Letters to the Editor
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No problem
When I concocted that moniker, it was originally thelastnametaken but I thought "chosen" had more of a cooperative, free will aspect.
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Bentonite
Bentonite is also used in the production of beer. You can pick some up at your local homebrewing or winemaking shop.
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thelastnamechosen/ondelette
Also, it is not true that the NYT article relied only on Beecher. In addition to citing Lake's PRE-BEECHER findings, it also included this:
William C. Patrick III, a scientist who once made germ weapons for the American military and is now a private consultant on biological defense, agreed with the F.B.I.'s assessment. ''The material was good, but not weapons grade,'' Mr. Patrick said in an interview. ''You can't make that in your basement. It requires sophisticated equipment.''
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I remember who was playing with Anthrax.
I am not savvy enough to search lexis nexis and other media catalogs in order to pinpoint the news and the TV programs that I am going to refer to, but I do have photographic memory. Some time in 1998-1999 I saw a "documentary" in one of the trashy Sunday morning programs ran in local stations at rural East Kentucky or West Virginia. My wife was working in thatarea at the time.
I saw a shady character explaining how Iraqi women will soon be bringing Anthrax vials in their "body cavities" (I guess the station would not allow him to utter the word Vagina. He said that this was the "ultimate weapon the Arabs will use to liquidate us, with no bang, no crash no pop". These words are as close as textual as I remember.
About 9 months later I saw in the news that the same character had been arrested by the FBI in connection to Anthrax possession. Apparently he was a self appointed Scientist, currently living in Columbus, Ohio, in an empty house where he conducted his "Experiments". He had obtained viable Anthrax from a dead cow and was working on developing a "vaccine".
When the anthrax attacks happened in 2001, I immediately thought of this man (Was his name Hatfield?) and other whack jobs that would publish such ravish in Television, all of them obsessed with anthrax-Iraq-Arabs out to get us.
I am sure there is a connection. It was clear to me that Anthrax was a very clumsy attempt to link Iraq with 9/11, but I guess it worked. Never underestimate the power of fear and overestimate the sophistication of the American public.
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The Smell Test
While this detail-oriented debunking is both necessary and valuable for purposes of challenging ABC, it should be remembered that when the story first appeared it was incredible on its face.
Iraq and al Qaeda were implacable enemies. The last thing in the world that Iraq would want to do would be get in the way of an all-out assault on al Qaeda. There was simply no credible motive for Iraq to get involved like that. OTOH, faking out the US media--and even the government--would seem to be in line with any number of other people's agenda, from rightwing militia types to al Qaeda itself trying to throw suspicions on other actors as well.
In short, I never even seriously considered the Iraq/anthrex story. It just didn't pass the smell test.
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I found it in Lexisnexis
2 men held, accused of possessing anthrax; FBI says NY attack discussed before Nevada arrests
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS - 2/20/1998 - 1281 words
WASHINGTON - FBI agents in Las Vegas have arrested two men on suspicion of possessing the biological weapon anthrax, federal officials said Thursday. An FBI affidavit said that one of the suspects, Larry Wayne Harris of Lancaster, Ohio, is a member of the Aryan Nations white supremacist group and once...
Here is a quote about the issue I referred above.
Sorry for double posting
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If only ABC News would broadcast the work of investigative reporter Charlie Savage
http://boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/04/08/scandal_puts_spotlight_on_christian_law_school
for instance.
Pardon my tin foil hat, but I wonder how many moles have been placed into career (non-Sched-C) positions not just at USDOJ but throughout the civil service, the intelligence agencies, the Pentagon, etc.
Most federal civil servants are still proudly and scrupulously following the letter and spirit of the Hatch act, but this madministration considers such notions quaint.
I also wonder, among the "higly placed" sources of Brian Ross, how many ascended to high places via the political path, and did any of them ascend to high rank solely by the path of technical expertise.
If you see mole holes in your lawn, you should suspect that your lawn just might possibly be infested with moles.
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Second Wave of Attacks
On November 3, 2001, President Bush described the anthrax attacks as "a second wave of terrorist attacks upon our country."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushtext_110301.html
On September 6, 2006, President Bush said that Americans "wondered if there was a second wave of attacks still to come."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060906-3.html
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The Source Of The Anthrax Attacks Is Obvious
If you consider the targets of the attacks were the two Democratic Senators (Leahy and Daschle) most likely to oppose or at least delay the passage of the ironically named "Patriot Act" and that the Bacillus anthracis used was a strain unique to the American biological weapons stock, it becomes clear that this was a tool to intimidate Congress into passing the bill quickly without reading it or considering its consequences. And it worked! These attacks were calculated to further panic the public into surrendering their rights and control of the government to the Executive Branch. They were launched by the same group of traitors who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks and have been allowed to run roughshod over all constraints of law and decency for the further empowerment and enrichment of the few at the great expense of the many.
A new 9/11 Commission needs to be convened, not to determine how 19 box-cutter wielding Arabs managed to create so much havoc, but to determine what actually happened and who was responsible, by omission or commission, for this travesty. This new commission must be composed of fearless, rational investigators, willing to ask questions that may embarrass the powerful, and most certainly must not be composed of individuals who serve on corporate boards of directors or who have held high office in government. This needs to be a people's commission free of self-serving prejudice.