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teacherone
10-01-2010, 01:03 PM
In a ploy to rid Guam of its population of invasive brown tree snakes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is bombing the island with drugged frozen mice, military news outlet Stars and Stripes reported.

Using Naval Base Guam as a starting point, scientists drop mice packed with acetaminophen from helicopters into the jungle canopy.

The drug -- commonly found in Tylenol -- provided a regulatory advantage because it had already undergone extensive testing, Dan Vice, assistant state director of USDA Wildlife Services in Hawaii, Guam and the Pacific Islands, told Stars and Stripes.

Guam’s snake problem began in the 1980s, when the creatures arrived on the island accidentally in military cargo. The mildly venomous snakes can grow up to 10 feet long and, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the State of Hawaii, are the leading cause of endangerment for some of Guam’s native animals.

“The discovery that snakes will die when they eat acetaminophen was a huge step forward,” Anne Brooke, conservation resources program manager for Naval Facilities Command Marianas told Stars and Stripes. “The problem was how you get the snakes to eat it.”

more (http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/01/navy-bombs-guam-dead-mice/?test=latestnews)

how much did that cost dip shits?

well at least they're bombing snakes instead of women and children.

pcosmar
10-01-2010, 01:07 PM
more (http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/01/navy-bombs-guam-dead-mice/?test=latestnews)

how much did that cost dip shits?

well at least they're bombing snakes instead of women and children.

Beware of official stories regarding biological warfare.

teacherone
10-01-2010, 01:09 PM
Beware of official stories regarding biological warfare.


????

ok....i'll do that...

:confused::confused::confused:

pcosmar
10-01-2010, 01:16 PM
????

ok....i'll do that...

:confused::confused::confused:

Are the mice a native species?
Are they sterile, or will they reproduce?
Do they carry anything other than acetaminophen?


Are there unintended consequences?
Is this a cover story?

Is it wrong to question government stories?
:confused::confused::confused:

teacherone
10-01-2010, 01:17 PM
Are the mice a native species?
Are they sterile, or will they reproduce?
Do they carry anything other than acetaminophen?


Are there unintended consequences?
Is this a cover story?

Is it wrong to question government stories?
:confused::confused::confused:

pretty sure the only consequences will be some dead mice, some dead snakes, and a colossal waste of money.


but... if you've got some other info let us in on it.

Kregisen
10-01-2010, 01:18 PM
Are the mice a native species?
Are they sterile, or will they reproduce?
Do they carry anything other than acetaminophen?


Are there unintended consequences?
Is this a cover story?

Is it wrong to question government stories?
:confused::confused::confused:

It said frozen mice....I would assume that means they're also dead.

ItsTime
10-01-2010, 01:19 PM
Are the mice a native species?
Are they sterile, or will they reproduce?
Do they carry anything other than acetaminophen?


Are there unintended consequences?
Is this a cover story?

Is it wrong to question government stories?
:confused::confused::confused:

I believe when you freeze a mouse it dies.

dannno
10-01-2010, 01:22 PM
Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!


Meanwhile there was plenty of tylenol in the luggage of all the passengers...

pcosmar
10-01-2010, 01:22 PM
I believe when you freeze a mouse it dies.

And what would be the purpose of dead mice?

Snakes will not eat dead mice. They are not scavengers.

Aratus
10-01-2010, 01:27 PM
snakes also avoid popsicles.
snakes are not dogs or hyenas.
are the frozen mice more likely to be
consumed by insects and bottom
feeders? ...scavengers ...yes!

teacherone
10-01-2010, 01:29 PM
And what would be the purpose of dead mice?

Snakes will not eat dead mice. They are not scavengers.

great so it's even a bigger waste of money than i thought---



pretty sure the only consequences will be some dead mice, some dead snakes, and a colossal waste of money.


but... if you've got some other info let us in on it.

tangent4ronpaul
10-02-2010, 05:41 AM
In the early 1950s, the Dayak people in
Borneo suffered from malaria. The World
Health Organization had a solution: they
sprayed large amounts of DDT to kill the
mosquitoes that carried the malaria. T h e
mosquitoes died, the malaria declined; so far,
so good. But there were side-effects. Among
the first was that the roofs of people’s houses
began to fall down on their heads. It seemed
that the DDT was killing a parasitic wasp
that had previously controlled thatch-eating
caterpillars. Worse, the DDT- p o i s o n e d
insects were eaten by geckoes, which were
eaten by cats. The cats died, the rats flourished,
and people were threatened by outbreaks
of sylvatic plague and typhus. To cope
with these problems, which it had itself created,
the World Health Organization was obliged
to parachute 14,000 live cats into Borneo.

During WWII The US experimented with the bat bomb. A small, lightweight incendiary was developed capable of being caried by a bat with the intent being that they would find shelter in Japanes thatched roofs during the day and start a firestorm. The bats were placed into hibernation via refrigeration and dropped from bombers. The experiment failed as the bats didn't wake up before they hit the ground and died.

-t

MelissaWV
10-02-2010, 07:15 AM
During WWII The US experimented with the bat bomb. A small, lightweight incendiary was developed capable of being caried by a bat with the intent being that they would find shelter in Japanes thatched roofs during the day and start a firestorm. The bats were placed into hibernation via refrigeration and dropped from bombers. The experiment failed as the bats didn't wake up before they hit the ground and died.

-t

I probably shouldn't have laughed at that, but did.

* * *

Pete does have a point, though, about consequences. Once again I'll begin by assuming everything the Government says is accurate (faulty premise, but the best way to really notice just how stupid our elected officials can be). Let's assume the snakes will eat some of the mice. Maybe when they fall out of the sky and bounce, they will "look alive" enough to entice a few snakes to bite. What happens to the rest of the mice? Nature doesn't waste anything. There's not likely to be a mouse corpse just sitting there months later. It will have been eaten by a scavenger, or at the very least broken down by insects and bacteria and absorbed into the soil. Now you have drugged scavengers, bugs, bacteria, and soil.

But wait! The mice are being dropped onto the jungle canopy, which is even more :rolleyes: . This means that most scavengers won't even be able to get to the mice for a good while, seeing as some of them will be tangled up in the tops of trees. I wonder how good it is for jungle trees to be festooned with dead frozen drug-laced mice? Probably not very.

You might say "but the mice will just bounce around through the trees and fall to the ground, right?" Ah! But that means you didn't read the article at the link!


The solution was to drop the mice into the snakes’ natural habitat, the branches of trees in the jungles of Guam. By outfitting the mice with cardboard wings and green party streams, the bait could float down to the jungle and catch on the branches. The result is a hanging, deadly snack for the snakes.

That's right. Not only are we dropping mice and, by proxy, Tylenol... we are also dropping cardboard wings and green party streams. How environmentally friendly are these "party streams"? I'm not even an enviro-nut, but this is the jungle. There's seriously no need for this. Are the snakes even going to EAT a mouse with wings and party streamers coming out of it, or are they going to think it's a pinata and leave it alone?

Finally, just a little bit of research reveals that the snakes are thriving (not starving). They are doing so well that the snakes in Guam are growing much larger than they usually would. The reason this is important is to bear in mind that, if the snakes were desperate and starving, you might be able to entice them to eat something dead. They might naturally turn to scavenging freshly-dead animals in order to survive, in which case a frozen pinata-mouse might look tempting. With a whole lot of fresh, live prey (including the NATIVE BIRDS these snakes have infamously endangered), why would they eat dead frozen mice?

johngr
10-03-2010, 05:03 AM
pretty sure the only consequences will be some dead mice, some dead snakes, and a colossal waste of money.


but... if you've got some other info let us in on it.

Depending on how many mice we're talking about, it could cause the island to capsize.

tangent4ronpaul
10-03-2010, 06:19 AM
Depending on how many mice we're talking about, it could cause the island to capsize.

LOL! - yeah, what a moron! Think he's a rep - wonder how his re-election campaign is going....

YouTube - 3-25-2010_Hank_Johnson_Guam_Tip_Over.wmv (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZczIgVXjg)

-t

lucius
10-03-2010, 06:36 AM
Guam is the perfect place for this type of biological-tomfoolery... :cool:

I lost a wife in Guam...not really...metaphorically, perhaps...yet I digress... :(

White-widow vaporizing... :D :confused:

The Fair and Honorable Federal District of Guam, Ungai Ungai Spamworth Judge...lightened me out of some cash and I traded him an almost new japanese wife...Sailor & Seaman Relief Act of 1941... :)

Glenmorangie Highland Scotch The Nectar D'Or, Extra Mature, Aged 12 years in Sherry Casts--f*ck-me I am in heaven...praise jeebes! :o

Bought a duplex two, two/one/one, for $31,000 cash...gutted...putting in 13 windows and two more baths...closed september 17... :confused:

YouTube - Bad...E=mc2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAvJGMshT2c)

haaaylee
10-03-2010, 09:00 AM
come on guys, Guam's snake problem is clearly a threat to national security. i support all efforts to stop the snakes and spread democracy.

james1906
10-03-2010, 09:24 AM
come on guys, Guam's snake problem is clearly a threat to national security. i support all efforts to stop the snakes and spread democracy.

I have unconfirmed reports that right-wing extremists are using a flag with a snake on it as their symbol.

justinc.1089
10-03-2010, 12:31 PM
Those snakes are terrorists. We have to get them before they get us. They're also muslim snakes, that hate us for our freedom, and our prosperity. They are part of an axis of evil, that must be defeated. We will liberate the people of Guam, and bring freedom and democracy to them, so that Guam will be a beacon of light throughout the world for democracy. Although we will keep in mind to make sure the light is small and near the center of Guam so we don't sink it.

At this time our military forces have engaged the snakes with dead, frozen, tylenol fed rats to defend the world. These are the opening phases of what will be a broad, and concerted, rat bombing campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support; some are even sacrificing their rats to do their part to stop the snake terrorists.

The people we liberate will come to know the great and gentle spirit of the American military. We face an enemy in this war that has no regard for the conventions of war, rules, or even morality. The snakes hide, slithering on the ground, around civilians feet, using them as human shields. But the snake terrorists will not prevail; freedom and democracy will prevail. The terrorist snakes using the people of Guam as human shields will be their final atrocity. We will even try to avoid civilian casualities now and then ourselves.

Helping the people of Guam obtain and sustain a free and democratic country will require our commitment and resolve. Our country enters this conflict reluctantly, yet our purpose is sure, whatever our purpose is. We'll just say freedom and democracy. We will NOT live at the mercy of an outlaw snake terrorist regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.

We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others. And we will prevail.

angelatc
10-03-2010, 12:50 PM
And what would be the purpose of dead mice?

Snakes will not eat dead mice. They are not scavengers.

Actually, these snakes will indeed eat carrion. (Went through all this on another forum already, where I made the same point you did. :) )

http://aphisweb.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/97pubs/97-74.pdf

zade
10-03-2010, 01:00 PM
we are also dropping cardboard wings and green party streams. How environmentally friendly are these "party streams"? I'm not even an enviro-nut, but this is the jungle. There's seriously no need for this.

LIVE: Green Party streams their opposition to green party streams

DjLoTi
10-03-2010, 01:13 PM
We are combating an invasive species in what seems to be a rather environmentally friendly way. At least they're doing something productive. Now if they'd only do something about the invasive species here in America.. lol

tropicangela
10-03-2010, 01:46 PM
Actually, these snakes will indeed eat carrion. (Went through all this on another forum already, where I made the same point you did. :) )

http://aphisweb.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/97pubs/97-74.pdf

will they eat tainted carrion with drugs in it? or will they sense a problem and leave it?

pcosmar
10-03-2010, 02:08 PM
My initial reaction went back to my Army CBR Training (Chemical,Biological Radiological) And the clues that were taught to watch for, Aerial spraying, Defoliated areas, Concentrations of insects or vermin, etc.
Just one of those RAM (random access memory) moments.

And a general distrust of whatever the government says.
;)

phill4paul
10-03-2010, 02:25 PM
Good Lawd. For $0 a year salary I'll head up the Department of Common Sense Department.
Just give me a bonus of $100.00 for every $100,000 saved.

MelissaWV
10-03-2010, 03:05 PM
Actually, these snakes will indeed eat carrion. (Went through all this on another forum already, where I made the same point you did. :) )

http://aphisweb.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/publications/97pubs/97-74.pdf

Carrion is a bit different than a frozen mouse with cardboard wings and party streamers, though :p I'm not entirely sure this is going to be attractive to a species with a readily available food source. Part of the alleged problem with this species is that it's eating too many native birds, so I'm going to gather those aren't dead and dangling from trees. It's... pretty sad.

Jordan
10-03-2010, 05:36 PM
Doesn't matter how many you kill, you won't kill all of them, and it will only require 2 of them to make 3495340940 more.

DjLoTi
10-03-2010, 06:07 PM
Doesn't matter how many you kill, you won't kill all of them, and it will only require 2 of them to make 3495340940 more.

I hope your theory holds true for the Gulf of Mexico... though maybe you might be over-stating it a little...