British news sites have blocked many of the you tube videos that have been put up on independent sites. I am trying to keep the content current so please bear with me. Liz.
Updates appear below the article
The murder in Woolwich yesterday was strange by any standards. A young man walking along John Wilson Street was knocked down by a dark blue car, hauled onto the pavement and hacked to death before being dumped back in the road. This happened at 14.20 in the afternoon in plain site of passers by.
Several of those passers by assumed the attackers were aiding the man after a road traffic accident when in fact he was being murdered in front of them, something that became apparent as the machete wielding attackers dragged his body into the road. In the words of an eyewitness:
When it was obvious the man was dead, and some reports say he was beheaded though this hasn’t been officially confirmed, the attackers never fled. They started talking to those who had witnessed the attack, asking them to take pictures and film them. They were making statements about British military engagements abroad and telling people to get rid of the government.
The way they referred to themselves seemed odd “…but in our land women see this every day…” seems to indicate an affiliation with a foreign nation, but seconds later they referred to “…our troops” withdrawing from Arab lands. The man spoke with a London accent but declared himself to be a follower of Islam.
When armed police arrived one of the men rushed them, holding the handgun and two bloodied knives. The police fired and both men were wounded one seriously. They were taken to different hospitals in London where they remain under armed guard.
Most of this was recorded on mobile phones by those witnessing the unfolding events. What isn’t known is who the victim was, though Whitehall confirmed this morning that he was a serving British soldier. It’s not known who the attackers are and what their exact motivation is. The EDL (English Defence League) called a protest last night and a crowd of 60 or so was dispersed by police under public order regulations.
The fact that a COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) meeting was called very early on into this is odd, COBRA meetings are usually only called when there is a threat to the national interest, they are not usually called for murders however tragic.
0845 David Cameron chairs COBRA meeting
0920 GMT British military personnel told not to wear uniform off base
0940 Boris Johnson says “London is open and business carries on as usual”
0945 Admiral Lord West says the Woolwich attackers have Nigerian links
10.37 Metropolitan police are conducting searches in Lincolnshire in connection with Woolwich case
11.15 Four people arrested in Greenwich in connection with the murder. Three women and a teenaged boy taken in a police van from a house not far from the murder scene
11.35 Cameron speaks after COBRA meeting. Talks of the bravery of the armed forces. ”we will not give into terrorism in any of its forms” he said. He speaks of extremism and terrorism and says that true Islam has no part in any terrorist acts. He will not comment on the men being known to the security forces prior to committing the murder in Woolwich.
12.12 One suspect named as Michael Adebalajo a UK citizen
Lizzie Bennett retired from her job as a senior operating department practitioner in the UK earlier this year. Her field was trauma and accident and emergency and she has served on major catastrophe teams around the UK. Lizzie publishes Medically Speaking on the topic of preparedness.
Update #3: CNN is reporting that the official toll of dead is 51 but at least 40 more are reported to have died.
Update #2: The total number of dead has risen to 51 with the number expected to continually rise throughout the night.
Update: A breaking news report that quoted the state medical examiner has revealed that at least 37 people have died, with at least 7 of them being children.
The report also confirmed that a third grade class with over 20 children was taking refuge in a hallway of one of the schools that was completely destroyed. Stories of teachers using themselves as human shields are so flooding the airwaves.
The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office says at least 37 people were killed, and the death toll is expected to rise, after a monstrous tornado as much as a mile wide with winds up to 200 mph roared through Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and setting buildings on fire.
KFOR-TV reports that up to 24 children are believed dead at the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore and that it has turned into a search and recovery effort. The storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal. Several children were pulled alive from the rubble, however. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to a triage center in the parking lot.
At least seven of the children drowned after being found at the bottom of a pool at Plaza Towers, according to KFOR.
Original Report:
In a scene more reminiscent of a warzone than an American city, parts of Oklahoma City and its outlying suburbs have been wrecked by a mile wide tornado that left devastation in its wake.
Local news outlets are reporting that two different schools were destroyed, with one being directly hit by the 200 mile per hour super tornado. One report claims that at least 15 children are still trapped in one of the damaged schools.
Oklahoma’s local TV station KFOR is reporting that up to 15 children and staff members are trapped under an elementary school that has been directly hit by the massive tornado sweeping the area at the moment.
The station, who are at the school, said up to 75 people were sheltering when the tornado hit.
Children being rescued from Plaza Towers elementary. Preliminary report: 75 children taking shelter in school.FROM @KFOR ON TWITTER:
KFOR news anchor: “We unfortunately think that some kids were still in those school buildings.”FROM @NYCJIM ON TWITTER:
KFOR’s Lance West: Firefighters trying to save kids in collapsed classrooms, at least 15 kids trapped; 75 were in there, status unknown FROM @ACARVIN ON TWITTER:
Whether or not the children are still stranded at the time of this writing is unknown, with news coming out of the area being extremely hard to confirm.
A report by the LA Times revealed more information on the damaged schools and trapped teachers and students.
Two elementary schools were destroyed, and an untold number of homes and businesses sustained heavy damage near the cities of Moore, Newcastle and Oklahoma City. CNN reported that rescue crews swarmed over Plaza Towers Elementary School, where 75 students and staff had sought refuge in a hallway.
Britane Diacon-Boese of Oklahoma City was worried about students she works with. “I have clients who can’t be found,” she said.
“I’m terrified; I’m completely terrified,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “There’s no power, it’s all down.”
The other school hit by the tornado was Briarwood Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Local newscasters reported that children were trapped inside.
A spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management told the USA Today that officials are still assessing the damage and that they basically do not have an idea as to how bad it actually is besides what can be seen in the horrific images being transmitted on TV from helicopters on the scene.
Oklahoma authorities were still assessing damage but had no immediate reports of injuries or possible deaths, said Keli Cain, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Power was knocked out to more than 26,000 customers.
“Right now we really don’t have a good idea of the damage,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of footage on TV of widespread damage in Moore, Okla., but it’s certainly too early to have any idea of the number of homes destroyed…. We know there are homes destroyed, businesses destroyed. … It’s very early.”
Stay tuned as we will be updating this report as more information comes in.
Daniel Jackson is a seasoned journalist with a passion for exposing corruption and the lies of the global elite. DJ has a passion for truth and liberty that is shown through his extensive reporting on numerous globally significant topics not normally covered by the corporate controlled media. He is is a writer, researcher and editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
A walk through the Grove, site of Bilderberg 2013, including conference rooms where elitists will meet. Select the HD setting!
An extensive tour of the grounds of the Grove – site of Bilderberg 2013. Select the HD setting!
It’s ironic that the gardens at the Grove, site of Bilderberg 2013, feature a transhumanist statue given that Bilderberg is now merging with Eric Schmidt’s Google.
(Suffolk, Va) Driver Elementary administrators suspended a 7 year old second grade student for pointing a pencil at another student while making gun noises. The student, Christopher Marshall, said he was playing with another student in class on Friday when the teacher asked them to stop pointing pencils at each other.
“When I asked him about it, he said, ‘Well I was being a Marine and the other guy was being a bad guy,’” said Paul Marshall, the boy’s father. “It’s as simple as that.”
Christopher’s father was a Marine for many years. He thinks school leaders overreacted.
“A pencil is a weapon when it is pointed at someone in a threatening way and gun noises are made,” said Bethanne Bradshaw, a spokesperson for Suffolk Public Schools.
The Suffolk school system has a “zero tolerance policy” when it comes to weapons. And, Bradshaw admits, that policy has tightened up in recent years because of widely publicized school shootings.
“Some children would consider it threatening, who are scared about shootings in schools or shootings in the community,” said Bradshaw. “Kids don’t think about ‘Cowboys and Indians’ anymore, they think about drive-by shootings and murders and everything they see on television news every day.”
But Christopher’s parents say school administrators failed to use common sense. Christopher has good grades and no history of being disruptive in class. They pointed out a line on the suspension notice, where the teacher wrote, “I told him to stop and he did.”
“Enough is enough,” said Paul Marshall. “I see it as the tail is now wagging the dog.”
Last week President Obama said that his administration’s recent gun control push is merely “the first round,” suggesting that attempts to force Americans to submit to background checks, mental health screenings and gun registrations are only the beginning of a concerted effort designed to remove guns from the hands of as many people as possible. Executive actions taken at the end of April, which were designed to put an outright ban on the importation of gun accessories, magazine and ammunition, provide further evidence that gun control proponents will stop at nothing to limit access. Moreover, the President’s Homeland Security team, spearheaded by Secretary Janet Napolitano, is working overtly to indirectly disarm Americans by purchasing hundreds of millions of rounds of ammunition in an attempt to dry up the retail ammunition supply market, a move Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) says is “intentional.”
The Second Amendment is under attack on all fronts through domestic regulation, foreign treaties, and legislative action on the federal, state and local level. Everywhere we turn, it seems, there are those who would supplant our fundamental right to defend our homes from predators and our freedom from oppressive government.
In Austin, Texas, however, there is a different kind of movement afoot. It’s one that promises to change the very landscape of gun ownership, and it’s got lawmakers around the world quaking in their boots.
After months of development and testing, Austin-based Defense Distributed has produced the first ever 3-D printed firearm, and has successfully tested it with live ammunition. The project’s lead developer Cody Wilson says the Defense Distributed collective of gun access advocates will release the blueprints for the printable gun to the public for free.
It’s a move that New York’s democrat Senator Chuck Schumer says is “stomach churning.”
It’s called the Liberator, and it’s been produced solely with the use of a 3D printer purchased on Ebay for about $8000.
While it looks like a child’s toy, be assured that this piece of plastic is designed to be a killing machine and is capable of firing a standard .380 caliber round. If you have a 3D printer and the plans to print it, you can do so with just sixteen easy-to-assemble pieces:
As you may have guessed, lawmakers are already working on legislation to ban the technology, though it is unclear if they intend to ban just the production of 3-D printed firearms, or the printers themselves, which are available starting at about $1000.
The Liberator may look like a toy, but “this gun can fire regular bullets,” Schumer said, calling for legislation outlawing the technology’s weapons potential.
“Security checkpoints, background checks and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print their own plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser,” Israel said in a statement.
To Schumer, the ramifications of make-your-own untraceable and undetectable weapons are “stomach-churning.”
“Now anyone, a terrorist, someone who is mentally ill, a spousal abuser, a felon, can essentially open a gun factory in their garage,” Schumer said. “It must be stopped.”
They can make all the laws they want. This technology has now been let out of the bag, and stomach churned gun control advocates can push as hard as they want. It will not stop the plans for The Liberator from being disseminated to anyone who wants them.
Defense Distributed and the many others working on open-source 3-D printing kits for firearms and accessories have changed the world. And there’s no going back.
You can download the blueprint for The Liberator at DefCad.org and learn more about the Wiki Weapons project at Defense Distributed.
When it hits the fan, don’t say we didn’t warn you. Mac Slavo is the editor of SHTFplan.com, a resource hub for alternative news, contrarian commentary and strategies that you can take to protect yourself from the coming global paradigm shift.
Barack Obama joked Saturday about his plans for a radical second-term evolution from ‘strapping young Muslim Socialist’ to retiree golfer, all with a new hairstyle like first lady Michelle’s. He doesn’t deny being Muslim or a Socialist. Understand that now Barack Obama is throwing his real ideology in the face of the American people and sadly we are allowing him to do it via our elected representatives.
As the country went on lock-down during the Boston bombings, our Congress worked quietly to hoist more surveillance and tyranny upon the American people:
It should be clear that what the US government really wants is to use private companies to gather even more information about people like you.
Of course, there’s the typical defense that people put up, which that ‘if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide.’
But this ignores the fact that many of these I.T. companies are not politically neutral. We’ve seen this even in the past few weeks as Facebook has blocked numerous sites which were discussing the Boston bombing.
Consider the danger of having a company employee that sees some controversial content that you posted on Facebook or elsewhere be given the power to simply flag you and have your data sent to the authorities.
In the context of the ever more blatant government corruption and criminality this is extremely dangerous, and it should be viewed as a direct threat to whistle blowers and the alternative media.
Radio host Glenn Beck has reportedly obtained information regarding the Saudi Arabian national initially detained as a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing.
According to Beck, the lies surrounding this suspect run so deep that should they become public they will have consequences so severe that the United State of America as we know it will be “done” if the Obama Administration is not held to account.
On his radio show Friday, Beck urged White House officials to come clean.
Failure to do so, says Beck, will leave him no other choice but to release evidence so damning that it will, “determine the fate of our nation.”
Beck says President Obama and law enforcement officials have until Monday to be honest with the American people, or he will release what he knows.
This is very, very important.
What we do going forward from here will determine the fate of our nation.
Make no mistake. This story is number two [September 11 was #1] because of what I know. what we do will make this the most important story of our lifetime. What’s happening now is very important.
What happens in its aftermath will make it the most important, because it will either save our country, or we will be done.
…
Let me send this message very clear. We know who this Saudi National is. And it is in your best interests and the best interests of integrity and trust for the people of the United States of America.
It’s best coming from you, not coming from a news organization.
You have until Monday.
We have information on who this man is. And listen to me carefully. We know that he is a very bad, bad, bad man.
I know that doesn’t make sense to you now, but on Monday it will.
…I don’t bluff. I make promises.
The truth matters. I’ve had enough of what you’ve done to our country.
I thought I had heard and seen it all. I thought I didn’t trust my government.
No. No.
There is no depth that these people will not stoop to.
They have until Monday.
Initial reports after the Boston Marathon bombing were that a Saudi Arabian was in police custody and being questioned in the hospital.
Here’s what we know so far.
Within a few hours of identifying Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi as a possible suspect in the bombing, officials advised that the this individual was cleared of any wrong-doing.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies searched Ali Alharbi’s apartment in Revere, Massachusetts. Officials indicated that no evidence was found or removed from the apartment, but eye witness reports suggest otherwise. Fox News reported live from the scene that law enforcement was seen removing several bags after searching the residence.
The following day, Secretary of State John Kerry had a private meeting with a Saudi foreign minister.
President Obama, likewise, had an unscheduled meeting with the ambassador from Saudi Arabia. The official White House position is that the discussion entailed Syria, and had nothing to do with the Boston bombing.
First Lady Obama, also concerned about the health of the Saudi, paid a special visit to him in the hospital.
Within 24 hours, it was reported that college student Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi, originally identified as the Boston Bomber, was to be deported back to his home country on “national security grounds.”
When questioned by reporters on Thursday, Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano said that she knew nothing about the supposed deportation and that this claim was nothing more than a “rumor.” When further pressed about the suspect’s involvement in the most significant terrorist acts on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001, a frustrated Napolitano responded, “I am not going to answer that question, it is so full of misstatements and misapprehensions, that it is just not worthy of an answer.”
According to Glenn Beck, however, the real story surrounding Saudi Arabian suspect Abdulrahman Ali Alharbi has been completely covered up by the White House and law enforcement officials at the highest levels.
By Monday night, either the Obama administration comes clean, or Glenn Beck has promised to make whatever information he has available public.
If this report from Beck is legitimate, and we suspect it is, then somewhere in Washington President Obama, Valeria Jarret, Janet Napolitano and others are having a crisis meeting as we speak.
What does he know?
Whatever it is, Glenn Beck implies that it is powerful enough to bring down the Administration.
When it hits the fan, don’t say we didn’t warn you. Mac Slavo is the editor of SHTFplan.com, a resource hub for alternative news, contrarian commentary and strategies that you can take to protect yourself from the coming global paradigm shift.
Kimberly Paxton of The Daily Sheeple has contributed to this report.
Follow Live on Police scanner:
UPDATED 8:46 PM ET
19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev is in custody…details to follow.
UPDATED 8:19 PM ET
CBS reports that the FBI admits that they interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev 2 years ago for possible extremist ties.
The FBI admitted Friday they interviewed the now-deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev two years ago and failed to find any incriminating information about him.
As first reported by CBS News correspondent Bob Orr, the FBI interviewed Tsarnaev, the elder brother of at-large bombing suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, at the request of a foreign government to see if he had any extremist ties, but failed to find any linkage.
Both Tsarnaev brothers were legal permanent residents of the U.S. There is no evidence so far that either brother received any tactical training.
UPDATED 7:57 PM ET
Police have surrounded a suspect in a boat in someone’s backyard. Initially officers said that the person in the boat sat up, but now they are reporting no further movement. (via scanner)
UPDATED 6:53 PM ET
INTERPOL has issued an international security alert in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings.
The INTERPOL Orange Notice, requested by the US authorities, contains photographs of the devices and identifying information including the fingerprints of the two suspects, 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev, currently being sought by authorities in the US, and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, aged 26, who died after a shoot-out with police in Boston in the early hours of Friday.
“The decision by the FBI and US authorities to request an INTERPOL Orange Notice will enable police services and other law enforcement agencies around the world to advise US law enforcement authorities whether they’ve come across similarly designed devices in their own investigations,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.
UPDATED 6:39 PM ET
Washington Post: Authorities have lifted the stay-indoors order for residents in the Boston area.
One of the brothers suspected of carrying out the terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon faced deportation in 2009 after being convicted of a domestic violence charge but was allowed to stay, according to a government watchdog.
“Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old killed in a wild shootout with police, was a legal U.S. resident who never the less could have been removed from the country after a 2009 domestic violence conviction,” Judicial Watch reports based on an unnamed source.
“The father said he spoke to his sons by phone earlier this week. “We talked about the bombing. I was worried about then,” Anzor Tsarnaev said. He said his sons reassured him, saying, “Everything is good, Daddy. Everything is very good.” “If they kill my second child, I will know that it is an inside job, a hit job. The police are to blame,” the father told ABC News. “Someone, some organization is out to get them.”
UPDATED 12:55PM ET A defacto state of martial law has now been enacted across Boston:
Police, federal agents and military personnel are going door-to-door searching for the teenage bombing suspect who has eluded capture since being located late Thursday. Massachusetts state officials said residents should keep doors locked and not open their door unless it’s a uniformed police officer knocking. New leads have been developed and the search and sweep of the area could continue through the weekend. (link)
UPDATED 11:57 AM ETAP interviews anguished father of Tamarmlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev:
Anzor Tsarnaev spoke with The Associated Press by telephone from the southern Russian republic of Dagestan after police said one of his sons, 26-year-old Tamerlan, had been killed in a shootout and the other, Dzhokhar, was being intensely pursued. “My son is a true angel,” the elder Tsarnaev said. He said his son was “an intelligent boy” who was studying medicine. “We expected him to come on holidays here,” he said. “They were set up, they were set up!” he exclaimed. “I saw it on television; they killed my older son Tamerlan.” Tsarnaev, badly agitated, gave little more information and ended the call angrily, saying, “Leave me alone, my son’s been killed.”
UPDATED 11:46 AM ET Authorities surround the Watertown house where Dzokhar Tsarnaev is believed to be. UPDATED 11:35 AM ET Father of Suspects in Boston Marathon Bombing believes Secret Service framed his sons
JUST IN – ANZUR TSARNAEV, FATHER OF SUSPECTS IN BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING SAYS, HE BELIEVES SECRET SERVICES FRAMED HIS SONS. BBC. #911BUFF — 911 Operator (@911BUFF) April 19, 2013
UPDATED 11:25 AM ET Police have deployed 2 robots to inspect a possible explosive device attached to the suspect in custody, a man in his mid-60s. The media has been advised to immediately run and take cover. (via scanner) UPDATED 10:64AM ET Police are converging on the house where they believe Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is hiding. He has sent the following Tweet.
Police have another suspect surrounded in the Arsenal Street area in Watertown, a man approximately 60-70 years old. He is wearing a vest and has a device in his hand that is suspected to be explosive. (via scanner)
UPDATED 10:43AM ET
Anzor Tsarnaev, the father of suspected the Boston Marathon bombers appealed to his son, Dzhokhar, to “surrender peacefully.”, but warned the U.S. that “If they killed him, then all hell would break loose.” He insists that his sons are innocent of the bombing. (source)
photo of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev
UPDATED 10:33AM ET
Police scanners in Boston are saying that there may be a third suspect. Police are looking for gray Honda CRV with Massachusetts plates 316ES9. APBs have been issues in Massachusetts and Connecticut for this vehicle.
The dead suspect has been named as Tamerlan Tsarnaev and he is the older brother of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev. Tamerlan was 26 years old and a competitive boxer. He had been in the US since 2000, when he was admitted under refugee status. Read more about Tamerland Tsarnaev HERE.
pictured: Tamerlan Tsarnaev
UPDATED 6:29 AM ET
AP: Boston bomb suspects from Russia region near Chechnya, lived in US at least 1 year. Surviving Boston bomb suspect identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, of Cambridge, Mass.
UPDATED 6:01 AM ET
According to ABC News, the suspects are believed to be foreign nationals, living legally in the United States. “Based on the way they engaged police, authorities believe they have some paramilitary training. ”
All public schools in Boston have been closed for the day as police engage in a massive manhunt for the second suspect, who is still at large.
UPDATED 4:05AM ET
One of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing has reportedly been killed by Police.
Police are investigating a fatal shooting of MIT campus police officer by two men who then committed an armed carjacking in Cambridge, Middlesex Acting District Attorney Michael Pelgro, Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas, and MIT Police Chief John DiFava announced this evening.
At approximately 10:20 p.m. April 18, police received reports of shots fired on the MIT campus. At 10:30 p.m., an MIT campus police officer was found shot in his vehicle in the area of Vassar and Main streets. According to authorities, the officer was found evidencing multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced deceased.
Authorities launched an immediate investigation into the circumstances of the shooting. The investigation determined that two males were involved in this shooting.
A short time later, police received reports of an armed carjacking by two males in the area of Third Street in Cambridge. The victim was carjacked at gunpoint by two males and was kept in the car with the suspects for approximately a half hour. The victim was released at a gas station on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. He was not injured.
Police immediately began a search for the vehicle and were in pursuit of the vehicle into Watertown. At that time, explosive devices were reportedly thrown from car by the suspects. The suspects and police also exchanged gunfire in the area of Dexter and Laurel streets. During this pursuit, an MBTA Police officer was seriously injured and transported to the hospital.
During the pursuit, one suspect was critically injured and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
An extensive manhunt is ongoing in the Watertown area for the second suspect, who is believed to be armed and dangerous.
The case is being investigated by local, state and federal authorities working in cooperation. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad is assessing and removing any potentially explosive devices that may have been thrown on the street in Watertown by the suspects.
The investigation remains active and ongoing.
No further information is available at this time.
Gunfire, explosions – raw video:
Updated April 18 3:50AM ET
Fox News reports that the suspect in police custody was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
An FBI photo released at 2:00AM this morning shows the two suspects standing side-by-side. The man in the black cap is believed to be the one killed by police this morning.
The suspect wearing the white cap remains at large.
Video of police apprehending an individual in Watertown. It is not clear whether this individual is one of the two suspects:
Original Report: April 18 – 2:45AM ET
In what the FBI’s public information officer calls an “active” and “fluid” situation, hundreds of police cruisers converged on a small neighborhood in Watertown, Massachusetts after multiple bombs were reportedly detonated.
Reports indicate that the bombings came shortly after a shooting involving a police officer at MIT’s campus in Cambridge. The officer, whose name has not yet been released, was killed in the exchange.
Witnesses have also reported “round after round” of gunshots and explosions going off in Watertown.
Both locations are within 10 miles of the deadly Boston Marathon bombings.
The FBI reports that a suspect is in custody, but has not confirmed if the individual was also involved in the Boston bombing.
The Boston Globe reports that the individual in custody may be one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.
7 News Boston has reported on their web site that their law enforcement sources say that the Watertown suspects are also the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.
At approximately 2:00 AM ET the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a new photo of the two suspects together minutes before the two marathon bombs left three people dead and scores severely injured.
Mixed reports from Fox News, CNN and local Boston news channels indicate that the suspect in the photo above wearing the white hat remains at large, suggesting that his accomplice may be the one currently in custody.
When it hits the fan, don’t say we didn’t warn you. Mac Slavo is the editor of SHTFplan.com, a resource hub for alternative news, contrarian commentary and strategies that you can take to protect yourself from the coming global paradigm shift.
When it hits the fan, don’t say we didn’t warn you. Mac Slavo is the editor of SHTFplan.com, a resource hub for alternative news, contrarian commentary and strategies that you can take to protect yourself from the coming global paradigm shift.
Updated: Photos shows giant mushroom cloud rising hundreds of feet in the air
A massive explosion at a West, Texas fertilizer plant has killed an estimated 5 – 15 people.
Rescuers were conducting another door-to-door search early Thursday for the living and the dead in areas damaged by a massive fertilizer plant explosion in West that left more than 100 injured and may have killed dozens.
As of 4:45, officials say five to fifteen people are believed to be dead. Six firefighters and two paramedics are confirmed dead and seven nursing home residents were missing after the blast according to West EMS Director Dr. George Smith, who said earlier Wednesday night as many as 60 or 70 people may have died in the blast.
One police officer was also still reporting missing.
Smith said early Thursday morning he expects more bodies will be found during the search of damaged and destroyed homes.
After the events at the Boston Marathon just two days ago, and with suspects still not identified, Panicked residents in the area thought that the explosion may be another attack. Their worst fears were seemingly confirmed, as a giant mushroom cloud rose hundreds of feet in the air, leading some to speculate that a nuclear attack was underway.
Watch the following video as a witness recorded the fire, which investigators believe started in an anhydrous ammonia tank and quickly engulfed the entire building.
Moments later, an explosion rocked the area.
Residents as far as Fort Hood, Texas, about 80 miles away, reported hearing the blast.
Unbelievable video shows the magnitude of the blast.
‘The explosives used in the deadly Boston Marathon bombing were contained in 6-liter pressure cookers and hidden in black duffel bags on the ground, a person briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
One of the explosives contained shards of metal and ball bearings, and another contained nails, the person said.’ (source)
Updated 04-16-13 9:10CST:
FBI says “currently no clear suspects” in bombing (link)
Bill Hemmer of Fox News reported this morning: Revere, Mass. apartment search yielded no evidence of involvement in bomb plot; Saudi national cleared of wrong doing (no web-based source link available)
Anti-terrorism forces deployed worldwide in the aftermath of the bombing (link)
Still unclear: How many devices were there? Two detonated… two additional unexploded bombs found? (link)
Homeland Security Cmte. Member claims it was a coordinated attack.
CNN Analyst Speculates ‘Right-Wing Extremists’ Could Be Behind Marathon Bombing – see video.
A woman holding several bags was telling runners Saturday (April 13) that they were going to die – read more.
UM Coach gives eye-witness report of bomb-sniffing dogs, told “just a drill” :
University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach, who was near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when a series of explosions went off, said he thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.“They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about,” Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”
Boston PD Immediately Shut Down Cell Phone Network city-wide (link)
OFFICIALS MAY HAVE HAD PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
A startling report from Paul Joseph Watson has revealed that officials may have had prior knowledge of an impending terror attack.
An eyewitness to the two explosions at the Boston Marathon today said that a “drill” was repeatedly announced before the bombs exploded and that he “thought it was odd” bomb sniffing dogs were in place before the blast.
University of Mobile’s Cross Country Coach Ali Stevenson told Local 15 News, ““They kept making announcements on the loud speaker that it was just a drill and there was nothing to worry about. “It seemed like there was some sort of threat, but they kept telling us it was just a drill.”
The news station also reports that Stevenson “thought it was odd there were bomb sniffing dogs at the start and finish lines.”
Stevenson then describes hearing the explosions as he ran away from the scene, having just completed the marathon.
If this report is accurate, it clearly suggests there could have been some degree of prior knowledge of the bombing, which killed two people and injured at least 23.
ORIGINAL REPORT:
Multiple explosions have rocked the Boston Marathon, causing at least two deaths and tearing apart numerous limbs.
A third explosion is now being reported at JFK Library with officials searching the city for any other previously placed bombs.
Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, injuring 22 others and sending authorities rushing to aid wounded spectators at America’s oldest and most prestigous marathon, race organizers and police said.
One runner, a Rhode Island state police officer, said he saw at least two dozen people with very serious injuries, including missing limbs.
About two hours after the winners crossed the finish line, there was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street, just before the photo bridge that marks the line. Another explosion could be heard a few seconds later.
During a news conference featuring Boston officials, it was confirmed that a third explosion had hit but that information was still trickling in that could confirm that.
The last mile of the marathon was dedicated to the victims of the Newtown shooting. Family members were at the race near the finish line but no injuries to those families have been reported.
Fox News has also confirmed that there are reports that a suspect whom suffered shrapnel wounds is being guarded at a local Boston hospital.
In a new video, the Boston Dynamics-manufactured humanoid robot called “PETMAN” is shown with a flame-retardant camouflage jumpsuit and a gas mask walking, squatting, rotating and performing some other human-like actions.
This particular robot, shown in the Boston Dynamics video (embedded below), was manufactured for the Department of Defense’s Chemical and Biological Defense program.
According to Danger Room, a robot like this would be used to perform rescue missions that wouldn’t be safe for a human being in a chemical or biological attack situation.
“That is, if it can maneuver past rubble, navigate uneven spaces and retain its balance, all of which are difficult propositions for a robot,” writes Spencer Ackerman.
However, according to Boston Dynamics, PETMAN is actually designed to test chemical protection clothing.
“Unlike previous suit testers that had a limited repertoire of motion and had to be supported mechanically, PETMAN balances itself and moves freely; walking, bending and doing a variety of suit-stressing calisthenics during exposure to chemical warfare agents,” Boston Dynamics states.
Yet robots closely related to PETMAN are clearly aimed at going far beyond just testing suits, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Pet-Proto robot shown navigating obstacles in the video below.
A robot somewhat similar to PETMAN, called Atlas, will be used in the DARPA Robotics Challenge program in 2013, according to Boston Dynamics.
Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis database End The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. Madison also now has his own radio show on UCY.TV from 7 pm — 10 pm Pacific, which you can find HERE. If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at admin@EndtheLie.com
Bestselling author Tom Woods, who will teach history and government courses in the upper grades of the program, introduces the Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum.
The House Health & Government Operations Committees (HGO) and the House Judiciary (JUD) considered SB 281/ HB 294 in a joint voting session on Friday, March 29th 2013 and approved the governor’s gun control package. The Maryland Minutemen captured the full segment in the Maryland House of Delegates. Delegate Mike Smigiel (36th District) spoke up on the matter, pointing out that the legislators had told the public one thing but were pushing a law that said something else. He offered an amendment, but it appears there was some legislative “hanky panky” going on. This video documents what those, who are in control of the legislative process in the Maryland State House, do to get their way. They change the rules (Watch the video).
You’ll notice immediately at the start of the video that Smigiel is pointing out exactly what was done to the vote count. Clearly there are many representatives in the Maryland State House that cannot be trusted. Smigiel says that bill should have passed, which would have punished a criminal for using a firearm in the commission of a crime.
He then went on to address his colleagues about the amendment put forward. “This amendment,” he said, “will make sure that those who are committing violent acts with firearms are held accountable and punished and kept in jail.”
The amendment also removed any chance of probation or time off for “good behavior.” Smigiel said if Maryland was serious about dealing with the issues of criminal use of firearms, then maybe they ought to start dealing with those who commit crimes with firearms. Sounds reasonable enough, don’t you think?
However, Smigiel points out that the legislation before them, the governor’s bill, would punish legal firearms owners if someone broke into their home and used their gun in the commission of a crime! Notice that the other delegates are barely paying attention.
“There is not one line in this bill that punishes a bad guy,” Smigiel declared.
Obviously, that right there is the issue. As I’ve said all along, all law is morality and someone’s morality will be legislated. In the case of the Maryland governor’s legislation, the roles are reversed and the law abiding citizens are legislated as criminals. Smigiel’s amendment would have altered that.
Pick up the video at 8:20 to see, following the vote to pass the amendment that would have targeted the criminal, how the power brokers made an unprecedented move. They wanted to recount the votes and Delegate Smigiel called them on it. He said there was a good vote and then people went around and “whipped” people into changing their votes. “That’s not democracy, that’s tyranny,” he exclaimed.
Delgate Smigiel told Freedom Outpost that the original count, which you can see in the video, was 24-21. He then said one person changed their vote, that would make it 23-22. “You’re not allowed to change your vote when it’s going to change the outcome of the vote,” he said.
“We never allow anyone to change their vote in judiciary,” he continued. “On the floor you can keep changing votes all the way up until the last vote, where it would change the outcome. You’re not allowed to change that. So the guy couldn’t have changed his vote.”
In addition Smigiel said, “Then the chairman said he was going to vote.” However he didn’t vote in the previous round and Smigiel explained that the chairman does not vote, according to parliamentary procedure, unless there is a tie. “He voted to make a tie,” said Smigiel.
“If there’s a tie, then we lose,” the Maryland delegate said. “But we didn’t lose, he put it up for a new vote.”
Smigiel’s point was that the chairman and others were engaging in shenanigans to get the outcome they wanted and breaking virtually all the parliamentary rules that they normally engage in.
Smigiel provided the votes sheet on SB 281, which you can view below:
Smigiel also took to his own blog to point out the steps that would be taken to stop the legislation in its tracks and if unsuccessful, what route they would take. He writes,
“First, the fight to stop this legislation is not over. We need to have the biggest turnout yet on the day of the hearing in the House. I expect they may say one day and do it the next day just to get a lot of people discouraged so we should have an A and B plan. That way we will have folks ready to be here the second day if they should cancel the first scheduled day of the floor debate. We need the galleries packed on what ever day the bill is argued on the floor. We need witnesses against the crimes against liberty when they are committed.
Second, the groups that have been going through the public donor lists of the gun grabbers and contacting the businesses and unions, veterans, masons, and other fraternal organization members to tell them not to donate to the gun grabbers or their businesses and groups will be boycotted by the millions of Marylanders who are Second Amendment supporters. This tactic has already proven to be very effective and will probably be effective when those coming to Annapolis happen to be holding copies of the donor lists of their favorite liberal legislators so they can be shown you have the list when you go to talk to them. They understand dollars.
…
If the Governor gets a bill we will challenge it in the courts and also at referendum.
…
If we are unsuccessful in the courts and at referendum then I will stand to nullify these laws, alongside of all those Patriots who understand that no legislature, no executive nor any court can pass or interpret any law to infringe upon those rights which are unalienable and which government is prohibited from infringing upon by the Constitution. We will not surrender those rights which were bought at the expense of the blood and treasure of so many Patriots who came before us.”
Maryland, like other parts of the country are being swallowed up by Socialists and Communists. It’s good to see that Mr. Smigiel has a spine and is willing to expose the corruption taking place there in the Maryland House of Delegates.
The national average for a gallon of gasoline is currently at $3.65. On top of that sky-high price, the International Monetary Fund has now proposed that the U.S. should impose a tax of $1.40 per gallon in order to pay for social programs around the world and help the environment.
Neil Cavuto discussed this proposal with FBN’s Charles Payne, who said sometimes you hear things and you just have to ask, “Are you nuts!?”
My name is David A Schmecker. If possible I’d like to get my story known to as many people as possible.
To make this as brief as possible I live in Connecticut and I’m 50 years old and I’m an honorably discharged disabled NAVY veteran. I don’t have a psychiatric past or a criminal past.
Feb 5th 2013 my veterans hospital primary care doctor called my home and heard a message on my answering machine he said sounded peculiar and the VA contacted the local police to perform a wellness check.
The police came to my home and without any justification whatsoever, hauled me away for a psychiatric evaluation to a local hospital. I submitted to their forceful insistence under duress and fear of arrest or worse. I wasn’t arrested and no crime was committed nor any threats made to myself or others.
They confiscated my guns and pistol permit. I was released two days later from the evaluation on my on recognizance I have since attempted to use the courts and attorneys to fight the revocation of my pistol permit. Then on top of everything else, the bills from the short stay at the hospital and ems bills they billed me and what I had to pay the attorney adds up to a large amount of money.
I’m just a nobody so there is obviously a campaign orchestrated to disarm law abiding citizens and the Veterans Administration has found a loophole in the system to do it. Because I’m a nobody they feel empowered to be able to do this to me.
I must be the tip of the ice burg of this campaign and they are testing the waters to see what they can get away with and with whom. They have messed with my life and my rights. If I wasn’t hurt I could just walk away from the VA but I utilize their benefit for all of my healthcare needs. I am very concerned about where this country is headed.
Laser pointers are now considered weapons that can land you in federal prison for nearly 2 1/2 years even when you plead guilty.
On Monday, a judge sentenced California teenager Adam Gardenhire to 30 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to deliberately directing his laser pointer at a private plane.
U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson sentenced a 19-year-old man on Monday to 30 months in federal prison for shining a laser pointer at a plane and police helicopter, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case.
Adam Gardenhire deliberately pointed the commercial grade green laser at a private Cessna Citation that was landing at the Burbank Bob Hope Airport in California on March 29, 2012.
Gardenhire, of North Hollywood, California, was arrested and pleaded guilty in the incident as part of an agreement with prosecutors in October.
“Gardenhire had no idea that the deceptively ordinary laser he had borrowed from a friend was powerful enough to be seen by, much less distract, a pilot thousands of feet away,” wrote attorney Sean Kennedy.
Negligence simply wasn’t good enough to protect this non-violent young man from prison time.
The FAA says that laser pointers are dangerous to pilots because it may temporarily blind them. They claim that over 3600 laser incidents occurred in 2011.
Below is an compelling video of the FBI catching a laser pointer criminal in the act in 2011. This 2-year-old video shows the FBI’s incredibly advanced surveillance technology:
Overnight, a sinkhole swallowed a pond on Mark Korb’s property in Newcastle, Calif. When he went to bed Saturday night, the pond was there. On Sunday, March 17 it was gone.
How does that happen? While northern California is nowhere near as prone to sinkholes as Florida (see USGS sinkhole map), one clue might be the fact that the pond was man-made. While sinkholes don’t need a human trigger; changes in drainage due to construction or agricultural irrigation have been known to activate mass outbreaks of sinkholes in Florida, and other parts of the country.
As The Christian Science Monitor reported earlier this month after a Florida man was swallowed in his bed by a sinkhole, “Drought followed by heavy rains can also instigate sinkholes as heavy, water-logged earth presses down on limestone caves suddenly devoid of buoyant water.
The two previous deaths attributed to sinkholes both involved professional well drillers whose activities cracked the top of limestone caverns, causing collapse. Humans can [destabilize karst landscapes] by drawing down water tables or irrigate too much, increasing the weight of the mass of materials that sits on top of the void,” says Jonathan Martin, a geologist at the University of Florida, in Gainesville. “Humans can modify the environment” enough to cause sinkholes.
The US Geological Society echoes this idea:
“Sinkholes can also form when natural water-drainage patterns are changed and new water-diversion systems are developed. Some sinkholes form when the land surface is changed, such as when industrial and runoff-storage ponds are created. The substantial weight of the new material can trigger an underground collapse of supporting material, thus causing a sinkhole.”
So, it’s possible that when Korb built his pond, he may have disturbed the local geology. Another theory for the swallowing of Korb’s pond was put forward by Sierra College Professor of Geology Alex Amigo.
He also points to a human cause: gold mining. This part of California is dubbed “Gold Country,” for its long history of mining. “There was such a lot of mining activity going on in this area in the past, that we never know when there was a man-made cavity underground,” Amigo told KCRA-TV. Korb is now looking into how to deal with the sinkhole and doing research on the history of his property to see if there has been any gold mining on or near the property in the past. –CS Monitor
Homeschooling your kids yet? No. Well here’s another great reason to get them out now – especially the boys!
Boys will be boys. They’ve been known to gnaw a slice of government school pizza into the shape of a gun and hold the lunchroom hostage. This poor second grader used a strawberry pastry to unleash a terrorist event in Maryland.
I for one say outlaw pizza and pastries in schools. A smart business man or woman should invent a dough detector to be stationed at all school entrances. That’ll stop these mini-pastry shootings! We need more laws my friends… For the children.
School Offers Counseling for Students Troubled by Pastry-Gun Incident
The elementary school that was the scene of Josh’s brutally harmless rampage sent students home Friday with a letter describing the incident as if it had actually been serious:
Dear Parents and Guardians:
I am writing to let you know about an incident that occurred this morning in one of our classrooms and encourage you to discuss this matter with your child in a manner you deem most appropriate.
During breakfast this morning, one of our students used food to make inappropriate gestures that disrupted the class. While no physical threats were made and no one [was] harmed, the student had to be removed from the classroom.
* * *
As you are aware, the … Code of Student Conduct and appropriate consequences related to violations of the code are clearly spelled out in the Student Handbook, which was sent home during the first week of school and can be found on our website, http://www.aacps.org….
If your children express that they are troubled by today’s incident, please talk with them and help them share their feelings. Our school counselor is available to meet with any students who have the need to do so next week. In general, please remind them of the importance of making good choices.
Pretty sure that if your children are “troubled” by another kid biting a pastry into something that looks sort of like a gun and waving said pastry around, you have already failed as a parent.
The two-day suspension indicates that the school considered this a “Level 3″ violation, but exactly what part of the Code was in play is not clear. The letter suggests Josh disrupted the class, but the reference to “inappropriate gestures” involving food can only mean he was also charged with a pastry-based-weapons violation. The Code defines “other weapons” as:
Todd Walker is married to the lovely Dirt Road Girl, proud father and grandfather, a government school teacher, a lover of the primal lifestyle and liberty. You can check out his website at Survival Sherpa with a vision of helping each other on the climb to self-reliance and preparedness…the Survival Sherpa way…One step at a time. Follow him on Twitter. Send him mail: survivalsherpa@gmail.com
A report on Channel 10 News (Israel) states that President Obama intends to use his next meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss a strike on Iran.
“I have conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu all the time. And I understand and share Prime Minister Netanyahu’s insistence that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon, because it would threaten us, it would threaten Israel, and it would threaten the world and kick off a nuclear arms race,”
President Obama said during an interview on the television program 60 Minutes last year, but not before adding that he’ll continue to block “noise” from Netanyahu’s camp. Obama said recently:
“Now I feel an obligation, not pressure but obligation, to make sure that we’re in close consultation with the Israelis — on these issues. Because it affects them deeply. They’re one of our closest allies in the region. And we’ve got an Iranian regime that has said horrible things that directly threaten Israel’s existence,”
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
Sunspot AR1682 is the most likely to throw off an M class flare which NOAA estimate a 15% chance of, with a 0.1% chance of an X class from the same area.
A coronal hole is sending a charged wind towards the Earth and the possibility for vivid auroras to occur on 2-3rd March is high.
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
While headline stories about averting the dangers of an international “currency war” dominated news coverage of the recently concluded G20 meeting in Moscow, the real unreported story is that the global gathering of central bankers and finance ministers is pushing forward with their plan for “supersizing” the International Monetary Fund.
The end goal is to transform the IMF into a global Federal Reserve, with the ability to flood the world with huge new volumes of loans and currency. It would also wield vast financial regulatory powers.
The IMF’s unit of account, or “currency,” known as a Special Drawing Right (SDR), is being readied for eventual adoption as the replacement for the U.S. dollar in international transactions, to lead the way toward eventual adoption of the SDR or some other designated unit as the global currency, much in the same way that the euro was foisted upon the people of Europe as a replacement of their national currencies.
The mainstream media seem intent on keeping the public fixated on the latest Kardashian frolics, sportsmania, and Dremocrat-Republican political mudwrestling, while coverage of the G7, G20, and IMF confabs that are determining the economic fate of the world receive short shrift.
And the little reporting of these events that does leak out usually amounts to little more than regurgitation of the pre-scripted talking points of the conference principals.
Over the past four years, The New American has published numerous articles detailing the radical plans currently underway for the total destruction of the dollar and the plans for supersizing the IMF into a global Fed. (See the linked stories at the bottom of this article).
Virtually unreported was IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde’s comments at the close of the G20 Moscow summit on February 16 that she expected the IMF members to come through soon with the remaining funds necessary to double the IMF’s funds.
Unknown to most voters and taxpayers the world over is the fact that their governments’ finance ministers agreed at theG20’s Korea meeting in 2010 to increase the “quotas” (contributions) of each member to the IMF, effectively doubling the IMF’s SDR assets to about $US 750 billion.
The IMF has also benefited immensely from another set of recent innovations that have received almost zero news coverage: the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) and the General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB).
Once activated, the IMF reports, the NAB “can provide supplementary resources of up to SDR 370.0 billion (about $567 billion) to the IMF.”
“The potential amount of credit available to the IMF under the GAB totals SDR 17 billion (about $26 billion),” says the same IMF web page.
With our national budget now being measured in trillions of dollars, the merehundreds of billions of dollars the IMF is bandying about may no longer seem as impressive as it once might have.
However, the IMF has much grander visions; this is just the start. As we reported previously, the IMF’s Christine Lagrande in February 2012 called for a trillion dollar “firewall,” including a European Stability Mechanism (ESM) for bailing out the collapsing economies of Europe’s socialist regimes.
Finance ministers, including then U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, all took to chatting up the supposed necessity of the emergency “firewall.” As we reported at the time, acceding to these calls would be the equivalent of “giving even more matches and gasoline to the arsonists who have already burned through trillions of dollars in ‘quantitative easing’ and ‘stimulus’ funds.”
Following the Fed’s Example
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (shown above) told the Moscow G20 conference that the Fed would continue its inflationary policy of creating colossal sums of new digital dollars out of thin air, otherwise known as “quantitative easing.”
The Fed under Bernanke has expanded assets to a record exceeding $3 trillion and pushed down the benchmark interest rate close to zero….
The Fed last month affirmed a plan to buy $85 billion per month in bonds, seeking to foster growth and reduce a 7.9 percent jobless rate.
“We believe that by strengthening the U.S. economy we are helping to strengthen the global economy as well,” Bernanke told the G20 ministers, according to Bloomberg. “The Federal Reserve continues to provide accommodative monetary policy in our effort to foster maximum employment and price stability,” Bernanke said.
We believe that the world has reached a turning point as the corporate funded and controlled mainline media has become obsolete as humans are now seeking the truth. Intellihub.com™ strives and will continue to uphold it’s duties to inform humanity of what is really taking place in the world around them. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
The whole world is a battlefield for the U.S. war machine and the Internet is its new favorite weapon.
Anonymous officials in the U.S. government leaked today that it is set to go on the offensive in the cyberwar against China in retaliation for alleged state-run cyberattacks against U.S. interests.
The Associated Press reports that the US is ready to strike back against China:
As public evidence mounts that the Chinese military is responsible for stealing massive amounts of U.S. government data and corporate trade secrets, the Obama administration is eyeing fines and other trade actions it may take against Beijing or any other country guilty of cyberespionage.
According to officials familiar with the plans, the White House will lay out a new report Wednesday that suggests initial, more-aggressive steps the U.S. would take in response to what top authorities say has been an unrelenting campaign of cyberstealing linked to the Chinese government. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the threatened action.
Even if we are to assume what the anonymous officials are saying is true, where’s the proof?
The supposed paper of record the New York Timesbroke the story yesterday that cyber attacks appearing to originate in China came from a building occupied by China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Unit 61398.
NYT writes:
A growing body of digital forensic evidence — confirmed by American intelligence officials who say they have tapped into the activity of the army unit for years — leaves little doubt that an overwhelming percentage of the attacks on American corporations, organizations and government agencies originate in and around the white tower.
As warlike tensions mount with China, it can’t be ignored that the very same paper of record ran false “weapons of mass destruction” stories to push for war in Iraq. Those, too, were famously planted by anonymous officials and experts close to the “evidence”.
This latest evidence inciting a more-aggressive response from the U.S. comes from a report put together by the computer security firm Mandiant. Mandiant has been called “The Go-To Security Firm” for cyber attacks. Their $100 million in revenue is up 76% from last year and they count 30 percent of the Fortune 100 as clients — conveniently including The New York Times who sought their help during its supposed hacking by China.
Mandiant’s report on China concludes; ”Either Unit 61398 is responsible for the persistent attacks or they are being done by a secret organization of Chinese speakers with direct access to the Shanghai telecommunications infrastructure who are engaged in a multi-year espionage campaign being run right outside the military unit’s gates.”
Some are saying it’s an attack bigger than September 11th. “I call it cyberterrorism that makes 9/11 pale in comparison,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich), told NBC News. But what evidence and damages can be proven that can compare with the devastation and death on 9/11?
In an effort to provide compelling evidence Mandiant produces a video that shows, as a private security company, their creepy ability to completely shadow internet users:
This all appears very damning for China and these alleged hackers but it begs the questions, how is Mandiant allowed to spy on Internet users so thoroughly? Do they have the authority to do that to Americans? Who gave them this authority and with what oversight?
And as a final observation, this video can be easily staged with another compliant actor instead of a genuine hacker threat. It really proves nothing, just like Scooter Libby’s fake Yellow-Cake-from-Niger document proved nothing when NYT’s Judith Miller printed it, but it still led to war.
This new threat is clearly being used for several purposes. First, it serves to justify Obama’s urgency in bypassing Congress by signing his cybsecurity executive order. Second,.it comes right when the privacy-killing cybersecurity legislation CISPA is headed to the Senate for another contentious vote after having failed in two previous attempts. Third, it warrants expanding cyber surveillance contracts to Mandiant and others, and increases in U.S. Cyber Command personnel.
For some advantageous lawmakers like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) it requires global governance for the Internet to police these threats. Feinstein told the AP that “the report reinforces the need for international agreements that prohibit cybercrimes and have a workable enforcement mechanism.”
Clearly there is an agenda of controlling the Internet working in the background of these threats. And given the government’s history of lying to get us into wars that only benefit the military-industrial complex, I remain skeptical of the severity of the cyber threat.
However, the establishment is taking this quite seriously and it may lead to a cyberwar if not outright war.
So it seems Americans should be asking the most obvious question: What is Congress’ role in overseeing cyberwars?
If Obama is set to take “more-aggressive steps” in an escalating cyberwar with China including offensive action, then it seems that the War Powers Clause of the U.S. Constitution which vests in the Congress the power to declare war comes into play.
Perhaps I’m just speaking into the wilderness since the executive branch has been ignoring this clause for decades. However, it would be nice to know whether the people’s representatives (sic) have any say in who we declare cyberwar on because any type of war can quickly lead to bullets and bombs.
Today’s sunspot number is 26, again very low for this point in the cycle. There are no coronal holes and therefore at this point there is no solar wind blowing towards the Earth. NASA estimate the possibility of M class storms at 0.5% and an class at 0.1%
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
Home
RSS Feed
Newsletter
Bookmark Us
Facebook
Twitter
