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Thursday, October 6, 2011
PBS Frontline "The Anthrax Files"
The PBS Frontline program titled "The Anthrax Files" is scheduled to air on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, at 9 PM Central Time. If you have thoughts about that program, this is the place to post them.
They should ask the DOJ/FBI types about the holes in the FBI case.
Like how do they explain the physical, chemical and biological properties of the letter anthrax such as silicon?
At the Case Closed Lew Weinstein blog Dxer has posted an FBI report that Ivins submitted another sample for testing and this further undermines the claim he was intentionally submitting false samples.
What amount of equivalent pure anthrax spores by weight and number are in each letter? How long did it take to make it?
What equipment and labware including a list of each disk was available in the BSL3 from August to October 2001? What equipment or labware was in use at the time for some other purpose as shown by lab notebooks?
Release the email from Ivins computer on 9/18/2001. (Dxer has been after this)
Oldatlanticlighthouse wrote: "Like how do they explain the physical, chemical and biological properties of the letter anthrax such as silicon?"
The silicon has been explained in detail. Sandia National Laboratories examined samples of the powders in every conceivable way.
The only question that remains is a sample that was tested by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and they found an unusual amount of silicon. Unfortunately, that finding could not be repeated, either because they destroyed the sample as part of the examination process, or because verification tests didn't produce the same results.
"At the Case Closed Lew Weinstein blog Dxer has posted an FBI report that Ivins submitted another sample for testing and this further undermines the claim he was intentionally submitting false samples."
The sample Ivins submitted in February 2002 didn't follow subpoena instructions, so it was worthless as evidence and it was discarded.
The replacement sample Ivins submitted in April of 2002 was a false sample, since it didn't have the morphs that were later determined to be in flask RMR-1029.
The second sample Ivins gave to Terry Abshire in February of 2002 was not submitted as "evidence" to the FBI repository, and it was not prepared in accordance with the subpoena. So, while it was a good sample from flask RMR-1029, it was still not useable as evidence. It's a side issue. Abshire asked for it to compare other samples against. But, that never happened.
"What amount of equivalent pure anthrax spores by weight and number are in each letter? How long did it take to make it?"
The unopened Leahy letter was found to contain .871 grams of almost pure spores. At 2.1 trillion spore per gram, that's about 1.5 trillion spores.
The Daschle letter was opened, and some of the powder was lost. But it can be assumed to have contained about the same amount of spores.
The media letters were 90 percent debris and dried "matrix material" (slime). The powder was only 10 percent spores. So, if there were five letters containing .871 grams of powder, all together the media letters would have contained about ONE trillion spores.
That's roughly 4 trillion spores in all the letters.
Ivins wrote emails stating that he routinely made 1 trillion spores in his lab in a week.
But, the evidence also suggests that Ivins was accumulating spores for over a year before the attacks.
It looks like there's a limit to the size of a post. So, here's the rest of the previous response:
"What equipment and labware including a list of each disk was available in the BSL3 from August to October 2001? What equipment or labware was in use at the time for some other purpose as shown by lab notebooks?"
Since the evidence says that Ivins made the attack spores from plates that had been left in the trash for weeks, the only equipment needed was a centrifuge, a biosafety cabinet and other normal lab materials. Ivins had everything needed.
The details of actual pieces of equipment aren't needed to determine that Ivins had the capability to make the attack powders.
"Release the email from Ivins computer on 9/18/2001. (Dxer has been after this)"
I think DXer has been after the email Ivins wrote (probably to Mara Linscott) at 11:30 p.m. on September 17. It's a private email, so that's probably why it hasn't been released. And the only important thing about it is the time it was sent. That is known.
"Release the Ivins lab notebooks. (See Dxer)"
Many of the notebooks have been released. They confirm with the FBI has stated. DXer has never found anything in any notebook which disproves any FBI statement.
DXer is making demand after demand, probably just so he can claim that if his demands aren't fulfilled it means the government is covering up something. It's a game. It's not a serious investigation. If it were, he'd have found something worthwhile by now. All he finds is a need to ask for more documents.
I wrote: "I think DXer has been after the email Ivins wrote (probably to Mara Linscott) at 11:30 p.m. on September 17."
The only information I have about the email is information from DXer that he gave me on February 24, 2011. At that time he said the email was sent at 11:22 p.m. The discussion is HERE. I've never been able to verify it, and now I'm being told that there never was any such email.
1. On the email, I appreciate your taking the time to go over it as you understand it. At this point you think there was an email sent late on Sep 17 by Ivins to someone else, or you doubt the story entirely?
2. What is your source on the spore count and weight of pure spore equivalent in the anthrax letters? Are these your estimates?
1. It's my understanding that there was no email sent by Ivins late on the evening of the 17th.
There was a stack of emails in my inbox this morning from DXer. He claims he has been asking the FBI for the time the September 17 email was sent. He doesn't even mention that he stated on Lew's site that it was "a fact" that it was sent at 11:22 p.m.
2. The weight of the powder in the Leahy letter comes from the New York Times. Click HERE to view the article. It says on page 4:
Still, the amount, typical of the tainted letters, was remarkably small -- just 0.871 grams. A pat of butter weighs 10 grams.
The number of spores per gram comes from a report by Bruce Ivins when he quantified the spores in the Daschle letter on October 23, 2001. Ivins' report is on page 106 of FBI report #847545. To view it, click HERE.
Of course, it's only a guess that all the letters contained approximately the same amount of powder.
I wrote: "There was a stack of emails in my inbox this morning from DXer. He claims he has been asking the FBI for the time the September 17 email was sent. He doesn't even mention that he stated on Lew's site that it was "a fact" that it was sent at 11:22 p.m."
I made a mistake on that post. As I pointed out on my web site, DXer didn't claim that it was a fact that the email sent to Mara on the 17th was sent at 11:22 p.m.
He mentioned the email and then picked a time out of the air, 11:22 p.m., and claimed if an email had been sent at that time I would still have claimed it didn't provide Ivins with an alibi.
I misunderstood what he wrote and thought he'd said the Mara email was sent at 11:22 p.m.
They should ask the DOJ/FBI types about the holes in the FBI case.
ReplyDeleteLike how do they explain the physical, chemical and biological properties of the letter anthrax such as silicon?
At the Case Closed Lew Weinstein blog Dxer has posted an FBI report that Ivins submitted another sample for testing and this further undermines the claim he was intentionally submitting false samples.
What amount of equivalent pure anthrax spores by weight and number are in each letter? How long did it take to make it?
What equipment and labware including a list of each disk was available in the BSL3 from August to October 2001? What equipment or labware was in use at the time for some other purpose as shown by lab notebooks?
Release the email from Ivins computer on 9/18/2001. (Dxer has been after this)
Release the Ivins lab notebooks. (See Dxer)
Oldatlanticlighthouse wrote: "Like how do they explain the physical, chemical and biological properties of the letter anthrax such as silicon?"
ReplyDeleteThe silicon has been explained in detail. Sandia National Laboratories examined samples of the powders in every conceivable way.
The only question that remains is a sample that was tested by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) and they found an unusual amount of silicon. Unfortunately, that finding could not be repeated, either because they destroyed the sample as part of the examination process, or because verification tests didn't produce the same results.
"At the Case Closed Lew Weinstein blog Dxer has posted an FBI report that Ivins submitted another sample for testing and this further undermines the claim he was intentionally submitting false samples."
The sample Ivins submitted in February 2002 didn't follow subpoena instructions, so it was worthless as evidence and it was discarded.
The replacement sample Ivins submitted in April of 2002 was a false sample, since it didn't have the morphs that were later determined to be in flask RMR-1029.
The second sample Ivins gave to Terry Abshire in February of 2002 was not submitted as "evidence" to the FBI repository, and it was not prepared in accordance with the subpoena. So, while it was a good sample from flask RMR-1029, it was still not useable as evidence. It's a side issue. Abshire asked for it to compare other samples against. But, that never happened.
"What amount of equivalent pure anthrax spores by weight and number are in each letter? How long did it take to make it?"
The unopened Leahy letter was found to contain .871 grams of almost pure spores. At 2.1 trillion spore per gram, that's about 1.5 trillion spores.
The Daschle letter was opened, and some of the powder was lost. But it can be assumed to have contained about the same amount of spores.
The media letters were 90 percent debris and dried "matrix material" (slime). The powder was only 10 percent spores. So, if there were five letters containing .871 grams of powder, all together the media letters would have contained about ONE trillion spores.
That's roughly 4 trillion spores in all the letters.
Ivins wrote emails stating that he routinely made 1 trillion spores in his lab in a week.
But, the evidence also suggests that Ivins was accumulating spores for over a year before the attacks.
Ed
It looks like there's a limit to the size of a post. So, here's the rest of the previous response:
ReplyDelete"What equipment and labware including a list of each disk was available in the BSL3 from August to October 2001? What equipment or labware was in use at the time for some other purpose as shown by lab notebooks?"
Since the evidence says that Ivins made the attack spores from plates that had been left in the trash for weeks, the only equipment needed was a centrifuge, a biosafety cabinet and other normal lab materials. Ivins had everything needed.
The details of actual pieces of equipment aren't needed to determine that Ivins had the capability to make the attack powders.
"Release the email from Ivins computer on 9/18/2001. (Dxer has been after this)"
I think DXer has been after the email Ivins wrote (probably to Mara Linscott) at 11:30 p.m. on September 17. It's a private email, so that's probably why it hasn't been released. And the only important thing about it is the time it was sent. That is known.
"Release the Ivins lab notebooks. (See Dxer)"
Many of the notebooks have been released. They confirm with the FBI has stated. DXer has never found anything in any notebook which disproves any FBI statement.
DXer is making demand after demand, probably just so he can claim that if his demands aren't fulfilled it means the government is covering up something. It's a game. It's not a serious investigation. If it were, he'd have found something worthwhile by now. All he finds is a need to ask for more documents.
Ed
I wrote: "I think DXer has been after the email Ivins wrote (probably to Mara Linscott) at 11:30 p.m. on September 17."
ReplyDeleteThe only information I have about the email is information from DXer that he gave me on February 24, 2011. At that time he said the email was sent at 11:22 p.m. The discussion is HERE. I've never been able to verify it, and now I'm being told that there never was any such email.
Ed
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your taking time to answer.
ReplyDelete1. On the email, I appreciate your taking the time to go over it as you understand it. At this point you think there was an email sent late on Sep 17 by Ivins to someone else, or you doubt the story entirely?
2. What is your source on the spore count and weight of pure spore equivalent in the anthrax letters? Are these your estimates?
Old Atlantic Lighthouse,
ReplyDelete1. It's my understanding that there was no email sent by Ivins late on the evening of the 17th.
There was a stack of emails in my inbox this morning from DXer. He claims he has been asking the FBI for the time the September 17 email was sent. He doesn't even mention that he stated on Lew's site that it was "a fact" that it was sent at 11:22 p.m.
2. The weight of the powder in the Leahy letter comes from the New York Times. Click HERE to view the article. It says on page 4:
Still, the amount, typical of the tainted letters, was remarkably small -- just 0.871 grams. A pat of butter weighs 10 grams.
The number of spores per gram comes from a report by Bruce Ivins when he quantified the spores in the Daschle letter on October 23, 2001. Ivins' report is on page 106 of FBI report #847545. To view it, click HERE.
Of course, it's only a guess that all the letters contained approximately the same amount of powder.
Ed
I wrote: "There was a stack of emails in my inbox this morning from DXer. He claims he has been asking the FBI for the time the September 17 email was sent. He doesn't even mention that he stated on Lew's site that it was "a fact" that it was sent at 11:22 p.m."
ReplyDeleteI made a mistake on that post. As I pointed out on my web site, DXer didn't claim that it was a fact that the email sent to Mara on the 17th was sent at 11:22 p.m.
He mentioned the email and then picked a time out of the air, 11:22 p.m., and claimed if an email had been sent at that time I would still have claimed it didn't provide Ivins with an alibi.
I misunderstood what he wrote and thought he'd said the Mara email was sent at 11:22 p.m.
My bad.
Ed