| NEWS of the Day - August 25, 2011 |
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on some issues of interest to the community policing and neighborhood activist across the country
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following group of articles from local newspapers and other sources constitutes but a small percentage of the information available to the community policing and neighborhood activist public. It is by no means meant to cover every possible issue of interest, nor is it meant to convey any particular point of view ...
We present this simply as a convenience to our readership ... |
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From Google News
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Hurricane Preparedness Tips and Resources to Help Keep Your Family Safe
By SUZAN CLARKE and ANDREA SMITH
Aug. 25, 2011
Hurricane Irene is barreling down on the U.S., a monster storm packing winds of more than 100 miles per hour as it batters the Bahamas. In the next few days, the storm could hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina, or even the Mid-Atlantic and New England states.
The storm will disrupt lives. Millions of people could be affected.
Don't wait until the last minute to get ready. Now is the time to make preparations to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Here are some tips from the Federal Emergency Management Agency:
Be aware of the latest weather forecast.
Make a plan for your family, business and property.
Get a disaster preparedness kit stocked with critical supplies, including important documents and medications.
Get flood insurance. |
Read more of FEMA's advice for securing your family and valued possessions.
The National Weather Service suggests you have a plan for your beloved family pets, and determine safe areas inside your home, as well as escape routes if flooding turns dangerous.
Learn more about creating a family disaster plan.
Track the Storm
Your smartphone could be your most valuable tool during or after a hurricane, with dozens of apps available to provide crucial information.
Here's a list of some of the available apps. Click on the links for download information.
Hurricane HD: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch. $3.99
Hurricane HD lets you track storms, with moving radar and satellite imagery from the National Hurricane center. It provides tropical bulletins, forecasts, and advisories for the Atlantic and Pacific Basins.
You can watch video updates for storms currently underway or forming, and find data on major storms of the past, such as hurricanes Andrew, Hugo and Katrina.
The Weather Channel: iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, Android. Free
The Weather Channel has fully customizable weather maps, animated radar maps, detailed weather conditions and forecasts, severe weather alerts, and a notification bar with the current temperature and severe weather alert indicator.
It allows you to get weather forecasts for your location or search by city, ZIP code, street address or landmark. The app also includes interactive maps that are fully customizable and feature the functionality of Google Maps. Customers can decide to display layers such as radar, clouds, UV index, rainfall and more.
Global Alert Network: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android BlackBerry. Free
The Global Alert Network delivers hands-free national traffic and weather alerts. See iTunes for Apple devices, or go to BlackBerry for a download.
The Global Alert Network is a location-aware network platform that automatically broadcasts audible hands-free alerts to mobile devices. You choose to subscribe to weather or traffic alerts, which are geo-targeted to your location.
Click HERE to learn more about the other available storm-tracking apps.
Click HERE to track the current progress of Hurricane Irene.
Other Resources
Click HERE for a list of useful storm preparedness resources and websites.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-preparedness-tips-resources-family-safe/story?id=14376306
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AP Reveals Strong Ties Between New York Police, A McLean Secret Neighbor
CIA veterans helped organize NYPD intelligence unit
by Bobbi Bowman
The Associated Press published a fascinating story Tuesday about one of McLean's most secret neighbors and its ties to the New York City Police Department's Intelligence unit.
Why is this news? The neighbors, the CIA, are prohibited by law from spying on Americans.
"The NYPD has become one of the country's most aggressive domestic intelligence agencies. A months-long investigation by The Associated Press has revealed that the NYPD operates far outside its borders and targets ethnic communities in ways that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government. And it does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying," the AP reported.
A veteran CIA officer, while still on the agency's payroll, was the architect of the NYPD's intelligence programs. The CIA trained a police detective at the Farm, the agency's spy school in Virginia, then returned him to New York, where he put his new espionage skills to work inside the United States, according to the fast-paced engrossing AP story.
And just last month, the CIA sent a senior officer to work as a clandestine operative inside police headquarters.
While the expansion of the NYPD's intelligence unit has been well-known, many details about its clandestine operations, including the depth of its CIA ties, have not previously been reported, AP said.
According to the AP, the story begins with one man. David Cohen arrived at the New York Police Department in January 2002, just weeks after the last fires had been extinguished at the debris field that had been the twin towers. A retired 35-year veteran of the CIA, Cohen became the police department's first civilian intelligence chief, AP said.
Cohen had an exceptional career at the CIA, rising to lead both the agency's analytical and operational divisions. He also was an extraordinarily divisive figure, a man whose sharp tongue and supreme confidence in his own abilities gave him a reputation as arrogant. Cohen's tenure as head of CIA operations, the nation's top spy, was so contentious that in 1997, The New York Times editorial page took the unusual step of calling for his ouster, AP reported.
Among Cohen's earliest moves at the NYPD was making a request of his old colleagues at CIA headquarters. He needed someone to help build this new operation, someone with experience and clout and, most important, someone who had access to the latest intelligence so the NYPD wouldn't have to rely on the FBI to dole out information.
CIA Director George Tenet responded by tapping Larry Sanchez, a respected veteran who had served as a CIA official inside the United Nations. Often,when the CIA places someone on temporary assignment, the other agency picks up the tab. In this case, three former intelligence officials said, Tenet kept Sanchez on the CIA payroll, AP reported.
When he arrived in New York in March 2002, Sanchez had offices at both the NYPD and the CIA's station in New York. He was finally forced to choose between his CIA job and his NYPD job. He choose the NYPD. He retired last year, according to the AP story.
Last month, the CIA deepened its NYPD ties even further. It sent one of its most experienced operatives, a former station chief in two Middle Eastern countries, to work out of police headquarters as Cohen's special assistant while on the CIA payroll. Current and former U.S. officials acknowledge it's unusual but said it's the kind of collaboration Americans expect after 9/11.
Read the entire AP story here.
http://mclean.patch.com/articles/ap-reveals-strong-ties-between-new-york-police-a-mclean-secret-neighbor |
