Posted on 10/09/2001 1:13:08 AM PDT by TheOtherOne
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| October 8 — The possibility that a photo editor for the weekly tabloid The Sun was killed in a bioterrorism attack took on a new sense of urgency today after Florida public-health officials disclosed that a nose swab taken from a 73-year-old hospitalized co-worker contained the rare bacteria spore that induces Anthrax, an often-fatal illness. | |||
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| PUBLIC-HEALTH OFFICIALS confirmed that Ernesto Blanco, a 73-year-old Cuban American who works in the mailroom of American Media office building in Boca Raton tested as having been exposed to Anthrax. Blanco was admitted to a Miami hospital last week with symptoms of pneumonia. On Friday, Bob Stevens, a photo editor at The Sun, died from disease. What had been described as a public-health probe instantly became a criminal investigation as FBI agents on Sunday evening sealed off the office building, which houses the offices of most of the country’s supermarket tabloids including The National Enquirer, The Star, The Globe, News of the World and others. Employees and visitors to the building were ordered to undergo medical tests. Grim-faced state officials who had initially tried to downplay speculation late last week that Stevens’ demise might have been caused by foul play didn’t sound so sure at a Monday afternoon press conference. “We can’t speculate as to the source of this particular anthrax germ,” said acting Florida Secretary of Health Dr. John Agwunobi, who confirmed earlier reports that Anthrax spores had been found on the computer keyboard at Bob Stevens’ desk. Other officials went further. “We have to assume that a human element was involved,” concluded Florida Health Department director of disease control Dr. Landis Crockett. |
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 NEWSWEEK has learned that the FBI is aggressively trying to locate a summer intern from nearby Florida Atlantic University in connection with the investigation. The intern, who sources said came from a Middle Eastern country, had sent an e-mail to all employees that a top American Media official described as “peculiar.” The e-mail thanked company employees for the help he gave them, but then contained language suggesting that he wasn’t saying “goodbye.” Another company official recalled the email as having “a sense of foreboding” and referring to a “surprise” or “something that he left behind.”Said the official, “it was weird.”Sources at American Media said the FBI has asked company employees about any “enemies” the company or its papers might have. Given the content of the weekly tabloids, “that list would go on forever,” joked one employee. Alarmed workers say they are urgently trying to recall receiving suspicious or unusual letters and packages. Several are focusing on a letter that arrived at the company about a week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. It was described by sources as a “weird love letter to Jennifer Lopez”—similar, outwardly, to the types of mail the tabloids often get. But inside the oddly-worded letter was what was described as a “soapy, powdery substance” and in the pile of that a cheap Star of David charm. The letter, per routine, was taken in by the joint mailroom of the company. Employees said the letter was handled both by Stevens and by Blanco. |
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By late Monday afternoon, Boca Raton fire rescue vehicles and unmarked trucks and vans had descended on the American Media office building and investigators in white germproof suits were combing the ramp leading into the underground parking lot. Earlier in the day, hundreds of office workers filled out four-page forms at the Delray Beach health center asking them questions about their medical history, any recent unusual events that had occurred inside the building and whether they had visited the mail room and a photo library frequented by Blanco and Stevens. The office workers were issued 15-day supplies of the antibiotic Cipro that doctors prescribe in cases of Anthrax exposure. A skittish golf pro who works at a course adjacent to the premises of the American Media headquarters looked on warily from a distance as law enforcement officials swarmed around the building this morning. “I’m very concerned, and I’m going to give my lessons on the far side of the course,” said Broken Sound Golf Course instructor Michael Meredith. “I’m going to try to stay as far away as possible.” He was not alone in voicing such sentiments on a day when the specter of bio-terrorism suddenly loomed large over the placid suburbs of Palm Beach County. With Catharine Skipp © 2001 Newsweek, Inc. |
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In which case you WILL see me with a gun, killing any government officials who would DARE to lay hands upon innocent American citizens. If you've any love for your country (READ: The Constitution), you'll be there alongside me (or maybe you're a coward or a traitor instead). That's what the 2nd Amendment is for.
No,you're not "panicking" NOW. You have already left "panic" so far in the background that you can't see it in your rear view mirror.
You don't think calling for us to nuke whole countries is "overreacting"????? What the hell WOULD you call "overreacting",if that's the case?
Me too,but it's not gonna happen. The American people are panicking already,and if one more terror attack is made in the US,they will be going next door to murder their life-long Arab neighbors. Others are so scared they are as likely to use their guns to kill themselves as a suspected enemy. It's gonna get ugly. All at the same time we now have a "Homeland Security Office" that is ran by a Republican anti-gunner,working under the orders of a Republican president most of these sheeple see as a saint. This combination can get away with things a Dim president could never even dream of,as the good little Republican sheeple would never dream of asking them any questions or criticising them in any way.
The only part of this that truly surprises me is the hugh numbers of Americans who are personal cowards. I honestly expected better than this from Americans.
From Sudan is what I have heard.
First bio/chem attack with more than a couple of deaths - Medina ceases to exist.
Second attack - Mecca (including the Kabbah) is a cinder.
We can even be nice - give'm 24 hours to evacuate.
prambo
Even if this is somehow unrelated to 9/11, all Middle Eastern visas should be revoked. Moreover, immigration from the Middle East should be stopped. Period. The rest of the world would be wise to follow this course as well.
Better to be tried by 12 peers, than carried by 6.
The plot thickens. It occurs to me that any Middle Easterner is an easy "fall guy" for J. Random Nutcase with a grudge....
The HTML you copied refers to a style sheet you didn't include.
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