Feds: Science paper a terrorist's road map

[Walt Starr]

Feds: Science paper a terrorist's road map
Health agency seeks to halt scholarly publication
Monday, June 6, 2005 Posted: 10:54 PM EDT (0254 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The federal government has asked the National Academy of Sciences not to publish a research paper that feds describe as a "road map for terrorists" on how to contaminate the nation's milk supply.

The research paper on biological terrorism, by Stanford University professor Lawrence M. Wein and graduate student Yifan Liu, provides details on how terrorists might attack the milk supply and offers suggestions on how to safeguard it.

The paper appeared briefly May 30 on a password-protected area of the National Academy of Science's Web site.

<snip>

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/06/06/milk.terror/index.html

Okay, some basics on how to protect yourself from the ineptitude of the Bush Administration and the impending terrorist attack on our food supply. No, if you buy food that has been tampered with, I can't help you, but the panic that will ensue after such an attack could cause a lot of problems, especially problems getting food. Keep the following on hand:

1) 10 gallons of bottled water per human in household.
2) 1 gallon of bottled water for each ten pounds of pets you have (unless you don't care about fluffy and fido).
3) Camp food. Enough to feed your entire household for at least one week minimum. Get the freeze dried stuff (this is why I keep my water requirements high) because it keeps for a long time.
4) Dried milk for children. Enough to last at least a week.
4) If you have room, plant a garden now. Fresh vegetables will be welcomed by your family should you be forced to resort to your emergency food supply.
5) Keep at least a week's worth of dried pet food on hand at all times, unless you don't care about fido and fluffy.

Should an attack on our food supply occur, ti will probably take at least a week to insure everything is cool. My expectations would be an immediate announcement that everything is okay, but I would not trust thsi administration and we all know how the air quality in New York was "okay" after 9/11. Don't risk it. Make sure you can feed your family in the event of an attack on our food supply.

In my humble opinion, the most likely scenario for another terror attack on U.S. soil by itnernational terrorist organizations will be on our most vulnerable area, our food supply.

[applegrove]

1. Oh my gosh. Now we have to go back to the 3rd Century to take

science away from the Islamists. Because they invented math!!!

[Walt Starr]

2. the fact that a paper that describes vulnerabilities in the milk supply

is considered potentially damaging to national security demonstrates the absolute ineptitude of this administration in its ability to protect this nation.

The only reason we have not suffered a major attack on our food supply to date is luck. Nothing else.

Keep emergency food on hand.

[KlatooBNikto]

3. It is not the milk that is contaminated,it is the brain of the Stanford

Professors.

[Walt Starr]

4. Actually, I'm glad somebody is paying attention to the vulnerabilites

maybe, just maybe, the administration won't ignore this like they ignored the warnings about Al Queda pre-9/11.

[madrchsod]

5. wait a minute "they " already have!!

wasn`t there a massive "chemical attack" on the animal food supply in Michigan several years ago? hmmm- yes, there was and people in Michigan and other midwest states still carry traces of ppb. furn`r terrorists ? no a us corporation.......

[MadHound]

6. Let me guess, the way to contaminate the milk supply is

To feed the cattle various waste parts from other cattle. Or shoot them full of hormones. Or shoot them full of antibiotics. Or have the cows slaughtered in a slaughterhouse that has a killing line so speeded up that the workers are continually nicking and cutting up the intestines, which contaminates the entire carcass which is simply sent on down the line.

Wait, wait, that is already going on, and the terrorists aren't from abroad, they are our own, home grown corporations.

Frankly, I find it tough to believe that our entire milk supply is in much danger. Corporate milk processing plants are by the very nature of milk forced to be regional operations. Terrorists would literally have to have a operative in each and every processing plant, which number in the hundreds. Would Al Quaeda be able to succesfully insert an operative into each and every plant? Doubtful, and with such a large number of people involved, the plot would be easily found out. And this would be especially tough in most dairly processing plants, since most are located in rural, conservative, bigoted areas, where any dark skinned employee is has always been looked at with suspicion, and even more so since 911.

Granted, there is a threat there, but IMHO it is a minimal one. I'm much more worried about the effects of corporate farming and processing are having on our food supply, what with all of the additives and injections given to almost all of our livestock, GM fiddling, unsafe conditions on the killing floor, etc. etc.

Frankly, I rank this threat right up there with the LSD-in-the-water-supply scare of the sixties. Unneeded hysteria to ramp up the fear and loathing in this country.

But I do find your advice on stocking up on food and water to be excellent advice, just not for the reasons you mentioned.

[Walt Starr]

7. Shhhhhh...

People should have this sort of emergency food supply at all times for various reasons. Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc. all are devestating, but staying safe and well fed int he aftermath can be helped with an emergency food supply.

Also, other events could cause a need for such an emergency food supply, such as a terrorist scare where the White House invokes martial law.

Also, I'm more worried about the canned, frozen, and otherwise processed food supply than the milk supply, but the article was a good jumping off point for the discussion, anyway.

[Bridget Burke]

8. Everybody needs an emergency supply kit.

Add flashlights, a radio, batteries, candles & any vital medical supplies.

A co-worker was afraid of the Y2K thing. I doubted there would be a problem but told him to keep the stuff as a Hurricane Kit.

How difficult would it be to gather info on the milk supply, even without this paper? This particular story smells like last month's milk...

[CoffeeAnnan]

9. What this shows is that there are too many professors with feverish

imaginations and nothing to do. May be it is the milk they are already drinking.