Posted on 10/07/2004 10:14:24 AM PDT by crushelits
WASHINGTON - The Education Department has advised school leaders nationwide to watch for people spying on their buildings or buses to help detect any possibility of terrorism like the deadly school siege in Russia.
The warning follows an analysis by the FBI (news - web sites) and the Homeland Security Department of the siege that killed nearly 340 people, many of them students, in the city of Beslan last month.
"The horror of this attack may have created significant anxiety in our own country among parents, students, faculty staff and other community members," Deputy Education Secretary Eugene Hickok said in a letter to schools and education groups.
The safety advice is based on lessons learned from the Russia incident. But there is "no specific information indicating that there is a terrorist threat to any schools or universities in the United States," Hickok said.
Federal law enforcement officials also have encouraged local police to stay in contact with school officials and have encouraged reporting of suspicious activities, the letter says.
In particular, schools were told to watch for activities that may be legitimate on their own — but may suggest a heightened terrorist threat if many of them occur.
Among those activities:
_ Interest in obtaining site plans for schools, bus routes and attendance lists;
_ Prolonged "static surveillance" by people disguised as panhandlers, shoe shiners, newspaper or flower vendors or street sweepers not previously seen in the area;
_ Observations of security drills;
_ People staring at or quickly looking away from employees or vehicles as they enter or leave parking areas;
_ Foot surveillance of campuses involving individuals working together.
The effort is the latest by the Education Department and other federal agencies to encourage school officials to maintain and practice a plan for responding to emergencies.
After the terrorist takeover of the Russian school, President Bush (news - web sites) asked his top advisers to review their strategies for dealing with hostage situations, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has said.
The federal government is advising schools to take many steps to improve the security of their buildings. Those include installing locks for all doors and windows, having a single entry point into buildings and ensuring they can reach school bus drivers in an emergency.
The Education Department sent its letter by e-mail Wednesday to school police, state school officers, school boards, groups representing principals and many other organizations.
The Homeland Security Department also sent a bulletin Wednesday to federal, state and local emergency officials to provide fresh guidance based on the review of the school siege in Russia.
Just back on. Haven't checked all posts.
Adding to school threat.
Details are sketchy. Not all information is being shared with the public yet.
During Valentine's Dance, roughly 20 children were pricked by sharp object.
Preliminary tests on several are starting to test positive for Hepititus C.
http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_054123554.html
UPDATE...
http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=431845
"School Set to Reopen After Mercury Spill"
Updated: Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005 - 2:47 PM
UDPATE: "WASHINGTON -
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "About two ounces of mercury was spilled at the school, and while short-term exposure to a small amount generally won't do much harm, federal health officials say exposure to high levels of mercury can damage the brain and kidneys.
The Environmental Protection Agency oversaw the cleanup.
A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday and charged with illegal dumping of a hazardous material, said Sgt. Joe Gentile of the D.C. police."
Posted on 02/28/2005 2:22:09 AM PST by Cindy
OPINION: In my opinion, the ACLU and the UN are always competing for the top spot on my personal MOST ANTI-AMERICAN list. Today, the UN went straight to the top.
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http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43174
"U.N. 'explodes' American kids
Broadcasters not showing graphic ad depicting soccer children blown apart"
Posted: March 6, 2005
5:27 p.m. Eastern
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ON THE NET...
http://www.brooklynbrothers.com/movies/un60.mov
http://www.stoplandmines.org/slm/index.html
Post no. 226 I posted does not belong on this thread.
Poster error -- sorry.
Does your public school ping list know this thread has been updated since it was posted?
It boggles the mind!
PHILSTAR.com
The Filipino Global Community
http://www.philstar.com
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1359853/posts
"Cassava kills 30 kids in Bohol"
www.philstar.com ^ | 3 10 05 | Jose Sollano
Posted on 03/10/2005 12:50:44 AM PST by freepatriot32
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Thirty elementary school children died of food poisoning yesterday after eating a native delicacy made from cassava flour at the San Jose Elementary School in Mabini town, Bohol.
San Jose Vice Mayor Ester Tabigi said authorities had not yet determined exactly how many children had fallen ill, but at least 50 were still in critical condition last night in various hospitals in the nearby towns of Ubay and Talibon. Some children were brought as far as the provincial capital of Tagbilaran City, some 100 kilometers from Mabini.
Reports said the children, mostly second and third-grade pupils, started complaining of stomach pains and dizziness right after eating the cassava cake, known locally as maruya, during the morning recess at around 10:30.
"At 12 noon, teachers started to send victims to hospitals for treatment. Unfortunately, many of them failed to make it," said Philip Puderanan, public information officer of the Bohol Municipal Hall."
Post no. 230 is a NOT-IN-THE-USA incident, but it is an article of interest and an fyi.
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http://news.google.com/news?q=%22Bohol%22&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr
Where to start...?
A NOT-IN-THE-USA articles for our archives:
ON THE NET...
http://news.search.yahoo.com/news/search?p=palestinians%20anti-tank%20rocket&ei=UTF-8&fl=0&datesort=1
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/573010.html
Last update - 16:48 06/05/2005
"Gaza lull shaky as Palestinians fire rocket at settlers' school bus"
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Palestinians on Friday morning fired an anti-tank rocket on Friday morning at school bus carrying children outside the southern Gaza Strip settlement of Kfar Darom, shaking the fragile lull in violence. The rocket failed to hit the bus.
A mortar shell also hit a Gush Katif settlement. No damage or casualties were reported in either case.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired four Qassam rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot predawn Friday. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said that several people had been treated for shock."
http://www.click2houston.com/news/4460681/detail.html
"BB Guns Fired At School Buses"
"Buses Escorted By Police"
POSTED: 4:40 pm CDT May 6, 2005
UPDATED: 6:36 pm CDT May 6, 2005
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "HOUSTON -- School buses from the Spring Independent School District received police escorts Friday afternoon after BB guns or pellet guns were fired at several buses, officials told Local 2."
ARTICLE SNIPPET #2:"Officers are searching for the vehicles involved. They are described as a white Toyota Camry and an older-model, dark-colored Lexus."
ON THE NET...
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=school+buses&btnG=Search+News
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=school+bus&btnG=Search+News
What? They're just innocent, hard-working, undocumented migrants doing the jobs Americans don't want to do.
/sarcasm
An important thread.....ping.
A NOT-IN-THE-USA Incident:
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
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http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1115908561989B225
"Two killed in Kashmir explosion"
May 12 2005 at 04:57PM
By Sheikh Mushtaq
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Srinigar, India - Suspected Muslim rebels detonated a grenade on Thursday as children left a Christian missionary school in Indian Kashmir, killing two women and wounding about 50 people including 20 pupils, police said.
"Please save me, I don't want to die. Call my parents," screamed a girl, her leg covered in blood, outside the school in Srinagar.
Distraught parents, many of them weeping, searched for their children at the scene of the blast in the centre of the main city of Kashmir where separatist rebels are waging a 15-year-old revolt against Indian rule.
"The grenade exploded as the schoolchildren were coming out of the gate of the school as it closed for the day," a police officer told reporters."
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