Saturday, April 21, 2007

News - Cho ties to Manna Christian Fellowship

(UPDATE 5/2/2007 by the CT Blogger - Cho connection to the Unification Church has been verified by another blogger. Follow the link to the posted update: http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/2007/05/news-confirmation-of-chounification.html)

In an earlier posting I brought up a possibility that Cho had a connection to the Unification Church. I still have found no direct evidence of a Moonie tie to this but I have found a connection to Manna Christian Fellowship.

The fellowship was founded by Rev. (or Bishop) W. Wellington Boone, who has since formed The Wellington Boone Ministries of Atlanta and has been deeply involved in the radical right-wing evangelical movement. Boone's political and religious views are far right-wing to say the least, fascist and un-Christian is probably a more apt description. Boone is also a member of the Promise Keepers movement, which promotes the total submission of women to their husband. Another way to look at their beliefs could be to question whether they wish their followers to submit to the leaders wishes, and in effect, submit to whatever the government tells them to do.

The Cho connection? While at Princeton, Cho Sun-kyung was a member of the Princeton branch of the movement and. The Princeton based representative of this church is now involved in the PR and media spin on this story. Apparently the Manna movement has focused extensively on recruiting from within the Asian student bodies of the top Universities. The are major differences in the methods and beliefs of these two organizations but they share a common philosophical belief and as we have seen proven through evidence learned in relation with the DoJ scandal, there is a conspiracy by the far right-wing religious movement to take control of of this nation's government and direct our foreign policy.

More to come...

Common threads that tie mind control agents

Some of the most prominent mind control assassins and killers of the last 44 years have a striking number of biographical similarities. The mass media and the Intelligence Community operatives like to use the “lone nut” or “disturbed individual” explanation in each case but there are far too many underlying and common threads that connect each of the killers in one way or another. Whether it is association with military and paramilitary groups, anti-depressant usage or their connections to the month of April the unexplained but noticeable connections are there. There is even an interesting play on words in two of their chosen aliases; "A Hidell, would you please meet A. Ishmael." Two Alphas and a Columbine Omega?

Here is a list of the most obvious, simple and direct connection that each person has with one another in list form:

Lee Harvey Oswald – Age 24 at the time of JFK assassination – Withdrawn as a child – Once sent to a psychiatric facility following a court order – Experience in paramilitary (Air Cadets) and military (US Marine Corps) – Knew multiple languages - Received weapons training – Traveled extensively at times when his income was low and had little if any savings – Attempted to assassinate Gen. Edwin Walker 7 months prior to Kennedy assassination on April 10, 1963 – Used “A. Hidell” alias – Held strong Marxist ideals – Gunned down before being held on trial – Owned a .38 handgun, used to murder Officer Tibbet. – Object of taunts in childhood and early adult life.

Sirhan Sirhan – age 24 at the time of the RFK assassination – Quiet as a child – Described by psychoanalysts in his trial as of being of “unsound mind” - Experience in paramilitary (California Cadets) – Knew multiple languages – Received weapons training – Felt disenfranchised from American culture – Found Guilty of murder of RFK on April 17, 1969 – Owned .38 and .22 caliber handguns, .22 used to assassinate Kennedy.

Arthur Bremer – Age 22 at the time of attempt to assassinate George Wallace – Withdrawn as a child – Once administered a psychiatric evaluation following a court order – Father was in the US military - Fascinated with paramilitary organizations (Black Panthers) and the JFK RFK assassinations – Traveled extensively at times when his income was low and had little if any savings – Made assassination plans to kill President Nixon 1 month before his attempted assassination of George Wallace on April 8, 1972 – Collected guns and owned a .38 and 9MM handguns, .38 was used to shoot Wallace. – Object of taunts in childhood and early adult life.

Mark David Chapman – Age 25 at the time of the assassination of Lennon – Unhappy childhood – Diagnosed as possibly psychotic by prison Doctors - Father was a career Air Force enlisted man, volunteered with charitable organizations – Knew multiple languages - Traveled extensively at times when his income was low and had little if any savings – Received weapons training - - Called Lennon a “phony” - Owned a .38 handgun, weapon used to assassinate Lennon - Object of taunts in childhood and early adult life.

John Hinckley – Age 25 at the time of the assassination attempt on President Reagan – Withdrawn as a teenager – Treated by Psychiatrists and given anti-depressants – Fascinated by Lennon assassination - Received weapons training - Held neo-Nazi and White Supremacist beliefs – Hated “the phony Hollywood scene” – Made plans to assassinate President Carter approximately 6 months before his attempt to assassinate Reagan on March 30, 1981 - Collected guns and owned a .38 handgun, .38 was used in the assassination attempt.

Timothy McVeigh – Age 26 at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing – Became depressed after failing to be accepted to the Special Forces – Experience in the paramilitary (anti-government groups) and the military (Army) – Fascinated with extremist right wing political groups – Traveled extensively at times when his income was low and had little if any savings – Collected guns – Birth date of April 23, 1968 and the bombing occurred on April 19, 1995.

Eric Harris – Age 18 at the time of the Columbine Massacre – Was on anti-depressants - Father was a member of the US military (Air Force), was rejected entrance by the Marine Corps – fascinated with Nazism, referenced Timothy McVeigh in massacre plans – Displayed anger with his school, community and his classmates – Suspected of making bombs that were found in the community for a year before the massacre - Collected guns – Birth date was April 9, 1981, Columbine Massacre April 20, 1999Target of bullying and taunts as a child and teenager – Committed suicide at the scene of the massacre.


Dylan Klebold – Age 17 at the time of the Columbine Massacre - fascinated with Nazism, referenced Timothy McVeigh in massacre plans - Displayed anger with his school, community and his classmates – Suspected of making bombs that were found in the community for a year before the massacre - Collected guns – Columbine massacre April 20, 1999 - Target of bullying and taunts as a child and teenager - Committed suicide at the scene of the massacre.

Seung-Hui Cho – Age 23 at the time of the Virginia Tech Massacre – Described as withdrawn and troubled as a child – Was placed under psychiatric observation by court order, was placed on anti-depressants – Knew multiple languages – Received weapons training – Fascinated with the Columbine Massacre – Displayed anger at his college classmates and society at large – Suspected of making bomb threats in the weeks before massacre – Used Ishmael Ax or “A. Ishmael” as an alias on the day of the massacre - Owned a .22 and 9MM handgun, both guns used in massacre – Massacre occurred on April 16, 2007 - Target of bullying and taunts as a child and teenager - Committed suicide at the scene of the massacre.

The month of April is associated in all but two cases (Chapman and Hinckley) but both of their cases are separated by only 3 months, with Hinckley’s assassination attempt occurring the day before April 1. Chapman’s assassination of Lennon is also said to have deeply affected Hinckley.

The use of anti-depressants and psychological assessment before the crime is common in all but two of the cases.

9MM, .38 or .22 caliber weapons appealed to every one of the subjects.

Following Oswald, each assassin was captured alive until Columbine. The surviving gunmen answered too many questions and now it appears that a “dead men tell no tales” approach has been regained.

There is another aspect of each of these mind control subjects that I have not addressed in this post but plan to do at a later date. Their proximity to, and side connections with, various aspects of the US Intelligence Community and Black Ops projects.

News - Lockheed Martin loses LCS 3 contract

Lockheed Martin's money grab has gotten a little smaller this year as the Navy first issued a stop work order for LCS 3 and last week cancelled the contract for the ship. Work continues on LCS 1 (Lockheed Martin) and LCS 2 &4 (General Dynamics). The loss of LCS 3 combined with the deepening, but virtually off the corporate news radar, Deepwater Program and the VH-71 Presidential helicopter program scandals give us another look at the massive amounts of power and money that flow to the coffers of defense contractors.

The Deepwater Program has resulted in a DoJ investigation (Go Gonzo), 8 cracked and warped hulls which have resulted in the decommissioning of all 8 boats, a loss of hundreds of millions of tax-payers dollars and a severely reduced Coast Guard capability that may take decades to recover from. "We never forget who we're working for." is the new motto of Lockheed Martin. Oh yeah? Just who are you working for if this is a sign of your work?

I wish I had the time and resources to add up the total profit that Lockheed Martin and all the companies that it has bought over the years, have made from the US taxpayer since WWII. I'm sure it would reach into the hundreds of billions of dollars and I'm not talking about net income, I'm referring to pure profit. The talking point that politicians love to use that covers the ass of the defense contractor is the lie that we are providing the best equipment available to our troops. The Senators and Congress critters love to go tromping back to the district with money in their fists for the contractors, promising jobs for the locals and a sense of helping to protect the nation, right there in your own back yard.

As General Smedley Butler so famously said, "War is a racket." and it doesn't take a lot of work to find examples of how much cash being thrown around today. For all the change in this world some things never change and some things change only on the surface as the war profiteer learns and adapts to the environment to maximize profit.

The Baghdad Wall

The Big 5 of American mainstream media haven't reported this. A 3 mile long, 12 foot high concrete wall has been under construction in Baghdad since April 10.

There was confusion about the wall at US HQ. Major-General William Caldwell, the usual US spokesman in Baghdad, said on Wednesday he was unaware of efforts to build a wall. "Our goal is to unify Baghdad, not subdivide it into separate [enclaves]," he said. But a US military press release from Camp Victory provided extensive details about the construction. It said: "The area the wall will protect is the largest predominately Sunni neighbourhood in east Baghdad. The wall is one of the centrepieces of a new strategy by coalition and Iraqi forces to break the cycle of sectarian violence."

It sounds like someone had a brainstorm and decided to try a suburban approach. When you are born and raised in a suburban gated community that keeps people out of where you live it's bound to effect your world view. If it works Dunwoody it'll work in Baghdad, right?

(Dunwoody, for those not from Atlanta, is an upscale suburban enclave of gated communities situated among office parks and big box stores.)

Friday, April 20, 2007

The Cho Background Data

One of the major obstacles in trying to follow the VaTech story and maintain accurate reference materials for future discussion and analysis, is the continually changing articles posted by the mainstream media to their respective web sites. The news organizations edit, move, delete and cleanse the articles on a constant basis. Simply bookmarking an article's URL isn't sufficient. What is left for the researcher to do is archive the websites locally to a drive and constantly check the sites to see what has changed in the article text.

This leads to a nightmare process for fact checking and referencing sources. It also brings up the possibility that reported facts change or get lost in the dynamic flow of the story's evolution. To help piece together this story for the conspiracy theory researchers and enthusiasts, as well as for my own reference, I'm going to try to post the details that I believe we should keep in mind as we peel the onion. I'm going to provide a tag for this series of posts, which I will call "Cho Research", so that it will be easier to click a single link and see the collected posts in a chronological order. I'm going to place information into a descriptive order that matches the time lines and subject matter as closely as possible. For example, "The Cho Background Data", "The Cho Academic Data", etc...

I do not want to edit the posts after I have published them unless a link is dead or to add clarity when the validity of an item is in question. What I plan to do is leave the wording of the original post and simply add dated notations to any post in question within brackets. I hope to use these postings as a foundation to build upon when the more obscure aspects of the research process come into play, as you or I will be able to link to this information when citing references.

With this information in mind, here is a compiled and numbered overview of Cho's family background:


1) Cho’s maternal grandparents are reported to have been from a family of "well educated land owners" who fled from the north during the Korean conflict.

2) Little is known about his paternal grandparents, all that is known about Cho’s father’s family is that they were poor and from the south.

3) Cho’s father worked in the Saudi oilfields for 10 years (exact dates unknown)and wed Cho’s mother in an arranged marriage when he was 39 years of age and she was 29.

4) Cho’s extended family in Korea remember that as a boy he was quiet and they were worried that he may have had a “mental problem” as well as a report that he was diagnosed as being clinically withdrawn” after the family’s move to America.

5) Cho’s older sister is remembered as being “super-intelligent” who graduated from Princeton in 2004 and has worked before as an intern at the State Department’s International Labor Office and at the US Embassy in Bangkok under Princeton’s International Internship Program. Her current position with the State Department as a contractor in the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office was, “set up by President George W Bush to coordinate the reconstruction program in Iraq and offers jobs to "highly skilled and motivated United States citizens" to work at the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, according to State Department documents."

6) There are also reports that Cho was diagnosed with autism by American Doctors.

7) The mother is widely reported to attend “Korean Church” (no denomination mentioned) and prayed for her son when he was a child. She is also reported to have asked Cho’s roommates at Virginia Tech to “help” her son.

8) The maternal grandparents are reportedly showing great hostility and anger at their grandson.

News - Copycat Effect at NASA

I'm just now seeing the breaking news out of Houston regarding a gunman at the Johnson Space Center. Copycat Effect?

News - Was Cho Seung-Hui a member of the Unification Church (Moonie)?

(Update by the CT Blogger: For more details on the VATech shooter's religious connections, click here.

For details on the VaTech shooter's connections to US Intelligence Agencies, click here.)


(update by The CT Blogger - 5/7/2007 - New update on the shooter's background in the Evangelical movement can be found here)

While downloading and categorizing some new mainstream media reports on the VATech shooter I came across some curious tidbits of information about his family that is raising red flags with me. I have no media reports on this theory to date but there are some strong indications that I believe may lead to a connection with the Unification Church and the shooter. I think there is enough circumstantial evidence of this to at least get this idea out on the web right now.

Cho's parents were wed under an arranged marriage. This is a common practice with the Unification Church. The church was founded in Korea. The DC area is a particular place of interest for the church due to it's political connections with the church's leader. Mind control has also been a tactic used by the church. The Unification Church has a direct connection to Bush 41, ex-CIA chief and ultra-deep insider of the US Intelligence Community (IC). The connections between the Unification Church and the CIA are too numerous to mention.

I'm going to keep looking at this facet and see what comes up. Has anyone looked at the Washington Times' coverage of the shooting? I wish I had made the Korean connection much sooner so that I could have archived that paper's reaction for future study. Why didn't we consider this earlier? Is Cho's sister, Sun, named after the church's leader and founder?

News - Get an Rx -- go into the database


One interesting piece of information that came to light as a result of the VaTech massacre is the revelation that the federal government is maintaining a database of prescription drug recipients. ABC news reported this information on their website and it has now been scrubbed. I made a screen capture of this item yesterday and will post the cap tonight in this article after I get home. (EDIT by The CT Blogger: Screen Cap has been added 4/20)

Boing Boing has a blog entry on the drug database which adds some new light on the story and it gives the conspiracy theory researcher yet one more area to look into as part of their greater research.

According to the Boing Boing posting there is a State Prescriptions Monitoring Program that has been in existence since 2003. The FAQ for this program states,

Program officials state that their systems are not used to target possible subjects of an investigation.

And this is apparently another lie since it has already been shown that the feds looked at the database to see if the shooter's name was listed. Once again, the government is caught in a lie, maybe.

I mentioned in the previous post that I thought Total Information Awareness was the source for the information reported by ABC News. This is also a strong possibility since Poindexter's dream for the program was to pump data from any and all existing means of collecting information and lace it together under the TIA blanket. So it is possible that the NASPER database was not the source of the query and instead TIA was the system that was searched. The fact that NASPER states their database will not be used to investigate is irrelevant. If another system is used to perform searches then the NASPER statement still holds true.

Never forget that the government is highly skilled at making statements that can be defined as the truth and a lie at the same time. Few people can argue over semantics the way our government can.


Another round of random thoughts

I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do in the upcoming days. I started coming down with the latest round of the crud yesterday afternoon and I'm battling through that. If I post anything totally off the wall I can always blame it on the Robitussin.

The media backlash over NBC releasing some of the materials began yesterday. NBC and it's sister station MSNBC spent quite a bit of time saying "I'm sorry" after what they said was public outrage over the videos that were aired. Isn't it curious that these self censored news materials caused an outrage after the Virginia State Police contradicted the President of NBC news when he said at a press conference that he wished NBC hadn't aired the videos?

Considering the tight reign that is still being held on Columbine materials it is interesting that these items were released in the public arena. The quantity and quality of the material and the speed in which it was released is certainly reminiscent of the Oswald biography that was assembled in the hours after his capture.

Why was NBC News chosen by the shooter? I thought about this a great deal yesterday, maybe more than I should have, but I think the media outlet chosen provides better insight into the event as a whole. I need to sit down and get all of my thoughts collected on this and I will address this in a long post at a later date.

I'm going to post a link (or more) to a side story that developed yesterday which is tangentially related to the VaTech story. It's been learned that the government has a database which contains the names of people taking anti-depressants. While the existence of a database like this isn't surprising, to have a confirmation that a database exists which contains records of the prescriptions taken by Americans is somewhat groundbreaking. I can only assmue that the database is a component of John Poindetexter's Total Information Awareness program.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

News - Is the Attorney General afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease?

I'm following the AG testimony at thebluestate.com live blog:

http://www.thebluestate.com/2007/04/live_blogging_t.html

Can Gonzales remember anything that isn't selective? Does he have Alzheimer's Disease? Does he suffer from a form of dementia that effects his short-term memory? Shouldn't the number 1 law enforcement agent in America be able to remember details of important meetings that happened only a few short months ago?

According to reporters, Gonzales has said the words "I can't recall" nearly 55 times.

News - A quick roundup

Here are some of the news stories that are being overshadowed today by the VaTech massacre:

AG Gonzales testimony. You can stream the C-SPAN coverage from this URL:

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

The missing White House emails (and Rove's violation of the Presidential Records Act) is still a serious story. The Washington Post has the latest developments here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/17/AR2007041701984.html?nav=rss_politics

More than 200 dead in Iraq over the last 24 hours following a car bomb spree. 198 were killed yesterday, SecDef is on the ground in Iraq and 3 more US soldiers were killed yesterday:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/19/iraq.main/index.html

Wolfowitz's scandal at the World Bank deepens as a senior deputy tells him to resign:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/imf/story/0,,2060755,00.html

The US Supreme Court opens the door for a serious Roe v. Wade challenge (guess those SCOTUS hearings shouldn't have been pooh-pooh'd by the media and the Democrats, but hey, we all told you so):

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18195406/

and to lighten the doom and gloom for a moment, Lawrence Fishburne signed to provide the voice of the Silver Surfer:

http://movies.ign.com/articles/781/781876p1.html

More random thoughts

For the next few days, probably weeks, I’m going to keep my posts on the VaTech massacre to a few numbered items, such as what I am doing with this posting. After yesterday’s data dump of information to NBC News I feel more than a little overwhelmed from the added info and I want to digest it. What I am considering is blogging this story less frequently but with greater depth, such as the multi-part commentaries I have been posting for the last few weeks. A half dozen unfocused posts a day aren’t going to add to the understanding of this event.

I’ve been somewhat ambivalent about classifying this as a Black Op mind control event but that ambivalence is now gone. Between Cho’s syncopated, rhythmic delivery in the videos, the speed and direction of the Ismael Ax fallout and the media’s complete lack of interest in the efficiency and skill shown in the classroom shootings, I am convinced that this isn’t just a case of a disturbed young man. Not to mention the fact that the Attorney General is testifying before the Senate today in the US Attorney firings scandal and the media is all but ignoring this massively important story.

The attention that this has taken away from the larger, more important scandals emerging is staggering. The gun control rhetoric is heating up and the politicization of this tragedy began within hours, before the bodies were even cold. The direction of the discussion of the keyword “Ismael Ax” is reinforcing anti-Islamic emotions. And all because a 23 year old creative writing major went on a kill crazy rampage in a manner than would make a veteran SpecOp soldier stand and take notice.

Some thoughts this morning:

1) The shooter’s sister is an Ivy League graduate who works as a, “contractor to the State Department in the rebuilding of Iraq.” The shooter’s listed home is within walking distance of the headquarters of both the NRA and the NRO.

2) Would the shooter have really had time to escape one crime scene, get back to his dorm room and continue editing the NBC News documents and create more content, burn the DVD or CD and finish gathering his documents and then high tail it to the post office 1.5 hours after the dorm room shooting?

3) Why was there no panic at the dormitory after he shot and killed two people?

4) Why would a respected University keep a trouble-making, troubled and mentally imbalanced student on its campus after years of documented anti-social incidents? A quick glance at his writings that have been posted to the web clearly show that his “work” was juvenile at best. He couldn’t have been contributing anything to “The Academy” by being allowed to stay, and yet he was a senior, apparently close to getting his BFA in Creative Writing.

5) A full day before the Ishmael Ax information was discussed by the mainstream media, this information was circulated and being discussed in Conspiracy Theory forums.

Another day, more questions.

Remember the Iowa


While there are many tragic anniversaries to remember this week, and a new one has been added with the shootings at VaTech, try to jar your memory and remember one that has fallen in the memory hole. On this day in 1989, a powder explosion in the center gun, turret 2, of the USS Iowa killed 47 sailors in the prime of their lives. The memory that most people have of this incident is the scandalous accusations made against several sailors by the NIS and the Navy’s power structure at that time. What is always forgotten is the action by the crew to save the ship and maintain its professional reaction to the tragedy.

Seven weeks after the explosion, the crew of the Iowa took their ship back to sea for a six-month deployment to the north Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. She served honorably as the 6th Fleet Flagship during that deployment, responded to contingency operations off the coast of Lebanon and for the first time in many years there was no aircraft carrier in the Med for several weeks as the Iowa proved it could handle any crisis. 6th Fleet Commander Admiral Johnson was himself so impressed with the abilities and actions of the crew that he sent letters of appreciation to the families of the entire crew while they were in the middle of this deployment.

“Support the troops” is a new mantra in this nation, that wasn’t a common sentiment 20 years ago and it seems the only time that phrase comes out is when the nation is at war. Remember the sailors, airmen, soldiers and Marines who died during peacetime and those who served at a time when wearing the uniform wasn’t portrayed as it is today. The Iowa was a special ship, manned by special men who responded to enormous stress, heartache and scrutiny by doing their jobs quietly and with honor. Remember them and their shipmates of the past, present and future.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Commentary - The militarization of America - Part 2

Part 1 of this commentary can be found here:





Rumors about the toy box

Coinciding with the late 80's-early 90's escalation of combat operations and shining publicity was a curious sideshow involving secret desert bases, exotic advanced weapons and technology and a faint hint of otherworldly connections. Starting around 1987 the subject America's stealth fighter technology and experiments came to light. It began in technical and trade journals as well as the sub-culture of aviation enthusiasts. The existence of the B-2 bomber and the F-117 Stealth fighter had been verified by time of the Panama invasion. The invasion was the "test bed" for the capabilities of both weapons delivery systems, the first Persian Gulf war was the coming out party.

Bubbling under these two developments were rumors of other, far more exotic toys being played with in the toy box of the high desert of Nevada; Area 51. American interest had been piqued by the story sub-plots found in TV shows and movies like "The X-Files", "Men in Black" and "Independence Day" which hinted at or directly covered the existence of advanced military weapons systems that were kept in the secret Area 51 air base. These rumors and plot devices satiated the American appetite for superiority in all things related to the military and gave popular culture a new outlet for conspiracy theories and urban legend. Instead of public fear and outrage at these stories, Americans were strangely seduced and pleased by these stories. Why?


Look around you

The military, its suppliers and its second cousins are all around us. Turn on the TV if you have cable and there is literally a 24-hour a day presence of the military on your TV. The Military History Channel is one of the many channels which fall under the broadcast umbrella of General Electric and it's A&E Television Networks. In the early and mid-90's another basic cable staple, The Discovery Channel, was a science and history centric source of programming. It's shows featured stories about ancient societies, space exploration and world history. The only military themed shows were the 1 hour-long documentaries about military action from history. This aspect of the programming can be prominently seen in early episodes of HBO's The Sopranos, as lead character and mob boss Tony Soprano, is an enthusiast of these shows and their historical figures. In Gus Van Sandt's film "Elephant", a fictionalized account of the Columbine Massacre, the killers are seen skipping school with a Discovery Channel styled documentary playing in the scene where an automatic rifle is being delivered to them.

The Discovery Channel and General Elctric's web of cable stations all use the modern military, it's weapons and tactics as a central subject of much of their programming on top of the 24 hour coverage featured on The Military History Channel. The quantity and tone of this type of programming is quite unsettling when you begin to look closely at the subject material. Is this glut of military themed programming a result of public demand, or is it a carefully orchestrated plan to desensitize the American public to the mission of the military (wage war and cause death and destruction) and/or to desensitize them and give sympathy to the suppliers of military weapons? General Electric stands much to gain by their own form of self promotion.

I have not seen a single example of criticism of the fraud, corruption or fleecing of the American public by the makers of the American weapons industry on these channels. It is only wall-to-wall praise and glory for the purported capabilities of these weapons, weapon delivery systems and their designers. No mention of the checkered history of the Osprey aircraft platform. No mention of the massive cost overruns, abject failure to produce viable products in accordance with contractual obligations and flawed production of the LCS and Deepwater Programs. No mention of the sham and money pit that was the A-12 Avenger program. Chest thumping and sexy base reactions from the masses, yes. Honesty and critical thinking, no!

Switch channels to over-the-air broadcast TV and you'll see even more propaganda. The Armed Forces have spent a ton of money to sponsor cars in the NASCAR Nextel Cup racing series. At any sporting event worthy of national attention there is the obligatory honor guard and flyover of high tech aircraft. You can't sit down and simply watch a football game on a lazy Sunday afternoon without being assaulted with images of spit and polished servicemen, a close-up of a formation of F-18 Hornets, and now the on-screen box score even features the logos of and website address of the military. GoArmy.com indeed. Especially if my team can go 5-2 after this game.

The military's advertising has even morphed into a variation on themes. One commercial features the POV of a middle aged parent, with their child informing them of the news that they have or are considering joining the military. The POV parent, of course, is silent for the length of the commercial as your youngster rattles off the promises of the recruiter. Another commercial approach shows the military as a video game. No comment necessary.


In conclusion

This militarization of the American masses is so ingrained in our culture that it's virtually a useless exercise to reverse the trend. Spend some of your time with your eyes open and your mind aware of the military symbolism all around you. What does your local police force look like? Here in Atlanta where I live and in the rest of the state of Georgia, out police officers rarely act or dress in the traditional way of law enforcement agents. Many wear all black uniforms, with their pants combat dressed into their boots.

All we need is for the Commander in Chief to dress in the uniform while in office and all is complete. Wait a minute, that already happened.


Image from Reuters

News - The moral panic begins

Here comes the pre-emptive arrests, questionings and targeting of "potential killers" in our midst:

http://www.ajc.com/hp/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Virginia_Tech_Colorado.html (Free registration required to read the article)

Excerpt from the article:

Student Arrested Over Va. Tech Remarks

BOULDER, Colo. — A University of Colorado student was arrested after making comments that classmates deemed sympathetic toward the gunman blamed for killing 32 students and himself at Virginia Tech, authorities said.

During a class discussion of Monday's massacre at Virginia Tech, the student "made comments about understanding how someone could kill 32 people," university police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley said. Several witnesses told investigators the student said he was "angry about all kinds of things from the fluorescent light bulbs to the unpainted walls, and it made him angry enough to kill people," according to a police report. Witnesses "said they were afraid of him and afraid to come to class with him," Wiesley said.

News - Leaving the bubble

Tragedy does not stop the world from revolving. Too many stories drop into the memory hole during times of breaking, high profile news and here is something for all Americans to think about.

The Marine Corps Times has posted a strongly worded article about bringing back the draft.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/04/military_groundforces_draft_070417w/

Some points from the article:

“If the United States is going to have a significant component of its ground forces in Iraq over the next five, 10, 15 or 30 years, then the responsible course is for the president and those supporting this open-ended and escalated presence in Iraq to call for reinstating the draft.”

“For the first time since Vietnam, we are caught with no strategic reserve. We simply do not have a strategic fallback position for the crisis that will come inevitably,” McCaffrey warned.


There is subtle but definite "s*** or get off the pot" tone to the article.

News - Is VP Cheney's Command Post an Airstream trailer?

Now this is an odd revelation:

http://www.thepoorman.net/2007/04/14/what-the-hell/

I wonder if it's a single or double wide? Seriously, why would the VP need an Airstream trailer on his travels? I can't imagine it's for his support staff and protective services. From what is public knowledge of the Presidential and VP entourage there hasn't been a mention of the use of a trailer.

I can't imagine the VP takes it with him for creature comforts, unless he has a DirectTV package that only tunes in Fox News http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0322061cheney1.html on all 300 channels. Cheney has always struck me as a 24/7 business sort of guy, like the Anthony Kirby character in "You Can't Take it With You", "My hobbies? Business is my hobby." Is Cheney using the Airstream as a Command Post?

News - The Blackberry network is down

(Note by The CT Blogger - Service is being reported as being back as of 11:10 AM, 4/18. No word on the cause. http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/18/technology/rimm/index.htm?cnn=yes)

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6177072.html

"A widespread system failure of Research In Motion's network has left BlackBerry users in the Western Hemisphere without e-mail on their handheld devices.

The problem, first reported on news site WNBC.com, is believed to have originated around 8 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday and has not yet been solved. Because the problem concerns the RIM BlackBerry network, all cellular carriers that support BlackBerry are affected. On the BlackberryForums.com discussion site, some people also indicated that they could not browse the Internet.

RIM has acknowledged the problem through a recorded message that plays when calls are placed to the BlackBerry customer servicehotline. The message states that the company is "currently experiencing a service interruption that is causing delays in sending or receiving messages." No updates have been provided, and no time frame has been given for resolving the problem. However, the automated message assured callers that they would be kept in the loop.

Attempts to reach press representatives at Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM have been unsuccessful."


and,

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4871

"But the bottom line is much of the world is addicted to the CrackBerry and they want some communication when their fix is yanked away. What's next? These poor addicts may actually have to talk to each other."


As a non-mobile computing Luddite, who even detests his cellphone, I can only wonder about the true cause of the outage and how the "Alphabet Agencies" are watching this unfold.

Random thoughts this morning

As I alluded to in an earlier post, my personal list of questions continues to grow. Some of my answers are beginning to be answered but only the general questions. Along with the list of questions I also have a list of random thoughts that is more of a small journal. These cases are dynamic in the way they are reported by the mainstream media and the media has a somewhat predictable MO in these cases.

Now that there is enough general information and some detailed information of the shooter in the public arena and the police are apparently gathering clues away from the crime scene, the media will now focus on the victims and begin the exploitation of the "personal stories" from the massacre. This is the time when researchers should be working with their notes and begin connecting the dots. Vetting the data, asking the deeper questions and categorizing their findings. The real work of conspiracy theory research begins now.

This morning some things are sticking out as random, odd and oblique to the story that I thought I would throw out here on the blog.

1) The mainstream media hasn't identified a single wounded victim who is in the hospital. Who are they, what are their injuries and why the absence of reporting on these people?

2) Ismael Ax - Ignore this "factoid", all of you. If the shooter is a Manchurian Agent, the scrawled words are a planted distraction to take away effort and thought into the larger picture. If the shooter was not a Manchurian Agent then the words are nothing more than a sign of his deteriorated mental state.

3) No one seems to be working the gun, serial number and receipt angle. Why would the shooter have the receipt for the gun in his possession at the time of the killings? Why would the shooter file off the serial numbers if he was going to carry a receipt that would link him to the gun? How many clips did the shooter have? How much ammo did he have left? What were the other items in his backpack?

4) Why the discrepancy in witness reports of the shooters clothing? The earliest reports were that it was an Asian male, wearing a maroon cap and black leather jacket. Later reports state an Asian male, wearing a short sleeved tan shirt and an "ammunition vest". Why would both reports miss the backpack? Why would a shooters vest be mistaken for a leather jacket? Two different physical descriptions leads me to think there was a second shooter and the police have still not said with certainty that there was not a second shooter.

5) After checking out Google Earth last night I learned that the shooter's listed home is a long walk or a 5 minute drive from the Headquarters of the National Rifle Association and the National Reconnaissance Office.

6) This shooter was calm, cool, quiet and methodical. In the midst of absolute chaos and terror he kept his head and shot at least 41 people with amazing efficiency. This would be a minimum of 41 shots, with possibly as many as 123 shots within minutes and with a stunning kill ratio. All the while these victims were running and attempting to escape but he still hit the targets with kill shots. The shooter was well trained and well prepared, even prepared to chain and lock(?) the front entrances closed to keep potential victims from escaping.

The "he learned tactics from a video game" defense doesn't hold water. That excuse was used on Harris and Klebold but when you looked more closely at Columbine you realize that they bungled the job on many levels. The video game training defense doesn't hold up, especially in light of the shooters dorm roommate stating that the shooter was rarely in the room and the roommate didn't mention video games being an interest of the shooter, only downloading music.

The shooter had skills beyond compare for a "civilian".

I have many more random thoughts going right now but these 6 thoughts are the ideas that are floating in my mind most prominently this morning. Do you, as someone who is interested in this story from a conspiracy theory angle, have your own list?

Heads up to the researchers.

Conspiracy theory researchers need to keep an eye out for the autopsy results of the victims at VaTech. The medical examiner in Roanoke has today released two bodies to their respective families. Remember the issues with the autopsy reports in the Columbine case?

In light of the revelation of an attending Doctor who treated victims at one of the hospitals, who stated that every gunshot victim they saw had three gunshot wounds each, it will be of interest to know how many gunshot wounds were inflicted, the gun that the bullets came from and the location and position of each victim at the scene of the crime. Those pieces of information were critical in the CT research of Columbine.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

History lesson in your own backyard

You can live in a place for years and never know the hidden history of your surroundings and never be the wiser of it. I saw this article at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution website and was quite surprised: http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/stories/2007/04/15/0416LVchurches.html (Free registration required)

When I first moved down to Atlanta from the hills a little over 10 years ago, my first apartment was in the neighborhood mentioned in the article. I had no idea of this wrinkle of history about the church, let alone the neighborhood and I'm someone who prides himself on knowing history. Especially of the places I have lived.

Never assume that you know all of the history about a given place or time, there is always something new to learn. The same can be said about life. I may have to take a drive through the old neighborhood this weekend just to look around and see how things have changed since I moved from there seven years ago and take a look with a new set of eyes to guide me.

On deck, copycats

The Copycat Effect can't be far behind as an unwelcome effect of the VaTech massacre. Loren Coleman, the Cryptozoology researcher and author, has written a book about this phenomenon and has a blog about the subject. Required reading.

http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/

Link to his book at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743482239/cryptozoologi-20/

Commentary - Who will benefit?

I think it is safe for me to say that the first group that stands to benefit, and benefit the most from the VaTech massacre is the Republican Party. Within days I expect the pro-gun/anti-gun rhetoric to heat up. Which side of the fence do both parties reside? The support and approval that the Democratic Party has gained over the last year will begin to erode once they begin to pick up the anti-gun stance.

The nation's top law enforcement agent goes before the Senate on Thursday to answer questions about the US Attorney firings and the media is reporting that the Senate Committee is attempting to gain immunity for Monica Goodling in return for her testimony.

Guess who's thunder has been stolen?

An update on the Black Op theory

I still believe it is far too early to begin saying this was a Black Op, as the CT forums are debating right now, and therefore it can't be argued that this was such an event. Too few facts are known and too many questions need to be answered. At the moment I have 41 focused and general questions of my own that I am trying to find answers for and my questions list seems to grow every time I look at it. Not to mention the process of archiving web pages, classifying the information I am gathering and collecting my thoughts.

As of now the image of the shooter seems to be an amalgam of Harris, Kaczynski and Klebold. A loner with a list of "grievances" that has of yet been described by the Police, who seems to have held "disturbing" thoughts according to one of his creative writing teachers.

Whether or not the strange similarities to what we know are signs of Black Ops are in fact a hallmark of that activity, any conspiracy theorist must look at what the operation would have accomplished no mater what facts emerge. In my estimation a Black Op of this nature would be green-lighted because of one (maybe more) of the following 4 reasons:

1) A real world test of some mind control technique.
2) To create a ruse which takes attention away from something else.
3) To act as a part of a larger operation or to change the public view via a moral panic episode.
4) To provide cover for the targeting of an individual (whether they were a part of the massacre or not).

We really can't tell if any of those four reasons will be proven until some length of time has passed and we see the fallout and investigation results from both the authorities and the CT researchers. Of the list of victims, no one seems to jump out as a red herring. Too many things are unknown right now, that is all a CT enthusiast or researcher can say with any certainty. For the CT researcher this should be a time of note taking, asking yourself questions and gathering together your source materials; not to jump to conclusions less than 48 hours after an event.

Commentary - Black Op at VaTech?

Conspiracy theory forums are focusing on whether or not the VaTech massacre is a black-op event, meaning the shooter was the subject of a mind control program. I think it’s too early to tell whether or not this is the case but it is a valid point of discussion right now. The main reason I blogged the breaking events yesterday was to have a record of what was being reported and how it was being reported as the events unfolded.

There are a few identifying methods to determine if this is a block op. Some of these methods will not come into play until we learn more about the shooters background and we see how investigators and the mainstream media describe his biography and actions. At this moment, 24 hours after the massacre began; here are the things that appear to have potential black op connections:


Clues

1) The shooter’s whereabouts between the dorm room killing and the classroom killings are unknown. There is a 2-hour gap between both events.

Unexplained time gaps are common in many of the major assassination CTs. Oswald’s actions between Dealy Plaza and the Texas Theater. Mark David Chapman’s actions between seeing Lennon on the morning of the assassination and the actual shooting that night. What did the VaTech shooter do in the two hours between his killings?

2) The shooter appears to have been highly efficient and effective in his attack.

He killed 29 in the classroom, with two weapons and we hear reports from one of the hospitals that an administering Dr. said the shooter put at least 3 bullets in each victim. With a 9 MM and .22 caliber at his disposal he would have had many clips with him and was cool under stress to shoot, reload and regain the shooter position in the midst of chaos.

3) The shooter appeared calm, methodical and quiet as he was killing the students.

This is a sign of either advanced training or that he was in a trance like state.

4) Early confusion in the reporting of the event regarding certain key details and “keystone Groupthink words” were used during the earliest stages of the incident.

Live reporting of breaking news as it is happening is a tricky business. The news agencies commonly provide information that is later learned to be false, but it always seems to be the national media that does this and never the local news. Compare how the national media provides incorrect info in their live reporting when compared with your local TV news media when they go live with breaking news such as weather or disaster reporting.

The “keystone Groupthink words” that emerged in the breaking news reports were, “Lone gunman”, the gun types were being reported more than an hour and a half before a description of the shooter was released, which is illogical when you consider the fact that no one knew if it really was a lone gunman, a terrorist attack or if there were other suspects.


What should we watch for now?

There are certain key pieces of info that we should be watching for as the details of the shooter’s life are reported:

1) What is the social and professional standing of the shooter’s family?

If the family has connections to the Military-Industrial Complex, intelligence agencies or any of the “Alphabet” agencies, or if his family has ties to extremist organizations. These connections are red flags.

2) Did the shooter’s family have money?

This will be very important as the shooter’s travels in the days, weeks and months before the tragedy are examined. Unless they are from a wealthy family a poor college student cannot afford expensive and frequent travel.

3) What details of his behavior and personality will arise?

John Hinckley and Mark David Chapman both had major interests in the book “Catcher in the Rye” as well as pop cultural subjects.

One other aspect that we should pay attention to is the pro and anti gun rhetoric. This has already raised its head and both sides have jumped into the fray with both feet. A quick survey of political and conspiracy minded forums showed postings from well-known dogma “Champions” of both extreme right wing and extreme left wing positions, posting messages which wound up being virtual word for word copies of the respective pro and anti gun movements. Both sides of the gun lobby already have their propagandists out in force and all Americans will once again be placed into the “pick a side” mode of discourse.

News- Don't forget what else is happening in the world

While the mainstream media four walls the VaTech shooting tragedy, don’t forget the other news stories that slip between the cracks in times like this. Remember that on the day of the Columbine shooting that NATO forces dropped more bombs than any other day of it’s action in Bosnia.

News stories to not forget and news stories that fall off the radar:

The Attorney General testimony before Congress has been delayed - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704160329apr17,1,7950509.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

US Casualties mount as Sadr quits Iraqi government - http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/April/focusoniraq_April121.xml&section=focusoniraq

French Intelligence officials admit that they warned the US government of al-Qaeda plot for 911 well before the attack - http://www.bitsofnews.com/content/view/5568/2/

Italy tries US intelligence agent in absentia - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1665561.ece
Don’t forget the ongoing White House email scandal, the emergency funding bill for the war and the first deployment of the Osprey aircraft to a combat theater.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Commentary - The 2nd Ammendment Conspiracy Theories

(CT Blogger's note - I wrote this over the weekend and was planning on posting on the 19th. In light of today's tragic events, it seems more appropriate to post today, unedited and unproofed.)


There are three tragic events which have anniversaries over the next few days that have deep CT roots. The 19th marks the 14th anniversary of the Branch Davidian tragedy in Waco and the 12th anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. The 20th marks the 8th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. The first two events, Waco and Oklahoma City, are directly linked. Columbine is not, at least it appears to not be linked if you only look at the surface. There is a conspiracy theory that runs underneath all three events and this theory has played a major part in a major sea change within the CT world.

There are two separate conspiracy theories that have swirled around the Waco event. The first is mainly adhered to by right wing conspiracy theorists who believe the Waco siege and deaths were part of a conspiracy to undermine the Second Amendment. The second theory postulates that federal agents using specialized weapons started the fire that destroyed the Davidian compound.

This incident is what Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, claimed as the event that caused him to plan and commit his attack on the federal building. McVeigh believed that the Federal government was at fault for the Waco deaths and stated that his attack was retribution for that event. McVeigh was one of the right wing extremists who also believed that the Waco siege was a part of a larger conspiracy to take away guns from the American public.

While these two events have no direct link to the Columbine massacre the underlying CT which connects all three, is the theory that there is a conspiracy against the 2nd Amendment. Following the event in Columbine there was once again a call to ban or restrict gun ownership. The followers of this CT all share a common political identity, right wing conservatism. This extremist faction of followers, such as McVeigh, stand on an anti-government belief system. There is also an extremist left wing faction that mirrors this movement.

Since the 911 attacks the extreme right wing conspiracy theory faction that follows the 2nd Amendment CT, has evolved. The policies of the neo-conservative movement have initiated many ideals that the right wing extremists extol but they have also embraced ideals that the extremists loathe. The neocon embrace of extremist Israeli policies, “Big Brother” surveillance and the expansion of big government has caused the extreme right wing to evolve into Illuminati believers.

Because of this evolution there has been a major increase of interest in the Illuminati, NWO and Bilderberg Group fields of study. Ten years ago there were a small handful of theorists who specialized in Globalist theories. A quick survey of Internet forums today will return a large number of people discussing the Illuminati subjects and it’s my opinion that Illuminati based theories are by far the most discussed online.

Millennial mass hysteria set the stage for the current state of CT affairs. 1999 was a year that saw Y2K fears, uncertainty of what the 2000 elections would bring in America, an out of control division of politics due to Clinton backlash and the emergence of a new electronic economy that was unstable due to the dotcom bubble. This set the stage for the right wing extremist evolution as the Bush war machine was set in motion.

I believe that there is a side benefit to this evolution in that we may see a CT researcher, or group of researchers, attempt to weave an all-encompassing Unified Theory of Conspiracy and the Illuminati studies brings the researcher close to the possibility of a Unified Theory. There are a large number of CT enthusiasts who post to forums who draw upon segments of what could be merged into such a theory but for reasons known only to them, they do not combine this information into something larger.

David Icke may be the most well known of the current CT personalities who does weave a Unifying Theory. What Icke does is present the various facets of such a theory as singular, independent subjects that happen to be connected to a larger, whole theory. This presentation philosophy has what I believe is a serious flaw. If you go to his website there is no cohesive narrative to guide the visitor through his ideas and if you are well versed in his theories you will know that the narrative he provides is loose and each facet seems to lead you to yet one more book he has written that he wants you to buy.

I believe that Icke’s work in CT is invaluable simply from the standpoint that he is a lightning rod to CT studies. In England his name is well known but for the rest of the world those who know of his ideas mostly learn them in snippets. His work is geared more toward the spiritual, which is somewhat unsettling to me as it has a definite overtone of cultism that cannot be shaken regardless if this was unintentional and incidental. To weave together his CT narratives leads the researcher at every point to a spiritual center. The danger in such an approach, as you can guess is that people searching for a spiritual answer to the world’s problems are susceptible to cult programming. Icke has not helped this problem as he once claimed that he is God.

Which leads me back to the dates in question. These dates can be looked at as examples that the CT enthusiast can use for identifying common threads between various theories. There is a strange order that can be found once you begin looking at coincidental connections between events. Identifying patterns is crucial in solving mysteries and linking clues. While the coincidence of these events may be purely accidental, the underlying CT can be found if you look closely at the aftermaths of each event.

The aftermaths of Waco, Oklahoma City and Columbine have only one common thread, the 2nd Amendment theory. Right wing extremists cite the 2nd Amendment theory. Right wing extremists have evolved into Illuminati theorists. The current state of conspiracism revolves around Illuminati theories.

News - Developing story VaTech shooting kills 20

(4/17 update - Due to the high traffic to this post coming from Google, please go to this page for all postings on the conspiracy theory aspects of the massacre. More posts are coming: http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/search/label/VaTech%20Massacre - The CT Blogger)



The last I checked the online news sites only one was dead, now they are reporting 20. I'll try to keep a running post on this story, mass murders such as this tend to wind up in the CT arena. The timing is odd as the 8th anniversary of the Columbine massacre is 4 days away.

12:40 PM, 16th -

20 reported dead, gunman dead. The shootings came three days after a bomb
threat Friday forced the cancellation of classes in three buildings. (CNN)


21 dead, The university reported shootings at opposite sides of the 2,600-acre
campus, beginning at about 7:15 a.m. Gunman dead. (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution)


MSNBC still reporting 1 dead and the gunman in custody.
12:50 PM 16th Update

22 dead, gunman included, 28 wounded. At least one student was killed in
the dorm and others were killed in the classroom. (MSNBC)


At least 20 dead, 17 wounded. One person was killed and others were
wounded at multiple locations inside a dormitory about 7:15 a.m., Flinchum said.
Two hours later, another shooting at Norris Hall, the engineering science and
mechanics building, resulted in multiple casualties, the university reported. (CNN)


12:55 PM 16th

The shootings came three days after a bomb threat Friday forced the
cancellation of classes in three buildings, WDBJ in Roanoke reported. Also, the
100,000-square-foot Torgersen Hall was evacuated April 2 after police received a
written bomb threat, The Roanoke Times reported. (CNN)

In August 2006, the opening day of classes was canceled and the campus closed
when an escaped jail inmate allegedly killed a hospital guard off campus and
fled to the Tech area. A sheriff's deputy involved in the manhunt was killed on
a trail just off campus. (MSNBC)


1:02 PM 16th

Details of the incident are still sketchy but it appears that a gunman killed one person at a co-ed residence hall at about 7:15 a.m. local time. Police responded to that incident and began investigating. About two hours later, a second shooting erupted at Norris Hall, an engineering building on the opposite end of the campus. At least 21 people were killed there. (CTV.ca)


1:10 PM 16th

There has been “a multiple shooting with multiple victims,” said Virginia Tech,
adding one gunman had already been arrested and police were searching for a possible second shooter. Gunfire first broke out in a residence on the campus in the small western Virginia town of Blacksburg, and was then heard in a second building, called the Norris Hall. “Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter,” the university said. (TheAustrailian.news.com no time stamp)


1:15 PM 16th

NBC's Pete Williams said two law enforcement officials told him the gunman
killed himself. They also said the gunman used two 9-mm handguns during the rampage, Williams reported. He said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms was trying to track the weapons. (MSNBC)

University reporting that a suspected shooter is in custody, another sought (CNN)



1:35 PM 16th

A lone gunman is dead after police said he killed at least 21 people Monday during twin shootings on the Virginia Tech campus -- the worst school shooting incident in U.S. history. (CNN)

2:35 PM 16th

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko in Washington said there was no immediate evidence
to suggest it was a terrorist attack, “but all avenues will be explored.” NBC's
Pete Williams said two law enforcement officials told him the gunman killed
himself. They also said the gunman used a 9-mm handgun and a .22-caliber pistol during the rampage, Williams reported. He said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was trying to track the weapons.(MSNBC) Note: MSNBC has changed the facts of the Pete Williams quote.


2:50 PM 16th (note: Now that the fog has begun to lift on this story I'll only post major changes to the details of the story as they occur)

Authorities said the gunman was dead after he shot nearly 50 people at two
locations on campus. The name of the gunman, whom witnesses described as a young Asian man wearing a maroon cap and a black leather jacket, was not released. The man did not appear to be shooting at random, NBC News’ Pete Williams reported, quoting federal law enforcement officials. He appeared to have specifically targeted the two locations, a co-ed dormitory and a classroom in an engineering building. Officials told Williams that they were investigating reports that the gunman may have chained the doors of the classroom closed so his victims could not escape. (MSNBC)


More reports as they arrive and facts change.

News - Food roulette

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18132087/

Only 1.3% of all imported foods to the US are inspected, projections call for only 1.1% to be inspected next year.

Last month alone, FDA detained nearly 850 shipments of grains, fish,
vegetables, nuts, spice, oils and other imported foods for issues ranging from
filth to unsafe food coloring to contamination with pesticides to
salmonella.


Makes you wonder how much of the other 98.7% of imported food had the same problems.

Each year, the average American eats about 260 pounds of imported foods,
including processed, ready-to-eat products and single ingredients. Imports
account for about 13 percent of the annual diet.


That averages out to about .65 lbs of imported food eaten daily by the average American. So, out of that 1/2 lb plus of imported food you are eating, only about a 1/4 teaspoon has been inspected for it's safety. Go to the cabinet and pour .65 lbs of sugar or flour into a measuring cup and take out 1/4 teaspoon. That is a scary graphic to consider.

When the Democrats can find the time.

It would be nice if they could get some of the oil company execs to make a trip to the Capitol to testify under oath why the gas prices *really* are as high as they are. When I filled up my tank last Monday afternoon the price was $2.56 a gallon at the BP across the street from where I work. I just looked out the window at their sign and nearly had a heart attack. It's $2.74 right now. That's an $.18 rise in 7 days. Take a look at the performance of Exxon stock over the last 3 years and you'll know where your paycheck has been going:

http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=XOM&time=3yr

Oh, and don't give me that refineries line that the oil companies and their lackeys are so fond of parroting. Here is some info to counter their finger pointing when they say that it's the environmental laws that prevent them from making new refineries:

http://www.citizen.org/cmep/energy_enviro_nuclear/electricity/Oil_and_Gas/articles.cfm?ID=11829

Wasn't cheap oil supposed to just flow like a wide open tap after the Iraq invasion? I thought the oil was going to be some collateral for the cost? I guess that no one in the White House could have foreseen that gas prices would be this high. That's the usual dog ate my paper excuse that they give.

News - The missing bees problem has been around for a while

(Update by the CT Blogger 5/1/2007. A new post about the missing bees mystery can be found at this link: http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/2007/05/more-on-honeybee-mystery.html)

After reading the recent theory that cell phone usage may be behind the strange news about missing honey bees I found an informative web page that has information about this very subject that dates back to 1998.

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/07/02/synthetic_honey_and_gmo_bees.htm

Some of the listed causes and theories of cause from prior instances of this happening worldwide are:

- A toxic seed coating agent.
- Imidaclopride.
- Insecticides containing Fipronil.
- The verroa mite.

News - The Quiet War expands

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2057971,00.html

Excerpt from the article:

The wave of killing in the heart of Africa has its roots in 2003 in Darfur,
where ethnic African tribes staged a revolt against Khartoum, after years of
neglect and discrimination. In its response, the Sudanese government mobilised
and armed Arab herders in raiding parties.


I find it interesting that the people who are trying their hardest to bring the Darfur genocide to the forefront of action by the worlds leaders, don't look for the most simple explanation for the lack of action and attention to the problem. It's actually quite simple, and it's the same reason why the AIDS projects haven't had a powerful push from TPTB, they actually want it to continue. When leaders in positions of power do not work to stop suffering it isn't because they lack empathy, it's an intentional act.

Commentary - A system of structure and definitions for Conspiracy Theory - Part 2

In part 1 of this post I described a system that can be used to classify and categorize conspiracy theories. Part 1 can be found here:

http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/2007/04/system-of-structure-and-definitions-for.html

In this part I give examples of using this system and how to expand and/or clarify existing theories. Far too often the scope of these theories can cause us to fail to see the forest for the trees, as the old saying goes. Larger connections can be made and insights gained if a method of organizing these theories is found.

There is great promise of using databases, social networking software and other forms of database analysis for CT research. The drawbacks to this approach are the time needed, money and the required skill sets to make this approach work. Creating the database would be the real devil of such a project unless several people teamed up for the effort. OCR software, scanners, a library of reference material and a quality control process would address part of the problem, but you would still need the time and dedication to scan and review tens if not hundreds of thousands of pages of books and magazines. Addressing NNTP, static web pages and dynamic forum data would be an entirely different project. The lone researcher or enthusiast is left to their own resources.

Lets begin with a subject which has received very little attention from conspiracy theorists but is beginning to make waves in the area of political science blogs. The subject being a conspiracy theory stating that an aspect of the religious right wing is attempting to take control of the US Government, more specifically, that the conspiracy is the fruition of Pat Robertson’s goal to change the world by using graduates of Regent University.

Using the system I described we can classify this as a Crossover Conspiracy Theory (CCT) as it has a foundation in two of the three social systems that must be present to become a conspiracy theory. This theory involves Theocracy and Politics. The main foundation is Theocratic and its secondary foundation is Polemic. The goal (a changed world that follows a specific religious belief) is attained after gaining and influencing political power surreptitiously. Therefore, we can call this a Theocratic Crossover Conspiracy Theory with a Polemic Secondary Foundation.

Using this description we can then overlay the theory with other theories which are classified and categorized in the same manner. From this overlay the researcher can then look for the common denominators of each and determine if there is a confluence between the two. The common denominators can be people, identical statements of “Groupthink” (propaganda), organizational structures, shared events and even geographical anomalies (two headquarters or centralized services situated on the same street or same location).

When a connection is made from an overlay the researcher can then focus on the vetting process to see if their theory is part of a much larger conspiracy or isolated. Isolated theories are not lesser in their importance; it simply removes the theory from a larger, more complex theory.

Let’s look at the Regent University theory again with this information. We have 150 graduates of Regent University serving under the Bush Administration. Quite an amazing fact considering it is a Tier-4 law school that has only been in existence for less than 30 years. Even more impressive is the fact that some Regent alumni have climbed to extremely high positions, most notably within the Justice Department.

Monica Goodling, the recently discussed Justice Department official who is among those at the center of the scandal involving the fired US Attorneys, was a 1999 graduate of Regent and her final position at Justice was Senior Liaison for the White House. For a 33 year old who only had 7 years experience in law, this is a stunning rate of advancement. Did she get this position of enormous responsibility from her own record as a trial, corporate or personal lawyer? No, she did not. After graduating from Regent and before joining the Justice Department she worked for the RNC at their DC headquarters in the Bush Opposition Research Team, who’s main claim to infamy was leading the faux outrage riot at a southern Florida elections office which was fully documented by the major media outlets during the election re-count controversy.

On the surface, Goodling was nothing more than an astute and talented social networker, an eager overachiever who nurtured relationships with mentors who placed her in higher and higher places of power. So how does she act as a common denominator in this scandal? Her very presence and that of the other 149 fellow alumni is a red flag for the researcher. Her exponential rate of promotion and her proximity to two Theocratic and Polemic conspiracy theories make her and her educational partners a serious common denominator.

The theory about Pat Robertson's goals overlays perfectly with the fired US Attorney scandal. The goals of the Moral Majority/Christian Coalition and Robertson’s stated goals of Regent University include numerous stated desires to change or overthrow many legal findings, not limited to but including the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. The censorship of media outlets that they declare to be “anti-family” and removing the recognition of homosexuality and the rights of homosexuals are also among theory stated legal goals.

These people, Goodling included, have been involved with the actual process of removing Attorneys who were not 100& “Pro-Bush” and in their place they would be hiring lawyers who did agree with every political and religious view of the far right wing religious extremists. The “Pro-Bush” platform can be seen as having many platforms. But anti-abortion, anti-homosexual and pro-family are a few of the main points of argument that they use. From those points they branch out into the far extreme ends of ideas.

From this exercise you can see how this system works and how it can help you make those connections. Try it yourself with a new theory you’ve had or with one of the classics like the JFK assassination or Freemasonry. You may find a few surprises, possibly a new connection that no one has seen before. Good luck!

Commentary - The militarization of America - Part 1

One of the constant sources of propaganda that Americans are subjected to is the militarization of our thought process. The content of our entertainment, the way the fourth estate reports the news and how law and order is maintained on our streets are all effected by this propaganda. This has been a subtle and constant force since the end of WWII but its subtle nature has evolved into an overt force since the first Persian Gulf War.


Roots

At the conclusion of WWII the decision was made to maintain the nations war footing. The introduction of the atomic bomb and the latest boogeyman in the closet, the Soviet Union, gave Washington power brokers and the boardrooms of arms makers a bright new world as they looked to the future. The Military-Industrial Complex came into being as the war profiteers created an environment to keep the money rolling in through the development and manufacture of massive weapons systems which interconnected to America's ability to wage war in a nuclear age. Washington politicos trudged back to their districts with money in their fists to distribute to the weapons factories and stories of horror for their constituents that we faced an enemy with no conscious and no God. The enemy was devoted to making our nation bow down before them. Better dead than red, we said.

As children, we boys could not escape the beating drums of warfare and hints at what our futures may bring. The toy department shelves of Woolworth's stocked toy guns, helmets and GI Joe. If plastic model making interested us we could choose between fast cars, warplanes or warships. Even our comic books featured ads where we could buy plastic soldiers, tanks and planes for little more than one week's allowance. Our extracurricular activities even included uniforms complete with their own medals and ribbons for austerity as we played Little League baseball and earned merit badges in the Cub Scouts and later the Boy Scouts. We were, and our sons still are, being primed to wage war and yearn for the decorations of glory that come with military service.

We do need a military; a strong, well equipped, well trained force capable of carrying out any mission given to them. We do not live in a utopian world and I doubt that we ever will, so we need an armed force to protect our shores and if needed, our interests as a nation. I'm not a pacifist but I am not a hawk either and I provided 8 years of service to our nation in the Navy. I sacrificed the formative years of my early adult life for that honor. I received many good things in return from that experience but I also saw death, hypocrisy and an insight into the true inner workings of how the military and its connection to the Military-Industrial Complex really works. To say my feelings toward the masters of war and their suppliers/enablers is ambivalent is an understatement. The pawns of the masters of war, the enlisted men and women, I have complete sympathy and empathy for.


Vietnam and the post-Vietnam hangover

Hasbro, the makers of GI Joe, were forced to reimagine their toy as an adventurer and rough and tumble man of the world when sales plummeted during the Vietnam War and in the years that followed as the nation continually lost it's stomach for the reality of war. The military itself battled major problems within the ranks as the 70's turned into the 80's with drug addicts among its ranks. One high profile military disaster brought unwanted attention to the problems. During the investigation into a flight deck crash aboard the USS Nimitz in 1981 it was learned that several of the crew had THC in their bloodstream at the time of the tragedy. Fourteen crewmen were dead, 45 injured and another black eye was given to the military as President Reagan was attempting to rejuvenate the military, it's budgets and America's taste for foreign blood and oil.

The military began finding itself the sympathetic (intentional or not) subject of films, books, television and popular culture as a whole. Traditional war films like Hamburger Hill were released. Reconciliation with the effects of the Vietnam War began with films such as "Platoon" and books such as Gustav Hansford's "Dispatches". The military even became a humorous backdrop for films and TV shows with "Stripes", "Private Benjamin" and "Major Dad." The military as a glorious organization once again joined the fray and "Top Gun" became a massive blockbuster and made stars out of actors Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer.

The squeamish factor of the military itself and its role became soft and downplayed in the media. Even the recruitment advertisements for the services began to change. "It's not just a job, it's an adventure." was how the Navy promoted itself in the 80's. Earning money for college became the number one selling point for all the services. Asx a side note, it's too bad that they didn't tell us how little our GI Bill program would really help us once we left the service. VEAP helpful, but it was vastly inferior to the preceding GI educational benefits allocated for the Vietnam Era vets and the program that came afterward, the Montgomery GI Bill.

But the point is that under Reagan the image and PR surrounding the military was losing the tarnish that had built up for more than a decade. What it needed was action. Action that Reagan and his successors were able to provide with all the gloss of a Hollywood production, wrapped in the slick presentation of a Madison Avenue ad firm, nurtured by PR firms stocked with mountains of research data and all for the low, low price of free over-the-air network TV.


Get your war face on

Beginning in 1983, President Reagan and his foreign policies gave the US military its first chance for combat operations and high profile operations since the failed Operation Eagle Claw mission in 1980. In 1983 alone the Navy played a serious game of tag with Soviet ships in the Sea of Japan following the shootdown of KAL flight 007, an incident where it appears that the US Air Force and US Intelligence agencies may have had a role. The battleship New Jersey bombarded positions in Lebanon and Syria and the Marine Corps were sitting ducks in Beirut, 241 service members, 220 of which were Marines, died when their barracks were car bombed. And in October of that pivotal year, the US invaded the Caribbean Island nation of Grenada.

Excluding the US actions directly connected with Iraq (Persian Gulf War I, The policy of containment and Persian Gulf War II), US forces have seen action as follows: Gulf of Sidra and the bombing of Libya, anti-terrorist operations worldwide, the Panama Invasion. The Kuwaiti tanker reflagging mission, Somalia and Haiti. Bosnia, the war on drugs and Central American advisory missions. In each case the reporting of action by American mass media outlets, particularly television news, did not featured the same bloody footage that was commonplace in reporting the Vietnam war. The US Government effectively cleansed the brutality of war and combat operations from the fourth estate's methods and the media fell lockstep with the idea.

The first Persian Gulf War was the cherry topping for the Military and it's suppliers. The Humvee, smart bombs, Raytheon's Patriot missile batteries, "Warthogs", stealth bombers, Tomahawk cruise missiles and body armor became a part of the American vernacular. Watching bombs freefall from a warhead camera from thousands of feet and into a ventilation shaft of some building became our own "shock and awe". Of course, the military cherry picked which footage to show but that is beside the point. The point was get the message out that military domination was ours. Rest easy tonight safe in the knowledge that the boy next door, with a joystick in hand, would protect us with all manner of sexy weaponry.

In part 2 I will address the depth that this propaganda extends, focusing mainly on cable television and it's programming. I will also address how Hollywood has also gotten in on the act. Part 2 will be posted within the next few days.