EIA: Although most of the uranium used in domestic nuclear power plants is imported, domestic uranium processing facilities still provide sizeable volumes of uranium concentrate to U.S. nuclear power plants. In 2013, uranium concentrate was produced at seven facilities in four states. Wyoming accounted for 59% of domestic production, followed by Utah (22%), Nebraska (15%), and Texas (4%), according to the World Nuclear Association. Uranium… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Defense
Hidden in Plain Sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children
UNICEF Report, September 2014: “Interpersonal violence – in all its forms – has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children’s future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and… Continue Reading
Decline in Prosecutions for National Internal Security and Terrorism
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse: “Criminal prosecutions in the area of national internal security and terrorism have declined steadily since fiscal year 2002. According to the latest available data from the Justice Department, there were 128 such prosecutions recorded in the first eight months of FY 2014. At this pace, 192 individuals will be prosecuted for… Continue Reading
DARPA Open Catalog
“Welcome to the DARPA Open Catalog, which contains a curated list of DARPA-sponsored software and peer-reviewed publications. DARPA sponsors fundamental and applied research in a variety of areas including data science, cyber, anomaly detection, etc., that may lead to experimental results and reusable technology designed to benefit multiple government domains. The DARPA Open Catalog organizes publicly… Continue Reading
EPIC FOIA Case – Army Blimps over Washington Loaded with Surveillance Gear, Cost $1.6 Billion
“EPIC has received substantial new information about the surveillance blimps, now deployed over Washington, DC. The documents were released to EPIC in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of the Army. The documents also reveal that the Army paid Raytheon $1.6 billion. EPIC will receive more documents about the controversial program In October. For more information, see EPIC: EPIC v. Army… Continue Reading
Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues
CRS – Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Long-Range Ballistic Missiles: Background and Issues, Amy F. Woolf, Specialist in Nuclear Weapons Policy. May 5, 2014. “The George W. Bush Administration’s interest in the use of conventional weapons for precision, long-range strike missions became evident in the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). This study called for the integration of precision… Continue Reading
Drones at Home: Domestic Drone Legislation – A Survey, Analysis and Framework
Zoldi, Dawn M. K., Drones at Home: Domestic Drone Legislation — A Survey, Analysis and Framework (July 9, 2014). Available at for download SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2486259 “Can the government employ drones domestically without running roughshod over personal privacy? In an effort to preemptively rein in potential government overreach, most states have proposed legislation that restricts or forbids… Continue Reading
An All-of-Government Approach to Increase Resilience for International Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive Events
“Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosive (CBRNE) events have the potential to destabilize governments, create conditions that exacerbate violence or promote terrorism. This can trigger global repercussions. These events can quickly overwhelm the infrastructure and capability of the responders, especially in countries that do not have the specialized resources for response like those available… Continue Reading
Mideast Water Wars: In Iraq, A Battle for Control of Water
Fred Pearce, Yale environment360 “Conflicts over water have long haunted the Middle East. Yet in the current fighting in Iraq, the major dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are seen not just as strategic targets but as powerful weapons of war.”…The stakes are especially high since the Islamic State’s capture earlier this month of… Continue Reading
Security Experts: EPIC Correct About Body Scanners-Invasive and Ineffective
“The first independent analysis of backscatter x-ray body scanners corroborate the claims EPIC and others have made for several years: The scanners are invasive and ineffective. In a detailed report published in 2005, EPIC warned that the x-ray body scanners amounted to a virtual strip search and were an ineffective means of airport security. Freedom of Information Act documents later obtained… Continue Reading
Treasury expert identifies ransom payments as key source of terrorist revenue
“ISIS broadcast its killing of captured American journalist James Foley [note: there is no link to the video – only to a more in depth article about Jim Foley] to show the U.S. what awaits anyone who challenges the Islamic State’s march across Iraq and Syria. Foley’s killing was a blunt and stomach-churning bit of messaging that… Continue Reading
Charity says military use of food pantries has been rising for years
Stars and Stripes: “The number of military families who struggle to put food on the table has been growing in the years since the Great Recession, the nation’s largest network of soup kitchens and food pantries said [August 19, 2014] that increase convinced the Feeding America charity to study servicemembers who use the food assistance… Continue Reading
