Warning: Major spoilers ahead

Released in 2009, Roland Emmerich’s film 2012 plays on the fears and panic engendered by the “OMG-the-Mayans-said-we’re-gonna-die-in-2012″ scare. The movie’s apocalyptic scenario depicts in vivid detail people’s worst fears regarding 2012: The destruction of everything and the killing of everyone … well, almost everyone. While a good portion of the two-and-a-half hour movie is dedicated to CGI destruction, 2012 contains many Biblical, mythological and historical references that gives the story a deeper underlying meaning. Furthermore, a specific message can be understood by the way the crisis has been handled in the movie. It basically says: “If something happens, the rich and powerful will live and the rest of you suckers will die”.

In the article entitled ‘Contagion’ or How Disaster Movies “Educate” the Masses, we discussed how disaster movies are an important indoctrination tool that present and sell specific “political responses” to major crises. In 2012, the political response to the mega-cataclysm that is threatening Earth is rather unsettling: The world elite learns about 2012 a few years in advance, secretly plans its own rescue mission (while keeping the masses in the dark) and leaves the world to die while creating a new world that is only populated by the elite. A few “regular” people do manage to infiltrate the elite’s ships. Apparently their survival, along with the world’s rich and powerful, constitutes a happy ending.

When I first finished watching the movie, I wasn’t exactly feeling happy having just paid a few bucks to basically watch a flick that predicts my death and the death of everyone I know while the elite embark on giant ships to start a new world by themselves. It’s a little insulting.

Does the movie accurately predict what will happen on December 23rd, 2012? Probably (hopefully) not, but I do believe that the movie uses the 2012 scare tactic to communicate specific messages to the masses about the elite’s plans for a New World Order and the coming of the Age of Aquarius. Let’s look at the movie’s most symbolic scenes.

The Preparations

The movie takes place in 2009 and begins with a cosmic event that triggers the cataclysm: A planetary alignment.

The alignment of astronomical bodies causes a series of events that lead to the destruction of Earth. On an esoteric level, the alignment of astral bodies is representative of the dawning of a new era - what some may call the Age of Aquarius.

On Earth, a few scientists discover that massive solar flares are causing the planet’s core temperature to rise. Adrian Helmsley, an American geologist, realizes that the end of the world is rapidly approaching. He rushes to Washington D.C. to inform the highest level of power that action must be taken, but it turns out that the world’s ruling elite is not only well-aware of the coming disaster, but have been secretly working on a rescue plan for years. The elite are taking steps to preserve the lives of those that are deemed “worthy” and collecting the Earth’s most important artifacts to bring to the new world.

In this scene, the Mona Lisa at the Louvre is fake. The real painting will be brought into "post-apocalypse" world.

The only people that know about the 2012 rescue plan are the world’s most powerful people. Tickets were also sold to private individuals. The price? 1 billion Euros … per person. In other words, there is no way that a regular person would survive. And that’s all part of the plan.

Meanwhile, as usual, the masses are portrayed as a herd of idiots, prone to panic and violence.

As it is the case in most disaster movies, the masses are portrayed as a "bewildered herd" that cannot act civilized. While the elite is planning its secret escape from the 2012 cataclysm, the masses are shown rioting during a G8 Meeting. Seeing how people are portrayed to act in times of crisis, one might be inclined to think: Maybe the elite is doing the right thing by hiding the truth from the masses ...

This massive conspiracy against the public is not an airtight secret. Some prominent figures discover the ugly truth and attempt to warn the public, but they are rapidly silenced.

When the director of the Louvre discovered the elite's plans, he called a press conference to disclose the truth to the entire world. He then dies in a "mysterious" car accident, right before he makes his announcement.

There are interesting facts about the above car “accident” that killed the French museum director. First, it is clearly stated in the movie that the accident occurs in the Pont d’Alma tunnel … the same tunnel where Princess Diana lost her life in a odd car accident. In my article Princess Diana’s Death and Memorial: The Occult Meaning, I’ve explained the symbolic meaning of the Pont d’Alma tunnel and how the death of Lady Di had all of the markings of a ritual sacrifice. The death of the Museum director at the exact same spot might be the movie’s way of saying that his death was a ritual sacrifice by the elite. The movie might also be indirectly saying: “If the death of the Museum Director inside the Pont D’Alma tunnel was a murder disguised as an accident, what do you think happened to Lady Di?”.

It is later discovered that the museum director is not the only whistle-blower that has “mysteriously” lost his life. Many other people who had the public’s well-being in mind also died in strange circumstances during the elite’s secret preparations.

A conspiracy theorist dedicated an entire wall to news clippings of people who got killed by the elite.

All of the elite’s decision-making is done in secret and secluded meetings and involving only the world’s most powerful people.

Meanwhile, the public is restless, to the point that the London Olympics are suspended. Is the movie predicting events to come?

While all of this is happening, the Chinese government has been put in charge of building the gigantic boats named  “Arks” that would allow the elite to survive 2012.

Farewell Atlantis

The hero of the movie is Jackson Curtis, a regular divorced father, that discovers the truth and attempts to embark on one of the Arks in order to survive 2012.

Jackson Curtis and his kids are told by the US Army that they must leave the national park. They are not told why because the public is not allowed to know about the upcoming 2012 disaster.

Jackson Curtis is a not-too-successful writer of a book entitled Farewell Atlantis, which is very symbolic in the movie’s context. Atlantis is the name of a fabled continent that got submerged by a massive flood several millenia ago. Legend holds that the highly advanced civilization that flourished on that continent disappeared, but some survivors of Atlantis managed to sail to places like Egypt, America and Asia, where they became great teachers to the natives. Atlantis is of a great importance in the occult elite’s Mysteries as it is believed that the continent actually existed and was the origin of the world’s occult knowledge. Atlanteans who sailed to far-away lands in order escape the Great Flood are considered the teachers of esoteric knowledge to the Ancient Egyptians, Mayans and possibly even the Celts. Mystery schools often state that the Biblical story of the Great Flood is, in fact, the story of the disappearance of Atlantis. They also claim that many other ancient cultures have similar stories within their folklore.

Today’s secret societies perceive and refer to America as the “New Atlantis”, a country that was founded on the principles of Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, the supposed descendants of Atlantean Mysteries.

Francis Bacon's 1605 book "New Atlantis" describes an ideal society where science and reason would rule, according the principles of Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. The book is said to be the blueprint of the founding of America. Bacon is known for writing "Knowledge is Power", a famous phrases that has deep resonance in Rosicrucianism and that is prominently featured in the US Library of Congress.

While Sir Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis appeared to be foreshadowing the founding of America, Jackson Curtis’ novel Farewell Atlantis appears to be foreshadowing its destruction. The same way Atlantis was completely submerged by water, America, the home base today’s occult elite, will suffer a similar fate. The lucky few that will embark in a modern version of Noah’s Ark will be given the task to found a New World – and the movie subtly states which institutions will carry on and which will disappear.

The Disaster

As the film progresses, the Earth begins to heat up and fissures start to appear in Los Angeles. Although it is obvious that a major disaster is about to happen, mass media (which is in collusion with the elite, in the movie and in real life) downplays everything in order to keep the population calm and oblivious to the fact that the world is ending. The only non-elite guy that appears to know what’s going on is a nut-job conspiracy theorist living in the woods (apparently, according to Hollywood movies, truth seekers cannot be level-headed, rational people).

Charlie Frost is a near batcrap crazy conspiracy theorist that hosts a radio show and that runs a not-so-great-looking website. He actually knows the truth and he is right about everything, yet, in the end, he is still depicted as a complete nutjob. Knowing the truth is not "cool" in Hollywood movies.

Charlie Frost describes everything that is about to happen to Jackson Curtis and even provides him a map to the Arks.

The map to the Arks are conveniently placed in Charlie Frost's "conspiracy files", right next to his documents on Marilyn Monroe. A little wink to the ultimate mind-controlled Presidential slave?

As the world is crumbling apart, members of the elite receive an important and top-secret message on their mobile phones.

When things get serious, members of the elite are notified that it is time to embark on the Arks and to leave the rest of the world to die.

When hell breaks loose on  Earth, several important monuments are shown being destroyed. These scenes are not only spectacular to watch but they also represent the fall of important institutions as the world enters the Age of Aquarius. In one scene, the famous Brazilian monument “Christ the Redeemer” is shown falling down in a matter similar to the way statues of Saddam Hussein fell after the Gulf War.

Does this symbolize the fall of Christianity in the wake of a new era?

In another scene, St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the “epicenter” of Catholic faith, is shown crashing down on faithfuls and killing thousands of people who assembled to pray.

In this symbolic scene, a crack appears on Michelangelo's iconic painting in the Sistine Chapel, right between the fingers of God and Adam - which can represent the break of the connection between humanity and the divine. Is the elite's New World devoid of the touch of God?

Other religions are also shown being destroyed during the movie. According to an article in The Guardian, 2012 was supposed to contain a scene depicting the destruction of the Kabaa, the holiest site of the Muslim faith. However, the scene was axed for fear of backlash from Islamic groups. The elite’s new world, is therefore not only devoid of Christianity, but of all major religions – one of the goals of the New World Order.

2012 does not only show the destruction of religious monuments, but also of political landmarks. These scenes symbolize the fall of regular nation states before the formation of a single world government.

The White House, symbol of US power, is shown being hit by one of its own war ships and taken away by a gigantic wave. In the elite's new world, it is not about National powers and military might: It is about a single world government and a single military.

The American President addressing the Nation for the last time. The "leader of the free world" symbolically stays in Washington D.C. to die with regular people. In other words, the (supposedly) democratically elected representative of the people has no place in the elite's new world government.

The Noah’s Ark of the Elite

Several of these gigantic Arks were secretly built in China.

While most of the world’s population is getting killed by floods and earthquakes, the “chosen ones” are taken to China to embark in gigantic Arks.

In this clear allusion to the Biblical story of Noah's Ark, animals are shown carried to the ships by helicopter.

Entry to those Arks is far from fair and is reserved for those that are “one of them”. For example, the Indian scientist that discovered the coming of the 2012 cataclysm is left to die, while greedy Russian billionaires are granted access.

Of course, as a member of the world's occult elite, the Queen of England and her dogs are granted access to the ships. Because her hat-wearing skills will be very useful to humanity in the future.

A bunch of pointless “suspenseful” scenes happen as Jackson Curtis and his family attempt to illegally enter one of them. Seeing how many people were left to die, the scientist Adrian Helmsley makes a unavoidable speech about how us humans must stick together and whatnot. However, we don’t see him giving up his place for anyone and everyone still dies … except for the elite. So, despite the moralizing monologues about caring for each other, the elite’s plan carries on right on schedule and only those that were chosen to survive do.

After the disaster, humanity enters a new era and resets its calendar to year 0001. The previous calendar was based on the birth of Jesus Christ - which is esoterically associated with the Age of Pisces. The resetting of the calendar signifies that Christ's era is over. It is the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.

At the end of the movie, the entire world is completely submerged by water, except for the African Continent. The Arks set sail to the cradle of Civilization to start anew in a place symbolically called “Cape Hope”. Is this a happy ending? Depends if you’re in the elite or part of the 99% of the rest of the world that died.

The Age of Aquarius

Esoteric schools teach that a “Great Solar Year” is the period of time during which the sun cycles through all of the zodiacal constellations, lasting about 25,000 years. Every 2,000 years (more or less) the sun enters a new zodiacal constellation and humanity, somewhat unconsciously, adopts symbolism that relates to that zodiacal sign. For nearly the past 2,000 years the sun was in the constellation of Pisces (represented by Two Fishes), meaning that we are in the Piscean Age. Oddly enough, Christianity has always been represented by the symbol of a fish (i.e. the Jesus Fish). Every 2,000 years, the sun migrates to the previous sign of the zodiac, which means that the world is set to enter to Age of Aquarius.

By showing the fall of Christian symbols and the emerging of a new world after a massive flood, the movie 2012 appears to be announcing the coming of the Aquarian Age.

The astrological sign of Aquarius consists of a cup-bearer pouring water. In Greek mythology, the cup-bearer is said to be the cause of the Great Flood that probably caused the disappearance of Atlantis.

Since the symbol of the sign of Aquarius is a man pouring water and is methodologically associated with the legendary Great Flood, it is rather appropriate to depict the coming of the Aquarian Age with a flood that submerges New Atlantis, aka America.

In Conclusion

While 2012 is often described as a big orgy of explosions and special effects, the movie nevertheless contains a great deal of messages and symbolic moments. Its references to historical, Biblical, mythological and esoteric concepts give the movie a deeper meaning, one that fits with the world view of today’s occult elite. While the world will probably not crash and burn on December 23rd 2012, the movie uses the scare relating to the Mayan Calendar to communicate its plans for the future: The fall of religions, dissolution of Nations and the glorification of a select elite on the backs of the clueless masses. Everything that happens in the movie is remarkably on-par with “ten commandments” found on the Georgia Guidestones (see the article Sinister Sites – The Georgia Guidestones). Here are some of them: “Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature”, “Unite humanity with a living new language” and so forth. The way things go down is also reminiscent of the symbolic stories told on the prophetic murals found at the Denver International Airport (read the article here) and the murals at the Bank of America (read the article here). Both of these pieces depict a period of great tribulation, destruction and oppression that is followed by the founding of a new world based on the elite’s principles.

On a more esoteric level, the movie equates America with Atlantis, an advanced civilization that was destroyed by a great flood. The survivors of ancient Atlantis, who are said to be the originators of the occult lore of secret societies, went on to perpetuate their knowledge across the world.

And while solar flares are said to be cause of the 2012 disaster, major floods are the cause of the Earth’s destruction. Through this symbolism, the movie appears to announce the end of the Age of Pisces and the coming of the Age of Aquarius.

There is therefore much more to 2012 than originally meets the eye. Unfortunately, as it is often the case in mass media, the messages being communicated are neither enlightening nor inspiring. Quite the contrary, the movie basically tells the story of gigantic conspiracy against the public, complete with cover-ups and murders. In the end, the elite saves its own ass and leaves billions of people to die. To top it off, this conspiracy is presented as the only viable solution to such a crisis. Is the public being prepared for a major crisis that will be resolved with the heralding of a New World Order? As the movie’s promotional poster clearly states: “We Were Warned”.

Military exercises on Thames River in London in preparation for the Olympics.

The upcoming summer Olympics are turning London into a highly militarized zone. All kinds of weaponry are currently being tested and deployed in the city such as land-to-air missiles, fighter jets, amphibious assault ships and machine guns. These highly controversial measures are not welcomed by many Londoners as they create an unnecessary climate of fear and oppression in the city.

The weapons being tested do not only have a military purpose. New crowd control weapons will be deployed during the Olympics such as high powered “sonic gun”. Here’s an article on this new weapon.

Olympics-Britain to deploy “sonic gun” at Olympics

* UK military to have non-lethal sonic weapon at Olympics

* High-powered loudspeaker used against pirates and protesters

* Britain prepares for biggest peacetime security operation

Britain’s military will be armed with a sonic device that can be used as a high-volume loudspeaker or a non-lethal weapon to disperse crowds at this summer’s Olympic Games in London, the defence ministry said on Friday.

The equipment, which can project a piercing sound over hundreds of metres causing physical pain, has been used during protests at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh in 2009 and against pirates operating off the Somali coast.

The Ministry of Defence said it expected to use it primarily in loudspeaker mode to communicate with boats it wants to stop on the River Thames.

Defence chiefs have already caused controversy by announcing plans to put surface-to-air missiles on the top of residential buildings near the Olympics site in east London.

Fighter jets roared over the capital and helicopters were seen hovering over the Houses of Parliament this month during a nine-day military exercise to prepare for Britain’s biggest peacetime security operation.

The LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device), made by U.S. company LRAD Corporation, can be mounted on the side of a ship or on the top of a vehicle. Some versions are roughly the same size and shape as a dustbin lid.

It can generate noises up to around 150 decibels, similar to a gunshot, and has a maximum range of 3 km or 1.8 miles.

The device can also emit a warning alarm that sounds like a police siren and “potentially prevents the use of harmful or deadly force”, LRAD says on its website.

Police and military planners say they are preparing for a range of security threats at the Olympics including protesters trying to disrupt events and attacks using hijacked airliners.

Around 13,500 soldiers will help the police during the Games, which run from July 27 to Aug. 12.

- Source: Reuters

The police state tactics surrounding the Olympics are not simply limited to the deployment of high-powered weapons. Many people considered “suspicious” or “undesirable” by UK authorities are being denied access from the country or have been banned from the games – some simply because they’ve objected the construction of Olympic facilities near their homes. These kinds of tactics are typical of police states where civilians are being punished for “thought crimes”. Here’s a report on these pre-Olympic bans.

The least we can say is that these 2012 London Olympics will be very interesting – and not because of the sporting events.

The push to make the internet a controlled space used to spy on citizens, where supposedly “private” information is automatically shared with authorities, might soon reach another threshold. A new report suggests that the FBI is currently discussing with major internet companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo and Google to build backdoor accesses to their services to facilitate government surveillance. The FBI is also attempting to convince these companies to support an upcoming law that would allow the outright spying of social networks, VoIP, and Web e-mail providers. The law, like many other similar ones that are being proposed and adopted, is in direct violation with the 4th Amendment, which states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Of course, those who wrote the Bill of Rights were not expecting the advent of the internet and the storing of information on remote servers. The application of its principles is however nebulous today. However, if those in power truly wished (and if citizens somewhat cared) to preserve the spirit of the Amendment (which was created to protect citizens from government oppression and tyranny) they would have extended the principles of the Fourth Amendment to cyberspace. We are however witnessing the exact opposite: The advent of the internet, of social networks and other technologies appears to be the perfect opportunity for state authorities to deny these historic rights to citizens and to move towards a high tech police state.

Here’s an article on these FBI discussions with internet companies.

FBI: We need wiretap-ready Web sites – now

CNET learns the FBI is quietly pushing its plan to force surveillance backdoors on social networks, VoIP, and Web e-mail providers, and that the bureau is asking Internet companies not to oppose a law making those backdoors mandatory.

The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance.

In meetings with industry representatives, the White House, and U.S. senators, senior FBI officials argue the dramatic shift in communication from the telephone system to the Internet has made it far more difficult for agents to wiretap Americans suspected of illegal activities, CNET has learned.

The FBI general counsel’s office has drafted a proposed law that the bureau claims is the best solution: requiring that social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail alter their code to ensure their products are wiretap-friendly.

“If you create a service, product, or app that allows a user to communicate, you get the privilege of adding that extra coding,” an industry representative who has reviewed the FBI’s draft legislation told CNET. The requirements apply only if a threshold of a certain number of users is exceeded, according to a second industry representative briefed on it.

The FBI’s proposal would amend a 1994 law, called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA, that currently applies only to telecommunications providers, not Web companies. The Federal Communications Commission extended CALEA in 2004 to apply to broadband networks.

FBI Director Robert Mueller is not asking companies to support the bureau’s CALEA expansion, but instead is “asking what can go in it to minimize impacts,” one participant in the discussions says. That included a scheduled trip this month to the West Coast — which was subsequently postponed — to meet with Internet companies’ CEOs and top lawyers.

A further expansion of CALEA is unlikely to be applauded by tech companies, their customers, or privacy groups. Apple (which distributes iChat and FaceTime) is currently lobbying on the topic, according to disclosure documents filed with Congress two weeks ago. Microsoft (which owns Skype and Hotmail) says its lobbyists are following the topic because it’s “an area of ongoing interest to us.” Google, Yahoo, and Facebook declined to comment.

In February 2011, CNET was the first to report that then-FBI general counsel Valerie Caproni was planning to warn Congress of what the bureau calls its “Going Dark” problem, meaning that its surveillance capabilities may diminish as technology advances. Caproni singled out “Web-based e-mail, social-networking sites, and peer-to-peer communications” as problems that have left the FBI “increasingly unable” to conduct the same kind of wiretapping it could in the past.

In addition to the FBI’s legislative proposal, there are indications that the Federal Communications Commission is considering reinterpreting CALEA to demand that products that allow video or voice chat over the Internet — from Skype to Google Hangouts to Xbox Live — include surveillance backdoors to help the FBI with its “Going Dark” program. CALEA applies to technologies that are a “substantial replacement” for the telephone system.

“We have noticed a massive uptick in the amount of FCC CALEA inquiries and enforcement proceedings within the last year, most of which are intended to address ‘Going Dark’ issues,” says Christopher Canter, lead compliance counsel at the Marashlian and Donahue law firm, which specializes in CALEA. “This generally means that the FCC is laying the groundwork for regulatory action.”

Subsentio, a Colorado-based company that sells CALEA compliance products and worked with the Justice Department when it asked the FCC to extend CALEA seven years ago, says the FBI’s draft legislation was prepared with the compliance costs of Internet companies in mind.

In a statement to CNET, Subsentio President Steve Bock said that the measure provides a “safe harbor” for Internet companies as long as the interception techniques are “‘good enough’ solutions approved by the attorney general.”

Another option that would be permitted, Bock said, is if companies “supply the government with proprietary information to decode information” obtained through a wiretap or other type of lawful interception, rather than “provide a complex system for converting the information into an industry standard format.”

A representative for the FBI told CNET today that: “(There are) significant challenges posed to the FBI in the accomplishment of our diverse mission. These include those that result from the advent of rapidly changing technology. A growing gap exists between the statutory authority of law enforcement to intercept electronic communications pursuant to court order and our practical ability to intercept those communications. The FBI believes that if this gap continues to grow, there is a very real risk of the government ‘going dark,’ resulting in an increased risk to national security and public safety.”

Next steps
The FBI’s legislation, which has been approved by the Department of Justice, is one component of what the bureau has internally called the “National Electronic Surveillance Strategy.” Documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show that since 2006, Going Dark has been a worry inside the bureau, which employed 107 full-time equivalent people on the project as of 2009, commissioned a RAND study, and sought extensive technical input from the bureau’s secretive Operational Technology Division in Quantico, Va. The division boasts of developing the “latest and greatest investigative technologies to catch terrorists and criminals.”

But the White House, perhaps less inclined than the bureau to initiate what would likely be a bruising privacy battle, has not sent the FBI’s CALEA amendments to Capitol Hill, even though they were expected last year. (A representative for Sen. Patrick Leahy, head of the Judiciary committee and original author of CALEA, said today that “we have not seen any proposals from the administration.”)

Mueller said in December that the CALEA amendments will be “coordinated through the interagency process,” meaning they would need to receive administration-wide approval.

Stewart Baker, a partner at Steptoe and Johnson who is the former assistant secretary for policy at Homeland Security, said the FBI has “faced difficulty getting its legislative proposals through an administration staffed in large part by people who lived through the CALEA and crypto fights of the Clinton administration, and who are jaundiced about law enforcement regulation of technology — overly jaundiced, in my view.”

On the other hand, as a senator in the 1990s, Vice President Joe Biden introduced a bill at the FBI’s behest that echoes the bureau’s proposal today. Biden’s bill said companies should “ensure that communications systems permit the government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law.” (Biden’s legislation spurred the public release of PGP, one of the first easy-to-use encryption utilities.)

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. An FCC representative referred questions to the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, which declined to comment.

From the FBI’s perspective, expanding CALEA to cover VoIP, Web e-mail, and social networks isn’t expanding wiretapping law: If a court order is required today, one will be required tomorrow as well. Rather, it’s making sure that a wiretap is guaranteed to produce results.

But that nuanced argument could prove radioactive among an Internet community already skeptical of government efforts in the wake of protests over the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, in January, and the CISPA data-sharing bill last month. And even if startups or hobbyist projects are exempted if they stay below the user threshold, it’s hardly clear how open-source or free software projects such as Linphone, KPhone, and Zfone — or Nicholas Merrill’s proposal for a privacy-protective Internet provider — will comply.

The FBI’s CALEA amendments could be particularly troublesome for Zfone. Phil Zimmermann, the creator of PGP who became a privacy icon two decades ago after being threatened with criminal prosecution, announced Zfone in 2005 as a way to protect the privacy of VoIP users. Zfone scrambles the entire conversation from end to end.

“I worry about the government mandating backdoors into these kinds of communications,” says Jennifer Lynch, an attorney at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has obtained documents from the FBI relating to its proposed expansion of CALEA.

As CNET was the first to report in 2003, representatives of the FBI’s Electronic Surveillance Technology Section in Chantilly, Va., began quietly lobbying the FCC to force broadband providers to provide more-efficient, standardized surveillance facilities. The FCC approved that requirement a year later, sweeping in Internet phone companies that tie into the existing telecommunications system. It was upheld in 2006 by a federal appeals court.

But the FCC never granted the FBI’s request to rewrite CALEA to cover instant messaging and VoIP programs that are not “managed”–meaning peer-to-peer programs like Apple’s Facetime, iChat/AIM, Gmail’s video chat, and Xbox Live’s in-game chat that do not use the public telephone network.

If there is going to be a CALEA rewrite, “industry would like to see any new legislation include some protections against disclosure of any trade secrets or other confidential information that might be shared with law enforcement, so that they are not released, for example, during open court proceedings,” says Roszel Thomsen, a partner at Thomsen and Burke who represents technology companies and is a member of an FBI study group. He suggests that such language would make it “somewhat easier” for both industry and the police to respond to new technologies.

But industry groups aren’t necessarily going to roll over without a fight. TechAmerica, a trade association that includes representatives of HP, eBay, IBM, Qualcomm, and other tech companies on its board of directors, has been lobbying against a CALEA expansion. Such a law would “represent a sea change in government surveillance law, imposing significant compliance costs on both traditional (think local exchange carriers) and nontraditional (think social media) communications companies,” TechAmerica said in e-mail today.

Ross Schulman, public policy and regulatory counsel at the Computer and Communications Industry Association, adds: “New methods of communication should not be subject to a government green light before they can be used.”

- Source: CNet

Some articles on this site discussed a rather disturbing trend: The “resurrection” of pop stars who died in mysterious circumstances (possibly sacrificed) to then have their image exploited by the very industry they spoke against. A recent example was the rapper 2Pac who was revived as a hologram (see the article entitled 2Pac Revived as a Hologram at Coachella: Why I Didn’t Like It).

Michael Jackson is probably the biggest (and saddest) example of a star who denounced industry manipulation to then die in very strange circumstances. In the mist of trials attempting to place the blame of MJ’s death on a single person (i.e. a patsy), Pepsi Co. announced that it would feature the King of Pop’s image on over a billion of its cans.

The announcement caused some controversy in mass media as people asked “Is it right to use the image of a dead person to sell products?”. Most people, including me, would instantly reply “Hell No”. Going beyond this ethical question, there is a deeper issue at stake here. Why is the very essence of artists who have been attacked, humiliated and almost destroyed by the industry so thoroughly exploited after their demise? Is it more than simply about money and publicity? Is it the elite’s way of saying “We used them, we sacrificed them and now we own them for eternity”?

Some might say that the controversy might help sell Pepsi cans. I for one won’t be buying Pepsi anytime soon. Here’s an article on MJ image being used by Pepsi.

Michael Jackson To Appear On Pepsi Cans

More than one billion cans will be imprinted with the late pop icon’s image.

PepsiCo Inc. is resurrecting Michael Jackson to try to pump life into its flagship cola, three years after the singer’s death and more than a quarter century after the pop icon’s landmark sponsorship deal to become the voice of the brand.

Following an agreement with Mr. Jackson’s estate, the beverage and snack giant said Thursday that it will roll out a billion Pepsi cans with a silhouette of Mr. Jackson—who died in 2009—as part of its newly launched “Live For Now” global marketing campaign.

PepsiCo and Mr. Jackson’s estate declined to disclose the financial terms of the latest deal. Mr. Jackson signed onto a Pepsi sponsorship deal in 1984 for a then-record $5 million.

The new campaign is part of PepsiCo’s pledge to ramp up spending on its flagship cola, which has been losing ground behind archrival Coca-Cola Co.

PepsiCo is boosting its overall marketing budget this year by as much as $600 million, or by about 20%. The extra money is going to a dozen large global brands, which also include Lay’s potato chips, Gatorade sports drinks and Quaker oatmeal. The company has been pouring more funds into Pepsi, its biggest brand by revenue, since last year.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Jackson’s estate said the PepsiCo campaign represents the first branding deal since Mr. Jackson passed away, but that more such marketing agreements are planned.

Mr. Jackson starred in several Pepsi advertising spots in the 1980s and 1990s, including an infamous commercial shoot in 1984 that inadvertently set the King of Pop’s hair on fire, burning his scalp. Pepsi’s new campaign around Mr. Jackson is timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of “Bad,” the multi-platinum album.

PepsiCo said it would begin distributing the special-edition cans in China this weekend. The cans will arrive on U.S. store shelves later this month, part of a broader rollout to about 20 other countries in Asia, South America and Europe.

Bringing a deceased celebrity back from the dead for marketing purposes is a risky business.

“It’s like the dead is dancing to sell your product,” said Scott Lerman, chief executive officer of Lucid Brands, a branding firm.

In 2007, ConAgra Foods Inc. reincarnated their company spokesman, Orville Redenbacher, who had died in 1995. It ran a commercial that featured a computer-generated version of Mr. Redenbacher who had gotten a modern makeover. Pundits dubbed the character “Orville Deadenbacher.” An ad critic for Adage, an industry trade magazines, called the posthumous pitchman: “Madison Avenue’s first pitchzombie.”

Following Tiger Wood’s infidelity scandal, Nike Inc. NKE -2.26% aired a black-and-white commercial showing Mr. Woods gazing into a camera as a voice-over of his late father, Earl Woods, spoke to the golfer about taking responsibility for his actions. The ad received mixed reaction, although many labeled the spot “creepy.”

Dead icons also can create enormous buzz. Earlier this year, a digital version of the late-musician Tupac Shakur appeared on stage during a music festival with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. An Internet video of the show became an instant phenomenon.

Frank Cooper, a senior PepsiCo marketing executive, said the Pepsi campaign is respectful toward Mr. Jackson and more “forward looking” than nostalgic by celebrating the pop legend’s continuing influence on music.

Mr. Jackson remains highly popular across the globe, spanning all age groups, Mr. Cooper added.

That appeal is especially important in China, where Coke’s namesake cola had a 26.9% share of the soda market last year, ahead of Pepsi’s 19.0% share, according to Euromonitor International.

In its efforts to narrow that gap, PepsiCo in March secured Chinese government approval for a joint venture with Tingyi Holding Corp., a leading beverage player in China.

Coke, which also enjoys a bigger share of China’s overall beverage market than PepsiCo, said last year it would invest $4 billion over the next three years in the country.

PepsiCo is launching a TV ad in China featuring music from Mr. Jackson’s “Bad” album later this month, but hasn’t decided yet if it will run similar ads in the U.S. It’s launching a TV commercial in the U.S. next week featuring singer Nicki Minaj.

By marrying its cola with famous musicians, Pepsi is returning to its marketing roots. Aside from Mr. Jackson, previous Pepsi pitchmen have included Ray Charles, Madonna and Britney Spears.

It recently invested an estimated $60 million to sponsor “The X Factor,” a TV music-talent show launched in the U.S. last autumn, to compete with “American Idol,” which Coke sponsors. A Pepsi TV ad that premiered last year on “The X Factor” featured a clip of Mr. Jackson after a long hiatus.

Coke also has tapped heavily into music in “Open Happiness,” the global campaign it launched in 2009 for its trademark cola. Coke recently recruited music producer Mark Ronson and singer Katy B to create a new song, “Anywhere in the World,” that it plans to market heavily as part of its Olympic Games sponsorship in London this summer.

This year Pepsi quietly pulled the plug on its “Refresh” campaign, an online social-media campaign, where consumers competed for money to fund favorite charities. Critics said it didn’t help sell more Pepsi.

In addition to the cans with Mr. Jackson’s silhouette, PepsiCo is teaming up with musicians and producers to reinterpret some of the singer’s songs, part of a broader digital campaign. It also promises “epic, live events” tied to Mr. Jackson in the coming months.

- Source: WallStreet Journal

At the beginning of the cartoon, Bimbo (a good name for a non-initiate?) walks down the street without a care in the world. Suddenly, a certain cartoon character traps Bimbo down a manhole.

Bimbo gets trapped...Mickey Mouse? Funny how this character is the recruiter that lead to Bimbo's forceful initiation. Is it a thinly veiled comment on Disney's Masonic ties?

Bimbo then finds himself in the underground lair of a strange secret society composed of  masked men with candles on their heads (symbolizing illumination?). One asks him “Wanna be a member? Wanna be a member”. When Bimbo’s answers “NO!”, he is sent to various sadistic chambers that recall the various ordeals that are imposed on new initiates in actual secret societies.

At one point, Bimbo is tricked into thinking he would die. Near-death experiences have been part of secret society initiations since Antiquity.

In the ordeal of the "Mystery Door", Bimbo faces prominent symbols associated with Secret Societies: Skull & Bones and the number 13.

After getting his ass severely spanked, Bimbo finds himself in room with a Masonic checkerboard pattern floor.

During his terrifying ordeals, Bimbo learns about the illusory nature of the material world, a fundamental concept communicated in occult initiations.

After refusing to become a member several times, the masked man reveals himself and seduces him.

It is Betty Boop! After watching her tap her own behind a few times, Bimbo realized that this secret society was aaaaalright.

When Bimbo finally accepts Betty Boops offer, he discovers that all of the members were Betty Boop clones, which makes him very happy. In other words, secret society initiation might be difficult and terrifying but becoming a member provides great rewards.

Looking at the symbolism of Bimbo’s Initiation, we realize that those who produced it were obviously “in the know”. The cartoon is therefore yet another example of occult symbolism that can be seen by all, but meant to be fully understood by few.

A few months ago, the proposal of an anti-piracy bill by the name of SOPA caused a great deal of controversy and protest due to the fact that it allowed the snooping of web users while opening the door to the censorship of the internet. The proposal of this law caused companies and internet giants such as AOL, Facebook and Google to openly oppose the bill – some even went as far as making their sites “go dark” for a day as a form of protest. The bill was eventually shelved and internet users rejoiced. But it was a very temporary victory. A new law is set to make the internet a highly monitored place.

Were the anti-SOPA companies genuinely concerned about your privacy? Not really. SOPA simply went against their best interests as it placed the burden of internet surveillance on them.

Now, a new bill by the name of CISPA will be proposed this week and its unprecise wording will make legal all kinds of abuse against privacy and free speech. Is there outrage from internet giants or are there corporate websites going black? Not at all. In fact, several companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Intel, AT&T, Verizon openly support the bill.

“Whereas SOPA and PIPA were bad for many companies that do business on the Internet, and burdened them with the unholy task of policing the Web (or facing repercussions if they didn’t), this bill makes life easier for them; it removes regulations and the risk of getting sued for handing over our information to The Law. Not to mention doing what the bill says it’s going to do: protecting them from cyber threats.”
- Digital Trends, CISPA is not the new SOPA: Here’s why

With the support of big businesses, CISPA is receiving a lot less negative publicity and has a lot more chances to be adopted. It has been recently reported that the Obama administration is against CISPA – but that might not be enough to get it cancelled. Also, with elections coming soon, appearing to be against this controversial law while still having it adopted might be a simple political strategy.

Since companies are backing the law, it is up to the people to get their voices heard. Although different than SOPA, CISPA has all of the main components to turn the internet into a cyber-police-state. Here’s a good article describing CISPA.

As CISPA Nears A Vote, Can The Controversial Cyber-Security Legislation Be Stopped?

As controversial cyber security legislation nears a vote in the House this week, civil liberties groups and some politicians are lining up against the bill.

Critics of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) have likened it to previous bills, such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that was defeated in Congress earlier this year.

(You can read the full pdf text of CISPA here.)

Now, opposition to CISPA is growing more widespread with each passing day as more and more internet groups join forces to push back against what is seen as a serious threat to domestic privacy laws.

The Daily Kos has set up its own action against CISPA, and numerous groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have been at the forefront of the effort to halt what they see as a serious threat to American civil liberties.

The ACLU has described the bill as an even more pernicious SOPA, noting that the legislation “would give the government, including military spy agencies, unprecedented powers to snoop through people’s personal information — medical records, private emails, financial information — all without a warrant, proper oversight or limits.”

Meanwhile reddit, the site largely responsible for the groundswell of cyber-grassroots opposition to SOPA, has been overrun with discussions about this latest threat to online privacy.

The critics have a point, writes Timothy B. Lee (not to be confused with Tim Berners-Lee) at Ars Technica.

“CISPA is a solution in search of a problem. And it threatens to undermine important privacy protections.”

Politicians Come Out Against CISPA

Now, even the Obama Administration has come out against the bill, siding again with the forces of the internet against lawmakers.

“The Obama administration opposes Cispa,” Alec Ross, a senior adviser for innovation to Hillary Clinton, told the Guardian. “The president has called for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. There is absolutely a need for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation.

“[But] part of what has been communicated to congressional committees is that we want legislation to come with necessary protections for individuals.”

Ross did not comment on whether Obama would veto the bill.

Presidential hopeful and staunch libertarian Ron Paul has come out against the legislation as well.

“CISPA permits both the federal government and private companies to view your private online communications without judicial oversight provided that they do so of course in the name of cybersecurity,” said the Texas Republican.

“Simply put, CISPA encourages some of our most successful internet companies to act as government spies, sowing distrust of social media and chilling communications in one segment of the world economy where Americans still lead.”

Critics of CISPA point out that the lawmakers responsible for bills that tinker with the internet rarely understand the technical side of the equation, whereas critics of this and earlier bills have a much stronger grasp not merely on the civil liberties aspects but on the way such bills could harm the internet itself.

The man many credit for “inventing” the internet, Tim Berners-Lee, has also come out against the bill, noting how quickly these sorts of bills resurface in Congress.

CISPA “is threatening the rights of people in America, and effectively rights everywhere, because what happens in America tends to affect people all over the world. Even though the SOPA and PIPA acts were stopped by huge public outcry, it’s staggering how quickly the US government has come back with a new, different, threat to the rights of its citizens,” Lee told The Guardian.

So what is CISPA, and what does it do?

Basically CISPA bypasses various laws that have been put in place to protect privacy. The legislation allows companies and government agencies to share “cyber threat information” with other private companies or the government “notwithstanding any other provision of law.”

Such broad strokes are always worrisome, especially given how fast and loose the term “threat” has become in recent years. What sort of private information could be used to prevent a cyber threat?

The Center for Democracy and Technology list four broad areas for concern:

• CISPA has a very broad, almost unlimited definition of the information that can be shared with government agencies and it supersedes all other privacy laws.
• CISPA is likely to lead to expansion of the government’s role in the monitoring of private communications.
• CISPA is likely to shift control of government cybersecurity efforts from civilian agencies to the military.
• Once the information is shared with the government, it wouldn’t have to be used for cybersecurity, but could instead be used for other purposes.

One imagines that almost anything could potentially be helpful in preventing a cyber attack. Emails, health records, online purchases. The language in the bill is so broad and leaves so much room to maneuver, that the sharing of private information could be excused or overlooked for almost any reason.

The truly perplexing thing about the bill is that a great deal of information is already routinely shared by companies and the government. The only difference between this information sharing and information sharing under CISPA is that there are currently safeguards in place to prevent abuse. CISPA strips those safeguards away in the name of cyber security.

But Is It SOPA?

Not quite, argues Ars Technica’s Tim Lee. “A better analogy is the 2008 FISA Amendment Act, which granted major telecommunications incumbents retroactive immunity for their participation in warrantless wiretapping and eliminated judicial oversight for a broad category of government surveillance.”

CISPA simply loosens already weak protections of privacy and does so with few, if any, restraints and little oversight. In other words, it’s just another piece of the security-state puzzle we’ve been cobbling together since 9/11 which already includes domestic surveillance, the possible detention of US citizens by the military, and numerous other assaults on individual liberty and privacy.

With SOPA, the “threat” was online piracy. With CISPA, the “threat” is much more vague. Does internet piracy itself constitute a cyber threat?

“And whereas SOPA pitted Silicon Valley against Hollywood, CISPA seems to have the support of many technology and Web-based companies, including Facebook, Microsoft, Symantec and IBM,” writes Forbes cyber-security guru Andy Greenberg.

While SOPA raised first amendment concerns, CISPA raises concerns about privacy. Still, privacy and free speech are not exactly mutually exclusive. Loss of privacy threatens free speech, and the loss of free speech is inevitably a loss of privacy.

The only silver lining at this point is that whereas the FAA passed during a time of political crisis, the anti-censorship forces and internet groups in opposition this time around are much better organized. The stunning defeat of SOPA and PIPA earlier this year illustrate just how far these groups, and the social media tools they wield, have come in a short span of time.

The Man Leading The CISPA Charge

The architect of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act is Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, along with his Democratic co-sponsor Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger of Maryland.

Despite the growing opposition to the bill, Rogers remains confident of its passage.

“I feel pretty confident that we’ll close out the bill,” Rogers told Talking Points Memo. “There is a strong chance that the bill will be passed [by the House this] week.”

While Rogers is stubbornly pursuing the bill in the face of White House opposition and the rising tide of anti-CISPA voices across the internet, he does say he’s willing to make changes.

“We’re open to change this bill right up until it comes to the House floor based on external input,” he told TPM.

What sort of changes remains unclear, but critics of CISPA should take this as a sign that mounting pressure could still have an affect on the bill, possibly leading to revised and more constrained language. Even so, the legislation does little to counter actual cyber threats, while opening the floodgates to all sorts of privacy concerns.

Time is running out for opponents of the bill.

Debate in the House will begin this Thursday, and a vote is scheduled for Friday. There are alternatives to the Rogers bill, such as a bill proposed by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA), that are less invasive and present a more careful, balanced, and targeted approach to cyber threats.

Cyber security is a legitimate government issue, but until the government starts talking to actual cyber security and tech experts, and takes the concerns of civil liberties groups seriously, we risk giving far too much away, once again, in our quest for an ever-elusive sense of security.

- Source: Forbes

We’ve seen in several previous articles (notably The Transhumanist and Police State Agenda in Pop Music) that the normalization of transhumanism is an important part of the Agenda in mass media. The merging of humans and robots in order to for a new kind of “upgraded” transhuman is a concept that is heavily promoted in movies, music videos and video games.

Almost all major pop stars have been portrayed as a robot at one point or another in their career. Not only does this make the concept of transhumanism cool and sexy for young people, it also makes a profound statement about the nature of the industry (pop stars being robots with no minds programmed to perform).

In Japan, the widely popular group Perfume brings the same message and imagery to young Asians with videos such as Spring of Life. During the entire video, the members of the group are robots that are being tinkered with by unseen programmers. During the chorus, they do a dance routine attached to wires – not a lot of freedom going on there. Also, they hide one eye a bunch of times to salute those who control them.

At one point, the fembots appear to be feeling love and start acting more naturally – which is the next step in the development of this technology: Natural looking and feeling robots that can even simulate emotions. Here’s the video.

While this video in itself will probably not change one’s outlook on life and the concept of humanity, it is another piece in the gigantic puzzle that is mass media around the world. This particular video is aimed at the millions of young people in Japan, but other videos and media are aimed at other people around the world and of different age groups. The combination of all forms of media pushing the same idea ultimately normalizes it – especially when the idea is promoted to young people. So, whether you like transhumanism or not, it is being aggressively pushed around the world.

On April 15th, Tupac Shakur was revived in the form of a hologram to perform a few songs at Coachella. At first, I did not even bother watching the performance because this kind of stuff has been going on in Japan for years. However, after reading reactions to the performance and future plans for holographic artists, I felt the need to check it out. Here’s a video of the performance.

Quite a few people asked me what I thought of it. Well, to be honest, I did not like it. I just had a visceral, gut feeling that it wasn’t right. Of course, this is a very personal opinion and many probably won’t agree with me. However, before jumping to the comments to curse me out, please read on.

2Pac was more than a rapper signed to record label. He was an iconic character that represented an entire generation. He did not just record songs and act cool in music videos. He spoke out about issues, he brought to light the reality of America’s underprivileged, he even called out crooked cops and politicians. He did not only sing gimmicky singles to sell records, he said what was on his mind – and what was on many other people’s minds.

However, although he had a kind of “larger-than-life” aura surrounding him  (which only amplified after his death) 2Pac was very human. Like all of us, he had strengths, weaknesses and emotions. And he was not afraid to show them. He could rap about gangster street life and, in the next song, rap about how he loved his mama. In interviews, he could be either loud, cocky and arrogant or soft spoken, smart and insightful. Like many compelling artists, the were many sides to him, like there are many sides to all of us. All of his sides were apparent because, unlike most record industry artists, he was real.

Sadly, that hologram at Coachella, wasn’t.

It was 2Pac – if he was stripped of everything that made him real, human and authentic and then infused with a bunch of synthesized computer hocus pocus. Although it was somewhat interesting to see a 2Pac on stage in 2012, witnessing a dead person artificially re-animated and controlled by unseen programmers felt wrong.  2Pac was anything but an empty shell controlled by unseen programmers…but that’s what I saw at Coachella.

One of the first things the 2Pac hologram said was “What’s up Coachella!”. This was obviously not 2Pac’s voice because Coachella did not even exist prior to his death. It was therefore probably the voice of an imitator making 2Pac say things he never said. In short, it was fake. The hologram then sings the song Hail Mary. Interesting fact: For some reason, the first words of the song “Makaveli in this… Killuminati, all through your body” were removed. Hail Mary was an odd song choice by Dr. Dre – the mastermind behind this hologram experiment – considering the fact that the very next song on the Makaveli album was Toss it Up, in which 2Pac thoroughly insulted Dre. Then Snoop came out and performed 2 of Amerikas Most Wanted with the hologram, complete with pre-arranged interactions with it. Again, fake, staged, artificial.

Maybe if this was a one-time novelty experiment, I wouldn’t have written about it. But there are now talks of bringing this 2Pac hologram on tour and making a bunch of money off it. Even worse, there are talks of bringing other artists back from the dead like Jimi Hendrix and…Kurt Cobain *shudders*. These artists all became legends due to their authenticity, originality and their ability to touch their listener’s soul. They were the exact opposites of pre-programmed, dehumanized and synthesized visual illusions. Furthermore, they were often at odds with the record industry’s shady ways and hypocrisies, which caused them lots of troubles with the powers that be. Seeing their likeness used by this industry to make them say and act a certain way is simply the opposite everything they stood for.

Maybe those behind the 2Pac hologram did it with good intentions. Maybe it was even done out of love and respect for him. But I did not feel it. It was creepy, awkward and, most importantly, it wasn’t 2Pac. Here’s the real deal and let him rest in peace.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead (get over it, the movie is 24 years old).

Watching They Live is a conflicting experience. It is an odd combination of eye-opening messages with lackluster acting, powerful social commentary with 1950′s B-movie special effects and gripping satire with odd punchlines. Constantly making viewers oscillate between “Wow, that was genius!” to “Wow, that was corny!”, it is difficult to properly evaluate the movie from a cinematographic point of view. However, from a “message” point of the view, They Live is gold. Based on Ray Nelson’s short story Eight O’Clock in the Morning, the movie is one of those rare subversive stories that forces viewers to question their world and their surroundings. Because, despite the fact that the movie is about ghoulish aliens, it communicates truths to the viewers that are only alluded to in mainstream movies. In fact, looking deeper into the storyline, one might realize that there’s probably more “science” than “fiction” in the story of They Live … especially when one has “truth-seeing sunglasses”.

The hero of the movie, played by WWF wrestler Rowdy Roddy Pipper, is a drifter that is apparently nameless. In the short story and the movie’s credits, he is referred to as Nada, which means ‘nothing’ in Spanish. While this nameless nothing is broke and homeless, he still manages to expose the alien’s hidden rule of the world. How did he accomplish that? With the only thing he’d ever need: The Truth. Oh, and also guns. He used a lot of guns. Most importantly, despite the fact that Nada was tempted several times to shut up in exchange for “generous compensation”, he kept his integrity and never agreed to sell out to the aliens. Now, that’s a role model. To top it off, he says the best things ever.

"I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum ... and I'm all out of bubble gum".

Are the aliens in the movie an imaginative way to portray the world’s elite, those who secretly run the world, those we call the Illuminati? Let’s revisit this cult classic and see how it describes the hidden rule of the elite.

The Premise

Right from the beginning, as we see Nada walking around Los Angeles with his backpack, the movie sets a particular mood: Something is not quite right. While Nada appears to be a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, the city is not happy and it is not too kind to happy-go-lucky kind of guys. Quite the contrary, there is a sense of impending doom in the air: Poverty is rampant, helicopters fly around the city and street preachers speak of soulless beings ruling the world.

"The venom of snakes is under their lips. Their mouths are full of bitterness and curses. And in their paths, nothing but ruin and misery. And the fear of God is not before their eyes! They have taken the hearts and minds of our leaders. They have recruited the rich and powerful, and they have blinded us to the truth! And our human spirit is corrupted. Why do we worship greed? Because outside the limit of our sight, feeding off us, perched on top of us from birth to death are our owners. Our owners -- they have us. They control us. They are our masters. Wake up. They're all about you, all around you!".

Is the preacher’s description of the “masters” applicable to the Illuminati? I believe so.

As we follow Nada’s aimless drifting across the city, the camera often focuses on people gazing blankly at television screens, mindlessly absorbing the vapid messages it communicates. Regular Joes appear to truly enjoy their television shows … until an obscure organization hacks the airwaves to broadcast subversive messages about the hidden rulers of the world.

"Our impulses are being redirected. We are living in an artificially induced state of consciousness that resembles sleep. (...) The poor and the underclass are growing. Racial justice and human rights are nonexistent. They have created a repressive society, and we are their unwitting accomplices. Their intention to rule rests with the annihilation of consciousness. We have been lulled into a trance. They have made us indifferent to ourselves, to others. We are focused only on our own gain. Please understand. They are safe as long as they are not discovered. That is their primary method of survival. Keep us asleep, keep us selfish, keep us sedated."

Can the above statement be applied to the Illuminati? I believe so.

The Average Joes who watch this pirated TV broadcast all get a massive headache – the raw truth is indeed too much for most people to bear. One such viewer switches the channel after telling the guy on TV: “Blow it out your ass”. Just like today, most people do not want to hear about this kind of stuff … they just want to go back to their mindless TV viewing.

Nada realizes that the street preacher and the man on television are connected through a local church. When he sneaks into the church, he discovers that it is actually the headquarters of an underground organization.

On a wall inside the church is written "They Live We Sleep", a phrase that describes the fundamental difference between the elite and the masses. Those in power know the truth about the world and possess the means and the power to truly "live". The rest of the population is sedated, dumbed-down and manipulated into a zombie-like status in order for it to be as easily manageable as possible by the masters. The masses' ignorance equals a state of endless slumber.

Nada learns that the rebellious organization is attempting to recruit people to take down the rulers. However, a few days later, Nada discovers what happens to those who plot against those in power.

Helicopters, bulldozers and police in riot gear raid the place, destroy everything and violently arrest the members of the underground organization. That is how the elite responds to contrary views.

After witnessing the violent police shakedown, Nada begins to realize that something is wrong in America. The happy-go-lucky guy who believed in working hard and following the rules is starting to believe that something is amiss here.

Determined to learn more, Nada re-enters the church and finds a few interesting things.

The police painted over "They Live We Sleep". Obviously, "They" don't want that message to be known.

More importantly, Nada discovers a box full of sunglasses that allows his to see the world as it is. Added bonus: They also look pretty cool.

Seeing the Truth

While the sunglasses found by Nada appear on the surface to be worthless, they actually provide him with the greatest gift of all: The Truth. When Nada first puts on the sunglasses, the experience is shocking.

When he has his sunglasses on, Nada sees through the smoke and mirrors projected by advertisement and mass media . He only sees the core of their message and the only reason why they exist.

No matter which magazine Nada flips open, he sees the same subliminal messages, which tells a lot about the true function of "celebrity" and "fashion" magazines. Despite the fact that they are all different, they all ultimately serve the same purpose: To reinforce messages from the elite to the masses.

Nada also quickly understands the truth about money.

"In God We Trust"?

Nada’s most shocking discovery concerns people around him.

Some people are not human. They are from another race that has infiltrated society.

Nada realizes that they are everywhere and that they hold positions of power, like this politician giving a typical "politician" speech on television. Is this a way to portray the Illuminati?

Upon discovering this truth, Nada became pissed off. REALLY pissed off. How did he react to the situation? He did not go home and write a poem about it. Nope, he grabbed a shotgun and started shooting aliens.

When the aliens realize that Nada can see through their disguise, they immediately alert the authorities saying “I’ve got one that can see”. Being able to “see” is obviously frowned upon by the aliens – they do not like to be exposed. Nada quickly becomes a social pariah and aliens start closing in on him. Confronted with this situation, Nada says profound and timeless words: “I don’t like this ooooooooone bit”.

Many aliens are part of the police force as its sole purpose is to ensure that the alien's rule is not disturbed. Most policemen are however regular humans and just follow the orders because that's their job ... a little like actual policemen who do the Illuminati's work.

Nada and everyone in the city are constantly monitored by flying surveillance cameras that are oddly similar to the new unmanned drones that are currently appearing around the world.

Flying surveillance cameras were considered science fiction in 1988. They are reality today.

An actual, modern unmanned drone mounted with a video camera.

The concept of truth-seeing sunglasses is an interesting way to illustrate the importance of knowledge in one’s world perception. Two people can be looking at the exact same thing yet perceive two very different realities, depending on the level of information and awareness possessed by each person. Nada’s sunglasses can therefore represent one’s knowledge of the truth, which allows a clear perception of reality.

Looking for Others Who Know the Truth

Upon learning the shocking truth about the world, Nada feels the need to share this vital information with his friend Frank Armitage. Nada however quickly realizes some people do not want to hear about it. In fact, many actually get angry and offended at the simple mention of something that alludes to it. When Nada asks Frank to put on his sunglasses so he can see what he sees, Frank firmly refuses and calls him a “crazy motha…”. Nada replies with another classic line “Either you put these sunglasses on or start eating that trash can”.

Then ensues one of the longest one-on-one fight scene I ever seen (eight minutes of punching and kicking), a scene that is dragged out for so long that it becomes utterly absurd and even comical. While the scene maybe appear ridiculous, it says something about the difficulty of making regular, average people wake up from their blissful ignorance.

Frank finally sees the truth. All it took is Nada beating the crap out of him, sticking the sunglasses on his face against his will and forcing him to look around. Yes, convincing other people of the truth can be a hard task.

It takes a lot of effort on Nada’s part, but Frank finally sees the aliens controlling the world. The two pals are then invited to a secret meeting of the underground organization that is attempting to rid the earth from the aliens.

During the meeting, Nada and Frank are given truth-seeing contact lenses. The sunglasses gave truth-seers a nasty headache, especially when they are taken off. When first exposed to the truth, adapting to the new reality can indeed be difficult, and even painful. However, after a while, it becomes seamless part of the person. A little like wearing contact lenses.

During the meeting, Nada and Frank learn that humans are being recruited by the aliens in exchange for wealth and power. As the leader of the underground organization says: “Most of us just sell out right away”. It is rather easy to make a correlation between the movie and actual politicians and celebrities we’ve seen in previous articles on this site who readily sell out to the Illuminati in exchange for wealth, power and celebrity.

The meeting doesn’t last long, however, as police barge in the place and start shooting everyone there. They are designated a “terrorist organization” by the elite. Nada and Frank manage to escape and accidentally find themselves behind enemy lines, in the alien’s underground base.

Behind Enemy Lines

While exploring the aliens’ underground base, Nada and Frank stumble upon a party thrown by the aliens for human collaborators to thank them for their “partnership”. Although humans will never be considered equals to the aliens, those who sell out to them get monetary benefits … much like those who are not part of today’s elite who nevertheless sell out to push the elite’s New World Order Agenda.

"Our projections show that by the year 2025, not only America but the entire planet will be under the protection and the dominion of this power alliance. The gains have been substantial, both for ourselves and for you, the human power elite."

Frank and Nada then discover the source of the aliens’ brainwashing signals: A television studio. The aliens use the network to broadcast hypnotic and subliminal signals to humans, blinding them from the truth about their rulers and the world. The message that is communicated here: Mass media is the elite’s favorite tool indoctrinate the masses and to keep them in servitude.

The TV station 'Cable 54' is used by the aliens to hypnotize humans. Is this science-fiction? Barely.

Nada realizes that the only way to save humanity from the grips of the aliens is to go to the roof of the TV station’s building and to take down the emitter of the subliminal messages, disguised as a satellite dish. Indeed, without an elite-controlled mass media, indoctrinating the masses will be a lot more difficult. So Nada and Frank start shooting their way towards the roof, not an easy task.

The Disinformation Agent

While this lady appeared to be nice at first, she tried to mislead, deceive and even kill Nada during his quest. She ends up shooting his pal Frank in the head.

Nada met Holly Thomspon, a Cable 54 network executive, at the beginning of his wild rampage. While Nada appears to be somewhat enamoured with her, she always somehow brings trouble. During the “terrorist organization” meeting, Holly infiltrated the group, posing as a sympathizer and claiming that Cable 54 “was clean” and was not the source of aliens’ signal, which was false and misleading. Today, disinformation is widely used by the elite to confuse and mislead those who attempt to discover the truth about the world.

During Nada’s rush towards the roof of the network’s building, Holly appears again, claiming that she wants to help him. However, she is simply trying to kill him before the mission is accomplished. She is therefore another human that sold out to the aliens being used to disrupt non-corrupted humans attempting to liberate themselves and others.

Taking Down the Aliens

Here’s the biggest spoiler of them all: Nada manages to take down the aliens’ transmitter and saves humanity. This heroic move gets him killed, however, as a policeman inside a helicopter shoots him dead. Nada therefore becomes the quintessential hero, sacrificing his life for the good of humanity – a martyr for human freedom from soulless rulers.

Even though it cost his life, Nada visibly does not regret exposing the aliens to the world. With his last once of strength, Nada gives the aliens a uniquely human parting gift: the finger.

Once the aliens’ satellite dish is down, the masses are able to see the world as it is: the alien’s ugly faces are exposed to the world.

TV viewers around the world now realize that those giving the daily news were also those who controlled them.

In Conclusion

Although They Live is usually described as “a science-fiction movie that criticizes consumer culture”, the scope of its message actually goes way beyond the usual “consumerism is bad” lecture. They Live can indeed be interpreted as a treatise on the thorough and systematic conditioning of human experience in order for a hidden elite to covertly control, manipulate and exploit the masses. In the movie, the rulers are portrayed as a completely different race that perceives humans as inferior – something that can easily be correlated to the attitudes about the bloodlines of the Illuminati. The presence of these strong messages in the movie is one of the reasons They Live became somewhat of a cult-classic, despite the fact that it was panned by movie critics. As the years go by, the movie’s message is becoming increasingly relevant … and freakishly realistic.

Many of those who seek the truth about the world realize that it’s reins are held by an un-elected elite, one that is essentially hidden from the public eye. As the movie’s promotional poster says: “You see them on the street. You watch them on TV. You might even vote for one this fall. You think they’re people just like you. You’re wrong. Dead wrong.” Working behind the scenes, this secretive elite constantly works towards the creation of a global system that would serve its interests: a New World Order, ruled by one world government. As a human collaborator says in the movie to justify his selling-out: “There ain’t no countries anymore. No more good guys. They’re running the whole show. They own everything. The whole goddamn planet!”  To facilitate the rulers’ work, the masses are kept in the dark and are distracted with the fake puppet show that is politics and the “no independent thought” programming that is mass media. Apathy, ignorance and indifference are the elite’s best friends.

Despite its unimpressive special effects and odd dialogue, They Live manages to describe the world elite’s motives and strategy in a way that can be understood by all. And that is no simple task. However, in order to fully understand the movie’s message, one must be wearing truth-seeing sunglasses. Do you have yours on?