News / Analysis
America’s quest for homeland security includes the development of federal programs to protect our aviation, maritime and ground transportation sectors, efforts to detect a “dirty bomb” before it can emit deadly radiation, the search by the FBI for Muslim terrorists and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, his Al Qaeda followers and Islamic extremists pursuing jihad.
'Safe havens' required for highway transport of radioactive materials
December 5th, 2008
Under strict new security measures issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, nuclear facilities planning to transport radioactive materials along U.S. highways must identify potential “safe havens” along the route – such as military installations, police barracks, weigh stations or truck stops with secure areas – where, in an emergency, the transportation crews could wait safely for law enforcement authorities.
Treasury adds three non-financial firms to list of banned Iranian organizations
December 4th, 2008
The Treasury Department’s office of foreign assets control has expanded the scope of its prohibition on transactions with entities owned or controlled by the Government of Iran beyond financial institutions to include non-financial organizations as well, and has specifically prohibited dealings with the National Iranian Oil Company, based in Tehran, and two Iranian trading companies, with offices in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
DoD tightens its grip on use of military personnel for civilian purposes
December 4th, 2008
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has issued a set of proposed rules that tightens the Pentagon’s control over the use of its military personnel for civilian purposes -- such as domestic emergencies, law enforcement support and special events – and attempts to ensure that the Pentagon is eventually reimbursed for its civilian-related expenditures.
New York State’s ‘enhanced’ driver’s license OK’d by CBP
December 2nd, 2008
“Enhanced” driver licenses issued by New York State, which contain vicinity RFID chips and machine readable zones, are now considered acceptable alternatives to a passport for U.S. citizens entering the U.S. at land and sea ports, according to a CBP notice published Dec. 2.
Washington State has already begun issuing such enhanced driver licenses, nicknamed EDLs, under the federal government’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), and Vermont and Arizona are moving in the same direction.
Latest SBIR round lists seven technical challenges
December 2nd, 2008
The latest round of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) challenges from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate is currently on the street and technical proposals will be accepted until Jan. 5, 2009.
As in the past, the three-phase program envisions Phase I awards of up to $100,000 for a maximum of six months of performance, Phase II awards of up to $750,000 for a maximum of 24 months of effort and a Phase III effort during which recipients will be expected to find funding sources outside DHS to develop their ideas into viable commercial products or services.
Change is coming
December 1st, 2008
If you need a reminder that, as the campaign rhetoric proclaimed, “Change is coming,” consider these ringing remarks earlier this year to the Washington, DC-based American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, a nonprofit group that characterizes itself as a progressive legal organization:
“Our needlessly abusive and unlawful practices in the ‘War on Terror’ have diminished our standing in the world community and made us less, rather than more safe,” the speaker, an ACS board member, said last June. “For the sake of our safety and security, and because it is the right thing to do, the next president must move immediately to reclaim America’s standing in the world as a nation that cherishes and protects individual freedom and basic human rights.”
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Napolitano’s record in Arizona reveals her approach to homeland security
December 1st, 2008
Homeland security professionals who are eager to know how Janet Napolitano will lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, assuming she is confirmed by the Senate, would be well advised to look at the homeland security priorities she has set during her past five years as governor of Arizona.
Congressional roundtable: civil liberties, privacy and the future of DHS
December 1st, 2008
With the future structure and priorities of the Department of Homeland Security very much on the table in this presidential transition period, the majority staff – i.e., the Democratic staff – on the House Committee on Homeland Security has scheduled a series of panels for this Wednesday, Dec. 3, in Washington, DC, to examine “Constitutional Protections in Homeland Security.”
Each of the six one-hour panels on the agenda will focus on one aspect of the “direction the Department of Homeland Security should take in the upcoming Administration regarding privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.”
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