Archive for the 'Department of Homeland Security' Category

After seeing trillions of dollars blown by a farcical pandemic threat and hundreds of thousands of small businesses destroyed, and after witnessing nearly a half year of looting, rioting, arson, beatings and killings by BLM/Antifa, it might interest you to know what your new secretary of Homeland Security thinks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that white supremacists are the most persistent extremist threat in U.S. politics, but in Portland, Oregon the local federal courthouse was specifically targeted by protesters who had “this anarchist sort of ideology.”

He is a Trump nominee.

That means either Trump is in on the stupidity, or that he is such a bad judge of character and so out of touch with what the deep state thinks and how they undermine the republic that he rubber stamps whomever they bring to him for approval.

Via Ken, the FedGov has your best interests at heart.

White supremacists will remain the most “persistent and lethal threat” in the United States through 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security draft documents.

[ … ]

The threat assessment — which also warns of continued disinformation efforts by Russia — is especially notable as President Donald Trump has downplayed the threat from white supremacists during his term in office. The Trump administration has portrayed Antifa and anarchists as a top threat to the U.S., with the president tweeting this summer that the U.S. will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.

The recently released draft reports, which were made public by Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes and first reported by Politico, mentions a host of threats, including cyber, foreign influence and irregular migration.

All three drafts state that white supremacist extremists are the deadliest threat.

Russia bad.  White extremists dangerous.  Same thing, same meme, today is like yesterday which is like tomorrow will be.

White supremacists are the ones shining lasers in the eyes of LEOs in Portland.  White supremacists are the ones throwing Molotov Cocktails at buildings in Portland and Seattle.

White supremacists are the ones looting, burning, destroying, shutting roadways down and getting into the middle of moving traffic, threatening the downfall of the government, and so on and so forth.

Right?  Been watching lately?

This is your tax dollars at work to undermine the American heritage and press an agenda by the power of the FedGov.  They want to be your enemy.  And they want the full power of the federal executive back, which is why you’re seeing the disruption in America running up to the election.

They don’t want to be the enemy of white supremacists – they want to be your enemy.  They know they’re lying about the threats to the American system, they know that the communists want to overthrow the American project, and they don’t care.  Because they are communists themselves.

Lying is the prose in which they traffic, and propaganda is their staple.  They know it, and you know it.  They don’t even try to hide it any more.

You know that little sporting drone you bought at the sporting goods or hobby store, or perhaps even if you didn’t buy one, you know someone who did, or looked on and wished you had one?  Well, FedGov wants to control it.

The top U.S. aviation regulator on Thursday proposed a rule that would allow for remote tracking of most drones in U.S airspace.

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, said the proposed rule would require all drones operating in the United States to be compliant within three years.

Congress directed the FAA in 2016 to issue regulations or guidance by July 2018 to permit the public, the FAA, law enforcement and others to remotely track and identify drones and their operators during flight.

One commenter at reddit says this desire for control might have something to do with this.  Good point, but only if you stipulate that the FedGov wants a monopoly over that kind of violence.

Then again, you have to note that the U.S. certainly has all of those assets and capabilities too, and yet a bunch of uncivilized goat herders drove them out of Afghanistan.

Big brother is watching you (from a reader).

Border Patrol’s electronic eyes will spot you long before you spot them.

If you walk along the United States border in remote stretches of New Mexico desert, or in the grasslands between North Dakota and Canada, you might not hear the buzz of what could be flying above you: A Predator drone — the same vehicle that has been outfitted to drop bombs over Afghanistan and Iraq. From five miles away, the drone’s cameras can see so well they can tell if you’re wearing a backpack.

If you’re in the Florida Keys, you may be spotted by an altogether different set of eyes in the sky. Up 10,000 feet in the air, a football field-sized zeppelin floats with an array of cameras, sensors, and radar systems so sophisticated that it can track every car, aircraft, and boat within a 200-mile range.

And if you’re near the deserts of southern Arizona, it won’t be hard to notice the 160-foot towers that rise up from the sandy landscape, equipped with advanced thermal imaging that can sense your exact movements from over seven miles away.

Because large portions of the border are so remote, and because U.S. citizens seem more willing to endorse surveillance programs that specifically target non-citizens, American borderlands have become a testing ground for cutting-edge surveillance tech.

Even as privacy hawks on the left and the right warn about the government’s embrace of surveillance tech, it’s been impossible to stop the fast-accelerating development of new infrastructure. President Donald Trump and Democrats in Congress might clash over the need for a border wall, but there’s a growing consensus in Washington that the country needs a “virtual wall.” The terms for this concept vary: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls it a “technological wall”; other members of Congress have adopted Silicon Valley lingo and refer to it as a “smart wall.”

Jeffrey Tucker, the editorial director at the libertarian think-tank American Institute for Economic Research, says that people who would otherwise have a knee jerk reaction against federal overreach suddenly acquiesce when the government develops enormous power in the name of border security.

That’s because there’s something wrong with shooting invaders that cross our borders (Democrats don’t get their voters, and big-corp Republicans don’t get their workers).  But there’s nothing wrong with using a testing ground for more control over the peasants.

Like you and me.

Their thirst for omniscience and omnipresence is unquenchable.

Forbes.

According to an application for a court order filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on September 5, investigators want information on users of Obsidian 4, a tool used to control rifle scopes made by night-vision specialist American Technologies Network Corp. The app allows gun owners to get a live stream, take video and calibrate their gun scope from an Android or iPhone device. According to the Google Play page for Obsidian 4, it has more than 10,000 downloads. Apple doesn’t provide download numbers, so it’s unclear how many iPhone owners could be swept up in this latest government data grab.

If the court approves the demand, and Apple and Google decide to hand over the information, it could include data on thousands of people who have nothing to do with the crimes being investigated, privacy activists warned. Edin Omanovic, lead on Privacy International’s State Surveillance program, said it would set a dangerous precedent and scoop up “huge amounts of innocent people’s personal data.”

As always, the pretext is law enforcement.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department is seeking information as part of a broad investigation into possible breaches of weapons export regulations. It’s looking into illegal exports of ATN’s scope, though the company itself isn’t under investigation, according to the order. As part of that, investigators are looking for a quick way to find out where the app is in use, as that will likely indicate where the hardware has been shipped.

First, I don’t believe it will be that easy regardless of what they say.  Second, let’s grant for the sake of argument that FedGov really is pursuing the data to enforce export control regulations.  I don’t care.  I have the same opinion on the matter as I do about SWAT teams busting down doors in an effort to find evidence of Marijuana sales before being flushed down the toilet.

I simply don’t care.  If you want to enforce that law, then find another way to get your evidence.  Or better yet, go find and deport illegals rather than worry about things like this.  In other words, go do something the constitution demands you do instead of stretching the boundaries of something you choose to do.

Third, I don’t for one second put past FedGov to lie to the bench in order to build databases of law abiding citizens of who owns what.

This is an all around bad precedent, and it portends very cold winds in the annals of the American police state.

For the time being, ATN has refused.

Following initial reporting on the government demand from Apple and Google of user data for the Obsidian 4 app, ATN stated on Friday that they were not aware of the government’s request for information from the tech giants until a Forbes article broke the story. ATN advised they would not be turning over user information to the DOJ unless required by law.

“ATN has not been contacted by the Department of Justice, Apple, or Google,” the company said in a statement to American Military News on Friday.

“ATN will protect its customers and their identifying data to the absolute extent possible under U.S. law.

Very well, but that’s not Apple or Google.  Do not trust Apple or Google.

News from Virginia.

Police responding to the deadly mass shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building were unable to confront the gunman at one point because they didn’t have the key cards needed to open doors on the second floor.

Over the radio, they desperately pleaded for the electronic cards and talked of bringing in a sledgehammer, an explosive charge or other means of breaking down the doors.

The killer was eventually gunned down, and whether the delay contributed to the toll of 12 victims dead and four wounded is unclear. But the episode last week illustrated how door-lock technology that is supposed to protect people from workplace violence can hamper police and rescue workers in an emergency.

“That’s definitely a blind spot that this particular shooting has shown,” said Gregory Shaffer, a retired FBI agent and former member of the bureau’s elite hostage rescue team. “We need to make sure that first responders have full access to the building.”

“Elite,” huh?  I knew this a long time ago because I’m a thinking man and apparently you aren’t.  Here’s a news flash for you.  If you give “first responders” full access, the nature of that access will get out, become public knowledge, and the whole notion of preventative measures won’t work anyway.

The best first responded has always been, is currently, and will always be you.  This dovetails well with a recent comment left by Bill Harrison.

“From private interviews with people who were there,who have been warned not to say these things publicly.The building the shooter in Virginia Beach targeted had card locks on the door,like hotels do now.The Police talked about how soon they arrived,which is true,but the card locks kept them out of the building for 30 minutes after arrival.The Fire department arrived and also had trouble getting through the doors,too.Great to know if a fire ever happens in those buildings.They were calling around trying to find a sledge hammer to get in.The shooter had all the time he needed.Contrary to media reports,he was a constant discipline problem,and picked fights with fellow workers.When someone stood up to this,he cracked.So now the blackface abortionist/infanticide promoting Governor Northam is using the dead bodies to resurrect his dead career.The Lt. Governor,who has a couple of women claiming he raped them,doesn’t want any future victims armed,so he’s promoting Northam’s gun control agenda.So is the Soros employee attorney general of Virginia.None of Northam’s idiotic proposals would have stopped this shooter.He bought the guns legally,and his main advantage was that he knew that first officers on the scene would have difficulty coming after him until he completed his murder spree,due to the automated security doors and the (of course) gun free zone public building.Now the regular employees will have to go through metal detectors to get to their workplaces.That wouldn’t have stopped a determined shooter like this guy either.He shot people in the parking lot on the way in,as he would have shot the security guard running a metal detector.By the way,an employee who had a gun in his car in the parking lot would have faced disciplinary action.Gun free zone,you understand.Clearly,the anti-self defense,anti-gun crowd got these people killed,and now they want more of the same.”

The Intercept:

The secrets are hidden behind fortified walls in cities across the United States, inside towering, windowless skyscrapers and fortress-like concrete structures that were built to withstand earthquakes and even nuclear attack. Thousands of people pass by the buildings each day and rarely give them a second glance, because their function is not publicly known. They are an integral part of one of the world’s largest telecommunications networks – and they are also linked to a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program.

Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. In each of these cities, The Intercept has identified an AT&T facility containing networking equipment that transports large quantities of internet traffic across the United States and the world. A body of evidence – including classified NSA documents, public records, and interviews with several former AT&T employees – indicates that the buildings are central to an NSA spying initiative that has for years monitored billions of emails, phone calls, and online chats passing across U.S. territory.

The NSA considers AT&T to be one of its most trusted partners and has lauded the company’s “extreme willingness to help.”

My oldest son Josh says “They didn’t even mention 33 Thomas St. in NYC.  AT&T is a government entity.”

Yes, like Google and many other companies.  It wouldn’t be a problem if [a] the FedGov didn’t spy on its own people, and /or [b] FedGov couldn’t find willing corporate partners in this endeavor.

When men reject God, they must created a god in their own image, but assign him attributes of the only true God in order to have a replacement.  Thus, all of their philosophy is based on theft.

In this case they are erecting a totem of omniscience, helped and assisted by mankind because their god is dead.  The state is usurping the true authority of God, because only He can be or should be omniscient.  This is evil in all of its manifestations and applications, and those who do it or help them walk in wickedness.

FedGov is wicked.  AT&T is wicked.

Source.  I’m sure it’s nothing.  Pay it no mind.

Via WRSA, Matt Bracken.

On a related note, have y’all studied much on the JTTF and Fusion Centers?  If you haven’t, you need to.

Codrea:

“Skyhorse Publishing is about to release my next book, which is devoted to great and fatal government-caused disasters. The title is …. ‘I’m From the Government, and I’m Here to Kill You: The Human Cost of Official Negligence,’” attorney and author David T. Hardy informed AmmoLand Shooting Sports News Thursday. “Texas City, the Tuskegee Syphilis study, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Fast and Furious, the VA hospital scandal – time after time, government employees kill Americans by negligence, stupidity, or agency corruption, and time after time they escape all legal accountability.”

Hardy’s should be a familiar name to longtime readers of this columnist’s work. His contributions to advancing the right to keep and bear arms have been chronicled extensively on The War On Guns blog, which has over the years featured numerous posts on his numerous books, his groundbreaking “In Search of the Second Amendment” documentary, his observations on the Of Arms & the Law blog, and his legal work, including cases and law review articles.

I saw this announcement a few days ago and intend to place my order.