Keeping Their Eggs in Their Backyard Nests

Peacenik has been promoting self sufficiency for a while. Urban gardens. Foraging. Solar heat. Getting off the grid. Burying money in your back yard. All kinds of stuff to help you in the dark days ahead. But Peacenik is also a little alarmed by the cavalier attitude of a lot of backyard chicken farmers. Seems everyone wants to get in on the act. Peacenik merely wants to point out once again that bird flu, H1N5, got started in countries where humans and poultry live in close proximity. You might think having some chickens in your backyard is cool, but Peacenik says check out the cost of a bio-hazard suit first.

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

Published: August 3, 2009

As Americans struggle through a dismal recession, many are trying to safeguard themselves from what they fear will be even worse times ahead. They eat out less often. They take vacations closer to home. They put off buying new cars.

And some raise chickens. Lloyd Romriell, a married father of four in Annis, Idaho, recently received seven grown chickens and a coop from a relative. The hens lay a total of about two dozen eggs a week.

“It’s because times are tough. You never know what’s going to happen,” Mr. Romriell said. Although he manages a feed store, he had not kept chickens since he was a child. “If you lose your job tomorrow, you’ve still got food.”

Read on...

Sarkozy’s Secret Plan for Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccination

punditman says...There are those who post or comment here or who read this blog who may disagree with Punditman on this one. There are those who may disagree with Punditman for even posting this article. That is fine. Punditman invites lively discussion about things for which nobody really has a definitive answer. The motto of this blog is to cut through fog, expose lies and help unravel the Media-Industrial-Military-Financial Complex. Punditman would like to add to that, the medical -pharmaceutical complex.

The article below questions the orthodoxy of Big Pharma, along with vaccinations of both animals and people and the recent panics surrounding Mad Cow, Bird Flu, and yes, Swine Flu. Is swine flu really a pandemic? Punditman says No. Does Punditman think the author, F. William Engdahl, is a nutbar? No reason to think so. Are mandatory vaccinations a good idea? Are they safe? What do you think? Punditman doesn't feel safe.

by F. William Engdahl

The French Government is developing secret plans to impose mandatory vaccination of the entire French population, allegedly against possible Swine Flu disease according to reports leaked in a French newspaper. The plan is without precedent and even defies recommended public health advice. Pharmaceutical giants benefit from the move, as the Swine Flu increases the trend towards the militarization of public health and use of needless population panic to advance the agenda.

According to a report in the May 30 edition of the French newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, the Sarkozy government has authorized spending of an estimated €1 billion to buy vaccines allegedly to combat or protect against H1N1 Swine Flu virus. The only problem is that to date neither the WHO nor the US Government’s Center for Diseases Control (CDC) have succeeded to isolate, photograph with an electron microscope and chemically classify the H1N1 Influenza A virus. There is no scientifically published evidence that French virologists have done so either. To mandate drugs for a putative disease that has not even been characterized is dubious to say the least.

Even more bizarre is the admission by the US Government’s Food & Drug Administration, an agency responsible for health and safety of its citizens, that the ‘test’ is approved for premature release to test for H1N1 is not even a proven test. More to the point, there is no forensic evidence in any of the deaths reported to date that has been presented that proves scientifically that any single death being attributed to H1N1 Swine Flu virus was indeed caused by such a virus. European epidemiologists believe the deaths reported to date are ‘coincidental’ or what are called opportunistic infections.

What we know conclusively is that the people who died often had prior respiratory complications of an undisclosed nature. People die every day with respiratory diseases. In the USA alone some 36,000 flu-related deaths are recorded yearly with no undue panic or alarm. Most are elderly or patients with lung diseases. To date in all France, 24 people have been identified by health authorities as even having ‘symptoms’ of H1N1. It is worth noting that the WHO and CDC list the symptoms of H1N1: temperature, coughing, headache, runny nose. Hmmmmm. Do you know anyone with such Swine Flu symptoms? Also worth noting is that in the counting of the more than 15,000 ‘confirmed’ H1N1 Swine Flu cases worldwide the vast majority made miraculous recovery within three to seven days, just as in the case of a bad cold.

The goal: Militarization of Public Health

Increasingly it is becoming clear that the successive waves of mass panic created in recent years by CDC, WHO and leading government agencies has an ulterior motive. We have been hit with mass panic over eating beef when cattle in the UK and elsewhere developed fatal illness that was called BSE or ‘Mad Cow’ disease. Later evidence emerged that BSE was the result of vaccination of the cows to kill harmless insects that got under the animal’s skin. More recently, after reports of incidence of what is called ‘Blue Tongue’ disease in cows, sheep and goats in Belgium and Holland in 2006, animal veterinary authorities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria imposed mandatory vaccination or treatment with drugs allegedly to protect the animals from bites by insects allegedly carrying the usually harmless illness.

Keep Reading...

Much Ado About the Flu: Is the Media Frenzy Justified?

By Bart Laws, AlterNet. Posted May 4, 2009.

So far, there's no indication that the "swine flu" is particularly dangerous, but the prospect of global catastrophe is attractive and exciting.

Scientists use various models to evaluate risk, but researchers have long understood that ordinary people don't rely on mathematical probability to assess the dangers posed by some phenomenon -- they use other kinds of rules.

For example, we're much more accepting of risks that we assume voluntarily. That's one reason why people who smoke a pack a day will go to a zoning board meeting to fight against a diesel bus yard.

People are also more accepting of risk when they have a sense of control. Driving a car is much more dangerous than riding in an airplane, but as an airplane passenger, you feel helpless. Another reason people worry more about airplane crashes than motor vehicle accidents is because the events are more noteworthy -- a whole lot of people killed all at once, instead of one or two here and there, even though the latter adds up to a lot more people over time.

Read on...

Has the media gone overboard on Swine Flu? Peacenik thinks some flu stories were/are a bit over the top. But public health issues are important and widely ignored. The swine flu has made a lot of formerly disinterested people suddenly interested in society's response to a pandemic flu.

Bart Laws says the time to start yelling the sky is falling is when the sky starts falling. Peacenik doesn't quite understand that concept. Governments and NGO's such as the CDC and WHO and FEMA have been encouraging the public to be prepared for an emergency, whether it is a health emergency, an earthquake, or a power outage. It is good advice. The jury is still out on the swine flu but it is very early in the game to be concluding that it is a media creation. Peacenik continues to prep. Will anyone trade Peacenik 100 current aspirin for 500 aspirin with a 2007 expiry date?

Flu Stories: Things To Expect

by DemFromCT

Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 05:10:39 AM PDT

With the first reported US death (a 23 month old in Texas, being announced by the President), it is perhaps helpful to put into perspective that the very young and very old are at risk from flu. This is true every flu season, where there are approximately 36K deaths per year. This is influenza. Flu spreads, just as it does every flu season. and we will hear about more cases today. Expect it. Concern, not alarm.

There will be cases in new states (possibly CT, and possibly others), and cases in new countries (Germany). CDC updates once per day, so late cases from yesterday will be listed today. The numbers don't matter. It is going to go up before it goes down. Look for geographic spread.

Read on...

Peacenik just got to work, after stopping by the Tamil Tiger protest on University Ave. to express his solidarity with the Tamils. Yesterday the police did force the protesters off of the street and onto the sidewalk. But today the protesters are back in bigger numbers and are back on the street. They are talking about huge numbers today. The U.S. and Canada need to try and do something to stop the civil war in Sri Lanka.

And then there is swine flu. This post by DemFromCT is a good, even-handed overview. This video by Henry Niman suggests that things might get worse than anticipated. Ontario has reported its first cases. As has Germany. Peacenik bought some more surgical masks yesterday, and some fresh Ibuprofin. But Peacenik remains calm and watchful....and compulsively washing Peacenik's hands.

Swine flu lands in Canada

Mexican virus spreads north as United States declares public emergency

Iain Marlow
Richard J. Brennan

Ontario health officials are maintaining a vigilant watch for cases of confirmed swine flu in the province but, as fears of a possible global pandemic continue to spread, the only cases to emerge so far in Canada are in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.

All six Canadian cases – four at a Windsor, N.S., school, two in B.C.'s Lower Mainland – were linked to Mexican travel. Unlike Mexico, where the flu is believed to have killed more than 100 people and sparked fears of a pandemic, the Canadian cases were so mild they did not require hospitalization.

Read on...

Peacenik's inbox is overflowing with page after page of Google bird flu alerts. Was Peacenik's time spent preparing for bird flu wasted? Peacenik doesn't think so. Yesterday Peacenik reviewed Peacenik's bird flu medications. Peacenik was horrified. Peacenik's Aspirn, Peacenik's Ibuprofin, Peacenik's Acetaminophine, Peacenik's Kaopectate, and Peacenik's Tamiflu were all stale dated. Peacenik has been prepared for a very long time.

Peacenik reminds dear readers of this prophetic post: Bird Flu??? What dat????. This is not a time for panic. This is a time for alarm and preparations. This morning Peacenik's eyes were itchy. Do not rub your eyes. This is the number one rule of beating the pandemic. That and washing your hands. Peacenik feels good. Temperature normal. Supplies adequate. Spirits positive. Peacenik rubbed Peacenik's eyes.

Have I got a deal for you

CARLY WEEKS
From Monday's Globe and Mail
January 26, 2009 at 4:09 AM EST

For the newly laid off, life can seem bleak. Days once marked by painful morning commutes, endless meetings and wilted sandwiches at lunch now consist of hours spent searching online job ads, unshowered and bathrobe-clad, as thoughts drift to food banks and burning personal belongings for warmth.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Tough times call for creative solutions, and as a growing number of Canadians are finding out, there are ways to get through life without draining their savings.

Read on...

In Peacenik's ongoing effort to provide useful information in the face of disaster Peacenik posts this piece on bartering. Peacenik could have titled this post "When it rains it pours". Global financial news continues to frighten. The barter economy approaches. And this headline from the Vancouver Sun is absolutely terrifying: Abbotsford farm facing avian flu outbreak to cull 60,000 birds. Peacenik's Google Alert picked this story up. So just when everything is going to hell in a handcart, bird flu arrives in Canada with a vengeance. Should you be concerned? Peacenik is.

Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy

Iain Martin says the Prime Minister hasn't 'saved the world' and now faces disgrace in the history books

By Iain MartinLast Updated: 8:41AM GMT 21 Jan 2009

They don't know what they're doing, do they? With every step taken by the Government as it tries frantically to prop up the British banking system, this central truth becomes ever more obvious.

Yesterday marked a new low for all involved, even by the standards of this crisis. Britons woke to news of the enormity of the fresh horrors in store. Despite all the sophistry and outdated boom-era terminology from experts, I think a far greater number of people than is imagined grasp at root what is happening here.

The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic.

Read on...

Peacenik has to ask again. Are Canadian banks really immune to the problems that are facing all the banks in England, Europe and the U.S? It is kind of hard to believe. As George Bush famously said, "This sucker is going down". If England become Iceland, what happens? And Peacenik's bird flu google alert is ringing off the wall. H1N1 is co-circulating with H5N1 in China right now. Before you head down to get your cash out of the bank you may want to re-read Peaceniks post about bird flu.

Bird Flu??? What dat????

How does Peacenik unwind when he's not tracking political corruption, fiscal incompetence, peak oil, haywire weather, wars, economic collapse and the travails of the Leafs.. Peacenik likes to stay on top of the coming bird flu pandemic.

In case you're not up to speed, the H5N1 virus is a virus that is killing birds all over the world, but not yet in Canada. Humans who are in close contact with infected birds also are getting the H5N1 virus, particularly in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Egypt. Some are dying from it. The fear is that when the virus mutates and there is effective human-to-human transmission a pandemic may be unleashed. To date there has been some human-to-human transmission, but it has remained contained.

Governments, corporations and NGO's are all monitoring and making recommendations on how to prepare for a possible pandemic. People who attend presentations on the coming pandemic invariably are shocked by what they learn. Governments and businesses are stockpiling Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug that lessens the effect of the H5N1 virus, but does not provide immunity.

Why should you be concerned? When there is a pandemic, there is a possibility of societal collapse. Kids don't go to school. People don't go to work. Food stops being delivered to the grocery store. Hydro plants stop being maintained. Water plants stop being maintained. People die faster than they can be buried. The police stay home. Read John Barry's "The Great Influenza" for a good history about the Spanish flu, the last great pandemic.

But you can make up your own mind. Should you be prepping? Should you have some Tamiflu? Should you be worried? Check out some of these links. It's hard to stay in a state of heightened concern forever. Peacenik was more concerned about and prepared for birdflu three years ago. Has Peacenik let his guard down? Or is birdflu one of those over-hyped doomsday scenarios that never happens? Why does Peacenik have cartons of Kraft dinner in his closet?

An excellent website for tracking birdflu.

This is a nice science fiction like read about life in a pandemic in Kingston, Ontario.

The canadian goverment information site.

A good general site for pandemic preparedness.

The World Health Organization.

Check out Dr. Grattan Woodson's "Preparing for the coming Influenza Pandemic". It tells you what medicine you would need in a pandemic.