Re: FBI wants public help solving encrypted notes from murder mystery
Joe Snodgrass wrote: FBI cryptanalysis hasn’t decrypted notes from 1999 murder mystery http://tinyurl.com/4d56zsz The FBI is seeking the public's help in breaking the encrypted code found in two notes discovered on the body of a murdered man in 1999. The FBI says that officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick on June 30, 1999 in a field and the clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes found in the victim's pants pockets. The FBI says that despite extensive work by its Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), and the American Cryptogram Association, the meanings of those two coded notes remain a mystery and McCormick's murderer has never been found. One has to wonder though, if the FBI can't figure this out, who can? But I digress. From the FBI: "The more than 30 lines of coded material use a maddening variety of letters, numbers, dashes, and parentheses. McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be 'street smart.' According to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family knows how to decipher the codes, and it's unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret language. Investigators believe the notes in McCormick's pockets were written up to three days before his death." "Standard routes of cryptanalysis seem to have hit brick walls," said CRRU chief Dan Olson in a statement. To move the case forward, examiners need another sample of McCormick's coded system-or a similar one-that might offer context to the mystery notes or allow valuable comparisons to be made. Or, short of new evidence, Olson said, "Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea." The FBI says it has always relied on public tips and other assistance to solve crimes though breaking a code may represent a special circumstance. [...] There are two JPG images (note1.jpg and note2.jpg) at the web page: < http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/march > . As they say there: " View larger versions (right click and save the files to enlarge further)." i.e. : Right click on first image and "Save image as ..." using the browser, "" "" on second image and "Save image as ..." using the browser. I used the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) to enlarge and otherwise manipulate the images. But each is only about 50 to 80 kilobytes ... -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: FBI wants public help solving encrypted notes from murder mystery
Stretto wrote: "Joe Snodgrass" wrote in message news:[email protected]... FBI cryptanalysis hasn’t decrypted notes from 1999 murder mystery http://tinyurl.com/4d56zsz The FBI is seeking the public's help in breaking the encrypted code found in two notes discovered on the body of a murdered man in 1999. The FBI says that officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick on June 30, 1999 in a field and the clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes found in the victim's pants pockets. The FBI says that despite extensive work by its Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), and the American Cryptogram Association, the meanings of those two coded notes remain a mystery and McCormick's murderer has never been found. One has to wonder though, if the FBI can't figure this out, who can? But I digress. From the FBI: "The more than 30 lines of coded material use a maddening variety of letters, numbers, dashes, and parentheses. McCormick was a high school dropout, but he was able to read and write and was said to be 'street smart.' According to members of his family, McCormick had used such encrypted notes since he was a boy, but apparently no one in his family knows how to decipher the codes, and it's unknown whether anyone besides McCormick could translate his secret language. Investigators believe the notes in McCormick's pockets were written up to three days before his death." "Standard routes of cryptanalysis seem to have hit brick walls," said CRRU chief Dan Olson in a statement. To move the case forward, examiners need another sample of McCormick's coded system-or a similar one-that might offer context to the mystery notes or allow valuable comparisons to be made. Or, short of new evidence, Olson said, "Maybe someone with a fresh set of eyes might come up with a brilliant new idea." The FBI says it has always relied on public tips and other assistance to solve crimes though breaking a code may represent a special circumstance. For larger images of the notes go here. [LINK] If you have an idea how to break the code, have seen similar codes, or have any information about the Ricky McCormick case, write to CRRU at the following address: FBI Laboratory Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit 2501 Investigation Parkway Quantico, VA 22135 Attn: Ricky McCormick Case There is no reward being offered, just the knowledge that you may be solving an intriguing murder mystery, the FBI stated. No other information about the guy? It might help. If the note is of any use then people and places would be in it. If that is the case then it would help to know where he lived and some of the names of people he knows. The note seems like it may not be just encrypted but a sort of compression(or rather shorthand/jargon) was used. Was the guy a drug dealer? It could be a list of "clients" or information about where he sold drugs(the numbers look like street addresses or amounts. If these kinda notes were so common from this guy then surely the FBI should have many more? Seems like the FBI could do more if they wanted it really solved... First of all, out of respect for the deceased, Ricky McCormick and in keeping with a spirit of fairness, I must say that what follows may be pure coincidence, perhaps a 10% chance of mistaken identity and a 90% chance of not-mistaken identity. Background on a Joplin, Missouri 1982 killing/murder the person killed: Darrell Ruestman the killer: Alan J. Bannister The prosecution's theory was that AJ Bannister murdered Darrell Ruestman. This led to AJ Bannister's murder conviction, which was upheld on appeal. But see this if you wish for another theory: < http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr214/usletter.htm > . In any case, Darrell Ruestman was killed in 1982. From the case: BANNISTER v. DELO, < http://mo.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.%2FFDCT%2FWMO%2F1995%2F19950915_019.WMO.htm/qx > This court opinion mentions three affidavits: 1. Wooten Affidavit 2. Taylor Affidavit 3. Trombley Affidavit (writer and film maker) In the Trombley Affidavit, one finds: "Finally, Trombley's statement about what Bannister says happened directly contradicts the testimony of Linda McCormick, Ruestman's girlfriend, who was in the trailer at the time of the murder and testified that she heard no conversations before hearing the shot. See Tr. III at 49, 65. " and also: "For instance, Trombley links McCormick to Wooten and Wooten to Ruestman's murder (thereby conflicting with Wooten's affidavit). However, Trombley also connects Wooten and Bannister. See affidavit at 9. These facts could support the State's theory that Wooten, acting as a middleman for McCormick, hired Bannister to murder Ruestman just as easily as they support Trombley's accidental shooting theory." From another web page: "On August 20, 1982, Darrell Ruestman was living in a
Re: FBI wants public help solving encrypted notes from murder mystery
haha doh wrote: On Mar 31, 3:15 pm, Joe Snodgrass wrote: [...] As to which crime was being committed, I'm going with numbers running or loan sharking. There's no reason for any crook to keep any record of any other crime, except prostitution, where phone books come in handy. Thievery is not an honest business, and records of what went down, where and with whom can only hurt you. Unless of course, it's a grand list of felonies that he was using to blackmail the participants. But I can't see gathering that much info from blackmail. I always thought it involved one guy blackmailing one victim. This would imply a factory scale process, and he'd need some way to lure his prey into the trap. Of course, that WOULD be a good way to get murdered. This is him http://img851.imageshack.us/i/4d93ac54b10bcimage.jpg/ True indeed! , according to a story posted on March 30 on the website of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: < http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/ad567e00-5b13-11e0-8ed4-00127992bc8b.html> . That web page has a link to a 1999 article on the discovery of the body: < http://www.stltoday.com/news/article_bcc02074-5b1a-11e0-b199-0017a4a78c22.html > . An officer with the local Major Case Squad unit is quoted there. I quote from the 1999 story: << "We cannot find any motive for his death, " he said. "We're not absolutely sure that this is a homicide." >> . David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: FBI wants public help solving encrypted notes from murder mystery
Joe Snodgrass wrote: On Apr 1, 10:54 am, David Bernier wrote: haha doh wrote: On Mar 31, 3:15 pm, Joe Snodgrasswrote: [...] As to which crime was being committed, I'm going with numbers running or loan sharking. There's no reason for any crook to keep any record of any other crime, except prostitution, where phone books come in handy. Thievery is not an honest business, and records of what went down, where and with whom can only hurt you. Unless of course, it's a grand list of felonies that he was using to blackmail the participants. But I can't see gathering that much info from blackmail. I always thought it involved one guy blackmailing one victim. This would imply a factory scale process, and he'd need some way to lure his prey into the trap. Of course, that WOULD be a good way to get murdered. This is him http://img851.imageshack.us/i/4d93ac54b10bcimage.jpg/ True indeed! , according to a story posted on March 30 on the website of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: <http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/ad567e00-5b13-11e0-8ed4-0012...> . That web page has a link to a 1999 article on the discovery of the body: <http://www.stltoday.com/news/article_bcc02074-5b1a-11e0-b199-0017a4a7...> . An officer with the local Major Case Squad unit is quoted there. I quote from the 1999 story: << "We cannot find any motive for his death, " he said. "We're not absolutely sure that this is a homicide.">> . What's the cause of death? From one of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch articles (presumably the orig. source), one learns that "Death appears to be caused by a blow to the head.", this via "Austinstar" at hubpages.com : < http://hubpages.com/hub/Cryptographic-clues > . - Body identified through fingerprints (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). - Ricky McCormick had a criminal conviction for statutory rape. (via n01h3r3 at boards.straightdope.com) : < http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13642308 > . - Ricky McCormick had one address in St. Louis, Missouri and others in Illinois (why?). David -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: The 0.8181818181... Truth Movement
Proginoskes wrote: > On Dec 20, 4:29 pm, Dustan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> On Dec 20, 8:24 am, Marc 'BlackJack' Rintsch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >>> On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:04:48 -0800, Dustan wrote: >>>> On Dec 20, 1:05 am, Proginoskes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>>>> I myself prefer the 0.81818181... Truth Movement. >>>> More precisely, 0.81818181818181823. >>> Hm... >>> In [59]: '%.60f' % (9 / 11.0) >>> Out[59]: '0.81818181818181823228286475568893365561962127685546875000' > > Only using double precision. Weenie. > >> Whoa... I only just realized, this was cross-posted to four other >> groups. [...] > > And we have comprehension! > > Other posts about 9/11 to sci.math are likely to receive the same > treatment. > > --- Christopher Heckman And what is the answer to 818181818/17 or about 0.8181818122727273140909088013636383904545312668182811... ? David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: AP -- MeAmI.org Paces Google
Musatov wrote: Los Angeles (AP) --MeAmI.org now has users in 50 countries following its adopted use in Pakistan. The search engine has grown in popularity 10,000 fold following its Beta test launch three months ago in April, 2009. Supporters of the site claim it is better than rival Google upon which platform it is based. Controversy arose after MeAmI.org search code allowed users to search other users Google results with no advertising. "It is truly an innovative thing we are doing," said Founder and CEO, Martin Musatov. "Letting users search [ snip ] I wonder what _AP_ means ... David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: AP -- MeAmI.org Paces Google
Musatov wrote: Los Angeles (AP) --MeAmI.org now has users in 50 countries following its adopted use in Pakistan. The search engine has grown in popularity 10,000 fold following its Beta test launch three months ago in April, 2009. Supporters of the site claim it is better than rival Google upon which platform it is based. Controversy arose after MeAmI.org search code allowed users to search other users Google results with no advertising. "It is truly an innovative thing we are doing," said Founder and CEO, Martin Musatov. "Letting users search the results of other Google users immediately results in a level of accuracy and relevance above and beyond Google." Google changed their API following the launch or MeAmI.org and explored the possibility of blocking site access from MeAmI.org to Google search results but was unable to do so. Critics of MeAmI.org say what it is doing is tantamount to intellectual theft. When asked about this topper Musatov exclaimed, "The Internet was made for people, not companies." An analyst at Goldman Sachs says, requesting to remain anonymous, "MeAmI.org has a strong presence in promoting itself as a vehicle for global activism and to tell you the truth, this makes it much more likely an acquisition target than potential intellectual property violator." Google could not be reached for comment. Mr. Musatov, do you know who originally wrote the article above? Thank you. David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: AP -- MeAmI.org Paces Google
Musatov wrote: On Jul 9, 7:54 pm, David Bernier wrote: Musatov wrote: Los Angeles (AP) --MeAmI.org now has users in 50 countries following its adopted use in Pakistan. The search engine has grown in popularity 10,000 fold following its Beta test launch three months ago in April, 2009. Supporters of the site claim it is better than rival Google upon which platform it is based. Controversy arose after MeAmI.org search code allowed users to search other users Google results with no advertising. "It is truly an innovative thing we are doing," said Founder and CEO, Martin Musatov. "Letting users search the results of other Google users immediately results in a level of accuracy and relevance above and beyond Google." Google changed their API following the launch or MeAmI.org and explored the possibility of blocking site access from MeAmI.org to Google search results but was unable to do so. Critics of MeAmI.org say what it is doing is tantamount to intellectual theft. When asked about this topper Musatov exclaimed, "The Internet was made for people, not companies." An analyst at Goldman Sachs says, requesting to remain anonymous, "MeAmI.org has a strong presence in promoting itself as a vehicle for global activism and to tell you the truth, this makes it much more likely an acquisition target than potential intellectual property violator." Google could not be reached for comment. Mr. Musatov, do you know who originally wrote the article above? Thank you. David Bernier- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Yes. Mr. Musatov, do you know the name of the person who originally wrote the article above? Thank you. David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: AP -- MeAmI.org Paces Google
Musatov wrote: Los Angeles (AP) --MeAmI.org now has users in 50 countries following its adopted use in Pakistan. The search engine has grown in popularity 10,000 fold following its Beta test launch three months ago in April, 2009. Supporters of the site claim it is better than rival Google upon which platform it is based. Controversy arose after MeAmI.org search code allowed users to search other users Google results with no advertising. "It is truly an innovative thing we are doing," said Founder and CEO, Martin Musatov. "Letting users search the results of other Google users immediately results in a level of accuracy and relevance above and beyond Google." Google changed their API following the launch or MeAmI.org and explored the possibility of blocking site access from MeAmI.org to Google search results but was unable to do so. Critics of MeAmI.org say what it is doing is tantamount to intellectual theft. When asked about this topper Musatov exclaimed, "The Internet was made for people, not companies." An analyst at Goldman Sachs says, requesting to remain anonymous, "MeAmI.org has a strong presence in promoting itself as a vehicle for global activism and to tell you the truth, this makes it much more likely an acquisition target than potential intellectual property violator." Google could not be reached for comment. Mr. Musatov, is it you who removed the post quoted above from the Google Groups archive? Thank you. David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: AP -- MeAmI.org Paces Google
[email protected] wrote: [...] community. But perhaps he is trying to see things a bit differently and is just not getting the feedback he needs, so he is throwing tantrums apparently across USENET. Like I said before, I am just trying to do right by this person who contacted me, and seemed to be a decent person with a genuine interest in mathematics. He was very respectful. Alas, I am at a loss on what specific feedback to give him on his paper as though I am a professor of Mathematics, Computer Science is not my specialty. I told him I would try to get him some feedback on the equations on page 3. Would any of you be so kind to help me? Here is the paper: http://MeAmI.org/pversusnp.pdf I do thank you for your time. Good day, Professor X This is what there is at the bottom of page 3: << Conclusion: Binary revisions are allowed given the above formulas. >> So I don't understand the proposed solution for the "P = NP" problem. David Bernier -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
