Declassified: Security and Surveillance in 50 Police States

Air Force Office of Special Investigations, looking for me or someone with my ‘unique set of skills?’ Focus is not PYTs, but expedite SOBs ‘road to perdition.’

If Wolfgang Puck was ‘Chef to the Stars,’ who is Security & Surveillance (SS) ‘Chef to Star Clients’?

SCW what’s on your menu? Homeland Security, Alphabet, Raytheon, NASA, Harvard, BofA … Imagine access to live feeds!

Damn, now that’s what I call high profile clients!

Homeland Security, aren’t you part of Port Surveillance? Overlap or overkill? Hell, if it’s good enough for Defense why not civilians? But as the World saw, neither Security nor Defense kept Israel safe.

LAX, gunho on security and cameras? Right, AFTER planes crashed into the Towers.

SCW, no Police or Ports?  Yet, I hear you offer your services to Real Estate Associations. Guess property management companies see a need to secure or surveil ‘terrorist tenants.’ Right, gotta sleep and set up shop.

Makes sense. Recall the man who was asked why he robbed banks? ‘’Because that’s where the money is.” Only now, thanks to a virus, no one questions wearing mask.

Not only is ‘Big Brother’ looking over your shoulder, but a so called ‘Pal’ as well. Saying goes, ‘With friends like these, who needs enemies?’ They do! It’s their business. How?

“How Peter Thiel’s Secretive Data Company Pushed Into Policing” or what some may call ‘backroom deals.’

Read 2017 paper written by Mark Harris, a freelance journalist reporting on technology from Seattle, in Backchannel’s weekly newsletter.

“This is the story of how Palantir, despite the issues unearthed by Backchannel’s investigation, came to quietly dominate the domestic law enforcement intelligence infrastructure of the US’s most populous state—and how it could replicate that across the nation and around the world.”

“No one outside Palantir seems to know for sure how many police departments in America use its technology. (Despite multiple requests, Palantir declined to make anyone available for an interview, or to comment on any of Backchannel’s findings.) The New York Police Department has certainly used it, as have Cook County sheriffs in Chicago, the Virginia State Police, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., and a dozen law enforcement agencies in Utah.”

Worried about AI and Facial Recognition? Imagine Officer decides to pull you over NOT based on traffic violation or warrant, but a profile Pal system comes up with based on your Race, Gender, Citizenship, DMV record, Employment, Insurance, Financial (IRS) data, Political affiliation…

Ready to get off the grid?

Port Security or Worker Surveillance?

Global supply chain chaos? The 2022 Prospect article referencing a 2015 federal report predicted the entire slowdown that’s come to pass. It points to ‘global shipping standards’ and ‘poor structure of the system.’ Baltimore, seems everyone’s forgotten about you.

Yet, article said nothing about Security or Surveillance of Ports. Aside from the heavy pollution in Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles, you will find both are also heavily surveilled.

Long Beach Port was reportedly mandated to do so after U.S. had its own ‘surprise attack.’ Not only the coming and goings of cargo but of the workers round the clock.

A militaristic ‘Command and Control Center’ was designed with the playbook of SEAL team for Long Beach Police.

Harris notes “The public contracts and data acquired during our months-long investigation almost certainly paint an incomplete picture. However, they suggest that one state, California, accounts for many of the deployments—and perhaps close to 90 percent of the sales—of Palantir’s systems to domestic law enforcement to date.”

It’s a shame if Baltimore’s State government agencies didn’t have or act on ‘security’ measures.

Port of Los Angeles, known proudly as “America’s Port,” too is heavily guarded, especially at the start and peak of the 2020 pandemic. Just ask China.

China on US Waterfronts

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in 2019 required China divest. Something about a ‘smart’ port. But not AI. 5G.

But Asian divestments mean nothing if an Aussie or another picks up the tab and docks their ship.

Yet, unlike other ‘Foreign Investment,’ China’s ‘water-carriage’ not only goes back to 1961 with China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company and COSCO Container Lines, but much, much further back.  

“But the great extent of the empire of China, the vast multitude of its inhabitants, the variety of climate, and consequently of productions in its different provinces, and the easy communication by means of water-carriage between the greater part of them, render the home market of that country of so great extent, as to be alone sufficient to support very great manufactures, and to admit of very considerable subdivisions of labour. The home market of China is, perhaps, in extent, not much inferior to the market of all the different countries of Europe put together.” – Adam Smith

China’s ‘home market’ advantage? Gatekeepers working the networked supply chain.

From its “Great Wall” to “China 2025.” Recall my June 2020 paper, “Primum Movens: World Merchant Supplying and Controlling the Chains.”

Aristotle once spoke of the “unmoved mover” many centuries and dynasties ago. Taiwan, appears your chain was easily moved West, Middle East.

Nicely played. Sure, you fabricated devices. But tell us, who took part in the design and assembly of chips, U.S., Europe, Israel, or …

Nvidia and AMD, got a taste of what’s coming?

But do you have that ‘magic cream’ filling that holds the wafers together? Chips Ahoy Mate!

Unregulated markets and an overlooked external economy have come to a head. Result? A waterfront bottleneck creating crises and opportunities for shippers’ price gauging.

Congress and Pentagon, ‘Not Yours to Give’

What say the U.S. committee on National Defense and NO Strategies? Everything is a Threat.

Basically what everyone knows, ‘Our Defense Industrial base is in bad shape and ‘Europe even worse’ says Eric Edelman. Explains why NATO opted for a numbers game adding more new members. But more isn’t always better.

Members of Congress, be reminded of advice by Col. David Crockett, U.S. Representative from Tennessee, public money is not yours to give.

Yet, what really showed your nation’s hypocritical ineptness was what Jane said about the Ports. U.S. ‘Cranes have Chinese tech.’ Hey Jane, and your President plays with ‘Tik Tok.’ What’s your point?

On the subject of supply chains, devices costing less than a $100 produced by Taiwan were able to penetrate an enemy force. Yet, your Pentagon spends Billions on a bird in the sky that keeps crashing? Right, Lockheed. No pricey F35s means no $$$.

Pentagon, you’ve got a Major General unable to answer questions about Israel, Iran or U.S. ‘boots on the grounds’ but gave loads of data on Hurricane Helene logistics. Isn’t that FEMA’s job?

Let me remind you. Since proposal for conscription in 2019 failed you’re still putting $$$ into ads for kids to ‘be all you can be.’ Newsflash! Fat and lazy cheaters is all they can be! 🙂 

As a mob’s kid said, ‘It’s all so fuckin hysterical.’

Congress, I am reminded of Hannah Arendt’s The Decline of the Nation-State.

In Chapter II, ‘The Perplexities of the Rights of Man,’ Arendt states, “THE DECLARATION of the Rights of Man at the end of the eighteenth century was a turning point in history.”

Senators and Representatives, your actions and inactions have declared the End of Rights.

And you’ve once again shown ALL of your weak points.

‘Reversal of Fortune’?

Alex, hear you left California. Bad timing?

“Palantir had even managed to make its closed platform the only updated server for the California State Threat Assessment System (STAS) intelligence centers, which produce and share criminal and terrorist activity data statewide.”

Hey Pal, did Microsoft tell you of this little thing called ‘Reversal of Fortune’?

Picture it boys. A Gambler, after spending time in the House may win, but given enough time his good luck will run out and at the worst possible time, playing his last chip.

Or, last Ship if you count the one that sunk. Irony or poetic justice? BP, still keeping afloat?

I am reminded of my Papa’s words, “What do you call a Lawyer, Politician and Greedy Businessman at the bottom of the Sea? A damn good start!”

Harris concludes, “Working under the radar has been good for Palantir. Working under a spotlight could turn out to be both less comfortable and less profitable.”

Pal, thanks to Alex, you got your ‘spotlight’! Appears that in Alex’s thirst for adulation, U.S. government got sold a software system to surveil the People based on fear and pretense.

“But the public sector works for the people, not Palantir.”

Now enemies sense Alex and his Pal’s fear.

I can almost hear Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas and IRAN respond:

Copy that, 10 4, read you loud and clear:  ‘Pray that he gets to heaven at least an hour before the Devil finds out he’s dead.’