Ex-CIA Guy Says Hackers Can Bring Peaceful Revolution

In this must-watch video, Robert D. Steele explains how traitors walk among us, right here in the United States. He was a clandestine intelligence case officer for the CIA. He even tried to run for President but was unable to get the nomination of the Reform Party.

Steele has done counter-intelligence. Steele has done a lot. (See his full bio at the website of Strategic Studies Institute, United States Army War College.)

Robert D. Steele
photo credit: Unknown

"I'm basically intimately familiar with the way in which the U.S. government does or does not do the craft of intelligence," he said in his keynote speech at the Gnomedex 2007 conference. Watch that speech in the video above.

(I do not agree with everything that Steele says. For example, in the video below he accuses Walmart of "killing jobs" within a 200-mile radius of their stores. A two-block radius would be with the realm of credulity, but 200 miles? I'd love to see the documentation for that, but I don't want to make this into a post about Walmart. My point is that Steele says some things that are believable and some that are questionable. Even so, he's a bright guy who cannot be ignored.)

"Bloggers.... you grab onto an issue or something, and you are part of structured citizen journalism blogging thing that lets no evil-doing thing go unnoticed, and that rules. I think we're at a turning point," said Steele, "I think we're at the very beginning of a historic title shift of power restoring the Constitution." Another factor on the side of the people, said Steele, is that the government is actually too disorganized to effectively spy on its own citizenry.

Interestingly, Steele refers to bloggers, or citizen journalists, as "hackers." It's not what you might think, as we see in an excerpt from a PBS interview of Steele while he was attending the "Hackers in the Twenty-first Century" conference in 2000:

PBS: Your view of hackers will come as a surprise, I think, to a lot of viewers, who view them as greasy-haired, goth louts who are spending too much time in front of a computer screen.

Steele: Well, I myself have participated in a very well attended debate on whether hackers were a national resource--which is my position--or whether they are pathological scum. I would say to you that it is the media's fault that hackers are seen in this light. And it is the fault of the US Secret Service, and it is the fault of certain governments around the world who chose to treat hackers as a threat because they didn't understand hackers; they didn't understand the electronic environment that that hackers were addressing. The bottom line is that hackers are the pioneers in this electronic frontier. They are way out in front of the rest of the world. They are seeing the dangers, the vulnerabilities, the shoddy, unethical, inappropriate business behavior by communications and computing companies. They're basically saying, "Hey, look what we found." And everyone wants to shoot the messenger. 

Back to the Gnomedex speech. "The reality is," said Steele to his audience, "the federal government is broken in every possible way, and it's going to be localized bottom-up resilience networks that will save us. That's where you guys come in."

So, in Steele's estimation, the people he refers to as "hackers" just may be the salvation of democracy and constitutional government in the U.S.

In the second video here, Steele says, "I think we can have a peaceful, non-violent, legal revolution. The one vulnerability that both corporations and the U.S. government have is the power of the people to vote. Not only on election day, but with recall movements, and by removing their money from the stock market - which I expect to crash again - and from refusing to buy products." Now that's food for thought and the beginning of a plan of action.

“A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly against the city. But the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears no traitor; he speaks in the accents familiar to his victim, and he wears their face and their garments and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared. The traitor is the plague”  — Tullius Cicero

Related:

• Interview: Robert D. Steele PBS Frontline
• Who’s Who in Collective Intelligence: Robert David STEELE Vivas Public Intelligence Blog
• Controlled Opposition – How to spot a fake leader Truth In 7 Minutes blog

The Zombie Apocalypse Cometh: World War Z - Official Trailer (HD)

Nov. 9, 2012 - Shall the undead inherit the Earth? Not if Brad Pitt can help it. Next June, he will try to save the world - and his own wife (played by Mireille Enos) and kids - from a global contagion of the undead. Pitt, a U.N. employee, quickly teams up with fellow zombie fighters to kick zombie butt in bulk. 

This horror flick has it all: Things exploding all over, lots of bullets flying, zombies swarming, helicopters and jets attacking and edge-of-your-seat suspense - all moving along at a pace that would shame any bullet train. 

Even those who are not fans of the zombie genre of films will find World War Z to be an adrenaline pumper. See full cast and crew at IBDb.

The film is based on the Max Brooks novel "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War."

Volcano Blows In Nicaragua, Thousands Evacuated

San Cristobal spews ash, 8 Sept.  2012
(photo Confidencial/ Tierrapinolera/
Ricci Rich Silva;
via The Nicaragua Dispatch)

Sept. 9, 2012 - Nicaragua's tallest mountain, San Cristobal, erupted three times early yesterday morning. The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) volcano spewed a huge ash cloud and deadly gases over two miles (five kilometers) into the atmosphere and forcing the evacuation of at least 3,000 people, possibly as many as 5,000.

San Cristobal (also known as "El Viejo") is located about 95 miles (150km) north of Nicaragua's capital city Managua and is one of 19 active volcanoes in the Central American country.

The massive 7.6 earthquake in neighboring Costa Rica on Sept. 5 could have helped to rekindle San Cristobal. That quake has a lot of volcano watchers in the region worried.

Officials are also keeping a close watch on four active volcanoes in neighboring Costa Rica after its 7.6 quake.

"Even a small shift under one of these giants could cause an eruption," notes D. Chandler at The Guardian Express. "At least four of the seven active volcanoes in [Costa Rica] are in the crosshairs of scientists after the earthquake of 7.6magnitude occurred on Wednesday..."

TGE also reports that "it is normal that volcanic structures, especially those already vulnerable, are affected. There is a rearrangement of material and even chemical changes," according to scientists who specialize in volcanic and seismic studies.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua is bracing for another killer earthquake of its own.  It seems inevitable, actually, and could happen literally any minute now.  "In the past 127 years, Managua has been destroyed three times by a major earthquake that strikes every 40-45 years. It’s been 40 years since the last one," notes The Nicaragua Dispatch. With 19 active volcanoes, the thought of a devastating earthquake is made more frightening by the possibility of lava and hot gases flowing down on the rubble - and struggling survivors.

Related:

• San Cristobal volcano eruptions Volcano Discovery
• Volcanoes of Nicaragua Volcano Discovery
• Volcanoes of Mexican and Central America Global Volcanism Program

Freak Tornado Hits New York City, Some Damage But No Injuries

September 8, 2012 - A confirmed tornado ripped through parts of New York City today, touching down in Brooklyn and Queens. (Videos below.) The twister struck around 11:00 a.m. It downed power lines, trees and - as seen in the videos - damaged buildings in its path. Cars were tossed around, too, and there was flash flooding in some areas, but fortunately, there are no reported injuries. The tornado was caused by a powerful cold front that is moving through the Northeast today.

The tornado's path included part of the Rockaway Peninsula of Long Island, Brooklyn's Canarsie neighborhood and the Breezy Point neighborhood in Queens. "Videos taken by bystanders show a funnel cloud hurling sand and debris in the air as it moved through the Breezy Point section of the Rockaway peninsula in Queens on Saturday," reports the New York Post today.

Updated: UFO Seen Over Israel, Lebanon, Turkey Was Russian Missile Test

Not a UFO: Russian Topol-M Missile

June 7, 2012 - Updated June 8, 2012 - Thousands of people saw fast-moving glowing objects streak through the sky today.

The object was seen by thousands in Israel, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. People in those countries called local authorities about the sighting. Was it a meteor, a Russian ballistic missile, or something else?

"Experts" disagreed initially, but it has now been confirmed that the object was a Russian missile.  

Updated Information: The Russian Strategic Missile Forces were quickly announced that they had conducted a successful test of their Topol-M class intercontinental ballistic missile. The Topol is fired from mobile launchers (see a video about this, and more about the Topol series here).

A report by APA said that the missile was launched "from the firing ground at Kapustin Yar in Astrakhan, Russia." APA added that the missile's speed "wasn’t fast" and that its diameter was only 3-5 meters.

According to Russian military sources, the new version of the Topol-M series is codenamed "RS-12M" and is designed "to counter the anti-ballistic missile defense shield the U.S. is deploying in countries such as Poland," according to CBN News.

Russia's Pravda news service reported the same thing. "The unusual phenomenon in the sky above Israel, which hundreds took for a UFO," said Pravda, "could be connected with the test launch of Russia's intercontinental ballistic missile Topol. The missile was launched from Kapustin Yar test ground in Russia's Astrakhan region."

The Jerusalem Post reported that "hundreds" of people in the northern part of Israel "flooded police lines" to report what they saw. "The Israeli Astronomical Association," says the JP report, "said the object was 80 kilometers high and was not a meteor."  

However, "experts" disagreed at first as to what the object was. Lebanese news services are calling the luminous object a meteor.

The official Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. (LBCI) said that “according to the scientific explanation, the phenomenon of the glowing objects resulted from large meteorites.”

An excerpt from the  LBCI report:

"Appeared on Thursday evening, objects illuminated and meteors fireworks in the skies of the north and Marjayoun and different regions of the Bekaa also appeared in a number of areas of Jordan and in northern Iraq and the Syrian-Turkish border. The specialist in the science of space, Magdy Saad of the LBCI, that scientific explanation of the phenomenon of objects illuminated as stone meteorites of the size Great burst and leave the dust in the air. He stressed that no need to fear."  (Google translation)

Offering some clarification in English, Naharnet.com reported that LBCI said: “glowing objects and fiery meteors appeared in the sky above the North, Marjeyuon and several Bekaa areas.”

The Lebanese reports could not have been more incorrect.

Naharnet also noted that state-run National News Agency "reported similar sightings in Akkar, Tripoli, the Bekaa, Byblos, Halat, Ashrafiyeh and Tyre, saying the objects were clearly visible."

Some of the witnesses theorize that it might have been a failed rocket launch. YnetNews.com (Israel) is wondering if the "UFO" was "a Russian ballistic missile."

Indeed, the Russians confirmed their missile launch right away.

"Later Thursday," reported Ynet, "Russian news agency Novosti quoted the Defense Ministry in Moscow, which confirmed that a missile was test-fired from the Astrakhan region in central Russia. The trail of light seen in Israel was also reported in Armenia, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries in the region." There you go. Proof once again that Lebanese "experts" don't know jack about meteors.

OUTRAGE! U.S. Military Drowning In Fake Parts From China - Threatens National Security

May 22, 2012 - A very disturbing report from Military.com today:  "More than a million Chinese counterfeit electronic parts are estimated to be in use in U.S. military aircraft, according to a U.S. Senate report released Monday saying the discovery jeopardizes safety and national security."

Why the hell are these vital parts not being made here in the U.S. - or, at the very least, by any country other than China, which to this day remains a sworn enemy of ours?

"The Senate Armed Services Committee said its year-long investigation launched by Democratic chairman Carl Levin and ranking Republican John McCain uncovered 1,800 cases of bogus parts, including on the U.S. Air Force's largest cargo plane, special operations helicopters and Navy surveillance planes." (Note: The investigation is actually now 14 months old.)

The report, ironically, is a story from Agence France-Presse (AFP). It's good to know the French media are on top of this story. However, it's somewhat (though not very) reassuring to know that Congress has been "investigating" this problem for a while now.

What is perhaps most frightening is that the "military routinely keeps mum on fake parts," in a story by Bloomberg as reported by Gulf News. "The US Air Force suspended in January a Shenzhen, China-based company from supplying parts to US contractors," reports Gulf News, "after it sold about 84,000 suspect components, many of them installed on US aircraft, according to an example cited in the US Senate Armed Services Committee report released yesterday."

AFP reports that the Senate Armed Services Committee investigation, started by Democrat Carl Levin and Republican John McCain, "uncovered 1,800 cases of bogus parts, including on the U.S. Air Force's largest cargo plane, special operations helicopters and Navy surveillance planes." Full story (by AFP) at Military.com...

The Defense Department does not seem capable of dealing with this very serious problem. The committee's report says Defense "lacks knowledge of the scope and impact of counterfeit parts on critical defense systems." The report also cites the problem of obtaining important military parts from unvetted independent distributors, which increases national security risks.

NOTE: The AFP report, which is eerily similar to a Nov. 2011 report by The Washington Post, ends with "This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed," and was part of the report that was published, rewritten and redistributed by Military.com. What an odd thing for a news service to say, when their entire purpose is to have their material published, broadcast, rewritten and redistributed. It's how they make money, non?  Editor's Note: I am laughing my butt off. Merci beaucoup, AFP.

Related:  

• US weapons 'full of fake Chinese parts' Telegraph UK
• Pitfalls of counterfeit-part epidemic ElectronicsFeed.com

Hubble Animation Shows Star Torn Apart by Black Hole 2.7 Billion Light Years Away

Image: Hubblesite.org

May 2, 2012 - Hubblesite.org today released an animation recreation of a star being destroyed by a black hole. "This computer simulation," says Hubblesite, "shows a star being shredded by the gravity of a massive black hole." (continued below the video)

"Some of the stellar debris falls into the black hole and some of it is ejected into space at high speeds," says Hubblesite. "The areas in white are regions of highest density, with progressively redder colors corresponding to lower-density regions.

The blue dot pinpoints the black hole's location. The elapsed time corresponds to the amount of time it takes for a Sun-like star to be ripped apart by a black hole a million times more massive than the Sun."


Credit: NASA, S. Gezari (The Johns Hopkins University), and J. Guillochon (University of California, Santa Cruz) Hat tip to TheBadAstronomer.

Video Shows "UFO" Seen From Airplane Over Seoul, South Korea

UFO over Seoul, South Korea? Probably a hoax.

Look! Down in the sky! Is that a flying saucer?

A video (below) was uploaded to YouTube by "crazybreakingnews" on Saturday, April 7, 2012 claims that a UFO was seen from a passenger plane over Seoul, South Korea on the same date.

The "UFO" is below the airplane, at a lower altitude. Whatever is it - whether real or a computer-generated fake - it is saucer-shaped.

The video already had 2,335,126 views as of 5:50 p.m. CDT on April 10, 2012.
Update: I checked the video on July 18, 2020 at 1:14 a.m. CDT and it had 6,690,672 views.

"This UFO was filmed by a passenger over the City of Seoul in South Korea on April 07, 2012," wrote crazybreakingnews, "I don't know, but it looks a little bit strange and not really similar to the other videos. If it's really real and not a fake, it looks like a kind of military drone for me. What do you think?" I think it looks fake, too. Have a look at the 53-second video here and tell us what you think. Crazybreakingnews does not say what the source of the video is, which makes me suspicious.

UPDATE 11 April 2012: I'm not the only one who thinks this is probably not real.

"Aside from the anonymity of the cameraman," says CSMonitor.com, "the video raises some red flags about its authenticity. For one thing, the video is not complete; it has been purposely edited to leave some information out. We know this because it begins in progress, with the UFO already well in the frame, in the lower right-hand corner. The video camera didn't suddenly turn on to capture that scene..."

Full MUFON Report of Diamond-Shaped, Humming UFO in Costa Mesa, CA on April 5, 2012

Image source:  Phantoms & Monsters

An interesting UFO case coming to light out of California last week:

"On the evening of April 5, 2012, over the Costa Mesa area of California," reports Huffington Post, "a motorist reportedly saw a diamond-shaped object hovering about a mile away from him.  In his report filed with the Mutual UFO Network, or MUFON, he also claims to have heard a humming sound emanating from the object."  Huffington Post has more....

See the full "Long Description of Sighting Report" that was filed with MUFON.  

As for that "humming sound," Examiner.com reports that the California motorist who saw the UFO was  "driving southbound along Harbor Blvd. toward the 405 Freeway near the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa area." He claims that he heard the diamond-shaped object making a "humming noise."

The full MUFON report, filed on April 6, did not include any videos or photos. The report, made anonymously, says this:

"I was driving south bound on harbor blvd near the 405 fwy. At this time I saw what appeared to be a diamond shape vehicle in the eastern sky abpproximately 1 mile from my location. while i was driving I noticed the vehicle hovering, so i thought it was a heliocopter, but then it did not have the aviation lights. Also, it was much to big to be a heliocopter. When arrived on harbor and baker it was still in the sky hovering/gliding south east direction. I arrived at Stater Bros which is located on the south/east corner and got out of my pickup truck. at this time the vehicle tilted on its side and then i was able to see it was in the shape of a diamond, or actually two diamonds connected in the middle. At first i thought it was a hoax but this vehicle was much too sophisticated to be a toy and very large. It made a hummimg noise that I could hear from approximately a mile away... Several people in the parking lot became spectators with me as we all watched in awe. 

"The vehicle at that time proceeded to fly/hover/glide higher in altitude and in a north/east direction. i felt at tthat time it was in the Orange county airport flight path ,so it should have shown up on their radar. Also at that time, the craft emmitted 4 brighter than the sun lights, or energy sources when it tilted. Ive see many things at night and in this area but nothing to this degree. If it was a hoax it would of costed the person(s) in the millions of dollars to conduct... I am very confident I was not the only person that was watching this because of the size and duration of the incident. I know for a fact there are witnesses at the gas station, Stater bros, and possibly more that were driving in a 2-4 square mile of the craft."

Not a Refueling UFO Spaceship, It's Just a Solar Eruption

March 13, 2012 - What was that odd, dark blob protruding from the Sun recently? Some thought it might be a spacecraft refueling.

Turns out the black sphere was not a spaceship, but what scientists call a "prominence."

It is clearly visible in a series of images released by Solar Dynamics Observatory and processed by NASA.

"Telescope images captured of the sun on Monday (March 12)," reports LiveScience.com, "show what appears to be a planet-size shadowy object tethered to the sun by a dark filament." I think it looks more like a planet-sized sperm cell, but that's probably not what it is.

"In the image sequence," says LiveScience, "a burst of brightly lit material can be seen erupting from the sun's surface surrounding the dark object, after which the orb detaches from the sun and shoots out into space."

The second video here shows the formation of the blob from multiple sunclones. This video was posted to YouTube by TheDanCaudle, who noted that "This is another example of the plasma void created by one massive sunclone on March 10-11 2012. This is very peculiar on many counts." These are streams of plasma, sometimes forming "solar tornadoes." It is not clear what the dark blob was on March 12, but my own guess it that it was just the gathering of the plasma in a cloud-like formation.

"Complex magnetic fields operating in the Sun's outer reaches," says an ITN report, can cause plasma clouds "to lift and swirl before falling back down again."

NASA scientists don't think this is either a spaceship or, as some others theorized, the birth of a new planet. The scientists are probably still chuckling over the fact that some folks think such crazy things.

Related articles

• Let's Explore Solar Tornadoes (unastronomy.com)
• Why are there so many solar flares these days? (+video) (csmonitor.com)
• Mysterious Eruptions on Venus A Result Of Massive Solar Activity (techie-buzz.com)