In April, when the first alarm came from Mexico, I was very surprised by the figures the World Health Organization (WHO) was advancing to justify the proclamation of a pandemic. I had suspicions immediately: the figures were quite weak and the level of alarm very elevated. There weren’t even a thousand sick people before there was already talk of the pandemic of the century. And the extreme alert decreed was based on the fact that the virus was new. But the characteristic of flu-type illnesses is to develop very fast with viruses that take on new forms each time by moving in on new hosts - animals, people etc. There’s nothing new in that. A new "flu" virus of that kind appears every year.
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And it was alleged that the virus was dangerous because populations had not been able to develop immune defenses against it. Which was false for this virus, since we had been able to observe that people over 60 already had antibodies, which is to say that they had already been in contact with analogous viruses. That’s why there were practically no people over 60 who developed the illness. Yet, they were the people it was recommended to have be rapidly vaccinated.
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Among the things that aroused my suspicions then, there was on the one hand, that desire to sound the alarm - and on the other, very curious facts. Such as, for example, the WHO’s recommendation to perform two injections for the vaccinations. That had never been the case before. There was no scientific justification for it. There was also this recommendation to use only specific patented vaccines. Yet, no reason existed for not adding - as is done every year - specific anti-viral particles of this new H1N1 virus, thus "completing" seasonal flu vaccines.
... it’s an altogether normal flu. It occasions only a tenth of the deaths caused by classic seasonal flu. All that mattered and all that led to the extraordinary campaign of panic we have witnessed is that it constituted a golden opportunity for lab reps who knew they’d make a mint should a pandemic be proclaimed.
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A group of people at the WHO is very tightly associated with the pharmaceutical industry.
... Klaus Stöhr, who was head of the epidemiological department at the WHO during the era of the avian flu, and who, therefore, prepared the plans designed to confront a pandemic that I mentioned earlier, became, in the meantime, a senior executive at Novartis. And similar connections exist between Glaxo, Baxter etc. and influential members of the WHO. These big firms had "their people" in the system and managed things afterwards so that the "right" political decisions were made, that is, the decisions that allowed them to pump the maximum amount of money out of the taxpayers.
(Wolfgang Wodarg, epidemiologist and President of the Council of Europe's Health Commission)
12 comments:
Sure, Haitians are hating that american capitalism right now, arent they? Would you rather the US not have the resources to send what will no doubt be millions of dollars in aid?
Capitalists to the rescue, once again!
Or is the whole thing our fault -- including the earthquake? I suspect so. Yawn....
Yes, you have to admire the US response to the humanitarian crisis - by sending in the marines to maintain law and order. Globocop rides again. I dare say the Haitians will soon be able to add some dead "looters" to the long list of casualties; i.e., hungry people scavenging for food.
Of course Jemmy, the noble natives are at the mercy of the corrupt and evil whities. Same old story, right?
I mean really??? Really? Would you prefer a world run by the haitians? Do you think the noble natives, if not abused by the white man, would lead the world to fairness and propserity for all?
My god man, get hold of your senses. The US is there to protect those volunteers trying to help and the locals who cant defend themselves. I hate to be the one to tell you, but even glorious, noble haiti has its fair share of profiteers, thugs and other scum who will take advantage whenever they can. Or maybe you prefer they run wild? Then you can blame the US for not providing adequate security. Either way, its win-win for you, aint it?? HAHAHAH
What's your brief, flem, white supremacy? The US as the world's role model?
You do realise, don't you, the Haiti enjoys the benefits of a capitalist economy, and a liberal capitalist economy at that? No enterprise-stifling regulations that prevent builders from erecting collapsible structures. Let the buyer beware - and any poor soul who happens to be passing by.
A beacon of neo-connerie to shame Cuba and its stagnant economy (don't mention the embargo). You should be proud of Uncle Sam's little Caribbean acolyte.
Nice try Jemmy but it doesnt wash. A philosophy is one thing, execution is another. It seems the Hatians are terribly corrupt and have never been able to build a functioning legal framework.
Im not an expert on Haiti and I doubt you are either. But to blame their dire straits on the US is beyond absurd. You do realize we would benefit from their being prosperous? We could always use another successful trading partner. It is AGAINST our interests for Haiti to be in the condition it is. How many billions will we now spend helping them. Sadly, there is no real hope for some miraculous turnaround.
Tell me, why is it that there are so many countries like Haiti around the world, that literally dont have pots to piss in? Why is it that countries run in a capitalist format, while not perfect by any means, are the ones called out to help these national basket cases in times of need?
Your only answer is that you are some utopia dreaming silly person, who thinks a world where all are equal and there is no injustice is attainable. Give it up man, its NEVER going to happen. NEVER.
PS: Thanks for the AACS shoutout :)
The damn white man is behind ALL the suffering, right Jemmy?
"...But with aid still scarce in many areas, there were scattered signs that the desperate — or the criminal — were taking things into their own hands.
Reuters photographer Carlos Barria said he saw throngs of men with stones, knives, icepicks and hammers battle to grab T-shirts, bags, toys and any other items they could find in destroyed houses and shops in the capital. Police present earlier were nowhere to be seen.
"It's anarchy there now, total chaos, the police have gone away," Barria said. "They are fighting, hitting each other, throwing stones at each other."
A water delivery truck driver said he was attacked in one of the city's slums. Robbers reportedly shot one man whose body was left on the street.
An AP photographer saw one looter haul a corpse from a coffin at a city cemetery and then drive away with the box.'''"
You write, " ... to blame their dire straits on the US is beyond absurd."
You raised the subject of Haiti, flem, if you look back my posting was about the swine flu vaccine. You saw the word "capitalism" and dived (English for dove) right in. I wasn't blaming the US for Haiti's problems (yet). But I do know that a US military presence will do nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Haitians.
You sure about that are you...
"Providing humanitarian aid requires a safe and secure environment, said Lt. Gen. Ken Keen of the U.S. Southern Command. While streets have been largely calm, he said, violence has been increasing.
"We are going to have to address the situation of security," Keen said. "We've had incidents of violence that impede our ability to support the government of Haiti and answer the challenges that this country faces."
Keen said about 1,000 U.S. troops are in Haiti and that 3,000 more are working from ships. More than 12,000 U.S. forces are expected to be in the region by Monday.
Fear of looters and robbers has been one of the factors slowing the delivery of aid. After Tuesday's earthquake, maintaining law and order fell to the 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers and international police already in Haiti even though those forces also sustained heavy losses in the disaster."
uh oh Jemmy, another of your theories looks washed up...:)
"Earthquakes don't kill people," says John Mutter, a seismologist and disaster expert at Columbia University's Earth Institute. "Bad buildings kill them." And Haiti had some of the worst buildings in world. There are building codes, but in a country that has been ranked as the 10th most corrupt in the world, enforcement is lax at best.'
Another, flem? I concede this one, but I'm scratching my head over the other(s).
I'll just add that -
"Only poor people break laws, the rich merely evade them." T-Bone Slim
By the way, I'm wondering, now that the US marines have landed in a country where the UN is charged with peace-keeping, will they immediately cede command of operations to the current authority? Or will they remind us that Haiti is colony of the American Empire?
T Bone sounds like a real charmer. So bascially everybody is breaking the rules, there is no such thing as law and order. Righhhtttt...He represents the view of bitterness and jealousy politics.
Your dislike of capitalism in favor of utopian fantasies is your biggest failing.
First, there is no govt, to speak of, to cede too. Second, the marines are there to protect innocents and aid workers, for which there is no ceding requirement. Third, marines never cede control of their actions to non-US command. IF the Haiti govt wants to exercise control they had better do it thru the american govt.
Have you ever known a single US marine personally? I bet not. They are usually among the more decent people you will find.
"On Friday afternoon the US State Department confirmed signing two ’Memoranda of Understanding’ with the Government of Haiti that made ’official that the United States is in charge of all inbound and outbound flights and aid off-loading...’"
"Despite guarantees, given by the United Nations and the US Defense Department, an MSF cargo plane carrying an inflatable surgical hospital was blocked from landing in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, and was re-routed to Samana, in Dominican Republic."
"Indeed some aid agencies have complained the way the US army is behaving in Haiti has made the Americans part of the problem, as a week into the disaster aid has failed to reach most Haitians due to a logistical blockage and considerable confusion. Whilst back at the PauP airport where the majority of US troops are stationed, the US army franchised McDonalds and Pizza Hut are in business supplying US troops with their favourite food."
The point of T-Bone Slim's remark is not that everybody breaks the law, but that some break it with impunity. Wilfully missing the point does not strengthen your case, flem.
I've never met a US marine as I live in a country so subservient to the US that your marines haven't yet needed to invade it.
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