Monday, December 26, 2005

On Not Going Dutch. A couple of weeks ago, I attended an event at the Dutch Embassy that was billed as "a frank discussion... [The Agitator] But what I found disappointing is that the concepts of personal freedom, choice, and leaving people alone to do as they please never came up over the course of the entire evening. "Freedom" wasn't on the agenda. The Dutch don't care about liberty any more than we do. They don't recognize the fact that milions of people use illicit drugs like marijuana responsibly, and without much effect on anyone else -- both over there and over here. No, just like the U.S., the Dutch feel it's the government right and responsibility to tell people what they should and shouldn't be putting into their bodies. Like our government, the Dutch government doesn't believe people should have sole responsibility for their own behavior. Like our government, they have no intention of treating their citizens as adults. The only real difference between the Dutch approach and the American approach is that the Dutch drug policy isn't quite as violent, coercive, or destructive as U.S. drug policy. It's probably less expensive to treat an addict than to jail him, too (particularly given that addicts in prison can generally get treatment, too). But the Dutch approach is every bit as contemptuous of individual freedom or personal automony as the U.S. approach. And it's every bit as paternalistic and condescending. comment () trackback ()  5:07:04 PM     The Mess Greenspan Leaves. Greenspan is responsible for today's biggest economic messes, writes Stefan Karlsson, and not just as a passive observer. His has been highly active in pushing the rest of the board into the various bail-out operations. His policy of inflating bubbles to counter the negative effects of the bursting of previous ones is like someone who remains on a sinking ship because he doesn't like to swim. [Mises Daily Article Feed] comment () trackback ()  3:36:09 PM     Is the NSA Reading Your E-Mail?. Richard M Smith has some interesting ideas on how to test if the NSA is eavesdropping on your e-mail. With all of the controversy about the news that the NSA has been monitoring, since 9/11, telephone calls and email messages of Americans, some folks might now be wondering if they are being snooped on. Here's a quick and easy method to see if one's email messages are being read by someone else. The steps are: Set up a Hotmail account. Set up a second email account with a non-U.S. provider. (eg. Rediffmail.com) Send messages between the two accounts which might be interesting to the NSA. In each message, include a unique URL to a Web server that you have access to its server logs. This URL should only be known by you and not linked to from any other Web page. The text of the message should encourage an NSA monitor to visit the URL. If the server log file ever shows this URL being accessed, then you know that you are being snooped on. The IP address of the access can also provide clues about who is doing the snooping. The trick is to make the link enticing enough for someone or something to want to click on it. As part of a large-scale research project, I would suggest sending out a few hundred thousand messages using various tricks to find one that might work. Here are some possible ideas: Include a variety of terrorist related trigger words Include other links in a message to known AQ message boards Include a fake CC: to Mohamed Atta's old email address (el-amir@tu-harburg.de) Send the message from an SMTP server in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. Use a fake return address from a known terrorist organization Use a ziplip or hushmail account. Besides monitoring the NSA, this same technique can be used if you suspect your email account password has been stolen or if a family member or coworker is reading your email on your computer of the sly. The only problem is that you might get a knock on your door by some random investigative agency. Or get searched every time you try to get on an airplane. But I think that risk is pretty low, actually. If people actually do this, please report back. I'm very curious. [Schneier on Security] It's not very reassuring that the risk of being dragged from your home in the middle of the night and sent overseas to be tortured for the rest of your life (assuming your not just killed "resisting arrest") is "pretty low." comment () trackback ()  2:52:32 PM

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