Saturday, March 01, 2008

The ricin story

The Las Vegas ricin story really doesn't make much sense.

It's certainly not surprising that Homeland Security, the FBI, Nevada authorities, etc might try their darndest to downplay any foiled plots involving such substances, after all we still don't know who sent anthrax through the mail at this late date. That's especially true in that place, where a scare could cause millions in lost business in a blink [of course, it IS Vegas, where some people would probably keep gambling even if terrorists were running through casinos spraying white powder out with giant fireplace bellows].

What always raises the flag fast is the speed with which they announce an event is not terrorism related. The Minneapolis bridge collapse was cleared as non terror-related before the NTSB even got on their plane to come investigate. Perhaps that's why we have a Homeland Security Department?

Now they tell us the man's motel room contained "anarchist textbooks" and some firearms. Guns aren't surprising but anarchists having textbooks seems a tad oxymoronic. Don't they do things without rules? Is it necessary to have a rulebook to tell someone to throw out all the rulebooks? Perhaps the main use for these manuscripts is to distribute ricin recipes, rather unsettling in and of itself.

There's also the 'pets'. They said a dog had died, attributed to not having kibbles and water for a week but most dogs can live longer than a week without sustenance, especially if the toilet bowl lid is up. And why didn't the other 'pets' die? What were they, snakes, lizards, spiders? Too awful to tell?

As to the room's sick inhabitant, we now know his name, which almost sounds fake. By the way, does Homeland Security have everybody listed in their rolodex these days? Why would they have his name on an "internal document"? What kind of document would that be?

As to his previous transport to the hospital, did the ambulance crew pick him up in the room or the lobby? If the man was cooking ricin why wouldn't he stash it or destroy it before taking a chance the EMTs might find it? He had the recipe--he could have made more. That seems to bring in a possible frame-up scenario, especially since the dog also died, which suggests the room might have been sprayed at some point. Wonder if he knows anyone in Russia?

The investigators are doing their thing and facts will come in due course--perhaps--unless this gets buried in the 24/7 news cycle. Wouldn't be the first time. We're still waiting to see what happened to cause that west Texas refinery, owned by Israel, to blow up a few weeks ago.

8 comments:

Right Truth said...

I heard about some dogs having to be put to sleep because of malnutrition, but I didn't know about all the otner animals. This is a strange case, as you point out. I look forward to your future posts on it.

Debbie Hamilton
Right Truth

Unknown said...

Ricin, AC, has been a tool of terrorism for quite some time...

● Naturally-derived substance…processed from castor beans

● Chemical in nature, rather than pathogen; Extremely deadly…no known antidote/vaccine; Injected, not ingested

● 750+ human exposures reported (14deaths)

● 1995: Minnesota Patriots Council arrested for making ricin to kill a sheriff’s deputy and a U.S. marshal…33-month sentences under U.S. Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act

● Jan 2003 – al Qaeda training manuals, castor beans & equipment found in London…Islamic militants arrested

● U.S. Congress in February 2004

And there was this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2636459.stm

● 1978: Bulgarian Georgi Markov, assassinated in London

● victim of a political murder…killer never caught

● injected waiting at a bus stop…a ricin-laced pellet was either fired or injected from an umbrella tip waiting at the bus stop, on his way to BBC's World Service.

● believed that the Bulgarian secret service and the KGB were behind it.

● “The clever thing about ricin is it appears in hospital investigations as natural disease” – Markov pathologist

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/07/terror.poison.bulgarian/

So, its not surprising. I'm betting that this was some sort of "local" plot.

Anonymous said...

Possessing anarchist literature doesn't make one a terrorist.

Possessing anarchist literature doesn't make one a uni-bomber, either.

Possessing a firearm doesn't make one a terrorist; I agree. I own firearms and I'm not a terrorist.

On the other hand, I don't have barrels full of sarin gas crystals, cyanide, or ricin. Now if possession of any of these substances doesn't suggest "a terrorist act," then I don't know what does.

Like you, I am not surprised that investigators are keeping mum. It is an on-going investigation. But how many times have we heard about terrorist plots targeting Las Vegas over the past several years?

Arghhhhh.

A.C. McCloud said...

Well Debbie, I don't know as much as Storm on this subject, it's just somewhat weird. Actually, the more that comes out the more it looks like this guy was a lonesome loser.

A.C. McCloud said...

On the other hand, I don't have barrels full of sarin gas crystals, cyanide, or ricin. Now if possession of any of these substances doesn't suggest "a terrorist act," then I don't know what does.

It's almost funny how stupid they think we are...what with the speed of these announcements in the face of what you've described above. Kinda depends on how one defines terrorism, doesn't it? I hate to say it but more likely they are bending over backwards to protect Muslims because they think we're going to devolve into lawless yahoos burning Mosques and such like we did after 9/11. Wait..

Unknown said...

But remember that ricin is not a mass casualty toxin. So I don't know how it could be part of a terror attack vs Las Vegas unless the plan was to coat a whole lot of poker chips or cash.

A.C. McCloud said...

As deadly as the substance is it would seem the terror aspect would be the panic involved after a few people were killed with it.

Which is why the authorities seem overly concerned with saying it's not terrorism. Even though it would be (just, as you say, not on a mass scale).

Anonymous said...

When the Mn. Patriots used it, it was an act of domestic terrorism targeting the drug enforcement folks. When the Maharishi's people spread salmonella in Oregon, it was an attempt to stack the vote in a local election. When whoever was responsible for the anthrax attack (which reminds me that I should probably do an update), the purpose was to raise doubts about the safety of the US Mail system. S'whats the motive in Vegas? I'm not "getting it" a this point. Roger Von Bergendorff. Maybe he was a cancer researcher.