Plugged-In Weekly Homeland Security Wrap-Up

Zika — Ebola –Sex –WHO?

January 29, 2016

Zika: The Zika virus has garnished the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO, there is a legitimate concern to pregnant women from contracting Zika, a pandemic virus. Much like Dengue Fever or Chikungunya, the Zika virus uses the Aedes mosquito as a vector for spreading infection. The virus is causing a public health concern because there may be an association with fetal abnormalities causing pregnant women a higher risk for their unborn child being born with a condition called microcephaly, a rare congenital neurological condition that has no cure.

Ebola: The Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,000 people, mostly in Africa and is a legitimate concern of the WHO. Ebola is a virus, much like Zika, but that is where the similarities end. Ebola spreads from blood or body fluids transferring from one person to another. Zika is spread in a different, more insidious way. Mosquitos are used as a vector to transfer the Zika virus to humans. According to Jeremy Farrar, head of the Welcome Trust “In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014–15. Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals — pregnant women — that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies.”

Sex: At least 80% of those infected show no symptoms, so tracking the Zika disease is extremely difficult. There is an increased concern that when people travel to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 summer Olympics there will be an increase in sexual relations — leading to an increase pregnancy rate. The concern is not just for the spectators. During the Sochi games more than 100,000 condoms were circulated to athletes, trainers and coaches. At the London games, more than 150,000 condoms were distributed. Olympic village has been called the raunchy sex den with athletes reporting high levels of sexual activity, adding it’s a fairy-tale place where everything is possible.

WHO: So what does this mean for the WHO? Well the WHO believes that the Zika virus can be more of an issue than Ebola was for the simple reason that many of the people infected with Zika will show no symptoms; plus, with the Rio de Janeiro summer Olympics and the increased sexual activities, there is a greater concern that many of the women that become pregnant will be unknowingly exposed to the Zika virus. Couple this concern with the increased chances of microcephaly, and the WHO thinks this can be a worse pandemic than Ebola.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/30/zika-virus-health-fears accessed January 29, 2016.

The Safety of the U.S. Rail System

February 3, 2016:

In an age of seemingly endless cars, trucks, and air transportation systems buzzing relentlessly around us, it makes sense that rail transportation might not be at the forefront of the public’s consciousness. Surprisingly, the U.S. Rail system is comprised of more than 66,000 route miles of railway carrying a combination of payloads including both passengers and freight. But are these railway systems as safe as we think?

A recent article published on January 22, 2016, on railway infrastructure revealed significant safety deficiencies. The 2008 Amtrak head on collision that killed 25 people in California and injured more than a 100; and the May 12, 2015 derailment near Philadelphia that killed 8 passengers, served as primary examples according to the National Transportation Safety Board to direct full implementation of the Positive Traction Control (PTC) technology for all commuter and freight rail systems by end of year 2016. The PTC technology is designed to automatically slow the trains the computer determines to be traveling at excessive speeds along the railway.

By December 31, 2015, only 14% of the 66,000 route miles had been PTC enabled. Only 31% of the 22,066 trains were equipped, while only 27% of the 114,515 employees were sufficiently PTC trained. As a result, in October 2015, Congress extended the implementation deadline to 2018 to provide the rail industry to meet the lofty goals.

This effort is not without significant cost. To date, the freight rail industry has spent more than $6 billion on PTC and that cost will likely hit the $9 to $10 billion range before completion. Freight company CSX plans to spend $700 million on the PTC effort through 2020. Comparatively, Amtrak has already spent $110 million on PTC since 2000. Under these current conditions, how likely might the public be to utilize the railway system particularly on the passenger commuter side of the industry, given the availability of alternative substitutes?

Further details on this topic can be found at: http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2016/01/22/u-s-rail-system-has-dirty-little-secret.html.

Less than excellent vetting

January 7, 2016

The Obama administration plans to admit, at a minimum, 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. this year alone. Although the administration insists that all “refugees undergo more rigorous screening than anyone else we allow into the United States”, the President continues to face growing national backlash against admitting Syrian refugees into the U.S. It appears that the efficacy of the screening process itself is at the crux of the matter.

Since the 1970s the U.S. has admitted over 3 million refugees, and during which time government officials have insisted that security measures in the screening process has drastically improved, but they also admit that the Syrian refuge crisis poses additional challenges. Government officials are asking themselves “How do you screen people from a war-torn country that has few criminal and terrorist databases to check?”

In 2015, FBI Director James Comey illustrated the complexity of the problem when providing congressional testimony last month by stating “a number of people who were of serious concern” slipped through the screening of Iraq War refugees, including two arrested on terrorism-related charges. “I can’t sit here and offer anybody an absolute assurance that there’s no risk associated with this.” he said. Comey’s testimony referred to, in part, to two Iraqi refugees (Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi) that had been living in Bowling Green Kentucky had been arrested on terror-related crimes.

Ironically two additional Iraqi refugees were arrested on January 7, 2016. Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan and were arrested this month in Texas and California for terrorist related offenses. Newsweek reports Hardan’s intent was to help the Islamic State militant group (ISIS or ISIL) by planting bombs at two Houston malls. While not connected to Hardan’s arrest, Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab allegedly traveled overseas to fight alongside terrorist organizations and lied to U.S. authorities about his activities and was charged with making a false statement involving international terrorism.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/08/us/terror-charges-refugees/

New ISIS Video

Monday, January 25, 2016

A new video was released late Sunday night, January 24, 2016, by the ISIS terror group. The 17 minute video showcases 9 of the extremist terrorists who launched the multiple coordinated attacks in Paris, France on November 13, 2015 killing 130 victims.

The significance of this video is that is shows several of the attackers, (several of which have been previously identified and were killed in the subsequent Paris attacks), and provides some insight into the depths of the planning efforts by ISIS for this attack. The video depicts the 9 members carrying out the executions of several captives via beheadings or shooting of the victims. However, this newest video also shows the various members conducting what can be interpreted as pre-operational planning for the Paris attacks. Several of the terrorist members are shown conducting weapons practice and plotting the attacks at undisclosed locations believed to be in Syria.

The video concludes by continuing the ISIS propaganda message of threatening more attacks in Europe as well as all unbelievers. French President Francois Hollande has commented on the video restating his commitment and resolve not to concede to ISIS.

This new video appears to represent the next stage in the evolution of ISIS’ media propaganda efforts to conduct terror threats on a global scale. 
Source: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/01/25/new-isis-video-shows-par...

Submitted by a member of Team plugged-in.

Additional details on this discussion can be found in the following article link:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/02/01/who-health-emergen...

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