The Inside Straight

Personal-Update

My wife-as noted earlier-was operated on last week for an aggressive cancer. She is 74, and was not exceptionally strong at the time of the operation (not that there was any real choice !)

The shock, plus a low-grade infection have brought her to death's door, and she has been on a ventilator for five days so far. Fluid retention in the body tissues has changed her from a "scrawny" 106 lbs. to a massive 160 + lbs.

I try to visit her 2-3 times a day - evem though she is continuously sedated.

We have been married for 50 years, and it is tough saying goodbye.

A Personal Note

I'm holding off blogging for a little bit for personal reasons: my wife was operated on yesterday for extensive and aggressive ovarian cancer , and I'll be spending much of my free time on hospital visits.

If any of my readers are women,I urge you to check out the early warning signs of this disease-and-if you have any suspicion things are not what they should be,get in to see your gynecologist ASAP !

A blessed holiday to all.

Two "Fake" Anthrax Attacks !

Willingboro, NJ : A teacher, opening mail in the office at Garfield East Elementary School in the quiet South Jersey community of Willingboro discovered white powder in an envelope. The powder irritated her hands. This triggered a Hazmat response, the "quarantining" of over 400 young pupils on school busses, and a visit to the Emergency Room by the teacher.

I'm happy to report testing showed no involvement of anthrax or other bio-agents ; and the surmise is the white powder ( probably laundry detergent,or some such ) was  sent as somebody's idea of a prank.Depending on the age of the perpetrator, that "prankster" could be looking at some serious jail time 

The Second Fake Anthrax Attack was made upon the United States : courtesy of Sherwood Ross - whose blog , "The Smirking Chimp" is well known to the moonbat segment of the Left.

The sum and substance of the Ross article is that "moonsuit wearing" Bio-warfare scientists were responsible for the Anthrax attacks of 2001. Mr. Ross - a gifted writer - draws upon the "expertise" of Francis A. Boyle : holder of two doctorates : one in Law, the other in Political Science.

Dr.Dr. Boyle has revealed these secrets in his new book : "Biowarfare and Terrorism".

He is also the author of : "Foundations of World Order" , "The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence",and "Destroying World Order" , plus any number of "progressive" articles. He is also the chap who has shown great interest in establishing a separate Native Hawaiian Nation - complete with constitution, and, one supposes massive compensation to the natives thereof.

Checking Dr. Boyle's published biography , I somehow missed noticing any reference to expertise in Microbiology,Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, or other disciplines one might expect of an expert in Bioweapons . Oh, well: You can't know everything !

Sherwood Ross published his  ouvre in The Smirking Chimp. It has appeared in the Middle East Times, and is currently impressing Germans via "Journalismus Nachtrichten von Heute".

If you are partial to conspiracy theories that are totally lacking in foundation and that contain probable elements of deliberate disinformation , you'll probably enjoy the Sherwood Ross article.

If you are, on the other hand, at least halfway well-informed you'll recognize the article as a "fake anthrax attack" . You'll know , for example , that Marion "Spike" Bowman was NOT an "FBI official":He worked as a deputy general counsel in the National Security Law Unit,and was responsible for reviewing FISA warrant applications. You'll remember that the anthrax strain WAS identified as "Ames" , and you may even know that Ames strain was widely circulated for a number of years. (Even the Russians had samples.) What sort of coverup would identify a strain KNOWN to be of domestic origin ?

You may wonder-as I do - what motivates prople who publish such rubbish ?

Update on E Coli/Taco Bell Story

I had expressed concern yesterday about an E coli outbreak that was limited to one chain: Taco Bell.

One reader  advised me 3 smaller chains have had outbreaks , which were never publicized.

Another reader pointed out some restaurant chains have exclusive purchase agreements with certain suppliers , and it is possible Taco Bell made that a condition of their agreement with the lettuce supplier. (We are talking about boxcar quantities of lettuce,supplied on a daily basis.)

Obviously, if a supplier sells all of its output to a restaurant chain, only that chain will be affected if there is a problem with the item.

Worth noting: Taco Bell has changed its produce supplier.

Hopefully, the change will end the outbreak !

E Coli Outbreak: Why Just at Taco Bell ?

The highly-publicized outbreak of E. Coli at Several Taco Bell restaurants has been traced - very, tentatively-to the shredded lettuce the fast food chain uses in so many of its dishes.

The  question that comes to mind is this : Given the circumstance that this self-same lettuce is probably on supermarket shelves all over America; that shredded lettuce is a common ingredient in restaurants that sell Mexican food (and sub sandwiches) , why hasn't this outbreak affected anyone other than patrons of the Taco Bell restaurants ?

The first answer that comes to mind is deliberate human intervention; eg: an extortion scheme, a revenge plot , a little do-it-yourself terrorism , a "reality-challenged individual" (formerly known as  a "friggin' nut job") ......located somewhere down the distribution chain : so far down the ladder as to be  almost "invisible" to the corporate eye.

I'm told (informally) Taco Bell has a comparatively rigid employer/employee structure: long lists of do's and don'ts; rigidly scheduled rest breaks ; much more training than one might expect in a low-wage job;and very close supervision. They also have  rather brisk employee turnover - which I've heard - seems to come as a surprise to Management.

I hope my idle speculation on this is wrong , and there is a more (excuse the expression) palatable answer to this "mystery" !

Emerging "Theories" in Poisoned Spy Case

The media is  weaning itself of the "Putin Must Have Murdered Litvinenko" theory ..with considerable reluctance. It was a theory handed to them -neatly packaged and fully orchestrated - by a Public Relations expert, working on behalf of the expatriate Oligarch billionaire , Boris Berezovsky. What's more, it was a "juicy" story : sure to attract viewers/readers, and beef up those third quarter advertising revenues.

It was also a story to gladden a billionaire Currency Trader's heart: Russia-on the verge of membership in the World Trade Organization-suddenly hit with a monstrous scandal ! If one has - ever so discreetly-taken a "short position" on the Ruble, who knows what extra millions may be reaped ? If that particular Trader is a heavy contributor to at least one major Russian newspaper - and one of America's dominant political parties , it is certain the "scandal" will have "legs".

Unfortunately, the story has been falling apart - with almost daily revelations - and another,more viable theory is emerging : The death of Litvinenko may be closely linked to Polonium smuggling .Moreover,the death may have been closer to manslaughter than murder: a death occuring by accident during the commission of another crime.

Polonium-210 is an extremely valuable commodity. Russia exports about 8 grams a month to the United States - thereby earning about 40 million Dollars. We use it for a variety of commercial and industrial applications - in microscopic quantities. The Black Market value of Polonium-210 is about 25 million dollars per gram !

It is also a very very dangerous commodity ! It can be carried - so they say - in a sealed vial with little or no risk ; but , once outside the vial, the risk is astronomical. It is reported to be 2.5 x 1000000000000 times more poisonous than Hydrocyanic acid (the stuff they use in gas chambers),and at least 50 times more energetic than Radium. Left in a warm environment (131F or above), it will vaporize within 45 hours-coating everything it touches with an ultra-thin layer of highly radioactive material - ideal for a "dirty bomb" . Mixed or alloyed with a super light metal called Beryllium, it becomes a Neutron emitter-and has been used as such in nuclear bombs.And yes, Virginia, there are people called "terrorists" who would gladly pay $25 million per gram for it !

The British, German, and Russian police are now investigating what the German police have tentatively identified as a smuggling operation; and the people they are looking at have absolutely nothing to do with Vladimir Putin.

So far, the following have come to the attention of the police in three countries:

Dmitri Kovtun - a businessman, with interests in oil and gas-has been exposed to radiation;

Andrei Lugovoi - a businessman who specializes in brewing kvas - a sort of weak beer-has been exposed to radiation,left trail of same in Hamburg;

Evgeny Limarev- a businessman with contacts, who is,at the moment, remaining out of contact.

One should not neglect to mention the victim: Alexander V. Litvinenko - a man with a distinctly checkered past. According to what Lugovi told Der Spiegel during a recent interview, the victim was no longer receiving money from his "patron" - billionaire Oligarch Boris Berezovsky- and needed money so badly he was actually ruining lucrative "deals" with his demands for large sums of cash.

It seems entirely possible at this juncture the unfortunate Litvinenko received a lethal dose of Polonium-210 poisoning because someone in his immediate circle was exceptionally careless with an exceptionally dangerous material.

The nature of the business these ill-assorted players were engaged in has not been made public-officially,anyway. What is officially acknowledged is the fact the business left a trail of radioactive contamination : in hotels, airplanes,lounges, a sushi bar,a football stadium, and (Oops !) the offices of Boris Berezovsky.

It is also notable the British police suddenly decided to take stock of their radiation-resistant protective garments, and found they needed to place a rather large order for same.

Might one suspect the existence of a "dirty bomb" component in the hands of terrorists ?

In Honor of Kofi Annan.............NOT !

(Tune : " Bill Bailey " )

Won’t you go home, Mr. Kofi

Won’t you go home ?

I shout the whole day long –

Pick up your offshore money

And get on home there sonny-

You know you done us wrong !

Remember poor Rwanda –

All them poor dead babies ?

You shrugged them off

With such aplomb !

Oughta hang your head in shame

‘Cause your UN was to blame –

Mr. Kofi won’t you please go home ?

Bring back John Bolton-

Mr. Kofi get your be-hind home !

US Hospitals in Good Shape for Bio-Emergency

A new report from CDC (Centers for Disease and Infection Control) makes it clear-while US hospitals are not completely up-to-snuff on bio-preparedness, they have come a long way since the "dark days" of 2001 !

The Anthrax Attacks of 2001, horrible as they were,persuaded Congress and the "medical establishment" it was time to start thinking about "the unthinkable": the United States was alarmingly vulnerable to a bio-attack.

Now, five years later, the picture looks much better, according to this survey of 874 major hospitals all across America.

" Of 874 hospitals included in the survey, 739 (84.6%) responded. The survey revealed that teaching hospitals were better trained for handling bioterrorism than other types of hospitals were. Hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations were well ahead of other hospitals in training the following employees about terrorism response: nurses, staff physicians, laboratory employees, nurse practitioners, physicians, and residents. However, only 9.5% of the hospitals in the survey were not accredited. Eighty-eight percent of the hospitals said their nurses had been trained in recognizing and treating patients exposed to at least one of seven diseases potentially associated with bioterrorism (smallpox, anthrax, plague, botulism, tularemia, viral encephalitis, and hemorrhagic fevers) or to chemical or radiological attacks. In hospitals that had 24-hour emergency departments or outpatient clinics, 86% of clinical staff members were trained to recognize and treat smallpox, and 82% were trained to recognize and treat anthrax infections. " There is still plenty of room for improvement: The survey showed that more than three quarters of hospitals had taught their key personnel how to implement a "Hospital Emergency Incident Command" system or similar program. But the authors voiced concern that a quarter of the nation's hospitals are unprepared for a "chaotic event." There are some who would emphasize the fact "a quarter of the nation's hospitals are unprepared for a "chaotic event" ( It's the sort of statement that looks scarey on the Evening News ) and there are others - whose values I wonder at - who express indignation every time the US tries to mount a defense against anything.Finally, there are those who feel the government "should not waste tax money on science fiction". It's heartening to know there are some people with clear heads !

Wannabee Mall Bomber Made a "Martyrdom Video"

The case of Derrick Shareef has already drawn wide attention : especially from those who claim there is no such thing as Islamic terrorism !

Derrick - who goes by the Muslim name of Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef - and who sounds a few cards short of a full deck - is the Black Muslim son of a Black Muslim father, and had planned to attack a shopping mall near Rockford, Illinois with hand grenades and a pistol .

Well organized chap that he is, he had brought two new speakers to the meet, and had planned to trade them for 4 hand grenades and a pistol -but obviously did not know he was trying to obtain his weaponry from an undercover officer.

His rambling statements - caught on tape - indicate he planned to strike on December 22nd, when the store would be most crowded. He planned to put hand grenades into trash collection bins, so there would be plenty of extra shrapnel - and may not have believed he would survive the attack- as he made a "martyrdom video" to prove his intentions.

"This may be my last will and testament, the last words I have spoken to those who know me, to those who do not know me. My name is Talib Abu Salam Ibn Shareef. I am 22 years of age. I am from America and this tape is to let you guys know, who disbelieve in Allah, to let the enemies of Islam know, and to let the Muslims alike know that the time for jihad is now....Be strong, oh Mujahaideen. Be strong oh brothers who want to fight for jihad...This is a warning to those who disbelieve, that we are here for you, and I am ready to give my life."

Had he succeeded in his scheme, a lot of people would have been killed or badly injured - and the very same "progressive community" that snickers now at the importance of his arrest would have been screaming about "incompetent , bumbling police" ,and demanding Congressional investigations .

Civil libertarians who bleat in anguish over the mere existence of store security officers would be demanding the shopping malls be flooded with rifle-toting helmeted and armored police officers - if  National Guard troops could not be assigned.

Ah, but poor Derrick did not succeed ...so the Elites can sneer indulgently now , and pass his scheming off as "the acting-out of a troubled youth , who was entrapped by the jack-booted police in an effort to divert attention from Dubya's troubled presidency."

Me ? I think I'll just offer a heart-felt "Thank you !" to the Law Enforcement community - jack boots and all ! 

The Biggest Threat to Liberty

The  biggest threat to American liberty has never been Fascism,Communism,or other "alien doctrines". Americans have-by and large-recognized such threats rather promptly, and have put them in their proper place : the wastebasket.

Rantings and ravings on the Internet aside, we are in no real danger of suffering under  an "Imperial Presidency", a "Runaway Congress",or a "Dictatorial Court". The biggest threat to liberty tends to be much closer to home .

I speak here of local government : of planning boards that can seize our property  "for the common good" ; of "beautification" commissions that can dictate what our property should look like, and how it should be maintained ; of town or city councils that can ban smoking, or drinking ,or a whole shopping list of "undesirable" activities on properties they neither own or control ; of building inspection departments that can make a homeowner's life hell if the "wrong" home improvement contractor is hired; and yes: health departments that insist on supervising what foods we eat, and how they are prepared.

From time to time , you will hear those who run afoul of these pettifoggers cry : "Who gave these people such authority over our lives ? " 

The short answer is : " We did. "

The longer answer is : " We did it. We've been doing it for such a long time that it seems like the right thing to do...so we'll keep on doing it : over and over again. "

Short of descent into actual anarchy, I doubt there is much of anything anyone can do to reverse this trend - because , once something like this starts , it becomes an ever-increasing snowball.It even jumps  from one level of government to the next : commission to town to county to state to region ; sometimes to the national level (at which point the courts either solidify it or shoot it down .)

Please think about this the next time someone comes around with a petition to ban this or that - or to "improve" the property of others . Refusing to sign may not accomplish much - but it's a start on what could turn out to be an awfully long road back.