Depression Signs, JFCOM, Hotel Security, Missile Defense

California May Pay With IOUs for Second Time Since Depression

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a2TUhalNFDds

Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- California, the world’s eighth largest economy, may pay vendors with IOUs for only the second time since the Great Depression, State Finance Director Mike Genest said.
In a letter to legislative leaders Dec. 2, Genest said the state “will begin delaying payments or paying in registered warrants in March” unless an $11.2 billion deficit is closed or reduced. California, which approved its budget less than three months ago, may run out of cash by March, state officials say.

Mumbai attacks refocus U.S. cities
The deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai are prompting new efforts to bolster security in the U.S. by law enforcement officials who fear the assault on India's financial capital represents an unforeseen model for future attacks on U.S. soil.
In New York, police are scheduled to participate in live exercises today simulating scenarios in the Mumbai attacks. Those will follow a morning briefing for 400 corporate security officers from businesses throughout the city, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne says.
Boston police have increased surveillance citywide and are monitoring hotels more closely, says Police Commissioner Ed Davis. Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske met with fire officials this week to review building plans and emergency preparations.
"I think … what happened in India is going to put a new focus on emergency preparations all over," says Kerlikowske, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. (cont...)

JFCOM releases study on future threats (The Bear & the Dragon)http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/defense_jfcom_report_120408/

A new U.S. Joint Forces Command planning document offers insights into planning for irregular conflicts, urges long-promised acquisition reform, and outlines potential threats and enemies.
Released Thursday, the “Joint Operating Environment” document is a “historically informed, forward-looking effort to discern most accurately the challenges we will face at the operational level of war, and to determine their inherent implications,” Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, JFCOM commander, writes in its foreword. “Its purpose is not to predict, but to suggest ways leaders might think about the future.”
The study is meant to inform joint concept development and experimentation by the U.S. military and “other leaders and professionals in the national security field.” (cont...)

U.S. military sets high-stakes missile-shield test http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4B37GA20081204

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military is set to run a "realistic" test Friday of a system built to knock out long-range missiles that could be fired by North Korea or Iran, the Pentagon said.
The drill, over the Pacific, will be the first since September 2007 involving an attempted intercept by the sole U.S. shield against long-range ballistic missiles.
Boeing Co is prime contractor for the system, called the ground-based midcourse defense. It is part of an emerging, layered shield against missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. (cont...)