Florida man faces bioweapon charge

[Eric Cordian]

RAH pastes:

...

> Steven Michael Ekberg, 22, had at least 83 castor beans and other
> byproducts consistent with the manufacture of ricin in his possession, the
> FBI said.

...

> They said they also found, in a cardboard box in Ekberg's room, glass vials
> containing white granules suspected of being husk-less, chopped castor
> beans, a byproduct of the manufacture of ricin.

I'm confused here.  Is possession of castor beans possession of ricin?  
Is possession of chopped castor beans possession of ricin?

> He then picked up another container and stated words to the effect, "This
> would make you really sick," the source allegedly told authorities.

I could pick up a container of Drano, and make the same commment.  Big 
deal.

> The source told police that Ekberg had two books containing information on
> how to make poisons from household chemicals and plants, according to the
> affidavit.

Still legal to own, as far as I know.

> His mother, Theresa Ekberg, told the FBI that he has been treated for
> depression, according to the affidavit.

> His mother also told authorities that in the past her son had possessed
> some "chemicals."

> She said that on at least one occasion he showed her something he had
> purchased via the Internet and expressed concern that if their cat
> inadvertently ate enough of it, the cat would die, according to the
> affidavit.

Obviously this news story is the grand prize winner in an innuendo 
contest.

> The FBI is still investigating who sent two letters that contained ricin in
> 2003 through the U.S. postal system. Those letters contained threats and
> complaints about labor regulations in the trucking industry.

> In 1978, Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer and journalist in London, died
> after a man attacked him with an umbrella that had been rigged to inject a
> ricin pellet under his skin.

And WTF does this have to do with the guy with the castor beans?

Looks like "Ricin Theatre" has joined "Anthrax Theatre" in the armory of 
Weapons of Mass Deception.

-- 
Eric Michael Cordian 0+
O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division
"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"