In the militia, many patriots play what I call the Comsec - Opsec scam. We need to get all of this stuff straight, so let's define what we're talking about and move from there.
So, what is comsec and opsec?
Comsec is short for Communications Security. Opsec is short for Operational Security.
Each of you in the militia - or any patriot organization for that matter along with your families have information that someone else wants. The left and the socialists / communists in our midst... which includes those involved in the New World Order want to keep tabs on you. With that in mind, the first - and greatest resources to get info about you is through family members along with any financial information you blindly provide to the system.
No matter how much you think your family loves you, when they are alone with professional interrogators who will use all manner of deceit, threats, physical force, sleep deprivation, etc.family members will give up critical information on you. Worse than that, while your spouse may love you to no end, they may discuss aspects of your relationship with another family member (thinking it is totally private) only to find out later that information is going directly to organizations / individuals collecting intel on you. One method of Standard Operating Procedure in the American LEO community is to show up at your house and separate the children from the mother while the father is at work.
One interrogator asks the children questions while another isolates the mother and threatens to take her children away if she doesn't cooperate with them. In many instances, they may force the mother to work against you in the future. And you can become subject to this kind of treatment by just being a worker in one of the major political parties - much less a member of something like the John Birch Society or a militia.
And when it comes to giving away information about ourselves, we are own worse enemy. We apply for those "customer loyalty cards" from the grocery stores and pharmacies in exchange for the "sales price." Consequently, that information can then be sold or even given away to government agencies. Think you don't have anything to hide?
Suppose the government really wants you. They collect data on everything you buy over the course of a few months and then allege that you were procuring something to commit a terrorist attack with. Now, everything you purchased might have had a legitimate purpose, but the government can twist and distort your buying habits to the point that a gallon of gasoline for the lawnmower and some nails to fix the outbuilding become weapons of mass destruction.
So, let's make this issue simple. Comsec - Communications Security should be observed at all times in your home and with whomever you talk to. You should NEVER say anything to any member of your family that would land you in jail if it were known. They may inadvertently tell another family member just enough info so that an experienced investigator could stick you in prison for the rest of your life once they got that info. Honestly, I don't know what some of these people do or say that leads them to believe they should use Comsec on the internet.
NOTHING which travels along the electronic highway is safe. Cell phones are the least safest method of communication. Your computer and the internet are next. Your land lines can be bugged; people can listen to HAM and CB communications. If you can't say it in public, DON'T SAY IT ON THE PHONE OR ON THE INTERNET UNLESS IT IS A LIFE OR DEATH EMERGENCY.
Now, let's talk about Operational Security. Your Operational Security starts in the home and with your finances. First, avoid as many businesses that require your ssn as possible. Any time you use the ssn (Socialist Surveillance Number... aka "Social Security Number") you are registering what you just bought or did in a permanent record which can be used as intel and / or evidence against you. If you don't think that's important, let's try this hypothetical scenario:
You use your customer loyalty card to buy groceries. An outspoken patriot is staying in your home. You begin to buy more toilet paper and more beans than usual. The LEOs notice that. You just led them to your door. So, you think - well if that scenario does happen, I'll start paying in cash. Well then, a change in your financial habits raises red flags all over the LEO spectrum and you can become the subject of an investigation under those conditions.
Your Operational Security begins by not keeping anything illegal in your home. None of us has any excuse for engaging in even the thought of doing anything illegal right now. The second Operational Security measure is to pay only mundane bills by check... the mortgage payment, insurance, taxes, utilities, car payment. Use Federal Reserve Notes for as many of your purchases as possible. Limit credit card spending. That's costing you up with the wazoo anyway. Get a paper shredder and shred ALL the stuff you can relating to your finances and extra-curricular activities before putting it in the trash. Gee, this is more complicated than I first thought. We can continue a little later if there is any interest in this topic. Post a reply if you want to discuss it.
And here I thought I was a little obsssed with the ID Theft thing, as in protecting myself against it.
No. 1 on my list is to arrange, through your bank, an automatic payment for any loan you have with them. It's all 'in-house'. Sure the 'case against you builders' can get access to the info, but SO. What's wrong in that? It is a preferred 'practice' now. And your credit worthiness is boosted in doing so. (try not to get into unnecessary debt)
While on the subject, use a credit union (CU)! Understand folks, a 'bank' is controlled by certain laws. A Credit Union is controlled by different laws, and the CU 'provides' banking services. The up side of this, far outweighs the down side!
And all that junk mail that comes to your box--how did they get my address? I'm not talking about the geneic 'box holder' or 'current resident' addressing, I mean the ones that are NAME specific!!
All those credit card offers--want to bust them in the a$$?
Check this out--LEGAL--when you get this garbge, it will have a postage pre-paid envelope inside. Now, when these outfits send all this out, they have a deal with the Post Office (PO). The PO sends all this out for FREE! Then all the returns are 'rated' and that is where the PO comes out on the deal. DON'T THROW THAT STUFF AWAY! Scratch through your name and address, and any little code line, write down--'I don't want any more of this coming to me--loose the address.' Put all that junk, INCLUDING THE ENVELOPE IT CAME IN, BACK IN THAT POSTAGE PREPAID ENVELOPE AND SEND IT BACK. THAT ARRANGEMENT WITH THE SENDER AND THE PO, HAS TO DO WITH WEIGHT ALSO!!
Believe it or not, it will take a while, but I hardly ever get that junk anymore. And you have helped out the PO in the meantime.
And one final comment, for now, on what Enforcer pointed out:
Remember that Cho guy that shot up VT? I read an article that said eBay was cooperating with the LEO, cause that is where he bought the Hi Cap mags from!!
I've got some more, but I can't possibly know it all. Until I get back, put up your ideas on this, and the OpSec/CommSec warnings noted above.
The finer we tune ourselves, the better for all of us.
Thanks ahead.
CDJ _________________ A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what they are made for.
Before I continue on, CatDaddy left the door open for a few other things.
When I respond to junk mail with their envelopes that they pay the postage on, they get some free patriot literature from me.
And a few weeks ago, I went to an auction site where the people were selling some products. I wanted to buy, but didn't want to register online and then go through the rigamarole of paying through the site, etc. The seller left his e mail address / phone number in the ad and let you know he had a lot of this stuff to sell and it listed a "BUY NOW" price. So, I call the guy on the phone and arrange to send payment via U.S. Snail Mail. I averted putting all my info online for any hacker on earth to steal.
Anyway, let me get back to my train of thought on this subject. I may have told you about reading this book called "Lone Patriot - The Short Career of a Career of an American Militiaman by Jane Kramer.
In the book, Kramer goes into great detail about how the militia handled the Comsec / Opsec issue. Grudgingly, as much as I came to despise Kramer, she nailed the miliita on that one issue. Most of what is out there on so - called militia forums is paranoid cow manure. So, let's get this straight. On NONE of these discussion boards are you posting anonymously. There are hackers, the owners of the sites, the government, and the ISP providers with software to figure out who you are and exactly where you are.
At the same time, Lt. Col. Gordon (Jack) Mohr once told me that a man who would not sign his name to a list of militiamen and agree to stand with the group would not get your back in a fight. Mohr would have known. He was the first American captured in the Korean "Conflict" and he was tortured, sentenced to death, only to escape. In the Army, the late Lt. Col. Mohr would go on to write manuals and give seminars on psyops and brainwashing. As a civilian, he would also be one of the people who helped this militia get started, coming here to speak at his own expense and only asking that we allow him a table to sell his books and tapes in exchange for his expertise.
When I tell you about this subject, I want you to know where I depend on for my resources. And this is how I see things:
If, in a National Emergency, the governor or your state so requires, the militia is required to sign in for duty. So, if you are answering a CONSTITUTIONAL call to arms, you'll give up your name to the government, but that does not limit your other rights. At the same time, there are those in the militia who need your name and contact number in case of a SHTF scenario. And those people would be the ones in your Unit (Cell, Squad, etc.)... whatever you call your most basic and local group.
There are things that you never discuss and things you don't give to ANYONE unless you have a legal duty to do so. Among the things you never reveal (unless under court order or required by law) are:
1) Your Socialist Surveillance Number (okay, "Social Security Number")
2) A list of any weapons you own. I don't care if they're legal or not. It's nobody's business. You may be required to carry a certain type of firearm or caliber in the militia, but they should only ask if you are equipped for the duties you will be assigned
3) Personal Financial Information
4) Schedules that your family keeps. If you're gone from home, make people guess whether or not someone is behind the doors
5) Remember, your Escape and Evacuation plans along with Rendezvous points are on a NEED TO KNOW basis. And your family should have a plan separate and apart from that you have in an organization
We'll keep adding information. Thanks for the input.
Today's installment has to do with these very courteous phone calls one gets.
Last Sunday morning, while dumping out the trash, someone hands me the phone. "It's for you," I'm told.
Upon answering, the caller, whose voice is as sweet as a Georgia peach, ask me if I handle the finances of the household. I replied an honest, "Yes."
The lady on the phone tells me she is with the census department and would like some general information about my buying habits. "Nothing personal,", she adds.
Now remember this is Sunday morning. I am having trouble with being called by someone I don't know, as well the fact that 'the census department' doesn't want to know anything 'personal' about "MY BUYING HABITS."
So, first I asked how she got my unlisted number: "it was randomly selected from a group of numbers and an automatic dialer actually placed the call." she responds.
I ask when the United States Census Department began working on Sunday mornings, much less before the reasonable time to begin preparing for the Official Census not due until 2010: "our department works much more than the Official Census Department," she replies.
***BINGO*** I HAVE JUST UNCOVERED THE FRAUD BY LISTENING TO WHAT WAS SAID, "with the census department" and "our department works much more than the Official Census Department,"Mental note made!
I then asked how would this be, 'not personal," if it had to do with "MY" buying habits? And I told the lady that I did not believe she was employed by the IS Census Department.
Her reply:, "Mr XXXXXX, it is just a simple survey, that won't even have your name on it, to be reviewed by the department."
***DAILY DOUBLE*** SHE CALLED ME BY MY LAST NAME!
I pointed out that the matter could not by, "not personal in any way", since she used my name.
"Do you wish to participate in the survey or not?" the once peachy voice asked with a now clearly frustrated tone.
'No, and y'all have a good day now," I replied--just as I hung up the phone.
Thank you, Xx. XXXXXX, my oral communication prof, for teaching me to listen as well as speak!
Cordially
CDJ _________________ A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what they are made for.
Actually, we're getting into privacy issues. What I started out with was a critical analyses of the Comsec / Opsec game that has been played out in the militia over the past couple of decades. So, I'll try this a different way.
Again, Comsec is short for Communications Security. Everything that goes across the phone lines into your computer, telephone, television, etc. is related to Comsec. Additionally EVERYTHING you put into print is related to Comsec. And EVERYTHING you say is related to Comsec.
Far too many times we hear militia leaders talk about Comsec. And then a shortly thereafter we read of groups - like the ones preaching it, being hauled into court on conspiracy charges, charges related to things going boom, and / or allegations of terrorist activity.
The primary reason this is happening is that somebody wrote a few paragraphs somewhere about topics like "need to know" and that got expanded into some kind of paranoid delusion that you couldn't hold a general conversation about identifying the enemies of America on the internet lest you become fodder for the New World Order.
Adding insult to injury, the militia leadership in this country proceeds to nurse this paranoia in public, while in the meetings and training sessions, some leaders have entrusted virtually any and every member with really dumb a55 stuff. I'm mainly talking about people like those in Alabama who were accused of trafficking in illegal weapons, explosives, and illegal drugs. I'm talking about people like John Pitner who built the Washington State Militia. So, let me put it to you this way:
Just a few years ago some drug addicts needing money broke into some houses around here. They took a tire tool and literally beat down walls to get into my home. While doing so, they took virtually everything I had of any value which they could market. Now, think about this from my perspective:
If I had something illegal in my home, at the Opsec end of this, I'd have been screwed. If it didn't get stolen, I would have had to tamper with a crime scene in order to get my stuff back and/or get a proper police report filed. If you have to tamper with a crime scene, police are trained well enough to spot it. So, it was in my best interest NOT to have illegal contraband in my home.
At the Comsec side of this equation, these guys were just plain lucky. Most of the time my guns could not have been found in my home. I kept them in storage, but this time we were coming up on a long week-end. And I put the guns in a spare bedroom with the intentions of taking them to the range that coming Saturday. But, had it not been their timing and luck - who else could have been a suspect to a home invasion like that?
And maybe it didn't have to be a home invasion per se, but someone getting a list of my belongings to give to alphabet agencies, opposing organizations, etc. Your greatest security risks come from family members and friends who enter your house. The second category is the people who enter your home to make repairs (the phone guy, cable guy, plumber, electrician, etc.) We'll come back to the second category later.
The friends and family members around you talk. It's human nature. Your wife may be angry that you bought another rifle. She expresses her anger to her sister (who is a freaking liberal) and your sister in law confides in her husband (another gun hating liberal with no backbone.)
The brother in law now wants to screw you over, so he pays a call to the local LEOs. And the pipeline has started. From your wife to your sister in law, to the brother in law, to the LEOs. And your wife doesn't have a clue that she's selling you out. She's just mad at the money and time you spend on extracurricular activities.
So, let me repeat all of this over and over for the rest of my life. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHNG THAT IS POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL, OVERTLY ILLEGAL, AND / OR ANYTHING THAT YOU SUSPECT MAY BE CONSTRUED TO BE ILLEGAL. Just verbalizing a fantasy about a SHTF scenario can be interpreted and sold to any jury in America as a conspiracy to commit a crime.
There are far too many legal avenues to concentrate on that even considering anything illegal would be a gross mistake. These self styled militias have a leadership and a membership who cannot pass a citizenship test (required of immigrants in order to become citizens), but they can tell you how to make a home made claymore. What's wrong with that picture?
When I post again, I'll tell you the things you need to know about real Comsec.
Okay, since there is interest in the subject matter, let's continue but, first a history lesson:
In about 1992 the computers on the market were the 286 and the 386. Subsequently there would be the 486, the AT models and then the generic PC computer not defined by the earlier designations. The 286 and 386 versions probably could not handle even a dial up modem if you wanted the internet. Forget most modern computer applications.
I tell you that because a lot of people think they can discuss forbidden topics via the computer so long as they encrypt their communications. And so we find ourselves talking about Communications Security - or Comsec as some like to call it.
I took you on that brief historical tour to tell you this:
In 1992 I went to buy my first computer. While at the computer store I encountered an old acquaintance from my past. We started talking about computers and which one I should be investing in since technology was changing rapidly. My acquaintance was once employed by the C.I.A. and had kept in touch with people in the organization. He started telling me that the C.I.A. had computers so big they were using storage capacity in the terabytes. Now, imagine this. It is 1992. You and I could not buy a computer with 1 gigabyte of space. It simply did not exist on the market back then. Yet the feds were using computer systems with storage data in the terabytes. And how much is a terabyte?
A terabyte (TB) contains 1,000,000,000,000 bytes and honestly I don't know if the general public can buy computers with that much capacity even today... FOURTEEN YEARS LATER!!!
My acquaintance told me something a few years later when I asked about these so - called fool proof encryption programs. He said the government would never allow a computer or a program to be marketed in the United States unless they thought they could reasonably break the code. For if they couldn't break the code, it would be possible for saboteurs and other intel operators to plan wars right under the nose of Uncle Scam.
I'm relating that to you for what it's worth. And it explains why I do not believe that even an encryption program protects you from Big Brother. That's my opinion and I've told you what I base it on.
Further, when it comes to electronic surveillance the government has had Echelon and Operation Tempest going since before Y2K when we began reporting on them. Read these links:
Now, some of the information on those sites may try to assure you that taps and surveillance warrants are obtainable by court order and will not be conducted otherwise. It will be a cold day somewhere we won't mention when LEOs obey the law.
So, back to my original premise. When it comes to Communications Security, if you can't say it publicly, don't type it into your computer, fax it, say it on the phone, or transmit it via any electronic means. And that's lesson 1 for Communications Security. I'll continue on in a few days so come back and we'll cover some more ground.
A Federal Reserve Note is a piece of paper, owned by the Federal Reserve (a private corporation) that some of you mistakenly call "money."
Since the Notes have no intrinsic value (as they are not redeemable with gold or silver) and are issued by a private corporation, they are not "money" in a de jure (legal) government as contemplated by the Constitution.
Romanian Draganov, What's up with the sleep deprivation? And you won't retain this material without sufficient sleep. Maybe you need to see a doctor and get something that will sedate you for a few hours... or tell us what is happening that you can't sleep.
I went off on this Commsec part for a reason:
For many years, these "leaders" in the militia told their membership that there were things they couldn't talk about in public and that "things" were happening, etc. Today, many of them are still held in high esteem in the movement (sic) but, the myths they foisted on their friends persist.
Let me give you a specific instance:
Just before sh!+canning me, one of the bigger militia boards threatened me by saying I had skeletons in my closet. Well, what I said on the private boards is nothing I would not have said publicly. And if there is something that people knew about me, chances are, I told them already because it's usually accessible on the internet anyway.
Here's a little tidbit of information for you: There has never been a crime committed in America where four or more people were involved that did not get solved. So, if something is so sensitive, the odds will get you if the internet cops don't. I'll resume this after Romanian gets some shut eye.
oh its becuz i went to a 24 hour cancer walk in town. and plus ive been up before that and till 9 the next day. i just got 10 hours of sleep and im not tired anymore.
I kinda have to say that the Bradford Metcalf trial/case should be looked at again. i think (from what i read) the trial was unfair. maybe one other wouldn't agree.
Let's take this ComSec issue up in understandable terms.
Since monitoring of phones, internet, faxes, etc. is inevitable, we've said enough so that you don't say there what you would not say publicly.
Let's see, where would you NEED secure communications?
A) During an actual war
B) When planning an activity of resistance or action that should be a need to know only basis.
Amateurs try to pretend that all intel is fair game for ComSec; however, if you are being accused of wrongdoing, the case may be confidential, but it does not merit being in the ComSec category. Ditto for the daily business of any organization.
One militia leader even tried to claim that some laws were secret and he used the pretext of ComSec to keep his followers from learning the truth.
The best way to have Confidential Communications is to talk in code and change the code every couple of months. For instance, in the older days (1920s through 1940s and beyond) bookies would have public conversations about baseball and the real discussion was about bookie activity. How this is actually carried out is a different thread but, I thought I throw it in for you.
Now, if you want something more technical about real Comsec, I'll finish this part of the discussion with a link. Then we can move on in my next post.
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