-
-
Alcune Verità Sono Intollerabili
Italian translation of: Some Truths Are Intolerable
-
Bush's secret army of snoops and snitches
By Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive. Posted July 9, 2008.
The full scale of Bush's assault on our civil liberties may not be known until years after he's left office.
At the moment, all we can do is get glimpses here or there of what's going on.
And the latest one to come to my attention is the dispatching of police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and utility workers as so-called "terrorism liaison officers," according to a report by Bruce Finley in the Denver Post.
They are entrusted with hunting for "suspicious activity," and then they report their findings, which end up in secret government databases.
What constitutes "suspicious activity," of course, is in the eye of the beholder. But a draft Justice Department memo on the subject says that such things as "taking photos of no apparent aesthetic value" or "making notes" could constitute suspicious activity, Finley wrote.
The states where this is going on include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
Dozens more are planning to do so, Finley reports.
Colorado alone has 181 Terrorism Liaison Officers, and some of them are from the private sector, such as Xcel Energy.
Mark Silverstein of the Colorado ACLU told Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! that this reminds him of the old TIPS program, which "caused so much controversy that Congress eventually shut it down. But it is reemerging in other forms." Silverstein warns that there will be thousands and thousands of "completely innocent people going about completely innocent and legal activities" who are going to end up in a government database.
On the web, I found a description for a Terrorism Liaison Officer Position in the East Bay.
Reporting to the Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and the city of Oakland, these officers "would in effect function as ad hoc members" of the East Bay Terrorism Early Warning Group, which consists of local police officers and firefighters.
The "suggested duties" of these Terrorism Liaison Officers include: "source person for internal or external inquiry," and "collecting, reporting retrieving and sharing of materials related to terrorism. Such materials might include ... books journals, periodicals, and videotapes."
Terrorism Liaison Officers would be situated not only in agencies dealing with the harbor, the airports, and the railroads, but also "University/Campus."
And the private sector would be involved, too. "The program would eventually be expanded to include Health Care personnel and representatives from private, critical infrastructure entities, with communication systems specifically tailored to their needs."
In this regard, Terrorism Liaison Officers resemble InfraGard members. (See "The FBI Deputizes Business".) This FBI-private sector liaison group now consists of more than 26,000 members, who have their own secure channels of communication and are shielded, as much as possible, from scrutiny.
Terrorism Liaison Officers connect up with so-called "Fusion Centers": intelligence sharing among public safety agencies as well as the private sector. The Department of Justice has come up with "Fusion Center Guidelines" that discuss the role of private sector participants.
"The private sector can offer fusion centers a variety of resources," it says, including "suspicious incidents and activity information."
It also recommends shielding the private sector. "To aid in sharing this sensitive information, a Non-Disclosure Agreement may be used. The NDA provides private sector entities an additional layer of security, ensuring the security of private sector proprietary information and trade secrets," the document states.
As if that's not enough, the Justice Department document recommends that "fusion centers and their leadership encourage appropriate policymakers to legislate the protection of private sector data provided to fusion centers." By Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive. Posted July 9, 2008. ... more -
Real-life James Bond rushed to hospital
The chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Alex Allan, is still unconscious after having been rushed to hospital after collapsing at his home on Monday.
Police have been quick to suppress rumours that he could have been poisioned, claiming they are still treating the incident as unsuspicious.
"Toxicology tests have been conducted but that is normal when people are rushed to hospital in an unconscious state and the medical staff are uncertain what the cause is." The chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Alex Allan, is still unconscious after having been rushed to hospital after collapsi... more -
"The Fat Man" - Soviet Promo
A graphic novel - published later this year.
All profits will be going to charity.
www.the-fat-man.co.uk
Synopsis
Undercover British agent “The Fat Man” infiltrates a rogue gang of time-travelling Nazis in a tale that warps and weaves across the violent backdrop of history. Responsible for the death of millions, the mysterious Tegal Project threatens the very core of civilisation.
Betrayed by MI5, The Fat Man finds himself caught between the blazing guns of would-be assassins and the blood-red lips of silent movie star Louise Brooks. Unable to trust anyone and faced with a series of unpalatable choices, he careers madly along the arch of time on the seemingly impossible mission of keeping himself and his lover alive. A graphic novel - published later this year. All profits will be going to charity. www.the-fat-man.co.uk Synopsis ... more -
Zen Priest Playing the Shakuhachi
Get your Zen here with a Zen Buddhist Priest known as a Komuso playing the Shakuhachi while the world drifts by in a hurried haze. The music is actually superimposed as the original music was difficult to pick out of the noise of the city.
Komuso were Zen Buddhist Priests who used to travel about playing the Shakuhachi (Japanese Flute) for meditation and alms. Komuso means "Priest of Nothingness."
I encountered this Komuso while I was in Nagoya. Komuso ceased to exist from the late 19th Century onwards.
The titles are bits of Zen sayings from samurai and Zen Masters. The subtitles tell the tale of the Komuso and their ultimate fate.
Get your Zen here with a Zen Buddhist Priest known as a Komuso playing the Shakuhachi while the world drifts by in a hurried haze. The... more -
Chance Encounter with a Komuso Zen Priest - A Vision from Japan's Past
While in the city of Nagoya, I happened upon a fellow dressed up as Zen Buddhist priest/monk from olden days playing the Shakuhachi - Japanese bamboo flute. I did some digging into the past of this strange apparition to discover where these Komuso, as they were known, had come from and what had happened to them. While in the city of Nagoya, I happened upon a fellow dressed up as Zen Buddhist priest/monk from olden days playing the Shakuhachi - ... more
-
Caught on tape: U.S. Spy satellite blast
Even the spy satellite blast made it onto youtube. Is nothing secret anymore? ha!
Check out this footage of the missile that shot down the rouge, plummeting-to-Earth spy satellite. Even the spy satellite blast made it onto youtube. Is nothing secret anymore? ha! ... more -
US arrests four 'Chinese Spies'
Greg Chung, 72, was among those arrested for allegedly giving the Chinese top secret information about our aerospace program, including information about the space shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft the Delta IV rocket and the B-1 bomber. Chung recently retired from Boeing, but also worked at Rockwell. He was allegedly under Chinese direction since 1979. Chung was born in China but was naturlized as a U.S. citizen. In a letter sent back to China he expressed "a desire to contribute to the Motherland." Greg Chung, 72, was among those arrested for allegedly giving the Chinese top secret information about our aerospace program, includin... more
-
Satellite could plummet to Earth
A "large" US spy satellite has gone out of control and is expected to crash to Earth some time in late February or March, government sources say. Thanks alot. Stupid American spies. SPIES darn it! (see more link) A "large" US spy satellite has gone out of control and is expected to crash to Earth some time in late February or March, government s... more
-
Israel launches satellite to spy on Iran
Israel has successfully launched a spy satellite to track events in Iran -- even at night and in cloudy weather. Israel spent tens of millions of dollars developing and launching this bit of technology so they could 'keep tabs on Iran's nuclear programme' which they and the US fear is a nuclear weapons cover up. Iran (AND the report released by the US' own intelligence about a month ago) insists that nuclear programme is for power generation only.
Israel has successfully launched a spy satellite to track events in Iran -- even at night and in cloudy weather. Israel spent tens of ... more -
Some Truths Are Intolerable
A global network of spies, deception and political pressure must be overcome to prevent the further suffering of innocence. Some Truths Are Intolerable is a short film about the persecution of Falun Dafa (a peaceful spiritual practice from China), at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). From 1992-1999 Falun Dafa was freely followed throughout China, until the government decided that there were too many people studying the energy exercises and meditation. The CCP banned the practice and immediately declared up to 100million innocent people as being criminals. Since then, thousands have been tortured to death for their beliefs, hundreds of thousands are in slave labour camps, and millions have had their lives ruined by their own government. It is the intention of What Is Tough (a project dedicated to releasing a feature film about this issue) to bring to the public's attention this global disaster, before the Olympic Games are held in Beijing, in August of 2008. The atrocities covered in the film continue to this day.
Please visit www.whatistough.com for more information on the project and please sign-up to Current TV to vote for this film, so that more people become aware of the truth about Falun Dafa, because some truths are intolerable!
Thank you.
A global network of spies, deception and political pressure must be overcome to prevent the further suffering of innocence. Some Truth... more -
Spies Like You and Me
Let the witch hunt begin. Are you now or have you ever been an illegal immigrant?
Are any of your friends illegal? Relatives?
Michael Savage, who has the third-most-listened-to show in the nation, said the following on his July 2 broadcast:
When I see a woman walking around with a burqa, I see a Nazi. Thats what I see. How do you like that? A hateful Nazi who would like to cut your throat and kill your children.
When a woman wears a burqa, said Mr. Savage, Shes doing it to spit in your face. Shes saying, You white moron, you, Im going to kill you if I can.
Just watching the gardener!
http://www.bladebranding.com/OPMA/news/feb07/images/spy...
Let the witch hunt begin. Are you now or have you ever been an illegal immigrant? Are any of your friends illegal? Relatives? ... more -
Mi5 gets down with the kids
For the first time ever Mi5 agents were given permission to speak about their roles as 'spooks' and discuss recruitment for the UK's secret service with a direct approach to employing more ethnic minorities.
Often hailed as the real life 'James Bonds' of the world, the agents speaking exclusively on BBC's Radio 1 and Asian Network, quashed these claims saying that they haven't got a 'license to kill' and that their work is unfortunately nothing like the 'glam and glitz' shown in blockbuster movies. So much so that one officer discussed about her parents not getting excited about her new role and how her father thought she worked for MFI and not Britain's secret service.
It makes me a bit apprehensive knowing that they have had to go on radio in the search for new recruits...How do you feel about the secret services not being so secretive? For the first time ever Mi5 agents were given permission to speak about their roles as 'spooks' and discuss recruitment for the UK's s... more -
Israeli psychiatrist charged with 'attempting' to spy for Iran.
"Hey what's up, Iraninan foreign ministry, it's me Dave. I know you guys don't really like my country (Israel) so I was wondering if I could get you to pay m for information about Israeli evacuation plans, etc."
That's how I imagine David Shamir's email to the Iraninan consulate went.
The psychiatrist sent similar messages to the Iranian embassies in England and Turkey.
He contacted the Russian Intelligence service to find out how exactly one becomes a spy.
Mr. Shamir was also found to be in possession of marijuana.
This is a reminder that 007 films and Pot don't mix. "Hey what's up, Iraninan foreign ministry, it's me Dave. I know you guys don't really like my country (Israel) so I was wondering if I... more -
Facebook for Spies!
So saith the BBC, in one of my favorite headlines of the day. The CIA is launching social networking for spies. Great idea? Or the theft-target of every supervillain from the Kremlin to the underground lair on the moon? So saith the BBC, in one of my favorite headlines of the day. The CIA is launching social networking for spies. Great idea? Or the the... more
-
Russia v. Britain, the saga continues
Russia: Britain kicked out our diplomats?! We'll do the same!
Britain: I can't believe the Russians kicked out our diplomats! Grrrr!
Really?? This all kind of reminds me of a playground in middle school. Let's hope it doesn't escalate beyond that, huh? Russia: Britain kicked out our diplomats?! We'll do the same! ... more -
Russia v. Britain over spy murder
Britain has a suspect in the Polonium 210 poisoning of ex-russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. They are trying to expedite him from Russia. The Russian constitution prevents extraditions, so they have so far refused. Britain gets mad, and kicks 4 Russian diplomats out of Britain. Now Russia is mad and is vowing unnamed "countermeasures". And you thought this story was over! Britain has a suspect in the Polonium 210 poisoning of ex-russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. They are trying to expedite him from Russ... more
-
related topics
Spies
Contributors (72)
Spies
