Slashdot Mirror
OSINT Analysis of Militia Communications, Equipment and Frequencies (wordpress.com)
An anonymous reader writes: On January 2, 2016, the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, United States, were occupied by armed members of rump militias in one of the longest-running law enforcement standoff in American history. The Radiomasterreport blog, using publicly available information, wrote an OSINT Analysis of Militia Communications, Radio Equipment and Frequencies. The research results has astonishing conclusions: far-right patriot militas openly carrying +3000$ AR15 rifles and US military body armour also use cheap 30$ unsecure chinese Baofeng walkie talkie radios with no encryption whatsoever. Any simple ham radio operator , police scanner owner, or even some folks with a Software Defined Radio can receive those militia communications.
"I didn't realize that setting fire to government land because they wouldn't let you use it for grazing was a civil right."
That is a deliberate characterization. Right or wrong, the issue was that the land became government land because the government seized Native American and private property. Further, the occupation was a protest to violation of double jeopardy and persecution of a man for an accidental brush fire.
Agree or disagree, that is your right but deliberately skewing the issue and spreading misinformation might serve to get more people to agree with you now but ultimately that behavior only serves to increase the divide and animosities among us. Justice and truth are on only found in having to make your case while giving full due to any valid points of the opposition. Just as freedom and democracy are only found on the other side of refusing to tolerate any legal shortcuts that bring about the ends you want. For instance, if you want to see gun restrictions, you should fight against any measure other than a constitutional amendment to allow that possibility, allowing the government to get away with anything less is illegal, unconstitutional, and opens the door for the government to disregard the constitution on other matters you would not be so inclined to agree with. This point of hindsight should be 20/20 by now.