- We must ban those deadly stiletto assault heels NOW!
- Well, that’s a different look at Snowden and the NSA …
- Medical marijuana. For our pets. (H/T. L)
- Hm. This is the first thing I’ve heard that makes me think a smartphone could be a great idea. (I’m sure there are other things; just none that grabbed me.)
- Double hm. What exactly is Governor Sandoval of Nevada up to? Might be worth the 15 seconds it takes, especially if it ticks off Bloomberg.
- While I disagree with her lumping us with “we,” whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has a point. (Heard on NPR this afternoon that a solid majority of Americans is still all in favor of NSA phone snooping; made me wonder what they’d say if they were first informed about … Oh well. Doesn’t matter what they think. Majorities don’t change the world.) (H/T JJ for the link.)
- “Soldier boy will stop invading homes and killing beasts and human victims when the price is too high. Thus far it is still too easy on Soldier boy.” The excellent Hershel Smith via the equally excellent Codrea.
And on an entirely different subject …
(You may have to skip horrible ads, sorry.)
Sad Cat Diary
Source for those who can’t see the embed.
Sad Dog Diary (NB: Sorta gross.)
Source for those who can’t see the embed.
Those videos are great! Thanks for the links, too.
Re: smartphones, after listening to this podcast where the inventor of the liberty phones talks to Michael W. Dean http://www.kittyfeet.com/2013/02/14/jeff-from-liberty-private-network-talks-about-his-secure-bat-phones/, I learned that cell phones are inherently weak and can not be made secure. It has been a while, and I do not remember the details. It does seem like if encryption happens in the app, it may be ok, but my take away is that cell phones can’t be made trustworthy.
Thanks for the morning belly laughs with those videos.
On that story about Snowden – the only problem with filtering out guys like Snowden, is that you are left with idiots to run the system. The second you admit people who can reason, a certain percentage of them are inevitably going to figure out that what they are doing is evil, and decide based on principle, to stop.
On that Seecrypt thing, have we talked about bitmessage around here yet?
I like Siebel Edmonds. I think she is a tiny bit off on her diagnosis; it’s not apathy that is the problem, but reflexive obedience. But it is true that the problem is not just of particular individuals, but all of us. The whole human race has tendencies that can lead to disaster if we aren’t careful, if we don’t subject ourselves to reality checks now and then. BTW Lew Rockwell has a nice interview with her on his podcast page.
Say, I found a great resource via Western Rifle Shooters:
http://kieranhealy.org/blog/archives/2013/06/09/using-metadata-to-find-paul-revere/
See particularly the link at the bottom of the page. This demonstrates that those people (like Paul Revere) who interact with diverse communities are the most important for making a revolution. It also shows how important it is to stop the internal sniping and bickering and to focus on who the enemy really is.
Oh, I forgot. A couple of links where I have written about this business of forging alliances:
http://strike-the-root.com/panarchy-subsidiarity-and-me
http://strike-the-root.com/panarchy-not-anarchy-is-answer
http://strike-the-root.com/what-is-to-be-done-with-statists
The Snowden piece raises a key point. One I haven’t seen before.
Leaving aside the government spy complex’s internal vulnerabilities the whole affair is a striking example of, remember the US shares that information.
With its allies. And with US law enforcement.
Think about the ramifications there. And then ask yourself – even taking the government’s statements of its intent in gathering the information, and use of it, at face value – how it all can do anything but make us enormously less safe?
re:Sandoval once I saw it was a GOA alert, I stopped reading. 15 seconds is 14 seconds too long to waste on anything promoted by those traitors.
-s, how so GOA traitors? Have I missed something? Gottlieb and CCRKBA, sure. Bit what did GOA do?
I have heard it suggested that Pratt and Richardson are using GOA as a stealth front for a Christian Dominionist agenda. Pratt is also been associated with white racist and anti Semitic groups leading many to doubt GOAs claims of being a single issue no compromise pro gun organization. I can’t add credence to any of the above but I have concluded over the years that all of the national gun groups are in it for the money and actually not very concerned about gun rights. What a cynical old bastard I’ve become. So sue me.
While I grok being a cynical old bastard (and the claims about Christian dominionism seem plausible), in no way are GOA or the Pratts racists or traitors. Any “association” with racism or anti-Semitism is in the eyes of outfits like the SPLC, and I do hope -s was mixing up GOA with CCRKBA/SAF, though only he can say.
FWIW Larry Pratt and Aaron Zelman had a relationship of deep respect for each other … and I can tell you that Aaron didn’t easily give his respect to many other gun-rights leaders.
Woody, I’ve heard that claim, but never seen anything that would support it (without the injudicious application of recreational pharmaceuticals). Claire’s recollection of Aaron and Pratt’s relationship matches mine, and is not consistent with the CD crap.
If Pratt does have leanings that way, he keeps it out of the GOA activities. I can’t recall any legislative alert that didn’t relate to actual RKBA issues. I don’t always agree with them 100%, but I’m come a lot closer to it than I do the NRA.
You were right, Claire. The Sandovall thing was easy. Too easy to pass up. As for the claims of GOA being a front for racist “Christian” groups, I’ve never seen any of that. I sure wouldn’t be a member if I caught any whiff of racism in their organization. And I’m with Bear, they’re a heck of a lot more in line with my views than is the NRA!
Wow, thank you for the Companion Cannabis info, have shared with all my pet cancer groups. !!!!!
As for the ‘gun rights groups’, serious success at reaching stated goals (establishing that the 2nd says what it means and means what it says) eliminates their reason for being…and membership/donations would plummet. That they want to continue to see their bread buttered as being paramount would seem clear.
Edward Snowden has merely shed light on what sort of surveillance is being focused on the general population.
So, we see trash the likes of Republican John Boehner-who has proclaimed his trust in the Emperor Obama-and Democrat Dianne Feinstein proclaim Snowden is a “traitor” and should be pursued and vigorously prosecuted by our thoroughly corrupt judicial system…
Is it just me, or do things (funny-money financial matters, corrupt tyrannical government, and the like) seem to be rapidly building to a head???
GOA has been discussed here before. They haven’t come out lily white, although I think on the whole they do a good job. For legitimate criticism, see the April 16th postings by -s and Ken Hagler at the August site http://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/ClaireWolfe/2013/04/16/i-think-the-traitors-are-going-to-be-hoist-on-their-own-petard/#comments
I’M STILL TRYING TO FIND OUT SOMETHING ON THE RAND PAUL SUPPORTED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GUN RIGHTS http://www.nationalgunrights.org/
Probably the biggest reason I’m not having any luck is by the time I get round tuit, nobody’s reading that article’s comments any more.
On the seecrypt stuff, their details are minimal — encrypted VoIP, private network, efficient voice compression (important to make it work on low bandwidth connections). But since it is closed source running on a closed(ish) phone system you have no real way to verify what it is doing. For all you know it could simply be a front for the NSA 🙂
Shel — Wish I had more info on Paul’s group, too. Been keeping my eyes open, but have seen nothing much, and none of that very useful. It may be the “cynical old bastard” in me, but I tend to suspect that everything Rand Paul does is largely for effect — to position himself for a run for the presidency more than to restore freedom.
And thanks for the reminder of past comments. I guess -s wasn’t mixing up GOA and CCRKBA when he called GOA traitors. I don’t agree with everything GOA does, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re traitors. They’re still among the most hardcore on gun rights and a wonderful counterbalance to the weasely NRA.
Claire, please don’t tell me Rand Paul is like Christie. Oh, my innocence, my innocence.
“For all you know it [Seecrypt] could simply be a front for the NSA :)”
Wow, you are seriously paranoid! That thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I guess I’m incorrigibly naïve.
Shel — just got word of something nasty and alarming on the National Association for Gun Rights. If this is true, then they’re either real traitors or so inept they’re working for the other side by accident:
http://michaelbane.blogspot.com/2013/06/dirty-tricks-in-nevada.html
Either that or some anti-gun group is impersonating them.
[Wow, you are seriously paranoid! That thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I guess I’m incorrigibly naïve.]
Paranoid – or realistic?
It may be that there is some closed-source software that does not have back doors for government, but the smart thing to do is to stick with open source. Then you don’t have to wonder about it.
Geez, people here are not still on Windows, are they?