March 2008

Drug Cartels Training Near U.S. Border

ERRI WMD [Acronyms] Self Test

ERRI WMD [Acronyms] Self Test (On-line Quiz)

Can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/erri_wmd_self_test_acronyms.htm

Multiple Shooting Incidents Along Interstate 64 in Virginia

12:00 CDT - 27 March 2008

Multiple Shooting Incidents Along Interstate 64 in Virginia

VIRGINIA: Police today are hunting for a sniper(s) who fired on multiple vehicles on/near Interstate 64. The shootings started at about 00:10 this morning and other incidents then followed in at least three locations. The stretch of interstate involved in the shootings is located West of Charlottesville, VA.

No one was seriously hurt in the shootings, but two people were treated and released at the hospital for minor injuries, according to state police Col. Steve Flaherty.

An unoccupied V-DOT vehicle was found with bullet holes near an exit for I-64 along Route 250, said State Police Sgt. David Cooper. Police are gathering forensic evidence there and at other locations.

According to State police, there may be one or more shooters involved in these incidents. Police are not describing these circumstances as a "sniper incident" at this time, saying that the incidents appeared to be "random shootings..."

Officials are asking everyone to be observant of anything suspicious. Police are asking anyone with information to please call state police at 434-293-3223 or crimestoppers at 434-977-4000.

Watch EmergencyNet News for more on this story, as circumstances warrant...

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WIU on Lock-Down Following Shooting Threat

10:30 CDT - 26 March 2008

Western Illinois University on Lock-Down Following Shooting threat

EmergencyNet News Exclusive Report

McCOMB, IL: According to students at Western Illinois University (WIU), the school has been placed on alert due to a possible threat about a shooting. Western Illinois University is taking precautions after a threatening note was discovered in an off-campus apartment complex regarding a shooting on campus.

According to the WIU Office of Public Safety Director Bob Fitzgerald, an employee of an off campus apartment complex reported receiving a handwritten note in the complex's payment drop-box that indicated "there would be a shooting on the WIU campus today."

"While this is an anonymous off-campus threat, it is imperative that we take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our students, staff and faculty," WIU President Al Goldfarb said.

WIU says residence halls are locked and students will be allowed to miss classes, if they chose to stay home. A warning has also been issued using Western's emergency alert system.

An ERRI staff member's daughter, who attends the university, confirmed that the alert had been received via cell phone and the threat is being taken seriously by students and faculty. She told EmergencyNet News that a number of police cars can be seen on campus and that residence halls are on lock-down, allowing only students with keys to enter.

The actual veracity of the threat has not been determined, and a police investigation is ongoing at the time of this report. Authorities said that the alert was issued with an abundance of caution following the shooting incident at Northern Illinois University (NIU) that resulted in the deaths of six people.

Any unusual or suspicious activity should be reported immediately to the Office of Public Safety by calling 9-1-1 from any campus phone or 309-298-1949. There are also 51 emergency callboxes located throughout campus. Watch EmergencyNet News for more on this still developing story, as circumstances warrant...

Crane Collapse With People Trapped in Florida

13:50 CDT - 25 March 2008

Crane Collapse With People Trapped in Florida

MIAMI, FL: Police say at least 5 people have been injured, and one person is dead, after a portion of a crane working on a high-rise construction project fell through the roof of an adjacent home being used as office space for the construction project.

The extrication incident is on-going at the time of this report and is occurring at 2121 North Bayshore Dr. in Miami, according to emergency service sources. One or more people are/were thought to be trapped in the rubble of the crane collapse at this time.

According to Miami fire spokesman Ignatius Carroll, one person has died. Three people were transported to hospitals in critical condition, Carroll said. Few other official details are currently available. Watch EmergencyNet News for additional information as circumstances warrant...

Woman, 4 Children Found Dead in Iowa City Home

Monday, March 24, 2008

Woman, 4 Children Found Dead in Iowa City Home

IOWA CITY, Iowa ? Police said a van involved in a fiery, fatal crash Monday morning belonged to a man who was being sought in connection with the killings of his wife and four children. Iowa City police said the van was owned by Steven Sueppel, who was being sought after the five bodies were found in his home at 629 Barrington Road.

Sgt. Troy Kelsay wouldn't release the names of the victims, but he confirmed they were Sueppel's wife and children, ages 3, 5, 7 and 10.

The matter began when dispatchers received a call at 06:31 a.m. saying officers needed to respond to the Barrington Road home immediately. The caller then hung up....

-- Source/continues: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340920,00.html

Iowa City Police Investigate [Multiple] Shooting

09:01 am CDT March 24, 2008

Iowa City Police Investigate [Multiple] Shooting

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa City police are investigating a shooting early Monday morning. Police confirm they were called to a residential part of town Monday morning on a report of a shooting involving a family living on Barrington Road, which is in the far eastern part of the city.

Authorities are telling KCCI-TV that several family members were shot. Police are not yet commenting on their conditions or injuries.

Few other details are being reported yet in the case.

The University of Iowa has issued a campus alert to students and parents by text message and by e-mail saying there is "an active shooter" is in the Iowa City area, white male in his mid-40s, tan Toyota Sienna minivan with license plate 501 BLO. Call 911 if seen...

-- Source/continues: http://www.kcci.com/news/15689368/detail.html

New Tape From Zawahiri Calls For Attacks on "Jews and America"

22:00CDT - 23 March 2008

New Tape From Zawahiri Calls For Attacks on "Jews and America"

A new audio tape, purportedly from al Qaeda's No. 2 figure, Ayman al-Zawahiri, today called on Jihadist to "...hit the interest of the Jews and the Americans and all those who participated in the aggression against Muslims." The alleged Zawahiri tape follows follows a similar statement last week from Usama bin Laden, who called on Muslims to rise up and "liberate" the Palestinian territory of Gaza from Israeli sanctions and raids against it's Hamas-led government.

This latest recording, posted on websites often used by al Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups, appeared to be produced by al Qaeda's media arm As-Sahab.

Reviewers said that the identity of the speaker on the tape could not be independently verified, but some experts almost immediately said that the tape contained the voice of Zawahiri. It is believed that the tape is currently being analyzed by U.S. military and intelligence agencies for both authenticity and content.

ERRI counter-terrorism analysts said that it is thought that Bin Laden and Zawahiri are coming under increasing pressure to facilitate some sort of major terror event or else they may suffer a loss of support from hard-core jihadists and the shadowy financiers who provide funding for the global Al-Qaeda insurgency.

Watch Emergency.Blog for more on this developing story....

Second Reported Bin Laden Tape in As Many Days

March 20, 2008 -- Updated 22:57 GMT

Purported bin Laden message: Iraq is 'perfect base'
Second Reported Bin Laden Tape in As Many Days

MIDDLE-EAST: Al-Jazeera broadcast on Thursday an audiotape on which a voice identified as Osama bin Laden declares "Iraq is the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine."

Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden spoke on a video released by al Qaeda in September. The voice calls on "Muslims in neighboring countries" to "do their best in supporting their mujahedeen brothers in Iraq."

"My speech to you is about the siege of Gaza and the way to liberate it," he said. "The Gaza siege is a direct result of Annapolis," he adds, apparently referring to the site of November's summit in Annapolis, Maryland, where Israeli and Palestinian leadership agreed to work toward a two-state plan.

He accused Arabs who supported the plan of having become "partners in this horrendous crime." And he predicted, "Palestine will be restored to us, with God's permission, when we wake up from our slumber and adhere to our faith and sacrifice our souls and belongings for it."

The speaker called for armed revolt in the Middle East.

"Palestine and its people have been suffering from too much bitterness for almost a century now on the hands of the Christians and the Jews. And both parties didn't take Palestine from us by negotiations and dialogue, but with arms and fire, and this is the only way to take it back," he said. Though the voice sounds like bin Laden, CNN has not been able to confirm that it is him...

Official sources could not immediately confirm or deny whether the latest tape was Bin Laden.

-- Source/continues:http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/
meast/03/20/binladen.message/index.html

Magnitude 7.2 - XINJIANG-XIZANG BORDER REGION

2008 March 20 22:33:01 UTC

Magnitude 7.2 - XINJIANG-XIZANG BORDER REGION

Earthquake Details

Magnitude 7.2

Date-Time Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 22:33:01 UTC

Friday, March 21, 2008 at 06:33:01 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 35.424°N, 81.386°E

Depth 37.2 km (23.1 miles)

Region XINJIANG-XIZANG BORDER REGION

Distances 230 km (140 miles) SE of Hotan, Xinjiang, China

375 km (235 miles) ENE of Leh, Kashmir

615 km (385 miles) ENE of Srinagar, Kashmir

3105 km (1930 miles) W of BEIJING, Beijing, China

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 6.6 km (4.1 miles); depth +/- 10.2 km (6.3 miles)

Parameters NST=134, Nph=134, Dmin=962.1 km, Rmss=0.89 sec, Gp= 54°,

M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7

Source USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID us2008pvcl

-- http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/
Quakes/us2008pvcl.php#details

Bin Laden Slams EU Over Prophet Cartoons

19 March 2008

Bin Laden Slams EU Over Prophet Cartoons

CAIRO, EGYPT: Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden addressed the "wise men" of the European Union in a new audio message late Wednesday, slamming the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and vowing a strong reaction.

The message, which appeared on a militant Web site that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group's media wing al-Sahab, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming with an AK-47.

A voice believed to be bin Laden's described the attacks of the Europeans on women and children but said these "paled (in comparison) when you went overboard in your unbelief and freed yourselves of the etiquettes of dispute and fighting and went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings, this is the greatest misfortune and the most dangerous..." <Developing>

-- Source/continues at: Google/AP: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h0ara
uyjLz9xhnBdnw6pEEOpKErwD8VGP61G0

OBL: Revenge for Republishing Offensive Cartoons Will Be Severe

Says Reprinting the Cartoons More Serious Than Killing Women and Children

A jihadist Web site Wednesday posted a message from Osama bin Laden chiding the European Union for allowing newspapers to republish cartoons insulting the prophet Muhammad.

Listen to Bin Laden's New Message in his five-minute audio message (below) entitled, "The Response Is What You See, Not What You Hear." Bin Laden accuses Europeans of abandoning the "etiquettes of disputes and morals of fighting."

-- Source/continues: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4484466&page=1

-- Listen to the Video: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4484362

Emergency.com UBL Archive Page: http://www.emergency.com/1999/bnldn-pg.htm

Al-Qaeda Targeting Pak Police, FBI in Pakistan

March 17, 2008 at 8:45 AM

They'll Be Back: al-Qaeda Targeting Pak Police, FBI in Pakistan

Al-Qaeda is definitely stepping up its battle in Pakistan, as Syed Saleem Shahzad reports. Last week, terrorists struck the offices of the Pakistani police's investigative offices in Lahore, killing at least 30 with a car bomb.

However, according to Asia Times Online's investigations, the real target, an undercover office of the Special Investigation Authority (SIA), was missed as the suicide attacker hit the advertising agency.

The SIA is a joint initiative of US and Pakistani planners set up to eliminate the strong roots of radicalization in Punjab province which could easily be transformed into very strong al-Qaeda connections. The SIA will remain a target in Lahore as well as other parts of Punjab, including Multan.

The undercover counterterror investigative unit is not a secret, though indications are the bomber imprecisely hit his assigned target, primarily striking a marketing company instead.

The SIA's investigative partner, America's FBI, will also remain an actively pursued target in Pakistan as well. Yesterday, the Luna Caprese restaurant in Islamabad was struck as well, a popular gathering spot for Westerners. A Turkish civilian was killed and four American FBI personnel injured, including the FBI's top counterterrorism agent in Pakistan...

-- Source/continues at: http://threatswatch.org/rapidrecon/2008/03/theyll-be-back-alqaeda-targeti/

Dalai Lama: China causing 'cultural genocide'

19:15 CDT -- 16 March 2008

Dalai Lama: China causing 'cultural genocide'

(CNN) -- The Dalai Lama on Sunday called for an international probe of China's treatment of Tibet, which he said is causing "cultural genocide" of his people.

The exiled spiritual leader of Tibet spoke at a news conference Sunday in Dharamsala, India, two days after violent clashes between pro-autonomy demonstrators and Chinese security forces in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

A spokesman for the self-declared Tibetan exile government said it has confirmed at least 80 deaths in Friday's violence and that protests were continuing outside the capital Sunday, further undermining China's hopes of a smooth run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Tibet Watch, a group based in Dharamsala, India, said 34 people have died in the Nwaga County area of Sichuan province in western China.

The dead include women and children, the group said in an e-mail, adding they were killed by Chinese police attempting to stop the protests. Eight bodies were brought to the Nagaba Kirti monastery, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharamsala said. Of the eight, two are the bodies of monks, the center said.

The streets of Lhasa were silent and deserted Sunday night, a contrast to the violent protests of days earlier. Chinese paramilitary troops and riot police were patrolling, and shots could be heard from time to time, according to James Miles, a reporter for The Economist in Lhasa.

"People are now too afraid to come out of their homes," Miles said. "People are afraid to go about their normal business." Residents were worried about encountering roving patrols or being shot, he said. Even if people ventured out to shop, most markets have been ransacked, he said.

"People are going to start running out of food pretty soon. They're going to need essential supplies," Miles said...

-- Source/continues: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/tibet.unrest/index.html

Rioting, Fires and Protests in Tibet

Friday, 14 March 2008, 14:00 GMT

Shops on fire amid Tibet protests

LHASA, TIBET: Fires have broken out in the Tibetan city of Lhasa amid reports of rioting, as rare street protests led by Buddhist monks appeared to gather pace. One eyewitness told the BBC how large groups of people were setting fire to cars and shops and destroying anything of Chinese influence. The US embassy in Beijing said US citizens had reported hearing gunfire.

Rallies have continued all week in what are thought to be the largest protests against Beijing's rule in 20 years.

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, released a statement expressing deep concern, saying the protests were a "manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people".

The Dalai Lama, who heads Tibet's government-in-exile in India, called on the Chinese leadership to stop using force and begin dialogue with the Tibetan people. He also urged Tibetans not to resort to violence.

"As I have always said, unity and stability under brute force is at best a temporary solution. It is unrealistic to expect unity and stability under such a rule," the statement said.

-- Source/continues: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7296041.stm

Man Arrested on the Runway at Heathrow Airport

15:25pm GMT - 13/03/2008

Heathrow Airport hit by major security alert

By Gary Cleland

LONDON, ENGLAND: A man has been arrested after being caught on a runway in a secure area of Heathrow Airport. Scotland Yard confirmed that the man, who has not been identified, was arrested at 14.05pm (GMT) this afternoon on the airport's northern runway.

A police spokeswoman said the man was now in custody and had been carrying a rucksack, which she said "would be examined in due course". She was unable to give any details about his age.

It is thought that the emergency services received two 999 calls about the man. No one has been reported injured in the incident.

It is not yet clear whether or not the man was engaged in terrorist activity.

Heathrow has been targeted in recent months by climate change protesters angry at plans to expand the airport...

-- Source/continues: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/13/nheathrow113.xml

Survival after cardiac arrest increases three-fold...

Tuesday, 11-Mar-2008

Survival after cardiac arrest increases three-fold with new resuscitation protocol

Medical Procedure News

A new paramedic resuscitation method called Cardiocerebral Resuscitation has reportedly resulted in a three-fold increase in the survival rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The results are published in the March 12 issue of one the world's foremost medical journals, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Data were gathered from Arizona emergency medical service agencies for almost three years, before and after firefighters and paramedics were trained in this new resuscitation protocol for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (referred to as Minimally Interrupted Cardiac Resuscitation in the JAMA article). Developed at The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in Tucson, Ariz., Cardiocerebral Resuscitation focuses on uninterrupted chest compressions and delays placement of a breathing tube.

One subset analyzed the outcomes of 886 cardiac arrests that occurred outside a hospital setting in two metropolitan areas in Arizona. Survival to hospital discharge increased from 1.8 percent before providers were trained in Cardiocerebral Resuscitation to 5.4 percent after training. Survival increase was even better (4.7 to 17.6 percent) in the subgroup of patients with the most favorable circumstances, in which bystanders witnessed the arrest and called 911 immediately and the heart was fibrillating (quivering), making it more receptive to shocks from a defibrillator.

"We encourage all emergency medical providers to evaluate their survival rates and, if they are not satisfactory, to institute Cardiocerebral Resuscitation and see if it improves survival," says Gordon A. Ewy, MD, who co-authored the JAMA article. Dr. Ewy heads the Sarver Heart Center at The University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, whose Resuscitation Research Group developed Cardiocerebral Resuscitation.

The study is part of the resuscitation evaluation project, Save Hearts in Arizona Registry and Education (SHARE), a collaboration between The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center and the Arizona Department of Health Services' Bureau of EMS and Trauma System, which is lead by Bentley J. Bobrow, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

"Our state has shown that emergency medical systems can make inexpensive, simple changes to their protocol that will dramatically improve meaningful survival," Dr. Bobrow said. "This was truly a collaboration among public health, emergency medical providers and higher education."

For the study, EMS personnel were trained to administer an initial series of 200 uninterrupted chest compressions over a period of approximately two minutes, then perform standard rhythm analysis and administer a single electrical shock, if indicated. Another 200 compressions are immediately performed, and the cycle is repeated three times. EMS workers also administered epinephrine intravenously as soon as possible and with each cycle of chest compressions.

-- Source: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=36138

- Reference: http://www.arizona.edu

PAKISTAN: Suicide/Homicide Attacks Kill Dozens

Published: March 11, 2008

2 suicide attacks kill dozens in Pakistan

IHT/The Associated Press

LAHORE, Pakistan: Blasts set off by suicide bombers ripped through a seven-story police headquarters in Lahore and a nearby advertising agency Tuesday, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 200.

The two blasts happened about 15 minutes apart in different districts of this eastern city. The first tore the facade of the Federal Investigation Agency building as staff were beginning their workday. It also damaged scores of homes in the neighborhood.

The Lahore police chief, Malik Muhammad Iqbal, said an explosives-packed car was driven into a parking lot and detonated next to the building - which houses a department of the federal police's anti-terrorism unit - knocking out the walls of several offices and part of a stairwell.

Pervez Malik, another city police official, said 17 people were killed and 165 were wounded. Dr. Fayaz Ranjha, a top official at the Mayo Hospital in Lahore, said a 3-year-old girl was among the dead.

The second explosion shattered the office of an advertising agency in a residential neighborhood, about 25 kilometers, or 15 miles, from Lahore. Muhammad Afzal, another city police official, said three people were killed there, including two children...

-- Source/continues at the International Herald Tribune: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/11/asia/pakistan.php

Pakistan blast kills at least 12

Tuesday, 11 March, 2008

Pakistan blast kills at least 12

LAHORE, PAKISTAN: At least 12 people have been killed and several injured in a blast at the office of Pakistan's federal investigation agency in the eastern city of Lahore, police says. "The explosion took place in the premises of Federal Investigation Agency's office, killing 12 people and injuring several others," city police chief Malik Muhammad Iqbal told AFP.

Mr. Iqbal said he could not immediately confirm the nature of the blast.

Television channels showed footage of a partially collapsed four-storey building and piles of blackened wreckage. It was not clear if the footage was of the investigation agency building or of nearby structures.

Police cordoned off the area while emergency workers carrying stretchers scrambled over the rubble. Rescue operations are underway at the time of this report.

-- Source/continues: http://news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/
pakistan_blast_kills_12_542540

NATO: Cyber terrorism "as dangerous as missile attack"

Date: March 10, 2008

NATO: Cyber terrorism "as dangerous as missile attack"

Source: Software.silicon.com, by Nick Heath

NATO's cyber defence chief has warned that computer-based terrorism poses the same threat to national security as a missile attack. Suleyman Anil, head of NATO Computer Incident Response Capability Co-ordination Center, said a determined cyber attack on a country's online infrastructure would be "practically impossible to stop".

Nations need to focus on improving their ability to quickly recover and get systems back online, an area in which nearly all countries were currently "weak", he told delegates at the e-crime congress in London.

Anil said the cyber attacks on Estonia last year which brought down key financial and state systems had demonstrated how cyber terrorism could take down national infrastructure with "very serious consequences". He said: "It stands together with air missile defence and the global fight against terrorism."

NATO will set out an action plan for dealing with a similar infrastructure attack on one of its members at a state summit in Bucharest next month.

-- Source/continues: http://www.crime-research.org/news/03.10.2008/3241/

Chinese police foiled terror plot targeting Beijing Olympics, official says

09 March 2008

Chinese police foiled terror plot targeting Beijing Olympics, official says

 BEIJING, CHINA: A senior Communist Party official says Chinese police captured and killed alleged Islamic terrorists who were plotting attacks targeting the Beijing Olympics.

Wang Lequan, the top official in the western region of Xinjiang, says today a Jan. 27 raid in the regional capital Urumqi had seized materials that showed the plotters' purpose was specifically to sabotage the staging of the Games.

The Global Times newspaper published by the Communist Party earlier reported the group had planned bombings and other violent terrorist incidents on Feb. 5, the last business day before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, but the paper had made no mention of the Olympics.

The paper said police confiscated guns, homemade bombs, training materials and extremist religious ideological materials during the raid, in which two members of the gang were killed and 15 arrested.

Wang says the group had acted on orders from a Uighur separatist group based in Pakistan and Afghanistan called the East Turkestan Islamic Movement - a group that has been labelled a terrorist organization by the United Nations...

-- Source/continues: http://canadianpress.google.com/article/
ALeqM5hOptsZJ6zQ7tRmBgKSWe4_CHa5jQ

Chinese hackers: No site is safe

LEAD STORY -- March 7, 2008 -- Updated 1635 GMT (0035 HKT)

Chinese hackers: No site is safe
['Know about both yourself and the enemy, and you will be invincible.']

By John Vause, CNN

HOUSHAN, CHINA(CNN): They operate from a bare apartment on a Chinese island. They are intelligent 20-somethings who seem harmless. But they are hard-core hackers who claim to have gained access to the world's most sensitive sites, including the Pentagon.

The leader of these Chinese hackers says there "is always a weakness" on networks that allows cyber break-ins.

In fact, they say they are sometimes paid secretly by the Chinese government -- a claim the Beijing government denies.

"No Web site is one hundred percent safe. There are Web sites with high-level security, but there is always a weakness," says Xiao Chen, the leader of this group.

"Xiao Chen" is his online name. Along with his two colleagues, he does not want to reveal his true identity. The three belong to what some Western experts say is a civilian cyber militia in China, launching attacks on government and private Web sites around the world.

If there is a profile of a cyber hacker, these three are straight from central casting -- young and thin, with skin pale from spending too many long nights in front of a computer.

One hacker says he is a former computer operator in the People's Liberation Army; another is a marketing graduate; and Xiao Chen says he is a self-taught programmer.

"First, you must know about the Web site you want to attack. You must know what program it is written with," says Xiao Chen. "There is a saying, 'Know about both yourself and the enemy, and you will be invincible...'"

-- Source/continues: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/03/07/china.hackers/index.html

(Includes Video: Watch hackers' clandestine Chinese operation)

Emergency.Com References:

• "China; The Emerging Threat?" (Friend or Peer Competitor...) Flash Briefing, can be found at:
  http://www.emergency.com/2006/emerging_china_flash.htm
  
  
• Tuesday, September 11, 2007 --"Cyber attacks: a new weapon in the state arsenal" can be found at:
  http://www.emergency.com/archive/2007/09/entry_252.htm
  
  
• "Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning A Cyber-Conflict Between Chinese and USA Hackers: 13 Apr 2001 to 05 May 2001," Can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/2001/chinese-cyberwar2001.htm
  
  
• 20 Mar 2000 -- Recent DoS Attacks Point Out Already Known Vulnerability of U.S. Infrastructure,"
  Section: 'CHINA: The Re-Emerging Dragon'
  By: C. L. Staten, CEO and Sr. National Security Analyst, Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI)
  Can be found on the internet at: http://www.emergency.com/2000/cybersec2000.htm

Why were Mexican students at rebel camp in Ecuador?

Friday, March 7, 2008

Why were Mexican students at rebel camp in Ecuador?

By Franco Ordonez, McClatchy Newspapers

MEXICO CITY, MX: At least five Mexican nationals were present at a rebel camp where a top insurgent commander was killed last weekend in Ecuador, leaving Mexicans to speculate on why they were there.

Experts say that it's the first time Mexican nationals have been known to die alongside members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America's oldest guerrilla group.

Their presence added to questions of a possible link between FARC and a spate of pipeline bombings in Mexico last year that cut off fuel supplies to major industrial operations, including a Volkswagen factory. Mexican police officials noted then that the bombings, claimed by the Popular Revolutionary Army, or EPR, differed radically from the group's previous targets of ATM machines and other "nuisance bombings."

The police said then that the pipeline bombings ? which are a common FARC tactic in Colombia ? were so sophisticated that whoever did them may have received special training.

Also present in the Ecuador camp were an unknown number of Chileans.

Ecuador's security minister, Gustavo Larrea, said Friday that as many as four Mexicans were killed in the March 1 attack. A fifth Mexican, 26-year-old Lucia Morett, survived.

The Mexicans and Chileans apparently were planning to speak before a FARC meeting when they were killed. Journalists given a tour of the camp organized by the Ecuador government Thursday were shown a classroom area and what appeared to be an agenda for the meeting.

Mexican news outlets identified dead as Juan Gonzalez del Castillo, Natalia Velasquez, Fernando Franco Delgado, and Soren Ulises Aviles Angeles. The National Autonomous University of Mexico said Morett, Velasquez, Delgado and Gonzalez del Castillo were students there. The newspaper El Universal said Aviles Angeles was a student at National Polytechnic Institute.

Both Morett and Gonzalez del Castillo were members of a radical student group that supported the FARC, according to the group's Web site...

-- Source/continues at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/29777.html

Additional References:

"SECURITY PROBLEMS IN LATIN," ENN Daily Report, 08/24/96 - Vol. 2, No. 237, can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/ltn-scty.htm

"LATIN AMERICAN GUERRILLA GROUPS COME AND GO," Tuesday, June 24, 1997 Vol. 3 - 175, can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/latngurl.htm

"Terrorism - Latin America, Counter-Terrorism Archive," can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/cntrterr.htm#Question-8

"Colombia Advisory Sheet - HotSpot Report," can be found at:http://www.emergency.com/colbwarn.htm

Emergency.com Utility page

Emergency.Com Utility Page

DAY, DATE, TIME, SITE SEARCH and Currency Convertor

http://www.emergency.com/2008/utilpage08.htm

Updates: New York City Recruiting Center Blast

Fri Mar 7, 2008 8:54am EST

US checks border stop for link to New York blast

WASHINGTON, DC: U.S. authorities are checking whether several people stopped at the Canadian border are linked to an explosion that damaged a military recruiting station in New York, police said on Friday.

"Some pictures of Times Square, including the recruiting station, were found," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CNN. "So federal officials are going back to take another look and talk to Canadian officials about that stop."

The pre-dawn blast on Thursday, caused by a crude bomb made from low-grade explosives, damaged the recruiting station but caused no injuries. That station, like others, has been the target of protests against the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Times Square -- known as the "Crossroads of the World" for its shops, restaurants, hotels, theaters and office towers -- was largely deserted when the bomb went off at about 3:45 a.m. (0845 GMT). Still, the blast triggered a Pentagon alert for other recruiting stations across the country...

-- Source/continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN07308570

07:55 AM EST, March 7, 2008

Time Square bomb: Letter to Congress not related

WASHINGTON - Authorities on Friday were investigating whether an explosion at the Times Square military recruiting office was connected to strikingly similar bombings at two foreign consulates in New York, but ruled out a link to mysterious letters sent to Capitol Hill offices.

Investigators were also scrutinizing surveillance video and forensic evidence after a bicycle-riding bomber struck the landmark station Thursday, scarring one of the world's most recognizable locations.

Authorities said there was no connection between the blast and a letter sent to as many as 100 members of Congress bearing the words "Happy New Year, We Did It." The lengthy anti-war letters -- which arrived with photos of a man standing in front of the recruiting office before it was damaged -- contained no threats, officials said.

Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said an individual was questioned there about the letters to Congress and "there is no evidence linking the letters, which contained no threat, to the bombing." A law enforcement official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation of the bombing is continuing, called the timing of the letters an "incredibly unbelievable coincidence" and said no charges were expected in connection with them.

Democratic lawmakers were startled to receive the letters in their office mail just hours after the early morning New York bombing, and turned them over to the Capitol Police...

-- Source/continues: http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyletter0308,0,6304302.story

Recruiting Station Bombed in Times Square

03/06/08 08:00:29 AM

EmergencyNet News *FLASH* News

Recruiting Station Bombed in Times Square

NEW YORK, NY: According to both emergency service and media reports an explosion occurred near a U.S. military recruiting station in Times Square.

No injures were immediately reported as no one was inside the station, at 03:45 a,.m. EST, when the blast happened.

Police cordoned-off the area to investigate the explosion. The detonation left a gaping hole in the front window and shattered a glass door, twisting and blackening its metal frame.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that someone riding by on a bicycle tossed an IED into the front of the structure. It is thought that this can be quickly verified as there is a surveillence camera pointing in the vicinity of the recruiting station.

Police, FBI, DHS and specialized units are all on the scene investigating the incident. Watch EmergencyNet News for more on this still developing story...

U.S. Skeptical of Colombian 'Dirty Bomb' Claims

March 5, 2008

U.S. Skeptical of Colombian 'Dirty Bomb' Claims

U.S. Authorities Seek Access to FARC Leader's Seized Computers and Documents

By RICHARD ESPOSITO and VIC WALTER

WASHINGTON, DC: Skeptical U.S. law enforcement officials are seeking access to computers and documents that authorities in Colombia say show the leftist group FARC sought "50 kilograms of uranium" for a possible dirty bomb. The material was seized by Colombian police in a raid into Ecuador that killed FARC commander Raul Reyes and has led to talk of war by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has moved troops to the border with Colombia.

U.S. intelligence officials, while they did not comment directly on the possibility of FARC engaging in the illicit uranium trade, cautioned that reports of FARC attempting to acquire materials for a radioactive dirty bomb should be treated with extreme skepticism.

The evidence of FARC's participation in the uranium trade was first alleged this week by Colombia's national police chief, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, who also said that evidence seized proved Venezuela had interfered in Colombia's affairs by providing $300 million in support to FARC.

Source/continues: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4395397&page=1

Reports about the original allegations from Colombian V.P. Francisco Santos are linked here.

U.S. Cities At High Risk For [Bio] Terrorist Attacks Identified

Mar. 5, 2008

U.S. Cities At High Risk For [Bio] Terrorist Attacks Identified

ScienceDaily: A University of Arizona researcher has created a new system to dramatically show American cities their relative level of vulnerability to bioterrorism.

Walter W. Piegorsch, an expert on environmental risk, has placed 132 major cities -- from Albany, N.Y., to Youngstown, Ohio -- on a color-coded map that identifies their level of risk based on factors including critical industries, ports, railroads, population, natural environment and other factors...

(click on the map above for larger view and comments)

Reference:

University of Arizona (2008, March 5). US Cities At High Risk For Terrorist Attacks Identified. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 5, 2008, from:
http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/03/080304092842.htm

[ ERRI WMD/Haz-Mat specialist note: We note with interest that Chicago is listed as "high-risk" on the Professor's map of potential targets. Please click on the map above to get a larger view of the hazard zones]

MILITARY CRISIS: Colombia/Venezuela/Ecuador borders

Posted 05 Mar 2008

MILITARY CRISIS: Colombia/Venezuela/Ecuador borders;
March, 2008 -- Recent Developments and Precipitating Factors

Includes: Background information and Counter-Terrorism Assessment of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)

Can now be found at: http://www.emergency.com/2008/farc_bkgrnd.htm

Colombia: Rebels considering dirty bombs

Tue. Mar. 4, 2008 -- 21:19 PM EST

Colombia: Rebels considering dirty bombs

Associated Press

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: Colombia's vice president on Tuesday defended his country's attack on a rebel base on Ecuadorean soil, telling a U.N. disarmament panel that the leftist guerrillas were trying to acquire radioactive material that could be used to make "dirty bombs."

Vice President Francisco Santos said evidence in two computers found after the attack indicated rebels were trying to acquire radioactive material ? "the primary basis for generating dirty weapons of mass destruction and terrorism."

But the evidence Colombia shared with reporters didn't support Santos' allegation, indicating instead that the rebels were trying to buy uranium to resell at a profit.

Speaking to the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament, Santos said the discovery demonstrates that the economic power of drug trafficking is enabling terrorist groups "to constitute a serious threat not just to our country but to the entire Andean and Latin American region."

Meanwhile, Ecuadorean Justice Minister Gustavo Jalkh told the U.N. Human Rights Council that Colombia violated its human rights obligations when its military staged the attack that killed a key rebel leader.

Both bodies are in the same Palais des Nations complex that houses United Nations offices in Geneva, but it was unclear if Santos and Jalkh met face-to-face.

The regularly scheduled meetings of the panels came a day after Ecuador and Venezuela ordered troops to their borders with Colombia, expelled that country's diplomats and largely halted trade at key points along the frontier in response to Colombia's killing of Raul Reyes, a leader with the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, on Saturday.

The guerrillas of FARC, who have been fighting for more than four decades, finance their operations largely through the cocaine trade...

-- Source/continues at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080305/ap_on_re_eu/colombia_un

Homeland Security Issues Warning on Sports Arenas

March 4, 2008

March Madness: Homeland Security Issues Warning on Sports Arenas

FBI and DHS Issue Warning Just in Time for March Madness

By RICHARD ESPOSITO

As the spring sports season moves into high gear, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI today issued an assessment, called "Potential Threats to Popular Sports and Entertainment Venues," that said arenas and stadiums are attractive "potential targets during events."

The assessment repeatedly noted that the FBI and DHS have no "information on any credible or specific current terrorism plots to attack stadiums or arenas in the United States."

The report, however, said "operational planning and surveillance against sporting facilities are often difficult to detect," and college and professional basketball playoffs, the stock car racing season, hockey playoffs and horse racing's Triple Crown are among the events that "regularly bring tens of thousands of fans...into large open-access facilities."

Prepared at the request of the private sector with input from federal agencies, the report is intended to provide "decision makers with the broad, analytically-based threat information necessary to inform investment priorities and program design."

"The FBI and DHS put out a joint bulletin for law enforcement concerning potential threats against sporting events. This is routine; we have no current threats against sports venues," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said in a statement...

-- Source/continues at: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4387469&page=1

War Drums in Latin America

Posted 04 Mar 2008

War Drums in Latin America

Monday, Mar. 03, 2008

By TIM PADGETT

Few world leaders rattle a saber as flamboyantly as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez does. On Sunday, in a piece of vintage Chavez theater, he ordered thousands of troops and tanks to the border with Colombia after that country's military had ventured a mile into Ecuador on Saturday to kill Raul Reyes, a top commander of Colombia's FARC guerrillas. The left-wing Chavez called conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe a "criminal" and a "lapdog of the U.S. empire," warning ominously that "this could be the start of a war in South America."

Don't bet on it.

Sure, Chavez and Uribe, two of Latin America's most outsized egos, loathe each other. Each has significantly fattened his military arsenal in recent years, and tensions have rarely been this high between their countries. Nor are they alone on the Latin street when it comes to martial upgrading: Brazil's 2008 federal budget, for example, includes a 53% increase in military spending, leading many to wonder if Latin America is undergoing an arms race not seen since the heyday of military rule across the continent. But that doesn't mean that either Chavez or Uribe can afford an armed conflict.

There are at least six reasons to doubt that the bluster could morph into bullets...

-- Source/continues at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1719158,00.html

[The views expressed above are those of the author and/or publisher and do not necessarily represent those of ERRI or EmergencyNet News. They are presented to give our readers alternative viewpoints from around the world and to encourage discussion and further study of important topics.]

Multiple People Shot in Wendy's in W. Palm Beach

17:00 CST -- 03 March 2008

Fireman, Gunman Dead in Wendy's Shooting

WEST PALM BEACH, FL: A gunman in a jacket and tie wordlessly opened fire inside a Wendy's during the lunchtime rush Monday, killing a firefighter who had gone back to fetch the toy left out of his child's meal and wounding five others. He then committed suicide.

"This was not a robbery. He didn't demand anything," said Paul Miller, a Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman. "Looks like this was just another random shooting like we've seen around the United States."

The 42-year-old victim, a Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue lieutenant who was not in uniform, had met his wife and child at the restaurant during a break in training down the street, Deputy Fire-Rescue Chief Steve Delai said. The family had gotten their food and walked out, but the man returned because the free toy was missing from the kids' meal, he said.

The lieutenant was shot in the back as he stood at the counter.

"Our officer probably didn't even see him," Delai said, adding that the man's wife and child were in the parking lot when the shooting broke out.

Three of the survivors were critically wounded, but all had improved and were hospitalized in stable condition Monday evening, Miller said. They included a 43-year-old man, a 16-year-old girl, a 65-year-old man and his 62-year-old wife. One person was injured while running away.

Motorists at the drive-thru window also fled, some leaving their vehicles running. Several people were carried from the restaurant on stretchers. Authorities did not identify the shooter or the other victims.

Source/continues -- Google/AP: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iHw9EiJ
3AddrILLJqV8p28LjkivAD8V685P01

1:15 pm EST March 3, 2008

2 Dead, 3 Injured In Shooting At West Palm Beach Wendy's

WEST PALM BEACH, FL: A gunman opened fire Monday in a Wendy's restaurant in West Palm Beach, killing one person and injuring at least three others before killing himself, police said.

A shooter reportedly entered the restaurant at Cherry Road and Military Trail and shot several individuals around 12:18 p.m. Monday, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue spokesman Don Delucia told WPBF News 25. The shooter then reportedly shot and killed himself, Delucia said.

Delucia told WPBF that at least three people have been reported injured and two have been killed. He said that the shooter is one of the fatalities...

Story continues at: http://www.wpbf.com/news/15474521/detail.html

Multiple Arson Fires Reported Near Seattle, WA

08:27 AM PST on Monday, March 3, 2008

'Street of Dream' homes burned by blaze

Domestic Terrorism?

By TIM ROBINSON / KING 5 News and Associated Press

WOODINVILLE, Wash. - An early morning fire still burning at the "Street of Dreams" model luxury home development in Echo Lake just north of Woodinville has destroyed at least three homes, and officials believe a well-known arsonist group is responsible.

No injuries have been reported in the three-alarm fire, which started around 05:00 a.m. (PST) Monday.

Snohomish County District Seven Chief Rick Eastman said a sign saying ELF was left at the scene. ELF or Earth Liberation Front has claimed responsibility for other arsons, including one at the University of Washington in 2001 for which a woman is now on trial in Tacoma.

Eastman said some of the homes were still under construction and no one was living in the homes at the time. Three homes were completely destroyed and one home had heat and smoke damage. Eastman said fires also were set at a total of six homes.

Eastman said that the fires were suspicious because they were set in multiple places in separate homes...

(Editor's note: "The Street of Dreams" is an annual showcase of luxury homes in the Seattle area.)

-- Source/continues: http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/
NW_030308WAB_street_dreams_fires_LJ.1a79d3a7.html

"Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning Allegations that the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) Calls For "Direct Action" Against FBI: 14-15 Mar to 05 April 2001," can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/2001/fbi-alf2001.htm

Monday, January 4, 1998-Vol. 5, No. 004, Special to EmergencyNet News, "AMERICAN ECO-TERRORISM: ANOTHER THREAT? OR IS IT A PROMISE?" By Tim W. Rhodes, M.Sc., EMT-P, Chairman, Ada County Terrorism Taskforce-Boise, Idaho Can be found at: http://www.emergency.com/1999/ecoter99.htm

Miscellanious (Single Issue) Terrorism: Narco-Terrorism, Animal Right Groups, Environmental Terrorism and Arnarchists http://www.emergency.com/pdf/misc-terrorism2001.pdf

Venezuela's Chavez: Colombia incursion would be war

02 March 2008

Venezuela's Chavez: Colombia incursion would be war

Saber-Rattling Increases in Latin America

CARACAS, VENEZUELA: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (picture with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left) warned his Colombian counterpart that war would break out between the South American neighbors if Colombia's military crossed into Venezuelan territory.

Chavez railed on Saturday against Colombian forces for entering Ecuadorean territory on a raid that killed a senior commander of Colombia's largest guerrilla group, and he cautioned President Alvaro Uribe against similar actions along Venezuela's border. "Don't think about doing that over here, because it would very serious, it would be cause for war," Chavez said. "How far is President Uribe willing to go in his warlike madness?"

Chavez, who maintains warm relations with the Colombian guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said that "it was obscene to see the smiling faces" of Colombian military commanders standing behind Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos as he announced the death of FARC spokesman Raul Reyes and 16 other rebels on Saturday.

"The Colombian government audaciously acknowledges they entered Ecuadorean territory," said Chavez, speaking during a televised meeting with his Cabinet. "We call on Colombia's government to clarify this."

On Sunday, Colombia denied it violated Ecuador's sovereignty and said it acted in self-defense.

"The terrorists, among them Raul Reyes, have had the custom of killing in Colombia and taking refuge in the territory of neighboring countries. Many times Colombia has suffered from this situation that we must avoid to protect our citizens," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Colombia's military tracked Reyes' location through an informant and bombed a camp on its side of the Ecuadorean border, where Reyes was thought to be, Santos said. Ground troops moved in, but came under attack from another camp across the border in Ecuador. When the military overran that camp, they found Reyes' body, Santos said.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Uribe had informed him of the raid, but later announced that he was misled after Ecuadorean officials inspected a bombed rebel camp.

"The (Colombian) president either was poorly informed or brazenly lied to the president of Ecuador," said Correa, who called home the ambassador to Colombia for consultation and promised a diplomatic note of protest. "Clearly Ecuadorean airspace was violated" in the bombing, Correa said.

Uribe earlier called Reyes' death a step forward in defeating terrorism...

-- Source/continues: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080302/
ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_colombia

Toxin Mystery at Las Vegas Motel Deepens

Mar 1, 12:07 PM EST

Toxin Mystery at Las Vegas Motel Deepens

By KEN RITTER, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS, NV: As police tried to piece together how a rare, deadly poison ended up in a motel for transients, the 57-year-old man who could hold the key lay unconscious in a hospital. Adding to the mystery, police said firearms and an "anarchist type textbook" were found in the same room where the ricin was discovered two days later.

Capt. Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference late Friday that the book was tabbed at a spot with information about ricin. Police found the firearms and books on Tuesday after a manager at the Extended Stay America motel called police upon discovering weapons, he said, without elaborating.

After authorities seized the book and weapons, tests for ricin were conducted but came back negative, Lombardo said.

He said a 53-year-old friend or relative of the sick man contacted motel management on Feb. 22 to inform them about pets in the room.

Earlier Friday, police Deputy Chief Kathy Suey said the friend or relative found two vials of ricin on Thursday after going to the motel to retrieve the hospitalized man's belongings. Authorities on Friday confirmed that the vials contained ricin.

It was unclear how long the vials were in the unoccupied motel room, and whether they might have been overlooked when ricin tests were conducted on Tuesday. Lombardo did not address such questions during the brief news conference.

"The only positive tests (were) on the powder in question" in the vials, he said. Authorities said there was no apparent link to terrorist activity, and no indication of any spread of the deadly substance beyond the vials.

-- Source/continues: WBBM, 780 Radio