06/01/04
Submitted by Templar Titan on Tue, 06/08/2004 - 20:25.
"Informed Source" Newsletter and "Informed Source" Bulletins are restricted |
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*The new breed of terrorists the dusty Sahara to the jungles of Indonesia and in the cauldron of unrest that is US-occupied Iraq, a new generation of terrorists is emerging to take the place of elders who have been killed, captured or forced deep underground. Young, violent and energized by a deep hatred for the United States, its Western allies and Muslim governments seen as kowtowing to Washington's will, the new class has been writing a new history of terror in blood -- from Istanbul to Madrid to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. "These are the men that are the new, 21st century terrorists," said Evan Kohlmann, a US-based terror expert. He said it is "very literally, a group of second- generation Osama bin Ladens." At the fore of the next generation is 38-year-old Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a former commander for bin Laden who has links to terror groups from North Africa to the Caucuses. He has allegedly maintained ties to al-Qaeda and is believed to be leading resistance to the US occupation of Iraq. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?section=Focus&oid=52135 *......and just exactly what that "new breed" can expect!!! 20 May 04 "From a friend in the UK: 'The SUN today reported that British soldiers in Iraq killed nearly every member of an insurgent unit during the British Army's first bayonet charge since the Falklands War, twenty-two years ago! Twenty Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders charged Iraqi fighters after being ambushed in their Land Rover. Brits decided to fix bayonets on their SA-80 rifles and charge at once. They did, and between rifle fire and bayonet attack, killed thirty-five insurgents and captured nine. Interestingly, analytical geniuses among UK's war planners had originally left off bayonet lugs from the SA-80 rifle, considering bayonets obsolete.' I suspect those people are extremely quiet about now!" Lesson: An instant, explosive, and violent counterattack is the very last thing most predators either expect or plan for. Predators mostly dither and ultimately deal with it poorly, as these Iraqis did. Fearless men and cold steel still frighten the snot out of the lowlife of this world. God bless the British!" Steven C. Bronson "CHIEF" Boat - Guy USN Ret. *Alerts and Advisories FBI Alert for Tanker Trucks X-Priority: 1 (highest) 6/1/04: FBI reportedly has issued a national alert for 2 tanker trucks filled with propane that have disappeared from a facility in Texas. 30 May: Suspicious Substance:Jerome Avenue at Van Cortlandt Avenue: Bronx, NY - NYC:154.190: Confirmed suspicious package in the trainyard. Transit PD req. ESU and Bomb Squad to respond. FD also staging near location. 28 May: Disturbance: Brooklyn Bridge:Manhattan, NY - NYC:470.8375:Middle Eastern male was up on the tower, now in custody - NYPD Aviation and Harbor units checking the bridge to see if anything was left behind. 31 May 2004 Riots in LA and Oakland. Both cities are lighting up pretty good tonight. Several mobile mini-riots. c 1 June, 2004: Homeland Security Secretary and Attorney General Issue A Joint Statement (CEN) Following is a joint statement issued by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Attorney General John Ashcroft: "We are entering a season of symbolic events that could be attractive targets for terrorism. In the months to come, we will hold significant national celebrations, host important international meetings, and conduct our democratic political process leading to our elections. Credible intelligence from multiple sources indicates that al-Qaeda plans to attempt an attack on the United States during this period. The Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, in partnership with the FBI, CIA, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center and other agencies, jointly review threat information each and every day. Based on this credible intelligence we have made additional efforts in recent months. We are working together, and we will take all necessary actions to protect the American people, including raising the threat level or alerting the public to be on the lookout for possible terrorist suspects, whenever warranted by the information we receive. We have improved intelligence collection and sharing, enabling government agencies to better prevent terrorist attacks and protect the American people. Specific intelligence is the foundation for effective counter-terrorism strategies such as hardening targets, disrupting cells, elevating threat levels and alerting State and local law enforcement. We have reached out to State and local homeland security and law enforcement officials to help in these efforts. Last week we asked these officials, along with the general public, for their help in identifying seven individuals associated with al-Qaeda that are sought in connection with possible terrorist threats within the United States. If citizens see suspicious activity, they should report it to their local police department, sheriff's office, or the FBI. Public awareness is an important element in helping to disrupt terrorist plans." Mayer *Al Qaida cells in Europe selling N. Africa hashish to fund terror Spanish authorities believe drug trafficking groups operating in Spain's North African enclave cities of Ceuta and Melilla are smuggling hundreds of tons of hashish into Europe to fund Islamist terror. A report made public in the Madrid newspaper El Pais states that 738,301 kilos of hashish were seized in Spain last year, some 70 percent of all seizures in Europe. "The trafficking in hashish from Morocco and Al Qaida sleeper cells in Europe seem increasingly linked," the report said. Several of the bombers arrested in the March 11 train bombings had police records for drug trafficking, the report said. An investigation also disclosed that the alleged train bombers purchased explosives for the attack with a shipment of 30 kilos of hashish. The group linked to the attack also has handled large sums of cash was obtained from hashish smuggling. *Evidence supports that Hussein had strong links with terrorists BY PAUL CRESPO The brutal beheading of American Nick Berg in Iraq should refocus our attention on Saddam Hussein's links to terrorism. While some continue to claim that Hussein did not back terror, many believe that he did -- and the evidence supports the latter. Uber-terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the man whom the CIA believes murdered Berg and is the mastermind behind much of today's savage terrorism in Iraq and surrounding countries, is a case in point. He previously ran an Islamist terrorist-training camp in Afghanistan. Zarqawi was wounded during America's Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and fled to Iraq when U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban. He received medical care for a serious leg injury and convalesced for more than two months in Baathist Baghdad. At minimum, Hussein's regime provided Zarqawi with safe harbor and free passage in and out of Iraq. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/8807118.htm *Planes that breach D-Day air space 'will be shot down' Private pilots who stray into Normandy air space during the 60th anniversary of D-Day next weekend will be shot down, French officials said yesterday. With at least 16 heads of state, including the Queen and President George W Bush, attending the ceremonies, organisers are guarding particularly against an al-Qa'eda attack from the air. It is one of the biggest security exercises in Europe since the war. An enormous network of radar equipment has been stretched between Deauville and Cherbourg, with Awacs early warning aircraft already in the skies. The aircraft will be joined this week by small, remote-controlled drones. Advanced Crotale anti-aircraft missiles have been primed and two squadrons of Mirage 2000 fighters are stationed nearby. The French ministry of defence has spared no expense. It has established a temporary air base at Carpiquet, outside the city of Caen, as the hub of its defences. There, more than 800 soldiers will maintain round-the-clock surveillance, backed by more than 50 military helicopters. A spokesman for the 120-acre camp said: "The dangers are multiple, from a hijacked airliner being crashed into the stands at the main international ceremony at Arromanches to a tiny bomb being detonated remotely. But we are stretching an impenetrable fabric of protection above Normandy." At sea, fishermen and pleasure craft have been banned from the Seine Bay that stretches along the beaches which were codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword on June 6, 1944............. The town's residents have been told that they must either stay indoors throughout next Sunday or leave the area. Even Patrick Jardin, the mayor, one of the few local people invited to the international ceremony, will have to travel by bus to Caen, 45 minutes' drive away, and board a special bus to return to Arromanches that afternoon. *Britain warns of more Saudi attacks May 31 2004 21:34 KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Britain says more attacks are probable in Saudi Arabia, where security forces are hunting suspected al Qaeda militants who killed 22 people in their second major strike in a month on the oil industry. "(Attacks) are clearly possible. I would go further than that and say they are probable," Britain's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sherard Cowper-Coles, told the BBC on Monday as many oil industry analysts said the weekend attack could push fuel prices higher. "There is an active terrorist campaign (in Saudi Arabia) and we know that Westerners are targets," said Cowper-Coles, whose country is the second largest foreign investor in Saudi Arabia behind the United States. A Briton was among 19 foreigners killed in the attack on the world's biggest oil exporting nation. Saudi Arabia's King Fahd and other members of the ruling royal family rushed to assure the world they remained in full control of the country, despite vows by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda to topple them. "These criminal acts by deviants will only strengthen our resolve to fight terrorism," the king, in poor health and making a rare statement, said in his first comments on the shooting and hostage-taking rampage in the eastern oil city of Khobar. *I think we just recently used a cartoon in the Newsletter about something like this... Iran has established what could be the first training center for Islamic suicide attackers. Iranian sources and media asserted that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has established a center to train suicide attackers throughout the world. The sources identified the center as the World Islamic Martyrs and Fighters Staff Headquarters." -- Dale http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_3.html * The wedding party that wasn't..... (Good old left-wing media AGAIN.... From an "informed" source ;-) c ) "Just reviewed a classified brief on the supposed wedding - no way it was. Here are some unclas details I can provide (brief had lots of pictures to back up the details): - Weddings traditionally held on Thursdays in Iraq to take advantage of Friday as a day of rest - raid took place on Tuesday night. - Only permanent dwelling at the site held large stocks of food, bedding, medical supplies (lots of these - was the wedding going to be a cage match of some sort or were the caterers just bad cooks?), ammunition and weapons, as well as an apparent document forging set up. Meat was still frozen solid - not prepared for a wedding feast and there were no stocks of dishes, plates, etc. - Contrary to media reports, no "Nuptial Tent" was found and a 1KM area around the site was searched - any further away than that would be just too far for the catering staff to walk carrying all those huge platters of food - against union rules. - No evidence of any means of support for the house (like sheep farming which is most common in that area). All evidence pointed to a smuggler way station - fit perfectly the description of several other found in the past. - "Wedding guests" (deceased of course) were almost all men of military age, only a couple of women, no elders at all and only one child (wounded) noted. All dressed as city dwellers, not bedouins who would hold a wedding at such a location. All of the deceased were sterilized, as in none had any form of ID on them at all. Only ID's found were in a nice neat stack inside the house - and then quite a few less of those than there were people at the site. - Weapons were varied and included RPG's (they really suck when you fire them up in the air for celebration), there were also military binoculars (when they separate the men and women they have to look at each other with bino's I guess), and IED making material (party favors?). - Lots of clothing prepackaged in pants and shirt sets (guerranimals for guerrilla's). - There were also no gifts, no decorations, no food set out or left over, and the good bit of money recovered was all in the pockets of the "guests" (maybe they were just cheap guests). I strongly suspect that after their Foreign Fighter way station got whacked, they tried to set it up to look like what happened in Afghanistan when a wedding was actually hit due to celebratory firing being taken for ground fire by orbiting aircraft. I also would not put it past the scum bags to sweep a local village for appropriately aged "guests" to kill and display for the TV cameras. Our BDA assessment was made by people on the site just after the schwacking and they took their time to count and exploit the site. This is just speculation on my part. Bottom line assessment: Good hit - no wedding. These were foreign fighters that had just crossed into Iraq and got an early trip to paradise and the martyrdom hall of fame. Thought it was important to get this word out as much as possible as you won't see any of this on CNN." LtCol Bill Mullen, USMC Executive Assistant J-3, Deputy Director for Regional Operations 2D921, The Pentagon *The connection between Iraq and al Qaeda... "THE PRESIDENT CONVINCED THE COUNTRY with a mixture of documents that turned out to be forged and blatantly false assertions that Saddam was in league with al Qaeda," claimed former Vice President Al Gore last Wednesday. "There's absolutely no evidence that Iraq was supporting al Qaeda, ever," declared Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism official under George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, in an interview on March 21, 2004. The editor of the Los Angeles Times labeled as "myth" the claim that links between Iraq and al Qaeda had been proved. A recent dispatch from Reuters simply asserted, "There is no link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda." 60 Minutes anchor Lesley Stahl was equally certain: "There was no connection." And on it goes. This conventional wisdom--that our two most determined enemies were not in league, now or ever--is comforting. It is also wrong....... http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/152lndzv.a sp Dale *Stupid public record tricks... (Ummm.. shouldn't you at least Qualify the purchaser before handing this stuff out ???) <http://www.mapsearch.com/home.cfm>The oil and gas database encompasses pipeline logistical information, including diameter, owner/operator, direction of flow, storage terminals, gas processing facilities, refineries, truck loading/unloading, compressor/pump stations, marketing hubs and other facilities related to crude oil, LPG/NGL, natural gas, refined products, petrochemicals/olefins, and other petroleum related commodities transported by pipeline........The electric database includes transmission lines, plants (power plants & hydros), MUNI (Municipalities), REA (Rural Electric Areas), IOU (Investor Owned Utilities), NERC (NERC regions), substations, and non-utilities. [Disturbingly Necessary News] 5/30/2004 *This link was submitted by Dr. Marilyn Wright (HSPIG Board of Directors). Dr. Wright will be teaching an online introductory course on bioterrorism readiness for health related professionals beginning in July 2004 for Nova Southeastern University, Florida (www.nova.edu). See link to information concerning this class at: http://www.hspig.org/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=868 *Messing with the hackers' heads By Team Register Published Tuesday 1st June 2004 Site Offer For centuries, military organizations have relied on scouts to gather intelligence about the enemy. In the field of information security, few scouts have ever existed. Very few organizations today know who their enemies are, how they might attack, when they might attack, and, perhaps most important, why they attack. The Honeynet Project is changing this. In a completely revised edition of the one-of-a-kind "intelligence report" - Know Your Enemy, will provide you with an unrivalled report on those who use the Internet for destructive purposes. It provides an in-depth guide to honeynets--high-interaction honeypots designed to capture extensive information on exactly how your enemies operate so you can protect your systems from them. Inside, you'll find extensive information on: * How to plan, build, and maintain first- and second-generation, virtual, and distributed honeynets. * How to capture and analyze data through a honeynet, including the latest on reverse engineering and forensics for Windows, UNIX, and networks. * Understanding the enemy, including real examples of incidents and compromised systems, types of attacks, and profiling. This week, The Register bookstore is providing you with Know Your Enemy's incredible wealth of information for just £26.59 - a colossal saving of 30 per cent! http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/01/messing_with_hackers_heads/ Ron *Australian Warning over Bali kidnappings 30may04 AUSTRALIAN tourists are being kidnapped in Bali by gambling rings that extort money from their victims. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed the kidnapping of two Australians. A DFAT spokesman told the Sunday Mail: "There have been two cases involving Australians in Bali over the last 12 months." DFAT's travel warning on Indonesia recommends that Australians defer all non-essential travel. And, as a result of the terrifying experiences of the two Australian victims, the warning highlights the risk of kidnappings and extortion. "There have been a number of recent cases in Bali where tourists have fallen victim to organised gambling gangs," the warning said. "These gangs have extorted money from tourists to secure their safe release." DFAT also warned that radical Islamic gangs are combing East Java for Westerners enjoying themselves in bars and nightclubs. They were not terrorist groups, so much as Islamic fundamentalists. One group was the Islamic Defender Front, the spokesman said, which also intimidated locals. Bali is still a major destination for Australians despite the October 2002 bomb blasts which claimed 202 lives. But in addition to the warnings on terrorism and kidnappings, tourists are urged to watch out for bag-snatchers and pickpockets working in groups and scams involving card games or bogus bad-luck stories. Experts say petty crime and corruption are as widespread as ever on the island as it battles to overcome poverty exacerbated by a downturn in the tourism market. In February the Howard Government announced it would inject $38.3 million into a joint Indonesian-Australian counter-terrorism centre to be based in Jakarta, which would combat all types of transnational crime in the region. DFAT currently advises Australians not to travel to Afghanistan, Burundi, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Pakistan and Somalia. It advises against non-essential travel to Algeria, the Central African Republic, Colombia, Indonesia (including Bali), Ivory Coast, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen. Mayer *Drill plagued by shortcomings Bioterrorism drill reveals 'bugs' in Riverside County's emergency response Thursday, May 27, 04 A simulated outbreak of the pneumonic plague Wednesday exposed shortcomings in hospital communication systems across Riverside County CA) and tested hospitals' abilities to respond to a biological emergency. "Communications are a huge challenge," said Michael Osur, deputy director of the Riverside County Department of Public Health. "Hospitals were so busy treating people, they waited until they were absolutely desperate before calling (the command centers) for resources." Wednesday was Day Two of three in the largest and longest bioterrorism drill ever undertaken in the county. Hundreds of health and emergency-services workers are being called upon during the staged event, Osur said. Thirteen of the county's 16 hospitals participated in Wednesday's exercise. Coincidentally, the drill took place as federal authorities announced they are looking for people they believe pose a real terror threat, including a former Riverside County resident. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Wednesday that credible but unspecific intelligence suggests that terrorists plan to try to "hit the United States hard" in the next few months. Full text of article at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_drill27.5810c.ht ml If this link expires full text is on HPSIG site at: http://www.hspig.org/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=869 *You want me to what???? Captured Chief Says the Islam Convert Not Eager to Participate in 'Martydom' Operations, But Was Willing to Help NEW YORK, May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Captured Al Qaeda chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed -- "KSM" to his interrogators -- wanted American-born terror suspect Adam Yahiye Gadahn to join a plot to blow up fuel stations outside Baltimore, according to a May 2003 classified FBI document obtained by Newsweek. Gadahn, one of the seven terror suspects displayed by Attorney General John Ashcroft last week, had a pregnant Muslim wife at the time and was not eager to participate in "martydom" (suicide) operations, KSM reported, but he was willing to help out. He says he had last seen Gadahn, who had taken the name Abu Suhayb Al-Amriki, in Karachi in October 2002, Newsweek reports in the current issue.(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040530/NYSU003 ) KSM, who was captured in Pakistan and taken into custody in March 2003, revealed that tightened security post-9/11 had forced Al Qaeda to rethink its strategy for penetrating the United States. The terrorists needed operatives with American passports and began trying to recruit native-born Americans, looking for those living abroad who had converted to Islam or black Muslims inside the U.S. One such American was Gadahn, a young convert and alleged Qaeda translator, report Assistant Managing Editor Evan Thomas, Washington Bureau Chief Dan Klaidman and Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff in the June 7 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, May 31). *Guess who's going to the Olympics too?? Anarchists & Communists - Oh my! (a little intell follows) "OLYMPIC GAMES: A profitable parade of doped machines, with enormous profits for bosses and multinationals. An international spectacular fiesta, which disorientates society from vindications and struggles. ATHENS 2004, BEFORE THE OLYMPIC GAMES OF ATHENS: 1) Under the regime of the worldwide "antiterrorist" crusade, the State tightens its measures in order to oppress and impose discipline upon society with the help of propaganda by the Media of Mass Deceit, "antiterrorist" laws, prosecutions, surveillance cameras, informers, neighborhood cops, "red zones" in various areas, internal and foreign secret services and NATO armed forces. 2)Destroys and commercializes the last green and free spaces that are left in the basin of Athens. Besides, mass murders of street animals take place. 3) Changes labor relations at the expense of working people, with the suspicious consensus of beaurrocratic syndicates. At the same time, exploitation is reaching its peak resulting to more and more deaths and mutilations caused by "accidents" and "negligence". 4)Thanks to cops and oppression, in August will be a city empty of its "parasites" (immigrants, junkies, homeless' and every sort of "marginalized" groups). Prosecutions have already taken place, starting from gypsies, residents of refugee settlements, etc. 5) Through the promotion of volunteerism, the State tries to create partners in crime and to present a false and distorted image of social consensus. Actions against the Olympic games take place in Athens and other cities in Greece. Despite of all that, we believe that these actions must be strengthened and coordinated. So, we call to all comrades to participate in the Action Day against the Olympic games on June the 19th, and their destructive effects, by organizing manifestations, occupations, interventions and further more, in their cities inside and outside of Greece, in one major dynamic movement. SABOTAGE THE OLYMPIC GAMES - MAY THE OLYMPIC GAMES DIE IN THEIR BIRTHPLACE FOR ATHENS, JUNE the 19th: INTERVENTION-MANIFESTATION ON MONASTIRAKI SQUARE (sponsored by...) ANARCHISTS' INITIATIVE AGAINST THE OLYMPIC GAMES ANARCHISTS' RALLY ANARCHISTS' INTERVENTION COMRADES FROM PANTEIOS UNIVERSITY ANARCHIST GROUP "OTANIS" ANARCHIST CORE "SOCIAL WAR" ANARCHIST CORE "BLACK FLAG" ANARCHIST CORE "BARRICADES OF SOCIAL DISOBEDIENCE" ANARCHIST CORE "DENIAL" COMRADES" *Philippines Threat Level http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200405280409.htm The United States government has warned its citizens in the Philippines to "exercise great caution" as threats of terrorism against them remain high. In a consular information sheet for the Philippines released the other day, the US State Department reiterated that reports from the Embassy in Manila indicate ongoing activities by terrorist groups in the country. The threat of terrorist attacks by the Jemaah Islamiyah which has links to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden was noted in the report because of its alleged ties with local terror and extremist groups in the country and in Southeast Asia. "Extremist groups in the region have demonstrated a capability to carry out transnational attacks in locations where Westerners congregate," the US government said. It warned: "Terrorist groups do not distinguish between official and civilian targets." "Americans traveling or residing in the Philippines are urged to exercise great caution and maintain heightened security awareness," the information sheet said. "A number of security-related incidents highlight the risk of travel in certain areas due to incidents of kidnapping, bombings, and other violence and criminal activity," it said. In spite of ongoing government efforts to keep up the peace process with Moro and communist rebels, the US government maintained that "rebel activity and armed banditry in certain areas in the Philippines still pose security concerns." Besides the Abu Sayyaf, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has also been alleged to have ties with terrorist groups. The MILF was said to have trained militants belonging to the Jemaah Islamiyah, a Jakarta-based terror organization. The MILF denies this. *Radar sale to China stopped http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040525-113028-4180r.htm (Bill Gertz) The Bush administration blocked the sale of an advanced radar system to China and might purchase at least one of the stealth aircraft-detecting systems to offset the loss, U.S. and European officials said. China had sought to buy several high-technology Vera radar from a Czech Republic manufacturer in the past five months, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "This is not something we wanted the Chinese to have," said one Bush administration official who opposed the sale. At the Pentagon, a defense official would not comment directly on the radar sale, but said: "Any system that would enhance [China's] ability to alter the balance of power in the region is inherently destabilizing." A European diplomat said the United States several weeks ago pressed the Prague government, a new NATO ally, to block the sale after the government there issued an export license to the export company Omnipol. "They said this was not a good thing to do because of some U.S. strategic interest in that part of the world," the diplomat said of the Bush administration appeals. *Doubt it's the same folks as above though..... (21 May 2004) US and Korean Police Investigating SPACECOM Computer Intrusions. US and Korean police are investigating a series of intrusions into computers at the US Air Force Space Command (SPACECOM). Apparently someone in an unnamed third country used two servers in Korea to break into the SPACECOM computers. http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200405/200405210043.html *Half of Deceptive Duo Pleads Guilty, Admits to Various Computer Crimes (19 May 2004) In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Floridian Benjamin Stark has admitted to breaking into eleven US government and private commercial computer networks. Stark has admitted to being half of a cracking team known as the Deceptive Duo, which in spring 2002 defaced a number of US government web sites. Stark also admitted to two "solo missions," one of which involved selling a batch of stolen credit card numbers to an undercover FBI agent in a chat room. Stark's sentencing is scheduled for September 24; federal sentencing guidelines indicate a 24 to 36 month prison term. [Security Focus Editor's Note (Shpantzer): "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" fits like a glove to this case. Selling credit card numbers online and defacing government web sites under the pretense of saving the country does not a patriot make. The lawyer for the other half of this duo is stating that his client would use the defense of saving the country from cyber-terrorists.] http://www.securityfocus.com/printable/news/8717 * WorldNetDaily - now HQ'd in Roswell?? Some U.S. health officials are beginning to question why the U.S. strain of West Nile virus is deadlier to humans and birds than anywhere else on the planet with the exception of Israel. Though no human cases of the bird virus have been confirmed yet this year, the U.S. has tracked 6,000 cases in the last two years along with 550 deaths. This is by far the worst human toll anywhere in the world at any time since the virus' discovery in Uganda in 1937. U.S. health officials believe the West Nile virus has mutated into an illness far deadlier to human beings in the United States, but they don't know why. Interestingly, the U.S. strain appears almost identical to only one other strain in the world: the one found in Israel. The disease is spread by mosquitoes, which feed off both birds and humans along with other susceptible animals. In most parts of the world where it has surfaced, the virus typically causes illness akin to the flu, bringing fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue - unpleasant, but rarely fatal. The virus has not even proven fatal to all birds in other parts of the world. But the U.S. strain appears nearly 100 percent fatal to birds. They usually die within five days. Once again, this has caused some health officials and scientists, as well as intelligence sources, to wonder if West Nile Virus is not a weaponized virus, one perhaps deliberately engineered and delivered to the two biggest targets of Islamic terrorism. (Now here's a spin on your story that is not really well known. Now this isn't quite to the level of wearing aluminum foil hats to ward of the radar waves. Ron ) * Believe what they say..... "On May 15, NEIN published a report on the newly released Al Battar issue 10 where we pointed out Al Qaeda's track record: they tell us what they are going to do, then they do it. Issue 10 caused concern because the topic was on hostage taking and kidnapping. This issue of Camp Al Battar, Al Qaeda's online training magazine, is a continuation of detailed training of terrorists and militants in the practical and detailed concepts of kidnapping and hostage taking. This specific chapter is written in the form of a textbook style lesson that explains the methods of carrying out kidnappings of multiple targets, which is an extension of a previous article on the process of kidnapping a single target. Al Battar provides exceptionally extensive and detailed instructions on the proper techniques to be employed in the various kidnapping scenarios, from surveillance of specific targets to the disposition of the hostages." (NEIN is definitely on the fringes of analysis.. but this does make a lot of sense. c) *Swedish Mail Delivers Package Marked "Bomb" A PACKAGE marked "Warning, bomb!", "Now you'll have it!" and "Look out!" was delivered without a problem by the Swedish postal service despite the clear warning labels. Postal service spokesman Mattias Geijerstam said today the agency was embarrassed, but that the package was delivered because postal workers were convinced it was a hoax. "This was a clear departure from our routine. It's a rule always to call the police even if you believe it's a hoax," he said. "The police should have been called in the first place." The package was forwarded yesterday by a mail processing center in western Stockholm to a local shop to be picked up by the addressee, Geijerstam said. He said workers at the local store read the labels and called police. The addressee was contacted by police and picked up the package with them. It was examined and declared bomb-free after it was found to hold a pair of shoes. "It's from a friend of mine. I'm not surprised, he has this kind of humor," he was quoted as saying by Stockholm newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Postal officials said they would not change their security procedures. Neither the sender nor the postal workers who handled the package face any penalty. Mayer *Security & Intelligence Conference "Would appreciate any consideration you could give to announcing the August 10-12 conference in El Paso, Texas. A number of the presenters/speakers may be familiar to Informed Source subscribers. Many of the topics being presented will span across many professions, including homeland security, law enforcement, first responders, and DoD." (Yep! Recognize some myself!) David Jimenez, MSgt, USAF, Ret, CCA President, Texas Association of Crime & Intelligence Analysts so.... Registration is now open for those desiring to attend the 4th Annual TACIA Training Conference: Integrating Law Enforcement, Security & Intelligence: Sharing Resources - Combating Crime, August 10-12, 2004, at the Undergraduate Learning Center, University of Texas at El Paso. Please visit http://ia.utep.edu/universityrelations/ TACIA is offering an unprecedented training opportunity that will involve three in-depth major tracks during this must-attend event: Crime Analysis, Intelligence, and Homeland Security/Terrorism. A draft program overview can be found in our TACIA Online Webpage at http://www.tacia.org. ***The conference attendance ceiling is set at 550 individuals, and early registration is recommended The conference is ideally suited for local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers, crime analysts, security specialists, intelligence specialists, homeland security professionals, and criminal justice/political science students and faculty. Confirmed speakers/presenters include: -Keynote Speaker Dr Robert Taylor, Criminal Justice Department Chair, University of North Texas, Denton, "Understanding Terrorism in the Middle East" -Noah Fritz, Director, Crime Mapping and Analysis Program, National Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology Center and President, International Association of Crime Analysts on "Applied Criminology: Crime Mapping With A Purpose" and Analyst Certification with IACA -Dr. Andreas M. Olligschlaeger, of TruNorth Data Systems, Inc with a presentation on Information Sharing and Data Mining under Homeland Security: Technical and Privacy Challenges -Keynote Speaker Robert David Steele Vivas, CEO of Open Source Solutions.Net and author of "The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, and Political", on "The Future of Intelligence: Not Federal, Not Secret, & Not Expensive" - Dr Kim Rossmo, Professor, Texas State University, San Marcos, and world-renowned criminologist and leading authority on geographic profiling, on "Geographic Profiling Analysis" and "Criminal Intelligence Failures" -Sergeant Mark Stallo, Crime Analysis Team, Dallas Police Department and author "Using Microsoft Office to Improve Law Enforcement Operations: Crime Analysis, Community Policing and Investigations" on "Using Microsoft Excel to Improve Data Analysis" -Crime Analyst Susan Usher, Western Australia Police Service, Perth, on Western Australia Police Service - An Ontological Model of Intelligence - Christopher Bruce, Public Safety Analyst, Danvers PD, MA, and President, Massachusetts Association of Crime Analysts, on "Making Your Data Work for You: How to Store, Manage, Collate, Query, and Display Data for Better Crime Analysis" -Dr Vincent Henry, Professor, Pace University and former NYPD officer, co-founder of COMPSTAT, on "The COMPSTAT Paradigm in Intelligence Applications" -Al Johnson, Austin Police Department, Crime Information Systems Supervisor and former TACIA President, on "Standardizing Crime Analysis Units" - Dr. Tory J. Caeti, Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, University of North Texas, on "The Use, and Abuse, of Statistics by the Analyst" -Wes Doss, President and General Operating Manager, Khyber Interactive Associates, LLC, (specialized emergency response training, research and consulting) on "Train to Win: Preparing Modern Warriors to Win in the War on Terrorism" -Dr James Holden Rhodes, Technical Director, Intelligence Operations Analysis, Physical Science Laboratory, New Mexico State University and author of "Sharing The Secrets: Open Source Intelligence & The War On Drugs" on "In Search of U.S. Intelligence" - James "Gator" Hudson, Det.Sgt., Ret., highly decorated former Portland Oregon Police Officer and now Co-Founder & President, AMCRIN Corp., on the "Growing Threat of "Invisible" Data Theft Crimes and Interview with a Fraudster" -Robert Heibel, retired FBI and Director, Research Intelligence Analyst Degree program at Mercyhurst College, PA (Mercyhurst Institute for Intelligence Research and Analysis) on "The Marriage of Law Enforcement and Academia" -Michael Ronczkowski, MPA, Captain with Miami Dade PD ,and author of "Terrorism & Organized Hate Crime: Intelligence Gathering, Analysis, and Investigations" -Don Grote, former Sheriff, Mason County, Texas and Regional Organized Crime Information Center Field Service Coordinator for Texas on the Regional Information Sharing Systems -David Jimenez, President, TACIA, and Director of Training, Education, and Career Development for IALEIA, on "Distance Learning Educational Opportunities in Law Enforcement" -Al Hernandez, Captain, El Paso County Sheriffs Department on "Homeland Security issues at the County Level" - Ed Garcia, Certified Fraud Examiner and President/Chief Executive Officer, MTSSI/Security & Public Safety Academy on "The Challenges of Terrorism Education in American Universities" -Warren Sweeney, CCA, Burlington, Ontario (Canada) and Alpha Group, on "Determining Unidentified Income Using Comparative Net Worth Method" -Lona Peoples, Post Trauma Specialist and Director, Griefworks International, Santa Maria, CA, on "The Aftermath of Catastrophic Events: The Human Element" - John E. Feighery, Certified Fraud Examiner & Certified Protection Professional, Ex Fed Investigative Services, Inc., El Paso, on "Basic Security Programs - Protecting Scarce Resources " -Keynote Presenter Dr Jonathan White, Grand Valley State University, Michigan and author of "Terrorism" (4th edition) and "Defending The Homeland: Domestic Intelligence, Law Enforcement, and Security" on "International Terrorism in Transition" -Richard Marquise, Retired FBI, who led the international task force investigating the Lockerbie bombing We are also working on arranging numerous exhibitors for technology, and software. Arrangements for classroom demonstrations will also be explored. Details, to include the agenda design, will be available online at http://www.tacia.org. Registration cost will be $165.00 for all three days of the conference and includes, morning/afternoon refreshments, conference program, lunch for all three days, free one-year membership, and additional material. All attendees will receive a gold embossed Certificate of Training & Attendance. Optional University of Texas Continuing Education Units for the content of this event will be made available. Registration forms will be made available online for attendees and exhibitors this month. The Holiday Inn Sunland Park, offering spectacular views of the Franklin Mountains, Mexico, and New Mexico, will offer a daily government rate of $78.00, free airport shuttle, and other amenities. They will also provide free shuttle to and from the conference location, and free shuttle within five miles of the hotel to nearby shopping, restaurants, and casino. Please mention the TACIA conference when making arrangements to receive this rate. (Reservations: Toll Free 1-800-250-1625). The number of rooms are limited, so early reservations are recommended. For further information, please contact David Jimenez or any of the 2004 TACIA Officers (listed at http://www.tacia.org). David Jimenez, MSgt, USAF, Ret, CCA President, Texas Association of Crime & Intelligence Analysts Faculty, Univ. of Texas @ El Paso & American Military Univ. IALEIA Director of Training, Education, and Career Development Governor, Society for Certified Criminal Analysts GETAC Member, Texas Governor's EMS & Trauma Advisory Council
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