Regardless as to whether Climate Change, aka Global Warming, is the result of human activities and environmental exploitation or not, there will be immense impact on the national infrastructure of our various countries. In the developing world this is probably going to be worse than in the developed world, e.g. in Europe or North America or the Antipodeans. However, while in the developing world it will impact directly in the people,
Whichever it is or may be, e.g. whether, as I believe, and I am not alone there, I know that for a fact, it be the result of a natural phenomenon of the Earth, that is to say a cycle She gores through every now and then, or the result of human influence (which to some degree it probably is as well), the results on Climate Change, be it the drought conditions of the years before last one in Britain or the rains and floods of 2007, will all, in one way or the other, impact on our national infrastructure, in one way or another.
The summer of 2007 – I know, what summer? - in Britain with the high amount of rainfall which equalled a monsoon, nigh on, and power stations, water treatment plants and similar being inundated with flood water, has shown us what can happen, I believe.
In some areas power stations were affected, and people were without power for a considerable time and in addition to this several water treatment plants, including a local one here, had floodwater get in and people were told not to drink the water.
It did make no difference to me personally, as I like to be prepared (no good only writing about it, is there), as I run all my water for drinking (and cooking, etc.) through a filters, with active charcoal, etc.
If the power fails due to floods or storms often businesses and government departments end up, not to mention even the general public, up a creek without a paddle, so to speak, and in the dark, literally.
Fritz Schumacher in his book “Small is Beautiful”, that was written in the 1960's, I believe, had the right idea when he advocated small, local, electrical power generating stations, for individual villages, individual town and city neighborhoods, often walled wards, and such. Everyone, though, then belittle such ideas, bar those that were avid readers of his book(s) and followers of his ideas, and power stations became bigger and bigger rather and further and further the cables had to be stretched to reach the consumer. This transmission distance also causes great loss of power. In fact most of the energy generated by the stations is actually lost in transit.
It was claimed that it was more economical to have the large power generating plants. Really? Has anyone ever bothered to calculate the loss that actually occurs in regards to power of such long distances? That is why the cables carry so many kilovolts, that is thousands of volts, in many cases 36KV, e.g 36,000 volts. So, when it reaches local areas it has first to be brought down to current that can be used in our homes and in industry, in some cases that is over 400 volts (industry often) and 230 volts for consumption in our homes and elsewhere. For this it is actually transformed down in so-called substations. Not only is this stupid, it is a criminal waste of energy. To just generate the proper current required at a local level would be far cheaper and better for the environment and all of us. Please excuse me if some of the voltages are not 100% accurate but I am not electrical engineer and the current sums escape me. The 18KV and 36KV lines are probably completely outdated and we probably are running about 100,000 volts through them nowadays.
The giggle is, however, that now, all of a sudden, the British government is talking of small local generating plants, now that we are faced with the fact that, if floods and other whether phenomena should cripple one of those huge power generating stations, thousands of homes and business will be in the dark.
Their real worries, obviously, are not the average citizen in his or her home but the effect this is going to have on business and the infrastructure, including the monitoring systems with which government keeps an eye on us, the citizens. Now, suddenly, they advocate small power plants and lots of them. So, it would appear that Fritz Schumacher was right after all. Not that we did not know that already. The govt needed to be faced by real problems first though.
When Fritz Schumacher suggested local power plants and other such localized services, and later ever since this author and in the latter case for basically the self-same reason that the government is now suggestion, we were being laughed at. Schumacher spoke from experience, from seeing that impact the failure of the large power plants and water treatment woks had on the people, especially when they were destroyed or damaged as an act of war.
Now suddenly though, after a little flooding getting into the works and affecting some power station the world is beginning to wake up. About time too. The good thing is that, if they get their finger out now and are not just talking about it and do it for real then, at least, but only if we act NOW, do we still have time before it is too late.
The other advantage of small local power generating stations is that (1) they can be fed with local materials, including locally cut wood, and (2) that also in the event of a terrorist attack (or war even) only a small section will be cut off and if auxiliary systems are in place too then such problems will be very short lived.
So far, I know, we have talked, only, about electrical power generating plants.
Let us now look at water treatment works. They are, in the main, local already.
Here systems simply must be put in place so as flooding cannot get near the freshwater tanks and the chlorinating tanks and such like.
The simplest system here, probably, would be some kind of proper storm drains around such plants or, better still, to set up such water treatment works in such localities and in such a way, so as for flood water to have no chance getting near it. Even, I would suggest, going as far as building on stilts – please do not laugh, for I am serious here.
Our ancient ones settle in floodplains but how did they build their homes? They set them on stilts. And we are so stupid as to stick them slap bang on the ground. We must be mad, literally completely mad. What will it take before we wake up to the fact that we cannot, unless we work in very ancient way, settle and live in the floodplains.
The drought conditions of the years prior to the last ones, should they reoccur, are something different and the effects to the infrastructure will be different. The greatest impact could be forest and heathland fires, which could also threaten to engulf homes, businesses and infrastructure plants such as power, sewage and water treatment. In addition to this there is the fact that we could be running out of water, yet again.
And why do we seem to be running short of water in conditions pf drought in Britain? First and foremost because we use too much water and especially we waste too much of it. On top that that our water reservoirs are a joke. They are too large in surface area and too shallow; in such a way that they are, as a colleague from the USA once commented about them “that are not reservoirs – that are evaporation pans”, and, I am afraid to say, he is right there. When we have open reservoirs that have hectares and hectares of surface area but are only something like twelve meter or so deep then we are having a problem. We lose most of the water in evaporation.
The further loss of water is created by storm water that is allowed to simply run away into the drains and then into the rivers – where often this water causes floods. We must find a way to gather and store such water. If not then we will be facing a bleak future should those droughts that we had in the years past become a more common feature.
It is time that we all, government and other agencies, took a very close look at the possibilities that there are as to savings that could be water as regards to water, and the protections from floods for power stations, and other important buildings and plants, and then action was taken in order to protect our infrastructure and our people from problems.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Climate change a top threat
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that climate change, and pandemic disease threaten, international security as much as terrorism and that Britain must radically improve its defenses.
The fact is, in my opinion, that “Climate Change”, previously known as and called “Global Warming”, is much more a threat to us, in this country and worldwide, than is terrorism. Even though suicide bombers are hard to combat there is a target that can be seen and probably overcome. Climate change, on the other hand, is something that, especially if it is NOT man-made, as I believe that it is not, we will have to learn to live with and have to prepare for in a completely different way and by different methods.
This will mean that (1) we must look at what we can do about probable flooding, (2) what we can do about the probable droughts, and so on. We must, therefore, develop seeds that are more drought resistant in the same way as we may have to change our agriculture to a more drought resilient one.
The biggest problem is that if the climate change that we are being faced with, and I am certain that something is happening to the climate, is not man-made, and as I said, I do not believe that it is man-made, though the way man is destroying habitat we are certainly not helping, then our efforts to “combat climate change” are in vain. While nothing is wasted by reducing our waste and all that, we must look at “climate change” with different eyes and we must look to live with it if we cannot, as I believe, change it in any way, shape or form. The Earth has been going through cycles of extreme climates every 1,000 years or thereabouts and we are just climbing to one of those high spots in temperatures presently.
As far as can be seen we the temperatures have, in fact, plateaued out and are no longer, at least at present, on the up – regardless what we are being told by some people with a hidden agenda. Even the head of the IPCC has agreed to this, and all the eminent scientists do in more-or-less closed session. So why does no one admit it. In fact they have admitted it when they began calling it “Climate Change” instead of “Global Warming”. But I digressed a little here, as this shall be dealt with in another article (probably on another place).
We must prepare for the inevitable, namely that we, while we, that is to say, mankind, may have contributed and are contributing still to climate change by means of pollution of the environment and we are creating a dangerous living space for ourselves, may not be able to reverse this change in climate simple because it is a natural phenomenon of the Earth, a cycle She goes through every so many centuries. We must make provisions to live with this instead. This is where the challenge lies.
Brown listed the greatest threats to Britain's peace as "war, terrorism and now climate change, disease and poverty — threats which redefine national security."
As I have said already, we can forget the “war & terrorism” bit more or less though we must be vigilant, obviously. We must, however, concentrate on the “climate change” and also on the “pandemic” possibilities, and not just pandemic flu.
Only the other day we have learned that a visitor/immigrant from Somalia is in an isolation ward in a hospital in Scotland with a drug-resistant strain – a completely new strain, apparently – of tuberculosis.
Our way of travel, nowadays, where we can get from one end of the world to the next literally in hours is also bringing new threats in the form of diseases and insect plagues with it.
Some years back already we learned that a bark beetle – I know this is but a forest disease, but – that was never known in Canada before has arrived there and, apparently, a pair or more had hitched a lift in a plane from Scotland, for this beetles has been traced back to there. If this can happen with a couple of pairs of bark beetles I am sure it can happen with other insects carrying pathogens, or whatever.
"The nature of the threats and the risks we face have — in recent decades — changed beyond recognition and confound all the old assumptions about national defense and international security," Brown told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
A classified list of threats to national security will be released to the public later this year, he said.
"Climate change is potentially the greatest challenge to global stability and security," a report commissioned by Brown to outline the new strategy said.
British officials estimate a flu-type pandemic in the U.K. could cost as many as 750,000 lives, the report said. It also claimed major coastal floods would likely need a military evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
Terrorism minister Adm. Alan West, a former head of defense intelligence, said a new focus on climate change and disease comes as the threat of terrorism in Britain eases somewhat.
But staff numbers at MI5, Britain's domestic spy agency, will increase to combat an estimated 2,000 aspiring terrorists in the U.K., Brown said.
Resources and technology at the government's secret eavesdropping center also will be enhanced, in part to respond to a new threat from cyber attacks, he said.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
The fact is, in my opinion, that “Climate Change”, previously known as and called “Global Warming”, is much more a threat to us, in this country and worldwide, than is terrorism. Even though suicide bombers are hard to combat there is a target that can be seen and probably overcome. Climate change, on the other hand, is something that, especially if it is NOT man-made, as I believe that it is not, we will have to learn to live with and have to prepare for in a completely different way and by different methods.
This will mean that (1) we must look at what we can do about probable flooding, (2) what we can do about the probable droughts, and so on. We must, therefore, develop seeds that are more drought resistant in the same way as we may have to change our agriculture to a more drought resilient one.
The biggest problem is that if the climate change that we are being faced with, and I am certain that something is happening to the climate, is not man-made, and as I said, I do not believe that it is man-made, though the way man is destroying habitat we are certainly not helping, then our efforts to “combat climate change” are in vain. While nothing is wasted by reducing our waste and all that, we must look at “climate change” with different eyes and we must look to live with it if we cannot, as I believe, change it in any way, shape or form. The Earth has been going through cycles of extreme climates every 1,000 years or thereabouts and we are just climbing to one of those high spots in temperatures presently.
As far as can be seen we the temperatures have, in fact, plateaued out and are no longer, at least at present, on the up – regardless what we are being told by some people with a hidden agenda. Even the head of the IPCC has agreed to this, and all the eminent scientists do in more-or-less closed session. So why does no one admit it. In fact they have admitted it when they began calling it “Climate Change” instead of “Global Warming”. But I digressed a little here, as this shall be dealt with in another article (probably on another place).
We must prepare for the inevitable, namely that we, while we, that is to say, mankind, may have contributed and are contributing still to climate change by means of pollution of the environment and we are creating a dangerous living space for ourselves, may not be able to reverse this change in climate simple because it is a natural phenomenon of the Earth, a cycle She goes through every so many centuries. We must make provisions to live with this instead. This is where the challenge lies.
Brown listed the greatest threats to Britain's peace as "war, terrorism and now climate change, disease and poverty — threats which redefine national security."
As I have said already, we can forget the “war & terrorism” bit more or less though we must be vigilant, obviously. We must, however, concentrate on the “climate change” and also on the “pandemic” possibilities, and not just pandemic flu.
Only the other day we have learned that a visitor/immigrant from Somalia is in an isolation ward in a hospital in Scotland with a drug-resistant strain – a completely new strain, apparently – of tuberculosis.
Our way of travel, nowadays, where we can get from one end of the world to the next literally in hours is also bringing new threats in the form of diseases and insect plagues with it.
Some years back already we learned that a bark beetle – I know this is but a forest disease, but – that was never known in Canada before has arrived there and, apparently, a pair or more had hitched a lift in a plane from Scotland, for this beetles has been traced back to there. If this can happen with a couple of pairs of bark beetles I am sure it can happen with other insects carrying pathogens, or whatever.
"The nature of the threats and the risks we face have — in recent decades — changed beyond recognition and confound all the old assumptions about national defense and international security," Brown told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
A classified list of threats to national security will be released to the public later this year, he said.
"Climate change is potentially the greatest challenge to global stability and security," a report commissioned by Brown to outline the new strategy said.
British officials estimate a flu-type pandemic in the U.K. could cost as many as 750,000 lives, the report said. It also claimed major coastal floods would likely need a military evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
Terrorism minister Adm. Alan West, a former head of defense intelligence, said a new focus on climate change and disease comes as the threat of terrorism in Britain eases somewhat.
But staff numbers at MI5, Britain's domestic spy agency, will increase to combat an estimated 2,000 aspiring terrorists in the U.K., Brown said.
Resources and technology at the government's secret eavesdropping center also will be enhanced, in part to respond to a new threat from cyber attacks, he said.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Solcara helps AstraZeneca set international benchmark for global media relations
Solcara, the market-leading provider of software for the control, management and searching of digital information, has been helping AstraZeneca manage its interactions with the media through the use of Solcara Communications Centre.
AstraZeneca, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, is a truly international company, and is active in over 100 countries, with its corporate office in London and major Research & Development (R&D) sites in Sweden, the UK and US. AstraZeneca’s media relations team wanted a system that would create an accessible international benchmark for consistent media relations across all continents.
Solcara Communications Centre is a ‘live’ application which means the information stored within it can be accessed anywhere, anytime. AstraZeneca’s key international media contacts have access to a user-friendly interface and information management system that enables key spokespeople to provide consistent information to the media “around the clock,” regardless of their location.
The media relations department at AstraZeneca uses Solcara Communications Centre to manage journalist contact details, track enquiries from the media and log numerous interview requests. The software provides a simple and effective means of monitoring all press office activity, enabling the team to report on progress and productivity quickly and easily.
Rob Martin, Managing Director at Solcara said, “With hugely successful worldwide businesses such as AstraZeneca, protecting a reputation and communicating a coherent, consistent message on a global scale is becoming more and more important. AstraZeneca’s strategic approach to communications is being adopted by a rapidly increasing number of major organisations who understand the importance of reputation. Like AstraZeneca, they are choosing Solcara Communications Centre because it supports global communications and removes barriers of time and location.”
Edel McCaffrey Media Relations Manager for AstraZeneca, commented, “We have been very impressed with the Solcara system since we implemented it within the company. As a global business, it is important for our key media contacts from around the world to have access to information required by the media, regardless of the location or time zone they are operating in. Solcara helps us to achieve this in an efficient and user friendly manner.”
About Solcara
Solcara is a market-leading provider of software for control, management and searching of digital information across a broad range of business sectors and disciplines. Solcara’s software products are designed to address critical information management and retrieval needs, irrespective of the industry or sector. All of our products and solutions are designed and built using our own framework and methodology, ensuring consistency and high-quality, regardless of the environment in which they operate.
Solcara provides four main products for enterprises:
Solcara is a subsidiary of ArgentVive plc, an eCommerce Group quoted on the London Stock Exchange (code:ARGV)
For more information about Solcara’s products, go to www.solcara.com
AstraZeneca, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, is a truly international company, and is active in over 100 countries, with its corporate office in London and major Research & Development (R&D) sites in Sweden, the UK and US. AstraZeneca’s media relations team wanted a system that would create an accessible international benchmark for consistent media relations across all continents.
Solcara Communications Centre is a ‘live’ application which means the information stored within it can be accessed anywhere, anytime. AstraZeneca’s key international media contacts have access to a user-friendly interface and information management system that enables key spokespeople to provide consistent information to the media “around the clock,” regardless of their location.
The media relations department at AstraZeneca uses Solcara Communications Centre to manage journalist contact details, track enquiries from the media and log numerous interview requests. The software provides a simple and effective means of monitoring all press office activity, enabling the team to report on progress and productivity quickly and easily.
Rob Martin, Managing Director at Solcara said, “With hugely successful worldwide businesses such as AstraZeneca, protecting a reputation and communicating a coherent, consistent message on a global scale is becoming more and more important. AstraZeneca’s strategic approach to communications is being adopted by a rapidly increasing number of major organisations who understand the importance of reputation. Like AstraZeneca, they are choosing Solcara Communications Centre because it supports global communications and removes barriers of time and location.”
Edel McCaffrey Media Relations Manager for AstraZeneca, commented, “We have been very impressed with the Solcara system since we implemented it within the company. As a global business, it is important for our key media contacts from around the world to have access to information required by the media, regardless of the location or time zone they are operating in. Solcara helps us to achieve this in an efficient and user friendly manner.”
About Solcara
Solcara is a market-leading provider of software for control, management and searching of digital information across a broad range of business sectors and disciplines. Solcara’s software products are designed to address critical information management and retrieval needs, irrespective of the industry or sector. All of our products and solutions are designed and built using our own framework and methodology, ensuring consistency and high-quality, regardless of the environment in which they operate.
Solcara provides four main products for enterprises:
- Solcara Communications Centre: a product for PR and marketing, the Solcara Communications Centre enables the distribution of corporate communications, and the logging of all calls and enquiries, ensuring consistency of response.
- Solcara SolSearch: the next generation of search technology for internal and external online resources, SolSearch creates a speedy one stop search for all indexed internal and Internet based content without the need to deploy traditional retrieval software, with simultaneous access free-to-air and subscription-based Internet search sources.
- Solcara Crisis Control Centre: a complete software solution for managing critical communications across the enterprise during a corporate or business continuity crisis. Solcara Crisis Control Centre delivers a platform for the rapid capture of information and quick distribution of the facts to those that need to know, enabling a more effective decision-making process in emergency situations.
- Solcara Know How: Solcara Know How is a repository for an organisations high-value, reusable assets that stand alone from general documents. Solcara Know How reduces duplication of effort, maximises employee productivity and reduces the cost of managing information.
Solcara is a subsidiary of ArgentVive plc, an eCommerce Group quoted on the London Stock Exchange (code:ARGV)
For more information about Solcara’s products, go to www.solcara.com
Credit card data stolen from supermarket chain
A computer hacker or computer hackers stole thousands of credit card numbers after managing to breach security at two U.S. grocery store chains owned by Belgium-based Delhaize Group SA, the companies admitted.
Nearly 2,000 cases of fraud have been linked to the breach, but no personal information such as names or addresses was accessed when the hacker broke into the Hannaford Bros. stores in Massachusetts, New England and New York, and Sweetbay customers in Florida, Hannaford claimed in a statement. The question is, how do they know that no other information was accessed.
According to Boston's WBZ radio 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen. Company officials were not immediately available to confirm the number of stolen card numbers. In other words, officials of the company were not prepared to admit that the is so large. They are working on so-called “damage control”, I am sure.
Hannaford, headquartered in Scarborough, Maine, said that it had become aware of unusual credit card activity on February 27 and began an investigation. It said the data was illegally accessed during the credit card authorization process. And how is this possible? If it is that easy to access such information then, maybe, we better all went back to cash payments and, maybe, checks. This definitely does not make for inspiring confidence in the systems that are in place to safeguard information that companies (and governments) hold on us. Time to put the breaks on this, methinks.
Hannaford Chief Executive Ron Hodge offered an apology for the intrusion. There are 165 Hannaford stores in the U.S. Northeast and 106 Sweetbay supermarkets in Florida.
"We sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience this has caused," Hodge said in a statement. "We have taken aggressive steps to augment our network security capabilities."
The breach is the latest at a big U.S. retailer and comes after U.S. retail group TJX Cos Inc disclosed last year that data from 45.7 million credit and debit cards were stolen by hackers over a period of 18 months, as well as personal information for 451,000 people.
A group of banks later asserted in court documents that the number of consumer accounts were affected was closer to 94 million, a charge Massachusetts-based TJX denied.
But, how can this be? The data we give out is supposed to be so secure. Yes, I am being sarcastic; a trait I am well known for. Our data is simply NOT secure on an such systems that can be accessed from the “outside” so to speak, whether business or government. This is yet another reason for for us all not to trust the governments with our personal data for any kind of national ID card scheme, whether in the UK or in the USA. With all the information in digital for cloning it is all so much easier and NOT harder, as they try to tell us all the time.
Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Nearly 2,000 cases of fraud have been linked to the breach, but no personal information such as names or addresses was accessed when the hacker broke into the Hannaford Bros. stores in Massachusetts, New England and New York, and Sweetbay customers in Florida, Hannaford claimed in a statement. The question is, how do they know that no other information was accessed.
According to Boston's WBZ radio 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen. Company officials were not immediately available to confirm the number of stolen card numbers. In other words, officials of the company were not prepared to admit that the is so large. They are working on so-called “damage control”, I am sure.
Hannaford, headquartered in Scarborough, Maine, said that it had become aware of unusual credit card activity on February 27 and began an investigation. It said the data was illegally accessed during the credit card authorization process. And how is this possible? If it is that easy to access such information then, maybe, we better all went back to cash payments and, maybe, checks. This definitely does not make for inspiring confidence in the systems that are in place to safeguard information that companies (and governments) hold on us. Time to put the breaks on this, methinks.
Hannaford Chief Executive Ron Hodge offered an apology for the intrusion. There are 165 Hannaford stores in the U.S. Northeast and 106 Sweetbay supermarkets in Florida.
"We sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience this has caused," Hodge said in a statement. "We have taken aggressive steps to augment our network security capabilities."
The breach is the latest at a big U.S. retailer and comes after U.S. retail group TJX Cos Inc disclosed last year that data from 45.7 million credit and debit cards were stolen by hackers over a period of 18 months, as well as personal information for 451,000 people.
A group of banks later asserted in court documents that the number of consumer accounts were affected was closer to 94 million, a charge Massachusetts-based TJX denied.
But, how can this be? The data we give out is supposed to be so secure. Yes, I am being sarcastic; a trait I am well known for. Our data is simply NOT secure on an such systems that can be accessed from the “outside” so to speak, whether business or government. This is yet another reason for for us all not to trust the governments with our personal data for any kind of national ID card scheme, whether in the UK or in the USA. With all the information in digital for cloning it is all so much easier and NOT harder, as they try to tell us all the time.
Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Public sector "taking on police roles"
Security guarding companies are increasingly taking on traditional policing roles, research shows.
This trend, however, is not just to be found in the UK. In the USA rumors abound that soon companies like the infamous Blackwater Security will be given policing roles, including street patrols.
“Research into the work of the BSIA’s Police and Public Services Section has revealed that the public sector has embraced the use of private security services with 90 per cent of respondents supplying services to educational establishments and local authorities and 70 per cent providing services to health authorities,” said BSIA Police and Public Services Section chairman, Mick Lee.
However, he said the results show more work can be done with the police.
“Despite many examples of best practice where police forces have successfully entered into partnership with the private sector, only 20 per cent of respondents are actively supplying services to the police.
“A significant aim of the BSIA Police and Public Services section is to further link with police forces in order to promote the many valuable services that security guarding companies can provide.”
Fifty per cent of respondents said they supply services to retail partnerships, while 40 per cent work with town centre management schemes.
Street patrols and public sector CCTV schemes proved the most popular areas for BSIA members, but guarding companies work on a range of projects including warden schemes, drug testing services and evidential property management.
The BSIA's Police and Public Services section aims to provide support services to the police and other public sector organisations, which are not traditional security guarding roles and form part of the wider policing family.
The slogan of the “wider policing family” now seems to encompass everything and everyone from a store security person, door guards at nightclubs and such, to community wardens and park and countryside rangers/wardens.
Security industry willing to engage wholeheartedly in the future of policing
The British Security Industry Association is highlighting the vital role that the private security industry can play in supporting the modern police service and its willingness to engage wholeheartedly in the future of policing.
While is is being emphasised that the frontline operations would still be carried out by sworn police officers and that the work done by wardening schemes, and such, release sworn warranted police officers to do just that duty, namely that of dealing with serious crime, the problem is that, in my view, this kind of policing by the private and public sector, aside from the police forces, not only puts ordinary security officers, wardens and rangers into harm's way by being, maybe, asked to tackle issues for which they are not equipped or not well enough equipped, also means that police officers may be required to be able to come to the assistance of their cousins in the private and public sector “policing” teams because they have gotten into a spot of bother due to lack of equipment, authority, power and/or training.
While security guarding and patrols by private and public sector, such as security officers, wardens and rangers, has its place as a deterrent and as eyes and ears, the enforcement should be left to those that have a warrant to carry out such duties and who know how to deal with situations in an appropriate manner and who also carry the necessary kit to deal with such issues.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
This trend, however, is not just to be found in the UK. In the USA rumors abound that soon companies like the infamous Blackwater Security will be given policing roles, including street patrols.
“Research into the work of the BSIA’s Police and Public Services Section has revealed that the public sector has embraced the use of private security services with 90 per cent of respondents supplying services to educational establishments and local authorities and 70 per cent providing services to health authorities,” said BSIA Police and Public Services Section chairman, Mick Lee.
However, he said the results show more work can be done with the police.
“Despite many examples of best practice where police forces have successfully entered into partnership with the private sector, only 20 per cent of respondents are actively supplying services to the police.
“A significant aim of the BSIA Police and Public Services section is to further link with police forces in order to promote the many valuable services that security guarding companies can provide.”
Fifty per cent of respondents said they supply services to retail partnerships, while 40 per cent work with town centre management schemes.
Street patrols and public sector CCTV schemes proved the most popular areas for BSIA members, but guarding companies work on a range of projects including warden schemes, drug testing services and evidential property management.
The BSIA's Police and Public Services section aims to provide support services to the police and other public sector organisations, which are not traditional security guarding roles and form part of the wider policing family.
The slogan of the “wider policing family” now seems to encompass everything and everyone from a store security person, door guards at nightclubs and such, to community wardens and park and countryside rangers/wardens.
Security industry willing to engage wholeheartedly in the future of policing
The British Security Industry Association is highlighting the vital role that the private security industry can play in supporting the modern police service and its willingness to engage wholeheartedly in the future of policing.
While is is being emphasised that the frontline operations would still be carried out by sworn police officers and that the work done by wardening schemes, and such, release sworn warranted police officers to do just that duty, namely that of dealing with serious crime, the problem is that, in my view, this kind of policing by the private and public sector, aside from the police forces, not only puts ordinary security officers, wardens and rangers into harm's way by being, maybe, asked to tackle issues for which they are not equipped or not well enough equipped, also means that police officers may be required to be able to come to the assistance of their cousins in the private and public sector “policing” teams because they have gotten into a spot of bother due to lack of equipment, authority, power and/or training.
While security guarding and patrols by private and public sector, such as security officers, wardens and rangers, has its place as a deterrent and as eyes and ears, the enforcement should be left to those that have a warrant to carry out such duties and who know how to deal with situations in an appropriate manner and who also carry the necessary kit to deal with such issues.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
The global terror threat in 2008 and beyond
The global “war against terror and terrorism” has seen mixed results in the last twelve months.
Numerous plots have been stopped, leaders arrested and networks disrupted, so we are being told. Whether this is so or not only those that tell us this will know.
Al-Qaeda's violent world view, however, still has many followers and plenty of recruits seem to be available, it would appear, for new attacks.
So, what should we expect in the coming years?
More of the same, I would say, for we are certainly not, in the same way as the USA never managed to do that, winning the hearts and minds of the people concerned; not even those in Iraq. While many Iraqis may, indeed, be happy that they got rid of Sadam Hussein they certainly are not happy with the western military presence in their country. And who can blame them; would we like occupiers in our streets?
Some analysts like to pretend that currently in this seventh year following the attacks of 9/11, al-Qaeda's fortunes are mixed and that Iraq was its biggest setback where relatively small number of hardcore jihadist insurgents had hoped to create an Islamist mini-state in the centre and west of the country.
Partly due, they say, to US General Petraeus's surge in troop numbers, partly due to the controversial US funding of local citizen militias, and partly due to Iraq's Sunni tribes deciding they were fed up with al-Qaeda's extreme violence coupled with its austere brand of Islam, al-Qaeda in Iraq is, for now, on the defensive. But is this truly so? We are seeing, once again, the violence escalating in the last month or so and the ordinary Iraqi calling for security. A security that the western troops, including the US troop surges, has not managed to bring. Most Iraqis today will say that the situation, as far as security is concerned, is as bad as it ever was.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and in fact elsewhere, remains capable, as we have seen, of inflicting high-profile attacks and is unlikely to abandon its cause in a hurry.
But while Iraq has certainly been the front line in the physical conflict between the West and its allies on the one hand, and global jihadism on the other, it is only one of many arenas in which al-Qaeda's affiliates are active.
New targets abound
If, as some have been predicting, though the signs recently are against this, the violence in Iraq continues to subside, then retreating non-Iraqi fighters are likely to seek new targets in neighbouring countries, especially Jordan and the Arab Gulf states.
Many analysts are rather surprised that liberal Dubai, with its high concentration of Western tourists, shoppers and expatriates, has so far escaped attack.
In Pakistan, al-Qaeda's core leadership has spent the last year consolidating its presence in the thinly governed tribal territories next to the Afghan border, cementing its ties to the Taleban and setting up new training camps to teach bomb-making, kidnap and assassination. Despite the fact that they may have lost one or two of their leadership in attacks recently, if indeed this is not just a ruse by the Pakistani authorities who often seem rather reluctant to act against the those islamist terror cells and battle groups, Al-Qaeda in Pakistan is hardly going to give up the fight either. We do know how the Madrassas in that country, and especially in those tribal areas, are a training ground for jihadist fighters from all over the globe.
Both al-Qaeda and the wider Islamist movement there have benefited from Pakistan's unstable political climate, and any new attempts to exert military control over the tribal areas will most likely be met with fierce resistance.
In Somalia, the defeat of the Islamist militias a year ago has not brought stability, and there are signs al-Qaeda may be tempted to boost its presence in the Horn of Africa.
Here there have been a number of alleged plots disrupted in 2007 - in Germany, Denmark and Belgium – and the stress must be with the word “alleged”, as I already said in the beginning.
Those accused may be behind bars, if they ever were real, but European governments and their citizens are firmly in al-Qaeda's sights for their perceived role in Afghanistan and the wider Middle East.
I know, and so do many of the readers, I am sure, that I am a cynic and also someone who does not trust any government, whether ours or those of other countries, as to whether this “war on terror” is actually real or not just something that has been made up in order to be able to exert more and more control over there citizens of the various countries, namely us.
Media war
On the media front, both al-Qaeda and the Taleban have been prolific in broadcasting their messages over the internet, and are likely to continue this part of their campaign against the West and its allies.
Two of the FBI's most wanted fugitives - Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri - have delivered over a dozen audio and video messages in the past 12 months.
The latter, who is effectively al-Qaeda's chief strategist, has taken to appearing against a cosy-looking backdrop of a library of Islamic texts, implying that wherever he is currently in hiding, he is secure and comfortable.
Al-Qaeda's media arm, known as al-Sahab, has increased its annual output of audio and video messages from just 6 in 2002 to a record 94 in 2007, according to the US-based research institute, the IntelCenter.
In the coming months, this media campaign will likely intensify as al-Qaeda tries to reverse its setbacks in Iraq, and the Taleban maintain their campaign to regain territory in Afghanistan.
When it comes to the media war then we must also remember that it is being fought on both sides. Therefore, we must take everything with a pinch of salt and lots of discernment. Either sides would like to pull the wool over our eyes. The “enemy” to convince us that he is stronger than the measures that we can put in place and our own governments that the “enemy” is that strong and stronger so that they can put in place more control methods which, in the end, are there to monitor us, the ordinary citizens of the individual nations rather than the “enemy”.
That said we must be ever vigilant just in case that there are real terrorists out there too.
The greatest threat to our infrastructure, however, is not the possibility of terrorist attacks, whether ordinary or chemical, biological or even nuclear, as in the form of a dirty bomb. The greatest threat is from the environmental changes today.
We have abandoned, it would seem, now the term “global warming”, simple, methinks, because it might also have a different effect in some places, in favor of the word “climate change”. Still, however, the authorities try to tell us that it is all man-made and that, if be but stop using the motorcar, aeroplanes, and stop cows and other livestock belching too much, we can reverse this. But what if, as it would appear to me, this “climate change”, and this term is the best one for it, is a repetition of the changes in climate that the Earth, our blue planet, seems to be going through every thousand or so years. Then there is not much we can do to stop it. We then will have to learn to live with it, and the sooner we started to put measures in place to do just that the better.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Numerous plots have been stopped, leaders arrested and networks disrupted, so we are being told. Whether this is so or not only those that tell us this will know.
Al-Qaeda's violent world view, however, still has many followers and plenty of recruits seem to be available, it would appear, for new attacks.
So, what should we expect in the coming years?
More of the same, I would say, for we are certainly not, in the same way as the USA never managed to do that, winning the hearts and minds of the people concerned; not even those in Iraq. While many Iraqis may, indeed, be happy that they got rid of Sadam Hussein they certainly are not happy with the western military presence in their country. And who can blame them; would we like occupiers in our streets?
Some analysts like to pretend that currently in this seventh year following the attacks of 9/11, al-Qaeda's fortunes are mixed and that Iraq was its biggest setback where relatively small number of hardcore jihadist insurgents had hoped to create an Islamist mini-state in the centre and west of the country.
Partly due, they say, to US General Petraeus's surge in troop numbers, partly due to the controversial US funding of local citizen militias, and partly due to Iraq's Sunni tribes deciding they were fed up with al-Qaeda's extreme violence coupled with its austere brand of Islam, al-Qaeda in Iraq is, for now, on the defensive. But is this truly so? We are seeing, once again, the violence escalating in the last month or so and the ordinary Iraqi calling for security. A security that the western troops, including the US troop surges, has not managed to bring. Most Iraqis today will say that the situation, as far as security is concerned, is as bad as it ever was.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and in fact elsewhere, remains capable, as we have seen, of inflicting high-profile attacks and is unlikely to abandon its cause in a hurry.
But while Iraq has certainly been the front line in the physical conflict between the West and its allies on the one hand, and global jihadism on the other, it is only one of many arenas in which al-Qaeda's affiliates are active.
New targets abound
If, as some have been predicting, though the signs recently are against this, the violence in Iraq continues to subside, then retreating non-Iraqi fighters are likely to seek new targets in neighbouring countries, especially Jordan and the Arab Gulf states.
Many analysts are rather surprised that liberal Dubai, with its high concentration of Western tourists, shoppers and expatriates, has so far escaped attack.
In Pakistan, al-Qaeda's core leadership has spent the last year consolidating its presence in the thinly governed tribal territories next to the Afghan border, cementing its ties to the Taleban and setting up new training camps to teach bomb-making, kidnap and assassination. Despite the fact that they may have lost one or two of their leadership in attacks recently, if indeed this is not just a ruse by the Pakistani authorities who often seem rather reluctant to act against the those islamist terror cells and battle groups, Al-Qaeda in Pakistan is hardly going to give up the fight either. We do know how the Madrassas in that country, and especially in those tribal areas, are a training ground for jihadist fighters from all over the globe.
Both al-Qaeda and the wider Islamist movement there have benefited from Pakistan's unstable political climate, and any new attempts to exert military control over the tribal areas will most likely be met with fierce resistance.
In Somalia, the defeat of the Islamist militias a year ago has not brought stability, and there are signs al-Qaeda may be tempted to boost its presence in the Horn of Africa.
Here there have been a number of alleged plots disrupted in 2007 - in Germany, Denmark and Belgium – and the stress must be with the word “alleged”, as I already said in the beginning.
Those accused may be behind bars, if they ever were real, but European governments and their citizens are firmly in al-Qaeda's sights for their perceived role in Afghanistan and the wider Middle East.
I know, and so do many of the readers, I am sure, that I am a cynic and also someone who does not trust any government, whether ours or those of other countries, as to whether this “war on terror” is actually real or not just something that has been made up in order to be able to exert more and more control over there citizens of the various countries, namely us.
Media war
On the media front, both al-Qaeda and the Taleban have been prolific in broadcasting their messages over the internet, and are likely to continue this part of their campaign against the West and its allies.
Two of the FBI's most wanted fugitives - Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri - have delivered over a dozen audio and video messages in the past 12 months.
The latter, who is effectively al-Qaeda's chief strategist, has taken to appearing against a cosy-looking backdrop of a library of Islamic texts, implying that wherever he is currently in hiding, he is secure and comfortable.
Al-Qaeda's media arm, known as al-Sahab, has increased its annual output of audio and video messages from just 6 in 2002 to a record 94 in 2007, according to the US-based research institute, the IntelCenter.
In the coming months, this media campaign will likely intensify as al-Qaeda tries to reverse its setbacks in Iraq, and the Taleban maintain their campaign to regain territory in Afghanistan.
When it comes to the media war then we must also remember that it is being fought on both sides. Therefore, we must take everything with a pinch of salt and lots of discernment. Either sides would like to pull the wool over our eyes. The “enemy” to convince us that he is stronger than the measures that we can put in place and our own governments that the “enemy” is that strong and stronger so that they can put in place more control methods which, in the end, are there to monitor us, the ordinary citizens of the individual nations rather than the “enemy”.
That said we must be ever vigilant just in case that there are real terrorists out there too.
The greatest threat to our infrastructure, however, is not the possibility of terrorist attacks, whether ordinary or chemical, biological or even nuclear, as in the form of a dirty bomb. The greatest threat is from the environmental changes today.
We have abandoned, it would seem, now the term “global warming”, simple, methinks, because it might also have a different effect in some places, in favor of the word “climate change”. Still, however, the authorities try to tell us that it is all man-made and that, if be but stop using the motorcar, aeroplanes, and stop cows and other livestock belching too much, we can reverse this. But what if, as it would appear to me, this “climate change”, and this term is the best one for it, is a repetition of the changes in climate that the Earth, our blue planet, seems to be going through every thousand or so years. Then there is not much we can do to stop it. We then will have to learn to live with it, and the sooner we started to put measures in place to do just that the better.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
REVERSE 911
What is REVERSE 911?REVERSE 911® is a communications solution that uses a patented combination of database and GIS mapping technologies to deliver outbound notifications.
Users can quickly target a precise geographic area and saturate it with thousands of calls per hour. The system's interactive technology provides immediate interaction with recipients and aids in rapid response to specific needs.
Users can also create a list of individuals with common characteristics (such as a Neighborhood Crime Watch group or emergency responder teams, such as REACT, CREST or other kind of first responder services) and contact them with helpful information as needed.
About REVERSE 911®
Time and again, REVERSE 911® is playing a key role in ensuring effective communication, not only for general information, but also in times of crisis.
Thousands of citizens across North America are safer because their community leaders are using the patented REVERSE 911® Interactive Community Notification System.
REVERSE 911® is used effectively in thousands of communities, counties, commercial businesses, schools and non-profit organizations to dramatically improve the lines of communication to the general population and targeted groups. The system has played a key role in solving and preventing crimes, and it has a wide variety of potential uses in many organizations, such as:
- Law Enforcement Agencies
- Emergency Management Agencies
- State and Local Governments
- Utility Companies
- Chemical Manufacturing Companies
- Transportation Companies
- Health Care Facilities
- Public Safety Agencies
- Universities
For more information see website.
Top ten tips on surviving the floods
10th March 2008 - It’s this time of year when the winds and rain hurl their best at us. So here’s a top ten practical guide on how to avoid becoming a victim of the floods. It’s not only timely for this week’s atrocious weather, but we’re also coming up to Business Continuity Awareness Week (first week of April) and during that week experts and professionals share what’s new and emerging at Business Continuity Expo, 2-3rd April at ExCeL London. One of the key topics that will be discussed at Business Continuity Expo and Conference is the issue of flooding. Last November the Business Continuity Institute (www.thebci.org) held a workshop to review UK flooding and here are the top 10 tips that came out of the conference – heeding the advice offered in these practical steps could help minimize the impact of the floods experienced this week and any subsequent ones!
Top ten practical tips
1./ Make sure you have all relevant contact details for members of staff. The main lesson that came out of the flooding conference, that most staff lists were out of date and defunct in many cases.
2./ Make sure you are aware of any medical requirements which people may have.
3./ Ascertain the impact of both a potential loss of water and a loss of electricity on your business activities and respond accordingly. Should I stockpile water? Should I purchase an electricity back-up generator?
4./ Accept the fact that your company will not be high up the priority list of the emergency services and consider any measures which should be taken in light of this.
5./ Stockpile key items on site (in a safe location not on the ground floor). These might include water, food, bedding, torches, medical equipment, soap etc.
6./ If I have set up an emergency hotline facility in advance make sure that all staff are aware of this and carry the number on them (either put into their mobile telephone or carried on a separate card).
7./ Provide all staff with a brief summary of the main points of the BCM plan that will affect them e.g., who is in control, what are the key contact numbers, details of rallying points etc.
8./ Consider setting up a series of mobile telephones on different networks which are stored permanently in the office. If one network goes down you may be able to communicate on another network.
9./ Make sure that you are aware of and, where necessary, signed up to all relevant information channels.
10./ If key documents or IT servers are stored in the basement consider moving them to a higher floor to avoid damage from flooding.
In conclusion it is worth noting that the most over-riding message that came out of the workshop was that virtually all the companies impacted by the floods all agreed that communicating with staff off-site during the crisis was the biggest problem they faced. The floods exposed the inadequacies of communication channels used during an emergency. Most companies affected by the floods relied on mobile phone networks to contact off-site staff and this over-reliance often led to network failure.
Difficulties were also experienced when staff members sought to contact family members and were unable to do so. In such circumstances, some were unsure whether to let staff return home to confirm that their families were safe given the risks the floods posed.
On a cross-company level, communications with head office were also disrupted, making it difficult to either update senior figures on the current status of a particular location and also to receive direction/guidance on what to do. It was also acknowledged that this lack of communication sometimes resulted in different divisions within the company communicating different messages to staff leading to much confusion.
If you would like to find out more about how to avoid becoming a victim of the floods and other incidents that impact the everyday operations of your organisation, register for free entry to Business Continuity Expo 2008 at www.businesscontinuityexpo.co.uk.
Top ten practical tips
1./ Make sure you have all relevant contact details for members of staff. The main lesson that came out of the flooding conference, that most staff lists were out of date and defunct in many cases.
2./ Make sure you are aware of any medical requirements which people may have.
3./ Ascertain the impact of both a potential loss of water and a loss of electricity on your business activities and respond accordingly. Should I stockpile water? Should I purchase an electricity back-up generator?
4./ Accept the fact that your company will not be high up the priority list of the emergency services and consider any measures which should be taken in light of this.
5./ Stockpile key items on site (in a safe location not on the ground floor). These might include water, food, bedding, torches, medical equipment, soap etc.
6./ If I have set up an emergency hotline facility in advance make sure that all staff are aware of this and carry the number on them (either put into their mobile telephone or carried on a separate card).
7./ Provide all staff with a brief summary of the main points of the BCM plan that will affect them e.g., who is in control, what are the key contact numbers, details of rallying points etc.
8./ Consider setting up a series of mobile telephones on different networks which are stored permanently in the office. If one network goes down you may be able to communicate on another network.
9./ Make sure that you are aware of and, where necessary, signed up to all relevant information channels.
10./ If key documents or IT servers are stored in the basement consider moving them to a higher floor to avoid damage from flooding.
In conclusion it is worth noting that the most over-riding message that came out of the workshop was that virtually all the companies impacted by the floods all agreed that communicating with staff off-site during the crisis was the biggest problem they faced. The floods exposed the inadequacies of communication channels used during an emergency. Most companies affected by the floods relied on mobile phone networks to contact off-site staff and this over-reliance often led to network failure.
Difficulties were also experienced when staff members sought to contact family members and were unable to do so. In such circumstances, some were unsure whether to let staff return home to confirm that their families were safe given the risks the floods posed.
On a cross-company level, communications with head office were also disrupted, making it difficult to either update senior figures on the current status of a particular location and also to receive direction/guidance on what to do. It was also acknowledged that this lack of communication sometimes resulted in different divisions within the company communicating different messages to staff leading to much confusion.
If you would like to find out more about how to avoid becoming a victim of the floods and other incidents that impact the everyday operations of your organisation, register for free entry to Business Continuity Expo 2008 at www.businesscontinuityexpo.co.uk.
Martor Smartcut 110100 – Product Review
This is a cutter of the 110000 range. Designed to cut packaging and wraps, with non-replaceable blade and sealed handle for extra safety, i.e. no risk of loss of internal parts, which is particularly important in the food processing industry.
This cutter can be safely pocketed and features the time-tested and established MARTOR SAFETY Technology in the form of automatic blade retraction. No need to think about retracting the blade. Let go off the slider when making the cut and when cutter is lifted the blade automatically retracts back into the handle.
This is probably the safest, as are all of Martor products, safety box cutter that I have ever encountered. Made in Solingen, Germany, blade and all, Martor safety knives and cutters are quality tools.
Pros:
The blade retract automatically, as for all of these kind of cutters from Martor.
Light but of high-impact plastic
Good design
Equally suited for right- and left-handers
Cons:
With the exception of the fact that the blades cannot be changed making this therefore a throw-away tool (but then there is a purpose in this too), there are no cons that I can find.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Security of Airports and Parliament
On two occasion in the recent weeks security at both places has been breached in a way that should just not have been possible.
First environmental protesters get “airside” at London's Heathrow Airport and scale a large passenger plane and are not noticed until they stand at the tail fin unfurling a large banner and then, only a couple of days after they manage to get into the palace of Westminster, the home of both Houses of Parliament, manage to climb onto the roof and unfurl banners. Again they do not get noticed until the banners are out.
Where, may we ask, was security? If protesters can that easily get airside at one of Britain's biggest and busiest airport totally unnoticed and actually reach a plane on the tarmac – in a parking area – then terrorists can do so too.
The same for the Houses of Parliament; a group of protesters manage to get into the building and onto the roof unmolested: this is just absolutely crazy. It would be crazy already under normal circumstances but under a supposed terrorism threat level of “severe” this just should not be possible.
While the security agencies nigh on try to make movement of the ordinary civilians and citizens more and more difficult without having to pass through security screening devices and having to show IDs people such as those determined environmental protesters get into all of those places where none of us could every get without being stopped. How much easier for someone determined on mayhem; I mean greater mayhem than throwing a couple of bags of flour at the prime minister or scaling a plane or getting onto the roof of the Palace of Westminster.
Somewhere along the line, on two occasions, someone slipped up. Somehow I find it very hard to believe that this can happen twice in two different locations, both of which, nevertheless, should be nigh on impenetrable. Call me a cynic but something, to me, is not right here.
If this is no more than human error then something very seriously need to be improved and for one training must be improved for starters, the guards at least doubled and all blind spots must be eradicated so that CCTV and human surveillance will pick up anything and everything that happens there. The watchers must be rotated often enough so as to ensure that they are not tired and therefore miss someone rushing across some open space or even simply walking along where no one should be walking or whatever.
The way things stand at the moment neither LHR nor Palace of Westminster seem to be protected enough in way of human patrols and also automated detection devices, cameras, and such like.
What is most amazing now, though, is that nothing more is being said in other media and by the government as to these incidents; as if they never happened. What are we to make of that?
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
First environmental protesters get “airside” at London's Heathrow Airport and scale a large passenger plane and are not noticed until they stand at the tail fin unfurling a large banner and then, only a couple of days after they manage to get into the palace of Westminster, the home of both Houses of Parliament, manage to climb onto the roof and unfurl banners. Again they do not get noticed until the banners are out.
Where, may we ask, was security? If protesters can that easily get airside at one of Britain's biggest and busiest airport totally unnoticed and actually reach a plane on the tarmac – in a parking area – then terrorists can do so too.
The same for the Houses of Parliament; a group of protesters manage to get into the building and onto the roof unmolested: this is just absolutely crazy. It would be crazy already under normal circumstances but under a supposed terrorism threat level of “severe” this just should not be possible.
While the security agencies nigh on try to make movement of the ordinary civilians and citizens more and more difficult without having to pass through security screening devices and having to show IDs people such as those determined environmental protesters get into all of those places where none of us could every get without being stopped. How much easier for someone determined on mayhem; I mean greater mayhem than throwing a couple of bags of flour at the prime minister or scaling a plane or getting onto the roof of the Palace of Westminster.
Somewhere along the line, on two occasions, someone slipped up. Somehow I find it very hard to believe that this can happen twice in two different locations, both of which, nevertheless, should be nigh on impenetrable. Call me a cynic but something, to me, is not right here.
If this is no more than human error then something very seriously need to be improved and for one training must be improved for starters, the guards at least doubled and all blind spots must be eradicated so that CCTV and human surveillance will pick up anything and everything that happens there. The watchers must be rotated often enough so as to ensure that they are not tired and therefore miss someone rushing across some open space or even simply walking along where no one should be walking or whatever.
The way things stand at the moment neither LHR nor Palace of Westminster seem to be protected enough in way of human patrols and also automated detection devices, cameras, and such like.
What is most amazing now, though, is that nothing more is being said in other media and by the government as to these incidents; as if they never happened. What are we to make of that?
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Your Laptop and Your Health - Product Review on LapGardTM
We hear a great deal at times about the possible dangers from the heat and now also the WiFi radiation from using a laptop, well, on the lap. While there is nothing proven as yet to whether or not and it all may be false alarms and scare stories even, with the exception of the heat and burn issue, who is willing to take the chance.I do know that one or the other reader is going to, yet again, tell me that I do not write review but ads when I do reviews, may I stress again that there is more than one way in which to write a review and I have been writing reviews for rather a long time by now.
So, back to the situation in hand.
I personally stopped using my old Toshiba Satellite laptop on my lap not because of heath fears, to start with, and I am too old by now to worry about fertility anyways, but simply because even through jeans it was very hot prior to, eventually, the fan kicking in. If I want my legs burnt from a laptop I might put one on my lap but only then. Otherwise I rather won't do that. Therefore, if and when I needed to use mine on my lap and had no other choice I had devised my own “lap desk” from light metal. This is and was not an ideal solution but it kept the heat off.
As one computer geek in a store told me once: those things are not really meant to sit directly on your lap. Aside from the heat that they radiate and that might burn you the lack of air circulation while they rest on your lap also can cause damage to the PC itself. Cheers, pal!
Now Amps International Ltd. has come up with what, to me, appears to be the perfect solution: namely the LapGardTM.
LapGardTM is a laptop protection heat absorber, which will protect the user from potentially dangerous heat penetration. It has a multi-core construction which prevents electro-magnetic aves and radiation, potential causes of low male fertility, amongst other health hazards, coming into contact with the user's body.
LapGardTM is simple to use and is constructed from a unique combination of materials. It comes in an attractive leather-look finish and has an adjustable spacer bar with Velcro tabs that holds the laptop to sit comfortably and securely while at the same time allowing for proper ventilation of the laptop at all times.
LapGardTM is lightweight and very convenient to carry, as it easily fits into a laptop case.
LapGard comes in four sizes to suit 12” - 15.5” laptops and is priced from £19.99 and available from www.laptopsafety.co.uk.
I was given a review sample on the Health & Safety 08 Exhibition, which was held from February 26-27, 2008 at Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, Surrey, which fits the old Toshiba of mine lovely and I can but endorse everything that is said by the company as to this little device. What I would just like to add is that, in my view, it should come as standard equipment with every laptop case.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
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