Community Chat

[golding76]

MacDuff, it certainly makes you think, doesn't it?

[golding76]

MacDuff, here is the link to the file.  I haven't read it in years.   For a time, I was deeply intrigued by this case and the tragedy that befell the Olson family.  To think that project leaders were lacing the coffee of people working under them with LSD -- without their knowledge.

It won't copy.  Just search for "The Frank Olson Project."

[hckynut]

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@cherry wrote:

He says bioterrorism is the next big threat to mankind.  I think it is much scarier  to think about, than a bomb

Hi @cherry,

I know this man as being 1 of the richest in the world, via mainly Microsoft. With money does not come knowledge of the biggest threat to mankind. I will leave Mr Gates as one who knew how to make money, but when it comes to National or World security? I will believe those that have spent much of their lives in the Military and know much more about threats to mankind than Bill Gates.

Scarier? If one lets it, life itself can make them scared of everything. Take care,

hckynut(john)

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[gracie2014]

@Pqfan You and I both! 

[Suhse]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

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@Suhse wrote:

Without wanting to get political, I am SO sick, of this endless talk of terrorism. 

Im not saying it"s not out there. Of course it is, I'm not saying we don't have to be vigilant, of course we do.

But, we're killing each other, every day. We're in greater danger from "home grown", by Far, than any outside threat. We're much more Likely to be the victim of someone we know, even love, than some radical.  

I understand the fear of mass attacks, but 911 has been almost 16 years.  We also need perspective. 

I'd love to see more emphasis on social programs, increases mental health awareness, etc.  

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Very true.  If you live in Chicago in a poor neighborhood - as well as in many other urban areas, the likelihood of your being killed by a neighboring criminal is much higher than of being killed by a terrorist.

Yet, I haven't seen much being done about that.

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__________

In 2016, the city of Chicago had more murders, than NYC, and LA, combined, and they're both larger cities. 👿That's both devastating and heartbreaking. Sure most of it is gang related.  But what a cost in lives; not just the murder victims, but the perp's too.  What might have been?  

Obsessing about building a wall, while it's obvious, we desperately need to focus on the problems within!

[gardenman]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Bio and chemical weapons have been used already and in truth are not especially effective weapons. They tend to degrade quickly and lose their effectiveness when exposed to sunlight. UV rays  zap the heck out of much of the bad stuff that's out there. Rain washes a lot of the bad stuff away.

If you add up all of the chem/bio weapons that have been used throughout human history you'd find that every form of life on the planet should be dead. And yes, this type of warfare is nothing modern. Infected animals and humans, or their remains anyway, would be hurled into walled compounds using catapults or other means as an early crude form of bio weapon. The Assyrians back in the sixth century BC poisoned wells with a fungus that caused delirium in their enemies. The World War One trench warfare often involved both bio and chem weapons.

Terrorists by and large tend to be a bit on the stupid side and stupid people handling advanced weapons are far more likely to kill themselves than others. Unless you're unlucky enough to find yourself in the direct vicinity of a freshly made, robust bio, or chem weapon, you're pretty darn safe.

Organizations like the World Health Organization and our own CDC are always looking for new threats emerging like Ebola and they tend to act quickly to end those threats. If you go back to when HIV emerged many predicted it would be the end of humanity. It wasn't. 

Will terrorists try to use such substances? Almost certainly. Will they be successful? Not on a large scale. The reality is that they just aren't that useful as a weapon. They degrade quickly, many/most have some form of antidote/treatment available, and they are generally somewhat complicated to use. Sunlight degrades them quickly, rain washes them away, wind blows them away, and they just don't achieve optimal results. A terrorist equipped with a stolen truck mowing down people on the street is a much more effective weapon than nearly all of the bio/chem weapons that are readily available.