CIA enlists Google's help for spy work (Google is NSA/NSA is Google)
Google has been recruited by US intelligence agencies to help them better process and share information they gather about suspects.
Agencies such as the National Security Agency have bought servers on which Google-supplied search technology is used to process information gathered by networks of spies around the world.
Google is also providing the search features for a Wikipedia-style site, called Intellipedia, on which agents post information about their targets that can be accessed and appended by colleagues, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The contracts are just a number that have been entered into by Google's 'federal government sales team', that aims to expand the company's reach beyond its core consumer and enterprise operations.In the most innovative service, for which Google equipment provides the core search technology, agents are encouraged to post intelligence information on a secure forum, which other spies are free to read, edit, and tag - like the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Depending on their clearance, agents can log on to Intellipedia and gain access to three levels of info - top secret, secret and sensitive, and sensitive but unclassified. So far 37,000 users have established accounts on the service, and the database now extends to 35,000 articles, according to Sean Dennehy, chief of Intellipedia development for the CIA.
Agencies such as the National Security Agency have bought servers on which Google-supplied search technology is used to process information gathered by networks of spies around the world.
Google is also providing the search features for a Wikipedia-style site, called Intellipedia, on which agents post information about their targets that can be accessed and appended by colleagues, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The contracts are just a number that have been entered into by Google's 'federal government sales team', that aims to expand the company's reach beyond its core consumer and enterprise operations.In the most innovative service, for which Google equipment provides the core search technology, agents are encouraged to post intelligence information on a secure forum, which other spies are free to read, edit, and tag - like the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.
Depending on their clearance, agents can log on to Intellipedia and gain access to three levels of info - top secret, secret and sensitive, and sensitive but unclassified. So far 37,000 users have established accounts on the service, and the database now extends to 35,000 articles, according to Sean Dennehy, chief of Intellipedia development for the CIA.
Beyond Patriot: The MEADS Program SD&D Phase
The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS program aims to replace Patriot missiles in the United States, the older Hawk system in Germany, and Italy’s even older Nike Hercules missiles. MEADS will be designed to kill enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs within its reach, while providing next-generation point defense capabilities against ballistic missiles. MBDA’s SAMP/T project would be its main competitor, but MEADS aims to offer improved mobility and wider compatibility with other air defense systems, in order to create an linchpin for its customers’ next-generation air defense arrays.
Public health drill conducted at church (TX)
ANGLETON — Terrorist activities, pandemic influenza and disease outbreaks such as smallpox or meningitis — these events that affect public health are a concern to everyone.A local program was conducted Saturday for those seeking to be involved in protecting themselves and their families.The Brazoria County Health Department, in conjunction with Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, had a three-hour community health preparedness drill Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Angleton, 237 E. Locust.Community participants walked through the planned preparedness activities.No training was necessary and participants received a token of appreciation. Families and individuals learned ways the public health system would operate if a mass medication distribution is ever needed.....
Responders test coordination skills (DICE Update)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies converged in southern Virginia last week to demonstrate and test the interoperability of the communications systems that will need to work together for the agency’s disaster response plans to succeed. FEMA has expanded its repertoire of scripted response plans, from 44 in 2006 to more than 240 now. It has also increased the number of agencies it coordinates with in creating scripted scenarios for such exercises, from four to 31, said Glenn Cannon, assistant administrator of FEMA's Disaster Operations Directorate. The exercise, hosted by the Northern Command’s Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) at Fort Monroe, Va., is an example of one of several ways that FEMA and its coordinating agencies have sought to improve their performance. Other measures include a national communications plan and the National Response Framework. “We don’t want to wait until we are in the middle of an event to call our friends at DOD and say, ‘You know, now we need some help,’ ” Cannon said. “This exercise is all about how we pull together the capabilities in a whole government approach to a disaster,” Gen. Victor Renuart Jr., Northcom’s commander, said during the event
Emergency Personnel In Toronto Hospital Undergo Live Mass Casualty Simulation (update)http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010493046
Toronto, Canada (AHN)-- It was scene straight out of an emergency worker's worst nightmare.
Picture more than a hundred wounded people running and screaming frantically as a "dirty bomb" explosion triggers a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 401 - Canada's busiest highway - with plumes of radioactive dust rising in the air.
If you were a nurse or a doctor, what would you do?
About 100 allied health professionals, security, social work and other crisis support planners, as well as hospital administrators, risk managers and educators participated in Saturday's live mass-casualty exercise designed to test the emergency preparedness plans of Ontario hospitals and their communities
Picture more than a hundred wounded people running and screaming frantically as a "dirty bomb" explosion triggers a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 401 - Canada's busiest highway - with plumes of radioactive dust rising in the air.
If you were a nurse or a doctor, what would you do?
About 100 allied health professionals, security, social work and other crisis support planners, as well as hospital administrators, risk managers and educators participated in Saturday's live mass-casualty exercise designed to test the emergency preparedness plans of Ontario hospitals and their communities
Space radiation could rule out Mars mission
But experts say further research may produce new ways to handle the risks
But experts say further research may produce new ways to handle the risks
Dangerous levels of radiation in space could bar astronauts from a mission to Mars and limit prolonged activity on the moon, experts now caution.
However, more research could reveal ways to handle the risks that radiation poses to space missions.....The magnetic field of Earth protects humanity from radiation in space that can damage or kill cells. Once beyond this shield, people become far more vulnerable....
However, more research could reveal ways to handle the risks that radiation poses to space missions.....The magnetic field of Earth protects humanity from radiation in space that can damage or kill cells. Once beyond this shield, people become far more vulnerable....
A return to the moon (Hah! yeah sure, like a man went there 40 years ago)
Boeing Rotary UAV Aims To Set Records
The record attempt flights will include a hover out of ground effect at 15,000 ft. and an 18-20-hr. flight with a 300.-lb payload. Together they form the final milestones of the Phase 1 demonstration which began in August 2003. Supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), the tests are intended to prove that a purpose-built, clean-sheet large vertical takeoff and landing unmanned air system (VUAS) can truly go the distance compared to other rotary UAVs that are generally derived from existing manned helicopters.
NSC, Cantel Medical to Market Pandemic Flu Defense Kits
Cantel Medical Corp. (Little Falls, N.J.) and the National Safety Council (Itasca, Ill.) announced a joint marketing and distribution agreement to help businesses and other organizations prepare for the threat of a flu pandemic and similar infectious diseases. Under the agreement, Cantel, a provider of infection prevention and control products to the medical and dental markets through its Saf-T-Pak and Crosstex business units, will manufacture NSC/Saf-T-Pak co-branded Flu Defense Kits and other product configurations that will include Crosstex face masks, hand sanitizers, gloves, and surface disinfecting products.
Cantel and NSC will co-market these products, along with providing planning and educational services, to more than 50,000 NSC members that represent a broad spectrum of industries and more than 8.5 million employees....
Cantel and NSC will co-market these products, along with providing planning and educational services, to more than 50,000 NSC members that represent a broad spectrum of industries and more than 8.5 million employees....
New strategies for new disasters (update)
Events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina have brought disaster to ITs doorstep. But many companies are still applying old strategies to new disaster scenarios. March 31, 2008 (Computerworld) Here's a tricky question: Could your company operate during a flu pandemic?
Nearly 3,000 financial services organizations tested their answers to that question with a disaster drill last September. The exercise showed that the financial sector could continue to operate during a pandemic, but it also revealed stress points throughout the industry. For instance, many recovery plans laid the groundwork for employees to telecommute -- a smart move in a scenario that could leave thousands homebound -- but the existing infrastructure couldn't handle the increased traffic.
"When you have [so many more] people working from home, the Internet is going to slow to a crawl, and that's if it's even recoverable in all parts of the country," says Nick Benvenuto, managing director and global head of business continuity at Protiviti Inc., a risk management consulting firm in Menlo Park, Calif. ...
Events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina have brought disaster to ITs doorstep. But many companies are still applying old strategies to new disaster scenarios. March 31, 2008 (Computerworld) Here's a tricky question: Could your company operate during a flu pandemic?
Nearly 3,000 financial services organizations tested their answers to that question with a disaster drill last September. The exercise showed that the financial sector could continue to operate during a pandemic, but it also revealed stress points throughout the industry. For instance, many recovery plans laid the groundwork for employees to telecommute -- a smart move in a scenario that could leave thousands homebound -- but the existing infrastructure couldn't handle the increased traffic.
"When you have [so many more] people working from home, the Internet is going to slow to a crawl, and that's if it's even recoverable in all parts of the country," says Nick Benvenuto, managing director and global head of business continuity at Protiviti Inc., a risk management consulting firm in Menlo Park, Calif. ...
Homeland security a fishing boon
Starting next month, when the 2008 fishing charter season opens, it's expected anti-terrorism patrols will reel in U.S. fishing boats that cross into Canada over the invisible border on the lakes and return to American waters.
DHS Rolls Out Final Passport Rules to Boost Security
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/11571950/
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department announced Friday the final rule for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a core 9/11 Commission recommendation for strengthening U.S. national security.According to DHS, "The WHTI final rule requires travelers to present a passport or other approved secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States."The document requirements will be effective June 1, 2009."We are on course to implement and enforce the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative which is an important step forward in securing the homeland," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in a statement.
- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department announced Friday the final rule for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), a core 9/11 Commission recommendation for strengthening U.S. national security.According to DHS, "The WHTI final rule requires travelers to present a passport or other approved secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States."The document requirements will be effective June 1, 2009."We are on course to implement and enforce the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative which is an important step forward in securing the homeland," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in a statement.
Raytheon Co. Lands FBI's Top Spy Chief
Raytheon Co., the multibillion-dollar defense contractor, today announced it has hired Timothy Bereznay — a 30-year FBI veteran and former FBI counter-intelligence chief — to run the company's "FBI strategy" in the Intelligence and Information Systems division in Garland, Texas.
Raptor = Satellite Killer?
F-22 Raptor stealth fighters were originally designed for dogfights with Soviet MiGs. But they've been promoted as everything from IED-jammers to bombers to supersonic spies. There's one role, however, that's eluded the gazillion-dollar jet: satellite killer.
Until now, that is. Our pals at Ares report:
Until now, that is. Our pals at Ares report:
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