If We Can't Have APCs We Want Drones!

Remember back in June when I said that Berkeley, Albany, and the University of California police departments all wanted those heavily armored Bearcats, made by Lenco Industries, but the Coalition for a Safe Berkeley stopped them?
Well never fear!
If we can't go at you from the ground, we'll come at you from the air!

"Better known as drones, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles piloted by military in the U.S. hunt and kill suspected enemy combatants abroad. Now the drones are coming home to beef up local law enforcement.
But people across the U.S. are pushing back, contending that domestic drones could invade personal privacy or chill free speech by monitoring political activities.
“They want to use it for intelligence gathering – that’s spying,” Linda Lye of the Northern California American Civil Liberties Union told media at a hastily called press conference Dec. 4 outside the Alameda County administration building in downtown Oakland."

http://www.nationofchange.org/drones-come-home-us-privacy-activists-dismay-1354982443

Yep...that's Alameda County, home of Berkeley, Albany and the University of California, Berkeley.

Hey...I wonder if those bad boys can be programmed to home in on RFID chips.....?

RFID Wackiness?

There seems to be a quiet undercurrent against implanting RFID chips into humans.
Of course, according to the mainstream media, if you are opposed to it, you're just a nut.

Case in point, "When Private Wackiness Becomes Public Legislation" by Bill Egnor over at Fire Dog Lake....

" There are a lot of wacky people in the world. At times it is part of the joy of living, when you run into someone who is willing to give you a five hour mini-seminar on crop-circles or try to explain the universe with the theories of Immanuel Velikovsky. If you have a reasonable sense of the ridiculous and a lot of time on your hands it is a harmless source of entertainment. The problem comes when one person’s wackiness intersects with the legislative process.
This is where we are in at least two states, Virginia and Georgia in regards to the forced implantation of micro-chips..."

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/42331

Bill goes on to quote Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg) from back in February of 2010, when Virginia was looking at the anti-RFID measures....

“Del. Mark L. Cole (R-Fredericksburg), the bill’s sponsor, said that privacy issues are the chief concern behind his attempt to criminalize the involuntary implantation of microchips. But he also said he shared concerns that the devices could someday be used as the "mark of the beast" described in the Book of Revelation.
"My understanding — I’m not a theologian — but there’s a prophecy in the Bible that says you’ll have to receive a mark, or you can neither buy nor sell things in end times," Cole said. "Some people think these computer chips might be that mark"

I have no problem with him using that quote.
The quote is valid, as I have seen it referenced on a lot of news sites.
This article appears on Mr. Egnor's blog and it's his right to say whatever he wants there.
And yes, I have a problem as well with the Bible entering into Government legislation.

However, I went to Mr. Cole's website itself ( http://marklcole.com/) and yes there is a mention of the bill on his website, this is what he says about it....

" One bill which garnered some media attention was HB 53 which would simply ban employment and insurance discrimination against individuals who decline to get an RFID or microchip implant in their bodies. The legislation was introduced at the request of several constituents and is similar to legislation already passed in several other states including Wisconsin, California, and North Dakota. Concerns about these implants usually center in three areas: privacy, health, and religion. “The technology is here and is being used,” Cole said. “While it may be in its infancy and not yet widespread, the question is does Virginia want to be proactive and head-off potential problems by setting clear and reasonable policy regarding the use of these devices, or do we want to wait until problems arise or lawsuits are filed and then react after the fact? All sensationalism aside, I think HB 53 is good policy and will avoid future litigation.” Most Delegates apparently agreed as the legislation passed the House with strong bi-partisan support, on an 88 to 9 vote. "

Now Delegate Cole's version really doesn’t sound too "wacky" does it?
"The legislation was introduced at the request of several constituents..."
That's what delegates are supposed to do isn’t it?
Listen to constituents?

So are Wisconsin, California, Maryland, Washington, North Dakota and Virginia also over reacting?

Well if they are, you can add Georgia to the list of over reacting states....

" Are you worried that someone is going to implant a microchip in your brain against your will? If you live in Georgia, your worries will soon be over.
A state House committee approved a measure this week that makes it a misdemeanor to implant microchips, sensors, transmitters or any other manner of tracking devices into individuals against their will. The state Senate has already passed the bill."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/04/15/126023516/breathe-easy--ga--lawmakers-are-working-on-anti-brain-chip-bill

By the way, the NPR article also uses the same "Revelation" quote from Delegate Cole.

But if you think RFID tech isn't spreading everywhere, just do a quick Google News search and you get stories like ....

"Regal Group, Inc. announced that it has entered into a Letter of Intent with UHF Logistics Ltd. ("UHF"), whose operating subsidiaries are leading developers of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) solutions for supply chain applications, parkade management, the pig breeding industry, and anti-theft and secured access applications in China."

"Evigia Systems Inc., the leading provider of high-functionality and cost-effective integrated wireless and sensing products, announces the introduction of a new active-passive mobile RFID platform, based on the industry-leading EV3 ISO18000-7 active RFID platform and MC9090g RFID Gen2 rugged handheld interrogator."

"Developers attending today's Facebook conference, f8, is being issued with RFID badges integrated with their Facebook profiles for clocking into site locations."

"The Asia-Pacific region will overtake Europe and be on par with the United States in the deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) services in the next three to four years."

"In this year’s Boston Marathon, runners wore shoelace RFID tags to track their time from start to finish, according to a PC World report."

"DAILY RFID has released a new mobile RFID Reader DL710, designed as a compact and rugged LF or HF device. This PDA-based handheld RFID Reader is ideal for outdoor applications with its WiFi, Bluetooth and GPRS wireless transfer functions."

"With RFID tags being embedded in everyday items like passports, credit cards and transit passes, security has become a concern with this "always-on" technology."

"RFID Technology: Where ‘sci-fi’ meets ‘I spy’"

So is RFID tech becoming pervasive...or invasive?

Do your own research and find out.
Then take action if you feel the need.
After all, you are the constituents.

The Top Twenty Conspiracy Theories

As you can probably guess, I love to read about and investigate conspiracy theories.
A long time ago, I did a list of the most popular ones, but time changes things and new conspiracies have moved into the forefront, others have faded, and some old ones have been revived.
Really, I was kind of amazed at how some had dropped and others have come up.
So let's take a quick look at the most searched for conspiracy theories as of right now.....

1. Area 51
Yep, the good old standby Area 51 is at the top of the list of government conspiracy theories.
This despite the fact that Roadrunners Internationale has gone public with what they know....
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/04/01/area-51-vets-speak-1.html

2. Da Vinci Code Conspiracy
There are quite a few out there that believe Dan Brown's book is more fact than fiction.
I preferred Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum myself.

3. New World Order Conspiracy
Yes this one has been around for years, but is still very popular.
One reason may be that if you take a look around you, it doesn't seem like that much of a theory anymore.

4. Vaccines Conspiracy Theories
Like several of the others, this theory seems to get juiced now and then.
And it get mentioned in main stream media a lot.

5. Aspartame Dangers
This one I have to go along with.
I cant see any way this stuff couldn't hurt you, and I personally refer to it as "poison" in conversations.
Usually in grocery stores...really loudly...in front of people.

6. Denver International Airport Conspiracy
Yes, this one gets a lot of press too.
I saw the episode of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura when he went there.
The paintings are creepy.

7. JFK Assassination Conspiracy
This one has gone on forever.
Well since 1963 at least.
Funny thing is, I recall people in the late 60s saying they thought it was a conspiracy.

8. Reptilian Conspiracy
I'm surprised this one has dropped like it has.
It still seems to be pretty popular on this blog.

9. Skull and Bones Society
Probably the worst secret society in the world, because everyone knows about them!

10. 9 11 Conspiracy Theories
I am REALLY shocked this one has dropped down this far.
I mean, I hear something about this almost everyday in the news.
Has apathy set in?

11. Pearl Harbor Attack
Another one of the government conspiracies that has hung on for years.
Funny thing is, I remember my uncle (who fought in the Pacific in WW2) saying back in the 60s (he died in the 70s) that FDR knew the attack was coming.

12. Fluoride in Water
And here's another I have heard conspiracies theories about since the 60s.
By the way, in case you were wondering, my whole family was Southern Baptist, Republican and came from farming stock.
They didn't consider conspiracies like this to be liberal thinking.

13. Genetically-Modified Foods
Another "The Government is trying to kill us / control us" through food theory.

14. The Freemasons Conspiracy
Another constant favorite that I am surprised ranked this low.
Just one of the many groups bent on world domination.

15. Black Helicopters Conspiracy
This one is down to 15, and I expect to see it drop further with the advent of military drones and more advanced electronic surveillance techniques.
Why use clunky choppers when you can spy on someone from way up in the air?

16. Roswell UFO Incident
Again, I really don't see how these rumors will ever go away.
There is too much folklore built up around the incident.
I personally think "something" happened there, I just don't know for sure what.

17. Martin Luther King Assassination Conspiracy
Like JFK, I don't see this one ever really going away.
Even Jesse Jackson (who was with King at the time of his death) doesn't believe James Earl Ray acted alone.

18. Moon Landing Conspiracy
What can I say about this one?
Even when NASA released low-resolution engineering test photographs of the Apollo 11, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 landing sites, the conspiracy theories didnt end.
After all, they came from NASA right?
Of course if we didn't land on the moon, that busts up some of the "Astronauts saw alien ships on the moon" theories.

19. The Bilderberg Group Conspiracy
I have the same problem with the Bilderberg Group Conspiracy as I do many others.
If one is right, the others are wrong.
One one hand we have them dedicated to taking over the world, but on the other hand we have The Freemasons, The United Nations, The Skull and Bones Society, The Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, The Vatican and/or The Jesuits and the Reptilians with the same goal in mind.
Isn't that kinda like having the Legion of Doom from the old Super Friends cartoon fighting each other?

20. The Jesuits
Well since I just mentioned them, here they are rounding out the top twenty.
Although usually portrayed as bad guys, they have themselves been criticized by the Church for deviating from official Church teaching and papal directives.
In light of current news...is that a bad thing?
And also, over one hundred Jesuit priests gave their lives during the Holocaust to rescue or give refuge to Jews.

Now I hope this article didn't sound too light-hearted.
As far as conspiracies go, I tend to look at all sides, and there are some that yes, I do give a grain of truth too.
And a few, WAY more than a grain.
But I look at conspiracy theories like any other theory.
It's just that...a theory.

You should always do your own research and find out about these things yourself.
Don't be spoon fed info by ANYONE!

Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama?

Okay, if this is a joke, hoax, photo shopped etc....
Will someone please tell me?
If looks legitimate to me, but my digging around is a bit limited.
Some of you internet wizards might be able to find out a lot more than me.

"Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race on Friday night..."

http://web.archive.org/web/20040627142700/eastandard.net/headlines/news26060403.htm

"Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama"...?

Mythbusters and RFID

I just read this on Tom's Hardware site and was really intrigued....

" Adam Savage of Mythbusters, when speaking to the audience of The Last HOPE hacker conference, revealed why RFID has become a bit of a taboo topic at Discovery Channel. In response to an audience question about revisiting RFID as an episode, Adam responds, “Dude, the RFID thing. I’m sorry. It just is not going to happen. ... Here’s what happened. I’m not sure how much of this story I’m allowed to tell, but I’ll tell you what I know.” Mythbusters did cover RFID in an episode last January, but did not focus on RFID security concerns."

You can read the full story here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Mythbuster-RFID-HOPE,6313.html
The article is almost a year old, but like I said, I just ran across it.

This isnt the first time I have mentioned RFID here.
I did a couple of entries here and here back in 2008.
And I'm sure my more illustrious fellow researchers have done even more on it.

"I’m allowed to tell, but I’ll tell you what I know.”
Is that concerning copyright on the RFID chip itself?
Or something more sinister?

If you read the article above, you'll see that several of the "myths" associated with the RFID chips may not be myths at all.

If you look up CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) and Richard Stallman, you'll see that a lot of things you may have thought were possible with RFID chips, really are.

Spy chief says U.S. vulnerable in president's first year

It seems Washington keeps talking about "something bad" happening shortly after the elections.

Spy chief says U.S. vulnerable in president's first year
The nation's chief intelligence official warned Thursday that a new president's first year in office is the most perilous time for the country.
"I would say the period of most vulnerability for the United States is the first year of a new president," Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell told an annual conference of intelligence officials and contractors in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday.
McConnell cited the attack on the World Trade Center shortly after Bill Clinton took over the presidency in 1993 and the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, which occurred less than eight months after George W. Bush took the oath of office.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/30/mcconnell.terror/index.html

I read the last part of this article with great interest....

" McConnell said the president-elect's excitement "is going to be dampened somewhat when he begins to focus on the realities of the myriad of changes and challenges we are going to face in the future." One of those "challenges" include the prospect of an attack by a biological agent, which he said might "create casualties greater than 9/11."

David Icke, Part1

When I first started reading about conspiracy theories, I really liked David Icke's because his came the closest I had found to a "Unified Conspiracy Theory".
He took almost everything into account, and tied everything in together.

David Vaughan Icke (pronounced to rhyme with "like") was born April 29, 1952 and is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling the world." A former professional football player, reporter, television sports presenter, and former spokesman for the Green Party, he is the author of 20 books explaining his views.

Icke argues that he has developed a moral and political worldview that combines New Age spiritualism with a passionate denunciation of what he sees as totalitarian trends in the modern world, a position that has been described as "New Age conspiracism."

At the heart of Icke's theories is the view that the world is ruled by a secret group called the "Global Elite" or "Illuminati". In 1999, he published The Biggest Secret, in which he wrote that the Illuminati are a race of reptilian humanoids known as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent figures are reptilian, including George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Kris Kristofferson, and Boxcar Willie.

His son, Gareth Icke, is a musician and beach soccer player who has represented England in international beach soccer.

According to Political Research Associates, Icke's speaking engagements can draw a substantial audience in Canada, with his organizers claiming as many as 1000 people attending one in Vancouver. During an October 1999 speaking tour there, he received a standing ovation from students after a four-hour speech at the University of Toronto, while his books were removed from the shelves of Indigo Books across Ontario after protests from the Canadian Jewish Congress.

Icke was born in Leicester to Beric Vaughan Icke (born 1907, Leicester) and Barbara J. Icke (née Cooke) (married 1951, Leicester), and was raised on a council estate, or public housing, according to the biography on his website. He left school to play football for Coventry City ( The Sky Blues) and Hereford United ( The Whites) in the English league, playing as a goalkeeper until forced to retire at the age of 21 because of a swollen knee.

He found a job with a local newspaper in Leicester and became a reporter, moving on to local sports presenter for BBC South's Program South Today. He appeared on the first episode of British television's first national breakfast show BBC Breakfast Time presenting the sports news and featured on the show until 1985. He would also become strong part of BBC Sport's presentation team, often as a stand-in host on Grandstand and snooker programs. He was part of the BBC team at the 1988 Olympic Games, but he left the BBC later that year to become an activist for the Green Party. He rose swiftly to the position of national media spokesperson. In 1990, he wrote It Doesn't Have To Be Like This, an outline of his views on the environment and his political philosophy.


David Icke, Part1, posted to http://conspiracycom.blogspot.com/ on 12-8-2007