You’re Doing it Wrong – Page 55

Registering Firearms: Something You’ll Never See Me Do

Do you want to know something I will never do? This:

MIDDLETOWN, CT (WFSB) – There are only five more days until the new gun laws go into effect for our state, that means a dash to register assault weapons or high capacity magazines.

A long line of people stood outside of the Public Safety Building in Middletown all day Thursday to register firearms.

Specifically, anything the state considers an assault weapon or a high capacity magazine must be registered before Jan. 1, 2014.

Remember all of those warnings to never talk to the cops? Those warnings also apply here. Never volunteer information to police officers. Their job is to expropriate wealth from the general population. Their tool is enforcing the state’s decrees. The only reason the state wants to know what you own is so it can tax or take it. Registering a firearm and magazines is volunteering the fact you own those possession to the police. Later those cops will use that information to either tax or take your registered firearms and magazines because that is their job.

I understand why people are willing to register their firearms and magazines. They believe doing so will protect them, at least for a while, from government harassment. But registration always leads to confiscation or taxation. In the long run what these people in line are doing is telling the state where to round up aesthetically imposing semi-automatic rifles and standard capacity magazines. When the law changes again and makes those objects illegal or taxable the state will know where to find them. It will then send its enforcers, the police, to ensure you comply with the new law at the point of a gun. And if you managed to “lose” those registered firearms and magazines when the state comes knocking you can damn well bet that you will be spending some time in a cage. Meanwhile the people who didn’t go for the state’s carrot will be able to maintain that they own no such firearms or magazines.

2013’s Best Drug Propaganda

Reason put together its five favorite drug scares of 2013. These are real gems because they demonstrate that 99 percent of what we’re told about unpatentable drugs is bullshit. Out of the list my two favorites were the e-cigarette:

Last September the CDC noted with alarm that the percentage of teenagers who had tried electronic cigarettes doubled between 2011 and 2012. “Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes,” CDC Director Tom Frieden worried. In a Medscape interview a few weeks later, Frieden suggested that fear had already materialized, asserting that “many kids are starting out with e-cigarettes and then going on to smoke conventional cigarettes.”

The CDC’s data, which came from the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), did not support that claim. In fact, nine out of 10 high school students who reported vaping in the previous month were already cigarette smokers, suggesting that the increase in e-cigarette consumption might signal successful harm reduction. Last month the CDC reported additional NYTS data that further undermine Frieden’s claim, showing that smoking among teenagers fell as vaping rose.

Of course none of this matters because the media will latch onto the fear in the hopes of netting some ratings. Speaking of fear mongering let’s discuss krokodil:

Recently various media outlets have been hyping a drug that cuts out the middleman and does the flesh eating all on its own: krokodil, a homemade version of desomorphine that originated in Russia as a heroin substitute. Last September health officials in Arizona reported two cases of krokodil use there, which gave USA Today an excuse to recycle accounts of the drug’s icky side effects under the headline “Flesh-Rotting ‘Krokodil’ Drug Emerges in USA.”

[…]

The effects described in these accounts are not caused by desomorphine, which was patented in 1932 and marketedas a painkiller in Switzerland under the brand name Permonid, with nary a report of rotting patients from the inside out. Rather, the abscesses and necrosis are caused by a combination of caustic contaminants and unsanitary injection practices. What drives Russian heroin addicts to take such risks? According to USA Today, “krokodil became popular in Russia because heroin can be difficult to obtain and is expensive.” Meanwhile, codeine, the opiate used to produce krokodil, is relatively cheap and available over the counter there.

Since neither of those conditions holds in the United States, where heroin is plentiful and codeine can be legally purchased only with a prescription, why would krokodil ever gain a following here? It almost certainly hasn’t. One krokodil sighting after another has proven to be spurious.

It’s amazing the type of bullshit the state will drum up in order to eliminate competition to patentable drugs. What’s even more amazing is that media outlets go long with the state’s bullshit because they believe ratings are directly correlated to fear. In actuality more people are turning away from traditional media outlets and it doesn’t matter how much fear they drum up, viewers aren’t coming back.

Private Keys Must Remain Private

Public key cryptography is great. By handing people a public key they can encrypt message that only you, the holder of the private key, can decrypt. However, there is one consideration that should be obvious. The private key must remain private. Once put publish your private key for others to see anybody can decrypt messages encrypted with your public key. Sometimes the consequences of such a breach are minor but sometimes they result in money being stolen:

On Friday, Miller learned an important lesson. It was an experience that everyone should remember before they start moving their money into the digital currency.

While on air, Miller surprised Bloomberg anchors Adam Johnson and Trish Regan each with $20 worth of Bitcoin.

But as Johnson received the paper gift, he briefly exposed the QR code (see above). This act was effectively like sharing a bank account and PIN number.

Immediately, someone lifted the QR code and stole the $20.

Bitcoin utilizes public key cryptography. Public keys allow other people to send money to other users. Private keys allow people to withdraw Bitcoin from a wallet. If somebody else nabs your Bitcoin private key they have full access to your funds. So don’t do something stupid like hand your private key to somebody else or who it on television.

Enough with the Political Grandstanding

I haven’t spent much time writing about the shooting in Colorado because, frankly, there isn’t much to say. The event is still too recent for any solid facts to be available. But there is something I do feel the need to bring up. Whenever a heinous act like a school shooting or a bombing occurs there seems to be a need for people to hit the Internet and write about the perpetrator’s political viewpoints as a criticism against everybody who shares them.

When a perpetrator holds “conservative” (quotes necessary because the term has been bastardized beyond recognition) beliefs the “liberals” (quotes used for the same reason) run to their keyboards and post about it. They treat it as an “Ah ha!” moment, a correlation that proves that “conservatives” are violent psychopaths. After the shooting in Colorado I saw many “conservatives” posting this story:

In one Facebook post, Pierson attacks the philosophies of economist Adam Smith, who through his invisible-hand theory pushed the notion that the free market was self-regulating. In another post, he describes himself as “Keynesian.”

“I was wondering to all the neoclassicals and neoliberals, why isn’t the market correcting itself?” he wrote. “If the invisible hand is so strong, shouldn’t it be able to overpower regulations?”

Pierson also appears to mock Republicans on another Facebook post, writing “you republicans are so cute” and posting an image that reads: “The Republican Party: Health Care: Let ’em Die, Climate Change: Let ’em Die, Gun Violence: Let ’em Die, Women’s Rights: Let ’em Die, More War: Let ’em Die. Is this really the side you want to be on?”

Apparently the Colorado shooter held “liberal” beliefs and that is proof that “liberals” are violent psychopaths.

Here’s the thing, nut jobs exist in all political philosophies. Just because a perpetrator of a heinous act held “conservative”, “liberal”, libertarian, communist, or anarchist beliefs doesn’t prove anything about anybody else who holds similar beliefs. Bringing up a perpetrator’s political beliefs as a serious criticism against everybody else who holds similar beliefs is fucking retarded.

With that said, this is aimed at the people who bring up a perpetrator’s political beliefs as a serious criticism. If you’re doing it for LULZ you get a pass.

Poll Reveals 60 Percent of Americans Want Unicorns

Reason did a poll asking Americans whether or not they should be allowed to manufacture firearms on 3D printers:

3D printers can create a variety of items from plastic, including working guns. However, the new Reason-Rupe poll finds six in 10 Americans say Americans should not be allowed to print 3D guns. Thirty percent of Americans believe people should be allowed to print 3D guns at home.

Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents agree that printing 3D guns should be prohibited. However, Democrats are more unified in their opposition with 67 percent who favor prohibiting 3D printed guns compared to 52 percent of non-partisan independents and 55 percent of Republicans. Twenty-five percent of Democrats and a third of non-partisan independents and Republicans think people should be allowed to print their own functioning 3D guns.

One cannot stop the march of advancing technology, which renders the opinions of those 60 percent irrelevant. The beauty of 3D printers is that they are devices that can be kept entirely within a home. There is no need for a separate shop that could raise the suspicion of local law enforcement. That makes enforce any laws that prohibit manufacturing a good on a 3D printer impossible to enforce. By favoring laws against manufacturing firearms on 3D printers the respondents might as well have asked for unicorns.

I’m a strong advocate of 3D printers because they enable individuals to manufacture goods from easily copied rendering files. Just as the Internet rendered censorship irrelevant 3D printers will render regulations against physical objects irrelevant.

An Accurate Interpreter

I guess nobody expected deaf people to watch Nelson Mandela’s funeral because the sign language interpreter didn’t know sign language:

JOHANNESBURG — The sign-language interpreter on stage at Nelson Mandela’s globally broadcast memorial service was a faker who was just waving his arms around meaninglessly, advocates for the deaf said Wednesday.

The unidentified man seen around the world on television next to leaders including United States President Barack Obama “was moving his hands around but there was no meaning in what he used his hands for,” Bruno Druchen, the federation’s national director, told The Associated Press.

While that is embarrassing I’m having a difficult time finding where the outrage is coming from. Mandela’s funeral consisted of a good number of world “leaders” taking the stage and bullshitting us. They help up Mandela as an advocate of peace, a noble trait, while they planned more bombings, torture, and other egregious violations of human decency. Their words were empty and the interpreter reflected that perfectly.

Fabricating Controversy

I’m always amused when non-technology publications attempt to write about technology. They either get the details laughably wrong or they try to drum up controversy over nothing. The Washington Post decided to post an example of the latter:

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Researcher Garth Bruen long has investigated the seamier corners of the Internet, but even he was shocked to discover Rapetube.org, a site urging users to share what it called “fantasy” videos of sexual attacks.

[…]

Sickened, Bruen tried to determine who operated the sites, a first step toward possibly having them shut down. But he quickly hit a wall: The contact information listed for Web sites increasingly is fictitious or intentionally masked by “privacy protection services” that offer ways around the transparency requirements built into the Internet for decades.

Oh. My. God. These pornography sites are so seedy and evil that they’re concealing their WHOIS information! They’re up to no good and this proves it! Except it doesn’t prove anything. Many domain owners utilize privacy services to conceal their personal information from WHOIS look ups. In fact I use such a service. If you do a WHOIS look up for this domain you’ll receive the following response:

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
Domain Name: CHRISTOPHERBURG.COM
Registry Domain ID:
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.tucows.com
Registrar URL: http://tucowsdomains.com
Updated Date: 2013-02-26 07:56:55
Creation Date: 2009-03-06 02:30:35
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2014-03-06 02:30:35
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Registrar IANA ID: 69
Registrar Abuse Contact Email:
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone:
Reseller: Hover
Reseller: help@hover.com
Reseller: 416.538.5498
Reseller: http://help.hover.com
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343
Registrant Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343
Registrant Street: 96 Mowat Ave
Registrant City: Toronto
Registrant State/Province: ON
Registrant Postal Code: M6K 3M1
Registrant Country: CA
Registrant Phone: +1.4165385457
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: christopherburg.com@contactprivacy.com
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343
Admin Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343
Admin Street: 96 Mowat Ave
Admin City: Toronto
Admin State/Province: ON
Admin Postal Code: M6K 3M1
Admin Country: CA
Admin Phone: +1.4165385457
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: christopherburg.com@contactprivacy.com
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343
Tech Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343
Tech Street: 96 Mowat Ave
Tech City: Toronto
Tech State/Province: ON
Tech Postal Code: M6K 3M1
Tech Country: CA
Tech Phone: +1.4165385457
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: christopherburg.com@contactprivacy.com
Name Server: NS1.HOVER.COM
Name Server: NS2.HOVER.COM
DNSSEC:

Am I doing something nefarious? No. I simply don’t want my personal address and phone number accessible to anybody with enough know how to type whois christopherburg.com into their command line. Pornographers most likely want the same protection because their business is seen by many in this country as dirty, immoral, and deserving of punishment. In fact this story affirms the value of a WHOIS privacy service. It’s talking about a man who is on a personal crusade against so-called violent pornography websites. While that’s not my particular kink I see no reason to harass pornographers creating fiction for those with more violent fantasies.

Media outlets always try to insinuate that those utilizing anonymity tools are up to no good. In reality most users of anonymity tools merely want to protect their privacy. Time and time again we see media outlets try to drum up controversy over onion routers, encrypted communications, and location hidden services. These attempts are desperate grasps for ratings by old media outlets that are incapable of changing with the times.

Ironic Gun Control Propaganda

The more irrelevant “major” gun control advocacy groups become the more apparent their desperation to be noticed becomes. Linoge retweeted the following propaganda piece put out by Moms Demand Action:

The irony is almost thick enough to drown in. Let’s consider what Moms Demand Action is, well, demanding. The organization has been pushing several gun control initiatives including a renewal of the “assault” weapon ban, a ban on standard capacity magazines, universal background checks, and a ban based on an arbitrarily selected bore diameter (one half of an inch). What do all of these things have in common? They requires the government to use its guns to enforce. In other words Moms Demand Action are trying to use the government’s guns to restrict the rights of Americans.

That’s the Kind of Thing an Idiot Would Have On His Luggage

Security is an interest of mine. Most of my time spent studying security is focused on computer security but physical security is something that also interests me. What needs more physical security than nuclear missiles? Apparently a lot of things because the security on the United States’ nuclear arsenal was downright pathetic:

Today I found out that during the height of the Cold War, the US military put such an emphasis on a rapid response to an attack on American soil, that to minimize any foreseeable delay in launching a nuclear missile, for nearly two decades they intentionally set the launch codes at every silo in the US to 8 zeroes.

[…]

However, though the devices were supposed to be fitted on every nuclear missile after JFK issued his memorandum, the military continually dragged its heels on the matter. In fact, it was noted that a full 20 years after JFK had order PALs be fitted to every nuclear device, half of the missiles in Europe were still protected by simple mechanical locks. Most that did have the new system in place weren’t even activated until 1977.

Those in the U.S. that had been fitted with the devices, such as ones in the Minuteman Silos, were installed under the close scrutiny of Robert McNamara, JFK’s Secretary of Defence. However, The Strategic Air Command greatly resented McNamara’s presence and almost as soon as he left, the code to launch the missile’s, all 50 of them, was set to 00000000.

I usually admire that reality often imitates comedy but not when it comes to nuclear weapons:

The fact that the United States was more concerned about being able to easily kick off the apocalypse than preventing it speaks volumes.

The NSA Knows What Kind of Kinky Shit You’re Into

Agents of the National Security Agency (NSA) must either be desperate to find new porn or to blackmail dissidents. Thanks to that wonderful man, Edward Snowden, we have learned that the NSA has been peeping on the porn habits of political dissidents for the expressed purpose of assassinating their characters:

WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has been gathering records of online sexual activity and evidence of visits to pornographic websites as part of a proposed plan to harm the reputations of those whom the agency believes are radicalizing others through incendiary speeches, according to a top-secret NSA document. The document, provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, identifies six targets, all Muslims, as “exemplars” of how “personal vulnerabilities” can be learned through electronic surveillance, and then exploited to undermine a target’s credibility, reputation and authority.

The NSA document, dated Oct. 3, 2012, repeatedly refers to the power of charges of hypocrisy to undermine such a messenger. “A previous SIGINT” — or signals intelligence, the interception of communications — “assessment report on radicalization indicated that radicalizers appear to be particularly vulnerable in the area of authority when their private and public behaviors are not consistent,” the document argues.

This strategy may be effective against religious activists but most of the political dissidents I know are very comfortable with their sexuality and kinks. In fact they’re usually very open about what they’re into, which renders this strategy irrelevant. Still, it’s getting downright comical to see how desperate the state is to maintain its power. Next the NSA is probably going to release a report that claims all political dissidents are rabid consumers of child pornography hoping to discredit them. Fortunately, thanks to Mr. Snowden, we’ll known to call bullshit on any such report.