Welcome to the 27 August issue of this Newsletter. A year earlier, we were reporting on the devastating hurricanes striking the Gulf Coast of the US. This year Recommended Reading reviews year since hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Other weather-related events are also reviewed, as well as several news stories regarding their causes and mitigation techniques. The topic of disaster reduction will be covered further in next week's issue, coming after the International Disaster Reduction Conference. Other stories this week provide updates to airline terror plots and security measures, the latest events in the Middle East, more reports of confidential data compromised by weaknesses in cyber security, and many other topics.

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3. AML/CFT Monitor

The AML/CFT Monitor is a monthly 16-page print publication. News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. Purchase a subscription at our online store:
TAMNI Publications

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AML/CFT Incidents/Cases
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Allegations of links between Kashmir earthquake relief and terrorist financing continue. The British Charity Commission has launched a formal investigation into the aid group Crescent Relief and has frozen its funds.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/10980.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1924153.cms
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/world/europe/24cnd-britain.html
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/tcc/terrorism.asp
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=138544

Russia's Deposit Insurance Agency revoked the license of Fonon Bank for repeatedly failing to adhere to the Money Laundering Abatement and Counter Terrorist Financing Act.
http://www.akm.ru/eng/news/2006/august/21/ns1764308.htm

Former Ukraine Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko has been sentenced in US court to nine years in prison for money laundering, wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property. He was also ordered to pay a $10 million fine. The conviction followed accusations of embezzlement of state funds, abuse of office, and other charges. He is appealing the conviction, but is also wanted in the Ukraine and has been convicted in absentia in Switzerland.

PayPal has frozen Mohammed Hassan's account and banned him from using the service if he refuses to fax the company a personal information to prove he is not a match on the US government terrorism list.


Former Bank of New York Vice President Lucy Edwards was sentenced to five years probation for her role in a plan to launder Russian funds. Her husband Peter Berlin received the same sentence.

US authorities have charged 13 ethnic Sri Lankan Tamils from Canada and the US with providing material support to the Tamil Tigers. (See GTM/Americas, above)
http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/1733

Vietnamese banks have closed accounts held by North Korea.
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AML/CFT Legislation and Regulation
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The People's Bank of China's annual report describes increased efforts to end money laundering, particularly in black market cash. Last year they uncovered more than 50 cases involving some $1.25 billion.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/08/25/290136/China_widens_effort_to_halt_money_laundering.htm

Hari Krishna Gururajan provided a commentary on "Significance of KYC in Indian Capital Markets".
http://www.riskcenter.com/story.php?id=13374

Switzerland has added two lists of alleged al Qaeda affiliates based on US President Bush's executive orders.
http://www.gwg.admin.ch/d/aktuell/index.htm
http://www.gwg.admin.ch/d/reguli/pdf/Bush_Listen/Bush-Liste 78.pdf
http://www.gwg.admin.ch/d/reguli/pdf/Bush_Listen/Bush-Liste 79.pdf

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released "ONDCP Media Campaign: Contractor's National Evaluation Did Not Find That the Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign Was Effective in Reducing Youth Drug Use".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-818

The Inspector General of the Treasury released "Bank Secrecy Act: OCC Did Not Take Formal Enforcement Action Against Wells Fargo Bank for Significant BSA Deficiencies". The report was highly critical that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) failed to follow usual practice in determining enforcement action required by law to address numerous and recurring deficiencies.
http://www.treasury.gov/inspector-general/audit-reports/2006/oig06034.pdf

Addressing a meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group, Zimbabwe's Vice President Mujuru called for increased efforts among African countries to counter money laundering and ensure the continent does not become a safe haven for criminals.
http://www.esaamlg.org/current_information/view_event.php?id=87
http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-08-25T125015Z_01_BAN546180_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-AFRICA-LAUNDERING-20060825.XML
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AML/CFT Modalities
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The Arizona Counter-Terrorism Information Center warned of increases in suspicious prepaid cell phone purchases, which could be used for detonation or as a method of terrorist financing.
http://www.bensonnews-sun.com/articles/2006/08/23/news/news9.txt

Counterfeiting in South America may be financing terrorism.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/4143586.html

The Organized Crime and Money Laundering Program of the Institute for Security Studies released "Money Laundering Monitor Issue 4", which discusses developments in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
http://www.issafrica.org/dynamic/administration/file_manager/file_links/NO4.HTM?link_id=&slink_id=3130&link_type=&slink_type=13&tmpl_id=3

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4. Emerging Threat Monitor

For detailed analysis, background information and source documents consider subscribing. Subscriptions to Emerging Threat Monitor can be purchased at our online store:
TAMNI Publications

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ETM Corruption and Transnational Crime
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched its second governance and anticorruption plan under which all contracts ADB awards will now be made public.
http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2006/10472-regional-governance/default.asp

Israeli President Moshe Katsav has been questioned over allegations of harassment against female employees and corruption.

Officials with Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Plateau State Assembly Speaker Simon Lalong and his deputy Usman Musa. The two men took refuge in a judge's chamber and it took 12 hours for police to gain access and make the arrest.
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ETM Economies and Financial Systems
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US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake warned of the threat protectionism poses to economic growth.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2006/20060825/default.htm

India is preparing to expand securities laws to counter threats from globalization.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/24/business/worldbusiness/24security.html

The International Monetary Fund released "Policy Discussion Paper No. 06/04: Trade Issues in the Doha Round: Dispelling Some Misconceptions". Stephen Tokarick explains:
"The current round of multilateral trade negotiations-the Doha Round-presents an opportunity for countries to reap the benefits of trade liberalization. Unfortunately, a number of misconceptions about the likely impact of trade reforms has, in part, impeded more rapid progress toward completion of the Round. This paper addresses some of the most egregious of these misconceptions and presents results from IMF research that sheds light on these issues. In particular, this paper argues that: (i) developing countries have much to gain from their own trade liberalization; (ii) preference erosion could be significant for some countries, but it is not a justification for postponing tariff reductions; (iii) tariffs applied against agricultural products in rich countries actually harm developing countries more than subsidies; and (iv) a disproportionate share of agricultural subsidies in rich countries goes to large wealthy farmers. "
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=19398.0
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ETM Environment and Climate Change
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Recent oil spills in the Indian Ocean, Lebanon and the Philippines have caused serious environmental and economic problems.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/recent-oil-spills

There is a particular threat in Lebanon, where large amounts of oil from the slick created by Israel's bombing of a power plant have settled on the seabed.
http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2006/08/pr_lebanon_oil_spill.htm
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=484&ArticleID=5338&l=en

Warmer springs and moister summers can increase the prevalence of the bacteria that causes bubonic plague.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=50451
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ETM Human Rights
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UN Secretary General Annan released a 54-page report with recommendations for conflict prevention. He proposes a 3-pronged approach:
* targeting the sources of tension within and between societies, states, and regions
* reinforcing the norms and institutions for peace
* strengthening the mechanisms that can resolve inter-state disputes
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/60/891

The UN has approved adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/ahc8.htm

A Chinese court has ordered two Japanese historians to pay 1.2 million yuan ($200,000) to Xia Shuqin, who survived the 1937-8 Nanking massacre. The damages were imposed following a finding that she had been wrongly accused of fabricating the story. The historian's publisher claimed the ruling was an attack on free speech.
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=37281

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, who raised concerns about forced abortions, has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for property damage and mob incitement.

Colombia has undertaken its first legal abortion, in a case of an 11-year-old girl who had been abused by her stepfather.

Chinese researcher Zhao Yan was acquitted of leaking state secrets (in his role as a New York Times journalist) but was sentenced to three years in jail for fraud.

The US has begun classifying reports about Cold War nuclear weapons that have been public for decades.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB197/index.htm
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ETM Infectious Diseases
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Indonesia has confirmed its 60th case of human H5N1 avian influenza infection. Of these, 46 have been fatal. As of 23 August there have been a total of 241 confirmed cases, of which 141 have been fatal.
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2006_08_23/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2006_08_23/en/index.html

As the annual bird migration from the north to the south begins, it is time to implement strict precautionary measures against avian influenza.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=national&alt=&hn=35900
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L22170453
http://www.trend.az/?mod=shownews&news=26046&lang=en

The Caucasus and Balkans are at high risk of H5N1 infections, which continue to spread in Africa, Asia and the Near East.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000378/index.html

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) have released genetic sequences of more than 650 bird flu viruses. Also note World Health Organization (WHO) sequencing procedures and the wild bird sampling detection information available from the Department of the Interior.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r060822.htm
http://wildlifedisease.nbii.gov/ai/
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2006_08_23/en/index.html

The Avian and Human Influenza Facility, administered by the World Bank, has awarded its first grant in the amount of $2 million to the Lao People's Democratic Republic for the Avian and Human Influenza Control and Preparedness Project.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21023232~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Bluetongue, an insect-born viral disease of ruminants, has been detected for the first time in northern Europe.
http://www.oie.int/eng/press/en_060823.htm

Emerging Infectious Diseases journal Vol. 12, No. 9, September 2006, is now available online. This issue focuses on emerging infections in Africa.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm?s_cid=eidindex_e
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ETM Legal Systems
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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that for the first time the Geneva Conventions have achieved universal acceptance, with signature by all 194 nations, following Nauru's and Montenegro's agreements.
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/geneva-conventions-news-210806!OpenDocument
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/ICRC_hails_ratification_of_Geneva_Conventions.html?siteSect=105&sid=6996679&cKey=1156315151000
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/genevaconventions
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ETM Natural Resources
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Chilean miners continue their strike of the country's largest copper mine, Escondida. The dispute over pay continues as mine owner BHP Billiton reached net profits of $10.5 billion and announced that shareholders would receive $3 billion. Earnings per share increased 66 percent, setting a new record.
http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/investorsAndMedia/home.jsp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1857101,00.html
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-08-27T183229Z_01_N27277153_RTRIDST_0_MINERALS-CHILE-ESCONDIDA.XML

Pakistan is focusing on exploitation of indigenous oil and gas resources:
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?152471

Sierra Leone's diamond and gold mines are crucial to economic and social recovery.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55225
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/business/august06/22082006/b322082006.html
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ETM Populations
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The International Monetary Fund's "Economics of Demographics" explores demographic change and the effects of population aging from a variety of angles, including pensions, health care, financial markets, and migration, and looks specifically at the impact in Europe and Asia.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2006/09/index.htm

Japan's birth rate has increased for the first time in six years. The health ministry reports that in the first six months of this year nearly 550,000 births were registered, an increase of over 11,600 compared to the same period last year.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200608230096.html

The UK Office of National Statistics reports that the population has exceeded 60 million for the first time. Growth has largely been fueled by migration.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=6
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5281360.stm
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/immigration-statistics-05

The Department for Communities and Local Government has launched a new Commission on Integration and Cohesion to consider innovative approaches at how communities across the UK can improve cohesion and tackle extremism.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1002882&PressNoticeID=2231
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ETM Social Responsibility
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The Confederation of Indian Industry has launched a new Center of Excellence for Corporate Social Responsibility.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/26/stories/2006082603240500.htm
http://www.ciionline.org/
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ETM Technology
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Chinese universities and research establishments have joined in a research effort to biologically engineer super animals, to transform stockbreeding output as it did with high-yield rice.
http://english.people.com.cn/200608/23/print20060823_295960.html

The US Department of Agriculture has approved a test that detects the unapproved genetically modified (GM) strain of rice whose accidental release was announced earlier this month. The EU, Japan, and other countries have suspended US shipments and are evaluating whether the test will be an acceptable screening method to prevent its further spread. (See CIM/Agriculture for more)
http://www.startribune.com/561/story/636485.html
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34462
http://westernfarmpress.com/news/08-25-rice-nervous-GMO/

Advanced Cell Technology has announced a technique to create embryonic stem cells by removing single cells, thereby leaving the embryo intact. This technique could potentially address ethical barriers to stem cell research based on embryo destruction.
http://www.advancedcell.com/press-release/advanced-cell-technology-announces-technique-to-generate-human-embryonic-stem-cells-that-maintains-developmental-potential-of-embryo
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ETM Weapons (WMD, Proliferation)
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Iran barred UN inspectors from its Natanz uranium enrichment plant, shortly before providing its formal response to UN Security Council proposals to end its nuclear program. Their response proposed serious talks without conditions, but offered few details. Today, Iran insisted that its atomic program is irreversible, and launched a new phase of the heavy water reactor project.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Focus/IaeaIran/index.shtml

The Institute for Science and International Security released "ISIS Imagery Brief: IAEA Inspectors and Iran Clash Over Frequency of Inspections of Underground Facilities".
http://www.isis-online.org/publications/southasia/khushabdiscussion.pdf

The Carnegie Endowment's Proliferation News reviews UN resolution 1696, which moots Iran's legal clams.
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=18636

IAEA's Illicit Trafficking Database reports 103 confirmed incidents of illegal trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and radioactive materials.
http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2006/traffickingstats2005.html

The Center for Nonproliferation Studies has released a special report, "The Oslo Symposium: On the Road to HEU Minimization".
http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/060822.htm

The US House Permanent  Select Committee on Intelligence released its own report on strategic and intelligence challenges posed by Iran.
http://intelligence.house.gov/Media/PDFS/July2006intelreformassessment.pdf

The Swiss Tropical Institute, and the University of Bern have developed a new immunological approach that can be used to specifically and rapidly recognize anthrax spores.
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/biowissenschaften_chemie/bericht-69261.html

Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies analyst Ajey Lele writes of "Using 'Chemistry' in Terrorism".
http://www.ipcs.org/whatsNewArticle1.jsp?action=showView&kValue=2112&status=article&mod=b

Australian Federal Police are investigating a case in which a 100-kilogram medical drug shipment was diverted to Iraq and possibly turned into nerve gas in late 2002.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/probe-over-nerve-gas-suspicion/2006/08/20/1156012411533.html

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5. Critical Infrastructure Monitor

Critical Infrastructure Monitor gives you the background and analysis missing from these news briefings. Subscriptions can be purchased from our online store:
TAMNI Publications

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CIM Agriculture and Food
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The EU, Japan, South Korea and other areas have suspended any US rice shipment that cannot be certified free from the genetically modified (GM) strain, whose accidental release was announced earlier this month. The US Department of Agriculture has approved a test that detects the unapproved GM version.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2006/08/0307.xml
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081501053.html?referrer=email
http://www.gipsa.usda.gov/GIPSA/webapp?area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing
http://www.bayercropscience.com/bayer/cropscience/cscms.nsf/id/20060819_EN?Open&ccm=400020000&L=EN&markedcolor=%23003399
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-08-25T215656Z_01_N25225472_RTRUKOC_0_US-FOOD-BAYER-RICE.xml
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aA79x08qoKzY
http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1126&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Scientists in India's Ministry of Health say there are inconsistencies in the Center for Science and Environment report of high pesticide levels in Coca Cola and Pepsi, and rejects the findings of the report that has led to banning of the beverages in six states.
http://mohfw.nic.in/Report%20of%20the%20Expert%20Committee%20to%20Review%20the%20CSE%20Repot%20o1.pdf
http://www.cseindia.org/misc/cola-indepth/cola2006/cola_press2006.htm
http://www.coca-colaindia.com/quality/fact_sheet.asp#products


The US House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack held a hearing on "Agroterrorism's Perfect Storm: Where Human and Animal Disease Collide" in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education to discuss vulnerabilities in the food supply.
http://davidscott.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=49110
http://hsc.house.gov/content.cfm?id=15

Zanzibar has banned bananas from the Tanzanian mainland to prevent banana bacterial wilt.
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CIM Banking and Finance
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Poland's parliament has undertaken an inquiry into the sale of banks after the fall of communism, investigating claims of corruption and whether foreign ownership is contrary to national interests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5272884.stm
http://www.nbp.pl/

Zimbabwe move to a new currency in the three weeks from 1-21 August, as well as the notice that individuals could convert only Z$100 per day, led to chaos, and a shortage of cash in circulation.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55213
http://www.rbz.co.zw/
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CIM Chemical
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In the US state of Louisiana, the Lake Area Industry Alliance reports that Hurricane Rita did $150 million damage to 23 chemical plants, lowering production by 3.1 million tons.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2006/08/24/71695.htm

The Louisiana Chemical Association describes the lessons it learned from last year's hurricane season, and plans for future disaster preparedness.
http://www.lca.org/documents/Storm Preparation Document Version 1.pdf
http://www.lca.org/documents/Storm Preparation Document Version 2.pdf

In the UK, the Royal Society of Chemistry called for the industry to play a key role in preventing oil pipeline corrosion. He said senior management must ask and answer five key questions:
* What is your corrosion management process?
* What has been your experience of corrosion during the last twenty years, what were the outcomes, and how were lessons learned disseminated?
* How does information flow from readings taken on site by technicians, through to analysis and decision-making at senior management level?
* What is your ‘corrosion model’ for predicting where damage might occur, and how often and in what way is this challenged and verified?
* How does all this compare with international best practice?
http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2006/oilpipeline.asp
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CIM Cybersecurity
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Microsoft has issued a replacement security patch for an Internet Explorer vulnerability after finding the initial fix both caused the browser to crash and could itself be exploited to permit remove control of an affected computer. This is a critical vulnerability that should be patched immediately.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=923762
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924054
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-042.mspx
http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=1611
http://www.us-cert.gov/

Unpatched security vulnerabilities in enterprise products are growing. Next Generation Security Software that is working with the UK National Infrastructure Coordination Center has identified a backlog of some 175 unpatched vulnerabilities.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/24/0-day_manace/
http://secunia.com/search/?search=ngssoftware

F-secure and SANS have identified vulnerabilities in Intel wireless driver updates.
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/archive-082006.html#00000947
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/archive-082006.html#00000954 http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?date=2006-08-24

Sovereign Bank reports that three employee's laptop computers were stolen in the last month, possibly containing some customer account information.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/27/sovereign_bank_reports_data_theft/

Beaumont Hospitals in Michigan reported the theft of a laptop computer containing home care information on 28,000 patients. The machine was recovered and analysis indicated the data had not been accessed.
http://www.beaumonthospitals.com/pls/portal30/site.news_pkg.story_show?xstoryid=631

Ten computers were stolen from a regional office of HCA Healthcare, containing thousands of billing records.
http://www.hcahealthcare.com/CustomPage.asp?guidCustomContentID={0159E352-378A-40F2-AA8A-F79F59AEFA8E}

A software error in the US Department of Education's student aid web loan servicing site exposed personal data of up to 21,000 clients. Software vendor Affiliated Computer Services will provide one year of free credit monitoring to those affected.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/24/up_to_21000_loan_clients_may_have_had_data_exposed/
http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/41804-1.html
http://www.ed.gov/

AOL's Chief Technology Officer Maureen Govern and two other executives have left the company following the privacy breach in which search queries of 650,000 subscribers were released, including those containing personally identifiable data.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/22/business/aol.php

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/23/business/search.php

Britain's Home Office has dismissed three Identity and Passport Service officials in connection with identity card security breaches.
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1258262006

ATandT corporation has filed a federal lawsuit to identify those individuals or data brokers  responsible for falsely posing as customers in order to obtain private phone records.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/23/AR2006082301683.html

The Computer Security Institute and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released its 2006 Computer Crime and Security Survey, finding that virus attacks are the leading cause of financial losses, followed by unauthorized access to networks, lost or stolen equipment, and theft of proprietary information or intellectual property.
http://www.gocsi.com/press/20060712.jhtml;jsessionid=1K04FTR2LCB1UQSNDLRCKHSCJUNN2JVN
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CIM Defense Industrial Base
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The Center for American Progress and the Lexington Institute report that "The war in Iraq is increasingly depleting the Marine Corps' equipment. Vehicles like the Humvee and M1A1 tanks built to last for 15 years or more are wearing out in less than five. The cost to replace and repair the equipment damaged and destroyed is enormous - more than $5 billion a year. But the problem is more than just financial. To make up for the equipment shortfalls the Marines have been taking equipment from units deployed outside of Iraq and from their reserve stocks and sending them to Iraq. Unable to train with the equipment that they will be using in combat, the combat readiness of units outside of Iraq are suffering as a result."
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=2028223
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CIM Emergency Services
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Glenn McGee investigates a revolutionary emergency medicine that doesn't need to be matched to a patient's blood type, and carries no risk of communicable disease, but the trauma victims most necessary for clinical trials would be unable to provide informed consent.
http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/24076/

A trailer filled with $95,000 worth of bioterrorism emergency equipment was stolen near a Riverside California hospital The stolen trailer is designed to respond to bioterrorism incidents and hazardous-materials emergencies, but did not contain hazardous materials
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_C_trailer19.6c3544.html

The Cayman Islands have upgraded their emergency communications center.
http://www.caymannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000052/005253.htm
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CIM Energy
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Pipeline corrosion is not only a problem with BP's Prudhoe Bay. (Note additional details in the Chemical section, above.) This week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued new rules to require reporting of infrastructure damage and to ensure better monitoring and assessment of pipeline and storage infrastructure. BP has denied a Financial Times story that it manipulated inspection data to avoid pipe replacements. Alaska's attorney general is looking into corrosion management.
http://www.ferc.gov/press-room/press-releases/2006/2006-3/08-23-06.asp
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,0,00.html
http://usresponse.bp.com/go/site/1249/
http://www.law.state.ak.us/

The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) wrote off its $8 billion investment in development of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) pipeline project. Following further cost increases, the project is in further jeopardy.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/png-pipeline-costs-blow-out-again/2006/08/22/1156012540765.html
http://www.agl.com.au/AGLNew/About+AGL/Major+projects/PNG+Gas+summary.htm
http://www.oilsearch.com/

India's state governments will be required to provide open access for provisioning energy from any area, under the draft Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIR) policy.
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=138287
http://pmindia.nic.in/taskforcebody.htm

Nigeria only has nine working oil rigs, according to a recent Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) survey.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/august06/21082006/f321082006.html
http://www.opec.org/

Romania has accepted Iran's assurance that a shooting incident against a Romanian oil rig was a commercial dispute, not an act of hostility.
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Oil_and_Gas/10062940.html

Venezuela is concluding agreements with China National Petroleum Corp and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (SINOPEC) under which it will triple oil exports to China.
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CIM Information Technology
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Apple Computer Inc. will recall 1.8 million lithium ion laptop batteries after nine devices overheated, causing minor burns in two users. This follows Dell's recall of 4.1 million lithium ion batteries last week. In both cases, the battery power cells were made by Sony. Sony says the replacement and other associated costs could reach $258 million. The battery recalls has also led to flight advisories by airlines including Qantas, addressing fears they could catch fire.
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06245.html
https://depot.info.apple.com/batteryexchange/index.html
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200608/06-0825E/index.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/safety-first-for-carryon-dells/2006/08/23/1156012601607.html

Access Markets International - Partners Inc reports that small and medium businesses in India will invest about $500 million on servers and networking hardware this year.
http://www.ami-partners.com/ami/sections/Press/India_Networking_8-21-06_with_slide.pdf

The US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has made available a new version of the Access Grid Toolkit.
http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2006/news060821.html

The US Federal Trade Commission has formed an Internet Access Task Force to address issues of net neutrality.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/08/neutrality.htm
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CIM Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
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The sale of British Nuclear Group has been delayed for up to a year.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1855396,00.html

The New York Times provides this overview of the "Slow Start for Revival of Reactors".
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/22/business/22nukes.html
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CIM Public Health and Healthcare
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has released "Helmets: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners". It addresses use of helmets as the most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities from motorcycle crashes, which are the main cause of death and disability among motorcyclists.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr44/en/index.html

University of Manchester (UK) researchers have developed a topical treatment using an anti-HIV drug, lopinavir, which could prevent cervical cancer.
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/pressreleases/hivdrug/

South Africa's government and, in particular the health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has come under increasing criticism for its response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including her insistence on traditional cures like garlic rather than anti-retroviral medications. The criticism has reached a high enough pitch to lead the government to acknowledge the need for new communication strategies, but is not yet high enough to force the minister's removal.
http://www.tac.org.za/
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=282048&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/
http://allafrica.com/stories/200608250780.html

Also note South Africa's decision to appeal a high court ruling that it must provide ARVs to infected prisoners.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=282069

The US Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has prepared "Pediatric Anthrax: Implications for Bioterrorism Preparedness", which explains that anthrax in children is particularly difficult to detect and treat.
http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2006/pedanthpr.htm

The Food and Drug Administration (FD) has approved over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraceptive Plan B.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01436.html

President Bush issued an executive order calling for transparency in healthcare information.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060822-2.html
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CIM Telecommunications
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The European Commission has joined German regulators to order Deutsche Telekom to open its network to broadband competition.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKAaj31bJHUs

The US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is looking into reports that telecommunication companies plan to replace Universal Service Fund fees withdrawn by the FCC with new fees.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060825-7596.html
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CIM Transportation
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Airline security alerts continued throughout the week. Among the incidents were:
* A China Southern Airlines flight bound for Australia was turned around following a bomb hoax. An Australian man was detained in China, following his confession that he had undertaken the hoax following a failed love affair.
* An Aer Lingus flight from New York was evacuated following a bomb threat during a stopover in Ireland
* A US airliner en route to India was diverted to the Netherlands as US air marshals became suspicious of certain passengers. Twelve men of South Asian appearance were arrested, but Dutch prosecutors subsequently released them. India lodged a formal complaint and called for a detailed report. Note this personal account:
http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/11490.html
* Argentine authorities found a stick of dynamite on a flight bound for the US, but there was no indication of terrorism. There were six other incidents on Friday.

As Nigerian President Obasanjo opened the new Roll-on Roll-off (RoRO) Port, he called on the Nigerian Ports Authority to ensure security at all the nation's ports, both on and offshore.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/business/august06/25082006/b425082006.html
http://www.aboutnpa.co.uk/

The International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center continues their alert regarding the Chittagong anchorage in Bangladesh, where 25 incidents have been reported since 28 January.
http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php

Egypt's transportation minister acknowledged serious problems throughout the country's rail system, and also acknowledged the need to improve other transportation services.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/809/fr1.htm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0823/p04s01-wome.html

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6. Disaster Reduction Monitor

News highlights from the past week are provided in this free email update, but detailed analysis, background information and source documents are only available to subscribers. Disaster Reduction Monitor subscriptions and other titles can be purchased here:
TAMNI Publications

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DRM Incidents
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In India, Kawas village in the Thar Desert had suffered six years of drought, but 36 hours of heavy rain has inundated the village. At least 250 people are missing and presumed dead, and the homes of the 5,000 residents have been destroyed.

A Tu-154 plane flying from the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa to St Petersburg crashed in bad weather killing all 170 people on board.

Outside Cairo, Egypt, one train ran into a second, killing 58 and injuring more than 140.

In the US state of Kentucky, a passenger plane crashed soon after take-off. Of the 50 people on board, one passenger, the co-pilot, has survived in critical condition.

In Kama, Rajasthan state India, a water tank collapsed during a wrestling match at a village fair. At least 47 people using the tank as an observation post were killed, and dozens were injured.

In the Spanish town of Villada a passenger train derailed when rounding a curve at excessive speed. Six people were killed and 36 injured.

The eruption of Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano left 5 people dead. 19,000 were evacuated.

A huge oil spill in the Philippines when a fuel tanker sank, releasing two million liters of industrial fuel, has claimed its first human victim. The tar-like sludge left on Guimaras island releases toxic fumes that have made skin and breathing problems widespread among villagers, and which killed one.

Fire broke out at the Explo Systems bomb recycling plant at Camp Minden in the US state of Louisiana, setting off more than ten explosions. The entire town of some 800 people and 400 prisoners from a nearby jail were evacuated, and there were no casualties.  
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DRM Response and Recovery
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Ethiopia has appealed for aid to help more than 118,000 people displaced by three weeks of flash floods that killed at least 628 people.
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/pr06/5906.asp

Assistance is needed to help aid agencies address the water-borne diseases following monsoon rains and floods in earthquake-hit parts of Pakistan, where 75,000 people were killed and 3.5 million left homeless by the 8 October earthquake.
http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=B44710E1-5056-AA77-6CCF326E45190708&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html
http://www.ri.org/countries.php?cid=16

Aid to the displaced in Lebanon and Gaza as well as funds to dispose of unexploded ordnance and other remnants of war are also sought.
http://www.oxfam.org/en/programs/emergencies/mideast06/index.htm
http://www.ri.org/articles.php?ssid=84

Egyptian railway director Hanafi Abdel Qawi has been dismissed following the Cairo train crash. An investigation is under way, but the rail system has a very poor safety record, largely due to lack of maintenance and investment.

The sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia, and families of two of the twelve victims, have filed suit against the mine owner, International Coal Group, and five other companies for failing to provide proper safety equipment and putting the miners at grave risk.

Instead of collecting money for victims,
Jovany Desir of Miami, Florida has been charged by a US grand jury with setting up a, bogus American Red Cross website and using phishing attacks to cash-in on Hurricane Katrina victims. He is also charged with selling fake banking and online payment sites and other efforts to make it easier for other criminals more easily to establish bogus sites. There have been other incidents of disaster relief-related fraud.
http://www.tampabaylive.com/stories/2006/08/060817katrina.shtml
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/today/s_466455.html
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel06/sagoemail011106.htm

The Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America issued "Pattern of Greed: How Insurance Companies Put Profits Over Policyholders". The 13-page report lists examples of past disasters to illustrate what it calls the industry's practice of denying claim payments to policyholders, pointing to the industry's surplus of $427.1 billion in 2005 as additional evidence of the industry’s greed. They have also launched a petition to call for the insurance industry to "clean up its act and pay fair and just claims without delay".
http://www.peopleoverprofits.org/disaster_report.pdf (report)
http://action.peopleoverprofits.org/badfaith/ (petition)
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DRM Risks
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Participants at a conference in London warned that the kind of deluge that overwhelmed New Orleans could also face high-risk areas such as Hull, Portsmouth, and the Thames Gateway. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has cut flood defense budgets to make up losses from the farm subsidy system.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5277650.stm
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,,1855882,00.html
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/default.htm
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1161570
http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/environment/flood_thamesg.pdf
http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/environment/flooding.pdf

The Florida Building Commission has voted to maintain weaker wind-resistant building requirements for the Panhandle area, rather than matching the stronger standards in the rest of the state.
http://www.dca.state.fl.us/FBC/commission/1_commission_meetings.htm
http://cms.nationalunderwriter.com/cms/nupc/Breaking+News/2006/08/23-fl-st

India's National Institute of Disaster Management, with international and regional organizations, held a 2-day meeting to review gaps in existent South Asian disaster management policies. Tsunamis, earthquakes, and areas of investment were among the issues addressed.
http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/
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DRM Mitigation
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The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is helping Ecuador prepare for potential mudflows that could be triggered by accumulations of materials accumulated on the slope of the Tunguarahua volcano that began erupting 16 August.

Sustainable investment coalition Ceres has identified dozens of new insurance products that address climate change and rising weather-related losses.
http://www.ceres.org/news/news_item.php?nid=221

The International Disaster Reduction Conference opens today in Davos, Switzerland. Watch for detailed coverage in next week's issue of this Newsletter.

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7. Recommended Reading

Hurricane Katrina, the costliest disaster in US history, formed in late August 2005, causing catastrophic devastation along the Gulf Coast in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. On 29 August, the levee system in New Orleans failed, devastating the city and its population. A year later, the repercussions of government failures to mitigate the well-known threat and the utter failure at all levels of government to respond to the disaster as it unfolded continue to reverberate.


Books:
* Douglas Brinkley, "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast" (William Morrow)
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061124235/The_Great_Deluge/index.aspx
http://www.thegreatdeluge.net/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4851087
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/books/review/09oshi.html?ex=1310097600&en=4676642ee3fc7078&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
* Editors of Time Magazine, "Time: Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Changed America" (Time)
* Jed Horne, "Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City" (Random House)
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781400065523
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/books/reviews/4124812.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/books/review/09oshi.html?ex=1310097600&en=4676642ee3fc7078&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
* John McQuaid and Mark Schleifstein, "Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms" (Little Brown)
http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books/50/031601642X/index.html
http://www.pathofdestructionbook.com/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/27/RVG8AKKTTE1.DTL&type=books
* Tom Piazza "Why New Orleans Matters" (Regan Books)
http://www.harpercollins.com/book/index.aspx?isbn=9780061124839
http://www.tinglealley.com/?p=956
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=20700
* Ivor van Heerden and Mike Bryan, " The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina--the Inside Story from One Louisiana Scientist" (Viking)
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670037810,00.html
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/08/27/web/books/books77.txt


US Government Reports:

* Army Corps of Engineers and the Bush administration, "Preliminary Technical Report on Louisiana Protection and Restoration"
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/releases/lacpr.htm
* Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, "A Failure of Initiative".
http://katrina.house.gov/
* Census Bureau demographic information
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles/gulf_coast/index.htm
* Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, "A Performance Review of FEMA's Disaster Management Activities in Response to Hurricane Katrina".
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_06-32_Mar06.pdf
* Government Accountability Office
"Coast Guard: Observations on the Preparation, Response, and Recovery Missions Related to Hurricane Katrina"
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-903
"Hurricane Katrina: Comprehensive Policies and Procedures Are Needed to Ensure Appropriate Use of and Accountability for International Assistance".
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-460
"Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Coordination Between FEMA and the Red Cross Could Be Improved for the 2006 Hurricane Season"
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-712
"Hurricane Katrina: Planning for and Management of Federal Disaster Recovery Contracts"
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-622T
* Congressional Hearings
"Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: A Post-Katrina Review of International Disaster Assistance"
http://reform.house.gov/GovReform/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=41472
* Interagency Performance Evaluation Taskforce (IPET) report on the performance of the New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Protection System during Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/releases/Interagency_Eval.htm
https://ipet.wes.army.mil/
*Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared"
http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/Katrina/ExecSum.pdf - Similar pages


Non-governmental Reports:
* Independent Levee Investigating Team
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/05/24_leveereport.shtml
* National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), "Envisioning a Better Mississippi: Hurricane Katrina and Mississippi - One Year Later"
http://www.naacp.org/news/press/Mississippi.pdf


Press Reviews:
* BBC (UK)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2005/hurricane_katrina/default.stm
* CBC (Canada)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/katrina/
* CNN (USA)
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/katrina/
* Guardian (UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,,1856704,00.html
* National Geographic (USA)
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/katrina/?fs=www7.nationalgeographic.com
* New York Times (USA)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/us/nationalspecial/27orleans.html?hp&ex=1156737600&en=52822103327eebb4&ei=5094
* Der Spiegel (Germany)
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,433188,00.html
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,433372,00.html
* Times Picayune (USA)
http://www.nola.com/katrina/


Anniversary Commemorations:
* Beyond Katrina
http://www.hurricane-katrina.org/2006/08/hurricane_katri_1.html
* City of New Orleans Rebirth Day
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?tabid=80
http://www.jazztimes.com/columns_and_features/news/detail.cfm?article=10870
* Project Recovery
http://www.projectrecovery.ms.gov/mdmh/ProjRecovery.nsf/webpages/Main-Home_Main-Home?OpenDocument


Special Report:
* Asset Management Network, "Disaster Reduction Resource Guide"
http://secure.netsolhost.com/573566.585211/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TP&Category_Code=SPRT0003

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8. Asset Management Network News

We will be attending "Connected Health -Empowering Care through Communications Technologies" on 18-19 September, where we will provide information on lessons learned and experiences shared between the financial services and healthcare industries, such as payment systems, security, identity management, data normalization, and outsourcing. The symposium "is bringing together thought leaders from each aspect of healthcare and technology, to discuss the innovative applications of new healthcare communications technologies. Interactive sessions, workshops and panel discussions will focus on the application of these technologies and the impact on providing quality patient care, the management of telemedicine programs in healthcare settings and strategies for integrating connected health throughout the healthcare system". The Connected Health Initiative is a project involving Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Partners Telemedicine.
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?i=f72fe396-bcfc-4e8b-bd21-15f2e83d5673

Don't forget to take a look at our online store for subscriptions to the Monitor series and our Special Reports, ranging from avian influenza to trends in terrorism. "Trends in Terrorism: 2005".

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