The next time you’re in the mall or on the subway, stay alert. The Jerusalem Post is reporting that our intelligence and security agencies are concerned over the rising Al-Qaeda quest in Yemen for castor beans to make ricin. (I can direct them to the beach at Santa Barbara for castor plants – they grow wild all over the place along the beach there. Beautiful plants that produce deadly seeds.)
It said the apparent intent was to pack the poison around small explosives that could be exploded to disperse the ricin, a white powdery substance so deadly that a speck can kill if inhaled or taken into the bloodstream.
The [NY] Times said the apparent intent was to detonate the explosives in enclosed spaces like a shopping mall or airport.

Castor plant