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Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Amazon Web Services to build CIA spook cloud -


Amazon Web Services to build CIA spook cloud - 


In a move sure to send ripples through the federal IT community, FCW has learned that the CIA has agreed to a cloud computing contract with electronic commerce giant Amazon, worth up to $600 million over 10 years.

Amazon Web Services will help the intelligence agency build a private cloud infrastructure that helps the agency keep up with emerging technologies like big data in a cost-effective manner not possible under the CIA’s previous cloud efforts, sources told FCW.

Amazon officials would not confirm the existence of the contract, and a CIA spokesperson likewise declined to comment on the matter.

“As a general rule, the CIA does not publicly disclose details of our contracts, the identities of our contractors, the contract values, or the scope of work,” a CIA spokesperson told FCW.

In recent speaking engagements, however, CIA officials have hinted at significant upcoming changes to the way the agency procures software, how it uses big-data analytics and the ways in which it incorporates commercial-sector innovation.

Speaking to the Northern Virginia Technology Council Board of Directors on March 12, Central Intelligence Agency Chief Information Officer Jeanne Tisinger told an audience of several dozen people how the CIA is leveraging the commercial sector’s innovation cycle, looking for cost efficiencies in commodity IT, and using software-as-a-service for common solutions.

Read more -
http://fcw.com/articles/2013/03/18/amazon-cia-cloud.aspx

DHS set to bring Saudi Arabia into 'trusted traveler' program - despite being home to 15 of 19 hijackers behind 9/11 -


DHS set to bring Saudi Arabia into 'trusted traveler' program - despite being home to 15 of 19 hijackers behind 9/11 - 


A Department of Homeland Security program intended to give "trusted traveler" status to low-risk airline passengers soon will be extended to Saudi travelers, opening the program to criticism for accommodating the country that produced 15 of the 19 hijackers behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Sources voiced concern about the decision to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, which issued a report Wednesday on the under-the-radar announcement -- which was first made by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano after meeting in January with her Saudi counterpart. According to the IPT, this would be the first time the Saudi government has been given such a direct role in fast-tracking people for entry into the United States.
"I think you have radical Wahhabism in certain elements in Saudi Arabia, and I think to be more lenient there than in other places would be a mistake," Rep. Frank Wolf told the Investigative Project on Terrorism. "There were 15 [hijackers] from that country, and there is a lot taking place in that region."
Only an exclusive handful of countries enjoy inclusion in the Global Entry program -- Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands. According to the IPT, some officials are questioning why Saudi Arabia gets to reap the benefits of the program, when key U.S. allies like Germany and France are not enrolled; Israel has reached a deal with the U.S., but that partnership has not yet been implemented.
Any Saudi travelers cleared through the program will be able to bypass the normal customs line after providing passports and fingerprints. The status lasts for five years.
The decision is a turnaround, the IPT notes, from when Saudi Arabia was briefly placed on a list of countries whose U.S.-bound travelers would face higher scrutiny, in the wake of the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt in 2009.
But Napolitano spoke highly of "the bond between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" when she announced the change in January.
"By enhancing collaboration with the government of Saudi Arabia, we reaffirm our commitment to more effectively secure our two countries against evolving threats while facilitating legitimate trade and travel," Napolitano said.
The Global Entry program was launched in 2008 to expedite pre-approved passengers through the airport customs and security process when they arrive in the U.S. The program is designed to weed out low-risk passengers and enable authorities to zero in on those who may be more likely to pose a threat.
But the program has sparked controversy in the past. Critics objected in late 2010 when Mexican citizens were included in the program, raising concerns that drug cartels would quickly learn how to exploit loopholes in the plan. DHS officials, however, insisted at the time that people who attain trusted traveler status don't get a free pass and are still subject to random searches.
The program allows travelers who have undergone a thorough vetting process -- fingerprinting, background checks, interviews with customs agents, etc.-- to attain a low-risk status that allows them to skip the line at customs and complete their entry process at an automatic kiosk.


Read more: - 
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/20/decision-to-extend-trusted-traveler-program-to-saudi-scrutinized/

Nasa's advice on an Asteroid hitting Earth: Pray -


Nasa's advice on an Asteroid hitting Earth: Pray - 


Charles Bolden, the chief of the Nasa, has warned that the US space agency's best advice on how to handle a large asteroid heading towards New York City is "pray".

Mr Bolden told US lawmakers that prayer was all that the US or anyone could currently do about unknown asteroids and meteors that may be on a collision course with Earth.
An asteroid estimated to be have been about 55 feet (17 metres) in diameter exploded on Feb 15 over Chelyabinsk, Russia, generating shock waves that shattered windows and damaged buildings. More than 1,500 people were injured.
Later that day, a larger, unrelated asteroid discovered last year passed about 17,200 miles (27,681 km) from Earth, closer than the network of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.
The events "serve as evidence that we live in an active solar system with potentially hazardous objects passing through our neighborhood with surprising frequency," said Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas Democrat.
"We were fortunate that the events of last month were simply an interesting coincidence rather than a catastrophe," said US House of Representatives Science Committee chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican.

Read more - 

Backup presidential limo on its way for Obama in Israel after fuel filling failure - diesel instead of gasoline -


Backup presidential limo on its way for Obama in Israel after fuel filling failure - diesel instead of gasoline - 


One of the limousines in Barack Obama's fleet has broken after reports that it was mistakenly filled with the wrong fuel at the start of the US president's visit to Israel.

Another limo is on its way from Jordan, according to Ma'an News agency, citing Israel's Channel 10, to replace one that was filled with diesel instead of gasolene.

Ma'an reports:

Hebrew-language websites described the malfunctioning limo, brought from Washington specially for the visit, as the first unforseen incident during Obama's three-day visit to the region.

Obama is scheduled to leave the airport to Jerusalem in a helicopter. A parade of Black Hawk helicopters will follow the presidential helicopter carrying his delegation.

Read more - 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/20/obama-limousine-jordan-diesel-petrol