CDR: Re: Bioterror in DC: Banning production of such weapons

[Tim May]

At 9:59 AM -0400 9/13/00, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE
>Biological Weapons Convention
>National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relations Subcommittee
>hearing to examine the status of negotiations to develop an enforcement
>protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) prohibiting the
>development, production and stockpiling of such weapons.
>Witnesses: Ambassador Donald Mahley, special negotiator,
>     Chemical and Biological Arms Control, State
>     Department; representatives from General Accounting
>     Office, Defense Department, and Commerce Department


We've seen several such "bans." The bans are used to suppress 
civilian research, forcing those doing biological research to come 
under the aegis of Ft. Detrick, NRDD, the facilities in Utah, 
Oakland, CA, Atlanta, etc.

The George C. Scott film, "Rage," is a good one. Done in 1972 or so, 
it accurately captures the way Big Brother claims to have a monopoly 
on the contents of Pandora's Box. (To mix some myths.)

(Side note: I worked in an immunology lab in 1969-70 and saw 
first-hand the manouverings to get the private sector absorbed as a 
contractor--with gubmint as arbiter of what got published and what 
didn't--into the "biowarfare-industrial complex." And one of my high 
school friends is now a senior researcher in "northern Maryland." 
Hint hint.)

The supposed bans on CBW are mainly used to lull John and Mary 
Citizen into a false sense of security. Read Laurie Garrett's "Final 
Plague" (I think is the title) or Ken Alimbek's "Biohazard" for some 
good accounts. A readable, but not great, fictional treatment is 
Preston's "Cobra Event." Frank Herbert's "The White Plague" is as 
timely as it was in the 70s.

These kinds of CBW bans, such as the one above, will mainly be used 
to fan the flames of public hysteria that "bio hackers" are buying 
samples of Ebola or smallpox, whatever, and that the Web must come 
under government control so as to stop Little Johnny from hacking 
bugs in his mother's kitchen.

As usual, governments and their affiliated biological-industrial 
partners will continue expanding their inventory and library of 
deadly diseases to loose upon the world.

Pouring out the vials, as it were.


--Tim May
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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