US Congress moves toward OK for financing war on IS jihadists: US congressional negotiators late Tuesday approved an emergency funding package to pay for military operations against the Islamic State jihadist group in Iraq and Syria, and a vote is expected in the coming days.
A plan to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, proposed by President Barack Obama, is also expected to be extended. Lawmakers in September had approved it to last only until December 11.
The armed services committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate late Tuesday released the final text of the defense authorization act for the 2015 budget year, which runs from October 2014 to September 2015, after months of negotiations.
The House should adopt the bill by the end of the week, said Democratic Senator Carl Levin and his Republican counterpart James Inhofe. It then goes to the Senate.
The text includes $3.4 billion for the deployment of US forces as part of operation "Absolute Determination" and $1.6 billion for a program to equip and train Iraqi Kurd forces for two years.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Friday, November 28, 2014
Process converts human waste into rocket fuel
Process converts human waste into rocket fuel: Buck Rogers surely couldn't have seen this one coming, but at NASA's request, University of Florida researchers have figured out how to turn human waste -- yes, that kind -- into rocket fuel.
Adolescent jokes aside, the process finally makes useful something that until now has been collected to burn up on re-entry. What's more, like so many other things developed for the space program, the process could well turn up on Earth, said Pratap Pullammanappallil, a UF associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
"It could be used on campus or around town, or anywhere, to convert waste into fuel," Pullammanappallil said.
In 2006, NASA began making plans to build an inhabited facility on the moon's surface between 2019 and 2024. As part of NASA's moon-base goal, the agency wanted to reduce the weight of spacecraft leaving Earth. Historically, waste generated during spaceflight would not be used further.
NASA stores it in containers until it's loaded into space cargo vehicles that burn as they pass back through the Earth's atmosphere. For future long-term missions, though, it would be impractical to bring all the stored waste back to Earth.
Dumping it on the moon's surface is not an option, so the space agency entered into an agreement with UF to develop test ideas.
Adolescent jokes aside, the process finally makes useful something that until now has been collected to burn up on re-entry. What's more, like so many other things developed for the space program, the process could well turn up on Earth, said Pratap Pullammanappallil, a UF associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
"It could be used on campus or around town, or anywhere, to convert waste into fuel," Pullammanappallil said.
In 2006, NASA began making plans to build an inhabited facility on the moon's surface between 2019 and 2024. As part of NASA's moon-base goal, the agency wanted to reduce the weight of spacecraft leaving Earth. Historically, waste generated during spaceflight would not be used further.
NASA stores it in containers until it's loaded into space cargo vehicles that burn as they pass back through the Earth's atmosphere. For future long-term missions, though, it would be impractical to bring all the stored waste back to Earth.
Dumping it on the moon's surface is not an option, so the space agency entered into an agreement with UF to develop test ideas.
Eight measurements of the body can identify anyone on earth | The Lead
Eight measurements of the body can identify anyone on earth | The Lead: USING data from 4,000 United States armed services personnel, a forensic anatomist has found that people are more easily and accurately identified by their body measurements than their facial features - even through clothing.
Teghan Lucas, University of Adelaide PhD student, says that 'body recognition', using just eight measurements, can reduce the chance of finding someone with duplicate measurements to one in a quintillion.
This technique would be useful for criminal and missing persons cases - and requires less data points than facial recognition to be accurate.
"There's been a lot of work conducted over the years on facial recognition. This makes sense - humans have evolved to recognise faces, which is part of our survival mechanism, and the face contains some very distinctive features," Lucas says.
Problems arise when the face is covered during a criminal act, or video evidence is of a low quality. The larger measurements of the body are easier to make out and quantify than finer details on the face. Facial expressions can also alter perceptions and measurements of facial features.
Teghan Lucas, University of Adelaide PhD student, says that 'body recognition', using just eight measurements, can reduce the chance of finding someone with duplicate measurements to one in a quintillion.
This technique would be useful for criminal and missing persons cases - and requires less data points than facial recognition to be accurate.
"There's been a lot of work conducted over the years on facial recognition. This makes sense - humans have evolved to recognise faces, which is part of our survival mechanism, and the face contains some very distinctive features," Lucas says.
Problems arise when the face is covered during a criminal act, or video evidence is of a low quality. The larger measurements of the body are easier to make out and quantify than finer details on the face. Facial expressions can also alter perceptions and measurements of facial features.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
U.S. Adds Planes to Bolster Drive to Wipe Out ISIS - NYTimes.com
U.S. Adds Planes to Bolster Drive to Wipe Out ISIS - NYTimes.com
The United States is shifting more attack and surveillance aircraft from Afghanistan to the air war against the Islamic State, deepening American involvement in the conflict and presenting new challenges for the military planners who work here in central South Carolina, far from the targets they will pick for those aircraft.
The United States is shifting more attack and surveillance aircraft from Afghanistan to the air war against the Islamic State, deepening American involvement in the conflict and presenting new challenges for the military planners who work here in central South Carolina, far from the targets they will pick for those aircraft.
A dozen A-10 ground-attack planes have recently moved from Afghanistan to Kuwait, where they are to start flying missions supporting Iraqi ground troops as early as this week, military officials said. About half a dozen missile-firing Reaper drones will also be redeployed from Afghanistan in the next several weeks.
Perhaps nowhere outside the Middle East do the additional aircraft have a more direct impact than at this Air Force base, which has become a leading symbol of the military’s ability to carry out global operations from afar.
But while the Air Force personnel who help plan airstrikes against the Islamic State from here will have more firepower to bring to bear, they face an unusual enemy, a hybrid between a conventional army and a terrorist network, that has not proved to be an easy target for American air power.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Michèle Flournoy Takes Herself Out of Running for Top Pentagon Job
Michèle Flournoy Takes Herself Out of Running for Top Pentagon Job
Michèle Flournoy, widely seen as the front-runner to replace Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense, abruptly took herself out of the running for the job Tuesday, complicating what will be one of the most important personnel decisions of President Barack Obama's second term.
Flournoy, the co-founder and CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank that has served as a farm league for future Obama administration officials, would have been the first female secretary of defense had she risen to the position. The news of her decision to withdraw was first reported by Foreign Policy.
But in a letter Tuesday to members of the CNAS board of directors, Flournoy said she would remain in her post at the think tank and asked Obama to take her out of consideration to be the next secretary of defense. Flournoy told the board members that family health considerations helped drive her decision and the fact that two of her children are leaving for college in the next two years.
"Last night I spoke with President Obama and removed myself from consideration due to family concerns," reads the letter, first obtained by FP. "After much agonizing, we decided that now was not the right time for me to reenter government."
Flournoy's decision means that only one of the three widely rumored names for the post remains under consideration: Ashton Carter, the former deputy secretary of defense. When Hagel's departure was announced Monday, speculation had immediately turned to Flournoy, Carter, and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a former Army Ranger. But Reed took himself out of the running shortly after Hagel announced his resignation.
The decision by both Flournoy and Reed to pre-emptively turn down the job underscores the immense challenges facing the next secretary of defense and raised immediate questions about whether senior officials and lawmakers were scared off by the prospect of taking a post that would require dealing with a White House that has centralized much of the policymaking and strategic decisions in the West Wing. Both of Hagel's predecessors, Bob Gates and Leon Panetta, complained about administration meddling and overreach in their respective memoirs. "Despite everyone being 'nice' to me, getting anything consequential done was so damnably difficult," wrote Gates.
Beyond the bureaucratic issues, the next secretary will also have to manage the war against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, find a way to close the U.S. prison facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, competently execute a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and right-size the nation's military as Congress attempts to lift the across-the-board defense cuts known as sequestration.
The new Pentagon chief will also face a Congress fully controlled by Republicans devoted to battering the administration for missteps, real and perceived. That will mean having to make repeated trips to Capitol Hill to face angry questioning by incoming Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain of Arizona, who is salivating at the chance to push the next secretary to agree that stronger steps need to be taken against the Islamic State and that military force should remain on the table if the Iran talks break down.
Michèle Flournoy, widely seen as the front-runner to replace Chuck Hagel as the next secretary of defense, abruptly took herself out of the running for the job Tuesday, complicating what will be one of the most important personnel decisions of President Barack Obama's second term.
Flournoy, the co-founder and CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank that has served as a farm league for future Obama administration officials, would have been the first female secretary of defense had she risen to the position. The news of her decision to withdraw was first reported by Foreign Policy.
But in a letter Tuesday to members of the CNAS board of directors, Flournoy said she would remain in her post at the think tank and asked Obama to take her out of consideration to be the next secretary of defense. Flournoy told the board members that family health considerations helped drive her decision and the fact that two of her children are leaving for college in the next two years.
"Last night I spoke with President Obama and removed myself from consideration due to family concerns," reads the letter, first obtained by FP. "After much agonizing, we decided that now was not the right time for me to reenter government."
Flournoy's decision means that only one of the three widely rumored names for the post remains under consideration: Ashton Carter, the former deputy secretary of defense. When Hagel's departure was announced Monday, speculation had immediately turned to Flournoy, Carter, and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a former Army Ranger. But Reed took himself out of the running shortly after Hagel announced his resignation.
The decision by both Flournoy and Reed to pre-emptively turn down the job underscores the immense challenges facing the next secretary of defense and raised immediate questions about whether senior officials and lawmakers were scared off by the prospect of taking a post that would require dealing with a White House that has centralized much of the policymaking and strategic decisions in the West Wing. Both of Hagel's predecessors, Bob Gates and Leon Panetta, complained about administration meddling and overreach in their respective memoirs. "Despite everyone being 'nice' to me, getting anything consequential done was so damnably difficult," wrote Gates.
Beyond the bureaucratic issues, the next secretary will also have to manage the war against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria, find a way to close the U.S. prison facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, competently execute a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and right-size the nation's military as Congress attempts to lift the across-the-board defense cuts known as sequestration.
The new Pentagon chief will also face a Congress fully controlled by Republicans devoted to battering the administration for missteps, real and perceived. That will mean having to make repeated trips to Capitol Hill to face angry questioning by incoming Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain of Arizona, who is salivating at the chance to push the next secretary to agree that stronger steps need to be taken against the Islamic State and that military force should remain on the table if the Iran talks break down.
Hagel's replacement could face rough confirmation
Hagel's replacement could face rough confirmation: Whoever accepts the nomination to replace Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel should not expect a warm welcome on Capitol Hill.
Republicans will take over the Senate in January, and likely will use a confirmation hearing of the new Pentagon leader as one of their first opportunities to pick apart the White House's foreign policy and defense spending plans. Although scuttling the pick is unlikely, uncomfortable accusations about President Obama's defense priorities are a given.
On Monday, just after Hagel's resignation was made public, Republicans offered praise for the former GOP senator from Nebraska and poured contempt on Obama's policies.
Republicans will take over the Senate in January, and likely will use a confirmation hearing of the new Pentagon leader as one of their first opportunities to pick apart the White House's foreign policy and defense spending plans. Although scuttling the pick is unlikely, uncomfortable accusations about President Obama's defense priorities are a given.
On Monday, just after Hagel's resignation was made public, Republicans offered praise for the former GOP senator from Nebraska and poured contempt on Obama's policies.
China Military Advance in South China Sea to Test US Outreach
China Military Advance in South China Sea to Test US Outreach: China has allegedly boosted its military presence in the disputed area of Spratly Islands in the South China Sea by building an artificial island spacious enough to host an airstrip, thus raising security concerns of a key US ally in the region, the Philippines, as well as several other nations, including Republic of China in Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.
Several recent satellite images of the South China Sea, as disclosed by the British open-source intel publisher IHS Jane's, have shown that China is building an 3,000 m long and 200-300 m wide island on Fiery Cross Reef, near the contested area of the mineral-rich Spratly islands.
The artificial island is being constructed using multiple-operated dredging engines, which allow for quick terrain-generation. The machinery used by China is clearly visible on the pictures dated November 14, with harbor seabed sediment being piped towards the newly-created segments of terrain. The shots were made by Airbus Defence and Space, according to Jane's.
Several recent satellite images of the South China Sea, as disclosed by the British open-source intel publisher IHS Jane's, have shown that China is building an 3,000 m long and 200-300 m wide island on Fiery Cross Reef, near the contested area of the mineral-rich Spratly islands.
The artificial island is being constructed using multiple-operated dredging engines, which allow for quick terrain-generation. The machinery used by China is clearly visible on the pictures dated November 14, with harbor seabed sediment being piped towards the newly-created segments of terrain. The shots were made by Airbus Defence and Space, according to Jane's.
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