The Canadian Senate Thursday night gave its approval to a government package of crime measures that include a number of harsh provisions, including mandatory minimum prison sentences for growing as few as six marijuana plants. The bill, C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, now heads back to the House of Commons for final approval.
The bill has already passed the House, but members will have to approve amendments adopted by the Senate that more clearly define terrorist activities and how victims of terrorism can seek compensation from groups or states that support terrorism.Passage in the Senate came after ruling Conservatives used their majority to limit debateon the measure to six hours. Liberals objected vociferously, but in vain. The only Conservative to vote against limiting debate was Sen. Pierre Claude Nolin, a long-time advocate of marijuana and other drug law reforms.”Canadians are expecting us to pass this,” said Conservative Sen. Claude Carignan, explaining that the rush to passage was necessary because the government had promised to pass the legislation within a hundred days of taking office. “The best way to ensure the population is not jaded when it comes to politics is to keep our promises.”
Liberals argued that there was enough opposition to the bill that every senator deserved to be heard on the issue, but that argument didn’t fly with the Conservative majority.
“There is no excuse for what this chamber is about to do,” said Liberal Sen. Joan Fraser. “We should be ashamed of ourselves.”
While the bill is now almost assured of final passage, opponents have vowed to carry on the fight in the courts. Once the bill becomes law and goes into effect, look for quick challenges to its constitutionality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“Illegal Everything” is a masterpiece of video journalism. Featuring John Stossel, “Illegal Everything” exposes the government’s agenda to criminalize nearly every single person. This is a must-see video if you care about freedom, liberty and the right to be left alone by tyrannical governments.
Features jaw-dropping interviews such as:
* A family who was threatened with a $37,000 PER DAY fine by the EPA for trying to build a house on their own land.
* A fisherman sentenced to 6 years in prison for packing lobsters in plastic bags instead of cardboard boxes.
* Children threatened by local police for running lemonade stands.
… and a whole lot more. Must see video! Spread the word.
Potent News editor’s note: I don’t usually go to Fox News for stories, but the main issues discussed in this video are pretty concrete and the idea that the state should not outlaw everything is an idea that is difficult to refute. Feel free to take some of the video’s bottom scrolling text with a grain of salt.
In the course of the past week, the Canadian government of Stephen Harper, has made confusing statements regarding the role of torture as a means of obtaining information from arrested “terrorist suspects”.
In December 2010, the Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, instructed the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to use information obtained through torture in order to prioritize “the protection of life and property.”
In the House of Commons Mr. Toews did not backtrack. “Information obtained by torture is always discounted. But the problem is, can one safely ignore it when Canadian lives and property are at stake?” Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, added: “Of course we oppose the use of torture, but we believe that Canada’s security agencies should prioritize, yes, the protection of life.” (Hélène Buzzetti, Torture: oui dans certains cas, dit Ottawa, Le Devoir, February 8, 2012)
Theses statements are nonsensical. Information obtained through torture is either “always discounted” or it is not. One is either in favor or opposed to torture. Both Vic Toews and Jason Kenney are contradicting their own statements. They claim to be firmly opposed to torture, but are in supportive of the practice of torture. To “prioritize […] the protection of life” simply means that using information obtained by torture is part of the available options.
Is it a matter of cognitive dissonance or an attempt to slowly make torture acceptable to the population?
Not only is torture – under no exception – prohibited by international law, but studies also show that it is completely ineffective because the information obtained through it is not valid. When submitted to torture, a person will admit anything to put a stop to their suffering. And the leaders know that.
Thus, the question we should ask is: what is the fundamental role of torture?
It is wrong to presume that the goal of torture is to collect information, to obtain confessions. Several experts suggest that authorities use torture because they wrongfully believe that it is the only way to have access to certain information. Yet, by using and condoning torture, the authorities know full well what they are doing and it has nothing to do with intelligence gathering. Torture is a propaganda tool.
The absolute goal of any authority resorting to torture is to dominate, consolidate its position of authority, of superiority, but mostly to prove, promote and protect its world view, its propaganda by spreading terror.
When used under the pretext of wanting to obtain information, torture’s ultimate aim is to feed the torturing authorities’ propaganda. Its purpose is to force down in a victim’s throat a testimony which will subsequently “prove” the torturers’ propaganda and justify their actions as well as those of their allies. This practice leads to submission and sends a clear message to whoever might want to challenge the authorities.
Revealed to the public at large, the pictures of Abu Ghraib or the violence inflicted to Qaddafi and the use of “confessions” obtained through torture by “democratic” governments have no other intent than to terrorise, encourage submission and uphold the “war on terrorism” propaganda.
It’s bad enough that drones have been welcomed by Congress into American skies, as well as already being used around the planet to conduct surveillance and bomb select countries from remote locations.
The latest proposed addition to the drone spy program is even creepier: disposable computers with software programs funded by DARPA to be dropped as self-destructing “bombs.”
Now, not only will drones surveil and hack from above, but they will drop a payload to interface with hidden computers on the ground, completely integrating a full-spectrum data transmission and control grid.
The name of the project, as well as its announcement at a hacker convention called ShmooCon, had this non-techie convinced that it had to be satire or a hoax, but the project has also been noted by Forbes and Wired, which only serves to illustrate how far off into our dystopian technocratic police state we have wandered. It seems that we are being acclimated to how funny and cool our futuristic spy toys have become. This fun has culminated in the planned dropping of F-BOMBS (Falling or Ballistically-launched Object that Makes Backdoors) to combat “Bad Men With Guns.”
The F-BOMB introduces the idea of disposable surveillance as a guard against forensic evaluation and the ability to track the source of the drop. Creator, Brendan O’Connor, has received DARPA funding to implement a software package into his nearly non-traceable surveillance hardware as cheaply as possible with easy-to-obtain components.
Back in August, another DIY project was introduced as the Wireless Aerial Surveillance Platform (since renamed Project Vespid). This modified military drone was put together from parts legally obtained on the Internet by two hackers (intelligence agency consultants, actually) Rich Perkins and Mike Tassey, who presented their work at a Black Hat conference. The release was supported by a breathless Wolf Blitzer who seized upon the announcement to illustrate the new threat of being hacked from above. Brendan O’Connor has reduced the DIY cost of similar capabilities to no more than a few hundred dollars with his F-BOMB project.
O’Connor summarizes the value and capabilities of his new Sacrificial Computing for Land and Sky concept in the video that follows, highlighting that his surveillance tool can be planted manually, or dropped from specialized drone aircraft:
Similar to the creators of the home-made WASP hacking drone, O’Connor states that he is merely exposing the vulnerabilities of networks and their users.
Despite its name, O’Connor says the F-BOMB is designed to be a platform for all sorts of applications on its Linux operating system. Outfit it with temperature or humidity sensors, for instance, and it can be used for meteorological research or other innocent data-collecting. But install some Wifi-cracking software or add a $15 GPS module, and it can snoop on data networks or track a target’s location, O’Connor adds. As is often the case with these kinds of hacker projects, he says the devices are only intended for penetration testing–finding security flaws in clients’ networks in order to fix them–and wouldn’t comment on what DARPA might do with the technology (Source)
However, this rings false (or profoundly naive), as O’Connor also has received his funding from the very organization that is at the forefront of using taxpayer money to eradicate privacy around the world, including that of American citizens. As a result, the government already can:
Although O’Connor said that he wouldn’t comment on what DARPA might do with the technology, his own business website Malice Afterthought indicates a solid working relationship with military intelligence:
Our principal, Brendan O’Connor, has taught at the US military’s cybersecurity school as well as working for both VeriSign and Sun Microsystems in their security divisions; he has also worked for DARPA and startups as a combination engineer, dreamer, and mad scientist capable of making even the most challenging tasks into reality.
We should all know by now that we don’t have to be technology experts to envision some rather dark applications that are no longer security challenges, but are part of an agenda to fundamentally alter our reality and perceived social contract within a supposedly free society. That reality has little to do with protecting citizens’ data and privacy, and everything to do with covering the tracks of government’s ubiquitous intrusion into our private lives, as well as ramping-up their violation of the Constitution by presuming guilt over innocence, and subjecting citizens to their mad science and mad dreams.
In the span of just three years, we have seen drone surveillance become openly operational on American soil.
In 2007, Texas reporters first filmed a predator drone test being conducted by the local police department in tandem with Homeland Security. And in 2009, it was revealed that an operation was underway to use predator drones inland over major cities, far from “border control” functions. This year it has been announced that not only will drone operations fly over the Mexican border, but the United States and Canada are partnering to cover 900 miles of the northern border as well.
Now that the precedent has been set to employ drones over non-combat areas, the military is further revealing the technology of miniaturization that they currently have at their disposal. As drone expert, P.W. Singer said, “At this point, it doesn’t really matter if you are against the technology, because it’s coming.” According to Singer, “The miniaturization of drones is where it really gets interesting. You can use these things anywhere, put them anyplace, and the target will never even know they’re being watched.”
So what exactly is on the horizon?
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funds military tech development through the private sector with defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Honeywell. It was Honeywell that introduced the T-Hawk micro drone — now purchased by Miami-Dade county for use in the metro area — which weighs all of 16 pounds and can fly in any direction. However, this is not so “micro” compared to the latest spy drone to be revealed: the Nano Hummingbird, produced by AeroVironment. The video below illustrates the capabilities of this 19g vehicle:
This mimicking of nature heralds a range of science fiction nightmare scenarios, but the name of this vehicle, “nano”, is what should spark a red alert. Because, in fact, DARPA and their contractors are working on true nano surveillance that will have biological components . . . and applications.
Here are some surveillance and detection concepts already in operation, or under development (keeping in mind that what is revealed in the public domain is often quite far behind the reality):
A group of smaller surveillance drones called NAV (nano air vehicles) or MAV (micro air vehicles) already have been commissioned: mapleseed drones; sparrow drones by 2015, dragonfly drones to fly in swarms by 2030, and eventually a housefly drone. And if the reconstruction of nature doesn’t pan out, nature itself can be hijacked using electrical impulses to create cyborg surveillance insects being studied at major universities.
Nano sensors for use in agriculture that measure crops and environmental conditions.
Bomb-sniffing plants using rewired DNA to detect explosives and biological agents.
“Smart Dust” motes that wirelessly transmit data on temperature, light, and movement (this can also be used in currency to track cash).
Nano-based RFID barcodes that can be embedded into any material for tracking of all products . . . and people.
Devices to detect molecules, enzymes, proteins and genetic markers — opening up the door for race-specific bioweapons, as mentioned in the Project For a New American Century’s policy paper Rebuilding America’s Defenses.
There are countless ways that we are already tracked in our daily lives, which has acclimatized us to the next steps underway. We know that the military has a desire to track large groups of people in real time. The Gorgon Stare program is currently undergoing some operational difficulties, but the political will is there to continuously expand surveillance of large populations abroad in order to keep us safe at home in the never-ending War on Terror. Combine miniaturized surveillance capabilities with DARPA’s Mind’s Eye program of “smart camera” artificial intelligence that can “think” and make visual reporting decisions independently, and things become exponentially creepier.
The Speed of NanotechDevelopment
Nanotech has been receiving official federal funding for only the past 10 years when it was raised to the status of a federal initiative in 2001, which sparked massive investment in the private sector. By 2003, the newly opened Department of Homeland Security showed immediate interest in SensorNet, a program spearheaded by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their strategic partners to research ways to fully integrate nano and micro sensors into one overall Internet-like matrix of real-time detection and surveillance. The Department of Defense allocated $3 million to the initiative for the first year, with a projected budget into the billions being allocated over the long term for “detection systems.”
Strategically mounted sensors and a communications network are the heart of SensorNet. (click on image for source)
By 2006, Oak Ridge announced that they planned to turn Fort Bragg military base into a prototype for America’s future cities. According to Department of Energy researcher, Bryan Gorman, “Any sensor can talk to any application. Just like with the Internet or with telephone systems, it doesn’t matter what kind of computer or telephone you have, where you are or what application you’re running. The system just works.” There is even a proprietary social network that has been designed to provide online access and collaboration.
SensorNet has since morphed into an even more comprehensive system “to integrate safety and security measures . . . into the transportation system,” which includes concerns surrounding transportation and commerce in the “political, economic, or environmental” arenas. It is here that the full scope of surveillance integration can be seen as a management strategy that merges legislation, federal inspection systems, international standards, security threat assessments, and the latest in nanotechnology. Just one example is their discussion of “highway sorting” systems and screening, which begins on page 15 in the previous link; it must be read to be believed. As an aside: the Senior Research Scientist and Senior Program Manager who co-authored the paper linked above is Robert K. Abercrombie, Ph.D. who has a decided interest in cybersecurity. To see where the transportation component of the surveillance grid is heading over the near term, the ITS Strategic Research Plan 2010-2014 is a good indication.
The Promise of Total Integration
February 4, 2011 brought the release of the National Nanotechnology Initiative 2011 Strategic Plan. This 60-page must-read document lays out a projected future “to understand and control matter” for the management of every facet of human life within the surveillance matrix of environment, health and safety. Here is the short-list of the 25 participating Federal agencies and samples of their stated applications:
Department of Defense (persistent surveillance)
Intelligence Community (unmanned aircraft)
Department of Energy (solving energy and climate change challenges)
Department of Homeland Security (low-cost sensor platforms)
Department of Justice (applicable to criminal justice needs)
Department of Transportation (modifying or coordinating travel behavior)
Food and Drug Administration (biological systems and effects on human health)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (global food security)
National Institutes of Health (precise control to achieve predictable outcomes)
Department of the Treasury (improved governance, implementing economic sanctions)
National Science Foundation (education and societal dimensions)
The promise of integrating technology in a way that will benefit human knowledge and society already has been re-directed toward military applications for decades. It has manifested in the out-of-control military-industrial complex that has engaged America abroad in costly wars and destabilization campaigns. However, the fallout from this misappropriation of technology is beginning to take its toll on America in the form of militarized police and the monitoring of everyday Americans.
How much longer before the full spectrum of military sci-tech, including what we cannot even see, is unleashed upon an American people willing to accept total control to be safe? Has it happened already? Or, more importantly, how long before Americans come to the realization that when the construction of this surveillance prison has been completed — when the door is locked, and the key thrown away — it ultimately will have been our own money that was used to build it.
A snowy Utøya Sunday night, six months after the terrorist attack on Utøya and government quarter, 22 July 2011. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen (Scanpix)
Police on the way to Utøya should have been asked to pass
Police Crews from Southern Buskerud should have been told to overtake Utøya and meet up in Honefoss while shooting on Utøya happening. Half of the workforce should have refused to follow orders.
(Auto translation) Just 18 minutes after the first emergency services from Utøya were three cars with a total of eight police officers on the road from Drammen to the neighboring district to help colleagues. Along the way they were told over the police radio that they would attend the police station in Hønefoss, newspaper VG.
“I was surprised at this decision from the Northern Buskerud Police District, as it was ongoing shooting at Utøya and also possibly shooting on the mainland. Therefore we decided not to run to Hønefoss, “according to a report from one of the officials.
One of the patrols decided to follow the order and drove past Utøya and against Hønefoss, a detour of 48 kilometers, while the other two cars ignored the order and went to Storøya where they got hold of three boats that carried them over to Utøya, 21 minutes after emergency squad from Oslo was in place. MORE
It seems that if the US government can’t get around your constitutional rights one way, they will try to find another way to do it. Meanwhile, in Canada, we already have a program called ‘security certificates’ to detain refugees and permanent residents indefinitely without charge or due process, and without letting them see what evidence there is against them. This is often because the ‘evidence’ is flimsy nonsense based on lies made up by informants or things blurted out by people while under torture. Not something you would expect from a country like Canada, but that’s what our government is doing. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/01/06/new-bill-known-as-enemy-expatriation-… http://www.justiceforharkat.com/news.php
By Nicholas West
PN 