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#Times unhelpfully adds to the chemical frenzy on #syria

Written by S Johnson on 26 April 2013.

A further video has come out this week(see below) with foaming mouthed victims, which increasingly hysterical commentators have pointed their shaking fingers towards, wiping their own spittle flecked mouths, as evidence that something is being used by someone against someone in Syria. At best they are adding nothing to the investigation, at worst they are endangering people.

Chemical, Protection

DARPA award almost $500K for Methods of Explosive Detection at Standoff project

Written by S Johnson on 22 April 2013.

DARPA has awarded Northeastern University $467,755 to rapidly develop and demonstrate non-contact methods to detect explosives embedded or packaged in opaque media with high water content (e.g., water, mud, meat/animal carcasses) at standoff.

Further details here

Explosive

As many as 35 killed in Texas plant explosion

Written by Josh Levs and Lateef Mungin, CNN on 19 April 2013.

(CNN) -- Some 35 people -- including 10 first responders -- died in a massive explosion Wednesday night at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, Mayor Tommy Muska said, according to USA Today.

Emergency, Chemical, Protection, Nuclear, Explosive

Call for papers for 6th CBRNE Convergence in San Diego

Written by S Johnson on 19 April 2013.

Poster abstracts are now being accepted for CBRNe Convergence 2013. As for 2012, speaking positions will be awarded to the abstracts deemed most scientifically and operationally interesting and worthy. Additionally there will be poster sessions and publication in CBRNe World available.

Last year over 50 posters were present in the exhibition and a free entry to the next CBRNe Convergence was awarded to the winning poster.

This year, in addition to the general call, papers are also invited on the following topics, with a small travel grant as prize for the best paper:

1. The lack of international body monitoring CBRN use in war is undermining attempts at control and elimination of CBRN weapons.

2. CBRN allegations have become a tool of war.

Please highlight in your return if you are addressing one of the special topics.

Full details of submission and the call are here: http://www.cbrneresearch.com/conference.html

CBRNe, Weapons

Utah law enforcement receives training on FLIR Systems

Written by FLIR Systems, Inc. on 19 April 2013.

Utah law enforcement receives training on FLIR Systems’ state-of-the-art forensic equipment to streamline drug cases

Detection, Threat, Equipment, Identification, CBRNe, Chemical, Protection, Weapons

Campaign to keep foremost Syrian analysis blog running

Written by S Johnson on 19 April 2013.

The Brown Moses Blog has now become a highly respected source of information, both on the UK phone hacking scandal and the conflict in Syria being used by media organisations such as:

BBC, NY Times, and many more.

Its currently run for free by a great friend of CBRNe World and we are throwing our support behind him being able to continue this vital resource.

Further details http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-brown-moses-blog

CBRNe

Request for Information (RFI) for Radiological Detection System (RDS)

Written by S Johnson on 19 April 2013.

For further details click title for main article.

Detection, Army, Radiological, Contract

Colonel Shinzi Iwakuma gives first hand experience of Fukushima

Written by S Johnson on 16 April 2013.

Lessons learned first hand from Fukushima - from the man who responded!

Irish minister for justice, equality and defence opens all hazards response 2013

Written by S Johnson on 16 April 2013.

Alan Shatter, Irish minister for justice, equality and defence opens all hazards response 2013. Speaking warmly about cbrneworld the minister has praised the organisation and line up of all hazards response 2013. He is particularly impressed that we have combined great speakers with 3 multinational exercise vignettes

CBRNe

Another Syrian gas attack allegation kills fewer than any other attack type

Written by S Johnson on 14 April 2013.

It feels a little sad that the peaks in news reporting are mainly related to CBRN attack allegations in Syria. The most recent attack, reported here apparently killed 3 people. The question in my mind is not so much whether its true any more, but more why would anyone use it when it is being so ineffectual? Is it to spread fear? Surely suicide bombs, larger scale artillery bombardments and tanks are more scary?

Is this further efforts to push for US intervention? Or part and parcel of the vilifying allegations one sees in any conflict? One thing is certain, the West is rapidly losing, or may even have lost, any control of the direction of travel of Syria.

UK leaks evidence of CW use to the Times Newspaper

Written by CBRNe World on 13 April 2013.

The Time today (Saturday) revealed that an MoD employee had leaked secret information to them over soil tests removed from Syria in a secret operation.

If true, it claims that something other than riot control agents was found, but was not conclusively identified.

While we will monitor this and ask DSTL Porton Down for a quote this was, in our opinion, the wrong thing of both the Times and the scientist to do, if true.

It not only reveals details of secret operations, potentially endangering operatives, it's not particularly conclusive - but the lack of a positive identification suggest the analysis is not complete.

We hope for a formal statement, and an investigation in to the leak. for an establishment like Porton Down to be leaking sensitive information endangering SF or intelligence operatives is completely unacceptable.

Identification