Viral marketing and propaganda -- The Cloverfield campaign

The upcoming release of the film Cloverfield has provided me with a fun distraction of late. The back-story that apparently is included with the film is interesting and deep, there is mystery surrounding the entire project and driving the online chatter about the film is a series of websites that are directly connected to main and subplots of the story. Following the story online we have the chance to see the present day in a past tense manner. It is also a chance to see a well-tuned online viral marketing campaign in action.

Viral marketing interests me because it works by exploiting social networking and the desire of people to conform and follow what is popular. It is a method of social control even if the goal is to simply make millions of dollars on a movie. The thing that fascinates me the most about these campaigns is that many people will still follow the marketing script even if they know for a fact that it is a manufactured process. When government propaganda is exposed for what it really is, the effect upon the citizenry is opposite; they feel duped and begin to swing their beliefs in the opposite direction. I often wonder if that point of critically, the point where citizens turn against the propaganda fed to them, has also been engineered. In this day and age, there is very little difference in the methodology between creating and waging a viral marketing campaign to advertise a movie, and creating and waging government sponsored propaganda to advertise going to war. The only real difference is the subject matter.

Viral marketing relies on people disseminating information about the product to people within their social network. Propaganda relies on the citizenry discussing the points of the propaganda with people within their social network as well. Viral marketing relies on peer pressure to help sell their product to people within the network because they want to fit in. Propaganda relies on citizens not questioning the “right” nature of what the propaganda sells by threat of ostracization from American society and the dreaded taunt of treason being thrown around.

When I was growing up this was simply called a fad. That is probably what it was called when you were in your teenage years. Clothing, music, language and pop culture tastes were determined by the sine wave of fads. Now, the medium for disseminating information has changed and we have the Internet and text messaging to speed the process and make it all encompassing. 23 years ago all it took was one Bruce Springsteen video and everybody simply had to have a jean jacket. Even then it still had no effect on people living in the suburbs and rural America, people who had no access to cable TV. Now, even my Mother can surf the web and she does indeed surf, even if it is only a dialup account.

The term viral marketing is itself a new term. First coined in 1996 by a Harvard Business School professor, it’s roots lie with media critic Douglas Rushkoff who wrote about advertisers infecting susceptible users and spreading the infection among other users. The spread could be charted long before the actual “infection” took place by using statistical analysis and the entire process could be tweaked for maximum effect by the marketer, even as the campaign was being run. Our self-awareness, or rather, the awareness of us by marketers and advertisers, is astounding.

Of course the irony of this posting is that I may be contributing to the viral marketing process by advertising the film and giving my reasons for wanting to follow the campaign. In effect, I could be feeding the beast intentionally. Then again, some unknowing traveler in cyberspace may see this posting and become enlightened to the interconnection of marketing campaigns and propaganda. Who knows?

Will I be a big fat hypocrite and see the movie? Probably. I have had a life-long love of horror movies featuring giants that goes back to my days of watching Shock Theater on WTVC in Chattanooga. I saw all of the giant monster movies on that show; King Kong, Son of Kong, The Mighty Joe Young. It Came From Beneath The Sea, Konga and all the Godzilla movies. I even remember seeing The Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman and feeling that pre-pubescent attraction to actress Allison Hayes in the title role. Talk about great legs. I even use my old VCR from time to time just so I can watch War Of The Gargantuas.

I’m also a big time sucker for any movie or book that requires in-depth study of specially written and complex encyclopedias and bibles to follow the back-story. I often wonder if this is the prime reason why I follow conspiracy theories and the high weirdness subjects. There are tons of back-story in them to sift through and in the end there is a monster to face.

Sleepers awake

Click the image for a closer and more detailed view.

It is important for all of us to be concerned about Iranian President Ahmadinejab’s visit to the US, in particular the guarantee of his safety by US Law Enforcement. I believe that sometimes we can gauge the overall mood or concerns of the country by doing a scan of keywords from local and national news outlets, whether they be print, televised or electronic. With this in mind pay close attention to this headlines screen capture of the MSNBC website this morning. Do you see keywords and an overall tone that can be gathered by this screen cap?

Of course the graphic and the Newsweek story concern religion and more to the point, evangelicals. Is there a more radical Christian group in America than evangelicals? Look to the “More Top Stories” banner and check the content/tone of those headlines. US, Baiting, Insugents, Iraq. Angry, Welcome, Awaits, Iran. Strike, Deadline, Today. DEA, Nabs, Crackdown. More, Funerals, Home. Halo, Satisfying, Finale.

The keywords, even if not intentionally chosen with an agenda; incite or reflect fear, certainty of death and violence in their placement and order. Is this an example of the media instilling thoughts in the minds of the reader or is it just a coincidence? Would this be a message for a Manchurian Agent, a call for a sleeper to awake and move forward? The age of the assassin is returning, I have no doubt about that, just what would be the fallout if Iran lost it’s leader on American soil to a “lone nut gunman”?

Be on your toes and keep an eye out, folks. The signs are all around you.

Granny, the Islamofascist

So typical of the twisted logic of the current crop of leaders and bureaucrats in this nation, we have learned a new factoid in the TSA scare tactic regarding dry runs of terrorists in America’s airports and skyways. The spooky references to devices that they told us were simulations of explosive devices? Nah, one was nothing more than gel based ice packs being transported by a 61 year-old woman flying out of San Diego. I saw this nice Grandmotherly woman on TV last night. A jihadi she ‘aint.

Like the “terrorist cell” in Miami and the “terrorist cell” that was planning to attack Fort Dix, the examples of why we should lose our freedoms to protect ourselves are truly pathetic. That cell in Miami? They didn’t have plans or weapons and seemed to be playing a retarded version of cowboys and Indians. A bunch of burnt stub idiots with the mouth breather quotient of typical nature for this day and age. Spend 10 minutes in Atlanta and you’ll meet at least a half dozen morons of their stature. The Fort Dix group? They “trained” by playing paintball in the woods, stole a map of the base from a local pizza delivery joint and got busted after they asked the tech people at a local Circuit City to transfer their jihad training video onto DVD. What a bunch of bullshit.

Ice packs become statistics for terror threats after they pass through DHS Secretary Chertoff’s bowels, this I am sure of. When Chertoff pinches a loaf, we have the makings of a new intelligence report. When Moe, Larry and Curley (sometimes Shemp) go traipsing into Circuit City with their Jihadi training video and ask Ron or Felisha or whoever is working the electronics aisle, to transfer it to DVD, you have to wonder how a person of such stupidity can survive even out of their teens. It calls into question the theories presented by Darwin.

For all the Grannies out there who may be planning a trip to visit the grand kids, take care that your Blue Star ointment isn’t confused with C4. Don’t let them rough you up and ruin your hairdo when you pass through the metal detector. Get tough with them, don’t suffer fools gladly and if that fails, threaten to go get yourself a hickory switch and wear out their britches if they get pushy. Our freedom, and your new do from the salon, depends on you standing tall and tough, ladies.

Commentary - The political conspiracy of the Evangelical movement in America

Under the radar and away from the collective consciousness of Americans, there has been an open plot by the extreme evangelical movement to undermine and take control of American government. With Presidential elections a year away, the political commentators and pundits on both sides of the aisle talk about the Republican candidates and whether or not they can appeal to the Republican “base”. The “base” they are describing is not the traditional group of fiscal conservatives, the Republican party has morphed and the Goldwater conservatives are long gone as the demographic being catered to. Even the Reaganites who were created a generation ago have lost their luster and place within that party. The course of the Republican party is steering from a chart plotted by the evangelical movement.

This movement has not shirked away from their stated goals, to assume control of the American government, overthrow judicial rulings that do not conform to their theocratic ideals and to force all Americans to live under their vision of America and God. The conspiracy of this movement has never kept its goals a secret and the conspirators willfully and openly admit what they want to achieve. With the recent death of Jerry Falwell, the subjects being discussed among the Republican Presidential hopefuls and the scandal of the fired US Attorneys this is a good opportunity to look at a few aspects of this movement.

I have to admit to a certain amount of underestimating on my part about this movement. In the 1980’s when Pat Robertson’s cache grew within the political right and ministers such as he, Falwell and others openly discussed a future where evangelicals ruled the courts, I dismissed and scoffed at the claims. My sentiment at the time was that the evangelicals attempting to gain political control of the nation were sadly gullible. Time and time again they had attempted to make in-roads of gaining political clout, only to be disappointed by the actions of the leaders they had backed, Reagan included, when they were cast aside. I misjudged how sly these leaders could be.

Instead of putting all their eggs into the overt basket of one political leader, the leadership of the evangelical right-wing bet the farm on a covert, yet fully in the open plan of education and changing policy from within the structure of government. Universities such as Regent began churning out lawyers and a grass roots movement of evangelical lawyers began to grow. Their goals were clear and concise – turn the nation into a theocracy through an aggressive legal campaign. With a changing political landscape in the mid-90’s, one which they had a major hand in shaping and one in which fear and loathing became the modus operendi, the evangelical movement created and nurtured the political alliances that would allow them to inject their legal commandos for God into the upper tiers of the American judicial and legislative branches. With the election of George W. Bush to President, the third branch of power was the missing piece and full sympathy to their goals was found.

The most worrisome aspect of this conspiracy is that the stated goals of this movement are to literally turn America into a theocracy and they have been active in actually making this happen. They do not want to simply have freedom of religion, where all people are allowed to worship as they desire with no fear of retribution, they wish to change the fundamental way in which Americans are allowed to live.

Civil rights would vanish as even the most centrist of these leaders are violently opposed to gay rights, abortion and free speech. Abortion would not only be outlawed under their vision for America, sexuality would be criminalized outside the marriage between man and woman. Free speech would suffer as criticism of religion and religious leaders would be tantamount to blasphemy and the overall tone of adult discourse would be watered down as literature, film and music would be affected by classifying words and ideas that they consider obscene.

The hidden agenda of these leaders is far more dark and frightening than what they extol on the surface. Time and time again we can see that what most Americans would consider to be extremist beliefs are widely shared by these evangelical leaders and their followers. When confronted with their statements after they have been made, insincere apologies are made, but the cat has been let out of the bag. The comments made by Falwell after the 9/11 attacks are an example, but there are far more examples of this type of belief.

If the mainstream media ever decide to fully report this movement and report their beliefs, goals and actions in a serious, compelling tone then perhaps the public at large will recognize the danger that these sociopaths present to the nation as a whole. I fully support and wish that every person can worship and live their lives the way they feel is best. I do not condone silencing the extremists of the evangelical movement. I do however believe that when dangerous fools show their true nature, it is the responsibility of others to expose these frauds and hypocrites. The cultish quality of the modern evangelical movement and the hatred they display are dangerous, labeling their actions as religious freedom is an affront to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Agnostics and Atheists -- in other words, all people, all children of God.

We are all casualties in the War on Drugs

One of the most simple and effective ways of controlling the thoughts and actions of the American public is, and always has been, the War on Drugs. Through this “War”, those who hold true power in this country can redirect the anger, dissatisfaction and sense of justice that the citizens become self-aware of as a collective entity every few years. This allows those in power to shape the common ideal of who is desirable and undesirable as Americans and who can be scapegoat for punishment. The most vulnerable of our society, those with little or no money and those with no political or economic leverage are the ones who are targeted for punishment.

We allow this to happen because we are conditioned to accept the jingoism of the propaganda created by our political and business leaders. The payoff we receive for unquestionably following the conditioning is the promise that someone, who is always stereotyped as less worthy and productive as the rest of us, will be ostracized from our society and incarcerated. We will be given a self-fulfilling sense of pleasure that “good” is being done for our society at large and that our self-righteousness will lead to greater safety in our own homes and for our loved ones. The beneficiaries of this propaganda are not the average citizens; the beneficiary is in fact the ones who maintain economic, political and theocratic control over America.

Poverty and lack of education are often cited as the two main causes of drug addiction. My belief is that while drug addiction is indeed a socio-economic problem, the actual root cause is hopelessness and pain. Poverty may increase the chances a person will become an addict but a lack of good paying jobs, fear of what tomorrow may bring and an ultimate sense of “giving in” to the futility of being a “tilting windmill” is what causes the impoverished to turn to drugs. The emotional pain that comes with this act of giving in is no different than what is felt by the victims of tragedy or abuse. The latter, tragedy and abuse are aspects of drug abuse that know no socio-economic boundaries.

No one aspires to be a drug addict when they are young. Addicts turn to this vice in response to what they believe about the outside world or to numb internal pain. Feeling good or better than your outlook on life is alluring, deadening pain is critical when all you feel is pain. These are traits that are shared with not only the addict but also the casual drug users who often get caught in the net of the War on Drugs. Their fate of the recreational user is the same as the addict if they do not have economic or political ties that may shield them from the full brunt on the American legislative and judicial branches.

The closed loop system of drug abuse, drug addiction, drug trafficking, drug legislation, enforcement of drug laws, state mandated drug treatment and incarceration is self-sustaining and needs little outside stimulus to maintain itself. The War on Drugs and a variety of legislative practices do not limit or reduce this system but instead cause growth of the system, which in turn increases the size and power of government as an end result. Society does not benefit from drug addiction and the War on Drugs does not benefit society either. This “War” merely marginalizes citizens and dehumanizes the victims of addiction as well as the one-off cases of individuals who self medicate for the treatment of any professionally diagnosed medical condition that decreases the quality of life of the patient.

The central method the government uses in delivering anti-drug propaganda is to demonize all drug users as deviant, dangerous and crazed. They are portrayed as immoral and outsiders of accepted society. This removes any and all sympathy the average citizen may have for the victims of drug addiction. Punishment of drug offenders satisfies the sadistic and vengeful impulses of the citizenry.

If 10 meth labs were raided in a single day, in a single state, and only 1 person was arrested for possession of the drug, the law enforcement agencies would use the single arrest of a user as justification for increasing their funds and power. The labs would be verification that their policies and laws are valid, the single drug addict would be the sign that even more needs to be done.

Law enforcement, judicial and penal systems do not grow when crime rates are down. All three of those systems need a constant rise or growth of crime to not only maintain their funding but in reality they need an increase of crime to justify what they always demand, more money. What those systems gain from the War on Drugs is far more than just public funding. What they gain is greater control of the public at large and in the end they gain a person’s money, property and life.

When a person is arrested for possession of drugs, depending on the type of drug and the amount of the drug they are arrested for, the following things occur:

1) The accused is now added to the state and local drug crime statistics.

2) The accused may try to make bail or bond out of jail, which adds money to the local bail bonding industry. If the accused does not show up for their hearings, trial dates or sentencing date the bail or bond is forfeited to the state or local coffers.

3) The accused must seek legal representation, which they may or may not be able to afford. If they can afford the legal expenses they are adding money to the local legal community. If they cannot afford representation they must petition the court, which places an added burden on the government budget.

4) If the accused is found guilty they will be paying fines, which adds to the government income. They may spend time in jail, prison or on probation and in all three cases a burden is placed on the government’s budget.

5) The guilty may have to forfeit all property they own to the government depending on the law they violated. This also adds to the government coffers when the property is auctioned to the public.

6) If the guilty receives a prison sentence there is a strong likelihood that they will be forced to provide cheap labor while incarcerated, which also adds to the government’s coffers.

7) The government will use that person’s arrest and conviction in its statistical reports for its budgets. With an increase of crime, especially targeted crime there is a corresponding demand from law enforcement to gain funding to combat that crime.

8) Once the guilty is released from prison they now have a criminal record that will adversely affect their ability to gain honest and good paying employment. This reduces the taxable income that the government can access and it can add to a burden to other government programs such as welfare if the guilty has to support a family.

9) If the guilty is desperate enough they may turn to a full time life of crime that adds to this cycle.

This doesn’t include the ancillary charges that can be brought up against most addicts and dealers. Possession of illegal weapons, tax fraud, possession of stolen goods and many other ancillary crimes are committed by both the addicts and the dealers who live in the world of drug addiction. With the rise in meth labs being raided what we also see is a number of child endangerment cases as well and homeowners and apartment managers who rent to a person who runs a meth lab on their premises are also looking at massive bills to cleanup what are now being defined by the EPA as contaminated sites.

The War on Drugs as it has been waged does not address the root causes or the prevention of drug addiction. It targets users and sellers of illicit drugs to fund it’s own goals, expand the reach of government over it’s citizens and centralize the people who benefit from the spoils of this war. Its sole purpose is to consolidate power, perpetuate itself and ignore the root causes of the war.

A person can provide and contribute more to the overall health of society by being a tax paying, law abiding and conscientious citizen. All people in a community share in the wealth that comes from keeping people happy and employed as the citizens will pay taxes, work to improve their standing in society, help their fellow citizens and reduce the burden of the cost of government by being model citizens. Why is the War on Drugs focused on finding the addicts, drug suppliers and drug manufacturers and “eliminating” them instead of eliminating the factors that lead it’s citizens to create and fuel the demand for drugs?

If a society were to reverse the flow of funds from the legislative, judicial, law enforcement and penal systems that drain resources and talent for this War on Drugs and direct those funds to repairing the problems that cause drug addiction what would be the end result? What would need to be addressed?

As I mentioned earlier, it is my belief that drug addiction begins in the local community. When there is little or no hope for the citizens of a local community or if there is no advocacy of people who suffer emotional trauma, those people will turn to substance abuse to deaden their sense of pain. This means that local communities must maintain a strong local economy and provide medical treatment for those people who have suffered deep emotional trauma if they wish to reduce the drug problem in their community.

Local communities are severely limited by how much money they can generate from their citizenry. Property and sales taxes, possibly a small income tax, are all they can draw from. Too much taxation and they stifle the economic viability of their community. They have necessary services that they must provide such as law enforcement, maintaining roads and utility services. This leaves little for reinvesting into the promotion of the local economy. Providing basic medical care for its citizens is out of the question under these conditions.

Under these conditions a local community would need funding from the state and federal government to provide greater economic investment opportunities and medical care for its citizens. States have a much greater reservoir of taxable resources than local governments. They can tax not only income and property but they can also tax the sales of fuels, targeted business and industrial sectors, as well as taxing the use of its road systems via tolls. The state also has the same budgetary issues of providing necessary services but its pool of taxable resources is much greater and the state can also provide basic medical care for its citizens.

To address economic growth and medical care for its citizens the state is in a much better financial position to address those needs than a local government but they still do not have the massive resources that the federal government has. Not only can the federal government collect income and property tax from its citizens it can also tax imported goods from other nations, negotiate the interest rates it must pay for loans, it can also generate funds by charging for a much wider range of services that it oversees. Telecommunications services, postal and other communication channels and medical coverage are prime examples of federal government generating income outside taxation.

Let’s suppose for a moment that the funnel of funding and disbursal of funds were aimed at state and local governments instead of keeping the pool of money at the federal level and spending it on federal programs. State and local governments could share the burden of economic growth by sharing the funds directed at them. State governments could address general and physical health concerns and the local community could be funded to address the mental health of its citizens by creating local community hospitals, hiring mental health professionals and providing both long-term and short-term assistance to its citizens. Victims of assault, natural disasters and poor upbringing could be offered high quality mental health care from professionals who live and are a part of their local community. The driving interest of improving your community and empowering your fellow citizens is a powerful lure to many and this quality can be found in teachers as well.

The local government would benefit from this by having a larger group of healthy, happy and optimistic citizens. This base of workers would in turn be appealing to private business not only because of the capability to maintain quality in the production of its goods and services, but also for the lower overhead that would arise because they would no longer need to provide or assist in the payment of health care services for its employees.

The state government would benefit because a large pool of happy, healthy and optimistic citizens contribute to the overall quality of economic selling points it can make to businesses who are considering a move to their state. The more businesses you have in your state and the more they produce, the greater the amount of money that can be generated by a state government in the form of taxes. Healthier, happier and more optimistic citizens and companies will steadily raise their incomes over their lifetime, which leads to more money generated by taxation.

The federal government benefits off this scenario by lower overall costs for medical care, a lower cost for providing social services, a lower cost in the enforcement of its laws since there would be a decrease in crime and it sees a greater tax base from which to draw from.

Addressing the root causes of addiction reduces the overall problem of drugs by taking away the demand for drugs. There would, of course, be a group of people that cannot be helped or aided no matter how much money is spent trying to help them. We as people have free will and we have to accept that some people simply would not accept help or want to change their lives. This is a fact of human nature that cannot be avoided but it should not be used as an excuse to not address the root problem. The key to this aspect of the War on Drugs is to recognize that the numbers of people who are beyond reach is small in comparison to the sheer volume of people that are swept into the net under our current policies. They, like career criminals, are a portion of society who will not change their behavior and they are a much smaller segment than we are currently dealing with.

This scenario as I described will never be addressed seriously. It may be hinted at or even discussed in a general sense, but it will not be addressed seriously at the higher levels of power in this nation. The reason is simple. The way we currently address the drug problem narrows the group of people who actually benefit short and long-term in the War on Drugs. These people bring true and pure power to the problem and sharing the benefits and wealth of the War on Drugs is not what they want. Who, then, benefits from the status quo in this war?

On the first level of the war, law enforcement gains funds and power. Law enforcement is the foot soldier and pawn of those in power. Law enforcement allegiance is bought and sold by those who wield true and pure power. In some instances the US Military is used in the same way as law enforcement in the war on drugs. They also act as a kind of canary in a coal mine when those at the top of the chain of power want something. If the ends they wish are new laws that restrict the freedoms of Americans, the means of that goal would be to make the law enforcement officials demand new laws to be enacted that they claim will make Americans safer. Use the statistics gathered from arrests to validate the point and people will fall into line when this propaganda is used.

The second level of this war is comprised of the individuals and companies who make a profit off this war. This level includes the obvious people and groups such as lawyers and corrections departments but there is an entire multi-billion dollar industry that drives this second level. That industry comprises companies such as Wackenhut and Aramark who provide outsourced services to the correctional facility industry by providing administrative, maintenance and food services to jails and prisons. Also in this level are the companies who make millions of dollars each year in the construction of new jails and prisons. This is the middle area where cash can be split, transferred and washed by those at the bottom and the top.

The third level of this war is the legislative and judicial branches of government, who provide the legal precedents, legal representation and oversee the funding for this war. These people guide the direction of the war to enhance and expand their power. They have even carried this power to the point where every citizen is considered a criminal regardless of what they actually do with their lives. All one has to do is look at the current missions of the US Intelligence Community and what it is doing in the NSA spying scandal as well as the process that the Intelligence Community uses when it accesses the private databases of companies such as ChoicePoint, to see that we all are being actively monitored in an attempt to not only catch us in the act of committing crimes but to predict when and/or if we will commit crimes.

The War on Drugs is a facet of a much larger operation of consolidating true power into a small group of individuals. Its sole purpose is to create instability in our communities, breed paranoia and suspicion about our fellow citizens and marginalize and target a select group of our own citizens. The very select few gain in this while the vast majority of Americans pay the price. The true price is our freedom and rights.

Even if you and I take no drug stronger than aspirin, we are still a part of the War on Drugs. We pay the price with a weaker community, a weaker economy and a more powerful government. We pay the price because we are under constant surveillance by our government and its representatives. The price we pay is our freedom.

Was Cho's "demon possession" a smoking gun clue of mind control?

The recent revelation that the mother of the VaTech shooter, Cho Hyang-in, requested assistance from the One Mind Church to remove from her son what the church’s head pastor called a “demonic power”, is stunning. Serious researchers of MKULTRA and it’s associated projects such as Project MONARCH, and those familiar with victims of mind control projects sooner or later come to the subject of demonic possession in their research. To the members of an evangelist church the signs of mind control that Cho may have displayed could have easily been misinterpreted as demonic possession. It is also known that aspects of the MKULTRA program included the use of Voodoo, mainstream religion and the occult in conjunction with mind-altering drugs. Is this revelation a “smoking gun” of Cho being a mind control victim and that the VaTach massacre was indeed a BlackOp?

In their book, The Illuminati Formula to Create an Undetectable Total Mind Control Slave, Fritz Springmeier and Cisco Wheeler wrote, “If we understand programming from the Programmers point of view, they believe in both MPD and demonic possession.” If we look at the known comments made by Cho’s roommates and few acquaintances at Virginia Tech it is easy to see aspects of their memories of him, which hint at the possibility of Multiple Personality Disorder as well. MPD was also a subject of great interest to the Intelligence Community during MKULTRA and techniques were developed which utilized information gleamed from the psychiatric research community.



One event that has been reported quite a bit involved Cho identifying himself in class with a question mark. The symbolic connotations of a person who identifies their name as “?” is chilling when the subjects of MPD and demonic possession are brought up. Can a person with MPD really identify who they really are? Would a person who believes, or has been told, that they are possessed by demons have self-awareness associated with their given name, or would they not be able to name what they believe is their true identity?

Other comments by Cho’s roommates and classmates about his behavior are equally ominous. His roommates say they did not know what classes he took. They claim that he was rarely in his room. It’s been reported that he was a video gamer, but no one in the VaTech gaming community was familiar with him. Cho seems on the surface as a persona non grata. It is as though he was invisible, yet we know that his presence was well known in the faculty of the English department of the University. How can a person operate in their environment as both an unseen being and a notorious person?

It is known that mind control techniques are understood in which the subject is told or programmed to “edit out” certain subjects, objects or memories. Yet those closest to Cho seem to show signs of this very same control. While I believe it may be possible that those people have also been programmed, I believe it is not likely in this case. My belief is that some technique unknown to the public was used on Cho in which his personality was altered in a way to lessen the impact and memory he had on other people. In effect he was an “invisible man”.



One way to look at this idea of being programmed as an invisible man is to think of the basis of religion for an analogy. Worshipers believe in an unseen being(s) for which they shape their beliefs, actions and life to please this unseen being(s). Is it possible that an individual can be trained/brainwashed to display their body language, speak words and have an overall presence which triggers the sub-conscious mind of those around them to “ignore” their presence rather than accept their presence based on faith that they “exist”? Can a person passively or covertly hypnotize others into not seeing them?

If this were possible it would explain many of the inconsistencies and contradictions about Cho’s life and academic work at Virginia Tech. It would also lead to the questions of who did this to him? Why was this done? What was the reason for the massacre? I posted a comment soon after the attacks where I stated that a BlackOp of this nature would be green lighted for one or 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).



Let’s look at some possible answers to those 4 questions in the context of this posting:

1) If this was a test of a new technique, what are the components of this system of mind control? It’s possible that the invisible man hypothesis I presented is an aspect of this technique, but it’s also possible that the testing was more centered on a scripted plan to see how first responders reacted within a controlled environment with multiple points of concern. Another facet of what could be learned after the fact of this event is how information spreads from a central event within a controlled environment. We know that the students who were killed had virtually no knowledge of what had happened across campus less than 2 hours earlier.


2) The ruse theory looked very promising at the time of the shootings. Attorney General Gonzales’ testimony before the Senate was delayed because of this event, but there was little lost attention on this event. By time Gonzales sat before the Senate Judicial Committee the urgency of the shootings had waned, and in fact NBC News had already begun apologizing for airing the footage sent to them by Cho on the morning of the shootings.

3) The moral panic fallout from VaTech is minimal to say the least. It is almost too minimal when you begin to really think about it in hindsight. For weeks after the Columbine shootings the debate over gun control, school bullying and the effect of entertainment and mass media were raging. Those same subjects have been all but ignored in this case. Only a minor movement gained ground over gun laws and there has been a minor discussion about mental illness treatment. If this was a part of a larger operation, it is now apparent that this was simply the opening event in such an operation. The recent disclosure that Presidential candidate Barack Obama now has the protection of the Secret Service is troubling in this light. The threat of a return to the political assassinations of the 60’s and early 70’s is a frightening prospect.


4) There has been no disclosure of persons from the shooting having connections to projects, agencies or organizations that should be looked into and there have been no reports of strange deaths of foreign nationals that can be questioned because of the timing. So I think this point is now moot.



What is obvious about this event is that Cho wasn’t a “lone nut” whose actions can’t be explained. The peripheral facts that are still emerging slowly all point to a much more nefarious source. Continued research is needed but very slowly and under the radar of most Americans, the facts are emerging.

Eerie screenshot

Here is a strange coincidence for you. I did a Google search with a few random words and phrases that are related to infamous mind control or Manchurian Agents with the name of the VaTech shooter. Look what came up, a portion of Cho's statements in the videos that were sent to NBC News which were randomly picked with a list of JD Salinger quotes.

You have to admit that in light of the strange connection that many mind control victims have with Catcher in the Rye, this is pretty interesting.

(note: I did a little photo editing of the system tray from my PC in the screenshot to remove the time and running programs from the image. What can I say, I am a bit paranoid.)

News - More evangelical connections to the VaTech massacre

Reports are surfacing that the VaTech shooter had yet another tie to extreme right-wing fundamentalist churches. It’s being reported that the mother of the shooter had sought the assistance of the members and pastor of the One Mind Church of Woodbridge Virginia before the shootings occurred. The pastor of the church, Rev. Dong Cheol Lee, described a “Demonic power” that had taken hold of Cho.

News reports are calling the One World Church a Presbyterian congregation. Deeper research into the church finds that it is associated with Darakbang evangelism within the Remnant Movement (Restoring the Evangelism Movement Needed in All Nations Today) which is also associated with the Seventh Day Adventists. In total, there are 5 of such churches in the Washington DC area.

One can only wonder how visions of the apocalypse and the Book of Revelations would have had an effect on a mind control subject. For more news and postings about the VaTech shooter, click HERE.

Commentary - Nine questions the Fourth Estate are ignoring.

Three weeks ago today, Seung Cho-Hui fired over 170 shots, killing 32 people. The mainstream media have left a huge amount of unanswered questions on the table, focusing now on the question of gun control and mental illness. What we know and what they will not report or follow-up is staggering.

1) A direct connection has been made between the shooter, The Unification Church and Manna Christian Fellowship; two extreme right wing religious followings. If the media wishes to report and speculate about the late Pat Tillman’s religious beliefs (atheist), when that had no effect on his work, why not address the cult and extremist connections to the shooter? We know the answer to that question but it is still worthy of asking ourselves the question.

2) A direct connection has been made between the shooter, the US Intelligence Community and the Military-Industrial Complex. Only a fleeting reference to McNeil Technologies has ever been made with no follow-up or closer examination.

3) The shooter’s behavior and background are virtually identical to every assassin the US has produced since Lee Harvey Oswald, yet little attention is ever made of this distinction.

4) On the day of the shootings the press announced the type of guns the killer had, the fact that he had a receipt in his possession for the guns and that the serial numbers had been filed off said weapons. It’s common knowledge that filing off the serial numbers have no effect on identifying them as the pressure required to stamp these numbers leaves a signature that can be seen. The media has not looked at the almost Oswaldian connection that the receipts have. The infamous backyard photos of Lee Harvey Oswald bear a striking resemblance to this case, even down to altered serial number on Oswald’s Carcano rifle.

5) The advanced skill displayed by the shooter hasn’t even been address by the mainstream media. The “video gamer” excuse didn’t even get airtime because no one asked a simple question, “How could a person with apparently no weapons training carry out such a skilled attack?”

6) More time and energy was spent analyzing the meaning of Ismael Ax, as though it were some Kane-like “Rosebud”, than has been spent trying to understand why a major news outlet like NBC News would apologize for doing their job, reporting the news, after they were “criticized” by the victims families for airing less than 2 out of 26 minutes of footage the shooter sent to them.

7) Side stories that have arisen from this event, such as the disclosure that the NASPER database is being used to investigate citizens who have filled anti-depressant prescriptions; have fallen into the memory hole or ignored as though they never existed. What was an unexpected scoop regarding the privacy of all American citizens has turned into a non-story because the mainstream media do not wish to cover it.

8) Absolutely no research has been made into the academic careers of the shooter or his sister. What little we have seen of the shooter’s writings are juvenile at best and yet this young man was a creative writing major? What path led this ESL student into the challenging process of obtaining a BFA in Creative Writing?

9) How could the system of ensuring the safety of students at Virginia Tech fail so completely following years of warning signs that something was amiss with the shooter? This cannot be a sign of a systemic failure of the process at VaTech, something else is at work and he was allowed to stay at the behest of someone or some group.

The Fourth Estate has been asleep at the wheel for years and corporate ownership of the mainstream media has tightened the noose around the neck of any possible investigative journalistic efforts. What we are left with is a dark empty room from which no echo can even be produced.

News - Confirmation of the Cho/Unification Church Connection

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

Following a posted comment by one of the readers of the blog, there is more to add regarding the VaTech shooter’s connection to the Unification Church (Moonies).

The researcher who operates the Exod-US blog has discovered and posted details of the Unification Church connection The direct connection comes through Rev. David Kim, who you will note from a previous entry I made on Rev. Kim, was involved in the PR cover up upon the request of the shooter’s sister.

Exod-Us blog has also found much more detailed information regarding the Wellington Boone connection Via Manna Christian Fellowship, including a timeline of the movement and the Boone/Kim relationship.
(Hat tip to “Babalabo” for this story)

Did Operation Midnight Climax ever end?

One of the more curious side stories to the background of the VaTech shooter is the revelation that approximately a month before the shootings, Cho hired the services of a prostitute. On the surface this isn’t odd but when placed in the context of past CIA activities and certain assassins and killers this revelation becomes important.

One component of the MKULTRA program was Operation Midnight Climax. This operation consisted of CIA safehouses located in several major US cities where prostitutes were used to lure unknowing test subjects into LSD induced experiments. Blackmail was employed against the men who were the victims of these tests and the CIA developed many new mind control techniques in this project. What makes this even more enlightening is that Arthur Bremer and John Hinckley also sought the services of a prostitute within weeks of their respective crimes.

What we have is yet one more “coincidence” that links the most notorious killers and assassins in US history.

From the Archives - A look back at Corpsewood

In December of 1982, Sheriff’s Deputies of Chattooga County Georgia were dispatched to a remote location on Taylor’s Ridge, also known as Corpsewood. The occupants of Corpsewood; Dr. Charles L. Scudder and Joseph Odom, had become mysterious and strange transplants into a community unaccustomed to outsiders moving into the area. Rumors swirled around the small, rural county that the men were Satanists. When the Deputies arrived they found the bodies of both men, dead from gunshot wounds.

While the story has become local legend within the county and the bordering counties, there is another aspect of the slayings that gained very little media attention and fits into a small corner of the history of MKULTRA. Dr. Scudder’s past and evidence found at the scene of the crime place the Dr. into the early days of the project.

Dr. Scudder was a professor of pharmacology at Loyola University prior to moving to Georgia in the mid 1970’s. His work at the University began at some point in the late 1940’s. Loyola helped to play a part in the MKULTRA program by working to recreate LSD-25 which the CIA had bought from Sandoz Laboratories. His later work centered around the study of mice in controlled environments.

Finding the research papers of Dr. Scudder has been difficult for me over the years, with only tantalizing glimpses of his work popping up from time to time. The greatest and most intriguing has been the detailed listings of the Stafford Beer collection at Liverpool John Moores University. Among the items in the collection is a series of papers, letters and research materials for a project named “Challenge to Paradigm”, which was planned to be published as a book. Scudder was among the 7 contributors to this book project, which was also comprised of 4 other University professors and musician Brian Eno.

The titles of the papers that Dr. Scudder was to contribute to the book are interesting to say the least, "The mind an evolving system of models","Mindless meaning; meaningless mind", "On the environmental mind” and "The brain: a neurohumorally regulated ultrahomeostat". It’s worth noting that with Scudder’s background and work with psycho-reactive drugs and neurophysiology, he would have been of serious interest to the CIA.

Among the items found in Corpsewood were several vials of a clear liquid. When the state crime lab analyzed these vials it was learned that the liquid was highly purified LSD-25 and it was believed that based on the chemical signature the vials were from one of the original batches of the drug which was imported by the CIA.

So, how did this researcher wind up in the hills of north Georgia, only to be murdered? In the mid-1970’s, Scudder had decided to move a remote location, one that was away from the hustle of everyday life. In a 1976 interview with Mother Earth News, Scudder detailed the process of becoming sick of modern life and his efforts to build his home and live off the land in the hills.

In the end, Scudder and Odom’s deaths were as violent and as senseless as any murder that could occur in Chicago, the city he escaped to live a quiet country lifestyle. The killers were two local men who planned to rob them at gunpoint. Scudder and Odom were known to host small parties with the local youths which involved wine and drugs. The killers used this as part of their plan to gain entry to their home however, once the drugs and alcohol took hold things got out of hand, which resulted in the deaths of both men.

The side story that Scudder left behind, his death, is almost as interesting as the research career he had.

News - Cho ties to the US Intelligence Community

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

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

There is an indirect connection between the Virginia Tech shooter and the US Intelligence community via his sister. Cho Sun-kyung is employed by McNeil Technologies of Springfield Virginia, which provides contract services to various government agencies. Her current role with the company has placed her in the State Department in the Iraq Reconstruction Office, which “Coordinates 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.”

A little more information on McNeil Technologies is in order. There is quite a bit of intrigue that can be seen by looking at the company’ ownership, key employees and it’s mission that can be gathered from looking at the current and archived versions of the company’s own website. What can be seen is a list of executives with military experience in sensitive positions that would have required high security clearances due to their work deep inside the Intelligence Community (IC) and with strategic nuclear weapons and weapons systems.

The current website states that the company was founded in 1985 as a services management company. The site also states that Veritas Capital acquired McNeil and it’s subsidiaries in 2004. According to versions of the website archived at the archive.org Wayback machine, the December 8, 1998 version of the website states that, “In 1991, McNeil Technologies, Inc. was certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a Small Disadvantaged Business concern and was made eligible to participate in SBA's 8(a) program. The 8(a) certification allows Federal agencies to contract with McNeil through a streamlined procurement process.”

McNeil Technologies, founded by James McNeil,began as McTech; a business management consultancy, in 1985. In 1998 the company offered the services of information technology professionals, interpreters, energy experts, facilities management, logistics and accounting support. It appears that the 1998 version of McNeil was a miniaturized copy of KBR/Haliburton. It’s accreditation as a Small and Disadvantaged Business concern is of interest as this status allows them, and governmental agencies, to take advantage of various benefits for contract bids.

By 1999 the company was now offering “National Security Services” and the company promoted this service by saying, McNEIL staff have military and government experience in the areas of intelligence, physical security, nuclear technology and operations, and information access programs. All members of the McNEIL National Security team maintain Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and Department of Justice clearances with varying levels of access.” What this means is that between December 1998 and October 1999, McNeil made a concerted effort to enter the Department of Defense contractor arena. In this version of their website, all biographical data and list of company officers had been scrubbed from the site.

Some post 9/11 and pre-Iraq war highlights from their archived web pages:

October 2001 article at bizjournals.com that describes McNeil’s language services contracts to the IC and the secretive nature of their work.

http://web.archive.org/web/20020620214605/washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stries/2001/10/29/focus1.html

July 2002 – Announces a contract to provide Administrative Support Services to DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency)

Oct 2002 – Announces contracts with the State Department and its role in helping to process FOIA requests.

Nov 2002 – Announced contracts with the TSA to provide screening and security support.
A short listing of some of their higher visibility IC operatives can be found here: http://www.public-i.org/wow/bio.aspx?act=pro&ddlC=134


Veritas Capital

Veritas Capital owns McNeil and from looking at the overall structure of this company it is impossible to not notice the similarities between them and the known CIA investment companies. And there is a red flag to be thrown after looking at its corporate leadership and the other companies owned by Veritas.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_29/b3993073.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/08/17/AR2005081702033.html

From within the depths of the US Intelligence Community and Military-Industrial complex, there is a direct path from the masters of the MKULTRA program to the worst shooting in US history.

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 - 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?

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.

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.

Commentary - The militarization of America - Part 2

Part 1 of this commentary can be found here:

http://theconspiratorsnest.blogspot.com/2007/04/commentary-militarization-of-america.html

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