Jeff Cassman

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, a D.C.-based nonprofit, is at the center of the multi-statehouse push among privacy advocates. The group has also been pressing lawmakers in Maryland and Michigan to introduce state versions of the measure, and hopes to make inroads in as many states as possible.

[…]

Caitriona Fitzgerald, EPIC’s deputy director, hopes that a state version of ADPPA creates an alternative to the industry’s push for weaker state privacy laws. The modified bill has a significant advantage over industry proposals because of Congress’ push last year, she said.

“It’s been negotiated by both sides in Congress, industry was looking at it, advocates were looking at it, so much of the work is done for them,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s probably some comfort in that for state legislators, that all those negotiations have already happened.”

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In a letter signed by more than 80 immigrant rights, racial justice, government accountability, human rights, and privacy organizations, EPIC and coalition members called upon ICE not to renew a $22 million contract for a suite of surveillance services. LexisNexis gives ICE agents access to the Accurint database compiled from thousands of sources and includes billions of government records, utility bills, phone records, medical records and more. ICE uses Accurint as well as other LexisNexis tools to surveil immigrants and choose targets for deportation raids. In just a 7 month period in 2021, ICE searched the database more than 1.2 million times.

The coalition letter demonstrates how ICE’s contract with LexisNexis is used for the “the identification, location, arrest, and removal of noncitizens”. Purchasing this data allows ICE to avoid state and local sanctuary policies, ignore the requirements of privacy laws, and acts as an end-run around 4th Amendment warrant requirement.

EPIC recently published the report, DHS’s Data Reservoir, which analyzes the ways that the Department of Homeland Security, in particular CBP and ICE, collects and circulates location data. In one of EPIC’s ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against ICE, EPIC has obtained thousands of pages related to ICE’s use of social media surveillance companies including Shadowdragon and purchases of location data from LocateX

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There are countless root cellars in Scandinavia.  The popularity of storing food on the farm and woodland homestead has been persistent in a country with both a long tradition of DIY food growing and a climate that necessitates a system for winter food storage when the gardens go dormant.   

In my travels I found many cellars dating back to 50s and far earlier. The older cellars had large natural stone block walls, and the new ones were poured concrete. It was interesting to note how many were still in use even though those who built them were no longer around to fill them up with carrots, beets and potatoes. 

These are the most popular crops I found in the cellars I visited. But there were also rutabaga, turnip and even some hardy flowers bulbs being held over for spring planting. 

Features of Scandinavian Root Cellars

The Scandinavian cellar has a few features that stood out. You can find similar features in other cellars, such as those in North America. But I saw some particularities that gave me a sense of the builders being innovators. 

The cellars were often built into a small ridgeline or hillside—often glacial morraines and eskers (which are common in northern Europe). This takes advantage of a few geographical features.  First, the cellar gains protection and thermal mass from the earth on three sides.  Second, it means availability of ample boulders and cobble stones to make a façade for the cellar and retention walls for the front.   

However, unlike my own cellar—which is deeply buried in my glacial moraine ridge with over 4 to 6 feet of soil cover—these Scandinavian cellars were more often built toward the top of the hillside, with less soil cover and often a frame roof.  This offers less protection from extreme cold, but the temperatures in southern Sweden are not as cold as my own Ontario winters. 

Still, with roof trusses possibly filled with wood chips as an insulation and the roof covered over with snow, there must be enough protection.  When there was no pitched roof, the rounded earthen mound would usually have an overhang of corrugated metal to keep rain and snow off the doorway. 

Read more: These garden veggies are root cellar rock stars!

Air Management

That being said, the cellars often had stairways down into the cellar and made use of triple airlocks!  Two horizontal-style cellar-style doors would lift up. Rhen, at the bottom of the staircase, there would be a regular vertical door into the second airlock, followed by a third vertical door into the cellar. 

This would have a great thermal regulating effect in extreme weather, despite people going in and out. 

These cellars all had air intakes and exhaust.  The exhaust went out the top, a normal feature in a cellar. But more often than not the cold air intake was built…

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image via Ebay

Yep, you read that right.

For the right price, you can buy kingdoms on Ebay.  Whether you’re looking for a castle, a private island, or even an old military base, you can find it on Ebay.

You don’t need dragons to conquer these kingdoms, and you don’t need the Magna Carta to share your might. A seat of power can be yours, simply by bidding on eBay… seriously. We’ve rounded up nine properties and swaths of land for sale on eBay —  including a medieval German castle, an island off the coast of Florida, and even a former military missile base — each of which you can fashion into your the dominion of your choosing. Start coming up with a flag.

Click here to read more.

image via Ebay

While it’s fun to look at all the weird things on Ebay, there’s a practical side to this too.  Many homesteaders are looking for a piece of land to call their own.

Most of us go through a typical real-estate agent when buying land, but there are other options. Sites like Ebay and Craigslist can be great places to find land that you might not have seen otherwise.  Always keep your options open.  You may be surprised at what you find.

What do you think about these Ebay kingdoms?  Do you have any tips for buying land?  Let us know in the comments!

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Last week, EPIC urged the FCC to clarify the privacy and security rules carriers must follow if and when the carriers are required to collect more precise location data for 911 call routing. The FCC has proposed that all carriers collect handset location data to improve 911 call routing. Currently, only some carriers collect such precise location data.

EPIC’s comments called attention to the danger of creating new troves of precise location data without first ensuring that the information is safeguarded. EPIC cited to the major carriers’ recent sale of consumer location data (including emergency location data), the heightened sensitivity of handset location data, and the harms suffered by vulnerable individuals as a result of misuse of location data.

EPIC argued that the Commission should not set a deadline for carriers to collect handset location data without first setting strong and clear privacy and security rules. EPIC recommended that the agency apply its existing privacy rules for dispatch location data to device-level routing data, including rules that hold carriers responsible for misuse by the third parties with whom carriers share emergency location data. EPIC urged the Commission to adopt data minimization principles and require carriers to routinely delete 911 location data. EPIC also urged the FCC to clarify explicitly that 911 location data would not be made available to law enforcement for investigative purposes (unless related to the purpose of the call).

EPIC advocates for improved safeguards for location data, the privacy and security of emergency assistance requests, greater consumer protection from the unsavory practices of data brokers, and regularly files comments with the FCC.

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Man’s pressing need to survive has provided the impetus for invention and ingenuity. Living off the land encompasses all aspects of survival, including utilizing whatever is available to enhance survival.

Our need to hunt and protect ourselves was probably the motivation for early men to pick up a stick and use it as a tool.

The stick is the simplest of all tools and yet it has evolved from a simple tree branch to a sophisticated weapon incorporating aerodynamics, an understanding of weight and balance, and the concept of velocity vs weight to magnify kinetic energy.

It is a weapon that will take small game such as:

• rabbits and hares
• pheasants
• partridges and turkeys
• water fowl
• and even small antelope and deer if you score a direct hit

The stick is mighty, and it has evolved over the centuries. It is the most valuable basic hunting tool you can have by your side in a survival context.

A Short History of the Sticks Evolution

A 300,000-year-old throwing stick found in Germany to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting throwing sticks used to hunt waterfowl, from Sudan, Asia, and the America’s, the throwing stick has literally found its mark.

Early archaeological finds indicate that the throwing stick was a fundamental and vital part of everyday life.

The Egyptians organized throwing stick sports events and the Aboriginals of Australasia praised the Gods for the stick.

The boomerang is considered the most enduring symbol of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.

Throwing sticks and boomerangs were initially not designed to return to the thrower.

Hunting sticks follow a direct line of flight while returning throwing sticks and boomerangs follow a curved flight path which takes many more flight variables into account in order to be accurate.

Overview of the Throwing Stick

Throwing sticks are the easiest primitive weapons to make and are the first weapons you should contract if you ever find yourself in a survival situation.

Level of Difficulty

The throwing stick is easy to make. Literally any stick can be used irrespective of shape or length.

Skill Level Needed

• Accuracy is the key. Shaping the stick to have an aerodynamic profile requires a simple understanding of shaping an aircraft wing.
• No skill is needed to throw. It is as simple as picking it up and letting loose.
• To be accurate requires constant practice. You will develop muscle memory with practice, the throw will become instinctive.
• Starting out remember the old military maxim: slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Ideal Conditions

The stick can be thrown as long as you have enough space to produce a swing and generate enough kinetic energy to propel the stick with sufficient momentum to kill or disable the target.

Type of prey

Small to medium game animals and birds. Effective against larger animals with direct hits to the cranium.

Materials

• Length of branch approximately as thick as your wrist
• Heaver woods are…

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“Having access to your own food is priceless,” says Emily Loflin, a self-proclaimed chicken enthusiast based in Northern California who shares her poultry adventures to the world via the Ems Eggers Instagram account.  

 Loflin’s farming journey escalated during the early era of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We were homesteading more than ever and we realized the importance of becoming self sustainable,” says Loflin, who adds that originally she and her husband “wanted to teach our children to be responsible humans and to love and nurture living things such as animals as well as plants.” 

Taking a break from tending to the chicks, we spoke to Loflin about her early inspiration to begin a hobby farm and the range of chicken personalities. We also touched on dark chocolate paint eggs. 

It’s All About the Eggs 

“The original appeal for chickens was honestly eggs!” says Loflin, when asked why poultry became such a focus of the Ems Eggers homestead. 

“My husband and children built the cutest little coop out of scrap-wood around the property, and we picked up four or five chicks,” she continues. “Raising them taught the kids responsibility. Feeding them, cleaning the coop and collecting eggs was the ultimate reward.” 

Read more: Do hens need roosters to lay eggs?

A Beautiful Egg Rainbow 

Loflin adds that her interest in chickens really bloomed during the pandemic, when she and her family were spending more time than ever homesteading. 

“We had the best garden we’ve ever had, and I really started researching chickens,” she explains. “I became super interested in all the different breeds and egg colors, and decided I wanted to have our own beautiful egg rainbow.” 

During this time, Loflin adds that late night research sessions helped to hone her poultry chops and expand her knowledge of specific breeds and egg-hatching techniques. “This is when I knew I had a real passion for chickens and their beautiful eggs,” she says. 

The Flock Breeds Personality 

Looking over her flock, Loflin says she’s noticed distinct personalities emerging. 

“Our Delaware hen Daisy was always so pushy and greedy and had to be first to all the feed bowls and treats,” she says. “Daisy would follow me and almost pester me until I’d offer her something. Then there’s Val, our first Easter Egger—so curious and not pushy, but she always seemed interested and intrigued by what was going on.” 

Read more: Can chickens talk? Sure they can! And they have lots to say.

Dark Chocolate Paint Eggs 

“I truly am in awe [of] the beauty of nature and all the amazing colors a chicken can lay,” says Loflin as she considers the range of egg colors her peep produces. “I love the blues and dark olives and speckles and even the lovely pastels or eggs with heavy blooms that make them look grey or purple!” 

Pressed to pick a current favorite…

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Have you ever thought about the value of your food? Where it comes from? Or what it truly means to reap what you sow? If you’re the love-food-hate-waste type of person, then I’m sure you’ll agree with everything below. Get some tips on how to control food waste now.

By Kathy Bernier – The Practical Prepsteader

“What do I do with this?” asked my dinner guest, holding out a plate of beef burgundy, a hesitant expression on her face. She had accepted my invitation for the meal and had assured me that just the thought of my menu selection made her mouth water.

I swallowed the retort that sprang to my mind. I wanted to tell her that the only thing to do with food was to eat it. I wanted to tell her about the value of that food, of how the beef that I had simmered in wine sauce all afternoon was once a living breathing creature. I thought of the crisp October morning when we had used apples to lure the handsome young pasture-raised steers onto the livestock trailer, and of how we cried again two weeks later when we happened to witness strangers saying goodbye to their animal while we were picking up our packages of meat. I wished she could understand how that plate of beef represented so much more than just my work in the kitchen.

“Here,” I replied, reaching for the plate. “I’ll take it.” I scraped the entire serving into the chicken bucket I keep under the sink, consoling myself with the knowledge that at least it wouldn’t be completely wasted.

We don’t waste any food at our house, ever. We work too hard for it, and sacrifice too much, to let it land as a meaningless lump in a landfill somewhere.

However, our household is unusual in that regard. Never has food been of so little value to Americans in general. According to USDA data, we in our country pay a smaller percentage of our income on food than ever. In 1933, people spent 25.2 percent of their disposable income on food. In 2013, that figure was just 9.8 percent. You can see those figures for yourself on this chart:

http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-expenditures/data-files/food-expenditures/table7xls.aspx

Is it any wonder, then, that our society treats food so casually? In just eighty years, food has changed from something very dear to something so cheap that it’s not even worth taking care to conserve.

It is not only the actual dollars-and-cents cost of food that has diminished in recent generations, but the physical effort and nutritional value that people place on food as well. The USDA chart breaks down the food costs further into “At home” and “Away from home” categories. Back in 1933, almost all food costs were incurred at home, with just 3.3 percent spent away. But in 2013, nearly half – 4.3 of the 9.8 percent –…

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