Activity Reported at North Korean Nuke Test Site

There appears to be heightened activity at the site where North Korea conducted its first nuclear weapons test in 2006, the Korea Herald reported

Is Security Really a Big Drag on Innovation?

by Larry Dignan

Have you ever held back innovation because of information security concerns? Apparently more than a few technology executives are repeatedly gun shy.

According to an IDC-RSA study to be released Wednesday security fears stifle business innovation at 80 percent of companies. This security vs. innovation theme was sounded by RSA president Art Coviello in April at the RSA conference. Coviello, who advocates a thinking defense system, returned to that theme and noted that security is hampering daily business.

I don’t doubt the business disconnect between security folks that want to lock everything down and innovation, but the linkage may not be as tight as IDC and RSA are portraying. I could be wrong, but I have a hard time envisioning a chief security officer telling some marketing chief or operating guru that some technology can’t be deployed over data protection. Why do I make that leap? Companies seem to be doing a really crappy job at protecting our data today. If businesses were really locking things down there would be fewer data breaches.

What’s really going on? I think security and business folks surveyed by RSA and IDC are indicating that they want to ditch a few compliance shackles in the name of innovation. And naturally, everyone says security is a top priority. No one will ever pooh-pooh security in a survey. You’d get fired if you actually admitted that security was the No. 7 spending priority.

Nevertheless, the IDC-RSA findings, which are based on 200 respondents, are interesting. To wit:

44 percent of security leaders are being measured on their innovation contributions.

21 percent of respondents said security efforts are aligned with the business. But 61 percent consider themselves compliance jockeys.

87 percent of business types said that creating an innovative environment was extremely important or important. 78 percent of security/IT types had the same answer. A little more than 14 percent of the security/IT managers were neutral on innovation with about 7 percent saying it wasn’t important.

54.4 percent of business types, known as line of business or LOB below, see joint ventures as their biggest priorities. Here’s the rest of the breakdown:

45.7 percent of respondents say the info security team reports to the CIO, but 37.6 percent actually think that’s the right reporting structure. Here’s the breakdown:

Satellite-Surveillance Program to Begin Despite Privacy Concerns

By SIOBHAN GORMAN

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security will proceed with the first phase of a controversial satellite-surveillance program, even though an independent review found the department hasn't yet ensured the program will comply with privacy laws.

Congress provided partial funding for the program in a little-debated $634 billion spending measure that will fund the government until early March. For the past year, the Bush administration had been fighting Democratic lawmakers over the spy program, known as the National Applications Office.

The program is designed to provide federal, state and local officials with extensive access to spy-satellite imagery -- but no eavesdropping -- to assist with emergency response and other domestic-security needs, such as identifying where ports or border areas are vulnerable to terrorism.

Since the department proposed the program a year ago, several Democratic lawmakers have said that turning the spy lens on America could violate Americans' privacy and civil liberties unless adequate safeguards were required.

A new 60-page Government Accountability Office report said the department "lacks assurance that NAO operations will comply with applicable laws and privacy and civil liberties standards," according to a person familiar with the document. The report, which is unclassified but considered sensitive, hasn't been publicly released, but was described and quoted by several people who have read it.

The report cites gaps in privacy safeguards. The department, it found, lacks controls to prevent improper use of domestic-intelligence data by other agencies and provided insufficient assurance that requests for classified information will be fully reviewed to ensure it can be legally provided.

A senior homeland-security official took issue with the GAO's broad conclusion, saying the department has worked hard to include many layers of privacy protection. Program activities have "an unprecedented amount of legal review," he said, adding that the GAO is seeking a level of proof that can't be demonstrated until the program is launched.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said department officials concluded that the program "complies with all existing laws" because the GAO report didn't say the program doesn't.

Addressing the gaps the agency cited, Ms. Keehner said current laws already govern the use of intelligence data and the department has an additional procedure to monitor its use. The department will also work with other intelligence agencies to "ensure that legal reviews and protection of classified information will be effective," she said.

In response to the GAO report, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi and other Democrats asked Congress to freeze the money for the program until after the November election so the next administration could examine it.

But the bill Congress approved, which President George W. Bush signed into law Tuesday, allows the department to launch a limited version, focused only on emergency response and scientific needs. The department must meet additional requirements before it can expand operations to include homeland-security and law-enforcement surveillance.

The restrictions were "the most we could have required without a complete prohibition," said Darek Newby, an aide to Democratic Rep. David Price of North Carolina, who heads the House homeland-security spending panel.

But California Rep. Jane Harman, who heads a homeland-security subcommittee on intelligence, said that even limited funding allows the department to launch the program, providing a platform to expand its surveillance whether or not privacy requirements are met.

"Having learned my lesson" with the National Security Agency's warrantless-surveillance program, she said, "I don't want to go there again unless and until the legal framework for the entire program is entirely spelled out."

Rep. Thompson vowed to fight expansion of the program until privacy issues are further addressed.

Mark Warner Pushes for Improved Port Security

BY KIMBALL PAYNE

NORFOLK - Seven years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists attacks, there is still no overarching strategy for protecting international shipping hubs, former Gov. Mark R. Warner told business leaders and port officials Monday during a conference in Norfolk.

"Government has a role to play but it doesn't always have all the answers," Warner said. "The idea that we're going to just wait for federal money alone isn't going to fix it."

Warner came to Old Dominion University to help kick off a new fundraising effort designed to bring in private money to encourage port security research and development at cutting-edge technology companies and a handful of Virginia's colleges and universities.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks, Warner said, federal, state and local officials started patrols and safety procedures with a "hodgepodge of differing missions."

Warner noted that China is now able to scan 100 percent of the containers moving through its ports.

"If Hong Kong can do it, why can't we do it here?" Warner asked. "The challenge and the threat of terrorism isn't going to dry up and go away."

The fundraising effort will be led by the nonprofit Commonwealth Homeland Security Foundation, with the goal of raising $25 million in private money over the next five years. The foundation will use private donations to fund grants for research and development at technology businesses and colleges, including Old Dominion University, the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The foundation's president, state Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William, stressed the need for a more holistic approach to port security that engages private companies.

"Right now there are some good things going on," Lingamfelter said. "But right now nobody's getting their arms all the way around it."

Lingamfelter said he would be touring the state looking to meet with executives and researchers about new approaches to screening the goods that flow through Virginia's ports. He asked the 70 people at the lunch to grab a pledge card from the center of their tables.

"You can even use credit cards," he said. "I understand we've got a couple days while those things still work."

Lingamfelter's quip about the ongoing financial crisis underscores a major hurdle facing any kind of fundraising in the near future. But Lingamfelter said he is confident that ports, railroad companies, shipping companies, retailers and philanthropists will all see the benefit of investing in research.

"You've got to have some of that seed corn in place," he said.

Illegal Immigrant Arrests Plunge along Southwest Border

By JAMES PINKERTON

Arrests of illegal immigrants have plummeted in parts of Texas and along most of the Southwest border, where government agents in one Arizona sector have detained 78 percent fewer border crossers than last year.

So far this fiscal year, apprehensions are down in all but two of the nine U.S. Border Patrol sectors on the U.S.-Mexico border, officials confirmed. During the first 11 months of the fiscal year starting October 2007, roughly 660,000 illegal immigrants were detained along the Southwest border, an 18.4 percent drop from the same period last year.

The dropoff in apprehensions is dramatic considering that agents detained 1.6 million illegal immigrants on the Mexico border as recently as fiscal year 2000.

Government officials traditionally cite these decreases in apprehensions as proof that fewer illegal immigrants are slipping across the border.

There's no way, however, to determine how many immigrants successfully sneak into the U.S. ....

Military Sets Up Domestic CBRNE Force

by Mickey McCarter

USNORTHCOM receives first dedicated personnel under plan

The US military command responsible for protecting the continental United States has begun to stand up its first force of dedicated personnel, which will be dedicated to responding to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) threats, military commanders announced Tuesday.

US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), based in Colorado Springs, Colo., previously had the ability to assume command of military personnel assigned to it in the event of a disaster within the United States, but it did not have personnel permanently assigned to its command outside of its headquarters staff until now.

The first team assigned to the command is the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. The soldiers become the first of a dedicated CBRNE response force envisioned to total 4,700 servicemembers, according to USNORTHCOM.

"We are now building the first of three CBRNE Consequence Management Forces," USUSNORTHCOM Commander Gen. Gene Renuart said in a statement. "On the first of October, we'll have an organized force, a trained force, an equipped force, a force that has adequate command and control and is on quick response--48 hours--to head off to a large-scale nuclear, chemical, biological event that might require Department of Defense support."

CBRNE Consequence Management Forces are trained to assist with search and rescue, decontamination procedures, medical care or evacuation, aviation support, communications support, and logistical support as required. The forces consist of three task forces--Task Force Operations, Task Force Medical and Task Force Aviation--to support specific mission sets. The 1st Brigade Combat Team establishes the first personnel assigned to Task Force Operations.

USNORTHCOM's Joint Force Land Component Command under US Army North, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, has operational control of the first CBRNE Consequence Management Forces. Another USNORTHCOM component, Joint Task Force Civil Support at Fort Monroe, a., provides the operational headquarters for the forces and coordinates with civil authorities in the event military support is required.

"This response force will not be called upon to help with law enforcement, civil disturbance or crowd control, but will be used to support lead agencies involved in saving lives, relieving suffering and meeting the needs of communities affected by weapons of mass destruction attacks, accidents or even natural disasters," Army Col. Michael Boatner, USNORTHCOM future operations division chief, said.

The USNORTHCOM CBRNE forces augment the capabilities of the National Guard's Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD CSTs), which serve at the state level to provide CBRNE support in the event of a local crisis. The National Guard has established 55 WMD CSTs, placing one in each of the 54 US states and territories except for two in California. Each team is staffed with 22 full-time National Guardsmen who have training in dealing with CBRNE threats.

Resiliency Key to Infrastructure Protection

by Mickey McCarter

Reform Institute report examines public-private cooperation as means of boosting resilient systems

The public and private sectors must join forces during the next presidential administration to focus their resources on the resiliency of US critical infrastructure as a means of ensuring both homeland and financial security, according to a report from the Reform Institute released Wednesday.

The report, titled "Building a Resilient Nation: Enhancing Security, Ensuring a Strong Ecomony," may seem timed to the economic shakeup occurring on Wall Stree this week, but the Reform Institute culled the report from the results of a symposium it held in New York City in March.

"With some 85 percent of the nation's critical infrastructure in private hands, the Reform Institute decided to highlight the role of the private sector in building resilience," wrote Robert Kelly, Reform Institute senior advisor, in the report's introduction. " The essence of resilience is the ability of the nation to withstand a catastrophic event and quickly return to a state of near normalcy. With our infrastructure and economic activity as potential targets, the business community is on the front lines of efforts to enhance our resilience."

The report makes some recommendations for institutionalizing resiliency as part of the homeland security culture in Washington, DC, and around the nation. It also examines the role of business in preparing for, protecting against, responding to, recovering from, and leading during a threat to US critical infrastructure.

Public-private partnerships on resilience would permit governments to learn from trailblazing businesses that have established resiliency measures in their operations. Government, in turn, can encourage the adoption of business continuity plans and other strategies to build resiliency in the private sector, the report said.

"There is an important, and heretofore untapped, role for [the US Department of Homeland Security] here," the report noted. "DHS needs to be a national resource--a clearinghouse--charged with: conducting an extensive public awareness campaign targeting US industry and emphasizing the criticality of developing workable and practical business continuity plans; assisting US industry in developing business continuity plans by providing templates, advice, best practices and general 'help desk' like services; and taking a leadership role..."

US business cannot avoid all of the hazards that may strike its critical infrastructure. Those hazards may range from natural disasters to terrorist attacks to cyber sabotage. But private industry can prepare for these hazards by making their systems more resilient and thereby increase homeland, energy and financial security, the report advocated.

Case scenarios

The report highlights a number of efforts businesses have taken in specific areas to build capacities within their organizations to withstand disasters. In a discussion of preparing for resilience, the report calls for joint exercising and planning between government and private companies to ensure the effectiveness of emergency planning. Government must also create long-term plans for all possible risks and fully understand the extent of those risks.

In an examination of preparing for resilience, the report cites Martin Padilla of Shell Energy, who explains how his company has developed an incident command planning system. The emphasis of the planning centers on communication from the field at Shell terminals, stations or refineries, to the executive level. Padilla identifies Hurricane Katrina as a serious test of Shell's preparedness and the company has adapted its plans as a result of the hurricane.

The report goes on to discuss protecting against threats, bringing up the need for supply chain resiliency. Companies such as Target Corp. are involved in discussions of security for rail, port, shipping and borders, the report noted. Bill Tenney, group manager of Target International Assets Protection, relays the necessity for big box stores to participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). Through C-TPAT certification, these companies reduce the number of security inspections on their containers, thereby speeding commerce. Only about half of all companies representing US trade participate in C-TPAT, however, as it is voluntary, and so Tenney calls on more companies to participate.

Responding to crisis becomes necessary when a threat strikes, and threats like Hurricane Katrina were unavoidable for some businesses. In this area, John Kneuer, senior vice president for Strategic Planning and External Affairs at Rivada Networks, shares insights into dependable communications during a crisis. This involves not just appropriate technology so that communications can whether a crisis but also community outreach and planning so that planning and awareness are high.

Rapid recovery from a crisis helps to spur economic growth and resiliency. The report quotes former New York Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen as endorsing the idea that companies can make significant contributions to recovery in general. Businesses such as Wal-Mart, Microsoft, FedEx, UPS, Lowe's and Home Depot possess significant logistical expertise, he says, and that could contribute to the management of supplies as the flow into disaster-struck areas.

Ouch! New Ad Levels Obama on Radical-Terrorist Associations

by Gateway Pundit

This ought to keep the Missouri Goon Squad busy for awhile:

The ad was posted by Judicial Watch.
Devastating. Obama

And, this guy wants to be president of AmeriKKKa?

What Caused the Loan Crisis?

By TERRY JONES -- INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Part One

'Crony' Capitalism Is Root Cause Of Fannie And Freddie Troubles

In the past couple of weeks, as the financial crisis has intensified, a new talking point has emerged from the Democrats in Congress: This is all a "crisis of capitalism," in socialist financier George Soros' phrase, and a failure to regulate our markets sufficiently.

Part Two

Good Intentions Paved The Road To Subprime-Stoked Meltdown

For those looking for a real start to today's financial meltdown and government rescue, you need to go back — way back — to 1977, and the Jimmy Carter presidency.

Part Three

How A Clinton-Era Rule Rewrite Made Subprime Crisis Inevitable

One of the most frequently asked questions about the subprime market meltdown and housing crisis is: How did the government get so deeply involved in the housing market?

Part Four

Congress Pushed Fannie, Freddie In Wrong Direction During 1990s

It was October 1992, nearly 15 years before the housing meltdown and subprime crisis. Republican Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa was on the floor of the House, talking about something that no one at the time seemed to care about: the potential danger that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posed to the economy.

Part Five bailout

Saddest Thing About This Mess: Congress Had Chance To Stop It

Could the crisis at Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac and the subprime meltdown have been avoided? The answer is yes.

Gates: Technology Has Its Limits

(Compiler's note: Amen. rca)

By David Axe

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates took to the podium at National Defense University on Monday to level another of his famous broadsides, this time issuing "a far-reaching critique of the way the Pentagon fights wars and buys weapons," according to The New York Times.

One of Gates' press flacks helpfully followed up with an email highlighting some of the secretary's main points:

• THE WAR WE ARE IN

America's ability to deal with threats for years to come will depend importantly on our performance in the conflicts of today ... In the past I have expressed frustration over the defense bureaucracy's priorities and lack of urgency when it came to the current conflicts -- that for too many in the Pentagon it has been business as usual, as opposed to a wartime footing.

• COIN AND STABILITY OPS

Let's be honest with ourselves. The most likely catastrophic threats to our homeland -- for example, an American city poisoned or reduced to rubble by a terrorist attack -- are more likely to emanate from failing states than from aggressor states. The kinds of capabilities needed to deal with these scenarios cannot be considered exotic distractions or temporary diversions. We do not have the luxury of opting out because they do not conform to preferred notions of the American way of war.

• CHINA

[China's] investments in cyber and anti-satellite warfare, anti-air and anti-ship weaponry, submarines, and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary means to project power and help allies in the Pacific: our bases, air and sea assets, and the networks that support them. This will put a premium on America's ability to strike from over the horizon, employ missile defenses, and will require shifts from short-range to longer-range systems such as the Next Generation Bomber.

• CONVENTIONAL DOMINANCE

[A]lthough U.S. predominance in conventional warfare is not unchallenged, it is sustainable for the medium term given current trends. It is true that the United States would be hard pressed to fight a major conventional ground war elsewhere on short notice, but as I've said before, where on Earth would we seriously do that?

• PROCUREMENT

For the better part of five decades, the trend has gone towards lower numbers as technology gains made each system more capable. In recent years these platforms have grown ever more baroque, ever more costly, are taking longer to build, and are being fielded in ever dwindling quantities. Given that resources are not unlimited, the dynamic of exchanging numbers for capability is reaching a point of diminishing returns.

• TECHNOLOGY & LIMITS

First, limits about what the United States -- still the strongest and greatest nation on earth -- can do. The power of our military's global reach has been an indispensable contributor to world peace -- and must remain so. But not every outrage, every act of aggression, every crisis can or should elicit an American military response, and we should acknowledge such. Be modest about what military force can accomplish, and what technology can accomplish.

Read the Senate bailout bill here

Thanks to the Senate Conservatives Fund for posting the 451-page bailout behemoth here.

Debates Don't Always Reveal Character

(Compiler's note: I publish this beautiful article in memory of a great man -- Admiral James B. Stockdale. Much of what we saw on our TV the night of the debate mentioned herein was the result of wounds suffered during his days as a prisoner of war in service to our country. But neither he, nor others made mention of it. The fact that Adm. Stockdale was not a "TV personality" was and is NOT a sin in my book, nor should it take away from this man. Semper Fidelis, rca)

By TAYLOR B. STOCKDALE

As Sarah Palin and Joe Biden prepare for Thursday's vice presidential debate, I am pulled back to the last time an unknown candidate appeared on the national stage in such a forum. It was 1992, when my father (John McCain's senior officer in Vietnam), Adm. James B. Stockdale, appeared on stage to debate Al Gore and Dan Quayle.

Anyone over 30 will probably remember the spectacle. Messrs. Gore and Quayle were engaged in a bitter battle when, late in the race, my father accepted Ross Perot's invitation to be his running mate. That decision created a rare, three person vice-presidential debate.

In an attempt to introduce himself to the American people, my father began with the philosophical questions "Who am I? Why am I here?" But as the evening wore on, he struggled.

Watching that debate from the front row in Atlanta was a surreal experience. My father, a bona fide war hero, was trying to adapt to a format of discourse utterly foreign to him.

The debate hall was noisy, hot and nasty. My mom took a bad fall just before coming out to sit down. She, the strongest woman I know, broke into tears as she was overcome with emotion. Her four sons tried to console her.

Messrs. Gore and Quayle had arrived with armies of political handlers and were sequestered in large, lavish rooms to prepare for their one night to show each other up. My dad arrived with his family and one coach at the last minute. We were put in an RV just off the stage.

Dad entered the race reluctantly, and only due to the deep gratitude he had for the aid Mr. Perot extended to him and my mom while he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

As everyone saw that evening, he was not a politician. He was a fighter-pilot ace, a Medal of Honor recipient, and a wonderful dad and human being. During his eight years as a POW, he slit his scalp and beat his face with a stool to prevent his captors from parading him in the streets for propaganda purposes. He gave starving men his food rations when he himself was starving. And at home, after his release in 1973, he was a respected leader, scholar and writer. He considered himself a philosopher.

He studied the Greeks -- specifically Epictetus, an ancient slave and stoic who espoused the idea that individuals have free will and absolute autonomy over all matters within their control. He believed we must not wallow in self-pity when the chips are down, but rather recognize that we have the power to choose how to respond to everything.

My father adopted this philosophy while a graduate student at Stanford University in the early 1960s. So he never took pity on himself -- ever. Not as a POW when he was tortured, forced to wear leg irons and to live in solitary confinement. And not after the debate. He knew he had put himself into that arena.

And yet on this particular evening in 1992, the country saw someone who looked confused and weak. Without knowing who he was or what he did for his country, most Americans turned off their TV sets and formed an opinion of him based on a 90-minute debate.

So while Mrs. Palin's background and political acumen are completely different from my father's, she and her family are going through an experience I recognize. They are trying to define themselves in a short time-span, within a loaded political context.

From personal experience, I doubt if someone can really be known in this type of atmosphere, and I empathize with her family members who suddenly have to explain things that shouldn't need explanation.

As for my dad, this will mark the first vice presidential debate since he died in 2005. I've wanted to write about it for a long time, but he wouldn't let me. Now I want to set the record straight: He was an example of what this country should be all about.

Mr. Stockdale, the son of Adm. James B. Stockdale, is assistant head of the Webb Schools in Claremont, Calif.

'Superbugs' That Strike the Sickest Patients

....While they don't cause disease in healthy people, infections by gram-negative bacteria can be devastating for those with weak immune systems: wounded soldiers, burn victims, cancer and AIDS patients, the elderly, premature infants and those with severe injuries or illnesses. The gram-negative bugs that pose the biggest threat include acinetobacter baumannii, enterobacter aerogenes, and pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can attack through wounds, surgical incisions, central lines, respirators and catheters.

Most worrisome, says Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist Arjun Srinivasan, is that bacteria like acinetobacter are becoming resistant to the class of drugs known as carbapenems, considered a last line of defense for gram-negative organisms.

....Hospitals are struggling to determine how best to detect the presence of different types of bacteria and identify patients on admission who might carry them on their skin or in their intestinal tract. Such screening programs can be costly, and it isn't clear who will pay for them. "You can't culture every patient in every bed for every possible resistant organism," says Gina Pugliese, vice president of the safety institute at Premier Inc., a large hospital purchasing cooperative.

Hospitals are launching myriad new efforts to combat the bugs: They are sterilizing equipment with techniques including vaporized hydrogen peroxide that can decontaminate equipment without harm, discarding contaminated devices, bathing ICU patients with a chemical antiseptic and closing down units for decontamination. They are also requiring hospital workers to wear protective equipment when caring for infected patients or those considered at risk for infection, draping patients from head to toe during procedures and isolating infected patients.

The measures can be hard on patients and families, especially those placed in isolation, says Pat Rosenbaum, a nurse who is authoring new guidelines from the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology for the prevention of acinetobacter infections, to be released next year. "We don't take lightly putting people into these kind of precautions, but we also don't want to take a risk that they might infect others," she says.

....Infectious-disease experts say the most worrisome of the gram-negative bacteria may be acinetobacter, which is commonly found in soil and water, and may be carried by up to 40% of people on their skin. Over the past several years, a virulent strain has developed increasing resistance to antibiotics. This strain survives in hospitals for long periods and targets severely ill patients through the skin and airways, causing pneumonia and infections in the skin, tissue, central nervous system and bones. There have been a growing number of infections in wounded military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, where the bacteria thrive in the soil of the hot, humid climates.

Johns Hopkins learned the hard way how quickly acinetobacter can spread....

...."We seem to be out of bullets for these multi-drug-resistant organisms, so we have to find ways to control and prevent these infections, because once your family starts down that path it is a black hole," says Mr. Nahum.

An Emerging Threat

Gram-negative bacteria, harmless to the healthy, are fast developing resistance to antibiotics and infecting the sickest patients.

Awards.com: Murtha and Democrats Smear Campaign Fails, Haditha Marine Wins Award Instead

fter being wrongfully accused by House Democrat Rep. Murtha and cleared of all charges, Awards.com presented Lt. Colonel Jeffrey Chessani with a custom award to recognize the Haditha Marines for their defense and protection of the United States of America. ....

MSNBC Debate Night: “Genial” Obama vs. “Troll-like” McCain

.... Half an hour later, interviewing New York magazine’s John Heilemann, Matthews used language no TV journalist would be permitted to use against Barack Obama: “Let’s start with John McCain. Do you think he was too troll-like tonight? You know, too much of a troll?...Sitting there angrily, grumpily, like a codger?...Is every press conference going to be like that? A troll-like performance, angry at the world?” [Audio/video (0:37): Windows Media (2.34 MB) and MP3 audio (169 kB)]

Does MSNBC really think that they can become fair and balanced merely by letting Matthews express his liberal bombast from a different chair?

Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis

(Compiler's note: A long, but "must read" assessment -- don't miss the graphic. One has to wonder how much this relates to the current governmental bailout activities? rca)

By James Simpson

America waits with bated breath while Washington struggles to bring the U.S. economy back from the brink of disaster. But many of those same politicians caused the crisis, and if left to their own devices will do so again.

Despite the mass media news blackout, a series of books, talk radio and the blogosphere have managed to expose Barack Obama's connections to his radical mentors -- Weather Underground bombers William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, Communist Party member Frank Marshall Davis and others. David Horowitz and his Discover the Networks.org have also contributed a wealth of information and have noted Obama's radical connections since the beginning.

Yet, no one to my knowledge has yet connected all the dots between Barack Obama and the Radical Left. When seen together, the influences on Obama's life comprise a who's who of the radical leftist movement, and it becomes painfully apparent that not only is Obama a willing participant in that movement, he has spent most of his adult life deeply immersed in it.

But even this doesn't fully describe the extreme nature of this candidate. He can be tied directly to a malevolent overarching strategy that has motivated many, if not all, of the most destructive radical leftist organizations in the United States since the 1960s. ....


....One of two things must be true. Either the Democrats are unfathomable idiots, who ignorantly pursue ever more destructive policies despite decades of contrary evidence, or they understand the consequences of their actions and relentlessly carry on anyway because they somehow benefit.

I submit to you they understand the consequences. For many it is simply a practical matter of eliciting votes from a targeted constituency at taxpayer expense; we lose a little, they gain a lot, and the politician keeps his job. But for others, the goal is more malevolent - the failure is deliberate. Don't laugh. This method not only has its proponents, it has a name: the Cloward-Piven Strategy. It describes their agenda, tactics, and long-term strategy.

The Strategy was first elucidated in the May 2, 1966 issue of The Nation magazine by a pair of radical socialist Columbia University professors, Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. David Horowitz summarizes it as:

The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.

Cloward and Piven were inspired by radical organizer [and Hillary Clinton mentor] Saul Alinsky:

....ACORN, the new tip of the Cloward-Piven spear

In 1970, one of George Wiley's protégés, Wade Rathke -- like Bill Ayers, a member of the radical Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) -- was sent to found the Arkansas Community Organizations for Reform Now. While NWRO had made a good start, it alone couldn't accomplish the Cloward-Piven goals. Rathke's group broadened the offensive to include a wide array of low income "rights." Shortly thereafter they changed "Arkansas" to "Association of" and ACORN went nationwide.

Today ACORN is involved in a wide array of activities, including housing, voting rights, illegal immigration and other issues. According to ACORN's website: "ACORN is the nation's largest grassroots community organization of low-and moderate-income people with over 400,000 member families organized into more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in 110 cities across the country," It is perhaps the largest radical group in the U.S. and has been cited for widespread criminal activity on many fronts.

....

In attempting to capture the significance of Barack Obama's Radical Left connections and his relation to the Cloward Piven strategy, I constructed following flow chart. It is by no means complete. There are simply too many radical individuals and organizations to include them all here. But these are perhaps the most significant.

The chart puts Barack Obama at the epicenter of an incestuous stew of American radical leftism. Not only are his connections significant, they practically define who he is. Taken together, they constitute a who's who of the American radical left, and guiding all is the Cloward-Piven strategy.

Conspicuous in their absence are any connections at all with any other group, moderate, or even mildly leftist. They are all radicals, firmly bedded in the anti-American, communist, socialist, radical leftist mesh.

....

Obama has spent a large portion of his professional life working for ACORN or its subsidiaries, representing ACORN as a lawyer on some of its most critical issues, and training ACORN leaders. Stanley Kurtz's excellent National Review article, "Inside Obama's Acorn." also describes Obama's ACORN connection in detail. But I can't improve on Obama's own words:

I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career (emphasis added). Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work. - Barack Obama, Speech to ACORN, November 2007 (Courtesy Newsmax.)

In another excellent article on Obama's ACORN connections, Newsmax asks a nagging question:

It would be telling to know if Obama, during his years at Columbia, had occasion to meet Cloward and study the Cloward-Piven Strategy.

I ask you, is it possible ACORN would train Obama to take leadership positions within ACORN without telling him what he was training for? Is it possible ACORN would put Obama in leadership positions without clueing him into what his purpose was?? Is it possible that this most radical of organizations would put someone in charge of training its trainers, without him knowing what it was he was training them for?

As a community activist for ACORN; as a leadership trainer for ACORN; as a lead organizer for ACORN's Project Vote; as an attorney representing ACORN's successful efforts to impose Motor Voter regulations in Illinois; as ACORN's representative in lobbying for the expansion of high risk housing loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that led to the current crisis; as a recipient of their assistance in his political campaigns -- both with money and campaign workers; it is doubtful that he was unaware of ACORN's true goals. It is doubtful he was unaware of the Cloward-Piven Strategy.

Fast-forward to 2005 when an obsequious, servile and scraping Daniel Mudd, CEO of Fannie Mae spoke at the Congressional Black Caucus swearing in ceremony for newly-elected Illinois Senator, Barack Obama. Mudd called, the Congressional Black Caucus "our family" and "the conscience of Fannie Mae."

In 2005, Republicans sought to rein in Fannie and Freddie. Senator John McCain was at the forefront of that effort. But it failed due to an intense lobbying effort put forward by Fannie and Freddie.

In his few years as a U.S. senator, Obama has received campaign contributions of $126,349, from Fannie and Freddie, second only to the $165,400 received by Senator Chris Dodd, who has been getting donations from them since 1988. What makes Obama so special?

His closest advisers are a dirty laundry list of individuals at the heart of the financial crisis: former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson; Former Fannie Mae CEO and former Clinton Budget Director Frank Raines; and billionaire failed Superior Bank of Chicago Board Chair Penny Pritzker.

Johnson had to step down as adviser on Obama's V.P. search after this gem came out:

An Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) report^[1] from September 2004 found that, during Johnson's tenure as CEO, Fannie Mae had improperly deferred $200 million in expenses. This enabled top executives, including Johnson and his successor, Franklin Raines, to receive substantial bonuses in 1998.^[2] A 2006 OFHEO report^[3] found that Fannie Mae had substantially under-reported Johnson's compensation. Originally reported as $6-7 million, Johnson actually received approximately $21 million.

Obama denies ties to Raines but the Washington Post calls him a member of "Obama's political circle." Raines and Johnson were fined $3 million by the Office of Federal Housing Oversight for their manipulation of Fannie books. The fine is small change however, compared to the $50 million Raines was able to obtain in improper bonuses as a result of juggling the books.

Most significantly, Penny Pritzker, the current Finance Chairperson of Obama's presidential campaign helped develop the complicated investment bundling of subprime securities at the heart of the meltdown. She did so in her position as shareholder and board chair of Superior Bank. The Bank failed in 2001, one of the largest in recent history, wiping out $50 million in uninsured life savings of approximately 1,400 customers. She was named in a RICO class action law suit but doesn't seem to have come out of it too badly.

As a young attorney in the 1990s, Barack Obama represented ACORN in Washington in their successful efforts to expand Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) authority. In addition to making it easier for ACORN groups to force banks into making risky loans, this also paved the way for banks like Superior to package mortgages as investments, and for the Government Sponsored Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to underwrite them. These changes created the conditions that ultimately lead to the current financial crisis.

Did they not know this would occur? Were these smart people, led by a Harvard graduate, unaware of the Econ 101 concept of moral hazard that would result from the government making implicit guarantees to underwrite private sector financial risk? They should have known that freeing the high-risk mortgage market of risk, calamity was sure to ensue. I think they did.

Barack Obama, the Cloward-Piven candidate, no matter how he describes himself, has been a radical activist for most of his political career. That activism has been in support of organizations and initiatives that at their heart seek to tear the pillars of this nation asunder in order to replace them with their demented socialist vision. Their influence has spread so far and so wide that despite their blatant culpability in the current financial crisis, they are able to manipulate Capital Hill politicians to cut them into $140 billion of the bailout pie!

God grant those few responsible yet remaining in Washington, DC the strength to prevent this massive fraud from occurring. God grant them the courage to stand up in the face of this Marxist tidal wave.

Obama, It’s Time to Grow Up

Gabriel Garnica

Someone please tell me why any candidate for the White House exhibiting a pattern of distorting, hiding from and twisting the truth is not a matter of national security. ....

Defense Acquisitions: Fundamental Changes Are Needed to Improve Weapon Program Outcomes (Testimony)

In this testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, GAO’s Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, Michael J. Sullivan, repeated one of GAO’s long-standing complaints: DOD is not receiving expected returns on its large investment in weapon systems.....

We must continue to prepare for the worst

Home Office minister (UK) Tony McNulty explains how, with a future terrorist attack highly likely, the government is working to ensure public servants are totally prepared

It is now over a year since the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism was established. In that time much has been achieved. We have increased funding for counter terrorism to over £2bn per annum – double pre 9/11 levels – rising to £3.5bn by 2011, and have taken the unprecedented step of agreeing a public service agreement target for counter terrorism which sets measurable success criteria.

We have brought forward important new legislation and have carried out a series of major reviews of the further measures necessary to reduce our vulnerability from terrorism. And as part of the ACPO led development of capability, three counter terrorism units (CTUs) have been established within the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire police forces (with a fourth to follow in the South East), alongside five further Counter Terrorism Intelligence Units. Through the hard work of the police, the Intelligence Agencies and the CPS, 74 terrorists have been convicted in our courts since the start of 2007. Nearly half of those individuals (33) pleaded guilty.

We have also worked to build our own organisation. A year ago OSCT was about 160 people, mostly those already working in the Home Office. Today there are 300, drawn from a wide variety of different organisations. OSCT is playing an increasingly important role in coordinating the national counter terrorism effort.

A crucial part of that role is to support the Home Secretary and other ministers in developing, directing and implementing the counter-terrorist strategy (CONTEST) across government. CONTEST is divided into four primary strands: pursue (stopping terrorist attacks), protect (strengthening our protection against attack), prepare (mitigating the impact of attacks) and prevent (stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism). There are also a number of cross-cutting areas such as the internet; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN); and science, innovation and industry.

The broad range of actions in our counter terrorism strategy demonstrates that we are not just focused on catching terrorists. We are also focusing on the difficult task of local delivery and partnership working to prevent people becoming violent extremists. We set out how we would do this in the new prevent delivery plan which we launched with the Department of Communities and Local Government on 3 June. A highlight of this plan was the creation of 300 new prevent police posts in 24 forces.

Nevertheless, despite current work to stop people becoming terrorists and violent extremists, the threat to the UK, as assessed by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), remains severe. This means that an attack is highly likely and possible without warning. This threat is serious and sustained.

As a result we must continue to prepare thoroughly to mitigate the impact of terrorist attacks and protect against attack to reduce our vulnerability.

Counter-terrorism exercises are a vital part of our resilience and contingency planning, to prepare for when the worst happens. The government and the emergency services regularly train and practise responses to a range of incidents from major accidents and natural disasters to terrorist attacks. As part of the UK’s response to the terrorist threat, OSCT leads and manages a counter terrorism exercise programme in co-operation with the Association of Chief Police Officers.

By their very nature, the details of most counter terrorism exercises must remain out of the public view; often detailed information is only available to emergency service personnel with a need to know. However, the objectives of the exercise programme are clear – to test the UK’s ability to respond to terrorist incidents and their aftermath, including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents, and to identify ways in which our ability to respond can be improved. At a national level, it is centred on three annual, large scale live exercises covering a range of scenarios, designed to be as realistic as possible. With our partners, we are also working hard to ensure that this programme contributes to the security of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.

Exercises at the national level have always been multi agency endeavours, reflecting the reality of counter terrorism. OSCT works with government departments, the emergency services, the military, local authorities, health providers and scientists to ensure that we are prepared to respond to any kind of attack. The participants are given no warning of what the scenario will be before it begins and are expected to put training plans and procedures into practice to respond to the incident or the threat which emerges. Exercises at this level can take months of planning to ensure the situation is as realistic and challenging as possible.

Our partner organisations in the UK also carry out counter terrorism exercises. For example, the Health Protection Agency tests emergency preparedness in the health service community to terrorist attacks. And there are many other different types of exercise – recently, participants in the UK, US and Canada had to react to coordinated ‘terrorist attacks’, testing incident management procedures as well as the flow of operational, time-critical intelligence between countries.

The exercises programme is just part of the wide range of counter terrorism work that OSCT leads on or is involved with – the refresh of CONTEST later this year will be a further milestone in the development of the UK’s CT response. OSCT will continue to grow and evolve, ensuring that the government continues to work effectively and proactively to protect the public from international terrorism.

The EMP Threat - Knocked Back to Pre-Electric Lifestyles

Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP)–The Ultimate Iranian Terrorist Weapon « Pronk Palisades

The EMP Threat

Wall Street Journal.

Imagine you're a terrorist with a single nuclear weapon. You could wipe out the U.S. city of your choice, or you could decide to destroy the infrastructure of the entire U.S. economy and leave millions of Americans to die of starvation or want of medical care.

The latter scenario is the one envisioned by a long-running commission to assess the threat from electromagnetic pulse, or EMP. The subject of its latest, and little discussed, report to Congress is the effect an EMP attack could have on civilian infrastructure. If you're prone to nightmares, don't read it before bedtime.

An EMP attack occurs when a nuclear bomb explodes high in the Earth's atmosphere. The electromagnetic pulse generated by the blast destroys all the electronics in its line of sight. For a bomb detonated over the Midwest, that includes most of the continental U.S. Few, if any, people die in the blast. It's what comes next that has the potential to be catastrophic. Since an EMP surge wipes out electronics, virtually every aspect of modern American life would come to a standstill.

The EMP Threat - WSJ.com

The commission's list of horribles is 181 pages long. The chapter on food, for instance, catalogs the disruptions up and down the production chain as food spoils or has no way to get to market. Many families have food supplies of several days or more. But after that, and without refrigeration, what? The U.S. also has 75,000 dams and reservoirs, 168,000 drinking water-treatment facilities, and 19,000 wastewater treatment centers -- all with pumps, valves and filters run by electricity.

Getting everything up and running again is not merely a matter of flipping a switch, and the commission estimates that many systems could be out of service for months or a year or more -- far longer than emergency stockpiles or batteries could cover. The large transformers used in electrical transmission are no longer built in the U.S. and delivery time is typically three years. "Lack of high voltage equipment manufacturing capacity represents a glaring weakness in our survival and recovery," the commission notes.

Many industries rely on automated control systems maintained by small work forces. In emergencies -- say, during a blackout -- companies often have arrangements in place to borrow workers from outside the affected area to augment the locals and help with manual repairs. After an EMP attack, those workers would be busy in their home regions -- or foraging for food and water for their families.

The commission offers extensive recommendations for how industry and government can protect against the effects of an EMP attack and ensure a quicker recovery. They include "hardening" more equipment to withstand an electromagnetic pulse; making sure replacement equipment is on hand; training recovery personnel; increasing federal food stockpiles; and many others.

If not, our vulnerability "can both invite and reward attack," the commission's chairman, William Graham, told Congress last month. Iran's military writings "explicitly discuss a nuclear EMP attack that would gravely harm the United States," he said. James Shinn, an assistant secretary of defense, has said that China is developing EMP weapons. The commission calls an EMP attack "one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences." The threat is real. It's past time to address it.

Wall Street Loses, Google Gains in Government

(Compiler's note: Interesting read)

By Anne Laurent

Ugh. That giant sucking sound again, this time as millions of us hear our retirement savings swirl down the drain.

Despite the bailout blow-out, my mind has kept wandering all day to a Washington Post story about Google's new office, of all things. Finally, Bob Gourley, former chief technology officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency, helped me understand why.

Google's clearly moving to Washington (actually Reston, Va., but it's the same thing) to get serious about selling to government and the contractors arrayed around it. I've written about its new Google Video for business (YouTube for the Enterprise) and how logical I believe it will be for agencies to adopt. But of course there's a whole array of other apps surrounding that one: Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Docs, enterprise search, Web browser and Google's server cloud, where more and more businesses find it safe enough to store their data.

When Google first announced its foray into government, I thought it was a big deal -- the revival, but this time for keeps, of software as a service. But after a flurry of PR about improving enterprise search and indexing data for agencies, things seemed to calm down.

Wall Street's meltdown is going to heat them back up big time, according to Gourley, who now runs Crucial Point LLC, a tech consulting firm, and "CTO Vision," a terrific blog. That's where I found his musings on the meaning of the meltdown for federal IT folks.

The whole post is worth reading, but the big takeaway for me was that financial companies clearly won't be spending on IT in the near future, nor will agencies, especially if IT doesn't provide critical value. And increasingly it doesn't since it's rapidly becoming a utility (a la Nicholas Carr), and should mostly be outsourced.

And to whom? Well, one idea might be Google. Agencies already are moving. The Post highlights the District of Columbia, where CTO Vivek Kundra has employees using Google's spreadsheets, email, videos, maps, word processing and a wiki. Alabama has won many plaudits and imitators with its amazing mash-up of Google Maps, Virtual Alabama.

And on and on. My point being that once again, everybody's loss might turn out to be Google's gain.

ODNI: Trade-off information security for good intel

By Bob Brewin

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a directive on Tuesday that recommends managers of information technology systems accept a lower level of security if it provides the United States with better intelligence.

Comment on this article in The Forum.Intelligence Community Directive 503, signed by Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell on Sept 15, said the principle goal for risk management of any intelligence agency such as the CIA or the National Security Agency should be to protect the agency's ability to perform its mission, "not just to protect its information assets."

"Because risk cannot be eliminated entirely, the risk management process must allow decision-makers to consider the operational economic costs of protective measures weighed against requirements for mission accomplishment," the directive stated. "For example, a very high level of security may reduce risk to a very low level, but can be extremely expensive and may unacceptably impede essential operations."

Intelligence agencies should consider information sharing and collaboration across the community and with foreign partners "as essential mission-sharing capabilities," the directive said.

The directive is part of the push among intelligence agencies to open up their systems with the aim of improving intelligence and stopping attacks on the United States like the ones conducted on Sept. 11, 2001. In its report, which delineated the intelligence failures that resulted in the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the 9/11 commission called for a cultural shift to encourage information sharing. The intelligence reform enshrined those recommendations into law.

The language in the new directive stands in stark contrast to the one it replaces, the Director of Central Intelligence Directive 6/3 issued in 1999, which emphasized security and said nothing about operational requirements. That directive said IT system risk assessments should "identify specific areas that require safeguards against deliberate or inadvertent unauthorized disclosure, modification or destruction of information; denial of service; and unauthorized use of the [IT systems]."

ODNI described the new directive, which codifies strategic goals agreed on with John Grimes, the Defense Department's chief information officer, in January 2007, as "a ground-breaking new policy [that] . . . changes how the intelligence community, and by inference, the entire federal government, will build, validate and approve information technology systems."

"This is an important step forward, but primarily only for ODNI itself," said Pat Howard, the chief information security officer for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "This changes ODNI policy on certification and accreditation of IT systems to closely align to that of the civilian agencies."

The policy tracks the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-37. "I do think this is a step in the right direction since it is a move toward a common certification and accreditation standard that is accepted by a large part of the government, by an important agency that has a substantial number of highly sensitive IT systems," Howard said. "Perhaps DoD should move in this direction, too."

The directive lays out broad parameters to simplify accreditation and certification of intelligence community IT systems and calls for reciprocal accreditation of systems operated by other government agencies, including those at the state and local levels, or nongovernmental agencies that meet standards established by ODNI or NIST. The intelligence community also should accept system accreditations conducted by foreign partners including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the directive said.

Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists, called the new directive an "exercise in common sense: It says security is a means, not an end, and risk needs to be managed."

Aftergood said the directive also ties in with the recent intelligence community policy to share information, rather than closely hold on to it.

Philip Coyle, senior adviser with the Center for Defense Information, a security policy research organization in Washington, said the new directive was a way to "fudge" on security, and the government would do better to follow the practices of industry.

Coyle, who served as assistant secretary of Defense and director of its operational test and evaluation office from 1994 to 2001, said he was struck by the differences between private industry and the national security establishment when it comes to information technology development and deployment.

Private industry is innovative, developing applications and systems within small teams, and is cautious about security risks, he said. Defense and the intelligence community, by contrast, are not as cautious. They want to build "gigantic systems that are outdated before they can be deployed, developed by major defense contractors operating with very large teams, wanting to fudge on security to deploy faster, and wanting to bypass testing, which is seen as an obstacle not an opportunity for insight."

China report urges missile shield

By Bill Gertz

The United States needs new weapon systems, including missile defenses and other advanced military capabilities, to deter and counter China's steady buildup of nuclear and conventional arms, according to a draft internal report by a State Department advisory board.

U.S. defense policy has stressed missile defenses against Iran and North Korea. The report, by the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board (ISAB), is the first to recommend such defenses against China, including technology in space.

The draft, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, said Chinese strategy goes beyond building forces capable of retaking the island of Taiwan. China seeks to "break out" by projecting power beyond its region including sea lanes that carry energy resources for its modernization, the document said.

"Using superior U.S. military technical capacities, the United States should undertake the development of new weapons, sensors, communications, and other programs and tactics to convince China that it will not be able to overcome the U.S. militarily," the report said.

The draft report presents a tough assessment of Chinese strategic modernization that goes beyond many current government and private-sector analyses that say that China's military modernization does not pose a major challenge to U.S. security interests.

For example, in an interview with The Washington Times in March, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden expressed professional "admiration" for China's rapid and sophisticated buildup and said it is "not inevitable that they will be an enemy." The report said that to reduce the chance of a miscalculation by China that could lead to a crisis or conflict, the United States "must take seriously China's challenge to U.S. military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region. ... China's military modernization is proceeding at a rate ... to be of concern even with the most benign interpretation of China's motivation." ....

The draft by the 17-member advisory board has not been officially released. A State Department official familiar with the report said it is in the late stages and could be completed in the next several weeks. ....

• Click here for China strategic plan PDF

.... Among the areas of U.S. strategic vulnerability identified in the report are gaps in U.S. missile defenses; dependence on space for communications; the U.S. inability to use force against China except through aircraft carrier groups; and "fragile electronics and the Internet." The report recommends that the United States acquire new offensive space and cyber warfare capabilities and missile defenses as well as "more robust sea- and space-based capabilities" to deter any crisis over Taiwan.

China currently has about 20 missiles capable of reaching the United States but is projected to have more than 100 nuclear missiles, some likely with multiple warheads, by 2015, the report said.

....Among the key findings:

• Continued rapid economic growth of 10 percent a year is "vital" for China to continue to compete with the United States and achieve its main goals of regime survival and regional dominance.

• China's industrial and defense espionage is aimed at obtaining advanced technology for economic and military modernization.

• The scale, scope and speed of China's rise fundamentally impacts U.S. national security, yet the U.S. "possesses only a limited understanding of Chinese intentions, and how Beijing's economic and military expansion affects these interests."

• China's military and civilian leaders are not always on the same page and that separation is a potential "focal point" for mitigating hostility. China's civilian leaders understand Americans but the Chinese military suffers from "clear paranoia and misperceptions" about U.S. intentions.

• To avoid an "emerging creep" by China toward strategic nuclear coercion, "the United States will need to pursue new missile defense capabilities, including taking full advantage of space," the report said.

On China's expansion after centuries as a regional power, the ISAB report stated that: "In China's view, Taiwan is the key to breakout: If China is to become a global power, the first step must include control of this island." Taking over the island would allow China to control the seas near its coasts and to project power eastward, the report said.

China views Taiwan, where nationalist forces fled from the mainland in 1949, as central to "the legitimacy of the regime and key to power projection," the report said. Taiwan also is seen by China as a way to deny the United States a key ally in "a highly strategic location" of the western Pacific, the report said.

Chinese authorities have said they desire peaceful reunification with Taiwan but will not allow it to declare formal independence and have not ruled out the use of force.

The advisory panel report also recommended that the U.S. increase sales of advanced conventional forces to allies in Asia and improve counterintelligence efforts.

Larry M. Wortzel, chairman of the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, said he has not seen the report but that blocking Taiwan independence and gaining control of the island "is one of the highest priorities set for the People's Liberation Army by the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee and the Central Military Commission." "If China accomplishes this, its military can concentrate on missions to expand China's presence, influence, and even control, in wider areas of the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Mr. Wang, the Chinese Embassy spokesman, said China's budget for 2007 was $45 billion, or 1.4 percent of gross domestic product. He said this year's defense budget is $57.2 billion, an increase of 17.6 percent.

The United States spends about 4 percent of GDP on defense, according to the CIA World Factbook.

However, the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military stated that China's military spending figures do not include spending on China's space program, strategic forces, foreign acquisitions, military-related research and development and paramilitary forces.

World leaders look to US for salvation as economies near abyss

Socialist nations push for new bailout plan

World leaders called on the US government to take action to stave off global financial collapse Tuesday after Congress rejected a 700 billion dollar bailout in a move which stunned global markets.

Grid of 100,000 computers heralds new internet dawn

A network of 100,000 computers providing the greatest data processing capacity yet unleashed has been created to cope with information pouring from the world’s largest machine.

The Grid is the latest evolution of the internet and the world wide web and computer scientists will announce on Friday that it is ready to be connected to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

It is designed for schemes where huge quantities of data need crunching, such as large research and engineering projects. The Grid has the kind of power required to download movies in seconds, and the ability to make high-definition video phone calls for the same price as a local call. More importantly, it should help to narrow the search for cures for diseases. However, it is unlikely to be directly available to most internet users until telecoms providers build the fibre-optic network required to use it.

....The Grid allows scientist Many believe the world wide web and the internet are the same thing, but the internet is actually a massive network of networks, which connects millions of computers together globally, and the web is an information-sharing model built on top of the internet, which allows information to be accessed over the medium of the internet.s at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, to get access to the unemployed processing power of thousands of computers in 33 countries to deal with the data created by the LHC.

Mexico funds Spanish classes for illiterate emigrants to U.S.

By Laura Wides-Munoz, Associated Press

MIAMI — For more than a decade, as the immigration debate has swelled on both sides of the border, the Mexican government has been quietly providing money, materials and even teachers to American schools, colleges and nonprofit organizations.

The programs aren't substitutes for U.S. curricula, but educators familiar with them say they provide a lifeline for adult students with little formal education by helping them become literate in Spanish — and by extension, English.

Yet many educators are wary of even talking about the programs, fearing they might stoke an anti-immigrant backlash.

The Mexican government, which spends more than $1 million annually on the programs, has many reasons to provide the aid to the immigrants and their children. The programs allow it to give back to the growing number of Mexicans living legally and illegally in the U.S. Behind oil, remittances from these individuals are the second-largest source of foreign income for the Mexican economy — almost $24 billion last year. ....

NEXT PLAN WON'T BE MADE IN USA

(Compiler's note: This scary story may just help explain why some very high ranking politicians are bent on ignoring the loud demands of the American people. What else are we NOT being told. rca)

NOW what? Congress and the White House did their best - I guess - to come up with a way to rescue the teetering banking system and Wall Street reacted with a big, wet Bronx cheer.

In case you aren't from The Bronx, that means the financial markets didn't approve - either when the bailout looked like a sure thing in the morning (Dow down 350) or when the plan later seemed dead (Dow down more than 700).

So what's going wrong with the $700 billion experiment in bailout capitalism?

Well, Wall Street is running the show, which automatically engenders suspicion and skepticism.

To me, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs, seems more interested in taking toxic securities off the books of Wall Street firms than in providing the banking system with the lifeblood it needs - capital.

Here's the problem.

Even if Paulson manages to use the $700 billion to acquire billions in bad mortgage securities from banks, it doesn't mean the banks are going to be willing to increase loans.

In fact, banks might be so scared - and grateful that Paulson got them off the hook - that they might just sit back and watch the disaster unfold.

Lost in the panic of a nearly 800-point drop in the Dow is a scary back story. And it's the reason why Washington yesterday had to pump $330 billion in liquidity into the frozen financial system - not only to the US banking system but also to Europe.

Put simply, it's that we are no longer in control of our own financial markets.

Japanese and Chinese investors, including the governments of both countries, are said to have pressed for our government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac several weeks ago.

The threat, it has been reported, was that foreign government money from so-called sovereign wealth funds would no longer buy Fannie and Freddie's bonds if the feds didn't stand firmly behind them.

Foreign investments have enabled the US to expand its economy over the years, even though Americans have been saving and investing less.

These sovereign funds came to the aid of several US institutions early this year, but not lately.

Given the number of emergency bank deals that have just been accomplished through private transactions, it raises a question that was likely brought up by congressional members: Why did Washington need to kick in another $700 billion when private sources of finance seem to be stepping forward?

Are that many more banks in trouble? Was the Treasury secretary merely looking for an insurance policy if these private deals fail? Or was it, as I suspect, that the White House was being strong-armed by foreign interests?