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WeB-LOG after 9/11 continued
George W. Bush is predicted by many
people to win four more years as President of the United States
of America. One reason why is because on average more than 50% of
Americans do not vote. Another reason why is that electronic
voting machines do not have paper audit trails yet you go to the
store and always get a paper printout from electronic cash
registers.
More at vote.htm
Whoever wins, if they listen to what you and me are trying to say and take our suggestion then we can hope for the better.
Debate Transcripts
http://www.debates.org/pages/debtrans.html
http://www.c-span.org/2004vote/debates.asp
http://wid.ap.org/transcripts/debates/04prez.html
http://factcheck.org/
http://factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=272 Cheney & Edwards Mangle Facts
Oct 6, 2004
Cheney, Edwards Stretch Findings, Facts
By CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Whether it was Dick Cheney's faux-pas about
never meeting his rival or John Edwards' oversimplifications
about troops in Iraq, the vice presidential debaters stretched
facts even as they claimed the high ground in setting the record
straight.
Technicalities were cast aside on both sides.
The vice president said Democratic presidential candidate John
Kerry voted for the Iraq war, but the reality was more complex.
The senator backed a resolution that allowed it to happen but
said he took President Bush at his word that he'd exhaust weapons
inspections and build a true coalition first.
Edwards turned a complicated matter involving allowances for
troops into a "height of hypocrisy" effort by Bush to
"cut their combat pay" even as they fought in Iraq.
The accusations flew. Sometimes the target had a chance to swat
them down. Often they went unanswered.
"A lot of factual inaccuracies were left standing,"
said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who monitors the campaign for
distortion as director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at
the University of Pennsylvania.
Cheney declared Saddam Hussein's Iraq "had an established
relationship with al-Qaida" despite the prevailing theory by
U.S. intelligence that such a link was tenuous and did not amount
to state sponsorship of the terrorist
organization or any link to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Edwards asserted the connection was minimal or nonexistent. The
recent Senate Intelligence Committee report on flawed Iraqi
intelligence did conclude, however, that the CIA was reasonable
in thinking there were probably several contacts between Iraq and
al-Qaida throughout the 1990s, although they did not add up to a
formal relationship.
In perhaps the most awkward blooper of the evening, Cheney told
Edwards to his face that they had never met before the debate.
Edwards' campaign later provided a transcript of a February 2001
prayer breakfast at which Cheney began his remarks by
acknowledging the North Carolina senator. The campaign said the
two also met when Edwards accompanied the other North Carolina
senator, Elizabeth Dole, to her swearing-in ceremony.
Cheney was trying to make the point that Edwards was an absentee
senator. "The first time I ever met you was when you walked
on the stage tonight."
At one point, Edwards attacked Cheney for the administration's
decision to give billions of dollars in new contracts in Iraq to
Halliburton Co., which the vice president once headed. But
congressional auditors recently concluded U.S. officials met
legal guidelines in awarding the business without competition -
in part because Halliburton was the only company capable of doing
some of the work.
Edwards also asserted, "They sent 40,000 American troops
into Iraq without the body armor they needed," a comment
that might suggest they had no body armor at all, when in fact
they did.
Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said
40,000 troops did not have the brand new, improved armor but,
"every soldier and Marine on the ground had body armor."
Cheney accused Kerry of voting for taxes 98 times. That's down
from the 350 times wrongly claimed by Republicans, but it's still
iffy. Those 98 votes include times when many procedural votes
were cast on a single tax increase or package, according to an
analysis by Annenberg's FactCheck.org.
Cheney meant to cite FactCheck.org on another occasion during the
debate but he got it wrong, and unintentionally steered Web
surfers to a site run by the anti-Bush activist billionaire,
George Soros. Cheney said "factcheck.com," when he
should have used "org."
Whatever the relationship between al-Qaida and Iraq over the
years, another question was whether Saddam's Iraq had anything to
do with the Sept. 11 attacks specifically. There is no evidence
of that.
The vice president stated flatly that he has never suggested a
connection between Iraq and Sept. 11.
But he did say in 2003 that if efforts to establish democracy in
Iraq succeeded, "we will have struck a major blow right at
the heart of the base, if you will, the geographic base of the
terrorists who have had us under assault now for many years, but
most especially on 9/11."
Touching on a favorite Democratic theme, Edwards declared the
Bush administration is "for outsourcing jobs," taking
out of context comments from Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and a
report by a council of economists who advise the president. Bush
and Cheney have not said they favor the practice of U.S companies
sending jobs from the United States to cheaper labor abroad.
The Council of Economic Advisers said job outsourcing is part of
a healthy dynamic in which free trade in return benefits
Americans. And Chao said last month that the concerns about job
losses ignore that foreign-owned companies are creating many jobs
in the United States at the same time.
Also in the debate, Edwards said that while U.S. troops were
fighting in Iraq, the Bush administration "lobbied the
Congress to cut their combat pay. This is the height of hypocrisy."
It's also arguable. When the government faced prospects that
increased allowances for the troops would expire as stipulated by
Congress, the Pentagon said it would make up any shortfall
through incentive pay or similar means.
Fri Oct 22, 2004
Today the first hearing was held in response to a lawsuit filed
by
Advancement Project, unions and other civil rights organizations
seeking
to preserve the voting rights of more than 10,000 Floridians who
are
eligible to vote and who registered to vote in advance of the
October 4
deadline, but whose applications were deemed incomplete by the
elections officials based on unduly restrictive registration
procedures that
violate federal election laws.
"Unfortunately the State and counties have delayed justice,"
said Judith
Browne, senior attorney, Advancement Project, a national civil
rights
organization. "Today's actions demonstrate that the
Secretary Hood and
the Supervisors of Elections, are engaging in delay tactics that
will
disadvantage and possibly deny the right to vote to thousands of
Floridians."
Due to the large number of registrations and the elections
offices' inability to process these applications in a timely
fashion,
applicants have also been deprived of an opportunity to provide
any
missing information. The defendants have required that missing
information, such as these unnecessary boxes and numbers, be
provided by the October 4th deadline, yet they sent registrants
notices
too late to make a difference.
http://www.advancementproject.org/press_releases.html
Do We See A Pattern Here?
Military Service Politically Speaking!
http://www.rense.com/general58/pattern.htm
Voters Angry At Chaos In
Early US Polls
By Oliver Burkeman in New York
The Guardian - UK
10-20-4
http://www.rense.com/general58/early.htm
Oct 27, 2004
A Look at Lawsuits, Voting Problems
Many states are facing legal challenges over possible voting
problems Nov. 2. A look at some of the developments Wednesday:
COLORADO:
- As many as 3,700 people have registered to vote in more than
one Colorado county this year, nearly two-thirds of them college-age
voters, the Denver Post reported. Election officials said they
are working to catch double registrations but concede double
voting might occur.
FLORIDA:
- Up to 58,000 absentee ballots may never have reached the
Broward County voters who requested them more than two weeks ago,
and state police are investigating. The county election office
said the problem involved ballots mailed on Oct. 7-8, though the
number of those actually missing was uncertain. Some absentee
ballots mailed on those dates have already been returned to be
counted.
IOWA:
- Five voters who sued the secretary of state over a provisional
ballots decision did not exhaust administrative remedies, the
state argued in court. The plaintiffs, who argue ballots cast in
the wrong polling place may dilute properly cast votes, present
their arguments later Wednesday.
Oct 27, 2004
Al-Qaida Magazine Appeals to Iraq Fighters
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- An online al-Qaida magazine is urging Sunni
Muslim fighters in Iraq to join hands with Osama bin Laden to
defeat its enemies.
"We are urging all the leaders of Sunni holy warriors to
fight for God's word to prevail over that of the infidels, to
join hands with the leader of Islam's soldiers today, Osama bin
Laden," said an editorial in the bimonthly al-Qaida military
publication Al-Battar Camp.
It said bin Laden would bring "victory (over) infidels from
the atheist Crusaders."
Al-Battar, Arabic for "sharp sword," is a slick Web
magazine featuring a table of contents and op-ed page and a
letters to the editor section.
The leaders of Sunni Muslim fighters in Iraq "should follow
the lead of holy warrior leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may God
keep him, who initiated this good precedent, may God reward him,"
the magazine said.
Al-Zarqawi's militant group, Tawhid and Jihad, believed to be
behind many deadly attacks in Iraq, declared its allegiance to
Osama bin Laden two weeks ago, citing the need for unity against
"the enemies of Islam." The group now calls itself al-Qaida
in Iraq.
"That the leader of Tawhid and Jihad group announced his
allegiance to the sheik of holy war and holy warriors in our time
... is good omen for victory," the editorial said.
Al-Zarqawi is believed to lead a loose, yet powerful, band of
insurgents in Iraq who have wreaked havoc on U.S. efforts to
stabilize the country.
In June, the United States increased the reward for information
leading to his killing or capture to up to $25 million, the same
as for bin Laden.
ABC News Gave Videotape of
Attack Threat to FBI, CIA
Wed, Oct 27, 2004
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - ABC News has asked U.S. security
officials to examine a videotape it obtained in Pakistan of an
English-speaking man threatening a massive attack on the United
States, the network said on Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the tape -- the authenticity of which U.S.
intelligence officials have not been unable to verify -- said the
man, who claims to be a U.S. native and al Qaeda supporter, warns
that the "streets will run with blood."
The video appears to have been made as recently as late summer
because the speaker discusses the Darfur conflict in Sudan, makes
a reference to the Massachusetts same-sex marriage legislation
and mentions the Sept. 11 Commission, one U.S. intelligence
official told Reuters.
ABC News vice president Jeffrey Schneider said the network has
not shown the video because its authenticity has not been
verified by either independent analysts or government experts.
"We have worked with the CIA and the FBI, neither of whom
have authenticated the tape," he told Reuters. "Obviously,
it would be beyond irresponsible to broadcast this tape without
first authenticating it."
The first disclosure of the tape by Internet columnist Matt
Drudge prompted ABC to publicly acknowledge the video's existence
before knowing whether it was real or fake.
Schneider said the tape was obtained from a source in Pakistan
over the weekend and arrived in New York on Monday, where it was
first viewed by network officials.
Asked about the tape at a campaign stop with President Bush in
Ohio, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters,
"The intelligence community is analyzing it, working to
verify its authenticity."
A source familiar with the tape told Reuters the hourlong video
features a man, whose face is concealed by a headdress, warning
that a coming attack on the United States would dwarf the Sept.
11, 2001 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
According to the source, the man says, "The streets will run
with blood" and says the United States has brought this on
itself for electing a president who has declared war on Islam by
attacking the former Taliban rulers in Afghanistan and waging war
against al Qaeda.
The source said linguistic experts believe the man, who
identifies himself as "Assam the American," learned
English at a young age but is not a native English speaker.
A U.S. intelligence official said the man claims to be originally
from America and speaks fluent English with a slight accent.
"We don't have a positive ID of the speaker, who was
shrouded and wearing dark glasses," the official said.
"The intelligence community does not have information
linking the video to a specific threat."
The official said the tape was "classic al Qaeda propaganda,"
but seems to have been "sliced and diced." The speaker
refers to al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri
as "our leaders" and praises the Sept. 11 attacks.
Sharing information like this with the government carries risks
for a news organization, said media analyst Andrew Tyndall.
"If...as a result of sending this tape to the government,
the CIA tipped off the Pakistani internal intelligence service,
and they rounded this guy up, (ABC's) news-gathering ability
would be compromised because you'd be perceived by the people on
the streets of Karachi as being a front organization for the CIA."
Schneider said ABC had been consulting with experts of its own as
well as with U.S. officials. "We went to a number of sources
in an attempt to authenticate (the tape) and in this case, those
sources include government sources," he said.
Al-Qaqaa Spokesman Says No
Weapons Search
Wed Oct 27, 2:21 AM ET
Middle East - AP
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
One of the first U.S. military units to reach the Al-Qaqaa
military installation south of Baghdad after the invasion of Iraq
did not have orders to search for the nearly 400 tons of
explosives that are missing from the site, the unit spokesman
said Tuesday.
When troops from the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade
arrived at the Al-Qaqaa base a day or so after other coalition
troops seized Baghdad on April 9, 2003, there were already
looters throughout the facility, Lt. Col. Fred Wellman, deputy
public affairs officer for the unit, told The Associated Press.
The soldiers "secured the area they were in and looked in a
limited amount of bunkers to ensure chemical weapons were not
present in their area," Wellman wrote in an e-mail message
to The Associated Press. "Bombs were found but not chemical
weapons in that immediate area.
"Orders were not given from higher to search or to secure
the facility or to search for HE type munitions, as they (high-explosive
weapons) were everywhere in Iraq," he wrote.
The 101st Airborne was apparently at least the second military
unit to arrive at Al-Qaqaa after the U.S. led invasion began.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told The Washington Post that
the 3rd Infantry Division reached the site around April 3, fought
with Iraq forces and occupied the site. They left after two days,
headed to Baghdad, he told the newspaper for Wednesday's editions.
Associated Press Correspondent Chris Tomlinson, who was embedded
with the 3rd Infantry but didn't go to Al-Qaqaa, described the
search of Iraqi military facilities south of Baghdad as brief,
cursory missions to seek out hostile troops, not to inventory or
secure weapons stockpiles. One task force, he said, searched four
Iraqi military bases in a single day, meeting no resistance and
finding only abandoned buildings, some containing weapons and
ammunition.
The enormous size of the bases, the rapid pace of the advance on
Baghdad and the limited number of troops involved, made it
impossible for U.S. commanders to allocate any soldiers to guard
any of the facilities after making a check, Tomlinson said.
Pentagon officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday
night. A spokesman for the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart,
Ga., said the unit was checking on whether any of its troops was
at Al-Qaqaa.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041027/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_weapons_7
Wednesday October 27, 2004
Fidel Castro has ended Cuba's decade-long, bitter-sweet romance
with the dollar. The announcement that US currency notes will in
a fortnight no longer be accepted as payment in the country marks
a radical change. Cubans have become used to shopping for all but
basic goods with the greenback. Now they, tourists and others on
the island can longer pay for anything in dollars cash, though
bank transfers will still be legal. Mr Castro, 78, with one arm
in a sling, appeared in uniform on state television to inform
Cubans of the changes, five days after a fall had left him with a
fractured knee and arm. He blamed the decision on the US
administration of George Bush, citing restrictions placed
recently on dollar remittances to Cuban families by Cuban
American relatives, and attempts to prevent international banks
providing Cuba with dollars (the Cuban peso cannot be used for
international trade). "The empire is determined to create
more difficulties for us," Mr Castro said. He said that it
would not be illegal to hold dollars but, as from November 8,
these would have to be exchanged for pesos to be spent, and there
would be a 10% commission.
"As of November 8, the dollar will not be accepted in our
shops, which will only take convertible pesos," a central
bank statement explained.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/cuba/story/0,11983,1336696,00.html
USF Anthrax Detector Nears
Completion
By LAURA KINSLER
Published: Oct 24, 2004
TAMPA - Three years ago, as Americans learned to equate white
powders with weapons of mass destruction, a group of scientists
at the University of South Florida was conducting research that
has since changed anthrax testing.
Five people died and 17 were injured during the anthrax mail
scare of 2001. While it was going on, USF's Center for Biological
Defense was testing as many as 100 suspicious white powders every
day for the government.
Getting results took 24 to 48 hours. Now, thanks to the research
group, results are available in a fraction of the time.
``We've developed a test that can detect [anthrax] in 15
minutes,'' said Daniel Lim, the microbiologist who heads the
Advanced Biosensors Lab at the center.
Lim's team won a national Homeland Security Award this month for
improving the test. It now is putting the finishing touches on a
device that will check Pinellas County's drinking water for
anthrax and other deadly toxins.
``After 9/11, we were very concerned about the possibility of
drinking water systems being used to convey harmful agents,''
said Bob Powell, lab director for Pinellas County Utilities.
Powell said the water department learned about Lim's work with
biosensors and contracted with the center to develop a unit to
test the water it produces for more than 650,000 customers.
Anthrax placed in a community's water lines could kill or injure
hundreds, even thousands, of people, Powell said. A single event,
he pointed out, could affect the nation's confidence in its
drinking water.
And there can be enormous financial repercussions: The mail
sorting center in Trenton, N.J., still hasn't reopened. The South
Florida building where the first anthrax-laden letter was
discovered sold this year for pennies on the dollar.
So Pinellas commissioners approved a $560,000 contract in 2002
for the new technology, Powell said.
``Most monitoring of drinking water is done after the fact. It
takes about 24 hours to test, and by that time it's too late,''
he said. ``This gives us a chance to do real-time testing.''
Refined Military Technology
The U.S. Naval Research Lab and Largo-based Constellation
Technology invented the physical equipment for the detection
system; Lim's team produced the biosensors that make it work in
the presence of toxins.
Constellation also redesigned the system into one that is
automated and less expensive.
``We took their lab prototype and turned it into a piece of
equipment that can be sold for commercial use,'' said Tammy
Spain, senior scientist at Constellation Technology. ``We've
reduced the cost of the components of equipment by a hundred
times.''
The test developed by Lim's team sped up detection and eliminated
delays by making it possible to test suspicious substances in
water or food, as well as powders.
``We can put hamburger meat in,'' Lim said.
A biosensor measures or detects chemicals or bacteria with the
use of a biological material or tissue. Lim's team uses
antibodies on microscope slides or in optical fibers that have
physical reactions to harmful agents.
``Previous field testing units were unreliable because they often
gave false-positive results,'' Lim said. ``Our lab has refined
these tests and made them more accurate.''
The system should be installed in Pinellas County and in its
field testing phase early next year. It will check for at least
four agents: anthrax, E. coli, staphylococcus and botulin. If it
works, the system would sample and test the water every few hours.
Putin: Why Not Price Oil
in Euros?
By Catherine Belton
Moscow Times
October 10, 2003
President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Russia could switch its
trade in oil from dollars to euros, a move that could have far-reaching
repercussions for the global balance of power -- potentially hurting
the U.S. dollar and economy and providing a
massive boost to the euro zone.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/crisis/2003/1010oilpriceeuro.htm
Earth must resist US
monopoly of space
Bi Lun Updated: 2004-10-28
Galileo, the prestigious European satellite navigation system, is
under threat by the United States.
According to the Business Week magazine, the US threatened to
attack the Galileo network if it is used by alleged adversaries,
such as terrorists.
This is nothing but a US monopoly and sharply runs counter to the
spirit of peaceful use of outer space and closer international
space co-operation.
It explicitly demonstrates, once again, the urgency for the rest
of the world to have an independent satellite-based positioning
and timing infrastructure to ruffle the dominance of the US amid
mounting worries about its post-September 11 hegemony in the name
of anti-terror.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/28/content_386454.htm
USA to use new nuclear
submarines to battle terrorism
10/27/2004
The new submarines was named in honor of the State of Virginia
The US Navy put into service a new submarine, which had been
designed especially for the anti-terrorist struggle. It is
noteworthy that the Soviet Union used to have a similar submarine:
the 667A submarine was redesigned as a carrier sub, which was
outfitted with two mini submarines in addition to torpedoes. The
American submarine bears a certain resemblance to the Soviet sub
as far as its objectives are concerned.
The official website of the Russian Ministry for Atomic Power
said that the US submarine Virginia was evaluated at $2.2 billion.
The sub differs from its analogues for its capability to navigate
at a relatively small depth, which is an important aspect for
anti-terrorist operations. The crew of the nuclear-powered 113-meter-long
submarine counts 130 members.
The solemn ceremony took place at the largest US Navy base on the
Atlantic coast in Norfolk, Virginia. The new $2.2 billion
submarine was named in honor of the state.
The submarine was built by Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics
corporations. Virginia is capable of navigating in shallow waters
to pursue terrorists. Instead of a periscope the crew of the new
sub will use a special high resolution digital camera. This new
feature allowed to move the captain's bridge to a more spacious
compartment on the lower deck of the sub. The torpedo compartment
can be redesigned too to place additional bunks there.
Like the above-mentioned Soviet sub, the US nuclear submarine is
equipped with unmanned watercrafts, which will be used for
reconnaissance purposes under the water.
Bin Laden may be somewhere
around: Pak official (DPA)
26 October 2004
ISLAMABAD — Days after a senior military
commander hinted at the presence of a pro-Al Qaeda
Uzbek leader in the country’s tribal region, Pakistani
officials yesterday said “there was broad indication that
Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden might also be hiding
somewhere between Pakistan and Afghanistan”.
“It is, however, difficult to pinpoint a particular place,
which Bin Laden may be using as his hideout either in
Pakistan or Afghanistan,” Foreign Ministry
spokesman Masood Khan told reporters at a Press
briefing in Islamabad.
He added that media reports confirming his presence
at a particular place are speculative and not based on
solid intelligence, he added.
President General Pervez Musharraf also said earlier
this month that he believed Bin Laden was alive,
describing him as “an enemy” who keeps on the move
between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
October 26, 2004
Iraq war rouses terrorists, ASIO says
Australia's top spy has told the Sydney Institute the war in Iraq
has increased the threat to Australian interests overseas. ASIO
director Dennis Richardson says that on a global level, the
conflict in Iraq may have created more terrorists.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200410/s1228563.htm
New Bush Guard Papers
Leave Questions
By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Unearthed under legal pressure, three-decade-old
documents portray President Bush as a capable and
well-liked Air National Guard pilot who stopped flying and
attending
regular drills two-thirds of the way through his six-year
commitment —
without consequence.
The files, many of them forced to light by
Freedom of Information lawsuits by The
Associated Press, conflict with some of the
harshest attacks Democrats have levied on
Bush's Vietnam-era service, such as
suggestions that Bush was a deserter or
absent without leave.
But gaps in the records leave unanswered
questions about the final two years of his
military service in 1972 and 1973. Chief
among them: Why did Bush's commanders
apparently tolerate his lapses in training and
approve his honorable discharge?
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=693&e=1&u=/ap/20041026/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_guard
Increase in War Funding
Sought
Bush to Request $70 Billion More
By Jonathan Weisman and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
The Bush administration intends to seek about $70 billion in
emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan early next
year, pushing total war costs close to $225 billion since the
invasion of Iraq early last year, Pentagon and congressional
officials said yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62554-2004Oct25?language=printer
The American Dream
Slipping Away from the Middle Class
Commentary by Frosty Wooldridge
October 25, 2004
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_10399.shtml
Take action now on
biological weapons before it's too late, warns BMA
Press release date: Monday, 25 Oct 2004 (BMA London)
A new report released today (25 October 2004) by the BMA paints a
bleak
picture of the global community's ability to cope with advances
in biological
and genetic weapons technology.
The report, Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity II, warns that
the 'window
of opportunity' to take action on this issue is shrinking fast.
The BMA first
published a report on this subject in 1999.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA Head of Science and Ethics, said:
"The
situation today is arguably worse than it was when we published
our last
report five years ago. The very existence of international laws
to protect us is
being questioned, the anthrax attacks in the US in 2001 caused
widespread
panic and fear, and most worryingly of all, it's never been
easier to develop
biological weapons – all you have to do is look on the
internet."
She added: "This report does not make comfortable reading
but it is essential
that governments take action on this issue now. If we wait too
long it will be
virtually impossible to defend ourselves."
The new BMA report analyses whether terrorist attacks like 9/11,
anthrax
attacks in the US in 2001 and the Moscow Theatre siege in 2002
have
impacted on the development of biological weapons.
If the development of biological and genetic weapons is not
curtailed, a future
scenario could see the following:
Commenting on the report,
Professor Malcolm Dando, author of this study
and Head of Peace Studies at Bradford University, says: "The
problem is that
the same technology being used to develop new vaccines and find
cures for
Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases could also be used
for malign
purposes. That is why it is essential that an ethical code be
developed for
scientists. Questions need to be asked about where research could
lead,
where the results will be published and who has access to the
data."
Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity II, warns of the overwhelming
power
of biological weapons. In 1999 it was only thought theoretically
possible to
develop weapons that could target specific ethnic groups. Five
years on this
is now approaching reality [1].
Key recommendations from the report [2] include the following:
Bin Laden Network Active
in Bosnia: Report
Agence France Presse
BANJA LUKA, 26 October 2004 — Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin
Laden is actively directing terrorist cells in the former
Yugoslav republic of Bosnia, a top US terrorism analyst told a
local daily yesterday.
Yossef Bodansky, director of the Task Force on Terrorism and
Unconventional Warfare of the US Congress, told the Glas Srpske
daily that terrorists responsible for the bombing of the UN
headquarters in Baghdad last year were trained near the central
Bosnian town of Zenica.
“There is a terrorist network in Bosnia, composed of several
well-trained and connected groups, which are directly or
indirectly responsible to ... Osama Bin Laden,” he was
quoted as saying in the Serbian-language paper.
He said the cells were using Bosnia as a training ground and a
gateway to send terrorists to Western Europe or to hide them on
their way to the east if they were on the run.
“The network in Bosnia ... is training and controlling
terrorists who later travel to Western European countries,”
Bodansky said in comments translated from Serbian. “On the
other hand, terrorists for whom arrest warrants have been issued
in the west are coming back to Bosnia where ‘liaison
officers’ welcome them and provide accommodation and hiding
places, and they are later transferred to the east.” He said
the Zenica region had provided a training ground for terrorists
who conducted a series of suicide attacks in Baghdad in August
last year, including the UN bombing which killed 22 people.
“Literally, they were trained in Zenica’s milieu, and
from there they were sent out through Italy to Iraq to fight
American forces,” he said.
Bodansky, who met Bosnian officials last week, complained that
the international community and local authorities were aware of
terrorists’ activities but had failed to do enough to stop
them.
“Representatives of the international community in Bosnia
and (local) authorities are aware of this but they do not work
enough to fight international terrorism,” he said.
NATO peacekeepers are still deployed in Bosnia under peace
accords which ended the country’s 1992-95 war, during which
hundreds of foreign so-called Mujahedeen fought alongside Bosnian
Muslim forces.
In Islamabad, a Foreign Office spokesman said there was broad
indication Bin Laden might be hiding somewhere between Pakistan
and Afghanistan.
Monday, October 25, 2004
US pays hefty reward to terror informants
The United States have given rewards totalling $A1.3
million to three Muslim residents of the southern
Philippines who helped security forces to hunt down and
kill a leader of the militant Abu Sayyaf group in April.
Joseph Mussomeli, a senior US embassy official, handed
18.6 million pesos ($A441,600) each in cash to a man
and two women, who hid their faces under thick brown
stockings to protect their identities.
"It takes courage to do what these three people have
done," Mr Mussomeli said at a tightly guarded hospital
on Basilan island before handing over the money in
brown suitcases.
"This is the first, but we hope not the last, reward paid in
the Philippines."
Heavily armed troops stood guard and snipers perched
on the roof of the state-run hospital, which was
renovated by Filipino and US troops during an anti-terror
exercise in 2002.
The three provided vital information that helped to locate
Hamsiraji Sali, one of five Abu Sayyaf leaders with a
bounty of up to $A6.6 million on their heads, he said.
Sali and five followers were killed in a gunbattle with a
team of US-trained Philippine army rangers on April 6 in
Basilan, a former stronghold of the group, which has
been linked to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda.
He was the second senior Abu Sayyaf member on the
US wanted list to be killed.
The other three, including leader Khaddafy Janjalani,
remain at large.
Sabaya, the group's spokesman, was killed in a sea
battle in July 2002, a week after troops tried to rescue
two Americans held captive by Abu Sayyaf for more
than a year.
US missionary Gracia Burnham survived with a bullet
wound, but her husband, Martin, and Filipino nurse
Ediborah Yap died in the crossfire.
The military says Abu Sayyaf's strength is down to 300
from a peak of more than 5,000 in 2000.
But the group showed it still poses a serious threat with
a bomb attack in February that sank a ferry near
Manila.
The sinking of Superferry 14 at the mouth of Manila
Bay that killed more than 100 people was the worst
terror attack in Asia since the 2002 Bali nightclub
bombing that was blamed on regional militant group
Jemaah Islamiah.
--Reuters
Democracy Will Defeat
Iraqi Terrorists: Blair
By Jon Smith, Political Editor, PA News
Prime Minister Tony Blair today warned military might would not
be enough
to defeat insurgents in Iraq.
His comments came as an 850-strong UK battlegroup led by the
Black
Watch prepared to deploy north of their base around Basra,
assisting US
forces to pave the way for elections in the country.
The premier said the coalition forces had to "stand up for
democracy" and a
"huge blow" had already been dealt to the terrorists by
successful elections
held in Afghanistan.
But in Iraq there was the daily catalogue of killings by
terrorists, with a
suicide bomber targeting an American convoy to the west of
Baghdad and
another car bomber attacking an Australian military convoy in the
capital.
The Prime Minister, speaking at his monthly press conference in
No 10, said:
"This can't be defeated by security alone ... The biggest
blow that has been
dealt these terrorists in the last few months is the Afghan
elections.
"That was a country used as a training ground for terrorists
and now it will
have a democratically-elected president and later a
democratically-elected
parliament. That is a huge blow to them. Same with Iraq.
"Every time you deal these people a blow by showing how we
stand up for
the values of freedom and democracy and they don't, then we deal
a blow to
their recruitment, to their propaganda.
"This cannot be defeated by weapons alone. It has to be
defeated by
showing that what we are actually trying to do is to bring
greater stability,
freedom, prosperity and democracy to these countries - not some
imaginary
war against Muslims, since the people benefiting are obviously
Muslims
themselves."
Mr Blair promised: "We want the Iraqi people to have the
vote, the Iraqi
people want to have the vote, there is no doubt about that.
"Those people who are killing and maiming innocent people -
they want to
stop them. We have got to make sure they don't succeed."
The premier insisted the insurgents were not winning.
"The fact they are trying to kill innocent, unarmed people
is an indication
actually of their desperation," he said.
"They know they can't win this militarily in the end. What
they hope to do is
simply intimidate, bully and terrify people out of exercising
their democratic
rights.
"There is one thing for democrats to do in those
circumstances and that is to
stand up for democracy."
The Prime Minister added: "The Iraqi government and the
multi-national
forces are bit by bit taking back control of these towns. What
the people who
are bombing and killing ordinary people are doing is trying to
prevent the
elections taking place."
John Major, Prime Minister during the first Gulf War, warned
yesterday that
British troops would be in Iraq "for many, many years yet"
and said there
appeared to have been inadequate planning for the aftermath of
conflict.
Hundreds of Tons of
Explosives Missing in Iraq -UN
Mon Oct 25, 2004
By Louis Charbonneau
VIENNA (Reuters) - Hundreds of tons of explosives are missing
from a site near Baghdad that was part of Saddam Hussein's
dismantled nuclear arms program but never secured by the U.S.
military, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday.
The missing 377 tons of high explosives, monitored by inspectors
from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency until
the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, could potentially be
used to make a detonator for a nuclear bomb, blow up an airplane
or a building or in numerous other military and civilian
applications, arms experts said.
About a pound of a related compound was enough to bring down Pan
Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 170.
Iraq's Ministry of Science and Technology informed the IAEA two
weeks ago that the explosives had been "lost after April 9,
2003, through the theft and looting of the governmental
installations due to lack of security," the watchdog agency
told the 15-nation U.N. Security Council.
The New York Times, which broke the story on Monday, said arms
experts feared the most immediate use of the explosives would be
to attack U.S. or Iraqi forces, which have come under increasing
fire ahead of Iraq's elections due in January.
Diplomats at the IAEA warned the materials could also easily be
secreted out of Iraq and sold to countries with nuclear ambitions
like neighboring Iran or terrorist groups.
The IAEA has been barred from most of Iraq since the war and has
watched from afar as the former nuclear sites it once monitored
have been stripped by looters.
Vienna diplomats said the IAEA had cautioned the United States
about the danger of the explosives before the war, and after the
invasion it specifically told U.S. officials about the need to
keep them secured.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6604096
Afghan suicide blast toll
rises
Sun 24 October, 2004
By Simon Cameron-Moore
KABUL (Reuters) - An American woman and an Afghan girl have died
from wounds suffered in
a Taliban suicide attack in a popular Kabul shopping street, U.S.
embassy and hospital officials say.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=608256§ion=news
Monday, October 25, 2004
U.S. District Judge James Cohn (a President Bush judicial nominee)
tossed out the Florida e-voting paper trail suit. Rep. Robert
Wexler, a Democrat, had sought either a paper record for manual
recounts in close elections like the contentious 2000
presidential race or an order switching voters in 15 counties
from touch-screens to optically scanned paper ballots by 2006. He
wanted a way to help determine voter intent when no votes were
recorded, known as "undervotes." Wexler said he planned
an appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
Cohn, who heard three days of testimony last week, concluded that
"the preferential method of casting a ballot" would
include a paper printout allowing voters to make sure their
selections are correct, but he said he was limited to determining
"whether the current procedures and standards comport with
equal protection." Wexler called that a partial victory but
said he disagrees with the judge's conclusion that the voting
machines meet the requirement in state law for manual recounts.
He said he believes the judge was reluctant to make "drastic
changes" in voting systems since early voting already is
under way. "Gov. (Jeb) Bush successfully ran the clock out
on the ability to improve the election process for 2004,"
Wexler said. Wexler's attorney, Jeff Liggio, argued the machines
have no way to deal with malfunctions or distinguish between
voter mistakes and intentional decisions to skip ballot items.
The judge said the question of malfunctions was a state rather
than a federal issue.
http://www.wexler.house.gov/pressreleases/102504.htm
http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/viewer/viewer.asp?file=/cases/opinions/04CV80216d117.pdf Memorandum Opinion
Whistleblower Asks for
Halliburton Investigation
Mon Oct 25, 2004
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Army Corps of Engineers' top
contracting official has demanded
an investigation into contracts given to Halliburton, citing
"improper action" that favored Vice
President Dick Cheney's old company.
According to documents made available to Reuters on Monday by
congressional sources, Army
Corps whistle-blower Bunnantine Greenhouse complained of "repeated
interference" in billions of
dollars of contracts given to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg
Brown and Root for work in Iraq and the
Balkans.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6602023
Use Of Private Contractors
In Iraq Proves Costly
By Joseph Neff and Jay Price
Associated Press
10-25-4
http://www.rense.com/general58/costly.htm
On February 18, 2004, over
60 leading scientists-Nobel laureates, leading medical experts,
former federal agency directors, and university chairs and
presidents signed a statement voicing their concern over the
misuse of science by the Bush administration. UCS is seeking the
signatures of thousands of additional U.S. scientists in support
of this effort.
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/rsi/page.cfm?pageID=1320
Right-wing Jewish Group
claiming responsibility for the hacking.
http://www.rense.com/general58/hacks.htm
Gold was within reach of
its highest level in nearly 16
years on Monday, fired by a resurgent euro and inflationary fears
fanned by
sky-high oil prices, dealers and analysts said.
"I don't think we've seen anything yet," Ross Norman of
TheBullionDesk.com told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"With the euro where it is, oil where it is and tension
ahead of the U.S.
election I think we could see another attempt at $430.50 and it
might just
poke through," he added.
http://www.TheBullionDesk.com/
NEW REPORT SHOWS MOST
COMMUNITIES
UNPREPARED FOR A BIOTERROR ATTACK
October 25, 2004
http://www.house.gov/hsc/democrats/pdf/hsc_docs/finalreportwithcover.pdf
Oct. 25, 2004
Bush Administration Failures Leave Chemical and Nuclear Plants,
HazMat, Ports and
Water Systems Vulnerable to Terrorists
http://www.citizen.org/homelandsec/
Bioterrorism attack
response expensive
By Kim Lyons
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Hospitals that treat a large number of casualties from a
biological or chemical
attack could face financial ruin, a doctor who specializes in
bioterrorism response
said Saturday.
"Health care systems make money on procedures like hip
replacements," said
Michael Allswede, director of the University of Pittsburgh's
Center for
Biosecurity Strategic Medical Intelligence initiative. Caring for
scores of sick
people creates financial burden, he said. "And insurers
won't pay for acts of
war."
Allswede spoke Saturday during the final day of a three-day
symposium on terrorism in the 21st century at
Duquesne University.
Hospitals need funding to train personnel to deal with a possible
bioterrorist attack to help medical personnel
recognize the symptoms of biological or chemical attacks. The
chain of command for reporting suspected
public health emergencies -- from the hospital, to the public
health department and then to the federal
government -- needs to be more efficient, Allswede said.
Otherwise, in the event of a widespread anthrax attack,
"everyone will be dead in a week if we don't learn to
deal with such an event in a more effective way."
He pointed to the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) as a major obstacle to
health agencies' ability to share information with law
enforcement. HIPAA was implemented to preserve
patient privacy, but those restrictions could confuse
hospital personnel and limit what they share with law
enforcement agencies. Allswede said better guidelines
should be established so medical personnel know at
what point they should report a situation to law
enforcement.
Yesterday's speakers also included forensic scientist
Dr. Henry Lee, best-known for his testimony for the defense team
in the O.J. Simpson murder trial. When
people talk about terrorism, they tend to focus on international
terrorism, Lee said.
"But there is just as much a threat from domestic terrorism,"
he said.
Forensic science can offer clues to investigators who know what
to look for, Lee said. He showed a photo of
a field test to detect a biohazard -- which looked like an at-home
pregnancy test -- and said quick field tests
were crucial to determine whether any hazards may be present at a
given scene.
First responders such as police officers and firefighters need
training to recognize evidence of a chemical or
biological incident, so such situations can be contained early,
Lee added.
But often, investigators are the beneficiaries of sheer luck, he
said.
"Sometimes we solve cases not because we're so smart, but
because they're so stupid," he said of criminals,
who often leave behind evidence without realizing it. "You
just have to know what you're looking for."
Easing bio-security on
reconstituted killer virus raises concerns
Helen Branswell
Canadian Press
October 22, 2004
TORONTO (CP) - The decision by a team of U.S. researchers to ease
bio-security precautions for a reconstituted version of the 1918
pandemic flu virus - the most lethal killing machine in viral
history - is sparking debate within the international scientific
community.
Fears that a genetically engineered cousin of the virus
responsible for the infamous Spanish flu might accidentally
escape from a lab have led to calls within the scientific world
for a international meeting to iron out the conditions under
which it can be studied.
http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id=9cc1ba57-fec4-4148-9bf1-9d31d2082b5e
Is 'Al Qaeda' the Modern
Incarnation of 'Emmanuel Goldstein'?
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/goldstein.html
Bin Laden is located, says
9/11 panelist
San Bernardino Sun | October 22 2004
CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Pentagon knows exactly where Osama bin
Laden is hiding in Pakistan, it just can't get to him, John
Lehman, a member of the 9/11 Commission, said Thursday.
Lehman's remarks echoed those made Tuesday by Secretary of State
Colin Powell, who said the al-Qaida leader was alive and
operating in the western part of Pakistan.
Bin Laden is living in South Waziristan in the Baluchistan
Mountains of the Baluchistan region, Lehman told the San
Bernardino Sun after delivering a keynote speech on terrorism at
Pitzer College in Claremont.
In the interview, Lehman noted, "There is an American
presence in the area, but we can't just send in troops. If we
did, we could have another Vietnam, and the United States cannot
afford that right now."
When pressed on why the United States couldn't send troops into
the region to capture the world's No. 1 terrorist, Lehman said
the Baluchistan region of the country is filled with militant
fundamentalists who do not recognize the legitimacy of Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf, a close ally of the United States.
"That is a region filled with Taliban and al-Qaida members,"
he said, acknowledging that Pakistan's security services also are
filled with many who agree with bin Laden's beliefs and would aid
him if U.S. Special Forces entered the region.
"Look," he said, "Musharraf already has had three
assassination attempts on his life. He is trying to comply, but
he is surrounded by people who do not agree with him. This is not
like Afghanistan, where there was no compliance, and we had to go
in.
"We'll get (bin Laden) eventually, just not now."
Asked how bin Laden was surviving, Lehman said he was getting
money from outside countries, such as the United Arab Emirates,
and high-ranking ministers inside Saudi Arabia.
"He is not a wealthy man," Lehman said. "We ran
that information into the ground, and discovered he only receives
about $1 million a year from his family's fortune. The rest of
what he gets comes from radical sympathizers."
Department of Defense spokeswoman Capt. Ronnie Merritt confirmed
the U.S. military believes bin Laden is in Pakistan. However, she
would not comment on Lehman's remarks, except to say that he
normally didn't speak about these issues, and she was surprised
he had.
Lehman, secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan, was
one of the 10 members of the bipartisan commission that examined
the terrorists attacks on the United States.
He also is the author of three books about military tactics.
http://www.lebanonwire.com/0410/04102002LW.asp
October 20, 2004
Lebanonwire
A Bush pre-election strike on Iran 'imminent'
White House insider report "October Surprise" imminent
By Wayne Madsen
According to White House and Washington Beltway insiders, the
Bush administration, worried that it could
lose the presidential election to Senator John F. Kerry, has
initiated plans to launch a military strike on
Iran's top Islamic leadership, its nuclear reactor at Bushehr on
the Persian Gulf, and key nuclear targets
throughout the country, including the main underground research
site at Natanz in central Iran and another
in Isfahan. Targets of the planned U.S. attack reportedly include
mosques in Tehran, Qom, and Isfahan
known by the U.S. to headquarter Iran's top mullahs.
The Iran attack plan was reportedly drawn up after internal
polling indicated that if the Bush administration
launched a so-called anti-terrorist attack on Iran some two weeks
before the election, Bush would be
assured of a landslide win against Kerry. Reports of a pre-emptive
strike on Iran come amid concerns by a
number of political observers that the Bush administration would
concoct an "October Surprise" to
influence the outcome of the presidential election.
According to White House sources, the USS John F. Kennedy was
deployed to the Arabian Sea to
coordinate the attack on Iran. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
discussed the Kennedy's role in the
planned attack on Iran when he visited the ship in the Arabian
Sea on October 9. Rumsfeld and defense
ministers of U.S. coalition partners, including those of Albania,
Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Iraq, Latvia,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland,
Qatar, Romania, and Ukraine briefly discussed a very "top
level" view of potential dual-track military
operations in Iran and Iraq in a special "war room" set
up on board the aircraft carrier. America's primary
ally in Iraq, the United Kingdom, did not attend the planning
session because it reportedly disagrees with a
military strike on Iran. London also suspects the U.S. wants to
move British troops from Basra in southern
Iraq to the Baghdad area to help put down an expected surge in
Sh'ia violence in Sadr City and other Sh'ia
areas in central Iraq when the U.S. attacks Iran as well as clear
the way for a U.S. military strike across
the Iraqi-Iranian border aimed at securing the huge Iranian oil
installations in Abadan. U.S. allies South
Korea, Australia, Kuwait, Jordan, Italy, Netherlands, and Japan
were also left out of the USS John F.
Kennedy planning discussions because of their reported opposition
to any strike on Iran.
In addition, Israel has been supplied by the United States with
500 "bunker buster" bombs. According to
White House sources, the Israeli Air Force will attack Iran's
nuclear facility at Bushehr with the U.S. bunker
busters.The joint U.S.-Israeli pre-emptive military move against
Iran reportedly was crafted by the same
neo-conservative grouping in the Pentagon and Vice President Dick
Cheney's office that engineered the
invasion of Iraq.
Morale aboard the USS John F. Kennedy is at an all-time low,
something that must be attributable to the
knowledge that the ship will be involved in an extension of U.S.
military actions in the Persian Gulf region.
The Commanding Officer of an F-14 Tomcat squadron was relieved of
command for a reported shore
leave "indiscretion" in Dubai and two months ago the
Kennedy's commanding officer was relieved for
cause.
The White House leak about the planned attack on Iran was
hastened by concerns that Russian
technicians present at Bushehr could be killed in an attack, thus
resulting in a wider nuclear confrontation
between Washington and Moscow. International Atomic Energy Agency
representatives are also present
at the Bushehr facility. In addition, an immediate Iranian Shahab
ballistic missile attack against Israel would
also further destabilize the Middle East. The White House leaks
about the pre-emptive strike may have
been prompted by warnings from the CIA and the Defense
Intelligence Agency that an attack on Iran will
escalate out of control. Intelligence circles report that both
intelligence agencies are in open revolt against
the Bush White House.
White House sources also claimed they are "terrified"
that Bush wants to start a dangerous war with Iran
prior to the election and fear that such a move will trigger dire
consequences for the entire world.
Bioterror threat is
growing, say medics
By Severin Carrell
24 October 2004
The world faces a growing risk that
terrorists will use new biological weapons
created by genetic engineering, the British
Medical Association will warn this week.
Advances in research make it more likely
that virulent and lethal forms of influenza
and laboratory-enhanced strains of
smallpox could be used as weapons, the
BMA claims.
The warnings are spelt out in a report on
the threat posed by biological warfare,
released tomorrow by the BMA. The
association, which represents 128,000
GPs and medics, will call for international
action to curb the threat posed by these
weapons.
Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head
of science and ethics, said: "We have a
small window of opportunity to make the
world safer. The fact is that window is getting smaller."
The report lists a series of recent experiments creating lethal
new
viruses and bugs. The BMA will argue there are grounds for using
biowarfare tests to find defences against threats from terrorist
and
rogue states. But it warns there are no international treaties to
control
these tests.
It is understood the BMA report will focus on recent tests
including:
* Russian admissions that they created genetically enhanced
anthrax.
* The creation by US scientists of a new type of smallpox - which
is
eradicated worldwide by a global vaccination programme - from the
vaccine itself. This new bug, called SPICE, is 100 times more
potent
than the original.
* A new generation of weapons designed to attack the human
nervous system or immune system with "catastrophic effects",
perhaps using genetically modified natural toxins.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=575474
Friday, October 22, 2004
Oil hit a high $55.50 a barrel and the stock market hit a record
low for the year 2004.
Report: Army to let
Halliburton keep Iraq payment
Reuters | Oct 22 2004
The U.S. Army is laying the groundwork to let Halliburton Co.,
keep several billion dollars paid for work in Iraq that Pentagon
auditors say is questionable or unsupported by proper
documentation, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
According to Pentagon documents reviewed by the Journal, the Army
has acknowledged that the Houston-based company might never be
able to account properly for some of its work, which has been
probed amid accusations that Halliburton's Kellogg Brown &
Root unit overbilled the government for some operations in Iraq.
The company has hired a consulting firm to estimate what
Halliburton's services should cost, the report said.
The newspaper, citing the documents and internal memorandums,
said that officials are considering using the estimate to serve
as the basis for "an equitable settlement," under which
the Pentagon could drop many of the claims its auditors have made
against the company.
But the Journal added that some disgruntled Pentagon officials
see the effort to broker an outside settlement with the company
as unusual because the contract is so large.
According to the report, Kellogg Brown & Root so far has
billed about $12 billion in Iraq, and about $3 billion of that
remains disputed by government officials.
The Journal also cited Pentagon records showing that $650 million
in Halliburton billings are deemed questionable. An additional $2
billion is considered to have insufficient paperwork to justify
the billing, the report said.
A representative for Halliburton did not immediately return a
call seeking comment early today.
Bush' Texas Rangers' plot
thickens into tax
evasion and more
By Jerry Mazza
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Download a .pdf file for printing.
Adobe Acrobat Reader required.
Click here to download a free copy.
October 20, 2004—As if Bush's sale of his $606,000 share of
Texas Rangers stock to owner Tom Hicks for $15 million wasn't
enough, there's more from deep in the heart of Texas to nail the
good old boy, namely the possibility of tax evasion.
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/102404Mazza/102404mazza.html
Could the Associated Press
(AP) Rig the Election?
by Lynn Landes 10/22/04
http://www.ecotalk.org/AP.htm
Wednesday, 20 October,
2004
US anti-Semitism law perturbs Arab press
Many Arab newspapers have condemned the new US law authorising
the State Department to monitor anti-Semitism worldwide and
produce annual reports critical of those countries where it is
seen to be prevalent.
President George W Bush announced a few days ago that he had
signed into law the bill authorising the US to rate countries on
the way they treat Jews.
Most commentators believe it panders to the Jewish lobby in the
US and is aimed against Arabs and Muslims. However, one
dissenting voice considers it a positive move in the battle
against racism.
The London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi considers the
law "basically racist legislation which is anti-Arab and
Muslim under the guise of outlawing anti-Semitism".
Accusations of bias
"President Bush does not want to acknowledge that Arabs are
also a Semitic people who have suffered a great deal from wars
launched by him alongside his friend [Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel] Sharon."
Saudi Arabia's Al-Jazirah argues that the promulgation of the law
"shows the extent to which the US is prepared to go to
protect such an aggressive and renegade state" as Israel.
It accuses Washington of "abandoning the principles of
international law and justice to put its weight behind such a
pariah entity".
For another popular pan-Arab daily, Al-Hayat, "this law
affirms once again that whatever is in Israel's interest is in
America's interest and vice-versa".
A commentary in the paper is headlined "God's chosen people".
The Palestinian paper Al-Ayyam is convinced that any State
Department list of states where anti-Semitism is considered to be
a problem will "be a 100% Israeli".
'Foolish policies'
Al-Arab al-Alamiyah, a pan-Arab daily with a pro-Libyan stance,
argues that the issue "should not be about anti-Semitism but
about Israel's racist policies".
"Israel refuses to accept this truth and Washington accepts
Israel's argument in its entirety when it comes to the definition
of anti-Semitism."
No wonder, Al-Arab al-Alamiyah believes, that "enmity
towards America and its foolish policies in the world is growing".
However, another influential pan-Arab daily, Al-Sharq al-Awsat,
is convinced the law could turn out to be a force for good.
"There are fears that the anti-Semitism Law signed by the US
Administration will turn out to be against the rights of Arabs in
their dispute with Israel.
"However, despite the likelihood that the word anti-Semitism
will be construed in various ways, we should take it for what it
is - a law to monitor and not punish.
"In view of the fact that this law is an anti-racism law,
one should encourage it rather than condemn it. It is better to
say yes to this law and demand that it should be extended to
everyone who encourages racism against Muslims, blacks and all
other minorities."
Racist legislation which is anti-Arab and Muslim says Al-Quds Al-Arabi.
17 Asian nations join
hands to curb terrorism
NEW DELHI, OCT 22: India, alongwith 16 other Asian countries, has
adopted a catalogue prescribing co-operation among members states
in curbing
terrorism and preventing separatist activities, at the Conference
on Interaction
and Confidence building measures in Asia (CICA) at Almaty,
Kazakhstan.
The conference was attended by external affairs minister Natwar
Singh and by
the representatives of Pakistan, China and Russia. The conference
adopted a
catalogue which included confidence building measures (CBMs) on
cooperation
in the military-political dimension, on fighting new challenges
and threats, and in
areas of economic, environmental and human dimensions.
The meeting emphasised the centrality of the UN in promoting
international
peace. It favoured the ‘independence and sovereignty’
of Iraq, political and
economic reconstruction in Afghanistan and expressed concern over
the
situation in West Asia.
It asked the member states to exchange information regarding the
activities of
terrorist, separatist and extremist groups as well as organised
criminal groups.
As and when necessary, the member states must also develop a
mechanism to
combat their activities.
The CICA adopted a declaration saying “we strongly condemn
terrorism in all
its forms and manifestations, violent manifestations of
separatism and
extremism. We agree to enhance our efforts both at bilateral and
multilateral
levels to fight these common threats.”
The conference expressed support for various multilateral and
individual
initiatives on development of dialogue among civilisations. It
expressed the view
that this mechanism was one of the principal instruments for
fighting terrorism,
intolerance and promoting peaceful co-existence among adherents
of different
religions and cultures.
While observing that the threats posed by terrorism, separatism
and extremism
‘undermine the very foundation of international peace and
security’, the
declaration emphasised that the fight against these should be
global,
comprehensive and sustained. It should not be selective or
discriminatory and
should avoid applying double standards.
According to the declaration, the member states may also exchange
information
on their national authorities in the sphere of law enforcement as
well as
facilitate the establishing and strengthening of contacts between
these
authorities.
In the sphere of military-political dimension, the catalogue on
CBMs prescribes
that the member states exchange information in this area, the
scope, feasibility
and modalities of which will be agreed by the members concerned
in
accordance with their national laws and regulations. These areas
may include
components of armed forces, defence budgets, presence of foreign
military
contingents on the territories of member states
Friday, October 22, 2004
Anthrax case may bring heat on reporters
Waivers would release workers from confidentiality pacts
By SCOTT SHANE
THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON -- In a development that could hinder
reporters' ability to obtain confidential information,
Justice Department officials agreed yesterday to
distribute to dozens of federal investigators in the 2001
anthrax case a document they can sign to release
journalists from pledges of confidentiality.
Lawyers for Steven Hatfill, a former Army
bioterrorism expert, had sought the releases as a step
toward questioning reporters about their sources in the
case. Hatfill, who has been described by Attorney
General John Ashcroft as a "person of interest" in the
anthrax investigation, is suing the government over
leaks of a variety of information suggesting his guilt.
Experts on journalism and the law said the releases --
first used in another case, involving a leak of the
identity of Valerie Plame, an undercover officer for the
CIA -- could erode government employees' confidence
that they can provide information to reporters without
fear of being later identified and punished.
These experts said being presented such a form could
pose an excruciating dilemma for news sources. If they
refuse to sign, superiors may suspect that they were
the source of a leak. If they did leak information and
then do sign, they risk being identified by the reporter
as the source.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters
Committee for Freedom of the Press, said it was
"ridiculous" to think that waivers sent by the Justice
Department to its employees would be viewed as
voluntary.
"The ultimate result of this," Dalglish said, "will
be that
in the future, less information will get to the public."
The experts said that the use of the release forms in
the Hatfill case suggested that the practice of asking
people to whom reporters may have promised
anonymity to later permit the release of their names
could become routine. Documents filed by Hatfill's
lawyers already refer to the forms as "Plame waivers,"
as if they were an established legal tool.
Justice Department lawyers said yesterday that under
the new agreement, they would send the release forms,
beginning in about four weeks, to at least 80 people
who have worked on the government's investigation of
the anthrax-laced letters that killed five people in the
fall of 2001 and made at least 17 others ill.
The list of those who are to receive the forms includes
Ashcroft and Robert Mueller, director of the FBI, as
well as numerous FBI agents, postal inspectors and
federal prosecutors.
The releases will be accompanied by a letter advising
the recipients that signing them is voluntary. Waivers
that are signed will be passed on to Hatfill's lawyers,
who can then present them to reporters in an effort to
persuade them to disclose who gave them information
about Hatfill.
Reggie Walton, the federal district judge overseeing the
Hatfill case, first allowed the plaintiff's lawyers to
question reporters last March. But they have not yet
sought to do so, maintaining that case law requires the
exhaustion of all other routes before pursuing
journalists.
At a hearing yesterday before Walton, Justice
Department lawyers and Hatfill's lawyers portrayed
the waivers as a compromise that would advance
proceedings in the lawsuit without interfering with the
criminal investigation of the anthrax case by requiring
depositions from a large number of investigators.
"All that's affected by the waiver is a private promise
of confidentiality," said Mark Grannis, a Washington
lawyer who is representing Hatfill. "We want that
waived precisely so that we don't have to depose
investigators but can get the information from
reporters."
Elizabeth Shapiro, a lawyer in the Justice Department's
civil division, called the decision to distribute the release
forms to anthrax investigators "an extraordinary
concession."
As a "person of interest" in the anthrax case, Hatfill,
50, of Washington, was trailed by FBI surveillance
teams for months. He has denied any connection to the
anthrax letters and has said that being treated as a
suspect has made him unemployable and wrecked his
life.
In addition to suing the FBI and the Justice
Department, he has filed defamation lawsuits against
The New York Times, for columns about Hatfill by
Nicholas Kristof, and against Vanity Fair magazine, for
an article by Don Foster, a Vassar College professor
who has analyzed documents in criminal cases.
Oct 21, 2004
Honduran Official Says al-Qaida Recruiting
By WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press Writer
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- It's a
U.S. Homeland Security Department
nightmare, and Honduras' most outspoken
Cabinet member says it's happening:
Al-Qaida operatives recruiting Central
American gang members to carry out
regional attacks and slip terrorists into the
United States.
Yet U.S. and Central American officials say
they have found no evidence supporting
Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez's
allegations. And human rights groups accuse
Alvarez of trumping terrorism reports to
justify his crackdown on gangs, who in
response have adopted terror-style tactics such as beheadings -
20 so far - and
threatened the government.
Romulo Emiliani, a Roman Catholic bishop working closely with
gang members
in the northern city of San Pedro Sula, called the reports "an
attempt to distract
the public while the government puts thousands of youths in jail."
The U.S. government has long worried terrorists would tap into
smuggling
networks that move migrants and narcotics across Mexico's porous
northern
border and into the United States.
To combat those fears, Mexico has worked with
the United States to keep a close eye on drug
and smuggling activity. It also has made it much harder to enter
Mexican
territory legally if a person comes from a country with terror
ties.
Alvarez, however, has stoked fears that terrorists are joining
migrants crossing
illegally into Mexico from Central America, then moving north.
A spokesman for Mexico's National Immigration Institute said
officials have
caught "a significant number" of people from the Middle
East trying to sneak
into the United States from Mexico, although he refused to
release exact
numbers. One smuggler was arrested recently for allegedly moving
Iranians
and Iraqis into the United States.
There has been at least one confirmed report of a suspected
terrorist in Central
America. U.S. and Panamanian officials say Saudi native and
alleged al-Qaida
leader Adnan G. El Shukrijumah stayed in Panama for 10 days in
April 2001,
five months before the Sept. 11 attacks.
There also are fears El Salvador could be hit
by terrorists for supporting the U.S.-led
mission in Iraq.
Recent reports of possible terror activity in
the region have been more questionable.
In May, here in Tegucigalpa, the hilly
Honduran capital, two witnesses said they
saw El Shukrijumah at an Internet cafe
downtown, sparking rumors he was
recruiting gang members.
U.S. officials have been scouring the globe
for the 29-year-old Shukrijumah, and have
offered up to $5 million for his capture. But a
senior U.S. official in Central America,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said
there was no evidence he was ever here.
Alvarez, a former private security consultant
educated at Texas A&M, acknowledges he
sometimes releases information that isn't
confirmed, saying the reports keep Honduras'
population alert to potential threats.
"I prefer that people live with the fear of
possible danger than feel safe and have
something happen," he told The Associated
Press.
"Look at what happened in Spain. The people
there felt safe, and they weren't," he added,
referring to the al-Qaida-linked March 11
train bombings in Madrid that killed 191
people.
When pressed for details of al-Qaida's
alleged ties to Honduras, Alvarez could not
remember the name of the Internet cafe
where El Shukrijumah was allegedly spotted.
He ordered his office to find the information,
but after an hour of searching, staff members
said it was classified.
Alvarez, who is mulling a future run for
president, was appointed security minister in
2002 to beat back rampant gang activity and has championed a zero-tolerance
law that made membership in a street gang illegal and punishable
by up to 12
years in prison.
While the initiative has been popular with Hondurans tired of
crime, gang
members have responded by beheading victims and leaving brutal
warnings for
Honduras' government on notes left with the bodies.
One note this spring read, "Idiots, the end of the world is
approaching." And a
message early this year said, "The next victims will be
police and journalists."
The decapitations began Aug. 20, 2003, 13 days after the zero-tolerance
law
took effect and outlawed the country's gang members, who use
extortion and
violence to control everything from the drug trade to the
country's bus routes.
There have been an estimated 20 terrorist-style beheadings in a
little more than
a year - about one a month.
Alvarez said there also was evidence gang members might be
joining terrorist
organizations. He said three Honduran government informants told
authorities
that four suspects from "somewhere in the Middle East"
had smuggled $1
million in cash into Honduras to finance a migrant-smuggling
operation
controlled by the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, which has a
strong presence in
Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and southern Mexico.
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger classifies links between gangs
and
terrorists as "rumor," and his Interior Secretary
Carlos Vielmann said at this
month's Interpol meeting in Mexico that "there hasn't been
any indication that
such ties exist."
The head of Interpol in Central America, Salvadoran police
director Saul
Hernandez, and Mexican Interior Secretary Santiago Creel also say
they have
no evidence supporting the theory.
One Mara Salvatrucha gang member, Jose Manuel Sarmiento, scoffed
at the
idea of teaming up with al-Qaida or other Islamic militants.
"We hang out with our homies on the street. How would we
know how to
make contact with terrorists?" the 19-year-old said in an AP
interview from a
sweltering jail cell in San Pedro Sula. "I've seen al-Qaida,
but on television
only."
Ernesto Bardales, a sociologist who founded a private
rehabilitation program
for former gang members, said exploiting terrorism jitters is a
way of keeping
the anti-gang law popular.
"People were terrified of gangs, but now the streets are
quiet," he says. "How
do you scare people again? With terrorists."
Alvarez counters that constantly talking about terror ensures
terrorists skip
Honduras in favor of quieter destinations.
"When terrorists feel threatened or discovered, they look
for other places," he
said.
Asked if he believed his country and neighboring nations really
were swarming
with terrorists, Alvarez is resolute.
"Time will prove me right," he says. "In time,
everyone will see."
The Oakland BART transit district is bringing out the big guns as part of a localized Orange Alert. From now until Nov. 2, riders will have to get used to SWAT patrols in full battle gear, automatic M-16 rifles and all. The new measure is an added precaution against an October "surprise," Osama bin Laden-style. "If there is a consistent thread in the chatter over the last several months, it is that if something is going to happen it will happen before the election. That makes a lot of intuitive sense, and we don't want to take any chances," said BART's operations manager, Paul Overseier, who heads the transit district's security effort. It's intuitive because the March 11 Madrid rail explosions were days before Spain's elections, as were the recent attacks in Russia. People who see unattended bags or other suspicious items can report them. Overseier said their ranks will grow as Election Day nears.
Oct 29, 2004
Following the terrorist attacks on the nation, NORAD's mission
was expanded to focus on threats coming from inside as well as
outside the United States and Canada.
Paul McHale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense,
noted that the United States still relies "heavily" on
the F-16 Fighting Falcon to determine hostile intent by enemy
aircraft. "I'm convinced technology can give us a better way
to do this," said McHale. The F-16 is a 25-year-old air-to-air
combat and air-to-surface attack aircraft. NORAD employs F-16s, F-15s,
and the Canadian Forces' CF-18s in its mission to deter, detect
and defend Canada and the United States.
McHale chaired a panel on maritime defense and port security. He
said the United States should also develop a system to track,
identify, and thwart an enemy platform "long before" it
enters U.S. Northern Command's area of responsibility.
USNORTHCOM was created two years ago as a direct result of 9-11.
The command's mission is to defend the United States, its
territories and other interests and to coordinate Department of
Defense civil support during a presidential declared disaster or
emergency.
McHale, whose office provides civilian oversight for all homeland
defense activities, said he believes the nation should also
develop a defense against cruise missiles attacks, which he
believes will pose an even greater threat "in the coming
years."
Canadian Maj.-Gen. Angus Watt, NORAD director of operations,
agreed with the need for a defense system against cruise missile
attacks; however, he said he is more concerned at present about
possible threats from unmanned aerial vehicles and remote piloted
vehicles.
"They have less range, but are capable of carrying
biological and chemical weapons, " said Watt. UAVs and RPVs
also present a challenge "because there are so many avenues
for them to come in, particularly when you consider the
dimensions of the North American coastline, all the potential
vehicles that could come in, the low radar cross section of some
of these vehicles and the lack of a viable weapon to intercept
some of them at this time. "
The United States has taken steps to intercept UAVs and RPVs
"as they come in" by developing the Capstone
Requirement Document, said Watt. The document, he said, "will
define the nature of threats, the nature of the capabilities now
available, and the nature of future capabilities that could be
brought to bear against threats."
"What we envision is essentially a system of systems, with
net sensors and shooters, to provide a layered defense against
cruise missiles and UAVs," Watt said. However, he added,
"It may be some time before we see this layered defense, but
we are definitely working toward it."
Canada is not part of the United States' national ballistic
missile defense program but recently agreed to allow Canadian
military members in NORAD to provide missile warning information
to USNORTHCOM once the missile defense system is up and running.
Canadian Lt.-Gen. Rick Findley, NORAD deputy commander, said he
does not see NORAD "embracing" the missile defense
mission, especially since USNORTHCOM is responsible for that
mission. "USNORTHCOM already is working to shorten the time
line to react to that threat," said Finley. He said Canada
and the United States will sign a new NORAD agreement in 2006,
which may include provisions for expanded maritime defense.
"We already have some vulnerabilities on the maritime side,"
said Findley. He noted that the United States has 95,000 miles of
coastline while Canada has 152,000 miles of coastline. The
situation presents "a huge task" and one that requires
partnering with other agencies, including the Federal Aviation
Administration, Transportation and Security Agency, U.S. Secret
Service, FBI and customs agencies "on both sides of the
border," said Findley.
October 21, 2004
Plague found on west side
By CARY LEIDER VOGRIN - THE GAZETTE
Squirrels on the city’s west side are getting a tasty treat
and, at
the same time, an insecticide treatment — a strategy to kill
disease-carrying fleas after an animal tested positive this week
for the plague.
In addition to setting out the bait tubes, county health workers
spent Tuesday distributing 750 educational pamphlets to homes
within a half-mile of Garden of the Gods Campground and
Columbia Road, the area where the diseased squirrel was found.
The county Health Department began receiving calls about dead
squirrels in the area a couple of weeks ago, said Don Mydlowski,
environmental quality program manager for the department.
Health officials sent one squirrel to the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment, which conducted tests.
Squirrels, chipmunks, prai- rie dogs and pets can carry plague,
which can be passed to humans through the bite of an infected
flea.
“We would like the public to know to keep their dogs and
cats
under control,” Mydlowski said. “If they live in the
affected area,
keep cats inside.”
He also urged pet owners to talk to their veterinarians about
flea-control remedies.
http://www.gazette.com/display.php?sid=1292763
Experts fear escape of
1918 flu from lab
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996554
CWD fears spread far and
wide
Nearly every state keeping watch for fatal brain disease
By Gary Gerhardt, Rocky Mountain News
October 18, 2004
Five years ago, Colorado was among a handful of states that had a
surveillance program for chronic wasting disease.
Today, nearly every state in the U.S. has a program, hoping it
never
finds that the fatal prion disease has infected its deer and elk
herds.
First discovered in Colorado in 1967, CWD now has spread to 11
other
states and two Canadian provinces.
Last year, Colorado found the disease in 248 deer and elk from 16,431
deer, elk and moose heads submitted for testing.
CWD is a neurological disease that attacks the brains of infected
animals, causing them to become emaciated, display abnormal
behavior
and lose bodily functions. Stricken animals always die. How it is
transmitted and whether it affects all animals still is being
studied.
CWD has a loose relationship to mad cow disease, scrapie in sheep
and
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. However, there has been no
evidence that CWD is a risk to human health.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3262726,00.html
Levin Releases Report on
Pre-War Intelligence
Oct 21, 2004
The report demonstrates how intelligence relating to the Iraq-al
Qaeda relationship was exaggerated
by high ranking officials in the Department of Defense to support
the Administration's decision to
invade Iraq when the intelligence assessments of the Intelligence
Community did not make a
sufficiently compelling case.
http://www.levin.senate.gov/newsroom/supporting/2004/102104inquiryreport.pdf
Thursday, October 21, 2004
A U.S. military judge sentenced Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick to
eight years in prison on Thursday for sexually and physically
abusing detainees at the Abu Ghraib jail in Baghdad.
Monday, October 18, 2004
DOT Announces U.S.-China Air Cargo Rights in Final Order
http://www.dot.gov/affairs/dot19104.htm
On the afternoon of
October 19, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a regular
press conference.
A reporter asked: a British journalist familiar with Middle-East
affairs reported that Osama Bin Laden
is now possibly on the Chinese side of its border with Pakistan.
What's your comment on this?
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue answered: "I
haven't read the report you just mentioned
yet, even less do I know any ground for this report. I think he
is irresponsible for writing such a report.
I can explicitly tell you that Bin Laden isn't in China.
In an interview with The Chicago Tribune US Secretary of State
Colin Powell said, "We don't know
where Bin Laden is and have not heard the so-called report that
he is in China, but we think he is
alive. We are working closely with the Pakistanis to capture him.
Powell still stressed again US is doing well in relations with
most of US allies and friends. He said our
relations with China are the best we have had in 30 years under
the efforts of both governments.
Former Commander-in-Chief of United States Central Command
General Tommy R. Franks said up to
now he has not known if Bin Laden was hiding in Tora Bora area.
He writes, according to information,
Bin Laden was once there. However, some hinted at that time he
was in Pakistan while some others
said he was in Kashmir.
Now that China denies Bin Laden is in China and the US government
refuses to mention the matter,
then where does the sensational news come out?
If glance over the newspaper one will know the reporter is Gordon
Thomas claiming that he is a
British senior journalist. He often says he has maintained long-term
cooperative relations with national
intelligence institutions.
With sensational news, the famous reporter has published many
"books'' creating sensations.
Opening the books, it is not difficult to find contents in these
books are enchanting with strange words.
The allusions in the books are not given where they are taken
from. Far away from what is normal,
the books can only be "laughing stock'' at one's spare time
with no real sense.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao once said openly
that it is groundless for the rumor
of West media that Bin Laden is in China. At the regular press
conference held on September 22,
2001 some reporters asked, "According to a report by British
The Guardian on September 22 Bin
Laden has escaped from Afghan and entered into China. At present
he is hiding in somewhere in
China. Please confirm.'' Zhu said in reply, "The Guardian's
report is groundless. I don't know what is
the purpose for the reporter to spread the rumor.''
10/19/2004
BEIJING: The United States' nuclear regulator said it is likely
to approve the export of
US-designed reactors to China soon, granting US companies access
to a previously
blocked multi-billion-dollar market.
Nils Diaz, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),
told reporters the
Commission, which has the final say on approving the export of
American reactors,
was in the process of reviewing export licenses.
He said he was unaware of any significant objections to exporting
the technology to
China.
"The Commission will actually vote on this issue hopefully
in the next couple of
months," said Diaz, who explained the safety of the
Westinghouse AP-1000 in meetings
with Chinese officials on his visit.
"The process is relatively simple once we get to this stage
... I haven't heard of any
significant opposition to the issue," Diaz told a press
conference.
China currently has nine nuclear reactors, most of which are
imported from France or
are locally designed.
To meet its huge demand for energy, the rapidly industrializing
country is planning to
rev up nuclear power construction in next 15 years and build some
30 nuclear-power
plants by 2020, igniting competition by foreign companies to sell
reactors to China.
While Beijing has not said it wants to buy the US reactor, it has
long sought US nuclear
power technology.
US companies have also lobbied hard to sell to China.
Having lagged behind their counterparts in France and Canada,
they do not want and
cannot afford to be left out of the only major market for
reactors -- a market which will
comprise 80 percent of the world's nuclear power plants once the
new projects are
completed.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/112380/1/.html
China Formally Arrests NYT
Researcher For Secrets
10-21-4
http://www.rense.com/general58/chinaformallyarrestsNYT.htm
China Set To Buy Up
Canada's Resources
By Geoffrey York
The Globe and Mail
10-21-4
http://www.rense.com/general58/chinasettobuyupcanada.htm
Radioactive Materials
Seized in Central Russia
Tue Oct 19, 2004
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian security services seized two
containers filled with highly radioactive
material at a scrap yard in central Russia, Interfax news agency
said on Tuesday.
Radiation levels at the scene in the Volga town of Saratov, where
the containers with uranium-238
were discovered, were 358 times higher than normal, Interfax
said, citing regional emergency
officials.
Interfax said homeless people brought the containers to the scrap
yard. It quoted regional nuclear experts as saying officials at
the scene had also found an empty container normally used to
transport uranium.
Uranium-238 is a highly dense and toxic material mainly used in
gun ammunition and armor.
"That type of uranium looks very much like lead so I would
not be surprised if someone had simply mistaken it for it and
dumped at the scrap yard," a spokesman for the Russian
Atomic Energy Agency said.
Also Tuesday, a truck carrying radioactive materials was seized
at the far eastern port of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Ria-Novosti
news agency reported. No further details were available.
French terrorist met
another al-Qaeda suspect in Penang
BY WONG CHUN WAI AND LOURDES CHARLES
PENANG: Convicted French terrorist Lionel
Dumont, who visited Malaysia no less than six
times, had secretly met up with another al-Qaeda
suspect Andrew Rowe, a British national, in
Penang on at least two occasions.
The two men have been accused by security
authorities of wanting to blow up London’s
Heathrow Airport but it was aborted when
intelligence agencies caught on to their plan.
The plan to blow up Heathrow Airport was foiled when
security agencies received intelligence about it and
put the airport on full alert in February 2003.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/10/22/nation/9200801&sec=nation
Police trace movements of
convicted French terrorist
EXCLUSIVE BY WONG CHUN WAI AND LOURDES CHARLES
KUALA LUMPUR: Convicted French terrorist
Lionel Dumont has visited Malaysia no less than
six times and police are investigating why.
Dumont, who is of Algerian descent, is believed
to have used a fake passport to come to
Malaysia between 2002 and 2003. He is said to
have stayed in several hotels here and rented a
house for a few months in a northern state.
The 34-year-old militant, who had links with
Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, was
arrested in Germany in December.
He first entered Japan from Singapore using a
forged French passport bearing the name Tinet Gerald
Camille Armand in July 2002.
Dumont, who used Japan as a base for a year, has been
blamed for several incidents, including an attempted bombing
of a police headquarters prior to the start of the Group of
Seven economic summit in Lyons, France, in June 1996. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/10/21/nation/9125003&sec=nation
Iran tests missile of 2000km
range
TEHRAN, Oct 20: Iran carried out a new test on Wednesday of its
upgraded Shahab-3 ballistic missile,
which it says has a range of at least 2,000 kilometres, Defence
Minister Ali Shamkhani said.
"A few minutes ago we carried out a new test of the Shahab-3
missile in the presence of observers," he
said.
Steady progress made by Iran on its ballistic missile programme
is a cause for concern for the
international community, already alarmed over the country's
nuclear activities.
http://www.dawn.com/2004/10/21/top16.htm
10/20/04
Small cases of sabotage to power lines and broadcast stations
seem to be increasing around America according to local news
reports.
Two small
planes have gone down in Missouri within a week.
http://aviation-safety.net/
http://www.ntsb.gov/Pressrel/pressrel.htm
10/20/2004
FBI investigates holes punched in US Airways jets
By Toni Locy and Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON - FBI agents are investigating small
puncture holes found on two US Airways jets. The holes are
similar to damage discovered last week on an aircraft in
Orlando.
David Martinez, an FBI spokesman in Charlotte, said
Wednesday that agents have begun interviewing people who
had access to the jets in Charlotte and other cities where the
aircraft had been.
The holes were discovered Monday during routine visual
inspections by mechanics at the Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport. Last week, holes were found on a jet
that had landed in Orlando after a layover in Charlotte.
The two jets were grounded after the damage was discovered
but have been repaired and are flying again. It is unlikely that
the holes posed a danger to the passengers.
David Castelveter, a US Airways spokesman, said the airline
is "cooperating fully" with the FBI. He said the holes
are very
small punctures about the size of a pencil near the rear galley
door.
In September, US Airways filed for bankruptcy protection for
the second time in two years. Management is negotiating a
third round of concessions from union employees. Last week,
a bankruptcy judge approved 21% pay cuts for most of the
union workers.
Martinez said the airline's financial troubles "may be a
consideration" in the investigation.
"We don't know what caused it or who did it," Martinez
said. He said it is too early for the FBI to begin
searching for a disgruntled employee as a possible suspect.
"Was it an accident? Was it a criminal act? Was it something
done in normal maintenance? We are trying to
sort everything out," he said.
FBI agents probably will talk to people who have access to the
tarmac, including baggage handlers, pilots,
mechanics, fuel providers, food suppliers and trash haulers.
"Anybody who would damage an aircraft deliberately out of
spite or any other reason demands the book be
thrown at him," said Stuart Matthews, president of the
Flight Safety Foundation.
Speculation about employee involvement is unwarranted, union
officials said.
"It's reckless and irresponsible for people to speculate on
what may have caused the damage until the facts
are known," said Joseph Tiberi, spokesman for the union that
represents mechanics and baggage handlers.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-20-jet-crash-safety_x.htm
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