The hippies are chattering on the intertubes, especially on the West Coast in the Tacoma and Olympia, Washington areas. Apparently they found a member of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency spying on them.
Brendan Maslauskas Dunn asked the city of Olympia for documents or e-mails about communications between the Olympia police and the military relating to anarchists, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) or the Industrial Workers of the World (Dunn’s union). Dunn received hundreds of documents. One e-mail contained reference to a “John J. Towery II,” who activists discovered was the same person as their fellow activist “John Jacob.”
Dunn told me: “John Jacob was actually a close friend of mine, so this week has been pretty difficult for me. He said he was an anarchist. He was really interested in SDS. He got involved with Port Militarization Resistance (PMR), with Iraq Vets Against the War. He was a kind person. He was a generous person. So it was really just a shock for me.”
“Jacob” told the activists he was a civilian employed at Fort Lewis Army Base and would share information about base activities that could help the PMR organize rallies and protests against public ports being used for troop and Stryker military vehicle deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2006, PMR activists have occasionally engaged in civil disobedience, blocking access to the port.
The premiere hippie journalist, Amy Goodman has an hour long video of the report, if you really have that much time to waste;
Of course, the hippies are outraged. They’re screaming “posse comitatus” but the Pentagon Force Protection Agency is a civilian agency;
Since its creation, PFPA has expanded its mission and provides force protection against a full spectrum of potential threats. While law enforcement is still a major portion of its mission, the agency also handles operations security, building surveillance, crisis prevention, consequence management, counterintelligence, antiterrorism, Hazmat and explosives, protection of high ranking DoD officials, information technology and administrative issues. PFPA continues to evolve making it one of the Nation’s premiere Federal law enforcement organizations; defending the Pentagon’s personnel, facilities, and infrastructure against numerous, mounting threats.
Goodman’s reporting at Truthdig blames President Bush primarily, but also makes the Obama culpable in their perceived slight;
But the spying in Olympia occurred well into the Obama administration (and may continue today). President Barack Obama supports retroactive immunity for telecom companies involved in the wiretapping, and has maintained Bush-era reliance on the state secrets privilege. Lee and Holt should take the information uncovered by Brendan Dunn and the Olympia activists and get the investigations started now.
So, I guess they’re upset that it’s true that no one likes hippies. The New York Times quotes the Army;
The Army would not disclose the nature of the investigation or address the claim that Mr. Towery had shared information about civilians. It said Mr. Towery was not available for an interview.
“Mr. John Towery performs sensitive work within the installation law enforcement community, and it would not be appropriate for him to discuss his duties with the media,” the Army said in written statement. “Fort Lewis is aware of the claim with regard to Mr. Towery. To ensure all regulatory guidelines were followed, the command has decided that an inquiry is prudent, and an officer is being appointed to conduct the inquiry.”
Honestly, I’m glad someone was watching these doofuses.
Yeah, I agree. Someone should be watching those asshats. Here in Raleigh, a concerned citizen noticed something awry over time and reported it. They arrested 7 terrorists, right here are are looking for the eighth. They were the real thing.
You just never know who will ante up for Jihad…er, well, sure we do. Hippies.
Let them hippies get outraged. At the least, it will get their “minds” (or what’s left) turned in a different direction. When you make outragous statements and actions against the govt & especially the military, expect to get spied on. DOH!
I just LOVE the last paragraphs. Translated into FSOP (Free State Of *PIG) PIG-ish, it sounds like a well worded, “Bite Me!” And I’m SURE that inquiry will go nowhere. Or at least, nowhere where the hippies WANT it to go (which should be straight into the circular File 13).
*PIG – Politically Incorrect Gazette, www dot pigazette dot com. And no, I don’t work for, or get paid by them, except in entertainment and education.
And as for Amy Goodman, she, too, can “BITE ME”.
I only deliberately listen to her when I want to get my blood pressure up & get the outraged sense that I’m still alive. And even at that, 5 minutes is MORE then sufficient.
They tolerate and encourage people like Webb who vocally support and advocate violence and sabotage, then wonder why the authorities would be spying on them. If they could keep their f**king house in order and police their own, the government wouldn’t be doing it for them. They’ve done non-violent stuff like “blockade” roads in the past. All it takes is one nutjob like Webb in an organization, and given time for his violent ruminations to germinate you’ve got a domestic terrorist organization on your hands.
By the way, people who consider the Constitution and rule of law to be racist/classist tools of the bourgeoisie should be prohibited from invoking those concepts when they feel transgressed upon.
If you don’t act like assclowns, you won’t attract the attention of people who’s job it is to protect the military, you know the people in the military and the bases!!! And CR is right, if you consider the whole idea of America racist/classist, maybe you don’t deserve the protections it provides. Or, in other words, get the f*** out!!!
Don’t you worry that if they do this to the left, then they’ll also do this to the right? How can you be comfortable with the idea of the government planting an agent provocateur or saboteur in your organizations?
And this from the web site that was freaked out about a mere DHS report!
I spent the weekend at a “radical right-wing” convention in Georgia. It was a group of nut-job Second Amendment enthusiasts walking around with loaded pistols on their hips. The convention was attended by every major GOP and Libertarian candidate for Governor. I would be thrilled by the idea of the feds being there to watch the “carnage and bloodshed” that ensued from so many Georgia Firearms License holders getting together in one place with so many politically significant people.
There is a difference between calling mainstream libertarians and conservatives nut-job subversives, and and actual nut-job subversives, who tend to be on the left, that go out and sit in roads so that trucks can’t deliver their goods. That is the difference. People on the left tend to advocate violence and conduct actual illegal activity.
Whoa, chill, guys. He is NOT a PFPA member. PFPA’s jurisdiction is solely for the Pentagon reservation and outlying buildings. It has zero personnel outside the National Capital Region.
Mr. Towery is an Army civilian, working for the Fort Lewis Directorate of Emergency Services — the part that includes law enforcement….
Leave PFPA out of the discussion, please.
Lurker: That’s a very good point you brought up. We did get a little testy about the DHS report, however, for different reasons than you could think of. The DHS report pointed to a very wide and broad spectrum of people, but zeroed in on a couple specific groups using just one example from 15 years ago as the basis for their assessment. With the commies on the left, there are so many examples of “direct action” and target specific areas for such “direct action” that it would only be prudent to find out as much as possible about groups that chatter with each other about such activities, especially when they mention specific targets. Now, I know that there were many federal agencies monitoring the Tea Parties and Tax Day Rallies around the country, yet there was no laws being broken, no “direct actions” being done, unless you think that merely speaking your mind is a “direct action”.
Bottom line: commies love to break the law in order to show how responsible they are and the freedom loving libertarians and conservatives try to stay within the law, yet still get their point acrossed. Now, which group should be investigated and which would more likely stay within the law?
Direct action does not equal terrorism. I am honestly appalled at the idea of planting someone like that. As citizens, we should never have to worry about being spied on in our peaceful protest activities. Towery’s actions go way beyond what someone just out to see if terrorist activities were being engaged in would do, including getting involved in people’s personal lives. It’s really despicable.