got geoint?

Now that everyone has shaken off the tryptophan side-effects from eating too much Thanksgiving turkey, we are ready to get focused and back to work. What better way to dive into the challenging work world than to read up on the latest news and headlines — beyond the Tiger Woods car crash (although it does seem a bit shady) — that impacts you. Today, we have compiled a number of stories that cover both domestic and international topics; news about Japan and India’s expanded space/satellite power, as well as a sobering post about the U.S. losing its dominance. As we always say, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

McCain Wants Review on Defense Work by Retired Brass
According to Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Pentagon should rewrite ethics rules for retired generals who work as advisers for the military while representing defense contractors. McCain was among several members of Congress who called for changes in the wake of a recent USA TODAY investigation piece. The newspaper found that many retired officers collect their annual pensions, work for defense firms and draw government consulting fees as “senior mentors” to the military services. Of the 158 retired generals and admirals identified as senior mentors, 80% had financial ties to defense contractors, including 29 who were full-time executives of defense companies. Read the full USA Today article here.

U.S. Power Slipping, Analysts Warn
A warning to lawmakers of a shift underway in the global balance of power from the West to the East came this week from a rather sober source, Stephen Daggett, a defense policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service. CRS analysts are better known for providing carefully balanced and normative assessments of weapons systems or foreign policy issues, without weighing in on what can be politically tricky issues; which is why I hope lawmakers listened closely to what he said. Check out the full post from our friends at DoD Buzz here.

Japan Launches 5th Spy Satellite
Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said. The domestically developed H-2A rocket carrying the $565 million satellite lifted off from a space center on the southern island of Tanegashima, said Hisashi Michigami, an official at the Cabinet Office. “The satellite will gather intelligence for our defense and diplomatic purposes,” Michigami said. “We hope to upgrade our ability to gather intelligence on our own. Intelligence gathering is vital to our national security.” Read the full AP story here.

ISRO to Launch 8 Foreign Satellites
India’s space agency has in its pipeline eight foreign satellites for launch and is scouting to acquire such spacecraft from abroad to expand capacity in the field of communication transponder back home. “Today, we have eight (foreign) satellites to be launched. This will be launched over the next two-three years”, Managing Director of Antrix Corporation, marketing arm of Bangalore headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), KR Sridhara Murthi, said. These are a mix of small and bigger satellites, he said but declined to elaborate, noting that the space agency is yet to formally ink some of these contracts. Read the full Reuters article here.

GPS Cell Phone Apps Challenge Standalone Devices
The growth of cell phones with global-positioning technology is making life uncertain for the makers of personal navigational devices that help drivers figure out where they are and where to go. Manufacturers of standalone GPS products will have to move quickly and smartly to transform their dumb map readers into intelligent devices that can provide a host of services such as traffic avoidance. Otherwise, they risk obsolescence in a future in which customers view navigation as simply one more application for their phones. Some of the newer apps already closely match what basic, dashboard-mounted gadgets can do. We could not agree more. Check out the the full AP article here.

Are Geospatial Professionals in the Netherlands Ready for a Celebration?
On December 2-3, the biannual Geo-Informatie Nederland (GIN) Congress will take place in Utrecht, the Netherlands; it’s theme: Broadening Geo. This is the 25th edition of this event. A lot has changed since the first time geo-professionals got together. Is it time to celebrate? Read more from our friends at Directions Magazine here.

Happy Monday!

Tags: Congressional Research Service, DoD Buzz, GEOINT, geospaital intelligence, GIS, GPS, India's space agency, Intelligence Community, iPhones, ISRO, Japan Space Program, John McCain, smart phones, Tiger Woods