Author Archives: Jonathan Soroko

About Jonathan Soroko

Revived from the dead, 18-July-2013

Drobo external storage devices

Via GDGT: This is one of a family of devices from DROBO – (DROBO page on gdgt.com) external

Data Robotics DROBO 2nd gen

storage arrays. The DROBO 2nd Gen, pictured at right, has four hot-swappable drive bays with a maximum capacity of 16TB (In/out ports include Firewire 800 and USB 2.0). Current street price about $200 USD.

The DROBO S, has five swappable drive bays, with capacity of up to 10 TB  total. FireWire 800, USB2.0 or eSATA connections. According to the
Data Robotics Drobo S specs page,

Accommodates from one to five 3.5” SATA I / SATA II hard drives of any manufacturer, capacity, spindle speed, and/or cache. No carriers or tools required.

In other words – this can be used to back up a 10 TB volume. It can accomodate five different drives, and drives from different manufacturers, reducing the risk of simultaneous failure due to design flaw (you may be chuckling – but there’s more than one church that’s had multiple light-van rollovers with same models, and we had dual contemporaneous Seagate external drive failures – same modeland design, and same power circuitry problem). Redundancy for risk reduction can require more than additional layers of the same material. At about $800 street – it’s a bit pricey at the moment – plus the drives themselves (e.g. this Western Digital Caviar 1 TB for $99 or a Western Digital Caviar Green for $299.

We’ll continue to look around – but the general trend of cheaper, hot-swappable, redundant devices is good news for organizations involved in disaster preparation and management – it means that with a little planning and a decreasing financial outlay – we can keep necessary information at hand – for instance, to restore or maintain installations.

BBC investigation demonstrates that Iraq purchased fraudulent bomb detection devices

Via BBC News:

The BBC has conducted an investigation which demonstrated that Iraq purchased bomb detection devices in which the component purported to detect trace amounts of TNT was, in fact, “nothing but the type of anti-theft tag used to prevent stealing in high street stores.” Iraqi Interior ministry still backing ‘bomb detector’

According to the BBC,

Some Iraqi officials are insisting that a controversial bomb detection device works, despite a BBC inquiry in which experts said the item was useless.

Britain has banned exports of the ADE-651 and the director of the company selling them was arrested and bailed.(emphasis supplied)

But the device is still being used at checkpoints all over Baghdad. Continue reading →

On The Media: do reporters disrupt disaster response logistics?

In Danger In Numbers, On the Media Host Bob Garfield interviews Noam Schreiber of The New Republic (transcript here).

Are large numbers of journalists displacing rescue workers and supplies, in part by competing for scarce resources on the ground? This is an excellent discussion, and typical for OTM, an outstanding weekly effort to provide feedbacks to inform and correct journalism.

To answer this with regards to Earthquake Relief efforts in Haiti we need to know:

  1. How many journalists and support staff went to Haiti?
  2. How they got there? Did they displace transportation resources, or generate new ones?
  3. What did they bring in terms of supplies and money?
  4. What they consume, in terms of supplies and other resources?
  5. How much information are the able to get out of the country? Did they increase outbound bandwidth? This information isn’t used just by the “public” – it is, and should be, integrated into the intelligence stream. This is an extreme example of open-source intelligence – because it’s essentially a non-military, non-adversarial incident.
  6. Did the journalists facilitate or develop enhanced outbound transportation facilities? Did they make medevac space available, albeit inadvertently?

To answer this question, originally posted by OTM listeners, we need a census of journalists and their logistical operations.

It’s true that Haiti needs a lot right now – starting with an airlift of ham radio operators, historically volunteer can-do communications personnel in big emergencies. (We believe that Haiti likely has insufficient local ham operators, but we haven’t been able to fact-check that). The organizations whose members have been doing this for decades are

Finally, there’s Brian Steckler of the Naval Postgraduate School and its exemplary  Hastily Formed Networks Research Group.Professor Steckler, his students, and others were able to restore telephone service in Mississippi during Katrina within hours of arrival.

Their after-action reports, (critical documents here) indicate that they were substantially delayed by “celebrity” fly-overs – forcing them to drive

equipment from the West Coast to the East. They still got it done.

Having studied these issues for several years – if I find myself in a disaster with one outbound message, I’m calling Professor Steckler.

We hope to follow this post with additional coverage of communications and logistics issues relating to the current crisis in Haiti.

UPI Reports Levinson family in Iran

According to United Press International:

Christine Levinson (L), wife of an ex-FBI agent Robert Levinson who disappeared in Iran in March 2007, her son Daniel (C), and her sister Susan are seen after arriving at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, Iran on December 18, 2007. Robert Levinson went missing while on a business trip to Iran’s southern island of Kish and the Iranian government claims they have no information on his whereabouts.

Wife of missing ex-FBI agent arrives in Iran

UPI photo dated December 18th, 2009:

Photo by United Press International dated 18 December 2009

Photo by United Press International dated 18 December 2009


Marking 1,000th day of disappearance, White House and Sec'ty Clinton repeat demand for information on Levinson whereabouts

From the Miami Herald:

U.S. steps up pressure on Iran over missing ex-FBI agent, by Lesley Clark of the McClatchy Newspapers:

WASHINGTON — The White House and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton upped the pressure Thursday on Iran to divulge any information it has about Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who went missing from a Persian Gulf island in March 2007.

The statement from the White House came as the Coral Springs, Fla., man’s family marked the 1,000th day of his disappearance with meetings at the State Department and the FBI. National Security Adviser James Jones also met with the family “to reassure them that Bob’s case remains a priority for the United States,” the White House said.

The FBI and the State Department called for cooperation, with the FBI — the lead agency that investigates the disappearances of Americans overseas — saying that it has “not received any information from Iranian authorities to date.”

Clinton echoed Gibbs’ remarks and said that although Iranian authorities had promised the family that they’d share information about the investigation, “that promise has yet to be fulfilled.”

Further:

Family of missing former FBI agent marks 1,000th day of his disappearance

U.S. calls on Iran to help find missing Broward man

We feign no neutrality in this matter: the Administration’s efforts are appreciated, and Bob Levinson is my dear friend, generous colleague, mentor, and as good a person as I have ever known. We urge the Administration to continue to pursue the matter, and Iranian government to do the right thing, and take whatever steps are necessary to locate him and return him to his family and friends.



Kaiser Family Foundation: side-by-side comparison of health insurance proposals

The Kaiser Family Foundation has created a web page which permits side-by-side comparisons of every health-care proposal currently on the table, including that by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT via

Brooklyn, New York) and that of the Republican Study Group. I note those because I’m taking a guess that those represent the poles of the debate – but that may not be the case. There are fourteen bills compared, not including President Obama’s proposal as a candidate, which KFF thoughtfully provides.

We are reluctant to reach a conclusion, not having read the bill yet – but concerned that the net effect of the bill may amount to a step backwards. That said, if the bill passes or fails to pass in its current form, we suggest that – among other steps – it may be time to revisit the insurance industry’s exemption(s) from United States antitrust laws.


Zero Geography: GPS Real-World Gaming in Hybrid Space

Zero Geography reports on a real-time game using GPS devices which has – for our purposes, interesting applications for coordinating SAR or other response efforts. From Zero Geography: GPS Real-World Gaming in Hybrid Space.

A real-time, multiplayer, GPS game for mobiles is being played out in the real-world. The game, played by groups of four or five people, uses a one kilometer radius around any point on Earth to delineate spatial extents in which three or four chasers try to capture one runner. Each one of the players is tracked via a GPS phone and their coordinates are mashed onto a map that they can all see. The only twist that that the runner is always allowed to view the map, whilst the chasers only have access to the map every six minutes. The game is a fascinating way to roll elements of the physical and virtual together into an adrenaline-pumped experience.

Zero Geography is a brilliant blog about matters geographic by a person, persons, or entity named Mark Graham, who is otherwise reticent about identity or contact information. Check it out.


RuggedNotebooks.com: MILSPEC 810F data devices

We’ve come across RuggedNotebooks.com, a supplier of laptop computers and PDAs to public and private users of data devices whose equipment must survive drops, immersion, humidity, sand, and extreme heat.  (MILSPEC 810F, effective, January 1, 2000).  ((We note that the standard is not classified,

although the data which may be stored on them is; if that were not the case, we would not discuss it in this forum. Because the MILSPEC standards are – for the most part – not classified – using the military’s procurement standards can be useful for non-military purchasers, in and out of government. There are soldiers whose job it is to throw expensive equipment off the roofs of buildings, into water tanks, and otherwise abuse them. We’re fairly sure, from reader feedback, that we’ve got at least a few readers, to whom this sounds like fun. We’re still happy to have them as readers, notwithstanding their unusual ideas of entertainment)). RuggedNotebooks makes  three models of rugged PDA – and for anyone who’s counting, that’s 50% more models of PDA than Hewlett-Packard makes (only two which are PDAs without phones) and three more than Palm (no non-phone PDAs).

In addition, RuggedNotebooks makes nine laptops and tablets to the same standard, and another line of “semi-rugged” devices. We’ll try to update with price and images later.




French army sides with Mozilla in Microsoft email war (Reuters via Open Source Pixels

French army sides with Mozilla in Microsoft email war (Reuters) – via Open Source Pixels.

Reuters takes a look at the use of Thunderbird by the French military. “The military found Mozilla’s open source design permitted France to build security extensions, while Microsoft’s secret, proprietary software allowed no tinkering. “We started with a military project, but quickly generalized it,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Frederic Suel of the Ministry of Defense and one of those in charge of the project.”

Reuters article here.

Does anyone know how much the United States government spends, let’s say, on Microsoft Outlook licenses per year? We’ll try to find out.




Sierra Trading Post one-day sale

Sierra Trading Post, on any given day a place to find high-end gear and clothing at low-end prices, is having a one-day sale with an additional 40% off of 4,000 items. Sierra Trading Post’s stock – from my viewing of it – is usually very high-end outdoors Sierra Trading Post Homepage_Logo

gear and clothing, sometimes in last years colors, occasionally slight seconds, or perfectly fine discontinued items. In addition to outdoors gear (from the United States and elsewhere), they carry overstocks on very high-end European clothing. Precisely how a company based in Cheyenne, Wyoming ends up selling very-high-grade European dress clothing and outdoors gear is one of those market mysteries whose answer is not apparent on the face of things.

That said (that I don’t understand their business model), they carry a lot of products which should be in a go-bag or worn during an emergency – or to prevent one. Since – having been through it – I’ve learned that dogs can be even more vulnerable than children to being hit by cars, Sierra Trading Post’s deals on the OllyDog reflective vest for $17.95 (medium, large and extra-large available; but if you’re dog’s small – these can end up doubling as raincoats) may save you and your dog from heartbreak:

Olly Dog reflective vest medium - at Sierra Trading Post

Olly Dog reflective vest medium - at Sierra Trading Post

There’s more, of course – check out Sierra Trading Post’s front page – and I believe that will bring you to the additional 40% one-day sale on 4,000 items, including the dog vest above.




Solar Kinetics – Single-Element Stretched- Membrane Dish – at Sandia National Labs

Solar Kinetics’ Single-Element Stretched- Membrane Dish. 7 Meter diameter. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Sollar Kinetics' Single-Element Stretched- Membrane Dish. 7 Meter diameter. Solar Kinetics' Single-Element Stretched- Membrane Dish. 7 Meter diameter. Public domain image via Sandia Nat'l Lab.

Sollar Kinetics' Single-Element Stretched- Membrane Dish. 7 Meter diameter. Solar Kinetics' Single-Element Stretched- Membrane Dish. 7 Meter diameter. Public domain image via Sandia Nat'l Lab.

We’re trying to sort out if this is the same Solar Kinetics firm responsible for the Electric 7 electric  vehicle design. (Images of and explanation of construction process here). Following are some images of a completed Electric 7:

Electric 7 by Solar Kinetics

Electric 7 by Solar Kinetics

More images of the 2008 Electric 7.




Larry Moore: Mueller solar array in Austin

Larry D. Moore’s image of another interesting solar panel configuration in Austin, Texas. Image dated September, 20009. You can find a higher-resolution image – and other excellent images on a variety of subjects in his Wikimedia Commons Gallery.

Larry D. Moore: image of Mueller solar array in Austin, TX (US) via Wikimedia Commons

Larry D. Moore: image of Mueller solar array in Austin, TX (US) via Wikimedia Commons

Assuming, for argument’s sake, that the configuration has no effect (in either direction) on efficiency. Since we’re going to be using more and more of these, we think experimentation with aesthetic form is an end unto itself, rather than having the national landscape covered with identical objects.

U.S. Man Accused of Helping Plot 2008 Mumbai Attack – NYTimes.com

From the Times coverage by (Ginger Thompson and David Johnston) of the prosecution of David C. Headley, an American citizen who has been accused of assisting in the 2008 Mumbai  attacks.

The suspect, David C. Headley of Chicago, is accused of helping identify targets for a Pakistan-based terrorist group called Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose two-day attack on luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a Jewish community center and a crowded train station brought India’s financial capital to a halt and shocked the world. The complaint described Mr. Headley’s repeated scouting visits to the sites nearly two years before the attacks, which have reignited tensions between India and Pakistan.

The authorities say that among his conspirators was Ilyas Kashmiri, regarded by Western officials as one of the most dangerous Islamic militants operating in Pakistan’s restive tribal areas.

The charges, including six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places and to murder and maim, significantly expanded the government’s case against Mr. Headley, 49. And his profile — he has roots in the United States and links to high levels of the Pakistani government and military — makes him a highly unusual terror suspect.

Mr. Headley was arrested in October, along with another Chicago resident, Tahawwur Rana, and charged with plotting to attack a Danish newspaper that in 2005 published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, outraging much of the Muslim world.

Since his arrest, Mr. Headley has cooperated with the authorities. That assistance, along with new leads from the authorities in Pakistan and India, and an examination of e-mail messages between Mr. Headley and others suspected in the two plots, led to the new charges involving the Mumbai killings, officials said

U.S. Man Accused of Helping Plot 2008 Mumbai Attack – NYTimes.com.

According to the Times, he’s got a history as a DEA informant as well:

Friends and a relative said Mr. Headley dropped out of college and fell into trouble. In 1998 he was convicted of smuggling heroin into the United States, but avoided a long jail sentence by cooperating with the authorities. He later conducted undercover operations in Pakistan for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Times has also published an archive of unsealed court documents.

More on this story from other sources:

The Telegraph reports that Headley was identified to United States authorities by British Intelligence.

Top News India reports that an Indian actor, first name “Rahul,” may have been a target as well. LeT’s filmi target: ‘Rahul’

WaPo: MIT team wins DARPA network challenge

Monica Hesse at the Washington Post reports that a team from MIT has won a DARPA prize for solving a distributed problem with a team/network that was partly ad hoc. TheDARPA Network Challengerequired teams to locate 10 weather balloons located around the country. From Hesse’s article, “Spy vs. spy on Facebook:”

In DARPA’s Network Challenge, tied to the 40-year anniversary of the Internet, the Department of Defense’s research arm placed 10 weather balloons in public places around the country. The first team to locate and submit the balloons’ correct geographic coordinates would get the cash prize. Ready, set, Twitter!

More than 4,000 teams participated. More than a few interesting things were revealed about the human psyche.

“It’s a huge game-theory simulation,” says Norman Whitaker of DARPA’s Transformational Convergence Technology Office. The only way to win the hunt was to find the location of every balloon, but a savvy participant would withhold his sighting until he’d amassed the other nine locations, or disseminated false information to throw others off the trail.

The winning team was spearheaded by Riley Crane, a postdoctoral research fellow at MIT’s Media Lab. MIT’s team set up an elaborate information-gathering pyramid. Each balloon was allotted $4,000. The first person to spot one would be awarded $2,000, while the people who referred them to the team would get smaller amounts based on where they fell on the info chain. Any leftover money, after payment to spotters and their friends, will be donated to charity.

Crane says that the team’s decision to spread the wealth was instrumental to its success, as it gave people an incentive to share good information, and a feeling of investment in the process. He was less interested in the monetary prize than in the potential for social research.

More articles by Monica Hesse here.

See also

our earlier post, “How to Break Networks”

(about Lt. Col. John Graham, then of the West Point faculty)

NB: It’s not clear how the Washington Post is archiving this article – it bears the html alternate title  MIT wins Defense Department balloon hunt, a test of social networking savvy. A minor example of the difficulties that come with technological change.

Jim Edwards: FDA Has Only 2 Inspectors Watching Drug Factories in China

Jim Edwards reported Friday on BNet that the FDA has all of rwo inspectors in China. From FDA Has Only 2 Inspectors Watching Drug Factories in China.

But the fact that the FDA has just two people to cover a territory 3.7 million square miles in size raises questions about how often those factories and labs will be inspected to make sure the drugs they are producing are safe for Western — or indeed any — patients. An FDA spokesperson said in a statement to BNET:

We have two inspectors for medical products. I must emphasize that in addition to those two in-country inspectors, many U.S.-based FDA inspectors continue to make short-term trips to China to perform inspections.

BNET noted a year ago that Pfizer

alone — the world’s largest drug company — is expanding in China faster than the FDA can possibly visit its facilities. Pfizer’s goal (prior to the merger with Wyeth) was to be in 137 Chinese cities. At the time, the LA Times reported that the FDA had 12 people in China. Which would mean that to inspect Pfizer’s facilities the FDA would have to inspect one site every 2.7 days, and take no vacations or weekends. Here’s the FDA’s historic rate of Chinese inspection for all companies, from 2002-2007, according to the GAO:

The lowest rate of inspections in these 10 countries was in China, for which FDA inspected 80 of its estimated 714 establishments, or fewer than 14 establishments per year, on average.

We don’t know – but hope that Edwards follows up on –

  1. do these two work together or alone:
  2. do either speak Chinese?
  3. If so, what dialects?
  4. What integrity controls does the FDA have in place?By the same token, what personnel protection does the FDA have in place?

Some of Edwards’ other excellent reporting on these issues: