With the NSA already combing through and recording every form of electronic communication (or 1.6% of all global internet traffic to be precise), it was only a matter of time before a scare involving plain vanilla physical mail took place. Such as what just happened at JFK airport at 9 am this morning, when as ABC reports (with a substantial delay) that "Two postal inspectors at JFK Airport were sickened Sunday after opening a package at a postal processing facility. Field tests showed an initial finding of nerve gas, though authorities believe it's a low likelihood that it's actually nerve gas. It is more likely a standard-use chemical that shouldn't have been in the mail like a solvent or degreaser. The FBI was called in and additional testing is underway. The condition of the customs agents is not yet known."
Further confirmed information was not available, although the Post reported (so assume a negligible factual hit rate) that the toxic agent in question was VX, the nerve gas best known from the Connery-Cage movie, The Rock.
The highly lethal nerve agent VX -- used in weapons of mass destruction -- appears to have been discovered in a mail facility at JFK Airport and sickened two US customs agents this morning, a law-enforcement source said.
Both victims suffered respiratory distress and were taken for emergency treatment after being overcome while inside the US Postal Service facility on North Boundary Road at 9:40 a.m., the source said.
Initial testing after the incident revealed the presence of "chemical-grade weapons and nerve gas," and subsequent testing produced a positive reading for VX, the source said.
VX is a synthetic substance that is the most potent of all known nerve agents and can cause death through skin contact or inhalation.
The scene of the incident is a giant facility that processes overseas mail bound for the eastern United States.
The building and a US Customs facility about a quarter-mile away have both been quarantined, but airport operations so far remain unaffected.
With the summer doldrums upon us, is this merely another false flag affair to keep the public on its toes ahead of potential military action in numerous Middle East countries? Or is there some "foreigner" - supposedly operating out of Syria with Putin's blessing of course - who is actually shipping out weaponized nerve gas in supposedly air-tight containers to assorted east coast recipients? The answer, as rhetorical as it may be, will likely be provided shortly.