Bush stresses security as his top job
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush used his Saturday national radio address to say the fight against terrorists is the most important duty of any U.S. president.
During the weekly broadcast, Bush said physically protecting U.S. residents is his "most solemn duty" as president, adding, "We're a nation in danger."
Bush reviewed his recent actions to keep the nation safe, noting the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the international pursuit of terror suspects, increased cooperation with other nations, and boosting air, land and seaport security.
"We're using the tools of the Patriot Act to track terrorists within our borders, and stop them before they kill our people," said Bush. "We have transformed the FBI to focus on the prevention of terrorist attacks. We've established a Terrorist Threat Integration Center, to merge and analyze foreign and domestic intelligence on global terror in a single place."
Bush said this week he took two specific steps to protect the nation: asking Congress to create the position of a National Intelligence Director, and establishing a new National Counter-Terrorism Center to build "on the excellent work of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center."
U.S. tests warning gear for aerosol agents
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army is preparing to test an early warning system designed to detect chemical and biological agents released by aircraft.
Known as Canadian River 9, the Homeland Defense Department's aircraft aerosol release early warning system will be tested in the vicinity of Oklahoma City beginning Sunday and continuing until Aug. 22.
The Army's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical Biological Defense, or JPEO-CBD, with the cooperation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, Federal Aviation Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, will use a Cessna 188 AgWagon crop duster and a Cessna 182 aircraft in 40 trials to disseminate water or clay dust (kaolin), a harmless material.
Chemical and biological stimulants are routinely used in detection and protection capability studies conducted by the JPEO-CBD. Kaolin and water have been selected to represent possible threats, while protecting human health and the environment, officials said.
Previous testing conducted druing 2003 and earlier this year produced favorable results.
Those tests were designed to provide information on the feasibility and current capability of commonly used radars to provide an early warning system for aircraft aerosol release events.
Sheriff's's Web cam ruled humiliating
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A three-judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco has ruled Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Department's Internet cameras humiliated prisoners.
The Arizona Republic reported Saturday the court rejected the arguments of Sheriff Joe Arpaio who said live streaming video of prisoners being booked and processed served an educational purpose.
The cameras, removed 14 months ago, gave the public a glimpse inside the jail, showing how prisoners are treated after being arrested.
"We fail to see how turning pretrial detainees into the unwilling objects of the latest reality show serves any ... legitimate goals," the 9th Circuit Court said in a 2-1 decision.
"(Inmates) were certainly harmed by Sheriff Arpaio's actions. Exposure to millions of complete strangers, not to mention friends, loved ones, co-workers and employers, as one is booked, fingerprinted and generally processed as an arrestee, and as one sits, stands or lies in a holding cell, constitutes a level of humiliation that almost anyone would regard as profoundly undesirable."
Arpaio's office said the court is wrong and it is considering an appeal.
"I can see the (court's) rhetoric," said Jack MacIntyre, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. "I can't see where they articulated any particular harm to any individual."
U.S. invites OSCE to observe election
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The White House has invited international monitors to observe the U.S. presidential election in November, the Washington Times reported Saturday.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will monitor the U.S. election Nov. 2 at President Bush's invitation. Members include Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain and the United States.
"OSCE members, including the United States, agreed in 1990 in Copenhagen to allow fellow members to observe elections in one another's countries.
The OSCE, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, has deployed observers to more than 150 elections in Europe and around the world. The observer team will arrive in September to plan how to monitor the election, including how many observers to send and where to deploy them.
OSCE officials deployed an observer team to monitor the most recent U.S. general election on Nov. 5, 2002.
