Monthly Archives: February 2007

They Don’t Need To Know Where I Am

Privacy, Technology

Each day, technological advancements and developments in electronics or wireless communication make the world a lot smaller. Benefits abound, as the world becomes more accessible from devices we carry in our pockets. And it’s not just the tech industry that’s benefiting from this. Take construction as an example, many companies are now using Sage software for field service to help streamline their businesses. It allows them to fully automate the most common processes by integrating digital accounting tools that will improve their growth, revenue as well as customer satisfaction. For example, invoices are the backbone of the accounting system of any business, and an invoice software could prove beneficial to the business and help make the day-to-day activities more efficient and organized.

If you’re looking for another example, RFID is one application with a lot of commercial applications. It’s been used by companies like Wal-Mart to further streamline their warehouse and inventory operations, along with a host of other uses. It is very important for businesses to have inventory tracking so that they can see what items are selling the best, whether any stock goes missing, along with a variety of other things. This is so a business can automatically see what they need to do within their business in order to make the most profit in the future. Furthermore, now, Mini has begun using it for advertising purposes.

When a new billboard in San Francisco scrolls the message “Motor On Vera!” it’s a good bet that someone named Vera is driving her Mini Cooper at that moment.

Or that her car is nicknamed Vera.

A billboard using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology started “talking” Monday. In a new twist on tech-savvy marketing, the board flashes a personalized message as the driver cruises by with a Mini-provided key fob that sends a signal to activate the billboard. It’s all part of the flippant, quirky attitude of Mini and its loyal following.

“Our owners are sort of pre-trend,” said Andrew Cutler, a spokesman for Mini USA. “They appreciate new and innovative things, and being on the cutting edge of whatever point of view.”

As an engineer, I find this to be extremely cool. I think those working in pr for tech companies probably love these features as well because they get to develop better brand marketing strategies. I like the idea that the billboard can give an individual driver a message as they approach. If I owned a Mini Cooper and lived near that area, any time a friend came into town I’d have to drive by there and check the message.

As a libertarian, though, I worry. These new technologies make tracking people and behavior much more easy. There’s something unsettling about the idea that it’s possible to find me wherever I go. It’s even more unsettling that these new technologies are making people more used to the idea of being tracked. It’s difficult to get someone to sign onto a technology with tracking capability when it’s presented as such. But present it as a “convenience”, such as the I-Pass (which carries a discount if you hold their transponder), and the people will sign up in droves.

Granted, an RFID transmitter, particularly if it’s produced by Mini and they don’t offer the government a matching database of owners, isn’t a big deal. But the more “not a big deal’s” we have, the closer we get to the day when the public accepts an RFID transmitter in their driver’s license or license plate, and receivers are embedded into traffic signals and squad cars.

I, for one, worry about what sort of consequences might come from this sort of innovation. Not that I think the government is competent enough to really make legitimate use of all this information, but I’m sure it will make them much more capable at harassing people. Of course, I haven’t done anything wrong, so I shouldn’t have to worry about it, right?

Hat Tip: Atlas Blogged

Brad Warbiany
https://thelibertypapers.org/

Iraq War Developments

War on Terror

Friday, Rasmussen released a poll with alarming numbers for President Bush’s policies.

Most Americans (55%) favor a firm timetable for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq within a year. That figure includes 37% who favor an immediate withdrawal and 18% who want a timetable that will complete the withdrawal in a year. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 1,000 adults found that just 33% believe U.S. combat troops should remain in Iraq “until our mission is accomplished.”

These results come at a time when just 33% believe the President’s call for a temporary troop “surge” will succeed. Just 37% of Americans believe that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Only 28% give the President good or excellent marks for handling the situation in Iraq.

While favoring a troop withdrawal now, most Americans don’t expect that to happen. However, 59% believe it is likely U.S. troops will leave Iraq during the first year of the new President’s term in office.

President Bush can take small comfort in these numbers, they’re about the same percentage of Americans that supported the Revolution in the beginning. However, if Bush wanted to raise those numbers, maybe he should define the mission in Iraq and tell us the definition of victory in Iraq. Americans will not send the military over in a faraway shithole in an undefined mission without a clear definition of victory to fight and die in a needless war.

The latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq came out also on Friday that further repudiates President Bush

Friday’s newly declassified portions of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq concluded that Iraq’s security situation is likely to get worse over the next 18 months unless the slide toward sectarian polarization and a weakening government is halted. Security forces — particularly the police — will be “hard-pressed” to handle their new responsibilities because of divisions that are tearing apart Iraqi society, the assessment said.

Any further negative event such as the assassination of a religious leader could hasten deterioration, it said. “The challenges facing Iraqis are daunting.”

Furthermore, it illustrates the dangers of a rapid pullout of US forces from Iraq:

The spy agencies saved some of their most dire warnings for the consequences of a sudden U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Lawmakers are considering resolutions opposing Bush’s plan to send 21,500 additional troops to the region.

If there is a quick withdrawal, analysts said, Iraqi security forces will not be able to survive and neighboring countries may become increasingly involved in the conflict. Al-Qaida in Iraq would also attempt to use the Sunni-dominated Anbar province of western Iraq as a base for attacks inside and outside the country, the report said. And spiraling violence, especially in the northern Kurdish areas, could prompt Turkey to act militarily.

The purpose of the US mission in Iraq needs to be training and building the Iraqi security forces to secure their country. US troops should not be getting involved in Iraq’s little petty tribal war.

The role of Iran and Syria:

The intelligence estimate highlighted Iran’s role in providing weapons and Syria’s inadequate border security measures. But analysts concluded that these actions aren’t likely to be a major driver of Iraq’s violence, which will sustain itself even without outside influence.

In other words, not much of a role.

Finally, how could the violence be stopped:

The situation isn’t without hope, the estimate found. The analysts concluded that some positive developments could — analysts stressed “could” — help reverse current trends. They include broader acceptance of the Sunni minority in the central government and concessions on the part of Shiites and Kurds to make more room for Sunni participation.

Creating an oil trust would help. Also, reconcilation won’t happen unless the current Iraqi government is threatened with a pulling of US support if it does not meet certain benchmarks in political reconciliation and building security forces. However, the answer is not calling for an immediate withdrawal or trying to redeploy or retreat; neither is a “surge” of US forces the answer because this will only increase Iraqi dependence on the US.

Kevin Boyd
I’m one of the original co-founders of The Liberty Papers all the way back in 2005. Since then, I wound up doing this blogging thing professionally. Now I’m running the site now. You can find my other work at The Hayride.com and Rare. You can also find me over at the R Street Institute.
https://thelibertypapers.org/2005/11/22/a-bit-about-kevin/

John Edwards Has A New Blogger On Staff

Blog Discussions, Politics

Hit & Run is reporting on John Edwards’ new blogger, Amanda Marcotte. Some of you remember Amanda as the raving feminist* from Pandagon. Well, it seems that one of the earliest things Amanda has done after the announcement of her new position is to go back and delete a post where she jumped to conclusions about the Duke rape case.

Perhaps she should look further back in her history, to the blog Mouse Words. Before she got picked up by Pandagon, she made a name for herself on that blog. Back in the day, I was a very new blogger, and adopted the resident libertarian position, debating her.

But for those of you “right-wingers” like me (I include libertarians in that group because to a leftist like Amanda, anyone who doesn’t agree is a right-winger), you should know something about her. She thinks that those of us on the right are either evil or stupid. I got into it with her on this post at Mouse Words, dealing with creationism and public schools. It was then that I realized she divides right-leaning individuals into one of two groups, and as I pointed out at Unrepentant Individual at the time, she thinks I’m in the wrong one.

I’ve realized that to the left, there are two types of right-wingers: the stupid, and the evil. The evil is a very small, powerful group. Their goal is to find ways to destroy the country in such a way that it shores up their power, and makes them the ruling elite of the country. The stupid group is everyone else that votes Republican. They are pawns, too dim to understand that they are being manipulated by their evil string-pullers.

Now, I tried to defend myself and my right-wing brethren, and mentioned that we are not trying to destroy America as we know it. We have honestly weighed the policies, and believe that the policies that we are supporting are in the long-term interests of our nation as a whole. My frank response got me this:

“Brad, I don’t think you do. I think the people who want to be our evil overlords dump millions of dollars into right wing think tanks to come up with arguments that everyday folks think sound reasonable enough and then manufacture crisises so that everyday folks think that we have no choice but to implement the plans that the right wing think tanks come up with.”

Looks like I must have landed myself in the “stupid” group. Which undoubtedly has me a little angry. I don’t consider myself to be a slouch intellectually, and I’m enough of a skeptic to watch out when people are trying to exploit me. Despite my slight megalomania and delusions of grandeur, I’m not evil. The only explanation I have left is that they must be drugging my water.

This is the kind of mentality that we have to deal with from the left. Obviously our policies are absolutely atrocious, so to support them we must be evil or stupid.

So, if Amanda takes down her older old blog, remember one thing. If you don’t agree with her, she thinks you’re evil, or you’re stupid. And if the folks at Hit & Run are right, she really thinks you’re stupid, because she thinks she can just remove her previous words and they’ll go away. As they ask, hasn’t she ever heard of Google Cache or the Wayback Machine? And she thinks I’m the daft one?
» Read more

Brad Warbiany
https://thelibertypapers.org/

Should Capitalists Be Added to the Endangered Species List?

Economics, Election '08, Free Trade, General, Government Waste, Media, Politics, Property Rights, Taxation, Theory and Ideas

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”- Ronald Reagan

These days, it seems as though capitalism is under relentless attack. We hear almost daily the demagoguery of such terms as “economic inequality,” “the income gap,” “price gouging,” “obscene profits.” Just yesterday the Senate overwhelmingly passed an increase in “the living wage” for “the working class.” On any given day, politicians use this language to show how much they “care” about us poor working stiffs and lament the rewards for high achievers.

John Edwards likes to give his “Two Americas” speech to illustrate how unfair it is that some Americans, through hard work, investing, perseverance, and making difficult choices, make disproportionately more than those who make poor choices and underachieve. Hillary Clinton wants to take the profits away from “BIG OIL” and “invest” in government programs to find more efficient, cleaner, and less expensive alternative energy sources. Never mind that government has been investing in such programs for decades with very little return.

Capitalism has always had its adversaries but where are its defenders? They are not in the halls of congress and certainly not in the Oval Office. President Bush, ever the “compassionate” conservative chastised business leaders for “overpaying” executives. Meanwhile, only three Republican Senators (no Democrats) voted against raising the minimum wage. With all this angst against profit makers, it’s only a matter of time before these same politicians will want to impose a “maximum wage” with higher “windfall profits” taxes or by some other means.

Where are the Republicans who stand for small government? Where are the disciples of Ronald ReAgan, Milton Friedman, and Ayn Rand? Is it time to put capitalists on the endangered species list?

Maybe, maybe not.

Wayne Dunn writing for Capitalism Magazine seems to believe that this type of anger towards achievement is as old as time. In Dunn’s article “An Open Letter to Businesspeople” he writes about how its time for the achievers to stop apologizing to the low achievers for being successful.

Throughout history, those of you who actually invent the things the rest of us use, who create the jobs the rest of us need, who produce the goods the rest of us merely purchase, haven’t been awarded even so much as a shred of recognition from traditional moral codes. Instead you are maligned as “materialists,” condemned as “profit-chasers,” reviled as “ruthless,” vilified as “greedy,” disparaged as “worldly.” They who couldn’t create a match stick or run a dog pound sneer at you who create microchips and run factories.

But when the castigators need money, or a labor-saving device, or a bridge built, or a building erected, or a disease cured, to whom do they run? They who renounce “this world” rely on you who do not. They who scorn “mere” human achievement depend on you who achieve. They who repudiate money bank on you who earn it. They who proclaim that the mind is impotent benefit from minds that are not.

It’s high time that we who believe in capitalism stand up and extol its superior values and support those who will do the same if we do not want to see our free market system go the way of the dinosaurs.

Stephen Littau
http://fpffressminds.blogspot.com/

A global warming tax on imports

General

Well, we won’t sign Kyoto, so the EU may add a tariff on imports to the United States as penalty for non-compliance:

He said that he welcomed last week’s State of the Union address in which President Bush described climate change as a “serious challenge” and acknowledged that a growing number of American politicians now favor emissions cuts.

But he warned that if the United States did not sign the agreements, a carbon tax across Europe on imports from nations that have not signed the Kyoto treaty could be imposed to try to force compliance. The European Union is the largest export market for American goods.

“A carbon tax is inevitable,” Mr. Chirac said. “If it is European, and I believe it will be European, then it will all the same have a certain influence because it means that all the countries that do not accept the minimum obligations will be obliged to pay.”

Hat tip to Cato @ Liberty.

Jason Pye
http://jasonpye.com/
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