http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/27/AR2008072701973_pf.html
Va. Jails to Report Foreign Inmates
New Law Targets Illegal Immigrants
By Bill Brubaker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 28, 2008; A01
A year after Prince William County
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Prince+William+County?tid=i
nformline launched a crackdown on illegal immigrants, Virginia has
implemented a law that requires something similar for every jurisdiction in
the state. Jail officials are now required to notify federal authorities of
all foreign-born inmates regardless of their immigration status.
continued.
End of article:
However, the multibillion-dollar program has not been fully funded by
Congress, and even if it is, ICE still might not have enough money to detain
all of the illegal immigrants it identifies, Pendergraph said.
“You know something? We’re playing catch-up,” he said. “Five years ago,
immigration enforcement for state and local law enforcement [agencies]
wasn’t even on the radar scope. We didn’t get in this mess overnight. And
we’re not going to get out of it overnight.”
Several worth checking out here:
DATURA POISONING - USA (MARYLAND)
*********************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.isid.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: 16 Jul 2008
Source: The Gazette [edited]
http://www.gazette.net/stories/071608/gaitnew204310_32356.shtml
Officials: Weed turned potato stew into poison
The botanist who last week [7-11 Jul 2008] identified a plant near a
Gaithersburg family’s garden as a toxic weed, said the 6 people
admitted to the hospital after unknowingly eating it are “lucky” to be alive.
Jimsonweed was mixed into a homemade potato stew the 6 ate at a
family dinner on 8 Jul 2008, a Montgomery County health department
spokeswoman said. An elderly family member made the stew using plants
from the family herb garden. Of the 12 people who attended the
dinner, the 6 people who ate the stew got sick.
County fire and rescue officials initially reported that the sick may
have been poisoned by mint leaves tainted with pesticides.
That changed Thursday [10 Jul 2008] after 2 experts from the county’s
disease control program and a botanist went to the family’s townhome
in the Montgomery Meadows Townhouses on the 1000 block of Travis
Lane, off Watkins Mill Road, said Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for
the county’s department of Health and Human Services. They found
recently cut jimsonweed near the garden, which surprised the
botanist, who said the plant is usually found on farmland and in
fields, Anderson said.
Then the experts went inside.
“In the trash can were not only potato peels but more clippings of
jimsonweed and they thought ‘A-ha!’” Anderson said.
Jimsonweed contains belladonna alkaloids atropine and scopolamine,
ingredients that may cause symptoms such as: mental confusion,
agitation, rapid heart rate, incoherent speech, impaired
coordination, dry, flushed or hot skin, visual or auditory
hallucinations or cardiac arrest, Anderson said.
Satnam Singh, a relative who lives next door, said his 18-year-old
son attended the dinner. The 6 who ate the stew began hallucinating
one half-hour after eating the stew, he said. “They were acting wild
and everything, like hallucinating, they didn’t know what they were
saying, what they were doing, talking all kind of nonsense,” Singh
said. “The ones who didn’t eat, like the kids, noticed.”
His son described his sick relatives, who ranged in age from 20 to 70
years old as behaving “like when you’re high on pot,” he said. He
noticed that “they were not breathing properly” and called a friend
to the home who called the ambulance, Singh said.
Family members returned home in 1 to 3 days, his wife Kamajit Kaur
said Tuesday [15 Jul 2008].
“Everyone is better, everybody is fine, everybody is perfect...” she
said. “No medications, no treatment — they said ‘Just take a rest,’
then go see the primary doctor and that’s it.”
The episode “potentially could have been fatal,” said Chuck Schuster,
the Maryland Cooperative Extension botanist who identified the plant.
“We’re really lucky.” Jimsonweed is a “typically a waste area weed,
not a garden weed,” Schuster said. It was not planted in the family
yard. The surrounding area where the plant was growing was “rough”
and unmowed. Birds or dirt from recent construction could have
brought the plant to the neighborhood, he said. Normal lawn care such
as mowing and use of weed killer typically stops the plant’s spread,
Schuster said.
The family affected has since removed all plants from the herb garden
“to be on the safe side,” Anderson said.
“We did not know it was even there,” Singh said Tuesday. Family
members “thought it was just like a spinach-type of a plant,
something like that.”
Anderson said that jimsonweed does not resemble mint. Instead, the
weed, also known as “Downy thornapple” and “Devil’s trumpet” can grow
to 5 feet tall and has “coarsely serrated” 3- to 8-inch leaves according to
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants , a Web site that contains the
Cornell University poisonous plants database. “You really have to be
careful,” she said. When it comes to eating homegrown herbs, “don’t
eat anything that you haven’t planted yourself and know exactly what it is.”
[Byline: Patricia M. Murrett]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
promed@promedmail.org
[Jimsonweed’s Latin name is _Datura_ spp. And there a number of
different species giving a slightly different shape to the leaves or
flowers. However, they all contain the same toxic agents, just in
slightly different proportions. A photo may be seen at:
http://www.wildflowersofontario.ca/jimsonweed1.jpg
or
http://www.1000wordsphotos.com/desertflowers/jimsonweed.html The
thorny fruit that contributes to its name may be viewed at:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/D/W-SO-DSTR-FR.001.html
The memory tool for Jimsonweed intoxication is “Red as a beet, dry as
a bone” (flushed, hot, red skin) and “mad as a hatter” (from Alice in
Wonderland, for its hallucinogenic properties.) The seeds have been
collected by addicts trying to get ‘high’ because of the
hallucinogenic properties. The article correctly states that it would
appear that intoxicated individuals can appear as if they have been
smoking marijuana. However, the cardiac affects have proven to be
fatal in many cases.
The texture of the leaves and stems would be far from that of spinach
or mint, so clearly this person did not know much about the herbs in
the garden, or it was done with the intent of “spiking” the stew
without knowledge of the plant’s deadly side effects. The plant has
an almost world wide distribution and is very adaptable to many
climates and habitats.
It is fortunate that this unfortunate event has had a relatively
happy outcome. It should be noted that pets can be come intoxicated
as well and this plant and its seed are much more dangerous to our
companion animals because of their relatively small size. - Mod.TG
To quote from the ProMED reference below:
“In Bangladesh, there is a tendency [to use] powder of Datura
(_Datura_ spp, most probably _D. fastuosa_) or some species of
Oleander seed in food items, drink or cigarettes by miscreants and
offering [th m] to [unsuspecting] people. Because of the action of
Datura or Oleander seed, people become unconscious and then [the
criminals] grab their valuable items. Datura or Oleander seed contain
alkaloids which are [potent] toxins for humans and higher doses may be
fatal.”
Photo of Jimsonweed:
http://www.delange.org/Jimson/Dsc00036.jpg
- Mod.JW]
[see also:
1999
Food poisoning, criminal - Bangladesh (02) 19990804.1333
....................tg/ejp/jw
[Almost 20 years ago, the local high school kids were drinking a tea made with Datura to get high, and about 5 of them died on one day.....after their lunch break and drinking the tea....granny]
Paintball was practice, says terror-cell mole
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/news/171/paintball-was-practice-says-terror-cell-mole/
Key witness in Toronto 18 trial testifies battlefield simulations were acted out in rural, wooded area
Jamaat-e-Islami Youth Leader: Washington, D.C. Will Not Be Safe
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2008/07/24/jamaat-e-islami-youth-leader-washington-dc-will-not-be-safe/#more-3041
Amtrak expands random security sweeps
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2008-07-10-amtrak_N.htm
TERROR THREAT IS IN THE CARDS; EERIE MAILINGS PREDICT NYC BOMBINGS
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272008/news/regionalnews/terror_threat_is_in_the_cards_121829.htm
A real threat: Terrorists tampering with food
http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/jul/26/a-real-threat-terrorists-tampering-with-food/
Grenade Found In Car Crossing Bridge From Canada
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2008/07/28/grenade-found-in-car-crossing-bridge-from-canada/#more-3112
U.S. Headed for ‘Heightened Alert’ Stage
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5420514&page=1
Exclusive: Major Events on the Horizon Prompt a Surge in Anti-Terror Efforts
Suicide bombers kill 50 in Iraq, wound nearly 250 By Mohammed Abbas and Waleed Ibrahim
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080728/wl_nm/iraq_dc
EXCLUSIVE: Euro Soccer Finals Are Terror Target
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5207622&page=1
Narco-Terror Concerns in Latin America
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5197261&page=1
U.S. Intel: Iran Plans Nuclear Strike on U.S
http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/iran_nuclear_plan/2008/07/29/117217.html
Jihadi Tutorial in Urban Terrorism and the Kidnapping of Americans
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2374320
Was Alleged al-Qaeda Attack a Failed Attempt to Occupy the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul?
http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2374323
By Emrullah Uslu
Gaubatz: Falls Church, VA Jihad Manual
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/2862
By Sean Osborne Thursday, May 1, 2008
Love, blackmail and rape – how al-Qaeda grooms women as ‘perfect weapons’
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4426139.ece
From The TimesJuly 30, 2008
‘Secret N-plant discovered at Al-Zarqan area’
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=20349&ccid=9
KUWAIT CITY : A secret nuclear bomb manufacturing center at Al-Zarqan Area in Al-Ahwaziya Region, which was first established in 2000, was discovered recently, highly reliable sources told Al-Seyassah. Sources from Al-Ahwaziya claimed Tehran has started building a secret nuclear plant for manufacturing atomic bombs in Al-Zarqan Area near Al-Ahwaz City in southwest Iran and its border with Iraq.
Thai police seize more than 1,000 fake passports in raid 27 Apr 2008 10:02:32 GMT
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK146385.htm
Source: Reuters
German court rejects early release for terrorist
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-55/1217334242242000.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
7/29/2008, 8:18 a.m. EDT
Teenagers trained into terrorists near Peshawar for fighting NATO troops in Afghanistan
http://www.andhranews.net/Intl/2008/July/29/Teenagers-trained-into-56297.asp
Islamabad, July 29 : A remote mountaineous region in Pakistan that has almost turned into a dry riverbed, houses a terrorists training camp where about two dozen young men, most of them being in their teens, receive rigourous training for the war against NATO troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, said a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Turkey-Terrorism
Istanbul bombings kill 15, wound 100
http://www2.irna.com/en/news/view/line-20/0807293146123802.htm
Eighteen live bombs found, panic grips Surat city
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Nine-live-bombs-found-panic-grips-Surat-city/341895/
Surat, July 29: Panic gripped the diamond city as police on Tuesday recovered eighteen live bombs, one after another within a span of five hours, from different parts of the Varacha area where most of the diamond units are located.
U.S. says Pakistani spies forewarn al Qaeda allies
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSISL360520080731?sp=true
Foreign missions advise their nationals caution in India
http://www.indiaenews.com/india/20080731/135839.htm
Bin Laden Morphs into Che Guevera
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4180
By Alan Caruba Tuesday, July 29, 2008
One of the “major” attacks killed FIVE people.
I’ll go back to worrying about slipping in the bathtub.
Biological weapons are overrated. By far, the #1 biological threat to the United States has been the same for over 100 years: influenza.
The ordinary flu kills on average about 30,000 Americans each and every year. A “bad” flu can kill as many as 100,000. The Avian flu has the potential to kill Americans by the million.
Anthrax is a common pathogen. Soil samples about anywhere in the entire State of Texas will give you positive readings for anthrax. Even military grade anthrax needs complex aerial distribution to menace a civilian population. The Russians managed to do that with the Sverdlovsk Incident, due to an explosion at a bio weapons plant next to and upwind of a city of 2 million. Oops. Still only killed a few hundred people. An ordinary industrial accident could have killed a lot more people.
Practically speaking, because the American public know of and use personal hygiene, because of endless government programs to educate everyone since WWII, the biological threat to the US is about minimal.
The diseases that still pester us, like colds and flus, are pulmonary diseases, spread by coughing and sneezing, but *importantly* usually *not* directly—but by hand contact. We cough and sneeze into our hands, and spread most colds and flus through touching objects and each other.
So this is why, when out in public during cold and flu season, you should use hand sanitizer about six times a day. Doing so will reduce your chances of getting sick from between 60-80%.
It has recently been learned that the optimal temperature to spread pulmonary disease solely by coughing and sneezing is a chilly 40F, with very low humidity. As the temperature and humidity rise, it gets much harder for such diseases to spread directly, so they are far more reliant on touch transfer.
Another enemy of pulmonary diseases in the air is fresh air. An air conditioner recycles room air far slower than does an open window.
Sunlight and vitamin D are also major enemies to bacteria and viruses. Sunlight, especially UV light, is an effective sterilizer. And vitamin D creates a weak acid in the body that erodes the outer coat of pathogens and destroys them. In just 15 minutes of exposure to sunlight, the body will manufacture something like 10,000-25,000 IU of vitamin D, a huge amount if you take vitamin D supplements, which are normally only 1,000 IU or less.
And this combination of heat, humidity, UV light, and vitamin D are probably why typically influenza and colds happen much more in winter.
One of our most effective defenses against biological weapons is our communications system, to both give warnings, information, and to collect data to help our medical services get control of the situation.
