-
Pakistan admits Mumbai November attack was hatched in Pakistan
In the face of irrefutable evidence, Pakistan admits the 26 November attacks in Mumbai, in which more than 180 people were killed, were planned on Pakistani soil and carried out by Pakistanis
-
-
Former top MI6 official says bird flu more of a threat than terrorism
Former assistant chief of U.K.’s MI6 says pandemics posed more of threat to the U.K. population than terrorism; he also says that privacy worries about the international counterterrorist databases are exaggerated
-
-
Raytheon offers airborne radar for India's homeland security
India is paying more attention — much more attention — to homeland security in the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai bombing; among the first priorities is securing the very long coast lines of the country; Raytheon, already a presence in India, stands to benefit
-
-
Stimulus package offers billions for scientific research
Both House and Senate versions of the economic stimulus package direct billion of dollars toward scientific research; biomedical research is among the big winners, while physics appears to be among the losers
-
-
Public support for infrastructure investment grows
University of Chicago NORC survey finds growing public support for investment in mass transit and infrastructure; support remains high for expenditures on education and health care
-
-
U.S. faces lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs
Sometime in the near future a lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs is going to cross the U.S. border in force
-
-
More bad news for Taser guns: They raise deaths in custody
University of California-San Francisco study finds that sudden death of people held by California police increased sixfold in the first year after police departments there began using Taser stun guns
-
-
House overwhelmingly approves "white list" of non-terrorists
Congress wants DHS to create a “white list” — a database of people who are not terrorists, but are routinely flagged at airports anyway
-
-
Political wrangling over House homeland security panel's priorities
Democratic majority on panel wants DHS authorization bill completed by 1 May - but panel chairman admits schedule may “slip”; Republicans want to make sure authorization is completed before appropriations are set, arguing that the authorization bill would give direction to appropriators
-
-
MRAPs keep soldiers safe from mines, IEDs on battlefield
The Obama administration wants to send tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan; these troops will need protection from land mines and IEDs; Force Protection, a company producing Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MARP) vehicles, stands to benefit
-
-
World's largest supercomputer will be used for nuclear stockpile research
IBM to build a 20 petaflops supercomputer, called Sequoia, for the Lawrence Livermore lab; a petaflop stands for a quadrillion floating-point operations per second; to put Sequoia’s computing power in perspective, what it can do in one hour would take all 6.7 billion people on Earth with hand calculators 320 years, if they worked together on the calculation for 24 hours per day, 365 days a year
-
-
Cybersecurity contractor's network hacked
A large U.S. government contractor specializing in providing cybersecurity and privacy services, has warned its employees their personal information may have been stolen after hackers planted a virus on its computer network
-
-
Israeli official: Gaza operation "pre-introduction" for dealing with Iran threat
Israeli ambassador to Australia says “Israel’s efforts in Gaza were to bring about understanding that we are ready to engage in a decisive way” over Iran and its nuclear aspirations
-
-
EU security watchdog draws privacy baseline for national ID cards
As a dozen of EU members move toward e-IDs, a EU privacy and security watchdog raises questions about these ID schemes, calling for developing a strategy for protecting the privacy of data held through national ID card projects
-
-
New York State looking for new finger-imaging system
New York State issued an RFP for finger-imaging system which would allow government agencies ti identify and verify the identity of recipients of government services;
-
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.