Friday 10-21-11

It is only for the military until they need to use it against someone else.

MIT Develops New Radar Technology: Military Could See Through Walls

Looking through walls is no longer something we read about in comic books or watch in Superman movies.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory has presented new radar technology that would allow humans to see through a solid wall.

The device is 8½ feet long. It consists of an array of antennae arranged in two rows -- including eight signal receiving elements on the top and 13 signal transmitting elements at the bottom. Other components include cabling, a low-power radar transmitter, a sensitive radar receiver, a filoscope (used as a small screen purely for diagnosing problems) and of course a larger screen, similar to the average 24 inch computer screen, where one can actually view images transmitted.

All this equipment is mounted onto a movable cart that can stand at a range from 15 to 40 feet from the location you're observing.

Researcher and leader of the project, Dr. Gregory Charvat, tells ABC News the technology was conceived with the notion that it would be used by U.S. soliders during war time.

"It can be powerful during military operations especially in urban combat situations," said Charvat.

Melanie GonickLincoln Laboratory researchers Gregory... View Full Size Melanie GonickLincoln Laboratory researchers Gregory Charvat and John Peabody, foreground, stand before the solid concrete wall through which they successfully detected and captured human movement.
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The device works by emitting frequency waves at a low-power microwave signal. That signal will hit in the direction of the target, in this case a wall. Each time a wave hits the wall only some of it is absorbed inside of the wall, a tiny portion actually gets through. Once the waves go through the wall, they propagate whatever is behind the wall and pass back through that wall and into the radar's receivers.

Only moving images can be detected, so an image such as a couch or nonmoving appliance would not show up on the monitor. Images appear as red blobs moving about the screen and it looks as the image would be away and across from the actual radar. The researchers are currently working on a detection algorithm that would convert these red blobs into a cleaner image.

"We'd like to have it so that you can see either small crosses or maybe squares," said Charvat.

Charvet tells ABC News that the concept of humans being able to see through a wall was initially his dissertation at Michigan State University. He says he worked with an adviser and built a small mechanical version of the MIT radar system – with the use of a high precision motor from a garage opener - however that model took 20 minutes just to look through a four inch concrete wall.

Later he worked out of his garage while he developed an 8½ foot long, phased array model of the device, but this one took 2 seconds to go through the wall and as a result produced one image every two seconds. Charvet said this was simply not feasible.

Finally after partnering up with fellow colleagues Tyler Ralston and MIT Lincoln Laboratory associate John Peabody, they developed this model. The trio combined their areas of expertise, applied for a grant, and began their work on developing this new system that can produce images in real time.

Charvet says they've created this prototype with the idea of it being for military use. Their vision is for soldiers to mount the device inside of a vehicle and use that as a sort of command center. The vehicle would then be parked around the corner or across the street from the target.

"We're speaking to potential government sponsors and are hoping someone can manufacture it," said Charvet. "This is something that we've been quietly working on so it's a new thing that requires lots of preparation, test gear, and even damage equipment while testing."

Charvet says it can be weeks worth of testing but he and his colleagues have mapped out a pretty good schedule, "the sooner we get this going the better."

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When asked if the device had a name he said for now it's being called the TWIR – Through Wall Imaging Radar.

"That's all we came up with, but if anyone has a better name we'll certainly take suggestions," said Charvet.

Don't expect to see the TWIR out on the streets, at least not anytime soon. It's being pitched solely for military use in urban war zones.

Charvet did say he and his colleagues think that perhaps a version of this technology could be very useful in finding people stuck in rubble in the event of a natural disaster or even a terrorist attack but right now the plan is for military use.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/radar-technology-mit-walls/story?id=14773871

Now i guess they want to feel up people way from the airport now, soon they will want to do it in your house. Sad,

TSA Checkpoints Now On TN Highways

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security on Tuesday partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and several other federal and state agencies for a safety enforcement and awareness operation on Tennessee’s interstates and two metropolitan-area bus stations. They are randomly inspecting vehicles on highways in Tennessee.

The random inspections really aren’t any more thorough normal, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott who says paying attention to details can make a difference.

“People generally associate the TSA with airport security…but now we have moved on to other forms of transportation, such as highways, buses and railways,” said Kevin McCarthy, TSA federal security director for West Tennessee.

To increase national security, the TSA created Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response, known as VIPR, teams, which consist of federal air marshals, surface transportation security inspectors, transportation security officers, behavior detention officers and explosive detection canine teams.

McCarthy also pointed out that Interstate 40 is one of the country’s a major thoroughfares, being the third longest major west-east interstate highway in the United States after Interstate 90 and Interstate 80. Interstate 40′s western end is in Barstow, Calif. and its eastern end is in Wilmington, N.C.

This is not a surprise considering Tampa, FL bus stations have long been occupied by TSA checkpoints forcing random searches.

http://tennesseenewspress.com/2011/10/19/tsa-checkpoints-now-on-tn-highways/

Couple’s case against EPA to be heard
Can’t build on property in Idaho designated as wetland by agency

Mike and Chantell Sackett are still waiting to be heard by the Environmental Protection Agency, but now they’ve got a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The high court agreed Tuesday to add the Idaho couple’s case to its docket for the term starting in October. The Idaho couple has argued that the EPA effectively seized their land after ordering them to stop building a house on their half-acre lot in the state’s arid panhandle because it was a federally designated wetland.

The legal issue at hand is whether the agency denied the Sacketts due process by placing unreasonable hurdles in front of their efforts to obtain a prompt review.

“We’re very encouraged that the Supreme Court has recognized how important our case is,” said Mr. Sackett in a statement. “We are standing up against an agency that seems to have unlimited resources and few if any limits on what it can do to property owners.”

Four years ago, the Sacketts were slapped with a compliance order stating that they had violated the Clean Water Act because their parcel is classified as a protected wetland. The couple was ordered to stop grading their property and return it to its original condition or face steep fines.

While the land is located near Priest Lake, the dry, dirt lot is zoned for residential use, sits between other houses in a suburban neighborhood, and has a sewer hookup. When the Sacketts tried to explain this to EPA officials, they were told that they would need to apply for a wetlands development permit in order to receive a hearing.

But the permit application process proved to be time-consuming and expensive. Damien Schiff, the Sacketts’ attorney, estimates the cost could be more than $200,000 - or more than the value of the property itself.

The Sacketts took their case to court, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the agency in September, ruling that the family had a sufficient avenue of appeal and that the permitting process was less onerous than described.

Allowing violators to challenge compliance orders quickly would also run counter to EPA’s efforts to protect the environment, said the court.

Said Judge Ronald Gould in his opinion: “The goal of enabling swift corrective action would be defeated by permitting immediate judicial review of compliance orders.”

While spending $200,000 may be a reasonable sum for large companies or wealthy individuals, it places an unreasonable burden on average citizens like the Sacketts, said Mr. Schiff.

“The 9th Circuit’s ruling against the Sacketts amounted to putting a $200,000 price tag on their right to pursue justice,” said Mr. Schiff, a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento, Calif. “If they can’t get judicial review of the EPA’s land grab without going through a costly, and probably futile permitting process, then for all intents and purposes, they have been denied their day in court.”

Mr. Schiff added, “Charging property owners a sky-high admissions fee to get into court isn’t just wrong, it’s flat-out unconstitutional.”

The Sacketts, who are still waiting to build their house, said they hope the case will help other property owners who have been cut off from their land.

“We’re standing up for everyone’s right to go to court when the government hands you a raw deal - or takes over your hard-earned property,” said Mr. Sackett.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/28/couples-case-against-epa-to-be-heard/