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Military Helps Florida Prep For Storms' One-Two Punch
Military units are bracing for two major storm systems poised to slam into Florida. While the Air Force Reserve "Hurricane Hunters" are tracking Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley, the Florida National Guard has mobilized about 200 Army and Air Force Guardsmen to provide support, and the Navy secured or sent its aircraft inland, out of the storms' paths. Bonnie continues to move steadily toward the Florida Panhandle, where it is expected to make landfall this afternoon. At the same time, Charley is churning in the Gulf of Mexico, expected to cross the Florida Keys later today. Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Odom, public affairs officer for the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., said nearly 200 members of the Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron began tracking Bonnie for the National Hurricane Center in Miami Aug. 9, and Charley the following day. Crews are tracking Bonnie from their home base at Keesler, while other crews, forward-based at St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, are tracking Charley, Odom said. Both groups are launching aircraft every six hours for missions that typically last eight to 12 hours, during which six-person crews collect a full range of weather measurements. Maintainers, who work around the clock keeping the squadron's 1960s-vintage WC- 130 aircraft with their onboard weather instrumentation in the air, are the "unsung heroes" of the effort, Odom said. "They're just awesome, the way they quickly turn around these aircraft," he added. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed an executive order Aug. 11 to mobilize the Florida Guard in preparation for the storms. Air Force Lt. Col. Ron Tittle, public affairs officer for the Florida Guard, said full-time and reserve Guard members activated the Joint Emergency Operations Center in St. Augustine and established planning teams for the Guard's major commands in St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Tampa and Orlando.
www.emilitary.org
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Helicopter tour operators aiding local homeland security effort
The FBI is urging more vigilance and even changes to the way helicopter tour operators do business. A homeland security terror warning affects the operators, who run one of the most popular ways to view the Great Smoky Mountains. Dan Haynes owns Scenic Helicopter Tours. He flies a Bell Jet Ranger, a helicopter that seats three in the back and one in front next to the pilot. It's been getting a lot of use in 2004, which is a record year. Haynes says his focus is on making tourists happy, but he also know he has to keep the skies above Sevier County safe. "It always makes my antenna kind of go up and kind of listen to what they have to say," Haynes says. He's been putting more emphasis on security since the FBI warned that al-Qaida operatives may have taken helicopter rides over New York City to scout out terror targets.
www.wate.com
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Local Volunteers Assist NYPD With Homeland Security
A new database is being launched at the 104th Precinct to make it easier to contact volunteers during emergencies. The database will sort volunteers by skills, training, areas of interest and languages spoken. Additionally, the Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol—G-COP—is starting a new recruitment drive and purchasing emergency equipment in preparation for another attack. “We’re heading for some tough times ahead and we’re going to have to be very vigilant,” said G-COP President Frank Kotnik. “We’re at a critical point in our nation’s history. We need more and more people to get involved.” G-COP’s new recruitment posters were unveiled at a meeting last Wednesday with the slogan, “Not if. When?” printed over a picture of the twin towers in flames. In addition, the organization has printed 35,000 recruitment fliers with the slogan “Don’t be scared, be prepared.” Close to 50 people filled the room as 17 new members were sworn in by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “The job that G-COP does assisting the 104th Precinct is a model for everyone who wants to be helpful in this city,” he said. G-COP was founded in 1976 when a fiscal crisis in the city led to cutbacks in the Police and Fire Departments as well as other city services. According to the organization, the 104th Precinct is still “notoriously understaffed,” and relies on G-COP as the extended eyes and ears of the community. With an emphasis on civic responsibility, part of the organization’s mission statement is “Get off your rear and volunteer.” After training, volunteers patrol the streets of Glendale, Ridgewood, Maspeth and Middle Village. The organization is also working with the 112th Precinct to organize a civilian patrol in Forest Hills. Besides patrols, G-COP members supervise vandals who are sentenced to perform community service.
www.zwire.com
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United States: Department of Homeland Security Publishes Notice on Status for F/J Students Affected by H-1B Cap
The Department of Homeland Security published a notice in the Federal Register extending the status of certain F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrant students and their dependents if DHS receives a timely-filed request for a change of status to H-1B no later than July 30, 2004 and the employment start date on the petition is no later than October 1, 2004. The notice defines filing to mean receipt by Citizenship and Immigration Services as indicated by the receipt date on Form I-797. (J-1 exchange visitors other than students, and J-1 students subject to the two-year home residence requirement, are not covered.) This rule allows F-1 and J-1 students to stay legally in the U.S. until October 1, 2004 while their H-1B change of status petitions are pending. It is an extension of the ordinary 60-day or 30-day grace period to which F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants are already entitled. The extension does not provide for employment authorization on behalf of the F-1 and J-1 students. DHS has indicated that F-1 and J-1 nonimmigrants (and their dependents) with pending H-1B petitions may not travel during this grace period. The extension allows these individuals to remain in the U.S. in lawful status while their H-1B petitions are pending. If an F-1 or J-1 nonimmigrant does travel during this period, he or she will need to apply for an H-1B visa stamp at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad once the H-1B petition is approved. For H-1B change of status petitions that were denied prior to the July 23, 2004 publication of the notice in the Federal Register, the petitioner may either (1) file a motion to reopen the case, or (2) file a new petition to change status.
www.mondaq.com
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DHS developing plan to improve communication among first responders
Several initiatives have been launched to better coordinate the efforts of "first responders" to emergencies to improve communication among agencies and law enforcement. Deputy Homeland Security Secretary James Loy told firefighters on Thursday that a national response plan is under way, with guidance from law enforcement, local, state and federal officials to close security gaps. Under the plan, the federal response -- from prevention and preparedness to response and recovery -- will be housed under a single system. A standardized framework of common terminology and protocols for all levels of government was created under the National Incident Management System.
www.govexec.com
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MSU To Offer Homeland Security Certificate Online
Michigan State University is launching the first of three new online courses in homeland security – part of a new online Certificate in Homeland Security Studies program offered by MSU’s School of Criminal Justice. The first class begins Aug. 30 with an overview of the historical evolution of homeland security and its relationship with the established emergency management system. The 15-week class also will explore the role of public health, environmental protection and the private sector in homeland security. Other topics include the U.S. Patriot Act and the challenge of balancing security with civil liberties; cyberterrorism and cybersecurity; the role of the private sector in protecting communities; and emerging trends in homeland security. "The course is designed to provide both traditional students and professionals working in the field with a comprehensive introduction to the major issues essential for understanding homeland security and its foundation in all-hazard emergency management," said Phil Schertzing, director of the Global Community Security Institute and an instructor in the MSU School of Criminal Justice.
www.mitechnews.com
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Amid funds crackdown, Al-Qaida and other militants turn to crime to finance terror
Members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and other militants are turning increasingly to crime -- from dealing drugs to selling knockoff shampoos and pirated CDs -- to pay for attacks amid a crackdown on the movement of terrorist funds through world banks, security officials told The Associated Press.
As terrorist cells become more self-reliant, they are calling into question the notion they need an international financial support network to stage attacks, according to the independent commission that investigated al-Qaida's deadliest assault yet on Sept. 11, 2001. U.S. Treasury officials, who have driven the global campaign to stem terrorist funding, acknowledge the shift and say it is a symptom of their success. "Treasury's efforts have made it harder and costlier for terrorist groups like al-Qaida to move and raise money," Molly Millerwise, a department spokeswoman, told the AP. "However, as we strengthen our defenses against financial crimes and better safeguard the financial sector, al-Qaida and like-minded groups will resort to other means -- such as petty crime, drug trafficking and commodities fraud -- to raise and move money." The warning follows weeks of heightened security in the United States after federal alerts that al-Qaida was surveilling financial targets stemming from arrests in Pakistan and Britain.
www.azdailysun.com
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Container Security Initiative Expands Operations in Japan
Officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will be deployed to the ports of Nagoya and Kobe in Japan starting August 6, according to an announcement from CBP commissioner Robert C. Bonner and the Japanese Customs and Tariff Bureau. The U.S. customs officers will work with Japanese government personnel at the two ports as part of CBP's Container Security Initiative (CSI), an August 2 CBP press release said. CSI, launched by the former U.S. Customs Service in January 2002, is a program to prevent the smuggling of terrorist weapons in ocean-going cargo containers. Eighteen countries have established agreements with the United States under the CSI program. Japan and the United States sealed a CSI declaration of principles in September 2002. Nagoya and Kobe are the 22nd and 23rd ports worldwide to become operational under the initiative. In Japan, they join the ports of Yokohama, where CSI operations began in March 2003, and Tokyo, which became operational in May 2004.
www.iwar.org.uk
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IAEA Issues Annual Report, World Reviews of Safety, Technology
Annual reports issued recently by the IAEA take stock of global nuclear developments, while highlighting issues heavily influencing the Agency's agenda. The reports are issued annually in advance of the IAEA General Conference of Member States, which this year opens 20 September in Vienna. The reports include the Annual Report for 2003, the Nuclear Safety Review for 2003, and the Nuclear Technology Review for 2003. In recent weeks, the Agency also has released a summary of the latest Safeguards Implementation Report and the Technical Cooperation Annual Report for 2003.
www.iaea.org
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Bush taps House intelligence chairman to serve as CIA director
President Bush Tuesday nominated Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., to be the new director of the CIA. "Porter Goss is a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in the fight against terrorism," Bush said at a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House. "He knows the CIA inside and out. He's the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation's history." Goss, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said he was "deeply honored" to be chosen to lead the agency. "What many Americans don't realize is we've got a lot of people around the globe doing very, very hard work -- long hours in dangerous situations," he said. "The essence of our intelligence capability is people. And we have some wonderful Americans doing a great job." As Intelligence Committee chairman, Goss straddles the often blurred but increasingly vital line between overseas intelligence information and domestic security. With his low-profile style plus his work during the 1960s in the CIA's Clandestine Services in Latin America and Europe, Goss has attained an iconic status on Capitol Hill for his knowledge of intelligence operations and policy.
www.govexec.com
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