* from anonymous scientist … Dr. Ivins’ plate counts showed why the Daschle powder made headlines

.

The New York Times says the FBI’s anthrax case has “too many loose ends.” Find out where some of those looses ends might have originated in my novel CASE CLOSED. Sure it’s fiction, but many readers, including a highly respected member of the U.S. Intelligence Community, think my premise is actually “quite plausible.”

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

.

******

from anonymous scientist …

Dr. Ivins’ plate counts showed

why the Daschle powder made headlines

******

From Anonymous Scientist …

• The FBI’s posted FOIA documents give a fascinating insight into why the alarm bells went off inside the Beltway when the extraordinary properties of the Daschle anthrax powder were discovered. Now, for the first time, we are actually able to see the data behind these properties.
• The conclusion is that it is beyond the realms of possibility that Ivins could have created a powder that exhibted these numerical parameters all on his own, covertly, having never made a dry powder before in his life. Numbers cannot be argued with (which is why the FBI don’t reveal the % silicon they found in the Daschle, New York Post or Brokaw powders. Thus far they have only admitted to finding an enormous 1.45% silicon in the Leahy powder).
• After Bruce Ivins showed that the Daschle powder dispersed into single spores upon plating (>10^12 colony forming units per gram), that was alarming enough. But then the government quickly gathered a collection of dry spore simulants they had availiable in house. These dry spore simulants are ALWAYS weaponized with silica – that’s standard procedure.
• When Bruce Ivins plated these, the alarm bells really went off – the Daschle powder dispersed into single spores at least 2 orders of magnitude more effectively than the weaponized simulants – in most cases much more than 2 orders of magnitude more.
• And we are supposed to believe he made a product orders of magnitude more effective than the simulants all on his own covertly when he had never made a weaponized dry powder preparation before in his life?
• The numbers don’t lie – and the science doesn’t lie if you understand it.

It’s all documented in page 121- 130 … at http://foia.fbi.gov/amerithrax/847545.PDF

Analysis of samples from REDACTED …  Date analyzed – 24 October, 2001 … Date of report – 25 Ocxtober, 2001

Samples:

1. VIII-B  21 June 95 – Dried BT powder – 0.01322g

2. VII-B   Spray drier BT – 0.01722g

3.  I-B   Dried Powder – 0.00470g

4.  IX-B   Spray dried BT – 0.01118g

5.   VI-B   Dried powder from fermentor run – 0.00659g

6.  V-B    21 June 95 – Dried powder from spray drier – 0.00639g

7.   IV-B   Bentonite feed stock – 0.00865g

I received the REDACTED samples (in small cryotubes in a ziplock bag) from REDACTED on the afternoon of 24 October, 2001. The tubes were weighed and estimated to contain  about REDACTED of material each. To each tube REDACTED of sterile water for injenction was added to the material. After thorough mixing, the material was added to a second tube. The original tube was disinfected with bleach, dried and weighed. The net weight of the granular material was then determined and listed above. Ten fold dilutions of the suspensions were plated out onto TSA, then incubated overnight. Plate counts were made and the following concentrations were determined for the material.

Samples:

1. VIII-B  21 June 95 – Dried BT powder … 1.1×10^9 cfu per gram

2. VII-B   Spray drier BT … 2.2×10^10 cfu per gram

3.  I-B   Dried Powder … 1.0×10^7 cfu per gram

4.  IX-B   Spray dried BT … 9.5×10^9 cfu per gram

5.   VI-B   Dried powder from fermentor run … 1.3×10^10 cfu per gram

6.  V-B    21 June 95 – Dried powder from spray drier … 5.0×10^9 cfu per gram

7.   IV-B   Bentonite feed stock – 0.00865g … no growth seen (<1.2×10^5 cfu per gram)

Visual inspection of suspensions of the material under phase contrast microscopy demonstrated very poor preparations of spores. The preparations were all highly granular and did not easily go into suspension.

Interpretations and conclusions:

If these are preparations of bacterial spores they are all very poor preparations. The CFU per gram are very low. This preparation is less pure than the SPS02.88.01 preparation [Daschle powder] preparation examined on October 23, 2001 which had a count of 1.3X10^11 CFU per gram. This preparation is much less pure than the SPS02.57.03 [Daschle powder] preparation examined on October 17, 2001, which had a count of 2.1×10^12 per gram.

******

* DXer … if we knew what President Bush knew in February 2001, Amerithrax would be seen with entirely different eyes

.

The New York Times says the FBI’s anthrax case has “too many loose ends.” Find out where some of those looses ends might have originated in my novel CASE CLOSED. Sure it’s fiction, but many readers, including a highly respected member of the U.S. Intelligence Community, think my premise is actually “quite plausible.”

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

.

******

DXer …

if we knew what President Bush knew in February 2001,

Amerithrax would be seen with entirely different eyes

******

Extracts from DXer’s comment to this post (see below) …

• The threat to use mailed anthrax was described to President Bush by the CIA in a PDB in early February 2001 that is still classified. See 911 Commission Report.
• In January 2001, a bail hearing was announced for the Egyptian Islamic Jihad/Vanguards of Conquest #2. A threat to use anthrax was immediately sent to those responsible for the detention and threatened deportation to Cairo. Bail was denied on October 5 and then the mailer rushed to mail the good stuff.
• The lawyer for the EIJ spiritual guide had announced in 1999 that Zawahiri intended to use anthrax to retaliate for the rendering and detention of senior EIJ leaders — and the plan was confirmed by the detained EIJ military leader (and another shura leader who was working for Egyptian intelligence services).
• The late January threat was sent by the same people who sent letter bombs to the people symbolically responsible for the WTC 1993 plotters.
• It was embarrassing to the Bush Administration because not only were they given express warning, but it is the former assistant of then White House Chief of Staff who the FBI suspects of accessing the biochemistry information relating to the concentration of anthrax using silica. See filing of defendant’s defense counsel.
• The factual question of the day relates to the culture medium used by Ivins, and why the FBI did not allege that the recipe of the culture medium he used in the lab supported the searches they did.

******

* an observation from the UK … the FBI’s argument is … not unreasonable at all … LMW: “this an example, of which there are too many, of people who accept the FBI’s reasoning without applying critical reasoning of their own, and then say that those who do are part of a “conspiracy industry.”

.

The New York Times says the FBI’s anthrax case has “too many loose ends.” Find out where some of those looses ends might have originated in my novel CASE CLOSED. Sure it’s fiction, but many readers, including a highly respected member of the U.S. Intelligence Community, think my premise is actually “quite plausible.”

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

.

******

an observation from the UK …

the FBI’s argument is not unreasonable at all

******

George Smith writes from the UK …

• Obviously, much of the evidence against Ivins is circumstantial. The FBI admits as much.
• Unsurprisingly, with any case as famous, drawn out, terrifying and fraught with initial blind alleys as Amerithrax, there are a large number of people – in separate groups – who will never be able to accept that Ivins was the anthraxer.
• There are those with a professional interest in exonerating him in argument – colleagues at Ft. Detrick.
• The FBI’s argument is technical but not unreasonable at all.
• It is consistent, for example, with this author’s scientific experience with bacterial preparations. Arguments to the contrary rely on equally technical details.
• The press, of course, cannot evaluate independently, being only able to deliver arguments from authority – all depending on who it believes to be authority.
• It is also said the National Academy of Science will get around to exonerating Ivins by blowing the FBI’s methods out of the water.
• The case is closed but the conspiracy industry surrounding it will only increase.

Read the entire article at … http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/02/anthrax_feds_report/

LMW COMMENT …

This is an example, of which there are too many, of people who accept the FBI’s reasoning without applying critical reasoning of their own, and then say that those who do are part of a “conspiracy industry.”

* DXer … where are the missing Amerithrax documents from 2001-2002?

.

The New York Times says the FBI’s anthrax case has “too many loose ends.” Find out where some of those looses ends might have originated in my novel CASE CLOSED. Sure it’s fiction, but many readers, including a highly respected member of the U.S. Intelligence Community, think my premise is actually “quite plausible.”

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

.

******

DXer …

where are the missing Amerithrax documents from 2001-2002?

******