Much of the University of Texas medical school on this island suffered flood damage during Hurricane Ike in September, except for one gleaming new building, a national biological defense laboratory that will soon house some of the most deadly diseases in the world.
How a laboratory where scientists plan to study viruses like Ebola and Marburg ended up on a barrier island where hurricanes regularly wreak havoc puzzles some environmentalists and community leaders.
“It’s crazy, in my mind,” said Jim Blackburn, an environmental lawyer in Houston. “I just find an amazing willingness among the people on the Texas coast to accept risks that a lot of people in the country would not accept.”
Words like “gullible” and “ignorant” come to mind.
The project enjoyed the strong support of three influential Texas Republicans: President George W. Bush, a former Texas governor; Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison; and the former House majority leader, Tom DeLay, whose district includes part of Galveston County. Officials at the National Institutes of Health, however, say the decision to put the lab here was based purely on the merits. It is to open Nov. 11.
The laboratory is one of two the Bush administration pushed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The second is being built at Boston University Medical Center, where it met stiff community resistance.
Not so in Texas, where there was hardly a whimper of protest. For starters, the University of Texas Medical Branch is one of the largest employers on the island of 57,000 people.
The laboratory will do research into diseases like Ebola, anthrax, tularemia, West Nile virus, drug-resistant tuberculosis, bubonic plague, avian influenza and typhus.
Does Texas “deserve” this facility? Is this really a “reward” for Republican loyalty?
I guess it’s hard finding real things to complain about Bush with isn’t it? How sad.
This is the dumbest thing I have ever read. Well that and every post from Paddy Cake the ignorant Shit Talker and Pedro.
Its called pork.
A present to his adopted state of Texas.
Cursor_
Maybe Texas should get the nookyuler waste repository, too.
And Matt…Iraq, FEMA, US DoJ, Harriet Meyers, everything Rumsfeld touched, Cheney’s papers, and I’ll stop there to spare your dignity.
#1 Matt – You are indeed a unique individual. You certainly must be one of the 13 people in the US that still support this idiot. And we are lucky to have you here. Comic relief and all that.
This soooo much reminds me of Britian’s Anthrax Island!
http://tinyurl.com/6ppp57
Read much?
“Much of the University of Texas medical school on this island suffered flood damage during Hurricane Ike in September, except for one gleaming new building, a national biological defense laboratory”
Obviously, they took location into account when they built the place. Like when you build in an earthquake zone (all of CA).
Some people like to complain for no reason though.
That’s awesome! it’s a Video game waiting to Happen when the Zombie Virus gets released!
Actually we in Texas wondered the same thing and asked why the fools did that , we got no answer and they just kept building
Is this any different than spending billions of dollars so people can continue to live below sea level in Louisiana?
Do we have to wait until January 20th to get rid of this clown? The sooner Obama moves in the better.
Hey Paddy, lot’s of engineer’s “take thing’s into account.” Thats why “Engineering Disaster’s” on Discover Channel is so much fun.
#13 Olo Baggins, LOL!
Another episode waiting to happen!
#13 Olo Bilgewater of Bywater said, “Thats why “Engineering Disaster’s” on Discover Channel”
Well, if they had blown it we would be seeing it on that channel. But, since they actually did built it correctly (read blog entry) we didn’t & won’t.
What was your point again?
For an example of CRACKER-JACK ENGINEERING, go to You Tube and search for:
Tacoma Narrows Bridge Collapse
Those Engineers “Took things into account” …
This one storm proves everything, eh? Maybe you really are as dumb as you appear.
Umm, the story says it is built to withstand winds of up to 140 MPH. According to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml, that means some Category 4 and all category 5’5 would be too strong. Nothing like a good virus in all the waste water that eventually drains into the oceans.
And you were worried about Saddam having a biologiical weapons program…
I know, I know, they aren’t doing weapons research there, or so they say…..
/bla bla bla
-sounds about right.
remember the “lax security” and other
news that came out about lawrence livermore
labs (LLNL)in CA, -and i think other DoD labs up in Berkely a few years back.. (something about a monkey escaping maybe)
well iirc, that was precedence for the reason to cancel some of the (bio and nano tech) projects at LLNL. (which was the sole contractor for 60+ years with DoD (or more accurately, probably DARPA) -and ofc, labs/universities in Texas “won” the
new contracts..
-alot defense of stuff has been moved to texas in the past several years..
elsewhere, iirc, a new bio defense/countermeasure lab is opening this year at fort detrick, in maryland. -a bunch
of other level 4 labs with tasty pathogens have been opened up around the country in areas
that make them perfect for creating escalated disasters if an accident occurs, or of course, terror happy folks bring a wrench to throw in the works.
-not to mention the “cold space war” we are silently leading, even though there was a pact signed years ago about keeping space for peaceful purposes only..
i have always loved the mechanics behind warfare.. especially the tech that eventually trickles down to civilians from it. -but as of late..i cant say i’m too proud of the blatant disregard of treaties and similar concepts we’ve been breaking in the name of national security..
/bla bla bla
-s
#16
-thats the bridge that started oscillating like a mad rubber band isnt it? -had one car on it, iirc..
wonder how many times those engineers got smacked on the back of the head for that one..
-s
# 18 AC_in_mich said: “Nothing like a good virus in all the waste water that eventually drains into the oceans.” – sorta like “The Andromeda Strain” !!!
Wiki at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain
P.S. to the above: But of course, Bush NEVER READ THE BOOK !!!
Our biological weapons program (er, defensive biowarfare program, forgot my doublespeak) is so poorly managed, and so full of nutters and incompetents, it’s a miracle we’ve all not succumbed to ‘Mr. Trips’ yet. Over the last few years, we’ve seen deadly diseases sent via fed-ex, a significant amount of weaponized anthrax somehow leak out of the program and into our mail and congress, the revival of the 1918 flu for ‘research purposes’, and the placement of a lot of level 3/4 facilities in the most psychotic of places. This facility is only one example; at OSU a few years ago, they tried to build a level 4 right next to the day care center for the professors children! ‘Cause, we all know that nothing improves the security of a facility dealing with deadly pathogens more than having a bunch of kids running around!
# 24 Li, Just EVEN MORE “MISERABLE FAILURE” FROM THE DUMBYA BUSH AND PRICK CHENEY “WAR-PROFITEERING ” WAR MONGERS !!!
#5 Mr. Must–er, Monster’s Lawyer
Incorrect:
#1 Matt – You are indeed a unique individual. You certainly must be one of the 13 people in the US that still support this idiot. And we are lucky to have you here. Comic relief and all that.
Correct:
#1 Matt – You are indeed a unique individual. (redundant). You certainly must be one of the 13 people in the U.S. that still supports (verb takes the singular subject “one” not prepositional phrase) this idiot (at least he understands and can write English – unlike yourself). And we are lucky to have you here. Comic relief and all that. (incomplete sentence).
Doing what I can to educate one idiot at a time.
# 26 brendal
“Doing what I can to educate one idiot at a time.”
You should start with yourself. Unique and individual are not redundant. They have different meanings. But in your need to be a puddknocker, you probably thought you are beyond making a mistake. “Arrogance is the downfall of the arrogant.”
I have my eye on you. You little cock munch!! I will point out every error I see you make.
Hmmmm… Brendal and Paddy-O… the troll twins.
# 26 brendal
Oh! I left out the part about individual being used as a noun, not an adjective, in that sentence. That would make the sentence perfectly fine.
You arrogant douchknozzle! THIS IS A BLOG!!!
brendal, as long as we’re (you’re) being nitpicking douchbag(s), shouldn’t it be “one of the 13 people in the U.S. *who* still…”?
Just sayin’ (that you’re a douchbag).
The building survives a direct hit and some people complain. WTF.
One day you guys are going to have to leave your stainless steel envirohabs and venture out into the risky real world where shit might kill you. Get over it. Well, actually I hope you never leave your happy place it’s so much nicer without your whiny ass in the real world.