Government

DHS awards $1.7 billion in FY2007 Homeland Security Grant Program
More than half the money is allocated to six high-risk urban areas
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SKRM Interactive acquires Sector 10 Services
SKRM’s analyst explains acquisition, and shows how move relates to deeper trends in the market
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Fusion centers do not focus on mission
CRS says the terrorism intelligence fusion centers, funded in part by DHS’s $380 million, are doing other things
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Costs of no-bid contract at DHS balloon
DHS had to hit the ground running in 2003, so it awarded a no-bid contract for Booz Allen to get intelligence operations going; costs soared, and the original $2 million contract grew to $124 million
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States fail to use post-9/11 grants
Since 9/11, the federal government has allocated $16.04 billion in grants to states; trouble is, to date almost $5 billion of it has not been spent
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Senate, House DHS budget bills differ on programs, technologies
The House and Senate versions of the proposed DHS budget are similar in many ways, but also contain important differences on funding for programs, technologies
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TB victim receives TV
Facing a life of civil commitment, Russian-born Arizonan earns his creature comforts
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DHS to award $33.7 million in local first responder grants
Funds can be used for a host of different products, including IT, thermal imaging, and video surveillance; applications due 29 May
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Minor league baseball passes on DHS Ready Campaign
Over two-thirds of teams are not participating in what William Arkin calls a “sophomoric and wasteful” effort
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Democrats encourage DHS to pay bonuses
A departmental report card criticizes the agency for stinginess and suggests holding off on bonuses for supervisors; DHS morale an ongoing problem
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Virginia Tech attacks mobilize crisis industry
Flush with federal grants, psychologists use the Web to share data, best practices; American School Counselor Association reports a doubling of membership since 9/11
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State incubators see growth in the first responder market
Local technology initiatives take off nationwide, with planners attracted by low start up costs and big payoffs; South Carolina sees $14 in local economic activity for every dollar invested
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Attensity named a finalist for Red Herring's 100 Award
Nomination comes as company announces a deal to supply unstructured text management software to Virginia’s Chesterfield County Police Department
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Experts identify common post-attack response problems
Multi-disciplinary panel of blast-related injury experts takes a close look at common triage, scene security, and communications difficulties; researchers hope to identify best practices
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GAO raps Project 25 interoperability grants
Federal government has spent $2.15 billion on expensive but uncompatible radios; a lack of strategic vision
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The long view

To prevent Iranian nukes, a negotiated deal better than a military strike: David Albright
David Albright is the founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), and author of several books on fissile materials and nuclear weapons proliferation. In a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and an interview with Deutsche Welle on Thursday, Albrights says that there is every reason to be suspicious of Iran because it has cheated on its obligations in the past and has been uncooperative on an ongoing basis. Iran has also built many sites in secret, so any agreement with Iran should have extra insurance — a more powerful inspection and verification tool to try to ferret out any secret nuclear activities or facilities that Iran would build. Still, a negotiated deal, if it includes sufficiently robust inspection and verification measures, would be a more effective way than a military strike to make sure Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.
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How to verify a comprehensive Iran nuclear deal
With the negotiation between the P5+1(the United States, European Union, Britain, France, Russia, and China) and Iran resuming yesterday (Wednesday) about a set of parameters for an eventual Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the shape of a final deal about Iran’s nuclear program has emerged. Many important provisions of a final deal, however, remain to be negotiated in the coming months. David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, says that a critical set of these provisions involves the adequacy of verification arrangements which would be in place to monitor Iran’s compliance with a deal. Tehran’s long history of violations, subterfuge, and non-cooperation requires extraordinary arrangements to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is indeed peaceful.
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Fusion centers, created to fight domestic terrorism, suffering from mission creep: Critics
Years before the 9/11 attacks, law enforcement agencies throughout the country, alarmed by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, began to monitor and investigate signs of domestic terrorism. That increased monitoring, and the need for coordination among various law enforcement agencies, gave rise to the fusion centers. A new report, which is supported by current and former law enforcement and government officials, concludes that post-9/11, fusion centers and the FBI teams which work with them shifted their focus from domestic terrorism to global terrorism and other crimes, including drug trafficking.Experts say that at a time when the number of domestic terrorism threats, many of which are linked to right-wing extremist groups, is surging, law enforcement must refocus their attention on the threats from within.
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Lack of evidence-based terrorism research hobbles counterterrorism strategies
The Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland estimates that groups connected with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State committed almost 200 attacks per year between 2007 and 2010. That number has increased to about 600 attacks in 2013. As terrorism becomes more prevalent, the study of terrorism has also increased, which, in theory, should lead to more effective antiterrorism policies, and thus to less terrorism. The opposite is happening, however, and this could be partly due to the sort of studies which are being conducted. The problem: few of these studies are rooted in empirical analysis, and there is an “almost complete absence of evaluation research” concerning anti-terrorism strategies, in the words of a review of such studies.
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CBP IA Operation Hometown reduces violence and corruption: Tomsheck shuts it down -- Pt. 5
Operation Hometown appears to be yet another example in a series of programs at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demonstrating blatant dysfunctionality and mismanagement within the Department of Homeland Security. Meticulously designed to target border violence and corruption among CBP employees, Operation Hometown was labeled a success in reaching its stated objectives. CBP Internal Affair’s (IA) James F. Tomsheck,however, shut the program down. As Congress and President Obama debate various aspects of a new federal immigration policy,few politicians are willing to acknowledge the serious problems at CBP Internal Affairs – but they should, as these problems may directly impact the success of any or all new immigration reforms.
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California drought highlights the state’s economic divide
As much of Southern California enters into the spring and warmer temperatures, the effects of California’s historic drought begin to manifest themselves in the daily lives of residents, highlighting the economic inequality in the ways people cope. Following Governor Jerry Brown’s (D) unprecedented water rationing regulations,wealthier Californians weigh on which day of the week no longer to water their grass, while those less fortunate are now choosing which days they skip a bath.
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DHS awards $1.7 billion in FY2007 Homeland Security Grant Program

SKRM Interactive acquires Sector 10 Services

Fusion centers do not focus on mission

Costs of no-bid contract at DHS balloon

States fail to use post-9/11 grants

Senate, House DHS budget bills differ on programs, technologies

TB victim receives TV

DHS to award $33.7 million in local first responder grants

Minor league baseball passes on DHS Ready Campaign

Democrats encourage DHS to pay bonuses

Virginia Tech attacks mobilize crisis industry

State incubators see growth in the first responder market

Attensity named a finalist for Red Herring's 100 Award

Experts identify common post-attack response problems

GAO raps Project 25 interoperability grants

More headlines

Who's online

The long view

To prevent Iranian nukes, a negotiated deal better than a military strike: David Albright

How to verify a comprehensive Iran nuclear deal

Fusion centers, created to fight domestic terrorism, suffering from mission creep: Critics

Lack of evidence-based terrorism research hobbles counterterrorism strategies

CBP IA Operation Hometown reduces violence and corruption: Tomsheck shuts it down -- Pt. 5

California drought highlights the state’s economic divide