The huge protest you didn't hear about this weekend.
By Thom Hartmann A...
When 50 Tea Party members show up in Washington, the national media falls all over themselves to cover the so-called rally. But, when thousands gather to protest NSA spying, there's not a peep in the corporate news. That's exactly what happened over the weekend, when thousands converged on our nation's capital to be part of a “Stop Watching Us” protest. The event was sponsored by a large coalition of organizations from every part of the political spectrum – the ACLU to the Libertarian Party.
Protesters gathered at Union Station, and marched to the reflecting pool at the Capital, carrying signs and chanting against mass surveillance. The event included ex-politicians, activists, whistle blowers, and even a punk band... yet it was virtually ignored by the mainstream media. Almost every day more news breaks about another invasive program, or another world leader who was targeted by the NSA – so, a rally like this should draw broad national coverage.
Thousands of people stood together to demonstrate that Americans are furious about their privacy rights being violated. And, the bipartisan groups shows that anger over the NSA is not limited to one political party. Throughout history, nonviolent, peaceful protest has been one of the most effective ways to push our elected leaders to listen to the will of the American people. But first, we have to push the mainstream media to start paying attention.
Comments
#2
You're delirious Kend. We had theVERY SAME problem and MUCH MORE SO with the Bush administration. Journalists were fired, their TV programs cancelled when they criticized Bush. We couldn't get anyone to even QUESTION the invasion of Iraq and a great number of other odious policies.
Later, after Bush went from being the most popular president to the least popular president in history, the media began to turn against him somewhat as well but, in general, the big business media promotes and protects its own vested interests as a unit of big business and has to journalistically and editorially take care of its customers which are not their readers and viewers - not you and me - but their big business advertisers. That is why I don't have faiththat we will ever reform the mainstream media. We simply have to disabuse the public of their blind faith in it.
You will not find truth in the mainstream media publications and broadcasts. It's like in the U.S.S.R., "There's no news in Pravda and no truth in Izvestia." We have a capitalist version of the same thing.
#3
Thom, please forgive the 'off topic', but as per your show tomorrow; Abby Martin currently reporting on Hastings and interviewing journalist re. car computer hacking. Very interesting. This will repeat at 9:30 pm this eve. and tomorrow @ noon
#4
Sandlewould: Thanks a bunch for that information on the Abby Martin Breaking the Set reporting on Hastings car crash. I like to keep up with that information.
#5
Quote article at occupy.com:The story that Hastings was working on at the time of his death centered around CIA Director John Brennan, the chief architect of President Obama’s foreign drone program. It related specifically to Brennan’s role as the administration’s point man tracking investigative journalists and their sources in Washington.According to L.A. Weekly, just hours before the deadly crash Hastings had asked to borrow his neighbor's Volvo because he suspected his own car's computer system had been hacked.
According to Stefan Savage, a computer science professor at the University of California, San Diego, any modern vehicle’s computer system made by any manufacturer can be hacked.
In a phone interview with Occupy.com, Savage described a series of experiments that he and his team conducted, in which they remotely hacked a car’s computer systems.
"We could listen to conversations in the car, and could take over everything in the drivetrain, like acceleration and brakes, through a cellular network.”
“We found vulnerabilities from 1,000 miles away."
Hastings’s last article, published on BuzzFeed, exposed Democratic Party leaders including President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin for their support of the same domestic spying programs they had criticized during the Bush years, but which they worked to expand under the Obama administration.
http://www.occupy.com/article/exclusive-who-killed-michael-hastings
#6
Palindromedary ~ I'm no auto mechanic, but I have been active in and around everything from rebuilding engines to refurbishing cars, and I'm familiar with how computers work. I know for a fact that without some kind of an interface with a mechanical device installed there is no way you can steer or brake a vehicle via any computer. Not possible. Michael Hastings's Mercedes was an exception because of all the bells and whistles the car had. I can see that. But say a Honda Civic or a Ford F-150 Truck? Where are the motors and sensors attached to the tie rods? Where is the ability to disengage the emergency brake or the brake pedal? How do you prevent the ignition from being turned off? To gain such control over a non luxury vehicle would require extensive mechanical "non-factory" modifications. Controlling the accelerator by computer I might see happening; but, the rest, no way Jose. The parts just aren't there. These extra "enhancements", if they were really added to all modern vehicles, would significantly increase the selling price. How would such enhancements be marketed to justify their expense? Moreover, why the hell would anyone buy a car that can be remotely steered and have it's brakes disengaged? What is this alleged technology and what is its selling point? Any car? It's going to take a lot more than anyone's testimony for me to swallow that one. I want to know the technology. If indeed, it is true, it should also be true that nullifying it should not be too involved. I would imagine that all it would take is to disconnect a connector or two; or, remove the right fuse from the fuse box. Auto mechanics isn't rocket science. What industry is going to risk its livelihood by designing a death machine that you can't easily remove the dangerous options? After all, isn't safety one of the key selling points when buying a car?
#7
Apropos to #7 ~ Even in the Michael Hastings crash there is little evidence that the car's steering or brakes were remotely controlled. The witnesses say the car suddenly accelerated and then fishtailed before it exploded. If someone placed a bomb under the car they may also have tampered with the brake line as well. The hydraulic brake line is just a metal tube that can easily be sliced through with a hacksaw blade or a file. A "professional" killer would know exactly how thin to cut or file the brake line so that it would burst when high pressure is applied--like happens when someone stands on the brakes. An explanation like that I am more likely to believe. The fishtailing of the car suggests Hastings had control of the steering wheel and pulled up on the emergency brake locking the rear wheels right before the bomb was detonated.
#8
Mark are you trying to tell me that most of your media isn't left thinking, come on.
#9
Quote Kend:Mark are you trying to tell me that most of your media isn't left thinking, come on.
Kend ~ I might imagine that Mark is trying to tell you that most of the media doesn't think one way or the other. It isn't paid to think. In fact, it is paid specifically not to think--you know, just like you.
#10
Thom,
The event was covered in Europe. My friends in England and Spain saw it live, they were telling me. I had planned to be there, but couldn't be. I was glad to see the throngs. CNN covered it live ... I saw it in a Greyhound bus station in Baltimore where I was captive at the time, early Saturday afternoon.
For once an event that was being broadcast worldwide couldn'be brushed aside,
#11
Namaimo ~ It's on the internet too. The Guardian covered it,
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/26/nsa-rally-stop-watching-washington-snowden
so did USA Today,
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/26/nsa-dc-rally/3241417/
Rueters,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/26/us-usa-security-protest-idUSBRE99P0B420131026
The Huffington Post,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/26/nsa-stop-watching-us_n_4166640.html
and Yahoo News,
http://news.yahoo.com/hundreds-march-washington-against-nsa-spying-205426813.html
You can't cover up everything. Besides, all the people that matter had a front row seat, Congress and The White House. That is the most important demographic in this movement anyway.
#12
The media is owned by 6 big companies. Companies that are interested only in profit. They are not interested in public service and use the airwaves, that belong to US, for free to propagate whatever they want--and believe me--these companies are not interested in any left-wing action (like the demonstration) or even in accuracy if it doesn't fit in with their capitalist world view. They are all about protecting themselves.
Perhaps you could provide some evidence--statistical and factual--and not just your opinion about the left-wing media bias. I never read the facts in these wild (and yes, delusional) comments.
#13
Watch the BBC if you want serious news on TV. Even PBS doesn't do it very well any more. They are too cowed by big money and the Koch brothers who help fund public tv (at least David Koch does). Maybe that's why Nova stinks these days. I have more than once watched BBC because local news broadcasts had little or NOTHING on an important news event. Big companies don't want us to have the accurate news--too threatening. What if there was serious coverage of things like the NSA demonstration? Imagine it. (So much for left-wing bias.)
#14
Quote CNBC article: Demonstrating their Pentagon-funded work at the global "DefCon" hackers conference in Las Vegas in August, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek showed global security experts in attendance how they could take control of a 2010 Toyota Prius and Ford Escape model using just a laptop.They were able to remotely take control of the cars' electronic smart steering, braking, displays, acceleration, engines, horns and lights. They could even make the fuel tanks show a full tank of gas when there wasn't. To top it all, they did all this using an old Nintendo handset.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101123279
------
Here's a YouTube video called "Digital Carjackers Show Off New Attacks" of Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek showing a guest how a vehicle can be controlled...albeit...in this case they ripped out the dash to get to the car's computer unit and they had their laptop connected to the computer. While this video doesn't show a "remote" or "wireless" control of the car...it shows that many of the car's functions can be controlled "hijacked" and control taken away from the driver.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqe6S6m73Zw
--------
And here is one of the comments to this video that I thought was appropriate:
"It has already been demonstrated that a physical connection or close proximity is not necessary. See the DARPA video on the topic. The researcher explains there have been exploits using something as infected audio/music that when put in a car CD player will execute whatever it was programmed to do. With ODB3 and all of it's wireless features there will be even more vectors of attack available. Right now you have OnStar, radio, Bluetooth, CD Players, and others."
-----
And this is probably the DARPA video that was being referenced:
"Car Hacking DARPA"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zurrQiETDHA
---------
Keep in mind that Hastings' neighbor had been asked, by Hastings, to borrow her car because he believed his car had been tampered with.
#15
From what I saw, MSNBC didn't cover it, either. MSNBC is mainstream Democrat, not Progressive (though they like that title), and they've been pretty busy campaigning for H. Clinton, supporter of the right wing policies that have been wiping out the middle class (workfare replacement labor, NAFTA). I agree with "History Writer," that one must look outside of US news media to get the whole story.
#16
Dannemarc, I think the main point is major media; CBS, NBC, abc; all the ones that reported in lock step with Fox News during occupy. Which of course revealed them to be fascist style propaganda and not news at all.
#17
Scientists at University of Washington and the University of San Diego devised a program called CarShark to hack into cars' onboard computers. I'm guesssing through so-called "on-star"? http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0813/Scientists-hack-into-cars-computers-control-brakes-engine
#18
Mainstream media, pay attention?! Good luck with that, Thom. Here's an article I wrote two years ago for a local publication (The Advocate), titled "Toxic Media". It might not divulge anything most of you folks don't already know, but I'm sharing it anyway since it relates to the topic.
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Over the past few months our so-called national “debt crisis” has filled the airwaves, ad nauseam. Manufactured by America’s Almighty Plutocrats and their transnational corporate buddies, it’s a bogus crisis. The real crisis stems from policies favoring billionaires at the expense of everyone else, making it much harder for most people to earn a decent living, while our social safety net is pilfered by plutocrats and our infrastructure crumbles.
This tripe gets served to us not by investigative journalists, but by the pundit talking heads of a consolidated corporate “media”, dishing out propaganda not news, all designed to keep us ignorant, angry and scared, lashing out at everything but the source of our discontent.
Propaganda from America’s ruling class is packaged nice and slick. But no matter how you slice it or dice it, the message behind it is toxic and dangerous. Their rhetoric is designed not only to keep us divided, but to provoke the loose cannons among us. It masquerades behind euphemistic little mantras like “Individual responsibility” (as opposed to tax-supported infrastructure, or the commons). “Freedom isn‘t free” is another one, as if these endless wars had anything to do with freedom. They keep harping about “political correctness” as if to trivialize and demonize anything they disagree with, that doesn’t serve their agenda.
Look at the ugly divisive rhetoric fueling the “debate”. Corporate fascism thrives on that stuff. “Divide and Conquer” is the oldest trick in the book. Whatever it takes to keep us paranoid, distracted and clueless. Designed to dig at the basest of human emotions, these tactics work splendidly for the power elite. We fall for it, we fools, bickering & fighting each other into oblivion over silly culture wars invented by media hacks, all to exploit our primitive xenophobic impulses. Wedge issues like immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage fill the “debate”, brought to you courtesy of FOX “News”, CNN and the like. In the 21st Century, this is what passes for “news”: a rogue’s gallery of airbrushed pundits giving us the corporate spin, flapping their gums in virtual unison with this nonsense.
We see and hear it every day, filling inquiring minds with garbage.
Unwittingly, people take the bait. Keeps us conveniently distracted while these corporate thieves, along with their pet pundits and puppet politicians, continue robbing us blind with impunity. It’s one method they use to mislead and manipulate the “masses”. Helps to uphold a status quo that, in the end, benefits the idle rich at everyone else’s expense.
Predictably, now that the bill comes due for Baby Bush’s wars, plutocrats and their pundits are howling about a “debt crisis” while those deadbeats in Congress keep refusing to pay debts incurred over the past thirty years by three Republican presidents. By threatening to stick our country with default (for the first time in United States history.), these clowns hold us hostage, putting the entire world economy at dire risk.
Of course the problem isn’t nearly as complicated as the power elite would like us to think. Roll back the Bush & Reagan tax cuts so that rich folks and corporations pay their fair share, and establish a universal nonprofit health care system, and kick the war habit, and bingo. No more deficit. It’s really that simple. Only problem is, while pundits and politicians scream about our national budget and the so-called debt “crisis”, our deadbeat congress refuses to address the cause of the problem. Name any remedy that could actually help fix our economy or the deficit, and it’s “off the table”. Meanwhile their corporate “media” keeps us handily preoccupied with culture wars, tabloid “news” and infotainment.
To disguise the evil being done in our name, pundits and politicians use bland language like “extraordinary rendition” for example, or “enhanced interrogation”. We all know what that translates to: kidnapping and torture.
Then there’s the name calling. With so little substance to their side of the debate, talk show celebrities and pundits often resort to insults, character assassinations and other smear tactics. Gets the least informed among us, those “low-information voters”, whipped into a frenzy, ready to blame Muslims, Mexicans, homosexuals, “illegal aliens”, “socialists”, environmentalists, school teachers and pregnant women for all our problems.
Without a well-informed electorate, we have no democracy. One cannot exist without the other. As the next presidential election looms near and we are bombarded with more corporate-funded political ads, the only appropriate response is to turn a deaf ear to it all. For those genuinely interested in making informed choices at the polls, there is Project Vote Smart, an organization whose sole purpose is to reveal the voting records of everyone in Congress, on every issue imaginable. There also exists an alternative media not beholden to corporate interests, for those craving real news.
It’s time to wake up and get de-programmed. The stakes have never been higher.
- Aliceinwonderland
#19
I think you guys should remember to use the KISS rule to reply To KEND.. Otherwise kends comments drag us down to Fox News level. Murphy's law says "never argue with a fool, because then people will not know the difference" (Ben Franklin).. We should concentrate on the positive and real issues, rather than Fox News crap (obviously fake arguments), that permeate everywhere, must it be here too.
#20
By the way, I kicked the TV habit six years ago and haven't looked back. For awhile at the gym, I even resorted to turning off their TVs, every chance I got... but then people complained so I had to desist. (SIGH) Now at the gym, unless someone's watching the boob tube, I'll change the channel if FOX is on. Otherwise I'll leave it alone. Seems a fair enough compromise, eh? - AIW
#21
Sandlewould: Thanks for that link! Interesting. Maybe we will have to start using Wireshark to help combat CarShark. Or maybe install an IPS/IDS as well. I doubt the very limited memory has room for a firewall of any kind. Maybe we will all have to start wearing the kind of fireproof suits that racers wear...along with helmets....especially if you think that some powerful organization is out to whack you.
#22
Same thing as occupy, because when the multi national "corporate" media doesnt like something politically, then it gets killed in the corporate media that navy voters believe is the news.. The act of killing real relevant news whenever big business wants, has transformed our news media into propaganda (exactlythe same effect as animal farm).. Alternately, the media reports negatively (like in the case with occupy, pissing in the street and nobody knows what they want)..
America is a rogue fascist nation, and like occupy, the cops will dress up in military style riot gear and crack heads and pepper spray peaceful protestors (In "clear" violation of the constitutionally protected right off eacefulmassembly). Meanwhile, 50 tea arty protestors get national news coverage, on whatever topic big business wants.
#23
http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=1116652
http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/
Try searching for "ufo" or "porn" or "assassination AND JFK" to see what these Stratfor people were emailing each other about. Most of this stuff is written from a right-wing slant and they sometimes use xenophobic terms...but hey, they are an outfit that does business with the CIA and the Pentagon as well as many corporations. You'll see how the US and China partnered together to censor information on the internet. The US is really not much different than any other country that the US likes to hold up as violating rights or censoring information. And they are not any different than any other country in spying on it's citizens...except that they excel at it.
Interesting read about 9/11 here: (note: I don't believe William Depperman is part of Stratfor but has submitted this rather lengthy email to Stratfor. In any case, I doubt anyone at Stratfor holds these same views as Mr. Depperman..but I believe Mr. Depperman is very close to the truth of what happened.)
[Analytical & Intelligence Comments] Assassination of Osama Vin Laden and the U.S. Assisted 911 Trade Center Provocation
http://search.wikileaks.org/gifiles/?viewemailid=207145
Here is a 1990 letter written by Depperman to NIMH concerning biological weapons and AIDS.
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/BBGLPY.pdf
#24
Cwall, thank you for your thoughtful response to my "Toxic Media" article and comments. It's folks like you, Thom & Louise, and my friends on this blog, who give me hope; hope that at some point, before it's too late, we'll find a way to get these fascists and blood-sucking parasites off our backs, so we can create the kind of society that works for everyone. I've yet to see it in this lifetime... but in the context of human evolution, a lifetime is just long enough for a glimpse. Carry on, comrades. - AIW
#25
#19 Aliceinwonderland
I couldn't agree with you more. As someone who's been on the planet awhile watching the changes here in the U.S. it's people, land, and how it relates to Government, Big Business, and reporting of it by Major Media... it is in my opinion absolutely correct in what you describe. Divide & Conquer are nothing more then effective smokescreens to cover up and draw people away from the undisclosed truth. Billionaire and Millionaire forces behind the scenes outside the public eye are what's running the whole of what drives this country. It just amazes me the number who still don't appear to be able to think or see for themselves, the direction we are headed in and take the bait. And the worst or the worst of what is behind all this not only tearing down of America but threatening other governments and countries including allies, now. How much does it take to realize the dangers that are taking shape and the insanity that is running the show. This isn't a PS2 or WiFi game of take over with a pop up questionaire of gay/womens/low income peoples question to rights, etc.... determining for you who on your screen is the bad guys in the game. Conditioning Americans through self survival and gains along with idealologies that it's all in the game play, rather then REAL life in a REAL world. Bottom line we and this earth are one and connected, divide and conquer thinking will destroy everything and everyone in it's path and that includes all those for whatever reason, live this illusion they are going to win the game or be part of the winning circle. Some people laughed at Jesse Ventura's One World order Government forming and a Secret Society....I have to question given the direction we are going if that is as far fetched anymore or closer to the truth, then we are being lead to believe. What's at stake? How would you consider a person willing to gamble his life and the lives of his family along with their future, and all he owns, by offering it all up in a pot for what cards he thinks he's holding? Insane, crazy? Because anyone who thinks this is a game and playing it as such is doing exactly that.
It really doesn't take rocket science to realize the basics of what can move our economy and heal our nations economic system and get our people back into a direction of health both physically and mentally. But then, we might be able to tackle the rest to move it into a postive direction. Asking the rich to pay their fair share of Tax, is a no brainer compared to Ryans fix it agenda. The idea that supplying the rich with more money is going to help ease "Our" burden is completely true only if you define "Our" to what really defines the word "Our"...Our campaigns, Our lobbyist, Our special interests that continue to feed off "Them" the lower class.
Voting only in the Primary is not going to fix it. Regulations thanks to the Supreme Court have proven how any President Not just Obama can't turn it around by himself. It's going to take people to realize the importance of being informed/educated and showing up for ALL elections to move this country in the direction We The People need it to go. And "CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE!!!
I also like your idea of walking into public places where TV sets are showing Major Media and telling them as a customer I'm offended by it....Turn it off or change the channel. I think I'm going to be visiting more department and electronic stores. And invoking my consumer rights.
#26
Palindromedary ~ Thanks for all that info. So thats how they sell it--theft protection, anti-lock braking systems, and self-parking mechanisms. I sure am glad I know how to parallel park better than anyone--or anything--that I know. I'm also thankful that I'm far to cheap to go in for all those bells and whistles. (The second time in a week that frugality has saved the day.) Thanks so much for the education. I will certainly pass on that data to those who may be interested in it.
By the way, any news on regret from Hastings neighbor for refusing to loan him her car? I would be really feeling quite bad right about now for denying that request. Of course, you never know--if she granted the favor she too might be dead right now. Once the Cabal makes the decision there is little that can be done to stop it.
#27
Quote bobbler:Dannemarc, I think the main point is major media; CBS, NBC, abc; all the ones that reported in lock step with Fox News during occupy. Which of course revealed them to be fascist style propaganda and not news at all.
bobbler ~ You make a good point. I've seen enough Fox News to know what you are talking about. I don't really consider Fox News to be news per se--that is, any more than any typical infomercial. As far as CBS, NBC, and ABC are concerned I don't watch them as well. They tend to make my blood pressure go up for no reason and after don't feel like I learned anything. I prefer CNN, PBS, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert to anything on "Commercial" media, when I watch TV. Usually I prefer to read my news. TV news is fine for emergencies or the weather. However, nowadays I can get most of that on my phone. For anything else it goes too fast, doesn't have enough detail, and, as I have learned from personal experience, is usually full of inaccuracies that go unchecked. The errors tend to come with the territory rather than being intentional. I value facts and accuracy. The printed media is far superior in that respect; though, nothing is really perfect.
As far as the media outlets you've mentioned are concerned I will have to take your word for it. It seems to me that you are probably right on.
#28
Corporate media's power, ultimately, is fueled by the public's willingness to watch and listen. That is my main reason for unplugging the boob tube for good. My time and money are too valuable to be squandered on corporate fascist propaganda. I'll not have my mind and spirit defiled by their garbage, nor will I tolerate being annoyed, offended & outraged on a daily basis... only to pay an additional bill each month for the "privilege"! Thanks but no thanks. Those airbrushed celebrity pundits and other assorted gum-flappers would lose so much of their thunder if it all fell on deaf ears. - Aliceinwonderland
#29
This is what I call informative art.Quote Aliceinwonderland: Propaganda from America’s ruling class is packaged nice and slick. But no matter how you slice it or dice it, the message behind it is toxic and dangerous. Their rhetoric is designed not only to keep us divided, but to provoke the loose cannons among us. It masquerades behind euphemistic little mantras like “Individual responsibility” (as opposed to tax-supported infrastructure, or the commons). “Freedom isn‘t free” is another one, as if these endless wars had anything to do with freedom. They keep harping about “political correctness” as if to trivialize and demonize anything they disagree with, that doesn’t serve their agenda.Tell it like it is AIW
Quote Aliceinwonderland:Unwittingly, people take the bait. Keeps us conveniently distracted while these corporate thieves, along with their pet pundits and puppet politicians, continue robbing us blind with impunity. It’s one method they use to mislead and manipulate the “masses”. Helps to uphold a status quo that, in the end, benefits the idle rich at everyone else’s expense.Alliteration! I love it!
Quote Aliceinwonderland:Predictably, now that the bill comes due for Baby Bush’s wars, plutocrats and their pundits are howling about a “debt crisis” while those deadbeats in Congress keep refusing to pay debts incurred over the past thirty years by three Republican presidents. By threatening to stick our country with default (for the first time in United States history.), these clowns hold us hostage, putting the entire world economy at dire risk.Of course the problem isn’t nearly as complicated as the power elite would like us to think. Roll back the Bush & Reagan tax cuts so that rich folks and corporations pay their fair share, and establish a universal nonprofit health care system, and kick the war habit, and bingo. No more deficit. It’s really that simple.
It REALLY is that simple, folks!
Quote Aliceinwonderland:To disguise the evil being done in our name, pundits and politicians use bland language like “extraordinary rendition” for example, or “enhanced interrogation”. We all know what that translates to: kidnapping and torture.Then there’s the name calling. With so little substance to their side of the debate, talk show celebrities and pundits often resort to insults, character assassinations and other smear tactics. Gets the least informed among us, those “low-information voters”, whipped into a frenzy, ready to blame Muslims, Mexicans, homosexuals, “illegal aliens”, “socialists”, environmentalists, school teachers and pregnant women for all our problems.
All too, too, too, true!
Quote Aliceinwonderland:For those genuinely interested in making informed choices at the polls, there is Project Vote Smart, an organization whose sole purpose is to reveal the voting records of everyone in Congress, on every issue imaginable. There also exists an alternative media not beholden to corporate interests, for those craving real news.It’s time to wake up and get de-programmed. The stakes have never been higher.
Aliceinwonderland ~ You certainly have a way with words. You are indeed an artistic writer with a gift to communicate the truth. It is really an honor having your contributions back. Please stay!
#30
Aliceinwonderland: I feel exactly the same way! I am growing so ticked off at these corporate marketers and their politician lapdogs who use trickery and psychological ploys to steal people's money. Then, those hell-hounds turn right around and blame their victims for being careless, lazy, and for wanting to survive.
I think maybe those capitalist pigs need to watch Dr. Zhivago once again and see how the rich manage to live after a real revolution. For example, he had to share his big, many room, house with what previously were homeless vagrants and even he had to scrounge around the neighborhood for wood to burn to keep warm. I think the wealthy in the US desperately needs to be threatened by such a possibility.
#31
Quote Cwall:Some people laughed at Jesse Ventura's One World order Government forming and a Secret Society....I have to question given the direction we are going if that is as far fetched anymore or closer to the truth, then we are being lead to believe.
Jesse Ventura is right on the money, I believe! Sometimes I wish I was living down in southern Baja...off the grid.
#32
DAnneMarc: Arduino once again can save the day. :-}
"Enough Already: Silencing Celebs with Arduino" a YouTube video from Make. This device can monitor the caption portion of the TV signal and you can program the Arduino to detect the names of the people you don't want to listen to and it will cut off the audio for whatever period of time you want. Of course, a simpler method is just to turn the channel to begin with. ;-} I suppose that someone will eventually use voice analysis detection to blank out every word they speak. But then we would never be able to make fun of, and laugh at, what they say. I'm sure that some people might wonder if it would work for censoring blogs..now if we could just squelch that quidnuncian Palindromedary troll! ;-0
#33
Quote DAnneMarc:I'm also thankful that I'm far to cheap to go in for all those bells and whistles.Yeah, me too! But unfortunately, they often try to force those things on us by including them in the standard packages. They'll just include the costs of those packages whether you wan them or not...unless you go through all the trouble of special ordering a car without those packages. At first, they may try to sucker the buyer into adding those options....and those are the only cars they have on the lot. But, the computer unit that runs everything is just part of the basic car...even if you don't have an "On-Star" or "wireless tire pressure transducers" that send signals to the computer. The OBD3 wireless engine analyzers will be part of the on-board computer that can be hacked wirelessly.
Quote article:discussed in the OBD-III concept.
What types of technology can be used to detect and relay data pertaining to emissions malfunctions? Options include roadside readers, local station networks or satellites. The roadside reader has been tested by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) since 1994. It is capable of reading eight lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic at 100 miles per hour. It can be used from a fixed location with portable units or a mobile unit. If a fault is detected by a reader unit, it has the capability of sending the vehicle identification number (VIN) plus the fault codes to the regulator.
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The satellite system can be used with a cellular phone hookup or location monitoring technology. The vehicle would receive an alert via a cellular phone or the monitoring technology. The location, date, time, VIN and OBD II data would be returned to a satellite beacon.
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A roadside pullover might work this way: the monitoring technology detects a fault, a law enforcement officer stops the vehicle with the fault code, and a technician working with the officer at the scene verifies that a code is set. A citation is then issued requiring testing at a test center, with a time limit for the vehicle owner to do this before a penalty is incurred.
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So, if a cop can "stop a vehicle with the fault code", hackers could do other malicious things as well.
http://antimisandry.com/cars-gadgets/obd3-have-you-heard-about-blew-me-a...
I can see some positive things in the ability of cops to disable a person's car if they don't pull over and try to run for it. High speed chases are very dangerous. Maybe this is all part of the plan. But if they can do that, they can also easily assassinate people they don't like by running them into a tree at high speeds.
#34
Marc- Thank you for the lovely accolades! And don't worry, I ain't goin' anywhere! Especially with you on board. - AIW
P.S. What happened to NACHOS? I miss that guy. Every time I catch a glimpse of solar panels or see one of those wind power windmills, I think of him.
#35
Lee Atwater, late chairman of the Republican Party and Roger Ailes, founder of Fox News and Joseph Goebbels (Propoganda Minister) of the Republican Party said, "We know the media isn't liberal we just say it is to pressure it even more to the right."
What you have, Kend, is called "standpoint". You're standing in the right hand endzone and you see somebody on the right hand 30 yardline and think they are on the left hand thirty yardline - or even in the left hand endzone - because of where you are.
Either that or you're just bullshitting - again.
#36
Palindromedary, you've piqued my interest in Dr. Zhivago. It's a very familiar-sounding title, but I don't recall ever having watched it. I had no idea it was such a political flick. These days, my favorite entertainment is documentaries. By now I've amassed quite a collection. - AIW
#37
Quote Aliceinwonderland:What happened to NACHOS? I miss that guy.
Aliceinwonderland ~ You and me both. I don't know. Strange you should ask though, I just had a question pop up in a discussion with a friend that he would be uniquely suited to answer. It had to do with whether or not racism is a problem or an issue in Australia? If you're out there buddy, your insight would be appreciated; and, your absence is felt.
#38
Quote Mark Saulys:Lee Atwater, late chairman of the Republican Party and Roger Ailes, founder of Fox News and Joseph Goebbels (Propoganda Minister) of the Republican Party said, "We know the media isn't liberal we just say it is to pressure it even more to the right."
Mark Saulys ~ That is a very powerful statement. If true it says and explains a lot about what we see and hear on the main stream media. Thank you for sharing that little tidbit.
(PS By the way, I'm almost sure you can bet that Kend is just bullshitting with us. He has no real reason to say some of the things he says. I doubt even he believes half of what he says. I'd bet he laughs his butt off when we respond in kind. He seems to get a big kick out of intentionally ticking people off and stirring up the pot. I wouldn't analyse him too deep. His only perspective is opposite what he believes to be the norm here. Nevertheless, I value his input. His commentary is singularly responsible for bringing out some of the best posts on this blog. In that respect it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Kend may actually be Thom playing the Devil's advocate. Whoever Kend actually is, he is doing much more good than harm, whether he realizes it or not.)
(PPS I apologize to Thom and The Devil for that comparison.)
#39
Quote Palindromedary:Yeah, me too! But unfortunately, they often try to force those things on us by including them in the standard packages. They'll just include the costs of those packages whether you wan them or not...unless you go through all the trouble of special ordering a car without those packages.
Palindromedary ~ Very true my friend. However, I wouldn't waste a lot of time worrying about all the high tech ways those boys in black can whack you. Remember Vince Foster? All they have to do is shoot you in the head; and, when you are dead, shoot you in the mouth and no one will question that it is obviously a suicide. You missed the first time.
Don't be led into the false sense of security that if you drive an untamperable vehicle you are safe because you are not. Remember, it wasn't the hacking into his car's computer that killed Michael Hastings, it was the bomb planted under his seat. All the remote hacking did is make the explosion a bit more noticeable. That is all these killers are interested in is getting attention for their misdeeds in order to scare others. They know they can't kill everybody who hates the system because that is just about everybody. What they can hope to achieve is fear and let the fear control so that they don't have to.
Jack Kennedy had the right attitude, "If they are going to get me, they are going to get me. Why ruin my life worrying about it?"
Nevertheless, it is nice to know what you are up against. For that, thank you!
#40
I think he's just a shill - and not a very good one. Just a $20 one, not $150 or $200 per post one.
#41
DAnne Marc, since you wanted to know whether racism is a problem in Australia, I think I can give a pretty informed response. I would say yes. I stayed there over a month, between October and November of '99, with my mom. We spent the first three of those weeks on a tour, then the last two weeks with a friend of hers named Jean who lives (or lived?) in a suburb near Sydney. On one occasion while we were riding with Jean in her car, my mother was thanking her for some sort of favor; Jean's response was to say "I'd do it for a black man." Being the confrontative sort that I am, I recall bluntly asking "What's that supposed to mean?!" No reply was forthcoming. As the saying goes, her silence was "deafening". (tsk tsk)
I suppose it was rude of me to respond this way to our hostess. But her remark really rankled me.
On another occasion we had dinner with Jean at the chef's school of the local community college, where they serve gourmet meals to the public every so often. The woman sitting to my right made a hostile remark about all those "slant-eyed" immigrants flooding into big cities around Australia. This time my response was a little more tactful. I remember telling her how I came from the San Francisco Bay Area where there is a large Asian population, and where people settle from all over the world; I said I felt blessed to have grown up in an environment where I could become so accustomed to being around different cultures, even going so far as to say I felt it made me a better human being than I might have become otherwise. And so ended that conversation as well.
Aside from my personal encounters with Aussie-brand bigotry, throughout that entire trip I couldn't help noticing how isolated Australia's aboriginal people are from the mainstream. You never see them working in banks, stores, post offices et cetera. And there are certain areas, even in cities, where white folks are not allowed to set foot. From what I heard of the history there, aboriginal people have been treated very poorly, much like here only even more excluded.
Anyway Marc, I hope this helps answer your question. - Aliceinwonderland
#42
Aliceinwonderland ~ Yes, that did answer my question. Thank you. A friend of mine who never visited Australia mentioned such a situation in response to my commendation of Australia for it's health care system. I didn't want to believe him. I guess no country is perfect.
#43
Quote Mark Saulys:I think he's just a shill - and not a very good one. Just a $20 one, not $150 or $200 per post one.
Mark Saulys ~ You are probably right. I wouldn't put it past him.
#44
Aliceinwonderland: I remember watching a movie called "Rabbit-proof Fence" a number of years ago. Good movie! It showed a good bit of racism in Australian in the 1930s. "Beloved" is another movie I have watched a few times...and I rarely watch any movie more than once.
#45
Quote DAnneMarc:Remember, it wasn't the hacking into his car's computer that killed Michael Hastings, it was the bomb planted under his seat. All the remote hacking did is make the explosion a bit more noticeable.True! But it would have looked pretty obvious that it was a bomb had it exploded without hitting a tree first. And there was testimony by someone who witnessed the speeding car before it hit the tree who said he had seen sparks and a small explosion even before it hit the tree.
Given the fact that Mercedes spokesmen have claimed that their cars don't explode, nor their engines hurled 160 feet down the road, upon impact, and that there were multiple explosions, it looks pretty obvious to some of us that it was a bomb and not crashing into a tree that caused that explosion and horrendous fire. Crashing into a tree at high speeds just gives those who are easily swayed by authority the excuse to write it all off as just an accident. I understand that that Mercedes was a leased car ... but whether that has any importance ... probably not. It was a current year model ... so he must not of had it very long. Maybe it came already equipped with special optional features ... like a bomb?
#46
About the only thing I know about Australia, aside from the UKUSA/Echelon spy center, and that that is where Julian Assange is from (not from the spy center), is the Bloomin' Onion at Outback. Yummy! I've been just about every where else in the World except Australia.
#47
We need to diversify the ways in which we protest and communicate, I create powerful, peaceful, nonviolent, ways to protest and communicate. Please visit my website Trickle Down Campaigning http://trickledowncampaigning.com/ I am sure it can be of assistance to our causes. We can not rely on others to comunicate and advertise our ideas for us, we must peacefully take our messages to the ones that need to hear it. OCCUPY EVERY CORNER
thank you, Thom -you are truly a great American Champion
#48
I remember growing up in the 70's. when things were different. the FBI handled all internal criminal issues. the CIA handeled all intelegence everywhere else in the world. after 9/11 we had a knee jerk reaction to terrorists. well here are the consiquences of our reaction. we let the govt run rufshot over our rights.
patriot act: the ability to turn in your friends and neighbors with out reprisal... hummmm. remaniscent of the cold war communist era.
DHS: well what can i say.. into everybody's business with out oversite.
NSA: nuf said. look at there track record of violations of the constitution. hummmmm.
These 3 things need to be removed from the USA. before we loose all our liberty.
Solution.
expand FBI scope to domestic anti terrorism.
eliminate FISA court. replace with congretional approval commity accountable to the rest of congress. members must be rotated out every year.
expand CIA operation to cover only external terrorist operations with joint information sharing with FBI and joint FBI and CIA anti terrorist taskforce. make it a criminal act for CIA to act inside the USA.
restrict phone taps and data mining to warrant required. FBI current requirment.
last but not least: ABIDE BY THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Rebuild forign confidence in America by not spying on allie's. with out congresional approval.
p.s. Thank you Thom for a place to speak openly about issues that may or may not be of interest to other people.
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If Bush was still the President the main stream media would be all over this, because Obama is the president they can't say anything. They would never do anything that might make Obama look bad, they never have.