From: pcw@access.digex.net (Peter Wayner)
Date: Mon, 26 Sep 94 16:32:05 PDT
To: Anonymous <remailer-admin@chaos.bsu.edu>
Subject: Kennedy in Florida? Blacknet reprise?
Message-ID: <199409262329.AA08500@access3.digex.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>Does anybody know if this ``BlackNet'' thingie is for real? 
>I found this offered for sale someplace on the Net. <g> 
>
>
>BLACKNET INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY,  19 SEP 94
>
>***RECENT SATELLITE DEPLOYMENTS***
>
>18. MENTOR/JEROBOAM SIGINT launched 27 AUG 94, 04:58 EDT, Canaveral.
>Multi-spectral "K-9" mission, target includes cellular traffic, U.S.
>Northeast. Joint NRO/CIO/FinCEN mission. Achieved orbit, all 
>systems nominal.
>

I'm not sure if I could understand why FinCEN would need a satellite,
but perhaps I just don't know their whole mission. Especially since
everyone is going to be reporting every little favor exchanged soon.

Plus, can you use a satellite to grab cellular phone traffic? Isn't the
point of cellular to make the transmitters broadcast at a low enough
power so you can put another transmitter reasonably closeby broadcasting
at the same frequency. If the satellite could disambiguate the traffic
from two different cells at the same frequency, couldn't a cellular
phone substation? 

But I really don't know anything about this. I'm just being skeptical.

Besides, do they still use the name Canaveral? I thought everything
was named after Ted Kennedy now. :-) (Generation X humor.) 

-Peter