July 01, 2005
"Road Map for Terrorists"
PAPER ON TERRORIST THREAT TO MILK TO BE PUBLISHED
The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) announced today that it would proceed to publish a paper concerning the alleged risk of botulinum poisoning of the U.S. milk supply by terrorists. The Department of Health and Human Services had asked the journal to withhold publication of the paper, which it described as a "road map for terrorists."
The paper, by Lawrence Wein and Yifan Liu of Stanford University, has also drawn criticism as alarmist and unfounded after Prof. Wein published a version of it on the New York Times op-ed page on May 30 (Secrecy News, June 14).
A stinging rebuttal to the Wein op-ed, prepared by independent scientists Milton Leitenberg and George Smith, is posted here:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/milk.html*
The controversy was aired in "Publication heeds U.S., pulls terror article" by Rebecca Carr, Atlanta Journal, June 26:
http://www.ajc.com/hp/content/auto/epaper/editions/sunday/news_24ebc541731e70fe0050.html
and also in an interview I did with Bob Garfield titled "Toxic Scenario," NPR On the Media, June 17:
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_061705_toxic.html
via secrecy news
Got toxic milk?
[image via google/ caption via *fas]