No, not the band. Although, feel free to discuss them too.

So, there are cases popping up everywhere now. The child of an ABC employee? (Oh, and p.s., it's unsettling to be watching a serious Third Watch episode with RL rescue workers recounting Sept. 11 and then to have Brian Williams all break in with a Special Report. Because when that graphic is coming up and the Important Music is playing, and you have no idea what they're going to say? Scary.)

Bioterrorism? Nut job Americans? A diversionary tactic? (Diverting us from WHAT is the question.)

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

Answers

I am, personally, completely mystified.

It doesn't seem to me to fit with the earlier attack -- to go from an extremely efficient operation that killed 6,000 in an hour, to a long- drawn-out displacement of a non-contagious disease that has hit ten people over the past week -- it doesn't make sense.

We've been told to be careful of what we open, being a media company in NY, but right now I'm more worried about layoffs than anthrax.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

I don't know what to think. I have to believe, simply because of the timing, that these aren't unrelated to the September 11th attacks. I wonder if this is not just another step in Bin Laden's master plan of attack on the US, that he doesn't have a whole series of events planned out for us.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

i was also super freaked out by the interruption during third watch. these days, i have no idea what to expect when a "special report" comes on.

the president has told us not to worry, to live our lives as we always have. meanwhile, the media has been covering every single story where someone has uncovered a white powdery substance in an unusual location (ie airplane lavatories). i'm glad to hear that most of these stories end with the powdery substance not being anthrax, but i feel as if the public is being bombarded with these stories.

two planes yesterday were rerouted or held at their final destination because someone found powdery substances onboard during each flight. and to be honest, yesterday morning when i got on an airplane to fly home, i didn't only have to chase away fleeting thoughts of "is my plane going to be hijacked" but also "will someone find anthrax or an anthrax-looking substance on my airplane, forcing my plane to land in atlanta or cincinnati to get inspected."

i certainly hope it's not the beginning of bioterrorism in america. right now, it's more paranoia than anything.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

I would be really, really pissed if I had to sit on the tarmac in a quarantined plane for five hours - or worse, overnight - because someone was careless to let some baby powder spill in the bathrooms. Really, I don't think it would be all that unusual to find a white powdery substance in a plane bathroom - I'm sure diapers are changed in there, makeup is applied, and cocaine is snorted on a regular basis. In fact, I think that to avoid any more panics, the airlines should not allow anyone to board the plane with baby powder or loose makeup powder. Seriously.

Y'all, the anthrax panic is really starting to annoy me. One, if you are exposed, you'll more than likely be okay. The people in Daschle's office? They're going to be fine. It's frightening for them, I can only imagine, but they immediately realized they were exposed and they're being treated. There's no reason to freak out about powder that you can see and be treated for, if it actually is anthrax.

Two, calling the police over Sweet N' Low in the company break room (again, not an unusual place for loose powder - there were brown granuals on our breakroom counter this morning. Anthrax?? No. Hot chocolate powder - is a tremendous waste of resources. And, I can't imagine it's a good thing for law enforcement to become jaded about the thousands of anthrax scare calls they're receiving every day.

And three. (This is directed towards society in general, not one specific person.) People. We need to act like Americans, not skittish colts. 20 people have been exposed; one has died. There have probably been countless other attempts, but really, the terrorists can't have a successful germ attack with only one casualty - the way they are successful is by freaking the American public out to the point where we call 911 over spilled salt on the roads in Maryland, or by confetti in an airplane.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

And this, from CNN:

Ninety offices of Planned Parenthood and at least 80 clinics of the National Abortion Federation across the United States have received envelopes containing unidentified powdery substances and letters with threatening language, according to spokesmen for the groups.

Nice. Let's capitalize on terrorism to support our own agenda. Real Christian, guys.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

Pursuant to T's point, on Metafilter right now you can find a link to a list of major terrorists attacks/threats in previous years; the number of people who call and say, "Hi, I'm sending you anthrax tomorrow," is pretty staggering. The number of people who actually send the anthrax? Not so staggering.

We had an anthrax scare at Local Monthly the first summer I worked there. The mysterious package turned out to contain 20 lbs. of pot. Sadly, we didn't get to keep it.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

By the way, Really Cool Weekly has not received so much as a threat full of misspelled words written in crayon. We're quite insulted.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

WG - that's an invitation if I ever heard one, and if the country weren't on full alert right now I'd be drafting one with my 64-box and also, letters clipped from magazines.

just, you know, because it would be funny in different times.

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

PG! Send us a fax saying, "This paper has been dusted with anthrax. Have a nice day."

-- Anonymous, October 16, 2001

So I just passed our HR head in the hall, wearing goggles, a surgeon's mask, and rubber gloves. That was not funny.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Did he get my fax?

 

 

;-)

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

My gynecologist's office (also an abortion clinic) experienced an anthrax threat about two years ago. Someone sent them a letter that said they'd just been exposed to anthrax (I can't remember if there was powder in it or what). It turned out to be a hoax but the place was evacuated, the dudes in the suits came, people were hosed down and taken to the hospital, the whole nine. I cannot BELIEVE people do that at all, but to have them doing it NOW of all times, is just beyond.

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

oh, excellent.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/us_ANTHR AX.html

-- Anonymous, October 17, 2001

Anthrax has been found overseas and in Indy and Kansas City.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/conditions/11/02/anthrax/inde x.html

Is it becoming scarier?

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

I dunno. I liked what Guiliani said on the Today show this morning about the recent New York case -- it's one woman in a city of however many million, so don't panic. I'm still in non-panic mode.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

And apparently, so long as you have nasal congestion, you're fine:

http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/conditions/11/01/anthrax.vs.flu.ap/inde x.html

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

I am not in panic mode, although now I am only one degree of separation from the anthrax (Omar's co-worker got it).

And, at least we don't have to deal with the gout.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

PG - I remember reading that in either your journal or Omar's, but why haven't we heard about her case?

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

Anthrax can naturally occur in Texas - is that why, maybe?

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

My boss didn't have anthrax. But she was in the national enquirer building where it was later found, so technically, she was "exposed." just to be safe, they put her on the Cipro, which SUCKS, and she had to wait to find out if she had it.

She ended up testing negative.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

I guess I wasn't listening to Omar completely. Damn. Now I have no the anthrax connection.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2001

Now I have to straighten out everyone I know who I told this weekend about the "unreported" anthrax that was probably running rampant throughout the nation. That's what I get for fear-mongering.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001

I also was guilty of fear-mongering. Between that and figuring out those introductions, it was a busy weekend.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2001