Monday, June 30, 2008

Boeing SBI, UK Cargo Terror, Lockheed NYC, +

GAO: SBI so far nets Boeing more than $1B
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/33076-1.html

Boeing Co. has received more than $1 billion — an amount higher than what was previously disclosed — for work on the Secure Border Initiative system that it is installing along the Mexican border in Arizona for the Homeland Security Department, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
From September 2006 to January 2008, the Customs and Border Protection agency awarded $1.15 billion through eight task orders to prime contractor Boeing for SBI, which is the overall project, and SBInet, which is the fencing and electronic surveillance system component, the GAO report states....

Terrorism: Cargo planes are security risk, says former Met police chief

Cargo planes present a major threat to Britain's security, according to the former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord Stevens, who warns today that terrorists could use them to transport hazardous materials or simply blow them up.
In a report on Britain's borders, in which he accuses the government of failing to draw up a clear border security strategy, Stevens says the world's air cargo system is now vulnerable to terrorists.
Stevens will unveil his report at London City airport with David Cameron, saying: "The air cargo system is vulnerable to security threats including plots to place explosives aboard aircraft; illegal shipments of hazardous materials; criminal activities such as smuggling and theft; and potential hijackings and sabotage by persons with access to aircraft." Last week Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism laws, said private jets and light aircraft could be used to launch attacks on crowds and buildings.
Stevens says Britain could face terrorist threats for another 30 years and adds: "The growth in air travel means that it is now easier to enter the UK's airspace by light aircraft and there are many small airfields within easy flying distance of continental Europe, thereby facilitating the movement of people or illicit goods."

More Delays for Cameras in Subways (Lockheed Martin)http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26security.html?ref=nyregionAging fiber-optic cable in Brooklyn and Queens has become the latest obstacle to a planned high-tech system of surveillance cameras meant to safeguard the subway and commuter railroads, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials.
The system, which is expected to cost at least $450 million, is a crucial component of a larger program to thwart terrorist attacks on the region’s transportation network, but it has met repeatedly with technical problems and delays. ....Plans for the surveillance system were announced in August 2005, when officials said that they expected to have it up and running in three years. The system, which is being built by the defense contractor Lockheed Martin, is to include at least 1,000 surveillance cameras and 3,000 motion sensors, mostly concentrated at major travel hubs and high-volume stations, like Grand Central Terminal, as well as in tunnels and other areas....

Australia Signs New Disaster Response Pact with US, Japan
Australia is to sign a new disaster response accord with Japan and the United States. The aim is to improve the response to earthquakes, cyclones and other major disasters in the region. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.The Australian government says it is working towards a "coordinated and instantaneous" response to disasters in the Asia-Pacific region with two of its closest allies, the United States and Japan.The disaster pact between Washington, Tokyo and Canberra was agreed to at a weekend meeting of foreign ministers in Kyoto, Japan.Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith met his American and Japanese counterparts - Condoleezza Rice and Masahiko Komura - on the sidelines of meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.The three countries have called for greater military cooperation and joint emergency response exercises.

NEOUCOM, KSU get bioterrorism grant
Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy and Kent State University have been awarded $6.7 million for the continued development and commercialization of a real-time pathogen detection instrument.
This award represents a $3 million Wright Project grant from the Ohio Department of Development which will be matched by $3.7 million from other sources.
The pathogen detection instrument can quickly detect harmful microbes, such as anthrax or plague and has uses in detecting bioterrorism as well as environmental safety and rapid medical diagnoses. The technology is the result of a collaboration among NEOUCOM and Kent State University researchers who combined their expertise in biomedical sciences and liquid crystals to invent and develop it.
Commercialization of the device will create new jobs and economic development in northeast Ohio.

Timetable for 9/11 site to be reworked

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