U.S. military rules the planning roost

WASHINGTON–As Americans, we see ourselves as the best in a number of ways. We have the best governmental framework. We have the best athletes. We have the best way of life.
Whether those are true or not is up for debate abroad, but not within our borders. What is likely an accepted truth across the world [...]

FTC may become privacy watchdog

The Federal Trade Commission is seeing increasing pressure to step up its regulation in online privacy issues.
A battery of cases brought to the FTC for evaluation have asked the agency to rule on whether businesses are tricking customers into giving up private information and recently proposed bills in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives [...]

Latest anthrax scares don’t scare Postal Inspection; they’re prepared

Several incidents of anthrax scares have been reported around the country, just in the past few days.
On Monday, a man in Jacksonville, Fla., found an envelope in his mailbox filled with a powdery white substance. The Florida Department of Health lab tests came back negative, according to local news.
A couple of hours later, up [...]

DHS develops a good source list — for the private sector

Fresh off the presses — electronically speaking — is the Department of Homeland Security’s brand-new Private Sector Resources Catalog.
In late 2009, the DHS’s  Private Sector Office, which “promotes public-private partnerships and best practices to improve the nation’s homeland security,” decided to gather training publications, newsletters, and information and contacts for all departments within [...]

Federal Protective Service takes tech risks to assess risks

After a year of bad press, the law-enforcement agency responsible for protecting more than 9,000 federal buildings finally earned some good publicity, recently winning an award for technological innovation from Nextgov.com, a media website that covers the federal government’s use of information technology. Nextgov, published by the Atlantic Media Company, on May 27 [...]

Threat Advisory Review Level: Gray

Today the National Threat Advisory level is yellow, or elevated. Same as yesterday; same as the day before; same as every day since Aug. 12, 2005.
This means Americans should be vigilant, report suspicions to law enforcement authorities and be prepared for an emergency.
OK….
Established on March 11, 2002, the Homeland Security Advisory System serves nominally to [...]

Is cyberspace just one big crowded theater?

The concerns raised in recent months over how social networking sites collect users’ personal information seemed to be eclipsed by news last month of a man being arrested for one of his shared comments.
Paul Chambers, a 26-year-old British citizen, was convicted of sending a “menacing electronic communication” on Twitter that said he would blow up [...]

Part II. A new world order of trade

The melting of the ice cap could open up trade routes that would make the Bering Strait – a 53 mile wide stretch between Russia and Alaska – one of the most economically significant straits in world trade and underpins the U.S. interest in the region.
“We are very interested in trying to anticipate trade routes,” [...]

Part III. Setting the ground rules before the game starts

In the Arctic region, there has been a proliferation of agreements, players and treaties.   The challenge for the international community is weaving these structures together, identifying how and when non-Arctic regions can be involved and creating a set of rules to govern activities and resource rights in the region.
The fundamental and most important governance structure [...]

Part IV. A new platform for Russian-U.S. relations

Russia is ready to reassert its power in the world.  And the Arctic is a key pillar in its strategy to prop itself up in the global community.
“Our first and main task is to turn the Arctic into a resource base for Russia in the 21st century…Using these resources will guarantee energy security for Russia [...]

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