Just when you think a killer cop might actually get something more than a slap on the wrist … There are Nepalese soldiers? In Haiti??? This has nothing to do with the earthquake. But possibly everything to do with the cholera outbreak that’s sickened thousands and killed hundreds. The world. It’s a very strange place. Nepalese “peacekeepers.” In Haiti. But the world can be a strangely moving place. What sweet people. Hm. You don’t really suppose execs at MSNBC thought Keith Olbermann was unbiased, do you? This is the way some libertarians think the Internet should operate. Uh uh. Not…
Category: Privacy and self ownership
Owning our own information and telling Big Brother to get lost
The following is from a blog reader and frequent flyer who wishes to remain anonymous. —– “Male, anomaly, right thigh.” “Female, anomaly, right arm” “Male, clear.” It’s just after 6 AM. I’m sitting at a gate at Boston’s Logan airport. I had noticed a long line at the checkpoint, and saw that it was because they were using the porno scanners. As a frequent traveler who lives in the Boston area, I know Logan. I went to another checkpoint where I walked through the magnetometer without incident, then made my circuitous way back to my flight’s gate. I hadn’t realized…
NOTE: At the bottom of this article are links to lots more intellectual ammo against the porno-scanners and the TSA’s new “enhanced” pat-downs — a technique designed (as far as I can tell) to persuade fliers that they’d find life easier if they submitted to radiation and porn, rather than opting out. Use that info for your own letter writing or send your less-aware friends here for an eye-opener. —– Last week, I picked up on Arthur M. M. Krolman’s idea and suggested a “Letter to Disney” campaign against the TSA’s porno-scanners. The idea was (and is) threefold: Write a…
I have a friend — very non-political — who loves to travel. But even she, who basically trusts government to do the right thing, was nervous about the porno-scanners now being deployed for the benefit of the security industry and peeping Toms in the TSA. Somehow this topic came up while she and I were on a long drive Friday. She said she longed to return to her favorite country in Asia but “didn’t want anybody looking at my boobs hanging halfway down to my waist.” But! Then she recently saw a news item on TV that included video footage…
Via Wendy McElroy, quoting John Pugsley: 15 non-political strategies for increasing freedom. While there’s nothing new here for long-time freedomistas, there are some great reminders. And Pugsley puts ’em strongly.
Maybe you remember seeing the strange query and the photo via Reddit.com. The story of the California student who found a tracking device on his vehicle. Well, faithful blog reader Sam just found the follow-up. The FBI fetched back their device and, even though the young man was reportedly completely cooperative already, an agent told him, “We’re going to make this much more difficult for you if you don’t cooperate.” I know that any empathetic person, especially one who’s been observing the onward march of the jackbooterie, can imagine how it feels to be on the receiving end of those…
According to the New York Times (boldface and sarcastic remarks mine): Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone. … Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The…
Wow. The census snoops are still snooping around? I thought that was over for now. But no, Ted Dunlap just had to draw his line in the sand. Good going, Ted. Hope you’ll keep us posted about what happens — and I hope nothing does. For the record, I never saw a census taker this year. While I was still living in the desert fifth-wheel, one showed up early in the spring, weeks before city folks got their forms in the mail, and left a form in a bag on the door. Made a nice litter bag, while the form…
The Paladin book is going into final edit before going off to the publisher and a S.W.A.T. magazine deadline looms this week. So the brain is a bit crowded right now (and that’s without … well, other stuff going on that involves three driven-to-distraction dogs and an overwhelmed but surprisingly calm guest kitty; more on that later). But, with a little help from my friends, here’s a bit of blogitude: Via Sam (thank you): What happens when an American traveler calmly refuses to answer questions upon his reentry into the “homeland.” Bold blogger, that guy. Larken Rose, who last time…
Paul Bonneau tells philosophical libertarians they should “Become Dangerous.” Jim Bovard sez it’s time to get rid of the phony-baloney federal privacy board. I don’t have any advice for anybody, but I do have a question. I’ve found that, when it’s the right time for me to do something (make a decision, write an article, or whatever), suddenly that thing will come easy. In fact, a decision I’ve struggled with or an article I’ve been banging my head on or avoiding will abruptly just fling itself into my face, ready-made. But — even in small things — if the time…