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192. A First-hand Report: Cuban Biotechnology
- Author:
- Glenn Baker
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- John Bolton, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, triggered a furor when on May 6, 2002, he stated, “The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort.” Two days later, I was meeting with a representative from the Cuban Interests Section on an unrelated matter when I posed the question, “How would Cuba respond if CDI asked to bring a group of experts down to learn more about these charges?” I had no expectations of hearing any more about it. But less than two weeks later, I was told that not only was there an interest, but that we were invited to bring anyone, come anytime, and visit anywhere we wanted. Clearly, Bolton's comments had struck a nerve in Havana.
- Topic:
- Security, Human Welfare, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Caribbean, and Havana
193. Effectiveness of Nuclear Weapons against Buried Biological Agents
- Author:
- Michael May and Zachary Haldeman
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation
- Abstract:
- This report describes the results of some calculations on the effectiveness of penetrating nuclear weapons of yield 1 and 10 kilotons against targets containing biological agents. The effectiveness depends in detail on the construction of the bunkers, on how the bio-agents are stored, on the location of the explosions with respect to the bunkers, the bio-agent containers and the surface of the ground, and on the yield of the explosion and the geology of the explosion site. Completeness of sterilization of the bio-agents is crucial in determining effectiveness. For most likely cases, however, complete sterilization cannot be guaranteed. Better calculations and experiments on specific target types would improve the accuracy of such predictions for those targets, but significant uncertainties regarding actual geology, actual target layouts, and knowledge of the position of the explosion with respect to the target would remain. Aboveground effects of the nuclear explosions, all of which would vent to the surface, are estimated. They include intense local radioactivity and significant fallout, air blast, and seismic effects to kilometers distances. It is likely, however, that casualties from those effects would be less than the casualties that would result from the dispersal of large quantities of bio-agents.
- Topic:
- Security, Nuclear Weapons, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States
194. Container Security Report
- Author:
- Michael May, Tonya L. Putnam, and Dean Wilkening
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation
- Abstract:
- During the week of August 18–23, 2002, the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) of the Institute for International Studies (IIS) at Stanford University hosted four summer studies sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. One of these studies, the Container Security study, examined how to apply existing technology and resources most effectively to prevent the transport of illicit nuclear materials for use in terrorist activities by means of international commercial shipping.
- Topic:
- Security, International Cooperation, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States
195. Cyber Attacks: Missing in Action
- Author:
- James A. Lewis
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The first warnings of an “electronic Pearl Harbor” appeared in 1995. 1 They have appeared regularly since then. Before the conflict with Iraq that began in March 2003, there was speculation that the U.S. would experience cyber attacks in retaliation. Since the onset of the war, however, there have been no reported attacks that damaged U.S. infrastructure or affected U.S. military operations in Iraq. Nor have there been any reports of cyber attacks that damaged U.S. infrastructure or affected U.S. military operations since 1996.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and Iraq
196. On the Frontline of an Epidemic: The Need for Urgency in Russia's Fight Against AIDS
- Author:
- John E. Tedstrom
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- AIDS is a global threat that affects us all. Its destructive reach extends far beyond the sphere of public health, threatening social stability, economic performance, and national security. The United States has struggled with HIV/AIDS for over 20 years. At least 440,000 Americans have died from AIDS -related conditions, many more than would have if American political leaders had acted early in the 1980s to confront the epidemic in its initial stages. Over time, however, the commitment of the U.S. government to prevent the spread of HIV and treat people living with HIV/AIDS produced remarkable results. New infections have dropped from 150,000 per year to 40,000 per year, and AIDS -related deaths have been cut in half.
- Topic:
- Security, Human Welfare, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, America, Europe, and Asia
197. Globalization of IT Services and White Collar Jobs: The Next Wave of Productivity Growth
- Author:
- Catherine L. Mann
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- Businesses throughout the US economy continue to transform even after the technology boom has faded. The key sources of this continuing transformation are investment in the information technology (IT) package (hardware, software, and business-service applications) and reorientation of business activities and processes to use both information and technology effectively.
- Topic:
- Economics, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States
198. Outsourcing and Inequality
- Author:
- Paul Brenton, Bob Anderton, and Eva Oscarsson
- Publication Date:
- 10-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper brings together and analyses the results of empirical analyses which, in contrast to most other studies, find that trade has been a significant cause of labour market inequality in various industrialised countries. The approach is based upon the concept of outsourcing – whereby the low-skill parts of the production chain are 'outsourced' to low-wage countries. A distinguishing feature of the empirical work is the use of highly detailed trade data, which allow imports from high- and low-wage countries to be separately identified at the industry level. Using cost minimisation framework, we show that imports from low-wage countries have made a significant contribution to the decline in the wage-bill share and/or relative employment of less-skilled workers in the UK, the USA, Sweden and Italy. We also show how the country-specific characteristics of outsourcing can lead to quite different inequality outcomes in different countries. In line with other studies, we also find that technology has played an important role in causing the increase in inequality in many countries. However, there is also some evidence that some of the rapid increase in the application of new technologies in recent decades has been trade-induced through mechanisms such as 'defensive innovation'.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and United Kingdom
199. Cyber Attacks: Protecting America's Security Against Digital Threats
- Author:
- Michael Vatis
- Publication Date:
- 06-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- The events of September 11, 2001, underscored the vulnerability to foreign attack of the territory of the United States itself, in a way not seen since Pearl Harbor. Since that day, the federal government, the media, and the public have been intensely focused on taking measures to protect us from similar attacks — or from even more devastating attacks involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD), such as nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological weapons.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation and Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
200. Emergency Communications: The Quest for Interoperability in the United States and Europe
- Author:
- Viktor Mayer-Schönberger
- Publication Date:
- 03-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Late in the morning of April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two sixteen-year-old students, entered Columbine High School and started a shooting spree that would leave fifteen people dead, including Harris and Klebold, and dozens of others wounded.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe