Anthrax scare

[cleoeo]

Over the weekend I had a brief conversation with my parents' neighbor about Anthrax powder showing up in mail. The poor woman is terrified she'll contract the disease, and has begun microwaving her mail before she opens it.
This is a retired housewife in small town Wisconsin. She's about 50 pounds overweight, has hypertension, high cholesteral, smokes, and is borderline diabetic. She does not wear a seatbelt. She does not exercise.
She said this Antrax thing has her, "About scared to death!"

[CBranski]

Strangely enough, the conversation that Cleo had is not at all shocking-a couple of days ago, a woman on Milwaukee's South Side called the Fire Department because she found powder on her sofa. She was afraid it was Anthrax. Of course tests proved that there was no infection, and the woman is at a loss to explain why someone would send her Anthrax after they sent it to Dan Rather.

Think some people might be letting fear get the best of them?

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Jennifer Lopez for Mayor

[ogb]

If I were mean (what certainly is not true http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/wink.gif), I'd say: why would the terrorists send her a package although she probably dies sooner than the powder arrives?!?
But to be honest: although the chances that she might get such a package are much lower than 0.1%, it is sad that these terrorists can frighten a whole nation. What is even more sad is that lots of people make their jokes with that topic. Here in Germany they caught one who send washing powder to a friend "to make a joke", someone sent it to her brother and a group of students sent it to different people. They all will be punished, but unfortunately the maximum penalty for those things is only three years. They should be punished as if the content was really anthrax powder.

[cleoeo]

It's just weird how people are worked up over this. I work in a big office building. The chance of Legionaire's Disease getting into the drinking fountains and killing us is about 1000 times more likely than anthrax. Yet no one in my building gets worked up when there's an outbreak of Legionaire's Disease somewhere.
My parents' neighbor lady obviously ingnores many serious warnings from the Surgeon General about health risks, yet she's scared to death by this remote Anthrax threat.

[amr]

I'm leaning towards blaming the media. Every newpaper leads off with ANTHRAX!!! in the headline and every news show has ANTHRAX!! as the first and biggest story.

Last year 20,000 people died from the flu in the US and it barely registered on the radar screen.

The anthrax letters are serving their purpose to create terror and making us whip ourselves into a frenzy.

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I am what I am and that's all I am!

[This message has been edited by amr (edited October 24, 2001).]

[aclu14]

I'm surprised it took this long to start a thread about anthrax!

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funny (http://freaksonparade.com/usa)

REVOLUTION IN THEIR MINDS - THE CHILDREN START TO MARCH
AGAINST THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY HAVE TO LIVE
AND ALL THE HATE THAT'S IN THEIR HEARTS
THEY'RE TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND
AND TOLD JUST WHAT TO DO
THEY'LL FIGHT THE WORLD UNTIL THEY'VE WON
AND LOVE COMES FLOWING THROUGH YEAH - black sabbath

[Idnew]

Yeah I am too. Yes some no most of it is the media's fault. Whatever is going on their after the big dogs and some little ones get caught in the process. The evil doers are acomplishing just what they set out to do and we must not let that happen. Companies need to take care for sure, like the company that my daughter works for moved the mailroom and won't let anybody in, all mail is opened and inspected before it leaves the mail room to go to the individual offices. Post offices need to protect their employees with gloves and masks if necessary before sending the mail out I think they need to somehow figure out a way to check every piece before it gets delivered. So to me it's got to start and stop at the post offices. OK I realize that is some task but.....

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[amr]

Originally posted by Idnew:
...I think they need to somehow figure out a way to check every piece before it gets delivered...


I had heard some discussion on using gamma rays on all mail as it goes through the post office. Basically, mail goes through on an automated conveyor and gets zapped. The best thing is that gamma rays destroy all biological organisms, not just anthrax.

I don't know the status on implementing the process tho.


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I am what I am and that's all I am!

[Idnew]

Sounds good. Well some idiot around here took some baby powder and scattered it at the back door of a business here. Wasted the fire depts. time and the police depts time. Some people I just don't know about. http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/frown.gif

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(ô¿ô)Proud member of the Dumb Laws Mod Squad so watch it!*smile*

Attitude Ajustments Gladly Performed(ö¿ö)

My Home Spot (http://members.tripod.com/~freeatlast_3/Doing_Whatever.htm)

Cosmic Coffee Shop (http://pub83.ezboard.com/bcosmiccoffeeshop)
Meet The Squad (http://www.geocities.com/idnew52/Mod_Squad_Poster.htm)

[cleoeo]

My building's been quarantined twice now. First they found white powder in the first floor womens' room. Duh. There's a baby changing station in there. Now yesterday some idiot in the mailroom played a "prank" and put white powder on a coworker's chair. The guy sat in it. By the time it was over we had the State Crime Lab running tests, the guy had to strip all his clothes and call his wife to bring fresh ones after he got hosed down in a portable baby pool by EMT's in yellow nylon suits, and they'll file felony charges on the guy they think pulled the prank if they can prove it was him. Place has gone nuts.

[ogb]

Yesterday I watched a feature which stated that some Austrian invented a powder that kills the anthrax virus. It is used as an usual ointment and no negative effects are known yet.

[This message has been edited by ogb (edited November 01, 2001).]

[aclu14]

My dad has gone nuts too. Opens the mail outside and wears rubber gloves. Also, at the courthouse you have to sign in and show photo ID if you're delivering a sealed envelope. And I'm the "gofer" at work! I have to wear my high school ID all day long now!

------------------
funny (http://freaksonparade.com/usa)

REVOLUTION IN THEIR MINDS - THE CHILDREN START TO MARCH
AGAINST THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY HAVE TO LIVE
AND ALL THE HATE THAT'S IN THEIR HEARTS
THEY'RE TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND
AND TOLD JUST WHAT TO DO
THEY'LL FIGHT THE WORLD UNTIL THEY'VE WON
AND LOVE COMES FLOWING THROUGH YEAH - black sabbath

[ogb]

Last week we had the first two anthrax warnings in Germany. One letter reached an employment office and in another place they found thirty packages in the landscape which consisted of a white substance. In a first control they were tested positive, but the Robert-Koch-Institute in Berlin said that the letter contained a similar stuff and the packages had some harmless mixture. The package case was solved the evening: an artist wanted to use the packages for PR, officially he wanted to arise interest for his 30th birthday - for me it seems that he needs some years in a psychiatry.

[Sjax]

I heard about it in the news ogb. Was that really your first anthrax alert.
We have had a few here in Denmark as well.
A friend of mine is working in the local mail office . He has worked a lot of overtime lately because his colleges call in sick because they are afraid off the antrax.
Thats just stupid I think. I understand why some americans are scared of it, but in Denmark...

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Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. (George Orwell)

[ogb]

It wasn't the first alert, they go in almost daily. But it was the first time that the first tests went positive.

[aclu14]

I also go to the post office at least twice a day. And, not to sound racist or Arabophobic, there's this young Arab dude that works there and he's named Mohammed. Everyone gives him second glances, and I don't know whether to feel wary or sorry for him.

------------------
funny (http://freaksonparade.com/usa)

REVOLUTION IN THEIR MINDS - THE CHILDREN START TO MARCH
AGAINST THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY HAVE TO LIVE
AND ALL THE HATE THAT'S IN THEIR HEARTS
THEY'RE TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND
AND TOLD JUST WHAT TO DO
THEY'LL FIGHT THE WORLD UNTIL THEY'VE WON
AND LOVE COMES FLOWING THROUGH YEAH - black sabbath

[cleoeo]

Great Googly Moogly! There's a road I travel daily that has a fatality rate that's about 1,000,000,000 times higher than my likelihood of contracting Anthrax.

[aclu14]

Also, talking statistics, planes are a million times safer than cars, but no one has said they're never riding in a car again after a car crash.

[ogb]

But the chances to survive a car crash are much, much higher. In a plane you have to trust the pilot, in a car you can trust yourself (although it's not really true as it usually takes two for an accident). And to prove that you are wrong ( http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/wink.gif): my former brother in law doesn't drive a car after he had an accident.
I really love statistics, usually they don't lie. But they never help you if you are the exception of the rule. Or as a sports commentator once said: "Well, statistics. Sometimes they help, sometimes they don't. According to the stats, every fourth human being is from China - but today there is not a single Chinese player on the ground."

Blame the media. I do. http://www.dumblaws.com/ubb/biggrin.gif The terrorists have intelligent persons among them just as we do, and they know how to play the media to suit their best interests. Unfortunately, it's working.

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Co-Owner
Bueno Technologies

[Serendipity]

Originally posted by aclu14:
...there's this young Arab dude that works there and he's named Mohammed. Everyone gives him second glances, and I don't know whether to feel wary or sorry for him.



Statistically, Aclu, the majority of Arabs, Moslems, etc, are not terrorists, by a factor of millions to one. Forgive me if I speculate about Mohammed: He probably doesn't want your pity. He probably does want simply to get on with his life, job, etc., just like everyone else.

[cleoeo]

It sounds like the FBI is onto the Anthrax perpetrator, and that he's an American who worked at an American research facility.

[Serendipity]

I wonder why I'm not surprised, Cleoeo?

Meantime, we have our own postal nuisance over here in the UK. Not as lethal as anthrax, thank heaven, but still not nice at all: Story (http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,661167,00.html) Police were yesterday hunting a 'maladjusted loner' whom they believe was responsible for sending parcels containing a toxic substance to Cherie Blair at Downing Street and to the assistant of a Liberal Democrat member of the Scottish Parliament.
But the MSP Mike Rumbles, who believes he and his assistant were targeted by the Scottish National Liberation Army because they are both English, said the group was 'extremely dangerous' and could no longer be treated as a joke.

The packages contained corrosive caustic soda disguised as aromatherapy oil. At least one was sent from Glasgow. In a telephone call to Scotland Yard on Friday afternoon, a man claiming to be from the SNLA said that 16 packages had been sent.Only two have been detected.

Not nice at all.