Government

Ten states compete for new biodefense lab
- Read more
DHS identifies 5 companies for SBI short list
DHS has selected the short list companies for its SBI project — and these companies are already forming coalitions with small and mid-size firms better to prepare themselves for a successful bid
- Read more

DHS IG slams Unisys for shoddy performance on $1 billion TSA contract
Few government programs were as thoroughly botched as Unisys’ handling of a 2002 $1 billion TSA airport communication contract; the DHS IG has just completed his report on this sorry saga, and Unisys does not look any better for it; what does not help, at least on the PR front, is the fact that on-his-way-to-jail Jack Abramoff helped Unisys get the contract in the first place
- Read more
Transportation, border security largest homeland security allocations in proposed budget
An analysis of government-wide homeland security allocations in President Bush’s proposed budget shows that transportation and border security will receive the most money
- Read more

TSU launches homeland security, intelligence studies program
- Read more
Burr: Money for bioterrorism defense will not be as readily available as in the past
- Read more

CCAT grants award to developer of robotics
Twenty years ago states sent representatives abroad to lure foreign automakers to build their plants in, say, Illinois or Tennessee; these days states send representatives abroad to lure foreign homeland security companies
- Read more
Trend: U.S. states lure foreign homeland security businesses
Kenneth Mead served for nine years as the IG at DoT; he has a lot to say about transportation security
- Read more

Senator Burr named legislator of the year by BIO
- Read more
GSS offers new, FM-based emergency communication solution
- Read more

Hill Democrats push to add $3.4 billion for port security
- Read more
Municipal authorities find another use for anti-terror CCTV: Collecting parking ticket fines
- Read more

State of New York to launch homeland security technology incubator
- Read more
Legislators say DoE nuclear spending contains too much waste
- Read more
NY MTA falling behind on transportation infrastructure protection
- Read more

The long view

To prevent Iranian nukes, a negotiated deal better than a military strike: David Albright
David Albright is the founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), and author of several books on fissile materials and nuclear weapons proliferation. In a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and an interview with Deutsche Welle on Thursday, Albrights says that there is every reason to be suspicious of Iran because it has cheated on its obligations in the past and has been uncooperative on an ongoing basis. Iran has also built many sites in secret, so any agreement with Iran should have extra insurance — a more powerful inspection and verification tool to try to ferret out any secret nuclear activities or facilities that Iran would build. Still, a negotiated deal, if it includes sufficiently robust inspection and verification measures, would be a more effective way than a military strike to make sure Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.
- Read more
How to verify a comprehensive Iran nuclear deal
With the negotiation between the P5+1(the United States, European Union, Britain, France, Russia, and China) and Iran resuming yesterday (Wednesday) about a set of parameters for an eventual Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the shape of a final deal about Iran’s nuclear program has emerged. Many important provisions of a final deal, however, remain to be negotiated in the coming months. David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, says that a critical set of these provisions involves the adequacy of verification arrangements which would be in place to monitor Iran’s compliance with a deal. Tehran’s long history of violations, subterfuge, and non-cooperation requires extraordinary arrangements to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is indeed peaceful.
- Read more
Fusion centers, created to fight domestic terrorism, suffering from mission creep: Critics
Years before the 9/11 attacks, law enforcement agencies throughout the country, alarmed by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, began to monitor and investigate signs of domestic terrorism. That increased monitoring, and the need for coordination among various law enforcement agencies, gave rise to the fusion centers. A new report, which is supported by current and former law enforcement and government officials, concludes that post-9/11, fusion centers and the FBI teams which work with them shifted their focus from domestic terrorism to global terrorism and other crimes, including drug trafficking.Experts say that at a time when the number of domestic terrorism threats, many of which are linked to right-wing extremist groups, is surging, law enforcement must refocus their attention on the threats from within.
- Read more
Lack of evidence-based terrorism research hobbles counterterrorism strategies
The Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland estimates that groups connected with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State committed almost 200 attacks per year between 2007 and 2010. That number has increased to about 600 attacks in 2013. As terrorism becomes more prevalent, the study of terrorism has also increased, which, in theory, should lead to more effective antiterrorism policies, and thus to less terrorism. The opposite is happening, however, and this could be partly due to the sort of studies which are being conducted. The problem: few of these studies are rooted in empirical analysis, and there is an “almost complete absence of evaluation research” concerning anti-terrorism strategies, in the words of a review of such studies.
- Read more
CBP IA Operation Hometown reduces violence and corruption: Tomsheck shuts it down -- Pt. 5
Operation Hometown appears to be yet another example in a series of programs at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demonstrating blatant dysfunctionality and mismanagement within the Department of Homeland Security. Meticulously designed to target border violence and corruption among CBP employees, Operation Hometown was labeled a success in reaching its stated objectives. CBP Internal Affair’s (IA) James F. Tomsheck,however, shut the program down. As Congress and President Obama debate various aspects of a new federal immigration policy,few politicians are willing to acknowledge the serious problems at CBP Internal Affairs – but they should, as these problems may directly impact the success of any or all new immigration reforms.
- Read more
California drought highlights the state’s economic divide
As much of Southern California enters into the spring and warmer temperatures, the effects of California’s historic drought begin to manifest themselves in the daily lives of residents, highlighting the economic inequality in the ways people cope. Following Governor Jerry Brown’s (D) unprecedented water rationing regulations,wealthier Californians weigh on which day of the week no longer to water their grass, while those less fortunate are now choosing which days they skip a bath.
- Read more

Ten states compete for new biodefense lab

DHS identifies 5 companies for SBI short list

DHS IG slams Unisys for shoddy performance on $1 billion TSA contract

Transportation, border security largest homeland security allocations in proposed budget

TSU launches homeland security, intelligence studies program

Burr: Money for bioterrorism defense will not be as readily available as in the past

CCAT grants award to developer of robotics

Trend: U.S. states lure foreign homeland security businesses

Senator Burr named legislator of the year by BIO

GSS offers new, FM-based emergency communication solution

Hill Democrats push to add $3.4 billion for port security

Municipal authorities find another use for anti-terror CCTV: Collecting parking ticket fines

State of New York to launch homeland security technology incubator

Legislators say DoE nuclear spending contains too much waste

NY MTA falling behind on transportation infrastructure protection

More headlines

Who's online

The long view

To prevent Iranian nukes, a negotiated deal better than a military strike: David Albright

How to verify a comprehensive Iran nuclear deal

Fusion centers, created to fight domestic terrorism, suffering from mission creep: Critics

Lack of evidence-based terrorism research hobbles counterterrorism strategies

CBP IA Operation Hometown reduces violence and corruption: Tomsheck shuts it down -- Pt. 5

California drought highlights the state’s economic divide