Terrorists Targeting Milk?

[SASH]

Report: Terrorists May Target Milk Supply
Wednesday, June 29, 2005


WASHINGTON — A scientific article about the possibility of terrorists poisoning thousands of people through the milk supply was published over the government's objections after the National Academy of Sciences (search) concluded that terrorists would not gain any know-how from the report.

Bruce Alberts, president of the Academy, defended the decision to publish the material, saying Tuesday that the information could be valuable for biodefense.

A terrorist would not learn anything useful from the article about the minimum amount of toxin to use, Alberts said in an accompanying editorial. "And we can detect no other information in this article important for a terrorist that is not already immediately available to anyone who has access to information from the World Wide Web."

The study by Lawrence M. Wein and Yifan Liu of Stanford University discusses such questions as how terrorists could release botulinum toxin into the U.S. milk supply and what effective amounts might be.

Publication of the article had been delayed at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services (search). HHS spokesman Bill Hall said Tuesday the agency still feels the material shouldn't have been made public.

"We respect the Academy's position, but we don't agree with it," Hall said. The "consequences could be dire and it will be HHS, and not the Academy, that will have to deal with it."

 

[nr]

"The study by Lawrence M. Wein and Yifan Liu of Stanford University "

How many of these articles were written solely because of a need for individuals to "publish or perish"?

 

[Murgen]

It is unfortunate that academics choose to put this type of article out on the Internet even when asked not to do so. I work in this area and know for a fact that terrorists are using freely disseminated information from the military and the scientific community and the media to teach weapons making and targeting and tactics. They give video lectures broadcast on the Internet, using ISPs in the U.S. and Europe...

Reader, what are the thoughts about BSE from terrorists or FMD?

 

[Anonymous]

It is unfortunate that academics choose to put this type of article out on the Internet even when asked not to do so. I work in this area and know for a fact that terrorists are using freely disseminated information from the military and the scientific community and the media to teach weapons making and targeting and tactics. They give video lectures broadcast on the Internet, using ISPs in the U.S. and Europe...

Reader, what are the thoughts about BSE from terrorists or FMD?

BSE has too long an incubation period to be useful for terrorism but other animal and human biohazards are not just likely to be used by terrorists, but we have proof that they have studied and worked with biohazards trying to create biological weapons. There is a new food safety research center at U Minnesota funded by Homeland Security. And I believe the Ames Laboratory is looking at animal safety and bioterrorism funded by them as well. Or another lab. It's in the notes I took listening to the head of research funding for DHS.

The FBI, just in the last couple of months has issued orders to their field offices to prioritize setting up agriculture task forces- focusing mainly on livestock, combining persons from state and local Ag. and Health Depts., local & state law enforcement, brand inspectors, etc... This came about because of recently acquired intelligence info.......