got geoint?

Today, U.S. combat troops are exiting from the last of Iraq’s cities and towns, which means that keeping the peace will depend on stepped-up intelligence, special-forces units and stronger political reconciliation. The rationale behind this move is that Iraqi forces seem to have gained enough strength and sophistication to handle the potential spike in attacks that may follow the withdrawal. In addition, President Obama wants to maintain regional stability, allowing the U.S. military leeway to devote more attention to Afghanistan.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off. We hope everyone had a pleasant weekend and is looking forward to a shorter, holiday week. Many folks may actually be taking a vacation this week. For those taking time away from the office, we hope the sun shines for you this week while you are relaxing at the shore. For those of us in the office this week, we have a wide range of news stories this week that will stimulate your frontal lobe and get your week started on the right track.

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Welcome to our weekly Friday’s Food for Thought post. This week’s theme is all about the cult of celebrity. For anyone on Twitter or Facebook last night, or heck even watching CNN, it was all about Michael Jackson’s death, coming on the heels of the news of Farrah…and we should not forget about Ed McMahon. Anyhow, our nation is obsessed with the cult of celebrity. US Weekly is one of the most read magazines. Perez Hilton’s blog gets WAY more readers than got geoint? Why is this? We are going to attempt to uncover the deeper answers about our human nature and why we worship the cult of celebrity. Also, we will highlight some celebrities in the intelligence community. Yes, we are rock stars too. Enjoy and happy Friday!

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Mr. Ken Ferris, a staff officer from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) attending the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in Ft. Leavenworth, was recently awarded the inaugural Interagency Award during CGSC’s 127th graduation ceremonies. Ferris became the first interagency student to receive the distinguished honor for, among many things considered, his outstanding academic and physical performance, demonstrated leadership in the classroom, and diverse strategic community engagements.

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The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) and KMI Media Group (KMI) recently formed partnership that re-branded KMI’s highly respected industry magazine, Military Geospatial Technology (MGT), which is now Geospatial Intelligence Forum – Official Publication of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. Here’s an exclusive got geoint? podcast with Harrison Donnelly, managing editor, Geospatial Intelligence Forum.

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It goes without saying that members of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) board of directors are true industry thought leaders. Case in point is board member Chris Tucker, Ph.D., who is the founding chief strategic officer of In-Q-Tel and former CEO of IONIC. Mr. Tucker recently penned an OpEd for Space News on a new standard for the NRO. As many of you know, we have been covering the NRO for sometime now — from the announcement of the new director to the appointment of the development of the new panel who will assess its viability. Check out Mr. Tucker’s Space News OpEd here. Very insightful and very much worth a read. In addition, here’s a Q&A we did with Mr. Tucker back in late 2008. Happy Thursday.

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Mr. Charles Allen, former Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the decision to kill the domestic spy satellite program is a mistake. Mr. Allen told the Associated Press that the imaging could help provide a better understanding of the U.S. land and sea border vulnerabilities, as well as weaknesses in the country’s critical infrastructure that could be exploited by terrorists. As many of you know, Mr. Allen spoke at the GEOINT 2008 Symposium last year.

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Once again it is Wednesday and it’s time for the “Wednesday GEOINT 2008 Video” post. We hope these weekly videos are a reminder of the great topics highlighted last year and get you excited for GEOINT 2009. Today’s installment is the keynote video of the Mr. R. James Woolsey, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.). Mr. Woolsey highlights current and future threats that face our nation including climate change. Scroll down and enjoy.

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Directions Magazine is hosting a most-excellent webinar on July 25, 2009 about how multiple departments in cities and counties are providing more robust services with enterprise GIS — while achieving a reduction in expenditures. The webinar will cover how NAVTEQ map data powers the ESRI solutions that enhance infrastructure supervision, provide greater performance management and generate efficiencies in work processes, including U. S. Census 2010 preparations. As a real-life example, officials from the city of Alpharetta, GA will discuss its enhanced workflows by integrating GIS software and NAVTEQ data to support its overall business processes. To learn how municipalities can take advantage of existing training, software and data to implement enterprise solutions, we recommend you sign up for the webinar here.

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to kill a program begun by the Bush administration that would use U.S. spy satellites for domestic security and law enforcement. Why? She consulted with state and local law enforcement officials and learned that they had far more pressing priorities than using satellites to collect information and eavesdrop on people. As you can imagine, the decision is causing a stir on both sides of the aisle. Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat and House homeland security committee member had this to say about Napolitano’s bold move: “I thought this was just an invitation to huge mischief. It shows real leadership on the part of Janet Napolitano.” Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., had this to say: “If it is true, it’s a very big mistake. This is definitely a step back in the war on terror.” What do you all think about this? Would this be a step back in the war on terror? Or was a prudent decision based on real feedback – it sounds like state and local law enforcement was not even using the data? We welcome all thoughts and feedback.

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