The Latest from National Terror Alert Response Center

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• Islamic Saudi Academy – Coalition Fights
  Expansion
  
  
• Swine Flu Bears A Disturbing Resemblance To 1918
  Virus
  
  
• Homeland Security Terror Alert System Under
  Review
  
  
• Two Indicted In Minnesota on Somali Terror
  Charges
  
  
• Congressman Calls For Cyber Reprisals Against
  North Korea

Islamic Saudi Academy – Coalition Fights Expansion Posted: 14 Jul 2009 01:52 AM PDT Virginia – A holy war is brewing in Virginia, where a controversial Islamic school is seeking permission to expand its campus and a group of residents is going all out to stop it. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Monday night to consider a proposal to expand the campus of the Islamic Saudi Academy, a Saudi-owned college preparatory school. Critics of the plan point to former students of the school who have been convicted in a plot to assassinate former President Bush, and more recently, arrested for trying to board an airplane with a seven-inch kitchen knife. And others say they oppose the move to expand the school for one reason only: “We’re opposed to the operation of the Islamic Saudi Academy because it teaches and practices Shariah law,” said James Lafferty, chairman of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force (VAST). “Shariah law is anti-constitutional and we feel that it is the ultimate improper land use here in the state where the Constitution was created.” Read Full Article This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Swine Flu Bears A Disturbing Resemblance To 1918 Virus Posted: 13 Jul 2009 11:36 PM PDT The new H1N1 influenza virus bears a disturbing resemblance to the virus strain that caused the 1918 flu pandemic, with a greater ability to infect the lungs than common seasonal flu viruses, researchers reported on Monday. Tests in several animals confirmed other studies that have shown the new swine flu strain can spread beyond the upper respiratory tract to go deep into the lungs — making it more likely to cause pneumonia, the international team said. In addition, they found that people who survived the 1918 pandemic seem to have extra immune protection against the virus, again confirming the work of other researchers. “When we conducted the experiments in ferrets and monkeys, the seasonal virus did not replicate in the lungs,” said Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, who led the study. The H1N1 virus replicates significantly better in the lungs.” The new swine flu virus has caused the first pandemic of the 21st century, infecting more than a million people, according to estimates, and killing at least 500. The World Health Organization says it is causing mostly moderate disease but Kawaoka said that does not mean it is like seasonal flu. “There is a misunderstanding about this virus,” he said in a statement. “There is clear evidence the virus is different than seasonal influenza.” Read Full Article This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Homeland Security Terror Alert System Under Review Posted: 13 Jul 2009 10:59 PM PDT Homeland Security Advisory A senior U.S. official says the Obama administration will announce Tuesday that it will review the nation’s multicolored terror alert system that was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is expected to appoint a panel to reevaluate the system and determine whether it should be changed, or possibly eliminated. The five-tiered system that goes from green, which signals a low danger of attack, to red, which signals a severe threat of attack, has proven to be confusing at times. Critics say the different colors are too vague to deliver enough information to be useful. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement has not yet been made public. Our color-coded National Terror Alert “live alert” button was the starting point for this website over seven years ago. It’s now featured on over 50,000 web pages world-wide and viewed by millions, each month. Source Take Our Poll The National Terror Alert Response Center will continue to maintain a “live terror alert” ; however we will wait upon the findings of this review prior to making our decision of how to best move forward. Our position is that the color-coded system should remain. It’s highly recognizable with strong awareness across all age groups; however it needs to be overhauled. Each level of the alert should require specific criteria be met prior to elevation and correlate to actions needed to be taken by individuals, businesses and government agencies. We hope to be considered for any “citizen advocate” positions available on the panel. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Two Indicted In Minnesota on Somali Terror Charges Posted: 13 Jul 2009 10:57 PM PDT A federal grand jury in Minneapolis indicted two men on Monday on charges of conspiracy and aiding terrorism overseas, according to court papers. The Minneapolis Star Tribune said on Monday that one of the men, Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, is of Somali descent and lived in a Minneapolis suburb. According to the indictment, Ahmed and Abdifatah Yusuf Isse were charged with two counts of providing material support to terrorists “and resources, namely personnel including themselves,” and conspiring “to kill, kidnap, and maim and injure persons outside of the United States” between September 2007 and December 2008. Ahmed was also charged with two counts of making false statements about a flight he took from Minneapolis to Amsterdam on December 6, 2007, and bound for Somalia. Ahmed “stated that he did not know anyone on his flight to Somalia in December 2007 when, in fact, he traveled to Somalia together with an individual he knew so that they could fight jihad in Somalia,” the indictment said. via Two indicted in Minnesota on Somali terror charges – Yahoo! News. This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

Congressman Calls For Cyber Reprisals Against North Korea Posted: 13 Jul 2009 10:51 PM PDT A Republican congressman has urged the US to unleash a retaliatory cyber-attack against North Korea over DDoS attacks supposedly launched against US and South Korean websites. Congressman Peter Hoekstra of Michagan, the lead Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, urged President Obama to mount a “show of force” against North Korea over its alleged role in cyberattacks last week. Hoekstra made the call to fire up the cyber-equivalent of B-52 bombers despite absolutely no evidence that the impoverished, hard-line communist state is involved in the assault. This lack of evidence didn’t prevent Hoekstra from warning about possible “cyber-geddon” if the US failed to act on last week’s attacks. If action is not taken, he said during an appearance on American radio show, “next time they’ll go in and shut down a banking system…or manipulate the electrical grid either here or in South Korea. Or they will try and miscalculate, and people will be killed.” via Congressman calls for ‘cyber-reprisals’ against North Korea • The Register. This story comes to us via Homeland Security - National Terror Alert. National Terror Alert is America's trusted source for homeland security news and information. Share this post

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