A Skeptical Survivalist

Under the banner of fighting child pornography, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice knocked out 84,000 websites last week. The websites did not host or link to child pornography as the government claims.

“As part of ‘Operation Save Our Children‘ ICE’s Cyber Crimes Center has again seized several domain names, but not without making a huge error. Last Friday, thousands of site owners were surprised by a rather worrying banner that was placed on their domain,” reportsTorrentFreak, a tech site.

Senator Joe Lieberman peddles his kill switch legislation under the rubric of the phony war on terror.

“Advertisement, distribution, transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography constitute federal crimes that carry penalties for first time offenders of up to 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution,” was the message visitors to the sites were greeted with after a judge signed a seizure warrant and Big Sis contacted the domain registries and instructed them to point the domains in question to a server that hosts the above warning message.

“However, somewhere in this process a mistake was made and as a result the domain of a large DNS service provider was seized,” writes Ernesto for TorrentFreak.

It is certainly possible although not probable the takedown was an error. It is more likely the sites were taken offline in calculated fashion in order to send a message – government has the ability to deny a large number of websites access to the internet

I’m glad there are folks war-gaming how to prevent attacks on US cities. I’m not so fearful of the government that I doubt everything that is done. I know there are a great many honest, dedicated folks out there who work to keep us safe.

However, I’m also very aware of the continued program of increased surveillance, snooping, reporting, suspicion, and domestic spying that is daily perpetuated in the name of homeland security.  

What Brad here is referring to as the work of hero’s, is the same sort of thought behind the “See Something, Say Something” campaign that I see as very similar to the environment in communist countries where citizens report on their neighbors and anything “suspicious” is worth a phone call that gets your name added to a list.  

When everyone is spying on each other the paranoia and potential for abuse is widespread.

This is not the America I want to live in - NOT the country George Washington helped create. Washington created his spy network in a time of open war with a tangible enemy.

When the enemy is potentially your next door neighbor, then we’ve already lost the war.

Here’s Meltzer talking about what he views as a beautiful thing:

Let me be clear: Those unseen heroes are everywhere. And they help us every day. And the best part? It’s been true throughout our history. Indeed, as I researched my newest thriller, “Inner Circle,” I found that back during the Revolutionary War, a secret presidential spy ring was started by none other than George Washington.

Washington called it the Culper Ring, and it was made up of ordinary citizens who operated throughout New York and Long Island. People just like you. Throughout the war, they moved information, gathered secrets about the British and never told anyone about their existence. In fact, even George Washington didn’t know all their names. But this ring of civilians was so amazing at transporting secret information for Washington, they helped win the Revolutionary War for us.

And you’ll never read about them in most history books. These days, nearly every New Yorker knows at least one unseen hero. Most of them will remain “invisible” forever. But that invisibility may just be the most beautiful part of the story.

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

WASHINGTON — A top US lawmaker unveiled legislation on Wednesday to protect individuals who tip off authorities to potential extremist threats from lawsuits, in the event that they turn out to finger innocents. House Homeland Security Chairman Pete King introduced the “See Something, Say Something Act” as a shield for those “acting in good faith” and with “objectively reasonable suspicion” that a plot may be unfolding. “Good citizens who report suspicious activity in good faith, should not have to worry about being sued,” King, a Republican, said in a statement released by his office, citing “frivolous lawsuits” in 2007.

I suppose after reading enough on these topics in the underground web, when I see that the Pentagon has said they need “U.S. forces to be prepared for a range of warfare including “homeland defense and defense support to civil authorities” it brings to mind Operation Garden plot [see declassified OGP plan secured through FOIA] which allows for military assistance with domestic disturbances.

Operation Garden Plot got increased visibility after being mentioned by Major General Richard C. Alexander, Executive Director, National Guard Association of the United States, in the Hearings before the Committee of Appropriations on April 11, 2002. [see page 168 [178 of this PDF] of the full text]

Major General Alexander said:

Congress should authorize and fund a program for organizing, training and equipping National Guard units for dual mission Homeland Security support for first responders.

Oversight of these homeland security missions should be provided by the National Guard Bureau based on the long-standing Garden Plot model in which National Guard units are trained and equipped to support civil authorities in crowd control and civil disturbance missions.

The program should also authorize and fund National Guard training with civil authorities, to include local first responders, to assure a heightened state of collective preparedness for consequence management of domestic Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear or high yield Events (CBRNE) events.

The superseding plan put into place after 9/11/01 is CONPLAN 3502.  [see official declassified briefing presentation on 3502 for the Joint Task Force for Civil Support in 2008]. 

I can’t say that it wouldn’t be helpful to have the National Guard around in a natural emergency, but when you see videos like this where police and the National Guard took firearms from citizens during Katrina - especially when they jump 70 year old ladies - it really does not lead me to believe that military security in a time of disaster does anything other than take away MY security and rights.  So, when I hear the Pentagon say they need money for defense support for civil authorities, forgive me if I think about Katrina.

Don’t come a knockin boys…

WASHINGTON — Despite calls on Capitol Hill for major defense budget cuts, the Pentagon next week will unveil the largest budget in its history — driven by an expanding list of what defines national security.

Those challenges now include pandemic diseases, piracy, human trafficking, rising oceans, national debt, education, cyber warfare, the wars on terrorism and traditional state-to-state threats.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, named Afghanistan, China, Somalia, Yemen and Pakistan as areas the U.S. must focus on. He called for stressing cyber warfare and the health of the force as well.

The Pentagon’s quadrennial defense review, which the military produces, in part, to outline its priorities and shape its budget, last year called for U.S. forces to be prepared for a range of warfare “from homeland defense and defense support to civil authorities, to deterrence and preparedness missions — occurring in multiple and unpredictable combinations.”

It called climate change “an accelerant of instability,” marking the first time such a document linked environmental issues with national security.

On pandemic disease, the report found that “detecting, diagnosing, and determining the origin of a pathogen will enable U.S. authorities to better respond to future disease outbreaks and identify whether they, are natural or man-made. Accordingly, we are expanding the biological threat reduction program to countries outside the former Soviet Union in order to create a global network for surveillance and response.”

And on piracy and human trafficking, the review found the U.S. must invest more in “regional maritime security organizations in order to protect vital sea lines of communication.”