WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Internet search firm Google is finalizing a deal that would let the National Security Agency help it investigate a corporate espionage attack that may have originated in China, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

The aim of the investigation is to better defend Google, the world’s largest Internet search company, and its users from future attacks, the Post said, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the arrangement.

The sources said Google’s alliance with the NSA — the intelligence agency is the world’s most powerful electronic surveillance organization — would be aimed at letting them share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of online communications.

via Reuters

First time that is used inside USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

Robocops Come to Pittsburgh and bring the latest weaponry with them
by Mike Ferner
September 28, 2009

No longer the stuff of disturbing futuristic fantasies,
an arsenal of “crowd control munitions,” including one
that reportedly made its debut in the U.S., was
deployed with a massive, overpowering police presence
in Pittsburgh during last week’s G-20 protests.

Nearly 200 arrests were made and civil liberties groups
charged the many thousands of police (most transported
on Port Authority buses displaying “PITTSBURGH WELCOMES
THE WORLD”), from as far away as Arizona and Florida
with overreactingand they had plenty of weaponry with
which to do it.

Bean bags fired from shotguns, CS (tear) gas, OC
(Oleoresin Capsicum) spray, flash-bang grenades, batons
and, according to local news reports, for the first
time on the streets of America, the Long Range Acoustic
Device (LRAD).

Mounted in the turret of an Armored Personnel Carrier
(APC), I saw the LRAD in action twice in the area of
25th, Penn and Liberty Streets of Lawrenceville, an old
Pittsburgh neighborhood. Blasting a shrill, piercing
noise like a high-pitched police siren on steroids, it
quickly swept streets and sidewalks of pedestrians,
merchants and journalists and drove residents into
their homes, but in neither case were any demonstrators
present. The APC, oversized and sinister for a city
street, together with lines of police in full riot gear
looking like darkly threatening Michelin Men, made for
a scene out of a movie you didnt want to be in.

As intimidating as this massive show of armed force and
technology was, the good burghers of Pittsburgh and
their fellow citizens in the Land of the Brave and Home
of the Free ain’t seen nothin yet. Tear gas and
pepper spray are nothing to sniff at and, indeed, have
proven fatal a surprising number of times, but they
have now become the old standbys compared to the list
below thats already at or coming soon to a police
station or National Guard headquarters near you.
Proving that “what goes around, comes around,” some of
the new Property Protection Devices were developed by a
network of federally-funded, university-based research
institutes like one in Pittsburgh itself, Penn State’s
Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies.

· Raytheon Corp.’s Active Denial System, designed for
crowd control in combat zones, uses an energy beam to
induce an intolerable heating sensation, like a hot
iron placed on the skin. It is effective beyond the
range of small arms, in excess of 400 meters. Company
officials have been advised they could expand the
market by selling a smaller, tripod-mounted version for
police forces.

· M5 Modular Crowd Control Munition, with a range of
30 meters “is similar in operation to a claymore mine,
but it delivers…a strong, nonpenetrating blow to the
body with multiple sub-munitions (600 rubber balls).”

· Long Range Acoustic Device or “The Scream,” is a
powerful megaphone the size of a satellite dish that
can emit sound “50 times greater than the human
threshold for pain” at close range, causing permanent
hearing damage. The L.A. Times wrote U.S. Marines in
Iraq used it in 2004. It can deliver recorded warnings
in Arabic and, on command, emit a piercing
tone…”[For] most people, even if they plug their
ears, [the device] will produce the equivalent of an
instant migraine,” says Woody Norris, chairman of
American Technology Corp., the San Diego firm that
produces the weapon. “It will knock [some people] on
their knees.” CBS News reported in 2005 that the
Israeli Army first used the device in the field to
break up a protest against Israel’s separation wall.
“Protesters covered their ears and grabbed their heads,
overcome by dizziness and nausea, after the
vehicle-mounted device began sending out bursts of
audible, but not loud, sound at intervals of about 10
seconds…A military official said the device emits a
special frequency that targets the inner ear.”

· In “Non-lethal Technologies: An Overview,” Lewer
and Davison describe a lengthy catalog of new weaponry
including the “Directed Stick Radiator,” a hand-held
system based on the same technology as The Scream. “It
fires high intensity sonic bullets’ or pulses of sound
between 125-150db for a second or two. Such a weapon
could, when fully developed, have the capacity to knock
people off their feet.”

· The Penn State facility is testing a “Distributed
Sound and Light Array Debilitator” a.k.a. the “puke
ray.” The colors and rhythm of light are absorbed by
the retina and disorient the brain, blinding the victim
for several seconds. In conjunction with disturbing
sounds it can make the person stumble or feel
nauseated. Foreign Policy in Focus reports that the
Department of Homeland Security, with $1 million
invested for testing the device, hopes to see it “in
the hands of thousands of policemen, border agents and
National Guardsmen” by 2010.

· Spider silk is cited in the University of
Bradford’s Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project, Report
#4 (pg. 20) as an up-and-comer. A research
collaboration between the University of New Hampshire
and the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development and
Engineering Center is looking into the use of spider
silk as a non-lethal “entanglement” material for
disabling people. They have developed a method for
producing recombinant spider silk protein using E. coli
and are trying to develop methods to produce large
quantities of these fibres.”

· New Scientist reports that the (I’m not making this
up) Inertial Capacitive Incapacitator (ICI), developed
by the Physical Optics Corporation of Torrance,
California, uses a thin-film storage device charged
during manufacture that only discharges when it strikes
the target. It can be incorporated into a ring-shaped
aerofoil and fired from a standard grenade launcher at
low velocity, while still maintaining a flat trajectory
for maximum accuracy.

Aiming beyond Tasers, the Homeland Security
Advanced Research Projects Agency, (FY 2009 budget:
$1B) the domestic equivalent of the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA), plans to develop
wireless weapons effective over greater distances, such
as in an auditorium or sports stadium, or on a city
street. One such device, the Piezer, uses
piezoelectric crystals that produce voltage when they
are compressed. A 12-gauge shotgun fires the crystals,
stunning the target with an electric shock on impact.
Lynntech of College Station, Texas, is developing a
projectile Taser that can be fired from a shotgun or
40-mm grenade launcher to increase greatly the weapon’s
current range of seven meters.

“Off the Rocker and On the Floor: Continued
Development of Biochemical Incapacitating Weapons,” a
report by the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre
revealed that in 1992, the National Institute of
Justice contracted with Lawrence Livermore National Lab
to review clinical anesthetics for use by special ops
military forces and police. LLNL concluded the best
option was an opioid, like fentanyl, effective at very
low doses compared to morphine. Combined with a patch
soaked in DMSO (dimethylsufoxide, a solvent) and fired
from an air rifle, fentanyl could be delivered to the
skin even through light clothing. Another recommended
application for the drug was mixed with fine powder and
dispersed as smoke.

After upgrades, the infamous “Puff the Magic
Dragon” gunship from the Vietnam War is now the AC-130.
“Non-Lethal Weaponry: Applications to AC-130 Gunships,”
observes that “With the increasing involvement of US
military in operations other than war…” the AC-130
“would provide commanders a full range of non-lethal
weaponry from an airborne platform which was not
previously available to them.” The paper concludes in
part that “As the use of non-lethal weapons increases
and it becomes valid and acceptable, more options will
become available.”

· Prozac and Zoloft are two of over 100
pharmaceuticals identified by the Penn State College of
Medicine and the university’s Applied Research Lab for
further study as “non-lethal calmatives.” These
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), noted
the Penn State study, “…are found to be highly
effective for numerous behavioral disturbances
encountered in situations where a deployment of a
non-lethal technique must be considered. This class of
pharmaceutical agents also continues to be under
intense development by the pharmaceutical
industry…New compounds under development (WO
09500194) are being designed with a faster onset of
action. Drug development is continuing at a rapid rate
in this area due to the large market for the treatment
of depression (15 million individuals in North
America)…It is likely that an SSRI agent can be
identified in the near future that will feature a rapid
rate of onset.”

In Pittsburgh last week, an enormously expensive show
of police and weaponry, intended for “security” of the
G20 delegates, simultaneously shut workers out of
downtown jobs for two days, forced gasping students and
residents back into their dormitories and homes, and
turned journalists’ press passes into quaint, obsolete
reminders of a bygone time.

Most significant of all, however, was what Witold
Walczak, legal director of the Pennsylvania ACLU, told
the Associated Press: “It’s not just intimidation, it’s
disruption and in some cases outright prevention of
peaceful protesters being able to get their message
out.”

#####

Mike Ferner is a writer from Ohio and president of
Veterans For Peace

This video shows anti-war protesters yesterday as they marched with police escort to the Franklin Mills Mall in Philadelphia where they delivered a symbolic “criminal complaint” to U.S. Army recruiters and the mall’s management company.

The demonstrators were protesting the Army’s use of a high-tech, video game-equipped recruitment center located in the mall.

There was a significant police presence as the protesters arrived. They were permitted to enter the mall and stage their rally at the entrance to the Army Experience Center.

As the rally ended, seven protesters, mostly in white masks, were arrested, presumably for refusing to disperse. The arrests were peaceful and appeared to be scripted by the protesters as a symbolic gesture.

via GamePolitics.

Heavily armed troops and fascist paramilitaries are attacking workers across Bangkok.

I was at the major demonstration today site and saw tens of thousands of pro-democracy activists – men, women and children – enjoying a political festival whilst grimly aware of the hundreds of troops who were already attacking and killing their brothers and sisters in other parts of Bangkok.
Back home I hear that troops are entering the entirely peaceful compounds set up to protest against the current government (led bizarrely by Boris Johnston’s public school buddy). Media coverage here is dire and is painting a malign picture of red mobs attacking troops and burning vehicles (when it is not encouraging people to purchase mobile phones or passively consume reality tv). This is far from the truth. From what I have seen this is a mass non-violent protest pushed to its limits by state aggression and a general sense that there is nothing left to do but resist. As one middle-aged demonstrator said to me today, “We have nothing left to lose, they have taken everything else.”

What we can see on the international news channels is far from up to date and seems to be heavily influenced by state managed media (including massive internet censorship). The red shirts have asked all foreign supporters here to work the networks and spread the truth … a brutal attack on democracy and its champions is unfolding here in Thailand. People are being beaten, killed and terrorized for simply saying that enough is enough and democracy is possible. Please encourage others to check the truth at sites like New Mandala and raise the issue in their organisations/ networks.

Al Jazeera have made available their exclusive Arabic and English video footage from the Gaza Strip produced by their correspondents and crews. The ongoing war and crisis in Gaza, together with the scarcity of news footage available, make this repository a key resource for anyone producing content on the current situation.

“Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World” is the fourth unclassified report prepared by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) in recent years that takes a long-term view of the future. It offers a fresh look at how key global trends might develop over the next 15 years to influence world events. Our report is not meant to be an exercise in prediction or crystal ball-gazing. Mindful that there are many possible “futures,” we offer a range of possibilities and potential discontinuities, as a way of opening our minds to developments we might otherwise miss.

Some of our preliminary assessments are highlighted below:

* The whole international system—as constructed following WWII—will be revolutionized. Not only will new players—Brazil, Russia, India and China— have a seat at the international high table, they will bring new stakes and rules of the game.
* The unprecedented transfer of wealth roughly from West to East now under way will continue for the foreseeable future.
* Unprecedented economic growth, coupled with 1.5 billion more people, will put pressure on resources—particularly energy, food, and water—raising the specter of scarcities emerging as demand outstrips supply.
* The potential for conflict will increase owing partly to political turbulence in parts of the greater Middle East.

From the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council.

Mancherebbe la “pistola fumante”, ma le prove sembrano supportare le sue gravissime accuse. Jim Brown, veterano della prima Guerra del Golfo, non ha dubbi: negli ultimi giorni del febbraio 1991, l’aviazione americana, proprio al termine del conflitto che non sovvertì forse volutamente il regime del Raìs Saddam Hussein, sganciò tra Bassora e i confini dell’Iran una bomba atomica della potenza di cinque kilotoni.

A raccogliere le sconvolgenti dichiarazioni Maurizio Torrealta, giornalista responsabile del settore inchieste per Rainews24 e autore di straordinari documentari tra i quali “Falluja, la strage nascosta” dove si denunciò per primi l’impiego da parte dell’esercito statunitense di armi chimiche ai danni della popolazione irachena. “Non possiamo da soli verificare definitivamente l’autenticità delle dichiarazioni, vista la complessità delle indagini – ha chiarito all’inizio della conferenza stampa svoltasi presso la sede nazionale dell’Fnsi, la federazione nazionale dei giornalisti italiani – ma le ricerche, che auspichiamo vengano approfondite dagli organismi internazionali predisposti, si muovono in questa direzione”. Diversi sono infatti gli elementi che comprovano le agghiaccianti affermazioni dell’ex soldato Brown, ingegnere degradato per la sindrome del Golfo dal rango di quarto livello al terzo e, infine, congedato con onore per l’impossibilità di svolgere le sue funzioni. Un dato su tutti: le rilevazioni effettuate dal Centro sismologico internazionale proprio in quell’arco temporale durante il quale secondo Brown si sarebbe svolto l’attacco. Infatti il 27 febbraio alle ore 13:39 nella zona circostante Bassora ai confini con l’Iran, una scossa sismica pari ai 4,2 gradi della Scala Richter è stata registrata dai sismografi del Csi. Esattamente lo stesso livello di magnitudo causato da l’innesco e l’esplosione di una bomba atomica di quella potenza.

Contemporaneamente i casi di tumori, malformazioni e leucemie nella zona sarebbero cresciute esponenzialmente. Jawad Al Alì, responsabile del Reparto oncologico dell’ospedale di Bassora, intervistato da Torrealta, mostra durante il documentario i dati frutto delle ricerche: dai 34 casi di tumori del 1989 si è passati agli oltre 600 degli ultimi anni. Moltissimi all’interno delle stesse famiglie, un fenomeno assolutamente fuori dal comune. “Abbiamo assistito a una rarissima forma di slittamento dell’età legata a particolari tumori, bambini sotto i dieci anni affetti da malattie e malformazioni inspiegabili”. In scena, mentre Torrealta lo intervista, decine di immagini strazianti di donne e bambini vittime delle radiazioni. L’utilizzo, in più sedi accertato, di proiettili all’uranio impoverito, dal comprovato contagio radioattivo del suolo e delle risorse idriche, non mina comunque l’impianto accusatorio. Secondo Brown infatti piccole testate nucleari sarebbero state impiegate anche nei primi giorni di marzo del 2002 in Afghanistan.

Facendo un passo indietro e ricontestualizzando le strategie militari ai primi anni Novanta torna alla mente la celeberrima “dottrina dell’ambiguità calcolata” varata dal segretario di stato americano James Baker e fortemente appoggiata dall’amministrazione repubblicana capeggiata da Bush padre.

Durante “Desert Storm” l’impiego di bombe atomiche non era affatto scartato a priori: “Il presidente non esclude l’impiego di armi nucleari – disse Baker in un’infuocata conferenza stampa – ma la considera semmai un’opzione credibile”.

Forti dubbi invece sorgono sulle motivazioni plausibili che possano giustificare un tale atto di barbarie. Rainews24 prova a suggerirne una: mancano pochi giorni al ritiro definitivo delle truppe americane quando un missile Scude iracheno colpisce una base americana uccidendo una ventina di soldati ferendone una ottantina. In seguito a quell’incursione, in un’ottica da mera e semplice vendetta, ebbe luogo una delle stragi più cruente e spietate degli ultimi venti anni: “l’autostrada della morte”. Sull’Highway 80, che unisce il Kuwait alla provincia irachena di Basra, vennero rinvenute le carcasse di migliaia di veicoli carbonizzati. Tra le migliaia di morti soldati in ritirata ma soprattutto civili sfollati inermi alla ricerca di un rifugio sicuro. Forse l’attacco nucleare potrebbe rientrare nella stessa malsana logica di morte.

Di fronte alla tesi che si trattasse in realtà di bombe “Blue-82”, la cosiddetta madre di tutte le bombe, simile ad una piccola testata nucleare, il veterano Brown ha ribattuto energicamente: “A differenza dell’attacco svoltosi nel ‘91 che colpì il sottosuolo, le blue-82 necessitano di ossigeno per causare l’esplosione”. Le rilevazioni del Csi confermano quest’ipotesi, l’impatto avvenne tra 0 e 33 km sottoterra. Di fronte a un certo grado di diffidenza Brown conclude svelando la propria fonte: “Ho fondato un associazione che conta circa trecento veterani, la “GulfWacth IW”, da lì ho tratto queste informazioni, da lì ne ho ricevuto conferma”.

via ilbenecomune.net

The Air Force is about to suspend its controversial effort to reorganize its forces to “dominate” cyberspace. The provisional, 8,000-man Cyber Command has been ordered to stop all activities, just weeks before it was supposed to be declared operational.

“Transfers of manpower and resources, including activation and reassignment of units, shall be halted,” according to an internal e-mail obtained by Nextgov’s Bob Brewin — and confirmed by Air Force sources. Instead, the Air Force’s new leadership — including incoming Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz — will be given time to rethink how big the command will be, and what exactly it will do.

via Wired.