Posts Tagged Internet, Privacy & Communications
10 sobering realizations the Eastern U.S. power grid failure is teaching us about a real collapse
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News, Prepping & Off The Grid Living on July 1, 2012
via: NaturalNews
Sunday, July 01, 2012
by Mike Adams
Editor of NaturalNews.com
[NaturalNews] In the wake of violent storms, the power remains out today for millions of Americans across several U.S. states. Governors of Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio have declared a state of emergency. Over a dozen people are now confirmed dead, and millions are sweltering in blistering temperatures while having no air conditioning or refrigeration. As their frozen foods melt into processed goo, they’re waking up to a few lessons that we would all be wise to remember.
See some shocking photos of recent weather events, including a trampoline strung over power lines at:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/shocking-images-follow-sup…
Here are 10 hard lessons we’re all learning (or re-learning, as the case may be) as we watch this situation unfold:
#1) The power grid is ridiculously vulnerable to disruptions and failure
All it takes is Mother Nature unleashing a little wind storm, and entire human cities are cut off from their power grid. Wind and trees, in other words, can destroy in seconds what takes humans years to construct.
#2) Without electricity, acquiring food and water in a major U.S. city can become a difficult task
Right now, masses of people across the Eastern U.S. are scrambling to try to find food and water. Fortunately for them, malls and gas stations are open, providing (processed) food, water and air conditioning. That’s because the power outages are fragmented, affecting some neighborhoods but not others.
In a total grid down scenario, food and water supplies in a given U.S. city will disappear almost overnight. It’s much the same for gasoline, batteries and even ammunition. All these supplies (and many more) will simply be stripped from the shelves.
#3) Most people are simply not prepared and therefore worsen any crisis
The average American citizen practices zero preparedness. They are 100% dependent on the power grid, the city water supply, and long-distance food deliveries to their grocery store. They have no backup plans, no stored food, no emergency mindset and no hope of surviving a real crisis. All they know to do is call 911 when something goes wrong… and 911 simply won’t be there.
As a result, their lack of preparedness worsens any crisis. Instead of being part of the solution, these people become a burden on all the emergency services and supplies desperately needed across the region.
Hilariously, today’s city goers actually consider malls and movie theaters to be places of refuge. As Fox News reported today, “On Saturday, many people flocked to places like malls and movie theaters in the hope the lights would be on again when they returned home.” (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/01/millions-without-power-brace-for…)
#4) Cell phones are a fragile technology that can’t be counted on in an emergency
One of the more interesting observations about the current crisis is that many cell phone towers are out of service. That’s because they have no electricity and / or they have been damaged by wind or debris.
As a result, people who depend on cell phones for their lifeline to friends, relatives and 911 emergency services were suddenly left with non-functioning devices. Even in areas where cell phone towers were still operating, many people had no place to charge their phones because their own homes were cut off from electricity.
When the grid is up, and there are no storms, solar flares or disruptions, cell phones are truly amazing devices, but they are vulnerable to even small-scale natural events, and they therefore cannot be relied on when you need them most.
#5) The internet is wildly vulnerable to natural disasters
According to news reports, these storms took down a portion of the Amazon Cloud, and this in turn shut down Netflix, Pinterest and Instagram. Those services have now been restored, but they were offline for several hours during which many of their users no doubt thought the world was coming to an end.
#6) The government uses every crisis to try to tell everybody what to do
Consider this quote about the CDC telling people what to do:
“The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention was among many government agencies trying to keep people informed — from knowing when the food in your suddenly inoperable freezer can’t be eaten to taking a cool bath if you don’t have AC.” (http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/30/us/extreme-heat/index.html)
Seriously? Does the government have to tell people to take a cool bath in order to avoid overheating? Do people not know when food has spoiled? And even more strangely, is it now the role of the U.S. government to tell everybody what to do in every emergency?
Whatever happened to common sense? I can tell you what: It moved out to the country.
Out in the country of Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and just about everywhere else, ranchers and farmers still have common sense. They know about backup water supplies, and they can figure things out for themselves. It seems to be city people who need the most instructions from Washington D.C. because many of them have forgotten the fundamental skills of human survival. Their lives depend entirely on the grid.
#7) 911 and other emergency services are quickly overwhelmed
According to MSNBC:
In Washington’s northern Virginia suburbs, emergency 911 call centers were out of service; residents were told to call local police and fire departments. Huge trees toppled across streets in the nation’s capital, crumpling cars. Cellphone and Internet service was spotty, gas stations shut down and residents were urged to conserve water.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48032427/ns/weather/)
Fortunately, there have so far been no reports of outbreaks of violence or social unrest. But that’s a timing issue: If the power stays off for another few days, and food and water remain hard to come by, the “politeness” of society quickly erodes and you end up with desperate people doing desperate things. Calling 911 is, of course, completely useless. This is a scenario where home defense and self defense skills can truly be lifesaving.
Worst Proposed Internet laws of 2012
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Control Grid, News on March 23, 2012
NetChoice a coalition that includes big internet companies from Facebook to eBay released a list of the ten worst proposed internet regulations across the country. The list contains laws pertaining to everything from online dating to advertizing revenues. Check out some of our highlights.
McCain wants new SOPA
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Control Grid, News on March 8, 2012
RT
Mar 8, 2012
Top US officials, lawmakers and defense contractors are saying a cyber equivalent to Pearl Harboris coming soon. According to these individuals, a cyber-attack could potentiallywipe-out the country’s financial system and electrical grid. The Pentagon has announcedthat cyber-attacks will be met with military attacks and Senator John McCainhas introduced the Secure IT Act with hopes to monitor online users’ activity 24/7by private companies. So can the US withstand a massive cyber-attack and is theSecure IT bill necessary? Declan McCullagh, correspondent for CNet News, joins uswith more.
‘ACTA not over, people await Internet revolution’
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in News on March 8, 2012
Senior members of the notorious computer hacker group LulzSec, with ties to the Anonymous movement, have been arrested and charged with cyber-crimes by the FBI. The group is famous for attacking the websites of the CIA, FOX news and credit card companies, among others. The leader of the movement, however, has reportedly worked for the U.S. government following his arrest last year and is believed to have aided the arrest of his former colleagues. Human rights lawyer Katarzyna Szymielewicz says the arrests draw society’s attention back to the controversial anti-counterfeit trade pact.
YouTube Restricts Video Of Engineer Proving How Useless TSA Scanners Are
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Control Grid, News, Police State & Police Brutality, TSA on March 7, 2012
Man walked through radiation firing machines with metal objects knowing he would not be stopped
Infowars.com
Steve Watson
March 7, 2012
Google/YouTube has placed restrictions on yet another video that exposes the fraudulent claims of the TSA and highlights how the federal agency’s security theatre is part of a wider social manipulation agenda.
Engineer Jon Corbett of the popular blog TSA Out of Our Pants! posted a video yesterday that demonstrates how the TSA’s radiation firing body scanners can easily be bypassed.
The video shows Corbett carrying a metal case through the scanner, away from his body in his side pocket. Corbett explains that because metallic objects appear as black on the image the scanners produce, the machines do not pick up such objects if they are obscured by the background, which is also black.
Watch the video:
Corbett has been rallying against the TSA for some time and has had several run ins with agents at airports. Corbett was also the first person in the country to sue the TSA for invasion of privacy. His case is still ongoing and is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The scanners are now effectively worthless, as anyone can beat them with virtually no effort.” Corbett writes on his blog. “The TSA has been provided this video in advance of it being made public to give them an opportunity to turn off the scanners and revert to the metal detectors. I personally believe they now have no choice but to turn them off.” he adds.
Within hours of the video being uploaded, blogs and news sites, including Yahoo News and the Mail Online had begun to pick up an the video, saying it was sure to go viral.
Now, despite the fact that the video contains no nudity, violence, abuse or other explicit content, YouTube has placed it behind an age restriction wall, meaning anyone who wants to view it on YouTube has to login or sign up for an account and verify their age.
“This video is not intended to teach anyone how to commit criminal acts, nor is intended to help “the terrorists” — if I could figure this out, I’m sure they’ve long figured it out, and by exposing it to the public, we now have an opportunity to correct it.” Corbett writes on his blog.
This means that the video has been restricted for no reason other than the fact that it is critical of the TSA and the government.
Corbett also explains in the video that multiple experts have already pointed out that the scanners can be easily bypassed and are next to useless at detecting explosive material and even metallic objects, meaning that standard metal detectors are more effective than the costly and potentially health threatening radiation firing scanners that are being rolled out in greater numbers across the country.
The same type of censorship has previously been applied by YouTube to other videos that have been critical of the TSA.
Last month, Mike Adams of Natural News produced an animated video that highlighted how the TSA is using invasive enhanced pat downs, even on children, purely as a show of power and even a form of punishment for those opting out of the body scanners. Within hours the video had been restricted by YouTube.
Hackers arrested as their high-profile figurehead ‘turned informant’
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Big Brother, News on March 7, 2012
Editor’s Note: To those readers who are familiar with the term ‘controlled oposition’, a public figurehead of Anonymous and LulzSec has been revealed as a police informant who has apparently ratted out his other genuinely subversive hacker colleagues. One has to ask the question exactly how long were these groups infiltrated, or could they even been set-up to attract idealistic, highly skilled hackers – like bugs to a night-lite? Deception seems to fuel most modern paradigms which society is being presented in our 21st century media, increasing the importance of questioning everything.
Kevin Rawlinson
The Independent
March 6, 2012
Police have arrested five men, believed to be leading members of the so-called “hacktivist” groups Anonymous and LulzSec, amid reports their public figurehead turned informant and betrayed them to officers.
“Sabu”, the high profile hacker, identified as the leader of LulzSec and strongly linked to Anonymous, the groups allegedly responsible for attacks on Paypal and Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers – among others, is believed to have begun working for police after being arrested himself.
Reports on Fox News in America claim that his cooperation lead to the arrests of five members of the groups, two of them British. Ryan Ackroyd, aka high-ranking LulzSec member “Kayla” and Jake Davis, aka “Topiary,” who are both from London were among those arrested.
Darren Martyn, who uses the alias “pwnsauce” and Donncha O’Cearrbhail, who goes by the name “palladium”, both of Ireland were also arrested, along with Jeremy Hammond aka “Anarchaos,” from Chicago, in America.
ACTA in UK: 10 years in jail for a download?
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Control Grid, News on March 3, 2012
UK web surfers have caught a grim glimpse of the future with Internet users being threatened with 10 years in jail for “illegal downloading” after a prominent music file-sharing site was shut down shortly after Britain signed the notorious ACTA bill.
It is the first time such a move has been made against Internet users in the UK. The British government introduced regulations in 2009 enabling Internet providers to track users who downloaded illegal content from the web and disable their connection if warning letters had no effect. But signing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has brought the conflict to a whole new level.
In Europe, people are taking to the streets in protest at the contradictory Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, with some countries refusing to sign it. After hackers from the activist group Anonymous attacked practically all US government websites in retaliation, the authorities are now considering adopting their own home-grown anti-counterfeiting laws like PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) / SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).
Featured Articles Movies Infographics Gallery Media Polls Shop About Contact 19 SIGNS THAT AMERICA HAS BECOME A CRAZY CONTROL FREAK NATION WHERE ALMOST EVERYTHING IS ILLEGAL
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Big Brother, Control Grid, News on March 2, 2012
TruthTheory
by Michael Snyder
02 March 2012
Do you think that you are free? Most Americans would still probably answer “yes” to that question, but is that really the case?
In the film Edge of Darkness, Mel Gibson stated that “everything is illegal in Massachusetts”. Well, the same could pretty much be said for the United States as a whole.
Our lives are governed by millions of laws, rules and regulations and more are being piled on all the time. In fact, 40,000 new laws just went into effect in January.
Every single new law restricts your freedom just a little bit more. The truth is that America has become a crazy control freak nation where virtually everything that we do is highly regulated. You have probably broken multiple laws today that you don’t even know exist.
We have all become criminals and lawbreakers because almost everything is illegal at this point. Our politicians are convinced that they are “making life better” by piling gigantic mountains of laws onto our backs, and law enforcement authorities are convinced that they are helping society by “cracking down on crime”, but the reality is that our liberties and our freedoms are being strangled by all of this government oppression. This is not the way that America is supposed to work.
Yes, every society needs laws. But the laws should be short enough and simple enough that everybody can read them and understand them.
In America today, there is no possible way that any of us could ever read all of the laws that apply to us. Most of us just live our daily lives and try to do the “right” thing. But there is no guarantee that men with guns will not show up at your door one evening because of some obscure regulation that you have broken.
The following are 19 signs that America has become a crazy control freak nation where almost everything is illegal.
#1 One California town is actually considering making it illegal to smoke in your own backyard.
#2 In Louisiana, a church was recently ordered to stop giving out water because it did not have a permit to do so.
#3 In the United States it is illegal to operate a train that does not have an “F” painted on the front. Apparently without that “F” we all might not know where the front of the train is.
#4 In many U.S. states is it now illegal to collect rain that falls from the sky on to your own property.
#5 In America today it is illegal to milk your cow and sell the milk to your neighbor. If you do this, there is a good chance that federal agents will raid your home at the crack of dawn.
#6 In Washington D.C. it is illegal not to recycle cat litter.
#7 It is illegal to give a tour of the monuments in Washington D.C.without a license.
#8 In the United States it is illegal to sell natural cures for cancer – even if they work.
#9 In the state of Massachusetts it is illegal to deface a milk carton.
#10 In the state of Alabama, bear wrestling is completely illegal.
#11 In Fairbanks, Alaska it is illegal to give alcoholic beverages to a moose.
#12 In Lake Elmo, Minnesota it is illegal to sell pumpkins or Christmas trees that are grown outside city limits.
#13 There is a federal law that makes it illegal to be “annoying” on the Internet.
#14 If you register with a false name on MySpace or Facebook you could potentially “spend five years in federal prison“.
#15 In Hazelwood, Missouri it is illegal for little girls to sell girl scout cookies in the front yards of their own homes.
#16 All over the United States lemonade stands run by children are being shut down because they do not have the proper permits.
#17 In Florida, it is illegal to bring a plastic butter knife to school.
#18 In San Juan Capistrano, California it is illegal to hold a home Bible study without a “conditional use permit“.
#19 In the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania it is illegal to make even a single dollar from a blog unless you buy a $300 business license.
Sadly, this list of crazy laws and ridiculous regulations could be thousands long.
We are a nation run by a bunch of control freaks who do not care about our liberties and our freedoms.
Every once in a while, John Stossel does some really great reporting. An example of this is posted below. In this 40-minute video, Stossel goes into great detail about how almost everything is illegal in America today. In particular, the first 20 minutes are absolutely excellent. If you have not seen this yet, I highly encourage you to check it out.
