Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat - Thread Seven

The Washington Times ^ | 4-26-04 | Bill Gertz

[JustPiper]

"I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat"

Two Chinese diplomats, away from their Los Angeles consulate improperly, recently sped their vehicle past a Los Alamos National Laboratory guard post near classified facilities in what U.S. officials think was an intelligence mission, The Washington Times has learned.

[jerseygirl]

I went back to look at the book about Plum Island. I had forgotten this tidbit:

"Carroll also ominously points to a revelation first reported by Newsweek in 2001 that Pakistani nuclear scientist Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood had a New York Times article about Plum Island in his possession when he was arrested in December 2001. Mahmood held meetings with Osama bin Laden in 2000 and 2001, according to his son. "

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Good to know that you are back. We won't stop praying for your Mom, though. :)

[jerseygirl]

Here is a description of what was reported in the Plim Island Book:




Local News - Thursday, March 18, 2004


Book claims Plum Island may be responsible for Lyme, West Nile cases

By FRANK ELTMAN
The Associated Press

---

PLUM ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Plum Island Animal Disease Center off eastern Long Island may have been responsible for outbreaks of Lyme disease and West Nile Virus and could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks, a new book claims.

Although attorney and first-time author Michael Carroll concedes he has no direct evidence, he insists he's right, citing seven years researching "Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory," published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.

"Every investigation is about connecting the dots," the author said of his claims. "We know that documents show, that hundreds of hours of interviews show, in this book, Plum Island is run and protects workers ... worse than a junior high school biology laboratory."

Not so, say administrators of the nation's only government laboratory that studies the most dangerous animal diseases. Some medical experts agree.

"I personally just don't think that has any merit," said David Weld, the executive director of the American Lyme Disease Foundation, in Somers.

Maureen McCarthy, a top official at the Department of Homeland Security, which recently took over the lab, said: "I guess my first impression is that you can't judge a book by its cover."

The author chronicles the history of the lab, which the Department of Agriculture opened in 1954, taking possession from the U.S. Army. The Army operated the island as Fort Terry for decades. Plum Island sits off the northern tip of Long Island, surrounded by the Long Island Sound and Gardiners Bay.

This isn't the first time Plum Island has been the focus of a book. Nelson DeMille used the island as the center of his 1997 thriller about deadly viruses and a hidden treasure. In "Plum Island," a detective investigates the murders of two biologists who worked on the island.

The newly created Department of Homeland Security took control of Plum Island last June, although agriculture department scientists still conduct research.

Carroll claims that while security and safety were top priorities in the early days, eventually there were mishaps that called into question whether the site was a hazard. In particular, he notes a 1978 incident in which animals kept in a holding pen outside Lab 257, one of several Plum Island buildings, were diagnosed with foot-and-mouth disease.

An agriculture department spokeswoman conceded that the cause of the incident, which was reported in the media at the time, was never determined. Lab 257 was closed in 1995, and "right now it poses no health hazard," McCarthy said.

Also, since 1978, no animals have been kept outside the biocontainment laboratories, Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Sandy Miller-Hays said. She also disputed Carroll's claims about Lyme disease, saying it was never studied at the facility, and contended that West Nile Virus was studied only after the outbreak was reported in 1999.

Carroll also cites a power outage during Hurricane Bob in 1991 that left some workers knee-deep in virus-contaminated sewage. He insists that these and other incidents led to a lax atmosphere, which made it possible for the lab to be the source of outbreaks like Lyme disease and West Nile Virus.

Carroll also ominously points to a revelation first reported by Newsweek in 2001 that Pakistani nuclear scientist Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood had a New York Times article about Plum Island in his possession when he was arrested in December 2001. Mahmood held meetings with Osama bin Laden in 2000 and 2001, according to his son.

McCarthy, noted that many security changes have taken place since her agency moved in last summer. There are increased security patrols by armed guards, electronic surveillance cameras have been installed, background checks are being done on all employees and escorts accompany all visitors.



Originally published Thursday, March 18, 2004
Copyright ©2004 The Ithaca Journal.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

That town should be first, but only if the creep family is there at the time. I think the house is just a vehicle for the carpet bagger's NY residency claim, though. I don't think anyone ever really lives there except for the hired help. Oh, ok, maybe it sometimes serves as an alternate bachelor's pad for the crooked one, too.

[WestCoastGal]

Plum Island: Diseases' inner sanctum
An inside look at the controversial research facility where exotic animal maladies are studied amid renewed emphasis on security


Plum Island Animal Disease Center (Newsday Photo / David L. Pokress)
Apr 26, 2004


BY BILL BLEYER
STAFF WRITER

April 26, 2004


The Plum Island Animal Disease Center has been the subject of considerable controversy during the past two years, fueled by a bitter strike by maintenance workers, disclosures of safety lapses, brief blackouts that raised fears of viruses spreading off the island, and by a highly publicized book that calls the laboratory a "biological timebomb." All of that has left environmentalists and officials from Washington to Southold Town Hall with lingering concerns about whether Plum Island is a danger to the public.

Newsday requested and received what government officials describe as unprecedented access to observe and describe a day in the life of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center so long as details related to national security were not revealed. I

It's breakfast time, and the auditorium at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center is filled with about 30 veterinarians visiting from across the country.

At the podium, a scientist from Texas is lecturing about viruses that cause horrific damage to African livestock as the vets munch on eggs and biscuits without any loss of appetite.

These vets are no strangers to gory animal diseases. But they have no hands-on experience with foreign animal viruses such as foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest and classical swine fever.

That's why they put their names on a long waiting list for a coveted invitation to one of Plum Island's quarterly Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician training classes. They've come for two weeks of schooling on more than two dozen diseases, observing 10 of them in infected animals, to learn to detect the viruses in the field so they will be able to take quick action to prevent the spread of disease.

They start their day listening to Dr. Linda Logan from Texas A&M University, who has spent time in Africa studying exotic diseases such as theileriosis, East Coast fever and heartwater.

More>>>>

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/health/ny-plum-lede,0,6408747.story?coll=ny-health-big-pix

another snippet from this story....

Since the Department of Homeland Security took over the island last summer from the Department of Agriculture, the mission has broadened to include preventing terrorists from using animal diseases as weapons.

[mfccinsd]

The Corona one is reportedly moving very quickly and they are afraid it could turn into the worst of the bunch (per what they are saying now...that seems to change a lot) and that it is picking up steam and heading towards home.

The Fallbrook/CP area one they are trying to stop before it hits Palomar Mtn. again (well, again as in another fire, not as in this one hitting the same place again).

That per our news a few minutes ago in SD.

[Lucy Lake]

Earth's magnetic poles on verge of flipping

World Net Daily

December 12, 2003

The Earth's magnetic field is weakening, and that could lead to a flip in the planet's poles making compasses point south instead of north for the first time in almost a million years, say scientists.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1039977/posts
............

Earth's Magnetic Field Weakens 10 Percent (and some other stuff)

December 12, 2003

Reuters


SAN FRANCISCO - The strength of the Earth's magnetic field has decreased 10 percent over the past 150 years, raising the remote possibility that it may collapse and later reverse, flipping the planet's poles for the first time in nearly a million years, scientists said Thursday.


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1039487/posts

[jerseygirl]

I don't like the idea that AQ operatives showed such interest in Plum Island.

[BurbankKarl]

no, they returned to base around 550pm....

[mfccinsd]

Well never mind most of that... now they are saying something different...that the Temecula one is heading towards Palomar (which makes more sense) and that THAT one is the biggest problem. Guess that's the nature of fires...every other minute there's something new.

[mfccinsd]

UH OH! CHP site now saying 100+ homes have been lost (in the Corona fire area...near Indian Truck Trail) and that it could be closed for 2-3 days.

PER CT, THIS CLOSURE WILL CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 2-3 DAYS//APPROX 100+ HOMES HAVE BEEN LOST

6:06PM - LOOKY LOO SLOWING - NO VISIBLE HAZARDS
5:57PM - 5120 SM T/CARLS JR TEMESCAL AT 15 - ROLL TAXI PLS
5:56PM - CT WILL HOLD 11M CLOSURE ITT/TEMESCAL
5:52PM - ITT AND TEMESCAL FIRE ON RS REQ UNIT TO CHECK
5:49PM - PER 8726 RD CLOSED AT TEMESCAL RD AT INDIAN TRUCK TRAIL

[jerseygirl]

Do you have the site for CHP updates?

[MamaDearest]

Can the fools not see that clinton is a traitor and crook?

It boggles my mind how incredibly gullible so many people were and still are for the Clintons. Stupidity abounds - and flourishes for them. Clinton's legacy is the debauchery he did in the Oval Office, selling out our country because he was corrupt and inept, and failing to bring in Bin Laden when he had the chance.

[WestCoastGal]

Several people were discussing the timeline leading up to 9-11. I was looking for that and found this website, I'm not sure where all of their information comes from but there is a lot of it for years leading up to 9-11 for anyone interested...........

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline/main/timelineabridged.html

[mfccinsd]

Yup

http://cad.chp.ca.gov/

Interestingly, they pulled a bunch of the stuff off that fire update...every once in awhile I see them do that with accidents when there are details they obviously didn't mean to have the public seeing.

Watching to see what else pops up before they realize it's visible and take it down. Hoping our news does one last update before the hour's up...

[WestCoastGal]

Note on that website from my prior post: they are definitely in line with what a lot of Democrats and peaceniks believe so take it with a grain of salt. I don't think they have resources for most of their information but it does give some accurate info and a timeline.

Here is one with lots of pictures 9-11 NEVER FORGET

http://www.september11news.com/AttackImages.htm

[mfccinsd]

Now looking for a suspect for one of the fires:

Incident: 0796 Type: Media Information Location: FIRE CLOSURES Zoom Map: Click Here Info as of: 5/3/2004 7:02:41 PM

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
6:58PM - PER SGT ON SCENE, SUSPECT FOR FIRE IS A RICHARD BROWN, SUSPECT VEH IS A GRN 1988 CHEV SILVERADO TK, LSH I-15 AT TEMESCAL CYN

6:21PM - THE ROAD CLOSURES HAVE CHANGED TO SR-79 BETWEEN LOS CABALLOS RD AND CAHUILLA RD (371)

3:58PM - AS OF 1555 HRS, SR 79 IS CLOSED BETWEEN CAHUILLA RD (371) AND ANZA RD

[TBall]

With Kerry part of me wants to hold out as long as possible on the push to expose his past. With clinton the past does not matter because his supporters can only see good in his smile. I remember years ago Freepers would post the latest Clinton Executive Order. No doubt the motive was often dual use, but unfortunately when your engaged in a clinton cover up you tend to forget about dual use.

[MamaDearest]

Well stated article Donna. Also pretty scary scenario but truthfully logical.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Plum Island is interesting, it shows up in Promed from time to time, the last time, it seemed that some of the workmen had not been checked and when the generator was needed, it didn't work, someone had sabotaged it.

Several times Promed has almost accused the Island of all out terrorism.

I think the link is promedmail.org, I can't read there with this computer.