Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

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NYCtourist.com: "MACY's THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE..." (Click here.)

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - EAST ASIA (180): CHINA, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ************************************************************************ A ProMED-mail post ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of Microbiology books from Elsevier ------------------------------------------ [1] Date: Wed 23 Nov 2005 From: Christian Griot Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine, Tue 22 Nov 2005 [edited] -------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- WHO Avian Influenza Expert Says 300 Dead In China ------------------------------------------------- Dr. Masato Tashiro, a Japanese WHO consultant, believes that China has had 300 human deaths from avian influenza and is hiding the true extent of the disease from the rest of the world. Dr. Masato Tashiro, Director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Influenza at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, and head of the Department of Virology of the National Institute of Infectious Disease (Japan), astonished colleagues with this information during a speech at a recent retirement dinner for a fellow virologist, Hans-Dieter Klenk. ------------------------------------- Having just returned from the Hunan province of China on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO), [Dr. Masato Tashiro] claimed that a reliable source had provided him with details of the true nature of the H5N1 virus in China. "We are systematically deceived," he is reported to have said. ------------------------------------ Tashiro visited China on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Hunan province. His laboratory, at the National Institute for Infection Research in Tokyo, as one of the Asian points of contact for the United Nations, had been particularly entrusted with investigations into avian influenza in Asia and China. Dr. Masato gave his lecture in the University of Marburg Clinic before some the most outstanding virologists in the world and shocked the meeting with his unauthorized data [report] from inside China. -------------------------------------- The Japanese virologist [said he] firmly believes in the reliability of the source and its data. The secrecy of the Peking government is still causing concern as it was at the beginning of the SARS epidemic disease, complained Tashiro. At least 5 medical co-workers who should be reporting on the situation in the provinces were arrested, and [other] publication-willing researchers were threatened with punishments [he said]. -------------------------------------- -- Christian Griot ---------------------------------- [There have been recurrent reports of human cases of avian influenza in China. So far, none have been independently substantiated. This report has more significance than most, coming from a WHO-supported virologist. However, Dr. Tashiro's report is based on 2nd-hand information and requires independent authentication. Further information is requested. - Mod.CP] --------------------------------- [ProMED-mail acknowledges the receipt of similar information from Mary Goodman .] ******_______________________________________________________ [2] Date: Wed 23 Nov 2005 From: Christian Griot ----------------------------------- Source: Newsgroups: agen.ape.international , ---------------------------------------------- Associated Press report, Wed 23 Nov 2005 [edited] China: School Teacher Tests Negative for Avian Influenza Virus Infection ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Blood tests on a Chinese schoolteacher who fell ill in an area that suffered a bird flu outbreak show that he doesn't have the virus, a World Health Organization official said on Wed 23 Nov 2005. The teacher lived in the same county in the central province of Hunan as a 9-year-old boy who was confirmed to be one of China's 1st human cases. The boy's 12-year-old sister, who died, was a suspected case. "Based on an extensive range of blood tests, [the schoolteacher] has been excluded as a case of H5N1," said Dr. Julie Hall, an infectious diseases specialist for the WHO's Beijing office. ----------------------------------- The 36-year-old teacher fell ill after chopping raw chicken, according to the government. Chinese experts initially said all 3 tested negative for the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu. But it later reopened the investigation and asked the WHO for help. -------------------------------- -- Christian Griot ------------------------------------- [This result, if confirmed independently, reduces the number of laboratory confirmed human cases of avian influenza in China to 2: a 24-year-old woman in Anhui province (who died) and a 9-year-old boy in Hunan province who recovered. - Mod.CP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527831/posts

"US Widens Sanctions on Zimbabwe Officials"
VOA News ^ | 23 November 2005 | By Paula Wolfson

Posted on 11/23/2005 10:39:13 PM PST by F14 Pilot

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176614,00.html

AP

"Israel Captures Key Islamic Jihad Militant"
Wednesday, November 23, 2005

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "JENIN, West Bank — A top Islamic Jihad militant surrendered to Israeli soldiers early Thursday, witnesses said, after a daylong siege during which army bulldozers knocked down the four-story house where he was hiding.

Dozens of troops surrounded the building in the town of Jenin in the hunt for Iyad Abu Rob. Witnesses said Abu Rob, a senior commander of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank, emerged from the wrecked house after midnight and was taken away by soldiers along with one of his aides."

ON THE NET...

http://www.internet-haganah.us/harchives/005291.html

"FOCUS
In the crosshairs: Palestinian Islamic Jihad"

Note: The following post is an exact quote:
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527840/posts

Russia targets terror banks
UPI via M&C ^ | Nov 24, 2005

Posted on 11/23/2005 11:17:27 PM PST by ncountylee

MOSCOW, Russia (UPI) -- Russia`s domestic security chief Wednesday urged tough penalties for banks that funded terrorism and organized crime.

'The Federal Security Service (FSB) deems it necessary to toughen the punishment for credit organizations and their top managers for financing terrorist activities and organized crime,' FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview for the Thursday edition of the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

Patrushev called on the Central Bank of Russia to be more responsive to the signals sent by law enforcement agencies. 'It is inadmissible to earn money on blood,' he said. Patrushev said eliminating terrorism`s financial channels was the FSB`s top priority.

Patrushev said special services and law enforcement agencies had to be given the authority to control financial flows and to freeze and arrest suspicious accounts. The RIA Novosti news agency reported that he also said financial and credit organizations should be obliged to cooperate with the special services.

Patrushev cited U.S. law as an example, which makes it possible for law enforcement agencies to obtain information from banks and financial institutions when international terrorism is involved.

ON THE NET...

http://www.tibyan.tk/
http://tibyaan.atspace.com/tibyaan/category5c8d.html?id=149
http://tibyaan.atspace.com/tibyaan/article2573.html?id=1176

ON THE NET...

http://www.infovlad.net

NOTE: The following post is an exact quote:
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1527852/posts

Maine exploring discount heating oil deal with Venezuela
Portland Press-Herald ^ | 11/23/5 | Francis X. Quinn

Posted on 11/24/2005 12:44:41 AM PST by Crackingham

One day after Venezuelan officials signed an agreement to provide 12 million gallons of discounted home heating oil to low-income Massachusetts residents, Baldacci administration officials confirmed that Maine is exploring a similar deal.

Beth Nagusky, Gov. John Baldacci´s top aide on energy matters, said Wednesday that discussions are in a very early stage and declined to provide details.

Nagusky said talks with Venezuela were part of Baldacci´s desire to "leave no stone unturned" in searching for ways to ensure Maine has enough fuel for the needy this winter.

Venezuela, a key supplier of U.S. oil imports, produces a significant share of petroleum products used in Maine. Citgo Petroleum Corp. is the Houston-based subsidiary of Venezuela´s state-owned oil company and has about 13,500 independently owned U.S. gas stations.

Nagusky, who is director of the Gov.´s Office of Energy Independence and Security, cast the talks between Maine and Venezuela as exploratory.

"We are discussing options," she said.

Anticipating questions about state dealings with a country whose government has an adversarial relationship with the United States, Nagusky said, "If we only imported oil from the countries whose politics we agreed with, we´d be very cold and we´d probably have to go back to the horse and buggy."

Nagusky said she believed cities including New York are looking into similar possibilities.

Last week, the Democratic governor and Democratic and Republican leaders of the Maine Legislature announced an agreement to make the appropriation of $5 million for fuel assistance for the needy the first order of business when lawmakers reconvene in January.

Baldacci said a simultaneous goal remains raising another $5 million through charitable donations.

The Massachusetts agreement is expected to aid tens of thousands of state residents, with oil shipped to a Massachusetts terminal and distributed statewide by two nonprofit organizations.

Reports from all over the world, repeating an Oxford study, that says the war in Iraq, fighting al-Qaeda may last for years.

Links at:

http://news.google.com/news?ie=utf8&oe=utf8&persist=1&hl=en&client=google&ncl=http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2005-11/23/article03.shtml

You may have already covered this- but- have a look at this post in the comments at LGF:

#112

tridroid97 11/23/2005 10:54AM PST

Slightly OT, but related...

I was listening to Neal Boortz interview Richard Miniter over lunch. Richard related a story that he was recently in Iraq at a Press briefing from someone fairly high up in the military. (Old age amnesia...can't remember the name..indict me...). He said that that they believe between 80 and 85% of the insurgent attacks are paid for. He further said that, at the beginning of the war, a typical roadside bomb placement or sniping could be bought for about $50 US. That price has now gone over $3,000 per occurence.

The incredible thing is that he was speaking to a major newspaper's reporter next to him (he declined to identify which newspaper)and jokingly said something like "I guess you're going to scoop me on this." The report just said "On what? I haven't been writing this stuff down. It's not news."

Excuse me? Not NEWS? First of all, where is all of this money coming from? Second, how do they know? And third, are they economic dipwads? If the insurgency was so popular, I would think that the price would be going down, not up.

No media bias?

From the news at: Aina.org

I have removed part of the post about the female bomber recently in Jordan and am showing the bottom of the article that concerns the U.S.
granny

http://www.aina.org/news/20051122101949.htm

Assyrian International News Agency
Veiled Threat: Female Muslim Terrorists

Posted GMT 11-22-2005 16:19:49 Send to Printer Close Window

Wearing her defused bomb belt, which failed to detonate when the three other members of her team blew themselves up along with members of a Jordanian wedding party, al-Rishawi called into question the idea that Muslim women are little more than veiled victims of a brutal misogynistic culture and that their only connection to terror is as bystanders. While no female Muslims here in the U.S. have blown up passenger jets as they have in Russia, or strapped on belts packed with TNT and ball bearings to blow up American hotels, as an older Iraqi woman has confessed to doing in Jordan, law enforcement has uncovered a disturbing number of cases in which they have helped Muslim men with terrorist plots or have planned to attack fellow Americans themselves.

Here are a few examples, some of which have never been revealed:

Earlier this year, the FBI arrested two teenage Muslim girls in Manhattan on suspicion they planned to attack U.S. targets as suicide bombers. The 16-year-old girls wore veils and regularly attended mosques.
Last year, a Pakistani woman who worked for years at EPA headquarters as a toxicologist was arrested after authorities learned she not only lied about being a U.S. citizen, but also ran a charitable front for al Qaeda back in Peshawar, Pakistan. A mother of four, Waheeda Tehseen lived comfortably in the same leafy neighborhood as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, according to law enforcement documents I've obtained. She was "very devout," but fellow EPA scientists found her religious beliefs quaint and completely nonthreatening, and even unwittingly helped her raise money for Osama bin Laden.
Authorities are still looking for another Pakistani woman who they believe to be a "fixer" for al-Qaida in the U.S. MIT-educated Aafia Siddiqui is said to have been involved in a plot to blow up underground gas tanks around Baltimore. The mother of three is known as a "good sister" who has memorized her Quran and is willing to help al Qaeda out when they need her. She was a hard-line Muslim activist on the MIT campus, where she wore head-to-toe traditional black gown and matching headscarf while raising money for jihadists around the world. The Bostonians she ran into outside that circle of hate, however, knew her only as a soft-spoken "philanthropist."
Two months ago, federal agents in Dallas accused three Muslim women of lying to the government to conceal their involvement in their husbands' criminal support of outlawed terrorists. Fay Elashi, for one, allegedly tried to hide from investigators checks and financial records bearing the names of the terrorists.
Last year, authorities in Baltimore spotted the wife of suspected Hamas operative Ismail Elbarasse videotaping the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from an SUV they were driving. The couple was taken into custody and their camcorder tape seized as evidence. On it, authorities found close-up shots of cables and supports "integral to the structural integrity of the bridge," according to court documents. Six other tapes found in their car contained footage of four other bridges and other structures they believed to be targets. Authorities concluded Elbarasse's wife was helping conduct "reconnaissance and surveillance" for a possible terrorist attack during rush hour.
They are not the only potential targets Muslim women have been casing in the Washington area. Not long after it set up headquarters in Crystal City, Va., not far from the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security asked the Secret Service to conduct countersurveillance of suspicious Muslim women who were videotaping the building on a regular basis.

Prolonged static surveillance using operatives who look harmless and don't attract police scrutiny is the hallmark of al Qaeda, which does painstaking pre-attack planning. Through its websites, al Qaeda regularly encourages the faithful who are "far from the fields of jihad" to research the soft spots and weaknesses "of the American infidel crusaders" and report back locations and images of vulnerable structures -- from bridges and pipelines to military installations and financial buildings -- which might be suitable for attack.

According to the Quran, jihad is not something a Muslim can opt out of. It demands able-bodied believers to join the fight. Those unable -- largely women and the elderly -- are not exempt; they must give "aid and asylum" to those who do fight the unbelievers in the cause of Allah. Such facilitators are promised the same reward of Paradise, although not the same status as jihadists who give their pound of flesh to Allah. And those who die in his cause -- the shaheeds, or martyrs -- are reserved the highest place in the Paradise hierarchy.

Increasingly, however, Muslim women are taking on the role of martyr, though no one is rethinking the profile just yet. To be sure, Muslim women are a long way from fitting the profile of the suicide bomber, which is still predominantly young, Muslim and male.

But the Department of Homeland Security issued warnings to law enforcement to be on the lookout for suspicious Muslim women after Chechen terrorists used young Muslim women as suicide bombers to attack Russian targets a couple of years ago. And they are on alert again after al Qaeda, in an effort to lower its male profile and bypass security, apparently enlisted an older Muslim woman to help carry out the recent bloody attacks on American hotels in Jordan.

According to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, who has interviewed bin Laden, there is a ready supply of female jihadists in his country alone who would be thrilled to help al Qaeda.

"Our women are more extremist than the men," he said in a recent magazine interview. "There are hundreds here."

By Paul Sperry
FrontPageMagazine.com

Paul Sperry, formerly Washington bureau chief of Investor's Business Daily, is a Hoover Institution media fellow and author of "Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington" (Nelson Current, 2005).

I think the year has gone by fast RR. It seems to me we were discussing your hideout in the computer room not that long ago.

It's a lot of work, but well worth it particularly with family and friends. Looking forward to hearing your menu for the day.

I have an early morning here, lots to do today.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Thanks Cindy, Happy Thanksgiving.

My thoughts and prayers are with the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Protecting our country so that we may enjoy this very special day with our fabulous friends and family.

Thank you for that post, Granny. Folks are working around the clock to protect our nation. Hopefully even the average citizen will report when they see similar suspicious behavior.

If the insurgency was so popular, I would think that the price would be going down, not up.

Possibly. But there are several other factors that could cause this kind of "price rise."

First of all, it's known that the roadside bombs are now much more sophisticated than they were at first - by necessity, since we've gotten much better at detecting and disabling them. The increasing sophistication (and power?) of the bomb itself has to cost somebody something.

Secondly, if they have to employ more jihadis to run cover for the operation (possibly because the better-trained ones - likely either ex-army or trained in Afganistan - have been depleted, or simply because we've become more efficient at dealing with them), that's going to cost something as well - even if you're just paying for their food, shelter, & equipment.

Thirdly, they have been making an effort to increase the number of such attacks as well - and apparently in the face of having their numbers depleted by US forces. This means more cost to replace the losses (training, recruitment, etc), plus enough more to handle the extra "workload." Inevitably the tendency would be to try to involve the common criminal element as mercenaries if they want more than what they can do with their regular forces. But the common criminal isn't primarily motivated by ideology or religion, he's motivated by money - preferably easy money. And we've made things much more dangerous for the bombers, so it's no longer a safe way to get some easy pocket money. So any operations that were "subcontracted" to such individuals would see their prices soar. However the fact that they might feel compelled to employ such people would not be a good sign - not only are such individuals unreliable, it would mean that their recruiting was not able to keep pace with their losses and/or ambitions.

As for "not news" - well, if this was already "well known" amongst the reporters, it might not be news to them even if it would be news to most other people. Or it might be known to reporters "in the field" that this isn't true and therefore the Pentagon spokesperson is wrong - but in that case why not dispute the story on the facts? Of course that's part of what reporters are being paid to do - find out and inform others of things they didn't know before. If one of those is the case it just shows that they're out of touch (we have other evidence of that).

The other way in which it might be "not news" is that Richard Miniter is "just another reporter" who's talking about things he's heard so it's second or third hand information. For something like this you'd really need primary sources since anybody can speculate on anything (including the individual at the Pentagon). However in that case it would seem that this was interesting enough to be worth investigating further; the reporter might not have had much to comment about at that moment but surely it would have been worthwhile to take a few notes.

But I'd have to agree, the reporter most likely either has an agenda that this doesn't "fit" into, or is so ignorant of economics that he or she can't draw the obvious conclusions. Based on my interactions with reporters, both of these might very well be true simultaneously.

This part is a suprise to me...Snippet from your post:

"That price has now gone over $3,000 per occurence."

Ditto and Amen.

Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=200511105.txt

NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
November 23, 2005
Release Number: 05-11-105

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IED ATTACK LEADS TO CAPTURE OF NINE TERRORISTS

TIKRIT, Iraq – Nine terrorists were captured after an IED attack against a 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division patrol Tuesday afternoon near Balad.

The nine men were detained after two of them tested positive for explosives residue. The IED was constructed from a 155mm artillery round and hidden alongside the road.

One Soldier was wounded in the attack and taken to a local military medical facility.

For more information, please contact the 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION Public Affairs Office at EDWARD.LOOMIS@US.ARMY.MIL.
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Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=200511106.txt

NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
November 23, 2005
Release Number: 05-11-106

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AIR ASSAULT MISSION TAKES DOWN TERRORIST STRONGHOLD

TIKRIT, Iraq – A joint Iraqi and U.S. mission against a terrorist hideout near Bayji uncovered a large amount of money and weapons.

The operation named Old Baldy was launched Nov. 21 by Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division and “Rakkasans” from the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team. More than 30 suspected terrorists and a large cache of money, weapons and material were captured during the operation.

The air assault mission was centered on al Bayji Island, a 10 square kilometer land mass splitting the Tigris River north of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown. The island has served as an isolated hideout for terrorists and criminals in the past.

According to Lt. Col. Randy George, commander of Task Force Leader, Bayji Island was a “previously untouched area and we wanted to send a clear message to the insurgents: there is no safe haven in AO Rakkasan.”

The Soldiers swept onto the island before dawn Nov. 21 in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. Over the next 36 hours, the Iraqi and American Soldiers conducted searches of the island, uncovering stores of enemy weapons including rocket-propelled grenades and IED making material.

“This operation instilled confidence in our Iraqi counterparts, and served to further strengthen our partnership with the Iraqi Army,” said George, referring to the Rakkasan partnership with the 4th Iraqi Army Division soldiers.

For more information, please contact the 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION Public Affairs Office at EDWARD.LOOMIS@US.ARMY.MIL.
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