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Sensors are still likely to be effective in protecting specific target areas, such as sporting events or government buildings. But many suicide bomb attacks appear to be random, as illustrated in conflict-torn countries such as Iraq and Israel. And in these cases, investment in intelligence-gathering to prevent the bombers before they attack seems a wiser strategy, says Kaplan."
paper work.So what's taken 4 years to do simulations?
Is Security for Canadians a top priority or isn't it? When paper shuffling and CYA takes precedence over putting the lives of Canadians first
Canada a terror haven? "
Fairman, who conducted raids of al-Qaida safe houses in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said training manuals compiled by the group outline how aspiring insurgents can best infiltrate western nations.
"One of their main missions ... is to travel to places undetected, unnoticed, go to places with lenient immigration laws," Fairman said. "Hmm, ring a bell? Canada."
The federal government swiftly rejected any notion that the country's immigration policies are a draw for international terrorists....."
It's been almost 4 years since 9/11- what's taken so long? "Toronto is planning to have its first full-scale exercise of a simulated terror attack this fall.
Nationally, a blueprint for transport security is expected to be released next spring...."
In emergency preparedness, funds were not allocated based on an assessment of risks. Equipment purchased for first responders in different cities was not required to be interoperable, thus missing an opportunity to create a national pool of compatible equipment. Training for first responders is progressing very slowly—fewer than 200 of the needed 6,000 intermediate-level first responders have been trained.
Is the government more interested in shuffling papers around instead of actually doing what is necessary to protect Canadians?
Canadians aren't stupid, sooner or later thay are going to wise up to the fact that there's been a lot of talk and little action. There is absolutely no excuse for having delayed these simulations for 4 years. None.In fact practice makes perfect which is why a lot more than one simulation is required to co- ordinate the various first responders in different cities. While the London attacks have been recent, there are other incidents which should have stimulated the government to do what is necessary.The government has been asleep at the switch and the media haven't exactly been on the ball asking the right questions.It seems that they try to do the absolute minimum they can get away with.
It's July 2005 and we need people that know what they are doing to make the necessary preparations not bureucratic paper shufflers who are used to stretching things out over years. Time is of the essence. If they don't know that concept perhaps people with the right expertise should be brought in.Four years to do the basics is unacceptable.Let's put a time frame on it - get the coordination done within 6 weeks and make sure the communications equipment is integrated. This should have been done 3 and 1/2 years ago.Anybody associated with protecting Canadians should be moving at double time to get ready- vacation time or no vacation time
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That is not the worst that can happen. Being aboard an exploding omnibus is much worse. Britain and the West are in serious trouble when senior Home Office staff feel the need to pretend, and weave fairytales, when writing confidentially on a matter of life and death."
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The Kyoto protocol, with its system of caps, targets and timetables, is being buried with a discretion that conceals one of the great public policy failures in recent decades. Hoax is probably a better word.
Kyoto is collapsing before reality. The politics of global warming is being transformed by two simultaneous events: a recognition that climate change is real and serious and a recognition that the Kyoto methodology has failed as a solution. .......
The future solution will be different from Kyoto. It will be universal. It will involve less "top-down" prescription and more "bottom-up" practical applications. There will be a greater emphasis on innovation, cleaner technologies and lower emitting energy sources. There may well be timetables but they are going to be voluntary, not binding and yes, the new global consensus is a long way off. "
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Mohammed Bouyeri stunned the courtroom when, in the final minutes of his two-day trial, he declared: "If I were released and would have the chance to do it again . . . I would do exactly the same thing.
"What moved me to do what I did was purely my faith. . . . I was motivated by the law that commands me to cut off the head of anyone who insults Allah and his prophet," he said.......
At one point, he addressed the victim's mother, Anneke, who was sitting in the public gallery. "I have to admit I don't have any sympathy for you," he said. "I can't feel for you because I think you're a nonbeliever."
"Instead, the test is whether all that could be done has been done. And McLellan needs look no farther for a to-do list, than the voluminous reports on national security compiled by her colleague Colin Kenny.
One of Canada's most capable senators, Kenny has thoroughly documented the weak points in this country's borders and ports, and the difficulties under which an under-resourced -- and politically unsupported -- immigration and refugee bureaucracy labours. Deciding who gets into Canada in the first place, and keeping out potential terrorists, must be government's most basic priority.
So far, Kenny's reports have been received with little enthusiasm by a government reluctant to spend money on security."
Since they claim $10 billion has been spent on security, it would be interesting to know how many officers have actually been hired in the RCMP and CSIS 1000?-2000?-3000-5000?, above the attrition level, with that money.Ressam , after all, was caught by an alert,experienced U.S. Customs inspector when she saw him sweating as he tried to cross the border to try and blow up the L.A. airport.He wasn't caught by a computer.
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Not to mention that in the days and months following the horrific Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, former deputy PM John Manley was the only senior Liberal who seemed to truly understand what was at stake. "Canada has soldiers buried all over Europe because we fought in the defence of liberty," he said then. "And we're not backing away from a challenge now because we think somebody might get hurt."
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I was a bit less relieved, however, when I heard a CBC-TV report that the Toronto Transit Commission's idea of "heightened security" Thursday was to put an additional four special constables on duty! (Other reports said the number of security officers was also doubled, from 16 to 32. Fair enough -- it beats the bizarre comment from TTC chairman Howard Moscoe that "the terrorists first would have to find where Toronto is before they attacked it." Has he never heard of the CSIS report that there are at least 50 terrorist groups here in Canada?)"The public have to be able to go through their daily lives in a normal manner. They have entrusted their elected representatives to make sure they can do so in as safe a manner as possible since the first duty of a government is to protect its citizens.However with the remarks above and the fact that the RCMP and CSIS have fewer officers today than about 12 years ago , we still have a ways to go in making sure we have proper security.When the Auditor- general stated ,in a recent report, that only 200 out of 6000 first responders had advanced disaster training ,we still have a ways to go.The first objective is to prevent an attack and that requires good intelligence, if an attack happens we have to know that the first responders have the necessary equipment and can function in a seamless co-ordinated way.As they say , time is of the essence.
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He said to blame Britain and the United States for causing terrorism is "reverse causality." Mr. Netanyahu recalled the numerous terror attacks before the Iraq war and prior to the attacks on America of September 11, 2001, noting there was Islamic terrorism before 1948 when Israel became a modern state. If recent Israeli, American and British policies cause terrorism, how does one explain earlier terrorism?
In the United Kingdom, the Sunday Times carried a Page One story exploding the myth of a causal relationship between terrorism and poverty among Muslims. The newspaper reported on leaked Whitehall documents that show "Al Qaeda is secretly recruiting affluent, middle-class Muslims in British universities and colleges to carry out terrorist attacks" in Britain. The targets of the "extremist recruiters" are students with "technical and professional qualifications.........."
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The integrity of state driver's licenses is critical to our commerce, as well as our national security," Mr. McNulty said. "By arresting Frank and Miriam Martinez, we have eliminated a source of fraudulent driver's licenses for criminals who want to conceal their true identity and others who are not qualified to legitimately obtain a Virginia driver's license."
The Virginia DMV has sought in the past three years to toughen regulations for driver's licenses to close loopholes that let seven of the 19 September 11 hijackers get valid licenses and state identification cards in Virginia."
