Cosmic Echoes…by Rich Fleetwood

Archive for the ‘National Security’ Category

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In the last two days, there have been one successful terror attempt (no deaths) at the Scotland Airport, two vehicles rigged to explode in London (both found and defused before any casualties), and great concern for those kinds of things happening in the US.

According to Michael Chertoff, the Director of US Department of Homeland Security, there is no valid information suggesting that there might be similar attempts of the same kind. His comments as of this morning are:

At this point, I have seen no specific, credible information suggesting that this latest incident is connected to a threat to the homeland. We have no plans at this time to change the national threat level, although we remind everyone that the aviation threat level has been raised to orange since last fall.

The Glasgow incident (eyewitness video) was witnessed by many, and involved at least two individuals who dorve the blazing Jeep Cherokee vehicle into the departures section of the main terminal of the airport Saturday afternoon.

In the Friday incidents, two different vehicles parked near nightclubs (actually only a few hundred yards away) were rigged to explode, yet failed to go off. Had they been rigged to create a secondary attack, where first one bomb goes off, and when the area is swarming with first responders and onlookers, then a second device explodes killing even more? I’ve yet to see this suggested in media, but it makes sense. With this in mind, it does seem to have all the earmarks of Al Queda connections.

According to Foxnews,

it emerged that a 53-page document alerting businesses to the threat posed by VBIEDs — vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices — had been issued to police two weeks ago. It had been passed on to the Tiger Tiger club only a few days before yesterday’s events.

The incident also appeared to be foreshadowed by a posting on an Internet forum used by terrorists, saying: “Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah. London will be bombed.”

Because of these events, the UK has raised their alert level to its highest rating of Critical Threat, which means “an attack is expected imminently”. Over half a million closed circuit cameras cover London, one of the most surveillance capable cities in the world. Given this fact, it should come out sometime in the next few weeks that video of the culprits has been found, leading to quite a bit of action in tracking them down.

Until then, all of us should remain vigilant in the US for similar activities, especially given this weekend of Independance Day celebration.

Be careful out there.

Rich

EDIT UPDATE ONE: I did receive a reference from at least one source that the multiple vehicles COULD have been intended for a layered, delayed, secondary attack.

EDIT UPDATE TWO: The complete story from the Daily Mail can be found at the Daily Mail website. It has on the seen photos of the terrorist actually on the seen and being doused with water by responders.

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This video report was placed on YouTube by CBS today. It’s an interview of FBI Director Robert Mueller by Bob Orr of CBS news, about the growing threat of a nuclear attack against the U.S. and what authorities must do to prevent it. (CBSNews.com)

Click here to view video on Youtube. (opens in new window)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXJuW4AaudM

It’s been noted by several folks that Mueller appears VERY nervous about this story.

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This story was front page news for many of the nation’s largest newspapers this Sunday morning. I’m afraid I have to agree. The US has NEVER been prepared for ANY nuclear attack…terror, all out assault, or anything in between…except for our leaders. They have PLENTY of shelters for themselves.

Just none for we taxpayers…

THAT sucks…

Link to source…

U.S. unprepared for nuclear terror attack, experts say

12:44 AM CST on Friday, March 2, 2007
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON – Although the Bush administration has warned repeatedly about the threat of a terrorist nuclear attack and spent more than $300 billion to protect the homeland, the government remains ill-prepared to respond to a nuclear catastrophe.

Experts and government documents suggest that, absent a major preparedness push, the U.S. response to a mushroom cloud could be worse than the debacle after Hurricane Katrina, possibly contributing to civil disorder and costing thousands of lives.

“The United States is unprepared to mitigate the consequences of a nuclear attack,” Pentagon analyst John Brinkerhoff concluded in a July 31, 2005, draft of a confidential memo to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We were unable to find any group or office with a coherent approach to this very important aspect of homeland security. …

“This is a bad situation. The threat of a nuclear attack is real, and action is needed now to learn how to deal with one.”

Read the rest of this entry »

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I thought it would be a good idea to present some info on what you can do to prepare yourself and your family in the event of either a natural or a man-made disaster. The following web sites can get you started.

http://www.ready.gov/
http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=14
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=36
http://www.redcross.org/
http://www.scouting.org/pubs/emergency/index.html
http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/homeland_security/

Check your town/city and/or county website for local response plans. Typically, emergency management, if not a seperate department, falls under the local fire department’s responsibility. Also check for your state’s response plan.

Community and Family Preparedness
http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/community_prepare.shtm

Community Emergency Response Teams (Get formal training on how to help your family and your community in the event of a disaster.)
http://www.citizencorps.gov/programs/cert.shtm
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/CERT/certfaq.asp
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/CERT/overview.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_emergency_response_team
(If you’re interested, do a search for your local/nearest Community Emergency Response Team.)

Canadian Center for Emergency Preparedness (Gotta remember my Canadian friends.)
http://www.ccep.ca/
http://www.emergencypreparednessweek.ca/kit_e.shtml

Animals and Disasters (For the pet owners.)
http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/animals_and_disasters.shtm

Specific incident preparedness information. (If you’d like more, just do a search on a specific type of incident and preparedness. Hurricane Preparedness, Earthquake Preparedness, etc.)

Dam Safety
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/damsafety/

Earthquakes
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/earthquakes/
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/prepare.html
http://www.lafd.org/eqauto.htm

Extreme Heat
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/extremeheat/

Fires
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/fires/

Floods
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/floods/

Hazardous Materials
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/hazardousmaterials/

Hurricanes
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/hurricanes/
http://hurricanes.noaa.gov/prepare/

Landslides
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/landslides/

Multi-Hazard
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/multihazard/

Nuclear
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/nuclear/

Terrorism
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/terrorism/

Thunderstorms
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/thunderstorms/

Tornadoes
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/tornadoes/

Tsunamis
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/tsunamis/

Volcanoes
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/volcanoes/

Wildfires
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/fires/wildfires.shtm
http://www.firewise.org/

Winter Storms
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/winterstorms/

Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness
http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/csepp.shtm

Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program
http://www.fema.gov/preparedness/repp.shtm

Emergency/Personal Survival Checklists
http://www.dola.state.co.us/oem/PublicInformation/72hrkit.htm
http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/weather/776961/detail.html
http://www.gov.ns.ca/emo/AbsPage.aspx?id=1064&siteid=1&lang=1
http://survivalcenter.com/
http://www.machartownship.com/checklist.htm
http://preparedness.com/traveschec.html
http://www.lacofd.org/mini_survival.htm
http://www.prepare4disaster.com/checklist.htm
Etcetera…

Websites where you could acquire personal/family survival supplies:
http://www.cert-kits.com
http://www.uscav.com
http://www.actiongear.com/
http://beprepared.com/default.asp
http://www.equipped.com/
http://www.emergency-preparedness.info/personal_kits.htm
http://www.survivalinc.com/
http://www.firstaid-supply.com
http://www.bestglide.com/
http://www.safetycentral.com/
http://www.quakekare.com/
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/
http://www.urbansurvivaltools.com/
http://www.safetyservicesinc.com
Etcetera. Do a search on survial gear, military gear, military surplus, etc.

Also check out the LJ community “Making A Plan”.
http://community.livejournal.com/making_a_plan/profile

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Let us take bit of time sometime during our day today, and bow our heads in a precious moment of prayer for all those who have gone before us on this anniversary date.

Let us remember all that had happened up to that day…and has happened since.

Let us not forget…that it is up to US….the survivors…to not let this happen again….

And, if this kind of event IS repeated, God forbid…let us have the ability to have shared as much survival information as we humanly can…in any way, shape, or form possible…with the entire world, through all our faculties, web sites, media outlets, and in person.

Should another Day of Infamy occur…Let us be the first ones there to help the victims…we, the people with the skills, the knowledge, and the capacity to comprehend the abilities and talents to rescue as many as possible…with whatever tools we have with us, or can make from whatever is around us.

…and the last ones out…having done everything in our vast and deep resource of inner power and energy…to make sure that everything that could be done….must be done…and will be done….

…has been done.

Let us have had the capacity to take care of our families…completely and totally…so that no matter what, and no matter where…THEY are taken care of and out of harm’s way, with the resources, food, water, and shelter, they will need to keep going should any on of us fall.

I can’t tell you just how much I appreciate each and every one of you for being here…in this incredible little group of ours…SurvivalRing, the Tank, and more.

It is literally beyond words sometimes…and at this moment, tears are welling up.

We have a huge job ahead of us, if we are to make the difference to the American Way…that *I* think we can.

Let’s pause to remember…to reminisce…to ponder…and to pray.

Then, let’s roll up our sleeves, and just get it done.

Thank you…to each and every one of you…for all that you have done…all that you are doing…and all that we will accomplish…together.

Rich

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First, read this…

I can see a couple of things here that concern me.

First, yes, it’s easy to see if a file has been accessed on a hard drive…IF it’s still in the original computer that was running the Operating System AND things such as resetting the computer’s clock wasn’t done.

I’m full aware of forensics software tools and their uses, as well as many variations of file recovery methods. I also have 24 years of computer experience, two computer science degrees, and A+ hardware certification.

Here’s the thing. Once a laptop hard drive is removed (or any drive for that matter), it’s so very easy to plug the drive into an external drive case (USB 2.0 for example), plug that data cable in, and simply make an IMAGE file (.iso) of the entire drive, which is an EXACT bit for bit copy of the data on the drive, to another same sized or bigger hard drive.

Then, return the stolen drive to the original computer, and no one is the wiser for what MIGHT have been done with, or to, the original stolen data in question.

In short, this story is NOT over, and all that data is STILL a valuable piece of personal information history that could still bite 26.5 million veterans in the proverbial buttocks.

The computer and drive were out in the wild for how many weeks? And how many hands did that system pass through? And there are NO fingerprints on the drive OR computer?

By the way, did the computer have any PHONE HOME software installed so that if it was online during it’s trip into the countryside, it could secretly call home base and give it’s current IP address so it could be tracked down immediately, by all the Alphabet Agencies neccessary?

Update ONE:

The Internet Security Zone has a story out this afternoon about this incident, with details on what the Feds may/might have done in their “checking” of the data. A nice little trip into the world of Computer Forensics

Update TWO:

Here is the OFFICIAL FBI Press Release regarding the fact that “They Found It”. Right….SOMEONE ELSE brought it TO THEM.