International News

Cyclone Nargis Kills 100,000 in Myanmar (Bloomberg) “Emergency aid began arriving in Myanmar [yesterday] in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as the United Nations said further delays to the relief effort may cause the estimated death toll of 100,000 people to rise,” reports Bloomberg. “… The cyclone devastated the country’s low-lying Irrawaddy delta region May 3, leaving more than 1 million people homeless.… The U.S. and the UN had complained that the government has been slow to allow international relief workers and supplies into the country formerly known as Burma.” [View article]

Australia’s Vulnerability Hidden From Citizens, Govt. Says (New Zealand Herald) “Australians have been deliberately kept in the dark about their nation’s inability to deal with major natural disasters,” reports the New Zealand Herald, citing a new report by the Australian federal government’s Strategic Policy Institute. “… A range of government reports relating to Australia’s ability to respond to large-scale emergencies have been embargoed.” [View article] [View report]

Canada Has Lost Track of 41,000 Illegal Immigrants (Toronto Globe and Mail) “There are 41,000 people that Canada wants to deport but cannot find,” according to the Globe and Mail, citing a new report by Canada’s Auditor-General, Sheila Fraser. The report describes “the inability of the Canada Border Services agency to keep a tight rein on people who are in Canada illegally.” It also “found that the Public Health Agency does not receive the information from the provinces and territories that it needs to effectively monitor the spread of deadly diseases.” [View article]

Terrorist Wannabes Are Canada’s Biggest Threat (Toronto Globe and Mail) “Terrorist ‘wannabes’ in their teens and 20s are among the biggest threats to Canada,” reports the Globe and Mail, citing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Mike McDonnell. “… He said they are attracted to ‘sound-bite Islam.’ Arguing they are less religious scholars than misfits, he said they are motivated by Internet propaganda depicting atrocities against Muslims.” [View article]

Iran Resistance Is Not a Terrorist Group, British Court Finds (New York Times) “After a seven-year legal battle, Britain’s Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that the British government was wrong to include an Iranian resistance group, the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, on its list of banned terrorist groups,” reports the New York Times. [View article]

France Works With Algeria to Counter Terror (Algiers, Algeria, El Khabar) French Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories, Michèle Alliot-Marie, in an interview with El Khabar, said “that the security situation in Algeria has significantly improved” and “that France is looking forward to benefit from the experience of Algerian security services in terms of counterterrorism.” “Terrorism has got weaker and became isolated,” she said. “… terrorists themselves [are] haphazardly attributing themselves to Islam, while the geographical area activating in by these armed organizations has considerably shrunk.” [View article]

Discord Drives Somalis to Yemen in Record Numbers (CNN) “Intensifying violence, food shortages and widespread drought are driving an increasing number of Somalis to seek asylum in Yemen,” reports CNN. “… More than 15,000 refugees have arrived in the Yemeni port city of Aden since January, compared with 7,166 people in the first four months of 2007 … Somalis receive automatic refugee status in the fellow Muslim country.” [View article]

U.K. Announces New Immigration Rules (BBC) United Kingdom “firms will have to prove they cannot find skilled workers from the European Economic Area before looking elsewhere for immigrants,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “… The points-based guidelines for skilled workers also say most will need a job offer before coming to the country.… Only those who work in an area where there is a shortage of qualified people will be allowed into the UK without a job offer.” [View article]

All USS Cole Bombers Are Free (Washington Post) “Almost eight years after al-Qaeda nearly sank the USS Cole with an explosives-stuffed motorboat, killing 17 sailors, all the defendants convicted in the attack have escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni officials,” reports the Washington Post. “… Basic questions remain about which individuals and countries played a role in the assault.” [View article]

National News

Hospitals Not Ready for Terror Attack (UPI) “Hospitals in major U.S. cities targeted by terrorists are ill-equipped to handle the surge of emergency care required in the wake of an attack, a report” by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform says, according to United Press International. (See the Jan. 4 and Jan. 18 newsletters.) The report, “Hospital Emergency Surge Capacity: Not Ready for the Predictable Surprise” is “a survey of Level I trauma centers in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago and Houston and their lack of ability to handle the flood of casualties like those experienced when Madrid [Spain] was attacked by terrorists in 2004. Additionally included in the report are Level I trauma centers in Denver and Minneapolis that also faired poorly.” [View article]

Few Details on Immigrants Who Died in U.S. Custody (New York Times) A government list of 66 people whose deaths “occurred in immigration custody from January 2004 to November 2007, … compiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Congress demanded the information, and obtained by The New York Times under the Freedom of Information Act, is the fullest accounting to date of deaths in immigration detention, a patchwork of federal centers, county jails and privately run prisons that has become the nation’s fastest-growing form of incarceration.… Along with 13 deaths cited as suicides and 14 as the result of cardiac ailments, it offers such causes as ‘undetermined’ and ‘unwitnessed arrest, epilepsy.’” A “coroner found that” one man “had died of undiagnosed meningitis and H.I.V. … The cause of death on the government’s list: ‘unresponsive.’” Even as “thousands of people who are not American citizens are being locked up for days, months or years while the government decides whether to deport them,” the “detainees and their families lack basic ways to get answers when things go wrong.” [View article]

Faith Groups Mount Campaign Against Torture (Christian Science Monitor) “More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture,” reports the Christian Science Monitor. “… Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring government policies in line with US law and international norms.” [View article]

DHS News

Transport Worker ID Deadline Extended (Government Executive) “The Sept. 25 deadline to enroll 850,000 port workers into the transportation worker credentialing program will be extended to April 15, 2009,” reports the Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department has “enrolled 260,608 people in the program” but “has not deployed machines to read the cards.” [View article]

TSA Tests Airport Employee Screening Program The Transportation Security Administration this week began physical screening of employees at seven airports. In the Boston, Jacksonville (FL), and Craven (NC) airports, the TSA will carry out 100% physical screening of employees and vehicles. At the Denver, Kansas City, Eugene (OR), and Southwest Oregon airports, random screening will increase. Other measures are part of the program too. [View press release]

Other Federal News

Employee Verification Will Cost $1 Billion, Says GAO (Nextgov) “Requiring employers to electronically check employees’ eligibility to work in the United States would require more than $1 billion to expand and maintain a verification system over the next four years, according to the Government Accountability Office,” reports Nextgov. [View article] [View GAO summary]

U.S. Indicts Arms Dealer on Terrorism Charges The United States has indicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC)—a designated foreign terrorist organization based in Colombia—to be used to kill Americans in Colombia. Bout was arrested by Thai authorities on a provisional arrest warrant on April 9. [View press release]

DEA Is Slow to Share Terror Info (ABC News) Drug Enforcement Administration “analysts sometimes” have taken “months to cable terror-related intelligence obtained by DEA agents to partner agencies,” according to a review by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine, reports ABC News. Furthermore, “the process of distributing intelligence within DEA itself is slow, auditors said.” [View article]

FBI Withdraws Natl. Security Letter Against Library (Google News) “A nonprofit digital library [the San Francisco–based Internet Archive] has successfully fought an FBI attempt to seize information about one of its users,” reports the Associated Press. The archive sued the FBI, alleging that the letters violate “free speech rights because they prohibit recipients from talking to anyone else about them.… The FBI issued nearly 200,000 of the letters between 2003 and 2006 but has been challenged in court only three times … the FBI has lost all three challenges, including in a case last year that a federal judge in New York ruled the letters unconstitutional. The government has appealed that decision.” [View article]

House Holds Hearings on Homeland Resilience The U.S. House of Representatives is holding six hearings this month to promote resilience so as to ensure the nation’s ability to quickly and effectively bounce back from large-scale disruptions. [View press release]

United Nations News

Reports Fault U.N. Watchdog Unit (Washington Post) “The United Nations’ internal investigation division”—the Office of Internal Oversight Services—“has been plagued by leadership that demoralized its investigators and stymied the group’s ability to function effectively as an anti-corruption watchdog, according to two confidential U.N. reviews,” reports the Washington Post. The “reports highlight the failure of the investigations division to hold U.N. peacekeepers accountable.” [View article]

15 More Nations File Nonproliferation Plans In the past year, 15 more UN member countries have filed nuclear nonproliferation plans as required by the Security Council. (See last week’s newsletter.) As of spring 2007, the total was 135. [View press release]

State and Local News

Rochester, NY, 911 Dispatcher Arrested for Improper Terror Database Access (WHAM-TV, Rochester) “A 911 dispatcher, Nadire Zelenaj, has been arrested for using computers at work to access secure government Web sites containing information about suspected terrorists,” reports WHAM. “… Zenelaj faces 232 felony counts of computer trespass and one count of official misconduct. She was fired in December.” [View article]

Maryland Holds Hurricane Drill (Annapolis, MD, Capital) “State and county emergency planners ran mock emergency procedures this week for a fictional Category 3 hurricane named Zoe,” reports the Capital. “About 80 men and women from dozens of agencies manned the state’s emergency operations center north of Reisterstown running scenarios to practice.” [View article]

Montreal Metro photo

Education The Homeland Security Institute lists these education programs as a service to readers who may be interested; it does not endorse them or their courses. New education listings are posted for four weeks. Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties (May 11-16; Aberdeen, MD, and Ft. Detrick, MD) This course is conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. It is designed for Medical Corps and Nurse Corps officers and physician assistants, Medical Service Corps officers, and other selected medical professionals. It comprises classroom, laboratory, and field training. [View course website] Threat and Vulnerability Assessment (July 15-18; Redmond, WA) This 40-hour course, certified by the Tennessee POST Commission and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, teaches threat assessment methodologies to identify, recognize, assess, and prioritize vulnerabilities and threats. [View conference website] Georgetown U. Master’s Programs in Microbiology and Immunology (Fall 2008; Washington, DC) Georgetown University’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology is now accepting applications for its fall 2008 semester master of science degree programs in microbiology and immunology; biomedical science, policy, and advocacy; and biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases. [View course website]

New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, events are moved to the Upcoming Events page) Partnering for a Safer Nation: 2008 Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference–East (June 2-5; Washington, DC) This conference is presented by the National Defense Industrial Association with subject matter support from the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. The agenda and training workshops will focus on the future of the directorate while highlighting the collaborations being built at home and around the world to secure America. [View conference website] Public Security Science and Technology Summer Symposium (June 9-12; Edmonton, Alberta) This symposium’s theme is “Enhancing Capability through Transition and Exploitation.” It will highlight the science and technology knowledge created by the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive Research Technology Initiative project partners and the new way forward for the Public Security Technical Program and Canadian Police Research Centre programs. It will also feature a Responder Day focusing on the chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear specialized responder. [View conference website] Federal CBRN Detection Research and Development Opportunities (June 11-13; Arlington, VA) This event is designed to provide the most current information about the role that industry, research contractors, and universities can play in addressing the nation’s needs for new chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection technologies and diagnostic tools. It will focus on the research and development requirements of each of the funding departments and agencies. [View conference website] (June 15-18; Toronto) This year’s theme is “Resiliency—Individual, Community and Business.” The conference features presentations, networking, and learning about emergency management, business continuity, emergency response, risk management, information technology, disaster recovery, emergency health, and related disaster management disciplines. [View conference website] CBRN Resilience 2008 (July 8-9; London) Using an attack scenario, the conference will focus on civilian chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear resilience in the United Kingdom, emphasizing the transition from individual capabilities to readiness to respond. Each of the agencies and organizations with a part to play in response to the incident will contribute to improving interagency coordination. [View conference website] Continental Divide Disaster Behavioral Health Conference: Preparing for Pandemic (July 8-10; Colorado Springs, CO) This interactive conference is designed to assist homeland security professionals—including emergency management planners, public health officials, medical personnel, first responders, and behavioral health specialists—to improve care provided to those affected by catastrophes. Major speakers are leading civilian and military behavioral health experts. The conference addresses disaster planning, response, and recovery and includes a daylong tabletop exercise. It is cosponsored by the University of Colorado, U.S. Northern Command, and the Colorado Division of Mental Health. [View conference website] ER One Institute Hospital Security Conference (July 15; Washington, DC) The theme of the conference is “Are We Prepared for Today’s Challenges? Looking Directly Into the Eye of the Enemy.” This conference, sponsored by the Simulation and Training Environment Lab at the Washington Hospital Center’s ER One Institute, will empower hospital-based security professionals to become better prepared for the current security situation. Participants will receive a realistic perspective of the hazards confronting healthcare facilities, learn how to investigate opponents’ motivations, and be readied to respond to threats proactively. [View conference website] International Aviation and Maritime Security Conference (July 21-24; Washington, DC) Sponsored by the U.S. Airport and Seaport Police of the Americas Region and the International Association of Airport and Seaport Police, the conference will examine where the responsibilities lie, how to effectively build teams, tomorrow’s technology, best practices, and risk-mitigation tools. [View conference website] National Homeland Defense Foundation Symposium VI (October 27; Colorado Springs, CO) The theme of Symposium VI is “Securing Our Homelands Through International Collaboration; Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” The symposium fosters the exchange of ideas and technologies among government, industry, and the military. [View conference website] Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness (October 29-31; Chicago) The Justice, Homeland Security, and Defense departments will highlight the technology and training tools available and being developed for emergency responders and elicit responders’ technology requirements. The conference will bring together responders, business and industry, academia, and federal, state, tribal, and local stakeholders to network, exchange ideas, and collaboratively address critical incident technology and preparedness needs, protocols, and solutions. [View conference website]

Calls for Papers National Homeland Defense Foundation Symposium VI (October 27; Colorado Springs, CO) The theme of Symposium VI is “Securing Our Homelands Through International Collaboration; Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” Submissions must be emailed in PDF format by August 1 to librarian@nhdf.org. [View conference website] European Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics (December 3-5; Copenhagen, Denmark) The conference welcomes papers on infrastructure protection and emergency responses and on terrorism informatics. Submissions are due by June 15. [View call for papers]