Hidden Truth/Hidden Truth.iso/data/misctexts/desertrat/desert.8.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-05-11 | 23.2 KB

From: [e-mail]
X-Mailer: America Online Mailer
Sender: "psychospy" <[e-mail]>
Message-Id: <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 09 May 94 11:11:25 EDT
Subject: Groom Lake Desert Rat #8
Content-Type: text
Content-Length: 23524
Status: RO

THE GROOM LAKE DESERT RAT.   An On-Line Newsletter.
Issue #8.  May 9, 1994.
 -----> "The Naked Truth from Open Sources." <-----
AREA 51/NELLIS RANGE/TTR/NTS/S-4?/WEIRD STUFF/DESERT LORE
Written, published, copyrighted and totally disavowed by
[e-mail].  See bottom for subscription/copyright info.

In this issue...
     PSYCHOSPY GOES TO WASHINGTON
     AFTERMATH OF ABC SEIZURE
     INTEL BITTIES
     RECENT ARTICLES & TV

[Note: This file ends with "#####".  Check for truncation.]

 ----- PSYCHOSPY GOES TO WASHINGTON -----

...AND BONDS WITH THE NSA IN A TRADITIONAL CEREMONY

In a brief visit to Our Nation's Capital last weekend, Psychospy
was ignored by the CIA and FBI, tolerated by the Pentagon but
warmly received by the semi-nonexistent National Security Agency.

On a whirlwind tour of the wicked East Coast, we arranged a 30
hour stopover in D.C. for the purposes of consulting with our
political allies (none in dimly lit parking garages) and looking
into the intelligence agencies that might be looking into us.
First we drove around the perimeter of CIA headquarters in
Langley, Virginia.  We saw nothing much of interest in this
pleasantly wooded campus, just some parking lots and office
buildings surrounded by a double row of fencing.  We considered
driving up to the gate to ask if we might be given a tour, but
thought better of it when we saw no visitors center or ticket
booth.  We snapped a few pix from the road and pressed on.

Next, we drove around the perimeter of FBI headquarters on
Pennsylvania Avenue wondering how we could get a date with Agent
Scully of "The X-Files."  Fearing rejection, we dared not even
stop.  The FBI does offer public tours on weekdays, but the
possibility of running into Scully, gagging on our chewing gum and
having not a thing to say was more than we could bear.  We got
away from there fast.

We did take the public tour of the Pentagon, however.  It was
mostly a static review of war memorials and commemorative
paintings lining the endless corridors.  We were disappointed not
to visit the War Room to see the "Big Board" or meet Dr.
Strangelove and General Turgidson, but the tour did pass by the
offices of Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall and Secretary of
Defense What's-His-Name.  Fearing the icy glare of our uniformed
tour guide, we chose not to drop in.

Finally, we used our confidential contacts and secret intel to
locate the headquarters of the hyper-secret National Security
Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland.  This big government entity is
concerned with radio signal processing and the making and breaking
of secret codes.  Not long ago it was as nonexistent as Groom: the
initials "NSA" were said to signify "No Such Agency."  Now, clever
spies can find its headquarters by taking the "NSA" exit on the
Baltimore-Washington Parkway.  No public tours are offered of the
facility, but there is a public museum.  According to recent news
reports, the National Cryptologic Museum is a memorial to coding
devices and codebreaking triumphs of the past.

Just off the freeway exit, we found ourselves in front of what
looked like a high-tech research park: a collection of routine
steel-and-glass office buildings with only a few discreet
satellite dishes on the roof.  We found the museum nearby,
occupying a former motel on the frontage road facing the busy
freeway.  Rumor has it the NSA purchased this property because
Soviet spooks were using it as an in-your-face observation base
for the spy palace next door.  The property is now surrounded by a
chain-link fence.  The museum occupies the motel office while the
rest of the compound looks like it is being used as a maintenance
depot.

Being a Sunday, the museum was closed, so we just drove by it on
the frontage road.  Posted on the fence immediately in front of
the museum, facing the freeway, was a Restricted Area sign with
lots of fine print.  Such signs hold for us a certain seductive,
"come hither" quality.  We stopped the car, walked up to the sign
and snapped a single picture of it with our trusty Canon.

Lights flashed, sirens wailed.  It happens that at the moment we
snapped the picture, a security patrol was passing by us on the
frontage road.  As we attempted to escape in our rental car, they
pulled us over, and soon we were surrounded by three squad cars
with flashing lights and "Department of Defense" emblems on the
door.  An officer demanded our driver's license, and as he was
radioing in our ID, we turned on our own surveillance devices to
catch the freq.  The marked security patrols broadcast on 408.35
MHz, and, as expected from America's coding agency, the
transmission was encrypted.

A plainclothes officer arrived in a fourth vehicle and told us he
would have to confiscate our film.  Warm and nostalgic feelings
drifted over us as we politely told the officer to go to hell.  We
gave him our business card for "Secrecy Oversight Council" and
said that we had some experience with this kind of demand.  We
asked him the authority by which he was taking our film.  He said
that since we were on the property of Fort Meade, we were subject
to search and seizure without warrant.  We expressed our doubts
about whether the frontage road beside the freeway was the
property of Fort Meade.  We then pointed to the cars passing on
the freeway a few feet away and tried to explain the logical
inconsistencies.  On the other side of the freeway, there was also
a tall office tower in what appeared to be a private business
park.  Couldn't motorists or workers in the tower take all the
pictures they wanted?

The officer was unmoved.  He escorted us back to the sign we had
just photographed so we could read it.  We read the whole thing
aloud to him in our best theatrical voice.  Sure enough, about the
third item on the list of don'ts was a prohibition against
photography.  Already holding the world's record for politically
charged seizures of technically worthless film, Psychospy knew the
drill better than anything.  Like a previous photographer reported
in the Rat, we hemmed and hawed, put on our best show of defiance,
then broke down under the unbearable pressure of NSA Security.  In
front of the officer, we unloaded our camera and turned over our
film for "processing."

The officer gave us a receipt--signed, no less.  He was Scott N.
Jacoby of the NSA, Section SSOC.  He said the film would be
developed and returned to us if no illegal photos were found.  We
asked for double prints, but Mr. Jacoby was not receptive.  With
our film now exchanged for a piece of paper, the ceremony was
complete, and we were free to go.  We completed our survey of the
Fort Meade area, snapped a whole roll of the main NSA complex from
the stoplight out front, then took off down the highway.

So what pictures were on that lost roll of film?  While waiting in
the car for the plainclothes officer to arrive, Psychospy would
have had plenty of time to switch rolls in the camera, but that
would have been dishonest.  Psychospy might have had to--gasp!--
lie to the officer when he turned over a blank roll.  Lying is
something the government does all the time, especially around
these well-publicized secret facilities, but Psychospy will not
stoop to that level.  The film turned over contained our distant
photos of the CIA headquarters, some snaps of the Pentagon, shots
of Georgetown University and that single photo of the Restricted
Area sign in front of the Cryptologic Museum.  We hesitate to say
the film was worthless.  For the record, those shots of the
university were the most precious and artistic we have ever taken,
and we will not surrender our legal title to them without a fight.

Some readers may protest that we should not have given in so
easily.  Hold out 'til they draw guns, they would say.  While in
principle we agree with this attitude, we felt that this case was
a subtle ceremonial event that needed to be handled delicately.
In exchanging our film for their piece of paper, we were "bonding"
with the NSA.  The two of us have now entered into a lasting
symbiotic relationship, like Yin and Yang, flower and bee,
parasite and host.  As it stands now, a super-secret, non-
accountable government agency has our film, and we want it back.
We suspect that they won't give it back because it shows their
Restricted Area sign and a little bit of their museum.  We'll
protest and express our outrage to the media.  We'll file FOIAs
and contemplate legal action.  We'll get nowhere, of course, so
when our mission at Groom is complete, we could be forced to come
back to Fort Meade to write the "NSA Viewer's Guide."

We don't think of it as losing our film, but gaining a partner.

 ----- AFTERMATH OF ABC SEIZURE -----

As reported in DR #7, ABC News lost their equipment and video tape
to the Lincoln County Sheriff after visiting Freedom Ridge on
April 8.  The equipment was then immediately turned over to the
anonymous Cammo Dudes, beyond the boundaries of civilian law.
Everything taken was returned by the Sheriff six days later.  No
apologies were offered, but an Air Force spokesman did confirm
that their Office of Special Investigations (OSI) had reviewed the
tape.  The report finally aired on "ABC World News Tonight" on
April 19, and its drama was greatly enhanced by shots of the ABC
producer being frisked and the correspondent emptying his pockets.

The video tape was returned in its entirety with no evidence of
alteration.  None would have been tolerated by the network, since
they did not photograph the secret base.  However, certain
equipment taken from Psychospy was tampered with.  In addition to
seizing every single piece of the crew's equipment, the
authorities also took Psychospy's scanners and radio equipment as
well as a two-way radio we were holding for a friend.  The
keyboard of this radio had been "locked" when turned over to the
authorities but was unlocked when returned.  Unlocking the
keyboard required a special key sequence that could not have
happened by accident.  This action suggests a deliberate and
knowledgeable attempt to read the frequencies stored inside, and
it implies that the frequencies stored in our unprotected scanners
were also "compromised."

They now know what we know, and since we know they know what we
know, why shouldn't everyone know?  Groom Lake perimeter security
patrols (Cammo Dudes) broadcast primarily on 418.05, 142.2 and
170.5 MHz.  We obtained these frequencies by sneaking up close to
the patrols with our trusty frequency counter.  For many months
the transmissions were mostly unencrypted, and we enjoyed endless
hours of amusement listening to the Dudes talk about us.
Psychospy was referred to as "the Friend," "the Editor," or "Our
Mr. Campbell."  The Friend shared many intimate moments with the
Dudes, recording their dreams, frustrations and colorful sexual
and scatological references.  (Boys will be boys.)  Alas, our
capabilities eventually became too widely known, and the none-too-
swift Dudes started scrambling their transmissions in March.  The
encryption sounds like static preceded by a blip.  It is
apparently unbreakable, but the transmission itself can yield
information about the position and distance of a hidden patrol.
The Dudes may also be forced to broadcast "in the clear" in remote
locations where the signal is obscured by hills.

Other frequencies may be published in future Rats.  The decision
of which to publish and which to withhold is the kind of spy-vs.-
spy chess game we do so enjoy playing.  Not all of our frequencies
and techniques were compromised in the ABC seizure, and the more
we publish about our knowledge, the greater opportunity there will
be for countermeasures by the "opposition."  In other words, they
still don't know what we know they don't know, how much we know
about what they know we know or what we will do now that we know
what they know we know.  No?  On the other hand, we hate keeping
secrets for very long, as it is inconsistent with our mission.

There are many unresolved issues in the ABC equipment seizure.
What was the probable cause upon which the warrant was based?  The
crew never pointed their camera at the base, and the Cammo Dudes
were watching us through their Super Mega Spy Cam with hairs-on-a-
gnat's-ass resolution.  Nonetheless, some anonymous Dude evidently
testified to the Sheriff that we shot the base.  Because of the
government-protected anonymity of this witness, he and his
organization are immune to any legal repercussions for their
testimony.  A warrant can serve a lot of purposes apart from the
obtaining of evidence.  It could be used as a means of harassment,
as a "fishing expedition" for intelligence information or simply
as a way to seize equipment.  How do we know, for example, that
the Dudes did not concoct their testimony just to get their hands
on our scanners?

The only document the Sheriff has made available to the suspects
is the warrant itself--and only after a two-week delay.  We were
mystified by the broad demands of the warrant.  It authorized the
seizure not just of video tape but of all video, sound and radio
equipment.  Sound and radio equipment can't take pictures, so what
is its relevance?  Was this a bona-fide effort to prove the
photography case or an attempt to gather intel, intimidate
civilians and neutralize equipment?  A warrant implies that you
intend to file charges if any incriminating evidence is found.  If
the Groom base had shown up on the video tape, would the federal
authorities have the political will to prosecute such a hot-potato
case?  Judging from the response to press inquiries, nobody is
rushing to the aid of the AF: not the County D.A., FBI or Justice
Dept.  Prosecution of this espionage charge would be a felony case
handled by a serious federal court, not by the Alamo Justice of
the Peace.  There it would garner national attention; the defense
lawyers would be accorded the full rights of discovery, and the
absurdities of a non-existent base could be richly dramatized for
the public.  We think it would be laughed out of court along with
the credibility of the prosecuting agency.

We propose that the only reason ABC News got its equipment back is
because it was ABC News--a big media organization with plenty of
legal and P.R. muscle.  If this was your average Joe with a
videocam, the equipment might have been gone forever.  Remember, a
secret base doesn't have to obey the law.  Somewhere inside, there
is already an impressive cache of film and equipment withheld from
visitors without due process.  Thinking themselves innocent of any
wrongdoing, Psychospy and countless others have turned over their
film and videotape to the Sheriff for "processing" and never seen
it again.  Once the film enters the non-existent base, it is lost
even to the Sheriff.  Logically, it is the legal obligation of the
authorities either to return the film or charge the offenders
under the espionage statute.  What happens, instead, is no
response at all.

The warrant released by the Sheriff did not provide any
information about who made the complaint or what the probable
cause was.  The Sheriff, D.A. and Justice Court have declined to
release that information on the grounds that the case is still
"under investigation."  Does that mean that ABC is still under
suspicion of photographing the base?  When their report aired, the
nonexistent base was nowhere to be seen except for a brief shot of
the satellite image found in the Testors XR-7 model kit.  We
suspect that the "under investigation" claim is simply convenient
excuse for withholding the probable cause.

 ----- INTEL BITTIES -----

DUDES GET A THRILL.  The Cammo Dudes' already elevated
testosterone levels got an additional boost on Saturday when two
nude sunbathers--male and female--soaked up the rays at their
campsite near the base of White Sides.  Other members of their
party, who were climbing the hill to view the base, reported
getting ALMOST NO ATTENTION AT ALL from the Dudes, who were
preoccupied with positioning their Cherokees for the best view of
the campsite.  Since the sunbathers were visible only to the
Dudes, not the climbers, it is unclear at this writing whether
they engaged in any acts other than sunbathing.  They later
reported to the climbers only that they gave the Dudes "a good
show."

FEELING OH SO GAUCHE.  In DR#7, we reported that the anonymous
Cammo Dudes wear six-color, not three-color, desert camouflage
fatigues.  As soon as we reported this, the Dudes started showing
up in THREE-COLOR DESERT CAMMO, obviously in an attempt to
embarrass and infuriate Psychospy.  We hear that all the major
military services are now phasing out six-color cammo, providing
further proof that THE GENERALS READ THIS NEWSLETTER.  They will
pass up no opportunity to humiliate us, but we will not be broken.
Six-color is definitely more stylish, and by wearing it we assert
our INDIVIDUALITY, a quality sadly lacking in the military.

DESERT RAT DIRECT CIRCULATION has reached 750 copies.  This is the
number we send out by email and US mail.  We have no idea how many
more copies are downloaded from bulletin boards or redistributed
by others.  (We hear that the Rat is all the rage in Europe.)

 ----- RECENT ARTICLES -----

Continued from DR#2 and the "Area 51 Viewer's Guide."  Unless a
price is listed, articles below are available from Psychospy for
25c each to cover copying and postage.  (For intl. orders, we may
bill you for addl. airmail postage.)  Most are 1994.

12/93, Jornal fur UFO-Forschung:  Review of Campbell's Area 51
   Viewer's Guide (in German).
1/30, Las Vegas Review-Journal:  "Air Force Buffer Zone For Groom
   Lake Base To Be Discussed."  Hearings.
2/94, MUFON UFO Journal:  "Lazar as a Fictional Character."
   By Campbell.
2/94, Monitoring Times:  "Out Foxing the Foxes."  How to find road
   sensors.
2/94, Sunday People (U.K.):  Article on Little A-Le-Inn.
2/1, L.V. R-J:  Editorial cartoon on AF land needs.
2/4, Aerotech News and Review:  "Secret AF Base Center Of
   Controversy."
2/22, WSDC:  "How to Evade Engle Act at Groom Lake, Nevada."
2/22, Nellis AFB:  Press release on mysterious booms heard in L.V.
2/23, L.V. Sun:  "AF Takes Blame For Boom."
2/23, L.V. R-J:  Story on Booms.
2/24, Lincoln County Record:  "Natl. Magazine 'Spies' on Groom
   Lake."  Popular Science.
3/94, Popular Science:  "Searching for the Secrets of Groom Lake."
   See DR#4.  Copies are $4 plus $2 postage:  complete issue.
3/1, WSDC:  "Illegal Road Sensors on Public Land."  Map.
3/2, L.V. R-J:  "Air Force 'Buffer Zone'." Editorial on land grab.
3/2, Boston Globe:  "My Date with an Alien".  Campbell.
3/3, L.V. R-J:  "Air Force plan for land near base debated."  Las
   Vegas hearing.
3/3, L.V. Sun:  "Citizens, AF Stir Waters at Groom Lake."
3/4, L.V. R-J:  "Land Request Boosts Saucer Heads' Curiosity of
   Area 51."  Column.
3/10, L.V. R-J:  "Lawsuit Planned Against Secret Base."  Hazardous
   waste claims.
3/20, L.V. R-J:  "Groom Lake Toxic Burning Alleged."  Anonymous
   source provides details.  Incl. base map and sidebar on
   "extravagant living."
3/20, Dayton Daily News:  "Top Secret."  Lead article of 2-page
   spread on Groom.
3/20, D.D.N.:  "The Intrepid Sneak Close To Peek."
3/20, D.D.N.:  "One Man Takes On Secret Base."  Campbell.
3/20, D.D.N.:  "'Earthlings Always Welcome' At Bar, Grill."
   [Above DDN articles were reprinted in other newspapers,
   including the Austin American Statesman on 4/3.]
3/24, L.V. R-J:  "Groom Probe Finds No Toxic Burning." State
   investigation stymied.
4/94, The Nose Mag.:  "Oh... THAT Secret Base."  By Agent X.  50c
4/94, Spin Mag.:  Visit to Dreamland.  By DiGregorio.  $1
4/94, Omni Magazine:  "Project Galileo." Summary of Lazar's claims
   in his own words.  50c.
4/94, Puget Sound Computer User:  "Adventures of Psychospy"
4/94, Spirit (SW Airlines in-flight mag.):  "Alien Highway."
4/94, Bike:  "Area 51:  Mountain Bike Surveillance Of The Secret
   Military Operations, Nuclear Test Sites, And UFO Holding Pens
   Of Nevada's Great Beyond."  By DiGregorio.  $1.
Spring 94, Citizen Alert Newsletter:  "Groom Range Land Grab --
   Part II."  Assessment of F.R. withdrawal, by Campbell. 50c
Spring 94, Citizen Alert Newsletter:  "So Who's Really In the Know
   About Groom Lake?"  By DiGregorio.
4/1, Aerotech News and Review:  "Dreamland - The Air Force's
   Remote Test Site."  50c.
4/13, D.D.N.:  "ABC News Gear Confiscated at Base."  (Reprinted in
   L.V. Sun and other papers.)
4/14, L.V. R-J:  "Equipment Seized Near Secret Base."
4/15, L.V. R-J:  "Equipment, Videotape Returned to New Crew."
4/18, Aviation Week:  Paragraph on ABC equipment seizure.
4/26, L.V. R-J:  "Officials Won't Reveal Source of Complaint."
5/94, Popular Science:  "Readers Talk Back."  Letters to editor
   regarding April issue.
5/94, Pilot (U.K.):  "The Groom Lake Desert Rats."
5/3, L.V. R-J:  Justice of the Peace responds to 4/14-15 articles
   in letter to editor.
5/17, Weekly World News:  "Space Aliens Hang Out at Nevada Bar."

 ----- RECENT TELEVISION -----

Below are recent TV broadcasts.  (Not available from us.)  Most
are brief news reports of 3-5 minutes.

2/94, Fox Network:  "Encounters:  UFO Report,"  Hour special with
   segment on Groom.  Slick, no real info.
3/3/94, CNN:  Report on land grab hearing and Freedom Ridge visit
   (3 min.).  A 5 min. version appeared on CNN's "Science &
   Technology Week" on 3/5.
2/94, San Diego Ch. 10:  Visit to Rachel.  Shallow.
2/94, Boston WLVI 56:  3-part Rachel/F.R. visit.
3/1-3, Las Vegas KLAS 8:  F.R. Visit, land grab hearing.
3/94, Los Angeles Fox 10:  Report on Aurora.  Nuttin new.
4/19, ABC World News Tonight:  Report on Groom Lake.  (Transcript
   available.)

 ===== SUBSCRIPTION AND COPYRIGHT INFO =====

(c) Glenn Campbell, 1994.  ([e-mail])

This newsletter is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without
permission, EXCEPT FOR THE FOLLOWING:  For six months following
the date of publication, you may photocopy the text or send or
post this document electronically to anyone who you think might be
interested, provided you do it without charge.  You may only copy
or send this document in unaltered form and in its entirety, not
as partial excerpts.  After six months, no further reproduction of
this document is allowed without permission.

This newsletter is published on an irregular basis whenever
conditions warrant.  Email subscriptions are available free of
charge to any internet user.  To subscribe (or unsubscribe) to
current and future editions, send a message to [e-mail]
(not psychospy).  Hard copy subscriptions to this newsletter are
available for $1.50 per issue, ordered from the address below.
(e.g. $15 for the next 10 issues, mailed anywhere in the world.)

BACK ISSUES are available without charge by internet FTP to
nova.unix.portal.com, directory /pub/trader/secrecy/psychospy.
For subscribers without FTP access, back issues are available from
us only by regular mail for $1.50 per issue.

The US mail address for Psychospy, Glenn Campbell, Secrecy
Oversight Council, Area 51 Research Center, Groom Lake Desert Rat
and countless other ephemeral entities is:
     HCR Box 38
     Rachel, NV 89001 USA

#####