Rumsfeld making LOTS of money off of bird flu hoax.

[NotGivingUp]

article from mercola.com:

Avian Flu Epidemic Scare is a Hoax

"If you have been viewing the media you must have seen the scare the media and the president are seeking to orchestrate on you and the public. According to a draft of the government's plan to fight a potentially cataclysmic pandemic this new avian super-flu could kill nearly TWO MILLION Americans.

<snip>

Donald Rumsfeld to Profit Big Time

So those 20 million doses the government has authorized will cost US Taxpayers 2 BILLION dollars.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will likely profit handsomely from the announcement the government is purchasing $2 billion of Tamiflu, the drug developed by Gilead Sciences when Rumsfeld was president of the company. He is reported to hold major portions of stock in Gilead.

http://www.mercola.com/blog/2005/oct/18/avian_flu_epidemic_scare_is_a_hoax

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. I sure hope you are correct

and it is a hoax.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. It's not a hoax, but Rummy is still a bloodsucker.

--p!

[NotGivingUp]

4. does NOT readily spread from birds to humans...read the article

more from article:

...does NOT readily spread from birds to humans or humans to humans?

Most of the people who acquired this infection were bird handlers who were in continuous contact with these sick birds. Does anyone in their right mind envision similar circumstances in the US?

Research like this would typically be thrown in the trash if it did not strongly support some ulterior purpose.

What might the purpose of these scare tactics be you ask?

Well how about the US purchasing huge quantities of antiviral drugs and an increase in flu vaccine production along with purchasing 20 million doses of the highly questionably effective Tamiflu. Guess how much one treatment of Tamiflu costs? Give yourself a slap on the back if you guessed $100.

[GeorgeGist]

6. Get informed...

your ignorance is showing.

Start here: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/

[NotGivingUp]

20. that's quite rude

[Dogmudgeon]

8. But I'm also not talking strictly about THIS form of flu, either.

I trust the people to know the difference between bullshit and reality. Your concerns are valid, but people are well on to Bush's conniving, corruption, and ignorance. And demanding a well-organized, scientifically-led effort to improve public health isn't the reaction of "sheeple". Which is just what's happening -- there's no panic, but plenty of well-informed outrage over the lack of Bush-era preparedness for disasters like hurricanes ... and pandemics.

Influenza viruses mutate. So will this one. It will probably not become a human pathogen, but it might.

There are also other viruses than one. SARS just about shut down Toronto and Hong Kong, and only a few people contracted it.

Our contagious disease preparations are sadly deficient. Remember AIDS? Well, nothing much has changed other than funding for AIDS research. AIDS research is good, but the general public health measures are essential to make sure the next pathogen never gets going. Better public health was only taken up by Clinton; the GOP branded it a waste.

My second issue is that these are pretty weak scare tactics. I don't know of anyone who went mad with fear from watching The Day After Tomorrow, Fail-Safe, Deep Impact, or The Omega Man. The idea that most people freak out and pledge their lives to our Dear Leader is just wrong. The post-9-11 reaction was the fluke of all flukes, and we eventually found out just how badly our "hero" performed when the shit hit the fan and the aircraft hit the buildings.

The bastards may think they're going to sell lots of Tamiflu, but they're mistaken. The poor efficacy of Tamiflu is already well-known. Soon, Rummy's involvement with Gideon will be out of the bag, too. The big sell is going to be for public health, both ongoing and disaster-response related. And about time!

--p!

[Bridget Burke]

14. Yes. The possibility of Avian Flu mutating to a human-to-human....

type of transmission is NOT a hoax. Scientists have been following it for some time. And they've been taking steps to reduce its spread among the bird population.

Bush & pals are the ones who ignored the issue & are NOW crying Panic! Nobody knows whether Tamiflu would help against a mutated Avian Flu, but Rumsfeld is getting rich, anyway.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. I also get Mercola's newsletter and the factthat Rummy is getting rich

off this bird flu thing makes me VERY suspicious. :tinfoilhat:

He is NOT the only one who says this entire thing is being way overblown, and it is being used as a political weapon to panic the people and keep them scared in order to keep them under "Big Daddy's" control

[corporate_mike]

5. ABC's drama will make him a lot of money then

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1089913&mesg_id=1089913

[mike_c]

7. good lord-- mercola is a terrible, self-serving source....

eom

[NotGivingUp]

10. There are plenty of other sources...google it...and just because

mercola.com makes money does not make it a terrible, self-serving source.

[SidDithers]

9. mercola is not a reliable source..nt

Sid

[NotGivingUp]

11. I disagree but if you don't believe mercola then try cnnMoney.com

from their site:

Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu
Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder, sees portfolio value growing.
October 31, 2005: 10:55 AM EST
By Nelson D. Schwartz, Fortune senior writer

Crain's Cleveland Business
Bob Schmidt, the outspoken entrepreneur and president of Cleveland Medical...
www.crainscleveland.com
SuperArray.com - Biotechnology Company
SuperArray Bioscience Corporation is a privately held biotechnology company....
www.superarray.com
Biotechnology Filtration Production
We support our customers in all bioprocess steps, ranging from active ingredient...
www.sartorius.com
National Biotech Register Online
A complete list of biotech companies. Free access. Search by company or keyword....
www.biotech-register.com

NEW YORK (Fortune) - The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world.

Rumsfeld served as Gilead (Research)'s chairman from 1997 until he joined the Bush administration in 2001, and he still holds a Gilead stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million, according to federal financial disclosures filed by Rumsfeld.

The forms don't reveal the exact number of shares Rumsfeld owns, but in the past six months fears of a pandemic and the ensuing scramble for Tamiflu have sent Gilead's stock from $35 to $47. That's made the Pentagon chief, already one of the wealthiest members of the Bush cabinet, at least $1 million richer.

Rumsfeld isn't the only political heavyweight benefiting from demand for Tamiflu, which is manufactured and marketed by Swiss pharma giant Roche. (Gilead receives a royalty from Roche equaling about 10% of sales.) Former Secretary of State George Shultz, who is on Gilead's board, has sold more than $7 million worth of Gilead since the beginning of 2005.

"I don't know of any biotech company that's so politically well-connected," says analyst Andrew McDonald of Think Equity Partners in San Francisco.

What's more, the federal government is emerging as one of the world's biggest customers for Tamiflu. In July, the Pentagon ordered $58 million worth of the treatment for U.S. troops around the world, and Congress is considering a multi-billion dollar purchase. Roche expects 2005 sales for Tamiflu to be about $1 billion, compared with $258 million in 2004.

More at link:

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/
--------------------------

EDIT: COPYRIGHT. PLEASE POST ONLY FOUR OR FIVE
PARAGRAPHS FROM THE COPYRIGHTED NEWS SOURCE
PER DU RULES.

[SidDithers]

13. Oh, I don't dispute that Rumsfield owns stock in Gilead..

mercola's claims of a hoax, on the other hand...

Sid

[Bush_Sucks]

12. It's a hoax

http://thedoctorwithin.com/index_fr.php?page=articles/avian.php

[MercutioATC]

16. "Thedoctorwithin" is a natural remedy site.

Hardly an authority on virology or the spread of disease.

[Midlodemocrat]

15. According to marketwatch, he owns

approximately $4 million in stock directly, $800,000 indirectly in addition to other holdings separate from gilead.

http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/person.asp?siteid=mktw&pid=12212214

[gatorboy]

17. It's funny that they've been trying to push Bird Flu since '97...

The same year Rumsfeld was on the Gilead board as well as the same year they introduced a treatment. (I want to add that 1997 was the very first year "bird flu" was introduced to the public)

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 16, 1997--  

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. announced today
the start of international Phase II/III clinical  trials to test the efficacy
and safety of an orally administered compound to treat and prevent viral
influenza in humans.  Known as GS 4104 (Ro 64-0796), the compound is one of a
new class of human  therapeutics designed to inhibit neuraminidase, an enzyme
essential  to the viral replication of all strains of influenza A and B
viruses.

Those seeking more information on how to participate in the U.S. treatment
study and potentially receive free access to study drug may call 888/I-GOT-FLU
(888/446-8358).  To be eligible for the treatment  study, which is being
conducted at up to 75 centers in the United  States, patients must have
symptoms of influenza, including fever and respiratory symptoms, and must
enroll within 36 hours of symptom  onset.  

"Influenza is a threat to everyone.  Immunization is the primary  means of
prevention.  Available treatments offer some benefit, but  our current vaccines
and drugs have limitations.  A clear need exists for a new drug that is
effective against all strains of influenza,  both A and B, has better
tolerability and does not give rise to rapid resistance," stated Frederick G.
Hayden, M.D., of the University of Virginia School of Medicine,
Charlottesville, who is serving as an  investigator and consultant for the
studies.  

[SidDithers]

19. I don't see any mention of Bird Flu, or H5N1 in that release...

Looks to me like reasearch into a treatment for all forms of influenza. Or don't you think that influenza is a disease worthy of research?

Sid

[gatorboy]

21. I'm not saying that the research isn't needed.

Just that the first year "Bird Flu" was ever mentioned:

Hong Kong Bird Flu Said Spreading
By Didi Kirsten Tatlow
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 1997; 4:31 p.m. EST

HONG KONG (AP) -- Two more suspected cases of a deadly flu reinforced
concern Tuesday that the virus can be spread not just from live birds
to humans but from person to person.

<snip>

The virus has not spread very fast since a 3-year-old boy became the
first known human infected last May, Chan said.

But that is not necessarily any comfort, said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, one of
five experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
who are helping in the investigation.

``New influenza viruses have that potential to spread around the world
and cause large numbers of deaths,'' he said. A pandemic early in the
century killed more than 500,000 people in the United States in one
year alone.

Was the same year (same month!) Rumsfeld's company released their announcement.

[DemoTex]

18. Hoax or not ..

These MoFos bring the quid pro quo to new levels. It is way too much irony for my diet.