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I've read that homosexual relationships between Afghani men and boys are surprisingly common in Afghanistan, although forbidden and not entirely consensual.

Recent data on the subject.

it's $68,479 for the original Stingray and $134,952 for Stingray II. Granted that does not include everything else required, https://publicintelligence.net... shows a nice price list for the accessories.

Your missing the emerging press spin of the wealth of production, wealth of working with new crews, wealth of keeping the systems flying, upgrades. Diverse sales to cities, states and federal agencies. The rush from prototypes to profitable production line sales. A lot of political and private sector interests in seeing drones flying and been worked on as an ongoing pubic/private boondoggle.
Deep in local or tech news you can find 'events'
How a Large U.S. Navy UAV Crashed in Maryland, From 18,000 Feet (Jan. 7, 2013)
http://www.defensenews.com/art...
https://publicintelligence.net...
If a drone was lost in war, the classic propaganda value is often balanced by a hidden sale at a great price to other interested groups.
The main problem for the US is the rush from prototypes to front line units without the budget/time/skill/support that a vast new bespoke project like that needs.
The US took a camera platform and packed in many other mil related systems. Then went big and small at a constant low price in a short time demanding ever more tasks and roles.
The other aspect is the way the US mil saw encryption and how to protect it while saving limited power per drone - just dont use it. Nothing is lost in a crash and more needed systems can get what per drone encryption would have taken. Effortless ready to go realtime communications and data networks for drones without the costs of losing, buying or supporting heavy per drone encryption.
Great for moving prototypes to global front lines fast but long term it gets much more interesting.

Stingrays definitely exist. They were developed for the purpose of tracking cell phones in places like Afghanistan. They can even be mounted on UAVs.

It's a perfectly legit war theater SIGINT tool. Unfortunately Harris Corp has been marketing it to local law enforcement agencies who are trying to use it covertly to prevent 4th Amendment review issues.

Here's a price list:

http://publicintelligence.net/...

and drew some somewhat odd and conspiratorial-sounding conclusions about the ordeal.

What is odd about noting "dual use" nature of services used to conceal ones identity?

http://info.publicintelligence...

http://publicintelligence.net/

how about the free PDF to image viewer you don't have to download?

http://view.samurajdata.se/

and how Tor can be used to visit A and view at B with all strict settings enabled and nothing relaxed? (no javascript required for example)

You can read more via the pdf at http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=121392 or a mirror at http://publicintelligence.net/dod-unmanned-systems-2013/
The US gov wants to try pre-programmed tasks, new algorithms, more sensors, and complex machine learning to remove the need for constant expensive, skilled teams to be working with the 'drone' 24/7.
Expect to see a drone swarm been released or more than 1 drone converging on a target area with less human guidance.
The other aspect is need to shape "cultural hurdles" after double tap drown strikes.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208307/Americas-deadly-double-tap-drone-attacks-killing-49-people-known-terrorist-Pakistan.html
Facial recognition is still http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/09/drones-never-forget-a-face/ been worked on at great distances.
What is left is a 'group' or 'person' in the wrong place at the wrong time doing wrong things or a 'helpful' local has placed a tracking chip on a person to be removed.

Thin Thread

http://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-whistleblower-william-binney-was-right-2013-6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinThread

http://www.whistleblower.org/program-areas/homeland-security-a-human-rights/surveillance/nsa-whistleblowers-bill-binney-a-j-kirk-wiebe

Binney.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/backissues/2013/06/takes-the-nsas-surveillance-programs.html

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/20/exclusive_national_security_agency_whistleblower_william

http://publicintelligence.net/binney-nsa-declaration/

Reinstate him as DNI.

Obama need not know when I buy a router bit for my portable drill.

Sure he does! After all, buying stuff at hardware stores means you might be a turrorist! ...Especially if you pay cash.

from TFA

The advisory also warns networks to be on the lookout for attacks, and that anyone found to be aiding the SEA will be seen as terrorists actively aiding attacks against the U.S. websites.

i'm no friend of the SEA (or the sea) but if you read the actually advisory then you likely noticed that neither "terrorism" or "terrorist" is anywhere in the advisory.
since he's written a flat out lie under the guise of fact, i think people should inform him of the error of his ways.

his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ryanwneal
his twitter feed: https://twitter.com/ryanWneal

feel free to mod up +1 pwn4g3

OK, now read the actual security advisory and try to find a mention of terrorism, instead of looking to the sensationalized newspaper and Slashdot headlines.

Ctrl+F 'terr' (0 results)

I commented on this elsewhere, but I'll do it again because people are getting whipped up about it.

The IB Times is entirely responsible for using the label terrorism. The FBI did not call it terrorism. Here's a direct link to the FBI advisory requesting information about website defacement. Consistent with the FBI's domestic focus.

http://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-SEA.pdf

To be honest, that is incredibly bad journalism. No one is sourced for the word terrorism; it is an invention of this Ryan Neal fellow.

No, you were right. Direct link below to the FBI advisory PDF. There is no mention of terrorism.

http://info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-SEA.pdf

Metro pcs

a small drone is not a jumbo jet and lost of control link can be bad also control lag.
http://publicintelligence.net/the-problems-with-domestic-drones/

Right now the autopilot can't handle some things and bad / off airplane sensors can lead to crashes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austral_L%C3%ADneas_A%C3%A9reas_Flight_2553
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Airlines_Flight_6231
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birgenair_Flight_301
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AeroPeru_Flight_603

Also they have auto disengage conditions.

Computerized autopilots can crash, but unlike software used in a home computer, the software used in avionics systems is very thoroughly tested and very conservatively designed, such that bugs are practically unknown, and crashes don't occur.

Not really.

I can completely see Linux going on a DHS list similar to: http://publicintelligence.net/dhs-fbi-suspicious-hotel-guests/

Most (10 of 19) of those apply to me for work (and some for vacation). I can't possibly be that unique of a business traveler (I imagine a large percentage of the people I work with are similar).

And yes, if seeing Linux when checking my laptop at security (it's been a while since I've been somewhere that required me to turn it on though) rose suspicion, I'd be on that list too.

Not to mention that weird "all your data goes to our servers in Canada first" thing.

Maybe it'd help if you think of it as "all your data goes to our servers in a-country-that-respects-privacy first"

Or as "all your data goes to our servers in a country that has traditionally had very strong links with US-UK secret intelligence".

Yes, it worries me too. Theoretically, the BES server and the Blackberry device encrypt everything before sending it to Canada. Theoretically. But we can't audit the devices because, closed source everybody! And that's an awful lot of high-impact corporate emails in one company's hands, and it's not like there's no precedent for tinfoil-hat thinking in this business. I'd feel a lot safer if the data just went out to the wide open Internet like it's supposed to, where at least the NSA would have to intercept the raw packets at the peering points and not have it all neatly laid out for them with metadata intact.

Hmmm....so, what's this Business Round Table???

http://publicintelligence.net/business-roundtable/
So who's on it?

Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman, Chairman & CEO, Verizon Communications
Randall L. Stephenson, At-large member, Chairman & CEO, AT&T Inc.
Jeffrey R. Immelt (Jeff), At-large member, Chairman & CEO, General Electric Company

Trapwire -- It wasn't something many people knew about until the Stratfor leaks

wondering how long it will be before Apple has its own armed forces, but...

Yup, that's what today's governments hate about cash - they can't use your purchase history against you, because they don't know what it is.

Precisely why the FBI has been going about attempting to convince retailers that those who pay with cash are probably terrorists.

I'm amazed at how cheaply some of you value human life,

I value human life very highly though I value the lives of soldiers and civilians more highly than that of a known terrorist. I also believe that someone who advocates, has planned and carried out terrorist attacks which have put hundreds of lives at risk needs to answer for their crimes. Since al-Qaeda has moved to a lawless area of Yemen and militarized it I am not willing to risk the lives of hundreds of soldiers and create even more innocent deaths during a battle in an attempt to capture the al-Qaeda leadership. It may not even work as the target may fight to the death. In one scenario a drone strike kills the target and 37 other people. In the second scenario hundreds of soldiers are killed or wounded along with hundreds of civilians. Both scenarios may end up with a dead al-Quada leader.

If you want to bring up the assault that killed bin Laden that was a completely different scenario. bin Lanen was attempting to hide by keeping a low profile and residing in a civilian neighborhood where no one would look. There were no guards at all in the bin Laden compound. al-Banna lived in a militarized camp with a large number of armed guards. Any assault on the Yemen camp would have been much more bloody. There is one interesting point though; even though the US puts boots on the ground with capture orders, bin Laden, his son and and two al-Qaeda couriers were killed.

Abdul Rahman, the 17 year old who was killed, was the son of Anwar al-Awlaki who had already been killed by drone attack months before. A simple Google search would bring up articles like this or this (page 23). Do you really think that a 17 year old could not put the following information together and not come up with the possibility that al-Banna might be al-Qaeda and maybe ask?
1. al-Banna wrote anti-American articles that were published by "al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula"
2. al-Banna was friend with his father who is a known al-Qaeda leader.
3. al-Banna lived in a military style outpost in Yemen when he had enough money to live elsewhere.
Comparing al-Banaa and al-Awlaki with you father is irrelevant as there in much more information available on al-Qaeda than your father.

al-Banna knew he was targeted by the US and still allowed "innocent" minors to be in his presence despite the possibility of drone attack. The death of the minor is on al-Banna head for not protecting him.

In summary, there are two ways of decreasing the possibility of collateral damage;
1. If one is not al-Qaeda then do not visit know al-Qaeda leadership or their friends.
2. If one is al-Qaeda then do not allow innocent people to visit.
Innocent people should not be uses as human shields and those who do are cowards and lower than scum.

I read somewhere that they have a saying about "women to make children, boys for pleasure".

Here (PDF) is the source for that.

I think the culture might have a degenerate form of Greek pederasty. There's exploitation, but AFAIK no mentorship, resulting in poor outcomes for the youthful victims.

Actually, no, it's quite similar to Greek pederasty in that there's also mentorship (it's also in that PDF). The problem is that it overlaps with misogyny. Greeks didn't view pederasty as the only pleasurable source of sexual intercourse, merely a valid one. These guys focus on it to the exclusion of everything else.

>>>you're just BS-ing

It's a shame you prefer to remain ignorant and live in the matrix, rather than read news sites and keep up to date. HERE take a Red Pill:

http://publicintelligence.net/fbi-suspicious-activity-reporting-flyers/
http://rt.com/news/fbi-terrorists-guide-security-171/ http://www.constitution.org/abus/terror/constitutional_terrorists.htm
http://welfarestate.com/pamphlet/

Terrorists include those who:
-Defend the constitution
-Attempt to tape the police
-Lone individuals
-Non-lone individuals (members of groups)
-Rightists
-Leftists
-Pay in cash
-Deposting more than $5000 in a bank account ("Know Your Customer" regulation requires banks report it)
-Attempt to hide passwords
-Nervous
-Take pictures
-Stare

Citation needed.

Citation 1

Citation 2

http://publicintelligence.net/fbi-suspicious-activity-reporting-flyers/ shows you the "Communities Against Terrorism" suspicious activity reporting flyers that were distributed by the FBI.

I don't know about the Ron Paul bumper sticker, but they clearly do include actions such as paying with cash on the lists of reportable suspicious activity. IIRC, the FBI back walked on those after they got news attention.

They can send you to jail for not cooperating (or even citing the constitution at them), prevent you from traveling freely and deny you the right to exit the country. They can put you on watch lists that make the "more traditional" TLA's pay attention to you. And their influence is spreading.

So, yes, they are.

Be part of the solution. - Require valid ID from all new customers.
- Keep records of purchases.
- Talk to customers, ask questions, and listen to and observe their responses.
- Watch for people and actions that are out of place.
- Make note of suspicious statements, people, and/or vehicles.
- If something seems wrong, notify law enforcement authorities.

Yes, but it's harder for them to know when you do it, so it cancels out.

... until they convince (or force) all the shopkeeps to do their spying for them...

Apparently there's a whole list of "potential indicators of terrorist related activities," broken down by "threat area:"

http://publicintelligence.net/fbi-suspicious-activity-reporting-flyers/

Among the most prominent:

- paying with cash
- requesting information
- taking pictures
- use of "anti-government slogans"
- traveling "illogical" distances or requesting home delivery
- "Significantly alter[ing] appearance from visit to visit (shaving beard, changing hair color, style of dress, etc)" No, seriously. Shaving is to be considered suspicious...
- missing appendages
- reluctant to provide complete personal information(hmmm, didn't know submission to interrogation was compulsory when shopping)

... and here are a few 'location specific' activities that I just couldn't resist listing:

Tattoo Shops:
- People or Groups Who:
-- Make repeated returns with multiple individuals requesting identical tattoos
-- Inquire about unusual methods of tattooing or placement of tattoos which could allow the concealment of extremist symbols ('cause, you know, most employers these days are totally cool with neck tats...)

Electronic Stores:
- asking questions about:
-- Radio frequencies (used/not used) by law enforcement
-- VoIP
-- Use of anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address
-- Products/components related to "military-style" equipment
- purchasing "unusual combinations of:"
Electronic timer or timing devices, Phone or “bug” detection devices, 2-way radios, Batteries, GPS, Switches, Digital Voice Changers, Wire and soldering tools, Infra-Red Devices, Night Vision, Police scanners (wait; you can still buy those retail???), Flashlight Bulbs

Storage Facilities (i.e. 'U Stor It' type places):
- Using cash to pay rental fees in advance
- Failing to pay rent for a storage unit in a timely manner (yes, you're reading that right; paying in advance and paying late are both considered 'suspicious')
- Inquiring about security and surveillance equipment utilized at the storage facility (as we all know, only terrorists would be concerned about the security of their possessions)

Hobby Shops:
- Demonstrating "unusual interest" in remote-controlled aircraft
- Demonstrating interest that does not seem genuine (sounds like every teenager I've ever met)

Financial Institutions I won't get into, but suffice to say we should probably report Goldman Sachs, BoA, and many others since they totally fit the profile according to the FBI...

Martial Arts and Paintball:
- Interest in learning offensive moves in a confined space
- Interest in learning the use of hidden weapons
- Interest in learning kill and restraint techniques with no occupational need (who has an 'occupational need' to learn techniques for killing people??)
- Individuals who together are interested in learning group tactics
- Incorporating close combat or hand-to-hand fighting into training (yea, self-defense is for terrorists!)
- Operating a private facility that’s not available or advertised to the public

So, in summation, all Americans, from the top to the bottom, are potential terrorists. Nice to know our 'of the People, for the People' government thinks so highly of us...

So according to (3) I could enjoy anal sex with a man but because I don't fall in love with them, I'm not gay?

In Afghanistan, that's just so:

"A typical expression, echoed by a number of authors and interviewees, is that homosexuality is indeed prohibited within Islam, warranting great shame and condemnation. However, homosexuality is then narrowly and specifically defined as the love of another man. Loving a man would therefore be unacceptable and a major sin within this cultural interpretation of Islam, but using another man for sexual gratification would be regarded as a foible - undesirable but far preferable to sex with a ineligible woman, which in the context of Pashtun honor, would likely result in issues of revenge and honor killings."

I BREAK FOR WATER BOARDING! :: PsyOps ::
+ http://www.pipeline.com/~psywarrior :: The Office of Strategic Services :::
+ http://guardianspies.com/
+ http://osssociety.org/
+ http://ossreborn.com/
+ http://ossog.org/
+ http://ossinitaly.org/
+ http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/oss/oss.htm :: CIA ::
+ http://www.zoklet.net/totse/en/politics/central_intelligence_agency/index.html
+ http://cryptome.org/0005/cia-iqt-spies.htm
+ http://www.youtube.com/user/ciagov
+ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciagov
+ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1004145-1,00.html
+ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KUBARK
+ https://www.cia.gov/ ::: WoW! :::
+ http://publicintelligence.net/
+ http://cryptocomb.org/
+ http://www.cryptome.org/
+ http://www.cryptogon.com/
+ http://afio.com/
+ http://www.afcea.org/signal/signalscape/
+ http://rijmenants.blogspot.com/

It's also useful in Hearts&Minds operations in many areas of the world.

Yeah, like Afghanistan.

Also leads to fewer unnecessary fights.

Ah. Are you sure it's me alone being sexist here? ~

PublicIntelligence has a copy of an April, 2011 report identifying problems with drone communications including the risk of jamming and "lost link" events: http://publicintelligence.net/usaf-drones-in-irregular-warfare/

The US is using drones.

http://publicintelligence.net/drone-aircraft-are-patrolling-u-s-cities/

>>I hate to go all wikipedia on you, but [citation needed].
>>You have no proof of how the police would act, or that they would treat you any differently to the way they treated Apple other than your baseless ranting.

"Microsoft and Adobe are members of REACTâ(TM)s steering committee, a group of 25 companies that includes Apple Inc., Symantec Corp., KLA-Tencor Inc., Applied Materials Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc., and acts as a liaison between industry and law enforcement."
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2009/05/18/story2.html

"The steering committee shall, at a minimum, meet quarterly to review task force activities, and provide advice, recommendations, strategic input and direction for task force consideration."
http://publicintelligence.net/rapid-enforcement-allied-computer-team-react-task-force/

"The federal Privacy Protection Act prohibits the government from seizing materials from journalists and others who possess material for the purpose of communicating to the public. The government cannot seize material from the journalist even if itâ(TM)s investigating whether the person who possesses the material committed a crime by receiving or possessing the material"

Yet they broke down his front door and "Among the items seized from Chenâ(TM)s house were four computers and two servers, an iPhone, digital cameras, records from a Bank of America checking account and the printout of an e-mail sent to Chen from Gawker Media Managing Editor Gaby Darbyshire earlier that day. The e-mail referred to Californiaâ(TM)s shield law and specifically stated that police cannot use a search warrant against a journalist to identify a confidential source, or obtain notes and other unpublished information from a news story."
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/04/iphone-raid/

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1795

>>Being or not being an Apple fanboy here is not relevant - we're discussing the police and their role in investigating crime and executing warrants.

It's clear you think that Apple can do no wrong, and are not at all bothered they have a paramilitary police force (that is breaking federal law) at their beck-and-call that kicks down journalists doors.

Apparently ManTech and HBGary work together ( http://publicintelligence.net/hbgary-mantech-internet-and-social-media-reconnaissance-presentation/ ), so this could be more fallout from the HBGary/Aaron Barr/Anonymous story.

WHICH, as a matter of fact, I just wrote a small journal article about (sorry to shill, but I really think it's relevant!) http://slashdot.org/journal/269108/Aaron-Barr-amp-The-Jester

One day the complete Anonymous story is going to make a great book and several bad movies.

The Marines are a really small contingent of the US Military forces though. The Airforce already has a small, but sizable force. The Army started one a few years back and they are currently heavily recruiting people that have a high enough ASVAB and a background in some sort of technical MOS for what is currently called ANWB (Army Network Warfare Battalion). They have plans on going to a brigade size element in the near future, at the very least. There isn't much about it, but check this out....
http://publicintelligence.net/u-s-army-network-warfare-battalion-recruitment-brief/
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/070708-us-army-challenges-usaf-on.html

Power supply can get be an issue. You can read about the NSA and the size and new power supply needs as it expands at Fort Meade:
http://publicintelligence.net/nsa-site-m-cybercom/
No upper limits, just more land, power, cooling and smart people to keep the funding flowing.
What each chip can do is limited, but you just keep buying more :)

I remember seeing another article nearly a full year ago about this, but it was much more informational and less sensational. Now, it seems that this was all an operation by the good ole US. Imagine that.

I'm more inclined to believe that the entire thing, including the original magazine, was a psyops project. Looking at it the way the Public Intelligence does is far less non-nonsensical than wasted efforts altering a file that is likely to have an offline original copy somewhere when you could just... sabotage the server and take off the head. I'm sure it looks good to people who watch Fox news, but for those who know how the world really works, it just doesn't add up, much like the wording used in the so-called magazine.

The federal government already gets the public databases pulled it in to their databases. This is exactly why multiple Fusion centers were set up in almost every state, at least what they are willing to admit publicly from the middle of 2009. Who knows how many they actually have now. They are not part of the federal government, but rather setup by the state and local governments, even though they get federal DHS money to set these up. Since they are not federal agencies, they are not restricted by federal rules for data mining and privacy. They collect information from public sources and private databases (think credit reports, grocery stores, and others that sell their databases), link up with businesses, state and local police and then pass all this up to the federal level such as the FBI and Homeland Security. The FBI and DHS then send down terrorist watch lists, and lists of people that the Fusion centers and law enforcement should monitor in their areas. The stated idea was to allow more data sharing between local law enforcement and federal law enforcement along with the help of businesses. What in fact has happened is that the federal government has gotten around rules about what data they can collect by having it passed to them from another/third party, in this case the state Fusion centers. Technically they didn't mine the data, the states did and they just passed the information along to the federal government. So vast amounts of data is being collected already about the public and what is going on in the US, and most people have no clue at all that this is being done.

The problem with all of this is who the Fusion centers are putting on the terrorist watch list. They have put the ACLU on the watch list in Tennessee, Ron Paul supporters in Missouri, people who vote third party or support them, people who advocate for the Constitution, those who are over friendly, people who buy lots of jeans, owners of certain kinds of historical flags, and other crazy things that have come out. It just insane who the Fusion centers are putting on the terrorist watch list, and the insane criteria being used to put people on the terrorist watch list.

http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1156877184684.shtm
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/dec/22/aclu-bristles-over-terror-list/
http://publicintelligence.net/florida-fusion-center-monitored-bp-protests-ron-paul-events-code-pink/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/23/fusion-centers-expand-criteria-identify-militia-members/
http://epic.org/privacy/fusion/

Wikileaks redacted MORE from the same documents than the US government did. How is that irresponsible?

Describing a generation of non-linear thinkers who are becoming decision makers in the workforce, Kilsby expects a new wave of serious games for training and education.

Oh it's still very linear, see "shortest path algorithm". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dijkstra's_algorithm

We just think more "efficiently" in our tunnel vision these days...

On another note, this has been going on for quite a while. Some of these systems have 360 degree screens (circular room)... but I've only heard that stuff as a rumor. Interesting read:
http://publicintelligence.net/the-u-s-militarys-video-game-training/