From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Sep 2 12:15:18 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 08:15:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] North San Diego County business briefs Message-ID: <20040902081439.S20580-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9/2/04 North San Diego County business briefs http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/09/02/business/news/20_42_319_1_04.txt --- SAIC donates $4 million SAN DIEGO (City News Service) ----- Science Applications International Corp. donated $4 million to UC San Diego's Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management, the university announced Monday. SAIC made the gift in honor of Dr. J. Robert Beyster upon his retirement as the company's board chairman. The gift will be used to promote global entrepreneurship, employee ownership and economic development through consulting, training and international projects at the Beyster Institute. SAIC, which has an office in Rancho Bernardo, is involved in some of the U.S. government's most sensitive work, from redesigning Army combat systems to bioweapons defense and improving electronic snooping for the National Security Agency. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 3 13:20:11 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 09:20:11 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Lawsuit cites more warnings of toxic dust at Nevada nuclear dump Message-ID: <20040903091929.P20580-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> Lawsuit cites more warnings of toxic dust at Nevada nuclear dump http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2253386 --- LAS VEGAS Two former industrial hygienists are claiming in new court filings they were fired after warning government contractors about toxic dust in the tunnel at the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Lawyer Joe Egan says contractors completed the test tunnel for the Yucca Mountain project in 1997 in record time by sacrificing workers' health. The companies deny the allegations -- which were first made in a civil lawsuit filed in March seeking class-action status and unspecified damages. A spokeswoman for chief Yucca Mountain contractor -- Bechtel S-A-I-C -- says the companies will vigorously defend their position. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 3 13:20:59 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 09:20:59 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Lawsuit cites warnings of toxic dust at Nevada nuclear dump site Message-ID: <20040903092027.O20580-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 02, 2004 Lawsuit cites warnings of toxic dust at Nevada nuclear dump site http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2004/sep/02/090210676.html --- By KEN RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS (AP) - Two former industrial hygienists claim in new court filings that they were fired after warning government contractors about toxic dust in the first tunnel at the site of a planned national nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Contractors completed the test tunnel for the Yucca Mountain project in 1997 in record time, said Joe Egan, a lawyer representing workers claiming they were exposed to dangerous silica dust. "They sacrificed the workers to save time and money," Egan said Thursday. The companies have denied the allegations first made in a civil lawsuit filed in March in Clark County District Court. It seeks class-action status and unspecified damages. "We're going to vigorously defend our position," said Beatrice Reilly, an official with the chief Yucca Mountain contractor, Bechtel SAIC Co., who said she spoke for all the contractors. Drilling began in 1992, but a mandatory respirator protection program did not begin until March 1996. Judy Kallas, a former industrial hygienist for Omaha, Neb.,-based Kiewit Construction Co., alleged that her supervisor ordered her in 1996 to change her notes about toxic silica levels in tunnels. Kallas was fired later that year. Former Bechtel SAIC Co. industrial hygienist Wilbert L. Townsend was dismissed in March 2002, a month after warning supervisors that workers were being overexposed to silica and other harmful dust, the document said. Egan estimated that 1,200 or more workers and visitors were exposed over the years to dangerous levels of dust at the site, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Silicosis is an incurable and sometimes fatal lung disease that can develop years after exposure to silica dust. Egan also is lead attorney in Nevada's fight against the government plan to bury the nation's radioactive waste at the Yucca site. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 3 16:33:35 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2004 12:33:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC's Hicks and Associates, Inc. Awarded a Design and Demonstration Contract by DARPA Message-ID: <20040903123234.M20580-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> Friday September 3, 10:17 am ET SAIC's Hicks and Associates, Inc. Awarded a Design and Demonstration Contract by DARPA http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040903/dcf008_1.html --- MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- A team led by Hicks and Associates, Inc. (H&AI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Science Application International Corporation (SAIC), announced today it has been awarded a $686,148 contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). If all options are awarded, the cost plus fixed fee contract could have a total value of up to $4.7 million over 23 months. H&AI is part of SAIC's Transformation, Test, Training and Logistics Group. The H&AI team will design and demonstrate a new low cost, low probability of intercept signaling technology. The project is a result of teaming between H&AI and Gibbons Systems Inc., the inventor and owner of the enabling technology, and is an example of H&AI's new technology incubation thrust. The Rescue Transponder project is designed to provide advanced signaling technology that could result in a fast transition to military use by the Department of Defense. Robert Tuohy is the H&AI program manager. Hicks and Associates, Inc. provides counsel to senior decision-makers in the national security community in the areas of defense transformation, homeland security, nuclear strategies and futures, and the future security environment. H&AI is co-located with SAIC in its McLean, Va., offices. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Sep 4 14:29:08 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2004 10:29:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC unit wins defense design and demo work Message-ID: <20040904102845.C20580-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/03/04 SAIC unit wins defense design and demo work http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/defense/24425-1.html --- By William Welsh Staff Writer Hicks and Associates Inc., a Science Applications International Corp.-owned company, has won a 23-month, $4.7 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to provide design and demonstration services, the company announced today. Under the contract, H&AI of McLean, Va., will design and demonstrate a signaling technology that is low cost and has a low probability of being intercepted. The project is a result of teaming between H&AI and Gibbons Systems Inc., the inventor and owner of the enabling technology. H&AI is an incubator for promising technologies. The project is designed to develop an advanced signaling technology that can be used quickly by the military. H&AI, a provider of solutions for defense, homeland security and intelligence agencies, is a subsidiary of SAIC of San Diego. SAIC has about 43,000 employees, annual sales $6.7 billion and is ranked No. 5 on Washington Technologys 2004 Top 100 list, which measures federal contracting revenue. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Sep 9 12:05:24 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2004 08:05:24 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Electronic Voting Machines Add Uncertainty to Close Election Race Message-ID: <20040909080343.J20580-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 8th, 2004 Electronic Voting Machines Add Uncertainty to Close Election Race http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11518 --- by Stephen Miller,Special to Corpwatch Yesterday, Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of California, joined Alameda county in a False Claims Act case against Diebold Election Systems seeking damages and guarantees for future performance on over $13 million worth of voting terminals purchased by the county. Last week, the Secretary of State of California, Kevin Shelley re-affirmed a ban on four California counties planning to use brand-new Diebold machines that failed to meet certification requirements in time for the November elections. At the same time, Shelley allowed 11 California counties, including Alameda, to re-certify their touch screen voting systems after meeting 23 new security requirements. This is only part of a flurry of activity across the country, as dozens of election commissions, county clerks and voting registrars scramble to maintain public confidence in an election system shaken by the 2000 Presidential election and worries about failures by hi-tech electronic solutions. These worries are exacerbated by the fact that touch screen voting machines will tally approximately 30% of the votes cast in the U.S. elections this November. In the swing states, where the election is expected to be close, 14 of 20 states (representing over 200 electoral votes) will have at least one county using electronic voting, many for the first time. (See swing state maps.) Following the 2000 presidential election and the Florida hanging chads debacle, Congress passed the "Helping America Vote Act (HAVA)" allocating $3.86 billion in federal matching funds to overhaul America's voting infrastructure. With state matching funds, the total spent on preventing "another Florida" has been estimated as high as $5 billion through this election cycle, according to The Wall Street Journal. Each state has taken its own approach to meeting the congressional requirements, but no application of this money has been more controversial than states purchasing direct-recording-electronic voting systems (DREs), which generally do not create a paper trail, to replace punch card and lever-operated voting systems. Almost 30 percent of registered voters now live in jurisdictions that use DREs, rising from just 13 percent in the 2000 election, according to Electionline.org, a Pew Charitable trust sponsored non-partisan election research institute. The Federal Election Commission states that 19 companies produce DREs, but the market is dominated by just four: Election Systems and Software (ES&S), Diebold Election Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems, and Hart Intercivic. Between DREs and other voting technologies, machines of these four companies will tally nearly 100 million votes this Election Day, the vast majority of those cast. Furthermore, nearly 50 percent of precincts will use machines created by ES&S. While this private oligopoly on the voting machine market is troubling in itself, these concerns have been exacerbated by a litany of poor security, conflicts of interest, and a lack of planning for the future of the machines purchased. Security risks "If a voting machine makes an error, either unintentional or through malice, I want there to be a very good chance it will be caught," says David Dill, a professor at Stanford's Department of Computer Science. Dill is one of the foremost critics of the way electronic voting machine manufacturers handle security issues, and with good reason. The manufacturers consider their security procedures and software to be proprietary, and have refused requests by computer scientists to test the code for vulnerabilities. Ironically, they have also been lax in protecting that code, even transmitting code via unsecured websites available to anyone using the Internet. The first publicly acknowledged major security breach occurred in Georgia in 2002. Democratic candidates enjoying comfortable leads in advance polls were defeated on election day. The votes were cast using over 19,000 Diebold electronic voting machines. (Georgia paid $54 million for the system.) After the election, a former Diebold engineer revealed that Diebold had changed the software in the machines three times after the software was certified, an act unbeknownst to the Georgia election officials, and illegal under Georgia law. While, election officials have found no proof that the results of the election (the first Republican governor in Georgia in 130 years) were affected by the alleged violations, lacking a paper audit trail they have also been unable to prove the opposite. Even more controversy arose after activists Beverly Harris and David Allen found a bevy of secret files openly accessible on an old website of Global Election Systems, now owned by Diebold and whose software is the foundation of Diebold machines. Among the 40,000 files accessible on the website were "the software used to tally the votes in an election," says Allen. "It was pretty much the blueprints to the vault: everything you would need to know if you were looking to hack one of these machines." Aviel Rubin, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's Information Security Institute, was asked to review the Diebold code accessible on the company's website and used by its machines. Rubin and his colleagues found numerous security issues with the code, including the use of a consumer version of Microsoft Access as the database in which votes were stored, a product that has few security measures. The report, which garnered front page news in a number of newspapers, was released only days after Maryland had purchased 11,000 Diebold DRE machines at a price of $55.6 million. Maryland then had the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) review Rubin's findings. SAIC verified Rubin's concerns, reporting that they had "identified several high risk vulnerabilities of the managerial, operational, and technical controls for [Diebold's] AccuVote-TS voting system." The SAIC report continued, "If these vulnerabilities are exploited, significant impact could occur on the accuracy, integrity, and availability of election results." The controversy in Maryland subsequently caused Ohio, who was in the midst of contract negotiations to purchase electronic voting machines, to investigate the security software of all four major vendors. The December, 2003, report to the Ohio secretary of state found Diebold machines possessed 15 security risks, while ES&S machines had 1, Sequoia machines had 15, and Hart InterCivic machines had 10. Of those risks identified, Diebold machines had five that the report considered "high." The report also found a number of "high" risks among the other DRE manufacturers: four for Hart Intercivic, three for Sequoia, and one for ES&S. Among the high security risks was Diebold's policy of providing "supervisor cards" that allow the voting session to be started or terminated, which had the same security PIN code nationwide. ES&S machines had a function, intended to retrieve votes from a broken machine, which could add votes multipley warning. Also, the process of opening and closing the entire polling station on ES&S machines was controlled b a supervisor function that did not require a password, and provided no warning to a worker that the poll was about to be closed. Sequoia polling stations could be closed by flipping a switch on the back of the DRE that was accessible to all voters. "What we've witnessed with the Diebold scenario is a complete and utter lack of transparency," says Rubin. "Diebold hid out in their labs and developed a voting machine without any security expertise, without any government requirements on them." Many of these problems have since been fixed with patches. But as these companies insist that their code remain proprietary, the public remains in the dark as to whether these patches will have their own unintended consequences. "They're saying trust us, and I don't," says Dill, who cntinues to investigate the securiy functions of DREs. "I don't have any reason to believe they're doing bad things, but I don't want to trust anyone with the integrity of my vote. I don't want to put the control of my government in the hands of a voting machine company." Conflicts of interest In August, 2003, in a decidedly impolitic move, Walden O' Dell, CEO of Diebold, wrote a fundraising letter promising to "help deliver Ohio's electoral votes" to President Bush. O'Dell's comments brought ut of the shadows the company's history of staunchly supporting the Republican Party, and shed some light on the conflicts of interest within the DRE manufacturing industry as a whole. Diebold and its executives have contributed some $409,170 to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee since 2001, while contributing only $2,500 to Democrats in the same time frame. In June, after the donations came under scrutiny following the d for an investigation. The connection "was a complete surprise to the administration," a spokeswoman for the governor told The Washington Post, making clear that the company's lobbyist had not made his conflicts of interest known. All four major electronic voting manufacturers are actively engaged in lobbying. Between 2001 and 2003, the latest year for which data is available, the four companies had lobbyists in at least 21 states, mostly seeking to procure funding for the purchase of their machines. One such lobbying effort was that launched to pass California's Voting Mod Republican, has a controlling financial stake in the McCarthy Group, which in turn owns ES&S. Nebraska voters cast their votes on ES&S DREs. Further, Michael McCarthy, chairman of the McCarthy Group, served as Hagel's campaign treasurer from 1999 until 2002. -Leadrs of the nation's two largest DRE manufacturers, Diebold and ES&S, are a pair of brothers. Bob Urosevich is president of Diebold's election system division, while Todd Urosevich is a vice-president of ES&S. -Alfie Charles left his job as the press secretary for California Secretary of State Bill Jones to become a spokesman for Sequoia in 2002. It was Jones' office that pressed for the passage of the $200 million fundingCounty, Nevada-where Las Vegas lies-has been a lobbyist for Sequoia since 2001. In 2003, Nevada purchased Sequoia voting machines for the entire state. -Sandra Mortham was hired as a lobbyist by ES&S to sell DREs in Florida, where she had served as secretary of state from 1995 to 1999. This revolving door between elected officials and the voting machine companies, coupled with the money spent lobbying and contributed to candidates, makes clear that in many states, the choice to switch to DREs in this election cycle has not simply been a matter of objective decision making, but one where money and political persuasion has held sway. Planning for the future In the months since the security scandals broke, the battle over DRE machines has increasingly focused on whether a voter-verified paprs failed to accurately reflect in the printed record votes cast in Spanish on the DRE, proving that while a printed record may provide insurance against human corruption, it does not prevent computer error from producing equal havoc. Even when they work, though, the units have one substantial flaw: they are expensive, adding about $500 to the cost of each machine. JudyTaylor, an elections director of St. Louis County, Missouri, told the Associated Press that, "printers will add $12 million to the $25 million bill to replace punch cards with touch-screen machines." Eighteen states using DREs in the upcoming election have no legislation requiring VVPAT, while at least another 14 states that will use DREs are considering VVPAT legislation, according to an April stdy by Electionline.org. The future of DRE machines voting is filled with as many questions as it is this election cycle. "There nothing in HAVA that speaks to the on-going costs of touch screen voting," says Bruce Bradley, the Assistant Registrar of Voters for Ventura County, California. Rebecca Mercuri, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a critic of DRE security flaws ivented VVPAT technology but did not patent it. She notes that those upkeep costs may be extensive. "They include updating the warehouses so we can store these systems properly, covering the costs of additional personnel that are going to have to have to take care of these systems. In some cases, this is quite extensive because the regular personnel they have had, even on Election ay, cannot handle this equipment." What the future portends for the upkeep of DREs may prove to be a bigger problem than their use this election, when the machines are new. "What happens 10 years down the road when all this equipment starts to break down?" asks Mercuri. "Are we going to spend another $3.8 billion? Will the federal government fork that over, or is it going to be taken over by the states and communities?" According to an August company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Diebold is still waiting to be paid $38 million by San Diego and two other Caifornia counties that bought touch-screen voting machines. According to Bloomerg.com, a financial advice news site, the Secretary of State's decision not to certify could mean those bills have to be written off . CEO Walden O'Dell says Diebold plans to stick with the voting machine unit regardless of profits. He says he sel find out if he was right. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Sep 13 19:30:53 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 15:30:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SECURITY: INTERNAL MINISTRY PRESENTS PROGRAMME AT EASTERN FAIR Message-ID: <20040913152941.M49793-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 13 September 2004 SECURITY: INTERNAL MINISTRY PRESENTS PROGRAMME AT EASTERN FAIR http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200409131832-1175-RT1-CRO-0-NF82&page=0&id=agionline-eng.italyonline --- SECURITY: INTERNAL MINISTRY PRESENTS PROGRAMME AT EASTERN FAIR (AGI) - Bari, 13 Sept - The Department of Public Security of the Internal Ministry has chosen the Eastern Fair, the trade fair held in Bari from the 11th to the 19th, to present the initiatives in progress as part of the National Operational Programme "Safety for the Development of the South of Italy". In an exposition space in pavilion 96 some technological tools are being presented for the safety and control of the territory like the SAIC RTR-4 In Sight to check for the presence of explosive material in luggage and packages, the portable kit to reveal the presence of drugs in deliveries, the SIDF (military counter-espionage organisation) to verify the authenticity of identity documents. Visitors can also experience the satellite system which allows the Forest Ranger Corps to get the position and navigation to locate people in certain points of the territory and the environmental photos for the aerial tele-revelation of the territory. The security programme also proposes sensibilising citizens to the issue of legality". (AGI) 131832 SET 04 From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Sep 14 14:39:38 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 10:39:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC tells of accounting error Message-ID: <20040914103841.U396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 14, 2004 SAIC tells of accounting error http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040914-9999-1b14calbrfs.html --- San Diego's SAIC said it made a $13 million accounting error. In a letter issued to its employee shareholders, the employee-owned engineering and technical services conglomerate said financial results filed for fiscal year 2003, which ended in Jan. 31, 2003, overstated the company's income tax provision by $13 million. The letter, signed by chief executive Ken Dahlberg and chief financial officer Tom Darcy, said a forthcoming restatement will increase SAIC's net income in 2003 from $246 million to $259 million. The restatement will have no effect on earnings per share, or reported revenue of $5.9 billion, Darcy said in an interview. The company is initiating a comprehensive review of its income tax liabilities after encountering difficulties reconciling some accounts, Darcy said. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Sep 14 18:22:35 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 14:22:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] After Olympics contractors leave behind IT legacy Message-ID: <20040914142134.E396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/13/04; Vol. 19 No. 12 After Olympics contractors leave behind IT legacy http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/19_12/cover-stories/24520-1.html --- By Brad Grimes The 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens went off without a hitch. Venues were finished in the nick of time, IT infrastructure was laid out and security was up to the task. Although the game's unprecedented cost -- from $8.5 billion to $12 billion, by various estimates -- caused much handwringing, the advanced systems deployed for the Olympics will serve Greece for years to come. Greece "had an objective, probably more so than any other country that's hosted an Olympics, and that was to leave an extensive legacy," said David Tubbs, senior vice president and general manager of justice and security solutions at Science Applications International Corp. "Almost all of our system stays." SAIC of San Diego was the lead contractor for the command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) system that the Greek government used to monitor the games. It comprised 29 subsystems, Tubbs said, several of which remain operational today, including a massive digital radio system. SI International Inc. of Reston, Va., played a smaller but still important role in securing the games, installing radiation detectors and related software at locations throughout Greece. Those systems, deployed under a $3 million contract from the Energy Department as part of its Second Line of Defense program, will continue to keep illegal shipments of nuclear materials out of the country, company officials said. "It's totally operated by the Greeks," said Larry Darbonne, project manager at SI International. "We may provide additional systems there in the future." NOT A TIME TO EXPERIMENT It's easy for SAIC and SI International officials to look back now and admire their work, but like all the Athens Olympics preparations, integrating security systems was an enormous challenge. "What the Greek officials thought they needed was more than I'd seen in any previous Olympics," Tubbs said. That's a significant observation, as Tubbs knows what he's talking about. He was head of the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where SAIC also handled security integration. He was also an FBI observer at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and one of the senior FBI officials for security at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where SAIC was a subcontractor. But those sites already had extensive infrastructure in place. And except for Salt Lake City, they were operating in the pre-Sept. 11 era when security concerns weren't as great. When the Greek government issued a request for information in September 2002, it was 1,500 pages long, Tubbs said. "Our response was around 15,000 pages," he said. SAIC ended up winning a contract for about $287 million from the Ministry of Public Order, which is the Greek law enforcement agency, and work began in May 2003 -- or at least some of it began. One of the greatest challenges Tubbs and his team of 200 faced was how to implement systems at facilities that hadn't been completed. For instance, Tubbs said, it's hard to know where to locate video surveillance cameras around a venue under construction. "Normally we'd have a lot more time to do this project, but the venues were completed on a different time schedule," Tubbs said. As a result, SAIC couldn't take any chances on new technology. The company used many of the same systems it deployed for the 2002 winter games and leaned heavily on off-the-shelf products for command and control, and decision support systems. "We tried to use products we knew worked. You don't experiment with the Olympics," Tubbs said. Perhaps the most significant off-the-shelf system SAIC deployed was a terrestrial trunk radio system to connect law enforcement workers throughout the country. The system, known as Tetra, is a digital radio standard in Europe that allows large groups of mobile users to share fewer radio frequencies, because the trunking equipment allocates available channels. Motorola Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill., and Nokia Corp. of Finland supplied the 30,000 radio terminals and 100 base stations required to build the radio network, which will remain as a primary communication system for Greek law enforcement. SAIC will provide ongoing service and maintenance for up to 10 years. In addition, 300 of 1,800 surveillance cameras that SAIC installed for the games will become a permanent part of Greek security, monitoring high-traffic public areas. The security infrastructure that SAIC helped deploy for nine Greek ports, including motion sensors, also will stay behind. Tubbs said during the games, sensors alerted authorities to journalists jumping a fence, and cameras caught people trying to bribe their way into venues. In both cases, the integrated system, which fed into a central command center at police headquarters, helped authorities react quickly. A ubiquitous blimp, which won't continue to fly over Athens, helped authorities identify better ways of managing and redirecting crowds. Coming off two straight Olympics as prime contractor, SAIC will continue to apply what it has learned to complex law enforcement IT and port security contracts, Tubbs said. SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE To prepare for the Olympics, organizers approached the International Atomic Energy Agency, which steered them toward the U.S. Energy Department, for help in detecting nuclear and other radiological materials. As part of its Second Line of Defense program, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration helps other countries set up the systems required to detect and deter illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. In November 2003, the Energy Department awarded SI International a contract to integrate radiation sensors and develop software that would allow inspectors to assess and handle alerts. Darbonne couldn't say how many systems there were or where they were located, "because then people might try to defeat them." But he said the company was responsible for deploying handheld and fixed detection portals supplied by a pair of vendors and writing software that could pull together radiation and video data on a single screen to help security personnel determine whether or not there was a threat. SI International also worked with experts from the Pacific Northwest and the Los Alamos national laboratories. Pacific Northwest was responsible for training Greek inspectors on using the systems, both at its Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response in Richland, Wash., and in Greece. "An alarm doesn't necessarily mean a health or safety issue," said Dick Pappas, a senior research scientist at Pacific Northwest who worked on the training. "Radiation alarms can come from innocent sources." Dan Cooley, senior vice president for network and telecommunication solutions at SI International, said it was the first time the company had been involved in integrating radiation detection systems, although it had worked with the technology in other capacities, such as validating the accuracy of the equipment. Cooley said the company plans to parlay its expertise into more business when the Energy Department moves forward with similar deployments. "We do expect to grow this at other locations," he said. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Sep 16 11:13:26 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 07:13:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] November Surprise? Message-ID: <20040916071023.A396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 15, 2004 November Surprise? http://www.guerrillanews.com/corporate_crime/doc5256.html --- Stephen Miller, September 15, 2004 Last week, Bill Lockyer, Attorney General of California, joined Alameda county in a False Claims Act case against Diebold Election Systems seeking damages and guarantees for future performance on over $13 million worth of voting terminals purchased by the county. Last week, the Secretary of State of California, Kevin Shelley re-affirmed a ban on four California counties planning to use brand-new Diebold machines that failed to meet certification requirements in time for the November elections. At the same time, Shelley allowed 11 California counties, including Alameda, to re-certify their touch screen voting systems after meeting 23 new security requirements. This is only part of a flurry of activity across the country, as dozens of election commissions, county clerks and voting registrars scramble to maintain public confidence in an election system shaken by the 2000 Presidential election and worries about failures by hi-tech electronic solutions. These worries are exacerbated by the fact that touch screen voting machines will tally approximately 30% of the votes cast in the U.S. elections this November. In the swing states, where the election is expected to be close, 14 of 20 states (representing over 200 electoral votes) will have at least one county using electronic voting, many for the first time. (See swing state maps.) Following the 2000 presidential election and the Florida hanging chads debacle, Congress passed the "Helping America Vote Act (HAVA)" allocating $3.86 billion in federal matching funds to overhaul America's voting infrastructure. With state matching funds, the total spent on preventing "another Florida" has been estimated as high as $5 billion through this election cycle, according to The Wall Street Journal. Each state has taken its own approach to meeting the congressional requirements, but no application of this money has been more controversial than states purchasing direct-recording-electronic voting systems (DREs), which generally do not create a paper trail, to replace punch card and lever-operated voting systems. Almost 30 percent of registered voters now live in jurisdictions that use DREs, rising from just 13 percent in the 2000 election, according to Electionline.org, a Pew Charitable trust sponsored non-partisan election research institute. The Federal Election Commission states that 19 companies produce DREs, but the market is dominated by just four: Election Systems and Software (ES&S), Diebold Election Systems, Sequoia Voting Systems, and Hart Intercivic. Between DREs and other voting technologies, machines of these four companies will tally nearly 100 million votes this Election Day, the vast majority of those cast. Furthermore, nearly 50 percent of precincts will use machines created by ES&S. While this private oligopoly on the voting machine market is troubling in itself, these concerns have been exacerbated by a litany of poor security, conflicts of interest, and a lack of planning for the future of the machines purchased. Security risks "If a voting machine makes an error, either unintentional or through malice, I want there to be a very good chance it will be caught," says David Dill, a professor at Stanford's Department of Computer Science. Dill is one of the foremost critics of the way electronic voting machine manufacturers handle security issues, and with good reason. The manufacturers consider their security procedures and software to be proprietary, and have refused requests by computer scientists to test the code for vulnerabilities. Ironically, they have also been lax in protecting that code, even transmitting code via unsecured websites available to anyone using the Internet. The first publicly acknowledged major security breach occurred in Georgia in 2002. Democratic candidates enjoying comfortable leads in advance polls were defeated on election day. The votes were cast using over 19,000 Diebold electronic voting machines. (Georgia paid $54 million for the system.) After the election, a former Diebold engineer revealed that Diebold had changed the software in the machines three times after the software was certified, an act unbeknownst to the Georgia election officials, and illegal under Georgia law. While, election officials have found no proof that the results of the election (the first Republican governor in Georgia in 130 years) were affected by the alleged violations, lacking a paper audit trail they have also been unable to prove the opposite. Even more controversy arose after writer Beverly Harris and publisher David Allen brought to public attention a bevy of secret files openly accessible on an old website of Global Election Systems, now owned by Diebold and whose software is the foundation of Diebold machines. Among the 40,000 files accessible on the website were "the software used to tally the votes in an election," says Allen. "It was pretty much the blueprints to the vault: everything you would need to know if you were looking to hack one of these machines." Aviel Rubin, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's Information Security Institute, was asked to review the Diebold code accessible on the company's website and used by its machines. Rubin and his colleagues found numerous security issues with the code, including the use of a consumer version of Microsoft Access as the database in which votes were stored, a product that has few security measures. The report, which garnered front page news in a number of newspapers, was released only days after Maryland had purchased 11,000 Diebold DRE machines at a price of $55.6 million. Maryland then had the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) review Rubin's findings. SAIC verified Rubin's concerns, reporting that they had "identified several high risk vulnerabilities of the managerial, operational, and technical controls for [Diebold's] AccuVote-TS voting system." The SAIC report continued, "If these vulnerabilities are exploited, significant impact could occur on the accuracy, integrity, and availability of election results." The controversy in Maryland subsequently caused Ohio, who was in the midst of contract negotiations to purchase electronic voting machines, to investigate the security software of all four major vendors. The December, 2003, report to the Ohio secretary of state found Diebold machines possessed 15 security risks, while ES&S machines had 17, Sequoia machines had 15, and Hart InterCivic machines had 10. Of those risks identified, Diebold machines had five that the report considered "high." The report also found a number of "high" risks among the other DRE manufacturers: four for Hart Intercivic, three for Sequoia, and one for ES&S. Among the high security risks was Diebold's policy of providing "supervisor cards" that allow the voting session to be started or terminated, which had the same security PIN code nationwide. ES&S machines had a function, intended to retrieve votes from a broken machine, which could add votes multiple times to the overall tally without any warning. Also, the process of opening and closing the entire polling station on ES&S machines was controlled by a supervisor function that did not require a password, and provided no warning to a worker that the poll was about to be closed. Sequoia polling stations could be closed by flipping a switch on the back of the DRE that was accessible to all voters. "What we've witnessed with the Diebold scenario is a complete and utter lack of transparency," says Rubin. "Diebold hid out in their labs and developed a voting machine without any security expertise, without any government requirements on them." Many of these problems have since been fixed with patches. But as these companies insist that their code remain proprietary, the public remains in the dark as to whether these patches will have their own unintended consequences. "They're saying trust us, and I don't," says Dill, who continues to investigate the security functions of DREs. "I don't have any reason to believe they're doing bad things, but I don't want to trust anyone with the integrity of my vote. I don't want to put the control of my government in the hands of a voting machine company." Conflicts of interest In August, 2003, in a decidedly impolitic move, Walden O' Dell, CEO of Diebold, wrote a fundraising letter promising to "help deliver Ohio's electoral votes" to President Bush. O'Dell's comments brought out of the shadows the company's history of staunchly supporting the Republican Party, and shed some light on the conflicts of interest within the DRE manufacturing industry as a whole. Diebold and its executives have contributed some $409,170 to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee since 2001, while contributing only $2,500 to Democrats in the same time frame. In June, after the donations came under scrutiny following the revelations of security flaws year, Diebold's board of directors banned further contributions by company executives. The other three major DRE manufacturers, while still contributing heavily, tend to cultivate both major parties. In 2001, ES&S and its executives gave $21,900 to Republicans and $24,550 to Democrats, Sequoia and executives gave $3,500 to Republicans and $18,500 to Democrats, and Hart InterCivic and executives donated $3,750 to Republicans and $2,500 to Democrats. The companies are also engaged in lobbying efforts that, even if legal, bring into question the objectivity of states' voting machine acquisition process. For instance, lobbyist Gilbert J. Genn was lobbying for both Diebold and SAIC in the Maryland legislature, where the state had hired SAIC to test the reliability and security functions of the state's newly purchased Diebold DRE machines. Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, a Republican, asked for an investigation. The connection "was a complete surprise to the administration," a spokeswoman for the governor told The Washington Post, making clear that the company's lobbyist had not made his conflicts of interest known. All four major electronic voting manufacturers are actively engaged in lobbying. Between 2001 and 2003, the latest year for which data is available, the four companies had lobbyists in at least 21 states, mostly seeking to procure funding for the purchase of their machines. One such lobbying effort was that launched to pass California's Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002, or Proposition 41, that allowed the state to secure a $200 million bond to purchase DREs. The two largest contributors in favor of the proposition were Sequoia and ES&S, contributing $100,000 and $50,000 respectively. After a flurry of television ads, the proposition passed with a bare 51.6 percent majority. In addition to the contributions and lobbying dollars spent, there are other conflicts of interest that have called into question the independence of the DRE manufacturers. Among the conflicts: -Senator Charles Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, has a controlling financial stake in the McCarthy Group, which in turn owns ES&S. Nebraska voters cast their votes on ES&S DREs. Further, Michael McCarthy, chairman of the McCarthy Group, served as Hagel's campaign treasurer from 1999 until 2002. -Leaders of the nation's two largest DRE manufacturers, Diebold and ES&S, are a pair of brothers. Bob Urosevich is president of Diebold's election system division, while Todd Urosevich is a vice-president of ES&S. -Alfie Charles left his job as the press secretary for California Secretary of State Bill Jones to become a spokesman for Sequoia in 2002. It was Jones' office that pressed for the passage of the $200 million funding initiative for DRE machines. -Kathryn Ferguson, once the election chief in Clark County, Nevada-where Las Vegas lies-has been a lobbyist for Sequoia since 2001. In 2003, Nevada purchased Sequoia voting machines for the entire state. -Sandra Mortham was hired as a lobbyist by ES&S to sell DREs in Florida, where she had served as secretary of state from 1995 to 1999. This revolving door between elected officials and the voting machine companies, coupled with the money spent lobbying and contributed to candidates, makes clear that in many states, the choice to switch to DREs in this election cycle has not simply been a matter of objective decision making, but one where money and political persuasion has held sway. Planning for the future In the months since the security scandals broke, the battle over DRE machines has increasingly focused on whether a voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) should be required for a DRE to be certified for use in the upcoming election. California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has lead the way in requiring that all electronic voting systems have paper verification in time for July, 2006 elections, but most states will go without a VVPAT this year. But even the VVPAT technology is not flawless. An August presentation of a Sequoia machine before California lawmakers failed to accurately reflect in the printed record votes cast in Spanish on the DRE, proving that while a printed record may provide insurance against human corruption, it does not prevent computer error from producing equal havoc. Even when they work, though, the units have one substantial flaw: they are expensive, adding about $500 to the cost of each machine. Judy Taylor, an elections director of St. Louis County, Missouri, told the Associated Press that, "printers will add $12 million to the $25 million bill to replace punch cards with touch-screen machines." Eighteen states using DREs in the upcoming election have no legislation requiring VVPAT, while at least another 14 states that will use DREs are considering VVPAT legislation, according to an April study by Electionline.org. The future of DRE machines voting is filled with as many questions as it is this election cycle. "There nothing in HAVA that speaks to the on-going costs of touch screen voting," says Bruce Bradley, the Assistant Registrar of Voters for Ventura County, California. Rebecca Mercuri, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a critic of DRE security flaws invented VVPAT technology but did not patent it. She notes that those upkeep costs may be extensive. "They include updating the warehouses so we can store these systems properly, covering the costs of additional personnel that are going to have to have to take care of these systems. In some cases, this is quite extensive because the regular personnel they have had, even on Election Day, cannot handle this equipment." What the future portends for the upkeep of DREs may prove to be a bigger problem than their use this election, when the machines are new. "What happens 10 years down the road when all this equipment starts to break down?" asks Mercuri. "Are we going to spend another $3.8 billion? Will the federal government fork that over, or is it going to be taken over by the states and communities?" According to an August company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Diebold is still waiting to be paid $38 million by San Diego and two other California counties that bought touch-screen voting machines. According to Bloomerg.com, a financial advice news site, the Secretary of State's decision not to certify could mean those bills have to be written off . CEO Walden O'Dell says Diebold plans to stick with the voting machine unit regardless of profits. He says he sees it as a civic duty. "The country had a crisis, it was instantly apparent to me that we could help." O'Dell has no regrets, come November, elected officials, however selected, will find out if he was right. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 17 13:13:33 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 09:13:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Emerging Weapons of Mass Destruction Technologies: Impact on U.S. Security Message-ID: <20040917091238.N396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 17, 2004 Emerging Weapons of Mass Destruction Technologies: Impact on U.S. Security http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/9/emw159270.htm --- The World Future Society U.S. National Capital Region Chapter on September 23, 2004 will host a dinner discussion of emerging weapons of mass destruction and the new and changing threat this will present to U.S. national security efforts. Forrest Waller is Senior Scientist and Corporate Officer in the Strategies Group of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). His group has surveyed emerging technology developments with the potential to create "new kinds" of WMD or disruptive military technologies. The findings are thought-provoking and not a little scary. Mr. Waller will explain upcoming changes in information technologies, biological technologies, nanoscale technologies, and advanced energy sources and materials. In each of these areas, he finds the potential for improved weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and/or enablers of discrete new WMDs. Next time, the planes might not need pilots... (PRWEB) September 17, 2004 -- U.S. Homeland Security Efforts, to be effective must address the new and emerging weapons of mass destruction threats and correctly assess them far enough in advance to engage and prepare our defense efforts to thwart possibilities of harm to our nation and its citizens. Pivotal to this effort is foresight into the emergent technical changes and development in producing new forms of weapons of mass destruction. As time progresses, the ability to cause great harm to large amounts of people via proliferation of sophisticated and less sophisticated, but nonetheless, innovative and destructive technical means is growing. Technologically empowered angry groups and individuals have changed the national security focus of the United States. The Oklahoma bombing in 1996, African Embassy bombings in 1998 and the events of September 11, 2001 have all demonstrated weapons of mass destruction in practice. What next? What new means could be used to cause harm large amounts of people in the U.S. and around the world? Awareness and foresight is the best means we have to be able to understand both the probability of occurrence of use, as well as the likely impact, of these new emergent weapons of mass destruction. Foresight offers us the only means to take steps to assess and mitigate those risks cost effectively and in time to improve our national, and our friends and allies, security. Since it.s founding in 1966, the World Future Society has provided a non-partisan forum for the discussion of all subjects affecting the future. One of the earliest subjects centered on the future of national defense in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis and its aftermath and how to assess and prepare for scenarios during the Cold War. .At this time in our nation.s history,. said Chapter President Limor Schafman, .the World Future Society U.S. National Capital Region Chapter is pleased to draw upon the experience and expertise of our members, and their network of future thinkers, to offer an informed and insightful discussion of new emergent weapons of mass destruction threats in the age of the War of Terror to benefit the U.S. public.. Forrest Waller is Senior Scientist and Corporate Officer in the Strategies Group of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Mr. Waller.s group has surveyed emerging technology developments with the potential to create "new kinds" of WMD or disruptive military technologies. Mr. Waller will explain upcoming changes in information technologies, biological technologies, nanoscale technologies, and advanced energy sources and materials. In each of these areas, he finds the potential for improved weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and/or enablers of discrete new WMDs. See Forrest Waller discuss .Emerging Weapons of Mass Destruction Technologies: Impact on U.S. Security., 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Chevy Chase Pavilion, Friendship Heights, Washington, D.C. To sign up, visit the National Capital Region World Future Society website at www.natcapwfs.org. About National Capital Region World Future Society (NatCapWFS): Our organization is serving future interested and thinking citizens across the Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia region. NatCapWFS is the center for ideas, within the Region, that studies, explores and shapes the future. NatCapWFS hosts monthly events open to the public. For event information, visit: www.natcapwfs.org. About SAIC: Science Applications International Corporation employees are dedicated to the delivery of quality scientific and technical products and services contributing to the security and well-being of our communities throughout the world. Founded by Dr. J. Robert Beyster and a small group of scientists in 1969, SAIC, a Fortune 500 company, now ranks as the largest employee-owned research and engineering firm in the United States. SAIC and its subsidiaries have more than 44,000 employees with offices in over 150 cities worldwide. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Sep 19 18:03:33 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 14:03:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] The Military-Industrial Man Message-ID: <20040919140013.E396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 2004-09-18 The Military-Industrial Man http://www.cubadebate.cu/index.php?tpl=especiales-show¬iciaid=3334¬iciafecha=2004-09-18 --- BY: Chalmers Johnson How local politics works in America - or a "Duke" in every district. It is hardly news to anyone who pays the slightest attention to American politics that Congress is no longer responsive to the people. Incumbency is so well institutionalized that elections generally mean virtually nothing. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay approves the private ownership of assault weapons and machine guns despite complaints from police around the country that they're outgunned by criminals, despite the 65% of the public who want them banned, despite pleas from the relatives of murdered Americans. On this issue, the National Rifle Association seems to own the Congress. A similar situation exists with regard to munitions makers. In one district after another the weapons industry has bought the incumbent and the voters are unable to dislodge him or her. On really big projects like the B-2 stealth bomber, contracts are placed for pieces of the airplane in all of the 48 continental states to insure that individual members of Congress can be threatened with the loss of jobs in their districts should they ever get the idea that we do not need another weapon of massive destruction. The result is defense budgets of $425 billion per year (plus that extra $75 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan, another $20 billion for nuclear weapons, and $200 billion more for veterans and the wounded), leading to the highest governmental deficits in postwar history. It seems likely that only bankruptcy will stop the American imperial juggernaut. The California Fiftieth Congressional District in northern San Diego County where I live is a good example of exactly how this works at the local level. The constituents of the fiftieth district have been misrepresented in Washington for the past fourteen years by a wholly paid-for tool of the military-industrial complex - the Republican incumbent, Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The heavily populated Fiftieth District is an oddly gerrymandered amalgam of rich (and Republican) Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla, more liberal coastal towns like the northern sections of San Diego itself, Del Mar, Encinitas, and Carlsbad, and - inland - Hispanic and working class Escondido and Mira Mesa. Although the district includes much of La Jolla, it excludes the University of California campus and the students who live and work there. It's a district whose character has shifted in recent years as thousands of biotech researchers and other professionals have moved into the area and as parts of educated, white-collar San Diego have been included in it as well. The Fiftieth District is desperately in need of new leadership in Congress more in tune with the political values and interests of the people who now live there. This year, for the first time, Cunningham is opposed by a candidate who is well qualified and whose views - if they were better known - more clearly match the interests and values of the people he claims to represent. On July 12-14, Decision Research, one of the most respected polling firms in the country, conducted a telephone poll of 440 registered voters in the district. Among its findings were that when they heard Cunningham's voting record on abortion, school vouchers, protecting the environment, the Iraq war, spending on weapons, and many other issues, his lead dropped from 18 to 4 percentage points, within the poll's 4.7% margin of error. The relatively unknown Democratic candidate running against him is Francine Busby, past president of one of the district's school boards, who has nonetheless put together a powerful campaign, particularly among women, drawing attention to the way Cunningham has sold-out the welfare of the district to special interests. Sources of information on Cunningham are his and his opponents' reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as well as accounts of his record compiled by the three leading nonpartisan think-tanks on Congress: the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, Political Moneyline, and Project Vote Smart in Philipsburg, Montana. Let's start with money. As of June 30, 2004, Cunningham had raised $608,977 for the coming election, spent $382,043, and as cash on hand had an amazing $890,753. By contrast, on the same date Francine Busby had raised $64,449, spent $32,937, and had cash on hand of $31,511. Some 46% of Cunningham's money comes from political action committees, so-called PACs, 49% from individual contributions, and none from his own personal funds. Two percent of Busby's money comes from PACs, 86% from individuals, and 6% from the candidate herself. Some 68% of Cunningham's money originates in California, but 32% of it is out-of-state. Ninety-seven percent of Busby's minuscule funds come from within California and only 3% from out-of-state. She is raising money fast but Cunningham can still outspend her 8 to 1, and he has declared publicly that his is a safe district and that he will devote his time this fall to helping George W. Bush. The real differences show up when one examines who contributes what to whom. By industrial categories, Cunningham's top contributors, based on FEC data released August 2, 2004, are defense electronics ($66,550), defense aerospace ($39,000), lobbyists ($32,500), miscellaneous defense ($29,200), air transport ($26,500), health professionals ($24,700), and real estate ($23,001). Busby's top contributors are listed as "retired." Cunningham's number one financial backer is the Titan Corporation of San Diego, which gave him $18,000. It has recently been in the news for supplying Arabic translators to the Army, several of whom have been identified as possible torturers at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Titan's $657 million Pentagon contract, which had to be approved by the House Appropriations Committee's National Security Subcommittee of which Cunningham is a member, is the company's single biggest source of revenue so it's a clear case of a political pay-off. Lockheed Martin, the world's largest weapons manufacturer, gave Cunningham a whopping $15,000. Cunningham's number three source of funds is MZM Inc. of Washington, DC, whose government clients, in addition to the Pentagon, include the "U.S. intelligence community," the "Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force," and the Department of Homeland Security. MZM gave Randy $11,000 for his services. Next in line is the Cubic Corporation of San Diego, which has numerous multimillion dollar contracts with the Pentagon to supply "realistic combat training systems" and surveillance and reconnaissance avionics. It gave Randy $10,000. General Dynamics ponied up $10,000 for the Congressman, as did San Diego's Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC as it is commonly known. SAIC's largest customer by far is the U.S. government, which accounts for 69% of its business according to SAIC's filings with the SEC. (SAIC was supposed to build a new, pro-American TV and radio network in Iraq but bungled the job badly.) The remainder of Cunningham's top contributors reads like a who's who among the merchants of death: $9,500 from Northrup Grumman, $8,000 from Raytheon (which makes the Tomahawk cruise missile), $8,500 from Qualcomm, and $7,000 from Boeing. All this for just one Congressman. Busby's biggest contributions are $2,000 from an outfit called "Blue Hornet," which designs web sites; $1,835 from members of the Cardiff School Board, and $1,080 from employees of Mira Costa College. One ingenious measure of how money displaces people in our political system, compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, is the zip codes from which each candidate gets his or her individual contributions. For Cunningham the chief one is 92067, Rancho Santa Fe, with $62,795 in donations. Rancho Santa Fe is well known as a beautiful, underpopulated enclave of extremely wealthy people, many of them foreigners. It is followed by 92037, La Jolla, not a poor town, which chipped in $24,000 for Cunningham. The next two zip codes are 20003 and 20007, both of which are in Washington DC. Cunningham received the fewest donations from 92065, Carlsbad. Busby's are the direct opposite. Her best zip code is 92007, her home town of Cardiff, the residents of which have given her $8,415, followed by 92009, Carlsbad; 92014, Del Mar; and last 92091, wealthy Fairbanks Ranch, which gave her a mere $1,000. Cunningham's money comes from the following localities, in descending order: San Diego, Washington DC, New York City, and Orange County, California. Busby's comes entirely from the San Diego metropolitan area. Cunningham knows with precision who gives him money and what its providers expect of him. As the Japanese like to say, you don't have to tell a geisha what to do. He has 100% ratings from the National Right to Life Committee (he is adamantly opposed to giving women the right to choose), the League of Private Property Voters, the Christian Coalition, the Business-Industry PAC, and an 80% rating from the Gun Owners of America. Over the last decade he has received $44,600 from the National Rifle Association, more than any member of Congress except Representative Don Young, a Republican from Alaska. There are no places in the fiftieth district to go hunting, least of all with an Uzi or an AK-47. Cunningham's voting record likewise reflects the fact that national neoconservatives and the munitions industry now own him lock, stock, and barrel. As one might expect, he voted for the "No Child Left Behind" and "Patriot" Acts. He also voted "yes" on the following measures: the law banning partial birth abortion; the $350 billion tax break for the rich, passed on May 23, 2003, by a vote of 231 to 200; a law prohibiting liability law suits against gun-makers and gun-sellers whose products are used to commit crimes; the Medicare Prescription Drug Act, passed in the middle of the night on November 22, 2003, by a vote of 220 to 215; and the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act of April 3, 2003, that included $62.5 billion for the war in Iraq. Cunningham talks a lot about patriotism and putting the country first, but although his voting record in 2003 was 98% for what President Bush wanted, in 1999 he had only a 20% record of supporting President Clinton. Opposition to Clinton is, of course, almost the functional definition of "patriotism" among Cunningham's wing of the Republican Party, which sought to impeach the president for a venial sin but which is indifferent to evidence of mortal sins committed by President Bush, particularly his leading the country into war against Iraq based on a tissue of lies. Within Congress, Cunningham is a member of the National Security Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, a forum the military-industrial complex does everything in its power to control, and of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The latter is the committee headed by Congressman Porter Goss of Florida, a former CIA agent who has recently been nominated by President Bush to be the next director of the CIA. This oversight committee has not exactly covered itself with glory, approving the work of the CIA even as it was failing to warn the country about the attacks of 9/11 and deceiving Congress and the people into war with Iraq. According to Cunningham himself, his most important lifetime achievement is his twenty years of service as a naval aviator, including aerial combat over Vietnam in which he shot down three communist jets in one day (overall, a total of five during the war) and was himself brought down by a surface-to-air missile. On May 10, 1972, he was rescued by a helicopter from the South China Sea. Cunningham has exploited this record into what one commentator calls "hero inflation" and Shakespeare's Henry V called "remembering with advantages." He now claims to have been a military hero deserving of the Congressional Medal of Honor (which he didn't get), even though he acknowledges that his aerial dog-fighting had little effect on the course of the war. Cunningham has created a company called "Top Gun Enterprises" that sells lithographs of himself in his pilot's outfit and books he has written about his navy exploits. His company's web site, claims that the 1986 film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise was actually about Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Cunningham's comments in the Congressional Record dwell heavily on his Vietnam role and the military. For example, on April 22, 2004, he said to the House of Representatives: "Mr. Speaker, I was shot down over North Vietnam. I can remember the anger and the disparaging remarks that John Kerry made about our service. I remember the rage in all of us from his slander. . . . Even today, John Kerry votes against defense, the military, veterans, and intelligence bills that would enforce the safe return of our men and women. We do not need someone that would vote like a Jane Fonda as commander in chief." He has persisted in such attacks on the patriotism of Kerry, notably in an interview with Rush Limbaugh on August 17, 2004. Here's an excerpt: "Duke: It's not about Vietnam. It's about what he did in 1971, bad-mouthing all of us, calling us war criminals. It's his votes since he's been in the Senate, he ran on cutting defense and intel, after the first Trade Center bombing, he tried to cut intelligence $9 billion. And it's about who is going to protect my family, my daughters, my son, my wife in the next few years, and to me, it's not Senator Kerry. Rush, if Senator Kerry was a Republican running, I would oppose him. Rush: Congressman, thanks very much for the call. It really is an honor to hear from you. I know your history and I've been very impressed with it, and you're one of the guys still taking a lot of shots because of who you are in Washington. You stand up to 'em and we all appreciate it, we honor your service here. Thanks very much. Duke: Life is good, Rush. Rush: It is. That's Duke Cunningham, congressman from California, the first fighter ace in Vietnam, five MiGs shot down." Cunningham's most famous naval exploit actually occurred after he left the Navy and was a freshman Congressman. In 1991, Cunningham was a member of the board of directors of the Tailhook Association, a private group of active duty, reserve, and retired Navy and Marine Corps aviators, defense contractors, and their supporters. (The name 'tailhook' comes from the device that halts aircraft when they land on aircraft carriers.) The Navy used to provide free office space for the association at San Diego's Miramar Naval Air Station, and lent out its fleet of passenger aircraft to fly attendees to Tailhook's yearly meetings in Las Vegas. At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium (September 5 to 7, 1991) at the Las Vegas Hilton, a meeting that Cunningham attended in an official capacity, drunken fliers, joined by the Secretary of the Navy, groped, stripped, and mauled some 83 women in the hotel, according to the report of the Department of Defense's Inspector General. Since that time Cunningham has devoted massive amounts of time and energy to arguing that what went on was just good clean fun and great male bonding. In Congressional hearings, he has gone out of his way to undercut official programs to combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the military. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune of March 11, 1998, he referred to such efforts as "B.S." and "political correctness." In 1998, after Cunningham had been operated on for prostate cancer, he commented to the press that "[t]he only person who would enjoy a prostate biopsy is Barney Frank." His fellow congressman Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, who is openly gay, replied that "Cunningham seems to be more obsessed with homosexuality than most homosexuals." Cunningham has only one string to his mandolin - the military-industrial complex and its interests. He has virtually no record at all on such issues as illegal immigration, water resources, ocean pollution, agriculture, mass transit, renewable energy, and unemployment. Whenever he takes up subjects such as environmental conservation and education, it is to reduce or halt federal funds that might make a difference. Citizens of the Fiftieth District are not uninterested in national security but they have a much broader range of needs and concerns than has ever crossed the mind of their current representative. As one of Cunningham's constituents, I hope we send to the House of Representatives a person who actually knows something about the communities of northern San Diego County. A Francine Busby victory this November would cause a political realignment in San Diego County comparable to Loretta Sanchez's 1996 defeat of "B-1" Bob Dornan in Orange County's 46th District. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chalmers Johnson is a retired professor of international relations at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project, 2004) as well as Blowback, The Costs and Consequences of American Empire. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Sep 20 12:20:20 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 08:20:20 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Dust Networks unveils `mesh network' sensors Message-ID: <20040920082001.O396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> Mon, Sep. 20, 2004 Dust Networks unveils `mesh network' sensors http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/personal_technology/9710975.htm --- Dust Networks is expected to announce today that it has begun selling ``Smart Mesh'' wireless sensors to customers that need to monitor everything from a building's security to the energy efficiency of supermarket refrigerators. The Berkeley company makes wireless sensors known as ``motes.'' The sensors can be connected to each other and record data for monitoring purposes. The sensors connect to each other wirelessly, forming a ``mesh network.'' Each sensor transmits data to the next sensor until it reaches a wireless receiver. The receiver then forwards the data to a computer. Among the customers using the motes is engineering firm SAIC, which is deploying the sensors to monitor security at buildings by detecting motion and alerting guards if a disturbance appears to be threatening. Dust Networks executives said a supermarket chain, which they declined to identify, also is using the sensors to monitor how much electricity its refrigerators consume and how they can be more efficient. The sensors, which are 4 inches square and 1 inch thick, have a range of about 100 feet. They use the 900-megahertz band of the radio spectrum and each contain a couple of batteries, a radio chip from Chipcon and a 4-megahertz microcontroller from Texas Instruments. Dust Networks has not disclosed the motes' price. Chief Executive Joy Weiss said the batteries last for several years. The company was founded by Kris Pister, a former computer science professor at the University of California-Berkeley who coined the term ``smart dust.'' The phrase refers to a network of sensors that are so small and intelligent that they can be built into the fabric of an environment. Pister started his research in 1997 for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and co-founded Dust Networks in July 2002. Now there are dozens of companies working on smart dust products, from chip makers to sensor makers. In February, the company raised $7 million in financing from Foundation Capital, Institutional Venture Partners and In-Q-Tel, the venture arm of the CIA. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Sep 20 12:20:48 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 08:20:48 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Is there a connection between Bush and the makers of the electronic voting machines? Message-ID: <20040920082022.O396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/20/2004 11:38 Is there a connection between Bush and the makers of the electronic voting machines? http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/14258_Voting.html --- This election is rigged and Bush will win no matter what. Election Systems & Software (ES&S), Diebold, and Sequoia, are the companies that are making and distributing the new electronic voting machines. These machines are being programmed by a man who some have suggested has a significant number of legal entanglements. The machines are programmed with two sets of books and no paper trail. With the use of a two digit code, the election committees can change the voting tallies in favor of one candidate. For example, if a majority voted is for Kerry, enter the two digit code and all the votes go to Bush. In one round of testing, observers notice that even when they voted for the opposition, the vote was always recorded as a vote for Bush - I reported on this to Pravda.ru's readership. Are there hints of mutual cooperation? Yes, there is. Election Systems & Software (ES&S), Diebold, and Sequoia all have more than strong ties to Bush and other Republican leaders. Diebold in an effort to take the onus off themselves has contracted Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of San Diego, to take responsibility for security issues within their software. But this has heavy implications also - SAIC has strong ties to Donald Rumsfeld. He who is without sin, cast the first stone. Each one of the three companies has a past plagued by financial scandal and political controversy: In 1999 the Justice Department filed federal charges against Sequoia alleging that employees paid out more than 8 million dollars in bribes. Shortly thereafter, election officials for Pinellas County, Florida, cancelled a fifteen-million-dollar contract with Sequoia after it was discovered that Phil Foster, a Sequoia executive, faced indictment for money laundering and bribery. In addition: Michael McCarthy, owner of ES&S (formerly known as American Information Systems), served as Senator Chuck Hagel's campaign manager in both the 1996 and 2002 elections. Senator Hagel owns close to $5 million in stock in the ES&S parent company. In 1996 and 2002 eighty percent of Senator Hagel's votes were counted by ES&S. Diebold, the most well known of these three major groups, is under scrutiny for a memo that Diebold's CEO, Walden O'Dell, sent out promising Ohio's votes to Bush in the 2004 election. Beyond this faux pas, intra-office memos were circulated on the Internet stating that Diebold employees were aware of bugs within their systems and that the network is poorly guarded against hackers. SAIC has had a series of charges brought against them including indictments by the Justice Department for the mismanagement of a Superfund toxic cleanup and misappropriation of funds in the purchase of F-15 fighter jets. One company that has been a major contributor to the Republican Party is Accenture. Accenture was involved in financial scandals, and charged with incompetence in both Canada and the US throughout the '90s and 2000s. Government defense contractors like Northrup-Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), are also heavy contributors to the Republican Party. I wish to extend my thanks to Andy Merrifield Ph.D., Wendy Ostroff, Ph.D., Scott Gordon, Ph.D. Student Researcher: Adam Stutz. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Sep 21 18:54:12 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 14:54:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Greece's Eett Launches Telcordia Number Portability Solution; Demonstrates Telcordia's Global Leadership, Technological Acumen in Number Portability Message-ID: <20040921145333.R396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6:12pm (UK) Greece's Eett Launches Telcordia Number Portability Solution; Demonstrates Telcordia's Global Leadership, Technological Acumen in Number Portability http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3528727 --- Business Editors/High-Tech Writers PISCATAWAY, N.J. . (BUSINESS WIRE) . Sept. 21, 2004 . Telcordia Technologies, Inc., a global provider of telecommunications software and services, today announced that Greece.s National Telecommunications and Post Commission, also known as EETT, has successfully launched the Telcordia Number Portability Clearinghouse solution, which has now been in operation for 6 months, enabling fixed line and mobile number portability for all service providers in Greece. The solution, which went fully operational for mobile customers in April 2004 and for fixed line customers in June 2004, puts Greece in compliance with the European Union number portability mandate and, ultimately, provides all Greek residents with more choice. .Telcordia.s clearinghouse solution enables EETT to effectively manage the complexity and the speed at which number porting transactions must be processed,. said Emmanuel Giakoumakis, President of the EETT. .Now, Greek consumers have unprecedented competitive choice for fixed line and mobile service and service providers can embrace new market opportunities and new revenue streams.. Part of a five-year exclusive contract, the Telcordia solution enables fixed line and mobile number portability to Greece.s 14 million phone lines, including 5.5 million fixed line and 10 million mobile lines. Telcordia and its in-country regional subcontractor, Spirit S.A., have worked closely with EETT and Greek carriers to get relevant business processes agreed upon, integrated and fully implemented. .We are pleased to be part of this successful implementation for EETT that will have lasting impact on customer service and competition in Greece.s telecommunications market,. said Nikos Skarpetis, General Manager, Spirit S.A. Telcordia.s Number Portability Clearinghouse is a highly scalable software system that addresses the inherent challenges in number porting. Implemented to support all service providers in Greece, Telcordia.s solution enables flow-through automation for the porting of numbers in and out of wireline and wireless carriers. networks with trouble-free efficiency. The Telcordia solution offers multiple standard interfaces for service providers to automate their flow through for the porting process as well as direct access to the clearinghouse. Telcordia.s regional subcontractor, Spirit S.A., operates the data center that serves as the in-country clearinghouse and provides first-level support, help desk support, training and other support services to Greek service providers. .Number portability provides telecommunications service providers worldwide with opportunities to capture greater market share and increase customer loyalty and satisfaction,. said Mary Turney, President, Operations and Network Solutions, Telcordia. .The Telcordia solution seamlessly handles the complex technological process of porting numbers and ensures that it is handled quickly, efficiently and accurately, allowing telecommunications service providers to focus on their core business . their customers.. This implementation reflects the significant momentum Telcordia has achieved in global markets as well as its leadership in number portability. Through its innovative Elementive(TM) approach, Telcordia provides fixed line and mobile Service Providers with flexible, standards-based, robust software that helps them deliver high-quality, reliable voice and data services across multiple networks and technologies. About Telcordia Technologies, Inc. Telcordia Technologies, Inc. is a leading global provider of telecommunications software and services for IP, wireline, wireless, and cable. By delivering on its Elementive strategy of providing flexible, standards-based solutions that optimize complex network and business support systems, Telcordia enables customers to aggressively reduce costs and grow revenues. Telcordia, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), is headquartered in Piscataway, NJ, with offices throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Central and Latin America. (www.telcordia.com) About Spirit S.A. Spirit S.A., headquartered in Athens, Greece, offers integrated solutions and consulting services to address managerial challenges. As an engineering and consulting company, Spirit conceptualizes, develops and implements bottom-line solutions for telecommunications and IT transformation. (www.spirit-intl.com) About EETT The National Telecommunications and Post Commission or EETT is the National Regulatory Authority, which supervises and regulates the telecommunications as well as the postal services market in Greece. EETT.s institutional purpose is to promote the development of the two sectors, to ensure the proper operation of the relevant market in the context of sound competition and to provide for the protection of the interests of the end-users. EETT is an independent self-funded decision-making body. For more information please visit www.eett.gr. Telcordia Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC. Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements or industry results to be very different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in SAIC.s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2003, and such other filings that the Company makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Sep 22 14:05:26 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:05:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Quarterly sales near $2 billion, firm reports Message-ID: <20040922100509.W396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 22, 2004 Quarterly sales near $2 billion, firm reports http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20040922-9999-1b22saic.html --- By Bruce V. Bigelow UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER Government contracts drove a 19 percent increase in second-quarter revenue for San Diego's SAIC, which yesterday reported sales of almost $2 billion for the three-month period. But higher non-operating expenses, primarily losses in corporate investments and a comparatively bigger tax bite, caused net income for the quarter through July 31 to decline to $81 million from $91 million. The company, also known as Science Applications International Corp., said revenue from government customers rose 24 percent over the previous year to $1.66 billion. SAIC did not provide details about its increased business with the government. SAIC operates three business segments, although much of its work is for the Department of Defense and other national security agencies. The company said revenue in its telecommunications segment rose 3 percent to $217 million. Other commercial revenue increased 17 percent to $123 million. With more than 44,000 employees, SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the nation. "The real swing item in this quarter over last year was the income tax expense," said Thomas E. Darcy, SAIC's chief financial officer. Darcy said SAIC favorably settled several claims with the Internal Revenue Service last year, which resulted in a low tax rate of 23 percent for the second quarter in the previous year. The tax rate this year is more normal, Darcy said, at 39 percent. In documents filed with government regulators, SAIC acknowledged it began exploring the possible sale in July of Telcordia, the New Jersey subsidiary that constitutes most of the company's telecommunications business. "The process is preliminary at this point and we really don't have much to report," Darcy said. The company provided few new details on plans by chief executive Ken Dahlberg to double SAIC's annual revenue of $6 billion over the next five years. Dahlberg, who took over as chairman in July, has indicated his interest in reaching that goal through major acquisitions. The company completed two acquisitions for a total of $68 million in the first six months of 2004. In May, Telcordia acquired telecommunications software developer Granite Systems, and in February SAIC acquired Aquidneck Management Associates, which provides professional services to the government. But neither deal fit the sort of major acquisition that Dahlberg seemed to be suggesting at a shareholders' meeting in July, when he outlined his plans to expand SAIC and improve the company's ability to "act big." In its financial filings, SAIC said it had roughly $2.2 billion in available cash as of July 31, with an additional $642 million available on credit. The company has about $1.3 billion in long-term debt. The financial filings also show that SAIC founder J. Robert Beyster, who retired in July, has sold more than 1.3 million shares of his SAIC stock this year. At the current price of $37.31 per share, the stock sales would have amounted to more than $48 million. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Sep 22 14:07:07 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:07:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Eagle Broadband's SatMAX Non-Line-of-Sight Satellite Communications System Added to SAIC's GSA Schedule Message-ID: <20040922100647.R396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 22, 2004 08:30 AM US Eastern Timezone Eagle Broadband's SatMAX Non-Line-of-Sight Satellite Communications System Added to SAIC's GSA Schedule http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040922005154&newsLang=en --- HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2004-- Contract Award Streamlines Ordering for Government, Military & Homeland Security Customers Seeking Reliable Iridium-Satellite-Based Voice & Data Communications Eagle Broadband, Inc. (AMEX:EAG), a leading provider of broadband and communications technology and services, announced today that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has received approval from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to add Eagle's Satellite Media Access Extender (SatMAX(TM)) non-line-of-sight satellite communications repeater system to SAIC's GSA Schedule, Contract #GS-35F-4461G. GSA schedules are purchasing contracts established by the U.S. government that save government agencies time and money by providing a buying vehicle for approved products and services at pre-negotiated prices and terms. Dave Weisman, Eagle Broadband chairman and CEO, commented, "Being added to SAIC's GSA schedule expands our ability to reach and service U.S. government and military agencies worldwide. This can enable us to better meet customers' needs for reliable non-line-of-sight satellite communications with a turnkey SatMAX(TM) communications solution and single-source GSA order. We look forward to continuing to work closely with SAIC to make the SatMAX(TM) available to both new and existing SAIC government, military and homeland security customers around the globe." Eagle's SatMAX(TM) repeater technology enables customers to quickly and easily make reliable, fully wireless, voice and data communications available from any non-line-of-site location, including inside buildings or structures, onboard vehicles, aircraft or ships, from obstructed areas or underground, etc. With the SatMAX(TM), users of the Iridium satellite network can now use their existing satellite phones to make multiple concurrent calls within SatMAX-enabled "hotspot" areas from anywhere on Earth. The technology enables routine, mission critical and backup communications that can improve safety and security, emergency preparedness and response, user productivity, mobility, problem solving and mission support. For additional SatMAX(TM) product or ordering information, please call 800-628-3910 or send an email to SatMAXinfo at eaglebroadband.com. About Eagle Broadband Eagle Broadband is a leading provider of broadband and communications technology and services. The company's product offerings include an exclusive "four-play" suite of Bundled Digital Services (BDS(SM)) with high-speed Internet, cable TV, telephone and security monitoring, and a turnkey suite of financing, network design, operational and support services that enables municipalities, utilities, real estate developers, hotels, multi-tenant owners and service providers to deliver exceptional value, state-of-the-art entertainment and communications choices and single-bill convenience to their residential and business customers. Eagle offers the HDTV-ready Media Pro IP set-top box product line that enables hotel operators and service providers to maximize revenues by offering state-of-the-art, in-room entertainment and video services. The company also develops and markets the exclusive SatMAX(TM) satellite communications system that allows government, military, homeland security, aviation, maritime and enterprise customers to deliver non-line-of-sight, voice and data communications services via the Iridium satellite network from any location on Earth. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information, please visit www.eaglebroadband.com or call 281-538-6000. Forward-looking statements in this release regarding Eagle Broadband, Inc., and SAIC are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Sep 22 19:02:43 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 15:02:43 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Level 8 Signs Master Marketing Agreement with SAIC to Offer Integrated Business Solutions Message-ID: <20040922150155.N396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> Sept. 22, 2004 Level 8 Signs Master Marketing Agreement with SAIC to Offer Integrated Business Solutions http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news_releases.mhtml?d=64258 --- FARMINGDALE, New Jersey, Sept. 22, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Level 8 Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:LVEL) today announced it has signed a master marketing agreement with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to offer innovative business integration solutions based on the Cicero application interface technology and SAIC's Strategic Management Consulting services. "In the course of providing our clients with business solutions, we believe delivering tangible results requires innovative ways of integrating technology and people," said James Scheimer, SAIC Vice President for IT Systems Integration. "SAIC can improve clients' operational performance by applying rigorous business process re-engineering and effective business enabling technology." Level 8's Enterprise Information Integration (EII) solution, Cicero, enables companies to increase employee productivity, reduce key operational costs and extend the useful life of both current and planned IT investments. Deployable within months, Cicero is already in use throughout leading technology-based companies to increase business productivity and flexibility, while reducing operational, training, staffing and technology costs. Under the terms of the marketing agreement, Level 8 and SAIC will use their respective expertise in software integration, software development, business process reengineering and the Cicero technology, as the foundation to market an integrated business solution. About SAIC SAIC is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care and logistics. With annual revenues of $6.7 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 44,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found at www.saic.com Consulting, visit our website at www.saic.com, or contact us at strategic-consulting at saic.com. About Level 8 Level 8 Systems, Inc. is a global provider of high-performance, productivity-enhancing application integration software solutions that enable companies to extend the life, flexibility and operational effectiveness of their mission critical IT investments. Level 8 technology substantially improves IT portfolio ROI and maximizes the value of complex business systems in use throughout an enterprise. Level 8's breakthrough technologies, products and services streamline business processes for leading companies in diverse industries such as financial services, government, healthcare, contact center and business process outsourcers, energy, communications, utilities, media, travel and hospitality, transportation, manufacturing and retail. For more information about Level 8 and Cicero, please visit www.level8.com From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 24 12:15:37 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 08:15:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Tiny Sensors That Can Track Anything Message-ID: <20040924081429.A396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> Friday, September 24, 2004 Tiny Sensors That Can Track Anything http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45915-2004Sep23.html --- washingtonpost.com Tiny Sensors That Can Track Anything Potential Seen for Security, Home, Habitat By Robert O'Harrow Jr. Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, September 24, 2004; Page E01 They're small, smart and vigilant, the sort of miniature technology that science fiction writers once dreamed of. But the battery-powered, wireless sensors sometimes known as "smart dust" are here, and they're making their way into the electronic fabric of our lives. In the last few years, smart dust sensors smaller than a deck of cards have been deployed in research projects to monitor the vibration of manufacturing equipment, keep tabs on colonies of seabirds and measure fine variations in vineyard climates that can make or break a wine. Now they're being sold for real. Dust Networks Inc., a chief developer, said this week that defense contractor Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego would become one of its first customers, using the technology for perimeter security systems. A grocery chain in Minnesota installed the sensors in August to monitor energy use. A competitor, Sensicast Systems Inc., just announced its own arrangement to provide sensors to monitor the environment at a nuclear generating station. Those deals resonate in an industry that didn't exist until a few years ago. Industry analysts predict that micro-sensors -- which communicate via radio-linked networks like computers on the Internet -- will become as ubiquitous in their own way as personal computers on the World Wide Web. To be sure, sensors have been around for decades, particularly in the manufacturing world. But they've been costly, relatively large and limited by the wires that connected them to centralized monitors. As a consequence, they were generally used by companies with deep pockets. In recent years, as the cost of computing plummeted along with the size of computing machines, science fiction fantasy quietly morphed into technological fact. Starting in academic labs at the University of California at Berkeley and elsewhere, development of smart dust (a whimsical name that suggests where inventors hope the technology is headed) has spread to the government and private sectors. The capabilities vary. Some take pictures. Others serve as sensitive thermometers. There are even tiny sensors that can detect the presence of gunmetal and tanks. Some analysts and researchers believe that networks of these diminutive monitors may eventually link refrigerators, printers, car keys and other everyday objects to the Internet, enabling observers and other machines to keep track of them remotely. "It's vast, in terms of the possibilities," said Glen Allmendinger, president of Harbor Research Inc., who predicted that sales of smart dust and related technology would grow from about $10 million this year to billions by the end of the decade. "Homeland security is going to be a big part of it, but there are so many other applications," said Craig Mathias, an analyst at the Farpoint Group, an advisory firm specializing in wireless communications and mobile computing. "Is it going to be a $1 billion business? Absolutely." It's not just technology enthusiasts and executives at tiny companies who are excited. The Defense Department's research project agency has spent millions on university research. Earlier this year, the CIA's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel bought a stake in Dust Networks. Technology researchers at the Department of Homeland Security have made sensors a priority. Even computer chip giant Intel Corp. is working on wireless networks of sensors. "Wireless sensors have moved out of the labs," said Intel spokesman Kevin Teixeira. "The technology is being figured out." Researchers said the devices, also known as "motes," can include any number of sensors to track activity or assess the surrounding circumstances, such as weather, light and heat. When the devices collect meaningful information, their systems turn on a low-power transmitter and broadcast the data to the next closest device, up to about 100 feet away. Researchers and analysts claim the devices can sometimes operate for up to three years on a pair of double-A batteries. If one device in the network fails, the data are picked up by another one, an echo of the sort of redundancy that makes the Internet so reliable. Dust Networks officials call it "smartmesh." They say their software is designed to enable a central PC or laptop to fuse or triangulate reports of the same activity from different angles within the network. In doing so, they said, the network can determine with far more nuance the direction a person is moving, the weight of a vehicle or even the likelihood that a machine is failing. "This is no longer futuristic. This is real deployment for real customers," said Kris Pister, an electrical engineering and computer science professor at Berkeley who began studying smart dust in 1997. He founded Dust Networks two years ago. "It's a huge threshold to have a product we can actually shop to customers." Researchers still face formidable technological challenges. Communication can be disrupted by hills or electrical interference. Developers have to figure out how to ensure the increasingly tiny machines don't burn through their meager power supplies too quickly, or overwhelm the networks with false alarms. In addition, the devices can still cost hundreds of dollars, scaring away some potential customers. But analysts said they're making progress. In 2002, researchers from the Intel Research Laboratory at Berkeley linked 32 sensors about the size of a prescription bottle to the Internet to take readings of the weather on Great Duck Island, Maine, and to assess the condition of nesting burrows used by local seabirds known as Leach's storm petrels. In the second season last year, they used more than 150 second-generation sensors that were smaller than size D batteries. "These networks monitor the microclimates in and around nesting burrows used by the Leach's Storm Petrel," said a report on the project. "Our goal is to develop a habitat monitoring kit that enables researchers worldwide to engage in the non-intrusive and non-disruptive monitoring of sensitive wildlife and habitats." In August, two dozen Dust sensors were installed in a Supervalu grocery store in suburban Minneapolis. That network is monitoring temperatures and energy use, which typically accounts for the second-largest cost of operating a grocery store. As for SAIC, it's adopting "smartmesh" sensor networks to create electronic perimeter systems for defense and intelligence customers. Thomas J. Sereno Jr., manager for the SAIC monitoring systems division, said tests found the technology can use small magnetometers to detect whether someone is carrying a gun. SAIC plans to use microphones to search for "acoustic signatures" of vehicles, moving groups of people and such. Sereno said it also will build in cameras of the sort used in mobile phones. Sereno speculated that some SAIC clients may use unmanned airborne vehicles to fly over rugged and dangerous environments and deposit the technology. SAIC will also be pitching it for homeland and border security. He said the ability of the network to be "self-healing" if some of the devices fail is appealing. The company intends to unveil a model for customers next month. "If you combine all the information from these sensors and fuse it, you can make inferences," he said. "We're starting to get the firm belief this is truly going to work." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 24 14:25:26 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 10:25:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Wellogix Announces Implementation of the Wellogix Evaluated Receipts Settlement Solution for Complex Oilfield Services Message-ID: <20040924102324.B396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9/24/04 Wellogix Announces Implementation of the Wellogix Evaluated Receipts Settlement Solution for Complex Oilfield Services http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-24-2004/0002258160&EDATE= --- Wellogix Eliminates the Cost and Paperwork of Traditional Invoice Process HOUSTON, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston-based Wellogix, Inc. today announced the successful implementation of a completely automated and paperless Purchase to Pay (P2P) system for complex oilfield energy services. Implemented as part of a broader operational procurement and financial process improvement initiative, the Wellogix Evaluated Receipts Settlement (ERS) functionality allows the client to pay certain service providers based on approved field-tickets; effectively eliminating the cost and paperwork of a traditional invoice process. A Science Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) project team was responsible for the design, development and implementation of the ERS solution which includes the integration of Wellogix's eFT software to the client's SAP financial and CMMS asset management systems. The integrated ERS systems using Wellogix's eField-Ticket allows field engineers to quickly and accurately identify and resolve pricing discrepancies and off-contract charges for complex oilfield services within a controlled and compliant process. The solution reduces administrative costs and ensures accurate and expedited payments to service providers with greater controls over the purchasing process. Commenting on the solution, J Ike Epley, CEO of Wellogix said, "Implementing the ERS solution further enhances the value of the streamlined and compliant purchase-to-pay process enabled by our eFT module of our Complex Services Management (CSM) suite. It's a win-win for the client and their service providers." "As our client's IT outsource provider and service integrator, we have a unique perspective of what modifications of existing software would translate to maximum benefit," commented Stuart Lunn, Vice President of SAIC. "We have been involved with numerous installations and support of both Asset Management (CMMS) and SAP systems at various energy clients and concluded that coupled with Wellogix software there would be an immediate return on investment effecting both purchase to pay and finance/accounting functions as a result of the integration," concluded Lunn. About SAIC SAIC is the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care, transportation and logistics. With annual revenues of $6.7 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 44,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found on the Internet at http://www.saic.com . Additional Information: Visit SAIC's Energy and Systems Integration & Program Management sections to learn more about our capabilities in these areas. About Wellogix, Inc. Wellogix delivers on-demand business solutions that support complex services planning, procurement and payment for energy companies and their service providers. Our solutions streamline and automate complex workflows, increase the transparency of financial and operational information and improve control and compliance. Our customers realize immediate and lasting value by focusing resources on higher value activities, by utilizing business intelligence to improve decisions and by decreasing risk. In short, Wellogix solutions improve business performance and reduce cost. Our scalable, flexible and standards-based applications are available on-demand and connect to, and integrate with, our clients' existing applications. Wellogix has recently announced expanded services with Marathon and BP. Each company will be implementing Wellogix's eField-Ticket(TM) solution which will enable them to electronically reconcile field tickets with the corresponding supplier's contracts. Wellogix is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information about Wellogix products or services, visit http://www.wellogix.com , email info at wellogix.com , or call 713-621-0931. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Sep 24 14:26:30 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 10:26:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC reports 11% fall in Q2 earnings Message-ID: <20040924102539.K396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/24/04 SAIC reports 11% fall in Q2 earnings http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=1A0FC427-B273-427D-A17B-DE1D1B08D957 --- Privately owned IT services vendor Science Applications International Corp has reported a decline in profit in its second fiscal quarter. For the three months ended July 31, 2004, the San Diego, California-based company reported an 11% fall in net profit to $81m on revenue that increased 18.9% to $1.99bn. The company's profitability was hit by a 93% increase in the rate of income tax to $52m, and at an operating level, SAIC's profit rose 25% to $155m. SAIC said revenue from the government sector increased 24% during the quarter, which offset a 3% decline in its sales to telecommunications companies. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Sep 27 12:48:53 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 08:48:53 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Telcordia CEO $trikes $ell-Off Deal Message-ID: <20040927084730.V396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/24/04 Telcordia CEO $trikes $ell-Off Deal http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?site=lightreading&doc_id=59895 --- Telcordia Technologies Inc. CEO Matt Desch is in line for a bonus potentially worth millions of dollars if he can find a buyer for his company. Telcordia's parent company, Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), has been inviting bids for its OSS business since the summer (see Source: Telcordia Sends Out Feelers and Telcordia With Fries? ). Now the company has signed a new "Executive Change in Control, Incentive, and Severance Agreement" with Desch that will see the CEO land a bumper bonus if he can find a buyer, and ensures him a seven-figure sum if he is subsequently let go by a new owner. In the company's quarterly statement for the three months ending July 31 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week, SAIC noted that it "began to explore various strategic alternatives relating to its ownership in Telcordia" in July this year, when Light Reading first reported on the matter (see SAIC May Sell Telcordia ). "These alternatives include aligning Telcordia with an additional or different owner that may add strategic value to Telcordia. These efforts are in the preliminary stages and may involve, among other things, the partial or complete sale of the Company.s interest in Telcordia," notes SAIC's management in the document. Partial sale? That sounds like an idea (see Telcordia: Let.s Split ). But of course, "At this time, there can be no assurance that these preliminary efforts will lead to an agreement or completion of a transaction of any kind," SAIC states. That last scenario wouldn't be good news for Desch's bank manager, though the CEO isn't doing so badly even without a sell-the-company bonus: His annual salary is $500,000, and his bonus is up to $750,000. So what sort of deal has the CEO landed? SAIC notes that the new agreement with Desch was struck "in contemplation of the possibility of a partial or complete sale of SAIC.s interest in Telcordia." If certain conditions are met, Desch will "be eligible for an incentive bonus upon a change in control, the amount of which is dependent upon Mr. Desch.s base salary and the value of the change in control transaction. The incentive bonus would be payable in installments over a two-year period after the close of a change in control transaction, provided that Mr. Desch is still employed on the applicable payout dates." And if he's not still employed by any new owner on the trigger dates? He'd still be quids in. If his employment is "terminated" (presumably not by Arnie) before any acquisition is closed, or before the second anniversary of any acquisition agreement, or within two years of a takeover, he would, "provided that certain conditions are met... be entitled to payment of the unpaid incentive bonus and severance pay for 18 months in addition to his accrued salary and bonus." Oh, and then there's housing and relocation expenses to add on, too. With 18 months' pay being worth at least $1.5 million, that means Desch could be in for a multi-million dollar payout if he can find a buyer and finds himself surplus to requirements by any new owner. That's quite an incentive for the CEO, but may cause further unrest at a company already suffering from appalling staff morale now that Desch has an incentive to find the highest bidder instead of a buyer that might be the best fit for the company and its staff (see Inside Telcordia's Discord ). In an email response to questions about Desch's agreement, Telcordia's spokeswoman stood by her chief. "We believe that a successful sale of Telcordia and continued growth for the company will benefit employees. We also think Matt is critical to our continued transformation and a successful transition to a potential new owner. "The employees are encouraged by the potential growth opportunities and are confident that Matt Desch will lead the process to a successful conclusion -- one that is in the best interest of our employees, customers, and the industry at large." The CEO may have his work cut out to find a buyer at a decent price, though, as Telcordia is hardly flourishing at present. SAIC's figures for its second quarter show increasing revenues for the whole company, up to $2 billion from $1.67 billion a year earlier (see SAIC Reports Q2 Profit ). However, Telcordia's contribution to those revenues were just $217 million, down from $223 million a year earlier (though it's worth noting that these are the sort of revenues that other OSS players can only dream of). That may not seem too bad, given the slow recovery of the telecom sector. In addition, the latest quarter's sales are up from the first quarter's $206 million. However, the second quarter's numbers include, for the first time, sales from Telcordia's latest OSS acquisition, inventory management system firm Granite Systems, which was bought in May (see Telcordia Shells Out at Last ). Analyst estimates put Granite's quarterly sales at anything between $12 million and $25 million. And the long-term trend for Telcordia's revenues has been downwards. Based on the first six months of this year, Telcordia is in line for annual revenues this year (fiscal 2005) of around $850 million. In fiscal 2004, Telcordia recorded revenues of $892 million, while in 2002 that figure was $1.44 billion. Now Telcordia is looking at every way possible to bump up its numbers (see Telcordia Sues Alcatel, Cisco, Lucent , Telcordia's Softswitch Timebomb , and Telcordia Pockets Patent Payment ). SAIC notes that the decline in revenues is due mainly to pricing pressure from the RBOCs, all four of which have contracts in place for systems maintenance during calendar 2005, though only two are currently signed up for such business for 2006. Any new owner would likely want to see all four signed up for that year and beyond. And while SAIC notes that there is a strong focus on diversifying the OSS business into the wireless and international markets, "continued pricing pressure or loss of business from the RBOCs or other commercial customers in the global telecommunications market could further reduce revenues and continue to adversely impact our business." None of this is going to help Desch cash in on the new incentive scheme. And to add to the potential pitfalls, there's always the prospect that Telcordia might take a significant financial hit from its ongoing legal wrangle with South African incumbent operator Telkom SA Ltd., which is claiming $300 million from the vendor (see Telcordia Prepares for Court ). In addition, the impending departure of Granite's figurehead, Jay Borden, will hardly help matters (see Telcordia: Bye Bye Borden ). Others have left the building, too. SAIC notes that Telcordia has "continued to have involuntary workforce reductions" of 113 from its staff in the six months to July 31 "to realign its staffing levels with lower telecommunications revenues." . Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Sep 27 12:49:36 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 08:49:36 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Advances link sellers, buyers Message-ID: <20040927084854.I396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/27/04 Advances link sellers, buyers http://www.bizjournals.com/moneycenter/story.html?id=3276 --- Scott Graham Staff Those who operate on the inside of company mergers and acquisitions say that not much has changed. The fundamentals -- negotiating purchase price and other terms of a contract -- have basically stayed the same over the past decade or two. Still, the evolution of technology and the World Wide Web, over the two years, has altered how information between seller and buyer is exchanged. Notably, technology has allowed sellers to put all information about their companies that is pertinent to a deal online for potential buyers to view via a computer screen hundreds of miles away. And when a deal has been reached, more buyers and sellers are closing the transaction online. Businesses are moving toward the online practices as ways to speed up a deal, according to attorneys who handle mergers and acquisitions. Michael J. Baader, a partner at the Baltimore office of Venable LLP who focuses on M&As and other business transactions, said more than 50 percent of the deals the firm has helped close over the past two years have been done so with e-mails and other documents being shared online. Meanwhile, about 20 percent of the deals Venable has helped coordinate over the last year have included a virtual "data room." One of those deals was the sale last month of Lanham-based Trios Associates Inc. to SAIC of California for an undisclosed amount. "SAIC's deal team was in California, so [the virtual data room] saved them a lot of travel time and money," Baader said. Virtual data rooms are not without fault, though. Some sellers do not allow potential buyers to copy documents that are stored online, and some potential buyers find the pages and pages of legal documents difficult to read, said John B. Frisch, principal at Miles & Storidge PC in Baltimore. Those sellers who do allow bidders to print or copy the company's information from the virtual data room request that the information be destroyed or returned if a deal does not go through between the two parties. "It can be nerve-racking to a seller when that information is just floating out there," Baader said. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Sep 27 12:50:09 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 08:50:09 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Startup exploits new way of networking Message-ID: <20040927084938.A396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 09/27/04 Startup exploits new way of networking http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11271~2429736,00.html --- By Nicholas Yulico, BUSINESS WRITER HEN CHECKING into a hotel room for the first time, how many times have you been frozen by the air conditioner the last occupant left on full blast? Thanks to a new type of technology, known as "wireless sensor networks," that phenomenon could eventually become a thing of the past. In such a network, temperature and occupancy sensors, each the size of a deck of cards, could be placed in every hotel room. Using radio signals, the sensors would communicate information about the room to a computer system that could send information back, telling the thermostat to adjust itself if no one was in the room. A wired network, with cables running from each sensor in every room to a main computer system, could achieve the same results and the data transmitted would be very reliable. But the network would cost a fortune. Analysts say the wireless technology's goal is not to replace all wired networks but rather to make sensor networks, in general, more pervasive. Wireless networks are touted as being less costly because they eliminate the expensive cables and labor of wired networks. They also allow networks to be more flexible. In a wired network, moving around sensors would likely entail re-wiring the building. Dust Networks, a Berkeley-based company, has taken the wireless technology one notch higher. It has created a "wireless mesh network," as opposed to point-to-point wireless. In a point-to-point network, each sensor sends information to an endpoint such as a computer. In the hotel example, each sensor would send information in a direct pathway to the central computer. In a mesh network, the sensors spread information among themselves. The result is like hop-scotch. Hit every sensor along a pathway to get to the endpoint. The benefit of a mesh network is that it allows for information to travel long distances while using low-cost, low-power "motes." Dust Networks officials would not disclose the price of their systems, saying there are so many variables based on the size of the network and where it is being deployed. The applications are robust. A wireless mesh network could be deployed around ports and airports to detect hazardous materials before they spread. To run wires from each sensor to an information center would be too costly and intrusive. "What we're really about enabling here is making sure we can get those little bits of data out of things to some place where there are either experts or expert systems that can manage, maintain and control that information to make your life either more comfortable or to make your business more productive," said Joy Weiss, chief executive of Dust Networks. Dust's technology began to take root several years ago at the University of California, Berkeley's engineering lab, where Dust's founder, Kris Pister (then a professor) began thinking of ways to deliver sensing, computing and networking in a millimeter-scale package. Pister came up with a device called a "mote" -- a computer smaller than a match head that is capable of sensing its environment and then communicating information and alerts over wireless transmissions. The project was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a wing of the U.S. Department of Defense. After two years of developing the technology, Dust Network launched its first product Sept. 21. Pister remains the company's chief technology officer. Called "SmartMesh," Dust's product can automate things like building climate and lighting control, and help with industrial monitoring and security. SAIC, a major security company, is testing Dust's technology with sensors for remote area surveillance. The wireless mesh network is hooked up to seismic, magnetic, acoustic and other sensors. SAIC is currently deploying a 30-mote network outdoors to detect vehicles and personnel around a building. In a month, SAIC will have the results of the test. "We have a lot of reason to believe it will work," said Tom Serneo, a manager in SAIC's monitoring systems division. There are several companies working in the wireless sensor networking field. Some are on the network side, like Dust Networks and Sensicast, based in Needham, Mass. Others are on the sensor side, such as Philips Lighting, which is working on wireless lighting. Analysts agree that wireless sensor networks will become a multi-billion-dollar industry, but actual projections vary. On World estimates a $7 billion market by 2010. Ian McPherson, president of Wireless Data Research Group, a San Mateo firm that tracks the industry, said the technology has shown promise, but he cautions that it is just now moving from the research stage into commercialization. He compared it to tomato seeds showing their first signs of plant life. "We're a long way from a garden full of vine ripe tomatoes, but it's clear there are quite a few tomato bushes on the way," McPherson said. Nicholas Yulico can be reached at (510) 208-6468 or nyulico at angnewspapers.com . From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Sep 28 21:40:33 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:40:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Receives 2004 Frost & Sullivan Market Leadership Award in Homeland Security Markets Message-ID: <20040928173943.G396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> September 28, 2004 02:13 PM US Eastern Timezone SAIC Receives 2004 Frost & Sullivan Market Leadership Award in Homeland Security Markets http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040928005875&newsLang=en --- PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2004--In its recent analysis, Homeland Security, Private Sector Markets, Frost & Sullivan recognized Science Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) strong presence in these markets. SAIC has emerged as a leader in these markets due to its role in developing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and providing an array of services to several state and local governments, as well as industries associated with critical infrastructure. "SAIC has identified the markets that are in need of security enhancements and implementation and has entered them with the strength and knowledge needed to satisfy those requirements," notes Frost & Sullivan Industry Manager Gary Leikin. Among its wide range of services, SAIC offers consulting and business solutions, security implementation, and assessments such as vulnerability, risk, and safety. Implementing these services has enabled SAIC to penetrate areas such as air transportation, maritime, seaport and harbor security, energy, IT and biosecurity. Security is integral to an industry's structure, and SAIC focuses on providing a solution for virtually every need. As a company that stays tuned to market and technology developments, SAIC has been able to build a strong customer base. The company works closely with its customers supporting their technical and strategic needs and often provides the training required for implementation. In response to increased competition and evolving technology, SAIC has identified the need to move beyond traditional ways of doing business. The company has worked at expanding its technical capabilities and diversifying its markets. This diversification has helped it apply existing technologies to fresh applications. SAIC was chosen to integrate the data network connecting the 22 DHS agencies based on the success of its previous work experience with government agencies. Through its diverse team of professionals and teaming arrangements with competitors and smaller businesses, SAIC also caters to the needs of several commercial customers in oil and gas, healthcare, telecommunications, software and financial services. SAIC's outreach program for small businesses attempting to enter defense contracting is one of its most unique ventures. This program offers financial incentives to encourage SAIC managers to meet or exceed government requirements for small business contracting. "This truly is the making of a market leader," says Leikin. "Frost & Sullivan is proud to present SAIC with the 2004 Market Leadership Award in the Homeland Security, Private Sector Markets." About SAIC SAIC is the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care, transportation and logistics. With annual revenues of $6.7 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 44,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found on the Internet at www.saic.com. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company founded in 1961, partners with clients to create value through innovative growth strategies. The foundation of this partnership approach is our Growth Partnership Services platform, whereby we provide industry research, marketing strategies, consulting and training to our clients to help grow their business. A key benefit that Frost & Sullivan brings to its clients is a global perspective on a broad range of industries, markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. With a client list that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, as well as the investment community, Frost & Sullivan has evolved into one of the premier growth consulting companies in the world. For more information, visit www.frost.com. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Sep 30 12:34:50 2004 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (saic at vision.moundalexis.com) Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 08:34:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] 40 percent of Pentagon contracts no-bid: study Message-ID: <20040930083401.C396-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 30 September 2004 40 percent of Pentagon contracts no-bid: study http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/109256/1/.html --- WASHINGTON : The Pentagon has let more than 40 percent of contracts since 1998 without bidding, said a study released by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI). "Over the past six years, the Pentagon has awarded some 362 billion dollars to companies without competitive bidding," said the report. "In fact, of the top 10 contractors, only one, SAIC, won more than half its dollars through full and open competition. "All the others won a majority of their dollars through sole-source and other no-bid contracts," the investigative Washington think-tank said. Several companies have recently been called to account for large no-bid contracts, notably Vice-President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton, which was awarded large contracts in Iraq, and which is the target of investigations in the United States and abroad. Another is Boeing, being investigated by the US Justice Department over its huge contract for mid-air refueling tankers. The CPI report also looks critically at the Pentagon's increasing practice of outsourcing operations to the private sector, noting that in the period studied each Pentagon budget increase corresponded to an equivalent increase in external contracts. "Fully half the Defense Department budget -- some 900 billion dollars since 1998 -- has gone out the door to contractors rather than paying for direct costs, such as payrolls for the uniformed armed services," said the report. - AFP