Conflicting reports concerning Cyber Command

There are conflicting reports concerning the future and the direction of an Air Force program designed to command and control cyberspace. Over the summer Air Force decided to halt operations towards the building of a Air Force Cyber Command – due mostly to the change in top brass, but also because AF was stepping on some Department of Defense toes when it decided to be the sole protector of cyberspace (much in the same way they “control” outer space).

Bob Brewin, of NextGov, reported yesterday that AF has “decided to pursue forming Cyber Command to defend Defense Department networks and to launch cyberattacks against foes after putting the project on hold in August,” as a result of some meetings in Colorado Springs, Colorado. But, the Air Force Times has drawn a decidedly different conclusion from those meetings. More on the flip side.

The Treasury gets a new acronym

The Treasury Department released a rough outline of how the government plans to manage the $700 billion recovery plan yesterday, the New York Times reports. Among some of structure provisions is a timetable to have things ready in six weeks. They also formally announced that Neel Kashkari, 35, a former executive at Goldman Sachs who is an assistant secretary for international economics, will be in charge of the newly created Office of Financial Stability. Click on through to the other side…

Supremacy in the Supreme Court

Three of the four national daily news papers have touched on a subject I wrote about a few weeks ago. The New York Times and USA Today discuss in two editorials the importance of the Presidential election on the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Washington Post clearly dissects the Court demographics to help explain exactly what is at stake. Details on the flip side.

A busy week for the kids in accounting

I’ve never seen this, but as one trusty Prologuer pointed out, the defense bill was just passed. I’m quick to rebut that what follows is not just defense procurement but a bevvy (and incomplete) summary of what has been contracted government-wide over the last week.  There’s over one hundred and thirteen separate contracts listed by the Washington Post on the flip side – try to find your favorite! I’ve still never seen this many in the Post before…

From Iceland to Italy, world markets feeling The Pinch

The German Chancellor looks unimpressed by the growing unease in European markets

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are both reporting today on the effects of the American credit crisis on European soil. It seems as though Monopoly Europe has just been released. More on the flip side.

The Treasury Secretary’s New Hat

What a week it’s been. The $700,000,000,000 “bailout” or “rescue” package, the McCain/Obama debate, and now word that Citi Group has bought Wachovia has given the news networks just about reason enough to be 24-hour. As usual, though, Past & Prologue will try to dig through the noise. Today, the New York Times and Washington Post are both reporting on a story, we think deserves your attention and will warrant close coverage leading into the next administration – whoever that may be.

Wanted: Contractors to help buy ‘distressed assets’

Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are reporting today that the Treasury’s bailout plan is pushing forward through Congress. The plan is not without its detractors, however. See the flip side for a quick rundown and some irresponsible predictions…

The High Import of the High Court

Last Sunday (the 14th) I attended a panel at the Brooklyn Book Festival, where a number authors, ranging from Johnathan Lethem, to Johnathan Franzen, to Joan Didion spoke about new works, celebrated works, and the unfortunate state of frenzied hysteria we find ourselves in every four years or so. I sat in on a panel dubbed “The Consequences to Come” moderated by Robert Silvers, editor of The New York Review, which was to discuss the looming 2008 Presidential Election. The panel was decidedly pro-Obama, with Mark Danner, Ronald Dworkin, Darryl Pinckney and Joan Didion rounding things out. Each had their own assessment of how close Barack Obama would come to the White House, each voicing an understandably cynical prediction – it was, after all, one week after the Republican Convention and the unveiling of America’s newest sweetheart, Sarah Palin.

One speaker, in particular, was admittedly “depressed” by the GOP’s recent bounce. Ronald Dworkin – American legal philosopher, current professor at University College London and the New York University School of Law – had pleaded for previous speaker Mark Danner to “cheer him up with some favorable numbers.” After summarily disregarding Obama’s current poll position with regards to the “symbol-based community,” Danner left Dworkin to dwell on the rank possibilities of the Supreme Court under John McCain’s stewardship.

Dworkin said the Constitution stands to be left far worse than “more of the same” if McCain wins the White House. He argued that given the current makeup of the Supreme Court, in terms of age and ideology, many long-standing precedents regarding women’s rights, free speech and Affirmative Action would be completely overhauled given another four years of a GOP-led presidency.He stressed the key role Justice Kennedy has played, citing Kennedy’s record as a lynch pin.

In a Sunday Editorial, the New York Times concurred. “Under Mr. McCain, if a liberal justice or two or three steps down, we may see a very different America.” The veracity with which Dworkin spoke, left the assembled crowd just as depressed as he was. But, on the bright side, Gallup currently has Obama at +4…

First, an Introduction is In Order…

Let me introduce you to the National Security Presidential Directive 54 (NSPD-54) a.k.a. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 (HSPD-23) a.k.a. the Comprehensive National Cyber Security Initiative (CNCI) or more simply, “Project 12.” All of these names refer to a multi-billion program proposed by President Bush in January of this year, wherein the basic goal of the program is “to better protect computer networks and systems, and to improve information technology processes and policies,” according to a NextGov article.

Pretty much everything else about this project is under lock and key. A few details have been forth coming over the last few months, but by and large, the initiative’s depth and breadth have yet to be released to the public.

An early autumn stroll down Boardwalk and Park Place

$700 billion + $85 billion + $200 billion = the amount of money the federal government has launched into the nation’s financial system over the last two weeks. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve are playing Monopoly, buying up all the real-estate it can: $29 billion worth of Bear Sterns (so Goldman Sachs could buy the bank for fractions of pennies on the dollar), some $200 billion for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Feddie Mac, $85 billion for American International Group (AIG), and as of Saturday – $700 billion for whoever else needs some allowance money for the next few weeks. And as if that weren’t enough, some argue there is over a trillion dollars of bad debt mucking up the financial system – so the government has raised its debt ceiling from $10.6 trillion to $11.3 trillion.

So much for the numbers; it’s good to have a nice baseline – a clear understanding of just how many gold $500 bills you’ll need as the banker in this game. And make no mistake, as taxpayers, we are all the bankers in this game of Monopoly, we just happen to be playing against other bankers who’ve run out of money. Now, usually when someone runs out of money in the Parker Brothers’ game, they curse and run off or fetch some collateral from Grandma. But this is no game – this is real and Lehman Brother’s just lost their building on Boardwalk, in Midtown Manhattan, to British investment firm, Barclays.

T-minus 44 Days and Counting…

The fate of the world will be decided in less than seven weeks – McCain/Palin or Obama/Biden – the fat is in the fire, it would seem. Past and Prologue is slowly coming back to life, so be on the lookout for increasingly frequent, random updates concerning all things Election 2008, end-of-year government procurement, and some special comment on the apparent callapse of capitalism (or maybe just the callapse of Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, et al.)

The wheels are set in motion – check back on Monday, September 22 for updates galore!

Coasting Guards

The US Coast Guard has been the focal point of many scrutinous eyes as of late. The highly anticipated and highly funded program, Integrated Deepwater System Program (Deepwater) is a 25-year, $24 billion program to integrate and modernize the fleet of aircraft, ships, logistics and command systems of the US Coast Guard. This program was started in 2002 and it has been a contentious program since the beginning.

Stand Up For Wikileaks

A judge has ordered the website Wikileaks.orgs closed in a brash pro-censorship move. Wikileaks, a secure website for whistle-blowers to post documents that show wrong doing, and other information important to the public; posted information from a Julius Baer Bank employee that allegedly showed asset hiding and other cover ups by the bank and prompted the shut-down of the site.

Chuck Todd Gives Good Math

You know, every primary it gets better – we love Chuck Todd and his skills with the stylus.  Last night he even started our new favorite word “primacaucus” – yes, we’re nerds.  A little Chuck Todd action:

This Week In Revolutions

Fidel Castro retired today saying he will not seek another term. Kosovo has also declared its independence against the threats of Serbia and Russia. When one revolution closes the door another opens a window…news and analysis on the flip…