Archive for the 'Covert Operations' Category
Lasers Could Be Used to Start or Stop Rainfall
September 1st, 2011Via: Guardian: Ever since ancient farmers called on the gods to send rain to save their harvests, humans have longed to have the weather at their command. That dream has now received a boost after researchers used a powerful laser to produce water droplets in the air, a step that could ultimately help trigger rainfall. […]
‘Smart’ CCTV Could Track Rioters
August 31st, 2011Yeah, in other words, ‘smart’ CCTV could track anyone. I’d be shocked if it turned out to be the case that this wasn’t already operational for the British equivalent of MAIN CORE, assuming there is one (which I do). Via: BBC: CCTV that can automatically monitor criminal behaviour and track suspects is being developed by […]
Obama DOJ: John Yoo Memos on Spying Must Stay Secret
August 31st, 2011Via: The Atlantic: What was Bush Administration lawyer John Yoo thinking when he wrote various legal memos declaring that the president has the power to spy on American citizens without getting a warrant or telling anyone about it? The Obama Administration isn’t telling: The Obama administration has refused to declassify a secret memo from the […]
America’s Secret Libya War
August 31st, 2011Via: Daily Beast: The U.S. military has spent about $1 billion so far and played a far larger role in Libya than it has acknowledged, quietly implementing an emerging “covert intervention” strategy that the Obama administration hopes will let America fight small wars with a barely detectable footprint. Officially, President Obama handed the lead role […]
Appeals Court to Weigh NSA Dragnet Surveillance
August 30th, 2011Via: Wired: Whether the federal government and the nation’s telecommunication companies can be held accountable for allegedly funneling every American’s electronic communication to the National Security Agency without warrants is the subject of oral arguments scheduled for a federal appeals court Wednesday. At issue is a Jan. 31, 2006 lawsuit, and others that followed, alleging […]
New York Police Department Runs Intelligence Operations Outside Its Jurisdiction with Help and Personnel from CIA
August 24th, 2011This week in The Land of the Free… Via: AP: In New Brunswick, N.J., a building superintendent opened the door to apartment No. 1076 one balmy Tuesday and discovered an alarming scene: terrorist literature strewn about the table and computer and surveillance equipment set up in the next room. The panicked superintendent dialed 911, sending […]
New York: Judge Says Warrant Required for Cell Phone Location Data
August 24th, 2011Good news? Maybe, a little. It would be better if we had amnesia affecting our knowledge of MAIN CORE, Mark Klein, Russell Tice and official, on-the-record admissions from NSA about position tracking via cell phones. *sigh* Via: Ars Technica: In recent years, the courts have struggled to decide whether the government needs a warrant to […]
The Informants
August 23rd, 2011Via: Mother Jones: Ever since 9/11, counterterrorism has been the FBI’s No. 1 priority, consuming the lion’s share of its budget—$3.3 billion, compared to $2.6 billion for organized crime—and much of the attention of field agents and a massive, nationwide network of informants. After years of emphasizing informant recruiting as a key task for its […]
Bancroft Global Development
August 23rd, 2011Via: AP / Huffington Post: On the front lines of Mogadishu’s streets, Islamist militants battle African Union troops. Standing alongside the peacekeepers are members of an American-run team of advisers, former military men who play a little-known but key role in the war against al-Shabab. Aside from covert raids by special operations forces, the U.S. […]
U.S. Air Force Leads Raid on Las Vegas Gun Shop
August 21st, 2011[???] Update: Property Stolen from Nellis Air Force Base Via: KMVT: Officers raided the Citadel Gun & Safe Friday. Local media outlets report investigators were searching for property stolen from Nellis Air Force Base. Police are tight-lipped about what led to the investigation. —End Update— Via: 8newsnow: The U.S. Air Force led a rare raid […]
