In any event, the loud snapping sound you heard this morning was the skip of the stylus, as the sound we political analysts used to predict the future abruptly changed. Party committees -- beware!
"If you live in NY CD 23 vote 4 Hoffman," Rubio tweeted Friday night. "Send message to those who want GOP to 'moderate' that we do not need 2 Democratic Parties."
Chief minister’s appointments have been put on hold and all public engagements cancelled as he has been quarantined for a week.
Who's got more juice within the GOP?: Newt Gingrich or Sarah Palin?
How can the government pretend that it can manage, overhaul, streamline and reform the health care system in the United States when it can't even deliver enough flu shots to prevent a pandemic?
The person who knows who started the rumor, their name has been sent to Outside sources.
And with Levi stating he doesn't have much information about the divorce, it clearly shows he is getting lawyer advice on backing off on what was told to him.
So where does that leave Levi? Out in the cold when it comes to a possible custody battle.
One question remains, is Rex Butler leading the charge on a possible custody battle between Bristol and Levi?
We shall see.
But some advice for Levi, make as much money as you can get, because if you keep doing the trashy talk show circuit and continue to disparage your son's family, you will need it to pay the child support.
It's that simple.
Relations between the former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Levi Johnston, the teenager who almost became her son-in-law, have deteriorated to the point that a court battle is now inevitable, he has told the Guardian.
The dispute is over Tripp, his infant son by Palin's eldest daughter, Bristol: he claims Palin is preventing him from seeing the child.
"I'm up to the point where I can't see my kid again. I'm done. I'm sure we'll end up in court. We're definitely going to court," Johnston, 19, said in an interview in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city.
WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Only half of the people in the United States who most need immediate treatment for H1N1 swine flu are actually seeking it, even as the virus spreads at unprecedented speed, U.S. health officials said on Friday
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly two-thirds of U.S. parents say they will hold off having their children vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu or will not get them immunized at all, according to a survey released on Wednesday.
The findings, published by Consumer Reports, underscore one of the main challenges facing the Obama administration as it readies a massive swine flu vaccination roll-out -- how to persuade the most vulnerable people to protect themselves against the new virus.
On September 27, Novartis also began shipments of the first doses of its influenza A(H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine[1] to the United States. The early shipment is the first of an accelerated effort to provide as much A(H1N1) vaccine as soon as possible, despite the low yield seen with the initial production seed strain provided by the World Health Organization. Production has switched to a new higher yielding seed strain which will allow deliveries of higher volumes later in the year.
Novartis Influenza A(H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine was approved by the FDA on September 15, 2009. The A(H1N1) vaccine is an inactivated subunit vaccine approved for active immunization of persons 4 years of age and older, including patients with underlying chronic medical conditions. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded Novartis two contracts totaling USD 979 million for purchase of H1N1 bulk vaccine and the Novartis proprietary MF59 adjuvant.
Jon Cohen: Hi, thanks. You said you had an anticipated schedule, can you tell us what it is or make it public. You said that right now, supply isn't meeting demand. Yet, that conflicted with requests for the 2.4 million doses, only being 2.2 million
Thomas Frieden: We can provide information and we will each Friday. It's information that changes day-to-day as manufacturers figure out how much is ready for shipping and to clarify, vaccine goes from the manufacturers to a central distributor, and from the central distributor, onward to providers or the health departments to actually vaccinate. I'm sorry, the second part of your question was about? Supply and demand. The 2.4 million available was the first 2.4 million doses. Some states were figuring out exactly where they wanted to spend or send those doses. So far nearly all of that 2.2 million has been called down. It will take some time to get the whole system from the manufacturer through the distributor, to the providers and to people who want to get vaccinated up and running. One of the things that this weekend and next, will provide a dry run. Not enough vaccine around. Although we wished we had more, some can get vaccinated. It will get us ready to get a running start on vaccination mid to late October.
“It’s a good vaccine, but it’s one that can’t be used in absolutely everyone,” said Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, M.D., director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, during the H1N1 video briefing.
The initial shipment is live and administered by nasal spray, which isn't suitable for individuals with chronic underlying conditions or pregnant women — the priority group the CDC says is at greatest risk. The initial 600,000 doses will instead be directed toward health care workers.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 23 - The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that scientists have discarded a first set of vaccines that had been developed for the prevention of H1N1 influenza virus commonly known as swine flu.
WHO Country Director Dr David Okello said on Friday that this was because of the dilemma there was a possibility of the highly contagious virus mutating into a more severe form.
“The scientists have moved to the second level because of the dilemma we are all facing,” Dr Okello said.
He said if the virus mutated, the people who are developing the vaccine would have to advance their technologies to address the problem.
Pathologists at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune took tissue samples from the bodies of the deceased to study the effect of the virus that attacks the respiratory tract. "Our doctors have concluded that the virus has undergone some genomic changes," said Dr Arun Jamkar, dean, BJ Medical College, Pune. A key discovery is that the virus, which was initially causing a bacterial infection, is now causing a more potent viral infection.
Pune: Cities like Pune and Bangalore will see many minor waves, instead of a more virulent second wave, of swine flu, according to Dr Vishwa Mohan Katoch, secretary, department of health research.
Lung specialist Wolfgang Wodarg has said that there are many risks associated with the vaccine for the H1N1 virus.
He has grave reservations about the firm Novartis who are developing the vaccine and testing it in Germany. The vaccination is injected “with a very hot needle”, Wodarg said.
The nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals and "we do not know if there could be an allergic reaction".
But more importantly, some people fear that the risk of cancer could be increased by injecting the cells.
One might think that the arrival in Germany of the first of 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine on Monday might be cause for celebration. But with news breaking over the weekend that top government officials in Berlin will be injected with an alternative vaccine -- one widely seen as safer -- a debate about an alleged two-class medical system has erupted.
Health authorities have acknowledged that the pace of distribution is not fast enough based on the population's demands. They are working with what is currently available and suggest that an ample supply of vaccine will be readily available by mid-October.
For Sarah Palin, she is fortunate that Butler didn't join her administration when you consider Butler was going to testify against Palin's support of Alaska's parental consent law.
That should tell you the agenda Butler has.
Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Swine flu has killed 114 children in the U.S. since the outbreak surfaced in April, including 19 reported in the week from Oct. 18 to Oct. 24, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today on its Web site.
The number of children confirmed to have died from the virus, also known as H1N1 influenza, rose 20 percent from the 95 reported Oct. 23 by the CDC. Swine flu killed 530 people from Aug. 30 to Oct. 24 and accounted for 12,466 hospitalizations, according to the Atlanta-based agency’s Web site. The mortality data come from 28 states.
Hey, Marco Rubio, do you think the President of the United States was born in America?
"I don't know the answer to that."
That's what he told a Republican club meeting last night in the Panhandle. The rest of the quote, from Naked Politics: "He's been sworn in already...If someone had evidence they should have presented it a long time ago."
Also adding that he didn't want to "diminish" the Birther nuts who propagate the theory, even though there's no evidence, and every major, credible news organization has found that Barack Obama was actually born in America. If there's anyone who needs to be diminished, it's these loons.
Of course that's Rubio, and these Birthers are his base. He doesn't want to say anything too outrageous, but he has no problem flirting with one of the most extreme and baseless threads of the American conservative movement.
If I can editorialize for a second, are you kidding?
Here's something less amusing -- but more revealing -- about Doug Hoffman's website: It contains an Internet era update of a dirty trick Nixon's men used to call "rat fucking."
Dems love Dede
According to the Draft Dede as a Democrat blog, "we will have her on all of our key issues from card check, to health care, to taxes, social issues and who knows what else."
And then it has the web address of a blog called PlanetAlbany, linking to a blog called Draft Dede as a Democrat. Pretty damning stuff, right? Dede Scozzafava - Hoffman's Republican opponent - is actually a Democrat! And the proof is right there in this blog that links to this other blog, by some Democrats so proud of Dede Scozzafava that they prefer to remain completely anonymous.
That's how crafty they are.
Dede Scozzafava is their secret puppet and their plan is so fiendishly clever they can't wait to blog about it.
Or maybe Draft Dede at a Democrat isn't real. Take a look, and judge for yourself.
Classic rat fucking involves things like printing fake campaign literature for the other candidate where he promises, if elected, to commit unspeakable crimes and making infuriating late night phone calls from non-existent groups, The Child Pornographers' League, for instance, endorsing your opponent. The fake blog is a new wrinkle.
Why are half the articles on Draft Dede about how clever it would be to trick people into voting for her and the other half about what a disaster she is?
Why would a Democrat write something like:
It took years for one of ours to finally infiltrate the National Republican Party apparatus and wreak civil war within the GOP. Call it the Socialist Watergate of 2009, but with Scozzafava as the Republican nominee in NY-23 we will finally have the keys to the National Republican Party -- and with it -- almost certain access to all its ugly organs of operation...
When Dede wins, she will carry our water and also give us greater insight into the broader internal workings of the right-wing nuts running the corrupt partisans, otherwise known as the Republican House Caucus (talk about a self-inflicted wound)...
Dede Scozzafava, a wolf in sheep's clothing. This could be one of the greatest "Alinksy" coups of all time.
... and I'm telling you all this, Mr. Bond, because you won't be alive to see it.
Why would anyone write anything like that?
Except to rat fuck someone.
Lakewood-Amedex's nRNA product works by selectively silencing targeted genes in the viral genome.The company is building on the previously successful animal model study where mice infected with H1N1 type A influenza virus were given two doses of the L-A nRNA product and all survived while control and placebo dosed mice all died within six days.In addition L-A previously published a study demonstrating the effectiveness of its technology against the lethal H5N1 "bird flu" influenza virus in which a single intra-nasal dose of the company's nRNA product protected 100% of the infected chickens while placebo treated chickens all died within seven days.
Steve Parkinson, L-A's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We had intended to develop our broadly applicable influ-RNA product to treat seasonal flu and as an emergency stockpile product in the event of a further outbreak of avian influenza, but due to the escalating global H1N1 pandemic and now the report of this virus having been isolated from turkeys in Chile, we feel it is critical to have a product that can target multiple strains of influenza and is useable year after year."
Public-health officials are breathing a small sigh of relief that the H1N1 swine flu virus hasn’t mutated to become more deadly since emerging last spring. But what are the chances it will?
To find out, scientists at the CDC recently launched experiments in the agency’s labs in which they infected ferrets with both the new H1N1 virus and the highly lethal H5N1 avian flu virus to see if they might “reassort” to create a new hybrid.
The scientists want to know whether a combination of the H1N1 virus -– highly transmissible, but not terribly deadly -– and the H5N1 flu virus could create an easily transmissible, deadly scourge. The H5N1 virus has only sickened 440 people world-wide since 2003 and generally isn’t transmitted from one person to another. But it has killed 262, or about 60%, of those people, according to the World Health Organization.
The influenza A H1N1 viruses, initially isolated from pigs in Ireland in 1991, were genetically distinct from previously identified human and swine H1N1 viruses, and appear to be the result of introduction of an avian virus distinct from those circulating in pigs in other European countries. The first Irish H3N2 swine isolates were genetically closely related to human H3N2 viruses. In contrast, H3N2 viruses isolated during the latter half of the 1990s were reassortants possessing internal genes similar to those of the H1N1 viruses, and both subtypes acquired amantadine resistance. These changes mimic those which occurred among swine influenza viruses in continental Europe during the 1980s, and emphasize the apparent advantage of properties associated with the avian internal genes and amantadine resistance for maintenance of the viruses in pigs.
Mumbai: A preliminary study conducted by the state government into the deaths caused by the H1N1 influenza virus has revealed that the pathogen is now affecting patients more virulently and is producing newer reactions in the body. The study has also thrown up a perplexing fact--two-thirds of those suspected to have died of swine flu did not have the virus, despite showing all clinical symptoms.
Pathologists at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital in Pune took tissue samples from the bodies of the deceased to study the effect of the virus that attacks the respiratory tract. "Our doctors have concluded that the virus has undergone some genomic changes," said Dr Arun Jamkar, dean, BJ Medical College, Pune. A key discovery is that the virus, which was initially causing a bacterial infection, is now causing a more potent viral infection.
"The viral is now leading to a condition called hyalinisation of alvelar membrane, or thickening of the lung wall by deposition of proteins. Due to this, oxygen supply is severely affected, and even ventilators have been of little help," said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).
This finding has led experts to conclude that the virus has indeed undergone some changes and its anti-antigenicity is changing. But, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has a different opinion. Director of NIV, Dr AC Mishra, said that his team is yet to record any change in the behaviour of the virus. "We still cannot say conclusively that the virus has mutated," he added.
Jamkar said that another interesting finding of the state experts has been that two-thirds of the influenza H1N1 patients who died actually tested negative for the virus. "As many as 36 suspected cases who died were later found negative for the virus," he said.
An anesthesiologist in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area commented that his community experienced a flu outbreak in September: "I'm not very enthused about giving my son the swine flu shot considering [that] he's likely had the disease already."
MPC contributors who have been treating H1N1 in their communities say that the illness, in the majority of cases, is mild. However, data on the spread and severity of the H1N1 virus are only now emerging. Two studies recently published in JAMA reported that the outbreaks in Mexico and Canada lasted about 3 months, but the peak lasted just a few weeks.[1] The Mexican cohort incurred a mortality of 27%,[2] twice as high as the Canadian cohort (14%).[3] The studies reported that the H1N1 influenza can produce a rapidly progressive respiratory failure that is refractory to conventional mechanical ventilation and that frequently targets young and healthy patients.
"This ain't your grandma's seasonal flu virus," says a pediatrician. "It's a quadruple-reassortant swine/avian hybrid that's never been seen before, significantly different from its predecessors, even if relatively wimpy." For this reason, he suggests that caution is warranted with regard to the infection and the vaccine. He adds, "It's not inconceivable that this vaccine could cause side effects not seen with seasonal vaccine, although it seems safe in trials, so far." A family medicine physician agrees: "Any vaccine made at the last minute and made only by a few manufacturers with huge government contracts at stake cannot help but be higher risk for untoward side effects."
ATLANTA, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A positive rapid test for influenza is helpful, but a negative result does not rule out pandemic influenza A H1N1 infection, U.S. health officials said.
Jay Butler: Well, thank you, Dr. Jernigan. And good afternoon, or good morning for those of you on the line. This morning, this afternoon I'd like to provide an update on the status of the H1N1 vaccine program. A couple of events have developed over the past week which I think are important. The FDA has licensed the H1N1 vaccine from four of the five manufacturers, and that's one of the important steps towards making the vaccines available. We also have data now that there's a good antibody response to the vaccines, that adults appear to have a robust antibody response that suggests that a single dose should provide protection. And additionally, there's been no mutation in the virus. So right now there's every indication that we have a good match between the virus that's causing disease and the vaccines we have to be able to prevent it.
The delays are occurring around the globe, officials said, and are due to a series of manufacturing difficulties, as vaccine makers scramble to fill vast orders using an old technology that requires growing virus in chicken eggs.
It takes about six to nine months to produce vaccine once a flu strain has been identified.
A total of 11.3 million doses of vaccine had been shipped to U.S. doctors, hospitals, and clinics as of Wednesday, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out of a total of 14.1 million doses that manufacturers had shipped to warehouses by that time.
ANKARA, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Turkey is switching to national currencies in trade with Iran and China, ending dependence on the U.S. dollar and the euro for about 20% of its commodity turnover, local media reported on Wednesday.
During an interview on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" show, Stupak (D-Mich.) said he is undeterred in trying to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not pay for abortions. Stupak, who opposes abortion rights, acknowledged that some in his party are upset with his public campaign to change the bill.
Palin is also reporting that she took out a home loan from Wells Fargo for "legal fees to fight false allegations while governor." She didn't give a date or amount.One of the last of the complaints filed against Palin charges that the legal defense fund which was set up to pay Palin's legal bills is itself not legal under Alaska law. That complaint was filed with the knowledge that the fund would be frozen while it was being investigated, therefore forcing her to pay her lawyers out of her own pocket. The aim of her political opponents has always been to destroy Sarah Palin any way they can. So they staged an all-out assault not only on her character and her family, but on her personal finances as well.
"...she had run up about half a million dollars in legal bills, and pretty much every single complaint had been tossed. In other words, she had incurred debts equal to twice her family's net income and 40% of their net worth for absolutely nothing. And with the latest complaint going after her legal defense fund, it was shaping up to get more and more and more expensive, with no relief in sight. The agenda of her opponents was clear: to use Alaska's flawed ethics laws (the 'flaw' being that no one foresaw a cabal filing an endless chain of worthless complaints purely to drive up the target's legal bills) to bankrupt her and her family."The legal fees and the loan might also explain why Sarah Palin went to work immediately after resigning to write her book and get it finished in as short a period of time as possible. According to her financial disclosure, she received $1.25 million from her publisher as a retainer for her memoir, which is due out next month. Book advances are usually paid half on signing and half on acceptance of the finished manuscript, with the agent usually taking at least 15% right off the top. If these were the terms of Sarah Palin's deal with HarperCollins, then after her agent -- Washington D.C. lawyer Bob Barnett -- took his cut, she received approximately $500,000 of her advance, which would not have been enough to pay her attorneys in full.
"So she took what she saw as the only solution: she resigned. And once she decided that, she saw no reason to drag matters out."
Palin reported that she received $73,000 in salary and $6,370 in per diem during those final months before resigning as governor.Now that she is no longer the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin will not be required to file any more financial disclosure reports with that state's Public Offices Commission.
Todd Palin reported receiving $34,086 during that time as a BP production operator. He also reported $32,260 from his commercial setnet fishing operation in Bristol Bay, under the business name "Toad's Fisheries."
Todd Palin also reported $3,500 in winnings from the Iron Dog snow machine race.
Steve Parkinson, L-A's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We had intended to develop our broadly applicable influ-RNA product to treat seasonal flu and as an emergency stockpile product in the event of a further outbreak of avian influenza, but due to the escalating global H1N1 pandemic and now the report of this virus having been isolated from turkeys in Chile, we feel it is critical to have a product that can target multiple strains of influenza and is useable year after year."
You have to hand it to the bigwigs within the Republican party. They know how to run a duplicitous campaign on smaller government.
It should be obvious now, that the Republican machine does not care about the message, it cares about winning.
Case in point, the Senate Republican primary that is unfolding in Florida.
Here you have the idiot Crist talking about how great the stimulus package is and wanting to become the senator of Florida under the Republican party banner.
Moreover, for the moment, you have a brand new poll showing the conservative losing to Crist.
But wait, is that a good sign? Not for the Republican party. The reason the Republican party is at odds right now is because it has no clear message.
It is being viewed as a duplicitous party. How can it be a party of smaller government when its bigwigs are pulling in behind Crist.
Just recently, a Gallup poll is showing the republicans making gains on the democrats. And Rasmussen has had gains at dead even between the parties, while the pundits continue to banter about how the republicans have to move from the right in order to win.
Given another poll done in February, on how independents view the stimulus package, I think Crist may be barking up the wrong tree when he is boasting about the benefits of the stimulus package and how he supports it.
As an aside, it would be interesting if Palin's PAC targets Florida and supports the conservative candidate. And even though there was no special election in Illinois, since the Democrats picked Burris, Illinois is setting to be a perfect storm for Palin's PAC, if Palin's PAC moves in on the state.
All in all, Florida will be the testing grounds for the conservative soul and may very well be the testing ground for Palin's PAC.
Call it fantasy politics if you want but it would certainly stir the political pot.
PALMS flourished in the Arctic during a brief sweltering period about 50 million years ago, according to a study that hints at big gaps in scientific understanding of modern climate change.
The Arctic “would have looked very similar to the vegetation we now see in Florida,” Appy Sluijs of Utrecht University in the Netherlands said.
Evidence of palms has never been found so far north before.
The scientists, sampling sediments on a ridge on the seabed that was about 500km from the North Pole 53.5 million years ago, found pollens of ancient palms as well as of conifers, oaks, pecans and other trees.
“The presence of palm pollen implies that coldest month mean temperatures over the Arctic land masses were no less than 8C, the scientists, based in the Netherlands and Germany, wrote in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Meanwhile, the CDC has stated:
Virologists received a bit of a scare this week when researchers at the Adolfo Lutz Bacteriological Institute in Sao Paulo, Brazil, reported that they had isolated a mutated H1N1 virus from a patient who had recovered.
But academic researchers and scientists at the CDC discounted the report, noting that there were no changes in the portions of the virus that would alter its ability to spread or its pathogenicity.
But wait, what are investors concerned about?
Containing The Mutating H1N1 Flu Virus:
(NASDAQ:NVAX), (NYSE:AZN), (NYSE:NVS), (NYSE:SNY)
BioMedReports.com, the news portal covering the biomedical sector that delivers financial and investment intelligence to a community of highly informed investors has initiated a special report on news of the mutation of the H1N1 Flu virus and it examines which companies may be able to help.
The new strain of influenza appears to have mutated to become more infectious for humans, the online edition of science magazine Nature reported, referencing research by a team including Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka of Tokyo University's Institute of Medical Science.
Dr. Kawaoka is very well known for the breakthrough of artificially-made influenza, as well as for remodeling ebola virus into a safe one which increases only in particular cells.
Although the new strain of Influenza identified this year that spread widely from Mexico seems to have converged, the next one is said to be coming in already without a sound; the mutant virus.
Companies with both existing and new products for treating the swine flu are covered in the special report.
They include:
Novavax, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)
AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE:AZN)
Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS)
Sanofi-Aventis SA (NYSE:SNY)
I posted the story on the mutation here.
And I posted about GlaxoSmithKline and their delay on a H1N1 vaccine even though they had the first contracts to supply the vaccine.
Now they are a few months from distribution of a vaccine, while labs listed above will be distributing a H1N1 vaccine in July. This would indicate Glaxo IS working on a new strain.
The fact that the H1N1 virus is mutating, but the CDC is denying that it is and the World Health Organization has denied that the H1N1 virus was man-made, when stories now show that its origin came from Russian scientists should make one pause and ask why are these organizations not telling the truth.
Vaccine maker Novartis said Friday it has completed production of its first batch of H1N1 influenza vaccine weeks ahead of schedule, allowing the company to move forward with testing. GlaxoSmithKline is still working on its swine flu shot.
Novartis, a Swiss company that is building a manufacturing operation in Holly Springs, says its cell-based manufacturing technology allows it to produce a vaccine in a matter of weeks. The traditional method of growing the virus strain in eggs takes months. Novartis is developing the vaccine in Germany.
“The speed advantages of our cell-based production approach and our unwavering commitment to address this public health emergency have resulted in our ability to provide the fastest possible response to this outbreak,” Dr. Andrin Oswald, CEO of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, said in a written statement.
With the first clinical trial of its cell culture-based seasonal influenza vaccine commencing in the US, Sanofi Pasteur has demonstrated the production scale potential of a cell line in a successful bioreactor run of 20,000L.
For more than 30 years, vaccines have been produced inside chicken eggs. GlaxoSmithKline and other companies are researching ways to avoid the lengthy egg process by growing vaccines in cell-based or tissue-based cultures. However, Garnier said he was "cynical" about reaching landmark developments in tissue-based vaccine production.
(emphasis added)
Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a news conference Friday, "We have already had millions of cases of pandemic influenza in the United States, and the numbers continue to increase."
At the same time, he said, production delays continue to hamper distribution of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.
The vaccine is growing more slowly in egg-based cultures than manufacturers had anticipated, resulting in fewer available doses at this time, Frieden explained.
(emphasis added)
Sanofi gets $190 million Swine Flu vaccine order from U.S.
Armed with a $190 million order from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sanofi Pasteur could begin production of a swine flu vaccine at one of its two Swiftwater facilities as soon as next month.
Announcing the news Monday, Sanofi noted the order was issued under an existing pandemic stockpile contract with the U.S.
News comes just two weeks after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a license for Sanofi's new, $150 million, 140,000-square-foot vaccine manufacturing plant at Swiftwater. That's where initial work would begin, while an existing plant at the complex continues work on seasonal flu vaccine. Ultimately, both could produce the new vaccine.
(Emphasis added)
That is the production of the swine flu vaccine as soon as next month in June. Just previously posted on this site, in an article on May 20th, Sanofi was waiting to get the seed strain. And it would take at least until September to begin production.
So how is it that a company can go from 6 days ago not having a seed strain to producing the vaccine next month?
As I stated awhile back on a previous thread, why would governments contract with a company that would use a process that is, (when compared to other companies) months behind in developing a vaccine?Swine flu vaccines discarded
The fact is, Glaxo doesn't, it uses cell-based technology too.
So don't be too surprised to see news in the fall that the virus is spreading faster and the severity is getting stronger and a new vaccine is being developed...
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 23 - The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that scientists have discarded a first set of vaccines that had been developed for the prevention of H1N1 influenza virus commonly known as swine flu.
WHO Country Director Dr David Okello said on Friday that this was because of the dilemma there was a possibility of the highly contagious virus mutating into a more severe form.
“The scientists have moved to the second level because of the dilemma we are all facing,” Dr Okello said.
He said if the virus mutated, the people who are developing the vaccine would have to advance their technologies to address the problem.
“There will be a continuous re-checking of the vaccines even after development. Probably we will get a first phase of the vaccine and then a second phase and so on depending on the nature of the virus,” the WHO representative said.
He said the international health body was working closely with the manufacturers and expects the issue of mutation to be addressed.
He assured that Kenya was on the priority list to access the vaccine once it was available and clarified that the vaccine was yet to be released contrary to reports in a section of the press that a vaccine was already in the country.
In the not too distant future, a sign that says "Palin for President 2012" could pop up along Highway 101 in San Carlos.
That's because a federal judge this week ordered the city to stop enforcing part of its sign ordinance, in response to a lawsuit that contends the law violates free speech rights.
A push for control is revealed in attempts to organize Hollywood to help convey party messages and to use the National Endowment for the Arts to promote Obama policy initiatives. The Federal Communications Commission is considering content regulations on radio stations under the guise of promoting "diversity." The White House convinced television networks to embed themes of "service and volunteering" all this week, and tried to rebrand Sept. 11 as a Day of Service. This reminds us of Mao's admiration for the Soviet "subbotnik," or voluntary (actually forced) labor program. The fact that the White House communications director finds inspiration in the words of the man who gave the world brainwashing is cause for concern.
The current war with Fox News - which Miss Dunn called "opinion journalism masquerading as news" - shows the White House commitment to controlling the press. Among Fox News' crimes was when Chris Wallace fact-checked controversial statements made on his program by Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth. Yet to Miss Dunn, the media should serve as what Vladimir Lenin called "transmission belts," simple purveyors of whatever the White House dishes out, uncritically and unthinkingly. How dare Fox News check facts. No one fact-checked Mao.
On "This Week" on Sunday, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod lectured George Stephanopoulos on how ABC should treat Fox. Any news shop that follows the White House line will be seen as an extension of Miss Dunn's information machine. Meanwhile Fox's ratings continue to go up.
The word "taliban" is the Farsi-Persian plural of the Arabic word "talib," student. Their movement started in the late 1980's in Pakistan's numerous Afghan refugee camps. But its roots lie in the revolutionary fervor that gripped Afghan students during the 1960's. Like similar movements all over the world at the time, Afghan students embraced Marxism-Leninism. But unlike most of the others which focused on industrial workers, Afghan students were deeply affected by Chinese Maoism which preached an almost missionary moralism to any and all poor.
When a brutal Communist government came to power in Afghanistan in 1978, Marxism Leninism soured as an ideology among Afghan youth. Many turned to Islam, the faith of the vast majority of Afghanistan's poorest people. Students found that Maoism's "serve-the-people" doctrines fitted in well with Islam even as they found Mao Zedong's concepts of warfare highly effective in resisting the Communist regime and then battling post-Communist warlords.
We have continued this fight because there are still too many Marines and Soldiers on the ground over there who will continue to die because of these Rules of Engagement. President Obama intends to release his decision, by the end of this week, on what the strategy should be as we go forward with the operation in Afghanistan and he is likely to accept much of what General McChrystal has recommended. The one caveat in the Stratfor/AP report of this announcement today was that he intends to lean even more heavily on the side of the civilian population. This means, most certainly, heavier American casualties.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Monday that he was replacing the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan with Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who’ll now be in charge of expanding the U.S. military mission there.
The new Afghan strategy employs the same model that McChrystal used effectively in Iraq, where small teams of special forces deployed repeatedly on shorter tours and built up expertise that military commanders said proved helpful against the insurgency.
The decision to replace McKiernan comes as the United States and its allies are investigating whether a recent U.S. airstrike caused dozens of Afghan civilian casualties. The incident has angered some Afghans and has been used by the Taliban to incite opposition to the expanding U.S. presence.
Privately, some Pentagon officials have said that McKiernan was too combat-focused in recent months in a conflict that required careful attention to keeping the support of ordinary Afghans.
Indian political and economic influence is increasing in Afghanistan, including significant development efforts and financial investment. In addition, the current Afghan government is perceived by Islamabad to be pro-Indian.
Increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India.
There is one more fatal structural flaw in the counterinsurgency strategy that was relevant to our failure in Vietnam, but is even more relevant in Afghanistan. The underlying premise of counterinsurgency rests on the unproven assumption that the indigenous personnel can be "taught" to be democratic, honest, and efficient by US counterinsurgency forces. This unproven assumption is based on another faulty assumption: That insurgents are motivated by a desire for Western or "modern" democratic and capitalistic values. US counterinsurgent thinkers and warriors have not grasped that these values are the antitheses of what motivates the Taliban and their recruits.
In Afghanistan the problem is not nation building of a failed Afghan government, it is instead Sharia-Islam and Islamic Jihad. The 66-page report from General Stanley McChrystal mistakenly continues the politically correct position regarding Shariah-Islam that was erroneously adopted by President George Bush. This erroneous position is that Islamic Jihadists are misinterpreting the Qur'an by promoting violence in the name of Islam. According to the McChrystal report, this theological error by the Taliban is their Achilles' heel that can be attacked by convincing the Afghani tribesmen that the Taliban's interpretation of the Qur'an is wrong!
On the contrary, the Taliban and villagers who are rallying to the Taliban are not fighting because Afghanistan has a failed government. Afghanistan has always had a failed government. The Taliban are fighting and winning because they are convincing Afghanis that Shariah instructs them to kill or subdue the infidels -- native Afghani non-believers (that is, non-Sharia practicing Muslims) and "kafir" foreigners. McChrystal's report accepts the horribly flawed sociological analytical framework that 7th century Afghani tribesmen are fighting because they don't have a Jeffersonian democracy and clean water.
On the contrary, these 7th century tribesmen are fighting to preserve 1200 year old traditions underscored by an Islamic legal doctrine - Shariah -- that demands nothing less than total submission. Any war strategy that fails to recognize that Islamic Jihad derived from classical and quite authoritative Shariah is the enemy's doctrinal template and therefore their motivation is bound to fail, just as the Vietnam strategy that did not recognize the centrality of the DRV, caused the failure in that war.
For the last eight years, since the Taliban fled from Kabul in November 2001, India has staunchly opposed a dialogue with any section of it.
India’s position has remained: there is no purpose in talking to the Taliban; there is no such thing as a moderate Taliban.
But now there is a shift. In New Delhi today, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, addressing an international seminar on Afghanistan, declared that India would support the process of “reintegrating individuals with the national mainstream”, code for dialogue with the moderate Taliban who agree to renounce violence.
The Silverdome in Pontiac Michigan is being sold at auction by Williams & Williams in partnership with CB Richard Ellis on behalf of the City of Pontiac. Sealed bids are now being accepted by Williams & Williams through Thursday, November 12th, 4pm Eastern. At that time, the City of Pontiac, in its sole discretion, may declare the current high bidder the winner and the auction ended. OR the City may elect to invite no more than the top five high bidders to a “best and final” outcry auction. Should the City determine that they will continue the auction to final outcry, that live event will be held in Pontiac, Michigan on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 1pm Eastern at the Marriott Hotel, to give all finalists time to travel to Pontiac. The Silverdome is being auctioned Absolute, without reserve.
McChrystal tells Renee Montagne that the average Taliban fighter is not ideologically driven and is paid for his work. He says Karzai is looking for an opportunity to give these fighters and even lower-level commanders a seat at the table.
"I would absolutely be comfortable with fighters and lower-level commanders making the decision to reintegrate into the Afghan political process under the Afghan constitution," McChrystal says
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