To help avoid a Microsoft-type giant in Bell Sympatico (and Telus, Primus, etc), people need to support alternative internet service providers and vigorously ensure companies are NOT compromising consumer privacy (eg, selling customer database information, illegal wiretapping, individual profiling).
In September 2004, I started looking for a more reliable (read trustworthy) internet service provider. I finally found one called Echo Online. But too late: I dawdled for two months, then found out a company called WinTel has bought them out.[1]
Echo Online was established in 1996; yet, I bet this rapid takeover was initiated after the sales rep and I discussed privacy concerns.
Digital technology and information power, yesiree. Conspiracy theories? Maybe. See Financial Post article on Bell's entry into ISPs.
[1] Read 'Considering the "Private" Citizen,' and learn more about WinTel. [Added Feb. 17/05]
--------
More About Privacy Concerns:
See September 24 post, 'Miracles of telephony.'
About.com: Privacy in Canada.
Privacycilla.org
Discussion about Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski's resignation.
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Friday, November 19, 2004
Questions about U.S. election
I can't help but wonder three things:
1) Why is no one questioning voting integrity and accuracy in the recent U.S. election?
2) Is confusion and apathy so widespread among people, both in the U.S. and worldwide?
3) Are there any independent media outlets left in the world?
Further questions to consider:
a) What kind of voting process requires one to disclose one's ethnicity and religion, among other things?
- How is this information gathered?
- Aren't people concerned about accuracy, methodology, and most of all, anonymity?
b) Has this kind of 'demographic' information ever been used or broadcasted in past elections?
c) Don't people realize electronic polls are made by large corporations who of course have vested interests (and often make sizable campaign donations)?
*PLEASE* read this wise article: 'To European Friends: Explaining the 2004 Election Disaster.'
Wake up, people. The whole world has been waiting to see the future direction of America and the world, based upon whom U.S. citizens elect for president. To subsequently track voting trends based on biological data is questionable and disturbing. (Key statistics I saw on TV focused on race, religion, gender.)
This kind of analysis divides people and creates a blame-game. Sounds like subtle scapegoating to me. This can also create perceptions of certain groups as being more progressive, sane, or saintly than others.
What we who live in supposedly free, democratic countries need is holistic change - NOT more pigeonholing.
Other things that stand out about the recent U.S. election:
People around the world know George W. Bush and the U.S. Republicans did not win by popular majority in the 2000 election. Suspicious tactics were used to help advance his cause in Florida - the deciding state. Bush's brother John 'Jeb' Bush is governor of Florida, and is known to have created unnecessary ballot hitches.
'Even the US Supreme Court, which awarded the presidency to George W. Bush, acknowledges [voters' rights were] violated [under] the Constitution,' reports The Nation in 'Another Florida Fiasco.' Examples: 'ATM-style voting machines couldn't be activated'; only Republican votes scanned properly in one county; hundreds of voters were turned away, and so on. A good percentage of people blocked from voting were African-Americans.
CBC News similarly points out:
'CBC News Indepth: US Election 2004', October 22, 2004.
All of this was accomplished when Bush hadn't even been elected president yet. Who's to say there wasn't ballot-fixing nation-wide now that Bush has been in power for four years, during which time, he's managed to launch two major [and profitable] wars and solidify the right-wing?
Is this too big for people to imagine? Considering the Florida case, there should be real doubts in people's minds about the accuracy of these recent U.S. election results.
Greg Palast, 'contributing editor to Harper's magazine, investigated the manipulation of the vote for BBC Television's Newsnight,' and talks about spoiled votes in 'Kerry Won' (November 4, 2004).
Without doing any research, I posted thoughts about internet voting here. Admittedly, my knowledge of U.S. elections is pretty sparse. Good thing recent searches confirm that my concerns about electronic voting are both valid and real.
To be clear, I'm not for or against anybody. I'm simply pro-democracy, pro-accountability, pro-integrity, and pro-freedom. So are a lot of other folks, yet somehow we have almost no say in government functioning or decisions. (Do I sound ridiculously naive here?)
Found this highly readable article, containing important information about manipulating ballots: 'Did Bush fix the elections?'
I can't resist quoting this:
I said the exact same thing about a rape and beating case of a woman coming out of (or walking near?) a gay bar in Toronto on the eve of Canada's federal election (June 30, 2004).
Sent a bunch of emails to people questioning U.S.-Canada relations, media, democracy, etc, and highlighted the lack of investigative journalism in this particular rape case. I suggested this event could have been either staged or deliberately perpetrated to sway both women and queer voters.
I just found this Globe and Mail article link about that incident. Strangely, the author's name is 'GAY ABBATE'.
What's also odd is that one cannot find any direct links to this news story via a Google search. Yet this was *Big News* on TV, the evening before the federal election.
I had similar concerns about the totally lopsided media coverage between the respective murders of Holly Jones and Cecilia Zhang. The lack of news in Holly Jones' case is unusual. And, sure enough, this disparity became a selling point for the New Conservatives appealing to voters outside of urban centres.
And WHY has there been so little news coverage about Holly Jones supposed murderer? Do you even remember his name?
Having reflected on my surveillance and harassment a great deal, I sense a larger agenda is at stake.
(Thoughts on Canada's federal election - June 2004.)
1) Why is no one questioning voting integrity and accuracy in the recent U.S. election?
2) Is confusion and apathy so widespread among people, both in the U.S. and worldwide?
3) Are there any independent media outlets left in the world?
Further questions to consider:
a) What kind of voting process requires one to disclose one's ethnicity and religion, among other things?
- How is this information gathered?
- Aren't people concerned about accuracy, methodology, and most of all, anonymity?
b) Has this kind of 'demographic' information ever been used or broadcasted in past elections?
c) Don't people realize electronic polls are made by large corporations who of course have vested interests (and often make sizable campaign donations)?
*PLEASE* read this wise article: 'To European Friends: Explaining the 2004 Election Disaster.'
Wake up, people. The whole world has been waiting to see the future direction of America and the world, based upon whom U.S. citizens elect for president. To subsequently track voting trends based on biological data is questionable and disturbing. (Key statistics I saw on TV focused on race, religion, gender.)
This kind of analysis divides people and creates a blame-game. Sounds like subtle scapegoating to me. This can also create perceptions of certain groups as being more progressive, sane, or saintly than others.
What we who live in supposedly free, democratic countries need is holistic change - NOT more pigeonholing.
Other things that stand out about the recent U.S. election:
People around the world know George W. Bush and the U.S. Republicans did not win by popular majority in the 2000 election. Suspicious tactics were used to help advance his cause in Florida - the deciding state. Bush's brother John 'Jeb' Bush is governor of Florida, and is known to have created unnecessary ballot hitches.
'Even the US Supreme Court, which awarded the presidency to George W. Bush, acknowledges [voters' rights were] violated [under] the Constitution,' reports The Nation in 'Another Florida Fiasco.' Examples: 'ATM-style voting machines couldn't be activated'; only Republican votes scanned properly in one county; hundreds of voters were turned away, and so on. A good percentage of people blocked from voting were African-Americans.
CBC News similarly points out:
[The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today] report suggests 'subtle, cynical and creative tactics' to keep minorities – especially African-Americans – from voting have occurred in every election since the [Voting Rights Act] law was passed [in 1964].
'CBC News Indepth: US Election 2004', October 22, 2004.
All of this was accomplished when Bush hadn't even been elected president yet. Who's to say there wasn't ballot-fixing nation-wide now that Bush has been in power for four years, during which time, he's managed to launch two major [and profitable] wars and solidify the right-wing?
Is this too big for people to imagine? Considering the Florida case, there should be real doubts in people's minds about the accuracy of these recent U.S. election results.
Greg Palast, 'contributing editor to Harper's magazine, investigated the manipulation of the vote for BBC Television's Newsnight,' and talks about spoiled votes in 'Kerry Won' (November 4, 2004).
Without doing any research, I posted thoughts about internet voting here. Admittedly, my knowledge of U.S. elections is pretty sparse. Good thing recent searches confirm that my concerns about electronic voting are both valid and real.
To be clear, I'm not for or against anybody. I'm simply pro-democracy, pro-accountability, pro-integrity, and pro-freedom. So are a lot of other folks, yet somehow we have almost no say in government functioning or decisions. (Do I sound ridiculously naive here?)
Found this highly readable article, containing important information about manipulating ballots: 'Did Bush fix the elections?'
I can't resist quoting this:
The appearance of Osama bin Laden bang on cue was suspicious, to say the least.... Did Bush fix it?
I said the exact same thing about a rape and beating case of a woman coming out of (or walking near?) a gay bar in Toronto on the eve of Canada's federal election (June 30, 2004).
Sent a bunch of emails to people questioning U.S.-Canada relations, media, democracy, etc, and highlighted the lack of investigative journalism in this particular rape case. I suggested this event could have been either staged or deliberately perpetrated to sway both women and queer voters.
I just found this Globe and Mail article link about that incident. Strangely, the author's name is 'GAY ABBATE'.
What's also odd is that one cannot find any direct links to this news story via a Google search. Yet this was *Big News* on TV, the evening before the federal election.
I had similar concerns about the totally lopsided media coverage between the respective murders of Holly Jones and Cecilia Zhang. The lack of news in Holly Jones' case is unusual. And, sure enough, this disparity became a selling point for the New Conservatives appealing to voters outside of urban centres.
And WHY has there been so little news coverage about Holly Jones supposed murderer? Do you even remember his name?
Having reflected on my surveillance and harassment a great deal, I sense a larger agenda is at stake.
(Thoughts on Canada's federal election - June 2004.)
Monday, November 15, 2004
Threats to health
I've been spending more time with my mother over the past year. It's not a picture-perfect relationship, believe me. But I'm trying. And after nearly five years of running from therapist to therapist (enough to make one crazy and drive one's mother into destitution), I'm finally making some progress.
My gawd, the ego's one tough cookie.
I mention this because as I blog about the increasing harassment and threats, it may seem like I'm constantly with my mother. While it's true I'm hanging out with her more, it's also true that the anomalies she's experiencing are definitely on the rise.
(I've had the sense that my mother's becoming more of a target for awhile - August 22.)
It's ironic that people often assume I'm paranoid or that I don't believe in coincidences. I'm actually a big believer in serendipity, synchronicity, astrology, intuition, miracles, and a Divine Creator. In fact, I think my surveillers have benefitted from my interest in these areas, and from observing people's innate belief in, and acceptance of, 'chance' happenings. I think it's enhanced their ability to manipulate social situations, and and emboldened their efforts.
Anyway, here's another strange incident:
Saturday, October 30 - I had two bouts of really bad runs. The suddenness and severity made me think of food poisoning (in fact, I bagged, taped, and froze my dinner leftovers the next day). But what's strange is I noticed I had no pain, gas, or cramping. Believe me, I'm very familiar with my own digestion and elimination processes.
I didn't mention anything to my mother - neither the sickness, nor the lack of typical symptoms.
November 6 - A week later, both my mother and I end up having severe diarrhea. I again did not say anything to her. But towards evening, as we were talking about something or other, my mother says, 'I'm not feeling very well. I had diarrhea five times today.' Then she adds, 'It's strange - I didn't have any gas or cramps - just the diarrhea.'
(All these little moments are so important; unfortunately, I dropped my 17-year old Walkman a few months ago, trying to transfer phone recordings onto my computer.)
Now also consider the fact that I had frantically emailed a bunch of people in August (or September?) out of concern for my life, and I specifically mentioned Mozilla's new 'BioBar' as having potential for nasty uses. (Too long to explain what led me to this concern.)
Let's backtrack a bit further. Not only have I had constant problems in my apartment, but in February 2003, I had bought a used test tube from a second-hand store for making shooters. Two weeks after I got it, it somehow developed a gaping hole. Hadn't even used it. No glass shards or cracks - just a perfectly cut hole.
(The cut test tube now looks like a phallus, and when I showed somebody, they actually laughed and made a comment. It's also worth noting that I'm bisexual and androgynous, a tomboy as a child, and I've been extremely vocal about queer rights, plus having trans friends, etc.)
That summer, I had my trans friend over a couple of times to try out my drinks. One day, I was putting away my freshly cleaned glasses and noticed a thick layer of clear crystallized substance at the bottom of a shot glass. I should've kept a sample, but didn't.
You can see my concerns about personal safety (for self and others) began quite awhile ago.
My gawd, the ego's one tough cookie.
I mention this because as I blog about the increasing harassment and threats, it may seem like I'm constantly with my mother. While it's true I'm hanging out with her more, it's also true that the anomalies she's experiencing are definitely on the rise.
(I've had the sense that my mother's becoming more of a target for awhile - August 22.)
It's ironic that people often assume I'm paranoid or that I don't believe in coincidences. I'm actually a big believer in serendipity, synchronicity, astrology, intuition, miracles, and a Divine Creator. In fact, I think my surveillers have benefitted from my interest in these areas, and from observing people's innate belief in, and acceptance of, 'chance' happenings. I think it's enhanced their ability to manipulate social situations, and and emboldened their efforts.
Anyway, here's another strange incident:
Saturday, October 30 - I had two bouts of really bad runs. The suddenness and severity made me think of food poisoning (in fact, I bagged, taped, and froze my dinner leftovers the next day). But what's strange is I noticed I had no pain, gas, or cramping. Believe me, I'm very familiar with my own digestion and elimination processes.
I didn't mention anything to my mother - neither the sickness, nor the lack of typical symptoms.
November 6 - A week later, both my mother and I end up having severe diarrhea. I again did not say anything to her. But towards evening, as we were talking about something or other, my mother says, 'I'm not feeling very well. I had diarrhea five times today.' Then she adds, 'It's strange - I didn't have any gas or cramps - just the diarrhea.'
(All these little moments are so important; unfortunately, I dropped my 17-year old Walkman a few months ago, trying to transfer phone recordings onto my computer.)
Now also consider the fact that I had frantically emailed a bunch of people in August (or September?) out of concern for my life, and I specifically mentioned Mozilla's new 'BioBar' as having potential for nasty uses. (Too long to explain what led me to this concern.)
Let's backtrack a bit further. Not only have I had constant problems in my apartment, but in February 2003, I had bought a used test tube from a second-hand store for making shooters. Two weeks after I got it, it somehow developed a gaping hole. Hadn't even used it. No glass shards or cracks - just a perfectly cut hole.
(The cut test tube now looks like a phallus, and when I showed somebody, they actually laughed and made a comment. It's also worth noting that I'm bisexual and androgynous, a tomboy as a child, and I've been extremely vocal about queer rights, plus having trans friends, etc.)
That summer, I had my trans friend over a couple of times to try out my drinks. One day, I was putting away my freshly cleaned glasses and noticed a thick layer of clear crystallized substance at the bottom of a shot glass. I should've kept a sample, but didn't.
You can see my concerns about personal safety (for self and others) began quite awhile ago.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
I'm a slooow learner
Imagine every intimate moment watched - every word recorded - every action tracked - situations manipulated and controlled - and if necessary, people potentially harmed.
Privacy and freedom gone forever. What would you do - and what if no one believed you at all?
Join me on this little excursion of - Is it really happening?
---------------------
Please, PLEASE read this post: '9-11: My Uncle's Death'.
Starting small, have a listen to these three messages. Am I rude and uncaring for not letting this person Dr. Ali know he's got the wrong number?
October 14
October 18
October 19
(also see October 14 post)
Here's why I don't think these calls are real:
Call 1 - Caller leaves his number, and it registers in my call display.
Call 2 - He calls again, but leaves no number, and this time it's blocked/untraceable.
Call 3 - Calls urgently again (about medication, no less), yet leaves no number, it's an untraceable blocked call, and he asks this person 'Margaret' to page him.
Three calls, yet he hasn't bothered to check if the number he's dialing is correct - and my voicemail greeting is clearly for a residential number (music, cute message, etc), NOT an office.
Since 2001, I've received a number of long-distance phone calls and messages from different people and places, wanting a reply or needing some action carried out. (details to come) I used to call people back to let them know they had dialed incorrectly: Halifax, Victoria, California somewhere.... How foolish am I?
I've also received wrong number calls for at least 50 different people, (here is a sampling) businesses, hospitals, and institutions - from Pizza Pizza to Big Land Farm to Dr. Alcock. That's not counting the blocked calls, where the person stays silently on the phone or hangs up. I've had well over 200 strange calls in the past 3 years - often weekly, sometimes daily. My number is unlisted. [1]
For days at a time, the moment I entered my apartment, the phone would literally ring and it'd be a blocked call, with no one speaking at the other end. I could often predicate crank/wrong number calls - even when I was out in public or at other people's homes. (More info to come.)
One time, I was squeezing blood from an infected cut and had a bloody cloth in front of me, when the phone rang: the man asked me for 'the Blood Works Department'.
[Edit: Another time, I got a call for a 'Mr. Ogulnicki'. The caller's tone was very disdainful. I happen to have a friend in the U.S. with a similar last name. He's been living 'outside the box' for decades and one of his main projects is providing an alternative herbal treatment for drug addiction, called Ibogaine, which he's trying to get legalized in the States. He's started socio-environmental projects in Costa Rica and Africa, including this organization: www.ICANrevolution.org.
My friend keeps a low profile, and even uses an alias, so no one could possibly know I was in touch with him, unless they wiretapped my phone or searched my apartment and saw my address book (and I only speak to my friend once every couple of years). There's only one Ogulnik listed in Canada, and he's in Montreal. 30/09/10]
I've had other 'phone coincidences'. To hear more calls, please use an anonymous browser (BeHidden.com, or MisterPrivacy.com), then paste this link [2a] [2b]:
http://oneadventure.tripod.com/one/id0.html
Notes:
[1] [Edit: In 10 years, I've never sent my number over the internet, and I only give it out to friends or organizations that require it legitimately. 30/09/10]
[2a] Unfortunately, my phone messages are humdrum compared to the strange or highly suspicious *live* conversations I have with actual people.
[2b] I accidentally deleted my whole folder of over 60 phone recordings. Urghh! They can be recovered, but it's difficult and costly.
Threatening Incidents?
Whenever harassment's been extra intense (hard to prove, except for my own erratic behaviour), the wrong-number calls tend to be about health. Eg, seeing doctors, arranging medical tests, calling for a hospital, etc.
And ain't it funny that when I became increasingly intense about seeking out political association and like minds (eg, Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11, Ward Churchill, bell hooks, Tooker Gomberg), I got deliberately hit on the head twice, by two complete strangers within six months (November 2003, March 2004). Both times, the people coolly observed me and did not apologize, even though I was clearly hurt.
Note: My head is a weak spot. I injured it in the past, developed migraines (had an EEG done in 1989 that indicated abnormal activity) and had sought out alternative treatments, even flying to Asia. I'd often tell people about this to explain why I have mental glitches. I also have ADD tendencies - really struggled in school, cannot organize my thoughts or prioritize tasks, I'm exceedingly forgetful, etc. People often doubt these things about me, too.
Anyway, in the first head-banging incident, I was kneeling on the ground, sobbing into a payphone over my mentally handicapped uncle's death. A tall, blonde guy came up to the adjoining phone, took the receiver and holding it, backhanded me with his knuckles to my head.
I was stunned - not only by his actions, but by his cold attitude toward me. I wasn't just crying - I was bawling, as I've never done before in my entire life. (Note: I felt responsible for my uncle's death; I had forewarned that he could be a target a year before, there were several anomalies (info to come) - long story. My uncle died 9th Nov 03 - that is, 9/11.) [1]
Stumbling to my feet, weeping, I asked this guy why he hit me. Him and his buddy stood there smiling and said, 'Oh, we thought you were a guy.'
Bizarre remark? Well, I'm an average female, but I happen to be bisexual and a bit tomboyish. Once I became thoroughly convinced that I was being surveilled and harassed, I also took on a tough guy attitude of hiding my emotions to show I'm not scared, while proactively seeking to expose the gov'ts seemingly illegal activities.
This guy clearly meant to hit me. Not just me being 'paranoid,' as people tell me repeatedly.
[1] Strange phone incident around my uncle's death
Mountains out of molehills? I can assure you I have a TON of incidents, but they are so subtle, convoluted, and numerous, I'm hard put to explain their relevance to people. Wish I had the benefit of a film crew on my side.
Holistic Health, Psychology, and Warfare
Brings me to another topic: holistic health. Having been interested in this subject before it became fashionable, my information sources and personal theories are pretty hodge-podge. Yet there is, perhaps, a consistent level of substance and truth.
Books like The Body Has Its Reasons by Therese Bertherat and The Healing Brain by Robert Ornstein and David Sobel, or my interest in Arrowsmith, a special Toronto school for people with learning disabilities, and so on, were ahead of their time. All of these and more put together offer unique insights into mind, body, human nature and personal development. Arrowsmith's founder discovered things about the human brain that not even the entire U.S. medical community knew about, until just recently.
If I am under surveillance and being studied, it's possible that my wide-ranging curiosities, combined with actual lived experiences, have been fruitful for the 'powers that be.' Though I strongly suspect they're using this information for far more nasty, destructive, or controlling means.
[Edit: One example of 'lived experiences' is that I've met various healers in Asia, who are able to perform healing using various methods, including energy, herbs, and so on. Twenty-some years ago, Chinese medicine was seen as quackery, yet today science is proving that Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Thuna, and Acupuncture do work (if done or taught by a skilled practitioner) and that energy meridians do exist in the body. One guy could even read my mind.
I actually think mind-reading is more common among South Asian people and cultures. I noticed it various times in India. Not just Hollywood fiction. Why are we fascinated with shows like Medium, The Mentalist, and The Listener? In China, I was told, children with supernatural or extra-sensory gifts are taken away to secret schools by officials. I met one such man, while in Thailand. 30/09/10]
Social Diversity and Big Brother
All I know is group infiltration and social control are NOT difficult for the government, and it's multiplying quickly. Our intoxication with materialism and capitalism also means that concern for socio-environmental development, ethics, and personal accountability are sliding downhill - fast. Decency is OUT. With a little authoritative pressure and a few economic incentives, ordinary people can be co-opted as moles/operatives faster than you can say, 'Boo'.
The beauty of it is, the government seems to tell each person or group a different story, and stroke their egos big time, then pit them against one another. Clever imperialists.
Yet strategies are also changing; I believe new racial allegiances are being formed. Maybe they always existed? (more to come)
So why stay focused on me, studying me like a rat? Perhaps it's my emotional intensity and behaviour, plus the frequent social havoc I seem to create, that made me stand out. These have been like icing on the cake for Big Brother.
Allow me to contextualize:
North America is very multicultural. Divide and Conquer, plus maintaining social hierarchies, has always been important, yet it's becoming increasingly complicated.
In me, they found a political subversive, who wants to create change and build allies - yet instead, I continually affront people and polarize groups. Ahh, good trick. :)
Studying ethnic groups is of interest to the intelligence agencies. Get this: my family friend, whom I've known since early childhood, was invited to a job interview to do undercover surveillance work for the FBI here in Toronto, specifically because she's of Asian ancestry. She went to the U.S. Consulate and was there with 3 other people, 2 of whom were Toronto ex-cops. I recorded the voice message from the Consulate, because no one believed her.
During that time, my friend also had an acquaintance, whom I met, and he's an ex-U.S. army intelligence officer. His name is Jerry. Shortly after I butted heads with him about discrimination in the workplace strange incidents in my life increased.
About Me - Being Credible
How else have I been useful? Most activists in Canada have been on the radar a long time. I just dropped out of nowhere, I think. No credit card, no cellphone, was outside of Canada for several years. I'm also as critical as any grassroots, anti-oppression, left-wing activist, and yet, I've invariably worked for large organizations - Rogers, Ontario Hydro, Ministry of the Attorney General.
I also have overseas work experiences and a penchant for large-scale models for socio-environmental change - be it corporate or co-operative. In both the private and non-profit sectors, publications I co-ordinated went out to 26 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, for one org, and 27 countries worldwide, for another. I've always wanted to reach the widest audience possible.
I developed a marketing proposal for an airline that would have centralized and streamlined internal and external communications worldwide, affecting thousands of staff, 2 subsidiary companies, tens of thousands of travel agents, and millions of customers around the globe. When I got the distinct feeling that my apartment had video surveillance in September 2001, I tried to hide this proposal (scan to come). Three years later, I saw a similar flowchart for centralizing the U.S.'s 15 different intelligence agencies in Time Magazine.
The reality is, after 9/11 and the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001, and the ensuing "War on Terrorism," suddenly several years later a 'homegrown terrorist' was uncovered as a seeming part of the plot. That is, a Muslim man who was born and raised in the United States was now a radical, murdering terrorist. I have my doubts.
And people, do your research about 9/11. Over 3,000 people died in WTC, yet the media never explores the govt's own failings, duplicity, cover-ups, and so on. At the most basic level, watch the Towers go down - they IMPLODED perfectly. No airplane could've done that.
No space here - will discuss later. (See Loose Change.)
(Note: If you don't think the government, police, CSIS, and the RCMP study and profile people, particularly non-conformists, activists, and others, you would be mistaken. Do your own research.)
Yes, there are many activists in the world to watch, but please understand that I was once threatened with a government investigation several years ago - not because of activism, but because they suspected me of trying to sell my passport (long story, and a stupid one). Signs of surveillance began shortly after. (details to come)
I believe I went from being a suspicious person to being a good case study rather quickly. I also believe they have discovered new and subtle ways for manipulating, controlling, or penetrating progressive organizations, community groups, listservs, and so on.
It's also worth mentioning that several of my relatives are 3rd and 4th-generation Chinese Canadians, who are fairly vocal and critical of the Canadian status quo. In fact, four of my relatives co-founded the Chinese-Canadian National Council in the late 70s, which was initially formed to protest media racism propagated by a W5 episode, in which native-born Chinese-Canadians were being portrayed as immigrants taking over Canadian university classrooms. The strong reaction became the first, and possibly only, time that Chinese-Canadians mobilized in a united front across the country (beside demanding the right to vote in Canada in the 1800s - ask my relative, he's written a book about the history of Chinese in Canada).
So the surveillance isn't just focused on me, but also my family and their social circles. To collectively study established Chinese-Canadians (who are themselves a significant/influential ethnic group in Canada) was, I believe, interesting to the authorities. One of my relatives is in the Canadian Who's Who, hobnobs with diplomats, is friends with several prominent Chinese-Canadian public figures and politicians, whom I'll refrain from naming, and so on.
So yeah, the issue goes deep.
So Who's The Bad Guy?
I now know that security bodies don't go around thinking about justice, national development, or even security, really. Their goal is simply to gain control. Theft, rapes, fires, murders, and wars are expected. What matters is being able to ultimately manipulate and control people, resources, events, and outcomes - usually to benefit the powerful elite.
eg, Let the World Trade Center go down, with approximately 3000 people dead, so we can launch counter-attacks on two countries and gain more control of oil resources.
(see http://cooperativeresearch.org)
War and domination (political, military, economic, social, or otherwise) isn't just about fear and violence - a lot is about psychology and the workings of the mind. Get inside the heads of activists, have many well-placed 'plants,' infiltrate en masse, and you're basically ahead of the game. The rest of the population are usually politically-shy conformists.
So, a key interest has always been mind control and breaking of spirit, along with biological warfare. Just consider the horrific, large-scale medical tests that were carried out in Germany during World War II, and the many other tortuous experiments that go on elsewhere in the world - including on present-day Iraqi prisoners of war.
Going Mental
Now, look at a positive, self-empowering institution, like Arrowsmith School (www.arrowsmithschool.org). Founder Barbara Arrowsmith Young provides an excellent, and previously unexplored, map of the mind through her extensive skill tests.
Arrowsmith Young struggled with learning disabilities all her life, yet managed to complete a Master's degree. She then used her various learning aids and tests to help children and youth overcome similar difficulties.
The Woman Who Fixed Her Own Brain - Reader's Digest, April 2002
Fascinating stuff! More articles at Arrowsmith School's web site.
Interestingly, I just noticed the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is conducting a new Brain Scan study. I became instantly wary. Then, in the past two weeks, I've suddenly heard CAMH being called a 'hospital,' and the staff were referred to as 'scientists' - both times by people who have connections there. The Clark Institute will also be closing, apparently, with staff and facilities moving to 1001 Queen Street.
I sense CAMH's public profile may increase significantly. Remember, you heard it here first: Toronto's mental health work and research may be heading in new directions.
This may seem positive, yet behind the scenes, I wonder what the research information may be used for. Though I sound paranoid, I say this as someone who's not only witnessing CAMH's changes, but also has first-hand reasons to question their new direction.
And let me just say, Canada continues to be a supplier of goods and human resources for the purposes of war. We're all so comfy-cozy that we can gracefully ignore this fact, while maintaining our proud status as decent world citizens, who live in a peaceful, 'neutral' country.
Ah, you laugh now, but what amazes me is other people's denial. I get dismissed as being crazy, melodramatic, or worse...a conspiracy theorist. Yet just 60 years ago, hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people helped carry out the deadly genocidal wishes of one man.
Decent, everyday people can be convinced to do all sorts of awful things, and consider it normal and acceptable. Believe me, where race and power struggles are involved, there are no holds barred.
World War II raged across an entire continent. Things may seem genteel now, but the wars and terrorism being waged today are infinitely more subtle and complex. Current technologies are incredibly advanced; governments have the ability to make anything look real, natural, or accidental - or make it seem like the 'bad guy' did it. Even better.
A key problem is our own ignorance and complicity.
Do you care? You should. Funny how one of the things people treasure most receives the least attention or effort: freedom.
The Price of Power: America Since 1945 - Herbert Agar
It was good also to see this book by Herbert Agar: Saving Remnant: An Account of Jewish Survival Since 1914. (I find many people still don't openly acknowledge their Hebrew/Jewish ancestry, perhaps due to historical persecution through the millenia.)
So many different aspects of surveillance to discuss. It'll have to wait.
Privacy and freedom gone forever. What would you do - and what if no one believed you at all?
Join me on this little excursion of - Is it really happening?
---------------------
Please, PLEASE read this post: '9-11: My Uncle's Death'.
Starting small, have a listen to these three messages. Am I rude and uncaring for not letting this person Dr. Ali know he's got the wrong number?
October 14
October 18
October 19
(also see October 14 post)
Here's why I don't think these calls are real:
Call 1 - Caller leaves his number, and it registers in my call display.
Call 2 - He calls again, but leaves no number, and this time it's blocked/untraceable.
Call 3 - Calls urgently again (about medication, no less), yet leaves no number, it's an untraceable blocked call, and he asks this person 'Margaret' to page him.
Three calls, yet he hasn't bothered to check if the number he's dialing is correct - and my voicemail greeting is clearly for a residential number (music, cute message, etc), NOT an office.
Wait - it gets better!
Since 2001, I've received a number of long-distance phone calls and messages from different people and places, wanting a reply or needing some action carried out. (details to come) I used to call people back to let them know they had dialed incorrectly: Halifax, Victoria, California somewhere.... How foolish am I?
I've also received wrong number calls for at least 50 different people, (here is a sampling) businesses, hospitals, and institutions - from Pizza Pizza to Big Land Farm to Dr. Alcock. That's not counting the blocked calls, where the person stays silently on the phone or hangs up. I've had well over 200 strange calls in the past 3 years - often weekly, sometimes daily. My number is unlisted. [1]
For days at a time, the moment I entered my apartment, the phone would literally ring and it'd be a blocked call, with no one speaking at the other end. I could often predicate crank/wrong number calls - even when I was out in public or at other people's homes. (More info to come.)
One time, I was squeezing blood from an infected cut and had a bloody cloth in front of me, when the phone rang: the man asked me for 'the Blood Works Department'.
[Edit: Another time, I got a call for a 'Mr. Ogulnicki'. The caller's tone was very disdainful. I happen to have a friend in the U.S. with a similar last name. He's been living 'outside the box' for decades and one of his main projects is providing an alternative herbal treatment for drug addiction, called Ibogaine, which he's trying to get legalized in the States. He's started socio-environmental projects in Costa Rica and Africa, including this organization: www.ICANrevolution.org.
My friend keeps a low profile, and even uses an alias, so no one could possibly know I was in touch with him, unless they wiretapped my phone or searched my apartment and saw my address book (and I only speak to my friend once every couple of years). There's only one Ogulnik listed in Canada, and he's in Montreal. 30/09/10]
I've had other 'phone coincidences'. To hear more calls, please use an anonymous browser (BeHidden.com, or MisterPrivacy.com), then paste this link [2a] [2b]:
http://oneadventure.tripod.com/one/id0.html
Notes:
[1] [Edit: In 10 years, I've never sent my number over the internet, and I only give it out to friends or organizations that require it legitimately. 30/09/10]
[2a] Unfortunately, my phone messages are humdrum compared to the strange or highly suspicious *live* conversations I have with actual people.
[2b] I accidentally deleted my whole folder of over 60 phone recordings. Urghh! They can be recovered, but it's difficult and costly.
Threatening Incidents?
Whenever harassment's been extra intense (hard to prove, except for my own erratic behaviour), the wrong-number calls tend to be about health. Eg, seeing doctors, arranging medical tests, calling for a hospital, etc.
And ain't it funny that when I became increasingly intense about seeking out political association and like minds (eg, Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11, Ward Churchill, bell hooks, Tooker Gomberg), I got deliberately hit on the head twice, by two complete strangers within six months (November 2003, March 2004). Both times, the people coolly observed me and did not apologize, even though I was clearly hurt.
Note: My head is a weak spot. I injured it in the past, developed migraines (had an EEG done in 1989 that indicated abnormal activity) and had sought out alternative treatments, even flying to Asia. I'd often tell people about this to explain why I have mental glitches. I also have ADD tendencies - really struggled in school, cannot organize my thoughts or prioritize tasks, I'm exceedingly forgetful, etc. People often doubt these things about me, too.
Anyway, in the first head-banging incident, I was kneeling on the ground, sobbing into a payphone over my mentally handicapped uncle's death. A tall, blonde guy came up to the adjoining phone, took the receiver and holding it, backhanded me with his knuckles to my head.
I was stunned - not only by his actions, but by his cold attitude toward me. I wasn't just crying - I was bawling, as I've never done before in my entire life. (Note: I felt responsible for my uncle's death; I had forewarned that he could be a target a year before, there were several anomalies (info to come) - long story. My uncle died 9th Nov 03 - that is, 9/11.) [1]
Stumbling to my feet, weeping, I asked this guy why he hit me. Him and his buddy stood there smiling and said, 'Oh, we thought you were a guy.'
Bizarre remark? Well, I'm an average female, but I happen to be bisexual and a bit tomboyish. Once I became thoroughly convinced that I was being surveilled and harassed, I also took on a tough guy attitude of hiding my emotions to show I'm not scared, while proactively seeking to expose the gov'ts seemingly illegal activities.
This guy clearly meant to hit me. Not just me being 'paranoid,' as people tell me repeatedly.
[1] Strange phone incident around my uncle's death
Mountains out of molehills? I can assure you I have a TON of incidents, but they are so subtle, convoluted, and numerous, I'm hard put to explain their relevance to people. Wish I had the benefit of a film crew on my side.
- This page is still being edited -
Holistic Health, Psychology, and Warfare
Brings me to another topic: holistic health. Having been interested in this subject before it became fashionable, my information sources and personal theories are pretty hodge-podge. Yet there is, perhaps, a consistent level of substance and truth.
Books like The Body Has Its Reasons by Therese Bertherat and The Healing Brain by Robert Ornstein and David Sobel, or my interest in Arrowsmith, a special Toronto school for people with learning disabilities, and so on, were ahead of their time. All of these and more put together offer unique insights into mind, body, human nature and personal development. Arrowsmith's founder discovered things about the human brain that not even the entire U.S. medical community knew about, until just recently.
If I am under surveillance and being studied, it's possible that my wide-ranging curiosities, combined with actual lived experiences, have been fruitful for the 'powers that be.' Though I strongly suspect they're using this information for far more nasty, destructive, or controlling means.
[Edit: One example of 'lived experiences' is that I've met various healers in Asia, who are able to perform healing using various methods, including energy, herbs, and so on. Twenty-some years ago, Chinese medicine was seen as quackery, yet today science is proving that Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Thuna, and Acupuncture do work (if done or taught by a skilled practitioner) and that energy meridians do exist in the body. One guy could even read my mind.
I actually think mind-reading is more common among South Asian people and cultures. I noticed it various times in India. Not just Hollywood fiction. Why are we fascinated with shows like Medium, The Mentalist, and The Listener? In China, I was told, children with supernatural or extra-sensory gifts are taken away to secret schools by officials. I met one such man, while in Thailand. 30/09/10]
Social Diversity and Big Brother
All I know is group infiltration and social control are NOT difficult for the government, and it's multiplying quickly. Our intoxication with materialism and capitalism also means that concern for socio-environmental development, ethics, and personal accountability are sliding downhill - fast. Decency is OUT. With a little authoritative pressure and a few economic incentives, ordinary people can be co-opted as moles/operatives faster than you can say, 'Boo'.
The beauty of it is, the government seems to tell each person or group a different story, and stroke their egos big time, then pit them against one another. Clever imperialists.
Yet strategies are also changing; I believe new racial allegiances are being formed. Maybe they always existed? (more to come)
So why stay focused on me, studying me like a rat? Perhaps it's my emotional intensity and behaviour, plus the frequent social havoc I seem to create, that made me stand out. These have been like icing on the cake for Big Brother.
Allow me to contextualize:
North America is very multicultural. Divide and Conquer, plus maintaining social hierarchies, has always been important, yet it's becoming increasingly complicated.
In me, they found a political subversive, who wants to create change and build allies - yet instead, I continually affront people and polarize groups. Ahh, good trick. :)
Studying ethnic groups is of interest to the intelligence agencies. Get this: my family friend, whom I've known since early childhood, was invited to a job interview to do undercover surveillance work for the FBI here in Toronto, specifically because she's of Asian ancestry. She went to the U.S. Consulate and was there with 3 other people, 2 of whom were Toronto ex-cops. I recorded the voice message from the Consulate, because no one believed her.
During that time, my friend also had an acquaintance, whom I met, and he's an ex-U.S. army intelligence officer. His name is Jerry. Shortly after I butted heads with him about discrimination in the workplace strange incidents in my life increased.
About Me - Being Credible
How else have I been useful? Most activists in Canada have been on the radar a long time. I just dropped out of nowhere, I think. No credit card, no cellphone, was outside of Canada for several years. I'm also as critical as any grassroots, anti-oppression, left-wing activist, and yet, I've invariably worked for large organizations - Rogers, Ontario Hydro, Ministry of the Attorney General.
I also have overseas work experiences and a penchant for large-scale models for socio-environmental change - be it corporate or co-operative. In both the private and non-profit sectors, publications I co-ordinated went out to 26 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, for one org, and 27 countries worldwide, for another. I've always wanted to reach the widest audience possible.
I developed a marketing proposal for an airline that would have centralized and streamlined internal and external communications worldwide, affecting thousands of staff, 2 subsidiary companies, tens of thousands of travel agents, and millions of customers around the globe. When I got the distinct feeling that my apartment had video surveillance in September 2001, I tried to hide this proposal (scan to come). Three years later, I saw a similar flowchart for centralizing the U.S.'s 15 different intelligence agencies in Time Magazine.
The reality is, after 9/11 and the World Trade Centre attacks in 2001, and the ensuing "War on Terrorism," suddenly several years later a 'homegrown terrorist' was uncovered as a seeming part of the plot. That is, a Muslim man who was born and raised in the United States was now a radical, murdering terrorist. I have my doubts.
US slow to recognise homegrown terrorism, says report
And people, do your research about 9/11. Over 3,000 people died in WTC, yet the media never explores the govt's own failings, duplicity, cover-ups, and so on. At the most basic level, watch the Towers go down - they IMPLODED perfectly. No airplane could've done that.
No space here - will discuss later. (See Loose Change.)
(Note: If you don't think the government, police, CSIS, and the RCMP study and profile people, particularly non-conformists, activists, and others, you would be mistaken. Do your own research.)
Yes, there are many activists in the world to watch, but please understand that I was once threatened with a government investigation several years ago - not because of activism, but because they suspected me of trying to sell my passport (long story, and a stupid one). Signs of surveillance began shortly after. (details to come)
I believe I went from being a suspicious person to being a good case study rather quickly. I also believe they have discovered new and subtle ways for manipulating, controlling, or penetrating progressive organizations, community groups, listservs, and so on.
It's also worth mentioning that several of my relatives are 3rd and 4th-generation Chinese Canadians, who are fairly vocal and critical of the Canadian status quo. In fact, four of my relatives co-founded the Chinese-Canadian National Council in the late 70s, which was initially formed to protest media racism propagated by a W5 episode, in which native-born Chinese-Canadians were being portrayed as immigrants taking over Canadian university classrooms. The strong reaction became the first, and possibly only, time that Chinese-Canadians mobilized in a united front across the country (beside demanding the right to vote in Canada in the 1800s - ask my relative, he's written a book about the history of Chinese in Canada).
So the surveillance isn't just focused on me, but also my family and their social circles. To collectively study established Chinese-Canadians (who are themselves a significant/influential ethnic group in Canada) was, I believe, interesting to the authorities. One of my relatives is in the Canadian Who's Who, hobnobs with diplomats, is friends with several prominent Chinese-Canadian public figures and politicians, whom I'll refrain from naming, and so on.
So yeah, the issue goes deep.
So Who's The Bad Guy?
I now know that security bodies don't go around thinking about justice, national development, or even security, really. Their goal is simply to gain control. Theft, rapes, fires, murders, and wars are expected. What matters is being able to ultimately manipulate and control people, resources, events, and outcomes - usually to benefit the powerful elite.
eg, Let the World Trade Center go down, with approximately 3000 people dead, so we can launch counter-attacks on two countries and gain more control of oil resources.
(see http://cooperativeresearch.org)
War and domination (political, military, economic, social, or otherwise) isn't just about fear and violence - a lot is about psychology and the workings of the mind. Get inside the heads of activists, have many well-placed 'plants,' infiltrate en masse, and you're basically ahead of the game. The rest of the population are usually politically-shy conformists.
So, a key interest has always been mind control and breaking of spirit, along with biological warfare. Just consider the horrific, large-scale medical tests that were carried out in Germany during World War II, and the many other tortuous experiments that go on elsewhere in the world - including on present-day Iraqi prisoners of war.
Going Mental
Now, look at a positive, self-empowering institution, like Arrowsmith School (www.arrowsmithschool.org). Founder Barbara Arrowsmith Young provides an excellent, and previously unexplored, map of the mind through her extensive skill tests.
Arrowsmith Young struggled with learning disabilities all her life, yet managed to complete a Master's degree. She then used her various learning aids and tests to help children and youth overcome similar difficulties.
The Woman Who Fixed Her Own Brain - Reader's Digest, April 2002
Fascinating stuff! More articles at Arrowsmith School's web site.
Interestingly, I just noticed the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is conducting a new Brain Scan study. I became instantly wary. Then, in the past two weeks, I've suddenly heard CAMH being called a 'hospital,' and the staff were referred to as 'scientists' - both times by people who have connections there. The Clark Institute will also be closing, apparently, with staff and facilities moving to 1001 Queen Street.
I sense CAMH's public profile may increase significantly. Remember, you heard it here first: Toronto's mental health work and research may be heading in new directions.
This may seem positive, yet behind the scenes, I wonder what the research information may be used for. Though I sound paranoid, I say this as someone who's not only witnessing CAMH's changes, but also has first-hand reasons to question their new direction.
And let me just say, Canada continues to be a supplier of goods and human resources for the purposes of war. We're all so comfy-cozy that we can gracefully ignore this fact, while maintaining our proud status as decent world citizens, who live in a peaceful, 'neutral' country.
Ah, you laugh now, but what amazes me is other people's denial. I get dismissed as being crazy, melodramatic, or worse...a conspiracy theorist. Yet just 60 years ago, hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people helped carry out the deadly genocidal wishes of one man.
Decent, everyday people can be convinced to do all sorts of awful things, and consider it normal and acceptable. Believe me, where race and power struggles are involved, there are no holds barred.
World War II raged across an entire continent. Things may seem genteel now, but the wars and terrorism being waged today are infinitely more subtle and complex. Current technologies are incredibly advanced; governments have the ability to make anything look real, natural, or accidental - or make it seem like the 'bad guy' did it. Even better.
A key problem is our own ignorance and complicity.
Do you care? You should. Funny how one of the things people treasure most receives the least attention or effort: freedom.
"The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear."
- Herbert Agar, Pulitzer Prize winner (History)
The Price of Power: America Since 1945 - Herbert Agar
It was good also to see this book by Herbert Agar: Saving Remnant: An Account of Jewish Survival Since 1914. (I find many people still don't openly acknowledge their Hebrew/Jewish ancestry, perhaps due to historical persecution through the millenia.)
So many different aspects of surveillance to discuss. It'll have to wait.
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Citizens' Inquiry Into 9-11
The Citizens' Inquiry into 9-11 (May 25-31, 2004) was my first chance to publicly discuss concerns about how the 'War Against Terrorism' must logically impact Canada. I also mentioned my own experiences of surveillance, and passed out copies of articles I had begun collecting immediately after the September 11th attacks that questioned the official news stories. Although the conference wasn't well publicized and turn-out was low, the event was recorded for both radio and television.*
*Note: The overall turn-out was not the organizers' fault. 'Coincidental' mix-ups on the part of PR companies meant thousands of posters never got put up. Unfortunately, negotiations with U.S. filmmaker and activist Michael Moore also fell through, due to certain contractual stipulations. Moore would've been a major media draw, but his speaking fee was higher than the event organizers could realistically shoulder. I fully expected the poster oversight to happen, but I was too busy and stressed out to contact anyone, and did not know whom to call.People have NO IDEA what's going on in Toronto - and why should they? Nevertheless, there's some serious shit going down.
*Note: The overall turn-out was not the organizers' fault. 'Coincidental' mix-ups on the part of PR companies meant thousands of posters never got put up. Unfortunately, negotiations with U.S. filmmaker and activist Michael Moore also fell through, due to certain contractual stipulations. Moore would've been a major media draw, but his speaking fee was higher than the event organizers could realistically shoulder. I fully expected the poster oversight to happen, but I was too busy and stressed out to contact anyone, and did not know whom to call.People have NO IDEA what's going on in Toronto - and why should they? Nevertheless, there's some serious shit going down.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Miracles of Telephony
About two years ago, I was running around like a madwoman using payphones and calling cards in all seasons, and at all hours of the day and night, trying to escape the pervasive surveillance I seemed to be experiencing. Yet I gradually came to realize that my efforts were futile. When you are under surveillance, the people surveilling merely report your whereabouts to some main base, and they know exactly all the phones in the area and tap-in.
Researching further on the internet, I learned that all phone calls and faxes -- whether by landline, internet, or wireless -- are being recorded (all overseas calls have been automatically recorded and archived for over 30 years), and can be traced at any time. Individual profiles can also be compiled.
Many people refuse to believe all this, yet it's true. Yet, while culprits and criminals can and have been caught and located through their use of phones, who's to say the technology and individual profiling aren't being used on law-abiding citizens? Take a look at some articles on security, telephony, legal jurisdiction, etc., and you'll soon discover that these are not 'conspiracy theorist' ravings.
Computer spyware from various companies and websites are already profiling people via their computers (eg, surfing habits, interests, newsgroups, listservs, personal data). If you doubt this, try downloading Ad-Aware to clean your computer, and see what you find.
'Police chiefs propose wiretap surcharge' - Toronto Star (August 16, 2004)
'Police chiefs want more access to private e-mail' - Toronto Star (August 23, 2004)
' Wiretap laws need overhaul, police chiefs say' - CBC News (August 23, 2004)
Other fascinating surveillance trivia...much of which is well underway in Canada.
Researching further on the internet, I learned that all phone calls and faxes -- whether by landline, internet, or wireless -- are being recorded (all overseas calls have been automatically recorded and archived for over 30 years), and can be traced at any time. Individual profiles can also be compiled.
Many people refuse to believe all this, yet it's true. Yet, while culprits and criminals can and have been caught and located through their use of phones, who's to say the technology and individual profiling aren't being used on law-abiding citizens? Take a look at some articles on security, telephony, legal jurisdiction, etc., and you'll soon discover that these are not 'conspiracy theorist' ravings.
Computer spyware from various companies and websites are already profiling people via their computers (eg, surfing habits, interests, newsgroups, listservs, personal data). If you doubt this, try downloading Ad-Aware to clean your computer, and see what you find.
'Police chiefs propose wiretap surcharge' - Toronto Star (August 16, 2004)
'Police chiefs want more access to private e-mail' - Toronto Star (August 23, 2004)
' Wiretap laws need overhaul, police chiefs say' - CBC News (August 23, 2004)
Other fascinating surveillance trivia...much of which is well underway in Canada.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Three calls a day
How many different types of unidentified or wrong number calls can you get in a week? How about in one day? I've had hundreds of calls, literally. (See a sampling.)
2:05pm - 'Unavailable' (no message)
3:35pm - 'Private Caller' (person hung up)
5:34pm - 'David Smith, 416-367-8393 (message for Nick, starts formal, ends formal, and some kinda whatsup bro stuff inbetween)
2:05pm - 'Unavailable' (no message)
3:35pm - 'Private Caller' (person hung up)
5:34pm - 'David Smith, 416-367-8393 (message for Nick, starts formal, ends formal, and some kinda whatsup bro stuff inbetween)
Thursday, September 16, 2004
a Trojan, and not the sexy kind
I began my original blog on surveillance in June 2004 (though I retroactively posted one entry re: My Uncle's Death). I did not send it to anyone.
Yesterday, I circulated my weblog link for the first time. Today, I got hit by a computer virus (Trojan Autodialler, which apparently uses your computer to make calls). What timing. I've been talking so much about computer security, lately. This is the first time I've ever gotten a computer virus, since I started using the internet in 1997 (7 years).
While writing on my blog yesterday, I also had sudden problems with my internet service, then again about 12 hours later. Both times I was on hold ('all technicians are busy serving other customers'), despite the late hour. Then, I was told service was down for maintenance until 6am (called at 2:45am).
What's strange is:
- that's quite a long down period;
- there was no notification recording explaining any down time when I called;
- being on hold at a late hour, twice.
Sure this is hyper-analytical, but I've had MANY improbable incidents with Bell technicians. I have even confirmed with another computer tech guy that information I'm being given is not valid, and explanations are totally inaccurate. Yeah, it's Bell, but it did not seem to be the usual bungling.
Recent breakdowns in service happen at very specific times. Predictably, I call Bell and a technician walks me through steps that don't necessarily make sense or do anything, and yet, I'd never know the difference: service simply resumes.
I've written before about the vagaries of telephony security, Bell Sympatico's monopoly, and how it all relates to privacy issues. I also once pointed out that all the strange and persistent phone calls I get, year after year, indicates technical factors, or deliberate harassment - or both. These things could NOT be happening without some technological maneouvering (called 'telephone intercept').
Are genuine calls being accidentally forwarded to my line? Or are people purposely calling me? Or both? Either way, it cannot be accomplished without government-level involvement.
[Edit: Please see 'Canada's Moral Dilemma'. 10/15/10]
I haven't even begun to describe things that have transpired with Bell staff.
[Edit: Found out Friday that Bell Sympatico sells it's customer database.]
Yesterday, I circulated my weblog link for the first time. Today, I got hit by a computer virus (Trojan Autodialler, which apparently uses your computer to make calls). What timing. I've been talking so much about computer security, lately. This is the first time I've ever gotten a computer virus, since I started using the internet in 1997 (7 years).
While writing on my blog yesterday, I also had sudden problems with my internet service, then again about 12 hours later. Both times I was on hold ('all technicians are busy serving other customers'), despite the late hour. Then, I was told service was down for maintenance until 6am (called at 2:45am).
What's strange is:
- that's quite a long down period;
- there was no notification recording explaining any down time when I called;
- being on hold at a late hour, twice.
Sure this is hyper-analytical, but I've had MANY improbable incidents with Bell technicians. I have even confirmed with another computer tech guy that information I'm being given is not valid, and explanations are totally inaccurate. Yeah, it's Bell, but it did not seem to be the usual bungling.
Recent breakdowns in service happen at very specific times. Predictably, I call Bell and a technician walks me through steps that don't necessarily make sense or do anything, and yet, I'd never know the difference: service simply resumes.
I've written before about the vagaries of telephony security, Bell Sympatico's monopoly, and how it all relates to privacy issues. I also once pointed out that all the strange and persistent phone calls I get, year after year, indicates technical factors, or deliberate harassment - or both. These things could NOT be happening without some technological maneouvering (called 'telephone intercept').
Are genuine calls being accidentally forwarded to my line? Or are people purposely calling me? Or both? Either way, it cannot be accomplished without government-level involvement.
[Edit: Please see 'Canada's Moral Dilemma'. 10/15/10]
I haven't even begun to describe things that have transpired with Bell staff.
[Edit: Found out Friday that Bell Sympatico sells it's customer database.]
Friday, September 10, 2004
Post from the Past
Yesterday, I was spammed with two messages from a 'tim reynolds' at oldguy_272001@yahoo.com.
First message had no words, just lines of dashes. Second message contained a post I myself had written, get this: 4 years ago.
The message had been posted on an Organizational Learning listserv called Learning-Org, which is where many leading thinkers for organizational change were gathered - people in corporate world to academia and, to a lesser extent, government. It was written while I was in a very activist-oriented Environmental Studies program.
1) I posted that message from a completely different email address 4 years ago.
2) It's being sent to me from 'tim reynolds' at a different, recently created email address, and the post's topic is relevant to my current activities (see below).
3) It is an obscure post, the Learning-Org listserv archive is not even searchable. I even tried Googling my name + Learning-Org + post title + text. And again, it's linked to a different email addy.
4) My name does not appear on outgoing emails.
For somebody to spam me at my recently created email address, with an email posting I myself had written 4 years ago, on a topic that is totally relevant to my current activities and concerns -- I'd say they were keeping a pretty close watch on me.
Who has these kinds of resources, authority, power?
[Edit: This would seem to confirm my assertions that I've been under government surveillance for several years (please see About Me). No one else would have the ability, nor take the time, to observe me and my email activity so closely. RCMP and CSIS have been known to monitor people in extreme detail for 30-year stretches. See Enemies of the State by CBC's fifth estate. 10/15/10]
Please also see my post: 'Email bounce from Mayor's Office'.
(Have edited my Learning-Org post for readability, based on my recent learning about the internet and websites over the past few months.)
-------------------------------------
To Learning-Org:
RE: Collaborative Online Learning
Right on, Bill! Thank you for putting into words something that I also feel, but have not been able to articulate. Your description of how a sense of balance and wholeness can be more easily achieved through in-person dialogue, and your questions about how this might be enabled online here at LO [Learning-Org list], really struck a chord with me.
I have had similar concerns for quite some time, but even more so afer a brief dialogue with someone offlist. We are missing out on the wisdom and treasures of so many out there!! More emotive or feeling people may be intimidated by the abstract, logical, hyper-intellectual, 'Socratic-style discourse' (Sajeela's apt description), and thus, feel indirectly silenced.
Other challenges:
- imbalances between introverts vs. extroverts;
- creating safe space for emotions vs. meeting practical timelines, etc.
Emotions take longer to gestate and are harder to express clearly. They also speak to one's sense of humanity, and don't always jibe well with people who want measurable outcomes and have practical agendas. And yet, both logical and emotional communication styles are invaluable and necessary.
...and it's not just conduct, but also human responses and levels of engagement -- be it emotional, psychological, intellectual, spiritual, etc.We cannot design holistic, transformative and practicable solutions for organizations, society, the world, or this planet, IF we are ignoring the majority of people's selves/identities.
How do we find balances that allow wise beings of all kinds (silent, loquacious, and otherwise) to come forth? Do people feel safe enough to share on here? Are there opportunities for people to plug in according to their personal strengths, wishes, or learning styles?
I find this overall topic quite interesting. In an online, 'virtual' discussion space, how do we find ways of reaching that place of collective wisdom, while ensuring as many people as possible are actively involved in the process? How is this done when there is such broad diversity of experiences and perspectives among us?
After a bit of a shake-up, like we've just experienced here on LO (a "creation with death" perhaps, as Jon describes), people usually rush in to re-establish order and structure, and try to re-define comfort zones and familiar territory. Some of this is useful -- ie, re-finding common ground -- but it's equally important to remain open and flexible, explore the social ruptures, and maybe even embrace confusion.
[To better contextualize what was happening on the list, the challenges were these:
1) How to bridge the gaps between the experts and those seeking information or advice;
2) How to balance participation and feedback (listservs tend to fall into a pattern of being dominated by a few);
3) How to make the material / theories relevant to those living in multicultural cities, since a fair number of active members are from the U.S., South Africa, Pacific region, etc; and
4) How to essentially 'walk the talk'.]
The advantage of in-person meetings is that it's easier to make connections and foster dialogue. We can also read one another's body language. There is a greater likelihood of having communications flow freely. For example, when people are vibing collectively, hearty 'talkers' sense when to withdraw and let others speak, and those who are less verbally inclined start to come forward to share their powerful truths. When this happens, everything just comes together.
[Edit: These thoughts pre-date Facebook by 4 years and Twitter by 6 years - two of the most popular social networking programs sweeping the planet, with 500 million and 100 million users, respectively. 10/15/10]
You asked for ideas, Bill. I too feel that having focus groups is extremely useful. Maybe this could be done on the new site that Rick has mentioned is being developed. Depending on its format, there could be ways for topics to evolve. I don't know how that might be done...but it would be great to be able to 'vibe with one's tribe' (ie, according to topic, or learning styles, etc), while still connecting within the main LO forum.
It's important for different needs to be met, and even for project ideas or outcomes to be developed, for the mutual benefit of all or various participants.
Examples of focus groups might be: a) more theoretically-inclined discussion, b) business, c) HR, d) social development areas, like education, environmental learning, and 3) philosophical areas, like art, philosophy, and so on.
Or things might just subdivide according to current interests--eg, artistic expression, venting about various problems (damn those bureaucrats), etc. I don't think it's about overstructuring LO, but simply hashing out ways to make it more responsive and help create a participatory learning culture.
These challenges shouldn't fracture our community here on LO; they should encourage us to pool our resources, and develop new ideas and connections, or simply facilitate individual expression.
People have expressed concerns that the 'great ones' [highly respected organizational learning theorists]* have left and are no longer participating on this listserv. I say, no worries, we can 'walk our talk' by developing our own *greatness*, and also help one another to reach new levels of wholeness. I for one don't feel we all have to be Olympic Learning-Org types to excel on here. If that's how others feel about organizational learning, then I am definitely in the wrong place!
*[Note: Many esteemed learning-organization theorists had left, mostly because they found other learning pools that fit their expectations better. The difficulty with the Learning-Org listserv is that it uses a linear, 'threaded' format, and the archive is non-searchable. This makes truly collaborative and holistic discussion, learning, engagement, and dialogue a real challenge. Instead of building information and progressing forward, many ideas and topics were repeated - truly frustrating for visionaries and experts.]
Developing one's potential, while living optimally within a system, is the key point. Trying to reach new heights of individual achievement, while simultaneously encouraging democratic community development, is tricky.
Finding a balance between individuality and community, freedom and responsibility, intuition and logic, unity and diversity, is incredibly difficult -- and yet necessary -- especially, if we are to ensure a healthy, peaceful world and ecological sustainability for future generations.
Sachidananda Mohanty summarizes it this way:
Being one of the more long-winded types on here, I will try to listen more. I just couldn't help responding to Bill's and Graham's messages.
Warmest wishes to all.
------------------
******************
To blog readers:
Wow, hard to believe I used to be a nice person -- despite the severe depression I was suffering at that time. Please note: the distrustful, sarcastic, or antagonistic person you may encounter today was once a sensitive, confused soul, who was wanting to be understood by people.
If you've gotten this far, you're probably wondering why this post is relevant and why it's being sent (spammed) to me at this time?
Not only have I been spouting about organizational learning, socio-environmental change, community action, and so on, but these surveillers would likely find my analyses of certain social oppression quite accurate, as I had returned from 5 years of working in Asia and one year of living, working, travelling in India.
Plus there's the added bonus of watching all my clumsy social encounters (frequently involving aspects of race, class, gender, etc). I'm an unfunded social experiment.
If I am right in saying I've been under surveillance for the past several years, they would've observed all the extreme situations I've been through -- including being a social outcast and pariah for several years. (I'm only just coming out of it now, but am still easily triggered, unfortunately.)
I make a good case study for human behaviour and social dynamics, having been to hell and back -- socially, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. I also believe they're using my experiences as fodder for creating new Divide-and-Conquer strategies. (examples to come...)
Sounds pretty crazy, eh?
-------------------------------------------------
Why spam me with my own listserv post at this time?
I'm currently participating in a community initiative, and have tried to raise issues around group facilitation, communication processes, etc. I also attend a weekly women's group, and had been talking to the facilitator last week about the challenges of allowing everyone a voice within a group setting. I then gave her copies of my writings about politics, activism, and surveillance.
The night I got this mysterious email, I was a bit wired and behaving very child-like (eg, talking to myself in a kiddie voice). Okay, I know that sounds crazy, but prolonged stress, going through a debilitating depression for several years, and social isolation can do strange things to people.
In other words, when I'm most at my 'cracking point' is when overtly bizarre, impossible or disturbing incidents happen to me.
The email sender's address is interesting: oldguy_272001@yahoo.com
If you read my whole blog, you'll find several references to male identity (I'm bi, androgynous, feminist, etc - I've been called a 'ball-breaker' before, when really angry). Lately, I've been receiving increasing, yet subtle, hints that my life may be prematurely shortened.
On the night of my uncle's funeral, a guy deliberately hit me on the head and said, 'Oh, we thought you were a guy'. I happened to be balling my eyes out, at the time, yet he and his friend laughed in my face.
I admit I've become increasingly aggressive and reactive towards people these past three years. (You'd be pissed off, too, if you were being illegally surveilled and harassed, plus feeling bogged down by constant politics and prejudice. I literally went to about 15 different groups to *find my people* and ended up feeling more alone. My extended family turned their backs on me.
I was also dragging my mother down financially and emotionally (she literally spent about $70K to support me and my studies). So, in a desperate bid to support myself, I applied to hundreds of jobs (I believe it is possible CSIS blocked my office job opportunities), and I ended up working as a waitress, bartender, dishwasher, telemarketer.
Anyway, if the email 'spam' above isn't clear proof of internet hacking and surveillance, I don't know what is!
First message had no words, just lines of dashes. Second message contained a post I myself had written, get this: 4 years ago.
The message had been posted on an Organizational Learning listserv called Learning-Org, which is where many leading thinkers for organizational change were gathered - people in corporate world to academia and, to a lesser extent, government. It was written while I was in a very activist-oriented Environmental Studies program.
1) I posted that message from a completely different email address 4 years ago.
2) It's being sent to me from 'tim reynolds' at a different, recently created email address, and the post's topic is relevant to my current activities (see below).
3) It is an obscure post, the Learning-Org listserv archive is not even searchable. I even tried Googling my name + Learning-Org + post title + text. And again, it's linked to a different email addy.
4) My name does not appear on outgoing emails.
For somebody to spam me at my recently created email address, with an email posting I myself had written 4 years ago, on a topic that is totally relevant to my current activities and concerns -- I'd say they were keeping a pretty close watch on me.
Who has these kinds of resources, authority, power?
[Edit: This would seem to confirm my assertions that I've been under government surveillance for several years (please see About Me). No one else would have the ability, nor take the time, to observe me and my email activity so closely. RCMP and CSIS have been known to monitor people in extreme detail for 30-year stretches. See Enemies of the State by CBC's fifth estate. 10/15/10]
Please also see my post: 'Email bounce from Mayor's Office'.
(Have edited my Learning-Org post for readability, based on my recent learning about the internet and websites over the past few months.)
-------------------------------------
To Learning-Org:
RE: Collaborative Online Learning
Right on, Bill! Thank you for putting into words something that I also feel, but have not been able to articulate. Your description of how a sense of balance and wholeness can be more easily achieved through in-person dialogue, and your questions about how this might be enabled online here at LO [Learning-Org list], really struck a chord with me.
I have had similar concerns for quite some time, but even more so afer a brief dialogue with someone offlist. We are missing out on the wisdom and treasures of so many out there!! More emotive or feeling people may be intimidated by the abstract, logical, hyper-intellectual, 'Socratic-style discourse' (Sajeela's apt description), and thus, feel indirectly silenced.
Other challenges:
- imbalances between introverts vs. extroverts;
- creating safe space for emotions vs. meeting practical timelines, etc.
Emotions take longer to gestate and are harder to express clearly. They also speak to one's sense of humanity, and don't always jibe well with people who want measurable outcomes and have practical agendas. And yet, both logical and emotional communication styles are invaluable and necessary.
"To administer a social organization according to purely technical criteria of rationality is irrational, because it ignores the nonrational aspects of social conduct." - Peter M. Blau (1956)
...and it's not just conduct, but also human responses and levels of engagement -- be it emotional, psychological, intellectual, spiritual, etc.We cannot design holistic, transformative and practicable solutions for organizations, society, the world, or this planet, IF we are ignoring the majority of people's selves/identities.
How do we find balances that allow wise beings of all kinds (silent, loquacious, and otherwise) to come forth? Do people feel safe enough to share on here? Are there opportunities for people to plug in according to their personal strengths, wishes, or learning styles?
I find this overall topic quite interesting. In an online, 'virtual' discussion space, how do we find ways of reaching that place of collective wisdom, while ensuring as many people as possible are actively involved in the process? How is this done when there is such broad diversity of experiences and perspectives among us?
After a bit of a shake-up, like we've just experienced here on LO (a "creation with death" perhaps, as Jon describes), people usually rush in to re-establish order and structure, and try to re-define comfort zones and familiar territory. Some of this is useful -- ie, re-finding common ground -- but it's equally important to remain open and flexible, explore the social ruptures, and maybe even embrace confusion.
[To better contextualize what was happening on the list, the challenges were these:
1) How to bridge the gaps between the experts and those seeking information or advice;
2) How to balance participation and feedback (listservs tend to fall into a pattern of being dominated by a few);
3) How to make the material / theories relevant to those living in multicultural cities, since a fair number of active members are from the U.S., South Africa, Pacific region, etc; and
4) How to essentially 'walk the talk'.]
The advantage of in-person meetings is that it's easier to make connections and foster dialogue. We can also read one another's body language. There is a greater likelihood of having communications flow freely. For example, when people are vibing collectively, hearty 'talkers' sense when to withdraw and let others speak, and those who are less verbally inclined start to come forward to share their powerful truths. When this happens, everything just comes together.
But how do we create that optimal balance online, with such a large group of people (approx. 1800 members), in asynchronous time? It's much harder to gauge one's impact on people in an online environment, and to also know when to participate and when to withdraw.
[Edit: These thoughts pre-date Facebook by 4 years and Twitter by 6 years - two of the most popular social networking programs sweeping the planet, with 500 million and 100 million users, respectively. 10/15/10]
You asked for ideas, Bill. I too feel that having focus groups is extremely useful. Maybe this could be done on the new site that Rick has mentioned is being developed. Depending on its format, there could be ways for topics to evolve. I don't know how that might be done...but it would be great to be able to 'vibe with one's tribe' (ie, according to topic, or learning styles, etc), while still connecting within the main LO forum.
It's important for different needs to be met, and even for project ideas or outcomes to be developed, for the mutual benefit of all or various participants.
Examples of focus groups might be: a) more theoretically-inclined discussion, b) business, c) HR, d) social development areas, like education, environmental learning, and 3) philosophical areas, like art, philosophy, and so on.
Or things might just subdivide according to current interests--eg, artistic expression, venting about various problems (damn those bureaucrats), etc. I don't think it's about overstructuring LO, but simply hashing out ways to make it more responsive and help create a participatory learning culture.
These challenges shouldn't fracture our community here on LO; they should encourage us to pool our resources, and develop new ideas and connections, or simply facilitate individual expression.
People have expressed concerns that the 'great ones' [highly respected organizational learning theorists]* have left and are no longer participating on this listserv. I say, no worries, we can 'walk our talk' by developing our own *greatness*, and also help one another to reach new levels of wholeness. I for one don't feel we all have to be Olympic Learning-Org types to excel on here. If that's how others feel about organizational learning, then I am definitely in the wrong place!
*[Note: Many esteemed learning-organization theorists had left, mostly because they found other learning pools that fit their expectations better. The difficulty with the Learning-Org listserv is that it uses a linear, 'threaded' format, and the archive is non-searchable. This makes truly collaborative and holistic discussion, learning, engagement, and dialogue a real challenge. Instead of building information and progressing forward, many ideas and topics were repeated - truly frustrating for visionaries and experts.]
Developing one's potential, while living optimally within a system, is the key point. Trying to reach new heights of individual achievement, while simultaneously encouraging democratic community development, is tricky.
Finding a balance between individuality and community, freedom and responsibility, intuition and logic, unity and diversity, is incredibly difficult -- and yet necessary -- especially, if we are to ensure a healthy, peaceful world and ecological sustainability for future generations.
Sachidananda Mohanty summarizes it this way:
"No longer do we have the easier option, the exclusive choice. Today we must have environment as well as industry, learn to accommodate the search for an elitistic excellence with the quest for an egalitarian social order; we must combine internationalism with the demands of ethnic and regional cultures."
Being one of the more long-winded types on here, I will try to listen more. I just couldn't help responding to Bill's and Graham's messages.
Warmest wishes to all.
------------------
******************
To blog readers:
Wow, hard to believe I used to be a nice person -- despite the severe depression I was suffering at that time. Please note: the distrustful, sarcastic, or antagonistic person you may encounter today was once a sensitive, confused soul, who was wanting to be understood by people.
If you've gotten this far, you're probably wondering why this post is relevant and why it's being sent (spammed) to me at this time?
Not only have I been spouting about organizational learning, socio-environmental change, community action, and so on, but these surveillers would likely find my analyses of certain social oppression quite accurate, as I had returned from 5 years of working in Asia and one year of living, working, travelling in India.
Plus there's the added bonus of watching all my clumsy social encounters (frequently involving aspects of race, class, gender, etc). I'm an unfunded social experiment.
If I am right in saying I've been under surveillance for the past several years, they would've observed all the extreme situations I've been through -- including being a social outcast and pariah for several years. (I'm only just coming out of it now, but am still easily triggered, unfortunately.)
I make a good case study for human behaviour and social dynamics, having been to hell and back -- socially, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. I also believe they're using my experiences as fodder for creating new Divide-and-Conquer strategies. (examples to come...)
Sounds pretty crazy, eh?
-------------------------------------------------
Why spam me with my own listserv post at this time?
I'm currently participating in a community initiative, and have tried to raise issues around group facilitation, communication processes, etc. I also attend a weekly women's group, and had been talking to the facilitator last week about the challenges of allowing everyone a voice within a group setting. I then gave her copies of my writings about politics, activism, and surveillance.
The night I got this mysterious email, I was a bit wired and behaving very child-like (eg, talking to myself in a kiddie voice). Okay, I know that sounds crazy, but prolonged stress, going through a debilitating depression for several years, and social isolation can do strange things to people.
In other words, when I'm most at my 'cracking point' is when overtly bizarre, impossible or disturbing incidents happen to me.
The email sender's address is interesting: oldguy_272001@yahoo.com
If you read my whole blog, you'll find several references to male identity (I'm bi, androgynous, feminist, etc - I've been called a 'ball-breaker' before, when really angry). Lately, I've been receiving increasing, yet subtle, hints that my life may be prematurely shortened.
On the night of my uncle's funeral, a guy deliberately hit me on the head and said, 'Oh, we thought you were a guy'. I happened to be balling my eyes out, at the time, yet he and his friend laughed in my face.
I admit I've become increasingly aggressive and reactive towards people these past three years. (You'd be pissed off, too, if you were being illegally surveilled and harassed, plus feeling bogged down by constant politics and prejudice. I literally went to about 15 different groups to *find my people* and ended up feeling more alone. My extended family turned their backs on me.
I was also dragging my mother down financially and emotionally (she literally spent about $70K to support me and my studies). So, in a desperate bid to support myself, I applied to hundreds of jobs (I believe it is possible CSIS blocked my office job opportunities), and I ended up working as a waitress, bartender, dishwasher, telemarketer.
Anyway, if the email 'spam' above isn't clear proof of internet hacking and surveillance, I don't know what is!
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Clearing phone messages
As soon as I clear space for new messages, within a few hours or, at most, half a day, I get new wrong number or marketing calls.
(Edit: My phone number is unlisted. I only received marketing calls for a 2-year period (the height of my harassment), invariably at times when a lot of anomalies were going on, and the messages often related to something specifically going on in my life at the time. 10/15/10)
Yesterday (Wed. Sept. 8)
Call #1:
9:29am - Naseem R. Shaikh 416-242-8189
Call #2:
2:03pm - Bomatic Inc. 905-673-6500
Today (Thur. Sept. 9)
Call #3:
8:16 am - Beeping fax call (ah, but this time it's an untraceable number; just yesterday I had posted a beeping call with a number attached.)
Call #4:
1:41 pm - R. Ubhi 902-434-4154 How many long-distance wrong number calls do you get? I've had well over 30.
So, that's 4 wrong numbers in 2 days, folks.
--------------------------------------------------
Hear some other calls and read posts about other, more sinister calls.
- '9-11: My Uncle's Death'
- 'I'm a slooow learner'
(Edit: My phone number is unlisted. I only received marketing calls for a 2-year period (the height of my harassment), invariably at times when a lot of anomalies were going on, and the messages often related to something specifically going on in my life at the time. 10/15/10)
Yesterday (Wed. Sept. 8)
Call #1:
9:29am - Naseem R. Shaikh 416-242-8189
- I had a previous call from this guy, many months ago. But get this: I dialled [*98] yesterday to retrieve this message, and for a second time, I was somehow magically connected to an actual phone line -- just by dialing [*-9-8]! So Mr. Shaikh answers, 'Hello, hello...hello?' I recognized his voice
immediately, as I've been repeatedly saving his message along with 23 others, week after week.
Same voice, one is from Naseem Shaikh, and the other message has a different name. The two telephone numbers are similar (416-461-8189 and 416-242-8189), suggesting that one is a landline and the other a cellphone. I simply note these things, because it's the only information I can cling to, should anything happen to me.
- By the way, after '9-11' happened (ie, September 11 attacks on World Trade Center in New York), I had a phone message from someone speaking Arabic. The number registered as '(416) 000-0000'. A disproportionate number of my calls are from or directed to South Asian people. My friend who was apartment-sitting for me, at the time, even noted that there were a lot of strange/wrong number calls.
Call #2:
2:03pm - Bomatic Inc. 905-673-6500
Today (Thur. Sept. 9)
Call #3:
8:16 am - Beeping fax call (ah, but this time it's an untraceable number; just yesterday I had posted a beeping call with a number attached.)
Call #4:
1:41 pm - R. Ubhi 902-434-4154 How many long-distance wrong number calls do you get? I've had well over 30.
So, that's 4 wrong numbers in 2 days, folks.
--------------------------------------------------
Hear some other calls and read posts about other, more sinister calls.
- '9-11: My Uncle's Death'
- 'I'm a slooow learner'
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Now you hear it, now you don't
Tuesday, I went to apply for a job. Afterward, I stopped by a Future Shop to get CD-RWs and a cable, so I can transfer all the phone messages I've recorded on audio tape.
Now, before you go thinking what a techie I am, I'd only been to a Future Shop once before. Yet, I've gone there several times, recently, to look at accessories to help my situation.
I came back around 5:00pm. Tried using a little adapter I have from about 10 years ago that can record phone conversations onto cassette tape (I used this for interviews). Plugged it into the computer: presto -- it works! Now I can record messages directly from my phone onto my computer.
But, today (next day), I came home, and couldn't record. I sense something may have been switched or sabotaged - and this wouldn't be the first time. So the line-in (for sound recording) on the computer doesn't work, but it did yesterday. I also found my slow cooker on -- this is the third time I've found it on, when I hadn't even been using it, and it's even driven my utilities bill up. Plus, my bedside clock isn't working.
One could say: 'It's just a low battery -- it happens!'
First, that's three things gone wrong in the same day. Second, my landlords have been known to trespass into my apartment, as well as other people's places. I've even been home, when they were trying to enter -- not just once, but TWICE. Third, I've had every single electrical or battery-operated thing in my place go kaputz on me (including my phone, the fusebox blew 3 times, my brand-new Bionic Ear, etc). They all happened at very specific times, within a one-year period.
[Note: As I became increasingly frustrated at all the surveillance techniques being used on me, I bought a Bionic Ear for $29, which can pick up conversations from a distance. Never got to use it - it became defunct, yet it was working, when I first received it. Elsewhere in my blog, I talk about my mail tampering.]
Here I am trying desperately to record my weird phone calls onto computer. Next day, three things go wrong: computer's audio line-in doesn't work; my clock's battery is suddenly dead (it was fairly new), and the time shows 3:15pm, which is when I was out today; plus, surprise, my slow cooker is on. Haven't used it recently, and I KNOW I had turned it off. This is the third time this has happened, and it's a turn dial - not something one could turn on by mistake.
Why, you ask, WHY would they bother playing such mindless pranks?
My landlord has a history of doing these kinds of things - not just to me, but to all the tenants, who were too afraid to complain. I believe the surveillers have gleaned some useful tips, from observing both the building and my apartment, on just how powerless people can be - even in the most mundane of situations.
You'd also have to know that I'm unemployed and struggling. I won't go into all my personal and emotional difficulties, but the fact is, I'm being partially supported by my mother. All these little *breakdowns* are important -- they wear both of us down financially.
Once I get some tools, I'll be better able to show some of the problems...
Now, before you go thinking what a techie I am, I'd only been to a Future Shop once before. Yet, I've gone there several times, recently, to look at accessories to help my situation.
I came back around 5:00pm. Tried using a little adapter I have from about 10 years ago that can record phone conversations onto cassette tape (I used this for interviews). Plugged it into the computer: presto -- it works! Now I can record messages directly from my phone onto my computer.
But, today (next day), I came home, and couldn't record. I sense something may have been switched or sabotaged - and this wouldn't be the first time. So the line-in (for sound recording) on the computer doesn't work, but it did yesterday. I also found my slow cooker on -- this is the third time I've found it on, when I hadn't even been using it, and it's even driven my utilities bill up. Plus, my bedside clock isn't working.
One could say: 'It's just a low battery -- it happens!'
First, that's three things gone wrong in the same day. Second, my landlords have been known to trespass into my apartment, as well as other people's places. I've even been home, when they were trying to enter -- not just once, but TWICE. Third, I've had every single electrical or battery-operated thing in my place go kaputz on me (including my phone, the fusebox blew 3 times, my brand-new Bionic Ear, etc). They all happened at very specific times, within a one-year period.
[Note: As I became increasingly frustrated at all the surveillance techniques being used on me, I bought a Bionic Ear for $29, which can pick up conversations from a distance. Never got to use it - it became defunct, yet it was working, when I first received it. Elsewhere in my blog, I talk about my mail tampering.]
Here I am trying desperately to record my weird phone calls onto computer. Next day, three things go wrong: computer's audio line-in doesn't work; my clock's battery is suddenly dead (it was fairly new), and the time shows 3:15pm, which is when I was out today; plus, surprise, my slow cooker is on. Haven't used it recently, and I KNOW I had turned it off. This is the third time this has happened, and it's a turn dial - not something one could turn on by mistake.
Why, you ask, WHY would they bother playing such mindless pranks?
My landlord has a history of doing these kinds of things - not just to me, but to all the tenants, who were too afraid to complain. I believe the surveillers have gleaned some useful tips, from observing both the building and my apartment, on just how powerless people can be - even in the most mundane of situations.
You'd also have to know that I'm unemployed and struggling. I won't go into all my personal and emotional difficulties, but the fact is, I'm being partially supported by my mother. All these little *breakdowns* are important -- they wear both of us down financially.
Once I get some tools, I'll be better able to show some of the problems...
Monday, June 28, 2004
Email Bounce from Mayor's Office
Message below came from Toronto Mayor David Miller's office to my mother's email account today, Toronto's municipal election day (Mon June 28, 2004).
Several points worth mentioning:
1) My mother lives in Markham (completely separate city - not part of Greater Toronto Area).
2) My mother only uses her email for personal use -- she has never emailed Toronto City Council, and would never do so. Her email is not 'registered' anywhere, with any organization.
3) Statistically, there is no possible way for the Mayor's Office to come up with my mother's hotmail address.
4) I myself have never emailed the Mayor or any of the City Councillor's (in case you're thinking the bounce could have resulted from my own activism - ie, my sending an email which my mother might have been cc'd on - nope, never happened.)
5) Although Mayor David Miller represents municipal government, he openly supported several federal candidates in the city's ridings -- all NDP.
4) I also supported NDP. I even sent emails advocating strategic voting (ie, NDP over Green), and predicted the election outcome two weeks before.
5) Bounced email says my mother contacted Mayor Miller on Sunday June 27, yet she didn't even use email that day.*
6) The message says my mother emailed the Mayor's Office, and a virus was detected, and it is therefore being *rejected*. Like so many of the unlikely incidents in my life, there's a not-so-subtle innuendo there.
7) I was staying at my mother's place the day she received the email. She then forwarded it to me cause she knows I'm currently participating in an initiative for more equal representation and participation of women in Toronto's municipal governance.
*Note: I've deleted my mother's email address for privacy reasons.
(I had a webpage link to this email bounce, but like so many websites included in my original blog, that page no longer exists. http://www.web.ca/~apolnet/apolnet-l/msg00516.html Wish I'd known how to take Screenshots, at that time.)
Several points worth mentioning:
1) My mother lives in Markham (completely separate city - not part of Greater Toronto Area).
2) My mother only uses her email for personal use -- she has never emailed Toronto City Council, and would never do so. Her email is not 'registered' anywhere, with any organization.
3) Statistically, there is no possible way for the Mayor's Office to come up with my mother's hotmail address.
4) I myself have never emailed the Mayor or any of the City Councillor's (in case you're thinking the bounce could have resulted from my own activism - ie, my sending an email which my mother might have been cc'd on - nope, never happened.)
5) Although Mayor David Miller represents municipal government, he openly supported several federal candidates in the city's ridings -- all NDP.
4) I also supported NDP. I even sent emails advocating strategic voting (ie, NDP over Green), and predicted the election outcome two weeks before.
5) Bounced email says my mother contacted Mayor Miller on Sunday June 27, yet she didn't even use email that day.*
6) The message says my mother emailed the Mayor's Office, and a virus was detected, and it is therefore being *rejected*. Like so many of the unlikely incidents in my life, there's a not-so-subtle innuendo there.
7) I was staying at my mother's place the day she received the email. She then forwarded it to me cause she knows I'm currently participating in an initiative for more equal representation and participation of women in Toronto's municipal governance.
*Note: I've deleted my mother's email address for privacy reasons.
>From: Mail Delivery Subsystem
>To:
>Subject: Returned mail: see transcript for details
>Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 02:10:01 -0400 (EDT)
>
>The original message was received at Mon, 28 Jun 2004 02:10:01 -0400 (EDT)
>from iduna1-s.inet.toronto.ca [137.15.73.81]
>
> ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----
>
> (reason: 550 No such recipient)
>
> ----- Transcript of session follows -----
>... while talking to cotgw504.corp.toronto.ca.:
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From: XX
To: councillor_miller@city.toronto.on.ca
Subject:
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 18:10:42 -0400
A virus was detected in this email message and has been removed.
The City of Toronto is scanning all email entering the City for viruses.
If you have any questions, please call the Help Desk at 416-338-2255 or email scanmaster@toronto.ca
The following shows the name of the file in which the virus was detected and the name of the virus that was detected.
File name: details_councillor_miller.doc.pif
Virus name: W32/Netsky.p@MM
--
ib
(I had a webpage link to this email bounce, but like so many websites included in my original blog, that page no longer exists. http://www.web.ca/~apolnet/apolnet-l/msg00516.html Wish I'd known how to take Screenshots, at that time.)
Friday, June 25, 2004
Canada's democratic future
I wanted to share some thoughts and links I recently forwarded to award-winning author and journalist Stevie Cameron regarding media ethics, grassroots democracy, manual balloting, and Canada-US relations. Diverse coalition-building will be necessary to preserve even a small part of Canada's independence.
Here is a Wired article on journalism ethics.
Mainstream media's complicitness with corporate interests is speeding the demise of Canada's sovereignty and unity, not to mention undermining fundamental democracy. Shouldn’t there be a (proactive) think-tank for this issue?
Case in point: recent federal election.
1) Why is nobody questioning the use of *manual ballots*? Hello, US election?
This was an important -- and close -- federal election. NDP lost 10 seats by narrow margins; this included two highly popular Toronto candidates (Peggy Nash, Olivia Chow). To say manual balloting is more 'accurate' and offers 'more control' is confounding at best. Yet people swallowed it. Wasn't the reason for introducing electronic balloting (as used in Ontario's provincial election) to improve accuracy, efficiency, and help reduce possibility of tampering?
'How I could have voted three times' - James De Fiore, NOW Magazine
'Florida Faces Election Fracas' - Jacob Ogles, Wired
2) Examination of the parties, and angles explored, was trite and predictable.
Consider this: we live next door to the world's biggest super-power; there are wars going on, which we are indirectly supporting.
Not unlike Afghanistan and Iraq, Canada is important to the US and its future agenda, both strategically and logistically. We should be examining things from this perspective.
Right after taking power, Prime Minister Martin had an official visit with President Bush and 'vibes were very, very good,' according to media (TTC electronic news). In this same period, Martin axed several heads of crown corporations.
Piecemeal news events indicate Liberals under Martin (particularly in Ontario) are actively co-operating with US, yet *still* no major or alternative media outlets are researching the overall implications in any depth. If we don't start thinking on par with the US, the nation’s autonomy will shrink faster than one can say ‘NAFTA’.
3) Maclean’s Peter C. Newman’s explanation for Liberals resurging popularity lacks street credibility.
Perhaps the single largest factor boosting Liberals’ popularity was how much front-page media coverage Harper and New Conservatives got. ‘Good cop / bad cop’ interplay between Martin and Harper worked. It stirred palpable fear in people, which increased voter turn-out and caused people to vote strategically, abandoning NDPs along the way.
4) Analyzing post-election happenings.
a) Mulroney being considered for Air Can board speaks volumes.
(Unless our major institutions engage in self-inquiry to help keep corruption and such in check, Canada's integration/merger with the US will continue unabated. I doubt if the general populace has yet realized the implications: ie, Canada will inadvertently become part of the US war machine. Martin has already agreed to support weaponization of outerspace.)
b) Dennis Mills is being considered to oversee Toronto Port Authority. Toronto – Rochester tradings and minglings are speedily underway. And guess what? Large posters at Dundas-Yonge already vaunt it as “The New North” (...hm, north of where?)
Meanwhile, there is an FBI presence in Toronto. Progressive and marginalized communities and organizations (including alternative media) are being monitored, infiltrated, and manipulated.
You probably know all this, but I feel compelled to comment -- not least because I myself am and have been under illegal surveillance and harassment. It is frightfully easy to penetrate and monitor groups, communities, and organizations from the inside.
How will conscientious journalists help ensure and maintain quality journalism now and in future? It used to be one of this country’s key strengths – yet grassroots power is waning. Voices that critique are getting isolated and suppressed, as you well know. Yet, without depth and variety of information and perspectives, citizens are unable to make informed choices.
Democracy in Canada - and for the free world - is increasingly on the line. Not an understatement, if one considers how little real say and influence the vast majority of thinking people have, both in Canada and the US.
Thank you for letting me share these thoughts.
----------------------------------
Also, this may seem out in left field, but the current 9/11 Truth Movement and the Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11 (Phase 1 in San Francisco, Phase 2 in Toronto, and Phase 3 in New York this September) is critical to Canada's democratic future. This issue needs to be on every person's radar.
Toronto Star: 'Poking Holes in the Official Story'
Complete 9/11 Timeline
9/11truth.org
Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11
------
Here is a Wired article on journalism ethics.
Mainstream media's complicitness with corporate interests is speeding the demise of Canada's sovereignty and unity, not to mention undermining fundamental democracy. Shouldn’t there be a (proactive) think-tank for this issue?
Case in point: recent federal election.
1) Why is nobody questioning the use of *manual ballots*? Hello, US election?
This was an important -- and close -- federal election. NDP lost 10 seats by narrow margins; this included two highly popular Toronto candidates (Peggy Nash, Olivia Chow). To say manual balloting is more 'accurate' and offers 'more control' is confounding at best. Yet people swallowed it. Wasn't the reason for introducing electronic balloting (as used in Ontario's provincial election) to improve accuracy, efficiency, and help reduce possibility of tampering?
'How I could have voted three times' - James De Fiore, NOW Magazine
'Florida Faces Election Fracas' - Jacob Ogles, Wired
2) Examination of the parties, and angles explored, was trite and predictable.
Consider this: we live next door to the world's biggest super-power; there are wars going on, which we are indirectly supporting.
Not unlike Afghanistan and Iraq, Canada is important to the US and its future agenda, both strategically and logistically. We should be examining things from this perspective.
Right after taking power, Prime Minister Martin had an official visit with President Bush and 'vibes were very, very good,' according to media (TTC electronic news). In this same period, Martin axed several heads of crown corporations.
Piecemeal news events indicate Liberals under Martin (particularly in Ontario) are actively co-operating with US, yet *still* no major or alternative media outlets are researching the overall implications in any depth. If we don't start thinking on par with the US, the nation’s autonomy will shrink faster than one can say ‘NAFTA’.
3) Maclean’s Peter C. Newman’s explanation for Liberals resurging popularity lacks street credibility.
Perhaps the single largest factor boosting Liberals’ popularity was how much front-page media coverage Harper and New Conservatives got. ‘Good cop / bad cop’ interplay between Martin and Harper worked. It stirred palpable fear in people, which increased voter turn-out and caused people to vote strategically, abandoning NDPs along the way.
4) Analyzing post-election happenings.
a) Mulroney being considered for Air Can board speaks volumes.
(Unless our major institutions engage in self-inquiry to help keep corruption and such in check, Canada's integration/merger with the US will continue unabated. I doubt if the general populace has yet realized the implications: ie, Canada will inadvertently become part of the US war machine. Martin has already agreed to support weaponization of outerspace.)
b) Dennis Mills is being considered to oversee Toronto Port Authority. Toronto – Rochester tradings and minglings are speedily underway. And guess what? Large posters at Dundas-Yonge already vaunt it as “The New North” (...hm, north of where?)
Meanwhile, there is an FBI presence in Toronto. Progressive and marginalized communities and organizations (including alternative media) are being monitored, infiltrated, and manipulated.
You probably know all this, but I feel compelled to comment -- not least because I myself am and have been under illegal surveillance and harassment. It is frightfully easy to penetrate and monitor groups, communities, and organizations from the inside.
How will conscientious journalists help ensure and maintain quality journalism now and in future? It used to be one of this country’s key strengths – yet grassroots power is waning. Voices that critique are getting isolated and suppressed, as you well know. Yet, without depth and variety of information and perspectives, citizens are unable to make informed choices.
Democracy in Canada - and for the free world - is increasingly on the line. Not an understatement, if one considers how little real say and influence the vast majority of thinking people have, both in Canada and the US.
Thank you for letting me share these thoughts.
----------------------------------
Also, this may seem out in left field, but the current 9/11 Truth Movement and the Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11 (Phase 1 in San Francisco, Phase 2 in Toronto, and Phase 3 in New York this September) is critical to Canada's democratic future. This issue needs to be on every person's radar.
Toronto Star: 'Poking Holes in the Official Story'
Complete 9/11 Timeline
9/11truth.org
Citizens' Inquiry into 9/11
------
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