Oddities in the news......
June 12th .....
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/12/video-court-marshal-allegedly-sexually-assaults-woman-then-has-her-arrested-for-objecting/
Video: Court marshal allegedly sexually assaults woman — then has her arrested for objecting
POSTED AT 2:01 PM ON JUNE 12, 2013 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
Why is a local story that’s three months old suddenly exploding online this week? I saw half a dozen people tweet this clip earlier this morning, all with the same expressions of horror and outrage, even though it was first reported in early March. I’d never seen it before myself. My half-assed theory on why it’s catching on belatedly is that someone rediscovered it last week during NSA-palooza and saw it as some kind of metaphor for the futility of protesting state abuse of the power to invade your privacy. The analogy’s not perfect — the marshal here wasreportedly fired, although the fate of “multiple employees and managers” who were also under investigation remains, as far as I know, unclear — but the past two weeks have been a “libertarian moment” and this clip is very, very libertarian-friendly. Even Lindsey Grahamwould think twice about state power after watching it. For a moment. Reluctantly.
Exit quotation from the KLAS report that broke this story: “The I-Teams investigation shows how the internal affairs investigation is revealing much larger problems at family court. There are multiple marshals involved and allegations ranging from sexual assaults to choking a citizen in court.”
http://rt.com/usa/funds-west-fema-denied-594/
West, TX denied reconstruction funds despite Obama's pledge
Published time: June 12, 2013 21:00
The recent deadly blast at a West, Texas fertilizer plant resulted in an estimated $57 million in damages, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency is refusing to provide funds to help rebuild the devastated town.
West Mayor Tommy Muska told AP that the town desperately needs $57 million for repairs, $40 million of which is required to rebuild a school that was destroyed when the fertilizer plant exploded on April 17, killing 15 people and injuring 200. The explosion was so strong that it blew out windows, registered as a small earthquake, and left a 93-foot crater near the fertilizer plant.
Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate their homes and several dozen were missing after the blast. Video recordings showed burning houses and a blanket of toxic smoke over the town. Many houses were partially or completely destroyed.
But despite the costly devastation, FEMA has denied the town’s request for financial assistance. In a letter addressed to Texas Gov. Rick Perry and signed by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, the agency writes that the fertilizer explosion “is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration.”
The FEMA response contradicts a pledge that President Obama made to help community members rebuild their town. The president issued an Emergency Declaration on April 22and visited West several days later to assure residents that he would help them.
“We’ll be there even after the cameras leave and after the attention turns elsewhere,” Obama said in a speech held at Baylor University on April 25. “Your country will remain ever ready to help you recover and rebuild and reclaim your community.”
But according to FEMA, the designated emergency is not severe enough to warrant much of the agency’s assistance. FEMA has provided $5.6 million in emergency funds to individual residents, but refuses to provide assistance that would pay for public repairs on roads, sewer lines, pipes and the destroyed school.
“We don’t have the money to go out and borrow the money. We don’t have the means to pay that note back,” Muska told AP. “There’s got to be some public assistance.”
While insurance funds will pay for some of the repairs, FEMA’s assistance is needed to pay for much of the structural damage. Marty Crawford, superintendent of West schools, said that government assistance is particularly important to rebuild the destroyed intermediate school, as well as repair parts of the high school and middle school that were also affected.
In a FEMA statement obtained by The Hill, spokesman Dan Watson defended the agency’s decision, noting that private insurers were covering most of the costs and that FEMA is prohibited from duplicating them.
It is unclear how much of the damage will be covered by insurance, but Perry still remains disappointed in FEMA for refusing to help pay for public repairs.
“This explosion has impacted everyone in West in some way, and we are very disappointed that the administration is denying the people of West this important assistance,” Perry’s spokesman, Josh Haven, told AP.
and....
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Operation_Urban_Shield%3A_Police_response_training_planned%2C_but_bombs_hit_first/26621/0/0/0/Y/M.html
( Does this pass the smell test ? )
Operation Urban Shield: Police response training planned, but bombs hit first
June 12, 2013
Source: Boston Globe
The scenario had been carefully planned: A terrorist group prepared to hurt vast numbers of people around Boston would leave backpacks filled with explosives at Faneuil Hall, the Seaport District, and in other towns, spreading waves of panic and fear. Detectives would have to catch the culprits.
Months of painstaking planning had gone into the exercise, dubbed “Operation Urban Shield,” meant to train dozens of detectives in the Greater Boston area to work together to thwart a terrorist threat. The hypothetical terrorist group was even given a name: Free America Citizens, a home-grown cadre of militiamen whose logo would be a metal skull wearing an Uncle Sam hat and a furious expression, according to a copy of the plans obtained by the Boston Globe.
But two months before the training exercise was to take place, the city was hit with a real terrorist attack executed in a frighteningly similar fashion. The chaos of the Boston Marathon bombings disrupted plans for the exercise, initially scheduled for this weekend, forcing police to postpone. Now officials must retool aspects of the training.
Read More...
( wonder how long this guy lasts ? )
The scenario had been carefully planned: A terrorist group prepared to hurt vast numbers of people around Boston would leave backpacks filled with explosives at Faneuil Hall, the Seaport District, and in other towns, spreading waves of panic and fear. Detectives would have to catch the culprits.
Months of painstaking planning had gone into the exercise, dubbed “Operation Urban Shield,” meant to train dozens of detectives in the Greater Boston area to work together to thwart a terrorist threat. The hypothetical terrorist group was even given a name: Free America Citizens, a home-grown cadre of militiamen whose logo would be a metal skull wearing an Uncle Sam hat and a furious expression, according to a copy of the plans obtained by the Boston Globe.
But two months before the training exercise was to take place, the city was hit with a real terrorist attack executed in a frighteningly similar fashion. The chaos of the Boston Marathon bombings disrupted plans for the exercise, initially scheduled for this weekend, forcing police to postpone. Now officials must retool aspects of the training.
Read More...
( wonder how long this guy lasts ? )
http://www.blacklistednews.com/Pope_confirms_%E2%80%98gay_lobby%E2%80%99_at_work_at_Vatican_/26615/0/38/38/Y/M.html
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Pope Francis lamented that a “gay lobby” was at work at the Vatican in private remarks to the leadership of a key Latin American church group — a stunning acknowledgment that appears to confirm earlier reports about corruption and dysfunction in the Holy See.
The Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious — the regional organization for priests and nuns of religious orders — confirmed Tuesday that its leaders had written a synthesis of Francis’ remarks after their June 6 audience. The group, known by its Spanish acronym CLAR, said it was greatly distressed that the document had been published and apologized to the pope.
In the document, Francis is quoted as saying that while there were many holy people in the Vatican, there was also corruption: “The ‘gay lobby’ is mentioned, and it is true, it is there … We need to see what we can do …” the synthesis reads.
( Snowden outs US as hacking China - Spy vs Spy games but embarrassing nonetheless - question is did Xi know this before he met with Obama ? Recall Xi claimed last week was a victim of cyber attacks ! )
Hong Kong (CNN) -- U.S. intelligence agents have been hacking computer networks around the world for years, apparently targeting fat data pipes that push immense amounts of data around the Internet, NSA leaker Edward Snowden told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday.
Among some 61,000 reported targets of the National Security Agency, Snowden said, are thousands of computers in China -- which U.S. officials have increasingly criticized as the source of thousands of attacks on U.S. military and commercial networks. China has denied such attacks.
The Morning Post said it had seen documents provided by Snowden but was unable to verify their authenticity. The English-language news agency, which operates in Hong Kong, also said it was unable to independently verify allegations of U.S. hacking of networks in Hong Kong and mainland China since 2009.
Snowden told the paper that some of the targets included the Chinese University of Hong Kong, public officials and students. The documents also "point to hacking activity by the NSA against mainland targets," the newspaper reported.
The claims came just days after U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to address cyberattacks emanating from China that Obama described as "direct theft of United States property."
Snowden's allegations appear to give weight to claims by some Chinese government officials that the country has been a victim of similar hacking efforts coming from the United States.
His claims came as Gen. Keith Alexander, the National Security Agency chief, testified at a U.S. Senate hearing that the country's cyberinfrastructure, including telephones and computer networks, is somewhat vulnerable to attack.
On a scale of one to 10, "our critical infrastructure's preparedness to withstand a destructive cyberattack is about a three, based on my experience," he said.
In the Morning Post interview -- published one week after the British newspaper The Guardian revealed the first leaks attributed to Snowden -- he claimed the agency he once worked for as a contractor typically targets high-bandwidth data lines that connect Internet nodes located around the world.
"We hack network backbones -- like huge Internet routers, basically -- that give us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
A "backbone" is part of the inner workings of a computer network that links different parts of that network. It is used to deliver data from one part of the network to another and, as such, could expose data from multiple computers if hacked.
'Trying to bully'
Snowden, 29, worked for the Booz Allen Hamilton computer consulting firm until Monday, when he was fired after documents he provided to journalists revealed the existence of secret programs to collect records of domestic telephone calls in the United States and the Internet activity of overseas residents.
While he has not been charged, the FBI is conducting an investigation into the leaks, and he has told The Guardian that he expects the United States will try to prosecute him.
Snowden told the Morning Post that he felt U.S. officials were pressuring his family and also accused them of "trying to bully" Hong Kong into extraditing him to prevent the release of more damaging information.
He vowed to resist extradition efforts if it comes to that, saying he "would rather stay and fight the United States government in the courts, because I have faith in Hong Kong's rule of law."
"My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate," the South China Morning Post quoted Snowden as saying. "I have been given no reason to doubt your system.''
But Hong Kong lawmaker Regina Ip, a former secretary of security for the territory, said Tuesday that while any extradition process could take months, Snowden isn't necessarily beyond the reach of the United States.
"If he thought there was a legal vacuum in Hong Kong which renders him safe from U.S. jurisdiction, that is unlikely to be the case," she said.
The newspaper said Snowden has been hiding in undisclosed locations inside the semi-autonomous Chinese territory since checking out of his hotel room Monday -- a day after he revealed his identity in an interview with The Guardian.
Snowden told the Morning Post he is not trying to evade U.S. authorities.
"People who think I made a mistake in picking Hong Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions," the newspaper quoted him as saying. "I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality."
The NSA and the National Intelligence director did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
Asked during a media briefing on Wednesday for comment on Snowden's latest claims, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki declined. She said she had not seen the latest Morning Post report.
On the defensive
The revelations have renewed debate over surveillance in the United States and overseas in the name of fighting terrorism, with supporters saying the programs revealed by Snowden are legal and have helped stop terror plots. Civil liberties advocates, however, call the measures dangerous and unacceptable intrusions.
Such criticisms have put Obama and his allies on the issue -- both Democrats and Republicans -- on the defensive against mounting criticisms from a similarly bipartisan group of critics demanding changes to rein in the programs.
There also is a sharp division among Americans over the issue.
A Gallup poll released Wednesday found that 44% of Americans believe Snowden did the right thing by releasing details about the classified surveillance programs, while 42% said it was wrong and 14% said they were unsure.
The poll for that question had a 6% margin of error.
It also found that more Americans disapprove than approve of the government's surveillance programs, 53% to 37%. Ten percent had no opinion.
The poll for that question had a 4% margin of error.
Those differences were on display Wednesday when Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency, testified at a hearing into cybersecurity technology and civil liberties.
Officials have been unable to explain controversial data mining programs because they have been classified, Alexander testified.
But Alexander rejected the Snowden's claim that the NSA could tap into any American's phone or computer.
"I know of no way to do that," Alexander said.
But he testified that phone records obtained by the government helped prevent "dozens" of terrorist events.
He would not discuss disrupted plots broadly, saying they were classified. But he did say federal data mining appeared to play a role in helping to disrupt a plot in recent years to attack the New York subway system.
Alexander said information developed overseas was passed along to the FBI, which he said was able to identify eventual suspect Najibullah Zazi in Colorado and ultimately uncover a plot. Zazi pleaded guilty to terror-related charges in 2010.
While not on the roster for Wednesday's hearing, another administration official in the spotlight is Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whom Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has singled out for how he answered questions about the telephone surveillance program in March.
In March, Wyden asked Clapper whether the NSA collects "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"
"No sir," Clapper said.
On Saturday, Clapper told NBC News that he answered in the "most truthful or least most untruthful manner" possible.
Clapper told NBC that he had interpreted "collection" to mean actually examining the materials gathered by the NSA.
He previously told the National Journal he had meant that "the NSA does not voyeuristically pore through U.S. citizens' e-mails," but he did not mention e-mails at the hearing.
EU questions
Fallout over revelations about the NSA's intelligence-gathering has reached the European Union's governing body, where Vice President Viviane Reding raised concerns that the United States may have targeted some of its citizens.
Reding said she plans to raise the issue during a meeting Friday with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
"The respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law are the foundations of the EU-U.S. relationship. This common understanding has been, and must remain, the basis of cooperation between us in the area of Justice," Reding, the EU commissioner for justice, said Wednesday.
"Trust that the rule of law will be respected is also essential to the stability and growth of the digital economy, including transatlantic business. This is of paramount importance for individuals and companies alike."
June 11th....
http://blog.al.com/east-alabama/2013/06/why_were_roadblocks_in_st_clai.html
( Of course , rather than a police roadblock , why not request volunteers at a local school , firehouse or Church ? )
Why were roadblocks in St. Clair and Bibb counties asking for blood and DNA samples this weekend?
PELL CITY, Alabama -- St. Clair and Bibb county authorities are confirming there were roadblocks at several locations in their counties Friday and Saturday asking for blood and DNA samples. However, the samples were voluntary and motorists were paid for them as part of a study, they said.
According to Lt. Freddie Turrentine of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, it isn't the first time such roadblocks have occurred in the area.
"They were here in 2007," said Turrentine, the supervisor in charge of the roadblocks, which took place in several locations in St. Clair County Friday night, early Saturday morning and Saturday night and early Sunday morning. "It's just with social media and Facebook now, word of it has just exploded."
Turrentine said the roadblocks were part of a study conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. St. Clair County was asked to participate by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs because it had worked with the group six years ago.
Sheriff Keith Hannah in Bibb County said they too had previously participated in the study.
Here's how the road blocks worked, Turrentine said:
Off-duty St. Clair County deputies stopped cars at random at road block areas. The road blocks were marked with signs stating it was a paid survey. Cars stopped were asked for voluntary cooperation. Drivers were offered $10 for a mouth swab, and $50 for a blood test. If they refused, they were free to drive away. An official with the NHTSA said later that DNA was not collected as part of the survey, but only saliva and breath samples.
Road blocks took place Friday at the New London Fire Department, Alabama 34 in Pell City near the old Dan's Car Wash, U.S. 231 at Alabama 144, at White's Chapel Parkway and Moody Crossroads in Moody. In Bibb County, the road blocks took place in five areas in the county on Friday night through early Sunday morning.
If drivers participated, they were directed to an area where someone from the group carrying out the study took the samples, he said.
"It was completely voluntary," Turrentine said, saying reports that people were detained if they did not cooperate were untrue. "If they didn't want to take part, they could drive off."
The samples were anonymous, he said.
"They were taking the samples in other parts of the country," he said. "They want to find out of all the people surveyed, how many people were driving with alcohol in their system, or prescription drugs, things like that."
This will be the only time this year the survey takes place in St. Clair County, he said.
Turrentine, who was at one of the roadblocks, said the group carrying out the study would ask for a certain number of volunteers. Deputies would stop drivers until that number of drivers needed agreed to the survey. Then they let cars pass while the samples were taken.
"We would have a lot who didn't want to take part, especially at night," he said. "But then we'd have a few that when we'd tell they could make $60 bucks, they said, 'What do I need to do?'"
If you were stopped in one of the roadblocks, or took part, and would like to talk, email eastalabama@al.com.
and what in the world would the IRS do with these tools and why the rush orders ?
IRS Buying Spying Equipment: Covert Cameras in Coffee Trays, Plants
June 10, 2013 - 2:39 PM
By Elizabeth Harrington
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1342 1059
(AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – The IRS, currently in the midst of scandals involving the targeting of conservative groups and lavish taxpayer-funded conferences, is ordering surveillance equipment that includes hidden cameras in coffee trays, plants and clock radios.
The IRS wants to secure the surveillance equipment quickly – it posted a solicitation on June 6 and is looking to close the deal by Monday, June 10. The agency already has a company lined up for the order but is not commenting on the details.
“The Internal Revenue Service intends to award a Purchase Order to an undisclosed Corporation,” reads the solicitation.
“The following descriptions are vague due to the use and nature of the items,” it says.
“If you feel that you can provide the following equipment, please respond to this email no later than 4 days after the solicitation date,” the IRS said.
Among the items the agency will purchase are four “Covert Coffee tray(s) with Camera concealment,” and four “Remote surveillance system(s)” with “Built-in DVD Burner and 2 Internal HDDs, cameras.”
The IRS also is buying four cameras to hide in plants: “(QTY 4) Plant Concealment Color 700 Lines Color IP Camera Concealment with Single Channel Network Server, supports dual video stream, Poe [Power over Ethernet], software included, case included, router included.”
Finishing out the order are four “Color IP Camera Concealment with single channel network server, supports dual video stream, poe, webviewer and cms software included, audio,” and two “Concealed clock radio.”
(AP Photo)
“Responses to this notice must be received by this office within 3 business days of the date of this synopsis by 2:00 P.M. EST, June 10, 2013,” the IRS said. Interested vendors are to contact Ricardo Carter, a Contract Specialist at the IRS.
“If no compelling responses are received, award will be made to the original solicited corporation,” the IRS said.
The original solicitation was only available to private companies for bids for 19 business hours.
The notice was posted at 11:07 a.m. on June 6 and had a deadline of 2:00 p.m. on Monday. Taking a normal 9-to-5 work week, the solicitation was open for bids for six hours on Thursday, eight hours on Friday, and five hours on Monday, for a total of 19 hours.
The response date was changed on Monday, pushed back to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11.
The location listed for the solicitation is the IRS’s National Office of Procurement, in Oxon Hill, Md.
"The Procurement Office acquires the products and services required to support the IRS mission,” according to its website.
In recent weeks the IRS has been at the center of multiple scandals, admitting to targeting Tea Party groups and subjecting them to greater scrutiny when applying for non-profit status during the 2010 and 2012 elections.
A report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration revealed that groups with names like “patriot” in their titles were singled out, required to complete lengthy personal questionnaires (often multiple times) and having their nonprofit status delayed, sometimes for more than three years.
Last week a second Inspector General report detailed nearly $50 million in wasteful spending by the agency on conferences, in which employees stayed at luxurious Las Vegas hotels, paid a keynote speaker $17,000 to paint a picture of U2 singer Bono, and spent $50,000 on parody videos of “Star Trek.”
Requests for comment from the IRS and Mr. Carter were not returned before this story was posted.
CNSNews.com asked IRS spokesmen Dean Patterson and Anthony Burke to explain the reasoning behind the solicitation, where the surveillance equipment will be used, why the request was so urgent, and whether the request has anything to do with the recent scandals at the IRS.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-11/sales-george-orwells-1984-have-surged-6884-last-24-hours
( Sheeple waking up ? )
Sales Of George Orwell's 1984 Have Surged 6884% In The Last 24 Hours
In the last 24 hours, sales of the 'big brother' book 1984 on Amazon.com have soared by almost 7000% as the reality of the surveillance state come to the public's attention. As Liberty Blitzkrieg's Mike Krieger notes, we suppose it makes sense that people would want to get up to speed on the dystopian world being constructed rapidly and secretly around them.1984 is now the 4th fastest rising sales book and 184th most popular on Amazon!
The Centennial Edition 1984 book...
And the Combination 1984/Animal Farm book
Perhaps this tweet sums it up...
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