Have you prepared emergency supplies, made a plan in case of an emergency, and taken steps to stay informed? Well this article takes a look at how multiple crises striking simultaneously in your part of the country could quickly leave you scrambling if you haven't taken the time to prepare properly.

This PlanetData editorial presents a look at how U.S. President Barack Obama may be planning to reach his stated goal of doubling U.S. exports in the next five years, and the possible implications of this strategy.

In the piece, Lt. Col. Paul Capicik, USAF (ret.), a 26-year military veteran, and current military program manager for American Sentinel University, covers a variety of important topics to servicemembers transitioning to military life including how to prepare for a transition, training for a civilian career, and landing that first job.

For the past four decades, the United States has given only passing attention to the growing instability in Latin America. Today, this ignorance has resulted in a threat to our national security that is greater than that posed by bin Laden. Hugo Chavez, with the assistance of Cuba, Iran and Russia, now possesses the ability to do what bin Laden has been threatening, that is, destroy the U.S.

In this feature the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals (IACSP) asks New Jersey Homeland Security Director Richard L. Cañas a number of questions about, among other subjects, his office's mission, the role of intelligence in counterterrorism, and the role of police officers in homeland security and counterterrorism.

In this article, Lisa Springer, CFA, presents an overview of defense contracting opportunities in Military Vehicle Refurbishment.

The U.S. government and the petroleum industry have two options available for transporting the billions of cubic feet of natural gas that is available on Alaska's North Slope. The first is to build a relatively short pipeline to Valdez, where it can be loaded on ships and delivered to the lower 48. The second is to construct a $30 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline through the wilderness of Alaska and Canada to the Midwestern United States. In this opinion piece, Joseph Keefe, Editor in Chief of THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE, presents his arguments in favor of the Valdez plan and against the transcontinental pipeline option.

In this article from HomelandDefenseStocks.com, Lisa Springer CFA, equity research analyst and financial writer takes a look at how defense contractors are impacted by the 2010 defense budget presented in April by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

HomelandDefenseStocks.com recently conducted this interview with Scott Sacknoff, manager of the SPADE Defense Index. In it Sacknoff fields questions about the FY-2010 federal budget, what the defense and homeland security sector should expect from it, how the sector has recently performed, and best way to play the sector at this time.

In this article from the latest Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International, James Casey, who is the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Jacksonville Field Office, briefly reviews the pros and cons of the United States establishing a domestic security and intelligence service along the lines of Great Britain's MI-5.