Neither snow, nor rain, nor anthrax ...[U.S.]
“Important planning for responding to a future anthrax attack has quietly been under way since the last attacks seven years ago. A key part of this effort has been figuring out how best to deliver prophylactic antibiotics quickly to the people living in the city that is attacked. […] First, an attack must be detected, either by one of the BioWatch air monitors that have been placed in many cities or by finding symptoms of anthrax poisoning in a victim. Either way, this can take at least 12 to 30 hours. Next, an adequate supply of antibiotics must be sent from the Strategic National Stockpile (held at 12 sites around the country) to the affected city, ideally within 12 hours. Finally, the city must get the drugs out to its population. […] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has directed 72 major American cities to devise plans to distribute anthrax antibiotics to all their residents within 48 hours of receiving them. So far, few of these cities are able to meet that goal.”(New York Times; 13Oct08; Lawrence Wein) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/opinion/13wein.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Texas offering $100 million in incentives to gain defense facility
“Gov. Rick Perry has joined with San Antonio leaders in a unified effort to help sell the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on the merits of placing its planned National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in the Alamo City.Texas is committing more than $100 million to the effort, including $56 million that the governor and other top state officials have pledged to secure through the legislative appropriations process in the upcoming session. Supporters of the NBAF project say it will establish a next-generation biological and agricultural defense facility to replace an aging animal disease research facility at Plum Island, N.Y. Experts at the proposed facility are expected to research high-risk biological threats and help protect the nation’s agriculture infrastructure and food supply against bioterrorism.” (Industry News; 13Oct08; source: BizJournals)
http://www.yourindustrynews.com/news_item.php?newsID=12604
U.S. limits bird flu vaccine, fearing bioterror
“[The] United States […] bars U.S. exports of vaccines for avian bird flu and dozens of other viruses to five countries designated ‘state sponsors of terrorism.’ […] Under this little-known policy, North Korea (at least until Saturday, when it was removed from the list), Iran, Cuba, Syria and Sudan may not get the vaccines unless they apply for special export licenses, which would be given or refused according to the discretion of the United States. Three of those nations - Iran, Cuba and Sudan - also are subject to a ban on all human pandemic influenza vaccines as part of a general U.S. embargo. The regulations […] have raised concerns within the medical and scientific communities. […] Officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they were not even aware of the policies until contacted by the Associated Press last month and privately expressed alarm. […] U.S.
Commerce Assistant Secretary Christopher Wall declined to elaborate on the precise threat posed by vaccines for chickens infected with avian influenza, except to say there are ‘valid security concerns’ that they ‘do not fall into the wrong hands.’” (Associated Press; 12Oct08; Robin McDowell)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/12/MNOQ13FH9E.DTL&type=printable
PharmAthene and Panacea Biotec Ltd. establish strategic alliance in biodefense and emerging infectious diseases [MD]
“PharmAthene, Inc.[MD] , a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today that the Company has closed a strategic equity financing with Panacea Biotec Ltd.. […] Panacea Biotec's subsidiary has received 12-month warrants to purchase up to approximately 2.75 million additional shares of PharmAthene common stock at an exercise price of $5.10 per share.” (PR Newswire; 13Oct08; Stacy Jurchison; Source: PharmAthene) http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1586827/pharmathene_and_panacea_biotec_ltd_establish_strategic_alliance_in_biodefense/
HAPSITE chemical ID system a boost for Inficon; Department of Defense places $1.65M order
“Inficon’s chemical-identification system continued bringing in revenue for the company on Oct. 6. The firm, which develops and manufactures a variety of instruments, sensors, and software, announced on that day an order for its HAPSITE Chemical Identification System that extends an ongoing relationship with the Department of Defense. The order is worth $1.65 million. Inficon’s HAPSITE system is a portable product that provides on-site detection and analysis of toxic chemicals in air, soil, and water. The Defense Department uses the system to detect chemical-warfare agents and other toxic materials in the field.” (Central NY Business Journal; 10Oct08; Kevin Tampone) http://www.cnybj.com/index.php?id=396&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=9021&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=1&cHash=5d47708690
White powder scares cost law enforcement time, money
“Firefighters and federal agents have responded to more than 30,000 incidents involving suspicious powders, liquids or chemicals since 2001 in what authorities say is the terrifying legacy of the anthrax attacks after 9/11. […] ‘A single incident can warrant a huge response,’ says Billy Hayes of Washington, D.C.'s fire department. ‘It gets very expensive, not to mention the inconvenience.[…] In just the past year, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has responded to 2,893 incidents, many of which involved white powder, spokesman Douglas Bem says. The FBI, which is called when a threatening note is found or when it otherwise appears a crime may have been committed, looked into more than 900 biological incidents from January 2007 to August 2008, ‘the majority of those incidents being white powder letters,’ spokesman Richard Kolko says.” ABC News; 13Oct08; Mimi Hall)
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=6020875
CDC gives out $16.9M contract for influenza web system [VA]
“The CDC has given a $16.9 million contract to Virginia-based American Type Culture Collection to facilitate the creation of a Web-based system that will improve access to influenza viruses, test kits and other reagents for qualified laboratories. The CDC says that the system will help scientists examine possible pandemics in advance, as well as speed the development of diagnostic tests, antiviral drugs and vaccines.” (SmartBrief; 10Oct08)
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/ahip/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=FD26DD0B-76EE-4C5B-8F5C-0D319F30B4F8©id=3CF53024-93A6-4A6E-9C70-52F201B6FF10
Idaho unveils website to help Idahoans prepare for pandemic influenza
“The website, http://www.PANFLUidaho.org, was developed to provide resources and tools to help individuals, families, businesses, and governments to plan and prepare for an influenza pandemic. ‘We wanted to provide a reliable source of information for people in Idaho about influenza pandemics - what happened during the three pandemics of the last century, what to expect during a pandemic, and most importantly, how to prepare for a future pandemic,’ says Barb Blakesley, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare's Pandemic Influenza Coordinator and Planner.” (Medical News Today; 12Oct08) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/125137.php
Countries lagging in flu pandemic plans, UN warns
“Most Asia-Pacific nations are making progress on avian flu control, but are lagging in plans to tackle the social and economic fallout of a human flu pandemic, a senior UN influenza specialist has warned. ‘In general, the situation is that countries are getting much more on top of the bird flu,’ senior UN System Influenza Coordinator (UNSIC), David Nabarro, told IRIN in Bangkok. ‘I'm impressed with progress, but I am saying a lot more needs to be done, particularly on multi-sectoral pandemic preparedness.’ UNSIC in the Asia-Pacific, collaborating with the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre and the Kenan Institute Asia, has released its first compilation of simulation exercises conducted by countries to prepare for a human influenza pandemic.” (Irin; 13Oct08) http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/2a14617d7551103e94067d7f1ca83e2f.htm
The Biodefense Program in the Department of Public & International Affairs at George Mason University presents an evening with Major General Stephen V. Reeves, Joint Program Executive Officer for Chemical & Biological Defense, Department of Defense
"The Future of Chemical & Biological Defense"
Thursday, October 23rd
5:30pm-7:00pm
Mason Hall D3 A&B
Fairfax Campus
George Mason University
Please consult the following Website for directions and a map to GMU's Fairfax campus: http://www.gmu.edu/welcome/Directions-to-GMU.html
CNS ChemBio-WMD terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.
Showing posts with label idaho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idaho. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- September 12, 2008
Cross-Contamination of Clinical Specimens with Bacillus anthracis During a Laboratory Proficiency Test -- Idaho, 2006
“On July 18, 2006, the Utah Department of Health notified epidemiologists at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare that Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent for anthrax, had been isolated from a patient. On the same day, the Idaho epidemiologists were notified by the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories of a specimen from a second patient received for anthrax testing. The two reports resulted briefly in alerts to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and precautionary treatment of one of the patients […] Subsequent investigation revealed that, during July 2006, the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories had been conducting a sentinel laboratory proficiency testing exercise among Idaho's hospital laboratories. The exercise included specimens with the Sterne strain of B. anthracis, a nonvirulent strain. […] This report is the first to describe cross-contamination of clinical specimens with B. anthracis during laboratory proficiency sample testing. The Idaho Bureau of Laboratories regularly conducts proficiency testing surveys with participating sentinel laboratories.” (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; 12Sep08) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5736a3.htm
[Governor Sonny] Perdue [R-GA], lawmakers press Georgia's case for biolab
“Gov. Sonny Perdue joined with most of Georgia's congressional delegation to present a united front in the state's bid to win a national biodefense lab near the University of Georgia. […] In a press conference on Capitol Hill, the leaders said Athens [Georgia] will win the project if the competition is judged on merits. The $450 million Homeland Security project would house at least 300 lab-related jobs, with research focused on some of the most lethal biological threats, including deadly animal diseases and bioterrorism threats through the nation's food supply.”
(Ledger-Enquirer; 11Sep08; Source: AP)
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/251/story/438481.html
Senator [Pat] Roberts [D-KS] secures $268,305 in funds to improve food security
“Senator Pat Roberts [Kansas] today announced the Ford County [Kansas] Sheriff's Office will receive $268,305 in funding he secured in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008, to improve food security. The funding will allow the Ford County Sheriff's Office to assess and strengthen terrorism prevention activities and response capabilities. Additional attention will be given to criminal activity in agriculture, especially those incidents that could represent potential indicators of terrorist activity.” (Cattle Network; 11Sep08)
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=251690
[Lone Star] College to offer free flu shots at drive-through event [Montgomery, Texas]
“Free flu shots will be available to adults who push up their sleeves and roll down their car windows on Saturday, October 11, at a drive-through flu shot clinic at Lone Star College-Montgomery [Texas]. […] The department’s public health preparedness division plans and coordinates the response to adverse events like disease outbreaks and bioterrorism attacks. ‘Events like the drive-through flu shot clinic are great opportunities to see how well we’re prepared to respond to health emergency in our county,’ said Emily Llinás, assistant director at the health department. In addition to helping the public, the drive-through event will serve as an exercise for health department staff and volunteers. Volunteers are a major component of public health preparedness plans, Llinás said.” (Woodlands Online; 11Sep08; Steve Scheffler)
http://woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=26822
Suspicious Powder Found on Eve of 9/11: Coleman A. Young Municipal Building Quarantined [Detroit, Michigan]
“A suspicious package made its way to the executive suite on the 11th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building – The Office of the Mayor. Could it be Anthrax? City staffers were quarantined for just under 3 hours after the envelope was found in the executive suite of outgoing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. […] The general manager of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Greg McDuffee said that the Detroit Fire Department was called on Wednesday evening following the discovery of the dubious package. McDuffee said that fewer than a dozen staffers were quarantined inside the 11th floor suite. He also said that Mayor Kilpatrick wasn’t inside the building […].” (My TV 20; 11Sep08) http://www.tv20detroit.com/news/local/28255504.html
White powder found in letter to Star-Banner [Ocala, Florida]
“A Star-Banner receptionist opened an envelope addressed to the newspaper Thursday morning to find a line of white powder in the bottom but no letter inside. The envelope - reminiscent of anthrax attacks and scares from 2001 and 2002 - could be a ‘copycat’ item, said Ocala police Lt. Dan Wilson. […] Ocala Fire Rescue paramedics responded and were treating the receptionist, Eliud Rodriguez, at his desk in the Star-Banner foyer. The police Department Intelligence Unit was on scene. Wilson said the small orange envelope - which lay for a time outside the building in a plastic bag - would not be handled by evidence technicians until the Health Department had taken it for testing. Fire Rescue officials soon packaged the envelope in larger bags and a white bucket for the Health Department.”
(Gainesville Sun; 11Sep08; Joe Byrnes, Star-Banner) http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080911/NEWS/809110241/1014/entertainment02&title=Envelope_with_white_powder_delivered_to_Star_Banner
Center for Health and Homeland Security Hosts Forum to Discuss Anthrax Case [at University of Maryland] “A forum held Sept. 10 at the University of Maryland School of Law shed light on the case from the perspectives of science and journalism. The event, ‘Did the Researcher Do It? The FBI's Anthrax Case Against Dr. Ivins,’ was the eighth annual Sept. 11 commemoration presented by the Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS). Scott Shane, a reporter from The New York Times, and Claire Fraser-Liggett, PhD, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM) and the director of the Institute of Genome Sciences at the SOM, served as panelists.”
(University of Maryland News; 11Sep08; Nick Alexopulos)
http://www.oea.umaryland.edu/communications/news/?ViewStatus=FullArticle&articleDetail=4535
At UCF [University of Central Florida], genetically modified plants show promise as vaccine
“The University of Central Florida researcher [Henry Daniell] is working on a new kind of vaccine grown inside plant cells, crushed into powder and swallowed as a capsule. He recently had success in animal tests of his vaccine for bubonic plague. […] ‘What we have developed is a totally new platform; it's a revolutionary approach,’ said Daniell, who receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and others for his research. […] most [vaccines] are expensive and hard to manufacture. In rare cases, the vaccines themselves cause the disease or severe reactions. That's why Daniell and others are working on new types that reduce the risks and expense. The need has become more urgent in recent years amid fear of bioterrorism and natural outbreaks such as bird flu. Daniell's approach relies on selected genes from the bacteria or viruses -- not the whole pathogens. At a basic level, genes are the recipes for proteins. Researchers have found that the immune system can be provoked by just a few proteins from the invader.” (Orlando Sentinel; 10Sep08; Robyn Shelton) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/health/orl-vaccines1008sep10,0,1419005.story
State checking powder in letter [Peabody, Massachusetts]
“A powder found in an envelope received by a resident of 17 Page St. has been sent to a state laboratory for analysis. Fire Chief Steve Pasdon called in the regional hazardous-materials team to handle the contents of the letter after police and fire officials responded to the Page Street home around 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, yesterday did not know how long it would take for the lab to identify the material. police Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto said yesterday that the hazmat team tested the air inside the home and no hazardous material was detected.” (Salem News; 10Sep08; Matthew K. Roy) http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_253231822.html
Germ attack worries [U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael] Chertoff
“Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said he doesn’t think an attack with a weapon of mass destruction is imminent, ‘but is one I think remains out there, particularly a biological threat.’ He said a biological attack would be especially problematic because ‘it can’t be necessarily detected. It can be carried in a very small vial. You could theoretically infect somebody and send an infected person to a country and create a biological weapon that way.’” (Journal Gazette; 11Sep08; Sylvia A. Smith) http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS03/809110328/1002/LOCAL
Diluted nerve agent to be destroyed at Blue Grass depot [Davenport, Kentucky]
“The government next month hopes to begin destroying diluted nerve agent at Kentucky's Blue Grass Army Depot. The 157 gallons of agent, known as GB, was involved in the depot's largest leak of chemical weapons material last year. The chemical neutralization of the GB, called ‘Operation Swift Solution,’ will mark the first destruction of chemical weapons material at the facility near Richmond.” (Courier-Journal; 11Sep08; James R. Carroll)
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS01/809110407/1008/NEWS01
[Veterans’] illness 'due to stress, not Gulf War syndrome'
“Many of the nearly 2000 Australian veterans of the first Gulf War came home complaining of myriad strange illnesses: chronic fatigue, headaches and dizziness, memory problems and muscle and joint pain. The troops have consistently argued that their health problems were caused by a chemical cocktail of pesticides used to kill sand flies and pills they were given to protect them against nerve gas. But according to research from Monash University's Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, the evidence from several countries, including Australia, does not back up veterans' claims. Adelaide psychiatrist and trauma expert Sandy McFarlane, who was part of the original study team, said there was no evidence of a unique syndrome in those veterans compared with troops from other campaigns. […] Professor McFarlane said Gulf War veterans had suffered significantly more physical and psychological symptoms than other veterans. This indicated the soldiers […] had a condition known as somatic distress -- where their psychological illness brought on by extreme stress made them physically sick -- not Gulf War syndrome.” (The Australian; 12Sep08; Julie Ann-Davies) http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24332917-31477,00.html
Berlin protests comments by US ambassador to Sweden
“According to the Friday issue of the daily Handelsblatt, a senior German Foreign Ministry official presented an official protest to the US embassy in Berlin about an op-ed piece written by US ambassador to Sweden, Michael M Wood, that was published in a Stockholm newspaper. Citing the example of Russian-energy consumer Ukraine, the article suggested that the pipeline posed a security threat to the region in that it would allow Moscow to use energy as a means to gain political leverage. The German Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the Handelsblatt report. In Sweden, the project has also been criticized by some lawmakers over environmental concerns, including potential hazards posed by chemical weapons dumped in the sea after World War Two.” (Earth Times; 11Sep08; Source: Handelsblatt) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/231214,report-berlin-protests-comments-by-us-ambassador-to-sweden--summary.html
U.S. to scan incoming air cargo
“The Homeland Security Department will put all incoming air cargo through radiation detectors at the nation's airports to try to prevent terrorists from smuggling radioactive bombs into the U.S. […] The new initiative aims to close what the 9/11 Commission's final report called a major security vulnerability -- cargo on airplanes as a potential avenue for terrorism. Any cargo shipped on passenger planes will also be scanned. Detectors will begin checking packages this week at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Arriving cargo -- whether from Pakistan or Peoria -- will be driven through giant detectors called Radiation Portal Monitors. […] There is no specific threat information indicating terrorists are trying to smuggle radiological material into the country on commercial or cargo planes. But Secretary Michael Chertoff says he is concerned about weapons of mass destruction getting into the country by air or by boat.” (Daily Record; 11Sep08; Mimi Hall)
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/UPDATES01/809110403
terrorism: What the next President will face
“On the seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks, what is the nature of the terrorist threat against the United States and other nations of the world and how should the next President address that threat upon taking office in January 2009? These questions are at the center of a special volume of The Annals edited by Richard A. Clarke, as well as in a series of interviews with terrorism experts featured in the volume conducted by Philadelphia Inquirer foreign policy columnist Trudy Rubin […] On September 11, 2008, the Philadelphia Inquirer will post the series of in-depth podcasts of columnist Trudy Rubin interviewing several of the volume's authors.” (Red Orbit; 11Sep08) http://www.redorbit.com/news/politics/1551954/terrorism_what_the_next_president_will_face/
Book by Brian Michael Jenkins explores nuclear terrorism
“In a new book, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?, leading terrorism expert Brian Michael Jenkins explores both the risks and history of nuclear terrorism, and warns that terrorist may not even need to acquire such weapons to order to perpetrate ‘nuclear terror. Upon close examination, nuclear terrorism turns out to be a world of truly worrisome pieces of truth,’ Jenkins says. ‘It also is a world of fantasies, nightmares, hoaxes, scams and stings where it is hard to separate truth from myth. I wrote the book to help the public identify where the myths end and the reality begins.’ […] A nuclear attack by terrorists is not inevitable and the nation must do all that is rationally possible to prevent such an event by improving intelligence, international cooperation and teaching the public how to react should such a dreadful event occur. But, Jenkins argues, the fear of nuclear terrorism should not cause the nation to become intolerant and frightened.” (Eureka Alert; 10Sep08; Warren Robak) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/rc-bbb091008.php
Nuclear threat from terrorists rising, ex-senator [Sam Nunn, D-GA] says
“The likelihood that terrorists will be able to target the United States with a nuclear weapon is increasing, a former senator testified before a congressional committee Wednesday. Former Sen. Sam Nunn says he's concerned about nuclear materials in Pakistan, citing political instability. ‘The risk of a nuclear weapon being used today, in my view, is growing and not receding,’ former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn told the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terror, a bipartisan panel that aims to prevent terrorist attacks. The commission met in New York, just a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center […] ‘Terrorists are clearly seeking nuclear weapons,’ said Nunn, who heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative. ‘There can be little doubt that if they acquire weapons, they will use them.’ […] ‘Russia has the greatest quantity of nuclear weapons and material, but Pakistan, in my view, is the greatest danger because of the great instability in that country,’ Nunn said. Nunn said Pakistan keeps its nuclear arms under heavy guard, but political instability in the country and beliefs that al Qaeda has reconstituted itself in the Pakistani mountains raise concerns.” (CNN;
10Sep08)
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/10/wmd.congress/
Orem [Utah,] man's [Castor] bean plant investigated
“A startled homeowner [Lincoln Fuqua] got a visit from Orem police Tuesday afternoon. They were interested in a plant that he was growing by his mailbox in the front yard. They were so interested that they put a call into Homeland Security. No, it wasn’t marijuana. It was a castor bean plant. […] And when he saw the castor bean seeds this spring at his favorite nursery in Orem, he remembers snapping some up and thinking, ‘Hey, I’m going to grow some this year because they’re beautiful.’ Fuqua has a background in chemistry and is well aware that terrorists have used them to make Ricin. But he never dreamed that someone would think that he might be a terrorist. […] Orem police have not given us their verdict on the castor bean plant, but it is not illegal. In fact, only the District of Columbia ‘strongly discourages’ the sale of castor bean seeds.” (ABC 4; 10Sep08; Brent Hunsaker) http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f2396fa3-c730-457d-825c-257c263a831c
Bulgaria keeping 'umbrella killing' probe open: Chief [Investigator Boiko Naydenov]
“Bulgaria is to keep open its probe of the ‘umbrella killing’ in London of dissident Georgy Markov in 1978, the head of the country's investigation service, Boiko Naydenov, told AFP Wednesday. Initially, the investigation was to have been closed this week when a 30-year statute of limitations expired. But Naydenov said that, because the probe concerned both Markov's death and an attempt the same year to kill another Bulgarian dissident in Paris, Vladimir Kostov, a lengthier timeframe could be applied, allowing the case to remain open. He said that where there is a killing or attempted killing of two or more people, ‘then there is a 35-year statute of limitations, which can be prolonged further if the case has been interrupted.’” (Agence Presse France; 11Sep08) http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jbwyP6kEgBpglz7FmckQPdf_DCzg
Fresh intrigue surrounds a Cold War murder [of Georgy Markov]
“A Bulgarian journalist, Hristo Hristov, is releasing a book - ‘The Double Life of Agent Piccadilly’ - that he says demonstrates how the communist regime eliminated one of its most eloquent opponents. […] Based on the first outside look at previously classified state security documents, Hristov concludes that Markov was killed by one Francesco Gullino, a sometime smuggler arrested twice in Bulgaria and given the choice of jail or becoming an agent. Based in Copenhagen with cover as an art dealer, Gullino was active until 1990 and received two Bulgarian state medals ‘for services to security and public order,’ Hristov says. In 1993, Gullino was briefly detained and questioned by the British and Danish police in Copenhagen, and has not been seen or heard of since. […] the Bulgarian authorities have officially broadened the inquiry to include a suspected assassination attempt on Vladimir Kostov, a Bulgarian defector in Paris who suffered a poison pellet attack two weeks before Markov - and survived. The murder investigation by Scotland Yard also remains active, with British police officers traveling abroad to make several known inquiries this year.” (International Herald Tribune; 10Sep08; Matthew Brunwasser)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/10/europe/sofia.php
Pakistan accuses US military over cross-border terror campaign
“In an unusually tough statement, General Ashfaq Kayani, Chief of Army Staff, said that there was ‘no agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border’. Pakistan would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity ‘at all costs’, he said. […] Seven years on from 9/11 the failure to find bin Laden — combined with increasing awareness that the terrorist group is spreading its influence into North and East Africa and is pressing ahead with trying to develop chemical, biological and radiological devices — is forcing a rethink of how to confront the threat. […] Al-Qaeda remains obsessed with using commercial airliners for attacks, but of greatest concern are the signs of its interest in developing chemical, biological and radiological devices. The terrorists have already used lorries packed with explosives and chemicals in attacks in Iraq, and are known to be experimenting with anthrax.” (Times Online; 12Sep08; Michael Evans & Zahid Hussain) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4735471.ece
Fox Valley [Wisconsin] Fire Department evolve following events of 9-11
“At Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue's main station on Columbia Avenue in downtown Neenah, firefighters were checking apparatus, doing maintenance and replenishing supplies as officers set the weekly training schedules that can consume up to 15 percent or more of the firefighters' work each year. […] Since 9-11, there are more perceived threats than ever before. Training has changed markedly since the terrorist attacks. Hansen said the basic firefighting class now includes sections on a wide and ominous range of hazardous materials. Training used to focus on chlorine gas, ammonia leaks and gas spills. Now, nerve gas, blister agents and biological weapons also are included. All department members, including the 43 paid on-call firefighters at Grand Chute, must have a minimum 150 hours of training a year. [Michael] Sipin [Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue] said the 68 firefighters on that department average 330 hours of training a year.”
(Post-Crescent; 11Sep08; John Lee)
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/APC0101/809110482/1003/APC01
Universal Detection Technology to Present at the 3rd Annual Gulf Coast terrorism Conference [Sarasota, Florida]
“[…] [T]he 3rd annual Gulf Coast Terrorism Conference [is] scheduled to be held in Sarasota, Florida. The presentation will cover the latest detection technologies for the detection of CBRN threats. The attendees of the conference include local, state and federal first responder and law enforcement officials. […] Security Solutions International (SSI), the host of the conference, is committed to bringing the know-how of the world's leading experts in counter-terrorism and security to practical application in a wide variety of custom seminars and courses. The event is attended by participants from the US Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, New Orleans Police Department, Orlando Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Florida Department of Health, and the US Supreme Court.” (Earth Times; 10Sep08)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/universal-detection-technology-to-present,536208.shtml
Progress seen in Maine plan to fight terror
“Seven years after terrorists embarked from the Portland airport on their mission to fly into the World Trade Center, top federal and state officials say Maine is better prepared for a terrorist attack, but no one thinks it is fully ready. […] [Governor John] Baldacci [D-ME] kicked off National Preparedness Month in Maine at a training session held in the Emergency Operations Center at the Maine Emergency Management Agency. He urged Mainers to plan for any sort of disaster, man-made or natural, by creating their own individualized emergency supply kit and developing a plan of what they would do to cope with a disaster. […] Baldacci said MEMA [Maine Emergency Management Agency] has developed a Web site, www.maineprepares.com, that has information on what a disaster plan should include and a checklist for developing a disaster preparedness kit.” (Bangor Daily News; 10Sep08; Mal Leary)
http://www.bangornews.com/detail/50422.html
[Mayor Michael] Bloomberg [R-New York City]: New York short-changed on terrorism prevention funds
“‘The federal government needs to do more to help us protect our city,’ New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the first public hearing of the nine-member Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and terrorism Wednesday in New York. […] The mayor said New York City is still the number one target of terrorists from around the world, yet for bioterrorism prevention funding it ranks 21st out of 54 eligible states and cities in the amount of funding provided in 2008. […] ‘Because of the anthrax episodes in 2001, New York is one of only a handful of places in the nation that's ever experienced a bio-terror attack. Yet in Fiscal Year 2008, we received $2.72 per capita, putting us an incredible 21st out of 54 eligible states and cities.’ [said Mayor Bloomberg].” (Environment News Service; 10Sep08) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2008/2008-09-11-01.asp
Terrorism: Intelligence the weak point in defeating Al-Qaeda, says expert [Abdel Bari Atwan]
“Penetrating Al-Qaeda is the key challenge for American and other western intelligence services, according to author and commentator Abdel Bari Atwan. […] ‘The United States is well prepared against an Al-Qaeda attack in terms of security at airports and other sensitive sites,’ Atwan told Adnkronos International (AKI). ‘But intelligence remains a real problem - penetrating Al-Qaeda is extremely difficult, because of geography, loyalty and ideology,’ Atwan stated. […] ‘Al-Qaeda's field commanders are under the direct supervision of its leadership. So it could go back to outside attacks,’ said Atwan. ‘It is now more capable of carrying out similar attacks (to the 9/11 attacks on US cities), but with different means. ’ Dirty bombs, chemical or biological weapons - these are easier than hijacking aeroplanes,’ he said. […] Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, is ‘too weak’ to have a major role in the US-led fight against militants believed to be hiding out in the region bordering Afghanistan.” (Adn Kronos International; 11Sep08)
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2476639575
U.S. scrambles for N. Korean clues
“Following his failure to show up at a parade Tuesday marking North Korea's founding 60 years ago, U.S. officials said Tuesday that they believe Kim has suffered a stroke. While his condition is unclear—as so many things in that closed society are—they are scrambling to figure out what is actually going on there and make contingency plans. […] ‘The bottom line is, if Kim dies, we potentially have a serious problem,’ said Joel Wit, a former U.S. diplomat and one of the authors of the 1994 nuclear agreement with Pyongyang. ‘There could be the collapse of the central government, civil war between different factions, large-scale refugee flows, increasing instability of the security of weapons of mass destruction and pressures on all surrounding countries to intervene.’ […] The biggest worry for the U.S. if the North Korean government were to collapse: What would happen to the regime's cache of weapons of mass destruction? Pyongyang, which test-fired a nuclear weapon in October 2006, is believed by U.S. intelligence agencies to have enough fuel for several nuclear weapons and is also thought to have an arsenal of chemical weapons.” (Chicago Tribune; 10Sep08; Bay Fang) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-korea-kim_nu_10sep10,0,5223701.story
CNS ChemBio-WMD terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.
“On July 18, 2006, the Utah Department of Health notified epidemiologists at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare that Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent for anthrax, had been isolated from a patient. On the same day, the Idaho epidemiologists were notified by the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories of a specimen from a second patient received for anthrax testing. The two reports resulted briefly in alerts to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and precautionary treatment of one of the patients […] Subsequent investigation revealed that, during July 2006, the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories had been conducting a sentinel laboratory proficiency testing exercise among Idaho's hospital laboratories. The exercise included specimens with the Sterne strain of B. anthracis, a nonvirulent strain. […] This report is the first to describe cross-contamination of clinical specimens with B. anthracis during laboratory proficiency sample testing. The Idaho Bureau of Laboratories regularly conducts proficiency testing surveys with participating sentinel laboratories.” (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; 12Sep08) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5736a3.htm
[Governor Sonny] Perdue [R-GA], lawmakers press Georgia's case for biolab
“Gov. Sonny Perdue joined with most of Georgia's congressional delegation to present a united front in the state's bid to win a national biodefense lab near the University of Georgia. […] In a press conference on Capitol Hill, the leaders said Athens [Georgia] will win the project if the competition is judged on merits. The $450 million Homeland Security project would house at least 300 lab-related jobs, with research focused on some of the most lethal biological threats, including deadly animal diseases and bioterrorism threats through the nation's food supply.”
(Ledger-Enquirer; 11Sep08; Source: AP)
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/251/story/438481.html
Senator [Pat] Roberts [D-KS] secures $268,305 in funds to improve food security
“Senator Pat Roberts [Kansas] today announced the Ford County [Kansas] Sheriff's Office will receive $268,305 in funding he secured in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2008, to improve food security. The funding will allow the Ford County Sheriff's Office to assess and strengthen terrorism prevention activities and response capabilities. Additional attention will be given to criminal activity in agriculture, especially those incidents that could represent potential indicators of terrorist activity.” (Cattle Network; 11Sep08)
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=251690
[Lone Star] College to offer free flu shots at drive-through event [Montgomery, Texas]
“Free flu shots will be available to adults who push up their sleeves and roll down their car windows on Saturday, October 11, at a drive-through flu shot clinic at Lone Star College-Montgomery [Texas]. […] The department’s public health preparedness division plans and coordinates the response to adverse events like disease outbreaks and bioterrorism attacks. ‘Events like the drive-through flu shot clinic are great opportunities to see how well we’re prepared to respond to health emergency in our county,’ said Emily Llinás, assistant director at the health department. In addition to helping the public, the drive-through event will serve as an exercise for health department staff and volunteers. Volunteers are a major component of public health preparedness plans, Llinás said.” (Woodlands Online; 11Sep08; Steve Scheffler)
http://woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=26822
Suspicious Powder Found on Eve of 9/11: Coleman A. Young Municipal Building Quarantined [Detroit, Michigan]
“A suspicious package made its way to the executive suite on the 11th floor of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building – The Office of the Mayor. Could it be Anthrax? City staffers were quarantined for just under 3 hours after the envelope was found in the executive suite of outgoing Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. […] The general manager of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Greg McDuffee said that the Detroit Fire Department was called on Wednesday evening following the discovery of the dubious package. McDuffee said that fewer than a dozen staffers were quarantined inside the 11th floor suite. He also said that Mayor Kilpatrick wasn’t inside the building […].” (My TV 20; 11Sep08) http://www.tv20detroit.com/news/local/28255504.html
White powder found in letter to Star-Banner [Ocala, Florida]
“A Star-Banner receptionist opened an envelope addressed to the newspaper Thursday morning to find a line of white powder in the bottom but no letter inside. The envelope - reminiscent of anthrax attacks and scares from 2001 and 2002 - could be a ‘copycat’ item, said Ocala police Lt. Dan Wilson. […] Ocala Fire Rescue paramedics responded and were treating the receptionist, Eliud Rodriguez, at his desk in the Star-Banner foyer. The police Department Intelligence Unit was on scene. Wilson said the small orange envelope - which lay for a time outside the building in a plastic bag - would not be handled by evidence technicians until the Health Department had taken it for testing. Fire Rescue officials soon packaged the envelope in larger bags and a white bucket for the Health Department.”
(Gainesville Sun; 11Sep08; Joe Byrnes, Star-Banner) http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080911/NEWS/809110241/1014/entertainment02&title=Envelope_with_white_powder_delivered_to_Star_Banner
Center for Health and Homeland Security Hosts Forum to Discuss Anthrax Case [at University of Maryland] “A forum held Sept. 10 at the University of Maryland School of Law shed light on the case from the perspectives of science and journalism. The event, ‘Did the Researcher Do It? The FBI's Anthrax Case Against Dr. Ivins,’ was the eighth annual Sept. 11 commemoration presented by the Center for Health and Homeland Security (CHHS). Scott Shane, a reporter from The New York Times, and Claire Fraser-Liggett, PhD, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM) and the director of the Institute of Genome Sciences at the SOM, served as panelists.”
(University of Maryland News; 11Sep08; Nick Alexopulos)
http://www.oea.umaryland.edu/communications/news/?ViewStatus=FullArticle&articleDetail=4535
At UCF [University of Central Florida], genetically modified plants show promise as vaccine
“The University of Central Florida researcher [Henry Daniell] is working on a new kind of vaccine grown inside plant cells, crushed into powder and swallowed as a capsule. He recently had success in animal tests of his vaccine for bubonic plague. […] ‘What we have developed is a totally new platform; it's a revolutionary approach,’ said Daniell, who receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and others for his research. […] most [vaccines] are expensive and hard to manufacture. In rare cases, the vaccines themselves cause the disease or severe reactions. That's why Daniell and others are working on new types that reduce the risks and expense. The need has become more urgent in recent years amid fear of bioterrorism and natural outbreaks such as bird flu. Daniell's approach relies on selected genes from the bacteria or viruses -- not the whole pathogens. At a basic level, genes are the recipes for proteins. Researchers have found that the immune system can be provoked by just a few proteins from the invader.” (Orlando Sentinel; 10Sep08; Robyn Shelton) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/health/orl-vaccines1008sep10,0,1419005.story
State checking powder in letter [Peabody, Massachusetts]
“A powder found in an envelope received by a resident of 17 Page St. has been sent to a state laboratory for analysis. Fire Chief Steve Pasdon called in the regional hazardous-materials team to handle the contents of the letter after police and fire officials responded to the Page Street home around 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Jennifer Mieth, spokeswoman for Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, yesterday did not know how long it would take for the lab to identify the material. police Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto said yesterday that the hazmat team tested the air inside the home and no hazardous material was detected.” (Salem News; 10Sep08; Matthew K. Roy) http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_253231822.html
Germ attack worries [U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael] Chertoff
“Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said he doesn’t think an attack with a weapon of mass destruction is imminent, ‘but is one I think remains out there, particularly a biological threat.’ He said a biological attack would be especially problematic because ‘it can’t be necessarily detected. It can be carried in a very small vial. You could theoretically infect somebody and send an infected person to a country and create a biological weapon that way.’” (Journal Gazette; 11Sep08; Sylvia A. Smith) http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS03/809110328/1002/LOCAL
Diluted nerve agent to be destroyed at Blue Grass depot [Davenport, Kentucky]
“The government next month hopes to begin destroying diluted nerve agent at Kentucky's Blue Grass Army Depot. The 157 gallons of agent, known as GB, was involved in the depot's largest leak of chemical weapons material last year. The chemical neutralization of the GB, called ‘Operation Swift Solution,’ will mark the first destruction of chemical weapons material at the facility near Richmond.” (Courier-Journal; 11Sep08; James R. Carroll)
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS01/809110407/1008/NEWS01
[Veterans’] illness 'due to stress, not Gulf War syndrome'
“Many of the nearly 2000 Australian veterans of the first Gulf War came home complaining of myriad strange illnesses: chronic fatigue, headaches and dizziness, memory problems and muscle and joint pain. The troops have consistently argued that their health problems were caused by a chemical cocktail of pesticides used to kill sand flies and pills they were given to protect them against nerve gas. But according to research from Monash University's Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, the evidence from several countries, including Australia, does not back up veterans' claims. Adelaide psychiatrist and trauma expert Sandy McFarlane, who was part of the original study team, said there was no evidence of a unique syndrome in those veterans compared with troops from other campaigns. […] Professor McFarlane said Gulf War veterans had suffered significantly more physical and psychological symptoms than other veterans. This indicated the soldiers […] had a condition known as somatic distress -- where their psychological illness brought on by extreme stress made them physically sick -- not Gulf War syndrome.” (The Australian; 12Sep08; Julie Ann-Davies) http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24332917-31477,00.html
Berlin protests comments by US ambassador to Sweden
“According to the Friday issue of the daily Handelsblatt, a senior German Foreign Ministry official presented an official protest to the US embassy in Berlin about an op-ed piece written by US ambassador to Sweden, Michael M Wood, that was published in a Stockholm newspaper. Citing the example of Russian-energy consumer Ukraine, the article suggested that the pipeline posed a security threat to the region in that it would allow Moscow to use energy as a means to gain political leverage. The German Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the Handelsblatt report. In Sweden, the project has also been criticized by some lawmakers over environmental concerns, including potential hazards posed by chemical weapons dumped in the sea after World War Two.” (Earth Times; 11Sep08; Source: Handelsblatt) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/231214,report-berlin-protests-comments-by-us-ambassador-to-sweden--summary.html
U.S. to scan incoming air cargo
“The Homeland Security Department will put all incoming air cargo through radiation detectors at the nation's airports to try to prevent terrorists from smuggling radioactive bombs into the U.S. […] The new initiative aims to close what the 9/11 Commission's final report called a major security vulnerability -- cargo on airplanes as a potential avenue for terrorism. Any cargo shipped on passenger planes will also be scanned. Detectors will begin checking packages this week at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Arriving cargo -- whether from Pakistan or Peoria -- will be driven through giant detectors called Radiation Portal Monitors. […] There is no specific threat information indicating terrorists are trying to smuggle radiological material into the country on commercial or cargo planes. But Secretary Michael Chertoff says he is concerned about weapons of mass destruction getting into the country by air or by boat.” (Daily Record; 11Sep08; Mimi Hall)
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/UPDATES01/809110403
terrorism: What the next President will face
“On the seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks, what is the nature of the terrorist threat against the United States and other nations of the world and how should the next President address that threat upon taking office in January 2009? These questions are at the center of a special volume of The Annals edited by Richard A. Clarke, as well as in a series of interviews with terrorism experts featured in the volume conducted by Philadelphia Inquirer foreign policy columnist Trudy Rubin […] On September 11, 2008, the Philadelphia Inquirer will post the series of in-depth podcasts of columnist Trudy Rubin interviewing several of the volume's authors.” (Red Orbit; 11Sep08) http://www.redorbit.com/news/politics/1551954/terrorism_what_the_next_president_will_face/
Book by Brian Michael Jenkins explores nuclear terrorism
“In a new book, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?, leading terrorism expert Brian Michael Jenkins explores both the risks and history of nuclear terrorism, and warns that terrorist may not even need to acquire such weapons to order to perpetrate ‘nuclear terror. Upon close examination, nuclear terrorism turns out to be a world of truly worrisome pieces of truth,’ Jenkins says. ‘It also is a world of fantasies, nightmares, hoaxes, scams and stings where it is hard to separate truth from myth. I wrote the book to help the public identify where the myths end and the reality begins.’ […] A nuclear attack by terrorists is not inevitable and the nation must do all that is rationally possible to prevent such an event by improving intelligence, international cooperation and teaching the public how to react should such a dreadful event occur. But, Jenkins argues, the fear of nuclear terrorism should not cause the nation to become intolerant and frightened.” (Eureka Alert; 10Sep08; Warren Robak) http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/rc-bbb091008.php
Nuclear threat from terrorists rising, ex-senator [Sam Nunn, D-GA] says
“The likelihood that terrorists will be able to target the United States with a nuclear weapon is increasing, a former senator testified before a congressional committee Wednesday. Former Sen. Sam Nunn says he's concerned about nuclear materials in Pakistan, citing political instability. ‘The risk of a nuclear weapon being used today, in my view, is growing and not receding,’ former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn told the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terror, a bipartisan panel that aims to prevent terrorist attacks. The commission met in New York, just a few blocks from the site of the World Trade Center […] ‘Terrorists are clearly seeking nuclear weapons,’ said Nunn, who heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative. ‘There can be little doubt that if they acquire weapons, they will use them.’ […] ‘Russia has the greatest quantity of nuclear weapons and material, but Pakistan, in my view, is the greatest danger because of the great instability in that country,’ Nunn said. Nunn said Pakistan keeps its nuclear arms under heavy guard, but political instability in the country and beliefs that al Qaeda has reconstituted itself in the Pakistani mountains raise concerns.” (CNN;
10Sep08)
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/10/wmd.congress/
Orem [Utah,] man's [Castor] bean plant investigated
“A startled homeowner [Lincoln Fuqua] got a visit from Orem police Tuesday afternoon. They were interested in a plant that he was growing by his mailbox in the front yard. They were so interested that they put a call into Homeland Security. No, it wasn’t marijuana. It was a castor bean plant. […] And when he saw the castor bean seeds this spring at his favorite nursery in Orem, he remembers snapping some up and thinking, ‘Hey, I’m going to grow some this year because they’re beautiful.’ Fuqua has a background in chemistry and is well aware that terrorists have used them to make Ricin. But he never dreamed that someone would think that he might be a terrorist. […] Orem police have not given us their verdict on the castor bean plant, but it is not illegal. In fact, only the District of Columbia ‘strongly discourages’ the sale of castor bean seeds.” (ABC 4; 10Sep08; Brent Hunsaker) http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=f2396fa3-c730-457d-825c-257c263a831c
Bulgaria keeping 'umbrella killing' probe open: Chief [Investigator Boiko Naydenov]
“Bulgaria is to keep open its probe of the ‘umbrella killing’ in London of dissident Georgy Markov in 1978, the head of the country's investigation service, Boiko Naydenov, told AFP Wednesday. Initially, the investigation was to have been closed this week when a 30-year statute of limitations expired. But Naydenov said that, because the probe concerned both Markov's death and an attempt the same year to kill another Bulgarian dissident in Paris, Vladimir Kostov, a lengthier timeframe could be applied, allowing the case to remain open. He said that where there is a killing or attempted killing of two or more people, ‘then there is a 35-year statute of limitations, which can be prolonged further if the case has been interrupted.’” (Agence Presse France; 11Sep08) http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jbwyP6kEgBpglz7FmckQPdf_DCzg
Fresh intrigue surrounds a Cold War murder [of Georgy Markov]
“A Bulgarian journalist, Hristo Hristov, is releasing a book - ‘The Double Life of Agent Piccadilly’ - that he says demonstrates how the communist regime eliminated one of its most eloquent opponents. […] Based on the first outside look at previously classified state security documents, Hristov concludes that Markov was killed by one Francesco Gullino, a sometime smuggler arrested twice in Bulgaria and given the choice of jail or becoming an agent. Based in Copenhagen with cover as an art dealer, Gullino was active until 1990 and received two Bulgarian state medals ‘for services to security and public order,’ Hristov says. In 1993, Gullino was briefly detained and questioned by the British and Danish police in Copenhagen, and has not been seen or heard of since. […] the Bulgarian authorities have officially broadened the inquiry to include a suspected assassination attempt on Vladimir Kostov, a Bulgarian defector in Paris who suffered a poison pellet attack two weeks before Markov - and survived. The murder investigation by Scotland Yard also remains active, with British police officers traveling abroad to make several known inquiries this year.” (International Herald Tribune; 10Sep08; Matthew Brunwasser)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/10/europe/sofia.php
Pakistan accuses US military over cross-border terror campaign
“In an unusually tough statement, General Ashfaq Kayani, Chief of Army Staff, said that there was ‘no agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border’. Pakistan would defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity ‘at all costs’, he said. […] Seven years on from 9/11 the failure to find bin Laden — combined with increasing awareness that the terrorist group is spreading its influence into North and East Africa and is pressing ahead with trying to develop chemical, biological and radiological devices — is forcing a rethink of how to confront the threat. […] Al-Qaeda remains obsessed with using commercial airliners for attacks, but of greatest concern are the signs of its interest in developing chemical, biological and radiological devices. The terrorists have already used lorries packed with explosives and chemicals in attacks in Iraq, and are known to be experimenting with anthrax.” (Times Online; 12Sep08; Michael Evans & Zahid Hussain) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4735471.ece
Fox Valley [Wisconsin] Fire Department evolve following events of 9-11
“At Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue's main station on Columbia Avenue in downtown Neenah, firefighters were checking apparatus, doing maintenance and replenishing supplies as officers set the weekly training schedules that can consume up to 15 percent or more of the firefighters' work each year. […] Since 9-11, there are more perceived threats than ever before. Training has changed markedly since the terrorist attacks. Hansen said the basic firefighting class now includes sections on a wide and ominous range of hazardous materials. Training used to focus on chlorine gas, ammonia leaks and gas spills. Now, nerve gas, blister agents and biological weapons also are included. All department members, including the 43 paid on-call firefighters at Grand Chute, must have a minimum 150 hours of training a year. [Michael] Sipin [Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue] said the 68 firefighters on that department average 330 hours of training a year.”
(Post-Crescent; 11Sep08; John Lee)
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/APC0101/809110482/1003/APC01
Universal Detection Technology to Present at the 3rd Annual Gulf Coast terrorism Conference [Sarasota, Florida]
“[…] [T]he 3rd annual Gulf Coast Terrorism Conference [is] scheduled to be held in Sarasota, Florida. The presentation will cover the latest detection technologies for the detection of CBRN threats. The attendees of the conference include local, state and federal first responder and law enforcement officials. […] Security Solutions International (SSI), the host of the conference, is committed to bringing the know-how of the world's leading experts in counter-terrorism and security to practical application in a wide variety of custom seminars and courses. The event is attended by participants from the US Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, New Orleans Police Department, Orlando Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Florida Department of Health, and the US Supreme Court.” (Earth Times; 10Sep08)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/universal-detection-technology-to-present,536208.shtml
Progress seen in Maine plan to fight terror
“Seven years after terrorists embarked from the Portland airport on their mission to fly into the World Trade Center, top federal and state officials say Maine is better prepared for a terrorist attack, but no one thinks it is fully ready. […] [Governor John] Baldacci [D-ME] kicked off National Preparedness Month in Maine at a training session held in the Emergency Operations Center at the Maine Emergency Management Agency. He urged Mainers to plan for any sort of disaster, man-made or natural, by creating their own individualized emergency supply kit and developing a plan of what they would do to cope with a disaster. […] Baldacci said MEMA [Maine Emergency Management Agency] has developed a Web site, www.maineprepares.com, that has information on what a disaster plan should include and a checklist for developing a disaster preparedness kit.” (Bangor Daily News; 10Sep08; Mal Leary)
http://www.bangornews.com/detail/50422.html
[Mayor Michael] Bloomberg [R-New York City]: New York short-changed on terrorism prevention funds
“‘The federal government needs to do more to help us protect our city,’ New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the first public hearing of the nine-member Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and terrorism Wednesday in New York. […] The mayor said New York City is still the number one target of terrorists from around the world, yet for bioterrorism prevention funding it ranks 21st out of 54 eligible states and cities in the amount of funding provided in 2008. […] ‘Because of the anthrax episodes in 2001, New York is one of only a handful of places in the nation that's ever experienced a bio-terror attack. Yet in Fiscal Year 2008, we received $2.72 per capita, putting us an incredible 21st out of 54 eligible states and cities.’ [said Mayor Bloomberg].” (Environment News Service; 10Sep08) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2008/2008-09-11-01.asp
Terrorism: Intelligence the weak point in defeating Al-Qaeda, says expert [Abdel Bari Atwan]
“Penetrating Al-Qaeda is the key challenge for American and other western intelligence services, according to author and commentator Abdel Bari Atwan. […] ‘The United States is well prepared against an Al-Qaeda attack in terms of security at airports and other sensitive sites,’ Atwan told Adnkronos International (AKI). ‘But intelligence remains a real problem - penetrating Al-Qaeda is extremely difficult, because of geography, loyalty and ideology,’ Atwan stated. […] ‘Al-Qaeda's field commanders are under the direct supervision of its leadership. So it could go back to outside attacks,’ said Atwan. ‘It is now more capable of carrying out similar attacks (to the 9/11 attacks on US cities), but with different means. ’ Dirty bombs, chemical or biological weapons - these are easier than hijacking aeroplanes,’ he said. […] Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, is ‘too weak’ to have a major role in the US-led fight against militants believed to be hiding out in the region bordering Afghanistan.” (Adn Kronos International; 11Sep08)
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2476639575
U.S. scrambles for N. Korean clues
“Following his failure to show up at a parade Tuesday marking North Korea's founding 60 years ago, U.S. officials said Tuesday that they believe Kim has suffered a stroke. While his condition is unclear—as so many things in that closed society are—they are scrambling to figure out what is actually going on there and make contingency plans. […] ‘The bottom line is, if Kim dies, we potentially have a serious problem,’ said Joel Wit, a former U.S. diplomat and one of the authors of the 1994 nuclear agreement with Pyongyang. ‘There could be the collapse of the central government, civil war between different factions, large-scale refugee flows, increasing instability of the security of weapons of mass destruction and pressures on all surrounding countries to intervene.’ […] The biggest worry for the U.S. if the North Korean government were to collapse: What would happen to the regime's cache of weapons of mass destruction? Pyongyang, which test-fired a nuclear weapon in October 2006, is believed by U.S. intelligence agencies to have enough fuel for several nuclear weapons and is also thought to have an arsenal of chemical weapons.” (Chicago Tribune; 10Sep08; Bay Fang) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-korea-kim_nu_10sep10,0,5223701.story
CNS ChemBio-WMD terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.
Friday, June 06, 2008
CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- June 6, 2008
Bush Overstated Iraq Evidence, Senators Report
“The report was released Thursday after years of partisan squabbling, and it represented the close of five years of investigations by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into the use, abuse and faulty assessments of intelligence leading to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. That some Bush administration claims about the Iraqi threat turned out to be false is hardly new. But the report, based on a detailed review of public statements by Mr. Bush and other officials, was the most comprehensive effort to date to assess whether policy makers systematically painted a more dire picture about Iraq than was justified by the available intelligence.” (New York Times; 06Jun08; Mark Mazzetti & Scott Shane) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/world/middleeast/06intel.html?hp
Grand exploits of a China scholar [Joseph Needham]
“A committed socialist and Communist sympathizer, Needham lent his authority to a dubiously documented investigation whose report, issued in 1952, concluded that the United States had used biological weapons in Manchuria and North~Korea. Blacklisted by the Americans well into the 1970s and denounced for his political naïveté by the British establishment, Needham retreated into the scholarly realm, where his accomplishments did much to restore his good~name.” (International Herald Tribune; 05Jun08; Alida Becker) http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/07/arts/IDLEDE7.php
Fake disaster helps agencies to prepare [Lumberton, North Carolina]
“During the drill, some ‘victims’ moaned in pain while others begged for help as members of the Environmental Hydrogeological Consultants Inc. Hazardous Waste team from Red Springs walked among bodies. […] Only supervisors from agencies that handle emergency situations were made aware of Wednesday’s exercise. Organizers said they wanted the event to be as real as possible. […] Each victim had a card listing injuries and any other health issues.” (The Fayetteville Observer; 05Jun08; Venita Jenkins) http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=295870
Bioterrorism: Smallpox and Biotech Companies
“In order to encourage companies to develop drugs against Smallpox and other biological weapons, Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act), which President Bush signed into law June 12, 2002. Thereafter, Project Bioshield Act of 2005 was passed into law. These two acts undertook measures to induce the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry to come up with new drugs to combat bioterrorism and biological warfare.” (Seeking Alpha; 05Jun08; Ketan Desai) http://seekingalpha.com/article/80152-bioterrorism-smallpox-and-biotech-companies
Nation’s First Public Health Ready State Enhances Incident Command and Critical Resource Visibility [Idaho]
“East Idaho Public Health District has implemented the Previstar Continual Preparedness System (CPS) to enhance their preparedness and response capabilities. […] The district installed Previstar’s latest software release, CPS 5.1. The new release includes CPS 5.0 current suite of planning, response, and recovery capabilities, but now users can customize their user interface based on organizational and ICS roles, enable CPS server-to-server information sharing, utilize CAP [Common Alerting Protocol] messaging, and have more streamlined resource management. Tammy Cox, Director, Health Preparedness, Promotion, and Surveillance, was part of a team that studied a range of software offerings before determining that Previstar was the partner of choice. ‘It took us two years to find the right software. […]’” (Previstar; 05Jun08; Joe Gordon) http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080605005700&newsLang=en
Brucella abortus S19 genome sequenced; points toward virulence genes
“Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, and collaborators at 454 Life Sciences of Branford, Conn., have sequenced the genome of Brucella abortus strain S19. […] Scientists have long wanted to know what genetic features make strain S19 suitable for use as a vaccine in cattle because it may hold the secret as to why other Brucella strains cause disease and trigger the abortion of developing embryos in livestock. The researchers have discovered a group of 24 genes that are linked to virulence by making comparisons of the newly available S19 genome sequence to previously sequenced genomes of two virulent strains of B. abortus. The paper ‘Genome sequence of Brucella abortus vaccine strain S19 compared to virulent strains yields candidate virulence genes’ was published recently in PLoS One (May 2008, Volume 3, Issue 5, e2193).” (Eureka Alert; 05Jun08; Barry Whyte)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/vt-bas060508.php
AlphaVax Continues to Expand the Use of Its [smallpox] Vaccine Platform
“AlphaVax, Inc. recently received notification from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the granting institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), that it has been awarded a second grant to continue development of a smallpox vaccine based on AlphaVax's proprietary vector platform. The grant will support additional studies in rodents and non-human primates to further characterize the high-level protection observed previously in these species.” (The Earth Times; 06Jun08) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/alphavax-continues-to-expand-the-use-of-its-vaccine-platform,423527.shtml
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Annual Conference Begins June 8 In Denver [Colorado]
“The top epidemiologists in the nation and U.S. territories are set to gather in Denver, Colorado June 8-12 for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) 2008 Annual Conference. […] This year's conference theme is ‘Public Health Epidemiology: Adapting to a Changing World.’” (The Earth Times; 06Jun08) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/council-of-state-and-territorial,423151.shtml
[Computer Sciences Corporation] CSC's DynPort Vaccine Company to Continue Plague Vaccine Development
“DynPort Vaccine Company LLC (DVC), a CSC company, has been notified by the Department of Defense (DoD) that all future funding for advanced development of plague vaccine will be allocated to the existing DVC contract […] According to the decision, DVC will continue development of a recombinant plague vaccine candidate, rF1V, up to and including possible licensure by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine candidate is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials.” (The Earth Times;
05Jun08)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/cscs-dynport-vaccine-company-to-continue-plague-vaccine-development,421494.shtml
India to test vaccine against anthrax
“Around 20 vials of the vaccine Biothrax has just reached Central Drug Laboratory (Kasauli) which will test the vaccine's potency and sterility. Each vile contains 10 doses of the vaccine. […]’The vaccine can't be injected to all civilians but only to the first responders to reach the spot of attack, like the military and laboratory workers who may enter or re-enter contaminated areas. Countries are now preparing such battalions and vaccinating them in advance so that they develop complete immunity against anthrax before such an attack occurs. Inhalation anthrax is the most lethal form with fatality rates reaching up to 90%,’ [Joseph Chettiar of the Hyderabad-based distributor] added.” (The Times of India; 05Jun08; Kounteya Sinha) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India_to_test_vaccine_against_anthrax/articleshow/3100835.cms
Bioterrorism conference held [Brussels, Belgium]
“A bioterrorism countermeasures conference was held Thursday in Brussels that was designed to elevate threat awareness among officials in Europe. […] The conference was designed as an effort to reduce the threat of biological terrorism through opening a dialogue about effective biodefense measures. Presenters included Tom Waytes, Emergent BioSolutions vice president of medical affairs, among others. Emergent manufactures the only anthrax vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” (United Press International; 06Jun08)
http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2008/06/06/Bioterrorism_conference_held/UPI-39731212772918/
Gas leak in China contained phosgene - Russian ministry
“A recent gas leak in northeast China near the Russian border that killed three people contained phosgene, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday citing environmental experts. ‘An expert evaluation confirmed that the leak contained phosgene gas,’ Andrei Nesterenko said, adding that eight people had been poisoned as a result of the leak. […] Earlier Friday, a Russian emergencies ministry spokeswoman quoted Chinese authorities as saying the chemical leak in the town of Qiqihar in the Heilongjiang province was no threat to the environment. Irina Andrianova quoted the Chinese general consulate in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk as saying that on June 5 a cylinder containing unidentified gas ‘disintegrated’ causing a gas leak. […] The official quoted the Chinese side as saying that air, water and soil samples taken immediately after the accident contained no contaminants.” (RIA Novosti; 06Jun08) http://en.rian.ru/world/20080606/109426611.html
Pakistan: New wave of violence a bid to undermine president
“According to political analysts, the violence suddenly flared up after former Prime Minister and party leader, Nawaz Sharif, called for Musharraf to be accountable for his so-called ‘crimes’ including what is known as the Lal Masjid Massacre, or the Red Mosque Massacre. The Red Mosque Massacre was a bloody conflict between Pakistani security forces and students who barricaded themselves inside the Red Mosque and demanded Sharia law in July 2007. At least 100 people died when security forces stormed the mosque in a bid to end the siege and flush out pro-Taliban militants from the complex. Retired general Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani then demanded Musharraf's execution for using chemical weapons (phosphorous grenades) during the Lal Masjid operation and supporting the Bush Administration in its War on Terror.” (AND Kronos; 06Jun08; Syed Saleem Shahzad)
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2231529027
Army: U.S. chemical weapons incineration on track [Anniston, Alabama]
“[…] now, more than half the nation's aging cache of 31,500 tons of nerve agents and mustard gas has been burned or chemically neutralized at seven sites with no major accidents in the 18 years since the program began. […] Officials say the most deadly chemicals were destroyed first and almost all the risk to residents has been eliminated. […] Critics still challenge the safety of the program, arguing the incinerators scattered across the United States belch unknown amounts of deadly chemicals on an unsuspecting public. The incinerators heat the agents and their containers at thousands of degrees, then run the exhaust through pollution-removing filters and afterburners.” (Post-Bulletin; 05Jun08; Jay Reeves, AP)
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=49&a=346092
New detector uses nanotubes to sense deadly gases
“Using carbon nanotubes, MIT chemical engineers have built the most sensitive electronic detector yet for sensing deadly gases such as the nerve agent sarin. […] The technology, which could also detect mustard gas, ammonia and VX nerve agents, has potential to be used as a low-cost, low-energy device that could be carried in a pocket or deployed inside a building to monitor hazardous chemicals. […] The nanotube sensors require very little power--about 0.0003 watts. One sensor could run essentially forever on a regular battery. ‘It's something that could sit in the corner of a room and you could just forget about it,’ Strano said. […] The lead author of the paper is Chang Young Lee, a graduate student in chemical engineering. Richa Sharma, another MIT graduate student in chemical engineering, is also an author of the paper. Adarsh Radadia and Richard Masel at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed the microcolumn technology.” (Physorg; 06Jun08) http://www.physorg.com/news131977245.html
Emergency Drill Tests Response [Pueblo, Colorado]
“An explosion of weapons containing half-century-old mustard agent sending a plume of deadly gas across the prairie. That was the scenario presented Wednesday morning to just about every emergency agency in Pueblo County. Fortunately, the mustard agent accident was mostly virtual but the school bus-tanker truck accident involved a more realistic setup on the grounds of an airport industrial park plant where such an accident could really happen. It was the annual Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program exercise, giving local agencies a chance to test their ability to work together and respond to an emergency. Federal funds are provided to communities like Pueblo that have chemical weapons stockpiles to set up response systems. As Wednesday's exercise showed, that preparedness extends beyond just accidents at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.” (Red Orbit; 05Jun08; John Norton) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1418596/emergency_drill_tests_response/
'Poison cloud from chemical plant could've been prevented'
“On April 14, a white cloud of azinphos methyl, an organophosphorus pesticide related to chemical warfare agents devoloped during World War Two, swept out of the Machteshim factory, over the regional council's office and into the surrounding area. The regional council workers were rushed into protective shelters after the cloud passed through and were sent home later in the day, many of them feeling ill. […] According to the committee's report, the factory lost electrical power at around 10:30 in the morning, at which time the management decided to destroy the Azinphos Methyl being prepared, because without proper temperature and pressure conditions the compound becomes a toxic gas. […] the management attempted to deal with the problem internally. Rigging a makeshift procedure took so long that the compound in two of the containers being transferred to the neutralizing machine underwent a phase change, thus causing the cloud, as well as a stream of pollutants into the surrounding area, discovered by the committee during an inspection.” (The Jerusalem Post; 04Jun08; Ehud Zion Waldoks) http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041481558&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Suspected terrorists talked about making homemade chemical weapons:
wiretap
“The alleged ringleaders of a suspected terror plot to attack Canadian targets talked about making homemade chemical weapons from a ‘mujahed cookbook’ and worried about being ‘sitting ducks’ for police, wiretaps played in a courtroom Friday suggested. While going through a Tim Hortons drive-thru, the wiretapped conversations of the alleged ringleaders of the so-called ‘Toronto 18’ talk about Arabic books that give step-by-step instructions on making homemade weapons. […] Eighteen men and youth were arrested two years ago in Canada's largest anti-terrorism operation since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Defence lawyers have since questioned the strength of the case after charges against seven of the accused men were stayed, whittling the Toronto 18 down to 11. Defence lawyer Mitchell Chernovsky has said the alleged plot was nothing more than a fantasy.” (Canadian Press; 06Jun08) http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jA3I0FFw4RmF3cY593VtRAuWibDg
Radioactive material devices to be installed at Port of Hueneme [California]
“Devices intended to detect dangerous radioactive material in cargo containers coming into the United States will be installed at the Port of Hueneme by February or March of next year, a federal official in charge of the project said. […] The toll booth-like devices already have been installed at the 22 largest seaports in the United States, accounting for
98 percent of all containerized cargo coming into the country, [Todd Hoffman, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport] said.” (Ventura County Star; 05Jun08; José L.
Sánchez Jr.)
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/05/no-headline---nxxphradiation06/
Ethiopian to be charged with war crimes
“A Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee will be charged with war crimes for allegedly participating in a plot to detonate a ‘dirty bomb,’ the Pentagon said. Binyam Mohammed, 29, of Ethiopia, allegedly was part of an al-Qaida plot to use the bomb and blow up apartment buildings in the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. […] His attorneys say Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and taken by the CIA to Morocco where he was beaten, hung from poles during long interrogation sessions and cut in his genitals by a scalpel, the Times reported.” (United Press International; 04Jun08) http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/04/Ethiopian_to_be_charged_with_war_crimes/UPI-98461212582141/
Kazakhstan holds exercise to hone response to nuclear terrorism threat [Almaty]
“Kazakhstan's army held a large-scale military exercise Friday as part of a U.S.-backed program to prevent the use of radioactive materials by terrorists. More than 900 troops and emergency personnel took part in organizing the mock terrorist siege at a nuclear research facility near the Central Asian country's largest city, Almaty.” (The Union Tribune;
06Jun08)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080606-0950-kazakhstan-terrorexercise.html
Botox - man's new best friend
“It's one of the world's most popular cosmetic treatments, the ‘no scalpel’ anti-aging cosmetic treatment that smoothes the foreheads of everyone from stressed executives to youth-obsessed celebrities. It is, of course, Botox, a type of botulinum toxin first developed in 1946 as a tool of biological warfare, and later used to treat cerebral palsy in children. […] Although national figures don't exist, anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of Kiwi men using Botox is steadily increasing. Not as much as in the UK, however, where Botox for men is such big business (one-fifth of all patients are now men) […] Men, however, often need a higher dose of Botox than women, as they generally have stronger and larger facial muscles.” (New Zealand Herald; 07Jun08; Sharon Stephenson)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10514613
Local responders brush up on skills: Military conducts hazmat training
“Boyle and the 21 other members of the Seventh WMD Civil Response Team from Fort Leonard Wood were in Columbia this week for a four-day training class that ended yesterday. The Civil Response Team, a full-time National Guard unit in existence since 1999, is capable of responding across the state to potential chemical, biological and nuclear threats. The sessions offered an opportunity for the military unit to train and pass tips along to first responders, who would be first on the scene of a possible threat.
Firefighters from across the state, including three from Columbia, participated in the training run by Army contractor Dugway Proving Ground of Utah.” (Columbia Tribune; 06Jun08; Joe Meyer) http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jun/20080606News004.asp
Terrorism's Two Front War
“The main question: is al-Qaeda still a disciplined organization with a central command or a loose network of self-directed amateurs? […] The dispute isn't purely academic -- al-Qaeda's current form and function will determine the course of future American counter-terrorism policy. If al-Qaeda has morphed into a virtual organization of amateur homegrown jihadis, quelling them becomes a largely internal matter best left to law enforcement. But if al-Qaeda still has a central command and a robust global network, they are capable of attacks that match -- and may surpass -- the horror of September 11th. Overcoming this threat means bringing the diverse instruments of American military, economic, and political power to bear. As each perspective warrants a vastly different strategic approach, the question of al-Qaeda's present state has provoked fierce debate.[…] Al-Qaeda's affiliate organizations have also wreaked havoc in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. It is important to emphasize that these organizations have only an ideological connection to their supposed patron -- but are just as dangerous. While never a major player in Iraq's factional game, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) seized the world's attention through a slew of bombings, massacres, and even low-grade chemical warfare employing chlorine.” (Huffington Post; 04Jun08; Adam
Elkus)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-elkus/terrorisms-two-front-war_b_105304.html
CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.
“The report was released Thursday after years of partisan squabbling, and it represented the close of five years of investigations by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence into the use, abuse and faulty assessments of intelligence leading to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. That some Bush administration claims about the Iraqi threat turned out to be false is hardly new. But the report, based on a detailed review of public statements by Mr. Bush and other officials, was the most comprehensive effort to date to assess whether policy makers systematically painted a more dire picture about Iraq than was justified by the available intelligence.” (New York Times; 06Jun08; Mark Mazzetti & Scott Shane) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/world/middleeast/06intel.html?hp
Grand exploits of a China scholar [Joseph Needham]
“A committed socialist and Communist sympathizer, Needham lent his authority to a dubiously documented investigation whose report, issued in 1952, concluded that the United States had used biological weapons in Manchuria and North~Korea. Blacklisted by the Americans well into the 1970s and denounced for his political naïveté by the British establishment, Needham retreated into the scholarly realm, where his accomplishments did much to restore his good~name.” (International Herald Tribune; 05Jun08; Alida Becker) http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/07/arts/IDLEDE7.php
Fake disaster helps agencies to prepare [Lumberton, North Carolina]
“During the drill, some ‘victims’ moaned in pain while others begged for help as members of the Environmental Hydrogeological Consultants Inc. Hazardous Waste team from Red Springs walked among bodies. […] Only supervisors from agencies that handle emergency situations were made aware of Wednesday’s exercise. Organizers said they wanted the event to be as real as possible. […] Each victim had a card listing injuries and any other health issues.” (The Fayetteville Observer; 05Jun08; Venita Jenkins) http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=295870
Bioterrorism: Smallpox and Biotech Companies
“In order to encourage companies to develop drugs against Smallpox and other biological weapons, Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act), which President Bush signed into law June 12, 2002. Thereafter, Project Bioshield Act of 2005 was passed into law. These two acts undertook measures to induce the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry to come up with new drugs to combat bioterrorism and biological warfare.” (Seeking Alpha; 05Jun08; Ketan Desai) http://seekingalpha.com/article/80152-bioterrorism-smallpox-and-biotech-companies
Nation’s First Public Health Ready State Enhances Incident Command and Critical Resource Visibility [Idaho]
“East Idaho Public Health District has implemented the Previstar Continual Preparedness System (CPS) to enhance their preparedness and response capabilities. […] The district installed Previstar’s latest software release, CPS 5.1. The new release includes CPS 5.0 current suite of planning, response, and recovery capabilities, but now users can customize their user interface based on organizational and ICS roles, enable CPS server-to-server information sharing, utilize CAP [Common Alerting Protocol] messaging, and have more streamlined resource management. Tammy Cox, Director, Health Preparedness, Promotion, and Surveillance, was part of a team that studied a range of software offerings before determining that Previstar was the partner of choice. ‘It took us two years to find the right software. […]’” (Previstar; 05Jun08; Joe Gordon) http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080605005700&newsLang=en
Brucella abortus S19 genome sequenced; points toward virulence genes
“Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, and collaborators at 454 Life Sciences of Branford, Conn., have sequenced the genome of Brucella abortus strain S19. […] Scientists have long wanted to know what genetic features make strain S19 suitable for use as a vaccine in cattle because it may hold the secret as to why other Brucella strains cause disease and trigger the abortion of developing embryos in livestock. The researchers have discovered a group of 24 genes that are linked to virulence by making comparisons of the newly available S19 genome sequence to previously sequenced genomes of two virulent strains of B. abortus. The paper ‘Genome sequence of Brucella abortus vaccine strain S19 compared to virulent strains yields candidate virulence genes’ was published recently in PLoS One (May 2008, Volume 3, Issue 5, e2193).” (Eureka Alert; 05Jun08; Barry Whyte)
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/vt-bas060508.php
AlphaVax Continues to Expand the Use of Its [smallpox] Vaccine Platform
“AlphaVax, Inc. recently received notification from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the granting institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), that it has been awarded a second grant to continue development of a smallpox vaccine based on AlphaVax's proprietary vector platform. The grant will support additional studies in rodents and non-human primates to further characterize the high-level protection observed previously in these species.” (The Earth Times; 06Jun08) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/alphavax-continues-to-expand-the-use-of-its-vaccine-platform,423527.shtml
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Annual Conference Begins June 8 In Denver [Colorado]
“The top epidemiologists in the nation and U.S. territories are set to gather in Denver, Colorado June 8-12 for the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) 2008 Annual Conference. […] This year's conference theme is ‘Public Health Epidemiology: Adapting to a Changing World.’” (The Earth Times; 06Jun08) http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/council-of-state-and-territorial,423151.shtml
[Computer Sciences Corporation] CSC's DynPort Vaccine Company to Continue Plague Vaccine Development
“DynPort Vaccine Company LLC (DVC), a CSC company, has been notified by the Department of Defense (DoD) that all future funding for advanced development of plague vaccine will be allocated to the existing DVC contract […] According to the decision, DVC will continue development of a recombinant plague vaccine candidate, rF1V, up to and including possible licensure by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine candidate is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials.” (The Earth Times;
05Jun08)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/cscs-dynport-vaccine-company-to-continue-plague-vaccine-development,421494.shtml
India to test vaccine against anthrax
“Around 20 vials of the vaccine Biothrax has just reached Central Drug Laboratory (Kasauli) which will test the vaccine's potency and sterility. Each vile contains 10 doses of the vaccine. […]’The vaccine can't be injected to all civilians but only to the first responders to reach the spot of attack, like the military and laboratory workers who may enter or re-enter contaminated areas. Countries are now preparing such battalions and vaccinating them in advance so that they develop complete immunity against anthrax before such an attack occurs. Inhalation anthrax is the most lethal form with fatality rates reaching up to 90%,’ [Joseph Chettiar of the Hyderabad-based distributor] added.” (The Times of India; 05Jun08; Kounteya Sinha) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India_to_test_vaccine_against_anthrax/articleshow/3100835.cms
Bioterrorism conference held [Brussels, Belgium]
“A bioterrorism countermeasures conference was held Thursday in Brussels that was designed to elevate threat awareness among officials in Europe. […] The conference was designed as an effort to reduce the threat of biological terrorism through opening a dialogue about effective biodefense measures. Presenters included Tom Waytes, Emergent BioSolutions vice president of medical affairs, among others. Emergent manufactures the only anthrax vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” (United Press International; 06Jun08)
http://www.upi.com/Security_Industry/2008/06/06/Bioterrorism_conference_held/UPI-39731212772918/
Gas leak in China contained phosgene - Russian ministry
“A recent gas leak in northeast China near the Russian border that killed three people contained phosgene, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday citing environmental experts. ‘An expert evaluation confirmed that the leak contained phosgene gas,’ Andrei Nesterenko said, adding that eight people had been poisoned as a result of the leak. […] Earlier Friday, a Russian emergencies ministry spokeswoman quoted Chinese authorities as saying the chemical leak in the town of Qiqihar in the Heilongjiang province was no threat to the environment. Irina Andrianova quoted the Chinese general consulate in the Russian Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk as saying that on June 5 a cylinder containing unidentified gas ‘disintegrated’ causing a gas leak. […] The official quoted the Chinese side as saying that air, water and soil samples taken immediately after the accident contained no contaminants.” (RIA Novosti; 06Jun08) http://en.rian.ru/world/20080606/109426611.html
Pakistan: New wave of violence a bid to undermine president
“According to political analysts, the violence suddenly flared up after former Prime Minister and party leader, Nawaz Sharif, called for Musharraf to be accountable for his so-called ‘crimes’ including what is known as the Lal Masjid Massacre, or the Red Mosque Massacre. The Red Mosque Massacre was a bloody conflict between Pakistani security forces and students who barricaded themselves inside the Red Mosque and demanded Sharia law in July 2007. At least 100 people died when security forces stormed the mosque in a bid to end the siege and flush out pro-Taliban militants from the complex. Retired general Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani then demanded Musharraf's execution for using chemical weapons (phosphorous grenades) during the Lal Masjid operation and supporting the Bush Administration in its War on Terror.” (AND Kronos; 06Jun08; Syed Saleem Shahzad)
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2231529027
Army: U.S. chemical weapons incineration on track [Anniston, Alabama]
“[…] now, more than half the nation's aging cache of 31,500 tons of nerve agents and mustard gas has been burned or chemically neutralized at seven sites with no major accidents in the 18 years since the program began. […] Officials say the most deadly chemicals were destroyed first and almost all the risk to residents has been eliminated. […] Critics still challenge the safety of the program, arguing the incinerators scattered across the United States belch unknown amounts of deadly chemicals on an unsuspecting public. The incinerators heat the agents and their containers at thousands of degrees, then run the exhaust through pollution-removing filters and afterburners.” (Post-Bulletin; 05Jun08; Jay Reeves, AP)
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=49&a=346092
New detector uses nanotubes to sense deadly gases
“Using carbon nanotubes, MIT chemical engineers have built the most sensitive electronic detector yet for sensing deadly gases such as the nerve agent sarin. […] The technology, which could also detect mustard gas, ammonia and VX nerve agents, has potential to be used as a low-cost, low-energy device that could be carried in a pocket or deployed inside a building to monitor hazardous chemicals. […] The nanotube sensors require very little power--about 0.0003 watts. One sensor could run essentially forever on a regular battery. ‘It's something that could sit in the corner of a room and you could just forget about it,’ Strano said. […] The lead author of the paper is Chang Young Lee, a graduate student in chemical engineering. Richa Sharma, another MIT graduate student in chemical engineering, is also an author of the paper. Adarsh Radadia and Richard Masel at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed the microcolumn technology.” (Physorg; 06Jun08) http://www.physorg.com/news131977245.html
Emergency Drill Tests Response [Pueblo, Colorado]
“An explosion of weapons containing half-century-old mustard agent sending a plume of deadly gas across the prairie. That was the scenario presented Wednesday morning to just about every emergency agency in Pueblo County. Fortunately, the mustard agent accident was mostly virtual but the school bus-tanker truck accident involved a more realistic setup on the grounds of an airport industrial park plant where such an accident could really happen. It was the annual Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program exercise, giving local agencies a chance to test their ability to work together and respond to an emergency. Federal funds are provided to communities like Pueblo that have chemical weapons stockpiles to set up response systems. As Wednesday's exercise showed, that preparedness extends beyond just accidents at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.” (Red Orbit; 05Jun08; John Norton) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1418596/emergency_drill_tests_response/
'Poison cloud from chemical plant could've been prevented'
“On April 14, a white cloud of azinphos methyl, an organophosphorus pesticide related to chemical warfare agents devoloped during World War Two, swept out of the Machteshim factory, over the regional council's office and into the surrounding area. The regional council workers were rushed into protective shelters after the cloud passed through and were sent home later in the day, many of them feeling ill. […] According to the committee's report, the factory lost electrical power at around 10:30 in the morning, at which time the management decided to destroy the Azinphos Methyl being prepared, because without proper temperature and pressure conditions the compound becomes a toxic gas. […] the management attempted to deal with the problem internally. Rigging a makeshift procedure took so long that the compound in two of the containers being transferred to the neutralizing machine underwent a phase change, thus causing the cloud, as well as a stream of pollutants into the surrounding area, discovered by the committee during an inspection.” (The Jerusalem Post; 04Jun08; Ehud Zion Waldoks) http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041481558&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Suspected terrorists talked about making homemade chemical weapons:
wiretap
“The alleged ringleaders of a suspected terror plot to attack Canadian targets talked about making homemade chemical weapons from a ‘mujahed cookbook’ and worried about being ‘sitting ducks’ for police, wiretaps played in a courtroom Friday suggested. While going through a Tim Hortons drive-thru, the wiretapped conversations of the alleged ringleaders of the so-called ‘Toronto 18’ talk about Arabic books that give step-by-step instructions on making homemade weapons. […] Eighteen men and youth were arrested two years ago in Canada's largest anti-terrorism operation since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Defence lawyers have since questioned the strength of the case after charges against seven of the accused men were stayed, whittling the Toronto 18 down to 11. Defence lawyer Mitchell Chernovsky has said the alleged plot was nothing more than a fantasy.” (Canadian Press; 06Jun08) http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jA3I0FFw4RmF3cY593VtRAuWibDg
Radioactive material devices to be installed at Port of Hueneme [California]
“Devices intended to detect dangerous radioactive material in cargo containers coming into the United States will be installed at the Port of Hueneme by February or March of next year, a federal official in charge of the project said. […] The toll booth-like devices already have been installed at the 22 largest seaports in the United States, accounting for
98 percent of all containerized cargo coming into the country, [Todd Hoffman, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport] said.” (Ventura County Star; 05Jun08; José L.
Sánchez Jr.)
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/05/no-headline---nxxphradiation06/
Ethiopian to be charged with war crimes
“A Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainee will be charged with war crimes for allegedly participating in a plot to detonate a ‘dirty bomb,’ the Pentagon said. Binyam Mohammed, 29, of Ethiopia, allegedly was part of an al-Qaida plot to use the bomb and blow up apartment buildings in the United States, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. […] His attorneys say Mohammed was arrested in Pakistan in 2002 and taken by the CIA to Morocco where he was beaten, hung from poles during long interrogation sessions and cut in his genitals by a scalpel, the Times reported.” (United Press International; 04Jun08) http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/04/Ethiopian_to_be_charged_with_war_crimes/UPI-98461212582141/
Kazakhstan holds exercise to hone response to nuclear terrorism threat [Almaty]
“Kazakhstan's army held a large-scale military exercise Friday as part of a U.S.-backed program to prevent the use of radioactive materials by terrorists. More than 900 troops and emergency personnel took part in organizing the mock terrorist siege at a nuclear research facility near the Central Asian country's largest city, Almaty.” (The Union Tribune;
06Jun08)
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080606-0950-kazakhstan-terrorexercise.html
Botox - man's new best friend
“It's one of the world's most popular cosmetic treatments, the ‘no scalpel’ anti-aging cosmetic treatment that smoothes the foreheads of everyone from stressed executives to youth-obsessed celebrities. It is, of course, Botox, a type of botulinum toxin first developed in 1946 as a tool of biological warfare, and later used to treat cerebral palsy in children. […] Although national figures don't exist, anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of Kiwi men using Botox is steadily increasing. Not as much as in the UK, however, where Botox for men is such big business (one-fifth of all patients are now men) […] Men, however, often need a higher dose of Botox than women, as they generally have stronger and larger facial muscles.” (New Zealand Herald; 07Jun08; Sharon Stephenson)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10514613
Local responders brush up on skills: Military conducts hazmat training
“Boyle and the 21 other members of the Seventh WMD Civil Response Team from Fort Leonard Wood were in Columbia this week for a four-day training class that ended yesterday. The Civil Response Team, a full-time National Guard unit in existence since 1999, is capable of responding across the state to potential chemical, biological and nuclear threats. The sessions offered an opportunity for the military unit to train and pass tips along to first responders, who would be first on the scene of a possible threat.
Firefighters from across the state, including three from Columbia, participated in the training run by Army contractor Dugway Proving Ground of Utah.” (Columbia Tribune; 06Jun08; Joe Meyer) http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jun/20080606News004.asp
Terrorism's Two Front War
“The main question: is al-Qaeda still a disciplined organization with a central command or a loose network of self-directed amateurs? […] The dispute isn't purely academic -- al-Qaeda's current form and function will determine the course of future American counter-terrorism policy. If al-Qaeda has morphed into a virtual organization of amateur homegrown jihadis, quelling them becomes a largely internal matter best left to law enforcement. But if al-Qaeda still has a central command and a robust global network, they are capable of attacks that match -- and may surpass -- the horror of September 11th. Overcoming this threat means bringing the diverse instruments of American military, economic, and political power to bear. As each perspective warrants a vastly different strategic approach, the question of al-Qaeda's present state has provoked fierce debate.[…] Al-Qaeda's affiliate organizations have also wreaked havoc in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia. It is important to emphasize that these organizations have only an ideological connection to their supposed patron -- but are just as dangerous. While never a major player in Iraq's factional game, al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) seized the world's attention through a slew of bombings, massacres, and even low-grade chemical warfare employing chlorine.” (Huffington Post; 04Jun08; Adam
Elkus)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-elkus/terrorisms-two-front-war_b_105304.html
CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.
Idaho Guardsmen Train Afghan National Police
By Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg
Special to American Forces Press Service
June 6, 2008 - Deployed Idaho National Guardsmen working as a police mentoring team travel throughout Afghanistan's Parwan province to train and advise the Afghan National Police. As part of the police training, the Guardsmen conducted a traffic-control-point and vehicle-search class June 3.
"If the Afghanistan police stay on the same track they are on now, in five years, I see them being fully capable of functioning on their own," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Junier, a member of the mentoring team.
Junier has previous training as a military police investigator and 20 years of civilian police experience.
"My previous experiences fall right in line with the training I give the ANP," he said. "The ANP want to do a good job. They are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to train."
Before they practiced searching a vehicle, the Afghan police officers attended an instructional lecture, taught by Junier. After that, they performed a mock vehicle search on one of their work trucks.
"They receive the training from us; afterwards, the ANP trainers can develop a program," said Army Maj. Miguel Lopez, mentoring team leader.
The training moves forward in "baby steps," each of which builds on what the Afghan police officers already have learned, Lopez said.
"Last week, we gave the ANP mirrors to check under cars with; this week, we are teaching them how to search a vehicle inside and out; and next week, we are going to teach them what to do if they find an object in the vehicle," he explained.
Though each Idaho Guardsmen has a different way of conducting business, Lopez said, the combination of skills they provide makes for a productive team.
(Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg serves with the 382nd Public Affairs Detachment.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
June 6, 2008 - Deployed Idaho National Guardsmen working as a police mentoring team travel throughout Afghanistan's Parwan province to train and advise the Afghan National Police. As part of the police training, the Guardsmen conducted a traffic-control-point and vehicle-search class June 3.
"If the Afghanistan police stay on the same track they are on now, in five years, I see them being fully capable of functioning on their own," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Junier, a member of the mentoring team.
Junier has previous training as a military police investigator and 20 years of civilian police experience.
"My previous experiences fall right in line with the training I give the ANP," he said. "The ANP want to do a good job. They are willing to put in the time and effort it takes to train."
Before they practiced searching a vehicle, the Afghan police officers attended an instructional lecture, taught by Junier. After that, they performed a mock vehicle search on one of their work trucks.
"They receive the training from us; afterwards, the ANP trainers can develop a program," said Army Maj. Miguel Lopez, mentoring team leader.
The training moves forward in "baby steps," each of which builds on what the Afghan police officers already have learned, Lopez said.
"Last week, we gave the ANP mirrors to check under cars with; this week, we are teaching them how to search a vehicle inside and out; and next week, we are going to teach them what to do if they find an object in the vehicle," he explained.
Though each Idaho Guardsmen has a different way of conducting business, Lopez said, the combination of skills they provide makes for a productive team.
(Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg serves with the 382nd Public Affairs Detachment.)
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Face of Defense: Apache Pilot Receives Distinguished Flying Cross
By Sgt. Nicole Kojetin, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 1, 2008 - A 1st Cavalry Division AH-64D Longbow Apache pilot got word that two of his friends, fellow pilots, were shot down during a fierce battle in Najaf, a city in Iraqi army control south of Baghdad, Jan. 28, 2007. Not thinking of his personal safety and facing an unknown enemy force, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zachary Johnson sprang into action, which resulted in him being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross at the Fort Hood Catering and Conference Center exactly a year later, on Jan. 28, 2008.
Johnson, the pilot in charge and a unit commander from 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, was commended for his role in that battle as he worked with Iraqi army troops, U.S. special operation forces and U.S. Air Force joint terminal attack controllers to determine the location of friendly and enemy forces while protecting the site of the crash that took the lives of his friends, Capt. Mark Resh and Chief Warrant Officer Cornell Chao.
"The odds were against us," Division Commander Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr. said, noting the enemy had around 600 soldiers in well-fortified, dug-in positions.
There was a fierce ground battle under way, and the Iraqi and U.S. soldiers on the ground needed air support. Johnson and his crew were that support.
In eight minutes, Johnson led his team from Forward Operating Base Kalsu to the battlefield.
"Those were the longest eight minutes of my life," he said. "There was sadness because I just lost some of my friends. I was worried about my friends who were still there. I was scared."
But he didn't show it.
Johnson, originally from Nampa, Idaho, orchestrated more than an hour of organized attacks before running completely out of ammunition. His team flew back to FOB Kalsu, re-armed and went back out into the fight.
"He had nerves of steel," Fil said of Johnson after watching the performance on screen at Johnson's award ceremony. "He was calm, reasonable and making sound decisions."
But he didn't feel calm.
"I thought my voice was shaking, and I was thinking about a million things at once," Johnson said. "But like the movie 'Black Hawk Down,' when the bullets are flying, you just do your job. I tried to stay level headed and cool under the pressure."
The enemy had dug trenches that were 12 to 15 feet deep in a zigzag pattern to prevent air support from firing in a straight line all the way through. Fil said the insurgents were well-equipped and organized with supplies and medical stations, but the enemy was virtually destroyed. "There was some good shooting that day," Fil said.
That opened up the road to a successful deployment for 1st Cavalry Division, the general said. "I can't imagine how much more difficult it would have been for us if we had lost," he said.
On a smaller scale, it made a huge difference for the people in the city. "The governor met me, and was sobbing. Not out of sadness, not out of anger, but out of thankfulness," he said. "He was so grateful that we took away that burden."
That wouldn't have been possible without the skills and professionalism of Johnson and his team, Fil said. "I have never been associated with anyone more deserving of the Distinguished Flying Cross than Chief Warrant Officer 3 Johnson," he said.
(Army Sgt. Nicole Kojetin is assigned to 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.)
Special to American Forces Press Service
Feb. 1, 2008 - A 1st Cavalry Division AH-64D Longbow Apache pilot got word that two of his friends, fellow pilots, were shot down during a fierce battle in Najaf, a city in Iraqi army control south of Baghdad, Jan. 28, 2007. Not thinking of his personal safety and facing an unknown enemy force, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zachary Johnson sprang into action, which resulted in him being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross at the Fort Hood Catering and Conference Center exactly a year later, on Jan. 28, 2008.
Johnson, the pilot in charge and a unit commander from 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, was commended for his role in that battle as he worked with Iraqi army troops, U.S. special operation forces and U.S. Air Force joint terminal attack controllers to determine the location of friendly and enemy forces while protecting the site of the crash that took the lives of his friends, Capt. Mark Resh and Chief Warrant Officer Cornell Chao.
"The odds were against us," Division Commander Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr. said, noting the enemy had around 600 soldiers in well-fortified, dug-in positions.
There was a fierce ground battle under way, and the Iraqi and U.S. soldiers on the ground needed air support. Johnson and his crew were that support.
In eight minutes, Johnson led his team from Forward Operating Base Kalsu to the battlefield.
"Those were the longest eight minutes of my life," he said. "There was sadness because I just lost some of my friends. I was worried about my friends who were still there. I was scared."
But he didn't show it.
Johnson, originally from Nampa, Idaho, orchestrated more than an hour of organized attacks before running completely out of ammunition. His team flew back to FOB Kalsu, re-armed and went back out into the fight.
"He had nerves of steel," Fil said of Johnson after watching the performance on screen at Johnson's award ceremony. "He was calm, reasonable and making sound decisions."
But he didn't feel calm.
"I thought my voice was shaking, and I was thinking about a million things at once," Johnson said. "But like the movie 'Black Hawk Down,' when the bullets are flying, you just do your job. I tried to stay level headed and cool under the pressure."
The enemy had dug trenches that were 12 to 15 feet deep in a zigzag pattern to prevent air support from firing in a straight line all the way through. Fil said the insurgents were well-equipped and organized with supplies and medical stations, but the enemy was virtually destroyed. "There was some good shooting that day," Fil said.
That opened up the road to a successful deployment for 1st Cavalry Division, the general said. "I can't imagine how much more difficult it would have been for us if we had lost," he said.
On a smaller scale, it made a huge difference for the people in the city. "The governor met me, and was sobbing. Not out of sadness, not out of anger, but out of thankfulness," he said. "He was so grateful that we took away that burden."
That wouldn't have been possible without the skills and professionalism of Johnson and his team, Fil said. "I have never been associated with anyone more deserving of the Distinguished Flying Cross than Chief Warrant Officer 3 Johnson," he said.
(Army Sgt. Nicole Kojetin is assigned to 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.)
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Law Enforcement Technology
Editor's Note: Many of these technologies are being used by state and local law enforcement agencies for their homeland security, all hazards as well as counterterrorism missions.
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, September 6, 2007
"City Looks at $40M Police Headquarters"
Waukegan News Sun (IL) (09/04/07); Peterson, Craig
The Waukegan, Ill., City Council is considering design plans for a new headquarters for its police. A five-floor building with communications, training, investigations, records, evidence processing, and office space is thought to cost around $40 million. A police headquarters outfitted with the modern crime-fighting devices is the most sophisticated and costly facility any municipal government will construct, architects have informed aldermen. While initially, plans had called for redoing the previous city hall facility or constructing on an adjacent location, Police Chief Bill Biang explained that seven architectural companies studied refurbishing the present facility and all said it was not a good idea. Biang added there is no room to expand horizontally, and the building cannot support adding floors to it. He also stated that acquiring land would counter the savings of redoing the facility. The council may use a referendum to pay for the new police headquarters. http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/
news/540363,5_1_WA04_WAUKEGANCOPS_S1.article
"A High-Tech Helping Hand for Soldiers"
Philadelphia Inquirer (09/04/07); Holcomb, Henry J.
The Wearable Intelligent Reporting Environment (WIRE), developed by Lockheed Martin, is designed to help soldiers in the field by recording their activity and turning speech it records into documents so soldiers do not have to write reports after a hard day on patrol. If approved, soldiers would wear a headset with an earphone and microphone designed to separate voices from gunfire and other noise. The headset is connected to a rugged but lightweight computer tucked into the soldier's combat vest. The system allows soldiers to dictate a report while in the field, all without taking their hands off their weapons or their eyes off of the action. The computer asks for responses that fill out forms designed for different situations and asks about words or situations it does not understand. The computer automatically creates a report and sends it to commanders, along with data from the soldier's GPS receiver. Data from multiple patrols can be analyzed immediately to fine-tune strategy and tactics. WIRE is designed to work with headsets and batteries already used by the military, and because the device does not have a video screen a single charge lasts as long as most patrols. WIRE also has significant potential for law enforcement applications. Crime analysis expert Robert Cheetham says fresh digital reports from the field would be extremely valuable to police commanders and could allow them to detect patterns and prevent future crimes. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20070904_
A_high-tech_helping_hand_for_soldiers.html
"GPS Technology Helps to Locate Police Dogs"
Cherry Hill Courier-Post (NJ) (09/04/07); Strupczewski, Leo
The Camden County, N.J., Sheriff's Department is one of the initial law enforcement agencies in the nation to obtain GPS technology that can help an officer locate his dog. The dog's collar contains the GPS device, and the dog's officer carries a hand-held device not much larger than a BlackBerry, to track the animal. If a dog gets lost, department members can locate him by finding a pawprint on the handler's screen and proceeding towards it. The Minnesota firm White Bear Technologies manufactures the Roam-EO technology, and contributed four units to the Camden Sheriff's Department's four canine divisions. Roam-EO offers the department real-time information, which is sent to an officer's hand-held unit. Each device is priced at $499, and there is an insurance fee for dogs of $4,500 to $6,000, although that price can increase if training is included. United States Police Canine Association executive director Russ Hess thinks the technology will become more popular as the systems become more advanced.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20070904/NEWS01/709040362/1006
"Police to Unveil New Communication Gear"
WTNH.com--Channel 8 (Conn.) (09/05/07); Latina, Jodi
First responders in Connecticut will have new technology in the near future to assist them in emergency events. On Wednesday, they are set to receive a communication system that helps links departments throughout Connecticut. It will be the initial state in the country to have the radio common channel erected. The system is intended to maintain open communication lines during an emergency. Currently, if a police officer in Enfield, for example, wishes to speak with an officer in Madison, they would have to use the phone. With a common radio frequency, the link could be immediate. The new system will also keep portable radios in sync. The technology, which is known as band, is priced at $1 million, and connects to current radio systems.
http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=7027349&nav=3YeX
"Groves Police Get Anti-Gang Grant"
Mid County Chronicle (TX) (09/05/07); Kutac, Dennis
Authorities with the Groves, Texas, Police Department claim superior technology equipment is what they want to buy after getting a federal granted intended to help target gang violence and associated crimes. Sen. John Cornyn ( R) claims the $350,350 grant was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice's Anti-Gang Initiative and was dispensed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Groves Police Department Det. Steven Hinton noted the proposal the department actually presented for the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant totaled $84,489, which it requested earlier this year and from which it obtained around $80,000. Hinton explained the equipment the department wants to acquire includes thermal-imaging devices, binoculars, recorders, and transmitters. "Our department will be buying technology extremely advanced mainly for undercover work and surveillance," he stated. Groves City Marshal Jeff Wilmore pointed out that the grant will also enable the Groves Police Department to bring its Safe Streets Crime Unit and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force together to deal with gang-associated and personal crimes. Cornyn stated the Anti-Gang Initiative offers money to support new or enlarged anti-gang and enforcement plans under the current Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.
http://www.midcountychronicle.com/news/2007/0905/Front_Page/001.html
"Sandy Springs, GA Police Department Selects SunGard's OSSI Public Safety Software"
WebWire (09/03/07)
SunGard HTE, a leading international provider of government information technologies, reports that the Sandy Springs, Ga., Police Department has signed a contract to implement the company's OSSI Public Safety Suite of software. The suite provides a fully integrated system that affords each agency real-time access to shared information, helping to improve response times, reduce costs, and increase officer safety. The Sandy Springs Police Department will implement the Records Management System and Mobile Computing components of the OSSI Public Safety Suite. Records Management System provides a comprehensive system to collect, store, and access information gathered by law enforcement personnel during daily activities. Mobile Computing Technology is a wireless application that provides access to information for officers in the field. Together, these components will help officers to stay connected with real-time data while in the field. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=46613
"Lawmen on Target with CVTC Technology"
Calhoun Times (GA) (08/31/07); West, E.K.
The Northwest Georgia Enforcement Executives Association convened in August at Coosa Valley Technical College (CVTC) for the introduction of the new Computer LaserShot Technology in the Criminal Justice program. The innovative technology was given to the officers by CVTC Criminal Justice coordinator and instructor Tom Bojo. "This is an outstanding piece of equipment that can be used not only for laser shot simulation classroom purposes but law enforcement departments can reserve the simulator for training," he stated. LaserShot is a computer-simulation program that employs a simulated handgun and a laser-action screen. Numerous drills and situations--including vehicle chases and hostage scenarios--take place onscreen with various endings. LaserShot instruction is only done at CVTC's Gordon County campus as part of the Criminal Justice program. In addition, the program provides classrooms, crime-scene rooms, computer research facilities, and rescue maze capability. "Our technology capabilities give students hands on experience allowing them to use what they learn in the field," notes Bojo, which keeps officers interested and offers them ongoing feedback.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&
pnpID=722&NewsID=834262&CategoryID=3388&on=1
"Area Police Forces Add High-Tech Gear"
Valley News Dispatch (08/26/07); Biedka, Chuck
Harrison Township, Pa., law enforcement will soon begin utilizing a video enhancement system, while police in O'Hara will discover how to utilize a high-tech surveillance system that can be employed to investigate a variety of crimes, including drug trafficking. The video enhancement system can be utilized with the majority of video systems to upgrade the quality of images, such as those found on a firm's surveillance tapes. Meanwhile, the video surveillance system is small, easy to hide, and employs a camera that is motion activated. The system, which also records sounds, can be utilized inside or outdoors. O'Hara's surveillance system is the third advanced technological tool that the police department has acquired from the U.S. government. The department is also employing a thermal imaging camera. Harrison Police Chief Mike Klein noted his department will pursue a grant in 2008 to purchase the same surveillance system O'Hara is using. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_524172.html
"Oil City Police Go to Nab Speeders"
Oil City Derrick (PA) (08/30/07); Clark, Karen
The Oil City, Pa., Police Department has been employing the Electronic Non-Radar Device (ENRADD) since January, permitting officers to more aggressively pursue speeders. In addition, ENRADD makes it a lot harder for violators to figure out where police are probably waiting and watching. ENRADD--a wireless speed-detection device--enables police to operate a speed check almost anyplace, including on leading thoroughfares, bridges, and back streets. ENRADD has a pair of tripods that each have sensor units. Officers put the three-foot tripods on either side of the road. As cars drive between the sensors, their speed is determined and sent through a wireless radio connection to a display head situated in a patrol vehicle. Experts contend that ENRADD can save a police department $3,000 to $5,000 a car annually on gas and maintenance because police do not have to chase vehicles that are going too fast. http://www.thederrick.com/stories/08312007-5008.shtml
"Video Billboards Coming This Way"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/21/07) P. E1; Slobodzian, Joseph A.
The Philadelphia region will soon erect digital billboards, which are being lauded by police for promoting public safety. ClearChannel Outdoor stated it would have eight 14-by-48 video billboards with advertising images or messages that would change every eight seconds on leading highways by the end of this year from Bucks County to Philadelphia and into Delaware County. The company attempted to install a couple of billboards on Aug. 20, only to be stopped by continuous rain. ClearChannel claims the billboards recently informed drivers in Minneapolis and St. Paul about the demise of the Interstate 35W bridge and offered optional routes. Separately, a missing girl from Minneapolis was located one day after digital billboards were utilized in an Amber Alert. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson supports the digital billboards, noting they are in the "community's best interests because they have the capability to deliver important emergency information, such as Amber Alerts or disaster-preparedness bulletins." Driver-safety organizations and environmentalists, however, contend that the billboards will endanger motorists and are an eyesore.
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20070821_
Video_billboards_coming_this_way.html
"Asotin County Sheriff Upgrades Tasers"
Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID) (08/21/07) P. 1D; Cole, David
Deputies in Asotin County, Idaho, are now carrying Tasers with newer technology, which are better at controlling dangerous suspects and are safer, authorities claim. In June, Asotin County Sheriff Ken Bancroft began carrying the new Taser X26 model, replacing the older Taser M26. The Taser X26 discharges a pair of small probes, which look like fish hooks that have been straightened. The probes can fly as far as 25 feet, penetrating the clothing of a suspect and going into the body, Bancroft explained. The Taser X26 costs $200 more than the M26, at $800 apiece. The sheriff's office bought 14 of the X26s, one for every field deputy and two for joint use by Asotin County Jail correctional deputies. The Taser X26 is shaped like a firearm, weighs less than the older Tasers, and documents the length of activation time. http://www.lmtribune.com
"Strategy Game Trains Cops and Firefighters"
PC World (08/23/07); McMillan, Robert
Graduate students from the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering are collaborating with Sandia National Laboratories on a real-time strategy game that allows police officers, fire fighters, and other first responders to practice emergency scenarios. The game, Ground Truth, is realistic because events in the game occur in real time, putting added pressure on first responders to act swiftly. Jim Pointer, the medical director of Alameda County's Emergency Medical Services Agency, recently completed an intense session of Ground Truth that called for him to oversee a city's response to a toxic chemical spill. During the scenario, he was responsible for managing traffic barriers, putting hazmat teams and police cars in position to respond to the spill, and managing medical collection points while keeping an eye out for toxic plumes. Pointer says the game is fun, educational, and has great promise. Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III game provided inspiration for Ground Truth, which could eventually receive funding from private industry or even the Homeland Security Department. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136306-c,games/article.html
"Dallas PD Fights Crime With Video Surveillance"
Security Technology & Design (07/07) Vol. 17, No. 7, P. 52; Levin, Gregg
In early 2005, the Dallas Police Department launched a pilot project involving the installation of video surveillance cameras in the busy Deep Ellum area of the city. After just four months of operation, the project was credited with significantly reducing the number of crimes in the area, prompting the Police Department to consider expansion. With funding from the Meadows Foundation, bids were sought to install a wireless video surveillance system in Dallas' central business district with a goal of reducing crime in hot spots by 30 percent. In January, the new system was deployed, covering about 30 percent of the downtown area with round-the-clock monitoring and allowing operators to change the direction of the camera lenses remotely as well as allowing officers to redeploy cameras as needed to increase monitoring capabilities at special events or other downtown locations. The Police Department now plans to increase the number of cameras deployed around the city by threefold.
http://www.securityinfowatch.com/print/Security-Technology-
and-Design/Video-Surveillance/Dallas-PD-Fights-Crime-With-Video-Surveillance
/11804SIW2
"Riot Act"
Police Magazine (08/07) Vol. 31, No. 8, P. 34; Griffith, David
Since it was closed in 1996, the West Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville has hosted the annual Mock Prison Riot, which is one of the premier corrections and law enforcement training events in the world. The Mock Prison Riot, which is held each May, is planned and executed by the staff of the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLTEC) and the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC). Personnel from the two organizations act as leaders of the "rioters," who are mostly students from local colleges and high schools. In addition, OLTEC develops scenarios that allow law enforcement agencies that are participating in the Mock Prison Riot to practice putting down prison disturbances. Although the scenarios are choreographed to some extent, there are some surprises for the responders. In some of the scenarios, the prisoners give up quickly, while in others they put up a fight. Along with developing the riot scenarios, OLETC and NCLETTC work with the participating law enforcement agencies and the makers of the products that are on display at the Mock Prison Riot's Technology Showcase to provide training opportunities that involve new or improved products. Since it is held in an abandoned prison, the event offers a one-of-a-kind training opportunity for law enforcement agencies such as the Gwinnett County (Ga.) Sheriff's Office's Rapid Response Team. "We really can't train very well in our jail because it is occupied," said Major Carl Sims of the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office. "And that's a problem because a cell offers a unique environment that's difficult to duplicate outside of a corrections facility." http://www.policemag.com/Articles/2007/08/Riot-Act.aspx
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, September 6, 2007
"City Looks at $40M Police Headquarters"
Waukegan News Sun (IL) (09/04/07); Peterson, Craig
The Waukegan, Ill., City Council is considering design plans for a new headquarters for its police. A five-floor building with communications, training, investigations, records, evidence processing, and office space is thought to cost around $40 million. A police headquarters outfitted with the modern crime-fighting devices is the most sophisticated and costly facility any municipal government will construct, architects have informed aldermen. While initially, plans had called for redoing the previous city hall facility or constructing on an adjacent location, Police Chief Bill Biang explained that seven architectural companies studied refurbishing the present facility and all said it was not a good idea. Biang added there is no room to expand horizontally, and the building cannot support adding floors to it. He also stated that acquiring land would counter the savings of redoing the facility. The council may use a referendum to pay for the new police headquarters. http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/
news/540363,5_1_WA04_WAUKEGANCOPS_S1.article
"A High-Tech Helping Hand for Soldiers"
Philadelphia Inquirer (09/04/07); Holcomb, Henry J.
The Wearable Intelligent Reporting Environment (WIRE), developed by Lockheed Martin, is designed to help soldiers in the field by recording their activity and turning speech it records into documents so soldiers do not have to write reports after a hard day on patrol. If approved, soldiers would wear a headset with an earphone and microphone designed to separate voices from gunfire and other noise. The headset is connected to a rugged but lightweight computer tucked into the soldier's combat vest. The system allows soldiers to dictate a report while in the field, all without taking their hands off their weapons or their eyes off of the action. The computer asks for responses that fill out forms designed for different situations and asks about words or situations it does not understand. The computer automatically creates a report and sends it to commanders, along with data from the soldier's GPS receiver. Data from multiple patrols can be analyzed immediately to fine-tune strategy and tactics. WIRE is designed to work with headsets and batteries already used by the military, and because the device does not have a video screen a single charge lasts as long as most patrols. WIRE also has significant potential for law enforcement applications. Crime analysis expert Robert Cheetham says fresh digital reports from the field would be extremely valuable to police commanders and could allow them to detect patterns and prevent future crimes. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20070904_
A_high-tech_helping_hand_for_soldiers.html
"GPS Technology Helps to Locate Police Dogs"
Cherry Hill Courier-Post (NJ) (09/04/07); Strupczewski, Leo
The Camden County, N.J., Sheriff's Department is one of the initial law enforcement agencies in the nation to obtain GPS technology that can help an officer locate his dog. The dog's collar contains the GPS device, and the dog's officer carries a hand-held device not much larger than a BlackBerry, to track the animal. If a dog gets lost, department members can locate him by finding a pawprint on the handler's screen and proceeding towards it. The Minnesota firm White Bear Technologies manufactures the Roam-EO technology, and contributed four units to the Camden Sheriff's Department's four canine divisions. Roam-EO offers the department real-time information, which is sent to an officer's hand-held unit. Each device is priced at $499, and there is an insurance fee for dogs of $4,500 to $6,000, although that price can increase if training is included. United States Police Canine Association executive director Russ Hess thinks the technology will become more popular as the systems become more advanced.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20070904/NEWS01/709040362/1006
"Police to Unveil New Communication Gear"
WTNH.com--Channel 8 (Conn.) (09/05/07); Latina, Jodi
First responders in Connecticut will have new technology in the near future to assist them in emergency events. On Wednesday, they are set to receive a communication system that helps links departments throughout Connecticut. It will be the initial state in the country to have the radio common channel erected. The system is intended to maintain open communication lines during an emergency. Currently, if a police officer in Enfield, for example, wishes to speak with an officer in Madison, they would have to use the phone. With a common radio frequency, the link could be immediate. The new system will also keep portable radios in sync. The technology, which is known as band, is priced at $1 million, and connects to current radio systems.
http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=7027349&nav=3YeX
"Groves Police Get Anti-Gang Grant"
Mid County Chronicle (TX) (09/05/07); Kutac, Dennis
Authorities with the Groves, Texas, Police Department claim superior technology equipment is what they want to buy after getting a federal granted intended to help target gang violence and associated crimes. Sen. John Cornyn ( R) claims the $350,350 grant was provided by the U.S. Department of Justice's Anti-Gang Initiative and was dispensed by the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Groves Police Department Det. Steven Hinton noted the proposal the department actually presented for the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant totaled $84,489, which it requested earlier this year and from which it obtained around $80,000. Hinton explained the equipment the department wants to acquire includes thermal-imaging devices, binoculars, recorders, and transmitters. "Our department will be buying technology extremely advanced mainly for undercover work and surveillance," he stated. Groves City Marshal Jeff Wilmore pointed out that the grant will also enable the Groves Police Department to bring its Safe Streets Crime Unit and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force together to deal with gang-associated and personal crimes. Cornyn stated the Anti-Gang Initiative offers money to support new or enlarged anti-gang and enforcement plans under the current Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.
http://www.midcountychronicle.com/news/2007/0905/Front_Page/001.html
"Sandy Springs, GA Police Department Selects SunGard's OSSI Public Safety Software"
WebWire (09/03/07)
SunGard HTE, a leading international provider of government information technologies, reports that the Sandy Springs, Ga., Police Department has signed a contract to implement the company's OSSI Public Safety Suite of software. The suite provides a fully integrated system that affords each agency real-time access to shared information, helping to improve response times, reduce costs, and increase officer safety. The Sandy Springs Police Department will implement the Records Management System and Mobile Computing components of the OSSI Public Safety Suite. Records Management System provides a comprehensive system to collect, store, and access information gathered by law enforcement personnel during daily activities. Mobile Computing Technology is a wireless application that provides access to information for officers in the field. Together, these components will help officers to stay connected with real-time data while in the field. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=46613
"Lawmen on Target with CVTC Technology"
Calhoun Times (GA) (08/31/07); West, E.K.
The Northwest Georgia Enforcement Executives Association convened in August at Coosa Valley Technical College (CVTC) for the introduction of the new Computer LaserShot Technology in the Criminal Justice program. The innovative technology was given to the officers by CVTC Criminal Justice coordinator and instructor Tom Bojo. "This is an outstanding piece of equipment that can be used not only for laser shot simulation classroom purposes but law enforcement departments can reserve the simulator for training," he stated. LaserShot is a computer-simulation program that employs a simulated handgun and a laser-action screen. Numerous drills and situations--including vehicle chases and hostage scenarios--take place onscreen with various endings. LaserShot instruction is only done at CVTC's Gordon County campus as part of the Criminal Justice program. In addition, the program provides classrooms, crime-scene rooms, computer research facilities, and rescue maze capability. "Our technology capabilities give students hands on experience allowing them to use what they learn in the field," notes Bojo, which keeps officers interested and offers them ongoing feedback.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&
pnpID=722&NewsID=834262&CategoryID=3388&on=1
"Area Police Forces Add High-Tech Gear"
Valley News Dispatch (08/26/07); Biedka, Chuck
Harrison Township, Pa., law enforcement will soon begin utilizing a video enhancement system, while police in O'Hara will discover how to utilize a high-tech surveillance system that can be employed to investigate a variety of crimes, including drug trafficking. The video enhancement system can be utilized with the majority of video systems to upgrade the quality of images, such as those found on a firm's surveillance tapes. Meanwhile, the video surveillance system is small, easy to hide, and employs a camera that is motion activated. The system, which also records sounds, can be utilized inside or outdoors. O'Hara's surveillance system is the third advanced technological tool that the police department has acquired from the U.S. government. The department is also employing a thermal imaging camera. Harrison Police Chief Mike Klein noted his department will pursue a grant in 2008 to purchase the same surveillance system O'Hara is using. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_524172.html
"Oil City Police Go to Nab Speeders"
Oil City Derrick (PA) (08/30/07); Clark, Karen
The Oil City, Pa., Police Department has been employing the Electronic Non-Radar Device (ENRADD) since January, permitting officers to more aggressively pursue speeders. In addition, ENRADD makes it a lot harder for violators to figure out where police are probably waiting and watching. ENRADD--a wireless speed-detection device--enables police to operate a speed check almost anyplace, including on leading thoroughfares, bridges, and back streets. ENRADD has a pair of tripods that each have sensor units. Officers put the three-foot tripods on either side of the road. As cars drive between the sensors, their speed is determined and sent through a wireless radio connection to a display head situated in a patrol vehicle. Experts contend that ENRADD can save a police department $3,000 to $5,000 a car annually on gas and maintenance because police do not have to chase vehicles that are going too fast. http://www.thederrick.com/stories/08312007-5008.shtml
"Video Billboards Coming This Way"
Philadelphia Inquirer (08/21/07) P. E1; Slobodzian, Joseph A.
The Philadelphia region will soon erect digital billboards, which are being lauded by police for promoting public safety. ClearChannel Outdoor stated it would have eight 14-by-48 video billboards with advertising images or messages that would change every eight seconds on leading highways by the end of this year from Bucks County to Philadelphia and into Delaware County. The company attempted to install a couple of billboards on Aug. 20, only to be stopped by continuous rain. ClearChannel claims the billboards recently informed drivers in Minneapolis and St. Paul about the demise of the Interstate 35W bridge and offered optional routes. Separately, a missing girl from Minneapolis was located one day after digital billboards were utilized in an Amber Alert. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson supports the digital billboards, noting they are in the "community's best interests because they have the capability to deliver important emergency information, such as Amber Alerts or disaster-preparedness bulletins." Driver-safety organizations and environmentalists, however, contend that the billboards will endanger motorists and are an eyesore.
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20070821_
Video_billboards_coming_this_way.html
"Asotin County Sheriff Upgrades Tasers"
Lewiston Morning Tribune (ID) (08/21/07) P. 1D; Cole, David
Deputies in Asotin County, Idaho, are now carrying Tasers with newer technology, which are better at controlling dangerous suspects and are safer, authorities claim. In June, Asotin County Sheriff Ken Bancroft began carrying the new Taser X26 model, replacing the older Taser M26. The Taser X26 discharges a pair of small probes, which look like fish hooks that have been straightened. The probes can fly as far as 25 feet, penetrating the clothing of a suspect and going into the body, Bancroft explained. The Taser X26 costs $200 more than the M26, at $800 apiece. The sheriff's office bought 14 of the X26s, one for every field deputy and two for joint use by Asotin County Jail correctional deputies. The Taser X26 is shaped like a firearm, weighs less than the older Tasers, and documents the length of activation time. http://www.lmtribune.com
"Strategy Game Trains Cops and Firefighters"
PC World (08/23/07); McMillan, Robert
Graduate students from the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering are collaborating with Sandia National Laboratories on a real-time strategy game that allows police officers, fire fighters, and other first responders to practice emergency scenarios. The game, Ground Truth, is realistic because events in the game occur in real time, putting added pressure on first responders to act swiftly. Jim Pointer, the medical director of Alameda County's Emergency Medical Services Agency, recently completed an intense session of Ground Truth that called for him to oversee a city's response to a toxic chemical spill. During the scenario, he was responsible for managing traffic barriers, putting hazmat teams and police cars in position to respond to the spill, and managing medical collection points while keeping an eye out for toxic plumes. Pointer says the game is fun, educational, and has great promise. Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III game provided inspiration for Ground Truth, which could eventually receive funding from private industry or even the Homeland Security Department. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136306-c,games/article.html
"Dallas PD Fights Crime With Video Surveillance"
Security Technology & Design (07/07) Vol. 17, No. 7, P. 52; Levin, Gregg
In early 2005, the Dallas Police Department launched a pilot project involving the installation of video surveillance cameras in the busy Deep Ellum area of the city. After just four months of operation, the project was credited with significantly reducing the number of crimes in the area, prompting the Police Department to consider expansion. With funding from the Meadows Foundation, bids were sought to install a wireless video surveillance system in Dallas' central business district with a goal of reducing crime in hot spots by 30 percent. In January, the new system was deployed, covering about 30 percent of the downtown area with round-the-clock monitoring and allowing operators to change the direction of the camera lenses remotely as well as allowing officers to redeploy cameras as needed to increase monitoring capabilities at special events or other downtown locations. The Police Department now plans to increase the number of cameras deployed around the city by threefold.
http://www.securityinfowatch.com/print/Security-Technology-
and-Design/Video-Surveillance/Dallas-PD-Fights-Crime-With-Video-Surveillance
/11804SIW2
"Riot Act"
Police Magazine (08/07) Vol. 31, No. 8, P. 34; Griffith, David
Since it was closed in 1996, the West Virginia State Penitentiary at Moundsville has hosted the annual Mock Prison Riot, which is one of the premier corrections and law enforcement training events in the world. The Mock Prison Riot, which is held each May, is planned and executed by the staff of the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLTEC) and the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC). Personnel from the two organizations act as leaders of the "rioters," who are mostly students from local colleges and high schools. In addition, OLTEC develops scenarios that allow law enforcement agencies that are participating in the Mock Prison Riot to practice putting down prison disturbances. Although the scenarios are choreographed to some extent, there are some surprises for the responders. In some of the scenarios, the prisoners give up quickly, while in others they put up a fight. Along with developing the riot scenarios, OLETC and NCLETTC work with the participating law enforcement agencies and the makers of the products that are on display at the Mock Prison Riot's Technology Showcase to provide training opportunities that involve new or improved products. Since it is held in an abandoned prison, the event offers a one-of-a-kind training opportunity for law enforcement agencies such as the Gwinnett County (Ga.) Sheriff's Office's Rapid Response Team. "We really can't train very well in our jail because it is occupied," said Major Carl Sims of the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office. "And that's a problem because a cell offers a unique environment that's difficult to duplicate outside of a corrections facility." http://www.policemag.com/Articles/2007/08/Riot-Act.aspx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
