Bush prison camps again - old news, but I have questions...

[Target_For_Exterm]

In this article, it talks about how one of the uses for these camps could be as quarantine facilitlies in the event of pandemic bird flu.

"“It seems more logical to see this contract as something related to (Hurricane) Katrina. We have to have relocation centers for people which are safe and can provide basic services to people for longer periods of time,” he said, adding that another potential “emergency“ is a bird flu outbreak that could spur a mass quarantine of Americans."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198456,00.html

Er... Why would you need so many camps for a Katrina type emergency?

Given crowded conditions that would probably exist in such a camp, if you get stuck there because of bird flu it would probably be a death camp - everyone who goes there dies.

Since Bush is so busy consolidating absolute power - taking over the national guard, signing contracts for these facilities, accusing everyone who doesn't scream "Heil, Bush" and follow in lockstep of being a terrorist, etc. - what kind of environment could we expect if we did have a pandemic emergency with Bush in charge?

I can't see him handling the situation well. I CAN envision him using it as an opportunity to seize permanent power. What do you think Bush would do in a serious national emergency like severe pandemic flu where lots of Americans are dying?

[Mojorabbit]

1. Well I read this a few days ago

http://www.newsobserver.com/1380/story/516147.html
If a flu pandemic strikes North Carolina, heavily armed police officers and deputies will ride shotgun over doctors and nurses working in tent hospitals, guard scarce supplies of antiviral drugs and vaccine and enforce tough public health mandates such as the closing of shopping malls, churches and schools.

Learning lessons from the lawless chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina, state and local disaster planners see the need for a more muscular law enforcement presence. Officers would handle crowd control at hospitals, and guard vaccine distribution centers and temporary medical facilities in arenas and other large buildings to handle the overflow of flu-stricken patients expected during a worldwide flu epidemic.

So really, nothing would surprise me if it does happen..

[Target_For_Exterm]

2. Sometimes I wonder if the Katrina response was a

"deliberate" test of how large groups of people would react in a crisis situation like a major pandemic. Bush and his pals are crass enough to try something like that just to see what would happen.

I also think that a lot of the chaos described on TV was cover for why Bush and his pals didn't have a better response. "Oh, we can't get our trucks in there with relief supplies because people with guns are in the street." But the truth may have been that "people with guns are in the street" was a cover story for Administration incompetence.

I do remember the stories about how people drove right up to the Superdome when the government was saying they couldn't get in... And the debunking afterwards of many of the reports of violence.

[Mojorabbit]

3. Nothing these people do would surprise me

and legislation has given them the power to do just about anything. If a pandemic happens I don't think we would come out the other side as a "free" country.

I read John Barry's book and it goes into how Wilson knew we were in a pandemic situation while sending soldiers on crowded ships overseas which were death traps as well as crowding them into boot camps. Nothing was to stop the war effort.

The press lied about the outbreaks to avoid panic though people could see what was happening all around them. War bond rallies were allowed even though they knew people would be infected and die.The book is a real eye opener on how the govt acted. I don't expect any better if it happens this time.

[Mojorabbit]

4. There is also this

http://birdflubook.com/a.php?id=89
In 2004, the Vietnamese army was criticized for confiscating all the foreign donations of Tamiflu, even refusing to share with veterinarians working with infected flocks.2488 The military commandeering of national supplies may not, however, be exceptional.

The Pentagon has long claimed first dibs on the U.S. Tamiflu stockpile, insisting that “top priority for use of vaccine or antiviral medications is in forward deployed operational forces.”2489 Given President Bush’s suggested militarization of the pandemic response, imagine the conflict this could create between troops in the streets and critical first-responder medical personnel, fighting over the limited supply and further threatening the public health response.2490

At this point, there will be none left over for the general U.S. population.2491 Do the math: Excluding military appropriation, there are nearly ten million health care workers and more than two million public safety workers such as police and firefighters, more than twice the mid-2006 stockpile.2492 Even among countries with the highest per-capita stockpiles in the world, like Australia, only 10% of the national stockpile is expected to reach the general population.2493


So if the military gets first dibs then they will be the ones on the street

[Target_For_Exterm]

6. It's also interesting that Rumsfeld is a big owner of stock

in the company that makes Tamiflu. However, bird flu is becoming immune to Tamiful, so the stockpiles (and fighting over it) may be moot.

For all you tinfoil hatters out there, you can drink lots of red and white grape juice and do more for yourself in the event of bird flu than in taking Tamiflu. Red grape juice (wine is better) has Resveritrol, which kills viruses like bird flu. It's been tested and does have an effect. White grape juice (and white wine) contains the active ingredient in Tamiflu, but in much lower concentrations. So if you can't get your hands on Tamiflu, drink lots of grape juice.

Home remedies for bird flu:

Tea (anti-viral)
Cranberry Juice (anti-viral)
Grape Juice and Wine (anti-viral) Red=Resveratrol, White=Tamiflu
Elderberry Juice
Peanuts (skins contain Resveratrol)
Whole Grain Barley (immune system support)
Fresh Garlic (not cooked or pill form) (anti-viral)
Standard multi-vitamin

So if you get exposed to bird flu and can't get your hands on Tamiflu, use natural remedies. Works good for regular flu, too.

[Mojorabbit]

7. Tamiflu seems to be working just fine

if it is given early enough. Good list of natural flu remedies.

[pinto]

5. I agree with Reps. Thompson and Lofgren that some explanations are in order,

especially in regards to what is defined as an emergency, and that increased oversight is needed on this "pocket" contract. (Apparently KBR is not actually building facilities at this time, but billing administrative costs to the budget.) A good oversight target come January.