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Monday, 2 March 2015

Deadly bacteria escapes from Louisiana lab and no one knows how far it has spread

bacteria leak lab

© Reuters / Mike Blake



Weeks of investigation by federal and state agencies have failed to uncover how a potential bioterror agent escaped from a Louisiana laboratory four months ago, or how far it has spread.

Since November, four rhesus macaque monkeys and a USDA investigator have been infected. Cultures of Burkholderia pseudomallei somehow got out of the secure facility at Tulane National Primate Research Center in Covington, about 50 miles north of New Orleans, reported USA Today. Officials insist there is no danger to the public.


The bacteria cause meliodosis, a disease with a 50%-fatality rate even with treatment. Because it's resistant to multiple antibiotics, meliodosis has been researched as a potential biological weapon, though the Tulane lab is said to have been working on a vaccine.




"We're taking this extraordinarily seriously. It's very disturbing to us," Andrew Lackner, director of the Tulane primate center, told USA Today. He also reiterated: "There has never been a public health threat."

Centers for Disease Control and the US Department of Agriculture, which jointly manage biological research under the Federal Select Agent Program, have suspended all further research at Tulane pending the end of the investigation. The facility has never been suspended before.


Federal investigators determined the four rhesus macaques and the USDA investigator were infected at the facility's veterinary hospital on the South Campus. The investigator has since recovered, but two of the monkeys have been euthanized.


However, there is still no explanation of how the deadly bacteria got to the hospital from the supposedly secure laboratory on the North Campus. describes the laboratory as a "biosafety level 3" facility with a "wide range of high-tech safeguards, physical barriers and procedures" that are supposed to ensure dangerous pathogens remain contained.


Government officials haven't divulged any details of the investigation, but experts interviewed by USA Today say human error is the most likely cause. CDC sources told the paper that Tulane's laboratories were last inspected in December 2013, and no "significant problems" were reported at the time.


Burkholderia pseudomallei is found in Southeast Asia and Australia. The strain being researched at Tulane ("Strain 1026b") was recovered from a Thai rice farmer infected in 1993, according to a CDC source quoted by the paper. Melioidosis attacks the lungs and has a wide range of symptoms - fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, loss of appetite - so it's often mistaken for pneumonia or tuberculosis.


BEST OF THE WEB: All theater? Obama-Netanyahu 'fallout' planned in 2009

idf

In a 2009 US policy paper published by the corporate-financier funded Brookings Institution, it was made clear that the US was determined to provoke Iran into a conflict and effect regime change at any cost - up to and including an outright military invasion and occupation of Iran with US troops.

However, before it came to that, the Brookings Institution's policymakers explored other options including fomenting US-backed political unrest coupled with covert, violent force, the use of US State Department listed foreign terrorist organizations to carry out assassinations and attacks within Iran, and limited airstrikes carried out by either the US or Israel, or both.


In retropspect, 6 years on, all of these tricks have not only been attempted to one degree or another in Iran, but have been demonstrably employed in neighboring Syria to diminish its strength - which according to Brookings - is a necessary prerequisite before waging war on Iran.


And of particular interest - considering what appears to be a growing diplomatic row between the United States and Israel - is just how precisely the US planned to covertly back what would be made to appear as a "unilateral" Israeli first strike on Iran - an attack that appears to be in the process of being justified through a carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign now unfolding.


From the Mouths of US Policymakers Themselves


The Brookings Institution's 2009 policy paper titled, "Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran," makes clear that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program is merely theater, and that it will be used to give the world the impression that the United States explored all possible "peaceful" options before resorting to violent regime change. The report states specifically that:



...any military operation against Iran will likely be very unpopular around the world and require the proper international context— both to ensure the logistical support the operation would require and to minimize the blowback from it. The best way to minimize international opprobrium and maximize support (however, grudging or covert) is to strike only when there is a widespread conviction that the Iranians were given but then rejected a superb offer—one so good that only a regime determined to acquire nuclear weapons and acquire them for the wrong reasons would turn it down. Under those circumstances, the United States (or Israel) could portray its operations as taken in sorrow, not anger, and at least some in the international community would conclude that the Iranians "brought it on themselves" by refusing a very good deal.





Of course, Iran - as admitted to by Brookings themselves - is not governed by irrational leadership, and would not turn down a genuinely "superb offer." The Brookings Institution admits openly that the US pursues a dual track foreign policy - one for public consumption (making "superb offers") and another aimed at ensuring Iran looks as unreasonable as possible.

At one point in the policy paper, Brookings would state:



The truth is that these all would be challenging cases to make. For that reason, it would be far more preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for the airstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the more unprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would be very difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of the world recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would have some possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope that Tehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.)



Here, Brookings policymakers openly conspire to undermine global peace by "goading" another nation into a war it neither wants nor will benefit from. Provoking a nation that poses no threat to the national security of the United States is a clear violation of international law - with the Brookings paper serving as a literal signed confession.

Yet despite this open admission, conspiring against world peace, what is of more interest is the United States' plans to disavow any responsibility for an attack it would use its regional proxy, Israel, to carry out in its place. It states specifically under a chapter titled, "Allowing or Encouraging an Israeli Military Strike," that:



...the most salient advantage this option has over that of an American air campaign is the possibility that Israel alone would be blamed for the attack. If this proves true, then the United States might not have to deal with Iranian retaliation or the diplomatic backlash that would accompany an American military operation against Iran. It could allow Washington to have its cake (delay Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon) and eat it, too (avoid undermining many other U.S. regional diplomatic initiatives).



To no one's surprise the British now reports in an article titled, "President Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli jets if they attacked Iranian nuclear facilities last year, claim sources," that:

President Obama is alleged to have stopped an Israeli military attack against Iran's nuclear facilities in 2014 by threatening to shoot down Israeli jets before they could reach their targets, according to reports to emerge from the Middle East at the weekend




The threat from the U.S. forced Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to abort a planned attack on Iraq, reported Kuwaiti newspaper .




Netanyahu will be in Washington for an address to Congress on Tuesday aimed squarely at derailing Obama's cherished bid for a diplomatic deal with Tehran.



Here, the repeats a growing narrative that dovetails neatly into long-standing US foreign policy described by the Brookings Institution's report in 2009 - down to the letter. In fact, the prospect of "shooting down" Israeli planes was discussed as one of many props used in this geopolitical theater.

The US, as prescribed by Brookings, is portrayed as desperately trying to hammer out an almost unreasonable accommodation with Iran, while "mad dog" Israel seeks to unilaterally attack Iran - thus giving the US the plausible deniability it openly claimed it would disingenuously attempt to create ahead of any Israeli attack on Iran. It should be noted that the summation of Israel's military might is a result of long, extensive, and continuous US military support meaning that Israeli military operation is even possible without it.


Also of interest is Israel's habitual, belligerent, serial acts of inhumanity against both its own people and the Palestinians whose land Tel Aviv has seized and continues to occupy. The nature of these acts is not one of self-preservation, but of intentional provocation - creating predictable political divides across the West easily manipulated particularly at times like these where a "regrettable" attack made upon Iran, a nation the West has thus far failed to topple with terrorism, US-backed sedition, sanctions, and covert provocations, is now in the cards.


It is also clear that the 2009 "Which Path to Persia?" policy paper still represents a vivid window into a much deeper and well-entrenched doctrine still to this day being used to reorder the Middle East into alignment with Western special interests. It is a signed confession of a now evident conspiracy against global peace and stability. It should be read, in full, before the United Nations Security Council before those who wrote it and the corporate-financier interests who sponsored it are brought to international justice.


Anything less proves that the United States and its regional proxies, not Iran, are the rogue states, working against global peace and stability, with many standing examples already of their atrocities on display, and more - apparently - still to come.


Lavrov notes serious progress in talks on Iran nuclear program

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

© EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI



Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday noted serious progress in talks on Iran's nuclear program.

"At a meeting with [US Secretary of State John] Kerry and [Iranian Foreign Minister Javad] Zarif, we discussed a number of issues on the Iranian nuclear program," Lavrov said. "We noted serious progress reached at the talks of the P5+1 with Tehran."


"We discussed tasks we have to solve in order to achieve a result within the agreed time frames," he said.


The P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France plus Germany) and Tehran have agreed to extend the deadline for an agreement in the talks on Iran's nuclear program to June 30.


Iran says it needs nuclear power to generate electricity, but Western powers led by the United States claim Iran's eventual aim is to create nuclear weapons.


Twitter reactions to murder of Putin's opponent Nemtsov

The range of reactions to the death of Boris Nemtsov at Twitter is wide: disbelief, sadness, glee. But conspiracy theories are already circulating.

nemtsov

© ITAR -TASS



The murder of Boris Nemtsov is a hot topic in social media in Russia. The polarizing Putin critic excited beyond death's minds, the reactions ranging from disbelief and sadness to gloat.

'Boris Nemtsov... I'm speechless' _Newyorker_ wrote. Another Twitter user wrote:' Of all the so-called opposition Nemtsov was the least hated by the people. Who did he bother?'


Some users also addressed Nemtsov career in the Yeltsin era.' Nemtsov could replace Yeltsin because Yeltsin saw himself in him', YuryBudkin wrote. Others praised Nemtsov use against the war in Ukraine:' Nemtsov was against those who murdered thousands of people in the Donbass', writes MildredSalyer.


Opinion polls suggest the politician Nemtsov familiar only eight percent of the population - hardly surprising that some had no pity on him. azelgao wrote:' I personally - the less we have of such as Nemtsov, the better. He is a thief, and he was killed because there was a command.' Marinashah Was even more explicit:' He was a dog, and he died like a dog.'


Many users were speculations about a' false flag' - operation to hurt Putin, on fertile ground - as previously described the accusations against Ukraine, to be responsible for the launch of the MH17. In a tweet from granovesovs it is translated, " Nemtsov, this is the second Boeing. Behind it but put the Ukrainians.'


Some Russians practiced in the face of murder in gallows humor.' That damn Putin for two years already makes the ratings of' House of Cards' broken. Who cares Underwood, if we have time Crimea, Nemtsov times', wrote progjester. Others tried to mediate and called for decency, as RichmondRussia:' My fellow citizens, whatever Nemtsov was for a man speak ill of a dead man who was not even buried - this is unchristian.'


And some younger heard Nemtsov name claims to be the first time:' Who is Boris Nemtsov' asked @ pluxa551. brabushka wrote:' spanks me not when I ask - who is Nemtsov?'


So just how much of the U.S. does China own?

E-mails sent to Sott.net become the property of Quantum Future Group, Inc and may be published without notice.



Bibi's latest cartoon: Strange map that shows the reach of 'Iranian-backed terrorists'


Bibi cartoon

© Unknown



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference on Monday. He defended his coming and highly controversial speech to Congress, arguing that the US and Israel were strategically and sentimentally close enough to weather even major disagreements.

Netanyahu often uses visuals during high-profile speeches — he famously wielded a cartoon bomb to convey Israel's red lines for Iranian uranium enrichment during a 2012 address to the United Nations. Monday was no different, and the Israeli prime minister used the above map to show how Iran and its militant proxies were present "on five continents."


The map includes some high-profile cases of Iranian perfidy. Bulgaria is marked for the 2012 Hezbollah bombing of a bus of Israeli tourists in the resort city of Burgas, while Nigeria was highlighted for a Hezbollah cell and business network that was uncovered in 2013 and sanctioned by the US Treasury last week.


Other points on the map are a bit more obscure. The Egypt marker seems to refer to the arrest of 49 alleged Hezbollah operatives in Cairo in 2009. And the map omits a couple of big points: Argentina, which was the site of Hezbollah's deadliest external operation, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people; and Syria, where the militant group is leading an offensive along the Israeli-Syrian disengagement line in the Golan Heights.


But the map still conveys one of Netanyahu's main points during his visit to the US: Israel is facing a sophisticated enemy in Tehran with an international reach and aggressive ambitions against his country. And it shows how Hezbollah really is one of the most far-reaching terrorist groups — an organization with operatives and revenue streams across the world.





Comment: This is the 'evidence' Netanyahu musters to accuse Iran? It is similar to the 'evidence' released to blame Putin for the downing of MH17, Crimean accession, Invasion of Ukraine and numerous false flag operations.

Fireballs seen streaking over South Indian state of Kerala

People all over the state were in the grip of panic as balls of fire streaked across the skies on Friday night. The fireballs were seen after 10 pm and in many places, mild tremors and thunder sounds accompanying the fire balls escalated apprehensions among the people.

While the phenomenon was first noticed in Ernakulam district, people from various parts of the state also reported seeing the phenomenon. Minister Adoor Prakash said that there was nothing to be concerned. Earthquake monitoring devices in six districts have not recorded anything unusual, said Ernakulam Collector M G Rajamanikyam. Other agencies such as ISRO and monitoring units of the Navy have also reported nothing unusual.


[embedded content]




Most of the unofficial pictures that are doing the rounds are copies from websites and social media saw imaginations running riot with users even commenting that the sky was falling down in pieces. Many of these pictures were padded with background shots of Kochi to make them look authentic.

People in Kolenchery and Paravur have reported that they have seen some objects falling out of the sky while people across Kottayam and Kozhikode also reported the night sight. According to descriptions, it is believed that the fireballs could have been disintegrating meteors, said Dr K.Mohan Kumar, Professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, CUSAT.


Dr Rajagopal Kammath, a scientist, suggested that there could be three explanations for the fire balls:


1.China's Norad 4063 is believed to have re-entered into earth's atmosphere and since February 23, the disintegrating pieces of the satellite has been lighting up the night sky in many parts of the world. This is the most possible reason. A satellite had fallen in Siberia recently and remnants of that satellite could have caused the streaks.


2.The fireball could be a phenomenon called ball lightening.


3.There is a possibility that the streaks could have been part of a meteor storm, Gamma Normids. Scientists had predicted the event from February 23 to 27.


The sound that people heard was due to sonic boom.