At Conference on the Risks to Earth, Few Are Optimistic
August 24, 2008
More than 120 scientists, engineers, analysts and economists from 30 countries were hunkered down here for the 40th annual conference on “planetary emergencies.” The term was coined by Dr. Antonino Zichichi, a native son and a theoretical physicist who has made Erice a hub for experts to discuss persistent, and potentially catastrophic, global challenges. (Washington Post)
Join the GroupIntel Social Network
August 4, 2008
GroupIntel has launched a social network for intelligence professionals. Join today to collaborate and network with others in the Intelligence Community. Members from the private, public, and academic sectors are welcome. Click here to sign-up!
Chinese spying during the Olympics
August 2, 2008
In preparation for the August Olympic Games in Beijing, China has installed hardware and software in all hotels, to make it easier for state security to monitor foreign visitors that use the Internet. Some foreign owned hotels leaked the documents (orders from the Chinese government to install the systems) to U.S. government officials, who made it public. The foreign owned hotels in Beijing were threatened with closure if they did not comply. (via StrategyPage)
Will the U.S. attack Iran?
August 2, 2008
Lots of great predictions to track at GroupIntel Predictions. Are you participating?
Defeating terrorist groups
August 2, 2008
Interesting analysis from Rand, but one must wonder how applicable it is to a group like AQ when push comes to shove.
How do terrorist groups end? The evidence since 1968 indicates that terrorist groups rarely cease to exist as a result of winning or losing a military campaign. Rather, most groups end because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they join the political process. This suggests that the United States should pursue a counterterrorism strategy against al Qa’ida that emphasizes policing and intelligence gathering rather than a “war on terrorism” approach that relies heavily on military force. (Rand.org)
Army Virtual World
August 2, 2008
The next in a line of many future MMOGs
Last week we broke the story of the Army’s attempt to design a “first-person thinker” video game for training future generals. Now one senior Army game-designer tells DANGER ROOM that the ground combat service wants to go one step further … and build a “Massive Multiplayer Online Game” (MMOG) where a wide range of Army training could take place. (Wired)
