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Started by Gene Spafford
Fri, 01 Apr 1988 00:00
Warning: April Fools Time again (forged messages on the loose!)
Author: Gene Spafford
Date: Fri, 01 Apr 1988 00:00
Date: Fri, 01 Apr 1988 00:00
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Warning: April 1 is rapidly approaching, and with it comes a USENET tradition. On April Fools day comes a series of forged, tongue-in-cheek messages, either from non-existent sites or using the name of a Well Known USENET person. In general, these messages are harmless and meant as a joke, and people who respond to these messages without thinking, either by flaming or otherwise responding, generally end up looking rather silly when the forgery is exposed. So, for the next couple of weeks, if you see a message that seems completely out of line or is otherwise unusual, think twice before posting a followup or responding to it; it's very likely a forgery. There are a few ways of checking to see if a message is a forgery. These aren't foolproof, but since most forgery posters want people to figure it out, they will allow you to track down the vast majority of forgeries: o Russian computers. For historic reasons most forged messages have as part of their Path: a non-existent (we think!) russian computer, either kremvax or moscvax. Other possibilities are nsacyber or wobegon. Please note, however, that walldrug is a real site and isn't a forgery. o Posted dates. Almost invariably, the date of the posting is forged to be April 1. o Funky Message-ID. Subtle hints are often lodged into the Message-Id, as that field is more or less an unparsed text string and can contain random information. Common values include pi, the phone number of the red phone in the white house, and the name of the forger's parrot. o subtle mispellings. Look for subtle misspellings of the host names in the Path: field when a message is forged in the name of a Big Name USENET person. This is done so that the person being forged actually gets a chance to see the message and wonder when he actually posted it. Forged messages, of course, are not to be condoned. But they happen, and it's important for people on the net not to over-react. They happen at this time every year, and the forger generally gets their kick from watching the novice users take the posting seriously and try to flame their tails off. If we can keep a level head and not react to these postings, they'll taper off rather quickly and we can return to the normal state of affairs: chaos. Thanks for your support. Gene Spafford, Spokeman, The Backbone Cabal.
Attorney General Attacks President, Vice President
Author: Thomas Flanagan
Date: Fri, 01 Apr 1988 16:44
Date: Fri, 01 Apr 1988 16:44
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^URGENT< ^By THOMAS FLANAGAN< ^Associated Press Writer< WASHINGTON (AP) _ A series of dramatic events in the White House today may precipitate abrupt changes in the executive branch of the federal government. Attorney General Edwin Meese is in custody of federal marshals, accused of shooting President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush. Both the President and the Vice President are expected to survive. White House sources, speaking on the condition that they not be identified, revealed that Reagan met in the Oval Office this morning with Bush and White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker to discuss staffing changes within the Justice Department. Sources indicated that both Bush and Baker attempted to persuade Reagan to ask for Meese's resignation amid continued investigations of the Attorney General's conduct. When Meese joined the meeting, apparently for that very purpose, he allegedly responded with gunfire. The meeting _ which began at 10:45 a.m., shortly after Reagan awoke this morning _ broke up immediately as Secret Service agents entered the office and disarmed the alleged assailant. After giving a statement to federal marshals, Baker met with reporters to give an eyewitness account of the shooting. ``Ed started by going after George, who grabbed the President to use as a shield. One shot was fired, which went straight through the President's head and nicked George's ear, as he was right behind the President. Ron just seemed sort of dazed and said, `Ed, aren't we still friends?' Then he collapsed. At that point the Treasury agents wrestled Ed to the floor.'' Asked for a probable motive to the shooting, Baker responded, ``Well, Ed was very upset. I think he also may have stopped by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms on the way to the White House and helped himself to a bottle of whiskey and a revolver _ he seemed to be acting more erratically than usual and may have been intoxicated.'' President Reagan was said to be resting comfortably at Walter Reed hospital following the incident. Hospital staffers indicated that even though the bullet passed entirely through the frontal and temporal lobes of his brain, there were ``no living brain cells'' in its path. The President is expected to make a full recovery. The prognosis for Vice President Bush is not so positive. Although hospitalized only for the scratch on his left ear, some bruises and a concussion he received when he apparently fainted in the Oval Office, hospital psychiatrists indicated that the Vice President has suffered severe emotional distress and has not even been able to give an account of this morning's events. An unidentified Secret Service agent guarding the Vice President claimed, ``The only word he's spoken since leaving the White House is `Mommy'.'' Hospital psychiatrists refused to confirm this detail. When asked for further comment, examining physician Lt. Commander Dr. Leonard H. McCoy refused, saying only, ``I'm a doctor, not a reporter.'' Also in the psychiatric ward at Walter Reed is the Attorney General, under heavy military guard. Waiving his rights to remain silent or contact an attorney, Meese talked with reporters from within his cell. ``That Miranda stuff is such a crock,'' he said. ``If I had my way, nobody who was arrested would have any rights, especially not women or minorities. They're all a bunch of preverts and I've had it with their preversions. Don't you understand, they're contaminating our purity of essence!'' The commander of the military guard detail, Marine Captain James T. Kirk, commented about Meese, ``If you ask me, he's fruity as a nutcake.'' Before Kirk could comment further, Meese launched into a surprisingly entertaining rendition of ``The Impossible Dream.'' First Lady Nancy Reagan said of the incident, ``I warned Ed many times about the dangers of drugs, but he just never listened. Now look what's happened. When Ron asked him to resign, why couldn't he just say yes?'' White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater accompanied the President in the ambulance to the hospital. Fitzwater reported that Reagan ``was as lucid as he always is. It's as if being shot in the brain made no difference in his mental capabilities.'' Reagan was specifically quoted as saying to Fitzwater, ``I have full confidence in my friend of twenty years, Ed Meese. He has my complete trust.'' Fitzwater went on to explain that Reagan remains in charge of the Executive branch, possessing ``the very same level of alertness'' as before the shooting. Senator Strom Thurmond (S.C.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated that he and other committee members expect to receive a nomination to replace Meese as Attorney General within the next two weeks. Thurmond said, ``I hope the President picks someone like Arizona Governor Evan Mecham. He exhibits the same ethical standards we've come to expect from the U.S. Attorney General.'' AP-NR-04-01 1133EST<
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