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Citizens, Citizens Groups Continue To Play Increasing Role In China’s Response To Earthquake
…aided by the proliferation of online bulletin boards, blogs and on-the-ground coordination centers, unregistered grass-roots organizations are essentially functioning as legitimate earthquake-relief NGOs, operating for the first time without having to look over their shoulders and helping to manage a crisis whose death [...]
U.S. denies man arrested in Venezuela is drug agent | U.S. | Reuters
The United States on Friday denied that a man arrested in Venezuela worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, after local authorities reported the detainee had identified himself as a DEA agent.
“He is not a DEA agent and he is not a U.S. [...]
Today, one of the most significant threats to the United States (and the world) is Iran’s nuclear weapons ambition. Last week on Capitol Hill, General Petraus listed Iran as key to the top two security concerns facing Central Command. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert voiced his similar concern directly to President Bush during his visit to Israel earlier this month. Egyptian and Saudi Arabian leaders also expressed their worries about Iran’s nuclear program when Bush met with them on his trip to the Middle East. Is it time for the President to take decisive action?
The NEFA Foundation - Statements by Al-Qaida Leadership
The NEFA Foundation has translated further excerpts from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s second round of answers to some of the hundreds of questions recently submitted on extremist web forums by Al-Qaida supporters and other interested parties.
An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog: Congress Authorizes 10,000 CG Reservists
By a vote of 384-23 on May 22, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to increase the size of the USCGR to 10,000 members - an increase of 1,900 members from the present end strength of 8,100 reservists.
This important provision was tucked inside the 700 [...]
There is a tendency for us as Americans to think that improving the status of homeland security means deploying more Border Patrol Agents and better trained TSA screeners. However, there are instances when the DHS uses its regulatory authorities to advance security in a way that is flat wrong. Requiring airlines to play a pivotal role in US VISIT EXIT is one such example. DHS recently issued the US VISIT EXIT proposed rulemaking which makes little sense and flies in the face of the successful pilot program the Department has undertaken.
On Wednesday (May 28, 2008), ABC Television announced that it will be broadcasting a series that will “focus on the efforts of border protection agencies to halt illegal smuggling and immigration.” Entitled “Border Security USA,” the series will cover operations around the US with Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) Officers, US Coast Guard, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security that work to safeguard the nation. Working with DHS, the show’s cameras will be given unprecedented access to take viewers along for the ride to see what these people do, how they do it and what difference they make.
This is another instance where human rights abuses and the arrogance of security forces turn the oppressed against the security forces (and supporting governments), hampering the ability of the police and army to successfully do their jobs (in this case, prosecute the war on drugs).
FEDagent - Federal Law Enforcement & Homeland Security News
Patrick Rowan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, has announced the formal launch of the Office of Intelligence within the Justice Department’s National Security Division (NSD). The reorganization creates three new sections within the Office of Intelligence dedicated to the NSD’s three primary intelligence related functions [...]
FEDagent - Federal Law Enforcement & Homeland Security News
FBI agents generally avoided participating in abuse of terror detainees and should be commended for their “conduct and professionalism” in detainee interrogations in overseas military bases, the Justice Department Inspector General concluded in a recently released report. The IG examined the FBI’s involvement in, and observations of, [...]
As the GAO report shows, C-TPAT is not perfect. As with so many areas of homeland security, there are still a number of challenges that must be addressed and improved. Most critical among them is the lack of systematic follow-up by Customs and Border Protection officials to ensure that full implementation of their security requirements are met before granting benefits. Anyone who reads this report, however, will be struck by the degree of improvement C-TPAT has undergone since it was formally adopted, as well as the sophistication of DHS’s overarching risk-based approach to security. It is the very opposite of the model called for by some critics, who want to replace this model with the so-called 100 Percent model.
From the Associated Press:
Despite more than $22 million in repairs, a levee that broke with catastrophic effect during Hurricane Katrina is leaking again because of the mushy ground on which New Orleans was built, raising serious questions about the reliability of the city’s flood defenses.
Outside engineering experts who have studied the project told The Associated [...]
From Threat Level:
A Brooklyn man was convicted of criminal copyright infringement Thursday for his role as part of the “Apocalypse Production Crew” — a piracy group that specialized in releasing yet-to-be-published music, movies, software and video games to downloaders.
Barry Gitarts, 25, is the first accused internet music pirate to take his case to a criminal [...]
I am an increasingly frequent visitor to DC, and am increasingly struck by the ever-offensive posture of the law enforcement entities in the nation’s capital. Three incidents spring to mind: the obvious use of armed response personnel in some convoys, the lack of manners displayed by the personnel on duty outside the White House, and the imminent arming of the Metropolitan police with rifles for patrol.
12 Online Tools to Discover Where Sexual Predators and Criminals Live in Your Neighborhood - Criminal Justice Degrees Guide
Parents, teachers and other guardians who are concerned about the safety of their children can often reduce the risks their children face by educating themselves as to where sexual predators and criminals reside in their neighborhoods. Registered [...]
As Chairman of the Safe Commerce Coalition, I’ve spoken to a number of audiences lately about the issue of cargo and supply chain security. I find myself often having to remind folks that when we stood up the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, we had a two-fold mission when it came to border security. First was to secure the borders. The second mission, which is sometimes forgotten, is to maintain the free and efficient flow of commerce and people.
Remarks by the Vice President at the United States Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony
During your own time at this Academy, the Coast Guard distinguished itself when Hurricane Katrina swept in from the Gulf of Mexico. The following is a quote: “The Coast Guard successfully executed multiple primary missions throughout the Gulf Coast in the wake [...]
Institutionalizing Counter-Terrorism » Outside The Beltway | OTB
While there’s some short-term advantage to the ad hoc, make-it-up-as-you-go approach that the Bush Administration has taken, it’s damaging in the longer term. Not only does it undermine our moral authority in trying to hold others to the rule of law but it’s problematic on the domestic front, [...]
Cato-at-liberty » E-Verify Debunking Exposes Debunking Errors
Congratulations are due once again to the Department of Homeland Security for engaging in open dialogue about its programs, even controversial ones like “E-Verify” — a system that Congress may require all U.S. employers to use for running federal background checks on every single new employee.
Openness is healthy, and [...]