The Numerology of Our Changing Times by Richard Abbot

It is easy to see that ‘times have changed’. But we might also recognise that there is no chance of them changing back or settling down. We are in a ‘new normal’. So what should we expect?

Let’s begin with the much discussed topic of 2012. From a numerology perspective this is an unremarkable year, a plain old ‘5’, bringing some change and disruption but no more than happens in every ‘5’ year, which comes once every nine years.

The real shift that so many are looking for has actually already been seeded. The Y2K bug seems a long time ago now, and in the end all the fuss came to nothing, but it was the New Millennium which brought the change, when the calendar shifted from years starting in ‘1’ to years starting in ‘2’. This small shift is easily overlooked – it seems too simple, too obvious – yet like all truth it is profound.

Everyone on the planet, from teenager up, was born in the 1900’s. I was born in 1972. I am product of that time and I carry that energy with me through my life. My father was born in 1934, my partner in 1973, her sister in 1977, their grandmother in 1919. All these people carry the spirit of their times within them. And all these birth years have something in common – they all begin with a ‘1’.

And it’s not just people that have been shaped by ‘1’, it the outer world in which we live. Man landed on the Moon under the influence of the ‘1’, both World Wars were fought in (and maybe because of) the ‘1’. AIDS first appeared in the ‘1’, and the EU was formed in the ‘1’. With these and many other examples the pattern begins to emerge. The institutions that shape today’s world were all created in the ‘1’.

The ‘1’ – and with the Tarot you can also say The Magician and the Aces of the Suits – is all about me. It is the energy of the individual person, the separate soul. It manifests as individual achievement and personal selfishness, as well as energy, action and vigour. And so we see that the entire millennium 1000AD to 1999 was defined by those things, the most obvious of which being the impact of the individual.

Magician from the Soulscapes Tarot by Jade Ashcroft

We don’t need to know a great deal of history to see that the impact of individuals has been huge, but varyingly positive and negative. The history of great men (for 1 is masculine) has raised and lowered the human spirit in equal measure. Think Einstein and Hitler, Gandhi and Stalin. All impactful individuals with direct agendas. All Magicians in their own way.

But this energy has now departed, and although its effects remain, is has been usurped by the ‘2’.

During the one thousand years that started in 2000AD everything and everyone is affected by the ‘2’. The ‘2’ – The High Priestess and the Twos of the Suits – is completely different to what came before. Where the ‘1’ was active, the ‘2’ is passive. Where the ‘1’ was outgoing, the ‘2’ is inward looking, the ‘1’ masculine action, the ‘2’ feminine emotion, the ‘1’ direct, the ‘2’ confused. The ramifications of this are – and will continue to be - earth shattering.

 
High Priestess from the Soulscapes Tarot

There is historical precedent for what happens under the auspices of the ‘2’. The last time a digit shift like this took place was in 200AD, ushering in a period known as The Crisis of the Third Century.

The assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus in 235AD triggered a collapse into civil war that caused the Empire to split into three. Although later reunited the damage had been done and Roman life would never be the same again. The crisis had driven a stake through the heart of the Empire. It caused major and lasting upheaval in many of the institutions of Roman life. While fighting foreign hordes, as well as themselves, Roman society, economy, trade and religion were altered permanently. Constant war took a huge toll on the morale of the people, many of whom were now living in fear. The optimism, expansion and growth of the previous two centuries were no more. The people retreated behind walled cities and hoped merely to survive. 

Over in the East, China was experiencing a remarkably similar trauma. The united China of the Han Dynasty was replaced by three warring kingdoms in 220AD. This standoff endured for decades and delivered the loss of around half of the population, until matters were resolved in 280AD and the bloodshed ended. The effects on Chinese life were no less drastic than those that occurred simultaneously in Rome. In both cases human history was shifted by an inability to handle the new influence of the times - the ‘2’.

At the start of the Roman crisis, the military felt aggrieved towards the Emperors, so the Emperors felt that they had to give in to more and more of the army’s demands. The Emperors then failed to deliver on their promises, and the soldiers, unable to check their raging emotions (negative expression of 2), killed their superiors and moved swiftly on to new leaders, giving each only a short window to satisfy their demands. We can only speculate at what point the bloodshed and destruction became too much to bear and how bad things became before it dawned how far society had fallen. Such is the nature of the unchecked emotions that can often be associated with the ‘2’. They flow where they will, but it is only afterwards that we can see where they have been.

Both Roman and Chinese life were restored to some stability at the end of the century, but not before much had been lost. In the case of the Roman Empire, in 293AD the new Emperor Diocletian managed to restore order with his experimental form of rule called the Tetrarchy. In this system the powers of the one Emperor were divided between two co-Emperors, each with a junior Emperor. It had taken a myriad of disasters for this innovation of co-operation (positive 2) to be implemented, but it finally brought society into balance. 

Emperor from the Soulscapes Tarot

 So might we expect a Crisis of The Third Millennium of similar or greater proportions? History never repeats exactly, and although cycles do repeat it is not helpful to issue specific predictions. But it seems certain that if the institutions of society, family, religion, economy and government are shaky now then they will not possibly endure in the coming decades. We might then start to recognise 2012 as a tipping point within the overall scheme of the ‘2’ transition. Broadly speaking, this means profound and significant changes throughout the rest of our lifetime, such as:

The future is female. The evidence for this is already overwhelming, and the process will be complete when we have female leaders in USA, China and Europe. We are heading inexorably in that direction. It is now a matter of when not if.

The future is co-operative. Interconnectedness of people, emotions, thoughts, and trade is no longer a choice. It is a fact.

The future is insecure. Get used to this. The shadow traits of the ‘2’ cannot be ignored, the Crisis of the Third Century teaches us that much. There are and will continue to be many people who resist change. They see the fluidity of the ‘2’ as weakness and may seek to stamp hard to destroy it. But they waste their time and energy, for the train has already left the station, albeit destination unknown.

The future is mystical. The embracing of the intuitive arts by the mainstream is happening before our very eyes, and as the old teachings say ‘the magic, once revealed, cannot be denied. It will always find its way through’. 

Above all though, the shape of future is our choice. Old language is defunct, previously reliable behaviours no longer work, and narrow forms of personal expression bring only isolation and unhappiness. Our future might yet usher in balance, equality and harmony, but it might equally well bring extremism, intolerance and fear.
The story is not yet written, and this is where the numerology runs out of road. You can be absolutely sure that no aspect of your life can be treated like business as usual, but it up to us to respond in the best possible way to the revolution that has already arrived. Everything is now up for grabs and we must find a new way to be. This is not a function of 2012, and the change has only just begun. 

Richard Abbot operates The Hermitage Development Centre from where he teaches and all aspects of mystical, psychic, spiritual and occult practice. He is available for personal Numerology and Tarot consultations. www.thehermitage.org.uk

A word of Caution about Commissions by Jeremy Lampkin

As an Artist and Web Designer, a few friends have tried to help me out by sending business my way on different occasions.  But each time their associate turned out to be a flake, just another loser wasting my time expecting me to do a lot of work for nothing.  I thought this card game publication my friend mentioned would be more of the same, so I blew it off.  Finally after weeks of bringing it up, my friend got me to meet with this guy, after telling me the game was about ancient Nineveh.  Being interested in the Bible I had to see what this was about.

I took the day off just to meet this friend of my friend's husband in the afternoon on a Saturday in mid-April 2012.   His name was John and he wanted me to do the artwork for his card game about gambling in its most potent form.  The concept of this game he chose to title Nineveh is that each turn, each action involves bluffing, as in poker, looking directly into your opponent's eyes to determine whether you want to keep the card or have the opponent take it.  The game is balanced by positive and negative cards, with positives being generally smaller in value so that negatives have a stronger impact.  Intrigued by this concept with the psychic abilities it plays, I really wanted to do this project.

John had a theme all laid out for me to paint the artwork for the deck, going into great detail.  There were to be 28 cards that would have only a number on it, 15 cards with certain images to paint - plus 8 cards with images of hands praying, and a card with the words 'mine' and 'yours' with paintings of the city gate in daylight and at night.  So that's 25 paintings for the cards that needed images and 28 simple number cards.  He offered me $1,000 and the chance to have my artwork in publication, he even promised mention my name and website in the publication and to link to my art website from his site.  He also offered a $500 down payment right away.  I accepted his offer, even though the low price tag he put on my work indicated a cheapskate.  He had me sold on the idea of this project being just what I needed to kickstart my art career.

I decided to get a quick start on the project, painting the 'Mine' and 'Yours' cards.  I thought I'd see if he liked a soft, rustic look so I put a low level of contrast on the shading/highlights.  John wanted high contrast, so I deepened the image's lighting effects.  I also had to thicken the letters, as I had done them far too thin.  He said he wanted high contrast and not to worry about being realistic, as this was for a card game.  He said he wanted the temple in the daylight to be darker than the one at night, so as to maximize the level of contrast.  Also he wanted me to make the street leading to the gate paved with large stones, and to paint the grass light in the foreground, dark in the middle, and pale (which is light) in the background.  Since John emailed me a detailed diagram of exactly how to do it, I did just that - as stupid as it was.  His response was "no no no, that's not right" - well, obviously light to dark to light is an ignorant idea.  But that was easily fixed.
 

Mine/Yours Card - to indicate whether a player wants to keep the card drawn or have the opponent take it.

Confident that the first 2 paintings were complete, I sent him the updated images.  He wanted more changes.  He wanted the text thickened on one card so it would precisely match the other, when they were already identical.  Also he wanted the night gate darkener than the day gate because that would be more realistic.  Confused by conflicting instructions, I only darkened the inner doorway of the large city gate.  A few minor touch ups and I sent him the updates.  John asked me not to be upset, but that he wanted to redesign the mine-yours card so that one side was a living city and the other city ruins.  I had just been screwed around for 3 days for nothing.  The salt in the wound was that I had spent what seemed like an eternity on the phone with this arrogant idiot already - hours talking about his game concept - and he hadn't even sent me the project outline which I obviously needed in order to remember and organize what to paint.  I was eager to get started on the actual card paintings, so I asked him to put the outline together and email it to me.
 

"One last image I neglected to mention is the one of the inside of the temple that will be on the back of the card box." 

This sentence was tacked on at the end of the outline email.  The next thing I knew was that he expected me to do an extra large detailed illustration that included all of the cards' paintings on the inside walls of a temple.  He wanted me to do this huge piece which would obviously more than double the workload - before even getting to the card paintings, which made no sense whatsoever.  Like a fool, I obediently went ahead and started this temple illustration - which he ignorantly hounded me about using small brushes on.  Naturally a painted illustration takes far and away much more time to complete, having to anal-retentively keep going over thin outlines that covered the walls - as paint keeps drying in the little tiny brushes.  I thought I'd be a nice guy and not ask for more money, just because this still seemed like a great opportunity for me to get my artwork out there.

But he had already proven himself obnoxious beyond insult, screwing me around while nit-picking every detail of my artwork.  What was I thinking?  He also insisted not to take any time off from my job, which I easily could have, and asked me if it was reasonable that I could get everything finished within a month.   Obviously John had no clue what Art is, and what goes into making it.  Being so confused, indecisive, and dim-witted is a great way to stifle your commissioned artist.  I hope this story can be a lesson, at least it has been for me, to never compromise my principles again. 
 

Nineveh Temple - was intended for the back of the box and the background for an animated flash website:

This project also called for a bit of research.  In the research and execution of the temple image I was made aware of fundamental spiritual symbols which actually filled in some of the gaps in my Gnostic-inspired philosophy.  Having studied and applied various religious paths to my lifestyle, I see all religions ultimately as one.  They just overlap on different levels.  Two of the symbols that I learned about were particularly potent.  One was the Assyrian Tree of Life, which of course relates to the Hebrew version.  Like a candle or a flowing fountain, the tree is obviously a phallic symbol of vitality.  The flowing energy on the top of the tree is also repeated in the trim patterns all over the temple walls.  The second awesome symbol I became familiar with was the double lightning bolt.  Representative of the supreme god Ashur, this solar symbol also bears direct significance to the Hebrew and Gnostic realities.  The Gnostic representation of the Hebrew god is a lion-headed serpent with a lightning bolt inside each of his eyes.  In light of the Gnostic connections, the double lightning bolt and the god Ashur can be understood as basically the same archetypal character as the Hebrew god.  We can also see connections which reveal the flow of certain information in Gnostic circles.


After working extensively on the painting and research for a whole month, I finally sent him the finished temple image, eager to get started on the actual cards, which were after all what I had been hired to do.  John's reply was that the art for the cards was "on hold" and that he didn't know what direction the project was taking now.  Obviously he had hired another artist to do the cards without telling me.  Because of this back-stabbing gesture, I let him know that the deal was broken and that we would obviously need to renegotiate my payment.  At this point he cut off communication with me.  The next thing I knew, the friend who had arranged this commission for me told me that John had asked me to give her the temple illustration so he could pick it up from her house.  My response to that was, yeah okay, after he pays me for my work.  I never heard from John again.

I write this story as a lesson for others not to compromise their principles to get ahead.  Ultimately I weighed the risk of the project and the worse-case-scenario, which actually happened, still saw the project as time well spent.  This story is also written as an investment, as a sort of insurance policy.  Being that I only got paid the down payment and had to keep the artwork, whether I like it or not I am still invested in this project.  This article is a documentation of my experience as the initial artist who was hired to paint the Nineveh cards so that if and when Nineveh the game does become popular, I would one day be able to sell the temple illustration which cost me a month of my life and finally receive payment.  According to John, there are 3 millionaires which invested in the project, so I imagine Nineveh the card game will market quite well.  (John actually told me to pray for him when he was flown to Florida to meet with these millionaires.)  It's a shame that someone would rather sacrifice his own reputation than to pay the small expense that he promised to.  Even more shameful is the fact that I had to let down all my supporters, my friends and family by letting them know that I wasn't getting any of what I had been promised because John had apparently backstabbed me by hiring another artist right after he hired me, and that my artwork was not getting published for mass circulation after all.  They had been so happy for me that I hated to have to tell everybody the good news:  I had been ripped off by a con artist whose plan was to waste my time and discard me.  I suppose it's poetic justice, a self-described Christian with a passion for the vice of gambling hiring me to paint his card game:  I should have seen this coming from miles away.  Ironically, I did.  My ultimate mistake was to accept the miniscule price tag he offered, making me just a tiny expense to be discarded without a second thought.

Aside from the awesome symbolism I had discovered in researching Assyria, there was another major benefit from this project.  The painstaking process of illustration had reawakened my passion for art.  As a result I am more focused than I've been in years, determined to launch my art career.  Despite the worst case scenario actually playing out, the Nineveh project has been a blessing.

Jeremy Lampkin September 2012

See more Artwork by Jeremy at his Website

Enlightening Times Book Review of Serpents Mound by Ceri Norman

Ceri Normans second novel set in East Anglia and tells the very believable tale of betrayal, rebirth and old energies being awakened and disturbed when items are removed from a sacred burial site.

The characters in this delightful tale are very easy to relate to and the style of writing is witty, bright and engaging. Highly imaginative and original, this book will appeal to those who are interested in earth energies, pagan belief systems and morality tales.

Her first novel "Celtic Maidens" was a hugely successful Love Saga set in a remote welsh village published by Melrose Books. As a second novel this stands alone as a testament to Ceri's emerging talent and promises to be a very popular book amongst young adults and those inclined towards reading something that little bit different from those ranking in the mainstream fiction charts.

Jade Ashcroft 21/08/2012

Peace In Our Lifetime

World Peace Day – Seeking Inner Peace And Outer Peace

Peace In Our Lifetime Founder, Lynne Hazelden

I have never met Lynne Hazelden, yet I consider her a friend. We met in cyber space in 2010 when we both submitted book proposals for a competition. Since then, I have been a guest on her radio show and I follow her posts about Peace In Our Lifetime.

 Stop and think about that phrase for a moment - Peace In Our Lifetime. Isn't that an amazing aspiration? When setting a goal we are encouraged to decide on a time limit within which we aim to see the goal realised. Peace In Our Lifetime conveys possibility, a gentle urgency, and the implication that each of us contributes to both our own inner peace and world peace.

 For Lynne, there is another powerful meaning to the phrase:

“We experience greater inner peace as we see the peace that is all around us. Peace In Our Lifetime's work empowers a shift in consciousness to allow people to see that peace in our lifetime IS already here. After all 6.9 billion people are living peacefully, and often with great compassion for their family and society.”

World Peace Day

 Established by a United Nations resolution in 1981, 21^st September marks The International Day of Peace (Peace Day).

Global Ceasefire

 In association with Peace Day, 21^st September is also a day of Global Ceasefire when humanity lays down its weapons by conscious choice. I was astonished and heartened to hear about this wonderful initiative. Aid is able to get into otherwise war-torn countries. Children are immunised. A global ceasefire provides hope for citizens who endure war and conflict; if war can stop for one day, it expands our vision that war can stop for good.

A Day of Gratitude and Thanks

 As part of celebrations for Peace Day 2012, Peace in Our Lifetime is declaring A Day of Gratitude and Thanks. On this day, in the quiet of the ceasefire, we are invited to stop and acknowledge the people acting peacefully in our own lives. There are people everywhere acting with love. Carers who look after another human being, a fireman who saves a life, someone raising funds for local community projects, those acting to preserve the natural world.

A Personal Commitment To Seeking Inner Peace In Our Own Lives

Peace is something we tend to see as needing to happen over there in other countries. Instead, peace begins with personal responsibility taken by each individual. When we address and heal the conflict in ourselves and in our own lives, we are helping.

 Inspirational Work Towards World Peace

 Despite living with severe illness, with the power of the internet Lynne Hazelden has done amazing things to rally people in the cause of world peace. In recognition of her work she has been made a Good Will Ambassador and Fellow of the Peace Research Institute peaceprize.com.

What Is Your Personal Journey Towards Peace?

 Let us set aside a day to talk about peace, focus on the peace that already exists in our lives, and find inner peace in ourselves. We each have our different gift to contribute to world peace. What is yours?

 “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”  Edmund Burke

Celebrate World Peace Day on 21^st September 2011

 With her organisation, Peace In Our Lifetime, Lynne will be celebrating world Peace Day 2012 on 21^st September. She invites us to join the celebrations.

 Support Peace In Your Lifetime and be counted as a voice for peace: download your FREE peace certificate. (8000 downloaded at the time of writing.)  http://peaceinourlifetime.com/ Listen to the radio show. Click Peace Day/Get Involved to get a PDF of all the options available to celebrate peace day and A Day Of Gratitude And Thanks.

Peace Organizations involved with Peace Day

 Lynne is the lady behind just one of many wonderful peace organizations working towards world peace. These include:

Standing with PeaceJam, Imagine Peace, Goodwill Treaty for Peace, World Peace Prayer Society, Culture of Peace, Pathways to Peace, Student Peace Alliance, Cercle de Pape, Love is All We Need, Just Giving in support of Peace One Day

About the author of the article

Katherine T Owen runs the website www.a-spiritual-journey-of-healing.com and is the author of Be Loved, Beloved – 15 Spiritual Love Poems, God Love, Self Love, available on Kindle. She pursued inner peace during 14 years of being bedbound with ME/CFS.

Update to Esoteric Agenda Event in Manchester.

Due To Unforeseen Circumstance We Regret To Say That Neil Hague Will No Longer Be Speaking At This Event.

Edge Media’s ‘ALEX G’ Is Now Confirmed & Will Be Giving An Exclusive Presentation At This Exciting Event

Plus A Suprise Special Guest Appearance From ???

We Are Pleased To Announce That A Very Special Mystery Guest & Pioneer In The Alternative Research Field Will Be Making A Guest Appearance At This 2012 Exclusive!

https://darkernet.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/trapwire-and-stratfor-are-business-partners-documentary-evidence/

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TrapWire and Stratfor are business partners – documentary evidence

Posted by darkernet ⋅ August 15, 2012 ⋅ Leave a Comment

Filed Under  Abraxas, Cubic, Trapwire

Stratfor, the private Intelligence-gathering company whose emails were hacked by Anonymous then published by Wikileaks, didn’t just comment on TrapWire via its emails: in August 2009 it joined with the TrapWire project via a partnership deal with Abraxas Applications. And here is the document to prove it. The deal explicitly states that Stratfor will supply intelligence directly into TrapWire on an ongoing basis. To see detailed analyses of Stratfor’s business relationship with TrapWire (and the consequent conflict of interest) click here and here.

So there you have it. Another piece in the jigsaw. This story gets bigger and bigger…
In Australia, Greens Senator, Scott Ludlam, tried to ask a question in the Senate about whether TrapWire was deployed in Australia. He was not allowed to (the Senate voted not to answer questions on this matter). Senator Ludlam’s office later issued a statement explaining that the Senator will be pursuing the matter via other channels of inquiry.

Also, a representative of Cubic Corporation has posted a comment on the Darker Net article, saying “SAN DIEGO, Calif. – August 13, 2012 – Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) acquired Abraxas Corporation on December 20, 2010. Abraxas Corporation then and now has no affiliation with Abraxas Applications now known as TrapWire, Inc.”
Some background explanation is needed…

Today, TrapWire software is owned by TrapWire Inc., a Reston, VA company. But it wasn’t always. Abraxas Corporation created TrapWire under its subsidiary firm, Abraxas Applications Inc.. Abraxas Corporation trademarked the TrapWire software in a filing with the U.S. PTO in 2006. Abraxas Corporation is now owned by Cubic Corporation, which bought the firm in November 2010 for $124 million in cash. According to one report, Cubic acquired Abraxas Corporation after TrapWire was reorganised as a separate entity and that one of the terms of this acquisition was to “cause the corporate name of Abraxas Applications, Inc. to be changed to a name that does not include ‘Abraxas’ or any variation thereof.” Also, according to a March 2007 article in the Washington Business Journal “Abraxas Corp., a risk-mitigation technology company, has spun out a software business to focus on selling a new product. The spinoff – called Abraxas Applications – will sell TrapWire, which predicts attacks on critical infrastructure by analyzing security reports and video surveillance”. And the article continues: “Abraxas Corp. previously won contracts to test TrapWire…”

Further insight is provided by Public Intelligence (renowned for its accuracy): “A proprietary white paper produced by TrapWire, formerly called Abraxas Applications, describes the product as “a unique, predictive software system designed to detect patterns of pre-attack surveillance.” In an interview from 2005 with the Northern Virginia Technology Council, the CEO of Abraxas Corporation, Richard “Hollis” Helms, says the goal of TrapWire is to “collect information about people and vehicles that is more accurate than facial recognition, draw patterns, and do threat assessments of areas that may be under observation from terrorists… The new company [Abraxas Applications] also can tap into Abraxas’ [Corporation] work with defense and intelligence agencies and the connections of Abraxas founder and CEO Richard Hollis Helms, who owns both companies.”
So can Cubic Corporation legitimately claim not to own Abraxas Applications (which runs TrapWire)? If we go strictly by purchase dates, yes – though it’s common practice for a company, when acquiring another, to relinquish one part that might cause embarrassment so that on paper at least there is no longer any connection, even though some of the personnel between those companies are swapped around.

Also, we should not lose sight of the range of services Cubic Corporation does admit to – these are mostly defence systems and military training – as well as transport smart systems and even interests in credit card management. A bizarre mix that in itself should be of concern. For example, Cubic is listed as the organisational leader for Ntrepid, a shadowy organisation that “provides national security and law enforcement customers with software, hardware, and managed services for cyber operations, analytics, linguistics, tagging and [online] tracking”. Ntrepid’s corporate registry in turn lists Abraxas’ previous CEO and founder, Richard Helms, as a director and officer, along with Wesley Husted, the former CFO. Moreover, some of the top people at Anonymizer, who later moved to Abraxas, initially left Cubic to start another intelligence firm but are now listed as organisational leaders for Ntrepid. All very circular, to say the least…

Posted from the darker net via Android.

https://darkernet.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/breaking-trapwire-surveillance-linked-to-anonymizer-and-transport-smart-cards/

https://rt.com/usa/news/trapwire-surveillance-abraxas-times-671/

TrapWire investigation links transit systems and Anonymizer in global surveillance network

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2187602/U-S-Government-secretly-spying-using-civilian-security-cameras-say-Wikileaks.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.trapwire.com/who_we_work_with.htm

Breaking News on RT about the latest evidence...

Secretive TrapWire company's affiliations revealed

Published: 20 September, 2012, 02:27
Edited: 20 September, 2012, 06:34

Just discovered documentation concerning the TrapWire secret surveillance system suggests that the San Diego-based Cubic Corporation did have a direct connection with the program, despite repeated attempts to dismiss allegations of their involvement.

Although Cubic has gone on the record on several occasions to refute claims that they have at one time or another been directly tied to the Abraxas Applications, the Northern Virginia company believed to have developed TrapWire, a post published this week on the PrivacySos.org blog discusses evidence that links the two firms to one another. Cubic has repeatedly insisted that it has no link to TrapWire, a widespread, international surveillance and intelligence system brought to light in emails distributed by WikiLeaks, but new revelations expose a relationship between the two that was documented on a federal website as recently as February of last year.
As RT unraveled the TrapWire saga earlier this year, investigations into both Cubic and Abraxas revealed a number of associations among the two. In an August 13, 2012 press release, Cubic came forth and admitted to acquiring Abraxas Corp in December of 2010, but insisted, “Abraxas Corporation then and now has no affiliation with Abraxas Applications now known as Trapwire, Inc.” The latest revelation directly discredits that claim.
PrivacySos reports that a website maintained by the US Homeland Security Department’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) includes TrapWire as a product for sale to law enforcement agencies and first responders. It’s there that the background and operational concept of the system are described in detail and direct curious customers to AbraxasCorp.com for more information. When a link to the URL is clicked, the banner at the top of the developer’s homepage described Abraxas as “A Cubic Company.” On the FEMA page, the product information is detailed as provided directly by Abraxas Applications

"The Products Section includes commercially available product information that has been uploaded directly and voluntarily by the manufacturer,” the FEMA page acknowledges.
If that is indeed the case, either the federal government is hosting falsified information about TrapWire to prospective customers, or else the program was overseen to a degree by Cubic as previously suspected. If it’s the latter, then the August 13 statement was a downright lie.
On the PrivacySos post, published Tuesday, its acknowledged that Cubic has previously been confirmed as operating fare systems for major mass transit programs and Anonymizer, an IP-masked tool described by its publicists as “the leader in consumer online anonymity solutions.”

“If the government's facts are correct, the Abraxas Corporation was managing sales for the TrapWire system at least as recently as February 2011 – meaning Cubic had its hands on both highly sensitive private information on millions of ordinary people and a networked surveillance system sold to governments,” PrivacySOS notes.

In addition to the press release that attempted to distance Cubic from TrapWire, activist and Project PM founder Barrett Brown uploaded a phone call to YouTube he alleged to be between himself and Cubic Corp. Communication Director Tim Hall. In the clip, published August 21, Mr. Hall denied his company’s involvement with TrapWire and also insisted that Cubic has never been tied to Ntrepid, a separate corporation that was awarded $2.76 million worth of taxpayer dollars to create phony Internet “sock puppets” to propagate US support.

“There is no connection at all with Abraxas Applications and Trapwire and or Ntrepid,” the man perpetrated to be Hall explains in the clip. Research into the entities, however, led to the discovery of Abraxas Corporation’s tax filings from late 2011, and with it, a common bond: TrapWire Inc. was registered in 2009 to a Margaret A Lee from Virginia, who also served on the Ntrepid board of directors.
“Since the government's intelligence and data management contracting operations are so secretive and opaque, we may never know what's really going on – whether Cubic in fact operates transit data systems, so-called IP anonymizers and surveillance systems sold to governments,” the PrivacySOS post reads. “[It] doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. That's because we know more than enough to be convinced that we need a mass movement for privacy in the United States, whether or not these connections are real.”

Facedeals.. facial recognition tools to be used for discounts

Surveillance tools to be used in customer reward application???

 

Image reproduced from rt.com

In the wake of the latest Wikileaks release about the Surveillance Network TrapWire it has been announced by Redpepper Advertising Agency (Nashville Tennesse ) that they intend to use Facial Recognition Technology to reward customers through an application dubbed "facedeal"

If you have "liked" the pages of participating businesses you will receive a discount via mobile devices as you enter the premises... Wifi Cameras using facebooks facial recognition software will identify you from pictures that you have uploaded to your facebook.

The company explained that as businesses and customers were not manually checking in as frequently as they had hoped, Facedeal would allow automation offers to be delivered to loyal customers.

The next evolution in Targeted Advertising Systems goes from tracking consumers online via their google searches and web activities, into mining customer photographs from public profiles. Surely this brings into question human rights where privacy is concerned?

Online and mobile targeting technologies work by anonymously monitoring and tracking the content read and sites visited by a user or IP when that user surfs on the Internet. This is done by serving tracking codes. Sites visited, content viewed, and length of visit are databased to predict an online behavioral pattern.^[2]


Privacy International is fighting in order to make Governments legislate in a way that protects the rights of the general public. According to them, from any ethical standpoint such interception of web traffic must be conditional on the basis of explicit and informed consent. And action must be taken where organisations can be shown to have acted unlawfully.^[6]

A survey conducted in the United States by the Pew Internet & American Life Project between January 20 and February 19, 2012 revealed that most of Americans are not fans of targeted advertising, seeing it as an invasion of privacy. Indeed 68% of those surveyed said they are "not okay" with targeted advertising because they do not like having their online behavior tracked and analyzed.^[7]
- from Wikipeida Article on Targeted Advertising

One way of preserving your anonymity and circumventing the prying eyes of Targeted Advertising is to use The Tor Browser which does not allow cookies to be stored and is affiliated with startpage which does not record your IP address so you can search for anything without your location being stored by advertising agencies or your online behaviour being monitored.

Educate yourself on how to protect yourself when browsing online, visit EFF Surveillance Self Defence for a hands on detailed report.

Aug 15 2012