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Welcome back to the New World Next Week - the video series from Corbett Report & Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in alternative news & open source intelligence. This week:
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from avstop: The FAA has established a “Temporary Flight Restriction” (TFR) around Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida for the Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010. NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command fighters will be busy well before Super Bowl Sunday preparing to protect the skies around the stadium in Miami for game day. “Exercise Amalgam Virgo 10-Miami” will be held Thursday in the Greater Miami area to allow interagency partners the chance to practice temporary flight restriction violation procedures.
“Amalgam Virgo 10.1-Miami” comprises a series of training flights held in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Civil Air Patrol, and CONR’s Eastern Air Defense Sector. Residents in the area can expect flights to begin around midnight Thursday and continue for about two hours early Friday morning. “This exercise in Miami is an effective way to ensure all interagency partners are prepared for game day,” said Maj. Gen. Garry Dean, CONR commander.
update1: microsoft giving 'situational awareness' to super bowl 44 from microsoft press pass: The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) and Microsoft Corp., with assistance from Analyst International Corporation (AIC) and Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), are coordinating intelligence efforts surrounding Super Bowl XLIV by enhanced information sharing and intelligence gathering, made possible through a new fusion center collaboration solution. Leveraging information across multiple jurisdictions at the local, regional and national level, justice and public safety officials responsible for securing Super Bowl XLIV will use Fusion Core Solution to more effectively identify and help prevent threats potentially posed by organized crime, gangs, drug cartels and terrorists.
masonic big brother is watching, but seniors don’t mind from jeffrey kurz: Sensors keep track of just about everything Shirley Player does in her apartment, but she’s not worried that Big Brother is watching. Far from it. “I feel very safe with it... It’s nice to know you’re being watched.” Player is one of 68 residents of the Masonicare retirement community participating in a study that aims to determine whether keeping a technological eye on seniors can help them live longer independently in their own homes.
microsoft wants to get under your skin from the register: Microsoft's HealthVault, the medical records database, is to be integrated with VeriMed's human-embedded RFID tags, allowing doctors to access the medical records of unconscious patients with a quick scan of the arm. VeriMed consists of an RFID tag that is embedded in the arm of a hopefully willing participant, and responds with a 16-digital identity code when queried at 134KHz. This code can then be used to identify the person through VeriChip's website, and will soon be able to link to their medical records as stored on Microsoft's HealthVault system. "VeriMed adds an exciting RFID-based option for HealthVault users trying to keep themselves and their families safe," says Sean Nolan, the chief architect for HealthVault, quoted in RFID Journal. If you're excited about the idea of being electronically indexed then this is probably the technology for you.
and from there, it just gets worse...
cheney admits detainee-abuse role from consortium news: Vice President Dick Cheney said for the first time Monday that he helped get the “process cleared” for the brutal interrogation program of suspected terrorists. In an interview with ABC News, Cheney was matter-of-fact and unapologetic about the harsh techniques used against the detainees — including waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning considered torture since the days of the Inquisition. “I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the [Central Intelligence] Agency, in effect, came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do,” Cheney said. “And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it.”
feds say antiwar cd's included in 'suspicious packages' sent to nat'l guard from ap: (Editor’s note: This stinks to high heaven of a COINTELPRO operation designed to make anti-war activists look like terrorists.) Suspicious packages have been sent to National Guard and Reserve facilities in 36 states, federal authorities said Wednesday. Initial reports from the Guard that one of the packages contained a powdery substance turned out to be incorrect, officials said. The 51 packages included anti-war compact discs and began arriving at locations around the country last Friday, said National Guard spokesman Mark Allen.
details emerge on failed nuke inspection from danger room: It ain't easy for an Air Force unit to pass a nuclear inspection these days. Air Force Times has details on the flunked test that we first reported on Saturday. It sounds like paperwork issues blew the exam for the 90th Missile Wing. "Inspectors failed the 90th Missile Wing after discovering the maintenance group had not properly documented tests done to its missiles, even leaving some tests completely undocumented," the paper's Michael Hoffman reports. "An unsatisfactory grade on any portion of the NSI [nuclear surety inspection] fails the entire wing."
'war on terror' a generational conflict, bush says from afp: The United States' "war on terror" will continue for many years to come, President George W. Bush said Wednesday in a speech on his national security legacy. Bush, who leaves office on January 20, compared the fight against terror to the Cold War of the post-World War II years. "Like the struggle against Communism during the Cold War, the struggle against terror will be a generational conflict," Bush told military officers at the US Army War College. That struggle is "one that will continue long beyond my presidency," Bush said.
iraq spokesman: US troops might be needed for another decade from mcclatchy: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last month sold the Iraqi people on a security pact with the U.S. He called it a “withdrawal agreement” to end the presence of American forces in his country by the beginning of 2012. However, his top government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, undercut that claim this week when he said in Washington that the U.S. might be needed in Iraq for another 10 years. Al-Dabbagh’s statement reverberated with political leaders in Baghdad and renewed criticism of the deal.
the failed logic of supporting the troops from global research: In the United States, a growing number of leftists are voicing their opposition to the Israeli occupation. They condemn the demolition of homes, the jailing of Palestinians without charge, and the confiscation of Palestinian land for settlements. They don't support the Israeli troops or their mission, nor do they give a free pass to those who are just "doing what they are told." Nonetheless, many of these same individuals support the US troops in Iraq. Dangerously, most Americans put forth the notion that the troops' intrinsic heroism provides them with the impunity to destroy any bogeymen who stand in their way, cultivating a code of silence that strongly discourages dissent. It is under this premise that we support our "brave" and "noble" soldiers: we know their stories well, they miss their families, they are "just like us," and we should respect their service. While one may comprehend the mindset of the troops, this understanding does not validate support for them. If the invasion of Iraq, the mission, and the occupation as stated policy are all wrong, then support for the armed forces carrying out the mission must also be wrong.
cleveland installs downtown surveillance cameras from wkyc: The city is installing 13 new surveillance cameras downtown to send a safety message. Four of the cameras are operating now and nine more will be working by next weekend in time for the city's annual holiday display on Public Square. The city will monitor and control the cameras and record images around the clock. Public Safety Director Martin Flask says the cameras are mounted on poles and have blue strobe lights attached to them so people can see them and feel safe. The wireless system operating the cameras will store images for a month.
license-plate scanning catching crooks & raising privacy worries from arizona republic: Officer David Callister parks his patrol car under a shady interstate overpass, angling his cameras to target a flurry of passing traffic. Then he waits. Infrared units mounted to the front of Callister's vehicle scan the license plates of a Casa Grande firefighter, an Ohio State football fan and everyone else who drives past as he hunts for stolen vehicles. Every plate is photographed, time-stamped, labeled on a GPS map and automatically logged into an Arizona Department of Public Safety database. An electronic voice alerts Callister to stolen vehicles within seconds after they pass, giving him the ability to make quick arrests.
US rolls out 'vicinity rfid' to check id's in moving vehicles from the register: RFID technology that allows the remote identification of travellers in moving vehicles is being rolled out at US land border crossings this month. Crossing points with Canada at Blaine, and with Mexico at Nogales, came online last week, with Buffalo, Detroit and San Ysidro to follow, and a total of 39 planned. The system uses the US PASSport (People, Access Security Service) card, which is intended to operate within the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) for US citizens entering the US via land and sea ports. Using "Vicinity RFID" it can read the cards from a healthy skimming distance of 20-30 feet, but according to the Department of Homeland Security this isn't a problem. The RFID chip on the card doesn't contain any personal information, only a unique identification number, and skimmers wouldn't have access to the data the number matches up with.
uk social services 'set up cctv camera in couple's bedroom' from telegraph: Council staff are said to have spied on the young parents at night as part of a plan to see if they were fit to look after their baby, who was sleeping in another room. The mother and father were forced to cite the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to a private life, before the social services team backed down and agreed to switch off the surveillance camera while they were in bed together. The case is highlighted in a new dossier of human rights abuses carried out against vulnerable and elderly adults in nursing homes and hospitals across Britain. It comes just days after the Government admitted town halls have gone too far in using anti-terror laws to snoop on members of the public.
cynthia mckinney prevented from leaving US from paul joseph watson: Former Congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney has been prevented from leaving the country after she planned to give a speech in Damascus Syria at a Conference being held to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Today, November 23rd, I was slated to give remarks in Damascus, Syria at a Conference being held to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, sadly, the 60th year that the Palestinian people have been denied their Right of Return enshrined in that Universal Declaration. But a funny thing happened to me while at the Atlanta airport on my way to the Conference: I was not allowed to exit the country,” writes McKinney.
military examines role in domestic defense from ap: Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday ordered his top department leaders to conduct a broad review to determine whether the military, National Guard and Reserve can adequately deal with domestic disasters and whether they have the training and equipment to defend the homeland. The 41-page memo signaled an acknowledgment that the military must better recognize the critical role of the National Guard and Reserves in homeland defense, but stopped short of requiring many specific policy changes. His memo comes in the wake of a stinging 400-page independent commission report that concluded the military isn't ready for a catastrophic attack on the country, and that National Guard forces don't have the equipment or training they need for the job.
US army to equip national guard unit with future combat system aerial robots from usarmy: The Army's commitment to equipping its total force with Future Combat System (FCS) capabilities continues as the first Army National Guard unit - the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the Pennsylvania National Guard begins training next month with the FCS-developed gasoline-powered Micro Air Vehicle (gMAV) prior to the unit's deployment to Iraq in January.
US govt taps facebook, google & mtv to 'fight terrorism' from afp: The US State Department announced plans on Monday to promote online youth groups as a new and powerful way to fight crime, political oppression and terrorism. Drawing inspiration from a movement against FARC rebels in Colombia, the State Department is joining forces with Facebook, Google, MTV, Howcast and others in New York City next week to get the "ball rolling." It said 17 groups from South Africa, Britain and the Middle East which have an online presence like the "Million Voices Against the FARC" will attend a conference at Columbia University Law School from December 3-5.
robot may be more 'humane' soldier from iht: In the heat of battle, their minds clouded by fear, anger or vengefulness, even the best-trained soldiers can act in ways that violate the Geneva Conventions or battlefield rules of engagement. Now some researchers suggest that robots could do better. "My research hypothesis is that intelligent robots can behave more ethically in the battlefield than humans currently can," said Ronald Arkin, a computer scientist at Georgia Tech, who is designing software for battlefield robots under contract with the U.S. Army. "That's the case I make."
super soldiers & beyond from discover magazine: The military’s most farseeing agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, required the services of Eleventh Hour’s Jacob Hood in last night’s episode to figure who violently killed some test-chimps and a veterinarian in the agency’s super soldier program. It seems a mad scientist had found some way to increase the size of a human amygdala, which led the soldier to have extreme, and unthinking, fight-or-flight reactions. Whenever someone approached this super soldier in a threatening way, he reacted with extreme prejudice. Naturally, the mad scientist wasn’t supposed to be testing on people, which is why by the end of the show he was off to prison. But DARPA is pretty serious about improving the, ahem, human component of soldiering. After decades of focusing on machines (like unmanned flying drones, GPS, and Internet), DARPA decided toward the end of the 1990s to focus on improving the actual biology of the soldiers. Contrary to the show, the goal is not extremely obedient killers. The modern military is focused on small teams functioning independently, far from base and reinforcements of any kind. To succeed in this kind of environment, they want to actually increase the ability of soldiers to think creatively, to stay awake longer, and to be physically active longer without becoming tired.
Judging from a recent patent application, Microsoft hopes to build some sort of "activity monitoring system" that keeps an eye on worker productivity using various "physiological or environmental sensors." These sensors would track everything from heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, facial expressions, and blood pressure to brain signals and galvanic skin response.
Yes, galvanic skin response is what drives a lie detector.
Redmond sees this system as a way for companies and, um, governments to monitor "group activities." "In particular, the system can monitor user activity, detect when users need assistance with their specific activities, and identify at least one other user that can assist them," the patent application reads, in classic patent speak. "Assistance can be in the form of answering questions, providing guidance to the user as the user completes the activity, or completing the activity such as in the case of taking on an assigned activity."
In other words: If you don't do your duty, the system will make sure your duties are assigned to someone else.
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Welcome to New World Next Week - the video series from Corbett Report and Media Monarchy that covers some of the most important developments in open source intelligence news. This week:
Visit NewWorldNextWeek.com to get previous episodes in various formats to download, burn and share. And as always, stay up-to-date by subscribing to the feeds from Corbett Report here and Media Monarchy here. Thank you.
