Ready or Not

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Ready or Not

By R. Jackson MA Special Major, U.S.A.

Walden University February 14, 2015

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Abstract

????This article reviews several existing articles pertaining to the USA Patriot Act 2001/6 and offer a series of pertinent recommendations to increase safety, amend the law.?Additional commentary is added to spark greater inquiry to preserve democracy, direct resources, and gain stronger more measurable results from new methods and available options to address both external and internal threats caused by undesirable human behaviors.?

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Forward

?????We have information for over 100 years of observations and impacts regarding toxins yet regulation, development, and dissemination continues to spread globally not only in the airways, but in waterways and food chains.?The threat of poor education, ineffective wars on terror, an ineffective and factually deficient war on drugs, non-substantive welfare, declining mental and physical health averages, high incarceration rates, and growth in measured corruption within the Unites States all point to serious needs for reforms.?The self-made and politically created threats of the present world order demands creative and ambitious responses from innovative leaders.?

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????Trauma, stress, mass chaos is not something easy for any country to be prepared for in the event of a mass attack.?The last time I was drilled for a real plan was getting under my desk in elementary school in case of a nuclear attack.?I'm pretty sure that desk would not have helped much, but this was the nation’s readiness plan.?The more I learn about the discord between agencies, and review the history to date in the so called progress we are making,?the more conclusive the evidence is becoming that we are in fact creating more areas of vulnerability through the false sense of safety and the engineering of more biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.?Ironically, this false sense of security issue was something the Japanese recently found in independent investigations following the 2012 nuclear accident which was a manmade disaster in Fukashima, Japan (Kurokawa et al., 2012). ?It has been the case that humans have been better at making messes than cleaning them up for a long time.?It will take a huge awakening and massive lifestyle changes to alter the course and begin to unravel the greatest internal and external threats- including the threat within.

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???Natural law, harmony, symbiosis....violence prevention and a real understanding regarding the?equilibrium’s?needed for optimal or?less inhibited development is the challenge of the future.?We owe it to ourselves to remain skeptical and pragmatic when it comes to deconstructing things that appear orderly, when clearly chaos is thriving in all environments- even those highly controlled.?

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????Reliable expertize to direct us in real life emergencies, is a valuable asset.?Thus, the push for nationalized standards can be helpful.?Very few experts know how to respond to oil spills, toxic clouds, or nuclear explosions.?It is not possible to train each state, but not impossible to develop highly trained experts within disaster types and classes to be made available to the states.?We all can’t rush to the scene in a disaster, that’s a dangerous and impractical approach leaned from 911, and most recently from Fukashima in Japan.?

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????Problem solving is a valuable and profitable field, but problem prevention component is more pro-active and efficient and relies more on the predictive power of science and creativity.

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????It is time we learn to live within out natural limits to sustain our civilization and dismantle the distortion of the end times....with a renewed commitment to one another with visions and tools that can lift us from conflict to mutual understanding and greater tolerance for our differences.?

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????Having humility and admitting where a civilization has gone wrong would help to restore credit among past allies and future ones.?Perhaps the movements erupting in slinter like cells across this country- often misguided, often on the verge of violence can be tempered with knowledge and resources to influence the direction of the nation so that we do not fall apart.?The disintegration of the union is in my opinion a preventable crisis.?However, if you build a system that fails to educate, incarcerates, does not meet basic health needs of the population while a very few concentrate wealth, such a system is bound to fail.?If we wish to protect, perhaps we should enter the discussion of which problems are?occurring because we made them, and which can be prevented simply with better leadership.?Many social scientists and environmentalist across a broad spectrum and various universities in the world suggest it is too late simple by analysis of the chain reactions anticipated as a result of human behavior.?Hopefully the science is wrong and regardless we can make a bad situation better.?No General claims war made things better.?Let’s offer enemies something to transform their lives so that they can learn to fish, but first let’s make sure the waters not contaminated so they can eat that fish once they catch it.??

Diffusion from Bottom Up Leadership

????This article will present some observations made and recommendations to strengthen the Patriot Act and to maximize the prevention of violence and reduce abuses in authority.?

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????According to Riverstone-Newell (2013) a movement exists in the U.S. known as Bill of Rights Movement.?It opposes the USA Patriot Act.?Increasingly examples of the power and influence coming from the fast growing NGO and nonprofit sector is demonstrating that activism towards federal and states issues and laws are impacting policy formation and even repeals. ?Non-cooperation or combative stances have been taken (Riverstone-Newell, 2013 ) against the U.S. Patriot Act of 2001/2006.?Objectors argue local and State laws or constitutional and even ethical dilemmas were presented with its passage.?

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????Perhaps one of the most compelling observation on this bottom up driven influence on the direction of the political will of the U.S. is the observation 406 cities (Riverstone-Newell, 2013) which represent 80 million out of a total of 306 million U.S. residents adopting resolutions in direct opposition with DHS mandates.?This figure reflects a 25% of the represented U.S. national citizenship objecting to or modifying in some way, the existing Patriot Act legislation which was contested, refused, or outright rejected by local officials during implementation phases.?

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????Allegedly much of the backlash towards The Patriot Act in specific stems from grassroots styled activism coming from one group known as Rights Defense Committee, which has found overwhelming support and spurred debate about civil liberties and antiterrorism legislation.?

????While government allows for open comment periods and so forth in many open session styled meetings across the country, much of the public comment does not have a major impact on items under discussion.?Increasingly the use of closed sessions make transparency and participatory democracy even more difficult to preserve.?The greatest impact and sustaining power of legislation is evident by the successes achieved in the practice following implementation.?

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????The posture of the U.S. government to anyone that is not the U.S. government has been traditionally a sort of just don’t get in our way and do what we say when we say kind of superior to subordinate chain of command and rule by law approach.??Exemptions in due process caused by items inside the U.S. Patriot Act brings the rule of law into question and has presented a vulnerable grievance before the country and the world.?On the reverse end of the spectrum, the U.S. government historically has bent to the will and demands of the people once enough of them make their positions clear.?We can see this on civil rights, on the movement to end the Vietnam War, Labors right to unionize, gay rights, and other such movements led from the people and informing government.?However, the world stage of politics is changing.?The U.N. grew from 51 nations in 1945 to over 189 now, even smaller nation-states collectively are having increased influence over global politics (Davenport, 2002).?

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Biological Security Risk and Concerns of Civil Disobedience

????One area of concern is the potential of States and localities to formerly succeed from the union or disintegrate its influence by enacting laws or even illegal actions to negate federal rules.?For example, “fourteen towns in nine states…recently passed ordinances declaring themselves to be “food sovereign,” fully capable and within their rights to grow and sell food without state and federal inspections, among other regulations (Ananda 2011) cited by (Riverstone-Newell, 2013).?Such actions present vulnerabilities and loopholes concerning biological security relevant to DHS oversight, but more broadly represent attitudes of distrust or defiance towards the federal systems which interact locally and spreads.?Regarding the impacts of policy diffusion, a process whereby actions in one place can spread to another, particular from state to federal or from local to state, it was found by researchers that “professional legislatures can and do learn from local experiments (Riverstone-Newell, 2013).?Furthermore,

“…the repeated news of local resolution prompts state legislators to pay attention to the local movement in a way that a single activist event…does not.?There is some evidence…states may consider policy change outside of the courts when faced with local activism (Hobbs 1994; Riverstone-Newell 2009)” (Riverstone-Newell, 2013).??

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????Thus, Riverstone-Newell suggests that activism at the city level is an effective way to influence broader government due to the process she describes as diffusion from bottom up.?The danger here is not unlike the danger of having a few unstable people leading government agencies.?If the quality of the agenda being put forward is problematic, the results of an organized citizenry misguided could potentially lead the country in the wrong direction merely because techniques to influence are mastered.?

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????The delayed reauthorization of the USA Patriot act in 2006 followed debates over privacy.?Fourteen of 16 Patriot Act provisions were made permanent March 2, 2006 (Garson, G, 2006).?Garson points out that while civil liberty issues or conflicts of interest were debated and raised in congress, “few social scientist and citizens have given attention to the details of the renewal” (Garson, G, 2006).???

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????Section 605 of the U.S. Patriot Act reportedly (Garson, G, 2006) broadens the territory of Secrete Service police from District of Columbia to be a national police force.?If many of the problems stemming from the Patriot Act involve secrecy, shouldn’t transparency be the aim??Why not reinforce local police and courts to restore commitments to justice which were radically devastated during the recession following 911 when possible and decrease exemptions to laws and secrecy?

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????The laws which allow law enforcement to search and seize before a warrant has been issued is designed to prevent the loss in ability to capture criminals.?This feature has an added benefit in the event the corruption penetrate law enforcement agencies or courts and removes the potential for contamination in the process of capturing suspects or important evidence. ?Thus many elements of the Patriot Act are needed and should be, in my opinion preserved, but several positive amendments can be made.?

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????While the many aspects of Patriot Act procedures could technically present opportunities for internal abuse, there seems at least in the law enforcement community a consensus that the policies giving them broadened abilities to more effectively counter terrorism are working.??The Department of Justice states, “...the Patriot Act has played a key part…in a number of successful operations to protect innocent Americans from the deadly plans of terrorists…in passing the Patriot Act, Congress provided only modest, incremental changes in the law.?On the other hand, Thorn and Kouzmin, argue there were some sweeping changes and problems that were perhaps unanticipated as a result of the legislation.?The largest being the outsourcing of detention and torture (Thorn & Kouzmin 2010).?

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????To date the worst problems resulting from the passage of the Patriot Act for U.S. citizens are profiling problems leading to certain individuals landing on no fly lists. However, the ramifications of other nations mirroring our policy, but placing odd handling procedures of refugees in former Australia and creation of detainment camps such as Christmas Island, which is not related to the U.S. or Australia present other concerns.?The deepest allegations surfacing in connection with the Patriot Act to date pertains to the detention and torturing of people being permitted by the U.S.?Another lesser evaluated role is the analysis of the quality of data and how the data is influencing leaders to engage in war related activities abroad.?The impacts on foreign relations, economic impacts, and social impacts likewise are important considerations for any policy which extends beyond U.S. borders.?Upon the review of many sources the conclusion drawn is that the Patriot act was hurried and did not include a comprehensive impact analysis.?????

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????Recommendation:?To address the civil liberty concern that the Patriot Act could result in the targeting of dissenters or activist, it is recommended the definition of terrorist included in the Patriot Act be revised to exclude subjective phases such as “dangerous to human life…if the act involves intimidation or coercion.”?The language “violations of criminal law” should be sufficient and is a more universal and precise standard.??

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????The Patriot Act does not automatically contradict the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provided the search(es) are not unreasonable or contests are not finding a search has been conducted on reasonable grounds. ?However, there are cases where the Patriot act has impacted law enforcement practices incorrectly and contributed to criminals having cases overturned by the supreme court on the grounds fourth amendment was violated ( ).?

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????Another area of great misunderstanding surrounding the first amendment rights of citizens.?The Patriot act has specific language which prohibits the use of the sections of the act from being applied merely against persons exercising first amendment rights.?However, the problem encountered is that FBI, a component of DHS infrastructure does spy on activists which is something best settled by the courts in those instances.?Also, officials have been found to make mistakes in ordering actions that appear to be inconsistent with the limits set forth with in the Patriot act.?Garson reports “the Bush Justice Department moved to investigate and prosecute the whistle blowers who had leaked the story” referring to the domestic spying issue.?

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????While citizens do have a right to free speech, in some instances monitoring activism and religious organizations activities is import in security work because there are precedence where religious and activists organizations have conducted terrorism and the history shows those groups that are anti-government have been more prone to breaking laws and subjecting dangers on their own members and the public at large.?The problem remains that there must be objective limits on the spying conducted and clear procedures in place to prevent the interruption of a citizen’s rights to reject leadership and petition the government for redress of grievances and the abuse of power to suppress dissent within a democracy.?Those matters presently are heard case by case when brought forward in the courts.?

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????Garson (2006) points out noncooperation within the intelligence community to use information supplied by DHS,

????“Community officials have complained that security intelligence via Homeland Security Information Network has been slow to come, and when it does come, it lacks useful detail (McKay, 2005, P.34)” Garson, 2006.)?Recommendation: To improve the data quality is essential if the functional results are to lead to data sharing between DHS and other police and intelligence communities as intended.?Recruiting senior intelligences offices to strengthen DHS policies and procedures and building a collaborative system to aid the delivery of reliable and useful information can improve the work product and strengthen the cooperation between agencies.???

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????To address the privacy issue, since data security in virtual environments is highly unreliable for various reasons, and since the culture in the U.S. is unlikely to support notions of volunteer police forces, voluntary reporting may be a controversial tool, but one worth exploring that can get more useful results if the intelligence gathered from informants if subjected to tests to increase reliability and prevent waste.?

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????Privacy is an important value in democratic cultures, but people routinely sacrifice privacy on networks and in business transactions.?Thus courts in U.S. have ruled web related information is not meeting the threshold of protections granted under existing privacy law.??It is impractical to expect government systems to be impenetrable to violations of privacy.?It is also realistic to ascertain the Patriot Act when followed will not result in gross violations of privacy, but that instances of errors and violations may occur at the individual enforcement level.?The abuses however, should over time prove to be a far less damaging than the damages avoided as a result of surrendering some privacy rights.?While there are incidents in history, particularly around the red scare era, it is clear there is a need to be cautious about the powers extended to any government body.?Also there are some provisions in the Patriot Act which can easily be amended to stay within the reasonable argument/ actions and limit the liabilities the U.S. Government may otherwise face.?

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????The revision to Protect America Act 2007 amends Foreign Intelligence Act 1978 to compel service providers to disclose requested electronic information within specified parameters.?

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????The U.S. has its fair share of extremists and conspiracy theorists.?The Patriot act was the target of criticism from a few academics and celebrities including Michael Moore.?An article compiled by Thorne and Kouzmin and published in American Behavioral Sciences had a few interesting points.?Many of the themes listed were common complaints of the misapplication of Patriot Act and distortions.?Still I will point out a few of the questions I think were relevant to the debate in terms of future amendments that must be addressed.?The detention of suspects for indefinite periods without a fair trial and right to representation under any circumstance for either citizens or non-citizens?is unacceptable regardless of the allegations and evidences possessed and should be reversed if in fact such alleged action is allowed or taking place under the Patriot Act.??There are plenty of examples where policies of extermination or disappearances have proven to be corruptible and dangerous.?Events if the 70’s in Argentina are perhaps the most recent example of how a government invaded the rights of dissenting citizens and took the actions too far resulting in the disappearances and presumed executions of thousands of people, mostly men.?If in fact internment camps were created and innocent people are detained there as Margaret Roche contends (Thorne and Kouzmin, 2010) something must be done to end that practice.?They go on in the article to warn the Patriot Act can be viewed as an opportunistic device to further political and military objectives of leaders due to of an increasingly passive U.S. citizenry that accepts an oppressive state…as long as such oppression claims to protect citizens and “free” markets (Grass, 2005).?However, what Thorn and Kouzmin fail to do is illustrate empirically what the oppression actually is.?They undermine the will and influence of the U.S. citizens and our global allies to rebuke or respond with demands for reforms if in fact reforms are desired when definitive relationships to policies adopted in the U.S. which impact the global community are found to be irresponsible or even criminal.???

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????Thorne and Kouzmin correctly observe themes emerging that seem to be through-backs to medieval times.?Concepts of “Apocalypse, end of time, holy war, jihad, clash of civilizations, with ….global warfare, economic and social upheavals, genocide, and environmental and biodiversity disasters” seemingly becoming dominant themes in many cultures, but especially in the conflict situation between the West and the many Global Terrorist Networks which have targeted the U.S.?The alarmist statement “the American empire has entered an inescapable final phase” although not Thorne and Kouzmin directly, does have a discrediting impact on the stronger points of the article because such opinions are not anchored in facts, but opinion.?

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????The Patriot act was passed within 45 days after 9/11 in 2001.?Being 345 pages long and mostly amending earlier laws amending 15 statutes (Thorne & Kouzmin, 2010.)?Not unlike many laws, the reviews are cursory by the time it makes it to the floor for a vote, which begs the question, were the items even understood.?

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????The expansion of FISA to U.S. citizens bothers civil rights advocates and privacy law advocates and does present constitutional questions, but we do not live in a vacuum and provided abuses are not occurring, the monitoring of the citizenry should not disrupt, but adds protections to life.?Many of the concerns have been brought over the misapplication and wrongful application of the act.?One item, being detained without charges, property seized, indefinite detention, denial to representation, section 501 “material support” revoking citizenship of suspected terrorists logically presents issues in the legal process because for example the IRA or other illegal terrorist deemed group would be denied using diplomacy or legal channels to negotiate deals to end violence and this would cause further alienation and collateral damages.?Recommendation:?Section 501 of the act, if interpreted correctly by the reviewing scientist, must be immediately repealed, if it has not been already in the 2007 amendments.?

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????Thorne and Kouzmin argue that FEMA being identified by DHS as leading evacuations of cities and creation of camp sites is somehow an implied threat.?They further allege that a presidential announcement in 2005 that the U.S. military, in the event of national pandemic, (Marrs, 2006)…would be used (Thorne & Kouzmin, 2010) is in alleged violation of Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.?Much of the paranoia evident in the article is not warranted.?Furthermore, the Posse Comitatus act, or any act for that matter is subject to be over-ridden by executive powers.?Why should out dated standards set in 1878 limit what options are available to us now??Are we such fundamentalists we can’t adapt to modern times??Martial law, if necessary nullifies normal rights of the citizenry so the argument is a moot point.?It is a necessary step to identify some responsible parties for evacuations since scenarios exist where such evacuations could save lives.

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????One area of agreement is on the matter of torture and the use of Guantanamo Bay and similar sites.?This facility is being shut down by the U.S. government currently because it is recognized to present significant costs and conflicts of interest.?Recommendation: While it may be an administration’s decision to cut off such experimental torture practices, black sites and torture ?will likely persist unless significant pressure is applied through proper channels to point out the most reliable ways to obtain credible information from suspects, which is likely plea deals and persuasion linked to the preservation of self-interests to reduce or in some instances avoid prison sentences or other valued items to the detained person which can be legally manipulated to extract tested information to ensure it is reliable.?The practices used at black sites however may be reformed as more reputable scientists can provide methods to obtain more reliable information from detainees.?The best way to reform torture is to replace it with something that actually works better.

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????Pertaining to detention and torture U.S. Senator Durbin reportedly stated for the record,

“If I read this and did not tell you that it was the FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe that this has been done by Nazis, Soviets in their Gulags, or some mad regime…(Marrs, 2006; Bukovsky 2005) (Thorne & Kouzmin, 2010).?Yet this news did not break wide until 2015 in mass media.?Perhaps the U.S.’s most influential former soldier and now notorious activist Edward Snodin continues exposing what many people ascertain are leaks of extremely top secret documents.?While it is understood his efforts are in fact causing reforms, at times the information leaked can have unintended consequences and place additional lives at risk.?It is on this point that it is recommended someone negotiate with him to utilize an ombudsman for the U.S. government in such instances to point out the problems which are brought to his attention and to list his demands.?In this way the reforms requested can still happen, but without the added compounded damages.?If Snodin is the patriot he claims to be, and if the U.S. can acknowledge that this method would allow this self made auditor critic, whom obviously has inside cooperation can continue to do the work he has chosen and that instead of being a wanted enemy breaking U.S. laws he can be viewed as an asset.?Recommendation:?Encourage Snodin offering time served following a fair trial for his alleged crimes for some concessions.?A deal of some kind may be within reach provided his true interest is to protect lives and not jeopardize them.?

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????Thorne & Kouzmin itemized the following as problems presented by the Patriot act, but I have added recommendations:

·????????Restriction to Freedom of Information Act requests due to exemptions to prevent threats

Recommendation: The denials should become public record with detailed reasons and subject to appeal.?This way errors and abuses of the exemption may be reduced.?

·????????Exemptions for Homeland Advisory Committees from Federal Advisory Committee act 1972 which ensures openness and accountability.?

Recommendation: Set up audits procedures for all Secret Service activities and all closed door sessions to ensure Laws are maintained within such sessions or activities.?Disclose aberrations or concerns, if any to designated ombudsman and present to a select Intelligence committee which should consist of permanent members (highest ranking officers) from each secret service and members from executive and legislative branches of U.S. Government along with qualified Attorneys specializing in relevant areas of law examined in each round and three randomly selected judges per year to hear and decide actions for presented cases which detail aberrations or concerns.????

·????????Silencing whistleblowers formerly protected under Federal Whistleblower’s Protection Act 1989

Recommendation:?This may be referring to alleged abuse of authority by prior administrations. Backlash is common against whistleblowers, despite good intentions of the acts across the nation to offer protections.?Offer safer ways of reporting and better internal audit systems to ensure credible confidential reports are acted on to fix problems.?Considerable evidence that violence is U.S. workplaces is occurring suggests greater monitoring internally could decrease terror and prevent common retaliatory crimes.?

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·????????DHS can override Inspector General investigations

Recommendation:?This needs closer review, why would there be an instance when one set of rules can be trumped by another??This is highly suspect if found to be true.?There are inspector general positions in many Federal Agencies.?Hard to imagine DHS is replicating specialties throughout.?

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·????????Exemptions to rights to privacy, search and seizure without warrants issued first- but issued later within 30 days, impaired due legal process due via exemptions and vague definitions of “terrorist” or providing aid to terrorists to detain persons or seize property without rights to representation, suspended habeas corpus, and for indefinite periods without charges.

Recommendation: Revise the definition of terrorist or remove it.?Only include precise language and limit to clear proven violations of U.S. criminal law.?Terrorist has no added value as a term, enemy combatant, convicted felon, or suspect may be more appropriate depending where the party is at in the custodial legal process.?

·????????Permitted Torture introduced by behaviorists

Recommendation: Being addressed now by congress, but apply above mentioned audits and tactics to get more reliable and more credible information from suspects or convicted enemy combatants.

·????????Over 750,000 names on no fly list, some found to be placed in error or placed with political malice.?

Recommendation: Double check to ensure this problem has been corrected. ?This embarrassing mess is a waste of public resources.?DHS should be subject to independent audits not unlike other agencies.

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·????????Alleged secret initiatives that involve censoring and editing of news content and internet content.

Recommendation:?Set up a review committee to examine the instances of censorship and determine if the scope is reasonable or see if patterns of abuse or misuse are being developed to promote special interests or biased perspectives that constitute violations of first amendment rights guaranteed by the U.S. constitution.?

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????Thorne & Kouzmin (2010) raise the concern over legislation that encourages greater invisibility and removal of rights, particularly around how actions can be taken based on perceptions and not fair criminal trials related to suspected terrorist, the aiding of terrorist or enemy combatants and how those are defined and determined.??Central to their argument is whether fear has driven actions that have led to the decay of constitutional laws, ethics, and transformed democratic society in the west to possess more police state features reminiscent of oppressive regimes.?However, while some of the examples illustrated do require a response from the U.S. Government and the people, their frame presents an opportunity to reexamine the role of Power and how to responsibly use it.?The key threat of being over reactionary from fear strikes at the very identity of who we are as citizens of the U.S. and the world, the values of citizenship, and our vision for the future.?Furthermore. ?If the trust of the country is diminished due to failed aspects of any policy, it is the responsibility of representatives to correct that policy.?

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????If the debate is centered on what are the actual best interest of the people and the cost benefit analysis includes consideration of whether were doing damages to the planet of life on it in pursuit of those things, and a scientifically valid examination of whether representation in congress or any elected office is in fact representing the will of the people it is governing then that would be an excellent start to furthering democracy.?

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????A dying friend - young man of 24 years said recently, “steal from the potential of anyone and you steal from the world”.?The laws of interdependence require us to consider impacts we make and when we start thinking globally. ?By realizing our actions are significant and matter, people can be empowered with opportunities to be more responsible and make more informed choices. There is no need the U.S. should have the worst waste production track record of any nation, which is does have ( ).?We don't need all the gadgets if it means we validate the dehumanization of starving kids in Africa or elsewhere.?We may have a military with a lot of bells and whistles, but if you examine that military closely you will find the moral of the force is weak because no one with intelligence wants to stay in after they realize the type of sacrifice and very little support and return on the investment- due to concerns over whether the service actually did what we alleged it would do.?Soldiers concerns which are more readily heard in the counseling community, show the real detriment service has on these young men and women, their families, and society at large.?Suicide rates among vets are % higher than the next highest at risk population x ( ).

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Recommendation:

·????????Create revisions in the gun control laws apply them nationally subjecting thousands of registered gun owners to undergo psychological evaluations or else collect their guns.

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More than half of all gun owners will lose their guns, especially if we can creditably place them on no gun lists based on prior histories.?Unlawful militias and hateful extremist groups must be progressively transformed by using gang disintegration tactics.?

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The status of discipline in the U.S.

????Anti-hate speech legislation, just as we enacted anti hate crimes is an option.?The less tolerant of hate U.S. culture becomes, as hate is a seed and form of violence, the faster violence can be suppressed.?Adopting standards more closely aligned to psychology, we can get the standards of violence revised and criminalize many forms of violence occurring in the workplace and in schools.?Penalties for hate speech, unless terrorist (death threats) are made should be light, especially for younger populations still learning right from wrong.?Hate speech and repeated offenses could require counseling for example.?When counseling proves insufficient to correct the issue the party may earn a point on their criminal record which is harder to remove and may impact which occupations they may be barred from.?If we wish to identify sociopaths, we can, but we need to get very serious about this work and stop beating around the bush. ?We have plenty of criminal’s right here in our backyard.?

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Lasting Peace

????The main ingredient is to spur greater degrees of care, more reformist academy styled approaches to build health people, less punitive.....use the best practices- see DR. Gordon’s work- and look at anti recidivism programs that worked.

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Problem

Water contamination, incapability to safely store toxic waste, lack of chemical free crop management, and genetic engineering of seeds, food including livestock – all present significant safety and welfare challenges with a wide range of damages to people and ecosystems ( ).?For example much of the boost in autism in the U.S. is credited by the medical community to lifestyles, environmental conditions, and diets.?

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Recommendation:

Since well-intended regulations (Clean Water Act, Clear Air Act so on have not significantly altered problematic contamination behaviors (Congress Research Service, 1990) the motivators to reduce contamination rests mainly in enforcement and personal lifestyles.?For that to be effective, education is the primary tool to curb some of the worst abuses and reinforce best practices.?

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Limiting Sociopath’s Access to Power

????A lot of people in caring occupations share particular personality traits and characteristics. Empathy rates and decision making styles differ.?If we care about outcomes, it’s important we know those we are selecting to represent us measure up on the empathy scales- because if they lack empathy and have lower abilities to care- their decisions will be more careless.?While it is kind to be hopeful and give people the benefit of the doubt, being na?ve can lead to placing irresponsible people into leadership positions.?A balance between pragmatism and caring is essential.?Likewise a congress overly humanistic could lead to inaction if military actions were in fact a last resort need.?Perhaps psychological examinations should be made mandatory for people in occupations indirectly tied to law enforcement and directing military actions which would include politicians.

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Safety Net Illusions

????Many people in flood zones appear to pretty inflexible about accepting that nature has some finite limits.?Local leaders seem to cave in to pretty illogical decisions to rebuild in flood zones and are willing to spend incredible amounts of money in attempts to battle nature although repeated losses are on record.?We see this cycle every decade, just like we see the economic cycle just about the same timeline.?Chaos has a much larger role in human behavior and natural events than most of u are comfortable enough to admit.?Any period in human history has significant bias. ?Science itself treads between fiction and fact as Newton' fourth law and Heisenberg principle (Doren, 1993) pierce even the strongest built studies to show vulnerabilities as everything is subject to change.?

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????Van Renselar Potter’s (1971) bioethics and the behavioral sciences seem to lean more on fact than fiction, but pervasive bias, personal fictions, and human error still make us fairly at risk which is compounded the greater the ramification of highly predictable tragedies become.?Thus, a whole new attitude must be formed and enforced to limit the loss of life and prepare for inevitable crises as chemical, radioactive, biological and nuclear weapons grow more widespread among nations and non-nation combatants.?

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????Not everybody need a computer, nor a car.?Not everybody needs a gun, or a nuclear power.?Who decides and who gets denied?

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Depletion Theory = - Entropy

????Incongruence is the hallmark of neurosis or mental illness.?Environmental degradation reinforces the acceleration or growth of negative entropy which lessens potential.?Positive entropy would be considered favorable declines which permit natural equilibrium to maintain a relative balance.?Scarcity, conflict, lack of commitments to education....all are indicators of a cultures in crisis.?

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????The public health arena can turn what is often a childish like fetish for war into a productive discussion on the directions humanity can choose- to awaken decision makers to better possibilities and options for the future.?With solar and oil independence steadily gaining momentum, it is time to facilitate transitions by diplomacy and education to more sustainable industries and give them a fair chance in the global market place making the necessary changes in commodities or goods for prosperity.?

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Making Friends Not Enemies

????Dollar over dollar analysis on prevention and reformation plans that can turn jihadists into law abiding citizens may prove to be the better approach.?This observation solicited a response from a PhD Candidate at Walden University,

“We had numerous missed opportunities in the past that could have turned potential enemies into allies and supporters. Afghanistan after the Mujahedeen war against the USSR is a case in point. The United States spent millions in this jihadi war, in training, arms, artillery, bribes, you name it... and when it was time to invest a little bit more on the human/humanitarian and social elements, we quit. There are other examples all over the world, not in the severity of this one, but none the less they represent missed opportunities for lasting peace. Sometimes, it occurs to me that arm manufactures and dealers design the policies and execute them, since they are the only ones that benefit from these everlasting conflicts.” Salwa Elhabib Walden University 2015

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Contamination of Food

????National Public Radio reported January 2015 that upward 25% of tested chicken is testing positive for Salmonella, but?investigators reportedly don't know why.?Foster farms brought contamination down to under 5% in their processing following a major recall in 2014.?

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Water Supplies in the U.S.

????Here is a problem with water contamination detection explained to me by a botanist.?He said mutation occurs so routinely that we can't possible test for everything and he introduced a standard of testing water in the wild before risk?drinking it. In short, see if life is present i.e. fish, tadpoles, mosquitos, not dying after being in the water.?Normally behaving life in the?water was a good indicator that it is safe to drink.?Contamination is a complicated matter and we presently only have a handful of tests to run to detect contamination.?Maybe a defense measure is to introduce certain indicator species into the drinking water to test the fitness of the water we drink.?European counterparts suggest the U.S.?is one of the only countries on earth adding fluoride to our water supplies....a highly controversial subject.?The risks associated with fluoride and adverse human reactions usually occur in high concentrations of fluoride, but immune systems and tolerance can vary person to person.?

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????Is it possible U.S. populations are over confident no one will nuke us or use electromagnetic impulses to shut us down??

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????The mutation powers of toxins and genetically modified organisms have unpredictable consequences.?We buy toxic pesticides from china ( ) to put on crop lands to grow corn modified by companies to earn more money...this is right after we ship back toxic toys made by the Chinese for our children once we realize the toxicity exceeds our allowable limits ( ).?Was that an accident or a terrorist attack??

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????Insufficient armor on the battlefield or the disclosure statements about possible death made following the nice scenes?on a beach for medications is gross neurosis.?Recently NPR reported a story from a soldier that he was last in his unit so his crew made him the tester for air quality following chemical exposures.?Clearly drones could be put to service there instead of soldiers.??

Do you agree with the report's assessment of the post-9/11 threat landscape?

????In the U.S. 40 different Federal agencies have terrorism response capabilities and some observed different responses are noted, but they all rely on the same infrastructure.?The report (NHPF, 2001) presented questions among experts about who is in charge during emergencies, legal complications about patient privacy, and treatment protocols and media relations that may infringe on patient rights.?

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????Martial law organizes persons and property as falling under Commander in Chiefs jurisdiction and the waiver of normal rights and conditions such as ownership of property and individual rights are subject to discretions exercised by Military Officers/ FEMA and forfeited altogether until reinstated. Even preparations on what civilians should do if drafted into immediate military service should in my opinion be readied for classes eligible to participate in the defense of the nation in case of drastic events that may require immediate mass response.???Few are aware that sites in several areas inside the U.S. are ready to receive us in the event of mass evacuations.???

????Compare and contrast the panelists' recommendations for public health organizations. Which recommendations regarding bioterrorism policy did you find particularly compelling? The observation by Carl Feldman, president of the Biotech Industry Organization, that “The simple, sad fact is that vaccine development hasn’t been a national or medical priority.” ?This points to a severe lack of readiness in the event of biological attacks.?

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????Other testimony from Patricia Quinlisk, M.D., medical director and state epidemiologist, Iowa Department of Public Health, states “CDC will publish a document which identifies the core capacities needed by state and local health departments for terrorism preparedness and response. The next step, she said, would be the provision of CDC grants to states to help them assess themselves against these core capacities. However, she continued, although assessment tools have been developed for this purpose, “there are no federal resources for conducting this assessment of bioterrorism capacity” (NHPF 2001).?Recommendation: Assess the quality of the core capabilities identified against status of bio-warfare reasonable known developments to determine if these measures are adequate or what more is needed for readiness.?Do not publish such information publically.?Provide resources and define roles for first responders within varying levels of confidentiality as to slow or prevent proliferation or dissemination of technology to opponents.?

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????Did you feel that the report presented a blueprint for a comprehensive bioterrorism response in the event of a public health emergency? Alternatively, did you feel that the panel took it for granted that public health organizations would play a more reactive, as opposed to a proactive view towards potential terrorist threats? The paper had a more theoretical point of view rather than a how to approach respond.?I did not see a blueprint, but rather a collection of ideas and commentary about various parts of the fragmented public health infrastructure.?The reactive features are perhaps understandable given the proximity to 911 events.?It does appear a host of experts imply or explicitly point to the need for better organization in response to terrorism and that more proactive avenues must be explored which do not waste through unproductive replication among the agencies, but rather bolstering the public health system altogether to meet immediate and perceived needs.?

Are there any proposals that you feel should have been added to the menu of recommendations regarding bioterrorism policy? It appears the CDC accepted States words in reports and allegedly they stated in one line they “checked for consistency of the reported information, but in another line state no follow-up was conducted to clarify anything in the mandatory reports coming from states required by The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (GAO, 2004 )?Perhaps the most compelling feature missing in the proposal was any real breakdown of the budgets and costs associated to bring the core competencies or goals established by the CDC.?This begs the question what is the status of the implementation and measured effectiveness of bioterrorism policy nationally??

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????While some of my classmates argued for universal standards and practices in emergency responses to terrorism, a diverse expertise model may be more effective and more practical.?In lean fiscal climates when consolidations become necessary, it is often a practice among leaders to look at agencies that appear to be repetitious and cut them.?Thus, the task of defining the niche and indispensable contribution to the overall goal of providing safety and welfare is a reality the various agencies examine to realistically avoid the chopping block and practically not waste public resources replicating developments, systems, devices for which there may already be adequate supplies to meet the demand.?Also this model drives expertise and competition.?Such an approach will drastically reduce waste.?

????Terrorism is a hot button topic where the very principles of supply and demand should not be easily discarded concerning how conflicts are impacting global economies- with short terms gains in weapons markets are not matched by long term stability once the weapons sold are used.?Even the fear of war hurts markets and investment activity.?Proportionate responses to adequately threat assessments that do not disturb the equally important work of public health experts, security experts, or the lives of ordinary citizens is the ideal approach.?The emphasis on reaction versus response is understandable, but a dollar over dollar analysis on prevention and reformation plans that can turn jihadists into law abiding citizens may prove to be the better approach. Also the control and containment of CBRN is key to minimizing casualties and man-made disasters (Levy & Sidel, 2012).??Unfortunately, far less resources are applied in prevention and containment arenas.?Public health experts could demand reforms to occur regarding how the violence problem is being treated.?Perhaps?such proposals?are better left to pressure coming from the public- which presently there is also very little focus other than general discontent among lower classes.?Non-profits and Muslim community health workers are reportedly leading violence prevention efforts in their own communities.?Based on peer studies, which show subjects respond best to persons like themselves or that they identify with culturally, this approach seems most appropriate, but clearly more can and should be done to support such preventative efforts to reduce violence.?

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????President Obama attempted sequestration the downsizing of federal spending and presently DHS stands threatened to lose funding for many reasons.?The elephant in the room seems to be the examination of costs, availability of resources, reductions in duplications of efforts, and the measurable results were getting for the funds being spent in an ambitious never ending war against violence.?Violence is a natural human behavior we will never stamp out, but if we want to prioritize aspects of the greatest threats and target those, it seems a relevant noble fight.?However, the rules of engagement need to be clear and missions defined against measurable results because violence destroys ecosystems and negatively impacts economies and the lives of people in such zones.?In this way we can begin to reel in the romantic fantasy that has produced horrific results over the last decade costing millions of lives. ?An honest examination of what we are in fact manufacturing and the?public health implication of lifestyles is more than enough to start to decipher comprehensive cost?and lifesaving reforms for a brighter more cooperative future, perhaps one where we can again jump into lakes, eat fresh?caught fish and open our windows without fear.?

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?“The best way to increase public awareness is to promote a social dynamic that would endear the publics toward all things government (i.e., the military and law enforcement and community engagement). One way to do so is by a generous education systems where more [people] can become workers to contribute to society. Otherwise, you're only left with a society that has a large portion feeling that it has been left out in the cold. Then, societal apathy sets with large swaths and segment of a populace where an overall mindset is established that government is only for the few who are financially and politically powerful.”?Elisa Bell 2015 Walden University

????Such conditions exist in all nations and must be addressed to reduce trends where terrorist can recruit such disenfranchised people.?Correlation in poverty, violence, crime, are clearly evident ( ). The distribution of resources and employment opportunities are important security indicators.?

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????U.S. culture places emphasis on autonomy, whereas eastern cultures place emphasis on collective approaches.?Interdependence as mentioned by Van Potter, founder of bioethics, is key to the equation in?slowing or stopping negative preventable entropy or to protect the stability of environments from becoming corrupted, contaminated or destroyed (beyond their ability to self-regulate and purify).?

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????Electromagnetic disturbances are predictable in nuclear scenarios which rank low in DHS predicted events, but high in polls taken on leaders in communities across the states.?Furthermore, accidents are inevitable.?According to documents reviewed, DHS is viewed by the intelligence community as a political entity and the animosity between FBI and CIA runs deep towards one another.?Perhaps because different rules apply to each. ?Animosity is observable at County to State level, non-profit to State level....although a great number of productive partnerships do in fact exist.?Territorial disputes, triggers set off by self-preservation notions, identity threats are natural resistance responses when power is usurped and one entity suddenly is ordering another what they must or must not do.?Sue Bogner?observed humans being error prone ( ) and Heisenberg ( ) discussed his uncertainty principle in a way that disturbed mathematicians and scientists since he proved nothing can be precisely replicated.?Research from behavioral sciences on the lack of reliability of humans for just witnessed events also was a major blow to eyewitness testimony (Shultz, 1996) and a wakeup call?about complexities?of compounding variables impacting human behavior (Rice, ).??

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????Industrial Psychological Research in the workforce showed people tend to be more productive and more engaged when greater autonomy is permitted ( ). This correlates with Freud’s pleasure principle which states people generally seek to maintain comfort, and satisfy needs like pleasure.???Environments have different customs, rules and the challenge is balancing that nature with basic safety needs.??Cooperation between agencies can lead to efficiency by reducing redundancy in some areas, increased sharing of best practices which in theory can lead to better results.?Maybe if DHS ties the desired changes required to pleasure rather than fear based activity increases in cooperation and productivity will result. ??For example when new scientific discoveries lead to improved ability?identify criminals, the more the methods and tools are shared the more criminals can be identified correctly.??Such best practices can and should be rapidly deployed.??

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????Are more people dying from war in recent decades as compared with earlier centuries???CRBN?weapons and weapons widespread distribution and manufacturing certainly presents the capability of mass losses unlike anything previous generations have encountered.?

????Do you think it is a coincidence that deterrence is an area where statistical research results (Garcia, 2008) and research is lacking????

????If we want to find criminals it takes a micro participatory format that encourages citizen reporting.?An open clear intentioned system rather than the similar approach covertly.?I.e. tapping on lines and infringing civil liberties right to privacy may get better results.?However extremes in methods of encouragement should be avoided and how the data collected is managed by law enforcement are important considerations.?

????Conflict and violence are to a large extent natural phenomena that will never be eliminated, but by lessening the weapons available and maximizing optimal developments opportunities casualties can be greatly lessoned.?Under optimal conditions, high skilled populations, shared wealth or resources, stable eco-systems and healthy ethics a greater degree of peace can be enjoyed.?We have made great advances in the science of communications, i.e. conflict resolution and psychology to understand human behavior.?If we apply that knowledge and add some wisdom certainly many of the violent fights that dominate the planet could be solved.?

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Tools of Science

????Analytics combined with science can help pinpoint and limit threats.?For example, if within a radius of 50 miles a sudden outbreak in disease becomes evident, this correlation helps investigators locate the source.?

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????Public Health informing Military organizations of the ramifications of violence and the need to fully exhaust other measures first, can be compelling, but weak in influence.?Adding a regulatory risk assessment which combines military, diplomatic, and public health expert review inputs of war action objectives prepared for congress, can add greater depth and scope to interventionist strategies. ??

?Martial Law

“A case in point is the Ferguson protests. Those protests became violent at nightfall, so much to the extent that many of the media recorded incidents resembled third world country violence. In that case, the governor requested the assistance of the National Guard (Toor, 2014) and in limited capacity until order could be restore, so state law enforcement personnel could reestablish control over the circumstances.”

Elisa Bell 2014 Walden University

????The National Guard (NG) should be including the guard in prevention, detection, and response in emergencies taking place in the U.S.??Boosting revenue into NG could get more trained professionals in the society where they would serve most of the time off duty.?

Assessing Nuclear Readiness???

????An author from Atomic Scientist's states,”...complexity and capability to address" nuclear problems present serious concerns (2014).?The articles assume "safer nuclear reactors need to be built"( ).?The assumption reveals a naive understanding of physics and toxicology.?Humanity does not yet possess technologies capable of safely managing materials toxic for estimated (half-life) thousands of years, thus a safe and nuclear really are not congruent ideas.

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????The recent intervention in Syria to destroy arms seems like a good step.?Perhaps international coalitions roaming around destroying stockpiles would be a good idea if we can figure out how to do that without making people or environment?sick near the destruction sites.?I'm not convinced shipping them to KY for incineration is a smart practice.??Dumping toxins in the ocean that provides us food is a bad idea and yet another security item being neglected which is reaching consumers of seafood globally and disrupting the oceans ecosystems according to reports made by Karl Grossman and others ( ).?

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Not so Silent Nuclear War

The causalities at 3 mile island, Chernobyl, Japan, Western Shoshone Nation and more are widely evident and clearly demonstrates nuclear warfare fallout has begun.?Is there definitive evidence proving the recent Japanese tsunami was not a result of manmade earthquake??Advanced militaries possess the technology to cause tornados and sonic systems that disrupt wave patterns or wind currents which can cause storms.???Also Nuclear reactors to begin with is the result of Hitler’s efforts so the disasters are the realization of destruction and alterations to the?genetic material of life itself- also reportedly Hitler’s aim.?The allowance of Nuclear anything, anywhere is the permission to?contaminate and shatter the atom.?Given humans are the only species in nature which destroys its own habitat, the argument for superiority in intelligence is clearly a human-centric distortion.???

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Recommendation:

????Dismantle all reactors and get everyone busy with solar wind power and other options.??Anyone resisting the movement should be subject to all sorts of ramifications including global containment and settlement options which include military actions in extreme circumstances.?However, this should be the work of U.N./ NATO not the U.S. alone.?

????With regard to the dangers of human behavior limiting the destructive tools available, increased monitoring and self-reporting and availability of affordable or free mental health services can be developed and encouraged.?Mass education to maximize human potentials with instruction focused on more sustainable arts and sciences is central to driving culture onto constructive pathways.?Providing subsidized housing, gainful employment, and censoring harmful products and information such as how to make a homemade bomb are all positive steps at increasing safety.??

Nukes????

????History from the perspective of the victor is always slanted with particular bias.?Let us take Iran for example.?If the U.S. and other G5 or G6....what number are we one....are allowed to possess nukes, why can't others??I think is a horrible idea anyone can, but let’s get real, if major states of wealthy individuals can acquire Nuclear Power they likely will.?Yes 140+ nuke reactors presents probably more risk than any enemy in the field and yes long range missiles exist in many modern militaries.?Perhaps that’s why a survey taken a while back led a mixed leadership in the U.S. to predict an eminent attack on our soil involving nuclear warheads.?With a half-life of thousands of years what version of bias should we pick... the optimistic adapting one that we will create containers that have hold and maybe somehow ship this deadly material to space....or we figure out how to neutralize it??Maybe we evolve warfare entirely as other nations have already done and make it?a more humane fight so we can preserve some birds and fish.

????Pervasive bias (Douglas, 2000 ) tendencies presents further concerns that human habits in actions and thinking are more difficult to correct than imagined.?

Artificial Intelligence

????Artificial intelligence, a product of human innovation is not reliable since countless glitches appear and one EMI can set off major disasters.?Do we have manual back-up plans??Many machines will simple not work as designs increasingly reply on digital machinery.??

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Paper Rock Scissors Fire Water- Under/Over: Yes mommy I did my homework

????Many treaties have been drafted and agreed with the benefit of the doubt that best were at work.?Practice however shows treaties do not stick.?Unfortunately rules tend to be thrown out the window in wars, and the pattern is clear that opposing parties liken one another to be terrorist and for good cause.?This being the case, a friend today could easily be an enemy the next and the availability and abundance of weapons of mass destruction just increases the probability of intentional and or accidental use.?Not to say treaties and efforts to demonstrate non-proliferations and weapons reductions or elimination are not important- they are.?We need to be practical as to how far nations will go to curb their development of WMD and bio-weaponry and what’s really working versus what is not to reach such aims.?

The enemy is the?commitment to destroy instead of the commitment and ability to cooperate and compromise in solving disputes.?Instigating conflict to make a profit is not presently a crime, but it could be made one.?That alone would shift industry and de-escalate the use of violence in disputes.?As long as there is lack of discipline, tolerance for violence, resistance and extreme poles and available weapons, people will find something to fight about.?We have mastered?many arts and sciences.?If we wanted a more peaceful planet we could make it.?We would need to address our addictions and fantasies....and face reality.?Might even need to surrender some bias, and find out just how wrong we were about a few assumptions made.?For example maybe we should not be contributing to the destruction of the rainforest and displacing tribal people so that beef can be grown and hardwoods harvested.?Especially since that biome is helping to clean up dirty air (CO2) emissions.?

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Fetish with Poisons??

????The U.S. itself has been introducing life threatening technology into food systems in the U.S. for last several decades in an array of chemicals and growth hormones.?Take a trip to farmlands and you can witness farmers in full space suites applying toxins on the food.?We do this to ourselves and regulate and adjust tolerance regulations with regard to chemicals periodically as we inch further into the established thresholds on what is considered safe levels of toxins. ?

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Without a Trace: Bio-attacks

????After reviewing how similar the symptoms of biological attacks can be compared to other common illnesses, there might be correlation to our astronomical rates of antibiotic rates in the U.S. if more attacks are happening than we are even aware of.?Attacks that go undetected present significant risks.???

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The Influence of Sensationalized Propaganda

????U.S. media has tendencies to announce information before facts are verified, so do some intelligence officers. Significant errors, according to retired agents speaking out, in last several wars have cost many lives and credibility.?Remaining skeptical, observing the facts, and making decisions absent corrupt influences (preemptive or respondent) is easier for the social scientist investigators than anyone answering to constituents inside highly pressurized environments.?The insertion of due process to make legal decisions to kill anyone can help disclose and publicize instances when the state plans to exert lethal force with the consent of the governed.?Such a process also prevents the people of the U.S. government from being misled due to the veil of secrecy and demands the citizenry or anyone paying taxes to accept responsibility for participating in wars whether those wars are just or not.??

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The Cost of Free Speech

????The fairytale of free speech is best illustrated in how it was originally created.?If the Roman or Greek tale I hears was right a king arrested a subject for talking dirt.?The court found that if his dirt was true the subject should be allowed to say it.?The king released him then ordered his guards to go kill him.?The moral of the story is there is a consequence for free speech.?Being careful when what is said could endanger the lives of others is important.??

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Iran as a Friend

????It was the Iran National Guard on the battlefield in Syria before almost anyone else (NPR, 2014).?The myths perpetrated in media are designed for different and specific purposes.?An examination of how the Jewish diaspora financial contributions impact congress with policies regarding Israel is worth reviewing- as are the financial markets surrounding profit making from conflict activities generally.?

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Internal Threats?

????I completely agree with your take on the greatest threat to the U.S. being itself…internal threats far outweigh external threats. While terrorist threats should not be taken lightly, the odds of someone falling victim to one are about double the odds of falling victim to lightning (to put things in perspective). What is far more likely is our divided country ruining itself, getting over-involved and stretched?thin abroad while neglecting itself at home, financially destroying itself over the near future, and civil unrest continuing to spread. ?Every powerful empire has fallen due to these reasons, and our current trajectory puts us on a path to doing the same. We would be wise to take Zakaria's guidelines for how to proceed in this?globalized, increasingly "Post-American World." ?If we do not, then our sixteenth president will eventually be proven right when predicting that "a house divided against itself cannot stand."?(PhD Candidate Walden University 2014)

????Senior U.S. military officials criticize lack of tangible plans, constrained decision making from Washington and a lack of support from U.S. citizens, making completing the mission technically impossible.?Analysts argue instability and threats have increased, not decreased since interventions began in 2001. ?

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????U.S. spending and growth in manufacturing sector and public sector as of 2014 correlates faster growth in war economies than in any other sector in the U.S.?The accomplishment list however on some fronts seems to lend credibility that intelligence is learning from past errors.?As Jerry Brown says, sometimes things must get worse better people want them to be better.?

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Prioritizing the Greatest Threats on Earth

???Is it fair to prioritize greatest threats based on greatest losses or potential for losses??How about the Congo, with over 3 million dead, surely that matters??

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????Do you?have ideas on?why the websites are being permitted to exist for the terrorist or terrorist suspects and haters generally???We isolate prisoners and control their access to information, why not apply that to the internet to prevent the spread of hate since we can show conditioning and links to recruitment take place mainly there??

????Considering what occurred in Japan following the?AUM attacks, panic overwhelmed hospitals and lead to waste of medical supplies just to calm the population.?Hopefully someone has learned from that and our emergency plans are?better??Concerns over the availability of vaccines in the event of a biological attack and how they will be distributed, if needed, must be better addressed.?

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????In WWII Einstein brought his nuclear fission discoveries to the U.S.?The same line of thinking was used at that time that to beat the Nazis we should go ahead and develop nuclear weapons.?By justifying nuclear power and the bomb the notion of military superiority was attained (Jackson, R 2014) briefly before proliferation raised its ugly head.?Are we any safer now because of the development and arms race or less safe with the problem of nuclear waste, contaminated water, accidents, and black markets??It is a vicious circle and line between who is the real enemy and presenting the greatest threat sometimes points in directions least expected.?

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????Biological attacks have likely occurred more than realized since many of the symptoms can be easily misidentified as flu and other diseases (Levy and Sidel 2012).?

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????Uncle Sam knows it's a catch 22 situation between arms development and potentials for thefts, accidents.?Vigilance in the control of materials and information is not fail-proof.?Corruption and negligence however are widely documented by intelligence agencies and most countries are doing very poor jobs managing corruption.?Still drug and environmental illness related deaths appear higher than war related ones- for now.?The economy of fear and climate of conflict does require readiness, but violence prevention offers a much neglected area where measurable progress is possible to decrease conflicts safely and destroy corruption.?Education is a tool- even for those advocating greater development of the weapons and as technology expands so do the threats.?

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Pirates: Potentials for Theft?

????It might be interesting to note some of the most advanced and sensitive research being done in private industry and universities across the U.S. is contracted out and or performed by foreign nationals holding HS or other work visas.?

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Recommendations:

For war actions that provide the luxury of time to develop proposals for funding, benchmarks for expectations and measures of performance success should be transparent and specific.?Congress should have a process to debate this and respond to Defense Dept. or DHS or?any branch asking for funds.?Inside this process should be analysis from Department of Peace experts- if such an agency can be approved, and?it can advise congress of exhaustive steps or status of those steps to ensure alternative diplomatic channels have been?ineffective and issue recommendations to respond to the various funding requests and present questions or further define items?inside the proposals.?To ensure diplomacy has been exhausted and such third party process erodes collusion and denies corruption if sufficiently independent.?The process also improves transparency.??

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????We should examine the application of the War Powers Act and how it can be better?applied based on the intentions of that law and amend it with some specifics if needed.?Had we had restrictions about issuing funds based on faulty hearsay so called intelligence then yes lives could have been saved.

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????Such reform would also dramatically redirect spending and cut off loopholes allowing appropriations currently going under the radar and not even in easily recognizable budget items.?For example Department of Homeland Security is found under transportation.?The FBI report on corruption sky rocking in the U.S. in the 1990’s is an indicator.?Interestingly that report was removed in future revision to the site hosting online archives for the FBI.?

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Top Secret

????No FOIA request should penetrate classified information and since hackers are breaking in, why use databases for sensitive grades of information??Ironically my solution is to revert to analog and changing codes- simplify everything down unless you are on a need to know basis to limit the potential of proliferation if the real goal is to stop giving secrets away.?Even status of emergency planning contains some confidential information.?

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????False advertising is illegal so why propaganda should be permitted??Where lives are concerned we need to agree and not tolerate pervasive bias, unmarked opinions, and unsubstantiated ideas to be presented as fact.?Not everyone possess the ability to dissect data like this thus the responsibility really comes from the producers of the products to remove hyperbole unless it is clearly presented as such.?The classification of fiction and nonfiction could help consumers understand the quality of the information being reviewed.?Requiring such designations per paragraph will create jobs as well and drastically improve what is available on the internet.

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Update Drop Duck Cover

????Posters for emergency readiness, home emergency kits, and even shelter drill preparation could all be developed and distributed by DHS at no cost to taxpayers.?Requiring each person or family to have emergency plans would drastically improve readiness, but an ability to opt out or not submit the plans for review should be optional.

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Controlling Responses Following Major Disasters

????Compounding variables, and competing interests leads me to think that it's pretty difficult in mass attacks to get quality containment without some mistakes and errors along the way.?It is important to allow for rapid adaptation and to maintain an ability to improvise.?A review of the many nuclear related accidents and near detonations reveals how critical thinking, the review of evidence, and even luck has contributed so far to the prevention of nuclear war in a number of scenarios where logic alone points to an inevitable strike (NPR 2/14). Command and control author.

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????The concept of self-policing- self leading and accountability are starting to resonate in society in the U.S.?Trial and error will keep us moving naturally along with artificial intelligence as stronger checks and balances and back-up manual controls get erected.?Transparency and awards mechanisms could speed innovation as we develop tools and resources to prevent, reduce, and respond to violence.?

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????Does?the U.S. has any legal rights or obligations to get involved anywhere in the world without congressional approval, which historically has not be honored??Mesopotamia was until met by the Romans was the largest and strongest nation on earth.?While a modern United Arab world presents challenges to the West, and compromises appear likely, the present foreign policies and strategies of war are not producing benefits for either side.?With both possess an end time’s outlook at their religious base, the potential for Armageddon styled conflict is exponentially increased unless leadership and the public uphold the advances of the enlightenment period where reason, not impulse and tolerance not tyranny prevails.?There is no evidence that military actions have increased stability or peace in any of the regions the U.S. has intervened in since Dessert Storm.?Also, Peace methods rather than war methods in many instances have yet to be embraced in the centers of conflict such as between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.?

Negotiating with Enemy Combatants

????War activities are destructive to peace aims.?In simple terms if establishing Peace is the aim, preserving equilibriums is key.?The breakdown of Peace and the denial of environments where healthy social development can?occur, breeds further destruction.?Therefore negotiating with terrorist or enemies is important because doing so maximizes an opportunity to end or reduce violence.?There are instances where negotiating is not the best option.?It is here I concede to Bush, but as a blanket policy it removes a tool from our military commanders which is detrimental to our long term aims to end the otherwise never-ending war on terror.?In principle, yes a war against violence is never over, but in the practical limits of the use of force, reserved for priority reductions of attacks or eminent threats, such broad goals are best directed in arenas other than the military industrial complex.??Accountability for war crimes would be great but the international war crimes court is not really the most robust institution.?With cooperation and support from the U.S. that court is an opportunity to solve a major flaw of the patriot Act, which allegedly steps beyond the rule of law with excessive exemptions and allows us a forum to reaffirm the civilized world’s commitment to the rule of law.?The U.S. tabled a department of Peace?bill?in the house right after 911. Resurrecting the bill is fundamentally essential to the balance of power.??

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Admissions

????Experts disagree on treatments and thresholds for toxins.?People are even slower in teams,?under stress, or when wounded.?Fast analyzing machines and robots and suited robocops- and bug sized troops are the future armies.?Lasers, storms, financial markets will supplant the majority of the antiquated styles of warfare.?De-escalations and downsizing nukes following the end of the cold war is a very positive step in the right direction.?The push from Russia and China to modernize nuclear capabilities is two steps backwards.?How must we respond to that?

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Experts and Competence?

????It is a defense mechanism to want to find comfort in knowledge and the idea of experts.?However, experts are the ones that designed these weapons and hazards and experts make laws few follow.?Competence is pointed to again and again as the reason for failure and psychologists have determined human behavior is driven by specific motivations (Mazlow) in a hierarchy of needs and behavior is highly error (Bogner, Sue)?prone -thus predictably unreliable. People largely operate with distortions and act based on variables other than logic, except when on tasks and focused with built in checks and balances to limit errors.?Given the history of toxic waste (Jackson, R. 2014) and given the tendency to make errors, removing risks is a preventative measure we should be focused on.?

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????Qualitative factors much more challenging to implement because subjectivity and number of variables are more difficult to control.?However the balance to strike in any program is both in the usefulness substance and measurable outcomes.?

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????Does the propensity of chaos increase under extreme stress??Does personality, a combination of mental and even physically determined traits help explain why some people can handle more or less stress than others???Observations suggest regressive behavior differs in stress situations.?While emergency planning and practice helps, results from simulated drills at airports across the nation and review of actual accidents and natural disasters show us we still have a long way to go before we streamline coordination and effective responses in emergency situations.?

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Conceptual versus Physical Practices and Anticipated Emergency Responses

????It is naive to over plan and have thick manuals and laws few if any can understand, much less follow.?Consequently, like the most effective communications recommendations, keep things simple and train the frontline and equip them with smart tools and adequate protective gear and drill them to ensure they put their armored suits on correctly.?Kevlar, bomb proof lightweight materials exist.?Upgrading first-line responders and soldier protective equipment is a priority.?

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References

Atomic, B. (2014) Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. retrieved?12/29/14 from:

https://thebulletin.org/search/topics/nuclear-weapons?

Bogner, M. (2003) p.9. Error is behavior, A.P.A. Washington D.C:

Psychological science agenda.

Caldicott, H. (1994). Nuclear madness. New York: Norton.

Congressional Research Service, (1990). Environmental Concerns Periodical. Summer/Fall.

(original citation being reviewed currently to locate a more current figure of polluted

waterways.)

Davenport, (2002)

Doren, Charles Van. A History of Knowledge (1991). NY: Ballantine Books

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Douglas, N. (2000). Enemies of Critical thinking: lessons from social psychology research.

Reading Psychology 21:129-144

GAO. (2004). HHS Bioterrorism Preparedness Programs: States Reported Progress but Fell Short of Program Goals for 2002. Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04360r.pdf.

Garcia, M. (2008). The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems. M: Butterworth-Heinemann.

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Garson, G, 2006. Securing the Virtual State. Social Sciences Computer Review V24 (4) 489-496 Sage DOI 10.1177/0894439306289100 downloaded at Walden University Feb. 6 2015.

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