I wasn't responding to deepblue. Euro countries are wrong headed too. What if I rephrased my post as this and get back to the issue instead of proving some point on political biases? Maybe Rich Western Countries should listen to WHO officials instead of hoarding valuable supplies that frontline countries need. Since Avian flu would be a hybrid between bird flu and human flu, the drugs and vaccines would be ineffective by the time an epidemic reaches us. Frontline treatment of the drugs upon ranchers and bird handlers would significantly reduce any chance of hybridization during the time the a strain of a bird's flu inhabits a human. It will suck for your unbiased debating skills if you rubberband all liberals and assume they think the same thing.
I was calm. Sorry if I seemed upset. I understand the scenario you put forth - from that point of view I have no argument. (I believe I said that earlier) I would not have stockpiled either of the drugs. The rummy card is simply further reason to lament this fear-induced waste of money. There is no evidence of a pandemic or even the capbility of the virus to spread via casual contact. The lone WHO outlier for human-to-human transmission is simply the result of a sick person being cared for by a relative with no precautionary steps.
Maybe the reality is in the middle. Public health officials, acquiescing to critics, decide they need to stockpile like the rest and they also figure to make a quick buck for their corporate contributers. In theory, win-win for them... If everyone was careless in response, SARS might've been devastating. Viruses have jumped from animal to human on several occasions. If I had a choice, I'd go for the notch below paranoia and fear mongering.
I just read the thread and saw that Bush got bashed for not getting the Tamiflu, then I read he was getting bashed for getting the Tamiflu because it could make one of his buddies rich. To me, this is the same stance some take on the Iraq war, he did it for the oil because his family is in/was in the oil business or whatever. I guess the bottom line is if you don't support Bush and use bias in your debates, then you will always find the negative in any topic containing the subject (Bush). For the record, I am not a Bush supporter.
I totally agree with this. Pandemics have happened before and whats especially disturbing about this is that the 1918 Pandemic also caused by a bird flu. Outright panic isn't good but neither is complancy and I don't fault the Admin for taking steps to address a potential pandemic. I'm not sure these are the right steps but its good that the issue is public and being looked at by the Admin..
I'll use incompetant nitwit jokes with Bush no matter what just like I'll use philandering liar jokes with Clinton. I might not be a notch smarter, but I'm not ruining America.
Your subsequent posts are moot since while you are accusing others bash Bush for no good reason, you yourself couldn't even comprehend that TamiFlu isn't a vaccine before you jumped out to defend Bush's failed policies on combating flu pandemic.
wnes: I should have said drug instead of vaccine, is that better for you? I was NOT defending Bush's policy, that wasn't the point. I wasn't even arguing about if tamiflu is a vaccine or not, I was talking about Bush gets bashed for not stockpiling tamiflu. When he does buy the drug, he gets bashed again. That WAS THE POINT, I think most people here understood that. rhadamanthus: My original post wasn't directed at you, it was more directed at bandwagon Bush bashers. Like I said, I actually agree just stockpiling tamiflu is not the answer. But to say he did it to give Rummy a few bucks is a bit of a stretch.
Report: Tamiflu is 'useless' for avian flu LONDON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Vietnamese doctor with experience in treating avian flu says Tamiflu, the drug being stockpiled for treatment of avian flue is useless against the virus. Dr. Nguyen Tuong Van of the Centre for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi has treated 41 victims of H5N1, following World Health Organization guidelines and administering Tamiflu to her patients. She told the Sunday Times of London the medicine had no effect. "We place no importance on using this drug on our patients," she said. "Tamiflu is really only meant for treating ordinary type A flu. It was not designed to combat H5N1." The newspaper said the finding casts doubt on the British government's pandemic flu policy. The nation's top medical official, Sir Liam Donaldson, has ordered 15 million doses of Tamiflu be stockpiled. Van said the only way to keep avian flu patients alive is to "support" all their vital organs -- including the liver and kidneys -- with modern technology like ventilators and dialysis machines, the Sunday Times reported. The WHO has acknowledge Tamiflu had not been "widely successful in human patients," but said it believes it would have been more effective in many Asian countries if it had been used earlier in the illness. http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20051203-21493000-bc-britain-tamiflu.xml
The people to blame here are the idiots in charge in China. That country has been EXTREMELY irresponsible of late with their health reporting. First the SARS coverup, then the plant explosion that threatened the water supply of millions of people in China and Russia (which China again tried to coverup, unsuccessfully....) and now this avian flu issue that is spreading. They need to get their act together over there.
wnes, I know you're Chinese, but you have to admit that their behavior of late has been truly unacceptable.
Well, if this thread wasn't already a disaster, your post here would definitely do it. It's truly a liberal call to arms!
You know what texxx? You're right. Being a racist is stupid and not funny. Carry on wit' yer bad self.
