[Wordsmith]

Hey all, I'm a newbie here, been lurking for a few months. At the Georgia World Congress Center, the convention center next to CNN HQ, the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association is about to begin. The hotels are filling up now with attendees, and the conference officially begins on Monday. This is a major production, thousands of people. I'm flying down from Massachusetts on Sunday to attend on and represent my company (a health and safety publisher). I've been on edge concerning this ever since Tom Ridge's comments to Congress on Monday about the need to begin thinking of the national public health infrastructure as part of the national defense. There will be a lot of bigwigs from around the country at this conference, including top level CDC officials. Former first lady Rosalyn Carter is giving a speech. I'm sure security will be tight, but its rather unsettling that in the new post-anthrax America this gathering is now a military target. My wife doesn't want me to go, but I figure "fear is the mind killer."

[Wordsmith]

I should have spelled it out. This conference is happening right in the district where these cameras were nabbed. WS

[techdawg2k]

Oh my goodness! Look at the Title of this article:

Terrorism explored at American Public Health Association's Annual Meeting Sessions focus on prevention, preparedness, response

ATLANTA (Oct. 5, 2001) - The American Public Health Association's 129th Annual Meeting Oct. 21-25 in Atlanta includes 16 sessions on terrorism, including topics on bio-terrorism and three new sessions added to address the Sept. 11 attack.

The world's oldest and largest gathering of public health researchers, practitioners and policy makers, the Meeting features more than 900 sessions and some 3,000 scientific papers scheduled for presentation. Entitled "One World: Global Health," the four-day program of scientific sessions, round-table workshops, poster presentations and panel discussions allows more than 12,000 attendees to explore trends and enhance their knowledge about public health implications in a global setting.

Featured sessions on terrorism and related topics include:

New: APHA's Response to Terrorism

Global Environmental Change, Bioterrorism, and Public Health

Technological Approaches to Public Health Surveillance, Preparedness,

Dissemination and Education

War and Public Health

New: Public Health Implications of the Recent Events

New: Psychosocial Rehabilitation After Disaster

Public Health Impact of Conflict in Palestine

Public Health Law: A Global Perspective

Other sessions discuss timely issues such as:

Youth Violence, including school violence prevention intimate partner violence

Women's Health, including aging and weight issues

Sexuality, including child prostitution and an evaluation of abstinence-only curricula

HIV/AIDS

Religion, including a global perspective on faith and healing and holistic health care

Tobacco, alcohol and gun control

Children's Health and Nutrition

Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Press conferences are currently scheduled for Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. Topics include APHA's response to terrorism, the release of a monograph on women and diabetes, the release of state-by-state health rankings and the impact of atmospheric dust as a public health issue in Africa and the Caribbean.

Details on these press events will be released at a later date. Press facilities, located in the Hilton Atlanta, Rockdale Room (255 Courtland St.), include a press office, workroom and news conference/interview room. Phones, two IBM-compatible PC's, an Internet connection and a fax machine are also available to registered media. The press facilities are open:

Sunday, Oct. 21 Noon - 5 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 22 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 23 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 24 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 25 8 a.m. - 10 a.m.

Visit www.apha.org for Annual Meeting information and updates.