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The Back Door is Open
Looks like PRC got their sat com technology from Loral, a link-
able system in Irridium, and the financing for all this in the US
bond market from retirement investment funds. And on the heels
of Clinton's recent public browbeating of PRC for not being
Democratic, we promptly joined them in PacFleet joint naval
exercises. The following week, PRC promptly arrested a handful
of those pesky Democracy-prone dissidents. If a parent instruct-
ed a child the way Bill's regarded PRC on Democracy issues,
the kid would eat alot of oatmeal, drool, play the banjo in his
closet, and require counseling.
EU Electronic-No-Knock: US NSA Echelon Quid Pro Quo
The European Union is quietly getting ready to approve legislation
that will allow the police to eavesdrop both on Internet conversations
and US Motorola Iridium satellite telephone calls without obtaining
court authorization.
2 December 98
Quid Pro Quo, Brutus
EuroPol's Drug Cops Ready to Tap US Irridium Sat Com Feeds
That's right, they're counter-surveilling us too, even before their own
self-righteous NSA Echelon indignance has cooled. Have a look for
yourself at some details.
Incidentally, since this info became semi-public, France is now slightly
less disturbed at losing some of their "cultural and national identity" to
their reluctant EU membership.
29 November 98
EU and US NSA's Echelon
Caught With Our Electronic Hands in The Cookie Jar
EU's Scientific and Technological Options Committee slam dunked
NSA's Euro-Eavesdropping in "An Appraisal of the Technologies of
Political Control". Dang... not only did we get caught, but the title of
that report proves we can be out-euphemism-ed.
According to that report: "All email, telephone and fax communications
are routinely intercepted by the [NSA]...".
22 November 98
Urban Security Initiative
Another Privately Administered Domestic Defense Program Du Jour
This is one of the increasingly popular technoidal bits and bytes
approaches to domestic emergency and disaster preparedness and
response. It would give computer notifications to municipalities
when threatened with disasters, terrorist incidents and other assorted
events.
Piglet hopes all those city govs out there are prepared to equip, staff
and operate their counterpart disaster-computers (aka dis-puters).
15 November 98
Nat Sec Domains Ad Infinitum
Los Alamos and Urban Emergency Response Planning
Why not... everybody else is in the emergency / disaster planning
and response business... and we do mean business.
Universities, think tanks, hundreds of gov agencies, and all their
disparate, conflicting and overlapping mission statements, complete
with gov security being sub-contracted to the lowest bidder.
Where does that leave us? It leaves us with, among other things,
private security brownie cop provider Wackenhut in charge of
protecting the nation's tritium supply at Savannah River Site.
Actually, we could think of a slightly better resource for protection
of sensitive facilties - like the thousands of Spec Ops personnel
now being dumped into the jobless and retirement market. But hey,
that's just our opinion. We could be wrong.
7 November 98
Panama Counter Narcotics Op Center
Relo To... Puerto Rico, Of Course
Now there's a stable little place for Lat Am counter drug ops HQ.
3 November 98
BattleSpace Gallactica
Sea, Air, Land and Information
DOD now includes Information Operations as a fourth codified domain
for military defense, and what's being called the first (Information
Warfare) non-physical military turf... which would, for public relations
campaign roll-outs, ignore the well-established notion of Psy-Ops.
The four-domain concept is being touted as "BattleSpace".
For more on this, surf to the National Defense University
homepage
and glean it yourself. Hint: Look for Joint Publication 3-13, Daniel Kuehl,
Chairman, Information Operations Department, School of Information
Warfare and Strategy.
31 October 98
Halloween Governance
The Many Masks (Agendas) of Confusion
There was BarnYard consternation that the current threat environment
was beginning to impel mass chaos and further concentration of power
in government, and abrupt changes in domestic governance without
benefit of a strategic plan (FUBAR).
But everything's under control.
The NSC recently announced a regionalized local domestic preparedness
and response plan. I know - that sounds pretty confusing. But let's not let
that deter us from having the plan. How shall you prepare thyself? Let me
count the ways: First, we divide the nation into about ten regions. Then
we assign a National Guard element to each said region. Then, *poof*, we
decide that local units of government (police, sheriffs, city EMS units, fire
departments, etc) are First Responders. Tag. You're it. Then we designate
said regional National Guard elements as Second Responders, to work in
flawless concert with said First Responders in the event of said nameless
garden variety of threat or emergency incidents. Cross training between said
responder parties of the First and Second part isn't addressed, but let's not
get distracted by triviality. Then we instruct said First Responders (all local
governments) to design their own preparedness and response plans. Tag.
You're it again. Any volunteers for this task on behalf of a hundred thousand
domestic municipal governments? But let's not get picky here. So, mystically,
said local plans completed by said First Responders (FR's), said FR's then
submit said plans to some undesignated federal agency. Why? Because said
unsaid agency then, based on each specific FR's plan, Uncle provides said
FR's with a federally approved list of equipment and training resources pertinent
to said FR's plan. Perfect. Sounds like a plan.
Do any of you Mayors, City council-personages, County Commissions, Police
Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, or anybody else in curent muni gov positions, know how
to write a preparedness and response plan for emergencies, disasters, NBC,
or any other such massive scope contingencies? No? Don't worry: As you
read this, Uncle may be forming a "Preparedness and Response Plan Writing
Help Desk" somewhere. Besides, we can't let implementation obstacles for
immense-scope shifts in governance burdens interfere with this glossy
conceptual picture. So let's move on to the other pieces to this psychotic
puzzle.
We already know that the FBI is lead agency for the recently formed National
Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC). National Infrastructure - that covers
alot of ground, but the FBI (like FR's) is no doubt up to the task of abruptly
defining and assimilating both NI and a mission statement they can explain
to all the nations FR's and muni govs. Right? (*gag*) So let's move on to FBI,
Part Deux.
We now have a brand spankin new National Domestic Preparedness Center,
again lead by the FBI. Now, based on the terminology alone , a child of four
can plainly see the pieces coming together quite clearly, nes pas ?:
Infrastructure, Preparedness, Response, National Security Council, FBI,
National Guard, local government, equipment, training...
And then there's the exceptionally well-conceived designation of Texas A&M
University's Engineering Department (TEEX) as the National Counter Terrorism
Center, where all of the FR's/muni govs training needs can be fulfilled.
And if Texas A&M can't handle all your city's terrorism needs, you can always
let your fingers do the walking in Uncle's "Private Sector Counter Terrorism
Resources Yellow Pages", developed by Sandia National Labs' Special
Research Stuff Team under the guidance of huffy Ms Phd and a crack
team of bookworms-with-no-grass-stains-of-experience at the behest of the
Department of Justice (DOJ) last year.
And to top off the menu of wildly creative, spontaneous plans and designs for
domestic preparedness and response, we hear through the grapevine that
we're about to get a "National Domestic Infrastructure, Preparedness, Response,
NSC, FBI, National Guard, and Local Government Czar".
While it might seem impossible for all the skills, experience and judgment for
such a heavy burden to be found in a single person, we hear a nominee for
that post is already being considered: Rube Goldberg.
While we're all awaiting Monsignor Golberg's appointment as HMFIC All Things
Domestically Really Safe, let's pause for a moment to consider this minor issue:
How much does a single high-end CBW suit cost, or a mobile command unit for
such contingenices, and who's going to pay for it.
Hint: Sounds like "taxpayer".
And its a good thing we're so well prepared for incident response, especially after
executing such a well thought out strategy for countering the influence of His
Huge-ness Osama Bin Laden. To what, you ask, could that sardonic spew
possibly refer? Here's the short version: Step 1 - *Ask* the unstable Afghani
Taliban for his extradition; Step 2 - Bin Laden bombs two AMEMB locations in
retaliation with scores of casualties; Step 3 - We bomb two of his facilities, with
virtually no effect with the possible exception of revealing our showboat, dog-n-
pony-show strategy and tactics.
Okay, okay... so we got another set of exceptionally impressive nose-cone shots.
As with the Gulf War the result is that, post-facto, the primary threat source survived
and retains their position of power and influence.
06 October 98
Global Showdowns
Meltdown, Transition & Metamorphosis
Item: Global Economic Crisis
The trend toward global currency equilibrium, via econ-destabilizing
currency devaluations by IMF/WB, is wreaking havoc in both fiancial
markets and commerce/industry worldwide, which are nearly impossible
to anticipate or counteract. Even US exports are now being dramatically
affected. And Russia, on the heels of her own collision with devaluation,
is now demanding compensatory economic support from the IMF.
Item: Middle East
Iraq & Afghanistan are posturing against Iran in pseudo-border /
theosophy sabre rattling, while Iraq begins troop buildups on its
southern and eastern borders - yet again. This represents some
characteristically amorphous splintering among Islamic nations' growing
propensity for Pan-Islamic alliances, both governmental and economic.
Item: Eastern Europe
Russia is lining up against NATO intervention in Yugoslavia,
threatening "grave, material consequences" if NATO intervenes
in Kosovo for violation of UN-based hostility cessation agreements.
Item: United States
Here at home, we're having our own problems of paradigm-shift scope:
defederalization is shifting unprecedented operating and fiscal burdens
from fed to local govs, such as Nat Sec responsibilities and social services.
Federal budget austerities are coming to bear on DOD, with the recent
(ancillary) acknowledgement that our DOD budgetary system isn't even
structured to permit line item detail for current convoluted preparedness
and reaction protocols - for equipment or manpower.
Flying Pig's Take: Every Nation for Itself
This scenario contains all the ingredients of a global depression with a
smattering of sustained localized warfare... the usual suspects associated
with any wide scale governmental, economic and social changes throughout
history. But this time, there are multiple, simultaneous hotspots, any *one* of
which could suck all of us into global warfare - particularly where sovereignty
or oil sources are at stake. This time, there is a lack of even regionally shared
ideological and economic goals among non-competitive nations. This time,
one ameliorative ingredient - necessary to bring such conflict-laden eras to a
close - is missing: at least a regional affiliation of leadership-nations who have
a consistent following of support and share common economic and political goals.
Maybe the US and UK will develop slightly closer bonds over this one. Not much
of a consolation prize, though, when nobody's sure who's running the show this time.
Global democracy... Who'd a thunk it'd be this danged complicated?
01 October 98
Globalization A La Carte
Varied Paths to Homogenized Governance
France is making noises about EU membership, complete with
lowered trade and travel barriers, and a common currency unit, as
a step toward loss of national and individual identity and freedoms.
The relatively recent trend in non-EU currency devaluations, notably
among Asian and LatAm currencies, seems to be pointing toward
segmenting of regional economies, when coupled with recent talk of
an Asian currency standard. To wit, the Americas, EU and Asia as
one set of regions on the brink of homogeneous governance and
currency, and with the Middle East knee jerking in that same direction
with the advent of the first Pan-Islamic conference just this year. Africa
seems to lack sufficient development to warrant regional inclusion
while India has sufficient population but lacks the consistent political will
for stable economic predictability just yet.
So where's all this headed? Probably global governance if the old saw of
"follow the money" is any indicator. The CEO of Merrill Lynch recently
commented, on the cusp of HB 10's introduction in September, that in the
very near term future, there will be only a handful of financial institutions,
banks, insurance companies and brokerages. This will probably hold true for
telecoms as well, since deregulation of both telecoms and financial institutions,
allowing them to merge with foreign firms, has already resulted in a spate of
international JV's and acquisitions for the first time in their respective
industrial histories.
Had we known about the stark reality of this sub-trend of globalization in
the '60's and '70's, we would probably have adopted the hybrid peace-nik motto,
"One World, One People, One Bank". Not exactly the romantic version that
was espoused on blankets at anti-war rallies.
There's every reason to believe that governments themselves will, ultimately,
do precisely the same thing - merge, JV, acquire... all pointing toward some
semi-homogeneous form of global governance.
Strap yourself in for the ride - this is likely to happen, as it has with France -
so quickly, that you might not have time to either lodge objection, or influence
the fundamental outcome.
The Aerial Oinker suggests that everybody start thinking about how to influence
the political process a little more frequently than every four years, as our basic
political realities can change in the wink of an eye at this moment in history.
Maybe that means an on-line issue-oriented polling mechanism which allows
semi-informal gathering of voters positions before doing something like... having
a really exciting war, or joining with a dozen other nations in a currency and
economic agreement with sweeping global implications, and which alters
government at its core.
14 August 98
Fractal Bad Guy Convergence
Ostensibly Unrelated Signals - Or A Recipe for Sustained Angst
These are signals of long term vacuums for simultaneous waves of
despotism, anarchy and terrorism, all of which leaves the average folks
with their heads between their legs.
The next two years promises the potential for the oft bandied "paradigm shift".
Here's a little test of your clairvoyance: in the 60's, there was a high-spirited
anticipation of something vaguely referred to as a global community, based
on some euphoric democratic idealogy. The folks who were singing that
song clearly did not anticipate that the former Soviet Union would be
magically democratized, then abandoned with no transition plan. They
also did not likely anticipate, in the aftermath of that sloppy wave of the
wand of freedom, that even some of the older folks in Russia would now
be carrying placards calling for the return of Stalin.
We may want to start considering something like a consensual strategic
plan for our future. More on this soon.
10 August 98
UN NGO's Used By Extremist Groups
Extremist groups have access to the UN's grass roots political
process via NGO meetings and conferences. Among these groups
are India's separatist movement United Liberation Front of Assam,
former Chilean gov prince of torture Washington Carrasco, Saddam
Hussein's younger, dumber brother & former head of Iraqi intel,
Tupac Amaru (Peruvian leftists) and the Tamil Tigers, all of whom
have lengthy, well-documented histories of terrorist violence and
public threats even while at United Nations functions.
NGO's, as an experiment in global democracy, have a tough job:
absorbing all elements of the global political spectrum and normalizing
a volatile political process, in its infancy, amid both main stream and
violent extremist groups.
There's a job description: embrace a guy carrying a diplomatic pouch
stuffed full of semtex. This is sufficient justification to reinstate the
20-martini lunch rule.
4 August 98
New Hacker App Writes Remote Code on Any PC
"Back Orafice" was just unleashed at a Las Vegas hacker's convention.
Created by the hacker group "Cult of the Dead Cow" (CDC), it purportedly
can allow a remote hacker to fundamentally control the target PC without
the knowledge of the victim-PC operator.
The program will allow files to be sent to and from the perp's and victim's
PC's, and even allow file deletions on apparently unlimited scale. The
program is scheduled for availability on CDC's web site for public download
this week.
Post Script
A few folks from DOD watched the Vegas demo of the CDC app. What's
wrong with this picture?
3 August 98
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria: They're Here
In 1943, Al Fleming developed penicillin. In 1945, he warned of its
over-use and the potential for mutant super-bacteria and super-viruses.
In 1946, he warned, it appeared the problem had already begun.
In the early 1990's, we observed numerous medical conferences to
which the medical profession and CDCP were party, and in which
increasing concerns were expressed about the resistance to antibiotic
regimen by patients with a wide variety of disease and infections
already being experienced.
In 1995, in New York City alone, nearly 2,000 deaths resulted directly
from a failure of infections to respond to antibiotics, including some of the
new breed of super-antibiotics such as vancomycin.
TB, polio, menangitus, pneumonia, and some STD's... are emerging
or re-emerging with whiplash effect. No serious, concerted effort
currently is being made to develop new antibiotics, or other solutions,
to address this problem.
And the implications are grave. Essentially, it means that anything from
minor cuts and abrasions, to sore throats and minor surgery, can become
lethal sources of untreatable infection. Worse yet, it can mean the
beginning of an era of new disease and infections for which our budget-
austerity-laden gov will be unprepared to find treatment and cures.
You can expect an increase in knee-jerk reactions to this trend, some
of them peculiar on face value, such as increased focus on health issues
by INS for immigration purposes, and for passport and visa processing.
Also look for an abrupt, if volatile, increase in number of, and demand for
products which purport to bolster immune system efficacy... like powdered
chicken soup with garlic, ginseng, chicken lips and kim chee extract. < *Gag* >
2 August 98
State & Local Govs Call for Rescision of EO 13083
The US Senate (Fred Thompson leading) has joined the National League
of Cities (NLC), National Governors Association (NGA), and the National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) in a joint resolution calling
on Clinton to rescind EO 13083 entitled "Federalism".
Looks like the 10th amendment scrap is percolating from from state to
federal legislatures, as Piglet made noteworthy in our 17 June Barnyard
entry (see below). We even presented His Hugeness Monsignor Clinton
with its first Flake of the Decade Award for circumventing the legislative
process with such a large number of EO's and PDD's addressing national
security issues in our 18 July entry (see below).
In Barnyard entries of 9 July and 29 June (see below), this little Piggy
noted Clinton's EO 13083 bore tones of poorly defined, and spontaneously
invoked martial law provisions, while much governance burden is being
shifted from fed to state and local government.
OPSEC has long recommended that local, county and state gov jointly
begin efforts to design strategic plans to assimilate these new burdens
for governance, particularly through programs designed for law enforcement
through Scenario Planning and
development of Threat Management Units (TMU).
See... its worth dropping your New York Times in the garbage and paying
attention to Flying Pig and the Barnyard's crack team of wild, snorting reporters.
1 August 98
25 Ton Explosive Grade Nitrate Theft
25 tons of explosive grade ammonium nitrate has been stolen from a
plant in West Virginia. The FBI is following this one aggressively.
Piglet's trying to visualize a "stealthy" theft of 25 tons of anything.
31 July 98
Governance Shifts Hits Farmers
Conflicting Priorities and Programs
Sustained weather irregularities caused by El Nino and La Nina
have caused domestic crop planting, growing and harvesting problems.
Fed gov subsidy program austerities have put even more strains on
already debt-ridden farmers. State govs are scurrying to promote
private donation drives to stave off more farm failures. And one state
governor is calling out the National Guard to distribute donated or
discounted hay to farmers.
Meanwhile, the fed gov just arranged for foreign distribution of "surplus"
domestic grain to the tune of 80 million bushels.
Flying Pig is thinking that maybe the appropriate elements of state and
federal governments might want to sit down and develop something resembling
a plan to reduce the chaos factor, so that someone benefits besides
the parasites at the US commodities exchanges.
Give It To the States and Cities - Let the Chips Fall Where They May
If state and fed gov elements don't change their mutually obstinate
attitudes on everything from nat sec issues to domestic agriculture
issues and disaster response, we may all soon see a very peculiar new
tax structure emerge which will vary even between contiguous counties
on national scope... and with no particular material benefit to the taxpayer.
Stewardship of taxpayer funds and gov services delivery have gotten lost
somewhere in the free-for-all shift of gov services from fed to state and local
government. If Y2K issues come to bear in the same relative window as
backlash from these shifts in governance, economic and otherwise, the
domestic economic and social music may come to an abrupt halt.
At such times, it has been said, the cream always rises to the top. But
based on a recent HAZMAT visit to a waste treatment plant, the Piglet
is reminded that cream isn't the only substance that floats.
25 July 98
Full Moon Shining on the Nation
Millennial Lunacy In the Past 24 hours
23 July 98
Russia Opposition Leader Begins Ten Day Anti-Gov Drive
Ilyukhin: The Business of Staged National Revolt
Victor Ilyukhin, a Communist party leader and Chairman of the Duma
Security Committee, has begun a ten day anti-government revolt in
Russia.
Ilyukhin says, among other things, that Yeltsin and his governmental,
Red Mafia and industrial cronies have driven the Russian government
and economy into the ground. Specifically, he claims Yeltsin & company
pocket most of the IMF's funding assistance to his Russia.
While the protest has been staged with the requisite, politically correct
Russian press coverage, Ilyukhin has strong support for his ten day
protest among the Russian military and military industries, including
workers who haven't received paychecks for months or years. Ilyukhin
has threatened violence to unseat Yeltsin and crew. This may be the
mouse that roared.
Flying Pig's Take
We favor three scenarios:
Its a bizarre new world.
22 July 98
Y2K: Sustained Chain Reaction
Periodic and Intermittent Impacts for a Decade
The FAA says *one* of their key mainframe computers is Y2K
compliant. IBM, the system's manufacturer, says they don't
even have the skills or tool to fully test that theory.
Why the variation in stories? Part of it is likely a result of low-end
damage control, public relations and panic-prevention on the part
of the FAA, and a little sales promotion on the part of IBM. But it
gets better: the FAA's mainframe reads "01" as 1975... all the
way to 32... or to 2007, which is the earliest the bits and bytes
will go nuclear.
Seems reasonable to re-engineer the acronym to read "Y2K +/- 10".
Especially since one major credit card company has already had
vendor law suits for failure of their systems to recognize 2000+
expiration dates.
Watch the wanted ads blossom with tweaks for programmers/code
writers, and hardware/software installation gurus. Watch budgets
for systems and software (and related law suits for systems failures)
grow parallel. If you follow the potential ripple effect far enough
in that chain of events, the potential overall economic impact
becomes undebatably grave.
20 July 98
How 'Bout No Taxes, Dummy?
A California judge threatened to suspend state gov payments to
individuals and businesses if the state legislature doesn't come
up with a budget for the current fiscal year. Another case of
truncating tax-paid government services because legislators
can't or won't do their jobs.
Flying Pig's Take
Alright, enough of this corn pone from federal, state and city
lawmakers.
When legislators place more emphasis on gamesmanship than on
discharging their duties in stewardship for the public's tax monies,
there's something very wrong. When this becomes a fashionable
legislative trend, then we need a change. If they won't do their jobs
or they won't go to work, they shouldn't benefit. So here's what the
Aerial Oinker would like to see:
If legislators don't pass our budgets on time
Piglet's a little surprised that a judge from among those of a Potter
Stewart ilk hasn't dropped the other shoe on legislators for this
nasty little habit of theirs, which often includes threats of shutting
down government during "budget lapses", but while still collecting
taxes.
19 July 98
Panama US Anti-Drug Ops Center In Doubt
Negotiations between the US and Panama to maintain a US anti-drug
ops center in the Panama Canal Zone after December '99 are shaky.
The ops center may fold.
The exit of the ops center would coincide with the exodus of about
2,000 American personnel connected with the US presence in the
Panama Canal operations, which is scheduled to terminate year end '99.
18 July 98
Presidential Decision Directive # ? (classified)
NSC To Head US Anti-Terrorism Efforts
Short version:
For:
Against:
We've had more than one Drug Czar. If Uncle Bill gets his way,
we'll get an NSC Terror Czar. There are rumblings on the Beltway
that NSC may also be tapped by Clinton to head the nation's combined
information infrastructure security efforts. That would mean we're
on standby for an I-Czar.
Flying Pig's Take
Maybe Czars will soon dispense with the inconvenience of a Congress
and a Supreme Court.
For the spate of exceptionally short-sighted PDD's and EO's flying
out of the Oral Office (not a typo) in the past few years,
the Aerial Oinker hereby nominates Uncle Bill as...
17 July 98
Public Health Update: Hepatitus C
Health authorities and the medical profession have been kind
enough to now acknowledge that HCV has existed in Americans
on epidemic levels since 1989. Apparently, it didn't seem to them
a good idea to release that little morsel of information then, as
it may have caused public panic, though no one has offered
explanation of the form they think "panic" would have taken.
Its likely that HCV would have been a politically incorrect menu
addition to the then growing concerns - and political pressures -
over HIV / AIDS. Hats off to the threat perception and rapid
response gurus in the White House and CDCP, both then and now.
HCV's low-grade effects are broad spectrum, with the primary
damage slowly desicating the liver. HCV's infection sources include
the usual list of suspects (a la AIDS). The victim may feel virtually
no recognizable symptoms (nausea, flu-type, sluggish) for a decade
or more after contracting the virus. In fact, many HCV victim's infections
have been discovered only on examination for ostensibly unrelated
reasons. Its currently thought that many baby boomer HCV victims,
now just emerging, who dabbled in the drug cultures of the 60's and
70's, may have contracted the virus through sharing of drug paraphernalia
or unprotected sexual intercourse.
We encountered no one who wanted to discuss the possibility of
contracting viral infection from coming into contact with contaminated
non-porous surfaces... e.g., ceramic tile in bathrooms, surfaces in public
transporation systems, restaurants... ad infinitum.
Current US HCV mortality: 10,000 deaths annually. Source: The same
guys who told us all viruses die immediately on contact with air.
16 July 98
The Navy, MicroSquat, and You...
... Dry-Docked Together
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...
Flagship battle cruisers USS Hue City and USS Vicksburg will be
out of service while engineers try to integrate a new Microsoft
weapons control system.
Microsoft develops somewhat volatile tri-annual upgrades that
have a propensity for software crashes. The Navy targets January
'99 for assessment of the new system upgrade. In the meantime,
plan on some unscheduled shore leave & personnel reassignments.
15 July 98
Web Sit Rep
Global MPEG4 Standards
OPSEC's Dan-the-Man opines the MPEG4 conference has established
global web protocols & standards for Internet audio/video. See
subject briefings at
Uni-Web ?: Sun MicroSystems, Jini & Java Tone
If Sun MicroSystems has their way, everything from your home computer,
to your toaster, cell phone and car will become "slave" stations for a
global supercomputing network. Instead of trying to keep all your e-needs
memory and operating systems in your bursting-with-gigs desktop, almost
all your operating needs (including all those inconvenient memory- and
resource-heavy applications and operating systems) would be met by
remote "host" systems. While this could mean access to immensely
high speed and vast resources, it may also mean that most of what
you do with these resources can be captured by the "remote host
systems".
Flying Pig's Take:
Let's review what we've learned in the past week
Mixed bag. Go figure.
14 July 98
WMD, Assassination Plots & Poultry
The Strange Case of Assassination by Entrails
Three suspects, whose prelude to plotted assassination included
an emailed "Declaration of War" sent to the White House (duhhh),
have been arrested at the Tex-Mex border and charged with
conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction.
Right wing extremist group, The Republic of Texas (TROT),
allegedly planned to use modified cigarette lighters to shoot
thorns treated with the AIDS virus, anthrax, botulism or rabies
into their victims. Intended victims allegedly included Bill
Clinton and FBI employees.
Not that we doubt the competence of learned counsel, or the current
administration's sense of priorities, but for now, we're just kind of
assuming that attempted assassination might also be included
among the eventual list of criminal charges.
TROT's creative thinkers presumably determined that chicken
organs and vegetables, with a little dirt, would produce a
deadly toxin with which to treat cactus thorns. The thorns would
then somehow be fixed in a really secret kinda cigarette lighter
and then used to scratch the target assassinee.
Flying Pig's Take
This conspiracy had to be dreamed up over wooden bowls of
steaming oatmeal while somebody played a banjo rendition of
"Deliverance" in the background.
Inexplicably, we're reminded that the US placed nearly dead last
in a recent international high school academic competition which
included quite a few third world competitor nations.
It seems we have more success tracking hair-brains trying to kill
people with chicken and green beans than we do in tracking
weapons-grade nuke material. For Cliff Notes on that one, see entry
dated 22 June 98, below.
Who needs fiction: nobody could make this stuff up.
This Just In...
Rumors have emerged that No Such Agency is now coding sat
surveillance systems for ambient poultry and vegetable EM signal
recognition. SWAT Teams may be stacking at the chicken coop
door at this very moment.
Okay, okay..that one, we made up.
13 July 98
Wall Street Y2K Exercise
SIAC runs a two firm, 100-share test buy/sell execution on forced-up
date of 29 December 1999. Results/impact hit the books after the
traditional four-day lapse, and will be announced, plus or minus some
public version spin, on or about Thursday, 16 July. Larger volume,
multiple transaction exercise is expected circa October this year.
OPSEC's wish list of additional Y2K exercise candidates:
Notably, to our knowledge, no major PC manufacturers have developed
and made available free Y2K patches even for their pre-fab systems.
In fact, Dell, Gateway, Compaq, Toshiba, et al, are similarly unresponsive
on the subject.
11 July 98
NYPD Rent-A-Cop, Inc
NYPD officers are now authorized to be "rented" from the city for
off-duty private security and bodyguard work. The officers collect
$27/hour while the city collects a "small processing fee".
10 July 98
NSA's Clipper Chip Algorithms Declassified
The Skipjack and Key Exchange algorithms (the Clipper chip's underlying
crypto-codes) have been declassified and made available to corporations
who want to develope fed compatible systems/software products.
Translation: Domestic biz gets a crack at debugging the sloppy
crypto protocols in Clipper-dom.
9 July 98
Presidential Decision Directive 63
Another step toward "Roobed" (Rube Golberg) governance:
PDD 63 designates the FBI's newly created NIPC (National Infrastructure
Protection Center) as lead agency/office for the nation's infrastructure
protection plan. Critical infrastructure includes the nation's power grid,
national information infrastructure (NII), telecom system, water supply
and distribution systems, etc. Among those agencies hancho'd by
the fledgling FBI NIPC is the pre-existing Department of Energy. Our
profound condolences to the folks at DOE. For those of you tracking
gov operational structure... do it in pencil. "Reinvention of government"
via executive order, sans congressional consent, public debate, and
constitutional compliance. Check your national archives daily.
Let's survey the current Nat Sec terrain (good til day's end):
PDD 62 designates Health & Human Services (HHS) as FEMA's lead
agency in national counter terror operations
Congress and DOJ cooperatively designate Texas A&M University the
National Counter Terrorism Center
PDD 63 designates the FBI's NIPC (under DOJ) as lead agency/office
for the nation's counter terror infrastructure protection plans. DOE now
reports to FBI NIPC
Nat Sec initiatives, programs and responsibililties are shifted from
federal to state and local governments & their local law enforcement
agencies (see samples )
The Nunn-Lugar-Domenici City Training Program is developed to
train local first responders in 120 of the nation's largest cities: training
is directed at local fire, police and emergency medical personnel on
how to deal with a weapons of mass destruction incident.
Congress deliberates funding assistance for local law enforcement
agencies as "domestic defenders" (senate - $200 mil+; house - $100
mil+) in combating terrorism. Funding will be available via DOJ's
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
DOD developes a plan to use Guard and Reserve forces in a
domestic WMD plan, the "Guard and Reserve Consequence
Management Program Integration Office", to support local, state
and federal civil authorities in post incident WMD operations.
Feds task think tanks with Nat Sec "de-federalization" contracts:
Sandia National Labs conducts a national "Anti Terrorism Tools
Survey" for DOJ (by email, no less) for the ostensible purpose of
creating an "AT Tools Yellow Pages" for municipal governments
(city, county and state governments)
DOE, the nation's tritium supply steward, is designated an official
member of the US intelligence community
Private security firm Wackenhut guards Savannah River Site,
home of the nation's tritium supply
US Marine shooters are posted at the Mexican border
US Navy SEALs do TAD drug interdiction ops
EPA has plans to publish locations of US nuke power & chem-bio
related facilities on the web as a "public service". The FBI says no,
because its a national security risk. EPA director says yes. Clinton
says nothing. Congress is thinking about it
Supplemental Muddling: Clinton accepts campaign contributions
from Chinese nationals. Loral sells sat com technology to the Chinese.
Loral's president makes Clinton campaign contributions. Clinton
authorizes US sattelite launches by China. The FBI and CIA tell
Congress Clinton, Loral - er, somebody: its a secret - is giving US
sattelite techno-secrets to the Chinese. Congress says they'll ask DOJ
(the FBI's parent) for any information they may have on the issue
What It All Means to You:
Flip a coin and report bomb-toting terrorists to any of the following:
Exceptions
Take notes. You'll be taxed on this later... probably by the city in
which you reside. And while there's an outside chance the IRS may
be designated the collection agent for your city's national security tax,
(and state welfare tax, et al) it may take the IRS two years to prepare
your bill manually (and with a newly legislated smile), because their
$4 billion computer system never materialized. Neither has the
missing $4 billion. Kudos to congress for that little piece
of detective work.
9 July 98
Trojan Horse Virus Stirring
Subject matter briefings:
8 July 98
Keystone Cops & Chinese Fire Drills: Who's Minding the Store?
Item:
Texas A&M University is designated the National Counter Terrorism
Center.
Item:
Feds task think tanks with Nat Sec de-federalization:
Sandia National Labs conducts a national "Anti Terrorism Tools
Survey", by email no less, for the ostensible purpose of creating
an "AT Tools Yellow Pages" for municipal governments.
Item:
Nat Sec initiatives, programs and responsibililties are shifted from
federal to state and local governments & their local law enforcement
agencies. (see samples )
Item:
Florida's governor thanks firefighters from two dozen states, Canada
and even Russia for their assistance in containing wildfires. US feds,
such as FEMA, conspicuously absent.
Item:
Fed budget austerities and program eliminations spark a 10th amendment
fracas between many state governors and Clinton/US Congress.
Item:
Clinton takes serious fire, from both the political left and right, over the
martial law overtones of his contentious Executive Order 13083.
See OPSEC Proposal for federal, state & local collaboration to end the
government jurisdictional, program & budget austerity wars, and to
achieve delivery of public safety services to the taxpayer which are
falling through the cracks of chaotic ego-political platforms.
2 July 98
Capital Governance
The recent US-prompted devaluation of Asian currencies wrought
havoc throughout Asia, notably in South Korea. The effects of the
devaluation nearly brought South Korea to its economic knees,
prompting massive civilian donations of personal assets such as
jewelry to stave off economic collapse.
Enter Wall Street: a four billion dollar government bond auction
bailed out the South Korean economy, but only with a historically
important hitch. The Wall Street financiers behind the bond sale
demanded, and got, South Korean gov concession to start conducting
their government based more on western business principles than on
regional and cultural traditions.
The primary players in today's financial markets can topple, destabilize,
or advance and promote political careers and, now, entire nations'
economies in the time it takes to click their mouse and execute a
buy/sell order. This is considerably more, and swifter, influence than
is held sway by any existing government, world leader or belief system.
This phenomenon may make moot the "governance" and "ungovernability"
issues faced by most of the world's governments today. It also may
mean that some matters formerly subjected to public debate and the
political process may now be decided in board rooms and on the trading
floors. In fact, neither the primary announcement, nor the bond closing,
relating to the South Korean government bond sale on Wall Street, were
open to the American press.
Transnational organized criminal and terrorist groups have been forming
alliances at an alarming rate during the past ten years. The collective
economic influence wielded by these groups is incomprehensible. With
a shift of governance from ideology & philosophy to business and
economic power, goverment could become more vulnerable to the
influence of these powerful global threat sources.
For example, Colombia's leftist guerrilla groups have increased their
estimated earnings from drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping in
the last four years to $790 million last year from $592 million in 1994.
Epilogue:
In the wake of South Korea's windfall-bailout $4 billion bond issue, there
is currently no information available on whether the huge cache of civilian-
donated personal assets, such as jewelry, will be returned to to their
owners, some of whom were already impoverished by the Asian currency
devaluation. Just a wild guess: NOT.
Buddhist monks in Thailand are conducting a similar taxpayer drive to
bail out the Royal Thai government. Collections to date: circa USD $5
million in cash, jewelry and other personal assets.
1 July 98
OPSEC S2K Conferences
A series of conferences is being developed in which particpants
will get a glimpse of the year 2000, in the form of "S2K" or "Scenario
2000". See details at the OPSEC S2K Site
1 July 98
Y2K Update: Recession 2000
US economists are now assessing the current state of domestic
Y2K readiness as poor. So poor, in fact, that they expect a severe
economic recession to result from Y2K system failures and recoveries.
Russia, criticized for being slow to react to the millennium computer
bug threat, has outlined the measures it is taking but said it doubted the
problem could be fully resolved in the time left.
1 July 98
Public Health: AIDS & E-Coli
Mutated, multi-drug resistant strains of the AIDS virus have been
identified by US researchers.
US health authorities claim the spate of E-Coli outbreaks is principally
a result of increased foreign food imports since the 1989 advent of
globalization and softened trade boundaries. But this seems an
inadeqaute explanation for the presence of E-Coli in water supplies
and public swimming pools.
For public safety and health employees, OPSEC recommends the
routine use of "Virahol" for hygiene and protective cleanup. OPSEC
is in no way associated with the makers of Virahol, an anti-viral agent,
but have seen its respectable effects in environments ranging from
hospitals to locker rooms, and even routine supplies kept in police
cruiser trunks.
30 June 98
Public Health: Hepatitus "C" Epidemic, et al
Hepatitus C now rivals AIDS as a national health emergency, affecting
some 4 million in the US alone. CDCP officials are already engaged in
info-sec damage control mode over the virus.
E-Coli presence in both food and water sources now reaching dangerous
proportions, with infestation discoveries ranging from hamburger to
swimming pool water at public and commercial recreation parks.
Canada's Ontario province has tentatively authorized its hospitals
to dispose of liquid medical waste through the public sewage systems.
Disposed substances include pathogenically infected blood and others.
29 June 98
Executive Order 13083: Federalism
EO 13083 ephemerally acknowledges local and state gov responsibility
for governance, while ambiguously retaining the right to overrule or
append local/state governance supremacy. This EO has a wide variety
of political groups concerned about its motivation and intended use.
OPSEC has long called attention to the nature of recent Nat Sec
programs (in the form of Presidential Directives and Executive Orders)
in that they shift great burdens for public safety and welfare to local gov
without congressional action or local participation in the decision
making process. The tempting suggestion is presented that budget
burdens are shifted to local & state gov, while the seat of power remains
in DC.
28 June 98
Pakistan Formulates Preemptive Nuke Strike Plan
Pakistani military commanders are compiling data for explosive yields
and WMD build-ups necessary for a preemptive nuclear strike against
Indian military targets.
27 June 98
UN Announces 10-Year Anti Drug Crop Program
The UN is now developing global anti-drug crop program seeking to
finance replacement of drug-crops worldwide with substitution of
"alternatives". The UN prgram seeks to achieve its drug crop eradication
goals by 2010. Watch for specific initiatives in, and responses by,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Burma/Myanmar (Khun Sa wants cash),
Peru, Bolivia, Colombia... and the US, which consumes some 70% of the
worlds illicit narcotics.
26 June 98
Biker Gang Selling Dope to Amish Youth In PA
Drug sales and use has penetrated the strict religious ranks of the
Pennsylvania Dutch. Amish youth have been implicated in quantity
drug buys from members the Pagans biker gang. Its a brave new
world.
25 June 98
Global Sat Com System Near
IntelSat recently launched another sat unit to include in their sat-com
stable; Irridium is reported to have recently activated their new 66-unit
sat-com system; and Teledesic (the Bill Gates consortium) is threatening
to begin launching their 300 unit + sat com system next month.
US corporate sat-com-related contractors are salivating over Clinton's
China visit in the hopes he'll open the door to US-Sino sat-com
ventures, despite China's botching of a joint US-China IntelSat launch
in the recent past. We're ignoring the Nat Sec and technology transfer
issues here. We suspect Clinton is abiding by the Sino-relations gospel
according to comedian Richard Pryor: "You best respect a billion of anything."
25 June 98
E-Threat Convergence
China, and several other nations, now target the US with I-War / E-War
strategies both in mil policy and war college curricula. The US is highly
vulnerable to I-War / E-War attacks with its heavy sat-com, computer-
based and hardwired reliance in the venues of mil battlefield / C4I,
electrical power grids, hardwired tel-comm systems, and its "Infobahn"
backbone and network server systems.
The potential impacts are sweeping, including on mil & intel ops, banking,
telephone systems, securities exchanges, and the Internet's backbone
and network server system itself. OPSEC's geekology department suspects
low-profile probes of US Internet backbone and network server system
vulnerabilities during the past six months. Current OPSEC policy is to inform
the following of any significant hacks or probes of Internet systems and
servers: (1) CERT, (2) FBI's NCCS, and (3) FBI's NIPC.
Combined with Y2K influences, and with recent increases in domestically
targeted hacker activities, foreign I-War / E-War strategies have the
combined potential to wreak havoc in the technology-reliant US. In the
next 12 months, look for hack-opportunists to increase, coordinate and
obfuscate their activities with the advent of Y2K phenomena.
These trends will also substantially raise gov costs for knee-jerk reactions
to form and maintain I-War defense strategies, inflating national defense
budgets which promise to be largely undisclosed fed budget line items,
particularly while functioning under the purview of the Clinton-Gore admin,
which is largely responsible for advancing the public Web. Look for
"computer forensics" training and functions to emerge within a wide variety
of some unlikely gov agencies not usually concerned with such issues...
more stovepipes for the national security kitchen.
24 June 98
New Generation Macro Virus Holds Immense Damage Potential
WM/PolyPoster, a new internet-enabled virus, steals user documents
from PC systems and posts them on usenet newsgroup boards. "Data
Fellows" has updated its Anti-Virus product, F-Secure Anti-Virus, to
handle the WM/PolyPoster virus. See the following URLs for subject
briefing:
http://www.DataFellows.com/news/pr/eng/fsav/19980618.htm
http://www.DataFellows.com/v-descs/agent.htm
While the virus carrier is MS Word docs, and UseNet the infection vehicle,
OPSEC E-Security Section (Dr. Sidd) advises this virus has the potential for
web site alterations, ftp parasites, and many other utilities. This virus is not
yet widespread, but is to be taken seriously.
EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN DOWNLOADING OR VIEWING
ANY MS WORD DOCUMENT NOT ORIGINATING ON YOUR OWN SYSTEM.
23 June 98
More Mil Base Conversions
Ft McClellan's 310th Chemical Company, a reserve unit at Fort McClellan,
has mobile biological detection laboratories mounted on reinforced Humvees.
Each of the 35 labs weighs 10,000 pounds and costs taxpayers about $1
million. McClellan may soon be wholly converted into a national AT training
center, on the heels of Texas A&M's designation as the National Counter
Terrorism Center.
22 June 98
NYC 911 Prowler Call Uncovers Nuke Materiel & Explosives
In NYC (Bronx), a 911 residential prowler/B&E call leads to discovery of
a large cache of explosives and low-quality (but usable) nuke materiel:
Strontium 90 (and several others); explosives and bomb making components;
nitric and sulphuric acids. News blackout invoked, but not before one local
news channel reported details.
20 June 98
Domestic Nat Sec Programs Raise Governance Issues
"Strict constitutional constructionism" spreads among organized groups,
local law enforcement and ex-military personnel, expanding the "governance"
chasm between constructionists and Nat Sec program proponents (including
the present administration in DC). A sustained, low-intensity constitutional
crisis is in the cards placing the US among dozens of first and second world
nations facing the same prospect. See subject matter briefing at:
http://www.clubofrome.org/globis_gouv.htm
19 June 98
FBI Developes Computer Crime & Infrastructure Squads
The FBI operates a National Computer Crime Squad (NCCS) and now, the
National Infrastructure Protection Center. The latter should have a fairly
interesting mission statement when placed next to that of DOE security.
18 June 98
Growing Trend Toward Cross-Jurisdiction Conferences
EG & G, Johnson Control, NASA security, and local LEA officials meet
in Florida to informally discuss the need for cross-jurisdiction strategic
planning among all agencies for "critical incidents and disasters".
17 June 98
Growing Fed-Local Chinese Wall
Proliferation of Nat Sec laws, programs and Presidential directives,
implicitly invoking local law enforcement as first responders (PC:
"domestic defenders"), highlights a chinese wall between local and
federal agencies in domestic defense measures against global
organized crime, transnational terrorism, domestic terrorism, NBC
incidents, critical infrastructure protection and disaster preparedness
& reaction. Practical tests of the Posse Comitatus Act, the Bill of
Rights (10th amendment), the Pentagon's "Other Than Warfare"
initiative, and other related constitutional issues can be expected
within 1 to 3 years. Anticipated general public response: we won't
go there... until the American public has received medical
confirmation that it's emerging from its alternately myopic and
apathetic coma.
16 June 98
NYC's Giuliani Plans $16 M High Rise C&C Bunker
NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani plans a USD$16.5 million, high-tech,
"attack-proof" emergency command center bunker high in a World
Trade Center office building, for use in natural disaster or other
critical incidents. The C&C center would be equipped with emergency
C&C equipment, special ventilation system, self- contained power
supply, accomodations for 30 people, and a vid-link to the Oval Office.
15 June 98
Philly Hosts Long Term Fed-Local Crime Task Force
Operation Sunrise, a massive anti- & counter-crime task force op, was
launched in North Philadelphia, PA by a joint task force composed of
400 Philadelphia Police, DEA, FBI and INS. Sunrise, funded by a USD
$1.5 million federal grant, is a 24/7 op with a planned term of 18 months.
12 June 98
Mogilevich Heads Red Mafia
Semion Mogilevich reported to be the current head of the "Red Mafia",
engaged in arms trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering, and fine
art smuggling worldwide, with local cell operations in some 20 countries,
including the United States.
11 June 98
Florida HAZMAT Spill Yields Bonus Find
Florida's I-95 closed for 25 hours as HAZMAT crews clean up spills
from 21- 55 gallon drums (1150 gal) of isopropanol & 2 tons of resorcinol,
the chemical synergy of which poses mortal threat to humans on
contact. Also loaded on the tractor- trailer were paletts of firearms and
miscellaneous items of electonic equipment, both bound for South
America. The palettized firearms were marked "exempt from US Customs
inspection".
Epilogue: This HAZMAT spill's cleanup was declared complete on 27
June, 16 days after the incident occurred.
10 June 98
Global Bad Guy Summit Behind Transnational Crime
Unconfirmed reports of a "global criminal and terrorist summit" in
Geneva in November '95. The summit has led to unprecedented alliances
among mafia, drug cartel and terrorist elements globally. Look for local cell
operations in a town near you.
13 May 98
University Named National CT Center
Texas A&M University is designated the "National Counter Terrorism
Center" by congressional action and with DOJ support. This was a very
distinct surprise to two FBI CT Unit special agents we spoke with recently.
Book 'em Dan-Oh.
We were then ambiguously asked if we had any "classified information".
Our response: "Any classified information we receive is always sealed and
marked "classified". We always refuse delivery. By the way, the Texas
A&M announcement was posted on AOL's news bulletin board."
29 April 98
Fed Bio-Incident Exercise Fails
Bio-Incident exercise conducted by fed gov elements fails due to cross-
jurisdiction confusion, and (according to FBI's Louis Freeh) poorly equipped
local law enforcement & emergency services personnel. City and county
bean counters are bound to love what comes next.
