In This Issue
                  Emergency response dots and blots
                  Gripping resilience stories
                  Crisis Leaders: Born or Made?

                  Digital diagnoses, portable procedures
                  They were probably drinking sauvignon blanc

                  BCM People: we have a winnah!

Emergency response dots and blots
As I get older, I think more about aches and pains; as I become an older resilience professional, I think more about things that might go wrong. I am becoming my parents, I suppose.

In an emergency, I want First Aiders to find my medical information if I'm incapacitated (after jumping off a bridge, for example), but I want to keep my data private the rest of the time.

30 million American senior citizens with driver's licenses have the same concerns I do. They've put yellow dot sticker in their vehicles' rear windshields to direct first responders to their vital medical information in their glove compartments. Started in 2002, the Yellow Dot program can only grow: by 2030, 20% of Americans will be 65 or older. Somebody's even thinking of expanding the Yellow Dot program to motorcycles. Could the Yellow Dot program work in Asia? I doubt that anyone around here would put a geezer graphic on his Mercedes. And in Thailand, I suppose half the population would want the dot to be another color. . .

What about wearing your medical information? This Quick Response (QR) code (at right) contains medical information about me. It encodes information horizontally and vertically, so more information is packed into a space than in a one-dimensional Universal Product Code ("bar code"). I could wear my QR code around my neck, or I could just carry a printed copy in my wallet. QR Code readers are available for iPhones and Android devices. And you can generate QR codes for free.

Gripping resilience stories
Two tales to read on your next flight: Threat Level author Kim Zetter's "How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, the Most Menacing Malware in History" in Wired magazine. You wouldn't have guessed digital forensics could be so enthralling. Some guys at Symantec in California and France just kept peeling back layers of code designed to attack Iran's nuclear fuel processing centrifuges. This story cries out to be a Hollywood movie. Thank you, Jared Serviss from Calgary Water

The possible consequences of countries or state-sponsored groups launching cyber-attacks have not yet been fully understood, but will be far-reaching. Even if Israel and the U.S. didn't create or launch Stuxnet, no one doubts that they could have, and that others will now feel free to do so, too. On this topic, Wired's Danger Room column focuses on national security issues of the future.

And former Pakistan correspondent Nicholas Schmidle's "The Mission to Get Osama Bin Laden" in the May 2011 issue of The New Yorker magazine is a real-page turner. It sure reads like he was in Abbottabad that night. Thank you, Chuck Dolejs from ESi (WebEOC) But Dr. C. Christine Fair doubted that Schmidle ever spoke directly to the U.S. Navy SEALS involved, and now he has admitted (paragraph 8) he spoke only to individuals who had debriefed the SEALS involved.

Crisis Leaders: Born or Made?
Nathaniel Forbes will debate that question on 28 September 2011 at the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) Emergency Response Conference in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). The other panelists are David Parsons, Head of Adversity Performance at Sydney Water, and Jason Kelly of Crisis Advisors, former Director of Emergency Management at Continental Airlines.

Digital diagnoses, portable procedures
Before the upcoming Singapore financial sector exercise with mayhem as its theme, maybe you should put the free Medscape Mobile application on your Apple OS, Blackberry or Android device. Need a list of CBRNE chemical warfare agents and treatment for them? What PPE to wear for a CBRNE event? Mass casualty plans? It's all in Medscape, a free medical reference for healthcare professionals. Also find diagnosis and treatment for dengue fever ("den-gay", nearly an epidemic in Singapore at the moment), dozens of medical procedures and a list of drug interactions. Medscape is also available online, also at no charge.

They were probably drinking sauvignon blanc
Now this is resilience: two New Zealand goldfish survived 134 days - four-and-a-half months - without food, aeration or filtration after the February, 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Daphne and Shaggy (I'm not making this up) survived because of something in the water - probably weeds, algae and three of their companions, whose bodies had mysteriously disappeared when our heroes were discovered alive. Yum! I'd have guessed that water evaporation alone would have gotten them if starvation didn't, but it was a pretty big tank (about this size), and it's winter Down Under now. From Homeland Security Newswire, 28 July 2011

An Honorable Mention goes to Ms. Cheryl "Big Fun" Chan who also correctly identified Ling Qing. As well she might have: they worked at FCP at the same time (isn’t that cheating?). But she didn’t guess a date, so the judges will be buying wanton noodles for Tew Kiat.

Need help? In Singapore, call: +65 6324-3091  Fax: +65 6324-3093
Email: chris.tan@calamity.com.sg

© Copyright 2011 Forbes Calamity Prevention Pte Ltd
Powered by: Littlebulb Idea