Hot Docs: Blackwater Security Contractors Indicted, Cybersecurity Report

Blackwater Contractors Indicted: The Department of Justice has unsealed indictments against five former Blackwater security guards on charges of "voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and weapons violations." The men are being charged for their roles in a September 2007 incident in Baghdad in which 14 civilians were killed and 20 wounded. A sixth defendant has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges. The guards were employed by Blackwater but were working as contractors for the State Department at the time of the shootings. If convicted, "the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for each count of manslaughter, seven years of imprisonment for each count of attempt to commit manslaughter, and a mandatory minimum imprisonment of 30 years for the firearms count."

Cybersecurity Should Be a Priority for New Administration: Cybersecurity is a major U.S. weakness, and "only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cybersecurity will make us more secure," a new report has concluded. The report, by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Center for Strategic and International Studies, calls on the incoming Obama administration to create a comprehensive national security strategy for cyberspace that includes the creation of a new office for cyberspace in the executive branch, new regulation, modernization of existing laws, and partnerships with the private sector.

Public Transit Up Even as Gas Prices Down: Even as gas prices began to recede after hitting a high of more than $4 a gallon in the third quarter, ridership on public transportation continued to increase. The American Public Transportation Association, a group representing those involved in mass transit, reports that in the third quarter of 2008, ridership increased 6.5 percent over a year ago, the largest quarterly increase in 25 years. The APTA notes that last year, 10.3 billion trips were taken on public transportation, the highest in 50 years. The numbers have continued to increase this year, rising 3.4 percent in the first quarter and 5.2 percent the second quarter.

Campaign 2008 in Retrospect: Now that the votes are counted, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press takes one last look at last month's presidential election. They note "signs of less Republican engagement" during the campaign, but there's no word on whether that actually translated to fewer votes in the end. Numbers did show the GOP gaining in the last week of the campaign, while it appears that statistically more Obama voters "made up their minds earlier." Noting that the earliest public support leaned toward Rudy Giuliani and Hillary Clinton, Pew calls the first months of the marathon campaign "less than revelatory." One upbeat note: Polls revealed "relatively little animosity toward either candidate." A majority of voters had a largely positive take on the candidates, with three quarters saying they'd voted "for" their choice, not "against" his opponent. This is the highest positive response Pew has ever seen.

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