Ricin Follies

The case against the Elvis impersonator turned alleged ricin poisoner is laughably weak [and the charges have been dropped]:

Investigators have not found ricin or ingredients for it in the house or vehicle of a Corinth man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Obama, a senator and a local judge, an F.B.I. agent testified Monday. A search of a computer belonging to the man, Paul K. Curtis, found no evidence that he researched making ricin, Agent Brandon Grant said. Through his lawyer, Mr. Curtis has denied involvement, and his lawyer said he may have been framed.

Mr. Curtis is out on bail. His attorney says he was framed, which prompts us to hark back to the case of Barbara Joan March:

Barbara (Bonnie) Joan March (b. 1945/6) is an American criminal from Connecticut, United States of America who is currently imprisoned for 'Mailing Injurious Articles' to fourteen United States government officials.

In April 2005, she sent several food items, including baked goods and candy, to the fourteen officials. Each item was laced with a lethal dose of warfarin (rat poison). Each package included a typewritten note that threatened the recipient with being poisoned, and had the return address of people she had a grudge against, such as former co-workers and classmates.

The items were sent to the:

• Nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
• Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert Mueller
• Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Chief of Naval Operations of the United States
• Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
• Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Yes, we had our fun back in the day. In any case, the idea of attempting to get someone else in hot water by mailing poison in their name is not new, so the possibility that Mr. Curtis is a victim here should be taken seriously. It's sort of as if SWATTING went postal.

We are encouraged to see the Feds investigating other possibilities. They did not exactly set the gold standard for these investigations with their Hatfill/Ivins anthrax imbroglio.

Comments

[Janet]

...& ol' John F'n Kerry parked his boat in another State so he wouldn't have to pay Mass. taxes!

Not only can't you believe they are elected to office...it's hard to believe they aren't in jail.

[daddy]

I never read "The Audacity of Hope", but an excellent American Thinker story earlier this week had this quote from Obama's book:

Oh, here's another thing I saw: Page 261 of Obama's The Audacity of Hope, in which he writes, "I will stand with them [Arab and Pakistani Americans, among others] should the political winds shift in an ugly direction." Are the winds ugly yet?

[narciso]

'You don't need a Weatherman' oh wait, I guess you do.

[Sue]

Narciso,

I've been good, thanks for asking. Watching the Rangers and angels play West coast time. I didn't see that wreck coming. Kept thinking they wouldn't kill off Ziva or Tony but they've kill off main characters before.

Hope your mom enjoyed her birthday.

[daddy]

I believe that's why we now say "Beijing", rather than "Peking", for example.

Jim Miller,

A Musical example from 1953: Istanbul (not Constantinople)

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks

Even old New York was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way

Good tune, but I don't buy it as an excuse for missing the Russian/Checnyan/Dhagistan/Khirgistan Bomber.

Rush should have his parody song guy redo the tune, something like:

"Chechnya (old Soviet subject)
Now it's Dagehstan, not Russian Republic
FBI can't spell
borders going to Hell
And it's everybody's fault except the Turks."

[Janet]

A wonderful Sultan Knish - Why Muslims Kill

It is brutal.

[narciso]

I've noticed Brennan, is much more brutal a show runner then Belisario, then again, the got rid of Kate at the end of the first season, a touch of '24 there.

[Jim Miller]

daddy - Somewhere in Samuel Eliot Morison's WW II history -- I can't now recall just where -- he notes that he will be using some place names familiar to American and British sailors, rather than the modern, official names. (For example, Formosa, rather than Taiwan.)

I think that was the right choice, given his main audience, and the time he wrote.

[narciso]

And rse has pointed out, even the kangaroos carry the templates in their pouches,

http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/racing_ahead/

our local fishwrap did as much yesterday.

[Janet]

Yeah, daddy...that Am Thinker post was great.
I Saw Something, So I'm Saying Something
By Stella Paul

[narciso]

A poster over at Hot Air, points out that Anzor's mystery Armenian, could be anyone from Turkey to Iranian.

[daddy]

That makes sense to me, Jim. Thank goodness DoT and others recommended I get the Atlas before doing the Master And Commander series.

I don't think I've ever even seen the word Formosa posted anywhere in Taiwan except when I go to an old bookstore there and see it on old history books. I did see where some new book is coming out shortly that will explain how the Chinese ousted the Dutch from the island, which is very little known history but sounds exciting to me.

That is an excellent article, Janet.

BTW, For whatever reason, here in India I can post anything---links, pictures, whatever, and have not a single post clobbered. In Dubai it was about 1 in 10 that could get through. In Paris it was quite easy to post. Don't know if that helps identify our posting problems.

[narciso]

That is interesting daddy, India certainly doesn't have qualms about political speech, so logically we kick them to the curb, One of those that the FBI didn't vet properly is the Mumbai mastermind, David Headley.

[DoT on iPad]

"If you are working for an organization that has a stylebook that specifies the spelling of those names, then if you don't follow the stylebook, you are misspelling the name."

Jim, that's all well and good if everyone has the same style manual and pledges to abide by it. But when you are dealing with national security and checking for names, I should think your manual would accommodate every conceivable spelling.

I understood Formosa was the name given to the island by the Papanese when they possessed it, just as Manchuria became Manchukuo (he said, remembering those maps on the wall in elementary school).

[DoT on iPad]

I recall that the Chiang Kai Shek government preferred Peking, whereas the Maoists wanted Beijing once they took over. John Foster Dulles and others wanted to stick with Peking out of loyalty to the defeated ally (this was during that long period when the U.S. declined to recognize the Mao government). The New York Times and all good progresseives adopted Beiling right away, and you gradually came to be known as a fascist hyena and a capitalist roader if you held on to Peking. I started saying Beijing around 1998 or so.

[daddy]

Narciso, Of local interest.

News here today is reporting on the arrest this morning of 3 bomb suspects who exploded a massive bomb in Bangalore 1 week ago (17 April). Bangalore bomb blast: 3 suspects arrested in TN

A report from Madurai said Buhari was suspected to be a member of banned Islamic outfit 'Al Umma' which was responsible for serial bomb blasts...Police detained another person who was staying with Buhari. The man was identified as Saleem Mohammed.

I wonder what motivated these men to do it?

[Dublindave]

We just need that one case where the perp turned out to be seriously involved in the Tea party movement.

[Steve]

First Photos of shootout between Boston Marathon Bombers and the Police

http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2013/04/first-photos-of-shootout-between-boston.html

[Buckeye]

We just need that ONE case where the perp was seriously involved with Islam, then Dudu will get it.

[narciso]

Odd, that someone belonging to 'the Community' would be acting this way, the Rehman case, from last fall was just like this situation in Boston, where apparently there is less shame to be an Islamic militant then a Tea Party activist

[Jane on Ipad]

To the left there will always be less shame of the people who would stone gays to death than those who want them to call marriage something else.

[NK]

Buckeye@7:02-- LOL-- too funny.
Actually, DD's at 2:01-- maybe inadvertantly-- was pretty funny as well.

[Janet]

The citizens of Massachusetts should be up in arms...paying for the Islamic terrorists & for Obama's illegal relatives! Who else are they having to pay for? Who am I paying for here in Virginia?

and there sits John Kerry who tried to get out of paying Massachusetts taxes...it is madness.

[Jane on Ipad]

John kerry was the wealthiest man in the senate (not including his wife's money. The last real job he had paid about $18k a year. We are all being robbed blind.

[Melinda Romanoff on Kindle]

NK-

Dudu's idea will work, so long as MFM retains audience, which is proving to be self-adjusting.

[hit and run]

Ignatz:
Good ol Anduril.
Can't remember his real name.
Mark Wauk or something?
Narc would know.

Sure he would (and did, of course). But would he know Wauck's birthday?

BTW, here is a rose from anduril's garden. It's a hybrid tea rose variety known as Chicago Peace: