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10/29/2005

Plan to Replace All Chickens with Genetically Engineered Chickens :.

I can see it now: The bioterrorists will be armed with pasture fed hens and organic vegetables...

* sigh *

When will the bioregional sucessionist movements become armed struggles? In North America, The Republic of Cascadia will probably be the first area to say enough is enough:

THE long-term threat of an avian flu pandemic could be greatly reduced by a project to produce genetically modified chickens that can resist lethal strains of the virus.

British scientists are genetically engineering chickens to protect them against the H5N1 virus that has devastated poultry farms in the Far East, with a view to replacing stocks with birds that are not susceptible to influenza.

The technique should also offer protection against many other strains of flu with the potential to start a human pandemic, such as the H7 subgroup that was responsible for an outbreak in Dutch poultry in 2003.

If chicken populations were to be replaced with transgenic birds that were resistant to flu, it would remove a reservoir of the virus and make it much harder for it to spread to humans and trigger a pandemic.


Related: Bird Flu Scam

Related: USDA's Mandatory Property and Animal Surveillance Program


10/28/2005

Exxon-Mobil Employees Got Fake Flu Shots :.

Have you noticed a slow down in posts lately? It's because I'm in one of those phases where only the most F-ed up and weird stories register on my radar:

Fake flu shots were given out last week at an Exxon Mobil Corp. health fair and an investigation was under way, authorities said.

Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Treacy A. Roberts said Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation told the company that the shots administered were "definitely not the flu vaccine."

FBI officials did not explain how they found out about the potential fraud, Roberts said.

Exxon Mobil offered blood tests and counseling to the up to 1,000 employees who took part in the health fair at the oil company's vast complex of refineries and chemical plants just east of Houston.

It doesn't appear that the fake shots were harmful, but steps were being taken to ensure workers' safety, U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said in a statement Thursday.

The FBI and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating what was in the syringes and whether others might have received the fake vaccine, Rosenberg said.

Jeanne Miller, another Exxon Mobil spokeswoman, said a doctor provided the shots in Exxon's first use of an outside contractor for the health fair. In the past, she said, flu shots at Exxon health fairs have been offered by company medical staff.

Miller declined to identify the doctor because of the federal investigation.



Doubts Raised on Saudi Vow for More Oil :.

Last spring, the White House publicly embraced plans by Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production capacity significantly. But privately, some officials and others advising the government are skeptical about some of those Saudi forecasts.

The United States relies on a few producers to maintain enough spare capacity to keep prices and markets stable, even during war or disaster. As oil prices have climbed over the last few years amid surging demand and tight supplies, the Bush administration has looked to the Persian Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, to pump extra oil.

But doubts about Saudi Arabia's assurances of how much it can expand capacity - and for how long - have been raised in a secret intelligence report and in a separate analysis by a leading government oil adviser, according to a federal government official and the oil expert.

If those skeptical assessments are correct, the administration's hopes of increasing supplies would become still more difficult to fulfill. Washington's expectations about oil production from Iraq and the United Arab Emirates have proved overly optimistic, and the White House has failed to heed advice about both those countries from industry and government specialists, according to documents and interviews.


Research Credit: DR


10/26/2005

STRATFOR on Bird Flu: Calm Down :.

Via Ran Prieur:

Stratfor subscribers have been sending us a steady river of requests for our opinion on the bird flu situation. Although we are not medical experts, among our sources are those who are. And here is what we have been able to conclude based on their input and our broader analysis of the bird flu threat:

Calm down.

Now let us qualify that: Since December 2003, the H5N1 bird flu virus -- which has caused all the ruckus -- has been responsible for the documented infection of 121 people, 91 one of whom caught the virus in Vietnam. In all cases where information on the chain of infection has been confirmed, the virus was transmitted either by repeated close contact with fowl or via the ingestion of insufficiently cooked chicken products. In not a single case has human-to-human communicability been confirmed. So long as that remains the case, there is no bird flu threat to the human population of places such as Vietnam at large, much less the United States.



Super-Soldiers May Get Brain-Chip :.

US military experts are attempting to create an army of super-human soldiers who will be more intelligent and deadly thanks to a microchip implanted in their brains.

Scientists believe the implant will vastly improve the memory of troops so that they can recall every detail of their training and become more effective fighters.

Researchers at the University of Southern California's bio-engineering department have created the chip, which acts in exactly the same way as the hippocampus - the part of the brain that deals with memory.

In experiments, the team removed that section of the brain of dead rats and inserted the chip in its place. The implant sent exactly the same electronic signals as the real thing.

The next stage of the project is to test the implant on live animals. If this work proves to be as successful, experiments could one day be carried out on soldiers.


10/25/2005

2,000 U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq :.

Crossing the threshold of 2,000 American military deaths in Iraq on Tuesday added to the pressure on President George W. Bush to show progress in Iraq amid waning public support for the war.



Schiff Guilty on All Counts :.

Anti-tax crusader Irwin Schiff was found guilty Monday of charges including conspiracy, tax evasion and tax fraud.

Schiff, 77, who argues that paying taxes is voluntary, was handcuffed and led from U.S. District Court after a jury found him guilty of all 13 charges.

Judge Kent Dawson could sentence Schiff to up to 43 years in prison and up to $3.25 million in fines, plus unspecified sanctions for outbursts during the trial. He ordered Schiff jailed without bond until sentencing Jan. 20.



U.S. Ranks 44th in Worldwide Press Freedom Index :.

But we gots the most fat people. That counts for sumthin, don't it?

The annual worldwide press freedom index from Reporters Without Borders shows the United States, which is supposedly spreading freedom and liberty throughout the world, is in a fast decline regarding the freedom of its own press.

The report ranked the United States in 44th place, an atomic drop from a favorable position of 22nd held last year, and from a handsome 17th place in 2002.



I'm Tom Barrack and I'm Getting Out :.

Make your time:

Then Barrack launches into a parable. "I feel totally safe playing polo on a field full of pros," says the bronzed 58-year-old. "But when amateurs are all over the field, someone can get killed. They have more guts than brains. They charge after every ball and don't know when to hold back." It's the same with the U.S. real estate market right now: "There's too much money chasing too few good deals, with too much debt and too few brains." The amateurs are going to get trampled, he explains, taking seasoned horsemen, who should get off the turf, down with them. Says Barrack: "That's why I'm getting out."



Civil Rights Icon Rosa Parks Dies at 92 :.

Rosa Parks, whose act of civil disobedience in 1955 inspired the modern civil rights movement, died Monday in Detroit, Michigan. She was 92.

Parks' moment in history began in December 1955 when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.

Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system by blacks that was organized by a 26-year-old Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The boycott led to a court ruling desegregating public transportation in Montgomery, but it wasn't until the 1964 Civil Rights Act that all public accommodations nationwide were desegregated.



Wilma Leaves Six Million People Without Power in Florida :.

The storm slammed across the state in about seven hours Monday, causing billions in insured damage and leaving 6 million people without electricity.



Bush: Petulant Prick Goes Off the Rails :.

Accounts of this nonsense, circulating for months in the backwaters, is mainstream news now:

Facing the darkest days of his presidency, President Bush is frustrated, sometimes angry and even bitter, his associates say.

With a seemingly uncontrollable insurgency in Iraq, the White House is bracing for the political fallout from a grim milestone that could come any day: the combat death of the 2,000th American G.I.

Last week alone, 23 military personnel were killed in Iraq, and five were wounded yesterday in a relentless series of attacks across the country.

This week could also bring a special prosecutor's decision that could shake the foundations of the Bush government.

The President's top political guru, Karl Rove, and Vice President Cheney's right-hand man, Lewis (Scooter) Libby, are at the center of a two-year criminal probe into the leak of a CIA agent's identity. Many Bush staffers believe indictments are likely.

"He's like the lion in winter," observed a political friend of Bush. "He's frustrated. He remains quite confident in the decisions he has made. But this is a guy who wanted to do big things in a second term. Given his nature, there's no way he'd be happy about the way things have gone."

Bush usually reserves his celebrated temper for senior aides because he knows they can take it. Lately, however, some junior staffers have also faced the boss' wrath.

"This is not some manager at McDonald's chewing out the help," said a source with close ties to the White House when told about these outbursts. "This is the President of the United States, and it's not a pleasant sight."


10/24/2005

Bird Flu Scam: Donald H. Rumsfeld - Former Chairman of Gilead Sciences :.

Do you get it yet?

Foster City, CA, January 3, 1997 - Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced that board member Donald H. Rumsfeld will assume the position of Chairman, effective immediately. Mr. Rumsfeld succeeds Michael L. Riordan, M.D., who founded Gilead in 1987 and has served as Chairman since 1993. Dr. Riordan will continue to serve as a director on the board.

"Gilead is fortunate to have had Don Rumsfeld as a stalwart board member since the company's earliest days, and we are very pleased that he has accepted the Chairmanship," Dr. Riordan said. "He has played an important role in helping to build and steer the company. His broad experience in leadership positions in both industry and government will serve us well as Gilead continues to build its commercial presence."


Related: Tamiflu

Related: Bird Flu "Pandemic" Antidote: Wash Hands

Related: Spain: Bird Flu Sparking Human Epidemic Is 'Science Fiction'

Related: STRATFOR on Bird Flu: Calm Down


10/23/2005

Nazi Teenie Boppers :.

Known as "Prussian Blue" - a nod to their German heritage and bright blue eyes - the girls from Bakersfield, Calif., have been performing songs about white nationalism before all-white crowds since they were nine.

"We're proud of being white, we want to keep being white," said Lynx. "We want our people to stay white ... we don't want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race."



U.S. MILITARY INSIDE SYRIA :.

As I suspected six months ago, U.S. military and Bush administration civilian officials confirmed last week that U.S. forces have invaded Syria and engaged in combat with Syrian forces.

An unknown number of Syrians are acknowledged to have been killed; the number of Americans -- if any -- who have died in Syria so far has not yet been revealed by the U.S. sources, who by the way insist on remaining faceless and nameless.


Related: ENTIRE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION DEPLOYING TO IRAQ



U.S. Debt Crosses $8 Trillion :.

It's official: as of October 18th, the National Debt has risen to over eight trillion dollars. Incidentally, it was back in December 2003, less than two years ago, that the Debt surpassed a "mere" seven trillion dollars.



Tropical Storm Alpha :.

Saturday became a historic and meaningful day for hurricane trackers and weather buffs when Tropical Storm Alpha formed south off the Dominican Republic as a record 22nd named storm for the Atlantic season. It marked the first time forecasters had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names in almost 60 years of naming storms. The previous record of 21 named storms had stood since 1933.




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