GD Future Combat Systems, LRAD (update) Space War +

General Dynamics Successfully Completes Future Combat Systems Phase I Robotic Convoy Experiment

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NEM07217122007-1.htm

WESTMINSTER, Md., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Robotic Systems successfully completed Phase I of the Future Combat Systems (FCS) Robotic Convoy Experiment (RCX) at White Sands Missile Range. The unmanned Stryker vehicle reached speeds up to 55 kilometers per hour (34 mph). General Dynamics Robotic Systems is a part of General Dynamics Land Systems (Sterling Heights, Michigan), a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics .
As part of the company's Autonomous Navigation System contract with the U.S. Army, the Phase I experiment is designed to test basic robotic convoy functionality and accuracy with obstacle detection and avoidance technology.
The test vehicles were a Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle and Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV).
"We received positive results from our team at White Sands," said Phil Cory, president of General Dynamics Robotic Systems. "The current preparations position us for a successful Phase II experiment in July 2008."
Stryker, LMTV and Medium Tactical Vehicles (MTV) are expected to be used during Phase II testing.
The robotic experiment is being funded under a contract to develop the Autonomous Navigation System for FCS. General Dynamics was awarded the task order because of its technology development on previous robotic convoy experiments and demonstrations.

Congress Pulls Plug on Shady Defense Deals

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/the-armys-shady.html

The Army's shady approach to its $200 billion makeover has been such a disaster, Congress has ordered the entire military to stop using the arrangement, forever.
The Army's mammoth Future Combat Systems push is "arguably the most complex" modernization project the Defense Department has ever pursued, according to the Government Accountability Office's Paul Francis.
So complex, in fact, that the Army figured it couldn't pull off FCS by itself. The service just didn't have the know-how to manage something as big, as ambitious as remaking just about everything in its inventory -- tanks, artillery, drones, you name it -- and then building a brand new, absolutel y titanic operating system and set of wireless networks, to tie it all together. Forget a traditional defense contract; the Army needed an industrial partner, instead -- some company that could watch over the zillions of moving parts needed to make FCS work. Eventually, the service settled on Boeing as that partner, or "Lead Systems Integrator," in Pentagonese (cont..)

Death Ray Replaced By The Voice of God (LRAD update)

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/articles/20071217.aspx

December 17, 2007: While U.S. efforts to deploy it's microwave Active Denial System (which transmits a searchlight sized bean of energy when makes people downrange feel like their skin is on fire) continue to be delayed, another non-lethal system, LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) has been quietly deployed to Iraq. And there the story gets a little strange (cont..)

Space: No longer a sanctuary

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?id=18465

The US grapples with defending its assets in space in the face of a perceived Chinese threat to extend the battlefield. (cont..)

Broad approach best in emergencies, Chertoff says

http://www.fcw.com/online/news/151115-1.html

Officials need to take the broadest possible approach in planning for emergency response so they can be ready to deal with a crisis regardless of the cause, the Homeland Security Department’s chief said today. “It could be a cyberattack, it could a pandemic flu, it could be a terrorist attack,” said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff at the second annual National Congress on Secure Communities. Officials need to be able to merge all of their response plans so they can be ready for any situation, he said. Chertoff pointed to the National Response Framework released in draft form by DHS in September as guidance for how to respond to different emergency situations. Chertoff also emphasized the role that the private sector — which owns and operates most of the country’s infrastructure — had to play in preparing for and responding to a disaster. (cont..)

SAIC to supply Navy with program management services

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/31983-1.html

“This win enables us to continue [helping to transform] operational needs into effective and affordable chemical and biological capabilities for the U.S. military and our allies,” said Tom Baybrook, senior vice president and business unit manager at SAIC

License Plate Scans Beef Up Mall Security

http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=36386

Geospatial Intelligence, IL Anthrax Drill, FCS

Exploiting a geospatial information revolution (9/11 Tv fakery, case in point, see
September Clues: ) http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/108.html
http://www.janes.com/news/defence/jdw/jdw080725_1_n.shtml


The asymmetric nature of current military operations has seen the demand for - and subsequent collection of - vast amounts of actionable intelligence on a previously unimaginable scale.
The battlefield commander's information requirements have changed dramatically in recent years - a trend fuelled by the continued drive towards a measure of network-centric operations and the resultant reduced decision cycles, linking of battlefield entities and sharing of information among all players.
With some 65 per cent of all information on the battlefield in some way geo-referenced, geographic information systems (GIS) have started to become a prime conduit for the sharing of actionable data.
Speaking at the WBR Defence Geospatial Intelligence conference in London in January, retired brigadier Nick Rigby, former director of intelligence, collection strategy and plans for the UK Ministry of Defence, said that the geospatial intelligence discipline had become a key enabler in network- or information-centric operations.
"First of all, what do I mean by the term 'geospatial intelligence'? For me it is the melding of geospatial information [that of data and products] across the spectrum of the -ologies and -ographies with the intelligence disciplines to deliver a capability greater than the sum of the constituent parts - a means of visualising the instance, situation or forecasting the same," said Rigby, who is now a non-executive director with ESRI UK.
Rigby said that, while geographic information served as the foundation, true geospatial intelligence took a wider focus and melded information from the land, sea and air environments with the intelligence disciplines of human intelligence, imagery intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence.
"Simplified, it is all about situational awareness via a recognised environmental picture - but it is also more than that. Geospatial intelligence provides the foundation for the JOP [joint operations picture] or the COP [common operating picture]; it is not just geographic information," Rigby told Jane's.
The advantages provided by modern geographic information systems are clear. With the irregular, asymmetric threat of the current focus of military planners and operations increasingly in the urban environment, GIS applications help reduce decision cycles and speed up response times and precision.
"In the US this is increasingly referred to as 'human terrain' - the mapping of the social, cultural and temporal aspects of a society. This causes a demand for more non-traditional data for use in geospatial analysis, leading to the routing of convoys to avoid schools and mosques, for example," said Rigby.
This requires a means to analyse and quickly disseminate the vast amounts of data collected by the intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance assets that are now available in theatre to operational commanders. In Afghanistan, for example, UK forces currently operate the Hermes 450 tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Desert Hawk tactical UAV and the Reaper medium-altitude long-endurance UAV in a three-tiered model.
To avoid being drowned in the resultant information, a premium has been placed on systems with sophisticated data storage, data mining and recovery techniques that allow staff to be fed only the information that is relevant to their current mission without depriving them of key facts.

Lake County tests its ability to deliver in bioterror drill
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=223280&src=3

'It could save a lot of lives'
200 'victims' participate in bioterrorism drill (IL)
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1074115,5_1_WA25_HAZARDDRIL_S1.article


Benton High School NJROTC students Andrea Broyles (left)and Jon Langston, both seniors, and Battalion Chief Larry Swieca with the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, try to figure out what medications the students, posing as victims, need during the drill. Registered nurses Carol Swieca of Buffalo Grove (left), Marg McKee of Grayslake, and Bonnie Quirke of Libertyville assist them.
First responders, emergency crews and health officials are waiting to distribute medicines to thousands of infected residents before it is too late.

That was the scenario the Lake County Health Department and emergency agencies were faced with Thursday during a bioterrorism drill at St. Peter's United Church of Christ in Lake Zurich.
"The purpose of the exercise is to test the county's ability to respond to a local bioterrorism incident," said Health Department spokesman Leslie Piotrowski.
As part of the drill, more than 200 volunteers simulated the delivery and distribution of the national stockpile of antibiotics to some 700,000 residents at various polling sites, which are designated mass dispensing sites. Lake Zurich's goal was to serve 200 people in an hour....

Army's effort to rush technology to troops boosts defense firms
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2008/07/25/20080725biz-combat0725.html
A recent decision by the U.S. Army to speed delivery of advanced missiles, robots and unmanned aircraft to infantry units in Iraq and Afghanistan could be a boon to Arizona defense contractors.
Among the products being pushed into production earlier than planned are "missiles in a box" made by Raytheon Co. in Tucson and the beer-keg-shaped Micro Air Vehicle produced by Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace.
A reprioritizing of the Army's sweeping $160 billion Future Combat Systems modernization program also resurrects the Land Warrior individual communications system developed by Scottsdale's General Dynamics C4 Systems.
The $3 billion Land Warrior program was scrapped by the Pentagon last year, but it has been brought back as a new component of Future Combat Systems called the Ground Soldier System.
The Army's program restructuring pushes up deployment of much of the Future Combat Systems technology to 2011 from 2015 and initially distributes it to the infantry instead of the armored-brigade combat teams, as initially planned.
"It gives us the opportunity to produce more of the systems sooner and get them in the hands of those they can benefit," said Vaughn Fulton, manager of Honeywell's unmanned air-vehicle program.
Tom Moody of Raytheon called the Army's restructuring of its Future Combat Systems program good news......

Artificial Intelligence System - 100 Billion Neurons and Beyond
http://www.linuxpr.com/releases/10763.html
Toronto, Ontario, Jul. 25, 2008 - Intelligence Realm Inc. has recently completed a simulation of 100 billion neurons, the estimated size of the human brain. The simulation used distributed computing and involved over 4000 computers, 3000 volunteers, 10000 processors, 180 TB of data and lasted for a couple of months.This was the first simulation that bypassed the 100 billion level and used database files to store the data.The simulation is one of the first steps in a long-term project that is aiming to build a large-scale artificial intelligence by reverse engineering the brain.Ovidiu Anghelidi, the project leader said: "The simulation also proves that computing power is no longer a stumbling block in achieving artificial intelligence. The computational requirements for running large-scale biophysical neural networks at the cellular level can be found in distributed computing.

Future Combat Systems, DARPA (RAID) +

Army's high-tech future is near

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/12/28/Worldandnation/Army_s_high_tech_futu.shtml

Some see Buck Rogers in the technology, others the bucks in the price tag - $200-billion.

By Washington PostPublished December 28, 2007
EL PASO, Texas - A $200-billion plan to remake the largest war machine in history unfolds in one small way on a quiet country road in the Chihuahuan Desert.
Jack Hensley, one of a legion of contractors on the project, is hunkered in a slowly moving sport-utility vehicle, serving as target practice for a baby-faced soldier in a Humvee aiming a laser about 700 yards away. A moment later, another soldier in the Humvee punches commands into a computer transmitting data across an expanse of sand and mesquite to a site 21/2 miles away. On an actual battlefield, this is when a precision attack missile would be launched, killing Hensley almost instantly.
For soldiers in an experimental Army brigade at the sprawling Fort Bliss base, it's the first day of field training on a new weapon called the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, or NLOS-LS, a box of rockets that can automatically change direction in midair and hit a moving target about 24 miles away. The Army says it has never had a weapon like it. "It's not the Spartans with the swords anymore," says Emmett Schaill, the brigade commander, peering into the desertscape.
In the Army's vision, the war of the future is increasingly combat by mouse clicks. It's as networked as the Internet, as mobile as a cell phone, as intuitive as a video game. The Army has a name for this vision: Future Combat Systems, or FCS. The project involves creating a family of 14 weapons, drones, robots, sensors and hybrid-electric combat vehicles connected by a wireless network. It has turned into the most ambitious modernization of the Army since World War II and the most expensive Army weapons program ever, military officials say.
It's also one of the most controversial. Even as some early versions of these weapons make their way onto the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, members of Congress, government investigators and military observers question whether the Defense Department has set the stage for one of its biggest and costliest failures. At risk, they say, are billions of taxpayer dollars spent on exotic technology that may never come to fruition, leaving the Army little time and few resources to prepare for new threats.
Future Combat Systems "has some serious problems," said Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, chairman of the House air and land forces subcommittee. "Since its inception, costs have gone up dramatically while promised capability has steadily diminished. I don't see how the Army can afford to rebuild itself and pay for the FCS program as it stands today."
To hear the military tell it, there's a hint of Buck Rogers in the program, including an unmanned craft that hovers like a flying saucer between buildings and detects danger. The idea of Future Combat Systems is to create a lighter, faster force that can react better to tomorrow's unpredictable foes.
The last time the Army tried anything so far-reaching was more than half a century ago when it introduced mechanized forces, moving soldiers en masse by machine rather than by foot.
Others say the Army has pushed too far. The Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office have questioned the cost and management of Future Combat Systems.
The project originated in part in 1995 when Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales Jr., now retired, launched a series of war games. As director of the Army After Next project, his job was to divine the nature of war a quarter-century hence. So Scales assembled a team of about 700, including members of the Army, Air Force, Marines, the CIA and civilian scientists, who warred over the next two years in a huge simulation center at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. "The Army had never done it - they thought I was off my rocker," he said.
The blue team represented the Americans. The red were the Iranians, who in one scenario captured Riyadh and began executing the royal Saudi family on live television. That drew the blue team into the streets of Riyadh, which, choked with heavy armor, became a bloody mess. Scales, building on earlier military research, realized that the United States needed a lighter, mobile force.
He called it the "Aha moment."
Then a fiasco hastened the Army's commitment to modernize. In 1999, the Army was bogged down in muddy logistics as it sought to move Apache helicopters into Albania so they could be used in the Kosovo war. They didn't make it before the fight ended, an embarrassment that prompted Army Chief of Staff Eric K. Shinseki to declare that the service needed to get lighter and faster - quickly.

Joint Capability Developer: Advancing Warfighter Effectiveness and Combat

Capability

http://www.military-information-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=2286

DARPA is working on a program called Adversarial Intelligence and Decision-making (RAID), a tool for semi-automated generation of enemy estimates.

http://www.military-information-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=2287

Reading the mind of your enemy may soon become easier. Computers may be able to do so even better than humans, experiments conducted by the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) Real-time Adversarial Intelligence and Decision-making (RAID) program suggest.
RAID is a tool for semi-automated generation of enemy estimates. Its job is to anticipate the upcoming actions of the enemy, and do so not just before, but also during the unfolding battle, in near real-time. In a way, one may say the purpose of RAID is to read the mind of the enemy. (cont...)

* Please see Nico Haupts latest article:

Goldman Sachs + Co.: Next 9/11 False Flag vs. China?

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ewing2001?id=4287

Future Conbat Systems, Space War, Flu Drills +

FCS Future Combat Systems

The Army's $200 Billion Makeover

Victor Valdez welds support frames for the hull of a prototype of the manned ground vehicle. The army has plans for eight vehicles sharing the same armored hull and many of the same integrated systems.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/06/ST2007120602927.html

EL PASO -- A $200 billion plan to remake the largest war machine in history unfolds in one small way on a quiet country road in the Chihuahuan Desert.
Jack Hensley, one of a legion of contractors on the project, is hunkered in a slowly moving SUV, serving as target practice for a baby-faced soldier in a Humvee aiming a laser about 700 yards away. A moment later, another soldier in the Humvee punches commands into a computer transmitting data across an expanse of sand and mesquite to a site 2 1/2 miles away. On an actual battlefield, this is when a precision attack missile would be launched, killing Hensley almost instantly.

For soldiers in an experimental Army brigade at the sprawling Fort Bliss base, it's the first day of field training on a new weapon called the Non-Line of Sight Launch System, or NLOS-LS, a box of rockets that can automatically change direction in midair and hit a moving target about 24 miles away. The Army says it has never had a weapon like it. "It's not the Spartans with the swords anymore," said Emmett Schaill, the brigade commander, peering into the desert-scape.
In the Army's vision, the war of the future is increasingly combat by mouse clicks. It's as networked as the Internet, as mobile as a cellphone, as intuitive as a video game. The Army has a name for this vision: Future Combat Systems, or FCS. The project involves creating a family of 14 weapons, drones, robots, sensors and hybrid-electric combat vehicles connected by a wireless network. It has turned into the most ambitious modernization of the Army since World War II and the most expensive Army weapons program ever, military officials say.
It's also one of the most controversial. Even as some early versions of these weapons make their way onto the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, members of Congress, government investigators and military observers question whether the Defense Department has set the stage for one of its biggest and costliest failures. At risk, they say, are billions of taxpayer dollars spent on exotic technology that may never come to fruition, leaving the Army little time and few resources to prepare for new threats.
Future Combat Systems "has some serious problems," said Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), chairman of the House air and land forces subcommittee. "Since its inception, costs have gone up dramatically while promised capability has steadily diminished. . . . And now, with the Army's badly degraded state of readiness from nearly five years of continuous combat in Iraq, I don't see how the Army can afford to rebuild itself and pay for the FCS program as it stands today."
To hear the military tell it, there's a hint of Buck Rogers in the program, including an unmanned craft that can hover like a flying saucer between buildings and detect danger. The idea of Future Combat Systems is to create a lighter, faster force that can react better to tomorrow's unpredictable foes. (cont...)

Ukraine Big: We Can Spot Your Sats, Control Space

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/12/even-the-worlds.html

Even the world's most technologically sophisticated militaries still have trouble getting a clear fix on what's in orbit. As Aviation Week once pointed out, if an American satellite suddenly blinked out tomorrow, and U.S. space officers were asked for an explanation, one of their most likely replies would have to be: 'We don't know, and there's not much we can do."'
But in a recent interview, Ukranian space poobah Stanislav Konyukhov says his country is about to bring online a space monitoring system that can not only spot just about anything up in orbit -- but also "gives Ukraine a real mechanism of control over any object in space." (cont...)

Pandemic drill puts cityTo Test
businesses to Christine Kosmos, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Dept. of Public Health (center), Leslee Stein-Spencer (right) of the Chicago Fire Dept. and members of five city departments watch a mock exercise of an avian flu pandemic unfold on their computer screens. (Tribune photo by Chuck Berman / December 6, 2007)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-pandemic_webdec07,1,1135023.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

The news kept getting worse and worse: highways and airports shut down, hospitals filled to capacity, pharmacies running out of medicine.As the computer-simulated flu pandemic in Chicago continued to spread, public and private officials taking part in an emergency-response drill this morning got a taste of the high-pressure decisions they would have to make should such a disaster happen here.Representatives of the city's Police, Fire and Public Health Departments, the Mayor's Office and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication sat at computers in the CNA Building, 333 S. Wabash Ave., evaluating on-screen information about the pandemic as it spread and making quick decisions about how best to deal with it. (cont...)

India to conduct mock drills and exercise to combat bird flu
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20071205110620&Headline=India+to+conduct+mock+drills+and+exercise+to+combat+bird+flu&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=0
NEW DELHI: Beginning January 2008, India would conduct table-top exercises, simulations and mock drills jointly with other by countries to combat Avian influenza or commonly known as bird flu.New Delhi is also planning to integrate pandemic preparedness into national disaster management structures to review roles and responsibility to engage different sector other health. (cont...)

Horizon Lines Hosts Army National Guard Exercise on Homeland Security (PR)

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS230102+06-Dec-2007+PRN20071206

"The exercises included a simulation of a possible radioactive readingaboard a containership. The vessel Horizon Producer was utilized for theexercise and members of the crew and terminal personnel also participated."This exercise is a great opportunity for the U.S. military and other agenciesto prepare in what may be an unfamiliar environment; gaining valuableexperience on how to respond to a real incident aboard a vessel"

Russia/China War W/U.S. Watch, FCS/Robotics, + News ....

Putin defends Russia's military parade
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080505105742.zqaszi82&show_article=1
Russia's use of heavy weapons at this week's World War II commemoration parades is not intended as a threat to any nation, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
"For the first time in many years heavy military equipment will be used. This is not sabre-rattling. We are not threatening anyone and don't plan to," Putin said ahead of the traditional Victory Day parade on Friday.
"This is a demonstration of our growing defence capability.... We are capable of defending our people, citizens, our state, our wealth, which is not small," he said......

Russian bombers are again regular visitors along Canadian and US airspace

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gbysbd6mPUBmedjwECuUXSIOcJ5g The call came in to the air force field in Inuvik in the Northwest Territories: Unidentified aircraft approaching Canada's Arctic.
"You get airborne as fast as you can," says the CF-18 pilot, identified by his call sign - Nojo. "You end up running to the jet."
Less than 30 minutes later, somewhere high above the Arctic Ocean, Nojo and his fellow pilot identified the intruders: multiple "Bears," long-range Russian bombers, 130 kilometres from Canadian airspace and closing fast.....

China: Let The War Games Begin

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=294621907182546

Military Superiority: While the focus is on Iranian and Syrian nuclear activities, China quietly builds an underground submarine base on Hainan Island. Its purpose is to challenge U.S. naval supremacy and to fight and win a nuclear war. (continued...)

Good News for Army's Troubled 'Future'

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/05/good-news-for-f.html

There's some much-needed good news for the Army's oft-troubled digital reboot, Future Combat Systems. The networks and radios at the heart of the $200 billion effort to make tomorrow's fighting forces lighter, quicker, and better able share data passed their "first major test," according to the military.
Well, "kinda," our own David Axe reports for Wired.com. Thanks to the new gear, FCS "robots spotted [a simulated terrorist] van; their targeting data bounced to a nearby unit of specially-equipped Humvees, then across the network to an Air Force intelligence cell in Langley, Virginia, then back to the B-52 -- all in just seconds. The bomber simulated dropping a guided bomb to 'destroy' the van."

Billions for Pentagon Failures

In 1995, Army Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales was playing war games in order to determine what military combat might look like in 25 years. In the process, he created "Future Combat Systems," a weapons system made up of unmanned ground and air vehicles that would be directed by computers at an Army base.Thirteen years later, the technology to realize Scales' vision still isn't available. That hasn't stopped the Pentagon from spending more than $20 billion for Boeing, SAIC and 550 other contractors and subcontractors to work on "Future Combat Systems." The original contract estimated the total cost at $15 billion....

America's Chemically Modified 21st Century Soldiers

http://www.alternet.org/story/84178/

Robotic bugs set to invade the battlefield
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/frontline/1924773/Robotic-bugs-set-to-invade-the-battlefield.html

A swarm of robotic insects is being developed for the military to hunt down enemy fighters in buildings and caves, carry mini bombs and identify chemical, nuclear or biological weapons.

They look as though they have crawled from the set of a science fiction film, but the bugs are based on the design and size of real insects, including spiders and dragonflies.
They are to be fitted with cameras, as well as sensors to identify different types of weapon, and can be kitted out with a small payload of explosives.

Washington first responders in disaster drill (NLE update)http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_disaster_training.htmlOLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington is participating in a national training exercise to coordinate local, state and federal agencies in the event of terrorism or a natural disaster.
In Monday's scenario conducted through Fort Lewis, attackers blow up a chemical plant near the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle and a secondary blast kills first responders. Only a drill.
The National Level Exercise started Thursday and concludes next week. Two other scenarios are a deadly tanker crash in Whatcom County and a toxic release at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in northeast Oregon.
State Emergency Management Division spokesman Rob Harper says the state is activating its emergency operations center as part of the exercise.
Participants include the National Guard, FEMA and Homeland Security

Related: Emergency response drill set for Tuesday http://www.bellinghamherald.com/256/story/401104.html

Stewart Guard plays role in disaster drill (update)http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/May08/03/AirNG_drill-03May08.html

STEWART AIRPORT - New York National Guard members took part in an exercise Friday that entailed transporting cargo and soldiers by air and by land in the event of a man-made or natural disaster in New York City, and the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart Air National Guard base played an important role in that exercise.
The ANG base in Newburgh would serve as a landing base for soldiers and cargo coming from other Army and Air National Guard bases around the state, in the event of a situation in an urban area like that of New York City...

* Both alleged hijacked flights on 9/11 (175 & 11) crossed paths over Stewart base...see Team8plus for more....

India’s missile programme

http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=159519&catid=11

India is emerging as a major player on the global stage and to sustain this ambitious role, it is developing at feverish pitch its armed arsenal – both nuclear and conventional. The country has registered annual growth rate of nine percent since last decade. Its foreign exchange reserves at $ 150 billion are at an all time high and its exports have crossed $ 50 billion, despite appreciation in Indian rupee’s par value vis-à-vis US dollar. Today dollar is exchanged at 40 Indian rupees...

NGA more than Mapquest for the military

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=251&sid=1398237

WASHINGTON - Deadly, pre-dawn missiles that have killed numerous al Qaida operatives are guided by "it."
Hundreds of thousands of deployed U.S. military service personnel don't dare make a move without "it."
Every single one of the intelligence community's field operatives around the globe depends on "it."
The entire military's air fleet is grounded without "it." Not one Navy nor Coast Guard vessel is allowed to leave port without "it."
Without "it," the president cannot make key national security decisions to protect the nation.
"It," is a geographic coordinate and "it" comes from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

(cont...)

Homeland Security to test high-tech buoys

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-04-buoys_N.htm

Who should MDs let die in a pandemic? Report offers answers

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hDeWu9n8WS9LtmwUnxMIucnFdnKQD90F8KKG0

The suggested list was compiled by a task force whose members come from prestigious universities, medical groups, the military and government agencies. They include the Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services...

Pentagon green-lights Lockheed Martin missile program
Pentagon gives Lockheed Martin go ahead on Air Force cruise-missile program

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/f9025c0b9c29aabf254e8bbe8270859a.htm

Future Combat Systems "Threat to Humanity" + News

Automated killer robots 'threat to humanity': expert http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080227111811.y9syyq8p&show_article=1

"They pose a threat to humanity," said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey ahead of a keynote address Wednesday before Britain's Royal United Services Institute.
Intelligent machines deployed on battlefields around the world -- from mobile grenade launchers to rocket-firing drones -- can already identify and lock onto targets without human help.
There are more than 4,000 US military robots on the ground in Iraq, as well as unmanned aircraft that have clocked hundreds of thousands of flight hours.
The first three armed combat robots fitted with large-caliber machine guns deployed to Iraq last summer, manufactured by US arms maker Foster-Miller, proved so successful that 80 more are on order, said Sharkey.
But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger.
It we are not careful, he said, that could change.
Military leaders "are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war," he said.
Several countries, led by the United States, have already invested heavily in robot warriors developed for use on the battlefield.
South Korea and Israel both deploy armed robot border guards, while China, India, Russia and Britain have all increased the use of military robots.
Washington plans to spend four billion dollars by 2010 on unmanned technology systems, with total spending expected rise to 24 billion, according to the Department of Defense's Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2032, released in December.
James Canton, an expert on technology innovation and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, predicts that deployment within a decade of detachments that will include 150 soldiers and 2,000 robots.
The use of such devices by terrorists should be a serious concern, said Sharkey.
Captured robots would not be difficult to reverse engineer, and could easily replace suicide bombers as the weapon-of-choice. "I don't know why that has not happened already," he said.
But even more worrisome, he continued, is the subtle progression from the semi-autonomous military robots deployed today to fully independent killing machines.
"I have worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies me," Sharkey said.
Ronald Arkin of Georgia Institute of Technology, who has worked closely with the US military on robotics, agrees that the shift towards autonomy will be gradual.
But he is not convinced that robots don't have a place on the front line.
"Robotics systems may have the potential to out-perform humans from a perspective of the laws of war and the rules of engagement," he told a conference on technology in warfare at Stanford University last month.
The sensors of intelligent machines, he argued, may ultimately be better equipped to understand an environment and to process information. "And there are no emotions that can cloud judgement, such as anger," he added.
Nor is there any inherent right to self-defence.
For now, however, there remain several barriers to the creation and deployment of Terminator-like killing machines.
Some are technical. Teaching a computer-driven machine -- even an intelligent one -- how to distinguish between civilians and combatants, or how to gauge a proportional response as mandated by the Geneva Conventions, is simply beyond the reach of artificial intelligence today.
But even if technical barriers are overcome, the prospect of armies increasingly dependent on remotely-controlled or autonomous robots raises a host of ethical issues that have barely been addressed.
Arkin points out that the US Department of Defense's 230 billion dollar Future Combat Systems programme -- the largest military contract in US history -- provides for three classes of aerial and three land-based robotics systems.
"But nowhere is there any consideration of the ethical implications of the weaponisation of these systems," he said.
For Sharkey, the best solution may be an outright ban on autonomous weapons systems. "We have to say where we want to draw the line and what we want to do -- and then get an international agreement," he said.

L-3 Gets CDC Pact Worth Up to $215M
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5574361.html

NEW YORK — Defense contractor L-3 Communications said Wednesday it signed a blanket purchase agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worth up to $215 million over five years.
Under terms of the agreement, L-3 said it will assist the agency with preparedness efforts for all-hazards, including acts of bioterrorism and pandemic outbreaks.
The scope of work will include strategic and operational planning, training and exercise programs for CDC personnel, as well as institutional and organizational capacity and leadership building, L-3 said.

America in $ Crisis, Raytheon FCS, FBI Threataganda +

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

Homeland Security Scam Updates, CA "Disaster" Drill+

The US federal government wants to build a system to detect Internet attacks before they occur.
http://www.gameshout.com/news/cyber_attacks_new_initiative_for_homeland_security/article2358.htm

Cyber attacks can't be prevented or protected by the government alone, Chertoff said. The homeland security chief is calling on Silicon Valley to send some of its best to Washington to work on the effort on protecting the Internet from terrorist hijacking.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described chilling scenarious at the RSA Conference, a group of cyber security specialists, in San Francisco Tuesday.
Chertoff demonstrated that through the Internet, terrorists and criminals can do the kind of damage they could never do on their own. He cited the massive denial-of-service attack launched against the Estonian government computers last year.
"Imagine what would happen if a sophisticated attack on our financial systems caused them to be paralyzed. It would be a shaking of the foundation of trust on which commercial intercourse depends," Chertoff said.
The sophisticated attack, ran by a remote-controlled " botnet", shut down the Estonian's financial system as well as media and police Web sites. More than a million computer systems were hit, as Estonian government sites that normally received a thousand visitors a day were swamped by up to 2,000 visits a second.
Cyber attacks can't be prevented or protected by the government alone, he said. The homeland security chief is calling on Silicon Valley to send some of its best to Washington to work on the effort on protecting the Internet from terrorist hijacking.




SAS forming subsidiary to help with homeland security
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/05/19/daily2.html
SAS is launching a subsidiary that will focus on providing data analysis tools to the federal government, especially the homeland security and intelligence agencies, the Cary software maker announced Monday.
The subsidiary, which is yet to be named, will be based in Cary and will be organized over the next several months, says SAS spokesman Trent Smith. More than 50 SAS employees will be allocated to the subsidiary, which will hire an -as-yet-to-be-determined number of additional employees with the security requirements needed to assist intelligence and homeland security efforts.

SPACEHAB Product Earns SAFETY Act Designation from U.S. Department of Homeland Security http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080520006159&newsLang=en
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SPACEHAB Inc., (NASDAQ:SPAB) today announced its receipt of a formal Developmental Testing and Evaluation (DT&E) Designation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the Company’s new in house developed Miniature Mass Spectrometer (MMS) technology named “1st Detect.”
The designation was instituted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to encourage the development of ‘promising anti-terrorism technologies’ by providing legal liability protections under the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002, or the SAFETY Act. The designation letter that was received April 10, 2008, states “SPACEHAB, Incorporated’s Miniature Mass Spectrometer is such a technology.”

OTI to Present at Morgan Keegan Homeland Security Conference
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/200805200800PR_NEWS_USPR_____NYTU036.htm
FORT LEE, N.J., May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On Track Innovations Ltd, (OTI) (Nasdaq: OTIV), a global leader in contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions, for homeland security, payments, petroleum payments and other applications, will be presenting at Morgan Keegan Homeland Security Conference to be held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York located at 301 Park Avenue, New York, NY, United States, 10022.
On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) is a leading contactless smart card solution provider. Applications developed by OTI include product solutions for: 1. SmartID - Homeland security solutions- national ID cards, e-passports
and medical cards.
2. Payments - Cashless solution for small ticket items.
3. EasyFuel - Fuel management and petroleum solution

SONOMA CO.: FLU PANDEMIC DISASTER DRILL TODAY (CA)
http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=FLU-DRILL
The staff at two Sonoma County hospitals will be dressed a little differently this morning.
They will be wearing space-walk type protective suits with ventilators as part of a countywide pandemic flu disaster drill.
The drill at hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities, referred to as "Code Pandora", entails a hypothetical scenario in which the dangerous H5N1 avian flu has begun to spread rapidly from human to human in countries outside the United States and is considered imminent here.
In the scenario, the Governor has issued an alert to county preparedness agencies to gear up and prepare for the first likely bird flu cases in California....

SAIC wins $20M contract for space, naval warfare
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/05/20/ap5028754.html

Boeing-SAIC Team, Future Combat Systems Program Play Key Roles in Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008http://pressmediawire.com/article.cfm?articleID=19084
Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Science Applications International Corp. [NYSE: SAI], the Lead Systems Integrator (LSI) for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, today announced that FCS played a pivotal role in the U.S. Air Force-led Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008 (JEFX 08), marking an important step toward integrating critical FCS technologies into the current force.
JEFX, conducted biennially in select lab and field environments at U.S. military facilities across the United States, is a multinational, multi-service military experiment intended to accelerate the research, development and fielding of new combat systems. The experiment, divided into four separate events, or "spirals," culminated in April with a field demonstration designed to test full joint connectivity and situational awareness in an operational setting. ....
Disaster drill planned in New Bedford
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/NEWS/805200365

FCS, Cubic, Simulation News, NATO Pandemic, CSC +

Army Future's Software Overload (update)
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/01/army-futures-so.html
The Army's $300-billion Future Combat Systems is the most software-intensive weapons program the Pentagon's got. And according to the Government Accountability Office, the military has failed to anticipate the amount of programming required to get more than dozen types of vehicles and robots to communicate, according to a story last week in The Washington Post:


Cubic Introduces Wireless Technology for Virtual Simulations
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0354692.htm
The defense segment of Cubic Corporation (AMEX: CUB) has added an important new capability to its EST 2000 Engagement Skills Trainer, which is used by thousands of military personnel throughout the world to develop marksmanship, judgmental and collective training skills. Cubic has developed a tetherless M-4 training rifle that uses a wireless technology rather than computer cables to allow greater freedom of movement and more realism during tactical simulations.
Cubic's Simulation Systems Division in Orlando, Florida, delivered its first tetherless system last year to the Mississippi Air National Guard at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport. The division is under contract to deliver more tetherless M-4 rifles to the Wisconsin Air National Guard's Combat Readiness Training Center at Volk Field later this year. More than 1,000 EST 2000 systems are operational at Army and Air Force installations worldwide, including the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Korea, Germany, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq.
"There has been a growing demand for the soldier to train as they fight, and a tethered weapon can prevent movement, restricting motion in a collective mode," said Terry Fiest, director of Business Development for U.S. Army Programs for Cubic's Orlando division. "A tetherless weapon is more suited to tactical engagements and gives the soldier more latitude. We are finding that our customers like tethered weapons for marksmanship and they prefer tetherless for dismounted and offensive training scenarios."
The new simulator weapons have a CO2 driven recoil with 2.4GHz wireless connection. The electronics are battery powered and the recoil is provided by the CO2, which can be housed in either the ammunition magazine or in attachments to the simulated weapon. They can be used either with Cubic's Engagement Skills Trainer or its Warrior Skills Trainer, an enhancement to EST 2000 that enables soldiers to move around either on foot or in a moving vehicle in a simulation environment that replicates the weather conditions, convoy attacks and judgment issues that arise in certain combat situations.
Cubic's Orlando division is now working on converting other weapons used in EST 2000 and the Warrior Skills Training to operate in a tetherless environment. Cubic could potentially create tetherless technology for law enforcement users in the future. The company's Orlando site is used as a training venue for Central Florida law enforcement teams who want to train with Cubic's laser-based ground combat training instrumentation

U.S. Army Awards Modeling and Simulation Contract to Charles River Analytics
http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/29204/
NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Cambridge, MA, United States, 01/30/2008 - Charles River Analytics was awarded a follow-on contract from the U.S. Army for their work on modeling and simulation with GATIR (Graphical Authoring Tool for Inference Rules).

Charles River will work with the Modeling and Analysis Team at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) in Natick, MA, to develop state-of-the-art computer-based modeling and simulation techniques for developing new equipment and tactics for Soldiers.“One of the goals of the Modeling and Analysis Team is to conduct assessments of ground Soldier equipment by creating realistic simulated Soldiers and environments where new capabilities can be introduced before they are built or used in the real world,” said Dr. Scott Neal Reilly, Vice President of Decision Management Systems at Charles River and the Principal Investigator for GATIR. “The simulation is both less expensive, since complex equipment can be evaluated before it is ever built, and safer, as the testing does not require live experimentation. It also makes the design, development, and evaluation process for new technologies faster, enabling new equipment and tactics to be deployed more rapidly.”Charles River will develop models of how Soldiers perceive and reason about their environment using cognitive science and artificial intelligence techniques. These models will help, for instance, in the development of new sensors and decision aids to increase Soldiers’ awareness of their surroundings. Such new systems can, in turn, help reduce friendly fire and accidental non-combatant deaths.

Analysis: NATO begins pandemic monitoring
http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/01/30/analysis_nato_begins_pandemic_monitoring/de2f/
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- NATO recently became the latest agency, and the first military one, to sign up for the Global Public Health Intelligence Network, an international initiative that monitors media and other open-source material 24/7 for signs of emerging pandemics and other public health disasters.
The network, based in Ottawa and known by its initials GPHIN, is an "early-warning system using media to detect public health events," GPHIN Senior Surveillance Officer Richard Lemay told United Press International in a recent interview….

CIBER Hosts Feb. 12 Disaster Readiness Webinar for State and Local Government Leaders
http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20080130/LAW10630012008-1.html

CSC to move HQ to Falls Church
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/32170-1.html
Computer Sciences Corp. has announced that it will move its corporate headquarters to Falls Church, Va., from El Segundo, Calif.
The consolidation to Northern Virginia “is without a doubt the right move to power CSC’s accelerated growth and expansion,” said Michael Laphen, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, in a written statement.

FCS vs Russia, B52 "Surge" Prep, Missile Shield, DEW, India Fake Terror +

*recommended reading:
Zbigniew_Brzezinski___Between_Two_Ages.pdf ( 2.61MB )

A new brain for Barack Obama

A NEW brain for Barack Obama! It's 78 years old and it still works perfectly. It belongs to Zbigniew Brzezinski, the peppery ex-national security adviser to Jimmy Carter. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2007/03/a_new_brain_for_barack_obama.cfm

*Base is main launching point for bombing runs in Middle-East...

Exercise prep may raise noise at Barksdale (LA)
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/NEWS01/80820019/1060
People who live near or around Barksdale Air Force Base may notice an increase in noise Thursday and Monday, installation representatives say.

Early Thursday, a dozen B-52 bombers will practice for a “surge,” where bombers take off in quick succession. The real MITO, or “minimum-interval takeoff,” will be held at the base early Monday...

US, Poland OK missile defense base, riling Moscow http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080820/D92M82281.htmlWARSAW, Poland (AP) - The United States and Poland signed a deal Wednesday to place a U.S. missile defense base just 115 miles from Russia - a move followed swiftly by a new warning from Moscow of a possible military response.

Russia-Georgia War Highlights Need for Directed-Energy Defenses http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?595a24d7-9886-449f-b048-fce71a0213d0 By James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., 8/20/2008 9:29:29 AM
For the second time in recent years, the United States has witnessed another wake-up call for the importance of fielding directed-energy weapons capable of shooting-down mortar and artillery fire, as well as intercepting short-range rockets and missiles.The Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Congress need to place more emphasis on fielding working prototypes of these systems as quickly as possible.
People as Targets.....

Military Hardware Backers Lock in on Russia http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/in-july-2006-th.html
In 2006, the U.S. Army ran a number of war game scenarios, to see how effective their planned array of networked tanks, robots, and fighting vehicles might be in the conflicts of tomorrow. The battles the Army chose for were "major combat operations" -- full-scale fights between two major armies. And the location Army planners picked was the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.
At the time, these so-called "Caspian Sea scenarios" seemed oddly out of sync, for a military engaged in a pair of counterinsurgencies. But that was before Russia sent troops into Georgia, Azerbaijian's neighbor to the west. Before, supporters of the Army's $200 billion "Future Combat Systems" told the public not to pay too much attention to the mock battles on former Soviet turf; those robots and tanks were really meant to kick butt in small wars, they insisted. Now, backers of Future Combat Systems and other high-price military hardware programs are pointing to the Russian threat, as the new justification for their gear.
"We've spent so many resources and so much attention on Iraq that we've lost sight of future threats down the road. The current conflict between Russia and Georgia is a perfect example," Rep. John Murtha, the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee chair, tells the Wall Street Journal.

* American "business consultant" caught in web of fake terror(India) gets free pass? Haywood lies low in Arizona home
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1184734
Indian embassy mum on whether US help will be sought to question him
NEW YORK: Despite the security drill at Indian airports, Kenneth Haywood mysteriously skirted a lookout notice and flew out of the country from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday night on Jet Airways’ long-haul flight 9W-230 to New York. He later caught another domestic flight at JFK Airport to get home to Phoenix, Arizona.
“I really don’t have anything to add to anything at this point. Thank you,” Haywood, who sounded exhausted, told DNA over the phone on Wednesday morning.
The Indian embassy in Washington declined to comment on whether India would seek US help in questioning Haywood. “We have seen the reports but cannot comment on the matter,” said embassy spokesman Rahul . .
Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare has declined to say if India will seek Haywood’s extradition from the US in case he refuses to go back to Mumbai at a later stage to cooperate with the ongoing investigations. Legal experts here, however, believe there is no case for extradition even though India and the US have a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
“The treaty allows for cooperation in criminal, drug trafficking and terrorism-related matters,” said a New York attorney who did not want to be named. “There are procedural mechanisms to allow the US to provide assistance in connection with investigations but there is nothing American authorities can do as he hasn’t been charged with any crime. US lawmen can’t go anywhere near him.”
A terror message was sent from Campbell White executive Haywood’s hacked email account five minutes before serial blasts ripped through Ahmedabad on July 26.

Texas Guard 'biggest player" in Panamax exercise
http://www.ngb.army.mil/news/archives/2008/08/081908-Texas_Guard.aspx
PANAMA CITY, Panama, (08/20/08)- The scenario threatened to bring world economies to their knees: A fictional terrorist group took control of an island off Panama, planted mines at approaches to the Panama Canal and threatened to cut off free access to the pivotal waterway.
Panama turned for help to the United Nations, which passed a resolution authorizing a coalition to take action.
The result, being played out during the annual Fuerzas Aliadas Panamax exercise, is a 20-nation coalition that has committed about 7,000 troops, more than 30 ships and a dozen aircraft to countering the fictional Liberation Martyrs' Brigade.
The exercise kicked off Aug. 11 and continues through Aug. 22, with live and simulated activities in Panama, El Salvador, Honduras and the United States.

IBM Commits $300 Million to Expand Business Continuity and Resiliency
Services
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ibm-commits-300-million-expand/story.aspx?guid={88487B16-8BA7-44F8-8AE5-63660DECB4B4}&dist=hppr

NKorea vows to boost 'war deterrent'
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hp3VMv4igsgqwh4fqnXUyQrwl3BwD92LV5HO1

Homeland Security Explores Ambitious Plan to Collect More Personal Data From Foreign Travelers
The department will try to gather biometric data on all departing foreigners without causing delayshttp://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/08/20/homeland-security-explores-ambitious-plan-to-collect-more-personal-data-from-foreign-travelers.html

School Matters: Homeland Security High http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=43b614c4146abb03305388737d64d15a

ManTech Awarded $820M Contract to Support Route Clearance and IED Vehicles in Southwest Asia http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/mantech-awarded-820m-contract-support/story.aspx?guid=%7BFE95EE45-2AB7-4AF7-868A-E33BC19041D7%7D&dist=hppr

Pandemic preparation: Planning, partnerships (NH)http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/GJNEWS02/1911/-1/CITNEWS

Somewhere out in the world, there's a potential pandemic with America and the Granite State's name on it, but the good news, said state Director of Public Health Services, is that New Hampshire and local communities are planning for it.

FCS, AU Terror Bunker, Goldman Sachs/India Billionaire, + news

The revolution of warfare
San Diego-based SAIC is tackling part of the costliest,most complex modernization program in the Army's history
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080629-9999-lz1b29warfare.html



Soldiers in an experimental Army brigade at Fort Bliss, Texas, trained using a robotic tracked vehicle that is part of a $160 billion modernization program called Future Combat Systems. An earlier version of the unmanned ground vehicle is in use in Iraq.

WASHINGTON – Imagine a battlefield where soldiers, sensors, robots, vehicles and weapons are all linked in a high-speed wireless network, allowing the enemy to be seen, monitored and, if necessary, attacked from afar.
Such is the promise of Future Combat Systems, a $160 billion Army modernization effort in which San Diego-based SAIC is a key contractor.
FCS is the largest, most costly and complex modernization program in Army history. Proponents say it will revolutionize warfare, increasing the lethal force of U.S. troops while providing them with additional protection.
It's also a big deal for SAIC, which serves as co-manager of the program in its capacity as co-lead systems integrator with the much larger Boeing Corp.
SAIC will earn about $2.7 billion from its contract with the Army, marking the largest contract ever won by the company......


Secret bunker ready in case of terrorist attack (AU)
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,23930442-922,00.html
THE Federal Government has built a $36 million top-secret communications office in a Canberra industrial estate.
If the capital suffered a serious terrorist attack, the new office would run the so-called Plan Mercator - which promises continuity of government.
Mercator, like similar plans across the world, provides for the evacuation of the Governor-General, Prime Minister, senior ministers and key advisers. .....

Japan, China, S. Korea plan flu outbreak drill
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080630TDY01305.htm
The government has decided to conduct its first joint drill with China and South Korea, possibly in October, to prepare against the possibility of an outbreak of new strains of influenza, according to sources.
Through the joint drill, the three countries hope to determine whether the sharing of information among them and their quarantine measures are satisfactory, using the results of the drill to establish new guidelines.
The Japanese government also plans to conduct joint drills with domestic medical institutions and local governments and to determine if these entities nationwide are fully prepared for a possible outbreak.
H5N1 avian influenza virus is said to have mutated into a new strain of influenza that can be passed on to humans. Many experts say such an outbreak would occur in Asia, where many people are reported to have been infected with the H5N1 virus. .....

Annals of Homeland Security: Crony Capitalism, Nuclear Terror and the "Advanced Spectroscopic Portal"
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9472

Qwest Introduces Federal Agencies to Universal and Secure Solution for Accessing Digital Resources and Sensitive Data
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/qwest-introduces-federal-agencies-universal-secure-solution-accessing-digital/
"This technology provides increased security for federal government systems and will help agencies meet mandates for programs such as teleworking and continuity of operations planning (COOP: 7.22, -0.03, -0.41%)," said Diana Gowen, senior vice president and general manager of Qwest Government Services.

Lakshmi Mittal joins Goldman Sachs board
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5fNg5YCCfmnGePlYUGRlJ5jGw2gD91JTVP80
NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Sunday that billionaire steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has been elected as an independent director at the world's largest investment bank.
Mittal, who is chairman and chief executive of the world's largest steel producer, ArcelorMittal SA, joined Goldman Sachs' 13-member board Saturday and will serve on its Audit, Compensation and Corporate Governance and Nominating committees....

U.S. to pay millions in lawsuit over anthrax innuendo
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/29/america/hatfill.php

*The Anthrax "Ignorance"Most 9/11 researcher often ignore, that September 11th followed a very advanced timeline, but something also went wrong.It is now very clear, that a bio-nuclear threat WAS part of the original script of the September 11th attacks.Most possibly, a dirty bomb attack was put on hold, but an alleged "bio attack" took place.The drill for this scenario restarted at least on September 10th, was followed on September 11th, with an advise for the White House, to take Cipro and officially continued in New York, with the postponed bio drill "triPOD".What later became worldwide famous as the anthrax letters, was first professionally drilled in the June 2001 drill, "Dark Winter".Instead of Anthrax, Smallpox was the "pending threat".One of the co-organizer was ANSER Institute for Homeland Security.Few knew, that the "Homeland Security" did already exist 2 years before September 11th.Interestingly, the very same people, who later exploited the danger of "weapons of mass destruction", had been already part of the line-up of Dark Winter:R. James WoolseyJames Woolsey, former CIA director, former Titan Corporation (-> Project Trailblazer) and currently one of the board members of BoozAllen Hamilton.Woolsey is also one of the members of the neocon Project for New American Century (PNAC).In 2000, PNAC issued a report predicting that their proposed "transformation" of U.S. military and diplomatic policy in the Middle East wouldn't come very quickly, barring the occurrence of "some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor."9/11 was this "Pearl Harbour".Woolsey was also appointed as Fluor's board member in January 2004, while Fluor and a partner, AMEC Plc, were competing for two federal contracts to do reconstruction work in Iraq.
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:l8WJo19nbDUJ:911review.org/inn.globalfreepress/lost_terror_drills_11b.html+dark+winter+antrax+drill&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us