9.9MB 21.07Mins

There are no photos of Rachel she wishes to remain anonymous. This photo illustrates the exerpt of the interview with her in my AudioBlog from the radio interview.

President Bush today announced a huge spending pledge, promising a $7.1bn (£4bn) national strategy to tackle a possible flu pandemic, with a focus on improving vaccines. Whilst this latest strategy is to be welcomed, skeptics doubt the ability of the beleaguered president to actually turn what many see as empty promises into hard cash. The recent huge pledge by the president of billions in reconstruction aid to New Orleans & Louisiana, raised eyebrows in Washington amongst even hardened supporters of President Bush's right wing Christian republican alliance. But Washington observers note that little of the billions promised in reconstruction aid has actually materialized, with hard pressed families, without even basic items like clothing waiting as much as three months for the promised federal aid. Huge spending on the war in Iraq has seen the US budget deficit balloon. Many remember President George Bush campaigning on a platform of reducing public spending & withdrawing from foreign commitment.


President George W. Bush delivers his remarks regarding his National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md., Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005. "At this point, we do not have evidence that a pandemic is imminent. Most of the people in Southeast Asia who got sick were handling infected birds," said President Bush. "And while the avian flu virus has spread from Asia to Europe, there are no reports of infected birds, animals, or people in the United States. Even if the virus does eventually appear on our shores in birds, that does not mean people in our country will be infected. Avian flu is still primarily an animal disease. And as of now, unless people come into direct, sustained contact with infected birds, it is unlikely they will come down with avian flu." White House photo by Paul Morse


The days of a balanced budget under the former Democrat administration of President Bill Clinton now seem like a distant memory. The latest spending pledge from George Bush may be ill advised. The promise of 'vaccine' for every American citizen, may be seen as an attempt to shore up the presidents support amongst the American public. The Presidents approval rating is at it's lowest level since Bush took office. The administration is desperate to be seen as pro active with many scientists predicting a Flu pandemic, after what might be seen as a lamentable effort by the government in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

The placing of the spotlight firmly on the issue of bird flu, by the President also highlights the lack of preparedness of the federal government in taking effective measures like stockpiling antiviral medications like Tamiflu & Relenza. Many European governments our own here in the UK have been addressing this issue for months & are working closely with manufacturer Roche to complete orders for the antiviral medication. Online retailer E-Bay recently banned all sales of these antiviral medications, after bidding reached into the 100's of £'s for antiviral medications.

Perhaps sweeping pledges of Billions of Dollars by the President in the light of survivors of Hurricane Katrina having to wait months for promised Federal Aid, are ill advised. Even supporters of the President acknowledge the difficulty of procuring yet billions more $'s. Prudent precautions against the avian flu virus are to be welcomed, but scaring an already jittery public, is almost certainly guaranteed to do nothing but panic an ill informed public, which are convinced that avian flu can be caught by eating chicken or poultry. Sales of chicken have plummeted since the avian flu became headline news.








Charlie

hewitt.mobi Posted at 4:04 am | 3 comments

3 Comments:

Hi Charlie!
I tried clicking on the audio blog, and all I got was this HUGE page with a picture of the teeny-weeny sign that says "Play this audio post" and that's all.
Gee, when I FINALLY get around to having the time to download and listen. I can't. ggrrrrr.
Oh, well, your post is informative.
Hope all is well.
Oh! Noticed the icon change.
Very "professor-like"

By  Michele, at 1:32 pm  

Hi Michele,

Thank's for the e-mail, I am just writing a reply it should be with you shortly.

I just upload the link for the AudioBlog you should be able to download it now. I only got around to uploading the Audioblog to my Ourmedia space just about an hour ago. I am still updating my Blog page so check back it should have some more stuff on it soon.

I decided it was time to update my photo, this one isn't brilliant but better than the old one.

Talk to soon sweetie....


Charlie xxx

By  hewitt.mobi, at 4:37 pm  

OK, it worked this time.
Audio of course.
That lady sure knew how to express herself. Wonderful handle on the English language, very articulate and specific.
She was the ideal candidate for starting the support group. Not that she sought it, but when having it thrust upon her, she rose to the occasion marvelously.
Isn't that how "greatness" is defined?

By  Michele, at 11:38 pm  

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All this will not be finished in the first hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin. - John F. Kennedy

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