Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/16/did-the-us-try-to-weaponize-ti.html
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Ignoring the stupid conspiracy angle (shades of the similar bullshit about the origin of HIV), “ticks and other insects”? Ticks aren’t insects, for crying out loud!
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Some further explanation of the theory:
https://sites.newpaltz.edu/ticktalk/social-attitudes/story-by-smaranda-dumitru/
I live near there and got the bite. I felt like I was dying until I found the bullseye rash and got some good antibiotics in my system. Night sweats, diarrhea, headaches, everything hurt.
Whether the Govt is responsible for the origin or not, we need a lot more research into this growing problem.
Also, it’s not just “lyme.” Ticks carry a ton of different pathogens.
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Do not expect a GOP legislator to understand biology.
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I’m sure that the investigation will be worth the time and money.
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I fear it’ll barely scratch the surface.
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It may have escaped and moved into the White House
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We need a lot, but any money spent on conspiracy theory wrangling is money not spent on researching treatment and containment of the little monsters. The idea that someone had the knowledge to understand the life cycle of both ticks and lyme bacteria and were able to somehow predict it could spread so easily and be so devastating and hard to treat is ludicrous. A few people largely did engineer this, and a few other zoonoses and plagues but they didn’t mean to, and anyway they’re long dead. There names were Henry Ford, Edwin Drake and John Rockefeller.
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Now I’m all itchy.
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Given the number of bizarre ideas that got serious play from the military and intelligence establishment 1950-70, this would not surprise me at all. But if we discover they did experiment with ticks, then what?
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No, that one was more handsome, and did better on TV.
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My days modding a UFO-conspiracy-paranormal site exposed me to zillions of alleged revelations. Yes, the US gov’t (likely) tried weaponizing dolphins, mosquitoes, lampreys, bees, foxes, hippies, and dental fillings. Ticks too? Sure, why not.
Ft Meade likely has a “bug zone” of quiet psycho-entomology labs churning out mind-controlled arthropods, cheaper than the micro-drones that will soon envelop us. MC-ticks can take DNA samples for positive ID of targets. Ouch? It’s like seeing the laser point on your chest – a bullet is next.
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my favorite galaxy brained theory is gary mckinnon did find saucer pics, but they were just black projects, hence the americans attempting to drag his ass across the ocean
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The Cold War was certainly our kookiest war of all… so much weird shit going on. I would not be surprised if this was happening too… and it would even have been the weirdest secret thing the DOD did during that era.
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You left out cats. That’s a thing that happened. They say the experiment was a failure, but I’m pretty sure my cat is spying on me, stealing my ideas.
You mentioned dolphins, so here’s the Navy’s marine mammal program, which is ongoing. “The origins of the program date back to 1960…”
And then there’s Operation Midnight Climax, which happily did not involve innocent animals, but will make you say “Jesus Christ” under your breath.
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And scratchy. Oof oof.
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SPOON!!!
(And here is some text to satisfy the BBS spam heuristics. Way to step on my line!)
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