June 16, 2009 - Update: AFP reports that Brazil finds new strain of H1N1 Virus. The discovered variant is called A/Sao Paulo/1454/H1N1 and is being studied to determine whether this mutation is more aggressive than the current A/H1N1 virus.
June 11, 2009 - Update: WHO declares phase 6 Swine Flu pandemic, first in 41 years. The pharmaceutical companies now have the green light to ramp up vaccine production. There are other implications to this declaration. Read the blog posts below to see what they are.
June 6, 2009 - Update: WHO to raise swine flu pandemic alert to highest level in 41 years, according to Bloomberg. A reading of my previous updates on the subject matter should beg the question: Why? After all, even in this article, it is admitted that the H1N1 flu is no more severe or widespread than previous influenza strains. So, why raise the alert to level 6? Even the WHO's own internal advisory committee is questioning this move. Travel restrictions, enforced quarantines, possible mandatory vaccinations, and a host of martial powers that can and may be activated by governments in order to enforce the WHO's alert, are all implications of this pending action. What is happening here?
May 18, 2009 - Update: Reuters reports that H1N1 is the cause of death of NYC principal. To the conspicuous consumer of news, the article is murky and vague. According to the article, Dr. Andrew Rubin, a spokesman at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, only stated that Mitchell Wiener, 55, died after being admitted with H1N1. The article was non-specific regarding whether Wiener's death was a direct result of the flu or stemming from complications due to pre-existing medical conditions. The article also states that Wiener was in and out of consciousness, that he was being treated with an experimental drug, and that his family thought he was making progress.
Questions: Why was Wiener being treated with an experimental drug? Was the experimental drug being administered to treat the flu, or was it for another medical condition? If, according to the World Health Organization (see May 13 post below), most people do not need drugs to recover from H1N1, that it is similar to most flu strains from which many people recover(see May 17 post below), why was an "experimental" drug indicated?
May 17, 2009 - Update: CNN Reports that Assistant principal dies after being hospitalized with H1N1 virus
Reading that buy line, you would justifiably have cause for concern or maybe alarm. But here is the problem: H1N1 was not identified as the CAUSE of death. As a matter of fact, according to the article, the four U.S. deaths that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked to the virus, were of people with pre-existing medical conditions.
The article concludes with the context and probity that the buy line lacked. Referring to how H1N1 compares with previous strains of the flu, the last sentence of the article states, "But it has so far acted similar to typical seasonal influenza--which usually can be treated successfully but can be deadly among the very old, very young and people with pre-existing health problems."
My question is: Why is this flu being hyped as if it is an E.L.E.(Extinction Level Event)?
May 13, 2009-Update: Reuters - Most H1N1 patients don't need drugs in order to recover, according to WHO
May 5, 2009-Update: Barbara Loe Fisher writes a compelling article on Mercola.com, further elucidating the current Swine Flu panic. In the article, Fisher explores the correlation between the proliferation of largely untested vaccines and the immunity (no pun intended) from product liability granted to the pharmaceutical companies by U.S. courts. Fisher also documents the apparent conflict of interest between the World Health Organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the largest makers of flu vaccines.
Some doctors are beginning to wonder if the response to the reported threat may not be disproportional and overhyped while other practitioners outright imply malfeasance or irresponsibility on the part of news organizations and the institutions charged with protecting the public health and safety. It appears that more and more practioners are presenting a case that challenges the overwhelming reportage that depicts this flu as the New Black Plague. As I watch the terrorized public wear masks and wince everytime someone coughs or sneezes, I couldn't help but wonder if this might not be some cruel hoax.
After 911, and the subsequent mysterious anthrax attacks, a Congress that had before been prepared to debate the then nascient Patriot Act, rushed it through the legislative process and made it the law of the land without so much as reading the bill. While the world economy unravelled as a result of the derivatives bubble bursting, former treasury secretary Henry Paulson threatened that the country would experience its second Great Depression and that there would be martial law if Congress did not approve the first stimulus package. A cowed and nervous Congress quickly approved a bill that gave the treasury secretary near-dictatoral powers over the nation's financial system--without challenge or review. Now enter the Swine Flu. The allusion to mandatory vaccinations and enforced quarantines made by the current secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano is reminiscent of the inappropriately made comment by former president George W. Bush regarding possible military enforced quarantines during the height of the Avian (Bird Flu) Virus scare. The question must be asked: Why is the corporate media merely reporting the talking points of officials and institutions rather than analysing and giving context to an issue that is filled with logical holes?
Your quote, "It just goes to show that nothing shuts down reason and calm rational thinking more than fear and panic," is right on point. I think part of the issue is that nowadays we have access to so many different media outlets (e.g. TV, radio, various new websites) that we almost cannot help but panic. Even if you know it's irrational, this information is drilled into so much that you can't help but succumb to it.
ReplyDeleteThe article on globalresearch.com was extraordinarily amazing -- thank you for posting that. It really does a good job of putting things in perspective.