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Skeptical Israeli, weakening Assad, predictable UN
Meir Dagan, who retired in December as head of Israel’s Mossad, is not a sandals-and-beads-wearing lefty; yet, he has emerged as the most persistent critic of the current Israeli leadership’s approach to possible military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities; he says that Israel may be able to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, but Israel will not be able to prevent a massive and sustained Iranian retaliation: Israel’s population and economic centers will be showered by thousands of missiles and rockets from Iran and its two local agents, Hezbollah and Hamas; if necessary, Dagan says, Israel will have to absorb this punishment — and it will be able, painfully, to do so; the emphasis, though, is on “if necessary”; more and more observers have concluded that Assad’s day in power are numbered; Assad is in a no-win situation: if he makes more concessions to the anti-government demonstrators, he will appear weak and alienate the hard-liners in his circle; if he continues to kill dozens of Syrian civilians a week, his already-eroded legitimacy as the ruler of Syria will weakened even more; thirty-four civilians were killed today by live rounds in the city of Hama; in September, the UN will hold a 10-year commemoration of what is known as Durban I — the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa; the Obama administration has decided not to participate in the September event because, Joseph E. Macmanus, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs, said, the Durban process “included ugly displays of intolerance and anti-Semitism”; the United States withdrew from Durban I ten years ago after Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state, harshly criticized the “hateful language” dominating the conference and the documents it produced, language that “singles out only one country in the world, Israel, for censure and abuse”
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Author of controversial Arizona immigration bill could face recall
A heated political battle in Arizona has begun that could result in the author of the state’s controversial immigration law Senate President Russell Pearce’s recall; the leaders of the recall effort, Citizens For A Better Arizona (CFBA), say they have collected more signatures for the petition to recall Pearce than the number of votes he received in the last election; on Tuesday, the group submitted 18,315 signatures in support of the recall, more than double the state’s requirement of 7,756 signatures; before the recall can move forward, the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office must validate each of the signatures
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Homeland security is big business
According to financial analysts the homeland security business is still growing nearly ten years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks; analysts project that the market for homeland security goods like body scanners, radiation detectors, and surveillance cameras will grow 12 percent each year until 2013; the market for x-ray and body scanners is set to grown steadily at 15 percent annually as airports begin replacing aging equipment and the market expands; analysts say that the primary driver for future growth will be in cargo screening at airports and seaports as only a small percentage of cargo is currently scanned
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San Francisco sheriff defies federal immigration authorities
In defiance of federal immigration officials, San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey announced that as of 1 June he would no longer hand over illegal immigrants arrested for low-level crimes to immigration authorities; Hennessey’s actions come in support of San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy which prohibits local officials from cooperating with federal authorities unless immigrants are suspected felons; illegal immigrants arrested for minor crimes like public intoxication or shoplifting will not be held in jail; the new policy does not bar individual sheriff’s deputies from cooperating with federal immigration officials
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Envisage Technologies to provide Indiana DHS with software
On Wednesday Envisage Technologies announced that it was working with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) to implement the third phase of its state-wide readiness strategy; Envisage will expand its Acadis Readiness Suite, an integrated software tool that automates complex logistical tasks that normally require a host of various databases, software, and systems, to include secure certification of users; state officials say that the added software capabilities will help agencies more accurately assess resource needs and respond more quickly in emergencies
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Data breaches compromise nearly 8 million medical records
The revelation that millions of people have had their personal medical records stolen could slow the Obama administration’s efforts to digitize the nation’s health care records; in the last two years alone nearly eight million people have had their medical records stolen or compromised; 1.7 million patients, staff members, contractors, and suppliers at several New York hospitals had their information stolen when thieves removed them from an unlocked van; to ensure that medical records are safe, HHS has begun imposing penalties on health care providers who compromise their patient’s records; but some health care experts wonder if enforcing HIPAA alone will be enough to address the problem
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Floyd County gets additional $75,000 for CBRNE unit
Floyd County in Georgia has received two DHS grants worth $75,000 to replace and repair equipment for its chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) response unit; the bulk of the money, approximately $65,000, will go towards replacing aging equipment, while the rest will go towards repairs; the CBRNE team was originally created four years ago with nearly $350,000 in DHS funding as part of the state’s terrorism prevention initiative
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Scientists charged with manslaughter for not issuing earthquake alert
The 6 April 2009 earthquake which shook the Italian city of L’Aquila killed 308 of the city’s residents, injured thousands, and caused wide-spread damage to buildings and infrastructure; prosecutors have decided to bring seven geologists to trial for failing to alert city residents about the impending tremor; the geologists, all members of Italy’s Major Risk Committee, met on 31 March 2009 to discuss the possible risk to the Abruzzo region, of which L’Aquila is the capital; the region had experienced several small tremors in the months before the meeting; in a press conference following the meeting, the geologists reassured residents of the region that no major quake was imminent, and that they had no reason to leave their homes
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Industry leaders, policy makers to meet at SIA Government Summit
The Security Industry Association (SIA) is gearing up to hold its annual Government Summit conference in Washington, D.C. once again; each year the two day event brings security professionals, business leaders, and policy makers together to discuss the latest federal and state trends as well as the latest legislation and regulations that affect the security industry; the event’s headliners are Bill Kristol and Bill Press; the two will debate one another on a wide range of issues including the impact of the 2010 mid-term elections, the 2012 presidential campaign, as well as policy matters; the conference will be held on 21 June to 22 June at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C
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Saudi woman driver released from jail
Saudi women are not allowed to drive because, according to Saudi senior clerics, prohibiting women from driving is a protection against the spread of vice and temptation because women drivers would be free to leave home alone and interact with male strangers; the prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers or rely on male relatives to drive; on 21 May, a 32-year old woman posted on the Web a video of herself driving, and was promptly arrested and thrown in jail; her posting was part of a campaign calling on Saudi women to show up on 17 June in their family cars — driving, not being driven — for drive-around rallies for women’s rights in major Saudi cities
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U.S., Canada harmonize perimeter security approach
No other two countries in the world have a larger volume of trade between them as do the United States and Canada; in the first eleven month of 2010, for example, that trade between the two countries reached $480 billion; that trade — and, especially, significant growth of that volume of trade — have been hampered by ever tighter security arrangements the United States has been implementing along the U.S.-Canada border since the 9/11 terrorist attacks; the main reason the United States has insisted on beefing up border security is that Canadian immigration and customs laws have been judged to be not up to what the United States would regard as acceptable standards; the U.S. message to Canada was thus straightforward: the higher the security walls around Canada, the lower the security wall between Canada and the United States; Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper agrees, and Canada is now working with the United States on harmonizing perimeter security arrangements; some Canadians are unhappy, saying the deal will result in sacrificing cherished Canadian values and practices
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Ventura County, CA loses $2.8 million in funding
In the latest Homeland Security budget, Ventura County, California is expected to lose about 70 percent, about $2.8 million, of its federal grant money, a large setback for the county’s emergency responders; with the loss of federal money, county officials believe police and fire departments will be less prepared to respond in an emergency; prior to 9/11, the county had little money available for emergency preparedness, but following 9/11 the county has received more than $22 million to bolster response capabilities; officials are most concerned about the loss of training opportunities
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Justice Department threatens to cancel flights to Texas
Last week, Texas lawmakers were forced to back away from a bill that would have outlawed airport pat-downs after the U.S. attorney general’s office threatened to cancel flights to Texas; the Texas House passed a bill that would have made it illegal for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents from conducting thorough pat downs at airport security checkpoints unless they had probable cause; the U.S. attorney general said that the law would be unconstitutional, and if passed, TSA would be forced to cancel flights to Texas
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Senators outline long-term transportation spending plan
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of senators announced that they had come to an agreement on a long-term transportation spending bill; since 2008, highway and transit construction programs have had an uncertain fate, but the proposed bill would allocate roughly $56 billion a year to highway and transit construction; it is unclear what the final bill will look like as the Senate, House, and executive branch each have diverging views on highway funding; funding the transportation bill will be no small feat; a two year Senate bill would require $12 billion in additional fuel tax revenues and a six year bill would require an addition $70 billion
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Potential China Taiwan deal on rare earth metals
Taiwan could soon start receiving shipments of rare earth minerals from China in a move that could help bolster its technology and chemical companies; last week, officials from China and Taiwan met to discuss a potential deal that would ease some of China’s export quotas and tariffs on rare earth shipments; the deal with Taiwan would likely do little to affect global prices or trade as Taiwanese companies purchase far less than their Japanese, European, and American counterparts; but some analysts believe the deal would still benefit Taiwanese companies by giving them a competitive advantage
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More headlines
The long view
Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
By Etienne Soula and Lea George
Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.
Patriots’ Day: How Far-Right Groups Hijack History and Patriotic Symbols to Advance Their Cause, According to an Expert on Extremism
By Art Jipson
Extremist groups have attempted to change the meaning of freedom and liberty embedded in Patriots’ Day — a commemoration of the battles of Lexington and Concord – to serve their far-right rhetoric, recruitment, and radicalization. Understanding how patriotic symbols can be exploited offers important insights into how historical narratives may be manipulated, potentially leading to harmful consequences in American society.
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
By Alex Brown
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
By Stephanie Soucheray
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”