The Gates of Hell

Source: Bloomberg.com

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., the world’s biggest defense companies, are deploying forces and resources to a new battlefield: cyberspace.

The military contractors, eager to capture a share of a market that may reach $11 billion in four years, have formed new business units to tap increased spending to protect U.S. government computers from attack.

Chicago-based Boeing set up its Cyber Solutions division in August “because of a realization by the company that it’s a very serious threat,” Barbara Fast, vice president of the unit, said in an interview. “It’s not a question of if we’ll be attacked but when and so how will we be prepared.” Lockheed launched its cyber-defense operation in October.

President George W. Bush announced a national cybersecurity plan in January to be supervised by the Department of Homeland Security, after an increasing number of attacks on U.S. government and private sector networks by groups linked to foreign governments, organized crime gangs and hackers. In a Dec. 8 report, a panel of experts said President-elect Barack Obama should create a White House office to oversee the effort.

“The whole area of cyber is probably one of the faster-growing areas” of the U.S. budget, Linda Gooden, executive vice president of Lockheed’s Information Systems & Global Services unit, said in an interview. “It’s something that we’re very focused on. I expect there will be a significant focus” under Obama.

The number of security breaches of U.S. and private-computer networks reported to the Computer Emergency Readiness Team of the Homeland Security Department almost doubled to 72,000 in the fiscal year ended in October from about 37,000 the previous year, agency spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said in an interview.

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Source: OregonLive.com

A father and son suspected of masterminding the bombing of a Woodburn bank two weeks ago face formal charges Friday in Salem.

Bruce Turnidge, 57, and Joshua Abraham Turnidge, 32, are both being held without bail in connection with an explosion that killed Oregon State Police bomb technician William Hakim and Woodburn Police Capt. Tom Tennant, critically injured Woodburn Police Chief Scott Russell and wounded bank employee Laurie Ann Perkett.

At a joint arraignment in Marion County Circuit Court, the duo face 18 charges apiece, including 10 counts of aggravated murder, three counts of attempted aggravated murder, a count of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, one count each of first-degree and second-degree assault, one count each of manufacture and possession of a destructive device.

The 8 a.m. hearing is set for Courtroom 8 in the Marion County Circuit Court annex.

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Source: USATODAY.com

What would happen if terrorists attacked the United States at the start of Barack Obama’s presidency?

The Bush administration doesn’t want to wait to find out. It’s planning to test the incoming government’s readiness next month in a series of tabletop exercises involving top Bush and Obama officials.

Concerned about the first handoff of presidential power since Sept. 11, 2001, the White House also is preparing briefing books and office manuals designed to bring the incoming Obama administration up to speed in a hurry.

“This is the first wartime transition in 40 years, and it’s probably the first transition in a couple of centuries in which our homeland itself has been under threat,” says White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten, who’s supervising the effort. The goal is to “make sure that those who are coming in are as well prepared as they can be to deal with an actual threat here in this country.”

Although Obama’s emerging team includes many former Clinton administration officials and members of Congress, most have not served in the executive branch since the Department of Homeland Security was created. That makes it critically important that they quickly understand the federal government’s terrorism-response capabilities.

White House officials have not said what specific scenarios will be played out in next month’s exercises. One overriding concern since 2001 has been the possibility that Washington comes under attack. In that case, plans would need to be in place for the replacement of key government officials.

“They would be smart to be thinking about these things,” says John Fortier, executive director of the Continuity of Government Commission, created by Congress in 2002 to help plan for terrorist attack aftermaths. “You face a lot of perverse scenarios.”

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Technorati Tags: terrorism, false flag

Source: USATODAY.com

Three of four major underwater cables have been severed in the Mediterranean Sea, seriously disrupting Internet and telephone service between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Bloomberg reports. The fiber-optic cables handle more than 75% of the traffic between the Mideast, Europe and the United States, and 90% of transmission between Europe and the Mideast.

The BBC reports that 65% of traffic to India is thought to be down, and that Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Taiwan and Pakistan have also been hit hard, with Egyptian officials saying nearly all Net service is down. Traffic is being rerouted through the United States, and that will likely cause Internet slowdowns or dropped phone calls. Here’s an earlier damage report from France Telecom.

It’s not yet know what cut the cables between Italy and Tunisia. A similar outage in January was blamed on a ship’s anchor off Egypt, and that may be the case again, according to Interoute, a European Internet Service Provider.

The BBC says that some seismic activity was reported near Malta, where the break apparently occurred, shortly before the cut was detected this morning. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.9 undersea quake in the Northern Mid-Atlantic, about 1,100 miles northwest of Portugal, but it’s not clear whether the two events are connected.

It might be days before the cables can be repaired, and experts are warning that regional economies may be hit hard. The first repair ship is expected to arrive Monday morning.

The cables are known as SMW 3 and SMW 4, which are owned by phone companies, and FLAG, which is owned by Reliance Globalcom.

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I’ve seen this mentioned several times in the news recently, that [cue dramatic music]…White Supremacists are infiltrating the US military in order to gain access to weapons and training!  The thing is, this is nothing new at all, nor is it restricted to White Supremacists.  In fact, the first I ever heard about this type of activity was related to Crips and Bloods-  black street gangs.  So I wonder, why the emphasis on “White Supremacists” now?

Consult the Oracle about gangs in the US Military….

Source: Urban Warfare in America

White supremacists in the ranks?

Another reason for concern according to activists is the revelation that there have been attempts by members of White supremacist organizations to infiltrate all branches of the United States armed forces, some of whom might be chosen for deployment in the cities.

Military officials said they do their best to weed out individuals with White supremacist affiliations and beliefs.

“You’ve always had White supremacists in the armed forces,” Ms. Hill said. She believes the military is doing its best to prevent these recruits from entering so they would not be accused of “facilitating” this type of military training. “The White supremacist mindset is dominant in the military anyway,” she said.

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Technorati Tags: White Supremacists, US military