In Case of Emergency, Read This Blog

In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

A Citizen’s Eye View of Public Preparedness

As DHS & FEMA Develop New National Citizen Terrorism Tips Campaign, Addressing Public Skepticism Will Be Key

July 19th, 2010 · 3 Comments

Last week, I wrote about a new partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police to research how to improve the public’s response to suspicious activity. The findings will help the government as it expands the “See Something, Say Something” campaign nationally which was announced earlier this month [...]

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Tags: Department of Homeland Security · Federal Emergency Management Administration · See Something/Terrorism Tips

“The Times Square Bomb Failed. What Will We Do When The Next Bomb Works?”

May 9th, 2010 · No Comments

In today’s Washington Post Outlook section, former presidential terrorism adviser Richard Clarke has an op-ed piece, “The Times Square Bomb Failed. What Will We Do When The Next Bomb Works.” Clarke’s overall theme is that another terror attack is inevitable, and “right now, after a near-miss, there is a better opportunity to adjust than in [...]

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Tags: Preparedness Ideas

Walking (& Communicating) The Fine Line With The Public On H1N1

August 10th, 2009 · No Comments

In today’s Washington Post, there’s a good front page piece, “Northern Hemisphere Braces As Swine Flu Heads North”, which looks at the government’s efforts to plan and prepare for the possible return of the H1N1 flu in the Fall. In fact, H1n1 is on the agenda for President Obama’s meetings with the leaders of Canada and [...]

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Tags: Pandemic Flu

What The ‘Anthrax Letters’ Case Can Help Teach Us About Dealing With Major New Emergencies Of 21st Century

August 3rd, 2008 · 1 Comment

In the wake of the suicide of the ‘Anthrax Letters’ suspect, Bruce E. Ivins, there was an interesting article in Saturday’s Washington Post, “Yesterday’s Fears Fade As We Adapt To Tomorrow’s” about how we as humans process and deal with threats, and what the implications are for managing them in the future.
Post reporter Joel Garreau interviewed some [...]

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Tags: Risk Communications

Reader Feedback On Washington Post Article — “It’s An Emergency: We’re Not Prepared”

June 3rd, 2008 · No Comments

I received lots of interesting reaction to my Washington Post Outlook Section Article, “It’s An Emergency: We’re Not Prepared” and the subsequent online discussion on washingtonpost.com.
The comments have come from people at all levels of the emergency management/homeland security/public health community as well as many average citizens who are not directly involved. There have been suggestions, questions, encouragement, criticism and offers of help. I appreciate all of it. Over the [...]

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Tags: Reader Feedback · Uncategorized

Citizens, Citizen Groups Continue To Play Increasing Role In China’s Response To Earthquake

May 31st, 2008 · 1 Comment

I wanted to bring to your attention two news stories from this week that highlight the significant role the Chinese public is having in the nation’s response to their major earthquake and how this may have a major impact on citizen involvement in their government generally. 

The lead story by Maureen Fan on the Washington Post’s front page Thursday, “Citizen Groups Step Up In [...]

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Tags: International

Washingtonpost.com Online Discussion Transcript

May 19th, 2008 · No Comments

The transcript of my Washingtonpost.com online discussion Monday on civilian preparedness can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/05/16/DI2008051603186.html
Sorry for the lack of capitalization. It was my first online discussion, and I was trying to keep up with the questions.  
 

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Tags: Media

Washingtonpost.com Online Discussion — Today, Noon

May 19th, 2008 · 2 Comments

I will be participating in a washingtonpost.com online discussion today at Noon.  The subject will be the article I wrote in the Outlook section on citizen preparedness.
If you’re near a computer, please jump on. Just follow this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/05/16/DI2008051603186.html

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Tags: Media · Uncategorized

Washington Post “Outlook” Section Article

May 18th, 2008 · 5 Comments

I have a piece on citizen preparedness in today’s Washington Post “Outlook” section. It can be found through this link
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/16/AR2008051603735.html
If you are arriving at the blog on for the first time as a result of the article, welcome. I hope you stick around.
I would love to hear any comments, criticisms, or questions about the story or anything regarding citizen emergency preparedness.
Below [...]

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Tags: Media