Bird Flu: Looking The Wrong Way?

According to a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we've been looking the wrong way for the bird flu. Most of the U.S. surveillance efforts for the virus are directed at sampling wild migratory birds along the northern border with Canada. But scientists actually think that bird flu will arrive to the U.S. via the poultry trade from our neighbors south of the border. Why? Because countries in Central and South America lack the adequate controls to prevent the import of live birds from other countries already affected by the bird flu. So besides all the illegal immigrants and illegal drugs and psychotic pseudo-socialist dribble (Hola Hugo!) from down there, now we've got to worry about the bird flu too.

China...Still Rising

More troubling reports about the military strength of China. According to assessments made by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) in its annual report, released Nov. 16, China’s cyberwarfare strategy has "switched from a defensive to an offensive posture, with the goal of attacking enemy networks and denying adversaries access to information". Hey, forget about the few hacking al-Qaeda wannabees mentioned in my previous post. We've got a whole nation-state aiming for us. On a similar note, DoD has been concerned about possible jamming of our reconnaissance satellites by China. According to this article, China may have already targeted U.S. spy satellites over its territory with ground-based lasers.

U.S. Warns of Possible al Qaeda Cyber Attack

The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) issued a warning today about a possible attempt by al Qaeda to attack U.S. online financial services such as stock trading and banking starting tomorrow. Although officials don't believe it's a credible threat, there's bound to be some al Qaeda wannabe willing to give it a shot. Any hacking or cyber-terrorism incidents should be reported to US-CERT.

Japan Claims Nuke Know-How, But No Now

Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso claims they have the technological capability to build their own nuclear weapons but won't ... at least for now. And I have no doubt they can. I mean, heck, they built the PS3 for Pete's sake. What's worrisome is that Aso goes on to say that their pacifist constitution doesn't prohibit them from building their own nukes. Great. Just great. The last thing we need right now is a nuclear arms race in that volatile part of the world among Japan, China, and North Korea.

Health Threat From Exotic Pets

According to this Associated Press story, exotic animals captured in the wild "are streaming into the U.S. by the millions with little or no screening for disease, leaving Americans vulnerable to a virulent outbreak that could rival a terrorist act." Basically, you don't need some psycho-terrorist to carry out an act of bioterrorism. All you need is little Jack or Jill down the street with a pet jerboa or kinkajou to bring terror to the masses. It goes on to say that the illegal black market trade in exotic wildlife in the U.S. is only second to the illegal drug trade and that most animals that arrive here legally aren't even quarantined or inspected for disease. Talk about the bird poop waiting to hit the fan. A more in-depth review can be found in the November issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Bird Flu Reappears in South Korea, Ivory Coast

H5N1, the virulent form of avian influenza or bird flu, is resurgent again in South Korea and the Ivory Coast. The last time bird flu appeared in South Korea was in 2003. The Ivory Coast had been clear of the bird flu since April of this year. Most likely H5N1 was brought to South Korea by migratory birds. To deal with the outbreak, South Korea plans to kill over 230,000 chickens within a 500-meter radius of the initial outbreak site. What's worrisome is the possibility of bird flu becoming endemic in North Korea where the infrastructure is not equipped to handle a large outbreak there.

Bird Flu Updates

A couple of sobering reminders on the threat of pandemic flu. Although no longer in the media headlines, the current global bird flu crisis is still there, festering in the background, with the virus just waiting for a few genetic mutations to make it go human-to-human. The first analysis comes from the Council on Foreign Relations. The second one comes from Scribe Media and includes commentary on a recent symposium on the avian flu that was held last week near Philadelphia. Be sure to check out the videos.

Good Golly Miss Polly! Unsafe Toys and Safe Cars

As you're getting ready to give thanks this Thanksgiving, here are a few things to think about.

Mattel, Inc. is recalling 4.4 million Polly Pocket Magnetic Playsets. Why? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it's because the magnets inside the dolls and accessories can fall out and get swallowed by kids. When more than one of these magnets are swallowed, they can attract each other, causing "intestinal perforation, infection, or blockage which can be fatal." Nice. You'd think the toy manufacturers would think things through before making unsafe toys for children.

On a different note, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has picked the safest vehicles for 2007. Although winners include 4 cars, 7 SUVs, and 2 minivans, none of them were made by American car manufacturers. Go figure.

Wishing you and yours a safe, happy, and crisis-free Thanksgiving!

WHO: Global AIDS Epidemic Continues to Grow

UNAIDS/WHO has just issued their latest annual update on the global AIDS epidemic, and it's not looking good. Apparently, there were 4.3 million new infection this past year. In many countries, HIV infection rates have either stayed the same or risen after previous declines. Few countries have actually reduced infection rates. See full press release.

Support for Violence Against America in the Muslim World

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, has just released a research brief entitled "Perceptions of the United States and Support for Violence Against America" that surveyed 3,000 respondents from Indonesia, Pakistan, and a number of Arab countries on their perceptions and attitudes towards America. The major findings include:

1. "Attitudes and perceptions rooted in religious, rather than political, conflict are among the strongest indicators of support for attacks on American military as well as civilian targets."


2. "Negative views of the U.S. government and concerns about hegemonic domination by the U.S. correlate with support for anti-American actions, but not with support for attacks on American civilians."

This is not surprising in light of other surveys that show a significant minority of Muslims support the use of terrorist tactics against civilian targets:

• ICM/Guardian July 2005 Muslim Poll
• NOP Research Survey
• Pew Islamic Extremism Survey
• Pew Great Divide Survey

It's a no brainer that most Muslims are not terrorists. The vast majority want to live in peace. But are most terrorists or supporters of terrorism Muslims?

Tsunami Surprises California

After a magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck near the Kuril Islands off the northern cost of Japan last Wednesday, a series of tsunami waves hit California's Crescent City Harbor. Although a tsunami warning was issued 17 minutes after the quake struck, it was later canceled almost 5 hours before the main surge struck the harbor, causing more than half a million dollars worth of damage to the docks there. This is a case where the technology apparently worked, but an error in human judgement may have been made.

• Read the full story.
• See video about the damage.
• Find resources on tsunami preparedness.

APEC Speaks Out Against N. Korea Nukes... Sort Of

The APEC meeting held in Vietnam has ended with a statement from members of the 21 nations council urging the North Koreans to take adequate steps to discontinue building nuclear weapons. Oh yeah, like that's gonna stop them. And this was only a verbal statement, which carries about as much weight as a U.N. Resolution - basically worthless jibber jab. So why was this left out of the official written statement? My guess is that they don't want to confront Kim Jong-il. It seems even the South Koreans are afraid to intercept North Korean ships to stop the nuclear weapons program there and prevent the spread of its nuclear technology to terrorists and rogue nations.

More Signs of Global Warming?

A recent report by the NOAA called "State of the Arctic" apparently provides more evidence that things are heating up over there. It seems that the amount of arctic ice continues to decline while green vegetation continues to grow in the Arctic tundra. So what to do about all this? Well, some scientists actually think we should pollute the atmosphere even more to offset global warming. Or maybe we should try burning down all the trees instead? Who are they kidding?! Sometimes the geniuses in white lab coats need to step out into the real world and take a good strong dose of common sense.

U.N. to Issue 'Much Stronger' Climate Report

According to this news story, an upcoming report on melting ice caps, rising seas and rising temperatures by a U.N. scientific network will offer more evidence of how man is changing Earth’s climate. Set to be released next February, it will be the fourth report in a series of assessments conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a global network of some 2,000 climate scientists. Now I hear that global warming could also mean more ferocious wildfires. So is this an inconvenient truth or a convenient one? You be the judge.

U.N. Finds Plutonium at Iranian Nuclear Site

Call this the case of the smoking nukes. Although this is not absolute proof the Iranians are building a nuclear bomb, this is the closest evidence yet that they are on their way. Apparently, new traces of plutonium and enriched uranium — potential material for atomic warheads — have been found in a nuclear waste facility in Iran. Of course, President What's-His-Name insists that it's all for peaceful purposes. Yeah, sure, right. Wink. Wink. I mean, what are they going to say, the Truth? "We want to build nuclear bombs so we can finally wipe out Israel from the face of this Earth?" The truth shall set you free, but in this case, all it will get them is a bad case of the carpet-bomb burn. So keep on lying, y'all, keep on lying.

FDA Posts New Tamiflu Warning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that Tamiflu, a prescription drug manufactured by Roche and used for treating influenza, may cause abnormal behavior such as self-injury and hallucination, especially in children. The drug will now have to carry a new warning stating that those taking it for the flu should be monitored closely for confusion and abnormal behavior. So for all those that have built a private stockpile out there in preparation for the coming pandemic, this one's for you.

Texas Border Watch Site Goes Live

Arm-chair border patrol agents are now able to participate in a virtual "border watch" after a dozen web cameras and an associated web site became operational this week. The camera views can be accessed at www.texasborderwatch.com once you sign up and log in. If you're sick and tired of hearing all the stories about illegal immigrants, potential terrorists, and the drug smuggling along the southern border, this is a great way to get more involved and lend an eye.

Iran Threatens Israel with Retaliation

Yep, he's at it again. President "Kill all Jews" What's-His-Name of Iran is threatening Israel with retaliation if the Israelis go in and attack suspected nuclear sites in Iran. No surprise here. He's been threatening to wipe out Israel for quite some time already, and what better way to do it than to develop nuclear weapons. So let's all put this in perspective. The U.N. has about an 80% chance of failure in terms of stopping Iran's nuclear program. Too many gutless pansies and suspect allies on the board. And now that the Democrats have taken over Congress, U.S. foreign policy will be emasculated and become isolationist again so there's a 90% chance we won't go after Iran on our own either. That leaves Israel with a 95 % chance of taking out the Iranian nukes like they did with the Iraqi nuclear site and leaves Iran with a 100% chance of retaliation. Any way you see it, the forecast for peace in the Mideast does not look good.

Castro's Death Bed?

According to this AP story, U.S. officials don't believe Cuba's Fidel Castro will last through the end of next year. Now if that's based on credible intelligence rather than political wishful thinking, then perhaps the Cuban people will finally begin to wake up from the nightmare of dictatorship and start to realize the dream of freedom and prosperity that they deserve. That will also mean that Venezuela's Hugo "I wanna be Fidel" Chavez will have one less sandbox buddy to play with. Of course, that still leaves us with North Korea's Kim "I wanna have a nuclear phallus" Jong-il and good ol' "I wanna be Hitler" What's-His-Name in Iran as the remaining Three Jackasses of the Apocalypse.

Reality Check 101

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."
- Morpheus, The Matrix.

If reality bites, then Ultimate Reality tears you apart, and the Ultimate Reality is that this world is a dangerous place and is getting more so. The way I see it, we have two choices. We can either stick our head in the sand and pretend everything is fine or we can face the Truth head on. So just what will it take for you to take the red pill? Since you're here, you've already taken the first step. But this site isn't designed to scare you sh*tless into paralysis and inaction. It's designed to keep you informed, to provide you with situational awareness and the tools you'll need so that you will begin to take action.

"I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin."
- Neo, The Matrix.