Germs on a Plane: Legal Protections Afforded to International Air Travelers and Governments in the Event of a Suspected or Actual Contagious Passenger and Proposals to Strengthen Them

This article calls for the creation of an international public health do-not-fly list akin to those used by Interpol and the United States government as a stop-gap measure to ensure that passengers who have been diagnosed with infectious diseases or have been exposed to infectious diseases are unable to travel until it is established that it is medically safe for them to do so. This article has also called for amendments to the IHR and the Vienna Conventions to clarify the rights and obligations of travelers and states in the event of a suspected or established case of infectious disease in air travel. Although such measures could be adopted through regional agreements without amending any of these documents, a regional solution is inappropriate both because it would not establish uniformity and because most regional organizations have shied away from issues involving aviation and infectious disease in favor of the IHR regime and WHO actions. It would be undeniably naive to think that law or medicine can create an environment in which it is impossible for infectious disease to spread through air travel. By adopting the proposals made in this article, however, the WHO and Vienna Convention signatories would substantially reduce the risks of infectious disease spreading through air travel

A review of NASA-sponsored technology assessment projects

Recent technology assessment studies sponsored by NASA are reviewed, and a summary of the technical results as well as a critique of the methodologies are presented. The reviews include Assessment of Lighter-Than-Air Technology, Technology Assessment of Portable Energy RDT&P, Technology Assessment of Future Intercity Passenger Transportation Systems, and Technology Assessment of Space Disposal of Radioactive Nuclear Waste. The use of workshops has been introduced as a unique element of some of these assessments. Also included in this report is a brief synopsis of a method of quantifying opinions obtained through such group interactions. Representative of the current technology assessments, these studies cover a broad range of socio-political factors and issues in greater depth than previously considered in NASA sponsored studies. In addition to the lessons learned through the conduct of these studies, a few suggestions for improving the effectiveness of future technology assessments are provided

Designating the Dangerous: From Blacklists to Watch Lists

This Article aims to remedy that gap with respect to one important component of the country\u27s current anti-terrorism strategy watch lists and to suggest some ways to avoid the worst excesses of the 1950s. A comparison of the two periods also serves to shed some light on the question of whether our institutions have learned from the experiences of the past in striking the balance between security and civil liberties. Part II of this Article gives a brief and broad-brush description of the McCarthy era blacklists and loyalty-security programs. Part III then describes the operation, bases for inclusion, and uses of today\u27s terrorist watch lists. Part IV compares the two eras\u27 labeling mechanisms along several axes. This Article focuses especially on the issue of false positives the identification of people as dangerous who in actuality are not. The task of watch listing is to find the very few real threats among the overwhelmingly innocent multitudes-the needle in the haystack, to use the familiar phrase. False positives are a concern of any adjudicatory system but have proven to be a particular problem with blacklists and watch lists. Part V draws some lessons from the past in order to address this question of accuracy. After rejecting the idea of abandoning watch lists entirely, this Article assesses three possible reforms: narrowing the substantive standard for selection; adding procedural protection, particularly some form of adversarial process; and restricting the uses of watch list results. Although these reforms are not mutually exclusive and some combination of all three could be adopted, this Article recommends that watch lists alone be used only to trigger investigation and other relatively minor impositions, along with visa and immigration admissions processing. In so doing, this Article highlights the relationship between substance, procedure, and effect in the law\u27s designation of the allegedly dangerous

Trilateral border issues symposium, 18-19 March, 2013, Tempe, Arizona

tableOfContents: Executive summary of findings and synopsis of recommendations / D. Rick Van Schoik -- Annotated agenda. Opening keynote addresses -- Session 1: Setting the stage--the issues -- Session 2: Setting the stage--strategies for the northern and southern borders -- Session 3: Critical infrastructure protection -- Session 4: Border security operations -- Session 5: Managing trade and the economic impact -- Panel 6: Measuring success -- Papers. Productive borders assure a continued global North America / D. Rick Van Schoik -- Beating the odds / Thomas D'Aquino -- Setting the stage / Roberta Jacobson -- Borders and regulatory cooperation / Colin Robertson -- Dramatic incentives needed / Steven Globerman -- Cross-border and North American cooperation / Geoffrey Hale -- Infrastructure resilience strategy / Don Alper -- Border security issue / David Maloney -- The U.S.-Mexico line / Isidro Morales -- Agreeing on metrics / Damien Simmoneau -- Homeland and border security / Earl Fry -- Managing trade and economic impacts / Gary C. Hufbauer -- Customs trade partnership / Leslie A. Glick -- State of trade, competitiveness and economic well-being in the U.S.-Mexico border region / Erik Lee and Chris Wilson -- Measuring success / Michael Kergin -- North American processes and metrics / Mariko Silver -- Setting the stage / Duncan Wood -- Afterword.abstract: North American competitiveness is jeopardized by the transactional costs of internal borders. The advantage of proximity for just-in-time supply chains cannot be overstated. Even though the two smart/secure border accords had a number of common objectives there was no scorecard to track progress. Part of realizing the value of trade and the value of our neighbors is to change the story about borders and cast off the stereotypes of Canada and Mexico in the United State