Pearl Harbour Attack Pilot: 'It was a very dark time'

Memories of Pearl Harbour In the seconds before he released the 250kg bomb from his aircraft, Lieutenant Zenji Abe had blocked out all that was going on around him. Bright tracer rounds were arcing up towards him, the air was whipping past the canopy and a tower of black smoke rose from where the USS Arizona was blazing out of control. But with another US warship in the crosshairs of his scope, nothing else mattered. "All my concentration was focused on that scope, and I couldn't think about anything else but the target," says Abe, now 89 and - by his own admission - a wiser man than the daring pilot who at Pearl Harbour fired one of the first shots of the second world war in the Pacific. "We had been training for this moment for months, and I was completely calm," he says, punctuating his reminiscences with a folded paper fan. "I was in the second wave of bombers, and many warships had already been damaged or sunk, so I chose a cruiser off the northeast side of Ford Island as my target. "As we had practised, we approached the target at a 60-degree angle of attack and rising to a speed of 300kph when my navigator called for me to release at about 400m above the ship," he says. "As soon as it was gone, I flattened out and we were about 30m above the harbour. "But one thing that I never saw, when we were diving on the ship or as we moved away from the target area, was any people," he says. "The g-forces - which were up to six times gravity - meant I nearly blacked out and I had no peripheral vision for a minute or two, but I still don't remember seeing any people, even though we were very low." Memories He raises his eyes slightly as he re-examines the memories of 7 December 1941, but finally shakes his head. Zenji Abe on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Akagi Abe did not know it at the time, but the three Aichi Type 99 "Val" aircraft that he led on the bombing run against the USS Raleigh worsened the damage caused by an aerial torpedo dropped a short while earlier, although the crew managed to keep the warship afloat and it was later repaired. None of the crew was killed. Another part of the story that Abe only discovered after the war was that the attack was carried out before Japan had declared war against the United States. At war "I had always believed the attack was preceded by a declaration of war 30 minutes earlier," he said. "When I did find out, I was extremely shocked and frustrated. I felt terrible regret. In war, surprise is a justifiable military tactic that is often effective, but it can only be justified if it is preceded by an official declaration of war." Abe with the Time magazine that came out after the attack At the time, he says, he and his fellow pilots listened only to what the government was telling the Japanese people and things looked bleak for his homeland. "When I look back, it appeared that Japan was in dire straits," he says. "We were surrounded by the ABCD line of America, Britain, China and the Dutch, and this was at a time when we had already been embroiled in a war in China for 10 years. Japan was exhausted; we had no crude oil, our assets overseas had been frozen, there was no iron and we all felt very much surrounded and that Washington was leading the pressure on us. "It was a very dark time, and we felt that something had to happen - although no one ever thought that we would launch an attack on the US," he adds. Training By the time he took off from the aircraft carrier Akagi, 260km north of the Hawaiian islands on the morning of the day that would "live in infamy", according to US President Franklin Roosevelt, Abe had been a pilot for four years. A graduate of the elite Imperial Naval Academy, he flew combat missions in China as Japan expanded its "co-prosperity sphere" and, after Pearl Harbour, was involved in raids on Dutch Harbour, in the Aleutian Islands, as well as carrier missions in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific and against targets in Australia. His navigator in the raid against Hawaii, Warrant Officer Chaiki Saito, was killed in the Marianas islands in 1942. Abe in ceremonial uniform before the outbreak of the war But his squadron was never as successful as it had been in December 1941. "I had a feeling of great excitement as we took off from the Akagi and not worried about whether I would be able to return," he says. Accompanied by nine Zero fighters and 17 other bombers, Abe took off at dawn and formed up alongside the attacking force from other carriers. The sea below was rough, he recalls. He remembers his navigator confirming the task force's commander giving the order to attack at 7.49am Honolulu time and hearing that the first wave of aircraft had caught the defending forces unaware. Losses He can picture the anti-aircraft fire and smoke rising over Hickam Field. He recalls being disappointed that there were no US aircraft carriers anchored in the harbour - a fact that would come back to haunt Japan - and bullets narrowly missing the aircraft. Within moments, he was giving a signal to his flight and the "Vals" peeled off for their attack runs. In all, he had been in the air two hours by the time his wheels touched down on the Akagi again. A total of 351 Japanese aircraft had been used in the attack, of which 29 were lost. The US lost six battleships, three destroyers, three light cruisers, four other vessels and 164 aircraft. More than 2400 service personnel and civilians were killed. US naval power in the Pacific had not, however, been crippled, and within two years Japan was on the defensive. Desert island Abe's war was destined to end more than a year before Tokyo capitulated 60 years ago on 15 August. On 19 June 1944, after taking off from the aircraft carrier Junyo to carry out a long-range attack against US forces that were overwhelming the Japanese in the battle of the Philippine Sea, he was forced to crash land on the island of Rota when his fuel ran out. Cut off as American forces island-hopped closer to Japan's home islands, he hid in a cave for more than a year before Tokyo announced surrender. "When the war was finished, the Americans left us newspapers to find telling us of the surrender" Lieutenant Zenji Abe "There were about 1800 of us navy personnel on the island, and the Japanese forces tried to rescue us, but Guam to the south and Saipan to the north were both occupied by the Americans so it was impossible," he says. "When the war was finished, the Americans left us newspapers to find telling us of the surrender and broadcast radio news programmes over loudspeakers so we knew the emperor had surrendered." Going home Repatriated in 1946, he joined the newly formed National Police Reserve and rose to head of the intelligence section before he retired in 1967. Today, he lives with his wife and oldest daughter in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, but remains indignant at the failure of some of the top leaders who took Japan to war to take responsibility with their own hands. "Two of my colleagues from the naval academy, relatively low-ranking officers who held positions such as destroyer captains, committed suicide at the end of the war to express their shame," he says. "There were about 800 soldiers who took their own lives, but why did those who were later convicted of being Class-A war criminals not take the same step? Even today, that befuddles me. "As soon as the emperor read out that Japan would surrender, the advisers who led us along this course in history should have turned to face the palace and offered their bones for giving bad advice," he says. "Those who were the leaders and the heads of Japan's armed forces should have committed ritual disembowelment. "If they had taken their own lives, then at least it would have left a strong impression on the rest of the world of the Yamato spirit, that they had real bravery," he says. Fighting a new battle now, against cancer, Abe says that greater diplomatic efforts in the run-up to the attack on Pearl Harbour could have avoided bloodshed and laments the failure of young Japanese today to acknowledge what his generation lived through. "Most Japanese people don't know anything about Pearl Harbour," he says. "In the United States, every time that December 7th comes around they make sure they remember. The differences between the two countries are vast." [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9B328D39-9C63-4FCB-B935-FBA655EA118F.htm]

British artist spreads universal message

A humble-looking man in his 20s sits in his studio with a mask covering his mouth and a spray can in his hand as he begins to cover a canvas with different colours.

The shades merge, and in the midst are beautiful letters in Arabic spelling a single word - salam, which means peace.

Mohammed Ali is no ordinary artist. For the 26-year-old from Birmingham, United Kingdom, art is a fusion of ancient Islamic script mixed with a modern edge, adding appeal to a younger generation of art lovers.

Ali also has a message. "Spreading salam is a powerful, strong message. I choose words that inspire me but keep the art form as graffiti," he told Aljazeera.net.

He chooses words such as dhikr (remembrance), sabr (patience) and ilm (knowledge) – words he says have a universal meaning regardless of race and religion.

"These are negative times for Muslims, so we should use all platforms - art is a universal means of communication; we need to create bridges between cultures and religions.

"Islam is about peace, and my art is a chance to explain what Islam is. I want to show that graffiti art can be inspired by your religion and it is not a contradiction."

Influence

Ali has been painting from a young age. Growing up in 1980s Britain, he was influenced by the urban graffiti scene.

"I used to go to see graffiti art on the streets with my brother and was amazed by the ability [of] so many people to freely express themselves."

The Arabic word ilm, knowledge, is written using English letters

When Ali was 10, there was an urban subculture in the UK: hip-hop music, break dancing and graffiti – "art for the people".

Ali says: "You didn't have to be from a certain class or background to appreciate the work; it was art everyone could understand. It was a very clear reflection of what youth were feeling, disillusioned by society, and it was a way to express feelings through art."

But Ali was not part of the illegal graffiti movement; he used the style as inspiration, starting off his career in art by painting murals for community centres.

Renaissance

Ali pursued his interests and went on to study graphic design at university.

The letters alif lam mim (above) open the Quran's longest verse

He then joined a small group of collective artists calling themselves The Artists Circle, formed when they realised that Muslim artists lacked representation in Britain.

"Islamic art had frozen up, so we used modern techniques and styles to give it new life. This is the renaissance of Islamic art based in the Western world."

His work has filled a void in the Islamic art market.

Ali's art is for everyone but will probably appeal most to young Muslim professionals, who can afford his contemporary designs.

Ali's work is getting interest from the corporate world, and he thinks Islam's spiritual message coming across in any form can only be a good thing.

"My artwork is open to all who have an appreciation for art," he says.

Exhibitions

Ali will be displaying his work in Dubai in his first exhibition outside the UK.

Salam (above) is something Ali is trying to spread through his art

"There is a thriving art scene in the Middle East, and I'd like to be a part of it," Ali said.

September's Dubai exhibition will be just the start; he also plans to exhibit his work in South Africa, America and Europe.

"I am using my art as a form of inspiration and as a means to get closer to my faith.

"Graffiti is about glorifying yourself by spraying your street names on walls, but the simple words I use are used to glorifying Allah."

Aljazeera

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Airliner Splits in Two, Kills 41

Per Airliner Splits in Two After an Emergency Landing During Storm, Kills at Least 41 People

LIMA, Peru Aug 24, 2005 — A Peruvian airliner split in two after an emergency landing during a fierce storm, killing at least 41 people. It was the world's fifth major airline accident this month.

TANS Peru Flight 204, a Boeing 737-200 with 100 people on board, was on a domestic flight from the Peruvian capital Lima to the Amazon jungle city of Pucallpa when the pilot tried to make an emergency landing about 20 miles from Pucallpa on Tuesday, said Edwin Vasquez, president of the Ucayali region where the city is located.

The pilot tried to land in a marsh to soften the impact but the landing split the aircraft in two, he said.

Some survivors said they escaped the burning wreckage of the plane in a hailstorm and waded through knee-deep mud to get away.

Police Lt. David Mori told The Associated Press that 41 dead passengers had been recovered from the plane and 56 people were being treated at hospitals. Rescue workers had to suspend searches for bodies in the wreckage due to darkness and bad weather overnight but planned to resume operations at dawn Wednesday.

"There were people who walked away from the crash uninjured," he said. "It's not very clear how many."

Among the dead were at least three foreigners an American woman, an Italian man, and a Colombian woman, Mori said. Many of the bodies could not immediately be identified and at least three people were still missing, he said.

The plane circled the airport, then crashed near a highway, according to officials and radio reports. Before the crash, the pilot radioed that he could not land because of strong winds and torrential rains, airport receptionist Norma Pasquel told The Associated Press by phone.

"I felt a strong impact and a light and fire and felt I was in the middle of flames around the cabin, until I saw to a my left a hole to escape through," survivor Yuri Gonzalez told Radioprogramas. "Two other people were struggling to get out and I also was able to."

He said he heard another person shouting to him to keep advancing because the plane was going to explode.

"The fire was fierce despite the storm," he said. "Hail was falling and the mud came up to my knees."

Canal N television broadcast photo images of survivors being carried on stretchers from a grassy field strewn with wreckage.

Jorge Belevan, a spokesman for TANS, said the plane was on a domestic flight carrying 92 passengers and eight crew members and was attempting an emergency landing when it crashed near Pucallpa, 305 miles northeast of Lima.

"The plane did not crash. It did not fall. The plane made an emergency landing," Belevan said, adding that it did not appear the crash was caused by a technical failure in the 22-year-old aircraft.

"The preliminary information we have is that the accident could have been caused by wind shear," he said.

Wind shear is a sudden change in wind speed or direction. The most dangerous kind, called a microburst, is caused by air descending from a thunderstorm.

Tomas Ruiz, another passenger, told Radioprogramas: "It seems it was a matter of the weather. Ten minutes before we were to land in Pucallpa, the plane began to shake a lot."

The crash was the world's fifth airliner accident this month.

Last week, 152 people died when a Colombian-registered West Caribbean charter went down in Venezuela. Two days earlier, 121 people died when a Cyprus-registered Helios Airways Boeing plunged into the mountains north of Athens.

Sixteen people were believed to have died Aug. 6 when a plane operated by Tunisia's Tuninter crashed off Sicily. In Toronto, all 309 people survived aboard an Air France Airbus A340 that overshot the runway on Aug. 2.

In January 2003, a TANS twin engine Fokker 28 turbojet, plowed into a 11,550-foot high mountain in Peru's northern jungle, killing all 42 passengers including eight children and four crew members aboard.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. (oops)

Cyclist saw 'Rory' near school

Police said Rory Blackhall's body was found under a tent

Police are following up a sighting of Rory Blackhall walking away from his primary school after being dropped off by his mother.

The 11-year-old was found dead three days later in woods about half a mile from his school in Livingston. He had been asphyxiated.

The sighting was made by a cyclist and is one of several being checked by detectives investigating the murder.

Police also want to trace a blonde woman waiting at a bus stop nearby.

Rory's mother Michelle dropped him off near Meldrum Primary School last Thursday morning. He walked through an underpass and into Westwood Park but he did not attend school and was reported missing that afternoon.

Best practice would be the school that does contact parents if a child does not turn up at 9am Irene Matier Association of Head Teachers in Scotland 'We must alert our children to danger'

His body was discovered in woods on Sunday afternoon. It had been covered by an old tent and his school rucksack was missing.

At a news conference on Tuesday, police appealed for information about the tent and the rucksack.

They say they have had a "tremendous" response from the public to their requests for information and are urging anyone with information to be patient if they have to wait to get through.

A dedicated email address has also been set up. It is roryblackhallenquiry@lbp.pnn.police.uk.

Bus stop appeal

The cyclist contacted police after hearing the appeals for information.

He had been cycling along the south footpath of Deans Road East in Livingston opposite Meldrum Primary at 0840 BST last Thursday when he saw a boy fitting Rory's description and carrying a rucksack. He thought it was odd that the boy was walking away from the school.

The cyclist then spotted a woman, who is only described as having long blonde hair and wearing denim, waiting at a bus stop.

A double-decker pulled into the stop but the woman did not get on, which the cyclist also thought was strange, police said.

The underpass which Rory walked through on Thursday morning

They want to trace her as she may also have seen the schoolboy walking along Deans Road East.

Detective Inspector Tom Martin said: "Whilst the informant is not 100% certain that the boy he saw was Rory, this is the first possible sighting we have of him.

"What is vitally important is that we trace the blonde woman waiting at the bus stop as she should have noticed the boy walking past her as well if he had carried on his route."

More tests are being carried out to determine whether Rory was smothered or strangled.

Rory was not reported missing until about seven hours after he was dropped off to go to school, when his grandfather came to pick him up.

Communication 'all-important'

Irene Matier, a member of the national executive of the Association of Head Teachers in Scotland, said: "Communication is all-important here.

"We need our parents to let us know if their child is not coming to school, but we also need to be vigilant in the schools."

She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We don't want to over-react about all of this, but I think it is probably time for schools to revisit their procedures.

"Best practice would be the school that does contact parents if a child does not turn up at 9am."

Officers are continuing door-to-door inquiries

In reality, schools often did not have enough staff to contact all the parents of children who may be missing on a Monday morning, she said.

Some pilot schemes were in operation with a view to detecting truancy. "It may now be the time to look at that from a security point of view as well," Ms Matier said.

But she said problems could be compounded on the first day of term when some children might still be on holiday and new teachers were dealing with unfamiliar children.

Meanwhile, Livingston MSP Bristow Muldoon welcomed an increased police presence at a time when parents were frightened.

Mr Muldoon said: "Certainly I've seen myself many police officers in and around to provide reassurance to parents and to children."

Anyone with information should ring police in Livingston on 01506 445624

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[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4179248.stm]

Step towards MAKING human lungs

Scientists say they have made a significant step towards making human lungs for transplantation.

The UK team at Imperial College London took human embryonic stem cells and encouraged them to grow into cells found in adult lungs.

These lung cells are the type needed to allow oxygen to cross into the blood.

Eventually, it may be possible to make them from other stem cell sources such as bone marrow, the team told Tissue Engineering.

Although it will be some years before we are able to build actual human lungs for transplantation, this is a major step Researcher Dr Anne Bishop

This would avoid some of the ethical concerns surrounding the use of embryonic tissue.

At the moment, it is possible to treat people using donor organs, but there is a big shortage meaning many do not get the life-saving treatment they need.

Stem cells are the body's "master cells" and can develop into a wide variety of different cell types.

The lung cells made in the laboratory by the Imperial team are known as mature small airway epithelium, which line the part of the lung where oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide is excreted.

Future hope

As well as eventually being used to help make whole lungs for transplantation, the cells could also be used to repair parts of damaged lungs.

This is very exciting, but there is a lot more work to do Professor Stephen Spiro of the British Lung Foundation

For example, Dr Anne Bishop and colleagues plan to use their findings to treat conditions such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) - a condition which damages these lining cells and which currently kills many critically ill hospital patients.

However, much more work is needed.

Dr Bishop said: "Although it will be some years before we are able to build actual human lungs for transplantation, this is a major step towards deriving cells that could be used to repair damaged lungs."

Professor Stephen Spiro, professor of respiratory medicine at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and spokesman for the British Lung Foundation, said: "This is very exciting, but there is a lot more work to do."

He said there were many other cell types that make up the lung that would be needed to make new organs.

But he said the cells that the Imperial team had made were crucial for lung function.

"It's always been a huge challenge to replace the damaged air sacks in ARDS. Maybe these cells will be the beginning of something," he said.

The work was supported by the Medical Research Council. The Imperial researchers plan to commercialise their findings through NovaThera.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4175822.stm]

NewScientist: Nanotechnology

Instant Expert: Nanotechnology

Imagine a world where microscopic medical implants patrol our arteries, diagnosing ailments and fighting disease; where military battle-suits deflect explosions; where computer chips are no bigger than specks of dust; and where clouds of miniature space probes transmit data from the atmospheres of Mars or Titan.

Many incredible claims have been made about the future's nanotechnological applications, but what exactly does nano mean, and why has controversy plagued this emerging technology?

Nanotechnology is science and engineering at the scale of atoms and molecules. It is the manipulation and use of materials and devices so tiny that nothing can be built any smaller.

How small is small?

Nanomaterials are typically between 0.1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in size - with 1 nm being equivalent to one billionth of a metre (10^-9 m).

This is the scale at which the basic functions of the biological world operate - and materials of this size display unusual physical and chemical properties. These profoundly different properties are due to an increase in surface area compared to volume as particles get smaller - and also the grip of weird quantum effects at the atomic scale.

If 1 nanometre was roughly the width of a pinhead, then 1 metre on this scale would stretch the entire distance from Washington, DC to Atlanta - around 1000 kilometres. But a pinhead is actually one million nanometres wide. Most atoms are 0.1 to 0.2 nm wide, strands of DNA around 2 nm wide, red blood cells are around 7000 nm in diameter, while human hairs are typically 80,000 nm across.

Unwittingly, people have made use of some unusual properties of materials at the nanoscale for centuries. Tiny particles of gold for example, can appear red or green - a property that has been used to colour stained glass windows for over 1000 years.

Nanotechnology is found elsewhere today in products ranging from nanometre-thick films on "self-cleaning" windows to pigments in sunscreens and lipsticks.

Nano is born

The idea of nanotechnology was born in 1959 when physicist Richard Feynman gave a lecture exploring the idea of building things at the atomic and molecular scale. He imagined the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica written on the head of a pin.

However, experimental nanotechnology did not come into its own until 1981, when IBM scientists in Zurich, Switzerland, built the first scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). This allows us to see single atoms by scanning a tiny probe over the surface of a silicon crystal. In 1990, IBM scientists discovered how to use an STM to move single xenon atoms around on a nickel surface - in an iconic experiment, with an inspired eye for marketing, they moved 35 atoms to spell out "IBM".

Further techniques have since been developed to capture images at the atomic scale, these include the atomic force microscope (AFM), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the even a kind of modified light microscope.

Other significant advances were made in 1985, when chemists discovered how to create a soccer-ball-shaped molecule of 60 carbon atoms, which they called buckminsterfullerene (also known as C₆₀ or buckyballs). And in 1991, tiny, super-strong rolls of carbon atoms known as carbon nanotubes were created. These are six times lighter, yet 100 times stronger than steel.

Both materials have important applications as nanoscale building blocks. Nanotubes have been made into fibres, long threads and fabrics, and used to create tough plastics, computer chips, toxic gas detectors, and numerous other novel materials. The far future might even see the unique properties of nanotubes harnessed to build a space elevator.

More recently, scientists working on the nanoscale have created a multitude of other nanoscale components and devices, including:

Tiny transistors, superconducting quantum dots, nanodiodes, nanosensors, molecular pistons, supercapacitors, "biomolecular" motors, chemical motors, a nano train set, nanoscale elevators, a DNA nanowalking robot, nanothermometers, nano containers, the beginnings of a miniature chemistry set, nano-Velcro, nanotweezers, nano weighing scales, a nano abacus, a nano guitar, a nanoscale fountain pen, and even a nanosized soldering iron.

Engineering wonder

Engineering at the nanoscale is no simple feat, and scientists are having to come up with completely different solutions to build from the "bottom-up" rather than using traditional "top-down" manufacturing techniques.

Some nanomaterials, such as nanowires and other simple devices have been shown to assemble themselves given the right conditions, and other experiments at larger scales are striving to demonstrate the principles of self-assembly. Microelectronic devices might be persuaded to grow from the ground-up, rather like trees.

Researchers are also finding ways to put proteins, DNA, viruses and bacteria and other micro-organisms to work in building nanomaterials, and also taking other inspiration from the natural world.

Some problems have arisen due to a lack of consistency in measuring distances at the nanoscale, but an atomic lattice nanoruler could improve accuracy.

Great potential

In the short term, the greatest advances through nanotechnology will come in the form of novel medical devices and processes, new catalysts for industry and smaller components for computers.

In medicine, we are already seeing research on: New ways to deliver drugs with contact lenses; the directing of drugs to tumours with tiny "smart bombs"; gold "nano-bullets" that seek-and-destroy tumours; starving cancer with nanoparticles; diagnosing diseases such as Alzheimer's, monitoring health and fighting sickness with tiny probes; and growing new organs from scratch.

And biochemists are hoping to deploy viruses as "nanocameras" to get a clearer picture of what is going on inside cells.

In computing nanoscience may lead to smaller or more powerful microchips with increased capacity and dramatic reductions in the size of hard discs. Some experiments have even shown that it might be possible to manufacture tiny parts for computers inside bacteria. Quantum computing and quantum cryptography also rely on advances in nanotechnology. In fact, existing computer chips are already manufactured taking advantage of techniques at the nanoscale.

In environmental science nanotechnology is providing ways to detect and filter bacteria and toxins out of water supplies and clear up heavy metal and organic chemical pollution.

Nanoscience has already benefited the environment with the development of the catalytic converter - which detoxifies engine fumes the world over. Further innovations are leading to smaller, more efficient batteries, advanced solar power and fuel cells and catalytic diesel additives that improve fuel efficiency.

In addition, new and powerful light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may soon replace conventional light bulbs, offering huge energy savings. LEDs are built with semiconductors, increasingly developed at the nanoscale.

In military technology governments are splashing cash on developing new, lightweight equipment and weapons, bullet-proof battle-suits that can morph to provide camouflage or even stiffen to provide splints for broken limbs, and nanosensors that might detect chemical or biological perils.

Nanoparticles are currently in use in 120 millimetre tank rounds and may soon be used in other types of munitions - their larger surface area to volume ratio makes them especially reactive.

Diminutive debate

Despite the fact that it still has relatively few commercial applications, nanotechnology has generated criticism from environmental groups and others - such as the UK's Prince Charles - who fear as-yet-unknown risks to human health and the environment.

Critics have called for a moratorium on research, arguing that we know little about the toxicological effects of nanoparticles, and that there are no regulations to control them - nanotechnology advocates simply call this scaremongering, and fail to understand what all the fuss is about.

Futurist K Eric Drexler - credited with coining the term nanotechnology - dreamed up one possible nightmare scenario in his1986 book Engines of Creation. Though he now deems it an unlikely scenario, Drexler stirred fears about nanotechnology by painting a future where tiny, self-replicating nanobots run amok, digesting life on earth and reducing everything to a "grey goo".

The few experimental studies to date into the health impact of nanoparticles reveal that high concentrations of nanotubes could damage the lungs of rats and mice. One 2004 study hinted that buckyballs can accumulate and cause brain damage in fish.

A report, independently commissioned in 2003 by the environmental group Greenpeace, acknowledged that - while there could be risks from nanotechnology - the field could generate significant innovations to benefit the environment. A 2004 report, commissioned by the UK government, argued that most nanotechnology presents few novel risks, but recommended more research, along with new regulations to control the technology.

An open public debate on the development and future of nanotechnology may be the best way to stop it becoming embroiled in the same kind of furore that has surrounded GM organisms.

John Pickrell, 11 April 2005

[http://www.newscientist.com/channel/mech-tech/nanotechnology]

Bird Flu pandemic: lethal yet preventable

If Asian bird flu mutates into a form that spreads easily between humans, an outbreak of just 40 infected people would be enough to cause a global pandemic. And within a year half of the world’s population would be infected with a mortality rate of 50%, according to two studies released on Wednesday.

And yet, the models show, if targeted action is taken within a critical three-week window, an outbreak could be limited to fewer than 100 individuals within two months.

It represents the first opportunity in history to make use of new knowledge and logistics to prevent a pandemic whose potential loss of life could dwarf the horrific 1918 influenza pandemic. But, the researchers caution, we are currently far from ready to take the necessary action.

“If an outbreak occurred tomorrow, it would be devastating,” warns Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London, UK, who led one of the studies. Nature and Science have released the two studies in tandem. The authors stress that an outbreak is no longer an “if” scenario - they are now talking about “when”.

Hundreds of scenarios

Ferguson’s study, in Nature, modelled the potential spread of a bird flu (H5N1) outbreak throughout Thailand’s 85 million people. Ira Longini’s study, published in Science, focused on the nation’s 500,000-strong Nang Rong region.

The two studies modelled hundreds of scenarios, looking at how the virus could spread person-to-person through different modes of contact, and the effect of various methods of mitigation. For example, simulations were run to model the effects of prophylactic treatment, quarantine, as well as investigating the impact of differing strains and different rates of detection.

The key findings of both studies were in agreement: in order for a nascent pandemic to be controlled there needs to be 3 million courses of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) – the antiviral drug – available for the World Health Organization to mobilise and deploy internationally, immediately. There also needs to be good surveillance systems in place at local level, particularly in at-risk countries in south-east Asia, for fast detection of the virus’s emergence and accurate diagnosis.

The WHO has stockpiled of 120,000 courses of the antiviral drug, far too small a supply to halt an outbreak, the studies warn.

International intervention

The virus needs to be detected within 21 days and before 40 people contract it, the researchers say. Accurate medical diagnosis based on symptoms is key, since by the time results from genetic tests arrive, it will almost certainly be too late. In rural communities with poorly coordinated healthcare provision, swift detection and isolation of cluster groups could prove limited, they add. Likewise, where countries are not immediately open - allowing international intervention in an outbreak - the consequences could be dire. This was what happened during China’s SARS virus outbreak.

Following diagnosis of a cluster of infected individuals, the next and hardest task is to prevent the disease spreading, Ferguson says. This should be done through social distancing methods, such as closing schools, travel restrictions and even quarantine. Each new case must be isolated and treated within two days. Populations in a radius surrounding the cluster should be treated with antivirals.

Even treating these populations with a flu vaccine that has low efficacy against H5N1, would buy some time to allow treatment to work, says Longini at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, US.

Passing it on

Underpinning all the simulations in the two studies is an assumption about the virus’s basic reproduction number (R) – the number of people each infected person will infect. The findings are based on each person only infecting up to two others. And yet the R value remains unknown until a new strain emerges.

Ferguson and Longini are fairly confident that they have overestimated the R value. Avian flu has a very low virulence, but the danger is that it could combine with a highly virulent human flu virus or mutate into a virus with a higher R number.

“We’re having to make ‘best guesses’ for many of the assumptions in the study, partly basing it on past pandemics. And we may be wrong,” Ferguson said. “Pandemics are rare – they happen every few decades – but if we do not prepare and do not have enough antivirals stockpiled, or fail to confine the outbreak in the first three weeks, then millions could die.

The WHO welcomed the research which would “help WHO and public health officials in our Member States to improve pandemic influenza preparedness planning”. It added that it had taken steps to provide an international stockpile of antivirals.

Ferguson adds that Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, intends to donate drugs to WHO.

Journal references: Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature04017) and Science (DOI:10.1126/science1115717)

[http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/bird-flu/dn7787]

MindWar: Full Spectrum Fake Terrorism... A Possibility?

Jeffrey Steinberg, in an article appearing in the August 26 issue of the Executive Intelligence Review, mentions Col. Paul E. Vallely, the Commander of the 7th Psychological Operations Group, United States Army Reserve, and a document he authored entitled From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory (note: link is a PDF document). “MindWar must be strategic in emphasis, with tactical applications playing a reinforcing, supplementary role,” Vallely wrote in 1980. “In its strategic context, MindWar must reach out to friends, enemies, and neutrals alike across the globe—neither through primitive ‘battlefield’ leaflets and loudspeakers of PSYOP nor through the weak, imprecise, and narrow effort of psychotronics [the relationship between matter, energy, and consciousness]—but through the media possessed by the United States which have the capabilities to reach virtually all people on the face of the Earth.” In short, the corporate media, Vallely wrote 25 years ago, is an integral and essential component and “force multiplier” of forever war waged against enemies, including the American people.

Steinberg spends a lot of time documenting the occult and paranormal activities of Pentagon researchers (and also “weapons that directly attack the targetted population’s central nervous system and brain functioning,” including “such phenomena as atmospheric electromagnetic activity, air ionization, and extremely low frequency waves), but for my dime the interesting part of Steinberg’s analysis concerns the use of fake terrorism, or “pseudo gang” terrorism and “psychological operations” of the sort used against the “targetted population” here in the United States since nine eleven and, more recently, in Britain. For instance, Steinberg references Seymour Hersh, who quoted Naval Postgraduate School defense analyst and Pentagon counterinsurgency advisor John Arquilla (see my January blog entry on Hersh and Arquilla in regard to pseudo terrorism and the kidnapping and apparent murder of Margaret Hassan). “Hersh hinted [in his New Yorker article, The Coming Wars] that U.S. Special Forces units were being unleashed to create their own terrorist ‘pseudo gangs’ to more easily infiltrate terrorist groups like al-Qaeda,” as Steinberg summarizes. “When conventional military operations and bombing failed to defeat the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya in the 1950s, the British formed teams of friendly Kikuyu tribesmen who went about pretending to be terrorists,” writes Arquilla. “These ‘pseudo gangs,’ as they were called, swiftly threw the Mau Mau on the defensive, either by befriending and then ambushing bands of fighters or by guiding bombers to the terrorists’ camps. What worked in Kenya a half-century ago has a wonderful chance of undermining trust and recruitment among today’s terror networks. Forming new pseudo gangs should not be difficult.”

It is my contention al-Qaeda (or more precisely, al-CIA-duh) is just such a “pseudo gang,” initially created in Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight the Soviets but held over—as are all successful intelligence operations (and the CIA admits the creation of the Islamic Terror Network is its largest and most successful operation to date; see Chalmers Johnson). As the corporate media (as a willing participant in psychological warfare against the American people) would have it, al-CIA-duh reformulated itself without intelligence assistance after the United States abandoned Afghanistan in the wake of the Soviet defeat in that backwater and more or less strategically meaningless country (that is until a consortium of oil and natural gas corporations decided they wanted to build a pipeline there in the 1990s). There is ample evidence that al-CIA-duh remained a valued intelligence “asset” (and covert warfare workhorse) after Afghanistan, the primary example being its activities in the Balkans (see my From Afghanistan to Iraq: Transplanting CIA Engineered Terrorism) and elsewhere.

As Steinberg notes, once again referencing the detective work of Hersh, “[Evangelical Christian Lieutenant-General William “Jerry” Boykin] and his immediate boss, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone, are directly in charge of the Special Operations search-and-kill squads touted by John Arquilla in his pseudo-gang promo.” Joe E. Kilgore, writing for Special Warfare in the Winter of 2002, declares that the “future holds great promise for the Center and School and for the students it trains. The commanding general of SWCS [John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School], Major General William G. Boykin, is developing the ARSOF School of the Future, an innovative concept designed to ensure that SWCS instructional facilities and techniques will meet the challenges of the 21st century. The SWCS Special Forces Evolution Steering Committee is developing a road map to facilitate the transformation of the Special Forces Branch. Improvement plans for both CA and PSYOP have been approved, and those plans are scheduled to be implemented beginning in FY 2002.” An integral component of the Pentagon’s ambitious psyop program is Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG). “P2OG would launch secret operations aimed at ’stimulating reactions’ among terrorists and states possessing weapons of mass destruction, meaning it would prod terrorist cells into action, thus exposing them to ‘quick-response’ attacks by US forces. The means by which it would do this is the far greater use of special operations forces,” David Isenberg wrote for the Asia Times in November, 2002. P2OG, however, is only the public relations face of a much larger and sinister plan that stretches back at least to 1980 and Col. Paul E. Vallely’s seminal MindWar document and the idea of psychological warfare waged against the American people.

Vallely, of course, does not mention “pseudo-gang” warfare explicitly and instead puts forward the idea of “full spectrum” warfare in all fronts, including disinformation or propaganda warfare waged against the American people. Indeed, the idea of fake or deceptive terrorism is much older and originated in its modern form and was field tested by General Frank Kitson, a British officer “who first thought up the concept that was later used in the formation of Al Qaeda. He called it the ‘pseudo gang’—a state sponsored group used to advance an agenda, while discrediting the real opposition. The strategy was used in both Kenya and Northern Ireland. In the case of Northern Ireland, most of the violence that was attributed to ‘Loyalists’ was in actuality not their handiwork, but the result of the activities of the death squads affiliated to the British secret state,” writes Ian Buckley (see my General Frank Kitson: Trail Blazing Fake Terrorism).

[http://www.propagandamatrix.com/articles/august2005/220805faketerrorism.htm]

Somewhat interesting to say the least. What do you think? Please contribute.

Menezes probe chief to be quizzed

The senior investigator in the inquiry into the police shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes has been ordered to report on its progress to a coroner.

John Cummins, of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), will appear at the inquest, which would not normally sit until after the probe.

This follows last week's leaking of documents relating to the IPCC inquiry.

Brazilian officials, who on Monday met the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, may also attend.

Wagner Goncalves, of Brazil's federal prosecutor's office, and Marcio Pereira Pinto Garcia, of its ministry of justice, flew to the UK on Monday to look into the circumstances surrounding the killing of the 27-year-old electrician.

Relatives briefed

Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates told them on Monday that police had briefed relatives of Mr Menezes two days after the Stockwell Tube station killing.

Cousins of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot after being mistaken for a suicide bomber, were told he had not run into the station or vaulted the ticket barrier, Scotland Yard said.

They were also told he had not been wearing a padded jacket, despite initial reports to the contrary.

Scotland Yard said in a statement that the meeting with the Brazilian officials had been "positive and constructive" and had covered the protocols of the investigation, but had not gone into specifics because of the IPCC inquiry.

The statement said: "Mr Yates outlined the details given by police to the family and Brazilian Consulate officials in the aftermath of this tragedy.

"He said that on Sunday, July 24, Mr de Menezes' UK-based cousins were briefed by police that Mr de Menezes did not run into the Tube station, that he used a ticket to get through the Tube station barrier - specifically that he did not vault the barrier - and that he was not wearing a padded jacket or carrying a bag."

Mr Yates also reiterated the apology made to the family for the death of Mr Menezes, Scotland Yard said.

Mother's 'suffering'

Mr Menezes' mother has said action must be taken against the Metropolitan Police.

"They took my son's life. I am suffering because of that," she told BBC News.

"I want the policeman who did that punished. They ended not only my son's life, but mine as well."

On Monday up to 200 supporters of Mr Menezes' family attended a protest vigil at Downing Street to mark a month since he was shot.

His cousin handed in a letter to the prime minister calling for a public inquiry.

Leaked documents from the IPCC investigation into the death last week appeared to contradict initial police and witness statements about the incident.

Scotland Yard had been quoted as saying that Mr Menezes' "clothing and behaviour" added to suspicions on 22 July - a day after four failed bombings on the transport network - that he was a suicide bomber.

Cash rejected

But a leaked photograph of the body of Mr Menezes on the Tube showed he was wearing a denim jacket at the time of the shooting - not a bulky one as previously described by a witness.

Giovanni da Silva, Mr Menezes' brother, called on the Metropolitan Police to "show all the video from the Underground so the world can see what they did to an innocent man".

Scotland Yard has confirmed that an offer of £15,000 - which it stressed was an "ex gratia" payment which would not affect any further compensation or legal action - had been made to the Menezes family.

The family rejected the offer, which is said to have caused them offence.

The Menezes family's solicitor Gareth Peirce said the offer may have been a "deliberate attempt to ensnare families into inappropriate agreements or inappropriate decisions".

A memorial Mass will be held on Tuesday at 1930 BST at the Brazilian Chaplaincy in Westminster Diocese, St Anne's Church, east London, in memory of Mr Menezes.

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4175688.stm]

As i say again, an attempted cover up... "Ordo Ab Chao".

MH B772 Involved In Freak Fall Over Australia

KUALA LUMPUR: Pandemonium broke out when a Malaysian Airline aircraft plunged 200m from the air, just 40 minutes after takeoff from the Perth international airport, forcing the plane to turn back and make an emergency landing.

The Kuala Lumpur bound MH124 on Monday, with 177 passengers on board, was said to have experienced engine problems.

According to the passengers on board the Boeing 777-200, most of them panicked and a flight attendant prayed.

One of the passengers who called The Star from Perth yesterday said many of them were crying and praying aloud while others held on tight to their seats when the plane started going down.

An Australian man who identified himself as Sam said the pilot’s superb handling of the emergency was what probably saved their lives.

“The plane was just going down rapidly and I saw all the passengers screaming and crying. Many were praying.

“The drop was easily about 200m. The pilot cried too when he came to see us after he landed the plane safely,'' he said.

Sam congratulated Capt Norhisham Kassim for handling the situation well, adding that the passengers broke into hearty applause soon after the plane touched down.

“I will never forget the 27-minute flight back to Perth after the incident,” he said.

When contacted at his hotel in Perth yesterday, all Capt Norhisham could say was: “Alhamdullilah (Praise be to God).”

He said he had given his statement to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on the incident, adding that he was bound by company regulations not to talk to the media when the incident was being probed.

Capt Norhisham returned to Kuala Lumpur as a passenger together with the others late last night.

Meanwhile, another passenger told ABC radio in Australia that the passengers panicked after one flight attendant dropped a tray of drinks and another began praying.

Kim Holst, who had never flown before, said the plane began shuddering violently and dropping more than a hundred metres at a time for about 90 seconds.

Staff appealed to passengers to turn off all electrical equipment as they interferred with the systems, Holst said.

“When a flight attendant dropped an entire tray of drinks and began crawling on his hands and knees back to his seat and the other flight attendant began praying, that’s when most of us began to take it a bit more seriously,” he added.

Other people on board the flight began screaming, he said.

“It was my first flight and I actually didn’t realise it was that big a deal, until I started looking around at the people who had travelled a bit and they were all clutching their seats ... they were like saying ‘oh my God, this is not right',” Holst said.

A West Australian police spokesman said the pilots reported instrument problems and a full emergency response was waiting for the aircraft when it returned.

When contacted, the ATSB in Canberra said investigations into the incident had commenced and a preliminary report would be out in 30 days.

“We are now at a very early stage of investigations but we are aware that the crew encountered some technical problems onboard the aircraft about 40 minutes after taking off from Perth,” Julian Walsh, an ATSB transport safety investigator, said.

He confirmed that ATSB officials interviewed Capt Norhisham yesterday.

Asked whether the environment could have caused the incident, he said: “At this moment, there does not seem to be anything pointing to the incident being caused by the environment.”

He said the plane’s black box arrived in Canberra yesterday morning and data was being downloaded.

“I would not be able to tell how long it would take to complete investigations,” he said, adding that ATSB was working closely with Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

Upon completion of investigations, he said ATSB would make recommendations to MAS if it felt that there were safety issues which needed attention.

[http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/2252629/]