IMF Gets Anthraxed & Death Takes a Holiday Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [Like the party awaiting Resident Smirk in Europe, here's another bit of news being studiously ignored by the US TeeVee networks in favor of hysterical bulletins about which NYC landmarks are most at risk, according to 'uncorroborated' warnings from an alleged al Qaeda prisoner under US 'interrogation.'] IMF GETS ANTHRAXED AND DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY BBC Online - May 21, 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1999000/1999905.stm> Bank staff off over anthrax alert Employees at the World Bank in Washington have been advised to stay at home for two days because an anthrax test on mail sent to their building came back positive. But a second test of the mail, also done on Monday, came back negative. The World Bank has sent the mail to a private tester for a more thorough analysis, which can take up to three days to complete. Preliminary tests often give false positives. The US Government is also reported to be preparing to give lie detector tests to hundreds of federal workers at two facilities where anthrax is stored, hoping to identify suspects in letter attacks perpetrated last year. Five Americans died and at least 13 other people were infected but recovered, after envelopes containing anthrax spores were sent to the US Congress and prominent media figures. The World Bank's employees, who normally work at one of the institution's five buildings in Washington, have been asked to work from home if possible. An annex of the bank's main building, it houses the bank's African division and the World Bank Institute, its training arm. Polygraph tests The US Government wants to administer lie detector tests to as many as 200 current and former employees, ABC News reported on Monday. Staff at facilities in Fort Detrick, Maryland, near Washington, and Dugway Proving Ground, close to Salt Lake City, Utah, are expected to be tested in June. As the trail for suspects grows cold, the polygraphs are expected to give investigators new leads, ABC said. Citing unidentified sources and law enforcement officials, ABC said the anthrax that was sent through the mail last autumn is consistent with the Ames anthrax strain stored at Fort Detrick and then distributed to labs for research. The government will focus on workers who had expertise in preparing anthrax for use as a weapon and those who may have had access to it. One official interviewed said the plan to test employees did not mean the government already has a suspect. * BBC Online - May 21, 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_2001000/2001086.stm IMF mail 'positive for anthrax' The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said mail it received in Washington has tested positive for the anthrax bacteria. It said the results of the tests were not conclusive and further investigations were being carried out. "There was an initial positive test but it's not a conclusive one and as a precaution the mail room was sealed," said IMF spokesman Fransisco Baker. The news comes as employees at the World Bank in Washington were advised to stay at home for two days because mail sent to their building tested positive for the bacteria. The IMF said preliminary tests had produced negative results but the mail was re-tested at the organisation's headquarters following the World Bank alert. Mr Baker said medical experts at the IMF did not believe the findings would pose a threat. Earlier this month, the US Federal Reserve said traces of anthrax were found in preliminary tests on its mail and more tests were being carried out. Lie detector tests The discovery of possible anthrax spores at the IMF came amid reports that the US Government was planning to give lie detector tests to hundreds of federal workers at two facilities where the bacteria is stored. The move is part of continuing investigations into a spate of anthrax attacks by mail across the United States last year. Five Americans died and at least 13 other people were infected but recovered after envelopes containing anthrax spores were sent to the US Congress and prominent media figures. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytact-05.22.02-02:58:29-32150