International News

Man Tries to Blow Up Airliner in Michigan; Security Clamped Down (Detroit Free Press; Miami Herald; Los Angeles Times; Time; BBC) “A Nigerian national”—Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab—“who claimed to have al-Qaida connections” attempted “to blow up a Delta-Northwest flight as it was landing at Detroit Metro Airport on” December 25, reports the Free Press. “Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded [on Dec. 28] that the aviation security system failed when a young man on a watch list with a U.S. visa in his pocket and a powerful explosive hidden on his body was allowed to board a fight [in] Amsterdam [Holland],” reports the Associated Press. (See the Quote of the Week.) “U.S. border security officials learned of the alleged extremist links of the suspect … as he was airborne from Amsterdam to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed,” reports the Times. “On Wednesday, Yemeni authorities announced the arrest of three men linked to the latest threats,” reports the Times in another article. The Dutch decided to “immediately begin using full body scanners [see the Nov. 14, 2008, newsletter] for flights heading to the United States,” reports Time. “New rules imposed by the Transportation Security Administration limit on-board activities by passengers and crew in U.S. airspace,” reports the Associated Press in another article. However, the rules were “eased after a two-day clampdown,” reports the Associated Press in a third article. “At the captain’s discretion, passengers can once again have blankets and other items on their laps or move about the cabin during the tail end of flight.” In addition, “airport staff are carrying out full pat-down body checks and carry-on luggage checks for passengers travelling from countries which the US considers to be a security risk”: “Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “Passengers travelling from any other foreign country may also be checked at random.” [View attack article] [View failure article] [View Times intel article] [View Times Yemen article] [View Time article] [View clampdown article] [View discretion article] [View BBC article]

Nigerian Airport Security Concentrates on Gratuities (Time) “International travelers flying out of Nigeria’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos during the Christmas season are used to being hassled by security,” reports Time. “Usually, it’s a demand for tips and gifts. At every point of contact with officials, from check-in to final boarding, the requests are constant.” However, the airport “passed a Transportation Security Administration audit” last month. [View article]

U.S. Goes After al-Qaeda in Yemen (New York Times; Washington Times; BBC; Reuters) “The United States has quietly opened a third, largely covert front against Al Qaeda in Yemen,” reports the Times. “A year ago, the Central Intelligence Agency sent several of its top field operatives with counterterrorism experience to the country,” and “some of the most secretive Special Operations commandos have begun training Yemeni security forces in counterterrorism tactics.” British “Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama [have] agreed to fund a counterterrorism police unit in Yemen to tackle the rising terrorist threat from the country,” reports the Associated Press. They “also agreed to increase support for Yemen’s coast guard operation.” Yemeni “Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told the BBC that … several hundred al-Qaeda members were operating in Yemen and could be planning more attacks. A Yemen-based branch of the network has claimed it planned the failed” attempt “to blow up the Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day.” And “Yemen has sent thousands of troops to take part in a campaign against al Qaeda in three provinces,” reports Reuters. [View Times article] [View AP article] [View BBC article] [View Reuters article] [View State Dept. profile of Yemen]

Slovaks Plant Explosives on Air Traveler (BBC) “Slovak authorities admitted planting” explosives in passengers’ “luggage as part of a security test,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. “The explosives were among eight contraband items placed with passengers at Bratislava and Poprad-Tatry airports last weekend.” An Irishman “unknowingly managed to escape detection at Poprad-Tatry Airport, in north-east Slovakia” and “was arrested on Tuesday morning” in Dublin but has “been released without charge. [Irish] Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he was very concerned that Irish police had not been alerted for three days.” [View article]

Northern Ireland’s Ulster Defense Association Says It Has Disarmed (USA Today) “The major British Protestant paramilitary group in Northern Ireland, the Ulster Defense Association, announced Wednesday it has fully disarmed—finally meeting the key requirement of the province’s 1998 peace accord,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

Suicide Bomber Kills 95 in Pakistan (Voice of America) A “suicide bomber drove onto a crowded field in the North-West Frontier Province town of Lakki Marwat [Jan. 8] and detonated his explosive-laden vehicle while hundreds of spectators watched [a volleyball] match,” killing at least 95 people, reports Voice of America. “… a nearby mosque where tribal elders were meeting … may have been the attacker’s intended target.” [View article]

Jordan Emerges as Key CIA Counterterrorism Ally (Washington Post) “Jordan is playing an increasingly vital role in the fight against al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, sometimes in countries far beyond the Middle East,” reports the Washington Post. “… close ties between the CIA and the Jordanian spy agency—known as the General Intelligence Department—strengthened after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.… Jordanians were particularly prized for their skill … in interrogating captives and cultivating informants.” [View article]

Pakistani Police Foil Terror Plot, Seize 700 kg Explosive (China View) “Pakistani police foiled a terrorist attack Tuesday, arresting four suspects and seizing 700 kg [about 1,500 lb of] explosive in Buner, a city in North West Frontier Province,” reports Xinhua News Agency. “… the explosive and lots of safety fuse were hidden in a vehicle.” [View article]

Terrorists Flying in From Cuba? (Washington Post; Havana Granma) “Under new rules prompted by the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack, airline passengers coming to the United States from” Cuba “will undergo extra screening,” but Cuba “presents a threat of terrorism that can be measured at precisely zero,” asserts Post columnist Eugene Robinson. “Cuba is not a failed state … There is no history of radical Islam in Cuba.… looking for al-Qaeda terrorists on flights from Cuba is … a big waste of time.” Cuba’s “government is cooperating in the international fight against terrorism, and it condemned its inclusion on the list of states described by the U.S. administration as sponsors of terrorism,” reports Granma in a report translated from the Spanish EFE News Service. [View Post commentary] [View Granma article]

Terrorists Distribute Training CDs in Karachi, Pakistan (Karachi Daily Times) Terrorist have turned to CDs and DVDs “for training hopeful militants,” reports the Times. “The CDs provide information regarding physical fitness [requirements] of a militant, using modern weaponry and developing bombs out of raw material.” [View article]

Ethiopian Court Sentences Five to Death for Terrorism (WTVD-TV, Raleigh, NC) “An Ethiopian court has sentenced five people to death and 33 to life in prison for being members of a terror group”—“the Ginbot 7”—“and conspiring to assassinate government officials,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

Americans Arrested in Pakistan Deny Terror Plans (Los Angeles Times) “Five Americans detained in Pakistan [in December] after allegedly trying to link up with militant groups over the Internet denied in court [Monday] that they had any intention of carrying out terrorist attacks,” reports the Times. But the police “planned to seek a life sentence for the men” and alleged “that the five suspects were in contact with an Al Qaeda operative.” [View article]

Five Slain in Finnish Shopping Mall (Toronto Globe and Mail) “A gunman clad in black went on a shooting rampage [Dec. 31], killing his ex-girlfriend then slaying four workers at a suburban shopping mall near Helsinki before turning his gun on himself,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

Al-Qaeda Says It Killed 7 CIA Workers (Reuters; Newsweek) “Al Qaeda’s Afghan wing has claimed last week’s attack at a U.S. base in Afghanistan in which a double agent turned suicide bomber killed seven CIA officers, saying the attack was revenge for the deaths of their leaders,” reports Reuters. “Two of the seven … were employees of Xe, the current incarnation of the controversial paramilitary contractor formerly known as Blackwater,” reports Newsweek. [View Reuters article] [View Newsweek article]

Mexican Drug Cartels: A Terrorist Insurgency? (Dallas Morning News) “The battle between Mexico’s government and drug cartels … has rapidly transformed into a battle against a terrorist insurgency,” says the Morning News. “… Drug gangs are challenging the government for control. The violence and death has far exceeded what U.S. troops have faced in Iraq and Afghanistan. The deaths—from hangings, beheadings, dismemberments, executions—are no less hideous than al-Qaeda’s twisted form of Islamic ‘justice.’” And “defeat for Mexico means nothing less than a descent into chaos.” [View editorial]

India and Japan Pledge Maritime Security Cooperation (Tokyo Asahi Shimbun) India and Japan last week signed an agreement to cooperate on maritime security in “nine areas, including frequent discussions between the top officials of the two countries’ foreign and defense ministries to strengthen cooperation to protect sea lanes in the Indian Ocean,” reports the Asahi Shimbun. “The agreement also calls for maritime security dialogue and joint training exercises as well as cooperative measures to deal with natural disasters.” [View article]

DHS News

2009 Was a Good Year, Said TSA Just Before a Bomber Got Through (ABC News) “In an end-of-the-year message sent after a year of harsh criticism and hours before a man with a bomb sailed through airport security and flew to the United States, the acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) [Gale Rossides] boasted of the agency’s ‘very good year’ and cited ‘cutting edge’ technological advancements and efforts by federal air marshals that were ‘keeping the skies safe,’” reports ABC News. [View article] [View Rossides message (64KB PDF)]

Biosurveillance Requires a Collaboration Strategy, Says GAO The National Biosurveillance Integration Center within the Homeland Security Department does not receive from its community of federal partners “the kind of data it has identified as most critical for supporting its early detection mission—particularly, data generated at the earliest stages of an event,” reports the Government Accountability Office. “… only 2 of 11 partner agencies have assigned personnel to support the integration center,” and “a strategy for collaboration” is needed. [View GAO summary]

Real ID Deadline Extended to May 2011 (Washington Post) The Homeland Security Department “‘is extending the Dec. 31 REAL ID material compliance deadline,’ [Homeland Security Secretary Janet] Napolitano said” on December 18, according to the Post. “States were required to issue more secure licenses by the end of 2009. Those would be the only licenses accepted by federal officials for such purposes as boarding commercial aircraft. Instead, states now have until May 11, 2011, to comply.” [View article]

Inspector General Wants Stricter DHS Conference Policies (Government Executive) “The Homeland Security Department has made progress developing guidance on conference attendance and allowable costs, but officials must do more to ensure taxpayer money is well-spent, the agency’s inspector general said,” according to Government Executive. “… From fiscal 2005 to 2007, Homeland Security spent $110 million on conference-related activities, according to the report. While this represented less than 1 percent of available funds, department officials should have taken stronger steps to track how the money was spent and eliminate potential waste, the [Inspector General] said.” [View article]

Other Federal News

U.S. Charges Dropped Against 5 Blackwater Contractors (Washington Times; BBC) “All charges against five contractors with the former Blackwater security firm, who had been accused of massacring 17 Iraqi civilians in a notorious 2007 gunfight” (see the Dec. 12, 2008, newsletter), were dropped on December 31, reports the Times. “U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina … [accused] the Justice Department of making its case to the grand jury by using wrongly compelled testimony from the defendants, thus violating the defendants’ Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.” However, “the Iraqi government vowed to pursue the case,” reports the Times in a separate article. A week after the United States dropped criminal charges, Xe “reached a settlement in a number of lawsuits over the killings of Iraqi civilians,” reports the British Broadcasting Corporation. [View charges article] [View Iraq article] [View BBC article]

U.S. Court Rejects Zacarias Moussaoui’s Appeal (Miami Herald) “A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the conviction of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to stand trial in a U.S. court in the Sept. 11 attacks, rejecting arguments that he was denied access to evidence and the right to choose his own attorney,” reports the Associated Press. [View article]

Energy Dept. Faults Management of Savannah River Nuclear Site (Government Executive; GlobalSecurity.org) “Internal strife and management breakdowns at South Carolina’s Savannah River Site threaten to undermine the public’s confidence in the mission of one of the country’s largest and most critical federally owned nuclear sites,” according to Government Executive, citing a report by “the Energy Department’s inspector general,” Gregory H. Friedman. Witnesses “testified that there was confusion as to lines of authority, responsibility and accountability; poor internal communications; a lack of coordination; failure to share essential information among key officials; and, insufficient follow-up on critically important issues and decisions,” says Friedman’s report. The facility’s work “involves waste management and vitrification, special nuclear material (SNM) storage, research and development, and technology transfer,” according to GlobalSecurity.org. The facility “also recycles tritium from the weapons stockpile.” [View Govt. Exec. article] [View Energy Dept. report (48KB PDF)] [View GlobalSecurity article]

U.S. Must Guard Against Accidental Disclosure of Nuclear Information, Says GAO (Government Security News) The Government Accountability Office “finds that the government needs to ‘take actions to prevent unintended public disclosures of U.S. nuclear sites and activities,’” reports Government Security News. “GAO’s report was prompted by a massive data leak on May 7, 2009, when the Government Printing Office (GPO) published a 266-page document on its Web site that ‘provided detailed information on civilian nuclear sites, locations, facilities, and activities in the United States.’” (See the June 5, 2009, newsletter.) [View article] [View GAO summary]

Obama Issues Order on Medical Countermeasures for Bio-Attack President Obama on December 30 issued an executive order on medical countermeasures following a biological attack, so as to “(1) mitigate illness and prevent death; (2) sustain critical infrastructure; and (3) complement and supplement State, local, territorial, and tribal government medical countermeasure distribution capacity.” [View order]

White House photo by Lawrence Jackson

Commerce Dept. Funded to Combat Cyber-Espionage (NextGov) “Funds appropriated for the Commerce Department last [month] include $10 million for” the Cyber Espionage Response Initiative, which includes combating “efforts by foreign criminals and enemy nations to hack into a computer system that tracks smuggling of weapons of mass destruction and other dangerous goods,” reports NextGov. [View article]

National News

Homegrown Terror Exaggerated? (Time) “Despite last year’s spike in the number of terrorism cases involving American Muslims, fears of growing radicalization in the American Muslim community may be greatly exaggerated, according to a new study” by “researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,” reports Time. (See the Statistics of the Week.) “… the report says the community has successfully limited radicalization by policing itself. It cites denunciations of terrorism, internal self-policing, community building, government-funded support services and political engagement as some of the ways the community has limited the spread of radicalization.” [View article] [View study (1.23MB PDF)]

United Nations News

UN Urges Nonmilitary Solution in Afghanistan The international community must demilitarize its overall approach in Afghanistan to ensure sustainable gains in the political and humanitarian realms, Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the South Asian nations, said Sunday. Afghanistan’s Government must initiate a peace process based on compromise as swiftly as possible, he said, adding that participation by insurgents will increase the prospect of gradual troop withdrawals. [View press UN release]

Swine Flu Is Still a Pandemic, Says WHO (Boston Globe) “Many more people could become sick with swine flu this winter even though it has peaked in North America and some European countries, the head of the World Health Organization [Dr. Margaret Chan] said” on December 29, reports the Associated Press. “… Over 11,500 people are known to have died from the disease since the outbreak began in April, according to WHO. Between 250,000 and 500,000 people die from regular flu each year.” [View article]

UN Assists Russia With Nuclear Power Safety and Security Training Science students from Russia and Ukraine took part in a weeklong practical training program, backed by the United Nations, at Russia’s Interdepartmental Special Training Centre to enhance the protection of people and the environment against radiation exposure from nuclear power plants while responding to safety and security needs. [View UN press release]

State and Local News

Pennsylvania Creates Disaster Plan for Courts (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) “Pennsylvania released a disaster plan [December 28] to help ensure [that] the public will have access to critical areas of the court system in case of an emergency,” reports the Tribune-Review. “… the state Supreme Court adopted rules to help it cope with terrorist attacks, major floods or public health emergencies. The rules let the justices suspend or modify procedural or administrative rules once a judicial emergency is declared. Under certain circumstances, county president judges can order endangered court facilities closed, move operations to a safe location, change court calendars and cancel trials and jury duty.” [View article]

ICE Grabs Hundreds More Immigrant Criminals in California (Government Security News) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on December 22-24 arrested “280 criminal aliens statewide, along with six non-criminal aliens who had final orders of deportation,” reports Government Security News. The agency said it was its biggest operation ever targeting at-large criminal aliens, following a similar sweep earlier in the month. (See the Dec. 18 newsletter.) [View article]

Washington, DC, Transit Police Add Antiterror Unit Using a $9.56 million Transit Security Grant from the Homeland Security Department, the Washington Metro Transit Police Department in December formed a 20-member unit devoted to deterring a terrorist attack in the Metro system. The team will increase surveillance of the system, conduct more frequent security sweeps of Metro facilities and tunnels, and provide greater visibility of uniformed officers. [View press release]

Private-Sector News

Terrogence Monitors Radical Websites (ABC News) “Most of the analysts at Terrogence are former Israeli intelligence operatives … they monitor Islamic internet sites devoted to global jihad and terrorism. Their mission is to identify new and credible threats against western targets. They told ABC News Monday that as early as September they picked up detailed conversations on one of the most popular Islamic forums about how to bring down planes using so-called ‘improvised detonation chain’ devices … The online discussion was not specifically about plans to attack the Detroit bound flight but it showed that the technique used was being debated widely and in great technical detail weeks before,” and “Terrogence sent warnings to their clients around the world which include so-called ‘Western governmental agencies.’” [View article]

Delaware Lab Gets Contract for Plague-Anthrax Vaccine (Wilmington, DE, News Journal) “Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology has worked to develop potential vaccines for anthrax and plague,” reports the News Journal. “Now, the nonprofit Newark research lab is getting government funding”—“a $5.3 million contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency”—“to create a single vaccine to protect against both threats … The government hopes to find a flexible technology that can quickly produce a large amount of vaccine for biological agents in the event of a terrorist attack.” [View article]

Education The HOMELAND SECURITY STUDIES AND ANALYSIS 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. National Security Language Initiative for Youth (Ongoing; Global) The State Department provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly taught languages in summer, semester, and academic-year international immersion programs. The initiative encourages beginning, intermediate, and advanced language learners with a passion for learning languages, communicating across cultures, and living abroad to apply for its immersion programs around the world. [View course website] Rail Tank Car Responder Training (February 8-10, Riverside, CA; March 10, San Bernardino, CA) Sponsored by TCR Industries and Dow Chemical, the half-day sessions will focus on rail tank car anatomy and leak mitigation. [View course website] Criminal Elements and Terrorist Threat Analysis and Threat Assessments (February 9; Winston-Salem, NC) This 4-hour course for law enforcement, emergency management, fire, emergency medical services, critical infrastructure, and special operations teams identifies the types of adversaries that have been identified as a threat to public safety agencies and operations—such as criminal elements, gangs, extremist groups and terrorists. Participants will understand the adversary, the components of threat analysis, how threat information is collected, and how threats are assessed. Students must be a member of a public-safety agency to attend. [View class brochure (29KB Word doc)] Surviving the IED Response (April 10; Guilford, NC) This 8-hour course at Guilford Technical Community College on response to explosives incidents for first responders includes live demonstrations. The course is for law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, hazmat, emergency management, and special operations teams. Students must be a member of a public-safety agency to attend. [View class brochure (1.29MB PDF)] International Studies Summer Institute (July 7-15; Bloomington, IN) This is a residential institute for educators of grades six and above, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Global Change at Indiana University. Educators gain an understanding of international issues facing the world today and learn about innovative ways to bring international issues to the classroom. [View course website]

New Upcoming Events (Events are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Upcoming Events page) (January 11-13; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) This conference is hosted by the Emirates’ National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority to raise awareness and educate key industry authorities and the community of the systems and processes that will be employed during an emergency or crisis. [View event website] Homeland Security Executive Breakfast (January 14; Washington, DC) The breakfast will feature Hugh McLeod, founder of Assynt Associates—a team of 12 experts who provide briefings and analysis on terrorism and country risk issues to large companies and government entities with interests in the Middle East and beyond. [View event website] Technologies for Critical Incident Preparedness Conference and Exposition (February 2-4; Philadelphia) This conference presented by the International Association of Emergency Managers will bring together leaders and decision makers in a unique forum with responders, business and industry, academia, and local, tribal, state, and federal stakeholders to collaboratively address critical incident technology and preparedness needs, protocols, and solutions. [View event website] Military Operations Research Society Meeting on Interagency Perspectives, Issues and Analysis (February 9-10; online) The conference will examine how analysis can improve coordinated national security planning and execution among federal and state governments and nongovernment organizations. [View event website] International Disaster Management Conference (February 18-21; Orlando, FL) The conference “has been designed to meet the educational needs of all persons and agencies involved with emergency preparedness, response, and disaster recovery.” This year’s theme is “Prepare Freedom’s Lifelines …” [View event website] Hazmat Event 2010 (February 23-24; Birmingham, England) The conference draws on knowledge and experience from a range of hazmat professionals, industry leaders, and the National Chemical Emergency Centre’s own emergency responders. Attendees can express their views and question fellow hazmat professionals and hear case studies of major real-life events. [View event website] This conference affords insight into land, air, and maritime border security issues, with a special focus on the use of border management technologies. [View event website] National Emergency Management Summit (March 3-5; Washington, DC) This forum on medical preparedness and response to disasters, epidemics, and terrorism will cover H1N1 experience in the United States and beyond, pandemic planning and readiness, hospital surge, supply chain management, patient evacuations, tsunami warning systems, health 2.0 tools, coordinating communitywide response, crisis standards of care, and more. [View event website] National Severe Weather Workshop (March 4-6; Norman, OK) Emergency managers, weather enthusiasts, teachers, students, meteorologists, broadcasters, and vendors in weather data and information will gather, present, and discuss topics related to the theme of “A Decade of Sharing Information About Weather Emergencies, Communications, and Response.” [View event website] C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Training Seminar (March 17-18, March 18-19; Anaheim, CA) The theme of this Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism seminar is “Balancing Supply Chain Security & Economic Efficiency.” It is open to certified C-TPAT members only. Attendees should be directly responsible for implementing the C-TPAT program throughout their organization’s supply chain. [View event website] National Hurricane Conference (March 29–April 2; Orlando, FL) The purpose of the conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. It also is a national forum for federal, state, and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve emergency management. [View event website] Partners in Emergency Preparedness (April 6-7; Tacoma, WA) This regional conference hosts nearly 700 people representing business, schools, government, nonprofits, emergency management, and volunteer organizations, with expertise in earthquake research, contingency planning, school preparedness, technology, news media, and public health. Speakers and exhibitors cover topics such as business continuity planning, school safety, public health preparedness, homeland security, and public information. [View event website] Qualified personnel from government, military, law enforcement, intelligence, and private-sector organizations from the UK and overseas will have a focused and comprehensive information program of conference streams, technology workshops, and an exhibition of products from over 250 solution providers. [View event website] Search and Rescue 2010 (April 21-22; Aberdeen, Scotland) The conference will cover human factors, increased use of unmanned vehicles for surveillance and detection, simulator training, and the increased emphasis on rescue as technology makes searches easier. [View event website] (May 7; Colorado Springs) The final round for college students who apply critical analytical skills to determine why a new technology could meet an identifiable national security need. [View event website] (June 8-12; Beijing) The International Emergency Management Society conference has a theme of “Global Emergency Response to Disasters for a Harmonious World.” It is devoted to continual improvement of the ability, both nationally and internationally, to avoid, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters. [View event website]

Calls for Papers (Calls for papers are listed for four weeks; after that, they are still on the Calls for Papers page) (May 7; Colorado Springs) This competition aims to stimulate interest by college students in innovations related to national security and expose novel technologies to industry, academic, and government organizations involved in aerospace, defense, security, and first responder activities. Students should apply critical analytical skills to determine why a new technology could meet an identifiable national security need. Various deadlines apply, beginning February 3. [View call for papers] International Conference on Urban, Regional Planning and Transportation (June 28-30; Paris) This conference presented by the World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology welcomes papers on “homeland security & emergency services” and “transport security and safety,” among many other topics. The deadline for submitting papers is February 28. [View call for papers] Applied Imagery Pattern Recognition (October 13-15, 2010; Washington, DC) Next year’s theme is “From Sensors to Sense.” The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society is accepting abstracts of papers on homeland security applications of imagery pattern recognition, among many other topics. [View call for papers] IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security (November 8-10, 2010; Waltham, MA) This Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers conference will focus on innovative technologies for deterring and preventing attacks, protecting critical infrastructure and individuals, and mitigating damage and expediting recovery. Submissions are desired in the broad areas of critical infrastructure and key resources protection, border protection and monitoring, and disaster recovery and response, that will have an application within about five years. Various deadlines apply, beginning April 24. [View call for papers] Uncertainty in Fire Standards and What to Do About It (June 16, 2011; Anaheim, CA) The symposium will cover how testing laboratories, enforcement authorities, manufacturers, and practicing engineers incorporate uncertainty into their use of results from fire safety tests and calculations, along with the legal, technical, and ethical implications for these different approaches, and provide overviews of some of the latest technical guidance. Abstracts are due by July 16, 2010. [View call for papers]