So the New York Times finally gets around to a story wondering Where's Our Anthrax Vaccine, Huh? Don't bother with the story, it's kinda worthless. But it is accompanied with an interesting graphic which includes a bar chart of how much money has been promised, and paid, to the two companies in this dogfight.

Two companies were promised money, but only one company actually got money so far, and quite a lot of it in fact. And they have so far produced anthrax vaccine in the quantity of zero, zip, nil, nada. No prospect of any anytime soon either.

This firm, now known as "Emergent BioSolutions" is owned by one Fuad el-Hibri. Googling this name is most interesting. We will skip over the hits which mention his background in biochemistry (nil--he got his money selling cell phones in South America) and his background in the banking business in Saudi Arabia. And I'm sure those claims of connections to the Carlyle Group are just all laden with tinfoil and shit.

But just about everything you might need to know about his history in the Biological Warfare Defense Industry can be found in this story from December 2005 in the moderately obscure Hampton Roads VA Daily Press.

Don't look for anthrax vaccine anytime soon. Oh, is it worth pointing out that Mr. el-Hibri did get quite a lot (if you consider $122.7 million US bux a lot) of taxpayer's money and he's a generous guy.

Although he can't seem to make anthrax vaccine he finds it in his heart to make donations to such entities as "MAJORITY INITIATIVE TO KEEP ELECTING REPUBLICANS FUND"? As well as the "FRIENDS OF CONRAD BURNS - 2006 - Republican"? Oh yes, and also that little shop called "STRAIGHT TALK AMERICA". Always looking to the future, Mr. el-Hibiri is.

(Scroll down the page to see what color "Straight Talk America" thinks the future is. Hint, it is maybe not quite as "bipartisan" as Mr. McCain would like you to think.)