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Six men arrested in U.K. on terrorism charges
On Monday, British authorities arrested six men on charges of terrorism; the men, all between the ages of twenty-one and thirty, are believed to be part of a terror network; four of the men are accused of one count of “engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts,” while the other two are being charged for failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism; the four suspected terrorists allegedly planned a bombing campaign, stated their intention to become suicide bombers, and collected money for terrorism; two of the four are believed to have travelled to Pakistan to receive weapons and explosives training
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Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founders placed on U.S. terror list
On Wednesday the United States announced that it had placed two founding members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist organization on its terror watch list; the United States refrained from sanctioning the Pakistani state or the ISI, its military intelligence agency, despite increasingly heated statements from top U.S. officials; David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence described Zafar Iqbal and Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi as two of LeT’s “most significant leaders”; over the past twenty years, the duo has been responsible for fundraising, recruitment, and indoctrination of operatives; “By targeting the core of LeT’s leadership, today’s action aims to degrade its ability to facilitate its terrorist activities,” Cohen said
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Al Qaeda to Iranian president: enough with the 9/11 conspiracy theories
Al Qaeda, in the latest edition of their online propaganda magazine Inspire, called on Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks; the terrorist group called Ahmadinejad’s remarks about 9/11 “ridiculous”; last week in his address to the UN general assembly, Ahmadinejad said the “mysterious September 11 incident” had been used as a pretext to attack Afghanistan and Iraq; he added, “By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism, they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military actions”; in response, al Qaeda wrote, “The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al-Qaida was behind 9/11 but rather, the US government”; “So we may ask the question: why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?” the group asked
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Sharp rise in number of holders of security clearances
As of 1 October 2010, the number of Americans holding security clearances was 4,266,091; of those, 1,419,051 federal employees and contractors hold Top Secret clearances
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Belief that others can change could bring peace
Psychologists find that members of groups engaged in conflict are more willing to compromise if they believe people are capable of changing; when researchers presented Israelis and Palestinians with evidence that groups of people are capable of change, the information increased the subjects’ willingness to compromise on key political issues
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Predicting race and ethnicity from irises now possible
Conventional wisdom holds that irises, like fingerprints, are unique to each individual and have little similarities between ethnic groups or gender, but a groundbreaking new study indicates that biometric scanners can actually predict race and gender based on iris texture alone; the study’s findings are important in that it opens new avenues for research that previously were not thought possible
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Connecticut town considers charging centers for power outages
Following Hurricane Irene which left thousands without power up and down the East Coast, a town in Connecticut is considering building several charging stations for residents to power up their hand held electronics during a natural disaster or prolonged power outage
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Living bacteria for perfect encryption system
Researchers have developed fluorescent bacteria that encode secret messages, creating, in effect, a living invisible ink; this method could be harnessed for secret communications as well as for anti-counterfeiting; messages may be encoded by genetically engineering bacteria to produce fluorescent colored proteins, then printing them in a grid
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Counter piracy security expert: "The system is broken"
Piracy off the Horn of Africa has continued to flourish despite the concerted efforts of the world’s navies; a security expert said, “The system is broken here” and called the international counter piracy task force “one of the most expensive catch and release programs” ever; last year the task force spent more than $2 billion responding to sixty-four incidents, or roughly $30 million per incident
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NYPD has means to take down a plane "in very extreme situation"
The NYPD created a counterterrorism unit following the 9/11 attacks; New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that the counterterrorism unit has the means to take down an aircraft “in a very extreme situation”
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U.S. and Belgium to share biometric data
Under a recently signed agreement, the United States and Belgium will begin sharing biometric data in an effort to combat international crime
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Georgia shows app that prepares state residents, guides them to safety
New Ready Georgia mobile app uses geo-location to deliver alerts, create emergency plans, and show shelter locations; from up-to-the-minute weather and hazard alerts based on a user’
‘s location, to customizable emergency preparedness checklists, the app combines a set of features not previously available in one mobile application -
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U.S. looks to keep Libyan WMD scientists away from terrorists
With Libyan rebels consolidating their hold over the country, the United States is looking to restart a State Department program designed to keep top Libyan biological and nuclear scientists from working for terrorist organizations or hostile nations; Libya’s new leaders have expressed their interest in working with the United States to keep track of Libyan WMD scientists and on other counter-proliferation programs, but the interim government has yet formally to respond to U.S. requests
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Why the Twin Towers collapsed: new theory
Materials scientist says that a mixture of water from sprinkler systems and molten aluminum from melted aircraft hulls created explosions that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11
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Security analyst: Oslo-type attack in U.S. likely in next few years
An expert on American-Muslims fears that with the rising anti-Islamic sentiments in the United States an “Oslo-type” attack could occur in the next few years at a U.S. mosque; speaking on a panel on security threats facing faith based organizations at the ASIS 2011 security conference, Nawar Shora, the CEO of Shams Training and Development, said, “I fear that in the next few years we’ll have something like Oslo repeated here in this country, whether someone will go to an Islamic center or whether someone will try a massacre during a worship on Friday”
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More headlines
The long view
Preventing Another 'Jan. 6' Starts by Changing How Elections Are Certified, Experts Say
The 2024 presidential election may be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, but preventing a repeat of Jan. 6, 2021 — when false claims of a stolen election promoted by Donald Trump and his allies led to an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol —will be top of mind this election year. Research finds broad support among public for nonpartisan certification commissions.
States Rush to Combat AI Threat to Elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. Congress has done little to address the issue, but states are moving aggressively to respond — though questions remain about how effective any new measures to combat AI-created disinformation will be.
Chinese Government Hackers Targeted Critics of China, U.S. Businesses and Politicians
An indictment was unsealed Monday charging seven nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their involvement in a PRC-based hacking group that spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives.
European Arms Imports Nearly Double, U.S. and French Exports Rise, and Russian Exports Fall Sharply
States in Europe almost doubled their imports of major arms (+94 per cent) between 2014–18 and 2019–23. The United States increased its arms exports by 17 per cent between 2014–18 and 2019–23, while Russia’s arms exports halved. Russia was for the first time the third largest arms exporter, falling just behind France.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.
Don’t Buy Moscow’s Shameless Campaign Tying Biden to Its Terrorist Attack
Russia has offered many different explanations to the ISIS-K’s 22 March 2024 terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, but the most recent explanation offered by Russia is the most audacious yet: Russia now charges that the Ukrainian energy company Burisma financed the attack. Burisma is at the center of an effort by a congressional committee to impeach President Biden, but the case has all but collapsed. Hunter Stoll writes that Russia’s disinformation and propaganda apparatus appears to be searching for ways to keep Burisma in the news ahead of the U.S. presidential election.