by Mr Penguin | Jan 13, 2022 |
On Tuesday a democrat in New Hampshire’s house introduced a bill in support of free software. The House Bill (HB) 1273 would be a step forward for software freedom. It proposes to help protect the user freedom of New Hampshire residents in a number of important ways.
- Prohibits the state government from requiring residents to use proprietary software, whether in remote court appearances, tax filings, standardized test-taking, coursework in public schools, or matters relating to any state benefits
- Forbid employers from using non-compete clauses to prevent their employees from contributing to free software
- Prevents state agencies from mandating the use of non-free JavaScript
- Prohibits NH law enforcement from participating in the investigation or prosecution of copyright claims brought by proprietary software developers against free software developers
- Forms a state commission to promote the use of free software in state agencies
Now much of the legislation is a bit wishy-washy with no real teeth, but there are some parts that in theory if passed could have a beneficial impact on our freedom. Other parts could be a little more problematic for those who are libertarian and do not believe in the use of violence to achieve social and political objectives (outside that of a defensive nature anyway). Fortunately most of the bill is tailored toward government and is more defensive in nature than not. Some not so great parts would likely also not have much real world impact.
One part in particular should get libertarians everywhere excited. While it probably was not intended by the legislator proposing the bill, a democrat, it would none-the-less be an amazing step forward in reducing the harm of violent thugs in government. The bill would ensure that users have the right to access the source code for any device utilized in the creation of evidence. This would in effect result in evidence being thrown out whereby the government could not produce the source code to the device that created it. Evidence from such devices as radar guns would no longer be valid in court for all practical purposes. The reason for this is that the suppliers of such devices will not release such source code and thereby prosecutors won’t be able to comply with the law. Before the socialists get upset by this though it’s something everyone should be concerned about. It’s already well known that these devices are full of bugs and this would likely result in evidence being invalidated everywhere if the code were released- not just in NH- and so the device manufacturers would never want to do this short of significant improvements to the code. The solution is to pass this in more states and force manufacturers hand-else let this stand as a means of eliminating a law that should not be in that there is no party that can actually show injury.
To have any real chance of seeing this pass the legislation would likely need to be significantly trimmed. Some parts are problematic such as the forbidding of employers from using non-compete clauses to prevent their employees from contributing to free software for instance. This would likely be unpopular with many state legislators who otherwise support software freedom while also supporting ones right to negotiate a contract free of government interference. Maybe there is a way to put this into law that were more freedom-focused, like letting such terms be unenforceable via law, but either way much of the legislature isn’t going to want to interfere in the private affairs of employee-employer relations either way. I suspect this is likely to have little impact in either case given non-compete clauses within the free software world are already taboo and many of us (myself included) would not sign (or require it) such in an employment contract.
One interesting aspect of the bill is that it would prohibit NH law enforcement from partaking in investigation or prosecution of copyright claims against free software developers. While I can in good conscious support this and would go farther to argue for the elimination of copyright it’s unclear to me where this is currently an issue. Maybe it’s connected to the breaking of digital restrictions such as would be the case with something like DeCSS. A free software program that breaks encryption on commercial DVDs. This falls under copyright law and might be prosecuted by state agencies although that said it’s normally a federal offense. State law enforcement can generally however prosecute federal crimes as I understand it or otherwise partake in federal investigation and prosecution thereof. Of which is more common I do believe with civil asset forfeiture cases.
In spite of some of the issues with the legislation a small contingent of libertarians showed up to more or less in support the legislation as well as others from the free software community. One Jon “maddog” Hall, the Board Chair for the Linux Professional Institute, for instance came out and spoke in favor of the legislation.
Jon “maddog” Hall is the Board Chair for the Linux Professional Institute
The main theme surrounding the hearing seemed to be that of software security and the cost of implementation. New Hampshire’s head of IT for instance also spoke from what appeared to be a purchased lobbyist point-of-view. Declaring more or less that it would be of significant burden and cost to transition to free software (while saying they’re already using free software humorously). The opposing side of course pointed out the truth in that there is always a cost to migrate from one release of a program to another, but it’s not significantly different from that of migrating to free software. Not to mention that while free software isn’t about price, but the liberty, security, and control, this twisting and confusing of the bill was quite disingenuous. The long term costs are reduced as no license agreements need be acquired. Commercial support is generally available too despite the head of IT trying to confuse the reps by comparing commercial software to free software. These are for all intensive purposes one and the same. You can acquire commercial support from Redhat for instance for free software and even much of Microsoft’s own code is based on free software. This bill was about libre, not gratis where libre means freedom, and gratis means price.
While the head of NH IT argued against free software on the basis of features, commercial support, and security the reality is these are more often than not mute points given features can be added to free software unlike the proprietary software he favored. Security bugs can be fixed not at the whim of a particular company, but that of either, you, the community, or the commercial entity you contract with for said free software (example: Redhat). Yes- you can buy free software and many companies do. Just because something is libre doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t pay for its development/support. And unlike proprietary software free software can be seen, read, and audited by third parties with or without the consent of the company producing it (once released). These are the things that ensure security- not anti-virus software or proprietary software vendors of which the former is a kin to putting up a fence and expecting it to stop ants from coming onto your property. The head of IT didn’t stop there- even implying that free software was insecure through association with Bitcoin. While not said outright during the hearing he referenced recent socially engineered attacks on municipalities. Somewhat recently there were reports of municipalities being ‘hacked’- which were in reality social engineering attacks primarily involving the traditional banking system. It was only after the attacks occurred and the money paid by employees of the municipalities to criminals overseas that said money was utilized to purchase Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. If there is a flaw- it’s not the software- and it’s certainly not the result of it being libre.
Video Of The Hearing On House Bill (HB) 1273
by Mr Penguin | Jul 8, 2021 |
Aria DiMezzo, one of the Crypto6 raided on March 16, 2021 over selling of Bitcoin and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show Free Talk Live speaks out on the US government’s attempt to oppress the worlds population through draconian attacks on financial freedom. Aria spoke at this years Porcupine Freedom Festival at Rogers Campground in Lancaster NH. It’s not just those selling Bitcoin that have something to fear, but all of us.
First they came for the socialists, and I DID speak out—
Even though I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I DID speak out—
Even though I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I DID speak out—
Even though I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and I realized speaking out wasn’t enough.
Migrate to the shire– because alone- and spread out we’re all helpless. Talk is cheap. However together we’re a force to be reckoned with and that’s the real reason the FBI is on the attack. The FBI is very afraid. Undoubtedly the FBI can attack a few free staters, but they’ve already ultimately lost the war whether they realize it yet or not. Win or lose any particular case in court and it does not matter. The publicity draws in far more people and with each new mover we inch closer to achieving our long term goal of freedom and liberty in our lifetime.
I also want to put out a special thank you to the FBI for without them we would not have been able to generate the amount of publicity this case has brought nor attracted a new generation of activist to the migration. For the first time in the history of the migration movement the Porcupine Freedom Festival sold out almost doubling that of any prior year.
Direct IPFS link to video: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmRGbS2sJFqnhA8RCjUKjHer5PZ6mu4Q8Xdn7Nw2WtEQ4u
by Mr Penguin | Jun 19, 2021 |
Defund the police rally in Keene, NH
A socialist led organization the NH Youth Movement has been rallying its troops across NH this past week in an effort to get cities and towns to defund their police forces. However the rally that was planned for Keene didn’t go quite as the organizers expected.
While there isn’t a significant socialist presence in New Hampshire there are plenty of socialists in surrounding states that from time to time muster up the occasional rally in NH through the busing in of left wing extremists. This is particularly easy to do in Cheshire with the county neighboring Vermont and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts being right next door plus students from out of town attending Keene State College.
A few days before the rally was to occur the Keene City Republican Committee Chair Anne L. Farrington got wind of the socialists organizing of a protest and rallied her opposition country-folk to attend a counter protest for the same time and date.
“We want to show our support for law enforcement by coming out in strength to Back the Badge! The rally will be in Central Square tomorrow from 5:30pm-8:00pm. Please join us and bring friends who support our police!”
– Anne L. Farrington
This attempt at undermining the NH Youth Movement’s protest turned out to be as hilarious as one might have anticipated. Not so much because there were people shouting back and forth, but in that it appeared that the rally attracted all of one intentional NH Youth Movement member and another five or so socialists who just happened upon the Republican’s counter-protest.
To make for an entertaining afternoon a handful of libertarians got together to join in on the fun making a few signs in advance of the event, saying things both opposing sides would theoretically agree with and disagree with at the same time, like “Defund the pigs & end socialism”. Is it a socialist protest? Is it a right wing protest? Who knows, but certainly the passerbys didn’t quite follow what was going on with all the shouting from every side and direction. Both from protesters and from passing cars alike.
After numerous conversations with the right-wing nut jobs and left wing extremists it turned out that each side had a lot in common. Both the republicans and the socialists were in favor of socialist programs, but the agenda for which programs to fund and defund were different. The young socialists wanted to see free college tuition and police dollars redistributed to other social programs like housing the homeless. The counter protesters expressed a desire to continue funding social security and the police state.
What both the left and right failed to grasp was that the money doesn’t exist to fund all of these programs. The use of violence and the state to take money from the populous only works up to a point before that theft becomes so great that it undermines the revenues that can be generated. This leads to a failure of the programs both sides are trying to fund through theft.
Now this doesn’t mean that all parties can’t get what they want, but the means by which those funds are raised must not be through the violence that is the state. The overhead of state mandated programs is significant, the inefficiencies great, and the ever increasing amounts undermining to the objectives of both sides.
When the state gets involved a significant portion of the revenues generated are eaten up by the extraction of those funds from the populous and the overhead of management- not to mention corruption. When people are left to decide for themselves by comparison individuals pick the least expensive options which deliver the maximum benefit thus reducing costs and making such services affordable. Between competing offerings individuals can afford to pay for college when competition is left to run its course, government isn’t handing out ‘free’ money, and security (policing) doesn’t cost six figures per employee. Lets end all of the social welfare programs: Police, education, health care, social security, corporate welfare, and so on, and then hand back the financial resources to the people by eliminating the taxes that make these programs perform poorly as only then will those dollars stolen be best and most efficiently utilized.
Check out the entertaining video with left wing extremists, libertarians, and right wingers all competing for air time in or surrounding the public square.
by Mr Penguin | Jun 7, 2021 |
Bitcoin Gandhi Marches Across NH For Crypto6
Libertarian activist Dave Ridley has taken it upon himself to lead a march across New Hampshire in the hopes of bringing attention to an oppressed group of activists currently under attack by federal authorities for peacefully resisting the violence of the state.
Following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, a ‘terrorist’ leader in British ruled India, Dave has dressed the part calling himself, Bitcoin Gandhi, and marching in kind to raise awareness about the libertarian plight and migration that has brought together thousands of like-minded individuals to New Hampshire.
Mahatma Gandhi was an anti-colonial nationalist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead a successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. He in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi led a 24-day march challenging the British-imposed salt tax in the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to leave India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, upon many occasions, in both South Africa and India.
Speech & March Led By Bitcoin Gandhi From The Raided Mighty Moose Mart and Bitcoin Embassy In Keene, NH To The U.S. District Of New Hampshire Courthouse
Like in the case of Mahatma Gandhi a group which has become known as the Crypto6 has been leading the way in peacefully resisting the violence of state and federal powers over the past decade. As part of the Free State Project and larger libertarian migration movement the Crypto6 moved to New Hampshire in the hope of changing the state and ridding it of the violence inherent thereof. Unfortunately this has not gone over well with many of the violent actors in power and these individuals have taken to an extreme dislike of the ideas of liberty.
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Mar. 16, 2021, federal and local agents kicked the doors in at the Free Talk Live studio, Bitcoin Embassy NH and Shire Free Church, arresting 6 individuals and confiscating several Bitcoin vending machines, computers and other personal items. Some might say these individuals deserved what they got- after all the state slandered their names with false accusations of unlicensed money transmission, money laundering, and wire fraud. This however has already been demonstrated in hearings to be patently false and of which many other false accusations including that of violence ruled on. The judge agreed for instance with the lawyer of Ian Freeman in that he was not in fact a danger as the prosecution argued releasing him after 70 days of confinement.
This isn’t the Crypto6’s first rodeo with the authorities however. After a decade of nonviolent activism both Ian Freeman, Nobody (formally known as Rich Paul), and others have been targeted by both state and federal authorities. In may of 2012 the FBI setup a sting with the help of the state to ensnare Nobody. FBI agents were waiting at the local Keene PD and upon arrival offered Nobody a deal he couldn’t possibly refuse- or so they thought. They told him face spending the rest of his life in prison or wear a wire into the Keene Activist Center. After refusing and taking his case to trial he was convicted of selling a small amount of weed and spent a year locked up up.
In March of 2016 the FBI were at it again. Two weeks after Mark Edge went live on nationally syndicated radio accusing the FBI of being hypocrites in their handling of the largest child pornography bust of the decade FBI agents stormed the studios of Free Talk Live. This time the FBI simply lied, obtaining a warrant to search under the guise that someone had downloaded child pornography-but explicitly slandering the name of a leading activist Ian Freeman and his radio show. This attempt at undermining the show largely failed. Everyone knew Ian advocated peace and was a staunch advocate against the use of violence. After some legal wrangling the FBI was forced to admit defeat and return computers seized. This however did not deter the FBI and had continued hunting for something to charge him with, and those surrounding him.
In spite of Ian Freeman’s immaculate legal and operational record the FBI once again pursued him and those closest to him for ‘crimes’ involving cryptocurrency. Not unknown to the government Ian Freeman worked to ensure compliance of his churches cryptocurrency vending operation through the obtainment of legal counsel and petitioning of the government to change New Hampshire law on cryptocurrency. Thanks to the participation of Free Staters, those who moved to NH as part of the migration, New Hampshire law did get changed making all operations clearly legal under state and federal law.
For much of this march Dave Ridley has been calling for the state and federal government to stop the violence against the Crypto6 by going around to police stations, federal buildings, and other government offices to ask bureaucrats to discontinue their participation in and cooperation of the federal governments activities. Unfortunately mostly to no avail.
Like Mahatma Gandhi on June 2nd, 2021 Dave Ridley concluded his 24-day march as Bitcoin Gandhi by committing an act of civil disobedience. Dave and around two dozen other activists gathered at the US District Courthouse in Concord, NH to break an unjust anti-speech law, fed speech-restriction §102-74.415, that prohibits the handing of grievances to federal authorities. This act of civil disobedience was chosen for its apparent and blatantly unconstitutional nature and having been a law routinely used against activists on past occasions. In fact this wouldn’t be the first time Dave Ridley himself has been arrested or convicted for breaking this law. This time however the federal government didn’t want the negative publicity such an arrest would bring to the cause of the Crypto6 and thereby sent out a public relations expert to deny it’s very existence.
To contribute to the Crypto6 legal fundraiser, follow the ongoing developments in the Crypto6 case, or purchase a Crypto6 fundraiser t-shirt, “Bitcoin Is NOT A Crime: Free The Crypto6” check out the TheCrypto6.com.
by Mr Penguin | May 30, 2021 |
Ian Freeman & Nobody Smoking Weed In Protest Of The Violent State
On March 16, 2021 fifty six agents calling themselves the FBI raided as many as 19 properties in and around New Hampshire and took six individuals hostage. One of those six was named ‘Nobody’.
‘Nobody’ is a well known political activist who moved to the shire (of which the government calls the state of New Hampshire) as part of a political migration to establish a freer place to live. He’s led the way in demonstrating leadership in the libertarian migration movement and risked his freedom on numerous occasions to promote freedom for all. From leading annual protests for reform of New Hampshire drug laws to fighting back against attacks by the FBI on other political fronts. On one occasion for instance he took a case to court where he risked a life-sentence rather than accept a corrupt FBI agents offer of release for wearing a wire into an activist center. Nobody is so politically active he even changed his name, calling it ‘performance art and political protest‘, thus enabling people to vote for nobody for governor, and in other political races.
The FBI has returned for it’s third time to Keene in its quest to take out activism in New Hampshire. This time under the guise of fighting fraud and cryptocurrency. In this latest case Nobody has become known for his involvement in and promotion of cryptocurrency and financial freedom. Nobody has defied authorities who wish to crack down on activities that are not yet anyway actually a crime. After his most recent arrest those arrested have become known as TheCrypto6: A group of six who have been accused of going around and terrorizing the community with Bitcoin!
If you are to believe the authorities Nobody has been going around and partaking in an unlicensed ‘Bitcoin exchange’ of which many New Hampshire residents have been victims. To listen to and believe one U.S. Attorney Georgina MacDonald charging fees is outrageous and capitalism poses a grave danger to the people of New Hampshire. You see Bitcoin exchanges typically charge 1-2% and the Shire Free Church was charging 8% or more which somehow makes it attractive to criminal elements. According to MacDonald this “places many victims at risk of financial harm”. The truth is that 8% is the lowest rate that vending machine operators charge and there never was a Bitcoin exchange operated by any of the Crypto6. The typical in-person rate or fee for cryptocurrency sales is 5%. The high end of the cryptocurrency vending world have fees around 20%.
So what happened during the bond hearing?
To understand the context of the prosecutions claims one must start off with an understanding of what happened to Nobody immediately following his arrest. Unlike most other victims of the state in this case Nobody was held in a cage for 23 of 24 hours a day for 14-days. The state then proceeded to house Nobody in inhumane conditions that drove up his stress levels. Nobody was put in a cage with another man who suffers from ADHD and of which neither were receiving treatment while incarcerated. The combination of chatter and torture left Nobody in a state where he was unable to communicate effectively. However to top this off Nobody was left without access to communications or his right to a lawyer. He was denied knowledge of the reason for his arrest and was then led to believe that he would be facing life in prison for the 2nd time. When Nobody was eventually able to communicate with other people he was informed by his public defender not to request bail. Eventually this bad advice left him stuck in a cage for months and is likely to result in a permanent pretrial caging if an appeal fails.
When Nobody was given access to a phone he was able to communicate with his spiritual advisor of whom he gets emotional support. What should really have been a private conversation wasn’t permitted. Nobody was left expressing personal displeasures at the pigs and government on a recorded line saying that he refused to let them be the end decider as to what would happen to him. In a poor choice of words, though never direct, Nobody’s speech was recorded and left to be interpreted by prosecutors and a court which his words were never intended. This meant many choice words were unclear and easily taken out of context and twisted into meaning he would commit suicide and possible advocation for the murder of police and government officials. Anybody who knows Nobody would have understood this conversation to be nothing more than letting off steam and even the words utilized were not a direct threat to any other human being. Nor was there a direct incitement for anybody to actually be murdered. In fact the person receiving the call did not respond in a way that would leave one to believe that there was ever an intent to advocate for the actual murder of police.
On the defense side some context was needed. Nobody you see is a libertarian who agrees with and advocates for the non-aggression principle. He routinely and regularly advocates against the use of violence to solve social and political problems. To him “police needing to die” is not the same thing as advocating for killing cops. He has never committed nor is accused of having been violent in all his 53 years of existence. That didn’t stop the prosecution from alluding to prior arrests over possession of ‘weapons’ that amounted to a tri-pod and gardening tool for which he was never arrested, or at least convicted, and more than likely had he not been a felon been a chargeable offense. The state also tried to suggest probation violations which were in fact non-existent. At one point Nobody refused to accept a set of conditions that would have allowed for his early release. Those conditions are simply unacceptable to Nobody and thus he chose to finish his prison sentence so that he didn’t have to comply with unconscionable set of restrictions. Other comments that were brought up to prove violence included a hyperbolic comment and joke about bringing back the guillotines to deal with politicians.
Nobody posted on his political page while running for office: “Somehow, the government thinks that weed is dangerous, but prison is safe. Where are the guillotines?”
The prosecutor concluded the haring suggesting that the evidence is such that it’s likely that Nobody would have more ‘altered states of mind’ and periods of anger given the course of the trial and that nobody could know what Nobody would do. The prosecutor finished with arguing that Nobody is a serious risk to society and no conditions exist to ensure the safety of the community.
Ultimately despite all other co-defendants having been released and the only distinction being the recorded prison phone call the magistrate judge decided to deny Nobody’s motion for release.
The judge indicated that there was no way to know if these threats were frustration or real despite there being no actual direct threats to life or limb or even evidence to them being real. This on top of numerous individuals sending in character reference letters of which at least one pointed out that Nobody’s communications were sometimes hard to interpret, but of which were never of a threatening nature even if they can on occasion be misconstrued. Judge concluded saying he believed it was real none-the-less and ordered detainment in a seemingly pre-written statement after an entire court session. To the audience it appeared the judge was not paying attention and on one occasion the judge even confused one of Nobody’s defence lawyer for being Nobody.
Motion for bond denied
To support the Crypto6’s legal campaign check out TheCrypto6.com. For more information and a detailed discussion of the motion for release and bail hearing check out show number one hundred twenty one of Freedom Decrypted: A Freedom Slanted Tech Show For Prickly People. Also don’t forget that you can write to Nobody in jail. Mail is always greatly appreciated by caged individuals left with little to nothing to do.
