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By Stephen Lendman (about the author) Page 1 of 5 page(s)
For OpEdNews: Stephen Lendman - Writer
In his April 29 Global Research.ca article, F. William Engdahl discussed "Flying Pigs, Tamiflu and Factory Farms" and shed light on the current swine flu hysteria - hyped by the same folks who engineered the 2006 (H5N1) Avian Flu scare that had more bark than bite. But it proved hugely profitable for drug makers like Roche and Gilead Sciences, the company Donald Rumsfeld led as chairman from 1997 - 2001 and remains a major shareholder. Although he won't discuss his "private finances," he's likely benefitting handsomely from the current panic.
Earlier Avian Flu reports were like the following:
-- numerous ones from public health journalists saying governments are "thoroughly unprepared" for a pandemic flu outbreak; as a result, it could lead to potential "societal breakdown, chaos, and panic;"
-- Robert Madelin, the EU's health and consumer protection department director-general, cited scientists' predictions of a potential two - seven million death toll worldwide, then saying: "It's when and not if;"
-- the World Bank estimating that an Avian Flu (H5N1) outbreak could kill up to 70 million worldwide and cause $2 trillion in economic losses; and
-- a scary July 2006 consumeraffairs.com report citing information like the above and more, then concluding: "There have so far been no known cases of H5N1 (Avian Flu) in the US."
When all was said and done, the global tempest was no more than a teapot maximum few hundred deaths, but, according to Engdahl, a Pentagon-initiated biowarfare project threatens something far graver. In an August 2008 article titled "The Pentagon's alarming project: Avian Flu Biowar Vaccine," he cited "alarming evidence" of a cooperative pharmaceutical industry-Pentagon effort to genetically weaponize the H5N1 virus, then unleash a "selective pandemic through the process of mandatory vaccination(s) with an alleged vaccine" offered as protection.
If today's Swine Flu scare is for this purpose, indeed it is worrisome, but that remains to be seen. What's known is what Engdahl reported in his April 29 article:
that "In October 2005 the Pentagon ordered vaccination of all US military personnel worldwide against what it called Avian Flu, H5N1 (and) budgeted more than $1 billion to stockpile the drug Oseltamivir, sold under the name Tamiflu. (At the time, George Bush asked) Congress to appropriate another $2 billion for Tamiflu stocks." This drug "is no mild candy to be taken lightly. It has heavy side effects" that potentially can kill.
Nonetheless, during the current panic, its sales have skyrocketed, and that alone worries some enough to wonder what's more dangerous - the flu or the combination of the FDA approving potentially deadly drugs like Tamiflu, the dominant media hyping a non-existant threat, public health organizations terrifying people with heightened alerts, and government officials like Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano saying: "We are proceeding as if we are preparatory to a full pandemic" even though:
-- no evidence suggests one;
-- flu epidemics are extremely rare, certainly global ones with the potential to kill millions;
-- influenza (flu) is a common viral illness;
-- it exists in numerous strains;
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
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