“Evacuations in progress. Still unconfirmed by any major media sources.” (h/t Old Texas Turkey, in the comments here).
More as it develops (or fizzles).
update: From ABC’s Brian Ross, writing for The Blotter:
United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous nerve gas, phosgene, as they were cleaning out offices at a U.N. building in New York this morning, federal authorities tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.The federal authorities said the office, in a U.N. building near headquarters, was being evacuated and the White House had been notified at 10 a.m.
New York police and fire officials reported to the scene around 12:15 this afternoon.
A U.N. spokesperson said a statement would be issued shortly.
Authorities said the phosgene was believed to have been discovered in Iraq and manufactured prior to 1991.
Former U.N. weapons inspectors told ABCNews.com that vials of phosgene had also been used by inspectors in Iraq to help calibrate air sampling instruments.
That’s a possibility, sure. Or maybe the vials just got mixed in with one of the big ass boxes of kickback loot Saddam was spreading around.
Accidents happen, you know.
Comment by JD on 8/30 @ 10:23 am #
As John Edwards would say, terrorism is just a bumper sticker slogan.
Comment by tim maguire on 8/30 @ 10:37 am #
“Fizzles” I suspect. They don’t say what offices were being cleaned out, but since it was weapons inspectors doing the cleaning, my guess is it is their own.
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 10:39 am #
So the weapons were hidden there all this time and the inspectors never found them until they moved?
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 10:40 am #
This has to be a joke.
Comment by l4n3 on 8/30 @ 10:42 am #
Not important, but phosgene is not a nerve gas. It messes up your lungs, not your nerves…
Nice fact checking MSM
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 10:51 am #
I wish someone in my office would find a vial of phosgene.
Comment by T-web on 8/30 @ 10:54 am #
Wow. We were so close to finding out if John Bolton was right in saying we could remove 10 floors from the UN and nobody would notice.
In all seriousness, though, I’m glad everyone’s ok.
Trackback by Sister Toldjah on 8/30 @ 10:55 am #
Breaking: “Dangerous” chemical vials found at UN headquarters…
Via Fox News:
DEVELOPING STORY: Vials of dangerous chemicals believed originating from Iraq were discovered Thursday in the world headquarters of the United Nations in the heart of New York City.
No evacuations were ordered, and there was no immediate …
Comment by Major John on 8/30 @ 10:57 am #
I sure hope we hear from “Regis” later on…
Trackback by Liberty Pundit on 8/30 @ 11:11 am #
Breaking: Terrorism At The UN?…
Apparently not:
United Nations weapons inspectors discovered six to eight vials of a dangerous…
……
Comment by SarahW on 8/30 @ 11:15 am #
John Davy
Stained his tie with some gravy
He tried bleach and some sunshine
and his eyes started cryin’
Comment by A fine scotch on 8/30 @ 11:22 am #
According to CNN.com, the samples have been on-site for more than a decade.
See here:http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/30/un.gas/index.html
Comment by SarahW on 8/30 @ 11:34 am #
Just run of the mill sloppiness. Who among us hasn’t kept a lost a vial or two of lung-ripper in back of the file-o-fax? I know I have.
Comment by Hypocritical Extremist on 8/30 @ 11:42 am #
Phosgene is not a nerve agent. It is a blood agent. It smells like freshly cut grass.
Comment by SarahW on 8/30 @ 11:49 am #
It makes hydrocloric acid in contact with water. It burns your eyes and lungs. Nasty and stingy. And the smell…sometimes not even noticeable…When concentrated, it’s like clorine and ammonia, only worse.
Comment by Squid on 8/30 @ 12:04 pm #
Nasty and stingy.
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s an ill-tempered, miserly chemical agent.
Comment by McGehee on 8/30 @ 12:12 pm #
I think the initial report was misinterpreted as a result of a typo. It should have read, “Nerve and gas found at UN bldg.”
Which, that just means everybody showed up for work.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 8/30 @ 12:13 pm #
Wait, I thought Saddam didn’t have any WMDs……
Comment by JD on 8/30 @ 12:20 pm #
Combining the UN and the Media is a recipe for bad actions and even worse reporting.
Comment by eLarson on 8/30 @ 12:35 pm #
It smells like freshly cut grass.
Honey… I think we need a new lawn service.
Comment by topsecretk9 on 8/30 @ 12:42 pm #
Can one even believe this is Shifting Sands – UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter
Testimony of Major Scott Ritter
Former Chief, Concealment Investigations Unit
U.N. Special Commission on Iraq
House International Relations Committee
September 15, 1998
Comment by topsecretk9 on 8/30 @ 12:57 pm #
Actually, my bad –Comment by topsecretk9 on 8/30 @ 12:42 pm #- that was someone with prescience commenting on Ritter’s testimony…sorry
Comment by BJTexs on 8/30 @ 1:01 pm #
Ha! I was having a tough time visualising Ritter using the word CASTRATO in a Senate hearing!
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 1:14 pm #
The Chicago “bank robbery standoff” today has been hysterical. No one has any idea where the bank robbery is, and he may or may not have held hostages, which have been released, if they were in fact hostages. Here’s my favorite part so far:
Dogs and robots.
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 1:15 pm #
oops – robbery = robber
Comment by topsecretk9 on 8/30 @ 1:22 pm #
–Ha! I was having a tough time visualising Ritter using the word CASTRATO in a Senate hearing!–
Yeah, I know – the formatting of the page didn’t distinguish Ritter vs. commenter very well, that’s why I was a little astonished it would be him.
Comment by Rick on 8/30 @ 1:26 pm #
Off-topic, but pursuant to a couple posts earlier this week, more hard-to-spot media trend in
From NRO’s Corner.
Cordially…
Comment by Rick on 8/30 @ 1:27 pm #
Ahhh…bugger. Here’s the addy: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/columnists/carl_hiaasen/v-print/story/155598.html
,,,for “Guess the Party.”
Comment by BJTexs on 8/30 @ 1:33 pm #
Is it just me, Rick, or was there no mention of party affiliation?
I’m asking this humbly and carefully because as a conservative I’m genetically predisposed to blaming bias in the media.
Comment by Ardsgaine on 8/30 @ 1:40 pm #
So that’s where I left them!
Comment by davec on 8/30 @ 2:12 pm #
They said they were not samples FROM Iraq. They were samples supposedly used to calibrate sensors that are used to detect C/BW agents. An interesting point is how easy it was for them to get back into the United Nations building — assuming even the diplomatic nature of items taken to the U.N does that mean they are not searched at all?
Trackback by Stix Blog on 8/30 @ 2:15 pm #
Now we know where the WMDs went…
They were at the UN. Kind of makes you wonder about the UN inspectors. They couldn’t keep track of WMDs at their office, so how are they going to tell what is what in Iraq Dangerous Iraq chemicals found stored…
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 2:32 pm #
Oh. I thought this was more about breaking news generally. Nevermind about the Chicago thing then. Scott Ritter is a strange guy. What’s he been doing lately, anyone know?
Comment by Rick on 8/30 @ 2:38 pm #
BJTexs
None that I could see. Let’s note here that it wasn’t a proper story, but a column. Still…I guess our visiting journalist the other day would say the “D” is important, because there’s no news value/hypocrisy in a Democrat being corrupt. I mean, such is certainly not “new,” nor is there any integrity to grate against.
Cordially…
Comment by Phone Technican in a Time of Roaming on 8/30 @ 3:24 pm #
I remember visiting the UN in New York. The gift shop doesn’t charge sales tax because it’s not part of New York.
So, does the UN support itself with a tax free furniture store with fleets of moving vans with diplomatic plates?No, they do not.
Some organizations lack gumption.
Comment by Ric Locke on 8/30 @ 4:29 pm #
happyfeet — since the UN is Sanctified Hallowed Ground, where No Wrongdoing Is Possible Except By the American Ambassador and his Staff, the media required something to take attention away from the poison gas story. Five gets you twenty the perp in Chicago works, however indirectly, for either Knight-Ridder or one of the TV networks.
Regards,
Ric
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 4:37 pm #
that’s good thinking – they still don’t have the guy, though they have for sure definitely decided the hostages were not hostages.
Silver lining:
I wonder if the violent crimes task force has dogs and robots.
Comment by Brian on 8/30 @ 5:10 pm #
“Former U.N. weapons inspectors told ABCNews.com that vials of phosgene had also been used by inspectors in Iraq to help calibrate air sampling instruments.”
Heh. This is why I don’t do experiments anymore. Chemists like the UN inspectors handle scary compounds all the time, and inevitably get complacent about the dangers in their labs. Handle phosgene every day for a year, and pretty soon you’ll have vials of it rattling around in the desk drawer where you keep your supply of extra pens and microwave popcorn. I’ve seen considerably nastier compounds handled in similarly cavalier fashion, and had to evacuate several buildings on account of this behavior. The only question, really, is why the Hell the weapons people keep their lab equipment and supplies in the headquarters complex.
Not coincidentally, chemists tend to die relatively young from exotic varieties of cancer.
Comment by happyfeet on 8/30 @ 5:19 pm #
That’s depressing.
Comment by Swen Swenson on 8/30 @ 9:07 pm #
Phosgene? Pfah. This is what happens when you keep jello shots unrefrigerated in your desk drawer.
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