International News

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Saudis Arrest 172 in Plot Against Oil Fields (London Times; Reuters AlertNet) “Police in Riyadh say that they have arrested Islamic militants who were being trained as pilots to fly suicide attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields,” reports the Times. The Saudi interior ministry said “that the 172 detainees held in raids [April 27] were involved in plots to carry out suicide [attacks] against ‘public figures, oil facilities, refineries … and military zones’. Some of the planned targets were outside the Saudi kingdom.” But the arrests “did not end the al Qaeda-linked threat in Saudi Arabia, the interior minister,” Prince Nayef, said on April 28, reports Reuters. [View Times article] [View Reuters article]

Was Pakistan Behind Khan’s Nuclear Supermarket? (London Times) A. Q. “Khan’s trades with North Korea particularly suggest [Pakistani] government complicity,” writes Bronwen Maddox in the London Times, citing a new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “According to the account which President Musharraf has doggedly peddled, the country’s most famous nuclear scientist” acted alone when selling “to North Korea, Libya and possibly Iran the starter kits that helped them to win nuclear self-sufficiency. This solitary villain and his ‘nuclear supermarket’ would have been incredible even in a James Bond film.” [View commentary] [View report]

Did Mounties Ignore Warning of 1985 Air India Bombing? (Toronto Globe and Mail) “Ontario Lieutenant-Governor James Bartleman … who was the director of security and intelligence for the Department of External Affairs at the time, said [Thursday that] he saw a document recording an electronic intercept to the effect that Air-India would be hit the weekend of June 22-23, 1985,” reports the Globe and Mail. “He personally took the document to” a Royal Canadian Mounted Police “officer who brushed him off.” [View article]

Ulster Volunteer Force Lays Down Its Weapons (London Guardian) The Ulster Volunteer Force yesterday “renounced violence, promised it had put its weapons beyond use and said it would cease to exist as a paramilitary group at midnight,” reports the Guardian. “… One of the most feared and deadly terror groups in Northern Ireland, the loyalist UVF has killed more than 500 people since the province’s Troubles flared in the late 1960s.” [View article]

Five Britons Convicted in London Terror Plot (Washington Post) “Five British men were convicted Monday of plotting to kill hundreds of people by bombing a shopping center, nightclub or other target,” reports the Washington Post. “… After a year-long trial and a record 27 days of jury deliberation,” Omar Khyam, Waheed Mahmood, Jawad Akbar, Salahuddin Amin, and Anthony Garcia were sentenced to life in prison. [View article]

British Foiled Plot to Shoot Down Airliner (London Wharf) “An al Qaida terror plot to shoot down a passenger jet with a rocket launcher was foiled by police and MI5 less than six months after the [July 7, 2005] bombings,” reports the Wharf. Kazi Rahman—“a British Muslim linked to the fertiliser terror cell”—negotiated “to buy rocket-propelled grenades and surface to air missiles when he was arrested in a sting operation by anti-terror officers.… Rahman pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey [court] last year to a charge of attempting to possess property, specifically three Uzis, three silencers, nine magazines and 3,000 rounds of ammunition, intended for” terrorism. [View article]

MI5 Failed to Track Bombers Despite July 7 Link (Melbourne, Australia, Herald Sun) “MI5 tracked suicide bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer for months before the [July 7, 2005 subway and bus] attack and saw them with the mastermind of another plot on Britain,” reports the Herald Sun. “… Despite MI5 agents seeing the two 7/7 men meeting the fertiliser plotters four times in 2004, they were not put under surveillance. Security services had ringleader Khan’s name, address, car registration and phone number on file 16 months before the atrocity, and heard him in bugged calls talking about waging a jihad, but did nothing to stop him.” [View article]

Spanish Judge Accuses U.S. Soldiers of Terrorizing Journalists (Reuters AlertNet) “A Spanish High Court judge charged three U.S. soldiers with murder on [April 27] over the death of a Spanish television cameraman in the shelling of his Baghdad hotel in 2003,” reports Reuters. “Investigating judge Santiago Pedraz alleged that Jose Couso, a cameraman with Spanish television station Telecinco, was the victim of an act of violence carried out ‘with the aim of terrorising journalists’. He noted that U.S. forces in Baghdad had fired on premises housing two Arabic broadcasters, Al Jazeera and Abu Dhabi Television, the same day.” [View article]

London Bombing Mastermind Has Been Held Since Last Year (London Times) Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, “the al-Qaeda leader who is thought to have devised the plan for the July 7 suicide bombings in London and an array of terrorist plots against Britain,” was captured last year and is being held in Guantanamo, reports the London Times. [View article]

British Terrorist Could Have Entered U.S. Under Visa Waiver Program (New York Times) Omar Khyam, a British citizen of Pakistani descent, who was “the ringleader of the thwarted London bomb plot [and] who was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday, … could have entered the United States without a visa, like many of an estimated 800,000 other Britons of Pakistani origin,” reports the New York Times. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has opened talks with the British government on “how to curb the access of British citizens of Pakistani origin to the United States.… the most onerous option to Britain [is] canceling the entire visa waiver program that allows all Britons entry to the United States without a visa. Another option, politically fraught as it is, would be to single out Britons of Pakistani origin, requiring them to make visa applications for the United States.… the British government … would prefer if the Americans simply deported Britons who failed screening once they arrived at an airport in the United States.” [View article]

Greece and Palau Join Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Greece and Palau have announced their decisions to become partner nations of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, which calls on states to determinedly and systematically expand and accelerate partnership capacity to combat nuclear terrorism. [View press release]

Terrorist Threat Tied to Living Conditions (DefenseLink) “Disenfranchised populations lacking hope and self-esteem pose a significant terrorist threat to countries around the world … ‘Populations who don’t have essential services, quality of life or education (offer) no ladder for (people) to climb out,’ Marine Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, director for strategic plans and policy for the Joint Staff,” said, according to American Forces Press Service. “Representatives from 64 countries who attended the fifth annual Multilateral Planners Conference April 25-26 in Seoul, South Korea, agreed that such abject social and economic conditions that can breed violent extremism [are] the number one global terrorist threat.” [View article]

Vatican Calls Verbal Attack on Pope ‘Terrorism’ (Toronto Globe and Mail) “The Vatican’s official newspaper accused an Italian comedian on Wednesday of ‘terrorism’ for criticizing the Pope and warned [that] his rhetoric could fuel a return to 1970s-style political violence,” reports Reuters. At a concert in front of the “cathedral where Pope Benedict sits as bishop,” Andrea Rivera “spoke out against the Pontiff’s stand on a number of issues.… The Osservatore said Rivera’s monologue came amid growing anti-clericalism in Italy which included graffiti and Internet messages supporting the Red Brigades, the Marxist group involved in political violence particularly in the 1970s.” [View article]

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New this week in the Journal of Homeland Security In “Home-Grown Nihilism: The Clash Within Civilizations,” Bill Durodié of Cranfield University discusses what produces home-grown terrorists in Britain: Islamist radicalization or a nihilism bred by society?

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National News

Immigration Rallies Focus on Legalization (USA Today; Los Angeles Times) “Thousands of immigrants and their advocates marched in the streets of cities from New York to Los Angeles on Tuesday demanding the chance to gain lawful residency in this country,” reports USA Today. “Waving American flags and banners, the marchers in most cities appeared in smaller number than on May 1 a year ago, when a million or more people, most of them Latinos, took to the streets to protest legislation that could have forced many to be deported.” In “Los Angeles,” police “officers’ tactics in dispersing a crowd at an immigration rights rally” sparked “public outrage” after “police wielded batons and fired 240 ‘less-than-lethal’ rounds at demonstrators and reporters,” according to the Los Angeles Times. [View USA Today article] [View LA Times article]

Most Foreign Katrina Aid Went Unclaimed (Washington Post) “As the winds and water of Hurricane Katrina were receding … the U.S. government was turning down many allies’ offers of manpower, supplies and expertise worth untold millions of dollars [see the Jan. 13, 2006, newsletter],” reports the Washington Post. “Eventually the United States also would fail to collect most of the unprecedented outpouring of international cash assistance for Katrina’s victims.… The rest has been delayed by red tape and bureaucratic limits on how it can be spent.… Overall, the United States declined 54 of 77 recorded aid offers from three of its staunchest allies: Canada, Britain and Israel.” [View article]

50-Group Coalition Opposes Real ID (Federal Computer Week) Fifty “civil liberties and consumer organizations have started a national campaign against the Real ID Act regulations issued by the Homeland Security Department because they believe the new identification system will have serious negative effects on privacy and civil rights,” reports Federal Computer Week. [View article]

Internet-Facilitated Radicalization Through a compelling call to action based on myths and falsehoods, terror networks have made savvy use of the Internet to radicalize potential recruits worldwide, according to “NETworked Radicalization: A Counter-Strategy,” a report released yesterday by George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute and the University of Virginia’s Critical Incident Analysis Group. The report advocates disrupting the extremist activity on the Internet and crafting a strategic communications plan to reclaim ground lost on this electronic battlefield. Frank Cilluffo, the institute’s director, presented the report’s findings and recommendations yesterday before a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. [View report]

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DHS News

Air Cargo Inspection Could Benefit From Cooperation and Foreign Practices, Says GAO The Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection are working to secure inbound air cargo, but they could do a better job of sharing information and learning from various security practices of the air cargo industry and foreign governments, reports the Government Accountability Office. [View abstract]

GAO Finds Overlap in Transport Background Checks The hazardous material endorsement for truckers, “Transportation Worker Identification Credential, Merchant Mariner Document, Free and Secure Trade, Secure Identification Display Areas, and Air Cargo” background check programs “are conducted independently of one another and collect similar information and use similar background check processes,” according to the Government Accountability Office. “Also, each program operates separate enrollment facilities to collect background information and does not share it with the other programs.” However, “several DHS components are in the initial stages of initiatives to consolidate, coordinate, and align background check programs.” [View abstract]

$24 Million in Security Grants Available to Nonprofits The fiscal year 2007 Urban Areas Security Initiative Nonprofit Security Grant Program will provide more than $24 million to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations deemed at high risk of a potential international terrorist attack. The grants will be awarded through the State Administrative Agencies. The federal grant funds must be used for target-hardening activities. Nonprofits must submit applications through their State Administrative Agency, which in turn must submit applications online by June 22. [View press release]

Pandemic Influenza Best Practices and Model Protocols The Homeland Security Department has published this guidance for state, local, tribal, and territorial personnel developing best practices and model protocols for use in pandemic influenza plans, preparedness activities, training, and exercises. The U.S. Fire Administration website links to the report and answers questions about pandemic flu. [View Q&A] [View document]

Lessons Learned Information Sharing Site Adds Grants and Flu Pages The Lessons Learned Information Sharing website has two new web pages: the Homeland Security Grant Program Resource Center and the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza page. They are for registered emergency response providers and homeland security officials only. [View LLIS website]

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Other Federal News

NRC Orders Stricter Security for Research and Test Reactors The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ordered, effective immediately, additional fingerprinting and criminal history checks on people allowed unescorted access to research and test reactors. [View press release]

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State and Local News

Man Shoots 9 at Missouri Mall (Houston Chronicle) After wounding a police officer, David Logsdon on Sunday drove to the Ward Parkway Center mall, “fatally shot two people in the parking lot and wounded seven others outside the Target where he used to work, then went inside the mall where he was killed by police,” reports the Associated Press. “… Logsdon’s sister, Kathryn Cagg, said he was mentally ill and an alcoholic.” [View article]

California Highway Meltdown Shows Cities Vulnerable to Tankers Used as Weapons (San Francisco Chronicle) “The day after a fiery gasoline truck accident destroyed key ramps in the MacArthur Maze interchange [in Oakland], security analysts and truck drivers weighed the scope of damage a deliberate terrorist attack using tankers could cause U.S. metropolises and highways,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle. “… ‘it’s not that hard to steal a truck full of gasoline, and you can do quite a bit of damage,’ said Christopher Falkenberg, a former Secret Service agent who is now the president of Insite Security, a consulting firm in New York.” [View article]

Virginia Closes Loophole That Let Virginia Tech Shooter Buy Guns (CNN) “Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Monday he has closed the loophole that allowed a mentally disturbed Virginia Tech student to acquire the guns he used to kill 32 students and faculty members,” reports the Associated Press. (See the April 20 newsletter.) “Kaine issued an executive order requiring that a database of people who are prohibited from buying guns include anyone found to be dangerous and ordered to undergo involuntary mental health treatment. Seung-Hui Cho had been ordered by a court to undergo psychiatric counseling after a judge ruled that he was a danger to himself. But because Cho was treated as an outpatient and never committed to a mental health hospital, the court finding never made it into the database that gun dealers must check before selling a firearm. The law prohibits selling firearms to people judged to have mental disabilities.” [View article]

Boston Transit Authority to Improve Underground Communications (Metro Magazine) “City, state and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) officials have agreed to pay for a state-of-the-art emergency communications system in subway tunnels,” reports Metro Magazine. “The $16 million project will allow first responders and dispatchers to talk to one another above and below ground, and also allow commanders on the surface to communicate with those inside the [MBTA’s] 29.6 miles of tunnels.” [View article]

Echoes of Terror Case Haunt California Pakistanis (New York Times) In Lodi, CA, “the tide of fear rolled in and has never quite receded after an informant incriminated two Lodi men, Umer Hayat, an ice cream truck driver, and his son Hamid, who were arrested in June 2005 …” reports the New York Times. “Members of the Pakistani community [there] distrust one another almost as much as they do outsiders. Even now, residents with evidence of sudden wealth, like a new car, are immediately rumored to be on the F.B.I.’s payroll. Anything connected to the government is inherently suspect. Some people have stopped home visits by social service agencies; others have balked at writing their Social Security numbers on government documents. Some residents returning from Pakistan avoid including their Lodi addresses on their United States customs forms.” [View article]

Doomsday Potluck (San Francisco Chronicle) Joining a Community Emergency Response Team “was a chance to learn what to store, where to buy walkie-talkies, how to pry people from under large structures and much more,” writes columnist David Curran, a self-described “Disaster Preparedness Loser,” in the Chronicle. “… the spread of pastas, quiche and cookies looked great. But only about 10 people … showed up … to begin planning for quite possibly the worst day of our lives.” And the “scare tactics”—“You can not count on any help”—may have scared off some neighbors. “Only four people showed up” for the second meeting. [View commentary]

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Private-Sector News

Smiths Detection Wins NY MTA Security Contract (Metro Magazine) Smiths Detection’s “LiveWave business unit has been awarded a $3.2 million contract to engineer and deploy … chemical sensors and security camera systems in New York City–area transit stations” for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, reports Metro Magazine. The program is funded by the MTA and DHS. “Smiths Detection will subcontract the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory to implement the company’s ‘PROTECT’ (Program for Response Options and Technology Enhancements for Chemical and Biological Terrorism).” [View article]

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Dual-Benefit Solutions

GSA Program Offers Latest in Satellite Services (Federal Computer Week) “The General Services Administration has awarded contracts to 24 companies to provide federal agencies with satellite telecommunications services that can keep them connected when nothing else will work,” reports Federal Computer Week. The “SATCOM II contract offers services that extend to areas across the country and around the globe where traditional networks and cellular links often fail, to support both handheld receivers and full broadband computer networks … The services may also help an agency’s response to” emergencies. “The contract, worth an estimated $750 million over five years, enables agencies to buy both services and related equipment.” [View article]

Dual-benefit news archive

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Education The Homeland Security 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. Managing the Threat of Suicide Bombers and Improvised Explosive Devices (May 7-8; Arlington, VA) This course will discuss terrorist activity in the United States; terrorism statistics, trends, and threats; explosives; IEDs; concealment techniques and methods of operation; suicide bombers’ rationale, recruitment, training, and methods of operation; how to respond to suicide bombers, combined attacks, and secondary devices; effective bomb threat and bombing response plans; building and vehicle searches and evacuations; and Internet and other information sources on terrorists and bombing. [View course website] Mirror Image (May 20-25; Moyock, NC) Mirror Image is an intensive classroom and field training program, designed to realistically simulate terrorist recruiting, training techniques, and operational tactics. Participants will receive insight into the mindset and rationale of the terrorist through hands-on experience with the methods and means they use, plus education about the ideologies that motivate them and cultural dimensions that influence their decision making. [View course website] Advanced Hands-On CAMEO® Training (May 21-23; Boston) CAMEO (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations) is a suite of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. It is developed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Response and Restoration to assist frontline chemical emergency planners and responders. CAMEO can be used to access, store, and evaluate information for developing emergency plans. It also helps users meet the chemical inventory reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. [View course website] Building Security Certified Professional Seminar (May 22-23; Portland, OR) This is a new multidisciplinary certification program for licensed engineers, architects, landscape architects, certified protection professionals, and physical security professionals, sponsored by the Building Security Council. It offers 13 professional development hours and is intended to prepare candidates by addressing all seven domains that the examination covers: project process, risk assessment, site considerations, building envelope, interior space, facility operations, and rating system. The three-hour test is now available by computer at more than 250 locations across the United States. [View seminar website] U.S. Public Health Service Scientific and Training Symposium (June 3-7; Cincinnati) The theme of this year’s Symposium is “The Many Faces of Public Health.” It offers continuing education seminars on the latest trends and innovations in public health care delivery, administration, and research. [View symposium website] Emergency Preparedness for Government Facilities (June 4-5; Arlington, VA) This course provides “strategic resources to prepare for, and recover from, any emergency or disaster.” It will help the students create or improve their organization-wide emergency management plan to ensure that all procedures are in place and that all equipment and personnel needs are addressed so that they can respond to an emergency quickly and instinctively. [View course website] Hospital Security Preparedness (June 5-8; Washington, DC) The ER One Institute at the Washington Hospital Center is offering an immersion course for Hospital protective services and law enforcement. It uses hands-on training, live drills, and classroom instruction from faculty with extensive security and counterterrorism experience. The course goal is to achieve competency in handling all hazards to hospital security, from routine situations to mass-casualty incidents and terrorist attacks against the facility. For more information, call Lisa Rizzolo at (202) 877-7453. [View course website] Terrorism: Threats, Training, Tactics and Technology (June 11-13, Boston) Nationally renowned experts will discuss terrorism, emerging threats, training, tactics, and technology. Participants will have the opportunity to explore some of the challenges and gain a comprehensive understanding of issues related to terrorism. [View course website] Teaching About Terrorism for Institutions Serving Minorities (June 16–24; Atlanta) The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs is sponsoring a Summer Workshop on Teaching Terrorism for faculty and graduate students at institutions serving minorities. It will be held at Morehouse College and will offer an intensive short course on the fundamentals of terrorism, introduce academics to new and innovative techniques utilized to teach terrorism, and provide access to high-level officials working in the intelligence and counter-terrorism fields. [View course website] Physical Infrastructure Technologies in Homeland Security (June 20; Washington, DC) This course will discuss evaluating and implementing technologies and techniques for sustainability and integration, with a special emphasis on information technology convergence, surveillance, and inspection. [View course website] Managing Today’s Threats to Homeland Security (June 27; Washington, DC) With a special focus on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive weapons, this class will give attendees a quick snapshot of how government and industry are addressing the threat, from policy decisions through recent research and technology development. [View course website] Discounts for sworn officers and security professionals (online) Ellis College, a fully accredited online college for working professionals, has a new tuition discount program for active and retired sworn officers in law enforcement, corrections, probation, and parole, along with security professionals. It also offers discounted tuition to active, retired, and veteran military personnel. [View course website] Security Leadership Essentials with Knowledge Compression (July 30–Aug. 4; Charlottesville, VA) This course is designed to empower senior and advancing managers who want to get up to speed fast on information security issues and terminology. It will help students meet the requirements of Department of Defense Directive 8570 and includes a test pass guarantee. [Register online] Security Essentials Bootcamp Style (August 6-11; Virginia Beach, VA) Students will learn the language and underlying theory of computer security and gain essential, up-to-the-minute knowledge and skills required for effective performance if they are given the responsibility for securing systems and/or organizations. The course will help students meet the requirements of Department of Defense Directive 8570 and includes a test pass guarantee. [Register online] Introduction to the Incident Command System The National Wildfire Coordination Group and the U.S. Fire Administration have jointly developed and implemented a new online course that will enable firefighters, incident responders, and others to learn and understand the basics of the Incident Command System. It is available on the National Wildfire Coordination Group’s training website. [View press release] [View course website]

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New Upcoming Events (After four weeks, new events will be moved to the Upcoming Events page) Real ID Online Forum for State Legislators and DHS (May 4; online) The Homeland Security Department will sponsor a webinar from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT to take comments from state legislators and legislative staff on the draft Real ID regulations. [View press release] (May 7-10; Baltimore) The Ninth Bioremediation Symposium will integrate the latest developments in fundamental research with innovative engineering applications. Presentations will cover remediation of contaminated soil, groundwater, sediments, and landfills; bioaugmentation and biostimulation to enhance intrinsic microbial processes; phytoremediation; bioremediation used in concert with physical or chemical processes; and regulatory and public perception issues. [View conference website] (May 7-11; Atlantic City, NJ) The general sessions feature regionally and nationally recognized experts. “Breakout” sessions enhance and emphasize, in a smaller group format, specific emergency management programs and objectives, allowing close interaction with state and regional experts. [View conference website] Building US/Israeli Partnerships for Counter-terrorism Solutions (May 14; Los Angeles) Leading Israeli and American academic and counter-terrorism experts will discuss risk and decision analysis, the global jihadi terrorist threat, Hezbollah and the emerging threat of Shiite terrorism to the United States, the probability of CBRN terrorism, terrorist networks, threat assessment methodology, and emerging terrorism challenges to U.S. interests and security. [View conference website] Contract Security Summit & Hill Day (May 15–16; Washington, DC) This event focuses on the contract security business and provides an opportunity to network with colleagues from across the country and directly interact with Congressional leaders and staff. [View conference website] Cascading Infrastructure Failures: Avoidance and Response (May 16; Washington, DC) The symposium brings together concerned communities including government and industry technical and policy principals with experience in cascading infrastructure failures. It is designed to illuminate best practices for avoiding and responding to cascading failures created by natural, accidental, or malicious infrastructure debilitation. [View conference website] Building International Partnerships to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction (May 16-17; Washington, DC) The symposium will examine the opportunities and challenges. [View conference website] ACE Exchange IV and V (May 21-23, Laredo, TX; June 4-6, Buffalo, NY) The Automated Commercial Environment is the commercial trade processing system being developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to facilitate legitimate trade while strengthening border security. The ACE Exchanges will provide information on ACE and allow an open forum of communication between Customs and Border Protection and the trade community. The conferences will educate the trade community on the benefits of ACE, its impact on business operations, and legal policy changes under way, such as the new mandatory electronic manifest policy. [View conference website] Biodefense Vaccines and Therapeutics (June 4-6; Washington, DC) The theme of this year’s conference is policy, funding, and development. The conference is a place where government and industry come together to share their strategic plans and discuss industry’s participation in the government’s biodefense efforts. [View conference website] Sensors Expo and Conference (June 11-13; Rosemont, IL) This event focuses exclusively on sensors and sensor-integrated systems. The program will cover measurement and detection, emerging technologies and applications, systems and embedded intelligence, wireless sensing, and low-power sensing. [View conference website] Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism–International Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference (June 11-13; Miami) The conference will feature 2½ days of industry exhibits and will be attended by policy, program, and tactical levels from participating agencies and an international contingent of U.S. partner nations. [View conference website] CRTI Summer Symposium (June 11-15; Gatineau, Quebec) Canada’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Research and Technology Initiative summer symposium will focus on building resiliency from concept to operations. CRTI is responsible for building new science and technology necessary for response and preparedness. [View conference website] (June 26-28; Washington, DC) This conference offers a “solutions-oriented dialogue” to define the real communication problems faced and the capabilities needed to address them, identify interoperability and information-sharing needs and requirements, work towards aligning missions among federal, state, local, and non-governmental actors, and create the social and technical networks necessary for collaboration with a diverse array of participants. [View conference website] 17th World Conference on Disaster Management (July 8-11; Toronto) A venue for disaster management professionals from around the world to present, network, and learn. It comprises over 80 educational sessions and 16 half-day workshops and seminars. [View conference website] Heartland Security Conference & Exhibition (July 9-11; Minneapolis) The National Defense Industrial Association and the Defense Alliance of Minnesota will address the urgent and long-range system and technology needs of homeland security and national defense, focusing on threat awareness, preparedness, and responsiveness. [View conference website] NACCHO 2007 (July 11-13; Columbus, OH) Local health officials and their public health partners will examine strategies, share ideas, and plan actions designed to address issues of health inequity and environmental public health from local to global perspectives. [View conference website] (July 17-19; Oak Brook, IL) This is a multidisciplinary conference of public health professionals involved in bioterrorism planning and response, including public health administration, environmental health, nursing, communicable disease, laboratory services, food protection, immunization, hospital emergency services, and allied health. The conference includes over 30 concurrent and plenary sessions, roundtable discussions, a networking reception, and an exhibit hall. [View conference website]

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