How sort of amusing it is to read this, from the site: "It is not sufficient that we put the pieces together after the fact, it is essential that we understand terrorist plans ahead of time so that we may prevent or preempt." Yet how many times have I heard & read in the news, sometime after an earth-shaking criminal event, of the warnings received, alarm notices given, or notice taken of strangely suspicious activities which preceded and foretold of the upcoming event. It often seems that advance notice has been practically dropped in the lap of those who were in position to deal with it. Yet the ones receiving these info bits were not able to process the data so as to realize there was something heinous and destructive in the works. Or if they were able to grok these data bits, they could not get others in the defense business to make the connection, to take the items seriously enough to follow up on them, or to be able to select, out of the mountains of data they already receive, the ones of impending significance. "DARPA is in a position to take high risks and think boldly about what can be done to solve this national problem." To expect that crime will be prevented or preempted ahead of time by people who are not able to grok the meaning of what they get? It cannot be the computer base, which needs a monumental overhaul of its "cognitive amplification functions". It seems that some problems are too easy when it only requires simple real-time connectivity, and too easy to miss - but if they are made to appear harder, requiring "boldness" (courage) and "high risk" (responsibility), then certain official organizations can be made to appear to be attending to, now, what they did not/could not, before. And still they continue to place exceeding dependence upon the machine. It also does seem that someone is creating the opportunity for a "monumental" position for themselves, laying the ground work for a hierarchy of personal control and self-aggrandizing importance. .. Blanc