New Jersey's Stevens Tech to lead research on port security

Hoboken is poised to become a center for research into port security

Sagem Morpho shows TWIC-compliant biometric reader

Card is designed to read encrypted biometric data, such as a digital fingerprint, perform the match to the card holder, and perform an active card authentication across a contactless interface

The crisis of U.S. infrastructure, II

The U.S. infrastructure is elaborate -- 4 million miles of roads, 600,000 bridges, 26,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways, 11,000 miles of transit lines, 500 train stations, 300 ports, 19,000 airports, 55,000 community drinking water systems, and 30,000 wastewater plants; maintaining this infrastructure costs money

BAE adds to its autonomous airship portfolio

New airship, developed by Lindstrand Technologies, can carry payloads such as high-tech surveillance equipment up to 150 kg in weight to heights of more than 6,500 feet

New plane design meet safety requirements

Delta-winged plane designs are claimed to be capable of carrying more than 1,000 passengers on a single deck with 20 exits and eight aisles; simulation shows they meet safety standards

Debate over environmental impact of border fence continues

The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area is part of the U.S.-Mexico border, and all agree that the area's ecosystem is particularly delicate; DHS wants to build a fence there, but environmentalists object

The crisis of U.S. infrastructure, I

Appearances may deceive: The U.S. infrastructure has problems, but overall the nation's roads and bridges, tunnels and canals, dams and reservoirs are in pretty good shape (although traffic congestion is becoming a serious problem); there is a need to maintain all these structures, and the question is whether there is a political will to pay what is needed

Rising sea level threatens U.K. coastal rail lines

Andrew McNaughton, Network Rail's chief engineer: "The effects of climate change, and in particular sea level rise, are likely to increase the severity of the wave, tidal and wind effects on coastal defenses"

Land transportation & border security

China's transportation vulnerability, I

Remember the Daily Wire's unofficial motto: Where there is a security need, there is a business opportunity. The need: Securing land transportation in China. Here goes: What with the many problems China faces, an accident on a town bus may not rank very high. There is, however, more to the story than meets the eye: A fire aboard the number 842 bus in Shanghai's Yangpu district during morning rush hour of 5 May killed three people and injured a dozen more. The bus, operated by the Dazhong Transportation (Group) Co., caught fire around 9:15 a.m. local time near Huangxing Road and Guoshun Road. Publicly, security officials say the fire was an accident caused by a mechanical problem. Security officials, however, have privately said that an individual came on board the bus carrying flammable materials. There is strong suspicion that the fire was the result of an intentional act, perhaps related to someone frustrated with losses on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Roger Baker of RightSideNews writes that for several months China has been stepping up security for transportation infrastructure in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics in August.