A study performed for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) “chronicles the policy history of civil and commercial remote sensing from 1960 through 2008.”
The study “highlights the difficulties in establishing a consistent government role in a field where public good and private profit exist side-by-side, and where business interests have the potential to contribute to and conflict with national security interests.”
See U.S. National Security and Economic Interests in Remote Sensing: The Evolution of Civil and Commercial Policy by James A. Vedda, The Aerospace Corporation, February 20, 2009.
The unclassified study was released yesterday by NGA three years after it was requested under the Freedom of Information Act. … Read More
Evolution of Remote Sensing and National Security
More Republicans troubled by Susan Rice role on Benghazi
WASHINGTON — Two more Republican senators expressed deep reservations Wednesday about voting to confirm UN envoy Susan Rice as US secretary of state without more answers about her role in the Benghazi affair. The embattled Rice met for a second straight day with Republican senators to try to…
Sen. Collins upset by Rice’s “political role”
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, Sen. Susan Collins, R.-Maine, condemned U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice’s “political” role following the September 11 attack in Benghazi, Libya. Collins seems to mean that by delivering unclassified talking points that she was authorized to deliver on television, Rice was stumping for the re-election of President Obama. Rice is on everyone’s shortlist of nominees for secretary of state.This comes a day after Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C. and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., expressed the familiar grave concerns about a potential Rice nomination. Yesterday Sen. Joe Lieberman, I. Conn., expressed support for Rice.Widely regarded as a GOP moderate, Collins’ decision to weigh in all but ensures that this informal floor poll on Rice will continue. Among other things, Collins referred to Rice’s former role as undersecretary of state for Africa at the time of the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. As to what that had to do with the attacks in Libya or Rice’s connection to them as U. N. ambassador was unclear to this listener.Continue Reading… … Read More
Dog Saved From Euthanization for Role on Broadway
After all of the heavy, and depressing news that has been pouring into your Twitter timelines and Facebook news-feeds for the past 24 hours, we figured that this article could bring a smile to your face. The following is an excerpt from ABC News. Just hours away from being euthanized, a two-year-old mutt in Houston got her big break when an animal trainer recognized her star quality. Sunny, a terrier mix, was quickly adopted and flown to New York City to try out for the role of “Sandy” in the new Broadway production of Annie. “Something about her picture appealed to me,” William Berloni, the animal trainer in charge of casting the role told ABC News. “We already had three other candidates, but when I met Sunny I thought she’d be a great fit. She’s outgoing, friendly and eager to learn.” Sunny got the role, in part because she looks so similar to the original Sandy, who was also chosen by Berloni. “It’s something about the sad eyes,” Berloni said. “They just get you. It was definitely typecasting.” Berloni has trained all the Sandys, as well as numerous other animals for the stage and screen. He says it takes a certain kind of personality and some special training to prepare a dog for the Great White Way. “First, we have to get her acclimated to life in New York City,” he told ABC. “She was a stray, and might have been hit by a car, so she gets a little nervous when cars drive by, which can be a problem in New York.” A world away from her previous hard-knock shelter life, Sunny now lives with Berloni and 22 other showbiz dogs on a 90-acrea estate in central Connecticut. Berloni and his wife are working to get her ready for the stage by teaching her basic skills like walking and sitting on command. “She came to us with no tricks, so we have to start with getting her used to an audience, bright lights, an orchestra,” Berloni told ABC. “When we learn her personality a bit more and get her working with Lilla [Crawford, the actress playing Annie], we’ll start putting the show together. Really the dog dictates what happens.” Sunny was found during a nationwide shelter search for a new Sandy. Berloni has looked in shelters for all of the dogs he has cast in other shows and movies, including Toto in The Wizard of Oz on Broadway and Bruiser in the Legally Blonde films. It all started when he was charged with casting Sandy for the very first production on Annie. “Somebody told me they had cheap dogs at the pound,” Berloni told ABC. “When I saw the conditions they were living in, I was profoundly moved. So I made a promise to myself that I would only get rescue dogs from then on.” Dogs in Houston shelters, where Sunny was found, are only held for 48 hours before being euthanized. Sunny had been held for one day already when Berloni found her picture. “I called an ex-trainer I knew in Houston, and had her go to the shelter right away and adopt her on my behalf,” Berloni said. “There’s definitely an element of fate in her story.” Performances of Annie begin on Oct. 3. During the show’s run, the dog food company Pedigree has teamed with the production to raise money to promote dog adoption and to provide shelters with resources … Read More
After losing to Google for years, Yahoo strikes back by raiding its rival for its new CEO
SUNNYVALE, Calif. – As a top executive at Google for the past 13 years, Marissa Mayer played an instrumental role in developing many of the services that have tormented Yahoo as its appeal waned among Web surfers, advertisers and investors. … Read More
U.N. declares internet freedom a basic human right – Your Community
In a ground-breaking new report, the United Nations has affirmed that all people should be allowed to express themselves freely … Read More
