Increased Spending in C4ISR Offsets Budget Cuts in RDT&E, Stabilizing the DoD Budget
The U.S. defense budget has remained stable, despite the cuts in research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) programs for immature technologies that do not have direct relevance to the existing ground forces operations. While sectors such as space-based assets have had to make do with reduced funds, other areas including medical services, armored ground vehicles, […]
Beyond Orwell: The Electronic Police State, 2010
by Tom Burghardt A truism perhaps, but before resorting to brute force and open repression to halt the "barbarians at the gates," that would be us, the masters of declining empires (and the chattering classes who polish their boots) regale us with tales of "democracy on the march," "hope" and other banalities before the mailed […]
U.S. Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Market to Generate $62 Billion Revenue over 2010-2015
The U.S. military UAV market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% between 2010 and 2015. The report of Market Research Media finds that the U.S. military UAV market will generate $62 billion revenues over the period 2010 – 2015. [24-7pressrelease.com] The U.S. military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) market has witnessed a meteoric […]
ITALY-FRANCE: 20 ACCORDS, FROM MEDITERRANEAN TO NUCLEAR POWER
Twenty accords in five key sectors have been signed during the Italy-France summit which came to an end in Paris with a resolve to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. The accords span issues such as the Union for the Mediterranean, immigration policy, nuclear power and defence, transport and culture. [ansamed.info] THE MEDITERRANEAN: The text […]
Airline passenger conversations to be monitored under EU project
Airline passengers could have their conversations and movements monitored under a European Union project aimed at tackling terrorism. [telegraph.co.uk] Brussels is funding research at Reading University aimed at detecting suspicious behaviour on board aircraft. It uses a combination of cameras, microphones, explosives detectors and a sophisticated computer system which would give a pilot early warning […]
Cyber wars
Ron Deibert, Rafal Rohozinski While the role of technology in the political struggle in Iran and elsewhere should not be overstated, it should not be underestimated either. The "next generation" controls with which authorities aim to manage the Internet mark a shift from heavy-handed filtering to sophisticated multi-pronged methods. Ron Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski on […]
Zeit für eine neue Bürgerrechtsbewegung
Ein Diskussions- und Arbeitspapier von Jan Korte Inhaltsverzeichnis I. Vorwort II. Gegen den präventiven Sicherheitsstaat 1. Wir haben aus der Auseinandersetzung mit der RAF das Falsche gelernt III. Der Kernbereich des Privaten: Ein Kollateralschaden 1. Nahezu vollständige Überwachung und Kontrolle der Kommunikation 1.1 Telekommunikationsüberwachung 1.2 Vorratsdatenspeicherung 1.3 Online-Durchsuchung 1.4 […]
Riot police put through their paces by fake protesters (video)
Gareth Wilson ABOUT 80 chanting “protesters” gathered outside Port Elizabeth’s soccer stadium yesterday afternoon as crowd control police were put through their paces before the World Cup. [weekendpost.co.za] More than 700 crowd control police were put through a mock riot scenario involving petrol bombs, smoke grenades and water cannon with groups of “protesters” given free […]
Burn Capitalism Now
Dear comrades On the occasion of the European Summit, celebrated in the Spanish State due to the rotating presidency of the EU, an anticapitalist and antiauthoritarian group has decided not to remain silent in view of the provocations the power in charge of the world crisis has implemented. We are ready to denounce the hypocrisy […]
India sets sights on killer drones
By Siddharth Srivastava NEW DELHI – Aside from the much discussed acquisition of big conventional weapons by India, a silent accretion has been the fleet of reconnaissance and "killer" unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), specifically aimed at neutralizing threats from Pakistan, and possibly China in future. [atimes.com] Official sources have told Asia Times Online that if […]
Van Rompuy will wieder EU-Gipfel in den Mitgliedsstaaten abhalten
[wirtschaftsblatt.at] EU-Ratspräsident Herman Van Rompuy will das im Zuge der EU-Erweiterung eingeführte Monopol seiner belgischen Heimat auf EU-Gipfel abschaffen und europäische Großveranstaltungen künftig wieder in den anderen Mitgliedsstaaten abhalten. "Es wäre eine gute Idee, wenn zumindest eine Großveranstaltung, etwa der Europäische Rat, in dem Mitgliedsstaat stattfindet, der die rotierende Ratspräsidentschaft innehat", sagte der belgische Christdemokrat […]
UAV trials begin in Dantewada next week
The government has decided to expedite the induction of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), hoping these will help paramilitary forces take on the Maoists, make the war theatre transparent and reduce casualties. [indianexpress.com] Trials of Israeli UAVs will be conducted by paramilitary forces in Dantewada on April 14 and these will be inducted into the theatre […]
Wien: Flughafenaktion Frontex versenken – Abschiebungen unmöglich machen!
Protest rund um den Flughafen organisieren! Donnerstag 8. und 22. April 2010: Abschiebungen durch Frontex mit dem Flugzeug nach Nigeria geplant [no-racism.net] Am 8. April 2010 wird es wieder eine Massenabschiebung von Wien Schwechat nach Nigeria geben. Es handelt sich um eine Charterabschiebung wobei die staatlichen Abschiebebehörden mit der europäischen "Agentur" FRONTEX zusammenarbeiten. Um Öffentlichkeit […]
Australia: Unmanned aircraft could soon patrol borders
ARI SHARP UNMANNED aircraft may be detecting the weather, monitoring crops and patrolling Australia’s borders in the next decade. [theage.com.au] The government communications authority has begun considering ways to allocate the spectrum space needed to communicate with the equipment to avoid interference with defence force communications. The issue of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) emerged in […]
„Managing“ Data and Dissent: Where Big Brother Meets Market Fundamentalism
by Tom Burghardt Repression doesn’t come cheap, just ask the FBI. [pacificfreepress.com]As the securitization of daily life increase at near exponential rates (all to keep us "safe," mind you) the dark contours of an American police state, like a pilot’s last glimpse of an icy peak before a plane crash, wobbles into view. In […]
[Paris] Berufungsprozess von Taser France gegen RaidH
Berufungsprozess TASER / RAIDH 7 April 2010 um 13h30 [indymedia.org] Der Menschenrechtsorganisation RaidH, welche eine Kampagne zur Regulierung der Nutzung von Tasern in Frankreich durchführt, wird am Mittwoch, den 7. April 2010 um 13h30 im pôle 2 Saal VII des Pariser Berufungsgerichtes der Prozess gemacht.SMP Technologies Taser France initiierte diese Berufung einer Entscheidung des Pariser […]
UK: Smile, you’re on the state’s candid camera
More than ever we are being watched. Most of us are aware of this but, even so, sometimes the extent of Britain’s surveillance society comes a shock. The movements of millions of motorists are being recorded each day and held on a police database in north London, in the majority of cases without the drivers’ […]
INDECT unter Beobachtung
Der Europäische Datenschutzbeauftragte Peter Hustinx möchte verhindern, dass mit dem EU-Forschungsprojekt INDECT Überwachungstechnologien entwickelt werden, die den europäischen Grundrechten zuwiderlaufen. In einer zunehmend auf Technologien basierenden Gesellschaft müsse der Schutz der Privatsphäre "by Design" in neue Entwicklungen eingebaut werden. [futurezone.orf.at] Anfang 2009 startete – vorerst unbemerkt von der Öffentlichkeit – ein von der EU mit […]
Frontex eyes drone planes for migrant searches
Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, is reportedly eyeing the possibility of using unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for its anti-migration patrols. [independent.com.mt] Arms manufacturers, it has been reported in specialist media, have been asked to advise Frontex on how their products can be used to stop asylum seekers entering the bloc’s territory. Frontex, the EU’s […]