Wolfowitz: Bird flu will hurt economy

[sabra]

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/business/14370107.htm

Wolfowitz: Bird flu will hurt economy

WASHINGTON - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, working with poor countries on programs to thwart bird flu, said Tuesday that an outbreak of the disease would disrupt the global economy besides costing a devastating loss of life.

"If you had that kind of pandemic, I don't think there is any question it could happen, the costs both in human life and in disruption of world economic activity would be very high," Wolfowitz said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press.

The worrisome strain of flu called H5N1 is spreading through wild birds and poultry in numerous countries - and raising fears of a global epidemic if it mutates to become easily spread among people.

The World Bank, an international lending institution, has set up a $500 million pool to help poor countries combat the bird flu. Kyrgyzstan was the first nation to draw from the pool.

[LynneSin]

1. Maybe I'm just being silly but I'm not buying this Bird Flu stuff

I think it's just a method of madness to rile up the peons to blame stuff like inflated prices, deflated job market and if you want to survive you better be willing to make less than minimum wage doing one of those jobs freed up from chasing all the immigrants back to their home country.

But that's just me

[Democrats_win]

2. Maybe they plan to use it to scare us into voting GOP in November.

The flue season is about over in the U.S. now. I´m sure they´ll ramp up the propaganda production next fall just in time(jit). Amazing how our lives are so industrialized in this chicken new world.

[Frank Cannon]

19. I might have, until I found out Rumsfeld makes money off of it

Evidently, Rummy's a major shareholder in the company that makes Tamiflu, which the media keeps touting as a remedy (albeit completely unproven) for bird flu.

I'm HIGHLY skeptical about this whole bird flu thing. Does it not strike you as just a bit odd that we didn't have ANY major way-of-life-threatening crises prior to Bush's "election", and ever since November 2000 it's just been one after another? The "coincidence" surely hasn't been lost on me.

[Javaman]

20. He has made 5 million so far off of this bullshit. nt

[pushycat]

22. You are correct by me. Nothing like today's daily scare back then

[Mojorabbit]

26. I disagree

I have followed every mutation of this thing for the past year. Last May is when it began ramping up in birds. Trouble is we don't know nearly enough about how viruses go pandemic.
There is a good article that came out today on how we should be best spending our money instead of stockpiling Tamiflu.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/26/opinion/edgarrett.php

[dusty64]

35. I felt the same

until I read here that the regime is working on mutating the flu to spread to humans. I put NOTHING past these evil fucks and would not doubt for one minute that they would unleash a virus on the People in order to ensure their stranglehold on power, wake me when this nightmare is over.

[Cha]

36. That was my first thought .

They must think we're as stupid as they are..that we would pay any attention after all the fatal lies they've spewed to the world.

bush has already HURT the economy. Did he mention that fact?

[Roland99]

38. Bird flu is the new anthrax

[BOSSHOG]

3. And we could win in Iraq with 150,000 troops in about a week

General Shinseki is wrong and should retire. I just can't figure out who has less credibility, wolfowitz, bush, cheney, rumsfeld, limbaugh and on and on and on.

[Hobarticus]

4. They're making excuses before it even happens!

You gotta admit, they've got this down to a science.

[Changenow]

9. Yep, when the shit hits the fan

they'll say we were warned.

Like there is something we could do. Someone remind them they're in charge.

[Eurobabe]

5. Is that a threat Wolfie?

[Trillo]

6. Bird Flu bogyman?

Bernake says it's the increasing oil prices.
(emphasis mine)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060417/bs_nm/economy_bernanke_dc_2
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
...
"In the longer run, these inflation effects should fade even if energy prices remain elevated, so long as monetary policy keeps inflation expectations well-anchored by responding appropriately to future price and output developments," Bernanke said in an April 5 letter to South Carolina Republican Rep. J. Gresham Barrett (news, bio, voting record).
...
Bernanke said that while the increase in energy prices had pushed "headline" inflation up sharply, "the impact on core inflation appears to have been relatively modest."

Still, he said the energy price gains had significantly cut the purchasing power of households and had eaten into the profits of non-energy firms, restraining both consumer spending and business investment.

The Fed chief said "by rough estimate," the rise in energy costs had cut somewhere between 1/2 percent and 1 percent from economic growth.

[ShortnFiery]

7. Be Advised - Rummy owns the Tami-Flu company.

Which is theorized to be the only possible "lessening" of the Bird-Flu's impact. However, the forgoing is unproven. Rummy may wish to resign if this flu hits so he can be there personally to rake in all the money he's sure to make. :puke:

[Frosty1]

13. What scares me most about this

I read somewhere recently (sorry can't remember where) that the government had deliberately created a mutant version of the bird flu.
Wearing my tinfoil hat I was able to come up with all sorts of uses the current administration could put it to. What a pgood excuse for this "wonderful" economy to tank.
:tinfoilhat:

[ShortnFiery]

16. No worries !

Our main saving grace is that this Executive Branch, is seemingly as inept as they are corrupt. Plus they are having to manage too many "balls in the air." Add their arrogance in the mix and they are going down, and soon! :applause: For many of us it can't be soon enough, but I feel that the jig is up. :P

[Mojorabbit]

27. He does not own the company

but he has stock in it and I think he was on the companies board for a while.

[Supersedeas]

8. Boy has his priorities straight, don't he?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. He then added: "On the plus side it will kill lots and lots of A-rabs."n/t

[goclark]

11. He didn't say that did he ??

With this gang you never know.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

12. He left it in his thought bubble. n/t

[goclark]

17. LOL nt

[Mojorabbit]

14. Well Duh

Talk about stating the obvious. It would be a disaster. No flights, no restuarants, no shopping, no food in supermarkets. Yes, I think it might have a major effect on the economy. Sheesh. A third grader could tell you that.

[fshrink]

15. He knows lots about chicken shit. nt

[Tight_rope]

18. "Hurt the economy"?....Can't be worse then what Bushco has done!

[pinerow]

21. These guys have a firm grip on the obvious...moon to rise this

evening...film at eleven...sheesh!!!

[geniph]

23. Ya think?!

This just in, Wolfie - Fire - Hot! Mexico - Full of Mexicans! Pandemic Illness - Bad for Economy!

How To Create Hysterical Overreaction From Restating the Obvious, Part 1,000,000. Why yes, if we have a global pandemic that makes many people ill or kills a lot of poultry, that will be a Bad Thing. No, Duh.

[madmark]

24. unlike deficits or preemptive wars against non-threats that are

suppose to pay for themselves from domestic oil reserves (did i testify to that? hold on, let me lick my comb)

[UTUSN]

25. Bird flu: WOLFOWITZ will hurt economy n/t

[McCamy Taylor]

28. They voted this guy an intellectual for what? Stating the obvious?

The only thing he ever did was plan an invasion of Iraq in the early 1980's....and then manage to persuade Bush to do it in the early 2000's. That is the sum of his accomplisments. His reasons for invading Iraq---because the people would embrace Democracy---was bs. It is clear that Wolfie is suffering from delusions of grandeur perhaps combined with a touch of the old Oedipal Complex.

What Wolfie isnt talking about is that Rummie is making out like a bandit on bird flu treatment,and that W. and Co. are perfectly capable of importing the stuff to the US and releasing it here at any time between now and November if needed to disrupt the elections.

[savemefromdumbya]

29. Is Wolfy organizing a dose of bird flu for us?

[barb162]

32. he's buying up all the masks

[kurth]

30. And global warming won't?

[anitar1]

31. If there is such a thing, I hope it hits 'Wolfie." n/t

[Amonester]

33. oh, that's pure "compassionate" republican neoCON concern

yeah... will hurt the economy... never mind about the thousands of poor people who would LOSE THEIR LIVES: they're irrelevant to their beautiful mind$... same pattern as the non-existing threat in Iraq that killed thousands... that's the typical repuke's "compassion" in which human lives don't count... but the economy ("their" economy...) sure doe$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :grr:

[Kailassa]

34. Concern for the economy won't prevent Neocon bird-flu.

They have made it and they will use it. It's just taking a bit longer than expected to work out how to keep themselves safe and get filthy rich while killing the rest of us.

[Zynx]

37. Fear is a powerful weapon in the hands of evil people.

Luckily most Americans no longer pay attention to this nonsense.

[leesa]

39. Well, let's not have it then, shall we? Since you guys are the ones

tinkering with the virus to make sure it happens. This virus thing just ain't working for them, is it? First HIV, then ebola, now this incredibly slow and stubborn bird flu. Damned viruses keep mutating just when you think you have them primed to kill millions.

[noonwitch]

40. Look out, it's the bird flu, we're all going to die!!!

Just don't look while Bush bankrupts the country and destroys the environment.

[jokerman93]

41. "Bird Flu", huh?

Zzzzz... Great way to get Wolfie's so-called "poor countries" indebted to the World Bank. Wonder what they'll want as repayment. Access to natural resources for corporate profit? Nah...

I remember when the comb-licker ascended from his post as deputy secretary of carnage to World Bank big cheese. He was gushing about how he was so looking forward to helping "poor countries". Why do I get the feeling lately that the neocon plan is moving happily forward, almost unimpeded???

Oh...remind me to post the joke about about the "Fu Bird" sometime.
:beer:
J