• Studying counterterrorism in Israel upsets Cambridge residents

    Some residents of Cambridge, Massachusetts are upset that sixteen law enforcement and emergency services officials from the city went to Israel in an Anti Defamation League-sponsored trip to observe Israeli counterterrorism methods; the trip was funded by a local businessman; in a city hall meeting residents expressed discomfort with a privately organized trip for public officials — and with the fact that these officials chose Israel as the place to study counterterrorism tactics; one local resident said that what Israel calls “counterterrorism” is “a mechanism of oppression suited to employment in a police state, a status I do not regard our city as having obtained. At least not yet”

  • New Orleans debates hurricane protection plans

    The Army Corps of Engineers is currently deciding how best to implement its $2.9 billion Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) restoration plan in New Orleans; the plan is part of several projects designed to protect the Louisiana coast line from hurricane storm surges; residents are clashing over the plan and the public hearing period for the plan has been extended; state legislators are currently debating with the corps, as the $2.9 billion project funds do not include the costs for land acquisition, design, and operation and maintenance; the project is expected to take ten years to complete and construction could begin as early as 2012

  • Rep. King, CBP commissioner, Nassau County executive discuss borders

    A high-level meeting took place in Mineola, Long Island, earlier this week between among Representative Pete King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Alan Bersin, commissioner, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Edward Mangano, Nassau County executive; a spokesperson said the meeting was about the Federal government’s efforts to make U.S. borders safe while working to promote commerce and trade

  • New database critical to success of "See Something, Say Something"

    DHS is developing effective information sharing systems with local law enforcement agencies and federal counter-terrorism offices to ensure that its new “See Something, Say Something” campaign can function effectively; the new National Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSARI) will create a national database and processes to sort through the increasing number of suspicious activity reports (SARs) by combining three online databases and allowing local agencies to search across all systems for information without having to change existing business practices; officials hope to complete the system by September of this year; a recent planned terrorist attack in Texas was thwarted when two tips came in using the system

  • In Tennessee, supporting Shariah law may soon be a felony

    A Tennessee lawmaker is sponsoring a bill which would make it a felony in the state to knowingly support Shariah law; the bill, if passed, would allow the state’s attorney general to designate an entity as a Shariah organization if the organization knowingly adheres to Shariah; if the organization “engages in, or retains the capability and intent to engage in” an act of terrorism; or if the act of terrorism of the organization “threatens the security of public safety” of Tennessee residents; violations of the proposed law would be a Class B felony, punishable by fine and a prison term of up to fifteen years; a similar measure passed in November by Oklahoma voters that banned the use of Shariah law in state courtrooms was later blocked by a federal judge pending the resolution of a lawsuit calling it unconstitutional

  • Maryland wants Florida's high speed rail funds

    As Republican governors in Florida, Wisconsin, and Ohio reject federal funding for high speed rail projects, states like Maryland are clamoring to receive those funds; Maryland Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood requesting that $2.4 billion dollars in high speed rail funding originally designated for Florida be redirected to projects in the Northeast Corridor; each year 250 million rail passengers use the corridor and passenger use is projected to increase by 60 percent by 2030; the White House plans to spend $53 billion on high speed rail projects over the next six years and $8 billion in the coming fiscal year alone

  • Alabama fire departments receive more than $1.5 million in DHS grants

    The Lanier Volunteer Fire Department in Talladega County, Alabama just announced that it received a little over $100,000 from DHS through its assistance to firefighters grant program; the department’s chief Jerry Alfred said he plans to use the funds to purchase a rescue truck; several other local fire departments also received grants from DHS including the Sycamore Volunteer Fire Department which received $231,750 and the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department which got $185,250; DHS plans to award $1,564,732 to eighteen fire departments throughout Alabama

  • U.S. learning from Canada to combat domestic radicalization

    The United States is partnering with Canada to learn how to better address the increasing threat from the domestic radicalization of Muslim Americans; the United States is looking to learn how Canadian law enforcement agencies have developed relationships with Muslim communities; for the past several years the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has been actively focusing on reaching out to Muslim communities and other groups that are the target of terrorist investigations; Canadian law enforcement and intelligence agencies placed domestic radicalization at the top of its priorities several years ago; domestic radicalization only recently became a national priority in the United States after a slew of failed attacks were perpetrated by American Muslims

  • On kabuki, farces, subpoenas, and theocracy

    The United States is trying to persuade the UN Human Rights Council to kick Libya out (yes, Libya is a member of the council) and to order an investigation of the atrocities committed by the Gaddafi regime against anti-government protesters; trouble is, members of the council include such towering paragons of human rights as Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Burundi — and the council is controlled by a bloc of Islamic and African states, backed by China and Russia; to hope this UN body will be moved by the plight of the Libyan people is to expect too much; closer to home, Darrell Issa (R-California) promised that when he assumed the chairmanship of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, he would launch a subpoena campaign against the Obama administration; the campaign has now been launched; in Kentucky, the state’s homeland security department requires the department’s executive director to publicize a “dependence on Almighty God” in agency training and educational materials; atheists argue in court that this would turn Kentucky into a theocracy

  • SC fire departments awarded $5.5 million DHS grant

    Thirty-six South Carolina fire departments had been awarded DHS grants totaling $5.5 million to pay for new programs and equipment; the funds will be spent on 200 vehicle radios, 200 walkie-talkies, and 700 pagers for 36 fire departments in Spartanburg County

  • Yuba City purchases tactical robot with DHS grant money

    The Yuba City police department in California is spending a portion of its nearly $70,000 grant from DHS to purchase a remote controlled tactical robot; the “tactical entry robot” is designed to help police officers when they are confronting an individual barricaded inside a home; the robot is equipped with a wide-angle camera and can help provide officers with information on what is occurring inside; the robot can also help officials survey dangerous chemical spills or other hazardous situations where human exposure may prove fatal; the robot costs nearly $12,00, is roughly the size of an industrial lawn mower, and is able to climb stairs; Yuba City expects to receive the robot in the next six months

  • Boston has new pot-hole weapons

    In a typical year, the city of Boston fills about 19,000 potholes; the city now has two new pot-hole weapons in its arsenal: a $151,300 Pro-Patch Pothole Patcher truck, and a new iPhone and Android app, called Street Bump, which would automatically report potholes to the city by sensing when a car has hit a bump (the app has not been released yet, but test-drives are already being conducted)

  • U.S. communities support surveillance systems

    Despite calls by the ACLU to halt the expansion of the use of CCTVs in public places, towns across the United States are eager to get their hands on the extra sets of eyes; midsized communities across the United States are installing more surveillance video cameras in an effort to cut down on crime, without having to spend more money on additional law enforcement officials

  • Oregon’s new budget may kill interoperability system

    The goal of the $600 million Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network (OWIN) project is to design and construct a reliable public safety radio system for emergency responders, comply with the FCC’s 2013 deadline to transition state radios, consolidate four existing independent state radio systems, and create a network that all public safety radio users in Oregon can access; the governor proposes to halt the project for lack of money

  • N.J. county to purchase mobile morgue with DHS grant

    Burlington County, New Jersey officials plan to use this year’s DHS grant of $775,000 to purchase surveillance for the county’s radio communications towers, license plate readers, and a mobile morgue unit capable of transporting eight bodies; the mobile morgue is used to provide morgue support in a mass fatality event