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Musk builds vast network of spy satellites
Musk builds vast network of spy satellitesDigital Dawn - March 20, 2024
SpaceX reportedly signed a $1,8 billion contract with US intelligence services in 2021.
Elon Musk's secret Starshield project will allow the US military to track targets and support US and allied ground forces in real time almost anywhere in the world, Reuters reported, sharing new details about the billionaire's dealings with the Pentagon.
SpaceX has launched military satellite prototypes alongside "civilian" payloads on Falcon 9 rockets since at least 2020, before landing a lucrative $1,8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 2021. Reuters wrote on Saturday, citing five anonymous sources familiar with the project.
The vast constellation of low-orbit satellites will be capable of tracking ground targets in real time almost anywhere in the world, the sources said. One boasted that Starshield would ensure “no one can hide” from the US government. Starshield also reportedly aims to be “more resistant to attacks” from rival space powers.
It remains unclear how many Starshield satellites are currently operational or when the system is expected to be fully operational, with SpaceX and the Pentagon ignoring requests for comment from Reuters. The NRO said it was developing "the most capable, diverse and survivable space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system the world has ever known," but it declined to comment on SpaceX's role in the project.
SpaceX's CEO has already acknowledged the development of the military alternative to the "civilian" Starlink system, declaring in September that this system would be "owned by the US government" and controlled by the Department of Defense.
“Starlink should be a civilian network, not a combat participant,” Musk said, referring to Ukraine's use of satellites throughout the conflict with Russia.
Musk donated about 20 Starlink terminals to Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its military operation in February 000. Since then, Kiev's troops have relied heavily on the system to maintain communications and operate combat drones along the front line.
While pledging to support Ukraine, Musk has repeatedly stated that he favors a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The billionaire drew the wrath of American authorities after refusing kyiv's request to use the Starlink network to facilitate strikes on the Russian Black Sea fleet. Musk argued that activating Starlink in Crimea would violate US sanctions. In the absence of direct orders from US leaders, SpaceX chose not to violate regulations despite kyiv's request, the tycoon explained.
Earlier this month, US lawmakers reportedly launched another investigation into SpaceX, after Ukraine claimed Russian troops allegedly used the Starlink satellite service on the conflict's front lines. Musk denied the allegations, insisting that "no Starlink was sold directly or indirectly to Russia." The Kremlin also insisted that the Russian military never ordered Starlink terminals.
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How digital giants “militarize” our lives
How digital giants “militarize” our livesReporterre - March 20, 2024
In “Technopolitics – How technology makes us soldiers”, researcher Asma Mhalla offers a fascinating reflection on the growing political and ideological influence of technological giants.
“Hybrid entities, at once private, military and geopolitical companies”, the technological giants, particularly in the United States, are now establishing themselves as the “technological armed arms of their country” details Asma Mhalla in her fascinating essay Technopolitics – Comment technology makes us soldiers (ed. Le Seuil). The researcher at the Political Anthropology Laboratory of the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (Ehess) develops a stimulating reflection on the growing economic, military, political and geopolitical influence of these “BigTech” and their increasingly close links. close with the States.
This is evidenced by the “leading role” played by Starlink, Microsoft or Amazon in the war in Ukraine [these companies respectively provided information on a Russian cyberattack, portable servers and low-orbit satellites to the Ukrainian government]. Enough to “give a glimpse of the possible birth of an American techno-military complex” and, more generally, bear witness to a “deep redefinition of the morphology of this collective construction called the State”. Under the pen of Asma Mhalla, the State becomes the “BigState”, an omnipotent actor which can “be authoritarian and liberal at the same time”.
In order to navigate this subject with infinite ramifications, the professor at Columbia University in New York and Sciences Po invites readers to discover the field of “technopolitics”, a “multidiscipline at the crossroads of economics and law, philosophy and political theory, international relations and history, cyber and tech.” The idea: to continue and update in the light of developments specific to the 21st century the technocritical work – not to be confused with technophobia, she specifies – of thinkers such as Jacques Ellul, George Orwell or Georges Bernanos, authors which she cites several times throughout the pages.
Tools “far from being ideologically neutral”
TikTok accused of spying on its users, “industrialization” of informational struggles, social networks used as public spaces of influence by tycoons, sorts of “techno-tycoons” who own them, “new cyber conflicts and neo-wars augmented with intelligence artificial"... For the author, it is urgent to radically address these issues, well beyond the timid attempts at moderation and "legal blocking" of "BigTech" implemented in Europe.
Far from being ideologically neutral tools, social networks, artificial intelligence and algorithms developed by Google, Meta and Palantir (a company specializing in analysis and data science) are reshaping — and privatizing — our intimate lives and our societies to act “as disruptive agents of democracy”. Firstly, by tending to convey, voluntarily or not, a far-right and conspiratorial ideology – the case of Elon Musk, owner of X (ex-Twitter), is paroxysmal in this matter. But also, and the subject is no less worrying, by acting “as amplifiers of a form of techno-security State paranoia”: population technosurveillance devices, biometric software, massive data capture, etc.
Taking the example of France and the multiplication of security laws since the attacks of 2015 (“Global Security” law in 2021, massive surveillance and registration of political and environmental activists), Asma Mhalla notes that in this “new regime of truth », “each individual is by default potentially guilty until proven otherwise, thereby justifying generalized surveillance”. All of this contributes, in turn, to the “internalization of the security norm” by each individual, with citizens finding themselves evolving in what the philosopher Gilles Deleuze “prophesized as “control societies”.
Do not “miss our times”
Once this observation is made, what should we do? According to Asma Mhalla, to escape the “technototalitarianism” that could emerge from this chaos, it is high time that we “produce a new vision of the world”. “It is up to politicians to prepare themselves and society for these changes, to avoid the next major structural crisis due to unpreparedness and lack of anticipation”, without which “we will miss our time”.
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Palestine: Occupation forces suffer heavy losses
Palestine: Occupation forces suffer heavy lossesInternational Network - Dec 13, 2023
The Israeli army is gradually recognizing that its enemies are serious fighters.
“In Gaza itself, the military is stunned by the scale of Hamas' strength in the region, which has built a de facto terrorist army stationed 50 minutes from Tel Aviv over the past 14 years, possessing hundreds of thousands of weapons ranging from various types of RPGs which are the main weapon for targeting soldiers, advanced rocket launchers, strike drones and strike drones modeled to counter those of the Israelis.
This includes mortar shells, AK-47 rifles, Dragunov sniper rifles, communications devices, operational telephone lines and explosive charges of different sizes.
The resistance is stubborn. She does not give up, even in areas that the Israeli occupation forces claim to have cleared:
“In Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Gaza Strip, located a few meters from Sderot, the IDF operated from the first days of the operation, achieving tactical successes. However, risks remain. Last week, Hamas terrorists broke out of a mosque in the city and new weapons caches were discovered.
The IDF targets Hamas commanders, and most of these terrorist cells are local and small, but as Beit Hanoun can attest, it will take months to completely rid it of enemy forces – and that is not the case. place where Hamas is strongest.
The occupying forces have relatively high losses, much higher than they admit. Via Haaretz:
“IDF reports 1593 wounded since October 7, but hospital data is much higher (archived)
For the first time since the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel said on Sunday that 1593 Israeli soldiers had been injured during that period.
The army said 255 soldiers suffered serious injuries, 446 suffered moderate injuries and 892 suffered minor injuries. The army released this information on the number of wounded soldiers and their condition after Haaretz reported two weeks ago that it refused to do so. (…)
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Andrey Gurulev: Israeli bombings have no military effect
International Network - Oct 23, 2023
By Lieutenant General Andrey Gurulev: Israeli bombings have no military effect.
In Palestine, armed people are in shelters, civilians are dying in residential buildings.
We experienced this in Syria, when in Damascus, for example, they sit in underground tunnels and only come out when necessary.
Hamas has prepared 100%, it is not without reason that it has done so, it has reserves of weapons and food.
Israel strikes, destroys buildings, Hamas can immediately exploit it with caution, it will be a good fortified zone, ideal.
The Israelis are represented in columns on tanks, on infantry fighting vehicles, what are they waiting for? They wait for drones to fly over them?
We experienced this during the special military operation. Tanks in urban areas are practically ineffective. The main thing here is the action of the assault troops. What is this ? Remember how they took Artemovsk (Bakhmut). Remember what losses there were. Something similar awaits the Israelis; It won't work any differently here.
Looking more broadly, the Americans are trying to drag the Middle East into war; apparently, they decided not to just ceremonially stand alongside Israel; in this case, the damage caused to Israel will be considered unacceptable. When they say that today missiles were introduced from Iran, I assure you that such statements are false, because in the military field everything that was planned a long time ago all the targets are determined.
The visit of our leader Vladimir Putin to China, the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the DPRK (North Korea), the visit of the President to our command post in Rostov are synchronized events.
The president heard the report from the chief of staff, probably from the district commanders, and personally listened to the reports in order to understand what the problems are and ways to solve them.
I think the main topic was the presence of two aircraft carrier groups in the Mediterranean.
On board these ships, according to my calculations, there are about 750-800 Tomahawk missiles, which cover a good part of the territory of the Russian Federation. That's a decent amount of power. Our president immediately decided to put the Mig-31 equipped with Kinjal missiles into combat service.
For some reason, everyone imagines that a plane with a Kinjal will fly somewhere, fly over the Black Sea, but everything is much more global.
Firstly, it involves the use of all reconnaissance systems linked into a single information system with the issuance of specific target instructions at checkpoints. If an aircraft enters the Black Sea airspace, then it must have a support echelon protecting it from enemy air attacks, air defense systems and everything else.
This is a comprehensive set of measures aimed at deterring the American aggressor from considering an attack on the territory of the Russian Federation. Before us are two groups of aircraft carriers, equipped to the teeth, capable of hitting targets on the territory of our country, should we stand there and pick our noses?
You have to react normally.
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The Pentagon fails to prevent suicides in the US army
International Network - Oct 07, 2023
The number of suicides in the US military has exceeded its losses in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere since 11/XNUMX.
The Pentagon has repeatedly announced measures to prevent suicides among its soldiers. Once again, he raises the subject because nothing changes and the United States army has the particularity of self-destructing throughout the armed forces. The mental health of US soldiers is in question because it is what pushes them to commit suicide.
The number of suicides exceeds the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere since September 11. The Watson Institute website announced in July 2021 that “more than 7000 American troops and more than 8000 contractors died in the wars that followed September 11 in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere,” adding: “More than 30 177 American soldiers and veterans of the post-11/XNUMX wars have committed suicide.
The Pentagon has presented more than a hundred measures aimed at solving this problem. However, the effectiveness of these measures raises serious doubts among experts. Continental Observer already made it known in 2022 that this problem is of serious concern to the American Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, who raised this subject during his visit to the Eielson base in Alaska because it is in this base that American soldiers most often end their lives. The Pentagon's announcements follow one another, but nothing changes.
Once again, this past September 28, the Pentagon relaunched the subject: “The US Department of Defense announces new actions to prevent suicide in the army.” “U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a memorandum ordering urgent actions to combat suicide in the military community, building on two years of significant work supporting suicide prevention within the department of Defense (DoD),” it is announced.
The Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC) has studied the phenomenon. Experts made 127 short- and long-term recommendations to address this critical issue within the ranks.
The Pentagon press release states: “The Department remains committed to reducing suicide deaths across the armed forces and is following an ambitious timeline for planning and implementing the Secretary's Five Action Plans, prioritizing the most effective actions to establish a solid foundation for long-term progress. The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness will oversee implementation efforts across the Department and ensure that implementation is conducted in a timely and methodical manner. DoD aims to fully implement each line of effort by the end of fiscal year 2030.”
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What are Russia and China using their military dominance for?
What are Russia and China using their military dominance for?Voltairenet - May 05, 2023
Contrary to what Westerners think, they do not have to fear military domination by Russia and China, but the use by them of their military power to compel them to respect their signature.
Russia and China have armaments far superior to those of the West. The first won the war in Syria and is about to win in Ukraine. Despite all its efforts, NATO, which has already failed in the Middle East through jihadists, is unable to reverse reality on the battlefield.
The way of thinking of the former colonial powers leads them to imagine that Russia and China will use their military superiority to impose their way of life on the rest of the world. However, this is not at all their intention and this is not what they are doing.
Moscow and Beijing continue to demand the application of international law. Nothing more. The Russians aspire to be quiet at home, while the Chinese hope to be able to trade everywhere.
The events in Ukraine have made us forget Russia's demands repeatedly reiterated since 2007: it demands security guarantees of its own, in particular the absence of arsenals belonging to third countries stored in its neighbours. Russia does not have the means to defend its borders, the largest in the world. It cannot therefore ensure its security if enemy armies are massed on several fronts at its borders, except by practicing the “scorched earth strategy” of Marshal Fedor Rostopchin. This is the meaning of all the negotiations for the reunification of Germany. The USSR was opposed to it, except that the New Germany undertakes not to store NATO weapons in the East. This is the thrust of all negotiations with the former Warsaw Pact states. And this was again the direction of the negotiations with all the states of the former USSR. Moscow has never objected to a state choosing its allies and possibly joining NATO. He always opposed it if joining NATO implied the installation of NATO armament stocks on its territory.
Moscow was not satisfied until 1999, when 30 OSCE member states signed the Istanbul Declaration, known as the “Charter for Security in Europe”, which lays down two major principles:
the right of each state to choose the allies of its choice and
the duty of each State not to threaten the security of others by ensuring its own.
It is the violation of these principles, and this alone, which has led to the Ukrainian conflict. This was the meaning of President Vladimir Putin's speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007: he denounced the non-respect of OSCE commitments and the establishment of a "monopolar" governance of the world. .
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James Cameron says AI has taken over, and it's already too late
James Cameron says AI has taken over, and it's already too lateEel under rock - March 30, 2023
Where humans cannot keep pace with modern conflict, machines take over.
After directing numerous blockbusters, director James Cameron believes that artificial intelligence may be on the way to making Terminator-like events real.
When a rocket-propelled grenade heads towards an armored ground vehicle, an automated system onboard the vehicle identifies the threat, tracks it, and triggers a countermeasure to intercept it, all before the crew even leaves. interior is aware of it. Similarly, US Navy ships equipped with the Aegis Combat System can activate Auto-Special Mode, which automatically eliminates incoming warheads according to carefully programmed rules.
Nearly forty years after the release of the first Terminator movie in 1984, which depicted the increasing capabilities of AIs in their own quest to destroy the human race, Cameron believes we are closer to the rise of technology than we didn't think so before. As the director of wacky, yet critically acclaimed films such as Aliens and Avatar, Cameron has proven to have a lot of questions about the future of technology and what it might mean for the world.
Armies, like car manufacturers, have gradually given more freedom to machines. In a 2019 exercise, the United States demonstrated how automation could be used throughout what is known as the "chain of death": a satellite spotted a fake enemy ship and asked a surveillance plane to approach to confirm the identification; the surveillance aircraft then transmitted its data to an airborne command and control aircraft, which selected a naval destroyer to conduct an attack. In this scenario, automation allowed officers at the end of the execution chain more time to make an informed decision on whether or not to fire at the enemy vessel. .
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US Military Aid to Ukraine Exceeds Afghanistan Spending
Digital Dawn - Feb 27, 2023
Ukraine is the country that receives the most military aid from the United States: Since the beginning of the war and until January 15, 2023, $46,6 billion in financial aid for military purposes has flowed to the country currently at war with Russia.
By calculating the average annual costs (in 2022 prices) of previous wars the United States has been involved in, one can see the true magnitude of the country's Ukraine aid spending.
As Statista's Martin Armstrong shows in the infographic below, payments to Ukraine have already exceeded annual US military expenditures in the war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2010. US military costs in the war in Vietnam, the Iraq War and the Korean War were significantly higher – according to calculations by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy as part of its Ukraine Support Tracker.
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Spalding quits NSC after private 5G telecom memo leaks
Spalding quits NSC after private 5G telecom memo leaksGuy Boulianne - Feb 05, 2023
When General Robert S. Spalding was leaving the National Security Council (NSC) after a private 5G telecommunications memo was leaked.
Robert S. Spalding III (born 1966) is a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General. He is recognized for his knowledge of Chinese economic competition, cyber warfare and political influence, as well as his ability to predict global trends and develop innovative solutions.
General Spalding's relationship with business leaders, nurtured during his military tenure at the Council on Foreign Relations, allowed him to recommend pragmatic solutions to complex foreign policy and national security issues. General Spalding's groundbreaking work on competition in secure 5G has reset the global environment for the next phase of cybersecurity in the information age.
While serving on the National Security Council, General Robert S. Spalding penned a memo calling for nationalizing the development of the 5G wireless network. Spalding's plea would have been judged outside his authority and he was subsequently asked to leave the NSC.
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Cognitive warfare: NATO is plotting a war to take over people's minds
International Network - Dec 23, 2022
Since 2020, NATO has been pursuing its plans for psychological warfare which must be placed on an equal footing with the previous five areas of operation of the military alliance (land, water, air, space, cyberspace).
This is the battleground for mastering public opinion. NATO documents speak of “cognitive warfare” – mental warfare. How concrete is the project, what steps have been taken so far and who is it aimed at?
To be victorious in war, you must also win the battle of public opinion. This has been done for more than 100 years with increasingly modern tools, the so-called soft power techniques. These describe all the psychological tools of influence with which people can be guided in such a way that they themselves are not aware of this control. The American political scientist Joseph Nye thus defines soft power as “the ability to persuade others to do what you want without using violence or coercion”1.
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Electrosensitive epidemic
Electrosensitive epidemicFrench Spirits - Nov 15, 2022
Pierre-Gilles Bellin, essayist, blogger is the guest of Ying Huang
“An electrosensitive epidemic, that is to say that people become intolerant to the waves. It's like a food intolerance. You can collectively use a microwave weapon on groups of soldiers, this is what China did to recover 150 km2 in the Himalayas; eventually it can be projected onto opponents and political dissidents as well.”
Pierre-Gilles Bellin
