Voodoo powder blights Miami courts

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_847912.html ^ | Story filed: 17:03 Wednesday 17th December 2003

[Van der Waals]

Prosecutors in a trial in Miami complain that their seats and evidence boxes are being covered with voodoo powder.

US District Judge Patricia Seitz has been shown a large quantity of the greyish dust which was dumped in what's believed to be a Santeria ritual.

Santeria experts say voodoo powder can bring good luck, swaying juries, judges or prosecutors in favour of the accused.

The powder was left in evidence boxes next to the prosecution table in the courtroom which is trying defence attorney J.C. Elso on money-laundering charges.

Veteran Assistant US Attorney Richard Gregorie said he respects all religions but is tired of getting his suit coats cleaned of powder residue, says the Miami Herald.

A team of cleaners, known as the Voodoo Squad, regularly remove sacrificial chickens, roosters and goats from the grounds of the courthouse.

[Van der Waals]

I tend to agree, nevertheless the "link=bacillus" - not just "bacillus" is, as you say, cute.

BTW, have you by chance taken a look at the "hoax" chemical letters released in Europe some months ago?

[Cultural Jihad]

What?! Tetrodotoxin, an ancient alkaloid from the sea, a God-given compound not unlike cannabis and opium poppies, and there's PaxMacian acting like a Blue Meanie.

[PaxMacian]

It has its uses in modern medicine, fascinating ones.
But, this kind of activity is a danger to others.
The dissemination of unknown agents in public spaces
should be considered dangerous anti-social behavior
verging on acts of terrorism.

[PaxMacian]

My reasoning is the same as regards RU486 or the morning after pill. It is that these subtances are deadly poisons which possess qualities likely to induce their use for evil ends. This line of reasoning cannot be extended to all other herbs.

[Mitchell]

I tend to agree, nevertheless the "link=bacillus" - not just "bacillus" is, as you say, cute.

Oh, yes. I was aware of the 9/18 date, which I had dismissed as a random coincidence of dates. But the 10/9 second release and the bacillus link were new to me and did make me take a second look.

I think the http://ww2.fce.vutbr.cz/bin/counter.gif/... link might be a publicly available web-hit counter script. I'm not sure, though, because the only documentation I could find was in Czech. If this is correct, the "link=bacillus" part might identify the particular count being incremented (assuming that the counter script is in use by many different people, one would need some way to keep the counts distinct and to identify which of the many counters being maintained was to be incremented).

BTW, have you by chance taken a look at the "hoax" chemical letters released in Europe some months ago?

Do you have a link on this? Thanks.

[FITZ]

A team of cleaners, known as the Voodoo Squad, regularly remove sacrificial chickens, roosters and goats from the grounds of the courthouse.

If we must respect Islam, then it seems we must respect Voodoo just as much.

[Cultural Jihad]

Thanks for the clarification.

[Van der Waals]

"If we must respect Islam, then it seems we must respect Voodoo just as much."

A quote from the Koran?

[Van der Waals]

Belgian media reported the envelopes included a card signed in English by the "International Islamic Society,"

(Also "cute", wouldn't you say?)

Letters laced with toxic powder
By Constant Brand in Belgium
June 5, 2003



BELGIAN authorities were today investigating 10 letters laced with toxic powders that were addressed to Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, the American, Saudi and British embassies and other offices.

The letters, discovered over the past two days, apparently were all sent by the same person or group, said Jaak Raes, an Interior Ministry official.

Belgian media reported the envelopes included a card signed in English by the "International Islamic Society," and Raes said a "full investigation" was underway.

Two postal workers were hospitalised with a skin irritation after coming in contact with the brown powder, but were expected to be released later today, officials said.

Government toxicologists said the powder contained hydrazine, used as a garden pesticide, and phenarsazine, an arsenic derivative used in rat poison. The chemicals found can irritate the skin, eyes and nasal passages.


Belgian Authorities Investigate Envelopes with Toxic Powder
VOA News
04 Jun 2003, 16:46 UTC

Authorities in Belgium are investigating 10 letters with a toxic powder found in envelopes addressed to the prime minister's office, the U.S. Embassy and other recipients.

Officials say tests on some of the letters found at least two substances. One is hydrazine, which is used in rocket fuel, and the other is a derivative of arsenic commonly used as rat poison. Officials said the chemicals can irritate the skin, eyes and nasal passages.

The letters were found at mail depots in a number of cities including Ghent and Brussels. Some of the letters contained messages full of with expletives that were signed in English with the words "Islamic Community."

Recipients of the dangerous mail included the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Britain.

Belgian investigators are trying to fully identify the powder, where it came from and who was responsible for trying to mail it.

The incident was reminiscent of the anthrax scare that gripped the United States two years ago. Five people died and 11 others became ill after coming in contact with anthrax spores sent through the mail.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.








Toxic Powder Mailed to Embassies in Belgium



Wednesday, June 04 2003 @ 04:24 PM GMT


"That letter also contained a slip of paper which read simply 'bastard'. One letter was addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels .."

BRUSSELS - Ten envelopes containing toxic powder were mailed to several embassies and public buildings in Belgium, local radio RVI reported today.

The letters arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday and contained the chemicals Hydrazine and Phenarsazine.

The last of the letters arrived at the embassies of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom in Brussels. The Saudi embassy was evacuated and some employees were taken to hospital.

That letter also contained a slip of paper which read simply "bastard". One letter was addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Brussels. Another was addressed to the cabinet of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.

Hydrazine and Phenarsazine are irritating and potentially toxic chemicals. Hydrazine fluid can be used as fuel for rockets and is very explosive. It is readily available in powder form as a pesticide, noted the radio.

The federal prosecutor's office in Belgium and the anti-terror squad are investigating.


I believe there are more - I'll look further.

[quadrant]

Miami has been covered in one sort of powder or another for so long that I'm surprised anyone knows the difference.

At least they aren't covered in powdered cocaine.

[Van der Waals]

Florida Powder Party: Boca Raton

[Liberal Classic]

First the Reichstag has bad feng shui, now this.

[Freedom4US]

Seems to me that while thinking people do not believe that "voodoo powder" has any effect, those who employ such practices surely do, and should be prosecuted for attempted murder or whatever it is they are attempting to do. If I sell talcum powder as cocaine, the police do not let me off the hook because I wasn't "really" selling cocaine, the penalties are the same.

[Van der Waals]

There is a certain severe origami to it, don't you think?

[Liberal Classic]

They're taking instructions from the Master Control Program.

[Van der Waals]

Sure, but then there's the "conceptual artwork" defence:

Anthrax hoaxer case adjourned

A former chemistry teacher due to be sentenced on Monday for posting hoax anthrax letters containing flour will have to wait a further fortnight to learn his fate.
Nicholas Roberts, 50, was found guilty in February of attempting to cause a public nuisance by sending packages to public figures, including Welsh Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan.


Roberts sent four letters in the wake of a major anthrax alert in the United States, which began following the 11 September terrorist attacks.

Roberts, an unemployed former chemistry teacher from the Riverside area of Cardiff, had also sent a hoax letter to travel writer Jan Morris.

At Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, three pyschiatrists disagreed over whether Roberts has a mental illness.

Roberts had claimed he was sending the packages as a "work of art".

Judge John Griffith QC, sitting at Cardiff Crown Court, said Roberts was "clearly a very strange man indeed".

Earlier this year, Roberts was sent for psychiatric assessment at Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff to undergo tests before sentencing.

The hoax letters were sent in the wake of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington, and sparked a major security alert in Cardiff.

Spraying road signs

The court heard Roberts has a previous conviction for throwing four eggs at the Queen's car during a Royal visit three years ago.

He also had convictions for spraying road signs with black paint because they were written in English and not in Welsh.

At an earlier hearing, Roberts said he thought the letters were beneficial to society because they were pieces of "conceptual artwork".

As well as the letter sent to Mr Morgan and Jan Morris, Roberts sent two more packages to his own friends in October 2001.

Roberts told the court his actions would "benefit society" and denied doing it to cause a nuisance.



Prosecuting counsel Peter Murphy said although the substance turned out to be flour, a major security operation had to be set up to intercept all post to the assembly in Cardiff Bay.

It had to be carried out by post office managers and police because it would have caused widespread panic among Royal Mail workers due to the climate of fear.

Three of the letters were found in Cardiff's main sorting office while the fourth was discovered in the offices of Ms Morris's publishers.

[Lazamataz]

I don't practice Santeria
I ain't got no crystal ball
Well I had a million dollars but I, I'd spend it all
If I could find that heina and that sancho that she'd found
Well I'd pop a cap in sancho and I'd slap her down
What I really wanna know (my baby)
What I really wanna say, I can't define
Well it's love that I neeeeeed
My soul will have to wait till I get back
Find a heina of my own
Daddy's gonna love one and all
I feel the break, feel the break, feel the break
And I gotta live it out
Oh yeah un-huh
Well I swear that I, what I really wanna know (my baby)
What I really wanna say, I can't define
Got love! Make it go
My soul will have to...
What I really wanna say (my baby)
What I really wanna say, is I've got mine
And I'll make it
Yes, I'm going up
Tell sanchito that if he knows what is good for him
He best go run and hide
Daddy's got a new .45
And I won't think twice
To stick that barrel straight down sancho's throat
Believe me when I say that I got something for his punk-a**

[Van der Waals]

You don’t need no stinkin’ badges
You don’t need no map to hell
You don’t dance or eat no quiches
You’d demand a smaller cell

You don’t cast no evil shadows
You don’t talk no hidden trash
You blow smoke rings at the gallows
Should you hang you wouldn’t thrash

So bring on the Federales
Add more bloodhounds to the pack
You don’t sweat no bloody footprints

You alone can watch your back


Sanchito

[Mitchell]

Thanks -- I guess I did see these at the time.

I don't know quite what to make of these letters. As far as I can tell, the chemicals used aren't weapons of mass destruction in any sense of the phrase; far more destruction would be wrought by an ordinary bomb.

So, what is the purpose of the letters?

[Van der Waals]

"So, what is the purpose of the letters?"

Perhaps you would like to field this one, Laz.

How about another song?
Something with dark lyrics and a
Hitchcockian melody would do nicely.

Or, you sing us a few bars from:
"1st case of disease
Now blow away this dust
So you can see
How the real thing flys
Oklahoma-Ryder Truck
Skyway bridge-18 wheels"...remember the tune?