Archive for the 'Covert Operations' Category
X-37B Spacecraft: “It’s Still Up There”
December 1st, 2011Via: MSNBC: The secretive X-37B robotic space plane is about to set its own space-endurance record on a hush-hush project operated by the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The craft, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle-2, was boosted into Earth orbit atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on March 5. […]
U.S. Settles Suit Over Anthrax Attacks
November 30th, 2011Via: New York Times: The federal government has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the widow and children of the first person killed in the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, settling a lawsuit claiming that the Army did not adequately secure its supply of the deadly pathogen. The settlement with the family of Robert Stevens, […]
Sirhan Sirhan Lawyers: ‘Hypno Programming and Memory Implantation Techniques’
November 28th, 2011Via: CNN: Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of the 1968 assassination of presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, should be freed from prison or granted a new trial based on “formidable evidence” asserting his innocence and “horrendous violations” of his rights, defense attorneys said in federal court papers filed this week. In a U.S. District Court brief, […]
What Really Happened to Strauss-Kahn?
November 27th, 2011Via: The New York Review of Books: The man I asked to talk to—and to whom I was not put through—was René-Georges Querry, Sheehan’s ultimate superior at Accor and a well-connected former chief of the French anti-gang brigades, who was now head of security for the Accor Group. Before joining Accor Group in 2003, he […]
PayPal’s Links to Palantir, a Metasearch Technology Used by Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Military Organizations
November 27th, 2011And guess where they’re located? That’s right: Facebook’s former building. I couldn’t make it up if I tried. Via: Bloomberg: An organization like the CIA or FBI can have thousands of different databases, each with its own quirks: financial records, DNA samples, sound samples, video clips, maps, floor plans, human intelligence reports from all over […]
Apple iTunes “Flaw” Allowed Government Spying for 3 Years
November 25th, 2011Via: Telegraph: An unpatched security flaw in Apple’s iTunes software allowed intelligence agencies and police to hack into users’ computers for more than three years, it’s claimed. A British company called Gamma International marketed hacking software to governments that exploited the vulnerability via a bogus update to iTunes, Apple’s media player, which is installed on […]
Egypt: Three American College Students Arrested for Allegedly Throwing Firebombs at Security Forces During Protests
November 23rd, 2011Fascinating. Via: AP / New Zealand Herald: Three American college students have been arrested in the Cairo protests at Tahrir Square. Luke Gates, 21, Gregory Porter, 19, and Derrick Sweeney, 21, were arrested on the roof of a university building where they were allegedly throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters near Tahrir Square. […]
Congress Fears Chinese Telecom Gear May Phone Home
November 21st, 2011Like U.S. made gear? Via: Wired: Are telecommuniations deals with China good business — or a trojan horse for espionage? Some of Congress’ top intelligence officials are worried it’s the latter. And they’re launching an investigation to find out. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), and the […]
As Egyptians Return to Tahrir Square, the Obama Administration Sides with the Military
November 21st, 2011Via: Salon: In the nine months since Hosni Mubarak stepped aside, the Egyptian military has monopolized political decision-making. The SCAF has broken its promise to lift or modify the Emergency Laws, which have been in place since 1981 and give the state sweeping powers to detain citizens and restrict free speech, even though repeal of […]
Judge Declares Law Governing Warrantless Cellphone Tracking Unconstitutional
November 19th, 2011The NSA smiles at the part in bold below. Via: Wall Street Journal: In a succinct one-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn N. Hughes of the Southern District of Texas declared that the law authorizing the government to obtain cellphone records without a search warrant was unconstitutional. “The records would show the date, time, […]
