Threat Matrix: April 2008

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[nwctwx]

Afghanistan to Ask NATO for Bigger Army

Afghan officials will go to the NATO summit in Romania Thursday with a request: pay to increase our national Army by 40 percent. A bigger Army, Afghan officials argue, will allow the US and other coalition members to scale back in the coming years.

This appeal comes amid pleas from the US and Canada for other NATO members to commit more to the Afghanistan mission, which many analysts say has floundered over the past year for lack of resources and a coherent strategy. France is expected to contribute another 1,000 forces and Germany is likely to make a bigger commitment.

But American and Afghan government sources with knowledge of the expected Afghan proposal say that an increase from the current authorization of 86,000 Afghan Army soldiers to 120,000 is the only way to create an enduring defense against a resurgent Taliban and elusive Al Qaeda operatives. Read More

	France May Send More Troops to Afghanistan
	Special Operations Increase Possible for Iraq
	Al-Qaeda Grooming Militants Who 'Look Western': CIA Chief

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April 2008

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[Cindy]

http://www.cia.gov

https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/transcript-of-director-haydens-interview-on-meet-the-press.html

“Transcript of Director Hayden’s Interview on Meet the Press”
(Posted with permission from Meet the Press)

March 30, 2008

SNIPPET: “Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, General Mike Hayden, appeared on Meet the Press on March 30, 2008. Below is the transcript of the interview.”

[Cindy]

Adding to post no. 581:

(Posted April 9, 2008)

[Cindy]

Thanks to bd476 for starting this thread (Note: more links in thread):

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000710/posts

“2 deaths in Spain linked to mad cow disease—authorities”
Agence France-Presse and Inquirer.net ^ | April 7, 2008
Posted on April 12, 2008 5:06:49 PM PDT by bd476

[Cindy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/absolut
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/04/04/absolut-arrogance-and-the-advertising-agency-behind-the-reconquista-ad/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995304/posts?page=301#301

#

Off Topic, but Fyi:

blog:

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/04/11/a-toast-to-skyy-vodka-the-beverage-of-anti-reconquistas/

“A toast to Skyy Vodka, the beverage of anti-reconquistas”
By Michelle Malkin • April 11, 2008 07:59 PM

SNIPPET: “Check this out. SKYY Vodka responds to Absolut’s reconquista ad campaign:
SKYY® Vodka, Made in the USA, Proudly Supports Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

America’s Most-Popular Domestic Vodka Decries Absolut® Vodka’s Suggestion to Redraw North American Map”

[Cindy]

This evening’s STUCK ON STUPID award is going to Hamas for their inability to grasp how the peace process works.

#

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/hamas

#

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3530837,00.html

“Hamas threatens to kill Israeli ministers”

Roee Nahmias
Published: 04.12.08, 22:02 / Israel News

[Cindy]

Thanks to bd476 for starting this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000709/posts

“State tests will seek cause of Portsmouth woman’s death (Possibly variant CJD or Mad Cow Disease)”
The Virginia-Pilot and Hampton Roads.com ^ | April 11, 2008 | By Nancy Young
Posted on April 12, 2008 5:06:36 PM PDT by bd476

“State tests will seek cause of Portsmouth woman’s death”

By Nancy Young
The Virginian-Pilot
April 11, 2008

PORTSMOUTH

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Virginia Department of Health should have test results back in several months that will determine whether a young woman who died Wednesday had a rare brain disorder that has been linked to mad cow disease.

Health department officials stressed again Thursday that they were looking into a range of disorders.

The 22-year-old woman, identified in media reports as Aretha Vinson, died at Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center. She had been suffering from encephalopathy, a degenerative brain condition that can be caused by “infections, lack of oxygen to the brain, liver failure, kidney failure, toxic exposures, metabolic diseases, brain tumors, increased intracranial pressure and poor nutrition,” said Dr. Karen Remley, state health commissioner, in a written statement Thursday.
“Further testing is the only way to know what caused this illness,” Remley added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Virginia will be among those analyzing test results.

One possibility is a variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as vCJD, a rare degenerative brain disorder that has been linked to consumption of contaminated beef. The disease is not spread through casual contact from person to person and is thought to have an incubation period of 10 years or more.

There are also other forms of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, known as CJD, that are unrelated to beef consumption. State officials will look into those as well.”

[bd476]

Thanks Cindy.

I also posted another thread about a Virginia woman whose recent death is being investigated as being the possible result of Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (CJD) or variant Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (vCJD) (also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) also known as Mad Cow Disease.)

CJD can be an inherited disease, though rarely and it also can be transmitted via surgical procedures.

[bd476]

Thanks Cindy. Looks like our posts passed each other on the way. :-)

[Cindy]

Yep and I appreciate your posts.

[MamaDearest]

Staph superbug in pork?!?

Thankfully our fridge has but a few packages of bacon in it and no other pork products, nor do I intend to buy more. Staff superbug can be FATAL. This was Canadian news but I note the FDA is silent concerning testing of US pork products using the same testing criteria.

Half of all Dutch farmers now carry superbug

Medical officials found that 50% of Dutch farmers were carriers of the strain, a prevalence 1,500 times higher than the rest of the population. In one pig farming region 80% of all MRSA cases are now caused by the farm animal strain. A survey by the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority last year found traces of the bug in 20% of pork meat, 21% of chicken meat and 3% of beef.

[MamaDearest]

I do use alcohol on all the keyboards and computer mouses, door knobs, phones, microwave, refrigerator stove handle and remote controls.

That is precisely what happens at my home....fridge door handles, mouse and keyboard particularly, and adding light switch plates.

[Cindy]

Yep, some of the light switch plates, too.

[MamaDearest]

Smith says monitoring 30 UK terrorism plots

British police and security agencies are currently monitoring 30 terrorism plots, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in extracts of a newspaper interview released on Saturday.

"We now face a threat level that is severe. It's not getting any less, it's actually growing," she said in an interview to be published in Sunday's News of the World.

"We task the police and the security agencies with protecting us ... There are 22,000 individuals they are monitoring. There are 200 networks. There are 30 active plots," she said.

[Oorang]

Suspicious box of chemicals found in Grand Forks (Canada)
Sat, 2008-04-12

Grand Forks RCMP received a report of a suspicious looking wooden box in city park containing several chemicals. The box was located on a tree stump behind the BMX track.

Investigation revealed eight 500 ml bottles. Their contents was identified as Chromium Trioxide, Potassium Ferro Cyanide, Potassium Chromate, and Potassium Cyanide, all dangerous and poisonous if ingested or inhaled.

The fire department, department of environment and conservation were notified, and the chemicals were successfully removed from the site are awaiting a team from the Ministry of Environment to attend and properly dispose of them. No injuries were reported, and anyone with information regarding the origin of these chemicals is urged to contact police.

http://www.kbsradio.ca/node/698398

New bombing threats spread terror (Pakistan)
Sunday, April 13, 2008

LAHORE: The law enforcement agencies are alarmed by the reports from intelligence agencies that two more suicide bombers have entered the city, sources told Daily Times on Saturday.

Sources said that the law enforcement agencies were conducting raids to arrest Afghans and Africans who were suspected to have links with militants. They said that there was information that two more suicide bombers had entered the city in addition to the already present threat. “All what we know about them is that one of them is called Naeem and the other is Sudanese. They belong to the group run by Taliban Commander Maulvi Abdur Rehman and they will target the installations of the law enforcement agencies,” they said.

Sources said that such intelligence reports were also received in the last quarter of 2007, but that the city police were unable to prevent the following suicide attacks.

Excerpted

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C04%5C13%5Cstory_13-4-2008_pg7_38

[Cindy]

Ping to Oorang’s post no. 594:

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Investigation revealed eight 500 ml bottles. Their contents was identified as Chromium Trioxide, Potassium Ferro Cyanide, Potassium Chromate, and Potassium Cyanide, all dangerous and poisonous if ingested or inhaled.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1995304/posts?page=594#594

[Cindy]

Thank you MamaDearest.

I’ll link to this.

[Cindy]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLCqzVtRwzyF7WI-wMfDvbM6WBZg

“Police patrol the commercial district of Zamboanga”
Map data ©2008 AND, MapIT, Europa Technologies - Terms of Use
Church, building bombed in southern Philippines: officials
24 minutes ago

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP) — Improvised bombs hit a Roman Catholic church and a commercial building in the southern Philippines early Sunday, causing panic and damage but no injuries, the authorities said.
The first explosion struck the gate of a two-storey church in downtown Zamboanga as people arrived for the dawn Sunday mass, destroying glass doors and causing part of the ceiling to collapse, police said.

Terrified churchgoers stampeded out of the prayer hall but there were no injuries, police investigators added. A parked truck on the church courtyard was also damaged.

About 10 minutes later a similar bomb exploded outside an Internet cafe at a commercial building near the church, causing minor damage but no casualties. Police said the establishment was closed at the time.”

[Cindy]

Fyi Only.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1995325/posts?page=31#31

#

Thanks to bd476 for the info in the link above and pointing to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1995325/posts

Earthquake Swarm of the Oregon Coast
April 1 2008
Posted on April 1, 2008 9:23:47 PM PDT by Global2010

Unusaul Swarm of quakes off of the Oregon Coast in the last 72 hours.

[Cindy]

ADDING 1 link to post no. 556:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1995304/posts?page=556#556

#

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1385769
(AP)

“One Year After Va. Tech Killings, the Search for a Solution Remains Elusive”
April 12, 2008 - 6:16pm
By KRISTEN GELINEAU
Associated Press Writer

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “NARROWS, Va. (AP) - Allen Neely eases his Chrysler Pacifica onto the bridge named in honor of Jarrett Lane, who grew up in this tiny town near the West Virginia border. Jarrett, Neely says quietly, always wanted to build a bridge.

Under the back seat are two pistols. Neely keeps them close these days. He and his construction crew were in Virginia Tech’s Norris Hall on April 16 when a mentally ill student went on a rampage _ killing Jarrett Lane and 31 others.

Since then, Neely feels safer if his guns are within reach.”

[MamaDearest]

You're welcome Cindy!

Traces of explosive found in Muslim school

Officials yesterday found traces of bomb-making material in the Islam Burapa school in Muang district, which has been turned into a centre for insurgents to plan their moves since the state ordered it shut down last year.

The rebel group ignored last year's raid at the school when security officers rounded up seven suspected insurgents, and have continued to plot insurgent activities there by making bombs and supplying them to militants, according to a villager.

The officials, led by Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan, director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, found traces of explosive materials on furniture, utensils and cloth in four shelters in the school. One of the shelters belongs to a man identified as Abdulaman Mauseng.