BO laying another smokescreen

[tombogan03884]

As I understand it an epidemic is when a large number of people are suffering the same illness. How many people do YOU know who have or recently HAD the flu ?
BO must be trying to divert attention from his world butt lick tour or his attempt to nationalize the medical field.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_bi_ge/un_un_swine_flu



GENEVA – The World Health Organization told its member nations it was declaring a swine flu pandemic Thursday — the first global flu epidemic in 41 years — as infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere.

In a statement sent to member countries, WHO said it decided to raise the pandemic warning level from phase 5 to 6 — its highest alert — after holding an emergency meeting on swine flu with its experts.

The long-awaited pandemic decision is scientific confirmation that a new flu virus has emerged and is quickly circling the globe. It will trigger drugmakers to speed up production of a swine flu vaccine and prompt governments to devote more money toward efforts to contain the virus.

"At this early stage, the pandemic can be characterized globally as being moderate in severity," WHO said in the statement, urging nations not to close borders or restrict travel and trade. "(We) remain in close dialogue with influenza vaccine manufacturers."

On Wednesday, WHO said 74 countries had reported nearly 27,737 cases of swine flu, including 141 deaths.

The agency has stressed that most cases are mild and require no treatment, but the fear is that a rash of new infections could overwhelm hospitals and health authorities — especially in poorer countries.

Still, about half of the people who have died from swine flu were previously young and healthy — people who are not usually susceptible to flu.

Swine flu is also continuing to spread during the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. Normally, flu viruses disappear with warm weather, but swine flu is proving to be resilient.

The last pandemic — the Hong Kong flu of 1968 — killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year.

Many health experts say WHO's pandemic declaration could have come weeks earlier but the agency became bogged down by politics. In May, several countries urged WHO not to declare a pandemic, fearing it would cause social and economic turmoil.

"This is WHO finally catching up with the facts," said Michael Osterholm, a flu expert at the University of Minnesota who has advised the U.S. government on pandemic preparations.

Despite WHO's hopes, raising the epidemic alert to the highest level will almost certainly spark some panic about spread of swine flu.

Fear has already gripped Argentina, where thousands of people worried about swine flu flooded into hospitals this week, bringing emergency health services in the capital of Buenos Aires to the brink of collapse. Last month, a bus arriving in Argentina from Chile was stoned by people who thought a passenger on it had swine flu. Chile has the most swine flu cases in South America.

In Hong Kong on Thursday, the government ordered all kindergartens and primary schools closed for two weeks after a dozen students tested positive for swine flu — a move that some flu experts would consider an overreaction.

In the United States, where there have been more than 13,000 cases and at least 27 deaths from swine flu, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the move would not change how the U.S. tackled swine flu.

"Our actions in the past month have been as if there was a pandemic in this country," Glen Nowak, a CDC spokesman, said Thursday.

The U.S. government has already taken steps like increasing availability of flu-fighting medicines and authorizing $1 billion for the development of a new vaccine against the novel virus. In addition, new cases seem to be declining in many parts of the country, U.S. health officials say, as North America moves out of its traditional winter flu season.

Still, Osterholm said the declaration was a wake-up call for the world.

"I think a lot of people think we're done with swine flu, but you can't fall asleep at the wheel," he said. "We don't know what's going to happen in the next 6 to 12 months."

___

Medical Writer Maria Cheng reported from London. Mike Stobbe in Atlanta, Jill Lawless in London, Dikky Sinn in Hong Kong, Vincente L. Panetta in Buenos Aires and Bradley S. Klapper in Geneva also contributed to this report.

[Hazcat]

Definite smokescreen.  Health care is the next push and this is the set up.

[tt11758]

Politics as usual.  Clinton had Somalia as a a smokescreen, BHO has the WHO.

[tombogan03884]

 Here's what he's trying to take attention from;
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090611/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_net_worth


WASHINGTON – American households lost $1.33 trillion of their wealth in the first three months of the year as the recession took a bite out of stock portfolios and dragged down home prices.

The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that household net worth fell to $50.38 trillion in the January-March quarter, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2004. The first-quarter figure marked a decline of 2.6 percent, or $1.33 trillion, from the final quarter of 2008.

Net worth represents total assets such as homes and checking accounts, minus liabilities like mortgages and credit card debt.

The damage to wealth in the first quarter came from the sinking stock market. The value of Americans' stock holdings dropped 5.8 percent from the final quarter of last year.

The stock market began to rally from 12-year lows in early March after Citigroup Inc. reported it was profitable in the first two months of the year. Since peaking in October 2007, it had been the worst bear market since the aftermath of the crash of 1929.

Another hit came from falling house prices. The value of household real-estate holdings fell 2.4 percent, according to the Fed report.

Collectively, homeowners had only 41.4 percent equity in their homes in the first quarter. That was down from 42.9 percent in the fourth quarter and was the lowest on records dating to 1945.

The Case-Shiller national home price index, a closely watched barometer, last month estimated that house prices dropped 7.5 percent during the first quarter. Prices have fallen 32.2 percent since peaking in the second quarter of 2006.

The latest snapshot of Americans' balance sheets was contained in the Fed's quarterly report called the flow of funds.

Despite the drop, the speed at which net worth shrunk slowed at the start of the year. During the recession's deepest point in the October-December period, Americans' net worth fell a record 8.6 percent, according to revised figures. That was the largest drop on records dating to 1951.

With wealth declining and unemployment rising, there are questions about how consumers — the lifeblood of the economy — will behave in the coming months.

If they continue to spend, even at a subdued pace, the recession likely will end this year as predicted by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other economists. However, if consumers hunker down and cut spending again, that could delay any recovery. In the final quarter of last year, Americans slashed spending at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent, the most in 28 years.

Still, there was some encouraging news on consumer spending Thursday.

Retail sales rose 0.5 percent in May, following two straight monthly declines, the Commerce Department reported. Meanwhile, the number of newly laid-off workers filing for unemployment benefits fell last week by 24,000 to 601,000, the lowest level since late January.

[Hazcat]

Email I got....

Next Wednesday, June 17, President Obama will hold a closed-door
meeting to kick-off what many expect to be the strongest
push for comprehensive immigration reform that we have seen.

Amnesty groups, already pressuring lawmakers to end ICE
raids, and deportations are now lining up to aggressively
protest and march on Capitol Hill and the White House
next Wednesday--demanding amnesty for the millions who
are living in our nation illegally!

    Many of these groups that played a key role in the
    past election are looking for political payback in
    advancing an open-border agenda and rights for illegals!

    David, they will have the ear of every lawmaker on
    Capitol Hill next Wednesday and it's up to you and I
    to counter their vigorous and impassioned push!

That's why I'm asking ALL Grassfire team members to take
immediate action with me--no, not by marching in the streets
of D.C., (we all have jobs)--but rather by scheduling personal
faxes DIRECTLY to key Senate and House leadership demanding
they oppose amnesty and open border anarchy!

Click here to help:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=19522&CID=117&RID=20737894

David, I believe Obama's meeting is a trial balloon.
Knowing he has to appease the open-border activists who helped
get him elected, he's going to see what kind of blow-back he
gets from this meeting.

If resistance is light, Obama will boldly push forward with
comprehensive immigration reform. That's why we must mount
an equally impressive counter-campaign to let Obama and his
cohorts know in no uncertain terms that the vast majority of
citizens and legal residents of the United States staunchly
oppose any and all forms of amnesty!

David, let me know that I can count on you standing
with me by clicking here and scheduling your faxes, today:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=19523&CID=117&RID=20737894

Anticipating a strong amnesty lobby, my goal with this initiative
is to paralyze Congressional fax machines on Wednesday--countering
any open-border visit!

From dawn to dusk, I want EVERY office on Capitol Hill to be
awash in faxes OPPOSING AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS!

But success begins with you...

Can I count on you right now to take action with me. To
counter those who want to abolish our laws, and our borders
and overrun our nation? Click here and stand with me:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=19524&CID=117&RID=20737894

Our FaxFire fax system is the most efficient way to make a
big impact on this issue, however if you prefer sending the
faxes on your own, we've made the list of targets and sample
letters available for download simply by clicking here:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=19525&CID=117&RID=20737894

Regardless of which delivery method you choose, take action!

Thanks for responding to this important call to action!

Steve Elliott, President
Grassfire.org

P.S: In addition to sending your faxes, Grassfire is also
delivering petitions to each member of Congress attending
Obama's closed-to-the-public meeting on June 17!

These names have not yet been released to the public, but as
soon as they are I will move quickly to get our "NO AMNESTY"
petitions in their hands.

After scheduling your faxes, forward this message to 20-25
friends and family urging them to follow your lead--by
clicking below, and scheduling their faxes as well:

http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?U=19526&CID=117&RID=20737894

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Yes, I got that as well.