Free Kareem
ALERT!! A serious injustice was committed. Please take action now! Kareem Amer, an Egyptian blogger who was imprisoned for exercising his right to freedom of speech, is still in prison and needs YOUR help!
Find out more information by visiting FreeKareem.org or by networking with us.
Latest News from freekareem.org- Hundreds of letters for Kareem
- Urgent request: Flood the Jail with Mail
- Security officers broke into Kareem’s prison cell, confiscated his letters and destroyed his writings
- Amnesty UK runs awareness campaign for Kareem
- Kareem in the news
Kareem has been in prison for: 1362 days.
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Hokie Movie Trailer – Virginia Tech Football Fans, Up Close And Personal
New ‘Hokie Nation‘ Hokie Movie Documentary Chronicles the Optimism and Creativity of ‘the Best Fans in College Football‘
“Hokie Nation: A Team, A Town and the Best Darned Fans in College Football,” a documentary film that depicts the energy and enthusiasm of Virginia Tech football fans year ’round, will premiere at the historic Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg at 7 p.m. Friday, August 31 — the night before the opening game of the season.
An official university licensed project, the film was made by local independent filmmakers and Virginia Tech alumni Chris Valluzzo and
Sean Kotz, who began planning the production in 2005 as a way of honoring the school’s vibrant and energetic fans. The long anticipated premiere will be held on the evening before the Hokies open their 2007-2008 season against East Carolina in a nationally televised game on ESPN, which will broadcast its “College GameDay” show from Blacksburg
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Trailer
“What we found is a fan base with an exceptional and unique culture,” says Kotz, the co-director/producer. “The Hokie Nation has created itself by blending traditional Appalachian values of family, hospitality, community and devotion with a blue collar work ethic, an eye toward the future and what we call the ‘Hokie Spirit.’ This film was born out of a genuine love of the team, the town and, especially, the Hokie fans.”That same approach to life helped Virginia Tech students rise above the tragedy that struck the campus in April of this year. “Hokie Spirit is an inherent belief that anything can be accomplished, any obstacle can be overcome with unity, faith and willpower,” says Kotz.”Hokie Nation” features interviews with fans and some of the sports legends who have called Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium home, including NFL greats
Bruce Smith,
Antonio Freeman and
Frank Beamer, a longtime fan favorite, helps illuminate the Hokie phenomenon, as do students, faculty, media personalities, law enforcement officials and two Virginia governors. The entire game day experience is documented through world-renowned tailgates in the stadium’s parking lots, deep coverage from the stands and birds-eye views from the luxury boxes. “So many moments have been special in this project,” says co-director/producer Valluzzo . “Interviewing Frank Beamer, Bud Foster,
and Bryan Stinespring, who all gladly spoke with us for this documentary. Meeting and interviewing Bruce Smith, arguably the greatest player to ever call himself a Hokie. Talking with
Carroll Dale, a Tech great who played in the first Super Bowl for the Green Bay Packers under
Vince Lombardi. And talking with former Governor
Mark Warner and current Governor Tim Kaine made me think that everyone is a Hokie fan. “But probably the greatest moment for me,” he continues, “was walking through the parking lot and the stadium and hearing people shout out ‘Hey, Hokie movie guy’ and giving me the thumbs up. They were happy their story was being told and I am extremely proud to represent these wonderful people.”After its August 31 premiere, “Hokie Nation” will have encore showings at the Lyric at 9:30 that night and at Sunday and Monday matinees. The following week it will be shown at the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse on September 6-7, Norfolk’s Naro Theater on September 6, and Richmond’s Byrd Theater on September 7. Check those theaters for showtimes. A DVD of the two-hour documentary will be available for general release around mid-September.SOURCE: Horse Archer Productions
By PR Newswire
Michael Vick guilty plea
Michael Vick RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Vick’s lawyer said Monday the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty after being indicted on dogfighting charges along with three co-defendants. “After consulting with his family over the weekend, Michael Vick asked that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him,” lead defense attorney Billy Martin said in a statement. “Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter.”
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Vick’s plea hearing will be Aug. 27, Martin said. Martin’s announcement came as a grand jury that could add new charges met in private. Prosecutors had said that a superseding indictment was in the works, but Vick’s plea most likely means he will not face additional charges.Quanis Phillips, of Atlanta, and Purnell Peace, of Virginia Beach, entered plea agreements and agreed to testify against Vick. Tony Taylor, of Hampton, struck a similar deal last month. Vick’s attorneys were negotiating with federal prosecutors last week, hoping to strike a deal on a plea agreement. Prosecutors have declined to comment outside court on negotiations with Vick’s attorneys. Vick originally plead not guilty to charges last month and was slated for trial Nov. 26. Two of Vick’s co-defendants pleaded guilty Friday and said he bankrolled gambling on dogfights at Vick’s property in rural Surry County, not far from his hometown of Newport News. One defendant said Vick helped drown or hang dogs that didn’t perform well in fights.The gambling allegations alone could trigger a lifetime ban under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Chris Benoit
AP
Chris Benoit
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Details of the deaths of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son may seem “a little bizarre” when released to the public, a prosecutor said.
Authorities were investigating the deaths at a secluded Fayette County home as a murder-suicide and were not seeking any suspects outside the home.
Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The details, when they come out, are going to prove a little bizarre.”
Those details may emerge after the completion of autopsies scheduled for Tuesday.
• Click here to view video report from MyFoxAtlanta.com.
Investigators believe Benoit, killed his wife and son over the weekend and then himself sometime Monday. The bodies were found Monday afternoon in three different rooms of the house on Green Meadow Lane, in a subdivision off a gravel road about two miles from Whitewater Country Club.
The autopsies were scheduled to be done at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in DeKalb County.
Ballard told The Associated Press a gun was not used in any of the deaths. But he declined to say how the three died.
“We’re pretty sure we know, but we want to confirm it with the crime lab,” Ballard said early Tuesday.
Fayette County Coroner C.J. Mowell did not immediately return phone calls. The answering service for his funeral home said he was out of town.
World Wrestling Entertainment said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received “several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning.”
• Click here for full coverage on the WWE Web site.
Pope said the three were found about 2:30 p.m., but he would release no other details about the deaths.
Stamford, Conn.-based WWE also said on its Web site it had further information on the deaths of Benoit, 40; his wife, Nancy, 43; and son, Daniel, but had been asked by authorities not to release it.
Benoit, a native of Canada, was born in Montreal. He was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles over his career. He was known by several names including “The Canadian Crippler.”
“WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy,” the federation said in a statement on its Web site.
Benoit was scheduled to perform at the “Vengeance” pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called “personal reasons.”
Benoit maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling.
The WWE canceled its live “Monday Night RAW” card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.
Benoit’s wife managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name, “Woman,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing story line on World Championship Wrestling, the newspaper said.
Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.
Is the game up at Decipher? Lawsuits are mounting and fans restless Warren L. Holland Rick Eddleman
Will the empire strike back and undo the brilliance behind a privately held company that has a shrinking presence on Granby Street? Sounds like the perfect plot for a new card game.
Unfortunately, the future is murky for Decipher Inc., a Norfolk-based game card company. It found huge success with its Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars and How to Host a Murder games, but it has been plagued by personal and professional lawsuits during its tenure.
Even a group of disgruntled tournament winners, formerly loyal fans, is threatening to bring the house down.
Decipher, owned by Warren L. Holland Jr., has had three rounds of layoffs this year totaling at least 50 people, according to several former employees. They said the company’s health insurance has been canceled, too.
Holland sold his 10,000-square-foot building at 253 Granby St. about two weeks ago and is leasing office space next door. Dr. Sture Sigfred, a radiologist who owns about a half-dozen other buildings downtown, said he purchased the building.
There are pending cases brought by Decipher against its former chief financial officer, Rick Eddleman, that begin proceedings in January 2006, and a Kathy Eddleman, with a scheduled hearing for Aug. 26. Several other cases are listed in court records as well, including one in April that required Holland to pay Sentara Hospitals almost $2,700.
Despite repeated attempts, INSIDE BUSINESS was not able to reach Holland or any representatives of his company. The phone was not answered. One employee who was contacted changed her voice mail message one week later to say she no longer works for Decipher. Calls were referred to another employee, Becky Higgerson, who also did not return a phone call.
Randy Muir owns Wild Things, a Salem, Ore., store that sells Decipher’s card games. He said he has done some of the same conventions with Decipher for a decade.
“I have no real problems with them,†said Muir, even though Decipher owes him a reimbursement for products that he ordered and never received. “The product will not arrive. I will be reimbursed with a future product.â€
Overall, he said the company isn’t as prompt or professional as it used to be.
“It’s not unexpected, given the layoffs,†Muir said. “A lot of this stuff is like writing on the wall. Other businesses like this have already gone down.â€
Meanwhile, the fans are getting restless. John Hawkins, also from Salem, won $2,500 at a Las Vegas tournament in March, the Decipher Vegas Open, and has yet to be paid. The winnings of three other friends bring the amount to over $4,000.
“They are very evasive and don’t answer our phone calls,†Hawkins said. “They’ve treated us well in the past and poorly in the past. They seem to put profits ahead of customer concerns.â€
Hawkins has assembled an even larger group, 16 players who are owed tournament money, to take legal action against Decipher. He said he has heard from friends and retailers who order Decipher’s products that the company has closed down two of its three Norfolk warehouses.
“They are shrinking their business to try to get down to a size that is manageable,†Hawkins said.
Chris DeNoma, also of Salem, said he and Hawkins have been playing Decipher games since they were teens.
“We’ve been playing card games since 1994,†DeNoma said. “It’s like a more complex game of chess.â€
“We spent money flying down there and on hotel rooms,†he said, referring to the Las Vegas tournament. “It’s just odd that it’s being handled the way it is.â€
Some of Decipher’s message boards are rife with fan complaints about unfulfilled orders and speculations on the company’s future. Players want to know if others are experiencing problems with fan dollars, which are credits awarded for purchases.
According to the Decipher Web site, it costs 99 cents a month to belong to the fan club. Others log on to the message boards with no complaints and simply to trade cards.
Decipher has also delayed the sell dates for some highly anticipated products, including Star Trek and Lord of the Rings games. A message posted on its Web site July 29 by “Dan Bojanowski, brand manager,†attributes the problems to production delays.
By Janet Dunphy
Inside Business – Hampton Roads
S.C. Cops: Naked Couple Falls 50 Feet From Rooftop to Their Deaths
Police on Wednesday were investigating how a naked couple fell 50 feet from the roof of a downtown office building to their deaths.
The bodies were found on the road by a passing cabdriver around 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Clothing was discovered on the roof, leading authorities to suspect the man and woman, in their early 20s, may have been having sex. Their identities were not released.
“It’s too early to rule out anything,” Columbia police Sgt. Florence McCants said, but McCants said a preliminary investigation didn’t show any sign of foul play.
Harry Potter “Hack†Claims to Give Spoiler Details of the Ending
Harry Potter “Hack†Claims to Give Spoiler Details of the Ending
You’ve probably never heard of Fyodor, or insecure.org. I expect you will over the next few days as the mainstream media begins to pick up on a Harry Potter story. Fyodor is a very gifted programmer who created an extremely valuable security analysis program called nmap over 10 years ago, and has been maintaining and improving it ever since. nmap is one of the most widely-used vulnerability scanners, and was even featured in the second Matrix movie (pictures are at the bottom of the insecure.org home page. Geek trivia: the versions of nmap, the target computer system, and the actual vulnerability are historically accurate.)
What does this have to do with Harry Potter? Well, Fyodor also hosts a number of extremely useful computer security discussion lists on his site. And on one of those, a day ago, someone posting as “Gabriel†posted a message entitled “Harry Potter 0dayâ€. (â€0day†is jargon for “zero dayâ€, and is used to denote a file — originally software, but more commonly now films or music — that is released onto the underground scene on the day of its public release. This kind of piracy gives bragging rights to the crackers.) In the post, Gabriel claims to give spoilers as to the ending of the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Interestingly, the post claims a religious motive (which fits with the poster’s choice of name):
We did it by following the precious words of the great Pope Benedict XVI when he still was Cardinal Josepth Ratzinger.
He explained why Harry Potter bring the youngs of our earth to Neo Paganism faith.
So we make this spoiler to make reading of the upcoming book useless and boring.
More worryingly, the poster claims to have gotten the information through a malicious email sent to an employee of Bloomsbury Press:
The attack strategy was the easiest one.
The usual milw0rm downloaded exploit delivered by email/click-on-the-link/open-browser/click-on-this-animated-icon/back-connect to some employee of Bloomsbury Publishing, the company that’s behind the Harry crap.
It’s amazing to see how much people inside the company have copies and drafts of this book.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Even if this particular incident is not true, this illustrates the dangers that poor computer security can pose to a business, as well as an individual, because this kind of thing can indeed happen. When software is in a state where a single click on an email can allow a cracker access to the files stored locally on the computer (or on accessible network shares) you have a clear chance of this kind of thing happening. It only takes one foolish click, or error (or — the most dangerous — an exploit that triggers without this kind of action). Software security is boring, but the consequences of poor security can be devastating. Its marketing hyperbole aside, Apple does have a valid claim to significant superiority here, owing to Mac OS X’s Unix underpinnings.
If this incident is true, I don’t see it particularly hurting sales. Kids (and adults) will still want to buy the book, and this kind of information will be all over the web 1 minute after the books go on sale. It would however suggest the importance of quarantining critical information on a “need-to-know†basis, and storing it on a system not accessible to the public.
In any event, I don’t recommend reading Gabriel’s post. If true, it will ruin enjoyment of the book. If false, it will still do so, and you won’t fully realise until you get to the end. Either way, you are giving the poster publicity and credibility. If you really, really must, I will say that the post appears on the “Full Disclosure†discussion list, but that’s it.
LawFont
The Fastest Way to Collect Online Form Responses
The Fastest Way to Collect Online Form Responses
FormRouter is redefining the forms management process with exciting new solutions for routing and data collection. Through our unique technology, FormRouter facilitates the routing of PDF, InfoPath, Excel, HTML, Flash, Word, ASP and ASP.NET forms between individuals filling in forms and those wanting to process the captured data. FormRouter is an Application Service Provider (ASP) offering subscription services enabling form routing of hundreds to millions of forms, scaling to meet your needs.
Using FormRouter, non-technical users publish forms within hours – without engaging IT professionals. By eliminating manual re-keying, you reduce costs, increase accuracy and slash the time required to get results in house and online. Completed forms are encrypted and routed to the FormRouter server. Alerts can be predefined to monitor form submissions for “desirable data†(the needle in the haystack) with user notification via e-mail. Designated users (i.e. those with appropriate permissions) can download (24/7) the aggregated results into a wide variety of destinations including application programs, Lotus Notes/Domino Access, SQL Server, Text, Excel, XML and other ODBC compliant databases.
FormRouter customers can expect to realize significant ROI in the first year. The benefit is compounded based on the number of forms and the number of form submissions being processed.
Stalking 2.0: The Websites that Track Your Every Move (Voluntarily!)
Stalking 2.0: The Websites that Track Your Every Move (Voluntarily!)
So, you don’t mind being followed and tracked? You don’t care if your friends can see what websites you’ve been to lately, what software you’ve been running, or even what music you’ve been listening to? Then you’ll love the web’s trend towards extreme openness: sharing everything you do on your computer. Sometimes referred to as sharing your ‘attention’ data, this is a growing market. Below, we round up 12 services that want to track your every move – voluntarily.
Wakoopa is an excellent service which tracks what software you have been running. It keeps tabs of what software is running in the background, what software you have installed, and what software you actively use. Every so often the software uploads this data to the Wakoopa site where it then lists all programs you have been running. The interesting thing here is that you can add friends to track individually or join a team and combine the data. Thanks to Wakoopa, I have found several useful programs that I now use regularly.
Last.fm has been making news with the site being acquired by CBS for nearly $300 million. If you’re a tech-savvy music fan, you probably already use it. With Last.fm you download a small program which gathers information on the current song you are playing through your favorite mp3 software application. Through a process called “scrobbling,†the software determines what song you are listening to and then uploads this song’s data to the server and then keeps track of it. On the website itself there are many ways of viewing the data which is fun to play around with. To be honest though, I think the greatest part is learning exactly how much horrible music you listen to and what songs your friends listen to in comparison. (Our Last.fm review.)
Cluztr takes it to the web by tracking every site you visit online through your browser. Not only that, it also keeps a history log or “clickstream†of all those sites. One word of advice, avoid visiting sites that your mother would not think much of, as it’s all out there for your friends to view. Cluztr installs a plug-in to your FireFox or Flock browser (sorry IE and Safari users, Cluztr is hopeful for a mid to late 2007 release) where it then captures your entire web surfing history and compiles it into your “clickstream†which you are free to share or publish on the web for all your friends to see. There are also social functions built into the sidebar which allow for posting of messages for that specific site which other users can see when visiting that same site. (Our Cluztr review.)
AttentionTrust offers services similar to Cluztr. AttentionTrust installs as a browser plug-in and tracks the sites you visit. You can then take this data and share it with other applications or development projects that could make use of this data, or simply store it on your desktop. AttentionTrust’s idea is to let you share this data with in interested parties for a fee – in other words, a form of lead generation.
Atten.TV is another site that allows you to follow what you or your friends are clicking on around the web. You have the option to share this data or keep it private. It is completely up to you. Since you are reading this article, I think it is safe to assume you are leaning towards the former option. The downloadable application is only for Mac OS currently. (Our Atten.tv review.)
Me.dium can be considered a competitor to Cluztr. Me.dium takes the same basic approach, but doesn’t act as a personal log: instead, it lets you see which sites your friends are on, and join them there. It is simply personal preference on your decision to use Cluztr, Me.dium, Atten.TV or AttentionTrust. (Our Me.dium review.)
Plazes is a service that tracks where you are no matter where you are in the world. So now if you not only want your pals to know where you are online, you can have them know where you are in person. Just be sure not to get in to trouble with this service.
iStalkr doesn’t keep tabs on you directly, but rather, indirectly by utilizing RSS and ATOM feeds that most social web 2.0 sites are utilizing now. If you sign up for an iStalkr account and enter some social sites you are a member of, like Del.icio.us and Twitter, iStalkr will then grab the RSS/ATOM feed for that service and will be able to get your updates from the site. To put it simply, think of iStalkr like as a central hub for your social website information and updates. (Our iStalkr review.)
SlifeShare is an application built for the Mac OS primarily. If you are running Firefox you can install the extension regardless of what OS you run. SlifeShare is similar to iStalkr in that the application tracks data from multiple sources and acts as a central hub, but SlifeShare takes it a step further and collects this data directly. Music, videos, photos, websites, applications, and more are tracked and then the data is displayed on the SlifeShare website which you can share with friends. You are only allowed five friends, after which you must either become a premium user or just stick with the five friend limit. (Our SlifeShare review.)
YouTube Active Share simply allows you to share videos that you watch on YouTube with all your friends. Your profile will show what videos you have recently watched and when you are currently watching a video while others are viewing the same video, they will see your name appear on a list of people currently watching that video.
Particls is a downloadable application which doesn’t necessarily track what you do, but instead tracks what you are most interested in receiving information about. The concept is that you allow the Particls software to search your documents for keywords that will allow the program to determine what information you want to be fed to your computer via RSS and ATOM feeds. For example, if you type in Web 2.0, it’s almost a guarantee you will receive site updates from the Mashable website directly to the Particls software. Minor problems with the application is that it can be a resource hog at times, but it is very powerful, and Particls will have an ad supported version and a pay version in the future.
Google History has drawn much controversy over privacy issues. Google search history is another controversial tool Google released that tracks every search term you enter into Google’s various search tools. This feature is mainly for your benefit only.
Got any more sites that track you around the web? Add them in the comments.
by James Mowery
DOD blocking YouTube, Myspace from troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
To save bandwidth, officials say several sites to be off-limits at work
Starting Monday, the Defense Department will block access to MySpace, YouTube and a host of other sites on official department computers worldwide, in an effort to boost its network efficiency.
Troops and families living on U.S. bases will still be able to view the sites through private Internet networks, but the move leaves servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan who use the popular picture- and video-sharing sites with little or no access to them.
Defense officials said the move is solely a reaction to the heavy drain the streaming video and audio can put on the defense computer network.
“We’re not passing any judgment on these sites, we’re just saying you shouldn’t be accessing them at work,†said Julie Ziegenhorn, spokeswoman for U.S. Strategic Command. “This is a bandwidth and network management issue. We’ve got to have the networks open to do our mission. They have to be reliable, timely and secure.â€
In a message to troops from U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. B.B. Bell on Friday, he acknowledged many of the sites being blocked are used by troops to keep in touch with family and friends.
This recreational traffic impacts our official DOD network and bandwidth availability, while posting a significant operational security challenge,†he wrote.
Ironically, the Defense Department this year had just begun expanding its own use of YouTube to reach a younger, broader audience and show clips of U.S. troops in action.
Multi-National Force — Iraq, U.S. Army Civil Affairs Command in Afghanistan, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Gulf Region have all launched new channels on the Web site to highlight recent successes overseas.
Ziegenhorn said that wasn’t taken into consideration when the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations began reviewing and flagging sites that posed problems to the network.
“This is all about what is a drain on the system,†she said.
A review of the banned sites has been under way since February, she said. And the task force is still considering other problematic addresses to add to the list.
“This will be an ever-evolving discussion, because we need to constantly make sure those networks are available and secure,†she said.
The official policy blocking the sites will be released Monday, the same day they go into effect. But Ziegenhorn said most network administrators are already aware of the change.
The individual services have already blocked some sites for the same bandwidth issues. In addition, Defense Department policy prohibits troops or civilian workers from using government computers from accessing inappropriate sites because of inappropriate content, such as pornography.
source: Stars and Stripes
Chemical Warfare
Chemical Warfare
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Chemical warfare definition
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warfare using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy.
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Use of lethal or incapacitating chemical weapons in war, and the methods of combating such agents
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Chemical warfare technology
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Chemical weapon agents
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Persistency
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All chemical weapon agents are classified according to their persistency, a measure of the length of time that a chemical agent remains effective after dissemination. Chemical agents are classified as persistent or nonpersistent.
Agents classified as nonpersistent lose effectiveness after only a few minutes or hours. Purely gaseous agents such as chlorine are nonpersistent, as are highly volatile agents such as sarin and most other nerve agents. Tactically, nonpersistent agents are very useful against targets that are to be taken over and controlled very quickly. Generally speaking, nonpersistent agents present only an inhalation hazard.
By contrast, persistent agents tend to remain in the environment for as long as a week, complicating decontamination. Defense against persistent agents requires shielding for extended periods of time. Non-volatile liquid agents, such as blister agents and the oily VX nerve agent, do not easily evaporate into a gas, and therefore present primarily a contact hazard.
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Classes of chemical weapon agents
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Chemical weapon agents are organized into several categories according to the manner in which they affect the human body. The names and number of categories varies slightly from source to source,
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Chemical weapon designations
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Most chemical weapons are assigned a one- to three-letter “NATO weapon designation” in addition to, or in place of, a common name. Binary munitions, in which precursors for chemical weapon agents are automatically mixed in shell to produce the agent just prior to its use, are indicated by a “-2″ following the agent’s designation (for example, GB-2 and VX-2).
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Chemical agent delivery
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The most important factor in the effectiveness of chemical weapons is the efficiency of its delivery, or dissemination, to a target. The most common techniques include munitions (such as bombs, projectiles, warheads) that allow dissemination at a distance and spray tanks which disseminate from low-flying aircraft. Developments in the techniques of filling and storage of munitions have also been important.
Although there have been many advances in chemical weapon delivery since World War I, it is still difficult to achieve effective dispersion. The dissemination is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions because many chemical agents act in gaseous form. Thus, weather observations and forecasting are essential to optimize weapon delivery and reduce the risk of injuring friendly forces.
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Dispersion
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Dispersion is the simplest technique of delivering an agent to its target. It consists of placing the chemical agent upon or adjacent to a target immediately before dissemination, so that the material is most efficiently used.
World War I saw the earliest implementation of this technique, when German forces simply opened canisters of chlorine and allowed the wind to carry the gas across enemy lines. While simple and easy, this technique had numerous disadvantages. Delivery depended greatly on wind speed and direction.
non-explosive artillery
1950s and early 1960s, chemical artillery rockets
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Thermal dissemination
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Thermal dissemination is the use of explosives or pyrotechnics to deliver chemical agents.
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Aerodynamic dissemination
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Aerodynamic dissemination is the non-explosive delivery of a chemical agent from an aircraft, allowing aerodynamic stress to disseminate the agent.
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History
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Chemical warfare in ancient and classical times
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Chemical weapons have been used for millennia in the form of poisoned arrows
during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Spartan forces besieging an Athenian city placed a lighted mixture of wood, pitch, and sulfur under the walls hoping that the noxious smoke would incapacitate the Athenians, so that they would not be able to resist the assault that followed
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The rediscovery of chemical warfare
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During the Renaissance, people again considered using chemical warfare. One of the earliest such references is from Leonardo da Vinci, who proposed a powder of sulfide of arsenic
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Chemical warfare in World War I
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The French were the first to use chemical weapons during the First World War, using tear gas
Germans attacked French, Canadian and Algerian troops with chlorine gas.
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Chemical warfare in the interwar years
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After World War I, the United States and many of the European powers attempted to take advantage of the opportunities that the war created by attempting to establish and hold colonies. During this interwar period, chemical agents were occasionally used to subdue populations and suppress rebellion.
In 1935 Fascist Italy used mustard gas during the invasion of Ethiopia in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Ignoring the Geneva Protocol, which it signed seven years earlier, the Italian military dropped mustard gas in bombs, sprayed it from airplanes, and spread it in powdered form on the ground. 15,000 chemical casualties were reported, mostly from mustard gas.
The Soviet Union also employed poison gas on its own people during the interwar period. Soviet commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky used chemical weapons in the 1921 suppression of a massive peasant uprising around Tambov.
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Chemical warfare in World War II
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During World War II, chemical warfare was revolutionized by Nazi Germany’s accidental discovery of the nerve agents tabun, sarin and soman.
The Japanese used mustard gas
German–manufactured “fine white powder,” and instructions from the Mufti to dump chemicals into the Tel Aviv water system.
The Nazis used the insecticide Zyklon B, which contains hydrogen cyanide, to kill large numbers of victims in concentration camps
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Chemical warfare during the Cold War
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Developments by the Western governments
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After World War II, the Allies recovered German artillery shells containing the three German nerve agents of the day (tabun, sarin, and soman), prompting further research into nerve agents by all of the former Allies. Although the threat of global thermonuclear annihilation was foremost in the minds of most during the Cold War, both the Soviet and Western governments put enormous resources into developing chemical and biological weapons.
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United States Senate Report
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A 1994 United States Senate Report, entitled “Is military research hazardous to veterans health? Lessons spanning a half century,”[4] detailed the United States’ Department of Defense practice of experimenting on animal and human subjects, often without a latter’s knowledge or consent. [5] This included:
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Developments by the Soviet government
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Due to the secrecy of the Soviet Union’s government, very little information was available about the direction and progress of the Soviet chemical weapons until relatively recently. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian chemist Vil Mirzayanov published articles revealing illegal chemical weapons experimentation in Russia.
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Chemical warfare in the Iran-Iraq War
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The Iran-Iraq War began in 1980 when Iraq attacked Iran. Early in the conflict, Iraq began to employ mustard gas and tabun delivered by bombs dropped from airplanes; approximately 5% of all Iranian casualties are directly attributable to the use of these agents. Iraq and the U.S. government alleged that Iran was also using chemical weapons, but independent sources were unable to confirm these allegations.
About 100,000 Iranian soldiers were victims of Iraq’s chemical attacks. Many were hit by mustard gas.
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Chemical weapons and terrorism
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In 2001, after carrying out the attacks in New York City on September 11, the organization Al Qaeda announced that they were attempting to acquire radiological, biological and chemical weapons. This threat was lent a great deal of credibility when a large archive of videotapes was obtained by the cable television network CNN in August of 2002 showing, among other things, the killing of three dogs by an apparent nerve agent.
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Example: VX Gas
methylphosphonothioic acid, S-[2-[bis(1-methylethyl)amino]ethyl]- O-ethyl ester
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In the film “The Rock”, it was that “green” that the terrorists threatened San Francisco Bay area
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In a combat situation, VX Gas would be deployed by detonating a container (e.g. a missile) of gas over the target area.
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VX Gas has an LD50 (dose toxic to 50% of victims) is the lowest of any known compound at only 10mg (a raindrop weighs about 50mg).
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VX Gas is easily absorbed into the body, and inhalation at concentrations as low as 30mg per cubic meter kills within fifteen minutes.
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VX Gas disrupts the passage of messages between nerves, and from nerves to muscles.
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It operates by cutting off the nervous system
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VX Gas causes many symptoms, and usually kills.
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VX Gas has effective antidotes if treated promptly.
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The International Chemical Weapons Convention bans the use of nerve agents (including VX Gas), and requires all stockpiles to be destroyed by 2007.
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UN weapons inspectors have found EMPTA, a VX precursor, in Iraqi factories, and at the site of the 1998 US bombardment of factories in The Sudan
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Agent Identification and Common Name(s) |
Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Name |
Chemical Structure |
