Are they spraying for more Medflies?

February 20, 2003 9:00 AM

If it happened here. A lengthy, reality-based scenario of a bioterrorism attack on Los Angeles (and its aftermath). Like a horror movie.
posted by xowie (39 comments total)

sorry, but politely f-that.
articles like this are a scare tactic sensationalizing a soap opera. even if they're plausible (and the threat is real, which i can't even tell anymore) it's irresponsible of the press to worry the public like this.
posted by Peter H at 9:07 AM on February 20, 2003

Why? The odds of something like this happening somewhere, eventually, are greater than not. This was well done, and scary enough to file under "can't-think-about-it, not-listening-la-la-la."

If they're smart, though, they'll hit somewhere in the heartland like Omaha or Santa Fe. True terror will come from feeling nowhere is safe.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:13 AM on February 20, 2003

The odds of something like this happening somewhere, eventually, are greater than not.

Really? I'd like to see how you estimated that probability.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 9:18 AM on February 20, 2003

Relax, it's just fiction. Very well written and absorbing, imho.
posted by xowie at 9:19 AM on February 20, 2003

it's irresponsible of the press to worry the public like this.

I agree...now if we can only get Tom Ridge and the government to stop worrying the public we'll be on the right track
posted by batboy at 9:20 AM on February 20, 2003

Really? I'd like to see how you estimated that probability.

Just a gut feeling. Factor in how many, many people would want to do this, what percentage of them could actually do it, how hard (or not) it would be to pull off, divide by the sheer size of the country, and I think it's only a matter of time.

Call me a pessimist, but hey. Things like this, containing at least a few facts, leave me feeling a little more informed than vague-to-meaningless color-threat-levels.

I almost typed "passimist", which would have been an interesting slip...
posted by gottabefunky at 9:26 AM on February 20, 2003

i guess i'm responding more to the other media nonsense. like that everpresent "TERROR ALERT HIGH" orange icon on MSNBC or those weathered speedmetal corroded font designs for 'war on terror" on FOX news, etc. any news that continues to bias me into either a) anticipating war or b) fearing my unknown enemies - contributes to what is already a bunch news outlets treating the iraq situation like don king promoted the rumble in the jungle. any news adding to people's phobias is bad news at this point. even if it's responsibly handled, there's too much already before it for it to be responsible and non-propaganda.
posted by Peter H at 9:30 AM on February 20, 2003

Reality TV tanks, as the utter banality of shows like Survivor and The Bachelor finally sinks in

Relax, it's just fiction
posted by thomcatspike at 9:30 AM on February 20, 2003

In the New York Times this past weekend, Gregg Easterbrook discussed the threat from chemical and biological weapons as compared to conventional explosives or nuclear/radiological bombs.
posted by pitchblende at 9:32 AM on February 20, 2003

Bioterrorism Risk May Be Overstated.
posted by gwint at 9:35 AM on February 20, 2003

And not to get all Neal-Pollack-aesthetic on the writer, but the prose was so purple that it was like reading a precocious eighth grader's account of what a bioterror attack would be like.
posted by COBRA! at 9:39 AM on February 20, 2003

Isn't this the second series of '24'?
posted by Summer at 9:42 AM on February 20, 2003

in what way is this more educational than a lengthy, reality-based scenario of a fully laden fuel truck ploughing into a kiddies high school?
posted by gravelshoes at 9:43 AM on February 20, 2003

There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek there about the film industry. Someone with the same name as the author wrote a movie that looks, well, pretty cool. I didn't post it to be educational (or political). It's entertainment.
posted by xowie at 9:46 AM on February 20, 2003

Relax, it's just fiction

And newspaper reporters are now officially allowed to write fiction? I guess it saves the difficulty of actually finding news to report.
posted by ptermit at 9:47 AM on February 20, 2003

C-172s don't normally leave contrails. I'm not sure a crop duster would get very far in our post-9/11 paranoid world.
posted by bondcliff at 9:49 AM on February 20, 2003

A young man in a white jump suit, claiming to be from the health department, goes door-to-door in a Culver City singles complex, telling young women to disrobe so he can wash off "all those nasty anthrax spores."

To the surprise of their friends and neighbors, a few writers and artists suddenly seem unaccountably happy. Prior to the anthrax attack, they'd reached middle age with little to show for it while their college classmates had gone on to become doctors, lawyers and founders of powerful companies. Now that it appears that "we're all going to die anyway," their lifelong failures don't matter anymore and, consequently, their spirits soar.

Nice touches.
posted by gottabefunky at 9:52 AM on February 20, 2003

No kidding, COBRA

"...he is about to pass over the sprawling Brentwood home of a high-powered movie agent who, at the moment, is standing on her tennis court, totally dominating a bearded, paunchy screenwriter with her powerful forehand and blazing serve."

Christ, what pulp. He might as well have started out with:

"It was a dark and stormy night..."
posted by psmealey at 10:24 AM on February 20, 2003

Needlessly alarmist, but thought-provoking. The part of "bearded, paunchy screenwriter" was played with gusto but frankly left me a little flat.

Still, made me glad we've got Keifer Sutherland to protect us here in Southern California.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:31 AM on February 20, 2003

Working for a company several years ago that specialized in creating units that detected chemical and biological threats to military bases, i'm sorry to tell you that this is actually a VERY plausible scenario :(

Studies done by the US military indicated that a crop duster provided the best method of dispensing weapons grade biological weapons. In the scenario, you don't need much more than a few tablespoons of anthrax mixed into water to efficiently destroy a city. Not only that, but symptoms do take a few days to develop and determining who did it before they were long gone would be nearly impossible.

If i can find the studies with numbers i'll post them in a follow-up.
posted by clamb at 10:32 AM on February 20, 2003

Yeah, this is bunk. Just a big scare tactic. Next thing you know, some fear-monger will write a story about people flying jumbo jets into 100-story skyscrapers.
posted by pardonyou? at 10:32 AM on February 20, 2003

And newspaper reporters are now officially allowed to write fiction? I guess it saves the difficulty of actually finding news to report.

The LA Weekly isn't really what I would call a legitimate newspaper. It's just another one of those silly local What's going on in Town newspapers that you get for free from the rack next to the door at record shops and the like. The paper isn't published to give its readers the latest news, but to entertain and let people know where to hang out on the weekend.
posted by Restlessavenger at 10:51 AM on February 20, 2003

Yeah, this is bunk. Just a big scare tactic. Next thing you know, some fear-monger will write a story about people flying jumbo jets into 100-story skyscrapers.

Yeah, I like it. Your jumbo jet idea would have a certain dramatic and special effect appeal. But let's see...other story lines....I guess what we damned sure don't want is a story about how economic "sanctions" or arms sales could slowly kill thousands of children. Ick. Booooring.

That story would need a little something....some pizzazz. Would you recommend just penciling in cruise missiles, or maybe go all out with the twisted love triangles within a strategic bombing wing? Is Tom Cruise available for the movie? Let's do lunch.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 10:54 AM on February 20, 2003

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the LA Weekly is more of an alternative weekly newspaper akin to the Village Voice (which I adore). Its editorial mission is to serve up feature-length "newsertainment" pieces with a heavy concentration on the arts, film and music and a smattering of current events coverage and political analysis. When taking this article in context of the editorial content, it's a reasonable piece for the paper to publish. It reads like pulp short fiction with hints of satire. The story line reminds of the 1995 Dustin Hoffman stinker, Outbreak, minus the monkey. Can 't you just see Hoffman as the veterinarian and Angela Bassett as the high-powered agent? Maybe the studio could throw an ebola-infected monkey into the mix for added drama and make Outbreak II: The Terror Continues. The tag line could be "Duct tape wasn't enough."

With each passing day, I lose faith in U.S. news sources. I'm tired of the fear I feel when I see or read a news piece about terrorist attack preparedness and possible doomsday scenarios. The media hype smacks of the Cold War era paranoia of my parents' generation.

The best strategy I've found is to turn off CNN and MSNBC and look elsewhere,. The Washington Post, the New York Times, NPR and a few European journals are my best bets for responsible journalism these days.

This LA Weekly story disturbed me. I don't think pieces like this help the current pandemonium, but the story is what it is and IMHO that's fluff. It's my responsibility as a reader and viewer to sort through the fluff and hype and make rational informed decisions.

Does a fictional piece on a possible bioterrrorism attack even qualify as journalism anyway?
posted by VelvetHellvis at 11:35 AM on February 20, 2003

F**k journalism or story-telling...this is a largely realistic account of what *could* happen if a nutjob/terrorist/etc decided to launch a chem/bio attack. I don't care if it's meant to be particularly "alarming," or frighten people into buying more duct tape, or scoffing even more loudly at Ridge & Co...bottom line, it's one possible scenario that can/should/might serve to enlighten readers. Like pardon_you? said, 18 months ago, who among us would have figured that the events of 9/11 were "plausible," let alone conceivable?
posted by davidmsc at 12:00 PM on February 20, 2003

What I don't get is that everybody in the story is like: "whoa...anthrax..." Like the thought hadn't occurred to them but otherwise they are all super geniuses.

Its like a horror movie -- awful.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:08 PM on February 20, 2003

it's one possible scenario that can/should/might serve to enlighten readers.

How is it more "enlightening" than watching Outbreak?
posted by Armitage Shanks at 12:13 PM on February 20, 2003

Isn't this the second series of '24'?

Having lived through the bombing campaigns in London, I'm at least glad that, having moved to LA, we're only suffering from fictional terrorist attacks.

Mind you, they're almost as scary, that imaginary plane flew right over my house...

...and boy am I glad I didn't take the job in New York.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 12:25 PM on February 20, 2003

Anthrax is a pathetic bio-weapon.

It takes up to 60 days for inhaled anthrax (as described in this badly written fiction) to develop symptoms, with fatalities occuring once secondary symptoms appear. Some are weaker than others, so a tiny percentage of the population will get sick faster and may die. This will cue a medical response, and the entire city has about a month to treat the population who, at the time, are suffering no symptoms of exposure.

Anthrax is not contagious and the spores are no longer infectious once they hit the ground or have been airborne for over a month. Given the radiation we Angelenos face every day, they probably won't survive past a week. ;)

If you want to kill a city, anthrax isn't going to work.
posted by linux at 12:26 PM on February 20, 2003

Wow, inpHilltr8r, you were in WWII? Those damned buzz bombs, I tell you -- we'll hafta get them Germans this time...
posted by Ogre Lawless at 12:27 PM on February 20, 2003

Wow, inpHilltr8r, you were in WWII?

Nope, the IRA.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 12:58 PM on February 20, 2003

Doh! That's not to say I was in the IRA, just living in London while, well, you know...
posted by inpHilltr8r at 1:09 PM on February 20, 2003

Aw... come off it. You were never going to get bombed in bloody Edgware. You should have tried Ealing if you wanted to live dangerously.
posted by bifter at 1:27 PM on February 20, 2003

You were never going to get bombed in bloody Edgware.

I frequented and crossed central london enough times to surface during more than one bomb scare. The Dean street pub bombing in '99 (although admittedly not the IRA, but a bomb's a bomb) was on my regular weekend record shopping route. Jeez, it's not like you'd actually want to spend more time than you have to in Edgware...
posted by inpHilltr8r at 2:11 PM on February 20, 2003

The last couple paragraphs give me the definite impression that the author thinks that an anthrax attack on LA would be a damn fine thing to happen. :)
posted by aeschenkarnos at 3:49 PM on February 20, 2003

Here's another bio-terror scenario from the cdc, this time involving smallpox.
posted by entropy at 6:07 PM on February 20, 2003

"And the Dodgers, citing the difficulty of getting other teams to play in Chavez Ravine, move their schedule to Bakersfield, where, for reasons no one can figure out, they win 22 of their first 25 games. "

(snrk snrk snrk)
posted by alumshubby at 7:46 PM on February 20, 2003

I frequented and crossed central london enough times to surface during more than one bomb scare. The Dean street pub bombing in '99 (although admittedly not the IRA, but a bomb's a bomb) was on my regular weekend record shopping route. Jeez, it's not like you'd actually want to spend more time than you have to in Edgware...

It's funny you talk about living through those times, when we had regular terrorist attacks that killed people - yet the Government of the time managed to be less alarmist than the one we have now, even though members of that Government were personally affected. I find it all amazing.
posted by Summer at 1:31 AM on February 21, 2003

I find it all amazing.

It might have something to do with London already having been bombed quite heavily in living memory.

It's also possible that there's a difference between conventional explosives, and the invisible death style weapons we're currently "threatened" with. Certainly friends I've talked to, back in the capital, are more worried about the recent Ricin discoveries than they ever were about IRA bombs.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 3:22 PM on February 22, 2003