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How many here have followed the news on Hillary Clinton’s former top aid and confidant Huma Abedin, who is now Clinton’s presidential campaign vice chair person? Huma Abedin has faced massive scrutiny (conflict of interest charges) over her work as a consultant for outside clients while simultaneously serving at the State Department. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-huma-abedin-operated-at-the-center-of-the-clinton-universe/2015/08/27/cd099eee-4b32-11e5-902f-39e9219e574b_story.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/nyregion/questions-on-the-dual-role-of-a-clinton-aide-persist.html?_r=1 On another note, Huma Abedin, the longtime confidant to Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, took aim at Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States in an email saying “I’m a proud Muslim.” Why she remains married to Anthony Weiner raises many questions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Weiner_sexting_scandals).

Yesterday, house speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said: “Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islam terror are Muslims.” And that would be who?

Russia has, for the first time, hit ISIS targets in Syria with Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles launched from a submarine in the Mediterranean Sea. The 3M-54 Kalibr missiles were launched from the Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine “Rostov-on-Don”. Russian warships based in the Caspian and Mediterranean seas launched similar cruise missiles strikes on ISIS positions in late November, but this is the first time that Russia has targeted ISIS from a submarine. “[The missiles] targeted two major terrorist positions in the territory of Raqqa,” Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said. “We can say with absolute confidence that significant damage has been inflicted upon ammunition warehouses and a mine production plant, as well as the oil infrastructure.” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said: "We were given advanced notice that they would be carrying out strikes." He added: "We appreciate that," particularly because the Kremlin was not required to do so under a memorandum of understanding signed by Russia and the US to avoid the two sides clashing over Syria. The advanced notice on the cruise missiles was "an additional measure of safety," said Cook. Russia has ratcheted up airstrikes.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., said yesterday: “I think stricter scrutiny is a good idea.” Paul disagrees with having a religious test. “But I think if we want to say there is no religious aspect to this war, I think that’s a big mistake.” “I think there are a lot of people hell-bent on attacking us, and we do have to review who is coming, and how many people come, and where they come from,” said Paul. “I’m no big fan of Donald Trump. … But I also think it’s unfair to say he’s the biggest recruiter for ISIS.” Paul sponsored the Stop Extremists Coming Under Refugee Entry (SECURE) Act, which called for a pause on immigration from 34 countries he says have a “high risk” of terrorism. Fellow presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, voted for the act. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voted against it, and it failed 10-89 on Dec. 3. “Right now, all of Europe can come and visit our country with no visa,” said Paul. “I think that’s a recipe for disaster and we are eventually going to be attacked by people who come from Europe. Why? Because Europe has a significant population now of those who believe that violence is justified.” Paul said he would still begrudgingly support Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee. “I won’t be enthusiastic about it, I won’t be excited about it, but what I have said is I will support the nominee.” Paul blamed the media, polling and debates for Trump’s lead in the GOP race. “Really we have nobody to blame but ourselves if this ends up happening, that he is the nominee.”

Government response time........slow as molasses --------------------------------------------------------------------------- House tightens controls on visa-free travel to US Associated Press / December 8, 2015 The House has approved legislation tightening controls on travel to the U.S. and requiring visas for anyone who's been in Iraq or Syria in the previous five years. (Of course it still needs to to go to the Senate and be signed by the President. Perhaps in five years they’ll have it done. The program should have been suspended after 911, much less within 48 hours of the Paris attack) The bill was approved 407-19. It takes aim at the "visa waiver" program, which allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without first obtaining a visa. Belgium and France, home to most of the perpetrators of the Paris attacks, are among the participating countries. The Syrian refugee bill, which the administration said was unnecessary because the small number of Syrian refugees are (allegedly) extensively screened, has not gone anywhere in the Senate and looks unlikely to advance. The visa waivers bill, on the other hand, may be added to a must-pass year-end spending bill now being finalized on Capitol Hill. There is a different version in the Senate by Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona. The travel industry, which backs the House bill as a balanced approach, says the Senate bill goes too far in adding new biometric requirements for all visa waiver travelers that might be difficult to enact. (There you go.....the needs of the travel industry outweigh all else) The legislation would institute a series of changes, including the new visa requirement for citizens of Iraq, Syria and other countries that are home to extremist groups or anyone who's traveled to those countries in the previous five years. Countries in the visa waiver program would also be required to share information on extremists with the U.S. and face expulsion from the program if they don't (good luck with that). "You have more than 5,000 individuals that have Western passports in this program that have gone to Iraq or Syria in the last five years," said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. "Those are gaps that we need to fix." (so why did it take congress 5 years and a Paris attack to address it?) Some 20 million “visitors” come to the U.S. annually under the visa waiver program. They are screened through an online system maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. But in past years, the (open door policy) program has been used by would-be terrorists, including "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who boarded a flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001 without a visa and attempted to set off a bomb. Zacarias Moussaoui, the "20th hijacker" from 9/11, also flew from London to Chicago with a French passport and no visa in February 2001. A handful of Democratic lawmakers spoke against the visa waiver legislation before its passage. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., said the bill is overbroad in stripping visa waiver privileges from all Syrian and Iraqi nationals and said it should include more exceptions for more people, such as journalists and researchers. "Our focus should be on terrorism, not just country or origin," Ellison said. Separately some lawmakers are also talking about looking at the fiancé visa program utilized by the shooters in San Bernardino, California. That program is already being reviewed by the Homeland Security Department.

Greycart celebrates 25 years operating with ACCO trucks Ausralian Earthmoving / November 18, 2014 The Australian-designed and built ACCO range of trucks has been an integral part of the Australian transport industry since its introduction in the 1960s. Engineered to meet local climatic conditions and stand up to some of the harshest driving conditions in the world, the ACCO is produced at the same manufacturing facility in Dandenong, Victoria where it was born. The iconic truck has become the de facto platform for the vocational market, such as concrete mixers and garbage collection, throughout Australia. The design combines the requirements of high body strength while preserving a light kerb weight which allows an ACCO to withstand the stresses associated with having a constantly revolving heavy load on its back while assuring the best efficiency for its payload class. Queensland-based Greycart Pty Ltd is one company that knows the capabilities of the ACCO well. Ross Books, owner and Managing Director of Greycart, said that his company uses the eight-wheel version of the ACCO with a 7.6 metre agitator on the back to deliver concrete under contract to Boral. Since buying his first ACCO truck in 1986, Books has added to Greycart’s fleet and currently has nine ACCOs driven by his ten full-time drivers. Books’ drivers deliver concrete to a wide variety of commercial and domestic construction jobs, but are also involved in large scale or unusual jobs. “Our trucks have been loaded on to barges and sailed over to Stradbroke [island] to a construction site,” Books stated. “We’ve also been to large infrastructure projects with massive ‘raft slabs’ requiring thousands of cubic metres of concrete to be laid in a single continuous pour.” Concrete is a versatile product, but as soon as the cement and water are mixed, the chemical reaction starts and there are only a few hours in which to deliver the concrete to site before it starts to harden in the truck and become unworkable. “Because of these time constraints, I need a reliable truck for delivering concrete,” Books stated. “Personally, I think that the ACCO is the best vehicle for our industry and why I decided on a common fleet,” said Books. “I did stray briefly, but the alternative was just too heavy a vehicle for the type of work we were doing.” “I like building a long-term relationship with a supplier,” Books added. “I don’t need to have the cheapest, but in this business it is important to have reliable vehicles and the ACCO has been the most reliable for me.” Books says he greatly appreciates the aftersales support Iveco Brisbane provides in keeping his fleet on the road and in more than 25 years can only recall one instance of having to deal with a major fault. Three of Greycart’s ACCOs are based in Brisbane and six are on the Gold Coast. The trucks make a large number of relatively short journeys during their working life with the company. “Most deliveries are no more than 10 kilometres, with an occasional job requiring a 100 km round trip,” Books said. “Hauling concrete is harsh on the vehicles as we clean with an acid wash,” said Books. “This is not the kindest treatment for a truck but the ACCOs stand up to it well so we only have to replace vehicles every five to seven years,” Long-term relationships also apply to the company’s drivers. Of the ten drivers employed by Greycart, most have been with the company for more than five years and the first driver Books employed 10 years ago is still with the company. Two of Books’ sons also drive for Greycart, as does one son’s fiancée. “She was thinking of changing jobs and when I said I needed another driver she said ‘What about me?’” Books stated. “She went out and got her HR licence and has been with us for 12 months now and really knows her product.” Books’ future daughter-in-law joins a growing number of women in the heavy transport industry, but even today less than five per cent of licenced truck drivers are female. While there have been recent government and industry reports warning of the increasing number of unskilled truck drivers on Australian roads, Books stated all his drivers are very conscious of the demands of their job. Controlling a vehicle with up to a 17 tonne load that is constantly moving requires specialist knowledge and additional driving skills. ”As it is rotating, the centre of gravity changes as the mix climbs the side of the bowl,” Books said. “The weight is more on the driver’s side so if you make a left-hand turn too quickly, it’s possible for the whole truck to topple over.” Iveco has introduced Electronic Stability Control (ESC) to the 8×4 ACCO, further enhancing the capability and safety of the vehicle. ESC continuously monitors steering and vehicle direction. When the system detects a probable loss of steering control it asymmetrically applies the brakes to individual wheels. A unique feature of the innovative but functional design of the ACCO is that since the first prototype, every part of its cab-chassis has been manufactured at the Iveco Trucks Australia Dandenong facility. Since its introduction [under International Harvester], more than 79,000 ACCO trucks have been driven off the production line. The engine and drivetrain of the ACCO have been designed to meet the emissions requirements of the ADR 80/03 standard. The engine is one of the latest diesel designs featuring a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, along with ABS brakes, active traction and the latest cooling system. Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/36017-the-legendary-acco-designed-and-built-by-australians/

Prime Mover Magazine / December 8, 2015 Queensland-based subcontractor, Ross Books, has purchased a 2015 Iveco ACCO 8x4 agitator to service a contract with construction and building materials specialist Boral. The new ACCO agitator is the ninth Iveco vehicle to join Books’ fleet, and is the sixth to be purchased new in the last two years. “The latest trucks are as tough and reliable as the ACCO have ever been and they ride beautifully; they have air suspension, air suspended driver’s seat, air conditioning, electric mirrors and windows and Bluetooth – they’ve got all the creature comforts of a modern car – I think they’re a great truck,” said Books. The 2015 ACCO reportedly features an SCR powerplant rated at 340hp / 254kW and 1106 lb ft / 1500 Nm. The engine is coupled to an Allison six-speed automatic transmission. The load sharing, twin steer front axle and Hendrickson air suspension combination allows weight distribution for the 7.6 cm³ Cesco bowl, allowing up to 11 tonnes over the front axles. The ACCO 8x4 agitator boasts electronic stability control (ESC), which Books said is required for the Boral contract. According to Iveco, reliability was also a key consideration for Books, as concrete is a time-sensitive product, with service being judged on timely delivery and on the concrete’s ‘slump’ performance, or the measure of the consistency and workability of fresh concrete. “We carry a product that actually ages very quickly, the concrete should be out of the bowl within an hour and a half of batching. And it’s all about consistency, especially if you have a concrete pump on site doing a major pour, the concrete needs to be turning up at the right intervals. “If timing is out, it’s more difficult to blend the concrete and you can get what’s referred to as a ‘cold joint’, which can cause cracks in the finished product. While delivery and timing calculations are handled via a centralised computer system at Boral’s head office, our control in the process is to operate reliable vehicles. “The ACCOs provide great value for money and their resale value is also good, they’re a known product, they’re an industry standard.” .

Indiana man murders 6-year-old boy Associated Press / December 7, 2015 A 6-year-old northern Kentucky child was fatally stabbed in his bedroom Monday during an early morning robbery. Ronald Exantus, 32, broke into the Kentucky home, took a large knife from the kitchen, and went upstairs to 6-year-old Logan Tipton’s bedroom where he fatally stabbed the sleeping child multiple times. Four young children had been sleeping in the bedroom during the 4 a.m. break-in. Tipton’s father rushed into the room and managed to detain Exantus until police arrived and took him into custody about 3:50 a.m. Investigators are trying to figure out why Exantus, whose Woodford County inmate record lists as living 175 miles northwest of Versailles in Indianapolis, was in the area. Exantus faces charges of murder and first-degree burglary. His bond was set at $1 million. He was also charged with three counts of assault for cutting Logan’s two sisters and fighting Logan’s father. He was removed to Woodford County Detention Center. Police say Exantus has confessed to the killing. .

Obama’s terror speech perfectly highlights reasons for Trump’s rise Reuters / December 7, 2015 Here’s President Barack Obama on the war against Islamic State: “Our success won’t depend on tough talk or abandoning or values or giving into fear. . . . We will prevail by being strong and smart.” Here’s Donald Trump: “Every time things get worse, I do better. Because people have confidence in me.” He promised, “We’re going to be so tough and so mean and so nasty.” What we’re seeing right now in American politics is class warfare. But not the kind of class warfare Bernie Sanders would understand. It’s not the working class versus the 1 percent. It’s the working class versus the educated elite. In fact, one of the richest men in the world is leading the revolt: Trump. Trump’s support for the Republican nomination is not defined by ideology or age or gender. It’s defined by education. Among GOP voters with a college degree in the latest CNN poll, Trump comes in fourth with just 18 percent. But he has a huge lead among non-college voters — 46 percent. No other candidate comes close. Today, in the United States, the richer you are, the more likely you are to vote Republican. The better educated you are, the more likely you are to vote Democratic. We saw it in the last presidential race. It was Mitt Romney, the prince of wealth, versus Obama, the prince of education. Romney lost because of his elitist economic values. He was Mr. 1 Percent, disdainful of the “47 percent” who, he argued, are dependent on government. Trump, on the other hand, is rallying white working class voters. Not around their economic interests. Around their values. Trump is the anti-Obama. He was the first Republican candidate to challenge Obama on the “birther” issue. To Trump supporters, Obama is the ultimate educated snob — the candidate who, in 2012, was disdainful of hard-pressed small-town voters who “cling to guns and religion . . . or anti-immigrant sentiment.” Obama insists on facts. “We need to know all the facts,” he said immediately after the San Bernadino killings. Trump doesn’t deal in facts. The New York Times just completed a comprehensive analysis of every public statement by Trump over the past week. The conclusion? “Mr. Trump uses rhetoric to erode people’s trust in facts, numbers, nuance, government and the news media.” He still claims he saw “thousands and thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey cheering and celebrating after the 9/11 attacks, even though there is no factual basis for the claim. Trump does not hide his contempt for Obama. “There is something going on with him that we don’t know about,” Trump said at a recent campaign rally. He doesn’t think Obama’s smart: “How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?” Unlike himself: “When you’re really, really smart like I am . . . ” Trump said. Trump spent his first two college years at Fordham University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School. The two men exhibit two different kinds of intelligence — book smarts versus money smarts. Guess which one Americans admire more. Obama is thoughtful, knowledgeable and progressive: the professor-in-chief. He’s always had trouble connecting with white working-class voters. He lost them to Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Given the anger and fear that has seized the country, a lot of voters are looking for an altogether different kind of leader than Obama. “The nation needs a wartime president,” Senator Ted Cruz said. Someone who can be trusted to keep them safe. Trump pledges to keep out immigrants who might be recruited to the terrorist cause. Obama calls for gun control. “As if somehow terrorists care about what our gun laws are,” presidential aspirant Senator Marco Rubio said. Resentment of education has always been stronger than resentment of wealth in the United States. Especially since the educated elite has come to embrace liberal cultural values — values that conservatives denounce as “political correctness.” No one is less politically correct than Trump. He claimed that some people failed to report suspicions about the California killers because of concerns about racial profiling. “We have become so politically correct that we don’t know what the hell we’re doing,” Trump said. Trump’s appeal to Republicans isn’t based on conservative ideology. It’s because many Republicans share his hatred of Obama. Republicans are rallying to Trump’s cause and may even nominate him. But white working class voters are a shrinking part of the electorate. Most Americans will be uneasy at the prospect of electing a hater to be their president. In fact, a new NBC News-Telemundo poll shows Hillary Clinton beating him by 12 points.

In America, a baby is born addicted to drugs every 19 minutes. But doctors aren’t alerting social services to thousands of these infants, many of whom come to harm in narcotics-addicted families. Brayden Cummings turned 6 weeks old the morning his mother suffocated him. High on methamphetamine, Xanax and the methadone prescribed to help her kick a heroin habit, 20-year-old Tory Schlier told police that she was “fuzzy” about what happened to her baby boy. Police weren’t. In an affidavit, the officer who went to Schlier’s house on October 17, 2014, said the mother had fallen asleep on Brayden, “causing him to asphyxiate.” Like more than 130,000 other children born in the United States in the last decade, Brayden entered the world hooked on drugs – a dependency inherited from a drug-addicted mother. A 12-year-old federal law calls on states to take steps to safeguard babies like Brayden after they leave the hospital. However, that effort is failing across the nation, endangering a generation of children born into America’s growing addiction to heroin and opioids. In his first three weeks of life, Brayden suffered through a form of newborn drug dependency called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. He trembled and wailed inconsolably, clenching his muscles and sometimes gasping for breath as he went through withdrawal. When Brayden improved, Lehigh Valley Hospital released him to Schlier and the boy’s father, a 48-year-old with a criminal record. But doctors neglected to alert child protection workers to the baby or his drug-addicted mother. Three weeks later, Brayden was dead. “I’d say he didn’t have a chance in life,” said David Cummings, Brayden’s grandfather. “He was doomed, that kid, he really was.” Reuters identified 110 cases since 2010 that are similar to Brayden’s: babies and toddlers whose mothers used opioids during pregnancy and who later died preventable deaths. Being born drug-dependent didn’t kill these children. Each recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital. What sealed their fates was being sent home to dysfunctional families unable to care for them. Like Brayden, more than 40 of the children suffocated. Thirteen died after swallowing toxic doses of methadone, heroin, oxycodone or other opioids. In one case, a baby in Oklahoma died after her mother, high on methamphetamine and opioids, put the 10-day-old girl in a washing machine with a load of dirty laundry. The cases illustrate fatal flaws in the attempts to address what President Barack Obama has called America’s “epidemic” of opioid addiction, a crisis fed by the ready availability of prescription painkillers and cheap heroin. In 2003, when Congress passed the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act, about 5,000 drug-dependent babies were born in the United States. That number has grown dramatically in the years since. Using hospital discharge records, there were over 27,000 “diagnosed” cases of drug-dependent newborns in 2013, the latest year for which data are available. On average, one baby was born dependent on opioids every 19 minutes. Federal law requires states to protect each of these babies, regardless of whether the drugs their mothers took were illicit or prescribed, by alerting child protection authorities so that social workers can ensure the newborn’s safety after the hospital sends the child home. However, most states are ignoring the federal law. 36 states have laws or policies that don’t require doctors to report each case. Only 9 states and the District of Columbia conform with the federal law. In three-quarters of the 110 fatalities, the mother was implicated in her child’s death; in others, her boyfriend, husband or another relative was. In 75 of the cases, child protection workers were notified but didn’t take protective measures specified in the federal law. In Brayden’s case and a dozen more, hospitals didn’t report a drug-dependent baby’s condition to social services and the child died after being sent home. “Those kids could and should be alive today and thriving,” said former U.S. Representative Jim Greenwood, a Republican from Pennsylvania who authored the provisions in the 2003 federal law. “I would’ve hoped that the whole system – starting at the federal and state levels, the obstetricians and pediatricians – would’ve gotten it straight by now. That they haven’t is a national disgrace.”

Donald Trump "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine." "Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life." "Great surveillance and vigilance must be adhered to. We want to be very fair but too many bad things are happening and the percentage of true hatred is too great." When asked if his ban “would include Muslim-American citizens currently abroad,” Trump said, ‘Everyone.’” Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing '25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad.' 51% of those polled 'agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah.' Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won't convert, beheadings, death-by-stoning and other barbaric acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women. In Saudi Arabia where their legal system is based on Sharia, punishments include flogging, amputation, eye gouging, death-by-stoning and beheading. .

The Isis papers: leaked documents show how Isis is building its state The Guardian / December 7, 2015 Blueprint lays bare new contours of Islamic state, complete with civil service, regional government and Soviet levels of economic control A leaked internal Islamic State manual (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/07/islamic-state-document-masterplan-for-power) shows how the terrorist group has set about building a state in Iraq and Syria complete with government departments, a treasury and an economic programme for self-sufficiency, the Guardian can reveal. The 24-page document, obtained by the Guardian, sets out a blueprint for establishing foreign relations, a fully fledged propaganda operation, and centralised control over oil, gas and the other vital parts of the economy. The manual, written last year and entitled Principles in the administration of the Islamic State, lays bare Isis’s state-building aspirations and the ways in which it has managed to set itself apart as the richest and most destabilising jihadi group of the past 50 years. Together with other documents obtained by the Guardian, it builds up a picture of a group that, although sworn to a founding principle of brutal violence, is equally set on more mundane matters such as health, education, commerce, communications and jobs. In short, it is building a state. As western aircraft step up their aerial war on Isis targets in Syria, the implication is that the military task is not simply one of battlefield arithmetic. Isis is already far more than the sum of its fighters. The document – written as a foundation text to train “cadres of administrators” in the months after Isis’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria on 28 June 2014 – sketches out how to organise government departments including education, natural resources, industry, foreign relations, public relations and military camps. Dated some time between July and October 2014, it details how Isis will build separate training camps for regular troops and veteran fighters. Veterans, it says, should go on a fortnight’s refresher course each year to receive instruction in the “latest arts of using weapons, military planning and military technologies”. It says they will also be given a “detailed commentary on the technologies” of the enemy and “how the soldiers of the state can take advantage of them”. The statecraft manual recommends a department for administering the military camps, a complex arrangement that, as described, goes well beyond the capabilities of al-Qaida in Afghanistan during the time it plotted the 9/11 attacks. The document reveals for the first time that Isis always intended to train children in the arts of war. Isis propaganda from this year has clearly shown children being drilled, and even made to shoot captives. But the text, authored by an Egyptian called Abu Abdullah, is explicit about the intention to do so from mid- to late 2014. Children, it says, will be receive “training on bearing light arms” and “outstanding individuals” will be “selected from them for security portfolio assignments, including checkpoints, patrols”. The text highlights the need for Isis to achieve a unified culture encompassing foreigners and natives and sets out the need for self-sufficiency by establishing its own independent “factories for local military and food production” and creating “isolated safe zones” for providing for local needs. The document came from a businessman working within Isis via the academic researcher Aymenn al-Tamimi, who has worked over the past year to compile the most thorough log of Isis documents available to the public. For safety reasons, the Guardian cannot reveal further information about the businessman but he has leaked nearly 30 documents in all, including a financial statement from one of Isis’s largest provinces. Isis has suffered military setbacks in recent weeks, and some Sunni Arabs from Raqqa have indicated that its statecraft might be better on paper than it is in practice. But Tamimi said the playbook, along with a further 300 Isis documents he has obtained over the past year, showed that building a viable country rooted in fundamentalist theology was the central aim. “[isis] is a project that strives to govern. It’s not just a case of their sole end being endless battle.” Gen Stanley McChrystal (retired), who led the military units that helped destroy Isis’s predecessor organisation (ISI) in Iraq from 2006 to 2008, said: “If it is indeed genuine, it is fascinating and should be read by everyone – particularly policymakers in the west. “If the west sees Isis as an almost stereotypical band of psychopathic killers, we risk dramatically underestimating them. “In the Principles in the administration of the Islamic State, you see a focus on education (really indoctrination) beginning with children but progressing through their ranks, a recognition that effective governance is essential, thoughts on their use of technology to master information (propaganda), and a willingness to learn from the mistakes of earlier movements. “It’s not a big departure from the works of Mao, the practices of the Viet Minh in Indochina, or other movements for whom high-profile actions were really just the tip of a far more nuanced iceberg of organising activity. Charlie Winter, a senior researcher for Georgia State University who has seen the document, said it demonstrated Isis’s high capacity for premeditation. “Far from being an army of irrational, bloodthirsty fanatics, IS [isis] is a deeply calculating political organisation with an extremely complex, well-planned infrastructure behind it.” Lt Gen Graeme Lamb, former head of UK special forces, said the playbook carried a warning for current military strategy. Referring to sections of the statecraft text in which Isis repeatedly claims it is the only true representatives of Sunni Arab Muslims in the region, Lamb said it was all the more important to ensure wider Sunni leadership in the fight with Isis, or risk “fuelling this monster”. “Seeing Daesh [isis] and the caliphate as simply a target to be systematically broken by forces other than Middle Eastern Sunnis … is to fail to understand this fight. “It must be led by the Sunni Arab leadership and its many tribes across the region, with us in the west and the other religious factions in the Middle East acting in support. “It is not currently how we are shaping the present counter-Isis campaign, thereby setting ourselves up for potential failure.” Related reading - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/07/isis-papers-guardian-syria-iraq-bureaucracy

Pakistan threatens U.S. media against reporting on California shooter Reuters / December 6, 2015 Pakistani security forces this weekend tried to stamp out reporting on the background of Pakistan-born Tashfeen Malik. Pakistan's security officials told reporters to drop their investigations into her background on pain of arrest, and three professors at Malik's university said they had been advised not to talk to the media. Pakistani security, who refused to provide identification, sought to discourage Reuters from further reporting on Malik's background, threatening journalists with arrest for unspecified offences. "Whether you consider this a request or a dictation (order), I would advise you not to pursue this story," one said. Tim Craig, a reporter from the Washington Post, tweeted that police had prevented him from leaving his hotel in Multan. "I've lost track of how many different security/intel officials I've had to talk to, copy my passport, etc in past 17 hours - think 12 to 16," he tweeted. On Sunday, three professors at Bahauddin Zakariya University, which Malik attended, said they had been instructed by security agencies not to speak to reporters. One, who asked not to be named, said security officials visited the university on Saturday and removed records and pictures of Malik.

Big Rigs / December 4, 2015 SOMEONE should have told the people mourning the death of the Australian automotive manufacturing industry about the three truck factories currently operating in Australia. Plus, of course, the Nissan Casting operation in Dandenong that supplies parts for the global Nissan group. With a market that is tiny compared to overseas juggernauts such as the US and China, Australia hosts three truck manufacturing plants that are each providing specialist commercial vehicles to a wide range of applications. The profitability of these plants is clearly not totally dependant on mass production volume. As a contrast to Australia's tiny market, 10 years ago there were 1.12 million six-tonne GVM and over trucks manufactured in China alone. In 2010, that figure had exploded to 3.92 million. In 2012 it had shrunk back to a "mere" 3.02 million. It kind of puts our 2014 total truck market of 31,325 in context. One plant has production lines that build Volvo and Mack trucks, as well as pre-delivering UD trucks from Japan, which are imported fully built-up. Paccar builds Kenworth trucks on 45 acres at Bayswater, about 35 kilometers due east of Melbourne, and the plant has been in production since 1971. About 65% of every Kenworth built is local content and more than 750 people work onsite, with a lot more at associated suppliers. The local specialist engineering team has enabled Kenworth to build the massive C540 mining truck for Australasian delivery on the existing production line. In 2012, Paccar Australia was inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame and has now delivered its 50,000th Kenworth manufactured in Australia. That's why you see so many of the iconic rectangular grilles filling your rear-vision mirror. Iveco inherited the 63-year-old International Harvester plant in Dandenong, Victoria, back in 1992 and then dropped International from the product range. Now the plant is used for final preparation of the imported Eurocargo, Stralis and Daily but builds the perennial Acco from scratch. Interestingly, Acco competes in the same market as imported trucks built in their hundreds of thousands overseas and is still price and quality competitive. Bang goes the "it's too expensive to build here" argument. The brand models that these three truck plants produce for Australia totaled 7,609 units in 2013, dropped 5% to 7229 units last year, and are heading towards 6,901 for the full 2015 year. Despite a downward trend, the factories are continuing to support domestic Australian manufacture and although there are several reasons for that, the most significant is the level of custom features and components that are required in the range of applications in Australia. For example, the development of Iveco's conventional cab Powerstar would have never happened if it was left to the Italian production line, where space is allocated according to market volume. The recent road train version, the 7800, is a classic example of a European truck maker "Australianising" a series production truck for a local application - multi-trailer road trains in the Australian Outback. The Australian automotive manufacturing industry is not dead. For the trucking sector, which is the lifeblood of our country, it's alive and thriving.

Transport Engineer / December 7, 2015 Dublin-based transport business Dixon International has placed an order for 30 new Volvo FH 4x2 and 6x2 trucks. Supplied by dealer Irish commercials, 10 of the vehicles are already in operation at the operator’s new UK depot in Rugby; the remainder will be delivered in January to Dublin, where Dixon is investing in a custom-built HQ, near Dublin Airport. All are specified with 460bhp Euro 6 engines, Globetrotter cabs and Volvo’s I-Shift automated transmission with I-See GPS technology. I-Park Cool integral air con systems are fitted for when the trucks are parked up. Other features include the now standard lane keeping and emergency braking functions, while Dixons also selected lane change support, adaptive cruise control and Volvo’s Visibility Plus package. “We have a long relationship with Irish Commercials and Volvo in meeting our high expectations,” explains Michael Dixon, managing director. “The FH is a quality product and is received very well by our drivers. It is very fuel-efficient which is always a key factor for us and this is helped by Volvo’s telematics system, Dynafleet, which is fitted to all makes in our fleet.” He adds: “We also find that the Volvos maintain excellent residual value, which makes quite a difference when the time comes to trade them in.” .

Scania Group Press Release / December 4, 2015

“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy” President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Infamy Speech of December 8, 1941 Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its Government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese Ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack. It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. Yesterday the Japanese Government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night the Japanese attacked Wake Island. This morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island. Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation. As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire."

Freightliner Trucks Press Release / December 4, 2015

The Morning Call / December 5, 2015 Wade Watson describes himself as a fixer, a person who thrives on change and likes a lot of it. So perhaps it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that when Watson arrived in the area in May as the new vice president and general manager of Mack Trucks Lehigh Valley Operations, he had some questions about the iconic heavy-duty truck manufacturer's local presence. Among his thoughts: What are the strengths of the Lehigh Valley compared with other areas? Does the local community support Mack? And should Mack expand in the area? First, Watson said he found the company's 1,866 local employees are committed and skilled at building Mack trucks. "That's not something that can easily be picked up and moved," Watson said. Not as immediately obvious, Watson said, was support from the community. But soon after, Watson said, he found "there was an absolute desire and a willingness of the business community to embrace Mack Trucks." And at a Nov. 11 Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. event, Watson made it clear that Mack is here to stay. At the event, Watson also announced some planned changes at Mack's 1 million-square-foot plant in Lower Macungie Township. Those include expanding the building's south end by adding receiving docks and putting a new facade on the 40-year-old plant. Watson, who originally wanted to be an architect, has helped bring about change since joining Volvo Group — Mack's parent company — in 2001. Before starting at Mack Trucks, Watson was the vice president of operations for Volvo Powertrain North America in Hagerstown, Md., bringing in $70 million in investments to the plant during his nearly five-year run in that position that started in 2010. Watson, a 41-year-old Zionsville resident, spoke to The Morning Call last week in his Lower Macungie office, discussing everything from watching "Cars" with his 3-year-old son to where he thinks Mack has room to grow its business moving forward. Here are excerpts from the interview: Q. You started here in May. How's everything been going so far? A. It'd been a long time since [my wife and I] had moved or taken this much change all at once. We lived in the last house we were in for seven years. It was a lot of change, taking a new job, a new house. We've been married for 21 years, and we have a 3-year-old at home, so that's also new for us, having a son. So it's been a lot of change, a lot to take in, but it's been really positive as far as a place to live. It's a really great place to be. It seems like everyone we meet really recognizes the Lehigh Valley is something special and everything from parks to family restaurants to the Phantoms. A lot of great things to do around here. Q. What are some of the first things that come to mind when you think of a Mack truck? A. The first thing is a bulldog. Rugged. Tough. I'm a visual person, so automatically I'm looking at the grill, so I can see the grill of the Mack truck. It's an American icon. I was watching "Cars" with my son the other day, and Mack is the truck that's pulling Lightning McQueen. Really, it's a source of pride for me to be part of a brand and an organization that has been part of the fabric of the United States for over 100 years. Q. At the Lehigh Valley's Economic Development Corp's event Nov. 11, you made it clear that Mack is here to stay in the Lehigh Valley. When you got here in May, was that the case? A. As a new leader, new executive, new manager, the first thing you have to do is kind of question everything and you put everything on the table and look at the overall picture of financial performance and expansion and growth and market conditions and all of that. And, in doing that, you have to challenge everything: the location, the investment. Those questions were raised. Should we and to what magnitude could we expand? Is this a good place to do business comparatively? What are the strengths and the draw of this area compared to others? Through all that — call it fact-checking or, for me, it was learning because I had to learn the operation and learn the performance of the group — it proved that No. 1, the workforce here, they are committed and skilled at building Mack trucks and that's not something that can easily be picked up and moved. The thing that wasn't evident in that early fact-finding time frame was: How much does the community support having a manufacturer here? When I looked at the previous — my predecessors — what did they have as far as contacts with economic development or the state of Pennsylvania or elected officials and how did they work with the community on making sure that we were a viable competitor? The list was pretty short, and I was surprised that for a business that had been present for so long, that there wasn't this really interwoven … that Mack was part of the fabric of the economic development community and part of the political community here. So I had to question why did that happen or how did we end up like that. It didn't take long that I found that there was an absolute desire and a willingness of the business community to embrace Mack Trucks. But somehow, over time, we had kind of retracted a little bit and maybe we were dealing with our own internal issues. We've had a lot of changes over the years. This is a very industrious region. It started with the local township going through economic development all the way to the state of Pennsylvania. What I've seen is a great desire to keep us exactly where we are, and that's very important for us to be competitive. There are a lot of states out there that are wooing and trying to attract different plants or manufacturers. If you don't have that kind of relationship or that kind of embrace where the local community really wants you to grow and stay where you are and retain jobs and all that, then it can be an uphill battle when you need simple things or complex things. We need permits to build. We need support from local authorities on what the facade of the building is going to look like. We need sometimes traffic control or road changes and all that kind of thing. And if we don't have that kind of support and relationship, it becomes very difficult. It became evident that we have that. Q. Do you have plans to get Mack Trucks more involved in the community? A. Something that I think is very important is for a company of our size, the interaction that we have with the community, both from a corporate social responsibility perspective and also just how are we perceived in the community at large. I think it's very important for us to demonstrate that, at Volvo Group and Mack Trucks, we are very focused on making sure that the community around us feels a positive impact of our business being in that community, whether it's from volunteerism or our employees and their interaction in what they do or it's fiscally with the taxes or the contributions we make in that way or corporate sponsorships to nonprofits. This is an area that we could really increase our footprint and we have an intention of doing that. You'll start to see more people involved in the community — on boards or volunteer programs and sponsorships. You'll start to see more of a presence from us to make sure that people get the sense that Mack is here and that's a good thing and that we leave a positive imprint on the community around us. Q. With Mack's two planned site improvements — adding receiving docks and a new facade — what's the status of those and what are they aimed at bolstering? A. If I put them into those two greater buckets, one is the customer experience in the admin building, so the things that we're going to do on this front half and facing Alburtis Road. We have the civil engineering work, I would say, 90 percent complete on the first two phases. It's a four-phased project that we're going to do. We have some modified permits that we had to get through the local township because we changed the parking lot layout. We have a preliminary approval from the township that it all looks good, and that's a good first step. So then we have some long lead-time items: steel, structure and some things that need to be ordered. We're in the process of getting those things ordered, so I would say we're in the early stages of beginning construction. This half of the building, I would expect in the first quarter of next year, will be vacated and under construction, where we're sitting now. I expect that probably through 2016 that we should get the first half of this part of the work done. Inside the plant, increasing the dock capacity and changing the flow of material to go instead of from the ends, from the sides. And change the internal flows. We're starting the first internal movements for that in January and I hope that by the end of 2017, that's all complete. The majority of the heavy lifting — the planning, what do we want to do and why do we want to do it — that part is done and we're beginning to get into execution phase. Q. Heavy-duty truck production is expected to peak this year, but where do you think Mack can grow its business moving forward? A. There's a lot of potential in long haul and I think we have a very competitive truck in long haul and it's a matter of making sure that our customers view us that way and our dealers view us that way. That we have great fuel economy, a very safe vehicle. It's connected with telematics. We have state-of-the-art technology. I believe that we deserve a bigger piece of that market, and I think that will come. The market as a whole, when the energy sector comes back — and it will — I think that if you look at some of the market conditions driving that with oil prices and those kinds of things, we attract the energy sector and the housing starts and a few other things, but I think those things will come back and pose some opportunities for us. Q. For you personally, are you here for the long haul? A. We moved here, so that was a big step. I don't have any plans beyond that, other than we settled in Zionsville. We love our house. We put a pool in, which you can't get that money back. We have to use that for a number of years in order to get some kind of a payback. I think, for my expectations, I could see us staying here for quite some time. There's lots of work to do here, and there's lots of fun stuff to do in the area. .

Falling Class 8 orders: A bad omen for trucking? Fleet Owner / December 4, 2015 The rapid decline of Class 8 orders in November is one of several signs a sooner-than-expected slump may be ahead for trucking, according to analysts. With preliminary Class 8 net orders for November dropping below expectations, added alongside broader declines in U.S. manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, there’s growing concern among analysts that the trucking industry may be poised to hit a rough patch far sooner than expected. “Based on what we were seeing, we thought freight and truck sales would stay strong through the end of 2015 and into 2016, with a downturn beginning at some point in the second half of 2016,” Kenny Vieth, president & senior analyst with ACT Research Co., told Fleet Owner. ACT’s previous forecast held that 2017 would be the “horrible year” for trucking, but Vieth said some new factors seem to be speeding up its approach. “We didn’t fully anticipate the big sustained drop in commodity process – especially the price of oil – and the strong dollar, which means the U.S. is exporting less,” he explained. “Falling commodity prices means freight is drying up and that is freeing up [truck] capacity. Meanwhile, exporting less means manufactures like Caterpillar can’t sell as many machines overseas, so they start producing less and that reduces freight further.” Don Ake, VP-commercial vehicles for research firm FTR, added that other data metrics – such as weak retail sales and rising inventories – also slowed freight demand. “We got worried because inventories increased over the last three months at a time when they should have been falling,” he told Fleet Owner. “Meanwhile, retail sales have declined in each of the last four months. They are down 6% at a time when they should be up between 5% and 10% due to the [holiday] season.” Though FTR predicted in September that truck and trailer sales would start falling in 2016, Ake said the Class 8 order trends through the summer into early fall gave all the indications of a “soft landing,” especially since August’s Class 8 net orders hovered around the 19,000 unit mark. “We figured, if that’s the bottom of the cycle, that’s not bad; we’ll be OK coming out of summer and experience a soft landing,” Ake said. But when FTR’s preliminary North American Class 8 truck net orders hit 16,475 units in November, 59% below a year ago and the lowest level since September 2012, Ake characterized it as a “major disappointment.” “This was the weakest November order activity since 2009, coming in significantly below expectations,” he explained. “All of the OEMs, except one, experienced unusually low orders for the month.” Ake added that a sub-16,500 unit order rate “doesn’t support our forecast” for 272,000 total North American Class 8 sales for 2016; a forecast already slashed 15% from the firm’s September guidance of 290,000 units. “There’s significant downside to our forecast now,” he said. “Basically, the industry would appear to have enough new trucks for now.” In terms of the broader U.S. economy, Lindsey Piegza – chief economist at Stifel Fixed Income – noted some other troubling trends for trucking, with the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing Index falling from 59.2 to 55.9 in November, marking the lowest reading since May. Also, she said durable goods orders were revised down from a 3% increase in October to 2.9%, leaving the annual rate downgraded to 0.4%. Capital goods orders excluding aircraft and defense – a proxy for business spending in the GDP [gross domestic product] calculation – also stood unchanged at 1.3% in ISM’s final October report and up 0.4% year-over-year. “Despite a decline in manufacturing production, the service sector had been able to maintain robust levels of activity, at least until now,” Piegza said in a research update. “At this point, however, the service sector, too, appears to be losing momentum amid lingering barriers to growth such as modest hiring and minimal income gains, pulling service activity down to the weakest reading in six months.” She stressed that as a more pronounced sector relative to manufacturing accounting for more than a third of the economy, should service activity continue to retreat, “the U.S. economy will have little hope of maintaining the status quo, let alone gain momentum as we head into the New Year.” FTR’s Ake noted that all of this is going to make December “a critical month” in terms of the future direction of North America Class 8 net orders. “If we see a number above 25,000 units, we’ll be OK. And that has happened before; in 2013 we got ‘faked out’ by poor November orders of 21,000 and then they shot up to 31,000 that December. It could happen again,” he said. “But if we get a number under 20,000 units, that’s a problem,” Ake warned.

Transport Topics / December 4, 2015 FCA US, the North American automaking unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., said it will invest $40 million to convert 179 trucks in its private fleet to run on compressed natural gas and to build the largest private CNG fueling station in North America in Detroit. The move also will create the largest private fleet of CNG-powered heavy-duty vehicles in the state of Michigan, company officials said Dec. 4. FCA Transport (formerly Chrysler Group Transport) ranks No. 6 on Transport Topics’ list of the largest private carriers in the manufacturing sector with 331 tractors, 13 straight trucks and 1,294 trailers. “Our transition to CNG reflects the way FCA US attempts to balance our search for profitability with social responsibility and community development, including environmental stewardship,” said Steve Beahm, senior vice president, supply chain management. “This project offered a solid business case, clear environmental benefits and an opportunity to invest in our Detroit facility and workforce.” FCA Transport, which delivers parts to assembly plants from suppliers and other FCA US plants, expects to trim fuel costs by 35% and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 16,000 tons a year following the conversion to CNG. The company said it has spent $1.8 million to modify a maintenance facility to handle the new fleet and another $5 million for a new fueling station built by TruStar Energy.

German government slams Saudi Arabia Associated Press / December 6, 2015 German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Sunday said Saudi Arabia must stop financing fundamentalist mosques abroad which are accused of breeding extremism. “From Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi mosques are financed throughout the world,” said Gabriel. “In Germany many extremists considered dangerous persons emerge from these communities,” he said. Gabriel, head of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), urged decisive steps in Germany against radical mosques associated with Wahhabism. “This radical fundamentalism taking place in Salafist mosques is no less dangerous than right-wing extremism,” he said. The head of the SPD parliamentary group, Thomas Oppermann, also urged steps against preaching that contradicts the basic freedoms guaranteed in the German constitution. “We will prevent Saudi help in the building or financing of mosques in Germany where Wahhabi ideas are to be disseminated,” he said. Wahhabism provided the “complete ideology of ISIS and contributes in other countries to a radicalisation of moderate Muslims,” he said, adding that “this is something we don’t need and don’t want in Germany”. A damning report on Saudi Arabia by Germany’s foreign intelligence service, the BND, accuses Saudi Arabia of an increasingly “impulsive” foreign policy with the goal of becoming the “leaders of the Arab world”.

European Parliament warns ISIS planning to wage chemical and biological war on West Associated Press / December 6, 2015 A European Parliament report (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/572806/EPRS_BRI%282015%29572806_EN.pdf) says ISIS has recruited experts with chemistry, physics and computer science degrees to wage war with weapons of mass destruction against the West. ISIS 'may be planning to try to use internationally banned weapons of mass destruction in future attacks'. The document, which was compiled in the aftermath of the deadly attacks on Paris, claims ISIS has already smuggled WMD material into Europe. Experts fear that ISIS will be able to exploit a failure of EU governments to share information on possible terrorists. Already, British police forces have been conducting exercises on how to deal with various types of terrorist attack. But the EU report says governments should 'consider publicly addressing the possibility of terrorist attack using chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear materials'. The report, ISIL/Da'esh and 'non-conventional' weapons of terror warns: 'At present, European citizens are not seriously contemplating the possibility that extremist groups might use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) materials during attacks in Europe. Under these circumstances, the impact of such an attack, should it occur, would be even more destabilising.' Rob Wainwright, head of Europol said after the attacks on Paris: 'We are dealing with a very serious, well-resourced, determined international terrorist organisation that is now active on the streets of Europe. 'This represents the most serious terrorist threat faced in Europe for 10 years.' Mr Wainwright warned that ISIS had serious capabilities in terms of resources and manpower.' Wolfgang Rudischhauser, Director of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Non-Proliferation Centre at NATO said: 'ISIS actually has already acquired the knowledge, and in some cases the human expertise, that would allow it to use CBRN materials as weapons of terror.' The report says 'ISIL/Da'esh has recruited and continues to recruit hundreds of foreign fighters, including some with degrees in physics, chemistry and computer science, who experts believe have the ability to manufacture lethal weapons from raw substances.' EU governments have been warned to watch out for 'other radicalised individuals, who have access to, or work in, sensitive areas'. Intelligence services have also been warned to screen returning Jihadi fighters for 'specialist CBRN knowledge'. The European Parliament study states that 150 cases of nuclear or radiological trafficking are reported annually. Worse still: 'CBRN substances have been carried undetected into the European Union. 'Interpol's monthly CBRN intelligence reports show numerous examples of attempts to acquire, smuggle or use CBRN materials.'

Tashfeen Malik: who was the 'shy housewife' turned San Bernardino killer? The Guardian / December 6, 2015 Criminal profilers said the veneer of normality was a key component of the couple’s plan to build an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons and home-made pipe bombs and carry out the killings, because it minimized the risk of discovery. But the profilers said that it was highly unusual for a woman – and especially a new mother – to engage in a form of visceral, predatory violence that the clinical literature associates almost exclusively with men. “This is not a woman who has your typical maternal instincts,” said Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former top behaivoural analyst for the FBI who now directs the forensic science program at George Mason University. “This is very planned, strategic behavior,” O’Toole said. “They have this baby, and what makes a family more normal or traditional than to have a baby? Yet they maintained a plan for mission-oriented, cold-blooded, maximum violence for weeks or months. It suggests the possibility that the baby was in part a prop to help them look normal.” Park Dietz, who has been profiling mass killers for more than 30 years, said he was unaware of any case of a couple erupting in mass violence when the targeted victims were not family members or people perceived to have harmed their child. “The necessary ingredients for an attack of this kind are to be willing to die that day and an inclination to blame other people, either out of paranoia or a direct grievance,” Dietz said. The mystery surrounding Malik extends to her background in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. (As has been said by U.S. state governors, it is realistically impossible to perform adequately comprehensive factual background checks on people from the Middle East and Western Asia). Relatives of Malik in Pakistan, estranged from their wealthy family members who live in Saudi Arabia, said she used to wear Western-style clothing, but later switched to more traditional garments such as a burka, which covers the the entire body. Saudi Arabia requires the wearing of a hijab, but does not mandate burkas. Pakistan, where Malik returned to study at Bahuddin Zakri University in Multan, does not have a dress code for women. A relative of Mailk's in Pakistan says her family became concerned about her attitudes after she went to study pharmacology at Bahauddin Zakariya University in the city of Multan, Pakistan. After two years of attending the university, starting in 2007, she began posting extremist statements on Facebook. She started taking part in religious activities and also started asking women in the family and the locality to become good Muslims. She started taking part in religious activities of women in the area.