Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

Thread Thirty-Two (Index)

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The Threat Matrix

The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger.

"Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix."

We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the daily reports around the world that involve threats. We try to provide a storehouse of information that takes hours of research.

YOU be the judge and get informed!

What's become of bin Laden since he gave us all the slip?
Full Story

Some think he is dead, others that he is hiding because he is scared of being killed.

Whatever the reason for the strange disappearance of Osama bin Laden, not seen alive since his last mocking video statement a year ago, he is no longer the face of the global "jihad" against the West.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi { TM 25,TM 27 }, the Jordanian responsible for some of the worst atrocities in Iraq, has become the hero of the hour on militant Islamist websites.

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

TM Terrorism Handbook

Link to Thread Thirty-One

"Code Red Implications:
Code Red - Stay Home and Await Word."
From Tm'er and Freeper ~MamaDearest~

Tracking the Chatter with TM

TM 'Be on the Lookout'

Survival Preparedness Info.

Threat Matrix Book List

ExSoldier's Invaluable Tips

Arabic Links and Resources

Godzilla's Summaries

Threat Matrix HTML designed by: Ian Livingston

Print Page | Close Window Al-Zawahiri's Knights under the Prophet's Banner Topic: http://www.somalipress.com/link.asp?TOPIC_ID=12561 Date: 11/24/2005

Topic author: Aftahan Subject: Al-Zawahiri's Knights under the Prophet's Banner Posted on: 11/24/2005 05:59:36 AM Message:

Ayman Al-Zawahiri's Knights under the Prophet's Banner: the al-Qaeda Manifesto.(Review Essay)(Book Review) Military Review - January 1, 2005 Youssef H. Aboul-Enein

To understand al-Qaeda, one must read the books of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's principal ideologue and chief strategic thinker. After Osama bin-Laden, Al-Zawahiri is the most-wanted Middle Eastern terrorist. The FBI has a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture or arrest.

In 2001, Al-Zawahiri published Knights under the Prophet's Banner (Fursan Taht Rayah Al-Nabi) even as the empire he built with Bin-Laden, and Taliban leader Mullah Omar crumbled under the weight of U.S. air, special operations forces, as well as the Northern Alliance assaults.

(1) Initially serialized in the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper in 12 installments beginning in early December 2001, Knights under the Prophet's Banner can now be found in the back alleys of any major Arab city.

(2) The word "knights" in the title refers to the members of the jihadist movement while evoking the image of the knights of the crusades.

The book begins with Al-Zawahiri saying: "I have written this book ... to fulfill the duty entrusted to me towards our generation and future generations. Perhaps I will be unable to write afterwards in the midst of these circumstances and changing conditions." According to Al-Zawahiri, the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks were just an opening salvo against the Christian and Jewish "infidels."

Al-Zawahiri sees the United States, Israel, and Israel's Western and Arab allies as the "first force" and Islamic militant movements that depend on God alone the "second force." He believes the United States is removing Islam from power through rigged elections, brutality, and force. He views treaties, peace negotiations, and bans on weapons as steps in the direct occupation of Muslim land by U.S. forces.

To Al-Zawahiri, jihad is an ideological struggle for survival--a war with no truce. He believes the Islamic jihadist movement should strike Islam's enemies, using the Luxor incident of 1997 as the means and as an example) He supports the growth of jihad among youths and numbers his success in the tens of thousands of young men in Arab prisons around the Middle East.

Al-Zawahiri says the jihad has not stopped, and the movement is either attacking or preparing an attack. He asserts Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's replacement of six interior ministers is proof of jihadist success. He also says acts of violence, beginning with the Egyptian Islamic jihad attack on the Military Technical College in 1974 and the agitation in Southern Egypt of the early 1980s, were poorly planned, emphasizing that deriving lessons from mistakes and improving the potency of jihadic operations should be hallmarks of Islamic militant movements.

From a U.S. military force-protection perspective, Part Seven of Al-Zawahiri's book reveals that the 1999 joint U.S.-Arab military exercise, Bright Star, was designed to keep fundamentalists from seizing political power, equating the exercise to the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt in 1798.

(4) He claims the timing of Bright star was not an accident; it was timed to observe the 200th anniversary of the French occupation of Egypt. To him, U.S. troop commitments are evidence of a victory for jihad forces. He combines his interpretation of Islam, Egyptian history, and news reports on U.S.-Egyptian military exercises to weave his own conspiratorial web to encourage youth to embrace his political objectives through violence and terror.

Al-Zawahiri dreams of a future jihad in the southern Russian Republics, Iran, Turkey, and Pakistan to unite a nuclear Pakistan and the gas-rich Caspian region to serve jihad. Al-Zawahiri identifies the following targets for al-Qaeda and its affiliates: * The United Nations. * Arab rulers. * Multinational corporations. * The Internet. * International news and satellite media. * International relief organizations, which he believes are covers for spying, proselytizing, attempted coups, and weapons transfers.

Al-Zawahiri urges Islamic militants to take matters into their own hands: "Tracking down Americans and Jews is not impossible. Killing them with a single bullet, stab, or a device made up of an explosive mix or hitting them with an iron rod is not impossible. [S]mall groups could [prove to] be a horror against Americans and Jews." These words bring to mind the actions of Beltway Snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Malvo, who killed 10 people in the Washington, D.C., area in a 2002 shooting spree.

Mir Amal Kansi was another famous lone-jihadist, who killed two CIA agents in 1993. Kansi was caught in 1997 by the FBI in Pakistan and extradited to the United States. Al-Zawahiri urges his followers to inflict maximum casualties in the West, advocates a cost-benefit assessment of martyrdom operations, urges attacks on the enemy's power structure, and advocates patience, planning, and maximum damage to cause mass disruption. Although he is not specific about targets, one can deduce he means banks, transportation links, and energy refineries.

The Al-Zawahiri and Bin-Laden tapes that appear on Al-Jazirah television cannot be fully understood without first reading Al-Zawahiri's book. Creating a serious psychological operations campaign without delving into his book would be difficult.

Egyptian Islamic Jihad became so unpopular in Egypt in the late 1990s that Al-Zawahiri developed the strategy of striking the enemy (the United States) afar instead of near (Arab governments). Refuting Al-Zawahiri's theories and selective use of Islamic history is critical to the ideological fight against al-Qaeda.

For further study of Al-Zawahiri, I recommend The Road to al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden "s Right Hand Man by Islamist lawyer and former radical Montassser el-Zayat, who spent time in prison with Al-Zawahiri and is now highly critical of Al-Zawahiri's actions.

(5) This book, which is the best English translation of a critical analysis of Al-Zawahiri's theories, takes readers inside the mind of a geostrategic Islamic militant. The book is from El-Zayyat's original, Al-Al-Zawahiri Kama Araftuh (Al-Zawahiri as 1 knew him).

(6) These books represent the new frontier in military studies. Books by Islamic militants contain valuable tips for those involved in force protection, counterterrorism, and counterinsurgency tactics.

NOTES (1.) Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Fursan Taht Rayah Al-Nabi (Knights under the Prophet's Banner) (Casablanca, Morocco: Dar-al-Najaah Al-Jadeedah, 2001).

(2.) I prepared this review essay by collecting the 11 installments of the Al-Sharq Al-Awsat in Arabic that first appeared in December 2001. The translation represents my understanding of the material. Any errors or omissions are my own.

(3.) In November 1997, the Egyptian Islamic extremist group al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or IlG) staged a brutal attack that left 58 tourists and 4 Egytians dead. The attack, which occurred at Hatshepsut's Temple in Luxor, became the worst attack on tourists in Egypt's history.

See U.S. Department of State Publication 10535, Patterns of Global Terrorism (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997), on-line at , accessed 21 December, 2004.

(4.) Egyptian military forces and members of the U.S. Central Command's Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and special operations components participated in the 1999 Exercise Bright Star, a joint/combined training exercise in Egypt. Military forces from a dozen nations, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Spain, and the United Kingdom, participated in the exercise (Department of Defense News Release 485-01, 3 October 2001).

(5.) Montassser el-Zayat, The Road to al-Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden's Right Hand Man (Stealing, VA: Pluto Press, 2004).

(6.) Zayyat, Al-Al-Zawahiri Kama Araftuh (Al-Zawahiri as I knew him) (Cairo: Dar Misr Al-Mahrusa, 2002). Lieutenant Commander Youssef Aboul-Enein. U.S. Navy, is a Medical Service Corps and Middle East-North Africa Foreign Area Officer. He received a B.B.A. from the University of Mississippi, an M.B.A. and M.H.S.A from the University of Arkansas, and an M.S. from the Joint Military Intelligence College. He is the Director for North Africa and Egypt and Special Advisor on Islamic militancy at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. ________________________________________ Citation Details Title: Ayman Al-Zawahiri's Knights under the Prophet's Banner: the al-Qaeda Manifesto.(Review Essay)(Book Review) Author: Youssef H. Aboul-Enein Publication: Military Review (Magazine/Journal) Date: January 1, 2005 Publisher: U.S. Army CGSC Volume: 85 Issue: 1 Page: 83(2) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SomaliPress : http://www.somalipress.com/ © 2005 SomaliPress All Rights Reserved.

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1528247/posts

The Opening of Jihad on US Soil
Israeli National News ^ | 11/25/05 | Adina Kutnicki

Posted on 11/25/2005 12:53:18 AM PST by LibWhacker

Ever since the horrific public assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane at the Marriott Hotel in New York City in 1990, there has been a small, yet vocal group of individuals trying to get certain US authorities - both state and federal - to pay attention to his murder. Their many entreaties both for personal justice and for a wider investigation fell on deaf ears. Nonetheless, the ramifications from the inaction of these US authorities can no longer be ignored.

This small group's personal pain at the rabbi's cold-blooded assassination fueled their initial anguished pleas. However, there was much more underlying their silenced screams. Just as surely as night follows day, they were convinced about one glaring aspect of Rabbi Kahane's murder: it was the opening salvo by Islamic terrorists in their ongoing war against the US, perpetrated on US soil. Previously, during the 1970s and the 1980s, the Islamists shot several devastating hits aimed at US interests overseas. Not this time.

The logical conclusion that Rabbi Kahane's supporters drew from his murder was crystal clear. Strangely, it coincided with the assessment of the Islamic jihad: if they can eliminate a problematic "radical" rabbi (their first victim of choice) on US soil and get away with it, then the hitherto invincible and impenetrable US would become open for their jihad.

The Islamists counted on the US authorities turning a blind eye to their intentions; and their assumptions proved demonstrably and deadly accurate.

Rabbi Kahane's assassin was an Egyptian named El-Said Nosair. Soon after the murder, the investigating authorities found among Nosair's belongings many boxes of Arabic writings, which for years were inexplicably not translated. Unbelievably, they included detailed plans for the upcoming 1993 World Trade Center bombings. In addition, Nosair was also a protege of Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman, the internationally infamous "blind sheikh" from a Jersey City mosque, convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Furthermore, the gun used to kill Rabbi Kahane was given to him by Wadith El-Hage, a member of Al-Qaeda, who was convicted for the 1998 US embassy bombings. Significantly, in March 1997, an Egyptian Muslim opened fire at more than a dozen people who were congregated on the rooftop of the Empire State Building for a sightseeing visit. Three years later, in the fall of 2000, the USS Cole was attacked, albeit overseas. The nexus to this Islamic hydra was growing exponentially (the above are only some examples of their lethal attacks on US soil and US interests overseas), yet US investigative authorities kept undeniably missing the links. The catastrophic attacks of September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center and the US Pentagon were a direct culmination of their blindness.

However, from day one after Rabbi Kahane's murder, his supporters besieged US authorities to view it as an Islamic act of jihad. But to no avail. Coincidentally, Rabbi Kahane's personal lawyer, Mr. Shannon Taylor, was also at his side when he was gunned down. In fact, he collapsed at Mr. Taylor's feet. He never imagined that the camera he brought along to take pictures of the gathering at the Marriott Hotel would later be used to take photos of a dying Rabbi Kahane. These pictures were taken to compile evidence for eventual prosecutorial purposes. In fact, these same images were the ones which circulated all over the world right after the murder.

Immediately, Mr. Taylor approached the local New York office of the FBI and the US Attorney General's office with sources of information. Acclaimed terror investigator Steve Emerson produced a documentary, Jihad in America, that exposed that the FBI had buried moles and spies deep within some of the Islamic terror cells. However, no tangible results on Rabbi Kahane's murder were forthcoming from the FBI. Coincidentally, Mr. Taylor had the occasion to speak with the newly retired CIA head, William Sessions. Mr. Taylor was flabbergasted to learn that Mr. Sessions never saw the crime scene pictures taken of Rabbi Kahane's murder. This should have been the first order of business, to hand over the pictures to the head of the CIA. After all, that was a logical conclusion to make when Islamic terrorists were being pursued. What was later revealed, though, managed to fill in the blanks as to why no results were forthcoming in Rabbi Kahane's assassination investigation.

In a nutshell, the FBI was not only taken off Rabbi Kahane's case, but all Islamic "infiltrating" was halted. President Clinton ordered the CIA, and the CIA then demanded that the FBI cease and desist. The Congress also put the squeeze on the FBI. Why? The true motives are anyone's guess. However, from 1990 until the 1993 first World Trade Center bombing, these groups were not monitored.

Fifteen years after Rabbi Kahane's murder, National Geographic, much to their credit, finally connected the most undeniable and intrinsic dot in their very well-documented four-part series entitled Inside 9/11. The focus of their documentary was on a timeline of the Islamic jihad against the US. Lo and behold, they concluded, much like Kahane's supporters, that Rabbi Kahane's assassination was the opening of jihad on US soil. This documentary was deemed so important and so relevant that it was made available free of charge to those areas that do not have access to the National Geographic cable channel.

One needn't be a cynic or a conspiracy theorist to make one salient observation: Kahane's murder (that of an often-maligned rabbi, deemed a "radical" and a "racist"), and the lack of a proper investigation into its cause, was of very little import to most. This was especially the case in the non-Jewish communities, and, to a certain extent, in the Jewish communities both in the US and in Israel.

Imagine that. It took fifteen years, and thousands of deaths, to finally point out what should have been obvious to all. That is, that the opening shot fired by the Islamic jihadis on US soil was Rabbi Kahane's assassination, and that the jihad is ongoing - with no end in sight.

Countless lives could have been spared if the investigation into Rabbi Kahane's murder had been given the priority and attention it deserved. It most assuredly would have led investigators to an overarching Islamic jihad plot against the US. Now that the politically incorrect blinders have been taken off, we can only hope and pray that the US authorities will pursue in earnest the Islamic jihadis, regardless of who is killed, and despite where the investigation leads them.

May Rabbi Kahane's memory be for a blessing.

PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org

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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05110129.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 609, Lake Forest, CA 92609-0609 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

CENTRAL SULAWESI (EASTERN INDONESIA): MURDER AND PROVOCATION
- calling for prayer for God's intervention in Central Sulawesi.

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- The Christian community in Central Sulawesi (eastern Indonesia) has recently suffered a string of barbaric, murderous attacks. The Indonesian government has suggested that criminal gangs are trying to provoke a conflict from which they could profit. But most political analysts believe Islamic extremists linked to regional terror networks are behind the killings.

Groups like Jemaah Islamiya, Darul Islam, Kompak and Laskar Jihad strongly desire making Poso, the regional capital, an Islamic stronghold enforcing Islamic laws and customs. They want Poso as a secure base from where they could strive to create an Islamic State in Central Sulawesi. These Islamic militants are believed to be trying to provoke religious conflict so they can openly rally mujahideen (Islamic holy warriors/jihadis) to a 'legitimate' jihad 'in defence of Islam'. Poso is awash with weapons, explosives and bored Islamic mujahideen left over from the 2001 Central Sulawesi jihad.

On 29 October at 6.30am, four cousins from the tightly-knit Christian community, Theresia Morangke (15), Alfita Poliwo (17), Yusriani Sambuwe (17), and Noviana Malewa (15), were attacked as they walked through cocoa fields to the Central Sulawesi Christian Church High School in Poso. Their six machete-wielding attackers wore black ski masks and were on motorbikes. Theresia, Alfita and Yusriani were killed and beheaded. Their heads were put in plastic bags with notes stating 'another 100 Christian teenagers would be killed'. Two heads were left near police stations whilst the third was left outside a recently built church. Noviana escaped and is in hospital with horrific machete wounds and trauma.

On Tuesday evening 8 November, on the outskirts of Poso, masked men attacked two more girls, Ivon Maganti and Siti Nuraini, both 17 (one Christian, one Muslim). They were shot in the face and neck from point-blank range and are in hospital in a critical condition.

On Friday 18 November three Christian girls, Yanti, Evi and Anca, were travelling on a motorbike in nearby Palu when they were shot at and attacked by black-masked machete-wielding militants also on motorbikes. Yanti (20) bled to death from the machete wound to her neck. Evi is in hospital with machete wounds to her arm.

On Saturday 19 November, Pudji Laksono (45) and his wife Novlin Pallinggi (37) attended church in Palu. Returning home on their motorbike after the service, they were followed by hooded militants on a motorbike and shot at close range. Pudji, a University lecturer, is stable in hospital after having a bullet removed from his chest. However his wife, Novlin, is critical as the doctors were unable to remove the two bullets lodged in her chest.

Pastor Mastin, Poso, told Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), 'Because of the three girls who were martyred [on 29 October], we are challenged, and our faith is put to a test like gold. But we become strong because of their example.' Markus Sambuwe, the father of Yusriani, one of those beheaded, told CBN, 'I am really angry, but the Holy Spirit touched my heart and changed me. I forgive [the attackers] just as Jesus has forgiven my sins.'

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR -
those in hospital with bullet and machete wounds: Noviana, Ivon, Siti, Evi, Pudji and Novlin; may God heal their bodies, comfort their hearts and preserve their faith.

the whole Christian community in Central Sulawesi, especially the families and friends of the dead and injured; may God give them comfort, courage, grace and peace, and draw them nearer to him and each other.

Christian leaders in Central Sulawesi, particularly in Palu and Poso; may God grant them divine wisdom and strength as they shepherd the Lord's people through these dark days, so that their churches will be shining lights of hope, truth, grace and peace.

God to bring justice and security to Eastern Indonesia, frustrating the ways of the wicked (Psalm 146:9) by exposing Islamic terror cells, mujahideen training camps, arms and explosives caches, and all evil plots against his Church.
The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him and his own righteousness sustained him.' (Excerpts from Isaiah 59:15b-19)

God to give President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wisdom, strength, and a deep heart conviction regarding his God-given responsibility to provide justice and security for Indonesia's Christian minority. (Proverbs 21:1, 1 Timothy 2:1-4)

PRAISE GOD - BE ENCOURAGED

Last week we prayed for a 'Believers Church' in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Hindu militants had beaten Pastor Feroz Masih (62) and threatened to burn the congregation alive on Sunday 20 November if they did not convert to Hinduism. The police were refusing to intervene. We prayed for the church's protection and asked that they be delivered from violence. The Lord heard and answered our prayers. The police eventually relented and intervened, forcing the militants to back off. 'The Lord lives!' (Psalm 18)

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the WEA RLP(Religious Liberty Prayer) mailing list.

Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

http://www.arabnews.com/services/print/print.asp?artid=73729&d=25&m=11&y=2005&hl=Islamabad,%20Jakarta%20to%20Set%20Up%20Group%20to%20Combat%20Terrorism

Friday, 25, November, 2005 (23, Shawwal, 1426)

Islamabad, Jakarta to Set Up Group to Combat Terrorism
Azhar Masood, Arab News —

ISLAMABAD, 25 November 2005 — Pakistan and Indonesia have agreed to enhance their existing bilateral trade, forge closer coordination and combat the menace of terrorism in their respective regions.

Describing terrorism as one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, the two nations decided to set up a joint working group (JWG) to combat terrorism, an official statement said.

The decision to set up the JWG was taken at formal talks between the visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

“The two leaders believed that terrorism constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” said a joint statement after the talks.

However, they called for countering tendencies to associate terrorism with any religion and addressing the root causes of terrorism, which include poverty, inequity, injustice and oppression. They said while Islamic societies need to further reform themselves, the world community must also address the root causes of terrorism.

On bilateral trade, it was agreed to take measures to elevate it further from the current $600 million to at least $1 billion in the near future.

Welcoming signing of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Partnership (FACEP) between Pakistani and Indonesian officials, the two countries expressed willingness to ink a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) soon.

“It was also decided to negotiate a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in the near future in order to boost economic cooperation,” said the statement.

On regional security situation, the Indonesian president welcomed commencement of peace talks between Pakistan and India to address all outstanding problems including the dispute over the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir.

He also expressed his nations condolences over the colossal loss of life in the Oct. 8 earthquake that struck parts of northern Pakistan and its administered Kashmir region. Yudhoyono is scheduled to visit the quake-hit areas in the Kashmir region today, on his two days visit.

Musharraf and Yudhoyono also discussed the issues being faced by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The two presidents felt that the OIC could be made a more vibrant vehicle for the Islamic countries to voice their collective issues at the international forums.

— Additional input from agencies
Copyright: Arab News © 2003 All rights reserved. Site designed by: arabix and powered by Eima IT

Possible Bird Flu in Israel. Posting of Promed Comments - not entire article.

ProMED-mail [The clinical symptoms of the patient, admitted to hospital several days after disease onset, included high fever (40C/104F), cough, headache, weakness, pneumonia and slight diarrhoea. When he later disclosed his involvement in feeding migratory birds it was apparent the case met the clinical and epidemiologic criteria for avian influenza.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Health's Guidelines for Isolation Precautions in Hospitals relating to avian influenza suspected cases were put into operation (for the 1st time in Israel) and samples were sent to the Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer. Real-time PCR and RT-PCR of pharyngeal swabs for H5 were applied with negative results; the testing of bronchoalveolar lavage, which requires invasive procedures, was considered but was found not justifiable in view of the improvement in the patient's condition.

When the serological test (HI) was later found positive, the decision was made to repeat the tests and to send serum samples to the UK-based influenza reference laboratory for serum neutralisation tests.

The Veterinary Services (Ministry of Agriculture) have been operating a field surveillance scheme for H5N1 since October 2005, covering both domestic as well as wild avians. The survey in wild birds includes sampling and testing of sick or dead birds; allegedly, several hundred samples have already been tested, all with negative results. It has been contemplated to include, in the near future, the testing of randomly sampled healthy wild birds as well. According to the plan, this survey, to be cooperatively applied with the Nature Reserve Authority, will be combined with the birds' ringing [banding].

Israel is a main flyway of migratory birds on their route from Europe to the Near East and Africa; it is estimated that around 500 million birds pass through Israel annually in each direction. - Mod.AS] [Blood tests for antibody will not identify virulent H5N1, only the sequencing of PCR-amplified genome will. Even a seroconversion between his early and late blood samples, or the finding of IgM antibody, would not prove conclusively that his illness was due to H5N1 virus; he might have had a mild infection and his pneumonia could have been due to a different cause. - Mod.CP/JW]

http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1009139

Chavez extends oil diplomacy to US
AP
Thursday 24th November, 2005 Posted: 15:55 CIT (20:55 GMT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has strengthened alliances across Latin America through generous oil deals, and now he is extending them to the United States – starting to ship discounted heating oil in a plan to help tens of thousands of low–income Americans in Massachusetts and New York.

Venezuela’s Citgo Petroleum Corp. made a symbolic first delivery of heating oil to one Boston family on Tuesday, and starting next month shipments are due to reach thousands of other homes, plus public facilities from hospitals to homeless shelters.

Chavez, a leftist fiercely opposed to U.S. President George W. Bush, calls his program an act of justice for poor Americans who he says have been neglected by their government. His critics call it a political stunt aimed at needling Bush, but others say Chavez is likely to win praise among some Americans for bypassing Washington to make his point.

Linda Kelly of Quincy, Massachusetts, said she feels grateful to Chavez for the fuel that her family of five received at a 40 percent discount.

"He’s doing the right thing," Kelly, 44, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "The people of Venezuela are lucky to have him. That’s what government is supposed to be about – taking care of the little guy."

Larry Birns, director of the Washington–based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, calls it "a pretty brilliant strategy" by Chavez.

"How are you going to retaliate for keeping people warm for winter?" Birns said

Chavez has called Bush a "madman" and said Venezuela must be prepared to repel a U.S. attack if necessary. Washington denies any such plans but has accused Chavez of endangering Venezuelan democracy and being a destabilizing force in the region.

The Venezuelan president says he poses no threat and is simply trying to help the poor. Just over half of Venezuelans live in poverty, according to the nation’s state–run National Statistics Institute.

Shipments of Venezuelan heating oil also are headed this winter to the Bronx in New York City, and Maine has expressed interest in exploring a similar deal.

Chavez says he hopes the project may eventually be extended elsewhere in the United States.
(part of article has been deleted)

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/backlash-uniting-muslims-expert/2005/11/25/1132703377077.html

Backlash uniting Muslims: expert
By Barney Zwartz, Religion Editor
November 26, 2005

THE heavy-handed nature of the war on terror and the suspension of civil liberties are uniting Muslims against the West, one of the world's experts on Islam and politics warned yesterday.

James Piscatori, from Oxford University's Centre of Islamic Studies, said the battle for Muslim minds was still in the balance, though there were positive signs.

"We are going to win against the bad guys, the radicals, because they could never sustain a broad-based movement, though they will still do spectacular acts of violence," he said.

He believes the war on terror is necessary, but aspects, such as America's Guantanamo Bay prison and security laws that restrict civil liberties fuelled Muslim fears.

Professor Piscatori, in Melbourne for a two-day conference on Islam, security and xenophobia run by Monash and Deakin Universities, said some people thought Osama bin Laden had already won because there was such distrust and fear in Western societies.

He said the perception of global jihad was overstated, because radical Muslim groups were fragmented. Al-Qaeda's recent suicide bombings in Jordan had increased Muslim opposition to the policy.

Meanwhile, governments had to speak to all Muslim factions, including radicals, and keep lines of communication open.

While he could understand that Prime Minister John Howard might fear that sharing a platform with such leaders as radical Melbourne cleric Mohammed Omran might give them legitimacy, this was outweighed by the benefits of appearing to listen and being inclusive.

Professor Piscatori said the internet was increasingly important in shaping attitudes. "For example, students in Birmingham can tell you in detail what's happening in the Philippines.

"It can enhance the sense of victimisation and injustice, but it also leads to a fragmenting of authority." Where once young Muslims might have sat at the feet of a sheikh, now they sat alone in front of a computer terminal.

Professor Piscatori said Australian multiculturalism — where the Government was less interventionist than in Canada — was a role model for the world and was being closely watched in Britain.

Associate Professor Fethi Mansouri of Deakin University said that winding back multiculturalism in Australia, as some people were advocating, could produce French-style tension.

He said France had created a segregated community which did not feel French and which the rest of France did not consider French. Australian multiculturalism, which provided support for cultural groups, was a far superior system.

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