A hushmail replacement?
LRT CONCLAVE: LAST WORD
Okay, folks, it's time to make decisions regarding this year's
conclave, and I've more information at hand to help you do that. The
conclave will be held on private property near Durango, CO, from 7/1 --
7/6. NO EARLY ARRIVALS, PLEASE! We'll be working hard to get everything
set up (and keeping it set up -- the Snolfs are great at disassembly,
even without electric screwdrivers ;-) , so if you are in the area
early, you'll need to make other arrangements for food and shelter.
(Durango is the closest airport; if you need to make hotel
reservations, the best towns for doing so are Cortez or Mancos.)
Our regular gun guru has confirmed attendance this year, so get out the
MTM Jammit stands and put them in your "to-take" pile. (If you need
one, see http://www.mtmcase-gard.com/products/shooting/jmts.html for
description and ordering information.) Specific activities are still
being discussed and considered; let's just say that all concerned want
to offer interested parties new challenges and learning opportunities.
Count on handgun and rifle drills/instruction.
Regarding other activities ... no one sent a proposal for courses,
seminars, or other such things, so it's looking like it'll be the
"usual slothful conclave". If anyone wants to hand out business cards,
flyers, etc. describing what work they do and can offer to other
pro-freedom folks, you're welcome to do so, of course. Items for
sale/barter are welcome too.
Lest you be thinking that this means a boring conclave, think again!
We're going to be in an area rich with possibilities for exploration,
from very old Native American settlements to mining and railroading to
nature. Fishing, horseback riding, and hiking are just a few examples.
No specific outings are planned -- yours truly knowing better than
trying to herd cats -- but I do plan to take in some of the local
flavor and expect that others so interested will be able to pool
resources in order to enjoy it more fully.
The conclave will not be catered this year. This means bring yer own,
folks! A fire ring for everyone's use will be set up when we make camp.
If you wish to make use of it please be sure to help with gathering
firewood, etc. Lobo and I will be making regular (i.e., daily) runs to
town for ice and supplies, and would be happy to make purchases for
anyone not interested in doing the same (with payment to cover
purchases). DLT and I will host the Celebration Dinner, which will be
held at the camp site rather than a local restaurant. Ward is also
planning on doing his chili one night; if you'd like to partake it'd be
grand if you'd consider helping with buying the supplies, doing some
preparations, or offering equipment for his use. I plan to make my
usual array of cookies for everyone's enjoyment; if you'd like a
special type, please drop me a line and I'll do my best to accommodate
your request (donations to cover special supplies will help with that).
To get a map to the conclave site, and further information, you'll need
to have secure email. That means either PGP or mailvault (more on them
below). I will not give out information in unsecured channels!
NEW DOING FREEDOM! EDITOR
It is with (mostly) great pleasure that I announce a new editor for
Doing Freedom!. I say "mostly" because I have thoroughly enjoyed
working on DF! -- I think of it as a cyber-child of mine and I care
about it very much. But with two real children at very active and
demanding ages, and other work demands on my time, I haven't been able
to give DF! the attention it needs and deserves.
The new editor is Carl Bussjaeger, a frequent contributor to DF! and
sometime assistant to me with it. He's already going over the site,
generating ideas and planning issues. If you have an article, short
story, or pro-freedom artwork you'd like to be considered for DF!,
please send it to Carl at bussjaeger@free-market.net . PGP encryption, bland subject line preferred.
(Editor's Note: I've aslo set up a MailVault - see below - account to communicate with those unable to use PGP for some reason. My address there is: cb@mailvault.com.)
I will still be contributing pieces as I'm able, and as the new
publisher accepts them ;-). The Freedom Advisor is accepting your
questions, at advisor@linuxmail.org . Carl is working on ways for
contributors to be paid for their work, so if you're thinking of
contributing, or are a past contributor who wants to generate income on
your already-published pieces, write him for details.
Thanks, Carl, for taking on this huge and vitally important task. DF!
is accessed by individuals worldwide; I'm very pleased that we'll be
able to continue to offer anyone who wants greater freedom more
practical advice and services.
ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS ... AND BEYOND
For those who haven't heard already, our annual Essay Contest for young
scholars has concluded. We've some terrific winning essays, including a
superb one from three-time winner (1 second-place, two firsts) Oskari
Juurikkala. To see the winners, go to
http://www.libertyroundtable.org/essaycontest/index.html . It is very
satisfying to see so many young people who grok freedom, and to give
them some recognition for their writing skills ...
... So it's with a bit of regret that I must add that we're
considering retooling the contest. We appreciate the support we've had
from many of you through all its years, but one of the challenges we've
run up against is the lack of new support and funding for the contest.
Add that to the difficult economic times for many people, and we're
just not getting the support the contest needs to go forward.
Another challenge has been getting quality entries. We'd hoped to see
the contest grow each year, but that hasn't happened. Because of the
very limited advertising budget (when we did place ads they were
effective, but expensive), we rely mostly on word of mouth, and it
would appear that people aren't very interested in helping us spread
the word about the contest. The idea of the contest is to provide a
forum for pro-freedom young people as well as outreach to those who
aren't libertaRian, but judging from the entries we received this year,
we aren't doing too well at either.
All this shouldn't be taken to mean we want to end the contest. It
is a valuable tool, and our presence in several online directories of
contests and scholarships is something I'd hate to see lost. But a
cornerstone of LRT is voluntary participation, and if you, our
supporters, friends, and Knights, aren't interested enough in this
project to keep it afloat, then so must it be.
One alternative DLT and I are considering is making the contest a
collaborative effort with FMN's Bureaucrash (see
http://www.bureaucrash.com/). There are a number of ways that could
play out, and is just an idea at this point. If you have thoughts or
feelings you'd like to share on the LRT Essay Contest, and/or working
with Bureaucrash for future rounds of the contest, please email them to
me (sunni@free-market.net). I would like as much feedback as I can get on this issue before we make any decisions.
FORBIDDEN LIBRARY
Along the lines of our banned books page (not currently available
online) is The Forbidden Library. It's a compilation of banned and
challenged books (the site explains the difference). Along with the
usual suspects are: "Where's Waldo"; "The Bible"; "The Life and Times
of Renoir"; and "Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings". Curious as to why
some of these made the list? Read about them on the site. It also
includes a page of quotations relating to the topic. Check it out at
http://www.forbiddenlibrary.com/ .
A NEW WAY TO FIGHT THE FINGERPRINT
This from a friend of LRT. Turns out those fingerprint and
face-scanning biometrics aren't nearly as foolproof as the jackboots
would like them to be, or would like the sheeple to think they are. A
Japanese cryptographer has found some easy, low-cost ways to fool
fingerprint readers. Good information to have around the next time a
bank or video store wants a print from you, not to mention the
jackboots ... Check it out at
http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0205.html#5 .
A HUSHMAIL REPLACEMENT?
Hushmail has fallen out of favor with many privacy-minded individuals.
Their supposed upgrade that made the interface look more like MS stuff
(complete with regular crashes!), that took forever and lost people's
accounts, along with other "improvements" have resulted in a lack of
easy, truly secure email for many who can't/won't use PGP. I don't know
if their security is as good as Hush's was, but a potential replacement
is MailVault. You need a browser with 128-bit SSL capability, but
that's easily doable these days. Check MailVault out at
http://www.mailvault.com . I have an account there, so if you are
without PGP and want to attend the conclave, sign up and get in touch
with me at sunni@mailvault.com .
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your input and feedback on these
updates. It's great to know freedom is still alive out there!
Keep Doing Freedom,
Sunni
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