Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug R who wrote (6949)	10/23/2001 2:06:32 AM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Hi Doug R; Re: "If it was a "nutcase American" kinda thing...it would have happened before this." It smells to me of an attack that was forced to execute prematurely. They really weren't ready. The primary argument in favor it being bin Laden is that their guys were thinking about crop dusters, which would have been far more effective. But the target list doesn't look very Jewish. So right now, I guess I'm still thinking home grown, though it could be a rush bin Laden operation. -- Carl

To: Doug R who wrote (6949)	10/23/2001 7:21:46 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

>>If it was a "nutcase American" kinda thing...it would have happened before this. Developing and storing anthrax is not something done in somebody's garage or basement. It took years of planning<< The following links may make your hair curl or turn white, depending. FBI testimony on possession of MWD by "nutcase America": >>The case involving Larry Wayne Harris has garnered national attention based upon his interest in biological weapons agents. In 1995, Harris ordered three vials of Yersinia pestis from a culture company. Yersinia pestis is the causal agent for bubonic plague. After the vials were sent Harris called to inquire about them and the company from which he ordered the vials became suspicious. After consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), law enforcement was contacted and the vials were recovered from the glove compartment of Harris's vehicle. Although Harris claimed to be a microbiologist who was writing a training manual for the Aryan Nations, he certainly did not have a facility or the training necessary to properly handle the material. However, he had broken no law in possessing the agent, or in maintaining it in his glove compartment. In fact he was ultimately charged under the Fraud by Wire statute for fraudulently using a laboratory registration number when ordering the agent. A misdemeanor would exist today for such conduct under CDC transfer regulations. An individual by the name of Thomas Leahy came to the attention of the FBI in 1997 when he was arrested for shooting his stepson in the face. In the basement of Leahy's home was a makeshift laboratory where field tests indicated that he had produced ricin. Leahy was initially indicted for possession of the biological agent ricin for use as a weapon in violation of Title 18, Section 175, the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Statute (BWAT). After further laboratory analysis it was also determined that he had attempted to grow botulism and had produced nicotine sulfate which he mixed with DMSO, a solvent, and placed in a spray bottle. As the case progressed it became apparent that proving Leahy intended to use the ricin as a weapon would be difficult. It was only after a superseding indictment for the weaponization of the nicotine sulfate that Leahy agreed to plead guilty to a violation of the BWAT Statute. Until evidence developed regarding weaponization of the nitrate sulfate, there was no clear basis for successful prosecution. In another case in 1995, an individual by the name of Thomas Lavy entered into Canada from Alaska on his way to North Carolina. Lavy was stopped by Canadian Customs officials who discovered in his vehicle several guns, $98,000.00 in cash and white supremacist literature. Also discovered was a container of white powder which Lavy readily identified as ricin. The Canadians took the powder, and released Lavy. Sometime later, the FBI was advised of the incident by Canadian authorities and in the interest of public safety an investigation was initiated. Lavy was subsequently arrested and a search of his home conducted. Lavy was in possession of a large quantity of castor beans, from which ricin is derived, but stated that he had not produced more ricin. Lavy committed suicide while in a detention facility awaiting adjudication. He had perpetrated no clear threat; the mere possession of the ricin was not itself a violation of federal law. In 1995, four members of the Patriots Council, an extremist group with anti-government and anti-tax ideals that advocated the overthrow of the U.S. Government, were arrested for plotting to kill a U.S. Marshal with ricin. They had produced the ricin in a home laboratory and planned to mix the ricin with DMSO, a solvent, which they would then smear on the door handles of the Marshal's vehicle. The plan was thwarted, however, and the four men were convicted. The FBI was able to discover and prove their plan to use the ricin as a weapon. Again had the subjects threat to murder the Marshal with ricin not been discovered, the outcome of the case may have been different. If possession of this biological agent without a legitimate purpose were illegal, individuals acting in instances such as this could be thwarted prior to the development of proof of the intended or actual use of the agent as a weapon. Merely possessing this biological agent, without intent to use it as a weapon, would not have constituted any crime under existing federal law.<< fbi.gov Latest from the Washington Post - purchasing anthrax by mail is easy - you can still buy anthrax from 50 different sources worldwide: washingtonpost.com A little more on the Harris case: Salon - easy to make weapons of mass destruction: >>"You know how long it took me to isolate anthrax from the earth?" Harris said, according to a transcript given to Salon by a U.S. government intelligence agency. "Ten days. It took me 14 days to recover bubonic plague." Asked what else he'd been experimenting with, Harris said, "Brucellosis. Tularemia. Cholera. I mostly work with yersinia (bubonic plague virus). It's easy to isolate from cow droppings."<< salon.com pub.umich.edu time.com There's more, much more, at sites maintained by the FBI and others, but that ought to be enough to worry you. It worries me.