Thank you MamaDearest.
So much information you provided.
I appreciate it.
Snippets: In 1988 a lorry driver poured 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate into the wrong tank at the Lowermoor treatment works at Camelford in Cornwall - contaminating the water supplied to 20,000 homes.
Locals say the accident led to cases of vomiting, skin burns, brain damage, memory loss and joint problems - and up to 20 deaths. They accuse the Government of covering up the scale of the disaster, which happened in the run up to the privatisation of the water board.
For nearly two decades the victims of the blunder have demanded full investigation.
Outbreak prompts recall of NW alfalfa sprouts
Snippets: Oregon State Public Health Division and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials announced Thursday a recall of Sprouter's Northwest brand alfalfa sprouts due to a Salmonellosis outbreak.
As of Tuesday, 13 outbreak cases had been identified in Oregon and Washington. All cases reported becoming ill since Aug. 1.
The recalled sprouts were distributed through a number of wholesalers to grocery stores, restaurants, and other retail outlets in Oregon and Washington.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50936
“SouthCom Transformation Promotes New Approach to Regional Challenges”
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
MIAMI, Aug. 26, 2008 –
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Stavridis described the “enormous challenges” facing Central and South America during his mid-March testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. Without large-scale conventional wars looming on the horizon, the bigger regional challenges are poverty, drugs, the risk of regional terrorism and the beginnings of Islamic radical terrorism, he told the committee.
Like a long line of commanders before him, Stavridis recognized that traditional Cold War-era ways of operating didn’t fit in SouthCom’s area of focus, which includes all of Latin America and parts of the Caribbean. “Previous SouthCom commanders have recognized we need to fundamentally change how we do business around here,” Sparling said. “
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0825/csmimg/ADRUGS_P1.jpg
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0825/p03s03-usmi.html
“NEW CHALLENGE IN DRUG WAR: SEMI-SUBS
At $2 million apiece, the craft poke out only a foot above water and can carry 12 tons of drugs.”
By Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the August 25, 2008 edition
WASHINGTON -
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Military officials, working in conjunction with the US Coast Guard and law-enforcement agencies, say they apprehended about 25 of the hard-to-find semi-subs a couple of years ago but this year are on track to find as many as 60. Another military official says that number could be as high as 100 by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the semi-subs have an estimated success rate – actual delivery of cargo – of about 80 percent, Admiral Nimmich says, adding that he is confident the US can tackle the problem given more focus and resources.
Most of the boats have been intercepted in the eastern Pacific between South and Central America. In the last two years, the vessels have emerged as an increasingly viable way to transport large quantities of drugs that ultimately make their way into the US.
Built of a combination of fiberglass and wood and now steel, the 40- to 80-foot long semi-subs can travel as far as 2,000 miles, carrying a payload that represents, according to Nimmich, “10 hits of cocaine for every senior high school student in the US.””
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Costing an average of $2 million per ship, the semi-subs are typically built under cover of the jungle canopy in South and Central America and can take a year to construct.”
ARTICLE SIPPET: “Although US Southern Command, headed by Adm. James Stavridis, has not received as much attention support as its sister commands, particularly US Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has quietly focused on the drug fight, interdicting about 200 metric tons of cocaine last year.
To make more headway, General McCaffrey says, the American government as a whole needs a broader strategic policy in Latin America that would help address the growth in effectiveness of drug cartels.
If semi-subs represent one way in which narcotics traffickers have adapted, the growing use of tunnels on the US-Mexico border represent another.”
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http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2008/08/16/1218935054_1441/539w.jpg
“For US, a terror threat lurks in drug smuggling subs
Shift of cargo to arms and people is feared”
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / August 17, 2008
KEY WEST, Fla. -
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “These “semi-submersibles,” which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses.
So far this year, the Coast Guard says it has encountered at least 27 such vessels headed toward the southern and western United States, more than in the previous six years combined, while far more are believed to have gone undetected, according to US military and law enforcement officials.
The growing number and increased sophistication of the vessels, officially designated “self-propelled semi-submersibles,” has set off alarms at the highest levels of the US military and the federal Department of Homeland Security. Counterterrorism officials fear that what drug runners now use to deliver cocaine, terrorists could one day use to sneak personnel or massive weapons into the United States.
Navy Admiral James Stavridis, commander of the US Southern Command, the Miami-based military command that concentrates on Latin America, warned in a recent military journal article, “If drug cartels can ship up to 10 tons of cocaine in a semi-submersible, they can clearly ship or rent space to a terrorist organization for a weapon of mass destruction or a high-profile terrorist.””
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http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/08/17/Semi-subs_becoming_drug_security_risk/UPI-82521219002065/
“Semi-subs becoming drug, security risk”
Published: Aug. 17, 2008 at 3:41 PM
KEY WEST, Fla., Aug. 17 (UPI)
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49284
“Commanders Discuss Operational Issues at House Hearing”
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2008 –
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Yet, SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility also includes challenges, Stavridis said.
“There are enormous challenges, starting with poverty, but also drugs,” the four-star admiral noted. Regional terrorists, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, increasingly rely on narcotics trafficking as a way to raise funds, he said.
Stavridis also sees “the beginnings of Islamic radical terrorism” in some parts of his area of responsibility.
On the Caribbean watch, Cuba remains the sole dictatorship in the Americas, Stavridis said, while noting Haiti “continues to be a nation that is trying to overcome extreme challenges of poverty.”
The admiral also cited recent tensions caused by a border dispute between Colombia and its neighbors Venezuela and Ecuador. Venezuela and Ecuador accused Colombia of violating their sovereignty during recent Colombian military operations that attacked terrorists operating along the countries’ common borders.”
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http://www.southcom.mil/appssc/factFiles.php?id=43
Posted On: Apr 8 2008 10:53AM
SNIPPET: “”On March 6th and 13th, Navy Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. Southern Command, testified before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees as part of the command’s annual posture statement to Congress.
Stavridis emphasized the command’s continuing work to strengthen partnerships in Central America, South America and the Caribbean and addressed current security challenges and concerns in the region. Below are some selected excerpts of Stavridis’ testimony to the House and the Senate:”
SNIPPET: “On the use of semi-submersible submarines
by drug runners:
“In 2006, we were tracking, either via intelligence or capturing, around three of these in the year 2006. In the year 2007, it jumped to about 30. This year so far, in three months, we`ve seen about 30. So, we are seeing more and more of these. We don`t know how many there are that we are not seeing.”
“…they really are essentially garage-level technology. It`s just a diesel engine, a fiberglass hull, a snorkel, a primitive periscope, seating in a crude sense for two to four personnel. We are working very hard on the intelligence front to find out where they are coming from… They can go hundreds of miles.”
On continued military support to Colombia:
“Colombia has made enormous progress on — as a result of Plan Colombia, which came out of the Clinton Administration and was followed in the Bush administration. Murders down 80 percent; kidnappings down 60 percent; terrorist incidents down 60 percent; police presence throughout the country — it`s a much safer country.
As the chairman indicated, the Colombians have just self-financed with a wealth tax — three-and-a-half billion dollars. I fully expect, over the next 24 months, we should be able to move toward a reduction in our very small forces that are there. As you know, Senator, we have a cap of 600 U.S. military. We`re typically, on average, well-below that, in the 500 range.”
On military-to-military relations with Venezuela:
“Historically, the United States and Venezuela have had very close relations. And, it is unfortunate that, at the moment, we do not enjoy that at a government-to-government level. And, at a military-to- military level, Senator, we have no relationship unfortunately. We have tried to reach out to the Venezuelan military. We`ve invited them to conferences. We want to have some level of understanding and dialogue with them, but they have rejected that. They have also – ‘they,’ the government of Venezuela, has not been cooperative in the narcotics fight, and we are very concerned about trans-shipment of cocaine through Venezuela.”
On Venezuela’s military buildup:
“I am concerned about it. It seems like a high level of weapons purchases… 25 high-performance aircraft, 50 new attack helicopters, over 100,000 AK-103 – very advanced – automatic rifles, military transports, diesel submarines – a very advanced technology. I, personally, have difficulty understanding why that level of weapons would be needed by the Venezuelan state, because as we’ve just seen, this is a region that is not prone to going to war, but has the capacity to solve, peacefully, disputes. “
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http://www.southcom.mil/appssc/news.php?storyId=1007
“SOUTHCOM commander testifies before Congress”
Posted On: Mar 14 2008 2:00PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Wimbish
U.S. Southern Command Public Affairs
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The commander of U.S. Southern Command testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee March 13, saying that there is a low likelihood for military conflict in Latin America and the Caribbean while warning of possible emerging security challenges.
Navy Adm. James Stavridis’ testimony, alongside the commanders of U.S. European Command and the future U.S. Africa Command, was his second in a week. On March 6, he appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of the command’s annual posture statement to Congress.
Stavridis discussed the recent tensions between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, sparked by Colombia’s attack of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels in Ecuador March 1. He said the peaceful resolution, which also involved leaders from other surrounding nations, displayed the region’s aptitude for solving such problems.
“The region came together to solve that problem, and that´s very encouraging,” Stavridis said.
Stavridis also offered the SOUTHCOM take on Venezuela’s recent military weapons and equipment purchases, which have included more than 20 high-performance fighter jets, 50 new attack helicopters, over 100,000 AK-103 automatic rifles, military transports, and advanced diesel submarines.
“I personally have difficulty understanding why that level of weapons would be needed by the Venezuelan state because, as we´ve just seen, this is a region that is not prone to going to war, but has the capacity to solve, peacefully, disputes,” stated Stavridis.””
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RECAP:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3581401,00.html
YNET NEWS.com (AP): “REPORT: IRAN BUILDS NEW, SMART SUB” (Published August 12, 13:42)<
http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/9131.htm
THE MEMRI BLOG.org (”Source: Mehr, Iran, August 12, 2008”): “IRAN LAUNCHES RADAR-EVADING VESSELS, UNMANNED SUBMARINES” (Posted August 12, 2008)
