Britain's anti-terrorism police are looking for three more people in connection with the discovery of the deadly poison ricin in a north London flat.

Six men - understood to be Algerians - were arrested on Sunday and security experts are trying to establish if they have links to al- Qaeda.

Only small traces of ricin were found in the operation - launched after a tip-off - but there are concerns an amount of poison could have been made at the flat and has been moved.
more... (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2637515.stm)

Originally posted by Captain_Crunch
This is another propaganda strategy, possibly stimulated by their government to justify anti-terror budgets, while deviating people attention to economic deficit, unemployment and other critical obligations of proper government.

Ricin is a very popular seed that even though is native of Africa, it has well adapted to many Mediterranean climates in Europe. In fact even in England and France, the plant enjoys a dormant condition during winter and flourishes back in summer.

Because of its protein value and low cost, it is adaptable to industrial use.

True that it is extremely toxic and in intelligent hands with the right laboratory resources made into a small bio-weapon.

But, there are thousands of people in Europe aware of that plant and possibly hundreds with the possibility of collecting the seeds. No law in Europe prohibits the maintenance of that plant in private property.

….This is a Joke!! That the masses will fall for it, as usual.

True that it is extremely toxic and in intelligent hands with the right laboratory resources made into a small bio-weapon.

Thats all we needed to know, thanks.

i disagree

If it were propaganda they wouldnt have used a toxin relatively few of the general public have ever heard of. If it was pure propaganda they would have said smallpox, or anthrax, or something else the public knows about and can react to better. Know what i mean?

those are my thoughts anyway

Originally posted by NenarTronian
i disagree

If it were propaganda they wouldnt have used a toxin relatively few of the general public have ever heard of. It was pure propaganda they would have said smallpox, or anthrax, or something else the public knows about and can react to better. Know what i mean?

those are my thoughts anyway Yes, you do have a point on that.

However, the general public know anthrax and smallpox and if that was used, it will require a greater detail on disclosure, infrastructure and professionals involved.
To hard to made-up and great risk to be exposed.

In US, the moment it was detected that the Anthrax scare was another local-terrorism made thing, it quickly went out of the airways. No one capitalized in that news did they?
It was just not productive to the entire effort!!

Why Risin? Well it is a very popular seed, it is highly poisonous, hardly many people are aware of it, a couple of terrorist-to-be had some grams on them, …Perfect for sensationalism!!

But then again, pure or concentrated Nicotine is equally deadly and poisonous. Fidel Castro better watch his back from now on!!
:o

I read that ricin is most toxic when ingested/inhaled or IV, dermal exposure is not really effective, unless you use a potent solvent like DMSO and substantial larger quantities of ricin.

Also , compared to anthrax you need MUCH more ricin for a gas cloud attack.

You can use 1 kg of anthrax spores or 4 metric tons of ricin to get the same lethal rates in a given area.

However Ricin is really cheap and readily availble, many people grow castor plant in their garden to poison those nagging moles.

Also 1 mg INGESTED (this is less size than a salt chrystal) can kill you, so ricin would be very usefull for terrorist food poisoning attacks, like injecting fruits/legumes and cheese with tiny amounts. Perhaps a good place for a massive food attack would be at a fruit/grocery auctions....

like said before, the major selling point of using Ricin would be it's availability, it's readily made. And as i've heard, people grow the plant and use the beans and oils for different uses. Plus, it'd be hard to diagnose the symptoms i believe...i'm not sure of the symptoms, too lazy to check right now, but i believe they are pretty ambiguous...could be anything.

I recall a story of a Bulgarian defector who, when in communist Bulgaria, had been criticizing his government etc. Crossing a bridge, he felt a small jab, it was a man behind him with an umbrella, who replied "sorry."

I think the guy was dead a day or so later. Turns out the umbrella shot a very small pellet of iridium/platinum containing about 1mg of ricin.

:eek: Scary stuff..but i'm still not convinced it's propaganda like some posters said...for the reasons stated in my frist post in this thread.

Ricin is a very popular seed that even though is native of Africa, it has well adapted to many Mediterranean climates in Europe. In fact even in England and France, the plant enjoys a dormant condition during winter and flourishes back in summer.

Ricin isn't a seed you idiot. Ricin is a toxic protein extracted from the beans of the Castor plant. The beans themselves are poisionous to humans! Notice in the article how they had ricin and not *even* castor beans? Ricin has no other purpose than being a poison. Sorry, but when ricin is found, there is only one conclusion.

There is no propaganda here, only people falling for your lies.

Originally posted by aitrus
Ricin isn't a seed you idiot. Ricin is a toxic protein extracted from the beans of the Castor plant. The beans themselves are poisionous to humans! Notice in the article how they had ricin and not *even* castor beans? Ricin has no other purpose than being a poison. Sorry, but when ricin is found, there is only one conclusion.

There is no propaganda here, only people falling for your lies.
Aitrus; Your orgasms in your own saliva are OK, but that you wanke with your own ignorance, is a little too much.

Quote: From Cornell University (Animal Science Department).
_____________________________________________
The seeds from the castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, are poisonous to people, animals and insects. One of the main toxic proteins is "ricin", named by Stillmark in 1888 when he tested the beans' extract on red blood cells and saw them agglutinate. Now we know that the agglutination was due to another toxin that was also present, called RCA (Ricinus communis agglutinin).
______________________________________________

….Obviously if this is how easy you come to conclusions, God have mersy on your soul!!

OMG, Ok, so there are seeds in the beans. Big Deal.

The Ricin is still a toxin, and traces of it were found. Yes, the beans may be used for castor oil, but in addition, they found the poison, and not just in the seedcake. It isn't propaganda, its a dangerous chemical that would very likely have been used for terrorism.

Originally posted by aitrus
OMG, Ok, so there are seeds in the beans. Big Deal.


Oh, …so now its OK! ….It is a seed after all!

Perhaps you should try in the future not to cover-up your ignorance behind insults.

Oh, looks whos talking!

The seeds don't matter, they are beside the point. The fact is, Ricin is still a poison and by itself, in the form they found it, it has only one purpose.

You are the one who is ignoring the fact by continuing discussion on the trivial issue of the seeds!

Gentlemen please!

...This thread contains enough poison as it is ;)

Originally posted by Vortexx
Gentlemen please!

...This thread contains enough poison as it is ;)

But …..I was just trying to informing “airtrus” correctly before he poisons himself !!

Community services ….you know?

Originally posted by Microzoft
But …..I was just trying to informing “airtrus” correctly before he poisons himself !! From now on, I'm going to refer to you as "Lenny." (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140177396/qid=1042369611/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-8186356-5823929)

How dumb is this?

The BBC has been telling people how easy Ricin is to make! And how to make it!! I mean, puh-lease!! You only need to get a few things from a garden store and you can make it

Originally posted by Kyle_S
From now on, I'm going to refer to you as "Lenny." (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140177396/qid=1042369611/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-8186356-5823929) Well, I could call you Scott or Joemann!!:)