From Information Clearinghouse
By Mike Whitney

On Friday there was an article in the New York Times (In a Daylong Drill, an Agency Tries to Prepare for a Real Outbreak of Avian Flu, Donald McNeil Jr.) that gave the details of the drills that are being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) in case a full-blown pandemic breaks out in the United States. The exercises were supervised by CDC chief, Dr. Julie Gerberding, the agency’s director. A number of disastrous scenarios were simulated to test the judgment of the supervisors and the strengths of the system.

I’m sure everyone is relieved that the C.D.C. and Dr. Gerberding are practicing their routine in the event of an outbreak of lethal influenza. After all, Gerberding may confront a situation where she will be asked to decide whether or not to quarantine cities or, perhaps, entire states to prevent the spread of an epidemic, like Avian Flu.

So, why is this so weird?

Well, when was the last time Bush-Cheney devoted millions of dollars to anything that served the public interest? That is an oddity in itself.

They refuse to provide the recommended security-measures for the nation’s nuclear power plants from terrorist attack, and they waged a bitter battle over legislation that required the checking of cargo coming into US ports. They even fought congress on the issue of air-port screeners following the attacks on 9-11?!?

So now they’re spending millions on drills for a potential outbreak of Bird Flu?

Why? Why this sudden interest in the health and welfare of the American people?

Read More Quarantine