**************************************************
CBR
Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- April 3,
2009
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TABLE OF
CONTENTS:
1. What is Anthrax?
2. Goldman School portal takes the
worry out of 'experiments of [biosecurity] concern' [Berkeley, CA]
3.
Anthrax lawsuit dismissed: disabled postal worker David Hose filed case in 2004
[MA]
4. Top Canadian prize goes to Stanford scientist Lucy Shapiro for
bringing cell biology into three dimensions
5. Access to buffer zone key to
agricultural recovery – FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organization]
6. [Deseret Chemical] Depot begins destroying mustard mortars [UT]
7. Russian disposal site eliminates lewisite stockpile
8. Team waits
for tests on weapons off Pearl Harbor [HI]
9. Moroccan party calls for
Spanish damages over chemical war in 1920s
10. Dominican Republic to be
187th nation in chemical weapons treaty
11. Editorial: 'fresh start' for
Russia, U.S.
12. IAEA to assist KISR [Kuwait Institute for Scientific
Research to] set up nuclear progress unit
13. Pakistan atom security
top-notch despite fears: aide
14. IAEA may need intelligence arm against
atom terror [sic]
15. Accused Frisco shooter says he [Edward Mike Ji]
hunted victims, planned to kill [San Francisco, CA]
16. Authorities say
white powder has tested negative for anthrax [sic]
17. Oregon man [David
A. Groves] sentenced to 15 months in fake anthrax [sic]
mailings
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BW-HISTORY-GENERAL
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1.
*What is Anthrax?
"Anthrax is one of the oldest recorded diseases,
mentioned in the biblical book of Exodus and among classical Greek and Roman
authors. Devastating epidemics of the disease were recorded by medieval and
modern writers. It has been called wool sorter's disease because is contracted
by humans who handle wool and inhale spores from dried feces. [...] The American
Lung Association notes that most suspicious powders turn out to be something
else. [...] Another characteristic making anthrax [sic] an effective biological
agent is that anthrax spores can be stored for decades without losing their
viability." (Highlands Today; 03Apr09; Gary Pinnell)
http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2009/apr/03/la-what-is-anthrax/--------------------------------------------------------------------
BW-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S.
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2.
*Goldman School portal takes the worry out of 'experiments of [biosecurity]
concern' [Berkeley, CA]
"Scientists call them 'experiments of concern'
— research projects designed to advance human knowledge or cure disease,
but with potentially lethal applications should the results fall into the wrong
hands. The burgeoning field of synthetic biology, which aims for nothing less
than to chemically engineer new forms of microbial life (or replicate existing
ones), poses special risks. [...] Now Steve Maurer, director of the Information
Technology and Homeland Security Project at the Goldman School of Public Policy,
is about to launch an online advice portal he hopes will not only provide some
answers, but will also represent a significant step toward mitigating the
dangers — whatever they might be — of well-intentioned
synthetic-biology research. [...] Although the advice won't be binding, Maurer
hopes the existence of the portal — along with a new virulent-gene
database, VIREP, he and Christopher are working to create — will give the
synthetic-biology community a meaningful way to regulate its own behavior." (UC
Berkeley News; 02Apr09; Barry Bergman)
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2009/04/02_concern.shtml3.
*Anthrax lawsuit dismissed: disabled postal worker David Hose filed case in 2004
[MA]
"A $12 million lawsuit against the federal government, filed by a
city man who was exposed to anthrax spores, was dismissed Tuesday. In an
interview last August, David Hose of Winchester said he was taking nine
medications as a result of his exposure to anthrax spores at a Sterling
mail-processing facility in October 2001. Hose filed a $12 million lawsuit
against the federal government in 2004, alleging negligence on the part of the
government in its handling of its anthrax [sic] supply, as well as its failure
to adequately protect the State Department mail room workers. That case was
dismissed Tuesday. David R. Hose came into contact with an anthrax-laced
envelope [sic] in October 2001 while working as a contract supervisor in a State
Department mail-processing facility in Sterling [MA]." (Winchester Star;
02Apr09; Monty Tayloe)
http://www.winchesterstar.com/showarticle_new.php?sID=6&foldername=20090402&file=Anthrax%20_article.html4.
*Top Canadian prize goes to Stanford scientist Lucy Shapiro for bringing cell
biology into three dimensions
"Shapiro's work showed for the first time
that bacterial DNA replication occurs in a spatially organized way and that the
act of replication and the subsequent segregation of the DNA to opposite ends of
the cell dictates the cellular position and time of function of the cell
division machine. Members of her lab also proved the existence of master genetic
regulators of the bacterial cell cycle. [...She is] now a member of the Center
for International Security and Cooperation at the Freeman Spogli Institute for
International Studies at Stanford University. 'It's very important to me that
people know what to be afraid of-and what not to be afraid of,' said Shapiro,
who believes that increasing levels of both antibiotic resistance and novel
infectious agents are likely to be a larger threat than bioterrorism. 'It's not
that the threat of bioterrorism doesn't exist. It does,' she said. 'But we are
now sitting in the center of a perfect storm with regards to global health and
natural outbreaks of infectious disease.'" (Medical News Today; 02Apr09)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/144643.php--------------------------------------------------------------------
CW-ALLEGATIONS-ISRAEL-PALESTINE
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5.
*Access to buffer zone key to agricultural recovery – FAO [UN Food and
Agriculture Organization]
"Gaza's battered agricultural sector has the
capacity to recover but only if there is access to the buffer zone and only if
Gaza's commercial crossings are fully opened, according to a recent UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) report on Gaza. [...] FAO, UN Development
Programme teams and NGOs cannot access the area to conduct post-conflict
assessments, or implement relief and development projects. It is unknown how
much unexploded ordnance (UXO) remains on farmland. Reports of chemical weapons'
residues are being investigated by UN Mine Action teams (who are not permitted
to speak to the press)." (Reuters; 02Apr09; Source: Integrated Regional
Information Networks)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/176866865f7159d566270410332f71ed.htm--------------------------------------------------------------------
CW-DESTRUCTION-U.S.
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6.
*[Deseret Chemical] Depot begins destroying mustard mortars [UT]
"Under
supervision of state regulators, workers at Deseret Chemical Depot have begun
processing HT mustard agent-filled cartridges, or mortars, as part of ongoing
disposal operations. There are two types of mustard agent filled 4.2-inch
mortars at Deseret Chemical Depot: HT mustard, which has a lower freezing point
and makes up the majority of these munitions and HD, or distilled mustard. All
munitions were reconfigured to remove their explosive propellant charges several
years ago [...] A Deseret Chemical press release said state regulatory
authorities are observing the sampling and analysis of the HT mortars prior to
disposal to ensure compliance with mercury emission standards. HT mortar
destruction is expected to be completed this year." (Deseret News; 02Apr09; Amy
Joi O'Donoghue)
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705294665/Depot-begins-destroying-mortars.html--------------------------------------------------------------------
CW-DESTRUCTION-RUSSIA
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7.
*Russian disposal site eliminates lewisite stockpile
"A Russian chemical
weapons disposal facility has eliminated the 6.4-metric-ton stockpile of
lewisite stored in bulk containers at the Kambarka depot in Udmurtia, ITAR-Tass
reported yesterday [...] Russia possessed the world's largest stockpile of
chemical agents, an arsenal that stood at 40,000 metric tons before disposal
operations began. It has pledged to meet the April 2012 Chemical Weapons
Convention deadline for full elimination of the arsenal, though some observers
doubt whether the nation can achieve that goal (ITAR-Tass, April 1)." (Global
Security Newswire; 02Apr09)
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090402_4822.php--------------------------------------------------------------------
CW-DISPOSAL-U.S.
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8.
*Team waits for tests on weapons off Pearl Harbor [HI]
"Researchers at the
University of Hawaii are analyzing data from the deep ocean floor south of Pearl
Harbor that will determine where chemical weapons from World War II were dumped.
The UH School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology headed the mission.
Deep-sea submersibles spent 17 days exploring the sea floor 1,500 feet below sea
level, 5 miles south of Pearl Harbor. [...] 'We sampled 19 different locations,
four areas we saw in terms of ordnance, 1,000 or 2,000 things that looked like
they were ordnance,' UH researcher Margo Edwards said. [...] The assistant Army
secretary [Tad Davis] said a preliminary report could be released in about six
months." (ABC 4, KITV; 02Apr09)
http://www.kitv.com/news/19082089/detail.html--------------------------------------------------------------------
CW-HISTORY-SPAIN
&
MOROCCO
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9.
*Moroccan party calls for Spanish damages over chemical war in
1920s
"Increasing voices in Morocco want the country to demand damages from
Spain for the use of chemical weapons during the 1920-26 Rif war, press reports
said Thursday. Colonial powers Spain and France put down a rebellion in the
northern mountainous Rif region, which was part of the Spanish protectorate at
the time. [...] 'It is our right to demand compensation for the victims of the
Spanish chemical war,' parliament president Moustapha Mansouri, of the RNI,
said. 'We have documents proving the horrors committed in the Rif,' he
explained. Mansouri's call for damages was backed by media commentators, who
said the government should take up the case, instead of a single party. [...]
Spanish critics of such demands have pointed out that the Moroccan regime itself
used napalm to quash an uprising in the Rif in the 1950s." (Earth Times;
02Apr09)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/262685,moroccan-party-calls-for-spanish-damages-over-chemical-war-in-1920s.html--------------------------------------------------------------------
CW-TREATY-DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
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10.
*Dominican Republic to be 187th nation in chemical weapons
treaty
"Dominican Republic would become the 187th member state to join the
international treaty banning production, stockpiling or use of chemical weapons,
the organization that monitors compliance with the pact announced today. [...]
The convention will enter into force in the Dominican Republic on April 26.
[...] It [the OPCW] said eight nations remain outside the treaty -- Angola, the
Bahamas, Egypt, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia and Syria." (Dominican
Today; 01Apr09)
http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/world/2009/4/1/31580/Dominican-Republic-to-be-187th-nation-in-chemical-weapons-treaty--------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-STATE
NUCLEAR-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S. &
RUSSIA
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11.
*Editorial: 'fresh start' for Russia, U.S.
"President Obama has had his
first meeting with [Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev [...] The two issued a
1,500-word communique after their meeting Wednesday in London that promised a
'fresh start' and a 'fresh tone' in U.S.-Russian relations. The centerpiece is
an agreement to begin fast-track negotiations on a new nuclear arms limitation
treaty to further cut the two nations' nuclear arsenals. [...] About half of the
joint statement dealt with mutual concerns over nuclear proliferation, nuclear
terrorism and securing existing stocks of nuclear weapons and materiel. [...]
Obama and Medvedev did agree that al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations
operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan posed a threat to both nations." (Daily
News Tribune; 02Apr09)
http://www.dailynewstribune.com/editorials/x148337886/Editorial-Fresh-start-for-Russia-U-S--------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-STATE
NUCLEAR-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-KUWAIT
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12.
*IAEA to assist KISR [Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research to] set up
nuclear progress unit
"A senior Kuwaiti official extolled here Wednesday
existing cooperation between the State of Kuwait and the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) over Kuwait’s nuclear plan and anti-radioactivity
efforts. [...] Concerning Kuwait’s integrated national plan to prevent
radioactive risks and perils, he said all Kuwaiti state agencies involved are
doing their best to control potential smuggling of radioactive materials with a
view to thwarting nuclear terrorism. [...] A Kuwaiti delegation will be invited
soon to meet IAEA officials on bilateral cooperation in the desert cultivation
area, he pointed out." (Arab Times; 01Apr09)
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=30641&ccid=9--------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-STATE
NUCLEAR-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-PAKISTAN
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13.
*Pakistan atom security top-notch despite fears: aide
"Nuclear-armed
Pakistan maintains security around atomic sites that is second to none and the
world has no cause for concern, a senior Pakistani official said, despite
Islamist militancy battering the country. Muhammad Khaliq, project director for
Pakistan's Nuclear Security Action Plan, outlined improvements to Pakistani
atomic controls to a 90-nation meeting reviewing strategy against possible
nuclear terrorism and in remarks to Reuters. [...] U.S. commanders involved in
fighting resurgent Taliban guerrillas in adjacent Afghanistan and Pakistan's
chaotic border areas say Pakistani secret services have ties with groups close
to al Qaeda and the Taliban, something Islamabad denies. [...] Pakistan's prime
minister said last year that its nuclear command and control structure was 'well
conceived' and had 'matured,' and its atomic bombs were safe and secure."
(Reuters; 02Apr09; Mark Heinrich)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE5314UL20090402?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true--------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-STATE
NUCLEAR-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-IAEA
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14.
*IAEA may need intelligence arm against atom terror [sic]
"The U.N. atomic
watchdog [sic] may need to set up its own intelligence unit to combat a growing
menace of nuclear terrorism, a former senior CIA official said in an interview
Wednesday. 'The good news is that no credible information has surfaced that al
Qaeda has obtained weapons-usable nuclear materials. The bad news is that
(these) are missing in significant quantities,' said Rolf Mowatt-Larssen. He
said the International Atomic Energy Agency, with its expertise probing shadowy
nuclear activity in Iran and the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling ring, could be well
placed to transcend national barriers to intelligence-sharing on atomic threats.
[...] He said Pakistan, grappling with increasing attacks by Islamist militants
that U.S. officials say have links to elements of the Pakistani security
services, topped the list of countries regarded as the most likely sources of
nuclear materials or know-how getting into the hands of terrorists." (Reuters;
01Apr09; Mark Heinrich)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5305I920090401--------------------------------------------------------------------
TOXIN-PREP/DEFENSE/RESPONSE-U.S.
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15.
*Accused Frisco shooter says he [Edward Mike Ji] hunted victims, planned to kill
[San Francisco, CA]
"Edward Mike Ji confessed to police that he shot a teen
for no reason three years ago during one of his so-called 'hunting trips,' [...]
He told police that he also thought about killing his parents, poisoning people
with homemade ricin and going on a shooting spree at Frisco High School. [...]
Ji initially was arrested Aug. 1, 2006 and Frisco residents breathed a sigh of
relief. But that relief turned to outrage eight months later, when Ji was
released to his parents after they posted his $100,000 bail. The community
outcry led to Ji being rearrested the next day. He has been in the Collin County
Jail since in lieu of $1.7 million bail." (Dallas Morning News; 02Apr09; Wendy
Hundley)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/frisco/stories/040209dnmetjitrial.3c9b3bc.html--------------------------------------------------------------------
POWDER
SCARES-U.S.
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16.
*Authorities say white powder has tested negative for anthrax [sic]
"Authorities have determined that the substance found in at least 30
envelopes in Sebring have initially tested negative for anthrax [sic], according
to the FBI. This morning's anthrax scare, which started at Florida Hospital
Heartland Division when 48 envelopes were found on cars parked there, has spread
to a total [of] least 30 locations, according to Highlands County Sheriff Susan
Benton. [...] Jeff Larnard, a substitute mail carrier, was going about his
normal mail delivery procedure on Thursday morning, when he found five or six
suspicious envelopes in the Sun 'n Lakes neighborhood. 'They were the size of a
thank you note with a smiley face on the back,' Larnard said. [...] Krepski said
she has observed emergency personnel in hazmat suits walking through the
hospital. She said she was told by a nurse that the envelopes contained a note
saying 'beware of anthrax.' [sic] Hospital staff, she said, are doing what they
can to keep guests as comfortable as possible. The Department of Homeland
Security is monitoring the situation, department spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said."
(Tampa Tribune; 02Apr09; Laura Nesbitt, Highlands Today & Ray Reyes, Tampa
Tribune)
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/apr/02/hazardous-material-unit-florida-hospital-sebring/17.
*Oregon man [David A. Groves] sentenced to 15 months in fake anthrax [sic]
mailings
"An Oregon man who mailed dozens of threatening letters laced with
phony anthrax to governmental agencies and businesses across the nation was
sentenced this week to 15 months in prison. At the end of the day, government
agents found the 'anthrax' [sic] to be fireplace ashes and what appeared to be
ground oyster shells. [...] [FBI] Agents cracked the case in the spring of 2008
through fingerprint analysis, according to prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's
office in Portland. Later, state and federal crime labs linked their suspect's
DNA to more letters. Groves produced evidence at his sentencing on Tuesday to
show that he suffered such severe bipolar disorder that he was sometimes struck
with occasional psychotic episodes." (Oregonian; 01Apr09; Byran Denson)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/oregon_man_sentenced_to_15_mon.html