from aclu.org:
Tucked inside the National Defense Authorization Act, being marked up by the House Armed Services Committee this week, is a hugely important provision that hasn't been getting a lot of attention — a brand new authorization for a worldwide war.
This stealth provision was added to the bill by the committee's chairman, Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), but has a bit of a history. It was first proposed by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey in 2008 after the Bush administration lost the Boumediene v. Bush case, in which the Supreme Court decided that federal courts would subject the administration's asserted law of war basis to hold Guantanamo detainees to searching review. An idea that may have originally been intended to bolster the Bush administration's basis for holding Guantanamo detainees is now being promoted as an authorization of a worldwide war — and could become the single biggest ceding of unchecked war authority to the executive branch in modern American history.
is the new madrid seismic risk real?...
from continuity central:
Facilitated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Level Exercise 2011 (NLE 2011) has been scheduled for 16 to 20 May. The purpose of the exercise is to prepare and coordinate a multiple-jurisdictional integrated response to a national catastrophic event, with focus on response and recovery activities among federal, regional, state, tribal, local, and private sector participants.
NLE 2011 will simulate the catastrophic nature of a major earthquake in the central United States region of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). The year 2011 is the bicentennial anniversary of the 1811 New Madrid earthquake, for which the NMSZ is named. NLE 2011 will be the first NLE to simulate a natural hazard.
The NLE’s National Private Sector Working Group is seeking ideas and comments from the private sector and suggests that companies can use the exercise to test business continuity plans and procedures.
To participate in the National and/or Regional NLE 2011 Private Sector Working Groups, please contact Private.SectorNLE@dhs.gov. Please indicate the desired level of participation i.e. the national or region/state level. Also, please include which states are of interest to ensure assignment to the appropriate Working Group.
flashbacks: fema/dhs running 'nle 2010' may17-18
nle '09: fema, foreign troops & private military contractors unite
