All posts by Mim

Rapper “Proof” Shot Dead at Illegal Afterhours Bar

November 16, 2007CelebritiesMim

Senseless killing with illegal firearms in afterhours illegal Detroit bar is “Proof” that you can take the Rapper out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the Rapper.

Deshaun Holton, better known as rapper “Proof” was shot dead after fatally wounding his friend in a fight. The 32-year-old D12 rapper was rushed to Holy Cross Hospital in a private vehicle after being shot once in the head and twice in the chest, but was pronounced dead on arrival on April 11, 2006. The second victim, 35-year-old Keith Bender, was on life support at St. John Conner Creek Hospital after being shot in the face by Proof but died a week later on April 18.

Police allege that Bender’s cousin, Mario Etheridge, shot Proof for shooting his cousin Bender in the face. Etheridge was charged Friday with carrying a concealed weapon.

Bender, who was discharged from the Army due to a heart condition, was at the C.C.C. club to celebrate that he no longer needed a defibrillator for a heart condition, according to his sister-in-law. So, of course, everyone knows that getting drunk with a bad heart condition is dangerous, but this did not matter to Bender.

The shooting incident occurred at club C.C.C. along Eight Mile Road at around 4:30 a.m., or 2 1/2 hours after bars are supposed to close under Michigan law. The bar is located on a road immortalized by Proof’s longtime pal Eminem in his hit semi-autobiographical film, Eight Mile.

The bar is in a very bad section of Detroit where most people do not go after dark unless they are involved in some nefarious behavior, such as afterhours drinking, drugs or prostitution.

Proof was gunned down at approximately 4:30 a.m., after the bar remained open illegally past its regular business hours. According to Detroit police spokesman Sergeant Omar Feliciano, Proof was the first one to draw a gun and started shooting at Bender after the two men got into a heated argument. It was not stated what the men were arguing about.

Investigators were still trying to sort out who fired the fatal shot that struck Proof in the head, killing him. Police said that a man has turned himself in to police for questioning, but it was not immediately known if he was a suspect. His identity was not revealed.

Proof was not licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Michigan. Proof was credited with having taught singer Eminem everything he knew about being a rapper. Proof also stood up as best man in Eminem’s recent remarriage to his ex-wife. Proof is survived by five children.

Toting an illegal firearm, hanging out at an illegal, afterhours bar, getting drunk, and shooting up the joint, are all “Proof” that you can take the Rapper out of the Detroit ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the Rapper.

Update: Since this article was uploaded in 2006, there was nothing in the news suggesting any charges would be made against this afterhours illegal club operation.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Rapper “Proof” Shot Dead at Illegal Afterhours Bar

November 16, 2007CelebritiesMim

Senseless killing with illegal firearms in afterhours illegal Detroit bar is “Proof” that you can take the Rapper out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the Rapper.

Police allege that Bender’s cousin, Mario Etheridge, shot Proof for shooting his cousin Bender in the face. Etheridge was charged Friday with carrying a concealed weapon.

The bar is in a very bad section of Detroit where most people do not go after dark unless they are involved in some nefarious behavior, such as afterhours drinking, drugs or prostitution.

Update: Since this article was uploaded in 2006, there was nothing in the news suggesting any charges would be made against this afterhours illegal club operation.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Illegal Immigration Solved – Make Mexico the 51st State!

November 15, 2007News-Politicians-WarMim

The best solution to the illegal alien problem from Mexico is to make Mexico the 51st state of the United States. Skeptical World has changed the Mexican flag to show it as the 51st state.

Since the Spanish-American war, or the battle at Alamo in which Texas lost but nobody seems to remember that part of the story, Americans and Mexicans have flowed back and forth across the southern border of the United States – or perhaps it should be stated as the northern most border of Mexico.

The southern states in particular, California, Arizona, Texas and the southeastern states have prospered due to the cheap labor provided by Mexicans, who work as migrants or laborers in the United States, but do not have the benefit of insurances, the right to vote, or to enlist in the army and fight in Iraq.

There is a very thick animosity in the United States attempting to draw a color barrier between Americans and Mexicans, but the division is artificial. Rather than send 15 million Mexicans back to Mexico, let’s solve the problem once and for all.

Border patrol is tired of grabbing illegal immigrants and sending them back to Mexico, and the ones already here, live in fear of being captured, like pre-World War II Germany when the Jewish people had to wear the star of David bands on their arms to announce they were Jewish rather than German. Germans were the ones attempting to make a distinction, and in the United States, many Americans are attempting to create a difference that is not real for Mexicans.

Illegal Immigration

Picture courtesy of Alipac, Americans for Legal Immigration, April 11, 2006 at a rally in New York.

Mexicans are already living and working in the United States. Most of them are working in hospitals, restaurants, landscaping and other service industries. Instead of playing tag at the border with illegal immigrants, it would be simpler to make Mexico the 51st state!

Changing border boundaries would eliminate the need to patrol the border and would save a lot of money. Then too, Americans wanting to vacation in Can Cun or other tropical paradises in Mexico, could freely travel to those spots. Then there would be no need to patrol the southern United States border any longer.

Civil liberties and lifestyles would greatly improve for all Mexicans as the United States could spend its middle east war money on a worthwhile cause – namely, bring Mexico up to the same standard of living as what the Americans have already.

Strategically, Mexico is on the southern most border of the United States and rather than target hard-working Mexicans as felons, the United States need to start thinking about protecting its southern borders and make Mexico part of the United States.

Right now, the United States is enjoying the freedom of having no enemies on its borders. What if the Al-Qaida setup shop in Mexico along the border? The best way to prevent this is to make Mexico the 51st state.

Illegal Immigration

With its rich culture and citizens known for their willingness to work hard for everything they have, the United States could only benefit from having these wonderful people call themselves citizens of the United States. Make Mexico the 51st state!

Update: Since this article was first uploaded in 2006, many Americans have been obsessing over Mexicans swimming, boating, or flying over the border, but to date, no one has considered the fact that maybe the focus should be on searching for terrorists and getting rid of them before they hurt innocent people.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

White Lacrosse Team Accused of Raping Black Stripper

November 14, 2007SportsMim

This is a picture of the Duke Lacrosse team pictured on March 27, 2006. An off-campus college party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. got out of control on March 13, 2006 when Lacrosse players at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina were accused of raping the black female stripper who was paid to be their evening entertainment. Not much information has been forthcoming from the other woman that came with her.

The 27-year old black woman is a single parent and a student at North Carolina Central University. The victim told police she was was pulled into a bathroom by Matt and Adam, where they and another player named Adam forcefully held her legs and arms and raped and sexually assaulted her anally, vaginally and orally. The victim stated she was hit, kicked, and strangled during the assault.

The probably cause affidavit stated, “The victim was treated and evaluated at Duke University medical Center Emergency Rooh shortly after the attack took place. A Forensic Sexual Assault Nurse (SANE) and Physician conducted the examination. Medical records and interviews that were obtained by a subpoena revealed the victim had signs, symptoms, and injuries consistent with being raped and sexually assaulted vaginally and anally. Furthermore, the SANE nurse stated the injuries and her bevavior were consistent with a traumatic experience.

An e-mail sent the day after the party on March 14 by Ryan McFadyen at 1:58 a.m. stated:

To whom it may concern

tomorrow night, after tonights show, ive decided to have some strippers over to edens 2c. all are welcome. however there will be no nudity. i plan on killing the bitches as soon as they walk in and proceding to cut their skin off while cumming in my duke issue spandex. all in besides arch and tack please respond.

(signed) 41

The number 41 is the jersey number for Ryan McFadyen, a member of the Duke Lacrosse team.

Police collected DNA samples with a cheek swab from 46 members of the lacrosse team last week. The 47th player, the only black member, wasn’t tested because the victim said her attackers were white. DNA tests did not connect any of the team’s 46 white players with the woman’s claim of rape.

Conflicting reports suggest the white players made racial slurs at the woman as she left the party and pictures supposedly taken at the start of the party suggest the victim was already bruised up when she arrived at the party.

Police tried to interview Duke University lacrosse players at their dorm rooms about the woman, but the athletes refused to speak with investigators, an attorney for several players said. According to court records, the players have told police that only team members were at the party.

The school confirmed that two Durham detectives were on campus Thursday night but said they did not execute any search warrants. Attorney Kerry Sutton said when police approached the players, they immediately contacted their lawyers, who advised them not to speak.

Attorney Sutton, who represents one of the men who lived in the off-campus house where the attack was reported, said he was shocked that police ”would run an end play around defense counsel in an attempt to talk to them.”

Police declined to release any information about the case Durham P.D. Report #06-03810. Coach Mike Pressler resigned and the rest of the season was canceled for the team by President Brodhead.

Duke President Richard H. Brodhead has promised a very serious self-study of campus culture, though a Saturday night stroll through student ghetto neighborhoods after dark, would surely reveal everything he wanted to know.

Update: Since this article was uploaded in 2006, the real story finally came out which included no assault on the stripper, plus two other false reports had been previously filed by this woman, one of which was another faked rape attack by white males. Clearly this woman has quite a black victim complex to the point where she is abe to convince others of fake assaults by whites.

The young men’s college careers have been destroyed as they were forced to drop out of school and their families had million dollar legal fees to pay. Of course, there is no way of collecting money from this woman or of restoring their lives.

It would not surprise me if these former college men developed very prejudicial attitudes towards black women based on their own horrible experiences because of this one woman who was probably mentally ill.

In reading the emergency room report, the alleged victim was attended to by another young inexperienced female nurse near her own age, who sucked up the fake story like a sponge. It is regrettable that a more senior medical staff person was not available to review the nurse’s report before everyone began jumping to assumptions.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Death of Pat Tillman: Friendly Fire Cover-Up

November 13, 2007ConspiraciesMim

Army Ranger Pat Tillman age 27 was shot and killed in Iraq a month after enlisting on April 22, 2004. This $18 million dollar a year pro NFL football player, who graduated from Arizona State University, opted to enter the military instead of continuing his football career. Promoted to Corporal posthumously, Pat Tillman had an excellent career for himself playing for the Arizona Rangers. My cousin Ed, who is retired from the Navy and the National Guard, follows the military scene news and explains the Pat Tillman cover-up this way. Ed wrote: Here is the deal with with Pat Tillman the professional football player who was killed by friendly fire. He could have been killed by a bullet from his brother’s gun. His brother was fighting in the same group of fighters and his brother and the part of group he was in fired on the other American including his brother. They were reporting they were friendly and Americans but the commander kept the group firing.

Then there seems to be a cover up that started on the ground and worked its way all the way to Washington so they could make this Tillman a hero and bring support to the war effort.

I think it stretched all the way back to Rumsfeld who probably told the Pentagon that he wanted nothing to do with it but would not stand in their way if they created a story out of it.

Tillman’s parents and his brother are behind the push to have it investigated.

His brother was one who spilled the beans on the commander on the ground.

It is sad, but interesting.

This Administration is so incompetent and arrogant.

They are as bad as Clinton and his group, maybe worse. Always claiming to support the troops, but not providing body armor at first and armored Humvees at first.

The Republicans are supposed to be supporters of troops. They are supposed to be for fiscal restraint. They are for neither at the moment.

How about the soldier who had to pay for his sleeping bag that was torn as he used it in the war? What was he supposed to do? Put it on the shelf and not use it so it would be unused in perfect condition when he turned it in.

The Republicans have become as bad as what they have painted the Democrats to be.

Both political parties are hindering the beauty and growth of our nation.

Sometimes I think that the political parties are as bad as Organized Religion.

Update: Since this article was first uploaded shortly after Coroporal Tillman’s death, there was a concerted effort to squelch information leaking out that he was accidentally shot and killed by his own brother. The cover-up has resurfaced and will probably smolder for a long time to come.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Déjà vu Vietnam: Is Iraq Really Worth It?

November 12, 2007News-Politicians-WarMim

Military supremacy is the hallmark of the American fighting machine. Tanks and soldier manpower dominated two previous world wars in the last century and threatened monopolization of countries boasting insubordination. From Germany to Vietnam, and from Grenada to Libya, daringly defiant countries encroaching on United States interests paid a steep price for their anti-American propaganda.

The empowered United States military force, with its heavy artillery and technically trained troopers, would storm onto enemy territory and discourage politically unfriendly countries. Enemies surrendered or withdrew their aggression knowing that conflict with the United States meant an apocalypse for their country. The only real enemy to outsmart the United States military kingdom was Vietnam, an agrarian country whose combat strategies were unorthodox.

The Vietnamese were unconventional soldiers using ambush warfare with countless precision. They devoured United States military positions and produced staggering causalities. President Johnson and his closest advisors, using counterintelligence maneuvers, truly believed they were ahead of the Vietnamese offense, ordering more soldiers abroad and advancing their position exponentially.

Playing by the Geneva Convention War-rule book, the retreating Vietnam forces, so they thought, would lose their momentum. Attrition of their soldiers through the brutal beating of American air and land assaults, would guarantee American victory.

But as American attacks began, sparking Vietnamese ingenuity, the enemy bypassed war-games and copiously retaliated with snipers and ambush squads using underground tunnels. Their usurpation of United States power came from a combat strategy they used for years that the United States was just learning about: Guerrilla warfare.

Invisible assaults

Unrelenting Guerrilla warfare, once a fierce Ninja-like invisible assault tactic, premised on two simple ideas. First was the element of captive surprise, of catching the enemy off guard through unsuspecting advances considered counter-intuitive by American military strategists. After all, who would think of randomly shooting from treetop posts or laying death-booby-trap grenades in civilian backpacks and huts? Second was a savagery of bludgeoning enemy forces with a primitive kill-instinct.

Déjà vu Vietnam: Is Iraq Really Worth It?

It was the same Neanderthal instinct that was capable of mutilating animals. Killing became a barbaric lust for bloodshed celebrated by the assassins as a victory. This included senseless soldier beheadings, torturous hostage starvations and extreme temperature exposure, and coercion of dehumanizing sexual acts. Trophies abounded for their sterling roust in the fields hunting prey.

Random brutal killings

Fast forward to the pandemonium of countless dead American and allied soldiers killed under a remarkably similar pathos of barbarism. Iraqi insurgents protesting the American presence in their country awaken a déjà vu memory of randomly brutal killings last seen in Vietnam.

Militants donned in explosives, teens sacrificed in suicidal bombs, cars detonated at American and Iraqi police stations; and how about the latest act of ravenous savagery? The mutilating of burned human corpses and displaying them as public effigies to stir national hatred. Or the slaughtering decapitation of Nick Berg, an anti-Semitic coup disguised as political retaliation for the Abu Ghairb prison abuses.

Human taxidermy

Such symbols of unconventional brutality are nothing new. Like the Vietnamese army, who were inveterate hunters since Biblical time, Iraqis basked in the glory of capturing and torturing their own hunted animals. Killing the chased animal-the helpless human victims—was not enough. No, their morbid obsession to showcase their prey resembled a form of human taxidermy.

The war games of Iraqi resistance resurrects the same subhuman fascination for genocide witnessed repeatedly in the archives of American military history. Whether shocked by the massacre of Jews under Hitler’s tyranny, angered by countless body bags of air-lifted soldiers in Vietnam, or repulsed by vivid televised images of carnage surrounded by cheering Iraqis, the inescapable truth is that not all human beings are civilized or subscribe to the same moral codes of humanity. That means that war with savages does not play by conventional war rules. Rules for animal warriors surviving on primitive instincts call for drastic measures that destroy the feeding frenzy for bloodshed.

Following the Israeli army’s example against enemy Palestinians, and in the words of the police officer O’Mally played by Sean Connery in the movie Untouchables, “When they shoot one of yours, you shoot two of theirs.” You hunt against those who hunt you. An eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth.

Israeli’s superior military force can outsmart their border antagonists because they retaliate swiftly, aggressively, and show no compassion or political diplomacy for perpetrators. Bombing the hide-outs of Hamas leaders sent a viciously clear message to its enemies—we play by your rules, and we do it better. Unlike the American military, once an invincible superpower and now the laughing stalk of the international community, the Israeli army proves its invulnerability by flexing its muscle against Palestinian mind-set of savagery, futility of human life, and their celebrated feast of vengeance.

Learn from Israel’s experience

Wake up President Bush and realize your top-seated Generals and military advisors are obsolete. They strategize in a tightly sealed vacuum suffocating on anti-Deluvian ideas of Judeo-Christian principles. They espouse bringing terrorists to justice as if rounding up petty thugs living in America. They do not grasp the Iraqi insurgents operate under Guerrilla-war mentality. Terrorists cannot be brought to justice; they can only be killed.

Middle East Scholars, historians, Israeli leaders, and Iraqi-American consultants are America’s real secret weapons. Let them portray the Vietnam-surrealism of today’s conflict and how prosecution of savagery begins and ends with one method: Retribution and obliteration.

Update: This article was originally uploaded May 16, 2004. The man who beheaded Nick Berg was later identified as Al-Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006 by the Americans. The gruesome stillframe of the beheading process was made by me from the video. I found the three minute video of the beheading process of Nick Berg to be deeply disturbing. Either the Taliban used a dull knife blade, or their intent was to prolong the victim’s suffering, but watching the continuous sawing at his neck bones must have caused him unbelievable suffering.

The terrorists, performing for the camera, deliberately did not sever Nick Berg’s windpipe, so for three minutes while Al-Zarqawi was sawing the sides and back of Nick’s neck, the viewer can hear Nick screaming through his bloody windpipe. Only at the very end of the three minute videotape when it is apparent they have finally sawed through his spinal cord in the back of his neck, does Al-Zarqawi rip the knife through Nick Berg’s vocal cords, silencing the screams, and then jerks the head up off the shoulders.

My reason for telling you this is because you don’t want to see this video and yet, you need to be aware of how mentally disturbed the Taliban supporters really are.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Todd Bertuzzi – Wild Man on Ice

November 11, 2007SportsMim

If Hockey were a 7-Eleven Store, this man would be in jail.

Vancouver Canuck’s Right Wing Todd Bertuzzi viciously assaulted Colorado’s Steve Moore on March 8, 2004 after Moore’s team won the hockey game 9-2.

Bertuzzi was caught on camera chasing Moore with his hockey stick, then striking Moore in the back of the head with his fist. Bertuzzi then slammed Moore down on the ice, then jumped on Moore’s back with his 245 pounds of screaming flesh. The camera shows the out-of-control Bertuzzi then grabbing Steve Moore’s head and forcing it into the ice as their bodies slid across the frozen icy surface.

The blood then pours out of Moore’s head onto the ice in front of a shocked audience and ten minutes later, the injured player with a broken neck was lifted off the ice and taken to the hospital.

A somber Bertuzzi was forced to apologize on camera the next day with tears dripping off his face, or perhaps it was the melted ice from Moore’s head.

Todd Bertuzzi - Wild Man on Ice

It can be speculated that Bertuzzi will get married one day and become a full-fledged spouse abuser and will terrorize his children with his vicious temper. Is it too late to recommend counseling and anger management for this wild man?

Update: Since this article was uploaded May 6, 2004, sporting events have changed, with more sports heroes engaging in illegal activities or in unleashing deadly tempers on their families.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Hurricane Katrina – Natural Disaster or Weather Manipulation?

November 10, 2007ConspiraciesMim

Hperdimensional Katrina – Scientific Evidence and Hurricane Rita Update

Hurricane Katrina

As we watch another monster storm Hurricane Rita bear down on the Texas/Louisiana Coast — the second catastrophic disaster to hit this region in only three weeks (!) — we have a major new development to report in our on-going Hyperdimensional Katrina Investigation:

Hurricane Katrina

This sequence of New Orleans’ NEXRAD radar data (above) is in our opinion (and that of other experts who have now looked at it our behest …) a proverbial “smoking gun”–

Strongly indicating now that Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, an artificially manipulated hurricane — and … specifically targeted for the City of New Orleans!

The startling evidence supporting this preliminary confirmation lies in a frame-by-frame analysis of this official National Weather Service “radar loop.”
* * *
The first thing one notices in looking at these frames, are the bizarre, extraordinarily regular “vorticular patterns” marching across the image (below) — slowly rotating across the field of view in the span of the 18 minutes represented by the sequence. At first glance, this geometry could easily be mistaken for an image of the slowly rotating “feeder bands of rain” in the fully-developed hurricane itself ….

Until … one looks closer at the DATE of this particular NEXRAD radar image sequence:

Hurricane Katrina

August 17, 2005 — fully 12 days BEFORE Katrina hit New Orleans!!
Obviously, then, this official National Weather Service radar data CANNOT be from the landfall of Hurricane Katrina … which didn’t come ashore in southern Louisiana until the wee hours of August 29th!

In fact, here’s what the official radar loop (below) of Katrina’s actual landfall on the 29th, from the same NEXRAD station, looked like:
Hurricane Katrina

So, what makes the loop from the 17th — twelve days earlier — so unusual …?

This!

This image (below) is the last pre-sunset GEOS visual satellite image of the Louisiana area from the same day as the New Orleans’ radar “anomaly” — August 17th.

As you can see, it reveals a few thunderstorms situated to the north and west of New Orleans the City … but in the area northeast of the City — where those peculiar “radar bands” are located in the close-up — there are no clouds or precipitation at all!

Hurricane Katrina

Here’s the visual close-up (below); notice all that TOTALLY CLEAR AIR to the east of the City [located between Lake Pontchartrain (the red oval above the words “New Orleans”) and the top of the “boot” below it, representing the Mississippi delta extending out into the Gulf of Mexico]–

Hurricane Katrina

Right where those peculiar radar bands are the heaviest (below)!

Just what the hell is going on!?
Radar images on the National Weather Service NEXRAD image loops are created by transmitted radar energy (from the radar antenna) being reflected back to that same antenna, as a function of azimuth (a 360-degree position, relative to the transmitter). The NEXRAD system “refreshes” these images every 6 minutes — revealing precipitation (rain, or hail or snow) within hundreds of miles of the antenna. Sometimes, when birds are migrating … or insects are swarming in the Spring … the radar system can detect echoes from objects OTHER than raindrops or snowflakes … but that is very rare.

Hurricane Katrina

In this case, two highly patterned, incredibly regular, slowly-rotating “vortices” — one northeast of New Orleans, the other to the south, and in TOTALLY CLEAR AIR! — are reflecting strong echoes BACK to the NEXRAD antenna … when there’s NOTHING suspended in that air for the radar beam to be reflecting from!!
Totally inexplicable … by any standard meteorological measure.

And, in case you have any remaining doubts about the truly anomalous nature of this August 17th New Orleans’ radar loop, here (below) is a simultaneous infrared series of GEOS satellite images from UNISYS (a commercial weather corporation, offering National Weather Service data to its clients) of the same area … and covering the same time period (note the time code at the top-right of the graphic).

Hurricane Katrina
As can be seen, clouds (the bright areas — and their associated precipitation) are totally missing from this eastern and southern region … in the same time frame and region covered by the mysterious radar loop!

Yet, the anomalous “radar bands” of August 17, 2005 persist … centered on New Orleans.

Just like a giant “bulls eye” was somehow being painted on the Crescent City … 12 days before Katrina struck.

* * *

That, in fact, is exactly what our “hyperdimensional model” for Hurricane Katrina is proposing: that what we are seeing in this extraordinary radar sequence …. is the standard NEXRAD radar signal being — somehow — reflected back from the clear air over and around New Orleans … air which has somehow been made “radar reflective” by the application of an otherwise invisible “energy” signature … from somewhere.

Hurricane Katrina

While the precise nature of this anomalous “reflection mechanism” is currently unknown — without further information from other sensor systems — possibilities range from “actual ionization of the air” itself (making it more electrically conductive — and thus radar reflective), to equally anomalous “wavelike” changes in the density of the air within the rotating radar beam ….

In the HD Model, it is this “HD imprinting” of New Orleans, by this impossible (in current physics) “energy vortex signature” which … 12 days later … literally attracted Hurricane Katrina right to New Orleans … exactly like a homesick homing pigeon!

Hurricane Katrina

By any current physics, such “imprinting” of an entire geographical location is impossible.

But, isn’t this type of extremely sophisticated “climate control technology” precisely what former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, tried to warn us about … back in 1997!?

Hurricane Katrina

And then, there is the recent theoretical work of physicist, Lt. Col. (US Army — retired) Thomas Bearden — who, for decades, has maintained that such extremely sophisticated “weather modification technology” actually exists, based on a deliberate concealment of some critical laws of physics … which were suppressed over a hundred years ago!

However, in this entry to the “Captain’s Blog” — as opposed to any “theory”– we have now been able to present unequivocal physical evidence … the official NEXRAD radar signatures of August 17th … which dramatically attests that “something,” definitely “impossible” by all known current physics, was leaving an easily detectable radar signature in clear air over the City of New Orleans, on the evening of August 17th ….

Something which … 12 days later … “attracted” the worst regional hurricane disaster in the history of these United States.

What that “energy signature” ultimately represents MUST now be explained … lest whomever is actually using this “secret” technology, decides to strike again ….

* * *

For those who might wonder how we acquired this extraordinary data (which has since been predictably erased from the official NEXRAD record), we must pay homage to a small and unsung band of pioneers who have created the highly arcane field of “radar anomaly research.” With site names like “cyberspaceorbit.com,” “flashradar.com” and “radaranomalies.com,” the investigators maintaining these sites have accumulated a remarkable archive of totally puzzling radar signatures, seen on both civilian and military radars across the entire United States … over the past seven years.

Beginning in 1998, the first of these persistent (and to this day, still officially unexplained) bizarre radar signatures began appearing on the national network of 155 official National Weather Service radar stations (below).

Hurricane Katrina

Utilizing this official NEXRAD data, this auxiliary network of amateur “anomaly hunters” made available to non-specialists across the Internet these highly anomalous radar signatures — such as this example, seen in southern Texas in November of 1998 (below):

Hurricane Katrina

It is the hope of those of us at Enterprise who have quietly pursued this research since 1998, as well as these dedicated specialists in this almost unknown field cited above, that by posting the truly bizarre “vortex radar anomaly” captured by the NEXRAD network over New Orleans on the evening of August 17th, 2005, someone “in the know” will be further inspired to release MORE crucial data of this type.

One thing seems clear, even at this early stage of our investigation:
Whatever formed this extraordinary radar signature, captured by the NEXRAD network on the 17th, cannot be considered, by any means, a “natural meteorological phenomenon.” Nature does NOT create — and in totally clear air — a set of slowly rotating “ionized vortices” … capable of reflecting radar energy across literally hundreds of miles ….

The distinct possibility that this was, in fact, some kind of “hyperdimensional homing beacon” — specifically designed by “someone” to guide Katrina to a catastrophic landfall at New Orleans just eleven days after this signature first appeared — is thus a scientific hypothesis we feel worthy of further serious investigation … and consideration.

Hurricane Katrina

NEW Addendum

A startling overnight microwave radiometer loop of Rita’s approach to the Texas Coast, discovered by Kent Steadman of http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/, reveals a bizarre, real-time “electronic signature” for Rita!

Hurricane Katrina

Positioned off the Coast south of Galveston Bay — where the hurricane was projected by the National Weather Service for several days to initially make landfall — the unique “thermal microwave signature” (a MIMIC image, from the University of Wisconsin’s “Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies”) appears to be some kind of “atmospheric side-effect” of an attempt to potentially create a last-minute “HD electronic fence” — designed to push Rita north and east as it approached the Coast … and thus to prevent it from entering the Bay.

NEW: 9/26/05

Note, particularly, the latest composite image (above) that Kent (cyberspaceorbit.com) has now posted on his website:
A side-by-side comparison of the microwave thermal “rainfall” image (left), AND a visual GEOS satellite image (right).

The arrow indicates (on the left) the anomalous MIMIC microwave 5 IR “geometric” signatures — indicating that “something” is creating a massively increased amount of rain … and in a highly geometric pattern … in this section of the outer rainbands of the hurricane. The visual satellite image on the right (second arrow) indicates that — whatever is being attempted — seems to actually be working: the level of visible cloud cover in this region of the storm has definitely been reduced … indicating that the water vapor and aerosols there have been dramatically rained out!

Was this a coordinated effort — via some kind of “HD technology” — to selectively condense the water in this region of the storm, thus causing a release of latent heat and a massive disruption of its overall rotation on one side … and a consequent decrease in total category wind velocity … and a “turn to the north?”

Hurricane Katrina

While obviously speculation at this point, in fact, Rita DID decrease in this timeframe — from a Category 4 to a Category 3 — before turning slightly north, just hours before making landfall … thus sparing Galveston, Houston and a huge swath of the critical Gulf Coast refineries and chemical plants — which produce more than 25% of the Nation’s gasoline supply — from major wind and water damage ….

New: 9/26/05

After Rita moved inland, forecasters were essentially unanimous in predicting that the remains of a greatly weakened tropical depression Rita would “stall out” over northeastern Texas/northwestern Louisiana … and rain … rain … rain …. Over 25 inches of rain were forecast to come out of the resulting stalled “depression” — inevitably creating flash floods far inland, with the distinct possibility of many additional storm casualties.

Some models even had Rita looping BACK south, toward the Gulf … and eventually re-intensifying again into a tropical storm!

Then, “something” happened ….

And the remains of Rita — instead of “stalling out “– caught a passing low … and took off “like another homesick homing pigeon” for New England ….

While this new “anomalous” set of MIMIC images (below) appeared on the University of Wisconsin website.

Hurricane Katrina

Was this another “electronic fence” somehow triggering more heavy rainfall condensation — designed to “herd” the remains of Rita gently northeast … so she could “catch her final steering current ride” … away from causing more devastation in Louisiana?
Stay tuned.
By Thomas E. Bearden, PhD

Update: Since this article was uploaded in 2005, more attention has been turned to the changing climate and the impact of civilization on this change. Although there is already some known weather manipulation which has been practiced for many years to ensure good field crops, the Hurricane Katrina disaster has data suggesting something other than nature may have triggered this deadly storm.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

Was 9/11 an Inside Job?

November 9, 2007ConspiraciesMim

A huge plume of smoke and fire can be seen emerging from the North Tower. Following the attack on the North Tower, many broadcasters were showing live coverage when a second plane, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower.

9/11

According to investigative reporter Jim Marrs, the official story about 9/11 is discredited. That is the sobering conclusion reached by millions of Americans, all across the political spectrum, who have sifted through the evidence uncovered by hundreds of independent researchers.

Many honest citizens are now forced, with sadness and reluctance, to make an almost unthinkable inference: Powerful US officials must have had foreknowledge of the planned attacks, and then acted from the inside to: thwart efforts to prevent 9/11, remove or cover up criminal evidence, and hamper inquiries into what happened.

Were the horrific events of September 11, 2001 truly an inside job? Jim Marrs makes a compelling case that 9/11 marks the intersection of several conspiracies at once, each based on overlapping political agendas. Support for his thesis comes from this sampling of the many disturbing anomalies:

• Standard air defense mechanisms systematically failed, simultaneously.
• Interceptor jets were scrambled too late, too slowly, and from the wrong locations.
• President Bush proceeded with a “photo op” long after he knew we were under attack.
• Fires could not have caused the free-fall collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
• The collapse of Building 7 in the complex was later admitted to be a demolition.
• Vital physical evidence was either removed or has never been released to investigators.
• Key officials claimed warnings never came, despite massive evidence to the contrary.

Jim Marrs shows the independent researchers from across the political spectrum–along with dissatisfied families of 9/11 victims–point to a massive number of anomalies from the official story that have not been adequately addressed in the 9/11 Commission Report or by the mainstream press. Especially notable are the 23 Questions that were formally presented to the government’s 9/11 Commission by the 9/11 Family Steering Committee; almost all of them still remain unasked and unanswered, even after twelve sessions of the US government’s official 9/11 Commission.

Dissenters from the Bush administration account say the official story falls apart on the prima facie evidence–especially regarding (1) Saudi, Israeli, and Pakistani involvement, (2) the apparent stand-down of America’s air defenses, (3) stark factual anomalies from the official stories about the hijackings and the collapses of the towers, (4) removal or withholding of evidence, and (5) President Bush’s bizarre behavior on the day of the tragedy, along with his administration’s overt resistance to a thorough inquiry. These and numerous other disturbing issues have become salient for all researchers, no matter what their political lens.

Even Michael Moore’s documentary entitled, Farenheit 9/11, though praised and bashed by many people, is bone-chilling where President George W. Bush is seen continuing to sit in the Florida classroom next to the blackboard, apparently undistracted by the urgency of the phone calls he has received about planes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City. Wouldn’t a normal person at least have jumped to their feet declaring “Oh my gosh” or something worse?

Americans who seriously doubt the incompetence theory promulgated by the government’s 9/11 Commission probably number in the millions. Although many US citizens doubt this level of incompetence, it must be remembered these staffers had never encountered anything previously which was upsetting to their daily routine, of driving to the office, sipping coffee all day long at a desk, snacking on donuts, etc. People are only afraid when they know there is something to be afraid of, but these US staffers had not been exposed to anything fearful. Thus, their ambivalence to act, or incompetance as others would call it, is not that unexplainable.

Update: Since this article was uploaded, an architect acquaintance explained his co-worker was one of the architects who designed the Twin Towers, and how the buildings had been designed to withstand the impact of an accidental mishap of a plane flying into the side of the building.

According to the architect, the towers were stabilized with large cylinders of water at the four corners and down the center, so that in the accidental event of an aircraft striking the tower, the water in the cylinders would absorb the shock of the crash and the tower would not collapse.

Another acquaintance of mine sent me an e-mail shortly after the Twin Towers collapsed. She said she had just entered the first floor to go have lunch with a friend. She said everyone heard a tremendously loud explosion and thought a bomb had gone off inside the building. She said there was an immediate loud speaker announcement telling people there was nothing wrong, and to stay put, and not evacuate the building.

But she said her instinct was to get out of there, and she walked outdoors as fast as she could on spiked heels. Just as she got outside, the tower began to collapse. She said she would have been killed if she had listened to the announcement and remained inside like the other people.

Skeptically yours,
Mim

What Anti-Virus Software Companies Do Not Want You to Know

November 8, 2007Ripoffs-and-ScamsMim

Everyday, millions of workers and families sail through work or home tasks on their computers, browsing the internet, believing their anti-virus software is protecting them from all the known or unknown computer evils out there.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Unknown to PC computer users everywhere, there are sinister dangers lurking on the internet or on software disks, dangers that your anti-virus software is not protecting you from. Worse yet, it is a well-kept industry secret, one that virus protection software companies will not warn you about. In fact, this fatal flaw is not even mentioned at anti-virus web sites.

So how can this be true in our modern enlightened world, where viruses are announced on the news as soon as they surface? How is it that anti-virus software products are singing their own praises for the Viruses, Trojans, and Worms which they claim such diligence in shielding from your computer? What else lurks out there that could damage your computer or ruin your life?

The answer is in a secret weapon perpetrated by internet marketing companies to learn all about your age, income, and buying habits. They are doing this through secret software weapons known as “parasites” that attach themselves to a host internet browser and then begin sucking details out of your personal life.

Unlike Viruses, Trojans and Worms which are intended to disrupt your computing experience, Parasites attach themselves to your computer and secretly monitor your internet surfing habits or misuse your computer for their own insidious purposes. Parasites come in all flavors. So while your firewall may protect you from dangers outside your home or office firewall, there is nothing protecting you from the stealth monitoring of parasites residing inside your computer.

Adware parasites monitor web pages you visit and rapidly search for keywords matching their own list of words that are pre-programmed to launch popup ads at you quicker than you can close them. Or, it can start launching popup or pop-under advertising windows the moment your computer establishes an internet connection.

Spyware parasites record all of your internet keystrokes and transmit them to another company, typically for marketing studies to see what products or services you view on your screen. However, spyware did not always possess these questionable tactics. Originally, internet companies used spyware to verify your identity to ensure safe communication and transactions with your computer.

Malware parasites are intended to disrupt your computer by triggering Viruses, Trojans or Worms. Or, they may take you instantly to their web site where it retrieves your user names, passwords, or financial information stored in the windows directory.

Parasites for the Savvy Surfer

You may already recognize the names of these parasites, often touted as “must haves” for the savvy surfer. Popular programs such as Internet Washer are supposed to erase your web surfing tracks so you can browse anonymously, but instead, unleash a payload of two or more parasites in your computer.

While Hotbar is supposed to speed up your web surfing, this parasite assigns a code number to your computer, then records every web page visited, every purchase made, and every keystroke entered into every form on every web page.

Ilookup is heralded as a better browser search box, but actually hijacks your home page with its own and replaces customary browser search bars with its own snoopy tools.

SpyBlast is advertised as a firewall tool for detecting intruders which it does not do, but instead, sends you popup ads.

WebHancer is supposed to enhance your web browsing experience, but instead, spies on web sites you visited. This parasite is widely distributed through music downloads from Audio Galaxy and Grokster, among others.

Not every piece of software or web site will actually rid your computer of these infections. Some of these programs claiming to rid you of unwanted pop-up ads, will end up infecting your computer with their own parasites, so be aware of Adaware. The Newbie Org web site for computer novices is apparently run by newbies themselves, as they advise troubled users to install Adaware along with other damaging software. Some web sites with good intentions such as 2-Spyware attempt to provide good advice about parasites, but have limited expertise which would have you deleting legitimate speech or monitor files that could disable some of your programs.

Infected Bargain Software

Those inexpensive CD’s priced from $5 – $10 that you see in the bargain software racks in stores, come preloaded with adware and spyware parasites which are installed on your computer along with the software program you are buying.

Hewlett-Packard’s scanning software includes an FTP program to neatly upload your photos to the internet. Intended to make uploading easy for the novice, this photo folder contains a stowaway that rides alongside your photos on their trip to the internet to track everywhere you go. Its spyware is cemented to your computer inside the “Share-to-Web” non-removable desktop icon.

These parasites can also arrive unexpectedly with the free installation disk for your new product, internet or cable purchase. Infected parasitic software have been reported coming from such well-respected companies as Amazon, Best Buy, Cannon, CorelDraw, Cosmi, Dell, DirecTV, Earthlink, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Kensington, Logitech, MicroWarehouse, Photo Editor Software, US Robotics, Xoom, and many more. The infected parasite list even includes McAfee anti-virus protection software. How can software designed to protect your computer, end up infecting it? How does this happen?

Buying some software products from these companies may infect your computer with a popular parasite from Alset, an internet company that describes itself as “a revolutionary service that provides end-users with plain English messages to help them avoid common computer problems.”

For example, buying Cosmi’s inexpensive $10 Video Editor program containing “everything you need to make perfect movies” according to the label, also installs something you do not need – namely a parasite from Alset called Help Express. Billed as a problem solver, Help Express installs another parasite called Coupons and Offers into your print menus. So, every time you go to print, a drop down window opens and ask you if it is time to buy more ink for your printer? Then the parasite specifies the make and model number of your printer and offers to link you directly to an advertiser selling the exact type of ink used by your printer.

Trusted Software Contains Parasites

Sometimes well-respected companies with full-priced software, such as Broderbund or Mattel, engage in these sneaky practices. These companies install the Brodcast parasite and its spawn from hell into your computer when you install their software. These insidious pests drive pop-up ads to your computer like there is no tomorrow. Each time you connect to the internet, the Brodcast parasite begins rapidly firing pop-up ads at you. Most people mistakenly blame the web sites they are visiting for these annoying pop-up ads. What people do not realize is the pop-up ads are really being launched from a parasite inside their own computer which was secretly installed with their gaming, home design, home reference, or genealogy software.

Parasites Targeted at Children

While many parasites are targeted at the buying public, some innovative marketers have designed clever parasites for studying the internet browsing habits of families by targeting the youngest internet users, namely the children. One very popular parasite is a highly praised animation called Bonzi Buddy. With its animated talking parrot or purple gorilla that literally talks to your child, this internet spy is gathering information about what your child looks at on the internet. But it does not turn off its snoopy ways when the adults go online because it continues reporting their internet habits to its home base.

Another widely distributed popular parasite is Comet Cursor. This one is so popular that families seek it out and download it deliberately. With its fanciful antics, these mouse cursors enchant children while spying on their surfing habits. Of course, it does not know when an adult is browsing the internet because it continues silently spying on the browsing habits of all the family members. Another parasite aimed at children and teens is called Gator which gathers information about internet browsing and is heavily linked to all kinds of unwanted advertising and pop-up ads. However, the end result is the same – internet spying.

No Free Ride

How do otherwise intelligent shoppers, who use anti-virus software, get parasites in their computers? The answer lies in the deceptive ways in which these parasite companies will trick you, your co-workers, or members of your family, into downloading their plentiful supply of free games, free music, free software, free videos, free screen savers, and so on.

But nothing is really free on the internet. “Free” may be the gimmick that hooks you, but hidden inside the free download, is a parasite so technically superior that it secretly boards your computer and implants a two-way communication system for gathering and reporting information about you to other companies. What a high price for your family or company to pay for getting free or cheap software.

Even for families where games, videos or music are not downloaded, the marketing companies are clever enough to tempt you with free internet utility programs to improve your internet surfing experience or to block advertising or spyware. Some of these parasites even offer you free software to help you, by allegedly erasing your internet surfing tracks, or to provide you with free toolbar attachments to make surfing faster, or to supposedly block advertising or spying programs.

But what they fail to mention is their scrungy program is a ruse, a scam, a cover-up to hide their sneaky parasites hidden inside their programs. Some of these web sites will not even wait to see if you want to download the freebie with the parasite, because even if you click away from their web site, it is already too late, for your computer has already been slipped the self-installing parasite. Worse yet, most parasites will not show up in your computer’s list of startup programs or in your control panel listing software that has been added. This is deliberate to avoid detection.

But as diabolical as this seems, it gets worse. While many parasites want to know your spending habits, just as many parasites are using your internet connection to redirect pornographic traffic to web sites located in other countries.

These parasites will also use your modem to dial other countries which is why you may have found long distance calls to other countries that you did not make, but which the automatic dialing software made at your expense.

Or, if you are on a network or broadband connection, these parasites will “borrow” your company, your school, or your university’s broadband network connection to harvest their traffic and redirect potential customers to their illegal web sites.

That means while your computer is turned on and connected to the internet, these parasites will set up shop with rent-free space on your computer, making your computer the mainframe for their web page. Parasites then literally draw internet traffic to your computer to show an implanted web page while you are totally oblivious to this clandestine operation, except for occasional computer crashes or screen freezes.

A College Student’s Infected Computer

To show you how insidious these parasites are, we checked one college student’s computer. We unplugged it from the university network to see what surprises were in it. Despite the fact the student’s anti-virus software was current and operating correctly, we found his computer was infected with one Trojan virus and dozens of parasites. Prior to our checking, the student’s only complaint was his computer sometimes crashed, ran slowly, or froze up when he was typing his homework assignments. Normal typing does not require a lot of computer memory, so we suspected parasitic activity.

Fatal Attraction

We asked the student what web sites he visited and what he downloaded. He indicated a preference for gaming web sites such as Nstorm, music web sites such as Audio Galaxy and KaZaa Lite, and screen savers from many different web sites.

The student said he did not visit gambling or pornographic web sites. This was confirmed by checking the cookies, history, and temporary internet files stored on the computer.

Although the student’s computer did not contain any collection of pornographic material, we found a pornographic “home page” with active photo links and a “live” Java script located on the root drive of his computer that had been installed by a parasite. Additionally, the Windows and Program Files directories contained over a dozen self-running “online dialing” parasites for pornography, adware or spyware, including Dialer Offline (porn), Rapid Blaster (porn), Strip Player (porn), Erostars and IEAccess (installs premium rate diallers for porn sites), Gator (unwanted advertising), Online Dialer (porn), Web Dialer (porn), Dialler (porn), among others.

The student’s computer also contained the insidious Transponder Trojan which hails itself as a browser tool, but which records information entered into web page forms, such as purchases, user names, passwords, account numbers, and money transactions. Then it relentlessly transmits this information to its home server and sends back plenty of advertising. Transponder also has the malicious ability to silently install other software on your computer from its home base across the internet and was responsible for some of the auto dialing software.

We found these diabolical, self-launching parasite programs were routing internet traffic through this student’s university network connection to pornographic web sites around the world and sending him unwanted pop-up ads as well. No wonder this student complained his computer sometimes crashed, ran slowly or froze up without explanation. It was because this unwanted internet traffic was periodically overwhelming his computer. How many other universities or work places have had their network connections hijacked by pornographers?

KaZaa Lite or KaZaa Blight?

One of the world’s most popular web sites for downloadable music and videos was a hit among teens and college students as soon as it was launched. Originally a free music web site until recent changes in the law, it gleefully downloaded countless parasites into computers undetected by anti-virus software. Yet KaZaa Lite downloads so many unwanted parasites into a computer it should be named KaZaa Blight.

Why Anti-Virus Software Will Not Protect You

None of the commercial anti-virus software programs will defend your computer against an attack of parasites because they do not even detect parasites! If you want to see how diabolical this is, visit the Norton or McAfee web sites and do a word search for some of these parasites by name, and you will come up empty-handed. This is because they do not even address the problem!

The explanation given by anti-virus companies for not protecting your computer from parasites, is because parasites do not spread to other computers. Of course, this glib statement is not at all true because parasites jettison through a home or business network as quickly as a virus. The real reason anti-virus software companies are not also anti-parasites, is because many commercial web sites pay for marketing information collected by parasites. Parasites are all about making money through exploitation.

Impact of Online Banking

If you engage in online banking or stock transactions, you probably feel safe wielding deals behind a computer running anti-virus software behind a firewall and visiting secure web sites that start with “https” with the “s” representing “secure.” But what if one of these spyware parasites is recording your keystrokes from inside your computer, collecting information about your user names, passwords and account numbers? Many parasites do just that. They silently transmit this information across the ocean to unscrupulous criminals. Imagine the impact if this information about you were sold to criminals or even terrorists? How long would online banking or the stock exchange remain secure, if one day the terrorists decided to crash the United States or global world banking system, by implanting millions of home and office computers with parasites for monitoring keystrokes to bank accounts? It boggles the mind.

Your Best Defense is a Good Offense

Since most people use Microsoft Windows or Internet Explorer, parasites are written for these programs because it assures its creators of the widest possible distribution. The quickest way to avoid these parasites, even if they are already on your computer, is to simply stop using Internet Explorer and switch to a different browser. The pests will not go away, but they will sleep as long as you do not use Internet Explorer. The parasites will wake-up whenever Internet Explorer is running.

If you do not know how to switch to a different internet browser, you can overcome many of the hazards associated with Internet Explorer by turning off the Active-X and Java script functions. These features normally enable your web surfing to be filled with music, video, animation, or the ability to complete online forms for shopping or banking, for example. However, the Active-X and Javascript functions are the speedway used by parasites to race into your computer. Halting their ability to run on your computer will also prevent you from playing music, watching videos, animations or completing online forms.

Therefore, the solution is to download a less popular browser. We downloaded an older version of Netscape, the world’s second most popular browser, hoping it would be free of pests. But we were wrong. We found it came packed with a parasite when the internet radio option was selected for installation. But then, who can resist internet radio?

Even the world’s largest internet service comes with parasites. America OnLine (AOL) which bought out the previously mentioned Netscape, is used worldwide by the public and small independent businesses. Pitfalls associated with America OnLine are covered in depth in another article at this web site. Visitors to the America OnLine web site will be greeted with an option to download the latest version or Instant Messenger (IM) which allows online chats in many countries of the world. Peeking into the programming code for this parasite customized for America OnLine users, reveals its purpose is to track all web sites visited, including secure web pages for making purchases or financial transactions. Clicking on either ad for more information will inject the Alchem parasites directly into your computer which germinate into more parasites.

In order to find a browser that does not contain pests, you need to select one of the lesser known browsers for which no parasites exist. This means finding a browser that is a lot less popular or maybe does not contain all the multimedia functions you want. Or you can switch to Macintosh computers which occupy such a small percentage of the marketplace, that parasites have not yet been written for them. But if you stay with your current PC, then another choice is to download the Mozilla Firefox which does not contain parasites. In fact, your internet browsing will kick into high gear because there are no parasites slowing you down.

Quick Way to Detect Parasite Activity

Since many parasites are designed to start work when you go online, you may find some of them listed in a special configuration file on your computer. You can get to this Microsoft file by clicking on the “Start” button, then click “Run,” then type in “msconfig.exe” and click “OK.” Clicking on the “Startup” tab will open up a window you can scroll to see what programs were set to launch upon starting your computer. While most of these names are programs necessary to run your computer, the parasites, worms, trojans or viruses, if any, will be listed on the bottom of the list. You can verify them one at a time by typing their names in a search engine such as Google.

Items marked with a check are set to launch as soon as Windows opens up. Other items reside on your computer and will run if launched. The newest programs added to your computer are at the bottom of the list. This is likely where you will find parasites and their ilk. Start with the name on the bottom and type that file name in a search engine search box. When the search page opens with its list of selections, click on the “Cached” page to skim the titles until you find a web site page that mentions your file to see if it is a valid Windows file or not.

If you see parasites, adware, spyware, to anything similar, you should read that page by clicking on the “Cached” page to reduce your chance of acquiring new parasites by not going directly to any web site. This technique provides a useful introduction to where parasites reside on your computer. But it is only the first step in finding these pests. Chances are good that if you find one parasite listed, there are probably many more hiding on your computer.

As parasites become more sophisticated, many of them are now copying themselves onto legitimate systems files and folders that run your computer. Hewlett-Packard and America OnLine hide some of their snoopy programs in the Program Files directory using gentle names such as “Companion.” This can make detection more difficult and you may have to search for the parasite’s related files to determine if the file is the original or an infected variant.

Final Advice

You may receive e-mails offering to provide you with a free computer scan for viruses. Or, the e-mail may contain an alarming message that your user name or password has been compromised and you need to click on the link immediately or your account will be closed. Never click these links. They are never legitimate.

The blue hyperlinks lead to web sites with a false name or they spoof (fake) the name of a well-known web site, but which actually contain a parasite or trojan to steal your user name or password. Or, they may contain a redirect taking you to their scumware to sell illegal goods or services, or to snatch your account and password information before you have time to react with your mouse or keyboard.

Why do they want your identity? Sometimes for quick money to sell your personal information to identity thieves, and other times to shield their own identity in order to sell pornography, gambling, or illegal software on the internet. As soon as one stolen identity is uncovered, they slip into another person’s stolen identity and continue selling. Prosecuting these people is virtually impossible because they are located in other countries and international laws do not apply.

No Perfect Solutions

There are no perfect solutions. Firewalls are not designed to stop parasites and so they leap right into your computer. Anti-virus software will not block nor detect parasites. As long as legitimate companies use parasites for marketing tools, parasites will continue to thrive. For those of you inspired to remove parasites on your own, the popular Hijack This software program should help get you started.

The best way to avoid parasites is to keep your computer private if you can. Parasites spread through a home network, so unplug the children from the network. If your children must go online, use strict parental controls and restrictions set by you. Or plan to sit with them to see what they download for school projects, but do not let your children surf the internet from home. Send them back to school or the library for that purpose.

From now on, think of all gaming, music, video, software and animation web sites as potentially lethal traps to infect your computer with unwanted parasites. Gambling, pornographic and related web sites all contain parasites and many also carry trojans or worms related to credit card or identity theft.

Update: Since this article was uploaded August 6, 2004, internet spying has become an even bigger business. People who would never go to gambling or pornographic web sites, are now placing their identities in jeopardy by their greed for obtaining brand name software for free from these web sites.

The catch is they must agree to pay a one time fee of a few dollars on their credit card in order to have access to a promise of free, unlimited downloads of American software. But what they don’t realize is they are giving these crooks unlimited access to their credit card numbers and identity.

The old axiom of Buyer Beware is so true for the internet. Because the internet is worldwide, these illegal web sites operating in countries outside of your own are not covered by your legal system.

Skeptically yours,
Mim