Posted on 09/12/2002 10:25:34 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Everybody knows the virus is spreading because misquitos have wings.
Illinois Natural History Survey
"Wetlands are an essential feature of the Illinois landscape. The state supports a variety of wetland types, including wet prairie, marshes, floodplain forests, and swamps."
And then there are the birds which cause a bacterial problem (we've had several warnings here-man, birds sh** a lot!!).
Fill in the swamps and wetlands and let the water FLOW...its' nature's way.
How many mosquitoes would it take to kill a million people?? How many dirty bombs would it take??
THINK!!
Sac
You managed to combine extreme optimism and extreme pessimism in one sentence.
I don't have numbers in front of me but my perception was equal numbers in both states. Also, I would be interested in knowing about mosquito-control efforts in both states prior to outbreaks. If LA was spraying more, then it explains lesser impact to some extent. Also, the distribution of various types of mosquitoes plays a role so you'd have to examine the differences there. Probably also the bird reservoirs - you'd have to look at differences there.
All that said, my point was really that it is patently absurd to say that Illinois shouldn't be affected because it isn't a breeding ground for mosquitoes because it lacks swamps.
LOL!
Seriously, I think people haven't taken in the importance of this statement of Sen. Leahy's. I think it's quite significant. Note, by the way, that it was made to coincide with Pres. Bush's speech to the U.N., apparently to suggest a relationship between the two.
Has Leahy's statement even been mentioned in the major media?
Well, it might not be part of a planned orchestrated cascade of revelations, but it's more than an offhand comment.
No public official says something like that in an offhand way, a Senator especially; such people cannot take the chance of being portrayed as tinfoil-hatters.
There is at least one case in Ontario. See this link. There are some other suspected human cases under investigation, and there have been plenty of infected birds and some infected horses across much of Canada (as far west as Saskatchewan and Manitoba).
As for Mexico, I've only seen reports of infected birds.
What an idiot.
With geniuses like that doing political talk shows, no wonder the socialists have taken over the state.
I missed the news today.
Though I did catch a long report
about some idiotic TV program called 'The Sopranos'
which seems to be of greater interest to the listening public
than anthrax or West Nile.
(What, me worry?)
Is there a transcript anywhere?
Leahy was asked about anthrax.
Then he went on about West Nile.
How did he connect them?
What did he say?
It is maddening not to have the details.
I agree completely. The fact that one of the targets of the anthrax letters, a Senator in a position to have some inside information, actually suggests that WNV could be terrorist-induced says volumes about where he believes the anthrax came from.
As noted earlier, it seems to serve as de facto evidence that the government has information relating the anthrax to 9-11 (and Iraq). Thus, the administration's apparent fixation on Iraq and Saddam Hussein.
It may be, though, that the link to Iraq is totally circumstantial. While the administration might be effectively certain of the anthrax's source, they cannot prove it in a legal sense ("plausible deniability") or without jeopardizing intelligence sources.
Accordingly, we may not ever see anthrax cited as a rationale for an attack on Iraq.
"Note, by the way, that it was made to coincide with Pres. Bush's speech to the U.N., apparently to suggest a relationship between the two."
Whether it was a "directed leak" or simply an offhand slip of the tongue from a guy who's known to be a little lax in this department makes no real difference. The statement constitutes a major revelation.
"Has Leahy's statement even been mentioned in the major media?"
Not to my knowledge. Which is quite surprising, isn't it? This situation seems to suggest that the mainstream media is something less than alert. If this was an opening gambit, I suppose we can expect to see some more leaks manifest themselves in the near future. If it was simply an offhand drip, we may have heard the last of it...
The question is, how did Leahy connect anthrax to WNV?
He said that he believed WNV was done by terrorists
and at the same time
did not give an opinion about the anthrax?
That in itself would be significant.
If he did not give an opinion about the anthrax, why not???
We need a transcript.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.