[Bloquez l'empire!] Cda's RADARSAT satellite sold to "weapons & space" giant ATK

Wed Jan 9 15:17:14 PST 2008

> <http://coat.ncf.ca/articles/links/MDA-ATK.htm>Please link to and
> circulate this article
>
> MAJIIC Wars:
> Canada's RADARSAT satellite company sold to "weapons & space" giant, ATK
> By Richard Sanders, Editor, <http://coat.ncf.ca>Press for Conversion!
>
> The news today (January 9, 2008) is that a Canadian company, called
> MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), will sell off its space
> divisions to the US war industry giant, called Alliant Techsystems (ATK).
>
> Just a few weeks ago (December 14, 2007), the world's most advanced
> "synthetic aperture radar" satellite, a Canadian invention called
> RADARSAT-2, was finally blasted into space.
>
> There is a major connection between these two stories.
>
> MDA has been the proud owner and controller of RADARSAT-2, since the
> Government of Canada generously handed this publicly-funded satellite
> over to them. RADARSAT-2 was almost entirely paid for by Canadian
> citizens and it got into the private hands of MDA thanks the Liberal
> government's obeisance to the god of privatization. Now, RADARSAT-2
> and the ground stations in 35 countries that download its data, are
> being sold to a large US war industry, ATK.
>
> Most Canadian taxpayers probably don't even know that they paid over
> a Billion dollars for the RADARSAT system (including $500 million for
> the development of RADARSAT-2 alone). And, most don't know that the
> Liberals gave it all away to their friends in a private company,
> called MDA.
> (<http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/46-47.pdf>David
> Emerson was on MDA's Board back when he was a Liberal and MDA was
> owned by a US "missile defence" rocket maker called, Orbital Sciences
> (OS). The former manager of OS, Carl Marchetto, is going to run ATK
> Space Systems.)
>
> ATK, the new owner of "Canada's" satellite, touts itself as "an
> advanced weapon and space system company." Good combo that, "weapons"
> and "space." It's the way of the future, they say. (Not that Canada
> would ever have anything to do with such things, ha ha.) ATK has its
> fingers in everything from "missile defense" rocket motors to ammo
> for small arms. So if you need a diversified war industry to park
> your cash in and watch it grow, you know where to stick it. ATK tells
> us they are "the nation's largest producer of commercial and military
> ammunition and a leading provider of gun systems," and now they're
> set to own and control RADARSAT-2, which is probably Canada's single
> greatest technological contribution to the US war machine.
>
> Check out <http://www.atk.com/>ATK's website, where the lead banner
> shows a flashy image of RADARSAT-2. It sure makes one proud to be a
> peace-loving Canadian!
>
> MDA got a whopping $1.325 billion (in cash) for the sale to ATK. Not
> bad, considering RADARSAT-2 was mostly paid for by you and me, the
> lowly taxpayer who had no say in the matter. And, why should we
> expect to have any say in this? Hey, we didn't even know anything
> about it in the first place. It was all under the radar, so to speak.
> <http://www.cbc.ca/story/money/national/2008/01/08/mdasale.html>MDA
> selling Canadarm business to U.S. firm
>
> Unfortunately, Canadians aren't even allowed to know how much MDA
> paid to take the burden of RADARSAT-2 off our hands. Was it a dollar?
> We can't know for sure, but maybe the Liberals (and their
> collaborators in the Conservative party) gave it away for a song,
> perhaps it was the "Star Spangled Banner."
>
> We lowly taxpayers can't know the details of this scam because the
> contract between the government of Canada and MDA is still secret.
> And, get this, the Liberal and Conservative MPs on a Parliamentary
> Committee teamed up in March 2005 to vote against an NDP-Bloc motion
> to have that contract made available for a quick viewing by MPs on
> the committee. It would be bad for business, said the Liberal
> government of the day, and--of course--the Conservatives agreed.
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/11.pdf>The
> Contract is Secret
>
> What's more, the Liberal's C-25 Space Treaty, that's the one called
> the RADARSAT Bill, has an Annex in it that is Top Secret. Even the
> MPs who had to vote on turning this RADARSAT Bill into law, were not
> allowed to read this secret annex! Hmmmm... Passing laws that they
> aren't even allowed to read? Now that's fine print!
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/12-13.pdf>Secret
> Annex to RADARSAT Law
>
> But this only scratches the surface of some of the many scams
> surrounding RADARSAT-2 that you will not read about in the corporate
> media. (I'll give you a theory on that at the end of this article.).
> But you can read much more about why RADARSAT is the best example of
> Canada's role in the militarisation of space by clicking here:
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/58.html>RADARSAT - The
> Warfighters' "Eye in the Sky"
>
> NATO and US warplanners are even planning for RADARSAT-2 to have a
> major role in pre-emptive first strikes that are to be part of
> so-called "missile defense." (It's brilliantly called "missile
> defense" because it's designed to defend our missiles when we are
> using them in offensive wars.) RADARSAT-2's GMTI technology will come
> in real handy if and when the US ever manages to fabricate a suitable
> pretext for launching air strikes against Iran. Read how GMTI works here:
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/14-18.pdf>RADARSAT,
> Missile Defense and the Holy Grail
>
> So, now that Canada's new and improved military "eye in the sky" is
> up there watching down over us all, do you feel more secure? (Even
> though it's being turned over to a "weapons" and "space'" company?)
> Some cognitive dissonance may be in store for those who have been
> absorbing all the media hype about RADARSAT-2 being a hot new tool
> for monitoring rapidly-melting ice caps and expanding deserts caused
> by global warming.
>
> But what we haven't heard much if anything about from the corporate
> mainstream media is that RADARSAT-2 is going to be useful for
> fighting the very hot wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (and all future
> scorched-earth policies, that may arise if WWIII with Iran ever comes
> to pass). These wars will now be made all that much easier, for US!
>
> MAJIIC: Pulling a War out of your Hat
>
> RADARSAT-2's role in current and future wars, hinges on something
> that is cleverly called MAJIIC. It's a well-known fact that
> warplanners and warfighters love acronyms. MAJIIC is a good example.
>
> It stands for this mouthful: "Multi-sensor Aerospace-ground Joint ISR
> Interoperability Coalition."
>
> As you can see, this acronym has another acronym within it, ISR. For
> those uninitiated into the sacred rites of war, ISR stands for
> "Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance."
>
> You can't win a war without using ISR. Never could, never will. ISR
> is as essential to war as the weapons, the war budget, a good enemy,
> a taxpaying public duped into footing the bill, and a media that
> promotes and then covers up the whole fraudulent operation. With the
> right shills, a willing mark and crafty fast-talking conmen to pull
> off the scam, it's a grifter's dream come true! Hello money!
>
> But back to the sleight of hand trick they call MAJIIC. On January 3,
> 2008, Aviation Week ran an article that starts:
> "A nine-nation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
> project sponsored by NATO is yielding 'powerful new technologies that
> soon could be deployed to Afghanistan,' the NATO Consultation,
> Command and Control Agency (NC3A) says."
> <http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,159327,00.html>'Majiic'
> Brings NATO ISR Data Together
>
> What's this got to do with Canada you ask? The article explains:
> "Countries involved in Majiic are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The
> Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States."
>
> So, what's this all about?
> "Majiic is about developing standards and technologies that will
> allow NATO commanders to instantly tap into real-time data from a
> number of NATO and national systems.
>
> 'With Majiic we will be able to deploy a wide array of air, ground
> and space surveillance assets, from different countries, and have
> them provide commanders with a single, coherent and detailed picture
> of what's happening on the ground,' says Joe Ross, technical manager
> at NC3A." (emphasis added)
>
> Sounds important, eh? It is. Deadly important.
>
> RADARSAT-2 is Canada's state-of-the-art-of-war satellite system and
> it is the top jewel in the MAJIIC crown. Through MAAJIC (and the
> earlier project from which it evolved, namely CAESAR*), NATO has been
> preparing for the day when its warfighters can download RADARSAT-2
> data from space for speedy, real-time use in live wars.
>
> I'm here to tell you that that day has now finally arrived!
>
> For my analysis of the government and military industry documents
> detailing NATO's preparations for the use of real RADARSAT-2 data,
> see these articles:
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/19-23.pdf>Use of
> RADARSAT-1 and -2 data in NATO "wargames"
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/24-26.pdf>Cleanhunter
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/27.pdf>Strong Resolve
>
> For many years, the boys over at NATO have been practising for this
> day using "simulated RADARSAT-2 data." They've done this in various
> "war games" that have involved thousands of real troops and billions
> worth of real weapons systems. Now these machines of war, and their
> operators, are all hooked up to the real thing, RADARSAT-2. So, now
> that the boys have their new toy, they are raring to have a go with
> it under the real conditions of war. No more playing around, they
> want the real thing.
>
> Shhh! Don't tell anyone... Canada is a Warmonger
>
> Will anyone notice? I mean any of us in Canada. As for the victims on
> the ground who at are the receiving end of the weapons systems that
> are targeted using RADARSAT-2 data, we can be sure that--during their
> final moments--they'll perhaps notice something, though we can be
> sure they won't know that they have Canada to thank for whatever hit
> them. Neither, presumably, will their friends, family and neighbours
> know that Canadians paid for the targeting system.
>
> As Major-General Andrew Leslie, Canada's military commander in
> Afghanistan, once said: "Every time you kill an angry young man
> overseas, you're creating 15 more who will come after you."
>
> By that logic, it's better if they don't know it was us who killed them.
>
> So perhaps that's how we Canadians want it. Perhaps we want the
> world--and even ourselves--to remain blissfully ignorant of Canada's
> role in the militarization of space and the many ways in our country
> is deeply complicity in the global business of war. That way if any
> terrorists are ever looking for revenge because neighbourhoods in
> their country were leveled during a US-led war, they won't know
> enough to look over here to Canada for potential targets.
>
> So, can we continue--for example--to keep
> <http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/58/Articles/50-51.pdf>Canada's
> role in the Iraq war and the militarization of space a big secret?
>
> And, by trying to bust the myth of Canada the great peacekeeper, are
> we aiding and abetting the enemy?
>
> Since the announcement was made last night, there have about 163 news
> stories on the upcoming sale of MDA to ATK. At least that's what
> Google News finds as of 11am January 9.
>
<http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&um=1&tab=wn&q=atk+mda&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d>G
oogle
> search: MDA ATK
>
> However, among those 163 stories, only two distinct articles even
> mention RADARSAT.
>
<http://news.google.ca/news?svnum=10&as_scoring=d&hl=en&tab=wn&ned=ca&q=atk+
mda+radarsat&as_drrb=b&as_mind=8&as_minm=1&as_maxd=9&as_maxm=1>Google
> search: MDA ATK RADARSAT
>
> And, of course, the military uses of RADARSAT are not mentioned in
> those two articles.
>
> So, perhaps our secret is still good. Canada is still seen as a great
> promoter of world peace! And, don't let anyone tell you otherwise,
> it's a grave matter of national security!
>
>
> * CAESAR, the Coalition Aerial Surveillance and Reconnaissance, was
> the aptly named NATO program through which Canada rendered up its
> RADARSAT capabilities to warfighting for the empire, i.e., "Give unto
> CAESAR that which is CAESAR's" and all that.