Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat

TB disease was diagnosed in a foreign-born nurse working in the newborn nursery and maternity ward of a New York City hospital (hospital A); the nurse had declined treatment for latent TB infection (LTBI) after testing positive 11 years earlier.

Of all places the medical profession - how in the world are we to believe our nation's hospital can handle the results of a potential terrorist attack when a foreign born nurse is hired who declined treatment for latent TB infection no matter how many years earlier it occurred.

I personally have grave concern about the multitude of foreign born health workers in US hospitals - many of whom may have had substandard medical training and who are "practicing medicine" on Americans, or who (due to Muslim teaching) have personal discrimination concerning females. Oftentimes in emergency rooms or clinics, there is little choice concerning those who treat us.

Snip: But the interest in foreign guest workers goes beyond the need to make up a shortage. It's also about cost. Stephanie Tabone, of the Texas Nurses Association, charges that hospitals choose to hire foreign nurses to avoid improving working conditions and raising pay for American nurses. "Hospitals can bring in even very experienced nurses from abroad, and call them entry level, so they can get away with paying them less," she says.

The lifting of the TN cap has resulted in a rush on Mexican nurses. One Mexican headhunting firm has a contract with hospitals in four U.S. states to provide 3,000 nurses. The government of the state of Chihuahua is even helping the firm recruit. In places such as Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, a common sight at the state unemployment offices nowadays are long lunchtime lines of nurses in scrubs, hoping to give up their steady $400-a-month jobs for a chance to improve their prospects and make more money on the other side of the Rio Grande.

Link for above-snip from Center for Immigration Studies

Hospital patients infected with deadly diseases?

Snip: In fact the Brooklyn DA's office is now investigating the owner of Biomedical Tissue Services, who is accused of buying stolen body parts from a Brooklyn funeral home, and it's believed the parts then went to a tissue bank.

Illegal immigrants come by land, sea and air

Snip: Before the 2001 terrorist attacks, illegally entering the country through an airport was attempted far more frequently. More than 1.8 million people were apprehended between October 1999 and September 2000 at U.S. airports.

Stowaways rescued from death on container ship

Snip: BRUSSELS — Ten Nigerian stowaways suffering from severe hypothermia were found on a container ship near Antwerp port on Wednesday. The stowaways were taken from the ship at the Kallo lock (Beveren-Waas) after their discovery by a tugboat crew and workers at the lock.

Lightly dressed and suffering from severe hypothermia, the illegal immigrants had made the crossing from Lagos in Nigeria with barely any food and freshwater.

Spain - police nab cell Muslim killers

Snip: Fifteen were nabbed on "suspicion of recruiting and indoctrinating fighters for Iraq’s insurgency. The cell was in close contact with al-Qaida members in Iraq and had two people ready to be sent there to wage ‘holy war.’"Sleeper cells are peppered around the globe. They are in neighborhoods where no law-abiding citizen would suspect. Yet they are there. And they are programmed to kill, according to the slaying sections of the Koran. Islamic killers international have memorized those passages and see them through with relish.

Committing suicide for Allah promises a paradise with playboy bunnies for orgies infinite. There is no promise of ever actually seeing Allah, but the lust fulfillment appears to be enough to lure Arab males to snuff out their lives for the cause. It is not clear what is in the eternal future for female suicide enthusiasts. In Spain, over one hundred police raided quarters. They arrested murderers potential in Catalonia and Andalusia, also in Balaeric Islands.

Comfort in Muslim sites searched

Snip: Thank you, federal officialdom. Thank you for taking seriously my safety in the USA. Thank you for not sitting on your hands. Thank you for doing what we people at the grassroots were hoping was taking place: vigilance 24 / 7 in order to secure our country.

With illegals pouring in totaling 11 million, many being criminals or criminal-wannabes. With many of them having Islamic killer intentions, tied to training schools elsewhere where they learned techniques in how to undo our society, it’s comforting to know that a watchful eye is probing about the dark corners. And why should not some of those corners entail Muslims in America?

I have not heard of any Argentine immigrants planning sleeper cells lately. Have you? Or Brazilian immigrants? Or Nigerian immigrants? Or Greeks immigrants? But I have been hearing a lot about Muslims doing a lot to unravel the planet’s civility.

Canada denies bail to man accused of Al Qaeda ties

Snip: TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian man accused of supplying weapons to al Qaeda and conspiring to kill Americans abroad was denied bail by a Canadian court on Friday after the judge said the network could help him flee the country. Abdullah Khadr, 24, is being held in Canada on an extradition warrant from the United States.

He is the eldest son of Ahmed Said Khadr, who was an alleged al Qaeda financier and a close friend of Osama bin Laden. His brother Omar Ahmed Khadr is the only Canadian held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.

"Mr. Khadr has high-level links to al Qaeda, a terrorist organization without scruples, ...and with wide-ranging networks throughout the world they could well assist him in escaping this jurisdiction," Justice Anne Molloy said in her ruling. "This is not a person I would trust to abide by conditions of his release."

Khadr faces charges in the United States of conspiracy to murder Americans outside the country and of buying weapons for groups linked to bin Laden's al Qaeda network. He could face a life sentence if convicted.

(OK, so you may have had it 10 times, here it is once more...... Laughing. Granny.........

Al-Zawahri: Taliban controls much of Afghanistan

Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST
Dec. 25, 2005

Al-Qaida's deputy leader said in an audiotape aired Saturday that Taliban's fighters control large areas in Afghanistan and
are fighting American forces and the U.S-backed Afghan government.

It was not clear when the tape purportedly by al-Qaida number 2 Ayman al-Zawahri was recorded. Dubai-based
Al-Arabiya television, which aired about 30 seconds of the tape, said al-Zawahri did not refer to any new events in the
speech.

The tape's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, but the voice resembled that of al-Zawahri's confirmed in
past recordings.

Al-Zawahri said the Taliban movement is controlling large sectors of east and south Afghanistan and are"waging a guerrilla
war against the crusaders and their cronies."

The last tape by al-Zawahri emerged on December 11, though it was believed to have been recorded in mid-September.
In it, the Egyptian-born militant urged all Muslims to take up arms to fight against "the Cross and Zionism" and warned
that the Islamic world had "no hope for victory" until all Muslims signed on to the al-Qaida-led jihad.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309641508&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Date: 24 Dec 2005 From: Karyn Bischoff klb72@cornell.edu

This is concerning the posting that mentions canned dog food and possible human exposures.

Our laboratory worked closely with a veterinarian from Diamond Pet Food and small animal veterinarians in New York to diagnose the problem and detect aflatoxin in the pet food, but thus far the affected food has been of the dry type sold in bags as far as I know.

Over the past week, the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center and Cornell University Hospital for Animals have received hundreds of calls and emails and dozens of samples from veterinarians and pet owners all along the East Coast of the US. Veterinarians across the state and in other diagnostic laboratories have told me they are similarly overwhelmed.

The possibility for human exposure has not been lost on us. One veterinarian calling my lab stated that a child was found ingesting Diamond brand dog food from a contaminated lot out of the family dog's bowl. The family was referred to their pediatrician.

-- Karyn Bischoff DVM, MS, diplomate ABVT

klb72@cornell.edu

Clinical Toxicologist & Assistant Professor

NYS Animal Health Diagnostic Center

Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Science

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

klb72@cornell.edu

Iran hand in new Baluch uprising

23 December 2005: The week-long violence in Baluchistan where the Pakistan military has been bombing and fighting rebellious Marri tribesmen is being blamed on Iranian intelligence and their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The violence began on Sunday when tribesmen fired rockets in Baluchistan’s Kohlu district during a visit by General Parvez Musharraf, and it has since flared up into full-scope insurgency against the Pakistan military, and assets have been targeted like oil and gas fields, rail lines, and power grids.

Diplomatic sources said that Pakistan has shown evidence of Iranian involvement to the US, while Iran has claimed to have shot down six US drones flying from Pakistani territory.

In the Seventies, thousands were killed in large-scale military operations against insurgent Baluch tribesmen, and the present upsurge coincides with the army’s decision to establish more garrisons in the troubled province, which has long demanded greater autonomy and more share of the revenue from its natural resources.

http://www.newsinsight.net/nati2.asp?recno=3587

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Holydays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trouble brews like coffee in cyber-cafes

Snip: A new Italian law requires businesses that offer Internet access to the public, like Sohel's, to ask clients for identification and log the client's name and the document type.

Cyber-cafes also must make and keep a photocopy of the ID and be registered with their local police station, according to the law, part of an anti-terror package approved after the July terrorist bombings in London.

Increase of flu virus in Phoenix area

Snip: "We're definitely seeing a steep increase in cases" of the flu, he said. "Arizona and California are the hardest hit states right now. We'll probably peak before the rest of the country."More than 300 of Maricopa County's 350 confirmed flu cases this year were reported in the last two weeks.

El Paso hit hard with flu during the holidays

Snip: Doctor Andres Enriquez at the Franklin Medical Clinic says his waiting room was so packed that for most of the day there was standing room only and some people actually had to wait outside of the building. According to Dr. Enriquez 90 percent of the patients he saw on Christmas Eve had the flu like Luis.

CDC Map for Seasonal Flu Activity USA

I've been talking by phone to people in the East and Midwest and hearing many reports of a nasty flu virus causing severe diarrhea and projectile vomitting. Reminder to wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer and avoid touching your face unnecessarily.

Thank you Cindy.

The bird flu drug race tightens

Biotech makes gain in quest to become leading treatment as front runner stumbles.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The race to become the leading bird flu battler is getting tighter, with a little Alabama biotech gaining on the front runner.

The Food and Drug Administration Thursday gave verbal approval to start human testing of a new drug called peramivir. Should the tests prove successful the drug could become an alternative to Tamiflu, the medicine currently considered the leading treatment for bird flu. And the effectiveness of that treatment has been called into question this week, with a report in the New England Journal of Medicine that bird flu patients died despite taking Tamiflu.

The stakes, both human and economic, are high.

Bird flu is a virus that originated in Asia among birds and has spread to Europe and other parts of the world, infecting about 139 people so far. The virus has a mortality rate of about 50 percent and is transmitted from birds to people. Bird flu is not transmitted from person to person, but many scientists believe that it could mutate into a strain that is transmitted among humans, like the influenza pandemic of 1918 that killed tens of millions of people.

On Monday the U.S. House of Representatives earmarked $3.78 billion to begin preparing for a possible bird flu pandemic. The money would be used to stockpile vaccines, which are still in the experimental stages, and anti-virals. Also, the bill would shield drug manufacturers from potential lawsuits. The Senate has not yet voted on the bill.

The economic consequences of being the leading supplier of drugs to fight the potential epidemic has not been lost on Wall Street.

Shares for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, the Birmingham, Ala.-based biotech that develops the anti-viral peramivir, jumped 17 percent Thursday morning, after the FDA gave its approval for human testing.

"BioCryst will see long-term benefit from uncertainty over Tamiflu," said Vinny Jindal, analyst for Webbush Morgan Securities, who increased his 12-month BioCryst (Research) price target to $24 a share from $17. Jindal projection also reflected the 2.2 million share investment from venture capital group Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers.

Meanwhile, Roche, a Swiss drug giant, saw its shares trade mildly down in Europe. It has been marketing Tamiflu in the U.S. since its FDA approval in 1999. Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, was developed by Gilead Sciences (up $0.80 to $54.87, Research), a biotech based in Foster City, Calif.

The New England Journal of Medicine reported that the recent deaths of two Tamiflu-treated patients demonstrate "that resistance can emerge during the currently recommended regimen of oseltamivir therapy" and that "virus infection should include additional antiviral agents."

Roche acknowledged, in a Thursday press release, that "further evaluation [is] needed on higher dosage, longer treatment and combination therapies."

But Roche is not really threatened by the news regarding Tamiflu, says Jindal, the Webbush Morgan analyst.

"The global demand for Tamiflu is far outpacing supply, so the emergence of Tamiflu resistance doesn't mean that Tamiflu will be used any less or that Roche won't be able to sell all they can make," said Jindal.

Jindal said that investors who dumped Roche stock on Tamiflu-related headlines were "trading erratically."

Roche has taken orders for Tamiflu stockpiles from scores of national leaders. But the manufacturing process for Tamiflu is time-consuming and, bending to public pressure, Roche said it would outsource production to other drug makers.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/22/news/international/tamiflu/

Insightful read...

Terrorist Bill of Rights?
By Malcolm Hedges (12/24/05)

Why? Let me put out a few guesses and you see what you think.

1) The government failed to formally proclaim a state of war because of the 'political correctness' inside the beltway.

2) The government failed to formally proclaim a state of war because our representatives haven't a clue about the real world.

3) The government failed to formally proclaim a state of war because it is not serious about protecting the USA.

4) The government failed to formally proclaim a state of war because...fill in the blanks.

Whatever the case "we are in a state of war" and much of our government refuses to acknowledge the fact and pretends that it's just another political day.

These same people are the ones that scream for more rights for criminals and less rights for victims (us).

At this point in time, the political lines seemed to have vanished and every brain-dead peacenik and appeaser that is hanging around is jumping on the bandwagon.

Our enemy in this 'formally undeclared war' have no concept of respect for any rules but those they have made for themselves.

But our 'home grown?' candy-a** elite wants to prove to the 'world' that we can be as stupid as the rest of the world?

There ain't no rules of war when you are dealing with fanatics and cultists.

It's a given that Governors have a lot of power that the beltway bunch forgets to admit.

How about these 36 Governors up for election in 2006 be forced to take up the cause for the people of their state and demand that the 'Terrorist Bill of Rights' be cancelled and a 'formal state of war' be declared...?

Lets face it, if the terrorists win those Governors won't have a state to govern.

Terrorists have the same rights as they give their targets and victims, NONE. By their actions they have declared that there ain't no rules.

Answer: Yes it is a 'Terrorist Bill of Rights'...

*Ed: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of American Daily.

http://www.americandaily.com/article/10886

AMERICAN HIROSHIMA
The search for nukes
in Washington, D.C.
Government monitors radiation levels
at 100 Muslim mosques, homes, sites

~~~~~~~~~~~snip

Al-Qaida's prime targets for launching nuclear terrorist attacks are the nine U.S. cities with the highest Jewish populations, according to captured leaders and documents.

~~~~~~~~~~~~snip

The cities chosen as optimal targets are New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston and Washington, D.C. New York and Washington top the preferred target list for al-Qaida leadership.

~~~~~~~~~~snip

"One suitcase bore the serial number 9999 and the Russian manufacturing date of 1988. The design of the weapons, Tenet told the president, is simple. The plutonium and uranium are kept in separate compartments that are linked to a triggering mechanism that can be activated by a clock or a call from the cell phone."
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48061

A Very Merry Christmas to Iraq Christan's

Government wishes Iraqi Christians Merry Christmas
By Sabah Jerges Dec 24, 2005, 15:15 GMT

Christmas decorations in a Baghdad flower shop, where two women ponder buying a Christmas tree on Saturday, 24 December 2005. Christians comprise about 3 per cent of the population in Iraq. EPA/ALI ABBAS
Baghdad - The Shiite Moslem-dominated Iraqi government offered its good wishes to Iraqi Christians for Christmas on Saturday, seemingly to calm their fears of a possible theological state.

Al-Iraqiya television, which reflects the government's views, has politicized the occasion by allocating air time for Moslem Iraqis to greet their Christian countrymen.

On Christmas Eve, a programme named Khali Nsolf (Let's chat) featured telephone calls from inside and outside Iraq, congratulating the minority which shares the same faith with most of the western world.

The television programme also showed postcards sent in to wish Iraqis a happy Christmas.

'I wish Christians in Iraq a happy Christmas,' an Iraqi Moslem living in the United States told the programme via telephone.

Al-Iraqiya also filled intervals with the song, 'We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.' The song was played with the background of a big Christmas tree and falling snow.

The programme also covered an hour-long mass from inside Baghdad's St. Joseph's Chaldean church.

The programme also featured greetings from top Iraqi officials to Christians at home. President Jalal Talabani, Vice-President Ghazi al-Yawer and Shiite Interior Minister Bayan Jaber Solagh were among the well-wishers.

'We congratulate the Iraqi people and Christians on Christmas and the New Year,' Solagh said.

The government has seized upon the occasion to send a message to Iraq's minorities that their role in the country's political future would be maintained under a Shiite-dominated government.

Some Christians feared that the constitution voted for earlier this year could undermine their rights in society. The wording of the constitution named Islam as the state religion.

Many of the items in the constitution, however, are to be amended by the next parliament to take over following December 15 elections.

Attacks on a number of churches last year and the security situation in the country prompted some Christians to take refuge outside Iraq.

Christians make up about 3 to 5 per cent of the Iraqi population of 27 million. There are two main Christian groups in Iraq: the majority Catholic Chaldeans and Assyrians. There are also few non- Catholic sects.

The approximately 750,000 Christians live mainly in Baghdad, the Mosul region, Kurdistan in the north and Basra in the south.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/article_1071273.php/Government_wishes_Iraqi_Christians_Merry_Christmas

Osama bin Laden's Niece Poses in Racy Photo Shoot
http://www.dummocrats.com/links/view_comments.php?thread_id=36024

Russia confirms wants to help Iran enrich uranium
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/12/25/worldupdates/2005-12-25T001339Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-229343-2&sec=Worldupdates

Russia deploys new nuclear missiles
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17659860%5E23109,00.html

Probe into toxic shoes allegation
http://english.people.com.cn/200512/24/eng20051224_230539.html

SCO calls for further coop in cutting off fund sources of terrorist activities
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-12/24/content_506283.htm

"Terrorist act" may have caused Azerbaijan air crash
BAKU. Dec 24 (Interfax) - Ilham Amirov, deputy general director of Azerbaijani state airline AzAL, said it "cannot be ruled out" that "a terrorist act" caused Friday's crash of an An-140-100 airliner near Baku.

Amirov told reporters that the plane had been in use for only about a year.

Amirov said the investigation of the crash had produced some preliminary findings, but that investigators have yet to disclose them. as md
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11440820

Jakarta on increased terrorist alert for Christmas
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309638888&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Six jailed in Spain on terrorist charges
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/24/content_3965154.htm

Emergency at Torness fuels nuclear power row
PETER MACMAHON
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT EDITOR
FEARS of a radioactive leak were dismissed yesterday, hours after the first full-scale emergency incident at the Torness nuclear power station in the plant's 17-year history.

Green and Scottish National Party MSPs stepped up their calls for an end to the nuclear power programme after British Energy, which owns the plant, disclosed details of the incident which happened on Thursday night.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2455972005

Fuel spills at water plant
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051224/NEWS01/512240316/1005

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