Expired swine flu shots amount to $260 million loss

40 million doses, a quarter of those produced for the U.S., to be destroyed.

by MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer

ATLANTA — About a quarter of the swine flu vaccine produced for the U.S. public has expired — meaning that a whopping 40 million doses worth about $260 million are being written off as trash.

"It's a lot, by historical standards," said Jerry Weir, who oversees vaccine research and review for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The outdated vaccine, some of which expired Wednesday, will be incinerated. The amount, as much as four times the usual leftover seasonal flu vaccine, likely sets a record. And that's not even all of it.

About 30 million more doses will expire later and may go unused, according to one government estimate. If all that vaccine expires, more than 43 percent of the supply for the U.S. public will have gone to waste.

Prepared for worst-case scenario
Federal officials defended the huge purchase as a necessary risk in the face of a never-before-seen virus. Many health experts had feared the new flu could be the deadly global epidemic they had long warned about, but it ended up killing fewer people than seasonal flu.

"Although there were many doses of vaccine that went unused, it was much more appropriate to have been prepared for the worst-case scenario than to have had too few doses," said Bill Hall, spokesman for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Most leading health experts generally agree with that.

Swine Flu Is Infecting the Immigration Debate

Posted by Nezua, Media Consortium, AlterNet

It’s no shock that those long-opposed to All Things Immigrant are using the Swine Flu outbreak to ratchet anti-immigrant rhetoric up.

It’s no shock that those long-opposed to All Things Immigrant are using the Swine Flu outbreak—which has mostly affected Mexicans at this point—to ratchet anti-immigrant rhetoric up to an irresponsible level. It’s disappointing though, especially because the last few weeks saw more rational dialogue emerging in media coverage. This week’s Wire examines the voices talking about immigration both in the media and on the ground, from those recycling age-old “eliminationist” rhetoric to those who put their own bodies on the line to fight for inclusive justice.
In AlterNet, Joshua Holland uses history to contextualize virulent statements hurled by anti-immigrant pundits like Michael Savage. Holland deftly debunks numerous anti-immigrant, right-wing myths using a historical lens: By tying the source of contagion to immigrants, today’s pundits are echoing age old patterns that “contributed to a series of pogroms in which thousands were burned alive” in 14th Century Europe. Just what are today’s pundits saying? Savage asks “Could this be a terrorist attack through Mexico?” Michelle Malkin, Bill O’ Reilly and Neil Boortz agree: “[W]hat better way to sneak a virus into this country than give it to Mexicans?” shrieks Boortz.
While Colorado lawmakers aren’t using such frantic hyperbole, they are doing nothing to dispel the state’s reputation as heavy-handed when it comes to immigration enforcement. On Monday, the Democratic-controlled state legislature introduced a non-binding Joint Memorial that requests the use of DNA technology and expanded local police powers to “identify, arrest, and detain” immigrants. If granted, the request would allow the state to use “biometric identification—like DNA tracking—and federal databases to create in enforcement dragnet,” according to Erin Rosa of The Colorado Independent. Rosa also reports on scary developments in enforcement technology that attempt to mend the gap between the federal government’s lack of reform and the needs of each state.

Not all harsh enforcement measures result from a lack of federal legislation. A Republican-led Congress passed a law in 1996 restricting the ability of immigrants to challenge the legality of their deportation,” as Rochelle Bobroff and Harper Jean Tobin report for New America Media. The measure is pointedly cruel: It allows courts to proceed with deportation even if an asylum-seeker will be endangered upon their explication. Though there is a provision that the courts can use to rule otherwise, this law represents yet another policy that needs to be revisited when the White House negotiates humane and effective reform.
Writing for AlterNet, Frank Sharry reports on the divide deepening between moderate Democrats, who are “ready to tackle common sense reform” and Republican “hardliners.” “While Democrats seem to be making headway,” Sharry writes, “The Republican Party continues to be dogged by Minutemen hard-liners who oppose practical solutions.”
The political gap is growing, as other groups draw together. RaceWire’s Michelle Chen reports on the Black Immigration Network, “the first national network concerned about immigration issues and racial equity issues surrounding both African Americans and immigrants of African descent.” This Network is important because it bridges historical tensions between the two communities. And as Chen makes clear, there are people who exploit such divides to their own benefit.
The effects of the Iraq war, while a much quieter subject in today’s news cycle, are still playing out. AlterNet’s Nina Berman tells the tragic story of Iraqi refugees who are struggling in the poor U.S. economy and lack adequate help to get ahead. Omar Ibrahim is one such refugee who came to Texas in 2008. He is still jobless and family back in Iraq doesn’t quite understand. “They know that America is a dream,” Ibrahim says, “but it is a bad dream.”
Finally, in an inspiring show of activism, Public News Service’s Mary Kuhlman reports on two nuns who engages in civil disobedience at a Chicago ICE detention facility to draw attention to the fight for human (immigrant) rights. Obama’s 100th day marked their “tipping point,” after more than two years of prayer vigils. They needed to try something different. The nuns’ agenda? Making it possible for detained immigrants to see religious workers. Immigrants, many of them asylum seekers, are isolated even from their families. In this particular case, the women’s actions paid off.
At play today in our immigration debate are warring philosophies of who a “people” are and what we owe each other for simply belonging to the same human family. On one side, frothing, fearful punditry stoke division and hostility. And on the other, fearless and brave activists champion for our better natures. It is no small battle.

A SOUVENIR FROM THE CORRUPTION.......

Is Swine Flu A Biological Weapon?

OR....do you have to be Mexican to Die?

Or are relatively limited number of deaths an indication that the panic is worse than the actual threat?

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet.com

Monday, April 27, 2009

There are some factors that suggest the swine flu killing people in Mexico may be a biological weapon, but obviously no such conclusion can be drawn at this time. The World Health Organization and the U.S. government have been quick to deny such claims.
The swine flu virus is described as a completely new strain, an intercontinental mixture of human, avian and swine viruses. Tellingly, there have been no reported A-H1N1 infections of pigs.
According to a source known to former NSA official Wayne Madsen, “A top scientist for the United Nations, who has examined the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, as well as HIV/AIDS victims, concluded that H1N1 possesses certain transmission “vectors” that suggest that the new flu strain has been genetically-manufactured as a military biological warfare weapon.
Madsen claims that his source, and another in Indonesia, “Are convinced that the current outbreak of a new strain of swine flu in Mexico and some parts of the United States is the result of the introduction of a human-engineered pathogen that could result in a widespread global pandemic, with potentially catastrophic consequences for domestic and international travel and commerce.”
However, it’s important to stress that it is far too early to make this assumption. We have to bear in mind that the number of victims has been comparatively low when one considers the fact that hundreds of thousands in Mexico contract infectious diseases every year related to poverty like tuberculosis and malaria.

Fort Detrick, the U.S. Army Medical Command installation that was the source of the 2001 anthrax attacks, is again attracting suspicion in light of the swine flu panic after it was revealed that criminal investigators are probing whether virus samples recently went missing from its biolabs.
“Chad Jones, spokesman for Fort Meade, said CID is investigating the possibility of missing virus samples from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases,” reports The Frederick News.
In February, USAMRIID halted their work when virus samples were discovered that were not listed in its inventory. Criminal investigators from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division unit at Fort Meade are now probing whether virus samples are missing from the Army’s top biolab, which also studies pathogens including ebola, anthrax and plague.
Obviously, in light of the current swine flu scare, and the new strain’s possible synthetic origin, the fact that virus samples may have gone missing from the same Army research lab from which the 2001 anthrax strain was released is extremely disturbing.
A 2008 FBI and DOJ investigation concluded that Bruce Edwards Irvins, a microbiologist, vaccinologist, and senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, was responsible for mailing anthrax to members of Congress and the media in September and October 2001.
The fact that Irvins apparently committed suicide shortly before the announcement led many to suspect that he was a patsy in a wider plot. Despite the suspicious circumstances, no autopsy was carried out on Irvins’ body. His attorney was certain that Irvins, who had cooperated with the 6-year investigation, was innocent of the five anthrax deaths.
The Department of Justice initially considered Dr. Steven Jay Hatfill to be a strong suspect in the anthrax attacks, but he later sued the government and won $5.8 million in damages. A New York Times piece on Irvins’ suicide asked the hypothetical question: “What if Dr. Hatfill had committed suicide in 2002, as friends feared he might? Would the investigators have released their evidence and announced that the perpetrator was dead?”
Fears that a mass pandemic was being readied as a biological attack have rumbled on in the conspiracy community ever since 9/11. Investigators point to the highly unusual number of deaths of top microbiologists to suggest that people with knowledge of the program are being eliminated.

Es la gripe porcina un arma biologica?

Para quienes estan destinados los 500.000 ataúdes de plástico depositados en Atlanta?
Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet.com

Hay algunos factores que sugieren que la gripe porcina matando gente en Mexico pueda ser un arma biológica, pero obviamente no se pueden extraer conclusiones en este momento. La Organización Mundial de la Salud y el gobierno de los EE.UU. se han apresurado a negar esas reclamaciones.
El virus de la gripe porcina se describe como una cepa completamente nueva, una mezcla intercontinentales de recursos humanos, los virus de la gripe aviar y porcina. Sin embargo, a no se han notificado infecciones por el H1N1 de los cerdos.
Según una fuente conocida de los ex oficiales de la NSA Wayne Madsen, “Un científico de las Naciones Unidas, que ha examinado el brote del mortal virus de Ébola en África, así como a víctimas del VIH / SIDA, la conclusión de que el H1N1 posee ciertos ” vectores “que sugieren que la nueva cepa de gripe ha sido genéticamente fabricada como arma militar de guerra biológica.
Madsen afirma que su fuente, y otra en Indonesia, estan “convencidos de que el actual brote de una nueva cepa de gripe porcina en Mexico y en algunas partes de los Estados Unidos es el resultado de la introducción de un patógeno humano de ingeniería que podría resultar en una generalizada pandemia mundial, con consecuencias potencialmente catastróficas para el hogar y los viajes internacionales y el comercio. “
Sin embargo, es importante subrayar que es demasiado pronto para hacer esta suposición. Tenemos que tener en cuenta que el número de víctimas ha sido relativamente bajo si se tiene en cuenta el hecho de que cientos de miles de personas en Mexico contraen cada año las enfermedades infecciosas relacionadas con la pobreza como la tuberculosis y la malaria.
Fort Detrick, the US Army Medical Command que fue la fuente de los ataques con ántrax de 2001, vuelve a atraer la sospecha a la luz de la gripe porcina después de que se reveló la desaparición de unas muestras virales en sus Biolabs.
The Frederick News . “Chad Jones, portavoz de Fort Meade, dijo que CID está investigando la posibilidad de que falten muestras de virus en los laboratorios del Ejército de los EE.UU.
En febrero, USAMRIID detuvo su trabajo cuando comprobó que había unas muestras que no figuraban en su inventario.Criminal investigators from the US Army Criminal Investigation Division unit at Fort Meade descubrió que entre las muestras desaparecidas seencuentran las de virus y los agentes patógenos ébola, el ántrax y la peste.
Obviamente, a la luz de la actual gripe porcina, es muy sorprendente que surjan las sospechas sobre un laboratorio del ejército del que se originó el escape del antrax en el 2001.
En el 2008 una investigación del FBI y del Departamento de Justicia llegó a la conclusión de que Bruce Edwards Irvins, un microbiólogo, vaccinologist, y altos comisionado en la biodefensa, investigador del Ejército de los Estados Unidos del Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas de Enfermedades Infecciosas (USAMRIID) en Fort Detrick, Maryland, es responsable del envío del ántrax por correo a los miembros del Congreso y a los medios de comunicación en septiembre y octubre de 2001.
El hecho de que Irvins aparentemente se suicidó poco antes del anuncio llevó a sospechar que él era un Patsy en una amplia parcela. A pesar de las circunstancias sospechosas, no se realizó autopsia en el cuerpo de Irvins. Su abogado está seguro de que Irvins, que había cooperado con la investigación durante 6 años, era inocente de las cinco muertes por ántrax.
El Departamento de Justicia consideró el Dr. Steven Jay Hatfill era un fuerte sospechoso en los ataques con ántrax, pero más adelante inició una demanda contra el gobierno y ganó 5,8 millones de dólares en daños y perjuicios. AEn el New York Times se publicaron sospechas sobre el ‘ suicidio de Irvins,
Los temores de que una pandemia global se estan preparando desde hace tiempo en la forma de un ataque biológico highly unusual number of deaths of top microbiologists to suggest that people with knowledge of the program are being eliminated. Según “Schall und Rauch” y la Yijad en Eurabia El primer caso mortal de la gripe porcina (H1N1) se dió el 13 de abril en Mexiko y la visita de Barack Obama en Mexiko City fué el 16 de abril después de saludar a Obama el Director del Museo antropologico de la ciudad de Mexico murió por la gripe porcina. Cosas de Mandinga…
El Periodico Reforma sió la noticia de que obama debnería haberse contagiado luego de su contacto con Solís. (Quizas Obama tenía un doble? o recibió algún tipo de vacuna previamente?)
En Méjico se realizan medidas extremas restrictivas de las reuniones públicas debido al virus
Los americanos parecen haber sido mas previsores. En las cercanías de Atlanta, dónde está el Instituto epidemiologico CDC en Madison, unos periodístas eencontraron en Noviembre del 2008 un extraño contingente de 500.000 ataúdes de plastico .
En Suiza desde hace años los funcionarios se preparan para una epidemia, medicos y hospitales realizan desde hace años ejercicios para atender a una pandemia. En Chicago en Febrero del 2009, funcionarios del Centro de Catastrofes FEMA y el Ministerio de Protección NAcional, (DHS) se preparan para la instauración de fozas comunes y preparativos de tiempos de guerra.
El 4 de abril del 2007, se publicó una carta recibida en el Cementerio del State of New York y enviada por las oficinas de Cementerios regionales, preguntandoles en que cuantía estarían preparados para recibir, una gran cantidad de cadaveres. La Carta decía así::
“En el caso de un desastre, con gran número de muertes o de una epidemia de gripe en su región en que medida podría su Cementerio tener capacidad para el deposito temporario o permanente de un elevado número de cadaveres resultantes de aquella catástrofe o epidemia gripal?”
En Noviembre el IPPR britanico (”Institute of Public Policy Research”), anunció que una Pandemia del tipo SARS, podría derrumbar el sistema financiero en una profunda depresión y reseción, suponiendo que terrorístas iniciaran un ataque bacteriologico.
De ese grupo forman parte las elítes industriales y militares britanicas: Lord Ashdown ex- OTAN Generalsecreatario Lord Robertson, Lord Guthrie experto en Seguridad , Comandante del Sistema defensivo, Sir David Omand, Coordinador del Servicio secreto del Gobierno en Londres.

MEXICAN FLU MAY HAVE ORIGINS IN US

By Mario Andrade

AUSTIN, Texas — The recent swine flu outbreak taking place in Mexico may have originated at a US-owned pig-breeding farm by the name of Granjas Carroll (aka Carroll Farms), which is owned, in part by the Smithfield Food Company.
Smithfield also promotes the consumption of genetically-altered foods, and even owns certain genetic lines of pork breeding. On April 12 of 2009, before the swine flu outbreak was covered by mainstream media outlets, the Mexican newspaper La Jornada broke a story on how Carroll Farms was polluting the drinking water near the towns of La Gloria and Perote, in Veracruz.
According to La Jornada, Carroll Farms maintains a strong political influence in municipal governments in the area. Recently, group of environmental protesters that blocked a highway near the Carroll Farms facilities was arrested. Among them were Guadalupe Serrano Gaspar, a 66-year-old man who said was arrested by undercover police officers. Local residents from 20 towns nearby in Veracruz and the bordering state of Puebla also oppose what they consider deplorable environmental practices by Carroll Farms. The complaints from local residents range from reports of large quantities of pig excrement in the waterways to the smell of chemicals and feces in several towns.
Veratect, which is company that tracks epidemic outbreaks, has posted a timeline of events that also indicates that the Mexican swine flu outbreak may have started in Veracruz, Mexico near the Carroll Farms facilities. According to the Veratect timeline, more than 400 local residents at La Gloria, Veracruz and other nearby towns reported having strong flu-like symptoms days before the outbreak was reported by the media. Local health authorities in La Gloria and Perote have determined that this “strange” flu-like disease or “new strain of the flu” was spread to the local towns by flies that feed on pig feces. In the town of La Gloria, 60 percent of the 3,000 inhabitants have been infected.
The newspaper La Jornada also reported that local health officials and residents found “clouds of flies” feeding on organic pig waste, carcasses and feces. Reportedly, Carroll Farms has been dumping organic pig waste out in the open, leaving it exposed for the flies to feed.
The swine flu has now been spreading to major cities in Mexico, the US and Canada. In Mexico, over 900 people are dead. Mexico City has begun to close down schools, churches, and libraries. The Mexican government is planning to vaccinate 500,000 people, although it is widely known that there is no vaccine for this latest strain of swine flu because it has not yet been produced.