Tag: ALERT! Lawful Activity Detected

If I Wasn’t on the Terrorist Watch List Before I am Now

Well if I wasn’t on the terrorist watch list before I certainly am now:

Anti-government extremists opposed to taxes and regulations pose a growing threat to local law enforcement officers in the United States, the FBI warned on Monday.

These extremists, sometimes known as “sovereign citizens,” believe they can live outside any type of government authority, FBI agents said at a news conference.

The extremists may refuse to pay taxes, defy government environmental regulations and believe the United States went bankrupt by going off the gold standard.

As a sovereign individual who does not submit to the authority of the state I guess I’m the primary target. There is something that is in desperate need of being cleared up though. Sovereign citizen is a contradiction of terms. A sovereign is a supreme ruler while a citizen is a subject of a state. You can not be a supreme ruler and a subject at the same time. On the other hand a sovereign individual is a supreme ruler of an individual, him or herself. If you’re going to make us appear as a threat please get the terminology right at the very least.

And while the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) try to smear voluntaryists such as myself let me explain something. Most people who refer to themselves as sovereign citizens also abide by the non-aggression principle meaning they have a moral objection with initiating violence. I will not initiate an attack and will use violence only in the act of self-defense. Somehow this fact makes me dangerous according to the FBI.

“We are being inundated right now with requests for training from state and local law enforcement on sovereign-related matters,” said Casey Carty, an FBI supervisory special agent.

FBI agents said they do not have a tally of people who consider themselves “sovereign citizens.”

If any FBI agents are monitoring reading this blog let me inform you that I am a sovereign individual so you can just put me down on the little list you’re writing up. Please update your terminology and replace “sovereign citizen” with “sovereign individual” so you don’t look like completely idiots. Also go fuck yourselves. You don’t have to do those things in that order though.

Encrypting Information is Now Terrorist Activity

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) have put out a joint document [PDF] that describes suspicious terrorist activity. What constitutes such activity? The list reads like a list of common sense computer security practices:

Evidence of a residential based internet provider (signs on to Comcast, AOL,
etc.)

I’m not quite sure what this is supposed to mean but it seems to insinuate that anybody with a home Internet connection is a likely terrorist. Isn’t that kind of a catchall that labels almost everybody a potential terrorist? Wait, that’s exactly the point.

Use of anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address

Using Tor? If so you’re a likely terrorist!

Encryption or use of software to hide encrypted data in digital photos, etc.

Do you try to protect your personal information from laptop thieves? If you encrypt your entire harddrive a thief can get your hardware but won’t have access to your data. Also you’re a likely terrorist.

Suspicious communications using VOIP or communicating through a PC game

Skype users are terrorists as well.

I can sum up the little propaganda piece in one sentence, “Basically, everybody is a suspected terrorist.” The propaganda piece then urges citizens to play Big Brother and collect information about any suspected terrorists and report them to your local Stasi.

Big Brother is Watching You Tweet

OK the title is misleading because Big Brother is watching more than just your Twitter feed but Twitter is one of the sites being monitored by General Dynamics under a contract granted by the Department of Homeland Motherland Security (DHS).

EPIC’s FOIA lawsuit forced the DHS to disclose 285 pages of records. The documents include contracts, price estimates, Privacy Impact Assessment, and communications concerning DHS Media Monitoring program. These records make public, for the first time, details of the DHS’s efforts to spy on social network users and journalists.

The records reveal that the DHS is paying General Dynamics to monitor the news. The agency instructed the company to monitor for “[media] reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government, DHS, or prevent, protect, respond government activities.”

The documents can be viewed at the provided link. What makes this interesting is the fact that this monitoring was apparently used to arrest a person traveling to the United States:

Two British tourists were barred from entering America after joking on Twitter that they were going to ‘destroy America’ and ‘dig up Marilyn Monroe’.

Leigh Van Bryan, 26, was handcuffed and kept under armed guard in a cell with Mexican drug dealers for 12 hours after landing in Los Angeles with pal Emily Bunting.

The Department of Homeland Security flagged him as a potential threat when he posted an excited tweet to his pals about his forthcoming trip to Hollywood which read: ‘Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America’.

Bruce Schneier, who I obtained this story from is doubtful that General Dynamic’s monitoring of Twitter is what actually lead to the arrest of the two British tourists:

Still, I have trouble believing that this is what happened. For this to work General Dynamics would have had to monitor Twitter for key words. (“Destroy America” is certainly a good key word to search for.) Then, they would have to find out the real name associated with the Twitter account — unlike Facebook or Google+, Twitter doesn’t have real name information — so the TSA could cross-index that name with the airline’s passenger manifests. Then the TSA has to get all this information into the INS computers, so that the border control agent knows to detain him. Sure, it sounds straightforward, but getting all those computers to talk to each other that fast isn’t easy. There has to be more going on here.

Twitter does have a mechanism for entering your real name as I have my real name entered in it. When you go to my Twitter feed you can see my user name is ComradeBurg but the name displayed is Christopher Burg and that I’m in Minnesota. Therefore it is conceivable that the monitoring being done by General Dynamics grabbed the offending tweeter’s real user name and location, fed to to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to be cross referenced with flight manifests, and a target could be found and arrested.

Of course this all depends on the Twitter user entering the real name and real location, but that is a problem that must be overcome when monitoring any website. I do agree with Schenier’s remark though because as he said getting all of those computers (not to mention those bureaucracies) to talk to each other so quickly is unlikely. Claiming that the target was arrested solely from obtaining their Twitter information seems like propaganda being thrown out to scare the public into obedience. In fact that’s exactly what the concept of Big Brother was supposed to do in 1984’s society, scare the populace into obedience. Truthfully nobody was sure whether or not Big Brother was actually watching them, but the fear of being watched kept the people from getting too many thoughts of revolution in their heads.

Because They Have Nothing Better to Do

Is the name of your wireless access point something racist, bigoted, or otherwise offensive? If so you could find yourself subject of an investigation because the police apparently have nothing else to do:

A bigot named their WiFi signal “F— All Jews and N—-” — and now cops are investigating.

The hateful signal I.D. popped up on the iPhone of a 28-year-old mom inside a Teaneck, N.J. recreation center, where her 3-year-old daughter was attending dance class.

The offending signal was coming from a router connected in the Richard Rodda Community Center in the the township, located 10 miles outside New York City.

[…]

The woman, who is African-American, rushed to the office, and informed employees and other parents of the hateful WiFi connection.

Police were called, and when they responded they located the router in the rec center, township Police Chief Robert Wilson said.

You know what would have been a far saner solution? Had an employee of the Community Center simply located the access point and either unplugged it or renamed the network. It’s really a simple thing to do and doesn’t require calling the police in to investigate.

Greatest Campaign Stunt Ever

While I still haven’t made up my mind on Rand Paul he continues to impress me. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has detained the senator because he refused to be sexually molested by a government thug:

Paul’s office confirmed he set off an airport security full-body scanner “on a glitch,” according to a spokesman.

The Paul staffer said TSA agents would not let Paul walk back through the body scanner and were demanding a full body pat-down.

The Paul spokesman said his office called TSA administrator John Pistole about the incident this morning.
The U.S. Constitution actually protects federal lawmakers from detention while they’re on the way to the capital.

So he setup of the scanner, offered to walk back through the scanner to verify, and then TSA agent who was chomping at the bit to feel somebody up decided that wasn’t good enough. Of course the TSA is claiming they never detained Paul:

“When an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport,” according to an official statement released by TSA. “Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling.”

This is also the same agency that lied about the safety of these body scanners so I’m more inclined to believe Paul’s statement about being detained. Either way it does boil down to a he said she said argument.

Let me give Paul some serious points for refusing to be sexual molested. On that note let me also take away points for submitting to the body scanner in the first place. Still refusing the pat down does take some balls, especially in this police state.

Just because it’s predictable can you guess where our Dear Leader stands on this issue? I’m sure you already guessed that the White House sided with the TSA thugs:

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he didn’t have any reaction to Paul’s “police state” comments.

But Carney sided with the TSA saying, “I think it is absolutely essential that we take necessary actions to ensure that air travel is safe.”

That last comment is some major doublespeak. Those body scanners aren’t necessary for airport security as demonstrated by the fact we haven’t had another terrorist hijacking since 9/11 even though body scanners have only recently been implemented. The TSA will gladly take credit for the lack of hijackings but truth be told hijackings were exceedingly rare before 9/11 when airports handled their own security.

Truthfully the White House doesn’t care about security, they care about control.

The Only Tool of The State is Violence

I’ve said it many times but it bears repeating; the only tool available to the state is violence. Every rule, regulation, and law passed by the state is ultimately enforced at the point of a gun. Even blowing a stop sign can ultimately lead to violence being brought against you as explained so well by Jeffery Trucker in the video posted here earlier today. This is why libertarians are so wary about passing new laws, doing so necessarily means the people will be subjected to more force. A man in Austin, Texas named John Bush explains this fact all too well:

Mr. Bush was prohibited from to the Austin City Council for one year. Think about the implications of that for one moment. In our country you’re supposedly able to address your government and take your grievances to them yet they hold the power to prevent you from doing so. Any number of excuses can be used to prohibit you from addressing state agents meaning you really have no right of redress.

What one organization is given a monopoly on creating and enforcing the rules you can’t be truly free.

We Can’t Have Lawful Activity

Via Another Gun Blog I found another example of the state passing another law to make something that was legal illegal:

The state Senate this week is expected to vote on a bill barring school employees from having sex with students of any age.

[…]

The bill was sparked by concerns from prosecutors who said they were unable to charge teachers who had sex with students after the students turned 18, including one who waited until the day after the girl’s birthday before taking to her a hotel room.

You read correctly, because two consenting adults had sex a law is being rammed through to make the act illegal. Why the fuck not? There are just too many things one can do in life that aren’t yet illegal and we can’t have that. Sure an 18 year-old can vote, go to war, smoke cigarettes, act in porn, and buy a long gun but they can’t make such a mature decision as to who they will have sex with.

What really galls me about this law is the fact it’s being passed because two consenting adults had sex and some prosecutor thought they shouldn’t have. If people have their panties all in a bunch about a teach having sex with an 18 year-old student wouldn’t it have been easier to, I don’t know, fire the teacher? I know it’s an entirely crazy concept but I believe it should be looked into. Many companies have professional codes of conduct that employees are required to sign. You know what clause can be found in many of these codes of conduct? Prohibitions against having relationships with co-workers. In other words if you’re caught banging a fellow co-worker both of you can get fired.

Every time somebody says there ought to be a law there almost always shouldn’t.

Have I Every Mentioned How Much I Love the Word Drill

OK I seriously don’t give a shit about the word drill I just wanted to be flagged by Department of Motherland Homeland Security (DHS) goons who are apparently watching Twitter for keywords:

The Department of Homeland Security makes fake Twitter and Facebook profiles for the specific purpose of scanning the networks for ‘sensitive’ words – and tracking people who use them.

Simply using a word or phrase from the DHS’s ‘watch’ list could mean that spies from the government read your posts, investigate your account, and attempt to identify you from it, acccording to an online privacy group.

[…]

The DHS outlined plans to scans blogs, Twitter and Facebook for words such as ‘illegal immigrant’, ‘outbreak’, ‘drill’, ‘strain’, ‘virus’, ‘recovery’, ‘deaths’, ‘collapse’, ‘human to animal’ and ‘trojan’, according to an ‘impact asssessment’ document filed by the agency.

I guess that’s another government watch list my name is likely on. Since the article claims DHS agents are attempting to identify people posting watched material let me just cue you in to the URL of this site, it’s my name. Let me also state that I live in Minnesota and very recently renewed my driver’s license. If that isn’t enough information for you goons to identify me I don’t know what is.

Either way my goal of appearing on every possible government watch list should be closer to fruition with this post.

Making a Watch List and Checking it Twice

Our government appears to be taking a page from Santa Clause, they’re making a list and checking it twice. Unlike Santa who makes a list of children to bestow presents on, the federal government is making a list of people who may post any difficulty in the establishment of a totalitarian America. As Rand Paul explained in a speech people who store more than seven days of food are now considered potential terrorists by the Department of Motherland Homeland Security (DHS):

Some people may consider such accusations crazy but those accusations seem to be constantly reenforced by the actions of federal agents. For instance a recent action but government thugs reenforces Rand Paul’s claim that the DHS considers those who store food potential terrorists:

Oath Keepers, an association of active servicemen devoted to upholding their oath of guarding the republic and protecting individual liberty, has reported that federal agents recently paid a visit to a Latter Day Saints food storage cannery in Tennessee. Though they had no reason to be there, these agents allegedly interrogated the facility’s manager and demanded to see a list of customers that had purchased, and were storing, food there.

[…]

Oath Keepers suggests the government might be trying to gather intelligence on food-storing Americans in order to later come and confiscate that food, or worse — after all, freedom-loving patriots who are preparing for social upheaval are a threat to the power structure that seeks to tighten the noose of tyranny around the neck of society.

When Stalin came to power he implemented agriculture collectivization under the guise of increasing the Union’s food production. Before collectivization the Soviet Union was one of the largest grain exporters in the world, after implementation millions of the Union were starving. It became apparently very quickly to those living in the Soviet Union that collectivization wasn’t about increasing agriculture productivity but control over the food supply. Controlling the necessities of survival means control over the dependent populace.

It is possible that federal agents are trying to obtain a list of people storing food so that food can be confiscated during a declared emergency. On the other hand the government may have no plans of confiscating said food but merely desire a list of people who may be a barrier between the establishment of a totalitarian regime.

There was a time when I would have thought such ideas to be mere conspiracy theories subscribed to by overly paranoid individuals. Unfortunately with all that has been going on such as Fast and Furious being used to justify enhanced gun control, the authorized murder of American civilians without trial, the almost unhindered passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in the Senate, and many other enhancement of government power I can no longer ignore the obvious advancement of tyranny in this country. Our country appears to be following the textbook examples of other countries that moved from relative freedom into complete dictatorships.

If you believe the United States of America is still the land of liberty you’re not paying attention.

So Much for the Dangers of Raw Milk

One of the lesser known battles in the pursuit of liberty involves the freedom to chose what you eat. The state has been cracking down hard on raw and organic food producers in the name of safety and one of their primary targets has been raw milk. We hear horror stories about the ill raw milk has inflicted upon the populace yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently was forced to admit not one person has been killed by ingesting raw milk for 11 years:

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) refuses to acknowledge that, based on all available statistics, raw milk produced on clean, small-scale farms is actually far safer than pasteurized milk from factory farms. But the agency did admit earlier this year, after being pressed and warned of a potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request if it failed to comply, that not a single person has died from raw milk consumption in over a decade.

This may come as a shock to some who, because of all the propaganda about the alleged dangers of raw milk, are convinced otherwise, but it is true — one of the two deaths often cited by the CDC as evidence that raw milk is dangerous was actually linked to the consumption of raw queso fresco cheese, which is currently outlawed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And the other is likely linked to an adulterated raw milk product as well, rather than to raw milk.

Here’s the thing, you are the sole owner of your body and thus are the only one who should have a say in what gets put into it. If you don’t want to drink raw milke that’s fine but using force to prevent other people from doing it is abhorrent. The nanny state was out of hand ages ago but it’s only getting worse with news regulations passed, what seems like, every day that attempt to further restrict and control our behavior.