- Oct 14, 2005
- 9,711
- 6
- 76
The FBI Deputizes Business
Some of the notables:
^^This is called forming the opinion for the people.
Now let me remind you of what Benito Mussolini once said:
It is clear a contingency plan is underway to subdue an uprising. My feeling it will be because of economic collapse. As you see in this article, InfraGard is the medium in which the FBI has delegated power to corporations. I'm sure some of you (I can think of a few off the top of my head <waves hi> ) will bury your head in the sand and shit out some "tin foil hat" stench toward me. Thats ok, I expect that.
Are we past the point of no return? Is it possible to stop a fascist police state from forming? I welcome your comments.
Yet another thread has deteriorated into a food fight. I'm going to lock this thread, but the insults in this thread have been particularly egregious. I STRONGLY suggest that people carefully consider how they phrase their vituperous diatribes, lest the bannings begin.
Hayabusa Rider- AnandTech Senior Moderator
Some of the notables:
Today, more than 23,000 representatives of private industry are working quietly with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The members of this rapidly growing group, called InfraGard, receive secret warnings of terrorist threats before the public does?and, at least on one occasion, before elected officials. In return, they provide information to the government, which alarms the ACLU. But there may be more to it than that. One business executive, who showed me his InfraGard card, told me they have permission to ?shoot to kill? in the event of martial law.
In November 2001, InfraGard had around 1,700 members. As of late January, InfraGard had 23,682 members, according to its website, www.infragard.net, which adds that ?350 of our nation?s Fortune 500 have a representative in InfraGard.?
He urged InfraGard members to contact the FBI if they ?note suspicious activity or an unusual event.? And he said they could sic the FBI on ?disgruntled employees who will use knowledge gained on the job against their employers.?
The ACLU is not so sanguine.
?There is evidence that InfraGard may be closer to a corporate TIPS program, turning private-sector corporations?some of which may be in a position to observe the activities of millions of individual customers?into surrogate eyes and ears for the FBI,? the ACLU warned in its August 2004 report The Surveillance-Industrial Complex: How the American Government Is Conscripting Businesses and Individuals in the Construction of a Surveillance Society.
InfraGard is not readily accessible to the general public. Its communications with the FBI and Homeland Security are beyond the reach of the Freedom of Information Act under the ?trade secrets? exemption, its website says. And any conversation with the public or the media is supposed to be carefully rehearsed
The InfraGard leadership and the local FBI representative should review the submitted questions, agree on the predilection of the answers, and identify the appropriate interviewee. . . . Tailor answers to the expected audience. . . . Questions concerning sensitive information should be avoided.?
^^This is called forming the opinion for the people.
?The meeting started off innocuously enough, with the speakers talking about corporate espionage,? he says. ?From there, it just progressed. All of a sudden we were knee deep in what was expected of us when martial law is declared. We were expected to share all our resources, but in return we?d be given specific benefits.? These included, he says, the ability to travel in restricted areas and to get people out.
?Then they said when?not if?martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn?t be prosecuted,? he says.
The FBI adamantly denies it, also. ?That?s ridiculous,? says Catherine Milhoan, an FBI spokesperson. ?If you want to quote a businessperson saying that, knock yourself out. If that?s what you want to print, fine.?
Christine Moerke is a business continuity consultant for Alliant Energy in Madison, Wisconsin. She says she?s an InfraGard member, and she confirms that she has attended InfraGard meetings that went into the details about what kind of civil patrol function?including engaging in lethal force?that InfraGard members may be called upon to perform.
?There have been discussions like that, that I?ve heard of and participated in,? she says.
Curt Haugen is CEO of S?Curo Group, a company that does ?strategic planning, business continuity planning and disaster recovery, physical and IT security, policy development, internal control, personnel selection, and travel safety,? according to its website. Haugen tells me he is a former FBI agent and that he has been an InfraGard member for many years. He is a huge booster. ?It?s the only true organization where there is the public-private partnership,? he says. ?It?s all who knows who. You know a face, you trust a face. That?s what makes it work.?
He says InfraGard ?absolutely? does emergency preparedness exercises. When I ask about discussions the FBI and Homeland Security have had with InfraGard members about their use of lethal force, he says: ?That much I cannot comment on. But as a private citizen, you have the right to use force if you feel threatened.?
?We were assured that if we were forced to kill someone to protect our infrastructure, there would be no repercussions,? the whistleblower says. ?It gave me goose bumps. It chilled me to the bone.?
Now let me remind you of what Benito Mussolini once said:
?Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power?
It is clear a contingency plan is underway to subdue an uprising. My feeling it will be because of economic collapse. As you see in this article, InfraGard is the medium in which the FBI has delegated power to corporations. I'm sure some of you (I can think of a few off the top of my head <waves hi> ) will bury your head in the sand and shit out some "tin foil hat" stench toward me. Thats ok, I expect that.
Are we past the point of no return? Is it possible to stop a fascist police state from forming? I welcome your comments.
Yet another thread has deteriorated into a food fight. I'm going to lock this thread, but the insults in this thread have been particularly egregious. I STRONGLY suggest that people carefully consider how they phrase their vituperous diatribes, lest the bannings begin.
Hayabusa Rider- AnandTech Senior Moderator