I have just finished watching the President’s State of the Union Speech again and much of the coverage in the mainstream media. And, it clearly indicates why the majority of Americans are being disadvantaged by the mainstream media whose historic journalistic ethics and “speaking truth to power” characteristics can no longer be relied upon.
In spite of obvious lies, distortions, half-truths and misdirection – the mainstream media, once again, disregarded the facts and spun the speech as a “brilliant” work. It did not seem to matter that most of the speech was comprised of stale, shop-worn rhetoric from previous campaigns, that Obama was little more than an accomplished actor – reading the TelePrompTered spin-tested words written by others, or that the fact-checking results were not given the same attention as the speech itself.
But, beyond this, it appears that the spin-tested phrases which had the majority of Americans bobbing their heads in agreement meant little or nothing when compared to the executive branch power grab, nullification of congressional authority and the gross and unconstitutional manipulation of the law.
The idea of an increased minimum wage had the lowest end of the employment spectrum bobbing their heads in agreement. But, few – perhaps due to their poor understanding of the subject – did not realize the implications of what the President was saying.
We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, 19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.
Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. (Applause.) We should be able to get that done. (Applause.)
This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets. And a whole lot of folks out there would probably need less help from government. In fact, working folks shouldn’t have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher. So here’s an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year -- let’s tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on. (Applause.) <Source: White House>
But, how many of these head bobbers realize that minimum wage is not the whole story and that you must factor taxes, benefits and other costs into the equation? And, that if the cost of labor significantly increases, prices must also increase to maintain profit margins. And, if profit margins decline, there is less incentive for the employers to provides those goods and services; leading to the outsourcing of jobs or the cessation of businesses. Or, as a common reaction, the reduction of personnel with increased workloads to make up for the increased expenses.
How many of these head-bobbers realize that this will decimate the what little employment exists in the inner cities or kill summer jobs for high school students? Thus, providing additional funds to fewer people in a down economy?
But, the idea of higher wages “resonates” with those who are liberals or are in the lower socio-economic group. Even though it will exacerbate the employment situation and our gross domestic product.
These are the people who elected Barack Obama to the Presidency – believing that this historic elevation of a Black Man to the highest office was the beginning of “true hope and change” in a post-partisan president who would work for the people and not either political party. A resonance kept alive by the mainstream media even though it is demonstrably false and Obama’s actions mark him as an “affirmative action” president of stunning incompetence. An ignorant man who has learned to smile and use high-sounding words, but knows almost nothing other than to use resonance to convince the American people he is serving “We the People.”
A classic case of the Emperor’s New Clothes – officially sanctioned by the mainstream media to the detriment of America.
Bottom line …
The democrats are engaged in a continual campaign, to destroy the republican party and to place American in a dire economic and military position where there is little hope but to cede additional powers to an ever growing public. To accomplish their ends, they must disarm the American public – intellectually by dumbing down education and physically with gun control. They must create a cadre of citizens, perhaps former illegal aliens, who will join the military and have little or no qualms about disarming or firing on American citizens.
I would not be surprised if the republican party continues to cave – playing games with religious and social matters – while our nations economic viability and military prowess are nullified by those in the democrat party. Perhaps, the democrat party should now be denoted with the “Hammer and Sickle” as they go about creating their version of Amerika, a democratic socialist republic heading towards the communist nirvana. Perhaps they are being blackmailed by the democrats who know that the republicans are just as personally corrupt as they are – but make such as show about “family values” that the smallest peccadillos forces them out of the race or to resign their offices.
Did everyone see the misdirection and ridicule heaped on Marco Rubio when he delivered the republican response to Obama’s State of the Union Address. Right out of Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals – where ridicule is a most powerful and effective weapon. Deflecting the message of the speaker into a meaningless horse laugh for late night comedians.
2014 is closer than you think – and is a bulwark against adopting the most radical of the democrat socialist policies. And, if the democrats can keep the republicans talking about religion, abortion and other such nonsense in this time of peril – they will win over America.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS
Standing in front of all the movers and shakers, in the neighborhood where a 15-year old student was gunned downed by gangbanger, the President speaks obliquely about gun control, but fails to address the real cause of the problem: minority gangs, the source of the majority of gun violence, crime and drugs causing the killing and disruption of life in the neighborhoods of Chicago and similarly situated inner cities. As I have said many times before, it is not a gun control issue, it is a crime control issue. And, the President of the United States, the leadership of the State of Illinois, and the leadership of Chicago stand their like the corrupt liberal ideologues they are and refuse to address the real issue: gangs.
Here are the excerpts of a speech from the nation’s top executive, the President of the United States, in front of the leaders of the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois. All committed liberals, all anti-gun advocates and all disingenuous and dishonest when it comes to telling their constituents the truth …
Remarks By The President On Strengthening The Economy For The Middle Class (Hyde Park Career Academy Chicago, Illinois)
THE PRESIDENT: Hey, Chicago! (Applause.) Hello, Chicago! Hello, everybody. Hello, Hyde Park! (Applause.) It is good to be home! It is good to be home. Everybody have a seat. You all relax. It’s just me. You all know me. It is good to be back home.
A couple of people I want to acknowledge -- first of all, I want to thank your Mayor, my great friend, Rahm Emanuel for his outstanding leadership of the city and his kind introduction. (Applause.) I want to thank everybody here at Hyde Park Academy for welcoming me here today. (Applause.) A couple other people I want to acknowledge -- Governor Pat Quinn is here doing great work down in Springfield. (Applause.) My great friend and senior Senator Dick Durbin is in the house. (Applause.) Congressman Bobby Rush is here. (Applause.) We’re in his district. Attorney General and former seatmate of mine when I was in the state senate, Lisa Madigan. (Applause.) County Board President -- used to be my alderwoman -- Tony Preckwinkle in the house. (Applause.) And I’ve got -- I see a lot of reverend clergy here, but I’m not going to mention them, because if I miss one I’m in trouble. (Laughter.) They’re all friends of mine. They’ve been knowing me.
Some people may not know this, but obviously, this is my old neighborhood. I used to teach right around the corner. This is where Michelle and I met, where we fell in love --
AUDIENCE: Aww --
THE PRESIDENT: This is where we raised our daughters, in a house just about a mile away from here -- less than a mile. And that’s really what I’ve come here to talk about today -- raising our kids.
AUDIENCE: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you, too. (Applause.) I love you, too.
I’m here to make sure that we talk about and then work towards giving every child every chance in life; building stronger communities and new ladders of opportunity that they can climb into the middle class and beyond; and, most importantly, keeping them safe from harm.
Michelle was born and raised here -- a proud daughter of the South Side. (Applause.) Last weekend, she came home, but it was to attend the funeral of Hadiya Pendleton. And Hadiya’s parents, by the way, are here -- and I want to just acknowledge them. They are just wonderful, wonderful people. (Applause.)
And as you know, this week, in my State of the Union, I talked about Hadiya on Tuesday night and the fact that unfortunately what happened to Hadiya is not unique. It's not unique to Chicago. It's not unique to this country. Too many of our children are being taken away from us.
Two months ago, America mourned 26 innocent first-graders and their educators in Newtown. And today, I had the high honor of giving the highest civilian award I can give to the parent -- or the families of the educators who had been killed in Newtown. And there was something profound and uniquely heartbreaking and tragic, obviously, about a group of 6-year-olds being killed. But last year, there were 443 murders with a firearm on the streets of this city, and 65 of those victims were 18 and under. So that’s the equivalent of a Newtown every four months.
And that’s precisely why the overwhelming majority of Americans are asking for some common-sense proposals to make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun. And as I said on Tuesday night, I recognize not everybody agrees with every issue. There are regional differences. The experience of gun ownership is different in urban areas than it is in rural areas, different from upstate and downstate Illinois. But these proposals deserve a vote in Congress. They deserve a vote. (Applause.) They deserve a vote. And I want to thank those members of Congress who are working together in a serious way to try to address this issue.
But I’ve also said no law or set of laws can prevent every senseless act of violence in this country. When a child opens fire on another child, there’s a hole in that child’s heart that government can't fill -- only community and parents and teachers and clergy can fill that hole. In too many neighborhoods today -- whether here in Chicago or the farthest reaches of rural America -- it can feel like for a lot of young people the future only extends to the next street corner or the outskirts of town; that no matter how much you work or how hard you try, your destiny was determined the moment you were born. There are entire neighborhoods where young people, they don’t see an example of somebody succeeding. And for a lot of young boys and young men, in particular, they don’t see an example of fathers or grandfathers, uncles, who are in a position to support families and be held up and respected.
And so that means that this is not just a gun issue.It’s also an issue of the kinds of communities that we’re building. And for that, we all share a responsibility, as citizens, to fix it. We all share a responsibility to move this country closer to our founding vision that no matter who you are, or where you come from, here in America, you can decide your own destiny. You can succeed if you work hard and fulfill your responsibilities. (Applause.)
Now, that means we’ve got to grow our economy and create more good jobs. It means we’ve got to equip every American with the skills and the training to fill those jobs. And it means we’ve got to rebuild ladders of opportunity for everybody willing to climb them.
And that’s why on Tuesday I announced -- and that's part of what I want to focus on here in Chicago and across the country -- is my intention to partner with 20 of the hardest-hit communities in America to get them back in the game -- get them back in the game. (Applause.)
First, we’ll work with local leaders to cut through red tape and improve things like public safety and education and housing. And we’ll bring all the resources to bear in a coordinated fashion so that we can get that tipping point where suddenly a community starts feeling like things are changing and we can come back.
Second of all, if you’re willing to play a role in a child’s education, then we’ll help you reform your schools. We want to seed more and more partnerships of the kind that Rahm is trying to set up.
Third, we’re going to help bring jobs and growth to hard-hit neighborhoods by giving tax breaks to business owners who invest and hire in those neighborhoods. (Applause.)
Fourth, and specific to the issue of violence -- because it’s very hard to develop economically if people don't feel safe. If they don't feel like they can walk down the street and shop at a store without getting hit over head or worse, then commerce dries up, businesses don't want to locate, families move out, you get into the wrong cycle. So we’re going to target neighborhoods struggling to deal with violent crime and help them reduce that violence in ways that have been proven to work. And I know this is a priority of your Mayor’s; it’s going to be a priority of mine. (Applause.)
And finally, we’re going to keep working in communities all across the country, including here in Chicago, to replace run-down public housing that doesn’t offer much hope or safety with new, healthy homes for low- and moderate-income families. (Applause.)
WhenHadiya Pendleton and her classmates visited Washington three weeks ago, they spent time visiting the monuments -- including the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial just off the National Mall. And that memorial stands as a tribute to everything Dr. King achieved in his lifetime. But it also reminds us of how hard that work was and how many disappointments he experienced. He was here in Chicago fighting poverty, and just like a lot of us, there were times where he felt like he was losing hope. So in some ways, that memorial is a testament not to work that's completed, but it’s a testament to the work that remains unfinished.
His goal was to free us not only from the shackles of discrimination, but from the shadow of poverty that haunts too many of our communities, the self-destructive impulses, and the mindless violence that claims so many lives of so many innocent young people.
These are difficult challenges. No solution we offer will be perfect. But perfection has never been our goal. Our goal has been to try and make whatever difference we can. Our goal has been to engage in the hard but necessary work of bringing America one step closer to the nation we know we can be.
If we do that, if we’re striving with every fiber of our being to strengthen our middle class, to extend ladders of opportunity for everybody who is trying as hard as they can to create a better life for themselves; if we do everything in our power to keep our children safe from harm; if we’re fulfilling our obligations to one another and to future generations; if we make that effort, then I’m confident -- I’m confident that we will write the next great chapter in our American story. I’m not going to be able to do it by myself, though. Nobody can. We’re going to have to do it together.
Thank you, everybody. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)
Bottom line …
Why don’t the democrats who rule (not govern) the inner cities such as those found in Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere refuse to address the issue?
Money – rising crime is a big money business. Union-dominated law enforcement and confinement facilities, the legal bureaucracy needed to prosecute and monitor criminal activities, the unionized political bureaucracy needed to administer social benefits to those without hope, and the associated benefits of ill-gotten gains from crime and drugs that are filtered back into the system via money laundering and the purchase of political influence.
A clear target – the last thing a politician wants is a clear target and measurable results. The liberal elite will tolerate criminal activity to a point, apparently getting upset only when it affects them, their posh neighborhoods or riles the political base to the point where they consider a change in political leadership.
Politics – crime and violence are disrupters, a raison d'être for larger government, more government control over constituents and higher taxes. The exact situation favored by revolutionary socialists, communists and anarchists who require poverty, illiteracy, chaos, confusion, unrest and fear to push the populace into accepting their leadership.
Fear – the politicians and the police walk a tight line, knowing that the gangs – many of them from Mexico and South America could turn ultra-violent and target the politicians and their families and friends to send a message that they can’t be touched.
If the President were a leader, he would have stood up and proclaimed a war on gangs. Declaring them domestic terrorists. Putting their leadership in Guantanamo so they could no longer control their gang’s illegal activities from a jail cell. Investing in new technologies to surveil gang members and their activities. Making gang recruiting in schools a major felony. Providing enhancements for gang member activity, no plea bargaining, no parole, and above all, a mandatory ten year add-on for using a gun in a criminal act.
HOW MANY PEOPLE REALIZE THAT GANG SHOT-CALLERS USE MINORS TO COMMIT CRIMES BECAUSE THEY ARE TREATED AS JUVENILES!
It is time to take action: by going after the gangs, not disarming law-abiding citizens which only enlarges the pool of potential victims. It is time to realize that socialism demands a disarmed America – an American that cannot stand up to government tyranny or an invasion of socialists from other countries. And, if you play out the socialism theme, letting gangs and criminals run rampant until the revolution – and then summarily executing all known gang members and criminals as was done in Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere.
President Obama and his fellow travelers in democrat party are disingenuous and dishonest when it comes to gun control and not crime control. They are the evil we cannot live with and should be thrown out of office. While no politician is completely honest as the struggle to gain or maintain power, they can be controlled and contained with term limits and laws that prevent politics from become a career. Politicians need to be responsible to the people they represent as well as held accountable under the laws that affect us all. No more phony “ethics committees” and allowing politicians to backdate documents or make retroactive payments to erase wrongdoing.
It is time “We the People” held our elected officials and their appointees accountable for the damage they have wrought on our America.
While words have meaning, President Obama and his fellow travelers are wont to use the old socialist trick of re-definition to support their toxic liberal agenda. George Orwell's novel 1984 proposed that people's thoughts could be constrained by the redefinition and reduction of their language.
"Orwellian" is an adjective describing the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It connotes an attitude and a policy of control by propaganda, surveillance, misinformation, denial of truth, and manipulation of the past, including the "unperson" — a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practiced by modern repressive governments.
The adjective Orwellian refers to these behaviours of The Party, especially when the Party is the State:
Invasion of personal privacy, either directly physically or indirectly by surveillance.
State control of its citizens' daily life, as in a "Big Brother" society.
Official encouragement of policies contributing to the socio-economic disintegration of the family.
The adoration of state leaders and their Party.
The encouragement of "doublethink", whereby the population must learn to embrace inconsistent concepts without dissent, e.g. giving up liberty for freedom. Similar terms used are "doublespeak", and "newspeak".
The revision of history in the favour of the State's interpretation of it.
A (generally) dystopian future.
The use of euphemism to describe an agency, program or other concept, especially when the name denotes the opposite of what is actually occurring. E.g. a department that wages war is called the "Ministry of Peace" or "Ministry of Defence".
Disparate impact leads to unconstitutional affirmative action …
In United States employment law, the doctrine of disparate impact holds that employment practices may be considered discriminatory and illegal if they have a disproportionate "adverse impact" on members of a minority group. Under the doctrine, a violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act may be proven by showing that an employment practice or policy has a disproportionately adverse effect on members of the protected class as compared with non-members of the protected class. <Source>
Why it is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment …
Amendment XIV - Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Any action which promotes benefits for one person or class of persons over another person or class of persons is unconstitutional as it does not provide equal protection under the law for each party.
Government meddling in the housing markets was one of the proximate causes of today’s economic crisis …
Simply put, the government circumvented sound and prudent lending requirements that we designed to insure that a borrower could repay a lender based on his current financial condition and past history. By relaxing common-sense credit lending provisions, we saw the rise in so-called “liar loans” where the borrower did not have to declare their employment, income or assets. In addition, the hyper-politicized government regulatory agencies demanded that financial institutions make loans in disadvantaged areas and to ignore obvious risks when dealing with minority, women or poor borrowers. To this day, the government is propping up the housing market to avoid adverse impacts on financial institutions who hold reduced-worth mortgage-backed assets on their books. Possibly pushing some institutions into technical insolvency if financial institutions were forced to take significant write-downs. Ignoring the truth – if the housing market cannot find its natural bottom, assets can never be correctly valued and, thus, the balance sheets of financial systems are not true and correct.
And it is repeating …
You would think that the lessons of the past years would preclude inappropriate government meddling in the housing marketplace. But, we find the government allowing private parties or consumer-activist organizations to claim “disparate impacts” based on little more than an analysis of the gross statistics – when, in fact, each case involves an independent calculation of risk factors which result in the denial of loans or the interest rate offered.
This rule formally establishes the three-part burden-shifting test for determining when a practice with a discriminatory effect violates the Fair Housing Act.
Under this test, the charging party or plaintiff first bears the burden of proving its prima facie case that a practice results in, or would predictably result in, a discriminatory effect on the basis of a protected characteristic.
As in the past, the pointy-head academics and activists simply used public data contained in loan application registers to make a case of statistical abuse. That is, some zipcode did not appear to be receiving its theoretical allocation of loans – ignoring that much of the property was decaying or near worthless – or that some class of persons were charged higher fees and interest rates – ignoring than many of these people had poor credit histories or lacked the ability to replay loans at the “teaser rates” they were initially offered.
If the charging party or plaintiff proves a prima facie case, the burden of proof shifts to the respondent or defendant to prove that the challenged practice is necessary to achieve one or more of its substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interests.
Again, having made a statistical case, it is not up to the charging party or plaintiff to actually prove their case, the burden of proof shifts to the respondent or defendant to prove their actions were not discriminatory. Since when did we flip the rule from “innocent until proven guilty” to presumptively guilty until proven innocent?
If the respondent or defendant satisfies this burden, then the charging party or plaintiff may still establish liability by proving that the substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest could be served by a practice that has a less discriminatory effect.
This is manifestly unfair and grossly unacceptable as it provides that any respondent or defendant having made an adequate legally acceptable defense of its practices is still wrong under the law if the charging party or plaintiff can show that there might be a better policy to avoid potential discrimination. Absolutely insane – except in a socialist world bent on destroying our capitalist system.
This rule also adds and revises illustrations of practices that violate the Act through intentional discrimination or through a discriminatory effect under the standards outlined in § 100.500.
Because the rule does not change decades-old substantive law articulated by HUD and the courts, but rather formalizes a clear, consistent, nationwide standard for litigating discriminatory effects cases under the Fair Housing Act, it adds no additional costs to housing providers and others engaged in housing transactions. Rather,
This is pure bullpucky. The costs of investigation, defense and any settlements, justified or unjustified, are passed along to consumers in the form of higher rates or lower yields on their deposits and investments. Resulting in wealth transfer from depositors and investors to socialist community activists groups. Not to mention the practice of hiring these groups to teach “tolerance” or monitor compliance which exacerbates the costs and institutional damage.
Bottom line …
This rule legalizes extortion by consumer/community-activist groups who can lay a claim against a financial institution without fear of reprisal. Most financial institutions preferring to settle a potentially costly lawsuit before suffering “reputational damage.”
This is the type of legislation that urges financial institutions to ignore credit histories, employment or other factors to avoid costly disparate impacts. Another blow to sound lending practice and another precursor to financial failure.
This can be summarized by BOHICA: Bend Over Here It Comes Again!
1. Body was Christopher was Dorner – found in the basement area in the Northwest part of the cabin.
2. Cause of Death was a single gun shot wound to the head. It is consistent with suicide, but further investigation is required.
3. There will be additional investigations to follow as to manner of death.
About the issue of a police-set fire …
Police continue to insist that they did not deliberately burn down the cabin and that the comments indicating otherwise are under investigation – and possibly made by people not part of the tactical team. Cold tear gas was used and was ineffective. They escalated to a pyrotechnic device which combines tear gas with an explosive charge which produces smoke and results in a greater dispersion of the gas. It does not appear that they used incendiary grenades.
About the two officers shot, resulting in one deputy fatality …
They had just arrived, their guns were apparently not drawn – and it is being treated as an ambush. Not to speak ill of the dead, but it appears they were not prepared for the encounter. Some of Dormer's weapons had silencer/flash suppressors and they might not have even heard the shots.
Search may have been faulty …
What was described as a “thorough search” was not so thorough. The on-scene commander said that he would not authorize officers to make entry into locked cabins without owner’s present. Dorner was apparently hiding in a cabin within plain sight of the searchers – he had found the door unlocked and then locked it. Because the unit was locked, it was not searched.
In a post-shooting search, deputies had overlooked another Dorner weapon covered with snow.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS
After running two rootkit detection programs, I wondered how likely it would be that the security vendor, whose largest client may be computer software vendors and the government, would deliberately fail to include government or vendor rootkit signatures into their product? Thus, rendering these rootkits as a potential compromise to your system if they were used by malware evildoers. Pretty much in the same manner that the Sony Digital Rights Management system was easily compromised to allow evildoers to hide malware on any system that contained Sony’s software.
A rootkit is a stealthy type of software, often malicious, designed to hide the existence of certain processes or programs from normal methods of detection and enable continued privileged access to a computer.[1] The term rootkit is a concatenation of "root" (the traditional name of the privileged account on Unix operating systems) and the word "kit" (which refers to the software components that implement the tool). The term "rootkit" has negative connotations through its association with malware. <Source>
For those who want to scan their systems for rootkits, here are two free tools that are extremely fast.
Keep your programs updated and use decent anti-virus/anti-malware programs. I personally use ESET Smart Security (for it’s lighter footprint and less intrusive behavior), but use other products to scan for malware on a regular basis.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS
In the world of Obamacare, one can easily project the consequences of detailed electronic patient healthcare records and smart home healthcare medical devices on your privacy, freedom and liberty. Where your insurance reimbursement rates are computed on a pro-rata basis using electronic heath record compliance data.
One need only consider the use of CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) devices that help combat sleep apnea (abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing during sleep) – which beyond the esthetics of snoring can result in severe heart and lung problems. These devices have built-in sensors that not only record your daily compliance, but also the pressure used, any mask leakage and the details of the events themselves. Physicians routinely request patients offload machine data to smartcards holding the last five detailed sleep sessions and a year-long data summary. Some machines are linked via cable or wireless network to smart software which records the same detailed information for longer periods of time. And, under some circumstances, the data can be forwarded either wirelessly or over the net to a central monitoring station for computer analysis; and, possibly readjustment of the machine’s treatment parameters (e,g, airway air pressure).
Now, imagine that the very same system can be accessed by insurance monitoring agencies who will record and report the results to the physician in the form of compliance alerts and reminders. With the net effect of reducing (or increasing) your insurance premium based on your compliance with “government regulations.” Or, in the alternative, the reimbursement rate for your physician’s services – forcing them into the role of the government health police.
It’s already here – being used by some progressive insurance agencies …
Before you rule out this scenario out-of-hand, consider that some major insurance companies are now allowing you to attach recording devices to your vehicle’s OBD (On-Board Diagnostic) system as a way to earn insurance discounts. Leave it to the insurance industry to speak of discounts, rather than the re-rating penalties for non-compliant drivers. Remember, the government has just mandated the use of “black boxes” in all new vehicles and that there is a lack of personal privacy legislation covering such devices by design.
Progressive [Insurance] has developed a tool to track individual drivers’ behavior. Once the results are in, drivers will be offered insurance at a rate based on how they perform when behind the wheel. Progressive’s CEO has called this new pilot program, known as “Snapshot,” an “evolution” and “a meaningful start toward personalized insurance pricing based on real-time measurement of your driving behavior—the statistics of one.”
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), UBI “is a recent innovation by auto insurers that more closely aligns driving behaviors with premium rates for auto insurance. Mileage and driving behaviors are tracked using odometer readings or in-vehicle telecommunication devices (telematics) that are usually self-installed into a special vehicle port. These telematics devices record and/or send driving data to the insurance carrier or telematics provider working on the insurer’s behalf.”
With UBI, premiums are calculated using a variety of methods, including utilizing or analyzing a customer’s activity at the gas pump, and his debit accounts, direct billing, and smart-card systems. You can tell when a person is traveling, for example, by the tolls a driver pays or how often he refuels.
Progressive was one of the first companies to offer UBI programs, about a decade ago, when Progressive and General Motors Assurance Company (GMAC) began to offer discounts for lower mileage drivers. Progressive tracked mileage through GPS and cellular systems. Several UBI models have emerged including Pay-As-You-Drive, Pay-How-You-Drive (PHYD), Pay-As-You-Go, and Distance-Based Insurance.
UBI pricing deviates greatly from that which is used for traditional car insurance—which relies on actuarial studies of aggregated historical data to produce rating factors that include a person’s driving record, credit score, personal attributes such as age, gender, and marital status, place of residence, vehicle type, driving history, and prior claims and accidents. <Source>
How many people know that if their car is involved in an accident, the black box (Event Data Recorder) recorder records details related to speed, acceleration, braking, airbag deployment, seat-belt usage, etc. – data which is freely available to the vehicle manufacturers and can be subpoenaed by insurance companies and the other parties to an accident to assist in accident investigation and fault determination. And, there is a plan to extend the government’s use of this data – possibly to link with GPS data to generate automatic traffic tickets for speeding, reckless driving and not using your seat belts. But, even worse, imposing a mileage-based tax to overcome the revenue shortfalls that occur when gas prices skyrocket and people drive less.
So, I ask once again, are you now or have you ever been a “deviate?”
Bottom line …
It is time to demand that legislators put forth privacy legislation that safeguards our privacy and freedom from the computer vendors who believe that licensed software provides them the right to examine your computer, programs and data in the guise of improving the “user experience,” insurance companies watching your driving habits for purposes of rate-setting, and the government for purposes of taxation and tracking of individuals. With provisions that law enforcement, including government intelligence agencies, be able to access this data only with a court-issued warrant based on probable cause or provable (not trumped-up) exigent circumstances.
I suggest that you might want to join the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) at www.eff.org to help us preserve our rights in this digital age.
Monday, February 11, 2013 the the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today to include strict privacy protections for data collected by vehicle "black boxes" to protect drivers from long-term tracking as well as the misuse of their information.
Black boxes, more formally called event data recorders (EDRs), can serve a valuable forensic function for accident investigations, because they can capture information like vehicle speed before the crash, whether the brake was activated, whether the seat belt was buckled, and whether the airbag deployed. NHTSA is proposing the mandatory inclusion of black boxes in all new cars and light trucks sold in America. But while the proposed rules would require the collection of data in at least the last few seconds before a crash, they don't block the long-term monitoring of driver behavior or the ongoing capture of much more private information like audio, video, or vehicle location.
"The NHTSA's proposed rules fail to address driver privacy in any meaningful way," said EFF Staff Attorney Nate Cardozo. "These regulations must include more than minimum requirements of what should be collected and stored – they need a reasonable maximum requirement as well." <Source>
What is really scary is that these are the type of rules and regulations that can be implemented by Presidential executive orders, thus bypassing the sole legislative responsibilities of Congress. With the insurance industry paying lobbyists to influence corrupt politicians, the only real losers will be the citizens and consumers. Business as usual. Criminalizing the average consumer for the purposes of generating additional revenue from designated “deviates.” With carve outs for women, minorities, the poor, union members, Congress and those with political power.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS
One wonders how New York will treat Russian Billionaire and his alleged “armed to the teeth” (including fully automatic weapons and missiles?) …
Russian Billionaire's Mega-Yacht Makes Waves in NYC
Roman Abramovich is worth more than $12 billion, and his yacht "Eclipse" has arrived in New York City, reports CNBC's Robert Frank. On Wednesday, a private yacht sailed slowly and quietly up the Hudson River and docked near midtown Manhattan. This wasn't just any yacht, however. It was Eclipse -- the largest private yacht in the world. And its presence is sure to touch off a frenzy of speculation about its owners and future.
Seeing Eclipse docked off the midtown piers is the boating world equivalent of seeing a blue whale swim up the Hudson in the dead of winter. It just doesn't happen -- or hasn't happened. Eclipse's owner, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, is famously private and averse to publicity. Eclipse is almost always kept in the rarified preserves of Monaco, Cannes, Portfino or St. Bart's, visible to other billionaires but rarely the hoi polloi. By docking the boat in Manhattan, under the gaze of millions and a horde of media companies, Abramovich is, to say the least, inviting attention.
A spokesman for Mr. Abramovich declined to comment on the boat or its owner's reasons for being in Manhattan. But several dock workers and officials who have been briefed on the boat say it is scheduled to be in town until mid-April.
Some speculate that Abramovich may be using the boat as a temporary residence, since it is more secure and can better accommodate his large security force than a New York coop or hotel. Abramovich's partner, Dasha Zhukova, has announced that she is pregnant, and due in the Spring.
Eclipse has a crew of more than 60 people and a battalion of security cameras and sensors. It has two helicopter pads, two pools and a submarine. At 533-feet, it remains the largest yacht in the world. But it may hold the title only for a few more months. Source: Russian Billionaire's Mega-Yacht Makes Waves in NYC
Roman Abramovich has the additional around-the-clock protection of a private army of no fewer than forty armed guards, which is more than the number of secret service agents who accompany the President of the United States on some outings. <Source>
Bottom line …
Will billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg disarm fellow billionaire and make them as vulnerable to crime as the average New Yorker? Especially because he is not a citizen, but a visitor to the United States.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS
Rahm Emanuel Toying With 2016 Presidential Run, Sources Say
Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel might make a go for 2016, two well-connected Democrats tell Lloyd Grove—as long as Hillary doesn’t. And the potty-mouthed Chicago mayor could win.
As you could plainly see from the rash of crazies and criminals using guns, restricting law-abiding citizens from possessing weapons, even high-capacity ones, will not reduce the violence.
In fact, what we learned from the recent death of Christopher Dorner is that law enforcement will expend time, effort and money providing round-the-clock protection to their own, whereas a woman facing a violent spouse has little more than a legal restraining order. In this case, the woman faces as much or more credible threat to her life than did people mentioned in Dorner’s manifesto.
Here is the latest outrage from Chicago …
Indiana Guardsman Gunned Down While Shielding 2-Year-Old Son - Home from Afghanistan for just five months, 25-year-old Indiana National Guardsman Willie Cook was gunned down while shielding his two-year-old son. On February 2, Cook, was shot and killed while in a car near his grandmother’s East Chicago house where he was taking Antoine for a visit. The veteran was found on top of his little boy, shielding him from the 15 bullets that pierced the car.
Antoine was hit, too, in the left leg. Another bullet skimmed his right and a third grazed the toddler’s head. Police believe Cook’s murder was a case of mistaken identity, possible retaliation for another shooting just days before. The couple was planning their wedding, and a future. Incidentally, Sgt. Cook was a member of national guard unit 713, the same unit that lost six members in Afghanistan last year. Cook also has another child. Source: Indiana Guardsman Gunned Down While Shielding 2-Year-Old Son « CBS Chicago
Bottom line …
It appears that the democrat-controlled political structure refuses to go after gangs in Chicago. One, because the oh-so politically correct liberals do not want to acknowledge that profiling works, do not want to be considered racists for going after minority gangs, do not want to upset their minority voting base, and do not want to admit that the so-called community leader reverends are all talk and no walk. Even the heavily-guarded Minister Louis Farrakahn says nothing while the Fruit of Islam guards their own people from gangs.
But the biggest reason is that the politicians and police fear violence directed at them in retaliation for a crack down. Much the same as Southern California law enforcement withdrew motorcycle officers and shielded others from possible interactions with Dorner.
It is time that liberals like Rahm “the ballerina” Emanuel quit dancing around the subject of minority gang violence and take action rather than spouting off on keeping guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. Disarm the citizens and you create the necessity for a perpetual police state, the goal of Obama and his fellow travelers.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS
What possible reason would motivate a progressive author to suggest that law enforcement and the media conspired to cover up a plan to burn Christopher Dorner alive? Unless it is to reinforce the victimhood of minorities against the system or feed the so-called right-wing militias red meat to encourage action against our government.
I can personally confirm most of the story as written as I was also monitoring the on-going standoff via remote scanner. But I came to a very different conclusion as you will soon read.
But look at how this author spins a story about the use of tear gas in a tense standoff where hundreds of rounds have already been fired, two deputies wounded, one of whom was pronounced dead at Loma Linda Hospital …
The central notion that the media, complying with the safety and security precautionary requests of the sheriffs, is something sinister is both unfounded and unduly provocative.
How Law Enforcement and Media Covered Up the Plan to Burn Christopher Dorner Alive
Highly disturbing behavior by newspaper and Live TV sources in complying with the San Bernardino Sheriffs.
At approximately 7 PM ET, I listened through a police scanner as San Bernardino Sheriffs gave the order to burn down the cabin where suspected murderer Christopher Dorner was allegedly hiding. Deputies were maneuvering a remote controlled demolition vehicle to the base of the cabin, using it to tear down the walls of the cabin where Dorner was hiding, and peering inside.
In an initial dispatch, a deputy reported seeing “blood spatter” inside the cabins. Dorner, who had just engaged in a firefight with deputies that killed one officer and wounded another, may have been wounded in the exchange. There was no sign of his presence, let alone his resistance, according to police dispatches.
What doe this mean? With no apparent sign of overt aggression, the deputies should risk their lives should Dorner be laying back waiting for the approach of deputies to begin firing anew? There were deputies on all four sides of the cabin and nobody had the full picture at his point in time.
It was then that the deputies decided to burn the cabin down.
“We’re gonna go ahead with the plan with the burner,” one sheriff’s deputy told another. “Like we talked about.” Minutes later, another deputy’s voice crackled across the radio: “The burner’s deployed and we have a fire.”
Next, a sheriff reported a “single shot” heard from inside the house. This was before the fire had penetrated deeply into the cabin’s interior, and may have signaled Dorner’s suicide. At that point, an experienced ex-cop like him would have known he was finished.
Over the course of the next hour, I listened as the sheriffs carefully managed the fire, ensuring that it burned the cabin thoroughly. Dorner, a former member of the LAPD who had accused his ex-colleagues of abuse and racism in a lengthy, detailed manifesto, was inside. The cops seemed to have little interest in taking him alive.
“Burn that fucking house down!” shouted a deputy through a scanner transmission inadvertently broadcast on the Los Angeles local news channel, KCAL 9. “Fucking burn this motherfucker!” another cop could be heard exclaiming.
While live ammo exploded inside the cabin, the deputies pondered whether the basement would burn as well – they wanted to know if its ceiling was made of wood or concrete. They assumed Dorner was hiding there, and apparently wanted to ensure that he would be burned to a crisp. “Because the fire is contained, I’m gonna let that heat burn through the basement,” a deputy declared.
First, one-way listening to a single scanner frequency does not always tell the entire story. You would also have to be on the command net as well as the incident site frequency. Second, adrenaline is flowing freely as Dorner has been suspected of killing three people – and who has just shot two San Bernardino Sheriffs Deputies – one who died. And, third, at one point Dorner apparently used a black smoke grenade of his own to cover a possible escape and had actively fired at surrounding officers. The situation is fluid. Emotions are running high.
The conspiracy?
Yes, the choppers were backed off to 10,000 feet – approximately five miles and told to widen their shots lest Dorner get a positional fix on surrounding officers and compromise their lives. Or possibly fire on a media chopper believing it belonged to the police. The media was requested to restrain themselves in their reporting lest Dorner gain a tactical advantage. The scanner feeds were also cut after the cabin was fully engulfed and collapsing. This is good police work to avoid giving a tactical advantage to a suspect (or his accomplice if one exists) as well as information that can be misinterpreted by the media and others.
SWAT teams airlifted to the location were told to be ready in case Dorner did manage to escape. “Guys be ready on the number four side [the front of the cabin],” a deputy declared. “He might come out the back.”
Just after 7 PM (4 PM PT), right when the orders were given to deploy the “burners,” the San Bernardino Country Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Cindy Bachman hastily gathered reporters for an impromptu press conference. Claiming to know nothing new, she told reporters that she had no idea why the cabin was on fire, or who started the fire. Reporters badgered Bachman for information, but she had none, raising the question of why the presser was convened when it was.
Around the same time, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department requested that all reporters and media organizations stop tweeting about the ongoing standoff with Dorner, claiming their journalism was “hindering officer safety.” As the cabin sheltering Dorner burned, the local CBS affiliate was reportedly told by law enforcement to zoom its helicopter camera out to avoid showing the actions of sheriff’s deputies. By all accounts, the media acceded to police pressure for self-censorship.
On Twitter, the Riverside Press Enterprise, a leading local newspaper, announced on Twitter, “Law enforcement asked media to stop tweeting about the#Dorner case, fearing officer safety. We are complying.” The paper’s editors added, “We are going to tweet broad, non-tactical details, as per the San Bernardino DA's request.”
“Per [San Bernardino Country Sheriff’s Department] request,” tweeted the local CBS affiliate, KCBS, “we are complying and will not tweet updates on #Dorner search.”
The Incident PIO (Press Information Officer) does not independently develop or confirm information – they convey the information that comes from the incident commander and others who are situationally aware. This is not a conspiracy. They are about the safety and security of the police, the media, and any bystanders.
At the time that I am writing this, some online media outlets are beginning to entertain the possibility that San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deliberately set the fire that killed Dorner – a fact that I reported on Twitter as soon the sheriff’s department order came down. If there is any doubt about the authenticity of the YouTube clip containing audio of the sheriff deputies’ orders to burn the cabin down, I can verify that it is the real thing. I was listening to the same transmissions when they first blared across the police scanners.
This is outrageous! Without a forensic exam nobody knew what killed Dorner – a lucky shot, a police sharpshooter/sniper, or a self-inflicted gunshot. This is the type of speculation that drives conspiracies.
In the hours after the standoff, however, the police cover-up remained unchallenged thanks largely to local media complicity. An initial Los Angeles Timesreport recounted the incident in a passive voice, claiming “flames began to spread through the structure, and gunshots, probably set off by the fire, were heard.” Similarly, LA’s ABC affiliate, KABC, quoted Bachman’s vague comment about “that cabin that caught fire,” failing to explore why it was aflame or who torched it.
What cover-up? The police requested that the media take certain prudent precautions to avoid putting lives at stake. At this point, it is also possible that Dorner was laying back, waiting to kill as many deputies as would approach the house.
Today, the Los Angeles Times reported claims by anonymous “law enforcement sources” that the sheriffs used “incendiary tear gas” to flush Dorner out of the cabin. The sources claimed the deputies who had besieged the cabin were under a “constant barrage of gunfire” and that, “There weren’t a lot of options.”
This is almost certainly a lie. The only mention by a deputy at the scene of a gunshot from inside the cabin was the “single shot” that occurred as soon as the “burners,” or incendiary teargas munitions, were deployed. After that point, deputies made constant mention of ammunition exploding inside the cabin as a result of the intense heat of the fire they set, but said nothing about any shots fired at them.
Listening to radio traffic and proclaiming something a lie is the worst type of journalism imaginable. You could just as easily speculate that Dorner deployed one of his own smoke grenades to draw the deputies closer to the cabin or to create a sense of false security. The truth is: you weren’t there and don’t really don’t know.
If there were a “constant barrage of gunfire,” it would have been the main source of concern among the police at the scene. Instead, they were preoccupied with ensuring that the fire burned the cabin completely without spreading into the surrounding woods.
Yes, they were worried about starting a forest fire which could threaten additional properties and people. Yes, they were concerned about ammunition and possibly explosives being cooked off and accidently wounding or killing officers. Once that fire started, the best course is to do nothing but monitor the fire and watch to see if the suspect attempts an escape. What were they to do – move up the fire apparatus and risk the lives of fire personnel to put the fire out in the hopes that Dorner was already dead or disabled?
Now comes the real incendiary material …
There have been a number of cases where flash-bang and teargas grenades have set fires. One of the inherent problems in using such devices. But they are not incendiary grenades. Look at how the author skillfully makes the case that police are wanton killers.
There is a grand tradition of law enforcement using incendiary devices to assault besieged suspects, and of covering up their use. One of the most famous examples of this tactic, and its horrible consequences, was the Philadelphia Police Department’s bombing of the compound of the radical black nationalist cult, M.O.V.E., dropping C-4 explosives by helicopter on the house, killing 11 members of the group, including 5 children, and destroying 65 homes in the West Philadelphia neighborhood.
It was not until the 51-day FBI siege of the Waco, Texas compound of the messianic Branch Davidian cult that “burners,” or incendiary 40mm military grade cartridges, were used to burn a structure down. Six years after claiming that the Branch Davidians deliberately burned their own compound down, the FBI finally admitted that it used incendiary rounds, but insisted that none of them contributed to the fire that consumed the compound.
What, the San Bernardino Sheriffs are now guilty of acting improperly because of another incident? Foolishness at best, deliberate provocation of malcontents at worst.
Now we get to the pure speculation …
The “burners,” or pyrotechnic rounds the San Bernardino County Sheriffs used to torch Dorner’s cabin, are likely similar, and perhaps more powerful, than those employed by the FBI in Waco. Through the five-year-old “Department of Defense Excess Property Program,” the US military has provided police departments across the country with billions of dollars worth of military equipment, from amphibious tanks to AR-15 assault rifles, allowing the military to circumvent Posse Comitatus regulations by outsourcing their firepower to local cops.
“Burners,” or military grade incendiary grenades, are very likely among the items passed down from the US army to local police outfits like the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.The “burner” of choice for the modern American soldier is the AN-M14 TH3. It is a hand held grenade comprised of a thermite mixture that rapidly converts to molten iron when it is thrown, burning at a temperature of 4000 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to burn through a half inch steel plate or bring an engine block to a boil. It can also produce enough heat to set off unloaded ammunition, which would explain why the ammo inside Dorner’s hideout was popping.
If the San Bernardino Sheriffs employed the AN-M14 TH3 or something like it against Dorner – and it appears they did – they have good reason to attempt to cover their actions up.Without even a token attempt to establish communication with the suspect, who was, to be sure, a wanted killer hell-bent on murdering cops, they attacked him with what was likely a military grade weapon designed to destroy fortified structures. By burning Dorner alive, then misleading and deceiving the public about the operation, the sheriffs may have validated the rogue ex-cop’s sharpest indictments of the culture of American law enforcement.
This is an outrage. Unless the author has specific and credible evidence that the police employed military-style incendiary rounds for the purposes of insuring that Dorner would never be able to tell his story to the media, he should wait for official confirmation before suggesting this scenario. And, how does the author know that there was no attempt to establish communications? Perhaps such a communication was what caused a round of gunfire. It is known that a message “enough is enough” was given to Dorner – how or by whom I do not know. We don’t know if he was monitoring the media.
Yet no element in the Dorner drama was more disturbing than the performance of mainstream media. At every point, major news outlets complied with law enforcement calls for self-censorship, and still demonstrate little interest in determining how and why a lethal fire started on a snow-covered mountain in the dead of winter. As a quintessentially American tragedy reaches its denouement, the truth remains buried beneath a smoldering pile of ashes. Source: How Law Enforcement and Media Covered Up the Plan to Burn Christopher Dorner Alive | Alternet
Bottom line …
There is no forensic proof that the body in the cabin is Dorner (although they found his California Drivers License nearby) or what caused his death. Here is a violent and skilled killer, surrounded by deputies in fear for their lives as one of their number is already dead and another in critical condition. Even if incendiary grenades were deployed, perhaps it was for the purpose of forcing Dorner from the cabin before nightfall when the deputies would be at a definite tactical disadvantage.
As for all of the profanity-laden commands and exclamations, this is what happens in the field – not to be monitored by civilians with no idea of the extreme pressure or circumstances affecting the situation.
The liberal author is attempting to whip up emotion, perhaps because, like some others blogging on the internet, he considers this to be a struggle between a person of color and the corrupt system, rather than what it really is: a deranged, highly-trained killer who has murdered four innocent people, two in premeditated cold blood. This is not the military where the hero charges the machine gun nest to save his fellow troops. This is not a movie. This is real life. And, I resent those who try to make this a story about race, about police misconduct or a story to incite others to take copycat action against government officials.
How many people know that Tim McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal Building on the second anniversary of WACO because he could not find a way to kill Lon Horichi, the FBI sniper who has been theorized to be the proximate cause of the deaths at Waco and Ruby Ridge? A militia-type wing-nut railing against system. Possibly the intended audience of this incendiary screed.
Until the final report is written, we know one thing. Southern California can rest easier because a deranged wanton killer of civilians and police officers is dead. And deservedly so – no matter how it happened, or in this case, may not have happened.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it! "Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell
“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar
“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS