Individual Liberty — Individual Responsibility

For those we lost, We will not forget 09/11/2001

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
— The Continental Congress, July 4, 1776

“The task of statesmanship has always been the re-definition of these rights in terms of a changing and growing social order.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt (Commonwealth Club Address, 1932)

“Roosevelt was wrong! The principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence are the principles of individual liberty. Our unalienable rights, given to us by God are given to us as individuals. Our rights do not come from society or the government, and they cannot be redefined by politicians. The nature of these rights carries with it the implication of individual responsibility, without which we surrender them.”
— Perri Nelson, November 6, 2008

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Who's spying on U.S. Defense Contrators?

Published Thu, Jan 11 2007 10:33 AM
Technorati Tags: News and Politics

The A.P. (via the Seattle Times) reports that someone has been planting spy-gadgets almost worthy of James Bond on American contractors travelling through Canada.

WASHINGTON — Can the coins jingling in your pocket trace your movements?

The Defense Department is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage threat seemingly straight from Hollywood: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio-frequency transmitters hidden inside.

In a U.S. government report, the department said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada.

...

Further details were secret, according to the U.S. Defense Security Service, which issued the warning to the Pentagon's classified contractors.

"What's in the report is true," said Martha Deutscher, a spokeswoman for the security service. "This is indeed a sanitized version, which leaves a lot of questions."

...

Experts said hiding tracking technology inside coins is fraught with risks because the spy's target might inadvertently give away the coin or spend it.

They agreed, however, that a coin with a hidden tracking device might not arouse suspicion if it were discovered loose in a pocket or briefcase.

This seems like a pretty weird bit of news to me. Who are the chief suspects? According to the article it could be Russia, or China, or this could all be about corporate espionage.

I wonder how hard it will be to corner the market on tinfoil?

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