[elfman2]

"Preston (the author) is not making any claims, per se. He is quoting living people who are, literally, the first people called (and were called) when a bio-attack occurs. "

Same thing. I don't have to back up my dismissal of your billion death fear mongering claims with facts any more than I have to do the same with trilateralists, Y2K survivalists or those that claim our economy is about to collapse. They all find authority figures to lend indirect support for their claims as well. The fear mongering nature of what little I've seen of the book you use as a starting point for debate and a few of your early posts put you in that same category. I have no desire to dissect and authenticate his sources when the subject is presented in such a flagrantly one-sided manner that hypes it to the edge of believability in order to increase sales.

[TheLooseThread]

Well I really can't speak to trilateralists, Y2K suvival, or about the future of the economy since I don't really know about those things.

But if Alan Greenspan were to say he felt "gravely concerned" about the economy I would sit up and take notice. If you do not know who D.A Henderson is, that is fine. There is nothing wrong with not knowing who he is.

Likewise, if you don't know anything about smallpox or viruses that is also fine. We all pick and choose what subject we want to learn. There are many subject I don't know about.

You also don't want to discuss data or facts about smallpox. Which, again, is fine. There are many subject I don't wish to discuss.

But, frankly, if you don't know about this subject and you don't want to talk about the facts/data/issues of the subject, then you should really not inject yourself into the discussion.