Background Section 3545 of the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) requires that each Federal agency conduct an annual independent evaluation of their information security program and provide a report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Consistent with the FISMA statute, the Secretary of Energy, through promulgation of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 205.1,Department of Energy Cyber Security Management Program, assigned the Office of Independent Oversight, within the Office of Security and Safety Performance Assurance, the responsibility for conducting the annual evaluation of DOE’s information security program for national security systems. This report provides the results of…
Author: John Greenewald
Background Extract from the thesis: The atrocities committed by American GIs at Abu Ghraib shocked the collective moral conscience of the U.S. Guilty of inhumane treatment of its prisoners there, Abu Ghraib did immeasurable damage to America’s international credibility and made clear that American detainee policy is off-track and needs to be corrected to comply with objective standards of law, morality, and operational effectiveness. The shock and emotional aftermath of 9/11 created a politically permissive environment within which the bureaucratic and organizational structures of the military were unsuited for the critical tasks assigned to them relative to the context of…
Background On May 13, 2016, Popular Mechanics published an article entitled, “Congress Is Suddenly Interested in Cold Fusion.” David Hambling wrote: “Cold fusion is rising again, thanks to allegedly successful experiments and demonstrations. Now interest in the field, also known as low energy nuclear reactions (LENR), has reached the highest levels, as the House Committee on Armed Services has asked the Secretary of Defense to provide “a briefing on the military utility of recent U.S. industrial base LENR advancements” by September 22. The Committee quotes a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessment that says if cold fusion works, it would be a disruptive technology that could revolutionize…
Background Although controversial due to the fact it was paid for by tax payers, Attorney General John Ashcroft used to travel by private jet during his tenure as Attorney General. This began in the beginning of 2001, before the attacks on 9/11. Conspiracy theorists have long pointed to this fact as further proof that the government had prior knowledge that something bad was about to happen. Prior attorney generals used to travel primarily by commercial airlines, and extra security was simply added to their flights to ensure their safety. But early in 2001, that changed, and Ashcroft traveled by private,…
Background Special thanks to Gunter’s Space Page for this description of GeoLITE: GeoLITE (Geosynchronous Lightweight Technology Experiment) is an advanced, experimental communications satellite featuring Laser and UHF communication devices. It is operated by the NRO. GeoLITE is the first mission for TRW’s T-310 satellite bus, a new lightweight, highly stable platform capable of a range of missions. TRW has system integration responsibility for GeoLITE, including the satellite development, integration and preparation for launch. The lsser communications experiments consisted of: the GeoLITE Laster Terminal (GLT) to provide the NRO with information concerning high data rate geosynchronous orbit to ground communications in…