Old Dog/New Tricks
Well-known member
Ag-Security Weekly Report
5 October 2006
Administrative Note: The Ag-Security Newsletter is being changed to a weekly format. Starting today, the newsletter will be transmitted on Thursdays of each week.
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
Anthrax probe update sought
Hamilton mail workers' lingering fears cited
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
BY LISA CORYELL
Five years after anthax-tainted mail thrust a local post office to the forefront of a national bioterrorism attack, Rep. Rush Holt has called on federal investigators to meet with postal employees and update them on the status of their investigation into the deadly attacks.
In a letter sent to the FBI yesterday, Holt, D-Hopewell Township, demanded answers for employees at the Hamilton post office that processed the tainted mail that killed five people nationally.
Source: http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf? ... xml&coll=5
Anthrax testing increases as hunt for killer goes on 5 years later
WASHINGTON (AP) - The postal service has "fully deployed" testing devices for anthrax across the nation, five year after a series of deadly anthrax attacks.
More than a thousand biological detectors are sniffing mail for contamination at 271 processing locations across the country. A second version for larger pieces of mail will be deployed next year.
Source: http://news.moneycentral.msncom/provide ... ID=6073231
5 years later, anthrax attacks still unsolved
PETER FRANCESCHINA
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
When Bob Stevens, a photo editor in Boca Raton, died of anthrax poisoning five years ago, he became the first U.S. casualty in a new era of bioterrorism threats.
In the days and weeks to follow, four others who contracted anthrax from tainted mail died - two postal workers in Washington, D.C., a New York City hospital stockroom employee and an elderly Connecticut woman. At least 17 others fell ill but survived during that uneasy autumn after the 9/11 attacks.
Whoever devised the deadly letters slipped back underground - there have been no anthrax mailings since. The unknown attacker transformed the American consciousness, in part because a potential biological attack seemed remote, until it became a reality.
Hoax letters once tossed in the trash without a thought now merit a full hazardous materials response. Biodefense is a government priority, with billions of dollars dedicated to it. Even as some experts say anthrax would be the easiest biological weapon for terrorists to deploy, others say the threat is low because of the difficulty in obtaining, producing and effectively dispersing it.
Source: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/ ... 656127.htm
Emotional wounds extend anthrax pain
By Eliot Kleinberg
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
BOCA RATON — First the Sept. 11 attacks assaulted America's sense of invulnerability. Then we found out at least a dozen of the terrorists lived and plotted under our noses in Palm Beach County. Then, just days later, an anthrax-laden letter someone had dropped in the mail killed our neighbor Bob Stevens and nearly killed his co-worker Ernie Blanco.
Coincidence?
The number of federal agents on the case has been downsized by a third. There is a $2.5 million reward. During the five years since the attacks killed five and made 17 sick and paralyzed a nation, we've dealt with a thousand dead ends and fizzled leads and tight lips and closed doors.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral ... _1004.html
Strategy combats weaponized anthrax
CLEMSON, S.C., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed a countermeasure to combat weaponized anthrax, a biological agent used in 2001 to kill five people.
"For anthrax to be effective, it has to be made into a fine powder that can easily enter the lungs when inhaled," said Clemson University chemist Ya-Ping Sun. "What we have done is come up with an agent that clings to the anthrax spores to make their inhalation into the lungs difficult."
Anthrax spores are covered with carbohydrates, or simple sugars, that are used to communicate with or attract other biological species. The Clemson team used carbon nanotubes as a platform or scaffolding for displaying sugar molecules that would attract the anthrax spores.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.p ... nthrax.xml
Animal Rights/Ecoterrorism - OCONUS
Vandals ruin logging business
'This was the work of professionals;' Siskiyou County authorities investigate
By SARAH LEMON
Mail Tribune
HILT, Calif. — Vandals who caused as much as $500,000 in damage to a small logging operation will cost about 20 families their livelihood, owners said.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department on Monday was investigating the destruction of nine pieces of heavy machinery owned by Medford-based Hilltop Logging Inc. Co-owner Steve Avgeris said the crime ruined his business, which was logging a small parcel of private property about 10 miles west of Hilt.
"This was the work of professionals," Avgeris said. "They came equipped with the right tools."
Hilltop employees who arrived for work at about 5:30 a.m. Monday found that someone had poured dirt and debris in fuel tanks; cut hoses, lines and belts; and ripped out computer components in log loaders and tree-shearing and de-limbing machines, Avgeris said. The vandals apparently had master keys to the equipment, he added.
"They knew what kind of equipment we had," Avgeris said.
Although initials of the Earth Liberation Front were scrawled on some of the machines, investigators said they did not consider the crime an act of eco-terrorism.
Source: http://www.mailtribune.com/cgi-bin/p/psafe/psafe.pl
Reward offered in vandalism case
FBI agents join investigation into logging company damage near Hilt
By PAUL FATTIG
Mail Tribune
HILT, Calif. — The FBI has joined the hunt for vandals who damaged a Medford logging firm's equipment, and a loggers trade association has offered a reward for anyone who can help bring them to justice.
The bureau indicated Tuesday its interest in lending a federal hand to the investigation, now being led by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department. The "nature of the vandalism and the possibility that the investigation may cross state lines," prompted the bureau's decision, said Susan Gravenkamp, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department.
Source: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006 ... vandalshtm
Second arson hits city golf club
Weekend fire not linked to blaze at pro shop in October: police
LAURA THOMPSON
GUELPH (Oct 3, 2006)
Vandals set a small tree ablaze at the Cutten Club this weekend, abandoning two gas cans near the 14th hole of the private golf course.
Saturday's incident is the second arson at the club in a year, though investigators say youth are to blame this time, and not the environmental extremist group that took responsibility for the previous fire.
Sgt. Ray Gordon said a Cutten Club employee alerted the police about weekend the incident just before 4 a.m.
Dave Neuwold, a fire protection officer for the city, said three trucks were dispatched to the golf course following the 911 call.
The only damage was to the tree.
Source: http://www.guelphmercury.com/NASApp/cs/ ... 4322199505
Feds say guilty pleas expected in UW fire
SEATTLE Federal prosecutors say they expect two people to plead guilty tomorrow in an arson fire that destroyed the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington in Seattle in May of 2001.
The fire was part of a string of arsons and other acts of vandalism around the Northwest blamed on so-called ecoterrorists.
The Earth Liberation Front, a shadowy collection of environmental activists, claimed responsibility for the U-W fire. It issued a statement saying the hybrid poplars the center did research on posed "an ecological nightmare" for the diversity of native forests.
Source: http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... nu484_2_10
Two women plead guilty of charges in ecoterrorism case
Posted on : Thu, 05 Oct 2006 12:46:00 GMT | Author : Pat Fryer
News Category : Legal
TACOMA, Washington: Two women, who were involved in the 2001 firebombing of the University of Washington's horticulture center, pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony charges.
The two, Jennifer Kolar, 33, and Lacey Phillabaum, 31, are among five people named by federal authorities in the case, where they are charged to have resorted to bombing the university, targeting its research on hybrid poplar trees. The case has come to be known as the Northwest's most notorious acts of ecoterrorism.
Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/9182.html
Physical Security
OCONUS - UK
Three nights of violence at dairy
Police are appealing for calm after three nights of violence at a Berkshire dairy owned by a Muslim family.
The Medina Dairy in Windsor was hit by a suspected petrol bomb on Wednesday evening, on the third night of unrest.
Police said they were stepping up patrols in the area around Vale Road and would use "robust policing tactics" to bring the situation under control.
Three people were arrested on Tuesday and one was later charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berk ... 409444.stm
Maritime/Port Security
Port security bill clears Congress, heads to president
By Chris Strohm, CongressDaily
In its last major action before beginning its midterm election recess, Congress early Saturday morning approved a $3.4 billion maritime security bill that some lawmakers say will eventually lead to all cargo being scanned at foreign ports before being put on ships bound for the United States.
The House approved the bill, 409-2, while the Senate passed it on a voice vote.
"This legislation takes immediate action to heighten the security of our nation's seaports, which could be exploited by terrorists for delivering weapons of mass destruction to the United States," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whose Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations led a three-year investigation into maritime security vulnerabilities. "Through this bill, we will be better prepared to address national security concerns that could arise in port cities."
Source: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
Ag-Security.com Administrative Notes
This is an unclassified product of Ag-Security.com, a privately funded organization affiliated with the Mobile-Infragard Members Alliance,part of the National Infragard Program. All information is from open sources intended for public dissemination. Reproduction and dissemination of this e-mail is encouraged within applicable copyright laws. Copies may not be sold or distributed for profit.
E-mail reports and alerts are sent in HTML format so as to enable the inclusion of charts, graphs and photographs. If your local e-mail displays only plain text, these transmissions may appear incomplete. Documents may be viewed online or downloaded in pdf format from the library and archives at http://www.Ag-Security.com.
Ag-Security Reports, Ag-Security ALERTS and Avian Flu Reports are never sent unsolicited. To apply for a new subscription, please fill out the online application at http://www.Ag-Security.com. To unsubscribe, visit http://www.Ag-Security.com. E-mail questions or comments to: [email protected]
Ag-Security.com
206 Lem Morrison Drive
Auburn University AL 36849-5416
USA
5 October 2006
Administrative Note: The Ag-Security Newsletter is being changed to a weekly format. Starting today, the newsletter will be transmitted on Thursdays of each week.
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
Anthrax probe update sought
Hamilton mail workers' lingering fears cited
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
BY LISA CORYELL
Five years after anthax-tainted mail thrust a local post office to the forefront of a national bioterrorism attack, Rep. Rush Holt has called on federal investigators to meet with postal employees and update them on the status of their investigation into the deadly attacks.
In a letter sent to the FBI yesterday, Holt, D-Hopewell Township, demanded answers for employees at the Hamilton post office that processed the tainted mail that killed five people nationally.
Source: http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf? ... xml&coll=5
Anthrax testing increases as hunt for killer goes on 5 years later
WASHINGTON (AP) - The postal service has "fully deployed" testing devices for anthrax across the nation, five year after a series of deadly anthrax attacks.
More than a thousand biological detectors are sniffing mail for contamination at 271 processing locations across the country. A second version for larger pieces of mail will be deployed next year.
Source: http://news.moneycentral.msncom/provide ... ID=6073231
5 years later, anthrax attacks still unsolved
PETER FRANCESCHINA
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
When Bob Stevens, a photo editor in Boca Raton, died of anthrax poisoning five years ago, he became the first U.S. casualty in a new era of bioterrorism threats.
In the days and weeks to follow, four others who contracted anthrax from tainted mail died - two postal workers in Washington, D.C., a New York City hospital stockroom employee and an elderly Connecticut woman. At least 17 others fell ill but survived during that uneasy autumn after the 9/11 attacks.
Whoever devised the deadly letters slipped back underground - there have been no anthrax mailings since. The unknown attacker transformed the American consciousness, in part because a potential biological attack seemed remote, until it became a reality.
Hoax letters once tossed in the trash without a thought now merit a full hazardous materials response. Biodefense is a government priority, with billions of dollars dedicated to it. Even as some experts say anthrax would be the easiest biological weapon for terrorists to deploy, others say the threat is low because of the difficulty in obtaining, producing and effectively dispersing it.
Source: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/ ... 656127.htm
Emotional wounds extend anthrax pain
By Eliot Kleinberg
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
BOCA RATON — First the Sept. 11 attacks assaulted America's sense of invulnerability. Then we found out at least a dozen of the terrorists lived and plotted under our noses in Palm Beach County. Then, just days later, an anthrax-laden letter someone had dropped in the mail killed our neighbor Bob Stevens and nearly killed his co-worker Ernie Blanco.
Coincidence?
The number of federal agents on the case has been downsized by a third. There is a $2.5 million reward. During the five years since the attacks killed five and made 17 sick and paralyzed a nation, we've dealt with a thousand dead ends and fizzled leads and tight lips and closed doors.
Inquiring minds want to know.
Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral ... _1004.html
Strategy combats weaponized anthrax
CLEMSON, S.C., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've developed a countermeasure to combat weaponized anthrax, a biological agent used in 2001 to kill five people.
"For anthrax to be effective, it has to be made into a fine powder that can easily enter the lungs when inhaled," said Clemson University chemist Ya-Ping Sun. "What we have done is come up with an agent that clings to the anthrax spores to make their inhalation into the lungs difficult."
Anthrax spores are covered with carbohydrates, or simple sugars, that are used to communicate with or attract other biological species. The Clemson team used carbon nanotubes as a platform or scaffolding for displaying sugar molecules that would attract the anthrax spores.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.p ... nthrax.xml
Animal Rights/Ecoterrorism - OCONUS
Vandals ruin logging business
'This was the work of professionals;' Siskiyou County authorities investigate
By SARAH LEMON
Mail Tribune
HILT, Calif. — Vandals who caused as much as $500,000 in damage to a small logging operation will cost about 20 families their livelihood, owners said.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department on Monday was investigating the destruction of nine pieces of heavy machinery owned by Medford-based Hilltop Logging Inc. Co-owner Steve Avgeris said the crime ruined his business, which was logging a small parcel of private property about 10 miles west of Hilt.
"This was the work of professionals," Avgeris said. "They came equipped with the right tools."
Hilltop employees who arrived for work at about 5:30 a.m. Monday found that someone had poured dirt and debris in fuel tanks; cut hoses, lines and belts; and ripped out computer components in log loaders and tree-shearing and de-limbing machines, Avgeris said. The vandals apparently had master keys to the equipment, he added.
"They knew what kind of equipment we had," Avgeris said.
Although initials of the Earth Liberation Front were scrawled on some of the machines, investigators said they did not consider the crime an act of eco-terrorism.
Source: http://www.mailtribune.com/cgi-bin/p/psafe/psafe.pl
Reward offered in vandalism case
FBI agents join investigation into logging company damage near Hilt
By PAUL FATTIG
Mail Tribune
HILT, Calif. — The FBI has joined the hunt for vandals who damaged a Medford logging firm's equipment, and a loggers trade association has offered a reward for anyone who can help bring them to justice.
The bureau indicated Tuesday its interest in lending a federal hand to the investigation, now being led by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Department. The "nature of the vandalism and the possibility that the investigation may cross state lines," prompted the bureau's decision, said Susan Gravenkamp, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Department.
Source: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006 ... vandalshtm
Second arson hits city golf club
Weekend fire not linked to blaze at pro shop in October: police
LAURA THOMPSON
GUELPH (Oct 3, 2006)
Vandals set a small tree ablaze at the Cutten Club this weekend, abandoning two gas cans near the 14th hole of the private golf course.
Saturday's incident is the second arson at the club in a year, though investigators say youth are to blame this time, and not the environmental extremist group that took responsibility for the previous fire.
Sgt. Ray Gordon said a Cutten Club employee alerted the police about weekend the incident just before 4 a.m.
Dave Neuwold, a fire protection officer for the city, said three trucks were dispatched to the golf course following the 911 call.
The only damage was to the tree.
Source: http://www.guelphmercury.com/NASApp/cs/ ... 4322199505
Feds say guilty pleas expected in UW fire
SEATTLE Federal prosecutors say they expect two people to plead guilty tomorrow in an arson fire that destroyed the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington in Seattle in May of 2001.
The fire was part of a string of arsons and other acts of vandalism around the Northwest blamed on so-called ecoterrorists.
The Earth Liberation Front, a shadowy collection of environmental activists, claimed responsibility for the U-W fire. It issued a statement saying the hybrid poplars the center did research on posed "an ecological nightmare" for the diversity of native forests.
Source: http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S= ... nu484_2_10
Two women plead guilty of charges in ecoterrorism case
Posted on : Thu, 05 Oct 2006 12:46:00 GMT | Author : Pat Fryer
News Category : Legal
TACOMA, Washington: Two women, who were involved in the 2001 firebombing of the University of Washington's horticulture center, pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony charges.
The two, Jennifer Kolar, 33, and Lacey Phillabaum, 31, are among five people named by federal authorities in the case, where they are charged to have resorted to bombing the university, targeting its research on hybrid poplar trees. The case has come to be known as the Northwest's most notorious acts of ecoterrorism.
Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/9182.html
Physical Security
OCONUS - UK
Three nights of violence at dairy
Police are appealing for calm after three nights of violence at a Berkshire dairy owned by a Muslim family.
The Medina Dairy in Windsor was hit by a suspected petrol bomb on Wednesday evening, on the third night of unrest.
Police said they were stepping up patrols in the area around Vale Road and would use "robust policing tactics" to bring the situation under control.
Three people were arrested on Tuesday and one was later charged with being in possession of an offensive weapon.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berk ... 409444.stm
Maritime/Port Security
Port security bill clears Congress, heads to president
By Chris Strohm, CongressDaily
In its last major action before beginning its midterm election recess, Congress early Saturday morning approved a $3.4 billion maritime security bill that some lawmakers say will eventually lead to all cargo being scanned at foreign ports before being put on ships bound for the United States.
The House approved the bill, 409-2, while the Senate passed it on a voice vote.
"This legislation takes immediate action to heighten the security of our nation's seaports, which could be exploited by terrorists for delivering weapons of mass destruction to the United States," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., whose Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations led a three-year investigation into maritime security vulnerabilities. "Through this bill, we will be better prepared to address national security concerns that could arise in port cities."
Source: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?a ... dcn=e_gvet
Ag-Security.com Administrative Notes
This is an unclassified product of Ag-Security.com, a privately funded organization affiliated with the Mobile-Infragard Members Alliance,part of the National Infragard Program. All information is from open sources intended for public dissemination. Reproduction and dissemination of this e-mail is encouraged within applicable copyright laws. Copies may not be sold or distributed for profit.
E-mail reports and alerts are sent in HTML format so as to enable the inclusion of charts, graphs and photographs. If your local e-mail displays only plain text, these transmissions may appear incomplete. Documents may be viewed online or downloaded in pdf format from the library and archives at http://www.Ag-Security.com.
Ag-Security Reports, Ag-Security ALERTS and Avian Flu Reports are never sent unsolicited. To apply for a new subscription, please fill out the online application at http://www.Ag-Security.com. To unsubscribe, visit http://www.Ag-Security.com. E-mail questions or comments to: [email protected]
Ag-Security.com
206 Lem Morrison Drive
Auburn University AL 36849-5416
USA
