Steve Jobs Is Watching You
From: EFF
While users were celebrating the new jailbreaking and unlocking exemptions, Apple was quietly preparing to apply for a patent on technology that, among other things, would allow Apple to identify and punish users who take advantage of those exemptions or otherwise tinker with their devices. This patent application does nothing short of providing a roadmap for how Apple can — and presumably will — spy on its customers and control the way its customers use Apple products.
Saudis to Monitor BlackBerry Data
From CNET via the Comms section of Warrior Times
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has decided to allow the government of Saudi Arabia access to BlackBerry users’ messages, in order to avoid a ban on the device in the country, the Associated Press reported Saturday.The AP quoted an official at the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission as saying that the deal between RIM and the government would likely involve placing a BlackBerry server inside the country to enable the Saudis to monitor data.
Gun Rights Blog Sued for Infringement
From: WorldNetDaily
A popular blog that has kept citizens abreast of how Americans successfully defend themselves from crime by being armed has been suspended while its organizers deal with a copyright infringement claim from a newspaper, the blog itself has announced.
David Burnett said in a statement his Armed Citizen site is closed for now, and its future will depend on what happens in the case.
The site was targeted in a federal court lawsuit filed by Righthaven LLC, which apparently is working on behalf of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The lawsuit is one of dozens the plaintiffs have brought to court.
At issue for the Armed Citizen are six stories originating from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that had been cited on the website over the years.
“The Armed Citizen has been excerpting articles from newspaper, TV station, and radio station websites for a number of years without a single complaint or infringement notice,” Burnett wrote in a website statement. “If any copyright holders decided that The Armed Citizen had exceeded fair use, they only needed to send us an e-mail.
Why Carrying a Gun is a Civilized Act.
From: Warrior Times
I have seen this circulate many times and have tried to find the original post. All I can determine is that is appeared around 2007, is attributed to Maj. L. Caudill USMC (Ret) and a lot of bloggers didn’t attribute it to anyone. It is such a sweet and cogent piece that it must be brought out and revisited periodically. Thank you Major Caudill, where ever you are.
When I carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force.
It removes force from the equation…and that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act.
Militirization of Police
More than a year ago, then Senator Barack Obama called for a “civilian security force” that is just as powerful and well-funded as the military.
Video (the comment is made at approximately the 16-minute mark.)
The war on drugs, however, has already created a military police force that, in many cases, has well overstepped its boundaries. The recent video out of Columbia, MO isn’t a lone incident, it has been the norm in many cities for decades.
I bring these two points together to say that if we continue on our current path, it would not take much time to redirect many police forces, which have already become militarized, from the war on drugs to a war on those inciting sedition (read: Tea Partiers).
I don’t exactly have a solution or comment to make other than to say that when the change comes, there will be little time to react before all those not willing to go along lock-step are silenced.
Browsers May Reveal Online Activities
From: EFF
EFF UNVEILED RESULTS FROM THE “PANOPTICLICK” BROWSER PRIVACY PROJECT, which demonstrated that more than 8 in 10 people use browsers with unique, trackable signatures. Having a distinct browser signature means your individual movements on the web may be easier to track, and several companies are already selling products that claim to use browser fingerprinting to help websites identify users and their online activities.
For the full white paper “How Unique Is Your Web Browser?”:
https://panopticlick.eff.org/browser-uniqueness.pdf
For more about Panopticlick:
Liberty
“We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion:
the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases,
while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage
of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.”
– Ayn Rand
The Worst Tyranny
“There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.”
– Robert Heinlein “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress“
Army Exercise Targets Tea Party as Terrorists
Re-post from Warrior Times
Tea Party Terrorist?
It seems the Army is running some scary scenarios with Heath care and Tax protesters as the ‘bad guys”.
New info as of 16:00 CDT
Update from Mark Alexander – April 29, 2010
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Regarding my essay, Army Preps for Tea Party ‘Terrorists’, I was contacted by senior command staff at Ft. Knox this afternoon. There was a security exercise at Ft. Knox this week, but an officer in the security loop altered the scenario “in order to make it more realistic.” Those alterations were described in my essay, exactly as they appeared. The command staff informed me that the alterations were not approved at the command level and that the individual who circulated the scenario through official channels will “receive appropriate counsel.” I was assured that the Command staff would not have authorized such a scenario.
Social Justice
From: The Tenth Amendment Center
It appears that there are two popular definitions of “social justiceâ€. One involves an individual who chooses to give freely to people in need; this one is historically referred to as charity. The other requires the use of government force under the guise of good will to seize production from one and give to another. This one is nothing but theft and historically results in little less than slavery. Unfortunately, this is what most people mean when they speak of social justice.
Definition of Justice:
“The administering of deserved punishment or rewardâ€
Is it possible that adding the word “social†before “justice†can result in a definition that makes it “just†to steal from someone because it is socially acceptable to do so? Promoters of social justice should spend a moment and reflect on which definition they support, why they embrace it and whether their concept of “justice†infringes on another person’s rights or freedom, and whether this other person guilty of a crime and thus punishment.
Apple Lobbys for Cap-and-Trade, Avoids Same
From: Washington Examiner
So if Apple’s lobbying effort is successful, American companies will pay for their carbon emissions, but no such carbon costs will fall on Hon Hai Precision Industry Company, which made your iPad.
Under cap-and-trade, Apple company would pay for the 400,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually by its U.S. buildings and domestic operations, and also for the 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted by shipping its products. But the 3.8 million tons of CO2 emitted by its manufacturing — 81 percent of the company’s total — would be exempt from a carbon tax because the emissions would be in China.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Sorry-your-Chinese-made-iPad-wont-save-the-planet-90089372.html#ixzz0kRbimDCS
Disarming America
From: Warrior Times
This from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette is an oldie but goody. I like to trot this one out from time to time when people ask me “why so much politicsâ€, “Why do you feel the need to post and re-post every little political blurb about guns and the Constitution“? There is even a pretty good gun website where right on the home page banner it says †No Politics, Just Gunsâ€. Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to worry about our freedoms? But if that was the case we wouldn’t need Sheepdogs or Warriors. I could spend a lot more time drinking Scotch and smoking cigars and less time scouring the Internet and Old Media looking for the next threat vector. Until that day, we remain as always. Now here from 2007:
There Aint No Rules Here
From: Newt Gingrich
Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings (who, while serving as a federal judge, was impeached and removed from the bench before being elected to the House) articulated the principles of this machine mentality on Sunday when he said, “There ain’t no rules here, we’re trying to accomplish something. . . .All this talk about rules. . . .When the deal goes down . . . we make ’em up as we go along.”
It is hard for the American people to believe their leaders on the Left are this bad.
They are.
Civil War
From: Dennis Prager
Thank God this civil war is non-violent. But the fact is that the left and the rest of the country share almost no values. The American value system and the leftist value system are irreconcilable. If the left wins, America’s values lose. If American values prevail, the left loses.
After Sunday’s vote, for the first time in American history, one could no longer confidently believe that the American system will prevail. And if we don’t fight for it, we don’t deserve it.
“Smart Meters” May Invade Privacy – EFF
From:Â Electronic Frontier Foundation
EFF IS DEMANDING BETTER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR ENERGY CUSTOMERS RECEIVING “SMART METERS,” new devices that measure your home’s energy use in unprecedented detail. Energy usage data, measured moment by moment, allows the reconstruction of a household’s activities:
when people wake up, when they come home, when they go on vacation, and maybe even when they take a hot bath. Without strong protections, this information can and will be secured by civil litigants (like divorce lawyers or insurance companies), criminals, law enforcement, and more. The states and the federal government should ensure that energy customers get the protection they deserve at their homes — where privacy rights should be strongest.
Libertarians Oppose Census Questions
Press Release from: Libertarian Party
WASHINGTON – Libertarian Party (LP) Chairman William Redpath released the following statement today regarding the 2010 census:
“The Libertarian Party believes that the federal government’s current census procedures are unconstitutional, unnecessary, and too expensive. We believe that the census is constitutionally limited to collecting only one piece of information about each residence: the number of persons living in it. We urge Congress to change the census laws to comply with this constitutional limitation.
“The U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to provide for a census in order to apportion Representatives correctly. The Constitution does not empower Congress to use a census for any other purpose. There is no need for Congress to collect additional information such as names, races, ages, sexes, or home ownership status. Unfortunately, the federal government wants to use the additional information to fine tune its control over the lives and money of the American people. (more…)
Where is the Transparency? – CNN
That’s right this is from CNN. President Obama and the Congressional Democrats promised the American people an era of transparency and ethical governance. I haven’t seen that yet, have you?
Pelosi Must Drive a Toyota
From: Another Black Conservative
Nancy Pelosi has her foot firmly planted on the accelerator to pass ObamaCare. Despite the Slaughter Solution being every bit as toxic as reconciliation Nancy says she “likes itâ€.