LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING AND DECEIVING LOOKS CAN DRAW HEAT
Throughout the 2010s US “Operators” were routinely outed in Yemen due to their full beards often grown as facial concealment. Yemen being a place where men typically sport mustaches the operators’ beard made them extremely noticeable. This is one kind example of where concealment can I fact actually draw adversarial attention.
In 2020 activists in Seattle found the location of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s house precisely because it was the only house blurred out on google maps to the protected status she obtained after pissing off some bratva.
Police UCs (under covers) and wannabe operators grey manning at protests often dress overly nondescript which in combination with sunglasses and specific facial hair that gives them what activists call “cop face” often alerts protestors etc to their presence.
(continued)
Throughout the 2010s US “Operators” were routinely outed in Yemen due to their full beards often grown as facial concealment. Yemen being a place where men typically sport mustaches the operators’ beard made them extremely noticeable. This is one kind example of where concealment can I fact actually draw adversarial attention.
In 2020 activists in Seattle found the location of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s house precisely because it was the only house blurred out on google maps to the protected status she obtained after pissing off some bratva.
Police UCs (under covers) and wannabe operators grey manning at protests often dress overly nondescript which in combination with sunglasses and specific facial hair that gives them what activists call “cop face” often alerts protestors etc to their presence.
(continued)
DECEIVING LOOKS (continued)
Protestors, particularly black blocers, who practice outfit changes also have this problem. On their way to or from demos many make the mistake of dressing awkwardly normal, especially in hipper areas, and in combination with awkward use sunglasses and hats and the like they look sketchier than they would if they just dressed how they typically do. Likewise some bloc up to early or come to events where others aren’t in bloc so that them being bloc’d up actually makes them more distinct than anything.
One solution to this UCs have found is dressing like homeless people, people who are typically mentally avoided by passersby and whose odd dress and awkward presence is often accepted.
In South Africa the apartheid resistance used to just send their secret communications through the mail because it was more likely that their curriers would be stopped and searched because of their secretive signaling behavior than the high volume government operated postal service.
It’s also not just in meat space where this occurs. The NSA for example put people on the X KEYSCORE list for looking up how to use the TAILS operating system or and the Tor browser. And internet customers who use Tor have been the victim of dragnet surveillance. Likewise radical email hosts are watched with more scrutiny and since there’s less traffic on them they are more heavily surveilled. Of course it’s true something like gmail will just cooperate with the cops using PGP encryption over gmail has at times been safer than using radical services especially if you’re not encrypting the messages. They’re are also of course benefits having trusted servers etc, but that’s a whole different can of worms.
It is also the case that if you buy a burner style pay as you go cellphone with cash in the US the authorities are notified and your phone is added to dragnet surveillance. Which is not to say they’re less safe than phones linked to ones state name etc but it is a reality to consider. One way this has been subverted is using a prepaid card, another is the more inherently fraudulent; using some other random person’s information to get on a phone plan.
Shoplifters know this rule well many strolling into and out of the store confidently (often leaving with a full cart) dressed in everyday attire rather than in a hoodie and sunglasses and placing things in their jacket which is sure to draw the attention of loss prevention. Of course every context is different and this isn’t a shoplifting 101 but you get the idea. Shifty eyes may give better situational awareness, but they are also a red flag. Sunglasses may hide shifty eyes but on a day without bright sun they may draw attention as well. And so on.
On the plus side we live in an age where masks and encrypted communications are becoming normalized. And while not every tell is as obvious as a person whistling to seem casual, with the proper critical thinking pretty much everyone can avoid the trap of adversarial attention wrought by concealment measures.
Protestors, particularly black blocers, who practice outfit changes also have this problem. On their way to or from demos many make the mistake of dressing awkwardly normal, especially in hipper areas, and in combination with awkward use sunglasses and hats and the like they look sketchier than they would if they just dressed how they typically do. Likewise some bloc up to early or come to events where others aren’t in bloc so that them being bloc’d up actually makes them more distinct than anything.
One solution to this UCs have found is dressing like homeless people, people who are typically mentally avoided by passersby and whose odd dress and awkward presence is often accepted.
In South Africa the apartheid resistance used to just send their secret communications through the mail because it was more likely that their curriers would be stopped and searched because of their secretive signaling behavior than the high volume government operated postal service.
It’s also not just in meat space where this occurs. The NSA for example put people on the X KEYSCORE list for looking up how to use the TAILS operating system or and the Tor browser. And internet customers who use Tor have been the victim of dragnet surveillance. Likewise radical email hosts are watched with more scrutiny and since there’s less traffic on them they are more heavily surveilled. Of course it’s true something like gmail will just cooperate with the cops using PGP encryption over gmail has at times been safer than using radical services especially if you’re not encrypting the messages. They’re are also of course benefits having trusted servers etc, but that’s a whole different can of worms.
It is also the case that if you buy a burner style pay as you go cellphone with cash in the US the authorities are notified and your phone is added to dragnet surveillance. Which is not to say they’re less safe than phones linked to ones state name etc but it is a reality to consider. One way this has been subverted is using a prepaid card, another is the more inherently fraudulent; using some other random person’s information to get on a phone plan.
Shoplifters know this rule well many strolling into and out of the store confidently (often leaving with a full cart) dressed in everyday attire rather than in a hoodie and sunglasses and placing things in their jacket which is sure to draw the attention of loss prevention. Of course every context is different and this isn’t a shoplifting 101 but you get the idea. Shifty eyes may give better situational awareness, but they are also a red flag. Sunglasses may hide shifty eyes but on a day without bright sun they may draw attention as well. And so on.
On the plus side we live in an age where masks and encrypted communications are becoming normalized. And while not every tell is as obvious as a person whistling to seem casual, with the proper critical thinking pretty much everyone can avoid the trap of adversarial attention wrought by concealment measures.
Groups like Patriot Front love to talk the talk of operational security and tactical planning but in their need to signal that they’re a strategic force they forget to employ one of the most basic concepts; ‘need to know information.’ They seemingly broadcast a great deal of their internal planning on any network seen as internal instead of just sharing that information with only a select few who really need to know. Of course they do practice this to some extent, but to signal like they have their shit together and to bolster a cool/confident affect in their internal culture they often share things that could probably not have been broadcasted so widely.
One other note re Patriot Front’s continued infiltration is that you’re only as secure as your counter measures ability to take more time and effort to break than your opponent is willing to give. Unfortunately for them there’s some dedicated people who hate them.
Patriot Front is also at a crossroads basically as the last extremely visible and semi accessible fascist/neonazi org: they can either give up popular attempts and go even more underground or keep trying to remain visible and risk probable further humiliation. They’ve been outmaneuvered by the Proud Boys as the generic street guardians of the ruling order(PF wouldnt call it that but that’s what it is) and the defenders of “the people” against the encroachments of the Demoncrat controlled state apparatus and unlike the Proud Boys they’ve not been able to massify their white supremacist image to be able to blend with a more massive white male conservative base.
OTAS: operational thinking against the state
LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING AND DECEIVING LOOKS CAN DRAW HEAT Throughout the 2010s US “Operators” were routinely outed in Yemen due to their full beards often grown as facial concealment. Yemen being a place where men typically sport mustaches the operators’ beard…
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Forwarded from Seditionist Distribution
Taken from the "Simple Sabotage Field Manual" of the CIA (1944)
A lot of comrades do these things without thinking, and they are given space and place by those around them because we value compassion and communication.
We must however remember objective focus. Keep your participation in meetings, cogent and concise.
https://web.archive.org/web/20201220100901/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2012-featured-story-archive/CleanedUOSSSimpleSabotage_sm.pdf
A lot of comrades do these things without thinking, and they are given space and place by those around them because we value compassion and communication.
We must however remember objective focus. Keep your participation in meetings, cogent and concise.
https://web.archive.org/web/20201220100901/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2012-featured-story-archive/CleanedUOSSSimpleSabotage_sm.pdf
OTAS: operational thinking against the state
DECEIVING LOOKS (continued) Protestors, particularly black blocers, who practice outfit changes also have this problem. On their way to or from demos many make the mistake of dressing awkwardly normal, especially in hipper areas, and in combination with awkward…
just a p.s. to this, Tor and TAILS are probably the best bang for your effort privacy tools that exist and we’re not suggesting abandoning them just researching them and downloading and using them in an intentional way and keeping flagging more surveillance on to yourself in mind
Russia! Ukraine! Nazis! Oh my!
Because it’s become topical we thought we’d briefly nuance post about neonazis and their involvement in the Russia-Ukraine border tensions.
Firstly it is evident that the neonazi Azov battalion/movement has incorporated itself into the state, has been boosted by NATO, and have built infrastructure for a thriving neonazi culture at home and also bolstered international nazi networking bringing neonazis from elsewhere there to train. It is also true that the Svaboda Party a party descended from Nazi collaborators and the neonazi group Right Sector were the biggest organized factions of the Euromaidan upheavals in Ukraine and came out on top in a lot of ways. It is also true that NATO has a history of supporting and incorporating nazis into their efforts. However, it is also true that most Ukrainians do not support neonazisms and actively voted for a jewish president seen as a counter weight to the war hungry far right.
(continued)
Because it’s become topical we thought we’d briefly nuance post about neonazis and their involvement in the Russia-Ukraine border tensions.
Firstly it is evident that the neonazi Azov battalion/movement has incorporated itself into the state, has been boosted by NATO, and have built infrastructure for a thriving neonazi culture at home and also bolstered international nazi networking bringing neonazis from elsewhere there to train. It is also true that the Svaboda Party a party descended from Nazi collaborators and the neonazi group Right Sector were the biggest organized factions of the Euromaidan upheavals in Ukraine and came out on top in a lot of ways. It is also true that NATO has a history of supporting and incorporating nazis into their efforts. However, it is also true that most Ukrainians do not support neonazisms and actively voted for a jewish president seen as a counter weight to the war hungry far right.
(continued)
🇷🇺 🇺🇦 🤚🏻 (continued)
It is also true that the neonazi infested Russian Imperial Movement has sent fighters to the front on the Russian separatist side of the conflict with Kremlin approval and run a notorious camp that trains European neonazis from elsewhere. It is also true that the Russian mercenary group Wanger is operated by and infested with neonazis. And one of the early casualties of the border conflict was a Russian neonazi murderer, who joined the separatists of a sense of Russian hyper nationalism, killing himself with a grenade on accident.
These facts can often be utilized as shallow whataboutism and miss the boarder geopolitical picture and the specific plight of the common people and marginalized groups. Both Russia and “the west” wish to exploit the Ukrainian people economically and politically. Russia hoped to further economic subjugation of the country particularly in regards to oil logistics while NATO countries today continue to push for a dismantling of worker protections and increased economic exploitation by western corporations and use them as a zombie cold war geopolitical tool. The Ukrainian people are stuck between a rock and a hard place. It is clear that an escalation to a hotter war or an invasion would be a horrific event, so clear that at this point it seems more like saber-rattling than a real threat. Russia of course also won’t release their foothold. Russia has of course in the past invaded their neighbors, but not with this much potential push back. Both NATO and Russia would probably be happy to keep this in the “cold” proxy stages and mutually bolster their political bases and patrons with ‘it's happening’ energy as they economically and political collaborate to maintain the global order on more macro levels. This of course highlights dark violence of partitions around the world the vital need for a workable no state solution.
Anyway we’ll do a more detailed write up eventually with sources but we hope this helps your thinking.
It is also true that the neonazi infested Russian Imperial Movement has sent fighters to the front on the Russian separatist side of the conflict with Kremlin approval and run a notorious camp that trains European neonazis from elsewhere. It is also true that the Russian mercenary group Wanger is operated by and infested with neonazis. And one of the early casualties of the border conflict was a Russian neonazi murderer, who joined the separatists of a sense of Russian hyper nationalism, killing himself with a grenade on accident.
These facts can often be utilized as shallow whataboutism and miss the boarder geopolitical picture and the specific plight of the common people and marginalized groups. Both Russia and “the west” wish to exploit the Ukrainian people economically and politically. Russia hoped to further economic subjugation of the country particularly in regards to oil logistics while NATO countries today continue to push for a dismantling of worker protections and increased economic exploitation by western corporations and use them as a zombie cold war geopolitical tool. The Ukrainian people are stuck between a rock and a hard place. It is clear that an escalation to a hotter war or an invasion would be a horrific event, so clear that at this point it seems more like saber-rattling than a real threat. Russia of course also won’t release their foothold. Russia has of course in the past invaded their neighbors, but not with this much potential push back. Both NATO and Russia would probably be happy to keep this in the “cold” proxy stages and mutually bolster their political bases and patrons with ‘it's happening’ energy as they economically and political collaborate to maintain the global order on more macro levels. This of course highlights dark violence of partitions around the world the vital need for a workable no state solution.
Anyway we’ll do a more detailed write up eventually with sources but we hope this helps your thinking.
Why is it that Boric, the newly elected president of Chile who promised to end neoliberalism, bent the knee to the banks? The same reason SYRIZA did in Greece before him, to be a successful politician you have to fundamentally compromise your radical ambitions.
Forwarded from CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective
In Russia, Ukraine, and the US, rulers who won't die in the trenches are preparing to throw away people's lives just to gain leverage in geopolitical competitions.
We should fight those who would make us die on their behalf, not each other.
https://crimethinc.com/posters/against-all-wars
"In response to the machinations of governments, we must identify and resist every effort to turn us against each other. We should build solidarity across national, ethnic, and religious lines while doing everything we can to topple authoritarian governments from Washington, DC to Moscow. Our hope is that revolutionary movements will break out on both sides of every border.
"Escalations in state violence are calculated to make this impossible—to substitute war for revolution. But in a world headed towards ever more diffuse wars, goaded on by nationalist strongmen, our best chance of survival is to build ties between combative social movements. Let us fight those who would make us die on their behalf, not each other."
We should fight those who would make us die on their behalf, not each other.
https://crimethinc.com/posters/against-all-wars
"In response to the machinations of governments, we must identify and resist every effort to turn us against each other. We should build solidarity across national, ethnic, and religious lines while doing everything we can to topple authoritarian governments from Washington, DC to Moscow. Our hope is that revolutionary movements will break out on both sides of every border.
"Escalations in state violence are calculated to make this impossible—to substitute war for revolution. But in a world headed towards ever more diffuse wars, goaded on by nationalist strongmen, our best chance of survival is to build ties between combative social movements. Let us fight those who would make us die on their behalf, not each other."
A point of clarification: Ukraine is ~not~ a formal NATO country and would not have NATO troops deployed on its soil if proper Russian military forces formally move in.
What is ‘brinksmanship’?
Brinksmanship is the art of pushing policy or military/political maneuvering to the edge of war or “to the brink” of some other acute crisis without actually escalating to war or some other acute crisis in order to gain leverage or score other political/economic gains.
Also see: game of chicken, saber rattling, etc.
Brinksmanship is the art of pushing policy or military/political maneuvering to the edge of war or “to the brink” of some other acute crisis without actually escalating to war or some other acute crisis in order to gain leverage or score other political/economic gains.
Also see: game of chicken, saber rattling, etc.