Free Republic

For the first time, compounds that protect against ricin poisoning have been identified by French researchers. It's hoped the research could lead to an antidote for the poison, which is a thousand times more toxic than cyanide. Banned under chemical weapons conventions, ricin became infamous when a modified umbrella-gun containing a poisoned pellet was used to kill Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in 1978. Although not as potent as synthetic nerve agents, ricin is obtained from a natural source - the castor bean - so could potentially be more easily obtained by terrorist groups. Research has been undertaken into an antibody-based vaccine and...

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SNIPPET: "A white supremacist yesterday admitted producing deadly ricin while preparing for acts of terrorism. Ian Davison's home in Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, Co Durham, was raided by anti-terror officers who found the killer substance in a jam jar in his kitchen. At Newcastle Crown Court he admitted producing a chemical weapon — ricin — and preparing for acts of terrorism." SNIPPET: "He will be sentenced after the trial of his son Nicky Davison (19), who denies two charges of possessing material containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing acts of terrorism. The case will be...

The politics of national security has become more volatile lately. Republicans are increasingly emphasizing national security in hopes of electoral gains in 2010. Their push has raised fears that existentially important security issues have become too political for the nation's good. Whether or not that's true, Democrats will have to push back, and liberals are worried that they are struggling. GOP Splitting Congressional Dems from Obama Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent writes, "Congressional Dems have no message or strategy on national security, and they’re getting badly outworked by the GOP on the issue." Republicans have a "very specific strategy" with...

SNIPPET: "Everett police were called to the 1200 block of 50th Street Southwest on Monday evening in response to a reported domestic disturbance. When they arrived, they found the 43-year-old woman bleeding in the yard and her 48-year-old husband unresponsive inside the home."

Page last updated at 04:02 GMT, Saturday, 6 June 2009 05:02 UK "Pair questioned over ricin find" SNIPPET: "A father and son are being questioned by anti-terrorism officers following the discovery of the poison ricin at a house in County Durham. The find is connected to a police inquiry into alleged extreme right-wing activity. Ian Davison, 41, and his son, Nicky, 18, were arrested on Tuesday in raids at their homes in County Durham. The ricin, said to be 6,000 times more toxic than cyanide, will be analysed at the Porton Down government laboratory. Police have halted their search of...

Cheney warns of new attacks Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed. In an interview Tuesday with Politico, Cheney unyieldingly defended the Bush administration’s support for the Guantanamo Bay prison and coercive interrogation of terrorism suspects. And he asserted that President Obama will either backtrack on his stated intentions to end those policies or put the country at risk in ways more severe than...

The man who unlawfully possessed the deadly toxin, ricin, and two unregistered firearm silencers in his Las Vegas hotel room in April was sentenced today to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $7,500 fine. U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones imposed the sentence against Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, who pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession of a biological toxin and one count of possession of unregistered firearms. Bergendorff also agreed to forfeit a pistol and two unregistered silencers, said U.S. Attorney Greg Brower of Nevada.

Pentagon Makes Fighting Extremism Top Priority Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Pentagon on Thursday officially named "the long war" against global extremism as its top priority and pledged to avert any conventional military threat from China or Russia through dialogue. The Defense Department, in a new national defense strategy, also emphasized the need to subordinate military operations to "soft power" initiatives to undermine Islamist militancy by promoting economic, political and social development in vulnerable corners of the world. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he hoped the change would help establish permanent institutional support for counterinsurgency skills...

LAS VEGAS -- An unemployed graphic designer who told investigators that he found making ricin an "exotic idea" pleaded guilty Monday to possessing the deadly toxin in a hotel room here. Roger Bergendorff, 57, also pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge. (A second weapons charge was dropped.) He could face up to 20 years in prison at his Nov. 3 sentencing, though prosecutors are recommending that he serve a little more than three years. Bergendorff reportedly fantasized about harming people with the poison -- he had sketched an "injection delivery device" disguised as a pen -- but never carried...

U.S. Wary Of Small Boat Terrorism As boating season approaches, the Bush administration wants to enlist America's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a nuclear or radiological bomb somewhere along the 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways. According to an April 23 intelligence assessment obtained by The Associated Press, "The use of a small boat as a weapon is likely to remain al Qaeda's weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given its ease in arming and deploying, low cost, and record of success." While the United States...

LAS VEGAS - A loner who long had struggled financially, Roger Bergendorff told investigators that he found making ricin an "exotic idea." So he researched the deadly toxin online. He bought "The Anarchists Cookbook." He ordered castor bean seeds -- ricin comes from the processed beans' waste -- apparently posing as a fictitious customer: "Roger's Patio and Garden." He donned a mask and gloves, mashed the beans with acetone, dried out the oil and stored the light-colored powder in a polypropylene container. According to a six-page federal complaint released Wednesday, Bergendorff fell ill while keeping a "crude" form of the...

Afghanistan to Ask NATO for Bigger Army Afghan officials will go to the NATO summit in Romania Thursday with a request: pay to increase our national Army by 40 percent. A bigger Army, Afghan officials argue, will allow the US and other coalition members to scale back in the coming years. This appeal comes amid pleas from the US and Canada for other NATO members to commit more to the Afghanistan mission, which many analysts say has floundered over the past year for lack of resources and a coherent strategy. France is expected to contribute another 1,000 forces and...

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A man who authorities believe was sickened by the deadly toxin ricin was arrested Wednesday on federal charges after he was released from a hospital. Roger Bergendorff, 57, had been hospitalized since Feb. 14. He is charged with possession of a biological toxin and two weapons offenses stemming from materials authorities said were found Feb. 26 and Feb. 28 in his room at an extended-stay motel several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip. "He was released from the hospital and he's in custody," said Agent Joseph Dickey, spokesman for the FBI office in Las Vegas. The...

Salt Lake City (AP) -- A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted the cousin of a man who was apparently poisoned by the deadly toxin ricin. Thomas Tholen, 54, was indicted on a charge of misprision of felony. U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said Tholen knew ricin had been illegally produced but did not report it to authorities and lied to cover up his concealment. "The consequences of this action could have been disastrous," Tolman said. Tholen, of Riverton, is the cousin of Roger Bergendorff, who apparently was poisoned by ricin and suffered respiratory ailments. He regained consciousness March 12 after...

A federal grand jury has indicted a Riverton man accused of lying to federal investigators about ricin discovered in a Las Vegas motel room. Thomas Tholen, 54, was indicted Wednesday on a single charge of misprision of felony, accusing him of knowing that a crime had been committed — that ricin had been manufactured — but failing to report the crime to authorities. Federal prosecutors also accused Tholen of lying to investigators to cover up the crime. "He knew more than he stated and that what he did state was misrepresentative," U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman told reporters Wednesday....

LAS VEGAS — A police officer who went to a motel room where a large quantity of ricin was later found has tested positive for trace amounts of a substance that can be derived from the poison's source, authorities said Thursday. "We did have one sample that had trace detectible levels of ricinine," said Pat Armour, manager of the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory, the local coordinator of sampling in the ricin case. The male officer has shown no signs of illness or symptoms of ricin poisoning, officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on...

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The man at the center of a ricin scare at a Las Vegas motel says he never had any intention of hurting anyone with the deadly biological agent, his brother told The Associated Press. Roger Bergendorff, who finally regained consciousness last week after almost a month of hospitalization, possessed the ricin powder found in his motel room in February and believes he was contaminated by it, said Erich Bergendorff, who talked to his brother on the phone Sunday. "He just confirmed that it was not intended for anybody," Erich Bergendorff said in a telephone interview from...

LAS VEGAS -- The central figure in a hotel ricin scare last month has emerged from a coma, FBI agents said Friday... ...While he has become cognizant, federal agents said, Von Bergendorff is still in critical condition. Police are questioning him at the hospital, trying to determine why he had so much of the poison.