NBC: Investigators question ricin test results

[dArKeR]

Was positive reading in Senate office caused by paper byproducts?

WASHINGTON - Investigators seeking the source of the ricin detected two weeks ago in a Senate office building have raised the possibility that the positive test that forced the evacuation of lawmakers and staff members may have been caused by paper byproducts, not the deadly poison, NBC News has learned.

Sources familiar with the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that federal agents have found no source for the powder found in the mailroom of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s office.

In addition to the apparent absence of a means of delivery, suspicions that the positive test might have been a false alarm have been heightened by the fact that the amount of the powder initially believed to be ricin was very small, precluding the performance of a potency test by the labs that received samples.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4143594/

[Zhade]

1. It always smelled like a planted "threat".

$20 says it turns out to have been planted by the reichwingers in the first place.

[jamesinca]

3. Planted to keep the investigation of Frist off the front burner

Remember this amazingly happened when the investigation into Judicial committee computers was being investigated.

[arcane1]

4. nothing like powdered WMD to get the offices closed

they had unrestricted access to Dashle and Leahy's offices, too

[leetrisck]

8. I had put this question out in GD today

Whatever happened to the ricin? Offices closed at least 3 days, Frist screaming every hour that it was a terrorist threat against him and then the last thing I heard (several days ago) was there was a lot of paper dust. Guess I now have my answer - there never was a there there.

[Womblestuffer]

2. Friggen knew it, it was a ruse by the repugs.....Frist should go to jail

terror alert my ass, uh it was rice paper....who said ricin, I meant rice in the paper, not ricin

[joanski01]

5. What a stinking pile of

dogshit. ... the amount of the ricin was very small ... I thought they said it was a "package" and I also thought I heard Frist whining that it was sent to him personally. How can they lie like this???? And I thought they said some was sent to a couple of other places -- like New York and the White House. Paper dust. Good grief!

[NNN0LHI]

6. When Frist was coming on every 5 minutes to give updates I knew it was BS

These clowns are so transparent it is not even funny.

Don

[area51]

7. geez

Everybody knew the ricin scare had to be BS; after all, it was allegedly found in a republinazi's office, not a demo's office. </sarcasm>

[einniv]

9. Wow. This SHOULD be huge.

I mean how obvious can you get. A staged attack to divert attention.
Maybe the media will jump on this?

[lovedems]

10. Well, how many dingbats out there will never hear the story

that it might have been a false alarm? I would like to see those clowns come out every 5 minutes and recant their initial statements. Same thing with the administration backing off the jobs. They make a huge "to do" about something and then silently back off.

I am sick of this BS because there are to many idiots who hear the initial "good" or "bad" news and then never hear the truth.

[Skip Intro]

11. How many lives - the internetless duct tape set especially - were affected

surely the level of fear fell far short of what was intended, but there is that set of Americans who get their news exclusively from faux and the 700 club. You know the ones, the people who ran right out and wrapped their homes/safe rooms in duct tape and plastic sheeting not that long ago. The ones who probably saw a second coming of the anthrax mailings. Wonder how much life-shortening stress, how much fear was caused among that group of people.

Come to think of it, if this ricin episode turns out to be a fraud, and there is every reason to believe that it could, doesn't that make skepticism about the anthrax mailings all the more valid?

Heads should roll.

[Just Me]

12. So, this would make the 88th case of "home-grown" terrorism,...

,...since 1/1/97 out of 92 total acts of terror: that is, according to an organization that tracks these things ( http://db.mipt.org/rep_idrg_rep.cfm )


When the hell are we gonna start addressing the "seeds of terror" on our own soil instead of goin' around destroying other countries for the financial benefit of the military industrial complex ruling this country?

[indepat]

13. Thank God for our majority leader not having been in danger

[maggrwaggr]

14. how many lies is that just TODAY from these losers?

Seriously, I can't even keep track of them all!

[gulliver]

15. Where's Leno when you need him?

This just takes the cake. Amazing. A national uproar and it turns out to be just one more in a long series of false alarms.

Just unbelievable. Welcome to the Republican wonderland.

[Catherine Vincent]

16. There sure is a lot of BS going on in D.C.

This ticks me off. A liberal talk show host should do a skit of Frist on the airwaves every hour and then tell his audience the real story.....since the mainstream media won't do it!

[fearnobush]

17. Rove is really getting predictable these days.

I knew this was bullshit the second I heard it.

[Ruby Romaine]

18. Does anyone know if small amt of ricin could occur in paper naturally?

What if a castor plant or 2 gets mixed in with cotton
or wood pulp?

[yellowcanine]

19. Wait a minute - The Ricin was a false positive????

Wow, what a bunch of total screwups. I am going to start believing the conspiracy theories if this keeps up. Who is doing the analysis? The same bunch that said there were WMDs in Iraq?

[Voltaire99]

20. Whoops! It was actually Rice-A-Roni!

Move along. Remain vigilant. Homeland Security will tell you when to tremble again.