9/11 UPDATE: Why the Twin Towers Collapsed: New Theory

Just before the two skyscrapers collapsed on September 11, 2001, powerful explosions within the building could be heard, Photo: Jim Collins / AP / SCANPIX

Twin Towers attackWhy the Twin Towers collapsed: new theory

Published 22 September 2011

Materials scientist says that a mixture of water from sprinkler systems and molten aluminum from melted aircraft hulls created explosions that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11

Just before the two New York skyscrapers collapsed on 11 September 2001, powerful explosions within the building could be heard, leading many people to believe that overheated steel beams in the building were not the cause of the collapse.

The explosions fed the conspiracy theories that someone had placed explosives inside the towers.

At an international materials technology conference in San Diego, senior scientist Christian Simensen of SINTEF Materials and Chemistry present an alternative theory, based on the physics of materials, of what happened in the towers when they were attacked by the aircraft. Siemensen believes that his theory is much more likely to reflect the actual situation than the official explanation of the collapse.

In the wake of the conference Simensen had an article published in the journal Aluminum International Today, describing his theory.  Full story

SECURITY vs FREEDOM: Norwegian Ambassador: A More Restrictive Society” is Not the Answer

[I can't help but empathize with this guy and Norway as a whole.  I vacationed there, and absolutely love the people and their country. Maybe they are learning from our mistakes...hopefully, somebody does...SDF Blogger]

Published 4 August 2011

coutesy of www:s260.photobucket.com

Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Norway that left at least seventy-six people dead, Svein Sevje, Norway's ambassador to Israel, said in an interview that the Norwegian government will not become a surveillance state and instead focus on maintaining freedom and transparency; "The answer to this is not closing in and a more restrictive society, it's more transparency, more involvement, that must be the answer," Ambassador Sevje said; "Our prime minister and foreign minister have stated that Norway will still be recognizable tomorrow," he said; the ambassador added that some new security measures will be introduced, but he hopes that they will not come at the cost of democratic freedoms

TERRORISM 9/11: Bin Laden Plotted New Attack

By SIOBHAN GORMAN

Osama bin Laden was working to assemble a team of militants to attack the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, according to communications Navy SEALs seized from his Pakistani hideout when they killed the al Qaeda leader this spring.

Bin Laden and his operations chief, Attiyah Abd al-Rahman, swapped views about the composition of the attack team, with bin Laden repeatedly rejecting names that Mr. Rahman suggested, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intelligence taken from the bin Laden compound.

The News Hub covers documents indicating al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden planned a U.S. attack on Sept. 11, 2011. Also, Rebekah Brooks resigns from News Corp (parent company of The Wall Street Journal) as it UK newspapers chief. Getty Images photo.

The plans were only in the discussion phase, U.S. officials said. They haven't seen any signs the nascent plot ever went beyond the early planning, the officials said.

Still, earlier this month in his first meeting with senior staff at the Central Intelligence Agency, acting Director Michael Morell told his staff that one of their top priorities would be to make sure that neither that plan nor any others were carried out.

Plans for an anniversary attack were one of the few specific potential threats to emerge from the trove of documents and other materials taken from bin Laden's residence in Abottabad, Pakistan, in the May 2 raid. An initial analysis of the evidence said al Qaeda hoped to attack trains in the U.S., possibly on the anniversary of Sept. 11.   For more

DISASTER COMMUNICATION: Bringing First Responder Communications Into the 21st Century

Posted: 7/21/11 11:44 AM ET

photo courtesy apfn.org

New Yorkers know better than anyone the constant threat that our country faces. As we've seen time and again, New York continues to be the number one target for terrorists around the world who want to harm Americans.

That's why, as the Senator from New York, I am extremely concerned that we not forget the lessons of 9/11.

One important lesson we learned on that horrific day was how crucial it is that our first responders can communicate in real time between agencies in a time of emergency. We have the best firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and public safety professionals in the world, yet currently they communicate on different frequencies and with different systems -- creating barriers to providing a coordinated and efficient response during a crisis.

DISASTER COMMUNICATION: Call for Public Safety Wireless Network

Published: July 20, 2011 at 5:44 PM
By ROBERT SPOERL, MEDILL NEWS SERVICE, Written for UP

WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- A bipartisan coalition of U.S. politicians urged that the auction of wireless spectrum be used to, in part, fund a public safety wireless network for first responders, which has been stalled since the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D. N.Y., said Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol that the plan would save lives and make emergency response more efficient without costing taxpayers money.

"To get this kind of help for our first responders without it costing the taxpayers a dime is a great accomplishment," Schumer said.

"The 9/11 Commission Report," released in 2004, called for a public safety communication network. First responders had difficulty communicating in the chaos after the attacks, chiefly because various departments were on different radios and networks.

Some telecommunications companies have spectrum they don't use. Part of the bill would establish a means to persuade broadcasters and companies to return spectrum to the government. The Federal Communications Commission would have an "incentive auction" selling extra spectrum. Proceeds from that auction would go toward creating the public safety network.

US NAVY SEAL > Mania Grips Nation in Wake of Bin Laden Raid

SEAL Mania Grips Nation in Wake of Bin Laden Raid

May 16, 2011

Associated Press

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- Joe Stumpf snaps the 115-pound barbell up to his chest and swiftly lifts it over his head, holding it with gritting teeth and locked arms as sweat streams down from his gray hair line.

The barbell hits the ground in a clang seconds later. After eight reps, the 54-year-old businessman dressed in camouflage pants rushes to the next excruciating exercise.

Stumpf is one of a growing number of Americans putting themselves through grueling fitness programs modeled after Navy SEAL workouts as interest in the elite military unit has soared since one of its teams killed Osama bin Laden. Everyone these days seems to be dreaming of what it's like to be a SEAL, know a SEAL or at least look like one.  Full article

India's Army Could Receive WMD-Resistant Gear

When you go to the webpage to read this article, be sure and read the referenced web pages also; otherwise, the article gets confusing.  3 mins read.  This is the future of gear for responders.

image courtesy of:  answers.com

India's army could receive new gear designed to provide protection against chemical, biological or nuclear materials, the Press Trust of India reported on Wednesday (see GSN, April 26).

Kanpur's Defense Material and Stores Research Development Establishment "has developed a new NBC or nuclear-biological-chemical suit that would be proved effective against any kind of dangerous weapons or chemicals and protect soldiers from any sort of attack," agency head Arvind Kumar Saxena said.

Read more

Twitter, Facebook, and Ten Red Balloons: Social Network Problem Solving and Homeland Security

Results of a Social Media type contest, with national security implications, great read, 15 mins read.

image coutesy of:  www.psfk.com

On December 6, 2009, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held a competition designed to, in their words, “explore the role the Internet and social networking plays in the timely communication, wide area team-building and urgent mobilization required to solve broad scope, time-critical problems.” ¹ The competition required participating teams/individuals to find “10 8-foot balloons moored at 10 fixed locations in the continental United States.” ² Just before the competition opened, the balloons were surreptitiously floated at random locations in nine states, including: California, Tennessee, Florida, Delaware, Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Oregon, and Georgia. 

Critical Infrastructure Protection > A Guide for Homeland Security Instructors Preparing Physical CIP Courses

If you are in to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP), you need to read this article. It is a very long read, but well worth it.  Give's a great indepth description of CIP and where it's headed.

The eighteen Critical Infrastructure and Key Resource (CIKR) sectors are defined as:

Agriculture and Food	Water	Nuclear Reactors
Defense Industrial Base	Chemical	Information Technology
Energy	Commercial Facilities	Communications
Healthcare and Public Health	Critical Manufacturing	Postal & Shipping
National Monuments & Icons	Dams	Transportation Systems
Banking and Finance	Emergency Services	Government Facilities

The events of September 11, 2001 brought about a rapid expansion of critical infrastructure protection efforts. The first National Strategy for Homeland Security was published in 2002 and was followed by the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7, which replaced PDD63, in 2003. These documents expanded critical infrastructure to thirteen sectors and added five key resources and led to the publication of the first National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) in 2006, with the second edition following in 2009. Currently, the NIPP defines Critical Infrastructure as:³

Systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital that the incapacity or destruction of such may have a debilitating impact on the security, economy, public health or safety, environment, or any combination of these matters, across any Federal, State, regional, territorial, or local jurisdiction.

LEVEL OF HAZARD - LEVEL OF PROTECTION

Table 1. Recommended Resources on the Whole Building Design Guide

General Category	Specific Topics
Terrorist Threats	Blast Safety of the Building Envelope
	Designing Buildings to Resist Explosive Threats
	Retrofitting Existing Buildings to Resist Explosive Threats
	Landscape Architecture and the Site Security Design Process
	The Site Security Design Process
	Windows and Glazing
Earth Effects& Natural Disasters	Flood Resistance of the Building Envelope
	Seismic Design Principles
	Seismic Safety of the Building Envelope
	Wind Safety of the Building Envelope
Planning	Balancing Security/Safety and Sustainability Objectives
	Cost Impact of the ISC Security Design Criteria
	Threat/Vulnerability Assessments and Risk Analysis
	UFC/ISC Security Design Criteria Overview and Comparison

National Security > Malaysia begins fingerprinting all visitors

Okay, so it's not OUR National Security, but makes one wonder when/if OUR country will venture down this road.  How much of the rest of the world will follow suit?

Photo courtesy of http://news.asiaone.com

Under a new trial program, next month the government of Malaysia will begin scanning the fingerprints of all travellers entering and exiting the country to help combat international crime and terrorism; the program, dubbed the Biometric Fingerprint Security System, is aimed at reducing fraud from the current screening method which involves a security official matching a traveller's face to their passport photo; 3 percent of the 24.4 million foreigners who visited Malaysia last year were involved in crimes; biometric scanners are currently being installed at sixty-one of Malaysia's ninety-six ports of entry, and the trial program will begin 1 June

Terrorism Front > Counterfeiting and National Security

What does counterfeiting have to do with National Security?

image coutesy of:  store.iccbooksusa.net

Fri, 2011-05-06 03:10 PM

By: James Hayward, Ph.D, Sc.D.

“We Got Him!” was the headline. “What’s next?” is the question now asked by many Americans, days after Osama Bin Laden’s demise. There are a number of simple things that we can do to help protect against terrorism. Some, like “See Something, Say Something,” have become ingrained in our national psyche. Perhaps less obvious is the imperative to guard against counterfeit goods. The connection may not be immediately apparent, but it is real and serious. - Government Security News

The 9/10/11 Project

The 9/10/11 Project: Are We Ready for the Day Before Tomorrow? 

Imagine it is September 10, 2011 - 9/10/11 -- a full decade since the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Is our nation equipped for whatever catastrophe may happen tomorrow? How have our prevention, preparedness, response and resiliency structures changed, matured and become operational?

9/11 Pentagon and Emergency Planning

This will blow your mind.  "Context of 'Early August 2001: Mass Casualty Exercise at the Pentagon Includes a Plane Hitting the Building'"  -Read more

Pentagon mock drill

VIDEO > Veteran Bronze Headstone Medallion's

Those who die after 1990 and are buried in private cemetaries are entitled to this medallion.  Video is 1:02 seconds long.

9/11 WTC Oral History website

photo courtesy of
theharrowgroup.com

Unique Web Site Allows 9–11 Responders to Share Their Stories

Remembering 9–11, An Oral History of Responders to the WTC Attack, is a Web site on which WTC responders and those who witnessed the effects of the WTC disaster can tell their personal stories. The site was started by Dr. Benjamin Luft, director of the Long Island World Trade Center Program. Dr. Luft explains that the site provides a forum to learn about the human impacts from those who experienced it firsthand and a place for reflection and thoughtful discussion. He also hopes it can provide insight for developing future emergency response efforts: "remembering 9/11 documents information that the medical charts leave out, the humanity beyond the statistics." To view the stories or if have a related story to share, visit the Web site http://www.911respondersremember.org/.

Video> COL Mark Tillman, Air Force One Pilot on 9/11

Video of a talk given by Air Force COL Mark Tillman, who was the pilot of Air Force One on 9/11.  He discusses what happened that day and also gives a fascinating description of how he covertly flew President Bush into Baghdad for Thanksgiving while limiting knowledge of the mission to only five people.  The video presentation is 22 minutes in length, but it's very interesting because it gives you an inside look into the whole operation of Air Force One.  Video takes a minute to load, be patient.