The ZAP Report - 8/11/2013

Comments in red are mine alone -AK (BILL)

Greetings and Salutations,

The Global Reset is under way, nothing can stop it now! The reset is a process not just the flip of a switch. The RV is a part of it just as Basel III is a part along with the announcements and other pieces which make up the whole. Right now everyone is on pins and needles waiting for the 5 elders to swipe their cards in Reno. This is expected to happen at any moment now. When the card swipe happens we will see the RV kick in along with Basel III without delay. Then expect to see F&P anytime afterwards. 

Hi All

Remember when a few who write about the state of affairs have said that when the time comes there will be mass arrests as the truth comes out?

And that all the ill gotten gains will be confiscated directly from the cabal members’ accounts?

And that everybody would get funds to breathe?

And that the original constitution and the real United States of America would be back?

And that little annie and her dog muffy would walk the streets at night without fear?

Well, it is happening in stages. Unfortunately, not all proponents of the new systems are in agreement, and they too are trying to position themselves for maximum gain instead of plowing through the whole thing and just get it done and move on. To be expected.

However, despite the hiccups, it is all on track and will be done.

Keenan is one good example of tenacity. His work is good and in the right direction. He needs a bit of a helping hand getting over the hump, and that too is forthcoming shortly. Help is being provided now here and there where warranted, although overt help is a difficult thing to do at the moment as upstairs is waiting and watching what we all do with what we have first. [This just cracks me up! Yes "upstairs" is indeed waiting and watching!  All will be made known... We so love you guys!]

The RV is imminent by the way (as it always has been) but with some tiers already getting settlements (but not payouts yet), and having to swear allegiance to the “new” Republic of the United States of America, and signing gag orders, and giving bodily fluid samples, the timeline to that event is growing steadily shorter and shorter.


In my estimation (and I could be dead wrong), September will see first funds coming out for the historic asset redemptions, and the rv more or less at the same time. the rest of the relief will be forthcoming around then too as the F&P begin, and the programs begin to think about releasing the prosperity funds.

We are not far away now, so more patience please. Susan will be getting more information each day as it comes in.

So, the cleanup has begun, and the first order of business was to break the bank of the cabal. Many banks have already been contacted to audit the accounts of the cabal members, and freeze them out amongst other actions. This will effectively destroy their financial clout, and without money, it is difficult to finance the continued subjugation of our peoples.

The arrests are imminent as the justice system is pouring over all the nasty things that have been perpetrated, and charges are forthcoming. The Queen may find herself in the odd position of having to smite her own subjects in The Committee she heads up (the 300). [She is not amused! LOL!!!] Obama may indeed take that long vacation…but where to is the question as he has a choice.

The Omega and other programs will be spitting out money all over the place. Once the cleanup is done.

So let us assume again the cleanup is done, and you have money. What now. I spoke to this before remember? Having this kind of money is a great responsibility that you will have undertaken. The lottery mentality will surface, and everybody stands the chance of having their lives not only turned upside down, but losing what they get because they are not used to it, and have no clue how to handle the money part. [Like the banks do it better now?]

I could get into this again, but you get the idea. I will address this again when the time comes, but nuff said for now on that topic.

I wish I could say so much more, but there are so many sensitive things happening now, that I can not as that would indeed be dangerous for the participants.

I should be able to give some greater detail soon enough, but I have shared some internal things with Susan, so she knows a fair bit at the moment. She is responsible with this information, and knows what to say and what not to say at the moment.

So I will leave you with not much to go on this week, as too many things depend on silence in the next days.

Otherwise the purple pigs stand a chance of being grounded, and we do want them to fly.

God bless.

In love and light in our service

ZAP

“God is; I am; We are”

“Be good, be legal, tell truth”




Poof says:

So here is where we begin. The words are these:

You will never be the same. You are not prepared for what you are about to witness and to receive. You have sat on your butts and done nothing to prepare for this time of transition. The funds coming in are for you, yes, but you are a dispensor of sorts. Not in the way you think. The old adage of 'give a man a fish and he eats for a day- teach him how to fish and he eats for a llifetime' has to be applied here, in this matter. You are also living the Parable of the Ten Talents found in Christian literature. Which will you be? A leverage maker or a fear-based hide money in a hole type? What true wisdom do you have for how to leverage money/energies such that you can both teach circulate and expand the supply of money you will have. [interesting leverage/gearing was brought up, you can't have leverage without debt, wasn't this supposed to be an asset based system?] The stock market may not even be a reality, or, in time it can be dissolved in the light of upcoming changes. The real estate market is not the place for most of you. You don't know what to do nor how to become stakeholders. What you think about you bring about. What Are You Thinking?

The true state of prosperity is in circulating your resources, energies, attitudes, talents, skills in tandem with responsibility. Whatever you give out to another has to be with this stipulation: paying it forward, not with novelty but a significant way. If you have been helped then you help others. It is more than giving a five spot; it is role modeling and it is stepping outside the hotbox of self. I am telling you to look much deeper into what is needed. Taking the stress off of one person's overwrought feelings is one thing but defining if they have a plan, a purpose, a set of goals, a way in which they are stepping up to help others, self valuing, self motivated, self guided--that's what has to be in place for money to be useful.

So let us talk about what you intend. Spend,spend, spend on self. And you will get the most unusual backlash of disorientation, confusion of purpose, feelings of a vacuum, guilt, depression, less motivation to challenge each new day; in short, saturation leads to lethargy and that leads to attempts to stimulate your desires to feel enlivened. Allbeit, the wealthy, new wealthy turn to drugs, spirits, sedatives, sex, food because they are not trained nor have they developed a consciousness of responsible living. Tis why rich fathers do not allow their offspring to inherit businesses until they are 40 yrs old or more. You have been wandering in this wilderness of Omega [Hmmm new term to look up!] for 20+ years. You think you are ready? No. You have been waiting for the good times without thinking of consequences. You must prepare for wealth. Big wealth. You must make it comfortable to have funds in the banks, to have consortiums for investing not in corporations but in people. Your jobs will be much more complex than ever before. And for this you were born, you chose to come, you chose to be part of the renewing of humanity in this the Shift as it is called. No. You argue. You did choose this for yourself. You said that you could be entrusted. [someone having doubts about that?]

The world is undergoing changes on many levels. You feel them. You know that is true. You are destined to become wingmakers in the highest sense. Wingmakers is a term used by some of the ascended masters to recognize people who become prime movers. [the term "wingmakers" also comes up in this Al Bielek video found HERE] Prime in that they follow a new set of guidelines. These guidelines will come forth in the coming days. Fairness will become a principle we will all be reviewing in a lot more depth. What did you invest to be a part of this unfolding? Not much. [Nah...not much just eons of abuse while the divines looked on...and played one ET against another] Not much at all for what is coming to you. We will now see if you are up for the work ahead. I strongly suggest that you give some thought to how you will handle reequests from neighbors, family, friends, every one who perceives you have resources. As the old carny guy, Rev Ike said, "The worst thing you can do for the poor is to become one of them." True. The lessons these days will be encouraging you to spend a lot more time in learning about prosperity consciousness and abundance and maturing in the fields of responsibile sharing/giving, money, investments, econcomics, philanthropy, science and endeavors, charitable institutions, a new mindset.

Consultations available until the door bell rings.
Love and Kisses

Susan and Staff

From the "Office of Poofness" 

I love the Absolute Plan! 

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No Judgement, Just Love

Sunday, 11 August 2013

No Judgement, Just Love
Did you feel it?   The surge of energy?  WE are SOOOOOOO  There Darlins!!!!
http://removingtheshackles.blogspot.com/2013/08/no-judgement-just-love.html

The beautiful words that Bill wrote on American Kabuki:

To Team Contrast

We felt your moment of despair today.

Your services are no longer required. 

The experiment has concluded. 

You excelled at role you played.

Bravo!  Job well done.

Time to repurpose your being and doing. 

Love and protection awaits those who

stand down and operate in complete

transparency and truth to bring resolution

and completion to the experiment on

Earth and other realms.

Eternal Essence will enforce against the

inbodiments who choose otherwise.

Choose wisely.

We love you! Come home to the love of

the Prime Creator Source.  You have

been away far too long and have forgotten

your home.  This is why you fear.  There

is nothing to fear in love.  There is no

loneliness in love.  There is no despair.

No prodigal son or daughter is turned

away when they return home.

WE ARE ONE.

There is no Judgement.  There is no separation between you and I.  If I judge you, then I judge myself.

To Judge.... is "Divine".  ...and I don't mean that in a good way.

When you read a message or an article and in one moment the person talks about "Oneness" and "Unity" but with the very next breath they speak of "punishment" and "judgement" of others- no matter who those "others" are.... then they are speaking of the "Divine" Plan.

Those who are pushing their supposed "divine" agenda are working from their place inside their set Hierarchy, and they are pushing their agenda that will perpetuate and continue that Hierarchy.   They speak the smooth silky words of Love & Light, they croon odes to Oneness...... and yet they put themselves above you, lording it over you and they exclaim that the "evil ones", the "cabal", the "bad guys" are all to be tried and judged for their purported "Crimes against Humanity"....

.... I repeat:  We are ONE.  We are EQUAL.  We are NOT SEPARATE.

How can I show love and light to only some?

How can I judge another inbodyment?  WE are ONE.  We are All ETERNAL ESSENCE. Didn't all of us just play our part in this experience? Didn't all of us ask to be here? Didn't we plan this experience and play these roles?

Heather has told a story to all of us several times, I believe it was one that Loie told to her, and I will try to  relay it here as best I can.


Once upon a time....

Everyone decided that they wanted to create a new experience. An experience in separation and duality. An experience in experiencing everything that can be experienced. From every aspect of separation, every aspect of differentness.

In order to create this experience each BEing would take on Roles to play.

One of those roles was for someone to play the "bad guy".No one wanted to take on that role. Finally one of the bravest and strongest BEings said "I will play this role of contrast, on one condition...."

"What ever condition you want, just name it!" The others chimed in. 

"You must promise to tell me that you love me" Said the sole volunteer. 

"You know we love you!!!" said the others" Of course we will tell you we love you.... but why?" they asked. 

"When I take on this Role of evil, I will need to give it my ALL to play it perfectly...."

"..... But if you do not tell me that You love me - REMIND ME that you LOVE ME.....""I may be lost forever, pretending to be who I am not."

"So please.... remember to tell me that you love me, so that I can find my way back home again".



As Bill said:

You have been away far too long and have forgotten your home.

This is why you fear.


There is nothing to fear in love.


There is no loneliness in love.


There is no despair.




So I tell you all- and I mean ALL of you: I LOVE YOU

There is no Judgement.

There is no Punishment.

There is only LOVE & GRATITUDE.

I Thank YOU.

I LOVE YOU.



Posted by Breaking The Silence at 17:08

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‘It’s an economic war’: How the Edward Snowden of banking is blowing the whistle on secret Swiss accounts

Former French employee of HSBC Private Bank Herve Falciani collected
 data on at least 24,000 customers of HSBC's Swiss subsidiaries from
 2006 to 2008, while he worked in the bank's information technology
 development unit in Geneva, which he then passed on to French authorities.
The data is at the centre of a row between France and Switzerland over
suspicions of tax evasion by French citizens using Swiss bank accounts.

‘It’s an economic war’: How the Edward Snowden of banking is blowing the whistle on secret Swiss accounts

The New York Times | 13/08/08 | Last Updated: 13/08/09 12:00 AM ET
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/08/how-the-edward-snowden-of-banking-is-blowing-the-whistle-on-secret-swiss-accounts/

Former French employee of HSBC Private Bank Herve Falciani collected data on at least 24,000 customers of HSBC's Swiss subsidiaries from 2006 to 2008, while he worked in the bank's information technology development unit in Geneva, which he then passed on to French authorities. The data is at the centre of a row between France and Switzerland over suspicions of tax evasion by French citizens using Swiss bank accounts.

Herve Falciani collected data on at least 24,000 customers of HSBC's Swiss subsidiaries from 2006 to 2008, while he worked in the bank's information technology development unit in Geneva, which he then passed on to French authorities. The data is at the centre of a row between France and Switzerland over suspicions of tax evasion by French citizens using Swiss bank accounts.

Hervé Falciani is a professed whistle-blower – the Edward Snowden of banking – who has been hunted by Swiss investigators, jailed by Spaniards and claims to have been kidnapped by Israeli Mossad agents eager for a glimpse of the client data he stole while working for a major financial institution in Geneva.

“I am weak and alone,” Falciani said, as three round-the-clock bodyguards provided by the French government looked on with hard stares. The protection was needed, he insisted, because he faces constant risk as the sole key to decipher the encrypted data – five CD-ROMs containing a list of nearly 130,000 account holders that may be the biggest leak ever in the secretive world of Swiss banking.

But as he settled into a deserted bistro for a two-hour lunch, Falciani, a former computer technician who has been on the run since 2008, seemed oddly relaxed for a fugitive. And why not?

He is in high demand these days, having cast himself as a crusader against the murky world of Swiss banking and money laundering. Once dismissed by many European authorities, he and other whistle-blowers are now being courted as the region’s governments struggle to fill their coffers and to stem a populist uprising against tax evasion and corruption.

“It’s an economic war,” said Falciani, an angular man of 41 with a dark goatee who sometimes dons disguises, although on a muggy summer afternoon favored an innocuous beige tie and short-sleeved dress shirt. “In Switzerland, the banks are so organized that they are able to circumvent new rules and laws to continue to enable tax evasion.”
Critics, not least at his former employer HSBC, dismiss Falciani as a manipulator more dazzled by money than high ideals. The data he has leaked – some say sold – since 2008 has wreaked havoc within the banking world, as well as the moneyed and political classes of Europe.

Falciani’s information formed the basis for the now famous “Lagarde list” that has roiled Greek politics with its revelations of oligarchs and politicians who avoided taxes by stashing millions in Switzerland. His data is also credited with helping Spain collect 260 million euros ($345 million) in taxes and identify more than 650 tax evaders, including the president of Banco Santander.

In 2012, Falciani passed his information to U.S. authorities. They, in turn, used the data to pursue an investigation into whether HSBC flouted controls on money laundering, eventually forcing a $1.92 billion settlement with the bank in December.

The embattled Swiss bank UBS on Wednesday said it would slash 8,700 jobs in a bid to cut costs after it reported fresh losses for the first three months of this year. UBS agreed to pay nearly $50 million to settle charges over its disclosures related to a money-losing 2007 investment vehicle linked to sub-prime loans, a US agency announced on August 6, 2013.

Since being released from jail this year after a Spanish judge denied a Swiss extradition request, Falciani, who is married and has a young daughter, has resurfaced in France. Authorities here have offered protection in exchange for Falciani giving testimony to local prosecutors who are investigating whether HSBC helped French clients dodge taxes.

“My main objective is to help authorities develop a defense,” Falciani said.

“We are under attack and losing a lot of tax money,” he said of the Swiss banking system. “If you have enemies who want to invade, laws are not enough and you need armies to build an economic defense.”

“We are under attack and losing a lot of tax money

A native of Monaco who was educated in the south of France, Falciani once worked in obscurity at HSBC. In 2005, he was promoted and transferred to Geneva. The following year, he said he raised concerns to his bosses about security flaws in the Swiss computer system that could violate the privacy of depositors.

Ignored by his superiors, Falciani said he started collecting the information methodically, in an effort to prove the system was vulnerable. The bank denies that he ever alerted them and believes that he amassed the information over a two-year period.

Early on, Falciani said he got the brushoff from German bureaucrats who weren’t interested in his trove of data. His information was also shunned in France by the Sarkozy administration when “authorities tried to make evidence disappear and they didn’t want to know,” he said.

Then the European economy slumped and governments started to take notice.

In a report from the French National Assembly issued in July, the lawmaker Christian Eckert chided authorities for being slow to use Falciani’s list. According to Eckert, the information included 127,311 clients, including 6,313 from France who were suspected of tax evasion.

HSBC dismisses Falciani’s information as flawed, insisting that the small sample the bank has seen is filled with errors. At the time of his employment, the bank contends that it had only 100,000 customers and that the stolen data affected only 15,000 clients.

“To our knowledge it has always been Falciani’s intention to sell the data,” David Bragger, a bank spokesman, said in an email statement. “Only faced with the prospect of extradition and extended time behind bars, Falciani decided to cooperate with the Spanish authorities. A scheme he is now repeating with France and other countries.”

That theory is echoed by Georgina Mikhael, a former HSBC computer consultant who worked with Falciani in Geneva.

Mikhael says she helped Falciani develop a Hong Kong based company, Palorva, to sell data to other banks, initially believing he had obtained the information through what he called “data mining” from the Internet. She said they went to Lebanon in 2008 to sell their services to four banks. She said she grew suspicious when Falciani insisted on using a false Arabic name, Ruben Al-Chidiack, for their business dealings.

“He never gives something for free,” said Mikhael, who noted that after the Lebanon effort failed Falciani tried to approach German and French intelligence services, usually carrying a knife in his bag because he feared the risks. “Always he is asking. He is not Robin Hood.”

Mikhael, who is currently unemployed and lives in her native Lebanon, says that she was Falciani’s mistress, believing that he planned to divorce his wife. She is now pursuing a defamation lawsuit against him in France, stemming from his contention that he was kidnapped by Mossad secret agents in Geneva who were seeking bank information about people with Hezbollah ties, including her. Mikhael says she does not have Hezbollah ties and is Christian.

Always he is asking. He is not Robin Hood

Falciani disputes that he is peddling his information for cash and the claims – pressed by Mikhael – “are part of moves that people are keen to play” to harm his reputation. “’Never have I or anyone close to me asked or accepted money for information,” he said.

In 2012, Swiss authorities gave Falciani safe pass to meet in Switzerland to discuss a deal to plead guilty to data theft with a suspended sentence, provided that he stopped sharing the information. Falciani said he strung them along to protect his own safety, waiting for a new government in France that might take his claims more seriously.

Now that the political tide has turned, Falciani wants to continue working with authorities.

As the investigations play out, Falciani said he was holding down a day job, working for a European Union project as a computer researcher to develop algorithms to detect abnormal behavior. But he worries about his long-term safety, wondering whether he will live another year. He notes that his house has been broken into and that his wife was recently fired from a job at a shoe store because of his notoriety

“This business represents thousands of billions of euros,” he said. “From my side, I’m frightened.”

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Rothschild's get into the Weather Forecasting Business...

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Get outrageous with it!

Get outrageous with it! 
– channeled by Ron Head
August 8, 2013

Michael

This Lion’s Gate portal is now open to its greatest extent, and the energies pouring into your world, and therefore into your bodies, physical, emotional mental and spiritual, are greater than any you have experienced so far.  The resulting changes to yourselves, and therefore your societies and your planet will become more evident and greater, as well.

This is how it works, you see.  Watch ever more closely now for evidence, for trends, which will at last be obvious enough to encourage you, to bring a bit of joy into your hearts.  Of course, one of the easiest things for you to notice will be the increasing joy in your hearts anyway.  You are more YOU than ever before.  And the resulting effects of this will become evident to you, as well.

Many have already noted their own increasing ability to manifest that which they desire to have in their lives, and now even more of you will do so.  It is important for you to realize that you will bring into your lives that upon which you focus.  Focus upon that which you desire.

It should be obvious that focus upon anything else is not desirable, but now it is more important than ever that you gain control over that.  You still tend to wander into the state of worry.  Worry, as you are all too aware, is the practice that creates those things which you do not desire.  So, as must seem very plain, it is not something which you ought to be doing if you want to bring your true desires into your lives.


Do we have any recommendations on how to control that tendency?  Why yes we do.  Whenever you find yourselves slipping into worry mode, begin making lists of those things which you already have for which you are grateful.  Then slip easily into imagining exactly what your desired state of being will be like.  Get outrageous with it!  You have been told before that you cannot even begin to imagine how completely wondrous that can be, and we promise you again now that that is true.

You can understand that you cannot imagine anything of which you have no prior experience or knowledge.  But my dear friends, you will discover soon the true extent of your experience and knowledge.  As you love to say, go for it!  Imagine things which make your hearts sing and make you want to dance to the tune.  And eliminate the thought that anything is impossible, for if you can imagine it, it truly is not impossible.  If you can imagine it enough, pour your energy and focused intent into it enough, you will, in fact, have created it.

That, you see, is who and what you are.  You are creators.  Do you wish evidence of that?  Open your eyes and look around you.  Everything you see is an entire world which you have created.  And think of this, you have done it in a much less than fully conscious state.  And, oh my! Is that ever about to change for you.

We send you our cheers, love, and hugs now, dear brothers and sisters.  Be well, be at peace, and we will speak again very soon.  Good day.

Copyright © Ronald Head. All Rights Reserved. You may copy and redistribute this material so long as you do not alter it in any way, the content remains complete, and you include this copyright notice link: http://oraclesandhealers.wordpress.com/

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Verification of Renewed and Amplified Energetic Structures for Gaia Ascension Now in Progress

Verification of Renewed and Amplified Energetic Structures for Gaia Ascension Now in Progress

by ÉirePort

Verification of renewed and amplified energetic structures for Gaia Ascension is now in progress. This final phase of Gaia preparation for Ascension occurs at this time as sufficient former paradigm structures have been removed and/or reset.

Such verification requires no effort on the part of Hue-Beings at this time, as Gaia has complete administrative care of and responsibility for this phase.

Hue-Beings will continue efforts at local levels as Guidance suggests.

The "humanity" segment of Gaia population is now experiencing full and comprehensive inner and outer transformation, whether conscious [aware] of this or not.

All has proceeded as desired at this point, and further adjustments are not anticipated.

ÉirePort | August 10, 2013 at 20:53 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p2sFUY-nw

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The Light Cometh...

Sunrise at Woodgate Beach Beach, Isis Region, Australia 8/11/2013
Photo by Muxi

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To Team Contrast

To Team Contrast

We felt your moment of despair today.

Your services are no longer required. 

The experiment has concluded. 

You excelled at [the] role you played.

Bravo!  Job well done.

Time to repurpose your being and doing. 

Love and protection awaits those who

stand down and operate in complete

transparency and truth to bring resolution

and completion to the experiment on

Earth and other realms.

Eternal Essence will enforce against the

inbodiments who choose otherwise.

Choose wisely.

We love you! Come home to the love of

the Prime Creator Source.  You have

been away far too long and have forgotten

your home.  This is why you fear.  There

is nothing to fear in love.  There is no

loneliness in love.  There is no despair.

No prodigal son or daughter is turned

away when they return home.

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Internet Providers shut down email services because of privacy concerns

A screenshot of the Silent Circle
 mobile app; image via Silent Circle

What's interesting about these companies is they store and process data on a backend server which opens them up to these national security letters about the data stored on the servers... standard Internet TCP/IP SMTP/IMAP/POP email services in REQUIRE a back end centralized server. 

Project XIII doesn't use a back end server for any storage of data other than to send a notification that a customer has data waiting for another customer.  Nothing is stored permanently on a central server.  -AK

Encryption App Silent Circle Shuts Down E-Mail Service 'To Prevent Spying'
Parmy Olson
Forbes Staff

The business of protecting consumers from prying, government eyes has suddenly become a pre-emptive one for Silent Circle. The communications encryptions firm said Friday that it was shutting down its e-mail service to prevent spying, a day after competitor Lavabit shut down its core email service. Lavabit’s founder had suggested in a letter to customers that he had been the subject of a U.S. government investigation and gag order.

Silent Circle, which has seen a 400% revenue jump in recent months as a result of the Snowden furore and concerns over government surveillance, does not rely solely on e-mail hosting as Lavabit does. It also encrypts phone calls, text messages and video conferencing with a suite of iOS and Android apps.

Co-founder and CTO Jon Callas said in a blog post Friday that Silent Circle’s e-mail service had “always been something of a quandary for us.” This, in spite of the fact that one of Silent Circle’s other co-founder is Phil Zimmermann, inventor of the popular e-mail encryption software PGP.

Electronic mail uses standard internet protocols that cannot have the same security guarantees that real-time communication has, Callas said. “Email as we know it with SMTP, POP3, and IMAP cannot be secure.”

Since many of its customers wanted an email service, Silent Circle offered it anyway with full disclosure of the risks. “However, we have reconsidered this position,” Callas said.

“We’ve been thinking about this for some time, whether it was a good idea at all. Yesterday, another secure email provider, Lavabit, shut down their system lest they ‘be complicit in crimes against the American people.’ We see the writing on the wall, and we have decided that it is best for us to shut down Silent Mail.”

Last month it came to light that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden had probably used the Lavabit email service after an observer at his recent Moscow airport briefing posted the email address esnowden@lavabit.com on Facebook. Lavabit’s founder, Ladar Levinson, said Thursday that he would suspend operations at his his e-mail hosting company rather than “become complicit in crimes against the American people.” He added that he was legally prevented from talking about the events that had led to his decision.

Callas said Silent Circle had not received subpoenas, warrants or anything other similar request from any government. The company had been debating what to do about its email service for weeks, and up until Friday was ready to phase the service out so that it would continue for existing customers. “It is always better to be safe than sorry,” Callas said.

---

Kashmir Hill, Forbes Staff
Welcome to The Not-So Private Parts where technology & privacy collide
Follow (1,432)
TECH | 8/08/2013 @ 3:45PM |41,668 views

Email Company Used By Edward Snowden Shuts Down Rather Than Hand Data Over To Feds

 When Edward Snowden emailed journalists and activists in July to invite them to a briefing at the Moscow airport during his long stay there, he used the email account “edsnowden@lavabit.com” according to one of the invitees. Texas-based Lavabit came into being in 2004 as an alternative to Google’s Gmail, as an email provider that wouldn’t scan users’ email for keywords. Being identified as the provider of choice for the country’s most famous NSA whistleblower led to a flurry of attention for Lavabit and its encrypted email services, from journalists, and also, apparently, from government investigators. Lavabit founder Ladar Levison announced Thursday that he’s shutting down the company rather than cooperating with a government investigation (presumably into Snowden).

Lavabit’s website now displays a message about the shutdown, available in full below, along with a request for help paying the legal bill to fight the government in court.

“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit,” writes Levison. “After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations.”

Are Tech Companies Becoming Unofficial Intelligence Agents?

Kashmir Hill - Forbes Staff

Apple, Skype, Verizon, Other Firms Flunk Privacy Report Card

Andy Greenberg - Forbes Staff

How Facebook Secretly Aids Government Searches

Kashmir Hill - Forbes Staff

It’s unclear whether the government has already seized the company’s servers. Levison says that he’s under a gag order and thus can’t discuss the government investigation that he’s been fighting over the last six weeks. Gag orders like that often come with information requests in national security investigations. Nick Merrill of the Calyx Institute famously spent six years fighting off one of those requests — though the fame only came after the six years were up when he reached a settlement with the government releasing him partially from the gag.

It’s amazing how much the climate in the U.S. has changed that someone like Levison actually feels empowered to write a letter like this one. Merrill feared being sent to prison if he spoke out publicly about what he felt was an unconstitutional request for a customer’s data.

“I can relate to the difficult choice Mr. Levison is being forced to make, as I made a similar choice in 2004 after I received a National Security Letter demanding information on a client of my ISP, and then spent the better part of a decade challenging the constitutionality of warrantless surveillance in federal court,” says Nick Merrill by email. “It would be one thing if dragnet surveillance was in compliance with the 4th amendment and bedrock American values, and it would be another thing if it was proven to keep us safer. But unfortunately, neither of those is true.”

Update (8/9/13): Another encryption-providing company Silent Circle announced late Thursday that it is preemptively shutting down its email service, saying they “see the writing the wall.”

Presumably, the government is seeking access to Edward Snowden’s email, email metadata, passwords or encryption keys. And presumably, Levison doesn’t want to grant that access.

“I would strongly recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States,” writes Levison, based on his experience. This message seems to be a loud and clear one. Washington, D.C.-based think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation predicts that U.S. cloud companies will lose from $21.5 to $35 billion over the next three years. They admit that it is a “rough guess” based on surveys about the chilling effects of the NSA leaks on U.S.-based cloud businesses.

Update (8/9/13): Edward Snowden drew attention to other American companies in the Guardian, telling Glenn Greenwald that they should take a page from the Lavabit book to protect their users: “Employees and leaders at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo, Apple, and the rest of our internet titans must ask themselves why they aren’t fighting for our interests the same way small businesses are. The defense they have offered to this point is that they were compelled by laws they do not agree with, but one day of downtime for the coalition of their services could achieve what a hundred Lavabits could not.”

Meanwhile, Lavabit’s users are not so pleased with the shutdown. Judging from complaints on the Lavabit Facebook wall — e.g., “Shutting down service with no warning and no chance to migrate is complete BULLSH**.” — they care more about service than principles.

Here’s Levison’s full letter:

My Fellow Users,

 I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on–the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.

What’s going to happen now? We've already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company.

This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.

Sincerely,

Ladar Levison
Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLC

Defending the constitution is expensive! Help us by donating to the Lavabit Legal Defense Fund here.

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Vital Interview: GalacticU Radio w/Sierra Neblina Interviews Brian & Bob -- Archive of Today's Show

Copied from Brian Kelly's Blog 
GalacticU Radio w/Sierra Neblina Interviews Brian & Bob at 2:30 pst Today
August 8, 2013

Bob and I just finished the recording with Sierra a couple of hours ago. For anyone who feels like they need a deeper understanding of how our monetary system works, how all loans are fraud, the strawman account and where we believe the new value system is headed, I highly suggest giving this a listen. I also think this would be a good dialogue to share with those who still may need some convincing. I'll probably go back and listen to it again myself ;) ~BK

Just received this comment from Caroline on Facebook:"Brian, am listening to your interview with GalactU Radio -- it is brilliant. Encouraging everyone I know to listen to it." - Caroline

People from all around the world have enjoyed Sierra's ground breaking work during her days at The 2012 Scenario and Golden Age of Gaia. Sierra's journey has recently inspired her to blaze her own trail, culminating in the creation of GalacticU, an interactive website as well as weekly radio show. An incredible Soul and active Truth Seeker, Sierra is committed to raising awareness and playing her part in the shifting of human consciousness. What a crucial role she has signed up for indeed. Bob and I are honored to be on the show today with Sierra at 2:30. It's guaranteed to be packed full of relevant info and discussion of current events and our perception of where developments are headed in the days and weeks to come. We have found ourselves in the most exciting time to be alive in human history. Join us as we ready ourselves for the next great chapter of the Human experience, a show you do not want to miss! ~BK

GalacticU Radio is an interactive radio show with Sierra Neblina where you can call in to ask questions that pertain to Ascension, disclosure, Galactic energy downloads, Walk-Ins, Starseeds, Cities of Light, the Golden Age of Gaia, NESARA and more.

Today we are talking to Brian Kelly and his co-host Bob Wright from www.5Dmedianetwork.com. We are focusing on the financial institutions around the world and the upcoming changes to it.  

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sierra-neblina/2013/08/08/galacticu-radio-with-sierra-neblina

Be sure to call in during the live show with your questions or listen to archives. (646) 478-3085

Also, explore spiritual Ascension and your own Galactic nature this fall at GalacticU's Ascension Rising Conference happening in Sedona October 25,26, 27th: http://www.galacticu.com/live.html read more

http://www.galacticu.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/GalacticUniversity

Copied from GalacticU homepage:

Welcome to GalacticU, a place of Galactic teachings from your Family in the sky. Our dream is to connect with you, to help you find the truth of who you are and who you can be.

The time for cooperation among those on Earth and our Galactic Family is now. Galactic beings are no longer deep in the shadow. They walk among you and you will be truly invigorated by what they can share with you this day.

GalacticU represents collaboration among those on board ship around the planet and those who walk among you, including Sierra Neblina, the founder of GalacticU. Sierra is a walk-in of Pleiadian decent who has come to share spiritual guidance for those ready for Ascension.

Your deep affinity for the sky and what lies beyond could be a strong indication that you are part of our Star Family. We want to share our teachings and come to know and help you understand your role in the shift of the planet. Our work began with Gaia’s cry for help. For decades we have worked toward this time, this day, this period of coming together and finding true joy on planet Earth.

Remember to be the bright shining light that you are. You are unique and you have something to contribute to this world! Now let’s get started!

"GalacticU is about discovering your innate wisdom, bringing Soul Families together and empowering you with the tools you need to successfully navigate Physical Ascension while leveraging all the help we can get from our Galactic Family." - Sierra Neblina

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"Hello Scotia Mocatta, This Is JPMorgan - We Urgently Need Some Of Your Gold"

Thanks to Dan for finding this one... -AK

"Hello Scotia Mocatta, This Is JPMorgan - We Urgently Need Some Of Your Gold"
Tyler Durden's pictureSubmitted by Tyler Durden on 08/08/2013 16:27 -0400

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-08-08/hello-scotia-mocatta-jpmorgan-we-urgently-need-some-your-gold


Yesterday, it was HSBC. Today, the lucky respondent to JPM's polite gold 'procurement' request, is the second "fullest" New York commercial gold vault: Scotia Mocatta.

As ZH reported previously, following the announcement of an imminent withdrawal of 63.5k ounces of its gold (16% of the total), JPM's vault operations team promptly called around and to its disappointment was only able to procure a tiny 6.4k ounces: not nearly enough to preserve the impression that it is well-stocked. We then said, "None of which changes the fact that in a few days, the inventory in JPM's gold vault will drop to another record low of only 380K ounces and the JPM "rescue" pleas from HSBC and other Comex members will become ever louder and more desperate until one day they may just go straight to voicemail."

Today, as we predicted, the calls into HSBC indeed appear to have gone straight to voicemail (perhaps HSBC did not have any more unencumbered gold to share, perhaps it just didn't want to) which left JPM with just one option: go down the list.

Sure enough, as the just released Comex update shows, JPM was forced to receive a "completely unsolicited" handout of some 20.2K ounces from Scotia Mocatta, the vault best known for being situated under 4 WTC during September 11 (and whose current physical vault can be found conveniently within spitting distance of JFK airport).


However, what is notable today unlike yesterday, is that JPM's pleas seem to be getting more shrill: while yesterday HSBC released eligible inventory, today Scotia was forced to hand over registered gold straight into JPM's eligible pile: this is perhaps the first time we have seen this happen laterally between two vaults, without an intermediate warrant detachment step. Furthermore, with HSBC moving 43.4K oz from Registered to Eligible, we would expect either another major Comex withdrawal in the next few days from HSBC, or this is merely HSBC making room for further gold "requests" by JPM.

Either way, assuming that first the HSBC transfer, and now the Scotia Mocatta gold delivery, aren't entirely unsolicited, how long until someone inquires just why it is that the biggest bank by assets is forced to run around town and beg for whatever gold it can get its hands on?

***

And for those who missed it, here is yesterday's lateral gold move from HSBC to JPM:

So which bank's gold stash will JPM politely plunder tomorrow having already gone through the two top commercial gold vaults? Find out tomorrow: same time, same place.

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Court officially declares Bitcoin a real currency

Court officially declares Bitcoin a real currency
Published time: August 08, 2013 15:54 Get short URL
http://rt.com/usa/bitcoin-sec-shavers-texas-231/

A federal judge has for the first time ruled that Bitcoin is a legitimate currency, opening up the possibility for the digital crypto-cash to soon be regulated by governmental overseers.

United States Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant for the Eastern District of Texas ruled Tuesday that the US Securities and Exchange Commission can proceed with a lawsuit against the operator of a Bitcoin-based hedge fund because, despite existing only on the digital realm, “Bitcoin is a currency or form of money.”

Trendon Shavers of Bitcoin Savings & Trust (BTCST) was accused last year of scamming customers out of roughly $4.5 million worth of the cryptocurrency through his online hedge-fund. Shavers promised investors a weekly return of 7 percent, according to the federal complaint, but shut-down his site after collecting upwards of 700,000 bitcoins. When the SEC charged Shavers last month with operating a Ponzi scheme, he fought back by saying Bitcoin is not actual currency and can’t be regulated.

“The SEC asserts that Shavers made a number of misrepresentations to investors regarding the nature of the investments and that he defrauded investors. However, the question currently before the Court is whether the BTCST investments in this case are securities as defined by Federal Securities Laws,” Judge Mazzant wrote this week. “Shavers argues that the BTCST investments are not securities because Bitcoin is not money, and is not part of anything regulated by the United States. Shavers also contends that his transactions were all Bitcoin transactions and that no money ever exchanged hands. The SEC argues that the BTCST investments are both investment contracts and notes, and, thus, are securities.”

Despite Shavers’ argument, Mazzant weighed in this week with an opinion that’s not only quite the contrary, but could have widespread repercussions in the world of Bitcoin.

“It is clear that Bitcoin can be used as money,” Mazzant wrote. “It can be used to purchase goods or services, and as Shavers stated, used to pay for individual living expenses. The only limitation of Bitcoin is that it is limited to those places that accept it as currency. However, it can also be exchanged for conventional currencies, such as the US dollar, Euro, Yen and Yuan. Therefore, Bitcoin is a currency or form of money, and investors wishing to invest in BTCST provided an investment of money.”

Bitcoin investments "meet the definition of investment contract, and as such, are securities,” the judge added.

Now with the magistrate’s blessing, the SEC can continue with its case against Shavers and his site. With that same ruling, though, the government is for now getting the go ahead for what could lead to the rampant regulation of Bitcoin.

  SEC v Shavers, August 6

“The ruling, while certainly a victory for the Commission, is also likely to have farther-reaching ramifications as federal regulators increasingly encounter investment fraud based on non-traditional investment vehicles,” securities and business law attorney Jordan Maglich wrote in a Forbes op-ed this week.



“The case is notable in several aspects. First, it is the first known enforcement action predicated on a Bitcoin-based investment scheme, and comes at a time when US and foreign governments are devoting increasing scrutiny to the unregulated nature of the Bitcoin currency structure. In addition to these issues, the case may also have deeper ramifications going forward. Indeed, the case comes as federal regulators are increasingly tasked with policing non-traditional investments that share few characteristics with traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and notes,” Maglich wrote.

Even if this week’s ruling is a landmark decision with regards to Bitcoin, it certainly isn’t the first time as of late Uncle Sam intervened in the digital marketplace. In May, the US Department of Homeland Security seized a payment processing account Tuesday belonging to the largest international Bitcoin trader, claiming the monetary exchange service falsified financial documents.

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Water from Billboards in Peru

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$700k windfall: Russian man outwits bankwith hand-written credit contract

Oleg Tinkov, head of Tinkoff Group
 (RIA Novosti / Ramil Sitdikov)

http://on.rt.com/movrvj
This is probably one of those moments when a corporation really wishes it wasn't a "person" in a contract.... LOL!!! I don't recommend trying this, but this is very funny... -Bill

$700k windfall: Russian man outwits bank with hand-written credit contract
Published time: August 08, 2013 11:59
Edited time: August 08, 2013 15:55

A Russian man who decided to write his own small print in a credit card contract has had his changes upheld in court. He's now suing the country's leading online bank for more than 24 million rubles ($727,000) in compensation.

Disappointed by the terms of the unsolicited offer for a credit card from Tinkoff Credit Systems in 2008, a  42-year-old Dmitry Agarkov from the city of Voronezh decided to hand write his own credits terms.

The trick was that Agarkov simply scanned the bank’s document and ‘amended’ the small print with his own terms.

He opted for a 0 percent interest rate and no fees, adding that the customer "is not obliged to pay any fees and charges imposed by bank tariffs." The bank, however, didn’t read ‘the amendments’, as it signed and certified the document, as well as sent the man a credit card. Under the agreement, the bank OK'd to provide unlimited credit, according to Agarkov’s lawyer Dmitry Mikhalevich talking to Kommersant daily.

"The opened credit line was unlimited. He could afford to buy an island somewhere in Malaysia, and the bank would have to pay for it by law," Mikhalevich added.


Agarkov also changed the URL of the site where the terms and conditions were published and hedged against the bank’s breaking of the agreement. For each unilateral change in the terms provided in the agreement, the bank would be asked to pay the customer (Agarkov) 3 million rubles ($91,000), or a cancelation fee of 6 million rubles ($182,000).

A headquarters of Tinkoff Credit Systems bank in
 Moscow (RIA Novosti / Ramil Sitdikov)

However, after two years of active use, the bank decided to terminate Agarkov's credit card  because of overdue payments. In 2012, the bank sued Agarkov for 45,000 rubles ($1,363) - an amount that included the remaining balance, fees, and late payment charges, which violated the actual agreement. The court decided that the agreement Agarkov crafted was valid, and required him to settle only his balance of 19,000 rubles ($575).

The bankers had to admit the mistake, says Agarkov’s representative  Dmitry Mikhalevich.

"They signed the documents without looking. They said what usually their borrowers say in court: 'We have not read it,'” says Mikhalevich.

Despite the victory, Agarkov decided to sue Tinkoff Credit Systems for fines of 24 million rubles ($727,000) for not honoring the terms of the agreement, and the decision to terminate the contract without paying 6 million rubles ($182,000) fee.

"Our lawyers think, he is going to get not 24 million, but really four years in prison for fraud. Now it's a matter of principle for @ tcsbank,” founder of the bank Oleg Tinkov tweeted.

“We don’t have small print, everything is clear and transparent. Try to open a card - then we'll talk. Stealing is a sin - in my opinion, of course. Not all in Russia think so,” Tinkov tweeted.

The next hearing will be held in September.

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The Protest Plate

Personally I think he should sell a model with "Your corporation has been foreclosed!" :) - BILL

Visit Steve's website at:  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/protest-plate

Short Summary

My name is Steve Zarpas. I am a creative problem solver. I am a risk taker. I am a very passionate man and willing to stand up for what I believe even if it may cause me pain. I believe that the United States was created against all odds and that the Constitution was divinely inspired to promote human rights.

At no time in the history of our country have our freedoms been under greater attack. At the same time, people are angry and interested in doing something but they are not sure exactly what to do.

The Protest Plate not only protects a person from unconstitutional infringements, it informs others of a desire to stand up and fight back. As our numbers grow, it will become increasingly obvious to our governments that there are way more of us than there are of them.

By mass producing the Protest Plate, I can sell them cheaply enough that the cost will not stop anybody from joining the movement against tyranny.

I do not advocate speeding or running red lights. I respect the police and the job they do. What I am saying is that there are rules that apply if the government wants to take your money or convict you of a crime.

In the United States a person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That concept forms the very foundation of our judicial system. Prior to that concept, a king or nobleman could simply accuse a person of a crime and have them thrown into jail.

Furthermore, the burden to prove guilt is on the court. If they want to charge and convict a citizen of a crime, it is up to them to prove it. The burden is NOT on the citizen to prove he is innocent. The traffic cameras have turned that concept upside down.



What I Need & What You Get

The first Protest Plate I made took me 12 hours to finish. It did not look very good. The letters were not lined up well and did not lay flat on the frame. After making about ten of them, I got it down to four hours. That is still way too long. I would have to sell them for $100 each to survive.

One of my closest fraternity brothers from college owns a manufacturing business in the Bronx. He explained a much easier way to manufacture the device. Before it can go into mass production however, the prototype must be tightened up. It must be made water proof for instance. That requires CAD/CAM drawings.

Once the device is in a digital format, we can design changes more easily. After that, an injection mold will be made. Finally, every factory charges a fee to put the mold on the machine and load the machine with the proper media.

Getting the pieces made is just half the battle. Besides the marketing their is also the fulfillment phase or taking orders and mailing them out. My friend's company also handles that.

I've been very successful at marketing over the years. For ten years I owned and operated some of the most popular bars and nightclubs in Washington. I've recieved hundreds of articles and interviews over the years including many pieces in the Washington Post. I've also been interviewed on "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio. I am very excited about the marketing campaign for this product.

I also worked in public affairs television for years. Some of the shows I worked on include Hardball with Chris Matthews, Meet the Press, O'Reilly Factor and Crossfire. I even did media training at the Brookings Institution studio. I plan to use my existing contacts in that industry to get the word out. Nothing would make me happier than getting in front of the camera debating a judge or NSA representative.

The truth has an amazing ability to compel viewers. Character does count. Slick media training and talking points are having less and less of an impact as more and more people wake up to the injustice that is occuring in our country.

Having been a partner in many businesses, I recognize the risk of seed money investors. Nobody wants to throw their money away. I can assure you that I have lived, breathed and slept with this idea for many months. I will do everything possible to ensure success.

I will recognize and reward you as best I can. To those early supporters, I can hand make Protest Plates with any words or images you like. I can put an American flag or the name of your organization on the plate.

The Impact

Back in the seventies, when the hostages were taken in Iran, somebody took a cue from the Tony Orlando song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree." They tied a yellow ribbon on the tree in their front yard to let the hostages and their felow Americans know that we had not forgotten them. That movement had a profound effect on me as a kid.

I will never forget the first day I saw one on the way to church. I cried. Something came over me. The thought that total strangers were coming together in an act of solidarity, patriotism and love, really got to me.

I may be crazy but I am picturing parking lots full of these plates. I am seeing a movement being created. I am seeing the impossible becoming possible and Americans finally having enough of being treated like criminals and being spied upon and being presumed to be guilty.

We must have a way to identify ourselves. The Protest Plate may be it. If nothing more, what if it gives rise to other creative ways to show our solidarity?

Something else comes to mind. A few years ago, business owners in Palermo Sicily finally got fed up with the Mafia demanding protection money. The owners got together and stood up. They told the cops they would no longer turn a blind eye to the police accepting bribes and when the gangsters came into the businesses, the owners called the police and the gangsters were arrested and run out of town.

Nobody thought it would have been possible. Paying tributes was simply a way of life in Italy. So was the Mafia. Not anymore.

Other Ways You Can Help

I am fifty two years old. I am not the greatest at social media. I also have five children including a six and three-year old. I would be deeply indebted to anyone who helps get the word out about my campaign.

Everyday new organizations are being created to fight tyranny. If you hear of one, send them a link to my campaign. In addition to the words "FIGHT BACK," I can imagine the names of organizations like EPIC or the ACLU being printed on the plates. Let them know there is a new way their members can inform the world of membership and support.

And don't forget to use the Indiegogo tools to share this message.

Warmest personal regards - Steve Zarpas

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Costa Rica News: Flying high with 24 tons of Cocaine

Flying high with 24 tons of Cocaine. I did a quick calculation at $30,000 per kilo on the street that's $680.4 billion dollars of blow in one plane.  Some bank somewhere needing some quick cash? - Bill

Costa Rica Will Stop Sending Cocaine to Miami
Posted by Jaime Lopez on August 5, 2013 in Costa Rica News, Politics News

According to an official press release from the Organization of Judicial Investigations (OIJ in Spanish), Costa Rica will no longer send cocaine or other controlled substances to the United States, at least for the time being. The announcement comes in the wake of news reports about nearly 24 tons of cocaine transported by the U.S. Air Force to Miami on Saturday, July 27th 2013.

The OIJ further explained that officials in Costa Rica had spoken to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) about the temporary lack of an incinerator to destroy seized powder cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs. Prior to the massive airlift of cocaine to Miami in late July, the OIJ had managed to destroy almost 23 tons of drugs over the years at a cement factory in Cartago, but a couple of unfortunate incidents resulted in the stockpiling of confiscated drugs, and the OIJ ended up with too much coke.

A Warehouse Full of Yeyo

Before a Boeing C-17 Globemaster from the U.S. Air Force landed at the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR) in late July to transport pallets upon pallets of cocaine to Miami, the OIJ evidence warehouse in San Joaquin de Flores, province of Heredia, was ready to burst from all the drugs contained therein -particularly cocaine hydrochloride in powder form. The only incinerator in Costa Rica to handle the destruction of tons of drugs, routinely seized by the OIJ, Fuerza Publica (the national police force), the Border Police, and the National Coast Guard Service is currently out of commission.



At one time, the OIJ entrusted a cement and concrete factory in Cartago to handle the destruction of seized drugs in its massive incinerators. In 2009, however, a bag holding 20 kilograms of flake was stolen by employees of the cement factory during the destruction of 4,300 kilos. The individuals responsible for the theft were caught, tried and given prison sentences between 6 and 7 years, and the OIJ stopped using that factory altogether.

By 2011, OIJ employees complained that they could not even walk around the warehouse because of all the cocaine stuffed inside. The cement factory agreed to donate an incinerator the size of a jacuzzi to the OIJ, and agents got busy destroying up to 300 kilograms per hour. By February of 2012, however, agents had burned so much coke that the incinerator began to malfunction. Fumes were escaping the incinerator’s chambers and those involved in the destruction -who included judges in charge of supervision- were basically getting high, and thus the OIJ went back to stockpiling seized drugs.

The U.S. Air Force to the Rescue

The OIJ has acknowledged that storing that much cocaine in Costa Rica is an inherent risk, and thus the DEA was called in to help. This is when things start to get a bit murky. Apparently the OIJ took the matter to the Judicial Branch and the Ministry of Public Safety (MSP in Spanish); but, according to online news daily CRHoy, which broke the story, at least two magistrates at the Judicial Branch were in the dark about the U.S. Air Force arriving in Costa Rica to pick up a massive amount of cocaine.

One of the magistrates who did not know about the operation, which was shrouded in secrecy until CRHoy’s Alvaro Sanchez investigated, is Carlos Chinchilla, President of the Criminal Affairs Committee of the Supreme Court in Costa Rica. Magistrate Chinchilla explained that the OIJ and DEA were supposed to file a request for a legislative permit that would grant permission for a foreign military aircraft to land in Costa Rica.

The OIJ assured CRHoy that the C-17 Globemaster was not armed and had legislative permission to enter Costa Rica’s airspace, land and fly away loaded with cocaine with Miami as its ultimate destination. The problem is that no legislator recalls seeing such request or permission come through the docket at the National Assembly. When questioned about the type of aircraft, the OIJ repeated that it was “from the U.S. Air Force with a legislative permit.” The Minister of Public Safety, Mario Zamora, said that he was thankful that the United States arrived to transport cocaine away from Costa Rica, but he was quick to mention that the OIJ was responsible for obtaining all permits.

Passing the Buck

Even the identification of the C-17 from the U.S. Air Force remained a mystery until recently. CRHoy obtained a series of documents related to the ongoing investigation, which apparently include a letter signed on July 10th by a U.S. Coast Guard Commander named B.J. Ripkey requesting permission for a military aircraft from the U.S. to land in Costa Rica with 12 individuals aboard. According to that letter, the aircraft would not fly directly to Miami after takeoff: it would first stop in Nicaragua and later in Honduras while carrying all that cocaine.

The letter was addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the MSP and the Director of Air Surveillance -a special police unit in Costa Rica that is known for their presence at our airports. According to a 2011 Coast Guard document, there is a Commander Bradley Ripkey assigned to DDE-COSTA RICA SEC ASST. Somehow his request ended up in the hands of Gerardo Masis Delgado, who is apparently in charge of Aeronautical Operations of Costa Rica’s Civil Aviation Directorate. Mr. Masis issued an interesting letter that authorizes:

“aircraft type C-17 with registration 00534, or alternatively 10186, 66165, 66167, 66168, 77169, 77170, 77173, 77174, 77175, 77176, or 7717”

to enter Costa Rica’s airspace and land between the 26th and 28th of July. Mr. Masis also ordered reminded that no airport costs should be assessed to any of the aircraft above. It is interesting to note that the number 77178 corresponds to the “Spirit of Delaware,” which is the C-17 Globemaster III out of Dover Air Force Base pictured in this article, and that number happens to have been underlined with an ink pen on the letter above.

What is also interesting about the above is that Civil Aviation has been admonished by the Constitutional Chamber Court (Sala Cuarta), the highest court in Costa Rica, of having illegally approved the arrival of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters prior to President Barack Obama’s historic visit to our country earlier this year. Civil Aviation seems to the the go-to guy, or maybe the fall guy, in these matters; but, many legislators in Costa Rica are not amused. The Constitution clearly requires legislative permission for foreign military forces to enter Costa Rica, and the U.S. has a history of being snubbed in this regard.

So What Happened to All That Cocaine?

The OIJ’s official press release assures that the controversial payload left Costa Rica on Saturday July 27th, at 2:00 in the afternoon. The C-17 presumably stopped in Nicaragua and Honduras before landing in Miami, this is in accordance to the letter signed by USCG Commander B.J. Ripkey. A judge from Costa Rica supposedly flew with all the blow and met with the Consul in Miami, who was the last link in the chain of command to certify the arrival and destruction of the drugs.

The Consulate usually answers to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, but in this case that entity has not published anything on the matter. The OIJ, however, assures that the destruction process started at 6:00 am on Monday, July 29th, and that it lasted five hours until the last bag was incinerated. The OIJ also mentioned that U.S. and Costa Rican officials were present during the process, although there are no local media reports to corroborate.

As to the matter of legislative permit for this operation, some legislators interviewed by CRHoy indicated that everything was fine as long as the military aircraft did not land with bellicose intent. The OIJ mentioned that the C-17 was not armed, but a legal expert interviewed by CRHoy mentioned:

“Do you really think that the U.S. Air Force would risk picking 24 tons of cocaine in Costa Rica and then land in Nicaragua and Honduras without some sort of armed escort or weaponry to defend the aircraft and crew?”

The Need for Legislative Permits

News about this incident have prompted debate on the requirement of legislative permits for U.S. military forces to enter Costa Rica. Many people think that such permits add a layer of bureaucracy to worthy causes such as drug interdiction. No one is questioning the value of the assistance by the U.S. Air Force and other authorities from that country in taking away a prodigious amount of drugs that our country could not destroy; the problem is one of transparency and sovereignty.

The original story by Alvaro Sanchez of CRHoy and the English language version by The Costa Rica Star were picked up by various international media outlets, and many of the comments left by readers indicate a significant level of skepticism about the operation. Allowing foreign military forces to enter a country to transport narcotics in bulk calls for a certain amount of transparency that can be achieved with legislative permits.

History has shown that nothing good happens when you the U.S. government interests transport controlled substances from Central America. When such operations take place in a shadowy manner, you end up with Colonel Oliver North of the U.S. Marine Corps, the late American pilot Barry Seal smuggling for the CIA, shady companies such as DIASCA and Frigorificos de Puntarenas, and other kinds of malfeasance. The people of Costa Rica have a right to know about these things; this can be accomplished with legislative permits.

The short answer as to why that U.S. Air Force C-17 should have had permission to land in Costa Rica is: Because our Constitution requires it. The rationale is simple: As a country who abolished her military more than six decades ago, Costa Rica can’t afford to have foreign military or forces entering the country at their pleasure or with a permit issued by a mid-level government official. We have enough problems with Nicaraguan Army invasions and paramilitaries entering the country. As a peace-loving representative democracy, Costa Rica must discuss and decide these matters at the legislative level.

- See more at: http://news.co.cr/costa-rica-will-stop-sending-cocaine-to-miami/24277/

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