SAN FRANCISCO, Kalifornia - July 11, 2009 - To protect against skimming and eavesdropping attacks, federal and state officials recommend that Americans keep their e-passports tightly shut and store their RFID-tagged passport cards and enhanced driver's licenses in "radio-opaque" sleeves.

That's because experiments have shown that the e-passport begins transmitting some data when opened even a half-inch, and chipped passport cards and EDLs can be read from varying distances depending on reader techonology.

The cover of the e-passport booklet contains a metallic sheathing that can diminish the distances radio waves travel, presumably hindering unwanted interceptions. Alloy envelopes that come with the PASS cards and driver's licenses do the same, according to the government.

June 29, 2009 - Tina Ames owns the Craftsmen Cafe, a Clarence, New York eatery that specializes in organic comfort fare such as chicken soup and apple pie. Recently she needed to replace her restaurant's roof, a $7,000 job. Ames was loath to part with that much cash and didn't want to take out a loan.

Her solution? She cut a deal with a local contractor who handled the roofing job in exchange for a Ford F-150 pickup that Ames no longer needed. "I grew up on a farm," she says. "If you had eggs and someone else had corn, you traded. It's an old way of doing things, and it makes a lot of sense.

Building with earthbags (sometimes called sandbags) is both old and new. Sandbags have long been used, particularly by the military, for creating strong, protective barriers, or for flood control. The same reasons that make them useful for these applications carry over to creating housing. Since the walls are so substantial, they resist all kinds of severe weather (or even bullets) and also stand up to natural calamities such as earthquakes and floods. They can be erected simply and quickly with readily available components, for very little money.

There are several techniques that can be effectively used to control and manipulate an Internet forum no matter who or what are on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain control over an uncontrolled forum.

by Claire Wolfe

The most remarkable thing about civil unrest is that there hasn't been more of it.

Politicians are making a hash of this country - and much of the rest of the civilized world. We know it. They know it. They know we know it. But we don't feel we can do anything much to
stop them.

That right there is the pre-condition for civil unrest - when people are frustrated and politicians are nervous.

Today I had another excellent dialogue with Paul Molloy on his Freedom Works! radio show, heard on AM-station WTAN, covering “more than 3,000,000 people in and around” the Tampa Bay, Florida region.

Topic discussed: Independence Day. Now is the time for all who love liberty to challenge government infringements on our freedom.  Here’s how to commemorate The Declaration of Independence and celebrate July 4th’s real meaning. It was a great interview!