Ebola Syringe Attack: US Marshall in Quarantine

From Homeland Security News Wire:

U.S. air marshal in quarantine after suspected Ebola syringe attack at Lagos airport

9 September 2014

 

An American federal air marshal was placed in quarantine in Houston, Texas yesterday after being attacked Sunday night at the Lagos, Nigeria airport. The assailant wielded a syringe which contained an unknown substance, and was able to inject an unknown substance into the back of one of the air marshal’s arms. ABC News reports that the air marshal, who was in Nigeria with a team of other marshals, was attacked when the group was in an unsecured area of the airport terminal in Lagos.

The marshal was able to board the United Airlines flight to Houston, where he was met by FBI agents and health workers from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Fearing the syringe contained liquid contaminated with the Ebola virus, the authorities in Houston immediately put him into quarantine. The FBI said he was screened “on-scene… out of an abundance of caution.”...

Much more here.
 

IDF’s Dogs in Gaza: A Fighter’s Best Friend

September 9, 2014

During Operation Protective Edge, the dogs of the IDF’s Oketz unit battled terrorists in Gaza. Many of them were wounded in combat, but that didn’t stop them from continuing the fight.  

Only ten days after suffering a severe injury in Gaza, Whiskey – a dog in the IDF’s Oketz unit – returned to the battlefield. He wasn’t alone. During Operation Protective Edge, several of the IDF’s canines were wounded in clashes with Hamas terrorists. Like Whiskey, many of them continued fighting despite their wounds.

Oketz (Hebrew: ‘Sting’) is the IDF’s elite canine unit and the best of its kind in the world. The unit’s soldiers undergo intense training to lead infantry forces and special units into battle. They prepare year round to join IDF troops in all sorts of situations, from basic missions to the most complex operations.

“Our dogs are filled with motivation, and they rarely reveal that something is wrong with them,” explained Major A, one of the unit’s senior veterinarians. On the first day of the operation’s ground phase, a bullet entered Whiskey’s leg near a major artery. Despite his injury, he continued to carry out his mission alongside IDF soldiers.

More than two hours after Whiskey’s injury, his handler noticed that he was limping and needed urgent medical attention. IDF soldiers immediately evacuated him to a hospital in Israel, where veterinarians performed surgery and saved his life. Only ten days later, Whiskey returned to the battlefield. “He was determined to keep going,” Major A explained. “His wound was very dangerous, and he survived it almost by a miracle.”...

More details on these fantastic Heroes here.

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Mike



Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee88 years old from Arlington, Virginia
Machine-Gun Platoon of Baker Company, 1st Battalion 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division
January 21, 1926 - March 3, 2014




Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee was the first U.S. Marine Corps officer of Chinese descent. At the time of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Chew-Een Lee was a high school student going by the nickname "Kurt", associated with the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. In 1944 when he was an 18-year-old student of mining engineering, Lee joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He retired from the Marines in 1968.
You can read more about Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so that we may get to enjoy our freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.

Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

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9/11: Demands to extend Zadroga Bill

(graphic courtesy of Mitch Tru)
 
James Zadroga was a NYPD detective who died in 2006, aged 34, from the direct effects of the toxins he inhaled as he worked at Ground Zero.



Bill HR 847 was named James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, and was the culmination of years of lobbying the politicians to quit playing 'politics as usual,' and do the morally right thing by the Ground Zero Responders.

Yesterday, at the World Trade Center, politicians joined their voices with those most directly sickened by 9/11, demanding that this Bill be re-authorised, and it's mandate extended.

From NBC New York:

New York Lawmakers Call on Congress to Reauthorize Zadroga Bill

 By Jonathan Lemire

New York lawmakers are calling for Congress to reauthorize federal legislation to compensate first responders who grew ill working at ground zero.

Mayor de Blasio and politicians from both parties, including Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, made their call Monday at the World Trade Center.

[...]

The James Zadroga bill's two programs provide medical treatment and compensation. They're set to expire in 2015 and 2016.

[...]

Gillibrand said letting the programs expire would mean the government turned its back on heroes....

More details - plus video - here.

Related: N.Y. politicians will push to extend 9/11 care act, but it's a tough sell

Father of James Zadroga tells Congress to act quickly to help sick 9-11 responders

[For previous columns on this topic, use the search block above.]

9/11 Responders Urged To Register For WCB

(courtesy: Getty Images)

From CBS NY:

[...]

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – Elected officials and union activists are urging Sept. 11 responders to sign up for New York workers’ compensation benefits.

They say that those who worked around the World Trade Center site should enroll with the state Workers’ Compensation Board.

Next Thursday, the 13th anniversary of the terror attacks, is the deadline to sign up.

The officials said even people who are not sick should register because it preserves their right to get benefits in the future if they do fall ill.

It also is open to workers who live in other states.  (Yes, emphasis mine)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler said that “those who have paid such a high price” deserve compensation.

“This does not mean that you are injured or ill now, but it does preserve your ability to file a claim later,” Nadler said.

Nadler was joined at Friday’s City Hall press conference by representatives of several unions, including DC 37 and the Laborers Local 78.

As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, Reverend Bill Minson spent months in and around ground zero working as a chaplain. He’s not sick now, but knows the air was like a ticking time bomb.

“An incubation period for many of these cancers and things can’t be calculated,” he said...

Much more - and video - here.

Iraq: Haditha Dam Air Strikes - Pentagon statement

From the DoD:

Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby on Haditha Dam Airstrikes 
 09/07/2014 03:55 AM CDT

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. NR-468-14
September 07, 2014

Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby on Haditha Dam Airstrikes

"At the request of the Government of Iraq, the U.S. military on Saturday conducted coordinated airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists in the vicinity of the Haditha Dam in Anbar province. We conducted these strikes to prevent terrorists from further threatening the security of the dam, which remains under control of Iraqi Security Forces, with support from Sunni tribes.

"The strikes were flown by aircraft under the control of U.S. Central Command. The strikes were conducted under authority to protect U.S. personnel and facilities, support humanitarian efforts, and support Iraqi forces that are acting in furtherance of these objectives.

"We will continue to conduct operations as needed in support of the Iraqi Security Forces and the Sunni tribes, working with those forces securing Haditha Dam.

"Sitting astride the Euphrates River, the Haditha Dam provides fresh water for millions of Iraqis, as well as their crops. It is the second largest hydroelectric contributor in the power system in Iraq.

"The potential loss of control of the dam or a catastrophic failure of the dam - and the flooding that might result - would have threatened U.S. personnel and facilities in and around Baghdad, as well as thousands of Iraqi citizens." 

 

Police Officer Arthur Lopez' killer gets life

From 4NBC NY :

Man Who Killed NY Officer Receives Life Sentence

 Friday, Sep 5, 2014



A man who was convicted of killing a Long Island police officer during a traffic stop and another motorist during his getaway was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole. Darrell Fuller, 34, of Queens, was convicted in July of first- and second-degree murder....

[...]

"Mr. Despicable, you will never see the light of day," Judge Jerald Carter told Fuller at the sentencing. "You will remain behind bars as you wait for the hell on the other side of the ledger."...

For more details - and video - see here.

Heroes Behind The Badge