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Thursday 17 September 2015

Leonard Cohen’s Secret Life, MKUltra, & Cultural Engineering

cohen1

You don’t know me from the wind 
you never will, you never did 
I’m the little jew 
who wrote the Bible

In a recent 4-part, 5-hour podcast conversation with the author Ann Diamond, Diamond talks about the art scene in Montreal in the 1960s and 70s and how closely tied it appears to have been to McGill University, the Allan Memorial Institue, and the MKUltra program which Dr. Ewen Cameron was implementing there, involving possibly tens of thousands of children and adults. Diamond first met Cohen in 1979 and they had an intermittent affair for several years. Her testimony suggests that Leonard Cohen (like Diamond herself) was one of the many MKUltra subjects (though whether voluntary or not is unclear, most weren’t). Others whom Diamond names are filmmaker Allan Moyle (Pump Up the Volume), actor Stephen Lack (Scanners), and Oscar-winning film artists Arthur Lipsett and Ryan Larkin.

Based on her testimony and the evidence Diamond presents, Leonard Cohen and countless others were part of a much larger social phenomenon which has been mostly forgotten or buried since that time. In Diamond’s view, Cohen’s first career was as a solider of fortune and intelligence operative, and certainly, Cohen’s quasi-military activities in the 1960s and 70s (he was in Cuba two weeks before the Bay of Pigs, and signed up for the IDF during the Yom Kippur war) suggest something significantly different from the lover-poet-sage which cultural history (and a dozen or more recent hagiographies) insist we see him as. Not to mention Cohen’s early association with Jacob Rothschild, who sent Cohen to the Greek island of Hydra in 1959.

What if the saintly sage Cohen, whom so many admire, revere, and even worship, is a counterfeit of the real thing? If so, he is a very good counterfeit. The MKUltra team apparently don’t mess around, and Cohen may just be their proudest accomplishment, from that period at least, in terms of a successfully engineered “lifetime actor” with an extremely high public profile. He is an almost flawless representation of the good (and successful!) poetic soul, the man of high art and sensual lusts who is both a worldly success and a spiritual servant. Holy mount Zion! In the halls of rock n’ roll, he’s practically the Messiah.

Yet all the while working for the Man?

Read the full article here. 

Feds name Dylann Roof friend as target

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia has notified a friend of Dylann Roof’s that he is a “potential target” of a federal criminal investigation concerning the June killings of nine African-Americans in a Charleston church.

And several people he knows have testified before a federal grand jury.  

The Meek brothers – Jacob, Joey and Justin, from left – were very nervous as the FBI was knocking on the door this summer.Joseph Meek Jr., 21, of Red Bank, was notified in an Aug. 6 letter that he was under investigation for possible misprision and allegedly making false statements to law enforcement. Both crimes are felonies. Misprision is a legal term meaning the concealment of knowledge about a crime from authorities.

In an interview Tuesday night with reporters from The State newspaper, Meek said he did not believe he was guilty of any crime except perhaps trusting too much in Roof, an old friend, when Roof turned up in his life almost four months ago and asked for a place to stay.

“I’m still reaping what he (Roof) sowed,” said an increasingly somber Meek as he sat on a couch in the living room of his family’s mobile home. “I’m looked at like a criminal because of his actions.”

Roof faces state and federal murder charges in connection with the June 17 killings at the historic “Mother” Emanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston. A manifesto he allegedly published online said Roof went there hoping to start a race war.

Excerpt of letter to Joey Meek

The letter, which Meek said was hand-delivered by an FBI agent in early August, gave Meek until Aug. 21 to respond to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“I kind of broke down on the front porch in front of him,” said Meek, explaining how shaken he was to get such a letter.

The letter advised Meek of his constitutional rights, stressing that he should hire an attorney and noting that if he couldn’t afford one, the court would appoint an attorney for him. The letter also advised him of his right to remain silent. He said Tuesday he had not yet gotten a lawyer.

Bill Nettles, the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina, said Tuesday that it is U.S. Justice Department policy to “neither confirm nor deny” specifics of an ongoing investigation.

The letter Meek got indicated federal authorities are serious. “Nothing contained in this letter should be construed as an offer of immunity,” it said.

DHS will soon decide whether you'll be granted the privilege to drive in America

According to 

Papers Please

:

A sickening Calif. bill is set to pass in October unless the governor vetoes it. Bill 

A.B. 1465

 is just another example of police state America gone crazy.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles shall require an applicant for an original driver’s license or identification card to submit satisfactory proof of residency and that the applicant’s presence in the United States is authorized under federal law.The bill is silent on what would constitute evidence of “California residency and that the applicant’s presence in the United States is authorized under federal law”, and on what standard of “proof” would be required. It would be up to the DMV to decide what this means. We didn’t receive “authorization” to move to California from other states. Did you? Did anyone?  How would we satisfy our burden of showing such “authorization”?  And what about native Californians?We thought our right of residence anywhere in the USA was one of our human rights as US citizens, not dependent  on any “authorization” from the government.

Does anyone trust DHS? How long before RMV's everywhere are instructed to deny issuing driver's licenses to people that speak out about the government?

DHS outsourced state drivers licensing and ID's to the 

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

 (AAMVA) through a 

no-bid contract

.

"The breakdown of awards, obtained by HSToday.us, signifies that AAMVA effectively gains a no-bid contract under the awards, as DHS designates it the sole national centralized database of driver’s license information under REAL ID through a grant award to the state of Missouri."

The AAMVA works with DMV's nationwide to identify 'problem drivers'...

"The Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) is a system that allows jurisdictions and other organizations to search the National Driver Register (NDR) data. The NDR is a repository of information on problem drivers provided by all 51 U.S. jurisdictions. Based on information received as a result of an NDR search, PDPS "points" the inquiring jurisdiction to the State of Record (SOR), where an individual's driver status and history information is stored. Based on the information received from the SOR, the issuing state decides if the applicant is eligible to receive a new or renewed driver license." 

You might as well replace that last sentence with, DHS will instruct the DMV if the "applicant is eligible to receive a new or renewed drivers license."

Still think that's crazy, our politicians would never let that happen? Here's a telling example of what it's like to get a drivers license in America right now. 

Below is an excerpt taken from the 

National Driver Register Problem Driver Pointer System page

.

The National Driver Register Status:

 - No Match: The individual does not have record a on the NDR.

- Licensed (LIC): Licensed means the individual holds a license in that State and the privilege to drive is valid.

- Eligible (ELG): The individual privilege to drive or apply for a license in a State(s) is valid.

- Not: The individual privilege to drive in a State(s) is invalid.

- NEN: The individual privilege to drive in a State(s) is invalid due to a non-moving violation.

What have we learned so far? DHS, the DMV and police think our government has the right to grant Americans the privilege to drive. 

But wait it gets worse...

EVERY police encounter, whether you've been arrested or not and EVERY driving infraction you've ever had is recorded by DHS/RMV.

Below, is an excerpt taken from NDR's website "

Recording, Sharing, and Using Information

" section...

"Arrest records and records of police contact. These records, kept by police, reflect an individual's previous arrests and any other episodes involving the individual that resulted in police contact but may not have resulted in an arrest."Records of prior diversions. These records may be kept by police, prosecutors, or the court. Records of prior alcohol and other drug abuse treatment history. School records involving alcohol- or drug-related incidents. 

Since they've already acknowledged they have records of EVERY police encounter you've ever had, you can bet they have your entire school records as well.

DHS & the RMV are also keeping a record of any DUI dismissals an individual might have had, 

"first, such a system should track all offenses, from arrest through dismissal or sentence completion."

They even have a section that claims to show you how you can get your name removed from the NDR. But all it really says is good luck, contact each state and ask them to remove your name. We all know what the odds of that are.

So what should I do now to get removed from the NDR?

The process is a lot simpler than many states or employees make it.  Here are the steps for you to use in order to get removed from the NDR and get your license restored.

  1. Get your National Driver Registery File Your National Driver Registery file will tell you which states have reported your records to the NDR.  Even though you may think only one state has your record, it's a good idea to check your NDR file to guarantee that you know all of the states that you will need to get your records from.

    Get your National Driver Register File Check Forms Here
     
  2. Get Your Driver Record from each state listed in your National Driver Register File
    Once you have your National Driver Registery file, you can come back to this website to get the forms that you need from each respective state that is listed in your file.  You will need to get the form for each state, complete the forms entirely and then mail them in.

    Get your State Driver Record Request Forms Here
  3. Contact Each State and Resolve All Outstanding Issues
    Once you have your State Driver Record(s), contact each individual state that has listed you on the NDR and find out what you need to do in order to get your record cleared with each respective state.  In many cases, the state(s) will include this information with your state driver record.
"Our mission [NDR] is to improve traffic and transportation safety by providing a nationwide database of problem drivers that assists State driver licensing agencies in identifying these individuals and assists employers in making hiring and certification decisions."

Not only will you be denied a drivers license in the near future, you could be denied a job...

The AAMVA is also helping DHS institute E-Verify nationwide:

E-Verify is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment eligibility.

The Records and Information from DMVs for E-Verify (RIDE) initiative is an enhancement to the E-Verify program that verifies the validity of driver’s license and ID card information by matching the data entered by employers against jurisdiction records.

"Total Failure": Pentagon Spends $41 Million Training "Four Or Five" Syrian Fighters

Earlier today, US Central Command Gen. Lloyd Austin III seemed to suggest that US SpecOps were fighting alongside YPG in Syria. As we noted when the news hit, if true that won't go over well with Turkey's Erdogan, Washington's brand new coalition partner against ISIS who has made no secret of his distrust for the YPG.

Four hours later, the Pentagon claimed that Austin's words were taken out of context and that in fact, US forces had not (yet) played a combat role. But just in case Washington does finally decide to admit that US boots are indeed on the ground along with Russian boots, it can always simply point to its own miserable operational failure as justification for why the previous arrangement just wasn't going to cut it when it comes to "degrading" militant capabilities. Read on.

As you may recall, earlier this year the Pentagon decided to try its hand at training an “appropriately vetted [group] of Syrian opposition recruits” whose mission would be to “degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.”

There are two immediately amusing things about the effort: 1) the notion of “appropriate vetting,” and 2) this effectively represented the DoD training a new group of Syrian fighters in an effort to destroy another group of Syrian fighters that were trained by the CIA but who ended up adding “establish medieval caliphate” to a list of operational objectives that was only supposed to include “destabilize and ultimately remove Bashar al-Assad.” 

As we reported around three months after the new initiative was launched, things weren’t going particularly well.

As of July, only 54 fighters had been trained and towards the end of the month - on the 30th to be specific - the group suffered its most embarrassing setback to date when its commander and deputy commander were captured by none other than al-Qaeda (who is rapidly becoming a terrorist also-ran) near the Syrian-Turkish border. 

We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out just how ridiculous that turn of events truly was. Effectively, the newest group of US-trained Syrian fighters was on their way to fight ISIS, another group of US-trained Syrian fighters, when their leaders were captured by al-Nusra, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, whose founder and allies received US support during the Soviet-Afghan war. 

Let’s just call that “blowback squared” or maybe “blowback cubed.”

Of course that wasn’t the first time al-Nusra had succeeded in disrupting a US effort to train a contingent of Syrian “freedom fighters.” As The New York Times reminded us in July, last year the group “dealt a more serious blow to the CIA program, attacking and dismantling its main groups, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front and Harakat Hazm, and seizing some of their American-supplied, sophisticated antitank missiles.”

If you thought this story couldn’t possibly get any more ridiculous, you’d have been wrong because on Wednesday, Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. Central Command (mentioned above) and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Christine Wormuth gave an update on the latest Pentagon effort to train and arm Syrian fighters and conceded that it was highly unlikely the DoD would hit its target of fielding a contingent that numbers more than 5,000 by the end of the year.

What are they basing their pessimistic outlook on, you ask?  This (via Foreign Policy): 

 

 

Only about “four or five” U.S.-trained Syrian rebels remain on the battlefield to take on the Islamic State.

That’s right. “Four or five.” 

So the only thing that the DoD’s estimate of the actual number of fighters currently on the ground has in common with the Pentagon’s original goal of recruiting 5,400 by the end of the year, is that both figures have a "4" and a "5" in them.

And how much taxpayer money was spent to train and arm this anti-ISIS “force”, you ask? 

Around $41 million. 

We'll leave you with following assessment from Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.):

“Let’s not kid ourselves, that’s a joke. This is just a total failure.” 

Refugees Vs Riot Police: A Photo Album From The Frontlines Of Europe's Migrant Crisis



Earlier this week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban moved to stem the flow of Syrian refugees across his country’s border with Serbia by first constructing a 100-mile fence and subsequently authorizing the arrest and prosecution of migrants who attempt to breach the barrier and enter the country illegally. 

Orban then sent the military and mounted police to patrol the border.

This left thousands of asylum seekers bound for Germany stranded in Serbia, staring up at 12 feet of razor wire and pondering a new route to the German “promised land.” For its part, Serbia has been transporting migrants to the border with Croatia, which says it will “direct” the refugees to where they want to go. 

Needless to say, Orban’s border crackdown transformed an already tense situation into a veritable powder keg and on Wednesday, Hungary sent in the riot police at which point the angry migrants reportedly “became aggressive” and tried to breach the fence. 

Next came the tear gas and water cannons. 

Below, find the visuals courtesy of Reuters:

*  *  *

And meanwhile, in Germany...

Eye in the Sky – 60 U.S. Police Departments Have Asked for Drone Certification

Screen Shot 2015-09-16 at 3.15.23 PM

Are drones coming to a police department near you? Possibly.

Next thing you know, they’ll be pepper spraying you from 10,000 feet.

From Yahoo News:

Los Angeles (AFP) – Drones are increasingly making their mark in the arsenal of US police forces, operating in a legal gray area and sparking concerns of constant surveillance of civilians.

Since 2012, government agencies can use small drones — weighing less than 55 pounds, or 25 kilograms — under certain conditions and after obtaining a certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

But the FAA, which is preparing small drone regulations, does not have authority on privacy protection and there is no specific framework on the issue on a national level.

Up to two dozen police forces are currently fully equipped with drones and trained to use them, including pioneers Grand Forks in North Dakota; Arlington, Texas; Mesa County, Colorado and the Utah Highway Patrol.

According to the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, at least 60 police forces across the country — from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, North Little Rock, Arkansas, and Miami-Dade County — have asked for drone certification.

The FBI also uses drones for specific missions

Rights groups are not opposed to drones as such but rather are concerned that some law enforcement agencies will use them for constant surveillance of the population.

Silly conspiracy theorists. Your government loves you, and would never surreptitiously spy on you.

“Without proper regulation, drones equipped with facial recognition software, infrared technology and speakers capable of monitoring personal conversations would cause unprecedented invasions of our privacy rights,” the ACLU said.

“Tiny drones could go completely unnoticed while peering into the window of a home or place of worship.”

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, for one, is calling for a warrant before each police drone flight.

For related articles, see:

The FBI Has Been Using Drones Domestically Since 2006

Drones in America? They are Already Here…

Where in the USA are the Drones Headed?

45 U.S. Military Veterans Sign Letter Urging Drone Operators to “Refuse to Fly”

 Meet Brandon Bryant: The Drone Operator Who Quit After Killing a Child

This is What Really Happens in the Drone Program from an Insider

McClatchy Study: Obama Administration Has No Idea Who They are Killing with Drones

U.S. Drone Strike Math – 41 Terrorists Targeted, 1,147 People Killed

New Report: Drone Strikes 10x More Deadly to Civilians than Manned Aircraft

Three of the Four U.S. Citizens Killed with Drones were Killed by Accident

Pentagon Plans to Boost Drone Flights 50% as Bernanke Warns Cutting Defense Spending Could Hurt Economy

Just Say NO: Seattle Residents Kill the City’s Drone Program

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger