Threat Is Here To Stay, U.S. Must Remain Vigilant, Says Ridge

Fmr. Governor of Pennsylvania and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said at a forum on homeland security today that Americans must acknowledge a post-911 reality where terror is a reality, but should not live in fear.

Ridge, who spoke at a forum held by the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, said that terrorist threats to the United States are still very real and prevalent, but that does not mean Americans should be losing sleep at night.

“We ought to accept that reality and do everything we can to reduce the risk, manage the risk, reduce the threat,” said Ridge.

In the aftermath of last week’s foiled terrorist plots, the question of intelligence and international collaboration has once again found its way into the national discussion. Ridge reiterated the point that intelligence is the single greatest tool that we have in keeping America safe, but its development is also our greatest challenge.

“At the heart of combatting terrorism, is information,” said Ridge, who expressed concern that the U.S.’s information sharing capacity is still lacking.

“There is no reason to think that we have that system refined very well.”

Ridge called for increased communication on an international, national, state and local level, but said Americans should continue to live their lives.

“We need to leave the worrying and the sleepless nights…for the intelligence community, the law enforcement community, and the soldiers, the brave men and women serving overseas.”

Napolitano To States: Tell Residents To Stay Off The Roads

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano spoke via telephone on Wednesday with leaders in several states impacted by the ongoing blizzard.

Among them were Delaware Governor Jack Markell, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, and Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian Fenty. Following the conversations, Napolitano released the following statement:

“We are continuing to monitor this winter storm closely and are infrequent communication with our state and local partners across the impacted region...I urge all residents to heed the warnings of local officials and prioritize safety by staying off the roads unless absolutely necessary. This is a team effort and we will continue to work with our partners as the storm develops and the recovery process begins.”

A statement released by DHS said that FEMA has deployed state liaison officers to the emergency operation centers in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. According to the statement, Napolitano will continue contacting additional Mayors and Governors as the storm progresses.

The National Weather Service announced that as of 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, the seasonal snowfall total in Washington, D.C. stood at 54.9 inches, breaking the previous all-time seasonal snowfall record for the city of 54.4 inches set in the winter of 1898-99.

No Need For Cyber Czar Says Republican Collins

By Meagan Wiseley - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Despite continued threats to the security of the global cyber infrastructure, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Monday that she is opposed to the Obama administration appointing a cyber security coordinator, or “cyber czar.”

“We don’t need yet another White House czar. A czar would conflict with statutory duties established elsewhere,” Collins said.

Instead, Collins favors a cyber security “center” within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS would appoint a director for the center, and the director would report both to the DHS on a day to day basis, and act as the head adviser to the President on cybersecurity.

“Effectively managing government cybersecurity is going to require more than a few staff crammed into a cubicle in the depths of the White House,” said Collins.

Last Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano opened the DHS’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Coordination Integration Center, which acts as a 24-hour coordinated watch and warning center to bolster cyber information sharing and incident response.

Collins said that despite its effort to manage cyber security, the DHS “still lacks the authority and resources it needs to secure our federal and private sector networks.”

She says her “center” proposal must work in accordance with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, the U.S. military and private owners and operators of critical cyberspace infrastructures.

“It is vitally important that we build a strong public-private partnership to protect cyberspace, a vital engine of our economy, our government, our country and our future,” Collins concluded.

Officials From DOD, DHS Say Communication Between Agencies Will Soften Disaster Effects

By Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

A number of preparedness experts from the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security emphasized the need for a better communication network between all federal agencies that have a hand in disaster prevention and relief during a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on “Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosives (CBRNE) Consequence Management.”

Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) detailed the necessity for a “framework of guidance” that would comprehensibly lay out the “roles and responsibilities of local, state and federal responders." Smith went on to describe that integration of federal agencies like the FBI, DoD, DHS, and FEMA as the cornerstone of efficient disaster prevention and relief in the U.S.

"Our efforts at NorthCom to prepare for and to assist in the aftermath of a CBRNE event, are apart of a combined national response framework. Our collaboration with federal and state partners, government and National Guard are all key to this homeland response strategy and to our level of preparedness as well," said General Victor Renuart Commander at the U.S. Northern Command.

The panel pointed to the government's response to Hurricane Katrina as an example of the need for preparedness across all lines of disaster relief.

Pandemic Or What?

Coffee Brown MD, University of New Mexico, Talk Radio News

There are three main differences between a normal flu and a pandemic flu, as described by the Department of Homeland Security: incidence, virulence, and demographics.
Incidence refers to how many of us will get it. In a normal year, about 15 percent of 300 million Americans, or about 45 million people will get infected. In a pandemic, rates rise to 25-50 percent, or 75-150 million cases.
Virulence refers to how many of us will die of the infection. In a normal year, that’s about 0.07 percent, or about 35 thousand out those 45 million. In 1918, mortality was about 2.5 percent, which would be about 7.5 million deaths, given today’s population.
Demographics refers to which of us are at most risk. In a normal year, nearly all deaths occur in people over 65 years old. In 1918 and 1957, mortality was highest among school-aged children and young adults.
This summary, with some calculations, comes from information provided by DHS and presented at GlobalSecurity.Org
Let’s compare the 2009 A-H1N1 Flu. “Atypical flu” may be a handier name. “Swine flu” is passe’.
Incidence: As of 05/02/09: There have been 615 confirmed cases in 15 countries. Attack rates so far are too low and data too incomplete to meaningfully calculate.
Virulence: Mortality in Mexico, the country hardest hit so far, is 16 out of 397 cases: about 4 percent, which works out to four thousand per hundred thousand (a common way of expressing this type of number).
The one U.S. death might properly have been considered a Mexican death, since that child contracted the disease there. If calculated as U.S. data: one death out of 141 cases: about point seven percent. If that fatality is not charged to the U.S. account, the mortality rate outside of Mexico is zero percent as of this writing.
Demographics: Reports say that the Mexican victims were young, but I have not been able to locate details to confirm that. The World Health Organization says that more study would be needed to confirm that younger people are more at risk.
Other: The other elements of this flu that merit precautions are that it is genetically unique, meaning we may have no immunity, and that it is slightly out of season, meaning that it exhibits at least some unpredictable behavior.
We are still at phase 5, so clusters of cases in multiple countries, which would define phase 6, have not yet been confirmed.
Per the WHO, there no travel advisories at this time.
Do masks help? Yes, no, and maybe. Yes: as tiny as viruses are, they could slip right through any screen that we could breathe through, but the virus is carried in droplets of exhaled moisture, and those droplets do stick to the mask. No: But the masks dry, and it’s not clear whether the virus survives and detaches into the inhaled air. Maybe: the real test would be whether people with masks get fewer infections (though such people probably also take more precautions in general), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that data is not yet available.