Intel Base

Ship carries 9/11 memory to New York

2009-11-02T16:11:00.001-05:00

from CNN.com

The USS New York steamed into harbor today, cutting through the water with a bow built using 7 1/2 tons of steel recovered from the World Trade Center.

Irena Sendler

2009-10-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.)

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected.

Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.

[I forgot who won this year. - Sarge]

North Korea Massively Increases Its Special Forces

2009-10-21T09:07:00.000-04:00

from washingtonpost.com by Blaine Harden

SEOUL -- North Korea has massively increased its special operations forces, schooled them in the use of Iraqi-style roadside bombs and equipped them to sneak past the heavily fortified border that divides the two Koreas.

Iran's enemy within strikes again

2009-10-20T16:58:00.000-04:00

from United Press International

TEHRAN, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- The weekend slaughter of several Revolutionary Guards generals in suicide bombings in the border province of Sistan-Baluchistan marked a sharp intensification of a slew of simmering insurgencies throughout Iran's restive frontier regions.

[I was home all day yesterday. I promise. - Sarge]

FBI Joins Investigation of Car Filled With Explosives in Connecticut

2009-10-07T14:05:00.000-04:00

from FOX News

The FBI is investigating the case of a car packed with explosives after police in Connecticut pulled over the driver on Tuesday night and arrested him.

FBI New Haven spokesman William Reiner told FOXNews.com that the bureau is now helping local police in the probe, but declined to elaborate.

Cops pulled over a motorist allegedly driving a car full of pipe bombs, rifles and a propane tank in New Haven around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to FOX 61.

Is the U.S. Preparing to Bomb Iran?

2009-10-07T13:22:00.002-04:00

from ABC by JONATHAN KARL

Is the U.S. stepping up preparations for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities?

The Pentagon is always making plans, but based on a little-noticed funding request recently sent to Congress, the answer to that question appears to be yes.

First, some background: Back in October 2007, ABC News reported that the Pentagon had asked Congress for $88 million in the emergency Iraq/Afghanistan war funding request to develop a gargantuan bunker-busting bomb called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). It's a 30,000-pound bomb designed to hit targets buried 200 feet below ground. Back then, the Pentagon cited an "urgent operational need" for the new weapon.

Now the Pentagon is shifting spending from other programs to fast forward the development and procurement of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The Pentagon comptroller sent a request to shift the funds to the House and Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees over the summer.

The comptroller said the Pentagon planned to spend $19.1 million to procure four of the bombs, $28.3 million to accelerate the bomb's "development and testing", and $21 million to accelerate the integration of the bomb onto B-2 stealth bombers.

[Thanks to intrepid intel-geek J.M. for the heads up. - Sarge]

18-year-old girl with an AK beat marauding Muslim terrorists

2009-09-29T10:42:00.001-04:00

from Counter Jihad by Chris

A teenage girl says she killed a militant with his own gun after insurgents attacked their home in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Three militants stormed into Rukhsana Kauser's home in a remote village in Jammu region on Monday and started beating her parents in front of her.

Ms Kauser, 18, and her brother turned on the gunmen, killing one and injuring two more. Police praised their courage.

One of the militants wanted to marry Ms Kauser against her will, police said.

The militants escaped and are now being sought by police who are using their blood trails as clues.

["Daughters are like flowers, they fill the world with beauty, and sometimes attract pests."(Author Unknown) - Sarge]

Cousin f***ing Arabs suffer from high rate of gene disorders

2009-09-23T16:26:00.000-04:00

from Counter Jihad by Chris

Despite the fact that it is widely practiced across the Middle East, marrying within the family might not be such a good idea, according to a new report published on Tuesday.

The report by the Dubai-based Center for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) said Arabs have one of the highest rates of genetic disorders mostly related to consanguinity, or marriages between close relatives.

The genetic research institute found that around 63 percent of the genetic conditions found in Arabs, who often practice marriage between relatives, were related to consanguinity and warned the numbers were likely to rise as more research is conducted and more disorders discovered.

In the United Arab Emirates, a country with the fifth highest rate of inter-family marriages, there are currently over 250 types of genetic diseases, the second-highest after neighboring Oman.

[Viagra anyone? - Sarge]

Al-Qaida Declares New "Cabinet Roster" for its "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI)

2009-09-23T16:16:00.001-04:00

from Counterterrorism Blog by Evan Kohlmann

Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI) has issued an updated leadership "cabinet roster." The roster reads as follows:

- Deputy Emir and Minister of War: "Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, Abdel Moneim al-Badawi"
- Minister of Shariah Councils: "Shaykh Abdul Wahab al-Mashhadani"
- Minister of Public Relations: "Shaykh Mohammed al-Dulaimi"
- Minister for Prisoners and Martyrs: "Shaykh Hassan Jubouri"
- Minister of Security: "Professor Shaykh Abdul Razzaq al-Shammari"
- Minister of Health: "Dr. Shaykh Abdullah Qaisi"
- Minister of Information: "Shaykh Professor Ahmad al-Tai"
- Minister of Petroleum: "Shaykh Osama Laheebi"
- Minister of Finance: "Shaykh Professor Yunis al-Hamdani"

[Great, I need a new deck of cards. - Sarge]

Plane Crash Mars Iran Military Parade

2009-09-22T13:59:00.000-04:00

from Fox News

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran is stronger than ever and warned that its military will "cut the hand" of anyone who attacks. But a military parade where he spoke was marred when an air force plane crashed, killing seven people, according to state radio.

[Karma is a bitch. - Sarge]

Negative public opinion an early warning signal for terrorism

2009-09-17T17:33:00.000-04:00

from Counter Jihad by Chris

An analysis of public opinion polls and terrorist activity in 143 pairs of countries has shown for the first time that when people in one country hold negative views toward the leadership and policies of another, terrorist acts are more likely to be carried out.

Princeton University economist Alan Krueger and co-author Jitka Malec(ková of Charles University in the Czech Republic have found that there is a strong relationship between attitudes expressed toward a foreign country -- indicated in surveys on foreign leaders' performance -- and the occurrence of terrorism against that country. The research is detailed in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal Science.

"Public opinion appears to be a useful predictor of terrorist activity," said Krueger, the Bendheim Professor in Economics and Public Policy. He has held a joint appointment since 1987 in Princeton's Department of Economics and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. "This is the first study to relate public opinion across countries to concrete actions such as terrorism," he added.

Al-Qaida Web sites down ahead of 9/11 anniversary

2009-09-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

from Examiner.com

A U.S.-based group monitoring militant Web sites said Friday that jihadist forums have been experiencing technical problems on the eve of Sept. 11, finally going offline a day before the 8th anniversary of the al-Qaida attack on the U.S.

[What a shame. - Sarge]

Breaking News: Terror bust in NYC

2009-09-14T21:15:00.000-04:00

from ABC News

Authorities raided properties in New York City today in an effort that was intended to disrupt the plans of a terror suspect whose travels had been tracked by the FBI, according to an official briefed on the raids.

“He was being watched and concern grew as he met with a group of individuals in Queens over the weekend,” said Congressman Pete King (R-NY). “The FBI went to court late last night for an emergency warrant to conduct the raids this morning.” A resident in the neighborhood said there was police activity around 2 a.m. Monday.

Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer For President!

2009-09-12T11:55:00.000-04:00

The original email was sent to Sheriff Glenn Boyer on Thursday, August 27. Below is the citizen's email followed by Sheriff Boyer's response.

I tried to call you earlier this morning, but was unable to obtain your extension from the voice mail system as I was not sure of your first name or correct spelling of your last.

I was inadvertently in this procession as I was leaving work on 270 from Creve Coeur and proceeding on Hwy. 30 West. I have some issues and complaints. I called the Sheriff's office last night, but the officer in charge would not speak with me. His name was Corp. Curtis. I am in no way complaining about your officers. I, however, was not treated very fairly when I called last evening because I wanted a ticket/complaint/or at least a slap on wrist for the people involved. Let me explain:
1) This procession should never have been held during rush hour traffic! Hwy. 270 is dangerous and people drive way too fast and there is too much traffic. This soldier's certainly would not have want his family hurt on the interstate taking him to Cedar Hill. People were dead-stopping on the interstate even though the procession was in the far right lane, the other three lanes just stopped. There were many near accidents and possibly were after I drove through. I was in the 2nd to left lane, no way obstructing the funeral procession.
2) I exited off on Gravois (30 W), far right lane. Your police officers went in the left lane to stop any additional on-coming traffic so the procession could exit off 270 into the LEFT lane of 30. Again, I was in the right lane. The St. Louis County officer stopped and turned around at Weber Hill to return on 270 after the procession passed.
3) The road was not closed. (Only for president as far as I know.) Again, the road was not closed. Your officers only had the left lane blocked/closed for the funeral. All other traffic by MO law can proceed as long as they do not interfere (weave in and out )with funeral procession.
Let me say, that I did not know what was happening. I knew the did not have Kennedy coming to STL, at least not yesterday. I was at work all day. No news. Nothing reported on the traffic on the radio driving home.
Anyway, two of these dirty, nasty, renegade, who knows what motorcycle men that were escorting the procession proceeded to stop in front of me in the right lane on Gravois. I had to stop in the middle of an intersection. They proceeded to scream and yell at me about respecting this soldier, etc. One of them climbed off his motorcycle and came over to me and stuck his head in my car continuing to scream at me. I asked him what this was for and he told me I needed to stop as the officers had the road blocked and show some dang respect. #1, the road was not blocked, the funeral was in the other lane. #2, I am proud of our country and sorry for the family, but they had no idea where I was going or anything else. I could have a child at day-care, I could have been sick and racing to the bathroom, I could have a sick parent waiting for me, etc., etc.
#3, They are not law enforcement and had no right to stop in the lane on Gravois and they had no right to scream at me and intimidate and threaten me. If I would have had my pepper spray, I would have used it on this nasty man! He is just a big hoo ha that is not even related to this soldier. The other man did not get off his scooter, but was along side of my passenger window screaming.
I left an abusive husband 1 1/2 years ago and I did not need this intimidation. I was livid and shaking!!
My son is a deputy sheriff in another MO county. I respect police officers. It was not their fault as they were busy with traffic, but I called to make them aware of what was going on during this thing. The St. Louis County officer saw it but of course he was out of jurisdiction.
However, I called last night and your office asked me if I knew about this soldier. Again, I am sorry about him, but I am a taxpayer. I got a speeding ticket a few months ago and paid the fine. I do not deserve to be treated like this. I wanted to let the officer know how these men were acting. Also, they were driving into the turnarounds on Hwy. 30 and then back onto the road. the funeral was much further ahead. One of them nearly got hit by me and other people almost hit him and another as well. I wanted to lodge a complaint about them why they were still there, but no one in your office would take any information or do anything.
This was not a military funeral, even though it was a soldier. There were not military vehicles. It was a funeral and the road was not closed, the lane was closed, I was in the other lane and again, these nasty men had no right to do this and I would have liked them to get a ticket!
I am sorry for the soldier and his family but you cannot let these motorcycle renegades do this. They could have caused several accidents and I really wanted them arrested. If they had any respect for the soldier they would have dressed better and not looked and acted so scuzzy.

Thank you.

From:
Glenn Boyer/JEFFCO
Date: 08/31/2009 02:05 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Funeral Procession - Yesterday p.m.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear XXXXX:

Yes, you do deserve a response and I am willing to give you one.

I would like to say that I am sorry for the inconvenience we caused you during the funeral procession of Sergeant 1st Class William B. Woods, but I cannot do so. I would ask instead that you take a moment of your time to take into consideration the scope of the event. Your very right to complain was the reason Sgt. Woods fought for his country and ultimately gave his life; thus making the ultimate sacrifice for you and your family.

Let me introduce you to him. After high school, Sergeant Woods entered the Marine Corps. After his contract was up, he joined the Army, where he became a Green Beret. He comes from a long line of military members in his family. His Uncle is a Vietnam Veteran and two of his grandfathers were World War II Veterans. His job in the Army was one of the most dangerous jobs - he was a sniper looking for the bad guys to stop before they killed or injured one of our soldiers. He has numerous decorations to include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

He grew up in Catawissa and was best known by his middle name, Brian. He enjoyed the outdoors, playing sports, and skydiving. He had a wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, whom he loved dearly. He was a soft-spoken, level-headed young man who was proud to serve his country no matter what the risk. Now, I did not know him, but I wish I did. I am quoting from newspaper articles written about him.

At the young age of 31, he was shot during an engagement with Taliban forces in Ghanzi , Afghanistan . He died of his wounds in Germany on August 16, with his family by his side. He did not choose the time of his death, nor did he choose the time his remains would be brought back to his home in Catawissa. He just did his duty. He was quite a young man.

While you were being inconvenienced in your car on your way home, there were soldiers just like Sergeant Woods carrying 100+ pounds of equipment in 120 degree heat, up some mountain or in the middle of some desert. They will shower out of a helmet liner if they get the chance. They will eat a cold meal of MRE's; something most people would consider garbage. They cannot text their family or friends, or go to McDonalds, or watch TV. They can only continue the mission and look out after the guy to the left and right of them. They don't complain because they know they volunteered. The only thing they ask is that we do not forget the sacrifices they have made.

One of the dirty "big hoo ha" bikers, as you call them, was Brian's uncle, a Vietnam Veteran, like myself. We were not treated with a homecoming. We were spit on and called baby killers by a misguided public. Brian's uncle was giving him the respect that he, himself, never received when he came back and I, for one, am proud of him for doing so.

You say that your brother is a deputy in another Missouri county. I am sure he would be proud to escort the casket of a fallen solder, the same as he would that of a fallen officer. I am also sure he would not agree with your complaint about being inconvenienced.

My mother recently passed away. She was a World War II Veteran, serving the U.S. Army. She would say, maybe you should pick up Sergeant Woods' ruck sack and carry on where he left off. Then you could see first hand what it really is to be inconvenienced.

Per your request, I will forward your complaint to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for his review. It is my personal opinion that your complaint is self-serving and without merit.

Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer

Iran Banks Move to Ecuador to Avoid Sanctions

2009-09-12T11:34:00.000-04:00

from Counterterrorism Blog by Douglas Farah

In its latest bid to avoid international banking sanctions, Iran has reached an agreement with the Central Bank of Ecuador to allow the Export Development Bank of Iran to operate in this Andean nation.

The move came even though Ecuador is fully aware that EDBI is under U.S. Treasury Department sanction for illicitly providing or attempting to provide financial services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

Islam stages worldwide war on democracy

2009-09-12T11:10:00.001-04:00

A point to ponder after Sep 11...

"Restrict all immigration to the Western world from nations where Sharia is the law of the land."

SITREP

2009-09-10T17:23:00.002-04:00

Al-Qaida faces recruitment crisis - how can we help?
from Counter Jihad by Chris

Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida is under heavy pressure in its strongholds in Pakistan's remote tribal areas and is finding it difficult to attract recruits or carry out spectacular operations in western countries, according to government and independent experts monitoring the organisation.

Speaking to the Guardian in advance of tomorrow's eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, western counter-terrorism officials and specialists in the Muslim world said the organisation faced a crisis that was severely affecting its ability to find, inspire and train willing fighters.

Its activity is increasingly dispersed to "affiliates" or "franchises" in Yemen and North Africa, but the links of local or regional jihadi groups to the centre are tenuous; they enjoy little popular support and successes have been limited.

Lethal strikes by CIA drones – including two this week alone – have combined with the monitoring and disruption of electronic communications, suspicion and low morale to take their toll on al-Qaida's Pakistani "core", in the jargon of western intelligence agencies.

http://infidelsunite.typepad.com/counter_jihad/2009/09/alqaida-faces-recruitment-crisis-how-can-we-help.html

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Chavez pledges closer ties with Iran
from CNN

Iran and Venezuela plan to stand up against "imperialist" foes by strengthening bilateral cooperation on a range of issues, including nuclear power, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday.

"Expansion of Tehran-Caracas relations is necessary given their common interests, friends and foes," Ahmadinejad said after a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart President Hugo Chavez, according to Iran's semiofficial FARS news agency.

Chavez was in Tehran on Saturday with a team of high-ranking officials for a two-day visit.

[Well, we WERE promised change, weren't we? - Sarge]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/06/iran.venezuela/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

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Small, Low-Signature, $5,000 Guided Missile Tested
from Ares by David A. Fulghum

China Lake’s Spike missile has an attraction for everyone, even the target.

It has no visual launch signature, no aural sonic boom, it’s too small to be seen, it’s light enough to carry several in a rucksack, it’s guidance system is off the shelf and it’s cheaper to throw away that to repair.

It should be pointed out that the $5,000 Spike missile has a stunning set of operations advantages – all associated with survival – for those who fire it. There is no position-revealing backblast like that from a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) or a Stinger surface-to-air missile. It leaves the launcher at about 100 mph instead of Mach 1.9 so there is no big bang or blast. Muzzle velocity is not an issue because it has a guidance system. When a target appears unexpectedly, the operator turns the weapon on, points it at the target and in one second it is ready to fire. Or clusters of the 5.5-lb. weapons could be carried in pods on a UAV.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a4c3c4675-89ce-4873-b8ab-184d2b7f4812

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End of an Era
from In From the Cold by George Smiley

The "Eagle era" at Eglin AFB, Florida has come to an end.

Yesterday, the last three F-15s assigned to Eglin's 33rd Fighter Wing left the base, heading for retirement at the Air Force "boneyard," located in Arizona.

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2009/09/end-of-era.html

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Fuel, Fuel Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink
from Ares by Graham Warwick

DARPA has been instrumental in cracking the code for the affordable conversion of plant oils into a drop-in replacement for JP8 jet fuel. Currently the agency is tackling the tougher task of turning cellulosic and algal feedstocks - which would not compete for water or land with food crops - into a viable alternative to petroleum-based JP8.

But all that wasn't DARPA-hard enough, it seems. Now the agency is seeking ideas on how to convert seawater to liquid fuel.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3af75e8626-357f-4a80-8b7e-cfba5148f618

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END

SITREP

2009-09-04T13:04:00.001-04:00

Swine Flu Deaths Striking Older Children More Often
from washingtonpost.com - Intelligence by Rob Stein

Swine flu may be causing more deaths among older children than the very young, federal health officials reported Thursday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/03/AR2009090301855.html?nav=rss_nation/special

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Taliban target Pakistan's religious minister
from The Long War Journal

The Taliban nearly assassinated Pakistan's outspoken religious minister in a shootout in the capital of Islamabad today.

Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on a car carrying Hamid Saeed Kazmi, the Federal Religious Minister. The gunmen, who were riding a motorcycle, sprayed Kazmi's car with automatic fire, killing the driver. Kazmi took a bullet in the leg and is being treated at a hospital in Islamabad.

Kazmi has been outspoken in his opposition to the Taliban and supports operations against the extremists in the tribal areas. He is a member of the Barelvi sect of Sunni Islam, which is in opposition to the Deobandi and Wahabbist strains of Islam that preach violent jihad.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/09/taliban_target_pakis.php

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Federal Government Needs Massive Hiring Binge, Study Finds
from washingtonpost.com - Intelligence by Steve Vogel

The federal government needs to hire more than 270,000 workers for "mission-critical" jobs over the next three years, a surge prompted in part by the large number of baby-boomer federal workers reaching retirement age, according to the results of a government-wide survey being released Thursday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/02/AR2009090203571.html?nav=rss_nation/special

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Afghanistan Drug Raid Snares Border Police Commander
from Danger Room by Nathan Hodge

A drug raid in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province in July netted a huge stash of hashish and opium — and led to the arrest of an Afghan Border Police Commander.

This recent high-stakes raid, confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, involved a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) team and Afghan counter-narcotics agents staging an ambitious helicopter-borne assault in potentially hostile territory. Equally important, the bust also revealed how intimately some Afghan officials are involved in the drug trade.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/sLFp3UhQVcM/

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Taliban Seek Rifles with More ‘Punch’?
from Danger Room by David Hambling

One way of finding out what sort of weapons the Taliban favor is to go the usual military route: examine captured arsenals and look for shell casings after a firefight. Or you could just go and talk to the man who apparently sells them their weapons, as Guardian reporter Ghaith Abdul-Ahad recently did. The results were highly instructive.

Abdul-Ahab talked to a man named Hekmat, formerly a shopkeeper but now a wealthy smuggler. Hekmat made his fortune ferrying arms from Central Asia. He also deals in heroin, but prices are down this year, so apparently the real money is in guns. Surprisingly, the hot item is not the plain-vanilla Kalashnikov.

“It’s the Kalakov everyone wants,” the arms dealer tells Abdul-Ahad. “The Taliban like it because it pierces body armor.”

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/0U4PGObwVdU/

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END

German Muslim terrorists planned to start small with 150 dead Americans

2009-08-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

from Counter Jihad by Chris

According to the indictment, the four German Muslim terrorists, The Sauerland Group, planned to attack their targets with bombs made out of drums containing explosive hydroperoxide chemicals.

ACLU: Spying for America's Muslim Enemies

2009-08-26T16:58:00.001-04:00

from Counter Jihad by Chris

Savor the silence of America's self-serving champions of privacy. For once, the American Civil Liberties Union has nothing bad to say about the latest case of secret domestic surveillance -- because it is the ACLU that committed the spying.

Last week, The Washington Post reported on a new Justice Department inquiry into photographs of undercover CIA officials and other intelligence personnel taken by ACLU-sponsored researchers assisting the defense team of Guantanamo Bay detainees. According to the report, the pictures of covert American CIA officers -- "in some cases surreptitiously taken outside their homes" -- were shown to jihadi suspects tied to the 9/11 attacks in order to identify the interrogators.

Vaccinations Main Swine Flu Defense

2009-08-26T14:21:00.001-04:00

from MyFox Atlanta

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that a massive school closing wouldn't stop the spread of the swine flu virus, saying vaccinations must be the defense against a menace that one report said could infect up to half of the population.

"What we know is that we have the virus right now traveling around the United States," Sebelius said in a nationally broadcast interview. "And having children in a learning situation is beneficial ... What we learned last spring is that shutting a school down sort of pre-emptively doesn't stop the virus from spreading."

Sebelius appeared on NBC's "Today" show one day after a special presidential advisory panel presented a grim report to the Obama White House, saying among other things that a "plausible scenario" for the United States later this year is wide-scale infections, possibly 30,000 to 90,000 deaths, mostly among young children and young adults, and perhaps as many as 300,000 sick enough to require intensive care unit treatment at hospitals.

Asked in the interview what people should do while awaiting the arrival of a vaccine, with first supplies likely by October but most not until the Thanksgiving season, Sebelius said: "I think it's important that people begin to anticipate that we will have a vaccine. We think it's likely that we're going to need two shots for the vaccine."

She said people should plan ahead for this, particularly those with pre-existing medical conditions, pregnant women and health care industry workers. Sebelius said federal health authorities also are recommending that people should immediately get their regular "seasonal" flu vaccine to bolster their health for the scenario yet to play out later this year regarding the swine flu virus.

"Seasonal flu vaccine is ready at the beginning of September," she said. "We want the population that is most at risk to begin their seasonal flu vaccine now."

Sebelius said on MSNBC that the government has asked drug makers to accelerate the manufacture of antiviral medication that could be administered intravenously to hospitalized swine flu victims.

A report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, delivered Monday, said that while the impact of H1N1 was impossible to predict, a "plausible scenario" is that the epidemic could "produce infection of 30-50 percent of the U.S. population this fall and winter, with symptoms in approximately 20-40 percent of the population (60-120 million people), more than half of whom would seek medical attention."

Swine flu could lead to as many as lead to as many as 1.8 million U.S. hospital admissions during the epidemic, with up to 300,000 patients requiring care in intensive care units. In fact, those very ill patients could occupy 50-100 percent of all ICU beds in affected regions of the country at the peak of the epidemic and place "enormous stress" on ICU units.

Seasonal flue typically causes 30,000-40,000 annual deaths, mainly among people over 65.

People with certain pre-existing conditions, including pregnant women and patients with neurological disorders or respiratory impairment, diabetes, or severe obesity are at high risk, along with certain populations, such as Native Americans, the report said.

The fall resurgence in swine flu could occur as early as September, with the beginning of the school term, and the peak infection may occur in mid-October.

The report emphasized that this was a planning scenario, not a prediction. But, it added, "the scenario illustrates that an H1N1 resurgence could cause serious disruption of social and medical capacities in our country in the coming months."

New Developments in Iran's Missile Capabilities

2009-08-26T13:18:00.000-04:00

Up to now, North Korea has been the fountainhead of technology to Iran. In the 1990s and the early 2000s we saw the North Korean No-dong missile appearing in Iran, as well as the Shahab II and Shahab III, which in North Korea are called the Wassong V and Wassong VI. The Scud is a North Korean invention which was also exported to Iran. But looking at April's North Korean satellite launch attempt, they used a satellite launcher that looks nothing like what we see in Iran. It was completely different, much bigger and heavier, and with three stages.

This means that the connection between Iranian and North Korean technology is not that tight anymore, and the pupils are now the teachers. The Iranians have reached a level of proficiency which has disconnected them from North Korea and in some cases they are more advanced than the North Koreans. The Iranians are now going to deploy a missile which is nothing like what the North Koreans have, so a connection may now be the other way around. Start watching Iran not as a market for North Korean merchandise but as an exporter of Iranian missile technologies.

SITREP

2009-08-25T17:56:00.001-04:00

Holbrooke: Persian Gulf oil fuels insurgencies
from CNN.com

America's top diplomat for Afghanistan and Pakistan says the deadly Taliban insurgency in those countries relies heavily on funding from the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/EADtNlyZQZg/index.html

[That's a shocker. - Sarge]

///

South Korea Launches Satellite
from NYT By CHOE SANG-HUN

South Korea launched a rocket into space from its own territory for the first time on Tuesday, but the mission failed to put a satellite into its intended orbit, a South Korean official said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/world/asia/26rocket.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

///

Possible Leak Detected at Chemical Weapons Depot
from FOXNews

The Army says a low level of mustard agent has been detected in a building storing chemical weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/i2lTwQSWhJI/0,2933,542267,00.html

///

Scientists create world's tiniest laser
from UPI

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they have created the tiniest laser since lasers were invented 50 years ago.

Researchers at Purdue, Norfolk State and Cornell universities said their achievement might lead to many innovations, including superfast computers that use light instead of electrons to process information, advanced sensors and imaging.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/08/24/Scientists-create-worlds-tiniest-laser/UPI-73781251135493/

///

END

Rendition of Terror Suspects Will Continue Under Obama

2009-08-24T16:32:00.000-04:00

from NYT by By SCOTT SHANE and DAVID JOHNSTON

The Obama administration will continue the Bush administration’s practice of sending terror suspects abroad for interrogation but will monitor to insure they are not tortured, officials said.

[Of course. Now, it's ok. - Sarge]

Petraeus to Open Intel Training Center

2009-08-24T16:27:00.001-04:00

from Washington Times

Gen. David H. Petraeus plans to open an in-house intelligence organization at US Central Command this week that will train military officers, covert agents and analysts who agree to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan for up to a decade. The organization, to be called the Center for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence, will be led by Derek Harvey, a retired colonel in the Defense Intelligence Agency who became one of the Gen. Petraeus' most trusted analysts during the 2007-08 counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq.

Mr. Harvey distinguished himself in Iraq by predicting that the Iraqi insurgency would spiral out of control, at a time when it was widely underestimated by the Bush administration, in 2003 and 2004. He later dissented from the emerging consensus in Congress and the CIA, when he said, as early as March 2007, that al Qaeda had been strategically defeated. This was during the early days of the surge, at a time when most of the intelligence community thought the Sunni insurgency was intact.

SITREP

2009-08-24T15:08:00.001-04:00

Millions in VA Bonuses Questioned
from Military Top Stories Center

Outside the VA Department, wounded veterans have faced financial hardship waiting for their first disability payment. Inside, money has been flowing in the form of $24 million in bonuses. In scathing reports this week, the VA's inspector general said thousands of employees at the VA received the bonuses over a two-year period.

http://www.military.com/news/article/August-2009/millions-in-va-bonuses-questioned.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

///

Japan opposition leader makes pledge on US nukes
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense

Tokyo (AFP) Aug 23, 2009 - Japan's opposition leader said Sunday he was determined to make President Barack Obama promise not to let US forces bring nuclear arms onto Japanese territory, one week ahead of general elections.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Japan_opposition_leader_makes_pledge_on_US_nukes_999.html

///

Mullen: Afghan Situation 'Deteriorating'
from Military Top Stories Center

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen described the situation in Afghanistan as "serious and deteriorating," but refused to say Sunday whether defeating a resilient enemy would require more than the 68,000 American troops already committed to the fight.

http://www.military.com/news/article/mullen-afghan-situation-deteriorating.html?ESRC=topstories.RSS

///

Iran's Cynicism on Terrorism
from Counterterrorism Blog by Douglas Farah

One of the clearest signs of the danger that the Iranian presence poses in Latin America is the decision by president Ahmadinejad to name one of the masterminds of the 1994 AMIA bombings as minister of defense.

Ahamd Vahidi, who at the time of the bombing was the head of the Quds Force, is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, asking for his arrest for his part in the worst terrorist attack in Latin America.

He was deputy defense minister in Ahmadinejad's first government, and is now being promoted. Seven other senior Iranian officials are subject of Interpol Red Notices as well.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/08/irans_cynicism_on_terrorism.php

///

Obama to visit Beijing in November: US ambassador
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense

Beijing (AFP) Aug 22, 2009 - Barack Obama will make his first presidential visit to China in November to bring fresh impetus to relations between the United States and the Asian giant, Washington's new ambassador said Saturday.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Obama_to_visit_Beijing_in_November_US_ambassador_999.html

///

Woman's caning postponed until after Ramadan
from CNN.com

A Malaysian model, who was set to become the first woman to be caned in the southeast Asian country for drinking beer in public, was inexplicably spared her sentence Monday, her father said.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/XrlZubCr-Vk/index.html

///

H1N1 flu "serious health threat" to U.S.: White House
from Reuters: Top News

OAK BLUFFS, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The H1N1 flu poses a serious health threat to the United States, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology said in a report released on Monday.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~3/dinQU4u27NU/idUSTRE57N3T920090824

///

Tobacco plants yield the first vaccine for the dreaded 'cruise ship virus'
from Avian Influenza News Feed

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2009 A- Scientists have used a new vaccine production technology to develop a vaccine for norovirus, a dreaded cause of diarrhea and vomiting that may be the second most common viral infection in the United States after the flu.

http://www.topix.net/health/avian-flu/2009/08/tobacco-plants-yield-the-first-vaccine-for-the-dreaded-cruise-ship-virus?fromrss=1

///

Marines Seek Crowd-Blasting ‘Venom’ Launcher
from Danger Room by David Hambling

The Marine Corps has issued an urgent request for a powerful non-lethal weapon that can fires volleys of 40mm grenades. And in parallel, the service is launching a push for a more futuristic version of the same weapon.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/1dfYqi4dY6o/

///

END

SITREP

2009-08-13T17:44:00.000-04:00

Diebold Quietly Patches Security Flaw in Vote Counting Software
from Wired: Threat Level by Kim Zetter

Premier Election Solutions, formerly Diebold, has patched a serious security weakness in its election tabulation software used in the majority of states, according to a lab that tested the new version and a federal commission that certified it.

The flaw in the tabulation software was discovered by Wired.com earlier this year, and involved the program’s auditing logs. The logs failed to record significant events occurring on a computer running the software, including the act of someone deleting votes during or after an election. The logs also failed to record who performed an action on the system, and listed some events with the wrong date and timestamps.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wired27b/~3/Kyp2JDrkvXw/

///

Military spouses gain Federal hiring advantage
from BLACKFIVE

Federal agencies will soon have the option of hiring certain military spouses without having them compete for jobs, under new guidelines issued by the Obama administration Wednesday.

The guidelines apply to the spouses of military service members relocating for new assignments, some physically disabled spouses, and those whose husband or wife was killed in the line of duty. They will be able to apply for a federal job and ask that recruiters allow them to bypass the traditional hiring process.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/f5rOg0jPddE/military-spouses-gain-federal-hiring-advantage.html

///

Georgia man convicted of aiding terror groups
from Yahoo

A 23-year-old Georgia man was convicted Wednesday of aiding terrorist groups by sending videotapes of U.S. landmarks overseas and plotting to support "violent jihad" after a federal jury rejected his arguments that it was empty talk.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_re_us/us_terrorism_trial

///

For China, far west is rife with terror plots
from Christian Science Monitor

A bomb threat that forced a civilian plane to turn back Sunday on a flight from Afghanistan to western China is the latest in a series of alleged terror plots in restless Xinjiang province.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090812/wl_csm/oxinjiang

///

FBI expert testifies at Mumbai terror attack trial
from AP

The gunmen who laid siege to the Indian city of Mumbai carried GPS devices and a satellite phone that shows they traveled from Pakistan to India, an FBI expert testified Wednesday at the trial of the lone surviving suspect.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090812/ap_on_re_as/as_india_shooting

///

Iranian Exile Group Demands U.S. Military Protection for Camp
from washingtonpost.com

An Iranian exile group accused the Obama administration Tuesday of betraying written U.S. promises to protect several thousand of its members confined in a camp north of Baghdad that was recently stormed by Iraqi forces. The group, the Paris-based Mujahideen-e Kalq, demanded that the U.S. military immediately reassert control over the facility, Camp Ashraf, until it can be replaced by an international force under the aegis of the United Nations or at least a U.N.-commanded observer team to monitor the Iraqis.

http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=1a168a113f870b88c70339ea00514ce8

///

U.S. sees growing backing for N.Korea sanctions
from Reuters

U.S. efforts to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea after its nuclear test in May are gaining growing support from countries and banks, a senior American official said on Thursday.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~3/P3um_kKWUHc/idUSTRE57C4XQ20090813

///

END

SITREP

2009-08-04T14:52:00.002-04:00

CDC: School Dismissal Monitoring System
from PandemicFlu.gov

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U. S. Department of Education have established a School Dismissal Monitoring System to report on novel influenza (H1N1)-related school or school district dismissal in the United States. Your assistance in reporting known school dismissals is very important.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/dismissal_form/index.htm

///

Active-duty Ranger Honored for Career
from Military Army News Center

Capt. Freddie Odomes said he is 99 percent sure he's the oldest active-duty Ranger in the Army. Odomes has served the Army in a career spanning 45 years - longer than most active-duty Soldiers have been alive.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MilitaryArmyNewsCenter/~3/PAx6GROuwzQ/Satellite

///

Core Al Qaeda Under Pressure and Changing Tactics
from Counterterrorism Blog by Douglas Farah

Several seemingly-unrelated events seem to me to be important and pointing toward important new directions in the struggle against radical Islamist groups. The first is the optimistic report by CBS News that al Qaeda is publicly acknowledging the damage to its cadres caused by drone-fired Hellfire missiles.

In the communique posted online, al Qaeda leaders say "the harm is alarming, the matter is very grave," due to the drone attacks. "So many brave commanders have been snatched away by the hands of the enemies. So many homes have been leveled with their people inside them by planes that are unheard, unseen and unknown."

That pressure on core al Qaeda may be one of the reasons its affiliated groups have been ratcheting up their activities in other parts of the world, to show the organization is still alive and well and able to carry out attacks. Or perhaps the original core AQ strategy of spinning of large numbers of autonomous but sympathetic groups is gaining more traction.

What is clear is that the focus of attention for the new Islamist groups-either because they targeted the region or simply found room to operate there in regions that are sympathetic to Islamists and have little state control-is Sub-Saharan Africa.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/08/core_al_qaeda_under_pressure_a.php

///

Islamists backpedaling - Judge postpones "pants case"
from Counter Jihad by Chris

The trial of a Sudanese woman journalist who faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers was adjourned on Tuesday as police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators outside the Khartoum court.

http://infidelsunite.typepad.com/counter_jihad/2009/08/islamists-backpedaling-judge-postpones-pants-case-.html

///

North Carolina Arrests: Meet "Taqiyya Jihad"..
from Counterterrorism Blog by Walid Phares

With shock and malaise, Americans are discovering that their country is penetrated by jihadi terrorists, particularly those we call "homegrown." Over the past few months, several alarming cases have been revealed by law enforcement. Not only the frequency of these revelations but also the type of jihadi cells are teaching the public that something very troubling is happening within the homeland: the surge of a threat deserving a greater attention than the current attitude dispensed by the administration.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/07/north_carolina_arrests_meet_ta.php

///

Preparing for Vaccination with Novel H1N1 Vaccine
from PandemicFlu.gov

In the Northern Hemisphere, novel H1N1 influenza virus is persisting, and is continuing to cause outbreaks and sporadic cases in numerous locales despite the onset of summer. Evidence to date suggests that population immunity to this virus is low, particularly among the young. Thus far, most cases of illness, hospitalization and death associated with novel H1N1 infection have occurred among persons less than 65 years of age. Groups at increased risk of influenza-related complications include pregnant women, those with asthma, COPD, diabetes, chronic cardiovascular disease, and immuno-compromised persons. These are the same groups as previously recognized to increase the risk of severe illness from seasonal influenza. In addition, morbid obesity may represent an additional risk factor for severe illness. Unlike seasonal influenza where persons 65 years and older are most likely to be hospitalized or die from influenza-related complications, this age group has been substantially less affected by novel H1N1 virus than younger age groups.

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/provider/preparing.htm

///

All Muslim terrorism is local
from Counter Jihad by Chris

Since the U. S.-led global war on terrorism (GWOT) was launched in the wake of 9/11, the West has consistently faced an image problem: Many Muslims have regarded the GWOT as a thinly veiled crusade against Islam itself. But such perceptions, and the reality behind them, are changing: The campaign against militant Islam is being waged increasingly at the local level, by Muslims themselves.

The latest example in this regard comes from Nigeria. It is still unclear exactly why the Nigerian government decided last week to deal so forcefully with the Boko Haram jihadist sect, but reports hint that Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua simply had enough of the group's periodic attacks on central government officials and facilities, and decided to make an example of them. If that is true, then Nigeria may have joined a growing list of governments whose leaders are starting to realize that taking on the jihadis is their fight, not just the West's.

http://infidelsunite.typepad.com/counter_jihad/2009/08/all-muslim-terrorism-is-local.html

///

China delivers warship to Pakistan
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense

Karachi (AFP) July 30, 2009 - China on Thursday delivered the first of four state-of-the-art frigates commissioned by nuclear-armed Pakistan from top ally Beijing, a naval spokesman said.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_delivers_warship_to_Pakistan_navy_999.html

///

Australia police foil suicide attack on army base
from Reuters by Mick Tsikas

Australian police arrested four men they said were linked to a Somali militant group on Tuesday, accusing them of planning a suicide attack on an army base and raising fears the al Qaeda-linked rebels were seeking targets outside Africa.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/terrorism/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090804/wl_nm/us_australia_security

///

WHO maintains 2 billion estimate for likely H1N1 cases
from Reuters: Top News

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization stuck on Tuesday to its statement that about two billion people could catch H1N1 influenza by the time the flu pandemic ends.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/topNews/~3/W7SONHZZAFU/idUSTRE5734VG20090804

///

Mapping Drug Use by Testing Sewer Water
from Schneier on Security by schneier

Scientists from Oregon State University, the University of Washington and McGill University partnered with city workers in 96 communities, including Pendleton, Hermiston and Umatilla, to gather samples on one day, March 4, 2008. The scientists then tested the samples for evidence of methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy, or MDMA.

Addiction specialists were not surprised by the researchers' central discovery, that every one of the 96 cities -- representing 65 percent of Oregon's population -- had a quantifiable level of methamphetamine in its wastewater.

These techniques can detect drug usage at individual houses. It's just a matter of where you take your samples.

[Is sewer water protected under the 4th amendment? Hmmm. - Sarge]

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/07/mapping_drug_us.html

///

END

WTF? Bill Clinton Meets With N. Korean Leader Kim Jong Il

2009-08-04T14:32:00.000-04:00

from Newsmax

Former President Bill Clinton met Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on the first day of a surprise mission to Pyongyang to negotiate the release of two Americans, holding "exhaustive" talks on a wide range of topics, state-run media said.

Clinton "courteously" conveyed a verbal message from President Barack Obama, the official Korean Central News Agency said in a report from Pyongyang. Kim expressed his thanks, and engaged Clinton in a "wide-ranging exchange of views on matters of common concern," the report said.

SITREP

2009-08-03T14:10:00.001-04:00

Coming Home
from In From the Cold by George Smiley

Eighteen years after he disappeared in the early hours of the Persian Gulf War, Navy Captain Scott Speicher is coming home.

The Defense Department announced early today that remains recovered in the Iraqi desert have been positively identified as those of the F/A-18 pilot, who was shot down on the first night of Operation Desert Storm.

Pentagon officials said that bone fragments were recently recovered in Iraq's western Anbar Province. Investigators used dental records to confirm that the remains were those of Captain Speicher.

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2009/08/going-home.html

///

China Seals Off Town After Plague Death
from Local News for MyFox Atlanta

A second man has died of pneumonic plague in northwest China, in an outbreak that prompted authorities to lock down a town where about a dozen people were infected with the highly contagious deadly lung disease, a state news agency said.

The World Health Organization office in China said it was in close contact with Chinese health authorities and that measures taken so far to treat and quarantine sickened people were appropriate.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/health/China_Seals_Off_Town_After_Plague_Death_dpg_20090803_jst_2799590

///

Police prevent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang
from Counter Jihad by Chris

Police forces and state security agencies had prevented five organized terrorist attacks on civilians in China's far west Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China's anti-terrorism sources said Monday.

Separatist "East Turkestan" terrorists both at home and abroad had been plotting attacks against civilians since the July 5 riot that left 197 dead and more than 1,600 injured in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

The recent attempted attacks would have "damaged social stability and ethnic unity", the sources said.

http://infidelsunite.typepad.com/counter_jihad/2009/08/police-prevent-terrorist-attacks-in-xinjiang-.html

///

Woman in Cameroon Has New HIV Strain
from CNN

A new strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been discovered in a woman from the African nation of Cameroon. It differs from the three known strains of human immunodeficiency virus and appears to be closely related to a form of simian virus recently discovered in wild gorillas, researchers report in Monday's edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

The finding "highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence for new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa," said the researchers, led by Jean-Christophe Plantier of the University of Rouen, France.

The three previously known HIV strains are related to the simian virus that occurs in chimpanzees.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/2H1S2qAWA14/index.html

///

Iran is ready to build an N-bomb - it is just waiting for the Ayatollah's order
James Hider, Richard Beeston in Tel Aviv and Michael Evans, Defence Editor

Iran has perfected the technology to create and detonate a nuclear warhead and is merely awaiting the word from its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to produce its first bomb, Western intelligence sources have told The Times.

The sources said that Iran completed a research programme to create weaponised uranium in the summer of 2003 and that it could feasibly make a bomb within a year of an order from its Supreme Leader.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6736785.ece

///

Iran TV Confirms Arrest of 3 Americans
from Local News for MyFox Atlanta

The Swiss Foreign Ministry says its diplomats are trying to find out what happened to three Americans reportedly captured in Iran.

Spokeswoman Nadine Olivieri says the Swiss Embassy in Tehran is trying determine what happened through its contacts with the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Iran state TV says Iranian guards detained the three American tourists Friday after they allegedly crossed the border from northern Iraq.

Switzerland has represented U.S. interests in Iran for 30 years, and the State Department asked it to intervene in this case.

[The Swiss are great, but I'd like to give the Marines a chance to represent U.S. interests in Iran instead. - Sarge]

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/national/dpg_Iran_Americans_Detained_fc_20090802_2791152

///

Miitary Aims for Instant Repair of Wartime Wounds
from Danger Room by Katie Drummond

Darpa’s been working on superhuman soldiers for years. They’ve toyed with cellular mitochondria and pondered putting soldiers on the Atkins diet. In 2006, Darpa launched an ambitious Restorative Injury Repair program, that aims to “fully repair” body parts damaged by traumatic injury.

Earlier this year, researchers funded by that program generated new human muscle that could replace damaged tissue. Now Darpa’s asking for a device that can use adult stem cells for a regenerative free-for-all, pumping out whatever needed to repair injured body parts, including nerves, bone and skin. Already, research has proven that adult stem cells can act the same way embryonic ones do - differentiating into the highly-specified cells that form complex body parts.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/DWbnqukkzwo/

///

END

SITREP

2009-07-29T12:29:00.001-04:00

Germany Openly Warns of Terror Threat

...what the officers found when they searched “Sheikh Ali,” as the imam is known, at the end of June turned a routine operation into an investigation that has captured the attention of the authorities.

The documents that Ali R., a Palestinian who grew up in the Gaza Strip, had stored on a USB storage device included information on the use of bombs and booby traps, bomb-building instructions and a propaganda video. When agents analyzed his mobile phone, they discovered ambiguous text messages in Arabic in which mention was made of a “bride” and a “groom” — terms Islamists have used in the past as code words when planning attacks.

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=10350

///

Hamas Dress Code Aims to Make Gaza More Islamic
from Counter Jihad by Chris

Police order a lingerie shop to hide its scantily clad mannequins. A judge warns female lawyers to wear head scarves in court. Beach patrols break up groups of singles and make men wear shirts.

It's all part of a new Hamas campaign to get Gazans to adhere to a strict Muslim lifestyle — and the first clear attempt by the Islamic militants to go beyond benign persuasion in doing so.

It suggests that having consolidated its hold on Gaza in the two years since it seized control by force, Hamas feels emboldened enough to extend its ideology into people's private lives.

http://infidelsunite.typepad.com/counter_jihad/2009/07/hamas-dress-code-aims-to-make-gaza-more-islamic.html

///

Homicide Bombers
from Officer.com: Operations & Tactics by rss@officer.com

Terrorists will continue to use what works. Their past behavior dictates that in homicide bombings, IEDs and VBIEDs are their death devices of choice, but they will modify target preferences based on susceptibleness.

http://www.officer.com/web/online/Operations-and-Tactics/Homicide-Bombers/3$47680

///

US terror arrests spur warning to police
AP -- DEVLIN BARRETT

Antiterrorism officials are increasingly concerned about American-bred extremists who travel abroad for terror training and then return home, sometimes quietly recruiting followers over the years.

Federal authorities have issued a bulletin to law enforcement agencies around the country on the heels of the arrest Monday in North Carolina of a man whose devotion to the cause of violent jihad allegedly began 20 years ago.

The internal bulletin - reviewed by The Associated Press - says the FBI and the Homeland Security Department are very worried about the danger posed by little-noticed Americans traveling abroad to learn terrorism techniques, then coming back to the United States, where they may be dormant for long periods of time while they look for followers to recruit for future attacks.

http://infidelsunite.typepad.com/counter_jihad/2009/07/us-terror-arrests-spur-warning-to-police-.html

///

How Can We Win a Cyberwar?
from threatpost by Ryan.Naraine

Cyberwar is no longer an urban legend. From Estonia to Georgia to Israel, cyberwar has become a regular part of geopolitical struggles around the globe, and it promises to become a growing factor in future international conflicts.

Even skeptics have to admit that the economics behind cyber warfare are compelling. It's inexpensive to mount a cyberwar. In comparison to traditional warfare, cyberwars are a bargain. You don't need to fund and deploy specialized troops with expensive technology and weapons. You don't need to worry about recruiting soldiers and keeping your supply lines open. All you need to disrupt your enemy's communications and possibly its economy using a few people with specialized skills and Internet connections. In fact, you don't even need to own all the assets deployed in a cyberwar.

http://www.threatpost.com/blogs/how-can-we-win-cyberwar

///

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Chinese Aircraft Carrier?
Peter W. Singer, Director, 21st Century Defense Initiative
The Washington Examiner

But a little reality check may be in order. First, their “new” carrier is not all that new. Actually, the Varyag was first laid down back in 1985. Originally planned for the Soviet fleet, it was never completed. Instead, at the Cold War’s end, it was scrapped of all its electronics and engines and sold off to be a floating casino. Even if the Chinese can refurbish it, at best they will be getting an old, untested ship that carries only a third as many planes as a U.S. carrier.

Similarly, the idea that the Chinese can build four new carriers over the next decade is less than realistic. It takes approximately six years to build one of our aircraft carriers, and we have been doing this for more than eight decades. By comparison, the biggest warship the Chinese have yet to build on their own is 17,000 tons, a quarter the size. More importantly, building a ship is not the same as operating it successfully.

http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2009/0728_china_military_singer.aspx

///

END

Afghan Elders Strike Truce Deal with Taliban

2009-07-27T16:31:00.000-04:00

from Danger Room by Nathan Hodge

BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN — Important news on the political front from Afghanistan: Elders in the remote northwestern province of Badghis reached a ceasefire accord with Taliban insurgents, the first political deal struck with insurgents ahead of the presidential elections next month. According to the BBC, insurgent leaders agreed not to attack polling stations and hand control of key areas to the government.

Swine flu's rapid spread leaves health experts on edge

2009-07-27T16:30:00.001-04:00

from Avian Influenza News Feed

Swine flu has swept the globe since its detection in March, now linked to hundreds of deaths, affecting nearly every country and raising concerns over what dangers await as the new virus develops.

SITREP

2009-07-24T12:18:00.002-04:00

Spy Agencies Hid True Number of Employees
from SpyTalk by Jeff Stein

It took only a couple months and about 100 CIA operatives and Special Forces troops, supported by U.S. air power, to chase the Taliban out of Kabul in 2001.

In contrast, the only thing the four-year-old Directorate of National Intelligence seems to be accomplishing is hiring more Washington bureaucrats.

Meanwhile, the Senate Intelligence Committee has found that at least some of the spy agencies under DNI's purview have not been reporting their true numbers of employees.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/spytalk/2009/07/spy-agencies-hiding-true-numbe.html

///

Swine flu cases double to 100,000 in Britain
from CNN.com

There were 100,000 new cases of swine flu in England last week, nearly double the number from the previous seven days, authorities announced Friday.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/bgQvlUU_l8M/index.html

///

CIA Sat on Alleged Drone Hit on Bin Laden’s Kid
from Danger Room by Adam Rawnsley

U.S. drones may have killed one of Osama Bin Laden’s sons in Pakistan, according to a variety of reports. But the CIA has sat on the news for months for the ambiguous purpose of “messing with al-Qaeda.”

Saad Bin Laden, an al-Qaeda member and the eldest son of Osama Bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa Ghanem, is reported to have been killed by a drone strike in Pakistan sometime the past few months. In the absence of DNA evidence from the strike’s aftermath, one source told NPR that U.S. officials remain “80-85 percent certain” of Saad’s death. News of his apparent death was gleaned from intercepted communications and reports from the field, American officials say.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/hFOaniOgx0M/

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Records: American Trained With Al Qaeda in Pakistan
from FOXNews.com

Bryant Neal Vinas took courses in plastic explosives and bomb theory, according to a statement he gave to investigators as part of a terrorism case in Belgium

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/BWtYgRCm7LE/0,2933,534684,00.html

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Report: Cleric issues fatwa against VP pick
from CNN.com

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent pick for the country's top vice president continued to draw fire Thursday, with a senior cleric issuing a fatwa against the appointment, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/ASxfIc5Rj8E/index.html

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Researcher raids browser history for webmail login tokens
from The Register

In a disclosure that has implications for the security of e-commerce and Web 2.0 sites everywhere, a researcher has perfected a technique for stealing unique identifiers used to prevent unauthorized access to email accounts and other private resources.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/20/csrf_token_hijacking/

///

Police: 3rd bomb in Jakarta attack malfunctioned (AP)
from AP

The suicide attackers who struck the Indonesian capital last week planted a third bomb intended to send panicked crowds to hotel lobbies where the other bombs would explode, but the device's timer malfunctioned, police said Friday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090724/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_explosions

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Troops Say Unfit Linguists Being Recruited for Afghanistan
from Associated Press by Jason Straziuso

Josh Habib lay in a dirt field, gasping for air. Two days of hiking with Marines through southern Afghanistan’s 115-degree Fahrenheit heat had exhausted him. This was not what he signed up for.

Habib is not a Marine. He is a 53-year-old engineer from California hired by a contracting company as a military translator. When he applied for the lucrative linguist job, Habib said his recruiter gave no hint he would join a ground assault in Taliban land. He carried 40 pounds of food, water and gear on his back, and kept pace - barely - with Marines half his age.

US troops say companies that recruit military translators are sending linguists to southern Afghanistan who are unprepared to serve in combat, even as hundreds more are needed to support the growing number of troops. Some translators are in their 60s and 70s and in poor physical condition - and some don’t even speak the right language.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63855

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Israeli Warships' Passage Through Suez Canal Causes a Stir
from Los Angeles Times by Jeffrey Fleishman and Batsheva Sobelman

There's no sneaking a warship through the Suez Canal, so it's best to sail through and remain coy. Israel has done just that.

At least two of its missile-class Saar 5 warships and a Dolphin submarine have sailed through the canal in recent weeks, prompting conjecture about Israel's intentions. Possible scenarios include the sending of a message to Iran about Israeli military might and giving the impression that Israel and Egypt, which controls the Suez, are closely cooperating against regional security threats.

The Israeli government has said little about why the vessels were on missions that took them through the Suez, but they come as Israel has grown insistent on stopping Iran's nuclear program. That fits in with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's attempts to link the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with agreements from Arab states to help Israel counter Iran.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-suez-warships24-2009jul24,0,1352326.story

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END

SITREP

2009-07-23T17:29:00.001-04:00

Bin Laden Son May Have Been Killed
from Washington Post by Joby Warrick

One of the sons of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was apparently killed in a U.S. missile strike inside Pakistan this year, U.S. counterterrorism officials said Thursday.

Saad bin Laden, 27, an al-Qaeda member who has been linked to terrorist bombings in Saudi Arabia, is believed to have been among the victims of a series of strikes by unmanned CIA Predator aircraft in the past few months, the officials said. If confirmed, he would be the closest relative to bin Laden killed by U.S. forces since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/23/AR2009072301966.html?hpid=topnews

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China's military to launch official Web site
from AJC.com

BEIJING - China's Defense Ministry will launch its first official Web site next month in what state media said Thursday was an effort by the secretive military to be more transparent.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/chinas-military-to-launch-official-web-site-98557.html?cxtype=rss_news_81960

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Longer Legs for the Japanese Military
from Ares by David A. Fulghum

In Japan there has always been the discussion of whether to focus on an expeditionary military or one that’s focused on the defense of Japan and can the budget afford both?

That discussion is being shaped by a decision to carry out anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean. It also is helping justify the acquisition of aerial tankers, maritime patrol aircraft and long-range transports.

How Japan chooses to invest its military funding will be of international interest. For example, long-range military airlift for Japan is in still in its infancy. But with operating forces based many thousands of miles away, it brings up the issues of communications, supply and sustainment. It is accelerating reexamination of its airlifter needs. It highlights the need for an expeditionary capability that can be used for humanitarian aid and disaster relief and support of its outlying chain of islands.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3ad65df33e-2d74-43df-b061-717392cd3427

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DailyBriefings: 23 July, 2009
from ThreatsWatch by Michael Tanji

A Long Island man captured in Pakistan in late 2008 has confessed to attacking US forces in Afghanistan and supplying al-Qaeda with intelligence on the New York subway systems and the Long Island Railroad. Guilty plea and cooperation likely spared 27 yr-old treason charge, execution.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/threatswatch/combined/~3/-3CvB2WYfpc/

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US Senate urges review of NKorea terrorism blacklist status (AFP)
from Yahoo! News: Terrorism

This file handout photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on July 6, 2009 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il at the tideland reclamation site on Taegye Islet in North Phyongan Province. The US Senate said that North Korea poses a AFP - The US Senate on Wednesday called North Korea a "threat" to its neighbors and pushed for a formal review to see whether Washington should return the secretive regime to a US terrorism blacklist.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090722/pl_afp/nkoreausnuclearpoliticssenateterrorism

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Arabs advise young, old and sick to avoid hajj
from AJC.com

CAIRO - Arab health ministers decided in a late night meeting Thursday to ban children, the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions from attending the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia this year in effort to slow the spread of swine flu

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/arabs-advise-98591.html?cxtype=rss_news_81960

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END

Shielding Mideast From Iran

2009-07-23T13:29:00.001-04:00

from NY Times by MARK LANDLER and DAVID E. SANGER

PHUKET, Thailand — Stiffening the American line against Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Wednesday that the United States would consider extending a “defense umbrella” over the Middle East if the country continued to defy international demands that it halt work that could lead to nuclear weapons.

While such a defensive shield has long been assumed, administration officials in Washington acknowledged Wednesday that no senior official had ever publicly discussed it. Some of the officials said the timing of Mrs. Clinton’s remarks reflected a growing sense that President Obama needed to signal to Tehran that its nuclear ambitions could be countered militarily, as well as diplomatically.

Latest Drivel from Iran

2009-07-22T16:18:00.001-04:00

from MEMRI

At a July 12, 2009 conference on promoting the mentality of self-sacrifice among women, convened under the auspices of the Martyrs Foundation in Tehran, Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi stated that Iran was making progress in nuclear technology as well as in the field of ballistic missiles, and that it currently was operating over 12,000 centrifuges...

"Owing to the guidance of the leader [Ali Khamenei], to the efforts of the Ahmadinejad government, and to the steadfastness of the people, today Iran is operating over 12,000 centrifuges. We are conquering technological areas one after another, and advancing towards [new] heights. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is unprecedentedly strong, and it has demonstrated its power to the world by means of its great technological achievements – especially in the areas of satellites and the military, including the Sejil missile. Following the testing of the Sejil-2 missile, the terrorist and murderous Zionist regime acknowledged that it is powerless to withstand the Islamic Republic of Iran…"

SITREP

2009-07-22T14:45:00.001-04:00

Senators Raise Concerns Over E-Verify as Illegal Immigration Detentions Drop
from Security Management News & Analysis by Matthew Harwood

Illegal immigrants with stolen Social Security numbers (SSN) are still beating the federal government's employment eligibility verification system, warned senators yesterday at a subcommittee hearing. Meanwhile, new government numbers show the fewest number of illegal immigrants caught sneaking across the border since the 1970s.

http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/senators-raise-concerns-over-e-verify-illegal-immigration-detentions-drop-005907

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Special Forces Getting High-Tech Soldier Suits for Iraq Mission
from Danger Room by Shelley Dubois

Just a few years ago, the Army was so down on the Land Warrior high-tech soldier get-up that it officially canceled the project. Now, Land Warrior is back from the dead — and considered so valuable that even the Army’s commando elite want the wearable electronics suites.

According to InsideDefense.com, an Army Special Forces battalion will start training with an upgraded version of Land Warrior in 2010, before it deploys to Iraq later in the year.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/bgj0e1nyChs/

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How Security Missed the Jakarta Suicide Bombings
from Security Management News & Analysis by Matthew Harwood

Two details during the run-up to the twin and nearly simultaneous suicide bombings that struck the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels on Friday in Jakarta give indications of how the attack proved successful, according to Time magazine.

On Saturday, a police spokesman said that one of the terrorists carrying a bag set off the metal detectors at the Marriott. He told security it was his laptop computer. They let him through.

http://www.securitymanagement.com/news/how-security-missed-jakarta-suicide-bombings-005902

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Pakistan Objects to U.S. Plan for Afghan War
from NY Times by ERIC SCHMITT and JANE PERLEZ

Pakistani officials have told the Obama administration that the Marines fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan will force militants across the border into Pakistan, with the potential to further inflame the troubled province of Baluchistan, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Pakistan does not have enough troops to deploy to Baluchistan to take on the Taliban without denuding its border with its archenemy, India, the officials said. Dialogue with the Taliban, not more fighting, is in Pakistan’s national interest, they said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/world/asia/22pstan.html?_r=2&ref=world

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Blogger: America ‘Less Safe’ Without More F-22s
from Danger Room by David Axe

Among perceived rivals, China just began producing J-10 fighters that are in the same class as the USAF’s 20-year-old F-16Cs. Russia is still building, and exporting, a few variants of the 1980s’ Su-27. Despite lots of promises, neither China nor Russia has ever demonstrated it can build anything more advanced than its current models. Russia’s aviation industry has eroded so badly that it cannot even produce drones for the Russian military: Moscow must buy them from Israel, instead.

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/WiredDangerRoom/~3/SBqCpnjwj7Y/

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"Livin' The Dream, Sir"
from Op For by Lt Col P

Michael Yon hits the X-ring again with a dispatch from Central Asia:

...One Marine commander told me that during the early part of this war, his men didn’t even shower for three months. We talked for a couple of hours and he was proud that his Marines didn’t need a shower for three months, and that his Marines killed a lot of Taliban and managed to lose only one good man. That’s the Marines. They’ll show up in force with no warning, and their reputation with U.S. Army and Brits who have fought alongside them is stellar. A NPR photographer who just spent more than three weeks with the Marines could not praise them enough, saying he’d been with them in Iraq, too, and that when Marines take casualties, their reaction is to continue to attack. They try to stay in contact until they finish the enemy, no matter how long it takes. Truly they are animals when it comes to the fight. Other than that, great guys. Tonight at dinner, a young Marine Lance Corporal sat in front of me at the crowded dining facility. “Good evening, Sir,” he said. I asked, “Are you living like animals out there?” “Livin’ the dream, Sir!” They are fantastic.

http://op-for.com/2009/07/livin_the_dream_sir.html

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The "Irreversible Collapse"
from In From the Cold by Spook86

What a difference a year makes.

Last July, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, boasted that his nation would add six carrier battle groups to its fleet, with construction of the new vessels beginning in 2012.

Most analysts were dubious about that claim, but Moscow had one factor working in its favor. With oil then trading at $150 a barrel, Russia was suddenly flush with cash, and military leaders could once again dream on a grandiose scale.

Twelve months later, Admiral Vysotsky is no longer talking about six new carrier battle groups. In fact, he sounds a lot like his predecessors of the late 80s and early 90s, who simply tried to maintain some semblance of a Russian fleet against overwhelming financial pressures. During that decade, the once-proud Soviet Navy became a shadow of its former self; ships spent almost no time at sea and out-of-area operations were virtually unheard of.

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2009/07/irreversible-collapse.html

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Mind the Gap: Reinstituting Counternarcotics Trafficking with Venezuela
from TheTerrorWonk by aaron.mannes@gmail.com (Aaron Mannes)

The GAO’s recent report U.S. Counternarcotics Cooperation with Venezuela Has Declined provides a nuts and bolts breakdown of how U.S. counternarcotics programs operate abroad – and how the Venezuelan government is refusing to cooperate on many of these crucial programs. Because of its strategic location next to Colombia, which has long been at the heart of the international drug trade, and because of the extensive connections between drugs and terrorism, improving counternarcotics cooperation with Venezuela is a small but important issue.

http://terrorwonk.blogspot.com/2009/07/mind-gap-reinstituting-counternarcotics.html

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END

Urgently Wanted: A Strategy

2009-07-22T13:22:00.001-04:00

by Sebastian L. v. Gorka

Who or what can hurt America?

Surprisingly few things. Communism is not dead but its proponents are isolated or weak. Just look at Belarussia or Cuba. Those that are stronger, such as China and Russia, are still undemocratic, but they are far from what Karl Marx would call classically socialist.

If there is an ideology that does threaten our freedoms, it is Salafi Jihad, a global creed that by definition sees the non-Muslim as someone to be subjugated or crushed. Any organization or nation that subscribes to this religious ideology and which chooses action and not just words, must feature high in the ranking of threats to the United States.

And please note, such organizations exist within our own borders,not just in some far away cave in Central Asia. Lastly there are those nations that do not necessarily adhere to the Salafi ideology but who facilitate its existence elsewhere, who fund its international entities and those who simply have an inimical relationship to the US and actively target our people and our interests.

Commentary: Raptor is no Reaper

2009-07-20T15:07:00.000-04:00

from UPI by ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE

This year the U.S. Air Force will train more drone “jocks” than fighter jocks. Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles are transforming air warfare. The much-vaunted F-22 Raptor has flown in neither Iraq nor Afghanistan. But the pilotless Reaper, at a fraction of the Raptor’s price, is flying round the clock in both conflicts. Is a mood-altering, UCAV-mounted ray gun in our future?

(More) SITREP

2009-07-20T13:37:00.002-04:00

Pakistan's Fifth Column
from Counterterrorism Blog by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

Pakistan has engaged in a two-month offensive against Islamic militants in the country's Swat region, a campaign that began when the Taliban captured a district just 60 miles from Islamabad, the nation's capital. As the campaign winds down, and local residents begin to return, significant questions remain about future counterinsurgency operations. For example, while Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has asked Washington for his own armed Predator drones for use against the Taliban, regional newspaper Dawn reports that U. S. intelligence officers oppose this move -- in part because several years ago "American officials gave Pakistan advance word of planned Predator attacks, but stopped the practice after the information was leaked to militants."

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/07/pakistans_fifth_column.php

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More GIs may Head to Afghanistan
from Military Army News Center
The Pentagon's chief said Thursday he could send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year than he'd initially expected and is considering increasing the number of Soldiers in the Army. Both issues reflect demands on increasingly stressed American forces tasked with fighting two wars.

http://www.military.com/cs/Satellite?c=maArticle&cid=1199422091257&pagename=News%2FnwsLayout

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Middle East navies eye new submarines
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Tehran (UPI) Jul 17, 2009 - Submarine warfare seems to be in vogue in the Middle East these days, with Israel leading the way. Iran, Algeria and Egypt are also planning to acquire new submarines that could operate in the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Middle_East_navies_eye_new_submarines_999.html

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Pentagon IDs Taliban-held Soldier
from Associated Press

HAILEY, Idaho -- A Soldier who disappeared from his base in Afghanistan and was captured by the Taliban has been identified by the Pentagon as Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl of Idaho, who was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment.

While the Soldier's identity was known in his hometown of Hailey, residents there kept it to themselves until the Defense Department released his name after he was seen in a Taliban video posted online. Bergdahl, 23, was serving at an Afghan base near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold.

http://www.military.com/news/article/pentagon-ids-taliban-held-soldier.html?col=1186032310810&ESRC=topstories.RSS

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US, Japan agree to set up official talks on nuclear deterrence
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Tokyo (AFP) July 18, 2009 - The United States on Saturday agreed with Japan to set up an official talks on ways to boost the nuclear deterrence it provides to protect Tokyo as tensions continue with North Korea, a senior official said.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_Japan_agree_to_set_up_official_talks_on_nuclear_deterrence_999.html

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The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) Finally Reacts to Urumqi Riots, Threatens Revenge on China
from Counterterrorism Blog by Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording from the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) titled, "In Occasion of the Communists’ Massacre of Our Muslim Nation in China and in Urumqi (East Turkistan)." In the statement, TIP's military commander Saifullah warned, "you ought to know that this Muslim people has men who will avenge them, and soon the knights of Allah will ambush you, Allah-willing, so await as we are with you awaiting.” The threat comes on the heels of ethnic riots in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, which have left nearly 200 dead and 1,700 injured. For those who are still unaware, the TIP is a Uighur militant group based in northwest Pakistan which is loosely aligned with the Taliban and Al-Qaida.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/07/the_turkestan_islamic_party_ti.php

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Russia stunned by missile failure setback
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Moscow (AFP) July 17, 2009 - The Russian military's drive to revamp its Soviet-era missile arsenal has suffered a major setback after a nuclear-capable missile touted as the new pride of its rocket forces failed again in testing.

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_stunned_by_missile_failure_setback_999.html

///

SITREP

2009-07-20T07:58:00.003-04:00

Defense Secretary Gates: North Korea's Army Is Starving
from mystateline.com

(Washington, DC) -- North Korea's army is being described as one "that's starving" and less of a threat to the U.S., due to its famine.

That's the assessment by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who made the remarks while speaking to troops at Fort Drum in New York.

Gates said the famine in the communist nation during the mid-1990s has effected the physical and intellectual development of those eligible for service in North Korea now.

As many as one-million people of the country's population of 22-million perished during the famine.

http://mystateline.com/content/fulltext/?cid=83981

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Company Says No 'Flesh-Eating' Ground Drones
from Defense Tech by lowe

The Pentagon has shown it has a great appetite for drones and robots -- everything from missile-firing UAVs to prototype patrol-bots guarding air base perimeters.

But a Maryland company working on a program for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA, has the idea of giving the robots their own appetites, letting them feed on biomass as a means of fueling themselves.

But as the image of flesh-eating drones refueling off the battlefield dead has spread in recent days, Cyclone Power Technologies of Florida, the company developing the robot's engine, has issued a statement about the Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot's -- aka EATR -- diet.

It is vegetarian, the company said in a press statement released Thursday, in response to stories with headlines such as "Dawn of the corpse-eating robots?" and "Pentagon contracts company for flesh-eating robots."

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DefenseTech/~3/gZ4FQPODAxo/004936.html

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'Cross Strait' Relations Changing
from Defense Tech by lowe

Despite recent at-sea incidents off the coast of China -- such as Chinese harassment of the U.S. research ships Impeccable (T-AGOS 23) and Victorious (T-AGOS 19), and alarmist press coverage of the Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile effort -- the probability of conflict involving China is decreasing rapidly. The threat of a Chinese assault against the island of Taiwan, some 100 miles offshore, has long been considered a threat that could ignite a major conflict in the Western Pacific.

With little fanfare, a passenger-cargo ship departed the Chinese mainland from the port of Mawei in Fujian Province on 13 July bound directly for Taiwan. The voyage -- of approximately ten hours -- marked the inauguration of regular merchant ship service between the "two Chinas." On board the New Golden Bridge II were 630 passengers plus cargo bound for "Nationalist China."

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DefenseTech/~3/S7k-7qR4n58/004935.html

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END

SITREP

2009-07-16T17:24:00.002-04:00

Dear Mr. President
from Ares by Nicholas Fiorenza

A year is a long time in politics and this is especially true in Central and Eastern Europe. A year ago, the Bush administration was in difficult negotiations with the Czech Republic and Poland on basing a missile defense system in their territory. Granted, Poland was trying to obtain concessions in other areas, but Czech opposition to the missile defense system was real (and still is), despite the pro-US stance of its government then.

Now Czechs and Poles are among the 22 Central and Eastern European politicians who have signed an open letter to the Obama administration, which appeared in the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, expressing concerns about its rapprochement with Moscow. The signatories read like a who's who in Central and Eastern European politics, including Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa.

They worry that "NATO today seems weaker than when we joined" and that "Russia is back as a revisionist power pursuing a 19th-century agenda with 21st-century tactics and methods." Among their recommendations is a call for "a renaissance of NATO as the most important security link between the United States and Europe."

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a409f0db3-9d4b-47d9-bac6-5f3037182c41

///

New Audio from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: “A Message to My Muslim Brothers and Sisters in Pakistan”
from Counterterrorism Blog by Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording produced by Al-Qaida's As-Sahab Media Foundation of Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri titled, "A Message to My Muslim Brothers and Sisters in Pakistan." During the recording, al-Zawahiri appealed to Muslims in Pakistan to support Al-Qaida and the Taliban, urging, "It is the individual duty of every Muslim in Pakistan to join the Mujahedeen, or at the very least, to support the Jihad in Pakistan and Afghanistan with money, advice, expertise, information, communications, shelter and anything else he can offer. It is also the duty of every noble person in Pakistan’s army and security agencies to give the orders of Allah and His Messenger precedence over the orders of the Crusaders’ slaves, and to refrain from killing, pursuing or harming in any way Muslims and Mujahedeen." Nonetheless, Dr. al-Zawahiri boasted of "a solid, cohesive Jihadi nucleus taking form in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This emerging jihadi force is resisting – by the grace of Almighty Allah – all efforts to eliminate and extinguish it. The treasonous Pakistan army has tried much, but by the grace of Allah, it has all been in vain."

http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/07/new_audio_from_dr_ayman_al-zaw.php

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Solid-State Laser Ready For On-Board Tests
from Defense Tech by lowe

This article first appeared in AviationWeek.com.

A U.S. Navy plan to test a high-power laser against the small-boat threat to its warships provides the first real opportunity to transition electric lasers from the laboratory to the field, says Northrop Grumman, which has won a $98-million contract for the Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD).

Within 12-18 months, a prototype laser weapon system is to be installed on a ship and tested against a remotely controlled small boat in a representative at-sea environment. The system will use technology from the Defense Dept.'s Joint High Power Solid-State Laser (JHPSSL) program, under which Northrop Grumman in March achieved an output of 105 kw. by optically combining the beams from a chain of laser modules.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DefenseTech/~3/AzGWsE1mwfE/004934.html

///

CIA Assassin Program Was Nearing New Phase
from washingtonpost.com - Intelligence by Joby Warrick

CIA officials were proposing to activate a plan to train anti-terrorist assassination teams overseas when agency managers brought the secret program to the attention of CIA Director Leon Panetta last month, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/15/AR2009071503856.html?nav=rss_nation/special

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Yemen braced for al-Qaida attacks
from United Press International - International Security - Emerging Threats - Briefing

SANAA, Yemen, July 16 (UPI) -- Yemeni forces increased their security presence around the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa as a preventive measure against a possible al-Qaida attack.

http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/07/16/Yemen-braced-for-al-Qaida-attacks/UPI-50511247773996/

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Pakistan nabs 13 al-Qaida suspects
from United Press International - International Security - Emerging Threats - Briefing

QUETTA, Pakistan, July 15 (UPI) -- Pakistani authorities detained 13 members of a suspected al-Qaida outfit carrying suicide vests and a bomb in the southern province of Baluchistan.

http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/07/15/Pakistan-nabs-13-al-Qaida-suspects/UPI-10091247695028/

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Washington, Colombia near deal on base access
from The Terrorism Research Center

The United States and Colombia are nearing agreement on expanding the U.S. military's presence in this conflict-torn nation, likely basing several hundred Americans in a central valley in support of Air Force drug interdiction missions.

Both sides say they hope a fifth round of talks slated for later this month in Bogota will seal a 10-year lease deal.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090715/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_colombia_us_bases

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Mexico's 'La Familia' cartel declares war on police
from The Terrorism Research Center

The powerful "La Familia" drug cartel has unleashed one of the most spectacular murder offensives in recent years against Mexican authorities, boldly targeting President Felipe Calderon's home state. No drug cartel has ever gone so far or dealt such a harsh blow to the federal police -- not even in the country's northern reaches near the US border, often the scene of unspeakable violence, or in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's crime capital.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090715/ts_afp/mexicocrimedrugs;_ylt=Ak9lJ1e__mj6WmBuIQD8TD8HcggF

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WHO: Swine Flu Fastest Spreading Pandemic Ever
from Newsmax

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that the H1N1 flu pandemic was the fastest-moving pandemic ever and that it was now pointless to count every case.

The United Nations agency, which declared an influenza pandemic on June 11, revised its requirements so that national health authorities need only report clusters of severe cases or deaths caused by the new virus or unusual clinical patterns.

"The 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed. In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks," it said in a statement on the new strain, commonly known as swine flu.

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/h1n1_who_pandemic_/2009/07/16/236501.html

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Haqqani Network threatens to execute captured US soldier
from The Long War Journal

A senior commander in the Haqqani Network has threatened to kill a captured US soldier unless Coalition forces end operations in two districts in Paktika and Ghazni provinces in eastern Afghanistan.

Abdullah Jalali, a spokesman for Mullah Sangeen Zadran, who claimed to have captured the soldier in late June, said the US military must end the search operations in the Giro district in Ghazni province and the Khoshamand district in Paktika or the soldier would be killed. Jalali made the statement in a telephone interview with the Associated Press.

But Jalali also said the fate of the soldier will ultimately be decided by Mullah Omar, the overall leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/07/haqqani_network_thre.php

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END

SITREP

2009-07-14T17:35:00.001-04:00

Al Qaida: Western Spies Multiply “Like Locusts”
from FAS

From the point of view of an al Qaida military leader, Western intelligence agents are now ubiquitous in the lands of Islam, and their operations have been extraordinarily effective. The Western spies are unfailingly lethal, leaving a trail of dead Islamist fighters behind them. Worst of all, they have managed to recruit innumerable Muslims to assist their war efforts.

“The spies… were sent to penetrate the ranks of the Muslims generally, and the mujahidin specifically, and [they] spread all over the lands like locusts,” wrote Abu Yahya al-Libi, an al Qaida field commander in Afghanistan, in a new book called “Guidance on the Ruling of the Muslim Spy” (pdf).

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009/07/al_libi_spies.html

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About Those Losses....
from In From the Cold by Spook86

Moscow's independent Center for the Analysis of Strategy and Technology (CAST) is offering new details on Russia's air campaign against Georgia last year.

CAST was one of the first analytical organizations to report that Russian air losses over Georgia were significantly higher than the Kremlin claimed. CAST researchers have determined that the Russian Air Force lost at least eight aircraft in fighting with the Georgians--twice the number officially reported.

In its latest assessment, CAST confirms that Russian forces lost eight aircraft to adversary air defenses and fratricide. The four additional aircraft--which the Russian Air Force has acknowledged as combat losses--include the following:

--SU-24MR Fencer E reconnaissance aircraft, shot down on 8 August
--SU-25 Frogfoot CAS aircraft, lost on 9 August
--SU-24M Fencer frontal strike aircraft, downed on 10 or 11 August
--Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunship (loss date undetermined)

CAST also reports that Georgian air defenses damaged at least three other SU-25s, which managed to return to base.

http://formerspook.blogspot.com/2009/07/about-those-losses.html

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Japan Outclassed, Iran Undeterred, U.S. Overstretched
from Ares by David A. Fulghum

The world’s military problems are increasingly overlapping.

Starting with Japan, the nation’s F-15J force, once top of the line, is now “outclassed by the new generation of Chinese fighters” such as the Su-30MKK, U.S. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers (ret.), chairman of the JCS from 2001-5, tells AW&ST.

Moreover, China’s air defenses, which include variants of Russian-made, long-range SA-10s and SA-20 (S-300 family) missiles, can only be penetrated by the fast, high-flying, stealthy Raptor. Similar advanced Russian designs have been sold or are under contract to Syria and Iran.

Japan’s Defense Ministry has studied the problem closely and, at least internally, has produced “a very impressive tactical rationale” for buying the F-22 if the fighter’s sale is approved by the U.S. Congress. Myers predicts that any resistance within the U.S. Air Force to selling Raptor technology to Japan, “an incredibly staunch ally”, will be isolated and not critical.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a70bbab84-7dea-476b-a490-d33d026c2ec0

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Another Nuclear Power in the Oceans of the World
from BLACKFIVE by blackfive@gmail.com (Pundit Review Radio)

United Press International, July 13, 2009

If all goes as planned, India, according to various reports, will soon join the exclusive club of nations with their own domestically built nuclear-powered submarines, marking a giant leap for its naval defense.

More than 20 years in the making and until now known only as the Advanced Technology Vehicle project, the Indian navy's new nuclear-powered submarine named INS Chakra is expected to be launched in the coming weeks to begin its sea trials.

The report said the 7,700-ton INS Chakra will undergo sea trials for several months after entering the waters of the Bay of Bengal from the Vishakhapatnam port in southeastern Andhra Pradesh state. It is designed to carry intermediate-range submarine-launched missiles that have already been tested on the eastern coast, the report said.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/t3bTBwqpdeM/another-nuclear-power-in-the-oceans-of-the-world.html

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'Unknown' no More; Fallen Troop Named
from Military Army News Center
For well over a century he was an unknown Soldier in a solitary grave near a battlefield monument. Today, thanks to the painstaking research of a volunteer and tour guide, "the unknown" Civil War casualty has a name.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MilitaryArmyNewsCenter/~3/Lq9EFnpE4TU/Satellite

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Texas Reservist Honored for Afghan Ambush
from Military Army News Center

Army Spec. David Hutchinson spent only a week in Afghanistan. But that was enough to change his life and earn him a place among America's bravest with a Silver Star on his chest. He is credited with holding off an attack and killing at least five insurgents.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MilitaryArmyNewsCenter/~3/QCYB_jygwCo/Satellite

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67 Air Force Academy cadets have H1N1 flu
from CNN.com

Sixty-seven cadets at the Air Force Academy have confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza -- the so-called swine flu -- and another 30 are showing symptoms of the highly contagious virus, the academy said Tuesday.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/RSe88g-jFbU/index.html

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12 bodies found along Mexican road
from CNN.com

Twelve to 15 bodies showing signs of torture were found on the side of a remote highway in the Mexican state of Michoacan, the state attorney general's office told CNN en Español.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/yEYIEDfzSso/index.html

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2 Somali-Americans Charged With Aiding Terror
from NYT > US by By ANDREA ELLIOTT

Federal officials unsealed an indictment in Minneapolis on Monday charging two young Somali-Americans with providing material support for terrorism.

http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c577e529ed5bf2dbb52ecb917e4e2b04

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Study: Deadly 1918 pandemic took years to evolve, through pigs, offering lessons for today
from Avian Influenza News Feed

History's deadliest flu pandemic, in 1918, may not have made a sudden jump from birds to people after all.

http://www.topix.net/health/avian-flu/2009/07/study-deadly-1918-pandemic-took-years-to-evolve-through-pigs-offering-lessons-for-today?fromrss=1

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END

SITREP

2009-07-13T16:30:00.003-04:00

North Korea army behind South web attack: report
from Reuters: Internet News
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's military is behind a series of cyber attacks against South Korean and U.S. websites that slowed or disabled access by saturating them with traffic this week, a South Korean news report said on Saturday.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/InternetNews/~3/RGxf5XOGEj0/idUSTRE56709E20090711

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US Ignored Warnings of Cyber Attack
from Defense Tech by lowe

The U.S. Government now admits they did not properly handle the situation. Sources have revealed that the South Korean government knew in advance that the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that hit multiple web sites of major institutions in South Korea had begun earlier in the United States.

Late last week South Korea's intelligence agency briefed its lawmakers on circumstantial and technical evidence behind their belief that North Korea was behind the recent cyber attacks. Other intelligence sources went as far as to state that Kim Chong Un, the third son of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, was the mastermind of the cyber attacks that have hit government computers in the United States, South Korea and other some 14 other countries.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DefenseTech/~3/DGa82vhgw3E/004927.html

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Bloggers test boundaries in Saudi Arabia
from Reuters: Internet News
JEDDAH (Reuters) - Armed with a computer, an internet connection and his own intellect Ahmed Al-Omran is one of a few Saudi bloggers trying to push for change and make themselves heard in the conservative Gulf Arab monarchy.

http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/InternetNews/~3/wCtgMzvdykk/idUSTRE5683JS20090710

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Smoke 'Em... If You Can Get 'Em
from Op For by Lt Col P

One big fat bad, very bad, idea is festering in DOD: "Tobacco Ban Urged On Military".

WASHINGTON — Pentagon health experts are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban the use of tobacco by troops and end its sale on military property, a change that could dramatically alter a culture intertwined with smoking.

Jack Smith, head of the Pentagon's office of clinical and program policy, says he will recommend that Gates adopt proposals by a federal study that cites rising tobacco use and higher costs for the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs as reasons for the ban.

The study by the Institute of Medicine, requested by the VA and Pentagon, calls for a phased-in ban over a period of years, perhaps up to 20. "We'll certainly be taking that recommendation forward," Smith says.

I am not a cigarette smoker, nor a chewer or dipper. I enjoy a cigar now and then, and a pipe too. But "now and then" in my case means "every three or four months". However, I recognize that for some of our servicemen (and service'men) the one thing they need is a smoke. Especially, say, at the end of a long patrol, or a particularly tough fight. In a place where they can't drink. Or screw. And where there are no days off. And no showers.

People in these situations need some sort of release, yes, some sort of mild vice. I'm not for issuing them tobacco rations, but I think a ban is an enormously bad idea.

http://op-for.com/2009/07/smoke_em_if_you_can_get_em.html

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Program Aims to Deliver Unprecedented Surveillance Capability
By Donna Miles from American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – A giant, unmanned airship capable of hovering at about 70,000 feet promises to give future warfighters an unprecedented eye on the battlefield.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Integrated Sensor is Structure program, ISIS for short, will provide a detailed, real-time picture of all movement on or above the battlefield. Defense DoD graphic courtesy of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

As envisioned, the ISIS airship will be able to track troop movements – friendly as well as enemy – up to 180 miles away and track the most advanced cruise missiles from about 370 miles away.

It also will be able to watch ground targets through heavily forested areas, a capability not possible without the huge ultra-high-frequency antenna ISIS will provide.

http://www.darpa.mil/leavingdarpa.asp?goto_url=http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54989

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END

SITREP

2009-07-08T08:39:00.002-04:00

al Qaeda Plotting Multiple Attacks on US-Israel-bound Airliners
Western anti-terror agencies have warned that a large group of 15-20 al Qaeda terrorists, trained in Pakistan and Algeria to hijack and blow up airliners, deployed secretly in at least six European and Middle East countries in early July. They are reported to be standing ready to carry out multiple terrorist attacks.

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report the first specific red alert on Saturday, July 4, referred to the possible hijack of Turkish Airways planes taking of from Turkish airports for US destinations or Tel Aviv.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/NationalTerrorAlertResourceCenter/~3/qqEns2X4U7Y/

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Government Agencies, Washington Post Targeted in Cyberattack
A widespread and coordinated cyberattack during the past few days has targeted Web sites operated by major government agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, according to several computer security researchers.

The attacks involved thousands of computers around the globe infected with rogue software that told them to repeatedly attempt to access the targeted sites, a tactic aimed at driving up traffic beyond the sites’ normal capacity and denying access to legitimate users, according to the researchers, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they are helping with the investigation.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said that the agency was aware of ongoing attacks and that the government’s Computer Emergency Response Team had issued guidance to public and private sector Web sites to stem the attacks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/08/AR2009070800066.html

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Cyber Attack Hits South Korean Web Sites
A number of South Korean government Web sites were inaccessible on Wednesday, apparently taken offline by a large cyber-attack that had earlier hit U.S. government sites.

The Web site for South Korea’s president, the Blue House, and those for the National Assembly and Ministry of National Defense were all offline at Wednesday lunchtime. Also inaccessible was the home page of the Grand National Party and the Chosun Ilbo national newspaper
The Korea Internet Security Center’s security index was set at “substantial,” which is the middle of its five levels and signifies regional Internet security problems and advises all Internet users to take urgent security measures.

Local press reports said around 25 sites had been hit since late Tuesday including those of major banks including Shinhan Bank and Korea Exchange Bank and major portal Naver. All three appeared to be operating normally at Wednesday lunchtime but a prompt on the page of Shinhan Bank referenced a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack and advised users to download security software.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/168027/cyber_attack_his_south_korean_web_sites.html

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Swine Flu Testing To Grow After Resistant US Case
ATLANTA (AP) -- U.S. health officials are stepping up testing of swine flu cases for Tamiflu resistance.

The action comes after an American teen was diagnosed with a resistant strain. The San Francisco teenager was diagnosed with swine flu last month after arriving in Hong Kong, and has since recovered.

Officials on Tuesday confirmed the 16-year-old lived in San Francisco and likely was infected in the United States.

She's just the third person in the world known to have a strain resistant to Tamiflu, the main weapon against swine flu.

http://www.11alive.com/rss/rss_story.aspx?storyid=132259

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Military Chief Mullen Says Clock Ticking On Iran Nuke
The top U.S. military officer warned on Tuesday that time is running out for dialogue with Tehran to avoid either a nuclear-armed Iran or a possible military strike against the Islamic Republic.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it is critical for diplomatic efforts to reach a solution before Iran develops a nuclear weapon or faces an Israeli or U.S. strike to turn back its nuclear program.

“That window is a very narrow window,” Mullen told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-40879020090707

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Federal buildings get 'F' after bombs smuggled in
Plainclothes investigators sent to test security at federal buildings in four U.S. cities were successful in smuggling bomb components through guard posts at all 10 of the sites they visited, according to a government report.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/W3KEgfnopRg/index.html

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End Iran's 'security atmosphere,' reformists say
Iran's three top reformist leaders are calling for an end to the "security atmosphere" in the country, referring to what they say is the government's heavy-handed response to those who protested the results of last month's presidential election.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/ovgqD0kcG3M/index.html

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China Tries To Stem Ethnic Clashes
China's official Xinhua News Agency says there have been "sporadic standoffs" today between protesters and security forces in the western region of Xinjiang.

Paramilitary police have flooded the region's capital in an effort to keep Han Chinese and minority Muslim Uighurs apart. They have been guarding roads leading into Uighur neighborhoods. Rioting and street battles between the groups have left 156 dead since the weekend.

China's President Hu Jintao has cut short his trip to the G-8 summit to deal with the ethnic tensions.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/international/dpg_China_Ethnic_Clashes_fc_20090708_2648478

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END

NJ: Employment Protection for Volunteer Emergency Responders Bill Proposed

2009-07-07T14:20:00.000-04:00

from Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

On June 25, 2009, a bill (A1263) providing employment protection for certain volunteer emergency responders passed the Assembly and was sent to the Senate for consideration. Under the provisions of the proposed “Emergency Responders Employment Protection Act,” employers would be prohibited from terminating, dismissing, or suspending employees who fail to report to work because they are engaged in providing necessary volunteer emergency services in response to a declared state of emergency or an emergency alarm. To receive this protection, employees must provide their employer at least one hour’s notice before their scheduled shift that they will not be able to come to work, as well as official documentation regarding the emergency services rendered. Further, employees designated as “essential employees” by either statute or contract are not entitled to the protections set forth in this bill.

The bill does not require an employer to pay employees who miss work to provide emergency services. However, employees may elect to charge their absence as a vacation day or a sick day (if available).

[Every state should have this law. - Sarge]

China Muslims Target of Deadly Riots

2009-07-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

from Fox News

Violent street battles killed at least 140 people and injured 828 others in the deadliest ethnic unrest to hit China's western Xinjiang region in decades, and the Chinese government blamed Uighur exiles for stoking the unrest.

Security forces have clamped down on the city of Urumqi and set up checkpoints to catch any fleeing rioters, state media reported, after tensions between ethnic Muslim Uighur people and China's Han majority erupted into riots.

Rioters on Sunday overturned barricades, attacking vehicles and houses, and clashed violently with police, according to media and witness accounts. State television aired footage showing protesters attacking and kicking people on the ground. Other people, who appeared to be Han Chinese, sat dazed with blood pouring down their faces.

Biden Gives Apparent Green Light for Israeli Iran Attack

2009-07-06T12:53:00.000-04:00

from Newsmax

Vice President Joe Biden signaled that the Obama administration would not stand in the way if Israel chose to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, even as the top U.S. military officer said any attack on Iran would be destabilizing.

Biden's remarks suggested a tougher U.S. stance against Iran's nuclear ambitions. Nonetheless, administration officials insisted his televised remarks Sunday reflected the U.S. view that Israel has a right to defend itself and make its own decisions on national security.

UN: $1B May Be Needed For Swine Flu

2009-07-06T12:37:00.000-04:00

from Fox Atlanta

The United Nations may need more than $1 billion this year to help poor countries fight the swine flu pandemic, the world body's Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

"The funding has not been flowing as we have been expecting," Ban said. "We are now mobilizing all resources possible."

The money is needed to ensure the poorest countries get vaccine supplies and antivirals if the pandemic continues to spread, he told a news conference.

The swine flu outbreak has been relatively mild so far and most people recover without taking antivirals, but Ban said it should not be taken for granted that the outbreak will continue to be mild.

Georgia native who served with Tuskegee Airmen dies

2009-07-06T12:29:00.001-04:00

from ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS, Ohio — H.M. Cummings, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the country’s first group of black military pilots and crew, has died.

His nephew says Cummings had been sick with pulmonary distress and died Thursday of complications in surgery at a Columbus, Ohio, hospital. He was 90.

Cummings, a native of Dublin, Ga., was among a group of remaining Tuskegee Airmen who traveled to Washington D.C. in January to watch President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Nephew Herndon R. Cummings of Kettering, Ohio, said Saturday his uncle was overjoyed by the experience.

The airmen dealt with racial prejudice along with the pressures of World War II. Blacks previously had not been allowed to fly in the military. They trained as a segregated unit at an air base in Tuskegee, Ala.

CDC Update: U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection

2009-07-03T17:17:00.000-04:00

from Centers for Disease Control

Total cases: 33,902

Deaths: 170

Iranian cleric: British Embassy staff to be tried

2009-07-03T17:12:00.001-04:00

from Associated Press by LEE KEATH

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

A powerful cleric said Friday that Iran will put British Embassy staffers on trial for fomenting postelection turmoil, a step that would likely increase Iran's isolation and alienate Western nations that have been trying to keep options open with Tehran despite its crackdown on protesters.

The announcement fueled calls in Europe for tougher action against Tehran. Britain is pressing for members of the European Union to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran to protest the staffers' arrests last week.

NKorea Test-fires 4 Short-range Missiles

2009-07-02T18:31:00.002-04:00

from Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles Thursday, South Korea's Defense Ministry said, a move that aggravates already high tensions following Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and U.N. sanctions imposed as punishment.

Two ground-to-ship missiles were fired from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan on Thursday afternoon, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity citing department policy.

The North also fired a third missile later from the east coast, but the exact site and the type of a rocket was not immediately known, the official said. Another ministry official - also speaking on condition of anonymity citing department policy - said the North later fired a fourth missile, though she provided no details.

Obama Gets it Half-Right

2009-07-02T18:23:00.002-04:00

from In From the Cold by Spook86

Congressional supporters of the F-22 are vigorously fighting efforts to cap production at 187 jets. By a narrow margin, the House Armed Services Committee recently appropriated additional money for the Raptor, funds that will purchase parts and keep the assembly line open until Congress can (presumably) find money for additional aircraft.

But the administration has other ideas. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has long opposed the Raptor, believing the aircraft has little use in low-intensity conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan. Budget czar Peter Orszag is also against the F-22, but for different reasons. Dating back to his days as Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Dr. Orszag has favored draconian cuts in Pentagon procurement programs, with the Raptor at the top of that list.

Still, that position ignores a few inconvenient truths about U.S. military policy and the F-22. First, U.S. military strategy is predicated on air supremacy; existing fighters like the F-15 and F-16 are getting long in the tooth, and their qualitative advantage is slipping. The Raptor is supposed to widen that gap, but if production ends at less than 200 aircraft, the USAF will only have enough aircraft to deploy 4-5 squadrons, given projected training requirements, maintenance and potential attrition. That's a rather slim margin for such scenarios as a China-Taiwan conflict.

Karl Malden WWII Veteran Dies at 97

2009-07-02T18:18:00.001-04:00

from Associated Press by Beth Harris

LOS ANGELES - Karl Malden, 97, the Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent characterizations on stage and screen made him a star despite his plain looks, died yesterday, his family said.

Mr. Malden died of natural causes surrounded by his family at his Brentwood home, they told the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He served as the academy's president from 1989 to 1992.

Mr. Malden gained prominence on Broadway in the late 1930s, making his debut in Golden Boy, by Clifford Odets. He steadily gained more prominent roles, with time out for service in the Army in World War II.

He was born Mladen Sekulovich in Chicago on March 22, 1912. Mr. Malden regretted that in order to become an actor he had to change his name.

Among Malden's more than 50 film credits were: "Patton," in which he played Gen. Omar Bradley.

NCO Awarded Silver Star for Courage

2009-07-02T17:54:00.002-04:00

from Army News Service by Capt. Joseph Sanfilippo

VICENZA, Italy - Rows of Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment stood at attention as the U.S. Army recognized Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye for bravery under fire in Afghanistan.

During a June 30 ceremony at Caserma Ederle's Hoekstra Field, Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett III, commander of U.S. Army Africa, fastened the Silver Star to Begaye's uniform - recognition for his leadership and valor during an enemy ambush Nov. 9, 2007 in Nuristan Province.

"There are people who have passed on that deserve this," Begaye said. "There were five men who died. I'll accept and wear it in honor of them, not for my actions, but for theirs."

Begaye said he would have preferred a simple handshake or a pat on the back. After all, infantrymen don't fight for medals, they fight for each other. That's why Begaye felt grateful to have Soldiers from his unit, Chosen Company, behind him on the parade field during the ceremony.

Begaye's unit had just met with local Afghan leaders. They were hiking eastward along a small path on rugged terrain when his squad, his platoon's headquarters sections and a squad of Afghan National Army Soldiers, began taking fire from enemy positions above.

Pinned down at first, Begaye was struck in the arm while returning fire and directing his men. Begaye bound over a cliff, calling to his troops to follow him down the rocky slope to find cover.

He kept his composure against overwhelming odds, directing and encouraging his fellow Soldiers under heavy fire. One paratrooper had been shot in both legs and was still taking fire. Begaye called out to him to play dead, knowing the enemy would shift their fire away if they thought the Soldier was killed -- quick thinking that likely helped save that Soldier's life.

Ignoring his own injuries, Begaye moved a wounded Soldier to a nearby cave to protect him from enemy fire. Using a radio, he called his higher headquarters and directed mortar fire onto enemy positions - essentially ending the battle. Then he motivated a Soldier to organize a defensive perimeter of Afghan Soldiers to prevent their unit from being harassed or overrun.

"Today, we honor a noncommissioned officer whose bold actions turned the tide of battle and saved the day...whose courage under fire and fierce loyalty to his men still astounds us all," Garrett said.

"Outnumbered, wounded, and initially pinned down in the kill zone of an enemy ambush -- he didn't hesitate to leap forward, literally, and take charge of the fight."

Girls With Guns Get It

2009-07-01T18:13:00.000-04:00

from Strategy Page

The marines also noticed that the female troops were better at picking up useful information in general. This is something Western police forces noted, in the last few decades, as women were allowed to work in all areas of police work, including detectives and crime scene investigators. Iraqi men were also intimidated by female soldiers and marines. In the macho Arab world, an assertive female with an assault rifle is sort of a man's worst nightmare. So many otherwise reticent Iraqi men, opened up to the female troops, and provided information. Women also had an easier time detecting a lie (something husbands often learn the hard way.)

The lioness teams proved capable in combat, as sometimes these peacekeeping missions ran into firefights or ambushes. But the main advantage of having a team of women along was the greater amount of intelligence collected. In addition, the female marines also made it easier to establish friendly relationships in neighborhoods and villages. This provided a more long term source of information.

Can Hezbollah Launch Long-Range Terror Attacks?

2009-07-01T18:05:00.000-04:00

by Aaron Mannes

In his new book Homeland Security, Assessing the First Five Years, former DHS secretary Michael Chertoff argues:

Al-Qaeda and its network are our most serious immediate threat, they may not be our most serious long-term threat….[Hezbollah] has developed capabilities that Al-Qaeda can only dream of, including large quantities of missiles and highly sophisticated explosives.

Chertoff’s statement is conventional wisdom among many terrorism experts. Shortly after 9/11 then Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage stated:

Hezbollah may be the 'A-Team of Terrorists' and maybe al-Qaeda is actually the 'B' team.

How the FBI Broke Saddam - Part 4 (Epilogue)

2009-07-01T18:00:00.001-04:00

from Counterterrorism Blog by James Gordon Meek

In the FBI’s 21st interrogation session, Saddam asked what was making headlines. He was told Iraq had signed a new constitution, was about to regain its sovereignty, had a new all-Iraqi Governing Council and that elections were on the way. None of that made him happy, according to the Bureau’s files.

Next came intense discussions about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. “Iraq does not have any WMD and has not for some time,” the FBI reported back to Washington, summing up Saddam’s responses. (Charles Duelfer - who had taken over the WMD hunt from the CIA’s David Kay in January - was coming up just as empty as his predecessor.)

Why had he rejected UN weapons inspections and defied President Bush? Saddam’s answer - one never seriously considered inside the Beltway before the 2003 invasion - was shockingly credible. “Even though Hussein claimed Iraq did not have WMD, the threat from Iran was the major factor as to why he did not allow the return of the UN inspectors,” the FBI reported.

Agencies Clash on Military's Border Role

2009-06-28T10:14:00.000-04:00

from Washington Post by Spencer S. Hsu

A proposal to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to counter drug trafficking has triggered a bureaucratic standoff between the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security over the military's role in domestic affairs, according to officials in both departments.

Embassy attacks prevented

2009-06-28T10:09:00.000-04:00

from The Norway Post

A man with two tons of explosives in his possession has been arrested in Pakistan's capital Islamabad. According to reports the man had planned to blow up the Norwegian and Swedish embassies in the city.

In addition, the Hungarian, Czech and South African embassies were also among the targets for the man's terrorist attacks, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports.

The newspaper quotes a central source as saying that the Swedish military presence in Afghanistan was the reason for the planned attack.

U.S. reverses Afghan drug policy

2009-06-27T19:39:00.001-04:00

from Reuters

Washington is to dramatically overhaul its Afghan anti-drug strategy, phasing out opium poppy eradication, the US. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan told allies on Saturday.

N. Korea Threatens to Wipe U.S. Off the Globe

2009-06-27T19:12:00.000-04:00

from newsmax.com

North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a series of missiles in the coming days.

Off China's coast, a U.S. destroyer was tailing a North Korean ship suspected of transporting illicit weapons to Myanmar in what could be the first test of U.N. sanctions passed to punish the nation for an underground nuclear test last month.

The Kang Nam left the North Korean port of Nampo a week ago with the USS John S. McCain close behind. The ship, accused of transporting banned goods in the past, is believed bound for Myanmar, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

The new U.N. Security Council resolution requires member states to seek permission to inspect suspicious cargo. North Korea has said it would consider interception a declaration of war and on Wednesday accused the U.S. of seeking to provoke another Korean War.

"If the U.S. imperialists start another war, the army and people of Korea will ... wipe out the aggressors on the globe once and for all," the official Korean Central News Agency said.

[Ok, who forgot to give Kimmy his medicine? - Sarge]

SITREP

2009-06-27T18:57:00.002-04:00

After Minneapolis, FBI Eyes Atlanta’s Somalis

In this small town on the edge of Atlanta, the FBI and local law enforcement are looking out for an alarming kind of crime: radical Islamist terrorists potentially trying to recruit the town’s young Somali-Americans to fight a war in Africa.

There is terrorist recruitment taking place already in Minnesota, said Clarkston police chief Tony J. Scipio. That’s why his department and the FBI are looking for anything similar in the Somali-American community here in Clarkston.

In Minneapolis, as many as 20 young men have been reported missing from their homes since last fall. They are thought to have been lured into the ranks of al-Shabaab in Somalia. That group got a terrorist designation from the U.S. State Department, which ties it to al-Qaeda, bombings, assassinations and attacks on peacekeepers. A powerful faction fighting Somalia’s transitional government, al-Shabaab’s agenda is extremely strict Sharia law.

To fight potential recruiters, the Atlanta FBI has spent the last several months in what the agent-in-charge called an “outreach” program to Clarkston Somali-Americans, including mosque visits and community meetings.

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=0c35ffa6e64aac24f1d332f6b32e7d29&from=rss

///

Iran Pledges 'Crushing Response' to US

EDITOR'S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged a "crushing" response to continued American condemnation of Iran's crackdown on postelection protest, saying Saturday that President Barack Obama's criticism revealed his insincerity about improving relations.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/international/dpg_iran_lection_fc_20060627_2616353

///

Iranians Watching 'Lord of the Rings'

In an apparent effort to keep people indoors, the Iranian state television network is running a marathon of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, according to Time magazine .

Speculation is that the Iranian government is hoping that the films' various messages and themes will pacify a rebellious populace.

"In normal times, Iranian television usually treats its viewers to one or two Hollywood or European movie nights a week. But these are not normal times, so it's been two or three such movies a day," an anonymous resident of Tehran wrote to Time.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/international/dpgo_Iranians_Watching_Lord_of_the_Rings_mb_06252009_2612424

///

Honduras prez: Nation calm before vote
from CNN.com
The president of Honduras said Friday that the situation in his country was relatively calm, despite signs that he has lost the support of his armed forces, the supreme court and other government institutions.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/bEmJhLQSHFg/index.html

///

Market bombing adds to soaring Iraq toll
from CNN.com
A market bombing in central Baghdad killed 15 people Friday morning, continuing the spike in violence as the deadline approaches for the United States to withdraw combat troops from Iraqi cities.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/YmOhz-bbYEU/index.html

///

92 Mexican police arrested in cartel probe
from CNN.com
Federal agents arrested 92 municipal police officers accused of providing information and security to one of Mexico's most ruthless drug cartels, the state-run Notimex news agency reported.

http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/VbrJ2vuF7FA/index.html

///

Pastor Welcomes Parishioners' Guns in Church
from FOXNews.com
A Louisville pastor is welcoming gun owners into his church's sanctuary Saturday for what he says is a show of support for the right to bear arms.

http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/z0jXOLhFzL0/0,2933,529276,00.html

///

6 Deemed National Security Threat Retain Aviation Licenses
from NY Times

At least six men suspected or convicted of crimes that threaten national security retained their federal aviation licenses, despite antiterrorism laws written after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that required license revocation. Among them was a Libyan sentenced to 27 years in prison by a Scottish court for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie.

In response to questions from The New York Times, the Transportation Security Administration, which is supposed to root out such individuals, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration suspended the licenses on Thursday.

The two agencies appeared to be unaware that the men were among the nearly one million people licensed as pilots, mechanics and flight dispatchers. They were identified by a tiny family-owned company in Mineola, N.Y., demonstrating software it developed to scrub lists of bank customers for terrorism links.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/us/26license.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

///

Al-Qaeda Planning Cyber Terror War Against Britain
from The Telegraph

Al-Qaeda is intent on using the internet to launch a cyber-warfare campaign against Britain, Lord West, the Security Minister, has warned.

Terrorist groups, which already use the internet for recruitment, propaganda and communication purposes, want to turn it into a dangerous weapon, he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/5634022/Al-Qaeda-planning-cyber-war-against-Britain-warns-Lord-West.html

///

Luxury yachts offer pirate hunting cruises

2009-06-25T11:15:00.002-04:00

[From a trusted source in Georgia. - Sarge]

Luxury ocean liners in Russia are offering pirate hunting cruises aboard armed private yachts off the Somali coast.

Wealthy punters pay £3,500 per day to patrol the most dangerous waters in the world hoping to be attacked by raiders.

When attacked, they retaliate with grenade launchers, machine guns and rocket launchers, reports Austrian business paper Wirtschaftsblatt.

Passengers, who can pay an extra £5 a day for an AK-47 machine gun and £7 for 100 rounds of ammo, are also protected by a squad of ex-special forces troops.

The yachts travel from Djibouti in Somalia to Mombasa in Kenya.

The ships deliberately cruise close to the coast at a speed of just five nautical miles in an attempt to attract the interest of pirates.

Nukes, Missile Defense & EMP

2009-06-24T20:31:00.000-04:00

from BLACKFIVE

An EMP attack would take place with a high altitude detonation of a relatively small nuclear device, close to the size the North Koreans are testing. It would generate gamma radiation that would likely take out the power grids and pretty much anything with integrated circuitry.

It could literally takes us back to the 1800's in a few seconds. None of the systems that run our country i.e. power, water, hospitals, mass transit, are hardened in a way that would let them survive such an attack.

There is currently a bunch of stimulus dollars marked for upgrading the power grid and a call was made to use that to include hardening to the upgrade.

Ed McMahon - Marine Corps Aviator

2009-06-24T20:08:00.003-04:00

from The California State Military Museum by M.L. Shettle, Jr.

When the United States began gearing up for World War II, McMahon wanted to become a Marine fighter pilot. Since the Navy's V-5 program required two years of college, he enrolled in Boston College.

When the Navy relaxed the two-year requirement, McMahon dropped out of school and signed up. In early 1943, he first went to a civilian-run Wartime Training School in Texarkana where the Navy evaluated cadets' potential by checking them out in a Piper Cub. Then came the three-month Preflight School at Athens, Georgia. McMahon received primary training at Dallas and intermediate training at Pensacola. McMahon received the single engine carrier syllabus and was assigned to the Marines.

After receiving his commission and wings in early 1945, McMahon was sent to the Corsair Operational Training Unit at Lee Field, Green Cove Springs, Florida. Upon completion of training, he was "plowed back" and became an instructor in the same unit. On the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, McMahon received orders to join the Marine carrier program on the West Coast. His orders were canceled and he returned to civilian life.

In 1952, McMahon got his big break when he was offered a job in New York with CBS; however, he was recalled into the Marine Corps due to the Korean War. After several months of training at Miami and El Toro, McMahon arrived in Korea in February 1953. He flew 85 artillery-spotting missions in the Cessna OE Bird Dog before returning home in September 1953.

Ed McMahon passed away at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on 23 June 2009.

US Swine Flu Cases

2009-06-24T08:39:00.000-04:00

from Rhiza

Suspected Cases: 1,103
Confirmed Cases: 24,778
Fatal Cases: 118
Negative Cases: 9

New Military Command for Cyberspace

2009-06-24T08:33:00.001-04:00

from NY Times by THOM SHANKER

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Tuesday ordered the creation of the military’s first headquarters designed to coordinate Pentagon efforts in the emerging battlefield of cyberspace and computer-network security, officials said.

Pentagon officials said Mr. Gates intends to nominate Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, currently director of the National Security Agency, for a fourth star and to take on the top job at the new organization, to be called Cybercom.

The new command’s mission will be to coordinate the day-to-day operation — and protection — of military and Pentagon computer networks. Currently, the Defense Department operates 15,000 separate computer networks and more than seven million individual computers or information-technology devices, officials said.

A 'time bomb' for world wheat crop

2009-06-24T08:28:00.000-04:00

from LA Times by Karen Kaplan

Crop scientists fear the Ug99 fungus could wipe out more than 80% of worldwide wheat crops as it spreads from eastern Africa. It has already jumped the Red Sea and traveled as far as Iran. Experts say it is poised to enter the breadbasket of northern India and Pakistan, and the wind will inevitably carry it to Russia, China and even North America -- if it doesn't hitch a ride with people first.

"It's a time bomb," said Jim Peterson, a professor of wheat breeding and genetics at Oregon State University in Corvallis. "It moves in the air, it can move in clothing on an airplane. We know it's going to be here. It's a matter of how long it's going to take."

Though most Americans have never heard of it, Ug99 -- a type of fungus called stem rust because it produces reddish-brown flakes on plant stalks -- is the No. 1 threat to the world's most widely grown crop.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico estimates that 19% of the world's wheat, which provides food for 1 billion people in Asia and Africa, is in imminent danger. American plant breeders say $10 billion worth of wheat would be destroyed if the fungus suddenly made its way to U.S. fields.

Fixing Airport Security

2009-06-24T08:22:00.000-04:00

from Schneier on Security by schneier

It's been months since the Transportation Security Administration has had a permanent director. If, during the job interview (no, I didn't get one), President Obama asked me how I'd fix airport security in one sentence, I would reply: "Get rid of the photo ID check, and return passenger screening to pre-9/11 levels."

Okay, that's a joke. While showing ID, taking your shoes off and throwing away your water bottles isn't making us much safer, I don't expect the Obama administration to roll back those security measures anytime soon. Airport security is more about CYA than anything else: defending against what the terrorists did last time.

But the administration can't risk appearing as if it facilitated a terrorist attack, no matter how remote the possibility, so those annoyances are probably here to stay.

This would be my real answer: "Establish accountability and transparency for airport screening." And if I had another sentence: "Airports are one of the places where Americans, and visitors to America, are most likely to interact with a law enforcement officer - and yet no one knows what rights travelers have or how to exercise those rights."

White House to Abandon Spy-Satellite Program

2009-06-24T08:17:00.001-04:00

from WSJ by SIOBHAN GORMAN

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration plans to kill a controversial Bush administration spy satellite program at the Department of Homeland Security, according to officials familiar with the decision.

The program came under fire from its inception two years ago. Democratic lawmakers said it would lead to domestic spying.

The program would have provided federal, state and local officials with extensive access to spy-satellite imagery — but no eavesdropping capabilities— to assist with emergency response and other domestic-security needs, such as identifying where ports or border areas are vulnerable to terrorism.

It would have expanded an Interior Department satellite program, which will continue to be used to assist in natural disasters and for other limited security purposes such as photographing sporting events. The Wall Street Journal first revealed the plans to establish the program, known as the National Applications Office, in 2007.

"It's being shut down," said a homeland security official.

[Thanks, Mr. Obama. First responders can just tough it out, huh? - Sarge]

S. Korea: Kim Jong Il Threats Due to Unrest, Not U.S.

2009-06-22T13:20:00.000-04:00

from Newsmax.com

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is likely in good health and his grip on power strong but he appears to have needed displays of military might to counter a rise in domestic unrest, a South Korean cabinet minister said on Monday.

"Social instability has increased in North Korea. So Kim Jong-il needs to continue to reinforce his domestic power base," Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told Reuters in an interview.

VOA: UK Reports First Swine Flu Death Outside Americas

2009-06-22T13:18:00.000-04:00

from Voice of America

Britain is reporting its first H1N1 swine flu death, the first known fatality outside the Americas. Scotland's government said an unidentified patient died from swine flu at a hospital Sunday. It said the patient had other health conditions, but it gave no details.

Mexico will decriminalize some drug use

2009-06-22T13:15:00.000-04:00

from chron.com

Could Mexican cities become Latin Amsterdams, flooded by drug users seeking penalty-free tokes and toots? That is the fear, if somewhat overstated, of some Mexican officials, especially in northern border states that serve as a mecca for underage American drinkers.

The Mexican legislature has voted quietly to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot, cocaine, methamphetamine and other drugs, an effort that in the past has proved highly controversial.

Iran hits out at 'meddling west'

2009-06-22T13:10:00.000-04:00

from CNN.com

Iran on Monday accused the West of "meddling" in its disputed presidential election even as its election authority reportedly acknowledged that the number of ballots cast in dozens of cities exceeded the number of eligible voters in those areas.

U.N. Atomic Energy Chief Says Iran Wants Bomb Technology

2009-06-22T11:46:00.001-04:00

from nytimes.com by Alan Cowell

Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, said it was his "gut feeling" that Iran's leaders wanted the technology to build nuclear weapons "to send a message to their neighbors, to the rest of the world: 'Don't mess with us.' "

He spoke in a BBC interview broadcast Tuesday and Wednesday as protesters took to the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities, demanding that last Friday's disputed election result be overturned and confronting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with the leadership's biggest domestic challenge since the Islamic Revolution three decades ago.

Dr. ElBaradei has made similar points in the past, officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency, of which he is director general, said Wednesday, but his latest remarks were less hedged with diplomatic caveats than previously

International Report Predicts Decade of High Food Prices

2009-06-22T11:38:00.000-04:00

from voanews.com by Lisa Bryant

A report released in Paris says international food prices will likely remain high during the next decade, although they will probably not hit the heights that sparked riots last year. Experts also say the prices will have a mixed impact in developing countries.

Jointly published by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, the report predicts crop prices will be 10 to 20 percent higher during the next decade than during the previous 10 years.

"The basic message is that because input prices are higher, because biofuel remains high, this is going to keep real prices for agriculture [higher] than in the early part of the decade," said FAO economist Merrit Cluff.

The report also predicts that energy costs and erratic weather may make prices more volatile in the future. But the report predicts the price hikes are unlikely to be as dramatic as last year, when soaring food prices sparked protests and rioting in developing countries.

Cybersecurity Official Warns of Botnets for Sale as Hactivists' DOS Attacks Hit Iranian Government

2009-06-18T10:00:00.001-04:00

from Security Management by Matthew Harwood

This comment by Philip Reitinger, director of the National Cybersecurity Center at the Department of Homeland Security, is interesting considering what's going on in Iran as the opposition uses digital warfare tactics to bring down government and pro-government Web sites after what many see as a fraudulent election on Friday.

Quoted by Agence France Presse yesterday on the threat malware poses to both government and personal sensitive material, Reitinger spoke about an emergent market for on-demand, pay-as-you-go denial of service attacks (DOS).

"There is certainly a market economy for botnets, where people will buy and sell botted computers, so you could go online and say 'I'd like to launch a denial of service attack against XYZ,' and you could pay money and have that denial of service attack launched."

There's no doubt this capability exists because "hacktivists" the world over are using it to clog Iranian servers and stymie the ability of the Iranian government to get it's message out. Matthew Burton, a contributing editor at the Web site Personal Democracy Forum and a former U.S. intelligence analyst according to Wired.com, reported yesterday that he was able to launch DOS attacks against the "Web sites of Iran's information and justice ministries, and state-sponsored media outlets" by using a push-button tool created by a "developer in San Francisco."

[Finally, something good coming out of San Francisco. - Sarge]

Hamas Rejects Carter's Plea To Recognize Israel

2009-06-18T09:42:00.001-04:00

from Associated Press

A senior official of Hamas praised former President Jimmy Carter, a day after Carter met with the group. But the official says Carter failed to persuade the Islamic rulers of Gaza to accept certain demands, including recognizing Israel.

[Maybe he'd have had better luck convincing them to change the nation's speed limit to 55 mph. - Sarge]

NYC: City OEM Brings Preparedness To Facebook

2009-06-18T09:24:00.001-04:00

from NY1 News

The [New York] city's Office of Emergency Services is looking to expand its reach through a popular social networking site.

OEM Commissioner Joseph Bruno announced the launch of the new OEM Facebook page.

It is designed to make it easier for New Yorkers to get information on emergency preparedness.

Bruno encouraged all New Yorkers to sign on at
http://www.facebook.com/NYCemergencymanagement.

Algeria mulls new amnesty to weaken al Qaeda

2009-06-18T09:13:00.001-04:00

from Reuters by Lamine Chikhi

Support is building among Algeria's ruling elite for a plan to offer a new amnesty to al Qaeda militants if they abandon violence that in the past few weeks has killed tens of people including a British hostage.

But the proposal could face resistance from people who have lost relatives in the militant attacks, and security analysts say there is a risk that fighters who accept the amnesty will exploit it to regroup and then return to violence.

Al Qaeda Running Short On Cash

2009-06-18T09:06:00.000-04:00

from Canada.com

A recession-driven income slide? Or a brand in terminal decline? Whatever the origin of its money worries, al-Qaida’s latest appeal for funds reveals a group struggling with a fall in donations for its attacks on the West.

In an audio message posted in militant web forums on June 10, 2009, the group’s leader in Afghanistan Mustafa Abu al-Yazid said militants were short of food, weapons and other supplies needed to fight foreign forces there.

The complaint, the latest appeal by Qaeda leaders in the past 18 months, echoes a June 3 request from Osama bin Laden for supporters’ “charity and support” for the militant network’s operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But most agree it is a combination of tighter curbs on charities in the Arab world, a drop in lucrative al-Qaida kidnapping and extortion campaigns in Iraq and the wallet-thinning effect of recession on donors and sympathizers.

Some speculate it also shows a drop in ideological support.

Fort Detrick Finds More Than 9,220 Unaccounted Vials

2009-06-18T09:05:00.001-04:00

from Washington Post

An inventory of potentially deadly pathogens at Fort Detrick’s infectious disease laboratory found more than 9,000 vials that had not been accounted for, Army officials said yesterday, raising concerns that officials wouldn’t know whether dangerous toxins were missing.

After four months of searching about 335 freezers and refrigerators at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, investigators found 9,220 samples that hadn’t been included in a database of about 66,000 items listed as of February, said Col. Mark Kortepeter, the institute’s deputy commander.

The vials contained some dangerous pathogens, among them the Ebola virus, anthrax bacteria and botulinum toxin, and less lethal agents such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and the bacterium that causes tularemia. Most of them, forgotten inside freezer drawers, hadn’t been used in years or even decades. Officials said some serum samples from hemorrhagic fever patients dated to the Korean War.

North Korea May Launch Missile Toward Hawaii in July

2009-06-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

from RIA Novosti

North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile toward the U.S. state of Hawaii in early July, Japan’s Yomiuri daily said on Thursday, citing Defense Ministry analysis and U.S. intelligence.

The paper said the Defense Ministry believes the launch is most likely to take place between July 4 and July 8. The ministry has declined to comment on the report.

The paper also said that the missile was likely to fly over Japan’s Aomori Prefecture toward Hawaii, but would not be able to reach the main islands.

The missile, thought to be a long-range Taepodong-2, would be launched from the country’s Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast, said Japan’s best-selling newspaper.

China Acknowledges US Ship Incident

2009-06-16T11:04:00.001-04:00

from Associated Press

"What we're seeing are the initial stages of a growing military competition between the United States and China with naval forces rubbing up against each other in a dangerous and largely unregulated posturing for alliances and natural resources in the region," said Hans M. Kristensen, a researcher with the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, D.C.

The incident reportedly occurred in international waters northwest of the former U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Beijing considers the area its territorial waters as part of its claim to the entire South China Sea and opposes U.S. military operations and data gathering there.

Reality Bites- Iranian regime not an honest broker

2009-06-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

from BLACKFIVE

The Iranian government has no fear, and the Iranian people no hope, that America will act in any substantive way. Now that the left has gained the upper hand and Realpolitik means that playing nice with brutal totalitarian regimes is the safer bet, the Iranians will continue to feel the stomp of an iron-clad sandal on their necks. The administration has decided that dealing with a nuclear Iran is better than doing anything to stop them. The rest of the region will now get another round of Hezbollah & Hamas rockets, Revolutionary Guards fomenting terror in Iraq, and weapons flowing to Afghanistan to help the fanatics there kill our troops.

Somebody is gonna have to show me where the Smart is in this kind of Power, our enemies get stronger and our friends and any who crave freedom get thrown under the bus.

Riots Erupt in Iran after Ahmadinejad Declares Victory

2009-06-14T10:31:00.001-04:00

from Los Angeles Times by Borzou Daragahi

Huge swaths of the Iranian capital erupted in fiery riots that stretched into the early hours today as hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory in his quest for a second term amid allegations of widespread fraud and reports that his main challenger had been placed under house arrest.

At the moment that the president was promising a "bright and glorious future" for Iran in a late-night televised address, supporters of reformist rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi were battling with police and militiamen in riot gear throughout Tehran in the most serious clashes in the capital since a student uprising 10 years ago.

In the streets and squares where young people had danced and waved green banners in support of Mousavi just days ago, baton-wielding officers chased and beat mobs of hundreds of demonstrators chanting, "Down with dictatorship!" and "Give me my vote back!"

Army takes on drug cops in Mexico's richest city

2009-06-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

from The Terrorism Research Center

MONTERREY, Mexico, June 11 (Reuters) - Soldiers are cracking down on corrupt police in Mexico's richest city, exposing the reach of powerful drug traffickers who have tarnished its reputation for stability and order. Heavily armed troops have rounded up more than 80 police in and around the business city of Monterrey this month after finding lists of officers apparently in the pay of the Gulf cartel and its notorious armed wing, the Zetas.

Pentagon Orders Massive Bunker-Busters for Underground WMD

2009-06-14T10:06:00.001-04:00

from Danger Room by David Hambling

North Korea may be readying another nuclear test — one of many reasons why the Pentagon is stepping up efforts to neutralize hardened bunkers, packed with weapons of mass destruction. It’s a tricky problem; to do it, you need something out of the ordinary. Which is why the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency has an ambitious goal of developing a bunker buster five times as strong as the current models by the end of the year, and ten times more powerful by 2013. They’re doing it with a combination of improved guidance, “novel payloads”… and much bigger bombs.

One key strand is the Integrated Precision Ordnance Delivery System (IPODS), which will destroy targets “far down a tunnel.” How? Rather than simply hitting the bunker, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency is aiming for a small target – those vulnerable blast doors at the tunnel’s mouth. As Danger Room revealed previously, the U.S. Air Force has looked at ’skip bombing’ with bunker-busting munitions to attack tunnel doors using a special guidance system. Instead of hitting vertically, the bomb is skipped off the ground in front of the door and goes through horizontally. IPODS looks like it may take a similar approach, but perhaps using something even bigger.

(Image courtesy Wired.com)

China sub collides with array towed by U.S. ship: report

2009-06-14T10:01:00.001-04:00

from Reuters

A Chinese submarine accidentally collided with an underwater sonar array being towed by a U.S. military ship, CNN reported on Friday, quoting an unnamed military official.

Defiant North Korea 'to weaponize plutonium'

2009-06-14T09:54:00.001-04:00

from CNN

North Korea said Saturday it would strengthen its nuclear capabilities, a defiant protest against the U.N. Security Council's move to tighten sanctions against it.

North Korea officials said they were enriching uranium and would weaponize all plutonium, according to KCNA, the state-run North Korean news agency.

When enriched to a high degree, uranium can be used for weapons-grade material. Plutonium can be used in atomic bombs.

These moves are in response to Friday's U.N. resolution, according to the news agency, which referred to the resolution as a blockade.

"No matter how hard the U.S.-led hostile forces may try all sorts of isolation and blockade, the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), a proud nuclear power, will not flinch from them," KCNA said.

[Yeah, they're "proud." Proud countries do not have starving masses. - Sarge]

Ahmadinejad dismisses street protests

2009-06-14T09:49:00.001-04:00

from CNN.com

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today dismissed street protests against his surprise re-election. "It doesn't matter," he said of the protesters and complaints from his defeated rivals. "Some people are sentimental and become excited," he said, comparing the protests to a soccer match. "Their team has not won in the match."

(Photo courtesy ISNA)

Yemen arrests suspected al-Qaida financier

2009-06-14T09:46:00.000-04:00

from Associated Press by AHMED AL-HAJ

SAN`A, Yemen – A Yemen Interior Ministry official says the biggest and most important financier for the al-Qaida terror network in Yemen and Saudi Arabia has been arrested in the impoverished Arabian peninsula nation.

North Korea may be prepping new nuclear test

2009-06-12T12:56:00.000-04:00

from Philstar.com

WASHINGTON (AP) – North Korea may be preparing for its third nuclear test, a show of defiance as the UN considers new sanctions on the dictatorship for conducting an underground nuclear explosion in May, according to a US government official.

North Korea conducted an underground explosion on May 25, its first since a 2006 atomic test. The official, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the unreleased information, would not provide details regarding the assessment.

A draft UN resolution proposed Wednesday would impose tough sanctions on North Korea's weapons exports and financial dealings and allow inspections of suspect cargo in ports and on the high seas. North Korea has threatened to retaliate if new sanctions are adopted.

U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection

2009-06-12T12:07:00.000-04:00

U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection

As of 11:00 AM ET on June 12, 2009, CDC is reporting 17,855 confirmed and probable cases and 45 deaths in 52 states and territories (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico):

Alabama 123 cases 0 deaths
Alaska 11 cases 0 deaths
Arkansas 13 cases 0 deaths
Arizona 597 cases 5 deaths
California 1094 cases 6 deaths
Colorado 75 cases 0 deaths
Connecticut 637 cases 1 death
Delaware 187 cases 0 deaths
Florida 417 cases 0 deaths
Georgia 39 cases 0 deaths
Hawaii 198 cases 0 deaths
Idaho 29 cases 0 deaths
Illinois 1983 cases 5 deaths
Indiana 201 cases 0 deaths
Iowa 92 cases 0 deaths
Kansas 97 cases 0 deaths
Kentucky 106 cases 0 deaths
Louisiana 134 cases 0 deaths
Maine 33 cases 0 deaths
Maryland 139 cases 0 deaths
Massachusetts 1078 cases 0 deaths
Michigan 419 cases 1 death
Minnesota 153 cases 0 deaths
Mississippi 59 cases 0 deaths
Missouri 46 cases 1 death
Montana 27 cases 0 deaths
Nebraska 71 cases 0 deaths
Nevada 162 cases 0 deaths
New Hampshire 92 cases 0 deaths
New Jersey 348 cases 0 deaths
New Mexico 155 cases 0 deaths
New York 1160 cases 13 deaths
North Carolina 61 cases 0 deaths
North Dakota 31 cases 0 deaths
Ohio 53 cases 0 deaths
Oklahoma 93 cases 0 deaths
Oregon 189 cases 1 death
Pennsylvania 626 cases 2 deaths
Rhode Island 62 cases 0 deaths
South Carolina 60 cases 0 deaths
South Dakota 14 cases 1 death
Tennessee 110 cases 0 deaths
Texas 2049 cases 3 deaths
Utah 688 cases 2 deaths
Vermont 32 cases 0 deaths
Virginia 90 cases 1 death
Washington 584 cases 2 deaths
Washington, D.C. 33 cases 0 deaths
West Virginia 40 cases 0 deaths
Wisconsin 3008 cases 1 death
Wyoming 50 cases 0 deaths
Puerto Rico 7 cases 0 deaths

TOTAL 52 states, 17,855 cases, 45 deaths

DHS Comments: H1N1 Virus Outbreak a Pandemic

2009-06-12T11:58:00.000-04:00

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1244741856481.shtm

Statements by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on WHO Decision to Declare Novel H1N1 Virus Outbreak a Pandemic

Release Date: June 11, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Department of Health and Human Services, 202-690-6343

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued the following statements today in response to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision to raise the pandemic threat level on the novel H1N1 virus.

“Today’s decision by the WHO was expected and doesn’t change what we have been doing here in the United States to prepare for and respond to this public health challenge. Once we saw how fast this virus was spreading, we activated our pandemic plans and started doing all the things we needed to do to keep the public as safe and secure as possible,” said Secretary Sebelius. “What this declaration does do is remind the world that flu viruses like H1N1 need to be taken seriously. Although we have not seen large numbers of severe cases in this country so far, things could possibly be very different in the fall, especially if things change in the Southern Hemisphere, and we need to start preparing now in order to be ready for a possible H1N1 immunization campaign starting in late September.”

“We responded to the H1N1 outbreak from the outset with the presumption that a pandemic was likely, so this decision comes as no surprise. We acted aggressively to stay ahead of the virus as it spread across the country. Now our challenge is to prepare for a possible return in the fall,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The Obama Administration has been working together across the government and will continue to do so over the weeks and months ahead to keep the American people safe. We are reaching out to our partners in state and local government, in school districts and the private sector to urge them to modify and update their pandemic plans. We are working with our scientists to test and prepare a possible vaccine. And we are working with governments around the world to share what we know and learn from what is happening in their countries.”

Cuban Oil: Havana’s Potential Geo-Political Bombshell

2009-06-11T13:25:00.000-04:00

from COHA

Desperate to end its dependence on oil from the Middle East, United States’ officials are certainly aware of Cuba’s oil-producing potential.

In its 2004 assessment, the U.S. Geological Survey found that Cuba has 5 billion barrels of crude oil off its northern shores; Havana claims it has 20 billion .

Five billion barrels would put Cuba on par with Colombia or Ecuador, while 20 billion barrels would make Cuba’s oil capacity comparable to that of the United States’ and place it among the top 15 oil reserves nations in the world.

Either way, Cuba’s oil is attracting the attention of oil companies from around the globe. At the moment, Spain’s Repsol, Brazil’s Petrobras, and Norway’s StatoilHydro are overseeing exploratory drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Venezuela also have signed deals with Cuba.

Russia will not make its soil available for U.S. missile defenses

2009-06-11T13:23:00.001-04:00

from RIA Novosti

Russia will not advance U.S. military plans aimed at itself and will not make its territory available for the deployment of U.S. missile defense elements, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Commenting on U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' suggestion that U.S. missile defense sites could be deployed on Russian soil, Andrei Nesterenko said there could be no partnership "in building facilities that are essentially designed to counter Russia's strategic deterrence forces."

He said Moscow hoped for a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of missile defense, based on a joint assessment of threats, but at present the sides' assessments "do not coincide."