December 30, 2004

US, Canadian officials downplay border impact of new suspected BSE ... Canada.com - Both US and Canadian officials were downplaying the impact Thursday that a new suspected case of mad cow disease will have on the newly scheduled reopening of the border to live cattle exports. 1:53:44 PM

Canada finds suspected new case of mad cow disease Grand Forks Herald, ND - Canada has found what may be a second case of mad cow disease, officials said Thursday, just a day after the United States said it planned to reopen its border to Canadian beef. The border was closed 19 months ago when a cow in northern Alberta tested positive for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday the border could be opened in March. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency released few details on the new suspect case, except to identify it as a 10-year-old dairy cow. 10:15:19 AM

AXcess News US announces BSE border breakthrough CBC New Brunswick, Canada - ... Young live cattle from Canada will be allowed across the border into the United States beginning March 7, marking a significant break in the BSE crisis that began wracking the Canadian farming sector 19 months ago.    The rule change, which officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday, basically recognizes Canada as a "minimal-risk region" for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. 10:11:01 AM

Terrorist Attack in Mosul Fails Powerline - The terrorists, perhaps emboldened by their suicide bombing last week, tried to launch an actual military attack on a small American outpost in Mosul earlier today. The result was predictable: most of the terrorists, at least 25, were killed, compared to zero Americans: [T]he troops were attacked by a coordinated force of about 50 insurgents who fired rocket-propelled grenades and semi-automatic weapons. At that point, two F-18 and two F-14 military jets swooped down on strafing runs and firing Maverick missiles, wiping out much of the insurgent force. "That's when the close-air support came in and did a job on them," [Lt. Col. Paul Hastings] said. The Iraqi terrorists are growing increasingly desperate as next month's elections draw closer and closer. Osama bin Laden has issued a tape recording denouncing the elections and condemning any Iraqi who votes as an "infidel," which means that he or she is threatened with death. But the clock is clicking on the terrorists. They hoped to defeat the U.S. Army militarily, but failed. They hoped to defeat President Bush in last month's election, but failed. They hoped to generate enough violence to force, with the aid of their allies in the American press, postponement of the January elections, but failed.  When millions of Iraqis go to the polls one month from now, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Islamofascist campaign of terror. 9:50:47 AM