Posted on 10/21/2001 10:34:13 AM PDT by Brian Kopp DPM
A short primer on viral disease transmission. Many viral diseases are transmitted via fomites:
fomite
SYLLABICATION: fo·mite
PRONUNCIATION: fmt
NOUN: An inanimate object or substance that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another.
ETYMOLOGY: Back-formation from New Latin fmits, pl. of Latin fmes, tinder, from fovre, to warm. See dhegwh- in Appendix I.
In other words, you touch something, get the virus on your hand, then touch you face, mouth, nose or other mucus membrane.
Candy wrappers would be a perfect fomite because the act of handling the candy wrapper occurs immediately before the contact with the mouth.
In other words, no need to inject anything.
Just a light dusting of smallpox virus in the form or a powder. If done correctly it would be undetectable.
And unlike anthrax, which requires thousands of huge bacterial spores be inhaled into the lungs, relatively few microscopic smallpox viruses would be required. And nasal exposure would be sufficient to cause full blown infection, whereas nasal exposure with anthrax is relatively harmless.
No trick or treating for my kids this year.
News/Current Events
Source: Bergen NJ Record
Published: October 20, 2001 Author: MITCHEL MADDUX and PETER POCHNA
Posted on 10/20/01 11:17 PM Eastern by spycatcher
"We have been advised and we are looking into the incident of a gentleman buying large quantities of candy," said Sandra Carroll, an FBI spokeswoman in Newark.
Carroll declined to identify the purchaser, but indicated that he is in federal custody for immigration law reasons not related to the purchase of the candy.
"I cannot comment on INS detainees," Carroll said.
Carroll said it would be premature to draw conclusions about the purchaser's intent for the candy, which agents had not found by Friday night. She declined to describe the candy.
"We have no evidence or information for us to suspect there is any reason to cancel scheduled events," Carroll said when asked if the FBI had concerns about the safety of Halloween. "However, the public is encouraged to remain alert but calm."
Hackensack police took a report from Costco about the candy purchase at the Hackensack store at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. The police then contacted the FBI.
"They told us to stay out of it," said Hackensack Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa.
Zisa said the FBI had already learned about the purchase. A local Costco manager had reported the incident to corporate headquarters, near Seattle, and had sent a videotape from a store security camera, Zisa said.
An official at Costco's corporate headquarters said Friday night that no one was available to comment on the matter. Another Costco official, who declined to be identified, said such large purchases from the chain of wholesale grocery and household goods stores are not uncommon.
Kerry Gill, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, said he could not discuss the case because of confidentiality policies.
News/Current Events
Source: snopes.com
Published: Oct 20 Author: Snopes.com
Posted on 10/20/01 6:26 PM Eastern by earaiak
No kneejerking allowed. So far it hasn't been unsubstantiated. Check out the snopes site for more info: The Candy Man
Judge Napolitano on FOX said it is legal to deport anyone we want to!
He also said we could refuse entry to anyone we want to!
So, Bush,why arnt you?
WND POLL
Why is U.S. government taking little action to secure its borders?
Congress Still Won't Stop Illegal Immigration Democrats have not dropped their opposition to stopping illegal immigration, with troops or without. Complaining that Democratic efforts to make immigration into the United States easier have been complicated by the attacks, a Democratic Senate aide told the Washington Post, "Obviously what happened is going to make our job harder."
International Terrorism and Immigration Policy House Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims
Hearing on International Terrorism and Immigration Policy
January 25, 2000
Good morning. Before I begin my prepared comments, I would like to take a moment to express my deepest appreciation to you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing, and, equally important, for standing up to the orchestrated campaign to stop me from appearing. Because of the investigative work I have carried out as a journalist and investigator in exposing the presence of militant Islamic fundamentalists and Middle Eastern terrorists in the United States (see attached bio), I have been the subject of a sustained campaign of vilification, defamation and even a threat to my life during the past five years by militant Islamic organizations operating as self-anointed representatives of the larger Muslim population, whom they decidedly do not represent.
U.S. Law Says Membership in Terrorist Group,Or Advocacy of Terror, No Bar to Immigration
A 1990 U.S. immigration law, sponsored by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D.-Mass.), instructs State Department employees that "mere" membership in a terrorist organization or advocacy of acts of terrorism should not exclude foreigners from receiving U.S. immigration visas.
Under the law as it is written, someone who belongs to a Middle Eastern terrorist group and has publicly stated a desire that the World Trade Center towers be blown up cannot, on those grounds alone, be denied permission to legally enter the United States as a prospective citizen.
Principles for turning the tide on illegal immigration Based on the views of more than two dozen INS agents and former INS officials, NumbersUSA has compiled a list of principles that these people believe would turn the tide on illegal immigration in the United States. Although many of the people consulted by NumbersUSA did not know each other, they provided remarkably similar ideas and optimism about how to make the United States once again a nation where the rule of law prevails in terms of who has a right to be a participating member of the national community. As a whole, the INS sources did not doubt that the flow of illegal immigration would slow and many present illegal aliens would begin to go back to their home countries if the following principles were put into effect.
FUTURE WIDOWS OF AMERICA: WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN
The enemy is in this country right now. And any terrorists who are not already here are free to immigrate. The government has been doing an excellent job rounding up suspects from the last two attacks. But what about the next attack? We thought there was only one murderous Islamic cell in America the last time, too.Congress has authority to pass a law tomorrow requiring aliens from suspect countries to leave. As far as the Constitution is concerned, aliens, which is to say non-citizens, are here at this country's pleasure. They have no constitutional right to be here.
Since there aren't enough vaccinations for everyone, these will be held as a contingency if there are smallpox outbreaks anywhere. In such a case, they'll try to create a firewall around the epidemic with rapid-response vaccinations.
No companies have been producing smallpox vaccines for years, no money in it. It'll take a while to get 300,000,00 doses.
News/Current Events
Source: North Jersey.com
Author: MITCHEL MADDUX and PETER POCHNA
Posted on 10/23/01 2:59 AM Eastern by kattracks
"We do not have any evidence that suggests that the purchases of these items was not for legitimate purposes," said Sandra Carroll, an FBI spokesperson in Newark.
The FBI detained the man "for reasons unrelated to the purchases," Carroll said. A law enforcement source who did not want to be identified said the man is a foreign national who was being held for immigration law reasons.
The candy, meanwhile, has been found, Carroll said.
News reports about the $15,000 cash purchases prompted public concern about the safety of Halloween candy.
However, Carroll emphasizesd that the FBI would notify the public whenever it came across credible information that poses a health concern.
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