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Commandos in the Streets Pentagon Reveals "Granite Shadow" Operations
(William Arkin, Washington Post, September 25, 2005)
Today, somewhere in the DC metropolitan area, the military is conducting a highly classified Granite Shadow "demonstration." . . . Granite Shadow is yet another new Top Secret and compartmented operation related to the military’s extra-legal powers regarding weapons of mass destruction. It allows for emergency military operations in the United States without civilian supervision or control. . . . A spokesman at the Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region (JFHQ-NCR) confirmed the existence of Granite Shadow to me yesterday, but all he would say is that Granite Shadow is the unclassified name for a classified plan. . . . That classified plan, I believe, after extensive research and after making a couple of assumptions, is CONPLAN 0400, formally titled Counter-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Concept Plan (CONPLAN) 0400 is a long-standing contingency plan of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) that serves as the umbrella for military efforts to counter the spread of weapons of mass destruction. It has extensively been updated and revised since 9/11. . . . U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), the military's new homeland security command [where our Beloved Dictator watched Rita come ashore], is preparing its draft version of CONPLAN 0400 for military operations in the United States, and the resulting Granite Shadow plan has been classified above Top Secret by adding a Special Category (SPECAT) compartment restricting access. . . . The sensitivities, according to military sources, include deployment of "special mission units" (the so-called Delta Force, SEAL teams, Rangers, and other special units of Joint Special Operations Command) in Washington, DC and other domestic hot spots. NORTHCOM has worked closely with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), as well as the secret branches of non-military agencies and departments to enforce "unity of command" over any post 9/11 efforts. . . . Further, Granite Shadow posits domestic military operations, including intelligence collection and surveillance, unique rules of engagement regarding the use of lethal force, the use of experimental non-lethal weapons, and federal and military control of incident locations that are highly controversial and might border on the illegal. . . . Granite Shadow and CONPLAN 0400 lays out contingencies where the military is in the lead. . . . Both plans seem to live behind a veil of extraordinary secrecy because military forces operating under them have already been given a series of ''special authorities'' by the President and the secretary of defense. These special authorities include, presumably, military roles in civilian law enforcement and abrogation of State's powers in a declared or perceived emergency. . . . There's still time. The full-scale exercise of Granite Shadow's capabilities and procedures doesn’t start until April 2006.

. . . Read more!

posted by LoZo 10:09 AM

 

National Security Agency tracks Internet users
(WorldNetDaily, September 25, 2005)
Top secret group applies for patent to ID physical address of Web surfers . . . Internet users hoping to protect their privacy by using anti-virus software, Web anonymizers, false identities and disabled cookies on their computer's Web browser have something new to worry about – a patent filed by the National Security Agency (NSA) for technology that will identify the physical location of any Web surfer. . . . Patent 6,947,978, granted this week, describes a process based on latency, or time lag between computers exchanging data, of "numerous" known locations on the Internet to build a "network latency topology map" for all users. Identifying the physical location of an individual user, reports CNET News.com, could then be accomplished by measuring how long it takes to connect to an unknown computer from numerous known machines, and using the latency response to display location on a map. . . . knowing how long it takes for a signal to travel to a location and back is not sufficient to identify it's location. But knowing the latency of the entire system at a given moment and the latency for a specific computer provides a means of knowing relative locations, however fast or slow the Internet is operating. . . . While most users are unaware of it, their computers are able to "ping" website addresses to trace the route their connection took and how much time was required to complete the operation. Likewise other computer users – hackers, for example – can ping their computer as well when connected to the Internet. It is this feature that the NSA's patent seeks to exploit. . . . The agency has come under fire in the past for spying on American citizens. In the 1970s, the agency was forced to admit that it had used its eavesdropping equipment against Jane Fonda and other anti-Vietnam War activists. The revelation led to a 1978 law banning spying by the agency on U.S. citizens and resident aliens anywhere [which NSA has completely ignored].

. . . Read more!

posted by LoZo 8:15 AM

 

Leading America Into the Next Slaughter
(Michael Ruppert, From The Wilderness, September 6, 2005)
Beware America. Beware . . . If we're to follow the current media line, the litany of errors and deliberate, callous decision making which has cost so many lives with Katrina is to be blamed solely upon the White House. It is now a virtual certainty that a Democrat will be placed there in 2008 . . . What we now see emerging clearly is that the Democrats will make it a major plank in their platform that FEMA's budget will be enormously expanded, along with its authority to act independently in a "crisis." The poor, dispossessed and fearful will likely cheer for and demand these steps without having the slightest clue what they are asking for. . . . COG is what will happen if Congress is nuked, if a major catastrophe makes "normal" government operations impossible, or if there is major civil unrest (or total economic collapse). Much of FEMA's infrastructure is really dedicated to this task and not to disaster relief. The COG function and authority has been greatly expanded since 9/11. . . . If this thinking is not curtailed, then as the economic collapse of the United States becomes ever harder to conceal, FEMA will have been given a green light to impose the most draconian and heartless of measures in our country. FEMA will have the ability to divide the US up into ten autonomous regions, independently governed. . . . FEMA will have the authority to confiscate any private property, food, medicine, personal vehicles, water supplies and even to impress citizens into forced labor and relocation as needed. FEMA will be able to override all local governments in a declared national emergency, quarantine neighborhoods and compel people to receive untested (for efficacy) vaccinations of drugs which may be dangerous (remember the smallpox vaccines?) and which will only enrich the pharmaceutical companies. FEMA will have the authority to confiscate firearms and gold held by private individuals. The government records proving what I say here are available in abundance and have been widely circulated over the internet for years. The little that remains of our Bill of Rights will simply cease to exist with a Code Red terror alert or another Katrina. And global warming makes another Katrina somewhere inevitable. . . . In short, what is being set up here is a massive, misguided and stupid effort to take convenient retribution for Katrina in a way that only ensures the more rapid demise of this once great nation. Do not put the blame on FEMA or believe that giving FEMA more money and power will solve anything. Too many of the bad decisions which cost lives in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama were made at the White House, probably by Dick Cheney who has yet to make a public appearance. Condi's been too busy shopping for $7,000 shoes in New York to do anything. . . . The poor, distressed, homeless people out there, the ones who have lost families, all physical belongings and, in some cases, their sanity, are vulnerable and exploitable and they will continue to be so for years. We cannot afford to let them - and all of us - be sold out one more time in Katrina's wake. American collapse will be evident soon enough. Simply throwing money and power at FEMA, without at the same time addressing the corruption, depravity and outright evil that has become official Washington is probably more dangerous than Katrina was and I sure hope we don’t have to find that out.

. . . Read more!

posted by LoZo 5:56 PM