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Proletarian Threads

Apparently I forgot to post this, but I got my union made bandana a week or so ago from Proletarian Threads. Joy for sweatshop free apparel.

Neil Stephenson’s System of the World: Volume Three of The Baroque Cycle comes out in two weeks. Happy days.

No Sweat

Sick of supporting sweat shops every time you buy clothes? Now you can fight back with every thread you buy. No Sweat Apparel has created the first casual clothing brand that actually fights sweatshops - by creating a viable union alternative that can and will transform the global garment industry. But only if concerned consumers support it. When you buy union-made you don't just support one factory - you build and strengthen the entire labor movement. Come now and see how you can help us change the garment industry - just by changing your clothes! No sweat. No Sweat Apparel: http://www.nosweatshop.com

I’ve ordered a few things from these guys lately. Highly recommended.

Living My Life

I’ve finally finished reading Emma Goldman’s Living My Life, Vol. 1. It’s a very good book. Even though I don’t agree with all of her ideas, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I think that people who aren’t even partial to anarchist ideals would like it.

BinRev 2.1

Issue 2.1 of Binary Revolution Magazine is finally available for online order. Go buy it.

Mt. Baker Blues Festival

Yesterday I went to the 9th annual Mt. Baker Blues Festival. It was really good, although some bands just shouldn’t try to play Hendrix. You might be wondering why I went. Three reasons: “Hubert is the heaviest, most original guitar player I’ve ever heard in my life and that’s the truth” - Stevie Ray Vaughan “My favorite guitarist is Hubert Sumlin.” - Jimi Hendrix “Hubert Sumlin is truly amazing!” - Eric Clapton

Yeah. I went to see him.

Campaign Against Right-Wing Radio

http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2004/07/241520.shtml

To Whom It May Concern, I understand that your station is owned by a large corporation with conservative beliefs, but I believe it would be a great benefit to yourselves and the public at large if you were to expand the range of programming to include people with political views other than conservative. A common argument is that listeners only want right wing radio shows, but that's only because right wing views are mostly what people have been exposed to, having been the only thing to choose from for a long time. But it is becoming increasingly apparant that liberal radio is rapidly gaining in popularity (see: http://www.opednews.com/Hartmann_turn_your_radio_on.htm). With such a wide range of possible choices, from Meria Heller and Amy Goodman to Alex Jones and Jeff Rense to any one of the Air America programs, there's just no excuse for the one-sided conservative views your station currently programs. And there's nothing wrong with having a few conservative talk shows, but when that's ALL that can be heard on the air it is a problem. Whether or not you personally are conservative, I hope you understand it is in the best interest of the citizenry to have access to a number of diverse points of views because, as the famous quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson goes, "An informed citizenry is the bulwark of a democracy". Thanks for considering these ideas.

Cryptographers = Terrorists

http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0407.html#3

Cryptographers and U.S. Immigration Seems like cryptographers are being questioned when they enter the U.S. these days. Recently I received this (anonymous) comment: "It seems that the U.S. State Department has a keen interest in foreign cryptographers: Yesterday I tried to renew my visa to the States, and after standing in line and getting fingerprinted, my interviewer, upon hearing that my company sells [a cryptography product], informed me that "due to new regulations," Washington needs to approve my visa application, and that to do so, they need to know exactly which companies I plan to visit in the States, points of contact, etc. etc. Quite a change from my last visa application, for which I didn't even have to show up." I'm curious if any of my foreign readers have similar stories. There are international cryptography conferences held in the United States all the time. It would be a shame if they lost much of their value because of visa regulations.

Email me!

Decoder is being charged today. Since I won’t be in an area where I’m likely to have internet access, I would appreciate it if anybody could send any news to mobile@pig-monkey.com, which will end up on my cell phone. No long messages, please. I think my phone can only handle 100 characters or so.