John Carey
SENTRY JOURNAL

Statists have been floating the idea about flying unmanned drones over US cities in the name of safety and security for quite some time now.

My guess is like most unconstitutional ideas, they throw the idea out there and look to see how the citizens respond. It’s beginning to gain momentum because most Americans have their heads buried in the sand in regards to this privacy issue. Well folks it’s time for Americans to pull their heads out and contact their elected representative on both the national and local level.

Drones have been successfully used by our military on the battlefield to hunt down and kill the enemies of America; however they have no place in the skies over America illegally spying on our citizens. First off the constitution of the United States doesn’t permit it. Our government is not permitted to harass us in this manner and looks as if that is exactly what the aim to do. They’re going to package it up and present it in a manner so that it will appear that any sensible citizen would be in favor of it. They will tell you that drones will help hunt down dangerous criminals and find missing or abducted children. Who could possibly be against such things? I’ll tell you who…me; especially when privacy and liberty will be sacrificed in the name of this so-called security.

Charles Krauthammer, who I consider to be one of the most reasonable political analyst out there weighs in on the debate in the below clip.

When Mr. Krauthammer comes out against this we need to pay attention. He tends to walk on the right side of the political road but he’s not what the left would call extreme.

Below is another clip of our favorite judge weighing in on the same issue.

Like the judge said, the defense department cannot engage in this kind of activity on U.S. soil without an Executive Order. Where is outrage from the citizenry and our elected officials that this unconstitutional idea is being promoted? We hear absolutely nothing as more and more of our liberties are threatened. This is the sad state of affairs we are in as a nation. And maybe Shepard Smith framed it best when he said, “Should we just throw out the whole constitution…should we be operating by a new set of rules?” That’s exactly what they have been trying do for the last 20 years Mr. Smith. Welcome to the conversation.

Liberty forever, freedom for all!

The SENTRY JOURNAL strives to promote conservative principles and critical thinking with high quality, thought provoking articles and engaging discussion. Our hope is these efforts will illuminate the way for those walking in ideological darkness. Thomas Jefferson said it best: “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

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Madison Ruppert
End the Lie

End the Lie has devoted significant coverage to Google’s Big Brother activities – which are set to rise exponentially once their recent troubling patent is put into use – not the least of which includes deliberately stealing personal information from Americans with their Street View vehicles, as well as their connections to the U.S. government and intelligence community.

Note: if you would like to block at least some of Google’s tracking methods, you can read this easy to follow guide and implement some of the solutions today.

The tight-knit relationship between the American government (the intelligence community in particular) and Google is becoming increasingly plain to see.

This was made even more blatant in the decision of the Washington D.C. Circuit appeals court which allowed the National Security Agency (NSA) to neither confirm nor deny their relationship with Google.

The NSA – the world’s largest surveillance agency which keeps tabs on Americans and people around the globe – has been given the authority to refuse to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) by the court.

The court ruled that one of the many FOIA exemptions covers any and all documents which supposedly may jeopardize the NSA’s national security mission and that they do not even have to respond to the request.

Potentially, by rejecting the request, they could supposedly reveal some critical secret details of the NSA-Google relationship, according to the court.

“If NSA disclosed whether there are (or are not) records of a partnership or communications between Google and NSA regarding Google’s security, that disclosure might reveal whether NSA investigated the threat, deemed the threat a concern to the security of U.S. Government information systems, or took any measures in response to the threat,” reads the court ruling.

“As such, any information pertaining to the relationship between Google and NSA would reveal protected information about NSA’s implementation of its Information Assurance mission,” they added.

The history behind this case stretches back to 2010 when Google revealed that they had been attacked by hackers supposedly from China targeting the email accounts of Chinese activists.

At the time, The Washington Post revealed that the NSA and Google had teamed up to boost their defenses against potential cyberattacks in the future.

Shortly after, Mike McConnell, the director of the NSA, wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post which further reinforced the clear ties between the highly secretive spy agency and the internet giant.

“Neither side [meaning the government and the private sector] on its own can mount the cyber-defense we need; some collaboration is inevitable,” McConnell wrote.

This understandably riled many a privacy advocate and EPIC quickly moved to file a FOIA request in an attempt to find out about this clandestine relationship.

The NSA responded with what is referred to as a “Glomar” response, which is the typical refusal to confirm or deny that records relating to the program even exist.

This type of dismissal dates back to a refusal from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) issued when a journalist attempted to obtain information about the “Glomar Explorer” secret underwater vessel.

“We are disappointed by the decision of the DC Circuit,” EPIC director Marc Rotenberg wrote to Andy Greenberg of Forbes.

”The NSA has adopted an increasingly public-facing role with its Information Assurance mission. And of course the agency’s surveillance activities raise profound concerns for Internet users. Under these circumstances, EPIC believed that the agency could not rely on a Glomar response prior to an actual search for responsive records, but the court held otherwise,” Rotenberg added.

I find this decision troubling, to say the least, especially with all of the clear special treatment Google receives, as highlighted by the recent decision surrounding their spying via Street View cars.

Coupling this with the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) which already passed the House with quite worrisome amendments, the soon-to-be-implemented digital spying scheme spearheaded by internet service providers, the NSA’s massive new cybersecurity/surveillance complex leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, to put it lightly.

The collusion between these private sector giants and government is just becoming more open and brazen. Unfortunately it appears that our courts, our so-called representatives and the regulators have no interest in doing anything.

Should we wait for all of these people to step up to the plate after years of inaction? If you said yes, you’ll probably be waiting for quite a while.

This is where the lie ends. The American people are waking up to the fact that the mainstream media is controlled by a very small group of elite billionaires who decide exactly what stories to cover. We at End the Lie force politicians to address the real issues, force government to be accountable and transparent, and force real change to occur in our country. Every American needs to get informed and stand up for the principles upon which our wonderful country was founded. Do it now with End the Lie.

I’d love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips, and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at Admin@EndtheLie.com

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Steve Watson
GCN Live.com

TSA agents at Fort Lauderdale Airport ordered a family to get off a plane they had already boarded, saying that their eighteen-month-old child was on a no fly list as a terror suspect.

The child’s parents said they believe they were flagged up and ordered to leave the JetBlue flight because they and their daughter are of Middle Eastern descent.

“It’s absurd. It made no sense. Why would an 18-month-old child be on a no-fly list?” the girl’s father told ABC affiliate WPBF News.

The parents, who wish to remain anonymous, are both US citizens, born and raised in New Jersey, which is where they were headed before being ejected.

The family said that after they were “humiliated, embarrassed and picked on” they were marched off the plane, and ordered to stand in the terminal for half an hour by TSA agents.

“We were put on display like a circus act because my wife wears a hijab.” the father said, referring to his wife’s traditional head scarf.

The TSA agents then eventually said that the family could re-board the flight without offering further explanation as to what had occurred. The family declined the offer and left the airport, saying they felt too ashamed to get back on the plane after the incident.

The parents say that even though they are US born citizens, they now fear that if their identities were revealed, their safety could be threatened because they have been associated with terrorists by the TSA. They plan to contact an attorney and possibly pursue legal action.

When WPBF contacted JetBlue for an explanation they were told that it was a TSA issue. However, when the TSA were contacted they said they were not investigating the incident and that it was the airline’s responsibility.
The secret government “no fly list” of suspected “terrorists” who are banned from flying to or within the United States more than doubled in 2011.

Watch a video report by WPBF of the incident here.

The figures, revealed three months ago, highlighted the fact that the list now contains around 21,000 names, close to 11,000 more than it did just one year ago.

The exponential growth in names added to the list is said to have been sparked by the failed underpants bombing incident on Christmas Eve 2009.

An anonymous U.S. counterterrorism official told the AP that after the 2009 incident, a new standard was set meaning someone no longer has to be considered a threat only to aviation to be placed on the no-fly list. People who are considered a broader threat to domestic or international security can also be added, the official stated.

The government has refused to reveal details of who is on the list and the reason they have been flagged.

“The news that the list is growing tells us that more people’s rights are being violated,” said Nusrat Choudhury, a staff attorney working for the ACLU’s national security project. “It’s a secret list, and the government puts people on it without any explanation. Citizens have been stranded abroad.”

In lawsuit against the government, the ACLU is representing American citizens who believe they have been put on the no fly list without explanation. Currently, those who submit a letter to Homeland Security asking to be removed from the list have no way of knowing if their request has been reviewed without attempting to board another flight, according to the ACLU.

The ACLU also contends that huge numbers of Americans are opposed to the measures employed by the DHS and the TSA in the nations airports and train stations, but that many have not registered official complaints for fear of being placed on the watch list.

The no-fly list and the CAPS II system used by airlines pales in comparison to the separate government master “terrorist watch list” that reportedly now has over one million names on it.

Reports have confirmed that the watch list contains the names of thousands of innocent Americans, including children, lawyers and even a retired Air National Guard brigadier, now a commercial pilot for a major airline.

In some cases credit reports have been used in calculating the risk score, while the list has also been used to target political activists opposing the death penalty and the Iraq war. Some, including former White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel have suggested restricting the constitutional rights of those placed on the list.

We have previously highlighted the fact that a miniscule amount, less than 0.01% of Homeland Security cases are terrorism related.

Once again we are reminded that the terrorist threat to America is vastly over hyped and is being used by a criminally controlled government as an excuse to police the world and foment a domestic police state to crush any dissent amongst the American people.

The watch list represents a subversion of the first and fourth amendments, is inherently flawed and, it can be argued, is harmful to the security of the nation.

The chairman of a House technology oversight subcommittee warned in 2008 that the database used to produce the government’s terror watch lists is “crippled by technical flaws,” and the system that eventually replaced it may be even worse.

In a letter to the inspector general at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) warned that the upgrade “if actually deployed will leave our country more vulnerable than the existing yet flawed system in operation today.”

Despite this and the fact that it is already far too expansive to be in any way effective, there have been calls to apply the watch list to Amtrak trains as well as checkpoints at subways, malls and sports stadiums.

As we have consistently highlighted, restricting the movement of more innocent Americans and implementing more draconian police state measures will do nothing to increase security and serves only to foster a constant state of fear and unease.

Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars, and Prisonplanet. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.

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Madison Ruppert
End the Lie

Another day, another blatant instance of manufactured terrorism courtesy of the US government, in this case the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

I assume that my readers are already astute enough to see this case as nothing more than yet another attempt to justify the American police state, the expansive big brother policies and technology and the fraudulent war on terror while also pushing for nations around the world to pick up even more of the U.S.’s destructive policies.

Of course just earlier this month the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) foiled their fabricated plot as well. I went over this in the below ten minute video, along with the history of these types of operations:

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. In fact, this has become the norm for the law enforcement and intelligence communities.

After all, they’re protecting their jobs. If the people of the United States of America realize that there is no real terrorist threat, the massive homeland security business begins to wither away.

Even more importantly, it completely removes the need for the unbelievably expansive American surveillance state headed up by the Department of Homeland Security and the many child agencies under their direction.

Oddly enough, the establishment media is spinning this story in the CIA’s favor, with the Associated Press opening up a story on the subject by writing, “The CIA had al-Qaida fooled from the beginning.”

Last month, American intelligence agencies supposedly became aware of Yemen’s al Qaeda affiliate group’s intention to carry out “a spectacular attack using a new, nearly undetectable bomb aboard an airliner bound for America, officials say.”

Unsurprisingly, the individual the terrorist group tapped was an asset of the CIA and Saudi intelligence.

Details are not all too plentiful just yet and the officials who spoke to the Associated Press did so anonymously.

However, we do know that the FBI is currently analyzing the explosive which was supposedly to be concealed in underwear.

Officials claimed that this device was an improved version of the bomb given to the so-called “underwear bomber” in 2009.

For those who do not remember, this case of a failed attempt to ignite explosive underwear surrounded a young man whose father attempted to warn the U.S. of his radicalization on several occasions.

A passenger on the plane, practicing attorney Kurt Haskell, testified that the bomber was escorted on to the plane by a still unknown individual.

One of the most powerful statements he made during his five minutes of testimony was the following:

“In closing I will just say that regardless of how the media and government try to shape the public perception of this case, I am convinced that Umar [Abdulmutallab, the so-called underwear bomber] was given an intentionally defective bomb by a U.S. Government agent and placed on our flight without showing a passport or going through security, to stage a false terrorist attack to be used to implement various government policies.”

Of course this case was used to push the potentially dangerous body scanners on the American people, for which they previously had no viable justification.

It remains to be seen if this is used, as the underwear bomber case and so-called shoe bomber case both were, to push some new, invasive technology or policy on the American people.

This comes as Senator Rand Paul is pushing to dissolve the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) completely while they continue to expand operations outside of airports and into the daily lives of Americans with no reason to do so.

When the American people begin to become increasingly intolerant of the TSA’s invasive tactics and dehumanizing treatment as well as the never-ending global war on terror, there has to be something done to keep us believing that this is for our own good.

This farcical case of manufactured terrorism is just another example of this principle at work. Without the CIA keeping us safe by foiling their own bomb plots, we might have real bomb plots, right?

Or, perhaps, the more logical conclusion would be that without these manufactured bomb plots, there would actually be no bomb plots.

Indeed, we see the Associated Press revealing the true motives behind this engineered plot in their article when they write:

“Security procedures at U.S. airports remained unchanged Tuesday, a reflection of both the U.S. confidence in its security systems and a recognition that the government can’t realistically expect travelers to endure much more. […] While airline checks in the United States mean passing through an onerous, sometimes embarrassing series of pat-downs and body scans, procedures overseas can be a mixed bag.”

What I gather from this is that the U.S. might begin pushing other countries to implement similarly demeaning and dehumanizing tactics in their countries as well, supposedly because their lack of grope-downs makes the U.S. vulnerable.

While the AP admits that the United States cannot actually force any other nation “to permanently adopt the expensive and intrusive measures that have become common in American airports over the past decade,” they do write that the TSA has “sent advice to some international air carriers and airports about security measures that might stave off an attack from a hidden explosive.”

Apparently the U.S. has issued this exact same advice before but this newest manufactured plot is expected to draw new attention to this “advice” which will likely end up much more closely resembling a demand based on how the U.S. has operated in recent years.

Indeed, officials are already claiming that body scanners could have detected this explosive device, which means that they will likely be pushing more nations around the globe to accept these costly, potentially dangerous and ineffective devices.

The AP writes, “Such scanners allow screeners to see objects hidden beneath a passenger’s clothes,” which is laughable seeing as a blogger was able to easily circumvent these ludicrously expensive devices.

As I said before, it remains to be seen how this will actually be leveraged in the government’s favor, but I think it is safe to assume that in one way or another, it will be.

This is where the lie ends. The American people are waking up to the fact that the mainstream media is controlled by a very small group of elite billionaires who decide exactly what stories to cover. We at End the Lie force politicians to address the real issues, force government to be accountable and transparent, and force real change to occur in our country. Every American needs to get informed and stand up for the principles upon which our wonderful country was founded. Do it now with End the Lie.

I’d love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips, and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at Admin@EndtheLie.com

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Madison Ruppert
End the Lie

Previously I reported on the New York school system’s move to not only ban words but entire topics and concepts from their tests as if that would somehow make facts of life like poverty disappear.

I found this especially insane since it was essentially based on the assumption that if an incredibly impoverished child didn’t have to answer questions that included poverty on a test, they would somehow forget about the empty dinner table they have to go home to.

Obviously this is so absurd that it is truly hard to believe that anyone is actually imbecilic enough to believe such a thing makes any sense whatsoever.

Unfortunately, it is not just the United States which is plagued by bureaucrats seeking to control speech.

Indeed, recently it was reported that teachers in a small town in British Columbia have been informed that they cannot display quotes from the popular children’s author Ted Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss), supposedly because they are political messaging.

I always suspected that “green eggs and ham” was actually about environmentalism and police, and thankfully it appears that the bureaucrats overseeing the town of Prince Rupert have uncovered these hidden meanings and are now protecting our children from them.

After all, there could never be such a thing as whimsical and humorous children’s books without an ulterior motive or hidden message, right?

Of course, Dr. Seuss actually did include some much deeper and more important concepts than just oddly colored eggs, but last time I checked it was a good thing to challenge young minds and encourage them to think critically.

One such work was Horton Hears a Who which has been said to subtly deal with issues of prejudice and civil rights while The Lorax is seen as a cautionary tale about the dangers of ignoring environmental degradation.

Hilariously (although unsurprisingly), Fox News claimed that the Lorax film based on the Dr. Seuss book released this year was trying to “indoctrinate our children” with an “anti-industry message.”

Don’t you just love how the establishment media – which increasingly spews out intellectually bankrupt garbage like never before – can create conspiracy theories with absolutely no evidence whatsoever, while anyone pointing to real evidence of real conspiracies throughout history is painted as a loon?

This all started with Bill 22, which came into effect in March 2012 and ended the teachers’ strike and brought in a mediator.

Teachers have been protesting in the typically aggressive manner in which teachers operate – by wearing T-shirts, signs and bumper stickers expressing their disappointment.

A 1st grade teacher at Prince Rupert elementary school was told that she could be disciplined for wearing a Dr. Seuss quote on her clothing or vehicle while on school property.

What was the quote they deemed so offensive?

“I know, up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”

Some might remember this line from the book Yertle the Turtle when Yertle organizes his fellow turtles to stand on top of each other so Yertle can climb to the top and see a great distance.

This was far from an isolated incident. As of late April, eight teachers in this particular school district had been issued letters informing them that they could face disciplinary actions for allegedly displaying political messages.

According to the president of the Prince Rupert District Teachers’ Union Joanna Larson, this is because the administrators do not want to let students even see these messages.

“We feel very censored here right now. We have feelings that our rights to freedom of expression have been violated,” Larson said.

I wouldn’t qualify that as a feeling, as it is a clear, objective fact. Their rights to freedom of expression are indeed being violated in a truly absurd manner.

Other teachers who are trying to avoid getting the letters – which sound eerily like threats – have to park away from the school’s property in order to continue to display their bumper stickers in opposition to Bill 22.

“If they try to use a heavy-handed approach, we just have more people trying to exercise civil disobedience,” Larson said.

However, what they’re doing is probably the least aggressive form of civil disobedience possible. This makes me see their suppression of dissent amongst the teachers that much more insane.

It is important to note that indeed Geisel had a political bent, evidenced by his work as a political cartoonist, although I think it is equally important to note that very few young children could likely recognize these messages without having them pointed out to them.

If the administration could show that 1st graders were able to tease out the deeper meanings in Horton Hears a Who or The Lorax, they might have grounds to do this, but I seriously doubt many youngsters are capable of that literary analysis.

Judith Morgan wrote a book on Geisel entitled Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel, and she says that he was indeed writing about the evils of “greed and destruction of the planet and narrow-minded, close-minded types.”

“Seuss’ work continues to resonate with kids and parents because it is honest; it battles prejudice; it sends the imagination soaring and fits the wonder of a young child’s mind and dreams,” Morgan added.

She said that banning the Dr. Seuss quote is “very upsetting” to teachers and “it’s the ridiculous nature of it that makes it almost unbelievable.”

I couldn’t agree more, as Dr. Seuss books still line the walls of countless libraries and the bookshelves of many children who enjoy the stories not because they speak to their inner revolutionary but because they are incredibly imaginative and enjoyable.

There might be an even larger point here, which Larson brings to the fore in saying that the ludicrous actions of the administration perfectly exemplify the “ridiculous human nature” Dr. Seuss wrote about.

“This is why he did what he did,” she said. “I think he would think it’s absurd.”

All I can say is that I hope the administration comes to the realization that they’re making themselves look like the antagonist of a Dr. Seuss book in what must be one of the most nonsensical actions taken by a school bureaucracy in recent times.

This is where the lie ends. The American people are waking up to the fact that the mainstream media is controlled by a very small group of elite billionaires who decide exactly what stories to cover. We at End the Lie force politicians to address the real issues, force government to be accountable and transparent, and force real change to occur in our country. Every American needs to get informed and stand up for the principles upon which our wonderful country was founded. Do it now with End the Lie.

I’d love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips, and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at Admin@EndtheLie.com

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