JEWISH PUBLIC OFFICIALS
● U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (Republican, Pennsylvania) says maybe U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (Republican, Idaho) should reconsider his resignation from the U.S. Senate in the wake of a sting operation in which Craig was accused of soliciting an undercover policeman for gay sex.  Specter advised his colleague to fight the charge.  Here is the link. 

IN MEMORY
●Ben Borevitz, 79, an attorney who was an active supporter of such Jewish defense agencies as the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Community Relations Council of United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, has died of ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  Active in Democratic politics, Borevitz also was known as a wine connoisseur. Here’s the link to an obituary by Elizabeth Fitzsimons in today’s San Diego Union Tribune.

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Story continuations

Bush-Iraq visit ...
(Continued from above)


The president told the more than 700 servicemembers assembled in the morale, welfare and recreation center at this sprawling base that he is “incredibly proud to be the commander-in-chief of such a great group of men and women.”

The soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen in the audience gave the president a rousing welcome. Calls of “Hooah” came from the soldiers and “Oorah” from the Marines, many of whom have had multiple deployments to the region. 

“I want to tell you this about … my decision about troop levels,” the president said. “Those decisions will be based on a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground – not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians to poll results in the media.”

The president said he will order redeployments from Iraq “from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure.”

Their service in Iraq is making the United States more secure, Bush told the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, some of whom had waited four hours for the president to appear.

Bush highlighted the results of the “Anbar Awakening” and other progress as a result of the surge of five brigades of U.S. soldiers into the country.

He told the servicemembers that the Sunni tribesmen, who once fought side-by-side with al Qaeda in Iraq, are now fighting side-by-side with coalition troops against al Qaeda.

“Anbar is a huge province,” Bush said. “It was once written off as lost. It is now one of the safest places in Iraq, because of your hard work.”

The president credited the bravery and sacrifice of U.S. servicemembers for denying al Qaeda a safe haven to plot and plan and carry out attacks against the United States. The sacrifice in Iraq makes America safer, Bush told the servicemembers.

The work is not done, Bush said.

“The surge of operations that began in June is improving security throughout Iraq,” he said. “The military successes are paving the way for the political reconciliation and economic progress the Iraqis need to transform their country.”

Once secure, Iraqis can concentrate on building a stable, civil society with functioning local, provincial and national governments. “That's important, because a free Iraq, an Iraq that's an ally against these extremists and murderers will be a major defeat for the terrorists,” Bush said.

Reconciliation cannot be forced on the Iraqis, they must do it themselves, the president said.

“Earlier today I met with some of the tribal sheiks here in Anbar,” he said. “It was a really interesting meeting. And at the table were the leaders of the central government, as well. They told me that the kind of bottom-up progress that your efforts are bringing to Anbar is vital to the success and stability of a free Iraq.”

Iraq needs stability to build a better future, he said, “and America needs this stability to prevent the chaos that allows the terrorists to set up bases from which they can plot and plan attacks on our homeland.

“If we don't want to hear their footsteps back home, we have to keep them on their heels over here,” he said.

“That's exactly what you're doing,” he told the troops, “and America is safer for it.”

The preceding story was provided by the U.S. Defense Department

 

IDF-Lebanon...
(Continued from above)

“This generation has shown no less devotion and love for its land and its people”, added the Chief of Staff.  “The combat soldiers of the IDF-on the ground, in the air and on sea, both in conscription and reserve duty have proven that during the Second Lebanon War and in every day service, a spirit of courage shines bright.  We have a beautiful country that has produced extraordinary people, men of warmth and spirit, men that fully encapsulate the meaning of heroes.”  

“We all understand that in order to successfully protect one’s home, especially in a region like ours, there is a price that must be paid.  A difficult price- a painful and cruel price.  The IDF lost 119 of our best sons and daughters during the war.  Combat soldiers and commanders serving on the ground, in the air and at sea. Soldiers in both conscription and reserve duty fell courageously and in the defense of their home.  During the war it the bitterness of the price paid became very clear to us - a heavy price paid so that our lives can be a good one.

I salute you, brothers in arms, partners in the mission, heroes of this land, who fell in the defense of your country and its citizens.  I salute you, the parents and sibling, the widows and orphans, the ones who must carry the price in your hearts, day and night- the price paid for the security of the state of Israel.  The entire IDF bows our head to in remembrance of our friends and vow to you that the Israel Defense Force will continue working for the security of Israel, a security paid for with the lives of those who fell in battle, until the day peace arrives to our land.”

Speaking in the name of those who received the medals was Captain Hanoch Duaba, who displayed courage, battle spirit and sacrifice  during combat operations in Bint Jbiel.  “Only those who were there saw the spirit of courage of the infantry troops who returned again and again to the streets of the enemy in an attempt to gain control and stop the launching of rockets into the home front.  Only those who where there saw the “Tank-men” advancing, despite enemy anti- tank barrages, advancing despite the great danger and risk, in order to subdue the enemy.  Only those who were there saw the troops of the engineering corps sacrificing their lives in order to clear a pathway through the streams, shrubbery and rocky terrain, in order to allow for troop movement. Only those who where there saw the helicopter pilots, transporting evacuee after evacuee, landing in dangerous territory and under the threat of heavy fire, courageously evacuating and rescuing the wounded.  Only those who were there saw the artillery units manufacturing arms and explosives for those in the battlefront.  Only those who were there saw the naval ships laying siege to the enemy’s shores, only those who were there saw the reservists who enlisted and came in throngs, to join the battle in Gaza and on the northern border.  Only those who were there know that we did all we could in order to achieve victory.  Only those who were there know we did not stumble or fall, and we never lost our spirit in battle.”

 The preceding story was provided by the Israel Defense Force



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 Mini-Nose ...

 (Continued from above)

"When you go through security checkpoints in some locations you see equipment that may have performed well in the lab but once deployed on the front lines loses much of its sensitivity and reliability," Shalom told ISRAEL21c.

"Our technology is portable, reliable, cost-effective and can also detect improvised explosives without the need for upgrades or changing of expensive dopents and drift tubes. The reality is that we are dealing with suicide bombers who can easily manufacture homemade explosives in their kitchens - that's the threat today, not the terrorist who is going to bring C4 or TNT to a large venue or transportation location."

Established in 2004, the company's focus has been to overcome the operational challenges faced by detection techniques such as radioactive-based Ion Mobility Spectroscopy (IMS) and mass spectrometry. But the seeds of the idea for the Mini-Nose go back 10 years when Shalom's father Moshe, a serial entrepreneur, first began thinking about the issue.

"It was a period when there were a lot of suicide bombings, and Moshe devised the concept with our Chief Scientist Dr. Lev Dayan, at the time a new immigrant from the former Soviet Union," said Doron.

"After we achieved a lot of milestones in product development and following consultations with top security authorities both in Israel and the US, we commercialized the Mini-Nose. We continuously involve government agencies and scientific experts in order to produce the best possible solutions to account for all factors that security officials are concerned with," he said, adding that the company is backed by Sequoia Capital, with additional funding from Israel's Ministry of Defense and the American Technical Support Working Group at the Pentagon.

The company has also attracted some security heavyweights, including its chairman of the board Shabtai Shavit, the former head of the Mossad, and advisory board member John Deutsch, the former director of the CIA and deputy defense director.

The Mini-Nose has also won the prestigious Frost & Sullivan 2006 Technology Innovation Award and most recently the 2007 Bronze Award in the category of best Portable Analytical Instrument Industrial Design Awards from Instrument Business Outlook (IBO).

The technology behind the Mini-Nose is based on an array of sensors and coatings which provide high sensitivity and selectivity for trace detection and identification.

"On the surface of each sensor is a chemical coating which is sensitive to different families of molecules of both explosive and non-explosive material," said Shalom. "When the sensors are exposed to the material, there's a change in the resonating frequency which is measured."

Identification of the substance is determined by means of proprietary pattern recognition algorithms that analyze the obtained data and match it with a library of digital signatures of different explosive chemicals.

According to Shalom, the trace detection technology can be used to screen clothing, baggage, ID cards, tickets, cargos and containers for any trace level of explosive chemicals -- and it does it quickly, replacing today's cumbersome, slow, expensive and radioactive IMS based products while offering a fast throughput and cost effective solution.

"We possess a quick recovery time which is a key factor in resolving the long lines at airport security. And in terms of cost, the Mini-Nose is half the cost of an existing big airport security system," said Shalom.

Due to the sensors' unique design, the HF-QCM technology operates in dusty, humid, and high-traffic areas, maintaining its precision performance even in harsh "real world" environments.

"Maintaining sensitivity in these conditions is crucial for operating on ships and at vehicle checkpoints or first response sites." said Shalom.

"We tested the Mini-Nose with the Israel Military Industries central laboratories, part of the Defense Ministry. It's been put through a lot of hoops, and has been operationally deployed outside the natural lab environment. The big challenge is always to transfer what's worked in the lab into the field when it's being used by screeners who aren't as experienced as the researchers doing the initial testing."

And the results have been more than satisfactory.

"We're working closely with the TSA, and the Mini-Nose is being used at security checkpoints in the US and throughout Europe as well as Israel and Asia-Pacific. There's great excitement about it, especially from the end users - the screeners in the field. They're happy to use a new device that solved the existing problems of explosives detection," said Shalom.

"I am very familiar with current IMS technology and have witnessed first hand the pains and discomfort of TSA screeners working with this outdated ETD equipment" added Tom Neugebauer, SDT's US Operations Manager. "SDT has virtually eliminated most if not all the problems that front line security personnel face around the globe."

Currently boasting a 30-person staff at its Herzliya headquarters SDT plans to establish a US-based company in Washington DC, and to move forward in the US market by setting up a production facility there.

And according to Shalom, explosives detection is just the tip of Mini-Nose's capabilities.

"This core technology gives us the capacity to check every scent and molecule in nature. Today we're focusing on explosives, but part of our future R&D will be sensors for use in narcotics, chemical and biological agent detection, as well as for water security," he said.

Just like their technology, the folks at SDT are just following their noses.

The preceding Israel 21c story was distributed by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs