In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

In Harvard Speech, Napolitano Says Citizens Deserve “Clear Appraisement” Of Terror Threats; Challenges Americans That “Every Single One Of Us Can Become Smarter, Can Become Better Informed, And Better Prepared”

April 16th, 2010 · 6 Comments

In a speech aimed at the public and delivered last night at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said U.S. citizens deserve a “clear appraisement” of the terror threats and challenged Americans that “every single one of us can become smarter, can become better informed, and better prepared.”
At the beginning [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security

Senators Underscore Public’s Role In Nation’s Cyber Security Efforts

April 13th, 2010 · No Comments

In a recent joint op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) “Now Is the Time to Prepare for Cyberwar,” argue:
The information networks that nearly every American relies on are under constant attack by sophisticated cyber adversaries. These adversaries target our identities, our money, our businesses, our intellectual property, [...]

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Tags: Cyber Security

DHS Creates Community Preparedness Task Force; Will Hopefully Include Citizen POV

April 8th, 2010 · 4 Comments

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano yesterday announced the formation of “the local, state, tribal, and federal Preparedness Task Force—a council of experts charged with assessing the state of the nation’s disaster preparedness and making recommendations to Secretary Napolitano about ways to build resiliency in communities across America.”
This blog has recommended that the [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security · Preparedness Groups

Whatever Administration Decides On Its Disaster Drilling Policy Review, Include The Public In The Drills

April 7th, 2010 · 3 Comments

The Washington Post’s Spencer Hsu reported Friday that the Obama Administration is reevaluating the nation’s policy on large-scale national disaster exercises. In the article, “National Disaster Exercises, Called Too Costly And Scripted, May Be Scaled Back,” Hsu writes that the Administration is:
considering whether to scale back next year’s National Level Exercise, the annual drill [previously [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security

What Happens In Vegas (Might Be Less Serious If Major FEMA Nuke Attack Exercise) Stays In Vegas — Why Political/Business Pressure To Move Drill Treats Public Like Children On Terror Preparedness

November 23rd, 2009 · 6 Comments

I wanted to point out a story now playing out in Las Vegas, Nevada, which to me is another example of how the public is too often infantilized when it comes to information on serious terrorist threats, including weapons of mass destruction — And, as a result, why we as citizens are not as prepared [...]

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Tags: City Preparedness · Federal Emergency Management Administration · Nuclear Terrorism · Preparedness Ideas

White House’s Long-Term Disaster Recovery Task Force Outreach Tour Comes Thru NYC; Public Urged To Offer Their Input In Person Or Online

November 10th, 2009 · 4 Comments

Today, I attended the second in a series of “stakeholder forums” being held by the Obama Administration’s “Long-Term Disaster Recovery Working Group” to solicit input and ideas.
The White House Working Group — co-chaired by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and composed of the Secretaries [...]

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Tags: Federal Emergency Management Administration · Preparedness Events

To Make Family Emergency Planning More Effective (& Credible), Should It Be Done Together With Schools, Businesses, Neighbors, Responders? Maybe On A Specific Day?

November 9th, 2009 · 6 Comments

In a speech at the London School Economics last week, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano brought her theme of “shared responsibility” across the Atlantic. She told the audience — which included a number of American students — that as part of U.S. homeland security, ”individuals have responsibilities, families have responsibilities to be prepared…to have thought what they would [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security · Pets · Preparedness Ideas · Public Opinion

Using The ‘Shared Responsibility’ Approach For Convincing Americans To Get The H1N1 Vaccine

November 2nd, 2009 · 1 Comment

In a post on his Atlantic.com blog, David Shenk makes the point that “vaccines have become something of a civic responsibility: they work best when everyone takes them.”
Media reports have continued to highlight the skepticism of many Americans about the H1N1 vaccine. More than half of Utah residents surveyed in a KSL-TV/Deseret News poll said they were planning [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu · School Preparedness

DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.Gov Launched By HUD, DHS To Solicit Public Comments

October 28th, 2009 · No Comments

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the launch of DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.gov—a new interagency website that will allow federal disaster recovery officials to solicit comments from state, local and tribal partners and the public. According to the press release:
The new website will be used by the federal [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security

In Web Address, Napolitano Says Americans Have Opportunity, Responsibility To “Personally Contribute To Our National Security” By Following Good Cyber Habits

October 20th, 2009 · 1 Comment

In a special web address marking National Cybersecurity Month, DHS Secretary Napolitano said today that the public has the opportunity and responsibility to contribute to the U.S. national security by practicing good cyber habits. In the speech, titled “A New Challenge for Our Age: Securing America Against the Threat of Cyber Attack,” she said:
“Just as with [...]

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Tags: Cyber Security · Preparedness Tips