FirstNet is an independent authority within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. FirstNet is governed by a 15-member Board consisting of the Attorney General of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and 12 members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. The FirstNet Board is composed of representatives from public safety; local, state and federal government; and the wireless industry. These dedicated individuals bring their expertise, experience and commitment to serving public safety and meeting the FirstNet mission…
Setting out to meet an ambitious timeline, first responders in three regions of New Jersey are expected later this year to use a new dedicated public-safety LTE network composed entirely of deployable infrastructure operating on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), IWCE’s Urgent Communications reports.
PMC Associates, a New Jersey-based company specializing in mission-critical radio solutions for first responders, is teaming up with Oceus Networks and Fujitsu Network Communications to build the proof-of-concept network, known as JerseyNet.
PMC Associates is providing integration and support services, while Oceus Networks is supplying the LTE core and the radio access network (RAN). Fujitsu is designing, equipping and managing the wireless and wireline backhaul portions of the network.
Bryan Casciano, vice president of sales for PMC Associates, told IWCE’s Urgent Communications that JerseyNet is designed to include more than 30 cells on wheels (COWs) and six systems on wheels (SOWs) that can be deployed in various locations via SUVs, vans or trailers.
Under the terms of its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding, the JerseyNet deployment must be completed by September, a requirement that is expected to be met under the current schedule. “We want to have all of this installed by June,” Casciano told the publication….
Research has been seen as less objectionable than other forms of interactions with drug companies, but 10 percent of researchers have multiple ties among the nine companies ProPublica analyzed. That raises questions about doctors’ impartiality.
… Despite the Obama administration touting a budget deficit of “only” $680 billion in 2013, the GAO’s more accurate accounting shows a total government cost of $3.8 trillion on total revenue of $2.8 trillion.
In other words– the administration wasn’t exactly honest with the American people– the deficit was more like $1 trillion, not $680 billion.
But it gets worse.
The GAO added up ALL the US government’s assets in 2013. Aircraft carriers. The highway system. Land. Cash and financial assets. The total is $2.97 trillion. The liabilities, on the other hand, total $19.88 trillion. This includes the official public debt, plus all sorts of IOUs and loan guarantees.
This means the net EQUITY of the US government is -$16.9 trillion [poster note: yes negative folks. GE.]
Moreover, the US government’s cash position is a mere $206 billion… roughly 1.1% of its public debt. This isn’t enough to cover net interest payments for the next year.
Unlike a savvy investor who borrows cheap money to purchase productive assets, the US government borrows money to pay interest.
via Sovereign Man and H/T to ZeroHedge where we saw it first
Breaking up is hard to do, especially when it is with a tracking service like a financial institution. Sometimes you can make a clean break and other times you have to remain “just friends”.
The US government actually has a name for people who have no bank accounts – they call these folks “the unbanked”. The FDIC defines the unbanked as “those without an account at a bank or other financial institution and are considered to be outside the mainstream for one reason or another.” Another term is “the underbanked” – “people or businesses that have poor access to mainstream financial services normally offered by retail banks. The underbanked can be characterized by a strong reliance on non-traditional forms of finance and micro-finance often associated with disadvantaged and the poor, such as check cashers, loan sharks and pawnbrokers.” Continue reading →