(Payson, AZ) With little economic news and the market on NoDoz this morning we can look a bit further afield than usual.
I’ve been telling you for about a decade now that the Internet is in trouble. Just like radio was in trouble in the 1920s an d how that laid the groundwork for the Communications Act of 1934 which slammed on the brakes of free expression and pirate radio of the era.
So off in the distance, we see the same thing will have to replay, again. Only this time it will be global so the process won’t be as simple.
In our latest chapter in this ongoing saga, we see senator Marco Rubio suggested that the US pass a law that will band UN control of the Internet
All of which sounds fine, except that a) Rubio is running for president and b) the idea has not chance in hell of passing. Globally, the internet is how humans are programmed, and because of this, corporate interests are trying to seize every advantage they can.
Eventually this will come down to barring certain kinds of (critical) content, too. Already many nations have internet filters which take out sites with keywords, topics, phrases, and whatever else doesn’t please the powersthatbe.
In a world where corporations already own governments, Rubio’s bill may sound like a sincere idea.
Trouble is, the world is insincere and it’s playing a game of hide the sausage and you, my dear reader, aren’t exactly going to be a winner in all this..
Plane Speaking
The reports following the weekend crash of that Malaysian jet are getting murkier and murkier. A report that Iranian asylum seekers may have used stolen passports doesn’t explain why they would blow up a plane on their way to freedom, does it?
As of this morning, the head of Interpol is playing down terrorism., And our war gaming source warhammer explains why…
“George,
RE: the search for the mysteriously missing Malaysian airliner – it is possible, perhaps probable, that had the passenger jet suffered any type of in-flight explosion, various ‘national technical means’ would have seen and/or heard it.
Consider this summary of the aging Defense Support Program (DSP) reconnaissance satellite constellation:
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dsp.htm
“DSP was primarily designed for early missile launch detection and warning, but can do much more. From the article above, DSP can detect infrared releases from strong heat sources and the satellites and “. . . proved able to detect static tests of rocket engines on the earth’s surface, as well as the exhaust plumes of military aircraft in afterburner.” DSP detected jets using afterburner were nicknamed “slow walkers.” The last DSP bird went into orbit back in 2007 and the constellation is degraded but still functional.
The new Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite constellation capabilities are largely classified, but a betting man should be willing to wager that SBIRS can far exceed the capabilities of the DSP fleet it is destined to replace. Actually, SBIRS should have been operational ten years ago, but constellation redesigns, Nunn-McCurdy funding breaches and associated program delays resulted in a significant development slowdown. Intel analysts know the area to be searched, they just need a general time frame to focus their search.
Another oft overlooked capability is a subcomponent of Measurement and Signature/signals Intelligence (MASINT) known as Radiofrequency MASINT, could aid the intel analyst in their search.
According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiofrequency_MASINT
. . . radiofrequency MASINT focuses on unintentionally transmitted information [my emphasis].
and
According to the United States Department of Defense, MASINT is technically derived intelligence (excluding traditional imagery IMINT and signals intelligence SIGINT) that – when collected, processed, and analyzed by dedicated MASINT systems – results in intelligence that detects, tracks, identifies, or describes the signatures (distinctive characteristics) of fixed or dynamic target sources.
SIGINT also encompasses communications (COMINT) and electro-optical (ELINT) intelligence. It is plausible that MASINT capability exists in and around the S. China Sea area.
The analyzed DSP data usually comes rather quickly. If there is something there, search and recovery teams can be directed to a suspected location in short order. MASINT occasionally takes longer periods of time due to the nature and sensitivity of the data being analyzed and correlated.
SIGINT could feasibly provide a precise time for any inflight explosion, if there was one. MASINT could also possibly provide information on the time of aircraft flight termination. Combining flight plan, SIGINT and MASINT data could refine the search area considerably.
From the article:
“One of the most eerie rumors came after a few relatives said they were able to call the cellphones of their loved ones or find them on a Chinese instant messenger service called QQ that indicated that their phones were still somehow online.”
Perhaps if the airplane crashed in a jungle area, or disintegrated over land, a cell phone could survive the fall and function until its battery ran out.
That said, a hijacking is becoming a bit more plausible alternative as more time passes and no trace of the aircraft is located. Flying a jet liner undetected into a major airport would be problematic. That said, there are plenty of S.W. Pacific islands with WWII landing strips on them which could accommodate a 777 that was ‘low on fuel.’
The least plausible – a Close Encounters of the Third Kind alien abduction. Now that would truly be WOWW. That, or JJ Abrams ‘Lost’ just went live in the S. China Sea.
On a serious note, I hope the heart broken families of those on board get some evidence-based resolution on this mystery very soon.
As do we. And so inflight breakup due to other reasons is back front and center and maybe over a land mass with cell towers.
Ukraine Mobgov vs. Putsy
The US/West are quietly moving assets around to put up some kind of show of force while (as I warned you they would) the Russians are getting ready for their Call of Duty to keep their warm water port in the Crimea.
The West is saying “can we talk about it?” which would be like China saying “can we talk about it” after backing a revolution in California.. I don’t think so….
This kind of crap is ALWAYS about money and the King World News report that Ukraine’s gold has just all be airlifted to the US for safekeeping is more than worth a read.
Neat part of the grab (if true) is that a mobgov is not gong to bite the hand the powers it.
If they had any sense, they’d talk to the Germans about how the “gold return” plans work out, but maybe reports of Ukrainians being really, really smart are really, really overstated.
If the report is not accurate, then why is gold up $11-bucks in the early go?
More after this….
Dangerous Countries
I’m just waiting for the central government to put the state of Vermont on the list of dangerous countries.
Why?
Well, they are pushing ahead with a new public banking law.
IO assume you know the public bank of North Dakota is now 100 years old.
All We the People need to do is make banking what it is: a utility and steal back the interest paid bankers to the public and there would go mountains of accumulated national debt.
Gosh, this is too simple, isn’t it? But Vermonters for a New Economy have this one right.
Christie Case
Two ex Christie staffers in bridgegate are going to court to keep private emails out of a state legislative investigation,.
The legal theory is that those emails and texts might be considered self-incriminating.,
I don’t give legal advice (but I do watch Suits). And so I would suggest that instead of quashing the subpoenas that they look at precedent in how admiral John Poindexter’s case was handled in Iran-Contra:
Poindexter was convicted on April 7, 1990, of five counts of lying to Congress and obstructing the Congressional Committees Investigating The Iran-Contra Affair, which were investigating the Reagan Administration’s covert arms sales to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to insurgents fighting the Marxist Government in Nicaragua, later known as the Iran–Contra affair. The convictions were reversed in 1991 on appeal[6] on the grounds that several witnesses against him had been influenced by his testimony before Congress, even though Congress had given him immunity for that testimony.[7]
Seems to me that an immunity deal would be the smart play for the staffers, just sayin it’s worked at the congressional level…might it carry to the state level?
Sniffing Elephants Dept.
Yes, you read that right. A headline in the Utah People’s Post reveals that elephants can determine human voice, age, and sex.
Well, this certainly clears everything up. Maybe it’s why Liz Taylor gave Michael Jackson the elephant Gypsy…yah think?
Memorize This
Researchers have developed the first ever blood test to detect Alzheimer;s disease.
I had a really clever and insightful remark about this breakthrough but I just can’t seem to remember where I put it.
Freedom of Assembly is Toast
A sharp-eyed reader in Sarasota told us to go read about how cops there are sending letters to the homes of people who stop to talk to folks on the Tamiami trail according to local media.
So now, talking to a female who looks suspicious or is an undercover cop is being criminalized! I wouldn’t make a big deal about it, but they do say in the send home letter that a cause number has been assigned.
It’s just a way to get every American into NCIC, near as I can figure. We’re all persons of interest any more.
Prostitution is the world’s second-oldest profession. It followed politics. And I leave it to you to figure out which one does more screwing.