Swine Flu Mutation Concerns Norwegian Scientists

As with the story yesterday from the Ukraine, this is something to keep an eye on. The primary concern over Swine Flu is it’s potential  to mutate into a much more serious disease.

Scientists in Norway have identified a mutated form of the swine flu virus that is raising concern because it was found in two patients who died of the flu and a third who was severely ill with the disease, officials announced Friday.

In a statement, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the mutation “could possibly make the virus more prone to infect deeper in the airways and thus cause more severe disease,” such as pneumonia.

Scientists have analyzed about 70 viruses from confirmed Norwegian swine flu cases and found the mutation in only those three patients, Geir Stene-Larsen, the institute’s director general, said in the statement.

“Based on what we know so far, it seems that the mutated virus does not circulate in the population, but might be a result of spontaneous changes which have occurred in these three patients,” the statement said.

The institute has been analyzing H1N1 virus from “a number of patients as part of the surveillance of the pandemic flu virus,” and has detected several mutations, the statement said. While the existence of mutations is normal, and most “will probably have little or no importance . . . one mutation has caught special interest.”

The two patients who had the mutation and died were the first swine flu fatalities in Norway. The third patient found to have the mutated form of the virus also became severely ill.

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Charge Dropped Against Woman Arrested Near ANG Base

27 East News reports that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office has dropped a trespassing charge filed against an East Quogue woman who was arrested in July for taking pictures at the Air National Guard base in Westhampton with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in her car.

The misdemeanor charge was dropped Tuesday because an investigation found that the woman, 53-year-old Nancy Genovese, remained inside her car and outside the base’s property just prior to her arrest, Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, wrote in an e-mail.

Ms. Genovese was arrested on July 30 by the Suffolk County sheriff’s office after Air National Guard officials said they saw her taking photographs near the entrance of the base at Gabreski Airport. Authorities said they found an XM-15 assault rifle and a shotgun—both registered and unloaded—in her car, and an estimated 500 rounds of ammunition in her trunk at the time of her arrest.

She was released four days later from the Suffolk County Jail in Riverside after posting $50,000 bail.

When reached Thursday morning, Ms. Genovese said she was relieved that the trespassing charge had been dropped.

“I couldn’t be happier,” she said. “I’m just really happy that the justice system finally worked.”

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Syria Suspected Of Concealing Nuclear Activity

It appears Iran may not be the only nuclear concern in the middle east. WTOP reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency ‘IAEA’ and Syria are walking a tightrope and appear to be headed toward a collision over two nuclear sites where undeclared uranium was recently found.

The agency found traces of uranium at the Dair Alzour nuclear site that are not included in Syria’s declared inventory, according to a just released report. The Syrians said the uranium came from the Israeli missiles used to destroy the nearby al-Kibar reactor in September 2007.

The presence of uranium particles was detected at a second site near Damascus — the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor. Syria said it came from the accumulation of samples and reference materials used in neutron activation analysis.

The IAEA is not buying either of the two explanations and is pressing Damascus for more answers and wants to know from where the uranium came. The agency has run its own tests and is certain the Syrian government is not telling the truth.

That’s where the tightrope act comes in. The IAEA won’t comment on what clearly appears to be evasive behavior by the Syrian government because of concern about its tenuous relationship with Syria.

The Syrian government, also aware of the slippery state of affairs, tells WTOP:

“We are taking up the matter with IAEA, and are in constant consultation with them. We are going through appropriate channels and Syria stands by its legal obligations to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty).”

A U.S. counter-proliferation official is not convinced.

“Syria has a record of concealing nuclear activities. The whole world saw that with the al-Kibar reactor, an undeclared facility, destroyed in 2007.

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Bin-Laden’s Son Would Like UN Job

The son of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, Omar, has told a British magazine that he would like to promote peace and work for the United Nations.

“I do not believe that I would be a good politician – I have a habit of speaking the truth, even when it does not serve me well. But I would like to be in a position to promote peace. I believe that the United Nations would be ideal for me,” said Omar Bin-Laden.

Last year in November, Omar requested asylum in Spain, but his application was refused.

He was traveling on a Saudi Arabian passport and was detained at Madrid’s Barajas Airport after arriving on a flight from Egypt.

Source

Black Lung Virus Mystery In Ukraine

According to this news report, televised on Russia Today,  scientists now suspect that swine flu virus may have mutated in Ukraine. Some doctors say that flu in the country has shown unprecedented symptoms, creating the effect of “burnt” or black lungs.

Sources in the report say that while scientists are running tests of the virus samples from Ukraine, some doctors are claiming the strain is dangerously mutating and another ‘wave’ may be coming.

Details of this report have not been confirmed by US health experts or WHO.

Source

X-Flex Bomb-proof Wallpaper Could Save Your Life

X-flex bomb-proof wallpaper is one of the most incredible inventions I’ve seen. Imagine a kevlar-type wallpaper that makes rooms and buildings, nearly indestructible.

X-Flex is a new kind of wallpaper: one that’s quite possibly stronger than the wall it’s on. Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this lifesaving adhesive is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports. To keep a shelter’s walls from collapsing in an explosion and to contain all the flying debris, you simply peel off the wallpaper’s sticky backing, apply the rollable sheets to the inside of brick or cinder-block walls, and reinforce it with fasteners at the edges. Covering an entire room can take less than an hour.

X-Flex bonds so tightly, it helps walls keep their shape after blast waves. Two layers are strong enough to stop a blunt object, like a flying 2×4, from knocking down drywall. During our tests, just a single layer kept a wrecking ball from smashing through a brick wall. The wallpaper’s strength and ductility is derived from a layer of Kevlar-like material sandwiched by sheets of elastic polymer wrap. The combination works so well that the Army is now considering wallpapering bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Civilians could soon start remodeling too—Berry Plastics plans to develop a commercial version next year.

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Taliban Threatens To Poison Waziristan Water Supply

Pakistani Taliban have threatened to contaminate water sources and reservoirs with poisonous materials to pressure the army to stop.

The cantonment boards of Rawalpindi and Chaklala received the threat from the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. A letter, faxed to the Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, said the Taliban had procured 200 litres of poisonous materials that would be used to contaminate water.

Source

From The Deccan Herald

Confirming reports of the threat from the Taliban, Rafiq Adil Siddique, the CEO of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, said the Directorate of Military Lands and Cantonments has taken “effective security measures”.

All six wards in the area have been divided into four zones headed by engineers, supervisors, directors, tube-well operators and valve men to ensure the security of water sources.

Tube-well operators and valve men have been issued special instructions to keep the doors of their offices closed and boundary walls of tube-well sections are being raised, the daily reported.

Source

FEMA Conducting Preparedness Drill At Nuclear Plant

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency will evaluate a Biennial Emergency Preparedness Exercise at the Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County. The week-long exercise, which began on November 16, will test the ability of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to respond to an emergency at the nuclear facility.

Held every other year, these drills test government’s ability to protect public health and safety. FEMA will evaluate state and local emergency response capabilities within the 10-mile emergency-planning zone of the nuclear facility.

Within 90 days, FEMA will send its evaluation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for use in licensing decisions. The final report will be available to the public about 120 days after the exercise.

FEMA will present preliminary findings of the exercise in a public briefing at 11:00 a.m. on November 20 at the Courtyard by Marriott, 150 Park Road, Reading, Pa. Scheduled speakers include representatives from FEMA, NRC, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

via FEMA: FEMA To Evaluate Commonwealth’s Readiness.

Masked Gunmen Escape Hostage Taking Incident

The two armed men who tied up hostages and attempted to rob a Venice T.J. Maxx store on  Tuesday night appear to have fled before police arrived. .. And that’s where the story takes a strange twist.

Police refused Wednesday morning to release any description of the two men who went into the store at closing time with guns and tied up customers and employees.

Police also wouldn’t say whether they have suspects or whether citizens should be on the lookout for anyone.

When police arrived on the scene Tuesday night, they believed the gunmen were still in the store and were holding the customers and employees hostage. Witnesses told police that the men were holding about 10 workers and customers hostage.

“There was conflicting information from witnesses that the suspects were inside,” said Lt. Eric Hill.

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FBI Suspects Terrorists Are Exploring Cyber Attacks

According to a WSJ report today, The FBI is looking at groups suspected of having links to al Qaeda who have shown an interest in mounting an attack on computer systems that control critical U.S. infrastructure.

While there is no evidence that terrorist groups have developed sophisticated cyber-attack capabilities yet, a lack of security protections in U.S. computer software increases the likelihood that terrorists could execute attacks in the future, an official warned.

If terrorists were to amass such capabilities, they would be wielded with “destructive and deadly intent,” Steven Chabinsky, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

“The FBI is aware of and investigating individuals who are affiliated with or sympathetic to al Qaeda who have recognized and discussed the vulnerabilities of the U.S. infrastructure to cyber-attack,” Mr. Chabinsky told the committee, without providing details.

Such infrastructure could include power grids and transportation systems.

The control systems of U.S. infrastructure as well as money transfers are now connected directly or indirectly to the Internet. Hackers have been able to penetrate computer systems running components of the U.S. electric grid as well as divert bank transfers.

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Lieberman – Fort Hood Gunman Committed Extremist Terrorism

Sen. Joseph Lieberman,  chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee said Tuesday that the government’s failure to deal with Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s growing radicalism was similar to the intelligence community’s failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks.

Lieberman made his comments after attending a closed-door briefing with administration officials about last week’s massacre at Fort Hood, which killed 13 people. Lieberman didn’t discuss any details of the briefing but said all signs indicate that Hasan committed an “act of Islamic extremist terrorism.”

“There is a similarity to 9/11, which is there was information in different places in our government, which if it had been connected, would have said to people this guy was a real danger,” Lieberman said.

Several people have told The News that Hasan, a psychiatrist, was conflicted about being a Muslim in the U.S. Army, complained that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan constituted a “war on Islam,” and wanted some of his patients to face war crimes charges.

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DHS Seeks Partnerships to Increase Information Sharing

In  an increased effort to identify and help reduce possible acts of terrorism, The Department of Homeland Security is seeking to identify communities of interest that don’t fit the normal models found in local government and the private sector (hey, this sounds like us).  The goal is to improve lines of communication between ethnic and faith-based communities and respond to terror threats by adopting procedures used by the Secure Community Network (SCN). The department’s goal is to mimic the SCN platform for national security and preparedness and use it as a means to decrease the number of acts of terrorism by increasing both communications and information sharing.

The DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP) focuses on protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR). The IP works to reduce terror threats and to strengthen national preparedness and response and recovery times, largely through public-private partnerships because most of the national CIKR is privately owned.

William F. Flynn, the IP’s acting assistant secretary, shares that DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano wants to identify “communities of interest that don’t fit that normal model where we have outreach, like through local government and the private sector. She’s taken a personal interest in expanding this initiative.”

SCN is one such group. Because the Jewish community is often a target for terrorists, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations created SCN four years ago to address heightened security concerns. The organization has two purposes: to share information in crisis situations quickly and to improve security awareness of Jewish organizations to protect against terrorism and other threats.

SCN’s national director, Paul Goldenberg, notes, “Our community has seen an unprecedented number of attacks during recent years. DHS recognized that our community was vulnerable and that they should establish formal ties with the Jewish community. They felt training civilians to understand terror threats would help create eyes on the ground for DHS and local law enforcement.”

DHS and SCN have collaborated for four years, with DHS providing “tons of services” to the Jewish community, Goldenberg says.

Flynn adds, “SCN has a great platform to reach a broad audience. They have a pipeline, a technical means of broadly reaching their partners and constituents. That’s very valuable to help push out information. [DHS] has leveraged that relationship. We’ve sponsored security clearances for some of their staff; we’ve provided Web-based training and done webinars for them.”

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India Places Nuclear Plants Under Alert

Reuters news reports that India has put its nuclear power plants under alert and tightened security around them after intelligence about possible attacks, a report said on Monday.

The step comes after a man arrested in the United States on charges of plotting attacks in India was found to have travelled to Indian states that have nuclear installations.

The Press Trust of India quoted unnamed sources in the home ministry as saying that state governments had been asked to step up security around their nuclear plants as a “precautionary measure”.

“The step is precautionary in nature. The states have been asked to increase the vigil and patrolling to thwart any sabotage attempt aimed at these vital facilities,” a home ministry official was quoted as saying.

Indian media often reports security alerts based on unnamed intelligence sources.

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TSA To Inspect Jet Repair Shops Under New Proposal

Thousands of airplane maintenance shops in the U.S. and abroad would get increased scrutiny to make sure they are not easy prey for terrorists looking to sabotage U.S. jets during routine repairs, a government proposal says.

Some experts and lawmakers have warned for years about potential terrorist saboteurs infiltrating airplane repair shops, and have urged security oversight. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says the greatest danger is posed by repair shops that are on or next to airports because a terrorist could take control of an airplane.

A TSA regulation proposed Monday would for the first time enable the agency to inspect airplane repair shops. If the TSA found a problematic repair shop, the agency would tell the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend the shop’s operating license.

TSA Assistant Administrator Lee Kair said the new requirement “guards against the potential threat of an aircraft being destroyed or used as a weapon.” The agency is soliciting public comments on the proposal and could finalize it later this year.

Airplanes ranging from small recreational planes to wide-body jets are repaired at more than 4,200 shops across the U.S. as well as at 700 shops abroad, in countries such as France, Germany, Singapore, Egypt and Jordan.

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