Nov 8, 2012 | Activism, Survivalism
About nine months before a Senate subcommittee for investigations report blasted DHS fusion centers as colossal wastes of money, redundant bureaucracies and threats to our liberty, the Department delivered testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence called “Homeland Security and Intelligence: Next Steps in Evolving the Mission.”
The testimony might as well have been called “We Are Doing Important Stuff, Seriously Guys, C’mon, Please Don’t Cut Our Budget!” It seems like every third sentence in it is an implicit acknowledgement and desperate rebuttal of the
fact that DHS’ “intelligence mission” is largely redundant. There are 17 intelligence agencies in the United States at present. As the Senate subcommittee for investigations report on fusion centers
observed, the “intelligence mission” DHS has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to implement is being more effectively executed by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) operations.
So what’s left for poor DHS? According to the January 2012 testimony: more of the same, with a (bad) twist. Read the following paragraph from the testimony keeping in mind what we
learned here in Boston about the local fusion center’s
spying on peaceful First Amendment protected speech and assembly. (We found that the DHS-funded Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) has been spying on peace activists and labeling them “Extremists” and “HomeSec-Domestic” threats in “intelligence reports” that could easily be shared with the federal government.)
As threat grows more localized, the prospect that a state/local partner will generate the first lead to help understand a new threat, or even an emerging cell, will grow. And the federal government’s need to train, and even staff, local agencies, such as major city police departments, will grow. Because major cities are the focus for threat, these urban areas also will become the sources of intelligence that will help understand these threats at the national level, DHS might move toward decentralizing more of its analytic workforce to partner with state/local agencies in the collection and dissemination of intelligence from the local level.
A translation into non-beltway English: DHS is doubling down on its quest to transform local police departments into mini intelligence agencies. That’s a terrible idea and it is up to us to stop it.
Why resist police federalization? Put simply: we need police departments to respond to local issues, not serve as foot soldiers for the federal spy agencies. Fortunately, terrorism isn’t a major problem in 99% of cities in the United States. As Micah Zenko
observes,
if you live in the US you are as likely to be killed by your furniture as you are by a terrorist. But that fact has not stopped and will not stop DHS from showering your local police department with money and technology to enable its militarization and federalization, with terror threats as the alibi. Only we can stop this dangerous trend.
And it will likely take some serious organizing. After all, it’s highly unlikely that departments will easily give up access to the “free” federal money for surveillance gadgets and data sharing programs they’ve been raking in for the past ten years.
The only way to bring some democracy to this largely shadowy process is to bring it yourself, like
people in Oakland are doing right now by
stirring up a storm about Alameda County’s plans to acquire surveillance drones.
How can you resist the federal government trying to turn your local police department into a mini-FBI? First you need to know what is going on. Visit your local police department’s website and see if it has posted any information about federal grants for equipment or information sharing programs. File public records requests to the department to learn how any federal monies have been spent over the past five years. (You can file public records requests quickly and easily
here.) Then take what you find to the people.
After you’ve learned about what the police department is doing with federal funds, write about it for your local paper. Most local newspapers are happy to accept op-eds from people who live in town. If your area has a Patch online newspaper, write something for that. Spread the word in whatever way you can and make it clear to the local government that you are paying attention to what goes on at the police department.
Finally, bring the issue to your town or city governing body. Here in Massachusetts we have a very strong town government system (the strength of these local offices varies state by state, but it’s a good place to start no matter where you live).
So for example, if your research shows you that the local police department got lots of DHS cash for surveillance cameras and simply installed them without a public conversation on the merits of the enhanced spying, raise the issue with the governing body that controls the police department. Make it clear that you want all future federal grants to the police to be discussed and debated publicly, and that you want your elected officials to play a role in deciding policing procedures. Ask about data policies and whether the information from the cameras can be shared with outside agencies. If there’s the political will in the community, maybe you can get the cameras turned off like people did
here in Cambridge, MA.
Let it be known that you want your community to retain local control over your local police. The bureaucrats at DHS will likely be sad if we can work together to reverse the troubling federalization and militarization of our local police departments — it very well might put many of them out of work — but our democracy will be much better off.
Sep 18, 2012 | News, Survivalism
I wrote a news story recently called “How technology will send you to hell in the FEMA camps” It was wildly popular and raised the question in my mind, “How do I prevent my family from going to the camps?”
The first thing is to know what to expect before hand. While people think about the dollar dropping to nothing, or an Obama re-election, you need to consider the most pressing signs of a pending martial law.
How pending?
About 15 minutes or less away from being put into a bus.
Now there are people who would look forward to 3 hots and a cot. And there are some who would actively encourage you to go to the camps. There was an article that said that social services folks are encourage self-sufficient people to use food stamps, and that the self-sufficient mentality was preventing more people from being on food stamps.
But we aren’t those people. We are the kinds that enjoy freedom.
So what do we look for?
Using the backbone of a military operation, you must make the enemy (that would be you) deaf, dumb, and blind.
What does that mean? It means you must be blind: Not knowing what to expect, how many men are in the operation, and what your final destination will be. This means that the operation will most likely take place in the middle of the night. When they roll up, mega watt lights will be shone onto the neighbourhood. This disorientates you as well as illuminate your home for movement. This also means the power to your block will be secured. Depending on the size of the town, perhaps several blocks at once. That would be a good thing. Read on…
Deaf means that you won’t know what is going on. Loud noises, such as bullhorns shouting orders, diesel engines running, and people yelling at you to go here or there. It also means you won’t be able to receive texts or cell phone service.
Dumb, or mute, means you won’t be able to call anyone, tweet, post a Facebook update, send an email of warning. Imagine if the events took place in Chicago. How quick would such a warning get spread all over Facebook or Twitter. It would “trends” quickly and the element of surprise would be gone.
Making you deaf and dumb is as simple as securing the internet with the Internet Kill Switch. That ends Facebook, Twitter, and Email.
And all you have to do to secure the cell phone or land-line service is to have the US military show up at the local phone office and have them secure all lines in the place. Turning the power off would be as effective as cutting lines, but once power is restored you could have normal service. Infrastructure would be maintained.
Your neighbourhood is now deaf, dumb, and blind.
You need to buy yourself some time. Not much time, but just enough time.
And you have about 5 minutes to do it in. Maybe less.
What do you need?
You need to make an alert when you lose power. This is from my site:
“I took a small wall wart that is rated at 12 volts and about 100 mA. I attached it to the power and ground part of a small 12v relay I bought from radio shack. I then took a 9v battery connector and a piezeo alarm and put it on the connectors of the relay that if there is no power to the relay – will allow current to flow. The way you find that is to put the red wire of the connector to the relay, and one of the leads from the alarm to the opposite side of the relay. Connect the black wire and the other alarm wire together.
Provided you have a 9v battery on the connector you should hear a sound. If not, change to a different spot on the relay. So when you apply power by plugging in the wall wart, the sound goes off. Remove the wart or turn off the power, you get an alarm sound. “
When I was in the Navy, any time we lost power we went into an immediate Security Alert. And you should too. When that alarm sounds (Put it in your bedroom as close to the bed as possible), after you pull the alarm out of the socket, get up and hide the children,
And that means you have to have pre-arranged hiding spots.
A window seat is a great way to start. Make a bench, bolt it to the wall under the bedroom window, and make small doors for the child to hide in. You can do the same for your room. Tell the children just to go if they are ever told, and to stay very quiet until you tell them to come out. And only you. Pretend to be someone else and see if they come to them. Soldiers may be very sneaky and say, “Your parents told me to get you. Come on, let’s go to them!”
Practice this frequently so they are aware of what needs to be done, and to be done in the dark, and to be done without question.
If you can’t make a window bench, then fill your closet up with “boxes”. These boxes are “stacked” to make it look like a storage area, but it’s just a shell. If you are in a manufactured home or a single story home, go to the closet and cut open a hatch to the crawl space. Have a black blanket so you can hide under the blanket to stay concealed. USE YOUR IMAGINATION!
The idea is that soldiers don’t have much time to search each home. They have to keep moving onto the next house. Once they leave and the power goes back on – DON’T CHANGE ANYTHING. If the bathroom light was on, leave it on. The smart meters will detect and record ANY changes and it will alert someone that there are people within the home!
Drones will be used to monitor communities and neighbourhoods. Going out after dark is the same as going out during the day.
If you go out at night, take a night vision capable video camera. Put black plastic around the IR lamp that is usually beneath the camera’s lens. This will prevent the drone from seeing the IR light, but you’ll be able to see the IR lights on the drone in the dark.
If you feel froggy, shoot down the drone AS IT LEAVES! The flight will be level and of constant speed, enough for you to get a bead on it. It’s difficult to tell where the shot came from, and you’ll get some satisfaction of taking one down. These thing are expensive and if they have to redirect one away from another area, that means someone else is getting a break.
If you have to move from one place to another, do so during a rain or thunderstorm. These conditions make drone flying very difficult and seeing anything of value VERY difficult. Yes, it is horrible conditions for you, but at least you will be free.
If, during the day, you see people wandering through your town, ignore them and hide. They may be “spies” looking for the last holdouts. As a rule of thumb, 8 to 80, blind, crippled, or crazy, means anyone may be a threat. Don’t kill them, just let them pass through. Watch them to see if they use a radio. IF they do use one, listen for codes such as, “Secure”, “Subjects”, “Natives”, or “SitRep (Situation Report)”
Such phrases would mean that they are looking for you as wolves in sheep’s clothing. DO NOTHING towards them. Get their photos if you can but remain hidden.
Satellites may detect heat from fireplaces, so use the covert cooking methods like solar cooking, Hay Box cooking or Creveche. If you can, light a match in the sewers to eliminate any flammable gasses, and cook down there. The streets should hide the heat signature well enough, especially in the day. Solar cooking using the back of a pickup may be a good decision as it may imitate the accumulated heat of a canopy.
You will be on your own. You will be the deciding factor if you live free or die free.
But it’s your decision. No one else makes it for you.
And that’s why it’s called FREEDOM.
SEE Also : The Covert Prepper – by James Smith
Jul 10, 2012 | Abuses of Power, News
Totalitarian governments, like persistent forms of cancer, have latched onto the long history of man, falling and then reemerging from the deep recesses of our cultural biology to wreak havoc upon one unlucky generation to the next. The assumption by most is that these unfortunate empires are the product of bureaucracies gone awry; overtaken by the chaotic maddening hunger for wealth and power, and usually manipulated by the singular ambitions of a mesmerizing dictator. For those of us in the Liberty Movement who are actually educated on the less acknowledged details of history, oligarchy and globalized centralism is much less random than this, and a far more deliberate and devious process than the general unaware public is willing consider.
Unfortunately, the final truth is very complex, even for us…
One cannot place the blame of despotism entirely on the shoulders of globalists. Sadly, the crimes of elites are only possible with a certain amount of complicity from subsections of the populace. Without our penchant for apathy and fear, there can be no control. That is to say, there is no power over us but that which we give away. We pave the road to our own catastrophes.
In the end, a tyrant’s primary job is not to crush the masses and rule out of malevolence, but to obtain the voluntary consent of the citizenry, usually through trickery and deceit. Without the permission of the people, subconscious or otherwise, no tyranny can survive.
As with the oppressive regimes of the past, America has undergone a dramatic transformation, heavy with fear and ignorance. Our tradition of elections has been corrupted and negated by the false left/right paradigm, and the leaderships of both defunct parties now seek only to elevate a select minority of men bent on globalization. Our Constitutional liberties have been dismantled by legal chicanery. Our principles have been diluted by intellectual games of rationalism and moral relativism. Our country is ripe for conquest.
Americans battle over whose side is most to blame; Democrat or Republican, while ironically being disenchanted with both entities. For some people, the thought of holding each party equally accountable, or accepting that they are essentially the same animal, never crosses their minds.
While this irrelevant farce of a debate rages on, the true culprits plotting the demise of our Republic gain momentum, and implement policy initiatives that the public should and must take note of. In the past year alone, many blatant steps towards the Orwellian gulag have been openly administered. A carnival of peddlers and freaks and greasy popcorn overwhelms our senses, but the stench of this cheap circus still tickles our noses, and if we use our eyes for even a moment, certain dangerous trends reveal themselves. Here are just a few recent events that bear a dire warning; the ultimate assault on freedom in this nation grows near…
Acclimation To Subservience
Every totalitarian state worth its salt has its own goon squad. The Nazi’s had the “Brownshirts”, the Soviets had the “Militsiya” and the “Voluntary People’s Brigade”, the Communist Chinese have the “Chengguan”, etc. In America, however, all tyrannical measures are given innocuous bureaucratic labels to mislead and distract the masses. In this country, we have the Transportation Security Administration…
The TSA has become the most hated alphabet agency in the U.S. in perhaps the fastest time on record. It has violated the personal rights of more people on a daily basis in my view than the IRS, DEA, and the ATF combined. Clearly, this slobbering demon child of the Department of Homeland Security is being molded for something quite terrible and grand.
When confronted by the public on the use of irradiating and intrusive naked body scanner technology, the agency responded by allowing their blue handed ghoul army with to molest our nether-regions. When confronted by state and local governments on their absurd tactics, the TSA threatened economic blockades and airport shutdowns. The organization then began expanding its jurisdiction to bus and train stations and even our highways when it introduced the VIPR program and implemented random roadside checkpoints in Tennessee last year. But, this behavior is nothing compared to what is next on the horizon: a compromise…
Beware of government agencies bearing gifts. The TSA along with the International Air Transport Association has announced a new methodology of “less intrusive” passenger screening measures, in order to address the concerns of the public over pat downs and irradiating naked body scanners. This SOUNDS like a step in the right direction, and a proper response to the grievances of the citizenry. Instead, it turns out to be a refined example of totalitarianism in motion, and a perfect lesson in how the masses can be duped into handing over their inherent freedoms.
Revamped security protocols call for biometric data collection, including fingerprint and retina scans, and a tunnel which combines multiple detection systems into one area (who knows how radioactive this will end up being):
http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2012-06-19/Faster-better-airport-security-checkpoints-not-that-far-off/55693916/1
The mainstream article above makes this development sound like a win/win scenario for everyone, painting biometric data collection as a matter of convenience, but it also reveals the true design of the system; to illicit voluntary subservience:
“The key to speeding up checkpoints and making security less intrusive will be to identify and assess travelers according to the risks they pose to safety in the skies. The so-called riskiest or unknown passengers would face the toughest scrutiny, including questioning and more sensitive electronic screening. Those who voluntarily provide more information about themselves to the government would be rewarded with faster passage…”
They enforce destructive anti-personal rights policies then pretend to acquiesce by replacing them with a technocratic nightmare grid which requires the cataloging of our very genetic essence in order to function. The only remaining injustice left would be to apply this grid to the rest of the country outside of the airports and train stations, which I assure you, they plan to do.
Militarization
Last week, I covered the disturbing use of armored vehicles (APC’s or urban tanks) in open training regiments on the streets of St. Louis by the U.S Army, despite the fact that all of their exercises could have easily been accomplished on any number of military bases across the country. The action is an obvious attempt to condition the American populace to the sight of military units operating in a policing capacity:
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/866-military-tanks-on-st-louis-streetsbut-why
I received multiple letters from current serving military who stated that in all their years in the armed forces they had never seen such a brash mishandling of public relations or an overstepping of bounds when it came to the restrictions of Posse Comitatus. It was encouraging to hear from military men and women who did not agree with or condone this kind of psyop activity on the part of our government.
Though the St. Louis event is not isolated, I believe it does represent an escalation.
Remember the controversy over the Mayor of Toledo and his refusal to allow 200 Marines to conduct urban combat drills on the public streets of his city in 2008? The media clamored to crucify this public official; one of the few who had any sense whatsoever in his head:
http://voices.yahoo.com/toledo-mayor-faces-backlash-ousting-marines-896105.html
Or the tactical exercises using helicopters and combat troops over LA and Chicago early this year?
http://www.lapdonline.org/newsroom/news_view/50045
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/04/17/city-black-hawk-helicopter-flights-were-just-a-training-exercise/
During each one of these events, city officials and local media attempted to inoculate the public with claims that they were “simply exercises”. This argument misses the point entirely. Whether or not these are “exercises” is not the issue. The issue is that this training could be done ON BASE. Using public streets and running drills within cities is absolutely unnecessary given the vast resources already available to the military, unless, of course, the goal is to BE SEEN by the public and to influence them to view the sight of armed troops around them as “normal”.
Add to this the fact that many of these military training exercises are being conducted in tandem with local police department, and you have a recipe for the utter militarization of our society, turning peace officers into combat soldiers, and combat soldiers into law enforcement mechanisms; a juxtaposition that will soon lead to unmitigated disaster.
Arms Race Against the People?
When a country is quietly preparing for war, the first signs are usually revealed by a disclosure of armaments. If stockpiling is taking place without a warranted threat present from a legitimate enemy, there is a considerable likelihood of aggression on the part of that nation. America has gone well beyond the psychological process of militarization and has begun the extensive arming of particular agencies whose primary purpose revolves around the domestic.
The DHS, for instance, placed an order for over 450 million rounds of hollowpoint .40 cal ammunition in April of this year:
http://rt.com/usa/news/dhs-million-point-government-179/
And it placed an order for over 7000 new semi-automatic combat rifles chambered in .223 (5.56 by 45mm NATO) immediately after:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=d791b6aa0fd9d3d8833b2efa08300033&tab=core&tabmode=list&=
While local police through federal programs (like the 1033 Program) are being given millions of dollars in free military equipment, including body armor, night vision equipment, APC’s, aircraft, first aid supplies, weapons, surveillance equipment, Kevlar helmets, gas masks and filters, vehicles, etc.:
http://www.ogs.state.sc.us/surplus/SP-1033-index.phtm
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/cops-military-gear/all/
All of this equipment, though issued to state agencies, is still heavily tracked and regulated by the federal government, making it clear that these “gifts” come with strings attached:
http://www.newsherald.com/articles/program-103291-state-law.html
And finally, new FAA regulations will soon allow the dispersion of tens of thousands of predator drones with armament capability in the skies of the U.S. over the course of the next few years:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/7/coming-to-a-sky-near-you/
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/10/nation/la-na-drone-arrest-20111211
Now, anyone with any logic would ask who it is that the government is arming itself and local police to fight against? Al Qaeda? Let’s not be naïve…
The passage of the NDAA and its provisions for the indefinite detainment of ANY person, even an American citizen, under the laws of war has ended the debate over government intent in terms of domestic action. FBI Director Robert Mueller’s admission that he “did not know” if assassination programs would be used against American citizens also heaped evidence on the matter. The bottom line? Our government wishes to label and treat citizens as enemy combatants. Of course they would then organize armaments to follow through on their policy.
Pulling The Trigger
All despotic systems have another distinct similarity; they each began with a series of trigger events which opened the door to tighter controls over the population. The most immediate trigger event for the U.S. is the looming peril of a collapsing economy followed by inevitable civil unrest. With the EU currently in debt shambles, global markets are on the verge of a considerable breakdown. The Federal Reserve response will be predictable; QE3 and massive stimulus all around to mitigate the crisis. This time, though, the go-to Keynesian quick fix will not work in the slightest. In fact, it will make matters more untenable by placing the world reserve status of the dollar at risk.
Everything that has happened so far in the markets this year has been easy to foresee. Alt-Market predicted the economic slowdown around the world and the collapse of overall demand using the Baltic Dry Index as a gauge back in January:
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/540-baltic-dry-index-signals-renewed-market-collapse
We also predicted the accelerated turmoil in the EU in light of the recent election results in France and Greece:
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/765-economic-alert-if-youre-not-worried-yetyou-should-be
If alternative economic analysts can predict these developments despite the manipulated statistics spewed out by the government every month, then I think the government and our central bank has a tremendously transparent view of what is coming down the road in terms of financial distress. I believe the establishment is very well aware of a potential crisis event, economic or otherwise, that is barreling down upon the U.S. I believe the evidence shows that they are preparing for this eventuality in a command and control fashion, without alerting the public to the coming implosion. I believe they will use the despair that flows forth from the fiscal wreckage as an excuse to institute martial law.
Call it “crazy”. Call it “conspiracy theory”. Call it “coincidence”. Call it “fear mongering”. Whatever you like. I find it far more insane to shrug off the strange and twisted behavior of our power structure, and simply hope that it’s all irrelevant to the future. Whenever I run into starry eyed historical romanticists who look back in astonishment at the tyrannies of the past and wonder out loud, “How could those people have not known where their country was headed?!!”, I think of where we are today…
Brandon Smith is the founder of Alt-Market is an organization designed to help you find like-minded activists and preppers in your local area so that you can network and construct communities for mutual aid and defense. Join Alt-Market.com today and learn what it means to step away from the system and build something better or contribute to their Safe Haven Project. You can contact Brandon Smith at: [email protected]
SOURCE: AcitvistPost
