Biological Weapons

[Theresa]

Did you all hear that there was THIRD case of Anthrax confirmed today? In the same building! Thank God the other one, the one not in Florida, wasn't really anthrax.

[UNIMATRIX_1]

scary, huh?

[The Doctor - Mark 7]

I think the word would be "mortifing"

[The Doctor - Mark 7]

i Dont believe scarry is the word for it

[B'Elanna]

i'm scared and i don't even live in America

[Chief Engineer]

Some one in my school read in the paper that in my area a woman had an arab boyfiend who dissappeared after the 11 and later wrote a letter to here telling here not to go to any city's malls or any other populated areas untill after Halloween.

[Theresa]

[Thomas]

Good idea.

[Chief Engineer]

Ya but other stuff does that to like you avatar could tell me go blow up the mall or the change in morphy's forum could say detonate a nuke. Anything very slightly in change or pictures could tell them to do certain things.

[Theresa]

[Thomas]

I know, journalists do anything for a "scoop".

[Natira]

It's kind of funny. We almost have our own reporters on here. There have been a lot of untrue things posted, and when you say something, it gets taken like you are trying to pick a fight. Maybe we all need to check our sources a little more closely.

[Captian Janeway]

I do not think this is a bio terrorist attack HELLLO THEY LIKE TO KILL PEOPLE they only killed one person and the other two only have been tested positive for the bacteria the one guy is not showing any signs of it!!!!! ok this is prob. just a muder case not a terrorist attack. If it was they would have gotten crop dusters and droped it from there to kill many

[Natira]

I respect your opinion Captain Janeway, but I think it would be very stupid for us to let our guard down. When the first plane hit the WTC, and then each of the other four, do you realize, there could have been more to come, but with the National ground stop,it could've stopped them. When there was just one plane, people were shocked at the second, then the third, and so on. I think we all need to be very cautious. JMO though

[Natira]

The more obvious the terrorists are, the easier it would be for them to be caught. Why would they risk it, if it hurt thier chances so much?

[Natira]

Another case was reported in NY. This case was not an inhaled, as it was in Florida. They say thier life isnt threatened, but the fact is, it's still here!

_________________

"This battle will take time and resolve, but make no mistake, we will win!"
George W. Bush,President of the US

[ This Message was edited by: Natira on 2001-10-12 11:20 ]

[Natira]

Also, there is a very real threat for more terrorist attacks in the near future. The FBI warns police and to be on high alert.



(source CNN, MSNBC, CBS,NBC, and local newspaper)

[Theresa]

[quote]
On 2001-10-12 11:03, Natira wrote:
Another case was reported in NY. This case was not an inhaled, as it was in Florida. They say thier life isnt threatened, but the fact is, it's still here!

_________________

"This battle will take time and resolve, but make no mistake, we will win!"
George W. Bush,President of the US



The reason her life is not in danger is because when they first started testing her for it, they immediatley put her on antibiotics, otherwise, it could have been fatal.

[Theresa]

There may be another case of anthrax in Hollywood, CA. The person was hospitalized last night, after opening an envelope w/ white powder in it, like NY. The powder tested negative to anthrax, but it could have been a catalyst.

CNN

[Lindley]

What I just realized last night:

If they wanted to spread Anthrax (or another disease), cropdusters are one way to do it.

However, putting the stuff with an explosive that will scatter it would work also. Not every explosive is carefully checked, I know for a fact that fireworks are still around....

[Theresa]

A USAir Plane was just diverted to Indianapolis because an "unknown substance" was found in the galley.

Also from CNN

_________________

"One Nation Under God"
"One Nation Under Attack"
"One Nation Under Sorrow"
"One Nation Overcoming..."

[ This Message was edited by: Maquis74656 on 2001-10-13 10:56 ]

[Theresa]

The letter sent to the NBC building in NY was meant for Tom Brokaw. The powder tested negative, but the letter tested positive! So it was PURPOSELY done!! Unbeleivable!


Source: CNN

[Theresa]

Giuliani: Second Letter to NBC Contained Anthrax
New York Times Says Letter Sent to Reporter Tested Negative

By DUNSTAN PRIAL
.c The Associated Press

NEW YORK (Oct. 13) - A second threatening letter sent to Tom Brokaw contained the anthrax that infected the NBC news anchor's assistant, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced Saturday.

The letter, postmarked Sept. 18 in Trenton, N.J., tested positive for anthrax, the mayor said. Initially, authorities believed a Sept. 20 letter sent from Florida might have carried the anthrax.

Also Saturday, The New York Times announced that a powdery white substance in an envelope sent to one of its reporters tested negative for anthrax and other dangerous biological materials.

The prelimary test was conducted by the New York City Department of Health. Results from additional tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are not expected until Tuesday, said Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis.

On Friday, New Yorkers streamed into emergency rooms after an assistant to Brokaw was infected with anthrax, intensifying fear about bioterrorism in a city and nation already on edge.

Officials stressed it was an isolated case and no cause for alarm. They also said there was no known link to terrorism or the far more serious inhaled form of anthrax that killed a supermarket tabloid editor in Florida last week.

But the reports Friday of the nation's fourth anthrax case since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent New Yorkers scurrying to hospitals in search of anthrax tests and antibiotics. They crowded into the emergency room at St. Vincent's Hospital, wanting to know whether their sore throats and runny noses were symptoms, spokesman William McCann said.

``New Yorkers are nervous about terrorism at this point, and for good reason,'' McCann said. ``I think people heard the word 'anthrax' and panic followed, but there's no reason to panic.''

Panic spread to other areas as well, with people reporting suspicious packages from coast to coast.

A federal criminal investigation was launched to find the source of the anthrax at NBC, and health officials scrambled to retest the powder in the Sept. 20 letter to see if it contained the bacteria. Initial tests had been negative, but authorities said the sample was so small they were reluctant to interpret the results.

Barry Mawn, head of the FBI's New York office, said the New Jersey letter bore no return address, contained an unspecified threat and a brown granular substance.

The NBC employee, Erin O'Connor, contracted the skin form of anthrax after opening a ``threatening'' letter Sept. 25 addressed to Brokaw that contained a powder. O'Connor is Brokaw's personal assistant.

The letter O'Connor opened and the letter to the Times both were postmarked from St. Petersburg, Fla., and had similar handwriting, said Barry Mawn, head of the FBI office in New York.

NBC notified the FBI about the Sept. 20 letter the same day it was received. Bureau investigators responded the next day, but did not immediately submit the letter for testing, Mawn said.

``That, unfortunately, did not take place,'' he said. Bureau investigators wanted to speak with O'Connor before submitting the letter for tests, he said, but could not reach her immediately. Mawn did not provide any other details.

O'Connor noticed a dark-colored lesion three days after the letter was received; on Oct. 1, she began taking the antibiotic Cipro. When the lesion started developing characteristics of anthrax, ``a very alert and astute clinician'' ordered skin tests, said David Fleming, deputy director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After she saw the doctor and began receiving treatment, the FBI was separately notified about the NBC case by the city's health department and submitted the letter for testing, Mawn said.

The results of O'Connor's skin test came back Friday; further tests on the envelope and its contents were still under way.

Officials said they expect O'Connor will recover quickly.

During his broadcast Friday, Brokaw thanked viewers for their concerns and spoke highly of the 38-year-old worker.

``She has been - as she always is - a rock. She's been an inspiration to us all,'' he said. ``But this is so unfair and so outrageous and so maddening, it's beyond my ability to express it in socially acceptable terms. So we'll just reserve our thoughts and our prayers for our friend and her family.''

Brokaw, who has appeared on NBC's evening newscasts for the last 18 years, later said in an interview on ``Dateline NBC'' that he would protectively take the anthrax antibiotic Cipro and believed most of his staff would too.

``The chances of anyone else contracting this are very low,'' he said. ``But this is the ultimate nightmare. We just have to stay focused on what we know and not what we don't know.''

NBC employees were evacuated from part of the 70-story GE Building in Rockefeller Center, which is home to ``Saturday Night Live,'' ``Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and Brokaw's ``Nightly News.''

About 10 blocks away in Times Square, employees on the third floor of The New York Times building were sent to other floors.

Judith Miller, the reporter who received the letter, said it ``contained future threats against the United States,'' the newspaper quoted her as saying. The powdery substance smelled like talcum powder, a spokeswoman said.

Miller, a reporter who co-wrote a recent best seller on bioterrorism, and about 30 others in the area where the envelope was opened Friday, have been tested for anthrax and results are expected Monday, Mathis said.

They are taking antibiotics and will continue their regimen until the CDC tests are complete, she said.

Executive Editor Howell Raines said air tests for radioactive and chemical substances were negative.

Giuliani said officials were investigating five or six other reports of suspicious letters or powder Friday, but he said none appeared to be ``of great concern.''

``So far what we're dealing with is one case. The person is either fully recovered or on their way to full recovery,'' the mayor said. ``That should give people some sense of comfort.

U.S. officials have told concerned residents that they should go about their normal business and not be alarmed by anthrax. They have also played down a link to terrorism, but Vice President Dick Cheney expressed skepticism Friday there was no relation. ``I think the only responsible thing for us to do is proceed on the basis that it could be linked,'' he told PBS' ``NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.''

News organizations across the country tightened mailroom security. The Associated Press, across the street from NBC, temporarily closed its mailroom, as did CBS. ABC stopped internal mail delivery in New York and Washington to allow a security evaluation, while CNN said it closed mailrooms in New York, Washington and Atlanta.

The Los Angeles Times building was quarantined for more than two hours Friday after employees found a ``powder-like substance'' on the floor; the substance was found to be harmless.

Also Friday, Nevada state officials conducted tests on a suspicious letter sent from Malaysia to a Microsoft office in Reno. Initial testing indicated the presence of anthrax, but secondary tests showed the letter probably did not contain the bacteria.

The anthrax scare began last week when a photo editor for The Sun supermarket tabloid in Boca Raton, Fla., died of the inhaled form of anthrax. The American Media building where Bob Stevens, 63, worked was sealed off after anthrax was found on his keyboard.

Two other employees turned out to have anthrax in their nasal passages, but neither has developed the disease. Both are taking antibiotics, and one has returned to work. No new infections have been found.

AP-NY-10-13-01 1427EDT

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.

[Theresa]

And yet more anthrax in Reno. No one got it there, but someone sent it to them.

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