Paranoia Part II: Facecrime

One of the commenters on Felicia's Facebook post concerning part one of this post pointed out a post from Infowars, ironically posted today, about a program that was shown to the military and law enforcement groups that would scan email, phone calls, and social networking websites looking for persons who resent the government. It supposedly psychologically analyzes either your writing style or your voice stress patterns/words in order to identify people who show signs of harboring resentment about the government in order to identify people for further surveillance as a potential terrorist. The Brit who wrote the program feels such resentment is a sign of mental illness, and obviously those who this program identifies are probably in need of "mental health assistance". probably not unlike the way the Soviets "helped" those who felt resentment against the state. Just remember, Orwell's Airstrip One used to be Britain....

If this does not scare the crap out of you. I really don't know what will.

Paranoia

I've been told I am a bit paranoid. But I have learned something this morning that gives me real pause. I was just perusing my site stats and ran across a visit from the United States Army Information Systems Command. This is the group tasked with monitoring "chatter" in the internet. The google search string that led them to my blog was "Southern Tragedy". For those of you who don't know, ST is a good friend of mine and a longtime reader, not just here but from the old Lone Star times days. She is very active in the Tea Party. I texted Felicia Cravens and she looked at her stats on the Tea Party Website and discovered something equally disturbing. a similar hit from the same group, looking for Felicia Cravens. Below are the two site stat captures:

Mine:

VISITOR ANALYSIS
Referrer	http://www.google.com/search?q=%E2%80%9CSouthernTragedy%22%2C houston&hl=en&sa=2
Search Engine Phrase	“SouthernTragedy", houston
Search Engine Name	Google
Search Engine Host	www.google.com
Host Name	gnwk91h.nwk.usace.army.mil
IP Address	155.77.2.253 [Label IP Address]
Country	United States
Region	Kansas
City	Kansas City
ISP	Headquarters, Usaisc
Returning Visits	0
Visit Length	0 seconds
VISITOR SYSTEM SPECS
Browser	IE 7.0
Operating System	WinXP
Resolution	Unknown
Javascript	Enabled

Navigation Path

Date	Time	Type	WebPage
September 30th 2010	07:22:08 AM	Page View	www.google.com/search?q=%E2%80%9CSouthernTragedy%22%2C houston&hl=en&sa=2 redinktexas.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html

and Felicia's:

Domain Name		army.mil ? (Military)
IP Address		155.77.2.# (United States Army Corps of Engineers)
ISP		United States Army Corps of Engineers
Location		Continent : North America Country : United States (Facts) State : Kansas City : Kansas City Lat/Long : 39.1111, -94.6904 (Map)
Language		English (U.S.) en-us
Operating System		Microsoft WinXP
Browser		Internet Explorer 7.0 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; MS-RTC LM 8; InfoPath.2)
Javascript		version 1.3
Monitor		Resolution : 1920 x 1200 Color Depth : 32 bits
Time of Visit		Sep 30 2010 7:26:59 am
Last Page View		Sep 30 2010 7:26:59 am
Visit Length		0 seconds
Page Views		1
Referring URL		http://www.google.co...icia cravens&spell=1
Search Engine		google.com
Search Words		felicia cravens
Visit Entry Page		http://houstontps.org/
Visit Exit Page		http://houstontps.org/
Out Click
Time Zone		UTC-6:00
Visitor's Time		Sep 30 2010 7:26:59 am
Visit Number		146,995

Now remember a while back when they were making noises about the Tea Party being a domestic terrorist group? Also remember that Obama has issued an executive order regarding assassination of US Citizens? And here we have a group tasked with monitoring terrorists on the internet looking for two people I know to be active in the tea party movement.

I'm connecting dots here and I'm not liking the picture I'm seeing develop one bit.

Myrtus

There has been much speculation recently that the Stuxnet worm that has been mainly infecting Seimens PLC's and SCADA networks in the Far and Middle East and South Asia regions was in fact a directed attack on Iran's nuclear program. Ralph Langner, a German Industrial controls specialist, decoded and disassembled the payload of the Stuxnet worm which used flaws in Windows to propagate a destructive payload to control PLC's which were being controlled by the Windows based SCADA network. He found that the program looked for specific segments of code in specific data blocks and attempted to disrupt the process controlled by that code by swapping out the code and hiding that the swap occurred from the operator. It did this by inserting the malware into the operating system EEPROM of the PLC. essentially this was the first known instance of a rootkit being used on a PLC. Up until recently this was assumed to be the work of either the US or Israel, mainly based on who would stand to benefit from the attack.

Now there would appear to be another clue to it's origins. Researchers have found that the project was named Myrtus, and one of it's processes was named Guava. Myrtus is the name of the genus of Guava plants, and myrtles, cloves and eucalyptus trees among others. Myrtus is also very close to and is an allusion to the Hebrew word for Esther.

Now here is where things start sounding plausible. In the Book of Esther, palace intrigue in the court of Xerxes By Esther, woman who was taken by Xerxes as one of his wives and who is secretly Jewish, thwarts an attempted Jewish genocide.

From the Wikipedia article on the Book of Esther:

The book commences with a feast organized by Ahasuerus (Xerxes), initially for his court and dignitaries and afterwards for all inhabitants of Shushan. Ahasuerus orders his wife Vashti to display her beauty before the guests. She refuses. Ahasuerus removes her as queen. Ahasuerus then orders all "beautiful young girls to be presented to him, so he can choose a new queen to replace Vashti. One of these is Esther, who had no parents and is being fostered by her cousin Mordechai. She finds favor in the king's eyes, and is made his new wife. Esther does not reveal that she is Jewish. Shortly afterwards, Mordechai discovers a plot by courtiers Bigthan and Teresh to assassinate Ahasuerus. They are apprehended and executed, and Mordechai's service to the king is recorded.

Ahasuerus appoints Haman as his prime minister. Mordechai, who sits at the palace gates, falls into Haman's disfavor as he refuses to bow down to him. Having found out that Mordechai is Jewish, Haman plans to kill not just Mordechai but all the Jews in the empire. He obtains Ahasuerus' permission to execute this plan, against payment of ten thousand talents of silver, and he casts lots to choose the date on which to do this—the thirteenth of the month of Adar. When Mordechai finds out about the plans he orders fasting. Mordechai informs Esther what has happened and tells her to intercede with the King. She is afraid to break the law and go to the King unsummoned. This action would incur the death penalty. Mordechai tells her that she must. She requests that all Jews fast and pray for three days together with her, and on the third day she goes to Ahasuerus, who stretches out his sceptre to her which shows that she is not to be punished. She invites him to a feast in the company of Haman. During the feast, she asks them to attend a further feast the next evening. Meanwhile, Haman is again offended by Mordechai and builds a gallows for him. That night, Ahasuerus suffers from insomnia, and when the court's records are read to him to help him sleep, he learns of the services rendered by Mordechai in the previous plot against his life. Ahasuerus is told that Mordechai has not received any recognition for saving the king's life. Just then, Haman appears, and King Ahasuerus asks Haman what should be done for the man that he wishes to honor. Thinking that the man that the king wishes to honor is himself, Haman says that the man should be dressed in the king's royal robes and led around on the king's royal horse, while a herald calls: "See how the king honours a man he wishes to reward!" To his horror, the king instructs Haman to do so to Mordechai.

Later that evening, Ahasuerus and Haman attend Esther's second banquet, at which she reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman is planning to exterminate her people, including her. Overcome by rage, Ahasuerus leaves the room; meanwhile Haman stays behind and begs Esther for his life, falling upon her in desperation. The king comes back in at this moment and thinks Haman is assaulting the queen; this makes him angrier than before and he orders Haman impaled on the stake that had been prepared for Mordechai. The previous decree against the Jews cannot be annulled, but the king allows the Jews to defend themselves during attacks. As a result, on 13 Adar, five hundred attackers and Haman's ten sons are killed in Shushan, followed by a Jewish slaughter of seventy-five thousand Persians, although they took no plunder. Mordechai assumes a prominent position in Ahasuerus' court, and institutes an annual commemoration of the delivery of the Jewish people from annihilation.

So the project and process names refer to an Old Testament story of a Jewish genocide thwarted by palace intrigue. I can certainly see the parallels...

Jessie's Girl

Why is it that this song comes to mind when I read this story?

Probably because of this....

A Telling Admission

Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder are currently suing Arizona over the passage of HB1070. The Feds claim that they and they alone have the right and power to enforce immigration laws. But yesterday when Governor Rick Perry requested that Janet Napolitano send more than the piddling 350 National Guard troops that the Feds have sent to the border he was informed that the Feds feel they are doing enough and Napolitano reminded Rick Perry that he had the power to send troops himself at the State of Texas' expense. This is a telling admission. Napolitano just admitted that the States have the right to enforce immigration law. That undermines the Fed's argument in the Arizona case. As was pointed out by a number of the commenters. Funny how the professional journalists didn't pick up on that.

Faces of Corruption: Eleanor Holmes Norton D-DC

Meet Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC. Seems she called up a lobbyist and requested a campaign donation a couple weeks ago, but the lobbyist was not in at the time so she left a voice mail. In the voice mail message it would appear that she is implying that if the lobbyist were to make a campaign donation, she would be in a position to influence things to the benefit of the lobbyist and/or his or her clients. This is skirting very close to (and may in fact be over) the line of soliciting a bribe.

Faces of Corruption: Rick Boucher D-Va

Meet Rick Boucher, D-Virginia. On 11/11/2009, he purchased a Ford Edge from Bostic Ford for $29,352. How do I know this? He purchased the vehicle with campaign funds and duly reported it on his campaign expendiature reports. He drives this vehicle everywhere. How exactly is this not self-enrichment with campaign funds?

HT Redstate and Not Larry Sabato

It's a BFD!

Washington DC Fears Next Unemployment Wave

Oh, they don't care if YOU or your neighbors, friends or loved ones are unemployed! Oh no! They fear that THEY might be unemployed!

Fear is a good thing! It warns you for instance when you are about to stick your male reproductive bits into a meat grinder. Unfortunately for them, and us, in DC, the nerve impulses are a bit slow...

Faces of Corruption: Sanford Bishop D-Ga

Yet another member of the CBC has been found to have been shunting scholarship money to relatives, Sanford Bishop of Georgia directed scholarships to both his stepdaughter and his wife's niece between 2003 and 2005. He claims that the nepotism rule didn't take effect until 2008 but that claim does not pass muster.

Stephen Broden for CD-30: He is Worthy

Faces Of Corruption: An update.

Dallas Morning News notes that Edie Bernice Johnson sent letters to the CBC, directing that the scholarship monies be sent directly to her grandchildren and grand nephews, and not to the schools they were attending, to the tune of $31,000. Again violating the rules of the foundation issuing the checks. This flies in the face of her continued insistence that she had nothing to do with scholarship selection issues and that her aides handled all of that, because the letters bear HER signature, in HER handwriting.

Ms. Johnson has an opponent in the upcoming race for CD-30, I suggest you take a look at him.

The Dangers of Computerized Medical Records

For years, gun owners have understood the dangers of gun permit databases. We have understood that such a database can be used to identify guns in the event that the powers that be decide that they no longer trust the populace with guns and decide to confiscate them. So far we've been lucky, nobody has trolled CHL databases or NICS databases or Gun Permit databases to confiscate them...yet.

But now the government has opened a new front on the attack on personal freedom and privacy. Part of the Obamacare bill mandated the creation and use of a national electronic medical records database that would be accessible by any medical provider at any time from any place. That alone should have scared you to the core, but just in case it did not, now the North Carolina Sheriffs are demanding access to your prescription records. They want the names and addresses of every person that has ever been prescribed a Schedule IV narcotic. Additionally they want the names of doctors who prescribe them and the names of pharmacies that fill them. Why? Well the stated purpose is to crack down on the illegal use of prescription painkillers. But what they are missing is any presumption of innocence, or any right to privacy, which violates both the fifth as well as the fourteenth amendments. Disclosing this data to non-medical personnel is a violation of HIPAA, as well as the legal precept of doctor/patient privilege.

If this happens, what is next? The names of people who have contracted HIV or other STD's (because they obviously work in or partake of the sex trade)? The names of people with high cholesterol and triglycerides (because they obviously can't stop eating fatty foods and are running the costs of health care up)? People with emphysema (because they obviously smoke)? People with high levels of lead in their system (because they obviously handle ammunition a lot)?

Where does it end? Hopefully here and now before it is too late.

Why I am thankful to live in Texas

Sunday night in Uniondale NY, on Long Island, a man and his cousin were confronted by 5 gangmembers in his driveway, he runs inside his house, grabs his AK-47S, tells his wife to call the cops and goes back outside where his cousin is still being harrassed by the gangbangers. They are told to leave, they decline to leave and instead commence to start saying things like "you are dead" and "we are gonna kill your family" and other terms of endearment, about that time 20 more gangbangers come around the corner to assist their comrades. Instead of leaving 25 dead gangbangers on his lawn as he truly should have, he fires four warning shots into the dirt. Personally that is four rounds he might have needed if you ask me. But within minutes the cops arrive and they arrest the homeowner, no not for the gun, that was legal, but for reckless endangerment. Yes, the Nassau County Police arrested the homeowner for protecting himself.

In Texas, at night, if someone is on your property and you feel that your life is in danger, you have the legal right to blow their shit away (Texas penal code section 9.41 and 9.42). There is none of this proportional force crap, or "duty to retreat" (Section 9.21) crap here. This guy needs the Joe Horn Medal if you ask me.

Paging Captain Obvious!

Fidel Castro has had an epiphany, Cuba's Communist Economic model does not work!

Whoda thunk?

Quick! Somebody better tell Hugo Chavez....

Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings today on Firearms Regulation UPDATE! This is a good thing!

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Apparently they didn't read this very closely...

UPDATE:
Apparently they did in fact read it closer than I thought, closer than I read the hearing notice in fact because the notice is for NEXT week, not this week. Mea Culpa.

Anyway, these hearings are in response to a Senate bill S.941 (and it's house companion HR. 2296) which aims to reform the BATFE.

Some of the provisions in the bill:

· Clarify the standard for “willful” violations—allowing penalties for intentional, purposeful violations of the law, but not for simple paperwork mistakes.

· Improve the process for imposing penalties, notably by allowing FFLs to appeal BATFE penalties to a neutral administrative law judge, rather than to an employee of BATFE itself.

· Allow a licensee a period of time to liquidate inventory when he goes out of business. During this period, all firearms sold would be subject to a background check by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

· Allow a grace period for people taking over an existing firearms business to correct problems in the business’s records—so if a person inherited a family gun store (for example), the new owner couldn’t be punished for the previous owner’s recordkeeping violations.

· Reform the procedures for consideration of federal firearms license applications. Under S. 941, denial of an application would require notification to the applicant, complete with reasons for the denial. Additionally, an applicant would be allowed to provide supplemental information and to have a hearing on the application.

· Require BATFE to establish clear investigative guidelines.

· Clarify the licensing requirement for gunsmiths, distinguishing between repair and other gunsmith work and manufacture of a firearm. This would stop BATFE from arguing that minor gunsmithing or refinishing activities require a manufacturers’ license.

· Eliminate a provision of the Youth Handgun Safety Act that requires those under 18 to have written permission to use a handgun for lawful purposes (such as competitive shooting or safety training)—even when the parent or guardian is present.

· Permanently ban creation of a centralized electronic index of out of business dealers’ records—a threat to gun owners’ privacy that Congress has barred through appropriations riders for more than a decade.

· Allow importation and transfer of new machine guns by firearm and ammunition manufacturers for use in developing or testing firearms and ammunition, and training customers. In particular, ammunition manufacturers fulfilling government contracts need to ensure that their ammunition works reliably. S. 941 and H.R. 2296 would also provide for the transfer and possession of new machine guns by professional film and theatrical organizations.

· Repeal the Brady Act’s “interim” waiting period provisions, which expired in 1998.

· Give BATFE sole responsibility for receiving reports of multiple handgun sales. (Currently, dealers also have to report multiple sales to state or local agencies, a requirement that has shown little or no law enforcement value.) State and local agencies could receive these reports upon request to BATFE, but would have to comply strictly with current requirements to destroy these records after 20 days, unless the person buying the guns turns out to be prohibited from receiving firearms.

· Restore a policy that allowed importation of barrels, frames and receivers for non-importable firearms, when they can be used as repair or replacement parts.

You can read more about these bills here.

H/T The Virginia Citizen's Defense League.

News Flash! It's about the quality of life stupid!

Earlier in the week, an email meme from an unnamed blogger among a group of bloggers we all hang out with noted that the Chronicle editorial board seems to have a hang-up about Houston and how it compares to "world class" cities like NYC. He noted the following line in this story by Mike Tolson about traffic congestion:

What the city lacks in charm, scenery and sites of historical interest, it makes up in hours spent behind the wheel.

And he asked us if we had noted how the Chronicle was so down on the city itself. We all replied that yes, we've noted that for quite some time, and that it was a sort of running joke among us. The endless quest for the Editorial board to turn Houston into NYC or some "world class" semblance of same.

Well, not everybody thinks that is such a good idea.... (language warning)

Ok, so it is the satire site "The Onion", but satire is only effective when there is a germ of truth to it. I'd submit that there is more than a little truth to be found here.

Yet another Obama Gun Ban

There are about 850,000 M1's and M1 Carbines that are in South Korea's inventory. They were given to South Korea during the Korean War by the US Military. South Korea would like to re-import them back to the US and sell them as Antique and Curio firearms. Since they were given to the South Korean Government by the US Government, the re-importation must be approved by the State Dept. Originally that approval had been given, but it has since been withdrawn and nobody will say why. If you ask the State Dept, they refer you to BATFE, if you ask BATFE they refer you to the Justice Dept., if you ask the Justice Dept, they refer you back to the State Dept. 'Round and round and round the finger pointing goes... but nobody will give an actual reason for the re-importation ban. And the State Department spokesman's comments, that they are looking for alternative means of "disposing" of the weapons would imply that they are wanting to destroy the weapons instead of allowing them to be sold. These weapons are of strong historical value and are highly prized by collectors as a result. These are also the types of weapons sold through the Civilian Marksmanship Program of the Department of Defense.

Connecting the Dots: The coming Obama crime wave

Doug Ross, is usually pretty snarky, but today he posts a very serious, non-snarky post that hits on themes I have commented upon before but then he goes and makes a prediction: That the current increases in welfare entitlement programs are priming the pump for an unprecedented crime wave in about 12 years or so. And for the life of me, I can find no flaw in his logic.

Here is the executive summary:

• Fact: There are a record number of Americans dependent upon government anti-poverty programs thanks to the Obama Democrats
• Fact: Expanded access to welfare and food stamps greatly increases the number of children born to unwed mothers
• Fact: Single-parent families correlate to higher crime rates
• Conclusion: with the unprecedented increase in welfare, food stamps and unemployment, we will also see an unparalleled increase in violent crime within the next dozen or so years.