Pandemics and Pandora's Box

A story caught my eye in the UK Sun. You know it is really bad when you have to go to the (nearly tabloid) foreign press to get any semblance of news.

Everything yesterday and today has been about the New Messiah, and Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.

Not to take anything away from Dr. King, undeniably a great man, but his greatness is being used to lend credibility and legitimacy to an already scandal plagued, and quite possibly illegitimate president. Already, I am digressing.

There's a plague that's been whacking Al Qaeda fighters. Allegedly they die within hours of contracting the disease. The UK Sun's story is here.

Die within hours? Those are the words of an unnamed security source according to The Sun. The Black Death takes four to seven days to kill an infected person.

The story refers to the disease as "the plague". There are some references to the Bubonic Plague, a so called "killer bug", the Pneumonic Plague, and The Black Death. However, if one reads the story carefully, no where in the story does it say that the disease killing the Al Qaeda terrorists IS the Bubonic Plague. In fact, the disease is never really named at all. It is left to the reader to infer that the disease is the Bubonic Plague.

The unnamed security source said "This is the deadliest weapon yet in the war against terror. Most of the terrorists do not have the basic medical supplies needed to treat the disease. It spreads quickly and kills within hours. This will be really worrying al-Qaeda.”

"Deadliest Weapon"? Are they saying that they deployed this disease? Maybe there were low flying aircraft spraying the Algerian Desert? Why try and take credit for something that Mother Nature dealt out?

The story goes on to say that the plague may have traveled to other training camps, and Al-Qaeda bases. How is that possible if it kills within hours? Some of those bases and camps are days and weeks away. It's not like these clowns can hop on a plane or a bus and get to other countries in no time flat.

Well, they can get across the Mediterranean Sea pretty quickly from Algeria. Helloooooo Europe! Ready for a repeat of the 1340's if one of these clowns gets across loaded with infected fleas?

Sounds more like the guys over at Plum Island have been busy. Just a note, it seems Homeland Security has taken over the site since a new Bio Level 4 containment facillity is being built in Kansas. Isn't that convenient for the still going forward NAFTA Superhighway?

The rumors of Plum Island being something like "The Island Of Dr. Moreau" have been the stuff of legend.

If this is really an operational test of a new bio-warfare weapon, God help us. Pandora's Box has been opened, and the next pandemic may just be around the corner.