from reuters: The Obama administration has ordered a top-level review of the U.S. human spaceflight program that has been focused on returning astronauts to the moon by 2020, officials said on Thursday. Former Lockheed Martin Chairman and Chief Executive Norm Augustine will head a blue-ribbon panel charged with assessing NASA's progress on a space transportation system to replace the retiring space shuttle fleet. "Clearly if we're on the wrong path, we should change, but if you're asking me do I think we're on the wrong path, the answer is no," Chris Scolese, NASA's acting administrator, said at a news conference to unveil the agency's $18.7 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning October 1. The review, which is due by August, will focus on the U.S. space agency's Ares rocket program and the Orion capsule that is being designed to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station as well as to the lunar surface.
ahead of g20, council told to switch off illegal £15m cctv from guardian: The security operation at this week's G20 summit was thrown into chaos last night when it emerged that the entire network of central London's wireless CCTV cameras will have to be turned off because of a legal ruling. The Department for Transport (DfT) has ruled that Westminster council's mobile road cameras - a third of the authority's CCTV network - "do not fully meet the resolution standards required" and must be switched off by midnight tomorrow. The blackout begins on the eve of the summit, when world leaders arrive in the capital and protesters take to the streets.
'the beast': obamamobile guards against emp attacks from bbc: You can take the man out of the White House. But you can't take the White House away from the man. And US President Barack Obama has arrived in London for the G20 summit with a large contingent of the White House staff with him. Hundreds of security guards, doctors, chefs and others are accompanying President Obama on his visit, and the entourage includes a number of presidential vehicles - including his new armour-plated limousine, The Beast, and aeroplane, Air Force One. The 4,000 sq ft Boeing 747 is fully equipped for the president to work while he is in the air. The exercise-loving president will even be able to use the onboard gym to keep fit inflight. The plane is fitted with some robust security equipment including shields to protect its instruments from an electromagnetic pulse. The communications equipment is even capable of withstanding radiation from a nuclear attack.
brown invokes 'god' & the new world order in st paul sermon from daily mail: Gordon Brown has made an overtly religious call for a new world order based on the 'deep moral sense' shared by all faiths. Making the first speech by a serving Prime Minister at St Paul's Cathedral in London, he quoted scripture as he urged people to unite to forge a new 'global society'.
from ap: It may seem like the country that used to make everything is on the brink of making nothing. In January, 207,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. Factory activity is hovering at a 28-year low. Even before the recession, plants were hemorrhaging work to foreign competitors with cheap labor. And some companies were moving production overseas.
But manufacturing in the United States isn't dead or even dying. It's moving upscale, following the biggest profits, and becoming more efficient, just like Henry Ford did when he created the assembly line to make the Model T.
The U.S. by far remains the world's leading manufacturer by value of goods produced. It hit a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 - nearly double the $811 billion in 1987. For every $1 of value produced in China's factories, America generates $2.50.
So what's made in the USA these days?
The U.S. sold more than $200 billion worth of aircraft, missiles and space-related equipment in 2007. And $80 billion worth of autos and auto parts. Deere & Co., best known for its bright green and yellow tractors, sold $16.5 billion worth of farming equipment last year, much of it to the rest of the world. Then there's energy products like gas turbines for power plants made by General Electric, computer chips from Intel and fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Household names like GE, General Motors, IBM, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard are among the largest manufacturers by revenue.
cern atom-smasher relaunch delayed to september from afp: Researchers announced Monday a new delay for the restart of Europe's Big Bang atom-smasher, saying the faulty multi-billion dollar machine would now be turned back on in late September. The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) had planned to relaunch the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) this spring before delaying it to the summer. But CERN management decided to aim for a September restart to reinforce protection systems. "The schedule we have now is without a doubt the best for the LHC and for the physicists waiting for data," CERN Director General Rolf-Dieter Heuer said in a statement. "It is cautious, ensuring that all the necessary work is done on the LHC before we start-up, yet it allows physics research to begin this year."
who'll be the next darpa chief? from danger room: Tony Tether, the long-time chief of Darpa, is stepping down. So who'll be the next to head up the Pentagon's premiere research agency - and become the country's most visible defense geek? Several different names keep coming up. In no particular order, they include:
Dr. Lisa Porter, physicist, head of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity ("Darpa for spies"), and former NASA associate administrator;
Dr. Mark Lewis, aeronautical engineer, University of Maryland professor, and former Chief Scientist of the Air Force;
Dr. Michael Goldblatt, CEO of Functional Genetics, former head of Darpa's Defense Sciences Office, former science and technology chief at McDonald's Corporation;
Dr. Jane "Xan" Alexander, physicist, former deputy director of Darpa and the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency;
Dr. Regina Dugan, mechanical engineer, former Darpa program manager;
Zach Lemnios, electrical engineer, Chief Technology Officer at MIT's Lincoln Lab, and former director of Darpa's Microsystems Technology Office;
Dr. Amy Alving, aerospace engineer, Chief Technology Officer at SAIC, and former director of Darpa's Special Projects Office.
boeing says spysat-spying spysats on track for launch from register: US aerospace colossus Boeing says it has conducted successful ground testing of America's planned "space surveillance" satellite system. The idea, essentially, is spy satellites to spy on other spy satellites. Boeing and the US Air Force refer to the new watcher-watcher kit as Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS). "The SBSS team is making good progress on the path toward launch," said Colonel James Jordan of the USAF Space Superiority Wing in Los Angeles. The colonel was speaking of recent tests in which a space-command ops centre in Colorado successfully sent control signals over "the encrypted Air Force satellite control network" to an SBSS spacecraft on the ground. The plan is for the first SBSS sats to be launched this spring. Once in space they will be able to monitor other objects in near-Earth space using optical sensors. America would like to be able to do this primarily because keeping track of opposition spy satellites is difficult from the Earth's surface... SBSS watcher-sats high in space can monitor a large part of an entire hemisphere, unaffected by weather. Not only can they keep tabs on opposition spybirds as they orbit, they can also watch what happens after things are launched into space. "The importance of a space-based capability to monitor space assets cannot be overstated," said Craig Cooning, Boeing veep in charge of space monitoring stuff. Well, maybe it can be just a little.
amerithrax lab halts research after toxin-tracking scare from danger room: When the Pentagon needs to handle the deadliest biowarfare threats, it turns to the labs of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Maryland. It's the only place in the American military complex equipped to handle the worst of the worst diseases -- those that have no cure and are transmissible by air. Which makes it extremely unnerving, that the place had to suspend biodefense research on Friday, "after discovering apparent problems with the system of accounting for high-risk microbes and biomaterials." That's the scoop from the new ScienceInsider blog, which notes that "the lab has been under intense scrutiny since August, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation named former USAMRIID researcher Bruce Ivins as the perpetrator of the 2001 anthrax letter attacks." The concern this time is that the lab may not be accurately tracking the use and storage of all of its biological organisms in an internal government database - leaving the door open to misplacement, mishandling, or worse. According to an internal memo obtained by ScienceInsider, "any materials found without a corresponding record in the database must be reported to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army." "I believe that the probability that there are additional vials of BSAT [biological select agents and toxins] not captured in our … database is high," institute commander Col. John Skvorak wrote. This is not a good thing.
nerve agent may be missing from utah depot from deseret news: Is the Army missing some nerve gas? Pentagon auditors concede that is a remote possibility because of discrepancies in records between how much chemical weapons agent was initially stored and how much of it was later destroyed at Utah's Deseret Chemical Depot and other bases nationwide. But officials believe all the nerve agent in question was destroyed, according to a partially censored U.S. Army Audit Agency report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Auditors list in it several reasons that could have caused apparent-but-unreal variances in those records. But auditors concluded, "The (Army Chemical Materials) Agency didn't have complete assurance that amounts recorded in the system were accurate, which increased its chances for heightened levels of program scrutiny by federal, state and international organizations that have a vested interest in the elimination of chemical weapons." Such words can cause shivers among Utahns who remember such things as the death of thousands of sheep in Skull Valley in 1968 that were blamed on nerve gas tests that went awry at nearby Dugway Proving Ground, and Skull Valley residents who have blamed mysterious illnesses on exposure to tiny amounts of nerve agent from such tests.
obama's hypocrisy for raytheon: #2 at dod worked for military-industrial complex from youtube: Obama has already U-turned on a new policy of not allowing lobbyists in his administration to work with issues they have lobbied on in the past. However, just two days after stating his policy, he is already made an exception to his own rule by allowing William Lynn, a defense lobbyist for Raytheon to become the deputy defense secretary.
video: and you thought bush was bad from sociostudent: I don't see what's so hard to understand about this: Obama is just a front-man for the New World Order, the "brand name" of tyranny for the next 4 to 8 years. He's not the Christ OR the Anti-Christ: He's just an empty suit full of empty promises.
al-zawahiri calls obama 'a house negro' from washington post: Soon after the November election, al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader took stock of America's new president-elect and dismissed him with an insulting epithet. "A house Negro," Ayman al-Zawahiri said. That was just a warm-up. In the weeks since, the terrorist group has unleashed a stream of verbal tirades against Barack Obama, each more venomous than the last. Obama has been called a "hypocrite," a "killer" of innocents, an "enemy of Muslims." He was even blamed for the Israeli military assault on Gaza, which began and ended before he took office. "He kills your brothers and sisters in Gaza mercilessly and without affection," an al-Qaeda spokesman declared in a grainy Internet video this month. The torrent of hateful words is part of what terrorism experts now believe is a deliberate, even desperate, propaganda campaign against a president who appears to have gotten under al-Qaeda's skin. The departure of George W. Bush deprived al-Qaeda of a polarizing American leader who reliably drove recruits and donations to the terrorist group.
obama claims to seek space weapon ban from reuters: President Barack Obama's pledge to seek a worldwide ban on weapons in space marks a dramatic shift in U.S. policy while posing the tricky issue of defining whether a satellite can be a weapon. Moments after Obama's inauguration last week, the White House website was updated to include policy statements on a range of issues, including a pledge to restore U.S. leadership on space issues and seek a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites. It also promised to look at threats to U.S. satellites, contingency plans to keep information flowing from them, and what steps are needed to protect spacecraft against attack. The issue is being closely watched by Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, the biggest U.S. defense contractors, and other companies involved in military and civilian space contracts. Watchdog groups and even some defense officials welcomed the statement, which echoed Obama's campaign promises, but said it would take time to hammer out a comprehensive new strategy. Enacting a global ban on space weapons could prove even harder.
from danger room: With budget tights and tolerance for high-price technology programs growing thin, the Army today is announcing plans to revamp its massive $200 billion modernization effort, called the Future Combat Systems. Like the program itself, the changes are confusing, but appear to consist of plans to accelerate those technologies the Army thinks are most needed in the field and are moving along quickly, like drones, while pushing back those weapons more suited for major military conflict. "Army officials say the revisions could push the program's total price tag even higher, lifting the fortunes of the effort's two main contractors, Boeing Co. and SAIC Inc.," the Wall Street Journal reports... The move is, at least in part, designed to address concerns being raised in Congress about the megalith program, which links together massive amounts of software and hardware. A House committee wants to slice some $200 milllion from the request to fund FCS. That may sound like a lot, but the total request for FCS for fiscal 2009 is about $3.6 billion.
The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced his approval of the fence built by the Boeing Co. The fence consists of nine electronic surveillance towers along a 28-mile section of border southwest of Tucson.
Boeing is to replace the so-called Project 28 prototype with a series of towers equipped with communications systems, cameras and radar capability, officials said.
US troops asked if they would shoot american citizens from paul joseph watson: U.S. troops are being trained to conduct round-ups, confiscate guns and shoot American citizens, including their own friends and family members, as part of a long-standing program to prepare for the declaration of martial law, according to a soldier who recently returned from Iraq. We received an e mail from "Scott", a member of a pipefitters union that runs an apprenticeship program called Helmets To Hard Hats, which according to its website, "Is a national program that connects National Guard, Reserve and transitioning active-duty military members with quality career training and employment opportunities within the construction industry."
annual pentagon request: half a trillion & counting from danger room: As expected, the administration's budget request for the Defense Department has topped half a trillion dollars, not counting additional money that would be used to fund ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. That a lot of money, even by defense standards. The Pentagon today announced it was requesting "$515.4 billion in discretionary authority for the Department of Defense (DoD), a $35.9 billion or 7.5 percent increase over the enacted level for Fiscal Year 2008." As expected, a good portion of the regular budget it going toward ground forces, including additional funding to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
war is not a video game: fcs follies part2 from spacewar: Every fundamental mistake that was made in the disastrous Future Intelligence Architecture program is now being repeated in the Future Combat Systems projects - the main difference being the FCS will cost at least 50 times as much... Yet the assumption of the Future Combat Systems program, now being developed by the U.S. Army and other U.S. forces at a cost of at least $200 billion is that if an integrated, reliable software that can function well amid the stress of battle in real time can be created, the enhanced control from the center that it offers will make future wars far easier to win.
boeing robo-chopper for darpa's super-spyeye from uk register: Arms'n'airliners behemoth Boeing has announced that its autonomous robotic stealth chopper, the A160T, will be the initial carrying platform for a new US airborne surveillance payload. The radical new spy system will not be so much an aerial camera as an all-seeing insect-style compound bugeye able to simultaneously look at many different things.
The spy machinery, dubbed ARGUS-IS, is under development by DARPA (596kb PDF) - the Pentagon deathboffin apparat where ideas need to be off walls, outside boxes, and well to the left of any field...
dragonfly or insect spy? scientists at work on robobugs from washington post: Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month. "I heard someone say, 'Oh my god, look at those,'" the college senior from New York recalled. "I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?'...
That is just one of the questions hovering over a handful of similar sightings at political events in Washington and New York. Some suspect the insect-like drones are high-tech surveillance tools, perhaps deployed by the Department of Homeland Security.
'dangerous' new music from radiohead from afp: Fans of British rockers Radiohead yesterday took advantage of the band's offer to let them pay what they want for their new album, In Rainbows, with one third deciding to pay absolutely nothing for the download, reports said today.
The hit art-rockers, already authors of six albums, drew widespread publicity when they announced earlier this month that fans could decide the price themselves, saying “It's up to you” on their website...
giuliani visits portland, gets 9/11 truth on local tv from 9/11 blogger: Rudy Giuliani made a surprise visit to Portland, Oregon. Word got out to the Portland 9/11 Truth Alliance, who demonstrated outside the restaurant where Giuliani was. Local TV news caught the action...
from katu: Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani ducked into Portland Saturday for a private fundraiser at a supporter's home, then headed to a New York-style delicatessen to mingle with voters, where he was met by dozens of anti-war protesters equating him with the Bush administration. Portland is traditionally Democratic country, as evidenced by the jeers that greeted Giuliani.
from ny1: Five airlines and airline-maker Boeing have filed 9/11-related lawsuits in Manhattan Federal Court against the CIA and the FBI.
The airlines say they need the agents' testimony to defend themselves against lawsuits which say they were to blame for the 9/11 attacks.
Forty-one cases were filed on behalf of 42 victims, because some of them decided to sue the airlines rather than accept payouts from the September 11th Victim's Compensation Fund.
The first trials are scheduled to begin next month.
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video: it's now a tradition - the government militarizes the stupor bowl as another 'black sunday' arrives* 
