ANTHRAX POWDER - STATE OF THE ART?

Science ^ | 11/27/2003 | Gary Matsumoto

[Wolfstar]

Thanks for the ping. Although the scientific details are a bit over my head, the bottom line is pretty much what we "FR Anthrax-Busters" (great term!) have thought all along — that the anthrax used in 2001 could not have come from some home-grown, whacked-out rogue scientist making the stuff in his garage (or under water).

I also continue to be frustrated that these articles always ignore the first anthrax attack at American Media in South Florida. It's as though that case never happened, yet it's the one that has strong, if circumstantial, ties to the 9/11 hijackers.

[Calpernia]

>>>>That would leave us: Pakistan,India,China, and N. Korea.

http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2000_hr/00-05-23alibek.htm

(snip)

The first involves experienced scientists traveling or moving abroad. For example, there have been unconfirmed reports that scientists from the Kirov facility visited North Korea in the early 1990s. In addition, numerous scientists who used to work for the Soviet biological weapons program are now living abroad. Many of these scientists live in the West, but others have gone to Iran and other countries where their expertise can be put to nefarious use in state-run biological weapons programs.

A second type of proliferation involves scientists from other countries being brought to the proliferating country for training in biotechnology, microbiology, and genetic engineering techniques. For years Moscow State University provided such training to scientists from dozens of countries, including Cuba, North Korea, Eastern Bloc nations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

A third form of proliferation involves private companies selling scientific expertise. For instance, I have a flier from a company that advertises recombinant Francisella tularensis bacteria with altered virulence genes. Ostensibly, these organisms are being offered for vaccine production; the flier also notes that they can be used as genetic recipients and to create recombinant microorganisms of biologically active agents. The authors of the flier also express willingness to form cooperative ventures to which they will contribute their genetic engineering knowledge. The director of this company used to work for the USSR’s biological weapons program.

A fourth type of proliferation occurs when the proliferating country sells equipment that can be used in biological weapons production. Such equipment is generally termed “dual-use”, as it can be used for legitimate biotechnology production and for biological weapons production. An example of such proliferation is the planned sale by Russia of large fermenters to Iraq after the Persian Gulf War. Fortunately, the sale was not completed. I have no doubt that these fermenters were destined for use in biological weapons production. First of all, Iraq has used the guise of single-cell protein production as a cover for biological weapons facilities in the past. Second, the particular fermenter size involved in this proposed sale would not be suitable for efficient single-cell protein production. In fact, the resultant product would be prohibitively expensive. Similarly, in 1990, Biopreparat was negotiating the sale of dual-use equipment to Cuba as well.

The fifth kind of proliferation consists of published scientific literature. Just by reading scientific literature published in Russia in the last few years, a biological weapons developer could learn techniques to genetically engineer vaccinia virus and then transfer the results to smallpox; to create antibiotic-resistant strains of anthrax, plague, and glanders; and to mass-produce the Marburg and Machupo viruses. Billions of dollars that the Soviet Union and Russia put into biotechnology research are available to anyone for the cost of a translator.

(snip)

[Calpernia]

I might not recognize a bioweapon milling style with dead scientists clouding my memory....

[Calpernia]

>>>Guangdong

Guangdong has been mentioned A LOT since the early to mid nineties with everything from AIDS, anthrax, to SARS. Guangdong alone has designated 158 hospitals for treating SARS victims.


http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030405.uscie0405/BNStory

The WHO team investigating SARS in China spent yesterday in Guangdong's Foshan City, where the first patient with the disease was recognized last Nov. 16.

---

http://www.newsgd.com/prdcorner/hkmacaoexpress/200308010039.htm

HK's anthrax case under investigation
Latest Updated by 2003-06-11 11:23:42
Hong Kong's Department of Health (DH) said Tuesday it is investigating into a case of anthrax in which a two-year-old boy developed symptoms of the disease on May 27 and died three days later.

---

http://www.aegis.com/news/ap/1996/ap961029.html
A health official in Guangdong, the southern Chinese province of 66 million people where the contaminated Wolongsong was discovered, said the medicine is made by a factory run by the Logistics Department of the Guangzhou Military Region.

The factory has disowned responsibility for the contaminated vials, saying they were counterfeit copies of its product, said a spokesman for Guangdong's Health Bureau, who gave only his surname, Hu.

---

http://www.aegis.com/news/afp/2001/AF0111C4.html

HIV rates among injecting drug users are at least 70 percent in Yili Prefecture in Xinjiang province and Ruili County in Yunnan province. In at least three provinces (Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong), "there are also signs of heterosexually transmitted HIV epidemics" driven by men who have unprotected sex with prostitutes.

---

http://www.vaccinationnews.com/DailyNews/August2001/HepBPlaguesChina.htm

SHANGHAI, China - The use of dirty needles in injections and acupuncture has helped give the southern province of Guangdong one of the highest rates of hepatitis B infection in the world, officials and experts said yesterday.

Blood samples taken from patients during hospital visits indicate 10 million people - 75 percent of the province's population - have had the potentially lethal disease, said Luo Huiming, of the Guangdong Disease Control and Prevention Center.

---

http://sc.info.gov.hk/gb/www.info.gov.hk/trhealth/HKTHS.files/Outbreak/e_files.htm

Outbreak News Digest Archives

[Calpernia]

Ping

[Calpernia]

India has had an outbreak of Dengue Fever, Monkey Fever and Chlorea though. Even Anthrax. But that was probably naturally occurring.

http://sc.info.gov.hk/gb/www.info.gov.hk/trhealth/HKTHS.files/Outbreak/e_files.htm

[Dajjal]

jihad bump

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[chance33_98]

My musings on this lead me to ask - why did the person stop sending it? And why did they not use it in more than one way (ie, other than just mailing it)?

It's also worth wondering why so close to 9/11? It may have been made elsewhere, may be an islamic terrorist, but something just does not fit that pattern. While it was, as defined, an act of terrorism it does not seem to fit with the osama/al qaida crowd's MO.

My take is it was one guy, with a limited amount he perhaps skimmed from other places, who finally went off the deep end. Just a guess.

[Sacajaweau]

Still maintain that Stevens was a "hit" and NOT by letter and on the day before he left for his trip.

Stevens relationship to the little airport where Atta rented the plane, the apartment of the terrorists, etc..

The first thing Stevens complained of was stomach problems suggesting ingested anthrax.

The add that Malvo left school in Florida Oct 5th, the same day that Stevens death was announced and confirmed as anthrax. But Malvo didn't show up on the west coast for another two weeks and the next letter was postmarked Oct 9th.(Still think Malvo and/or Muhammed were the mailers). They do fit the profile if the FBI would consider multiple players in the anthrax scenario).

[riri]

(Still think Malvo and/or Muhammed were the mailers)

Interesting thought but I do not think Malvo would have the knowledge to handle anthrax without exposing himself. Let's face it the only block of people in this country that fit that description would be of Middle Eastern, Pakistani or Indian descent. Speaking in generalizations, of course.

Most Americans know enough about chemistry or bio chemistry to fill a thimble.

[genefromjersey]

Stand by for a bit of personal opinion !!

I suspect part of the reason the anthrax murderers are not behind bars right now is the intrusion of ego on our thought processes.

Several of us have opinions-some quite divergent; others less so. Having "published" these opinions online, we have a fair amount of ego tied up in proving we are right-to the exclusion of thers.

I've seen it here in the posts, and ( even more so ) on the message boards. Each of us wants to be right !

It would not surprise me to see the same mechanism in operation at the good old FBI.

"Hey, our Profiler came up with a profile. "Barbara Hatchetjob" did likewise; so we're going to stick to Steven Hatfill like glue, because we're in love with the idea of him being the perp."

It would also not surprise me to learn the only information the FBI is really interested in getting from the Great Unwashed and Unannointed Public is information that would help to convict Steven Hatfill.

[Calpernia]

I do agree with all of you. I don't think it was Steven Hatfill. He doesn't seem to have an angelic past; but, this was not him directly. Maybe his writings about anthrax through the mail was purposely used to create the suspicion.

My gut tells me to look to the group that wagged Islamic Terrorist's tail. Who ever built up the support they received over the past decade to pull off the WTC, USS Cole, etc.

I look forward to your personal opinion. I've held high respect for everything I've seen you write in the Bio Alerts Online Mag.

[Calpernia]

Did you mean post 52 was your personal opinion? Or were we standing by for a personal opinion post on the anthrax theory?

(hoping you will be posting a theorem here)

[genefromjersey]

Cal, I have an opinion:

The stuff was made by a state-sponsored lab-very possibly our own-and was stolen for use against us.

I've spelled it out-in rather tiresome detail- at

http://virtualhueandcry@blogspot.com">http://virtualhueandcry@blogspot.com

[Domestic Church]

Do you recall that canister of anthrax that was found hidden in the restroom off the lobby of some hotel down in Virginia or the Carolinas?

[TrebleRebel]

Full layout of the article in PDF format can be seen here

[Calpernia]

I just tried looking up that story you mentioned because I was unfamiliar with it.

I found a listing of incidents here: http://www.leesburg2day.com/current.cfm?catid=76&newsid=4249 I am not familiar with over half of these. I would look into them more; but I have to run now. If anyone else knows if these are legit, great. If not, I will look into them more when I get back.

[Domestic Church]

I read about the canister/can (soda can?) here on FR so it must be archived somehow. The hotel was the type used for extended stay not a quick overnight and I think the locale was near the bay or ocean.

It was found in a restroom, a ladies room if I recall correctly, and it was hidden as if it was part of the cleaning ladies supplies or positioned behind a fixture or toilet so no one would kick it and spill it.

There was much discussion that week about it (during the autumn) but no mention since and I've been wondering ever since if there were fingerprints or any info on it. There were middle eastern types supposedly staying at this hotel.

[genefromjersey]

It looks like some of them were deliberate "hoaxes",designed to piggyback on an existing anthrax scare,some were just things like laundry detergent samples ( which were sent out by the millions), one or two may have been the real thing, or have been sent by someone who knew what the real thing should look like.

Right now, there's some guy on trial in Philadelphia District (Federal) Court for mailing out between 400 and 500 "hoax" letters-most with threatening enclosures,reference to anthrax,and some sort of white powder. He sent these out to abortion clinics all over the country right after the big anthrax scare surfaced.