Intel & Surveillance News

US vows to help #Philippines in intel gathering / oldest US ally in Asia no specifics re support see Territorial dispute South China Sea #China claim Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei + Taiwan have overlapping claims http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/08/26/1492532/us-vows-help-philippines-intel-gathering MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates Lttd /MDA CA$3.9 million contract with National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency http://softwaredev.itbusinessnet.com/article/MDA-to-provide-operational-enhancements-for-information-solution-to-support-flight-operations-at-airports-4038599 other MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates Lttd /MDA  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacDonald,_Dettwiler_and_Associates National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency combat support agency, under USA DOD & intelligence agency US intel comm GEOINT NGA credited by WH military officials for providing info re Op Neptune's Spear 2011 / bin Laden #Serbia National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency cause of #NATO Bombing of Chinese embassy in Belgrade / CIA argues otherwise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geospatial-Intelligence_Agency USA military - DRONES Spent last decade amassing over 7,000 surveillance drones / some size of birds / others as big as as jetliners Drone technology = USA spy planes will be phased out starting in 2018 Without US ground troops in Iraq and Syria, #USA commanders rely on airborne #surveillance more than ever before Iraq war - USA had plenty fighter pilots - low on aerial surveillance re what happening ground / long distance pilots on amphetamine paste Over decades, U-2 spy plane claimed lives of 30 pilots / many have nearly crashed after suffering decompression sickness Russia U-2 spy plane shot down over Soviet Union in 1960 / capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers / traded for Soviet spy 1962 It is after satellites could be relied upon for remote control that drones could be used for surveillance. US Airforce trained: x18 U-2 pilots trained 2014 x57 ground-based pilots for Global Hawk (drone) [ looks like drones are the go ] DRONES = cost about half what the U-2 spy planes cost per flying hour to operate Global Hawk = drone http://www.latimes.com/nation/great-reads/la-na-c1-spy-plane-pilot-20150826-story.html Potomac Advocates (PRASAM) PRASAM, intel community's 'official' lobbyist grabbed lion’s share of USG lobbying 4 intel community /subsription http://www.intelligenceonline.com/government-intelligence/due-diligence/2015/08/26/prasam-intelligence-community-s--official--lobbyist,108088706-ART More Potomac Advocates http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?id=D000036775 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc provides war fighter solutions and security related services engineering, Information Technology services and war fighter solutions primarily for US National Security priorities services include command, control, communications, computing, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (c5ISR), weapon systems lifecycle support, military weapon range and technical services, network engineering services, advanced information technology services, security and surveillance systems, and critical infrastructure design and integration services. http://www.americantradejournal.com/kratos-defense-security-solutions-inc-short-interest-update-2/657949/ #Canada Surveillance Police surveillance camera goes up in East Vancouver neighbourhood / gang violence issue http://www.news1130.com/2015/08/25/police-surveillance-camera-goes-up-in-vancouver-neighbourhood/ #Surveillance Windows 10 heralds a future in which the cloud rules and computers snitch on us by default default / automatic sharing of data the new normal — from your voice & typing patterns to unique machine ID s/ track & target #surveillance By default, users of Mac OSX & Ubuntu Linux transmit local search terms to respective companies + third parties http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/8/when-surveillance-is-a-feature-not-a-bug.html #AmericanAggression masked as deterrence to 'Russian aggression' USA send F-22 Raptors to Europe European Reassurance Initiative $985 million in overseas contingency operations USA funding - 2015 current fiscal year. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-08-25/us-will-send-f-22s-europe-bolster-allies-deter-russia Understanding Indications & Warning Efforts Of US Ballistic Missile Defence – Analysis http://www.eurasiareview.com/26082015-understanding-indications-and-warning-efforts-of-us-ballistic-missile-defense-analysis/ Surveillance / Militarised Police #Baltimore police Coming Storm 'Stingray' Surveillance by Police http://www.citylab.com/crime/2015/08/youre-going-to-hear-a-lot-more-about-police-use-of-stingray/402283/ USA Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act | CISA concerns re proposed Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act ie - nature and volume of private data about users being funneled to the government (and intelligence agencies) by companies who opt to participate in the information sharing scheme contemplated by the law https://www.justsecurity.org/25475/cisa-surveillance-law-xss-attack/ USA - Surveillance Act (FISA) electronic surveillance under Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) fed appeals court upheld sentence http://www.startribune.com/federal-appeals-court-upholds-women-s-prison-sentences-in-terror-case/322843851/ Military Drones Market to Reach $11 Billion by 2021 From $3 Billion in 2014 http://www.aviationpros.com/news/12106991/military-drones-market-to-reach-11-billion-by-2021-from-3-billion-in-2014 Ghostery privacy extension / Ghostrank Ghostery privacy extension http://www.extremetech.com/internet/212476-is-it-safe-to-use-the-ghostery-privacy-extension ---------------------- ꕤ  ---------------------- COMMENT Random surveillance articles.  Bit of a mixed bag that's thrown up some military stuff.  Mostly just skimmed. The ballistic missiles article could be interesting, as it's a bit hard to apply lessons of history to present day strategy, without knowing anything about today's military capabilities.  That might be a reading list article.  Not sure I'll get there.  Swamped with all the earmarked stuff I think might be a good read.  Not enough time in the day for all this stuff.  lol The US proposal for companies to share info with government and spy agencies is about as totalitarian as it gets. ꕤ