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DHS is searching for buyers for Plum Island facility
The Plum Island Biosafety level 4 facility — the only type of research lab authorized to handle diseases that are communicable between humans and animals and for which there is no known cure — is aging; DHS has selected a Kansas site for a new, $500 million replacement; DHS is beginning to look for buyers for the Plum Island facility
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Patent systems may discourage innovation: study
The traditional view is that patents foster innovation. A new study suggests instead that they may hinder technological progress, economic activity, and societal wealth
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Sweeping food safety bill passes House
House passes new, sweeping food safety bill requiring more government inspections and imposing new penalties on those who violate the law
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Fort Meade leads the competition for new U.S. cyber center site
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is recommending the Defense Department create a new agency, U.S. Cyber Command, at Fort Meade, Maryland; if Fort Meade is chosen, Maryland will see the addition of as many as 50,000 government and contracting jobs, bringing in salaries of about $1.7 billion annually
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Cyber-criminals targeting social networks
Cyber-criminals are drawn to the wealth of personal information supplied by users of social networks
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$7.7 million in stimulus funds for airport surveillance announced
The stimulus package committed more than $3 billion for homeland security projects through DHS and GSA; of the $1 billion allocated to TSA for aviation security projects, $700 million is dedicated to screening checked baggage and $300 million is allocated for checkpoint explosives detection technology
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Coast Guards interdicts smugglers' semi-submersible
Latin American drug lords now rely on semi-submersibles to smuggle drugs into the United States; the other day, the USCG interdicts one semi-submersible in the Eastern Pacific
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NYPD to receive stimulus money -- after Justice funds were denied
New York City officials were livid earlier this week after the Justice Department excluded NYC from law enforcement grants it gave cities that “needed it most” (among these cities: Caribou, Maine; Greybull, Wyoming; and Bayou La Batre, Alabama); DHS will now give NYPD $35 million in federal stimulus money
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Apple says jailbreaking may knock out transmission towers
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked the U.S. Copyright Office to instruct Apple to allow “jailbreaking ” — that is, modification of the iPhone’s software without Apple’s approval; Apple responded that modifying the iPhone’s operating system could crash a mobile phone network’s transmission towers or allow people to avoid paying for phone calls
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Encouraging student technology start-ups
Wolverhampton University’s program gives students the opportunity to set up their own business while they are still at university
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Soldiers, first responders will self-power their gear
Soldiers and first responders will soon power electronic devices such as personal radios using just their own movements
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European defense spending falls by almost $4 billion in 2009
Defense spending by European countries will have fallen by nearly $4 billion (1.3 percent) in 2009; overall, defense spending of European nations will fall to $302.56 billion in 2009: down from $306.54 billion in 2008
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Israel's now more likely to attack Iran's nuclear facilities
The test of Arrow 2 — Israel’s defense against Iran’s ballistic missiles — was aborted three times; Hillary Clinton says the United States would extend a “nuclear umbrella” to Arab countries: these two events combine to increase Israel’s anxiety about Iran’s nuclear weapons, and make an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities more likely
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Napolitano to unveil administration's homeland security strategy
In a speech today to the Council of Foreign relations, DHS secretary Janet Napolitano will unveil the administration’s homeland security strategy; the emphasis will be on continuing and expanding many of the Bush administration’s initiatives, but with greater emphasis on protecting civil liberties
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Taser shows multi-shot stun gun
The new device is capable of shocking three people without having to reload
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The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
No Nation Is an Island: The Dangers of Modern U.S. Isolationism
The resurgence of isolationist sentiment in American politics is understandable but misguided. While the desire to refocus on domestic renewal is justified, retreating from the world will not bring the security, prosperity, or sovereignty that its proponents promise. On the contrary, it invites instability, diminishes U.S. influence, and erodes the democratic order the U.S. helped forge.
Fragmented by Design: USAID’s Dismantling and the Future of American Foreign Aid
The Trump administration launched an aggressive restructuring of U.S. foreign aid, effectively dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The humanitarian and geopolitical fallout of the demise of USAID includes shuttered clinics, destroyed food aid, and China’s growing influence in the global south. This new era of American soft power will determine how, and whether, the U.S. continues to lead in global development.
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
How Disastrous Was the Trump-Putin Meeting?
In Alaska, Trump got played by Putin. Therefore, Steven Pifer writes, the European leaders and Zelensky have to “diplomatically offer suggestions to walk Trump back from a position that he does not appear to understand would be bad for Ukraine, bad for Europe, and bad for American interests. And they have to do so without setting off an explosion that could disrupt U.S.-Ukrainian and U.S.-European relations—all to the delight of Putin and the Kremlin.”
How Male Grievance Fuels Radicalization and Extremist Violence
Social extremism is evolving in reach and form. While traditional racial supremacy ideologies remain, contemporary movements are now often fueled by something more personal and emotionally resonant: male grievance.