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BAGHDAD — Iraqi River Police (IRP) conducted operations here on the Tigris River to hone their skills in keeping Iraq’s waterways safe from terrorists, Sept. 1. The mission of the IRP is to provide search and rescue, safety patrol, and counter smuggling operations along the waterways of Iraq. Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq advisors, mentors and trainers help the IRP accomplish this mission. There are two advisors at the River Patrol. One is responsible for teaching waterborne operations, how to pilot the boats, and how to use the boats to conduct the operations found in the mission statement. The second advisor...

The mayor of Mount Vernon has made it official. Mayor Bud Norris says he will give the key to his city to conservative talk show host Glenn Beck on September 26. Norris says Beck will deliver a short talk that night and become the first person to receive a key to the city in the six years Norris has been mayor. Protesters from the Skagit County Young Democrats walked outside city hall Tuesday with protest signs, one reading "Change the locks!"

Cross roads are places where decisions are made , But are you standing in the light or in the shade ?! For truly without me you remain in the dark , And your defenses are weak not strong as a tree of oak and its bark , For it is under My shade and My Son , That you arrive on Mt. Zion , So tell me my children what will shall it be ?! The will of your flesh or My Tapestry ? For to carry your cross again and again , Leaves you with a bitter end ,...

The Obama administration will play a key role in reshaping General Motors' board of directors over the next six months, potentially giving it even greater control in the management of the storied American manufacturer.

PICK the odd man out: Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, John Key. Only one of them, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Key, has any material personal experience of how to make a dollar in the private sector. Rudd may be the wealthiest Prime Minister Australia has had, because of his wife’s admirable business acumen, but even that business is built on government contracts. Rudd’s experience is that of a lifelong public servant and politician, with a short stint as a consultant with KPMG. Obama is the world’s most famous community organiser, lawyer and, since 1996, full-time politician. Only Key - who was...

An American toddler has had a miracle recovery after getting a key lodged in his eye.

Now that the conventions are behind us, the 2008 election is shaping up to be much closer than anyone would have believed months ago. Still, it will be an uphill battle for John McCain as Barack Obama has the advantage this year. If Obama wins, it should be a wake-up call to Republicans that the nation’s political landscape has dramatically changed, making it difficult for Republicans to win national elections. A key factor in the challenge facing Republicans is shifting demographics. States such as Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, once considered solid red states, are now faltering for...

Why is it that the origins of many serious diseases remain a mystery? In considering that question, a scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has come up with a unified molecular view of the indivisible unit of life, the cell, which may provide an answer. Reviewing findings from multiple disciplines, Jamey Marth, Ph.D., UC San Diego Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, realized that only 68 molecular building blocks are used to construct these four fundamental components of cells: the nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), proteins, glycans...

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2008 – Support from their fellow citizens is vital to the success of servicemembers fighting the war on terror, a soldier who earned the Bronze Star Medal in Iraq said today. “Support means everything,” Army Staff Sgt. John Aughtman saidin an interview on the “ASY Live” program on BlogTalkRadio. “A letter, a care package, a telephone call, a visit, a blanket -- anything means everything.” “ASY Live” is part of the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, which connects citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad. As a squad leader,...

Authorities are searching for a woman they say might have stabbed her boyfriend in the head with a car key at a motel Sunday evening, the Washington County Sheriff's Department said. Deputies arrived at Motel 6 near Valley Mall at about 5:15 p.m. and found a man in the lobby with a car key embedded in his right temple just above his ear, the department said in a news release. The victim, James Leon Jackson, 28, said he and his girlfriend had been arguing, and she stabbed him with the key in the parking lot and fled the scene, deputies...

FORT HUACHUCA — The defense of the United States is going to require highly trained military intelligence professions, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Friday. Preparing critical intelligence providers is being done on this Southern Arizona post, said U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., who assumed the chairmanship of the committee in January. Having an intelligence force that is the best will ensure the United States can counter any future enemy, he said. “It’s going to be the intelligence world that makes the difference,” he said after spending an afternoon on the post. It was Skelton’s first trip...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2007 – Empowering Iraqi women to actively participate in reconstruction and reconciliation is critical to the country’s future, the manager of a newly formed provincial reconstruction team said today. “No society is going to be moderate where the women who represent a majority of the population are completely locked out,” Bobby Bran said. “And there’s probably no segment of society that is publically so weak but privately so strong.” Bran manages a nine-person provincial reconstruction team embedded with 214th Fires Brigade, deployed from Fort Sill, Okla., to Wasit province, southeast of Baghdad along the border with Iran....

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2007 – A remarkable parade in Iraq’s Anbar province, openly attended by citizens from all walks of life, demonstrates that Iraqi reconciliation efforts are working, a coalition commander said today. “Out in al Anbar, which you know has been a difficult area about six months ago: a total change,” Army Brig. Gen. Dave Phillips told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from Baghdad. “When they say there is an awakening, I think that's almost an understatement.” Phillips, deputy commanding general for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, said he personally attended an event earlier this...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2007 – The recent surge of troops and embedded provincial reconstruction teams to Iraq is providing unprecedented opportunity for Iraqi citizens, a coalition commander said today. “It really wasn’t until the EPRT, the ‘civilian surge’ … and the surge forces arrived that we began to make what I will call measurable progress along our lines of operations,” Army Col. Mike Garret told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Forward Operating Base Kalsu, south of Baghdad, shortly after he provided a televised operational update via satellite. Garrett commands the “Spartan” 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne),...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2007 – A few-hundred-mile stretch of road through rugged, mountainous terrain is key to rebuilding Afghanistan’s economy and improving security in the country’s eastern region along the Pakistan border, a senior officer in the region said today. (Video) When finished, 400 kilometers of new road will connect farmers, merchants and government programs throughout the rural region, said Army Col. Chip Preysler, commander of 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, which operates in the region. “They're enablers for the rest of the infrastructure and economic development. You've got to have the roads to connect the people, to get...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2007 – Training the Afghan National Army remains the key to stability in Afghanistan, the commander of NATO forces said in a Pentagon briefing today. Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, conducts a news conference at the Pentagon, Oct. 10, 2007. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Molly A. Burgess, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, also said NATO must do more to stop narcotics cultivation --...

NEAR KARMAH, Iraq, Sept. 5, 2007 — Beginning at patrol bases within the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s area of operations, Marines from Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, are integrating forces with the Iraqi army and looking ahead to future joint tactical commitment. "Not only has the battalion integrated Iraqis on patrols, they’ve worked them into mission briefings, planning, intel, it shows a level of trust. The ultimate level is going to be putting Juundis (junior Iraqi personnel) on guard and letting the Marines sleep." Lt. Col. Woody Hesser Military Transition Team commander The integration comes as the...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 – President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair praised each other’s courage and stressed the continuing importance of the U.S.-British partnership at the White House today in what may be their last joint news conference. Blair will step down June 27 after more than 10 years on the job. “I believe that the relationship between the United States of America and Britain is a relationship that is in the interests of our two countries and in the interests of the peace and stability of the wider world,” Blair said. “Sometimes it's a controversial relationship,...

Key Policies of Sarkozy and Royal Published: 4/22/07, 4:05 PM EDT By The Associated Press (AP) - Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal go head to head for the French presidency on May 6. Here is a glance at some of their key policy differences. NICOLAS SARKOZY: ECONOMY: Wants to make overtime pay tax-free to encourage people to work more. EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION: Wants to postpone controversial issues in favor of adopting a simpler constitution by 2009, without another referendum. 35-HOUR WORKWEEK: Says it's not creating jobs as intended but would not abolish it. Wants to relax rules to let people work...

SIERRA VISTA — To Fort Huachuca’s commander, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union can be considered like the good old days — when two adversaries geared up for field combat. Today, fixed combat, armored and infantry in planned battle formations are the past. Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast, who is also commander of the Intelligence Center on post, said Wednesday that American and coalition forces must be prepared for irregular war. Speaking to nearly 350 people at the three-day Training and Doctrine Command Cultural Awareness Summit, a gathering of military and education and industry leaders, she...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2007 – If the United States leaves Iraq before the job is done, the enemy will strike in America, President Bush told the National Governors Association at the White House today. Bush told the governors, who are in Washington for their annual meeting, that his main priority is protecting the homeland. Bush, a former Texas governor, explained his current strategy in the war on terrorism to the governors. “We've got a two-pronged strategy in dealing with (enemies),” he said. “One is to stay on the offense and bring them to justice, and two, spread the conditions...

Marines from 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, for whom this is their first combat tour, are faced with an array of missions that can be overwhelming to inexperienced Marines. Luckily, they have battle tested Marines like Cpl. Josh Z. Senbertrand, 21, from Cape May, N.J., to lead them. The short time between deployments has given birth to a generation of Marines tasting combat for the second, third, or even fourth time. HABBANIYAH -- War in a foreign place has once again given birth to innovative, confident and adaptable Marine leadership. Veterans of this conflict, like many previous campaigns throughout our...

Imagine if all it took to get inside widely-used Diebold electronic voting machines--perhaps with malicious intentions, such as installing tally-altering software on its memory card--was a photograph of the key to the system's physical lock. Thanks to a little help from the e-voting outfit itself, it may actually be that simple, a security researcher from Princeton University suggested this week. According to J. Alex Halderman, a computer science PhD student, a picture of the key published at Diebold's online store was a veritable blueprint for filing down ordinary hardware-store cabinet keys to an identical shape. Ross Kinard of the site...

GAITHERSBURG, Md., Jan. 24, 2007 – Deep within a nondescript warehouse in this Washington suburb lie millions of blood-smeared cardboard cards that hold the key to every servicemember’s unique personal identity, captured in DNA. Diane Giampetroni, a technician at the DoD DNA Registry in Gaithersburg, Md., processes the 5 millionth DNA sample from a U.S. servicemember to be entered into the inventory, Jan. 23. Giampetroni has processed more than 520,000 specimens since joining the DNA Registry staff in 1995. Photo by Donna Miles  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. DNA is a substance within every person’s cells that provides...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2007 – President Bush’s new strategy in Iraq will hinge on the Iraqi government and security forces stepping up and making decisions they have avoided, a senior White House official said today. White House communications director Dan Bartlett, speaking on Fox News Channel this morning, said Iraqi leaders have pledged to make these decisions. The new strategy, which the president will outline during a televised address tonight, will require a short-term increase in U.S. troops and support to the Iraqi government. “But ultimately, the new strategy President Bush is going to talk about tonight is going...

FORT POLK, La., Nov. 2, 2006 – Afghan interpreters are crucial for the success of Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police forces training at the Joint Readiness Training Center here. Hassan Wilson, a native Afghan who has been interpreting between American and Afghan forces for two years, said their role is vital. “What we do is very important,” he said. Without proper translation, Wilson said, orders can be misinterpreted, which can cost lives and ruin missions the Afghan army conducts with coalition forces in Afghanistan. Training for such missions would not be as effective without interpreters, Wilson said. “We...

Iraq – A local Iraqi citizen from Muehla drives a new tractor donated to the Muehla Agricultural Union from Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers. Photo by Cpl. Michael Molinaro, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. FOB KALSU -- The Muehla area is an important farming area in the Babil province, and a successful farming community there could be the key to stability.To help ensure the success of local farmers, the Muehla Agricultural Union received an assortment of equipment and other useful goods from Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers Oct. 9. Refurbished tractors, seed spreaders and water pumps...

BAQUBAH - “The continuation of this mission and the success of the U.S. Military and U.S. Government in Iraq will really be solved with meetings like I just went through,” said Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander, 25th Infantry Division and Task Force Lightning. Mixon was referring to his meeting with Diyala Provincial Governor Ra’ad Rashid Mulla Juwad Al-Timimi at the Governor’s Center in Baqubah, Iraq. The main issue was the continued funding to the Iraqi Government for reconstruction and support for the Iraqi Army and Police. “There is not an ultimate military solution in this; it has to be a...

Bush hosts dinner to end bitter feud between key allies in war on terror By Francis Harris in Washington and Harry Mount in New York (Filed: 27/09/2006) President George W Bush was struggling last night to calm fierce and increasingly personal exchanges between the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, key allies in America's war on terror. With tensions rising between President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Mr Bush asked both to dinner at the White House this evening in an attempt to help defuse a damaging row. Afghanistan President Karzai with US President Bush "You...

<p>The Free Republic keyword feature serves a valuable purpose, it alerts posters to topics that they are interested in and supplements those topics which aren't already listed as available topics.</p> <p>1. Please do not add words like "and" and "the" to the keywords. And PLEASE do not add every word from your title to the keywords, that's just plain annoying.</p>

How music lessons hold the key to brainier children By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 20/09/2006) Young children who take music lessons show more advanced brain development and improved memory than those who do not, according to a study published today. Suzuki pupils in concert: research shows evidence of early musical learning being linked to advanced brain development Researchers claim to have found the first evidence of musical training being linked to greater attention skills. After a year, musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, mathematics...

Like other computer scientists who have studied Diebold voting machines, we were surprised at the apparent carelessness of Diebold’s security design. It can be hard to convey this to nonexperts, because the examples are technical. To security practitioners, the use of a fixed, unchangeable encryption key and the blind acceptance of every software update offered on removable storage are rookie mistakes; but nonexperts have trouble appreciating this. Here is an example that anybody, expert or not, can appreciate: The access panel door on a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine — the door that protects the memory card that stores the votes,...

FORT HUACHUCA — Unity is a part of soldier’s survival kit, a Korean War POW told thousands of soldiers standing on Chaffee Parade Field on Friday morning. The sun had just broken, bringing bright rays through light cloud cover and to soldiers of the 11th Signal Brigade and 111th Military Intelligence Brigade, as well as a few Air Force members assigned to the post. In the stands, some civilian sat. All were waiting for the start of the annual fort POW/MIA Walkathon. “Unity helped me and others survive,” Al Simpson said about the time he served as a prisoner of...

Channel's key role in pre-history By Paul Rincon Science reporter, BBC News, Gibraltar The remains we find today tell a story of Britain's ancient past A study of prehistoric animals has revealed the crucial role of the English Channel in shaping the course of Britain's natural history. The Channel acted as a filter, letting some animals in from mainland Europe, but not others. Even at times of low sea level, when Britain was not an island, the Channel posed a major barrier to colonisation. This was because a massive river system flowed along its bed, UK researchers told a palaeo-conference...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2006 – Iraqi and coalition forces captured a key al Qaeda operative and some 70 more terror suspects in Iraq during a series of 25 raids in and around Baghdad Sept. 12, a senior Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters in Baghdad today. The raids netted a personal associate of Abu Ayyoub al-Masri, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said. Masri took control of al Qaeda in Iraq after a U.S.-led air strike killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in early June. While not revealing the detainee’s name, Caldwell called him “the leader of assassination, kidnapping and IED (improvised explosive...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2006 – Combined U.S. and Iraqi operations in Baghdad have done much to reduce violence and bring stability to the area, but the ultimate solution depends on the Iraqi people’s willingness to reject violence and cooperate with Iraqi security forces, a U.S. military commander in the area said today. “The security situation confronting the capital is a complex one, and the solution must be long-term,” Army Col. Michael Beech, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, said in a news conference from Iraq. “The Iraqi government, coalition forces and Iraqi security forces are dedicated to...

Story by Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service Maj. Gen. James Thurman meets with residents of a Baghdad neighborhood in the spring. BAGHDAD -- The Coalition commander responsible for operations in the Iraqi capital is optimistic about what he has seen since operations to quell sectarian violence here started. Army Maj. Gen. James Thurman, commander of Multi-National Division - Baghdad, said forces have been concentrating on four major hot spots. Essentially, the concept calls on Coalition and Iraqi forces to cordon off an area and search each street, house by house, Thurman said. Al-Doura, a mixed Shiia and Sunni...

WASHINGTON, August 3, 2006 – Top military and defense leaders today praised the dedication and commitment of U.S. servicemembers, as well as the families that support them, as the key to success in the terror war. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, praised the caliber of the men and women in uniform on the front lines against terrorism in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Over the past few years, I’ve had the honor of meeting countless young men...

Key stage to dengue fever replication found 15:29 03 August 2006 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi The discovery that the dengue fever virus needs to bend into a circle in order to replicate suggests new ways to treat this and similar diseases, including West Nile virus and encephalitis, say researchers. Future drugs that prevent the virus from forming a ring shape could one day save thousands of lives, they add. “The challenge now is to see if we can design a small molecule to do the job,” says Andrea Gamarnik at the Leloir Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There are...

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006 – Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team are working to set conditions for the Iraqi government to take charge of essential services and public works within Baghdad. Army Lt. Col. Joe Gandara, commander of Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, meets with neighborhood representatives in the Doura Baladiya, in southwestern Baghdad. Local representatives often detail the most pressing needs of their neighborhoods and communities. Photo by Staff Sgt. Brent Williams, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The brigade's Special Troops Battalion has taken the lead in...

U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Weber, of the 1st Battalion. 22nd Infantry checks Soldiers who are in a Bradley fighting vehicle, guarding a detention facility Thursday July 20 2006. Department of Defense photo by Cpl. Steven Phillips. BAGHDAD -- The leader of U.S. Central Command said he believes sectarian violence in and around Baghdad is the “gravest threat” facing Iraq today. This is a decisive period in the country, Army Gen. John Abizaid told National Public Radio in a recent interview. “First and foremost we have to stabilize the situation in Baghdad before we need to get overly focused on leaving,”...

BALAD, Iraq, July 16, 2006 – Civil affairs soldiers are here working to ensure local Iraqis have the strong foundation needed to rebuild and sustain their government long after the coalition leaves Iraq. Army Capt. Philip Zapien, civil affairs team leader for 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers, finds himself wearing many different hats these days. The majority of his civil affairs team has been tasked to help another unit, leaving Zapien with just a couple of soldiers to complete missions. Though short-staffed, Zapien is determined to...

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2006 – Iraqi security forces must take the lead in security operations to defeat terrorists in that country, a senior U.S. Army officer said today. Iraqi soldiers and police "are in the fight to the finish," Army Col. Sean B. MacFarland said from Ramadi, Iraq, during a satellite teleconference with Pentagon reporters. MacFarland is the commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, in Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar province. His unit has operated with Iraqi forces in and around Ramadi since June 11. Over the past several weeks, U.S. and Iraqi forces have...

White House political strategist Karl Rove said Tuesday that the highly charged immigration debate has "clouded" the views of some Americans, leading them to dismiss the importance of immigrants and their contributions to the nation. "Everything that this country is, everything that we have achieved, everything that we hold, everything that we promise, is because we are a nation of diversity, brought together by immigration, and sharing a common dream," Rove told members of the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group, the National Council of La Raza, gathered in Los Angeles. Alluding to the deadlock over immigration reform on Capitol...

7/10/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Supporting warfighters on the ground is the overarching mission of everyone deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Carrying out this earthly mission from thousands of miles above the ground, though, is a responsibility coordinated by the Combined Air Operations Center here. "We're focused on providing space support to any operation throughout the theater," said Col. John Hyten, director of space forces for the CAOC. "We have deployed Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines with space expertise to ensure that the power of space is brought to bear in line with the timing...

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2006 – As the international community unites and sends a clear message to North Korea demanding disarmament, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will become less of a threat, President Bush said here today. "We want to solve this problem diplomatically, and the best way to solve the problem diplomatically is for all of us to be working in concert and to send one message, and that is to Kim Jong Il that ... 'We expect you to adhere to international norms, and we expect you to keep your word,'" Bush said at a joint news conference...

6/28/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- For the first time since its formation in 1954, members of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force are actively deployed to a combat zone. They are helping with humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. "I feel the responsibility of this valuable work for the world and am proud to take part in this operation," said Col. Atsushi Nishino, commander of the JASDF Iraq Reconstruction Support Airlift Wing. "(Our mission is crucial) because reconstruction and stabilizing Iraq is important for global stability and peace, not only in the Middle East." Their primary mission here is...

Key archeological find at Bulgaria's Veliko Turnovo 09:00 Mon 26 Jun 2006 - Colin Munro A gold Thracian breastplate found near the village of Golemanite, Veliko Turnovo municipality, has proven pivotal to the re-construction of the Thracian Calendar. Using a mathematical model, Ventseslav Tsonev of the Regional Historical Museum in Veliko Turnovo presented his findings at a conference on Treasures and Sacred Typography, held recently in Sliven. “In the Thracians’ calendar, there are three seasons and 60 main holidays. A year consisted of 12 months with 360 days, five days being added to the last month every year.” As there...

Bush reviews Iraq plan, says oil is keyBy DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush began a two-day strategy session on Iraq at Camp David on Monday, saying Iraq's neighbors should be doing more to help and suggesting the nation's vast supply of oil could be a way of reuniting the country. Bush said the United States expects countries that have promised $13 billion in financial assistance to make good on their pledges. He also reassured Iraqis the U.S. stands ready to help the new government, but said success depends largely on Baghdad's...

Cats could hold key to spread of avian flu virus By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 13/06/2006) Cats should become a new focus of efforts to understand and prevent the spread of avian flu, according to government advisers. In a review of the science underpinning the contingency plans drawn up by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), Prof Jeffrey Waage, a member of Defra's Science Advisory Group's Epidemic Diseases sub-group, said: "The ability of mammals to contract and transmit the avian influenza virus has important human health implications. "We know about cats as a potential host for...