CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- June 13, 2008

ART: [Steven] Kurtz investigation in ‘Seized’ spotlight
“A four-year bioterrorism investigation would hurt the career of most people. For Buffalo [New York] artist and University at Buffalo professor Steven Kurtz, such a probe was an inspiration. Kurtz shows the mess the government left behind after their investigation in his exhibition, ‘Seized,’ which runs through next month at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.” (Niagara Gazette; 12June08; Anthony Custode) http://www.niagara-gazette.com/nightandday/local_story_164165225.html

$6.7 billion for Foster City [California] biotech firm
“Invitrogen Corp. said Thursday that it has struck a deal to buy Applied Biosystems of Foster City, a pioneering maker of gene-sequencing tools, in a cash-and-stock transaction valued by the companies at $6.7 billion. […] The two companies have few overlapping products, but both provide tools and supplies for academic researchers and pharmaceutical company scientists. Applied Biosystems, which provided some of the first automated DNA sequencing machines for the Human Genome Project, also sells equipment for bioterrorism detection, forensic investigations and paternity testing. Both companies supply research tools for studies of proteins and small molecules as well as for DNA and other genetics-related compounds.” (SF Gate; 13June08; Bernadette Tansey) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/12/BUOI11898U.DTL

Trial postponed to Sept. for man held in Vegas ricin case [Las Vegas, Nevada]
“Trial has been postponed for an unemployed graphic designer who authorities suspect poisoned himself keeping the exotic toxin ricin in his extended-stay motel room just off the Las Vegas Strip. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Jones on Thursday reset trial to Sept. 9 for Roger Bergendorff. The court record says defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed to more time. Trial had been scheduled to start Tuesday in federal court in Las Vegas.” (Sign on San Diego; 13June08; Associated Press) http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080613-0829-nv-ricinmystery.html

Murder conspiracy accused 'brought ricin to Ireland'
“The conspiracy to murder trial of a Clare woman and an Egyptian man has heard evidence from an American woman who says, when she travelled to Ireland in September 2006 with Essam Eid, they brought ricin. Theresa Engels told the jury at the Central Criminal Court that herself and Essam Eid, who were living together in Las Vegas at the time, made the poison after getting a recipe on the Internet.” (Belfast Telegraph; 12June08) http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/article3795305.ece

26 IDP [Internally Displaced Persons] children hospitalized after eating toxic seeds
“Twenty-six children of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) living in Yoakapuram Settlement Camp in Urumpiraai after being displaced [in the] Palaali High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam north, were admitted to Jaffna Teaching Hospital (JTH) Tuesday evening, after eating poisonous seeds of the wild Castor Oil plant. The children are recovering after treatment, and are out of danger, JTH sources said.” (TamilNet; 12June08)
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=25999

Chemicals at Water Plants Need More Protection from Terrorists, Experts Say
“Laws regulating the security of most factories and other businesses that possess a large amount of chemicals should also cover drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, some experts said at a House hearing Thursday. The Chemical Security Anti-terrorism Act of 2006 created a framework for the Department of Homeland Security to establish national standards for chemical facilities.” (Info Zine, Kansas City; 13June08; Jackie Best) http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/28874/

[Military Veterans] Vets press for info on 1960s chemical tests
“Jack Alderson was ordered never to talk about the secret weapons tests he helped conduct in the Pacific during the 1960s. He kept quiet for decades. Sparse attendance at a 1993 reunion prompted Alderson, a retired Navy Reserve lieutenant commander, to speak out. He learned that more than half of the 500 or so crew members who took part in the tests were either dead or suffering from cancer, respiratory problems or other ailments. Alderson wondered whether his own skin cancers, allergies and chronic fatigue were linked to those tests or were simply the result of aging.” (Google, Associated Press; 12June08; Erica Werner) http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h6mM70jju27eQpAELACuysUGpHOAD918GSL00

Hazardous brews surprise
“Jason Croker is no soldier, but he is a trooper. Yesterday, he told high schoolers how he mistakenly mixed two cleaning products together at his pizza joint job when he was 15, cooking up a hazardous brew. ‘I created chlorine gas, which they used for chemical warfare in the First World War,’ he said at the launch of the Workers Compensation Board's SAFEWork media campaign. Croker, now 28, felt like he was choking as his lungs constricted after the Lime-A-Way he was using accidentally came into contact with bleach. Croker suffered no permanent damage and people in the pizza place were quickly evacuated, averting a serious situation.”(Winnipeg Sun; 13June08; Simon Fuller) http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2008/06/13/5866546-sun.html

‘Exporter of the Year’ [Andes Chemical Corp] Exported Sarin Gas Precursor Without License
“Miami-based Andes Chemical Corp., which exports a variety of chemicals to the Caribbean as well as to Central and South America, was earlier this year named ‘Exporter of the Year’ in the ‘Materials’ Category by Commercial News USA, the ‘official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce.’ Not very long after that, Andes entered into a settlement agreement with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (‘BIS’) pursuant to which Andes admitted that it had exported sodium bifluoride, a precursor of sarin gas, to Jamaica without a license. Andes further agreed to pay a $60,000 for the six unlicensed shipments which occurred between May 2003 and July 2007. The company voluntarily disclosed the violations to BIS.” (Export Law Blog; 11June08; Clif Burns)
http://www.exportlawblog.com/archives/348

Written on the Body: The Reality of War
“A new report from Fallujah – the Guernica of the Iraq War – brings this home most forcefully. Two of the great witnesses of this war – Dahr Jamail and his collaborator, Ali al-Fadhily – present disturbing evidence of how the use of chemical weapons against the people of Fallujah during the brutal decimation the city in 2004 continues to bear horrific fruit today: Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say. The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after ‘special weaponry’ was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004.” (Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel; 13June08; Chris Floyd) http://baltimorechronicle.com/2008/061308Floyd.shtml

Padilla co-defendant [Kifah Wael Jayyousi] faces jail restrictions
“A federal judge has refused to block prison officials from placing one of convicted terrorism conspirator Jose Padilla's co-defendants in a special unit that imposes tight restrictions on visitors and communications with the outside world. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke said she found no constitutional violations in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons decision to send 46-year-old Kifah Wael Jayyousi to the ‘communications management unit’ at Terre Haute, Ind.” (Google, Associated Press; 12June08; Curt Anderson)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hPjpHT_j6DX3dhRrakgSSWQseYcAD918KIM05

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.