November
1-15 Stories
Syracuse
Research Corp Wins Sensor Beam Support Contract
Syracuse
Research Corporation in Syracuse, N.Y., is being awarded a $23,000,000
cost-plus award-fee contract to provide for engineering services
in support of Sensor Beam Program. The work is expected to be
complete by November 2007.
TRW, Redondo Beach, Calif., is
being awarded a $15,874,677 cost-plus award-fee contract modification
to perform services for the US Dept.of Defense.
US
HHS Creation of Medical Reserve Corps Units
To
help local communities in several states prepare and respond
in the event of a public health emergency US HHS Secretary Tommy
Thompson announced 42 grants for new volunteer medical response
teams.. The money will assist community-based organizations
to begin building local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).
The local MRC units are comprised
of local citizens, volunteers who are trained to respond to
health crises. The volunteers’ responsibilities will include
emergency response, logistical planning, records keeping, assisting
in public health and awareness campaigns and public communications.
(Full
Story)
US
Soldier Declared Dead
Sgt.
Ryan D. Foraker, 31, of Logan, Ohio, who had been reported missing
from his unit at Camp Delta in Guantanamo, Cuba on September
24th was declared dead by the US DoD on November 1st..
Ryan Foraker was in charge of
transporting and guarding suspected terrorists with links to
al-Qaeda. He had been with the 342nd Military Police Company,
U.S. Army Reserve in Columbus, Ohio. (Full
Story)
USS
Constellation Sets Sail to Join Enduring Freedom
The
USS Constellation and its battle group left San Diego, California
at 9 a.m Saturday for six-month Persian Gulf deployment in support
of Operation Enduring Freedom. The battle group also includes
the USS Valley Forge, USS Bunker Hill, two destroyers and a
frigate, the USS Thach.
One
sailor said that it’s not easy to leave my family and friends
but ‘it’s the right thing to do, and we’re ready.’ The
deployment comes as British and US forces prepare for a possible
war against Iraq. "Okay, Let’s Roll" was on a banner
flying on the USS Constellation to honor Todd Beamer, one of
the civilian heroes in the war on terror who died while stopping
9-11 flight 93 from hitting the White House.
(Full
Story)
Israeli
Survivor of Terrorist Siege in Moscow Theatre
Valerya
Lisiansky, was the only Israeli among the hundreds held hostage
for three days by Chechen terrorists in the Moscow theatre.
Since her rescue by Russian special forces, she described how
her concern for her safety brought cooperation between her family,
the media and the Foreign Ministry as they were quiet about
her presence in the theater during the entire ordeal. According
to Lisiansky, no one checked her identity. She was afraid, like
all the other hostages, of the terrorists, who threatened not
to let anyone leave the theater until Chechnya was liberated.
"We didn’t get food. We got water and went to the toilet,
but it wasn’t really a toilet. It was a stairwell," she
said. (Full
Story)
Earth
Trembles Across the Globe
Islamabad
– A volcano has erupted in Pakistan’s northern region after
an earthquake hit the area early Saturday morning. Smoke could
be seen coming from mountains while explosions were being heard.
Earlier a 5.6 earthquake jolted
northern areas at midnight between Friday and Saturday. There
was no immediate report of casualties from any part of the northern
areas.
Italy is still experiencing aftershocks
and large quakes have hit Indonesia and Japan in the past few
days. A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck in central Alaska on
Sunday, November 3 about 75 miles from Fairbanks–one of Alaska’s
most populated cities. The quake was so strong that it was felt
in Washington State. The Alaska oil pipeline was shut down to
repair damage to the pipeline’s support structures. Repair crews
have been working around the clock to reduce stress on the pipeline.
Taliban,
al Qaeda Fire on Special Forces Troops
Armed
enemy Afghans fired on Special Forces soldiers in two instances,
Nov. 7, DoD officials said.
In
one incident near the village of Khowst, eight Taliban and al
Qaeda sympathizers fired on Special Forces soldiers operating
three kilometers from their forward base. The team returned
fire on the Afghans who were armed with AK- 47s and light machine
guns. (Full
Story)
Rocket
Attacks Launched on U.S. Bases in Afghanistan
Opposition
groups launched two hit-and-run rocket attacks against U.S.
forward operating bases in Khowst and Gardez.
Pentagon
officials said there were no casualties in either of the attacks.
In
the first incident, opposition groups launched two rockets at
the U.S. forward operating base near Khowst at about 4 a.m.
Soldiers of the Combined Task Force-82 observed the rounds,
which impacted several kilometers away. (Full
Story)
Justice
Finds Terrorists that Attacked USS Cole
Washington–Two
years ago on October 12, 2000, seventeen sailors were killed
and 39 injured on the USS Cole by terrorists using explosives
in a small boat in the Yemeni port of Aden. The USS Cole was
in the Yemini port for a refueling stop when a small boat laden
with explosives was detonated beside the ship, blasting a hole
in its side. Disabled by the attack, the destroyer was returned
to the U.S. aboard the Norwegian heavy transport ship M/V Blue
Marlin. (Full
Story)
New
Research Program In Health, Environment, and Economic Development
BETHESDA,
MARYLAND — The Fogarty International Center
(FIC) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced
a new research program to support international collaborations
to study the relationships between health, environment, and
economic development. FIC, with four NIH partners and the United
States Geological Survey (USGS), has issued a Request for Applications
(RFA) for the first phase of the Health, Environment, and Economic
Development (HEED) program. This RFA invites proposals for interdisciplinary,
international research collaborations to examine the health
effects of major economic development trends that affect the
natural environment. (Full
Story)
Major
Publishers Join to Send Books to U.S. Troops
Three
major publishers have revived the World War II practice of publishing
special editions of their books for U.S. troops serving overseas.
They kicked off the new program
by giving away several hundred books in the Pentagon.
During World War II, more than
123 million paperback books were handed out to U.S. troops overseas
as special Armed Services Editions. The books were light and
small enough to fit in a cargo pocket. (Full
Story)
U.S.
Signs U.N. Plant Gene Treaty
ROME (AP)
– The United States on Wednesday, November 6th became the 76th
country to sign an international agreement governing the genetic
code of plants, reversing a decision to abstain from the treaty
when it was approved last year.
The
treaty is intended to preserve plant diversity and thus food
supplies by safeguarding the genetic materials. (Full
Story)
Security
Council Passes Tough Iraq Resolution
The
United Nations Security Council today unanimously passed a strong
resolution designed to force Saddam Hussein to disarm his weapons
of mass destruction and obey previous Security Council resolutions.
"The
resolution approved today presents the Iraqi regime with a test
— a final test," President Bush said following the vote
in New York. "Iraq must now — without delay or negotiations
— fully disarm, welcome full inspections and fundamentally
change the approach it has taken for more than a decade."
(Full
Story)
Key
Factors Uncovered in Fort Bragg Murder Investigations
Marital discord,
high personnel tempo and fear of counseling contributed to five
murders at Fort Bragg, N.C., Army officials said. In efforts
to help military families the base now offers a new special
free program, that is easy to access, and is friendly. The program
aptly titled Family Advocacy http://www.bragg.army.mil/dv/
is specially designed to "
to eliminate child and spouse abuse by providing effective
and efficient prevention, intervention, and treatment services."
During a 6 week period in June
and July 2002, there were four homicides of active duty soldiers’
wives at the base. The soldiers have been accused of the crimes. In
a fifth case, a woman allegedly killed her soldier husband.
(Full
Story)
New
York’s Beth Israel Doctors Still Treating Bubonic Plague
New
York doctors have been on high alert since 9-11 for all types
of possible bio-terror attacks when the couple from Santa Fe,
New Mexico sought help for sudden illness at Beth Israel. Their
awareness is likely the reason for quick diagnosis of the ancient
plague, that has not been seen in the city for over a hundred
years. Dr. Ronald Primas, Beth Israel Medical Center:said the
male patient "was very sick, had a fever of 105, and just
sweating profusely, and just extremely weak, couldn’t walk all
but a few feet." The disease is said to be painful accompanied
by high fevers and skin lesions.
Dr.
Thomas Friedan, NYC Health Commissioner: "Both of them
were most likely exposed to infected fleas, probably on their
property, where we know there were infected fleas not long ago."
Health officials had also said that the New York City public
is not in danger because bubonic plague is not passed person-to-person.
(Full
Story)
FBI
Halts Drugs for Stinger Missiles Deal in San Diego, CA
A
swift blow was delivered to operatives for al-qaeda as they
were arrested in an attempt to get Stinger missiles for the
al-qaeda terrorist network. The three operatives had arranged
to trade or sell 5 tons of hashish and a half-ton of heroin
in San Diego, California then use the money to buy Stinger missiles.
Arrests were made in Hong Kong, the suspects were identified
as Ilyas Ali 55 of Minnesota, a naturalized US citizen from
India and two Pakistani nationals, Muhammed Abid Afridi, 29;
and Syed Mustajab Shah, 54.
The trio will appear in the U.S.
District Court in San Diego to face charges of providing material
support to a terrorist organization. (Full
Story)
Countdown
in Baghdad
"We
will disarm you", said British Prime Minister Tony Blair
to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein if he uses tricky tactics familiar
to the United Nations. "Defy the U.N.’s will and we will
disarm you by force. Be in no doubt whatever over that."
"Conflict is not inevitable, but disarmament is… everyone
now accepts that if there is a default by Saddam the international
community must act to enforce its will."
The
first of deadlines for Baghdad to comply with the new unanimously
passed UN disarmament resolution comes Friday, November 15th
at 10:55am. If Saddam complies, as many nations hope he will,
then he must declare all aspects of chemical, biological and
nuclear weapons activities and allow an advanced UN inspection
team in by December 8th. Following compliance with this step,
UN inspectors are expected to be in Baghdad before December
23rd. They must have unfettered access to the many large presidential
palaces. A full report is required to the UN by February 2003.
(Full
Story)