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| Rep. Harman wants to eliminate funding and close National Applications Office | |
| 2009-06-27 | |
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee's intelligence and terrorism risk assessment subcommittee, has submitted two pieces of legislation; one that would prohibit DHS from spending any money on the National Applications Office (NAO), which coordinates the use of space-based U.S. satellite imagery for domestic surveillance purposes, and the second that would close the NAO altogether.
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| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #14 My apologies to people who work in circuses, but what a clown! |
| Posted by: Steven 2009-06-27 23:05 |
| #13 Redneck Jim, dead wrong on satellite capacity to "look sideways". Same goes for "before and after" so you can differentiate damage, etc. Also goes for penetrating storms wiht radars and imagery processing, things that helicopters and other airbreathing assets simply cannot do as efficiently. Modern imagery and sensing satellites can do all kinds of things "off angle". Not everything is a long stare straight down. Try learning a bit before you post. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-06-27 22:27 |
| #12 ...could provide near real-time damage assessment and help direct relief efforts. ...or fire fighting assessments. Google satellite forest fires. One of the holes in the thinking of city dwellers that is in the minds of more people in fly over country. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-06-27 21:19 |
| #11 does anyone know - is the NAO a section of the NRO (National Reconnaissance Org) or is it a separate entity? |
| Posted by: linker 2009-06-27 20:29 |
| #10 There's another problem, Satellites can only see straight down, if at an angle atmosphere causes distortion, Helicopters can see sideways, not just straight down. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-06-27 20:25 |
| #9 The satellite is much harder to put out of commission, Bright Pebbles, and the pilot doesn't have to be hauled out of bed in the middle of the night, should night footage be needed. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-06-27 17:23 |
| #8 Silence as opposed to noise Bright Pebbles. |
| Posted by: Sockpuppet of Doom 2009-06-27 16:29 |
| #7 What's the difference between a helicopter beaming live footage and a sat satellite? none as far as I can see |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2009-06-27 15:45 |
| #6 “Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like if one of these satellites were directed on your neighborhood or home, a school or place of worship – and without an adequate legal framework or operating procedures in place for regulating their use,” Imagine for a moment, what it would be like if one of these satellites were directed on your neighborhood or home, a school or place of worship after a disaster like a hurricane or flood and could provide near real-time damage assessment and help direct relief efforts. I have less than zero confidence in anything the DHS and Napalitano is up to, but my understanding is that after Katrina, there were huge problems getting sat. imagery due to the various agencies and layers of government involved. The National Applications Office is supposed to help deal with that problem. ACORN is probably more interested in the census TIGER files than satellite imagery. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-06-27 14:10 |
| #5 You don't get a kickback or campaign donations from NAO, but Google.... |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-06-27 12:20 |
| #4 As if Bambi would give up his spy satellites regardless of what Congress said. Why do you think ACORN wants the GPS of the front door of everyone's house? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-06-27 12:07 |
| #3 I'm normally reluctant to praise Dems for anything (they rarely do anything praiseworthy as far as I'm concerned), but good for her. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2009-06-27 11:50 |
| #2 As if Bambi would give up his spy satellites regardless of what Congress said. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2009-06-27 10:19 |
| #1 "It has access to military satellites to observe the United States. It has been described as a clearinghouse for requests by law enforcement, border security, and other domestic homeland security agencies to access feeds from spy satellites that have collected data for mainly scientific and military uses in the past. The name of the agency has been described as "deceptive." "As of October 2, 2007, the United States Congress has filed an injunction against the NAO, that orders it not to begin operations. This is due largely to questions about civil liberty issues. Some in Congress want to shut down the agency because of concerns that the satellites could be used to create a “Big Brother” in the sky." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-06-27 09:11 |