DHS Wants To Double US Predator Drone Fleet

It's in your face fascism!  Department of Homeland Security  (DHS), according to Trevor Timm at Activist Post, "...signed a contract that could be worth as much as $443 million with General Atomics for the purchase up to fourteen additional Predator drones to fly near the border of Mexico and Canada. Congress would still need to appropriate the funds, but if they did, DHS' drone fleet would increase to twenty-four." A public relations blitz, will likely, attempt to mollify public concern over privacy and safety, but blog entry adds: 

"Perhaps worse, DHS is also flying Predator drone missions on behalf of a diverse group of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for missions beyond immigration issues. We know they have lent the drones out to the county sheriff's department in North Dakota and the Texas Rangers, among others, but unfortunately, we don’t know the full extent DHS lending program. DHS, as is their custom, is keeping that information secret."

Timm  summarizes "spies in the skies" capabilities: ".....drones can be equipped with, among other capabilities, facial recognition technology, fake cell phone towers to intercept phone calls, texts and GPS locations, and in a few years, will even be able to see through walls." You will have much more to worry about than a speeding ticket, when Predator drones fill US skies!

New Intel-based PC Permanently Hackable

Jim Stone reports Intel processors with vPro cores are permanently hackable, even if there's no operating system and network connection unplugged!.  "The new Intel Core vPro processors contain a new remote access feature which allows 100 percent remote acess to a PC 100 percent of the time, even if the computer is TURNED OFF. Core vPro processors contain a second physical processor embedded within the main processor which has it's own operating system embedded on the chip itself. As long as the power supply is available and and in working condition, it can be woken up by the Core vPro processor, which runs on the system's phantom power and is able to quietly turn individual hardware components on and access anything on them," informs Stone.  It's an embedded 3g connectivity in the processor, Stone advises, that adds capability "..even if it is physically disconnected from the internet. You see, Core vPro processors work in conjunction with Intel's new Anti Theft 3.0, which put 3g connectivity into every Intel CPU after the Sandy Bridge version of the I3/5/7 processors. Users do not get to know about that 3g connection, but it IS there."  It's best to be informed!

Did Anonymous Block Karl Rove’s Attempt To Steal Election?

Thom Hartman ponders prospect hacker group Anonymous blocked Karl Rove from vote flipping key states in the November election. Rove, is suspected, of successfully flipping 2004 vote in favor of George W Bush. Michael Connell, a software consultant died in 2008 plane crash on his way to testify in Federal Court, due to a lawsuit concerning 2004 vote in state of Ohio. Karl Rove warned Connell against telling what he knew. Hartmann discusses similarities found in two elections by Bob Fitrakis in article, "Why Rove Failed to Deliver Ohio on Election Day: What Happened in Ohio This Time Around." Rove asserted exit polls were incorrect and voting machines momentarily crashed in both elections.  Hartmann goes on to ponder whether Anonymous shut out Rove this time by installing firewall and password protection on the backdoor to voter tabulation software?  Thanks goes to Liberals Unite for the links.  Please drop below fold to watch Anonymous deliver warning to Rove prior to election. It's good stuff!

Arc of Venus: Mysteries of Our Sister Planet's Atmosphere

The Daily Galaxy shares scientists strategy to better understand atmosphere of Venus.  The biggest Venus mystery concerns, according to article, "...super-rotation. The whole atmosphere circles the planet in just four Earth days, much faster than the planet's spin period of 243 days."  Refracted sunlight as it passes through layers of air above planet's cloudtops, creates an arc of light.   "The brightness of the arc reveals the temperature and density structure of Venus's middle atmosphere, or 'mesosphere,' where the sunlight is refracted. According to some models, the mesosphere is key to the physics of super-rotation. By analyzing the lightcurve of the arc, researchers can figure out the temperature and density of this critical layer from pole to pole,"  reports article.  It's difficult to imagine world. where it revolves only once every 243 days but the weather circles the globe every four?  Will scientists figure out physics of  super-rotation of Venus atmosphere?

Retro Sci-Fi Weekend: 'The Brain That Wouldn't Die'

A 1962 release, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die," provides perfect pairing of macabre horror of the mad scientist variety with a baudy burlesque element!   It's frankly almost optimum late night viewing for lounging couples!  Young guys pull your girl close and don't let her slip away as Dr Bill Cortner (Jason Evers) does with his fiancee Jan Compton (Virginia Leith), when he crashes his car on a hillside that results in her decapitation.   Dr Cortner already conducting clandestine experiments seeks to save his love, now,  by transplanting her head on another body.   The doctor manages to revive the head (picture) with his formula in a basement lab, where a hapless one-armed surgeon Kurt aids Dr Cortner in his illicit work.  Kurt waits his turn to receive a  second functioning arm so he can resume his career;  instead,  falls prey to a mutant he helped create by sewing together discarded parts revived by the doctor's formula.  The highlight of the movie proves to be the search for a suitable body.  It makes perfect sense to attend a "Body Beautiful" contest,  but the doctor informed by a prospective donor picked up in route the winner is only the second most beautiful.  Doris Powell possesses the most beautiful body, although her face remains disfigured by an attack suffered years earlier.   Cortner loses no time by attending one of her modeling sessions with a promise to correct Doris' disfigurement.   Jan, who resents her condition, pleas with fiancee to quit insane pursuit as Cortner brings a drugged Powell into basement lab for the procedure.  Jan, whose mental powers are enhanced by the formula, communicates with the mutant through telepathy and directed the beast previously to kill Kurt.  The doctor gets snagged now, when he ventures too close to cell door holding the mutant.  The mutant kills the doctor as he dislodges cell door, tipping over chemicals to set lab ablaze.  The proverbial "beauty and the beast" scene ensues as the mutant rescues the drugged Powell, carrying her to safety.  The final scene shows Jan/the head admonishing her fiancee, "I told you should have let me die!" A youthful viewer can appreciate script writers' inventiveness in finding means of injecting sex into plot! You have to love those wholesome chicks from the fifties!  Please drop below the fold for your viewing pleasure.  Admission is free!

DARPA Wants Amateur Astronomers To Watch Sky For Space Junk

from stratrisks.com: There is really so much junk floating around in space the government needs help keeping track of it all. This week the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced a program to utilize amateur astronomers to help watch space for any dangerous junk that maybe be threatening satellites or other spacecraft and even the Earth. If you have a telescope, great but the program will even install equipment if you are in a strategic area the government want to watch.

DARPA’s program , known as SpaceView is strategically aimed at offering more diverse data to the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), a US Air Force program charged with cataloging and observing space objects to identify potential near-term collisions.

With SpaceView DARPA will provide “state of the art hardware and relatively minor financial compensation may be provided in exchange for the shared telescope time, site security, and routine maintenance. This allows the SpaceView concept to significantly reduce deployment costs when compared to traditional optical space-surveillance facilities. Equally important, remote observing and the availability of the local SpaceView member for troubleshooting eliminates the need for any paid employees at the site, further decreasing operational costs,” DARPA stated.

According to the agency, SpaceView is in its initial developmental phase which consists of developing the network architecture and demonstrating the ability to remotely and automatically operate a network of sites from a central location. A large part of developing the network architecture consists of determining the needs of the amateur astronomy community so that these needs can be aligned with the space surveillance needs of SpaceView, DARPA stated.




If you are interested in signing up go here. According to DARPA, by providing contact information and the answers to a few basic questions you will be helping us to begin the process of gathering the information we need to develop the network architecture concept more thoroughly. Once your information has been received by SpaceView interested parties will most likely receive a link via email to a questionnaire requesting more detailed information regarding your astronomy background, observing habits, as well as other demographic information. This information will be used by SpaceView to determine the habits and needs of candidate network members.

NASA estimates more than 500,000 pieces of hazardous space debris orbit the earth, threatening satellites that support peacekeeping and combat missions.

Examples of what NASA calls orbital debris include: “Derelict spacecraft and upper stages of launch vehicles, carriers for multiple payloads, debris intentionally released during spacecraft separation from its launch vehicle or during mission operations, debris created as a result of spacecraft or upper stage explosions or collisions, solid rocket motor effluents, and tiny flecks of paint released by thermal stress or small particle impacts. ”

According to NASA the Top 10 space junk producing missions are:

Name Year of Breakup Debris items Cause of Breakup

• Fengyun-1C 2007 2,841 Intentional Collision
• Cosmos 2251 2009 1,267 Accidental Collision
• STEP 2 Rocket Body 1996 713 Accidental Explosion
• Iridium 33 2009 521 Accidental Collision
• Cosmos 2421 2008 509 Unknown
• SPOT 1 Rocket Body 1986 492 Accidental Explosion
• OV2-1 Rocket Body 1965 473 Accidental Explosion
• Nimbus 4 Rocket Body 1970 374 Accidental Explosion
• TES Rocket Body 2001 370 Accidental Explosion
• CBERS 1 Rocket Body 2000 343 Accidental Explosion

Australia To Host U.S. Space Radar and Telescope.

from ap-perspective.blogspot.com: Australia will host two United States space surveillance systems as part of closer military ties agreed to at a bilateral security summit yesterday.

The new co-operation on space was one in a string of enhanced engagements agreed on at an annual summit attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts.

The two militaries have agreed that Australia will operate a US Air Force C-band ground-based radar system near the north-west town of Exmouth.

Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith announced that they also plan to relocate a Space Surveillance Telescope from New Mexico to an as-yet undecided location in Western Australia.

Mr Panetta described the relocation as "a major leap forward in bilateral space co-operation".

Together, the radar and telescope will provide accurate tracking and identification of objects in space such as satellites and debris. The radar will be delivered in 2014 at the site of a former US Navy communications base.

In a statement released yesterday, after Mrs Clinton and Mr Panetta met Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Mr Smith, the US and Australia also agreed to hold joint military exercises with Japan and to boost defense relations with China. The ministers also called on China to increase military transparency, according to the statement.

Related:
U.S. missile system expansion in Asia-Pacific angers China
Australia backs security pact with U.S. and India

On Tuesday, Mrs Clinton encouraged Australia to increase its military ties with India, but added that America also supports the peaceful rise of Asian economic powerhouse China.

She said that the US had made a strategic priority of supporting India in playing a larger role in Asian affairs.

"It's also important to see the burgeoning relationship between Australia and India," she said. "We would welcome joint Australia-Indian naval vessel exercises in the future."

The US also supports a peaceful and open China, she added.

The US and Australia also want to increase US military access to the Australian navy base south of Perth and to bombing ranges in the northern Outback as part of the shift of US might to the Asia-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the summit will discuss medium-term plans for co-operation on military aviation as well as warships.