FEDS FEAR KILLER DELIVERED SPORES

New York Post ^ | 11/23/01 | MURRAY WEISS

[kattracks]

November 23, 2001 -- The twin mysteries of how two women - one a hard-working Manhattan hospital clerk, the other a frail Connecticut retiree - contracted inhalation anthrax have raised the specter of the saboteur delivering the lethal doses in person, instead of by mail.

[krunkygirl]

Leahy is NOT a senator from Connecticut

[maestro]

your# 40).........I do NOT think these two women will be found to be 'ordinary' folk.
IMHO

[krunkygirl]

whoops! I see that teresat said precisely the same thing--we must be mental twins!

[krunkygirl]

Please, maestro, elaborate...What possible connection could dear old Mrs. Lundgren(sp?) have to anything that might knowingly interest a terrorist?

[krunkygirl]

Boy! that is excellent thinking...

[Miss Marple]

I think you are right. I also am thinking the flower theory is even better than the Kleenex...because white dust on certain flowers, like lilies, would be asumed to be pollen. Lilies are also very fragrant, and the natural inclination is to sniff them.

Flowers are shipped into this country daily from South America.

The only thing with the flower theory is that if they were in the home for an extended time..there would surely be traces of anthrax in the home.

It would acount for the hospital worker, but then someone else in the hospital would have contracted anthrax as well.

Another thing that could be tampered with...nasal sprays, inhalers, and such, sold over the counter. The only problem with that is the packages would have to be tampered with.

[Hagrid]

2.) The terrorists are attempting to target dems and create a divide in the nation.

Since the letters were sent from areas of Florida and NJ where Middle Eastern terrorists lived, they must be the likeliest suspects.

Much has been made of the 09/11/01 on the top of the letters as indicating being raised in the US, as if the terrorists wouldn't know in which order Americans put dates. Also, the handwritten letter says "09". Most Americans would have written 9/11 or 9-11. not 09/11. This sounds like people who have been filling out a lot of forms (such as immigration forms, license applications, etc.). I would look for someone who has been filling out a lot of official forms in the US (such as an immigrant).

Last, if Iraq was involved in the OKC bombing in 1993, they know how divisive attacks on one party can be. It could be calculated to divide. I just can't imagine a McVeigh type praising Allah, even for cover.

Last, has anyone checked the TV logs for just before the letter was sent to Leahy. It might have been that he was on TV in the days before the letter was sent. Also, Democrats could have been targeted since they control the Senate, the highest legislative body in the country.

[Doctor Stochastic]

There would be spores in the butt. The filter (if any) would also contain spores. It would be difficult to get spores to go through the filter. The burning end would destroy things at that end.

[CIApilot]

One tidbit quietly mentioned then immediately hushed up about the NY woman is that she had recently returned from a trip to the Phillipines. What might have gone on there?

[Hagrid]

The pharmacist gave the guy with the rash some ointment and the other guy some over the counter cough syrup and told him he'd have to see a doctor and get a prescription if he wanted antibiotics.

The pharmacist said he came back and got an antibiotic he thought, but the name was not on the records, so the pharmacist thought that the terrorist used an alias.

[sweetliberty]

If you haven't seen this before, you might want to take a look at this theory:

A Possible Scenario

[krunkygirl]

oooh...this might be a real stretch...what if someone came to your door selling flowers? They hold out a bouquet of anthrax laced flowers for you to admire and, perhaps, smell and then, if you agree to make the purchase, hand over a 2nd bouquet that is not tampered with. Either way, whether the homeowner agrees to buy or not, the objective, inhaling the spores, has been met and no trace spores would be in the home...is this too farfetched?

[Libertariano]

Why did my network TV news on 11-19 explain that Ottillie arrived at the ER driven by a friend - bringing the letter she received that had powder, and that the ER had to call HazMat people to contain the letter - yet now the source of her contamination remains 'a mystery' ???

[copycat]

Another thing that could be tampered with...nasal sprays, inhalers, and such, sold over the counter. The only problem with that is the packages would have to be tampered with.

Not if the perp works where the items are manufactured...

[Miss Marple]

True, although I think that items like this go through an inspection process, random testing or something, in order to detect contamination.

As far as I know, Kleenex is just manufactured and packaged. Visual inspection may be done for quality control, but I don't think they test it for biological contamination.

[Nick Danger]

Can any of you ladies think of a medical procedure in which you would take off your clothes, go through some drill, and then take a shower before you put your clothes back on? Whatever this is has to apply to a 94-year-old woman. Does such a thing exist?

I'm trying to figure out how somebody could encounter enough airborne spores to kill them without any of the spores getting on their clothes. These things are tiny, and there are millions of them. It's just not possible that they could go up the nose but nowhere else.

[Vigilantcitizen]

IMHO

1. NY lady lived close to college where Waly Sumar teaches.(suspect listed in previous thread.)

2.Ct. lady got it from incidental mail contact.(Maybe SS check.)

[Vigilantcitizen]

It does seem strange that both of the unknown source cases are women 55+.Maybe they had similar reading taste. People at that age seem to hold reading materials real close to their face because they can't see anymore.

[terilyn]

I know, I know...I'm stupid today!

My 18 year old daughter just informed me of that.
Never mind...

[krunkygirl]

#2----Then why no trace in her mailbox or her home?