Tuesday, December 8, 2015

#2532: Serco 8(a) Cap or Nine-Eyes Nukes – Dumbo Red Switch for ISIS de Gaulle – Marine Corps Letters of Marque and Reprisal

D-Day + 8 Progress Report 
for 
Marine Corps Intelligence Activity 
and 
The Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford's Firing Squads 
by 
United States Marine Field McConnell 
Plum City Online - (AbelDanger.net
December 8, 2015

1. AD asserts that Serco has given delegates to UN climate-change summit a choice between adopting a carbon cap to save low-lying 8(a) islands from the spurious threat of flooding or receiving a four-minute warning of a nuclear attack on one of the Nine Eyes countries (Five Eyes + BRIC).

2. AD asserts that Serco operatives of the Dumbo Red Switch Network have linked long-range ISIS snuff-film crews with a death-pool war room on the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle – the flagship of the French Navy and the Auld Alliance – which has just taken command of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's Task Force 50!!!!!

3. United States Marine Field McConnell is asking James "Jim" Webb, Jr. – author of 'I Heard My Country Calling' – for help in obtain Letters of Marque and Reprisal to take custody of the Charles de Gaulle and reflag it as the USS James E. Sabow.

United States Marine Field McConnell (http://www.abeldanger.net/2010/01/field-mcconnell-bio.html) invites CJCS Joseph Dunford to release any evidence obtained by the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity which may relate to Serco and ISIS's use of the Dumbo Red Switch Network on the Charles de Gaulle and support a request to Congress for Letters of Marque and Reprisal to reflag the ship under the control of the next president of the United States.  

It is now D-Day + 8.
 
Note that Henry Bieden has de facto control of the U.S. Naval Observatory death-pool clock

Dumbo Red Switch IST-2 on desk to 2009

Not any more! 


Serco... Would you like to know more? 
What have you got for me there, Big Boy?

After COP21 Dumb and Dunford will have to mothball the Navy.

Five Eyes + Four Eyes = Nine Eyes


"France Takes Command of NAVCENT Task Force 50
Story Number: NNS151207-18 Release Date: 12/7/2015 12:38:00 PM 
By Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command public affairs
RED SEA (NNS) -- A French flag officer embarked in the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle took command of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command's Task Force 50 Dec. 7, leading coalition naval strike operations for Operation Inherent Resolve -- the fight to degrade and ultimately destroy the ISIL terrorist organization.

Commander, French Maritime Force, Rear Adm. Rene-Jean Crignola, embarked in Charles de Gaulle, took command of CTF 50, which plans and conducts strike operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.

This integration of France's premier naval strike force into a critical leadership role in the NAVCENT command and control structure demonstrates its exceptional interoperability with U.S. and other coalition forces.

Charles de Gaulle's presence in the region signals the return of carrier-based naval aviation to the fight against ISIL. The carrier and embarked air wing, along with the other ships in her battle group, will support strike operations over Iraq and Syria. She will also provide a range of flexible and adaptable capabilities to perform theater security cooperation efforts and maritime security operations aimed at increasing the French navy's interoperability with allies in the region.

The battle group left its home port of Toulon, France, Nov. 18.

Escorting Charles de Gaulle are the air defense destroyer (FN) Chevalier Paul; the anti-submarine frigate (FN) La Motte-Picquet; the anti-submarine frigate (BN) Leopold Ier, the anti-submarine frigate (GN) Augsburg; the command and supply ship (FN) Marne; and a (FN) nuclear attack submarine.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is responsible for approximately 2.5 million square miles of area including the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, North Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. NAVCENT's mission is to conduct maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts, and strengthen partner nation's maritime capabilities in order to promote security and stability in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOO.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/cusnc/."

"James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American war hero, politician, and author.[3][4] He has served as a United Senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States House Committee on Veterans' Affairs[5] and Marine Corps officer.

In the private sector he has been an Emmy Award winning journalist, a filmmaker, and the author of ten books. In addition, he taught literature at the United States Naval Academy and was a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. As a member of the Democratic Party, Webb announced on November 19, 2014, that he was forming an exploratory committee to evaluate a run for President of the United States in 2016.[6][7] On July 2, 2015, he announced that he would be joining the race for the Democratic nomination for President,[8] but stepped down from running in the primaries on October 20, 2015, stating that he was "not comfortable" with many of the party's political positions.[9] He is currently considering[10] running for President as an independent.[11]"

"I Heard My Country Calling 
A Memoir 
By James Webb 
In this brilliantly received memoir, former senator James Webb has outdone himself. It is rare in America that one individual is recognized for the highest levels of combat valor, as a respected member of the literary and journalistic world, and as a blunt-spoken leader in national politics. In this extraordinary memoir, Webb writes vividly about the early years that shaped such a remarkable personal journey.

Webb's mother grew up in the poverty-stricken cotton fields of East Arkansas. His father and lifetime hero was the first in many generations of Webbs, whose roots are in Appalachia, to finish high school. He flew bombers in World War II and cargo planes in the Berlin Airlift, graduated from college in middle age, and became an expert in the nation’s most advanced weaponry.

Webb’s account of his childhood is a tremendous American saga as the family endures the constant moves and challenges of the rarely examined post–World War II military, with a stern but emotionally invested father, a loving mother who had borne four children by the age of twenty-four, a granite-like grandmother who held the family together during his father's frequent deployments, and a rich assortment of aunts, siblings, and cousins. Webb tells of his four years at Annapolis in a voice that is painfully honest but in the end triumphant.

His description of Vietnam’s most brutal battlefields breaks new literary ground. One of the most highly decorated combat Marines of that war, he is a respected expert on the history and conduct of the war. Webb's novelist's eyes and ears invest this work with remarkable power, whether he is describing the resiliency that grew from constant relocations during his childhood, the longing for his absent father, his poignant good-bye to his parents as he leaves for Vietnam, his role as a twenty-three-year-old lieutenant through months of constant combat, or his election to the Senate, where he was a leader on national defense, foreign policy, and economic fairness. This is a life that could happen only in America.

- See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/I-Heard-My-Country-Calling/James-Webb/9781476741154#sthash.YY3WSbmV.dpuf"


"The Congress shall have Power To ...grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal.... 
ARTICLE I, SECTION 8, CLAUSE 11 
Teacher's Companion Lesson (PDF) 
The Marque and Reprisal Clause plays an important supporting role in the debate over the original allocation of war powers between the President and Congress. At the time of the Founding, the sovereign authorized holders of letters of marque and reprisal to engage in hostile actions against enemies of the state. The common understanding of "Reprisal" is a seizure of property (or sometimes persons) of a foreign state for redressing an injury committed by that state. Because the word marque is the French equivalent of reprisal, many scholars believe that the constitutional term "Marque and Reprisal" is best understood as a single phrase.

The only serious debate over the meaning of the Marque and Reprisal Clause is whether it extends only to authorizing private parties (known as "privateers") to engage in reprisals for private, commercial gain, or whether it also gives Congress the power to authorize reprisals by the armed forces of the United States for public purposes.

That debate mirrors the larger war powers debate over the Declare War Clause. Congressionalists construe the Declare War Clause and the Marque and Reprisal Clause jointly to cover all forms of hostilities and thereby to deny the President any power whatsoever to initiate hostilities. They contend that the Declare War Clause requires Congress to authorize wars, whereas the Marque and Reprisal Clause requires Congress to authorize lower level hostilities, whether by public forces or by privateers.

Citing revolutionary practice, presidentialists maintain that the Marque and Reprisal Clause was originally understood to give Congress the power to vest sovereign authority to use force against enemy nations and their subjects with private parties only. Exercising that power, Congress could authorize so-called privateers to engage in military hostilities, with neither government funding nor oversight (other than after-the-fact judicial determinations of prizes by the prize courts). Thus, according to presidentialists, the Marque and Reprisal Clause is best read in conjunction with Congress's power over the purse. They argue that the clause is consistent with their overall structural theory of the Constitution, under which Congress has exhaustive authority over all funding of military hostilities, whether through public appropriations or private letters of reprisal, but no power to control directly the President's ability to initiate hostilities with whatever resources Congress has previously made available to him. Under this framework, locating the Marque and Reprisal Clause in Article I prevents the President from engaging in hostilities free from congressional control over resources, whether in the form of public appropriations or the issuance of letters of marque and reprisal. The clause thus helps fill a hole that would otherwise exist in Congress's control over the provision of military resources.

Outside of the law reviews and scholarly debates over the allocation of war powers between Congress and the President, the Marque and Reprisal Clause has played little if any role in modern law. The United States has not issued letters of marque and reprisal since the War of 1812, and has not seriously considered doing so since Andrew Jackson's presidency. In addition, the 1856 Declaration of Paris prohibits privateering as a matter of international law. Although the United States has not ratified the Declaration, it has upheld the ban in practice.

During the Iran-Contra controversy of Ronald Reagan's administration, Members of Congress objected to the President's private financing of hostilities, absent prior congressional consent. Congress did not expressly invoke the Marque and Reprisal Clause, however, in objecting to executive branch action."

"Installing Next Generation C4I Systems on a Nuclear Carrier [Auld Alliance led by David Cameron and Nicholas Sarkozy ordered Serco to install the same system on General de Gaulle for man-in-the-middle attacks on America!!!] … Information superiority can be decisive to battlefield success, and America's fleet of nuclear aircraft carriers constitute one of the most effective means to project military power across the globe. So when the Navy planned to retrofit the USS John C. Stennis with a next generation C4I network, they turned to a reliable partner with the scale and knowledge to execute such a critical project, Serco.

The Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) platform was designed to standardize the U.S. Navy on a single networking platform to reduce vulnerability to cyber attacks, consolidate multiple legacy networks, and provide for fast and painless addition of future capabilities. CANES replaces five existing shipboard networks and used substantial of commercially available hardware, thereby driving down the total cost of ownership for the Navy.

USS Stennis was the very first CANES installation on a carrier. The project required 179 miles of cabling, replacing all of the network and computing gear, and installing 70 new steel foundations for server racks, antennae, and radomes. Nine months were allotted to complete the massive retrofit, that involved 200 planning yard drawings and technical documents, some of which were not ready as program began.

Serco was chosen due to our success of delivering large scale projects on deadline and the unique client reporting system employed to give visibility to the Navy, known as the Serco Program Integrated Reporting & Installation Tracking, or SPIRIT. SPIRIT integrates three key client requirements, tailored earned value management (EVM), quality assurance (QA) documentation, and weekly status reports, so that deck-plate personnel and senior program managers have a clear picture of the project status.

Serco delivered the program on time, marking the first CANES implementation on an aircraft carrier and the only CANES project that has been delivered on schedule. Serco's scale, domain knowledge, and commitment to the mission all played a role in this significant upgrade."


"CASE STUDY 
24th Air Force Cyber Operations Support 
The 24th Air Force (24 AF) is the operational warfighting organization that establishes, operates, maintains and defends Air Force networks and conducts full-spectrum operations in cyberspace. It establishes, operates and defends Air Force networks to ensure warfighters can maintain the information advantage as they fulfill military operations. The unit is responsible to conduct a full range of cyber operations.

The new 24 AF Headquarters (HQ) facility in San Antonio was outfitted to provide the infrastructure and technological resources needed to continue operating this important mission. Serco developed a comprehensive IT solution guided by three points:

Develop a holistic solution to integrate and standardize the IT architecture across multiple networks and functions, Utilize the latest technology in virtualization and remote desktops to reduce clutter, maintenance requirements and power/cooling requirements.

Ensure the technology provides the performance and mobility needed to perform the 24 AF mission and facilitate reliable collaboration among mission critical planning cells and throughout the wider enterprise.

Serco designed and implemented server-based computing systems that utilize Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to deliver a major advancement in remote desktop performance over what had previously been possible with standard thin client systems. The architecture consists of zero client devices at the desktop that employ Personal Computer over Internet Protocol (PCoIP), which is capable of delivering high volume data or real time audio and video without jitter or delay. Zero client refers to ultrathin clients that deliver services with no software and minimal hardware requirements.

The zero clients connect to virtual desktops on a server for excellent performance meeting 99% of the 24 AF mission needs. For the remaining 1%, those users needing graphics-intensive computing, the same zero client can also connect to a blade-based graphics workstation via login options derived from user credentials and permissions.

Serco also integrated voice, video teleconferencing capabilities and situational awareness displays, along with the VDI, into the facility’s network distribution system across multiple networks. The result is an integrated IP-based total capability that is centrally managed and consistent across all platforms. Serco also implemented Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN), completed a structured fiber optic and Category 6 cabling system, and participated in the construction design working group to ensure supporting systems (e.g. Power and HVAC) were able to support the 24 AF's IT needs.

As a result of Serco's support, 24th Air Force enjoys a true state-of-the-art environment that has delivers the high level of performance and security requires to continue fulfilling the important missions protecting the nation's security."


"Previously we wrote that while in 5th Fleet, the CVN-71 USS Theodore Roosevelt was the largest symbol in the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition responsible for "1,812 combat sorties totaling 10,618 combat flight hours, taking on 14.5 million gallons of jet fuel [The Dumbo Red Switch Network will soon put a stop to that!!!] and expending 1,085 precision-guided munitions," as part of Operation Inherent Resolve."

We concluded by saying that whatever the reason behind the US naval "gap" may be, one thing is clear: the departure of the Roosevelt comes at a particularly awkward time - just as Russia is setting up its own aicraft base in Syria. We may have been too early.

As Reuters reported earlier today, just as one US carrier was leaving the middle east, another widely feared and respected geopolitical superpower was set to replace US carrier presence in the Middle East in the ongoing war against "ISIS" - France.

Earlier today, in a statement by the French presidency following a meeting of its defence cabinet, the government said it would send its only aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle warship, to the eastern Mediterranean for operations against Isis in both Syria and Iraq.

According to the Independent, "the deployment of the battle group alongside the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has been decided to participate in operations against Daesch and its affiliate groups," the statement said after a defense cabinet meeting, referring to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

The carrier is usually accompanied by an attack submarine, several frigates, refueling ships, as well as fighter jets and surveillance aircraft Reuters adds.

"The aircraft carrier will enable us to be more efficient in coordination with our allies," Hollande said at the inauguration of the new defense ministry headquarters in Paris

The Charles de Gaulle is the largest warship in western Europe, and the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the US fleet. It can support up to 40 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters.

France launched its first air strikes against Isis in Syria in late September, in what was described as an act of self defence. "We will strike each time that our national security is at stake," the French presidency said. France was the first country to join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and has also provided limited logistical support to Syrian rebels it considers moderate, including Kurds."

"Charles de Gaulle is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) and the largest western Europeanwarship currently in commission. She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first French nuclear-powered surface vessel, and the first and so far only nuclear-powered carrier completed outside of the United States Navy. She is named after French statesman and general Charles de Gaulle.

The ship carries a complement of Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard, Dassault Rafale M and E‑2C Hawkeye aircraft,EC725 Caracal and AS532 Cougar helicopter for combat search and rescue, as well as modern electronics and Astermissiles. She is a CATOBAR-type carrier that uses two 75 m C13‑3 steam catapults of a shorter version of the catapult system installed on the U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, one catapult at the bow and one across the front of the landing area.[6] Thanks to her characteristics, Charles de Gaulle is the only non-American carrier-vessel in the world able to [launch long range man-in-the-middle attacks on the Five Eyes countries and] operate American aircraft such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet [7] or C-2 Greyhound,[8] which operate from American carrier-vessels.[9]

In 1993, it was alleged by The Guardian that a group of engineers inspecting the vessel during her construction were British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) operatives [allegedly deployed by the Auld Alliance booster David Cameron to integrate the Nine Eyes surveillance network with the French Force de Frappe], believed to have been learning the method of shielding the nuclear reactors, amongst other technical details.[11] However, the newspaper published a denial by both the British government and the Direction de la surveillance du territoire (DST) (in English: Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) that there had been any incident.[12]"


"COP21: UN negotiators adopt draft deal to fight climate change 
'We are not at the end of the route. Major political issues are yet to be resolved,' says French envoy The Associated Press Posted: Dec 05, 2015 6:54 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 05, 2015 6:45 PM ET Negotiators adopted a draft climate agreement Saturday that was cluttered with brackets and competing options, leaving ministers with the job of untangling key sticking points in what is envisioned to become a lasting, universal pact to fight global warming.

Bristol, England, shows what cities can do to fight climate change
ANALYSIS | Optimism growing at Paris climate change conference
Financial, political hurdles abound as countries work on climate deal
As the UN talks outside Paris reached their midway point, the draft agreement was sent on to environment and foreign ministers who will work on it next week.

"We would have wished to be further along than we are at this point, but the text being forwarded so far reflects our key priorities," said Maldives delegate Thoriq Ibrahim, who chairs an alliance of small island nations on the front lines of climate change.

A host of disagreements remains, almost all related to defining the obligations and expectations of rich and poor countries, as well as those who don't fit neatly into either category.

Justin Trudeau tells Paris climate summit Canada ready to do more 
Yellowknife doctor explains climate change letter to Trudeau 
INTERACTIVE: How a 2 C temperature increase could change the planet

There is still no agreement on how much the average global temperature should be able to rise. Many developing nations want it to be no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. But developed countries say the planet can handle 2 degrees.

Canadian scientist Alain Bourque, who advises the Quebec and federal governments on climate change and specializes in the connection between science and policy, explained the significance of 2 degrees C during an interview with CBC in Le Bourget, where the summit is taking place.

Significance of 2 degrees C

"The science is stating that around 2 degrees Celsius this where you reach a threshold where the impacts of climate change are becoming more generalized, [with] higher intensity, more gravity, and also some of the impacts are becoming irreversible.

"So the science does not state clearly that it's 2 degrees or 1.9 or 1.2, but we know 3 is clearly too much change," he said. Bourque added that a rise of 1.5 degrees still poses some risk, albeit it could be more localized, so "this is where it becomes very complicated, when you try to negotiate a treaty or an agreement between 200 countries in the world."

The French climate envoy on Saturday said "major political issues are yet to be resolved. "This text marks the will of all to reach an agreement. We are not at the end of the route," Laurence Tubiana said.

Though 184 countries have already submitted national plans to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, how to anchor those pledges in a legally binding deal remains to be worked out.

Plenty of work left

Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resource Defense Council, a New York-based environmental group, said the issue could be resolved by avoiding words like "shall" in key paragraphs about emissions targets.

"We're made some progress here, although I have to tell you the text is virtually, it's just a package of things on which people don't yet agree, and the lack of agreement is signified by square brackets," Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May told CBC News on Saturday. "So it's heavily bracketed text, but they have made enough progress to pass it onto the conference of of the parties themselves."

May also took a shot at the former Conservative government, saying that after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's speech at the summit last Monday, negotiators hugged her and said "thank goodness, Canada is back," suggesting a lack of progress on Canada's part in past climate talks.

China wants all provisions binding

China's chief negotiator on Saturday said that any agreement adopted should be legally binding in its entirety, not just parts of it.

Su Wei told reporters that if a treaty is adopted at the end of the Paris negotiations, then "all the provisions, starting from the preamble to the final clauses would be legally binding."

After the news conference, Su indicated the issue was still up for negotiation.

"We have to further discuss ... try to find some proper solution," he said.

That contrasts with the U.S. position which is for some parts to be legally binding, but not countries' pledges to limit the greenhouse gas emissions. Binding emissions cuts would likely require the Obama administration to send the deal to the Republican-controlled Congress, where it would likely be struck down.

"We cannot just identify one sentence or one provision or article as not legally binding," Su said. "That's a general rule of international treaty laws. There's no doubt about that."

The Paris accord is meant to be a turning point in the world's efforts to fight climate change. Since they started in 1992, the UN talks have not been able to stop the rise in emissions, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels, blamed for warming the planet. Previous agreements only required rich countries to reduce their emissions. The new agreement would apply to all countries, but many developing nations are resisting language that would indicate a shift in responsibilities. The U.S. and other developed countries have traditionally been the only ones expected to provide financing to help poor countries deal with rising seas and other impacts of climate change. They want the new agreement to expand the donor base to include the most advanced developing countries.

Major developing countries including India and China are pushing back, amid worries that wealthy countries are trying to dodge their responsibilities.

The developing bloc says the parts of world that industrialized first — the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — have a historical responsibility to address climate change.

With files from CBC News and Reuters ©The Associated Press, 2015


"Serco farewell to NPL after 19 years of innovation [outsourced by David Cameron at Treasury] … 8 January 2015 
Serco said goodbye to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at the end of December 2014 after 19 years of extraordinary innovation and science that has seen the establishment build a world-leading reputation and deliver billions of pounds of benefit for the UK economy. During that period under Serco's management and leadership, NPL has delivered an extraordinary variety and breadth of accomplishments for the UK's economy and industry. Some of the key achievements during that time have been: 

· The beneficial impact of NPL's work to the economy is estimated at £2Bn pa. 
· In 2012, NPL's role in building the first maser to operate at room temperature was nominated by Physics World as one of the top ten breakthroughs of the year (CERN topped the list for their discovery of a Higgs-like particle). 
· NPL was instrumental in gaining a 50% increase in European funding for the EMPIR programme, with a total of €600m. 
· It has been estimated that work carried out by the Centre of Carbon Measurement at NPL will save eight million tonnes of carbon emissions reductions (2% of UK footprint) and over half a billion pounds in economic benefit [bullshit] over the next decade. 
· Annually over 145,000 people undergoing radiotherapy have relied upon NPL for accurate delivery; it has been estimated that NPL's contribution to improving the accuracy of the radiation dose patients receive can save at least an additional 145 lives each year. 
· NPL's work on graphene – the new material that could revolutionise the future of high-speed electronics – has been widely acknowledged following a paper in Nature Nanotechnology and then was cited as one of 44 papers as part of 2010's Nobel Prize in Physics. 
· NPL achieved 11% per annum growth in third–party business since 2004; such work now accounts for over 40% of the lab's revenue, with £52M orders achieved in 2014. 
· Under Serco's management, Alan Turnbull was the first NPL scientist in many years to be elected as a Fellow of The Royal Society; Professor John Pethica, NPL’s Chief Scientist was knighted, Seton Bennett was awarded a CBE, Kamal Hossain an OBE, and Patrick Gill and Michael de Podesta were awarded MBEs. 
· NPL's caesium fountain atomic clock is accurate to 1 second in 158 million years and NPL is playing a key role in introducing rigour to high frequency [death-pool] trading in the City through NPLTime." 

"Super Serco bulldozes ahead 
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER UPDATED: 23:00 GMT, 1 September 2004 
SERCO has come a long way since the 1960s when it ran the 'four-minute warning' system to alert the nation to a ballistic missile attack."

"The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission[1] to produce Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT)[2] for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. Located in Northwest Washington, D.C. at the Northwestern end of Embassy Row, it is one of the pre-1900 astronomical observatories located in an urban area; at the time of its construction, it was far from the light pollution thrown off by the (then-smaller) city center. The USNO operates the "Master Clock",[3] which provides precise time to the GPS satellite constellation run by the United States Air Force. The USNO performs radio VLBI-based positions of quasars with numerous global collaborators, in order to produce Earth Orientation parameters. Aside from its scientific mission, since 1974, the official residence of the Vice President of the United States has been Number One Observatory Circle, a house on the grounds of the Naval Observatory."

"Churchill's Sinking of the French Fleet (July 3, 1940) [Note that the "R" in Spectre denotes "Revenge" and the "E" denotes extortion] 
by SCOTT MANNING on NOVEMBER 29, 2006 
On June 13, 1940, Winston Churchill took one of several trips to France during Hitler's Blitzkrieg. After convincing the French not to sign a separate armistice with Germany just two months prior, Churchill was now being begged to release them from the obligation. When a country loses its will to fight, there’s not much you can do to inspire them to anything but quit.

That left Churchill with a loose-end on his mind: The French Fleet.

The French Fleet

By June 10, 1940, the French Army was shattered, but the French Navy was amazingly intact. François Darlan, the Admiral of the French Fleet told Churchill point-blank that the Fleet would be sunk before it was surrendered to the Germans.

Churchill later remarked of Admiral Darlan that he had “but to sail in any one of his ships to any port outside France to become the master of all French interests beyond German control." Darlan could have become "the chief of the French Resistance with a mighty weapon in his hand." Churchill believed the Admiral could have been the “Liberator of France".

But that was not to happen. Although Admiral Darlan was strong in his commitment to prevent the Germans from seizing a single French ship, Churchill was not convinced. Losing Britian's last fighting ally in the war is one thing, but allowing that ally’s fleet to fall in the hands of the Germans was something to lose sleep over.

The concern was not over the French using their fleet to assist their new conqueror. The real concern was that Germany would train their own sailors to command those ships.

Members of Britain’s own navy spent time with the commanders of the French Fleet. They were convinced that the commanders were dedicated to the cause of not surrendering to the Germans.

On June 17, France pressed for peace with Germany.

Before France could officially surrender, Churchill tried to convince his War Cabinet to attack the French Fleet. The War Cabinet refused. There were several concerns on the table. For one, the attack would surely result in the loss of British troops and ships. Second, although getting beaten by Germany and showing eagerness to throw in the towel, France was still an ally.

On June 24, France and Germany signed an armistice. Part of that agreement was the French could keep their ships, but Germany would gain control over items such as passports and tickets. Hitler treaded lightly concerning the ships and did not push for full ownership. He feared such aggression would inspire the French to keep fighting.

Hitler's concerns were not known to England.

However, on July 1, Churchill was finally able to get the backing of the War Cabinet to sink the ships if they would not be surrendered. On July 3, the British surrounded the French Fleet at the port of Mers-el-Kebir right outside Oran, Algeria. Churchill's message was clear: sail to Britain, sail to the USA, or scuttle your ships in the next six hours. At first, the French refused to speak to negotiators. Two hours later, the French showed the British an order they had received from Admiral Darlan instructing them to sail the ships to the USA if the Germans broke the armistice and demanded the ships.

Meanwhile, the British intercepted a message from the Vichy Government ordering French reinforcements to move urgently to Oran. Churchill was done playing games and ordered the attack to his commanders, "Settle everything before dark or you will have reinforcements to deal with." An hour and a half later, the British Fleet attacked. In less than ten minutes, 1,297 French soldiers were dead and three battleships were sunk. One battleship and five destroyers managed to escape.

British Response

While the French were furious over the events, the reaction in England was the exact opposite.

The day after attacking the French, Churchill went to the House of Commons to explain why he ordered the attack on the former ally. Churchill declared, "However painful, the action we have already taken should be, in itself, sufficient to dispose once and for all of the lies and Fifth Column activities that we have the slightest intention of entering into negations. We shall prosecute the war with the utmost vigour by all the means that are open to us."

For the first time since taking over as Prime Minister, Churchill received a unanimous standing ovation. Churchill had a message for the British, for Hitler, and for the world. The message was heard loud and clear.

England would not make peace with Hitler and the country was in this war for the long haul.

References

Berthon, Simon and Potts, Joanna (2006). Warlords: an extraordinary re-creation of World War II through the eyes and minds of Hitler, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin . United Kingdom: Da Capo Press.

Collier, Basil (1967). The Second World War: a military history: from Munich to Hiroshima – in one volume . New York, NY: William Morrow & Company.

Lamb, Richard (1991). Churchill as war leader (1st Carroll & Grad ed.). New York, NY: Caroll & Graf Publishers.


"12 August 2011 
Franco-Scottish alliance against England one of longest in history

A University of Manchester historian has uncovered evidence which shows how a defensive alliance against England between Scotland and France might never have formally ended – potentially making it the longest in history.

In a paper to be published next year, Dr Siobhan Talbott argues the Franco-Scottish Auld Alliance of 1295 survived centuries of enmity and war between Britain and France – even after the Act of Union was signed in 1707. Trade, she says, is a major reason for its longevity.

The prevailing view of historians that Scotland sided with the English, moving away from her friendship with France after 1560, when the country converted to Protestantism, is also disputed by Dr Talbott.

J. Macpherson, published in Scottish Field in 1967, says Dr Talbott, showed that France refused to accept Westminster’s abrogation of the Scottish side of the Auld Alliance in 1906, following the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France. By French law, a Scotsman born before 1907 still possesses the full rights and privileges of Franco-Scottish nationality.

The 716-year-old citizenship and trading privileges enjoyed by Scots in France, she suggests, are possibly intact today.

Dr Talbott said: “It’s going to be difficult to prove conclusively that Auld Alliance of 1295 is the longest in history - but there is strong evidence to suggest that this could indeed be the case.

"If we accept 1906 as an 'end date', this would make the Auld Alliance 611 years old, compared to 638 years for what many regard as world's oldest alliance between England and Portugal.

"However, when Charles de Gaulle spoke in Edinburgh in June 1942, he stated that the Auld Alliance was 'the oldest alliance in the world'."

Previously, historians have argued the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh, along with Scotland’s conversion to Protestantism, ended the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France.

But not so according to Dr Talbott: some French troops remained in Scotland and there is no reference to ending the Alliance in the text.

Even during the eighteenth century – after the Act of Union was signed – Scotland and France continued to have an active and close relationship, based on the historic Auld Alliance.

Trade flourished between the two countries, even though France was Catholic and Scotland Protestant.

Scottish merchants paid less or no customs at some French ports, whereas some ports would not trade with the English at all.

The Scots exported a range of goods including coal, wool and animal skins to France.

And French exports included salt, wine, luxury cloth, musical instruments, furniture, beds and spectacles.

Despite some difficulties for Protestant Scots, there were well established communities in Bordeaux, Paris and La Rochelle throughout the seventeenth century.

Dr Talbott said: "It has been previously recognised that trade continued to take place between the two countries in the eighteenth century.

"But by examining merchants' records from the period, I can now say that it was much more extensive than realised, and that it continued despite conflict such as war which many historians have maintained prevented it.

She added: "Scots saw their country as an independent entity throughout the eighteenth century, even after the Union of the Scottish and English monarchies in 1603 and the Union of their parliaments in 1707 - and other European nations regarded them like that too.

"This might explain why Scots seem to have more of a notion of independence than the English, who appear to more readily see themselves as 'British' - and it will be interesting to see if the results of the 2011 Census and the proposed 2014 referendum on Scottish Independence reflects this." Dr Talbott's research has been awarded the prestigious 2011 Pollard Prize by the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, for the best seminar given by a scholar within one year of completing their PhD.

Notes for editors

The paper by Dr Talbott will be published in the journal Historical Research and is entitled: 'If you were hier you could gaine what you please, for there is many English and severall Scots that you might deall with': British Commercial Interests on the French Atlantic Coast, c. 1560-1713'.

It will be published in the IHR's journal, Historical Research next year.

'Beyond 'the antiseptic realm of theoretical economic models': New Perspectives on Franco-Scottish Commerce and the Auld Alliance in the Long Seventeenth Century' is being published later this year in the Journal of Scottish Historical Research, 31:2 (November 2011). It won the Economic and Social History Society of Scotland's Research Essay Prize for 2009.

The research was carried out in national and regional archives of France, USA and UK.

Dr Talbott is available for interview

For media enquires contact:

Mike Addelman
Press Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
0161 275 0790
07717 881567
Michael.addelman@manchester.ac.uk"


"Forbes NOV 10, 2013 @ 01:48 PM 10,588 VIEWS 
The Unhealthy Truth About Obamacare's Contractors By Udayan Gupta On July 16 of this year, Sarah Kliff posted a prescient piece on the Washington Post's Wonkblog. The post, "Meet Serco, the private firm getting $1.2 billion to process your Obamacare application," reported that 90 percent of Serco's U.S. business is with the federal government and that the 25-year-old firm pretty much owes its existence to government contracting. In this case, Serco won a contract that will pay it $114 million in 2013 and that eye-popping number of $1.2 billion over the next five years. According to one outside study, it's the largest single contract for implementing the Affordable Care Act, or as it's both affectionately and derisively known, Obamacare. But in a city where everyone loves to talk but apparently few listen much, the piece must have mostly gone unread. The implementation, as we now know, has been a disaster.

Kliff also noted that Serco's experience is in paper-pushing, not healthcare. Serco is a British company, but has been doing business in the U.S. for nearly a quarter century. Serco lobbyist Alan Hill emphasized to Kliff that the U.S. arm operates as a separate company with a strict firewall, given the sensitive nature of its operations, which include processing millions of visa applications for the State and Homeland Security departments.

But Serco is also a company with a checkered present. In July, Britain placed its contracts with Serco Group and another firm under parliamentary review for charging for prisoner-related services it did not provide. The Serious Fraud Office has now launched an inquiry into the overcharging on electronic tagging contracts for offenders, following the claims by the justice secretary. In August, police were called in to investigate fraudulent behavior by Serco staff—falsifying documents under a seven year £285 million contract that calls for delivering prisoners to court on time. Last month, Serco CEO Chris Hyman resigned weeks before the launch of a government investigation into the alleged fraud.

Of course, Serco isn't the only large IT contractor working on the Affordable Care Act website. The second largest, according to the same study, is CGI, a Montreal-based multinational. Others include Booz Allen Hamilton, which infamously employed Edward Snowden, the alleged thief of vital NSA papers."

"Defense Ammunition Center . Since 2008, Serco has assisted DAC with the analysis, design, development, implementation, management/ administration, and evaluation of integrated, enterprise-wide and component-specific training, learning, knowledge management, and strategic human resource management interventions that are critical to achieving their mission. Serco holds an OPM TMA TO with DAC and also a contract through GSA Millenia Lite. When the GSA contract could not support all of DACs needs, Serco recommended the use of the OPM TMA vehicle. Through these contracts, Serco provides training program management support to deliver multi-faceted best practice solutions in training development and delivery, knowledge management, portal technologies, course conversions (ILT and CBT to WBT), mobile performance applications, and Learning Management Systems support. Serco applies the ADDIE model to all course development activities including ILT, WBT, and leading-edge technologies including mobile performance applications. Serco provided LMS support and also developed and continues to manage DAC's Ammunition Community of Excellence." 

"[Serco's dirty banker] HSBC Carbon Neutrality Reporting Guidance 2011 This Carbon Neutrality Reporting Guidance ("CNRG") document supports the preparation and reporting of carbon dioxide emissions data and carbon offset data by HSBC Holdings plc (hereafter "HSBC"). It is the responsibility of HSBC management to ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to prepare its carbon neutrality reporting in line with, in all material respects, the CNRG.

HSBC defines 'carbon neutral' to mean that worldwide operations contribute zero net carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the end of the reporting year (1 January to 31 December). The gross carbon dioxide emissions1 are measured, calculated and reported according to the guidance below. Emission reductions from offset projects are purchased throughout the year in line with internal offset policies. To be carbon neutral the total net carbon emissions2 measured in the reporting year should be equal to the total offsets purchased for that reporting year. Carbon neutral status is in part achieved with a programme of carbon emission reductions. This is achieved through a combination of energy reduction programmes and procurement of low emission electricity. This CNRG does not provide reporting guidance on the detail of these elements; however the resulting emissions reductions are reported in the carbon emissions data. 1. Carbon Emissions Scope of Reporting Carbon emission data comprises carbon dioxide arising from: 

• Energy used in buildings, vehicles and other forms of transport owned or leased by HSBC and used for business purposes. This includes 100% of emissions from the assets of joint ventures or alliances where HSBC has management contro3; 
• Emissions arising from offshored operations where HSBC retains control over the outsourced operation via contractual agreement. 
• Other business travel including air; private jet; rail; hired motorbike; taxi; hire car; boat; bus/coach; ferry/junk; tram; and other travel. Carbon dioxide emissions from acquisitions and disposals are included and terminated respectively from the date of contractual completion of the transfer of asset ownership/ leasehold. This is consistent with HSBC's financial reporting. For acquisitions, where data are not available: estimates should be prepared for additions which contribute more than 5% of the Reporting Unit (i.e. country level) annual data."

"Spectre – On a mission in Mexico City, unofficially ordered by the previous M by way of a posthumous message, James Bond kills two men arranging to blow up a stadium and gives chase to Marco Sciarra, an assassin who survived the attack. In the ensuing struggle, Bond kills Sciarra and steals his ring, which is emblazoned with a stylised octopus. On his return to London Bond is indefinitely suspended from field duty by the current M, who is in the midst of a power struggle with C, the head of the privately-backed [Serco] Joint Intelligence Service, which consists of the recently merged MI5 and MI6. C also campaigns for Britain to join "Nine Eyes", a global surveillance and intelligence co-operation initiative between nine member states [Five Eyes + BRIC]. C uses his influence to close down the '00' section, believing it to be outdated."


"8(a) Business Development Program[edit] The 8(a) Business Development Program [controlled through Serco protégée Base One Technologies and Clinton Nine Eyes servers] assists in the development of small businesses owned and operated by individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged, such as women and minorities. The following ethnic groups are classified as eligible: Black Americans; Hispanic Americans; Native Americans (American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, or Native Hawaiians); Asian Pacific Americans (persons with origins from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan [Mineta interned in WWII], China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Korea, The Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru); Subcontinent Asian Americans (persons with origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands or Nepal). In 2011, the SBA, along with the FBI and the IRS, uncovered a massive scheme to defraud this program. Civilian employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, working in concert with an employee of Alaska Native Corporation Eyak Technology LLC allegedly submitted fraudulent bills to the program, totaling over 20 million dollars, and kept the money for their own use.[26] It also alleged that the group planned to steer a further 780 million dollars towards their favored contractor.[27]"


Yours sincerely,


Field McConnell, United States Naval Academy, 1971; Forensic Economist; 30 year airline and 22 year military pilot; 23,000 hours of safety; Tel: 715 307 8222

David Hawkins Tel: 604 542-0891 Forensic Economist; former leader of oil-well blow-out teams; now sponsors Grand Juries in CSI Crime and Safety Investigation

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