Threat Matrix: February 2008

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[nwctwx]

Is the U.S. Failing in Afghanistan?

It was malice in wonderland at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday as Bush Administration envoys insisted things are getting better in Afghanistan, while angry lawmakers from both parties cited facts and figures showing just the opposite. Even the senior Republican on the panel, Senator Richard Lugar, found the Administration's claims wanting. "I'm not sure that we have a plan for Afghanistan," he said.

Long seen as the "forgotten war" eclipsed by Iraq in U.S. priorities, Afghanistan is in the Washington spotlight this week with the release of three independent reports concluding that without a change in U.S. policy there, the erstwhile sanctuary of Osama bin Laden would remain a failed state. Read More

	Why the Taliban Feel Confident
	Top US Officer Lauds al-Qaida Death
	US Air Strike Signals al-Qaida Onslaught

Threat Matrix:
February 2008

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[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=sderot

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976376/posts

“SDEROT MATTERS”
Israpundit ^ | Feb 26/08 | Ted Belman
Posted on 02/26/2008 3:07:24 AM PST by tedbel

[Cindy]

http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html

#

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3511323,00.html
(AP)

“Iran ordered to pay $33 million to family of Israeli terror victim”

SNIPPET: “US federal court rules Iran responsible for 1992 truck bombing at Israeli embassy in Argentina; orders country to compensate family of US-born Israeli diplomat David Ben-Rafael killed in blast”

Associated Press
Published: 02.26.08, 08:31 / Israel News

[Cindy]

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020098.php
(AAP)

February 26, 2008

“Australia jihadist: ‘The student understands. I tell him what Allah said and he can then decide.’”

#

Previously...

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020089.php
(THE AGE.com.au)

February 25, 2008

“’It’s not something small. We will damage buildings, blast them. It has to be proper.’”

[Cindy]

RECALLS.GOV
http://www.recalls.gov

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=china

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976383/posts

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57069

“67% of 2007 recalls were China imports
Reports of defective, unsafe products rise every quarter”
Posted: February 25, 2008
10:03 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

[Godzilla]

There is always threats that time of year. Is there anything new or different (or just a feeling)?

Recent rumblings suggest that Hezbollah is waiting until the 40 day period of mourning is complete before attacking. This would place the earliest around 22-23 March.

[Godzilla]

Two other men, also headed to Los Angeles, were taken off a later flight that was still on the tarmac. They told investigators they paid for Beydoun’s plane ticket and that he was their Miami Beach party guide.

Riiiiiigght.

[drymans wife]

Was googling Faid Beydoun’s name and came across this interesting site.

http://www.bintjbeil.org/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=3116

Martyrs Tree Gives Bint Jbeil a New Name
By Mohammad Hussein Bazzi .....bintjbeil.org - 03/08/2007 - 14:23

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332550,00.html

Norovirus Sickens More Than 100 Passengers on Mexican Cruise

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

SAN DIEGO — A highly contagious virus sickened more than 100 passengers on a Holland America cruise ship that returned to San Diego Monday from a 10-day trip to Mexico.

Passengers on the Ryndam ship first showed signs of the norovirus six days into the trip, said Erik Elvejord, a spokesman for Holland America Line Inc. The virus causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea and lasts 24 to 48 hours.

The virus sickened 104 passengers and six crew members, Elvejord said. The ship was carrying 1,226 passengers and 556 crew members. It visited several ports in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez after leaving San Diego Feb. 15.

An 81-year-old woman who was suffering dehydration was hospitalized after the ship arrived in San Diego.

This is the fourth suspected norovirus outbreak on the Ryndam since early last year.

Holland America, based in Seattle, has not identified the source of the latest outbreak, Elvejord said. Typically, the virus is brought aboard by a passenger.

During the cruise, passengers were repeatedly reminded to wash their hands. Those who were infected were asked to stay in their rooms and compensated $100 a day.

The ship left San Diego late Monday afternoon on another 10-day cruise on Mexico’s Pacific coast after a crew spent the day disinfecting passenger and crew areas, Elvejord said. Holland America told all 1,340 passengers that they could get a refund if they didn’t want to board. Only one couple took the refund.

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332615,00.html

Northwest Airlines Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Tokyo After Burning Odor Detected

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

TOKYO — A Northwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Tokyo’s main airport Tuesday after a burning smell was detected inside the cabin, officials said.

No injuries were reported, and police said no crime was suspected.

NW Flight 19, carrying 403 passengers and crew members, landed safely at Narita International Airport about half an hour after taking off from the airport for the Philippine capital of Manila, according to airport police and airline officials.

Airport police spokesman Hitoshi Yanagida said the pilot requested an emergency landing because of a possible fire inside the cabin after crew members reported the smell of something burning near the lavatories.

However, investigators who boarded the Boeing 747-400 found no trace of fire or smoke, Yanagida said.

The cause of the odor was under investigation, he said.

snip...

[Palladin]

Anything new on the FBI raid on the trucking company/school in Millington, Tennessee?

[drymans wife]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-226power,0,7392346.story

Power outages reported throughout South Florida

Staff reports | Sun-Sentinel.com
2:00 PM EST, February 26, 2008

Residents are experiencing widespread power outages across South Florida, according to the Florida Power & Light Company.

Officials were working to gather the list of affected cities and neighborhoods.

Barry Baxter, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said there were no significant storms in the area that would cause such a widespread power failure.

Sarah marmion, a spokeswoman for FPL, said initial reports indicated the problem is confined to South Florida, “but it could be a wider area.”

There was no estimate on when power will be back on or how many customers are being affected.

A railroad signal in the Boca Raton area was briefly affected by the outage, which caused delays for one southbound Tri-Rail commuter train around 1 p.m., said Allen Yoder, Tri-Rail’s safety and security director.

No other disruptions in service were reported due to the outage, Yoder said.

Officials in Hillsboro, Deerfield Beach and Lighthouse Point have reported outages.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers said they have been receiving numerous calls about power outages. They have gotten reports of outages from Riviera Beach to Boca Raton.

snip...

[drymans wife]

Fox is saying 8 power plants are down but I am trying to get a link!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drymans wife]

Trying to get local news station like Fox but the pages won’t load

www.wsvn.com

[drymans wife]

www.wsvn.com

Widespread Power Outages Reported In Florida
Tuesday, February 26, 2008 2:03:31 PM

Florida is experiencing a widespread power outage affecting schools, traffic lights, businesses and more after 2 nuclear generators in south Florida went down.

News 13 has had reports from people in Volusia, Brevard, Lake and Orange counties of power outages and are working on reports from those areas.

Early reports from the Associated Press say the areas of Miami, Doral, Westchester and Pembroke Pines are without power as well as the Port of Miami.

Police officers are shown on live television directing traffic at intersections in downtown Miami. Many stop lights are out and some stores have closed because they are without power.

Miami-Dade Police Department spokesman Nelda Fonticiella told WSVN-TV that they are working with Florida Power & Light to access the situation. It is unclear how many people are affected.

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/2/26/power_out.html

[JellyJam]

We have power over here on the west coast of Florida, but there are reports of some outages nearby - in Manatee County (Bradenton), just north of us. Not sure if the outages are related to this.

[drymans wife]

Fox is saying that 5 nuclear substations went out and that now 2 are back up, they do not know what the cause was.

Katherine Heritage said that Homeland Security is keeping a
close eye on the situation to see if it was some sort of
sabotage.

[drymans wife]

http://www.foxnews.com/index.html

you can watch live here and on the other links I posted, you can also refresh the page to get the latest.

[drymans wife]

Fox is saying it has something to do with “The Turkey Point
Reactors”

[Godzilla]

Fox is saying that 5 nuclear substations went out and that now 2 are back up, they do not know what the cause was.

Most, if not all, major power plants (nuclear and otherwise) have mechanism to prevent overloading and associated consequences if a substation fails or similar. This can create a cascade effect causing power plants to go off-line to prevent burnouts, etc of the equipment. Source of the incident would be most interesting because if it was intentional (terror related), it could allow other chaos to erupt if done on a larger scale/level.

[drymans wife]

You can watch WSVN.com, they are giving alot of info...