The Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, seeks to increase the number of qualified students entering the fields of information assurance and computer security and to increase the capacity of the United States higher education enterprise to continue to produce professionals in these fields to meet the needs of our increasingly technological society. The SFS program is composed of two tracks:

READ ON

http://www.criminaljustice-online.com/forum26/446.htm

By Gerry J. Gilmore

Oct. 30, 2006 – The Taliban's habit of using human shields during attacks on coalition forces may have caused the deaths of a number of Afghan civilians during a recent incident in Kandahar province, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe said in the Afghan capital Oct. 28.  "Sadly, in asymmetric warfare, when you're battling an insurgency, typically, the insurgents do not play by the same rules that we would like to play by," Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones, who was visiting the country, told reporters at a Kabul news conference.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force and the Afghan Ministry of Defense are conducting a joint investigation into the Oct. 24 incident in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, according to an ISAF news release. A large number of insurgents were engaged by coalition close-air support that day near the Sperwan Ghar security base.

Besides insurgents, a number of Afghan civilians were also killed in the engagement, the release stated, noting it wasn't clear at this point how many civilians were killed as the result of insurgent fire.  Insurgents in Afghanistan routinely "attack using civilians as shields," Jones said. "They do everything they can to spread lies about the purpose of the (coalition) soldiers' efforts."

Early investigation of the Sperwan Ghar incident indicates that "sadly, there appears to have been some loss of life and innocent people who were wounded in a legitimate mission," Jones said.  The insurgents were apparently using the cover of civilian population in an attempt to discourage coalition counter fire, Jones said, noting that's an often-employed Taliban tactic.

Such a scenario makes it "very difficult for us to get at them," Jones said. Coalition military commanders in Afghanistan often weigh whether or not to go after enemy targets of opportunity in recent engagements.  The incidence of innocent Afghan civilians being killed or wounded in any engagement "is to be regretted and investigated," Jones said, noting he'd personally apologized for the incident to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"We take this very seriously," Jones emphasized. "We will look into it. And, we will always do whatever we can to minimize any innocent people from being victimized in any way by military activities."

Military Intelligence — Detrick watchdog group gaining momentum

"Members of a local watchdog group concerned about the expansion of what they have called biological weapons research at Fort Detrick [Maryland] are continuing to pursue a lawsuit, saying the Army hasn't adequately addressed legitimate concerns about planned biodefense laboratories on post." (Frederick News-Post Online, 01Nov06, Alison Walker-Baird) http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/printer_friendly.htm?storyid=53614&section=fnp_main

Senators seek audit of more than $18 billion in biodefense spending

"...Senate and House Democrats and Republicans asked federal auditors Monday to examine how the government has spent more than $18 billion on biodefense capabilities and technologies since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks... A June report by the nonpartisan Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation found that 11 federal agencies have spent or allocated more than $36 billion to address the threat of biological weapons since the 9/11 attacks. Of that, funding for biodefense research, development, testing and evaluation will reach more than $18 billion by the end of fiscal [year] 2007, the report states. [In their request] the lawmakers asked GAO to examine several areas, including how the government will determine the effectiveness of biological detection technologies; the effectiveness of developing technologies with current and future threats; plans to test and evaluate new technologies; the costs of research and development; and whether the government is also tapping private sector resources to develop technologies." (GovExec.com; 31Oct06; Chris Strohm, CongressDaily)

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=35384&dcn=todaysnews

Weill Cornell findings could foil two potential bioterror agents - viral peptide prevents deadly Hendra, Nipah viruses from infecting cells

"Hendra and Nipah viruses are related, newly recognized zoonotic viruses that can spread from their natural reservoir in fruit bats to larger animals -- including pigs, horses and humans. The mode of transmission isn't clear, but is thought to be relatively easy -- either by close contact with an infected host or by breathing in the microscopic pathogens. Infection often leads to a fatal encephalitis, and there is currently no effective treatment against these illnesses. However, researchers at Weill Cornell say that by tweaking a peptide (protein) related to a third pathogen, parainfluenza virus, they may be able to

prevent Hendra and Nipah virus from infecting human cells." (Medical Research News, 31Oct06)

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=20852

TIGER [Triangulation Identification for Genetic Evaluation of Risks] system biting into germ detection at Fort Detrick

"Though plants and tigers may not have much in common, a project at Fort Detrick is bringing them together -- sort of. Scientists are using a system nicknamed TIGER to fight disease and agroterrorism in the nation's plants and crops. The system, whose feline acronym is catchier than Triangulation Identification for Genetic Evaluation of Risks, can identify every microbe in a sample of soil, water, air or blood and show researchers which pathogens are present, even agents they weren't expecting. These systems are rare, with only about five in the country and some versions costing as much as $1 million each. Scientists at the Army's biodefense laboratory, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, and a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab also on post, are collaborating on agroterrorism research using TIGER. The USDA's Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit is part of the Agricultural Research Service." (Frederick News-Post Online, 31Oct06, Alison Walker)

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/printer_friendly.htm?storyid=53569&section=fnp_main

MCH [Memorial Community Hospital in Nebraska] gets `contagious' victim in drill

"Memorial Community Hospital in Blair participated in `Operation Triple Play,'  a full-scale disaster exercise conducted by the Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System (OMMRS) on Saturday, Oct. 28. Organizers said it was the largest disaster drill in Nebraska's history. In the drill scenario, two people in Washington County contracted smallpox from a terrorist plot." (Washington County Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise, 31Oct06)

http://www.enterprisepub.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=10872

Mass inoculation clinic will serve as bioterrorism drill for [Craig] county [Virginia]

"A planned mass flu clinic Nov. 7 will serve a two-fold purpose for the county. `On that date our goal is to get everybody in the community inoculated with the flu vaccine,' said Registered Nurse Pat Johnston, the Public Health Nurse for Craig County. `The second goal is to successfully run the clinic as a bioterrorism drill.' ... According to the Craig County Health Department it is important the community experience a hands on mass inoculation drill in case of a bioterrorism attack that would call for immunization of the masses or a pandemic (global) flu outbreak. `Then the Health Department will be at least somewhat prepared to handle the situation and the community would know a little about what to expect,' said Johnston." (The New Castle Record, 30Oct06, Gwen Johnston)

http://mainstreetnewspapers.com/articles/2006/10/30/new_castle/news/news05.txt

[Connecticut] Town mulls bio-defense plan

"Greenwich [Connecticut] would be better prepared to handle a biological attack if the town's laboratory joined a national anti-bioterrorism network, health officials say. Currently, if the presence of a biological agent such as anthrax is suspected, officials must collect a sample and take it to Hartford for testing -- a process that could take precious hours away from the town's response, according to health director Caroline

Calderone Baisley. But as part of the Federal Response Network, the Greenwich Department of Health lab could test for agents here, giving the town a head start on alerting residents, treating those exposed, setting up mass vaccination clinics and doing surveillance work, Calderone Baisley said. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the network in 1999 to improve the nation's response to biological and chemical terrorism…" (Greenwich Time, 01Nov06, Michael Dinan)

http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-a1laboratorynov01,0,5348029,print.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines

Suspect and a Setback in Al-Qaeda Anthrax Case: Scientist with Ties to

Group Goes Free

"...U.S. officials remain stymied in their nearly five-year quest to bring charges against a man [Abdur Rauf] who they say admitted serving as a top consultant to al-Qaeda on anthrax -- a claim that makes him one of a handful of people linked publicly to the group's effort to wage biological warfare against Western targets. Rauf, 47, has been under scrutiny in Pakistan since he was detained there for questioning in late 2001, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials who agreed to talk about the case for the first time. But officially he remains free, and Pakistan now says it has no grounds for arrest. Last year, in an acknowledgment of the impasse in its four-year joint investigation with Pakistan, the FBI officially put the case on inactive status." (Washington Post, 31Oct06,

Joby Warrick)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/30/AR2006103001250.html

Russian Chemical Weapons Destruction Program Goes On According to

Schedule

"Russia has already destroyed 13 percent of its 40,000 ton chemical weapons stores inherited from the Soviet Union said Viktor Kholstov, deputy head of the Federal Industry Agency the Associated Press news agency reported Wednesday.... In September, Russia opened its first nerve agent destruction plant. Victor Kholotsov hopes that the entire arsenal of chemical weapons will be eliminated according to plan and by April 2007, Russia will eliminate 8,000 tons of toxic agents." (MOSNEWS, 01Nov06)

http://www.continuityforum.org/news/1006/business_continuity/dirty_bomb

N.J. [New Jersey] researchers receive grant for chemical threats research

"The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $19.2 million grant for UMDNJ [University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey]-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University to develop treatments for chemical weapon attacks, the schools said Wednesday. The money will support a new research center that will include faculty from the two institutions, as well as Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. The center will concentrate on developing drugs to treat those exposed to sulfur mustard." (Newsday.com, 01Nov06, AP)

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--chemicalthreatsgr1101nov01,0,5190076,print.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey

Teen Could Face Charges For Chemical Scare

"Investigators are determining whether to charge a Brown County [Ohio] teen for causing a chemical scare that led to the evacuation of several homes. Hazmat crews were called to Moler Trailer Park on East Main Street in Mount Orab around 6:30 Monday night, after a teenager claimed he made mustard gas from information off of the internet. Authorities have confirmed that he did not actually have the formula for making the mustard gas. (WKRC.com, 31Oct06)

http://www.wkrc.com/common/printstory/default.aspx?content_id=f1162104-63f0-4a87-9394-06e7d2fbe5b1

Seizures of radioactive materials fuel `dirty bomb' fears

"Seizures of smuggled radioactive material capable of making a terrorist `dirty bomb' have doubled in the past four years, according to official figures seen by The Times. Smugglers have been caught trying to traffick dangerous radioactive material more than 300 times since 2002, statistics from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) show. Most of the incidents are understood to have occurred in Europe. The disclosures come as al-Qaeda is known to be intensifying its efforts to obtain a radioactive device... Scientists responsible for analysing the seizures have given warning that traffickers are turning to hospital X-ray equipment and laboratory supplies as an illicit source of radioactive material." (Continuity Forum, 01Nov06)

http://www.continuityforum.org/news/1006/business_continuity/dirty_bomb

NATO and Russia `counter' dirty bomb

"Emergency teams from NATO and Russia tackled the consequences of a simulated `dirty bomb' attack in Italy in [the] exercise `Lazio 2006,' which ended on 26 October.

From 23 October, emergency response teams from Italy, Hungary, Romania, the Russian Federation as well as Austria and Croatia, practiced managing the consequences of~a simulated terrorist attack with a `dirty bomb' or radiological dispersal device... Exercise `Lazio 2006' is the third in a series of consequence management exercise[s] conducted under the responsibility of the NATO - Russia Council (NRC)." (NATO, 31Oct06,

epicos.com)

http://www.epicos.com/epicos/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/default.psml/js_panename/News+Information+Article+View?articleid=64851&showfull=false

Japan, IAEA to co-host seminar on how to strengthen nuclear security in Asia

"Japan and the U.N. nuclear watchdog will host a seminar next week in

Tokyo to discuss measures against nuclear terrorism in Asia, the Foreign

Ministry said Wednesday. Government officials from the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, as well as South Korea, China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will meet at a Tokyo hotel on Nov. 8 and 9, the ministry said in a statement... The meeting - co-hosted by the Japanese Foreign Ministry and International Atomic Energy Agency - is the first of its kind to be held in the region, according to Foreign Ministry official Zentaro Naganuma. The officials will make presentation[s] and exchange views on nuclear security in Southeast Asia and how to support and strengthen measures against nuclear terrorism at global and regional levels." (International Herald Tribune, 01Nov06, AP)

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/01/asia/AS_GEN_Japan_Asia_Nuclear_Terrorism.php

DOR BioPharma Announces New Collaborations for Ricin Vaccine Development

"DOR BioPharma, Inc. [DOR]... announced today that it has formed an alliance with the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health in Albany, New York and Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) in Albuquerque, NM [New Mexico], to build upon expertise in testing RiVax™, DOR's recombinant vaccine against ricin toxin, to protect against inhalation and oral toxin exposure. The Company has been developing RiVax™ ... under funding from [the] National [Institute of] Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). DOR's consortium effort began in 2004 with an initial $6.4 million grant award. Recent grant funding of an additional $4.8 million has broadened the development capabilities of the program."

(MarketWire; 31Oct06; DOR BioPharma, Inc)

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=178535

NLECTC

Thursday, November 2, 2006

"Computers Will Connect Law Enforcement Agencies"

Goldsboro News-Argus (10/29/06); Williams, Lee

The Wayne County, N.C., Sheriff's Office will be soon be connected under a single computer system. This means different law enforcement agencies can look at one another's files. In addition, the system will provide officers with the chance to be more effective on the job. With the new system, officers and deputies will be able to determine if an individual has filed criminal reports previously or study what kind of crimes the individual has carried out. The same technology will be accessible in all patrol cars, although the patrol car computers will have a talk-back voice command capability. The new technology is being implemented in 20 patrol vehicles. The new system will reduce taxpayers' expenses, help lessen the workload of dispatches, and heighten officers' productivity. In addition, deputies will be able to perform photo lineups in their patrol vehicles, which will help the officer make certain that the name the offender provides is his real one when pulled over by authorities. Deputies will be able as well to connect to the Internet in their patrol cars. The reason for the new upgrades is to heighten officer visibility.

http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2006/10/29/computers_will_connect_law_enforcement_agencies/index.shtml

"Police Have Tools To Stop High-Tech Speed Demons"

Contra Costa Times (10/29/06) P. F4; Gokhman, Roman

Drivers with radar detection technology may not be able to avoid the police as easily as they may think. Police can locate speeders by using radar, lidar, and vascar. Lidar can measure speeds and distances from 1,000 feet away and are always mounted on vehicles. Drivers can bypass a lidar by using a laser jammer. Regular jammers are banned nationwide and drivers can be charged with a felony if they are caught using one. A jammer sends out a frequency that closely resembles the one police use. "It's illegal to jam or attempt to jam a police radar," says Roy Reyer at Radarbusters. Radars work by sending out radio waves at a certain frequency at very high speeds. The only downside to radars is that the gun must be pointed at a certain vehicle for it to read the speed. Despite the new technology on the market designed to make cars invisible, law enforcement officers say the best way to dodge tickets is to drive safely.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/15878792.htm

"Technology Helps Police Look Through Eyes of Mentally Disturbed"

Associated Press (10/27/06); Conley, Chris

A group of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) police officers in Memphis, Tenn., undergoing instruction on helping mentally ill people recently tried out software known as Virtual Hallucinations, which allowed the officers to hear and see what a schizophrenic individual might be experiencing, including visual hallucinations and voices. The officers wore earphones and goggles that were connected to the software. In a virtual hallucination exercise, the CIT officers were able to recognize how an ordinary bus ride might be interpreted by a mentally ill individual as a frightening event. CIT head Major Sam Cochran notes that the mentally disturbed individual is undergoing something that is highly threatening, and could be regarding a police officer as "a devil," or think the voices are instructing him to not trust the officer. Memphis' CIT was among the first of its type in the nation, starting in 1988 as a joint venture between police and mental health authorities following numerous violent situations. Since then, at least 500 other cities have implemented the model. There are around 220 Memphis officers instructed as CIT specialists, and they receive around 12,000 calls annually, on top of their regular responses to service calls. The Virtual Hallucinations technology was provided by the Memphis Police Department and additional agencies, including the Bartlett and Millington police.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local/article/0,2845,MCA_25340_5093941,00.html

"Police Get High-Tech Tools"

Charleston Daily Mail (WV) (10/27/06) P. P1C; Jones, Michael A.

Law enforcement agencies have now turned to high-tech equipment for better video images, which are being sent to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in an effort to locate suspects. The DMV can use digital photo equipment to find a match between a suspect's features and a driver's license photo in the database. The system can edit and enhance images, covert analog videotapes to digital, and zoom in on certain areas. Initially, the DMV could only compare old licenses with new ones when the digital photo systems was first used back in 1997. The equipment was upgraded last year and now images can be scanned from surveillance video into the system. Investigators plan to input possible suspects in the DMV's system. Pictures can be emailed to investigators by the DMV if police already have the suspect's name. "We don't just give them photos to play with, but for an investigation or court order when they're looking for a suspect," says Doug Thompson at the DMV. The technology has not been tested yet, so the system's effectiveness is still unknown.

http://www.dailymail.com/story/News/+/2006102716/Police+get+high-tech+tools/

"9 New Cameras Help Police Watch Cedar-Riverside Area"

Star Tribune (Minn.) (10/27/06) P. 2B; Chanen, David

The First Precinct station in Minneapolis houses an area for monitoring nine "safety cameras" placed in various locations of concern. The use of 31 cameras has enabled police officers to arrest in excess of 500 people in the downtown area. Police officials also plan to install more cameras. Police officers monitor the images captured by the camera system at the station. http://www.startribune.com/467/story/769667.html

"City Will Use Software to Track Graffiti"

Omaha World-Herald (NE) (10/20/06) P. 8B; Burbach, Chris

The city of Omaha, Neb., has hired Graffiti Tracker to help monitor graffiti as it occurs. The company will use such tools as digital photography, global positioning satellites, and customized software to tackle the problem. City Councilman Garry Gernandt said the system, which costs roughly $18,000 annually, will help police create connections between multiple spray-paintings and identify potential suspects. The monitoring system may also help police obtain data about other crimes, according to Gernandt. "It provides the latest technology for law enforcement, and it's an additional tool we haven't had in the past," Gernandt said. "That's a good deal for the city." Graffiti Tracker President Tim Kephart said the firm is able to quickly organize the graffiti in a single place, so police can save time and concentrate on apprehending culprits. http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=2264316

"Police Taking a Byte Out of Technology Crime"

Lima News (OH) (10/25/06); Rutz, Heather

Bought with a grant of $2,500 from the Cable Road Wal-Mart in Lima, Ohio, the tera server is helping out the city's Police Department's technology Crimes Unit. The server stores vast information files obtained as evidence and keeps them on a network to be accessed by law officials and prosecutors in a region that spans eight counties. When police acquire the hard drive of a suspected online predator, or an individual dealing in child pornography, the complete hard drive can be stored on the new server. It takes 1,000 GB to equal one terabyte, and a typical laptop might have a hard drive of 100 GB. The new server will also enable police to share files. If authorities capture an individual partaking in child pornography, for instance, they can usually trace, via computer forensics, other involved individuals. Lima launched its computer forensics lab five years ago with the Forensic Recovery Evidence Device (FRED). Another computer, the Forensic Recovery Analysis Network Computer (FRANC), was added later. http://www.limanews.com/story.php?IDnum=31350&q=byte

"Cameras a Success for Rockford Police"

Rockford Register Star (Illinois) (10/23/06) P. 2; Curry, Corina

The Rockford Police Department in Illinois plans to expand its use of surveillance cameras to high-crime areas. The department has used cameras that provide real-time images to an officer located at the mobile command center to monitor the city's yearly On the Waterfront Festival. The officer watching the images can quickly alert officers on foot patrols to problem situations, such as fights. The cameras are installed in areas of particular concern where high volumes of people typically gather. Rockford Police Chief Theo Glover said the cameras can also help police respond to a potentially volatile situation before violence occurs. The department will expand the use of cameras to high-crime areas if it can obtain federal funds to pay for part of the investment.

http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/

20061023/NEWS07/110230027/1180

"Crime Drops After Increase in Officers"

Washington Post (10/25/06) P. B2; Partlow, Joshua

Prince George's County experienced a 15.1 percent decrease in major crimes, the biggest decline in the state of Maryland, due to an increased officer presence and new police technology. During the first nine months of 2006, homicide fell by 28 percent from 128 during the same period last year to 92 this year, rapes fell by 11.7 percent from 163 to 144, and carjackings fell by 37 percent from 565 to 356. Reported crime in the county began to drop during the last quarter of 2005, and since then, the trend has continued to strengthen. Police attributed the decline to an increased annual police budget of $217 million that allowed the department to increase its ranks from 1,346 officers last year to the current 1,393 officers. A $6.5 million increase in overtime funding has enabled the county to keep more experienced officers on the streets longer, and assigning officers to smaller beats has also made the police more effective. The county is now better able to electronically map crimes and focus on high-risk areas, and the department is also exploring license plate scanners and technologies that can detect where gunshots come from. However, the county, which is the second most populous in the state, still had the highest number of rapes, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, and total crimes in Maryland through June.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/

2006/10/24/AR2006102401233.html

"It's 'CSI: Pikesville' at New Police Lab"

Baltimore Sun (10/18/06); Shields, Nick

Maryland State Police recently invited the media to tour a new $30 million, 68,000-square-foot crime-scene lab that features the latest in technology. "The technology that's available to us today and the accuracy that it brings is extremely important in making cases, defining cases in court," says Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, state police superintendent. Hutchins explains that this technology helps both in convicting the guilty and absolving the innocent. The new Forensic Science Laboratory includes a spacious area for analyzing blood and other crime-scene evidence, a unit for checking objects for fingerprints, and a room to identify illegal drugs. The previous 24,000-square-foot facility did not have enough room for investigators to work, and the DNA research unit had to be located about a mile away, forcing investigators to travel between the two facilities. The DNA research unit is included within the new facility, improving communications and morale. Police agencies from throughout Maryland will be able to access the new lab. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.forensic18oct18,0,2290431.

story?coll=bal-local-utility&track=mostemailedlink

"Police to Install Street Cameras"

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (NY) (10/26/06) P. 1B; Flanigan, Patrick

High-crime neighborhoods in Rochester, N.Y., may soon be home to up to 30 high-technology surveillance cameras in a program modeled after similar initiatives in New York and Chicago. The bulletproof cameras rotate 360 degrees and can be transported to different locations as new high-crime areas develop. They are viewed by officers on mobile monitoring units in their patrol cars or by an operator at a central location, though officials are unsure who will be assigned to the operator position. The $24,000 cameras will be purchased using $250,000 from the state Community Capital Assistance Program and $500,000 from the City Council. Police said the cameras, expected to be operational by spring, are a tool in an overall crime-fighting strategy that includes the recently activated ShotSpotter Location System, which traces the sound of gun shots and is already responsible for at least six arrests. "It's like having extra patrol officers on the street," said Mayor Robert Duffy. "This is an investment that will save lives." http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006610260354

"A Way to Stop Red Light Runners"

Macon Telegraph (GA) (10/27/06)

Certain intersections in Macon, Ga., may soon be outfitted with cameras to catch motorists who run red lights. The need for cameras was demonstrated by Project SERV (Stopping Every Red Light Violation), which placed officers at busy intersections. After implementing the project in 2005, 1,800 drivers were ticketed for running red lights, compared to 481 the year before. At about $5,000 each, the cameras, which also serve as a deterrent, are more cost effective than stationing officers at intersections, and they free up police to handle other issues as well. In accordance with state law, the fines from citations issued by the cameras would drop from the current $86 to $70. http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/opinion/15857012.htm

"Analysis: 'Total Information' Lives Again"

United Press International (10/26/06); Waterman, Shaun

A computer system is being developed by the Office of the Director for National Intelligence John D Negroponte that is capable of mining great amounts of information in order to watch for terrorist planning--technology that recalls the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program. The new effort, known as Tangram, was discovered last week and has been criticized by advocates for privacy and civil liberties. "They are misdirecting resources toward this kind of fanciful, science-fiction project while neglecting the basics" of effective counter terrorism investigation, says Tim Sparapani, legislative council with the ACLU. The system is funded for $49 million in research over the next four years, and will build on earlier efforts to create "methods of...effectively searching large data stores for evidence of known [terrorist] behaviors." While intelligence officials insist that the program is within the law, similarities to TIA, which data-mined stores of information including credit-card purchases, telephone calls, and travel records, remain. Congress had cut all funding to TIA in 2003 after substantial concern arose over privacy and civil liberties implications. The Advanced Research and Development Activity, which oversaw the TIA, is also in charge of Tangram. "The administration has flat-out ignored Congress," says Sparapani. "They renamed it, retied the bow and off they went." Three contracts totaling almost $12 million have been awarded for Tangram research and development. Recipients include Booz Allen Hamilton and 21st century Technologies, both of which worked on the TIA project, and SRI International, which worked on a predecessor to TIA, known as the Genoa project. For more on TIA, visit http://www.acm.org/usacm.

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20061025-064205-6948r

"ATF New Gun Hotline Nets First Arrest"

US Fed News (10/23/06)

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives recently launched a new hotline that allows New Orleans residents to alert law enforcement to firearms violations. The hotline led to its first arrest just 10 days after it became operational. The New Orleans Violent Crime Impact Team helped apprehend Andre Fountain after a person called the hotline with information that he was involved in drug dealing and owned firearms. Fountain is prohibited by law from owning firearms because of his status as a three-time convicted felon. The New Orleans Police Department and the Louisiana State Probation and Parole Department was also involved in investigating Fountain. Law enforcement officers discovered a firearm and crack cocaine at Fountain's home. http//biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061020/clf079.html?.v=3

"Courthouse Considers Additional Security; Renovations To Building Should Be Enhanced By More Protection"

Des Moines Register (IA) (10/23/06) P. 1B; Walker, Melissa

A courthouse in Adel, Iowa, may receive renovations that include a $500,000 security system designed to search and restrict visitor access if Dallas County employees and judges get their way. Some of the new features in the courthouse would consist of bulletproof shields for judges, metal detectors, and X-ray machines. Nearby Des Moines and Polk County already have tight security, which requires federal courthouse visitors to walk through metal detectors and show their driver's licenses, ID cards, or employee ID before entering. Dallas County security council members are asking for a controlled entrance, more deputies, door and window alarms, and a separate elevator to transport prisoners. Supervisor Brad Golightly has admitted that he is concerned about the costs, but Chairman Mark Hanson insists more security is needed. The Dallas County courtroom has already experienced a scare this past year when a someone caused a disturbance and appeared to be a physical threat. "Alarms do not prevent somebody from becoming violent," says Sheriff Kevin Frederick. "Just because they don't have a gun or a knife, pens and pencils can become weapons." Supervisors are expected to make a decision about the requests later in the fall. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006610230330

"Chicago Fire Dept. Tests ZigBee-Based RFID System"

RFID Journal (10/11/06); Swedberg, Claire

The University of California-Berkeley's mechanical engineering department, along with the Center for Information Technology in the Interests of Society (CITRIS) developed the Fire Information and Rescue Equipment (FIRE) system in an effort to enable better communication between rescue workers. The Chicago Fire Department, which urged researchers to create the new system after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, just started testing the system this spring. The FIRE system relies on wireless sensors that use radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and can be installed in smoke detectors. The sensors can communicate where a firefighter is located, which helps fire chiefs know when firefighters should evacuate a building. The system is currently installed in some UC Berkeley buildings as well as the Chicago Fire Department. Firefighters will also be able to use an interactive floor map that displays their current location called FireEye. The system was created by UC Berkeley student Joel Wilson and comes attached to a firefighter's helmet. "This technology provides a breakthrough for safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of first responders," says Moteiv CEO Joe Polastre. FireEye may soon be installed in Chicago once it is tested. http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2717/1/1/

"Picking Out Digital Image Forgeries"

Network World (10/17/06); Kabay, M.E.

Micah Kimo Johnson has developed tools that can help forensic analysts detect digital image forgeries. On October 6, Johnson gave a presentation entitled "Lighting and Optical Tools for Digital Image Forensics." The three techniques he described were illumination direction, specularity, and chromatic aberration. Illumination direction analyzes light sources in a photograph, using a mathematical approach devised by Johnson. The system can calculate the angle of incident light based on the shadows in a picture and recognize any inconsistencies. This software has been successfully built and tested. The specularity tool he is working on looks at reflective highlights in images. The example used to display this system was a picture from "American Idol," in which two contestants had been digitally imposed. He showed that the reflective parts of the photo, such as the eyes, revealed a single light source in the eyes of some people pictured and two light sources in others. The algorithm and program are still in the works for this technology. Finally, chromatic aberration uses the principles of a camera lens and Snell's law. The tool examines the natural distortion of a picture caused by a camera lens. If this distortion is not consistent throughout, then the image is most likely forged. Johnson is still perfecting this technology. While none of these tools is 100 percent effective on its own, when the three are used in concert with forensic analysis they contribute a great deal to investigations and verifications of forged images. http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/sec/2006/1016sec1.html

FDA Postpones Testing of Proposed Anthrax Vaccine

"The Food and Drug Administration has postponed advanced testing of a proposed anthrax vaccine that was supposed to be stockpiled this year because of concerns it could lose its potency too fast to be useful, the company developing the drug announced today. The announcement by VaxGen Inc. was yet another setback to the U.S. government's $1 billion effort to develop a new anthrax vaccine... The FDA put a hold on the testing, saying it couldn't be sure the vaccine, rPA102, is `stable enough to resume clinical testing,' a statement from VaxGen said. The agency asked VaxGen to meet with FDA scientists `as soon as possible' to discuss how the trial can be resumed, it said... [The vaccine] stockpile was originally supposed to be in place by next year. But at the current rate, it will be completed no sooner than 2008 or 2009..." (Washington Post; 03Nov06; Daniela Deane and Justin Gillis) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110300528.html

NY Times Must Disclose Anthrax Sources

"A federal judge upheld an order requiring The New York Times to disclose a columnist's confidential sources as part of a libel lawsuit filed over its coverage of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Former Army scientist Steven Hatfill sued the Times, arguing that a series of articles by columnist Nicholas Kristof falsely implicated him in the anthrax mailings that killed five people in late 2001. The Times had cited FBI sources in reporting Hatfill was one of a limited number of people with the access and technical expertise to manufacture the anthrax and that he failed lie-detector tests." (Washington Post; 03Nov06; AP) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110300358.html

[Santa Clarita Valley, California] Man Faces Prison Time for Anthrax Threat

"A Stevenson Ranch [CA] man could face up to a decade behind bars after threatening to send an anthrax-packed envelope to a Texas police department. Erik William Andersson, 21, pleaded guilty Oct. 19 to making a threat to the Stephenville Police Department, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles." (The Signal; 03Nov06; Signal Staff) http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=33954&format=html

[New York county] Legislature OKs contract for bioterrorism response plan

"The Herkimer County Legislature last week authorized a contract in connection with the county Public Health Department's receipt of an $85,000 state Department of Health grant for the continuation of the department's bioterrorism preparedness response plan. Through the grant funds, Public Health helps the county coordinate its emergency response activities. The training is for Public Health personnel in the areas of bioterrorism and overlap areas, and response to hazmat-type situations...Much of the grant money received has gone toward maintaining communication with other agencies in the event of a crisis." (The Evening Telegram; 01Nov06; Joe Parmon) http://www.herkimertelegram.com/articles/2006/11/01/news/news04.txt

Third of nerve agent destroyed, [US] Army says

"An Army contractor destroying a deadly nerve agent stored in western Indiana has neutralized nearly a third of the stockpile – most of it after modifications to key pumps that help destroy the Cold War-era weapon, an Army official said Wednesday. Other changes in the works might allow the project to wrap up before the current target of spring 2008, said Jeff Brubaker, the Army's on-site manager at the Newport Chemical Depot. As of Wednesday, more than 30 percent of Newport's original stockpile of about 250,000 gallons of VX nerve agent had been chemically neutralized..."

(FortWayne.com; 02Nov06; AP)

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/15910125.htm

[Connecticut] Man convicted in fake hazmat incident

"An Uncasville man was convicted Wednesday of lying to federal authorities about being the victim of a chemical attack. Robert Robishaw, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, prosecutors said. He [told] authorities that an unknown substance fell out of a newspaper that he purchased at a Waterford convenience store. He told authorities the off-white, powdery substance caused his skin to turn red and tingle. The report prompted a massive hazardous materials response in Waterford and Groton, and sent eight people to the hospital for decontamination. The substance turned out to be cigarette ash that prosecutors say Robishaw put in the newspaper." (The Stamford Advocate; 01Nov06; AP) http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-01201355.apds.m0139.bc-ct--powdnov01,0,3911429.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire

Institute implements first responder [dirty bomb] training

"New Mexico State University's Institute for Energy and the Environment

(IEE) has implemented a first responder training program targeted to `dirty bomb' attacks. The Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC), a division of IEE in the NMSU College of Engineering, is playing a critical role in the dirty bomb threat reduction program...  In training first responders such as firefighters and emergency medical personnel, [CEMRC Director Jim] Conca stresses the criticality of risk, perception and education. He also trains emergency personnel to assume that all bombs are dirty and to follow the first priority at the scene, defining the hot zone." (The Deming Headlight; 03Nov06; NMSU Staff)

http://www.demingheadlight.com/community/ci_4593917

Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism

"Thirteen nations gathered this week in Rabat, Morocco to confront the grave international threat of nuclear terrorism by endorsing the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a joint initiative announced in July by President Bush and Russia's President Putin. Partner nations pledged to take a number of actions to fight nuclear terrorism by committing to improve accounting and security of radioactive and nuclear materials, enhance security at civilian nuclear facilities, and to improve detection of nuclear and radioactive materials to prevent illicit trafficking. Nations also agreed to improve capabilities to search and seize unlawfully held nuclear or radioactive substances, leverage response, mitigation, and investigation capabilities in case of terrorist attack, and to develop technical means to identify nuclear or radioactive materials that could be involved in a terrorist incident. Finally, partners committed to work to prevent the provision of safe havens to terrorists and financial or economic resources to terrorists seeking to use nuclear or radioactive materials. By working to improve national legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure appropriate criminal justice and civil liability for terrorists who commit acts of nuclear terrorism, partners also agreed to promote greater information sharing pertaining to acts of nuclear terrorism." (Office of the Press Secretary, The White House;01Nov06)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061101.html

By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA

Nov. 3, 2006 – The Air Force new cyberspace command will redefine air power for the 21st century and bring the fight to a realm that the enemy has already exploited extensively, the general in charge of the new command said here yesterday.

Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne announced yesterday that the 8th Air Force, led by Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, will become the service's new cyberspace command, focused on taking the fight against terrorism to the technological realm.

In December 2005, the Air Force mission statement was amended to include cyberspace as an operational domain -- along with air and space. The service stood up a cyberspace task force in January to gather data and explore how the service can operate in cyberspace.

"There's definitely a lot more interest in using cyberspace as a warfighting domain, at least with our adversaries, and that's what we're trying to counter," Elder said at a media roundtable yesterday. "If they want to fight with us in cyberspace, we're willing to take them on there, too."

Cyberspace, as it will be covered by the new command, includes the Internet and other computer networks, as well as the electromagnetic spectrum, which encompasses many things people rely on every day, Elder said. Terrorists have already exploited the electromagnetic spectrum in many ways, Lani Kass, director of the cyberspace task force, said at the roundtable. She noted the use of improvised explosive devices in Iraq, and the Sept. 11, 2001, masterminds using the internet and satellite communications to plan the attack, and simulators to practice the attack.

"We are already at war in cyberspace," Kass said. "Our enemies are using the very low technical skills and low entry costs associated with being able to function in this domain in order to attack us asymmetrically."

The Air Force has been operating in cyberspace for some time, but the efforts have been widely dispersed, Elder said. Also, cyberspace efforts until now have been mostly focused on defensive operations to protect the Air Force's network, he said.

"The cultural change is that we're going to treat it as a warfighting domain, and we're going to actually focus attention and put priority on doing things in cyberspace and then balance it against air space and even terrestrial operations," he said.

The command's new capabilities will include the ability to attack other computer networks and will mostly be focused on being proactive in the cyberspace realm, Elder said.

The use of IEDs in Iraq is an example of the U.S. being reactive to electromagnetic threats, Kass said. No one was expecting the terrorists to use IEDs, so U.S. officials had to scramble to find a way to combat them, she explained.

"Having a command there that thinks about this issue exclusively, focuses not only his organizational capabilities but his mind as a warfighter, he can not only respond to the threat of today, ... he can plan and think about the fight we are going to be in tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and 20 years out," she said.

Elder said he will take four months to gather experts from the military and academia to decide how the command should be set up and what capabilities are needed. He noted that 8th Air Force already has many cyberspace capabilities, such as surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence, battle management, and electronic warfare, but those capabilities aren't focused. The task now is to develop "cyberspace warriors" who are skilled and able to react 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to any threats, he said.

The threats to the U.S. in the cyberspace domain are real, Kass said. The Air Force's new command will not be about a bunch of computer hackers coming up with ideas, she said, but about trained professionals working to protect a technological realm that almost everyone depends on every day. She noted that an attack on an air traffic control system, or a system controlling oil refineries or a chemical plant, would wreak unimaginable havoc.

"In this domain, like in any warfighting domain, there is no place for amateurs," she said.

 

FDA Postpones Testing of Proposed Anthrax Vaccine

"The Food and Drug Administration has postponed advanced testing of a proposed anthrax vaccine that was supposed to be stockpiled this year because of concerns it could lose its potency too fast to be useful, the company developing the drug announced today. The announcement by VaxGen Inc. was yet another setback to the U.S. government's $1 billion effort to develop a new anthrax vaccine... The FDA put a hold on the testing, saying it couldn't be sure the vaccine, rPA102, is `stable enough to resume clinical testing,' a statement from VaxGen said. The agency asked VaxGen to meet with FDA scientists `as soon as possible' to discuss how the trial can be resumed, it said... [The vaccine] stockpile was originally supposed to be in place by next year. But at the current rate, it will be completed no sooner than 2008 or 2009..." (Washington Post; 03Nov06; Daniela Deane and Justin Gillis) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110300528.html

NY Times Must Disclose Anthrax Sources

"A federal judge upheld an order requiring The New York Times to disclose a columnist's confidential sources as part of a libel lawsuit filed over its coverage of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Former Army scientist Steven Hatfill sued the Times, arguing that a series of articles by columnist Nicholas Kristof falsely implicated him in the anthrax mailings that killed five people in late 2001. The Times had cited FBI sources in reporting Hatfill was one of a limited number of people with the access and technical expertise to manufacture the anthrax and that he failed lie-detector tests." (Washington Post; 03Nov06; AP) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110300358.html

[Santa Clarita Valley, California] Man Faces Prison Time for Anthrax Threat

"A Stevenson Ranch [CA] man could face up to a decade behind bars after threatening to send an anthrax-packed envelope to a Texas police department. Erik William Andersson, 21, pleaded guilty Oct. 19 to making a threat to the Stephenville Police Department, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles." (The Signal; 03Nov06; Signal Staff) http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=33954&format=html

[New York county] Legislature OKs contract for bioterrorism response plan

"The Herkimer County Legislature last week authorized a contract in connection with the county Public Health Department's receipt of an $85,000 state Department of Health grant for the continuation of the department's bioterrorism preparedness response plan. Through the grant funds, Public Health helps the county coordinate its emergency response activities. The training is for Public Health personnel in the areas of bioterrorism and overlap areas, and response to hazmat-type situations...Much of the grant money received has gone toward maintaining communication with other agencies in the event of a crisis." (The Evening Telegram; 01Nov06; Joe Parmon) http://www.herkimertelegram.com/articles/2006/11/01/news/news04.txt

Third of nerve agent destroyed, [US] Army says

"An Army contractor destroying a deadly nerve agent stored in western Indiana has neutralized nearly a third of the stockpile – most of it after modifications to key pumps that help destroy the Cold War-era weapon, an Army official said Wednesday. Other changes in the works might allow the project to wrap up before the current target of spring 2008, said Jeff Brubaker, the Army's on-site manager at the Newport Chemical Depot. As of Wednesday, more than 30 percent of Newport's original stockpile of about 250,000 gallons of VX nerve agent had been chemically neutralized..."

(FortWayne.com; 02Nov06; AP)

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/15910125.htm

[Connecticut] Man convicted in fake hazmat incident

"An Uncasville man was convicted Wednesday of lying to federal authorities about being the victim of a chemical attack. Robert Robishaw, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, prosecutors said. He [told] authorities that an unknown substance fell out of a newspaper that he purchased at a Waterford convenience store. He told authorities the off-white, powdery substance caused his skin to turn red and tingle. The report prompted a massive hazardous materials response in Waterford and Groton, and sent eight people to the hospital for decontamination. The substance turned out to be cigarette ash that prosecutors say Robishaw put in the newspaper." (The Stamford Advocate; 01Nov06; AP) http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-01201355.apds.m0139.bc-ct--powdnov01,0,3911429.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire

Institute implements first responder [dirty bomb] training

"New Mexico State University's Institute for Energy and the Environment

(IEE) has implemented a first responder training program targeted to `dirty bomb' attacks. The Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC), a division of IEE in the NMSU College of Engineering, is playing a critical role in the dirty bomb threat reduction program...  In training first responders such as firefighters and emergency medical personnel, [CEMRC Director Jim] Conca stresses the criticality of risk, perception and education. He also trains emergency personnel to assume that all bombs are dirty and to follow the first priority at the scene, defining the hot zone." (The Deming Headlight; 03Nov06; NMSU Staff)

http://www.demingheadlight.com/community/ci_4593917

Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism

"Thirteen nations gathered this week in Rabat, Morocco to confront the grave international threat of nuclear terrorism by endorsing the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a joint initiative announced in July by President Bush and Russia's President Putin. Partner nations pledged to take a number of actions to fight nuclear terrorism by committing to improve accounting and security of radioactive and nuclear materials, enhance security at civilian nuclear facilities, and to improve detection of nuclear and radioactive materials to prevent illicit trafficking. Nations also agreed to improve capabilities to search and seize unlawfully held nuclear or radioactive substances, leverage response, mitigation, and investigation capabilities in case of terrorist attack, and to develop technical means to identify nuclear or radioactive materials that could be involved in a terrorist incident. Finally, partners committed to work to prevent the provision of safe havens to terrorists and financial or economic resources to terrorists seeking to use nuclear or radioactive materials. By working to improve national legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure appropriate criminal justice and civil liability for terrorists who commit acts of nuclear terrorism, partners also agreed to promote greater information sharing pertaining to acts of nuclear terrorism." (Office of the Press Secretary, The White House;01Nov06)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061101.html

Boston biolab plan will be reassessed

"Boston University (BU) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have agreed to conduct a second, much broader environmental impact assessment for their [Biosafety Level]-4 anti-terrorism biolab, which has been under construction since March in Roxbury, a poor, densely populated part of Boston's South End. …In May, community residents sued to try to force the agency to stop funding the lab, which is intended for BSL-4 research on incurable fatal diseases like plague and Ebola virus... In an October 20 order, Federal District Judge Patti Saris deferred granting the plaintiffs' request to make the NIH temporarily cut off funding, but announced that the NIH and BU had agreed to conduct a comprehensive environmental reassessment to see whether a less-populated site might be preferable and to determine what would happen if a highly contagious fatal disease escaped from the lab... BU Medical Center spokesperson Ellen Berlin told The Scientist that the new offer to conduct a reassessment was voluntary." (The Scientist; 02Nov06; John Dudley Miller) http://www.the-scientist.com/news/home/27378/

Ukraine's interior minister calling to step up fight against bioterrorism

"Ukraine's Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has said it is necessary to step up fight against biological terrorism. `Bioterrorism has no boundaries... We should get ready to counteract biological terrorism,' the interior minister said at the international seminar of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) dedicated to bioterrorism and its possible aftermath, which is taking place in Kyiv on Monday.  Lutsenko said a special state program for combating terrorism has been elaborated in Ukraine. The program will be carried out with the participation of the Interior Ministry, the Health Ministry, the Emergency Ministry and the Defense Ministry, Lutsenko said." (Interfax-Ukraine; 06Nov06)

http://www.interfax.kiev.ua/eng/go.cgi?31,20061106004

Macau bank tied to DPRK WMD projects/Funds sent from accounts to Japan in '02

"North Korea used accounts opened at a Macau-based bank, allegedly linked to its illicit activities, to pay for purchases made in 2002 from Japanese companies supplying equipment that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction, according to investigative sources… In September 2002, North Korea sent money from a 24431746BDA24431746TAMARA CHAPMAN [Banco Delta Asia] account to pay for the unlawful purchase, via Taiwan, of a freeze dryer that could be used develop biological weapons… According to police authorities, a corporation directly linked to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il asked a 58-year-old former president of a Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo-based trading firm to ship a freeze dryer… The company directly tied to Kim eventually sold the freeze dryer to a North Korean hospital suspected of studying biological weapons." (The Daily Yomiuri; 04Nov06; The Yorumi Shimbun) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061104TDY01004.htm

NEWS ANALYSIS: Bioweapons Treaty Progress Predicted

"Representatives from 155 states meeting in Geneva Nov. 20-Dec. 8 to review and advance the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) are expressing cautious optimism that the once-every-five-years gathering will prove more successful than its immediate predecessor and other similar recent international gatherings.  ... [D]iplomats say that the political dynamics at this review conference are likely to produce less tension than in past meetings... [T]he most important decision reached at the meeting is likely to be to continue holding annual meetings aimed at strengthening the convention and deciding on their scope, diplomats say... States-parties still disagree whether such meetings should have more power than the previous set, which could not issue formal recommendations to states-parties because of U.S. resistance."(Arms Control Today; Nov06; Olivia Meier) http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006_11/NABio.asp

Chemical arms removal remains tough subject

"Officials of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program, overseeing weapons destruction here [in Pueblo, Colorado] and at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, say that off-site treatment [of mustard agent] will save $150 million... Critics, however, call that a false economy, fearing that the agency eventually will be forced to treat the hydrolysate on-site anyway and wind up spending more money because they didn't plan for it...  Hydrolysate is the generic term for the liquid left over from any hydrolysis process. The demilitarization program here will break down 2,611 tons of mustard agent into two hazardous chemicals, thiodiglycol and sodium hydroxide, along with a few smaller traces of organic compounds suspended in millions of gallons of water. Officials of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative program have offered assurances that the hydrolysate is safe to ship and while that could be true, local critics of the plan are more worried about the reaction from other communities through which the hydrolysate will travel and eventually be treated." (The Pueblo Chieftain Online; 05Nov06; John Norton)

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1162711861/5

Tehran holding intl. [international] course on treatment of chemical weapons injuries

"The 8th International Course on the Medical Aspects of Defence against Chemical Weapons opened here [Tehran] on Saturday at the Baqiatollah Hospital. Specialist physicians from 24 countries are participating in the four-day course, which will be focusing on theoretical discussions about Iran's discoveries for the treatment of injuries caused by chemical weapons... During the opening ceremony, Reza Tabatabaii, the director of the Tehran office of The Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said that Iran welcomes this opportunity to both express its opposition to all weapons of mass destruction, and particularly chemical weapons, and also to reveal the horrific crimes of Saddam Hussein, who is currently on trial." (Mehr News; 4Nov06; MNA)

http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=402186

Saddam Hussein death sentence a milestone

"Celebratory gunfire swept across parts of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities Sunday as Saddam Hussein and two former top Iraqi officials were sentenced to die for crimes against humanity.... The tribunal is the first such court since Nuremburg's Nazi war-crimes trials to hand down a death sentence. After appeal, Hussein faces hanging. The case dealt with a 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein in the town of Dujail, which prompted revenge killings of 148 people, deportation of 400, and razing of orchards.... The second, much larger case, charges genocide and covers the 1988 Anfal campaign against the Kurds in which up to 180,000 were killed...  Besides the Dujail and Anfal cases... Some 5,000 Kurds were killed by chemical weapons in Halabja in 1988. Hussein ordered his armies into Iran in 1980, sparking nearly a decade of war that left 1 million dead and wounded, and in which Iraq used chemical munitions." (Christian Science Monitor; 6Nov06; Scott Peterson) http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1106/p01s01-woiq.html

Details of 'dirty bomb' plot revealed

"Details of a 'dirty bomb' plot hatched by a British man have been revealed at Woolwich Crown Court. Dhiren Barot, 34, from London had planned a series of `massive' sychronised attacks in the UK and US, the court heard, [including] a series of bombings in the US, which were initiated before the September 11 attacks. The targets were the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington DC, as well as the New York Stock Exchange, the Citigroup headquarters and the Prudential building in Newark, New Jersey. Barot, from Kingsbury in north-west London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder last month." (4NI.com; 06Nov06)

http://www.4ni.co.uk/news.asp?id=56615

Analysis: No real terror A-bomb threat

"Two leading U.S. nuclear scientists say a team of terrorists with industrial equipment, physics and engineering skills and access to highly enriched uranium could build a crude atomic weapon in the United States for less than $10 million. The claim, on the heels of revelations that U.S. agencies Web-posted detailed technical documents from Saddam Hussein's Iraqi nuclear weapons program that might aid such an effort, is likely to fuel concerns about the possibility of a terrorist nuclear strike inside the United States. ... But a careful review of the evidence suggests that there are technical obstacles to such an attack that are insuperable, for the time being at least, by the only terrorist organization seriously interested in staging one -- Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida... Bin Laden `perhaps has yet to find his Robert Oppenheimer,' write Peter Zimmerman and Jeffrey Lewis in `Foreign Policy,' the journal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace." (United Press International (UPI) Security and Terrorism; 05Nov06; Shaun Waterman) http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20061105-081600-7306r

By Jim Garamone

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2006 – As the Air Force and Navy continue to transform themselves, the two services are finding they do not need the number of people they once did. But thanks to a program called "Operation Blue to Green," sailors and airmen chosen for separation can transfer to the Army and remain on active duty. The two "blue" services are scrubbing their officer and enlisted ranks and eliminating jobs. The Air Force, for example, will draw down by 40,000 jobs in the next few years.

"These are highly qualified and motivated people," said Army Lt. Col. Deborah Stewart, the chief of officer accessions policy at the directorate of manpower and personnel management at the Pentagon. "The Blue to Green program allows them to continue to serve."

The program allows qualified airmen and sailors to transfer to the Army. This year, there is a $10,000 bonus for those accepted into the program.

Enlisted personnel in grades E-1 to E-5 retain their ranks and time in grade when they transfer. Officers retain their rank and date of rank. All who transfer go through the Army's Warrior Transition Course - a four-week course to show the airmen and sailors how the Army does things.

If those who wish to transfer have specialty codes that translate to Army jobs, then they do not need to retrain, Stewart said. "An MP is an MP, whether Army or Air Force," she said.

Other career fields that transfer easily are military intelligence, administration, supply and transportation. "The majority of the jobs that are open are in combat support, combat service support specialties," she said.

In fiscal 2006, 172 airmen and sailors transferred into the Army - 152 from the Air Force and 52 from the Navy, according to officials at the Army Human Resources Command. The goal was 200.

Air Force officials said the program has a pretty good jump start for fiscal 2007. "To date, we've have 69 enlisted (members) apply -- 25 approved, 44 pending," said Air Force Lt. Col. Jimmy Standridge, chief of the separations branch at the Air Force Personnel Center, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "On the officer side, we have 84 applications -- 63 approved and 21 still pending."

The Army cannot say what the goal for fiscal 2007 is yet. That depends on Air Force "force-shaping" boards that will determine how many positions will be cut from the service's rolls. The officer board will be held in March, and while it's not expected to be as large as previous boards, it will still identify a number of people for separation. Standridge said those people will be offered the Blue to Green option.

Report sponsored by Army gifts.

Colorado Producers Resist Livestock Registration

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture's drive to register livestock premises to guard against disease and bioterrorism is meeting resistance from Colorado stockmen, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported Tuesday. The premises registration is the first step toward individual animal identification and tracking, which the government says will speed a response to disease or bioterrorism targeting food supplies... The goal is to equip officials with tools to identify diseased livestock and where they've been within 48 hours of discovery... Many have balked at participating because they don't trust the USDA, said Bill Bullard, a former South Dakota cow-calf producer who heads R-CALF [Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund], United Stockgrowers of America." (Cattlenetwork.com; 07Nov06; Angie Pointer, Dow Jones Newswire)

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=82194

SRI International gets $56.9M federal contract

"SRI International said Tuesday it was awarded a $56.9 million contract to help develop treatments for avian flu, SARS, West Nile virus, hepatitis, and biodefense pathogens and toxins.  The Menlo Park [California]-based independent nonprofit research and development organization said the contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is five years long." (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal; 07Nov06)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/11/06/daily22.html?from_rss=1

U.S. senator wants user fees reduced on Canadian flights and product imports

"The Republican head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee wants U.S. officials to reduce new user fees on Canadian commercial flights and goods shipments that are supposed to kick in this month. ...Maine Senator Susan Collins complained that the fees could seriously harm cross-border trade. Proposed in August as an emergency measure, the fees would start Nov. 24 and are intended to fund random U.S. inspections of Canadian goods to control pests, disease and bioterrorism." (The Vancouver Sun; 08Nov06; Beth Gorham, Canadian Press) http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/travel/story.html?id=d4b33496-d9ef-4b67-984b-74874c158335&k=64381v

Anthrax hoaxer is let off jail

"A grandmother who sent hoax anthrax packages to Tony Blair's family[,]...Shirley Freed, 72, escaped with a 51-week suspended jail term after mailing terror packages to the Prime Minister and several other politicians. She was told she had only escaped prison because of her age and poor health. Freed stuffed the envelopes with various substances, including weedkiller and sugar... Lewes crown court heard that Freed was arrested after DNA and handwriting analysis led police to her home in Littlehampton, West Sussex.  She pleaded guilty to five counts of sending hoax packages. Judge Anne Rafferty said Freed was `nasty' and `wicked.'"

(Mirror.co.uk; 07Nov06; Krissy Storrar)

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=anthrax-hoaxer-is-let-off-jail-&method=full&objectid=18055345&siteid=94762-name_page.html

Interpol Warns Legal Loopholes Threaten Bioterrorism Prevention Efforts

"Interpol launched the second phase of its bioterrorism prevention programme today with a specialised workshop for senior law enforcement officials to raise awareness and understanding. The three-day meeting, held in Kiev and attended by police representatives from 23 countries, will address a range of issues including biohazards, laboratory security, bioterrorism identification, and the importance of legislation to combat the threat... The first phase of Interpol's bioterrorism prevention programme identified the lack of legislative support for the law enforcement community as one of the most significant problems... Implementing the appropriate legislation needs to be done urgently, as without this, law enforcement often has no framework or authority to act,'

said Professor Barry Kellman, legal advisor to Interpol's bioterrorism prevention unit." (Interpol media release; 06Nov06) http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/PressReleases/PR2006/PR200635.asp

Research to combat chemical threats

"Multiple laboratories on [Rutgers University's] Busch campus are searching for antidotes to some of the most deadly chemical weapons used by terrorists and military forces.  A National Institutes of Health $19.2 million grant awarded to researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey [UMDNJ] and Rutgers University will support the formation of a Center of Excellence to perform the research.... One chemical weapon the Center is focusing on is sulfur mustard, which Laskin said was used in World War I by the Germans as a battlefield weapon. More recently, Iraqi forces utilized sulfur mustard during the Iran-Iraq War and also against the Kurds... Research on antidotes for chemical weapons has made some major advances, but the success of already developed antidotes heavily depends on exposure time and where the exposure is located in the body... The researchers at UMDNJ, Rutgers, and Lehigh universities work on synthesizing the antidotes." (The Daily Targum; 08Nov06; Matt Zegarek) http://www.dailytargum.com/media/storage/paper168/news/2006/11/08/PageOne/Research.To.Combat.Chemical.Threats-2446019-page2.shtml?norewrite200611081255&sourcedomain=www.dailytargum.com

Study looks at intravenous gene therapy

"U.S. scientists say intravenous gene therapy could be used to protect vital organs and tissues from the effects of a radiological or nuclear bomb. Ionizing radiation can be extremely damaging to cells, tissues, organs and organ systems, said Dr. Joel Greenberger, a professor and chairman of the department of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. `In previous studies, we demonstrated gene therapy can be both swallowed in pill form and inhaled through a nebulizer prior to radiation exposure to protect healthy tissues from damage. In this study, we found the same therapy administered intravenously also offers protection during exposure to whole-body irradiation.'" (United Press International [UPI]; 08Nov06) http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061108-104403-2873r

Nuclear, cyber terrorism mix greatest threat to the world – Russian expert

"The mix of nuclear terrorism and cyber-terrorism could become the most dangerous type of a terrorist threat, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Valentin Sobolev has said. `An interconnection between nuclear terrorism and cyber-terrorism could have a global catastrophic nature. The likelihood of this is not an invention.  The hacking of a computer at the Ignalina nuclear power plant in  Lithuania could have resulted in a disaster similar to that in Chernobyl,'  Sobolev  said  speaking at the 2nd international conference titled 'Terrorism and Electronic Media' in Ayia Napa in Cyprus. People  hacked their way into the computer networks of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the U.S., and there have been thefts of hard discs bearing secret  information related to nuclear weapons from the Los Alamos National Laboratory [in New Mexico], Sobolev said." (Interfax-AVN; 08Nov06) http://www.interfax.com/3/210623/news.aspx

Video Games Being Used For ER Tests

"Over 30 local and state agencies joined forces on the [San Francisco] Peninsula today to prepare for a chemical and radiological attack. But unlike previous training exercises, this one involved new technology right out of video games...Now there is a new tool, developed by Menlo Park's SRI International... John Shockley, SRI International Engineer: `It does look like a video game... the reason is that we're using technologies from the video game industry, along with the military simulation industry, and geographical information systems, we're blending those together to create the 3D referenced virtual world.'... Incident commanders can determine where they are and whether they're at risk. That's critical for this training session because it's a simulated chemical and radiological attack." (KGO-TV/DT; 07Nov06; David Louie)

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=business&id=4738885

U.S., Russia push for wider enforcement of nonproliferation resolution

"The United States and Russia pushed Wednesday for wider global enforcement of a U.N. resolution meant to choke the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1540, adopted in April 2004, requires all U.N. members to pass laws preventing terrorists and black marketeers from dealing in weapons of mass destruction, the materials to make them and the missiles and other systems to deliver them. Wednesday's mostly closed door meeting is being organized by the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe at Vienna's historic Hofburg Palace...  `I hope every country will leave this conference understanding that every country has a stake in preventing WMD terrorism, every country has a role to play in preventing WMD terrorism,' [Gregory L. Schulte, the chief U.S. delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency] said... Ulyanov [Mikhail I. Ulyanov, Russia's chief representative at the meeting] said it was important that countries that didn't have the relevant national laws needed to put the resolution in effect should be able to count on others, such as Russia or the United States, for support." (International Herald Tribune; 07Nov06; AP) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/08/europe/EU_GEN_Nuclear_Nonproliferation.php

Thursday, November 2, 2006

"'Less-Lethal,' Still Deadly: Weapons Debate Heats Up After Death of Teen When Police Use Taser"

Chicago Tribune (11/04/06); Torriero, E.A.; Sheehan, Charles

A nationwide debate concerning the use of Taser stun guns continues to expand, particularly on individuals with disabilities or mental problems. Both law enforcement and medical experts are requiring an in-depth examination of the advantages and risks of Tasers. Decisions concerning less-deadly devices, which include Tasers, beanbag shotguns, and paintball weapons that discharge polymer shells, are still made at the local level, with weapons that are prohibited in one city being bought for large sums of money on others. Tasers, the less-lethal weapon utilized most often by police departments, are employed by around 9,800 agencies, and around 230,000 weapons are currently in use. In the past 10 years, over 200 Americans have died following incidents in which stun guns were used, Amnesty International-USA reports. The majority of those killed were mentally troubled or on drugs. Last summer, the U.S. Department of Justice started investigating fatalities involving Tasers, and numerous independent studies are also taking place. In addition, Taser manufacturer Taser International is defending itself in around 60 lawsuits.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611040266nov04,1,81594.story?coll=chi-news-hed

"Visalia Police Get Video Boost"

Fresno Bee (CA) (11/03/06) P. 1; Sheehan, Tim

The Department of Homeland Security will provide a $35,500 grant to Visalia, Calif., police investigators to purchase a forensic video enhancement system that will allow them to view security videotapes ranging from traffic accidents to a crime in a convenience store. The Visalia City Council accepted the grant after it was approved this past September. There are misconceptions as to how forensic video enhancement actually works. "On TV, they show a very pixelated item, they push a button and then they can see it clearly," says Jim Potts at the Visalia Police Department. "What we expect to be able to do is take surveillance video that's dimly lit and enhance it to lighten it up or bring our more color so we can see it better." Potts says with the system they can enhance video images, but they cannot enhance a poor quality video. The system can slow down time-lapse video, freeze images, and improve audio recordings. The video enhancement system is scheduled to arrive sometime this month. http://www.fresnobee.com/270/story/10970.html

"New Technology Targeting Terror Coming to Region"

Los Angeles Times (11/03/06) P. B5; Winton, Richard

Los Angeles and Orange County hope to become among the first users in the United States of new technology that helps first responders and investigators detect bombs. A demonstration of the electronic information system, called Technical Resource for Incident Prevention (TRIPwire), was recently held in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County and Orange County sheriff's departments are obtaining the TRIPwire system for detection of explosive traps set up by terrorists. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is providing the technology. http://www.latimes.com

"City Planning Surveillance Program"

Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) (11/01/06) P. B1; Kotsopoulos, Nick

Worcester, Mass.'s city administration is preparing to install a pilot program after Jan. 1 in which surveillance cameras will be employed at certain intersections to oversee traffic and catch drivers who run red lights or stop signs. Worcester officials hope to eventually broaden surveillance technology use by implementing video cameras in high-crime sections and in city parks that have been attacked by vandalism. City Manager Michael O'Brien informed the Worcester City Council on Oct. 31 that this technology can be an efficient tool to aid the police department. With the numerous public safety goals the department is asked to handle, it is nearly impossible for police officer to be in all places, he stated. O'Brien also said having surveillance cameras at intersections can provide new revenue for Worcester through the dispensement of traffic tickets. He conceded, however, that the revenue stream would probably decline as drivers learned where the cameras were. O'Brien added that his administration is looking into making certain the plan that is eventually devised is one that is constructed on a strong platform so the wireless technology can be used as well by other municipal departments. Councilor-at-Large Joseph M. Petty stated that the technology can upgrade the quality of life for inhabitants because of its proven record in preventing crime. http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061101/NEWS/611010715/1101

"Easton Patrol Cars to Finally Go High-Tech"

Allentown Morning Call (PA) (11/01/06) P. B7; Jordan, Tracy

The City Council of Easton, Pa., has endorsed a pair of contracts to enable city police officers to have in-vehicle computers. The city made a $59,535 contract with GTBM for the Info-Cop system and a $75,000 contract with Enforsys Police Systems for record management software. No longer will Easton police have to physically go to the police station to file reports; they will be able to do so from their cruisers. Furthermore, they will have links to criminal justice databases and will not have to use radios to request information from the Northampton County 911 communication center. Police Chief Larry Palmer said the new technology was approved in the wake of major court settlements involving alleged police aggressiveness. Mandatory, independent probes found shortcomings in the police force, such as the absence of in-cruiser computers and video cameras. Palmer said the department also hopes to obtain video cameras in the future to minimize liability claims. Robert Mateff, deputy director of the 911 center, says the new computers can also be used to monitor officers' productivity and aid in officers' investigations by retaining data searches.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_3computersnov01,0,240506.story

"Driving Framed In Pictures"

Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) (11/02/06); Gregory, Lauren

In 1992 the first sustained red light camera system was introduced in New York City and the city of Chattanooga now wants to follow in the same footsteps and install traffic cameras to change drivers' behavior. Currently, more than 20 states are using cameras in more than 150 communities. Many communities are abandoning manpower in favor of technology in an effort to decrease the number of traffic accidents. John Van Winkle, head traffic engineer for Chattanooga, says speed cameras will be in place near Hixson Pike's S curves at the end of December. Up to 16 red light cameras and two mobile speed cameras will also be installed around the city. "It is focused on changing driver behavior to make our streets safer," says Winkle. Citations will be issued for violators by police at the beginning of next year, according to Van Winkle. Drivers in Jackson, Tenn., must pay a $50 fine if they are caught on the red light camera. Russ Rader at the Insurance for Highway Safety says cameras influence how drivers approach intersections. "There's a spillover effect," says Rader. "Research shows that red light cameras can reduce accidents rates across entire cities." Rader predicts the next trend will be speed cameras.

http://www.timesfreepress.com

"Nassau Steps Up Sex-Offender Watch"

Newsday (10/31/06); Bain, Brandon

Lawmakers in Nassau County, N.Y., have intensified efforts to track sex offenders. According to a recent assessment by the office of Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman, sex offenders equipped with global positioning system (GPS) devices were not being monitored 24 hours a day by Nassau probation officials. A $500,000 state grant secured by state Sen. Michael Balboni (R-N.Y.) has allowed officials to obtain additional technology as well as personnel to enable around-the-clock monitoring. The grant is paying for 50 new GPS devices, which are being used in a pilot initiative to monitor sex offenders for at 60 to 90 days. In addition, the grant is funding 150 polygraph tests that help officials check whether offenders are complying with probation terms. Balboni says the grant will also help the county computerize law enforcement databases by 2007 and possibly add other high-risk violent offenders to the monitoring program. The comptroller's assessment pointed to union issues and a lack of funding for overtime as likely causes for the monitoring gaps among nine high-risk sex offenders who wore GPS anklets. Now, however, overtime is being approved instantly, notes Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-ligran314954615oct31,0,7060715.story

"Patrol Given New Phone for Hostage Negotiations"

Omaha World-Herald (NE) (11/01/06) P. 9B; Nygren, Judith

The Nebraska State Patrol has obtained a new rescue phone from its northeast Nebraska district. Negotiators use throw phones to talk with people holding hostages. Each of the State Patrol's six districts in Nebraska use throw phones, but not all of the devices are equipped with new technology. The new phone is valued at $5,600. Nebraska State Patrol Officers also use headsets, command speakers, tape records, a length of armored cable, and other equipment for hostage negotiations. http://www.omaha.com

"Electronic Monitoring Now Includes Sweat Sniffers, Screeching Black Boxes"

USA Today (11/06/06) P. 8A; Heath, Brad

Across the country, courts are ordering violators to use a variety of tools that monitor their behavior. A Michigan court, for example, has instructed 39 traffic scofflaws to have black boxes installed in their car that issue alarms when they brake too suddenly or turn too quickly. The number of total alarms are recorded for probation officers. Prosecutors and courts in 40 states have instructed drunk drivers to wear ankle bracelets that hourly check offenders' sweat for alcohol content; results are relayed to officials daily via the Internet. Approximately 4,000 people are now being tracked this way, says Kathleen Brown with manufacturer Alcohol Monitoring Systems. "We're doing it to people who have demonstrated pretty convincingly that they are a safety risk for the rest of us," says South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long. As a result, very few have complained that these tools invade people's privacy, says Marc Mauer of The Sentencing Project, which promotes options to imprisonment. He adds that monitoring needs to be coupled with counseling or other efforts to ensure that deficient behavior does not resurface once the device is removed. The most rapidly growing tool is location monitoring, especially for sex offenders; as of 2006, at least 20 states require the tracking of some or all offenders by satellite.

http://www.usatoday.com

"Sheriff Lists Sex Offenders Online"

Wilmington Star News (10/31/06) P. 1B; Little, Ken

The New Hanover County Sheriff's Office introduced a new computer program that allows local residents to search for the location of registered sex offenders via its Web site. Residents input an address that provides them with the addresses and names of registered sex offenders within a mile of the area. The "Offender Watch" program also shows a map of the searched area and a link to access more specific information, such as the offender's photograph and the crime that the person was convicted for. Sheriff Sid Causey notes that the Sheriff's Office has appointed a detective to verify the locations of offenders because some move without notifying law enforcement. Causey says the program's initial cost is $7,500, but requires $7,000 each year to continue operating. Offender Watch is part of the larger "Community Oriented Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program" that is employed by roughly 200 law enforcement agencies nationwide. Causey says New Hanover County is likely only the third county in North Carolina to launch the program. http://www.wilmingtonstar.com

"ShotSpotter Technology Helps Police Locate Source of Gunfire"

Associated Press (10/31/06); Curtis, Kim

The Santa Clara, Calif., firm ShotSpotter recently placed microphones in high-crime regions in around 12 U.S. cities that locate gunfire and contact police dispatchers. Advocates claim the system can do away with the inconsistency that occurs when people report hearing of gunshots. The Oakland, Calif., Police Department, which implemented 100 such devices in October covering around a half-dozen square miles in high-crime neighborhoods, enacted its system right away. On Oct. 28, ShotSpotter was first to inform police about a man in an automobile firing an assault rifle at several individuals in East Oakland. The recording of the gunfire lasts for several seconds and portrays the firing of 20 or more rounds, Sgt. Phil Green explained. ShotSpotter depends on a computer to determine the position of the shooter by triangulation, utilizing the slight variance in time the shots were heard by every listening station. It can send police to within 40 feet of where shots occurred, ShotSpotter claims; in addition, it can tell the difference between gunfire and other similar-sounding noises such as fireworks and backfiring cars, ShotSpotter's Gregg Rowland states. The systems cost between $100,000 and $2 million. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/15887948.htm

"Kansas Inventor Develops Alert System"

US Fed News (10/30/06)

Michael W. Bulmer has created technology that allows law enforcement and other agencies to transmit messages using televised broadcast, Internet transmission, or satellite signals. Agencies can use the technology to issue alerts to the community about emergencies or provide important information about a crime. The technology sends the alerts to a central server system that then develops the broadcast messages.

http://www.htsyndication.com

"Feds Target Terrorist Recruiting in Prisons"

USA Today (11/07/06) P. 1A; Hall, Mimi

The federal government is taking steps to prevent extremist Muslim clerics from recruiting members of the U.S. prison population to become terrorists. Prisons in dozens of states are working with the U.S. government on the effort, which includes steps to improve monitoring, training, and awareness, the FBI said. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have asked prison officials to conduct thorough background checks on prison workers and volunteers who visit with prisoners. The FBI and DHS are also asking state prison systems to increase the number of informants and intelligence units they use. "It's a concern because we know that violent extremist groups will target people in prisons," said Donald Van Duyn, counterterrorism director for the FBI. Information sharing among prisons and local agents must also be improved, the FBI said, declining to say whether it has undercover agents working in the prison system. Federal officials also would like to see more prison employees trained to identify the tell-tell signs that prisoners are being recruited for terrorism. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-06-terror-prisons_x.htm

"Leveraging Advanced Technology to Protect Our Children from Sexual Predators"

Sheriff (10/06) Vol. 58, No. 5, P. 14; Willox, Norm

When the U.S. Justice Department created the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) last year, it was seen as an important step toward creating an effective way to collect and disseminate information on registered sex offenders that require public notification on a national basis. However, the goal of obtaining and maintaining more comprehensive and accurate data on the location of high-risk sex offenders and the ability for law enforcement to share that information with jurisdictions across the country remains unmet, leaving state and local law enforcement officials at a disadvantage. Existing sex offender registries make use of self-reported information, and without independent verification of address data, many repeat sex offenders take advantage of this and effectively "disappear." In addition, important information from public records that can play a crucial role in quickly locating sexual predators--such as known aliases, relatives, and associated addresses--are not contained in state sex offender registries. As a result, some law enforcement agencies are turning to advanced sex offender search technology, which combines the ability to link information from public records with state and law enforcement data sets. Advanced sex offender search technology also allows law enforcement to identify leads that would usually take days to uncover using traditional investigative methods, share important sex offender information across jurisdictions, and receive investigative alerts that let them know when a known sex offender relocates to their jurisdiction. The ability of this technology to provide law enforcement agencies with relevant and timely information about the whereabouts of sex offenders has been repeatedly proven in the field. For example, the Pinellas County, Fla. Sheriff's Office recently used an advanced investigative solution provided by LexisNexis to locate an absconded sexual offender who was residing at an associate's address--a location that would not have been identified through a state registry. http://www.sheriffs.org

"Tallahassee Cops Stay in Touch"

Governing (10/06) Vol. 20, No. 1, P. 66; Kleba, Heather

The Tallahassee Police Department in Florida is issuing cell phones to officers as a means of enhancing communications with both dispatchers and the community. The cell phones can be used in areas not accessible by radio, and the phone numbers can also be given to victims to bypass 911 if a suspect returns or to call with additional information. They are also helpful if stranded motorists need to call for help. The $24-per-month cell phones have already been given to 190 officers. http://66.23.131.98/archive/2006/oct/manbrfs.txt

New Summaries sponsored by Police Officer Gifts.

Saturday mail drill simulates response to bioterror attack

"In case of a bioterrorism attack, be on the lookout for a mail carrier bearing drugs.

That's one possible medication-delivery method that government officials will be testing Saturday at about 38,000 households in northeast Seattle neighborhoods, which will get little empty boxes in the mail with a flier explaining it's all just a drill. After a real attack, the box would contain antibiotics to counteract anthrax, plague, tularemia or some other deadly bacteria that terrorists might spread. `If there were a bioterrorist attack in Seattle, a large number of people would need medications quickly to keep them from becoming sick,' said Dorothy Teeter, interim director of Public Health — Seattle & King County. `This is to test our capacity to deliver the medications.'" (The Seattle Times; 10Nov06; Warren King) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003386140_healthdrill10m.html

New York [City] Fire Dept. Bio-Terrorism Exercise Thursday

"The Fire Department's fourth annual FDNY BIOPOD exercise is being held on Thursday evening. The exercise is specifically designed to test and evaluate the Department's preparedness in providing and distributing preventive vaccination/medication in the event of a biological exposure... [T]he Department plans to deploy four mobile PODs (points of distribution) and set up four stationary distribution points throughout the City's five boroughs to administer the influenza vaccine to all on-duty members (Fire and EMS)." (Government Technology; 09Nov06; FDNY Press Release)

http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php/102202

National Model Launched to Improve Healthcare Emergency Response

"A tried and tested model program to improve healthcare emergency preparedness in the event of a manmade or natural disaster was launched today. `The model program [by the Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition (HERC)] was developed over five years by a coalition of healthcare professionals in Palm Beach County, Florida, and is now thought to be the most comprehensive in the country,' said HERC chair, Dr. Mary Russell...

HERC was formed after anthrax spores were mailed to the offices of AMI, the publishers of the National Inquirer... HERC provides a forum for the healthcare community to interact with one another and other response agencies at a county, regional and state level to promote emergency preparedness; coordinates and improves the delivery of healthcare emergency response services; fosters communication between local, regional and state entities on community-wide emergency planning and response; ensures overall readiness through coordination of community-wide training and exercises; and promotes preparedness in the healthcare community through standardized practices and integration with other response partners." (PRIMEZONE; 09Nov06; Palm Healthcare Foundation)

http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=108452

Responding to the Threat of Agricultural Bioterrorism

"Given events surrounding the recent E. coli outbreak in spinach grown in the U.S., now is an ideal time to revisit the subject of food safety by expanding upon the place of agriculture in the United States and some of the ways in which geospatial technology, and its practitioners, can address this area of homeland security... The financial impact of disease and pest management is significant, costing the agricultural industry in the neighborhood of $3 billion per year... This, and future introductions may result in restrictions on domestic and foreign trade, disruptions in food production, changes in consumer perceptions and confidence, and employment declines within all aspects of agriculture and food markets... Geospatial technologies have played, and will continue to play, a key role in the development, maintenance and execution of emergency response cycles related to food security and agricultural biosecurity events. One example that illustrates this role is a spatial model for locating large-scale livestock carcass disposal sites... [Using this model] we can view and simultaneously analyze a series of thematic data layers in a GIS-based landscape suitability model to prepare our emergency response." (Directions Magazine; 09Nov06; Shawn Hutchinson)

http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2333&trv=1

Research Will Target Ebola and Other Deadly Viruses

"Researchers at CUBRC [a non-profit company] and the University at Buffalo's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences are developing radically new drugs designed to cure viruses ranging from the deadly Ebola virus to the common cold, thanks to a major $8.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense... It will support the work of researchers at CUBRC, the Center of Excellence and Prosetta Corp., a biotechnology firm based in San Francisco, in developing new drugs to treat viral hemorrhagic fever diseases, including Ebola, Rift Valley Fever Virus and Lassa Fever Virus, that are of major importance to biodefense, using techniques that ultimately will be useful in combating all types of viruses." (University of Buffalo News Center; 09Nov06)

http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/article-page.html?article=82500009

BioShield: Bavarian Nordic Reports Progress in New Smallpox Vaccine Program

"Bavarian Nordic reported in a financial update today that it is in continuing dialogue with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials on the proposal it has submitted to supply the government with its Imvamune(R) smallpox vaccine under the Project BioShield program... [M]ore than 1,200 persons... have been vaccinated in three additional Phase II trials with Imvamune(R) without serious or unexpected side-effects. A separate Phase II study with Imvamune(R) in 151 HIV-infected persons has also been completed. Data from the main study will be reported at year-end 2006 and follow-up data in mid-2007... At the current level, Bavarian Nordic has the capacity and manpower to manufacture, release and deliver Imvamune(R) smallpox vaccines to governments in a short timeframe." (DrugNewswire; 09Nov06; PRNewswire-FirstCall)

http://www.drugnewswire.com/8701/

US groups fund studies on Agent Orange, explosives in Vietnam

"US groups have announced plans to study Vietnam's wartime contamination with toxic defoliant Agent Orange and with millions of unexploded bombs and landmines. The private Ford Foundation said Friday it had committed 2.2 million dollars to study environmental hazards related to the dioxin in Agent Orange and bring health services to Vietnamese people living with long-term disabilities. `Grants will support research to help identify dioxin 'hot spots,' pilot projects to develop new clean-up technologies, and survey research and public health programmes,' said the group in a statement. US forces widely sprayed Agent Orange in southern Vietnam during the conflict that ended in 1975, to deprive enemy guerrillas of forest cover and destroy food crops." (Yahoo! News; 10Nov06; AFP)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061110/hl_afp/vietnamusagentorangelandmines_061110071806

Mock terror strike tests local response

"About 250 personnel from Huntsville, Redstone, the city of Madison, and Madison and Morgan counties took part in the exercise built around a scenario of a small plane spraying a chemical that would severely blister and possibly kill people, said Greg Avila, Redstone Arsenal Garrison exercise coordinator... Arsenal emergency workers sprayed down troops with water in a simulated chemical decontamination exercise. Also, portable showers were established within minutes to wash chemical agents away. But no chemicals were used, Avila said." (The Huntsville Times; 09Nov06; Shelby G. Spires and Steve Campbell)

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/116306745619050.xml&coll=1

OPCW Asian National Authorities Discuss Industry Verification; Chemical Industry Seminar Held in the Republic of Korea

"A seminar for Asian National Authorities on matters of relevance to the chemical industry was held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea from 6-8 November 2006. This seminar was jointly organized by the Government of the Republic of Korea and the OPCW. Over 30 participants from 14 States Parties —Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam— and one State not party, Myanmar, attended the seminar. The workshop was designed to provide a platform for experience sharing among participating States Parties on topics such as the identification of declarable Article VI activities, discrepancies in the reporting of transfers' of scheduled chemicals, and sequential inspections conducted by the OPCW. Practical table top exercises on the identification of declarable Article VI activities and inspection procedures were also held during the seminar." (OPCW Press Release; 09Nov06) http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR77_2006.html

Seminar on the Role of Industry in the Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention Held in Pakistan

"A national seminar was organised in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad, on 3 November 2006 by the National Authority of Pakistan on the role of industry in the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Over 30 industry representatives participated in the seminar.  In his opening statement, the Additional Secretary of the United Nations and Economic Coordination Division, Mr Tariq Osman Hyder, underlined Pakistan commitment to the goals and objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The seminar provided a valuable opportunity for the representatives of the chemical industry in Pakistan to improve their understanding of the Convention, as well as to identify additional ways and means of improving their collaboration with the Pakistan National Authority to effectively implement the provisions of the Convention." (OPCW Press Release; 09Nov06) http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR76_2006.html

Foreign Service Academy of Pakistan Holds Session on Chemical Weapons Convention

"As part of the syllabus of the 12-week course offered this year by the Foreign Service Academy of Pakistan to 41 diplomats representing 24 countries in Africa and Asia, a full day session devoted to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) concluded satisfactorily on 2 November 2006... [T]his full-day session was a part of Pakistan's contribution to the attainment of the goals established by the Plan of Action regarding the implementation of Article VII obligations adopted by the Tenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties." (OPCW Press Release; 09Nov06) http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR75_2006.html

Arizona universities take on bioterror

"Arizona's three state universities are quietly becoming more involved in bioterrorism research, securing tens of millions of dollars in grants.  More than a dozen projects are under way, including research on nearly all six agents listed as the highest priority for national security. Those include anthrax, plague, smallpox, tularemia and a hemorrhagic fever, Ebola. Arizona State University is announcing this week that it will join four other institutions in a $14 million federal grant to develop an antidote for the nerve agent sarin... Jacobs' [Bert Jacobs, an ASU professor] team has developed what it believes is a safer, effective version of the smallpox vaccine, but it must undergo extensive testing. He hopes to get approval next year from the Food and Drug Administration to do clinical trials. Eventually, the vaccine could be tested on primates."

(The Arizona Republic; 10Nov06; Anne Ryman) http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1110bioterrorism1110.html

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/54200.html

Application Deadline: December 31, 2006

For the fourth year, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is sponsoring a Rural Law Enforcement Technology Institute. This technology institute will be held March 26-29, 2007 in Coronado/San Diego, California and is targeted/designed for the command staff of rural and small law enforcement agencies containing less than 50 sworn officers. Law enforcement personnel will learn about and discuss technology initiatives and issues affecting the rural and small law enforcement community. Participants will receive information and assistance on existing and developing technologies, work through problems relating to technology implementation, and exchange technology lessons learned, that are of importance to the rural and small law enforcement community.

MORE INFORMATION

http://criminal-justice-online.blogspot.com/2006/11/rural-law-enforcement-technology.html

Anthrax Vaccine Supplier Moves Closer to Initial Public Offering [IPO]

"A Gaithersburg drug company [Emergent Biosolutions Inc.] that makes most of its money selling the only federally approved vaccine against anthrax is in the final stages of preparing an initial public offering to raise up to $92 million… Biotech analysts said Emergent could have a tough time with its initial public offering…According to Thomson Financial, more companies have withdrawn IPOs this year than in any of the previous five years, indicating investors are skeptical of new company stock offerings despite the generally strong market for stocks… The company said it is in the early stages of developing a next-generation anthrax vaccine and products for other diseases and bioterrorism agents." (The Washington Post; 11Nov06; Michael S. Rosenwald) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001680.html

Live vaccine provides cross-protection against Marburg virus strains

"A live, attenuated recombinant vaccine provided cross-protection against Marburg virus strains. ~ According to researchers in the United States and Canada, `Marburg virus (MARV) has been associated with sporadic episodes of hemorrhagic fever, including a recent highly publicized outbreak in Angola that produced severe disease and significant mortality in infected patients. ~MARV is also considered to have potential as a biological weapon...~[In this study] none of the specifically vaccinated animals showed any evidence of illness either from the vaccination or from the MARV challenges and all of these animals survived. These data suggest that the [...] vaccine should be sufficient to protect against all known MARV strains,' concluded the scientists. ~Daddario-DiCaprio and her coauthors published their study in the Journal of Virology..." (BioPortfolio; 13Nov06; Bioterrorism Week) http://www.bioportfolio.co.uk/cgi-bin/dialogserver.exe?CMD=hit.displayMdoc&ID=125417&HITNO=1&MSIZE=1000&LANGUAGE=en&FILE=doc.NEWSFEED&SAVEQUERY00=bioterrorism&SAVEPROP00=L%3den&SAVEDB=news&SAVEORGANISE_CODED=R:date&R=125417&THISHREF=file:/D:/newsedge/newsedge_10_11_2006/nitf/St_Nitf_Live_vaccine_provides_cross_pr_c1110895.6wh.xml&THEHOST=

Russia lagging in destruction of chemical weapons

"Americans aren't the only ones wrestling with what to do with the byproducts of destroyed chemical weapons.  Ross Vincent, a Sierra Club senior policy advisor, found that expected problems with agent hydrolysate have forced Russian officials to ask for a deadline extension from the organization monitoring treaty compliance, and he's worried that could have ramifications for Pueblo. Vincent was in Moscow last week serving as a panelist at the Eighth Russian National Dialogue on Chemical Weapons Demilitarization... He said that the Russians continue to say they are determined to meet the deadline for destruction of the actual weapons... What Russia wants from the OPCW is more time to destroy its hydrolysate." (The Pueblo Chieftain; 10Nov06; John Norton)

http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1163148342/5

[Utah] Cleanup stirs little interest

"The conclusion to a quiet, long-term, $128 million cleanup effort at the Army's Dugway Proving Ground is getting closer, and while the effort includes covering or hauling away large amounts of hazardous waste, it hasn't captured much public attention... In recent months, environmental contractors at Dugway have covered about a dozen landfills where removal of waste, which includes old chemical and conventional munitions, was deemed unsafe to workers... Dugway is required to remediate its old waste sites in order to maintain its permit to store even more hazardous waste, which comes from Dugway's ongoing chemical- and biological-defense testing... [Dugway's restoration-program manager, Scott] Reed said one of the highest-risk sites, and the first to be cleaned up, contained traces of demilitarized, or decontaminated, chemical nerve agent. That site was 20 miles inside Dugway's border and was believed to pose no human risk off the base, Reed said." (Deseret Morning News; 13Nov06; Stephen Speckman) http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650206709,00.html

Commemorating the Fallen of the First World War; OPCW Pledges to Prevent Chemical Weapons Use

"On 11 November 2006, the city of Ieper, Belgium, commemorated the eighty-eighth anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First World War.  The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was honoured to participate in this solemn commemoration ceremony. The OPCW's annual participation in the Armistice Day commemorations in Ieper is an expression of its commitment to free the world of chemical weapons... At Ieper, Belgium, chemical weapons were first used on a mass scale on 22 April 1915.  During the First World War, over one million combatants were injured and over 90, 000 soldiers were killed by these weapons, the first weapon of mass destruction ever used in combat." (OPCW Press Release; 11Nov06)

http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR80_2006.html

Lowly algae may help fight against terror

"The National Institutes of Health has awarded $4.5 million to OSU [Ohio State University] researchers to bioengineer a human protein to attack nerve-gas agents in a victim's bloodstream. Researchers will develop a method to use algae as tiny factories that could manufacture large quantities of biological antidotes… Gerald Ledlow, a community preparedness expert at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, said antidotes that use human proteins could attack a wider spectrum of agents than chemical antidotes. Ohio State scientists will alter copies of the human gene that produces the detoxification protein so that it produces a more effective version. This altered gene would be cloned and the copies inserted in the genetic material of algae, which would make the protein as part of its life cycle." (The Columbus Dispatch; 12Nov06; Mike Lafferty) http://www.columbusdispatch.com/science/science.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/12/20061112-A1-03.html

Chemical Weapons Convention Resolution Adopted at UN; UN's First Committee Calls upon All Possessor States to Join the CWC

"The [Sixty]-First Session of the United Nations General Assembly's First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) adopted unanimously on 23 October 2006, a resolution on the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).  The resolution, introduced by Poland, noted with satisfaction that five more States have ratified or acceded to the Convention in the past year, bringing the total number of States party to the CWC to 179 and called upon all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention without delay... The Committee highlighted that all possessors of chemical weapons, chemical weapons production facilities or chemical weapons development facilities, including previously declared possessor States, should be among the States parties to the Convention, and welcomed progress to that end..." (OPCW Press Release; 10Nov06) http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR79_2006.html

[Cleveland] BioLabs seeking defense contract

"Cleveland BioLabs Inc. is taking another step toward supplying the federal government with a drug that could protect the military from the ravages of a radiological attack. The Cleveland company that went public this summer has begun contract negotiations with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the Department of Defense. If successful, the negotiations would lead to a contract helps Cleveland BioLabs develop and produce Protectan CBLB502, the company's most advanced drug... CBLB502 is an injectable drug that prevents cell death caused by high or lethal doses of radiation. By keeping cells alive long enough to be repaired, the drug can prevent the bone marrow and digestive tract damage caused by heavy doses of gamma radiation." (The Plain Dealer; 10Nov06; Mary Vanac)

http://www.cleveland.com/business/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/business/116315225181240.xml&coll=2

Article sponsored by Police Officer Gifts.

Hospitals get serious practice

"At about 9 a.m. Thursday officials at Victor Valley Community Hospital [in California] received a transmission saying a biological weapon had been released through the misting system at the Hyundai Pavilion during a concert, in an apparent terrorist attack... possibly from an aerosolized botulism, said hospital spokesman Ray Marien.. [This was] part of the statewide Golden Guardian drill, designed to test emergency preparedness across the board...  Haz Mat team members from the Victorville Fire Department worked with hospital employees to conduct a mock decontamination, which would include stripping down, being sprayed with cold water and putting on special suits before entering the hospital." The Daily Press; 17Nov06; Katherine Rosenberg) http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20061117/hospitals-get-serious-practice

VaxGen gets extension for anthrax vaccine

"VaxGen said it received a letter from the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday pushing the deadline [for delivering a vaccine suitable for clinical trials] back from Nov. 13 to Dec. 18. VaxGen was developing the vaccine under a contract with the federal government to provide 75 million doses for biodefense. In early November the Food and Drug Administration imposed a clinical hold on a phase 3 trial of the anthrax vaccine because the agency deemed VaxGen had not demonstrated the product would be stable enough for clinical testing. The next day HHS, which imposed the original Nov. 13 deadline, informed VaxGen it would consider canceling the contract for the vaccine if the company did not resolve the clinical hold." (United Press International; 16Nov06) http://www.upi.com/HealthBusiness/view.php?StoryID=20061116-101739-4625r

Firm punished for `biological weapons' export

"Japan's trade ministry said on Friday it had punished a Tokyo-based trading firm for illegally exporting to North Korea a device that could be used to produce biological weapons. The ministry said the Meisho Yoko trading firm, run by an ethnic pro-Pyongyang Korean, exported a single freeze dryer to North Korea via Taiwan without approval from the trade ministry in September 2002. Under the punitive measures announced on Friday, the firm and its president will be barred from exporting goods for eight months from November 24, the ministry said... An increasing number of firms in Japan have been investigated in recent years on suspicion of illegally exporting such machinery to North Korea." (IOL; 17Nov06)

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=126&art_id=qw1163748603493B265

MEPs [Members of the European Parliament] call for full compliance on the prohibition of biological weapons

"In adopting a joint resolution on the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons (BTWC), cluster bombs and conventional arms, MEPs underline that the objective of the European Union should be to build on the success of the BTWC regime, to further strengthen the BTWC and to promote a successful outcome to the Sixth Review Conference... MEPs call on the Council and Commission to promote full compliance with the obligations under the BTWC and, where necessary, strengthening of national implementation measures, including penal legislation and control over pathogenic micro-organisms and toxins in the framework of the BTWC."

(European Parliament Press Release; 16Nov06) http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/031-12656-317-11-46-903-20061113IPR12543-13-11-2006-2006-false/default_en.htm

Mustard gas consolidated at Umatilla [Oregon]

"Workers at Umatilla Chemical Depot have moved nearly 5 million pounds of mustard gas to a new home, the warfare agent's second relocation in five years. The U.S. Army chemical weapons depot, west of Hermiston, has 2,635 `ton containers' full of distilled mustard, or HD... Since [September, 2001], an incinerator plant at the depot has destroyed more than 91,000 rockets armed with sarin nerve gas, which were stored in igloos in a separate, more secure area... Between Sept. 11 and Nov. 9, crews moved the mustard gas containers into the igloos that had held sarin rockets, consolidating all the depots arms into one, highly secure area, said spokesman Bruce Henrickson. The gas's new home is also closer to the incinerator, which is scheduled to destroy the blister agent starting in 2009 or 2010." (The Oregonian; 17Nov06)

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1163732123298750.xml&coll=7

Senate action could secure $140 million

"An action of the Senate on Wednesday could help secure $140 million for the chemical demilitarization process at Kentucky and Colorado storage facilities. The original request was for $130 million, but Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell submitted a successful amendment that added an extra $10 million to the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (ACWA) program. The funding came after the passage of the 2007 Military Construction, Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act...  Williams and his organization have closely followed the demilitarization process and serve as a community watchdog to ensure the weapons are destroyed safely and as soon as possible... If adequate funding continues to be provided, construction is scheduled to be completed in 2011 at the Richmond [Kentucky] site and 2010 in Colorado." (Richmond Register; 17Nov06; Ronica Shannon)

http://www.richmondregister.com/localnews/local_story_321110257.html?keyword=topstory

U.S. Army Could Benefit From Foreign Technologies for Faster Destruction of Recovered Chemical Weapons

"To facilitate destruction of buried chemical warfare materiel, the U.S.Army should consider adopting a faster and more efficient technology -- such as one of those currently used in Europe or Japan -- to complement the ones it currently uses, says a new report from the National Research Council.  The new technique would be used primarily to destroy whole chemical munitions from large burial sites, said the committee that wrote the report... The report looks at technologies that can destroy entire munitions -- rockets, land mines, mortars, and projectiles -- and those that can handle only chemical agents, such as nerve and blister agents... Since the early 1990s, the United States has been destroying chemical warfare materiel recovered from burial sites to meet an April 2007 deadline specified by the Chemical Weapons Convention...  The technologies investigated by the committee could help eliminate these recovered weapons more quickly and efficiently than methods currently used in the United States." (National Academies of Science Press Release; 16Nov06)

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11777

Dor makes ground with ricin vaccine

"Dor BioPharma has announced it has made progress with the formulation of RiVax, a new drug that could be the world's first vaccine for the deadly ricin toxin.  The Florida-based company said it has found the conditions for maintaining long-term stability and optimisation of the formulation of RiVax... The ricin A chain is very fragile and difficult to maintain structurally in water-based solutions that are commonly used for human vaccines, so the company said it has added compounds to solutions of protein to stabilise the structure, by preventing the unfolding of protein during stress conditions such as heat... The urgency for protective countermeasures against ricin has been heightened by its recent and continued use as a biological weapon in both the United States and Europe." (BioPharmaReporter.com; 16Nov06; Emilie Reymond) http://www.biopharma-reporter.com/news/ng.asp?n=72112-dor-biopharma-ricin-formulation

Neurology [professor] wins grant to study seizures

"Neurology Prof. Jaideep Kapur [of the University of Virginia] has received a five-year, $2.3 million research grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to fund his research in the treatment of nerve agent-induced seizures. The goal, Kapur said, is to help protect the civilian population against a bio-terror attack [sic].

Kapur said his research is focused mainly on the development of treatment after a chemical attack in the United States. Kapur said U.S. military forces are pretreated against the agents, and have a different process in place for treatment. If there were to be an attack, however, on the untreated civilian population, there is no efficient treatment strategy in place... Kapur and his team believes that nerve agent-induced seizure disorders affect the brain and respond to treatment in a similar manner to other types of long-term seizure disorders. Kapur said he will work toward improving existing treatments of non-nerve agent-caused disorders, and increase their success rates. The treatments then could be used toward the treatment of nerve agent-induced seizure disorders." (The Cavalier Daily; 16Nov06; Missy Tacey)

http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=28652&pid=1517

Articles sponsored by Police Officer Gifts and Police Officer turned law enforcement writers.

Senate to Take Up Biological Threats; Firms Could Get Funding Sooner

"The Senate is moving to take up legislation as soon as this week revamping a struggling multibillion-dollar effort to counter bioterrorism threats with a national stockpile of new vaccines and other drugs.  The legislation creates a central authority within the Health and Human Services Department to manage the effort, sets aside an additional $1 billion for research and gives the federal government the flexibility to provide cash infusions to the small firms doing most of the work.  Supporters of the bill, which is more than a year in the making, are cautiously optimistic that it will pass... The initiative is intended to salvage the Bush administration's Project BioShield, a $5.6 billion program to counter biological and radioactive weapons... Project BioShield `didn't work because a majority of the companies choose not to participate and the ones that did, they were not financed through the valley of death,' [Senator Richard] Burr [R-N.C.] said." (The Washington Post; 15Nov06; Renae Merle) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401247.html

Using nanotechnology and lasers to rapidly detect viruses

"Waiting a day or more to get lab results back from the doctor's office soon could become a thing of a past. Using nanotechnology, a team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a diagnostic test that can detect viruses as diverse as influenza [and] HIV... in 60 seconds or less. In addition to saving time, the technique – which is detailed in the November issue of the journal Nano Letters – could save lives by rapidly detecting a naturally occurring disease outbreak or bioterrorism attack...

The technique, called surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), works by measuring the change in frequency of a near-infrared laser as it scatters off viral DNA or RNA. This change in frequency, named the Raman shift for the scientist who discovered it in 1928, is as distinct as a fingerprint... [Lead author Ralph Tripp, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Vaccine Development at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine] said the technique is so powerful that it has the potential to detect a single virus particle and can also discern virus subtypes and those with mutations such as gene insertions and deletions. This specificity makes it valuable as a diagnostic tool, but also as a means for epidemiologists to track where viruses originate from and how they change as they move through populations." (Nanowerk News; 15Nov06) http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=1032.php

New Gas Safely Kills Anthrax [Bacillus anthracis], Super Germs, Experts Say

"There's still no surefire treatment for people who inhale anthrax [Bacillus anthracis], but now, there is a major breakthrough in prevention. Any post office, hospital, airplane or other enclosed space contaminated by anthrax can soon be quickly sterilized with a dry gas that destroys spores and bacteria. The gas -- called Vaprox -- can also kill drug-resistant super bugs like bird flu and hospital-acquired infections, says Dr. Mark Smith, Chairman of Emergency Medicine at Washington Hospital Center.  `The gas is very effective at filling all the spaces and killing all the bugs,' Dr. Smith says... Steris, a company specializing in decontamination and infection prevention, developed Vaprox..." (WTOP Radio; 14Nov06; Evan Haning)

http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=106&sid=974768

Get Your Free Flu Shot and Ward Off Bioterrorism

"On Friday, a free drive-through flu shot clinic will be available to the public... The city of Santa Clarita [California] is participating in the planning and implementation of this drive-through flu clinic because this event is actually exercising the city's bioterrorism preparedness plan with L.A. County Public Health and COC [College of the Canyons]. The exercise is designed to test the `Cities Readiness Initiative' [CRI] response during a bioterrorism attack or pandemic. The purpose of the CRI plan is to treat the impacted population with medications within a condensed time period. This exercise is a tremendous undertaking for a three-hour operation. The model that will be exercised during the drive-through clinic is called a `rapid point of dispensing' (POD). The objective of this exercise is to test the through-put of processing people within the three-hour time period of the operation. The benefit of the exercise is the public will be administered actual flu shots." (The Signal; 14Nov06; Frank Ferry) http://www.the-signal.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=34278&format=html

HazMat responds to anthrax scare at FRDC [Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center, Fulton, Missouri]

"The Fulton Fire Department responded to a call of a suspicious white powder substance at the Missouri Department of Corrections Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center around 10:30 a.m. Monday. The Cole County Regional Hazardous Materials Team also responded to the call with specialized chemical testing equipment...  `[A testing] machine determined the substance was not anthrax,' [Fulton Fire Department Public Information Officer Vikki] Schulte said. `It identified the substance as crushed aspirin, and could even tell us it was Shop-Rite Aspirin.' The package originated internally from an offender who was trying to send it to his girlfriend on the outside. A note was included with the package that stated the powder was anthrax." (Fulton Sun; 14Nov06; Justin Kelley) http://www.fultonsun.com/articles/2006/11/14/news/047news01.txt

THS [Tecumseh High School, Oklahoma] Bioterrorism Exercise Successful

"The Pottawatomie County [Oklahoma] Health Department and local first responders conducted a successful bioterrorism exercise Sept. 15 at Tecumseh High School. The Mass Immunization Prophylaxis Strategies (MIPS) exercise was implemented to test the emergency planning and response capabilities of a bioterrorism attack on the citizens of Pottawatomie County. The exercise was centered on an outbreak of the plague and how to provide simulated medication to a large number of residents in a short period of time... `Our MIPS exercise was the first of its kind in the State of Oklahoma, in that a multi-county (Pottawatomie, Seminole, Hughes, Okfuskee, and Lincoln) approach to a bioterrorism attack was planned, collaborated, and executed successfully[,]' [said Tina R. Johnson, administrative director for Pottawatomie, Seminole, Hughes, and Okfuskee County Health Departments]." (Tecumseh County Wide News & The Shawnee Sun;

13Nov06)

http://www.countywidenews.com/articles/2006/11/13/news/09ths%20bioterrorism.txt

Acambis loses U.S. smallpox deal

"Vaccine maker Acambis said on Tuesday it had been unexpectedly dropped from consideration by the U.S. government for a new smallpox vaccine contract that analysts believe could be worth up to $1 billion... Acambis had been competing with Denmark's Bavarian Nordic... to supply the U.S. government with a weakened version of the smallpox vaccine suitable for vulnerable members of the population such as the elderly... A company spokesman said technical issues, rather than price, lay behind the move...

Acambis had already supplied the U.S. government with more than $500 million worth of standard smallpox vaccine as the country moved to build up stocks amid fears of bio-terrorist attack. Analysts had assumed Acambis would win at least half of the new contract." (Reuters UK; 14Nov06; Mark Potter and Ben Hirschler)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=stocksNews&storyID=2006-11-14T100015Z_01_NOA432175_RTRUKOC_0_HEALTH-ACAMBIS.xml&WTmodLoc=HP-C6-Shares-2

Poor lab controls increase risk of bioterrorism, experts warn

"Lax controls in laboratories, poor international agreements on harmful pathogens and ignorance among scientists of the risks their research may pose are increasing the danger of terrorists devising biological weapons, according to specialists at a meeting on genetics and terrorism at Edinburgh University. The conference, held by the Economic and Social Research Council's genomics policy and research forum, brought together experts on bioterrorism to discuss ways to reduce the risk of terrorists exploiting advances in biological sciences... Their recommendations suggest scientists take mandatory educational courses on the potential threats of research and set up bioterror `hotlines' for lab staff to use if they create a dangerous organism by accident." (The Guardian; 14Nov06; Ian Sample) http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1947100,00.html

Seoul To Ban Development Of Bio Weapons

"South Korea is set to ban the development and possession of bio weapons starting 2007, a government statement said Sunday.  In the statement, South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy detailed what would no longer be allowed. That includes all development, manufacturing and possession of biological weapons, including the trading and transportation of bio-products used in the manufacture of such weapons.

The ban will take effect after the government revises the current law on chemical and biological development in April 2007, the statement said. The ministry also said biological products used for peaceful purposes, such as clinical treatment, should be reported to the government before being allowed." (All Headline News; 12Nov06; Komfie Manalo)

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7005488516

Keeping Airmen safe and secure

"From identifying chemical agents to maintaining safe working conditions, [the US Air Force] 379th [Air Expeditionary Wing] bioenvironmental office does a little bit of everything... The job of being in this career field involves playing numerous roles such as being a front-line responder to detect chemical/biological/radiological agents in contingency situations, as well as functioning behind-the-scenes ensuring personal safety for people deployed here... Bioenvironmental Engineering office's primary mission is readiness and responding to any CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) incidents... Captain Lee [chief, bioenvironmental engineering office] and his team have a variety of equipment at their disposal. The hand-held assay detects and identifies eight different biological agents; the hapsite — a portable gas chromatogram/mass spectrometer detects and identifies chemical agents such as Sarin and mustard gas and toxic industrial chemicals; the SAM-935 detects and identifies various radioisotopes."  (Blackanthem Military News; 13Nov06; Tech. Sgt. Steve Staedler) http://www.blackanthem.com/News/military200610_2145.shtml

FSA [Food Standards Agency] summit plans UK food terror response

"Plans to deal with widespread contamination of the UK food supply caused by a terrorist attack have been discussed by industry, food safety and security officials amid concerns at the terror threat facing the country... The FSA intends to use Thursday's meeting, organised jointly by Leatherhead Food International, to develop a `portfolio of good practice guidance' to both prevent and respond to a food terror attack... An attack would be very difficult to achieve, according to Dr Keith Neal, an expert on bioterrorism and part-time government advisor from the University of Nottingham. `You've got to get a very harmful poison and you've got to be able to distribute it. There's various nasty chemicals, but to actually do this on mass is really very difficult because most poisons are bitter, and we have evolved to spit bitter things out,' Neal told BeverageDaily.com.

Other problems include the need for heat-stable toxins, the potential for chemicals to be washed off food before it is eaten, and the potential for contamination to be discovered quickly and dealt with via batch recalls."

(Beveragedaily.com; 15Nov06; Chris Mercer) http://www.beveragedaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=72075-fsa-uk-food-terror-contamination

Radiation Detection Equipment Up and Running in Slovenia

"The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced that radiation detection equipment to screen for nuclear and radiological material at the Port of Koper in Slovenia is fully operational.~ The equipment was installed in the Republic of Slovenia under NNSA's Second Line of Defense program, which works around the world to prevent the illicit trafficking of nuclear weapons and `dirty bomb' material. `Detecting smuggled nuclear material is part of our overall efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism.~ The Slovenian Port of Koper is a major crossroad between eastern and western Europe.~ It is important that we have adequate detection there,' said NNSA Administrator Linton F.

Brooks." (NNSA Press Release; 13Nov06)

http://www.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/newsreleases/2006/PR_2006-11-13_NA-06-43.htm

Military nanotechnology - how worried should we be?

"All major powers are making efforts to research and develop nanotechnology- based materials and systems for military use... Stressing continued technological superiority as its main strategic advantage, [the US military] is determined to exploit nanotechnology for future military use and it certainly wants to be No. 1 in this area. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is a major investor, spending well over 30% of all federal investment dollars in nanotechnology...  Of considerable concern is the question to what degree military nanotech could lead to destabilization (when one military power develops a technology that others cannot effectively defend against) and undermine arms-control agreements like the Biological Weapons Convention. A NATO study group states that `the potential for nanotech-driven innovations in chemical and biological weapons are particularly disquieting as they can considerably enhance the delivery mechanisms of agents or toxic substances. The ability of nanoparticles to penetrate the human body and its cells could make biological and chemical warfare much more feasible, easier to manage and to direct against specific groups or individuals.'" (Nanowerk Spotlight; 13Nov06; Michael Berger) http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1015.php

Envoy: Islamic Extremists Seek Weapons

"Islamic extremists, including members of al-Qaida, have tried to acquire chemical or radiological weapons to use in attacks against Britain and other Western targets, a senior British diplomat said Monday... Britain's Foreign Office has evidence of efforts by the terror groups to purchase chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials for use in attacks, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his work... The diplomat acknowledged that an attack with chemical or radiological weapons would most likely be mounted with crude technology and cause mass panic rather than mass casualties. Britain's Foreign Office is concerned over the potential access terrorists could have to substances with legitimate uses that could also be used to create weapons and biological agents like smallpox or anthrax, the official said.... The Foreign Office official said hundreds of British Muslims were making terrorism-related trips between Britain and Pakistan each year." (The Washington Post; 13Nov06; AP, David Stringer) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/13/AR2006111300785.html

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice Online and Police Officer Gifts.

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When the first aircraft struck the World Trade Center what were your thoughts?  Was terrorism your first thought?  Or, was your first thought more like How could that happen?  The first crash caught most people trying to figure out what human or mechanical error could have caused the crash.  However, a little over 15 minutes later and the instant Flight 175 came into view we knew we were under attack.  As the jet slammed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center our view changed and the response of police and fire personnel to the WTC and the other incidents changed.

Our response changed because the additional information of the second aircraft changed our perception regarding the first.  Our perceptions moved closer to the reality because additional information gave meaning and enhanced our comprehension of what we were observing.  By gaining additional information we became aware of the true nature of the situation.

Situational Awareness

Situational awareness was a term originally used to describe the tactical situation during aerial combat.  While the term doesn't go back as far, the idea surfaces in World War I, when pilots first took to the sky in combat.  At first, it was the ability of the pilot to know where he was in relation to the enemy and the other pilots of his flight.  In reality that is only positional awareness.  However, when pilots added their knowledge of aircraft capabilities and known battle tactics with positional awareness they were able interpret, comprehend and anticipate.  Comprehension of observations is the essence of situational awareness.

READ ON

http://www.police-writers.com/situational_awareness.html

Editor's Note:  Mr. Shivakumar comments are in response to one of the many articles on terrorism written in the newsletter – Hi Tech Criminal Justice.  In many ways, he provides us with insights from someone who is living at ground-zero of a long struggle.  Moreover, his ideas of citizen involvement in prevention of terror are likely key and integral to any long-term, viable solution.  

I'm an Indian resident staying in Bangalore City and as a law abiding, peace-loving citizen of India I am truly concerned about alarming increase in terrorist activities across the world.

As you might be already aware of, India is bleeding from full-fledged terrorism (sponsored by Pakistan in North-West, Bangladesh in East and China in North) in last three decades we have lost millions of innocent lives throughout the nation.

http://terrorism-online.blogspot.com/2006/11/citizens-perspective.html

Yes Raymond,

It is the OODA Loop

Observe - Orient - Decide - Act

cheers and God bless
Vivek Raghuvanshi
Asistant Professor
Amity University


--- "Raymond E. Foster" <raymond@...> wrote:


> When the first aircraft struck the World Trade
> Center what were your
> thoughts?  Was terrorism
> <http://www.terrorism-online.blogspot.com/>
> your first thought?  Or, was your first thought more
> like How could that
> happen?  The first crash caught most people trying
> to figure out what
> human or mechanical error could have caused the
> crash.  However, a
> little over 15 minutes later and the instant Flight
> 175 came into view
> we knew we were under attack.  As the jet slammed
> into the South Tower
> of the World Trade Center our view changed and the
> response of police
> and fire personnel to the WTC and the other
> incidents changed.

> Our response changed because the additional
> information of the second
> aircraft changed our perception regarding the first.
>  Our perceptions
> moved closer to the reality because additional
> information gave meaning
> and enhanced our comprehension of what we were
> observing.  By gaining
> additional information we became aware of the true
> nature of the
> situation.

>
> Situational Awareness
>
>
>
> Situational awareness was a term originally used to
> describe the
> tactical situation during aerial combat.  While the
> term doesn't go
> back as far, the idea surfaces in World War I, when
> pilots first took to
> the sky in combat.  At first, it was the ability of
> the pilot to know
> where he was in relation to the enemy and the other
> pilots of his
> flight.  In reality that is only positional
> awareness.  However, when
> pilots added their knowledge of aircraft
> capabilities and known battle
> tactics with positional awareness they were able
> interpret, comprehend
> and anticipate.  Comprehension of observations is
> the essence of
> situational awareness.
>
>
>
> READ ON
>
>
>
>
http://www.police-writers.com/situational_awareness.html
>
<http://www.police-writers.com/situational_awareness.html>
>
>
>
>


Vivek RAGHUVANSHI- Low Intensity Conflict Analyst

Assistant Professor:MBA (Competitive Intelligence & Corporate Warfare)
Amity Institute of Competitive Intelligence
Amity University Uttar Pradesh
Sector 125, Noida, (National Capital Region) India

Mobile: 91-9810825355



________________________________________________________________________________\
____
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New Study Finds On/off Switch For Septic Shock

"According to a new study, septic shock--a dangerous, often deadly runaway immune response--is controlled by a genetic on/off switch... [Bacterial] [i]nfection causes the body's immune system to produce protective proteins called cytokines. Problems arise when the body is unable to turn off cytokine production and they overwhelm the body, says Dr. Schneider [lead author of the study]. `The resulting cytokine storm is, for example, what kills people when they are infected with anthrax and, we think, an important factor in what killed people in the flu pandemic of 1918,' he says... Dr. Schneider and his colleagues focused on one of the key genes that regulate cytokine production called auf1... In summary, auf1 is a protector that can stop an infection from progressing to septic shock, explains Dr. Schneider. It does so by helping with cytokine production and then tempering the production of these proteins. Auf1 acts like a cytokine on/off switch." (Medical News Today; 18Nov06)

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=56723

Iran probably has germ weapons, possibly N.Korea-US

"Iran probably has germ warfare weapons, North Korea may have developed them and Syria could have carried out research into such banned weaponry, the United States told an arms control conference on Monday. Addressing the opening session of the sixth review conference of the Convention on Biological Weapons (BWC), U.S. delegation head John C. Rood said those countries were of particular concern given their `support for terrorism... We believe that Iran probably has an offensive biological weapons programme in violation of the BWC,' Rood said. `We also believe North Korea has a biological weapons capability and may have developed, produced and weaponised for use. Finally, we remain seriously concerned that Syria ... has conducted research and development for an offensive BW programme," he said.... Rood declined to detail his accusations against the three states. He referred journalists to a 2005 report by the United States on various countries' compliance with the BWC." (Reuters, 20Nov06; Richard

Waddington)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L20649826&WTmodLoc=World-R5-Alertnet-3

Annan tells countries to address biological weapons threats

"Nations should step up efforts to combat biological weapons and address the threat posed by terrorist and criminal groups seeking to obtain them, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday[,] [addressing] countries meeting in Geneva to review the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which has been ratified by 155 governments... The convention, which bans the development and stockpiling of germ-based weapons, has never had serious enforcement measures because the threat of biological warfare was believed to be minimal when it was drafted during the height of the Cold War...

[Annan] urged countries to build on what progress they had made since and `take further steps to ensure that the convention will continue to serve as an effective barrier against biological weapons.'" (The International Herald Tribune; 20Nov06; AP) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/20/news/UN_GEN_UN_Biological_Weapons.php

UN Conference Focuses on Bio-terrorism Threat

"The threat of bio-terrorism will top the agenda of a sixth review conference of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. The two-week conference, which begins Monday [November 20] in Geneva will review the ban on biological weapons and aim to strengthen the existing treaty... The President-designate of the Conference, Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan, says many of the divisions of the past have been buried and prospects for an agreement to strengthen the treaty this time are better... Khan says bio-terrorism poses a threat to national and international security because of what he calls the mind-boggling advances that have been made in the life sciences and biotechnology... Khan says concerns also are growing about how bio-terrorists could manipulate naturally occurring diseases such as SARS and avian influenza for their purposes." (Voice of America; 19Nov06; Lisa Schlein) http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-11-19-voa16.cfm

Concerns raised over incineration

"Utah environmentalists are concerned that a decision giving the [Deseret] Chemical Depot more time to incinerate mustard gas is a license to put more toxins into the air. In August, the timeline for destruction of the depot's deadly chemical weapons was extended six years to 2016... Army official[s] [have asked] the state to push back the date for a monitored burn to prove the incinerator's furnace runs clean and safe for prolonged periods of time... Vanessa Pierce, director of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, said giving the plant more time to prepare for the test is a bad idea. `It allows them to tweak the system until they can get the results they need to achieve a clean trial burn,' said Pierce, who believes the `toxic crap' released during this so-called `shakedown period' isn't being monitored by Deseret or state regulators." (Casper Star Tribune; 20Nov06"

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2006/11/20/news/regional/c5e02639f85b9df28725722b00268f40.txt

Cumberland [NJ] township offers support for nerve gas project

"[Maurice River Township, New Jersey] has voted to support the Army's plan to dispose of the byproduct of a deadly nerve agent into the Delaware Bay, and hopes to get a boardwalk built as part of the deal. In March, township officials and local fishermen expressed reservations about dumping the byproduct of the VX nerve agent 30 miles upriver of the Delaware Bay's oyster beds. But the three-man township committee decided last week to give its approval... The Army last year began neutralizing 250,000 gallons of the nerve agent at western Indiana's Newport Chemical Depot, and has sought approval to ship the byproduct to a DuPont facility in Deepwater, where it would be treated and then discharged into the Delaware River."

(South Bend Tribune; 19Nov06; AP)

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061119/News01/61119036

Mustard agent vial breaks in APG [Aberdeen Proving Ground] lab: Three workers taken for observation; no release of chemical

"Three workers at Aberdeen Proving Ground were taken for medical observation yesterday after a laboratory vial containing dilute mustard agent broke, officials said. The Harford County military base's emergency personnel responded to an accident in a laboratory at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at 11:30 a.m. after a worker handling a small quantity of the blister agent was exposed, said George Mercer, a spokesman for APG... While the gate to the facility was closed for 20 minutes, no chemical agent was released to the environment, Mercer said. The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center is a 1.5 million-square-foot research and engineering facility within APG for chemical and biological defense." (The Baltimore Sun; 18Nov06; Justin Fenton) http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-md.ha.apg18nov18,0,4034706.story?coll=bal-local-harford

Russian Ex-Spy, Probing Reporter's Murder, Is Poisoned in U.K.

"A Russian former spy probing the murder of a journalist who was critical of President Vladimir Putin's policies is seriously ill after being poisoned, a London hospital said. There was `'no doubt' that Alexander Litvinenko was contaminated with the slow-acting toxin thallium, clinical toxicologist John Henry said in a statement outside University College Hospital that was aired by broadcasters... Litvinenko told the British Broadcasting Corp. last week, before his condition worsened, that he began feeling ill on Nov. 1 after meeting an informant at Japanese restaurant Itsu in London's Piccadilly. The man gave him papers containing the names of people who may have been involved in the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Litvinenko said... Thallium is a highly toxic heavy metal which is odorless, colorless, tasteless and soluble in water. It attacks the nervous system, lungs, heart liver and kidneys." (Bloomberg; 20Nov06; Nick Allen) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aHQgxO1KA3YA&refer=europe

Schools look for ways to dispose of radioactive materials

"School labs have used low-level radioactive materials safely for decades; experts say they're critical in teaching physics and chemistry. Sealed samples — often leftovers from past experiments — frequently are saved in closets and storerooms... The Illinois Emergency Management Agency launched a program this month to help schools safely dispose of radioactive materials. IEMA officials collect the materials and send them to a radioactive waste disposal facility. Illinois' program is one of several around the country... that have sprung up since the federal government, following the 2001 terrorist attacks, recommended hunting down radioactive materials in schools, businesses and medical facilities...   In one extreme case, Texas officials found three radiological devices at high schools in San Antonio last year, West said. The barrel-shaped, lead-shielded machines, called "gammators," were used in the 1960s and 1970s to teach students about radiation exposure to plants and seeds.  Inside each 1,850-pound gammator was a rod of cesium-137, a radioactive isotope widely used in businesses and medical research. In the wrong hands, the cesium-137 could be used to make a dirty bomb, West said." (The Dallas Morning News; 19Nov06; Megan Reichgott, AP) http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8LG9V200.html

FBI opens new forensic lab at SRS [Savannah River Site, South Carolina]

"The FBI announced the opening of a new forensic lab at the Savannah River Site on Friday which will help in the fight against terrorism by cleaning evidence contaminated by radiation. The Radiological Evidence Analysis Lab Suite will be used as a hub to prepare contaminated evidence so investigators can safely examine it for fingerprints, DNA, fibers or other evidence, said Joseph DiZinno, director of the FBI's lab programs.

`Today's event is really an important milestone in our nation's fight against terrorism,' DiZinno said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility." (The Post and Courier; 18Nov06; Meg Kinnard)

http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=localnews&tableId=119167&pubDate=11/18/2006

Port radiation scanner gets its screen test

"A new radiation detector that could improve the screening of U.S.-bound cargo containers for nuclear weapons will undergo full-scale testing in the Port of Oakland [California], developers of the technology announced this week. VeriTainer Corp., a [San Francisco] Bay Area firm, will equip the Matson Navigation Co. terminal with scanners that attach to the hoisting mechanism of towering cranes that serve container ships. The device screens cargo for radiological materials as it is loaded and unloaded, reducing the need to place detectors on busy docks and wharves where they can complicate harbor operations.  If successful and widely applied, the detectors will give domestic and foreign ports the potential to scan virtually every container arriving in the United States, VeriTainer executives say." (Los Angeles Times; 17Nov06; Dan Weikel) http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-scanner17nov17,1,6506840.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

Article sponsored by Coast Guard Gifts and Police Officer turned law enforcement writer.

Plague Proteome Reveals Proteins Linked to Infection; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Study Could Lead to Improved Disease Detection, Vaccines, Treatments

"Recreating growth conditions in flea carriers and mammal hosts, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists have uncovered 176 proteins and likely proteins in the plague-bacterium Yersinia pestis whose numbers rise and fall according to the disease's virulence. The team, led by the Department of Energy laboratory staff scientists Mary Lipton and Kim Hixson, identified the proteins as `unique biomarkers related specifically to growth condition,' according to a study in the latest issue of the Journal of Proteome Research. Biomarkers associated with disease progression show promise as detection tools in public health and biodefense and can guide drug and vaccine designers in their quest to disrupt the microbe's ability to infect." (AScribe Newswire; 22Nov06) http://newswire.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20061122.073421&time=07%2044%20PST&year=2006&public=0

UA [University of Arizona] has key role in preventing bioterror attacks on water supplies

"The University of Arizona is working to keep the water supply safe from bioterrorists with more than $13 million in federal grants. `We are part of Homeland Security's [and the Environmental Protection Agency's] Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment,' said UA Professor Charles P. Gerba. A $10 million grant `looks at issues of bioterrorism in drinking water security.' [...] `We are looking at the risk if a contamination happens. What's the risk? What's the exposure? What's the impact on the population?' Gerba said. They also study how many people might die in an attack or how many might become ill from various agents that could be placed into municipal water systems." (Tuscon Citizen; 22Nov06; Larry Copenhaver)

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/33428.php

Health labs ill-prepared for bioterror attack

"Scripps' [Scripps Howard News Service's] study of food-borne-illness-outbreak data collected by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that states vary dramatically in their ability to detect and diagnose cases of food poisoning... The [...] study found that health departments are isolating the cause of food-poison outbreaks only 36 percent of the time, an alarming statistic if the nation ever faced a determined bioterror attack... Trust for America's Health [a Washington-based research group that monitors public health issues] issued a study in 2003 examining the nation's capacity to handle biowarfare attacks. Its conclusions were summarized in the report's title: `Public Health Laboratories: Unprepared and Overwhelmed.' `State labs are hardly uniform,' the report said. `As a result, the capabilities, responsibilities and practices of state public health labs vary substantially in many areas that directly impact America's ability to respond to chemical or biological attacks or other public health emergencies such as food poisoning or toxic substance exposure.'" (Scripps Howard News Service; 21Nov06; Thomas Hargrove)

http://www.shns.com/shns/scrippsnews/index.cfm?action=detail&pk=FATALFOOD-TERROR-11-21-06

Bioterror Detectors Get Sensitive

"In Chicago's Argonne National Laboratory, a Department of Energy research facility, scientists believe they have made a significant advance in identifying nasty pathogens such as anthrax, ricin or botulism that terrorists might release into an environment. The technology can also be used by doctors to diagnose sick patients without having to wait for a lab to send back the results of a blood test or a cheek swab. Argonne's breakthrough, called the `biochip,' starts with a slide covered in thousands of tiny polymer gel droplets... Billions of "probes" consisting of DNA strands, proteins, peptides or antibodies are inserted into every droplet. After a sample of contaminated air is gathered and buffered in fluid, microscopic fluorescent tags are attached to the target pathogen.

When the sample interacts with the biochip, the droplet with the right probes will bind the pathogen... The biochip is then placed under a laser, which excites the fluorescent tags on the pathogen... Argonne, which received funding for the project from Darpa, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health and several biotech companies, hopes to turn the biochip into a commercial product that could be used by both first responders and medical professionals." (Wired News; 21Nov06; Luke O'Brien)

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72149-0.html?tw=wn_technology_2

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Delivers Statement to the Sixth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention

"In an address to the Sixth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention delivered today, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation called on States Parties to the Convention to take bold action to counter the threat of biological weapons.~ The statement proposes a number of steps that members (called States Parties) could agree to during the Review Conference, and follow-up during annual meetings over the five years preceding the Seventh Review Conference in 2011.~`The Center and its Scientists Working Group urge States Parties to undertake a significant effort to improve the national implementation of their obligations under the Convention, including providing sufficient staff support for such efforts' said Alan Pearson, Director of the Center's Biological and Chemical Weapons Control Program.~ In addition, noting growing concerns about robust and secretive biodefense activities that threaten to undermine the purpose and objectives of the Convention, the Center called on States Parties to exchange .. information about the goals, activities and oversight of national biodefense activities and ideas on strategies to enhance transparency." (PeaceJournalism.com; 22Nov06; Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation Press Release)

http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=11692

Biological weapons: ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] appeals to scientists and industry

"[In a Statement to the Sixth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the ICRC asserts that] `...[n]ew breakthroughs and technologies in the life sciences have promising applications with enormous potential to benefit humanity. But they will also make poisoning and the deliberate spread of disease easier, more lethal, more target-specific and more difficult to detect... The prevention of poisoning and the deliberate spread of disease is seen now as an essentially multidisciplinary endeavour involving not only delegates to the BWC meetings but also the public health sector, life scientists, industry, law enforcement agencies and the defence and the security community... To be effective in the 21st Century, the BWC must not only be known and respected by government officials but must also be understood and `implemented' by all stakeholders in the life sciences - whether they are in academia, defence or industry... There is an obvious need to ensure that all universities offering curricula in life sciences include at least one mandatory session on the risks, the pertinent rules of national and international law and the responsibilities of scientists to prevent the hostile use of their research and its practical applications." (ICRC Press Release; 21Nov06; Brigitte Troyon) http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/biological-weapon-statement-211106?opendocument

U.N.: Good health systems curb terrorism

"The United Nations says countries attempting to counter terrorism should first improve their public health services. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said terrorism must be addressed through responses encompassing public health and disaster relief efforts in order to ensure biological science and technology safely reach their potential... The biological weapons convention, the secretary-general said, can no longer be viewed as a treaty prohibiting states from obtaining biological weapons but as an interlinked array of tools, designed to deal with many problems." (United Press International; 21Nov06) http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20061120-034447-6499r

Pentagon Delays Chemical Weapons Disposal

"The U.S. Department of Defense has extended its timeline to destroy its aging chemical weapons arsenal until 2023, despite concerns by Congress and watchdog groups that the stockpiles raise the risk of an accident or theft by terrorists. The new schedule, outlined in Pentagon documents obtained by USA Today, means the military won't eliminate its stock of deadly nerve gases and skin-blistering agents until 11 years after the

2012 deadline set by the international Chemical Weapons Convention. The U.S. government had already asked for a five-year extension from an earlier 2007 deadline... Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib said the delay is the result of several factors, including technological challenges in developing and building disposal plants, regulatory delays, and safety and security issues... Critics say the plan to slow spending and stretch construction at the remaining disposal plants will raise costs and create needless risks of an accidental chemical release or terrorist attack."

(DefenseNews.com; 21Nov06; Peter Eisler, USA Today) http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2373202&C=america

Chemical's legacy of suffering: Many say U.S. should help victims of wartime poison

"Thirty-one years after the end of the war in Vietnam, the chemical warfare unleashed by the United States still maims... In a broad joint statement of the two countries issued over the weekend, the presidents agreed that combined efforts by both countries to deal with environmental contamination at former U.S. military bases where the toxin was stored would help to deepen the relationship. It was far short of a public acknowledgment of responsibility by the United States that some Vietnamese hoped for, or the financial aid to those disabled by Agent Orange that many experts working on the issue say is desperately needed... American researchers estimated that as many as 4.8 million Vietnamese could have been exposed. By Vietnam's count, there were at least 1 million in 2000 who were physically disabled because of exposure to dioxin... For many Vietnamese exposed to Agent Orange, the poison visibly took its toll on their children -- many of whom were born with mangled bodies and minds. More than three decades after the war, people still face exposure because they live in regions where dioxin leached into the ground and remains a threat." (San Jose Mercury News; 21Nov06; K. Oanh Ha) http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/16065189.htm

Vets to get compensation for chemical testing

"The Canadian government will announce today that it will provide compensation to Second World War veterans who volunteered to undergo chemical warfare agent-testing done by the British Army, CTV News has learned. The Department of National Defence said that about 200 Canadians volunteered to have mustard gas sprayed on their arms that had been coated with `barrier creams', concoctions the British Army was trying to develop to protect troops in the field from mustard gas attacks... Several years ago, the Defence Department offered additional compensation to those who were tested on Canadian soil. They could apply for a one-time payment of $24,000. But the Canadians who volunteered for testing at the British army facility at Porton Down, England were never eligible for this compensation. Today, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor will announce that the Canadians tested at Porton Down can qualify for the extra payment."

(CTV News; 22Nov06)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061122/veterans_compensation_061122/20061122?hub=Canada

Montenegro joins the Chemical Weapons Convention

"Montenegro deposited its instrument of succession to the Chemical Weapons Convention with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 23 October 2006. The Convention will enter into force for Montenegro as of 3 June 2006, the date of the nation's independence. Upon the deposit of its instrument of succession, Montenegro became the 181st State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention." (OPCW Press Release; 22Nov06) http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/2006/PR86_2006.html

Live Ammo [Hawaiian biological warfare projects]

"The Pacific Project exposed U.S. sailors to biowarfare and chemical agents. Forty years later, some of these sickened warriors are still 'lost' at sea... Open-air testing of germ warfare was considered essential [in the early 1960s] to determine the dispersal and longevity of aerosolized particles that might be used by our enemies. Specifically, test sites in the tropical Pacific were needed to duplicate conditions found in Vietnam... In all, [...] 50 or so operations had been conducted during the '60s by about 20 ships transporting more than 6,400 sailors... During the initial tests, three simulants were used: the "harmless" bacteria Bacillus globigii, a stand-in for anthrax; Serratia marcescens, another bacteria; and the `benign' chemical zinc cadmium sulfide. Subsequent tests used the 'real McCoy,' and the sailors later decontaminated the ships with beta-propiolactone and ethylene oxide, harsh disinfecting cleansers... Later it was determined that for those with immune disorders, the supposedly harmless bacteria and chemicals could cause infections, allergic reactions, cancer—even death." (Los Angeles Times; 19Nov06; Mark J. Rauzon) http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/west/la-tm-blackbio47nov19,0,5496219.story?coll=la-home-magazine

Artillery unit conducts its CBRN training at Camp Casey [South Korea] bowling center

"On Tuesday, the [2nd Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 38th Field Artillery] used free hours it had earned at the Camp Casey Bowling Center to conduct its required annual four hours of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, or CBRN training, known until recently in the Army as NBC training... While not bowling, soldiers rotated through several 11-minute classes taught by other soldiers. They included looking for exposure symptoms, marking contaminated areas, reacting to nuclear hazards, vapor agent detection and application of special tape that shows contamination.  Pvt. Thomas Fields, teaching a class for the first time, showed soldiers how to respond to a nuclear attack outside the blast radius." (Stars and Stripes; 23Nov06; Erik Slavin)

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41683

Article sponsored by Navy Gifts and police officer turned law enforcement writer.

Nov. 24, 2006 – Operation Care and Comfort, a military care package program, has reached a milestone with its 200,000th pound of care packages shipped to the troops.  Since April 2003, this all-volunteer program has worked with the community to send a touch of home to troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflict regions. Dozens of volunteers of all ages joined in on Nov. 19 and helped pack about 10,000 pounds of care packages to send.

This self-funded, grassroots program is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program designed to connect the American public with servicemembers at home and overseas. Operation Care and Comfort is affiliated with the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Operation Care and Comfort's unique program invites members of the community to use their time, talents and treasure to show servicemembers in harm's way that they are not forgotten.

"Our program's strength is in the fantastic volunteers who have come forward to help in all areas, including fund raising, product donation drives, letter writing campaigns, etc. We are included in the Department of Defense America Supports You program, so folks all over the country contact us with questions regarding supporting our troops," said Julie DeMaria, co-founder, Operation Care and Comfort. "In addition, our servicemembers also find us and ask for support for their units, via our Web site. We are currently shipping monthly care packages to 60 different military units of all branches, with more on a waiting list."

Operation Care and Comfort's holiday drive began Sept. 1. TroopFest 2006, an Operation Care and Comfort troop support rally and benefit concert, was held onboard the USS Hornet Sept. 30, drawing thousands of people from all over northern California. Entertainment included Greg Kihn, Tony Lindsay and others.

"We are still collecting items, handwritten cards and letters, and monetary donations to offset shipping costs of $1 a pound. Items donated by Dec. 1 will be packed and shipped in time for a Christmas delivery, DeMaria said. For ways to help, visit www.operationcareandcomfort.org or call (408) 373-8635.

Article sponsored by Navy Gifts and Police Officer turned law enforcement writer.

By Sgt. Jon Cupp, USA

Nov. 27, 2006 – Soldiers who are new to the theater of operations in Iraq actually have an advantage over those who are veterans of previous Operation Iraqi Freedom rotations, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told soldiers here yesterday.  Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey visited with 1st Cavalry Division soldiers at the Taji Cinema Theater here.

"You who have been here before have the expectation of things running the same way as the last time you were here," said Gainey, likening their situation to that of a football team. "You play Friday night and win; but you lose the next game because your thinking was the same. You played exactly the same way as you did the last time."

Gainey said the soldiers need to remember that they are facing an observant, adaptive enemy.

"The enemy is smart. ... Act like this is the first game, the first season, the first time," said Gainey. "Forget (about the last time); do it the way it is now. I've been here a lot of times, and every day is different."

Gainey told the soldiers that it is perfectly natural for them to miss their families while deployed, but that the troops should stay focused on the mission by finding ways to keep their minds off of what's going on at home.

"Get yourself involved in something to help get your mind off of missing your family," he said. "Physical fitness, mental fitness and emotional fitness are all very important."

Gainey explained that becoming a part of volunteer groups is one of the things he has done while being away from his family. He suggested that soldiers can find other ways to keep their minds off of things at home, such as seeking out educational opportunities or working out at the gym.

"I didn't sit around worrying about the fact that I was going to be away from them," he said. "You can't worry about what you can't change."

Gainey left the troopers with some parting advice.

"Spend your time wisely and be professionals," said Gainey, adding, "Pride is contagious. Share the pride you have with each other."

Soldiers who heard Gainey speak said it was a worthwhile experience.

"I was honored to hear the sergeant major speak," Pfc. Erica Wells from Company E, 615th Air Support Battalion, said. "It definitely cheered me up to know that he cared enough to come and speak to us and share his feelings with us. He really knows how to motivate you. The things he spoke on were very important."

"He was very personable and really taught us quite a bit," added Pfc. Ashley Howard, a truck driver for Company A, 615th Air Support Battalion.

At the end of his visit, Gainey took a tour of one of the 15th Sustainment Brigade's vehicle yards on the camp, where soldiers were placing new, improved armor on their Humvees.

Article Sponsored by Criminal Justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writers.

Combating anthrax

"[A study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham], through the Centers for Disease Control, is being conducted nationwide at five separate centers and is helping to determine just how much of the anthrax vaccine the body needs to develop immunity.  Soldiers, for example, get a course of eight vaccines over 3˝ years. But transfers to far-off stations or even combat sometimes means skipping an injection.  The study, among other things, is trying to find out if a person can get by with four injections.

Researchers also will use the results to determine the side effects from injecting the shot into the muscles of the upper arm rather than the fatty tissue farther down." (The Birmingham News; William Thornton)

http://www.al.com/living/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/living/1164623670293820.xml&coll=2

New agency would bolster biodefense

"After two years of delays, Congress is poised to pass biodefense legislation next month that would create a new federal agency to speed development of drugs for an array of infectious diseases that are bioterror threats... The bill that would establish the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, was passed unanimously by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in September...

[P]rogress in designing drugs to counter potential biological weapons has been slow. Vaccines in particular are enormously complex to design, take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to bring to the market and have limited use. Currently, there are only four major vaccine manufacturers left in the world...  If passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush, BARDA will become an office under the Department of Health and Human Services, which already spends $4.2 billion a year to address bioterror threats...

`A key feature of strategy for HHS is to move from fixed defenses, what's called 'one bug, one drug,' to flexible defenses,' said Smith. `This is a reflection of what a lot of people have been saying about how to develop new drugs and vaccines. The only way out of (the bioterror threat) is to make a broad defense against a wide array of infectious diseases both here and outside the U.S. -- that's our vision of victory.'" (The Star-Ledger; 26Nov06; Amy Ellis Nutt)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1164519882266570.xml&coll=1

Labs need the tools to protect us

"Within the next several months, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL, California] plans to open a new building that will assist its scientists in developing detection technologies to help protect the United States against bioterrorism. The new building, called a Biosafety Level 3 facility, will permit Livermore researchers to conduct more sophisticated experiments on a wider range of microorganisms than can currently be handled... Dr. Caroline Purdy, of the Science and Technology directorate at DHS, said she believes the Livermore Biosafety Level 3 facility is important for continuing to upgrade the BioWatch system. `It is my professional opinion that LLNL's BSL-3 facility will significantly improve our nation's ability to detect and respond to the threat of terrorism using biological agents, and that delaying commencement of operations at LLNL's BSL-3 facility would directly and adversely impact the national security of the United States,' Purdy said...  Activists have appealed a previous U.S. District Court decision affirming the opening of the facility, citing concerns about earthquake safety, security and possible releases... [However,] independent safety reviews have been conducted of the Livermore BSL-3 facility, design and operations to ensure that the facility will be safely operated." (Contra Costa Times; 25Nov06; Colston) http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/opinion/16095935.htm

Japanese Police Raid North Korea-Related Facilities

"A special Japanese police unit has raided facilities connected to North Korea, the latest of a series of efforts to limit illegal exports to the country... Police say they are investigating an unauthorized attempt to smuggle 60 bags of intravenous solutions to North Korea six months ago...Japanese media say the liquids could have been used to make biochemical weapons. A spokesman for the association, who asks to be identified only as Mr. Jon, says that is not true... Police raided facilities in Tokyo and the city of Niigata affiliated with [the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan] ... Japan imposed trade and financial restrictions on North Korea and has halted shipping to the communist state following Pyongyang's nuclear test last month." (Voice of America; 27Nov06; Steve Herman)

http://voanews.com/english/2006-11-27-voa13.cfm

Russian officials deny report of accident at chemical weapons reprocessing site

"Russian officials denied reports Thursday that highly toxic chemicals had accidentally spilled from a weapons reprocessing facility in central Russia. Radio Liberty had quoted Tatyana Korolyovaya, an environmental activist in a town close to the Maradykovsky complex, as saying that several aviation bomb casings had ruptured during reprocessing and that toxic liquid had spilled onto the ground.  The Maradykovsky plant, located

725 kilometers (450 miles) northeast of Moscow, holds 6,900 tons of nerve agents stored in aerial bombs and missile warheads — or more than 17 percent of Russia's chemical weapons stockpile.  `Information that depressurization of several weapons and poisonous liquids spilled on the ground is completely disinformation,' said Mikhail Manin, the official in the Volga region responsible for weapons-related issues....The plant is a focal point of the push to meet an April 2007 target set by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for Russia to destroy 20 percent of its stockpile... The bombs stored at Maradykovsky hold VX, soman and sarin, as well as a less deadly mixture of lewisite and mustard gas." (International Herald Tribune; 23Nov06; AP) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/23/europe/EU_GEN_Russia_Chemical_Weapons.php

Composite Made from Synthetic Rubber with Liquid Crystals Could Protect from Toxic Chemicals

"Military personnel, chemical workers, and others could benefit from a new synthetic rubber material tailored with liquid crystals. The material might be used to make body suits to protect chemical-industry employees from skin exposure to toxic vapors and aerosols, as well as providing protection for military personnel and civilians in the event of a chemical-weapons attack. The new composite is lightweight and breathable, but still blocks the passage of toxic chemicals, reducing the risk of heat exhaustion in anyone wearing it... At present, the only certain way to protect people from all chemical vapors to which they might be exposed is to use a hermetically sealed body suit and fully enclosed breathing apparatus... During preparation of [this new] breathable rubber, the liquid crystals organize themselves into cylinders around water molecules in the reaction mixture. This causes tiny water-filled nanopores just 1.2 nanometers in diameter to form. Only the smallest of molecules can pass through these pores, including water. Many toxic molecules, nerve agents, and other chemicals are too big to enter the pores." (Azom.com; 27Nov06)

http://www.azom.com/details.asp?newsID=7224

Code of conduct for scientists could be a reality

"The international watchdog against chemical weapons wants to see a code of conduct for scientists worldwide.  This is to ensure that the right knowledge does not fall into the wrong hands. The Organisation for Prohibition Against Chemical Weapons said the new code of ethics or conduct is timely for those who use and apply chemistry. It is working to make the code a key part of the chemistry curriculum in educational institutions to prevent those with the knowledge from using it for the wrong cause... For the first time, conference organisers have brought together scientists as well as civil and military personnel from operational agencies, as they all play key roles in responding to and overcoming chemical, biological, radiological and explosive threats."

(Channel NewsAsia; 27Nov06; Farah Abdul Rahim) http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/243835/1/.html

Review Conference Working Group Holds Third Meeting: The Role of the CWC in Enhancing International Peace and Security

"The Open-Ended Working Group for the Chemical Weapons Convention's Second Review Conference (WGRC) held its third meeting on 13 November 2006 at the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

(OPCW) in The Hague...The Third Meeting addressed the role of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in enhancing international peace and security. The issues discussed included the importance of the destruction of declared chemical weapons stockpiles within the applicable deadlines, the importance of achieving universal adherence to and full and prompt implementation of the CWC, and the role of the CWC in responding to the threat of international terrorism. At the meeting, the Working Group also continued its consideration of the contribution of civil society to the review process.  The Working Group will hold its next meeting on 11 December 2006." (OPCW Pres Release; 23Nov06) http://www.opcw.org/pressreleases/PR88_2006.html

Radioactive element found in blood of Russian ex-spy

"Traces of radioactive polonium have been found in the blood of the deceased ex-Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko, the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said on Friday... High levels of radiation have been discovered in a central London hotel that Litvinenko frequented, and at the sushi restaurant where he said he ate on 1 November 2006... To poison someone, polonium would most likely have been chemically combined in some type of dissolvable salt, for example polonium nitrate, experts told New Scientist.  In this form the material could easily have been added to his food and ingested.  Polonium is a radioactive element that is used industrially as an anti-static material. It is difficult to get hold of and not used regularly by research scientists, but very small traces of it occur naturally... `To poison someone, large amounts of polonium-210 are required and this would have to be manmade, perhaps from a particle accelerator or a nuclear reactor,' said Dudley Goodhead at the UK's MRC Radiation and Genome Stability Unit. `Polonium has a half-life of 138 days. This means that if that was the poison it will still be in the body and in the area – which makes it relatively easy to identify.'" (New Scientist; 27Nov06; Gaia Vince) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10659-radioactive-element-found-in-blood-of-russian-exspy.html

Britain seeks to calm radioactive alarm

"British authorities sought overnight to allay growing public concern after radioactive traces were found in London following the death of a Russian ex-spy, and a handful of people were sent for tests....[S]peaking to MPs [Members of Parliament] afterwards, Mr. Reid [Home Secretary] confirmed traces of the radioactive substance polonium-210 had been found in two hospitals where Litvinenko spent his dying days, a sushi bar and a hotel he visited on November 1, and `certain' other places in London. He did not specify them, but Sky News reported that experts had located suspect material - of the kind found in Litvinenko's urine - at a west London office block and a building in the upscale Mayfair neighbourhood... The Health Protection Agency has also sought to allay concern, pointing out the kind of alpha radiation involved can travel only tiny distances, so the risk of contamination is minimal." (The Australian; 28Nov06; AFP) http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20833813-23109,00.html

Manchester signs counter-terrorism deal with [U.K.] Home Office

"The University of Manchester is to develop a host of new counter-terrorism technologies following the award of a multi-million pound research contract by the Home Office... The project will form part of the Home Office's Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear terrorism (CBRN) Resilience Programme, established in October 2001... The three projects, all separately funded, are led by members of the School of Chemistry with support from Chemical Engineering, Earth Science and Materials Science, all part of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences... Professor Francis Livens, an expert in radiation sciences, will lead a project focusing on the identification and development of new molecules which can be incorporated into materials to be used as decontaminants on surfaces and in liquids. Michael Turner, Professor of Materials Chemistry, will lead the development of new type of low cost sensor which uses organic semiconductors to detect chemical agents... Roy Goodacre, Professor of Biological Chemistry, will lead the development of a portable device which uses the interaction of laser light with matter to generate a fingerprint to identify and detect bacteria in the air."

(University of Manchester Press Release; 21Nov06)

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=84805

Saddam Hussein's genocide trial resumes

 "Prosecutors pressed ahead in the genocide trial of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and six others Monday in Baghdad after a two-week recess. The group is charged with crimes against humanity involving the deaths of as many as 180,000 Kurds in 1987-88 in the so-called Anfal, or spoils of war campaign, which prosecutors allege was a type of ethnic cleansing undertaken while Iraq and Iran were at war. All seven men have pleaded innocent to the charges, which include the use of chemical and biological weapons." (United Press International; 27Nov06) http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061127-063143-7204r

Articles Sponsored by Criminal Justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writers.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

"Prison Blazes Technological Trail With Kiosks"

Allentown Morning Call (11/26/06); Varghese, Romy

Lehigh County Prison in Pennsylvania will be in installing an ATM-like kiosk for friends and family members of inmates to deposit money into inmate accounts. The system will replace an intake clerk while expanding deposit hours to 14 hours per day, seven days per week. Compass Group USA will operate the kiosk as well as the commissary under a three-year contract that will cost Lehigh County Prison nothing. In fact the prison will receive 37 percent of gross sales, says Lehigh director of corrections Edward Sweeney. There will be fees to deposit into inmate accounts, such as a $1 fee for a $50 deposit or less, or a $2.50 fee for over $50. Inmates can use their accounts to purchase goods at the commissary or receive cash when they are released.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3-5kiosknov26,0,5701615.story

"Police Use 'Black Box' Data to Investigate Car Crashes"

Associated Press (11/26/06)

Police in Ohio have used the event data recorders installed in newer vehicles in 43 accident investigations to determine culpability. "As opposed to wondering what happened, this black box takes all the guessing out of it," says Carmen Naso, an assistant prosecutor in Cuyahoga County. These "black boxes" can provide information on speed at the time of an accident, throttle pressure, and whether the brake was applied and a seat belt worn. Nearly 64 percent of all of last year's car models have the equipment, unknown to many owners. However, automakers will be required to disclose the existence of the recorders in owner manuals starting with 2011 models.

http://www.examiner.com/a-420708~Police_use__black_box__data_to_investigate_car_crashes.html

"Virtual 911 Tackles Online Child Threats"

Washington Times (11/24/06) P. A4; Seper, Jerry

American, British, Canadian, and Australian police officials are partnering in an effort to curb crimes committed against children via the Internet. The Virtual Global Taskforce seeks to establish a "police presence" on the Web to protect children in partnering countries, according to the initiative's chairman, Jim Gamble. Investigators will share information concerning potential threats and can respond quickly to arrest suspects. A law enforcement agency in each member country shares the responsibility of monitoring Internet-based threats at different times of the day. The member countries indicated that they are interested in exploring the possibility of holding talks with industry officials about employing technologies that increase the safety of children. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20061123-111736-8505r.htm

"Posse Segways Into Mall Patrol Duties Over Holidays"

East Valley Tribune (AZ) (11/24/06); Martin, Nick

Maricopa County Sheriffs in Arizona will be patrolling area malls this holiday shopping season and using Segway Personal Transporters to do it. The department has decided to use Segways because these devices can move police officers quickly, and because they raise officers eight inches off the ground so officers can peer above and across crowds. Segway is now marketing two Segway models specifically designed for police use. Maricopa County began its holiday mall patrol in 1993, last year including some members of the heavily armed SWAT team, which drew criticism as too much. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=79519

"Police Getting New Guns"

Rock Hill Herald (SC) (11/25/06); Garfield, Matt

The Rock Hill Police Department has supplied roughly four-fifths of its police officers with Glock handguns. The majority of officers working at other police agencies in York County already carry Glock pistols. Rock Hill Police previously used Smith & Wesson pistols, which feature the same firing and operating features of the Glock. However, the Glock is manufactured from materials that offer greater protection against rust and also have an extra safety mechanism.

http://dwb.heraldonline.com/local/story/6250497p-5456225c.html

"Police Say Their Study Supports Request for More Tasers"

Columbus Dispatch (OH) (11/25/06) P. 1A; Ferenchik, Mark

The controversy over the safety of Tasers has not stopped the Columbus police department from attempting to purchase an additional 110. Two years ago, the City Council approved a $229,658 contract for the city to purchase 200 Tasers. Since Tasers have been introduced, police have used Mace and batons less frequently, says Barb Seckler, Deputy Public Safety Director. The Tasers cost $100,000. The City Council is planning a meeting to discuss a police report on last year's Taser use and review the department's request. The report will be presented by Brian Bruce at the Police Division's defensive tactics unit, along with the division's Taser expert. Taser use was effective 70 percent of the time, according to Bruce. Others are not so sure about its effectiveness. "The concern is less about the technology and more about the person wielding the technology," says Gary Daniels at the ACLU of Ohio. Currently, more than 500 Ohio law enforcement agencies use Tasers. http://www.columbusdispatch.com/news/news.php?story=dispatch/news/news_archive_v3.php

"U.S. Shares Fingerprint Database"

Ventura County Star (CA) (11/26/06); Scheibe, John

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is taking advantage of the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department's move to provide local law enforcement agencies with faster access to electronic fingerprint databases. Suspects were often freed in the past without police knowing whether they were wanted for other crimes because of the time required to conduct background checks. The new federal initiative has helped officers to more quickly identify illegal immigrants. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department, which is not benefiting from the faster access, reportedly plans to introduce a field system in roughly a year that will allow patrolling officers to conduct quick background checks. U.S. officials hope to grant all law enforcement agencies in the nation the opportunity to expedite background checks within two years.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/

"Helmet-Cams Help Police Crack Down on Crime"

CNet (11/21/06); Ferguson, Tim

U.K. police officers in the Haringey area of London will be using helmet-mounted digital cameras as a new crime-fighting and evidence-gathering tool as part of Operation Aventail. These AA battery-sized cameras store images on a special utility belt. The whole system costs around $3,402. Haringey Detective Superintendent Richard Wood says these small helmet cameras will help officers gather and provide "evidence" to document offenses and bring charges. If this limited use works, other Haringey officers may begin to adopt helmet-mounted digital cameras, says Wood.

http://news.com.com/Helmet-cams+help+police+crack+down+on+crime/2100-11746_3-6137519.html

"Squad Car Locators Blocked"

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (11/23/06); Diedrich, John

Every squad car in Milwaukee's District 7 now has to be checked during patrol and at the start of every shift after Capt. Donald Gaglione noticed foil wrapped around the global positioning system (GPS) antennas on police cars this past summer. The foil was apparently placed there to disable the GPS, which makes the car invisible to dispatchers. GPS devices can be used against officers by internal investigators. For instance, one assistant chief was fired when the GPS found his residence to be outside Milwaukee. Some say the incident is proof that the Fire and Police Commission should pay close attention to police behavior. The department installed GPS trackers in 2004 to roughly 650 of its squad cars. Milwaukee Police Association President John Balcerzak says he was not aware of the foil incident and that the union supports the system. "The MPA is not condoning disabling GPS or any other equipment issued to officers," he explains. "We would discourage anyone who might be thinking about doing that." An internal investigation into the incident has not been opened because someone besides officers may have sabotaged the vehicles. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=534578

"Eyes In the Sky Help Kentucky Authorities Cut Marijuana Trade"

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) (11/27/06)

This year, Kentucky police burned 557,276 marijuana plants, a nearly 50,000 increase from last year. The Kentucky National Guard first started their efforts to destroy marijuana plants back in 1986 and that effort is still ongoing. Police made 475 arrests this year compared to 452 last year. Help has been coming in the form of helicopters and airplanes, which were brought in by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for six weeks this past summer. "Anybody in this business will tell you the more eyes you get in the sky, the more dope you'll find," said Lt. Ed Shemelya of the Kentucky State Police. Kentucky is one of the top-ranked outdoor marijuana producers in the country. Marijuana growers have become more sophisticated at hiding their plants, which is why Kentucky employs the use of the police, troops, and several state and federal agencies to assist with eradication. "They don't like the state police coming in messing with their economy," said Letcher County Sheriff Danny Webb. Kentucky came in second to California last year in the number of eradicated plants, according to the DEA.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061125/NEWS01/61125001

"Schools Train for Shooters"

Fort Payne Times-Journal (11/22/06); Burns, Kati

School counselors, school principals, and other school officials in DeKalb County, Ala., recently received a two-day tutorial on preparing for a school shooting. Local law enforcement agents also attended the "Responding to Active Shooter Incidents for Patrol Officers" program, which was led by law enforcement officials associated with the University of North Alabama's Law Enforcement Training Center. The first part of the program, which consisted of a slide show and lecture, covered an array of topics, including school and workplace shootings; the tactics and equipment needed to immediately respond to such shootings; emergency planning for schools and workplaces; profiles of school shooters; how to respond to the media; a historical overview of school shootings; and tactics for rescuing downed officers. The second part of the program featured a live mock exercise at a local high school in which law enforcement reacted to a shooter inside the building. School officials were advised not to allow students to participate in mock exercises, because there has been at least one incident in the past where a student who participated in an exercise used this knowledge to launch a real attack on a school. http://www.times-journal.com

"Completing the Data Puzzle"

Government Technology (11/06) Vol. 19, No. 11, P. 36; McKay, Jim

The sharing of critical data by police across the state of Florida is a major issue. The University of Central Florida implemented the Florida Integrated Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval (FINDER) system in 2003, and similar regional systems in Pensacola, Tampa, and Jacksonville were later launched. There is no communication between these four regional systems, so last year the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) embarked on Florida Law Enforcement Exchange (FLEX), a project to create compatible information systems to serve Florida's three remaining regions along with the department, and eventually connect to the other systems to form a statewide platform for information exchange. The first stage in FLEX's implementation, the development of similar data vocabulary across the state's seven regions, is complete. Stage two will involve the equipage of the three new regional projects with a common communications architecture, and the final stage will constitute the deployment of an analytical visualization application for mining information and developing investigative leads. By complying with the Global Justice XML Data Model, the systems will facilitate the statewide sharing of information. There will be one server or node in the FLEX system for each region and the FDLE, with data warehousing performed by each node. It is up to the individual regions as to what kind of data will be warehoused, but all data will be accessible to properly authorized law enforcement staff across the state. http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=102123

"Talk Isn't Cheap"

Federal Computer Week (11/13/06) Vol. 20, No. 39, P. 33; Joch, Alan

Lack of interoperability between radio systems continues to be a vexing problems in many areas, as individual jurisdictions have had some success making their various agencies' systems interoperable but there has been more difficulty getting things aligned with neighboring jurisdictions. The ultimate answer could be for everyone to adopt industry-standard Project 25 systems and handsets, but the migration is costly and slow so far, so many officials have been looking at other solutions for the interim. Some ideas in use are having neighboring jurisdictions buy multiple radios so they can communicate with each other, putting together gateways to translate between different communications systems, or creating networks that can transmit radio communications that have been converted into data packets. The gateway concept uses system-to-system packages or voice-to-IP conversion, through systems available from companies such as Raytheon JPS, Motorola, Maycom, and SmartLink. Meanwhile, the network approach--vendors include Cisco Systems, Awins, and Codespear--links radio towers directly to network routers, which has the advantage of being able to handle many types of analog and digital systems as well as IP and cellular devices. One region that has put the network approach into practice is the area around Danville, Va., where regional officials found it to be more cost effective than other alternative such as adopting common frequencies or using repeaters to extend the city's radio coverage--Cisco is paying to put this system in place, with potential plans to charge for maintenance once it is working. A similar system is in place in Livingston County, Mich., but rather than link radio towers permanently to network routers, the county is using portable IP-based Codespear units along with Codespear's SmartMsg and Radio Interoperability Module. Implementing such a system requires non-technical management savvy as well: officials should have a long-range plan in place, seek stakeholder input and build consensus, put together a governance board for policy questions and modifications, and prepare ahead of time for potential manpower issues. http://www.fcw.com/article96766-11-13-06-Print

"City Port Security Gets Boost"

Chicago Tribune (11/29/06); Hilkevitch, Jon

For the first time ever, ports in the Chicago region have been listed on the top 100 most critical seaports in the country, and along with that ranking has come an influx of federal funding to help improve port security in the region. For the previous four years, Chicago received just $300,000 in federal funding for securing its ports, but this year the U.S. government is distributing $11.5 million in security funding to the ports, including $7.5 million to Chicago. The funding will be used to increase the amount of video surveillance at the ports; to enhance communications among local, state, and federal agencies; and to outfit container shipments with intrusion-detection security technology. As is typically the case at other U.S. ports, only roughly 5 percent of incoming cargo is randomly inspected at Chicago ports, and no cargo containers are X-rayed. Chicago is also applying for an additional $4 million to equip the Port of Chicago with security and inspection devices. Local officials at the Port of Chicago said that their greatest fear is that the port--which provides access to countless freight trains, long-haul trucks, ocean vessels, and river barges--will be targeted by a dirty bomb hidden inside a cargo container.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0611290046nov29,1,2643074.story?coll=chi-technology-hed

"NM Tech Designing High-Tech Mobile Command Shelter"

New Mexico Business Weekly (11/13/06); Trenkle, Jason

The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (N.M. Tech) plans to build a $5 million movable command center/shelter in Playas, N.M., that will also be used as a federal training site. The structure, dubbed the Command and Control System, may also be used to monitor illegal aliens along the country's border with Mexico, says Greg Mansfield, developer of the system at N.M. Tech. The shelter would resemble a trailer, but would be well protected from the weather, radiation, and electromagnetic interference, says Mansfield. The structure would be made from carbon, glass fiber, and composite materials in collaboration with a company called Alkan Shelters. A similar unit is now being used at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which employs the unit to perform nuclear contingency training, according to Lauren Whitehurst at Presence, an Alkan marketing affiliate. In addition, the shelter would be able to protect equipment that is used to deploy information in real time to distant central command centers. N.M. Tech has a roughly $1 million contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) to train DOD employees and enhance infrastructure. In 2003, the institute acquired a large section of land in Playas, and currently uses it to train members of the Border Patrol, Homeland Security, and the Army National Guard. http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2006/11/13/story12.html

Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.

Beginning December 4, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. eastern standard time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin accepting applications for Fire Prevention and Safety grants (FP&S).  

The deadline for receipt of FP&S applications is 5:00 p.m. eastern standard time on January 12, 2007.

FP&S applications are automated and accessible via the program's website: www.firegrantsupport.com.   The web site contains important information on the FP&S, including the FY2006 funding priorities and program guidance, a web based tutorial on the application process, a listing of frequently asked questions, and other materials.  Applicants that have questions regarding this grant opportunity should contact the Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 or at firegrants@....  During the application period, Help Desk hours will be from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  (Eastern time), Monday through Friday. 

Additional help desk hours may be added if demand is high. The FP&S is administered by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Grants and Training (G&T) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.  The grants provide support for efforts to mitigate incidences of deaths and injuries caused by fire and fire-related hazards especially in high-risk target groups such children, adults over 65, and firefighters.  Eligible applicants for FP&S grants include fire departments as well as national, regional, state, local, or community organizations that are recognized for their experience and expertise in fire prevention or safety programs and activities.  FP&S also supports Firefighter Safety Research and Development activities.  Private and public non-profit organizations, academic institutions, non-federal governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individual researchers (i.e. doctorial candidates) are eligible to apply for funding for research and development activities.

Through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2006, Congress provided $27 million for the Fire Prevention and Safety grants.

Using a competitive process and fire service subject matter experts, DHS will award grants to applicants whose requests best address the priorities of the FP&S program.

Article sponsored by criminal justice online and police officer turned law enforcement writer.

By Jim Garamone

Nov. 28, 2006 – Terrorists and extremists in Iraq are working to destabilize the country to further their own goals, a coalition spokesman in Iraq said at a news conference today. This goal drives the horrific attacks on civilians and fuels retaliatory killings in and around Baghdad, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said, adding that all this is counter to the will of the Iraqi people.

"Al Qaeda, foreign terrorists and extremists do not want to let the Iraqis decide their own future," Caldwell said. "Through two elections and a constitutional referendum, the Iraqi people have demonstrated they want to be a part of this political process and they want to have a representative government."

Saddam Hussein's rule crippled the oil-rich nation. Making the transition from dictatorship to democracy would be tough even without terrorist efforts to derail the process, Caldwell said, but he predicted the will of the Iraqi people will prevail. "Iraqis are creating a country that will replace the rule of the gun with the rule of the law," Caldwell said. "And they will put criminals and killers out of business."

Mortar and car bomb attacks Nov. 23 that killed more than 180 innocent Iraqis and wounded 245 in Sadr City, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood on the east side of Baghdad, reflect the al Qaeda in Iraq strategy in the nation, the general said. "It was indisputably a terrible crime against the Iraqi people," Caldwell said. "The retaliatory attacks we have seen the last couple of days are also."

Terrorists seek to control the Sunni population in the country, Caldwell explained, and they are looking to dominate Baghdad, the military and political center of gravity in Iraq. Al Qaeda kills and intimidates Sunnis who want to work with the elected, representative government. The group also seeks to weaken the Iraqi government and destroy faith in the democratically elected representatives. The terrorists attack the representatives and work to make Iraqis fearful of dealing with their own government.

Al Qaeda's strategy also calls for attacks on Shiite civilians. The attacks in Sadr City are an example of this strategy, Caldwell said. Al Qaeda launches the attacks and counts on illegal militias to launch revenge attacks on Sunnis. This creates division along sectarian lines.

The Iraqis and coalition have made progress against al Qaeda in Iraq, Caldwell said. Since November 2004, Iraqi and coalition forces have killed or captured more than 7,000 al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists, including more than 30 senior-level terrorists who have been captured or killed since July, he said.

Between Nov. 14 and 19, Iraqi and coalition forces conducted a number of targeted raids across Iraq and captured the terrorist emirs of Ramadi, Bakuba, Qaim, Tikrit, Bayji and Baghdad, Caldwell said. The forces also captured two terrorist facilitators, a courier, an explosive expert and a financier. "The detention of these terrorists represents a serious blow against the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist network," he said.

Iraqi and coalition forces also are working diligently against death squads. Most sectarian attacks in the country are within 30 miles of Baghdad, and Iraqi and coalition forces continue to work against illegal militias. "In the past week, our combined forces conducted 18 operations against sectarian death squads resulting in the detainment of 78 suspected cell members," Caldwell said.

Caldwell said that polls in Iraq show the people want the government to succeed. He said Iraqis are resolved on a unified, secure and prosperous Iraq. "In polling conducted last month, 89 percent of Iraqis nationwide agreed with this statement: 'My first loyalty is to my country rather than my sect, ethnic group or tribe,'" Caldwell said. Only 25 percent of Iraqis said the country would be better off divided along sectarian lines.

Coalition forces continue to work with Iraqi security forces to build their professionalism, Caldwell said. More than 4,000 U.S. servicemembers organized in 430 teams advise the Iraqi army, police and border guards. The teams are necessary "to sustain and develop these forces so they can evolve into a professional security institution," the general said. "They will remain in place long after we have met our goal of training and equipping 325,000 Iraqi security forces."

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