• Briefly noted

    Obama preparing comprehensive technology policy… Germans advance surveillance bill… Report warns incoming administration of of “future military failure”… Senator Clinton welcomes more than $18,000 for Long Island Fire Department

  • U.S. lost, and never found, a nuclear weapon in 1968

    A U.S. Air Force bomber carrying four nuclear bombs crashed in Greenland in 1968; three of the weapons were recovered; the fourth is still under the ice

  • Harris to demonstrate innovative radios at ShakeOut

    Great Southern California ShakeOut is the largest-ever earthquake preparedness drill in the United States; the exercise, scheduled for tomorrow, 13 November, will model the effects of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake along the San Andreas Fault; Harris will demonstrate advanced systems for restoring first responder communication links

  • U.K. local authorities lack intelligence for effective counter-terrorism

    A government study finds that government counter-terrorism funding to local authorities and neighborhood policing over the last two years has yet to translate into a coherent strategy to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremists

  • Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository too small

    Congress has placed a 77,000-ton limit on the amount of nuclear waste that can be buried in Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository (the repository will open in 2020 at the earliest); trouble is, the 104 active U.S. nuclear reactors, together with the Pentagon, produce that amount of waste in two years

  • DHS releases FY2009 guidance for $3 billion worth of grants

    FEMA requests applications for 14 programs for which it has allocated $3 billion; funded programs concentrate on state and local governments and strengthening community preparedness

  • Train as you fight

    To be effective, the training of soldiers and policemen must be done with training conditions resembling the conditions the trainee will face in a real fight; a policeman or soldier will not have time to warm up and stretch before a real encounter; they will also not be fighting wearing shorts, T-shirts, and tennis shoes; the real fight will not stop when they feel pain or discomfort

  • Where is James Bond when we need him?

    The villains James Bond was fighting — Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Blofeld — looked improbable in the 1960s; these miscreants of globalization — part master criminal, part arms smuggler, part terrorist, part warlord —are now the stuff of reality

  • Briefly noted

    Global CCTV market analysis 2008-12… U.S. intelligence agencies spend $47.5 billion in 2008… Changing role for DHS in cyber security… Auditors: Private security in Iraq cost over $6 billion… China begins investigation of tainted eggs

  • Messaging pictures as a safety device

    A Pittsburgh-based startup allows you to take pictures of threatening individuals you may encounter in hairy situations, and message these pictures to a secure “vault”; if you do not come back to your home or office by a specified time, the date- and time-stamped pictures are made available to the police

  • Debate over safety of taser-proof vests

    A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head

  • Debate over safety of taser-proof vests

    A U.S. body-armor company is selling taser-proof vests to police units; some argue that the vests make officers less safe because taser-toting bad guys would now aim for the officer’s head; the response: this is like arguing that bullet-proof vests make officer less safe because the bad guy would aim for the head

  • Identifying emergency personnel

    Emergency response teams work in confusing conditions; in large disasters, emergency units from several jurisdictions may be involved; the rescuers need to able to identify each other

  • Mini-UAV helps in monitoring natural disasters

    Scandicraft provides geo-tagged aerial images taken from mini-UAV via satellite link; accurate images will make responses to natural disasters more effective

  • Body-armor manufacturer settles with U.S. Justice Department

    The U.S. Justice Department charged that a body armor manufacturer knowingly used Zylon fiber in body army it sold to the federal government and local law enforcement; Zylon fiber degrades quickly and is not suitable for ballistic use