Written by Derrick Broze at theantimedia.org
Once again, it has been revealed that agencies of the United States government are monitoring the population, using secretive technology with little oversight.
The Associated Press recently reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has been flying at least 100 planes across the country that are equipped with video and audio surveillance equipment. This includes the controversial StingRay cellphone surveillance technology previously reported by Anti-Media.
Even more interesting is the fact that these planes are operated by fake front companies used by the government and are rarely given judicial approval. Some of these companies include FVX Research, KQM Aviation, NBR Aviation and PXW Services. As the AP reported:
“The planes’ surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge’s approval, and the FBI said the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations. The FBI said it uses front companies to protect the safety of the pilots and aircraft. It also shields the identity of the aircraft so that suspects on the ground don’t know they’re being watched by the FBI.
In a recent 30-day period, the agency flew above more than 30 cities in 11 states across the country, an AP review found.
The AP traced at least 50 aircraft back to the FBI, and identified more than 100 flights since late April orbiting both major cities and rural areas.
One of the planes, photographed in flight last week by the AP in northern Virginia, bristled with unusual antennas under its fuselage and a camera on its left side. A federal budget document from 2010 mentioned at least 115 planes, including 90 Cessna aircraft, in the FBI’s surveillance fleet.”
Following these latest revelations, the FBI held a confidential briefing with Congress to explain the program. Government officials present at the briefing told the AP that the operation was standard operating procedure and had only been used five times in five years. Despite the program being unclassified, the FBI declined to release details on how many spy planes are in operation. The bureau did reveal that around 85 percent of the aircraft use infrared cameras. The remaining 15 percent use binoculars for surveillance.
In early May, Anti-Media first asked, “Were ‘Stingray’ Surveillance Planes Listening to Baltimore Protesters?” The answer seems to be a resounding yes.
During the mass demonstrations following the death of Freddie Gray, Baltimore resident Benjamin Shayne noticed a curious plane flying overhead, circling the area repeatedly.
Shayne decided to ask the internet what it thought, tweeting, “Anyone know who has been flying the light plane in circles above the city for the last few nights?”
A former employee with the American Civil Liberties Union happened to see the tweet and was able to identify the plane, a Cessna 182T, and its exact flight path and registered owner, NG Research, based in Bristow, VA. The former ACLU employee contacted the ACLU in Maryland, which then passed it on to the national ACLU. Around this time, the AP began analyzing flight data and flight patterns. The AP review found that at least one FBI flight circled above at least 40,000 residents during a single flight over Anaheim, California.
Was the FBI gathering cell data from these 40,000 residents? It is completely possible (and plausible in the Age of Surveillance) that the FBI and/or other government agencies were using cell phone surveillance devices inside the planes to gather metadata.
In late 2014, the Wall Street Journal revealed the existence of a cell-phone monitoring program operated by the U.S. Marshals Service using small planes. The program involved the Marshals using Cessna planes mounted with cell-site simulators, also known as Stingrays (for more information check out this Guide to Stingray Technology).
In response to the spy plane revelations, the ACLU filed a Freedom of Information request with the FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service seeking information about these flights. They also filed a FOIA request with the FAA to attempt to obtain the flight plans.
While the public remains largely ignorant of the extreme level of surveillance in the United States, the situation seems to be escalating quickly. Jay Stanley of the American Civil Liberties Union told Medium that he believes the technology could already be used in tandem with drone aircraft. The results he said, would be a “nightmare scenario for drones: wide-area mass surveillance and location tracking of entire cities and towns.”
“I wrote recently about ARGUS, the high-flying drone technology capable of capturing super-high-definition video of a 15-square mile area and automatically tracking all moving vehicles and people within that area,” he said.
It should be painfully obvious that 1984 is here. The State has eyes and ears in all corners of your world. Freedom is Slavery. Patriots are Terrorists. What will you do? Spread this information and keep the fight for freedom alive.
My question is, who really cares? Why does it matter that the big bad Gubment is spying? Unless you’re doing anything illegal, it really should not matter to you. I’m just saying, I dont do anything illegal (for the most part anyways) and I can care less if they’re watching me.. Watch away! I’m not very interesting, but whatever. I think people are just taking these “conspiracy theory” things way too far, even if it is true.. Who gives a shit?!? Carry on with your life, you only get so many years on this planet.. Are you going to sit around under a tin foil hat, whining and complaining about big brother spying on you? you’re wasting your time in my opinion.
Think of it in like terms: Would you want someone looking in at you while you’re changing? If you’re confident about your nude body, why would you care? You only have so many days on Earth, why sit around and worry that you’re being watched nude.
Just because you’re not doing anything wrong isn’t a reason to let any group watch over you and your private doings.
Don’t fall so easily to the “what’s the point”, or “tin foil hat” ideas, use your own head.
“It menaces our intellectual privacy and it gives the watcher a power advantage over the watched, which can be used for blackmail, persuasion, or discrimination,”
You don’t know all laws; did you know that it is a federal crime to be in possession of a lobster under a certain size?
Laws and attitudes change, an innocent act today maybe breaking the law tomorrow.
You have a duty of privacy to those around you, I’m guessing you don’t have kids yet.
It may be the government today, but it could be outsourced tomorrow, would you be happy about a private corporation knowing everything about you? Electronic information once recorded will ALWAYS be available, for people to steal, or abuse; ‘a database available to Michigan law enforcement was used by officers to help their friends or themselves stalk women, threaten motorists after traffic altercations, and track estranged spouses.’
You don’t do anything illegal? The average American breaks at least 3 laws every day without knowing it. If for some reason, someone decided that they had enough of you, off you go….without habius corpus if you are considered a “terrorist.”
I just want to live free in my country….if you don’t care about big government being in your life or telling you what to do….move to Russia. You’ll fit right in.
Australian Government does it in the open. laws and all.. so whats worse.. suspicion of a spying government or actual spying governments?
Nik is right! Who cares if the government is invading our privacy and one by one removing our rights. Our lives are short so we should pull the wool over our eyes, ignore the facts, and live for ourselves…..my question is, if a large group of peaceful protestors take to the streets to protest against police brutality should the FBI be allowed to monitor and store all their cell phone conversations? I’m sure they wouldn’t use that information combined with new anti terror laws to single out the people organizing these rallies.
And a movie will be made to twist this into it not being taken seriously.
Coming to screen near you
I’ve done nothing wrong so it doesn’t worry me …exactly what people said in early 30s in a little country in Europe called Germany …sure worked out good for them ae! !!
Yeah that “I’ve done nothing wrong ” attitude sure worked out well for a country in Europe back in early 30s. ..seems the got themselves a little party going…German National Socialist Party think they called it…
I’ve seen 2 black helicopters flying in circles over echo park, ca w/ no spot lights on.. They flew in perfect formation for at least 10 min.. That seems obvious bc echo park is pretty dangerous.. But then a fucking black helicopter was flying over out neighborhood in Van Nuys. Circled what seemed to be just our house but it could’ve been the neighbors too. I walked right outside and stared at it. It circles a couple more times & then left. Wtf?! I don’t care if you’re doing anything illegal or not shit like that is scary as hell bc of all the damn government alerts u just don’t know if a freakn bomb is gonna come flying down or what. Granted, I didn’t expect that but still.. I do tend to get a little bold & aggressive sometimes & stand strong in my place just to see if it’ll distract police etc & usually most times it does until they realize I’m full of shit lol. I just like to see if they’re smart or not. Probably shouldn’t be doing that anymore.