“Truthful people convey, while liars attempt to convince.” ~Janine Driver

This is a very good documentary on The Virginia tech Shootings that traces the origins of Seung Hui Cho. Its well worth the hour and will give you insights into the mind and unpredictability of a this killer. The information contained in the documentary will help in prevention and threat assessments efforts in reducing these type of tragedies from occurring.  

I read a very interesting article on TSA screening  and the SPOT program developed by Paul Ekman they are using in and effort to spot potential terrorist and or terrorist activity. The article “More on Airport Clairvoyance Machines” by Ed Brayton discusses the validity of the technique of using body language and facial expressions in our efforts to make airports and travel safer.

My good friend Scott Shipman the owner of a boutique consulting firm in the Washington DC area who puts Col. John Boyd’s ideas into action and who has helped me gain a deeper understanding of the Boyd’s concepts through conversations, writings and debates over the past several years has sent me this Interesting research “How to tell when someone is lying” by Professor of psychology R.

“This is war. it is the most important skill in the nation. It is the basis of life and death. It is the philosophy of survival or destruction. You must know it well. Your skill comes from five factors (philosophy. climate, ground,  leadership, methods). Study these factors when you plan war. You must insist on knowing your situation.”~Sun Tzu

By Fred Leland and John Demand

"Of every 100 men you send to fight, 10 shouldn't even be there. Eighty are nothing but targets. Nine are real fighters, we are lucky to have them, they the battle make. Ah but the one, one is a true warrior and he will bring the others back" ~ Heraclitus

My good friend Steve Cliffe of Imminent Threat Defense Systems, LLC out of Buffalo, NY has written a very interesting article on Training the Whole Circle: Blending the Boyd Cycle and Coopers Color Codes that's been published over at

By Michael J. Asken, Ph.D.

Dr. Mike Asken is a State Police psychologist and author of “MindSighting: Mental Toughness Skills for Police Officers in High Stress Situations.” His Web site is www.mindsighting.com

I just had the honor of working together with a great group of cops (over 1,000 plus their families) at the FBI National Academy Associates 75TH Annual Training Conference here in Boston. The New England Chapter presented this conference which was chaired by Deputy Chief William Brooks of Wellesley P.D. and approximately 50 committee members.

A threat is an expression of intent to do harm or act out violently against someone or something. A threat can be:

• Spoken
• Written
• Symbolic
• For example, motioning with one's hands as though shooting at another person in the right context could be considered a threat.

Types of Threats

Direct threat identifies a specific act against a specific target and is delivered in a straightforward, clear, and explicit manner: