Defense

Revealed, Royal Navy has just ONE nuclear submarine on active duty

The Royal Navy has just one nuclear powered submarine in operation after the rest of the fleet has been left out of action due to defects and damage. 

Four of the Royal Navy's new multi-billion hunter and killer submarines are still in dock at Barrow-in-Furness because of defects that have delayed their production - 15 years after the new ships were first ordered. 

Only two of the boats have actively joined the fleet, and one has already had to return to the dock and can only be used for training after more than 50 defects were found. 

Organized crime

Mexican drug cartel Jalisco New Generation flexes its muscles

An increasingly strong drug cartel known as Jalisco New Generation was showing off its power with a spasm of violence that killed seven people and forced down a military helicopter in western Mexico, analysts said on Saturday.Jalisco state was relatively calm the day after gunmen set fire to cars, buses, banks and gasoline stations and trade gunfire with soldiers and police. The violence erupted after security forces launched a campaign against the cartel Friday.

Where it would be smuggled to? 

Mexico issues alert over stolen radioactive material

Authorities issued an alert for several Mexican states on Wednesday after thieves snatched potentially deadly radioactive material used for industrial radiography.The iridium-192 source, marked X-571, was inside a container when it was stolen on Monday from a truck in Cardenas, a town in southern Tabasco state, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Terror prevention

MiRTLE targets concealed threat detection at standoff ranges

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), with funding support from the UK Home Office and Metropolitan Police, has developed active millimetre-wave (MMW) radar technology for deployment at critical infrastructure. Handheld and tripod-mounted variants are available of the Millimeter Radar Threat Level Evaluation (MiRTLE) standoff screening system.

Aerospace

Russia may revive Tu-160 'Blackjack' production

 Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has authorised a study to asses restarting production of the Tupolev Tu-160 'Blackjack' supersonic strategic bomber aircraft. "We shall start to solve problems related not only to maintenance and modernisation of Long-range Aviation's (LRA) aircraft fleet, but also to Tu-160 production," Shoigu said during a visit to the S. Gorbunov Kazan aircraft plant, where the aircraft were built. He held a working session at the plant devoted to the recovery and support of the LRA fleet.

Drones

Americans support drone strikes against terrorists – poll

About 60 percent of Americans support the use of drones to kill terrorists overseas, a new poll conducted on behalf of the Associated Press found. However, respondents were not asked whether civilian casualties affected their approval.

Syrian war

Are Assad's Military Forces on Verge of Collapse?

The Syrian Army, faced with low morale, internal divisions and rapidly decreasing popularity, is facing its most serious challenges since the start of the four-year long Syrian Civil War that has claimed the lives of more 200,000 people.
Multiple rebel offenses have seen strategically important cities fall under the auspices of rebel control, such as Idlib and Jisr al-Shegour in the North and a concerted rebel effort making its way towards Damascus in the South.

War on terror

Former CIA official cites agency’s failure to see al-Qaeda’s rebound

U.S. intelligence agencies badly misjudged al-Qaeda’s ability to take advantage of political turmoil in the Middle East and regain strength across the region after Osama bin Laden was killed, according to a new book by the CIA’s former deputy director.

Terror threat

Obama Climbing into Bed with Al-Qaeda

After years of hemming and hawing, the Obama administration has finally come clean about its goals in Syria. In the battle to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, it is siding with Al Qaeda. This has become evident ever since Jisr Ash-Shughur, a small town in the northeastern part of the country, fell on April 25 to a Saudi and Turkish-backed coalition consisting of the Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al Sham, and an array of smaller, more "moderate" factions as well.

Cybersecurity

Most Organizations Investing Cyber Dollars In Obsolete Technology

Though the need for reliable security technology increases daily, IT and security practitioners across a broad range of industries—including the federal government, healthcare, energy, utilities and finance—say their organizations are investing in cybersecurity technologies that are shelved before deployment. 

The "Risk & Innovation in Cybersecurity Investments" survey, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Lockheed Martin, found ninety percent of the respondents’ organizations devoted their cyber dollars to technology that was ultimately discontinued or scrapped before or soon after deployment.

Arctic

Norway Adds $500M To Bolster High North

Norway has decided to invest $500 million in two new programs intended to strengthen its military capability in the High North.The capital investment, which is being financed within the framework of the 2015 defense budget, happens against a backdrop where Russia continues to reinforce its air, naval and land capabilities in the neighboring High North.

Economic security

The Real Lesson in America's AIIB Disaster

A month ago, Stewart Patrick from the Council on Foreign Relations described the move by France, Germany, Italy and the UK to become founding members of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as a “body blow to the US-led international order created in the wake of World War II, which is crumbling before our eyes.”

Combating drug trafficking

Agents Foil Methamphetamine Smuggling Attempt and Discover Sophisticated Cross-Border Tunnel

On Saturday, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station foiled an illegal narcotics smuggling attempt of more than 69 pounds of methamphetamine and subsequently discovered a sophisticated, cross-border tunnel. The initial incident occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m., when Border Patrol agents operating a Remote Video Surveillance System observed four men on the south bank of the All-American Canal near Calexico attempting to smuggle narcotics into the United States.

Combating drug trafficking

US jails Nigerian ‘witch doctor’ for drug trafficking

A 58-year-old Nigerian-born, but now US naturalised man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales on Thursday. Christopher Omigie, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2014 to conspiracy to distribute cocaine was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison 30 April by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

Yemen knot

US worried about losing Yemeni base for special ops: General

Army General Joseph Votel, the commander of US Special Operations Command, said Friday that he was concerned about losing a presence on the ground in Yemen, where his forces had previously worked with Yemeni forces against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).  “So I think we should be very, very concerned about that," the four-star general said during an appearance at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank.

Corruption

13 Current and Former Law Enforcement Officers Arrested for Drug Trafficking

Thirteen current and former law enforcement officers, a 911 dispatch operator, and a civilian were indicted this week for allegedly participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy. After a two-year undercover investigation, the FBI arrested all 15 alleged conspirators on Wednesday as they attempted to transport what they thought was a shipment of illegal narcotics. Several of the defendants have also been charged with money laundering, extortion, bribery, attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and carrying firearms while trafficking drugs.

Beyond understanding

Homeland Security Chief Admits He Doesn't Understand 4th Amendment

During a hearing Homeland Security head Jeh Johnson admitted Wednesday that he doesn’t know or understand the laws covered by the Fourth Amendment.
Johnson was appearing at a Senate gathering on the government's surveillance capabilities and authority, specifically regarding obtaining records from telephone companies without a warrant. When Kentucky Senator Rand Paul began grilling Johnson, asking him whether those practices are lawful under the Fourth Amendment, which covers searches and seizures, Johnson effectively pleaded ignorance. When Paul asked Johnson if he believes the Fourth Amendment "applies to third party records," Johnson said that it is "beyond my competence as secretary of homeland security" to answer the question.

Terror threat

Top spy agency and union share terror fears over airport security

Australia’s top spy agency believes that airlines will remain a high value terrorist target for the “foreseeable future” in a submission to a government enquiry due to report later this month. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation reported that terrorists understood the widespread economic and social damage that a successful attack against civilian targets could inflict.

In hope to get out of money

Greek court gives dead man six-month suspended jail sentence

A Greek court has convicted a dead man of stealing electricity from a power utility, giving him a six-month suspended jail sentence. His defence lawyer, Christos Bakelas, told the Thessaloniki court that his client was dead.He asked to have the trial deferred until he could deliver a death certificate. But the court refused, and on Tuesday convicted the man in absentia.

Capital punishment

Executing justice

ON APRIL 29th Indonesia executed eight people convicted of drug trafficking. Despite concerns over legal failings and the mental health of one prisoner, four Nigerians, two Australians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian were put to death by firing squad. A ninth, a Filipina, was granted a surprise last-minute reprieve. Australia, which had appealed for clemency and had offered to pay for the prison costs of its citizens, promptly withdrew its ambassador in protest. 

San-Francisco Police Department

SFPD Crime Lab Might Have Put 'Hundreds' Of Cases In Jeopardy Over Faulty DNA Evidence

The SFPD crime lab has been hit with another scandal as authorities confirm that "irregularities" may affect numerous hundreds of cases relying on DNA evidence.

On Friday, the SFPD announced that a lab technician and her supervisor were put on leave while they investigated violations of testing standards. 

Tortures

American Psychological Association Bolstered C.I.A. Torture Program, Report Says

The American Psychological Association secretly collaborated with the administration of President George W. Bush to bolster a legal and ethical justification for the torture of prisoners swept up in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror, according to a new report by a group of dissident health professionals and human rights activists.

Nuclear security

An Aging Cold War Policy May Make It Easier to Hack Nuclear Warheads 

It’s been almost 25 years since the Cold War ended, but America (and Russia) still keep thousands of nuclear warheads on “high alert,” meaning they can be launched within minutes if a missile launched by an enemy is detected using radar or satellite systems. It’s a policy that might not have attracted much attention, if it wasn’t for General James E. Cartwright and the anti-nuclear weapon organization Global Zero.

Middle East

Gaza situation 'intolerable,' Jimmy Carter says

The Gaza Strip situation is "intolerable," former President Jimmy Carter said Saturday. Carter told the reporters in Jerusalem he is aiming to help form a Palestinian state, according to the Associated Press, but didn't even try to arrange a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he believes opposes a two-state solution. Carter didn't actually visit Gaza. He had to abandon plans to stop there this week due to security concerns.

Politics

Why Do So Many People Hate the Sound of Hillary Clinton's Voice?

You know Hillary Clinton’s voice, right? I mean, you know it. It’s just so loud and annoying. Or maybe it's like a nagging wife. Or inauthentic—that phony Southern accent! Those flat Midwestern vowels! Whatever it is, her voice is burned into your brain.

Genetic security

Gene-Editing Human Embryos Is Ethical

A bioethical firestorm erupted last week when Chinese researchers at Sun Yat-Sen University published research in the journal Protein & Cell detailing how they had tried to use the CRISPR gene-editing tool to change the genomes of 86 human embryos. The team, led by the gene-function researcher Junjiu Huang, used embryos from IVF clinics that had been double-fertilized, giving them three sets of genes instead of the usual two. Such triploid embryos cannot grow into babies.

Food security

The GMO Debate Heats Up (Again)

In Oregon, a heated public hearing took place over a ridiculous and unconstitutional proposed county ordinance, which voters will decide on May 19, that "would ban the cultivation of genetically engineered crops in the county and would require all such crops … to be harvested or destroyed within 90 days of passage." If the law passes, then I predict images of armed officers trampling and destroying farmers' crops could cause a dramatic backlash against anti-GMO advocates. 

Vietnam war

Vietnam: 40 Years Later

ON April 30, 1975, the army of communist North Vietnam took Saigon, toppled the government of South Vietnam, and brought two decades of American military involvement in Vietnam to an end. Today the fall of Saigon is defined, at least in the west, by two indelible images. The first, taken by the late Dutch photographer Hugh Van Es, shows a line of desperate Vietnamese trying to board an American helicopter from a rooftop in downtown Saigon.

Drones

How To Hack a Military Drone

Research studies on drone vulnerabilities published in recent years essentially provided hackers a how-to guide for hijacking unmanned aircraft, an Israeli defense manufacturer said Monday. A real-life downing of a CIA stealth drone by Iranians occurred a month after one such paper was published, noted Esti Peshin, director of cyber programs for Israel Aerospace Industries, a major defense contractor. In December 2011, the Christian Science Monitor reported that Iran navigated a CIA unmanned aerial vehicle safely down to the ground by manipulating the aircraft’s GPS coordinates. 

Cyberwars

It’s the Biggest National Threat and We Can’t Help You

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) new Cyber Strategy is a refinement of past attempts at codifying and understanding the “new terrain” of cybersecurity threats to the United States.   While I actually applaud many of the acknowledgements in the new Strategy, I am still highly skeptical of the DoD’s ability to translate words to deeds. In particular, I am so because the entire Strategy is premised on the fact that the “DoD cannot defend every network and system against every kind of intrusion” because the “total network attack surface is too large to defend against all threats and too vast to close all vulnerabilities (13).

UK election

Is Britain Retreating From the World?

When the British head to the polls on May 7, they will be taking part in one of the most pivotal general elections in recent history, says Chatham House’s Richard G. Whitman. “This general election will determine what Britain's place will be in the world in a way that no other general election has done previously, but the importance of this is chronically under-discussed,” he says. 

Yemen knot

Yemen in Crisis

Yemen faces its biggest crisis in decades with the overthrow of its government by the Houthis, a Zaydi Shia movement backed by Iran. As the Houthis captured the capital of Sana’a and advanced south toward the Gulf of Aden in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched an air campaign to reinstate Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

An incredible story

CIA Vets Smell B.S. in Super-Spy Memoir

“Lying is a cooperative act, and people believe a lie because they’re hungry for something—usually the thing the liar is peddling. If I chose not to cooperate, his lie held no power.”

—Jamie Smith, Gray Work

Weather security

Super El Nino Likely as Huge Warm Water Wave Hits West Coast, Extreme Marine Die Off Developing

In early March, the strongest wave of tropical convection ever measured (known as the Madden Julian Oscillation) by modern meteorology moved into the western Pacific from Indonesian waters bringing an outbreak of 3 tropical cyclones, including deadly category 5 Pam which ravaged the south Pacific islands of Vanuatu. This extreme outburst of tropical storms and organized thunderstorms pulled strong westerly winds across the equator, unleashing a huge surge of warm water below the ocean surface.

Intelligence product

Reference: Italian Military Strategic Outlook

European “foresight” documents is that they are linear and extrapolative from the past (how do we deal with a negative future rather than create a positive future); they completely ignore the emerging revolutionary tendencies such as free energy, radical energy storage improvements, productivity leaps in organic farming that also eats carbon, etc. They are government centric and place excess emphasis on both the military domain, and trade agreements that tend to be secretive and toxic.

Financial security

What Happens When You Hand Over Your Gold To The Bank Of England For "Safekeeping"

When Nazi Germany annexed the Czechoslovak border province of the Sudetenland in September 1938, it immediately absorbed a good part of the country’s banking system as well as most of Czechoslovakia’s strategic defenses. By then the country’s national bank had prudently transferred most of its gold abroad to two accounts at the Bank of England: one in the name of the BIS, and one in the name of the National Bank of Czechoslovakia itself. 

Economic security

We Just Broke 2008′s Record for the Fastest Economic Unraveling!

In my last piece I provided a technical analysis that signaled we are entering the first stage of a bursting bubble that we’ll call the Fed Bubble.  Now while I do believe technicals provide good insight to the economic landscape I see them as a necessary rather sufficient qualifier.  In order to be truly confident that our technicals are providing an accurate story we need to understand the fundamentals behind the charts, as we often find the engine light comes on due to a loose wire rather than a problem with the engine.