Daily Dose of Terror

Daily Dose of Terror Archive Status

2008-12-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

* DDOT will remain up for archives. I find terrorism passe and articles such posted below at Prison Planet (something I would post here) unhelpful to the public. What are readers supposed to do with fear? What activist projects does this lead to?
Northcom Combat Team Conducts “Humanitarian Support” Exercise in Maryland http://www.prisonplanet.com/northcom-combat-team-conducts-%e2%80%9chumanitarian-support%e2%80%9d-exercise-in-maryland.html

I encourage all to organize your communities, meet with people in person. The information we put out on the internet to counter State propaganda is important, but I want to be able to offer solutions and survive the collapse of the U.S., publishing this blog does not augment this goal.

Good luck to all and please check back to see if i change my mind.....

Greg Nixon

Homeland Security Arming Flights, Cyber War Games +

2008-12-21T08:55:00.000-08:00

U.S. Homeland Security seeks to arm commercial airliners with anti-missile lasers
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=us-homeland-security-seeks-to-arm-c-2008-12-19
The persistent concern of when and where terrorists will strike next—heightened by the Mumbai attacks—has led to a number of tech innovations over the past several years, including full-body airport security scanners and adhesives designed to keep buildings from blowing to pieces if bombed. One of the most intriguing of these inventions is a laser system developed to keep terrorist-fired infrared, "heat-seeking" missiles from striking unsuspecting aircraft (both military and civilian).The Jeteye infrared beam, developed by London-based BAE Systems, blinds a heat-seeking missile's navigation capabilities, giving an airliner a better chance of getting away unscathed. (Although that doesn't solve the problem that the missile could do damage wherever it lands.) Jeteye senses the incoming missile's "infrared tracking signal (with which the missile paints its target) and pulses a super-intense beam of light into the missile's reticle, or eye, scrambling its brains," Conde Nast Traveler reported this week on its Web site.

Cyber War Games Confirm Flaws in US Security
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/cyber_war_games_confirm_flaws.php

After participating in a two day cyber war simulation last week, government and industry officials said that the United States is ill-equipped to cope with a major attack against computer networks Reuters reports.
The cyber war game brought together 230 representatives of government agencies, private companies and other groups, and revealed failings in leadership, planning, and communications.
Mark Gerencser, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting service which ran the simulation said: "There isn't a response or a game plan; there isn't really anybody in charge."
The threats are serious. Earlier this year, federal prosecutors charged 11 people with stealing more than 41 million credit and debit card numbers, cracking what appeared to be the largest hacking and identity theft network ever exposed.
Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, US Representative James Langevin said that a successful attack could lead to failure of banking or national electrical systems.
"We're way behind where we need to be now," said Langevin. "This is equivalent in my mind to before September 11 ... we were awakened to the threat on the morning after September 11."

Taiwan scales down military exercises amid thaw with China
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-37104820081219

Russia to cut arms if US drops missile defense
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i0xBv8YQwWSZqAQgjd42RCvU1uEAD955NI200

Darpa: Unleash the Stem Cells of War!
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/12/darpa-unleash-t.html

Roubini on U.S., Biden: Economy, Absolute Tanking Possible

2008-12-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

8 really, really scary predictions
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune/0812/gallery.market_gurus.fortune/index.htmlhttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/_k_X6e30jnXY/SU5vIyA
Dow 4,000. Food shortages. A bubble in Treasury notes. Fortune spoke to eight of the market's sharpest thinkers and what they had to say about the future is frightening.

We are in the middle of a very severe recession that's going to continue through all of 2009 - the worst U.S. recession in the past 50 years. It's the bursting of a huge leveraged-up credit bubble. There's no going back, and there is no bottom to it. It was excessive in everything from subprime to prime, from credit cards to student loans, from corporate bonds to muni bonds. You name it. And it's all reversing right now in a very, very massive way. At this point it's not just a U.S. recession. All of the advanced economies are at the beginning of a hard landing. And emerging markets, beginning with China, are in a severe slowdown. So we're having a global recession and it's becoming worse.

Biden: U.S. Economy in Danger of 'Absolutely Tanking' http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2008/12/biden-us-econom.html

Vice President-Elect Joe Biden said the U.S. economy is in danger of "absolutely tanking" and will need a second stimulus package in the $600-billion to $700-billion range.
"The economy is in much worse shape than we thought it was in," Biden told me during an exclusive interview -- his first since becoming vice president-elect-- to air this Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
"There is no short run other than keeping the economy from absolutely tanking. That's the only short run," Biden told me. (cont...)

Ground Zero on Wall Street
Fed Funds and T-Bills Hit 0% Interest http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11458

"....and the U.S. government, though insolvent,..."

China says lending to US will not go on forever
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081217/bs_afp/financeeconomychinausbonds

World War Web
http://www.fraserinstitute.org/Commerce.web/article_details.aspx?pubID=6046
In the unseen reaches of cyberspace, our enemies are quietly taking the postmodern form of warfare we witnessed on 9/11 to a new level: They are no longer just transnational—they are non-national, hiding and attacking in a world where there are no borders. They are no longer just stateless—they are place-less. And they are no longer virtually invisible—they are, well, virtual.

Russian Plant Considers Reopening Su-25 Production Line

Economic Riots/ U.S. Collapse, Obama Prepares for Attack

2008-12-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

* Interest rates at zero, the US dollar headed toward toilet paper, Chrysler closing for a month...
do people realize the United Sates is bankrupt and collapsing? I am investing in people and building a strong local community. Here in Vermont we have farms and water. What is going to happen where you live? Are you prepared to see the US military in your street?.....

Recommended Reading:
http://globalresearch.ca/
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/

Ariz. police say they are prepared as War College warns military must prep for unrest; IMF warns of economic riots http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/12/15/daily34.html

A new report by the U.S. Army War College talks about the possibility of Pentagon resources and troops being used should the economic crisis lead to civil unrest, such as protests against businesses and government or runs on beleaguered banks.
“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” said the War College report.
The study says economic collapse, terrorism and loss of legal order are among possible domestic shocks that might require military action within the U.S.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned Wednesday of economy-related riots and unrest in various global markets if the financial crisis is not addressed and lower-income households are hurt by credit constraints and rising unemployment.
U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., both said U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson brought up a worst-case scenario as he pushed for the Wall Street bailout in September. Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO, said that might even require a declaration of martial law, the two noted.
State and local police in Arizona say they have broad plans to deal with social unrest, including trouble resulting from economic distress. The security and police agencies declined to give specifics, but said they would employ existing and generalized emergency responses to civil unrest that arises for any reason.
“The Phoenix Police Department is not expecting any civil unrest at this time, but we always train to prepare for any civil unrest issue. We have a Tactical Response Unit that trains continually and has deployed on many occasions for any potential civil unrest issue,” said Phoenix Police spokesman Andy Hill.
“We have well established plans in place for such civil unrest,” said Scottsdale Police spokesman Mark Clark.
Clark, Hill and other local police officials said the region did plenty of planning and emergency management training for the Super Bowl in February in Glendale.
“We’re prepared,” said Maricopa County Sheriff Deputy Chief Dave Trombi citing his office’s past dealings with immigration marches and major events.
Super Bowl security efforts included personnel and resources from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. military’s Northern Command, which coordinated with Arizona officials. The Northern Command was created after 9/11 to have troops and Defense Department resources ready to respond to security problems, terrorism and natural disasters.
Northern Command spokesman Michael Kucharek and Arizona Army National Guard Major. Paul Aguirre said they are not aware of any new planning for domestic situations related to the economy.
Nick Dranias, director of constitutional government at the libertarian Goldwater Institute, said a declaration of marital law would be an extraordinary event and give military control over civilian authorities and institutions. Dranias said the Posse Comitatus Act restricts the U.S. military’s role in domestic law enforcement. But he points to a 1994 U.S. Defense Department Directive (DODD 3025) he says allows military commanders to take emergency actions in domestic situations to save lives, prevent suffering or mitigate great property damage.
Dranias said such an emergency declaration could worsen the economic situation and doubts extreme measures will been taken. “I don’t think it’s likely. But it’s not impossible,” he said.
The economy is in recession. Consumer spending is down, foreclosures are up and a host of businesses are laying off workers and struggling with tight credit and the troubled housing and financial markets. The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and U.S. Treasury Department have pumped more than $8.5 trillion into the economy via equity purchases of bank stocks, liquidity infusions, Wall Street and bank bailouts and taxpayer rebates. U.S. automakers are seeking more than $14 billion in federal loans with fears they could fall into bankruptcy without a bailout. The U.S. housing and subprime lending-induced recession also has hit economies in Europe, Japan and China.
Gov. Janet Napolitano’s office declined comment on emergency planning and possible civil unrest. Napolitano is president-elect Barack Obama’s pick for secretary of Homeland Security, an agency that oversees airport security, disaster response, border security, customs and anti-terrorism efforts.

'As one threat fades, another may come in'
Chertoff on terrorism, immigration and the challenges of his ‘24/7 job’ at Homeland Security
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/12/as-one-threat-f.html

With just a month left before he leaves office, President Bush and his administration can claim credit for having successfully defended this country from another terrorist attack. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said as much in a recent interview with USA TODAY's editorial board. But the secretary, who has run the department since 2005, also noted the dangers that lie ahead, including the possibility of a nuclear, chemical or biological attack on U.S. soil. What about airport security, for which he is responsible? The border fence and immigration control, which also falls under his purview? Chertoff discussed these issues and others. His comments were edited for length and clarity:

Bush Helping Obama Team Prepare For Attack
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/12/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4673323.shtml

The Bush Administration is planning "table-top exercises" of terror attack scenarios for the Obama Transition Team next month. Briefing reporters at the White House, Ken Wainstein, assistant to the president for homeland security and counter-terrorism, expects a couple of such exercises to be run next month – no dates yet set

Wainstein, left, thinks all the members of the Obama Cabinet would take part – to get a feel for how each should respond and what each would do in the event of a terror attack on the U.S. Asked if it wouldn’t be worthwhile for Mr. Obama himself to take part, Wainstein hesitated and then said Mr. Obama is getting a series of briefings on these scenarios.

Kunsan personnel take part in crisis drills
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59443
Crisis-response skills were put to the test at Kunsan Air Base during training last week.
Airmen from the 8th Fighter Wing faced nine crisis situations, according to an Air Force news release.
A team from Global Security and Engineering Services — contracted by Headquarters Air Force Installation and Mission Support and the Air Force Surgeon General’s office — was at Kunsan from Dec. 8 to Dec. 11 to provide the training.
"We are moving toward a homeland security exercise evaluation program and new ways of looking at incident management," Capt. Jason Monaco, 8th Fighter Wing Plans and Programs, said in the release.

Illinois guard: No powder in suspicious mail
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-suspiciousletters,0,1006381.story
* I bet some AJ whackos mailed some 9/11 truth videos to the Guard

Russia/Cuba, China Drills, ABL, Plague War Threat

2008-12-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

Russian warships head for Cuba
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081215/wl_afp/russiacubamilitarynavy_081215151217

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia said on Monday it was sending a group of warships to Soviet-era ally Cuba in its latest defiant naval move around US waters, part of a drive to revive old Cold War ties with Latin America.
The warships will visit Havana on December 19-23, the navy said, continuing a tour that has already taken in US foes Venezuela and Nicaragua and seen the ships pass through the Panama Canal for the first time since World War II.
"This will be the first visit to Cuba by Russian warships since the Soviet era," the Russian naval headquarters said in a statement.
The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and two other ships already held exercises with Venezuela's navy in the Caribbean Sea last month.
The naval manoeuvres close to US waters are seen as a riposte to Washington's own moves in Russia's Soviet-era sphere of influence, including in the Black Sea.

Beijing holds air-ground collaborative anti-terror drill
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90786/6553795.html

On December 13, the Beijing police conducted an air-ground collaborative anti-terror drill. Wang Yi, deputy head of the Beijing Special Armed Police Unit and the general director of the drill, stated that the Beijing police force has drafted a complete emergency plan which can timely tackle all kinds of terrorist attacks.Wang also said that in response to recent international terror attacks, especially after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the Beijing police have carried out a series of anti-terror drills based on in-depth investigations.

Bush Excluded by Latin Summit as China, Russia Loom
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0a8IQrfwSFU&refer=worldwide
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Latin American and Caribbean leaders gathering in Brazil tomorrow will mark a historic occasion: a region-wide summit that excludes the United States.
Almost two centuries after President James Monroe declared Latin America a U.S. sphere of influence, the region is breaking away. From socialist-leaning Venezuela to market-friendly Brazil, governments are expanding military, economic and diplomatic ties with potential U.S. adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran.

Airborne Laser lets rip on first target (update)
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026866.200-airborne-laser-lets-rip-on-first-target.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Plague may ravage world again in case of another world war
http://english.pravda.ru/science/tech/16-12-2005/9398-plague-0

Random Robot Roundup
http://robots.net/article/2712.html
According to a recent research paper, it's difficult for humans to recognize disgust on an artificial face, but easier to recognize sadness and fear on a simulated face than a natural one. The ability to display emotions will come in handy as researchers develop robots capable of a wider range of emotional responses and interactions, such as those described in a recent Science Daily article on emotional robots. Why bother building emotional robots in the first place? A New Scientist article argues that adding emotion may be one of the most important of six ways we can develop robots that do now harm. For two other views on what the future of robots hold in store for us, see the TechNewsWorld article, The Coming Revolution, which contains a few quotes from me. In other news, Doug Emmes of the DPRG sent links to a Sean Reynolds' Wash UAV page showing an autonomous helicopter with open source Arduino code, and to the Sparkfun Electronics USB 32-Bit Whacker - PIC32MX460 Development Board. The Swirling Brain sent us links to robot concept art from the Terminator 4 movie, a BBC story on IBM's DARPA-funded cognitive computing initiative that hopes to develop a machine that mimics the structure and function of a brain, a gizmodo article on the ROMP robot (Remotely Operated Mobile Platform), a sort of poor-man's iRobot battlefield bot. The brain also noticed a Fox news piece on the coming age of tiny flying war robots. Roland Piquepaille let us know about his latest blog posts on razor clam robots, the future impact of robots on society, and an apple picking robot. Know any other robot news, gossip, or amazing facts we should report? Send 'em our way please.

Spotting Snipers With Sound
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/print/6990

GeoEye wins big imagery order from US military
http://www.videsignline.com/news/212400267

Mumbai Terror: Truth Unfolding

2008-12-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

* Once again, 'war games/terror drills' as the operational cover for a false flag attack.

Mumbai terror: truth unfolding
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?208871

The Indian response to the Mumbai tragedy has been unwise and hasty. In less than 24 hours of the ghastly terror that struck Mumbai, India started blaming Pakistan. The entire effort of the Indian authorities is focused incriminating Pakistan.
Some western media reports have now begun to criticise India for its unwillingness to confront its own failings. The Spanish daily El Pais has written: “Islamic extremism has its roots also in India. But it has always been trivialised by the Indian authorities”.
Interestingly, the Indian authorities name the accused first and investigate later. More recently, two serving officers of the Indian army, Col Srikant Purohit and Maj Samir Kulkarni, are facing trial for involvement in the Samjhota Express bombing in 2007, and another five, including a major-general and two colonels, are under investigation.
On Nov 26 within half an hour of the start of the terrorist attack in Mumbai, three senior police officers, Hemant Karkare, DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, who were investigating Col Purohit’s case, were shot at by some one from behind and killed, as if it was pre-planned.
The Mumbai police were equipped with bolt-action Lee Enfield rifles, used in the First World War, and they expected to stop terrorists using assault rifles. Hence, during the first encounter with terrorists, 14 policemen died.
When it was clear that the Mumbai police were out of their depth, Delhi dispatched its best soldiers, the NSG’s Black Cat commandos, who were equipped with clumsy old SLR rifles. It took them nine hours to make it to Mumbai when over 100 people were already killed in the Taj Hotel.
According to private rescue group ‘Zaka’ from Israel that flew ‘on its own volition’ to Mumbai for a rescue operation after the deadly terror attacks, the Indian commandos inadvertently killed some of the Jewish Israeli hostages during the raid on Chabad House (Dec 3).
American intelligence agencies had warned their Indian counterpart in mid-October of a potential attack “from the sea against hotels and business centres in Mumbai, including the Taj Hotel”. Ratan Tata, chaiman of the Taj Hotel told CNN that security was temporarily increased following a warning but enhanced measures were later eased (Dec 3). But why didn’t the American and Indian intelligence agencies share this information with Pakistani intelligence remains a question mark?
According to an Indian navy spokesman, about two dozen terrorists had landed in Mumbai after travelling in a merchant vessel, the MV Alpha, from Karachi, and the Indian navy intercepted the vessel (Nov 28). The Indian media also spoke of RAW’s intelligence intercept of Nov 17, which showed a mysterious Pakistani ship heading for Mumbai.
Interestingly, the alleged Pakistani ship managed to penetrate through Indian waters amid an ongoing naval drill which had mobilised a large section of the Indian navy. The exercise, code-named ‘Defence of Gujarat’, was aimed at stopping ‘Al Qaeda and Pakistani ships’ and yet at the height of the exercise the Pakistani ship sneaked through with its deadly cargo. This is an unbelievable proposition.The Indian claim that the surviving member of the attacking force said he worked for Lashker-i-Taiba and was trained in Pakistan is an unreliable evidence: someone willing to die for a cause would be willing to lie for that cause, even under torture.

Bioterror Scare, China Russia War Games, Lockheed

2008-12-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

Letters Containing Suspicious Powder Renew Concerns Over Bioterror Attacks

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/science/2008/December/Letters-Containing-Suspicious-Powder-Renew-Concerns-Over-Bioterror-Attacks.html

Just days after the release of a bioterror vulnerability report, nine state governors received envelopes filled with white powder.

Although initial reports suggest the envelopes contained a substance likened to flour and have been deemed an “unfortunate prank” by the spokesman for one targeted governor, the deliveries spotlight the vulnerable state of many government offices. Letters postmarked from Dallas were received at governor’s offices in Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana and Rhode Island on Monday, in Alaska on Tuesday and in Maine on Wednesday.Early reports suggest the powder in all cases is harmless but samples have been sent to local laboratories for more extensive testing. The letters arrived just days after the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism, a bipartisan congressional committee, announced the findings of their six-month study concluding that the United States is vulnerable to a bioterrorism attack.

China, Russia to Hold War Games

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1010/42/373107.htm

Russian-Chinese Anti-Terrorist Exercises Will Be Held Next Year http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/2871052

(Source: Daily News Bulletin; Moscow - English)BEIJING. Dec 10 (Interfax) - Russia and China will conduct joint anti-terrorist exercises in 2009, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie announced after talks with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov in Beijing on Wednesday.
"We agreed to conduct joint Chinese-Russian anti-terrorist exercises that will take place next year," he said.
The further successful development of bilateral relations in defense calls for "maintaining the dynamics of high-level contacts, implementing existing projects of cooperation between the two armies, continuing contacts in military training and studying the possibilities of expanding military-technical cooperation," Liang said. ...

Rapid-Fire Killer Robot Passes Flight Test

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,464846,00.html

That's the sound made by the "Multiple Kill Vehicle," a frightening but fascinatingly cool hovering robot meant to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.
Video of a Dec. 2 flight test conducted at Edwards Air Force Base in California by defense contractor Lockheed Martin has made it onto the Web, and it looks like something out of the "Terminator" movies.
Rival defense contractor Raytheon is also working on its own multiple-kill-vehicle program.
Inside a large steel cage, Lockheed's MKV lifts off the ground, moves left and moves right, rapidly firing all the while as flames shoot out of its bottom and sides.
The plan is to mount one or more MKVs onto carrier missiles, which would launch into space to engage enemy nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles at the apogees, or peaks, of their trajectory arcs

Obama transition eyes cuts in expensive arms systems http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/10/obama-transition-eyes-cuts-expensive-arms-systems/ "In particular, he mentioned "slowing" procurement of the Future Combat System (FCS), an array of land and air combat vehicles designed to take the Army into the next generation of warfare. "

Lockheed Martin TOPSCENE Upgrade for Navy Delivers Mission Rehearsal Simulations 20 Times Faster http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Lockheed-Martin-TOPSCENE-Upgrade-Navy/story.aspx?guid=%7B2029BA52-CDD1-4D5B-A307-3918922A0842%7D

Jim Rogers calls most big U.S. banks "bankrupt" http://www.reuters.com/article/InvestmentOutlook09/idUSTRE4BA5CO20081211

When money dies: The nightmare of the Weimar collapse (Unknown Binding)by Adam Fergusson (does anyone have a copy?)

Economic Peril, DHS Hollywood, GMD, PMC updates +

2008-12-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

* sorry for slacking the last few days on updates, I have been working on organizing in my city a movement to stop paying rent. We are basically slaves
in a thoroughly corrupt financial and political system. I cannot emphasize enough the need to prepare for a collapse of the United States next year. Please
see my friends blog for the stuff I find worth focusing on:
jimmyvex.wordpress.com

Economy puts emergency readiness in peril
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-09-biocutbacks_N.htm

WASHINGTON — The economic crisis is jeopardizing the nation's ability to handle public-health emergencies and possible bioterrorist attacks, according to government leaders and a new report.
Federal and state governments are cutting programs that help communities respond to disease outbreaks, natural disasters and bioterrorism incidents, and that "could lead to a disaster for the nation's disaster preparedness," a report released Tuesday warns.
"The economic crisis could result in a serious rollback of the progress we've made since Sept. 11," 2001, said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, a non-partisan research group. Federal funds are down, 11 states have already cut public-health budgets, and more could follow as the economic crisis worsens.

Homeland Security Goes Hollywood (military psyop

A new reality television show focused on the agencies and employees of the Department of Homeland Security is sure to find fans among bureaucrats and department observers, and also is likely to draw some criticism from those who wonder if a primetime television show is the best use of the agency's time.

"Homeland Security USA" debuts Jan. 6 on ABC. The show's producer, Arnold Shapiro (creator of the CBS reality hit "Big Brother") recently told the Hollywood Reporter, “I love investigative journalism, but that’s not what we’re doing. This show is heartening. It makes you feel good about these people who are doing their best to protect us.”
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2008/12/homeland_security_gets_primeti.html?hpid=news-col-blog

Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) demonstrates system-wide integration, progress with Exo-Atmospheric, Multiple Kill Vehicle and airborne laser
http://www.defenseupdate.com/features/2008/december08/091208_missiledefensetests.html Recent testing activities conducted by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) culminated a busy year that marked substantial progress in the development of credible U.S. missile protection, both for tactical and strategic applications.
Among the latest technologies being demonstrated by the program were advanced stages of the high power airborne laser and exo-atmospheric multiple kill vehicle and, a full demonstration of the currently operational capabilities - the sea based AEGIS system and Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD). The most recent test was performed December 5, 2008 demonstrating the entire system, including interceptors, sensor and battle management. (more...)

National Guard Takes Part In Terrorism Drill
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/12/9/national_guard_takes_part_in_terrorism_drill.html INDIALANTIC -- Members of the National Guard spent the Tuesday doing a major drill to prepare for a possible terrorist attack.
The drill was part of a two-day conference on national preparedness put on by Florida Tech.
Members of the guard said the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, India show they need to be ready for any possible attack in America.
The attack simulated the explosion of a dirty bomb.
“We bring a team in -- that civil support team -- and they come down here and do a complete analysis and they find out chemical biological nuclear, what kind of hazard we're facing," said Col. Bill Beiswenger from the Florida National Guard. "(Then) we determine that the first responders can go in and pull out the victims of the disaster.”

Is the Fed Taking the First Steps to Selective Default and Devaluation?

The panopticon economy: The NSA’s new data-mining facility is one component of a growing local surveillance industry
http://www.sacurrent.com/news/story.asp?id=69607

Wearable supercomputer could provide training on the go
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081209_2818.php
Who says you can't take it with you? A small Indiana company, MNB Technologies Inc., claims it can stuff the power of a supercomputer that supports a range of military and civil applications into a wearable 1-pound box.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership providing financial backing for Bloomington-based MNB, said on Monday that the company "is on the verge of a technology breakthrough that could put the power of a supercomputer on the belt of America's military." (cont..)

DARPA orders 'fridge-sized' laser energy cannon
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/05/fridge_sized_raygun/

Giant GM sharks with strengthened necks expected

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/05/fridge_sized_raygun/

CACI Awarded Prime Contract With $452 Million Ceiling to Continue Support for U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/CACI-Awarded-Prime-Contract-With/story.aspx?guid=%7BAE141F16-CDDC-4291-B664-C251F17FD482%7D

$98M to SAIC for Militarized Gamma-Ray Imaging Systems
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/98M-to-SAIC-for-Militarized-Gamma-Ray-Imaging-Systems-05195/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=did&utm_medium=text_Contract
Science Applications International Corp. in San Diego, CA received $98 million firm-fixed-price contract for 50 Militarized Mobile Gamma-Ray Imaging Systems for non-intrusive inspection of vehicles and cargo

Russia's General Staff announces strategic drills with Belarus
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081210/118785608.html

DM hosts massive military drill (AZ)
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9494018&nav=HMO6HMaW

Medical Disaster Exercise at Hixson
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/hixson_973873___article.html/high_students.html

Creating an "Arc of Crisis": The Destabilization of the Middle East and Central Asia The Mumbai Attacks and the “Strategy of Tension”

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11313

World Government, Raytheon Missile Defense

2008-12-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

And now for a world government

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a03e5b6-c541-11dd-b516-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible.
A “world government” would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws. The European Union has already set up a continental government for 27 countries, which could be a model. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of law, a large civil service and the ability to deploy military force.
So could the European model go global? There are three reasons for thinking that it might.
First, it is increasingly clear that the most difficult issues facing national governments are international in nature: there is global warming, a global financial crisis and a “global war on terror”.
Second, it could be done. The transport and communications revolutions have shrunk the world so that, as Geoffrey Blainey, an eminent Australian historian, has written: “For the first time in human history, world government of some sort is now possible.” Mr Blainey foresees an attempt to form a world government at some point in the next two centuries, which is an unusually long time horizon for the average newspaper column.
But – the third point – a change in the political atmosphere suggests that “global governance” could come much sooner than that. The financial crisis and climate change are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in countries such as China and the US that are traditionally fierce guardians of national sovereignty

Raytheon Kill Vehicle And Radars Key To Ballistic Missile Intercept

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Raytheon_Kill_Vehicle_And_Radars_Key_To_Ballistic_Missile_Intercept_999.html

Raytheon components played key roles in the destruction of a ballistic missile target during the latest flight test of the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense system. This was the eighth intercept for the GMD system.
During the Dec. 5 test, a Raytheon-built Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle intercepted a ballistic missile target in space over the eastern Pacific Ocean. While communicating with ground sensors, the EKV detected, tracked and discriminated the target.
"This highly successful test of the GMD system once again demonstrates Raytheon's commitment to performance and reliability," said Dr. Taylor W. Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "We continue to prove the maturity of our kill vehicle technology and our ability to provide this critical capability to the nation."
While in flight, the EKV calibrated its own position using the stars. The EKV then selected an aimpoint and maneuvered for a direct hit, intercepting the target at a closing velocity of more than 18,000 miles per hour.
The target was launched from Kodiak, Alaska, and the interceptor was fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Depression Signs, JFCOM, Hotel Security, Missile Defense

2008-12-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

California May Pay With IOUs for Second Time Since Depression

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a2TUhalNFDds

Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- California, the world’s eighth largest economy, may pay vendors with IOUs for only the second time since the Great Depression, State Finance Director Mike Genest said.
In a letter to legislative leaders Dec. 2, Genest said the state “will begin delaying payments or paying in registered warrants in March” unless an $11.2 billion deficit is closed or reduced. California, which approved its budget less than three months ago, may run out of cash by March, state officials say.

Mumbai attacks refocus U.S. cities
The deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai are prompting new efforts to bolster security in the U.S. by law enforcement officials who fear the assault on India's financial capital represents an unforeseen model for future attacks on U.S. soil.
In New York, police are scheduled to participate in live exercises today simulating scenarios in the Mumbai attacks. Those will follow a morning briefing for 400 corporate security officers from businesses throughout the city, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne says.
Boston police have increased surveillance citywide and are monitoring hotels more closely, says Police Commissioner Ed Davis. Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske met with fire officials this week to review building plans and emergency preparations.
"I think … what happened in India is going to put a new focus on emergency preparations all over," says Kerlikowske, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. (cont...)

JFCOM releases study on future threats (The Bear & the Dragon)http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/defense_jfcom_report_120408/

A new U.S. Joint Forces Command planning document offers insights into planning for irregular conflicts, urges long-promised acquisition reform, and outlines potential threats and enemies.
Released Thursday, the “Joint Operating Environment” document is a “historically informed, forward-looking effort to discern most accurately the challenges we will face at the operational level of war, and to determine their inherent implications,” Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, JFCOM commander, writes in its foreword. “Its purpose is not to predict, but to suggest ways leaders might think about the future.”
The study is meant to inform joint concept development and experimentation by the U.S. military and “other leaders and professionals in the national security field.” (cont...)

U.S. military sets high-stakes missile-shield test http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4B37GA20081204

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military is set to run a "realistic" test Friday of a system built to knock out long-range missiles that could be fired by North Korea or Iran, the Pentagon said.
The drill, over the Pacific, will be the first since September 2007 involving an attempted intercept by the sole U.S. shield against long-range ballistic missiles.
Boeing Co is prime contractor for the system, called the ground-based midcourse defense. It is part of an emerging, layered shield against missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. (cont...)

Iran War Games, Northrop ABM, Nuclear Terror, +

2008-12-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

Iran holds second stage of naval drills in Gulf of Oman
http://en.rian.ru/world/20081203/118671711.html

TEHRAN, December 3 (RIA Novosti) -- Iran has conducted the second stage of a four-stage, six-day naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, a top military commander said on Wednesday.
Over 60 warships, as well as other military hardware and equipment, are involved in a large-scale naval exercise, code-named Unity-87, that will last through December 7.
"During Stage 2 of the Unity-87 exercise, destroyers, submarines, fighter jets, and unmanned aerial vehicles rehearsed the detection and effective engagement of aggressive forces," Deputy Navy Commander Adm. Qasem Rostamabadi said.
He had previously said the drills would also include "multi-phased operations in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf

U.S. Fires Missile Defense Laser Through Aircraft Turret

The system will shoot down ballistic missiles in their "boost-phase"

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20081201_2876.php

The United States has fired a missile defense laser through an aircraft-mounted turret, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced Wednesday (see GSN, Sept. 10).
The aircraft remained on the ground as the Airborne Laser fired a beam that passed through a fire- and beam-control optical system and exited through the turret on the plane's nose. The beam hit an off-board range measurement device that gathered data from the test.
The Northrop Grumman-built laser is expected to undergo several, longer tests early next year. The modified Boeing 747-400F jumbo jet aircraft is then scheduled next fall to attempt to destroy a mock enemy ballistic missile in its boost phase (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release, Nov. 26).
"The ground test proves that the ABL integrated weapon system works as planned," Dan Wildt, vice president of Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman Space Technology, said in a statement. "Thisimpressive achievement validates the safe operation of the high-energy laser in conjunction with all other components of the revolutionary directed energy ABL aircraft" (Northrop Grumman release, Dec. 1).

Nuclear, biological attack 'likely': US commission
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Nuclear_biological_attack_likely_US_commission_999.html
Terrorists are "likely" to use nuclear or biological weapons in the next five years, a US commission warned Tuesday, highlighting Pakistan as the weakest link in world security.
Without urgent action, "it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013," the bi-partisan commission said in its report "World at Risk."
The report, ordered by Congress and based on six months of research, warned the incoming administration of Barack Obama: "America's margin of safety is shrinking." (cont...)

"The Broad-Spectrum Treatment of Biological Weapons and Emerging Pandemic Threats Report" released by Aethlon Medical
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/The-Broad-Spectrum-Treatment-Biological/story.aspx?guid=%7B12D44FA3-BCA7-4011-A937-6327D97196E4%7D

www.aethlonmedical.com/pdfs/BroadSpectrumTreament120308.pdf
Summary of the Report
Biological weapons of mass destruction and emerging pandemic threats represent a significant security and health challenge for all nations. The development and commercialization of traditional drug and vaccine countermeasures is an immense challenge requiring enormous resources. The advancement of single-target drug and vaccine therapies as the predominant strategy to address a universe of known and unknown bioterror and pandemic threats is clinically and economically unfeasible. Accordingly, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of the United States has decreed that broad-spectrum therapies, able to demonstrate effectiveness in combating multiple pathogens, will become a focal point for government initiatives that encourage the development of countermeasures against bioterror and pandemic threats. This paper introduces the Aethlon Hemopurifier(R) as the most advanced broad-spectrum treatment platform as evidenced by a breadth of supporting in vitro data and human treatment experience.

Bioterror Trumps Nuclear Threat
http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2008/12/bioterror-trump.html

Obama vows to keep military 'strongest on the planet' (change...)
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Obama_vows_to_keep_military_strongest_on_the_planet_999.html
Terrorist response drill to be held on PATCO line in Lindenwold and Camden
http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2008/12/terrorist_response_drill_to_be.html

NORAD conducting exercise in Washington region
http://www.examiner.com/a-1724017~NORAD_conducting_exercise_in_Washington_region.html

USJFCOM, NATO reach historic first for simulation federation
NATO and U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) officials recently completed the first use of a new jointly-developed Alliance modeling and simulation training capability, the NATO Training Federation. http://www.jfcom.mil/newslink/storyarchive/2008/pa120208.html

Boeing teaming with Hollywood company
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2008/12/01/daily18.html
The Boeing Co. is going Hollywood for new training systems for the military and law enforcement, striking a deal with Creative Technologies Inc.
CTI is a Hollywood-based company that creates products such as software for game-based simulations for ground forces training.
The deal is a formalization of an ongoing relationship -- CTI is a contributor to the Boeing Future Combat Systems program, and Boeing and CTI are partners in the U.S. Army's Fires Center of Excellence at Fort Sill, Okla.

DARPA seeks Hitchhikers Deep Thought program
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/03/darpa_deep_thought_en_mem/
Pentagon boffinry chiefs are seeking to develop radical AI software capable of boiling down information from the news, overhead spy planes, wiretaps and so on "into a form that is more suitable for human consumption". Specifically, this means using the data to produce "a cohesive story that is germane to the goals of a decision-maker".

Chrysler exec: failure could spark depression
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D94RCD7G0&show_article=1

20,000 US Troops To Be Deployed Inside USA

2008-12-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

* anyone doubt the U.S. Will collapse in '09 anymore

Pentagon to Detail Troops to Bolster Domestic Security

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113002217_pf.html

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.
The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.
There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.
But the Bush administration and some in Congress have pushed for a heightened homeland military role since the middle of this decade, saying the greatest domestic threat is terrorists exploiting the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, dedicating 20,000 troops to domestic response -- a nearly sevenfold increase in five years -- "would have been extraordinary to the point of unbelievable," Paul McHale, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense, said in remarks last month at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But the realization that civilian authorities may be overwhelmed in a catastrophe prompted "a fundamental change in military culture," he said.
The Pentagon's plan calls for three rapid-reaction forces to be ready for emergency response by September 2011. The first 4,700-person unit, built around an active-duty combat brigade based at Fort Stewart, Ga., was available as of Oct. 1, said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of the U.S. Northern Command.
If funding continues, two additional teams will join nearly 80 smaller National Guard and reserve units made up of about 6,000 troops in supporting local and state officials nationwide. All would be trained to respond to a domestic chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive attack, or CBRNE event, as the military calls it.
Military preparations for a domestic weapon-of-mass-destruction attack have been underway since at least 1996, when the Marine Corps activated a 350-member chemical and biological incident response force and later based it in Indian Head, Md., a Washington suburb. Such efforts accelerated after the Sept. 11 attacks, and at the time Iraq was invaded in 2003, a Pentagon joint task force drew on 3,000 civil support personnel across the United States.
In 2005, a new Pentagon homeland defense strategy emphasized "preparing for multiple, simultaneous mass casualty incidents." National security threats were not limited to adversaries who seek to grind down U.S. combat forces abroad, McHale said, but also include those who "want to inflict such brutality on our society that we give up the fight," such as by detonating a nuclear bomb in a U.S. city.
In late 2007, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed a directive approving more than $556 million over five years to set up the three response teams, known as CBRNE Consequence Management Response Forces. Planners assume an incident could lead to thousands of casualties, more than 1 million evacuees and contamination of as many as 3,000 square miles, about the scope of damage Hurricane Katrina caused in 2005.
Last month, McHale said, authorities agreed to begin a $1.8 million pilot project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through which civilian authorities in five states could tap military planners to develop disaster response plans. Hawaii, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Washington and West Virginia will each focus on a particular threat -- pandemic flu, a terrorist attack, hurricane, earthquake and catastrophic chemical release, respectively -- speeding up federal and state emergency planning begun in 2003.
Last Monday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ordered defense officials to review whether the military, Guard and reserves can respond adequately to domestic disasters.
Gates gave commanders 25 days to propose changes and cost estimates. He cited the work of a congressionally chartered commission, which concluded in January that the Guard and reserve forces are not ready and that they lack equipment and training.
Bert B. Tussing, director of homeland defense and security issues at the U.S. Army War College's Center for Strategic Leadership, said the new Pentagon approach "breaks the mold" by assigning an active-duty combat brigade to the Northern Command for the first time. Until now, the military required the command to rely on troops requested from other sources.
"This is a genuine recognition that this [job] isn't something that you want to have a pickup team responsible for," said Tussing, who has assessed the military's homeland security strategies.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the libertarian Cato Institute are troubled by what they consider an expansion of executive authority.
Domestic emergency deployment may be "just the first example of a series of expansions in presidential and military authority," or even an increase in domestic surveillance, said Anna Christensen of the ACLU's National Security Project. And Cato Vice President Gene Healy warned of "a creeping militarization" of homeland security.
"There's a notion that whenever there's an important problem, that the thing to do is to call in the boys in green," Healy said, "and that's at odds with our long-standing tradition of being wary of the use of standing armies to keep the peace."
McHale stressed that the response units will be subject to the act, that only 8 percent of their personnel will be responsible for security and that their duties will be to protect the force, not other law enforcement. For decades, the military has assigned larger units to respond to civil disturbances, such as during the Los Angeles riot in 1992.
U.S. forces are already under heavy strain, however. The first reaction force is built around the Army's 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, which returned in April after 15 months in Iraq. The team includes operations, aviation and medical task forces that are to be ready to deploy at home or overseas within 48 hours, with units specializing in chemical decontamination, bomb disposal, emergency care and logistics.
The one-year domestic mission, however, does not replace the brigade's next scheduled combat deployment in 2010. The brigade may get additional time in the United States to rest and regroup, compared with other combat units, but it may also face more training and operational requirements depending on its homeland security assignments.
Renuart said the Pentagon is accounting for the strain of fighting two wars, and the need for troops to spend time with their families. "We want to make sure the parameters are right for Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. The 1st Brigade's soldiers "will have some very aggressive training, but will also be home for much of that."
Although some Pentagon leaders initially expected to build the next two response units around combat teams, they are likely to be drawn mainly from reserves and the National Guard, such as the 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade from South Carolina, which returned in May after more than a year in Afghanistan.
Now that Pentagon strategy gives new priority to homeland security and calls for heavier reliance on the Guard and reserves, McHale said, Washington has to figure out how to pay for it.
"It's one thing to decide upon a course of action, and it's something else to make it happen," he said. "It's time to put our money where our mouth is."

Bioterror, Nano Shields, Tactical DEW, Mumbai Attack Summary

2008-11-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

Report Sounds Alarm Over Bioterror
Bipartisan Study Finds Insufficient Laboratory Safeguards, Loose Regulation
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112901921.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Seven years after the 2001 anthrax attacks, a congressionally ordered study finds a growing threat of biological terrorism and calls for aggressive defenses on par with those used to prevent a terrorist nuclear detonation.
Due for release next week, a draft of the study warns that future bioterrorists may use new technology to make synthetic versions of killers such as Ebola, or genetically modified germs designed to resist ordinary vaccines and antibiotics.
The bipartisan report faults the Bush administration for devoting insufficient resources to prevent an attack and says U.S. policies have at times impeded international biodefense efforts while promoting the rapid growth of a network of domestic laboratories possessing the world's most dangerous pathogens.
The number of such "high-containment" labs in the United States has tripled since 2001, yet U.S. officials have not implemented adequate safeguards to prevent deadly germs from being stolen or accidentally released, it says. "The rapid growth in the number of such labs in recent years has created new safety and security risks which must be managed," the draft report states.

Shields up! How nanotechnology can protect satellites from energy weapons
http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=8308.php
(Nanowerk Spotlight) When the U.S. military talks about space superiority it defines this as the "degree of control necessary to employ, maneuver, and engage space forces while denying the same capability to an adversary". Although 'space forces' has a Star Wars ring to it, the term basically refers to satellites and these satellites – at least as far as unclassified information goes – do not carry weapons (yet); although the public website of the U.S. Air Force Space Command in listing its capabilities mentions the ability to "conduct defensive and offensive counterspace operations, and space environment assessments". The main functions of the military's space capabilities today are information related – weather, communications, surveillance, reconnaissance, navigation and missile warning capabilities – and has become critical to many military operations. As other military powers build up their space programs, defensive and offensive space capabilities become more of an issue for war planers – something they call "counterspace" activities.

"The paper states that several nations, including the U.S., Russia and China, already have either built or are developing the technology to construct ground-based directed energy weapons."

Tactical Applications of Directed Energy Weapons are at Technical Readiness for Battlefield Application. http://www.pr-inside.com/tactical-applications-of-directed-energy-r939619.htm
2008-11-27 16:03:49 - A panel of experts will meet to discuss the application of Directed Energy Weapons to the battlefield.
Tactical applications of Directed Energy Weapons are at Technical Readiness Levels (TRL's) for conversion to the battlefield. In addition, exciting advances in technologies being developed for Strategic applications for Directed Energy (DE), such as anti-Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs) lasers, are reaching critical stages.Paul McLeary writing in Aviation Week
last month reported that 'The U.S. government allotted $25 million in
this past summer's war supplemental funding bill for five (-Silent Guardian ADS-)
systems.' Continued investment
in research projects for DE applications, from anti-SAM lasers to crowd control systems such as the Active Denial System, ensures that this is the hottest area of development in weapons systems for the 21st century. 'It is the optimum time for militaries to discuss the practical aspects of using this technology in theatre, in the months before it goes into active service.' stressed Alastair Lewis, Event Director at Defence IQ......

Is China spreading 'Manchurian chips?'
"Trojan Horse on a chip" alleged
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/2EB64110D830150ACC25750E0077A87F
We don't often discuss conspiracy theories, but this technology-focused doozy needs to be debunked before it spreads any further. It's Daily Artisan's reprint of an essay written by former FBI "spy" Robert Eringer for the Santa Barbara News-Press.
In it, Eringer alleges that the Chinese government has taken advantage of the fact that virtually every computer on the market has parts from China and has fitted each component with a "Trojan Horse on a chip," or a "Manchurian chip."Eringer claims that while the spies-on-a-chip are not currently activated, the Chinese government can activate them at will, effectively gathering information on every US citizen with a PC as well as every US government and military computer system. To back up his story, he cites a classified DARPA report and quotes unnamed intelligence officials and industry experts, including one former intelligence officer who allegedly told him "it's the hottest topic concerning the FBI and the Pentagon"....

The suggestion that the Chinese have somehow managed to outwit multiple levels of industry and government-sponsored oversight to install and remotely activate "Manchurian chips" may appeal to the tin-foil hat crowd, but it should not be taken seriously. There is definitely a concern about the Chinese government gaining access to sensitive data on US networks, but to date, every compromised system has been due to holes in the software or on the networks, not the hardware.-->

India's 9/11. Who was Behind the Mumbai Attacks?
Washington is Fostering Political Divisions between India and Pakistan
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11217

Obama Who Sent You?
http://dotconnectoruk.blogspot.com/2008/11/obama-who-sent-you.html

* Obama is a robot that was assembled to read scripts to make the same old crap more palatable to the public.

Mumbai Attacks Pave Way For Obama Into Pakistan

2008-11-29T07:06:00.000-08:00

11/27 Mumbai Terror attacks

As soon as you hear the name Al Qaeda, just insert U.S. in its place. Obama/Brzezinski want to make a foray into Pakistan and start a larger war in the East (Russia/China) This apparent false flag attack is to get the ball rolling.

I have not had the chance to comb through the drill archives for Mumbai,but recall several exericses in the preceding months. There is almost little point

in debunking these scams anymore. Independent researchers quickly exposed 7/7 in London, and 9/11 as false flag is now mainstream, but the perps still roam freely and are openly stealing our money. I am on weekend holiday and don't want this crap in my head. Look for updates on India Monday.

Mumbai Attacks Look Like A Western Intel Operation
http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=13014
NYPD Guards Against Mumbai-Like Terror Attacks
Lubavitch Spokesman: Brooklyn Rabbi, Wife Killed; NYC Police Deploys Forces To Hotels, Jewish Centers
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/rabbi.holtzberg.mumbai.2.875674.html

Saying Cheese For More Effective Border Security

Facial recognition systems perform some very challenging tasks such as checking an individual's photo against a database of known or suspected criminals. The task can become nearly impossible when the systems acquire poor facial images-a situation that occurs all too often in real-world environments. Now, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found

Robotics, UGVs and Remotely controlled systems

http://www.defenseupdate.com/features/2008/november/271108_robotics_ugv_ausa08.html

Can anyone else envision these robots roaming the streets in a post economic crash and

apocalyptic US collapse scenario?

Arkansas Department Of Health Sets New Record For Mass Dispensing Flu Exercise http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131100.phpThe Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) set a new record for its Mass Dispensing Flu Exercise and immunized 123,172 Arkansans against influenza last week. The shots were dispensed during the mass flu vaccination clinics held statewide in 81 health units. All 75 counties were involved again this year, but the totals significantly surpassed last year's number of 103,541 vaccinations for the exercise. Dr. William Mason, Director of the Emergency Response and Preparedness Branch, said that the purpose of the drill was two-fold. "The first goal was to exercise the state's mass dispensing plan that is designed to insure that health professionals and volunteers are prepared to vaccinate or dispense medication to a large population in a very short period of time. If Arkansas were ever to experience pandemic influenza or another such disaster, it might be necessary to distribute medications to many citizens quickly. "The time to practice dispensing large amounts of medication is now, before we have a disaster," Mason said.

Russia to partake in joint naval exercises with Indian Navy
http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-52663.html
Moscow, Nov 27 : A task force from Russia's Pacific Fleet will leave its main base in Vladivostok on December 9 to take part in joint naval exercises with the Indian navy in the Indian Ocean, a fleet spokesman said today.

Russia seeks new missiles due to U.S. shield plans
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4AR3S120081128

Anti-terrorism exercises at Welsh stations
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/11/28/anti-terrorism-exercises-at-welsh-stations-91466-22358571/

DC Criminals Distract W/Al Qeada Scam While Looting Treasury

2008-11-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

* The first sentence says it all, the world's economic fears pushed aside -The Criminals in DC
want to distract the masses while they steal their money. It's like being mugged on the subway by a team of professional thieves who get your attention while one of the gang gets your wallet.
Does ANYONE believe in the terror scam anymore? We need to arrest the US Government
now more than ever.

Sources: Al Qaeda Targets Amtrak N'east Corridor
Heightened Security Presence In Place At Penn Station; Attack Could Cripple Transit Between Boston, Washington
http://wcbstv.com/national/nyc.subway.terror.2.874830.html

Cops, Feds Armed With M16s On Patrol For Forseeable Future

The world's economic fears were violently pushed aside on Wednesday by another global threat -- terrorism. A massive coordinated attack was launched in Mumbai, India just hours after the FBI warned that Al Qaeda may be targeting New York's subways and railroads. If Al Qaeda terrorists have their way there will be chaos and mayhem here this holiday season, a mass transit bomb plot that would probably affect all the subway and train lines at Penn and Grand Central stations. "The threat is serious, the threat is significant, and it is plausible," said Congressman Peter King, R-Long Island, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. Uniformed officers, including this NYPD Counter Terrorism Squad members and Amtrak cops with M-16s, flooded Penn Station Wednesday after the FBI said it had received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that Al Qaeda operatives discussed a plan two months ago to bomb New York City's mass transit system. The report said: "These discussions reportedly involved the use of suicide bombers or explosives placed on subway/passenger rail systems." Sources told CBS 2 HD the plot involved the Long Island Rail Road. If the explosion went off in Penn Station, the source said, it would affect transportation of Amtrak's northeast corridor between Boston and Washington, LIRR service and New York City subway service. "This is definitely linked to Al Qaeda and they had very significant details about exactly how they would carry out the attack, where they would carry it out -- that's what makes it sound so plausible," Rep. King said. (cont...)

DOD Pandemic Sim, JFCOM, Drill Watch

2008-11-25T16:54:00.000-08:00

SimQuest to develop pandemic training tool http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2008/11/25/SimQuest_to_develop_pandemic_training_tool/UPI-46521227655353/#top

SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Defense Department has contracted SimQuest to develop a training tool simulating an influenza pandemic outbreak.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense awarded Maryland-based SimQuest a phase II contract as part of an effort to establish emergency preparedness models to address the potential threat of an influenza pandemic outbreak in the United States. Under the phase II deal, SimQuest will develop a training tool simulating the spread of influenza.
SimQuest will also develop training models with various pandemic scenarios for military applications because of the likely involvement of the U.S. military during a pandemic.

Pentagon Should Battle Pirates and Terrorists with Laser Technology

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandSecurity/wm2144.cfm
Directed Energy Weapons, particularly those powered by lasers, have long been the stuff of science fiction. Due to recent innovations in commercial solid-state lasers and their adaptation to military uses, potential and immediate national security applications for these weapons are apparent. (cont...)

U.S. Army to Equip National Guard Unit With Future Combat System Aerial

Robots http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20081125/pl_usnw/u_s__army_to_equip_national_guard_unit_with_future_combat_system_aerial_robots

Anti-terror exercise underway in Sydney
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=671589

Real explosives will blow up real buses and real trains in Sydney this week.
But there won't be any mock terrorists or fake casualties involved in Sudden Impact, a counter terrorism exercise at Holsworthy army base in southwestern Sydney.
The two-day operation, on Tuesday and Wednesday, is designed to test state and national capabilities to respond to a terrorist attack.
Hundreds of personnel are involved in the simulated attack on a public transport system

LGS Supports JFCOM in International Military Exercise Focusing on Ensuring the Defense of the Panama Canal http://br.sys-con.com/node/760087

LGS, a subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) dedicated to serving the U.S. government community announced today that it was a part of the Fuerzas Aliadas (FA) PANAMAX 2008 multinational training exercise that involved more than 20 nations.
The purpose of the exercise, which took place in August, is to help ensure the security of the Panama Canal. It was cosponsored by the U.S. Southern Command and the government of Panama and included more than 30 vessels, a dozen aircraft and 7,000 personnel

Israel Electric Company to hold nationwide war drill Wednesday

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404831776&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

The Israel Electric Company (IEC) will hold a comprehensive nationwide drill on Wednesday to mimic the situation during a regional war.
Workers will hold exercises in preparation for various scenarios including a direct hit on electricity infrastructure and a terror attack on an electric facility.
IEC Director General Amos Lasker said the drill was vital in preparing for various security scenarios and principally for bolstering professional cooperation between different IEC departments and officials.
"The electric company holds a large-scale drill like this once a year to assess our crisis management and operates in order to lessen the possible risks in cases of emergency," said Lasker, adding that during wars, the IEC had always operated to the best of its ability in order to minimize damage caused by a strike on electric infrastructure.

Russia's Medvedev's Tough Guy Act
CBS News: New Russian President Seems To Be Reviving Adversarial Relations

With The U.S. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/24/world/main4631526.shtml?tag=topStory;topStoryHeadline

Russia, Venezuela warships to hold live firing drills on Dec.1

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081125/118527860.html

Raytheon missile hits target (FCS)

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/11/24/daily14.html?ana=from_rss

Gates 'to stay as Pentagon chief'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7749237.stm

U.S. Collapse: Updates

2008-11-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

* regular postings tonight

RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashrur.htm

Citigroup collapses! Banking Shutdown Possible
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11147
Financial Meltdown: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11134

United States Bankrupt

2008-11-24T06:26:00.000-08:00

Fed Pledges Top $7.4 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=arEE1iClqDrk&refer=home

Federal Reserve and Treasury Offer Half our GDP to the Wall Street Banks

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2008/11/federal-reserve-and-treasury-offer-half.html

Our motto used to be "millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute."That has change to "Trillions for the banks, but a few cents for the real economy."We need to break the cycle of giving our money to the banks so that they can lend it to us at interest if they are so inclined. What have they done to earn that interest? Take measured risks?The Republicans are looting the Treasury on their way out of town, and the Democratic leadership is incompetent or complicit in this end to the greatest financial fraud in recorded history. And you are paying for it.

“If you mark to market today, the banking system is bankrupt,” Tobin said. “So what do you do? You try to keep it going as best you can.” (Please take note holders of dollars and Treasuries. If the banking system is bankrupt, guess what is next - Jesse)

Financial Newsletter Predicts US to Default on National Debt

http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-28-is-available!-Global-systemic-crisis-Alert-Summer-2009-The-US-government-defaults-on-its-debt_a2250.html
A European financial newsletter, La Lettre Confidentielle de LEAP/E2020, is predicting a US default on government debt sometime in the summer of 2009. The default will be triggered by uncontrollable increases in public debt, uncontrolled inflation, and continuing deterioration in the nation's manufacturing, retail, and construction sectors.

"the US economy, now in deep recession, will collapse. The resulting lack of tax revenues will make it impossible for the federal government to pay even the interest on its ten trillion dollar national debt.On October 16, 2008, the "Global-Europe Anticipation Bulletin" told its subscribers that the present U.S. Dollar will be demonetized and a new currency imposed. "Old dollars" will be devalued by ninety percent (90%)"

Chilton Expects New 'Attacks', Microsoft To Aid War On Terror

2008-11-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

Chilton: Attacks may occur during transition

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/11/airforce_chilton_transition_112208/

LOS ANGELES — The military’s top strategic officer warned Friday that terrorists or other nations may try to take advantage of the transition period between the administrations of President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama to strike or otherwise threaten the U.S., but he said the Defense Department is being vigilant against that possibility.
“At every transition, there comes risk,” said Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, speaking at the Air Force Association’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles. “It’s not a risk of who gets elected; it’s just a risk of change [and] how our adversaries around the world look at our vulnerability during that time period.”
Obama takes office on Jan. 20, but it could take months for him to assemble his entire team and for them to hit their stride. Rumors have swirled recently around Washington that Obama might retain Defense Secretary Robert Gates for a time to ensure continuity in national security issues.
Chilton, one of the military’s 10 combatant commanders, pointed to several examples of international incidents or attacks against the U.S. that have occurred shortly after a presidential transition: President John F. Kennedy’s confrontation with the Soviet Union regarding Cuba that began in 1961, the first World Trade Center bombing and the conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia, shortly after President Bill Clinton took office in 1993, and the Sept. 11 attacks under Bush in 2001.

Microsoft to aid in war on terror, builds software for DHS

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081121-microsoft-to-aid-in-war-on-terror-builds-software-for-dhs.html
Microsoft and GIS vendor ESRI have announced that they are constructing a suite of collaboration tools for intelligence gathering and processing, intended for deployment at the Department of Homeland Security's national fusion centers. The software is built on top of Microsoft's SharePoint server platform and ESRI's ArcGIS Advanced Enterprise server.
The software will include a "situational awareness portal" with location-based RSS feeds and XML map overlay data. The information that is managed by the system will be made accessible to intelligence analysts through SharePoint. Microsoft says that the framework will be extensible and can be customized to meet additional, unforeseen needs. The bundle also includes terabytes of prerendered satellite imagery that can be used with mapping software. Microsoft plans to expand the scope of the system and use its components to provide a broader and more comprehensive technology solution for security applications.
The fusion center concept was conceived by the 9/11 Commission as part of a strategy that would streamline communication and intelligence sharing among various federal intelligence agencies and state law enforcement. The fusion centers, which are housed in high-security facilities across the country, provide government officials with a venue to collaborate on collection, analysis, and distribution of sensitive intelligence information.
Although the original function of the centers was to empower counterterrorism activity, the mandate has broadened to encompass virtually any perceived threat and the centers themselves are operated with minimal oversight and virtually no public scrutiny. The federal government has pushed aggressively to encourage passage of state laws that would block meaningful oversight of fusion centers in a variety of ways, including making their databases exempt from FOIA requests. (cont..)

Sounding the Nuclear Alarm
The U.S. will not have a credible arsenal unless Washington acts soon to replace aging warheads.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122731227702749413.html

END WALL STREET BANKSTER RULE

2008-11-21T06:04:00.000-08:00

END THE FED – END WALL STREET BANKSTER RULE
END THE DERIVATIVES DEPRESSION

The November 22 End the Fed rallies raise a vital issue: it is past time to abolish the unconstitutional, illegal, and failed institution known as the Federal Reserve System, the privately owned central bank which has been looting and wrecking the US economy for almost a hundred years. We must end a system where unelected, unaccountable cliques of bankers and financiers loyal to names like Morgan, Rockefeller, and Mellon set interest rates and money supply behind closed doors, leading to de-industrialization, mass impoverishment, and a world economic and financial depression of incalculable severity. The Fed helped cause the crash of 1929, did nothing to stop the banking panic of 1932-33, and is the main cause of the $1.5 QUADRILLION derivatives crisis which is devastating the world. The Federal Reserve System is Wall Street’s murder weapon against the United States, and the Fed must be stopped.

The purpose of abolishing the Fed is to get re-industrialization, economic modernization, full employment, and rising standards of living for all the people. Contrary to monetarist fetishes, the value and soundness of currency in the modern world are determined by the ability of a national economy to produce physical commodities that the rest of the world wants to buy. The decline of the dollar has its roots in the wanton destruction of the US industrial base initiated by the Trilateral administration of Jimmy Carter and Feds boss Paul Adolph Volcker with his 22% prime rate. Over the past forty years, the US standard of living has declined by two thirds, and the country has become a post-industrial rubble field, a moonscape monument to the folly of a post-industrial service economy. If you want to go back to sound money, you must gear up modern industrial production so that the world will need dollars to buy goods manufactured in this country. No amount of gold will do the trick.

Gold has a critical role to play in a new international currency system, but returning to a gold coin standard would create the most ferocious deflation of all time. Got any credit card debt? If you do, a gold coin standard would make it infinitely harder to ever pay it off. You would be slaving for the rest of your life to pay off a $5,000 credit card balance, or less.

The United States is blessed by the world’s greatest tradition of economics, the American System of political and national economy. Contrary to monetarist mythology, the American System never had anything to do with free trade or “free markets.” It is a tradition of protectionism, mercantilism, and dirigism. It starts with Governor Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay in the 1600s, who promoted industry and launched a sovereign currency. Benjamin Franklin, the founder of the post office, was another dirigist. George Washington was always devoted to infrastructure projects, and Alexander Hamilton created the First Bank of the United States, without which the new nation would have collapsed into poverty, chaos, and a return of British monetarist rule. The Second BUS was created by James Madison, again to ward off chaos. Henry Clay coined the term of The American System, and it meant a national bank, a protective tariff, and national infrastructure financed by the federal government. Daniel Webster tried to create a third BUS, and when he fell short the slide into slave power and civil war resulted. Friedrich List, Matthew Carey, Henry Carey, and Justin Morrill were American System economists who influenced or advised Lincoln. The rise of the US as the world’s greatest industrial power came thanks to a protective tariff and a controlled currency, the greenbacks. When Wall Street imposed the Cross of Gold, the American System tradition was continued by the Populist Party. The New Deal, the fruit of mass struggles and the rise of the labor movement, provided a way out of the Herbert Hoover depression by forcing the Morgan-controlled Fed to knuckle under to the FDR presidency. JFK tried to revive the New Deal and break the power of the Fed, and was assassinated by the financiers with the help of the CIA.

Monetarists pretend that this history does not exist. Their hero is Andrew Jackson, whose hare-brained meddling caused the Panic of 1837 and shut down US economic development, putting the country firmly on course for the Civil War two decades later. When they talk about the constitution, monetarists seem to be working off the Confederate constitution of 1861, which eliminated the General Welfare clause, and ruled out a protective tariff. During the 19th century, the free trade party was the pro-British slavery party. Monetarist dogma is a mix of Herbert Hoover, Robert Taft (of the Skull & Bones family), Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and other reactionary Republicans. Monetarism is based on the von Hayek-von Mises Austrian school, which started when a bunch of rent-gouging Viennese landlords wanted to abolish rent control and hired some scribblers to prove that “the market” was always infallible and government is always the enemy. Von Hayek got his chance under the reactionary old battle axe Margaret Thatcher, who brought back rickets, scurvy and pellagra for British working people. The dumbed-down US version of the same doctrine is Milton Friedman and his Rockefeller-funded Chicago School, which got its big road test under the fascist Pinochet regime in Chile.

MONETARISM CAUSED TODAY’S WORLD ECONOMIC DEPRESSION

Today’s depression has been caused by 40 years of monetarist-inspired deregulation. Derivatives were illegal from 1936 until Reagan legalized them in 1982. Then Wendy Gramm, Greenspan, Bob Rubin, and Larry Summers teamed up to start the derivatives bubble during the Clinton years. Now there are $1.5 quadrillion of derivatives strangling the world economy. Derivatives, not subprime mortgages, are the reason for today’s crisis. Today’s depression also comes from privatization – like the privatization of Fannie Mae, which worked fine for thirty years as a government agency, but was then privatized, opening the door to the looting excesses which are now well known. The oil market is deregulated, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were quick to exploit this situation. This past summer, when you were paying over $4 a gallon for gas, more than half of that was going directly to Wall Street hedge fund hyenas, with a full $1 per gallon for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley alone, the backers of the deregulated offshore ICE exchange.

The real enemies of economic progress are the Wall Street bankers, financiers, and finance oligarchs. If you let them control the government, the results are catastrophic. We must therefore fight to take government out of the hands of the bankers. Any other strategy amounts to surrender to Obama and his fascist corporate state.

HOW TO END THE DEPRESSION WITH A RETURN TO THE AMERICAN SYSTEM

1. Wipe out derivatives, destroying the largest mass of fictitious capital the world has ever known. This includes credit default swaps, mortgage backed securities, structured investment vehicles, collateralized debt obligations, repo agreements, and other toxic paper. Outlaw hedge funds. Outlaw adjustable rate mortgages. Stop all foreclosures. Seize bankrupt banks, brokerages, and insurance companies and put them through debt triage under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Re-establish the uptick rule against short sellers. Stop speculators with position limits and margin requirements for oil and other energy markets. Stop exporting jobs to third world sweatshops under NAFTA , CAFTA, and WTO.
2. Seize control of the Federal Reserve System and nationalize it as a bureau of the US Treasury. Decisions about money supply and interest rates must be made by public laws, passed by the House and the Senate and signed by the President. Re-start the US economy by issuing an initial tranche of $1 trillion in cheap 0.5% to 1% federal credit – federal lending, not spending – to state and local governments as well as to private companies engaged physical production. Production means infrastructure, manufacturing, mining, construction, farming, forestry, transportation, and commerce in tangible goods. Productive activities qualify for 1% or less federal credit. Gambling, narcotics, prostitution, financial speculation, speculation, and money laundering are not productive, so they must take their chances in the free market they claim to admire so much. A centerpiece of a recovery program would be the rebuilding of rail systems, water systems, electrical grids, and the interstate highways, all of which are approaching the point of physical breakdown. Nationalize the Big Three auto companies and reconvert them for mass transit.
3. We must keep Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, Head Start, WIC, and the remaining parts of the social safety net fully funded, since IRA/401k accounts and private insurance will increasingly be wiped out. Federal emergency relief on the model of FERA, CWA, and WPA will soon be needed. Any cuts in these programs will lead to death on a vast scale, especially among the old, the sick, and the very young. Monetarist ideologues who sneer at the nanny state should tell us where they stand when it comes to the very real threat of genocide against the American people.
4. Abolish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and set up a new world monetary system based on full employment through the revival of industrial production.

Webster G. Tarpley

China DOD Hack, DHS Appointee, Russia Sub.

2008-11-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

China's hackers stealing US defence secrets, says congressional panel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/20/america-china-hacking-security-obama

China is stealing sensitive information from American computer networks and stepping up its online espionage, according to a US congressional panel.
Beijing's investment in rocket technology is also accelerating the militarisation of outer space and lifting it into the "commanding heights" of modern warfare, the advisory group claims. The strident warning, which may have a chilling effect on relations between the two Pacific powers, comes in the annual report of the US-China economic and security review commission due today.
A summary of the study, released in advance, alleges that networks and databases used by the US government and American defence contractors are regularly targeted by Chinese hackers. "China is stealing vast amounts of sensitive information from US computer networks," says Larry Wortzel, chairman of the commission set up by Congress in 2000 to investigate US-China issues.
The commission, consisting of six Democrats and six Republicans, says in its unanimous report that China's military modernisation and its "impressive but disturbing" space and computer warfare capabilities "suggest China is intent on expanding its sphere of control even at the expense of its Asian neighbors and the United States."

A Napolitano Nomination Could Signal Shift in Focus at Homeland Security http://news.yahoo.com/s/cq/20081120/pl_cq_politics/politics2989141_3

The potential appointment of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to lead the Homeland Security Department could signal a shift in focus away from the war on terror and toward domestic concerns, especially immigration.
As governor of a border state, she has been on the frontline of the simmering debate over illegal immigration.
"From a policy standpoint, if I were to guess, she would want to do a pretty serious and systematic review of the border strategy at this time and whether it's achieving its goals," said Doris Meissner, head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service under President Bill Clinton and now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.
"Of all of the parts of the immigration system, more money has flowed into the border enforcement part of the system than by far in any of the rest of it. Any leader or new group of leaders needs to ask if we are getting the payoff that is commiserate with the investment," Meissner said.
A focus on immigration would necessarily entail a swing away from the department's focus on counterterrorism, but with the disparate DHS portfolio, the next secretary will not be able to ignore other issues.

"Operation Sweat Socks"

Full-scale anti-terrorism drill in Tucson Thursday

http://news.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=993049

Units from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base will join crews from Pima County and the Tucson Fire and Police Departments in an anti-terrorist drill on Thursday.
"Operation Sweat Socks" will evaluate current response plans for a terrorist incident.

New generation Russian nuclear attack sub ready in 2010: report

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/New_generation_Russian_nuclear_attack_sub_ready_in_2010_report_999.html

The first of a new class of multipurpose Russian nuclear attack submarines currently in construction will be operational by 2010, a Russian news agency reported Wednesday.
The Severodvinsk "will be operational in 2010," Ria Novosti said citing naval official Nicolas Kalisstratov.

Medvedev's Venezuela, Cuba trips set to rile U.S.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4AJ52B20081120

State prepares forpandemic flu

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/health_news/health_wavy_pandemicflu_20081120

NORFOLK,Va - Imagine the chaos if a pandemic flu, one that threatened the lives of every human being, hit Virginia.
It's the state health department's job to be prepared, so this week they're practicing.
"Every time we practice it, it's to make sure that we can do it efficiently during real world situations," said Hampton Health Department Assistant Planner, Jennifer Lupin.
In Hampton, inmates sat down for immunizations allowing staff to practice mass vaccinations

Northrop FEMA National Exercise: US Collapse Prep?

2008-11-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

Northrop to run national drill for FEMA

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33951-1.html

Northrop Grumman Corp. will conduct a national preparedness drill for the Federal Emergency Management Agency next year under a two-year, $12 million contract.
Northrop Grumman will conduct and evaluate the 2009 Tier 1 National Level Exercise, which is the largest and most complex national disaster drill conducted by FEMA’s National Exercise Division.
The drill will take place in FEMA’s Region VI, which encompasses Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Northrop Grumman’s subcontractors for the project are ICF International Inc., Battelle Memorial Institute, Alutiiq LLC, L-3 Communications Corp., Unitech and Interface Media Group.
"We are excited to be a part of an exercise program that prepares our nation's leaders to handle a wide array of emergent homeland security issues

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/bbdp/northrop-grumman-awarded-2009-fema/252119

Military, Industry Leaders to Speak at World’s Largest Simulation Event

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008iitsecconference/speakers/prweb1629344.htm

The largest modeling and simulation exhibition event ever held will feature top leaders from the cutting edge of M&S technology. Speaking at the opening ceremonies of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference will be General William S. Wallace, head of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). Joining him will be Daniel J. Crowley, Executive Vice President of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter Program.

The 2008 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference will cover almost 200,000 net square feet at Orlando's Orange County Convention Center. Over 575 exhibitors will attend the event, scheduled for December 1-4. On display will be modeling and simulation technology of all kinds, from medical applications to serious games to predictive structural, weather and natural disaster applications. Virtual reality and totally immersive virtual worlds will also be a major part of I/IITSEC 08.

Intel, Cisco, Sun helping to develop supercomputer for weapons lab http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2035717/

Lockheed Martin plans Hawaii ocean energy plant

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/11/17/daily51.html

Raytheon to build nuclear warning system for DHS

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33959-1.html

Raytheon Co. will develop new nuclear material warning technology for the Homeland Security Department under a multi-year contract that could be worth as much as $2.9 million.
The award calls for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems to develop standoff warning against radiological materials (SWARM) technology to help spot and stop the illegal movement of nuclear material across United States land borders.

Northrop sees defense spending steady in near term

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4AI6T920081119

In disaster drill, King County tries out temporary hospital
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008408399_emergency19m.html

Public Health — Seattle & King County and partner groups on Tuesday held a drill at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, one of three sites designated to handle overflow of hospital patients in the event of a flu pandemic, earthquakes, bioterrorism or other disasters.

Lebanon Prepares for Pandemic (CT)

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=9381342&nav=menu183_2

EGYPT: Contingency planning for an avian flu pandemic
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=81520

Al Qaeda Coldly Acknowledges Obama Victory (Pentagon having fun again)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/world/middleeast/20qaeda.html?em

WASHINGTON — In a propaganda salvo by Al Qaeda aimed at undercutting the enthusiasm of Muslims worldwide about the American election, Osama bin Laden’s top deputy condemned President-elect Barack Obama as a “house Negro” who would continue a campaign against Islam that Al Qaeda’s leaders said was begun by President Bush.

Pentagon to seek $524B baseline budget
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/11/19/Pentagon_to_seek_524B_baseline_budget/UPI-49871227122700/

Chemical Security 101
What You Don’t Have Can’t Leak, or Be Blown Up by Terrorists
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/11/chemical_security.html

World Depression/ U.S. Colllapse, India/China Exercises

2008-11-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

* Readers of DDoT will notice i am focusing more on the collapse of the economy than PMC's and
Terrorism. I think the crisis unfolding will overshadow the 9/11 era. The real terror is financial terror- the prospect of no job, no food and a collapse of our way of life.

Depression 2009: What would it look like?Lines at the ER, a television boom, emptying suburbs. A catastrophic economic downturn would feel nothing like the last one
OVER THE PAST few months, Americans have been hearing the word "depression" with unfamiliar and alarming regularity. The financial crisis tearing through Wall Street is routinely described as the worst since the Great Depression, and the recession into which we are sinking looks deep enough, financial commentators warn, that a few poor policy decisions could put us in a depression of our own.

It's a frightening possibility, but also in many ways an abstraction. The country has gone so long without a depression that it's hard to know what it would be like to live through (cont..)
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/11/16/depression_2009_what_would_it_look_like/?page=2

Please see:
America’s Economic Crisis Is Beyond The Reach of Traditional Solutions
http://www.vdare.com/roberts/081112_financial.htm
Worse Than the Great Depression?
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11001
http://www.economyincrisis.org/

Indian Air Force to have joint exercises with Chinese air force: Air chief
Nagpur, Nov 17 : Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major today said the Indian Air Force (IAF) would soon have joint exercises with its Chinese counterpart, the first of its kind ever.
http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-47234.html

Sen. Feinstein might head secretive intelligence panel
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/775048.html
WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California will find both spotlight and shadows if she becomes the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Feinstein stands to become the first woman, and the first Californian, to lead the 15-member panel since it was established in 1976. She's the front-runner for the job, due to a cascade of other Senate leadership changes that will become final this week.

Obama Threataganda Cont..,Robotic Weaponry,

2008-11-16T14:36:00.000-08:00

I hope folks are working on survival plans and worrying less about the terror scam.
The age of false flag terror seems to be over and we are now witnessing open theft
of the treasury and preparation for the collapse of the U.S. I will continue updates
here but feel that working within my own community and off the internet much more important.
The Five Stages of Collapse
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/47157

Barack Obama is warned to beware of a ‘huge threat’ from al-Qaeda
Security officials fear a ‘spectacular’ during the transition period
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5158569.ece

Barack Obama is being given ominous advice from leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to brace himself for an early assault from terrorists.
General Michael Hayden, director of the CIA, this week acknowledged that there were dangers during a presidential transition when new officials were coming in and getting accustomed to the challenges. But he added that no “real or artificial spike” in intercepted transmissions from terror suspects had been detected.
President Bush has repeatedly described the acute vulnerability of the US during a transition. The Bush Administration has been defined largely by the 9/11 attacks, which came within a year of his taking office.

DARPA: Self-repairing, learning kill-robot tech is go
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/13/darpa_aware_ware_srs_go/

Once again the observant techbeat watcher finds his or her lower-torso garments endampened by fear, as news emerges that heavyweight US military nerds believe that they have developed IT tech which can "regenerate" autonomously, allowing it to self-repair in the face of shutdown attempts - and even to learn and develop its capabilities. More terrifyingly still, plans are afoot to put this technology into the US forces' next generation of robotic weaponry.

Secret Directed-Energy Tech Protecting the President?
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/presidents-secr.html

The Secret Service is tasked with protecting the President of the United States from assailants; and given that President-elect Obama has already been the target of assassination plots they may have their work cut out after January. But they have more than earpiece radios and armored limos to help them; the Secret Service can call on the very latest technology. Documents from a recent court case indicate that they have advanced directed-energy devices which are highly classified.

FDNY Holds Annual "Bio-Pod" Drill
http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/law_enforcement/88995/fdny-holds-annual--bio-pod--drill/Default.aspx

Homeland Security and Justice Departments Providing More Info to Local
Officers http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272623792.shtml

US missile chief to Obama: anti-missile system 'is workable'

Pandemic, Missile Defense, DHS to monitor Shit

2008-11-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

In a Pandemic, Who Gets to Live?
Aftermath of a Pandemic Could Be More Disastrous Than the Pandemic Itself, Researchers Say
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ColdandFlu/story?id=6233508&page=1

As if wars and economic crises and natural disasters weren't enough, here's a challenge for some future president that few people even want to think about: Some day, perhaps soon, a president will have to decide whose lives are the most important to save, and whose lives are "nonessential."
This isn't going to be a doomsday story, because most people will survive the next influenza pandemic, which some public health experts believe is past due. It's not a question of "if," it's a question of "when," and one study from Harvard University estimates that the pandemic will kill somewhere between 51 million and 81 million people, mostly in developing countries.
Hundreds of organizations and institutions around the world are developing plans for dealing with the expected pandemic, and one challenging theme is begging for more public discussion. Some people will be more important than others in fighting the disease as it spreads quickly around the planet, and many more will be left to pretty much fend for themselves.

Inside the Ring: Missile defense working

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/13/inside-the-ring-78143095/

Missile defense future
Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering, outgoing director of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said on Wednesday that U.S. missile defenses are working and he hopes President-elect Barack Obama will continue the multibillion-dollar programs once he is briefed on them.
Asked if current U.S. ground-based and sea-based systems are "workable," Gen. Obering said: "Absolutely."
"Not only are they workable, they've been proven in combat" in the Middle East, he said in a farewell interview with Defense reporters.
President Bush was prepared to shoot down a North Korean missile using the new U.S. missile defense system in July 2006, and Gen. Obering said he thinks the system would have been able to knock out one or two Taepodong-2 missiles if they had come toward the United States.
Additionally, U.S. war-fighting commanders are demanding more and better missile defenses to defend troops against missile attack, he said.
"Our testing has shown that not only can we hit a bullet with a bullet, we can actually hit a spot on a bullet with a bullet," he said. "The technology has caught up with that."
Gen. Obering, who retires this month, said questions have been raised by critics about the 10 ground-based interceptors planned for Europe. He said those missiles designed for a site in Poland are a low-risk, two-stage version of the 22 three-stage interceptors now deployed in Alaska and California.

Homeland Security Will Track Fertilizer Buyers

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/homeland-securi.html

Raytheon unveils 300th surveillance tower

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/11/10/daily22.html

Raytheon has reached an important milestone in its production of its persistent surveillance towers. The Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment system provides surveillance support for use in both war and peacetime. Now the US army has three hundred of them.
The Waltham, Mass.-based defense contractor said the towers support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. They are used by the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq and are also used for domestic border surveillance — both in the United States and U.S. ally nations.

Russia rejects U.S. missile proposals

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AB2XW20081112?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Financial Crisis: U.S. Will Default in '09

2008-11-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

Some of the articles below are a few weeks old but
still timely. I agree with the conclusion of Jesse's
Cafe that the United States will have to default on its debt. I see this possibly before the summer of '09.
How this will play out is of the utmost concern.
I will continue to watch for signs of the U.S. military releasing a virus to start a flu pandemic. Martial law
and quarantines may be the only way for the the elites to manage the financial crisis......

In 2009 the US Will Be Forced to Selectively Default and Devalue Its Debt
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-2009-us-may-be-forced-to-selectively.html Jesse’s Cafe Americain blog says that U.S. will have no choice but to selectively default. “Once the deleveraging of the markets subsides, the dollar and Treasuries will drop, perhaps with some momentum, as the rest of the world realizes that the U.S. has no choice but to default. This can be resolved in several ways, including continued subsidies from foreign sources in the form of virtual debt forgiveness, devaluation of the dollar, raising of taxes, and higher interest rates on debt. The problem now is that the U.S. has breached the point where it can service its debt out of real cash flows, and turning this around will require a severe devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Devaluation and selective default are the only foreseeable systemic alternatives. There are other exogenous paths of a more political nature such as consolidation and war that may color the default a slightly different color, but a selective default it remains. This is the fundamental situation. Everything else is speculation and commentary.”

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/will-the-us-default-on-its-foreign-debt-interview-with-michael-hudson/

Financial Crisis
Washington's $5 Trillion Tab http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/11/12/paulson-bernanke-fed-biz-wall-cx_lm_1112bailout.html

Failure of auto industry could set off catastrophe
Advocates: Collapse of US auto industry could set off catastrophic chain reaction
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Failure-of-auto-industry-apf-13552316.html
DETROIT (AP) -- Advocates for the nation's automakers are warning that the collapse of the Big Three -- or even just General Motors -- could set off a catastrophic chain reaction in the economy, eliminating up to 3 million jobs and depriving governments of more than $150 billion in tax revenue.

Google Flu Trends, Earthquake Drill, DHS +

2008-11-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

SICK SURVEILLANCE: GOOGLE REPORTS FLU SEARCHES, LOCATIONS TO FEDS

http://www.drudgereport.com/flashgof.htm

Google Uses Searches to Track Flu’s Spread

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html?em

GOOGLE will launch a new tool that will help federal officials "track sickness"."Flu Trends" uses search terms that people put into the web giant to figure out where influenza is heating up, and will notify the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in real time!GOOGLE, continuing to work closely with government, claims it would keep individual user data confidential: "GOOGLE FLU TRENDS can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur each week." Engineers will capture keywords and phrases related to the flu, including thermometer, flu symptoms, muscle aches, chest congestion and others. Dr. Lyn Finelli, chief of influenza surveillance at CDC: "One thing we found last year when we validated this model is it tended to predict surveillance data. The data are really, really timely. They were able to tell us on a day-to-day basis the relative direction of flu activity for a given area. They were about a week ahead of us. They could be used... as early warning signal for flu activity."

County To Take Part In Major Earthquake Drill (CA)
http://www.10news.com/news/17948375/detail.html?rss=sand&psp=news
SAN DIEGO -- More than 5 million Southern Californians, including nearly a million in San Diego and Riverside counties, are scheduled to participate Thursday in the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history, it was reported Monday.
At 10 a.m. Thursday, about 405,000 people in San Diego County and about 565,000 in Riverside County will drop to the floor at schools, homes and offices for 1 1/2 minutes in an exercise that envisions a 7.8-magnitude quake centered near the Salton Sea, The North County Times reported.
Sprint Demonstrates How Southern California Citizens Can Be More Prepared During State-Sponsored Earthquake Drill
http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/956755.html

KBR wins Army Corps contract
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/11/10/daily13.html
KBR Inc. has been awarded a $75 million disaster relief contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for emergency power.
The Houston-based engineering company will be supplying the power to the Western region of the United States.
The five-year contract was created by the Army to respond immediately to power emergencies caused by natural or manmade disasters.

Homeland Security now spying on Americans (this just in! of course DHS is spying on us, they need to know who is aware of the crimes the elites are committing)http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/81037 Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV´s) and Space-Based Domestic Spying Surveillance technology the U.S. Government is now watching American citizens under the guise of disaster management and controlling the U.S. Mexican border. The Reaper/Predator B UAV´s robotic killing machines are currently in operation with the USAF, US Navy and the Royal Air Force. In addition non military users of the Predator B include: NASA and Homeland security though the US Customs and Border Protection agencies. The Department of Homeland Security´s (DHS) space-based domestic spy program run by that agency´s National Applications Office (NAO) is now in full operation. Indeed during Hurricane Ike, U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the first time flew the Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle in "support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency´s relief efforts," the insider tech publication reported. (cont..)

Manny Diaz as Homeland Security Chief? http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2008/11/manny_diaz_as_homeland_securit.php

Bioterrorism expert to speak at Rutgers-Camden Wednesday http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2008/11/bioterrorism_expert_to_speak_a.html

Threataganda Special Osama + Obama

2008-11-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Bin Laden 'plans new attack on US' (substitute Pentagon for Osama)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/11/10/1226165435339.html

Osama bin Laden is planning an attack against the United States that will "outdo by far" September 11, 2001, an Arab newspaper in London has reported.
And, a former senior Yemeni al-Qaeda operative said, the terrorist organisation has entered a "positive phase", reinforcing specific training camps around the world that will lead the next "wave of action" against the West.
The warning, on the front page of an Arabic newspaper published in London, Al-Quds Al-Arabi - and reported widely in the major Italian papers - quotes a person described as being "very close to al-Qaeda" in Yemen...

Brzezinski: Obama may be tested
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=74757&sectionid=3510203
A former US national security adviser says President-elect Barack Obama may be tested by terrorists after he takes office on Jan. 20. "It's possible. There's no way of predicting that. It's a possibility, but it's by no means a certainty," former Carter administration national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski said in an interview with Deutsche Welle. Brzezinski said that history shows that every new US president is tested by transitional challenges and circumstances.

Warnings from world leaders all within 72 hours
http://www.prisonplanet.com/warnings-from-world-leaders-all-within-72-hours.html

DARPA Sims, Directed Energy Weapons

2008-11-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Darpa Wants Sim to 'Resurrect' Battlefield Trauma

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/darpa-wants-sim.html

Far-off commanders can already watch battles unfold, thanks to spy drones, streaming video overhead. They can read after-action reports, to learn how troops on the ground experienced the fight. But those officers don't have detailed, digitally-animated simulations, merging all that info -- and showing how similar fights might go, in the future.
Which is a situation Darpa, the Pentagon's blue-sky research arm, would like to fix. The agency is holding a mid-December meeting in Virginia to launch its "RESURRECT" (REstoring SURvivability by REConstructing Trauma) project. It aims to "create high-fidelity computer simulations" of warzone events "for tactical, operational and strategic review."
The program will likely have a medical bent. Darpa says the simulations should merge "anecdotal descriptions of events [with] medical records, autopsy findings and imagery." RESURRECT's program manager -- Col. Geoffrey Ling, MD -- also chairs the Department of Neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He heads up Darpa efforts in prosthetics, long-term blood storage, and predicting disease.
RESURRECT could also do some forecasting, too. Darpa would like the program to include "descriptive and predictive algorithms that can be implemented in an existing simulation software package."

The most famous weapon of science fiction is rapidly becoming fact

http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12502799

LIKE so much else in science fiction, the ray gun was invented by H.G. Wells. In the tentacles of Wells’s Martians it was a weapon as unanswerable by earthlings as the Maxim gun in the hands of British troops was unanswerable by Africans. Science fiction, though, it has remained. Neither hand-held pistols nor giant, orbiting anti-missile versions of the weapon have worked. But that is about to change. The first serious battlefield ray gun is now being deployed. And the next generation, now in the laboratory, is coming soon.
The deployed ray gun (or “directed-energy weapon”, in the tedious jargon that military men seem compelled to use to describe technology) is known as Zeus. It is not designed to kill. Rather, its purpose is to allow you to remain at a safe distance when you detonate unexploded ordnance, such as the homemade roadside bombs that plague foreign troops in Iraq.

Please see: History of "Directed Energy Weapons"

http://911researchers.com/node/1206

EADS North America's Tentainer(TM) Mobile Shelter Debuts at the U.S. Military Surgeons Association's Annual Meeting

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/EADS-North-Americas-TentainerTM-Mobile/story.aspx?guid=%7BDFD967D1-66B1-470E-BA04-58188260670F%7D
ARLINGTON, VA and RUSSELLVILLE, AR, Nov 10, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- A compact and highly deployable mobile shelter for military medical support missions, emergency response and disaster relief will be unveiled by EADS North America at this month's Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, beginning Monday, Nov. 10.
The new unit, called Tentainer(TM), is a hybrid shelter that combines a rigid-walled, lightweight lower container with a multi-cell inflatable tent upper portion. Built by EADS North America Integrated Shelter Systems in Russellville, Ark., Tentainer is tailored for applications such as military forward surgical stations, trauma treatment facilities, first aid stations and mobile command posts.

Kuwaiti Navy, NATO conclude military drills in the Gulf

http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=770493&SMap=1

Kuwaiti Navy and ships from the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) concluded strategic military exercises Sunday, the first of their kind in the Gulf region.The joint exercises were part of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and a security agreement with the NATO on information exchange.The six-day drills included fast inshore attack training, anti-piracy demonstration, an air defense exercise, and a demonstration of firepower.

US NORTHCOM Exercise Vigilant Shield 09

2008-11-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

NORAD, USNORTHCOM participate in Exercise Vigilant Shield 09

http://www.northcom.mil/News/2008/110508.html

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. — North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command will participate in Exercise Vigilant Shield 09 Nov. 12 - 18.
The focus of VS09 is on homeland defense and civil support. The exercise will include scenarios to achieve exercise objectives within the maritime, aerospace, ballistic missile defense, cyber, consequence management, strategic communications, and counter terrorism domains.
VS09 will run concurrent with other Department of Defense-sponsored and international exercises to more realistically test the synchronized response of federal, state, local and international mission partners in preparation for homeland defense, homeland security and civil support missions in the United States and abroad.
Concurrent exercises include U.S. Strategic Command GLOBAL LIGHTNING 09 and BULWARK DEFENDER 09; Canada Command DETERMINED DRAGON; California National Guard VIGILANT GUARD; and the State of California GOLDEN GUARDIAN.
VS09 is a Command Post Exercise. During a CPX, many of the forces involved in the exercise are notional and most of the real forces and equipment are not deployed from their home bases.
NORAD is the bi-national command charged with aerospace warning and control, missile warning as well as maritime for the United States and Canada.
Formed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, USNORTHCOM is responsible for Homeland Defense and civil support missions.

Miami Pandemic Drill, Russia/NATO, China Space

2008-11-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

Test drill at Miami International Airport aims to slow pandemics
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/story/758787.html

About 400 people participated in the nation's first pandemic flu exercise at Miami International Airport.

What if a deadly global pandemic were sweeping across the world and the United States needed to try to delay its effect on our shores?
For the first time, at Miami International Airport on Wednesday, about a dozen federal, state and local agencies participated in a simulation exercise to review the steps needed to screen international passengers arriving in the face of a severe influenza pandemic.
''It's an opportunity to test the plan, see how it works and what needs to be improved, so that when we need to use it for real we are ready,'' said Christine Pearson, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
About 400 people participated in the test drill, including about 200 voluntary actors. CDC, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation led the effort.
In the 20th century, the nation faced three influenza pandemics, in 1918, 1957 and 1968. A pandemic is defined as a new virus for which no one has immunity, which can affect humans and is spread easily between people.
And more pandemics are expected. Bird flu, which affects mostly poultry and wild birds in Asia, Africa and Europe, is being watched, because it sickened about 300 humans during the past decade.
''A pandemic is inevitable, but we can't say it's imminent,'' said Dr. Martin Cetron, director of global migration and quarantine for the CDC.

Navy Intercepts Ballistic Missile Target In Fleet Exercise
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Navy_Intercepts_Ballistic_Missile_Target_In_Fleet_Exercise_999.html
Extensive analysis of the flight mission will be used to improve the deployed Aegis BMD system. The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) flight record is 16 of 19 intercepts.

Vice Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, Commander, U.S. Third Fleet has announced the successful Navy intercept of a ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean during Fleet Exercise Pacific Blitz. This was the first Fleet operational firing to employ the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) against a ballistic missile target.
Command and control of this mission resided with Commander, U.S. Third Fleet, based in San Diego, Calif.
Pearl Harbor-based Aegis destroyers, USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) and USS Hopper (DDG 70), which have been upgraded to engage ballistic missiles, fired SM-3 missiles at separate targets. During this event, a short-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands, Kauai, Hawaii.....

NATO voices 'serious worries' about Russian missile plans
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/NATO_voices_serious_worries_about_Russian_missile_plans_999.html
NATO has "serious worries" about the compatibility of Russian plans to deploy missiles in a western Russian enclave with arm control "arrangements," an alliance spokesman said Wednesday.
"We have seen the press reports on the statement of President (Dmitry) Medvedev regarding deployment of Iskander missiles to the Kaliningrad region," spokesman Robert Pszczel told AFP.

"If confirmed, it would raise serious worries concerning the conformity with existing arms control arrangements which are important for European security," he added.

Venezuela, Russia discuss nuclear energy, flights
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081106/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_russia_1
CARACAS, Venezuela – Top Venezuelan and Russian officials met Thursday to discuss bilateral agreements on everything from nuclear energy to direct flights connecting Caracas to Moscow.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin headed a delegation of business leaders visiting Venezuela to discuss development plans prior to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev's visit later this month.
"In a moment when the banks of the developing world are going bankrupt and disappearing, our two countries are negotiating the creation of a binational bank that will allow the financing of development," Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez said...

The Chinese Space Industry Set For Take Off
http://www.spacedaily.com/pageone/spacedaily-2008-11-06.html

China put another two satellites into orbit on Wednesday, just weeks after its third successful manned space mission and the first space walk by Chinese astronauts in September. The space industry is taking off, thanks to the 30-year-old Reform and Opening-up Drive, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of the manned space program. China established its space sector in the 1950s, an ...

Postal Anthrax Aftermath: Has Biodefense Spending Made Us Safer?
The Anthrax attacks in 2001 led to a massive increase in biodefense funding, which critics claim has done more harm than good
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=postal-anthrax-aftermath

Obama: All Hope Gone for Truth & Justice

2008-11-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

The selection of Obama as the 44th President of the U.S.

was not met with any jubilation from me. Yes I know it's historic to have a black man in the White House. Yes I know that Bush is finally gone. What makes me deeply depressed is that with Obama taking office, all the crimes of the Bush junta will get a pass and the slate wiped clean by the treasonous complicit Democrats.

What about the mass murder of 3'000 Americans by our own military apparatus? Justice will not be served.The Patriot Act reversed? No chance. Wars ended? No dice. Will Obama reverse any of the crimes of the last 8 years?

I see a broader war with Russia and China, an economy doomed to collapse, and a general false

sense of ease among the masses since Bush is gone. Activism will remain only for those who never drank the Obama kool aid.

We know the power structure would never let real change to occur, other than a cosmetic one. The criminals that have destroyed our country are still at large and will remain so. As long as we still have the Pentagon system (replete with the 9/11 criminals) America is not a free country. Dark dark days may be ahead.....

Bethesda drill tests emergency resources

A firefighter sprays water on a simulated fire during a drill. The Oct. 30 drill simulated a terrorist attack involving Sarin nerve gas and an improvised explosive device. It was intended to test the readiness of Bethesda emergency agencies and facilities

Hundreds of emergency personnel descended on the National Naval Medical Center last week trying to save 76 victims of a terrorist attack. But Suzanne Patterson just tried to make them look as gruesome as possible.
Patterson was the special effects artist responsible for the "blood and guts" at the Bethesda Hospitals' Emergency Preparedness Drill on Oct. 30, which simulated a Sarin gas and bomb attack outside Navy Med's Uniformed Services University to test the readiness of local, federal and military personnel. Her company, Military Moulage Combat Injury Simulation, has worked for the New York City Fire Department, the Pentagon, and other government and military agencies.
To create the victims' protruding bowels, third-degree burns and imbedded bits of shrapnel, the Emmy Award-winning Patterson utilized a wide variety of materials, from silicon to a bubbling Alka Seltzer tablet that mimicked a "sucking" chest wound. Gelatin and wax were used to simulate other deep wounds http://www.gazette.net/stories/11052008/nortnew215813_32477.shtml

Russia to base missiles on EU border: Medvedev
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081105114620.ota6n5i1&show_article=1

Russia will place short-range missile systems on the EU's eastern border to counter planned US missile defence installations in Eastern Europe, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday.
"Iskander missile systems will be deployed in the Kaliningrad region to neutralise the missile defence system," Medvedev said.
"There will also be radio-electronic neutralisation of the new US missile defence installations from the Kaliningrad region," he added.
Kaliningrad is a Russian exclave with a large military base that is wedged between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coastline.
The Iskander are short-range missiles that use conventional warheads with a range of up to 400 kilometres (248 miles). Medvedev did not give any details on the type of scrambling devices that Russia would deploy in Kaliningrad.
The United States is pursuing plans to build a radar base in the Czec Republic and install interceptor missiles in Poland to counter what it describes as a missile threat from "rogue states" such as Iran.

DARPA Awards Northrop Grumman Contract To Develop New Laser Technology For High-Efficiency Fiber Amplifiers http://www.photonicsonline.com/article.mvc/DARPA-Awards-Northrop-Grumman-Contract-0001?atc~c=771+s=773+r=001+l=a&VNETCOOKIE=NO

Redondo Beach, CA — Northrop Grumman Corporation has been chosen to develop single-frequency fiber amplifiers for the new Revolution in Fiber Lasers (RIFL) program by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The RIFL program takes a similar approach to maturing fiber laser technology as Northrop Grumman demonstrated for solid-state lasers through support from U.S. military services and government agencies — by designing the building blocks needed to combine laser beams that can be scaled to a weapons-class power level while maintaining good beam quality.

Free flu shots to NH drill participants
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/11/04/free_flu_shots_to_nh_drill_participants/ LEBANON, N.H.—Participants in a pandemic flu drill later this month will get free shots at two mass innoculation sites in New Hampshire's Upper Valley.
The Nov. 19 drill will test the region's ability to respond to a large-scale public health emergency. Lebanon Fire Chief Chris Christopoulos said the drills are important because they find areas for improvement.

Space Weaponization: Aye or Nay?http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2008_11/Book_review

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos-Klosters will offer an historic opportunity to "Reshape the Post- Crisis World"
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=78955

DOD Cuts, Brzezinski Threataganda, War Games

2008-11-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

DOD braces for expected budget cuts (False flag time)
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33853-1.html
The financial meltdown might have a serious impact on future Defense Department spending, reports The New York Times.
Across the military services, deep apprehension has led to closed-door meetings and detailed calculations in anticipation of potential cuts. Civilian and military budget planners concede that they are already analyzing worst-case contingency spending plans that would freeze or slash their overall budgets. Defense Department planners, top commanders and weapons manufacturers are all in agreement that money will be tight for defense programs in the years ahead.
The obvious targets for savings would be expensive new arms programs, which have racked up cost overruns of at least $300 billion for the top 75 weapons systems, according to the Government Accountability Office. Congressional budget experts say likely targets for reductions are the Army’s plans for fielding advanced combat systems, the Air Force’s Joint Strike Fighter, the Navy’s new destroyer and the ground-based missile defense system.
Restocking For Another Decade Of War Part One
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Restocking_For_Another_Decade_Of_War_Part_One_999.html

Obama puppet master Brzezinski continues threataganda

Brzezinski: Obama Will Face “Imminent” Foreign Policy Problems

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0811/02/fzgps.01.html
Trilateral Commission co-founder and top Obama advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski told CNN yesterday that Barack Obama would be faced with “imminent problems” in the context of foreign policy once he takes office, echoing prophetic warnings made recently by Joe Biden, Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright.

Appearing on CNN’s Global Public Square with host Fareed Zakaria, Brzezinski said that President Carter contacted him to ask who he should appoint to different posts after he captured the White House, perhaps a hint that Obama might do the same.

India, China aim to hold regular joint exercises
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India_China_aim_regular_exercises/articleshow/3670587.cms
NEW DELHI: Despite differences, the Elephant and the Dragon are getting all set for a full-fledged military tango now. India and China are stepping up the pace of their bilateral confidence building measures, with joint exercises and regular exchanges on the anvil. On Monday, even as Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta hosted his Chinese counterpart Admiral Wu Shengli here, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal F H Major was in Beijing holding talks with his People's Liberation Army air force chief General Xu Qiliang to promote bilateral defence cooperation.

NATO Ships Sail For Kuwait
http://www.menewsline.com/article-1150,1885-NATO-Ships-Sail-For-Kuwait.aspx
ABU DHABI [MENL] -- For the first time, a NATO armada would exercise withGulf Cooperation Council states.Warships from Standing NATO Maritime Group-2 were sailing toward theGulf for visits and exercises with GCC states. On Nov. 4, the NATO groupwould arrive in Kuwait for a five-day visit that would include training andand exercise.

Air Force Plans Flight Exercise Above Washington
http://wjz.com/local/air.force.flight.2.854956.html
The U.S. Air Force is planning a one-day flight exercise in the Washington area.
The training flights are slated to begin early Monday. The North American Aerospace Defense Command and other agencies are coordinating the flights.
Officials say the exercise, named Falcon Virgo, refines the command's interception and identification operations. It also helps with testing visual warning systems.

Exercise will measure pandemic response
http://www.mississauga.com/article/20600

China backs Iranian full membership at SCO (missed from a few days back)
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081031080045/China%20backs%20Iranian%20full%20membership%20at%20SCO

New US commander in Pakistan for talks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081103/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanusmilitarydiplomacy_081103085437

Obama and McCain belong in the Hague, not the White House

2008-11-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

The naivete and idiocy of the American public
knows no lows. To think that millions will still
go into polling stations, where there is no transparency, no paper ballots and 8 years of proven election fraud, is beyond an exercise in futility, it's deep denial - The denial that America
died years ago. Do people not know that we had
a coup d'etat on 9/11 in 2001?

How could "elections" be even considered when the entire U.S. Government has been operating as a criminal enterprise? Boycott the staged elections (scripted pro-wrestling for pseudo intellectuals) and pursue direct action against the traitors to humanity parading around as decent Americans.

Please read Carolyn Baker's excellent post:

TRUTH TO POWER: Why I Will Not Vote For A President In 2008 http://www.vtcommons.org/blog/2008/02/15/truth-power-why-i-will-not-vote-president-2008

Pre-emptive Nuclear war, Russia War Games, NATO

2008-11-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

* Monday Daily Dose of Terror will have an election scam special on why I don't bother voting.

US defense secretary expands pre-emptive war doctrine to include nuclear strikes
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/oct2008/gate-o30.shtml

In a remarkable speech on nuclear policy delivered October 28 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), US Defense Secretary Robert Gates painted a dire portrait of international affairs and argued that Washington should expand the doctrine of pre-emptive war formulated by the Bush administration to include possible nuclear strikes.
It is widely rumored that, in the likely event that Democrat Barack Obama wins next week's US presidential election, Obama will keep Gates as defense secretary. Gates' speech, given in the waning days of the Bush presidency, has the character of a policy declaration of the next US administration. (cont...)

"A Second 9/11": An Integral Part of US Military Doctrine
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10767

World Faces Growing Risk Of War
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081031180559.hq1yll01&show_article=1
The world faces a growing risk of conflict over the next 20 to 30 years amid an unprecedented transfer of wealth and power from West to East, according to the US intelligence chief..

Russia in 'muscle-flexing' war games
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24589297-663,00.html
THE Russian navy will hold war games in the Indian Ocean in a bid to boost its global presence, a navy spokesman says, announcing Moscow's latest move to flex its military muscle.
Ships from the Pacific Ocean Fleet and forces from the Northern Fleet will meet and carry out joint military exercises in the Indian Ocean basin,'' navy spokesman Igor Dygalo today said in a statement.
Mr Dygalo did not specify when the exercises would take place, but he said warships from Russia's Vladivostok-based Pacific Ocean Fleet would leave "shortly'' for the Arabian Sea, docking in various ports on the way.
He called the Indian Ocean manoeuvres part of an effort to raise the Russian navy's worldwide profile before the end of the year

Gulf countries to hold joint naval exercises with Nato
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081101/FOREIGN/320451753/1011/SPORT
MANAMA // Four Gulf navies are to take part in maritime exercises with visiting Nato ships this week, the first operation under the 2004 Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI).The initiative, which calls on the alliance to work with the countries of the region, aims to contribute to long-term global and regional security by offering Middle-Eastern countries security co-operation with Nato.

Greenwich officers pose as terrorists in Bridgeport training
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_10872270

Preparing for a pandemic (NC)
Base 'tabletop exercise' helps emergency teams prepare for disaster scenario
http://www.enctoday.com/news/lejeune_60416_jdn__article.html/camp_flu.html

Pre-pandemic PCV vax campaign would save lives
http://www.fiercevaccines.com/story/pcv-vaccination-campaign-would-save-lives-pandemic/2008-10-30

Please see Nico haupts latest 9/11 Summary:
http://forum.911movement.org/index.php?showtopic=5541&st=0#entry15276897

LMT Space Warfare, Pandemic, Russia, +PMC's

2008-10-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

US air force inks 'tactical' space-war deal
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/30/space_war_satnobbler_sensor/

American weaponrytech behemoth Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $30m contract by the US Air Force Space Superiority Systems Wing. Under the deal, Lockheed will develop a prototype "tactical" space scanner for use in the covert orbital warfare of tomorrow.
The tech demonstrator programme is referred to as Self-Awareness Space Situational Awareness (SASSA), and will see Lockheed developing a "payload to provide tactical space situational awareness with dedicated communications".

The US military and intelligence communities operate a satellite fleet numbering in the hundreds, with missions ranging from spying to communications to navigation. Civilians worldwide also depend on some of these satellites - especially those of the Global Positioning System (GPS), used by the vast majority of the world's satnav devices. (cont...)

Experts at HHS webinar cite key pandemic planning issues

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/biz-plan/news/oct2908webcast.html

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today hosted an online conversation among experts, government officials, and members of the public that touched on emerging issues in pandemic planning, such as anticipating supply chain interruptions and keeping the momentum going during tough economic times.
At the beginning of the webcast, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt made some opening remarks that focused on what the agency has accomplished, especially since the release of the HHS's Pandemic Influenza Plan in 2005.
Leavitt also spoke to the transitions that will likely occur over the next few months as the Bush administration winds down and a new administration takes over. He said during his tenure, the HHS has planned for 15 different disaster scenarios, including pandemic influenza.

Russian Navy to hold exercises in the Mediterranean in November http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081030/118036772.html

MOSCOW, October 30 (RIA Novosti) - A naval task force from Russia's Northern Fleet will depart from its main base in Severomorsk in early November to participate in joint drills with the Black Sea Fleet in the Mediterranean, a senior Navy official said on Thursday.
"The task force from the Northern Fleet [headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier] will join a naval task force from the Black Sea Fleet headed by the Moskva missile cruiser in the Mediterranean and conduct exercises simulating a sea battle between two opposing naval task forces," the source said

Minot Bomber Crews Part of Exercise (B52's)

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=23713

S Korea, U.S. to conduct massive landing exercises

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6523654.html

South Korea and the United States will hold a massive landing exercise in South Korea in November, the South Korean Marine Corps said Wednesday. According to the South Korean Marine Corps, a total of 8,000 troops and some 70 amphibious assault vehicles will participate into the drills. It will be largest joint landing exercises in South Korea's history.

Anti-terror drill (UK)

http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/content/bromley/times/news/story.aspx?brand=BMLYTOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsbmlyt&itemid=WeED29

A FIVE-DAY anti-terrorism exercise was held at a sports centre to practise procedures for an attack. The multi-agency event, which includes police and fire services is taking place at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. It started on Monday and lasts until tomorrow. Parts of the Crystal Palace complex will be cordoned off to rehearse procedures should the capital suffer a terrorist attack. It is being partially funded by the European Commission and will involve participants and observers from a range of EU countries who will be sharing techniques.

Flu vaccine available at citywide drill New Haven Register - Oct 30 12:25 AM
NEW HAVEN — The New Haven Health Department will lead a pandemic flu drill with health clinics citywide Saturday. (Link removed)

Military Investigates Amnesia Beams

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/air-forces-amne.html

A team of scientists from the United States and China announced last week that, for the first time, they had found a means of selectively and safely erasing memories in mice, using the signaling molecule αCaMKII. It's a big step forward, and one that will be of considerable interest to the military, which has devoted efforts to memory manipulation as a means of treating post-traumatic stress disorder. But some military research has moved in another direction entirely.

Future systems come to Fort Leavenworth (FCS)

http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/articles/2008/10/30/news/news1.txt

DARPA contract sets its sights on autonomous, gear carrying robots

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/29/darpa-contract-sets-its-sights-on-autonomous-gear-carrying-robo/

Intelligence director tells Nashville crowd terrorism still a threat

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=67867&provider=rss

He says the biggest concern is that certain groups may gain access to biological weapons

Coast Guard participates in Raytheon test

http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2008/10/28/Coast_Guard_participates_in_Raytheon_test/UPI-58621225218701/

* If Americans tolerate this, then we truly don't deserve good Government.

Goldman Sachs ready to hand out £7bn salary and bonus package... after its £6bn bail-out http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1081624/Goldman-Sachs-ready-hand-7BILLION-salary-bonus-package--6bn-bail-out.html

LMT, Post Election Threataganda Cont., Russia + China

2008-10-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lockheed Martin and Pictometry Collaborate to Offer Advanced Mapping and Imagery Solutions
Companies to Develop Next-Generation Technologies for 3-D Imagery and Visualization

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Lockheed-Martin-Pictometry-Collaborate-Offer/story.aspx?guid=%7B3997343A-B0F9-47E0-BF18-0EAEE164E44C%7D

HERNDON, Va., Oct 28, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Lockheed Martin (LMT:
Lockheed Martin Corporation (Holding Company) and Pictometry International Corp., a leading provider of digital high-resolution aerial imagery for mapping and geographic analysis, have signed a collaboration agreement to provide next-generation geospatial technologies to federal, state and local government customers. The two companies will work together to integrate Pictometry's unique imagery and algorithms with Lockheed Martin's geospatial-intelligence analysis systems, creating powerful solutions for a wide variety of national and local applications.

Pentagon Advisors Warn Of Coming International Crisis
Veteran consultant echoes warnings from Biden, Powell

Pentagon Panel: Biden Was Right, Prep for 'Crisis' The McCain campaign pounced the other day, when Joe Biden said that his running mate would be tested by an international crisis at the start of his White House tenure. But the chairman of a key Pentagon advisory panel is sounding a similar warning, telling the next administration to "prepare for a likely first-270-days crisis."
Veteran Pentagon consultant Michael Bayer, chairman of the Defense Business Board, told his fellow panelists that the new president's inner circle should "set aside time in transition to identify the planning, gravitas and interagency process necessary to respond to a likely first-270-day crisis."
From Kennedy (Bay of Pigs) to Johnson (Gulf of Tonkin) to Bush (9/11)," too many presidents were ill prepared for this," Bayer warns.

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/pentagon-panel.html

Pentagon on guard for White House wartime transition

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Pentagon_on_guard_for_White_House_wartime_transition_999.html

The Pentagon has been preparing for months for the first wartime change of presidents in 40 years, a period of heightened vulnerability that, if history is a guide, US adversaries will try to exploit.
"We will all be on heightened alert given that historically our enemies have tried to take advantage of that time around an election, either before of after," Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, told AFP.
After the November 4 elections, the baton will be handed to the incoming administration in an awkward transition that typically continues for months after the swearing-in of a new president on January 20.
History overflows with examples of major incidents in the period before and after the elections, as evidenced by a chronology drawn up by the Joint Staff.
Three months after his arrival in the White House, John Kennedy was beset by the Bay of Pigs fiasco, which set in motion a confrontation with Havana that led to the Cuban missile crisis the following year.
The fall of Saigon occurred eight months after Gerald Ford assumed the presidency. Ronald Reagan was shot in an assassination attempt just weeks after he took office.
Only a month after Bill Clinton was sworn in, a bomb struck the World Trade Center in New York, and eight months into George W. Bush's presidency

Dump the Greenback: PM Putin suggests Russia, China ditch dollar in trade deals

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10734

Russia, China sign landmark oil pipeline deal

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=081028133121.m43iggtc&show_article=1

Militaries to Spend $44.5 Billion on Persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition According to New Research from G2 Solutions

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081028005644&newsLang=en

IBM Joins in Pentagon Quest for Fake Cat Brains

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/ibm-joins-in-pe.html

Health department runs pandemic flu test (GA)

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=722&NewsID=932668&CategoryID=3388&on=1

The department, along with Northwest Georgia health officials, was prepared to give out as many as 2,000 doses of the vaccine during today’s test of its ability to conduct a mass inoculation. .....

Preparedness for influenza pandemic needs to be tested

http://mediaglobal.org/article/2008-10-28/preparedness-for-influenza-pandemic-needs-to-be-tested Government ministers and experts began a three-day conference Friday to look at international preparation for a possible influenza pandemic. According to the latest joint progress report by the United Nations and the World Bank (WB) on pandemic responses, 148 countries gave data about their pandemic preparedness plans, but only 53 per cent of them had tested these strategies in the past year and only a fourth had tested them at all

Twitter Terrorist Tool? Japan Drill, Russia, Expanding GWOT

2008-10-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Full updates later this evening..

Terrorists Could Use Twitter For Mayhem, Army Report Muses
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/messaging/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=211600844"

An intelligence paper outlines technologies that terrorist organizations could use to inflict harm, including cell phone GPS data, voice-changing technology, and Twitter updates.

Terrorism and Twitter go together like Darth Vader and Tribbles -- the former aspiring to instill fear, the latter chirpy and not very threatening.
Yet a draft Army intelligence paper, "Al Qaida-Like Mobile Discussions & Potential Creative Uses," contemplates just that combination. The October 16 paper, posted on the Federation of American Scientists Web site, was written by the Army's 304 Military Intelligence Battalion Open Source Intelligence Team.
It touches briefly on "Pro Terrorist Propaganda Cell Phone Interfaces," using cell phone GPS data to assist terrorist operations, mobile phone surveillance, possible use of voice changing technology by terrorists, "Potential For Terrorist Use of Twitter," and other mobile phone technology and software that bears further consideration.
In one "Red Team" scenario -- the red team being the traditional attacker in attack/defense scenario planning -- the report imagines a terrorist operative using a cell phone with built-in camera or video capability to send Twitter messages to other terrorist operatives in near real-time updates, "similar to the movement updates that were sent by activists at the [Republican National Convention]." The goal would be to provide troop strength intelligence and to coordinate an ambush. An intelligence paper outlines technologies that terrorist organizations could use to inflict harm, including cell phone GPS data, voice-changing technology, and Twitter updates.
(Twitter could also be useful to to fight martial law...so I guess we are the terrorist contingency)

GSDF stages huge defense drill (Japan)
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081028a5.html

BETSUKAI, Hokkaido (Kyodo) The Ground Self-Defense Force held its biggest homeland defense drill in nearly a quarter of a century Monday in Hokkaido, mobilizing some 3,000 personnel and digging some 2,000 hillside caves and trenches to hide troops, tanks and command posts.

The conventional warfare drill took place in the Yausubetsu Maneuver Area at a time when the Russian military is becoming more active around Japan and elsewhere, and amid China's continued defense buildup.

US crossing more borders in terror war?
The alleged incursions into Syria, and previously into Pakistan, could be risky.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1028/p02s04-usmi.html

Washington - In the name of protecting its forces in Afghanistan and now Iraq, the United States appears to have begun to step up a bold gamble: conducting raids in countries it believes are not doing enough to fight extremist militants.
But taking such actions in Pakistan and now Syria may involve high diplomatic risks and offer limited military gain, say experts outside the military. "It could be morally justifiable, legally justifiable, and strategically a mistake," says Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
For the past few months, there have been reports of US airstrikes inside Pakistan as violence increased in neighboring Afghanistan. Over the weekend, the US reportedly conducted a strike inside Syria's shared border with Iraq. (cont..)

Russia military offers Cuba air defence aid
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20081027/tpl-uk-russia-cuba-defense-b64c7e7.html
Russia will offer to share its air defence expertise with Cuba when a military delegation visits the Caribbean island this week, Interfax news agency reported on Monday.
"The Russian and Cuban military will exchange experience in organising tactical air defence and in training officers," Interfax quoted Russian Land Forces spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.
The two sides will "discuss the prospect of training Cuban servicemen at the tactical air defence academies and training centres in Russia, using upgraded Russian-made military hardware," Interfax quoted him as saying.

Nouriel Roubini: I fear the worst is yet to come
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5014463.ece
Excerpt: "What does Roubini think is going to happen next? Rather worryingly, in London last Thursday he predicted that hundreds of hedge funds will go bust and stock markets may soon have to shut – perhaps for as long as a week – in order to stem the panic selling now sweeping the world. "

Attention Readers:
Colors Magazine
http://www.colorsmagazine.com/victims/
"We are doing an upcoming issue on post-9/11 paranoia and I'm searching for people with interesting, funny and/or disturbing stories of anti-terrorism efforts around the world, from people being stopped without cause, to strange anti-terror devices, to uncanny anti-terrorism drills and trainings, to non-governmental groups of interest."

Please send input to nixongreg@msn.com and I'll forward them to the editor.

'Dozens' of potential terrorists in U.S. under watch, Chertoff says
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uschertoff1028,0,4206201.story

LI military contractor emerging from black op shadows http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzinside5899046oct27,0,1209494.storyTactronics Holdings Llc has been on Long Island since 1992, but as far as the public was concerned, the company might as well not have existed at all.It's not simply that the Bellport-based company was relatively small. It was that Tactronics worked entirely in the world of "black ops," military slang for covert operations.Few were ever invited for a visit. The privately held company never issued news releases or attracted attention to itself."The company has always been low-key and under the radar because of the customer base we serve," said Kevin Wilson, president of Tactronics Operations, the electronics side of the company. (cont...)

Raytheon demos new submarine-launched UAV http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/27/raytheon_sothoc_sub_uav/

America has gone one better than Germany in the race to develop the world's most powerful submarine-launched robot aircraft. US arms giant Raytheon has announced a model which can be deployed at depth without modification to the submarine.The new U-UAV is dubbed SOTHOC, for Submarine Over the Horizon Organic Capabilities. The launch system works by deploying a sealed can through the sub's waste disposal lock. The can then sinks away safely to get clear of the boat. On reaching a preset depth it dumps weight to become positively buoyant and ascends to the surface. Once stable at the surface, it aligns itself into wind and launches a one-shot, disposable UAV...

QinetiQ North America to support FBI http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/10/27/daily11.html

Carteret to offer drive-through flu clinic (NC)http://www.enctoday.com/news/flu_60297_jdn__article.html/clinic_health.html

MOREHEAD CITY - An upcoming flu clinic being offered by the Carteret County Health Department will serve two purposes.The drive-through flu clinic scheduled for Nov. 1 will offer convenience to the public while also serving as a preparedness exercise for public health officials."We are trying a new approach this year by conducting our seasonal flu clinic as a pandemic flu exercise," said Health Department Nursing Director Ann Baugham. "If we were giving out medication during a pandemic flu situation, we would not want large numbers of people gathered together inside a building. So, for our flu clinic this year, everyone will stay in their car, roll up their sleeves and roll down their windows to receive the shot."

Obama Fascism?

2008-10-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

This past Friday I was at the University of Vermont for an anti-war rally where I
held a giant sign reading ARREST OBAMA. The visceral vitriol among the students
was omnipresent. That I had criticized Obama, the Messiah, FROM THE LEFT, was an
unpardonable offense. I had info with Obama's pro-war voting record and outlining that
he supports George Bush on the Global War on Terror, but that did not matter. He was
a candidate for "change" - the TV commercials said so. No discussion that's final.

What I came away with that afternoon was a palpable fear of a blind unthinking mass of
Obama supporters. How is this any different than the Bush flagwavers? As Webster Tarpley
has argued, historically Fascism did not emerge from a top down hierarchy, it arose from "the Left"(see link below)

I tried to argue with the students that elections were staged and Obama was a robot assembled in Brzezinski's laboratory to read P.R. scripts. The students could not fathom that the alleged opposition was a wing of the same bird.

This is not some academic exercise. My friend was arrested here in my city after asking questions during a heated exchange to an Obama political table and faces jail time. Could an Obama presidency deliver Fascism here in the United States? When the market collapses and people have no jobs and are hungry, will the mobs be ready to organize? I am just raising questions to be asked during some very strange and scary times. Stay tuned.....

Police fear riots if Obama loses US election
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/police-fear-riots-if-obama-loses-us-election/377537/
Washington, October 24: : Amid rumours that Democratic supporters might indulge in civil disobedience and protests in case their party candidate Barack Obama is defeated in the Nov 4 presidential polls, the Police here fear riots and are preparing to control the same.
“We always try to prepare for the worst,” said Oakland Police Separtment spokesman Jeff Thomason.
“This election is going to mark in history a change in the presidency: you''re going to have a woman in the presidency or an African American as president. I think everybody around here is voting for Obama, so if he gets in the White House everybody''s going to be happy. But, we’ll have our SWAT teams on standby and traffic teams here, so if something goes off we''ll organise and take care of the problem,” the 'Telegraph' quoted him as saying.
http://www.amazon.com/Obama-Postmodern-Making-Manchurian-Candidate/dp/0930852885

Origin of Fascism:
http://books.google.com/books?id=3uPYo0pS9oIC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=tarpley+obama+fascism+originates+left&source=web&ots=jGshm5tHAd&sig=eTwxlmcqYUxo8omDQZWWromhXCg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA26,M1

Anthrax Psyop watch, China/India War Games, +

2008-10-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Universal Detection Technology Responds to Declaration of Anthrax Emergency
Universal Detection Technology Offers Early Point and Standoff Anthrax Detection

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/universal-detection-technology-responds-declaration/story.aspx?guid=%7BDB55643A-BBCF-4F1D-9382-9C58E98019D9%7D&dist=hppr Universal Detection Technology ( http://www.udetection.com/) (UNDT:
universal detection technolo com new a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies to protect people from bioterrorism and other infectious health threats and provider of counter-terrorism consulting and training services, responds to the effectiveness of anthrax emergency in the US until 2015.
Bioterror experts warn that an attack is only going to become easier to launch as the work that has spawned countless new biotech medical treatments continues to advance. "Unfortunately, there's going to be a dark side," says Randall Larsen, Director of the Institute for Homeland Security, a Virginia-based think tank. The biotech revolution, he said, is making it "easier for non-state actors to develop sophisticated bioweapons."
Yesterday at least five branches of Chase Bank in Colorado and Oklahoma received threatening letters, some containing an unidentified white powder. Fire Marshal Kevin Ferry of the Cunningham Fire Protection District near Denver said the powder in one package was found to be harmless, though the substance had yet to be identified. A police department spokesman in nearby Lakewood, Steve Davis, said a white substance found on a parcel there appeared not to be dangerous and resembled talcum powder.
"The biggest bioterrorism threat facing the world is an attack with anthrax spores. Anthrax is the only agent used against the US and the most likely one to be used in potential future attacks due to the simplicity to produce. Casualties caused by and attack with 2 pounds of weapons grade anthrax can be in the hundreds of thousands. The Government is well aware of this threat and the anthrax emergency is an evidence of the need to be vigilant and ready to contain a potential threat before disaster," said Mr. Jacques Tizabi, UNDT's Chief Executive Officer.

First wargames with China in India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/First_wargames_with_China_in_India/articleshow/3630746.cms

NEW DELHI: Despite the recent chill in bilateral relations with Beijing after it tried to derail New Delhi's case for civil nuclear commerce at the Nuclear Suppliers Group, India is all set to host Chinese soldiers for the first time on its territory after the bitter 1962 war. Defence ministry sources on Wednesday said the first-ever Sino-Indian military combat exercise on Indian soil — with counter-terrorism as its primary thrust area — is likely to be held at Belgaum towards December-end.

VMI to Test Its Pandemic Flu Plan

http://www.vmi.edu/NewsCenter.aspx?id=28723

LEXINGTON, Va., Oct. 23, 2008 – The entire student body of Virginia Military Institute will have the chance to receive a flu vaccination next week as the Institute tests its ability to respond to a flu pandemic. The 1,400 members of the VMI Corps of Cadets will process through the inoculation stations on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29. The exercise is designed to test the VMI Pandemic Flu Plan administrative accountability and control system while working in conjunction with a real world medical process. After processing and signing in, the cadets can opt not to receive a vaccination. The cadets will decide when during the two-day period they check in at the processing station to avoid interfering with their class schedules...

Director of National Intelligence and Senior Intelligence Community Leaders to Speak at 2008 GEOINT Conference in Nashville http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/director-national-intelligence-senior-intelligence/story.aspx?guid=%7B570B96BE-EDE4-4157-89AC-DAC7D59A4718%7D&dist=hppr

The following advisory was issued today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:
What:
The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF), will host its fifth annual GEOINT Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mr. Mike McConnell, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), will be one of the conferences keynote speakers on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 11:45 am CDT. (cont..)

SAIC to support Army’s biometrics toolset

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33779-1.html

Science Applications International Corp. will provide engineering support to help the Army maintain and enhance a biometrics toolset under a $37 million contract (cont..)

Pentagon Wants Packs Of Robots To Detect “Non-cooperative Humans”

http://blacklistednews.com/?news_id=1997

DHS, Big 3 Autos Going Down? Pandemic, Anthrax Psyop Watch

2008-10-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Homeland Security lab like biodefense battleship

http://www.examiner.com/a-1650641~Homeland_Security_lab_like_biodefense_battleship.html

FREDERICK, Md. (Map, News) - The Department of Homeland Security's new laboratory building in Frederick resembles a battleship being readied for war against biological weapons.
With its curved glass exterior, 10-inch-thick walls and high-security labs, the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center gives the government a state-of-the art tool for predicting biological attacks and identifying perpetrators of what the FBI calls "bio-crimes."
Agency officials dedicated the $128 million building Wednesday at Fort Detrick, where it is part of a biodefense campus that will also include new labs run by the Army and the National Institutes of Health.

Pakistan asks for emergency IMF funds to stave off bankruptcy
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5667
Hit by the global financial crisis, Pakistan is the second country after Iceland to ask the International Monetary Fund for help against its looming balance of payments crisis. With a population of 170 million, Pakistan is also the biggest nation and the first Muslim country to turn to the IMF, troubled equally by near bankruptcy and an encroaching al Qaeda-backed Taliban insurgency.
The IMF directors in Washington are expected to approve a $4-5 bn a first aid rescue package against outflow of cash as investors clean out their accounts in Pakistani banks. The level of cash reserves barely covers one month’s imports, inflation hovers at a 30-year high and the value of the rupee is in freefall, making food and other staples unaffordable. The new president Ali Asif Zardari is trying to raise at least $10 bn from western bankers to stave off bankruptcy within weeks from a group called Friends of Pakistan.

Kerkorian, Cerberus Retreat Spotlights Auto Collapse
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aZFCyoZrxPh4&refer=home

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The retreat of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian and Cerberus Capital Management LP from stakes in Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC may leave the U.S. auto industry without new funding just as sales head to a 26-year low.
Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. said yesterday it may sell its stake in Ford and investor Stephen Feinberg's Cerberus is seeking to merge Chrysler with General Motors Corp. or another automaker. The industry's recession started by $4-a-gallon gasoline and extended by the credit crunch following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. has battered investments in the U.S. car companies.
``I don't know where else they can turn right now, that's the problem,'' said Thomas Stallkamp, a former Chrysler Corp. president who is currently a partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC. ``There is nowhere to turn until the credit market opens up, and even then the market will be nervous about automakers until the outlook for 2009 is clearer.

Under Water Mortgage Growing Threat To U.S.

http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=12478

The Financial Meltdown: This Time Is Different

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10647

U.S. Military Leader Stresses NATO Defense for Baltics
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/world/europe/23mullen.html?ref=world
VILNIUS, Lithuania — The United States and NATO are updating plans for defending allies neighboring Russia and will consider increasing the number of military exercises with the Baltic states, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here Wednesday on the second and final day of a visit to the region.

Drive-thru flu shots will serve as training exercise (AL)
http://www.therandolphleader.com/articles/2008/10/22/news/168-drive%20thru%20shots.txt
The first drive-through flu shots in Randolph County will be given Thursday, Oct. 30, at the Randolph County Health Department on Main Street, but it is about far more than just preventing the flu.Kathy Green, clinic nurse supervisor with the Health Department, said the county is joining the entire Area 6 in this practice run for a pandemic flu event. The worst pandemic flu event in 1918 and 1919 killed more than 50 million people worldwide.The Health Department, along with the Roanoke Police Department and Randolph County Emergency Management Agency, will run this operation like a real crisis event. During the event all county residents can get a flu shot for $10 without leaving their vehicles."We're going to have a one driveway entrance and an exit in the other road," Green said. Police will assist with routing traffic into the entrance driveway nearest Jon Boy's Restaurant and then helping them exit the drive nearest Alabama Power, she said

CACI Awarded $406 Million in Previously Unannounced Contracts to Support National Security and Intelligence http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/caci-awarded-406-million-in,589863.shtml

New National Alert System Is Set Back

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122463147196556501.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

UN: World ready for flu pandemic

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2413705,00.html

New York - The world is well prepared to beat back any major influenza pandemic with 148 countries having made contingency plans to deal with the disease, the United Nations and the World Bank said on Tuesday.

South Park: Preview of "Pandemic"

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/south-park/south-park-preview-of-pandemic-23820.aspx

On tonight's episode of South Park called “Pandemic,” the boys decide to be entrepreneurs and take advantage of the misfortune of others. (like Donald Rumsfeld and Tamiflu?)

Pandemic Flu Exercise Event, flu vaccine clinic to be combined

http://www.hannibal.net/news_local/x270975017/Pandemic-Flu-Exercise-Event-flu-vaccine-clinic-to-be-combined The pandemic flu event is scheduled each year to evaluate the readiness of the health department and the Marion County Emergency Management team to provide mass immunizations in the county in case of an actual epidemic. In a real situation, the health department would be responsible for immunizing the 28,000 people living in Marion County within 72 hours.

Roche posts sustained double-digit sales growth for the first nine months of 2008
Basel. Group sales up 10% in local currencies to 33.2 billion Swiss francs, excluding Tamiflu pandemic sales Including Tamiflu pandemic sales, Group sales total 33.3 billion francs, an increase of 6% in local currencies and 13% in US dollars, and a decline of 2% in Swiss francs Roche confirms full-year outlook Roche reaffirms commitment to Genentech offer Pharmaceuticals Division

http://swiss-press.com/newsflashartikel.cfm?art=News&key=372304&parm=detail

Police investigate white powder at New York Times (psyop watch)

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93VM7DO1&show_article=1

7 Valley banks receive letters with white powder

http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/2008/10/22/20081022abrk-whitepowder1022-ON.html

Pandemic, America's Final Solution?

2008-10-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Albright, Biden and Powell have all chimed in
about a generated crisis to test manchurian puppet Obama when he gets selected to read
scripts for the elites. This threataganda seems
to be timed to coincide with the collapse of the US financial system when Obama takes office. It seems that a man made pandemic(read U.S. Military strain of a weaponized virus) will be unleashed. This would be the best way to manage the masses during a severe downturn - We can't have people gettting together during a depression now can we. When your neighbors get sick, you are going to tell them to get the fuck away from you, perfect way to keep people isolated and afraid, and most importantly, ready for whatever solution these sick fucks have schemed to cull and manage the herds. Please take time to read the 1st link below.

G.N.

So What Were Top Military Commanders From The US and Europe Doing at the Trudeau Institute?
Last Weekend the top military brass from the US and Europe met together in Saranac Lake NY.http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/503035.html

- Trudeau Institute and U.S. Navy receive order to continue Pandemic Influenza vaccine development project http://trudeauinstitute.org/dynamicPages/pressReleases.cfm?action=view&listingID=118&ID=100&navTable=tier2nav

Experts predict next epidemic will start in animals http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-21-next-epidemic_N.htm

World Health Organization doctor Heinz Feldmann, right, talks to reporters, left, about SARS in Hong Kong in 2003. One doctor tells USA TODAY that he fears severe acute respiratory syndrome may be a rehearsal for something worse.
Bonnie Henry calls it the most surreal episode of her life. A deadly microbe from China infected a hotel guest in Hong Kong, hitchhiked on a jumbo jet to Toronto and turned a local hospital from a sanctuary for the sick into the incubator of an epidemic.
For Henry, the doctor in charge of Toronto's operational response to SARS, the scenario was science fiction come to life. On a bleak day in March 2003, she ordered the hospital, Scarborough Grace, to close to new patients. She helped reopen a shuttered tuberculosis hospital and ordered 13 ailing health workers to check in.

Emergency drills planned for pandemic influenza, radiation release
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/10/21/news/doc48fe2e1a7e097763655871.txt
BLOOMINGTON -- Public health, hospital, law enforcement and emergency management agencies will practice responding to pandemic influenza Wednesday and to the release of radiation at the Clinton nuclear power plant on Thursday. Construction of fire station near CIRA to begin this fall"These drills allow us to review the plans we have in place and to identify areas where we need work," said Bree Davis of the McLean County Health Department. "It’s important for all agencies to communicate because we would need a joint response if an event really were to happen in McLean County."

Lloyds publishes report on pandemic impacts
http://continuitycentral.com/news04226.html
The Emerging Risks Team at Lloyd’s has issued a new report on the threat posed by a global pandemic.
Its report ‘Pandemic - Potential Insurance Impacts’ focuses on the threat to the global business community and, in particular, the insurance markets of a global pandemic.
Trevor Maynard, manager, Emerging Risks, at Lloyd’s and the report’s author says: “The significant message is that society should not optimise to one particular scenario as a worst case. Much has been said of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, which is said to have killed up to 100 million people worldwide. While Avian Flu is seen as the most likely next pandemic, we have to ensure we are prepared for other types of pandemics that may require different responses and pose different challenges — some of which may well have higher rates of mortality than flu.”

Global Viral Forecasting Initiative receives $11M to implement pandemic early warning system
Google.org and the Skoll Foundation Partner with GVFI to prevent the next HIV
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/g-gvf102008.php

Chertoff Says Change in Presidency Fuels Terror `Vulnerability' (threataganda)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auIWPps4p6cg&refer=home

DARPA Awards Northrop Grumman Contract To Develop New Laser Technology For High-Efficiency Fiber Amplifiers http://www.fiberopticsonline.com/article.mvc/DARPA-Awards-Northrop-Grumman-Contract-To-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO

Geo Eye Images, EMP Attack, Drill Updates

2008-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

GeoEye's New Satellite Offers Unprecedentedly Sharp Images

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3778072&c=FEA&s=TEC

It's getting harder and harder to hide.
The sharpest commercial imaging satellite ever launched is now orbiting the Earth, sweeping over the North Pole and under the South Pole every 98 minutes, collecting high-resolution images of the scene below.
From 423 miles up, the GeoEye-1 satellite can spot objects as small as 16 inches across. Home plate is visible on a baseball diamond. Obviously, then, so are trucks, troops, aircraft on runways, ships at sea and other items of particular interest to the U.S. military. (cont...)

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: A Preventable Homeland Security Catastrophe http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandSecurity/bg2199.cfm

A major threat to America has been largely ignored by those who could prevent it. An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack could wreak havoc on the nation's electronic systems—shutting down power grids, sources, and supply mechanisms. An EMP attack on the United States could irreparably cripple the country. It could simultaneously inflict large-scale damage and critically limit our recovery abilities. Congress and the new Administration must recognize the significance of the EMP threat and take the necessary steps to protect against it. (cont..)

Russian alliance to hold combat drills
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/20/Russian_alliance_to_hold_combat_drills/UPI-84291224535929/
MOSCOW, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Russian military officials say an alliance of former Soviet states will combine combat aircraft for joint defense exercises.
"The exercise will involve over 50 fighters, bombers and helicopters. A particular feature of the exercise is the deployment of Russia's A-50 Mainstay AWACS aircraft," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said Monday.
Thursday's exercises are to be a joint effort by members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance comprising Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Armenia, RIA Novosti reported

Mass Drive-Through Vaccination Drill includes Free Flu Shots (VA)
http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=9205904&nav=menu496_2_5
Health department offers free flu shots while practicing for bio-terrorism and outbreaks
The Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District is asking residents of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties to roll down their car windows and roll up their sleeves for an emergency preparedness drill that will test the efficiency of mass drive-through vaccinations. Participants will receive a free flu shot.

Disaster Drill To Be Held At Nashua Mall (NH)
Weekend Exercise Designed To Test Disaster Readiness
http://www.wmur.com/news/17763022/detail.html
NASHUA, N.H. -- A major disaster drill will be held at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua on Sunday.
City officials said the drill will test the readiness of police, fire and other emergency agencies in a simulated catastrophe along the state line.

Flu drill deemed a success (PA)
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-10192008-1607697.html
More than 4,500 people received free flu shots Saturday at Bucks County's third annual Pandemic Flu Drill.

Boeing opens experimentation center in Virginia
http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/343065/32/NEWS/none/none/1/Boeing-opens-experimentation-center-in-Virginia/
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems opened a new experimentation center today in Suffolk, Va., to bring its modeling, simulation, analysis, and experimentation capability to government customers in the high-tech Hampton Roads area.

National Retail Federation prepares retailers for emergencies
http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/10/20/daily9.html
The National Retail Federation wants to help retailers prepare for the worst.
The Washington D.C.-based trade group’s loss prevention team has partnered with the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Department of Homeland Security to create emergency response protocols for retailers to react, respond and recover from incidents of in-store violence. (like when the economy collapses and people start rioting?)

Pandemic response tested
http://online.indianagazette.com/articles/2008/10/20/news/indiana_county/10004316.txt
Emergency officials tested the county's Points of Dispensing System, or PODS, for mass distribution of medications in emergency conditions, by giving out free flu shots on Sunday.Danny Sacco, director of safety and security at Indiana Regional Medical Center, said more than 1,300 flu shots were given in a two and a half-hour time period.The shots, offered by the Indiana County Community Emergency/Disaster Planning Committee's Health and Human Services Subcommittee, were distributed at three PODS manned by about 175 volunteers. The county has nine POD sites, each with its own manager and personnel, that can be used in the event of a pandemic or biological attack...

(BidenThreataganda)
Biden to Supporters: "Gird Your Loins", For the Next President "It's Like Cleaning Augean Stables"http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/10/biden-to-suppor.html
ABC News' Matthew Jaffe Reports: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., on Sunday guaranteed that if elected, Sen. Barack Obama., D-Ill., will be tested by an international crisis within his first six months in power and he will need supporters to stand by him as he makes tough, and possibly unpopular, decisions."Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

State urges Vermonters to prepare for pandemic
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2008/10/20/state_urges_vermonters_to_prepare_for_pandemic/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1
Preparing for economic collapse:
100 Items to Disappear First http://www.thepowerhour.com/news/items_disappearfirst.htm
What If US Collapses? Soviet Collapse Lessons Every American Needs To Know link to madconomist.com

China/US Space Race/War?, Agroterrorism + News

2008-10-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

China's Space Capability Could Surpass United States, Panel Warns
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/081016-sn-china-surpass.html

WASHINGTON — The Shenzhou 7 mission and spacewalk should serve as a reminder that China is building space capabilities that could surpass U.S. technological advances and boost China's diplomatic and economic ties with its allies, a panel of experts said here Oct. 8.
China's success this decade with three human spaceflight missions, including Shenzhou 7 in September, as well as the development of remote-sensing and satellite navigation systems, two satellite export deals and the January 2007 use of an antisatellite weapon to shoot down one of its own satellites punctuate China's broader national interest to become a "comprehensive power," the panelists said. (cont...)

Kazakhstan, Russia to hold joint missile defense drills
http://en.rian.ru/world/20081016/117774792.html

ASTANA, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan and Russia will soon conduct joint missile defense exercises involving elements of Russia's Space Forces, a senior Kazakh military official said on Thursday.
"In the near future we are planning to hold large-scale Kazakh-Russian exercises, dubbed Shield-2008, in western Kazakhstan," the commander of the Republican Guard, Lt. Gen. Abai Tasbulatov, told an international security conference in the Kazakh capital.
He said the exercises will focus on joint defense against air and ballistic missile strikes, and will involve in addition to air defense units elements of Russia's Space Forces.
The two countries, both members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), are set to conduct a number of joint military drills next year, including a naval anti-terrorism exercises in the Caspian Sea.
Russia has recently been strengthening military ties with Eurasian allies amid growing tensions over NATO expansion and U.S. missile shield plans for Central Europe.

Terrorism drill takes aim at foreign animal diseases
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20081016_Terrorism_drill_takes_aim_at_foreign_animal_diseases.html
Terrorism came to Philadelphia and Chester County yesterday.
Or at least authorities acted like it had.
In an exercise that was more than a year in planning, the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies said, they conducted an "agroterrorism" test to see how the region might react to introduction of a "foreign animal disease" in livestock.
The test was deemed a success.
"The whole objective is to learn how to minimize the impact of a potential or actual outbreak," said Jerri Williams, an FBI spokeswoman. "So, it was pretty successful."
The daylong test was conducted by the FBI's Philadelphia division, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force.
It took place at three locations: the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine at the New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, Chester County; the USS Shreveport, at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center; and the Chester County Department of Energy Services, West Chester.
Among other things, FBI agents role-played with farmers about the source of an imaginary outbreak, Williams said.
Agroterrorism refers to attacks that can expose livestock to afflictions found overseas, including foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) and mad-cow diseases, potentially crippling the U.S. agriculture industry.
See: U.S. limits bird flu vaccine, fearing bioterror http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/12/MNOQ13FH9E.DTL

CAPSHIELD to affect some on-base activity
http://www.capflyer.com/stories/101608/andrews_20081016008.shtml
‘‘CAPSHIELD is an incident response exercise to execute base command and control capabilities,” said Master Sgt. Bobby V. Harris, superintendent of Plans and Exercises, 316 Wing. ‘‘It evaluates responses to a multi-attack event in the National Capital Region; demonstrates capability to maintain Department of Defense support to civil authorities; ensures all of Andrews demonstrates effective communications and response cohesion between interagency responders while discovering vulnerabilities and counter measures.”

USFK holds mass anti-terror exercise
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=58213
CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea — Reports of suicide bombers, mass casualties and general mayhem kept some of the key players in a five-base anti-terror exercise awake around the clock this week.

Indo-US naval exercises to begin in Arabian Sea on Saturday
http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55978&Itemid=2

US Air Force outlines combat raygun safety
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/16/us_airforce_death_ray_safety_guidelines/

Homeland Security Programs Grow at U.S. Institutions
http://www.aacrao.org/transcript/index.cfm?fuseaction=show_view&doc_id=4053

Defense Stocks Can Benefit Even Under Obama
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122410737946137993.html?mod=googlenews_barrons
"Homeland security and securing global nuclear weapons are also top priorities for Republicans and Democrats alike."

U.S. Collapse, Space Defense, FCS, Games Roundup

2008-10-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

What To Expect When Martial Law Is Declared

http://www.nolanchart.com/article5188.html

Coming Soon To A Neighborhood Near You After The World-Wide Economic Collapse

FBI warns of sweeping global threat to U.S. cybersecurity
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20081015_7578.php
The FBI's newly appointed chief of cybersecurity warned today that "a couple dozen" countries are eager to hack U.S. government, corporate and military networks. While he refused to provide country-specific details, FBI Cyber Division Chief Shawn Henry told reporters at a roundtable cooperation with foreign law enforcement is one of the bureau's highest priorities and added the United States has had incredible success fostering overseas partnerships.

Space-based defense
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/16/inside-the-ring/
Congress voted recently to approve $5 million for a study of space-based missile defenses, the first time the development of space weapons will be considered since similar work was canceled in the 1990s.
Appropriation of the money for the study was tucked away in a little-noticed provision of the Continuing Resolution passed recently by Congress and followed two years in which Congress rejected $10 million sought for the study. < Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican and a key supporter of missile defenses, said approval of the study highlights the need to provide comprehensive protection from the growing threat of missile attack and to limit the vulnerability of vital satellites to attack.
"We have the potential to expand our space-based capabilities from mere space situational awareness to space protection," Mr. Kyl said in a Senate floor speech.

Curbing Social Protest in America: Microwave "Non-lethal" Weapons to be used for "Crowd Control" (update)
Just in Time for the Capitalist Meltdown: Army, Justice Department to Field 'Pain Ray'.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10564

New 2-star general leads future combat army unit
http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_10722236?source=most_emailed
Lt. Gen. Michael A. Vane, left, presided over a promotion...

FORT BLISS -- The man responsible for putting the Army's high-tech equipment -- even before it's ready for mass production -- into the hands of combat soldiers in hot spots around the world received his second star during a ceremony Tuesday morning at Fort Bliss.
Brig. Gen. James Terry, commander of the Future Force Integration Directorate, was promoted to major general under gray skies that threatened rain. The directorate is responsible for testing and distributing the Army's Future Combat Systems equipment, which includes unmanned aerial and ground vehicles and remote sensors.
"He (Terry) truly understands the operational environment our soldiers are fighting in," said Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, who presented Terry with his star. "His experience and insights ... will be critical as our nation navigates through this time of persistent conflict."
Vane cited Terry's service, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. And he spoke of the current style of conflict in which friend often is indistinguishable from foe...

SAIC to develop explosives sensor for DARPA
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33724-1.html
Science Applications International Corp. will develop a sensor to help troops in the battlefield detect explosives and chemical or biological weapons under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract potentially worth $18 million.
The award from the agency’s Defense Sciences Office calls for SAIC to design and develop a sensor inspired by a canine’s olfactory system, or sense of smell.
SAIC will model, design and develop the sensor, which will include subsystems for air and odor intake, detection using olfactory receptors, signal transduction, and pattern recognition to identify odors. The sensor could help protect U.S. forces in war zones by detecting explosives and chemical or biological weapons.

Bogus Anthrax 'State of Emergency' Protects Drugmakers, Not Public
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/bogus-anthrax-s.html

Congress bars DHS from implementing biometric screening program
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/valor/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=20C30A92-22A9-49DE-BF61-BDB6CC96FEEA&copyid=234A9411-3B8A-4D44-BA4B-99D87A75408C

War Games Roundup:

Iran to flex muscle in aerial drill
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=180159
Iran's Air Force is set to test the country's state-of-the-art military equipment and flight tactics in a large-scale aerial maneuver.

Large-scale Iranian Air force exercise simulates attack on Israel
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5651

Belarus starts major military drill with Russia
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/15/content_10199674.htm

U.S. To Conduct Joint War Games With Philippines
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012645898

Boeing ATL, Defense Cuts? Pandemic Prep....

2008-10-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Boeing awarded contract to continue testing advanced tactical laser

http://www.privatejetdaily.com/index.php/20081014209/Latest/Boeing-awarded-contract-to-continue-testing-advanced-tactical-laser.html

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a U.S. Air Force contract valued at up to $30 million to continue testing the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL).The Extended User Evaluation (EUE) contract from the Air Force's Air Armament Center calls for Boeing to operate and maintain the ATL system, enabling the Air Force and other potential users to assess ATL's capabilities.ATL, a C-130H aircraft equipped with a high-energy chemical laser and a beam control system, will undergo a series of ground and flight tests during the EUE. The new contract, awarded Sept. 30, is a follow-on to the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) contract under which Boeing developed and integrated the ATL system.

Defense Industry Faces Downturn

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,437484,00.html

WASHINGTON — There are few industries whose fortunes are so closely tied to government as defense contractors, companies that now provide the military with everything from fighter jets to janitors. And for the past eight years, business has been very good.
But with that government customer now ailing, the boom times are likely to end.
Long-term problems loom for the defense industry — growing Pentagon costs for items other than weapons, calls for defense contracting reform by both men vying for the White House, and uncertainty over how massive government expenditures to prop up the economy will affect defense spending, by far the largest discretionary portion of the federal budget. With the Treasury pouring billions of dollars into rescue plans, there is suspicion that Washington's appetite for expensive defense programs will diminish.
"No one really yet knows when or to what extent defense spending could be affected, but it's unrealistic to think there won't be some measure of impact," Boeing Co. Chief Executive W. James McNerney wrote in an Oct. 2 e-mail to company employees in which he warned the plans could "crowd out" defense funding.
Major military contractors are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings next week, and with defense spending still robust, there are few forecasts of an immediate downturn for the industry that has enjoyed record profits in recent years. But analysts say leaner times are ahead. (cont..)

Funding, transparency issues hobble HHS’ pandemic flu preparations

http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3770134

If a pandemic flu outbreak occurs, the government plans to deliver vaccines to about 20 million people deemed critical. Those first recipients will include health care workers, law enforcement, key government officials, emergency responders and power-grid electrical workers.
The idea is to keep society running until a more effective vaccine, tailored to the specific pandemic-causing strain, is produced and distributed on a large scale. And that could take 20 to 23 weeks.
But a key glitch in that plan — which would be carried out by the Health and Human Services Department — is that the government has yet to notify the public of exactly who will receive those initial vaccines and medicines when and if that time arrives, experts said.
Marcia Crosse, the Government Accountability Office’s director of health care, said that’s a problem because the public needs to understand well ahead of time how the limited number of initial vaccines will be distributed, and why, in order to prevent chaos.

Pentagon Considering Portable ‘Pain Ray’ Guns

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/pain_ray_gun/2008/10/14/140279.html

The Department of Defense is negotiating with Raytheon to purchase a more portable version of the contractor’s non-lethal “pain ray” weapons.
The devices, which are part of Raytheon’s Active Denial System, use high-frequency radio beams that make human targets feel like they are catching on fire.
Congress has already approved $25 million to purchase five Raytheon Silent Guardian pain ray devices for “non-lethal defense” against hostile crowds, Shawn Miller, the Raytheon manager overseeing the project, tells Newsmax. The devices weigh about 10,000 pounds and are mounted on ruggedized versions of civilian pickup trucks.
Contrary to published reports that claim the Army will deploy the new weapon, which branch of service to get it first and where it will be deployed has yet to be determined, Miller says.
“It is not necessarily a U.S. Army program. There is a $25 million contract, but it doesn’t specify the system is going to the Army,” Miller says.
In addition to the DOD, the Department of Homeland Security, various police agencies and unnamed “international customers” have displayed interest in acquiring the system, Miller says.

See also: Pain Ray Test Subjects Exposed to 'Unconscionable Risks'

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/10/pain-ray-accide.html

UTC scraps effort to buy Diebold ( reminder ES&S Lockheed PMCs run elections)

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33718-1.html

L-1 to assist Corps of Engineers, NGA

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33716-1.html

DOD Budget, Russia Missiles, Hyperinflation + News

2008-10-13T19:02:00.001-07:00

The $8,000 in Government Spending That You Missed
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/8000-government-spending-you-missed/story.aspx?guid=%7B1ABA8276-23AC-493C-8855-C0B2769E1642%7D&dist=hppr

WASHINGTON, Oct 13, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- This is the WashingtonWatch.com federal legislative update for the week of October 13, 2008.
While you were watching the financial service bailout, Congress spent $8,000 per U.S. family with almost no consideration and no comment in the press. The WashingtonWatch.com blog has the details.
http://tinyurl.com/538e8v
Congress has adjourned until January, but leaders may call the membership back to take care of unfinished business later this year.
The recent spending bill that passed Congress spent money on the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, military construction, and the Department of Veterans Affairs for the full 2009 fiscal year.
It also funded domestic, non-defense government programs for part of the 2009 fiscal year, and it contained "emergency supplemental" spending on relief and recovery from hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters.

Russia test-fires missiles in large-scale drill
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/12/content_10184292.htm
Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (L), Commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov (C) and Defence Minister Anatoli Serdyukov visit cosmodrome Plesetsk, which is nestled among the taiga forests of Russia's north

President Dmitry Medvedev watched the launching of the RS-12M Topol intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk test ground, which hit a set target in Kamchatka of Russia's Far East.

Kemp: “The United States is now, in some very general sense, bankrupt”

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2008/10/12/16931/kemp-the-united-states-is-now-in-some-very-general-sense-bankrupt/
Why the world's new rules will punish us all
http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/why-the-worlds-new-rules-will-punish-everyone-13808.aspx

"After the panic subsides, the Fed will rein in much of this new money. Right now, banks are 'stuffing it under the mattress,' so to speak. Banks and individuals are crowding into the perceived safety of Treasury bonds. That's why consumer prices aren't immediately rising; private market credit is contracting as fast as the Fed's balance sheet is expanding. The Fed will always lend when no one else is willing to do so. "The US government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many US dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost," said Fed Chairman Bernanke in November 2002. This means that there will always be paper money available to lend. However, the US dollar is getting debased on an unprecedented scale.
The printing press may be the only way to prevent a self-sustaining credit panic, but it doesn't come without a price; it lowers the US dollar's stature even further in the eyes of our foreign creditors.
I'm betting that government inflation will defeat private market deflation. However, when the dust settles, I expect the Treasury and Fed to have its own set of negotiations with foreign creditors. The obligations they are assuming and monetising are simply too enormous without inciting a potential panic among our generous foreign creditors. Maybe we'll see a Bretton Woods-type agreement in 2009 - one where the US dollar is devalued by 50% against certain foreign currencies overnight."

Will Bailouts Risk Hyperinflation?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27159117
Government bailouts of the financial system will destroy the dollar, euro and sterling because of hyperinflation, Martin Hennecke, senior manager of private clients at Tyche told CNBC. But Todd Everts, president & CEO of Wall Street Global, disagreed.
See also:
Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe a Lesson in Economics

'Mercury 08'

Qld hosts counter-terrorism exercise (AU)
http://news.theage.com.au/national/qld-hosts-counterterrorism-exercise-20081014-507q.html
Queensland and West Australian emergency services officers are testing their skills in Australia's largest ever counter-terrorism exercise.
The states are taking part in the four-day training exercise, Mercury 08, with officers responding to a simulated emergency at Whyte Island, in the Port of Brisbane.

DARPA seeks technology for seeing inside buildings
http://www.fcw.com/online/news/154056-1.html
A new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project hopes to give warfighters the ability to see inside buildings in urban environments.The DARPA pre-solicitation aims to develop a suite of sensing technologies for looking deep inside a building from above- and below-ground. The technologies should be suitable for a broad range of building types

U.S. limits bird flu vaccine, fearing bioterror http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/12/MNOQ13FH9E.DTL

When Indonesia's health minister stopped sending bird flu viruses to a research laboratory in the United States for fear Washington could use them to make biological weapons, Defense Secretary Robert Gates laughed and called it "the nuttiest thing" he'd ever heard

Terror attack drill at US embassyhttp://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=231700&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31208

Starting in '09, a license that doubles as a passport
http://www.freep.com/article/20081013/NEWS06/81013053
New ID to ease travel to Mexico, Canada, Caribbean

Nev. communities train for disaster with flu shots
http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9172226&nav=8faO

Army Orders Pain Ray Trucks; New Report Shows 'Potential for Death'
For $25 Million, Army Buys System That Drives Off Rioters With Microwave-Like Beam
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6007823&page=1

Market Collpase Roundup

2008-10-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Anti-terrorism (Read anti riot) exercise may slow traffic in Monterey (CA)
http://www.thecalifornian.com/article/20081009/NEWS01/81009028
An anti-terrorism exercise may interfere with traffic flow in Monterey on Friday.
The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and Presidio of Monterey will conduct the exercise to assess the installation’s ability to respond to potential terrorist acts.
The exercise will be on the Presidio and Ord military community throughout the day. The phrase “this is an exercise” may be heard before and after each announcement made through a loudspeaker. During the exercise drivers may hear sirens or in some cases, simulated gun fire.

More families search out emergency food
http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=122358895643340200
MORE NEED – In June Zoe Meade grabbed her allotment of groceries from the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Tigard. At the time, Meade feared that things would get worse before they got better.

Even though other counties in the state are experiencing a sharper increase in emergency food box distribution — Deschutes County has seen an 18 percent increase and Josephine County has seen a 31 percent increase — Washington County with its 13 percent increase is drawing extra attention.
Washington County is recognized by the food bank as having the fastest growing poverty rate in the state. According to Community Action group, the county’s population grew by 51 percent from 1990 to 2002. In that same 12-year period, the number of those living in poverty in the county grew by 119 percent

More MAVs In Iraq By End Of November (FCS)
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/MAV100908.xml&headline=More

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Charles Cartwright says there are currently 20 Honeywell-made Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) deployed with a Stryker brigade combat team in Iraq, with plans to have a total of 32 there by the end of November.
Cartwright made the announcement during an Army briefing on the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference in Washington on Oct. 8.

SAIC gets Defense Intelligence Agency contract
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/09/ap5530623.html
SAN DIEGO -
Science Applications International Corp. on Thursday said it received a contract potentially worth more than $254 million from the Defense Intelligence Agency for its National Media Exploitation Center.
The contract has a six-month base period and four one-year options. The work will be performed primarily overseas.
The center provides document and media exploitation support to the intelligence community, law enforcement and the Department of Defense, SAIC (nyse: SAI - news - people ) said.

VIDEO: Martial Law. U.S. Army prepares to invade U.S.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10517

Colllapsing World Markets Roundup

FXNEWS-Global bank holiday worth a thought-analyst
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/10/afx5536175.html

Berlusconi Says Leaders May Close World's Markets
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aP5mpMUORBWM

Euro-zone group to hold emergency summit http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1010/breaking84.htm

The End Of American Capitalism?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100903425_pf.html

The Bear Roars, US Collapse Continues, Terror Watch, +

2008-10-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

The markets continued to plunge today with no bottom in sight.
I am expecting a "kicking the chessboard" reaction, or a staged
attack from Al Qaeda from Mexico (see below) then voila, for "security + emergency needs - the North American Union - with new currency?
Anyone else thinking of stocking food? This aint no Y2K crap. We are at
a very serious crossroad in human history.

US Officials Fear Terrorist Links With Drug Lords http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=5986948

US officials worry Islamic extremists could form alliances with Latin American drug lords

There is real danger that Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah could form alliances with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug lords to launch new terrorist attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
Extremist group operatives have already been identified in several Latin American countries, mostly involved in fundraising and finding logistical support. But Charles Allen, chief of intelligence analysis at the Homeland Security Department, said they could use well-established smuggling routes and drug profits to bring people or even weapons of mass destruction to the U.S.

Russia trains to fight NATO in giant exercises (update)
http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2008/10/09/Russia_trains_to_fight_NATO_in_giant_exercises/UPI-92521223583062/
MOSCOW, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The Stability-2008 strategic maneuvers of the Russian armed forces are gaining momentum.
On Monday, Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear-H and Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers began training flights with full combat payloads and the live firing of cruise missiles at practice targets.
The Stability-2008 strategic exercise, which began Sept. 21 in Russian and Belarusian territory and at sea, is the largest since the Soviet era. Within the next month the armed forces will be practicing a wide variety of tasks, including containing armed conflicts and strategic deterrence. In total, the drill will feature tens of thousands of servicemen, thousands of vehicles, air and naval forces, space troops and strategic nuclear forces.

Thousands evacuated in large fire drill in downtown Phoenix
http://www.azfamily.com/news/homepagetopstory/stories/phoenix-local-news-100908-biggest-fire-drill.f7ea21b5.html

PHOENIX -- Thousands of people were evacuated from buildings in downtown Phoenix Thursday morning in what is being called the "world's biggest fire drill."
Over three days, the Phoenix Fire Department will evacuate more than 40,000 people in 60 downtown buildings in preparation of a high-rise fire.

Disaster drill tests stress and skills (MD)
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=810&NewsID=929538&CategoryID=5845&show=localnews&om=1
Excerpt:
A three-ring disaster drill
The simulation involved more than 200 personnel and brought in emergency services operators from Laurel; Prince George's and Montgomery counties; Maryland State Police; the American Red Cross; and federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Jones said the scenario was aimed at testing the region's response to an emergency in three specific ways.
The simulated terrorist attack began shortly after 7:30 a.m., when an extremist group "phoned in" a bomb threat to Laurel city hall. Then at around 9 a.m., the simulation continued with a bomb exploding at city hall, killing the mayor and several city officials.

Emergent BioSolutions gets 'emergency' protection
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/10/06/daily45.html
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. has been shielded from lawsuits related to its profitable anthrax treatments.
The Rockville-based biotech said Thursday its anthrax treatments, the vaccine Biothrax and its Anthrax Immune Globulin, have been designated as covered countermeasures to a public health emergency under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. The act provides liability protection to manufacturers to encourage them to seek defenses for severe health risks like anthrax.

"Falcon Virgo"
Military to Perform Exercise Flights Over Region Today
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/09/AR2008100900533.html

Pterodactyl-based UAV design for urban combat scenarios
http://www.gizmag.com/pterodactyl-based-uav-designed-for-urban-combat-scenarios/10133/
FEMA sources confirm coming martial law (unconfirmed source)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10504

New college major: homeland security
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/10/09/new_college_major_homeland_security/

Financial Terror Updates

2008-10-08T19:44:00.001-07:00

"Large amounts of risk, particularly credit risk, have become concentrated in the hands of relatively few derivatives dealers ... The troubles of one could quickly infect the others ... In our view, however, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction ..."
-- Warren Buffett, 2002 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2008/10/08/is-this-buffetts-nightmare-scenario.aspx

US warns of further bank failures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7660403.stm

Mr Paulson warned the ongoing financial crisis had some way to run

The US treasury secretary has warned some banks will still fail despite the $700bn government rescue package to shore up the financial system.
Henry Paulson called for the plan's swift implementation, but said the financial crisis would not end soon.
Seven central banks on Wednesday cut interest rates in an effort to steady the faltering global economy.
But the moves failed to cheer world stock markets, and Thursday saw sluggish sales on Asia's main indexes.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index was volatile on Thursday, having suffered its biggest one-day drop in 21 years the previous day shedding nearly 10% of its value.
By lunchtime, it had regained early losses, 1.25% up. The Bank of Japan announced it had injected two trillion yen ($20.1bn) into the money markets in an effort to calm fears.
In Sydney, Australia's financial market lost ground in early trading.
South Korea's stock market also eased slightly after posting an initial gain, and the central bank announced a cut of 0.25% in its key interest rate, taking it to 5%.
Global action
In his bleak assessment, Mr Paulson warned the ongoing financial chaos had "seriously impacted" the economy.
"Even with the new treasury authorities, some financial institutions will fail," he added.
There was an equally stark warning from the International Monetary fund, which said global financial markets were facing their most dangerous shock since the 1930s. (cont...)

Illinois sheriff: No foreclosure evictions on my watch
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/08/chicago.evictions/

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said Wednesday he is suspending foreclosure evictions in Cook County, which had been on track to reach a record number of evictions, many because of mortgage foreclosures.
He said many of the evictions involve renters who are paying their rent on time but are being thrown out because the landlord has fallen behind on mortgage payments.
Mortgage companies are supposed to identify a building's occupants before asking for an eviction, but sheriff's deputies routinely find that the mortgage companies have not done so, he said.
"These mortgage companies only see pieces of paper, not people, and don't care who's in the building," Dart said. "They simply want their money and don't care who gets hurt along the way."On top of it all, they want taxpayers to fund their investigative work for them. We're not going to do their jobs for them anymore. We're just not going to evict innocent tenants. It stops today."...

California's new budget already $1 billion in the red
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10672464

FACTBOX-Lehman CDS settlement auction timeline
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN0841811720081008

America Sinking, New World Order From Meltdown?

2008-10-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

I think a complete collapse of the financial systems is days, weeks or
at most a few months away. The way of life as we knew it will be gone.
I expect the crisis will result in some profound reflection on our social constructs, dependencies and needs - and hopefully we can replace the madness with cooperation and not rigged competition. This is an exciting time to be alive.....I plan to change some of the focus of Daily Dose of Terror away from the terror scam - 9/11 no longer really matters in the face of systemic financial failure, global war and whatever else may come out of the collapse...

Eagle Flag 08-6's deployed leadership recalls completing successful exercise
http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=12311803210/7/2008 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- More than 400 Airmen from across the Air Force deployed to participate and support Air Force Exercise Eagle Flag 08-6 at Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, N.J., from mid- to late-September. Their mission was to build the fictional 421st Air Expeditionary Group and provide close-air support operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism as well as airlift for humanitarian relief operations to a tsunami-stricken nation known as Chimaera.
"During the exercise, we have more than 400 expeditionary combat support Airmen who prepare for what may come as a contingency in the United States or overseas," General Self said.

``We want a new world to come out of this''

European Crisis Deepens; Officials Vow to Save Banks
http://www.bloomsberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aIcEL0jjSK74&refer=home

Banks in crisis as billions wiped off share prices (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/3150626/Banks-in-crisis-as-billions-wiped-off-share-prices.html

Bloomberg: Brown Has Tough Job Righting UK Economy
http://wcbstv.com/national/bloomberg.gordon.brown.2.834431.html

America in $ Crisis, Raytheon FCS, FBI Threataganda +

2008-10-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Regular readers may recall that I posted about a financial
meltdown in early July based on a private conversation
with a prominent Greenwich CT investment banker. His
exact words 'tanks are going into the streets, we're going into a depression."

Army combat unit to deploy within U.S. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/10/03/army.unit/

FBI warns of potential terror attacks on public buildings http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/06/1501940.aspx.....they have "no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States." but they issue alert anyway

Washington set to proceed with $6bn Taiwan weapons package
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b9073b4a-91ad-11dd-b5cd-0000779fd18c.html

The Bush administration plans to sell more than $6bn worth of weapons to Taiwan as part of a long-awaited package aimed at boosting the island's ability to defend itself, according to US government officials.
Related:
China cancels military contacts with US
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93L6QFG0&show_article=1

Hoboken Terminal PATH will be shut down for drill
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081006/BIZ/81005012/-1/NEWS
HOBOKEN, N.J. — The Port Authority will conduct an emergency response drill 7-11 a.m. Sunday at the PATH station at Hoboken Terminal. The station will be closed to customers during the drill and will reopen afterward.

Retirement community drills for disaster (CA)
http://sonomasun.thmm.com/?p=4736
'Saturday’s exercise will be the first to involve the entire community. Dubbed “Neighbors Helping Neighbors,” the plan is loosely based on the COPE (Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) program developed for the Oakmont community north of Kenwood.'

Russia Accuses Georgia of ‘New Hostilities’
7 Russian soldiers killed in S.Ossetia blast
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=c45576cf-7251-41c2-a721-064c435ad80e
Russian officers stand near the site of an explosion at the Russian peacekeepers base Friday in Tskhinvali. A suspected car bomb killed seven soldiers and injured four others in the capital of the Georgian region of South Ossetia, the region's separatist government said.
MOSCOW - Seven Russian peacekeepers were killed and seven others wounded when a car filled with explosives blew up near their base in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia on Friday, Russian news agencies reported.
They quoted a Russian Foreign ministry source as laying the blame on unspecified forces "seeking to destabilise the situation" - accusations clearly aimed at Tbilisi which it quickly denied.

Raytheon Completes Successful Intercept Tests for Future Combat Systems Active Protection System http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/raytheon-completes-successful-intercept-tests,567726.shtml
MCKINNEY, Texas, Oct. 6, 2008 TX-Raytheon-combatMCKINNEY, Texas, Oct. 6, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company(NYSE: RTN), working in partnership with the Army, the Future Combat SystemsLead Systems Integration team of Boeing and Science ApplicationsInternational, and BAE Systems, has passed a major milestone by completingsuccessful stationary and moving target intercept tests for the FCS ActiveProtection System (APS).The tests represent a significant step in design verification testing forthe system, which includes defeating multiple incoming projectilessimultaneously and while on the move -- a unique capability of the APS."The successful testing of this system is a top priority for Raytheon andour FCS One Team partners," said Glynn Raymer, vice president of Raytheon'sNetwork Centric Systems Combat Systems business. "It will provide a powerfulforce protection capability to our warfighters."The APS will provide active protection for FCS manned ground vehicles."We are looking forward to completing validation testing of this systemfor the Army and getting it to our soldiers as soon as possible," said Raymer."This vertically-launched system is the FCS solution that will meet currentand future force requirements."

Emergency Drill To Test State, Local Response To Major Earthquake In Southern Illinois http://www.wkyx.com/local-news-details.asp?NewsID=8013
(or is this really prep for a financial earthquake?)

Emergency response drill for Asia-Pacific
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200810/s2382759.htm
In Thailand, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees has been running a major training drill on effective response. Emergency officials from nearly 20 Asia-Pacific countries took part.

America’s Shadow Government: Part One
http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/commentary.asp?record_id=557
“All men having power ought to be mistrusted.”—James MadisonAmerica’s next president will inherit more than a financial catastrophe when he assumes office. He will also inherit a shadow government—one that is fully staffed by unelected officials, fully operational and ready to take over the running of the country at a moment’s notice. This so-called shadow government is not a new development. It has been a long time in the making. Yet it has been so shrouded in secrecy, even from those elected to represent the American people in Congress, that it essentially exists and functions contrary to any concept of democratic government. The little that has leaked out merely serves to reinforce concerns that an authoritarian government waits in the wings. All it will take is the right event—another terrorist attack, for example—for such a regime to emerge from the shadows

Germany to allow domestic military deployment
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jHlrJ3QdZG_ojqGm_x3pE2_U3kPQD93L1HJO0

Fort Bragg holding anti-terrorism exercise
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9128218

Preparing For Economic Collapse

2008-10-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

* look closely at the prep in CA, America's most populated state (article below King Henry
and court jester Bush)

Financial crisis: America and Europe attempt to stave off financial meltdown
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3136744/Financial-crisis-America-and-Europe-attempt-to-stave-off-financial-meltdown.html

On Friday, the US finally delivered a bailout designed to stabilise the worldwide banking crisis that threatened to plunge the world into depression. But financiers fear worse is to come.
"...Roubini’s thesis is that there is now a “silent run” hitting the world’s banks. " (cont..)

Will the Crisis Bring Down the Global Financial System? Go Get Your Dollars Out Now! FAST!!!

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10430
Excerpt; "Plan C (i.e., addressing a high intensity crisis through geopolitical and miitary measures) - If the US authorities cannot resolve the crisis with financial, monetary and economic measures, and increasing internal social violence and political insecurity were to affect the US and its key allies, then the crisis will go into geopolitical and military mode. If an extended banking holiday is forced upon the Bush administration, freezing banking accounts, deposits, ATM machines (just like the "Corralito" - i.e., the "baby play pen" - that Argentina suffered starting 1st December 2001 generating unimaginable hardship to our country), this may later lead to trying to resolve the problem on a the international geopolitical stage by "kicking the chessboard". This means escalating the overall conflict to political, diplomatic and military planes, fueling a generalized global war which New World Order planners seem to believe will allow them to use vast resources for war, placing the focus away from the on-going financial crisis. This will lead to imposing strict limitations on all civil liberties in the US and elsewhere, and even suspending the Constitution (We Argentines certainly know a lot about that too!).

California may seek $7bn emergency loan
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38105032-9165-11dd-b5cd-0000779fd18c.html

Governor Schwarzenegger Highlights Efforts to Boost Emergency Response Capabilities http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2888&Itemid=2

Sacramento, California - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday joined with emergency responders, volunteers and private industry partners to highlight his administration’s recent actions to strengthen the state’s ability to respond to emergencies and natural disasters. At yesterday’s event in San Diego, the Governor showcased four memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the private sector that officially make them key partners in the state’s disaster response system, and he discussed how recently signed legislation will enhance our emergency response capabilities.
“With these agreements, California is better prepared than ever before for disasters, which is important especially now, at the start of Santa Ana wind season in Southern California,” Governor Schwarzenegger said. “We have the world’s best firefighters, police and first responders, but we all know government cannot do it all-making these kinds of public-private partnerships exactly what California needs. I am so pleased that these private sector partners will be on call 24-7 for the people of California next time an emergency strikes.”
Acknowledging the important role that the private sector plays in helping California respond and recover from emergencies, the Governor in 2006 issued Executive Order S-04-06, which called on the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) to make the private sector part of the state’s disaster response system.
As part of its implementation, OES has been actively forming partnerships with private industry. To date, OES has signed MOUs with the following private sector partners: Business Executives for National Security, the California Grocer’s Association, the California Utilities Emergency Association and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
These MOUs will allow for more targeted and efficient delivery of goods and services by formalizing 24-hour contacts with the private sector. Just like we have 24-hour access to our governmental partners, the state now has well-established personal relationships with emergency management professionals in the private sector that we can call on 365 days per year. These partners will also be allowed into the State Operations Center during a disaster to staff a “Business Operations Center,” which is currently being established by OES. Having the private sector side-by-side with state and federal emergency management personnel will expedite response activities and maximize resources.
Examples of how these MOUs will benefit Californians include:
* Restoring power - the California Utilities Emergency Association coordinates the repair of power, water and other utilities via its affiliate businesses, which is critical during an emergency to restoring a community back to normal.
* Providing food and water - the California Grocer’s Association can access their network of members to provide food, water and other provisions to emergency responders and evacuation centers.
* Access to supplies - Wal-Mart has access to goods and supplies throughout the country and has a sophisticated logistics system to ensure that necessary supplies get to where they are needed in the shortest time-frame possible.
* Access to emergency professionals - the Business Executives for National Security have a host of professional emergency managers that can aid in immediate response activities and long-term recovery efforts.
As part of the Governor’s efforts to streamline the state’s emergency response capabilities, he recently signed AB 38 by Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), which will combine OES and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (OHS) into a new cabinet-level California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA). The bill gives the merged agency the responsibility of overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities in the state.

Paterson seeks $2B in budget cuts at emergency meeting
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/news/ny-stpate045869387oct04,0,4401103.story

Global Red Alert: US Will Not Be Able to Service Its Debts By H2-2009 - Market Shut Down After Declaration of Force Majeure -
http://www.futurefastforward.com/financial-analysis/415-matthias-chang

Webster Tarpley on an alternative to the "bailout": http://actindependent.org/mainstreetlending.pdf

Post Office Bioterror, Russia, DHS, US Tent Cities

2008-10-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

Russia's strategic bombers to drill with full combat payloads
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081002/117389135.html

MOSCOW, October 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russian strategic bombers will conduct training flights with full combat payloads and live fire all cruise missiles on board for the first time in over two decades, an Air Force spokesman said.
The live firing exercises in Russia's northern latitudes on October 6-12 are part of the Stability-2008 strategic maneuvers in various regions of Russia and Belarus with the goal of practicing strategic deployment of the Armed Forces, including the nuclear triad, to counter potential threats near the Russian border.
"During these exercises, for the first time in many years, the crews of Tu-160 Blackjack and Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic bombers will fly missions carrying the maximum combat payload and fire all the cruise missiles on board," Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said.

See also:Russia sees in credit crisis end of U.S. domination

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/02/europe/russia.php

If Bioterrorists Strike, Letter Carriers Might Deliver Antibiotics
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/01/ST2008100102936.html

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor bioterrorism attack stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds -- especially if they are delivering antibiotics to protect people from anthrax."
That may someday become the unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt yesterday proposed a solution to one of the bigger challenges in responding to an anthrax bioterrorism attack -- how to deliver protective antibiotics to tens of thousands of people overnight. The tentative answer: have the mailman (and -woman) do the job.
As an incentive to the letter carriers -- who would be volunteers -- the government would issue them in advance an antibiotic supply large enough to treat themselves and their families. They would also be accompanied by police officers on their rounds.
"We have found letter carriers to be the federal government's quickest and surest way of getting pills to whole communities," Leavitt said.
The strategy has the full support of the Postal Service and its unions, spokesmen said.

Rethink spending on anti-terrorism, report says

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20081002/1a_bottomstrip02.art.htm

Emergency personnel in Nebraska learn to work decontamination trailers bought with Department of Homeland Security funds. A major police organization questions the amount of federal spending on projects like this.

The government doles out too much anti-terrorism money to towns and cities for emergency equipment that rarely gets used while cash-strapped police struggle with crime, according to a growing number of mayors, police chiefs and security experts.
Seven years after 9/11, some are asking the government to re-examine spending hundreds of millions of dollars on bomb robots, chem-bio suits and equipment that often gathers dust in warehouses.
"The simple truth is that average Americans are much more likely to find themselves victims of crime than of terrorist attack," the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) says in a new report that calls on the next president to shift money back to crime fighting.
Since 2003, when the Homeland Security Department was created, the government has given states and cities $22.7 billion for emergency preparedness. How that money is doled out has been controversial from the start. Big cities complained that too much was sent to remote towns; police complained that they couldn't use it for overtime...

Increasing number of Americans living in tent cities

http://www.3news.co.nz/News/InternationalNews/IncreasingnumberofAmericanslivingintentcities/tabid/417/articleID/74225/cat/61/Default.aspx

The economic bailout plan being debated in Washington is coming too late for one small, but growing population of America.
In the shadows of Reno's high-rise casinos, one community lives with almost nothing. dwelling in tents.
Nevada's unemployment rate is at a 23-year high. In Reno, the number of jobless jumped 60 percent in the last year.
Now for 170 people, their home is nothing more than a tent.
"I know that god is going to take care of me," one resident said. "But some days, it's very scary."
Whether it is the blaring train or the blazing sun, life is not easy for the mix of chronically homeless, and those newly so.
Just last Christmas, Michael Moore and Marian Schamp lived in a rented house in Portland. After Mr Moore lost the job he had had for three years at a gas station, the pair moved to Reno in search of jobs. However, they never found any.
Across the US, tent cities have either popped up or expanded in places like Seattle, Portland and Columbus.
The problem got so bad in Reno that officials decided to organise the tent city and run it themselves.
They put up fencing, brought in security and fresh running water until they can move the people into housing or shelters

Raytheon Technology Supported National Disaster Planning During Hurricane Season http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/raytheon-technology-supported-national-disaster-planning-during-hurricane-season,564357.shtml

"While JADOCS was initially developed for the battlefield, its inherentcapabilities make it an ideal tool for civil command and control applications," said Jack Harrington, vice president, Raytheon Network CentricSystems' Command and Control Systems.

Lockheed SEC, US/China Space, Russia

2008-10-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

SEC Hires Lockheed Martin for IT Service Contract
http://www.yourdefencenews.com/news_item.php?newsID=11813

Lockheed Martin may be the biggest IT player you’ve never heard of at least if you don’t work in the U.S. government. But it turns out the company does more than produce aircraft, weapons systems, satellites and launch vehicles. Earlier this week the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had awarded Lockheed an infrastructure support services contract, valued at USD33 million up front and potentially USD122 million over six years, helping to solidify Lockheed as the largest IT provider to the federal government.

US urged to bolster missile, space defenses against China: paper http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jViYf3wG1faiwhWLyFiKtKpDGKpg

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A draft report recommends that the United States build new missile, sea-based and space-based defenses to deal with China's growing nuclear and conventional forces, a newspaper said Tuesday.
The draft by a State Department advisory board said China aims to build forces that are not just capable of retaking Taiwan but also of projecting power beyond east Asia, The Washington Times reported.
China's "major objective is to counter US presence and US military capabilities in East Asia through the acquisition of offensive capacities in critical functional areas that systematically exploit US vulnerabilities," it quoted the report as saying.
China is developing capabilities for "asymmetric warfare," such as space and computer weapons, that could help it defeat stronger US armed forces, according to a copy of the draft the daily said it had obtained.
The report warned of gaps in US missile defenses, dependence on space for communications, reliance on aircraft carriers to project power to China's shores, and "fragile electronics and the Internet," the newspaper said.
The draft recommends that the United States obtain new offensive space and cyber warfare capabilities and missile defenses as well as "more robust sea- and space-based capabilities" to deter any crisis over Taiwan, the daily said. (cont...)

Satellite-Surveillance Program to Begin Despite Privacy Concerns
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122282336428992785.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though an independent review found the department hasn't yet ensured the program will comply with privacy laws.
Congress provided partial funding for the program in a little-debated $634 billion spending measure that will fund the government until early March. For the past year, the Bush administration had been fighting Democratic lawmakers over the spy program, known as the National Applications Office.
The program is designed to provide federal, state and local officials with extensive access to spy-satellite imagery -- but no eavesdropping -- to assist with emergency response and other domestic-security needs, such as identifying where ports or border areas are vulnerable to terrorism.

Russian warships to visit Libya on way to Caribbean
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL131417.html
MOSCOW, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Russian warships will stop off in Libya on their way to conduct joint naval exercises next month with outspoken U.S. foe Venezuela, Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told Reuters on Wednesday.

Russia, Kazakhstan to conduct joint war games on Oct. 3
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080930/117338253.html

Mass Immunization Exercise
http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=22864

As part of a mass immunization exercise free flu shots are going to be given to Muskingum County residents next Friday October 10th, in 2 locations.Rambo Health Center along with the Health Department and other community partners are teaming up at the Muskingum County Fair grounds and Ohio University Zanesville to offer the vaccine at the 2 locations to test their readiness in case of an outbreak. "We've had such success at the fairgrounds the past 2 years that we thought how can we challenge ourselves again? And the state of Ohio has also been, we really need to know how you can handle mass immunizations at various sites. And so we thought that if we brought a second site into the mix that it would be a better test of our capabilities."

First responders learn psychological effects of pandemic flu (Los Angeles)
http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_10609998
ARCADIA -- Dozens of officials from police, fire and other medical organizations around Los Angeles County came to the Arboretum on Wednesday for a workshop on emergency preparedness.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Mental Health hosted the workshop, which went over the psychological impacts of a crisis situation.
The focus was on the pandemic flu, and how these first responders should react if a flu were to break out.
Officials heard various guest speakers, and participated in workshops that simulated a disaster.

Who Should Be Considered “Essential” During a Pandemic Flu Outbreak
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/260599
The article to be published in the Journal of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. The report, led by Nancy Kass, Sc.D, Deputy Director of Public Health for the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, provides ethical guidance for pandemic planning that ensures a skeletal infrastructure remain intact at all times.

With New Nonlethal Weapons Comes Controversy
http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/new-nonlethal-weapons-comes-controversy-004729
The private company Taser International is also close to making other "less-lethal" products available. Two products, recently featured by Forbes, are Shockwave and Extended-Range Electronic Projectile (XREP). Shockwave, set for a 2009 release, looks like a futuristic portable light system, but its electricity is used in a less benign way.
Press a button and "six electrified cartridges tethered by 25-foot wires ... shoot out in a 20-degree arc. Inch-long probes emitting 50,000 volts of electricity pierce through clothing and skin. If a human being is in their path, his or her muscles immediately flex and lock involuntarily."
The intended users of Shockwave are law enforcement for crowd control purposes during riots and other gatherings that can get out of control. (You can watch a promotional video, here.)

Pentagon sees expanding use of satellite imagery
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN0153045820081002

Flu pandemic would ‘overwhelm’ U.S. health care system, report finds
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=99507

"Vibrant Response" U.S. Nuke Scenario

2008-10-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

* With the U.S now in de facto bankruptcy, perhaps the elites only response left will truly be a truly "vibrant" one , a ten kiloton nuke in the American heartland. THAT would get people's minds off their savings accounts.

"Vibrant Response"

U.S. Army conducting training exercises in cities, towns
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/09/29/12779-exercise-readies-first-units-for-northcom-assignment/
Soldiers at Great Lakes Naval Station, Ill., practice skills they will use when their units assume a consequence management response mission Oct. 1. Photo by U.S. Army North

FORT STEWART, Ga. (Army News Service, Sept. 29, 2008) - The exercise scenario was a sobering one: a 10-kiloton nuclear device detonated in America's heartland, quickly overwhelming civilian responders.
Military leaders who recently trained for this response say they are now thinking differently about how to move equipment, extract the injured and take care of people following this type of attack.

Their insights came from "Vibrant Response," a week-long command post exercise designed to train the commanders and staff of the nation's dedicated force for responding to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive incidents, or CBRNE incidents.

The units completed the exercise Sept. 18 at Fort Stewart, Ga., just two weeks before their force, the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF, will be assigned to U.S. Northern Command to begin its mission. "

Assigning them will allow Northern Command to directly influence the operational and training focus of the forces and ensure a trained and ready response force when needed," said Col. Lou Vogler, chief of future operations at U.S. Army North.

U.S. Army North conducted the exercise while its subordinate, Joint Task Force Civil Support, provided command and control for the CCMRF.

Joint Task Force Civil Support -- based at Fort Monroe, Va. -- plans, trains, develops policy and determines the way ahead for DOD CBRNE response, said the force's commander, Army Maj. Gen. Daniel "Chip" Long.

Commanders and staff in the three task forces - Operations, Medical and Aviation - say that the academics and command post exercise offered valuable new perspectives for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines assuming this important mission.Task Force OperationsResponding to a catastrophic chemical, nuclear or biological attack is challenging because there is no notice and it requires a fast response, Long said.

Developing the capability to deploy rapidly was a priority for the infantry unit assigned to the force, according to Army Maj. Marc Cloutier, planner for the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The unit forms the core of Task Force Operations, one of the three functional task forces within CCMRF.

It's the first infantry brigade to be assigned to NORTHCOM for a year in order to respond quickly to civil-support missions.

Cloutier said that one apparent challenge for the brigade will be turning an infantryman into a truck driver or a first responder. However, Cloutier said, the Soldiers and NCOs in the brigade are smart and adaptable and can easily learn to drive a truck or use a chain saw given a little instruction.

"When I got to the unit in July, I looked at the mission and realized the biggest challenge was going to be organizing to become rapidly deployable," he said. "I knew we would have to preposition containers and equipment to deploy ourselves on very short notice.

"The brigade also began working with the division and the garrison at Fort Stewart to ensure there were mechanisms in place to support a short-notice deployment, Cloutier said.

Once the exercise started, the brigade planners looked at how to reorganize their habitual formations from an infantry or armor battalion in order to accomplish the mission.

"Do we want to take our internal assets and develop functional task forces like engineering, decontamination, heavy movement, and search and rescue, or do we want to develop multifaceted task forces and assign them by region?" he asked. Their conclusion? That configurations would likely change based on the type of catastrophe or the size of the geographical area."We're developing something of a playbook from everything we do here," Cloutier said. "We'll capture everything and keep it on the shelf so if we see a similar situation down the road, we're starting that much further along." (Article cont....)

Directed Energy Weapons ADS

2008-09-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Test Results Show Active Denial System As Nonlethal Weapon
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Test_Results_Show_Active_Denial_System_As_Nonlethal_Weapon_999.html

An operational version of the Active Denial System is shown. It is an invisible, counter personnel, directed-energy weapon

Wright-Patterson AFB OH (AFPN) Sep 30, 2008Air Force Research Laboratory officials here recently completed an extensive bioeffects research program for an invisible, counter personnel, directed-energy weapon known as the Active Denial System.
Data showed that millimeter waves do not promote cancer or cause reproductive problems, and researchers also defined skin and eye exposure thresholds, as well as levels at which effective repel occurs.
Results demonstrate that the Denial System, or ADS, can be used operationally while maintaining a significant safety margin, thus making the device a landmark nonlethal weapon.
The bioeffects research effort also assisted hardware developers in their design of the novel weapon. The ADS program marks the first instance wherein a nonlethal weapon was founded on bioeffects research occurring prior to, rather than subsequent to, the weapons development process.
AFRL officials have been involved in researching the operationally useful effects of millimeter waves for almost 20 years....

Northrop Grumman builds laser for AF
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_10594749?source=rss

Northrop Grumman Space Technology delivered to the Air Force a high-energy laser that represents a milestone for the weapon's development in the South Bay, the Redondo Beach-based company said Monday.
Known as the Vesta II, the 2,000-pound laser is the first production-line, high-energy laser Space Technology has produced.
"It's the first time that mature (or proven) high-energy, solid-state laser technology has been packaged into a stand-alone, compact laser system that can be produced repeatedly at the company's `laser factory' in Redondo Beach," Northrop spokesman Bob Bishop said in an e-mail.
The delivery is important because it marks the transition from development of high-energy lasers to manufacturing, Bishop said.
In January 2007, Space Technology opened the Directed Energy Production Facility, its Redondo Beach facility to produce high-energy laser weapons.
The new facility was created to allow for volume production of high-energy lasers for air, sea and ground military uses.

Weapons in Space?
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_11/Krepon
Of all the risky “transformation” initiatives championed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the one receiving the least media attention is the weaponization of space. Shortly before arriving for his second tour at the Pentagon, Rumsfeld chaired a commission calling for the U.S. government to vigorously pursue “the option to deploy weapons in space to deter threats and, if necessary, defend against attacks on U.S. interests.”[1]

Bill would limit Homeland Security laptop searches
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10055020-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1023_3-0-5

Illinois Plans For Pandemic
http://mywabashvalley.com/content/fulltext/?cid=25211
Representatives from various county health departments, hospitals and law enforcement agencies gathered to discuss their individual plans in the case of an influenza pandemic.

There Might Be a Financial Crisis, But the World's Arms Dealers Are Doing Just Fine http://www.alternet.org/story/100801/

Russia plans to raise defense expenditure by 50% in 3 years