Meddling

It would’ve worked, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids!

There are 614 posts filed in Meddling (this is page 58 of 62).

Ivins and anthrax, continued

I’ve still been following the unfolding of the FBI’s claims that Dr. Bruce Ivans was responsible for the anthrax attacks. So far I’m not seeing the compelling evidence I’d hoped. Fortunately, the blogosphere includes an anthrax expert. In her Anthrax Vaccine blog, Meryl Nass, M.D. takes apart the FBI’s weak case piece by piece.

This one item on Dr. Nass’s is pretty convincing:

10. Mental health. If Ivins was so out of control, so scary, why was he allowed to keep working in a high containment lab with access to some of the world’s deadliest pathogens for so long?

I can’t help but think Ivins is the fall guy, pressured to the point where he couldn’t take it anymore. I think its shameful how these press leaks are framing the man – one who will not get his day in court.

Dead or alive, the man is still innocent until proven guilty. If Dr. Ivins is the anthrax killer, show us evidence worthy of a conviction. Put up or shut up, because right now it looks like the FBI is desperately grabbing at straws.

Anthrax suspect Bruce Ivans dies

Anthrax scientist Bruce Ivans, believed by authorities to be behind the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, was found dead Tuesday from an apparent suicide. He was 62. The papers are all trying to convict him, which is unfortunate since he will never get a trial and a chance to defend himself.

Among the many questions still lurking about the anthrax attacks, this ending raises two more:

  • Why did it take this long for authorities to zero in on this guy, given the limited number of people with access to anthrax?
  • Why would a guy with easy access to the world’s deadliest poisons end his life using common acetaminophen?

Though Ivins is dead and the case will probably be closed, I would still like to see the evidence. Now we may never know.

Update: Glenn Greenwald writes of even more troubling unanswered questions in yesterday’s Salon. particularly about the role ABC News played in spreading false information linking the attacks to Iraq.

ABC’s got some ‘splaining to do.

Raleigh 911!, part II

Here’s the second part of my Raleigh 911! post. When we left our intrepid hero, he was on the way to bust a murder suspect.

We approached the area and the two officers discussed their capture strategy.

Chris then turns to me. “If I get out to run or have to leave in a hurry, ” he said, “just sit tight in the car with the doors locked. No one will mess with you.”

Gulp. Ok, we’re not playing around anymore. I nodded and felt my pulse double in an instant.
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More mall musings

I was reading this article about other cities’ battles with teens loitering around malls and it got me thinking: do we want to discourage teens from going to malls – a place where they can be better supervised? Do we really want to disperse them elsewhere? That sounds like a bad idea.

I mean, while the mall melee was scary, no one was seriously hurt (a credit to our police agencies). And as far as I know, before the fight broke out these kids weren’t committing any serious crimes. Perhaps an occasional shoplifting, but not drug-dealing or shootings.

At the mall, the ways kids can get into trouble are limited. Perhaps the answer is simply to beef up mall security.

Might minimizing multiple Mountain Dews mitigate mall melees?

A friend suggests the easiest way to keep teens from loitering in mall food courts is to eliminate the food court’s free drink refills. While it wouldn’t be the only solution I think it would be a step in the right direction.

There’s also the “mosquito” method as well. It would need to be used where teens are and not kids, however, so that rules out a food court. Might be good for the open-air drug markets around town, though.

Raleigh 911!, part I

I don’t care what you may think you know about your neighborhood, you don’t know it as well as your local beat cop does. Period. The best way to learn about your neighborhood, then, is to have a cop be you tour guide. This is what I did Friday night when I rode along with my local police officer. As you’ll read below, the night didn’t disappoint.

I showed up at the district substation at 7:30 PM, called the cellphone of the sargent on duty, and was invited inside to wait while an officer came to pick me up. After handing in my waiver, I accompanied Chris, my officer, to our first call: a domestic disturbance.
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Gang fight at Triangle Town Center?

So, uh, North Raleigh needs to deal with its gang problem. Three hundred gang members fighting at the normally-quiet (and sometimes dull) Triangle Town Center mall? Whodathunkit?

On the way back from our balloon adventure we passed two police cars screaming north up Capital Boulevard. The fact that multiple agencies were responding made me guess the call was a big one. Still, I never would’ve guessed it was a gang fight at that mall.

I think this incident might open people’s eyes to the fact that no one is immune to the problem of gangs.

Rodealong

I just got back from my ridealong. Boy, was it exciting! I actually got to witness some Cops-level stuff, not just your routine expired-tags traffic stop. I definitely want to do it again sometime!

More details tomorrow. For now, a snack and bed. Got a balloon to help launch tomorrow, y’know.

Satellite TV call to my mobile

Now these telemarketing clowns are pitching satellite TV to my mobile phone. This time the caller ID read 949-256-9106.

This is getting quite annoying. And potentially expensive. And it looks like I’m going to have to set up a separate category for these telemarketing scams.