Friday, August 01, 2008
Anthrax again
With Hatfill I knew instantly and solidly that the persecution was completely wrong, a classic Fed distraction move. I don't have such a solid feeling about Ivins, but I don't buy it yet.
We're hearing a lot about Ivins's personality, which sounds typical of ambitious intellectuals. What we're not hearing is any actual evidence, nor anything that would imply a motive. He apparently got sloppy about decontamination once. How does that connect with a complex plot to kill many people? A "suicide" gives the Feds a convenient reason to close the case immediately, with no further release of evidence.
= = = = =
Later: found myself listening to Randi Rhodes, because she was the only talker discussing the case. Rhodes is pointing to another line of inquiry, involving Fouad el-Hibri, the head of a company that produces anthrax vaccine. El-Hibri was born in Germany of Lebanese descent, later working for Citibank in Arabia. His vaccine company, now called Emergent BioSolutions, had samples of the same anthrax strain used in the attack; after the attack, his company gained official status as a defense contractor. Google finds a long line of articles, starting around 1997, about his dubious connections, including lots of circumstantial connections to the attack. His political contributions are widespread and bipartisan, with special focus on Norm Coleman of Minnesota for some reason.
I've never heard of this company under any of its names; it's never been covered at all by our Saudi-owned media. Not surprising. I'll be listening more to Rhodes from now on, since she's the only available talker who agrees with my basic assessment of this war. Namely, that our attacker is Saudi Arabia with assistance from Germany, and that our ruling class has carefully misdirected our response toward Iraq and Afghanistan. ¶ 8:42 AM
We're hearing a lot about Ivins's personality, which sounds typical of ambitious intellectuals. What we're not hearing is any actual evidence, nor anything that would imply a motive. He apparently got sloppy about decontamination once. How does that connect with a complex plot to kill many people? A "suicide" gives the Feds a convenient reason to close the case immediately, with no further release of evidence.
= = = = =
Later: found myself listening to Randi Rhodes, because she was the only talker discussing the case. Rhodes is pointing to another line of inquiry, involving Fouad el-Hibri, the head of a company that produces anthrax vaccine. El-Hibri was born in Germany of Lebanese descent, later working for Citibank in Arabia. His vaccine company, now called Emergent BioSolutions, had samples of the same anthrax strain used in the attack; after the attack, his company gained official status as a defense contractor. Google finds a long line of articles, starting around 1997, about his dubious connections, including lots of circumstantial connections to the attack. His political contributions are widespread and bipartisan, with special focus on Norm Coleman of Minnesota for some reason.
I've never heard of this company under any of its names; it's never been covered at all by our Saudi-owned media. Not surprising. I'll be listening more to Rhodes from now on, since she's the only available talker who agrees with my basic assessment of this war. Namely, that our attacker is Saudi Arabia with assistance from Germany, and that our ruling class has carefully misdirected our response toward Iraq and Afghanistan. ¶ 8:42 AM
