Union of Concerned Scientists Analysis on A Better Climate Bill

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) recently released a report that builds on an August 2009 U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) study of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES).

This report examines the long-term economic and environmental costs and benefits of increasing the renewable electricity and energy efficiency standards in the carbon cap and other provisions included in ACES.

Analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that compared with ACES, a more robust set of complementary policies would:
•Reduce consumer electricity and natural gas expenditures by $113 billion through 2030
•Lower average U.S. household annual energy costs by nearly $100 in 2030
•Diversify the electric power mix and avoid the need for nearly 50 new nuclear power reactors
•Hasten the shift to a clean energy economy by increasing emission reductions within the capped sectors.

National Disaster Recovery Framework

Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the interagency Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, last week issued a draft of the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF)--focused on engaging state, local and tribal governments, nonprofit partners, the private sector, and the public to enhance the nation’s ability to recovery from disasters. The NDRF establishes a scalable system that coordinates and manages disaster recovery operations to more effectively deliver recovery assistance to severely impacted communities.

A surprising amount of Islamic radicalization is occurring in the United States. For instance, the five young Americans that were arrested in Pakistan last December for seeking terrorist training were recruited through the commonly used sites Facebook and Youtube.

Also, the Christmas Day "Underwear Bomber" Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab attended a two-week religious program in Houston, Texas about a year before attempting to attempting to blow up the Detroit bound Northwest Airlines flight. The conference in Texas was hosted by the AlMaghrib Institute and supposedly involved a number of individuals known for teaching radical Islamist ideas.

The cases of radical jihadist recruitment in the United States raise two major questions: How is this recruitment taking place? And what sort of messages are being conveyed?

In this report, "How the Christmas Bomber Spent his Summer in the United States" the Investigative Project on Terrorism identifies what types of radical ideology are being proliferated by groups such as the AlMaghrib Institute. Videos and transcripts of lectures that took place in previous conferences and lectures are provided.

In "Taking al-Qaeda’s Jihad to Facebook", the Jamestown Foundation analyzes ways that radical Islamic groups are actively seeking to recruit American youth on popular social networking sites.

Super Bowl XLIV will, as the past eight Super Bowls have, be subject to strict security measures Sunday for the game. Days before the Super Bowl, training exercises have taken on added urgency as security forces prepare for a possible attack.

The greatest threat is posed by the so-called lone wolf - an individual carrying a small, concealed bomb. "It is the hardest one to defend against," said John Gillies, FBI Special Agent in Charge. "By its true nature, a lone wolf is operating by themselves, in their basement doing what they want to do and trying to come to the event."

The CBS interview of ATF Special Agent Julia Torres and Robert Parker, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department on the precautions they are taking at the Super Bowl can be found here.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says there is no credible threat against the Super Bowl. But, it's an obvious target and the recent attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 is a warning that al Qaeda is intent on hitting the U.S.

Most of the security will be found on the ground: 64 different agencies, more than 1000 officers, and a whole range of hardware from armored vehicles, to bomb dogs and radiation sniffers.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task forces are trained to assist state and local governments in responding to structural collapse. These task forces have been hard at work in Haiti. To date, over 135 individuals there have been saved by their efforts.

This week, the FEMA Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery, Bill Carwile, spoke about USAR task forces during his testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.

According Carwile: “The nation’s 28 Urban Search and Rescue task forces are important members of the emergency management team and are critical to our ability to respond to catastrophic events. These task forces are an example of the effective federal, state and local partnerships needed to help keep our citizens safe.”

You can take a video tour of a USAR command post in Port-au-Prince, Haiti here.

You can read the FEMA press release here.

Hunger in America 2010 Executive Summary

Feeding America is the United States largest domestic hunger-relief charity that is made up of over 200 food banks through all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, the organization distributes more than 2.6 billion pounds of food and grocery products to over 37 million Americans annually (more than 10% of the total population).

In this report, Feeding America provides information about the people it provides food to. According to the report: "46% of client households served by the Feeding America network report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel. 40% of client households had to choose between paying for food and paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage. 34% of client households had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care. 35% of client households had to choose between paying for food and paying for transportation. 36% of client households had to choose between paying for food and paying for gasoline for a car." According to the organization, the recent recession has made food security situations in the United States considerably worse.

Read the full report here.

Senate Hearing: Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing that addressed corruption and money laundering in the United States. According to Senator Carl Levin: "the United States is engaged in a relentless, worldwide battle to stop the flow of illegal money into and with places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Laundered money is used to train and provide support support for terrorists and terrorism. If we want to credibly lead efforts to stop illegal money abroad, we've got to stop it here at home as well."

The hearing analyzes a number of cases, such as the laundering of $110 million USD by the son of Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, and the actions of the Angolan arms dealer Pierre Falcone in hiding money through banks in Arizona over 18 years.

Little Enthusiasm for Many Muslim Leaders: Mixed Views of Hamas and Hezbollah in Largely Muslim Nations

How do Muslims view radicals such as Osama Bin Laden?

According to a new report issued by the Pew Research Center, most Muslims in countries in Islamic countries do not support or have confidence in the Al-Qaeda leader. The lowest observed rates were in Turkey and Lebanon where only 2% of people interviewed supported bin Laden.

The report discusses Muslim views of extremist groups, conflict, Muslim leaders, and other religious groups. According to Pew Research Center: "across predominantly Muslim nations, there is little enthusiasm for the extremist Islamic organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, although there are pockets of support for both groups, especially in the Middle East."

Deterrence and preemption have been a part of our national security strategy to deal with cyber attacks since the 1950’s; to what extent can we now rely primarily on these two doctrines to secure our nation against the sophisticated cyber threats we face each and every day?

According to a recent report published by the Cyber Secure Institute titled: Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism: The Need for a New U.S. Strategic Approach, these strategies are not well suited for today’s digital world. Furthermore realities of the cyber realm undermine the credibility of response. Modestly sophisticated cyberattacks leave almost no trace, no return address. Most cyberattacks today utilize networks of bots from around the world.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has announced the Department’s $56.3 billion fiscal year 2011 budget request, prioritizing efforts to enhance security measures that protect against terrorism. The FY 2011 Budget in Brief can be found here.

“Our proposed budget is designed to ensure we have the resources we need to secure America,” said Secretary Napolitano. “We are committed to strong fiscal discipline, eliminating redundancy and investing our resources in what works while enhancing security across the board.”

FY2011 Budget Priorities:

• Preventing Terrorism and Enhancing Security
• Securing and Managing the Nation’s Borders
• Smart and Effective Enforcement of Immigration Laws
• Safeguarding and Securing Cyberspace
• Preparing for, Responding to, and Recovering from Disasters

These DHS budget priorities underline the responsibilities and objectives discussed in the most recent Pentagon Report: Quadrennial Defense Review blogged yesterday. It can be found here.