I was a little freaked about the recent guy in Florida that had contracted Anthrax. So I did a little research. I don't know if I'm paranoid or just seeing the writing on the wall. I'd love someone else's opinion. When reading about the Floridia man who had contracted it "U.S. officials said there was no link to terrorism, but also said a deliberate release of the germ by terrorists is one of several possibilities under investigation. " per foxnews [http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35779,00.html] and "Fears that terrorists may have been planning an airborne chemical or biological attack were raised last month when it was learned that a group of Middle Eastern men � including one of the hijackers in the attack on the World Trade Center � had been asking suspicious questions about a crop duster at an airfield in Belle Glade, which is about 40 miles inland from Lantana" which is where the Florida man was from. Quite a coincidence I'd say!


The CDC website [http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm#Where%20can%20I%20get%20more%20information%20about%20a%20recent%20Department%20of%20Defense%20decision%20to%20require%20men%20and%20women%20inthe%20Armed%20Services%20to%20be%20vaccinated%20against%20anthraxhas] some information on "Where can I get more information about the recent Department of Defense decision to require men and women in the Armed Services to be vaccinated against anthrax?". Which is very unusual considering "...U.S. vaccine supplies are limited and U.S. production capacity is modest. There is no vaccine available for civilian use." aka very limited supplies and the most interesting fact also from the CDC website "inoculation with this vaccine at 0 and 2 weeks was completely protective against infection from an aerosol challenge at 8 and 38 weeks, and 88% effective at 100 weeks" which conveys the degradation of effectiveness for the vaccine. In my mind with limited supplies and a new general order of have soldiers vaccinated AND the limited effectiveness of the vaccination makes me think a attack is fairly imminent!


This is backed by further reports and news articles From MSNBC [http://www.msnbc.com/news/633205.asp] �NBC News has learned, investigators believe Saudi mastermind Osama bin Laden trained at least 5,000 terrorists spread across 60 countries, including �sleeper agents,� who lurk in a country ready to launch an attack at any time.� and more chilling "At a briefing Tuesday, in response to a senator�s question about the gravity of the threat, one intelligence official said there is a '100 percent' chance of an attack should the United States strike Afghanistan, according to sources familiar with the briefing." from another MSNBC article filled with dire predictions from CIA and FBI officials [http://www.msnbc.com/news/638369.asp?0cb=-71824124]. For me this patchwork of news information suggests that the military and intelligence agencies believe a biological attack is imminent and inevitable considering our current and progressive course of actions. So am I being paranoid or just reading the writing on the wall?


Dave


One of my other guesses about an attack is some type of biological contact agent soaked into American currency. While cash transactions are not as prevalent as they used to be, it would be just the kind of symbolic attack that these terrorists would be inclined to do in my opinion.

I think I'm more likely to get hit by a car and I've got a better chance of being prepared to avoid that kind of threat.

I don't mean to discount your concerns, and they are valid ones, but I think worrying about this stuff is really out of our hands. If we get hit we have to take Secretary of Homeland Defense Tommy Thompson's word that we have sufficient stocks of vaccine to deal with limited outbreaks. We probably don't. We probably are working on building them up right now. But again, that's out of my hands.

Chill. Buy a new game. Take your girl out for a four star meal for no reason in particular. Take up a new hobby, say skydiving, that will keep you focused on real danger with an exciting payoff rather than this permeating shapeless dread. That's all we can do.

As everybody keeps saying - just living pisses the terrorists off and I'm living large. ;)

Sit back, grab a beer, and relax. Americans die every day from car crashes, lung cancer, and natural disasters - We'll pull through one way or another.

Oh, and don't let the fact that all those suitcase-sized nuclear weapons from the former Soviet Union has been missing for years.

Like most of you probably did, I grew up in the shadow of possible nuclear war. I was draft age when Reagan was President and saying things in jest like, "I've just signed legislation outlawing the Soviet Union forever, we begin bombing in five minutes." I had my "mental ground zero" all figured out so that I would not live through the war.

Not that I have a death wish, but after that, the "terrorists" don't hold a lot of sway with me. One nuke? One biological attack? We get to track down and kick the crap out of the perps? Pfft. They are nothing compared to what I used to be afraid of.

I recommend anyone interested go rent the movie MIRACLE MILE. It's a brilliant examination of the fear and paranoia caused by a potential nuclear threat; the last 45 minutes of the film take place in real time, as we countdown 'til the (fictional or real?) strike hits. Only at the very end of the film do we find out whether or not nukes are actually on the way. A parallel plot details the virginal hero's discovery of true love with a cute gal who feels the same way about him, which may or may not be very ironic, depending on whether or not they have 45 minutes left to live.

Stars a very young Anthony Edwards, back when he had hair. I've met the director, who complained that studio-caused delays in the film's release led to its lack of a warm reception by the public -- the height of Reagan-era fear of immanent nuke attack had passed, and THE DAY AFTER had stole some of its glory (the script had been in development hell for years). Well, now we're back in those days of tension and fear -- in spades. A perfect time to watch or rewatch this underappreciated classic, with a pulse-pounding score by Tangerine Dream at the height of their talents.

Sorry to sound like a pimp for this movie, but it's probably my favorite film. More people need to see it.

God dammit, I wanted to see Miracle Mile. It is almost impossible to find though! Any sources?

There's no DVD, and the VHS version is long out of print, so I would try eBay. I bought the director's first film, CHERRY 2000, through an auction there. Several copies were available of that, so I was able to choose the one that seemed in best shape (i.e., not an ex-rental copy).

CHERRY 2000 isn't quite as good, though it is plenty bizarre. Melanie Griffith in a RUN LOLA RUN wig twenty years before that film, as a bounty hunter searching in a violent post-apocalyptic no-man's-land for replacement parts for a broken android the milquetoast, pretty-boy protagonist has pathetically fallen in love with. Written by Michael Almadavera (maybe I mispelled that, sorry), the guy who wrote NADIA and some other bizarre films.

The director of MIRACLE MILE and CHERRY 2000 is Steve DeJarnatt, who was also the writer of STRANGE BREW. Since MIRACLE MILE tanked at the box office, I think he's mainly written for TV shows like X-FILES, KINDRED: THE EMBRACED, E.R., and NASH BRIDGES (ugh). Don't think he's done any films since then.

One piece of trivia: Anthony Edwards's love interest in MIRACLE MILE was played by Mare Winningham. Years later, on E.R., there was an in-joke of sorts, where she appeared in several episodes as a phony doctor/stalker who is psychotically in love with Anthony Edwards. A bizarre sort of MIRACLE MILE romantic reunion.

I liked Cherry 2000, too. I saw that on HBO when I was in college and I signed up for a cold study over the Thanksgiving holday. Stuck in a hotel room for 3 days, whee!

I own a very sad old version of Miracle Mile that a friend bought used at a place called Erol's video. I must admit that I have a fondness for this film, though it is a bit cheesy in places. I'd watch it again because of this thread, but I'm too much of a snob to watch anything but tv shows on VHS nowadays.

Amanpour