• Native American companies profit from detaining immigrants

    Native American companies may not have expertise in running detention centers, but they have something more important: preference rights; preference gives Alaska Native corporations a priority shot at getting federal contracts; immigrant detention means business, and several Native American firms are profiting from the get-tough policy on immigration; contract awards to Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) by all federal agencies increased by 916 percent from 2000 to 2008, rising from $508.4 million in 2000 to $5.2 billion in 2008

  • Former NBA star Jayson Williams to wear alcohol detection bracelet

    After one too many arrests, troubled former NBA star Jayson Williams is ordered by a judge to wear an alcohol detection bracelet; Williams must wear the detection device as long as he is not in custody; the device measures his perspiration every thirty minutes for alcohol content. If there is any, it will notify authorities in New York and New Jersey

  • Hazmat clean-up should be performed by qualified contractors

    During and the immediate aftermath of a disaster involving hazardous materials, local officials are often surprised to learn that first responders do not do hazmat clean-up; the fact is, most fire departments and other first responders, besides not having the equipment and personnel for these activities, do not have the necessary environmental permits; since hazmat clean-up should be done by qualified personnel, here are guidelines to help you find them

  • Digital technology and insects to replace cadaver-sniffing dogs

    Researchers are looking for an alternative to the cadaver-sniffing dog; researchers are working on training insects to locate and identify cadavers; other researchers are working on a digital sniffer

  • Dead bodies in Haiti do not pose health risk

    Health experts say that the haunting scenes of hundreds of dead bodies in the street should not be confused with health risks; dead bodies cannot transmit communicable diseases because viruses and parasites die with the host; the for rescue workers is to wear gloves, handle the bodies with care, and bury bodies before they begin to decompose – and away from sources of drinking water

  • Afghan government bans explosive fertilizer

    Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai has banned ammonium nitrate fertilizers in Afghanistan in order to curtail the Taliban’s ability to produce explosive devices

  • Exoskeleton to be equipped with a 3-day fuel cell powerpack

    The Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC) powered suit runs on lithium-ion batteries at present; it allows a soldier to march easily with a load of 200 lb, but it normally runs flat after just a few hours — significantly less if any jogging or running is done; a new powerpack will correct that

  • BAE develops a UAV for U.K. police

    BAE Systems, which produces a UAV for war zones, is developing the military-style planes for a consortium of U.K. government agencies; a Home Office-backed project intends to use the drone in time for the 2012 Olympics

  • First responders want more spectrum for safety network

    A 10-MHz swath of spectrum in the 700 MHz band freed up by last year’s switch to digital TV broadcasting already has been set aside for the nationwide network for first responders; public safety officials, though, said the additional bandwidth is necessary to create a robust, high-speed network capable of handling multiple kinds of data, as well as video and voice traffic

  • Stab-proof vests for soccer fans going to South Africa for the World Cup

    This summer’s soccer World Cup in South Africa is going to be poorly attended because many soccer fans have decided not to make the trip: they are not convinced they will be safe in the crime-ridden country; a London-based company hopes to capitalize on this fear by offering soccer fans stab-proof vests; the South African authorities condemn the venture

  • NOAA produces images of Haiti for first responders

    The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) is using its geographic surveillance UAVs to help provide first responders on the ground in Haiti with high resolution images of disaster sites

  • Police camera use puts focus on privacy in public

    South Portland, Maine, police is using automated license plate recognition CCTV which targets traffic scofflaws — but it is connected to a centralized databank which helps the policy pick up people who are wanted on warrants and other potential offenders; supporters say new license-plate recognition technology will improve the safety

  • Fire-fighting robots developed

    Sheffield-Hallam University develop fire-fighting robots; these robots carry individualized laser-range, radio-signal and ultrasound sensors that are designed for specific tasks such as warning of toxic materials, providing and maintaining mobile communication links, or inferring localization information

  • Israeli ducted-fan sky-jeep in flight trials

    Fancraft technology is different from hovercraft technology, because hovercrafts cannot actually fly; fancraft technology involves the use of a basic idea: ducted fans, which are essentially enclosed helicopter rotor discs; until now, the technology faced two problems: small thrust discs mean very low efficiency, leading to aircraft with unacceptably poor fuel endurance and payload even in the context of helicopters; secondly, in the past, the ducted-fan machines were almost impossible to control; an Israeli company says it has solved at least the second problem

  • China and India pursue anti-satellite kill technology

    The space arms race accelerates, as China and India announced the development of hit-to-kill anti-satellite weapons; the United States has been developing this technology for years – but since the U.S. military and economy are much more dependent on satellites, the United States becomes more vulnerable as more countries acquire anti-satellite capabilities