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Post by clone on Oct 20, 2010 0:11:10 GMT -8
Piracy Lawsuit Could Ground CIA’s Deadly Predator Drones FastCompany on October 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM Al Qaeda and the Taliban haven’t been able to bring down the CIA’s Predator drones. But a new lawsuit alleging parts of their targeting software are pirated (and faulty) could. On December 7, 2010, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle is expected to issue a decision on a complicated contract and intellectual property-related lawsuit that could ground the CIA’s Predator drones. Intelligent Integration Systems (IISi), a small Boston-based software development firm, alleges that their Geospatial Toolkit and Extended SQL Toolkit were pirated by Massachusetts-based Netezza for use by a government client. Subsequent evidence and court proceedings revealed that the “government client” seeking assistance with Predator drones was none other than the Central Intelligence Agency. www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/10/piracy-lawsuit-could-ground-cias-deadly-predator-drones/
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Post by clone on Dec 13, 2010 10:02:59 GMT -8
Lawsuit claims CIA uses pirate software in drone assassinations Posted on September 28, 2010 In a court deposition, Richard Zimmerman, IISi’s senior technology officer, described his “amazement” that the CIA “want to kill people with my software that doesn’t work”. The CIA’s unmanned drone assassinations in Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of one of the agency’s most controversial covert programs in recent years. Last May, speaking before the National Security and Foreign Affairs subcommittee of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, a number of prominent American legal scholars warned that the killings may constitute war crimes. IntelNews regulars will know that this website has consistently questioned the legality of such extrajudicial assassinations. intelligencenews.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/01-570/
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Post by clone on Jan 5, 2011 0:12:18 GMT -8
Other lawsuit - Lawsuit over Drones in Pakistan forces CIA Station Chief to Flee Posted on 12/18/2010 by Juan The Guardian reports that a lawsuit brought by a Pakistani journalist over wrongful deaths in drone strikes has forced the CIA station chief in Islamabad to flee the country. The official’s identity was discovered by the journalist, Karim Khan of North Waziristan from other journalists or possibly from disgruntled elements in the Pakistani military. It was alleged that the station chief had entered the country on a tourist visa and so had no diplomatic immunity. The episode demonstrates the miseries of postmodern warfare, wherein President Obama is treating Pakistan the way Henry Kissinger treated Cambodia. If the US is going to conduct military operations in a country, it should be in the terms of a Status of Forces Agreement, and should be carried out by the Department of Defense. To have the CIA just lob missiles onto civilian villages in another country is wrong for all kinds of reasons. CIA operations are covert and US officials cannot even talk about them in public. There therefore can be no public debate or scrutiny of the policy. And, the whole operation breaks US law, since it is essentially a mass assassination campaign, not a war. www.juancole.com/2010/12/lawsuit-over-drones-in-pakistan-forces-cia-station-chief-to-flee.html
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Post by clone on Dec 23, 2011 17:24:08 GMT -8
Lawsuit Over Flawed CIA Drone Code Is Deep Sixed by Settlement Posted by Bill Conroy - November 19, 2010 at 8:20 pm Terms of Agreement “To Remain Confidential” An explosive lawsuit alleging that Boston-area tech company Netezza Corp. sold computer hardware loaded with “hacked,” faulty software to the CIA for use in the agency’s Predator Drone program has now disappear from public view. The parties to the lawsuit, which include Netezza and software developer Intelligent Integration Systems Inc. (IISI), announced last week that they had reached a settlement in the case. A day after that announcement, corporate giant IBM closed on a $1.7 billion deal to purchase Netezza. The breach-of-contract lawsuit, initiated in Suffolk County Superior Court in Massachusetts in November 2009, revolved around a series of claims and counterclaims related to a sophisticated, analytical software program, known as Geospatial, that was developed by Boston-based IISI. The software is capable of integrating at high speeds spatial data, such as maps and visual images, with non-visual data, such as names and phone numbers. Netezza, in its pleadings, claimed that IISI, per contract, was required to upgrade the Geospatial software code to make it work on Netezza’s new data-warehouse computer platform, called the TwinFin. IISI argued, and the court ultimately agreed, that it was under no such obligation. IISI officials also indicated that such an upgrade effort would be quite challenging and costly. In the wake of IISI refusing to adapt the Geospatial software to the TwinFin on Netezza’s timeline, IISI asserted in court pleadings that Netezza proceeded to develop a re-engineered, flawed version of the software that was loaded on the TwinFin platform that Netezza allegedly sold to the CIA. The released details of the lawsuit settlement between Netezza and IISI are vague, and do not clearly address whether the allegedly flawed Geospatial software acquired by the CIA will be fixed or replaced. More: narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/bill-conroy/2010/11/lawsuit-over-flawed-cia-drone-code-deep-sixed-settlement
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Post by clone on Dec 23, 2011 17:24:57 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Feb 26, 2012 23:21:01 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Feb 26, 2012 23:24:14 GMT -8
Police use military drones to arrest U.S. citizens December 13, 2011, 5:53 AM PST It’s been the year of the drone... A recent news report revealed that, back on June 24th, local police in North Dakota made the first ever arrest of U.S. citizens with the assistance of unarmed predator drones. And oddly enough, the incident didn’t involve terrorism or narcotics, but rather a search for missing cows on a remote stretch of farmland. Here’s a brief synposis of what transpired on a late summer evening as reported by Stars and Stripes, a military news publication. Sheriff Kelly Janke of the Nelson County Police Department had entered the 3,000 acre Brossart family farm looking for six cows that were reported missing when three men with brandishing riffles men chased him off the property. Upon retreating to safety, he immediately called for backup, which included a SWAT team, a bomb squad and a Predator B drone. www.smartplanet.com/blog/thinking-tech/police-use-military-drones-to-arrest-us-citizens/9468
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Post by anti radar paint on Apr 23, 2012 13:28:31 GMT -8
Iran says is building copy of captured US drone Sun, Apr 22, 2012 Tehran says it brought down the RQ-170 Sentinel, a top-secret surveillance drone with stealth technology, and has flaunted the capture as a victory for Iran and a defeat for the United States. The U.S. says the drone malfunctioned and downplayed any suggestion that Iran could mine the aircraft for sensitive information because of measures taken to limit the intelligence value of drones operating over hostile territory... One area where there is concern is whether Iran or other states could reverse-engineer the chemical composition of the drone's radar-deflecting paint or the aircraft's sophisticated optics technology that allows operators to positively identify terror suspects from tens of thousands of feet in the air. news.yahoo.com/iran-says-building-copy-captured-us-drone-083944692.html___________________________ The secrecy in the crashes and burns of drone warfare Posted on January 25, 2012 An account of the spectacular end of that nearly US$4 million drone in November 2007 is contained in a collection of air force accident investigation documents recently examined by TomDispatch. They catalog more than 70 catastrophic air force drone mishaps since 2000, each resulting in the loss of an aircraft or property damage of $2 million or more. (A recent McClatchy report revealed that it takes nearly 170 people to keep a single Predator in the air for 24 hours.) dancingczars.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/the-secrecy-crashes-and-burns-of-drone-warfare/
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Post by the fatherland on Jun 16, 2012 21:30:00 GMT -8
Why would DoD drones be spying on Americans anyways? Well, Air Force admits it may "accidentally" collect your info. bit.ly/KF5OI8
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foremost CFB suffield blood148
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Post by foremost CFB suffield blood148 on Jul 13, 2012 21:27:12 GMT -8
Pipeline monitoring, search, rescue, forest fire, crops, police, border patrol, surveillance - Foremost, Alberta may earn its name as a drone-testing centre by macleans.ca on Thursday, July 12, 2012 10:42am www2.macleans.ca/2012/07/12/foremost-alberta-may-earn-its-name-as-a-drone-testing-centre/Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems 2007-2010 CCUVS: CANADIAN CENTRE FOR UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEMS Centre Canadien des Systèmes de Véhicules Télépilotés Facilitating sustained, profitable growth in the Canadian unmanned systems sector 4, 49 Viscount Avenue, Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 5G4, Canada t: +1 403 488 7208; e: ccuvsoffice@ccuvs.com: w: www.ccuvs.comThe incorporation of the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS) in April 2007 was a significant innovation initiative by Alberta, in co-operation with Western Economic Diversification, and was the culmination of many years of work by several highly dedicated and visionary individuals They believe, as I do, that the time has now come to address the full civil and commercial exploitation of unmanned systems and robotics. This requires the commercialization of many new and innovative combinations of technologies. Technology commercialization programmes are not just about technology; there are a multitude of issues to be addressed including standards and regulations, public and corporate awareness, education, workforce skills training, preparation of financial and insurance markets, supporting research and development and test and evaluation. www.albertacanada.com/documents/AERO-AIS_CCUVS-overview.pdfAlberta on track to test drone aircraft - July 11, 2012 Non-profit company wins approval to apply for restricted airspace over remote area www.vancouversun.com/technology/Alberta+track+test+drone+aircraft/6915640/story.html______________________ More than 1,000 job cuts at Canada Border Service Agency www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1160102--federal-budget-2012-job-cuts-lead-to-fear-of-border-slowdowns-undermine-deal-with-u-s-unionBeyond the Border security pact with the United States (The Action Plan on Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness and the Action Plan On Regulatory Cooperation) www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/03/29/canada-budget-2012-highlights-cuts_n_1384089.html Beyond the Border Working Group - $1 billionAlberta Rural Development Network www.ardn.ca/about-us/sponsors-and-partners/Canada-U.S. deal could close small border crossings Other border crossings could become unmanned 'remote' ports of entry Last Updated: Dec 15, 2011 10:16 AM ET www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/12/14/small-border-crossings-canada-us.htmlUnisys’ license plate-scanning award boosts border security - Oct 25, 2010 Five-year award improves on Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative washingtontechnology.com/articles/2010/10/25/unisys-license-plate-scanning-award.aspx
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Post by clone on Sept 13, 2012 19:12:23 GMT -8
How the Gov’t Talks About a Drone Program it Won’t Acknowledge Exists Sept. 13, 2012, 1:14 p.m. The government refuses to formally acknowledge that the CIA even has a drone program, let alone discuss its thornier elements, like how many civilians have been killed, or how the CIA chooses targets. Officials have given speeches on the legal rationale for targeted killing and the use of drones in broad terms. The administration has also acknowledged “military operations” outside the “hot” battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, but again, details have remained under wraps. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times have both filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests for documents relating to the CIA’s drones. The agency has responded by saying that it can “neither confirm nor deny the existence of records.” www.propublica.org/article/how-the-govt-talks-about-a-drone-program-it-wont-acknowledge
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Post by clone on Sept 13, 2012 19:28:14 GMT -8
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Post by cdlone on Sept 28, 2012 20:46:18 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Jan 26, 2013 22:21:36 GMT -8
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Post by clone on Jan 27, 2014 7:59:55 GMT -8
Sen. McCain Blasts Secret Legislation on Drone Policy - prohibited the transfer of CIA drone operations to the Department of Defense. The term “secret law” is most often used to refer to executive branch actions that mandate national policy without public notice, or that reinterpret existing statutes in dubious or counterintuitive ways that are not disclosed to the public. But in this case, an important national policy measure was literally written into law by Congress in secret. And though Senator McCain voted against the measure, the full Senate approved it, 72-26, and the President signed it into law on January 17. blogs.fas.org/secrecy/2014/01/mccain-drone/
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