Sploid: Prepare to die

by * » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:58 am

<a href="http://www.sploid.com/news/2006/03/prepare_to_die.php">link</a> many embeded links in original Prepare to die Across the country, Americans are being warned this week to prepare for something terrible. From San Diego to Seattle, nervous newscasters are repeating the dire warnings issued by local governments: It's going to be bad. Stock up on water and batteries and medicine. You'll be alone, and there won't any electricity or heating fuel. Phones, the Internet and TV will be as useless as the dry water faucets. Nobody will save your family. Those living in rural Pennsylvania and Colombus, Ohio, are being pounded with the same vague yet terrifying message. And in Minneapolis, bureaucrats trotted out their most morbid instructions of all: "How to bury your dead." Don't put your loved ones too close to the septic tank. That was some of the advice offered Wednesday at a Minneapolis "business conference on preparing for a potentially lethal bird flu pandemic," according to the Reuters news service. In San Francisco on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt had a similarly grim warning for Americans. "Any community that fails to prepare with the expectation that the federal government will step in and rescue them will be sadly disappointed," Leavitt said at a meeting of the elitist Commonwealth Club. "Not because we lack a will, not because we lack a wallet, but because we lack a way." On Sunday, Leavitt made it even plainer. Americans need to stock up on "tuna fish and powdered milk," he said. Now. All week long, ABC News has battered viewers with pre-disaster reports, starting in the mornings on its popular nationally-broadcast "Good Morning America" program. The "Be Ready" report makes it clear something absolutely awful is about to happen: "It may feel odd or uncomfortable to talk to family members and loved ones about the worst-case pandemic scenario. But if that scenario strikes, you'll all be much better off if you have a plan decided on and ready." On Tuesday night, World News Tonight provided the most chilling prediction: Half of us will die from the Bird Flu. Robert G. Webster, "the first scientist to find the link between human flu and bird flu," delivered the hellish prophecy. "I personally believe it will happen," said Webster, who apparently believes it enough to have a three-month stock of food and water hidden at his house. "Society just can't accept the idea that 50% of the population could die. And I think we have to face that possibility," Webster said. "I'm sorry if I'm making people a little frightened, but I feel it's my role." Keeping to his 50% routine, Webster said there's an even chance the H5N1 avian flu will make a full migration to humans and begin the killing. Meanwhile, Time Magazine posted an alarming front-page story on its website on Wednesday. “A little bit of panic helps folks prepare emotionally for what the future may hold,” the magazine reported. Killer flu, or something worse? Many of the warnings are related to the Avian Flu scare. But almost as many of this week’s doomsayers are being noticeably vague about the apocalypse at hand. Around Seattle, they seem to be talking about natural disasters like earthquakes -- even though damaging earthquakes rare in the region. In the Appalachian backwoods of Eastern Maryland, they're convinced Arab terrorists are about to attack the local diner. In San Diego, fearmongers use Hurricane Katrina as the example of the coming disaster -- even though earthquakes and wildfires are the only expected natural disasters. Few people attend County Board of Supervisors' meetings, so San Diego officials decided to repeatedly broadcast the scare session on prime-time television beginning last night. When whatever it is hits, "You need to stay home," Supervisor Bill Horn commanded at the Wednesday meeting. "Really, there aren't any evacuation routes out of San Diego. We have two freeways to the north and one to the east, and they don't really handle traffic that well on a daily basis. What we would like is to have people be secure in their homes, and not to have runs on grocery stores and those kinds of things." In Athens, Ohio, residents are being told to expect closed schools, collapsed local government and brutal quarantines. But it gets worse. This week, Americans are being told they "know" a disaster is about to destroy the United States -- along with the rest of the world -- because that's the plot of a popular horror novel first published a quarter-century ago. ABC News took the bizarre step on Tuesday of describing Stephen King's pandemic thriller, The Stand ... and then claiming King's fictional scenario is what Americans believe is actually happening right now: "We've all heard the doomsday scenarios of what could happen if an avian flu pandemic takes a grip on the United States: millions dead, millions more sick, basic utilities and services unavailable, hospitals overrun and unable to cope, communities reduced to devastation like something out of Stephen King's The Stand." Why this week? The tsunami of impending-disaster news might be easier to ignore if it was part of a "cause month," such as the awkward appearance of positive stories about black Americans during "Black History Month." But the Department of Homeland Security's "National Preparedness Month" doesn't come again until September. **

by **Gouda** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:11 am

My my, hasn't the disaster-in-march virus mutated and spread. Too bad most people can't afford to stock their homes, if they have one, with three month's worth of food. How many do you think can even stock up with 3 days' supplies? I'm not scared, I'm getting more pissed off.

by **Gouda** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:14 am

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco (the place Ruppert warmed up not too long ago) said <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B6708244B%2DA300%2D4CB6%2DA6B5%2D567D62EF0FE8%7D&siteid=google"> this:</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>"We will have stockpiles of Tamiflu and other antivirals sufficient to supply 25% of the population," he said. "Being able to get pills into the palms of people in a relatively short time is ultimately how we measure success." Leavitt called local preparedness the "foundation" of overall pandemic readiness. "Any community that fails to prepare with the expectation that the federal government will step in and rescue them will be sadly disappointed," Leavitt said. "Not because we lack a will, not because we lack a wallet, but because we lack a way." <hr></blockquote> No, it's because your will, wallet and ways are fattening Big Pharma & the Pentagon (Rummy's 2-fer-1), its corporate contractors, its corporate politicians, and is blowing up children in Iraq. You have other ways. Fuck you, Sir. <a href="http://members.aol.com/bblum6/aer27.htm">William Blum</a> sees, in part, why there is no will or way: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Bird flu and capitalism Preparing for and combating the threatened bird flu pandemic would be tough enough under the best of circumstances. But the circumstances the United States has to deal with include the reality that the country, more than any other on earth, is privately owned. It's corporations that we have to rely on to make virtually all the vaccines and drugs needed. The corporations, however, need financial incentives, perhaps the government paying for most or all of the research, and then turning the patent over to the corporations, as has often been the case; the corporations are concerned with being stuck with the cost of overproduction if it turns out that there's no pandemic; they're concerned about lawsuits from the inevitable cases of individuals who suffer ill effects from the vaccines or drugs; they get rather upset about a generic version being made available anywhere in the world; and they're highly concerned about obtaining a suitable profit margin, perhaps leading them to hold back on the supply to cause the price to rise. On top of all that, the corporate medical system has dumped millions of uninsured people into society's lap. How will these people fare during a pandemic? What is needed is a mobilization reminiscent of World War Two. At that time the government commandeered the auto manufacturers to make tanks and jeeps instead of private cars. When a pressing need for an atom bomb was seen, Washington did not ask for bids from the private sector; it created the Manhattan Project to do it itself, with no concern for liability protection or profit margins. Women and blacks were given skilled factory jobs they had been traditionally denied. Hollywood was enlisted to make propaganda films. Indeed, much of the nation's activities, including farming, manufacturing, mining, communications, labor, education, and cultural undertakings were in some fashion brought under new and significant government control, with the war effort coming before private profit. Those who swear by free enterprise argue that this "socialism" was instituted only because of the exigencies of the war. That's true, but it misses a vital point. The point is that it had been immediately recognized by the government that the wasteful and inefficient capitalist system, always in need of the proper financial care and feeding, was no way to win a war. I would add that it's also no way to run a society of human beings with human needs. Most Americans agree with this but are not consciously aware that they hold such a belief. For this reason I've written an essay entitled: "The United States invades, bombs, and kills for it, but do Americans really believe in free enterprise?"<hr></blockquote> However, we certainly ought not trust this particular government with mobilizing a new, bird flu 'manhattan project' (seems they've already had their manhattan project). Mike Davis explains why capitalism can't and won't cope with a flu pandemic: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>In the United States, the Eisenhower administration rebuffed appeals from public-health experts for a mass-vaccination campaign. Although the surgeon general did appropriate small sums for influenza surveillance, the Republicans in power relied upon free enterprise to develop and distribute the vaccine. "The official national policy at the time," writes Gerald Pyle, "was that the private sector - [drug producers] physicians and hospitals - could easily deal with the problem.” But in the case of influenza, without government co-ordination classical supply-and-demand relationships work mischievously. The vaccine needs to be produced in quantity for immunization at least a month before the peak of an epidemic, but most of the market demand from individual consumers comes only after the epidemic is in full course.<hr></blockquote> (The Monster at our Door, New York and London, The New Press, 2005, page 35) Thanks again to J. Blum for citing Davis in his last Calumet Review. So without government coordination (first they say it is not their role, then they prove they are incompetent, then they reiterate that it is not their role) we are left to the free market, which does work well for a few people. On edit: The double bind is we do not have government that can or will or can be trusted to coordinate. Out with the lot of them!! Edit # 2: I spelled Manhattan wrong.  Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=gouda@rigorousintuition>Gouda</A> at: 3/16/06 8:26 am

by **sunny** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:35 pm

It's just possible that, considering the latest "Shock and Awe" campaign going on in Iraq right now, and Bush's reiteration today of the doctrine of preemptive war, what we are seeing is preparation for martial law following a strike on Iran.

by **Col Quisp** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:17 pm

Sunny: I think you are right. It certainly does seem imminent. If we don't prepare, then they can say, "Well, we warned you. Too bad. You're on your own." As much as I hate to give in to the fear mongering, it is probably not a bad idea to stock up on non-perishables, water, etc. I have heard that canned chili is a good choice because the beans have protein and also help if you have diabetes, by slowing down the pancreas. Water filters, seeds, ammo are also good things to have on hand if it comes to a long haul. Also, kim chee is supposed to be good for flu. Wonder why they are pushing canned tuna fish and powdered milk (but no mention of water to reconstitute the milk).

by **sunny** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:25 pm

My husband agreed this morning that we should make the investment and prepare. As we live in the middle of hurricane territory here on the Gulf Coast, it makes sense, even if nothing happens re martial law or a pandemic. We'll have the supplies we need well in advance of the season, without having to brave the stores in the middle of a supply panic. For those of you outside this area, it also makes sense; you never know. A little here, a little there, and you can avoid making one large expenditure. ps- now a bomb scare at Cox Arena <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/embarassed.gif ALT=":o">

Sploid: Prepare to die

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