Daily Archives: February 10, 2013

Raytheon secret software tracks social media and ‘predicts’ people’s future behavior

"A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an 'extreme-scale analytics' system created by Raytheon, the world’s fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. The Massachusetts-based company has acknowledged the technology was shared with US government and industry as part of a joint research and development effort, in 2010, to help build a national security system capable of analysing 'trillions of entities' from cyberspace." Continue reading →

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America’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

"Behind closed doors, President Obama had given his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, carte blanche to run operations in North Africa and the Middle East. In 2012, a secret war across North Africa was well underway. With JSOC, Brennan waged his own unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure. The aftermath of one of these secret raids into Libya would have grave consequences for all of them. SOFREP believes the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12 was blowback from the late-summer JSOC operations that were threatening the Al Qaeda-aligned militant groups (including Ansar Al-Sharia) in Libya and North Africa." Continue reading →

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Iranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

"Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday in Tehran and other cities chanting 'Death to America' as Iran marked the 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed shah. Tehran is currently under a series of international sanctions aimed at curbing its controversial nuclear programme of uranium enrichment. The sanctions have led to a severe economic crisis, choking Iran’s banking system and limiting its oil exports, the country’s main foreign revenue earner. According to a recent survey by the US polling firm Gallup, Iran’s nuclear programme is supported by a large majority of its population." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

Watch Iran’s $40-Million Oil Rig Collapse Into The Sea

"An Iranian oil rig that cost $40 million and weighs more than 4 million pounds sank in the Persian Gulf last week, news.com.au reports. Workers rushed to get off the rig—which belongs to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and took 30 months to build—as it disappeared into Iran's South Pars gas field in about 10 seconds. Last month Iran’s oil minister acknowledged in a report that oil sales were down 40 percent and income dropped 45 percent in the previous nine months, largely because of U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing the country's disputed nuclear program. Nevertheless, China has been purchasing more in recent months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch Iran’s $40-Million Oil Rig Collapse Into The Sea

Putin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World

"When Vladimir Putin says the U.S. is endangering the global economy by abusing its dollar monopoly, he’s not just talking. He’s betting on it. Not only has Putin made Russia the world’s largest oil producer, he’s also made it the biggest gold buyer. His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China, according to IMF data compiled by Bloomberg. The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World

Homeland Security Watchdog OKs ‘Suspicionless’ Seizure of Electronic Devices Along Border

"The Department of Homeland Security’s civil rights watchdog has concluded that travelers along the nation’s borders may have their electronics seized and the contents of those devices examined for any reason whatsoever — all in the name of national security. The President George W. Bush administration first announced the suspicionless, electronics search rules in 2008. The President Barack Obama administration followed up with virtually the same rules a year later. Between 2008 and 2010, 6,500 persons had their electronic devices searched along the U.S. border, according to DHS data." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security Watchdog OKs ‘Suspicionless’ Seizure of Electronic Devices Along Border

FEMA Camp Bill Is Resurrected

"It looks as if Representative Alcee Hastings, a Democrat from Florida, has decided to reintroduce his FEMA Camp bill. The latest iteration of this bill has been introduced as House Resolution 390 otherwise known as the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act. This bill would authorize not fewer than 6 military installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency centers to be run by FEMA under the command of the Secretary of Homeland Security." Continue reading →

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Christopher Dorner Becomes First Human Target For Drones On US Soil

"It was revealed that Dorner has become the first human target for remotely-controlled airborne drones on US soil. A senior police source said: 'The thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.' Asked directly if drones have already been deployed, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who is jointly leading the task force, said: 'We are using all the tools at our disposal.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChristopher Dorner Becomes First Human Target For Drones On US Soil

Many 2011 federal budget cuts had little real-world effect

"In the real world, in fact, many of their 'cuts' cut nothing at all. The Transportation Department got credit for 'cutting' a $280 million tunnel that had been canceled six months earlier. It also 'cut' a $375,000 road project that had been created by a legislative typo, on a road that did not exist. At the Census Bureau, officials got credit for a whopping $6 billion cut, simply for obeying the calendar. They promised not to hold the expensive 2010 census again in 2011. Today, an examination of 12 of the largest cuts shows that, thanks in part to these gimmicks, federal agencies absorbed $23 billion in reductions without losing a single employee." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMany 2011 federal budget cuts had little real-world effect

Paul Krugman’s Great Forecasting Failure: Argentina

"This is what Krugman wrote in May sandwiched in between my April and June warnings: 'Matt Yglesias, who just spent time in Argentina, writes about the lessons of that country’s recovery following its exit from the one-peso-one-dollar 'convertibility law'. As he says, it’s a remarkable success story, one that arguably holds lessons for the euro zone.' Some success story: out of control inflation. It will happen in the United States next, if the Federal Reserve continues to follow the mad dog printing advice of Krugman." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Krugman’s Great Forecasting Failure: Argentina