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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

 What's going on in the World Today 110919

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USA

September 15, WFTS 29 Tampa – (Florida) Sheriff: Nurse texted patient information to man who then stole patients' identities. Polk County, Florida, sheriff's detectives arrested a nurse for allegedly giving nursing home patient information to a man who used it to steal those patients' identity. The nurse worked at the Brandywyne Healthcare Center in Winter Haven and texted patient names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers to a man accused of using the information to file Turbo Tax returns and get credit and debit cards. At the time of the man's arrest, he had the records for 83 patients at the facility, detectives said. The nurse was given at least $1,000 by the man for providing the personal information. Source: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_polk/winter_haven/sheriff:nurse-texted-patient-information-to-man-who-then-stole-patients'-identities 

EUROPE

Portfolio: The Eurozone's Road Forward

ASIA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

RUSSIA

Iran: Russia Should Handle S-300 Missile Issue Separately - DM September 19, 2011

Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the S-300 missile system issue should be handled independently of any other issues, IRNA reported Sept. 19. He said Russia sold the missile system to Iran based on contractual obligations and Iran hopes Russia will implement this contract. Vahidi said there is no justification for NATO to install a missile shield in Turkey, a measure Iran finds very harmful.
 
IRAN

Iran: Militant Group's Main Base Captured September 19, 2011

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) captured the main base of militant group Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan on Sept. 18 in northwest Iran near Sardasht, and military equipment belonging to the group was confiscated, according to an IRGC statement, Mehr reported Sept. 19.
 
IRAQ

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT
 
ISRAEL

Palestinian Territories: France Offers Compromise Plan September 19, 2011

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will offer Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a compromise plan allowing the Palestinian Authority to gain non-full U.N. member status amid a promise for the Quartet on the Middle East to increase efforts to revive stalled peace negotiations, al-Hayat reported Sept. 19. Juppe said France and other U.N. members will vote for full-non member status under the compromise plan. Abbas said if the bid was successful, the Palestinian Authority will discuss the specific details of a Palestinian state within negotiations with the Israeli leadership.

Israel: Mission At NATO Headquarters Under Discussion September 19, 2011

Israeli officials involved with NATO relations said the option of opening an Israeli mission at NATO headquarters in Brussels was currently under consideration within the Israeli Foreign and Defense Ministries, The Jerusalem Post reported Sept. 19. On Sept. 18, CNNTurk reported Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying that Turkey had succeeded in blocking Israel’s efforts to open such a mission. An Israeli government official denied knowledge of such a veto, saying one country cannot veto an offer made by NATO.
 
AFGHANISTAN

Dispatch: The Haqqani Factor in U.S.-Pakistan-Taliban Negotiations

MIDDLE EAST

September 15, Global Security Newswire – (International) Libyan chemical materials a proliferation threat, U.S. commander says. Libya's stockpile of chemical warfare materials remains a potential source of proliferation, the U.S. military commander for Africa told reporters September 14. When fighting broke out in February, Tripoli still held a reported 9.5 metric tons of deteriorating blister agent, less than half of the mustard stockpile that was being eliminated under the auspices of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The government also possessed in excess of 1,300 tons of chemical-weapon precursor materials. The regime years earlier destroyed thousands of empty aerial munitions that could have been used to disperse the toxic chemicals in an aerial attack. There is "great concern about the security of that material," the head of U.S. Africa Command said. "It's not weaponized, it's not easily weaponized, but nonetheless we want to make sure ... the [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] gets back in there and completes the destruction of the remaining materials." In addition to chemical materials, the commander said he is concerned about shoulderfired missiles falling into the hands of al-Shabab, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb or Boko Haram, the continent's three major extremist organizations. He also noted that conventional munitions left over by the previous regime could be used in improvised explosive devices. Also September 14, a U.S. Assistant Secretary of State said the United States is working with Tripoli's new leaders to stem possible proliferation of conventional and unconventional weapons, Reuters reported. He said that "to the best of our knowledge" the chemical warfare materials "are containerized in bulk form ... and we believe from monitoring that they are where they are supposed to be." Source: http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110915_6822.php 

Libya: OPEC Recognizes NTC September 19, 2011

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recognized Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) as Libya’s OPEC representative and the NTC will be allowed to assume Libya’s seat in the organization, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said during the Gulf Intelligence energy forum in Dubai, Reuters reported Sept. 19.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

Dispatch: Chilean Protests Challenge Governing Strategy

Mexico: Congressman's Body Found September 18, 2011

Police in southern Mexico say they have found the bodies of a federal congressman, Moises Villanueva, and his driver, who have been missing since Sept. 4, AP reported Sept. 18, citing Guerrero state police chief Ramon Almonte. Almonte said that residents saw the decomposed bodies in a river in the town of Huamuxtitlan and alerted police Sept. 17. Almonte said that police have not determined a motive for the death of the lawmaker.
 
MISC

eptember 16, American Forces Press Service – (National) Department seeks to protect GPS operations. U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials raised concerns that a company’s proposed wireless broadband network would cause harmful interference to essential Global Positioning System (GPS) operations. LightSquared’s new terrestrial network has the potential to wreak havoc on GPS systems vital to the military, and used in a host of applications, the DOD’s chief information officer (CIO) and a U.S. Air Force General, the commander of Air Force Space Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Strategic Forces September 15. GPS is the cornerstone of the DOD's positioning, navigation, and timing services, and is integrated into nearly every aspect of the nation’s military operations, the CIO said. The military recently conducted testing on LightSquared’s network in concert with the Federal Aviation Administration, the general explained. Test data indicate LightSquared’s signals interfered with every type of receiver in the test, the general said. “Based on test results and analysis to date, LightSquared’s network would effectively jam vital GPS receivers, and to our knowledge thus far, there are no mitigation options that would be effective in eliminating interference to essential GPS services in the United States,” the general testified. The CIO said the DOD is also evaluating the effects of LightSquared’s terrestrial transmissions on the military’s use of Inmarsat satellite systems for its data and voice needs. Inmarsat satellite terminals are used by military units, commanders, and other senior government officials for global communications. ”The LightSquared terrestrial system will likely interfere with DOD usage of Inmarsat if appropriate actions are not taken to mitigate interference,” she said. Source: http://www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=65355
 

 
Except where noted courtesy www.stratfor.com
 

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