Police: Man in critical condition after exposure to ricin

CNN ^ | 2-29-08 | CNN

[SeafoodGumbo]

A man who stayed in a Las Vegas hotel room where ricin was found is in critical condition at a hospital, where he has been since mid-February, said a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department official.

A man is in critical condition after exposure to ricin at a Las Vegas, Nevada, hotel.

[matthew fuller]

"Also, seems there was a dead dog in the room. As I recall, Muzzies aren’t terribly fond of pooches (unclean animals and all). "

I hope that the authorities have enough sense to do an autopsy(?) on the dog. Muslim terrorists DO use dogs to test poisons or chemicals.

[no-to-illegals]

I too am hoping the same.

[penelopesire]

Thanks for the update.

You would think by now some gum shoe reporter would have found out more info! At least a name! Herridge on now reporting that authorities believe it is some ‘bizarre’ murder plot.

The press can leak NATIONAL SECURITY SECRETS...but not the name of the mystery coma dude? Or his friends/family?

WHY NOT RELEASE THE NAME??!!

[Kozak]

The LD50 ( meaning 1/2 of subjects will die at this dose) is 30 micrograms/kg for ingested ricin.

[no-to-illegals]

I have to believe it is SOP...there is also an ongoing investigation. There may also have been put in place a news blackout, even though word is out, so our overburdened LE can see if they can turn up anything....I would truly doubt this is the first case where information was withheld. btw...I typed none of this to antagonize you, FRiend.

[LFOD]

Castor oil makes the bugs & insects which moles feed on taste terrible (to the moles that is)! So they move on.
One brand is called MoleGo which comes in a quart container which screws on to a garden hose. Other brands are available at Lowes/Home Depot.
I saved the original container and get bottles of castor oil at Wally World or CVS and mix it with water - then spray with the hose. A little goes a long way.
Lasts for about a month. It also works if you “drive” the critters over to the neighbors yard - but you did not hear that from me.

[NautiNurse]

I have a HUGE number of very pesky moles in my rural front yard, I’d love to use anything that will work.

My creepy crawler pool cleaner was clogged one day. It's usually a clump of leaves, etc. I reached down and grabbed (per usual without looking)--a rotund furry lump--Aaaarrrgh!

It was a mole. Took me a moment to figure out which end was the "moleasses." I've often wondered how he lost his way into the pool. Lots fewer tunnels in the yard after that experience.

Heard on FNC this morning that eating 10 castor beans will kill you.

[Doc Savage]

Thank God! For a moment there I thought I was going to have spend an entire night profiling, but now that the FBI has clearly said that it has nothing to do with terrorists and is actually nothing more than a junior high science experiment gone awry, I can go back to bed! Whew!

[Judith Anne]

Thanks, I’ll give it a try. I’ll be doing some yard work this weekend, and I’ve discovered what looks like two or three “mole cities” — big lumps where tunnels converge — over by the pasture fence.

I could handle them in the grass, but when they go eat my flowers and bulbs in front of and to the side of the porch, it’s annoying and some are expensive to replace.

[fight_truth_decay]

Ricin has no medical uses other than cancer research,” said Captain Joseph Lombardo, head of the Homeland Security unit for Las Vegas police. “An individual citizen, other than being involved in cancer research or cancer prevention, would not have any legal means or proper means of having that.”

Dr. Nicholas J. Vogelzang, director of the Nevada Cancer Institute, said none of his researchers use the substance and nobody involved with the institute has stayed at the hotel in recent months, if ever.

“We’re not doing anything here with it,” Dr. Vogelzang said. “It’s not a currently active treatment,” he said, explaining that most cancer researchers have abandoned experimenting with ricin because it is so dangerous to people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/us/31cnd-ricin.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

[MinuteGal]

Every type of LE, public servant and politician in Las Vegas will unite to keep this case as low-key as possible.

Otherwise, the cost in tourist money to this gambling mecca can be incalculable.

Ricin guy's name may turn out to be Osama bin Laden and the event still will be categorized as "not terrorism connected".

Leni

[Habibi]

Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall that dogs were used as toxicology test subjects. After an afternoon of not thinking about the press conference at all this bubbled to the toip, do you recall that Atta was supposed to have some skin lesions that resembled anthrax infection (sorry, I am currently quite “remote” from hearth and home and don’t have a question mark on my keyboard). :-(

In any event, these biological/chemical methodologies make pretty lousy mass killing weapons (as folks found back in WWI (distribution being one problem, and accidental self destruction being another). But for those that really don’t understand the damned stuff, (which pretty much includes the entire US population), it makes a swell terror weapon which is what the Ossamites are after. It is a “cheap date” for those without the funds or infrastructure to support a full scale extermination.

[Eye of Unk]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1977641/posts

EXPOSURE FEARED:40,000 LV patients urged to be tested

Forty thousand Nevadans soon will receive word that they might have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis strains B and C in what a federal health official called the largest notification of its kind in U.S. history.

[Fizzie]

Was in Las Vegas all week, and returned this morning.
Some observations and questions:

Virtually NO news locally on this situation last night/this morning. It was mentioned, but in a very cavalier manner.

Security wait at the airport was over 3X what I normally experience on a Friday. I was in the First Class line, which always moves faster. I twice considered going to the regular line. First Class was being targeted for some reason.

With regard to the odd press conference....I believe the woman heading the press conference had an earpiece. She would receive a question from the press, furow her brow as if she was thinking, or trying to find the right words. Then, she’d respond with “we don’t know.” Either they know or they don’t, or they choose not to comment. Why the odd response, multiple times?

Re: Dead dog. I am sure time of death will be determined. But in the meantime, I would say no dog would die of starvation or dehydration without whining, yelping, pawing at the door, or eating the leg off of a table first.

My guess is that someone was taking care of that dog, and that there was probably a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Plus, orders from someone for no maid service.

I would venture a guess that the “friend” of the Coma Man had frequented the room.

Also, VERY odd that the “friend”, upon collecting the Coma Man’s belongings because of eviction proceedings that he chose to point out the Ricin to the manager. That’s what I’d do that if I had to gather belongings for a sick friend....... “I got the toothpaste, the magazines, the clothes, the phone charger......... but there’s these 3 vials of unidentified substances....” As Judge Judy says, if it doesn’t make sense, it isn’t true.”

Curious, also, as to why the manager felt it necessary to call the cops on the unidentified substance. Managers in LV have seen it all, and most likely would figure it was cocaine. My guess: the “friend” alerted the manager that he was scared #&$less of what was in the room.

[TBall]

Yikes! Well the good news is they found out that the reused syringes were not made in China. I hope what you wrote is not true, but if so good luck and may you dodge a bullet.

[Eye of Unk]

Is Las Vegas a target for terrorists?

I speculate its a possibility, is it safe to live or visit Las Vegas? I also suspect its currently not a safe idea to visit until the facts are given out, real facts and not a cover story to protect the tourism trade.

There is more money available in Las Vegas than most other countries and I am quite sure it will be spent to insure the “image” is not damaged.

[Master of Orion]

Ms. Swan was probably the witness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axgRzlk16TY

[Eroteme]

Some good observations.

Totally agree about the animals. They don’t just lie down and starve to death quietly. They’d be raising holy hell after a couple days, and the hotel would have called in animal control.

Doesn’t surprise me they’d be downplaying this locally. The amount of money that changes hands on a single day in Vegas
trumps all. I saw it’s being pushed as a murder plot. Well, I suppose that’s technically true, no matter what the scenario. But on it’s face, this doesn’t smell anything like your garden variety low-life off to whack someone he knows. Anyone making the stuff knows he doesn’t need 3 vials to take care of business.

[null and void]

"Through its Biodefense Division, DOR is developing biomedical countermeasures pursuant to the Project BioShield Act of 2004. DOR's biodefense products in development are recombinant subunit vaccines designed to protect against the lethal effects of exposure to ricin toxin and botulinum toxin. DOR's ricin toxin vaccine, RiVax™, has been shown to be well tolerated and immunogenic in a Phase 1 clinical trial in normal volunteers."

yeah. A remarkable coinkydink.

[MizSterious]

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