“German security authorities reported a substantial increase in crime and attacks on police in 2009 related to left-wing political groups and individuals,” said a new report (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center. “According to Germany’s Interior Ministry, more extremist crimes and acts of violence occurred in 2009 than in any year since 2001. The ministry reported that in 2009, left-wing extremist crimes increased by almost 40% to 9,375,” the report said.
“The Berlin intelligence service chief called his city the ‘German stronghold of left-wing extremism,’ noting 2,200 resident radical individuals, 950 of whom are ‘autonomous’ leftist anarchists. According to the police, the number of leftist crimes in Berlin doubled to 1,300 in 2009…. This increase in left-wing crime represents an additional concern alongside Germany’s perceived problems with right-wing extremist and immigrant crime….Federal and local government officials have initiated measures to combat left-wing extremism,” the report said.
A copy of the unclassified report, marked For Official Use Only,” was obtained by Secrecy News. See “German Left-Wing Crime Increase Adds to Public Security Concerns,” Open Source Center, April 27, 2010.
To increase the real and perceived benefit of research funding, funding agencies should develop challenge goals for their extramural research programs focused on the impact portion of their mission.
Without trusted mechanisms to ensure privacy while enabling secure data access, essential R&D stalls, educational innovation stalls, and U.S. global competitiveness suffers.
Satellite imagery has long served as a tool for observing on-the-ground activity worldwide, and offers especially valuable insights into the operation, development, and physical features related to nuclear technology.
This year’s Red Sky Summit was an opportunity to further consider what the role of fire tech can and should be – and how public policy can support its development, scaling, and application.