The weather is really pissing me off here. Since when do you need a winter coat in May? And the wind is just insane. Linton had 55 mph wind last night and St. Anthony had like 68 I think. Top two in the state said Breanna. This is why I hate North Dakota. Grr...

Medal of Honor given to Sioux for heroism

Nation's highest military for valor in North Korea; sergeant died in 1982

updated 7:14 p.m. CT, Mon., March. 3, 2008

WASHINGTON - President Bush apologized Monday that the country waited decades to honor Master Sgt. Woodrow Wilson Keeble for his military valor in Korea, giving him the Medal of Honor more than 25 years after he died.

Keeble is the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the nation’s highest military award. But it came almost six decades after he saved the lives of fellow soldiers. Keeble died in 1982.

“On behalf of our grateful nation, I deeply regret that this tribute comes decades too late,” Bush said at the White House medal ceremony. “Woody will never hold this medal in his hands or wear it on his uniform. He will never hear a president thank him for his heroism. He will never stand here to see the pride of his friends and loved ones, as I see in their eyes now.”

But, Bush said, there are things the nation can still do for Keeble, even all these years later.

“We can tell his story. We can honor his memory. And we can follow his lead, by showing all those who have followed him on the battlefield the same love and generosity of spirit that Woody showed his country every day,” the president said before a somber East Room audience that included three rows of Keeble’s family members.

'Soldiers watched in awe'

Fellow soldiers, family members and others have been pushing Congress and the White House for years to award Keeble the medal. They said the man known as “Chief,” a member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe, deserves the medal for his actions in Korea in 1951, when he saved the lives of other soldiers by taking out more than a dozen of their enemies on a steep hill, even though he himself was wounded.

“Soldiers watched in awe as Woody single-handedly took out one machine gun nest, and then another,” Bush said. “When Woody was through, all 16 enemy soldiers were dead, the hill was taken, and the Allies won the day.”

Pentagon officials had said the legal deadline had passed to award the medal to Keeble unless Congress specifically authorized it. Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; Tim Johnson, D-S.D.; and John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation to award Keeble the medal, and it was signed by Bush last year.

Keeble was recommended twice for the medal in the 1950s but the applications were lost both times. He instead received the Distinguished Service Cross.

“Some blamed the bureaucracy for a shameful blunder,” Bush said. “Others suspected racism — Woody was a full-blooded Sioux Indian. Whatever the reason, the first Sioux to ever receive the Medal of Honor died without knowing it was his.”

'Woody never complained'

His friends felt he was cheated, Bush said, “yet Woody never complained. See, he believed America was the greatest nation on earth — even when it made mistakes.”

Seventeen members of Keeble’s family, along with soldiers who served with him, attended the ceremony. Keeble’s stepson, Russell Hawkins, accepted the award along with Keeble’s nephew. He said after the ceremony that he does not believe it was racism that delayed the honor.

“I think it was truly lost,” he said of the original recommendations. “I don’t think Woodrow would say it was discrimination. He didn’t see racial colors, he didn’t see racial barriers.”

Hawkins said the family has been pushing for the medal since the early 1970s.

Keeble, who was born in Waubay, S.D., moved to North Dakota as a child. He was also a veteran of World War II and received more than 30 citations, including four Purple Hearts.

Bush saluted Keeble for his military heroism, but also for his conduct in his personal life — pursuing a woman he loved, becoming “an everyday hero” in his community and maintaining cheerfulness — despite his own grief and physical suffering. The wounds he suffered in Korea would “haunt him the rest of his life” and strokes paralyzed his right side and took away his ability to speak, but he mowed lawns and gave money to down-and-out strangers.

“Those who knew Woody can tell countless stories like this — one of a great soldier who became a Good Samaritan,” the president said.

BWC [Biological Weapons Convention] States Tackle National Implementation

“A Dec. 10-14 meeting of member states of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) offered rhetorical support for stepping up national implementation measures to bring domestic laws, administrative procedures, and regulations into conformity with the bioweapons ban. But the meeting also showcased transatlantic differences that have stymied attempts for more binding measures since the beginning of the Bush administration. Following up on a meeting of experts last August, the final report from the meeting of states-parties agreed on the ‘fundamental importance’ of national measures to implement the BWC. Such measures include controls on transfers of biological agents, biosafety and biosecurity regulations, and penal legislation. However, the meeting did not agree on any joint standards or collective measures. The meeting’s chair, Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan, pointed out in his opening statement that the task of the meeting was to ‘promote common understanding and effective action,’

not to negotiate binding agreements.” (Arms Control Today, January/February 2008, Oliver Meier) http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2008_01-02/bwc.asp

India claims to have destroyed 93 % of its chemical weapons

“India has claimed to destroy its 93 per cent of chemical weapon stockpile and the remaining weapons will be eliminated by April, 2009. Media reports quoting official sources here [in New Dehli] said India had assured the international community [that it will] complete the process of total destruction of chemical weapons by April next year.” (Associated Press of Pakistan, 20Jan08)

http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26753&Itemid=2

Deadly chemicals hidden in war cache

“For more than 60 years RAAF [Royal Australian Air Force] veterans Geoff Burn and Arthur Lewis kept silent about the terrible secret hidden in a disused railway tunnel at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Thousands of barrels filled with chemical weapons, including mustard gas, were stored in the tunnel at Glenbrook and other sites around Australia during the Second World War. The men were part of a secret unit formed to look after the deadly stockpile, kept for use against Japanese troops - a fact the Defence Department refused to admit until the late 1980s. And for decades successive governments refused to disclose that the Australian wartime command had conducted chemical warfare experiments on its own soldiers. […] Now, after decades of denials, the military is about to recognise the unit's contribution to the war effort. Next month the Defence Department will publish a book - Chemical Warfare In Australia - detailing the unit's story, including how they and army volunteers were used as guinea pigs by their own commanders.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 20Jan08, Frank Walker) http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/deadly-chemicals-hidden-in-war-cache/2008/01/19/1200620272396.html

Guinea pig’ sailor set for pay-out after 50 years

“A former sailor from York [England] who claims he was used as a guinea pig in chemical warfare experiments finally looks set to receive compensation - half a century later. Sam Smith says he has suffered from chest problems and watering eyes ever since he took part in research in the 1950s at the Ministry of Defence's chemical research centre at Porton Down, Wiltshire, after being led to believe he was helping to find a cure for the common cold.” (York Press, 21Jan08, Richard harris) http://www.thisisyork.co.uk/display.var.1980827.0.guinea_pig_sailor_set_for_payout_after_50_years.php

Porton Down veteran awaits compensation

 “A war veteran who says he was duped into having chemical weapons tested on him is waiting with bated breath to see if he has been granted a slice of £3 million compensation. When former Royal Marine Jim Booth (63) agreed to take part in a two-week medical trial at Porton Down research centre in Wiltshire in the ’60s, he thought he would be trialling medication to treat the common cold. Instead, the Market Deeping man claims, he was subjected to mustard gas and was injected with unknown drugs before being made to take part in tests to assess his reactions.” (Peterborough Evening Telegraph, 18Jan08, Kirsty Nicolson) http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Porton-Down-veteran-awaits-compensation.3686704.jp

Plan for chemical security is delayed

“Homeland Security officials have delayed a requirement that farmers register with the agency if they have certain amounts of certain chemicals. Farmers and ranchers had been facing a Tuesday deadline to come up with a security plan and register it. ‘Most producers knew nothing about either the requirements or the deadline; most state agriculture departments had not been told of them,’ said North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, who is president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Homeland Security, in announcing the delay, said the agency is gathering more information on the issue to see if changes to the requirements are warranted, especially in light of a new law that gives the agency authority to regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Johnson said anhydrous ammonia, another popular farm fertilizer in North Dakota, also is included in Homeland Security's list of chemicals. The association Johnson heads brought its worries to Homeland Security, and ‘It appears the problem is at least temporarily resolved,’ he said.” (The Bismark Tribune, 21Jan08, AP) http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/01/21/news/local/147054.txt

N.J. [New Jersey] security chief says state needs boost in federal funding

“New Jersey's mass transit system remains a potential target for a terrorist attack and needs additional federal funding to ensure safe passage for thousands of daily commuters, the state's top security official said yesterday. ‘Anything that happens here has implications for New York City,’ said Richard Cañas, director of the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. ‘Yet every year we feel like deadbeats asking for federal handouts to protect ourselves against what we all agree is a national threat.’ Cañas' remarks came during a visit from U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, which controls how funds are distributed to states. Thompson visited the State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center in West Trenton before taking a helicopter tour of potential terror targets in North Jersey. Those sites included Newark Liberty International Airport, the Lincoln Tunnel, the chemical facilities and oil refineries along the New Jersey Turnpike and Port Newark.” (The Star-Ledger, 20Jan08, John Holl)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1200807357158880.xml&coll=1

Students learn to be prepared for crises

“About 20 sophomores donned protective mesh vests, each with a piece of paper attached containing the title of an emergency worker. They gathered around a 20-by-6-foot table with a miniature city displayed on it and played roles. Their job was to evaluate a stream that reportedly had a contaminant in it. […] The students were answering […] questions during a homeland security and emergency preparedness class being piloted at Joppatowne High School [in Maryland] this school year. […] The students take the second part of the program during their junior year, when they select a specialty area of study from one of three topics: homeland security sciences, law enforcement and criminal justice, and information and communications technology. Depending on which area the students select, they study such topics as chemical and biological warfare, research methods, the justice system, law processes, first responders to emergency scenes, and evidence collection and analysis, and even learn how to use a geographic information system.” (Baltimore Sun, 20Jan08, Cassandra A. Fortin) http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.homeland20jan20,0,703936.story

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.

CNS presents these keywords and links for the convenience of the recipients of ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News, but CNS does not endorse these sites or the veracity of their information and cannot be responsible for the maintenance of the links listed here.  For a searchable archive of the CBR-WMD Terrorism News listserv, please visit the Nuclear Threat Initiative's website, at http://www.nti.org/db/cbw/index.htm

 Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books.  The website added police officers from New Mexico and North Dakota.

Bart Skelton was raised on the Mexican border and attended college at Southwestern University, Sul Ross State University and New Mexico State University. He joined the New Mexico State Police in 1984 and later became a Special Agent with the U.S. Customs Service and is stationed in New Mexico.  Bart Skelton is the author of Down on the Border: A Western Lawman's Journal.

Darrell Graf is the former Chief of Police of the Medina Police Department (North Dakota).  Darrell Graf graduated from the North Dakota Law Enforcement Training Center in August of 1976. He holds two patents on firefighting devices he invented.

Steve Schnabel is the former Colonel of the Medina Police Department (North Dakota).  Steven Schnabel graduated from the North Dakota Law Enforcement Training Center in April of 1981. He is also a staff sergeant for the North Dakota Army National Guard of which he has been a member for over 19 years.

Darrell Graf and Steve Schnabel are the authors of It's All About Power. According to the book description, “It's All About Power is a true and accurate eye witness account of the shoot-out between Gordon Kahl and US Marshals at Medina, North Dakota in 1983.”  Of the book, Senator John DeCamp (Lincoln, NE) said, “There are many problems in America today. It's All About Power is a stimulating account of the disaster at Medina, ND in 1983 which was the first in a series of similar shocking events that have rocked our nation. I would highly recommend everyone from politicians to distressed farmers and government agents to militia members read and learn from this fabulous book!”

Dr. Allen Koss, PhD (Sitting Bull College, Ft. Yates, ND) added, “The authors...have dealt with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for the past 16 years. This text should be a significant contribution to the education of other law enforcement officers.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 657 police officers (representing 289 police departments) and their 1398 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.