, nor
did I feel too good after he told me about what happened.

Here's the irony.  I chose the quote for this issue several weeks before any
of this occurred, after having been in contact (not by choice) with Ma Bell.
Originally, it was meant towards them... and them alone.  However, that all
changed once I was notified of THC Phreak being busted.  So, the *least* that
I can do is dedicate this issue to him.  Man, I had heard that the RCMP in
Quebec are a bunch of goons that love doing this type of shit (from Err418,
THC Phreak and others) but now they've really shown their true colours.  I
can't go into detail regarding any circumstances of the case, since I don't
want to do anything that will adversely affect THC Phreak.  But I can say
that once again I'm sickened by the actions of the RCMP.  Those power tripping,
trigger happy, bust hungry bastards have proven once again that they have
absolutely no respect for the rights of citizens and are just out to destroy
people's lives at any cost.  They're as bad as the Secret Service in the U.S.
No matter what I say, I cannot go far enough in bashing them.  And each time
the RCMP is publicly humiliated and discredited, they get away with it.  They
aren't bothered in the least by bad publicity.  They might even enjoy their
image of corruptness.  They don't follow the laws of this country.  In fact,
they're allowed to break them at will by the corrupt judges that are without
ethics and have no conscience.  To say that is pisses me off is an extreme
understatement.  I'm extremely angry over this whole situation.  What evidence
did they have to get a search warrant signed?  If they'd been monitoring his
activities for months (like they claimed to be), why the hell couldn't they
have given him a warning?  Is it legal for non-law enforcement personnel to
be present at the time of a search and seizure, witnessing the arrest?  Plus,
even though this will be his first offence, they admitted that they want to make
an example out of him in court while interrogating him.  Is it proper to make
statements such as that while the person is supposed to be innocent until proven
guilty?  Fuck the RCMP and their lame investigations of innocent people.  They
victimize people without any reason or cause.  In my opinion THC Phreak is
being used as a scapegoat and they gave him the shortest straw.  They want to
punish someone, *anyone* for what they believe to exist in Quebec.  That is,
they actually think he's involved in some sort of crime ring.  <shaking my head>
Obviously he isn't and the so-called conspiracy they're seeking to unravel is
only real in their puny minds.  So, they hastily decided to go after him and
make him into their poster boy of the moment.

I had instructed THC Phreak before this that if something like this ever
happens, not to volunteer any information or say anything that would harm him
or the rest of the group.  However, I'm sure that I'm under investigation now
as well... even though I don't believe he would turn on us and rat us out like
that.  In my last brief conversation with him, I advised him to get a competent
lawyer that understands the laws pertaining to "computer crimes".  I also told
him that I'd assist him in whatever ways I can, including testifying on his
behalf (as a character witness or whatever) if necessary.

Finally, I just want it to be known that THC Phreak won't be forgotten.  He
won't just fade to black.  Even though I only knew him for approximately a
year, I consider him to be a good friend of mine.  In that short time, I
spoke with him often enough to get to know him well.  It is of my opinion
that he won't just quit and allow "the system" to destroy him.  Meaning, I
honestly don't think he'll plea bargain with them and plead guilty.  He always
said that he'd fight it out, and I believe he will fight until the end.
Hopefully he'll win, but with the fucked up laws in this country, in order to
be found not guilty he'll have to go against the odds that are stacked against
him.  At this point, nothing is in his favour, including his age.  So, he does
have a fighting chance, but it won't be easy by any means.

The RCMP just invites these kinds of attacks against them.  I'm definitely
not going to back down from those corrupt pigs, even though it could be used
against me as "evidence".  In fact, I don't give a fuck what happens.  If they
want to try to arrest me, they will meet some opposition as I'm not just going
to lay down and die.  So, a resounding "FUCK YOU!" goes out to the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police force and their petty show of force.  We're never going
to back down, so if you want to fuck with Damage, INC. then go right ahead.


ADVISORIES -                                                   {ADVISORIES}
More information on telco mergers and alliances.

In the last two months, telcos all over the world have been busy merging into
a conjoined mess of bigger, fatter telcos.  While it isn't possible for us to
tell you about every telco merger, we will keep you informed on what the
greediest telcos are doing.  If you want to keep track of all telco mergers, the
internet is a good tool for that.  On the Damage, INC. web site, there is a
links page dedicated to telcos.  That is a good starting point.

          "MCI WorldCom and Bell Canada Forge Strategic Alliance"
           -----------------------------------------------------

On March 3, 1999, MCI WorldCom and Bell Canada announced that they have formed
an alliance to "provide seamless North American and global services to
customers."  The alliance will create an opportunity for businesses to use MCI
WorldCom's and Bell Canada's resources to obtain North America wide voice and
data services, as well as MCI WorldCom's On-Net global services from a "single
point of contact."

This alliance has been brewing since 1992, as Bell Canada has been developing a
closer relationship with MCI WorldCom.  Together, those customers that want to
use the alliance cab gain access to MCI WorldCom's On-Net, which boasts of being
"the industry's" first single, high-capacity, end-to-end network."  Bell's
network is a monopoly that has over seven million residential customers and does
business with Canada's biggest and greediest businesses.  Their Canadian
customers will have "easy access" to MCI WorldCom services that Bell is unable
or unwilling to provide.

"MCI WorldCom's agreement with Bell Canada strengthens the competitive positions
of both our companies.  By partnering with Bell Canada, we extend the MCI
WorldCom On-Net global services portfolio into Canada, building upon the
company's seamless North American network platform," said Walter Schonfeld,
senior vice president, Alliances, MCI WorldCom.  "MCI WorldCom experienced 120
percent growth in Canada-U.S. cross-border data communications over the past two
years alone, already the largest business telecommunications corridor in the
world," added Schonfeld.

Terry Jarman, president and CEO of Bell Nexxia, added "to reach out to new
markets, streamline operations, and generate new revenues, Bell's customers need
to be able to conduct business on a North American and a global basis as
effortlessly as they do at home.  By working with MCI WorldCom, we will deliver
this competitive advantage to our customers."

Specific services that Bell Canada can extend to its customers through MCI
WorldCom are "an enhanced set of voice and data products including managed
international private line, frame relay, ATM and virtual voice and call center
services."  In return, Bell Canada will give MCI WorldCom all its non-Canadian
customers that currently obtain similar (poorer) services.

Bell and MCI WorldCom estimate that the alliance will be active in the first
quarter of 2000.  Bell Canada's masterstroke is that this alliance kills the
deal that MCI WorldCom has with the (Canadian) Stentor Alliance.  The Stentor
Alliance is a weak group of Canadian telcos, most of which are owned by BCE.
Customers that are in other Canadian telco monopoly regions (BCT.Telus, etc.)
will continue to obtain services from MCI WorldCom until the alliance with Bell
Canada takes full effect.

"MCI WorldCom is a global communications company with revenue of more than
$30 billion and established operations in over 65 countries encompassing the
Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions.  MCI WorldCom is a premier
provider of facilities-based and fully integrated local, long distance,
international and Internet services.  MCI WorldCom's global networks, including
its state-of-the-art pan-European network and transoceanic cable systems,
provide end-to-end high-capacity connectivity to more than 40,000 buildings
worldwide. For more information on MCI WorldCom, visit the World Wide Web at
www.wcom.com ."

"Bell Canada, the largest Canadian telecommunications operating company, markets
a full range of state-of-the-art products and services to more than seven
million business and residential customers in Ontario and Quebec.  Bell Canada's
Internet web site is located at www.bell.ca ."

            "AT&T Canada to Merge with MetroNet Communications"
             -------------------------------------------------

On March 4, 1999, America's Ma Bell continued its cable buying rampage as they
acquired 31% of MetroNet Communications, Canada's biggest "facilities-based
competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC)."  The deal is worth $7 Billion.
It was accomplished through Ma Bell's Canadian subsidiary, AT&T Canada.

"The merger of MetroNet and AT&T Canada will create Canada's premier
telecommunications company, to be called AT&T Canada Corp.  The merged company
will be the first national, network-based company to meet all of the telecom
needs of Canadian business customers with one-stop shopping for local and long
distance voice, data, Internet and electronic commerce solutions, as well as
wireless services through Cantel AT&T."

When the merger is approved, AT&T Canada will have an estimated revenue stream
starting at $1.4 billion, 4000+ employees, and over $3.5 billion in assets.

"The merger combines AT&T Canada's extensive customer base, nation-wide
facilities-based long distance network, powerful brand and global reach with
MetroNet's state-of-the-art telecommunications facilities, data networks and
over $900 million of cash to execute its strategy."

Because of Canadian regulations that currently don't allow foreign ownership of
telecom companies (GTE's ownership of BC Tel predates this law), AT&T Corp. owns
31% of shares, while Metronet shareholders will "indirectly" own 69%.  The
merged company, which will include ACC TelEnterprises, will market its services
under the AT&T Canada brand.  Once Ma Bell is allowed to own Canadian companies,
I'm certain that they'll "complete" the transaction by owning 100% of the new
AT&T Canada.

In fact, Ma Bell wants to purchase all the outstanding shares through another
Canadian entity to get around the Canadian regulation.  All of the shares
currently held by MetroNet shareholders for the greater of at least C$75 per
share or the then appraised fair market value, AT&T shares, or a combination
of both.  The exact timing will likely be partially dependent upon the future
status of federal foreign ownership regulations.

"The complementary strengths and assets of these companies make the `fit' of
 this merger perfect for customers," said Dan Somers, Chairman of AT&T Canada
 Corp. and Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AT&T.
 "MetroNet customers gain access to AT&T Canada's established long-distance
 voice and data network and the vast AT&T global network; AT&T Canada customers
 gain access to the country's most modern local service networks."

"This transaction is fantastic for our customers, our shareholders, and Canadian
 telecommunications overall," said Craig Young, President and Chief Executive
 Officer of MetroNet Communications.  "Our customers will immediately have
 access to not only an advanced, end-to-end national network for `any distance'
 and `any bandwidth' service, but to a global network and services, supported by
 the world's preeminent name in telecommunications."

"The boards of directors of the companies have approved the transaction, which
MetroNet shareholders will be asked to approve at a shareholder meeting expected
to be held in May, 1999.  If approved by MetroNet shareholders, the merger of
the companies is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of
1999."

The combined company will try to sell "a full suite of advanced business
telecommunications solutions completely over a state-of-the art network, from
basic local dial tone to global data networking."  

"The network of the combined company will boast national, high-speed fibre-optic
capabilities with unequalled bandwidth for local and long distance voice, data
and Internet services.  Backed by the unparalleled reliability of SONET rings
and with more border crossings than any other telecommunications provider in
Canada, the merged company will be able to deliver the finest global solutions
of any telecom company in Canada."

"A new Board of Directors for MetroNet with 12 members will be assembled, on
which AT&T Corp. will have 4 seats upon consummation of the transaction."

"Jim Meenan will serve as Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the new
company, Craig Young will serve as Vice Chairman and President, and Bob Bicksler
will serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  Other
senior management appointments will  be announced as merger integration
planning commences and the new board is assembled."

          Merger of AT&T Canada and MetroNet Communications
                  Summary of Combined Company

Combined Company Name: AT&T Canada Corp.

Estimated 1999 Revenues: Approximately $1.4 billion (85% from business
                         customers).

Property, Plant and Equipment: Nearly $2.0 billion.

Total Assets: More than $3.5 billion.

Total Employees: More than 4,000.

Sales Employees: More than 700.

Local Service Access Lines: Approximately 200,000.

Long Distance Minutes: Approximately 5 billion.

Internet subscribers: Approximately 165,000.

Buildings Accessed: Over 2,400.

Fiber Optic Intracity Route Kilometres: More than 3,800.

Fiber Optic Long Distance Route Kilometres: Nearly 16,000 (includes intercity
and cross border fibre routes currently being constructed by MetroNet).

Frame Relay Switches: More than 70.

ATM Switches: More than 400.

About AT&T Canada Corp.:

AT&T  Canada Corp., a pioneer in competitive long distance, is a national,
facilities-based telecommunications carrier serving business and residential
customers with a variety of long-distance voice and data services.  AT&T Canada
delivers service from 147 offices across the country, including 40 sales
offices.  ACC TelEnterprises, a member of the AT&T Canada family, is one of
Canada's largest resellers of telecommunications services, including long
distance, Internet, paging, toll free, local line and data services, and is a
particularly strong competitor in the university, affinity and small business
markets.  More information about AT&T Canada can be found on the company's web
site at: www.attcanada.com.

About MetroNet Communications:

Built for Business', MetroNet Communications is Canada's first national provider
of local telecommunications services and the country's largest competitive local
exchange carrier (CLEC).  Deploying the most advanced fibre-optic networking and
switching platforms, MetroNet offers business and government customers across
the country a full suite of local and long distance voice, data and Internet
services with one point of contact, excellent customer service and competitive
pricing.  MetroNet is a public company with its common stock traded on the
Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges under the symbol MNC.B and on the NASDAQ
National Market System under the symbol METNF.  Visit MetroNet's web site,
www.metronet.ca , for more information about the company.

               "BCE and Ameritech Form Strategic Partnership"
                --------------------------------------------

BCE, Canada's Ma Bell, has been crying lately that it isn't fat enough to
compete globally.  Well, on March 24, 1999, BCE added $5.1 billion in Canadian
funds to its girth.  In exchange, BCE's new partner Ameritech obtains 20% of
Bell Canada, BCE's most engorged, monopolistic child.

"Under terms of the partnership, Ameritech will invest approximately C $5.1
billion (US $3.4 billion) for a 20% minority stake in Bell Canada, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of BCE and Canada's premier telecommunications company,
which is being reorganized to hold certain telecommunications assets previously
held by BCE. Following the investment, BCE will retain 80% ownership of Bell
Canada.  The binding agreement has received approval of the companies' boards
of directors and is expected to close by the end of May, pending customary
regulatory approvals."

"This partnership assures Bell Canada's place at the forefront of the global
communications industry," said Jean C. Monty, BCE president and chief executive
officer, "while keeping Bell Canada firmly under Canadian control. The
partnership with Ameritech a talented, high-performance partner with a global
record of success significantly augments the scale and resources of Bell
Canada and will translate into greater choice, and innovation for our
customers."

Monty stated that BCE would use the money to invest in its other children that
are involved in "high-growth sectors such as electronic commerce, satellite
services, systems integration and content."  BCE is also considering a share
buy-back program to partially offset the loss of revenue caused taking only 80
percent of Bell Canada's huge profits.  Typical BCE behaviour.  They gain $3.4
billion in American cash, and still cry poor because they lose 20% of Bell
Canada's money pot.  <Shaking my Head>

"Ameritech is excited to partner with Bell Canada, which will strengthen our
international position and speed our global growth," said Richard C. Notebaert,
chairman and chief executive officer of Ameritech. "As the largest foreign
investor in European communications, Ameritech brings Bell Canada unparalleled
experience in international partnerships.  Through this strategic partnership
we will share best practices, speed new products to market and develop new
growth opportunities--delivering benefits to customers, shareowners and
employees in Canada and the United States."

As mentioned above, there must be restructuring within BCE and Bell Canada
in order to complete the transaction.  First of all, Bell Canada and
Ameritech will trade people (just like any other commodity to these fat cat
companies), cooperation in sales and marketing, and the exchange of
operational knowledge and strategic skills.

Bell Canada had to be fattened like a sacrificial cow in order for it to be
attractive to Ameritech.  BCE will give Bell Canada the following:  65% of
BCE Mobile Communications Inc., BCE's equity in NewTel, Bruncor (holding
company for NBTel), MT&T, Northwestel, and T‚l‚bec.  Bell Canada will also
retain possession of its shares of BCE Nexxia, Bell ActiMedia, and Manitoba
Telecom Services Inc.  Basically, BCE is sharing with Bell Canada the title of
"Ma Bell."  Based on these holdings and on a pro forma basis, Bell Canada had
1998 revenues of C $12.7 billion (US $8.3 billion), assets of C $20 billion
(US $13.2 billion) and 43,000 employees.

Ameritech and Bell Canada will also share technologies, like Ameritech's
new Privacy Manager service (see REPORTS FROM THE FRONT for more details)
and Bell Canada's profitable voice mail services.

BCE Inc./Bell Canada/Ameritech

Highlights of terms of the partnership:

A. Ameritech to make a 20 per cent equity investment for C $5.1 billion (US
   $3.4 billion)

B. Key features of the agreement will include:

    o Marketing sales co-operation
    o Exchange of know-how
    o Traffic exchange
    o Seek other business opportunities

C. Ameritech is entitled to:

    o Nominate two directors to the Bell Canada board (out of ten).
    o Nominate one director to the BCE Mobile board.
    o Appoint the CFO of Bell Canada. Plus the two way exchange of
      approximately 15 professionals.

D. The agreement also provides for other customary rights between the two
   companies.

Reorganization of Bell Canada:

Bell Canada will acquire from BCE the following investments:

* 65% of BCE Mobile Communications Inc., a wireless company with 2 million
  customers.
* 21.5% of Teleglobe Inc., a provider of international telecommunications
  services
* BCE's equity investments in six regional Canadian telecommunications
  companies.

Bell Canada will transfer to BCE:

* its investments in BCE Emergis Inc., an electronic commerce company
* its investments in CGI Group Inc., the largest information technology
  consulting company in Canada
* its investment in Telesat Canada, the country's leading satellite
  services supplier

As a result, on a net aggregate basis, Bell Canada will be acquiring C $4.1
billion of additional investments at market value (C $2.8 billion book
value) in telecommunications services companies and will be assuming C $2.4
billion of additional indebtedness owed to BCE.

            Four Atlantic Canada Telcos merge to form AtlanticCo.
            -----------------------------------------------------

On March 22, 1999, Maritime Telephone & Telegraph Co., Bruncor Inc. (holding
company for NBTel), Island Telecom Inc. and NewTel Enterprises announced that
they would be merging into a new company named AtlanticCo.  Although this merger
was very newsworthy in Canada, it is a joke.  MT&T, Bruncor, and NewTel are all
owned by BCE.  As you read above, Bell Canada will gain control of these three
telcos once the partnership with Ameritech is finalized.  Island Tel has been
joined with fat BCE at the hip for decades, and is a proud member of the Stentor
Alliance.  The truth of the matter is that these four telcos have all been
puppets of BCE since the beginning as far as Damage, INC. is concerned.

The name of the new company is "AtlanticCo".  "With an initial market
capitalization of $2.8 billion, it will be launched as a growth company with
four core lines of business: telecommunications, information technology (IT),
mobile satellite communications, and emerging business.  The merged company
would be one of the largest private sector employers in Atlantic Canada, with
almost 9,000 employees.  Stephen Wetmore, President & CEO of NewTel
Enterprises, has been named President & CEO of the new company, and Lino
Celeste, Chairman of Bruncor, has been named Chairman of the Board of
Directors."

After the merger takes effect, AtlanticCo will become the third largest
telco in Canada, behind Bell Canada and BCT.Telus.  AtlanticCo has
estimated total revenues of $1.7 billion.  AtlanticoCo companies boast that
they will be "one of the largest mobile satellite service companies in the
world."  Seems like the telcos are still extremely rich, even though a lot
of their customers can't find employment.

"In addition, our combined IT operations, with more than 1,800 professionals,
will make us the second largest Canadian owned information technology services
company," said Fred Morash, president of Island Tel.  "As well, our range of
investments in emerging businesses, positions AtlanticCo for growth in these
emerging markets."

As Damage, INC. has known for years, Morash stated that AtlanticCo "is deepening
its relationship with BCE and the Bell Canada subsidiaries."  "We have entered
into a Strategic Alliance Agreement with BCE which gives us access to
intellectual property and telecommunications services which we can then deliver
to our customers," he said.

Despite the fact that the four Atlantic Canada telcos are merging, they are all
going to keep their current names.  As an example, Morash stated at the press
conference that the Island Tel logo will still be used on Prince Edward Island
because they want to fool customers into assuming that nothing has changed.
They want customers to believe that the Atlantic telcos don't want to be big and
fat... like telcos in the rest of the world.  These telcos have a terrible lack
of respect for the intelligence of their customers (just like the other telcos
around the world).

AtlanticCo's information technology business represents the aligning of two
Atlantic Canada-based IT powerhouses: xwave solutions and MITI.  "We will grow
our IT business by focusing on the total technology needs of clients in telecom,
oil and gas, and public sectors worldwide," Morash said.  "We will be adding to
our 1,800 employees in our centres of expertise across the country and
internationally."  AtlanticCo IT business units are located in St. John's,
Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Calgary, Edmonton, and Dallas.

The mobile satellite communications business will be driven through AtlanticCo's
60% ownership in Stratos Global Corporation.  Through this investment AtlanticCo
will be a major player in satellite communications worldwide.

Morash emphasized that AtlanticCo, in line with the general restructuring which
has been taking place in the industry, will see a rebalancing of employment from
traditional areas of operation to the growth areas of the business.  These
losers will never admit that a huge factor in mergers is to eliminate jobs.
Such is the case of the new AtlanticCo.

                        Bell Canada moves into security
                        -------------------------------

Bell builds ``smart home'' foundation with Bell Gardium 

Montr‚al, Qu‚bec (March 17, 1999) - By moving into the security industry
with Bell Gardium security products, Bell Canada is taking the first step
toward providing a full range of automated services for the residential and
business markets. This move will springboard Bell into the future of the
``smart home'' concept, by providing integration of video, audio and data
systems to automate and manage appliances.

``In the near future, probably using an Internet platform, Bell Gardium
will integrate many smart home features,'' said Louise Villeneuve, Vice
President, Home Services, Bell Canada, and Chief Operating Officer, Bell
Gardium. ``Consumers will be able to use Bell Gardium products to create an
intelligent home or office system that can, for example, turn on lights,
boot up a computer, control a sprinkler system, manage energy consumption
or warm up the cottage for Friday evening arrival.''

Bell's entry into the residential and office automation market will allow
homes and businesses to improve their security, comfort and communications.

Bell Gardium security products 

The company is capitalizing on the 20 per cent growth rate expected in the
home security business. By 2005, it is estimated that 25 to 33 per cent of
North American households will be equipped with monitored security systems.

``Bell Gardium security products help fulfill Bell's strategy to be a
full-service company that responds to consumers' needs, be they
communications, information, transactions or entertainment,'' Villeneuve
added. ``Bell's reputation for reliability, customer service and advancing
new technologies sets the stage for Bell Gardium and its commitment to
offer added value to its residential and business customers.''

Bell Gardium products are monitored security systems that provide safety,
security and peace of mind by protecting property from burglary, smoke and
fire, natural gas or propane leaks, flooding, sump pump failures or heating
malfunctions. Consumers can obtain Bell Gardium security products at
competitive prices and benefit from discounts from 5 to 20 per cent on
household insurance.

Bell Gardium also provides magnetic access-card control to restrict entry
into sensitive areas or closed-circuit television for monitoring locations
such as hallways or front walks.

For as little as $24.95 a month, residential and small-business customers
can enjoy peace of mind with Bell Gardium's security package, that includes
the basic equipment and around-the-clock monitoring. Other features such as
additional door and window contacts, smoke detectors and motion detectors
that can differentiate between pets and humans are also available.

Consumers can purchase Bell Gardium security products by calling
1-877-268-4273 or by visiting Bell Phonecentre stores in Ontario and
T‚l‚boutique Bell and Espace Bell stores in Qu‚bec. Information about Bell
Gardium products can be obtained on the Web site at www.bell.ca/gardium.

Bell Gardium Inc., formed in 1998 after Bell Canada acquired two security
companies, J. A. Provost of Montr‚al and Via Security Networks of Ottawa,
has approximately 120 employees, offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Montr‚al
with customers across Canada.


Bell Gardium is a trademark of Bell Canada.

For further information: 

Irene Shimoda 
Media Relations 
Bell Canada 
(416) 581-3311 
1 888 482-0809 
irene.shimoda@bell.ca  

Shirley Bishop 
Media Relations 
Bell Canada 
(514) 786-3655 
1 800 465-9625 
shirley.bishop@bell.ca  

I'll leave it up to you to decide whether "Bell" and "security" mix and
whether or not you'd rely on them for protecting and securing your home.
In my opinion though, it's just another example of a monopoly running wild
and trying to usurp other sectors of business.

                "BellSouth Takes 10 Percent Stake In Qwest"
                 -----------------------------------------

On April 19, 1999, BellSouth Corp. and Qwest Communications International
Inc. finalized their "strategic relationship that will significantly accelerate
the companies' efforts to provide a full set of integrated digital data, image
and voice communications services to their customers."

The two companies have summed up the most important features of their
"relationship."

*Qwest and BellSouth immediately begin coordinated marketing of services, with
Qwest offering its full portfolio of data networking, Internet and voice
services. BellSouth will offer a full complement of local networking services.

*Once BellSouth is allowed into the long distance business, the companies will
jointly develop and deliver a comprehensive set of end-to-end, high-speed data,
image and voice communications services to business customers, with a heavy
emphasis on the fast-growing broadband and Internet-based data services.
BellSouth will assume retail leadership with customers based in the South; Qwest
will provide support resources to assist BellSouth in the region as required,
with the primary emphasis of the Qwest sales force will be focused on the rest
of the country.

*And finally, as part of the agreement, BellSouth will invest approximately
$3.5 billion at $94.50 a share for about a 10 percent equity stake in Qwest.
Qwest will issue 20,350,000 new shares to BellSouth in exchange for
approximately $1.93 billion in cash. At BellSouth's request, Qwest's principal
stockholder, Anschutz Company, will sell 16,650,000 shares to BellSouth for
approximately $1.57 billion.  This will reduce Anschutz Company's ownership
interest in Qwest to approximately 39 percent. 

"This is a significant step in our objective of becoming the premier data
communications provider to our customers," said Duane Ackerman, Chairman and CEO
of BellSouth.  "This relationship allows our customers to enjoy the range of
benefits from a comprehensive set of Internet and broadband digital solutions."

"We are delighted to have this strategic relationship with a like-minded,
customer-focused company that is committed to offering customers end-to-end
high-speed communications services and who understands the tremendous potential
the Internet and data communications marketplace has to offer," said Joseph P.
Nacchio, Qwest Chairman and CEO. "Moving forward, the BellSouth/Qwest
relationship will provide customers with a comprehensive communications solution
set and global reach that is unmatched in the industry."

This strategic alliance will benefit both BellSouth and Qwest when BellSouth and
the rest of the RBOCs are allowed to compete in the long distance market.  When
this happens they plan to "offer long distance data and voice services, the
agreement will enable both of them to use each other's assets to develop
infrastructure and/or distribution capabilities in serving their respective
customers across the globe.  BellSouth has extensive operations throughout Latin
America as well as significant presence in Europe.  Qwest has a stronger
presence in Europe and is beginning to move into the Asia/Pacific and Latin
American regions.  In addition, the relationship will also use the strategic
alliances each has with key Internet and technology companies including
Microsoft, Cisco, Lotus and others to the customers' advantage."

              "AT&T and Comcast agree to swap cable systems."

On May 4, 1999, AT&T Corp. and Comcast Corporation "announced that they had
reached an agreement under which Comcast will be able to increase its cable
subscribers by about two million households and the two companies will
collaborate in bringing competitive local telephone service to Comcast's
customers."  This deal leaves the door wide open for Ma Bell to acquire
MediaOne Group, a cable company that Comcast previously had a merger agreement
with.

"Under the agreement, AT&T and Comcast will exchange various cable systems,
resulting in a net addition to Comcast of approximately 750,000 subscribers.
The swaps are designed to improve each company's geographic coverage by better
clustering its systems.  Because Comcast will receive more subscribers than it
is contributing in the swaps, it will pay AT&T consideration having a value of
approximately $4,500 per added subscriber for a total value of $3.0 to $3.5
billion.  The majority of the exchanges are subject to completion of the
AT&T/MediaOne merger, as well as to customary closing conditions."

"Comcast will also receive an option from AT&T to purchase, over the next three
years, additional cable systems with a total of approximately 1.25 million
subscribers.  The exercise of this option is also contingent on the completion
of the AT&T/MediaOne merger.  The price for these additional systems is expected
to be consideration having a value of approximately $5.7 billion (subject to
reduction for any long-term debt and other liabilities of the acquired
systems)."  In return, Comcast is required to offer Ma Bell's telephony services
in all of its "markets on an expedited basis" after AT&T completes separate
telephony agreements "with at least two other non-AT&T affiliated multiple
system operators."  Comcast has been guaranteed the sweetest deal, regardless
how Ma Bell makes out with the other cable companies.

"These agreements are great news for millions of American families who will now
have a choice in local phone service," said AT&T Chairman and CEO C. Michael
Armstrong.  "This transaction makes strategic sense for both companies.
Geographic clustering enables more effective telephony competition.  And AT&T is
proud to join with Comcast in bringing AT&T-branded communications services to
its customers."

"This is a terrific outcome for Comcast shareholders.  Through this transaction,
Comcast firmly establishes its leadership role in the industry by becoming the
third-largest cable company, with more than 8 million subscribers.  While
growing significantly in absolute terms, we have strengthened our local and
regional presence through additional clustering," said Brian L. Roberts,
President of Comcast Corporation. "In addition to these valuable cable assets,
this agreement greatly accelerates our entrance into telephony and will enable
us to more quickly create and provide important new products to our customers.
This is a different outcome than our MediaOne proposal, but it is an elegant
win-win result."

"Comcast Corporation is principally engaged in the development, management and
operation of broadband cable networks and in the provision of content through
principal ownership of QVC, Comcast-Spectacor and Comcast SportsNet, a
controlling interest in E! Entertainment Television and through programming
investments."

                         Ma Bell acquires MediaOne.

Scant days after AT&T received approval for its merger with TCI (see last
issue's ADVISORIES for more details), Ma Bell got her hooks into another big
telecom company.  On May 6, 1999, AT&T Corp. and MediaOne Group announced that
they "have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which MediaOne
Group's shareowners will receive .95 of a share of AT&T common stock and at
least $30.85 in cash for each share of MediaOne Group stock they own, the
companies said."

You may have heard that MediaOne finalized a merger agreement with Comcast.
However, MediaOne opted out of that agreement in order to take a much more
lucrative offer from fat Ma Bell.  In compensation for being dumped in favour of
Ma Bell, Comcast received a pre-agreed sum of $1.5 billion.

"This is an excellent agreement for consumers, who will be able to take full
advantage of packaged services on broadband networks," said Chuck Lillis,
MediaOne Group chairman and chief executive officer.  "Our shareowners are
getting great value for their investments, and more of the nation will get a
great competitive brand in the local phone market."

"Obviously, we're delighted," said C. Michael Armstrong, chairman and chief
executive officer of AT&T.  "We look forward to completing the merger as soon as
possible, probably in the first quarter of 2000, so millions of consumers will
have more choice in phone and Internet access services."

"MediaOne Group is one of the world's largest broadband communications
companies, bringing the power of broadband and the Internet to customers in the
United States, Europe and Asia.  The company also has interests in some of the
fastest-growing wireless communications businesses outside the U.S.  For 1998,
the businesses that comprise MediaOne Group produced $7.1 billion in
proportionate revenue."

   Ma Bell, Micro$oft cut a deal for the "deployment of broadband services."

The AT&T/MediaOne merger wasn't the only big deal that Ma Bell completed on May
6, 1999.  Ma Bell and the corrupt, mega fat cat corporation Micro$oft announced
a "series of agreements in which the companies will work together to accelerate
the deployment of next-generation broadband and Internet services to millions of
American homes."

"Under the agreements, Microsoft will purchase $5 billion of AT&T securities,
AT&T will increase its use of Microsoft's TV software platform in advanced
set-top devices, and both companies will work together to showcase new digital
cable services in two U.S. cities."

"We're gratified that Microsoft shares our strategy of using broadband cable to
bring a new generation of digital communications, information and entertainment
services to millions of American families," said AT&T Chairman and CEO C.
Michael Armstrong. "We look forward to expanding our relationship with Microsoft
and adding its creativity and technical know-how to our own.  This will
accelerate the work we're already doing with many other software and hardware
companies."

"Our agreement today represents an important step in Microsoft's vision of
making the Web lifestyle a reality," said Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates.
"Working with AT&T, a leader in the delivery of cable and telephony
technologies, we will expand access to an even richer Internet and television
experience for millions of people."

"AT&T said it will increase its use of Microsoft's Windows CE-based operating
system software in its digital set-top devices, which enable applications from a
number of companies to deliver communications, entertainment and information
services.  AT&T currently has a commitment to use the Windows CE-based system in
5 million set-top devices.  Under the non-exclusive agreement announced today,
AT&T will expand its Windows CE-based license to cover an additional 2.5 million
to 5 million set-top devices."

"Microsoft will pay $5 billion for newly issued AT&T convertible trust preferred
securities and warrants.  The preferred securities, which will have a face value
of $5 billion and be priced at $50 per security, will make a quarterly payment
of 62.5 cents per security.  The preferred securities, which will be convertible
into 66.7 million shares of AT&T common stock at a price of $75 per share, will
have a maturity of 30 years, and the conversion feature can be terminated, under
certain conditions, after three years.  The warrants will be exercisable in
three years to purchase 40 million AT&T common shares at a price of $75 per
share."

You may have heard that Micro$oft was interested in acquiring MediaOne out from
under Comcast and Ma Bell.  However, Micro$oft got a cut of MediaOne from Ma
Bell through this deal.  Micro$oft has gained 29.9% interest in Telewest
Communications plc previously owned by MediaOne through "tax-free exchange of
Microsoft shares, subject to certain approvals."  Once again, fat cat companies
have taken an independent company, thus eliminating competition.

              Nortel's Canadian plants waiting for axe to fall
              ------------------------------------------------

By Robert Cribb                                         Thursday, April 29, 1999
---------------
TorStar News Service

    If the hints and innuendo coming from Northern Telecom Ltd. executives offer
any glimpse into the company's future, its Belleville manufacturing plant could
be up for sale soon or closed altogether, say plant workers.  Light could be
shed on the subject as early as Friday (April 30) when union officials meet with
management.
    "They're not giving us any information," said Diane O'Brien-Harry,
chairwoman of the Canadian Auto Workers Union Local 1839, representing about 480
workers at the plant.  "I've never seen it so closed-mouth.  We're just hoping
it's going to be a sale at this point."
    And Belleville may only be the beginning.
    As the Brampton-based company, which is changing its name today to Nortel
Networks Corp. sheds its home-grown image to become a player in the global
economy, industry watchers say the company's Canadian plants have become and
endangered species.
    While Nortel officials are not saying anything about their Canadian
facilities, speculation among Belleville workers has turned to anxiety in light
of recent statements from Nortel executives and a "distinct" change in
atmosphere at the plant where about 1,200 people work.
    "There's definitely a lot of concern and stress here," said O'Brien-Harry.
"The company has made it clear that its vision doesn't include manufacturing.
Clearly, there will be an impact here.  I wouldn't rule out anything at this
point."
    Jacques Guerette, a Nortel spokesman, said that while his company has
already announced an intention to move away from its traditional role as a
manufacturer, it is making no further comments about the Belleville rumours.
    "We are looking at our operations globally... but we are not announcing any
specific plans."
    At Nortel's Brockville plant, rumours of a sale or closing are also flying,
said Mark Quigley, an analyst with the Brockville-based Yankee Group.
    "I know some internal product lines have been moved out.  I'm sure every
Nortel facility across the country is thinking the same thing.  And sooner or
later they'll start to come true."
    In January, Nortel chief executive officer John Roth said his company was
looking to consolidate its hardware production operations in order to focus on
the higher-end--and more lucrative--work of designing and assembling
telecommunications networks.
    That fundamental corporate shift will affect up to 8,000 of the company's
80,000 employees worldwide through plant selloffs and layoffs, Roth said.  About
25,000 of the company's employees and six of Nortel's 24 plants are in Canada.
    Larry Doyle, a committee member of the CAW's Local 1530, which represents
about 230 office and technical workers in Belleville, said evidence of that
manufacturing divestiture was supposed to appear in June.  "There's a lot more
panic now because people are looking at that deadline and trying to find
something concrete."
    Last week, Clive Allen, executive vice-president and chief legal officer of
Nortel, said that his company and other Canadian high-tech firms facing high tax
rates in this country "owe no allegiance to Canada... Just because we were born
there doesn't mean we'll remain there.  Canadians shouldn't feel they own us."
    "The place has to remain attractive for us to remain interested in staying
there."
    That sentiment is not only an ominous harbinger for the future of Nortel
facilities in Canada, but a slap in the face of Canadian workers responsible for
building Nortel into an internationally competitive telecommunications giant,
said Gerry Pope, president of Belleville's CAW Local 1839.

                                                                   TORONTO STAR
-----

Merger madness isn't restricted to North America.  While testing telco links on
the Damage, INC. web site, I discovered information on two recent European telco
mergers proudly displayed on their english index pages.

    "Agreement Between Owners Finalised for Merger of Telenor and Telia"
     ------------------------------------------------------------------

On March 30, 1999, Swedish telco Telia, and Norwegian telco Telenor announced
that their owners [governments] have finalized the merging of the two companies.
At the time of this press release, Telia and Telenor were still awaiting
acceptance from the EU Commission.  Until the merger has been approved by all
the involved parties, Telenor and Telia are still competitors just as they were
before the merger plans were made public.  No financial terms were available in
the press releases I read.

"Now [that the merger is complete] we will be devoting all our energy to
creating an international and expansive telecommunications company. With the
strong position we enjoy on our home markets as our point of departure, our
ambition is to become a leading actor in Europe and globally in areas where the
new company will have unique competence."  These are the words of Tormod
Hermansen, the future president and CEO of the merged Telenor/Telia, in a
comment on the signing of the final agreements for a merger of the companies.

Sweden will own 60% of the new international telco, while Norway will maintain
a 40% stake in Telenor/Telia.  They say in time they'll gradually reduce their
ownership stakes to 33.4% each initially.  The goals of this new international
telco are to use their monopolistic power to allow them to compete equally with
other telcos on a European and global scale; to increase profitability "through
further development and continued efficiency improvement" (i.e. layoffs); and
finally to develop the company's international business activities, primarily
in the Baltic region and the rest of Europe.

           "GTS and Esprit Telecom Complete US$5 Billion Merger"
            ---------------------------------------------------

On March 5, 1999, Global TeleSystems Group, Inc. (GTS) and Esprit Telecom Group
announced that GTS' shareholders approved the merging of the two international
telecommunications companies.  The new company becomes one of the biggest
telecom companies in all of Europe.  They combine GTS' position as the leading
alternative network operator in Europe and Esprit Telecom's position as one of
Europe's largest independent pan-European telcos.  The deal is worth $5 billion
in U.S. currency.

Commenting on the successful conclusion on the deal, Gerald W. Thames, GTS's
vice chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO), said: "This is a
great day for our combined company. Today, GTS is one of the fastest-growing
pan-European telecommunications companies, with a network that currently has a
significant advantage over its nearest competitors.  Looking forward, I believe
that about 70 percent of the market's growth will come from providing IP-based
services for data as well as voice. In particular, we need to help customers
overcome the network access bottlenecks they face. We are therefore planning to
have 50 Network Access Points and several web hosting centers up and running in
the next two years. "Through FA-1, our transoceanic cable JV, GTS's end-to-end
European network will be connected across the Atlantic. In turn, we anticipate
this will lead to an increased customer base, both in the U.S. and in Europe.
We are also growing our Internet business based on our Ebone network and have
recently made significant investments in ISPs in Poland, Hungary and the Czech
Republic."

                       GTS/Esprit Telecom highlights

* Europe's largest cross-border fiber optic network, with over 12,000
  operational kilometers, a significant lead over any other operator
* Operations in 20 countries across Europe
* Over 35,000 business customers in Western Europe
* A broad portfolio of business and carrier telecommunications services
* Competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) in five Eastern European cities,
  with plans for 12 in Western Europe over the next three years
* Announced joint venture (JV) to build world's first 1.28 terabits capacity
  transatlantic cable system
* 3,000 employees
* Market capitalization of approximately $5 billion
* Latest quarter annualized consolidated revenues of approximately US$565
  million for the two companies combined

This merger will create six subsidiaries, all under the GTS banner:

* GTS Business Services - Western Europe under Dr. Hans Peter Kohlhammer
* GTS Access Services under Les Harris, which includes the Central European
  region managed by Lou Toth
* GTS Carrier Services under Jan Loeber
* GTS Wholesale Services under Kevin Power
* GTS Business Services - CIS under Stewart Reich
* GTS Mobile Services under Gerard Essing

For more information about this merger, visit the GTS website at
www.gtsgroup.net. The Esprit Telecom website is at www.esprittele.com .
-----

I'm sure by the time the 16th issue of the Damage, INC. Newsletter is released,
there will be even more telco mergers and alliances announced.  The only general
thread between all of these super fat telcos is that they become more arrogant
and unresponsive to customer complaints.  I give a big "FUCK YOU" to all of
these greedy telcos, especially to Bell Canada.  As you should have read in the
Introduction, THC Phreak, my friend and a Damage, INC. Member is going through
legal hell because Bell Canada love to flaunt its "power and influence" by
filing false charges against him.

Bell Canada's arrogance is beyond measure.  That arrogance has also been
instilled into their employees, especially their bitchy ops.  That is why Bell
employees are vandalizing Bell's HQ in Montreal, while Bell Canada calls the
riot squad so their scabs (75% of their workers) can enter "Bell World."  It
will make me feel good to continue to see Bell and their employees to literally
be at each other's throats.  They can kill each other for all I fucking care.

Written by Shatazar ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.


BIG BROTHER BASHING -                                         {BIG BROTHER}
TEMPEST Eavesdropping.

This article is meant to explain Electromagnetic Eavesdropping, specifically
one form of it known as TEMPEST.  Without going into tremendous technical
detail, I will cover the various aspects of this form of spying, describing
what it is, the basics of how it works and countermeasures that you can take
to prevent unwanted interception of your personal data/communications.

What is TEMPEST?
---------------

TEMPEST stands for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Surveillance Technology.

Computers and other electronic equipment release interference to their
surrounding environment.  You may observe this by placing two video monitors
close together.  The pictures will behave erratically until you space them
apart.  The emissions from video monitors that are used with computers contain
information in the form of digital pulses (1s and 0s).  The channel for this
radiation is in two arrangements, radiated emissions and conducted emissions.
Radiated emissions are assembled when components in electrical devices form to
act as antennas.  Conducted emissions are formed when radiation is conducted
along cables and wires.

Most of the time these emissions are simply thought of as annoyances, or they
just go unnoticed since a lot of people don't often think about the emissions
given off by electronic equipment.  However, these "waste emissions" are
frequently used by certain people to take and gather data from someone else,
without their knowledge and consent.  For example, if law enforcement wanted to
see what you were working on, without going near your system, they could park a
van outside down the street at a reasonable distance from the location and by
using sensitive electronic equipment they could attempt to pick up and decipher
the radiated emissions from your video monitor.  These emissions normally exist
at around 55-245 Mhz and can be picked up as far as one kilometer away.  Some
suggest that the range is now even greater than a kilometer.  And using a
so-called 'low emission' monitor won't reduce that range.  Nor will using a
laptop with an LCD screen.  In fact, many LCD screens actually give a better
signal for eavesdropping, which makes them prime targets.

A monitoring device can distinguish between different sources emitting radiation
because the sources emanating the radiation are made up of dissimilar elements
and so this coupled with other factors varies the emitted frequency.  For
example, different electronic components in VDUs, different manufacturing
processes involved in reproducing the VDUs, different line syncs, etc.  By
synchronizing our raster with the target's raster we can passively draw the
observed screen in real-time.  This technology can be acquired by anyone, not
just government agencies.  The target could shield the emissions from their
equipment or use equipment that does not generate strong emissions.  However,
TEMPEST equipment is not legal for civilian use in many countries.  And
furthermore, the laws in most nations aren't written in such a way as to protect
innocent civilians against privacy violations through the use of TEMPEST either.
That's why the whole idea and use of TEMPEST is such a threat, and why it's
another tool of Big Brother.  In fact, it is one of the most potent, silent
weapons in their arsenal.  The real key is that the interception is passive,
so there's no way for the target that's being monitored to tell that someone
is electronically eavesdropping on them, and that the security of their most
private data has been compromised.  In essence, they're none the wiser due to
the fact that TEMPEST is an extremely "stealthful" means of spying on them.

Countermeasures/Protection:
--------------------------

There's ways of shielding cables and systems to reduce the chances of TEMPEST
being used against you.  There is also a new type of technology that's known
as Soft Tempest, which when implemented properly prevents TEMPEST monitoring.
And recently developed Soft Tempest fonts can be used to protect against
government eavesdropping of what you're typing.  What still needs to be done
is the implementation of Soft Tempest for the various operating systems that
individual end users are using today.  PGP, Inc have a limited implementation
of Soft Tempest fonts to protect password entry in PGP 6.02 (now available in
an International version from http://www.pgpi.com) but a multi-platform,
OS-level implementation of Soft Tempest is what is really required.

There is another approach in which you attempt to reduce the quality and range
of unintended emissions so that it makes the task of effectively eavesdropping
on you more difficult and impractical.  For example, if an agency wanted to
monitor the emissions from your system, but you had taken several steps to
block, shield and filter them already, instead of being able to park a van a
kilometer or more away, they'd have to get much closer to the target system.
And if you've done the job properly, they would have to be within a very short
distance, say less than 100 feet or so, which makes them more obvious to being
noticed by you.  So, even though you didn't prevent all electromagnetic emissions
from escaping, at least you limited enough so that they can't monitor you from
a well hidden, safe distance away.

What about zero emissions?  Well, that's not a very practical, feasible goal
to have.  Reducing all unintended emissions to zero is extremely difficult to
say the least, since it requires specialized "quiet" hardware, cables,
connectors, etc.

Here are a few ways to begin limiting and reducing EM emissions:

- Use computer equipment that meets modern "Class B" level standards for
  emissions.  Computers and peripherals that meet the Class B standard means
  that they have only one-tenth the power of spurious emissions than equipment
  with the Class A standard.  For existing equipment (such as monitors) that
  you already own and use, check the FCC ID number.  You can use that to find
  out which standard applies to your monitor by contacting the FCC Consumers
  Assistance Branch.

- Never operate your computer system with the cover off, as that compromises
  the shielding integrity to a large degree.  And make sure that all open
  expansion slots have heavy metal slot covers secured at the back so that
  electromagnetic emissions don't have a big gap with which to escape.

- Always use shielded cables for all of your system's interconnections.  A
  shielded cable is one that surrounds the core of wires with a metal braid
  or foil, which keeps signals confined to its core instead of allowing them
  to emit.  Unshielded cables can act like an antenna for signals that are
  generated by computers and peripherals and should never be used.  Also,
  avoid buying used, cheap, low quality cables.  Try to keep the cables
  separate from each other and as short as possible.  The reason for using
  cables of a reduced length is that it lessens the chance that they can act
  as an antenna.  So, the shorter the cable is, the better.

- Block radiation from the power cord(s) into the house wiring.  Even though
  the majority of computers have an EMI filter built into them where the AC
  power cord enters the power supply, you should consider adding a special
  EMI AC filter to reduce the power retransmitted down the AC power cords of
  your equipment.  They simply plug into a wall socket and generally they are
  reasonably priced.  You should plug both your monitor and CPU into a filter.

- Telephone lines are poorly shielded, so an EMI filter that's designed for
  modular telephone jacks should be used.  You can plug your telephone,
  FAX/modem into them.  So, invest in a modular telephone line filter and
  keep the line as far away from sources of power such as power supplies in
  computers, peripherals and the back of monitors.  Since the internal thin
  telephone lines that are running through your house are unshielded, the
  magnetic field from those devices can transfer to them quite easily...
  through magnetic induction, which in turn may end up compromising your data.

- Use other shields such as a good EMI "ground" shield for your computer
  equipment.  Use a heavily shielded case, or shield off a small area
  surrounding the system, peripherals, cables, etc.  If you're knowledgable
  in the area of electronics, you may want to consider using bypass capacitors
  on your actual motherboard... for increased filtering.  However, these are
  difficult to implement and a working knowledge of electronics is definitely
  required.  You can use copper foil tape to shield the exterior case of a
  system, or small external peripherals/devices.

- Use an AM radio to check the effectiveness of your shielding efforts by
  putting the radio close to your system and it's cables.  Make sure your
  computer and peripheral cables are apart so that each one can be checked
  individually.  If you don't hear any static, move on to the next cable and
  check it.  Finally, if you don't hear any significant amount of static,
  you'll know that your system is well shielded.  You can also use a compass
  to detect magnetic field emissions by moving it close to the back of a
  monitor or near cables.  The greater the amount of deflection, the higher
  the amount of emissions.  Then move it further away to see how far the
  emissions are travelling.

To conclude this article, if you're concerned about personal privacy and the
security of your system and its data, you may want to think about taking steps
to prevent TEMPEST eavesdropping from affecting you.  In other words, take
actions to stop it before Big Brother takes action against you first.  Act now
or forever forfeit your information and your privacy.

Written by BLACKENED ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.



BLACKENED'S TIP OF THE MONTH -                                  {BLACKENED}
Detecting phone taps Part 1.

This article is the first part of a two part series that's dedicated to
explaining various methods of detecting phone taps.  The techniques described
aren't complex by any means, but at least they're a start.  The main focus
of this article is on physical security and requires no expensive, detection
hardware.  In addition, some of the various types of phone taps will be
explained so that you may gain a basic understanding of what they're capable
of doing and what things to look for and be aware of.  I'll start with a few
tips that are based on the experiences of those in Damage, INC.

Visual and Physical Inspections:
-------------------------------

If you're suspicious of the existence of a phone tap, you should begin by
doing a full inspection of all telecom equipment, phone jacks and internal
phone wires/lines leading out of your residence.  Carefully check the hookup
of all pairs of wires/lines wherever they enter, and open up the telco box
which is normally attached to the exterior of the house.  In Canada, they're
usually grey or beige in colour and made by Northern Telecom.  Look for the
small "NT" logo on them.  Generally they can be opened without any tools as
the covering isn't affixed by screws, but rather just clips on and off.  If
you notice anything abnormal, strange looking, or any devices attached that
weren't previously there (or that you don't think are required to be on the
line, and most often they aren't), remove it immediately.  Then proceed to
test your line to the best of your capabilities (on hook, off hook, ringing).
At this point, you may want to dial your phone number from an alternate line
to see if it rings.  Or use a ringback.  You may also want to call someone
else to test outgoing calls.  And of course, if you have a voltmeter, you
can run tests on the voltages of the line itself.  It might be a good idea
to test the voltage before and after any such devices are removed, for
comparison, even though it's only a basic, primitive test that obviously
won't expose every type of line tap.

After tracing the line and inspecting it from inside and outside of your house,
the next step is to go as far back to the source as possible.  Obviously most
people won't break into switching stations or their CO, but at least figure
out whether your line runs underground to a junction box, some other type of
Bell Can on the ground or up on a telephone pole.  After you've found that
out, you'll need a beige box/lineman's handset, tools, a voltmeter and an ANAC
number to use in order to find out which pair of wires is your line.  Once
you've determined which line is yours (by dialing the ANAC), inspect it for
any abnormalities.  Then test the voltage of the line and compare the result
with that of other customer's lines.  They may differ slightly, but any
significant differences in voltage indicate that something is awry... and the
line may be tapped.  Again, if there are any strange looking devices attached
to the pair of wires (Ring and Tip), then remove them and test the line again.
You may want to bring along a small notebook and a pen to record your results.
Another test is to try dialing your own number from your line to see if it
will ring busy.  If it doesn't, there's definitely a problem.

If you do find anything out of the ordinary, and remove any device(s), make
sure you re-check the line again several times for weeks.  Just as, if you
happen to notice a Bell worker near your house working on the lines, installing
a new line (especially wires running to the box)... you should be suspicious.
If you happen to live in an apartment, your task might be more difficult.  To
find out which line is yours, you may have to go into the basement or check
outside for telephone wires... hookup a beige box to each line and dial an
ANAC until it reads back the correct number for your phone line.

Audible Anomalies:
-----------------

While talking on the phone, be aware of any audible anomalies, such as strange
clicks, weird tones (they may be extremely faint though and almost inaudible),
buzzing noises, any other extraordinary sounds or even silences and sudden
volume increases/decreases.  Any of those can be a sign that your line has been
tapped or is in the process of being tapped.  So, be alert if you suspect that
there's any possibility that your phone line may be monitored by someone.  It
could be someone at the junction box, or even the telco itself.  If you
experience these things on a regular basis, check your line as thoroughly as
you possible can, as soon as possible.  It could just be a poor quality line
that's riddled with line noise or some other problem that's responsible and
unrelated to a tap.  Then again, it might just be that your line has been
tapped.  And if the latter is the case, you don't want the tap to remain there.
So, check the voltages to make sure they're correct.  If you don't know what
they should normally be, cross reference them with a friend's line in your NPA
by checking those.  If they don't match to within +/-1 volt, you might want
to take further action and due further testing with more sophisticated equipment
such as an oscilloscope.  If you're constantly hearing clicks (especially at
certain times of the day, consistently), buzzing sounds or drops in volume,
you may even want to hire someone to test your line for you.  As in, hire a
company that's independent from your local telco (if you suspect them in the
least for being responsible).  Sure, that isn't a free solution, but if you
aren't technically inclined/knowledgable and don't have the necessary equipment
to do the testing yourself, it's an option that you should consider if you're
serious about your personal privacy and security.

Possible Warning Signs:
----------------------

- You've noticed static, snapping, crackling, popping, or scratching sounds on
  your phone lines.  This can be caused by the capacitive discharge which occurs
  when two conductors are connected together (such as a bug or wiretap on a
  phone line).

- You can hear sounds coming from your phones handset when it's hung up.
  Typically caused by a hookswitch bypass, which turns the telephone receiver
  into a eavesdropping microphone (and also a speaker).  If that's happening,
  there is probably someone listening to everything you say or do.

- Your phone often rings and nobody is there, or a faint tone, or high pitched
  squeal and beep is heard.  This is a key indicator of a slave device, or line
  extender being used on your phone line.  It's also a key indicator of a
  harmonica bug, or infinity transmitter being used.

- You receive unwarranted, unsolicited calls from the local telco (ie, they
  aren't returning your call).  They may make an excuse such as "We're just
  running some tests on your phone line."

- Your radio has suddenly develops strange interference on stations that
  normally have clear reception.  Many amateur eavesdropping devices use
  frequencies within the FM radio band, these signals tend to "quiet" an FM
  radio in the vicinity of the bug.  Look for the transmissions at far ends of
  the FM band, and at any quiet area along the FM band.  If the radio begins
  to squeal then slowly move it around the room until the sound becomes very
  high pitched to locate the bug (this is referred to as feedback detection or
  loop detection).

- You notice that "Phone Company" trucks and utilities workers are spending a
  lot of time near your home doing repair work.  If they are in the same
  vicinity for several days, you definitely shouldn't ignore their activities
  and assume that they're not doing anything out of the ordinary.

- Telephone repairmen show up to do work when they weren't called and asked
  to do so.

- Service or delivery trucks are often parked nearby with nobody in them.
  These vehicles are commonly used as listening posts, so be very cautious of
  any vehicle which has a ladder or pipe rack on the roof.  Also, be wary of
  any vehicles with tinted windows, especially service vans.  They are used
  to conceal people and listening equipment in the back.

Types of tapping devices:
------------------------

I was going to describe the physical appearance and workings of various
tapping devices, but due to lack of time I decided to include that information
in the next part of this article.  It'll explain each device thoroughly, which
is something that I wouldn't have been able to do at this point in time.

In conclusion, everything that has been discussed in this article is just
common sense.  There's nothing that can be viewed as being too technical or
impractical for the average reader.  Therefore, as mentioned, I plan to write
a second article on detecting phone taps, with the focus being on the more
technical aspects, techniques, countermeasures, devices and equipment.  So,
look for that to be included in a future issue of the Damage, INC. Newsletter.

Written by BLACKENED ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.


BREAKER'S REVIEWS -                                               {REVIEWS}
H/P Con Reviews.

After a little break, no pun intended here they come again.  This issue 
is dedicated to cons.  Cons are a great places to meet people and to get
drunk and fall down.  You can also learn some cool stuff, try to catch 
one where Mudge is giving a talk.  Buy him a Guinness and he'll love you 
for life.


www.defcon.org

We all know this site.  I have even reviewed it before, but no con list 
would be complete without mentioning the big one.  This one is run by
Dark Tangent and is the biggest hacker con of them all.  It takes place 
in July of every year in the stinking pit that is Las Vegas and attracts 
hackers, phreakers, feds, and newbies alike.  

www.xcon.org

Xcon is a relatively new con.  It's held in Austin or Dallas, one of 
those Texas cities.

www.cuervocon.org

Cuervocon named after the dangerous tequila.  It's held in the equally 
dangerous town of Brownsville, Texas.  If you stumble out of the hotel 
in a drunken haze, you may end up in a Mexican prison.  This con usually 
takes place around X-mas or New Years.  HoHoCon used to occur at this 
time, but I don't know if it is dead or not.


Pumpcon

www.pumpcon.net

Pumpcon is an invite only con.  It is usually held in Philly every year 
around Halloween.  Although two years ago it was in Pittsburgh.  This 
con rox, my favorite.  Because it is invite only, there are very few 
kiddies, tons of drinking, and you get to meet some weird amazing 
people.

Access All Areas 

www.access.org.uk

This is the premier UK con.  However, I don't know if it is going to 
continue.  The mailing list is still thriving, but the future of the con
is suspect, it didn't happen last year.
 
Conspiracy

www.dac.org/conspiracy

Conspiracy is the UK hacking preaking X-mas party.  This party sounds 
like one hell of a time.  Hopefully I'll make it one year.

Phreaknic

www.se2600.org/phreaknic

A con put on by the South Eastern 2600 crew.  They have a mailing list as
well.  I don't know much about this con, but it seems like they have 
been partying their phreaky asses off for the last two years.

seccon

www.seccon.org/main.html

The con down under!  I think this is Australia's first hacker con.  I 
could be wrong.

HOPE/BeyondHOPE

www.hope.net

Hope and BeyondHOPE in NYC.  What can you say?  The east coast mega con.  
I think BeyondHOPE rivaled Defcon in attendance by both hackers and the
media.  Many great speakers, contests, promos etc.  Will there be 
another HOPE, only emmanuel knows.

Summercon

www.summercon.org

The mobile con.  This con officially has no fixed location it has been 
moving around every year.  Usually held in June sometime.  It was in 
D.C., was rumoured to be in Chicago one year, but for the past two 
years, it has been in Altanta.  It also used to be invite only, then in 
96 changed over to a public con.

Chaos Computer Club

www.ccc.de

One of the oldest hacking groups in Germany.  They hold the Chaos 
Computer Club Congress in Germany.  The topics range from European phone 
systems and GSM to hacking and encryption.  I would love to attend this  
some day.

Hacking in Progress

www.hip.nl

I don't know whether this con is a yearly event or not.  I know in 97 it 
coincided with BeyondHOPE.  A can't imagine a more surreal experience, 
hundreds of hackers in tents with wires running all over the place in a 
field in the Netherlands.  Sounds like a plan to me!

Rootfest, no not the r00t who owns you and MTV apparently.

www.rootfest.org

Rootfest is a new con bringing h/p to a needy mid-west.  Giddy-up! The 
first annual meeting will be in May in Minneapolis.  The speakers list 
seems impressive.  I want to see everybody there.

RubiCon

www.rubicon.org or www.rubi-con.org

Another con in the mid-west, your kidding.  Hell no, one week after 
Rootfest, it's rubicon.  Are two cons in two weeks too much?  We shall 
see.  This one is in Michigan.  I don't see both of these cons lasting, 
as Optimus Prime said "One shall stand, one shall fall."

Controversy

www.gateweb.co.uk/~controv/

This was another UK con.  The site is down now.

Havoc-con

www.sel-mor.com/Krac/hav-con.htm

This site is down as well.    I have no clue about this con, or whether 
it happened or not.

CAUcon

www.caugh.org

The Computer Academic Underground's con.  These boys from 847 in Texas 
held their first local con in 1997.  The second annual CAUcon is in the 
works.

Canc0n

members.tripod.com/~hwaO_2k/canc0n.html  or come.to/cancon99

Someone call the RCMP because h/p is heading north to Canada in 1999.
Plenty people have tried to have a Canadian con, maybe this one will be 
it.  It's gonna be in August around the Niagara Falls area.  They are 
going to be sending imacs over the falls.

Blackhat Briefings

www.blackhat.com

This is a high priced con for hackers with jobs.  It is held a few days 
before Defcon in July.  It cost a few grand so expect to see many 
corporate types.

Raincon 

The other west coast con, held in seattle. I can't remember the url, and 
I don't know whether this ever happened or not.

* InfoWarCon (check to see if there's one being held for 1999)

www.h2k.com 
Hope 2000
One of the biggest and baddest cons returns.  If anyone attended 
Beyond Hope you remember how much it kicked ass.  Well this one is 
still in the planning phase, but I'm sure it will be just as good. So 
until then join the mailing list and help with the planning.

www.ccc.de.camp

Updated of Chaos Computer Club Camp

http://www.nswc.navy.mil/ISSEC/CID/shadowcon99/shadowcon.html

There are also various other local Bar-b-ques, meetings, gatherings, 
bell bashes, etc.  Check your local listings for these happenings.


CONSPIRACIES AND COVERUPS -                                      {COVERUPS}
Bob Lazar/Area S-4 Part 2:  Lazar's experiences.

In my last article, I acquainted the readers of the Damage, INC. Newsletter with
Bob Lazar, a physicist that claimed he was employed at Area S-4 in the Nevada
Test Site during 1988-89.  During the time Lazar worked there, Area S-4 housed
9 extraterrestrial craft.  In this article, I will reveal to you Lazar's
experiences with the alien technology that is in possession of a secret
department of the U.S. Government.  The reason I am writing this article is to
share Lazar's story with you.  It is up to you to decide whether to believe his
story or not.  At least you'll know some details about this extraordinary story,
rather than just being ignorant about it.

Lazar remembers the briefings he read:
--------------------------------------

Last issue I mentioned that during his first day of work at Area S-4, Bob Lazar
spent the day reading various classified briefings.  Since he has come forward
publicly, Lazar has revealed the contents of some of the briefings he read that
day.  However, he has stated that he doesn't like talking about them because
they could have mixed in disinformation with other information that he confirmed
during the hands-on experimentation he conducted at Area S-4.  At least Lazar is
wise enough to realize that.

At that time he was in a secluded room (most likely with armed guards on the
other side of the door) he was given 121 navy blue paper file folders.  To his
recollection, each folder contained an average of two or three pages.  One of
his first observations was that what he was presented with was censored,
containing no titles or authors.  He also concluded that the briefings he
received were extracted from larger reports.

Most of the briefings he read dealt with the propulsion system, the reactor, the
fuel (which he discovered was Element 115) of what he assumed at that time was a
highly advanced craft developed solely by base scientists and engineers.  Even
when he read about the reactor, it didn't dawn on Lazar that the technology was
of extraterrestrial origin.  Lazar: "We were developing [it]... because it was
just a very brief overview of what was going on..."  "It all made sense to me...
of course, in my mind, I thought, boy, have we come far from what... I thought
I was on the cutting edge of science here... how could this have possibly gone
on?"

As the day progressed, he read more briefings.  Finally, he came across one
that really blew his mind.  It consisted of two black and white 8x10
photographs.  The two pictures were of an alien being which looked like a
classic "grey".  Lazar: "Yeah. Actually the autopsy report we're talking about
was two photographs with notations on the bottom... this is what I've called the
autopsy report."  "They [the notations] were mostly weights and measures.  One
was an upper torso... of the creature... And they had cut the chest open in a
T fashion and peeled it back... and there was a separate inset on the photograph
of... you know how fresh liver looks like it's liquid almost?"  It took this
kind of evidence to confirm that he was in the presence of alien spacecraft...
and not the United States' "highest" technology.  Lazar: "I know when I saw
those photographs there was no doubt in my mind that we were dealing with alien
technology... by that time I had already begun to realize what was going on..."
 
After being stunned by the pictures, Lazar found a very strange book.  The book
looked like a standard book, but was two books in one.  Just imagine two books
with the back covers touching.  Then take away the back covers and form it into
one book.  Lazar recalls that one side was very strange.  It contained an eerie
look at the human race.  Lazar: " The text was about living conditions here...
about different... there was a guy that lived in a hut... it was like a National
Geographic book more or less...  It was very simplistic and it just showed what
lived in a dwelling like that... but the same thing... as you moved the page,
this guy's clothes would drop... his skin would come off his muscles... it would
do that... and instead of sitting there reading most of the text, I played with
the photographs... because even looking up close, I could not see..."  To
understand what Lazar is saying, take a look at the "Human Beings" section in an
encyclopedia like World Book.  They have mylar plastic pages showing various
systems of the human body.  With each "page" of mylar, you can strip away a
system of the body, eventually down to the skeleton.  If you think that part of
the book Lazar viewed is disturbing, wait until I describe what the other side
contained.

When Lazar flipped the book upside down and started to read, he was shocked yet
again.  It was about aliens... perhaps the aliens that provided the craft to the
secret government department he worked for.  In this book, Lazar states that the
aliens came from Reticulum 4 in the Zeta Reticuli system, which is 30 light
years away in the southern hemisphere sky.  A few other pages contained general
information about alien craft.  What confused Lazar was that the book was
written from an "alien point of view."  Instead of the term "humans", the term
"biological container" was exclusively used to describe us.  Lazar: "Yeah, of
the nature... but there are lots of if's here... cause you have to step back
even... because... are containers actually people... is number one?  Because at
no point in there did it say -- containers are humans... okay?  So...
immediately you're on unsteady ground..."  While being interviewed, Lazar also
commented on the english used in the book.  Lazar: "... but it was so neutral...
it was edited to be so neutral that you really couldn't grasp anything out of
it."
 
In another briefing that Lazar read later on, he was again confused when he read
that "containers" have been genetically corrected 65 times throughout "the
containers evolutionary process."  However, after learning that assumptions can
only lead to being stunned, shocked, and unprepared to learn new things, he
seems to have learned a lesson.  Lazar: "The only thing that I've continued
absolutely to stand on is the material that I read in the briefings that was
corroborated by the hardware."  "Right, just because someone actually came from
another planet, does not mean they don't know how to lie.  Or have motives to do
it."

During an interview, Lazar made a statement that he believed Area S-4 was not in
existence before 1976.  He also believes that Area S-4 was created because
around that time is when the U.S. obtained the 9 alien craft.  He says he based
this assumption on the briefings he read.

Hangar description:
-------------------

The hangars were all connected together.  Lazar described the area that the
craft sat as being like a "car show room".  Each hangar area was identical in
size, and all the hangar bay doors led outside.  There were also doors similar
to garage doors that could be opened to allow access between each hangar area.
That is why Lazar claims that there were nine craft.  He was actually able to
see a total of 9 hangar areas because all of the side doors were open at one
time.  Lazar had to tell his interviewer that he wasn't able to get close to any
of the craft other than the "Sport Model" for fear of being beaten or killed by
security forces.

The "Sport Model" craft:
------------------------

One day while arriving at work, Lazar's supervisor Dennis told him that they
were going to enter the facility through the hangar.  This was the first time
that Lazar encountered the craft which he later named the "Sport Model".  At
that point, he assumed it was a highly advanced fighter made by U.S. scientists.
Lazar was excited when he realized that it was what he was going to be working
on.  Obviously, his emotional reaction was to examine the craft, but the
oppressive guards told him to keep looking straight ahead.  However, he walked
close enough to the "Sports Model" to brush his hand against it.  Lazar: "It was
cold, so I thought it was metal. And to this day I still don't know... it felt
metallic."  However, Lazar admitted that till this day, he cannot confirm if the
craft was indeed metallic.  Despite being a scientist working on the project, he
never got a metallurgical report. 

Using his own perception, the "Sport Model" had a diameter of approximately
52'.  In all of the interview transcripts, Lazar didn't give a very detailed
description of the "Sport Model".  Lazar: "I only assume that that's what was
going on in the top part of the craft and that's [piloting] what these
windows... they aren't really windows... but I always assumed that they were
sensor rays of some sort... that wherever the craft was that's how it got its
lock on where it was... whether it matched up stars or whatever the thing was
looking at, but I think that's where the sensor ray was from here up was
everything to do with navigation."

Inside the "Sport Model" craft:
-------------------------------

There was one time in which Bob Lazar got the ultimate experience.  With Dennis,
he was allowed to enter the fully functional "Sport Model".  This experience
occurred after Lazar brushed his hand against it.  As he entered the craft,
Lazar experienced some very strong emotions.  Lazar: "...it was such an eerie
feeling... the feeling was that... it sounds stupid... the feeling was that I
shouldn't be in there... that we shouldn't be in there... a feeling of
trespassing... a feeling... because it felt so unbelievably alien... no pun
intended, but there was nothing that seemed familiar at all..."

Nothing familiar indeed.  Lazar described the inside of the craft as a huge
mass of seamless, colorless metal.  There was no right angles or anything close
to an earthly design.  The interior was obviously not designed for humans
because Lazar had to hunch down, and others inside the craft with him had to
crawl because they were larger men.  He even claims to have seen small chairs...
much smaller than ones made for an average adult human.  In an interview, Lazar
summed up his experience.  Lazar: "...I kept replaying the event of mainly being
in the craft itself, trying to remember... wondering why so much empty space...
wondering what was on the upper level... just thinking how absolutely simple
everything was and comparing it to systems that I'm familiar with... telephones
looked more complicated than what was going on there... no buttons... no
anything... tremendous amounts of power being generated, but there's no
wiring... it was... it's a first approximation."  "... it's [first itineration
is] the simplest cartoon drawing of how everything works and then the first
approximation with all the technicalities to it... but it was a functioning
first approximation... and it was just so simple... the way everything was laid
out... that's really all I thought about... the other reports... I guess the
technology had taken me so much because it was such an impression as compared to
reading words... actually being there and facing it... that was what left an
impression."  Basically, it was unlike anything that Lazar had ever seen before
and yet at the same time, the interior of the craft looked simplistic.

Lazar's Lab:
------------

Before I can tell you about Lazar's experiences with the various systems of the
alien craft, I should describe the laboratory that he and his colleague Barry
worked in.  The main laboratory was "fairly large".  There the scientists had
equipment for analysis, etc.  In an area at the back of their laboratory sat one
of the alien gravity amplifiers, and an alien anti-matter reactor.  It was the
location where Lazar gained his hands-on experience with alien technology.

The anti-matter reactor:
------------------------

The anti-matter reactor that powers the alien craft is obviously the heart of
all of the alien technology.  Lazar believes that the 9 alien craft used the
same type of reactor, since he claims to have seen more than the one in the
"Sport Model".  Despite the great amounts of power that it generates, it is
extremely simple to turn on.  Lazar: "It's a plate about 18 inches in diameter
with a sphere on top.  Inside that tower is a chip of Element 115 they just put
in there.  That's a super-heavy element.  The lid goes on top.  And as far as
any other of the workings of it, I really don't know, you know, [such as] what's
inside the bottom of it . . . 115 sets up a gravitational field around the top.
That little wave guide you saw being put on the top: it essentially siphons off
the gravity wave, and that's later amplified in the lower portion of the craft.
But just in general, the whole technology is virtually unknown.  That is it."
According to Lazar there are no working parts.  Just plug in some Element 115
and the reactor starts generating power through an anti-matter reaction.

What amazed Lazar was the pure efficiency of the alien reactor.  During an
interview, he shared his thoughts.  Lazar: "There's an annihilation reaction.
It's an extremely powerful reaction, a hundred percent conversion of matter to
energy, unlike a fission or fusion reaction which is somewhere around
eight-tenths of one percent conversion of matter to energy."  That is what I
found very interesting.  If our terrestrial resources could be converted from
matter to energy at a rating of 100%, the fat power companies would be out of
business.  If Lazar is telling the truth, I can believe that an alien craft
would have the power to cross star systems.

In addition to a huge amount of electrical power, the anti-matter reactor also
creates a gravity wave.  Lazar: "Well, that reactor serves two purposes; it
provides a tremendous amount of electrical power, which is almost a by-product.
The gravitational wave gets formed at the sphere, and that's through some action
of the 115, and the exact action I don't think anyone really knows.  The wave
guide siphons off that gravity wave, and that's channelled above the top of the
disk to the lower part where there are three gravity amplifiers, which amplify
and direct that gravity wave.  In essence creating their own gravitational
field."  That is amazing considering we don't fully understand what gravity is
and how it can be used yet.  Even Lazar admitted to an interviewer that gravity
isn't understood by human scientists.

Why is the production of a gravity wave useful?  Lazar explains this as well.
Lazar: "It allows you to do virtually anything.  Gravity distorts time and
space.  By doing that, now you're into a different mode of travel, where instead
of travelling in a linear method -- going from Point A to B -- now you can
distort time and space to where you essentially bring the mountain to Mohammad;
you almost bring your destination to you without moving.  And since you're
distorting time, all this takes place in between moments of time.  It's such a
far-fetched concept!"  The interviewer then immediately assumed that it was a
time machine.  Lazar answered this interesting question as well.  Lazar: "No,
not essentially.  It would be easier with a model.  On the bottom side of the
disk are the three gravity generators.  When they want to travel to a distant
point, the disk turns on its side.  The three gravity generators produce a
gravitational beam.  What they do is they converge the three gravity generators
onto a point and use that as a focal point; and they bring them up to power and
PULL that point towards the disk.  The disk itself will attach ONTO that point
and snap back -- AS THEY RELEASE SPACE BACK TO THAT POINT!  Now all this happens
in the distortion of time, so time is not incrementing.  So the SPEED is
essentially infinite."

The propulsion system:
----------------------

Lazar's work was dedicated to back engineering the propulsion system.  Lazar:
"The amplifier form itself was about two feet in diameter and four feet long...
the reactor was maybe eighteen inches...  The entire propulsion system is
powered by the alien anti-matter reactor.  With such massive amounts of power
and the gravity waves that are created, extremely simple design is
possible."

What does the amplifier do?  How does everything link together?  I'll let Lazar
give you a very basic explanation.  Lazar: "The power source is an anti-matter
reactor.  They run gravity amplifiers.  There is actually two parts to the drive
mechanism.  It's a bizarre technology.  There is no physical hookups between any
of the systems in there.  They use gravity as a wave using wave guides that look
like microwaves." 

Lazar goes on and on about the possibilities of the alien technology.  Lazar:
"It [the propulsion system] was fantastically advanced, but, once you basically
understand what's going on... especially with the reactor, all these things...
even today... you look at science fiction... Star Wars... death rays and laser
guns and all that... the technology isn't that far away, the main thing in all
of the exotic science fiction technology type weapons and things laid out... is
power... it really is... that's the reason there's no hand-held ray guns... and
things like that... because you don't have 10 megawatts available in the palm
of your hand and there's absolutely no way to get it."

Element 115 - Bob Lazar's contribution to Area S-4:
---------------------------------------------------

Obviously, Bob Lazar wasn't allowed into Area S-4 so he could rat them out at a
later date.  :)  As a physicist, his job was to discover what the power source
of the reactor was.  Up until that point, the scientists at S-4 were at a loss.
With Lazar's insight, they determined that the reactor was powered by an element
that is not even on the current periodic table of elements.  Lazar calls it
"Element 115".

What is Element 115?  An interviewer asked that question, and got a decent
answer from Lazar.  Lazar: "Okay, it's a super-heavy element: On the periodic
chart, which lists all the elements found on earth and that can be synthesized,
I think the highest element we've synthesized has been about Element 106.  Now
from 103 -- or actually, anything higher than plutonium up -- the half-life
begins to drop; in other words, the element disintegrates.  When you get up to
Element 106, it's only around for a very small amount of time.  Even science
today theorizes that up around Element 113 to 116 -- somewhere in there -- they
should again become stable.  This is in fact true.  That's what Element 115 is;
it's a stable element.  To synthesize it would be impossible.  The way we
synthesize heavy elements is, we take a stable element like bismuth or something
like that, or plutonium, whatever, put it in an accelerator, and BOMBARD it with
protons.  Essentially what you're trying to do is plug in protons into the atoms
and increase the atomic number.  To do that to the level of Element 115 would
just take an infinite amount of power and an infinite amount of time."

If Element 115 requires "an infinite amount of power and time" to create it,
then how was it created?  Fortunately, Lazar answered that question as well.
Lazar: "The only place that 115 could be made would have to be in a natural
situation, somewhere maybe on the fringes of a supernova or somewhere around
maybe a binary star system, where there was more mass in the primordial mix of
that system, where heavier elements would have had a chance to form, when the
stars were collapsing and there were huge amounts of energy being released.
It's something along these lines; it has to be a naturally-occurring element."
Is it possible to create Element 115 on Earth?  Lazar: "Well, the 115, it's
impossible.  And the FACT that the main job of everyone there is to find out how
everything's made; I mean that just contradicts everything right off the bat.
The materials are completely alien to us, and just the overall idea of the
project is: Hey, can we duplicate this with materials that we have here?  So
obviously, it was something that was found or given, for that matter, and we're
just trying to duplicate it."  I can't disprove that Lazar has knowledge in
this particular area of science, but "impossible" is an extremely strong word
that has brought down greater men than him.  What is deemed to be impossible
at one moment sometimes has a way of becoming possible in the future.

As he eluded to above, bombarding Element 115 with protons creates anti-matter.
That is how Element 115 powers the space craft through the reactor.  To compare
it to current weapons, Lazar says that "2.2 pounds of Element 115 is the energy
equivalent of 47 10-megaton hydrogen bombs".  Through unconfirmed briefings,
there were slightly over 50 pounds of Element 115 at Area S-4.

Lazar's wild experiments and experiences:
-----------------------------------------

Lazar's first visual demonstrations of the alien technology happened after his
final briefings (a couple of hours after he first saw the "Sport Model").  He
met his colleague, Barry and he showed Lazar how the entire system worked
(which is explained above).  Using tongs, Barry placed a triangular piece of
Element 115 into the reactor.  After Barry replaced the lid, etc. a
"gravitational field" was created right away.  Barry told Lazar to touch the
field.  Lazar:"...it felt like you bring two like poles of a magnet together;
you can do that with your hand.  And it was FASCINATING to do that, impossible,
except on something with great mass!"  The gravitational field was also a
repulsion field.  Lazar: "...we kind of fooled around with it for a little
while.  And we threw golf balls off it.  And it was just a really unique thing."

Lazar had another experience that was also very unusual.  Lazar: "Yeah, they
did.  They were able to channel the field off in a demonstration that they
created an INTENSE gravitational area.  And you began to see a small little
black disk form, and that was the bending of the light."  Lazar then told his
interviewer that a burning candle was placed into the dark disk.  The candle was
still lit, but it didn't burn or melt.  It was in a "distorted gravitational
field, which distorts time".
 
During one day at work, Lazar was approached by Dennis.  He wanted to show
Lazar something that would give him an insight into the craft's amplifiers.
Lazar: "He wanted to show me, because we were going to be dealing with the
amplifiers themselves... how they hung in the lower portion of the disc and
there's a hexagonal shaped grid on the floor... that's kind of a crawl space...
well, for them it's a crawl space... for me you could squeeze in there... and it
was a tinsel brilliant hole... you know you can buy a six pack of beer..."
After he examined the amplifiers inside the "Sport Model", he then stood back
and watched a test flight.  He watched as the amplifiers glowed and the craft
lifted off of the ground.  He watched it do simple manoeuvres.  Lazar was hoping
that he'd eventually be given the chance to actually be inside of the craft
during a test flight, but that never happened.

More information about Lazar and the desert test flights:
---------------------------------------------------------

In my previous article, I wrote about how Lazar, his friend Gene Huff and others
went out to see what they believed to be the "Sport Model" being test flown.
They claim to have watched the test flights on two consecutive weekends.  What
I didn't tell you is that on the third weekend, Lazar, Huff, John Lear, Lazar's
wife and sister-in-law got caught by the local sheriff.  To make an
uninteresting tale short, the sheriff let them go.  The next day Dennis took
Lazar to an abandoned army base and he was questioned about his actions during
a debriefing.  After that experience, Lazar decided to quit.  Shortly after that
event his past started to disappear, and he was allegedly shot while driving on
a freeway.

Blackie Lawless' opinions on Bob Lazar/Area S-4 :
-------------------------------------------------

As promised, I will offer my own opinions and insights into this topic.  While
doing a great amount of research before writing these last two Conspiracies and
Coverups articles, it became evident to me that Bob Lazar doesn't possess a
very good memory.  In virtually all of his interview transcripts he admits that
his memory is bad.  Whether Lazar honestly has a bad memory, or simply has holes
in his story is debatable.  Obviously, the "memory gaps" could exist for a
reason that Lazar isn't willing to share publicly.  He also makes assumptions
about certain things (such as the age of Area S-4), but on other topics he is
very careful not to make an assumption.  I've also read other writers' opinions
with an open mind.  Some people have a strong belief that Lazar is actually part
of the debunking process.

I do believe that Lazar was at Area S-4.  The passed and inconclusive polygraph
tests done by several polygraphers indicate to me that Lazar was involved there
in some way.  Also, I know what Big Brother is capable of doing, and that it's
very possible for Lazar's past to have disappeared the way it did.  The only
troubling part of that is that his scientific credentials couldn't be easily
verified.  He claims that the government was involved in erasing them as well.
However, if George Knapp is to be believed, Lazar did work at Los Alamos.  What
was his job though?  One writer claimed that he was there as a service
technician and not as a head physicist.  I couldn't find any evidence supporting
that claim either.  Based on Lazar's statements, he is either legitimately a
scientist or an actor that has been briefed for months by the U.S. government
because he does prove that he has scientific knowledge.  What he said about the
alien craft and the subsystems he described sounds fairly believable.

In my opinion, there has been too many UFO reports to discount the fact that
there are alien beings, and that they have visited Earth.  However, there isn't
enough evidence to conclusively say that any of the UFOs are the craft that
Lazar says he saw.  Lazar himself is an enigma.  He doesn't come across as a
liar, but his personal quirks weaken his credibility.  To believe in Lazar's
story is a leap of faith because there hasn't been any one else to fully
corroborate his story.  My opinion is that Lazar did see and work (perhaps not
extensively) on alien technology at the Nevada Test Site.  I am definitely
keeping an open mind, and am vigilantly looking for other reliable sources of
information that could reinforce Lazar's story of his experiences at Area S-4.
I hope that you will do the same as you can never possess too much knowledge.
Knowing the facts about stories such as this one and having verifiable proof
is something that should be of great importance to most people.

Written by Blackie Lawless ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.


H/P INFORMATION AND NEWS -                                            {H/P}
Inside Merlin Mail.

I was recently given the documentation for the Merlin Mail Voice Messaging
System by Lucent Technologies.  After reading through the User's Guide, I
decided that the information might be useful to others, and that perhaps a
brief article should be written to cover it.  Admittedly, this isn't the most
technically advanced topic or anything, but it is something that may interest
a few people that haven't run across these particular systems.  Basically, this
article isn't a copy of the entire manual, but rather a concise summary of
Merlin Mail and its features.  Thanks go to Shatazar for providing the complete
docs to me.  ;)

Page 1:
------

A Lucent Technologies logo is displayed on the top right corner.  Centered in
the middle of the page is the following text:

                              Merlin Mail
                              Voice Messaging System
                              Release 3

                              For the MERLIN LEGEND
                              Communications System

                              User's Guide

Underneath that, in the bottom right corner it reads:

                                                              585-320-744
                                                              comcode 107542870
                                                              Issue 1.0
                                                              April 1995

Page 2:
------

The second page of the User Manual consists mainly of Copyright information,
notices, a couple of paragraphs regarding the user's responsibility for system
security (unauthorized use, toll fraud, the fact that Lucent Technologies won't
be held responsible), Trademarks, etc.  The end of the page contains ordering
and publishing information.  In case anyone is interested in calling them and
ordering a copy, I'll include everything for your convenience.

Call:

Lucent Technologies BCS Publications Fulfillment Center
Voice 1-800-457-1235            International Voice 317 361-5353
Fax   1-800-457-1764            International Fax   317 361-5355

Write:

Lucent Technologies BCS Publications Fulfillment Center
P.O. Box 4100
Crawfordsville, IN 47933

Order:

Document No. 585-320-744
Comcode 107542870
Issue 1, April 1995

Published by
BCS Product Documentation Development
Basking Ridge, NJ 07920-2332

Page 3:
------

The third page has a comical little "MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System
Release 3 Wallet Reference Card", with an extremely tiny Lucent Technologies
logo above it that's barely readable.  Basically, it's only for idiot users
that can't remember how to login, listen and delete messages, etc.  Beneath
the reference card are a few short, telling paragraphs that are unrelated to
this article, but I'll include them just for background info/interest sake.

"Intellectual property related to this product (including trademarks) and
registered to AT&T Corporation has been transferred to Lucent Technologies
Incorporated."

"Any references within this text to American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation
or AT&T should be interpreted as references to Lucent Technologies Incorporated.
The exception is cross references to books published prior to December 31, 1996,
which retain their original AT&T titles."

"Lucent Technologies -- formed as a result of AT&T's planned restructuring --
designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, com-
munications systems and software, consumer and business telephone systems,
and microelectronic components.  The world-renowned Bell Laboratories is the
research and development arm for the company."

Page 4:
------

The fourth page of the manual just shows a Voice Mail Activity Menu, which
demonstrates how to use the main functions after logging in, and explains
the Outcalling menu, etc.  All of the features it mentions are covered later
in this article.

Page 5:
------

The fifth page (labelled page 1 at the bottom) is the Table of Contents.  It
also includes some basic help information, such as their 24 hour toll-free
Helpline number, at 1-800-628-2888.  By dialing that number, you'll reach
the Lucent Technologies National Customer Care Center.  And from there, your
call will be prioritized, you'll be put on hold and have to wait to speak
with a representative.  Since I'm not going to re-type and cover all 20 pages
of the manual, listing the entire Table of Contents isn't necessary.  But to
summarize it, there's an Introduction, Helpful Hints, Voice Mail Tips, Logging
In, Personal Administration, Message Administration, Transferring and Using
Directory, Outcalling, Direct Voice Mail and various subsections to each after
the Logging In section.

The Introduction is self-explanatory and discusses the basics of voice mail,
which are generally common knowledge.  It also tells readers to contact their
system manager if they have any questions or problems.

The Helpful Hints section covers the basic instructions for commonly used
functions such as:

Press *# to go back through the voice mail menus and prompts.

Press *4 to replay a voice mail menu.

Press *7 to return to the Voice Mail Activity Menu.  (main menu after login)

The Voice Mail Tips section is directed at users that aren't familiar with
voice mail systems and overall etiquette, etc.  None of the so-called "tips"
they've given are even worth mentioning.

Next is the section dedicated to Logging In, which is a series of four steps
that are outlined below:

"To listen to your messages or to send voice mail, you must first identify
yourself to the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System.  The Login procedure tells
the system that you are an authorized user.  If your voice mailbox is locked
because of too many unsuccessful login attempts, you must contact your system
manager.  (For more information, see the Security Violation Notification
feature in the MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System Release 3 Planning,
Installation, and Use manual.)  To log in to the voice messaging system use
the following procedure:"

Step 1 - Dial the MERLIN MAIL system extension, ___. (blank)

Step 2 - Dial your extension number + #.

         NOTE:
         When dialing from your own extension you may press # without entering
         your extension number.

Step 3 - Dial your password + #.  Voice Mail announces the number of new and
         old messages in your Mailbox.

         NOTE:
         The very first time you log in, your password is not set.  Enter # for
         Step 3.  Go to Step 3 in the Changing Your Password section, found on
         the next page.

Step 4 - Select an option from the Voice Mail Activity Menu:

Record Messages:    Press 1 to record and send messages.

Get Messages:       Press 2 to listen to messages.

Name or Greeting:   Press 3 to record your name or personal greeting.

Personal Operator:  Press 4 to choose your personal operator.

Password:           Press 5 to change your password.

Outcalling:         Press 6 to administer Outcalling (if you have this feature).

Transfer:           Press *T (or *8) to transfer to another extension.

On the next page is the Personal Administration section, which for the most
part is uninteresting other than the short "Security Alert" paragraph, which
reads:

"If you receive any strange voice mail messages, or your greeting has been
changed, or if for any reason you suspect that your MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging
System is being used by someone else, contact your system manager immediately."

Judging by that, it almost seems as though Lucent Technologies is actually
concerned about maintaining security... enough so that they warn users about
potential violations and list a few of the more blatant signs of unauthorized
access/use.  ;)

On the same page, the next section is called Changing Your Password.  Even
though the task and method of changing a password are simple, I'll include
what they've written, verbatim, just for those that might never have previously
read anything like this.

"Use the following procedure to change the password needed to log in to your
voice mailbox."

"Choose a password that cannot be easily guessed.  Do not choose a password
such as 123456.  do not choose a password based on your extension number.  Do
not choose a password based on any personal information that may be found out
by others, such as your birthdate or social security number.  Do not write your
password down or share your password with others."

Step 1 - Log in to Voice Mail.

Step 2 - Press 5 to change your password.  The system prompts you to enter the
         new password and #.

Then there's another "Security Alert" message that reads:

"A longer password helps prevent unauthorized access to your voice mailbox.
(See the section entitled "Your Responsibility for Your System's Security" on
the inside front cover of this book.)  Your password can be up to 15 digits
long.  A password of at least 6 digits is recommended.  Passwords should be
changed at least once every three months."

What they've written is just common sense that should already be understood
by everyone.  However, they felt it was necessary to include that paragraph.
And, in a way, it is something that is needed since a lot of people leave
their password/passcode as default, never change it, or choose one that is
easily found/guessed... and use the shortest one possible (the minimum length)
so that it's easy for them to remember.  Hell, some people don't change it
even after it's obvious that their mailbox security has been compromised by
someone.  And I can personally attest to witnessing that type of stupidity
and/or indifference.  Some people just don't give a fuck about their own
privacy and the security of the systems that they use.  But I digress.  Back
to the steps.  ;)

Step 3 - Enter the new password (up to 15 digits) followed by #.

         If your system manager has set a minimum password length, and your
         password is shorter than this minimum, you hear a message that your
         password is too short.  You must repeat Step 3 and enter a password
         at least as long as the minimum length.  The system prompts you to
         re-enter password and #.

Step 4 - Enter the new password again followed by #.

And that's all there is to changing a password.  The next two pages in the
manual describe how to record a personal greeting and the process of deleting
a personal greeting.  With the deletion of a personal greeting, the system
then reverts back to using the system default greeting.  The page after that
shows the steps to recording your name (which is heard by callers) rather
than using a personal greeting.  However, the process is very similar.

Following that is the Personal Operator section.  It explains how the owner
of the mailbox can specify a personal operator, which callers are transferred
to if they dial 0.  If you don't specify a personal op, and the caller dials 0
then they are transferred to the system's Call Answer Service Operator.  It
also advises mailbox owners to let callers know in the personal greeting
message that they have the option of pressing 0 to reach an operator.  The
process of specifying a personal op is as follows:

Step 1 - Log in to Voice Mail.

Step 2 - Press 4 to change your personal operator.

Step 3 - Choose an option:

Operator:       Enter your personal operator's Extension followed by #.
Remove:         Press 0# to remove a personal operator number.
Retain:         Press # to retain the current setting.
Activity Menu:  Press *# to return to the Voice Mail Activity Menu.

The next few sections are devoted to Message Administration (Sending Messages
to other subscribers, Listening to Messages, Replying to a Message, Forwarding
a Message, Transferring to an Extension and Using the Directory).  Since most
of these features are easy to use and don't require following a long series of
steps, there's no reason to explain them in any detail.

Outcalling:

"Your system manager may allow you to use the Outcalling feature.  If you have
Outcalling privileges, you can specify up to five different numbers that the
voice messaging system will call when you receive a new message.  This is
sometimes called "Cascaded Outcalling."  Each telephone number can have up to
60 digits."

"When you receive an Outgoing call on a telephone, the system allows you to log
in to retrieve your messages."

"To Cancel further Outcalling attempts for the new message, press *# instead of
logging in.  If you receive a new message, you will still receive an Outcalling
call.  To cancel Outcalling for all new messages, turn Outcalling off."

Now this seems like a cool feature that's worth exploring, doesn't it?  ;)

"If Outcalling is on, the voice messaging system calls the designated phone
numbers in the order that they are stored in the Outcalling list.  This is
called cascading.  When a call is completed to a telephone or voice pager,
the system plays a message which identifies the call as coming from the
MERLIN MAIL system, and continues:  "You have a new message.  To access your
new message, enter extension and #.  To avoid further notification about this
message, press *#.  Please enter extension and #."  The Outcalling message
does not play for digital pager calls.  The pager will display the callback
number that you have programmed in the pager's Outcalling number.  When you
receive an Outcalling call on a digital pager, you must call in to the voice
messaging system to retrieve your messages."

Calling continues until one of the following actions occur:

- During the Outcalling message call, you press *# to cancel Outcalling until
a new message arrives.

- You log in to your MERLIN MAIL Voice Messaging System mailbox.

- The Outcalling interval specified in your schedule is over.

- The voice messaging system has attempted to deliver the message (by calling
all numbers in your Outcalling list) the number of times specified through
the Outcalling cycles programming option.

Use the following general rules to specify an Outcalling number:

- Up to 60 character may be used.

- End the Outcalling number with *#.

- Use the digits 0-9 for the Outcalling number itself.

- Specify 1.5 second dialing pauses, as needed, with *.  More than one * may
be used.

- For Outcalling to a pager you must put a sufficient number of pauses (*)
after the phone number to allow time for the paging service to answer before
the Personal Identification Number (PIN) or callback number is dialed.

- Put a # in your Outcalling number where needed.  One example is Outcalling
to a digital paging service where a PIN needs to be followed by a #.

- You cannot have a * followed immediately by a # in your Outcalling number.
When you press *# you are telling the system that you have finished entering
your Outcalling number.

To change Outcalling settings, follow the procedure below:

Step 1 - Log in to Voice Mail.

Step 2 - Press 6 to administer Outcalling.

Step 3 - Choose an option:

On/Off:           Press 1 to turn Outcalling on/off.

Review:           Press 2 to review your list of Outcalling numbers.

Instructions:     Press 3 to listen to instructions on entering Outcalling
                  numbers.

Program Numbers:  Press 4 to change your list of Outcalling numbers.

NOTE:  Use * for a 1.5 second pause in the Outcalling number.

Schedule:         Press 5 to change your Outcalling schedule.
                  (Factory setting:  all hours)

Delay:            Press 6 to change the minimum time between Outcalling
                  attempts.  (Factory setting:  15 minutes; Range 5-99 minutes)

Cycles:           Press 7 to change the number of Outcalling cycles.
                  (Factory setting:  3 cycles; Range:  1-9 cycles)

Activity Menu:    Press *# to return to the Voice Mail Activity Menu.

Outcalling Numbers:

To program Outcalling numbers you should follow the guidelines below:
For a standard telephone number or a voice pager number:

- Enter digits (0-9), pauses (*), and pound signs (#) required to place the
call; include any access numbers needed.
Example:  9*18005552020
- Enter *# to signal the end of the number.

For a digital pager or beeper number:
- Enter digits (0-9) and pauses (*) or pound signs (#) required to place the
call; include any access numbers needed.
Example:  To specify an access number, a 1.5 second pause, the paging service
number (555-1234), a 4.5 second pause, a PIN (1234) followed by a # and a
callback number (555-3456) followed by a # enter:
9*5551234***1234#5553456#
- Enter *# to signal the end of the number.

Following that is the Outcalling Schedule, Outcalling Delay and Outcalling
Cycles sections.  Each of those functions are easy to use:

Example:  Log in, Press 6 to administer Outcalling.  Press 7 to change your
          Outcalling cycles.

Therefore, I won't go through all of them step by step.

Direct Voice Mail.

"If you have a MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 3.0 or later, you
may use the Direct Voice Mail feature to call or transfer a call directly to
a subscriber's voice mailbox."

Calling a Mailbox Using Direct Voice Mail.

To call a voice mailbox without ringing the extension, follow the procedure
below:

Step 1 - (Multiline telephones only) Choose one of the options below:

         Press Direct Voice Mail button.
         Press the Feature button and select Direct VM.
         Press the Feature button and dial 56.
         Go off hook on an SA or ICOM button and press #56.

Step 1a - (Single-line telephones only) Go off hook, then dial #56.

Step 2 - Dial the extension number or press Auto Dial button.

Step 3 - Leave a message for your co-worker.

Transfer to a Mailbox Using Direct Voice Mail.

To transfer a call to a voice mailbox without ringing the extension, follow
the procedure below:

Step 1 - (Multiline telephones only) Choose one of the options below:

         Press Direct Voice Mail button.
         Press the Feature button and select Direct VM.
         Press the Feature button and dial 56.
         Press Transfer button and dial #56.

Step 1a - (Single-line telephones only) Press Flash or Recall then dial #56.

Step 2 - Dial the extension number or press Auto Dial button.

Step 3 - Hang up and the transfer will be completed.  If you transferred the
         call by pressing the Transfer button and dialing #56, either press
         the Transfer button again, or hang up and the transfer will be
         completed.

The final page covers programming a Direct Voice Mail Button on MLX Telephones
and on Analog Multiline Telephones.

MLX:  Press Feature button and press 00.  Press the button on the telephone
that you want to program.  Then press *56.  To exit, press Feature button and
press 00.

Analog Multiline:  Slide switch on the side of telephone to the P setting.
Press the button on the telephone you want to program.  Press *56.  Slide
switch on side of telephone to the center setting.

That's all there is on the last page of the Merlin Mail User's Guide.

In closing, Merlin Mail is a fairly simple VMS to learn, explore and use.
It offers quite a few useful options to its users, has an easy, user friendly
menu system and is similar to many other common types of voice mail systems.
It's a little dated (circa 1995), but the information is still relevant.  If
you have any questions, send Email to blackened@disinfo.net and I will do my
best to respond and provide you with any additional information relating to
Merlin Mail that you require.

Written by BLACKENED ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.


ú - NEWS FROM THE TRENCHES - ú

On April 8th, 1999 THC Phreak was arrested by the RCMP, accused of alleged
"computer crimes".  I cannot disclose any details for obvious reasons.  I
can say that he hasn't cooperated with them and he assured me that he won't
mention anyone else or implicate them in anything.  However, due to his
involvement in the group Damage, INC. (and the very nature of groups such
as this), they may indeed try to accuse us of conspiracy to commit crimes...
even though to my knowledge, none of us are guilty of such things.  There
weren't any plans to commit illegal acts, nor was there any premeditation on his
part relating to what he has been charged of allegedly doing.  That doesn't mean
we're safe and in the clear by any means though.  In this country, unwarranted
charges are not uncommon.  In fact, they are far from being rare... and the
RCMP's infamous witchhunts happen all too often.  And so, THC Phreak's fight
for personal freedom, liberty and justice will go on as he battles the corrupt
system that has chosen to "make an example out of him."  Unfortunately, this
situation most likely won't be resolved for quite some time, as these things
have a way of dragging out over a long span of time.  For his sake, I sincerely
hope that his lawyer is well versed in these matters and able to defend him
well.  At this point, they're still in the process of gathering evidence... and
they haven't said what the final (inflated) figure is for the damages he's
allegedly caused.  To be honest, I don't believe he would intentionally do any
damage, steal information or any services of value.  So, again, they're just
drumming up false charges and it's only a matter of time before they start
throwing around large figures (putting a hypothetical worth/dollar value of huge
sums of money on something) to impress the media and influence the public.
Afterall, that is one of their classic, favourite tactics to use.

His phone service was cut.  Bell Canada claimed that he "violated their
customer service agreement policies."  Also, to anyone that thinks THC Phreak
is some kind of "K0d3z kid" that was into carding, etc. your assumption is dead
wrong.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  He didn't card, abuse codes,
sell CC numbers, etc. and never showed any interest in doing so during the
entire time that I knew him.  Even the ignorant pigs didn't try to charge him
with doing that.

- There's going to be a new zine called CCi magazine that everyone should check
out.  For more information, visit http://come.to/cci_mag and read about the
plans, etc.  In case you're wondering why I'm promoting it here, I'm a writer
for CCi mag and would like more people to become involved with it.

- System Failure is no more.  Visit www.sysfail.org to download their final
16th issue.  It's sad to see another quality zine cease publication.  I'd
just like to wish the staff of SysFail good luck in their future endeavours.

- Ma Bell no longer has a monopoly on payphones due to deregulation.  But there
are a few companies in Ontario that have been scamming investors out of
thousands of dollars.  They've been posting ads in newspapers, which request
an investment of several thousand dollars for the telephone equipment necessary
to start your own small business... but their customers haven't received the
payphones that they believed they were purchasing.  Most of the scam businesses
were run out of post office boxes, so they couldn't contact them at an office
or do anything to recover their lost money.  So, it's not quite as easy as
buying a payphone and bolting it onto a wall yet.  ;)

- The author of the Melissa virus was apprehended due to his own lack of
stealthfulness.  David L. Smith's incompetence caught up with him when he
distributed the Micro$oft Word virus using an AOL account, from his home
in New Jersey using his own phone line.  Working with Bell Atlantic, the
local telco servicing his area, the cops were able to get a trace and track
him down quite easily.  He was arrested and charged with various offenses
which combined carry a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and $480,000
in fines.  If he would have used an anonymous terminal in a public building
(that doesn't require a login) to distribute the virus, there's a good chance
he would never have been caught.

- Bill Gates is now worth an estimated $100 billion.  Can you say "greedy
bastard?"  And that figure has most likely increased by several billion since
I last checked his net worth.

Bell Canada techs and ops, which are members of the Communications, Energy, and
Paperworkers Union of Canada have been on strike since March 9.  They are
fighting Ma Bell tooth and nail over job security.  Bell wants to form an
alliance with Excell Global Services of Arizona to create a new company called
NEWCO.  Bell Canada ops make a base salary of $35,000.  Bell wants to dump them
(or convert the bitchiest ops) in favour of NEWCO ops that will make $20,000 per
year.  In mid April, Bell called the Montreal riot police after the ops and
techs formed a human blockade infront of Bell HQ.  Bell called in Montreal's
riot police so their non-unionized scab workers could get to work.  On April 28,
at the BCE shareholders meeting, an estimated 800 Bell workers/shareholders set
small fires, and demanded that BCE share the profits with the employees.
Meanwhile, BCE claimed to have "lost $115 million" in Q1 of 1999, despite gross
revenues of $3.5 billion.  The "loss" is blamed on Nortel, which bought out
another telecom company, and losses at BCI (Bell Canada International) and other
international interests.

Bell Canada strike update:  On May 11, Bell and union leaders announced an
agreement in principle.  When the deal takes effect, Bell's 7,200 techs will get
an 8.4% raise over five years and a shorter work week (they barely put any hours
in before the strike IMO).  The 2,300 ops get nothing except for a "cost-of-
living catch-up in [sic] the last two years."  A union official stated, "[the
deal] improves people's likelihood of keeping their jobs for the life of the
agreement."  Bell also promised to keep an additional 100 ops under its wing.
The other 1,300 bitter ops will no longer work for their beloved Bell Canada.
They'll work for "Nordia Inc." (it seems the new company isn't "NEWCO" anymore).
It is obvious that Bell is trying to split the union by offering the techs a
nice pay increase as a compromise for hammering on their ops.  Bell's simple
strategy of divide and conquer through greed worked.  On May 15, 80% of the
union voted in favour of the new deal.  Essentially, the techs sent the ops into
Bell exile.  This is a good deal for Bell, but obviously not for customers that
have to deal with the infamously bitchy Bell Canada ops.  They certainly will
become even more bitter now.


CROSSED WIRES -                                                     {WIRES}
Advertisement for CyberCrime International Magazine.

     _______ ___ ___ ______ ______ _____ _______ _____ ____ ___ __________
    )       )   )   )      )      )     )       )     )    )   /   )      )
   /       /   /   /  _/  /  \___/ __/ /       / __/ /    /       /  \___/
  /   \___/_    __/      /  \___/     /   \___/     /    /       /  \___/
 /       / /    \/  _/  /      /     \       /     \    /  / /  /      /
(_______( (______)_____(______(___/   \ ____(___/   \__(__(_(__(______(
                                  (____)        (____)   /nFRAUD\rBL/97\
                              M A G A Z I N E

        There's going to be a new zine on the scene and it's called
             CyberCrime International Magazine.  This new zine
                 will be reader supported and cover a wide
                     range of topics from every scene.
                       So be afraid.  Be VERY afraid.

                  For more information visit the web site:
                           http://come.to/cci_mag
                              rad2921@cup.edu


INTERVIEWS AND INTERROGATIONS -                                {INTERVIEWS}
An interview with Overfien of 9x.

<B> = BLACKENED
Overfien's comments are beneath my questions.


<B> - Introduce yourself to the readers of the Damage, INC. Newsletter...

whatup, my nick is Overfien.  I've been in the hack phreak scene for about
4 years now.  Use to run a bbs called (Seattle's Devils).  I've released a few
of my articles out on the net on RCMAC/ISDN tips.  I got started in Computers
when  I was 10; using a comm 64.  Later on learned to program in pascal.
Eventually I got packard bell 386.. started learning some basic...Then bought
a pentium and learned to program a little java.  Started going to 2600 meetingz.
Chillen on irc. Took computer networking classes at the tech college.  Starting
to learn slowly how to program in "C"

<B> - How long have you been involved in the h/p scene?

ive been in the hp scene for almost 5 years.

<B> - When was 9x started?  How was the group formed?  What are the goals and
purpose of 9x?  Is there anything in particular that you hope the group will
achieve?

9x was started about 4 years ago.  The group was formed by substance, SchizoMan
(aka: microdot), Deliquent Dialer and a few others.  It started as a very small
unknown group and eventually got more known.  The goal of 9x is to get more kids
(and adults) into HP - To keep the public on new technology, hacks, and other
ways of doing illegal things without getting caught.  Probally to live on and
stay active.  As long as we the members active, 9x will never die.

<B> - How has 9x changed since the first text releases were written?

9x has changed ALOT over the years, we started out almost taking anything would
give us if the info looked accurate... Now "we" as in 9x only take fully
accurate info..

<B> - As the editor of 9x, do you find that it's difficult to get people to
write articles and contribute?  Also, has releasing text files and 1-800/888
scans on a frequent basis been a challenge?

No, everyone (well most) seems to stay somewhat active.  We dont ask much of
people, just to idle on #9x, show some support and contribute with a scan, or
util once every few months.

<B> - What does it mean to be a member of 9x?

Hmm.. get respect from other 9x members you get a vmb, conf infoz when we have
em.. thats about it.

<B> - Can anyone write articles/text files/scans and submit them to 9x?
Where should they be sent?  How should people that are interested in
contributing contact you and/or 9x?

my email is overfien@bboy.com .  You dont need to be a member to join 9x,
anyone can submit and get on the greetz list.  Any submissions should be
mailed to the leader (Substance) or dcc'ed to a 9x member.

<B> - Normally, I wouldn't mention specific releases in an interview.  However,
I must commend Hazzmat and you for a recent 9x release written on PBXs.  It
was very well written, informative and accurate.  Not that 9x's other text,
scans and utilities aren't quality.  In fact, I recommend that newbies download
the ones explaining ANI, Octel, Alltel, OneConnect VMBs, Blue Boxing, DNS
Spoofing, etc.  The scans are great for newbies as well, as they can check out
some of the various Unix systems listed.  My question is, which of 9x's releases
do you feel best represents the group?

I would agree with you on the pbx file me and hazzmat wrote..I cant say
any of them really represent, you have to decide ...

<B> - How does someone apply to join 9x as a member?  Should they write an
article first, submit a scan or otherwise prove themselves to be competent
and knowledgable?  Can anyone apply or is becoming a member by invitation only?

anyone can become a member and you should scan an 800/888/x25 prefix, an article
and or code a util to get looked at for membership.  send submissions to
jcat@raw.veloweb.com.

<B> - What types of things are normally discussed in #9x?

we talk about life drugs, girlz, programming, new hardware  all that shit.

<B> - Are you still actively involved in h/p?  What do you think of the current
h/p scene and how has it changed since you began?

Yes i'm currently active..    I think the HP scene has changed for the worse
since I see much more clueless, more kids from aol are claiming to be in scene,
more and more windowz o/s user claim to be leet. we need more education for the
public, less movies like Hackers which makes every kid with a computer feel like
a hacker.

<B> - Do you read any h/p related zines?  If so, please list a few of them.

I wrote an article on national ISDN Networks.

<B> - Which h/p groups, if any, do you respect?

b0, wod, darkcyde, Sun City Circuitz

<B> - Have you ever... at any time... considered joining another group?
If so, which one(s) and why?

I havent really considered joining another group totaly, but I considered
merging 9x with other groups to make a more powerful final .  I was about to
consider joining Sun City Circuitz... although they were about to lease me
an UltraSPARC-IIi 300MHz, 512k Cache...i declined because 2 of their members
got arrested for stealing "meeting place software"

<B> - Which web sites do you usually frequent?

www.darktide.com, hack.box.sk

<B> - Do you want to share any memorable hacking/phreaking experiences?

Well defcon 5 the first night.. i got quite wasted and didn't wake up til the
convention was over with...

<B> - Have you ever been busted?  Or, do you know anyone that's been busted?
If so, would you like to describe the event, the circumstances of the bust
and the conclusion?

i got busted a few times for forgery, theft2nd, computer tresspass..Deffered
prosticution.. be a good boy for 2 years get it all off my record...

<B> - Do you want to mention any boards that you call or people in the
scene that you know?

Hideout in hell [360]
Phantom Tollbooth [914] and ice [518]
phreakz [360]
Killer Spiral [212]
Sun City Circuitz [360]
Defcon Voice bridge [916]
Centrex [916,292]
utah party line [801]
2600 voice bridge [516]

Greetz to: Microwave aka Digital Pawn, Crossbar, Dialt0ne, Hamster, Chameleon,
Chyxxor, Nivphreak, Angieb, Bstring, Reveal, Corrupt Security, Superior,
savec0re, Evil Operator, Power Dragon, Pail Head, Madgirl, Dr. Who,
Alien Phreak, Tr1x, Dre, Queen B, Mr. Midnight, Skalar109, JF, Jack T. Dragon,
DeathCraze, Broken-, Oclet, omega 2, Power Dragon, Geno Ramano, Jennicide,
LoopHole, Data Angel, Hybr1d, Demos, Phaceman, Downt1me, Darcness, Buspar,
all the 9x nigz

<B> - Are there any other interesting h/p experiences or general comments
that you have and wish to share?

Listen to the elders in the scene they generally know whatz best...

<B> - Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed Overfien.  I'm sure that our
readers will enjoy reading this interview and gain some insight about you
and 9x.  I've read most of 9x's releases, have a lot of respect for them
and would like to contribute in the future.  As I conclude this interview, I
just want to say that 9x is definitely a quality group.  Hopefully this
Damage, INC. interview will benefit our readers and 9x in some way.  If you
want the newest 9x releases, they are available at:

http://www2.dope.org/9x or
http://pr0n.insomnia.org/9x [mirror #1]
or send email to 9x@k0re.900mhz.org


OBJECTIVE OPINIONS -                                             {OPINIONS}
America the Hateful.

America the Beautiful.
America the Violent.
America the Hateful.

At any given time there are millions of American citizens imprisoned.  Some of
them are rotting away in solitary confinement for years.  But make no mistake,
most of them will be released someday, in a worse state of mind than before
their incarceration.  And once they are free again, they will have no future
to look forward to.  Our very laws ensure that.  Given that, their only means
is to turn to crime for survival.  Most Americans fear criminals, so they
purchase weapons for protection.  It isn't uncommon for them to have a gun or
several guns in their homes.  In fact, millions of guns are sold each year in
this country.  We have a constitutional right to bear arms and many citizens
exercise that right.  Every now and then a crime is committed and it gains a
tremendous amount of publicity, which causes the media feeding frenzy to be
unleashed and the government legislation machine is put into high gear.  It's
inevitable.  Blame is quickly placed on guns, movies, television, video games,
negligent parents, the media and the Internet among other things.  People search
for a reason and want the question "Why" to be answered simply and immediately.
However, the answer isn't always simple and usually there isn't a single answer
for why crimes such as school shootings and other mass killings occur.  Yet
that's what they want.  And in most cases, they want to claim to know what the
right answer is.  News agencies, film companies, game manufacturers, musicians,
organizations like the NRA, etc. are all easy targets so they usually take the
brunt of the blame.  Once people stop saying "How did this happen here?" and
"I never thought that something like this could happen here!" they become angry
with anyone and anything.  Somehow that makes them feel better.  Just as,
calling incidents such as shootings "senseless acts" seems to comfort them.
I cannot understand how those people can label them senseless and at the same
time try to find a reason.  Nor can I fathom why they insist on half heartedly
trying to understand something which they obviously do not want to study,
analyze, think seriously and logically about.  In other words, they should know
that the problem isn't going to be solved in a week.  They should realize that
it's much more complex than that.  The very fact that they continue to happen
means that they don't have all of the answers.  That's a given.

This is a country filled with anger, rage and hatred.  Its culture is violent.
Its people are violent.  Without access to guns, there would still be other
means of killing such as bombs.  And how can one limit access to household
materials that can be used to make bombs?  Even if that were done somehow, how
would they go about stopping someone from burning a building down?  How can
the use of chemical and biological weapons possibly be prevented?  What about
poison?  What about homemade weapons?  Will measures such as putting armed
police officers in every school stop that?  Will metal detectors at all of the
building's entrances prevent any of the above threats?  No, of course not.  Some
high schools already have armed guards and they've already experienced
shootings.  Plus, a metal detector won't stop someone with a gun from opening
fire.  When the detector starts beeping, the person will begin shooting.  The
shooting at the Capitol in Washington proved that.  And if there are enough
"deterrents" in place, the person that is driven and hellbent on killing will
simply kill outside of the secured area.

Will raising the age necessary to buy a handgun from 18 to 21 do anything?  No,
in my opinion that won't make a difference at all.  No matter what Bill Clinton
believes.  The reason is that an underage kid can still buy a gun illegally,
steal legally owned guns from houses, steal from gun shops, or persuade an adult
to purchase the gun for them.  Will any of the proposed gun legislation do
anything?  I honestly don't think that it's going to stop everyone that's
determined to get guns or solve anything.  All it'll achieve is giving the
public a false sense of security.  It will only allow them to forget about the
issue after they utter the words "Problem solved." in ignorance.

Should wearing dark clothing, like black t-shirts, jeans and trenchcoats be
made a crime?  Should cameras be installed in schools?  Should music, movies
and the Internet all be censored?  Can information on how to build bombs be
restricted or eliminated?  Definitely not.  For example, if every web site with
information on how to build pipe bombs were suddenly eliminated, there are
still books that contain the very same information on how to construct them.
So, unless you want a good old fashioned book burning and revert to that type
of logic, then don't be so hasty to censor and ban things.  Unless of course
you want everything to be restricted and want to give up your freedom of speech
and expression rights.

As you can see, this is a complex issue.  Acting without thinking won't do
anyone any good.  It'll only serve to make things worse.  The people out there
that yell "Censor!" and "Get rid of all of the..." are the ones that pose more
harm to our way of life than anyone else.  If they had their way, we'd be
stripped of so many of our rights that we'd be living in a totalitarian state.
Perhaps that's their goal.  Maybe they're just seizing the opportunity to voice
their twisted 'solutions' and opinions when events such as shootings occur.
In times like this people are willing to listen to almost any ideas no matter
how radical and extreme they are.  And that's why those people use tragedies
to their advantage, to further their agenda and be heard by the masses.  The
real tragedy is that quite often the masses are panicking and overreacting
to the point that they consider taking any drastic steps that are publicly put
forward, instead of thinking and debating about what's being said.  There's
so much rhetoric that they don't know what to believe, so they latch onto the
things that they think explain it simplest and best.  In the end though, it's
hate.  The root cause of it all is hatred and the amount that exists in this
society.  People are hated for dressing differently, acting differently and
living differently.  Individualism isn't just frowned upon, but the people
that choose to express their uniqueness and embrace their individualism are
shunned.  That's even though they are often polite, intelligent people.  Until
the real issue of hatred is addressed in this country, nothing will be solved.

In conclusion, I want to make it very clear that I'm not advocating the use
of guns.  Nor do I encourage anyone to solve their problems (real or perceived)
through violent means.  If you are treated like an outcast, transfer to another
school or take some other measures to resolve the situation.  Don't think of
yourself as a victim and don't victimize innocent people.  If you are consumed
by deep anger and rage, try to find a way other than violence to take out your
frustrations.  It just isn't worth ruining your life, even if people constantly
taunt and torment you.  Find another way.  You can trust that if you do go out
and shoot people, you will definitely be viewed as a coward regardless of the
circumstances.  If you kill yourself, surrender or are shot and killed by the
SWAT team the result will be the same.  The media, the police and the public
will label you as a coward.  It's a no win situation.  In the end the result
is always the same, the shooter is labelled as being a coward for the acts
that they committed.  And so, if you are a person that's considered it, or just
had a passing thought about it, take my advice.

Written by Blackie Lawless ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.


REPORTS FROM THE FRONT -                                          {REPORTS}
Intel's Pentium III chips,

If you find an article that's relevant and would be of interest to others,
send it to damage_inc@dope.org so that we can include it in this publication.
Share the information.  ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garnered from www.bigbrotherinside.com

Intel's new chips contain a unique number that has all the
makings of a Social Security Number for the Internet... and all
the privacy problems that went with it. Like governments and
credit bureaus and direct marketers using the number to build
huge databases of profiles on consumers... and selling that
personal information without your knowledge or consent. Do you
want personal information about your web browsing and online
behavior available to government and corporate interests? Of
course not.

Intel is saying that using the number will be optional. Yeah,
sure, if you don't mind giving up your favorite software. Before
you buy an Intel-numbered computer, ask yourself what you're
going to do if Microsoft and other software companies demand the
number for copyright protection.

Protect your privacy by joining the boycott against Intel
products. Send them the message that you're not buying a computer
with Big Brother Inside.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garnered from TIME.com

Intel Bows to Serial Number Scare
TIME Digital: Is the Pentium III a threat to your privacy?

Facing protest and even boycott, Intel relented yesterday on plans to ship new
Pentium III chips with a hardcoded ID code turned on. But the hardware signature
can still be activated through software and privacy advocates are calling
Intel's reversal a "temporary fix." A graphic on one protest site changes the
familiar "Intel Inside" graphic to read "big brother inside."

[What else can Intel's "solution" be called other than that?  Would saying
that it's "bullshit" be more appropriate?]

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the D.C.-based Electronic Privacy
Information Center asserted "There's not enough assurances here that the chip
will not be abused." His organization's call last week for a boycott was echoed
on Friday by Rep. Ed Markey, head Democrat on the House consumer protection
subcommittee, who wrote to Intel's CEO asking the company to withdraw the ID
plans: "Intel's new product improves technology for online commerce in a way
that compromises personal privacy."

[Protest, fight, boycott, scratch and claw.  Do whatever it takes to stop
flagrant attempts by Big Brother to remove our privacy.]


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pirates Sneer at Intel Chip
by Polly Sprenger

9:25 a.m.  22.Jan.99.PST Intel Thursday said that its next-generation processors
include a feature that will identify online users as they traverse the Web.

Intel says its Processor Serial Number Control utility will protect e-commerce
transactions. When the feature is activated, the computer's identifier can be
matched against the sensitive information the user inputs, validating the
exchange. Intel (INTC) also claims that the new utility will make pirating
software more difficult.

Pirates are unimpressed. Privacy advocates are worried.

[Of course they are.  They have just cause to be concerned.  The incorporation
of that so-called "feature" on Intel's new chip is a blatant invasion of privacy
on Intel's part that shouldn't go unnoticed.]

Their fear is that the feature can be used to identify users who visit sites
without making a purchase, even when they haven't voluntarily given out their
information.

Intel said users can turn the feature off easily, but the chip is built to
immediately broadcast an identifying serial number as soon as it is connected
to the Internet.

Patrick Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of Intel's desktop
products group, said the feature has far-reaching implications for protecting
online copyrighted material. The serial number would create an electronic
stamp of the material's point of origin, Gelsinger said.

For software manufacturers, the new chip feature shows promise as a weapon
against piracy. If each software license can only be used on the computer with
the correct serial number, the market for pirated software goods essentially
evaporates.

Software vendors have been asking Intel for years to build some kind of
identification into its hardware, the company said.

Peter Beruk of the Software Publisher's Association said the chip could help
his organization with its anti-piracy efforts. "We're going to support any
technology that helps protect the licensing of software," Beruk said.

But, he added, the privacy issue was troubling, and the industry shouldn't
endorse an anti-piracy effort that threatens the privacy of honest Web users.

[But who cares about privacy right?  Just as long as it helps combat pirating.]

The pirates themselves only shrugged.

"This won't stop piracy, because someone very soon will compile a patch or
some other way to outsmart it, and then the piracy will be right back on track
with new blood," said one member of the Warez community. "If I've thought
of this, the market strategists at Pentium have thought of this as well."

Other members of the online underground elite were even less interested in the
announcement.

"It's an invasion of privacy that the hackers and Warez [d00ds] are not
concerning themselves with," said another Warez member.

[They aren't?  Many are very interested and concerned about matters of privacy.]

Jim Yankelevich, director of technical operations for LaptopSales.com, an online
retailer, said the new chip is nothing more than a gimmick to sell computers.
Yankelvich said he used to be a software pirate "in a long forgotten time" and
doesn't see how it will be effective in combating piracy.

"As we have already found out, tracking computer users is not as easy as it
sounds," Yankelvich said. "As far as the technological ramifications
-- the extra security will boost e-commerce, maybe for no other reason than
that it makes consumers feel a little safer. Piracy will probably not be
affected by this, because companies will be slow to catch on, and by the time
they do, someone somewhere will figure a way to defeat it."

Copyright 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc.  All rights reserved.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garnered from CNN.com

Privacy groups to announce boycott of Intel products

January 25, 1999
Web posted at: 3:02 a.m. EST (0802 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Privacy groups will announce a boycott Monday of all
products from Intel Corp. until the company agrees to disable new technology
in its upcoming line of Pentium III computer chips that helps identify
consumers across the Internet.

Privacy rights groups say personal identification numbers embedded in the new
chips could lead to an erosion of privacy, while Intel claims the ID numbers
will allow for more secure online transactions.

[It would lead to an overwhelming amount of new products with anti-privacy
"features" and devices built-in.  Personal privacy is already eroding every
single day.]

Intel said its technology also can be used to avoid piracy by preventing a
single copy of a software program from being installed on several machines.

"Not even the tamest privacy advocate has failed to condemn it," said Jason
Catlett, president of Junkbusters Inc. of Green Brook, New Jersey, which lobbies
on a range of high-tech issues.

It organized the boycott with the Washington-based Electronic Privacy
Information Center.

Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts), urged Intel on Friday to reconsider its
plans, "to better balance both commercial and privacy objectives." Markey is the
senior Democrat on the House consumer protection subcommittee and active in
Internet privacy issues.

Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said late Sunday that the company hadn't been
notified of the boycott. He said Intel has been in talks about its technology
for several weeks with Junkbusters, and previously had meetings planned this
week with both Catlett's group and the privacy information center.

Mulloy said it would be "difficult to tell" the potential impact of any boycott
of Intel.

[Difficult to tell?  Hmm...  What's so difficult about it?]

Developing user profiles

"That serial number can be linked in databases like your Social Security number
is used by credit bureaus and marketing companies," Catlett said. "It allows a
massive profile to be efficiently collected and sold."

Intel, the world's largest chipmaker with $26.2 billion in sales last year,
announced last week that the new Pentium III chip, to be sold within months,
will by default transmit its unique serial number internally and across the
Internet.

Consumers can turn the feature off, but it turns itself back on each time the
computer is restarted.

[Surprise... surprise.]

In addition to making about 85 percent of the world's computer processors, Intel
also manufactures memory chips plus hardware for computer networks,
communications and graphics.

Catlett called the Pentium III chips that already have been produced "toxic
hardware."

[Obviously, I agree with that statement wholeheartedly.]

"They should destroy them," said Catlett, who spoke last year at a summit on
Internet privacy in Washington organized by the Commerce Department.

[Yes, they definitely should.  And all future attempts of using these types
of Big Brother identifiers should be immediately stopped and banned.]

As part of their boycott, organizers will unveil a parody of the company's
ubiquitous "Intel Inside" logo. Theirs features the same familiar swirl but
with the words, "Big Brother Inside."

[It looks good too.]

Tough law in Europe

Intel's announcement comes at an awkward time for the Clinton administration.

David Aaron, undersecretary of state for commerce, was to begin negotiations
Monday in Europe -- the same day as the boycott announcement -- over a tough
new privacy law enacted by the 15-nation European Union last October.

"It couldn't have come at a worse time," Catlett said. "This new feature from
Intel is really throwing kerosene on the fire of the trans-Atlantic privacy
negotiations."

Aaron must assure Europeans that the United States has adequate privacy
protections or risk a prohibition against businesses in those 15 countries from
disclosing personal information about citizens there to U.S. companies. Aaron
warned Friday that such a ban would carry "a very adverse impact on the
operation of the economies on both sides of the Atlantic and could be a very
serious blow."

The Electronic Privacy Information Center said it will meet later in the week
with the Federal Trade Commission to discuss Intel's plans. The FTC has
criticized the online industry for its failure to protect privacy rights, and
the agency successfully pressed last year for a new law that prohibits Web sites
from collecting personal information from children without parental permission.

Coincidentally, the FTC also is suing Intel for alleged antitrust violations.
The trial is set to begin March 9.

                            The Associated Press contributed to this report.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/17820.html

In a world of ad banner targeting, cookies, and consumer "profiling," 
some have come to believe that total online privacy is a myth. 
Zero-Knowledge Systems is out to prove them wrong. 

The Canadian software start-up gave a demo of its Freedom 1.0, its 
so-called total privacy technology, on Tuesday at the Demo '99
 conference in Indian Wells, California. 

"When you browse the Internet, your personal information is routinely 
collected and often distributed without your knowledge or consent," said 
Austin Hill, president of Montreal-based Zero-Knowledge Systems. 

"With Freedom, you can safely browse Internet sites, participate in 
public discussions, chat, and send email without revealing any of your 
personal information." 

Presently, Web users leave footprints every time they request a Web page 
or send an email. But by building in multiple layers of encryption and 
re-routing, Zero Knowledge Systems promises totally anonymous Web 
browsing and Net use. 

Freedom offers Net users a variety of pseudonyms -- online identities 
created for different, Internet-related tasks, such as shopping or 
online discussions. Users can assign each pseudonym a different email 
address, geographic location, and encryption key. 

Each alias allows a user to visit differet Net sites under different 
identities. The privacy effect is that users can avoid profiling by 
Internet marketers. 

Public key cryptography scrambles the contents of any Internet-bound 
data from the user's PC, such as email, chat transmissions, and Web 
browsing. The crypto also hides the source and destination of Internet 
traffic routed through the service, which the company says will also 
block cookies and filter spam. 

Law enforcement agencies will likely find the prospect of totally 
untrackable Net use troublesome. The system may attract extortionists as 
much as it will appeal to those with a legitimate need to hide, 
including whistle-blowers, human-rights workers, and harassment victims. 

In testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on 4 
February, FBI Director Louis Freeh said that strong crypto will be a 
boon to terrorists. 

"The continued widespread availability and increasing use of strong, 
non-recoverable encryption products will ... devastate our capabilities 
for fighting crime, preventing acts of terrorism, and protecting the 
national security." 

Hill built the Zero Knowledge Systems business model atop an 
increasingly uncertain public policy climate. Because the product uses 
very strong crypto, it may be subject to recently tightened global 
controls on crypto distribution. 

The Wassenaar Arrangement is expected to increase crypto restrictions in 
33 countries, including Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. 
Any developer of super-strength cryptography, such as Zero-Knowledge, 
would need to obtain export licenses just as US crypto vendors do now. 

As a hedge, the company regularly exports the Freedom software code to 
an undisclosed offshore location. Should Canada's export policy on 
strong encryption change abruptly, Hill said he would ask his 
programmers to leave the country and continue development in a country 
free from the restrictions. 

Copyright 1994-99 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft admits to secret code in Windows
------------------------------------------
March 8, 1999

    WASHINGTON - Microsoft Corp., whose software runs most of the world's
personal computers, admitted Sunday that its latest version of Windows generates
a unique serial number secretly planted within electronic documents that could
be used to trace the identities of the authors.
    In a disclosure with enormous privacy implications, Microsoft also said it
is investigating whether it is collecting the serial numbers from customers even
if they explicitly indicate they didn't want them disclosed.
    "If it is just a bug," said Robert Bennett, Microsoft's group product
manager for Windows.
    "If it is indeed happening.... we'll absolutely have to fix that."
    Programmer Richard Smith of Brookline, Mass., noticed last week that
documents Smith created, using Microsoft's popular Word and Excel programs in
tandem with the Windows 98 operating system, included within their hidden
software code a 32-digit number unique to his computer.
    The number also appears in a log of information transmitted to Microsoft
when customers register their copies of Windows 98, even if they say they don't
want details about their computers sent to the company.

Widely used programs

    Microsoft's Word and Excel programs are among the most widely used, and its
Windows operating system run roughly 85 per cent of the world's personal
computers.
    "Nobody to my knowledge has had a database that would allow a piece of
written material to be traced back to who wrote it," said Smith, president of
Phar Lap Software Inc.
    "I don't expect Microsoft to do that kind of tracing, but it's sort of
unprecedented."
    Bennett said Microsoft will create a software tool to let customers remove
the number, which he said is meant to help diagnose problems for customers, who
call with technical questions.
    Smith suggested, however, that Microsoft also could use the technology to
identify stolen copies of Windows by comparing the hardware serial number with a
20-digit Windows product number that also is transmitted when a customer
registers.  The industry claims annual losses from software piracy at more than
$11.4 billion US.
    "If they suddenly see the same product ID number with different hardware ID
numbers, it gives them evidence for court that there's software piracy," Smith
said.

Looking into the issue

    Bennett said Microsoft was looking into whether the number, called a
Globally Unique Identifier, ever was obtained from customers who didn't want
details about their computer hardware disclosed, such as their network
addresses.
    The identifier is partly based on a 12-digit number unique to each network
adapter, a hardware device allows high-speed Internet connections.
    Bennett promised that Microsoft also will wipe any of those numbers from
its internal databases that the company can determine may have been
inadvertently collected.
    Privacy activists weren't mollified.
    "This is going to be a cleanup job larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill,"
said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp. of Green Brook, N.J. which
lobbies on privacy issues.  "There are billions of tattooed documents out
there."

                                                                Associate Press


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHONE OPTIONS RING IN

Sprint Hopes To Win Telus Customers

By Wanda Ehlers
Calgary Sun

Calgary's phone market got a whole lot busier yesterday as Sprint
Canada Inc. announced it will take on Telus in the local phone
business. Calgary will be the first Canadian city to be offered
alternative local telephone services for both business and residential
customers, Sprint's parent firm said yesterday.

Starting today, Call-Net Enterprises will begin an advertising and
telemarketing blitz in an attempt to court Calgarians into switching
service providers. Sprint's basic local service inside Calgary will be
$22.61 per month and rise to as high as $30.61 in outlying regions.

Those who buy local service and either internet or long distance from
Sprint will get a $2 discount off the basic rate. The newly-merged
BCT.Telus charges virtually identical rates in Alberta for basic
service. But both providers say the real advantage will be in getting
more bang for your buck with services like calling features, long
distance and internet access.

"For the first time in the 120-year history of telephone service in
this country, there is now real local competition for business and
residential customers," said Call-Net chief executive Juri Koor.

AT&T Canada also weighed (sic) into the fray, quietly announcing plans
to provide local service for business customers in up to seven major
urban markets this year.

Calling Calgary a strong market that's open and accepting to
competition, Sprint Canada president Philip Bates said Cowtown was an
obvious market to launch into the $8.5 billion local phone wars. The
switch will be virtually seamless, Bates said, with no special
equipment or charges involved in moving to the new provider. Customers
will also be able to keep their existing phone numbers.

Along with Calgarians, residents of Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, and
High River will have the option to choose Sprint Canada as their new
local provider. Within three years, Sprint expects to be in 25 major
Canadian markets, including Edmonton. The company will use its existing
long-distance customer base of 1.3 million as a launching pad for local
service and will be in a position to reach out to six or seven million
households by the time the rollout is complete.

Telus welcomed the competition, adding it's been ready to take on all
comers since deregulation in 1994. "Last year, we actually increased
our (long distance) market share," said spokesman Jeff Welke.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By George Beran, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, Minn.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Dec. 12--US West is offering three new services that allow telephone
customers to block incoming and outgoing calls at a separate monthly
cost of $3.95.

The services called US West Do Not Disturb, Dial Lock and Call Curfew
give residential and business customers control of phone use by family
members and employees.

"Customers can block incoming calls at dinner time, restrict their
teen-ager's phone usage or eliminate unwanted long-distance charges on
their monthly bill," said Gloria Davy, a US West executive.

Advanced network technology is giving US West and other telephone firms
the ability to create services like these and generate more revenue, said
Fred Voit, a telecommunications analyst with the Yankee Group.

But the services may have limited appeal, Voit believes, since they
are offered separately instead of as a package. "If you want them,
they're great services, but I doubt they are mass market services. If
they were bundled in a package, it would be a terrific differentiator
in the market."

Older services such as call forwarding, call waiting and caller ID are
growing slowly by being included in service packages, but have
relatively low market penetration rates, according to Voit's national
statistics.

Call waiting is the most popular option, with a 41.6 percent penetration
rate; caller ID is next at 29.6 percent; call forwarding stands at 13.5
percent and remote call forwarding at 2 percent.

With Do Not Disturb service, customers can block incoming calls during
time periods when no interruptions are desired. Customers can
designate numbers they want to receive, so they don't miss important
calls.

Dial Lock enables customers to block all outgoing calls with exception
of emergency 911 calls. The blocking includes long distance, 900, 960
and 976 numbers, operator-assisted and directory assistance calls plus
toll-free 800, 877 or 888 numbers. A special PIN code allows customers
to override the blocking.

Call Curfew blocks incoming and outgoing calls, except to 911, during
time periods the customers select. Designated calls pass through but
others get a recorded message that calls are not being received. No
added equipment is required to receive the services.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ameritech's New Call-Blocking Service Is Too Costly, Trade Group Says

By Doug Sword, The Indianapolis Star and News
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jan. 5--If you've ever wondered what it would be worth to rid yourself
of pesky, dinner-interrupting telemarketers, Ameritech has the answer:
$3.95 a month.

Beginning today, Ameritech will roll out its new Privacy Manager
service in three Indiana cities -- Indianapolis, Gary and
Hammond. While the service costs $3.95 a month, it requires Caller ID
with Name to work, which costs an extra $9.50 a month.

That's too much, says a telemarketing group, arguing that consumers
can get pretty much the same result by being firm with telemarketers
and asking to be removed from calling lists.

Unlike any other privacy-protection service, such as Caller ID,
Privacy Manager will identify 100 percent of callers, says Curt Witte,
Ameritech's vice president for customer applications. That offers
customers a degree of control over their phone line they've never had
before, he said.

This is how it works:

Privacy Manager kicks in when a call shows up as "blocked," "private,"
"out of area," "unavailable" or "unknown" on a Caller ID
display. Ameritech's research shows that calls from telemarketers
generate a large majority of these kinds of messages, Witte said.

Before connecting the call, Privacy Manager kicks in and asks the
caller to give his or her name. In initial testing, seven out of 10 of
these callers simply hung up, Witte said.

"The beauty is that your phone doesn't even ring," he said.

If the caller does identify himself or herself, the consumer's phone
rings and a recording of the name is played.

If the consumer presses "1" on the touch-tone phone the call is put
through and pressing "2" rejects the call. Pressing "3" activates a
message that informs the caller that telemarketing calls are not
accepted at this residence and asks that the consumer's name be added
to the telemarketer's "do not call" list.

That's a legally binding request, Ameritech points out. Federal law
prohibits telemarketers from calling someone who's made such a request
for 10 years.

Consumers can make the same legally binding requests themselves
without paying $13.45 a month for Caller ID and Privacy Manager, says
Chet Dalzell, spokesman for the Direct Marketing Association, a
telemarketing industry trade group.

"Generally, any consumer who does not want to receive telemarketing calls
at home has choices," he said.

Telling each telemarketer who calls to remove your name from a calling
list is one way to do it. Anyone wishing to be removed from the
calling lists of all Direct Marketing Association members need only
send a letter with their name, address and phone number to Telephone
Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9014,
Farmingdale, NY 11735-9014.

Some customers love to buy the latest telephone technology and Privacy
Manager "is a feature that some people will find handy," said Jerry
Polk, utility policy analyst for Citizens Action Coalition. But
Privacy Manager raises the question of "Where does it end?" he said.

Local phone companies came up with Caller ID, then they sold a product
to telemarketers that blocked Caller ID, Polk said. Now Ameritech has
come up with a new feature that thwarts the Caller ID block.

Ameritech plans to follow Privacy Manager's introduction with an
advertising campaign beginning Jan. 18. The ads will feature peaceful
home scenes, asking the viewer if it's worth interrupting a family's
time together with calls from telemarketers. One of the ads targets
Ameritech's rivals, long-distance companies, as a prime source of
intrusive telemarketing calls.

The technology that allows an answering system to interact with both a
caller and a customer is new and exclusive to Ameritech. The
Chicago-based company is negotiating with other telephone companies to
sellthem a license to use the technology.

Ameritech rolled the product out first in Chicago and Detroit last
September, followed by Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. The trio of
Indiana cities where Privacy Manager becomes available today
represents the third wave of the product's rollout. Ameritech will
offer the product in stages through next year in the remainder of its
five-state Midwestern territory.

Privacy Manager, like Caller ID and call-waiting, falls into a
category of products that aren't regulated by Indiana. Ameritech
critics claim that the cost of adding such products to a phone line is
only a small fraction of what the company charges for them. Critics
also point to the huge profits these unregulated products generate as
a major reason Ameritech has reported record profits in each of the
last five years.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
======================================================
* Original in area CAN.INFOHIGHWAY
* Original from IS Staffing Solutions 17:5141/2
* Original to All , on 01-05-1999, 00:39:18AM
* Original about "Bell screws new Sympatico HSE (DSL) customers in Toronto"
======================================================


From: isstaff@tande.com (IS Staffing Solutions)
Subject: Bell screws new Sympatico HSE (DSL) customers in Toronto

Don't you hate companies who offer what they can't provide !

I was one of the thousands of people who recently ordered 
Sympatico's High Speed Edition DSL service which has only been
available for a couple of weeks. About 10 days ago, I applied and was told 
that YES, service was available to lucky ol' me !
A loop check was done on my line and my order was confirmed, with an 
activation date of Jan.4... So today I get home, all excited to kick ass 
in Quake 2 and do some downloading...but what ? No ADSl package waiting as 
promised ? I figured:ah well, maybe the package was a day late or 
something.
Then at about 9pm, the phone rings: Its some kid, calling from Sympatico. 
He went on to tell me that NO, after all, you will not get your DSL 
service now...the Bell Central Office near me is (get this) "exhausted", 
and "we will call you whenever the service does become available."
(I live in downtown toronto ) 
He went on to tell me that my package with
the modem and shit was still on its way, and that I should install the 
modem, network card etc. and then just wait for whenever they call to say 
service was available (which they would not even estimate !).
He mentioned that "we were given a big list of people to call", and tell 
them this joyous news. 

Gee, thanks a lot, Bell. Maybe I'll get the damn cable modem after all.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


THOUGHTS, POEMS AND CREATIVE WRITING -                            {WRITING}
Oppression.

It's such a simple word; oppression.  And yet it carries so much meaning.  The
very word itself conveys a strong message, can conjure images and stir up
emotions amongst many people.  Indeed, it is an extremely powerful word.  Thus,
it shouldn't be overused or abused, lest it lose its intended meaning.  It must
be used in the right situations and spoken with vigor, otherwise it loses its
effectiveness.  It is a word that is designed to be said with feeling and
emotion.  Oppression simply isn't a topic that should be taken lightly or
discussed in a manner that's not serious.  It should be important to all.
Oppression in any form is destructive and a threat to us all.  It shouldn't
just be ignored because it's affecting someone else rather than you.  It's a
matter that we should all think about and never ignore.  That's exactly what
I've been doing lately, prompted to a great degree by recent events that've
unfolded.  So, I decided to use this as a forum to share my thoughts on the
topic as a way of expressing what I feel oppression means.

So what forms of oppression still exist in society?  There's slavery, torture,
various human rights violations, censorship, eavesdropping, spying, removal
of privacy by other means, search and seizures, restrictions on electronic
exploration, restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom
of information, freedom of assembly, the right to protest and demonstrate,
restrictions on personal defense and all kinds of civil liberties.  And that's
just for starters.  Many civilians are controlled and used like pawns.  The
rights that are bestowed upon them are dictated and governed by a small group
of people that makes all the decisions for them.  In essence, they're kept
down.  They're oppressed and many of them don't even realize it.

Oppression has to be said with conviction and written with purpose.  It has
to be spoken and used with meaning.  To abuse it is to diminish it and then
it loses its meaning.  On the other hand, not to speak of it is to ignore
the simple fact that oppression still exists in many forms.  We cannot just
blindly accept that or try to forget it.  If we do, you can be assured that
someday we will all be oppressed to such a degree that we won't know what it
means not to live under oppressors.  And by that time, there will not be
anyone left to fight back and defend against them.

Written by Blackie Lawless ú Damage, INC. (C)opyright 1999.


CLOSING COMMENTS -                                                {CLOSING}
BLACKENED's Explanatory Closing Comments.

THC Phreak was going to write the Introduction and Closing Comments for this
issue, but that all changed due to the events that I've already described.
Therefor, I'll keep this very brief and just say that we hope to continue
releasing issues of the Damage, INC. Newsletter on a regular basis.  The
unexpected events that have unfolded have delayed us and presented us with
some new problems, but don't expect it to stop us from continuing to release
this zine.

"Our government lies to us all the time." - Gov. Jesse Ventura

On a personal note, the last couple of months have been a blur.  In the last
6-8 weeks I've been caught up in a whirlwind of problems in my personal life, as
well as dealing with the witchhunt surrounding THC Phreak and that whole
unfortunate situation.  To be blunt, it has been a hellish time.  I've also been
plagued by some health problems lately.  So, those are some of the reasons why
the release of this issue was delayed for so long.  Needless to say, we are
hoping that things improve and that we'll be able to continue this zine and work
on other projects.  However, there might be some changes within the group.  At
this point, I am contemplating resigning as Editor of the DIN.  If I make the
decision to do that, it'll be on a temporary basis and isn't based on anything
relating to the actual zine itself, but rather on outside factors.  And if I do
decide to take a hiatus for a few months, either Shatazar or Blackie Lawless
will take over.  I have complete confidence in both of them and feel that
working together or independently they can do an adequate, competent job at
continuing on the tradition that is the Damage, INC. Newsletter.  If anyone has
any relevant, important questions regarding the status of this zine or my
Editorship, direct them to blackened@disinfo.net and I'll do my best to answer
them.  Lastly, I just want to reassure everyone that there are no current plans
to cease publishing this zine.  It'll continue for as long as there's support
and readers out there that are interested in it.  Although we cannot stop
Big Brother from manipulating puppets, influencing and brainwashing zombies,
or prevent them from spreading propaganda, disinformation, outright lies,
corrupting and destroying everything that's worthwhile in this world... we
*can* and will do something.  We'll continue to speak out, spread the truth,
expose the coverups and lies and do anything in our power to fight them.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Damage, INC. Phreaky Field Phreaking List (Spring Edition) was released
in March.  Visit the web site to get a copy and contact us if you want to
contribute numbers.  We plan on making changes and additions to it and an
expanded Summer Edition is in the works.  It should be released in the next
couple of months.  So, start scanning and send in those numbers.  And if you're
too paranoid to scan 1-800s from home, use a damn payphone.  It's toll free.
Any numbers (including local numbers you scan and find in your NPA) that you
send in are appreciated.

We've started a project which involves putting together a collection of payphone
pictures, to be displayed on our web site.  In order for it to be a success,
it will require the contributions of many people that have access to phones in
various countries/cities that we don't.  So, if you have a camera and want to
become involved in this project, contact us at damage_inc@dope.org or just send
us whatever telco related pics (payphones, COs, switching stations, Bell cans,
etc.) that you have.

We've released some lists of dialups for X.25 packet switching networks
(AlaskaNet, Datapac, SprintNet, BT Tymnet, etc.)  So, if you're interested
in obtaining them, download MCI.ZIP and SPRINT.ZIP from the web site.

Milestone:  We've had over 8750 hits to the web site.  Visit it often for
updates and new releases.

Quotes:

Shatazar - "Millenniums have alarms, but they don't have cameras... *yet*."

THC Phreak - "You know I'm still down with Damage, INC. man."

Blackie Lawless - "Those sick, misguided fuckers should stick to what they
know best; mounting their horses while wearing their ridiculous looking
hats and uniforms.  They must think they're the Secret Service of the North."

BLACKENED - "It's now official.  The RCMP stands for Repressive Canadian
Militant Pigs.  Their actions have proven it."

- EOF