The research was based on the work of Igor Smirnov, a controversial Russian scientist who was compared to the legendary figure Rasputin because of his almost mystical powers of persuasion. Some American security contractors have expressed skepticism of the Russian mind-control technology.
The vague press release offered no details about where Halliburton was to build these facilities, or when. Some observers expressed concern that the intention behind the plan was to detain American citizens in the event that the Bush administration declared martial law.
Along with Rex was a secret plan developed by the Reagan administration to maintain continuity of government COG in the event of a nuclear war. COG would have suspended the Constitution and given authority to private, non-elected leaders to run the country. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, FEMA bought , mobile home trailers to provide shelter to those who lost their homes in the disaster.
In March it was reported that the agency was selling off as many as 41, of the homes and netting about 40 cents on each dollar spent by taxpayers even though thousands of residents throughout the south were in need of shelter following storms from the previous winter. Furthermore, complaints began to surface about the trailers making people sick. The airborne form of the chemical was used in the making of composite wood and plywood panels.
In spite of the public controversies, FEMA has continued to distribute the trailers to other displaced persons. In August residents of southern Minnesota were hit by historic floodwaters, causing many to lose their homes. FEMA provided trailers, and complaints similar to those raised by Katrina victims have surfaced. To make matters worst, FEMA was accused in January of trying to suppress information in a scientific study on formaldehyde in the trailers.
It found higher than typical indoor exposure levels of formaldehyde in travel trailers and mobile homes used as emergency housing in the Gulf Coast Region. FEMA says about 40, families are still living in the travel trailers. Are FEMA homes sickening residents? Paul Star Tribune.
Administration officials argued it was critical to alter federal regulations pertaining to employee raises and other personnel rules in order to make the new homeland security operation run efficiently. The plan was backed by DHS leaders and Republicans on Capitol Hill, and it got an unexpected boost from the Government Accountability Office which gave a positive review of the proposed changes. Initially, federal employee labor unions discussed the changes with administration officials in an attempt to help craft reforms that could be acceptable to both sides.
The effort failed, however, after union leaders concluded that the administration was determined to destroy the collective bargaining power of DHS and other federal employees. Over the past several years, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union, among other unions, have publicly opposed the new personnel system designed for DHS. They also filed suit to stop the implementation of the changes. In early , the administration signaled in a court filing that it was caving on its plans to implement the controversial changes.
DHS abandons efforts to implement new labor relations rules by Richard W. Walker, Federal Computer Week. Ballenstedt, Government Executive. Ryan PDF. Statement By J. Suggested Reforms: Following the Sept. What DHS has done is distribute more money to local and state governments so they can better prepare against terrorism threats. Ridge graduated from Harvard in and had began studying at Dickinson School of Law when he was drafted into the United States Army.
He served as an infantry staff sergeant during the Vietnam War. In , Ridge ran for governor of Pennsylvania, winning the election as a pro-choice Republican. He was reelected in While serving as Homeland secretary, Ridge often clashed with administration officials over the raising of the terror alert. See all 15 comments Comments Realist 3 years ago. You people are crazy. I have seen a lot of crazy in my time, but you all are just off your meds. Matt- Why are you even using a computer, you know the government is telling you what to type anyway.
Joe- Domestic LE? When was the last time you got pulled over for speeding by the FBI? Go back to your mother's basement and watch your dirty movies. Vaughn- I hate to break it to you, nobody from DHS cares that you haven't been paid mileage. Next time keep track of your miles and write it off on your taxes like everyone else has to do. Samantha- Do us all a favor and return to whatever mental health facility you broke out of.
Luther- Nobody is fighting Allah. Take off your foil helmet walk out into the world and take a look at reality. Mary- Your daughter is most likely a criminal. Keep causing waves instead of just inconveniencing your family maybe they will arrest her. Chandra- Thank you for being normal, but this is not the place to thank someone for doing their job. Gloria- WTF are you talking about? Your rambling have me more confused than anyone else so far. Helen- If you think its a scam IT IS!
This is the only response you will get on this matter. The immediate challenge facing the new department is clearly start-up: How quickly can DHS be up and running? The department formally began operating on January 24, , and by March 1 had absorbed representatives from most of its component parts. The formal process of transferring agencies is expected to be completed by September 30, , but analysts suggest full integration of agencies will take at least several years.
Notwithstanding, as a practical matter, the new department today is preoccupied with day-to-day start-up issues: finding a physical location, improving communications capabilities, and personnel management tasks. Finding a loca-. DHS headquarters is currently at a temporary location with the majority of additional personnel scattered elsewhere. Practical staff questions about, for example, new office location and supervisor, remain for the most part unanswered.
Questions abound about how the new organizational components will communicate with each other. Linking phone systems and databases most of the 22 agencies have their own internal computer systems and communications systems, as well as different e-mail systems remains a pressing challenge of the first magnitude.
Human resources issues abound as well, for example, hiring, firing, retirement, processing of the payroll, and assignment to new tasks. Enormous pressure exists to fill positions. Yet, as of early March , most of the senior and critical jobs in DHS were still unfilled.
Compounding this concern is the relative autonomy of some of the transferred federal agencies, such as the Coast Guard and Secret Service. What new controls and guidance will they face? In a broader context, the new department has been likened to an interior ministry but without a national police component. A major challenge facing the department is how to effectively join border security functions and interior functions into an organization that has centralized leadership and decentralized operations.
Moreover, DHS must coordinate a network of disaster response capabilities, while at the same time seeking to become a central focal point for analysis and dissemination of intelligence. A second issue relates to the functions that differing DHS components will perform. Clearly, in this new organizational arrangement, some agencies, such as the Coast Guard and Secret Service, will probably not change dramatically in the way they are managed and operate.
However, the way that functions of other agencies will be orchestrated in this new setup is far from finalized. Yet to be seen are the additional functions or components that will emerge from the department. One new function is likely to be creation of a full-time, permanent red team that will simulate terrorist threats and test the security of installations, such. Another new function assigned to the department is oversight of visa processing.
How will this be worked out with the State Department? Moreover, what, if any, will the operational role of DHS be in its many areas of responsibility? A third and crucial issue is how intelligence will be moved through the system and shared.
It is not clear the degree to which the department will have its own intelligence analysis group. Absent a strong in-house intelligence analysis component, it may be that DHS will have to rely more heavily on predigested information from many other agencies.
The new center will be responsible for fusing and analyzing domestic and foreign intelligence related to terrorist threats. Reportedly, the center will have access to all intelligence information available to the U.
Other analysts express concern that the TTIC structure will increasingly involve the DCI in domestic intelligence issues, a prickly arena potentially prone to collision with civil liberties safeguards. One of the functions of the TTIC will reportedly be to maintain an up-to-date database of known and suspected terrorists that will be available to federal and nonfederal officials, as needed. Currently, in the drug area, a policeman on the beat can, in real time, contact EPIC and get information on a suspect from a national drug trafficking database.
There are other complex issues as well. What role will DHS play in the flow of information from the national level to the first responder and vise versa? What role will the new department have in facilitating the flow of information to the public, to the private sector, to international organizations, and to foreign governments? Some argue that homeland security is in its essence global security. Those not in favor of abolishing the department completely argue that it at least needs a radical overhaul.
Calls for it to be reorganized and better regulated can be heard amongst both Democrats and Republicans, who tend to agree that its skewed priorities and susceptibility to power abuse are causes for concern. Some feel that the department is flawed because it federalizes otherwise private sectors and bloats the government and others are primarily concerned with the department's record of racially discriminatory practices and problematic relationship with immigrants.
Here is a timeline of key moments in the history of the Department of Homeland Security including administrative changes and events. September 11, : Members of the terrorist network al-Qaeda, acting under the direction of Osama bin Laden, orchestrate a series of attacks on the United States after hijacking four airplanes. The attacks kill nearly 3, people.
September 22, : President George W. Tom Ridge to lead it. November 25, : Bush signs the Congressionally-approved bill creating the Department of Homeland Security in the federal government. He nominates Ridge as secretary. January 22, : The U. Senate, in a unanimous vote, confirms Ridge as the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The department initially has about , employees.
November 30, : Ridge announces his plans to step down as secretary of Homeland Security, citing personal reasons. Ridge serves in the position through February 1, February 15, : Michael Chertoff, a federal appeals court judge and former assistant U. He departs at the end of Bush's second term. January 20, : Janet Napolitano, the governor of Arizona, is tapped by incoming President Barack Obama to serve as Homeland Security secretary in his administration. She resigns in July to become the head of the University of California system after becoming embroiled in the debate over immigration; she is accused both of being too harsh in deporting those living in the United States illegally and of not acting forcefully enough to secure the nation's borders.
December 23, : Jeh Johnson, a former general counsel to the Pentagon and the Air Force, takes over as the fourth Homeland Security secretary. He serves through the remainder of Obama's tenure in the White House. January 20, : John F. Kelly, a retired Marine general, and incoming President Donald Trump's pick, becomes the fifth Homeland Security secretary.
He serves in the position through July until becoming chief of staff to Trump. December 5, : Kirstjen Nielsen, a cybersecurity expert who worked in the Bush administration and as a deputy to Kelly, is confirmed as Homeland Security secretary to replace her former boss. The department has grown to , employees, according to published reports. Nielsen comes under fire for enforcing Trump's policy of separating children and parents who had crossed the U. She resigns in April amid clashes with Trump that she was not being tough enough on immigration.
As commissioner of U. McAleenan is never elevated above the status of "acting" secretary and turns in his resignation in October He places blame on both China and the World Health Organization for the spread of the virus, making the following statement:. He then praises President Trump's "decisive and rapid action" and commends the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in keeping Americans safe and the virus contained.
Born in Cuba, he is the first immigrant and person of Latin American heritage to hold this position. In March of , he announces that the U. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. On October 8, , two people die and more than a dozen others are hospitalized following a botched sweat lodge ceremony at a retreat run by motivational speaker and author James Arthur Ray near Sedona, Arizona.
A third participant in the ceremony died nine days later. The sweat Jerry Lee Lewis was not the only early rock-and-roller from a strict Christian background who struggled to reconcile his religious beliefs with the moral implications of the music he created.
He may have been the only one to have one of his religious crises caught on tape, A Bolivian guerrilla force led by Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara is defeated in a skirmish with a special detachment of the Bolivian army. Guevara was wounded, captured and executed the next day. Born in Argentina, Guevara believed that a man of action could revolutionize a Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox.
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