What Adam Curry is reading

"It's A Massacre" - Each Day 134 Retail Outlets Close In Italy.
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  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:32
  If anyone is still not convinced that surging stock bourses in Europe are indicative of anything more than central bank liquidity, carry trade allocation and localized asset bubbles, we present a snapshot of what is actually happening on the ground via Italy's Ansa: "It's a massacre," said Confesercenti President Marco Venturi. "Each day 134 shops, restaurants and bars close in recession-hit Italy, retail association Confesercenti said on Wednesday. Confesercenti, which represents small and medium-sized businesses in the retail and tourism sectors, said 224,000 enterprises had closed their shutters since the start of the global economic crisis in 2008.
  "Every day five green grocers, four butchers, 42 clothes shops, 43 restaurants and 40 bars and catering business close down".
  But who needs commerce when all those newly available day traders can just boot up their E-trade platform and trade their way, along with the trading mascot baby, to untold riches?
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 4.8(16 votes)
FBI director acknowledges use of Surveillance Drones in the US
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  Archived Version
  Source: Global Research
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:31
  FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged in Congressional testimony on Wednesday that his agency has used aerial drones for surveillance purposes within the United States. The revelation came in the midst of more efforts to justify the Obama administration's unconstitutional domestic surveillance programs under the banner of the ''war on terror.''
  Though the government has previously admitted to using drones along the US-Mexico border and in isolated instances, Mueller's admission was the first time the FBI publicly acknowledged that it uses remotely piloted aircraft. The disclosure may well have been made in order to pre-empt whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has threatened to make public further details about the government's widespread surveillance programs.
  During Mueller's testimony, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley asked, ''Does the FBI own or currently use drones and if so for what purpose?''
  ''Yes, and for surveillance,'' Mueller replied
  ''[Drones are] very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident when you need the capability,'' Mueller claimed in an attempt to downplay the significance of the revelation. Mueller gave no indication as to what these ''particular incident(s)'' were.
  In the course of his testimony, Mueller repeated claims made by the Obama administration and intelligence officials over the past several days aimed at defending the unconstitutional and secret spying programs revealed by Snowden.
  Obama himself, speaking in Germany yesterday, repeated talking points delivered by NSA Director Keith Alexander earlier this week. ''This is not a situation in which we are rifling through the ordinary emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anybody else,'' Obama claimed. ''This is not a situation where we simply go into the internet and start searching any way that we want. This is a circumscribed, narrow system, directed at us being able to protect our people and all of it is done with the oversight of the courts.''
  These are simply lies. What Obama calls a ''circumscribed, narrow system'' involves the collection of phone records of hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the world, along with a system that sucks up billions of Internet communications on an ongoing basis.
  Obama's statements have been directly contradicted by Snowden, as well as fellow NSA whistleblowers Thomas Drake, William Binney, and J. Kirk Wiebe.
  ''There is no probable cause,'' Drake told the USA Today in an interview published last weekend, referring to justifications given by the government to access the content of communications. ''There is no indication of any kind of counterterrorism investigation or operation. It's simply: 'give us the data.'''
  In an effort to justify the programs, Obama and the political establishment as a whole have brought out the standard ''war on terror'' arguments used for every war and violation of democratic rights over the past decade. On Wednesday, Obama repeated claims that the surveillance programs have prevented over fifty ''potential terrorist events'' since September 11.
  The counter-offensive of the Obama administration is aimed both at undermining widespread opposition to the spying programs, as well as creating the rational for the arrest, prosecution or assassination of Snowden for ''aiding the enemy'' by leaking information to the American people.
  For the US government, the Constitution and Bill of Rights'--including the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures'--are treated as suggestions, useful perhaps under some circumstances, but which can be violated whenever it is deemed necessary by the state. Speaking yesterday in Germany, Obama claimed that ''lives have been saved'' and that the administration has ''struck the appropriate balance'' between security and privacy.
  The rights guaranteed in the Constitution are not, however, suggestions. The ''state of exception'' and ''balancing'' arguments of government officials amount to declaration that the Constitution itself is invalid.
  Even if one were to accept that the spying programs had ''thwarted 50 attacks,'' this would not justify the violation of democratic rights. However, all discussion on how best to strike the ''appropriate balance'' between ''security'' and ''liberty'' is predicated on a basic lie: that the ''war on terror'' places the American and international public under the constant threat of attack, and that this threat must be countered by setting the foundations of a police state. Such arguments are the hallmark of every authoritarian regime, from Nazi Germany to Pinochet's Chile.
  In fact, the various supposed plots cited by Alexander, Obama and others are described in the vaguest possible terms'--post facto justifications for a policy implemented for entirely different reasons.
  Moreover, many of the alleged terrorist plots over the past decade'--both thwarted and otherwise'--had involved individuals who were under close surveillance by the state prior to carrying out attempted attacks. Serious questions remain as to the connections between the security apparatus and the likes of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 9/11 hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar, and suspected Danish newspaper plotter David Headley.
  It must be noted as well that the right-wing Islamic groups that that have committed terrorist attacks are the product of decades of US imperialist campaigns in the Middle East and Central Asia. More often than not, the American military has utilized the services of such organizations for their own purposes'--as was the case in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
  Claims that the US government is ''fighting terrorism'' are all the more absurd considering the Obama administration's recent decision to arm the Syrian opposition, which is spearheaded by Al-Qaida affiliated groups.
  The testimony this week, along with Obama's remarks in Berlin, are part of an intensifying campaign by the entire political establishment and the media, aimed at defending what is an unprecedented assault on the democratic rights of the population of the United States and the entire world.
Snowden says NSA used Cisco to spy: China media
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  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:27
  LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- A Chinese media report quoted former National Security Agency contract Edward Snowden as saying the U.S. government used Cisco Systems Inc. /quotes/zigman/20039/quotes/nls/cscoCSCO-0.93% routers to spy on Chinese networks. The report on the Chinese-language site Techweb.com, dated Tuesday, also said that Cisco had been involved in many major Chinese Internet infrastructure projects, including those of military and government networks. However, an English-language report on TechinAsia.com, which cited the Techweb report and other Chinese media accounts, questioned whether Snowden in fact named Cisco, as some of the reports incorrectly named Cisco as part of the NSA's "Prism" operation.
  /quotes/zigman/20039/quotes/nls/cscoUS : U.S.: Nasdaq
  Volume: 417,328
  June 20, 2013 9:30a
  Market Cap$131.90 billion
  Rev. per Employee$718,498
NSA spin-off Sqrrl Announces General Availability of its Secure Big Data Platform, Sqrrl Enterprise.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: TheCandyman's news feed
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:09
  Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) June 19, 2013
  Sqrrl, the company that develops secure database software to power Big Data applications, is now shipping Version 1.1 of Sqrrl Enterprise. Sqrrl Enterprise is the world's most secure and scalable Big Data platform for building real-time analytical applications. With Version 1.1 Sqrrl Enterprise moves from Limited Release to General Availability and delivers more advanced security tools, enhanced analytic capabilities, and a variety of additional features.
  Sqrrl Enterprise utilizes Apache Accumulo technology to deliver the only Big Data platform with cell-level security capabilities. Cell-level security enables Sqrrl customers to tag every piece of data with fine-grained security labels that dictate access to the data. This cell-level security capability makes Sqrrl Enterprise a powerful solution for industries with sensitive data, such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, energy, and government.
  ''Our customers demand enterprise-class security for their mission-critical applications,'' said Mark Terenzoni, CEO of Sqrrl. ''In Version 1.1 of Sqrrl Enterprise we have extended the rich security capabilities of Apache Accumulo, while also adding additional developer tools that make building real-time analytical applications easier.''
  Increased Security '' Version 1.1 adds encryption of data-at-rest and data-in-motion; as well as improved cell-level security capabilities, including integration with Active Directory, Kerberos and LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). Version 1.1 also features auditing capability for all transactions within Sqrrl Enterprise.
  Enhanced Analytics '' Sqrrl Enterprise provides developers with a rich set of discovery analytics that can power real-time Big Data applications (aka ''Big Apps''). These capabilities include full-text search via Apache Lucene, SQL, statistics, and graph search. All of these analytical features have tight integration with Sqrrl Enterprise's cell-level security capabilities.
  Ease-of-use '' Version 1.1 adds document store capabilities by providing full JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) document support. Sqrrl Enterprise converts Accumulo's key/value pairs into hierarchical JSON documents to simplify data models and structures. Version 1.1 also adds streaming ingest, improved installation tools and command-line shells, and configurable indexing.
  ''Developing Big Data applications is complicated and Sqrrl Enterprise substantially simplifies application development for emerging large scale apps," says Wikibon chief analyst David Vellante. "Wikibon practitioners are excited about Sqrrl toolsets because they enable organizations to co-mingle sensitive datasets on a single Big Data platform through fine-grained cell-level security controls. Scale, performance, security and flexibility will define the next wave of Big Data application development, and companies like Sqrrl are leading the way."
  Sqrrl Enterprise is currently deployed at organizations in the Government, Financial Services, Healthcare, Telecommunications, and Academia sectors, providing solutions for secure data stores, secure search, and real-time analytics applications. One of the most popular use cases for Sqrrl Enterprise is using it as a platform for Big Data Security Analytics.
  Big Data Security Analytics Use CaseCybersecurity professionals are building Big Data Security Analytics apps with Sqrrl Enterprise. These apps are designed to continuously ingest and store petabytes of cybersecurity data, such as log and event files, Netflow data, emails, social activity, identity context information, and threat intelligence. The amount and variety of this data would overwhelm a traditional Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool. Sqrrl Enterprise augments SIEM capabilities by supporting retrospective analysis over years of multi-structured historical data. Using Sqrrl Enterprise's analytical building blocks, Sqrrl customers are rapidly building secure, lightweight apps to interrogate or ''swim through'' all of this data in real-time.
  About SqrrlHeadquartered in Cambridge, MA, Sqrrl was founded by former computer scientists from the National Security Agency (NSA). As part of the team that created Apache Accumulo, Sqrrl founders have been working with some of the largest, most complex and most sensitive data sets in the world. Today, Sqrrl Enterprise is the world's most secure and scalable Big Data platform for building real-time analytical applications. It is the only Big Data solution that possesses fine-grained security controls, scales elastically to tens of petabytes of data, and supports a diverse set of analytics, including graph, SQL, statistics, and full-text search. As creators and developers of Accumulo, Sqrrl's understanding of security and Big Data technologies enable organizations to securely unlock the potential of Big Data. Learn more at http://www.sqrrl.com.
Bulgaria: Citizens head back to the streets.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 13:06
  At a demonstration against the appointment of Bulgaria's new head of counter espionage. Sofia, June 14, 2013.
  For almost a whole week, the streets of Bulgaria have been thronged with protesters. The appointment of a controversial member of parliament to head the counterintelligence agency was all that was needed to rekindle the February protests, which led to an early election. Discontent still lingers. Excerpts.
  I wrote an article some time ago to explain how I found a person who reads to be beautiful. That person, you see, is discreetly cultivating his taste for things that are absent. And a person who has this cultivated taste cannot be a swine.
  The person who protests is beautiful too, and for the same reasons. Today, the two are tied, intimately but strongly. When the person who reads goes out into the street to protest, we notice him immediately. And his protest becomes more luminous, full of sense. This is what we are seeing today in the streets of Sofia and elsewhere. Both literally and metaphorically, these protests are the protests of children. Of the children and the grandchildren of those who came out in February to protest against the hike in the price of electricity.
  But June is not February. The children of June are demanding much more. Today, it is no longer a question of money and unpaid bills. In February, the political elite responded very quickly, and the Conservative government of Boyko Borisov resigned after two weeks of demonstrations that were at times marred by violence. When it comes to money, things are simpler: one launches some pie-in-the-sky promises, hands out state aid and blames everything on big foreign capital that controls the electricity companies.
  Protest sparked by Delyan PeevskiToday is quite another matter. And it's total confusion. The protesters say they do not want a shady oligarchy to go on leading the country. The elites fail to grasp that, because they eat straight out of the hands of this shady oligarchy. For them, politics boils down to the behind-the-scenes intrigues that this oligarchy cooks up. Moreover, today we are no longer hearing from the political-scientist flunkeys who are happy to trot out, in their pleased way, their insights into the situation '' those who, on television in February, were puttings words into the mouth of the protesters. That was how poor people who could not pay their bills, the humiliated and despised, were made to repeat absurdities like ''the Icelandic model'', the ''Irish model'', ''nationalisation'', and so on.
  Today, the ones who are coming out into the streets every day after 6:30 pm all have jobs, and they pay their electricity and heating bills. There are a lot of them, and from very different walks of life: parents, teachers, journalists, writers, bicyclists, actors, engineers, students, readers.These aren't professional revolutionaries, much less hooligans. That they all feel deeply offended is enough to make them come out into the street.
  The most amazing thing is that the current political elite does not always grasp why all these people are out there. The spark was the appointment of controversial MP, Delyan Peevski [which has now been revoked by parliament], as head of the National Security Agency (DANS, counter-intelligence). ''We underestimated the public image of this man'', said Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski (a ''non-partisan'' Socialist Party member whose coalition government is supported by the ethnic Turkish party, the MDL, and the ultra-nationalists of Ataka) [On June 19, the Parliament canceled the appointment of Mr. Peevski].
  ''We underestimated the resistance that his appointment has generated,'' added the Chair of the Socialist Party, Sergei Stanishev. For them, the problem is not the candidate himself but his apparently maligned image. Welcome to the language of the shady oligarchy. ''We underestimated the scale of the challenge. We were expecting a hundred people to show up outside Parliament, and it turned into quite another thing.''
  Protests must not be hijackedIf financiers read books, our crises would be different. At the very least, the financiers might develop some sensitivity. But books, and sensitivity, are not part of their portfolios. Like its predecessor, this government has yet to grasp that the economic crisis is only the tip of the iceberg of another crisis, a much deeper and more personal crisis: a crisis of meaning, of hope for the future.
  It's good to have experts, for sure, but expertise should always come after morality. And the economy after ethics. An expert without morality will always only be a tool in the hands of those who have bought his services, a tool in the service of any oligarchy.
  The first days of protest are the most beautiful, the most unexpected. We must be on our guard to save these protests from being hijacked, manipulated and distorted by nationalists and troublemakers. I sincerely hope that this protest will find the force to remain as it is today. With parents who come with their children perched on their shoulders, with smiling faces and a quiet anger. With this sense of belonging, finally, to a community of values. Because the person who protests is truly beautiful. And sensible.
  This blog post is available in English only.
House Passes Sweeping $638B Defense Bill
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:34
  WASHINGTON -- The House overwhelmingly passed a sweeping, $638 billion defense bill on Friday that imposes new punishments on members of the armed services found guilty of rape or sexual assault as outrage over the crisis in the military has galvanized Congress.
  Ignoring a White House veto threat, the Republican-controlled House voted 315-108 for the legislation, which would block President Barack Obama from closing the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and limit his efforts to reduce nuclear weapons.
  The House bill containing the provisions on sex-related crimes that the Obama administration supports as well as the detention policies that it vigorously opposes must be reconciled with a Senate version before heading to the president's desk. The Senate measure, expected to be considered this fall, costs $13 billion less than the House bill -- a budgetary difference that also will have to be resolved.
  The defense policy bill authorizes money for aircraft, weapons, ships, personnel and the war in Afghanistan in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 while blocking the Pentagon from closing domestic bases.
  Shocking statistics that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year and high-profile incidences at the service academies and in the ranks pushed lawmakers to tackle the growing problem of sexual assault. A single case of a commander overturning a conviction -- a decision that even Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel couldn't change -- drove Congress to act swiftly.
  Both the House and Senate were determined to shake up the military's culture in ways that would ensure victims that if they reported crimes, their allegations wouldn't be discounted or their careers jeopardized.
  "This is a self-inflicted wound that has no place in the military," Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost both legs and partial use of an arm in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iraq, told her colleagues in the final moments of debate on Friday.
  The House bill would require a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for a member of the armed services convicted of rape or sexual assault in a military court.
  Officers, commissioned warrant officers, cadets and midshipmen convicted of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy or attempts to commit those offenses also would be dismissed. Enlisted personnel and noncommissioned warrant officers convicted of similar crimes would be dishonorably discharged.
  The bill also would strip military commanders of the power to overturn convictions in rape and sexual assault cases and eliminate the five-year statute of limitations on trial by court-martial for sexual assault and sexual assault of a child.
  Duckworth and several other Democratic women made a last-ditch effort to change the bill to allow a victim to choose whether the Office of Chief Prosecutor or the commander in the victim's chain of command decides whether the case would go to trial. They argued that the bill did not go far enough.
  Their effort failed, 225-194, but in an emotional moment on the House floor, a wheelchair-bound Duckworth received kisses, hugs and handshakes after her plea.
  The bill also includes a provision requiring the military services to use a single combat uniform. There are now 10 different camouflage uniforms that have cost taxpayers close to $10 million over the last decade, according to Rep. Bill Enyart, D-Ill., who pushed for the measure.
  Rather than cut military and civilian personnel due to automatic budget cuts, Enyart has argued for a "joint" uniform as a cost-saving measure.
  Despite last-minute lobbying by Obama counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco, the House soundly rejected Obama's repeated pleas to shutter Guantanamo. In recent weeks, the president implored Congress to close the facility, citing its prohibitive costs and its role as a recruiting tool for extremists.
  A new hunger strike by more than 100 of the 166 prisoners protesting their conditions and indefinite confinement have prompted the fresh calls for closure. Obama is pushing to transfer approved detainees -- there are 86 -- to their home countries and lift a ban on transfers to Yemen. Fifty-six of the 86 are from Yemen.
  "They represent some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world," said Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., who argued that Yemen as a destination made no sense since it is home to an active al-Qaida affiliate.
  Countering her argument, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said the nation's intelligence experts have determined that the detainees are an acceptable risk for release and hardly a grave threat to the country.
  "Holding them forever is un-American," he said.
  The senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Smith said U.S. maximum security prisons are perfectly capable of holding terrorists, with some 300 terrorists, including some of the most notorious, currently incarcerated.
  The House voted down Smith's amendment to close the naval detention center by Dec. 31, 2014, on a 249-174 vote. It also backed Walorski's amendment to stop the president from transferring any detainees to Yemen. That vote was 236-188.
  Smith said his staff worked with the White House to win votes for the amendment.
  "We floated this out, they said they support it, and they've been lobbying to get votes for it," he said just before the vote.
  The restrictions in the House bill put it at odds with the Democratic-controlled Senate.
  The Senate Armed Services Committee's bill gives the Defense Department additional flexibility to transfer Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. and other countries, with the objective of closing the detention facility there.
  But, in a move that reflects deep divisions on Capitol Hill over Guantanamo's future, the committee did not hold votes on the provision in the bill, opting instead to have that debate when the legislation moves to the Senate floor.
  In its current form, the Senate committee's legislation would permit transfer of terror suspects to the U.S. if the Pentagon determines that doing so is in the interests of national security and that any public safety issues have been addressed, the committee said Friday in a statement detailing the bill's major provisions.
  Detainees could be moved to foreign countries if they are determined to no longer be a threat to U.S. security, the transfers are pursuant to court orders, or the individuals have been tried and acquitted, or have been convicted and completed their sentences.
  Transfers to third countries also could occur if the Pentagon determines the move supports U.S. national security interests and steps have been taken "to substantially mitigate the risk of the detainee re-engaging in terrorist activities," the committee said.
  There are still restrictions, "but there is greater flexibility provided," Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., told reporters Thursday night. But the committee's senior Republican, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, said he would fight to have the transfer authority stripped out of the committee's bill when it comes to the Senate floor this fall.
  Inhofe called Guantanamo "a great asset, a great resource" that needs to stay open.
  During two-plus days of House debate, defense hawks prevailed over fiscal hawks as the House rejected two attempts to cut the overall amount of spending authorized in the bill. Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland joined forces with Republican Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina to trim $5 billion that the Armed Services Committee had added to the bill for war costs.
  Mulvaney argued that "simply spending more money than the Defense Department asks for doesn't mean we're stronger on defense." Van Hollen called the money a "slush fund."
  The House also rejected a measure by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., to cut $53 million that the Army National Guard spends for World Wrestling Federation and NASCAR sponsorships. McCollum had argued that as the military bemoans the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts, the money could be better spent elsewhere.
  (C) Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Siri steps up response to possible suicide references
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:32
  Siri has strengthened its response to potential references to suicide by offering to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Previously it would show the locations of centres but not offer to call them.
  The change has been implemented in iOS 6 as well as iOS 7.
  38,364 Americans committed suicide last year. Worldwide estimates range between 800,000 and a million people, with suicide the 10th most common cause of death.
  (Thanks, Ryan.)
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden on al-Shabaab's Attack on the United Nations in Somalia
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:57
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  June 19, 2013
  The United States condemns in the strongest terms al-Shabaab's despicable attack on the United Nations in Somalia today. The attack targeted people and organizations working in partnership with the Somali Government to provide health services, clean water, sanitation, education, and economic opportunity '' people striving to build a better future for the Somali people. We commend the brave and swift response by the Somali security forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia, and send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of this heinous act.
  Today's attack highlights the repugnant terrorist tactics al-Shabaab continues to use to stand in the way of efforts to ease the suffering of the Somali people. Whether by denying food and medical aid during one of the region's worst droughts, or by repeated attacks against fellow Somalis and soldiers helping to build a lasting peace, al-Shabaab has shown again and again that it stands on the side of death and destruction.
  The United States remains a steadfast partner of the Somali people and their government as they work to build a safer, more prosperous future. We reiterate our strong support for the important work of the United Nations toward reaching that goal. Those seeking to derail Somalia's progress will not succeed.
FBI says drones used to monitor people in US - Americas
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: BadChad's ThoughtPile
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:55
  The US uses drones for surveillance in some limited law-enforcement situations, the head of FBI has said, prompting additional debate about the Obama administration's use of domestic surveillance.
  Robert Mueller's acknowledgement came in response to questions on Wednesday from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who said they wanted to know more about the federal government's increasing use of unmanned aircraft.
  "Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?" Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa asked during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
  "Yes," Mueller said, adding that the use was in "a very, very minimal way and very seldom".
  Mueller did not go into detail, but the FBI later released a statement that said unmanned aircraft were used only to watch stationary subjects and to avoid serious risks to law-enforcement agents.
  The Federal Aviation Administration approves each use, the statement said.
  "I will tell you that our footprint is very small," Mueller said in his testimony.
  "We have very few [drones] and of limited use, and we're exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use."
  Privacy implications
  At the hearing, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said she was concerned about the privacy implications of drone surveillance.
  "The greatest threat to the privacy of Americans is the drone and the use of the drone, and the very few regulations that are on it today," she said.
  Mueller reiterated that drone use is rare. "It is very narrowly focused on particularised cases and particularised needs," he said.
  The FBI used a drone during a hostage-taking in Alabama this year after an armed, Jimmy Lee Dykes, snatched a boy off a school bus and held him in an underground bunker, according to the statement.
  The US government has made no secret of its use of drones to monitor the US border with Mexico.
  The Obama administration has been defending its surveillance tactics since Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, released secret documents revealing a huge database of daily telephone records, as well as coordination between the NSA and social media companies.
  The programmes are designed to target fighters outside the US who are suspected of planning attacks, but they inevitably gather some data on Americans, US officials said.
  Drone use defended
  In a speech last month, President Barack Obama defended the use of armed drones abroad but said the US should never deploy armed drones over US soil.
  The Justice Department had disclosed that two domestic law-enforcement agencies use unmanned aircraft systems, according to a department statement sent to the Judiciary Committee and released on Wednesday by Grassley's office.
  The two are the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
  Inside Story Americas: Are US surveillance measures justified?Grassley sent a letter to Eric Holder, US attorney general, on Wednesday asking why the Justice Department did not earlier mention the FBI's use of drones.
  Mueller, who is due to retire when his term expires in September, agreed that there should be public discourse over the future of the unmanned vehicles, saying "it's worthy of debate and perhaps legislation down the road".
  Congress has ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to open up airspace to unmanned aircraft by October 2015.
  In March Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked legislative action for nearly 13 hours on the Senate floor to protest against the Obama administration's refusal to unequivocally rule out drone strikes on US soil.
  Days later Holder wrote to Paul clarifying that a US president does not have the power to order a drone strike against a "non combatant" American inside the US.
  Paul expressed concern about the drone surveillance, saying it should not be used without a court-issued search warrant.
  Mueller did not say on Wednesday whether warrants were being obtained for the use of the drones.
  Surveillance defended
  Mueller also urged Congress to move carefully before making any changes that might restrict the NSA programmes for mass collection of people's phone records and information from the internet.
  He said there are 10 or 12 cases in which the phone-records programme contributed to breaking up violent plots.
  Mueller said communications capabilities of plotters are their weakest link.
  "If we are to prevent terrorist attacks, we have to know and be in their communications," he said.
  "Having the ability to identify a person in the United States, one telephone number with a telephone that the intelligence community is on in Yemen or Somalia or Pakistan ... may prevent that one attack, that Boston or that 9/11."
  He was referring to a bombing at the Boston marathon and the attacks using hijacked airliners against the US on September 11, 2001.
  Mueller argued for the continued use of the NSA programmes.
  "Are you going to take the dots off the table, make it unavailable to you when you're trying to prevent the next terrorist attack? That's a question for Congress," he said.
  870
Moniz hires the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists as his gate keeper
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:51
  I did not understand the enthusiasm with which some of my nuclear energy colleagues greeted the selection and appointment of Ernest Moniz as the new Secretary of Energy. He is a natural gas advocate who professes undue conservatism about the potential value of nuclear energy. Read and compare the MIT reports produced under his direction, The Future of Natural Gas and The Future of Nuclear Power.
  Here is the enthusiastic introductory paragraph of The Future of Natural Gas:
  Natural gas is ¬nding its place at the heart of the energy discussion. The recent emergence of substantial new supplies of natural gas in the U.S., primarily as a result of the remarkable speed and scale of shale gas development, has heightened awareness of natural gas as a key component of indigenous energy supply and has lowered prices well below recent expectations.
  This study seeks to inform discussion about the future of natural gas, particularly in a carbon constrained economy.
  Here is the cautious conclusion of the Executive Summary of the 2009 update to The Future of Nuclear Power:
  The central premise of the 2003 MIT Study on the Future of Nuclear Power was that the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in order tomitigate global warming, justified reevaluating the role of nuclear power inthe country's energy future. The 2003 study identified the challenges to greater deployment and argued that the key need was to design, build, and operate a few first-of-a-kind nuclear plants with government assistance, to demonstrate to the public, political leaders, and investors the technical performance, cost, and environmental acceptability of the technology. After five years, no new plants are under construction in the United States and insufficient progress has been made on waste management. The current assistance program put into place by the 2005 EPACT has not yet been effective and needs to be improved. The sober warning is that if more is not done, nuclear power will diminish as a practical and timely option for deployment at a scale that would constitute a materialcontribution to climate change risk mitigation.
  Yesterday, my concerns about Dr. Moniz were confirmed when I read a brief notice in the Washington Post indicating that he had selected Kevin Knobloch, who has served as the President of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) for the past ten years. One of my contacts within the DOE sent an email from inside the organization. He included Dr. Moniz's internal announcement following his pithy response to that correspondence.
  I am done.
  The inmates are running the damn asylum.
  Anyone need help?
  (Name removed)
  _____________________________________________From: Secretary MonizSent: Wednesday, June 19, 2013 12:55 PMSubject: Announcing Kevin Knobloch as the New Chief of Staff
  Colleagues:
  Over the past few weeks, one of my top priorities has been to assemble a leadership team of incredibly talented individuals from both inside and outside the Department. I am pleased to announce that Kevin Knobloch will be joining us on Monday, June 24 as Chief of Staff and will be managing this team as we work together to execute the Department's critical mission.
  Kevin brings 35 years of experience in public policy, government, advocacy, and media to his job as Chief of Staff of the Energy Department. He joins us after serving as the President of the Union of Concerned Scientists for the past ten years, where he led the science-based organization's analytical, legislative, and policy functions. Before that, Kevin held a number of roles on Capitol Hill, as a journalist, and with an environmental organization. I am confident that Kevin's deep understanding of energy issues and experience as an outstanding manager will be of incredible value to the Department.
  Please join me in welcoming Kevin in his new capacity as Chief of Staff.
  Secretary Moniz
  For those who still believe that the Union of Concerned Scientists is anything but a professional antinuclear organization that believes that the only safe nuclear plants are the ones that are permanently shut down, please visit the organization's web site and read its carefully worded position on nuclear energy. Here is a quote from that page:
  Nuclear power is an inherently hazardous technology; there's no way to make it perfectly safe.
  (Emphasis added.)
  If that does not convince you, perhaps you could read Nuclear Power: Still Not Viable without Subsidies. One more suggestion would be to read Mr. Knobloch's own writing on the challenge of climate change and try to find a single mention of the 'N' word as an important tool in fight.
  I hope you all can understand the irony of this situation. We have a man who played a key role in a report that acknowledges the important role that nuclear energy can play in mitigating climate change if the government will implement certain key programs to enable its growth. That man is selected for to be the head honcho at the agency that is tasked by the Congress to provide that assistance. One of his first decisive acts in that new position is to hire his official gate keeper and access controller. (That is the role of a Chief of Staff.) His choice for that important role is a man that has spent the past ten years leading an organization that denies the value of nuclear energy, claims it is not viable without subsidies, and fights all efforts to provide any kind of enabling assistance. Hmmm.
  Is there anyone else who can see through this to recognize that there is a plan in place to do everything possible to slow the development of nuclear energy as a competitive power source so that the natural gas industry (aka the oil industry) can become even more prosperous and powerful than it already is?
German Bonds Face Selloff at Denmark's ATP on Trading Tax
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  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:16
  By Matthew Winkler, Peter Levring and Maud van GaalJune 19, 2013 6:01 PM EDTGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
  Denmark's biggest pension fund, which holds $36 billion of long-term German bonds, says it may have to sell the debt unless Chancellor Angela Merkel moves to block a tax on financial transactions.
  Such a levy ''would instantly destroy our business model and would force us to invest differently,'' Carsten Stendevad, chief executive officer of the $140 billion ATP fund, said in an interview at his office in Copenhagen. ''The moment they would do this, many investors would start looking for other safe havens.''
  Investors overseeing Europe's pension savings are adding their voice to bank industry warnings that a tax on financial trades will miss its mark and end up hurting average citizens. ATP estimates the levy would cost it ''hundreds of millions of dollars,'' eroding pensioners' returns. Merkel said last week that the German government is listening to investor complaints about the proposed levy and will take their views into account.
  Moving ahead with a tax model that hits pension savers ''would obviously be a very bad thing to do,'' Merkel said in a June 14 interview at the Chancellery in Berlin. Still, she restated her government's commitment to some form of tax on transactions, citing the disparity between value-added taxes on consumer goods and ''basically free'' financial transactions.
  Policy makers in Europe originally proposed the tax in an effort to prevent a repeat of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. European Union Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta has said the levy would encourage pension funds to avoid secondary markets and stick to long-term investments.
  'Pile of Bonds'The proposal doesn't take into account how pension funds operate, said Guus Warringa, an Amsterdam-based board member and chief legal counsel at APG Asset Management, which oversees 342 billion euros ($458 billion) in pension assets.
  ''Pension funds are indeed long-term investors, yet the assumption they have a pile of bonds which they put into a safe until they mature 20 years later is simply wrong,'' Warringa said. ''Markets, interest rates change. It would imply we would have had to keep our exposure to Greece unchanged. We wouldn't get away with such a policy.''
  APG, the investment management unit of Heerlen, Netherlands-based APG Algemene Pensioen Groep NV, would probably ''invest less in countries that have a financial transactions tax,'' he said.
  Merkel said last week she's talking to investors about the financial transactions tax. ''I know their concerns and we have not come to the end of our deliberations,'' she said.
  Trading TaxThe EU unveiled its plan on Feb. 14 for a 0.1 percent tax on stock and bond trades and 0.01 percent on derivatives trades with ties to participating countries. To prevent traders from escaping the levy by operating outside the tax zone, the EU plan invokes ''residence'' and ''issuance'' ties to firms in participating nations. That means, for example, that a French bond traded in London would still be affected.
  The taxes would be collected worldwide by Germany, France and nine other EU nations that have signed up. Denmark, where ATP is based, has rejected the tax in its current form, as has the Netherlands.
  The proposal ''will be an entirely different matter from what was intended if it impacts those nations not participating and disrupting the inner market,'' Danish Economy Minister Margrethe Vestager said in a June 14 interview during a conference on the Danish island of Bornholm. ''This will obviously have consequences for Denmark, as it will for all of the 16 EU nations that are not part of this.''
  German PoliticsMerkel's Christian Democratic Union party, which faces September elections, has backed a financial transaction tax. The CDU is urging that the measure be introduced ''as quickly as possible,'' while ''safeguarding the interests'' of Germany's financial industry, according to a draft of the party's campaign platform.
  Stendevad, 40, who left his job as a managing director at Citigroup Inc. (C) in New York to take the helm at ATP in April, said efforts to rein in the financial industry are needed, though the methods under consideration are proving clumsy.
  ''Even things with good intentions can have significant unintended consequences,'' Stendevad said. The proposed financial tax is ''a good example. The bill will be paid by the Danish pensioners, not the banks,'' he said.
  Should the tax pass, the challenge for ATP would be to find a suitable alternative to German bunds, he said. Other AAA rated euro-region bonds such as those from Finland and the Netherlands lack the liquidity ATP needs, while U.S. Treasury bonds have a currency risk, Stendevad said.
  ATP already owns 70 percent of 30-year Danish government bonds and the remaining stock is too small to fill the hole that would be left if the fund sold its bunds, Stendevad said.
  ''You really have to think through all the unintended consequences of these regulations,'' Stendevad said. ''Regulation as retribution is not a good tool.''
  To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Winkler in New York at mwinkler@bloomberg.net; Peter Levring in Copenhagen at plevring1@bloomberg.net; Maud van Gaal in Amsterdam at mvangaal@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tasneem Brogger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net; Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net
Don't bank on your savings being safe
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  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:12
  Illustration: Simon Letch
  Remember the Cyprus banking crisis in March when their cash-strapped government appropriated money from bank savings accounts? ''Thank goodness it can't happen here,'' we smugly told ourselves. But it can, and it has.
  Last December, the federal government rushed legislation through Parliament that meant banks had to transfer depositors' money to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission from any accounts that were deemed ''inactive'' for three years, down from seven years previously.
  Our own cash-strapped government expected to raise $109 million from these accounts in this financial year.
  When I read about a Queensland pensioner who'd had $22,000 taken from his savings I thought I'd better check the account my superannuation fund has had since 2009 with BankWest in Perth.
  This account was a Business TeleNet Saver account - an online savings account that earned a small but useful rate of interest while the funds stayed safely tucked away. Or so I thought.
  When I logged in to check the balance, the account had disappeared and there was no sign of the $2200 I had deposited.
  I rang the bank and was told my account had been inactive for three years and the money had been duly transferred to ASIC. Oh, and it would take up to six weeks to get it back.
  I wonder about their definition of ''inactive''. It's an online account, right? So I log into the bank's website and check the balance at least once a year to prepare my fund's tax return. My last login was August 5, 2012. Why hadn't BankWest contacted me before lifting the money? ''We sent a letter to you and got no response.'' When I queried the address it turned out to be one that I'd asked to be changed in November 2010.
  The bank also had my email and mobile number but somehow just couldn't manage to contact me.
  At least the bank could send me the forms to file for a return of my funds. Fantastic! Three weeks after completing them I'm still waiting.
  Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has said a Coalition government would move to overturn the law that has turned banks into robbers. This is one promise he can keep without getting anyone offside.
  Phil Keeffe
Silicon Valley and Spy Agency Bound by Web Advances
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  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:09
  WASHINGTON '-- When Max Kelly, the chief security officer for Facebook, left the social media company in 2010, he did not go to Google, Twitter or a similar Silicon Valley concern. Instead the man who was responsible for protecting the personal information of Facebook's more than one billion users from outside attacks went to work for another giant institution that manages and analyzes large pools of data: the National Security Agency.
  Mr. Kelly's move to the spy agency, which has not previously been reported, underscores the increasingly deep connections between Silicon Valley and the agency and the degree to which they are now in the same business. Both hunt for ways to collect, analyze and exploit large pools of data about millions of Americans.
  The only difference is that the N.S.A. does it for intelligence, and Silicon Valley does it to make money.
  The disclosure of the spy agency's program called Prism, which is said to collect the e-mails and other Web activity of foreigners using major Internet companies like Google, Yahoo and Facebook, has prompted the companies to deny that the agency has direct access to their computers, even as they acknowledge complying with secret N.S.A. court orders for specific data.
  Yet technology experts and former intelligence officials say the convergence between Silicon Valley and the N.S.A. and the rise of data mining '-- both as an industry and as a crucial intelligence tool '-- have created a more complex reality.
  Silicon Valley has what the spy agency wants: vast amounts of private data and the most sophisticated software available to analyze it. The agency in turn is one of Silicon Valley's largest customers for what is known as data analytics, one of the valley's fastest-growing markets. To get their hands on the latest software technology to manipulate and take advantage of large volumes of data, United States intelligence agencies invest in Silicon Valley start-ups, award classified contracts and recruit technology experts like Mr. Kelly.
  ''We are all in these Big Data business models,'' said Ray Wang, a technology analyst and chief executive of Constellation Research, based in San Francisco. ''There are a lot of connections now because the data scientists and the folks who are building these systems have a lot of common interests.''
  Although Silicon Valley has sold equipment to the N.S.A. and other intelligence agencies for a generation, the interests of the two began to converge in new ways in the last few years as advances in computer storage technology drastically reduced the costs of storing enormous amounts of data '-- at the same time that the value of the data for use in consumer marketing began to rise. ''These worlds overlap,'' said Philipp S. Kr¼ger, chief executive of Explorist, an Internet start-up in New York.
  The sums the N.S.A. spends in Silicon Valley are classified, as is the agency's total budget, which independent analysts say is $8 billion to $10 billion a year.
  Despite the companies' assertions that they cooperate with the agency only when legally compelled, current and former industry officials say the companies sometimes secretly put together teams of in-house experts to find ways to cooperate more completely with the N.S.A. and to make their customers' information more accessible to the agency. The companies do so, the officials say, because they want to control the process themselves. They are also under subtle but powerful pressure from the N.S.A. to make access easier.
  Skype, the Internet-based calling service, began its own secret program, Project Chess, to explore the legal and technical issues in making Skype calls readily available to intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials, according to people briefed on the program who asked not to be named to avoid trouble with the intelligence agencies.
  Project Chess, which has never been previously disclosed, was small, limited to fewer than a dozen people inside Skype, and was developed as the company had sometimes contentious talks with the government over legal issues, said one of the people briefed on the project. The project began about five years ago, before most of the company was sold by its parent, eBay, to outside investors in 2009. Microsoft acquired Skype in an $8.5 billion deal that was completed in October 2011.
  James Risen reported from Washington, and Nick Wingfield from Seattle. Kitty Bennett contributed reporting.
VIDEO-FBI Foils Plot To Build Strange X-Ray Weapon, Possibly Target President Obama - ABC News
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  A New York man who allegedly wanted to kill President Obama and apparently blamed him for the recent Boston bombings has been arrested for trying to build and detonate a weapon of mass destruction.
  Glendon Scott Crawford, 49, of Galway, N.Y., spent months designing and constructing an X-ray system that would emit deadly amounts of radiation and could be detonated remotely, according to the FBI. Crawford recruited Eric J. Feight, 54, of Hudson, N.Y, to join in the plot, and both were arrested Tuesday, the FBI said.
  Crawford and Feight allegedly planned to hide their weapon in a truck and FBI experts said it would have been "functional" and "lethal."
  According to the FBI, Crawford cited "a political figure" and a Muslim organization as "potential targets." Sources familiar with the investigation identified the "political figure" as Obama.
  "Obama's policies caused this," Crawford allegedly wrote in a text message on April 15, the day a series of bombings killed three and injured scores more at the Boston marathon.
  "He directed the [government] to start bringing [Muslims] here without background checks," Crawford wrote, according to the FBI. "They don't have to follow any laws, and this administration has done more to enable a government sponsored invasion than the press can cover up."
  Skip Dickstein/The Albany Times Union/AP Photo
  NSA Director Defends Secret Surveillance Programs Watch VideoThe NSA Phone Program the White House Didn't Want Revealed Watch VideoThe FBI launched an investigation into Crawford last spring after he allegedly walked into a synagogue in Albany, N.Y., and inquired about technology that could kill "Israel's enemies while they slept." The synagogue notified police, and within six weeks the FBI had a source secretly recording meetings with Crawford, according an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
  In a June 2012 conversation, Crawford '' described by the FBI as a member of the Ku Klux Klan '' called his design "Hiroshima on a light switch," the affidavit said. And in August 2012, Crawford allegedly asked a high-ranking official in the KKK for money to fund his plot. The KKK official informed the FBI, and within weeks two undercover agents posing as KKK members were introduced to Crawford.
  Over the next several months, Crawford conducted extensive research for the design, at times expressing frustration over the slow pace of the team's progress, the FBI affidavit indicated. Ultimately, with help from the undercover agents, Crawford and Feight acquired the necessary parts and even tested the device that would remotely detonate the weapon, according to the FBI. It would all be powered through a truck's cigarette lighter, the FBI said.
  Crawford and Feight planned to meet Tuesday to connect the final components of their weapon, but they were arrested by the FBI.
  The pair had met at GE, where Crawford was an industrial mechanic and Feight sometimes worked as an outside contractor due to his engineering skills. But GE has "no reason to believe" any crimes "took place on GE property," and Crawford has since been suspended, the company said in a statement.
  "We are cooperating fully with authorities on their investigation," said Jim Healy, communications director for GE Power & Water.
  Both defendants have been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, namely through use of a weapon of mass destruction. The charges came via a criminal complaint, which means a grand jury will decide whether to indict the men if a plea deal is not reached beforehand.
  In a statement, U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian said the public must "remain vigilant to detect and stop potential terrorists," and the head of the FBI's field office in Albany, Andrew Vale, said such anti-terrorism efforts "are only successful" with the public's help.
VIDEO-New CNN Host Pushes Stronger Gun Laws, Mental Health Database | MRCTV
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  Morgan Spurlock, the host of a new CNN series Inside Man wants to see "universal background checks," a limit on magazines, and a database for the mentally ill so they can't purchase guns.
VIDEO-Belgium to vote on implementation of sharia law | MRCTV
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  MRC TV is an online platform for people to share and view videos, articles and opinions on topics that are important to them -- from news to political issues and rip-roaring humor.
  MRC TV is brought to you by the Media Research Center, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit research and education organization. The MRC is located at: 325 South Patrick Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For information about the MRC, please visit www.MRC.org.
  Copyright (C) 2013, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO-Eugene Robinson: Obama and Merkel Are the New 'Ronnie and Maggie' | MRCTV
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  Washington Post writer and MSNBC contributor Eugene Robinson compared the relationship of Barack Obama and Angela Merkel to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
  Video cross-posted at NewsBusters.
VIDEO-CNN Calls Obama's Brandenburg Speech 'Historic' | MRCTV
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  CNN's Suzanne Malveaux called President Obama's Brandenburg Gate speech "historic" on Wednesday afternoon, while a CNN headline later proclaimed that he "speaks to the history books." This despite the President speaking to a crowd of less than 5,000 at the same location where he addressed 200,000 Germans five years before.
Michael Hastings contacted Wikileaks lawyer a few hours before death claiming FBI were investigating him | Max Keiser
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  Stacy Summary: This tweet just in from Wikileaks:
  Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.
  '-- WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 19, 2013
  Apparently, there are already Freedom of Information requests in for further information about this alleged investigation.
Michael Hastings Crash: Car Was Speeding, Engine Flew 100 Feet, Cops Say - Los Angeles - News - The Informer
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  Even as fans of journalist Michael Hastings, known for his take-down of General Stanley McChrystal and for his probing of CIA shenanigans, focused on his coverage of the powerful in a search for answers regarding his untimely death in Hollywood, increasing evidence points to speed as a major factor in his fatal car crash early yesterday.LAPD traffic investigators found the motor of the late-model Mercedes-Benz C250 coupe involved in the accident about 100 feet away from the car, the Weekly has learned, a clue that would indicate the vehicle was travelling at more than 60 miles an hour when it apparently veered out of control and struck a palm tree:
  That's according to the expert estimation of Harry B. Ryon, a former LAPD officer who now runs his own private accident investigation firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.
  The engine's location is evidence that the driver "was hauling Irish ass and lost control," Ryon told us:
  With the engine torn off the gas lines would rupture and it would start a fire.
  See also: Michael Hastings Probed the CIA Before Fatal Hollywood Crash.
  The vehicle was traveling south on Highland Avenue just past Melrose Avenue, where Hollywood turns into Hancock Park, when it crashed and burst into flames, according to LAPD traffic investigators.
  View Larger Map
  TV news footage shows that the car hit a palm tree in the median, not far from Mario Batali's famed Mozza restaurants.
  Ryon said it was possible to achieve freeway speeds on that stretch of Highland.
  LAPD Officer Richard French says that, contrary to reports, the department has not yet identified the victim of the crash and that it could take a while: The coroner will have to use dental records to make a positive ID, he said.
  It will take weeks for the coroner to conduct conclusive toxicology tests that could determine if Hastings was driving under the influence.
  The writer does have a history with alcohol and drugs, however. In his first book, I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story, Hastings says that he crashed a car in a drunk driving accident when he was 19.
  And in this True/Slant piece from 2009 Hastings describes himself as a "a recovering drunk/addict/screw-up."
  In another True/Slant piece he says, "I have smoked crack."
  Still, conspiracy theorists are coming out of the woodworks to cast suspicion on the crash that was reported at 4:25 a.m. Tuesday.
  In Hastings 2012 book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan, Hastings says a McChrystal staffer said to him, "We'll hunt you down and kill you if we don't like what you write."
  In the same book Hastings says he hasn't had a drink in 10 years.
  We were also pointed to the "Boston Brakes" technique, in which the electronic management of a car, specifically a Mercedes, can be manipulated remotely to simulate an out-of-control accident. (Google it, or check this out.)
  And then there's this WikiLeaks tweet:
  Interestingly, one neighbor, Rochelle Frankel, told KTLA news the crash sounded like an explosion.
  It sounded like a bomb went off in the middle of the night. My house shook. The windows were rattling.
  -With reporting from LA Weekly staff writer Gene Maddaus.
  Send feedback and tips to the author. Follow Dennis Romero on Twitter at @dennisjromero. Follow LA Weekly News on Twitter at @laweeklynews.
VIDEO-First Congressman Allowed to Read Secret Treaty Says ''This ... Hands The Sovereignty of Our Country Over to Corporate Interests'' | Zero Hedge
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  Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:39
  We reported last year:
  Democratic Senator Wyden '' the head of the committee which is supposed to oversee it '' is so furious about the lack of access that he has introduced legislation to force disclosure.
  Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa is so upset by it that he has leaked a document on his website to show what's going on.
  What is everyone so furious about?
  An international treaty being negotiated in secret which would not only crack down on Internet privacy much more than SOPA or ACTA, but would actually destroy the sovereignty of the U.S. and all other signatories.
  It is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
  Wyden is the chairman of the trade committee in the Senate '... the committee which is supposed to have jurisdiction over the TPP.
  Wyden is also on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and so he and his staff have high security clearances and are normally able to look at classified documents.
  And yet Wyden and his staff have been denied access to the TPP's text.
  Indeed, the decision to keep the text of TPP secret was itself classified as secret:
  (I have also received a tip from a credible inside source that TPP contains provisions which would severely harm America's national security. Specifically, like some previous, ill-conceived treaties, TPP would allow foreign companies to buy sensitive American assets which could subject us to terror attacks or economic blackmail.)
  Yesterday, Congressman Alan Grayson (who knows how to read legislation '... he was a successful lawyer before he was elected to Congress, and has written and co-sponsored numerous bills himself including the bill to audit the Federal Reserve and '' most recently '' the ''Mind Your Own Business Act'' to stop NSA spying) announced that he had been allowed to read the text of TPP '' and that it is an anti-American power grab by big corporations:
  Last month, 10,000 of us submitted comments to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in which we objected to new so-called free trade agreements. We asked that the government not sell out our democracy to corporate interests.
  Because of this pressure, the USTR finally let a member of Congress '' little ole me, Alan Grayson [anyone who's seen Grayson in action knows that he is formidable] '' actually see the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a large, secret trade agreement that is being negotiated with many countries in East Asia and South America.
  The TPP is nicknamed ''NAFTA on steroids.'' Now that I've read it, I can see why. I can't tell you what's in the agreement, because the U.S. Trade Representative calls it classified. But I can tell you two things about it.
  1) There is no national security purpose in keeping this text secret.
  2) This agreement hands the sovereignty of our country over to corporate interests.
  3) What they can't afford to tell the American public is that [the rest of this sentence is classified].
  ***
  I will be fighting this agreement with everything I've got. And I know you'll be there every step of the way.
  ***
  Courage,
  Congressman Alan Grayson
  Grayson also noted:
  It is ironic in a way that the government thinks it's alright to have a record of every single call that an American makes, but not alright for an American citizen to know what sovereign powers the government is negotiating away.
  ***
  Having seen what I've seen, I would characterize this as a gross abrogation of American sovereignty. And I would further characterize it as a punch in the face to the middle class of America. I think that's fair to say from what I've seen so far. But I'm not allowed to tell you why!
  Remember that one of the best definitions of fascism '' the one used by Mussolini '' is the ''merger of state and corporate power''. Our nation has been moving in that direction for a number of years, where government and giant corporations are becoming more and more intertwined in a malignant, symbiotic relationship. TPP would be the nail in the coffin for free market economics and democracy.
  Note to progressives who support public banking: This is a key battle.
  Note to those who oppose to what they call ''one world government'' or a ''new world order'': This is the big fight.
  Average:Your rating: NoneAverage: 4.9(35 votes)
VIDEO-BREAKING! The Guardian: UK Government Spied On Allies At TWO G20 Summits In London - YouTube
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VIDEO-"Those Who Are Concerned About Civil Liberties Imagine Their Reaction If Another 9/11 Happened" - YouTube
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VIDEO-"People Saying We Can't Infringe On 2nd Amendment They're The Ones Saying NSA Should Be..." - YouTube
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VIDEO-Tens Of Thousands Protest In The Streets Of Brazil! Overwhelming Numbers! This Is How It's Done! - YouTube
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VIDEO-FBI Releases Video Of Bombing In Times Square! ALL Made With "Military Grade Ammunition CANS" - YouTube
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VIDEO-50+ Terrorist Attacks Have Been Stopped! NSA Director Tells Congress - YouTube
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VIDEO-Groundwater Radiation Levels Around Fukushima Increased 100 Times What They Were 12 Months Ago - YouTube
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NOVA | The Spy Factory 2009
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  The Spy FactoryPBS Airdate: February 3, 2009
  NARRATOR: Halfway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., is a hidden city, the headquarters of the National Security Agency, NSA. Here, tens of thousands of mathematicians, computer scientists, analysts, linguists and voice interceptors work in absolute secrecy.
  JAMES BAMFORD (Author, The Shadow Factory): For those in the know, the joke was that NSA stood for "no such agency." For those on the inside, the joke was that NSA stood for "never say anything."
  NARRATOR: NSA's job? To secretly listen in on telephone conversations, email communications, anything and everything that might warn of plots to do harm.
  ERIC HASELTINE (National Security Agency, Director of Research, 2002''2005): The scope of what happens at NSA is mind-boggling. I don't think the average person can even begin to conceive of the staggering depth and breadth of what they have to do.
  NARRATOR: But was NSA doing its job before the 9/11 attacks? It's a question that has never been thoroughly investigated.
  MICHAEL SCHEUER (Former Central Intelligence Agency Analyst): None of this information that we're speaking about this evening is in the 9/11 Commission Report. They simply ignored all of it.
  NARRATOR: But author James Bamford has investigated and come up with a chilling tale of terrorists, living in San Diego, communicating with bin Laden's operations center in Yemen, moving freely about, and all the while, NSA is listening in.
  JAMES BAMFORD: But the NSA never alerted any other agency that the terrorists were in the United States and moving across the country towards Washington.
  NARRATOR: Since the 9/11 attacks, NSA's role has grown even bigger, along with its license to listen in on Americans here and abroad.
  ADRIENNE KINNE (Former National Security Agency Voice Interceptor): It was incredibly uncomfortable to be listening to private, personal conversations of Americans. It's almost like going through and finding somebody's diary.
  NARRATOR: But is this flood of information making America any safer? Looking into The Spy Factory, right now on NOVA.
  Major funding for NOVA is provided by the following:
  One of the factors impacting energy prices is growing global demand. And one way to put downward pressure on prices is to make more supply available. ExxonMobil has invented a breakthrough technology that we've just begun using, here in the U.S., to access cleaner-burning natural gas that's locked in very tight, hard rocks. We could produce enough gas from one U.S. source alone to heat 50 million homes for almost a decade.
  And David H. Koch. And...
  Discover new knowledge: HHMI.
  And by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you.
  NARRATOR: On the southbound lane of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, traffic is stalled as commuters crowd down a special restricted exit that disappears into the thick woods. Beyond, hidden from view and protected by electrified fences and heavily armed guards, is the largest, most secret and most technologically advanced intelligence agency in the world: the National Security Agency, NSA.
  Its mission: making and breaking codes; tapping into foreign signals, sifting through the international phone calls, emails, text and instant messages that blanket the modern world.
  Every day, more than 20,000 people flood into this secret city. Unlike undercover CIA operatives, spying in hostile territory, NSA's spies use technology in what is believed to be the largest collection of mathematicians, linguists and computer scientists on the planet. Author James Bamford has written about NSA for the past 25 years.
  JAMES BAMFORD: For the few in the know, the joke was always that NSA stood for "no such agency." For those on the inside, the joke was that NSA stood for "never say anything."
  During the cold war, NSA circled nearly the entire Soviet Union with listening posts, to intercept military and diplomatic communications. NSA even listened in on Soviet leaders calling to the Kremlin from their limousines. At its headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland, NSA used acres of supercomputers to break any coded communications.
  NARRATOR: But when the Soviet Union collapsed, a new enemy emerged, one NSA was never designed to engage. That enemy was Al Qaeda. Eric Haseltine was NSA's Director of Research.
  ERIC HASELTINE: The Russians were easy to find and hard to kill, and terrorists are hard to find and easy to kill.
  NARRATOR: Unlike the Soviets, Al Qaeda was a small, scattered, moving target. Headquartered in remote, mountain training camps, its soldiers communicated by cell and satellite phones.
  ERIC HASELTINE: And if you look at the job of NSA, to find the enemy, they had to go from looking at an enemy that they kind of knew who they were and where they were, to one that they didn't know who they were or where they were or how they communicated.
  NARRATOR: For NSA, the challenge was to change tactics to match an increasingly dangerous adversary. In cities across Asia and the Middle East, Al Qaeda operatives were using public payphones and internet cafes to plan a series of strikes that would culminate in the 9/11 attacks.
  TIM SAMPLE (Former Staff Director, United States Congress House Intelligence Committee): At that point, it was a race. It was a race between how much could we rebuild and have the type of capabilities that you need against an individual or a small group of individuals who operate around the world and pay little attention to borders. Can you do that? And can you rebuild the intelligence community in time?
  NARRATOR: Those questions still resonate today. Was the National Security Agency, the organization responsible for intercepting foreign calls and messages, listening in on Al Qaeda prior to 9/11? What role did the NSA play? And are we any safer today?
  Surprisingly, the 9/11 Commission never investigated the NSA's role as fully as it did those of the CIA or FBI, but by carefully piecing together a variety of unclassified public records, the story of NSA and its role in the "war on terror" emerges.
  JAMES BAMFORD: In my research, I used thousands of documents available in the public record. They included intelligence agency memos, transcripts of terrorist trials, and a secret FBI chronology of the 9/11 terrorists' movements obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. One fact is clear from these sources: they were monitoring the Al Qaeda leader long before 9/11.
  NARRATOR: In November, 1996, a known Al Qaeda contact buys an Inmarsat satellite phone from a store in a New York suburb. That phone is for Osama bin Laden. Once he starts dialing from Afghanistan, NSA's listening posts quickly tap into his conversations. Analysts at the CIA, like Michael Scheuer'--head of Alec Station, the CIA's newly formed bin Laden tracking unit'--are also eager to get the information.
  MICHAEL SCHEUER: Osama bin Laden's Inmarsat telephone was really a godsend. It gave us an idea, not only of where he was in Afghanistan, but where Al Qaeda, as an organization, was established, because there were calls to various places in the world.
  NARRATOR: For NSA, tapping into satellite calls is a basic tactic in what's known as "signals intelligence." Inmarsat phones transmit signals straight to a satellite orbiting over the Indian Ocean. By tracking all calls in and out of Afghanistan, the NSA quickly determines bin Laden's number: 873-682505331. Once they have this, they home in on both sides of his conversations, listening to bin Laden by means of a huge dish in space, and to the person he's speaking to with a dish-shaped antenna on the ground.
  MICHAEL SCHEUER: In the intelligence business, signals intelligence is among the most important kind of intelligence options that you have'--the electronic communications that are in the air, whether from telephone to telephone, from satellite to satellite, from Inmarsat radio to Inmarsat radio'--and NSA collects those with a very broad array of electronic collection capability, but once you collect them, all you have is the signals. And ultimately, it all comes down to the human being.
  NARRATOR: Human analysts plot out which numbers are being called from bin Laden's phone and how frequently. They quickly discover that most of the calls from bin Laden's phone in Afghanistan are going to a house in Yemen, 2,000 miles to the south.
  JAMES BAMFORD: Yemen is central to understanding how Al Qaeda operates. It's where Osama bin Laden's father was born and raised. It has a culture of clans and secrets. It didn't surprise me that bin Laden chose its capital city, Sana'a, for his logistics and communications headquarters. What was surprising was that I found it tucked away in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. The headquarters was hidden in a small undistinguished house the CIA said was the home of one of bin Laden's closest associates.
  NARRATOR: Bin Laden's phone calls aren't encrypted, so there is no code for NSA's supercomputers to break. Instead, NSA voice interceptors and linguists painstakingly translate, transcribe and write summaries of the calls. The summaries are shared with the CIA, but its analysts at Alec Station want more. They believe that only by carefully studying each word will it be possible to understand bin Laden's intentions.
  MICHAEL SCHEUER: Over time, if you read enough of these conversations, you first get clued in to the fact that maybe "bottle of milk" doesn't mean "bottle of milk." And if you follow it long enough, you develop a sense of what they're really talking about. But it's not possible to do unless you have the verbatim transcript.
  We went to Fort Meade to ask then the NSA's deputy director for operations for the transcripts, and she said, "We are not going to share that with you." And that was the end.
  NARRATOR: NSA declined NOVA's repeated requests for interviews, but its policy since its founding has been to never share raw data, even with other intelligence agencies. Scheuer is so determined to get it, he persuades the CIA to build its own ground station. But without a satellite, he can only get half of the conversations.
  MICHAEL SCHEUER: We would collect it, translate it, send it to NSA and ask them for the other half of it, so we could better understand it, but we never got it.
  NEWSCASTER (8/7/98): A terrorist attack on Americans half a world away.
  NARRATOR: August 7, 1998: Al Qaeda strikes two U.S. embassies in east Africa.
  NEWSCASTER (8/7/98): The principle suspect is Osama bin Laden.
  NARRATOR: Both NSA and CIA are monitoring the Al Qaeda network, but neither gives any warning of the two precisely timed attacks.
  MICHAEL SCHEUER: Truth of the matter is, though, we had various reports from human intelligence sources within East Africa that there was an Al Qaeda operation brewing somewhere on the east coast of Africa. We could never really pin it down.
  NARRATOR: The embassy attacks are technically on American soil, so the FBI is called in and finds out about the house in Yemen.
  MARK ROSSINI (Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Agent): I first learned about the communications center in Yemen when I got to Nairobi, after the embassy bombing there. That house was a focal point for operatives in the field to call in, that number would then contact bin Laden to pass along information and receive instruction back.
  NARRATOR: With only a handful of ways to pin down bin Laden's location'--reconnaissance satellites, spies on the ground and signals intelligence'--NSA's expertise is becoming increasingly important.
  ERIC HASELTINE: If you've only got very few people who are hiding out in a cave somewhere, you're looking for a very small target and very few targets, as opposed to a big army division or a big missile complex. So, imagery intelligence was of relatively less value. Human intelligence, in an environment where a terrorist network is all relatives, blood relatives...it becomes tougher to get information in that kind of network.
  I think one interpretation was that NSA understood that they were becoming more important, in the grand scheme of things, in the war on terror.
  NEWSCASTER (10/12/00): An American ship is attacked in Yemen.
  NARRATOR: October 12, 2000: Al Qaeda strikes again. This time, it's an attack on the U.S.S. Cole, moored off the coast of Yemen.
  NEWSCASTER: Yemen's Port Authority had been penetrated...immediately suspect Osama bin Laden.
  NARRATOR: Once again, the U.S. intelligence community fails to give a timely warning of the attack. Frank Blanco, NSA's Executive Director at the time, says NSA was still stuck confronting terrorist tactics with Cold War technology.
  FRANK BLANCO (National Security Agency Executive Director, 1999''2001): You've got targets that are very mobile. They use a variety of communications, which are cell phones, laptops. NSA had to begin to think about, "What is the real technology that is necessary and how much is it going to cost and where do we get the money?"
  NARRATOR: Money is a pressing issue. After the Cold War, Congress had reduced NSA's budget by a third, while criticizing it for violating privacy laws.
  CONGRESSPERSON 1: ...concerned about the privacy rights of American citizens.
  CONGRESSPERSON 2: There is no legitimate excuse for that.
  CONGRESSPERSON 3: It is intolerable to think of the United States Government, of big brother, or anybody else...
  NARRATOR: By law, NSA was prohibited from spying on American soil without approval from a special court, created by FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
  JAMES BAMFORD: When I interviewed General Michael Hayden, the head of NSA, I was surprised when he told me that they were monitoring less than half a dozen people in the United States. He was very busy fighting Hollywood's image of NSA like you saw in movie, Enemy of the State.
  GENE HACKMAN (Film Clip, Enemy of the State): The National Security Agency conducts worldwide surveillance. Fax, phones, satellite communications '-- they're the only ones including the military who could possibly have anything like this.
  ERIC HASELTINE: To us, in the intelligence community, movies like Enemy of the State are quite amusing, because it made us look omniscient, we could collect anything we want and it's just not that way. It's not that way, at all. You may collect a lot of stuff, but you don't know what you've got. Really, the biggest technology challenge was how do you deal with volumes of information like that and find dots, connect dots and understand dots. That's the problem.
  NARRATOR: In late December, 1999, NSA finds one very important dot: it intercepts an alarming call to the house in Yemen, instructing two Al Qaeda foot soldiers to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for what sounds like a terrorist summit. The foot soldiers are Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. This is the phone call that sets in motion the 9/11 attacks.
  JAMES BAMFORD: After picking up this critical call, NSA passed on their first names to the FBI and the CIA but not their last names. Nawaf's last name had been in the NSA's database for over a year, because of his association with bin Laden's operations center in Yemen, but apparently the NSA never looked it up.
  NARRATOR: The CIA does find al-Mihdhar's name in its database. They ask security agents to make a copy of his passport as he passes through a checkpoint in Dubai. When analysts at CIA headquarters see it, they are astonished to find a valid U.S. visa inside. Alec Station, the CIA's bin Laden unit, now has two FBI agents detailed to it, Doug Miller and Mark Rossini.
  MARK ROSSINI: Once they arrived in Kuala Lumpur, of course, the CIA requested the intelligence service over there in Malaysia to conduct surveillance of these subjects and find out as much as they can. They took photographs, followed them. And you read from that one of the individuals had a visa to come to the U.S.
  NARRATOR: Fearing an Al Qaeda terrorist may be headed to the U.S., the agents are determined to tell the FBI, but a CIA official will not allow it.
  MARK ROSSINI: I guess I was the more senior agent. So I went up to the individual that had the ticket on the Yemeni cell, the Yemeni operatives. And I said to her, I said, "What's going on? You know, we've got to tell the Bureau about this. These guys clearly are bad. One of them, at least, has a multiple-entry visa to the U.S. We've got to tell the FBI."
  And then she said to me, "No, it's not the FBI's case, not the FBI's jurisdiction."
  So I go tell Doug. And I'm like, "Doug, what can we do?" If we had picked up the phone and called the Bureau, I would have been violating the law. I would have broken the law. I would have been removed from the building that day. I would have had my clearances suspended, and I would be gone.
  JAMES BAMFORD: This is one of the most astonishing parts of the story. The CIA had FBI operatives working within their bin Laden unit, but when the FBI operatives found out that one, and possibly two, of the terrorists had visas to the United States, were heading for the United States, the CIA wouldn't let them tell their headquarters that they were coming. Only the FBI could have put out alerts to stop Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi if they tried to enter the United States.
  NARRATOR: January 15, 2000, Los Angeles International Airport: United Airlines Flight 2 arrives from Bangkok, where the CIA lost al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi's trail. They pass through U.S. Immigration undetected. Within two weeks they move into the anonymity of a San Diego suburb.
  MARK ROSSINI: The FBI put together this chronology as part of its investigation into the 9/11 attack. The timeline, the declassified copy, is the movements and the activities of the hijackers while they are in the U.S., hiding in plain sight.
  NARRATOR: They get drivers licenses in their own names. They use a local bank to pick up international wire transfers from a known Al Qaeda finance chief. Their telephone number is even listed in the San Diego white pages: Alhazmi Nawaf M 858-279-5919.
  JAMES BAMFORD: The CIA was forbidden from operating within the United States, and the FBI didn't know they were here, so the only way to track the terrorists was if NSA continued to monitor the conversations as they called back to the house in Yemen.
  NARRATOR: But nine days after al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar arrive in California, the NSA has a catastrophic failure.
  FRANK BLANCO: I remember getting a phone call on January 24, 2000, that began with, "We have a problem." NSA systems had actually stopped working.
  NARRATOR: The most technologically advanced intelligence agency in the world, capable of monitoring millions of simultaneous conversations, is deaf.
  FRANK BLANCO: NSA was brain-dead. It took probably three to four, maybe even five days to bring everything back up the way it was.
  NARRATOR: It is unclear whether, during those five days, NSA misses any calls from the hijackers in San Diego. But what is certain, as the FBI chronology spells out, is that the hijackers waste no time settling into their new neighborhood.
  MARK ROSSINI: Here, as it says in the chronology: February 5, 2000: al-Mihdhar signed a lease to rent an apartment at 6401 Mount Ada Road, in San Diego.
  February 25: Al-Mihdhar purchased a Toyota Corolla, in San Diego, California.
  February 28: records at Progressive Insurance Company verify Al-Mihdhar's insurance policy, number 604725921-0, Huggy Bear Insurance Corporation.
  March 20: the San Diego telephone number associated with Nawaf al-Hazmi made a call, which lasted 16 minutes, to Yemen.
  NARRATOR: That is one of many calls made from San Diego to bin Laden's operations center, the house in Yemen that NSA has been monitoring for over three years. But NSA would not pass on that information to any other intelligence agency. Eleanor Hill investigated NSA's role in 9/11 for Congress.
  ELEANOR HILL (Staff Director, United States Congress 9/11 Committee): We were very surprised to learn that, you know, they had this information. And if there are contacts from known terrorists in the United States with terrorist facilities abroad, that's exactly the kind of information our intelligence community needs to have. They didn't have it.
  MARK ROSSINI: You put the NSA intel and the FBI intel together, you have both sides of the conversation. So they come in, we follow them, find out where they're going; listen to their homes, listen to their conversations at their home, or cell phone, whatever; emails. The possibilities are endless once you're able to peer into someone's life.
  JAMES BAMFORD: Incredibly, the NSA never informed the FBI that these calls were coming from the United States, and we may never know why. No one from NSA will discuss it, and the 9/11 Commission never investigated it. They either didn't realize the two terrorists were calling from the United States'--which is hard to believe because even I have caller I.D., which shows where calls are coming from'--or what's more likely is that they ignored it because then they would have had to hand the contacts over to the FBI.
  NARRATOR: April 12, 2000: almost three months after the hijackers arrive in the U.S., NSA director Michael Hayden hints at another possible explanation for NSA's silence. Already warned by Congress to respect Americans' privacy rights, Hayden responds to the House Intelligence Committee with extreme caution.
  GENERAL MICHAEL HAYDEN (National Security Agency Director, 1999''2005): Let me put a fine point on this. If, as we are speaking here this afternoon, Osama bin Laden is walking across the Peace Bridge from Niagara Falls, Ontario, to Niagara Falls, New York, as he gets to the New York side, he is an American person. And my agency must respect his rights against unreasonable search and seizure, as provided by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.
  JAMES BAMFORD: But General Hayden knew that the law permitted the agency to eavesdrop on the terrorists without interruption if they entered the United States.
  MARK ROSSINI: You could link back who they were, their connection to bin Laden, the connection to the Yemeni house, et cetera. You could have gone to any court, any judge in the FISA court and say, "We want a FISA on that residence in San Diego."
  It would have been easy. And we would have surveilled them, and we would have learned more information. People who are going to watch this, they're going to say, "Oh, it's hindsight 20''20." But, no, I'm not talking hindsight 20''20. I'm talking basic, logical investigation.
  NARRATOR: Again, the FBI chronology, compiled after the 9/11 attacks, describes precisely how al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi begin training for their 9/11 operation.
  MARK ROSSINI: April 4, 2000: Nawaf al-Hazmi received one hour of introductory flight instruction from the National Air College, located at 3760 Glenn Curtis Road, San Diego.
  May 4: Khalid al-Mihdhar debit card purchase: two Jeppesen training kits.
  June 10, 2000: Al-Mihdhar departed U.S. via Lufthansa Flight 457 from Los Angeles, California to Frankfurt, Germany.
  NARRATOR: Khalid al-Mihdhar is heading home to see a newborn son. For the next 13 months he will live with his wife and baby in the house in Yemen, the house NSA is monitoring. He will even apply for a new U.S. visa, and, incredibly, he will get it.
  December 8, 2000: Hani Hanjour, another 9/11 hijacker, touches down in San Diego. Three days later he joins Nawaf al-Hazmi on a road trip to New Jersey, where the rest of the hijackers are assembling. Once more, the FBI chronology, compiled after the attacks, documents their five-month trip.
  MARK ROSSINI: March 1, 2001: Hanjour has eight hours of simulator training at Jet Tech.
  April 1: Nawaf al-Hazmi received a speeding ticket and received a summons for failure to wear a seatbelt.
  May 1: Al-Hazmi filed a police report with Fairfax County, Virginia, police department, alleging he was mugged by an unknown black male.
  NARRATOR: June 21, 2001: a reporter from the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation interviews bin Laden's lieutenants in Afghanistan. They hint that a major attack may soon take place. U.S. forces in the Mideast are put on the highest alert.
  After the interview is released, NSA's traffic analysis detects a huge spike of threatening communications.
  ELEANOR HILL: There was a great anticipation that there was going to be an attack on U.S. interests by Al Qaeda. Most people believed it was going to be overseas. And so, tragically, their focus was on their job, which was looking overseas and not so much on what was happening in the U.S., which they viewed as the FBI's job.
  MARK ROSSINI: As the chronology goes on: July 4, 2001: Al-Mihdhar entered the U.S. on Saudi Arabian Flight 53, via J.F.K., in New York City, using a B1 business visa and listing his intended address as the Marriot Hotel, New York City. That was the Marriot Hotel at the World Trade Center.
  NARRATOR: To make final preparations for their attack, al-Hazmi, al-Mihdhar and Hanjour drive south on the New Jersey Turnpike. They avoid staying in large cities. They avoid hotel chains with computerized registration. Instead, the crew drives into the Maryland town of Laurel and checks in to the low-budget Valencia Motel. By now they have their final assignment, targeting the Pentagon.
  JAMES BAMFORD: Throughout their whole journey, whether they were in San Diego or they were in New Jersey or they were in Laurel, Maryland, they were communicating back and forth to the bin Laden ops center in Yemen. NSA was listening in on the ops center, recording the conversations and then transcribing them. But the NSA never alerted any other agency that the terrorists were in the United States and moving across the country, towards Washington.
  NARRATOR: On the face of it, Laurel, Maryland, looks like a typical Washington suburb.
  JAMES BAMFORD: What's very different is that this town happens to be right next door to NSA's headquarters.
  NARRATOR: While NSA has detected a spike in communications threatening an imminent attack, Bin Laden's hit men have taken refuge right in their backyard.
  MARK ROSSINI: August 18: Hani Hanjour rented mailbox number 433.
  The day before the hijacking: Nawaf al-Hazmi, Walmart, $36.65; Food Factory, Khalid al-Midhar.
  9/6/2001: Nawaf al-Hazmi, Khalid al-Midhar, Hani Hanjour: Gold's Gym, Greenbelt, Maryland.
  JAMES BAMFORD: The hijackers seemed to blend in very well. Even when they shopped for improvised weapons for the hijackings, they shopped in a Target Store just down the street from NSA. No one thought what they were doing was suspicious.
  So here you have these two groups of people: one, the terrorists who were plotting the largest terrorist operation in U.S. history. And you have NSA, which had been listening to some of their phone calls for years. And now they are living side by side, neither of them knowing that the other is there.
  What was really tragic is that if General Hayden had looked out his eighth floor window, west, towards Laurel, just two miles away, he could have almost seen the motel in which the hijackers were living. I mean, it's one of the biggest ironies in the history of American intelligence.
  NARRATOR: On the day of the 9/11 attacks, most of NSA's employees are ordered to leave their headquarters. Afraid that NSA might be another target, some of the few who remain move from their upstairs offices to lower floors. Others tack up black curtains to block their windows. They seem to have no idea what their own agency and the CIA both knew but had said nothing about.
  ELEANOR HILL: Had we been able to realize how significant that was, put it together and get it to the agencies who could have made use of it in time, would there have been a different end to the 9/11 story?
  MARK ROSSINI: I can't come up with a rational reason why I didn't break the rules, pick up the phone, and tell that the hijackers, or really bad guys, are in the U.S. And I don't know if I'll ever be able to come to terms with that. I don't know. I really don't know.
  MICHAEL HAYDEN: On the 13th of September, I gave an address to an empty room, but we beamed it throughout our entire enterprise, about free peoples always having to decide the balance of security and their liberties, and then I told the workforce, there are going to be a lot of pressures to push that banner down toward security, and our job at NSA was to keep America free by making Americans feel safe again.
  NARRATOR: Those pressures aren't long in coming. When Hayden is asked by Vice President Cheney what more NSA can do, he answers, "Not much, without breaking FISA laws," the laws force that force NSA to obtain a warrant to listen in on Americans.
  Three weeks after the attacks, President Bush bypasses those laws, by secretly issuing an executive order: NSA will no longer have to worry about obtaining warrants to eavesdrop inside America. If 9/11 was a wake-up call, the response is a license to listen to almost anything and everything.
  TIM SAMPLE: And part of that wake-up call, certainly right after 9/11, included the fact that you needed to take some strict measures. You needed to take some action that would allow you to not let that happen again.
  NARRATOR: But to make the new program work, Hayden must finally bring the National Security Agency into the modern age. The backbone of global communications had moved from easily intercepted satellite signals in space, to fiber optic cables buried under the ocean. To understand the challenge NSA faces, NOVA follows one email message as it circles the globe.
  In Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur, James Bamford is researching Al Qaeda's communications network. In a busy cafe, he types out an email message to NOVA's producers, in Boston. Bamford's message is harmless but contains the kinds of keywords and phrases that NSA supercomputers are programmed to detect, phrases like "blow up the White House," "destroy the Capitol building," "biological warfare."
  When he presses "send," Bamford's message is instantly mixed in with dozens of other messages on the same wireless network, then routed to a large telecommunications center in the city. There, voice calls are converted from analog to digital signals and streamed, as pulses of light, through a fiber optic cable that dives into the South China Sea, off Malaysia's Coast.
  Along the way, Bamford's message is merged with thousands of phone calls, emails and faxes, in dozens of languages, from hundreds of Asian cities. The jumble of data crosses under the Pacific Ocean at the speed of light.
  Just five hundredths of a second after the message was sent, it comes ashore, six feet under this lonely stretch of California beach, near Morro Bay. There, beneath screeching gulls and surfers in wet suits, Asian communications stream in. A few miles inland, the message passes through a small, nondescript building near San Luis Obispo.
  JAMES BAMFORD: If you want to tap into international communications, it seems like the perfect place is San Luis Obispo. That's where 80 percent of all communications from Asia enters the United States.
  NARRATOR: But under NSA's new orders, they don't tap in here. Instead the cables run straight from San Luis Obispo to a building in San Francisco.
  The building, at 611 Folsom Street, is AT&T's regional switching center. All the international traffic snakes up to the seventh floor, and it is here that a crucial change takes place. The seventh floor is also where AT&T's domestic traffic is routed'--a cacophony of millions of conversations: cries and laughter, hopes and dreams, emails, faxes, bank statements, hotel reservations, love poems and death notices, all sent by people from inside the United States. The only thing they have in common is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
  NARRATOR: In 2003, an AT&T engineer notices that the cables on the seventh floor have been rerouted, and a mirror image of all the traffic, both domestic and international, is now being sent to a secret room one floor below.
  MARK KLEIN (Former AT&T Technician): It was obvious that this was some kind of NSA installation. I figured out that what they were doing was a blind wholesale copying of the entire internet data flow. And this meant randomly scooping up huge amounts of purely domestic data, as well as international data.
  BRIAN REID (Internet Systems Consortium): When I hear the word wiretap, I've always imagined some person in a trench coat and a black hat and sunglasses, skulking around after dark, secretly tapping into a wire and hoping that no one notices. But what they've done in that facility is by full light of day, they've cut the fiber optic cables and then reconnected them in a splitter. What they have built is a facility that is capable of monitoring absolutely all data communication through it.
  NARRATOR: Brian Reid, a communications expert, has examined AT&T's internal documents that Klein provided. They show that the secret room contains electronic equipment specifically designed for signals intelligence, equipment programmed to sift through millions of messages, searching for keywords like the ones Bamford sent from Kuala Lumpur.
  BRIAN REID: The most curious piece of equipment in that room is a completely flexible monitoring system that can be told on a moment's notice, "Please monitor all conversations that contain the word hummingbird. Please monitor all conversation that goes to Mobile, Alabama. Please monitor all conversations that contain both the word hummingbird and go to Mobile, Alabama."
  NARRATOR: NSA has turned its giant ear to listen in on America.
  BRIAN REID: Based on everything I know, I believe that there are between 15 and 30 of these secret rooms around the U.S.
  NARRATOR: The post-9/11 rules authorized NSA to listen in to Americans both inside and outside the U.S., without any special court approval.
  ADRIENNE KINNE: After 9/11, we were essentially put in charge of a new system which intercepted satellite phone communications in Iraq and Afghanistan and surrounding areas.
  NARRATOR: Calls and data from the Middle East and North Africa are collected and relayed to a listening post, tucked in the hills, outside Augusta, Georgia. As a voice interceptor, Adrienne Kinne listened to some of those calls. Assigned by the Army to NSA, she was called back to active duty after 9/11.
  ADRIENNE KINNE: For a voice interceptor, the computer system would essentially pop up, and it would be very similar, I would say, to iTunes, where you could just go through and click on various conversations, and it would have the phone number, the time up, time down. We were told that we were to listen to all conversations that were intercepted, to include those of Americans and other allied countries.
  NARRATOR: Some of those conversations are personal, some even intimate.
  ADRIENNE KINNE: And there was no directive to say that when you had conversations like this come through, that you should delete them. That's what we did when I was on active duty in '94 to '98. We would never collect on an American. I had a real problem with the fact that people were listening to it and I was listening to it. The time that that interceptor, that voice interceptor, is spending listening to conversations in the States, that's time that they can't spend looking or listening for actual conversations related to terrorist organizations.
  NARRATOR: As NSA began tapping in to fiber optic cables as well as satellites, information began to flood in like never before.
  According to a Congressional study in 2008, some intelligence data sources grow at a rate of four petabytes'--that's four quadrillion bytes'--per month, the equivalent of 12 filing cabinets of new information for every American citizen, every year. But what does it all mean?
  ERIC HASELTINE: Computers, today, tell people what things are: "Here's some data that you asked for." They don't tell you what it means. So there is some work going on to try to marry the power of computers to the power of humans.
  NARRATOR: Specialized software can help extract important information based on context and meaning. Dr. Robert L. Popp does advanced research on these kinds of programs, known as classifiers.
  DR. ROBERT L. POPP: Say you wanted to build a classifier for Al Qaeda, the term, the concept, Al Qaeda. The way it would work is you, as an analyst, would go find all these documents'--whether they're emails or things on the web or whatever'--but all these documents that in your judgment are narratives associated with the concept of Al Qaeda.
  NARRATOR: In the future, by refining the software and harnessing enough computing power, these classifiers could potentially reduce the mountain of information human analysts have to examine.
  ERIC HASELTINE: So the next frontier may be, "Computer, do you see any unusual associations that I didn't think to ask you about that I ought to have asked you about when it relates to a threat against the homeland?"
  NARRATOR: But most experts agree that may take decades. And it could only help mine information in documents, emails and faxes. When it comes to human conversations, technology is of little help. It still takes people wearing headphones and listening in.
  DAVID MURFEE FAULK (Former National Security Agency Voice Interceptor): I decided, a couple weeks after 9/11, to enlist, and go do Arabic. And I hoped to go hunt Osama at that time.
  NARRATOR: David Murfee Faulk was one of the thousands of new linguists trained to work in the trenches of NSA's signals intelligence operations.
  DAVID MURFEE FAULK: NSA spends literally billions of dollars to obtain signals, to process them, move them from place to place without people knowing, to get them to an end user, a translator who can make some sense of them and write up a transcription.
  What I found was a large number of translators simply not meeting minimal requirements in language skills, basically running some very expensive, very complicated equipment, without the kind of knowledge or context that they would need to do that properly.
  NARRATOR: Before 9/11, the budget for U.S. intelligence was $26.7 billion. By 2008 that budget nearly doubled. NSA's portion is secret, but believed to be over a third, more than the departments of Treasury, Interior or Labor. Its ranks have swelled to over 35,000.
  TIM SAMPLE: Given all the additional money spent now, on rebuilding the intelligence community and its capabilities, are we really safer as a nation? I think generally, for me, the answer is yes'--the fact that we haven't had another attack, the fact that we have better coordination and better information-sharing. Are we to the point where we can relax and put our guard down? No. I think if we do, then we run the risk of changing the answer.
  ELEANOR HILL: It's very, very hard to draw a hard and fast line between where foreign intelligence stops and domestic intelligence starts. That doesn't mean we want our foreign intelligence agencies on every street corner in America. But it does mean that you have to have very good communication and coordination between the foreign intelligence agencies, like the CIA and NSA, and our domestic agencies, like the FBI,
  because if you don't, things are going to slip between the cracks. And that's exactly what happened with 9/11.
  JAMES BAMFORD: The problem with reporting on a story like this is that you're really searching in the dark. There's no way to sit on the outside and really know what's going on on the inside.
  And, without an official inquiry, some questions can't be answered: Why did the NSA fail to act or pass on information that could have warned of 9/11? Why didn't it share information with the CIA and FBI that could possibly have stopped the plot?
  As for the question of whether we are any safer now than we were before, we should have been safe the way it was. NSA had all the information that it needed to stop the hijackers, and it already had laws that allowed it to track them. So now, with NSA's new rules, with all the money it's spent, with all the data it collects, is NSA doing a better job or is its job that much harder because it's just being flooded with data? How much information is enough, and won't too much information end up making the world more dangerous?
  NARRATOR: On NOVA's Spy Factory Web site, dig deeper into this topic, with original content including interactives, interviews and more. Find it on PBS.org.
  This NOVA program is available on DVD. The companion book, The Shadow Factory, is also available. To order, visit shoppbs.org or call us at 1-800-PLAYPBS.
  NOVA is a production of WGBH Boston.
IRS Agents 'Accidentally' Discharged Guns 11 Times, Possible Injuries | CNS News
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:34
  (AP Photo)
  (CNSNews.com) '' Special agents at the IRS accidentally shot their firearms 11 times between 2009 and 2011, and at least three of the cases ''may have resulted in property damage or personal injury.''
  Agents actually fired their guns accidently more often than they intentionally fired them in the field, according to an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
  The report also found that the agency, which is now training with AR-15s, does not always provide remedial training to agents who fired their weapons due to ''negligence.''
  The September 2012 audit examined whether IRS special agents, who execute search warrants for those suspected of violating U.S. tax laws, are being properly trained and reporting incidents when weapons are fired.
  ''When performing their duties, special agents carry firearms and are authorized to use deadly force to protect themselves and the public,'' the report explains.
  ''Special training agents not properly trained in the use of firearms could endanger the public, as well as their fellow special agents, and expose the IRS to possible litigation over injuries or damages,'' it warns.
  According to the audit, ''there were a total of eight firearm discharges classified as intentional use of force incidents and 11 discharges classified as accidental during FYs 2009 through 2011.'' In other words, agents were more likely to accidentally fire their weapon than to fire it intentionally.
  Accidental discharges are defined in the report as ''instances where a special agent did not intend to discharge the firearm but, either through a voluntary or involuntary action, the firearm did discharge.''
  Accidents are supposed to be reported to the National Criminal Investigation Training Academy (NCITA), which manages the firearms training program for the IRS Criminal Investigation unit. However, four of the 11 incidents were not properly reported.
  ''In three of the four accidental discharges that were not reported, the accidental discharges may have resulted in property damage or personal injury,'' the report says.
  The details on these incidents, however, are redacted from the report.
  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
  A TIGTA spokesperson told CNSnews.com that the audit could not disclose the information due to privacy laws.
  ''It would have identified an individual by name and that's not allowed under the privacy act,'' they said.
  Furthermore, the audit details that agents who accidentally fire their guns do not receive special follow- up training.
  ''We found that the four visited field offices did not always provide remedial training when an accidental discharge occurred due to special agent negligence,'' the report said.
  The review was performed at field offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. between August 2011 and April 2012.
  Special agents for the IRS are required to have handgun training four times a year, shoot a minimum of 75 percent on a qualifying test, participate in firearms ''building entry'' exercises, and attend briefings on safety and how to shoot a gun from a moving vehicle. In addition, they are mandated to receive shotgun training twice a year.
  Agents are also now training with AR-15s, according to Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), who toured a federal law enforcement facility last month.
  ''I think Americans raise eyebrows when you tell them that IRS agents are training with a type of weapon that has stand-off capability,'' Duncan told Politico. ''It's not like they're carrying a sidearm and they knock on someone's door and say, 'You're evading your taxes.'''
  The TIGTA audit found that the firearms training and requirements for the Criminal Investigation division ''generally met or exceeded those of other Federal law enforcement agencies.''
  ''However, we found that some special agents did not meet all of the firearms training or qualification requirements,'' it said.
  TIGTA gave several recommendations to the IRS, including that the agency enforce its rules that agents must surrender their firearm if they fail training, or face other consequences.
  A spokesman for TIGTA said there are no plans for a follow-up report at this time.
  ''Typically, we like to give the IRS some time to respond to the recommendations and take action and we usually try to circle back in the future,'' they said. ''But I don't think we've enacted any specific plans at this point.''
R.I.P. James Gandolfini - Deadline.com
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:33
  I've learned that actor James Gandolfini died suddenly in Italy after a suspected heart attack. He was 51. Gandolfini will be forever known for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano on the seminal HBO series The Sopranos, which won him three Emmy Awards. He remained in business with the pay cable network and was in pre-production on a new limited series, Criminal Justice, one of several projects he had in the works. MORE
  TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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Global Chill Already Cometh? | OBRL-News Blog
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:25
  Global Chill Already Cometh?
  Intensive work at OBRL has prevented the usual commentary and postings. However, the recent tragedy of massive tornado strikes in the Midwest, with political speeches claiming this is the result of "global warming" deserves giving the matter some attention.
  First, a nice blue-glowing cloud picture, details about which are also given below:
  To continue, I have no idea what the devotees to the "CO2-Warming" theory of climate changes are saying '-- probably continuing with the same old mantra '-- but this last winter has been exceptionally cold for most of the Northern Hemisphere, with records broken as to bitter cold temps and massive snowfalls across Europe, Asia and Alaska.
  For Example:
  Cold Wave hits China, coldest in 30 years.http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/12/22/Bitter-cold-snap-grips-China/UPI-40031356187955/An internet search on "China Bitter Cold 2013" will bring up more of the same, indicating this was not just a one-time episode.
  Moscow Cold, Snow, 50 year records broken.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/9711789/Heavy-snow-in-Moscow-and-the-first-snowfall-of-the-season-in-Europe.htmlAn internet search on "Moscow cold snow records broken 2013" or "Russia'..." will show more of the same. Here's a few reports from April 2013:http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_04_01/Moscow-struggles-with-record-snowfall/http://iceagenow.info/2013/04/record-snowfall-moscow/
  Alaska longest snow season on record, breaking a 30 year past record.http://www.today.com/id/51929453/ns/local_news-anchorage_ak/t/anchorage-sets-record-longest-snow-season/
  Europe also hit by record cold, snows:http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/16feb_deepfreeze/
  Darkest Winter (lack of sun due to incessant clouds, snow, rain) for Germany in 43 years.http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-weathers-darkest-winter-in-43-years-a-885608.htmlVery nice blue-glowing clouds picture at this website, reproduced above.
  Ooops we must correct that, it is the Darkest Winter ever recorded for Germany:http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/winter-weather-plagues-germany-as-spring-begins-a-890166.html
  OK, having said all that, it is true that "weather is not climate", even though climate is produced by the averaged aggregate of measured weather data. So what are the averages saying?
  Finally the more scientifically inclined members of the "warming" community are admitting that something is not correct with their theories. As documented here:
  Has Global Warming Come to a Halt?http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/climatechange/has-global-warming-come-to-a-h-1/61445Note the trends on this website: From 1950 to 1975 approx., no basic change in global temps. From 1980 to 1998, a warming trend. Then from 1998 to today, global temperatures have leveled off. Note the graph of El-Nino/La-Ni±a events, and how the peaks give rise to global changes. Likewise the small volcanic symbols, indicating sun-blocking dusts in the upper atmosphere. This particular website takes the "warmist" view, so even this begrudging admission is remarkable. Some of the weblinks on this page are rather outrageous in unscientific claim-making, rather like cheer-leaders for a football team, as if scientific conclusions needed cheer-leading to "win" '-- of course this is cheerleading for Billions in grant money, for "their side". Whatever happened to old-fashioned scientific investigation, and allowing the truth to fall where it may?
  Here's more, the British met office being a bit more reliable than the American NOAA or the cherry-picked "consensus" community of "scientists" whomever that is supposed to be. The last time the IPCC made such surveys, they included all kinds of leftist political hacks and "activists" from neo-Marxist environmental groups. "Climate Deniers" were of course excluded from such surveys.
  Global Warming stopped 16 years ago, Met Office.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261577/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-Met-Office-report-reveals-MoS-got-right-warming''deniers-now.html16 years ago was what? 1997-1998 The worst El Nino on record, highest global temps from that, but not from CO2 emissions.
  Even the die-hard Leftist BBC finally admits, sort of, that well, maybe, POSSIBLY, their theory on warming isn't panning out as it should:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22567023
  Then of course, the major radical-left politicians weigh in on the issue:
  Team Obama calls global warming doubters 'crazy'http://washingtonexaminer.com/team-obama-calls-global-warming-doubters-crazy/article/2529291Mygod, are we now supposed to bow to the King's Hat? (If you don't know what that means, then you really have been under-educated. Look it up.) Yeah, it is the global warming critics who are the untrustworthy people, not the political hacks in Washington DC.http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/20/democratic-senator-goes-on-anti-gop-rant-over-climate-change-as-tornadoes-hit-oklahoma/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
  And just in case you think the recent disastrous tornado outbreak has something to do with global warming, just go back a few decades and the same mainstreamers today pushing the "warming" scenario as the cause of weather catastrophes were then blaming "global cooling":
  1975 : Tornado Outbreaks Blamed On Global Coolinghttp://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/1975-tornado-outbreaks-blamed-on-global-cooling/
  In fact, the Little Ice Age was a time of many weather disasters, globally failed crops, famines and epidemic diseases, wars and government collapse. Definitely not so good as the Medieval Warm Period, which was still warmer on average than anything we have experienced in the last 1000 years! The MWP was a time of excellent crops, economic boom, abundance and plenty, fewer wars, with extra money to finance voyages of exploration, massive architectural projects, works of art, and so on.
  This modern "climate change" fascism would have you believe otherwise, and this means, well, just ignore all those reports given above. Erase them from your memory, even if you experienced such bitter cold. That kind of intellectual fascism as pushed by the "warmers" is playing out exactly as happened with government, industry and academic support for nuclear power reactors back in the same 1970s. No matter what the evidence, they KNEW nuclear power plants were "safe, cheap, efficient", etc., even though all evidence showed it was unsafe, expensive and inefficient. So dissenting professors were fired, academic journals censored papers revealing the dangers, Big Lies were told in Science and Nature and by all the political hacks and "journalists" in the newspapers and on TV. The dissenters were either silenced or pilloried, just as today are the dissenters to the CO2 theory of warming. It took the disasters of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima to keep the Atomic Power Vampire sealed in its crypt. What disasters will be necessary to put an end to the intensive planning for increased warming, when in fact we should be putting more attention to the cold side of things.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/elderhealth/9959856/Its-the-cold-not-global-warming-that-we-should-be-worried-about.htmlWe have yet another cold blast of winter headed into the Pacific Northwest just as I write this, in the latter part of May. Maybe a chilly brush, or a big dump of snow. Who can say? No clear idea what lays ahead, except that it won't be like what is predicted out of Washington DC. Prepare accordingly.
  James DeMeo, PhD
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  This entry was posted on May 20, 2013 at 11:09 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
AMA Considers Classifying Obesity As A Disease - Forbes
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:24
  Log in with your social account:Or, you can log in or sign up using Forbes.New Posts+2 posts this hourMost PopularMost Expensive HomesListsHighest-Paid AthletesVideo'Buycott' App In ActionGet two issues of Forbes for FREE!Help|Connect
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NFL 2013 Stadium Bag Policy
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:23
  Why did the NFL and its clubs adopt this policy?
  Was this step taken because of what happened at the Boston Marathon?
  Are other events limiting bags?
  How does the new policy improve public safety?
  How does this make it more convenient for fans?
  Will teams be making money from selling team identified bags to fans?
  How many bags can each person bring into the stadium?
  Can fans carry cameras, binoculars, smart phones or tablets separately from what they put in a clear bag?
  Are seat cushions allowed to be carried into the stadium?
  What about bringing blankets in cold weather?
  Why haven't more stadiums and arenas adopted this kind of policy?
  What happens if I show up at the gate with a bag that is not permitted?
  If I have certain items that I need to bring into the stadium for medical reasons and they won't fit in the clear bag, what do I do?
  What are some examples of how NFL stadium safety has evolved in recent years?
  FEMALE FAN FAQ
  Are all purses prohibited?
  Do I have to put everything I'm carrying into the permissible bags?
  What about diaper bags?
  If I have special medical equipment I need to have with me at all times, where do I put that?
  Will this policy affect the ability of fans to tailgate? Are there limitations on tailgating items?
  Why did the NFL and its clubs adopt this policy?
  The league and clubs review their public safety and stadium security policies every year looking for ways to improve them. The Committee on Stadium Security and Fan Conduct leads this review and obtains a wide range of information to assist in doing so. The committee strongly believed that it made sense to adjust our policy to enhance public safety and make stadium access more efficient by limiting the size and style of bags carried into the stadium. This was reviewed with the clubs at the May league meeting and will be implemented by every team.
  This proactive measure both will enhance safety inside and outside the stadium and speed the security screening process for all NFL fans. The public deserves to be in a safe, secure environment. This is about both safety and improving the overall fan experience.
  Was this step taken because of what happened at the Boston Marathon?
  That was a factor to take into account, certainly, but we update and improve the policy every year. It has evolved so that we can continue to adjust to the realities of public safety. We had been discussing a new approach to bag restrictions before the Boston Marathon incident. We have come up with a way to do it that will actually make access more convenient for fans than it has been. We think the fans will embrace and appreciate it.
  Are other events limiting bags?
  Yes. In fact, some like the University of Michigan, Penn State, and Michigan State University do not permit any bags. The pat downs and metal detector screenings of all individuals entering NFL stadiums provide an additional level of safety for fans. The limitations on bag size and style is a further enhancement for convenience and safety.
  How does the new policy improve public safety?
  There will be a secondary perimeter around the stadium where security personnel will check for prohibited items or bags being carried toward the stadium so those situations can be corrected immediately. This establishes a protected buffer area for fans in plaza-level areas and at the queues for stadium entry. Prohibited bags will be turned away. Any prohibited bag inside the second perimeter will be highly visible and more quickly resolved.
  The clear bag is easily and quickly searched and greatly reduces faulty bag searches. It also supports the Department of Homeland Security's ''If You See Something, Say Something'' campaign.
  How does this make it more convenient for fans?
  This will enable us to move fans through our security check points much faster. A standard size bag eliminates the need for bag templates to check bag sizes. It will make the stadium's job much easier, allowing staff to be more efficient and effective in checking bags that are brought into the stadium. There will be less time spent standing in lines at the stadium gates and fans will be able to be in their seats well before kickoff. Fans also will enjoy an improved sense of safety. Shorter lines mean fewer hassles.
  Will teams be making money from selling team identified bags to fans?
  There are a variety of options, including a clear 12'' by 6'' by 12'' bag with no commercial identification or an inexpensive Ziploc bag. In addition, fans may carry their own small clutches. For fans who wish to purchase team logo bags, they will be available.
  How many bags can each person bring into the stadium?
  One large clear bag '' either a one-gallon Ziploc style bag or the 12'' by 6'' by 12'' clear bag '' plus a small clutch. The larger clear bag must be a standard 12'' by 6'' by 12'' made of clear PVC vinyl and is easily searched. The one-gallon Ziploc bag is readily available, inexpensive and easily searched. The small clutch allows privacy for small personal items and also is easily searched.
  Can fans carry cameras, binoculars, smart phones or tablets separately from what they put in a clear bag?
  Yes. Binoculars or a phone or camera can be carried into the stadium so long as it is not in its own bag. This is not a restriction on items that fans have been able to bring into the stadium. It is only a restriction on the type of container used to carry items.
  Are seat cushions allowed to be carried into the stadium?
  No, they are not due to the large size and because the way seat cushions are constructed would allow them to be used to conceal a potential explosive device.
  What about bringing blankets in cold weather?
  Fans will be able to bring blankets by tossing them over a shoulder or arm as they do in Green Bay. They can be easily screened carrying a blanket into the stadium.
  Why haven't more stadiums and arenas adopted this kind of policy?
  The NFL is the only professional sports league that has a comprehensive set of best practices for stadium security certified by the Department of Homeland Security as anti-terrorism technologies under the United States Safety Act. As such, other professional sports leagues look to the NFL as the leader in stadium and large venue security. Other stadiums have watched the NFL closely and followed, to the extent possible, security enhancements pioneered by the NFL. We anticipate that many more stadiums and arenas will soon adopt this policy.
  What happens if I show up at the gate with a bag that is not permitted?
  Fans carrying bags that do not meet the criteria will be turned away from the stadium well before they reach the gates. Stadiums are encouraged to maintain an ample supply of clear plastic tote bags or clear plastic freezer bags to afford guests the opportunity to transfer their belongings to an approved bag before they approach the stadium. As an alternative for guests that have no other option, stadiums are encouraged to consider providing the opportunity to temporarily check non-compliant bags at a facility located well outside the bag-restricted area.
  If I have certain items that I need to bring into the stadium for medical reasons and they won't fit in the clear bag, what do I do?
  There will be a separate entrance to allow screening of these bags and medically necessary items.
  What are some examples of how NFL stadium safety has evolved in recent years?
  The NFL's Best Practices for Stadium Security was the result of a comprehensive evaluation of stadium security risks undertaken after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
  In September 2001, the league office established a Task Force of league, club, and stadium executives to make recommendations on NFL security matters relative to fans, teams and stadiums.
  November 2001, the NFL issued its Best Practices for Stadium Security. The central components specific to security checkpoint procedures were: 1) Continue current search criteria, including the prohibition of coolers, backpacks, large bags, explosives and weapons; and 2) Ensure adequate staff is available at gates to efficiently handle the inspections. Search all items allowed into the stadium and pat down coats and visually inspect outer clothing.
  In June 2005, the following was added to the Best Practices for Stadium Security in reference to physical searches at security checkpoints: ''Facility management should be prepared to implement additional screening measures should Department of Homel and Security elevate the alert level.''
  In November 2007, The following was added to the Best Practices for Stadium Security in reference to the search of bags permitted inside the stadium: ''Use a template at each public access gate to show allowable package size.'' Also, the search of persons was enhanced to include a physical pat down of guests under the following recommendation: ''NFL Policy requires visual inspection and limited pat-downs of all patrons, employees, vendors and game production personnel after lockdown of the facility has occurred on game days.''
  In September 2011, the NFL recommended to the clubs that the limited pat-down searches conducted at all NFL stadiums be expanded to include: ''a pat-down of the area from the knees down to the ankles in an effort to identify any concealed weapons.''
  In June 2012, the following was added to the Best Practices for Stadium Security in reference to physical searches at stadium security check points: ''NFL Policy requires visual inspection and metal detector screening (hand-held or walk-through) of all patrons, employees, vendors, and game production personnel after lockdown of the facility has occurred on game days.''
  In June 2013, restrictions on specific bags, containers, and packages permitted inside stadiums were unanimously recommended by the NFL Committee on Stadium Security after discussion with all 32 teams.
  Are all purses prohibited?
  No. Unlike some event venues, we are not banning all bags. Small clutch purses, with or without a handle or strap, are permitted along with either the 12'' by 6'' by 12'' clear tote bag or the one-gallon freezer bag. This should enable you to carry the same items you have in previous years and speed entry into the stadium for all fans because it will take less time to screen bags. Shorter lines means fewer hassles. We encourage fans not to bring any bags, but have created a policy that balances fan needs with improved public safety and convenience.
  Do I have to put everything I'm carrying into the permissible bags?
  No. We are limiting only the type of bags carried into the stadium, not items that you normally bring to a game. Therefore, you can carry in your pockets or jacket keys, makeup, feminine products, comb, phone, wallet, credit cards, etc., if you choose not to put them in a clear bag or clutch. And you can carry a blanket over your arms, and binoculars and/or camera around your neck or in your hands without the case. You can use the clear bag and clutch to carry other items. You will continue to have the flexibility to bring a wide variety of approved items into the stadium. Every member of your family may carry in a permissible bag.
  What about diaper bags?
  Diapers can be carried in a clear bag. Each member of a family, including children, would be allowed to carry an approved clear bag and a clutch purse into the stadium. That is a quite a bit of storage capacity.
  If I have special medical equipment I need to have with me at all times, where do I put that?
  An exception will be made for medical necessary items after proper inspection at a specified stadium gate designated for this purpose.
  Will this policy affect the ability of fans to tailgate? Are there limitations on tailgating items?
  No. Fans will be able to enjoy tailgating activities in the parking lots and do so with greater safety and knowledge that entry into the stadium will be smoother and faster.
The "Up and Outer" Antenna
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:11
  Somthing about the "Up and Outer" antenna has fascinated me since I first came across it in the 1974 edition of the ARRL Antenna Book. This antenna, which was once popular many years ago, is about as simple as it gets. Simply put, the Up and Outer is basically a dipole or doublet where one leg is vertical while the other leg is horizontal. Although it seems to be overlooked by Amateurs these days, this antenna offers some significant benefits:
  It's good limited space antenna, since one leg of the doublet is vertical. It only requires half of the space that a horizontal doublet would take up.When fed with balance line and used with a suitable transmatch, it's a good multi-band antenna.It combines characteristics of both verticals and horizontal wire antennas. That is, it is good for both local and DX work.It's very easy to build an erect.First, a little background on this antenna. According to some handwritten notes from QRP Hall of Famer, C. F. Rockey W9SCH, this antenna goes back to the 20s and 30s. Lew McCoy W1ICP (SK) wrote about it in the October 1960 edition of QST. He didn't use the name, "Up and Outer;" he merely referred to it as a "limited space antenna." McCoy recommended horizontal and vertical elements of 30-feet each for operation on 80-10 meters. He also recommended using an open-wire feedline to minimize losses. Information from McCoy's article has appeared for years in the ARRL Antenna Book. (I first saw it in my 1974 edition and it was still shown in the 1997 edition.)
  W9SCH wrote a couple of articles about this antenna for SPRAT and appears to have coined the term, "Up and Outer." In the first SPRAT article, Rock suggested using 1/4 wave elements for the lowest band and feeding it with either coax (for single band operation) or balanced line (for multi-band operation). In a follow up article, Rock suggests pruning the horizontal element to equalize the current in the balanced feeder. He noted the imbalance when operating with the horizontal element close to ground. He started with 16-foot elements to cover 30-10 meters.
  Another Hall of Famer, L. B. Cebik W4RNL (SK), wrote about a coax-fed version of this antenna for 10 meters. Cebik built his antenna using aluminum tubing and referred to it as the "L Antenna." I also exchanged some correspondence years ago with Fred Bonavita K5QLF (SK), another QRP Hall of Famer and fan of the Up and Outer. He told me that W9SCH once mentioned using the copper ball from an old toilet float to top-load the vertical element of the antenna. I have never tried it but it does sound intriquing!
  For me, the Up and Outer has turned out to be an ideal portable antenna to use while on vacation in a rented house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For several years I've used a 56-foot doublet with one wire supported by a 28-foot fiberglas telescopic mast and one 28-foot leg run horizontally. The vertical radiator is typically situated on a 3rd or 4th story wooden deck with the horizontal wire secured to a nearby tree or other support. For feedline, I use 25-feet of TV twinlead (the cheap brown stuff). Using either a homebrew Z-match tuner or the LDG Z-817 autotuner with an external balun, I've been able to use this antenna on 40-10 meters. Your mileage may vary. Depending on the transmatch you use, you might need to adjust the length of the feedline to get a good match on 40 meters.
  I did some quick modeling of a typical Outer Banks installation using MMANA-GL and you can clearly see the results of the combined horizontal and vertical elements. The horizontal polarity shows lobes perpendicular to the axis of the horizontal wire, not unlike a dipole. The vertical polarity shows a fairly low take-off angle and also exhibits some slight directivity on 40 meters in the direction of the horizontal wire. This effect is due to the proximity to ground of the horizontal element and diminishes as you go higher in frequency. So, try to mount the Up and Outer as high above ground as you can. The modeling bears out my empirical results with the antenna. My version of the Up and Outer has worked very well for both stateside contacts and DX. In particular, it has been very effective for DX contacts on 30 meters. As an added bonus, the 56-foot doublet can also be pressed into service as a normal horizontal antenna in locations where the Up and Outer configuration isn't feasible. So, it's like getting two antennas in one. Can't beat that.
  If you are looking for a limited-space antenna, give this obscure classic a try!
  _____
  References:1. McCoy, Lewis G. "A Limited-Space Antenna." QST October 1960: pp 23-25. (Avaliable in the ARRL online archives)2. "The ARRL Antenna Book." 13th Edition, 1974. Newington, CT. pp 187-188.3. "The ARRL Antenna Book." 18th Edition, 1997. Newington, CT. pp 7-15, 7-16.4. Rockey, C. F. "Up and Outer." SPRAT Issue #67: p 18.5. Rockey, C. F. "A Four Band Up and Outer Antenna." SPRAT Issue #69: p 16.6. Cebik, L. B. "Whips, Tubes and Wires: Building a 10-Meter L Antenna." QST December 1999: pp 52-54. (Available in the ARRL online archives)
  "Up and Outer" on a 3rd story deck in Corolla, NCFeedpoint
  40 Meter Pattern
  30 Meter Pattern
  20 Meter Pattern
VIDEO-Super soul's Morning speech from Vanishing Point 1971 on Vimeo
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  Film - Vanishing Point 1971
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United States person - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:33
  The term United States person or U.S. person is used in various contexts in U.S. laws and regulations with different meanings.
  Data collection and intelligence[edit]The term "U.S. person" is used in the context of data collection and intelligence by the United States, particularly with respect to the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. If information from, about, or to a U.S. person who is not a named terrorist is captured in the course of U.S. foreign intelligence activities, there are strict rules about preserving the anonymity of such a person in any subsequent intelligence report. Only if the U.S. person information is relevant to the report, is it included.
  According to the National Security Agency web site, Federal law and executive order define a United States person as any of the following:[1]
  a citizen of the United Statesan alien lawfully admitted for permanent residencean unincorporated association with a substantial number of members who are citizens of the U.S. or are aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residencea corporation that is incorporated in the U.S.Securities market regulation[edit]Regulation S (promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933) in Section 902(k)(1) defines a U.S. person as:[2]
  Any natural person resident in the United States;Any partnership or corporation organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States;Any estate of which any executor or administrator is a U.S. person;Any trust of which any trustee is a U.S. person;Any agency or branch of a foreign entity located in the United States;Any non-discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary for the benefit or account of a U.S. person;Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States; andAny partnership or corporation if:Organized or incorporated under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction; andFormed by a U.S. person principally for the purpose of investing in securities not registered under the Act, unless it is organized or incorporated, and owned, by accredited investors (as defined in Rule 501(a)) who are not natural persons, estates or trusts.Section 902(k)(2) further defines some persons who are explicitly not U.S. persons.[2] Unlike other definitions of U.S. person, the Regulation S definition of U.S. person does not include U.S. citizens not resident in the U.S.
  Taxation[edit]Internal Revenue Code Section 7701(a)(30) defines a U.S. person as:[3]
  a citizen or resident of the United States,a domestic partnership,a domestic corporation,any estate (other than a foreign estate, within the meaning of paragraph (31)), andany trust if'--a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust, andone or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust.See also[edit]References[edit]External links[edit]
ICE director John Morton stepping down in July
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:46
  Immigration and Customs Enforcement director John Morton announced Monday that he will leave the agency at the end of July.
  Morton has led ICE for more than four years, having been unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2009.
  (Alex Wong/Getty Images) '' ICE Director John Morton.
  ''I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished together during that time and look with awe on the incredible progress ICE has made as an agency,'' Morton said in a memo to employees on Monday. ''ICE has truly come of age and become an innovative, leading force in federal law enforcement.''
  During Morton's tenure at ICE, the Obama administration prioritized removal of criminal and dangerous illegal immigrants instead of illegal immigrants in general. Deportation numbers increased during that time, compared to the previous administration.
  Under Morton's leadership, ICE also bolstered its investigative efforts with border crimes, export controls, intellectual-property enforcement and child exploitation, according to an agency bio for the outgoing director.
  Morton will move to the private sector next, becoming senior vice president and head of compliance for Capital One bank in August.
  ''He is a skilled leader with great judgment and a proven ability to drive results in a dynamic organization,'' said Capital One spokeswoman Tatiana Stead. ''Compliance is a high priority for our company and we couldn't be more pleased that he will be joining our team.''
  More information about this development is available in a Washington Post article about Morton's tenure and departure.
  For more federal news, visit The Federal Eye, The Fed Page and Post Politics. To connect with Josh Hicks, follow his Twitter feed, friend his Facebook page or e-mail josh.hicks@washpost.com. E-mail federalworker@washpost.com with news tips and other suggestions.
NPR Shows Off New Facility - FishbowlDC
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:56
  NPR recently moved from Chinatown into its new 400,000 square-foot home on North Capitol, and they're excited about it. Eager to show off the new facility, the organization offered a tour to members of the media Tuesday morning, starting with breakfast from their in-house chefs, along with some talking points from CEO Gary Knell, who outlined some impressive features of the space.
  The goal in the new building was to have plenty of open space to promote collaboration, something that was difficult in the smaller, closed-office building NPR used to operate out of. The newsroom is a good example of this. Spreading 100,000 square feet over two floors, the entire room is open, with the second floor operating more like a balcony around the lower level.
  The tour stopped by the office of Susan Stamberg, Morning Edition correspondent and long-time NPR-er, whose voice tells elevator riders which floor they're on and which direction they're going. She said she enjoys seeing people who work in different departments pass by her office, something that didn't happen in the old building.
  She added that easier studio access (there are more studios in the new space) has made a big difference.
  ''You used to get all backed up going to the studio, now you can't get away from them,'' Stamberg said. ''We're in Oz here, it's so fabulous.''
  The tour continued through the massive hub for public radio, and here are a few things we learned throughout the morning.
  '-- Everyone at NPR just wants to be together.
  '-- NPR developed its own digital content management system to organize and plan its shows.
  '-- Style varies greatly, especially between departments.
  '-- Everyone really loves the new building.
  '-- NPR likes random decorations with their logo on them (like a gong or dog statue, complete with a bowl).
  '-- Everyone thinks the new building is fantastic.
  '-- The Science Desk started an underground candy bar market to combat the poor vending selection (more ''unhealthy'' options have been added, according to Chief People Officer Jeff Perkins).
  '-- NPR raises beehives on the roof to help pollinate its green roofs.
  '-- The building is expected to be LEED Gold certified.
  '-- The almost 800-person staff is extremely diverse, and they all are really glad the be in the new building.
  The tour continued through the wellness center, which is capable of simple medical procedures, the fitness center, which is staffed by a trainer, and the cafe, which utilizes the same catering company as Google. The cafe was named by a contest in which employees submitted more than 200 ideas. The winning name, Sound Bites, was entered by Stamberg, further marking her legacy at NPR and the new facility.
  Overall, the impressive space was focused on integration of staff and utilization of digital media, which its old building was ill-equipped to do. The space is also open to public tours and events in its 2400 square-foot Studio One, which can seat up to 250 people.
  We're still not sure the tour wasn't meant, maybe a little, to make other journalists jealous of the new space, but it definitely had that effect on at least us here at FBDC.
  UPDATE: Contrary to reports spreading on Twitter, this story has never indicated that NPR's building was paid for with taxpayer money'--the story actually makes no mention of funding whatsoever. While it is true that NPR and its affiliates, like many tax-exempt non-profit organizations, do receive government grants, such money'--according to NPR's audited financial statements'-- is a relatively small part of organization's budget. Construction of the new building was funded through a combination of proceeds from the sale of the old building, tax-exempt bonds (a kind of bond available to all non-profits in capital campaigns) and private gifts and donations. The District of Columbia, in an effort to keep NPR in the city, has agreed to a 20-year property tax exemption that will amount to about $40 million. The building cost approximately $201 million and has been in the works for the last six years.
Borg Sees Tax Cuts as Top Priority as Sweden Faces Lean Years - Bloomberg
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:52
  Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said the first priority after elections in 2014 will be to lower taxes for low and middle-income earners while backing away from cutting the top marginal rate.
  The government will also work to lower corporate and ownership taxes, Borg said today at a Moderate Party event in Stockholm. There won't be money to lower the tax rates for high- income earners because Sweden should prioritize spending on welfare and education, he said.
  ''We still want to strengthen tax cuts for low and middle income earners during the years ahead,'' Borg said, adding that it could be done as early as next year. While Sweden should target a 1 percent surplus also after the 2014 election, the country is unlikely to reach that target until 2017.
  Sweden has steered clear of the recession that's engulfed the euro area, helping the AAA-rated Nordic nation to emerge as a haven from the debt crisis and allowing the state to cut both income and corporate taxes. Still, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt last year scrapped a fifth round of income tax cuts since taking power in 2016 to protect the economy against deficits.
  Reinfeldt also said today at the same event Sweden must create more jobs, which is likely to become the main topic in the general election. Swedish companies are buckling under strains from a surging krona, which is driving up the price of exports for the trade-reliant economy. The krona has jumped 28 percent versus the euro since early 2009.
  The premier said last month that companies will need to adapt to a stronger currency.
  Slumping demand for exports slowed economic growth to 0.8 percent last year from 3.7 percent in 2011. The country's central bank forecasts unemployment will rise to an average 8.1 percent in 2013 from 7.7 percent in 2012.
  The government will consider measures to broaden the tax base by targeting corporate tax evasion and reducing interest rate deductions, Borg said.
  Sweden's corporate tax rate was cut in January to 22 percent from 26.3 percent previously.
  The country will post a 1.3 percent deficit of gross domestic product this year, the government forecast in December.
  Sweden has ''limited'' room for new fiscal initiatives ''in the years ahead,'' he said. The country should also avoid ''significant changes'' to labor laws, leaving it to unions and employers' organizations to make the job market more flexible, he said.
  Borg's Moderate Party, which is the largest in government, today said it will have to negotiate a common election platform with the three smaller coalition parties ahead of the next parliamentary elections in 2014.
  To contact the reporters on this story: Johan Carlstrom in Stockholm at jcarlstrom@bloomberg.net Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net
  To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Brogger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net
Putting the Greek Economy back in motion | Hellenic Republic Assets Development Fund
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:50
  CorporateThe HRADF envisions to sell, by 2014, virtually all the corporate monopolies, or virtual monopolies of the Greek state. Only critical infrastructure networks will remain under public control. Our portfolio is rich with highly profitable ''national champions'', modern casinos, gaming and lottery firms, banks and other successful enterprises, which guarantee high returns for interested investors.
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Greece Looks at Speeding up Port Sale - WSJ.com
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VIDEO-No, I'm not going to the world cup. - YouTube
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:32
Boundless Informant: the NSA's secret tool to track global surveillance data | World news | guardian.co.uk
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:29
  The National Security Agency has developed a powerful tool for recording and analysing where its intelligence comes from, raising questions about its repeated assurances to Congress that it cannot keep track of all the surveillance it performs on American communications.
  The Guardian has acquired top-secret documents about the NSA datamining tool, called Boundless Informant, that details and even maps by country the voluminous amount of information it collects from computer and telephone networks.
  The focus of the internal NSA tool is on counting and categorizing the records of communications, known as metadata, rather than the content of an email or instant message.
  The Boundless Informant documents show the agency collecting almost 3 billion pieces of intelligence from US computer networks over a 30-day period ending in March 2013. One document says it is designed to give NSA officials answers to questions like, "What type of coverage do we have on country X" in "near real-time by asking the SIGINT [signals intelligence] infrastructure."
  An NSA factsheet about the program, acquired by the Guardian, says: "The tool allows users to select a country on a map and view the metadata volume and select details about the collections against that country."
  Under the heading "Sample use cases", the factsheet also states the tool shows information including: "How many records (and what type) are collected against a particular country."
  A snapshot of the Boundless Informant data, contained in a top secret NSA "global heat map" seen by the Guardian, shows that in March 2013 the agency collected 97bn pieces of intelligence from computer networks worldwide.
  The heat map reveals how much data is being collected from around the world. Note the '2007' date in the image relates to the document from which the interactive map derives its top secret classification, not to the map itself.Iran was the country where the largest amount of intelligence was gathered, with more than 14bn reports in that period, followed by 13.5bn from Pakistan. Jordan, one of America's closest Arab allies, came third with 12.7bn, Egypt fourth with 7.6bn and India fifth with 6.3bn.
  The heatmap gives each nation a color code based on how extensively it is subjected to NSA surveillance. The color scheme ranges from green (least subjected to surveillance) through yellow and orange to red (most surveillance).
  The disclosure of the internal Boundless Informant system comes amid a struggle between the NSA and its overseers in the Senate over whether it can track the intelligence it collects on American communications. The NSA's position is that it is not technologically feasible to do so.
  At a hearing of the Senate intelligence committee In March this year, Democratic senator Ron Wyden asked James Clapper, the director of national intelligence: "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"
  "No sir," replied Clapper.
  Judith Emmel, an NSA spokeswoman, told the Guardian in a response to the latest disclosures: "NSA has consistently reported '' including to Congress '' that we do not have the ability to determine with certainty the identity or location of all communicants within a given communication. That remains the case."
  Other documents seen by the Guardian further demonstrate that the NSA does in fact break down its surveillance intercepts which could allow the agency to determine how many of them are from the US. The level of detail includes individual IP addresses.
  IP address is not a perfect proxy for someone's physical location but it is rather close, said Chris Soghoian, the principal technologist with the Speech Privacy and Technology Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. "If you don't take steps to hide it, the IP address provided by your internet provider will certainly tell you what country, state and, typically, city you are in," Soghoian said.
  That approximation has implications for the ongoing oversight battle between the intelligence agencies and Congress.
  On Friday, in his first public response to the Guardian's disclosures this week on NSA surveillance, Barack Obama said that that congressional oversight was the American peoples' best guarantee that they were not being spied on.
  "These are the folks you all vote for as your representatives in Congress and they are being fully briefed on these programs," he said. Obama also insisted that any surveillance was "very narrowly circumscribed".
  Senators have expressed their frustration at the NSA's refusal to supply statistics. In a letter to NSA director General Keith Alexander in October last year, senator Wyden and his Democratic colleague on the Senate intelligence committee, Mark Udall, noted that "the intelligence community has stated repeatedly that it is not possible to provide even a rough estimate of how many American communications have been collected under the Fisa Amendments Act, and has even declined to estimate the scale of this collection."
  At a congressional hearing in March last year, Alexander denied point-blank that the agency had the figures on how many Americans had their electronic communications collected or reviewed. Asked if he had the capability to get them, Alexander said: "No. No. We do not have the technical insights in the United States." He added that "nor do we do have the equipment in the United States to actually collect that kind of information".
  Soon after, the NSA, through the inspector general of the overall US intelligence community, told the senators that making such a determination would jeopardize US intelligence operations '' and might itself violate Americans' privacy.
  "All that senator Udall and I are asking for is a ballpark estimate of how many Americans have been monitored under this law, and it is disappointing that the inspectors general cannot provide it," Wyden told Wired magazine at the time.
  The documents show that the team responsible for Boundless Informant assured its bosses that the tool is on track for upgrades.
  The team will "accept user requests for additional functionality or enhancements," according to the FAQ acquired by the Guardian. "Users are also allowed to vote on which functionality or enhancements are most important to them (as well as add comments). The BOUNDLESSINFORMANT team will periodically review all requests and triage according to level of effort (Easy, Medium, Hard) and mission impact (High, Medium, Low)."
  Emmel, the NSA spokeswoman, told the Guardian: "Current technology simply does not permit us to positively identify all of the persons or locations associated with a given communication (for example, it may be possible to say with certainty that a communication traversed a particular path within the internet. It is harder to know the ultimate source or destination, or more particularly the identity of the person represented by the TO:, FROM: or CC: field of an e-mail address or the abstraction of an IP address).
  "Thus, we apply rigorous training and technological advancements to combine both our automated and manual (human) processes to characterize communications '' ensuring protection of the privacy rights of the American people. This is not just our judgment, but that of the relevant inspectors general, who have also reported this."
  She added: "The continued publication of these allegations about highly classified issues, and other information taken out of context, makes it impossible to conduct a reasonable discussion on the merits of these programs."
  Additional reporting: James Ball in New York and Spencer Ackerman in Washington
DNI Statement on the Collection of Intelligence Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:27
  DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCEWASHINGTON, DC 20511June 8, 2013
  DNI Statement on the Collection of Intelligence Pursuant to Section 702of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
  Over the last week we have seen reckless disclosures of intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe. In a rush to publish, media outlets have not given the full context''including the extent to which these programs are overseen by all three branches of government''to these effective tools.In particular, the surveillance activities published in The Guardian and The Washington Post are lawful and conducted under authorities widely known and discussed, and fully debated and authorized by Congress. Their purpose is to obtain foreign intelligence information, including information necessary to thwart terrorist and cyber attacks against the United States and its allies.
  Our ability to discuss these activities is limited by our need to protect intelligence sources and methods. Disclosing information about the specific methods the government uses to collect communications can obviously give our enemies a ''playbook'' of how to avoid detection. Nonetheless, Section 702 has proven vital to keeping the nation and our allies safe. It continues to be one of our most important tools for the protection of the nation's security.
  However, there are significant misimpressions that have resulted from the recent articles. Not all the inaccuracies can be corrected without further revealing classified information. I have, however, declassified for release the attached details about the recent unauthorized disclosures in hope that it will help dispel some of the myths and add necessary context to what has been published.
  James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence
Solving the mystery of PRISM - The Week
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:26
  What exactly is PRISM? How does it work? Who uses it?
  Let's assume that the companies whose data is sucked in by a National Security Agency tool called PRISM are denying their knowledge of the word and its associations in good faith. And let us also accept their denials that they've given someone at the NSA "direct access" to their servers.
  So where are we?
  There are many types of nicknames and special words that the NSA uses.
  Some refer to collection tools. Some refer to data processing tools.
  Each data processing tool, collection platform, mission and source for raw intelligence is given a specific numeric signals activity/address designator, or a SIGAD. The NSA listening post at Osan in Korea has the SIGAD USA-31. Clark Air Force Base is USA-57.
  PRISM is US-984XN.
  Each SIGAD is basically a collection site, physical or virtual; the SIGAD alphanumerics are used to indicate the source of intelligence FOR a particular report.
  The NSA often assigns classified code names to the product of SIGADs. These can be confused with the nicknames or proper names of the collection platforms themselves, which may or may not be classified. What PRISM does is classified; the fact that there is a "PRISM" tool that does something is not.
  Analysts working on a problem can request that a particular collection site be tasked, or used. The form they fill out is known as an SP0200. Additionally, when they wish to discontinue using a SIGAD for a mission, they send in another SP0200.
  To make things even more complicated, the NSA assigns every administrative and technical operation, location and cell its own alphanumeric designation. The NSA office that tasks and troubleshoots the SENIOR SPAN platform, attached to U2 spy planes, is known as G112. The agency's Special Collection Service, which operates out of embassies, is F6.
  Other NSA nicknames refer to databases. "Marina" is a database for metadata collected from telephone records. Most database names are not classified, but their association with a particular technology or a dataset is classified.
  That is, Marina=telephone metadata '-- classified. Marina by itself ... unclassified.
  I think, but don't know, that the Verizon metadata contained in the FISC order we saw goes into the Marina database.
  On top of this, for especially sensitive programs, like those involving analysis and collection of domestic telephone or email metadata, or those involving offensive cyberwarfare, the NSA creates "special access programs" that are identified by a code word, an unclassified nickname, and a digraph. The existence of these SAPs and their code words are classified TOP SECRET. Sometimes, small NSA collection cells access particularly sensitive or advanced collection platforms, like, say, tiny flying bugs. These technologies are not shared with every NSA collection cell; the technologies themselves are classified. (I don't know if the NSA actually uses tiny flying bugs).
  So: An analyst sits down at a desk. She uses a tool, like PRISM, to analyze information collected and deposited in a database, like CONTRAOCTAVE. Then she uses another tool, perhaps CPE (Content Preparation Environment), to write a report based on the analysis. That report is stored in ANOTHER database, like MAUI. MAUI is a database for finished NSA intelligence products. Anchory is an intelligence community-wide database for intelligence reports.
  If the analyst was analyzing the content of telephone traffic, he or she would access the desired traffic stream through the use of a "selector," which is the NSA's term for production lines. The stuff inside a selector comes from one or more SIGADs. A selector is kind of like an RSS feed that fills itself with content from several sources.
  A system called XKEYSCORE processes most of the SIGINT traffic that comes into the NSA by way of various SIGADs, and compartmentalizes it by selector. A selector might be "RUSFOR," which would stand for Russian foreign ministry intercepts. Or something like that. Recorded signals intercepts are stored in a database called PINWALE.
  This is all very complicated, and that is on purpose. But this brief tutorial is important. PRISM is a kick-ass GUI that allows an analyst to look at, collate, monitor, and cross-check different data types provided to the NSA from internet companies located inside the United States.
  The programs that use PRISM are focused, as the government said yesterday, on foreign intelligence. A lot of foreign intelligence runs through American companies and American servers.
  The chain of action works like this.
  Under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, the NSA and the attorney general apply for an order allowing them to access a slice of the stuff that a company like Facebook keeps on its servers. Maybe this order is for all Facebook accounts opened up in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Maybe there are 50 of them. Facebook gets this order.
  Now, these accounts are being updated in real-time. So Facebook somehow creates a mirror of the slice of stuff that only the NSA can access. The selected/court-ordered accounts are updated in real-time on both the Facebook server and the mirrored server. PRISM is the tool that puts this all together. Facebook has no idea what the NSA is doing with the data, and the NSA doesn't tell them.
  The companies came online at different points, according to the documents we've seen, maybe because some of them were reluctant to provide their data and others had to find a way to standardize their data in a way that PRISM could understand. Alternatively, perhaps PRISM updates itself regularly and is able to accept more and more types of inputs.
  What makes PRISM interesting to us is that it seems to be the ONLY system that the NSA uses to collect/analyze non-telephonic non-analog data stored on American servers but updated and controlled and "owned" by users overseas. It is a domestic collection platform USED for foreign intelligence collection. It is of course hard to view a Facebook account in isolation and not incidentally come into contact with an account that is owned by an American. I assume that a bunch of us have Pakistani Facebook friends. If the NSA is collecting on that account, and I were to initiate a Facebook chat, the NSA would suck up my chat. Supposedly, the PRISM system would flag this as an incidental overcollect and delete it from the analyst's workspace. Because the internet is a really complicated series of tubes, though, this doesn't always happen. And so the analyst must sometimes "physically" segregate the U.S. person's data.
  What happens if I, in America, tell my Pakistani friend via Facebook chat that I am going to bomb a bridge? We don't know precisely what happens when, in the course of a foreign intelligence intercept, a U.S. person creates evidence of their complicity with terrorism. The analyst must be able to distinguish between relevant and non-relevant communication. If the analyst catches my threat, then he or she will immediately initiate a procedure that sends the information to the FBI, which begins its own investigation of me. The NSA does not continue to collect on me. The FBI does '-- and probably uses the NSA tip as probable cause to obtain a FISA order to start collecting data using a PRISM-type tool of its own.
  What if the location of the other person is unknown? The NSA has a tool called AIRHANDLER that helps them geolocate the origin of these special signals.
  Here is an important thing to know: Everything the NSA analyst leaves an audit trail. And the NSA has a staff of auditors who do nothing but sample the target folders for over-collects.
  There are many unknowns, of course, and many places where the system could break down. We do not know the minimization rules. They are highly classified. We do not know how long minimized data sits in storage. We don't know how many NSA analysts are trained to handle U.S. persons' data, or HOW they are trained. We don't know the thresholds to determine what the NSA finds to be relevant enough. We don't know how long the NSA can collect on a target without getting a FISA order, though we do know that they can start collecting without one if the circumstances demand it.
The NSA Sent a Takedown Notice Over My Custom PRISM-Logo T-Shirts
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:24
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BuzzFeed Partners With CNN And YouTube To Create Online Video Channel
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  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:38
  Social news site and meme aggregator BuzzFeed is partnering with CNN and YouTube to create a new online-video channel called ''CNN BuzzFeed'' that will be unveiled later today. Chief operating officer Jon Steinberg told the Wall Street Journal that BuzzFeed plans to invest a low ''eight-digit sum'' over two years in the video platform.
  The YouTube channel will include archival and current content designed to be shared over social media networks. Steinberg says that BuzzFeed will create around three videos a week, focusing on serious news events.
  The CNN partnership is the latest in a series of efforts BuzzFeed has made to become a top news source for 18-to-34 year olds, a demographic highly sought after by advertisers. The site's business model has been a balancing act''its rewrites of popular Reddit posts and pictures of furry animals pull traffic to the ad-based site, helping finance BuzzFeed's long-form features.
  While BuzzFeed already manages six YouTube channels, partnering with a recognized journalism brand like CNN gives the youth-oriented site credibility. In return, CNN gets access to BuzzFeed's younger users (content from the BuzzFeed-CNN YouTube channel will also appear on CNN.com).
  The new channel, which will use the mashup video format BuzzFeed is known for, is being launched without the support of advertising partners, a strategy that is in line with BuzzFeed's refusal to rely on traditional display advertising. Instead, it sells and creates sponsored posts designed to be shared over social media.
  BuzzFeed's latest round of funding was disclosed in January, when the site announced that it had raised $19.3 million in a Series D led by new investor NEA with existing investors RRE, Hearst, SoftBank, and Lerer Ventures also participating, as well as new investors Michael and Kass Lazerow.
  CEO Jonah Peretti said in a statement the money would be used to scale up the startup into a bona fide media company: ''We have the senior management, board, and investors we need to build the next great media company: socially native, tech enabled, with massive scale. We are all focused on that big goal and raised this capital to move even faster.''
  BuzzFeed is the leading media company for the social age, intensely focused on delivering high-quality original reporting, insight, and viral content across a rapidly expanding array of subject areas. Our technology powers the social distribution of content, detects what is trending on the web, and connects people in realtime with the hottest content of the moment. Our site is rapidly growing and reaches more than 60 million monthly unique visitors. Jonah Peretti, founder & CEO of BuzzFeed, previously co-founded...
  '†' Learn more
BuzzFeed | CrunchBase Profile
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:37
  BuzzFeed is the leading media company for the social age, intensely focused on delivering high-quality original reporting, insight, and viral content across a rapidly expanding array of subject areas. Our technology powers the social distribution of content, detects what is trending on the web, and connects people in realtime with the hottest content of the moment. Our site is rapidly growing and reaches more than 60 million monthly unique visitors. Jonah Peretti, founder & CEO of BuzzFeed, previously co-founded the Huffington Post. Ben Smith is its Editor-in-chief, Jon Steinberg is its President & COO and Kenneth Lerer is the Executive Chairman.
  Recent MilestonesBuzzFeed received $19.3M in Series D funding. (1/3/13)Posted 1/3/13 at 6:17pm via techcrunch.comBuzzFeed added Rob Fishman as Contributing Editor. (12/1/12)Posted 6/6/13 at 3:11pm
  BuzzFeed acquired Yoke. (9/11/12)Posted 11/28/12 at 3:38pm via techcrunch.comBuzzFeed acquired Kingfish Labs. (9/11/12)Posted 3/28/13 at 9:52am via businessinsider.comBuzzFeed added Jeff Revesz as Senior Developer. (9/1/12)Posted 6/6/13 at 3:13pm
  BuzzFeed '-- BuzzFeed Surpasses 30 Million Users And Is On Track To Triple 2011 Revenue (7/24/12)Posted 7/24/12 at 7:00pm via businessinsider.comBuzzFeed received $15.5M in Series C funding. (1/9/12)Posted 1/9/12 at 5:08am via techcrunch.comBuzzFeed acquired Star.me. (9/1/11)Posted 5/6/13 at 12:54pm via crosscutventures.comBuzzFeed added Mark Frackt as CFO. (9/1/11)Posted 1/10/12 at 9:14am
  BuzzFeed added Andy Wiedlin as CRO. (7/26/11)Posted 7/26/11 at 1:02am
  BuzzFeed added Greg Leuch as Senior Designer. (12/1/10)Posted 3/12/11 at 7:14pm
  BuzzFeed added Jon Steinberg as President. (6/1/10)Posted 5/27/10 at 3:26pm
  BuzzFeed received $8M in Series B funding. (5/12/10)Posted 5/12/10 at 10:44am via techcrunch.comBuzzFeed received $3.5M in Series A funding. (7/9/08)Posted 7/10/08 at 11:46am via paidcontent.orgBuzzFeed added Scott English as Board Director. (7/1/08)Posted 9/23/11 at 11:53am
  BuzzFeed added Eric Buth as Developer. (10/1/07)Posted 2/16/08 at 5:10pm
  Videos
  Above:This video was originally published on Beet.TV
  Added: 1/18/13
  Above:This video was originally published on Beet.TV
  Added: 12/7/12
  Above:This video was originally published on Beet.TV
  Added: 1/18/13
  Above:This video was originally published on Beet.TV
  Added: 3/1/13ScreenshotsProductsAbove: BuzzFeed Home PageUploaded: 5/8/12
  Traffic AnalyticsQuantcastCompeteSourcesBuzzFeed's First Acquisition Kingfish Labs Could Make Its FB Ads Go More Viral Than Football Cats (techcrunch.com) [edit]Business Insider (businessinsider.com) [edit]crosscutventures.com [edit]Trend Site Buzzfeed Raises $3.5 Million First Round (paidcontent.org) [edit]TechCrunch (techcrunch.com) [edit]Viral Aggregator BuzzFeed Raises $15.5M To Transform The Way People Get Their News (techcrunch.com) [edit]Social Publishing FTW: With 40M Users, Jonah Peretti's BuzzFeed Raises Another $19.3M Led By NEA (techcrunch.com) [edit]BuzzFeed Surpasses 30 Million Users And Is On Track To Triple 2011 Revenue (businessinsider.com) [edit]
BuzzFeed Raises $19 Million From Same Investors - Peter Kafka - Media
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:32
  BuzzFeed, the fast-growing, Facebook-friendly Web publisher, has raised another $19.3 million. The deal comes a year after the company rounded up $15.5 million in funding, and involves the same set of investors, including New Enterprise Associates, Lerer Ventures, Hearst Media, Softbank and RRE. BuzzFeed has raised more than $46 million since 2008, and says the money will go into international expansion, among other plans.
About BuzzFeed
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:26
  BuzzFeed is the leading media company for the social age, intensely focused on delivering high-quality original reporting, insight, and viral content across a rapidly expanding array of subject areas. Our technology powers the social distribution of content, detects what is trending on the web, and connects people in realtime with the hottest content of the moment. Our site is rapidly growing and reaches more than 50 million monthly unique visitors. Jonah Peretti, founder & CEO of BuzzFeed, previously co-founded the Huffington Post. Ben Smith is its Editor-in-Chief, Jon Steinberg is its President & COO and Kenneth Lerer is the Executive Chairman.
Kenneth Lerer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:26
  Kenneth Lerer is an American businessman and media executive. He was the chairman and co-founder of The Huffington Post, a liberal/progressive American news website and content aggregating blog, headquartered in New York. He is a Managing Director of Lerer Ventures. Founded in January 2010, Lerer Ventures is a seed stage venture capital fund. Investments include Warby Parker, RapGenius, SailThru, GroupMe, Makerbot, and Birchbox and the fund makes about 40 investments a year. In addition, Lerer Ventures runs its own incubator, Soho Tech Labs. He is the Chairman of Betaworks and BuzzFeed, and the Vice-Chairman of Bedrocket. He is a past Executive Vice President of AOL Time Warner and was a founding partner of New York-based corporate communications firm Robinson, Lerer, and Montgomery. In 2003, Lerer launched StoptheNRA.com to advocate for the continuation of the assault weapons ban as a federal law. He subsequently donated the website to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
  Lerer has taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, University of Pennsylvania and New York University, where he taught courses on the media and American corporations. He served as Chairman of the Public Theater in New York for 10 years, and is now its Chairman Emeritus.[1] He is also on the boards of the Association to Benefit Children, and the Bank Street College of Education. He has two children: a son, Benjamin, who started an online men's lifestyle website Thrillist.com and who is also a Managing Director at Lerer Ventures; and a daughter, Isabel. Isabel is a Ph.D. Candidate in Philosophy at Columbia University's Graduate School. Ken and his wife Katherine Sailer are active fundraisers for the Democratic party. According to the New York Times, on April 9, 2007, they co-hosted a $2,300/plate fundraiser for Barack Obama at their Central Park West apartment in New York.[2]
  Lerer is one of the minority owners of the New York Mets, holding a 4% stake in the baseball team.
Why Democrats Love To Spy On Americans
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:17
  For most bigwig Democrats in Washington, D.C., the last 48 hours has delivered news of the worst kind '-- a flood of new information that has washed away any lingering doubts about where President Obama and his party stand on civil liberties, full stop.
  Glenn Greenwald's exposure of the NSA's massive domestic spy program has revealed the entire caste of current Democratic leaders as a gang of civil liberty opportunists, whose true passion, it seems, was in trolling George W. Bush for eight years on matters of national security.
  ''Everyone should just calm down,'' Senator Harry Reid said yesterday, inhaling slowly.
  That's right: don't panic.
  The very topic of Democratic two-facedness on civil liberties is one of the most important issues that Greenwald has covered. Many of those Dems '-- including the sitting President Barack Obama, Senator Carl Levin, and Sec. State John Kerry '-- have now become the stewards and enhancers of programs that appear to dwarf any of the spying scandals that broke during the Bush years, the very same scandals they used as wedge issues to win elections in the Congressional elections 2006 and the presidential primary of 2007-2008.
  Recall what Senator Levin told CNN in 2005, demanding to ''urgently hold an inquiry'' into what was supposedly President Bush's domestic wiretap program.
  Levin continued, at length: ''It means that there's some growing concern on Capitol Hill about a program which seems to be so totally unauthorized and unexplained'...The president wraps himself in the law, saying that it is totally legal, but he doesn't give what the legal basis is for this. He avoided using the law, which we provided to the president, where even when there is an emergency and there's a need for urgent action can first tap the wire and then go to a court.''
  There are two notable exception to this rule are Senator Ron Wyden, from Oregon, and Sen. Mark Udall from Colorado, who had seemed to be fighting a largely lonely, frustrating battle against Obama's national security state.
  As Mark Udall told the Denver Post yesterday: ''[I] did everything short of leaking classified information'' to stop it.
  His ally in Oregon, Ron Wyden, was one of the first to seize on the Guardian's news break: ''I will tell you from a policy standpoint, when a law-abiding citizen makes a call, they expect that who they call, when they call and where they call from will be kept private,'' Wyden said to Politico, noting ''there's going to be a big debate about this.'' The Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, admitted he'd mislead Senator Wyden at a hearing earlier this year, revising his statement yesterday to state that the NSA didn't do ''voyerustic'' surveillance.
  The state of affairs, in other words, is so grave that two sitting Senators went as close as they could to violating their unconstitutional security oaths in order to warn the country of information that otherwise would not have been declassified until April of 2038, according to the Verizon court order obtained by Greenwald.
  Now, we're about to see if the Obama administration's version of the national security state will begin to eat itself.
  Unsurprisingly, the White House has dug in, calling their North Korea-esque tools ''essential'' to stop terrorism, and loathe to give up the political edge they've seized for Democrats on national security issues under Obama's leadership. The AP spying scandal '-- which the administration attempted to downplay at the time, even appointing Eric Holder to lead his own investigation into himself '--was one of the unexpected consequences of one of two leak investigations that Obama ordered during the 2012 campaign.
  It's unclear where a possible third leak investigation would lead. However, judging by the DOJ's and FBI's recent history, it would seem that any new leak case would involve obtaining the phone records of reporters at the Guardian, the Washington Post, employees at various agencies who would have had access to the leaked material, as well as politicians and staffers in Congress'--records, we now can safely posit, they already have unchecked and full access to.
  In short: any so-called credible DOJ/FBI leak investigation, by its very nature, would have to involve the Obama administration invasively using the very surveillance and data techniques it is attempting to hide in order to snoop on a few Democratic Senators and more media outlets, including one based overseas.
  Outside of Washington, D.C., the frustration that Wyden and Udall have felt has been exponentially magnified. Transparency supporters, whistleblowers, and investigative reporters, especially those writers who have aggressively pursued the connections between the corporate defense industry and federal and local authorities involved in domestic surveillance, have been viciously attacked by the Obama administration and its allies in the FBI and DOJ.
  Jacob Appplebaum, a transparency activist and computer savant, has been repeatedly harassed at American borders, having his laptop seized. Barrett Brown, another investigative journalist who has written for Vanity Fair, among others publications, exposed the connections between the private contracting firm HB Gary (a government contracting firm that, incidentally, proposed a plan to spy on and ruin the reputation of the Guardian's Greenwald) and who is currently sitting in a Texas prison on trumped up FBI charges regarding his legitimate reportorial inquiry into the political collective known sometimes as Anonymous.
  That's not to mention former NSA official Thomas Drake (the Feds tried to destroys his life because he blew the whistle ); Fox News reporter James Rosen (named a ''co-conspirator'' by Holder's DOJ); John Kirakou, formerly in the CIA, who raised concerns about the agency's torture program, is also in prison for leaking ''harmful'' (read: embarrassing) classified info; and of course Wikileaks (under U.S. financial embargo); WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (locked up in Ecuador's London embassy) and, of course, Bradley Manning, the young, idealistic, soldier who provided the public with perhaps the most critical trove of government documents ever released.
  The attitude the Obama administration has toward Manning is revealing. What do they think of him? ''Fuck Bradely Manning,'' as one White House official put it to me last year during the campaign.
  Screw Manning? Lol, screw us.
  Perhaps more information will soon be forthcoming.
Hillary Clinton spokesman tells Buzzfeed reporter to 'F--- Off'
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:39
  A top aide to Hillary Clinton got into a heated email spat with a BuzzFeed reporter who was aggressively questioning him on U.S. actions in Libya '-- which ended with the Clinton spokesman telling the reporter to "f--- off."
  BuzzFeed published the lengthy email exchange between longtime Clinton aide Philippe Reines and reporter Michael Hastings on Monday.
  The testy back-and-forth came after Reines accused CNN this weekend of reporting on the personal journal of slain U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens despite objections from his family.
  CNN, which found Stevens' journal inside the consulate after his death, said it "did not initially report on the existence of a journal out of respect for the family, but we felt there were issues raised in the journal which required full reporting, which we did."
  Reines called that decision "indefensible" and CNN's justification "disgusting."
  The related row between Reines and Hastings began when the Buzzfeed reporter emailed the Clinton aide with a series of pointed questions about other "valuable intelligence" that may have been left inside the consulate for CNN and others to find.
  Reines replied with an exasperated-sounding 'no,' along with further explanations, while accusing Hastings of being "needlessly antagonistic."
  From there the exchange devolved into name-calling, with Hastings saying the official's answers were "bullsh--" and Reines calling the reporter an "unmitigated assh---."
  "Now that we've gotten that out of our systems, have a good day," Reines said. "And by good day, I mean F--- Off."
  Confrontations between reporters and officials' spokespeople aren't rare, but they're not usually aired quite so publicly.
  A spokesman for Mitt Romney, Rick Gorka, also made headlines for losing his temper in July.
  During a campaign stop in Poland, Gorka's caught-on-camera demand that reporters "kiss my a--" and "shove it" overshadowed Romney's visit to Pilsudski Square to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
  The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
  With News Wire Services
  klee@nydailynews.com
Award-winning journalist and war correspondent Michael Hastings killed in car crash
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:38
  Blue Rider Press/REUTERSRolling Stone magazine and BuzzFeed reporter Michael Hastings, 33, died on Tuesday in a car wreck in Los Angeles, his employer said.
  Award-winning journalist and war correspondent Michael Hastings died early Tuesday in a single car crash in Los Angeles, his employer and family said.
  Hastings' groundbreaking reporting on Gen. Stanley McChrystal's candid criticism of the Obama administration is credited with ending McChrystal's military career and earned him a 2010 George Polk Award. He was 33.
  The Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed reporter is being remembered by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered.
  "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief who described colleagues as devastated by the loss.
  Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.
  RELATED: MCCHRYSTAL TAKES BLAME FOR ROLLING STONE ARTICLE
  Around 4:15 am witnesses say Hastings' vehicle collided with a tree in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
  Authorities reported that the fiery crash killed a man, but coroner's officials could not immediately confirm whether Hastings was the victim.
  "I was just coming northbound on Highland and I seen a car, like, going really fast and all of a sudden I seen it jackknife," witness to the scene, Luis Cortez, told KTLA.
  Another neighbor described hearing a huge explosion drawing him and several others outside their homes.
  One man was seen using a watering hose in his best efforts to stifle the engulfing flames.
  RELATED: HILLARY CLINTON SPOKESMAN TELLS BUZZFEED REPORTER TO 'F--- OFF'
  The vehicle's engine ejected 50 to 60 yards from the scene before landing near a telephone pole, according to neighbor and film maker Gary Grossman who said he couldn't have written a scene like this for a movie.
  In Hastings' Rolling Stone cover story "The Runaway General," he quoted McChrystal and his aides mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, over their war policies.
  At a Pentagon ceremony for his subsequent retirement in 2010, McChrystal made light of the episode in his farewell address.
  The four-star general warned his comrades in arms, "I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter."
  When he died, Hastings was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where Managing Editor Will Dana was quoted Tuesday saying Hastings exuded "a certain kind of electricity" that exists in great reporters whose stories burn to be told.
  RELATED: MCCHRYSTAL SAYS CAREER DIDN'T END AS HE HOPED IN FAREWELL SPEECH
  "I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours," Dana said.
  Hastings was also an author of books about the wars.
  "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" was published late last year and details shocking exploits of the military overseas.
  In 2010, with the publication of "I Lost My Love in Baghdad," Hastings told the story of being a young war correspondent whose girlfriend dies in Iraq.
  ngolgowski@nydailynews.com with wire services
  On a mobile device? Watch the video here
Miss Alabama Offers Her Thoughts On NSA Surveillance Program (VIDEO)
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:25
  Somewhere in the mix of modeling a swimsuit and an evening gown at last night's Miss USA competition, Miss Alabama gave her take on the National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program.
  When asked about the NSA's recently outed data mining operation, Miss Alabama (aka Mary Margaret McCord) responded in a manner likely to give privacy advocates nightmares. After weighing the apparent tradeoff between privacy and safety, McCord lept headfirst into the arms of the NSA.
  "Government tracking of phone records has been in the news lately," asked judge Wendie Malick. "Is this an invasion of privacy, or necessary to keep our country safe? Why or why not?"
  To which Miss Alabama replied:
  I think the society that we live in today it's sad that, if we go to the movies or to the airport or even to the mall, that we have to worry about our safety. So I would rather someone track my telephone messages and feel safe wherever I go than feel they're encroaching on my privacy.
  Writes CNET's Chris Matyszczyk in response to McCord's comment, "Sadness is something that occurs only too often in our difficult world. Especially when all we want is a little freedom to be less sad."
  In her defense, Miss Alabama did offer a complete answer (unlike Miss Utah's now-infamous answer about income inequality), and hey -- she still came in second.
  WATCH Miss Alabama's response, above.
NSA hearing: Hot mic catches NSA boss praising FBI chiefs for supportive testimony on surveillance programs
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:23
  By Hayley Peterson
  PUBLISHED: 15:23 EST, 18 June 2013 | UPDATED: 02:18 EST, 19 June 2013
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  The director of the National Security Agency was overheard offering a round of beer to the FBI's second-in-command following Tuesday's congressional hearing on the NSA's controversial surveillance programs.
  The three-hour hearing had just wrapped up around 1 p.m. when NSA Director Keith Alexander turned to FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce and praised him for his testimony.
  'Thank you, Sean,' Alexander said, according to a clip of the exchange that was first reported by Ben Doernberg.
  'Tell your boss I owe him another friggin' beer,' he added.
  NSA Director Keith Alexander speaks to FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce during a hearing before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence regarding NSA surveillance
  The NSA and FBI are Ready for a Drink after their hearing
  'Yeah?' Joyce responded.
  'Yeah,' said Alexander.
  'Tell him to give it to me,' Joyce said.
  Alexander and Joyce sat side-by-side during the hearing and took turns answering questions from lawmakers about the recently disclosed government surveillance programs.
  Joyce repeatedly praised the programs as 'essential' tools for fighting terrorism in his remarks to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
  He also described four specific cases where the FBI used data obtained by the NSA programs to thwart terror attacks, including a bomb plot against the New York Stock Exchange and another against the city's subway system.
  National Security Agency Director General Keith Alexander (left) listens as FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyc testifies
  Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce repeatedly praised the programs as 'essential' tools for fighting terrorism in his remarks to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  'We are revealing in front of you today methods and techniques,' he said. 'I have told you, the examples I gave you how important they have been. The first core al Qaeda plot to attack the United States post 9-11 we used one of these programs. Another plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange we used these programs.'
  The hearing was called after former security contractor Edward Snowden leaked details of the secret programs to the Washington Post and The Guardian.
  Joyce testified that the FBI is pursuing criminal charges against Snowden for his leaks.
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Matthews: Berlin Sun 'Ruined' Obama's Speech
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:44
  MSNBC host and Obama sycophant Chris Matthews blamed the sun for spoiling the president's speech in Berlin today.
  ''I think a lot of the problem he had today was the late afternoon sun in Berlin ruined his use of the teleprompter and so his usual dramatic windup was ruined,'' Matthews said immediately after the speech. ''I think he was really struggling with the text there.''
  Speaking behind a glass bulletproof shield, Obama appeared to be using the text of the speech rather than reading off of teleprompters.
Vice President Biden Marks Progress on Executive Actions to Help Reduce Gun Violence
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  Archived Version
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:36
  The White House
  Office of the Vice President
  For Immediate Release
  June 18, 2013
  Obama Administration releases report detailing work on 23 Executive Actions laid out in January
  WASHINGTON, DC '' Today, the Obama Administration released a new progress report detailing the completion of or significant progress on 21 of the 23 executive actions President Obama laid out in January to help reduce gun violence, and the continuing work toward completing all twenty three. At an event at the White House today, Vice President Joe Biden highlighted the significant progress this Administration has made on strengthening the existing background check system, empowering law enforcement, making schools safer, encouraging responsible gun ownership, ending the freeze on gun violence research, preserving the rights of health providers to protect their patients and communities, and improving access to mental health care.
  As part of this progress, the Vice President announced the fulfillment of two executive actions. The Departments of Education, Justice (led by the FBI), Homeland Security (led by FEMA), and Health and Human Services are jointly releasing guidance to schools, institutions of higher education, and houses of worship on how to work with first responders and other community partners to plan and prepare for emergencies such as active shooter situations, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
  Additionally, the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice have expanded access to federal training on active shooter situations for law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with additional outreach, new online resources, improved training curricula, exercises with law enforcement at all FBI field offices, and DHS security briefings for 100 school districts across the country.
  Additional information can be found via the below links.
  PROGRESS REPORT:Progress Report on Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence Click Here.
  FACT SHEETS:Emergency Management Planning: Click Here.Training First Responders and Schools on Active Shooter Situations: Click Here.
  GUIDES:Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans: Click Here.Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Institutions of Higher Education: Click Here.Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Houses of Worship: Click Here.
Google Says Secret Intelligence Court Restricts Its Right to Free Speech
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  Archived Version
  Source: New on MIT Technology Review
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:50
  Google is demanding that a secret intelligence court allow it to share some details about surveillance requests for user data.
  Last week, negative press in the wake of recent leaks about NSA surveillance prompted Facebook, Google, and Microsoft to politely ask the U.S. government to be allowed to share broad statistics on their legally required role in such activities.
  Google is now said by the Washington Post to be preparing legal papers that would make its request more of a demand, claiming that gag orders placed on it disclosing data requests breach the First Amendment. A statement from Google published by the Post says:
  ''Greater transparency is needed, so today we have petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to allow us to publish aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures, separately.''
  Google's papers join others filed with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court since material leaked by Edward Snowden came to light. Last week the ACLU launched a suit alleging that the bulk collection of phone records approved by the court (see ''NSA Surveillance Reflects Broader Interpretation of the Patriot Act'') was unconstitutional.
  Update: The National Journal has posted a copy of Google's filing (PDF).
Obama: You Can't Fathom 'Complexities' of Syria Policy 'If You Haven't Been in Situation Room'
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:34
  Obama: You Can't Fathom 'Complexities' of Syria Policy 'If You Haven't Been in Situation Room'
  Obama: I hear folks saying, "Katie, bar the door, let's just go in and knock out Syria."
  Charlie Rose last night asked President Obama his new Syria policy. The president first objected to it being called a new policy. "I'm not sure you can characterize this as a new policy. This is consistent with the policy that I've had throughout," he said.
  Obama then explained the goal is regional stability, and especially in Syria. "Really, what we're trying to do is take sides against extremists of all sorts and in favor of people who are in favor of moderation, tolerance, representative government, and over the long-term, stability and prosperity for the people of Syria," said Obama.
  And after a little back-and-forth, Rose said to Obama, "So you think a no fly zone is not necessary?"
  Obama, the transcript suggests, seemed to think Rose wasn't getting it. "What I'm saying is, that if you haven't been in the Situation Room, poring through intelligence and meeting directly with our military folks and asking, what are all our options, and examining what are all the consequences, and understanding that for example, if you set up a no-fly zone, that you may not be actually solving the problem on the zone," he said. "Or if you set up a humanitarian corridor, are you in fact committed not only to stopping aircraft from going that corridor, but also missiles? And if so, does that mean that you then have to take out the armaments in Damascus and are you prepared then to bomb Damascus? And what happens if there's civilian casualties. And have we mapped all of the chemical weapons facilities inside of Syria to make sure that we don't drop a bomb on a chemical weapons facility that ends up then dispersing chemical weapons and killing civilians, which is exactly what we're trying to prevent. Unless you've been involved in those conversations, then it's kind of hard for you to understand that the complexity of the situation and how we have to not rush into one more war in the Middle East. And we've got --"
  Rose then interrupted, "So that's why people think you haven't, because you do not want to get involved in another conflict, having extricated the United States from Iraq and also soon from Afghanistan."
  "Charlie, I --" Obama tried, before being cut off again.
  "And the idea of another conflict and getting involved in a war that had real significant Sunni-Shia implications and could explode into the region, you want no part of that, even though there has been a turn in the tide in Syria with the Assad regime and the Assad army, with the help of Hezbollah, doing better."
  Obama explained, "Yeah, Charlie, that shouldn't just be my concern, that should be everybody's concern, you know. We went through that. We know what it's like to rush into a war in the Middle East without having thought it through. And there are elements within the Middle East who see this entirely through the prism of a Shia-Sunni conflict and want the United States to simply take the side of the Sunnis. And that I do not think serves American institutes. As I said before, the distinction I make is between extremists and those who are recognized in a 21st century world that the way the Middle East is going to succeed is when you have governments that meet the aspirations of their people, that are tolerant, that are not sectarian. And working through that is something that we have to do in deliberate fashion. So when I hear debates out there, on the one hand, folks saying, you know, 'Katie, bar the door, let's just go in and knock out Syria' --"
  "They're not asking that," Rose contended.
Federal Register | Unblocking of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:46
  The unblocking and removal from the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (''SDN List'') of the 3 individuals and 2 entities identified in this notice whose property and interests in property were blocked pursuant to the Kingpin Act, is effective on June 12, 2013.
  Assistant Director, Sanctions Compliance & Evaluation,Department of the Treasury,Office of Foreign Assets Control,Washington, DC 20220Tel: (202) 622-2420
  This document and additional information concerning OFAC are available from OFAC's Web site at www.treasury.gov/ofac or via facsimile through a 24-hour fax-on demand service at (202) 622-0077.
  On December 3, 1999, the Kingpin Act was signed into law by the President of the United States. The Kingpin Act provides a statutory framework for the President to impose sanctions against significant foreign narcotics traffickers and their organizations on a worldwide basis, with the objective of denying their businesses and agents access to the U.S. financial system and to the benefits of trade and transactions involving U.S. persons and entities.
  The Kingpin Act blocks all property and interests in property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction, owned or controlled by significant foreign narcotics traffickers as identified by the President. In addition, the Secretary of the Treasury consults with the Attorney General, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Homeland Security when designating and blocking the property or interests in property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction, of persons or entities found to be: (1) Materially assisting in, or providing financial or technological support for or to, or providing goods or services in support of, the international narcotics trafficking activities of a person designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act; (2) owned, controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, a person designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act; and/or (3) playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking.
  On June 12, 2013, the Director of OFAC removed from the SDN List the 3 individuals and 2 entities listed below, whose property and interests in property were blocked pursuant to the Kingpin Act:
  IndividualsBELTRAN SANCHEZ, Rosario, c/o FABRIDIESEL, S.A. DE C.V., Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; DOB 05 Oct 1952; POB Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; nationality Mexico; citizen Mexico (individual) [SDNTK].
  ZERMENO BELTRAN, Guillermo, c/o FABRIDIESEL, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; DOB 20 Dec 1977; POB Mexico; nationality Mexico; citizen Mexico; R.F.C. ZEBG771220-PE6 (Mexico) (individual) [SDNTK].
  ZERMENO BELTRAN, Patricia, c/o FABRIDIESEL, S.A. DE C.V., Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; DOB 25 May 1975; POB Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; nationality Mexico; citizen Mexico (individual) [SDNTK].
  EntitiesFABRIDIESEL, Juan De Dios Batiz 690 OTE, Colonia El Parque, Los Mochis, Sinaloa 81250, Mexico; R.F.C. ZEBG-771220-PE6 (Mexico) [SDNTK].
  FABRIDIESEL, S.A. DE C.V., Blvd. Juan De Dios Batiz 712 OTE, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico [SDNTK].
  Dated: June 12, 2013.
  Adam J. Szubin,
  Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control.
  [FR Doc. 2013-14464 Filed 6-17-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 4810-AL-P
Federal Register | Promoting Technological Solutions to Combat Contraband Wireless Device Use in Correctional Facilities
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:52
  Interested parties may file comments on or before July 18, 2013, and reply comments on or before August 2, 2013.
  You may submit comments, identified by GN Docket No. 13-111, by any of the following methods:
  Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), through the Commission's Web site http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the Web site for submitting comments. For ECFS filers, in completing the transmittal screen, filers should include their full name, U.S. Postal service mailing address, and GN Docket No. 13-111.
  Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. Generally if more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. Note that while multiple dockets are listed in the caption, commenters are only required to file copies in GN Docket No. 13-111.
  Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
  All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th St. SW., Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of before entering the building.
  Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
  U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554.
  In addition, parties must serve one copy of each pleading with the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, or via email to fcc@bcpiweb.com.
  For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
  Melissa Conway, Melissa.Conway@fcc.gov or (202) 418-2887, of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Mobility Division.
  This is a synopsis of the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), FCC 13-58, adopted on April 29, 2013, and released on May 1, 2013, in GN Docket No. 13-111; RM-11430; ET Docket No. 08-73; WT Docket No. 10-4; PRM09WT; PRM11WT; and FCC 13-58. The full text of the NPRM and copies of any subsequently filed documents in this matter may also be purchased from the Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. Customers may contact the Commission's duplication contractor at its Web site, www.bcpiweb.com, or by calling (202) 488-5300. Document can also be downloaded in Word or Portable Document Format (PDF) at http://www.fcc.gov/guides/cramming-unauthorized-misleading-or-deceptive-charges-placed-your-telephone-bill.
  Pursuant to 47 CFR 1.1200through 1.1216, this matter shall be treated as a ''permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must: (1) List all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was made; and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must be filed consistent with section 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules. In proceedings governed by section 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g.,.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules.
  People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
  The NPRM seeks comment on potential new information collection requirements. The Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and the Office of Management and Budget to comment on the information collection requirements contained in this document, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we seek specific comment on how we might ''further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.''
  1. In the NPRM, the Commission proposes measures to facilitate the development of multiple technological solutions to combat the use of contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities nationwide. Prisoners' use of contraband wireless devices to engage in criminal activity is a serious threat to the safety of prison employees, other prisoners, and the general public. The Commission proposes a series of modifications to its rules to facilitate spectrum lease agreements between wireless providers and providers or operators of managed access systems used to combat contraband wireless devices. The NPRM also seeks comment on the Commission's proposal to require wireless providers to terminate service, if technically feasible, to a contraband wireless device if an authorized correctional facility official notifies the wireless provider of the presence of the contraband wireless device within the correctional facility. While the Commission is limiting its proposals to managed access and detection solutions, the Commission nevertheless invites comment on other technological approaches for addressing the problem of contraband wireless device use in correctional facilities. For each proposal, the Commission requests specific comment regarding costs and benefits.
  Streamlining Authorization of Leases for Managed Access Systems for Use in Correctional Facilities Back to Top2. Managed access systems are micro-cellular, private networks that analyze transmissions to and from wireless devices to determine whether the device is authorized or unauthorized for purposes of accessing public carrier networks. Authorized devices are allowed to communicate normally with the commercial wireless network, while transmissions to or from unauthorized devices are terminated. To date, wireless providers and managed access providers have used spectrum lease agreements to negotiate the transfer of rights for such systems and have sought approval or provided notification of such agreements under the Commission's spectrum leasing rules. Additionally, the managed access lessee typically seeks to modify its regulatory status from commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) to private mobile radio service (PMRS), which requires additional filings and results in processing delays. The Commission proposes rule and procedural changes to facilitate a streamlined application process for spectrum leases entered into exclusively to combat the use of unauthorized wireless devices in correctional facilities.
  3. The Commission proposes to modify its rules and procedures to make qualifying leases for managed access systems in correctional facilities subject to immediate processing and approval. The Commission proposes to immediately process long-term de facto lease applications and spectrum manager notifications for managed access systems, even in cases where grant of multiple lease applications would result in the lessee holding geographically overlapping spectrum rights or where the license involves spectrum subject to designated entity unjust enrichment provisions or entrepreneur transfer restrictions. Pursuant to this proposal, grant or acceptance of qualifying managed access leases would be indicated the following business day on the Commission's Universal Licensing System. The accepted lease would then be effective upon the date set forth by the licensee and lessee in the lease application or notification. The Commission seeks comment on the rule changes necessary to implement this proposal.
  4. Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on its proposal to require applications or notifications for managed access leases to meet the completeness standards set forth in its existing spectrum leasing rules. Licensees and lessees would continue to file Form 608, and would be required to complete all relevant fields and certifications on the form. If an application or notification is sufficiently complete but the responses or certifications raise questions regarding the lessee's eligibility or qualification to hold spectrum, the Commission proposes that the application or notification will not be eligible for immediate approval or processing consistent with the Commission's current processes. The Commission proposes to modify Form 608 to allow managed access providers and CMRS licensees to identify that a proposed lease is a managed access lease exclusively for a system in a correctional facility, and to require managed access providers to attach a written certification explaining the nature of the managed access system, including the location of the correctional facility, the provider's relationship to the facility, and the exact proposed coordinates of the leased spectrum boundaries. Regarding enforcement mechanisms, the Commission seeks comment on its proposal to continue to apply existing spectrum leasing rules to managed access leases, and whether these protections are sufficient to ensure rule compliance in the context of Commission authorization of managed access systems deployed to combat contraband phone use, and whether any additional conditions or alternative mechanisms are required to further the public interest. The Commission also seeks comment on whether managed access operators should be encouraged or required to provide notification to households and businesses in the vicinity of the correctional facility in which a managed access system is installed and how such a process would be implemented.
  5. The Commission proposes to amend section 20.9 of its rules to establish that managed access services in correctional facilities provided on spectrum leased from CMRS providers will be presumptively treated as PMRS. The Commission proposes to require the lessee to certify on the application or notification that the leased spectrum will be used solely for the operation of a managed access system at a correctional facility. However, a managed access lessee would retain the option of applying for CMRS status by including an exhibit to Form 608 demonstrating that the service meets the CMRS definition or is the functional equivalent of CMRS. The Commission seeks comment on this proposal, and also whether it should apply the Commission's 911 and enhanced 911 (E911) rules to managed access services that provide access to 911 and E911.
  6. The Commission seeks comment on its proposal to exercise forbearance in order to immediately process de facto leases for managed access systems in correctional facilities that do not raise concerns with use and eligibility restrictions, that do not require a waiver or declaratory ruling with respect to a Commission rule, but that do involve leases of spectrum in the same geographic area or involve designated entity unjust enrichment provisions and transfer restrictions. Specifically, the Commission proposes to forbear from the applicable prior public notice requirements and individualized review requirements of sections 308, 309, and 310(d) of the Communications Act (''the Act''). The Commission also seeks comment on a proposal to streamline the process for a managed access provider to obtain special temporary authority to operate a managed access system in a correctional facility prior to obtaining a more permanent authorization.
  7. The Commission also seeks comment generally on proposals submitted by Global Tel*Link Corp. (filed July 20, 2011), the Mississippi Department of Corrections (filed Aug. 21, 2009), and Tecore Networks (comments filed in GN Docket No. 12-52 on Apr. 30, 2012) and the extent to which they may be incorporated into the NPRM' s lease processing and approval proposals.
  8. In addition to the Commission's proposals regarding streamlining the lease application process for managed access systems, the Commission seeks comment on proposals to facilitate the deployment of detection systems. Detection systems generally identify the location of a contraband wireless device through triangulation, and then correctional facility employees search for and physically confiscate the identified contraband device to terminate operations. Detection system operators do not require a FCC license or authorization. The Commission seeks comment on a proposal submitted by CellAntenna (filed Sept. 2, 2011) that consists of a three step plan: first, the correctional facility identifies unauthorized wireless devices within the facility; second, the warden transmits the identifying information of the contraband device to the appropriate CMRS provider via email or fax; and third, the CMRS provider sends a message to the unauthorized device notifying the user that the device is unauthorized and suspends service to the device.
  9. Consistent with CellAntenna's proposal, the Commission proposes to require CMRS licensees to terminate service to contraband devices within correctional facilities pursuant to a qualifying request from an authorized party. The Commission seeks comment on the specific information that the correctional facility must transmit to the provider to effectuate termination, timing for carrier termination, methods of authenticating a termination request, and other issues. The Commission also seeks specific comment on the cost burdens that a carrier would face in establishing the reporting mechanisms, technical upgrades, if any, operational enhancements, and personnel training necessary to handle requests for termination. In addition, to the extent that carriers incur such costs to support requests for termination, the Commission seeks comment on mechanisms by which carriers could recoup the initial and ongoing expense of complying with a requirement to terminate service to contraband devices.
  10. With regard to identifying contraband devices, according to CellAntenna, when a variety of unique identifying information about the device is transmitted to the device's CMRS provider, the CMRS provider can identify the device in its systems and terminate service to the device. The Commission seeks comment on CellAntenna's technical analysis and on any safeguards that may be necessary to protect against the unlikely event that an authorized device outside of the correctional facility is detected.
  11. Additionally, the Commission seeks comment on whether contraband wireless devices identified by CellAntenna's technology and other technologies, including managed access systems, have the requisite characteristics, including accuracy, to identify contraband wireless devices for purposes of service termination while avoiding incorrect identification of legitimate devices. Should the Commission establish minimum performance standards for detection systems or encourage voluntary commitments? How would the Commission verify that an entity meets such a standard? Alternatively, to the extent that detection equipment requires FCC certification, the Commission could impose technical accuracy standards through the equipment certification process. The Commission seeks comment on these alternatives, and on their costs and benefits.
  12. The Commission seeks comment on a number of issues surrounding the process of requesting termination of service to contraband devices. Specifically, would correctional facilities have greater operational flexibility if an authorized agent were able to make the formal termination request? What criteria should be used to determine the authorized correctional facility personnel? Would such criteria be an adequate safeguard against the transmission of inaccurate information to a carrier? Do different carriers and different wireless technologies require different information to identify and terminate service to a device? Do the requirements differ for resellers or small wireless providers relative to large wireless providers? Are all types of detection equipment and systems capable of capturing the identical suite of information? The Commission seeks comment on any electronic or other means in addition to email and fax that would be an acceptable way for a correctional facility to transmit a termination request.
  13. With regard to the process of terminating service to contraband devices, the Commission seeks comment on a variety of issues. Should the Commission establish set intervals or times at which a correctional facility or detection provider can transmit batch termination requests to a carrier? Is it relevant if both the carrier and correctional facility have automated systems for requesting termination and terminating service to contraband wireless devices? Are there specific issues to consider with respect to processing termination requests by small or rural CMRS providers? What role could the database being developed by the wireless industry to identify and terminate service to stolen smartphones play in this process? Could participating wireless providers reduce implementation costs by relying on existing technologies and processes? The Commission seeks comment on ways that a correctional facility with a detection system will be able to identify the appropriate individual or group within a carrier to transmit termination requests. Alternatively, is there a common interface that could be used to automate the transmission and processing of the termination request? The Commission also seeks comment on the best means for a carrier to acknowledge receipt of a termination request. Could confirmation that termination occurred within any set timeframe be sufficient?
  14. The Commission seeks comment on the processes and costs for a carrier to terminate service to unauthorized devices, and the costs for a carrier, correctional facility, or third party detection provider to implement procedures and technologies to ensure that disruption of service to legitimate wireless users is minimized or prevented. If the Commission requires the carrier to send a message as CellAntenna proposes, would it be necessary or feasible to provide a vehicle through which the user of the alleged contraband device could demonstrate that the pending termination is in error? Are there other intermediary steps a carrier could take to attempt to confirm that service is being terminated to a contraband device and not a legal device? Are there any costs associated with sending such notification and, if so, who should bear them? CellAntenna proposes to require the carrier to suspend service to the device within one hour after receipt of notification. The Commission seeks comment on whether this interval is appropriate. Would some carriers, for example small or rural providers, require additional time relative to larger carriers? Does the time period affect the cost of compliance with these proposals?
  15. The Commission seeks comment on its belief that is has authority pursuant to section 303 of the Act to require CMRS providers to terminate service to contraband wireless devices. The Commission also seeks comment on the possible effectiveness of voluntary carrier participation in an industry wide effort to terminate service to contraband wireless devices.
  Applicability of Prohibitions on Intercepting and Publishing Communications and on the Use of Pen Register and Trap and Trace Devices Back to Top16. The Commission seeks comment on the extent to which providers or operators of managed access or detection systems comply with section 705 of the Act if they divulge or publish the existence of a communication for the purpose of operating the system, and whether such providers or operators are entitled to receive communications under section 705 of the Act. The Commission also seeks comment on whether any of the proposals regarding detection and managed access systems would implicate the pen registers and trap and trace devices chapter of Title 18 of the U.S.C. and, to the extent that a proposal would implicate that chapter, could the consent exception nevertheless permit operation of a device?
  17. Although the Commission does not propose any measures beyond those designed to facilitate the use and improve the efficacy of managed access and detection systems for addressing the problem of contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities, the Commission invites comment on other technological solutions, whether discussed in previously filed documents summarized in the NPRM, or set out in comments filed in response to the NPRM.
  Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis Back to Top18. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), the Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the possible significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities by the policies and rules proposed in the NPRM. Written public comments are requested on the IRFA. Comments must be identified as responses to the IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines indicated in the DATES section of this document. The Commission will send a copy of the NPRM, including this IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
  Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed Rules Back to Top19. The rules proposed in the NPRM are necessary to improve the viability of different technologies used to combat contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities. Prisoners can use contraband wireless devices to engage in criminal activity such as arranging the delivery of contraband drugs or other goods, transmitting information on prison staff to or from non-inmates, and harassing witnesses or other individuals. These activities threaten the safety of prison employees, other prisoners, and the general public.
  20. The proposed rules seek to improve the viability of technologies that detect wireless devices in correctional facilities and that can block transmissions to or from unauthorized wireless devices in correctional facilities. First, the Commission proposes to streamline the process for approving or accepting spectrum lease applications or notifications for spectrum leases entered into for managed access systems used in correctional facilities under its leasing procedures in part 1 of its rules. Second, the Commission proposes to require CMRS providers to terminate service to contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities that have been identified by a detection system. While not proposing any rule or process changes with respect to other possible wireless device interdiction technologies, the Commission seeks comment on other possible solutions.
  21. The legal basis for any action that may be taken pursuant to the NPRM is contained in sections 2, 4(i), 4(j), 301, 302, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, and 332 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 301, 302a, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, and 332.
  Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the Proposed Rules Will Apply Back to Top22. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and where feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that will be affected by the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA generally defines the term ''small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ''small business,'' ''small organization,'' and ''small governmental jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ''small business'' has the same meaning as the term ''small business concern'' under the Small Business Act. Under the Small Business Act, a ''small business concern'' is one that: 1) is independently owned and operated; 2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and 3) meets any additional criteria established by the SBA.
  23. Small Businesses. Nationwide, there are a total of approximately 27.5 million small businesses, according to the SBA.
  24. Wired Telecommunications Carriers. The SBA has developed a small business size standard for Wired Telecommunications Carriers, which consists of all such companies having 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 3,188 firms in this category, total, that operated for the entire year. Of this total, 3144 firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees, and 44 firms had employment of 1000 employees or more. Thus, under this size standard, the majority of firms can be considered small.
  25. Interexchange Carriers (IXCs). Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a size standard for small businesses specifically applicable to interexchange services. The closest applicable size standard under SBA rules is for Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Commission data, 359 companies reported that their primary telecommunications service activity was the provision of interexchange services. Of these 359 companies, an estimated 317 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 42 have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the majority of interexchange service providers are small entities that may be affected by rules adopted pursuant to the NPRM.
  26. Local Resellers. The SBA has developed a small business size standard for the category of Telecommunications Resellers. Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Commission data, 213 carriers have reported that they are engaged in the provision of local resale services. Of these, an estimated 211 have 1,500 or fewer employees and two have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the majority of local resellers are small entities that may be affected by rules adopted pursuant to the NPRM.
  27. Toll Resellers. The SBA has developed a small business size standard for the category of Telecommunications Resellers. Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Commission data, 881 carriers have reported that they are engaged in the provision of toll resale services. Of these, an estimated 857 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 24 have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the majority of toll resellers are small entities that may be affected by rules adopted pursuant to the NPRM.
  28. Other Toll Carriers. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a size standard for small businesses specifically applicable to Other Toll Carriers. This category includes toll carriers that do not fall within the categories of interexchange carriers, operator service providers, prepaid calling card providers, satellite service carriers, or toll resellers. The closest applicable size standard under SBA rules is for Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. According to Commission data, 284 companies reported that their primary telecommunications service activity was the provision of other toll carriage. Of these, an estimated 279 have 1,500 or fewer employees and five have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that most Other Toll Carriers are small entities that may be affected by the rules and policies adopted pursuant to the NPRM.
  29. 800 and 800-Like Service Subscribers. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size standard specifically for 800 and 800-like service (toll free) subscribers. The appropriate size standard under SBA rules is for the category Telecommunications Resellers. Under that size standard, such a business is small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. The most reliable source of information regarding the number of these service subscribers appears to be data the Commission collects on the 800, 888, 877, and 866 numbers in use. According to the Commission's data, as of September 2009, the number of 800 numbers assigned was 7,860,000; the number of 888 numbers assigned was 5,588,687; the number of 877 numbers assigned was 4,721,866; and the number of 866 numbers assigned was 7,867,736. The Commission does not have data specifying the number of these subscribers that are not independently owned and operated or have more than 1,500 employees, and thus are unable at this time to estimate with greater precision the number of toll free subscribers that would qualify as small businesses under the SBA size standard. Consequently, the Commission estimates that there are 7,860,000 or fewer small entity 800 subscribers; 5,588,687 or fewer small entity 888 subscribers; 4,721,866 or fewer small entity 877 subscribers; and 7,867,736 or fewer small entity 866 subscribers.
  30. Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite). Since 2007, the SBA has recognized wireless firms within this new, broad, economic census category. Prior to that time, such firms were within the now-superseded categories of Paging and Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications. Under the present and prior categories, the SBA has deemed a wireless business to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For this category, census data for 2007 show that there were 1,383 firms that operated for the entire year. Of this total, 1,368 firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees and 15 had employment of 1000 employees or more. Similarly, according to Commission data, 413 carriers reported that they were engaged in the provision of wireless telephony, including cellular service, Personal Communications Service (PCS), and Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) Telephony services. Of these, an estimated 261 have 1,500 or fewer employees and 152 have more than 1,500 employees. Consequently, the Commission estimates that approximately half or more of these firms can be considered small. Thus, using available data, the Commission estimates that the majority of wireless firms can be considered small.
  31. Broadband Personal Communications Service. The broadband personal communications service (PCS) spectrum is divided into six frequency blocks designated A through F, and the Commission has held auctions for each block. The Commission defined ''small entity'' for Blocks C and F as an entity that has average gross revenues of $40 million or less in the three previous calendar years. For Block F, an additional classification for ''very small business'' was added and is defined as an entity that, together with its affiliates, has average gross revenues of not more than $15 million for the preceding three calendar years. These standards defining ''small entity'' in the context of broadband PCS auctions have been approved by the SBA. No small businesses, within the SBA-approved small business size standards bid successfully for licenses in Blocks A and B. There were 90 winning bidders that qualified as small entities in the Block C auctions. A total of 93 small and very small business bidders won approximately 40 percent of the 1,479 licenses for Blocks D, E, and F. In 1999, the Commission re-auctioned 347 C, E, and F Block licenses. There were 48 small business winning bidders. In 2001, the Commission completed the auction of 422 C and F Broadband PCS licenses in Auction 35. Of the 35 winning bidders in this auction, 29 qualified as ''small'' or ''very small'' businesses. Subsequent events, concerning Auction 35, including judicial and agency determinations, resulted in a total of 163 C and F Block licenses being available for grant. In 2005, the Commission completed an auction of 188 C block licenses and 21 F block licenses in Auction 58. There were 24 winning bidders for 217 licenses. Of the 24 winning bidders, 16 claimed small business status and won 156 licenses. In 2007, the Commission completed an auction of 33 licenses in the A, C, and F Blocks in Auction 71. Of the 14 winning bidders, six were designated entities. In 2008, the Commission completed an auction of 20 Broadband PCS licenses in the C, D, E and F block licenses in Auction 78.
  32. Advanced Wireless Services. In 2008, the Commission conducted the auction of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) licenses. This auction, which as designated as Auction 78, offered 35 licenses in the AWS 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands (AWS-1). The AWS-1 licenses were licenses for which there were no winning bids in Auction 66. That same year, the Commission completed Auction 78. A bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues that exceeded $15 million and did not exceed $40 million for the preceding three years (''small business'') received a 15 percent discount on its winning bid. A bidder with attributed average annual gross revenues that did not exceed $15 million for the preceding three years (''very small business'') received a 25 percent discount on its winning bid. A bidder that had combined total assets of less than $500 million and combined gross revenues of less than $125 million in each of the last two years qualified for entrepreneur status. Four winning bidders that identified themselves as very small businesses won 17 licenses. Three of the winning bidders that identified themselves as a small business won five licenses. Additionally, one other winning bidder that qualified for entrepreneur status won 2 licenses.
  33. Specialized Mobile Radio. The Commission awards small business bidding credits in auctions for Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) geographic area licenses in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands to entities that had revenues of no more than $15 million in each of the three previous calendar years. The Commission awards very small business bidding credits to entities that had revenues of no more than $3 million in each of the three previous calendar years. The SBA has approved these small business size standards for the 800 MHz and 900 MHz SMR Services. The Commission has held auctions for geographic area licenses in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands. The 900 MHz SMR auction was completed in 1996. Sixty bidders claiming that they qualified as small businesses under the $15 million size standard won 263 geographic area licenses in the 900 MHz SMR band. The 800 MHz SMR auction for the upper 200 channels was conducted in 1997. Ten bidders claiming that they qualified as small businesses under the $15 million size standard won 38 geographic area licenses for the upper 200 channels in the 800 MHz SMR band. A second auction for the 800 MHz band was conducted in 2002 and included 23 BEA licenses. One bidder claiming small business status won five licenses.
  34. The auction of the 1,053 800 MHz SMR geographic area licenses for the General Category channels was conducted in 2000. Eleven bidders won 108 geographic area licenses for the General Category channels in the 800 MHz SMR band qualified as small businesses under the $15 million size standard. In an auction completed in 2000, a total of 2,800 Economic Area licenses in the lower 80 channels of the 800 MHz SMR service were awarded. Of the 22 winning bidders, 19 claimed small business status and won 129 licenses. Thus, combining all three auctions, 40 winning bidders for geographic licenses in the 800 MHz SMR band claimed status as small business.
  35. In addition, there are numerous incumbent site-by-site SMR licensees and licensees with extended implementation authorizations in the 800 and 900 MHz bands. The Commission does not know how many firms provide 800 MHz or 900 MHz geographic area SMR pursuant to extended implementation authorizations, nor how many of these providers have annual revenues of no more than $15 million. One firm has over $15 million in revenues. In addition, we do not know how many of these firms have 1500 or fewer employees. The Commission assumes, for purposes of this analysis, that all of the remaining existing extended implementation authorizations are held by small entities, as that small business size standard is approved by the SBA.
  36. Lower 700 MHz Band Licenses. The Commission previously adopted criteria for defining three groups of small businesses for purposes of determining their eligibility for special provisions such as bidding credits. The Commission defined a ''small business'' as an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling principals, has average gross revenues not exceeding $40 million for the preceding three years. A ''very small business'' is defined as an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling principals, has average gross revenues that are not more than $15 million for the preceding three years. Additionally, the Lower 700 MHz Band had a third category of small business status for Metropolitan/Rural Service Area (MSA/RSA) licenses, identified as ''entrepreneur'' and defined as an entity that, together with its affiliates and controlling principals, has average gross revenues that are not more than $3 million for the preceding three years. The SBA approved these small size standards. The Commission conducted an auction in 2002 of 740 Lower 700 MHz Band licenses (one license in each of the 734 MSAs/RSAs and one license in each of the six Economic Area Groupings (EAGs)). Of the 740 licenses available for auction, 484 licenses were sold to 102 winning bidders. Seventy-two of the winning bidders claimed small business, very small business or entrepreneur status and won a total of 329 licenses. The Commission conducted a second Lower 700 MHz Band auction in 2003 that included 256 licenses: 5 EAG licenses and 476 Cellular Market Area licenses. Seventeen winning bidders claimed small or very small business status and won 60 licenses, and nine winning bidders claimed entrepreneur status and won 154 licenses. In 2005, the Commission completed an auction of 5 licenses in the Lower 700 MHz Band, designated Auction 60. There were three winning bidders for five licenses. All three winning bidders claimed small business status.
  37. In 2007, the Commission reexamined its rules governing the 700 MHz band in the 700 MHz Second Report and Order, at 72 FR 48814, Aug. 24, 2007. The 700 MHz Second Report and Order revised the band plan for the commercial (including Guard Band) and public safety spectrum, adopted services rules, including stringent build-out requirements, an open platform requirement on the C Block, and a requirement on the D Block licensee to construct and operate a nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband network for public safety users. An auction of A, B and E block licenses in the Lower 700 MHz band was held in 2008. Twenty winning bidders claimed small business status (those with attributable average annual gross revenues that exceed $15 million and do not exceed $40 million for the preceding three years). Thirty three winning bidders claimed very small business status (those with attributable average annual gross revenues that do not exceed $15 million for the preceding three years). In 2011, the Commission conducted Auction 92, which offered 16 Lower 700 MHz band licenses that had been made available in Auction 73 but either remained unsold or were licenses on which a winning bidder defaulted. Two of the seven winning bidders in Auction 92 claimed very small business status, winning a total of four licenses.
  38. Upper 700 MHz Band Licenses. In the 700 MHz Second Report and Order, the Commission revised its rules regarding Upper 700 MHz band licenses. In 2008, the Commission conducted Auction 73 in which C and D block licenses in the Upper 700 MHz band were available. Three winning bidders claimed very small business status (those with attributable average annual gross revenues that do not exceed $15 million for the preceding three years).
  39. Satellite Telecommunications. Since 2007, the SBA has recognized satellite firms within this revised category, with a small business size standard of $15 million. The most current Census Bureau data are from the economic census of 2007, and we will use those figures to gauge the prevalence of small businesses in this category. Those size standards are for the two census categories of ''Satellite Telecommunications'' and ''Other Telecommunications.'' Under the ''Satellite Telecommunications'' category, a business is considered small if it had $15 million or less in average annual receipts. Under the ''Other Telecommunications'' category, a business is considered small if it had $25 million or less in average annual receipts.
  40. The first category of Satellite Telecommunications ''comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing point-to-point telecommunications services to other establishments in the telecommunications and broadcasting industries by forwarding and receiving communications signals via a system of satellites or reselling satellite telecommunications.'' For this category, Census Bureau data for 2007 show that there were a total of 512 firms that operated for the entire year. Of this total, 464 firms had annual receipts of under $10 million, and 18 firms had receipts of $10 million to $24,999,999. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the majority of Satellite Telecommunications firms are small entities that might be affected by rules adopted pursuant to the NPRM.
  41. The second category of Other Telecommunications ''primarily engaged in providing specialized telecommunications services, such as satellite tracking, communications telemetry, and radar station operation. This industry also includes establishments primarily engaged in providing satellite terminal stations and associated facilities connected with one or more terrestrial systems and capable of transmitting telecommunications to, and receiving telecommunications from, satellite systems. Establishments providing Internet services or voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services via client-supplied telecommunications connections are also included in this industry.'' For this category, Census Bureau data for 2007 show that there were a total of 2,383 firms that operated for the entire year. Of this total, 2,346 firms had annual receipts of under $25 million. Consequently, the Commission estimates that the majority of Other Telecommunications firms are small entities that might be affected by the NPRM.
  42. Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing. The Census Bureau defines this category to include: ''establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing communications equipment (except telephone apparatus, and radio and television broadcast, and wireless communications equipment).'' In this category, the SBA deems a business manufacturing other communications equipment to be small if it has 750 or fewer employees. For this category of manufacturers, Census data for 2007 show that there were 452 establishments that operated that year. Of the 452 establishments, 4 had 500 or greater employees. Accordingly, the Commission estimates that a substantial majority of the manufacturers of equipment used to provide interoperable and other video-conferencing services are small.
  43. Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing. The Census Bureau defines this category as follows: ''This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing radio and television broadcast and wireless communications equipment. Examples of products made by these establishments are: transmitting and receiving antennas, cable television equipment, GPS equipment, pagers, cellular phones, mobile communications equipment, and radio and television studio and broadcasting equipment.'' The SBA has developed a small business size standard for Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing which is: all such firms having 750 or fewer employees. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were a total of 939 establishments in this category that operated for part or all of the entire year. Of this total, 17 had 1,000 or more employees and 27 had 500 or more employees. Thus, under this size standard, the majority of firms can be considered small.
  44. Engineering Services. The Census Bureau defines this category to include: ''establishments primarily engaged in applying physical laws and principles of engineering in the design, development, and utilization of machines, materials, instruments, structures, process, and systems.'' The SBA deems engineering services firms to be small if they have $4.5 million or less in annual receipts, except military and aerospace equipment and military weapons engineering establishments are deemed small if they have $27 million or less an annual receipts. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 58,391 establishments in this category that operated the full year. Of the 58,391 establishments, 5,943 had $5 million or greater in receipts and 2,892 had $10 million or more in annual receipts. Accordingly, the Commission estimates that a majority of engineering service firms are small.
  45. Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System Instrument Manufacturing. The Census Bureau defines this category to include ''establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing direction, navigation, guidance, aeronautical, and nautical systems and instruments.'' The SBA deems Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical and Instrument Manufacturing firms to be small if they have 750 or fewer employees. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 647 establishments in operation in that year. Of the 647 establishments, 36 had 1,000 or more employees, and 50 had 500 or more employees. Accordingly, the Commission estimates that a majority of firms in this category are small.
  46. Security Guards and Patrol Services. The Census Bureau defines this category to include ''establishments primarily engaged in providing guard and patrol services.'' The SBA deems security guards and patrol services firms to be small if they have $18.5 million or less in annual receipts. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 9,198 establishments in operation the full year. Of the 9,198 establishments, 355 had greater than $10 million in annual receipts. Accordingly, the Commission estimates that a majority of firms in this category are small.
  47. All Other Support Services. The Census Bureau defines this category to include ''establishments primarily engaged in providing day-to-day business and other organizations support services.'' The SBA deems all other support services firms to be small if they have $7 million or less in annual receipts. According to Census Bureau data for 2007, there were 14,539 establishments in operation the full year. Of the 14,539 establishments, 273 had $10 million or more in annual receipts, and 639 had $5 million or greater in annual receipts. Accordingly, the Commission estimates that a majority of firms in this category are small.
  Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements for Small Entities Back to Top48. In the NPRM, the Commission seeks comment regarding rule changes to improve the viability of technologies used to combat contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities. The rules are prospective in that they only apply if an entity avails itself of managed access or detection technologies. There are two classes of small entities that may be impacted; providers of wireless services, and providers or operators of managed access or detection systems used in correctional facilities.
  49. The proposed rules streamline the process for leasing spectrum to be used in a managed access system in correctional facilities, and require CMRS providers to terminate service to identified contraband wireless devices. With respect to rule changes to streamline the spectrum leasing process for managed access systems, the proposed rules do not directly impose any new recordkeeping requirements. To the extent that filing a form seeking approval or providing notification of a lease entered into for a managed access system is a reporting requirement, the proposed rules streamline reporting requirements.
  50. Under current rules, the licensee and lessee of spectrum must file Form 608 seeking approval or providing notification of a lease. Due to existing leasing rules intended to protect competition, any lease notification or application for a managed access system filed after the first will likely result in a protracted application or notification review, because subsequent applications or notifications will be for spectrum covering identical geographic areas that could be used to provide an interconnected mobile service.
  51. The Commission's proposed rule changes streamline the application review process by allowing entities to certify that the application or notification is for a managed access system in a state or local correctional facility. The proposed rules will require entities to attach a new certification explaining the nature of the managed access system, including the location of the correctional facility, the lessee's relationship to the correctional facility, and the exact coordinates of the leased spectrum boundaries. While this may qualify as a reporting requirement, absent the rule lessees would still be required to identify the specific coordinates of the leased spectrum area in an attachment to Form 608. Therefore, to the extent this qualifies as a reporting requirement, the impact is neutral, if not positive.
  52. The proposed rules will streamline the filing requirements for managed access providers that seek to modify the lease to indicate that the service offering is a PMRS. Under current processes, the lessee is presumed to be offering the same services as the licensee, and in managed access leases, the lessor likely provides a CMRS. Therefore, to modify the service offering to PMRS, the lessee must first file a lease application, and once the lease application is approved, it has to file to modify the lease to establish that the service is PMRS. Under the proposal in the NPRM, managed access leases would presumptively be PMRS, thereby eliminating the need to file a modification.
  53. The NPRM also seeks comment on whether to require the managed access provider to provide notice to the households or businesses surrounding a correctional facility prior to activating the system. If the Commission adopts this requirement, it would be a new obligation that would consume some level of resources to identify the relevant households or businesses, generate a notice letter, mail the letter, and provide staff for any possible responses to the letter.
  54. The proposed rules governing detection systems may impose new recordkeeping requirements and will impose new compliance requirements for CMRS providers and operators of detection systems. The proposed rules will require CMRS providers to terminate service to identified contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities. To the extent that any correctional facility installs and operates a system that can identify the relevant information necessary to terminate service to an identified contraband wireless device'--therefore triggering CMRS providers' obligations'--CMRS providers would have to implement some type of internal process to terminate service to the contraband devices. This will likely require the allocation of resources to create the system, including some level of additional staffing necessary to meet the obligations under this requirement.
  55. Additionally, the Commission seeks comment on the process for transmitting termination requests, including how the information that must be included in a termination request. It is possible that an outgrowth of the questions asked and responses received could result in specific requirements for the form in which the request is transmitted, including the type of information that is required. This may also require some level of recordkeeping to ensure that service to contraband devices, and not to legitimate devices, is terminated. To the extent the rules do impose these requirements, they will be necessary to ensure that legitimate wireless users are not impacted by operation of the system, which should be the minimum performance objective for any detection system. Therefore, while a specific form in which the termination request must be transmitted may impose some compliance or recordkeeping obligations, they are a necessary predicate for the operation of a detection system.
  Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered Back to Top56. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant alternatives that it has considered in reaching its proposed approach, which may include the following four alternatives (among others): (1) the establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into account the resources available to small entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance or reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; (3) the use of performance, rather than design, standards; and (4) an exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small entities.
  57. The proposed rules govern systems and technologies that are not widely deployed in the marketplace. To date, only two managed access system that have received Commission authorization or approval are operational. Similarly, while there are detection systems in active use in correctional facilities, there are no current rules that require CMRS providers to terminate service to contraband devices identified by detection systems.
  58. The Commission seeks comment on the impact of some of its proposals, specifically with respect to the proposal to require CMRS providers to terminate service to identified contraband wireless devices, on small businesses. Commenters are asked whether small entities face any special or unique issues with respect to terminating service to devices, and whether they would require additional time to take such action.
  59. Historically, the Commission's license applications are not modified for small entities, and the Commission does not propose to do so in the NPRM for the proposed modification of Form 608 for managed access leases. Sections 308, 309, and 310(d) of the Act require the Commission to determine whether licensing transactions are in the public interest. This analysis requires the same type of information regardless of the size of the entity.
  60. The NPRM, while it discusses at length the general design of managed access and detection systems, does not directly require or propose to require any specific design standard. However, the NPRM does ask whether a specific performance standard may be necessary to ensure the accuracy of detection systems. The NPRM asks whether the standard should differ between rural and urban areas, or between large and small detection system providers or operators.
  61. The NPRM does not propose any exemption for small entities. The Commission finds an overriding public interest in preventing the illicit use of contraband wireless devices by prisoners to perpetuate criminal enterprises, and a strong public interest obligation for the transfer of spectrum rights. Managed access providers must meet the necessary filing requirements for the Commission to meet its obligations under the Act. Further, to the extent that a small entity could be exempt from the proposed service termination requirement, it would reduce the overall effectiveness of a detection system. If inmates discover that a wireless provider whose service area includes the correctional facility does not terminate service to found devices within the facility, inmates will accordingly use only that service.
  Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed Rules Back to Top62. The NPRM seeks comment on the application and relevance of section 705 of the Act and Title 18 of the U.S. Code.
  63. Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 301, 302, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, and 332 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 301, 302a, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, and 332, the NPRM IS ADOPTED.
  64. Pursuant to the authority contained in sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 301, and 303 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 301, 303, and sections 1.2 and 1.407 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.2, 1.407, the petitions listed in the caption of the NPRM are granted to the extent indicated herein, and otherwise denied.
  65. The Commission's Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of the NPRM, including the IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
  Federal Communications Commission.
  Marlene H. Dortch,
  Secretary.
  For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission proposes to amend47 CFR parts 1 and 20 as follows:
  begin regulatory text
  1.The authority citation for part 1 continues to read as follows:
  Authority:15 U.S.C. 79et seq.;47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 155, 157, 225, 227, 303(r), and 309, Cable Landing License Act of 1921, 47 U.S.C. 35-39, and the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. 112-96.
  2.Amend § 1.931 by revising paragraph (a)(1) and adding paragraph (a)(2)(v) to read as follows:
  § 1.931 Application for special temporary authority.(a) Wireless Telecommunications Services. (1) In circumstances requiring immediate or temporary use of station in the Wireless Telecommunications Services, carriers may request special temporary authority (STA) to operate new or modified equipment. Such requests must be filed electronically using FCC Form 601 and must contain complete details about the proposed operation and the circumstances that fully justify and necessitate the grant of STA. Such requests should be filed in time to be received by the Commission at least 10 days prior to the date of proposed operation or, where an extension is sought, 10 days prior to the expiration date of the existing STA. Requests received less than 10 days prior to the desired date of operation may be given expedited consideration only if compelling reasons are given for the delay in submitting the request. Otherwise, such late-filed requests are considered in turn, but action might not be taken prior to the desired date of operation. Requests for STA for operation of a station used in a managed access system, as defined in § 1.9003 (47 CFR 1.9003), may be received one day prior to the desired date of operation. Requests for STA must be accompanied by the proper filing fee.
  (2) * * *
  (v) The STA is for operation of a station used in a managed access system, as defined in § 1.9003.
  3.Amend § 1.9003 by adding the definition Managed access system in alphabetical order to read as follows:
  § 1.9003 Definitions.* * * * *
  Managed access system. A managed access system is a system comprised of one or more stations operating under a license, or lease arrangement entered into exclusively for the operation of such system, and is used in a correctional facility exclusively to prevent transmissions to or from unauthorized wireless devices within the boundaries of the facility.
  * * * * *
  4.Amend § 1.9020 by revising paragraph (e)(2) introductory text, redesignating paragraphs (e)(2)(ii) and (e)(2)(iii) as paragraphs (e)(2)(iii) and (e)(2)(iv), respectively, and adding new paragraph (e)(2)(ii) to read as follows:
  § 1.9020 Spectrum manager leasing arrangements.* * * * *
  (e) * * *
  (2) Immediate processing procedures. Notifications that meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, and notifications for managed access systems as defined in § 1.9003 that meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section, qualify for the immediate processing procedures.
  * * * * *
  (ii) A lessee of spectrum used in a managed access system qualifies for these immediate processing procedures if the notification is sufficiently complete and contains all necessary information and certifications (including those relating to eligibility, basic qualifications, and foreign ownership) required for notifications processed under the general notification procedures set forth in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section, and must not require a waiver of, or declaratory ruling pertaining to, any applicable Commission rules.
  * * * * *
  5.Amend § 1.9030 by revising paragraph (e)(2) introductory text, redesignating paragraphs (e)(2)(ii) and (e)(2)(iii) as paragraphs (e)(2)(iii) and (e)(2)(iv), respectively, and adding new paragraph (e)(2)(ii) to read as follows:
  § 1.9030 Long-term* * * * *
  (e) * * *
  (2) Immediate processing procedures. Applications that meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section, and notifications for managed access systems as defined in § 1.9003 that meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section, qualify for the immediate approval procedures.
  * * * * *
  (ii) A lessee of spectrum used in a managed access system qualifies for these immediate approval procedures if the notification is sufficiently complete and contains all necessary information and certifications (including those relating to eligibility, basic qualifications, and foreign ownership) required for notifications processed under the general notification procedures set forth in paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section, and must not require a waiver of, or declaratory ruling pertaining to, any applicable Commission rules.
  * * * * *
  6.The authority citation for part 20 continues to read as follows:
  Authority:47 U.S.C. 154, 160, 201, 251-254, 301, 303, 316 and 332 unless otherwise noted. Section 20.12 is also issued under 47 U.S.C. 1302.
  7.Amend § 20.9 by revising paragraph (b) introductory text, and adding paragraph (d), to read as follows:
  § 20.9 Commercial mobile radio service.* * * * *
  (b) Except as set forth in paragraph (d) of this section, licensees of a Personal Communications Service or applicants for a Personal Communications Service license, and VHF Public Coast Station geographic area licensees or applicants, and Automated Maritime Telecommunications System (AMTS) licensees or applicants, proposing to use any Personal Communications Service, VHF Public Coast Station, or AMTS spectrum to offer service on a private mobile radio service basis must overcome the presumption that Personal Communications Service, VHF Public Coast, and AMTS Stations are commercial mobile radio services.
  * * * * *
  (d)(1) A service provided over a managed access system, as defined in § 1.9003 of this chapter, is presumed to be a private mobile radio service;
  (2) A party providing service over a managed access system, as defined in § 1.9003 of this chapter, may seek to overcome the presumption that such service is a private mobile radio service by attaching a certification to a lease application or notification certifying that the mobile service in question meets the definition of commercial mobile radio service, or the mobile service in question is the functional equivalent of a service that meets the definition of a commercial mobile radio service. The party may also seek to overcome the presumption through the process set forth in paragraph (a)(14)(ii) of this section.
  8.Add § 20.22 to read as follows:
  § 20.22 Service termination upon notice of an unauthorized user.CMRS providers are required to terminate service to any device identified by a qualifying authority as unauthorized within the confines of a correctional facility.
  end regulatory text
  [FR Doc. 2013-14405 Filed 6-17-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
Federal Register | 36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:55
  Ms. B. English, DSCA/DBO/CFM, (703) 601-3740.
  The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Transmittals 13-15 with attached transmittal and policy justification.
  Dated: June 13, 2013.
  Aaron Siegel,
  Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer,Department of Defense.
  Transmittal No. 13-15Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of OfferPursuant to Section 36(b)(1)of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended(i) Prospective Purchaser: Libya
  (ii) Total Estimated Value:
  Major Defense Equipment*$222 millionOther$366 millionTotal$588 million(iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or Services under Consideration for Purchase: 2 C-130J-30 aircraft, 10 Rolls Royce AE 2100D3 engines (8 installed and 2 spares), aircraft modifications, Government Furnished Equipment (including radios), support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support.
  (iv) Military Department: Air Force (SAF)
  (v) Prior Related Cases, if any: None
  (vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed to be Paid:
  (vii) Sensitivity of Technology Contained in the Defense Article orDefense Services Proposed to be Sold: None
  (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: 7 June 2013
  * As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act.
  POLICY JUSTIFICATIONLibya'--C-130J-30 AircraftThe Government of Libya has requested a sale of 2 C-130J-30 aircraft, 10 Rolls Royce AE 2100D3 engines (8 installed and 2 spares), aircraft modifications, Government Furnished Equipment (including radios), support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated cost is $588 million.
  This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of Libya. The Government of Libya uses airlift to maintain the connection between the central government and the country's outlying areas. The sale of these C-130Js to Libya will significantly increase its capability to provide in-country airlift support for its forces, thus strengthening its capacity in the security arena.
  Libya intends to use these aircraft primarily to move supplies and people within Libya. This medium lift capability should assist with border security, the interdiction of known terrorist elements, and rapid reaction to internal security threats. In addition, Libya intends to utilize these aircraft in support of regional peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Libya, which already operates a mix of legacy C-130s, will have little difficulty absorbing these aircraft, which include a three-year training and sustainment package.
  The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
  The prime contractor will be Lockheed Martin-Aerospace in Marietta, Georgia. There are no known offset agreements in connection with this potential sale.
  Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of four contracted Field Service Representatives (FSR) and one Logistics Support Representative (LSR) for a period of three years. The FSRs and LSR will have expertise in airframe, avionics/electrical, propulsion systems, ground maintenance systems, and logistics support. Additionally, there will be a USAF logistics specialist assisting the purchaser to establish a supply system in support of flight operations, supply management, inventory control, and documentation procedures for a period of three years following aircraft delivery.
  There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.
  [FR Doc. 2013-14480 Filed 6-17-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 5001-06-P
Federal Register | 36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:00
  Ms. B. English, DSCA/DBO/CFM, (703) 601-3740.
  The following is a copy of a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives,Transmittals 13-25 with attached transmittal and policy justification.
  Dated: June 13, 2013.
  Aaron Siegel,
  Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer,Department of Defense.
  Transmittal No. 13-25
  Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of OfferPursuant to Section 36(b)(1)of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended
  (i) Prospective purchaser: The Government of Kuwait
  (ii) Total Estimated Value
  Major Defense Equipment*$0 millionOther$200 millionTOTAL$200 million(iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or Services Under Considerationfor Purchase: continuation of logistics support, contractor maintenance, and technical services in support of the F/A-18 C/D aircraft to include avionics software upgrade, engine component improvement, ground support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, engineering change proposals, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics support services and other related elements of logistical support.
  (iv) Military Department: Navy (GGW)
  (v) Prior Related Cases, if any: Multiple FMS cases dating back to 1997
  (vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed to be Paid: None
  (vii) Sensitivity of Technology Contained in the Defense Article or Defense ServicesProposed to be Sold: None
  (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: 7 June 2013
  * as defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control Act.
  POLICY JUSTIFICATIONGovernment of Kuwait'--Technical/Logistics Support for F/A-18 C/D AircraftThe Government of Kuwait has requested a possible sale of continuation of logistics support, contractor maintenance, and technical services in support of the F/A-18 C/D aircraft to include avionics software upgrade, engine component improvement, ground support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, engineering change proposals, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics support services and other related elements of logistical support. The estimated cost is $200 million.
  The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.
  The proposed sale of this support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
  The principal contractors will be General Dynamics of Fairfax, Virginia; The Boeing Company of St. Louis, Missouri; and Wyle Laboratories, Inc of Huntsville, Alabama. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
  Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of ninety U.S. Government and contractor representatives for a period three years to establish and maintain operational capability.
  There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.
  [FR Doc. 2013-14481 Filed 6-17-13; 8:45 am]
  BILLING CODE 5001-06-P
Stuart Syvret, The Rule of Law, and The BBC.
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:27
  In part two of our in-depth and exclusive interview with Former Senator, and Health Minister, Stuart Syvret we discuss, very briefly, some contents contained in the 62,000 word document submitted by the Former Police Chief, Graham Power QPM, to the Wiltshire Constabulary as published by Mr. Syvret.Mr. Power's submission to the Wiltshire Constabulary was published by Mr. Syvret after it became apparent that the BBC, who have been in possession of it for eleven months and five days, had no intention of publishing it. This, as regular readers will be aware, is despite the BBC, and all other island State Media publishing the prosecution case or parts of, against the former Police Chief. Mr. Power's submission to Wiltshire is viewed as his defence case, yet the BBC still won't publish it.
  We discuss the implications of this apparent decision by the BBC and point out the documents that HAVE been leaked to Bloggers (Jersey's only independent media) and NOT the BBC, CTV, or the JEP.
  When was the last time, you the reader, can remember a leaked document that was given to, and reported by, the State Media? In the interview below, we name but a few, that have been leaked to Bloggers, there are many more that could have been mentioned with yet still more to come. (we are told)
  It is becoming more and more apparent that Jersey's mainstream media are not trusted and we believe with good reason. Bloggers (Jersey's only independent media) have blown apart (to smithereens) the official version of events surrounding the Child Abuse atrocities and related matters. We have done this purely by asking questions. When have the BBC, or any of our State Media, seriously challenged or scrutinised ANYTHING churned out by the states Communications Unit? Could Decades of Child Abuse have been possible without the complicity of the mainstream media? What part, if any, have they (State Media) played over the decades in keeping the lid on controversial issues for our government? Why were the documents leaked to Bloggers (Jersey's only independent media) and not leaked to Jersey's "accredited" media?
  Part one of this interview can be viewed HERE.
Operation Satan's Whisper
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:26
  It is always interesting to me how the things of this blog are scoffed at, and yet when the same situation by CBS Sharyl Atkinsson is having her home computers turned off and on, and suddenly the same jerks who attack this blog accept what CBS says without any proof, other than that propagandists story.
  Few people with a brain, and there are fewer of them, even know that for decades during the Cold War, the Soviet Union bombarded America from Siberia with low frequency radio waves out of massive antennae set up there.Yes the Kremlin spent a fortune blasting low frequency radio waves no one could hear, directly into these United States, and yet that proof is not even assembled by the always experts as they only know what they are spoon fed while their heads up are their asses.
  For those who care to know, the Supreme Court in overturning the Arizona voter qualification law, with of all people "Conservative" Anton Scalia composing a lunatic opinion which Justices Alito and Thomas said was without merit, did it due to radio waves which mind conditioned Scalia, Kennedy and Roberts.Now that Glenn Beck has caught up with teasers that Roberts had been blackmailed on Obamacare, it is time to set the record straight on what Scalia was up to in the Arizona vote.
  I have written of the radar waves in the algorithms which they bombard people with and computers to "change" their programming.The details are simple in the program Satan's Whisper was piggybacked into this from the Holder cell at NSA in coordination with the leftist legal groups who were challenging the Arizona law to make it "legal" for foreigners to overturn elections.
  The semblance of this is simple in these radio waves can target people from satellites, both military and civlian communication, off of microwave stations, off of military radar stations, and off of cell phones.
  The basis of this is it uses the human body as a receptor. The metals that are initiated into the human body in amplified amounts create the antennae, to which these waves then resonate into a human mind, in the exact process of how demons put "thoughts" into a person's mind to do what they would not normally do.That is what is behind the demon machine, a mechanical device meant to trigger individuals and masses of people to act out as suggested.
  Scalia was conditioned by his cell phone. The process is 12 sessions of 8 hours length, with breaks in between as the resonance will tear apart tissues or grey matter if the process continues uninterrupted.The waves will also trigger cancers over the long term, to headaches, fatigue, auto immune etc...
  Scalia was conditioned while he slept and then at the Supreme Court during the hearings and discussions on this bill, along with Roberts and Kenney. This time no blackmail was involved.
  Tests in this process have been carried out on individuals in the Supreme Court to have live field tests that this could actually work. Alito and Thomas were not targeted as a unanimous vote would set off even warning signals the brain dead always experts could figure out.Leaving two Conservatives, never had these always expert idiots not even question what had taken place with Scalia writing a baseless opinion which went against his entire States Rights lifetime of findings and literally overthrew these United States in foreign voters.
  The conditioning is based upon triggers. Everyone has an inner drive, and Scalias is to be intelligent and to sway thought. Basing a wave to trigger that, and then whispering to the Scalia mind that, "This is a way to validate that emotion" sets up the Arizona vote overthrow.A simple thought like a song running in the mind completes the process. This process "sticks" in it is quite permanent as a life changing experience.Weekly "touch ups" though in the waves keeps the new thought process on line.
  In inquiry, members of Congress have been subjected to this wave processing, and it has all been effectual. The mass nuttery of Obama 2008 events was a measure of that in the triggers of soppy old sodden white women going for Obama to dirty themselves up sexually to the conditioning of years of Mexicans and blacks racism against whites, set the stage that Obama got within the vote flip 10 million votes, exactly as in 2012, and voila, the foreign agent Birther Hussein Obama was in office to set loose the very sciences and weapons of war upon the American people, being refined on Supreme Court targets.
  Blackmail leaves tracks that the Lame Cherry exclusively exposes in matter and anti matter. Radar waves, leave no perceptible tracks except changes in forensic behaviors which should not occur like Scalia going liberal nuts in overthrowing the Constitution.
  The fingerprint of the mind is altered in this conditioning and a receptor tuned to the frequency can expose the program being turned on, and yes it would play the message, but those are the things not thought of, as this has been used on numerous Americans starting out with hidden messages in elevator music, to pulses now coming through cell phones non stop to people.
  That is the reality of the Scalia vote. It was radar waves conditioning his mind and run from the Holder cell at NSA.
  nuff said
  agtG 272YY
Empowering victims of the Fukushima Frenzy to resist radiation FUD
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:20
  Dr. James Conca has published another important post about the aftermath of Fukushima and the efforts of the people opposed to the use of nuclear energy to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about imaginary health effects of low dose radiation. The article is titled Fukushima 2.25 '-- The Humanitarian Crisis; it is a ''must read'' that includes a growing discussion thread of occasionally thoughtful commentary.
  Jim's premise is that the continued access restrictions to all but the most contaminated areas are harming people by preventing them from living normal, productive lives. Instead, potentially healthy Fukushima natives are being turned into victims of excessive stresses caused by living in temporary relocation facilities while being frequently subjected to fear-inducing stories about how they and their children will eventually become victims of cancer or other scary illnesses. In some cases, their fellow countrymen actively avoid contact out of irrational fear that they will somehow become contaminated themselves.
  Ironically, however, the WHO report highlights the psychological effects of the disaster '-- fear, anxiety and depression to the point of psychosomatic illness, psychiatric disorders and suicide (Husband of Fukushima suicide victim demands justice). And, as only humans can do, people tend to stigmatize those hailing from the affected areas, making relocation even more punishing socially and physically.
  The miniscule risks outlined by all these studies do not justify the continued harm and devastation perpetrated upon the Fukushima refugees. Except for the small, highly contaminated areas adjacent to the reactors which should stay off-limits until remediated, the risk of cancer and death from the increased use of coal and gas since the disaster has provided much more risk to the population of the Tohoku region, and to Japan as a whole, than any radiation effects from Fukushima (Killer Energy Sources).
  Atomic Insights readers would not be surprised to learn that our old friend, Bob Applebaum, is actively involved in the discussion thread. He is posting as ''anon'', but his habit of accusing anyone who questions the Linear, No-Threshold dose assumption of being a Creationist identifies him as accurately as a fingerprint. In response to one of Bob's comments claiming that the LNT is a proven theory that has been tested and validated for about 100 years, I added my own thoughts. I'm vain and lazy enough to capture and repurpose them here as a way of encouraging additional discussion.
  @anon (AKA Bob A)
  I find it interesting that you both date the LNT hypothesis to the work of a man who lived more than 100 years ago, and then claim that it is the central theory of low dose radiation health effects because of its statistical effect on DNA.
  You are aware, I hope, that scientists did not even know that DNA existed 100 years ago. People like Hermann Muller and Hugo DeVries had no way to study how DNA repair mechanisms work for complex, multicell creatures like human beings.
  There was no way for them to begin to understand WHY Caspari's (working in Muller's own lab) experiments showed such dramatically contrary results that invalidated the LNT assumption.
  Here is a brief history. Caspari was interested in determining if mutation rates really were related to radiation doses in a linear fashion all the way down to zero. He had studied Muller's results and was aware of his linear, no threshold hypothesis. Like a good scientist with a questioning attitude, he wanted to validate '' or invalidate '' that hypothesis through a well-designed experiment.
  He used radium as the source of what was then considered to be low doses. He exposed large samples of fruit flies to doses of about 50 Rad (50 rem or 500 mSv) given at a lower rate (2.5 r/day) than the 100 R/min x-rays that Muller used in his own mutation experiments. Caspari's experimental results showed that mutation rates for the exposed fruit flies were indistinguishable from the mutation rates in a similarly large control population that was NOT exposed.
  Muller was aware of Caspari's results BEFORE he gave his Nobel Prize speech, but he ignored them because those results did not support Muller's political desire to stoke radiation fear as a means of encouraging people to actively resist the atomic bomb testing program.
  In recent years, scientists like Feinendegen, Pollycove, Callabrese, and Neumann have learned how low doses of radiation stimulate (up-regulate) metabolic defenses and molecular repair mechanisms and how those defenses stop working only when doses exceed a reasonably high threshold. Unlike Muller and DeVries, today's genetic researchers can study DNA and detect the way that redundant repair mechanisms succeed. They can also study DNA in living organisms to find out that spontaneous DNA damage rates from many other influences exceed those caused by low dose radiation by 3 to 6 orders of magnitude.
  Adaptive response works. Doses below a single whole body dose of 100-150 mSv (10-15 rem) and below a chronic dose rate of about 700 mSv/y (70 rem/year) are safe and even somewhat beneficial to human health. Unlike the situation of 50 to 100 years ago, we now have the tools available to test and validate those numbers.
  High doses of radiation are dangerous and must be avoided. Fortunately, we can detect radiation at levels far below the harmful level with a high degree of confidence.
  We do not need to tremble in fear of ionizing radiation as a silent killer; by conducting simple measurements we can learn when levels are safe and when they are high enough to cause concern. We can go about our lives in confidence and make good use of Nature's gift of exceedingly energy dense fuels that do not destroy our shared atmosphere.
  Of course, people whose wealth and power are based using any energy source other than nuclear energy or those whose prosperity is based on getting paid large sums of money to PROTECT people from the imaginary danger of low doses of radiation (I'm looking at you, Bob) will continue to spread FUD and hope that no one notices.
  People who understand the science of radiation health effects and its potential economic impacts must effectively resist the fossil fuel, ''renewable energy'', ''smart grid'', conservation and radiation protection sales efforts with facts and science.
  Many powerful people have a lot to lose when the rest of us figure out that we have been duped into believing a failed hypothesis that produces INCORRECT results when applied to radiation doses in the range of possible variations in normal background.
  It is incredibly empowering for human society to recognize that we already know how to design resilient power plants where three large reactors can melt at the same time without exposing anyone to harmful levels of radiation. We've had that knowledge for nearly 50 years; we just did not conduct the validating experiment until March 11, 2011.
Defy Joe Romm's advice and watch Pandora's Promise
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Atomic Insights
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:19
  Joe Romm, the lead thinker at Climate Progress, has once again exposed the fact that he is not terribly serious about fighting climate change. In fact, he is so casual about the effort that he wants everyone to dismiss nuclear energy out of hand as being too expensive to matter, without even thinking about trying to solve the often solvable issue of cost.
  If the television manufacturing industry adhered to Joe's understanding of cost control, we might all still be looking at large, flat screen TVs with longing lust instead of having watched their prices drop rapidly into the affordable range.
  Of course, so far, the nuclear industry has done a bang-up job of not controlling costs. We have cooperated in a long term effort to burden our amazing technology with so many cost-increasing features that we have priced ourselves right out of the market. In the process, we have done as much or more as the antinuclear opposition to make the world a dirtier and more dangerous place.
  Joe's latest rant about the high cost of nuclear energy came in a post purposely aimed at discouraging his followers from going to see Pandora's Promise. He has not bothered to watch the movie, but he apparently feels qualified to offer a ''resounding no'' to anyone who might be considering investing just 90 minutes of their time to gain a new and useful perspective on one of the most important topics of our time.
  I strongly disagree with that recommendation. You should see the movie and you should take all of your friends to see the movie. You should organize outings to encourage strangers to see the movie. It is an valuable contribution to a vital discussion.Here is the comment I posted in response:
  Unlike Joe Romm, who lives in Washington, DC, where Pandora's Promise is available to any remotely curious reviewer for an $11.50 ticket, I have made the effort to actually watch the movie.
  I had to travel from Lynchburg to DC to do so, but I thought it was worth the effort so that I could write intelligently about the experience instead of just parroting other points of view.
  Robert Stone might have creatively decided that his movie was not about costs, but about ideas and potential, but it seems kind of petty to criticize a creative effort merely because it did not talk about the topic you wanted it to talk about.
  Pandora's Promise includes frequent allusions to the scale of the challenge of changing our energy supply system and to the scale of the investments required to build new nuclear plants and develop a new nuclear supply system. His protagonists might not be elected leaders of establishment Environmental organizations, but that does not mean that they are not caring, concerned environmentalists who honestly care deeply about the fate of the planet.
  Many reviewers have claimed that Stone ''mocks'' the opposition, but his technique is merely to film them and allow them to speak for themselves. He does not limit his footage to classic reels of '70s or '80s vintage ''No Nukes'' concerts, but also shows very current assemblies with leaders like Wasserman and Caldicott at the microphone. He even tries to let Dr. Caldicott explain herself and her position. I am not sure how that qualifies as ''mocking.''
  My wife attended the movie with me. She is an environmentalist with a degree in biology who worked for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for several years. We both recycle, we care about clean air and water, and we have a deep interest in leaving a better world for our children and grandchildren. She thought that the movie was well done, but asked me if Lynas and Stone were really as sure about nuclear as some critics have implied. It was her impression that they were still wishy washy in their support.
  My recommendation to all of you '' watch the movie with your critical thinking caps on before you dismiss it.
  BTW '' Joe, I will agree that nuclear power costs too much and that the ''industry'' is more at fault than the opposition. For too long, we have used the excuse that people are afraid of radiation. We have hiddem a lot of excessive costs (and generous salaries) behind the mantra that it is not yet safe enough and we have to spend even more money to make it safer still.
  We need to change and to recognize that the public deserves access to abundant, affordable, RELIABLE power that is acceptably (not perfectly) safe.
  Rod AdamsPublisher, Atomic InsightsNuclear energy professional
Black Forest fire victims were members of Air Force Space Command
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:20
  BLACK FOREST '-- A husband and wife who died while trying to flee the Black Forest fire last week were longtime members of Air Force Space Command, officials said Tuesday.
  A co-worker said they died trying to protect firefighters by removing ammunition and propane tanks from their home and loading them into their car.
  The victims were identified by the El Paso County Sheriff's office as Marc Allen Herklotz, 52, and his wife, Robin Lauran Herklotz, 50.
  Their bodies were found in the garage of their home on Jicarilla Drive in Black Forest, near the area where investigators believe the fire began. Officials said the doors of their car were open and it appeared they were trying to evacuate. The home sat on a heavily wooded 2.6-acre lot, according to county records.
  Investigators spoke to someone who talked to the victims by phone at about 5 p.m. on June 11, just hours after the fire started, Sheriff Terry Maketa said last week. In the background of the phone call, the person could hear popping sounds.
  "All indications on scene is that they were planning on leaving quickly," Maketa said.
  Neighbors Bob and Barbara Schmidt told The Associated Press that they last saw the Herklotzes about 4:35 p.m. The Schmidts said the Herklotzes told them they had not received an automated evacuation call but were packing and "they'd leave when they needed to."
  Identification of the bodies was difficult because the fire burned for several days in that area at about 2,500 degrees, Maketa said Tuesday. The bodies were identified through a cooperative effort by the El Paso County coroner's office and a forensic dentist.
  Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said investigators have learned little about the circumstances of the couple's deaths.
  "The coroner had very little in the way of remains to work with," he said.
  James Wing, a co-worker and friend of the couple, described them as happy and inseparable.
  "It's a small consolation for those that knew them that they were together in the end, but it would not have been a small consolation to them," Wing said.
  Wing said Marc was a radio-control enthusiast like his father, and had rare and impressive model airplanes hanging in his office where he worked writing intelligence software for the Air Force.
  In their death, Wing said he learned the couple was thinking of the safety of firefighters first, likely causing them to take too long to evacuate when the fire was approaching.
  "Marc was a shooting enthusiast and he had lots of ammunition and also propane tanks," Wing said. "A neighbor saw them loading them, trying to remove all of it, so that it wouldn't pose a danger to firefighters."
  A son of the couple is on tour in Afghanistan, Wing said.
  An Air Force news release said Marc Herklotz served in the Air Force from 1983-87 and worked as a civilian employee in the Innovation Division of Space Command's Air, Space and Cyberspace Operations Directorate. Robin Herklotz was an Air Force contractor.
  "Both were longtime members of Air Force Space Command, supporting critical air, space and cyberspace operational missions from offices on Schriever Air Force Base," the release said.
  The fire began at about 2 p.m. on June 11 in Black Forest north of Colorado Springs, and it quickly raced through ponderosa pine and shrub oak.
  It has burned 14,280 acres and destroyed 509 homes. Maketa said there are still 937 homes and 9,830 acres under the mandatory evacuation order. About 2,600 people remain out of their homes; at the high point of the fire, almost 40,000 people were evacuated.
  As of Tuesday evening, the fire was 85 percent contained.
  As people return, Maketa said to remember those who no longer have homes.
  "We need to not lose sight of those who lost every memory they ever created," he said.
  The cause of the fire has not been determined. Maketa has said investigators believe it was human-caused and are narrowing in on a point of origin. He said Tuesday that area is 40 feet square.
  "It's certainly something you do not rush," Maketa said. "It is important to determine if the fire was caused accidentally or intentionally."
  The sheriff's office Tuesday downgraded additional mandatory evacuation areas, allowing residents like Robert Runyard to go home for the first time in a week.
  Runyard is admittedly sentimental, but he held his cool as he bounded down the winding roads of Black Forest for his first glimpse of the rubble and wreckage he once called home.
  The skeletal trees and charred rolling hills offered further proof of what he already knew: The house on Swan Road had become part of the landscape. A lone brick wall, streaked black with smoke, jutted out like a beacon.
  "This is my neighborhood," he said. "What a mess."
  Camera in hand and girlfriend Amy Feik by his side, he took stock of the remains: a pile of blackened nails from inside a melted bucket, a motorcycle helmet that crumbled at the touch, a Subaru station wagon, mangled and gutted.
  "My first souvenir!" Runyard said, grabbing its license plate from the ground. The numbers had burned off.
  But, at least for the moment, Runyard didn't flinch. The veteran was "back in battle mode."
  "I saw parts of Kuwait like this," he said, sifting through the ashes of his two-story barn. He'd lived in the home since 1986. He designed it himself and made many upgrades.
  "I'll cry when you leave," he said.
  The couple wandered further into the disorienting landscape. They uncovered the twisted remains of rifles, a battered washing machine.
  "The wheelbarrow is still there!" Feik yelled.
  "This is the hose!" Runyard shouted.
  "Oh my God, do you remember when I took a pottery class and made a little bowl?" Feik said pulling it from the rubble. Later, a shattered coffee mug made her smile.
  "Every object you find has a story," Runyard said. "Some of the things I thought would survive the fire didn't, but I guess that's not surprising."
  Still, his assessment was that it could have been worse.
  "It's under control," he told Feik, and gave her a kiss.
  Copyright 2012 The Denver Post. All rights reserved.
Comparative Antenna Analysis with WSPR
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: Signal to Noise - KQ2RP
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:15
  YÄƒ^Ñ(C)IÇBF,z?`N0E2&vrz×`íxCFHthJaz99$Ô:Q=YC$}T@GMÙ·a`4+`Ea[M,2!7M0R6Yj X ÓªkFl0í'Ë½Nt$iO{'D)É¤Bi#Û¨#Iná§·oLQZR\z@WpxX-Y6"C g(FC/`M$W\A8Ä0 e?4^!pX[W84f{"J\:&L0_AnZÐ§=#Î¥:!hØŽ=347v|i\l:`'yPQ6\:ILxs# EÛ>>sAQl2 Èé‹=d
US War Games Send Signal to Assad
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:31
  ZARQA, Jordan -- Under the watchful eye of stern-faced American advisers, hundreds of U.S.-trained Jordanian commandos fanned across this dusty desert plain, holding war games that could eventually form the basis of an assault in Syria.
  With the recent deployment of Patriot missiles near the Syrian border, and the mock Syrian accents of those playing the enemy, the message was clear: There is fear of spillover from the Syrian war in this U.S.-allied kingdom, and the potential for a Jordanian role in securing Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles should Bashar Assad's regime lose control.
  Dubbed Eager Lion, the 12-day exercise involves combined land, air and sea maneuvers across the country. It brings together 8,000 personnel from 19 Arab and European nations to train on border security, irregular warfare, terrorism and counterinsurgency.
  Marine Corps Lt. Col. Duke Shienle said Syria "is a concern that all our regional partners share."
  The Syrian crisis is "causing all military in the region to increase intensity," he said as he supervised masked commandos in black uniforms from Jordan and two other Syria neighbors -- Iraq and Lebanon -- in a mock exercise to free a hijacked aircraft on an airstrip in the eastern Jordanian desert.
  Nearby, U.S. military strategists taught Jordanian riot police to quickly contain a mock protest by angry mobs in a crowded refugee camp. The trainers refused to name the camp, but the trainees said it was "Zaatari," a reference to a refugee settlement straddling the border with Syria that shelters around 185,000 displaced Syrians.
  "We want freedom! We want a free Syria!" the trainees shouted, speaking the Syrian dialect as they depicted Syrian refugees. Others looked on from under dusty tents pitched on a strip of desert outside a Jordanian army compound. The location of this exercise and others could not be disclosed in line with Jordanian army regulations.
  Elsewhere, in the south, hundreds of masked Jordanian commandos in black uniforms used machine-guns, rocket propellers and tanks to overwhelm an enemy target as Jordanian helicopters and fighter jets -- all part of previous American donations -- buzzed the skies overhead.
  "We want to tell anyone with malicious intentions toward Jordan that we can hit back where it hurts most painfully," said one Jordanian commando, speaking under scorching sun in the arid mountain region. He could not be named under army regulations and declined to say if the enemy he was fighting was Assad's army.
  Other training focused on humanitarian relief and crisis management and involves 7,000 civilians from non-governmental organizations engaged in providing assistance to Syrian refugees, said Tawfiq Hennawi of the International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the participating NGOs.
  Jordan hosts more than half a million Syrians who fled Assad's military onslaught and that number is expected to rise to 1.2 million by the end of the year.
  "These exercises bolster our defense capabilities," said Jordanian army Maj. Gen. Awni Edwan, adding that the Eager Lion exercises, which end Thursday, are routine, having being held twice before at the same time.
  "We don't intend to attack anybody," he said.
  Jordan has been leery that Assad may eventually use his chemical weapons against his neighbors, or if his regime starts to collapse, his stockpile may fall into the hands of al-Qaida or other militants who are trying to rise to power in Syria.
  There has been mounting speculation that should Assad's regime begin to lose control, Jordan will dispatch its highly-skilled, U.S.-trained and equipped commandos to secure Assad's chemical weapons and create a safe haven for Syrian refugees along the 230-mile (375-kilometer) border with Jordan, according to a Western diplomat who monitors Syria from his base in Jordan.
  The purpose is to prevent a further influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan out of fear that Shiite militants from the Lebanese Hezbollah group or other Iranian agents may slip across the border to destabilize this key U.S. ally, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because identifying him might jeopardize his intelligence-gathering on Syria.
  Jordan's predominantly Sunni Muslim population is traditionally a fiery critic of the growing influence of Iran and its rival Shiite sect.
  Regional media reports this week suggesting that Hezbollah activists are deploying near the Jordanian border to help Assad regain control of southern Daraa province- which has been a lifeline for arms shipments to rebels seeking to topple him - sent jitters across Jordan. Officials said that security was immediately beefed up, with more Jordanian soldiers deployed along the border with Syria.
  In recent weeks, Assad's forces have appeared to be regaining control over areas seized by rebels, particularly the strategic town of Qusair.
  Jordan also fears that Assad's sleeper cells, including Hezbollah, may already be in the country and would act if instructed by Iran or Syria, where an uprising that started in 2011 has descended into all-out civil war.
  Eager Lion coincides with Washington deploying one or two Patriot batteries along the border with Syria and agreeing to keep a squadron of 12 to 24 F-16 fighter jets after the exercises - a move Syria's regime and its Russian patron have expressed concern over.
  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying that the deployment of the air-defense systems in Jordan in order to set up a no-fly zone over Syria would be a violation of international law.
  The United States has said it has no plans for military intervention in Syria, although President Barack Obama has left the door open for any possibility.
  "With this exercise being the biggest fire power show ever in Jordan, coupled with the deployment of Patriot air defense systems and U.S. fighter jets, it is clear that the ground is being set for military intervention in Syria," said Col. Khalil Rawahneh, a Jordanian military strategist who participated in at least 16 U.S. and British-sponsored maneuvers until he retired four years ago.
  (C) Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MICHAEL HASTINGS TOLD THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PENTAGON GENERALS
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: aangirfan
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:10
  Journalist Michael Hastingsdied in a mysterious car crash on 19 June 2013.
  Hastings was a critic of the Pentagon generals.
  In 2010, Michael Hastings described General Stanley McChrystal's staff as "a handpicked collection of killers, spies, ... political operators and outright maniacs."
  McChrystal was sacked by Obama in 2010.
  Gen. Stanley McChrystal helped cover up the circumstances of Army Cpl. Pat Tillman's death.Gen. McChrystal was fired from job he never deserved to haveOn 11 November 2012, Michael Hastings wrote that we should never have trusted General David Petraeuswww.buzzfeed.com
  Hastings wrote of Petraeus: "He's ... a world-class bullshit artist..."He essentially armed and trained what later became known as 'Iraqi death squads.'
  "He ... took the Shiites' side in a civil war, armed them to the teeth, and suckered the Sunnis into thinking we'd help them out too...
  "Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives during a sectarian conflict that Petraeus' policies fueled..."
  "The Afghan war - Petraeus made horrible deals with guys like Abdul Razzik and the other Afghan gangsters and killed a bunch of people who didn't need to be killed...
  (The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan.)
  "The reputations of the men who were intimately involved in these years of foreign misadventure, where we tortured and supported torture, armed death squads, conducted nightly assassinations, killed innocents, and enabled corruption on an unbelievable scale, lie in tatters."
NSA director says surveillance programs have foiled 50 terrorist plots worldwide
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:52
  From left, Deputy Attorney General James Cole; National Security Agency (NSA) Deputy Director Chris Inglis; NSA Director Gen. Keith B. Alexander; Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce; and Robert Litt, general counsel to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing regarding NSA surveillance.
  Charles Dharapak, Associated Press
  WASHINGTON '-- The director of the National Security Agency said Tuesday the government's sweeping surveillance programs have foiled some 50 terrorist plots worldwide, including one directed at the New York Stock Exchange, in a forceful defense of the spy operations.
  Army Gen. Keith Alexander said the two recently disclosed programs '-- one that gathers U.S. phone records and another that is designed to track the use of U.S.-based Internet servers by foreigners with possible links to terrorism '-- are critical in the terrorism fight.
  Alexander, seated side by side with top officials from the FBI and Justice Department at a rare, open congressional hearing, described how the operations work under questioning from members of the House Intelligence Committee who displayed a supportive demeanor. The officials as well as members of the panel repeatedly bemoaned the leaks by Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former contractor.
  Alexander said Snowden's leaks have caused "irreversible and significant damage to this nation" that also undermined the U.S. relationship with its allies.
  Asked what was next for Snowden, Sean Joyce, deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said simply, "Justice."
  Intelligence officials last week disclosed some details on two thwarted attacks '-- one targeting the New York subway system, one to bomb a Danish newspaper office that had published the cartoon depictions of the Prophet Mohammad. Alexander and Joyce offered additional details on two other foiled plots, including one targeting Wall Street.
  Under questioning, Joyce said the NSA was able to identify an extremist in Yemen who was in touch with an individual in Kansas City, Mo. They were able to identify co-conspirators and thwart a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.
  Joyce also said a terrorist financier inside the U.S. was identified and arrested in October 2007, thanks to a phone record provided by the NSA. The individual was making phone calls to a known designated terrorist group overseas.
  Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, asked if that country was Somalia, which Joyce confirmed, though he said U.S. counterterrorist activities in that country are classified.
  The programs "assist the intelligence community to connect the dots," Alexander told the committee. He said the intelligence community would provide the committees with more specifics on the 50 cases as well as the exact numbers on foiled plots in Europe.
  Alexander said the Internet program had helped stop 90 percent of the 50-plus plots he described. He said just over 10 of the plots thwarted had a connection inside the U.S., and most were helped by the review of the phone records.
  Alexander got no disagreement from the leaders of the panel, who have been outspoken in backing the programs since Snowden disclosed information to The Washington Post and the Guardian newspapers.
  Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the committee, and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat, said the programs were vital to the intelligence community and assailed Snowden's actions as criminal.
  "It is at times like these where our enemies within become almost as damaging as our enemies on the outside," Rogers said.
  Ruppersberger said the "brazen disclosures" put the United States and its allies at risk.
  Committee members were incredulous about the scope of the information that Snowden was able to access and then disclose.
  Alexander said Snowden had worked for 12 months in an information technology position at the NSA office in Hawaii under another contract preceding his three-month contract with Booz Allen.
Journalist Michael Hastings dies in car crash at 33 | The Lookout
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Reporter, Author Dies In Car Crash At Age 33
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  Archived Version
  Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:59
  Journalist Michael Hastings died in a car crash in Los Angeles early Tuesday at the age of 33, according to a statement from his employer, BuzzFeed.
  Hastings, who was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, was perhaps best known for his candid Rolling Stone interview with General Stanley McChrystal, then the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, that eventually led to McChrystal being relieved of his command.
  He was also the author of two books about America's wars: The Operators, detailing the flaws of the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan, and I Lost My Love In Baghdad, about his experiences as a war correspondent in Iraq during his mid-twenties.
  Hastings joined BuzzFeed in April 2012 to cover the presidential election.
  He is survived by his wife, Elise Jordan.
  "We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone," BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague and a joy to work with."
  Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana also remembered Hastings' uncompromising, aggressive reporting style. "Great reporters exude a certain kind of electricity," Dana said in Rolling Stone's obituary, "the sense that there are stories burning inside them, and that there's no higher calling or greater way to live life than to be always relentlessly trying to find and tell those stories. I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours."
  Hastings' dedication to journalism shines through in ten pieces of advice for young journalists that he shared on Reddit last year. "Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it's more important to you than anything else in your life--family, friends, social life, whatever," he wrote.
VIDEO-Out: 'American citizens'. In: 'U.S. persons'
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:29
  by John Hayward18 Jun 2013, 7:38 AM PDTShare This:
  What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails '... and have not. They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they '-- and usually it wouldn't be ''they,'' it'd be the FBI '-- go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause, the same way it's always been, the same way when we were growing up and we were watching movies, you want to go set up a wiretap, you got to go to a judge, show probable cause'.... So point number one, if you're a U.S. person, then NSA is not listening to your phone calls and it's not targeting your emails unless it's getting an individualized court order. That's the existing rule.
  He goes on to use this weird new "U.S. person" formulation a total of five times during the portion of the interview Buzzfeed excerpted.
  This grates like fingernails on a blackboard. "U.S. person?" Who the hell says that? The correct term, Mr. Obama, is American citizen. But you can't bring yourself to say that any more, can you? Because you're playing to an audience that includes plenty of persons standing on U.S. soil who aren't American citizens.
  Update: I can only think of one previous noteworthy instance where a phrase similar to "U.S. persons" was employed:
VIDEO-Interview #John Cooper 15 - YouTube
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:18
Dvoraks law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:11
  Dvorak's Law states: "The worse the economy, not only do the hookers get better looking, but they get cheaper."
  Some postulate that additionally, hookers get more business during a worse economy, however Dvorak himself attributes this to supply and demand which often leads to an increase in business (i.e. tricks) is driven by the need to meet sales target because of same reduction in cost stated in the law. [1]
News Republic
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:10
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  Associated PressTuesday, June 18, 2013 2:46 PM GMT
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) '-- American officials say U.S. representatives will begin formal meetings with the Taliban in a few days at the group's new office opening in Qatar.
  Senior Obama administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, described the Taliban's move to open a political office Tuesday in Doha as a stepping stone to full Taliban renouncement of al-Qaida.
  In Doha, a Qatari official confirmed that the Taliban office was open.
  The administration officials say the U.S. and Taliban representatives will hold bilateral meetings, then it is expected that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's High Peace Council will follow up with its own talks a few days later.
Launchpad 1.0 Beta Released | Ubuntu
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:55
  Launchpad.net today started public beta testing of Launchpad 1.0, a web-based collaboration service that improves the flow of communication between different software projects.
  Collaboration is crucial to free software projects, but has traditionally been difficult across communities that use different tools which don't easily exchange information. Launchpad's new approach links data from a variety of project-specific sources in different communities and presents it in a unified interface, bringing those communities closer together to solve common problems such as bugs in shared code. This public beta includes a redesigned interface that allows projects to brand their presence in the system and highlights the current activity of project members, making it easier to keep track of the latest changes.
  The popular GNU/Linux distribution Ubuntu uses Launchpad to keep track of conversations across hundreds of free software communities. The service makes it possible for the Ubuntu team to coordinate work on tens of thousands of bug reports, many of which involve third-party development communities, and hundreds of feature proposals for each release.
  Launchpad is also central to the development of several high profile projects other than Ubuntu, including Zope, Infrae's SilvaCMS and Jokosher. Around 2,700 projects have been registered, and while many of those do not use Launchpad as their primary hosting infrastructure their registration in Launchpad facilitates collaboration between other projects who depend on their code.
  Kit Blake, CEO of Infrae said, "Launchpad connects us to our most important communities, and brings synergy to issue tracking for Silva, where problems in one component of the stack affect another up or downstream. Key components of our stack were already there: Infrae's developers run Ubuntu, we develop with Zope3, and the dLCMS product (which is built on top of Silva) has been using Launchpad for over a year. Locating the Silva issues on Launchpad was like finding ideal office space, hooked into the grid, loaded with amenities, and ripe for networking."
  "Launchpad developers are all active participants in free software projects. We've experienced first-hand the barriers to collaboration, both social and technical, and have designed Launchpad to make collaboration easier," said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu. "We hope to continue to improve the productivity of those who participate in the free software ecosystem."
  Community Building Toolset
  Launchpad helps projects collaborate through a set of integrated tools that support community building and the daily management of a software project:
  * Team management: Launchpad allows individuals to form teams spontaneously around common interests and tasks. In particular, Launchpad's support for teams-of-teams allows a rich community structure with strong project hierarchies to form. The net effect is to lower the barriers to contribution and improve the levels of participation in a project. There are now nearly 1,000 teams active in Launchpad, some with hundreds of members.
  * Bug tracker: Free software communities constantly reuse one another's code. In many cases, a bug is first discovered in a community other than the one responsible for the bug. Coordinating the diagnosis and bug fix requires a conversation that spans those communities. With Launchpad, communities can share bug reports and work together on solutions, even linking to bugs in external trackers, to present a unified picture of the work ongoing across each community. Since it has both email and web interfaces, the Launchpad bug tracker is attractive to new users and experienced developers alike. Jim Fulton, CTO of Zope Corporation said, "We chose Launchpad to track Zope 3's bugs because it makes it easy for us to work together as a team and to work with other free software communities. Moving from our custom bug tracker has been real smooth, because the Launchpad team have imported our full bug history."
  * Code hosting: Launchpad.net encourages projects to take a distributed approach to code management, using the Bazaar revision control system. It is certainly possible to host all of a project's code on Launchpad, but the system is specifically designed to enable code to be hosted anywhere on the Internet and still be accessible to project members through Launchpad. In cases where projects are using the popular CVS or Subversion systems, Launchpad can maintain a continuous import of the development trunk into Bazaar. This enables new participants in the community to have full revision control of their submissions and contributions using Bazaar before they have been given formal commit access to the project's central CVS or SVN repository. Launchpad's code hosting improves the ability of the project to attract code contributions from newcomers and reduces the barriers to participation in the project's software development.
  * Translations: Launchpad's simple web interface for software translation shields translators from low-level complexities, while importing and exporting standard .pot, .po and .mo files. Automatic suggestions'--from a library of 750,000 translated strings'--and a community of 19,000 registered translators can radically cut the time required to localise a project into many languages. Launchpad keeps track of the translations for each major version of a project separately, which allows some translators to continue to improve the translations of a stable release while others begin the work of translating newer versions still under development. Jono Bacon, leader of the Jokosher audio editor project, said, "We added Jokosher to Launchpad for translations and within two weeks it was translated into twelve languages. We hadn't even told anyone we were doing it. Our community finds it easy to use and hassle-free to administer. It wasn't long before we also moved Jokosher's bug tracking to Launchpad as well."
  * Blueprint tracker: New features and ideas often take time to percolate. Launchpad allows the community to map out ideas for future work, and for teams to form around those ideas, helping to define and then to implement them. Launchpad does not impose heavyweight project management but supports a community that wishes to keep track of its plans, coordinating their delivery into major releases and keeping the conversation about that work organised together with the code that implements it.
  * Answer tracker: The combined knowledge of the project community often makes a superb support resource. However, much of this support takes place in mailing lists and web forums where the information cannot be organized into a formal knowledge base. Launchpad makes it easy to mobilize the community to answer user support requests, and in the process creates a knowledge base of solved issues for that piece of software.
  Adding a new project to Launchpad takes minutes and in most cases it is possible to migrate all historical bug tracking data into Launchpad if the project chooses to do so. Questions can be directed to feedback@launchpad.net or posted at http://answers.launchpad.net/launchpad where the team responds to requests for assistance and information. There is also a mailing list for Launchpad users where the system is discussed; details are at https://lists.canonical.com/mailman/listinfo/launchpad-users
  About Canonical:
  Canonical, a global organisation headquartered in Europe, is committed to the development, distribution and promotion of free software products, and to providing tools and support to the free software community. Canonical is the developer of Launchpad and lead sponsor company for Ubuntu, which since its launch in October 2004 has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions.
  Download Ubuntu from www.ubuntu.com/download. To learn about commercial support for Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu, please see http://www.canonical.com/support. For more information visit www.canonical.com, http://www.launchpad.net or http://www.ubuntu.com.
  Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and their associated logos are all registered trademarks of Canonical Ltd.
Mark Shuttleworth Addresses Ubuntu Privacy Issues: Is It Enough? | Muktware
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:54
  Ubuntu faced stiff criticism from bodies like EFF and FSF over the data leak and privacy concern due to the way Dash handles local searches. When Canonical did not respond to suggestions from EFF, Richard Stallman, the creator of free software movement, went ahead and called Ubuntu a spyware for not respecting user's privacy and sending user data to its servers by default.
  There is some confusion, but the fact is no one (including Richard Stallman) has any problem with Canonical gathering user data and displaying ads when local searches are conducted. The problem is with the way it has been implemented. The feature is turned on by default and users did not even know (they were never informed) that their search queries were being sent to, and stored at, Canonical's servers which are further shared with its partners.
  Despite requests from users and bodies like EFF and FSF, Canonical doesn't seem to be making this feature opt-in under any circumstances (same approach by Apple, Microsoft or Google would have attracted lawsuits and government investigation -- thanks to smaller user-base of Ubuntu). But the company, which is founded by a security expert who created Thawte, seems to be taking some steps to address concerns raised by EFF.
  Mark Shuttleworth has responded to a bug report and says:
  We will make a very bold, clear way for you to turn on and off network queries across ALL scopes for any given session in the dash. Think about this like the 'anonymous' mode in your browser. Toggle it, right there in the Dash, and you are totally certain you are not sending network traffic. We will aim to enforce this at the kernel level, hence the CC to Jamie S who leads our security team.
  This seems to deal with the 3rd request made by EFF, which is good news. But I am curious how many casual Firefox/Chrome user are even aware that there is an incognito mode? How many use it? We should not make a mistake by mising issues. When you use Firefox/Chrome you are conducting an online activity (which has nothing to do with your local data). You know you are online and you want to disable tracking of your activities. By giving a toggle switch Canonical does offer the option of disabling the search which was buried in Privacy Setting, but it doesn't address the core of the problem.
  Another point which needs clarification is "for any given session in the dash." Does that mean after log out the online search will be toggle 'on' again and you will have to disable it every single time? It's also unclear if the switch wil be 'toggled' on by default; the safest thing would be to make it off by default so as to ensure the privacy of an innocent user.
  But Google does that too?I have seen arguement where user compare it with Google which is totally wrong. When you open a browser you know that you are conducting an online activity which, through cookies, is being recorded. But when you run a search in Nautilus or Dolphin you don't expect that search to be sent online. That where things get complicated, Dash started off with a place to find local data and applications and now it is being used for product placement. This is even more dangerous becuase Dash has become a single place to look for data. If you are looking for something, you will look in Dash and if you look in Dash, Canonical and its partners will know about it.
  I don't care about 3rd party, even Canonical should not know about it.
  You should be allowed to not to trustingI trust Ubuntu (which comes with no warantee) that it will give me a stable platform to run those applications that I use and trust. Period. It's like trusting a pilot when I fly. I trust that he will fly me safe, but that trust doesn't mean I will hand over my house keys, car keys, ATM PIN, PayPal passwords to him. No. Just because I fly in his plane and my life rests in his hands doesn't mean he has access to everything else in my life. Canonical is no different. All I want from them is to give me a stable OS so that I can run the apps I need; but please don't take my house keys, or ATM passwords the moment I enter your plane just because I never told you to not to take them from me.
  That's where the fundamental and ethecial problem the current Dash implementation has.
  Shuttleworth further writes:
  We will have the ability to configure the Home screen, including choice of scopes, and the behaviour of individual scopes.
  That's great news. But at what stage will user do this? Will it be done when a user boots into a new system (or when he upgrades from on older system) where all online activities are turned off an a user can turn them on after read what will happen when the switch is turned on? Or will it be just present in privacy settings? In any case it's a great move to allow control over online search.
  Legal mumbo jumboShuttleworth also writes that they will make it easier for user to read the legal notice:
  Legal notices will all be in one place, in the 'About Ubuntu' part of the UX, and visible in the install experience too.
  While this is commendable I very much doubt any user reads 'About Ubuntu' or any legal notice. I have yet to find a user who reads the EULA before installing any software, let alone 'about' pages. I think it should be made more obvious/simplified and less legal so users can understand what they 'agreed' to.
  I very much dobut a majority of current Ubuntu user are aware that they 'agreed' to something like this the moment they opened Dash (I have translated it into simple language):
  Since this feature is enabled by default (and you were never prompted to opt-out) you have by default agreed that every keystrokes that you make inside Dash is sent to productsearch.ubuntu.com and selected third parties so that we show you product related to such keystores. These 3rd parties include, but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, BBC and Amazon. Canonical and these selected third parties will collect your search terms and use them to provide you with search results while using Ubuntu.
  So, the legal notice (which I doubt anyone reads) tells a user that they 'agreed' to send their keystrokes (made in Dash) to Canonical's product server.
  Let me simplify it so one can understand the gravity of the situation and why it is serious.
  You have been living in an appartment from ages and then regular maintenace was conducted. Then they installed a hidden camera in your bedroom and left a tiny Legal Notice sticker somewhere (which you will never read) which said that by entering this room, and not turning off the switch that we told you about in this legal notice, you agree that everything that you do in this bedroom will be recorded and sent to company servers to be used by the company and its partners to offer you better products based on your bedroom activities.
  How would I feel about it? Very angry.
  The right approach is 1. To tell clearly that a camera is installed (in bold red letters). 2. Keep the camera off by default. 3. Let the user turn it on if he wants to. 4. Never install a web cameara in someone's bedroom.
  It's not enoughSo, while it's a positive move from Canonical and does 'inform' a user of what is being done to their local search queries, looking at the gravity of the matter it should be made more visible and obvious. Informing that there is a webcam is not enough, making sure that those who don't care to read such notices are also safe from such 'tracking' is what matters.
  The ideal situation would be that when someone opens Dash for the first time there should be a pop-up (with online search disabled, toggled to off by default) and here user is clearly (in short and clear English - which can have a link to detailed version) told what happens when he turns the swicth on.
  This can be a one time process but it will ensure that 'unware' and innocent users are not letting a company record their bedroom activities. At the same time it will help those users who don't care about their keystrokes been recorded and shared by Canonica as they can turn the swicth on with one click of the mouse.
  What it will actually do, which is very imporatant, is that it protect those innocent, simple users (like my mom) by ensuring that none of their keystrokes are being sent to Canonical servers.
  It is a very serious matter and Canonical seems to be listening but it is not addressing the real problem yet. The real problem still remains.
  I appreciate the company for taking user's privacy seriously and paying heed to bodies like EFF but it is not addressing the real problem yet. The real problem still remains - the feature is turned on by default.
  Canonical is a great company and has done a lot to popularize Ubuntu and created an atmosphere for companies like Valve to consider Ubuntu as a viable alternative of Microsoft Windows, but this tiny issue can hurt the company in the long run. I think the only way to bring an end to all privacy concern is what EFF proposed:
  Disable "Include online search results" by default. Users should be able to install Ubuntu and immediately start using it without having to worry about leaking search queries or sending potentially private information to third party companies. Since many users might find this feature useful, consider displaying a dialog the first time a user logs in that asks if they would like to opt-in.
Are You Okay With Comcast Sharing Your Home Wi-Fi With Everyone? '' Consumerist
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:52
  As a child, how were you at sharing your toys with other kids, friends and strangers alike? If you rent Xfinity equipment from Comcast, you're going to have to share your toys''and by ''toys'' we mean ''wireless router''''with everyone in Kabletown. Understandably, some people do not like this idea.The basic idea makes sense: Comcast wants to offer wi-fi hotspots all over the country to their cable customers when they're traveling. They already have pieces of equipment in homes across the country. Why not use those leased routers to blanket the nation in a seamless Internet signal?
  Instead of providing free access to any random person passing by, the networks will only be available to people with existing Xfinity accounts. Comcast claims that guests' usage will not interfere with their customers' connections, since the public connection will be on a separate channel and not take bandwidth away from the customer leasing the router.
  If that turns out to be true, that's cool. The problem, from our point of view, is that the ''community broadband initiative'' is opt-out for customers, not opt-in. New equipment will have sharing switched on by default. Customers can opt out, but have to be aware of the program, know that they have the right to opt out, and know how to do so.
  Take Our Poll
  Comcast expands Wi-Fi network with new 'neighborhood' initiative [CNET]Comcast turns your Xfinity modem into public Wi-Fi hotspot [Ars Technica]
The Most Frequently Asked Question | The Purple Box
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:44
  Whenever we tell someone new about Ghostery, the odds-on favorite for the the first question they ask is: ''so how do you guys make money?'' Web users have learned to be skeptical when it comes to an allegedly free product.
  We think that being skeptical is smart, and Ghostery is made for exactly the type of user who would ask this question with one raised eyebrow and one foot out of the door.
  The data donation feature in Ghostery is called ''GhostRank,'' which is opt-in and anonymous. We know how important it is for us to make clear exactly how what data is shared and how we make use of GhostRank data.
  Ghostery is owned by Evidon, a for-profit company. Evidon sells GhostRank data to businesses to help them market to consumers more transparently, better manage their web properties, and comply with privacy standards around the world.
  Now that we have that out there, here's more detail on those points above:
  Ghostery is free to use.We don't collect any data whatsoever unless you specifically check a box in Ghostery's options saying it's okay. Evidon and Ghostery use data on trackers, not people. If you don't opt in, the product isn't affected in any way. We have no plans or intentions to make any of Ghostery's features dependent on GhostRank participation.
  Ghostery does not share any data about our users.GhostRank data does not include things like ''John Doe is a Midwestern car enthusiast.'' It includes things like ''Ad Network X's tracking code was encountered 50 times on this car site.'' We hash IP addresses in our logs (we only keep those scrambled strings to help us do a basic user count), and we strip out query strings in the urls we collect in an effort to make sure there isn't any user-specific information lurking there, either. Put simply, none of us could use GhostRank data to identify a user out on the web even if we were inclined to do so.
  Ghostery is owned by Evidon, a for-profit company.GhostRank data helps us to create solutions that help businesses. It enables site owners to detect all of the tracking technologies on their sites and maintain control of their data, and provides competitive intelligence for companies across the web.
  Evidon and Ghostery have transparency at the core of our collective business model '' it's not a ''main goal'' or a ''central value,'' but the actual core of our company. All of our products increase visibility into the online advertising world, and those products are designed to meet the most rigorous standards of operational transparency
  That's important to note, because this transparency-by-design approach means healthy skeptics don't have to simply trust that the things I've asserted in this post are true. First, read our privacy policy, terms of use, and FAQ. You'll find that everything I've spelled out here is echoed there '' we worked very hard to make sure we gave ourselves the right legal protections without leaving room in those documents for us to compromise. Secondly, Ghostery's code is not at all obscure '' anyone can unpack our extension and look directly at what the javascript is built to do. You can also use a header request inspector to view all the requests a page makes, including the l.ghostery.com requests we send (these inspectors are now built into many browsers or available as extensions themselves).
  Skepticism is healthy, and beyond that, all of us at Ghostery applaud that approach. But we hope that users don't let skepticism turn into fear, uncertainty, and doubt about a product that can help you, in a safe and uncompromising way, be a better skeptic. We hope you'll opt into our data donation to help support the product, but we understand that requires a level of trust about what we do with the data. To that end, if you have any questions, please find us on our support forums, Twitter, Facebook, and/or via email. You can also email me personally at andy@ghostery.com.
A Popular Ad Blocker Also Helps the Ad Industry | MIT Technology Review
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  Archived Version
  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:44
  Millions of people use the tool Ghostery to block online tracking technology'--few realize that it feeds data to the ad industry.
  Whenever discussion starts about how to hide from the tracking code that follows users around the Web to serve them targeted ads, recommendations soon pile up for a browser add-on called Ghostery. It blocks tracking code, noticeably speeds up how quickly pages load as a result, and has roughly 19 million users. Yet few of those who advocate Ghostery as a way to escape the clutches of the online ad industry realize that the company behind it, Evidon, is in fact part of that selfsame industry.
  Evidon helps companies that want to improve their use of tracking code by selling them data collected from the eight million Ghostery users that have enabled a data-sharing feature in the tool.
  That makes Evidon, which bought Ghostery in 2010, something of an anomaly in the complex world of online advertising. Whether in Congress or at the Web standards body W3C, debates over online privacy typically end up with the ad industry and privacy advocates facing off along clearly demarcated lines (see ''High Stakes in Internet Tracking'').
  Evidon straddles both sides of that debate. ''This is not a scheme,'' says Scott Meyer, Evidon's cofounder and CEO and formerly a senior figure in the New York Times Company's online operations, when asked about that dual role. He says there is no conflict in offering a tool that helps users hide from the ad industry while also helping that same industry.
  ''Anything that gives people more transparency and control is good for the industry,'' says Meyer, who says it's fine with him that most Ghostery users opt not to share data with Evidon. Meyer points out that those who want to block online advertising are unlikely to respond to it, making Ghostery use good for both sides.
  Evidon sells two main services based on the data it collects. One allows website operators to see which tracking code, from which companies, is active on their site and how it affects the speed with which its pages load. The other provides ad companies with figures on how common the tracking code from different companies is around the Web.
  The first of those services is particularly important, says Meyer, because website operators often don't know what tracking code is being used on their visitors. ''The ecosystem of how an ad gets delivered to a webpage is incredibly complex,'' he says, ''and you need real user data to see if companies are doing what they said they did.''
  Although website owners control which ad networks can put content on their pages, those networks often draw on code from third parties, which itself may pull in further code.
  ''It's usual for the operator of a website to say, 'These 10 companies on my site I know about and these 10 I didn't,' '' says Meyer. Companies also use Evidon's data to check whether the code they want to deploy is present on every page. The majority of Evidon's analytics customers are large retailers and brands, he says.
  Not everyone sees Evidon's business model as conflict-free, though. A major source of business for Evidon is selling data that helps ad companies ensure their compliance with AdChoices, a self-regulatory program supposed to help people opt out of targeted ads. Some experts say AdChoices is confusing to consumers, and it has been criticized by U.S. and E.U. policymakers. ''Evidon has a financial incentive to encourage the program's adoption and discourage alternatives like Do Not Track and cookie blocking as well as to maintain positive relationships with intrusive advertising companies,'' says Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford grad student and privacy advocate active in efforts to thrash out a standard ''Do Not Track'' feature for Web browsers (see ''Ad Men and Browser Geeks Collide Over Web Protocols''). Mayer hasn't tested Ghostery recently, but says that it has previously offered ''quite effective privacy protections if configured correctly.''
  Meyer says that Evidon's dual role will continue, and says the company is now working on a similar service to unmask the ad tracking built into many mobile apps. This month it acquired Mobilescope, a project started by privacy researchers that lets a smartphone user see the data that apps transfer and flags when sensitive data such as an e-mail address is transmitted (see ''How to Detect Apps Leaking Your Data''). Techniques that profile a person's use of apps on his phone to figure out how to target him with ads are booming, says Meyer, and so far it is mostly impossible to detect. ''Nobody has any visibility into what happens in these apps,'' he says.
  Evidon plans to release an improved version of Mobilescope later this year, and will eventually add an opt-in data-sharing capability similar to the one offered by Ghostery.
VIDEO-Shia Labeouf: One-In-Five Phone Calls Are Recorded (2008-09-16) - YouTube
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:38
Long wire antenna problem [Archive]
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:00
  Quote[/b] (K0WLS @ June 14 2006,11:09)]The reason I wanted a balun anyway (even if I had used another tuner) was to keep the RF out of my house. #It is about 50 feet from my shack up the the roof where the wire starts. #Would you run the coax up there and then start the wire, or should I start the wire as soon as it gets outside of my house even though the wire will not be airborne until it gets to the peak of my roof?Whoah. Wait a minute, this is getting out of control.A balun won't make noise, but the right balun can certainly help reduce noise if applied correctly.
  The ONLY balun that will decouple the antenna from the house wiring is a CHOKE or current balun. I'm pretty sure the LDG balun is not one. A few 4:1 baluns are true current baluns, like the DX Engineering baluns, but you really just need a 1:1 balun anyway.
  The balun would need a fairly high common mode impedance on the balun. A string of a few beads would probably not be so good.
  One terminal of the balun should go to the ground system, the other terminal to the antenna. DO NOT connect the ground system to the house or you defeat the purpose of the balun.
  Now you can get rid of the balun if you use a really good ground system, or if you simply improve the ground the common mode impedance of the balun is much less critical.
  With the few ground rods you described you can bet 90% of the unwanted common mode current is flowing right back into the power mains, and naturally the same power mains would be coupling noise from everything within miles of your house back into the antenna. The multitude of random noise sources combined would actually sound like white noise! So that is very likely the noise source.
  So now think about it. If you get a ground resistance of 10 ohms and the antenna feedpoint resistance is 40 ohms, the antenna will be terribly influenced by power line noise unless you decouple with a choke or current balun. Right now you probably have a few hundred ohms of ground loss resistance, so it is a terrible situation.
  If you want to read about it a bit, look at
  My Webpage noise (http://www.w8ji.com/common-mode_noise.htm)
  A screen will work, but for 80 meters it has to cover a pretty big area and you will probably still need common mode isolation. I'd get that feedpoint away from the house also.
  Where you "start the wire from" makes no difference at all as long as the system is the same basic shape and you just move the feedpoint around.
  In other words if you now run coax outside and feed the wire at the ground, and you change that so with the wire in exactlyb the same place you feed the antenna 20 feet up with the coax, you will not change the system in any predictable manner. Most likely it will just be worse than ground feeding the wire.
  Now a dipole would be another story.
  73 Tom
CHemtrail invented by US-AIRFORCE
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  US Air Force Academy Chemtrail Manual
  "Our Fish, Our Birds, Our Bees Are Dying"
  aluminum 3, barium-fluoride , beryllium, cloud-seeding, HAARP, ions of copper, iron 2 , lithium ions, nickel perchlorate, Radioactive, silver iodide, sodium ions, various ions, weather modification, weather warfareSubscribe toForbidden Knowledge TV
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  The Word "chemtrails" Was Not InventedBy a Conspiracy Theorist, It Was InventedBy the US Air Force.
  ForbiddenKnowledgeTVAlexandra BruceApril 11, 2013
  The word "chemtrails" was not invented by a conspiracy theorist, it was invented by the US Air Force. A microfiche has been found in the Oklahoma Library system of an Air Force manual dating back to 1990, which uses the word "Chemtrails" in its title and describes the various experiments pilots will be conducting with the aerosol release of various noxious substances, some relating to cloud-seeding and weather modification such as silver iodide and others, in conjuction with the HAARP project, such as barium-fluoride.
  The spraying of toxic barium salts in the atmosphere relates to scalar weapons systems (HAARP), which behave like targeted gravitational fields and act as anti-ballistic shields.
  The list of substances listed in this manual to be used in these USAF experiments include: aluminum 3, aluminum hydride, barium-fluoride, beryllium, cyanide, hydrochloric acid, various ions, including ions of copper, iron 2, lithium ions, nickel perchlorate (rocket fuel), phosphorous tri-fluoride, silver iodide, sodium ions and single-valence metals.
  ===
  Werner AltnickelApril 4, 2013
  Weitere interessante Informationen finden Sie auf: http://www.chemtrail.de/
The Volokh Conspiracy >> Do You Have A Right to Remain Silent? Thoughts on the ''Sleeper'' Criminal Procedure Case of the Term, Salinas v. Texas
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:29
  This morning the Supreme Court decided a very important criminal procedure case, Salinas v. Texas, by a 5-4 vote. I'm guessing that you haven't heard of Salinas. And it probably won't get much attention in the press. But it should: Salinas is likely to have a significant impact on police practices. And it's a fascinating case for legal nerds, too. So I thought I would explain the issue in Salinas and offer some thoughts on why it matters and what it might mean.
  I. A Brief History of Fifth Amendment Protections
  To understand Salinas, you need to know a little bit of Fifth Amendment history. Before 1965, the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination had been interpreted pretty consistently to provide only a relatively narrow right. Under the pre-1965 cases, the Fifth Amendment only gave you a right to decline to answer the government's questions when asked a question under the threat of judicially-imposed punishment and when you formally asserted the right. Imagine you're a witness called to the stand in a criminal case. If you don't answer the prosecutor's questions, you can be held in contempt of court and jailed. Under the Fifth Amendment, if you have a reasonable belief that the answers to the prosecutor's questions will implicate you in a crime, you can ''plead the Fifth'' and not have to answer the questions. Under that pre-1965 view, all the Fifth Amendment does is let you assert your right ex ante to get out of answering a question when otherwise the law would force you to answer it under threat of legal penalty. (The thinking as to why you need to assert the privilege is that only the suspect knows when his answer would be self-incriminating; the suspect needs to assert the privilege so a judge can step in at that point and assess whether the privilege applies.)
  Two cases in the mid-1960s made important cracks in that doctrinal edifice. First, in Griffin v. California, 380 U. S. 609 (1965), the Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment did not permit the government to comment on the defendant's failure to testify at trial. Pre-Griffin, if the defendant chose not to testify, the prosecutor could argue that the defendant's silence showed his guilt. (After all, an innocent person wrongly charged with a crime surely would want to explain his innocence to the jury, right?) Griffin reasoned that it would gut the Fifth Amendment if the prosecutor could argue that silence was guilt; the defendant would in effect be forced to testify to avoid that adverse inference. So the ''spirit'' of the Fifth Amendment barred commenting on the failure to testify even though the defendant did not formally plead the Fifth and was not compelled to speak by force of law.
  The second case that cut against the traditional understanding of the Fifth Amendment was Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), just a year after Griffin. Miranda is the famous ''right to remain silent'' case, and it held that before the police can admit a defendant's statement during a custodial interrogation, the police must first inform him of his rights and then obtain a waiver of his rights. The reasoning of Miranda was that custodial interrogation was special. When a person was in custody and was questioned by the police, the environment was so coercive that the Court needed a set of special protections (the warnings and waiver) to ensure that the answers to police questions were voluntary and not coerced.
  The complex set of rules announced in Miranda was justified as a way of protecting the Fifth Amendment right. But the fit has always been awkward. Indeed, Miranda was actually argued as a Sixth Amendment case, not a Fifth Amendment case; it was a surprise to everyone when the Court announced that the Miranda rules were part of the Fifth Amendment. And the Court has struggled to find the right place for Miranda in constitutional caselaw ever since. Miranda was a strange fit for the Fifth Amendment because it didn't fit the classic requirements of a Fifth Amendment right. It applied to police interrogation when there was no threat of judicially-enforced punishment, and it didn't require a defendant to assert his right. To the contrary, the rights automatically existed in custodial interrogation unless they were formally waived. Nonetheless, the Court announced the Miranda rules as a prophylactic set of protections for ''real'' Fifth Amendment rights (a characterization the Court stayed with in Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000)). And in Footnote 37 of Miranda, the Court included dicta extending the Griffin rule to custodial interrogation:
  In accord with our decision today, it is impermissible to penalize an individual for exercising his Fifth Amendment privilege when he is under police custodial interrogation. The prosecution may not, therefore, use at trial the fact that he stood mute or claimed his privilege in the face of accusation. Cf. Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609 (1965)
  So after 1966, we have essentially two ways of thinking about the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The first way is the classic pre-1965 approach, in which a defendant must formally plead the Fifth and has a right only when facing the threat of judicially imposed punishment. The second way is the Griffin/Miranda approach, which takes a broader view of the right and considers that would undermine a person's ability to control when they speak in ways that might incriminate themselves.
  II. What Is the Right to Remain Silent?
  You can see the tension between these two views if you think carefully about Miranda's famous requirement that the police must tell a suspect that he has a right to remain silent. The right to remain silent sounds like a bedrock principle, and everyone knows about it. And the Court was clear that this right was supposed to be a way of expressing the Fifth Amendment privilege. See Miranda, 384 U.S. at 467-68. But it has always been a bit of a puzzle as to exactly what this warning was supposed to mean. What does it mean to say that a person has a ''right to remain silent''?
  In particular, ''right'' in what sense? In the narrow sense that the law cannot hold you liable for a crime if you plead the Fifth, as the Fifth Amendment had traditionally been interpreted? Or ''right'' in the broader sense that your silence can't be used against you by the prosecution to gain any advantage, which was the gist of Griffin and was extended to interrogations in Miranda? Miranda doesn't say. It requires the police to tell people that they have a right to remain silent, but it doesn't tell us what that right means or when it is triggered.
  III. Salinas v. Texas
  That brings us (finally) to the new case, Salinas v. Texas. Salinas agreed to accompany the police to the stationhouse to be interviewed about a murder. Once there, he answered a lot of the officer's questions. But then Salinas was asked a particularly incriminating question: Would the shells from his shotgun match the shells found at the murder scene? Salinas ''looked down at the floor, shuffled his feet, bit his bottom lip, cl[e]nched his hands in his lap, [and] began to tighten up.'' After a few seconds of silence, the officer moved on to other questions. At trial, the government argued that Salinas had committed the murder based in part on his response to the question about the shotgun shells. The prosecutor argued to the jury that an innocent person would have said, ''What are you talking about? I didn't do that. I wasn't there.'' But Salinas didn't do that; he remained silent. And that suggested guilt. Notably, Miranda's footnote 37 didn't apply because Salinas was not in ''custody'' for Miranda purposes. He was at the stationhouse voluntarily, not by force, so Miranda didn't apply. The question before the Court was whether the government was allowed to argue about the significance of the defendant's pre-arrest silence to the jury.
  The Supreme Court divided 5-4 on the question, with the majority dividing 3-2. The controlling opinion under a Marks analysis is the plurality opinion by Justice Alito joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy. Justice Alito concluded that it did not violate Salinas's Fifth Amendment right to comment on his silence because he never formally asserted his Fifth Amendment right. In Alito's view, the pre-1965 approach to the Fifth Amendment was the standard approach to the Fifth Amendment, and Griffin and Miranda were two exceptions from this norm. Thus the issue was whether pre-Miranda silence should be governed by the usual rule that the defendant must formally assert his Fifth Amendment right to have that right or the Griffin/Miranda rule that he does not need to do so. In the majority's view, the usual rule applied because Griffin and Miranda dealt only with specific contexts. At trial, the defendant has an absolute right not to testify, which explains Griffin, and the coerceiveness of custodial interrogation ''makes his forfeiture of the privilege involuntary,'' explaining Miranda. No such special circumstances existed in the non-custodial non-trial interview of Salinas.
  According to the plurality, then, the defendant was required to formally assert his Fifth Amendment privilege. When the officer asked Salinas whether the shot gun shells would match those at the crime scene, Salinas shouldn't have paused and shuffled his feet. Rather, if he wanted to rely on his right to remain silent, he had to say something that clearly asserted his right. The plurality isn't clear on exactly how clear is clear enough to formally assert a Fifth Amendment right in the informal context of a police interview. I gather something like ''I plead the Fifth'' or ''I assert my right to remain silent'' would do it, but the opinion isn't clear.
  Justice Thomas penned a short 2-page concurrence joined by Justice Scalia. Justices Thomas and Scalia think that Griffin was wrongly decided. When a prosecutor comments on a defendant's failure to speak, Thomas reasoned, the government is not actually forcing him to be a witness against himself. Thus the Fifth Amendment shouldn't apply. (As an aside, Justices Scalia and Thomas would overturn Miranda entirely.)
  Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan. Justice Breyer's basic argument uses the basic reasoning of Griffin and Miranda:
  To permit a prosecutor to comment on a defendant's constitutionally protected silence would put that defendant in an impossible predicament. He must either answer the question or remain silent. If he answers the question, he may well reveal, for example, prejudicial facts, disreputable associates, or suspicious circumstances'--even if he is innocent. See, e.g., Griffin, supra, at 613; Kassin, Inside Interrogation: Why Innocent People Confess, 32 Am. J. Trial Advoc. 525, 537 (2009). If he remains silent, the prosecutor may well use that silence to suggest a consciousness of guilt. And if the defendant then takes the witness stand in order to explain either his speech or his silence, the prosecution may introduce, say for impeachment purposes, a prior conviction that the law would otherwise make inadmissible. Thus, where the Fifth Amendment is at issue, to allow comment on silence directly or indirectly can compel an individual to act as ''a witness against himself '''--very much what the Fifth Amendment forbids.
  Under Breyer's view, commenting on Salinas's silence violated his Fifth Amendment right because the circumstances ''give rise to a reasonable inference that Salinas' silence derived from an exercise of his Fifth Amendment rights.''
  IV. Why Salinas Matters
  Salinas resolves a very deep circuit split involving a long-fuzzy area in the law of police investigations. I suspect that its green light to comment on pre-arrest silence impact will have a significant impact. That's true for a few reasons.
  First, it is relatively easy for the government to claim that a suspect's reaction to an incriminating question suggests guilt '-- and very hard for a defendant to challenge that characterization. Over the course of a long interview, the investigator might ask dozens or hundreds of incriminating questions. If the case goes to trial, a smart prosecutor will ask the investigator if he thought that any of the ways the defendant reacted to the questions was a non-answer or pause that seemed to reflect an awareness of guilt. If the prosecutor can comment on a non-answer, presumably the prosecutor can also comment on a pause before an answer. The prosecutor will then ask about that during the direct examination, and the investigator will give his view that the defendant paused or looked nervous or declined to answer particular questions. The prosecutor can then focus on that before the jury, and there's not much a defendant can do in response. Taking the stand would require the defendant to testify and let in adverse facts like prior crimes, which most defendants won't want to do. So the government's characterization will be tough to challenge, even if the investigator is being unfair in his characterization of the defendant's acts.
  Second, as a practical matter, it seems unlikely that a person questioned by a police officer outside of custody is going to formally assert his Fifth Amendment right. Most people are not lawyers, and they don't think in terms of legal formalities. And outside of custody, the police don't have to give warnings or talk about the law. They don't have to mention the right to remain silent and ask a suspect to waive it, knowing that the suspect can later change his mind. They don't need to bring it up at all. And that means that they can construct the conversation in the kind of way that makes it extraordinarily awkward for a person to play lawyer and assert his Fifth Amendment privilege. Of course, a really smart suspect will just say that they're busy so they don't have time to talk to the police at all. (''I just can't schedule you in anytime soon. How is 2017 for you?'') But the suspect who mistakenly thinks he can talk his way out of trouble may be in for a surprise.
  V. How Will Salinas Work in Practice?
  Finally, I have two major questions about how Salinas is supposed to work in practice. The first question is obvious: How clear an invocation of the Fifth Amendment right does it need to be? In Berghuis v. Thompkins, the Supreme Court said that a suspect who has been told about his right to remain silent during questioning needs to unambiguously assert that right for it to trigger the ''downstream'' Miranda rules that require the police to stop questioning and leave the suspect alone. But at least the suspect who has been told he has a right to silence may remember that right he has been told about and may invoke it. It's somewhat less clear what will count as a successful invocation under the Fifth Amendment pre-arrest sans Miranda. Pre-arrest, the person has not been told that they have any rights. How clearly do they need to identify them to count?
  Second, and perhaps more interestingly, it's unclear to me what is supposed to happen when a suspect outside of custody clearly asserts his Fifth Amendment privilege. Recall that under the pre-1965 caselaw, a suspect only has a Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when 1) he asserts his right formally and 2) a failure to answer would subject him to punishment under the law. A judge then is called in to rule on the assertion, and the judge either rules that the suspect has to answer the question or not. Salinas deals with part (1); it tells us that the Fifth Amendment privilege in the pre-arrest questioning has to be asserted. But I wonder, why does that even matter given that the second requirement won't be met? And why does it matter when a judge isn't going to be called on to review the assertion of the privilege and the suspect isn't going to be compelled to answer the question?
  A comparison with Miranda is instructive. The theory of Miranda was that in custodial interrogation, the coercive pressures of interrogation are so great that they're akin to a threat of legal punishment. The puzzling line from Miranda was this: ''As a practical matter, the compulsion to speak in the isolated setting of the police station may well be greater than in courts or other official investigations, where there are often impartial observers to guard against intimidation or trickery.'' And to deal with the fact that there is no judge present, Miranda had to create a set of rules for what happens when a suspect asserts his right: In lieu of a judge stepping in and evaluating the assertion, the questioning has to stop. Whether you think these Miranda rules are sensible or conjured out of thin air '-- or both '-- presumably the same won't be true outside of custody. And that creates a puzzle. If the defendant doesn't actually have a Fifth Amendment right not to answer a question because an answer would not be ''compelled'' as it is understood in Fifth Amendment caselaw, what difference does it make if the defendant asserts his Fifth Amendment privilege? The classic reasoning of the pre-1965 caselaw tells us that the defendant has no Fifth Amendment privilege to assert at that point. What are courts supposed to do when a suspect asserts a privilege he doesn't actually have? And what are the police supposed to do when that happens?
  I can imagine a few different answers to these questions. First, courts might create some sort of Griffin-like rule just for pre-arrest questioning. That is, they might say that the police can't comment on an assertion of Fifth Amendment privilege in that setting (even though there is no traditional Fifth Amendment privilege to assert) in order to ensure that the Fifth Amendment right is fully respected. Maybe they'll throw in a bit of Miranda-like reasoning, too, and hold that a formal assertion of the Fifth Amendment right requires the police to stop questioning. Perhaps. But on the other end, the courts might say that an assertion of the Fifth Amendment right when there is no actual Fifth Amendment right at stake is entitled to no special treatment. In that case, the defendant would be allowed to formally assert his Fifth Amendment right but the prosecution would be free to comment on it as indicating guilt.
Pandora's Promise
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  - William Tucker, The American Spectator
  - Kent Tentschert, West End Word
  - Mick LaSalle, SF Chronicle
  - Michael Specter, The New Yorker
  - John Anderson, Chicago Tribune
  - Michael Specter, The New Yorker
  - Chris Hewitt, Pioneer Press
  - Colin Covert, Star Tribune
  - David Dunbar, Popular Mechanics
  - Joe Garofoli, SF Chronicle
  - Kyle Smith, New York Post
  - Anne Michaud, Newsday
  - Anthony Kaufman, Indiewire
  - Andrew Revkin, The New York Times
  - David Ropeik, Scientific American
  - Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service
  - Lori Huck, Examiner.com
  - Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
  - Kimberly Chun, SF Bay Guardian
  - Nick Schrager, Village Voice
  - Paul Blustein, Quartz
  - Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune
  - Ashutosh Jogalekar, Scientific American
  - Tim Wu, Slate
Pandora's Promise - bullseye against wrong target
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:43
  I had an experience this weekend that reinforced my growing understanding that pronuclear advocates have been distracted by the wrong target. Instead of focusing our fire against the people '-- both outside and inside the industry '-- who have successfully driven up the cost of nuclear energy to a point at which it is unable to compete against burning hydrocarbons, we have allowed ourselves to assume that our technology is not accepted because too many people have a strong, negative reaction to its use.
  My realization came as a result of deciding to travel from Lynchburg, Virginia to Washington, DC so that I could attend Pandora's Promise during its opening weekend in the theaters. Though I probably should have known better, I was hoping to have an opportunity to experience a theater full of people having their minds opened to a new way of thinking about our available energy alternatives. I harbored fantasies of chatting with some of them after the movie was over.
  Southwest Virginia mountain view
  For those of you who are not completely familiar with Virginia geography, Lynchburg is roughly 200 miles southwest of Washington. The first 150 miles of the trip is through some of the most beautiful countryside in the mid-Atlantic region. It includes mountain views, ''horsey'' country with rolling pastures bordered by white fences, densely forested sections, and pleasant small towns endowed with great local restaurants and functional economies that are often rich with opportunities for sightseeing or active recreation.
  The last 50 miles of the trip passes through an increasingly densely populated zone of long stretches of suburbs, strip malls, crowded freeways, and glass faced office buildings decorated with marquee names like Boeing, AOL, and CACI. Even on a weekend, and with the help of a navigator (my wife) who is skilled in the use of a traffic ap called Inrix, the drive into town included a slowdown in a traffic jam surrounded by thousands of impatient strangers. Some of those other drivers seemed to be willing to risk their lives '' and mine '' to go just a little bit faster than their neighbor.
  Tree sculpture in DC garden
  Saturday was a ''Chamber of Commerce Day'' in Washington, with blue skies, pleasant breezes, and relatively dry air. The Mall area was predictably crowded, with tens of thousands of people from dozens of states and countries enjoying a visit to one of the most interesting cities in the world. There was a Folklife Festival on the Mall and lines coming out of attractions like the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the Spy Museum.
  After an afternoon stroll, we had a tasty dinner at Jaleo's, a popular tapas restaurant with a fascinating menu. While waiting between courses, we chatted with the young couple sitting next to us; they were from Minnesota, and were excited about a vacation in DC. I told them why were were in town; neither of them had ever heard of Pandora's Promise, but humored me by saying that it sounded interesting.
  When we walked into the theater a few minutes before the scheduled 8:00 pm start, I was disappointed to realize that there was only one other couple in the room. A few more people trickled in, but I would guess that the audience totaled less than 20 people in a city teeming with hundreds of thousands of energy consumers.
  Lest you think I am completely out of touch, I understand that watching documentaries is not the most popular pastime. However, I compared that audience of 20 people in a city the size of Washington to the 200 or so that showed up to watch Switch in Lexington, VA, which is a relatively isolated college town with a population of about 7,000 people.
  Not surprisingly, I enjoyed the movie, but a more important reviewer was my wife, who often just tolerates my atomic obsession. She said that the film was well done and included many thought-provoking ideas. Even though she was a little sleepy from the trip, the wandering and the sangria at dinner she said she was never bored or tempted to doze off. She was surprised to learn that some reviewers had claimed that Stone had become a pronuclear cheerleader; she thought that the director and at least one of the protagonists '' Mark Lynas '' were still quite undecided and slightly fearful about the technology.
  As I thought about the high quality of the documentary versus the small size of the audience, I wondered if the explanation is that most people do not have strong emotions about nuclear energy. Perhaps a movie about environmentalists that overcome their fear and learn to accept nuclear power as a viable energy alternative is not as gripping a tale as some of us think it is.
  Perhaps the dramatic story about nuclear energy still needs to be found and told. I am going to continue to keep searching for a way to help more people to pay attention to the availability of a concentrated power source that has the potential to make an energy system that depends on burning coal, oil and gas seem as quaint as a communication system limited by smoke signals and fleet-footed messengers.
First European & NATO heavy arms for Syrian rebels. Russian reprisal expected
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:09
  First European & NATO heavy arms for Syrian rebels. Russian reprisal expected
  DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 18, 2013, 9:55 AM (IDT)
  At odds on Syria
  NATO and a number of European governments, most significantly the UK, have started airlifting heavy weapons to the Syrian rebels poised in Aleppo to fend off a major Syrian army offensive, according to debkafile's exclusive military sources. They disclose that the first shipments were landed Monday night, June 17, and early Tuesday in Turkey and Jordan. They contained anti-air and tank missiles as well as recoilless 120 mm cannons mounted on jeeps. From there, they were transferred to rebel forces in southern Syria and Aleppo in the northwest.
  Our sources report that the first weapons reached rebel-held positions in Aleppo early Tuesday. More than 2,000 Hizballah troops are standing by to enter the decisive contest between Assad's army and the opposition for control of Syria's second most important city.
  The hardware for the rebels is coming in from three sources:
  1. NATO stores in Europe, which have been filling up in the past year with arms evacuated from Afghanistan. These weapons have been in operational use and are not new.2. The Libyan black market.3. The Balkan black market, chiefly Serbia and Montenegro.Monday, Syrian President Bashar Assad cautioned Europe it would pay the price for delivering arms to rebel forces in Syria. In an interview to in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he said: ''If the Europeans deliver weapons, the backyard of Europe will become terrorist'...''
  The volume of the new arms airlift to the Syrian rebels may be estimated by the number of airfreight flights from Libya to Turkey: 27 aircraft landings were counted in the last few days, according to our intelligence sources.
  This major Western policy reversal on the arming of the Syrian opposition '' combined with the Obama administration's decision last week to provide the rebels with military aid - was graphically registered in the glum miens of Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin at their meeting Monday on the first day of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. Beyond exchanging bare courtesies, neither concealed the deep rift between them on Syria '' even in the presence of reporters and TV cameras.Tuesday, the Group of Eight had its work cut out to formulate a Syrian item in its final communiqu(C) that would be acceptable to all seven plus the Russian president. However, in Syria itself, all the signs portend the lengthening of the conflict: Russia is expected to respond to Western arms supplies to the rebels by ramping up its own military assistance to the Assad regime.The word from Moscow Tuesday was that if the West does try to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, Russian flights will continue, in defiance of any such restrictions.
G8 Summit 2013 - EU-US launch TTIP
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Message to Congress -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to the Western Balkans
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:42
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  June 17, 2013
  TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
  Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the Western Balkans that was declared in Executive Order 13219 of June 26, 2001, is to remain in effect beyond June 26, 2013.
  The crisis constituted by the actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting (i) extremist violence in the Republic of Macedonia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region, or (ii) acts obstructing implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia or United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, related to Kosovo, which led to the declaration of a national emergency on June 26, 2001, in Executive Order 13219 and to the amendment of that order in Executive Order 13304 of May 28, 2003, to include acts obstructing implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001 in Macedonia, has not been resolved. The acts of extremist violence and obstructionist activity outlined in Executive Order 13219, as amended, are hostile to U.S. interests and continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to the Western Balkans.
  BARACK OBAMA
  THE WHITE HOUSE,June 17, 2013.
G8 Summit 2013
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Fact Sheet: President Obama Increases Humanitarian Assistance to Syrians
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  Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:39
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  June 17, 2013
  Today, during his meeting with G-8 leaders in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, President Obama announced over $300 million in additional life-saving humanitarian assistance to help feed, shelter, and provide medical care for children, women, and men affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria. The United States remains the single-largest contributor of humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people, and this new contribution brings total U.S. humanitarian assistance for the Syria crisis to nearly $815 million since the crisis began.
  The United States supports and appreciates the countries hosting the 1.6 million refugees who have fled the brutal conflict in Syria, and commends host-nation efforts to provide protection, assistance, and hospitality to all those fleeing violence. The United States recognizes the significant strains on host communities and the economic impact of providing refuge to such a large number of people. We call on all host governments to continue to keep their borders open to those still fleeing violence in Syria.
  This $300 million in additional humanitarian aid from the United States will increase food aid, medical care, clean water, and provide shelter and other relief supplies for families suffering in Syria and neighboring countries. In addition, the United States is increasing support for activities to protect especially vulnerable populations'--including women, children, and the elderly'--and improving sanitation and hygiene to help prevent the spread of water-borne illness.
  The United States is now providing aid to 3.2 million people in Syria across all 14 governorates and continues to work through all possible channels to deliver aid to those in need in Syria, including through the United Nations, international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and local Syrian organizations.
  This new U.S. assistance includes:
  INSIDE SYRIA: Over $128 million
  Additional aid from the United States is increasing life-saving health and emergency medical capacity; providing additional food aid, including American wheat that will be milled into flour; providing more blankets, hygiene kits, clothing, and shelter materials; and supporting women, children, and those with special needs.
  LEBANON: Over $72 million
  The increased U.S. aid supports Syrian refugees as well as Lebanese host communities with shelter improvements for families hosting refugees, quick impact projects to improve local services in affected areas, along with vocational training, educational classes, and income generation activities to benefit Syrians and Lebanese in need. Additionally, new funding supports efforts to register newly-arrived Syrian refugees and provide them with food vouchers and cash assistance. Increased funding will provide food assistance to 165,000 Syrian refugees by July 2013.
  U.S. funding ensures that 400,000 children under the age of five are immunized against measles, that water and sanitation services reach 70,000 refugees and host communities, and that more than 100,000 children have a safe educational environment.
  In Lebanon, the number of Palestinian refugees from Syria now exceeds 56,500 and is anticipated to reach 80,000 by December. Palestinian arrivals from Syria are largely making their way to Lebanon's existing Palestinian camps. These camps were already overcrowded and in disrepair before the influx from Syria increased the camps' population by approximately 20 percent. U.S. support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon provides needed assistance to this population, including cash assistance, relief supplies, education, and medical care.
  JORDAN: Over $45 million
  Our increased funding increases our food assistance to Jordan, providing monthly food assistance to 192,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan by July 2013. The United States is also providing shelter support, protection services, education, and health care. We are helping provide health services in camps, host communities, and transit sites, especially for children under age five. In addition, U.S. funding will support a water network expansion at Za'atri camp, and reduce the reliance on water trucking and improve sanitation.
  IRAQ: Over $24 million
  Additional funding from the United States supports camp construction and much-needed relief assistance, protection programs, and education for children who have fled the conflict in Syria. U.S. assistance also contributes to vaccinations for 21,000 women and children, water and sanitation services in camps for 24,500 refugees, and mental health counseling to 8,700 children. The additional funding supports food vouchers and in-kind food assistance for 36,500 Syrian refugees in Iraq.
  TURKEY: Over $22 million
  Additional U.S. funding is helping offset the Government of Turkey's generous spending on direct assistance to Syrian refugees. The United States is supporting costs of urban refugee registration and the provision of tents, blankets, kitchen burners, and kitchen sets for Syrians who have fled into Turkey. Our additional funding includes food vouchers for 69,000 refugees living in camps.
  Our assistance provides immunizations and recreation spaces for Syrian children and youth, as well as counseling for those who have endured traumatic events. The United States is helping build the capacity of Syrian doctors and health clinics in Turkey through trainings, service coordination, and regularization of small clinics. Additionally, U.S. funding is helping implement a disaster risk management plan to reduce, mitigate, prepare for, and respond to public health risks to vulnerable populations with a goal of preventing avoidable mortality and morbidity through improved access to health care.
  EGYPT: Over $6 million
  U.S. assistance helps ensure 20,000 refugees have access to primary health care and helps provide pre-school and primary school for some 3,000 refugee children. The additional funding will support food vouchers for 11,500 Syrian refugees in Egypt.
  For more detailed information on the U.S. Government's response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, please visit: http://www.usaid.gov/crisis/syria.
APRS Touchtone
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:50
  APRS Touchtone
  Use the Callsign Translator by K3PO to get your DTMF call.See the APRStt 2.4 Spec and implementation details.See the APRStt User Guide version 2.3.See the APRStt Planning for the Boy Scout 2013 Jamboree
  Projects in Work: APRStt is just part of the overall Ham Radio Initiative for Universal Contact by-callsign. It is appropriate for ANY ham radio system that receives input from users via DTMF such as repeaters and VOIP applications. APRStt specific aps are being developed by Byonics as an add-on board to his TT4 (shown below) and by KA2UPW called APRSspeak. In 2011, WB6NIL, Jim Dixon, author of the AllStar VOIP Repeater system was experimenting with accepting APRStt userd DTMF Callsigns on his inputs. This allows his users to indicate their presence to the global APRS community. And hopefully, Echolink is also considering it.
  APRS DTMF Marathon: Here is how we used APRStt at a local Marathon to allow anyone with any HT to report their location into the APRS tactical picture. First, a grid was added to the Marathon Map (shown here) allowing position reporting using only 2 digits of X and Y to report anywhere on the map using the DTMF format of B2XXYY*.... Further the exact locations of each mile mark were entered into an array and then a simpler B1MM* format could be used to report position by milemark. Either DTMF format was OK.
  Byonics TT-4 add-on DTMF adapter: Shown to right is the Byonics DTMF adapter (top) added to a TinyTrack4 which does all of the conversion from DTMF and generates a resulting APRS formatted packet for transmission by any FM radio. This works fine as is for the B2XXYY* position format, but to implement the Mile Mark translation procedure, I added a small BS2 chip at the bottom (dead bug style) and used it to parse the packet from the TT4, do the mile-mark conversion and then output the resulting string in digital format to the TNC in a D700 radio. It also generated a one or two tone ack to the DTMF user on the 146.58 input to let him know his DTMF codes were received correctly. Thus, all that was needed was one radio (the D700) to receive the DTMF reports on 146.58 MHz and then do the conversions and then transmit the packet into APRS using the other side of the radio. See a photo of the box placed in the woods on a hill to cover the event.
  Simplest APRStt - CALLSIGN only: In its simplest form, APRStt lets anyone with a DTMF memory in his HT or mobile check-in to the global APRS system without needing a special APRS radio. For example, the callsign WB4APR in DTMF is spelled as 9A2B42A7A7C. That one callsign-burst sent from a DTMF memory is received by the APRStt receiver and converted into the APRS system with all of the following important information:
  His CALL, DATE and TIME are capturedHis POSITION is plotted with a special APRStt icon within the vicinity list of that receiver locationHis FREQUENCY (and tone/shift) may be included so he can be contactedHis EchoLink/ILRP number (or reverse patch number) may be included so he can be calledSome text information may be added relative to what is going on in that areaCallsign Presence (someone is on the air), is most of what APRS is used for anyway, and with DTMF, it can be done from any HT or mobile radio. This is part of the overall move towards Universal Text and Voice connectivity-by-callsign Initiative. The idea is that anyone on any system, using any device can contact any other ham anywhere, on any system, using any device by callsign alone. The APRS-IS provides the presence by callsign as to who is on the air, where, on what system, and how he can be contacted. APRS already does the Universal Text portion of this project and the Automatic Voice Relay System (AVRS) for voice. Notice that no manual data entry is required from the user other than initiating his DTMF callsign memory. Use K3PO's Callsign Translator to calculate your DTMF callsign.
  Programming your DTMF Memory: Here is how to program your DTMF callsign into some specific radios:
  APRStt at Dayton 2010: Doug Quagliana KA2UPW demonstrated APRStt at Dayton 2010 with his program called APRS-Speak. Hams could keep track of their buddies and appear on all APRS displays by sending their 2 digit position from the handheld map shown below using the B1XY* format followed by their callsign from DTMF memory. They could also transmit their monitoring FREQUENCY using the format CFFFFFF* which is the frequency in KHz. This would place them anywhere at the Hamvention to the nearest 120 feet or so.
  Print two map copies per page (or reduce to 75% on copier and get 4 per sheet)
  TWO-DIGIT Coordinates at Dayton: You can also position yourself anywhere within 60 miles in the dayton area with the 2-digit DTMF position format B2XXYY* format. In this case the XX and YY are the minutes of LAT lONG as in 34YY North and 84XX West. You can also locate yourself using the simple sketch map in the Dayton Hamvention Boolket as shown here. Notice the AA and YY grid on the edges. YY is vertical Latitude and XX is horizontal Longitude.
  HISTORY: We first demonstrated the APRStt concept back in 2001 at Dayton using hardware DTMF decoders and a parallel port voice synthesizer, and a French team made a demo windows version around 2006 and then Rick Ruhl W4PC of CSS implemented a version for 2009 using soundcards that he called Radio Spotter. It would run on a PC with nothing but a dual band radio (or pair of radios) to establishe a local APRStt zone where any nearby HT that ID's itself by DTMF memory will be converted to APRS at that location. or they can enter their position data too. In 2010 KA2UPW demonstrated the above implementation and Byonics began a hardware version by adding a DTMF decoder chip to a TinyTrack-4 as a stand-alone APRStt engine.. This hardware version is showning great promise in testing in 2013 for an upcoming Marathon!
  This map above shows the view of the Hamvention area on Sunday 2009. This is from FINDU.COM but it uses the original APRSdos map so you can see the booths inside the building. You can see the APRStt users along the left edge that have transmitted their callsigns but not yet their detail position. APRStt puts these calls in an unused area of the local map so they can at least be seen in the area. Those that enter the additional B1xy* detail position from the grid map can be seen elsewhere on the map. I see two. The actual position of the APRStt engine runnning Radio Spotter is in the center underneath the W4PC symbol. Zooming in once more reveals it. APRStt assigns a -12 SSID to all APRStt users when they are gated from DTMF to APRS. This view does not even include the surrounding parking lots, and hotels. It was reported that there were over 300 APRS stations in Dayton as of Saturday morning and counting.
  APRStt BACKGROUND:
  APRStt, (APRS Touch-Tone(tm)) is an APRS protocol for a two-way DTMF-to-APRS gateway to permit the other 95% of ham radio operators with voice-only radios to exchange informaiton and data with the APRS system and users. Not only can they "check-in" or send any APRS data from their DTMF keypad, but they can also monitor the APRStt voice output channel for all the voice responses which speak APRS information back to these voice users. They can also query any information and receive voice response. This is just another part of the Global/Local Ham Radio Text Messaging/Contact Initiative. .
  APRStt allows all ham radio operators to participate in the APRS information system, not just those with the specialized APRS radios (D7, D700, D710, VX8R, HAMHUD, etc) or those with TNC's and mobile laptops. With APRStt, anyone can enter information, Let everyone know their operting frequency or show up on the local map and hear what is going on. To help us understand the baseline of existing DTMF capability See the DTMF radio capabilities list.
  THINKING OUTSIDE THE APRS TRACKING BOX:
  Everyone has heard me say over and over that APRS is not a tracking system, but is a common local/global information exchange and distribution system for tactical and real time data of immediate communincations support value to users. To appreciate the potential of APRStt, you have got to forget about APRS as a tracking system, and think about what kinds of simple digital data can be exchanged in support of an event or local activity. Here are several DATA items that can easily be sent by DTMF::
  The user's Voice Monitoring FrequencyThe user's SAR UTM Grid coordinatesEvent Times, Scores, Unit ID's, item counts, speeds, distances, etcPosition (yes, and even position)
  APRStt ON THE MAP: On receipt of nothing but an APRStt user's DTMF callsign, the station will immediately appear in the APRS system on the map in LIST format near the location of the APRStt gate. On the APRS map above, not only do you see all of the usual APRS operators (about a 32 mile wide map between Washington DC on the left, and Annapolis to the right), but in the lower right, you also see the 147.105 "local travelers repeater" along with the DTMF users on that repeater. All DTMF users (with the -12 SSID) show on the map as a LIST in the vicinity of the APRStt gateway or repeater where they were last heard.
  Additional Position reporting formats are available to give approximate and even precise positions. Positions can be reported by Mile mark, or Station number or checkpoint at events. Any numbering system can be incorporated. At Dayton, position reporting by simply entering the BOOTH or Flea Market number are possible. See
  VOICED INFORMATION: Even without using DTMF or inputing any data, anyone can tune into the APRStt voice channel and hear unsolicited information of local significance. Positions are reported as a direction and range from a reference point (usually the APRStt engine). For example "WB4APR is 4.5 miles northeast". Of course APRStt users can change the reference point by DTMF command such as "from the repeater" or "from downtown" or "from FINISH", etc. For example, here are some of the unsolicited reports that were implemented in APRStt1.0 back in 2001:
  APRStt would speak the frequency of any station that changed the freq in his packetAPRStt would speak the call and location of any new callsign that was heardAPRStt would speak the local FREQUENCY object for travlers as they came into townAPRStt would speak the movements of many special stations.A) Any TH-D7 using the TRIANGLE ICONB) Any D700 or any other APRS mobile using the "/n" ICONC) Any one station commanded by the APRStt operator (or DTMF user)
  APRStt would speak the AZ and EL and Frequency of any satellite in viewAPRStt would speak the TRAFFIC Speed past any TRAFFIC choke point that is listed in the TRAFFIC.POS file. This was for daily commuters. See the original TRAFFIC.TXT file.APRStt TYPICAL APPLICATIONS: There are several primary uses of this APRStt application and in many cases, mopst of the needed data can be preloaded in to DTMF memories in advance such as the callsign or frequently used positions or repeater frequency. So with just as little as one or two DTMF memory replays, the DTMF user can send his data to APRS and be seen around the world in the vicinity of that APRStt in real time. Here are some examples.
  APRStt Simplex frequency: Allows anyone with a pre-loaded DTMF callsign to "check-in" to the global APRS system with one DTMF memory button and appear in the vicinity of that APRStt gateway. With a second DTMF memory, he can transmit what repeater frequency he is monitoring. On receipt, APRStt then adds location and other local information such as the EchoLink-IRLP number /local application status to the data before sending it over to the APRS channel. With all this information, the station appears in APRS like any other station and can be contacted from anywhere locally or around the world.Special Event: This APRStt gateway usually would run on a laptop plugged into a radio in the field receiving the DTMF data and converting it to APRS messages or positions for use of DTMF HT's for reporting data, scores, numbers, or positions or simple data at special events. See the APRS event application where D7 HT's are used for sending in troop scores during a scouting event. Yet ANY HT with a keypad can do the same data reporting if there is an APRStt gateway on site.Repeater Applications: Just like for the simplex method. Is used for mobiles to check-in to the global APRS system and have APRS know their present frequency. A common SIMPLEX channel is still used for the DTMF input (to avoid potential problems if DTMF was sent on the repeater input). But the repeater has an associated APRStt gateway ro provide voice response on the repeater output back to the user.Search-and-Rescue: good SAR teams always have detail maps of their assigned areas and are very well trained in the map grid system. THey can report their position in UTM grid using APRStt. The more expensive and less readily available GPS trackers can be given to the less experienced SAR teams who have trouble reading a map.EchoLink or IRLP: Since these VOIP systems already have the DTMF decoding and voice synthesizer that is used by APRStt, these nodes are ideal for integrating into APRStt. A check-in to global APRS via one of these nodes is only a DTMF memory button away. (see user guide).APRStt National Travelers Channel: If by som emiracle, a single simplex channel could be defined across the country like we have for APRS, then travelers with only a DTMF radio could report there approximate location by only their callsign according to what was the most recent APRStt system that heard him.For example, the callsign WB4APR in DTMF is spelled as 9A2B42A7A7C. That one callsign-burst when received by the APRStt receiver and forwarded into the APRS system yields all of the following important information:
  His CALL, DATE and TIME are capturedHis POSITION is plotted with a special APRStt icon within a vicinity list of that receiverHis FREQUENCY (and tone/shift) is included so he can be contactedHis EchoLink/ILRP number (or reverse patch number) are included so he can be calledHe can include a few bytes of text message if he wantsRECEIVING APRS on TH-78 and FT-51R RADIOS: Both the Kenwood TH-78 and Yaesu FT-51R radios back in the 1990's had a message TX/RX capablity using DTMF. The APRStt engine can be configured to transmit local APRS information similar to the above onto the front panel of these radios too. Please see the HT51/78 project
  APRStt BACKGROUND: APRStt was initially introduced at the RAC convention in 2001 and subsequently at Dayton in 2001. By the next year, Voice response had been added. This system demonstrated the ability to let not just the 5% of ham radio operators with APRS, but now 100% of all mobiles and HT's or traveling operators out of their local area to be identified from anywhere in the world when they are operational. Since Kenwood introduced global APRS text-messaging and email into their APRS HT in 1998, APRStt was developed to include the other 95% of ham radio operators by acting as a gateway between their existing DTMF HT's and the rest of the APRS community.
  KATRINA FREQUENCY INCENTIVE: After Katrina, APRS responded to the ARRL initiative to make sure that every ham radio operator in a disaster area can be located by his frequency. This initiative was called the Automatic Frequency Reporting SystemAFRS. At that time, the Voice FREQUENCY field was added into the APRS system so that we could find the voice contact frequency for all APRS operators. In addition, not only could APRS users report their operating frequency, but also the wide area Voice repeaters used by travelers could beacon their frequency onto the front panel of all APRS radios. See the LOCALINFO Initiative. In response to that initiative, Kenwood developed the D710 mobile radio that not only automatically includes the operators present voice operating frequency in every position report, but also can tune to any other APRS operators frequency or travelers repeater with just the push of the TUNE button.
  The combination of the original APRS, the addition of Frequency in AFRS, the use of Repeater Frequency Objects, and APRStt, gives a univeral, global, system for identification and localization of all radio amateurs by only their callsign. Any station in the world can be located (or contacted live) through any of the live RF APRS application programs or on the web by any of the WEB based APRS systesm such as FINDU.COM as shown below:
  APRStt VOICE RESPONSE: The feedback from APRStt to DTMF users is all by synthesized voice. The APRStt acknowledges a properly decoded DTMF checkin with "Welcome CCCC". APRS messages to a DTMF user are spoken. APRS positions when spoken over APRStt are always spoken as a DIRECTION and DISTANCE from a local REFERENCE. By defualt, the local reference is the location of the APRStt engine itself, but this reference can be changed by the DTMF user to any other APRS location in the system. DIRECTION is spoken as the 16 cardinal points of the compass as in North, NorthNortheast, Northeast, EastNorthEast, East, etc. This verbal positioning lets everyone in the club or at an event participate in the exchange of APRS data, not just those with the APRS radios. Even the old codger that shows up with his venerable 20 year old HT can participate!
  APRStt SIMPLEX: It is suggested that an APRStt gateway should monitor the national simplex frequency of 146.58 in the USA for anyone that wants to check in by DTMF. If that channel is already "claimed" by some other application, then the other possible frequencies that are compatible with both the National ARRL and the 20 KHz plans are 146.46, 156.58, 147.42, 147.48, 147.54. But it would be nice to use a common frequency where possible (146.58) for travelers.
  Other APRStt: Any other system that has DTMF users can also be used as an APRStt input device. For example some repeater controllers, EchoLink, and IRLP nodes, and any other ham radio applications that receive DTMF to accept the DTMF callsign burst and generate the APRS data for transmission over to the APRS network. But even if we dont get controller manufacturers to add this to their products, we can probably add a DTMF chip to any of the small APRS PIC devices such as the Micro-Track or Opentrackers and design them to be DTMF ==> APRS gateways. See BYONICS.COM booth this year at Dayton! They can be either stand-alone devices on any frequency or easily added onto older non-programmable repeater controllers:
  The DTMF chip plus a Microtrack could simply connect to the repeater RX audio and to an easy whip antenna as shown above. Done.
  Or for special events, or simplex nets, or any place you want to make it easy for non-APRS voice users to be visible to APRS, a simple Opentracker+ with a DTMF chip could go on a dongle and be attached to any HT making that HT be an APRStt gateway for everyone else at that event as shown below.
  Or for marathons or any large mass movement of ham radio operators, imagine if you placed one of these automomous APRStt Gateways at every checkpoint along the Marathon route. As Hams moved about the event, if ever they changed locations from one area to another, all they had to do was send their DTMF callsign memory, then the APRS event map would know approximately where they were and/or what frequency they were monitoring.. The APRS symbol for a DTMF user is a gray DTMF keypad. But for future expansion, it can have up to 36 overlay characters for special applications. The APRS symbol for an APRStt gateway is a green square with "TT" in the middle of it.
  Field Data Entry: Since these same DTMF radio users can also enter small text messages, they can also be used for entering data from checkpoints or other field applications. See how to use an APRS HT for field-data entry
  Or lets say for an event which has maybe 6 operating frequencies, repeaters, simplex channels or whatever. Users just send their monitoring frequency on the APRStt input channel, and they appear on the map as a LIST by that frequency as shown below:
  In the above view, the "location" of each APRStt receiver is given a completely arbitrary position so that it shows up conveniently in an out of way place on the APRS event map. Clustered around it are the DTMF callsigns that have checked in (by DTMF) on that particular frequency.
  DETAIL APRSTT SPECIFICATIONS: Sine APRStt has evolved over 8 years, these three documents have not all been completely purged and merged to match the new version being developed in 2009. But these documents represent the best rendition of the APRStt spec at this date.
  APRStt on voice systemsClick for APRStt 2.3 implementation detailsClick for the APRStt USER GUIDE
  APRStt will revolutionize ham radio because it lets 100% of ham radio users "check-in" to the global APRS system to facilitate end-to-end contact between operators. APRS users have been doing this since 1995 or so, but now the other 95% of ham radio operators can participate. The simplest form of APRStt is each user putting his DTMF callsign into a DTMF memory in his radio. If there is an APRStt engine monitoring his favorite repeater, then all he has to do to appear on APRS is to send his DTMF memory! He will appear on the global APRS system as an object within ambiguity range of that voice repeater and showing that frequency! See how important voice frequency is to APRS. The image to the right is the roll-your-own way to do it if it is not implemented in the controller or the VOIP software.
  APRStt responds! On hearing the DTMF callsign and sending out the position and frequency packet on the APRS channel, the more advanced APRStt implementations will respond by voice with "Welcome W3XYZ!" as confirmation. This is really no different than what mobiles do now "WB4APR LIstening", except that using the DTMF method is machine readable and allows this presence to the global ham radio community via APRS instead of falling on deaf ears.
  APRStt two-way: Now then, these same more sophisticated APRStt systems can also watch the APRS system for any messages addressed to you. Hearing any, they will SPEAK them back to you on the voice channel! The specialized full two-way APRStt Engine can be as simple as a laptop at any repeater site or located in the valley at a home station as shown below.
  APRStt will revolutionize how you do special events! Everyone with any HT at any event will be able to keep the overall APRS map and communications picture updated with their position, status and other needed data! Now the Kenwood APRS HT's and Mobiles will have someone to talk with! As long as there is an APRStt gateway nearby, DTMF users can send POSITS, MESSAGES, EMAIL and Queries with their TTone pads and hear VOICE responses (on the APRStt channel). APRStt was demonstrated during Dayton in May and the RAC convention in Vernon B.C. in July 2002.
  For field events, the APRStt Engine can be as simple as a laptop and two HT's supporting a special event or field activity as shown to the right. Once this suite is activated at an event, it lets EVERYONE listen to APRS information and input APRS information using any two way radio (usually on a dedicated simplex channel).
  APRStt is the gateway for DTMF voice users to report themselves to the global APRS community of users. It enables all non-APRS HT's and Mobile radios to be located and this information is fundamental to facilitating ham radio communications. See some examples:
  Use DTMF to "check in" as noted aboveA check-in indicates the date and time of your immediate availablityA check-in puts you on the local/ national or global mapA check-in also identifies your voice frequency to everyoneVoice response informs the APRStt user of anything he needs to knowAPRStt can speak incoming messages to APRStt usersAPRStt allows DTMF origination of messages, emails or anything else in APRSAPRStt can speak the position ("LEAD is 3.5 miles NW of FINISH") of special trackersAPRStt can speak the bearing and range to any object or even satellites that come into view...Users can QUERY APRStt with DTMF about ANYTHING on the air in APRS...APRS/APRStt can even tie into the global Echooink system for global voice comms knowing only a callsign! See all about AVRSNot just DTMF and Voice: Some radios already have paging, and DTMF texting send and receive. These radios can take advantage of APRStt by integrating them into the APRS system.
  DTMF text receipt and display is possible on some HT's (TH-28/48/78, FT-11/41/51, IC-231) [LATER]APRStt could also do Paging to modified pagers on the HAM bands. [LATER]APRStt IS LOCAL: Whether implemented on a repeater, a VOIP node or a simplex frequency, APRStt is simply local, yet transparently integrated with the local and global APRS system. More sophisticated users can take advantage of some of the clever system of abbreviations and short cuts so that positions, messages and many other things can be entered with only a few key strokes. As in the examples above, just sending a callsign is enough to put put you on the global map with a position in the vicinity of the local APRStt repeater or node.
  The remainder of this page is the full original APRStt details that would probably only be used for special applicaitons needing more than the basic CALLSIGN identification noted above. But it does show the potential of using our HT keypads like modern teen agers do with their text-messaging from their cell phones!
  For special applications needing better position reporting, a fully precise position can be entered with only 6 digits, because the APRStt signal is only on local RF simplex range of the APRStt engine. This establishes the LAT/LONG significant digits and only the lower 6 precise xxxyyy digits are needed to nail down your exact position. For example, xxxyyy is equivalent to DDMy.yyN/DDDMx.xxW because the DDM and DDDM are already known in that area. For fixed events that have known checkpoints or locations, or mile marks, then just a 3 digit position is possible! The DTMF string XYY becomes the YYth position in the X table. For a marathon, simply "013" could put you on the map at mile mark 13. etc. So think outside the box. this is not just using DTMF to enter a LAT/LONG, not at all. This is a system designed from the ground up to serve a specific purpose at the local event or area and to make it SIMPLE for the end user with only DTMF to enter meaningful data.
  TT-KEYPAD: We can make this as all inclusive as we want. In addition to the simple examples above we can do ANYTHING in APRS with DTMF with enough patience. Don't let the numbers in the below example fool you. You dont have to remember these. Just type the letters on the DTMF like any text-messaging teenager. For example type "APR" on your DTMF pad and the resulting DTMF tones are 27A777 which is matched to WB4APR in the APRStt callsign table. If there is a conflict then fully spell it using normal text messaging techniques and it is WBB04AP-RRR which is 9220427A777 and is a precise match..
  EXAMPLE 1. DTMF to Packet Conversions:
  A922444427A77*82#. becomes:WB4APR>APDT,WIDE:/030415z385 . N/0762 . Wv APDT,WIDE:/030425z3949.27N/08415.31W APDT,WIDE::EMAIL :bruninga@maile.earthlink.net Get me at 3.C92111278*2775*52# becomes: WB4APR>APDT::WA1APT :Really enjoyed being with you. Looking forward to getting together again.
  In the first case, the CALL, ICON and any comments are included and the position is posted as a 10 mile ambiguous position in the vicinity of the APRStt system. Subsequent TTone entries can refine the position without having to re-enter the call. In the second exmaple, the four digit LAT/LONG places me at an exact location inside the Dayton Arena. The third example is an Email sent to address book #2 (for that user). In the forth case C92111278* indicates a message to WA1APT. The "2775*52" decodes to ARRL#52 which explodes to the text shown. (ARRL RadioGram)...
  EXAMPLE 2. VOICE responses to simple DTMF Queries:QND..............................QUERY for the nearest DIGI to me: "AA3JY is NORTHWEST 3.5 MILES"QNM.............................Query for the nearest MOBILE to me: "K3FOR is SOUTHEAST 15 MILES"QRD*0924277#...........Query for WB4APR relative to downtown: "WB4APR is NORTHWEST 9.3 MILES FROM DOWNTOWN"
  EXAMPLE 3. Automatic Voice tracking of SPECIAL objects. In this case, the main tracker or station or object at an event can be designated as special and then APRStt is placed in SPECIAL TRACKER Mode. It will VOICE report the location of the SPECIAL packets whenever they come in. Positions are reported as direction and distance to known reference points.
  EXAMPLE 4. APRSTT can voice announce satelites in view! Since APRSdata is already putting out an APRS object on 144.39 whenever an active AMSAT is in view, by using the command ACTIVATE AMSATS (AA), APRStt can be told to VOICE report these satellites whenever any are in view...
  NEW: To help very small CUBESAT satellites support an APRS mission, we have added a simple SPACE subset to the APRStt specification to make it easy for HT's to send APRS data via these small satellites using only DTMF tones! See SPACE-APRStt . Thus, ANY radio can send APRS data just like the Kenwoods! (with NOTHING attached)The following is the standard Kenwood (or any DTMF) Keypad key definitions:
  To date, the only radio-only APRS signalling method has been the Kenwood D7 and D700 radios with their internal TNC's. But even so, the user interface is still only the HT's ubiquitous TTone keypad. APRStt simply moves the TT-to-APRS conversion from a TNC in the HT, to a PC on the hill so that ANY existing radio can be used instead of requiring a Processor and TNC to be built into every radio! Further, the DTMF users can receive feedback data via the text-to-speech (or CW) process built into APRStt.
  Click here for the APRStt SPEC. and all of my detail implementation notes. or here for a simplified version.
  Click here to DOWNLOAD APRStt01.zip. (Ignore any previous copies such as 04) With this progarm you can begin playing with APRStt on your own and see how it works. Even if you dont build the DTMF hardware interface, this program will let you enter DTMF equivalents on your keyboard to see how the conversions work over on the APRS side. I recommend that you run it on a Laptop with a D7 on low power and then watch what your Base-Station APRS system does with the packets.
  DTMF INTERFACE: The original APRStt.exe worked with a simple $5 DTMF decoder chip on the LPT1 Printer port and runs on any old DOS PC (eventually to be located at your voice repeater site (or other "receive" site (maybe 147.555?))). It performs the TTone to APRS conversion for all DTMF users in the area and sends the packets via its own TNC to the APRS system.
  VOICE INTERFACE: The original APRStt.exe does NOT need a sound card. It speaks through 8 resistors on the LPT1 port so ANY old PC or laptop can be used... You can even record your own voice for the responses..
  HT DTMF MEMORIES: The APRStt format definitions combined with the TTone memories built-in to most radios allows for nominal APRS operations with only a few key strokes. In fact, the number of key strokes can actually be less than for entering the same message via the keyboard on a Kenwood APRS radio! This is because APRStt uses a heuristic approach to abbreviate most commands...
  The following APRSdos map of Dayton shows me in the vicinity of the AMSAT Dinner using only the DTMF entry of B47*09. Notice my call within a 1 mile ambiguity circle down where the Amber Rose restaurant is located (and near those APRS mobiles parked in its parking lot!).
  The next Dayton map shows me (W4APR-11) located inside the HARA arena at the location of the APRS booth in the North Hall. This position is exact because I used the APRStt exact format of B4927*1531D.
  HOW did I know my LAT/LONG? Easy!. Before Dayton, I copied the MAPS out of the Hamvention Program and added some simple LAT/LONG tick marks along the edges of the map. With one of these in my pocket, I could use DTMF and the 2x2 format to put myself anywhere on the map within 30 miles of the center location of the APRStt recevier. Or using the HAMVENTION map and the 4x4 APRStt format, I could put myself anywhere exactly. Here is the overall Dayton paper map from the brochure with the one-mile grid tick-marks.
  Every event has a MAP. Simply put the LAT/LONG minutes on the edges!
  LINUX IMPLEMENTATION: When it comes to writing the final APRStt software, it would be great if a version was written under LINUX and could then be run as an auxilliary application at your local IRLP node! Rick, KB8DNR suggested that since the Linux box is already up there, already listening for DTMF, and with my other AVRS ideas will also already be linked to 144.39 via its own TNC, then its a perfect software only upgrade!
  APRStt-PL is an addon option [not even started yet] that adds "PL" decoding capability to APRStt. It not only listens for APRS messages formatted via Touch Tones and converts them to APRS packets on 144.39, but it also listens for PL tones on the input of the repeater. Thus, users can enable different PL tones on their HT's to signal any of 38 different states, commands, or pre-arranged controls. APRStt converts these also to packets of the form:
  W3VPR>APLXXX:> Heard PL 103This packet shows that a PL tone of 103 was heard on the W3VPR repeater APRStt program. The applications for this kind of signalling are only bound by the imagniation of the users. Since APRS knows where W3VPR repeater is located, it can use Vicinity Plotting to let you see where this is occuring. Or I can write a program that rings a bell when PL 147 is heard. My kids can then enter a PL of 147 on their $88 Alinco HT when they want to alert me to QSY to the W3VPR repeater to talk them. ETC... See the details on this PL addition.
  DUAL TONE TEXT PAGING RADIOS:DTMF Paging Radios: This is another APRStt project. There are 300,000 DTMF text paging walkie talkies that were produced in the 1990's. We want to integrate them into the APRS system too. In Mar 09, I made some progress on a pic-processor APRS-to DTMF gateway to convert APRS packets to DTMF Text packets that can be displayed on any of the hundreds of thousands of old DTMF text messaging radios of the 1990's (TH-78 and FT-51's etc) Read about the gateway.
  Before the entry of the Kenwood D7 into the market, several manufacturers had experimented with using Touch Tone Dual Tone Signalling transmission and display in their handhelds. Several models of Handhelds can send AND receive short TEXT fields via Touch Tones:
  Kenwood: TH-28A/48A/78AYeasu: FT-11R,41R,51RICOM: W31AThese radios can not only send TTones like any other HT, but they can also display text sent via TTones from other radios. The displays are quite limited to 6 or 8 characters on the screen at a time, but up to 10 such words can be sent. For APRStt then, we can then define how APRStt can take APRS messages sent to one of these users, convert it to DTSS tones and send them the message over the repeater! CLick here for details.
  APRStt.exe is written for any old 25 MHz or so DOS PC. It was demonstrated at Dayton 2002 using only CW responses. See Details, but I have since added VOICE response via 8 simple resistors on the parallel LPT1 port. For Dayton, I released APRStt00.exe so that even without the DTMF chip, experimenters could enter DTMF simulations from its PC keyboard and see the effect of the packets it generates on the APRS channel...
  Click here for a copy of how I added the DTMF chip to the LPT1 parallel port on my PC.
  You are visitor number: Since 28 March 2002. Number was 3900 on 6 June 2004..
  The Naval Academy is a registered user of APRS and WinAPRS. The purpose of this web page is to show several applications currently in use at this site and should not be considered as an advertisement or an endorsement of any commercial product.
  APRS Touchtone
  Use the Callsign Translator by K3PO to get your DTMF call.See the APRStt 2.4 Spec and implementation details.See the APRStt User Guide version 2.3.See the APRStt Planning for the Boy Scout 2013 Jamboree
  Projects in Work: APRStt is just part of the overall Ham Radio Initiative for Universal Contact by-callsign. It is appropriate for ANY ham radio system that receives input from users via DTMF such as repeaters and VOIP applications. APRStt specific aps are being developed by Byonics as an add-on board to his TT4 (shown below) and by KA2UPW called APRSspeak. In 2011, WB6NIL, Jim Dixon, author of the AllStar VOIP Repeater system was experimenting with accepting APRStt userd DTMF Callsigns on his inputs. This allows his users to indicate their presence to the global APRS community. And hopefully, Echolink is also considering it.
  APRS DTMF Marathon: Here is how we used APRStt at a local Marathon to allow anyone with any HT to report their location into the APRS tactical picture. First, a grid was added to the Marathon Map (shown here) allowing position reporting using only 2 digits of X and Y to report anywhere on the map using the DTMF format of B2XXYY*.... Further the exact locations of each mile mark were entered into an array and then a simpler B1MM* format could be used to report position by milemark. Either DTMF format was OK.
  Byonics TT-4 add-on DTMF adapter: Shown to right is the Byonics DTMF adapter (top) added to a TinyTrack4 which does all of the conversion from DTMF and generates a resulting APRS formatted packet for transmission by any FM radio. This works fine as is for the B2XXYY* position format, but to implement the Mile Mark translation procedure, I added a small BS2 chip at the bottom (dead bug style) and used it to parse the packet from the TT4, do the mile-mark conversion and then output the resulting string in digital format to the TNC in a D700 radio. It also generated a one or two tone ack to the DTMF user on the 146.58 input to let him know his DTMF codes were received correctly. Thus, all that was needed was one radio (the D700) to receive the DTMF reports on 146.58 MHz and then do the conversions and then transmit the packet into APRS using the other side of the radio. See a photo of the box placed in the woods on a hill to cover the event.
  Simplest APRStt - CALLSIGN only: In its simplest form, APRStt lets anyone with a DTMF memory in his HT or mobile check-in to the global APRS system without needing a special APRS radio. For example, the callsign WB4APR in DTMF is spelled as 9A2B42A7A7C. That one callsign-burst sent from a DTMF memory is received by the APRStt receiver and converted into the APRS system with all of the following important information:
  His CALL, DATE and TIME are capturedHis POSITION is plotted with a special APRStt icon within the vicinity list of that receiver locationHis FREQUENCY (and tone/shift) may be included so he can be contactedHis EchoLink/ILRP number (or reverse patch number) may be included so he can be calledSome text information may be added relative to what is going on in that areaCallsign Presence (someone is on the air), is most of what APRS is used for anyway, and with DTMF, it can be done from any HT or mobile radio. This is part of the overall move towards Universal Text and Voice connectivity-by-callsign Initiative. The idea is that anyone on any system, using any device can contact any other ham anywhere, on any system, using any device by callsign alone. The APRS-IS provides the presence by callsign as to who is on the air, where, on what system, and how he can be contacted. APRS already does the Universal Text portion of this project and the Automatic Voice Relay System (AVRS) for voice. Notice that no manual data entry is required from the user other than initiating his DTMF callsign memory. Use K3PO's Callsign Translator to calculate your DTMF callsign.
  Programming your DTMF Memory: Here is how to program your DTMF callsign into some specific radios:
  APRStt at Dayton 2010: Doug Quagliana KA2UPW demonstrated APRStt at Dayton 2010 with his program called APRS-Speak. Hams could keep track of their buddies and appear on all APRS displays by sending their 2 digit position from the handheld map shown below using the B1XY* format followed by their callsign from DTMF memory. They could also transmit their monitoring FREQUENCY using the format CFFFFFF* which is the frequency in KHz. This would place them anywhere at the Hamvention to the nearest 120 feet or so.
  Print two map copies per page (or reduce to 75% on copier and get 4 per sheet)
  TWO-DIGIT Coordinates at Dayton: You can also position yourself anywhere within 60 miles in the dayton area with the 2-digit DTMF position format B2XXYY* format. In this case the XX and YY are the minutes of LAT lONG as in 34YY North and 84XX West. You can also locate yourself using the simple sketch map in the Dayton Hamvention Boolket as shown here. Notice the AA and YY grid on the edges. YY is vertical Latitude and XX is horizontal Longitude.
  HISTORY: We first demonstrated the APRStt concept back in 2001 at Dayton using hardware DTMF decoders and a parallel port voice synthesizer, and a French team made a demo windows version around 2006 and then Rick Ruhl W4PC of CSS implemented a version for 2009 using soundcards that he called Radio Spotter. It would run on a PC with nothing but a dual band radio (or pair of radios) to establishe a local APRStt zone where any nearby HT that ID's itself by DTMF memory will be converted to APRS at that location. or they can enter their position data too. In 2010 KA2UPW demonstrated the above implementation and Byonics began a hardware version by adding a DTMF decoder chip to a TinyTrack-4 as a stand-alone APRStt engine.. This hardware version is showning great promise in testing in 2013 for an upcoming Marathon!
  This map above shows the view of the Hamvention area on Sunday 2009. This is from FINDU.COM but it uses the original APRSdos map so you can see the booths inside the building. You can see the APRStt users along the left edge that have transmitted their callsigns but not yet their detail position. APRStt puts these calls in an unused area of the local map so they can at least be seen in the area. Those that enter the additional B1xy* detail position from the grid map can be seen elsewhere on the map. I see two. The actual position of the APRStt engine runnning Radio Spotter is in the center underneath the W4PC symbol. Zooming in once more reveals it. APRStt assigns a -12 SSID to all APRStt users when they are gated from DTMF to APRS. This view does not even include the surrounding parking lots, and hotels. It was reported that there were over 300 APRS stations in Dayton as of Saturday morning and counting.
  APRStt BACKGROUND:
  APRStt, (APRS Touch-Tone(tm)) is an APRS protocol for a two-way DTMF-to-APRS gateway to permit the other 95% of ham radio operators with voice-only radios to exchange informaiton and data with the APRS system and users. Not only can they "check-in" or send any APRS data from their DTMF keypad, but they can also monitor the APRStt voice output channel for all the voice responses which speak APRS information back to these voice users. They can also query any information and receive voice response. This is just another part of the Global/Local Ham Radio Text Messaging/Contact Initiative. .
  APRStt allows all ham radio operators to participate in the APRS information system, not just those with the specialized APRS radios (D7, D700, D710, VX8R, HAMHUD, etc) or those with TNC's and mobile laptops. With APRStt, anyone can enter information, Let everyone know their operting frequency or show up on the local map and hear what is going on. To help us understand the baseline of existing DTMF capability See the DTMF radio capabilities list.
  THINKING OUTSIDE THE APRS TRACKING BOX:
  Everyone has heard me say over and over that APRS is not a tracking system, but is a common local/global information exchange and distribution system for tactical and real time data of immediate communincations support value to users. To appreciate the potential of APRStt, you have got to forget about APRS as a tracking system, and think about what kinds of simple digital data can be exchanged in support of an event or local activity. Here are several DATA items that can easily be sent by DTMF::
  The user's Voice Monitoring FrequencyThe user's SAR UTM Grid coordinatesEvent Times, Scores, Unit ID's, item counts, speeds, distances, etcPosition (yes, and even position)
  APRStt ON THE MAP: On receipt of nothing but an APRStt user's DTMF callsign, the station will immediately appear in the APRS system on the map in LIST format near the location of the APRStt gate. On the APRS map above, not only do you see all of the usual APRS operators (about a 32 mile wide map between Washington DC on the left, and Annapolis to the right), but in the lower right, you also see the 147.105 "local travelers repeater" along with the DTMF users on that repeater. All DTMF users (with the -12 SSID) show on the map as a LIST in the vicinity of the APRStt gateway or repeater where they were last heard.
  Additional Position reporting formats are available to give approximate and even precise positions. Positions can be reported by Mile mark, or Station number or checkpoint at events. Any numbering system can be incorporated. At Dayton, position reporting by simply entering the BOOTH or Flea Market number are possible. See
  VOICED INFORMATION: Even without using DTMF or inputing any data, anyone can tune into the APRStt voice channel and hear unsolicited information of local significance. Positions are reported as a direction and range from a reference point (usually the APRStt engine). For example "WB4APR is 4.5 miles northeast". Of course APRStt users can change the reference point by DTMF command such as "from the repeater" or "from downtown" or "from FINISH", etc. For example, here are some of the unsolicited reports that were implemented in APRStt1.0 back in 2001:
  APRStt would speak the frequency of any station that changed the freq in his packetAPRStt would speak the call and location of any new callsign that was heardAPRStt would speak the local FREQUENCY object for travlers as they came into townAPRStt would speak the movements of many special stations.A) Any TH-D7 using the TRIANGLE ICONB) Any D700 or any other APRS mobile using the "/n" ICONC) Any one station commanded by the APRStt operator (or DTMF user)
  APRStt would speak the AZ and EL and Frequency of any satellite in viewAPRStt would speak the TRAFFIC Speed past any TRAFFIC choke point that is listed in the TRAFFIC.POS file. This was for daily commuters. See the original TRAFFIC.TXT file.APRStt TYPICAL APPLICATIONS: There are several primary uses of this APRStt application and in many cases, mopst of the needed data can be preloaded in to DTMF memories in advance such as the callsign or frequently used positions or repeater frequency. So with just as little as one or two DTMF memory replays, the DTMF user can send his data to APRS and be seen around the world in the vicinity of that APRStt in real time. Here are some examples.
  APRStt Simplex frequency: Allows anyone with a pre-loaded DTMF callsign to "check-in" to the global APRS system with one DTMF memory button and appear in the vicinity of that APRStt gateway. With a second DTMF memory, he can transmit what repeater frequency he is monitoring. On receipt, APRStt then adds location and other local information such as the EchoLink-IRLP number /local application status to the data before sending it over to the APRS channel. With all this information, the station appears in APRS like any other station and can be contacted from anywhere locally or around the world.Special Event: This APRStt gateway usually would run on a laptop plugged into a radio in the field receiving the DTMF data and converting it to APRS messages or positions for use of DTMF HT's for reporting data, scores, numbers, or positions or simple data at special events. See the APRS event application where D7 HT's are used for sending in troop scores during a scouting event. Yet ANY HT with a keypad can do the same data reporting if there is an APRStt gateway on site.Repeater Applications: Just like for the simplex method. Is used for mobiles to check-in to the global APRS system and have APRS know their present frequency. A common SIMPLEX channel is still used for the DTMF input (to avoid potential problems if DTMF was sent on the repeater input). But the repeater has an associated APRStt gateway ro provide voice response on the repeater output back to the user.Search-and-Rescue: good SAR teams always have detail maps of their assigned areas and are very well trained in the map grid system. THey can report their position in UTM grid using APRStt. The more expensive and less readily available GPS trackers can be given to the less experienced SAR teams who have trouble reading a map.EchoLink or IRLP: Since these VOIP systems already have the DTMF decoding and voice synthesizer that is used by APRStt, these nodes are ideal for integrating into APRStt. A check-in to global APRS via one of these nodes is only a DTMF memory button away. (see user guide).APRStt National Travelers Channel: If by som emiracle, a single simplex channel could be defined across the country like we have for APRS, then travelers with only a DTMF radio could report there approximate location by only their callsign according to what was the most recent APRStt system that heard him.For example, the callsign WB4APR in DTMF is spelled as 9A2B42A7A7C. That one callsign-burst when received by the APRStt receiver and forwarded into the APRS system yields all of the following important information:
  His CALL, DATE and TIME are capturedHis POSITION is plotted with a special APRStt icon within a vicinity list of that receiverHis FREQUENCY (and tone/shift) is included so he can be contactedHis EchoLink/ILRP number (or reverse patch number) are included so he can be calledHe can include a few bytes of text message if he wantsRECEIVING APRS on TH-78 and FT-51R RADIOS: Both the Kenwood TH-78 and Yaesu FT-51R radios back in the 1990's had a message TX/RX capablity using DTMF. The APRStt engine can be configured to transmit local APRS information similar to the above onto the front panel of these radios too. Please see the HT51/78 project
  APRStt BACKGROUND: APRStt was initially introduced at the RAC convention in 2001 and subsequently at Dayton in 2001. By the next year, Voice response had been added. This system demonstrated the ability to let not just the 5% of ham radio operators with APRS, but now 100% of all mobiles and HT's or traveling operators out of their local area to be identified from anywhere in the world when they are operational. Since Kenwood introduced global APRS text-messaging and email into their APRS HT in 1998, APRStt was developed to include the other 95% of ham radio operators by acting as a gateway between their existing DTMF HT's and the rest of the APRS community.
  KATRINA FREQUENCY INCENTIVE: After Katrina, APRS responded to the ARRL initiative to make sure that every ham radio operator in a disaster area can be located by his frequency. This initiative was called the Automatic Frequency Reporting SystemAFRS. At that time, the Voice FREQUENCY field was added into the APRS system so that we could find the voice contact frequency for all APRS operators. In addition, not only could APRS users report their operating frequency, but also the wide area Voice repeaters used by travelers could beacon their frequency onto the front panel of all APRS radios. See the LOCALINFO Initiative. In response to that initiative, Kenwood developed the D710 mobile radio that not only automatically includes the operators present voice operating frequency in every position report, but also can tune to any other APRS operators frequency or travelers repeater with just the push of the TUNE button.
  The combination of the original APRS, the addition of Frequency in AFRS, the use of Repeater Frequency Objects, and APRStt, gives a univeral, global, system for identification and localization of all radio amateurs by only their callsign. Any station in the world can be located (or contacted live) through any of the live RF APRS application programs or on the web by any of the WEB based APRS systesm such as FINDU.COM as shown below:
  APRStt VOICE RESPONSE: The feedback from APRStt to DTMF users is all by synthesized voice. The APRStt acknowledges a properly decoded DTMF checkin with "Welcome CCCC". APRS messages to a DTMF user are spoken. APRS positions when spoken over APRStt are always spoken as a DIRECTION and DISTANCE from a local REFERENCE. By defualt, the local reference is the location of the APRStt engine itself, but this reference can be changed by the DTMF user to any other APRS location in the system. DIRECTION is spoken as the 16 cardinal points of the compass as in North, NorthNortheast, Northeast, EastNorthEast, East, etc. This verbal positioning lets everyone in the club or at an event participate in the exchange of APRS data, not just those with the APRS radios. Even the old codger that shows up with his venerable 20 year old HT can participate!
  APRStt SIMPLEX: It is suggested that an APRStt gateway should monitor the national simplex frequency of 146.58 in the USA for anyone that wants to check in by DTMF. If that channel is already "claimed" by some other application, then the other possible frequencies that are compatible with both the National ARRL and the 20 KHz plans are 146.46, 156.58, 147.42, 147.48, 147.54. But it would be nice to use a common frequency where possible (146.58) for travelers.
  Other APRStt: Any other system that has DTMF users can also be used as an APRStt input device. For example some repeater controllers, EchoLink, and IRLP nodes, and any other ham radio applications that receive DTMF to accept the DTMF callsign burst and generate the APRS data for transmission over to the APRS network. But even if we dont get controller manufacturers to add this to their products, we can probably add a DTMF chip to any of the small APRS PIC devices such as the Micro-Track or Opentrackers and design them to be DTMF ==> APRS gateways. See BYONICS.COM booth this year at Dayton! They can be either stand-alone devices on any frequency or easily added onto older non-programmable repeater controllers:
  The DTMF chip plus a Microtrack could simply connect to the repeater RX audio and to an easy whip antenna as shown above. Done.
  Or for special events, or simplex nets, or any place you want to make it easy for non-APRS voice users to be visible to APRS, a simple Opentracker+ with a DTMF chip could go on a dongle and be attached to any HT making that HT be an APRStt gateway for everyone else at that event as shown below.
  Or for marathons or any large mass movement of ham radio operators, imagine if you placed one of these automomous APRStt Gateways at every checkpoint along the Marathon route. As Hams moved about the event, if ever they changed locations from one area to another, all they had to do was send their DTMF callsign memory, then the APRS event map would know approximately where they were and/or what frequency they were monitoring.. The APRS symbol for a DTMF user is a gray DTMF keypad. But for future expansion, it can have up to 36 overlay characters for special applications. The APRS symbol for an APRStt gateway is a green square with "TT" in the middle of it.
  Field Data Entry: Since these same DTMF radio users can also enter small text messages, they can also be used for entering data from checkpoints or other field applications. See how to use an APRS HT for field-data entry
  Or lets say for an event which has maybe 6 operating frequencies, repeaters, simplex channels or whatever. Users just send their monitoring frequency on the APRStt input channel, and they appear on the map as a LIST by that frequency as shown below:
  In the above view, the "location" of each APRStt receiver is given a completely arbitrary position so that it shows up conveniently in an out of way place on the APRS event map. Clustered around it are the DTMF callsigns that have checked in (by DTMF) on that particular frequency.
  DETAIL APRSTT SPECIFICATIONS: Sine APRStt has evolved over 8 years, these three documents have not all been completely purged and merged to match the new version being developed in 2009. But these documents represent the best rendition of the APRStt spec at this date.
  APRStt on voice systemsClick for APRStt 2.3 implementation detailsClick for the APRStt USER GUIDE
  APRStt will revolutionize ham radio because it lets 100% of ham radio users "check-in" to the global APRS system to facilitate end-to-end contact between operators. APRS users have been doing this since 1995 or so, but now the other 95% of ham radio operators can participate. The simplest form of APRStt is each user putting his DTMF callsign into a DTMF memory in his radio. If there is an APRStt engine monitoring his favorite repeater, then all he has to do to appear on APRS is to send his DTMF memory! He will appear on the global APRS system as an object within ambiguity range of that voice repeater and showing that frequency! See how important voice frequency is to APRS. The image to the right is the roll-your-own way to do it if it is not implemented in the controller or the VOIP software.
  APRStt responds! On hearing the DTMF callsign and sending out the position and frequency packet on the APRS channel, the more advanced APRStt implementations will respond by voice with "Welcome W3XYZ!" as confirmation. This is really no different than what mobiles do now "WB4APR LIstening", except that using the DTMF method is machine readable and allows this presence to the global ham radio community via APRS instead of falling on deaf ears.
  APRStt two-way: Now then, these same more sophisticated APRStt systems can also watch the APRS system for any messages addressed to you. Hearing any, they will SPEAK them back to you on the voice channel! The specialized full two-way APRStt Engine can be as simple as a laptop at any repeater site or located in the valley at a home station as shown below.
  APRStt will revolutionize how you do special events! Everyone with any HT at any event will be able to keep the overall APRS map and communications picture updated with their position, status and other needed data! Now the Kenwood APRS HT's and Mobiles will have someone to talk with! As long as there is an APRStt gateway nearby, DTMF users can send POSITS, MESSAGES, EMAIL and Queries with their TTone pads and hear VOICE responses (on the APRStt channel). APRStt was demonstrated during Dayton in May and the RAC convention in Vernon B.C. in July 2002.
  For field events, the APRStt Engine can be as simple as a laptop and two HT's supporting a special event or field activity as shown to the right. Once this suite is activated at an event, it lets EVERYONE listen to APRS information and input APRS information using any two way radio (usually on a dedicated simplex channel).
  APRStt is the gateway for DTMF voice users to report themselves to the global APRS community of users. It enables all non-APRS HT's and Mobile radios to be located and this information is fundamental to facilitating ham radio communications. See some examples:
  Use DTMF to "check in" as noted aboveA check-in indicates the date and time of your immediate availablityA check-in puts you on the local/ national or global mapA check-in also identifies your voice frequency to everyoneVoice response informs the APRStt user of anything he needs to knowAPRStt can speak incoming messages to APRStt usersAPRStt allows DTMF origination of messages, emails or anything else in APRSAPRStt can speak the position ("LEAD is 3.5 miles NW of FINISH") of special trackersAPRStt can speak the bearing and range to any object or even satellites that come into view...Users can QUERY APRStt with DTMF about ANYTHING on the air in APRS...APRS/APRStt can even tie into the global Echooink system for global voice comms knowing only a callsign! See all about AVRSNot just DTMF and Voice: Some radios already have paging, and DTMF texting send and receive. These radios can take advantage of APRStt by integrating them into the APRS system.
  DTMF text receipt and display is possible on some HT's (TH-28/48/78, FT-11/41/51, IC-231) [LATER]APRStt could also do Paging to modified pagers on the HAM bands. [LATER]APRStt IS LOCAL: Whether implemented on a repeater, a VOIP node or a simplex frequency, APRStt is simply local, yet transparently integrated with the local and global APRS system. More sophisticated users can take advantage of some of the clever system of abbreviations and short cuts so that positions, messages and many other things can be entered with only a few key strokes. As in the examples above, just sending a callsign is enough to put put you on the global map with a position in the vicinity of the local APRStt repeater or node.
  The remainder of this page is the full original APRStt details that would probably only be used for special applicaitons needing more than the basic CALLSIGN identification noted above. But it does show the potential of using our HT keypads like modern teen agers do with their text-messaging from their cell phones!
  For special applications needing better position reporting, a fully precise position can be entered with only 6 digits, because the APRStt signal is only on local RF simplex range of the APRStt engine. This establishes the LAT/LONG significant digits and only the lower 6 precise xxxyyy digits are needed to nail down your exact position. For example, xxxyyy is equivalent to DDMy.yyN/DDDMx.xxW because the DDM and DDDM are already known in that area. For fixed events that have known checkpoints or locations, or mile marks, then just a 3 digit position is possible! The DTMF string XYY becomes the YYth position in the X table. For a marathon, simply "013" could put you on the map at mile mark 13. etc. So think outside the box. this is not just using DTMF to enter a LAT/LONG, not at all. This is a system designed from the ground up to serve a specific purpose at the local event or area and to make it SIMPLE for the end user with only DTMF to enter meaningful data.
  TT-KEYPAD: We can make this as all inclusive as we want. In addition to the simple examples above we can do ANYTHING in APRS with DTMF with enough patience. Don't let the numbers in the below example fool you. You dont have to remember these. Just type the letters on the DTMF like any text-messaging teenager. For example type "APR" on your DTMF pad and the resulting DTMF tones are 27A777 which is matched to WB4APR in the APRStt callsign table. If there is a conflict then fully spell it using normal text messaging techniques and it is WBB04AP-RRR which is 9220427A777 and is a precise match..
  EXAMPLE 1. DTMF to Packet Conversions:
  A922444427A77*82#. becomes:WB4APR>APDT,WIDE:/030415z385 . N/0762 . Wv APDT,WIDE:/030425z3949.27N/08415.31W APDT,WIDE::EMAIL :bruninga@maile.earthlink.net Get me at 3.C92111278*2775*52# becomes: WB4APR>APDT::WA1APT :Really enjoyed being with you. Looking forward to getting together again.
  In the first case, the CALL, ICON and any comments are included and the position is posted as a 10 mile ambiguous position in the vicinity of the APRStt system. Subsequent TTone entries can refine the position without having to re-enter the call. In the second exmaple, the four digit LAT/LONG places me at an exact location inside the Dayton Arena. The third example is an Email sent to address book #2 (for that user). In the forth case C92111278* indicates a message to WA1APT. The "2775*52" decodes to ARRL#52 which explodes to the text shown. (ARRL RadioGram)...
  EXAMPLE 2. VOICE responses to simple DTMF Queries:QND..............................QUERY for the nearest DIGI to me: "AA3JY is NORTHWEST 3.5 MILES"QNM.............................Query for the nearest MOBILE to me: "K3FOR is SOUTHEAST 15 MILES"QRD*0924277#...........Query for WB4APR relative to downtown: "WB4APR is NORTHWEST 9.3 MILES FROM DOWNTOWN"
  EXAMPLE 3. Automatic Voice tracking of SPECIAL objects. In this case, the main tracker or station or object at an event can be designated as special and then APRStt is placed in SPECIAL TRACKER Mode. It will VOICE report the location of the SPECIAL packets whenever they come in. Positions are reported as direction and distance to known reference points.
  EXAMPLE 4. APRSTT can voice announce satelites in view! Since APRSdata is already putting out an APRS object on 144.39 whenever an active AMSAT is in view, by using the command ACTIVATE AMSATS (AA), APRStt can be told to VOICE report these satellites whenever any are in view...
  NEW: To help very small CUBESAT satellites support an APRS mission, we have added a simple SPACE subset to the APRStt specification to make it easy for HT's to send APRS data via these small satellites using only DTMF tones! See SPACE-APRStt . Thus, ANY radio can send APRS data just like the Kenwoods! (with NOTHING attached)The following is the standard Kenwood (or any DTMF) Keypad key definitions:
  To date, the only radio-only APRS signalling method has been the Kenwood D7 and D700 radios with their internal TNC's. But even so, the user interface is still only the HT's ubiquitous TTone keypad. APRStt simply moves the TT-to-APRS conversion from a TNC in the HT, to a PC on the hill so that ANY existing radio can be used instead of requiring a Processor and TNC to be built into every radio! Further, the DTMF users can receive feedback data via the text-to-speech (or CW) process built into APRStt.
  Click here for the APRStt SPEC. and all of my detail implementation notes. or here for a simplified version.
  Click here to DOWNLOAD APRStt01.zip. (Ignore any previous copies such as 04) With this progarm you can begin playing with APRStt on your own and see how it works. Even if you dont build the DTMF hardware interface, this program will let you enter DTMF equivalents on your keyboard to see how the conversions work over on the APRS side. I recommend that you run it on a Laptop with a D7 on low power and then watch what your Base-Station APRS system does with the packets.
  DTMF INTERFACE: The original APRStt.exe worked with a simple $5 DTMF decoder chip on the LPT1 Printer port and runs on any old DOS PC (eventually to be located at your voice repeater site (or other "receive" site (maybe 147.555?))). It performs the TTone to APRS conversion for all DTMF users in the area and sends the packets via its own TNC to the APRS system.
  VOICE INTERFACE: The original APRStt.exe does NOT need a sound card. It speaks through 8 resistors on the LPT1 port so ANY old PC or laptop can be used... You can even record your own voice for the responses..
  HT DTMF MEMORIES: The APRStt format definitions combined with the TTone memories built-in to most radios allows for nominal APRS operations with only a few key strokes. In fact, the number of key strokes can actually be less than for entering the same message via the keyboard on a Kenwood APRS radio! This is because APRStt uses a heuristic approach to abbreviate most commands...
  The following APRSdos map of Dayton shows me in the vicinity of the AMSAT Dinner using only the DTMF entry of B47*09. Notice my call within a 1 mile ambiguity circle down where the Amber Rose restaurant is located (and near those APRS mobiles parked in its parking lot!).
  The next Dayton map shows me (W4APR-11) located inside the HARA arena at the location of the APRS booth in the North Hall. This position is exact because I used the APRStt exact format of B4927*1531D.
  HOW did I know my LAT/LONG? Easy!. Before Dayton, I copied the MAPS out of the Hamvention Program and added some simple LAT/LONG tick marks along the edges of the map. With one of these in my pocket, I could use DTMF and the 2x2 format to put myself anywhere on the map within 30 miles of the center location of the APRStt recevier. Or using the HAMVENTION map and the 4x4 APRStt format, I could put myself anywhere exactly. Here is the overall Dayton paper map from the brochure with the one-mile grid tick-marks.
  Every event has a MAP. Simply put the LAT/LONG minutes on the edges!
  LINUX IMPLEMENTATION: When it comes to writing the final APRStt software, it would be great if a version was written under LINUX and could then be run as an auxilliary application at your local IRLP node! Rick, KB8DNR suggested that since the Linux box is already up there, already listening for DTMF, and with my other AVRS ideas will also already be linked to 144.39 via its own TNC, then its a perfect software only upgrade!
  APRStt-PL is an addon option [not even started yet] that adds "PL" decoding capability to APRStt. It not only listens for APRS messages formatted via Touch Tones and converts them to APRS packets on 144.39, but it also listens for PL tones on the input of the repeater. Thus, users can enable different PL tones on their HT's to signal any of 38 different states, commands, or pre-arranged controls. APRStt converts these also to packets of the form:
  W3VPR>APLXXX:> Heard PL 103This packet shows that a PL tone of 103 was heard on the W3VPR repeater APRStt program. The applications for this kind of signalling are only bound by the imagniation of the users. Since APRS knows where W3VPR repeater is located, it can use Vicinity Plotting to let you see where this is occuring. Or I can write a program that rings a bell when PL 147 is heard. My kids can then enter a PL of 147 on their $88 Alinco HT when they want to alert me to QSY to the W3VPR repeater to talk them. ETC... See the details on this PL addition.
  DUAL TONE TEXT PAGING RADIOS:DTMF Paging Radios: This is another APRStt project. There are 300,000 DTMF text paging walkie talkies that were produced in the 1990's. We want to integrate them into the APRS system too. In Mar 09, I made some progress on a pic-processor APRS-to DTMF gateway to convert APRS packets to DTMF Text packets that can be displayed on any of the hundreds of thousands of old DTMF text messaging radios of the 1990's (TH-78 and FT-51's etc) Read about the gateway.
  Before the entry of the Kenwood D7 into the market, several manufacturers had experimented with using Touch Tone Dual Tone Signalling transmission and display in their handhelds. Several models of Handhelds can send AND receive short TEXT fields via Touch Tones:
  Kenwood: TH-28A/48A/78AYeasu: FT-11R,41R,51RICOM: W31AThese radios can not only send TTones like any other HT, but they can also display text sent via TTones from other radios. The displays are quite limited to 6 or 8 characters on the screen at a time, but up to 10 such words can be sent. For APRStt then, we can then define how APRStt can take APRS messages sent to one of these users, convert it to DTSS tones and send them the message over the repeater! CLick here for details.
  APRStt.exe is written for any old 25 MHz or so DOS PC. It was demonstrated at Dayton 2002 using only CW responses. See Details, but I have since added VOICE response via 8 simple resistors on the parallel LPT1 port. For Dayton, I released APRStt00.exe so that even without the DTMF chip, experimenters could enter DTMF simulations from its PC keyboard and see the effect of the packets it generates on the APRS channel...
  Click here for a copy of how I added the DTMF chip to the LPT1 parallel port on my PC.
  You are visitor number: Since 28 March 2002. Number was 3900 on 6 June 2004..
  The Naval Academy is a registered user of APRS and WinAPRS. The purpose of this web page is to show several applications currently in use at this site and should not be considered as an advertisement or an endorsement of any commercial product.
Did someone help Ed Snowden punch a hole in the NSA?
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:38
  Did someone help Ed Snowden punch a hole in the NSA?
  by Jon Rappoport
  June 11, 2013
  www.nomorefakenews.com
  Ed Snowden, NSA leaker. Honest man. Doing what was right. Bravo.
  That still doesn't preclude the possibility that, unknown to him, he was managed by people to put him the right place to expose NSA secrets.
  Snowden's exposure of NSA was a righteous act, because that agency is a RICO criminal. But that doesn't mean we have the whole story.
  How many people work in classified jobs for the NSA? And here is one man, Snowden, who is working for Booz Allen, an outside contractor, but is assigned to NSA, and he can get access to, and copy, documents that expose the spying collaboration between NSA and the biggest tech companies in the world'--and he can get away with it.
  If so, then NSA is a sieve leaking out of all holes. Because that means a whole lot of other, higher NSA employees can likewise steal these documents. Many, many other people can copy them and take them. Poof.
  If the NSA is not a sieve, it's quite correct to suspect Snowden, a relatively low-level man, was guided and helped.
  Does that diminish what Snowden accomplished? No. But it casts it in a different light.
  Or you can believe a scenario like this:
  ''Mr. Snowden, I'm closing up now for the day. Do you need anything before I go?''
  ''No thanks, Sarah, I'll be staying late tonight.''
  NSA isn't a little community bank or a liquor store. We aren't talking about an employee with a printer and a file folder to hold top-secret pieces of paper he carries in a briefcase out of the office on his way home.
  If there are people who arranged Snowden's access to NSA secrets, without him knowing it, they'll be obscured by the maze of partisan political squabbling and Congressional idiots holding hearings.
  Between these morons and the press, the public will be treated, night and day, to the following: Can Snowden be extradited back here? Is he a terrorist? Should those giant tech companies have agreed to supply the government with information on private citizens? If so, how much information? Etc., etc. Diversions. False trails.
  To understand who might have been behind Snowden, we first need to understand the real reach of the Surveillance State.
  The Surveillance State has created an apparatus whose implications are staggering. It's a different world now. And sometimes it takes a writer of fiction to flesh out the larger landscape.
  Brad Thor's novel, Black List, posits the existence of a monster corporation, ATS, that stands along side the NSA in collecting information on every move we make. ATS' intelligence-gathering capability is unmatched anywhere in the world.
  At his site,www.BradThor.com, the author lists some of the open-source material he discovered that formed the basis for Black List. The material, as well as the novel, is worth reading.
  On pages 117-118 of Black List, Thor makes a stunning inference that, on reflection, is as obvious as the fingers on your hand:
  ''For years ATS [substitute NSA] had been using its technological superiority to conduct massive insider trading. Since the early 1980s, the company had spied on anyone and everyone in the financial world. They listened in on phone calls, intercepted faxes, and evolved right along with the technology, hacking internal computer networks and e-mail accounts. They created mountains of 'black dollars' for themselves, which they washed through various programs they were running under secret contract, far from the prying eyes of financial regulators.
  ''Those black dollars were invested into hard assets around the world, as well as in the stock market, through sham, offshore corporations. They also funneled the money into reams of promising R&D projects, which eventually would be turned around and sold to the Pentagon or the CIA.
  ''In short, ATS had created its own license to print money and had assured itself a place beyond examination or reproach.''
  (For more, click here.)
  In real life, whether the prime criminal source is one monster corporation or the NSA itself, the outcome would be the same.
  Total surveillance has unlimited payoffs when it targets financial markets and the people who have intimate knowledge of them.
  ''Total security awareness'' programs of surveillance are ideal spying ops in the financial arena, designed to grab millions of bits of inside information, and then utilize them to make investments and suck up billions (trillions?) of dollars.
  It gives new meaning to ''the rich get richer.''
  Taking the overall scheme to another level, consider this: those same heavy hitters (NSA) who have unfettered access to financial information can also choose, at opportune moments, to expose certain scandals and crimes.
  In this way, they can, at their whim, cripple governments, banks, and corporations. They can cripple investment houses, insurance companies, and hedge funds. Or, alternatively, they can merely blackmail these organizations.
  It's likely that the probe Ron Paul has been pushing'--audit the Federal Reserve'--has already been done by those who control unlimited global surveillance. They already know far more than any Congressional investigation will uncover. If they know the deepest truths, they can use them to blackmail, manipulate, and control the Fed itself.
  Corruption on top of corruption.
  In this global-surveillance world, we need to ask new questions and think along different lines now.
  For example, how long before the mortgage-derivative crisis hit did the Masters of Surveillance know, from spying on bank records, that insupportable debt was accumulating at a lethal pace? What did they do with that information?
  When did they know that at least a trillion dollars was missing from Pentagon accounting books (as Donald Rumsfeld eventually admitted on 9/10/2001), and what did they do with that information?
  Did they discover precisely where the trillion dollars went? Did they discover where billions of dollars, in cash, shipped to post-war Iraq, disappeared to?
  When did they know the details of the Libor rate-fixing scandal? Press reports indicate that Barclays was trying to rig interest rates as early as January 2005.
  Have they tracked, in detail, the men responsible for recruiting hired mercenaries and terrorists, who eventually wound up in Syria pretending to be an authentic rebel force?
  Have they discovered the truth about how close or how far away Iran is from producing a nuclear weapon?
  Have they collected detailed accounts of the most private plans of Bilderberg, CFR, and Trilateral Commission leaders?
  For global surveillance kings, what we think of as the future is, in many respects the present and the past.
  It's a new world. These overseers of universal information-detection can enter and probe the most secret caches of data, collect, collate, cross reference, and assemble them into vital bottom-lines. By comparison, an operation like Wikileaks is an old Model-T Ford puttering down a country road, and Julian Assange is a mere piker.
  Previously, we thought we needed to look over the shoulders of the men who were committing major crimes out of public view. But now, if we want to be up to date, we also have to factor in the men who are spying onthose criminals, who are gathering up those secrets and using them to commit their own brand of meta-crime.
  And in the financial arena, that means we think of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as perpetrators, yes, but we also think about the men who already know everything about GS and Morgan, and are using this knowledge to steal sums that might make GS and Morgan blush with envy.
  Therefore'....when looking for who might have helped Ed Snowden punch a hole in NSA, we should think about who the NSA has been spying on. Not the little guy, not the medium-sized guy, but a very big guy. Perhaps a Goldman Sachs or a JP Morgan.
  At the highest levels of criminal power, the players don't always agree. It's not always a smooth conspiracy. There is fierce in-fighting as well.
  Goldman Sachs, Chase, and Morgan consider trillion-dollar trading markets their own private golden-egg farm. They run it, they own it, they manipulate it for their own ends.
  If NSA has been looking over their shoulders for the past 30 years, discovering all their knowledge, and operating a meta invasion, siphoning off enormous profits, NSA would rate as Enemy Number One.
  And would need to be torpedoed.
  Enter Ed Snowden.
  Looking elsewhere, consider this. Snowden worked for the CIA. He was pushed up the ranks quickly, from an IT position in the US to a posting in Geneva, under diplomatic cover, to run security on the CIA's computer systems there.
  Then, Snowden quit the CIA and eventually ended up at Booz Allen, a private contractor. He was assigned to NSA, where he stole the secrets and exposed the NSA.
  The CIA and NSA have a long contentious relationship. The major issue is, who is king of US intelligence? We're talking about an internal war.
  Snowden could have been the CIA's man at NSA, where certain CIA players helped him access files he wouldn't have been able to tap otherwise.
  You can bet your bottom dollar that NSA analysts are looking into this possibility right now.
  Jon Rappoport
  The author of two explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED and EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29thDistrict of California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails atwww.nomorefakenews.com
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Naomi Wolf's Notes
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:15
  I hate to do this but I feel obligated to share, as the story unfolds, my creeping concern that the NSA leaker is not who he purports to be, and that the motivations involved in the story may be more complex than they appear to be. This is in no way to detract from the great courage of Glenn Greenwald in reporting the story, and the gutsiness of the Guardian in showcasing this kind of reporting, which is a service to America that US media is not performing at all. It is just to raise some cautions as the story unfolds, and to raise some questions about how it is unfolding, based on my experience with high-level political messaging.
  Some of Snowden's emphases seem to serve an intelligence/police state objective, rather than to challenge them.
  a) He is super-organized, for a whistleblower, in terms of what candidates, the White House, the State Dept. et al call 'message discipline.' He insisted on publishing a power point in the newspapers that ran his initial revelations. I gather that he arranged for a talented filmmaker to shoot the Greenwald interview. These two steps '-- which are evidence of great media training, really 'PR 101'" '-- are virtually never done (to my great distress) by other whistleblowers, or by progressive activists involved in breaking news, or by real courageous people who are under stress and getting the word out. They are always done, though, by high-level political surrogates.
  b) In the Greenwald video interview, I was concerned about the way Snowden conveys his message. He is not struggling for words, or thinking hard, as even bright, articulate whistleblowers under stress will do. Rather he appears to be transmitting whole paragraphs smoothly, without stumbling. To me this reads as someone who has learned his talking points '-- again the way that political campaigns train surrogates to transmit talking points.
  c) He keeps saying things like, ''If you are a journalist and they think you are the transmission point of this info, they will certainly kill you.'' Or: ''I fully expect to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act.'' He also keeps stressing what he will lose: his $200,000 salary, his girlfriend, his house in Hawaii. These are the kinds of messages that the police state would LIKE journalists to take away; a real whistleblower also does not put out potential legal penalties as options, and almost always by this point has a lawyer by his/her side who would PROHIBIT him/her from saying, 'come get me under the Espionage Act.'' Finally in my experience, real whistleblowers are completely focused on their act of public service and trying to manage the jeopardy to themselves and their loved ones; they don't tend ever to call attention to their own self-sacrifice. That is why they are heroes, among other reasons. But a police state would like us all to think about everything we would lose by standing up against it.
  d) It is actually in the Police State's interest to let everyone know that everything you write or say everywhere is being surveilled, and that awful things happen to people who challenge this. Which is why I am not surprised that now he is on UK no-fly lists '' I assume the end of this story is that we will all have a lesson in terrible things that happen to whistleblowers. That could be because he is a real guy who gets in trouble; but it would be as useful to the police state if he is a fake guy who gets in 'trouble.'
  e) In stories that intelligence services are advancing (I would call the prostitutes-with-the-secret-service such a story), there are great sexy or sex-related mediagenic visuals that keep being dropped in, to keep media focus on the issue. That very pretty pole-dancing Facebooking girlfriend who appeared for, well, no reason in the media coverage'...and who keeps leaking commentary, so her picture can be recycled in the press'...really, she happens to pole-dance? Dan Ellsberg's wife was and is very beautiful and doubtless a good dancer but somehow she took a statelier role as his news story unfolded'...
  f) Snowden is in Hong Kong, which has close ties to the UK, which has done the US's bidding with other famous leakers such as Assange. So really there are MANY other countries that he would be less likely to be handed over from'...
  g) Media reports said he had vanished at one point to 'an undisclosed location' or 'a safe house.' Come on. There is no such thing. Unless you are with the one organization that can still get off the surveillance grid, because that org created it.
  h) I was at dinner last night to celebrate the brave and heroic Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Several of Assange's also brave and talented legal team were there, and I remembered them from when I had met with Assange. These attorneys are present at every moment when Assange meets the press '-- when I met with him off the record last Fall in the Ecuadoran embassy, his counsel was present the whole time, listening and stepping in when necessary.
  Seeing these diligent attentive free-speech attorneys for another whisleblower reinforced my growing anxiety: WHERE IS SNOWDEN'S LAWYER as the world's media meet with him? A whistleblower talking to media has his/her counsel advising him/her at all times, if not actually being present at the interview, because anything he/she says can affect the legal danger the whistleblower may be in . It is very, very odd to me that a lawyer has not appeared, to my knowledge, to stand at Snowden's side and keep him from further jeopardy in interviews.
  Again I hate to cast any skepticism on what seems to be a great story of a brave spy coming in from the cold in the service of American freedom. And I would never raise such questions in public if I had not been told by a very senior official in the intelligence world that indeed, there are some news stories that they create and drive '-- even in America (where propagandizing Americans is now legal). But do consider that in Eastern Germany, for instance, it was the fear of a machine of surveillance that people believed watched them at all times '-- rather than the machine itself '-- that drove compliance and passivity. From the standpoint of the police state and its interests '-- why have a giant Big Brother apparatus spying on us at all times '-- unless we know about it?
  Naomi
Is Naomi Wolf working for the NSA?
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:12
  I hate to do this, but I feel obligated to share, as the story unfolds, my creeping concern that the writer Naomi Wolf is not whom she purports to be, and that her motive in writing an article on her public Facebook page speculating about whether National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden might actually be still working for the NSA, could be to support the government's effort to destroy him.
  After all, with Snowden under vicious attack by both the government and the corporate media, being wrongly accused of treason, or portrayed as a drop-out slacker, a narcissist, a loser hoping to gain fame and even a ''cross-dressing'' weirdo, what defender of liberty would pile on with publication of a work of absolutely fact-free speculation as to whether he might also be a kind of ''double agent'' put out there by the NSA in order to discourage real potential whistleblowers from even considering leaking information about government spying on Americans.
  Because that is exactly what Wolf has done on her website (the first clause at the opening of this article is a direct quote from the lead in Wolf's Facebook piece, but with her name substituted for Snowden's).
  What basis does she offer for her wild-eyed speculation that Snowden is perhaps ''not who he purports to be''?
  Well, first of all she notes darkly that US spy agencies ''create false identities, build fake companies, influence real media with fake stories, create distractions or demonizations in the local news that advance US policies, bug (technologically) and harass the opposition, disrupt and infiltrate the meetings and communications of factions that the US does not wish to see in power.'' This, she says, touting her own now rather dated 2007 book The End of America, is ''something you can't not see if you spend time around people who are senior in both the political establishment and the intelligence and state department establishments. You also can't avoid seeing it if you interview principled defectors from those systems, as I have done'...''
  Then, after having assuring us of how well-connected she is, she raises what she calls ''red flags'' about Snowden:
  ''I was concerned about the way Snowden conveys his message. He is not struggling for words, or thinking hard, as even bright, articulate whistleblowers under stress will do. Rather he appears to be transmitting whole paragraphs smoothly, without stumbling. To me this reads as someone who has learned his talking points '-- again the way that political campaigns train surrogates to transmit talking points.''
  ''He keeps saying things like, 'If you are a journalist and they think you are the transmission point of this info, they will certainly kill you.' Or: 'I fully expect to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act.' He also keeps stressing what he will lose: his $200,000 salary, his girlfriend, his house in Hawaii. These are the kinds of messages that the police state would LIKE journalists to take away.'' In case we miss the point, she adds, implying rather strongly that she is concluding Snowden is a fake, ''A real whistleblower also does not put out potential legal penalties as options, and almost always by this point has a lawyer by his/her side who would PROHIBIT him/her from saying, 'come get me under the Espionage Act.' Finally in my experience, real whistleblowers are completely focused on their act of public service and trying to manage the jeopardy to themselves and their loved ones; they don't tend ever to call attention to their own self-sacrifice.''
  ''It is actually in the Police State's interest to let everyone know that everything you write or say everywhere is being surveilled, and that awful things happen to people who challenge this. Which is why I am not surprised that now he is on UK no-fly lists '' I assume the end of this story is that we will all have a lesson in terrible things that happen to whistleblowers.'' She adds, in a further indictment of Snowden, ''That could be because he is a real guy who gets in trouble; but it would be as useful to the police state if he is a fake guy who gets in 'trouble.'''
  She says he talks about the beautiful ''pole-dancer'' girlfriend he abandoned (actually he did that for her safety, Naomi), implying his repetition process might be so that the media have a justification to keep showing her sexy photo (as though our prurient media needs a justification to do such a thing).
  The media keep saying he is in a ''safe house'' in Hong Kong, which according to Wolf cannot exist in the former British colony, now a part of China, ''Unless you are with the one organization that can still get off the surveillance grid, because that org created it.''
  He's not surrounded by an army of attorneys the way Wikileaks' Julian Assange was when he traveled (and by the way, I recall that for a long time, after Wikileaks ran the Bradley Manning documents, including the horrific ''Collateral Damage'' war crime video, there were conspiracy theorists out there claiming baselessly that he was actually probably a Mossad asset '-- this on the basis that he had not been sufficiently leaking damaging information about Israel's actions against Palestinians).
  That's it, folks! All sheer wild speculation about Snowden, with not even one shred of actual evidence against him to suggest he's anything but what he says he is: a young man who was hired to do some really dirty work spying on Americans en masse, who decided that what was happening was the creation of a totalitarian system, and who had the courage of, instead of walking away from it, putting his life in jeopardy by publicly blowing the whistle.
  I have nothing against trying to uncover conspiracies, particularly those orchestrated by a government like our own which we know has manufactured from whole cloth faked evidence to justify a war in Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, even to the point of torturing captives to get them to make up tales that would justify that fake evidence. But when someone with Wolf's reputation on the left sinks to this level of baseless and libelous accusations against a brave person who is under attack by that government, it cannot be allowed to pass.
  Of course, I don't really think that Wolf is acting as an agent for the government (I could only speculate about that, and I won't). And if she were just thinking these idle thoughts, and maybe raising them in a playful discussion at home with a few friends over dinner, I would see nothing wrong in the exercise. But as a highly media-savvy public person, she's publishing them intentionally where they will be widely circulated: on her publicly accessible Facebook page. I have to conclude she has allowed her instinct for self-promotion and grandstanding in this case to let her do something truly treacherous and unconscionable: baselessly defaming and attacking the credibility of a brave whistleblower who is under official under attack.
  As a long-time investigative reporter, I also dispute Wolf's self-serving claim that her own experience in dealing with whistleblowers shows them to be uniformly disorganized and inarticulate. In my experience, some are very disorganized and hard to follow because of their focus on the trees in their personal forest, but some whistleblowers are intensely organized and know exactly what they want to tell you as a journalist. They are also apt, organized or not, contrary to what Wolf says, to highlight the danger they are in, and that they may be putting the reporter in. Sometimes this may be simply to make sure you are interested and recognize the seriousness of what they have to say, and sometimes it is out of genuine fear for themselves and concern for the journalist's safety, and perhaps also to make sure you fully understand what you're getting into and that you will not cave and reveal their identity the moment you are put under pressure yourself.
  Wolf, who always makes a point of mentioning she's a Yale grad and a Rhodes Scholar who studied at Oxford, should take care in assuming that someone with only a high school diploma speaking in whole sentences or paragraphs is probably reciting ''talking points'' from a script. Her assumption reeks of class-based stereotyping. I have met car mechanics, who besides working miracles on my old cars, can speak in multiple paragraphs about politics, often with more wisdom and insight than most of the ivy-league pundits on the tube.
  As for Wolf's claim of there being ''no safe houses'' in Hong Kong, I just have to laugh. Having lived in Hong Kong for five years, I can assure her that there are myriad urban warrens all over Hong Kong where one could hide for decades undetected, as well as vast stretches of tropical wilderness in the New Territories where people can become lost for days, even with professional rescue teams looking for them. Wolf should stick to things she has actual knowledge about, instead of trashing good people on the basis of ignorant speculation and pretend savvy.
  Unless and until someone comes up with a single hard fact seriously suggesting that Snowden is a fake, this kind of fantasizing should halt. Wolf should apologize for her self-aggrandizing tripe and make a generous donation from her book sales to the Snowden defense fund '-- unless of course she has evidence that the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is an NSA or CIA front group.
  DAVE LINDORFF is a founding member of ThisCantBeHappening!, an online newspaper collective, and is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press).
Two Groups Rekindle Fight Over Anne Frank
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  Archived Version
  Source: NYT > Home Page
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:02
  Cris Toala Olivares/Anne Frank House
  Visitors at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where the Frank family hid in a secret annex during World War II.
  AMSTERDAM '-- In a letter to her grandmother in 1940, composed before she went into hiding here, 11-year-old Annelies Frank recorded a detail that surely seemed of little consequence at the time.
  ''Daddy is very busy in his office,'' wrote the young correspondent, in a script already elegant. ''He is moving to the Prinsengracht, and I'll go and fetch him from the tram as often as possible.''
  It was there, in the annex above her father's office on the Prinsengracht, or Prince's Canal, that her family would hide for more than two years from the Nazi occupiers, beginning in 1942. And it is there, in the museum that now occupies the building, the Anne Frank House, that visitors can view that letter to her grandmother.
  But custody of that note, along with 10,000 other similar archival documents and photographs, is at the center of a bitter legal fight between the House and the Anne Frank Fonds, the other foundation most closely involved in the telling of Anne's story. The Anne Frank Fonds, founded in 1963 to manage the copyrights to the Anne Frank diary, lent most of the disputed archives to the House in 2007 and has sued for their immediate return. House officials said they believed the loans would become permanent. A verdict is expected in the coming weeks.
  The organizations have sparred for years over similar legal questions '-- ownership of archives, issues of copyright and trademark '-- in disputes that have seeded longstanding mistrust. The current lawsuit, however, has exposed a basic philosophical rift between the groups, a divergence in their visions of Anne and of what her legacy ought to be.
  In addition to its lawsuit, the Fonds has accused the House of transforming Anne into a sort of child saint without context, an appealing icon of hope but one whose Jewish identity and place among the millions killed in the Holocaust are too little emphasized. Officials at the House, which maintains a network of exhibitions and centers across the world, insist their portrayal of Anne is strictly in keeping with the wishes of her father, Otto Frank, who survived Auschwitz and made it his life's work to spread the message of tolerance he believed his daughter carried.
  ''Both organizations want to own Anne Frank,'' said Melissa M¼ller, an Austrian biographer of Anne. ''Both want to impose a way for the world to see Anne Frank.'' Anne succumbed to typhus at age 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.
  Ronald Leopold, the House's executive director, said Mr. Frank wished his daughter to be a ''symbol of the future'' and not of the past. To that end the House, which draws more than one million visitors annually, seeks to spread a ''universal message'' of tolerance, Mr. Leopold said, but that message is anchored in the ''very specific'' history of the narrow building at 263 Prinsengracht.
  The spare, four-story museum guides visitors up steep wooden staircases to the back rooms where, behind a bookcase and through a trapdoor, the Frank family hid with four other Jews. In a narrow, dimly lighted room, images of Ray Milland and a red-lipped Greta Garbo, clipped from magazines by Anne, can still be seen pasted to the wall. In the next room pencil markings on the beige wallpaper track her height.
  The annex has been kept empty of furnishings, as Mr. Frank found it after the war, Mr. Leopold said. Mr. Frank insisted it be maintained this way, to evoke loss, Mr. Leopold added, and the museum strives to present Anne's story ''in an emotional way.''
  Pages from the original diary are displayed, and passages from the text are featured prominently throughout the museum and in the House's official documents, along with images of Anne.
  There are few images of the Holocaust, though, or of concentration camps or Nazi propaganda, a choice the Fonds has criticized.
  The museum is ''missing context,'' said Yves Kugelmann, a Fonds board member and spokesman. Anne's smiling face is ''overpresent,'' Mr. Kugelmann said, and the House has become a ''pilgrimage place'' where the girl is used ''for everything and nothing.''
  ''They have a, let's say, wrong perception of the truth and history,'' he said, in an echo of decades of debate over Anne's portrayal in popular culture.
  Though her father may have sought to spread a message of tolerance, Mr. Kugelmann said, he did not wish to see his daughter memorialized in a museum. The House, Mr. Kugelmann said, was initially conceived as a meeting place for young people from around the world.
  In comments to a Dutch newspaper last month, he compared the House's refusal to return the archives to the seizure by ''the Germans and their accomplices'' of the Frank family's possessions.
Apple releases stats on national security requests for customer data
  Link to Article
  Archived Version
  Source: CNET News
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:01
  From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple said it received between 4,000 and 5,000 government requests, affecting 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices.
  Apple's Cupertino, California headquarters.
  (Credit: James Martin/CNET)Joining Facebook and Microsoft, Apple revealed the number of requests from U.S. law enforcement for user information and affected accounts. The company said that it received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement agencies for customer data from December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, and that 9,000 to 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in the requests. Apple did not state how many of the requests and affected accounts or devices were from the NSA.
  Previous to Apple's disclosure, Facebook stated that it received 9,000 to 10,000 requests for customer data from government agencies, and that between 18,000 and 19,000 of its 1.1 billion accounts were impacted over a six-month period ending December 31, 2012.
  Microsoft disclosed that it received 6,000 to 7,000 criminal and national security warrants, subpoenas, and orders affecting between 31,000 and 32,000 consumer accounts from U.S. governmental entities over the same six-month period.
  A Google representative told CNET that it is working on disclosing the same type of statistics, and plans to be more detailed than Microsoft or Facebook.
  In its note, Apple reiterated that it does not give any government agency direct access to its servers, and requires a court order to release customer content.
  Below is Apple's full statement:
  Two weeks ago, when technology companies were accused of indiscriminately sharing customer data with government agencies, Apple issued a clear response: We first heard of the government's "Prism" program when news organizations asked us about it on June 6. We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer content must get a court order.
  Like several other companies, we have asked the U.S. government for permission to report how many requests we receive related to national security and how we handle them. We have been authorized to share some of that data, and we are providing it here in the interest of transparency.
  From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data. Between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in those requests, which came from federal, state and local authorities and included both criminal investigations and national security matters. The most common form of request comes from police investigating robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer's disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide.
  Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it.
  Apple has always placed a priority on protecting our customers' personal data, and we don't collect or maintain a mountain of personal details about our customers in the first place. There are certain categories of information which we do not provide to law enforcement or any other group because we choose not to retain it.
  For example, conversations which take place over iMessage and FaceTime are protected by end-to-end encryption so no one but the sender and receiver can see or read them. Apple cannot decrypt that data. Similarly, we do not store data related to customers' location, Map searches or Siri requests in any identifiable form.
  We will continue to work hard to strike the right balance between fulfilling our legal responsibilities and protecting our customers' privacy as they expect and deserve.
Janet Napolitano Denies Existence of 'Orwellian State'.
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  Archived Version
  Source: WT news feed
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:54
  Janet Napolitano. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano weighed in on the NSA intelligence leaks on Friday, telling NY1 that fears over government surveillance were overblown.
  ''I think people have gotten the idea that there's an Orwellian state out there that somehow we're operating in. That's far from the case,'' she told Errol Louis during an appearance on Road to City Hall.
  Despite civil liberties advocates' fears that monitoring efforts have gone too far, ''there are lots of protections built into the system,'' Ms. Napolitano said, pointing to a privacy office embedded in her own department that is ''constantly reviewing our policies and procedures.'' She further stressed the court review system.
  ''No one should believe that we are simply going willy-nilly and using any kind of data that we can gather,'' she said.
  Still, she acknowledged the federal government hasn't done the best job of keeping the public informed about how it is treating the enormous amounts of personal information that could potentially be used in intelligence gathering.
  ''I think we need to do a better job of explaining to the American people exactly what is kept, what are the real restrictions on how'--I'm just talking now for DHS, Department of Homeland Security''how we use it, how long we can keep it, how we share it, all those thing,'' she explained.
  Ms. Napolitano added that striking the right balance between security and civil liberties is always a challenge.
  ''We're constantly struggling,'' she said. ''It's not easy''because technology has increased so much''these balances between security and privacy and other values.''
  Follow Jill Colvin on Twitter or via RSS. jcolvin@observer.com
GCHQ intercepted foreign politicians' communications at G20 summits
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  Archived Version
  Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:42
  Exclusive: phones were monitored and fake internet cafes set up to gather information from allies in London in 2009
  Documents uncovered by the NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, reveal surveillance of G20 delegates' emails and BlackBerrys. Photograph: Guardian
  Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their email traffic.
  The revelation comes as Britain prepares to host another summit on Monday '' for the G8 nations, all of whom attended the 2009 meetings which were the object of the systematic spying. It is likely to lead to some tension among visiting delegates who will want the prime minister to explain whether they were targets in 2009 and whether the exercise is to be repeated this week.
  The disclosure raises new questions about the boundaries of surveillance by GCHQ and its American sister organisation, the National Security Agency, whose access to phone records and internet data has been defended as necessary in the fight against terrorism and serious crime. The G20 spying appears to have been organised for the more mundane purpose of securing an advantage in meetings. Named targets include long-standing allies such as South Africa and Turkey.
  There have often been rumours of this kind of espionage at international conferences, but it is highly unusual for hard evidence to confirm it and spell out the detail. The evidence is contained in documents '' classified as top secret '' which were uncovered by the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and seen by the Guardian. They reveal that during G20 meetings in April and September 2009 GCHQ used what one document calls "ground-breaking intelligence capabilities" to intercept the communications of visiting delegations.
  This included:
  ''‰Setting up internet cafes where they used an email interception programme and key-logging software to spy on delegates' use of computers;
  ''‰Penetrating the security on delegates' BlackBerrys to monitor their email messages and phone calls;
  ''‰Supplying 45 analysts with a live round-the-clock summary of who was phoning who at the summit;
  ''‰Targeting the Turkish finance minister and possibly 15 others in his party;
  ''‰Receiving reports from an NSA attempt to eavesdrop on the Russian leader, Dmitry Medvedev, as his phone calls passed through satellite links to Moscow.
  The documents suggest that the operation was sanctioned in principle at a senior level in the government of the then prime minister, Gordon Brown, and that intelligence, including briefings for visiting delegates, was passed to British ministers.
  A briefing paper dated 20 January 2009 records advice given by GCHQ officials to their director, Sir Iain Lobban, who was planning to meet the then foreign secretary, David Miliband. The officials summarised Brown's aims for the meeting of G20 heads of state due to begin on 2 April, which was attempting to deal with the economic aftermath of the 2008 banking crisis. The briefing paper added: "The GCHQ intent is to ensure that intelligence relevant to HMG's desired outcomes for its presidency of the G20 reaches customers at the right time and in a form which allows them to make full use of it." Two documents explicitly refer to the intelligence product being passed to "ministers".
  One of the GCHQ documents. Photograph: GuardianAccording to the material seen by the Guardian, GCHQ generated this product by attacking both the computers and the telephones of delegates.
  One document refers to a tactic which was "used a lot in recent UK conference, eg G20". The tactic, which is identified by an internal codeword which the Guardian is not revealing, is defined in an internal glossary as "active collection against an email account that acquires mail messages without removing them from the remote server". A PowerPoint slide explains that this means "reading people's email before/as they do".
  The same document also refers to GCHQ, MI6 and others setting up internet cafes which "were able to extract key logging info, providing creds for delegates, meaning we have sustained intelligence options against them even after conference has finished". This appears to be a reference to acquiring delegates' online login details.
  Another document summarises a sustained campaign to penetrate South African computers, recording that they gained access to the network of their foreign ministry, "investigated phone lines used by High Commission in London" and "retrieved documents including briefings for South African delegates to G20 and G8 meetings". (South Africa is a member of the G20 group and has observer status at G8 meetings.)
  Another excerpt from the GCHQ documents. Photograph: GuardianA detailed report records the efforts of the NSA's intercept specialists at Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire to target and decode encrypted phone calls from London to Moscow which were made by the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and other Russian delegates.
  Other documents record apparently successful efforts to penetrate the security of BlackBerry smartphones: "New converged events capabilities against BlackBerry provided advance copies of G20 briefings to ministers '... Diplomatic targets from all nations have an MO of using smartphones. Exploited this use at the G20 meetings last year."
  The operation appears to have run for at least six months. One document records that in March 2009 '' the month before the heads of state meeting '' GCHQ was working on an official requirement to "deliver a live dynamically updating graph of telephony call records for target G20 delegates '... and continuing until G20 (2 April)."
  Another document records that when G20 finance ministers met in London in September, GCHQ again took advantage of the occasion to spy on delegates, identifying the Turkish finance minister, Mehmet Simsek, as a target and listing 15 other junior ministers and officials in his delegation as "possible targets". As with the other G20 spying, there is no suggestion that Simsek and his party were involved in any kind of criminal offence. The document explicitly records a political objective '' "to establish Turkey's position on agreements from the April London summit" and their "willingness (or not) to co-operate with the rest of the G20 nations".
  The September meeting of finance ministers was also the subject of a new technique to provide a live report on any telephone call made by delegates and to display all of the activity on a graphic which was projected on to the 15-sq-metre video wall of GCHQ's operations centre as well as on to the screens of 45 specialist analysts who were monitoring the delegates.
  "For the first time, analysts had a live picture of who was talking to who that updated constantly and automatically," according to an internal review.
  A second review implies that the analysts' findings were being relayed rapidly to British representatives in the G20 meetings, a negotiating advantage of which their allies and opposite numbers may not have been aware: "In a live situation such as this, intelligence received may be used to influence events on the ground taking place just minutes or hours later. This means that it is not sufficient to mine call records afterwards '' real-time tip-off is essential."
  In the week after the September meeting, a group of analysts sent an internal message to the GCHQ section which had organised this live monitoring: "Thank you very much for getting the application ready for the G20 finance meeting last weekend '... The call records activity pilot was very successful and was well received as a current indicator of delegate activity'‰'...
  "It proved useful to note which nation delegation was active during the moments before, during and after the summit. All in all, a very successful weekend with the delegation telephony plot."