Staying Out of the Line of Fire

 

November 15th, 2024

STAYING OUT OF THE LINE OF FIRE: The Dead Drop generally tries to steer clear of politics for oh so many reasons. Actually, just one really important one though: if we can’t all come together on national security issues – regardless of our politics – then we’re only playing the game half as well as we could and that’s just un-American. That’s why we’re not gonna even comment on the megaton of nominees who were announced this week for national security-related positions in the next administration (though our cheekier side could’ve had a field day with a couple of them). What we couldn’t’ resist though, was calling out something we saw that desperately needs a fact check. The Washington Times reported that the President-elect’s nominee to run the CIA, former DNI John Ratcliffe, was expected to target ‘politicization within the Agency’ as a priority and (here’s the surprising part) – that Ratcliffe would “replace Gina Haspel, who has been the agency’s director since 2018.” This will come as news to many – including that Bill Burns guy. Or maybe Haspel has been running the ‘deep state’ version of the Agency for the past few years. More https://www.thecipherbrief.com/dead_drop_article/dead-drop-november-15-2

All Day Emergency Drill of the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant in Soddy-Daisy TN

Several agencies and local ham radio operators will take part in today's emergency drill, which is expected to last several hours. You can listen-in if you have access to the 147.180 repeater on Oswald Dome.

DA Steve Hatchett in First High Profile Case: Close Ally of Sheriff Tommy Jones Indicted on Sexual Assault

The news headlines on 10/2/2024 from the TBI press release seemed vague and ambiguous..."Monroe County Man Indicted, Arrested for Sexual Assault."

It shows, "At the request of 10th Judicial District Attorney General Steve Hatchett, on September 5th, TBI special agents began investigating a complaint of sexual assault that took place on August 24th. During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that Brian Hodge had committed sexual battery against an individual at the Monroe County EMS station in Madisonville."

DA Steve Hatchett

Hodge pleaded guilty to a vote-buying scheme in federal court during his involvement in the 2014 Monroe County Sheriff's race. After being fired from Oak Ridge EMS soon after the federal indictment; Tommy Jones offered Hodge a job--the catch was that Hodge would have been required to carry a gun, but U.S. Attorney Bart Slabbekorn objected: this kept his 'gun rights' permit rescinded as per the court order issued by U. S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan.

This case is about an alleged victim and an accused person: however, how and why Brian Keith Hodge (formerly referred to as "Wormy" Hodge in previous news clips) is back in the news charged with a serious felony is a "WTF" head turner!

"Wormy" Hodge being back in the spotlight is the last thing that Randy White and Tommy Jones would have wished for 10 years after the infamous debacle that was the 2014 sheriff's election in Monroe County...the headlines could be-- 

for Tommy Jones and Randy White, 

"The chickens come home to roost"

This saying dates back to 1390 when Geoffrey Chaucer used it in The Parson's Tale: And ofte tyme swich cursynge wrongfully retorneth agayn to hym that curseth, as a byrd that retorneth agayn to his owene nest.

Tommy Jones

Florida Residents Warned to Escape from the Path of Hurricane Milton

10/10/2024--Hurricane Milton Live Updates: Millions in the dark as it rumbles across causing several deaths and billions in damage. !8" of rain in the Tampa Bay area.

Cat-5 category expected as Hurricane Milton approaches.

Thousands of people are fleeing from Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches the Tampa Bay coast...storm surge is expected as high as 15'-- Officials are warning residents to "leave now, or you will die." Gas stations are either low or have run out gas due to the demand from the number of people evacuating.

So many that were just impacted by hurricane Helene are wondering what Milton is going to do to their communities. Up to record-setting storm surge expected--the longer you wait the more difficult it will be--airplane tickets and gas prices continue to soar.

Monroe County TN has often been a favorite destination spot for Floridians seeking a short or long-term stay--many cabin rentals available in the Tellico Plains area. 

Europol Shuts Down "Ghost" -- Worldwide Cybercrime Social Platform

The platform used encrypted communication to allow criminals worldwide to send and receive messages and also order assassinations. Thousands of illegal ops and transactions were carried out using "Ghost," but even though multiple encryption options were used, the site was dismantled. The platform was run by a single admin, a 32-year-old male based in Australia.

Exploding Radios in Lebanon were discontinued Icom IC-V82's, often used by Ham Radio Operators

It was the batteries in radios and pagers that held the detonation device that maimed or killed hundreds of users in Lebanon this week.

The Japanese company Icom manufactured the IC-V82 radios from 2004 to 2012. It was a solid quality, well-

built HT or (handy talkie) as ham radio operators refer to hand-held portable radios. 

Production of the batteries for the IC-V82 radios was discontinued years ago, but parts are still available: It remains a mystery how the batteries detonated--although it is clear they had been loaded with explosive material.

Icom is one the top radio brands,  one of their best current hand-held models is the Icom ID-52.