• Intellectual Ventures: A genuine path breaker or a patent troll?

    Intellectual Ventured has amassed 30,000 patents, spent more than $1 million on lobbying last year, and its executives have contributed more than $1 million to Democratic and Republican candidates and committees; the company says it wants to build a robust, efficient market for “invention capital”; critics charge that some of its practices are closer to that of a patent troll

  • New Zealand rated least corrupt country; Somalia declared most corrupt

    The authoritative Transparency International’s annual corruption report, which rates 180 countries, found New Zealand to be the least-corrupt country in the world — scoring 9.4 out of 10; Somalia is the world’s most corrupt country, scoring a lamentable 1.1, propping up Afghanistan (1.3), Myanmar (1.4), Sudan (1.5), and Iraq (1.5); perennial most-corrupt winner Nigeria secured the joint 130th place on the list, sharing a score of 2.5 with Honduras, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Uganda

  • House tightens chemical plant safety bill

    A House bill is set to tighten some provisions of the original chemical plant safety bill of two years ago; specifically, the House bill demands that chemical plants be obligated to replace the most toxic and volatile — and, hence, the most dangerous — chemicals they use in their operations with safer substitutes — but in a nod to the chemical industry, the bill focuses only on the highest-risk plants, and it would make them use safer chemicals or processes only when DHS determines that they are feasible and cost-effective

  • Tighter immigration control spells troubles for the border economy

    There are many facets to the debate about the best way to handle illegal immigration into the United States, but for the 210 U.S. border counties, where the economy and immigration are tied closely together, tighter immigration control means slowdown in business activity

  • FDA to host traceability meeting

    FDA, USDA to hold a day-long conference to discuss the core elements of product tracing systems, gaps in current product tracing systems, and mechanisms to enhance product tracing systems for food in an effort to increase the speed and accuracy of traceback investigations and trace forward operations

  • Obama's approach to illegal immigration has businesses worried

    The Bush administration tried to reduce that number by trying to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country; the Obama administration announced a new strategy: going after an illegal immigrant’s employer and its managers

  • Guarding the guardians in South Africa

    Criminals in South Africa found a new way to make money: they open security companies; there are two advantages to these ventures: they get paid for their “security” services, and they are able to learn all they need to know, for their own criminal purposes, about the organizations they are supposedly protecting

  • Victims of foodborne illness press White House for food safety reform

    Visit to White House comes after victims and their families press Senate to pass legislation to protect the public from foodborne illness

  • DHS recommends three emergency management standards

    DHS, under its Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep), is proposing the use of three existing emergency management and business continuity standards; the three were selected from twenty-five standards submitted to DHS for consideration

  • Senate weakens ban on off-shore companies with federal contracts

    The “Buy American” provisions in the $787 billion stimulus package prohibited DHS contracts from going to foreign companies — or from “inverted” companies (that is, companies with phony foreign headquarters); in March the ban was extended to other government agencies — but the ban has now been loosened

  • Victims of food-poisoning on Hill in support of S. 510

    Food safety debate intensifies as food-borne illness victims lobby for stronger food laws; new bill, S. 510s would increase FDA inspections of food processing plants, especially of high-risk facilities, require imports to meet U.S. safety standards, establish science-based minimum safety standards for growing fresh produce, and give the agency mandatory recall authority

  • Trust for America's Health calls on Senate to reform U.S. food safety

    Approximately 76 million Americans — one in 4 — are sickened by food-borne diseases each year. Of these, an estimated 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die. Medical costs and lost productivity due to food-borne illnesses in the United States are estimated to cost $44 billion annually

  • How far should government go to make the Web secure?

    If hackers take over a nuclear plant’s control system, should the president order the computer networks shut down? If there is a terrorist attack, should the government knock users off other computer networks to ensure that critical systems stay online? Should the government be able to dictate who companies can hire and what they must do to secure the networks that affect Americans’ daily life?

  • New Hampshire firms fight bioterrorism

    New Hampshire’s overall food and beverage industry is spread over 93 facilities, and contributes more than $707 million in value added to the state’s economy; the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, and awareness of public anxiety about food safety, lead food companies in the state to keep a close eye on their products

  • DHS collects -- and keeps -- large amount of information on U.S. citizens traveling abroad

    Are you an American citizen frequently traveling abroad? You may be surprised by how much of your personal information DHS collects — and stores; now you have a way of finding out