If it's true that you can commit a crime by NOT doing something (crime of

[acmavm]

omission), why then would it not be a crime for the bush** administration to be gearing up the CDC and everyother frigging medical organization to prepare for a influenza pandemic?

My point are as follows:
1) They have the reports of illnesses that are spreading like crazy involving bird influenza strains and now strains of influenze coming from pigs.
2) This administration know long before last year's flu vaccine fiasco that there wouldn't be enough, that the manufacturer had to shut down production due to an issue about the way the vaccine was processed, contamination issued I believe.
3) This freaking bunch of evil incompetents have left the borders as leaky as a sieve, anyone can get in and bring anything. The hoof and mouth fiasco in England began (so they say) by someone from China importing a particular kind of pig into Britain.
4) There has been no increase in funding (that I can find) in flu prevention programs or for medical research into new vaccines. (Please, if I'm wrong on this let me know. I just might be incompetent in my efforts to find any evidence that this country is trying to develop new vaccines for influenza.)
5) We have scientist from all over the world warning us that eventually there will be some major event that will cause these viruses to jump borders and start a WORLD-WIDE pandemic. Am I crazy? Am I the only person that thinks that this would make it mandatory for governments not only here, but everywhere, to work on this problem. Because hopefully, if it hit, it won't only be the average joe and jill on the street. If it does hit like the predict, I want it to be an equal opportunity plague. Hit the rich and powerful as well.
6. Given all these strange thoughts that I have, is it not a crime, and crime of omission, not to be doing everything we can to prepare for this? We know it's here. We know what the disease looks like, what its make-up is. We now that it not a pretty death. We know a lot of things about it. What we apparently don't want to know is how to prepare for it.
7. Is it the money thing? Do they not want to divert money from a war against an innocent country to fight these diseases? Are they afraid they won't be able to shuffle as much cash back to the rich if we gear up a program to try to deal with this?

PLEASE, SOME SMARTER-THAN-I-AM DUers help me with this.

[kestrel91316]

1. In this case I think it's either gross incompetence or ...............

deliberate neglect. Bush is untouchable. Nobody can prosecute him while he is president, and the Congress will not impeach no matter what he does, and we cannot turn out this Congress in 2006 because the Christofascists own the voting machines, which are rigged.

Feeling better now?

[acmavm]

2. Okay, maybe a clever class action law suit against someone for

endangering the safety of the public. Intentionally endangering the safety of the public. This is a serious security issue maybe. It certainly is a public heatlth issue.

edit: To remind everyone that the feds found reason to get involved in Terri Shaivo, in abortion, stem cells. WHY NOT AN ISSUE THAT JUST MIGHT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO KILL THOUSANDS? TENS OF THOUSANDS?

The is a national health policy issue.

[Karmakaze]

3. or maybe its just all hype?

Could it be that the "great bird flu scare of 05" will turn out to be nothing but hot air?

[acmavm]

4. My goodness I hope so. But more to the point, what if it doesn't? This is

not a situation where if true one can just go 'oops, my bad'.

[Karmakaze]

8. First SARS then Bird Flu, now Swine Bacteria...

how many more pointless scares do people need before they start to question the hype?

[notadmblnd]

5. might want to don your tinfoil hat

but I think that they want to depopulate the world. They think that if they can do it by not taking action on things like AIDS & environmental issues or illnesses, so much the better for them. Who cares if a few million Americans die off in a global pandemic? Mother nature will balance herself somehow and the strong (being themselves of course) will survive.

[wli]

6. no tinfoil required

They've been playing this kind of game with AIDS in Africa for a while, even going so far as to play pseudoreligious games with "birth control" and so on.

There will doubtless be enough antibiotics and antivirals for the neonazis in their gated communities patrolled by stormtroopers.

[Disturbed]

7. Maybe it's just simple.

The Bush Regime don't give a damn about anything but power and profits.