Smallpox threat or scare tactic?

[Anonymous]

Ok, so I came across this story in the NY Times today..



Bush Signals He Thinks Possibility of Smallpox Attack Is Rising



Here are some excerpts and thoughts:

For months, Bush administration officials have talked about the threat of a smallpox attack but have offered no strong proof. But by asking millions of Americans to accept the risks of smallpox vaccinations, President Bush has signaled that he thinks the possibility of an attack is rising as the United States considers a war against Iraq and assesses long-term dangers.

So how did we come up with the threat assessment? Well...........We flip a coin :question:  :exclaim:

Experts on risk assessment say a short-term danger grows as time passes. For example, a coin flipped has only a 50-50 chance of coming up heads, but flipped many times will eventually land heads up.

There is no credible proof that there is any weponized smallpox in Iraq or even in any terrorist network, yet it is a credible threat?



So it brings me to this; What is the guberment going to do about Anthrax, Mustard or Sarin gas, and the likes? Are these not dangerous chemicals that could potentialy kill millions of Americans. Some of which could be even more easily had by terrorists.



In the meantime, the guberment has reiterated it's slightly altered policy and made public to the world our preemptive strike policy, and the willingness to use WOD (including tactical nukes) in response to any weapon use against us we do not like.



This can not be good, only bad. How many countries are we going to piss off or make cringe before they ban together (in a colition) and do a preemptive strike on us?



As the threat of going to war with Iraq comes closer and closer, doesn't anyone realize that since the late 80's we have been enforcing a no-fly zone as well as bombing Iraq on almost a daily basis. If these are not acts of war I don't know what is. Lets face it, we are already at war with Iraq, and this the talk is only about stepping it up so that our sons and daughters may die for some fuckin oil, and a family vendetta.



The USA Patriot Act and the newly created Department of Homeland Security is more of a threat to our freedom then Iraq.





So, who is the real threat? Any opinions?





_________________

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Some Days It's Just Not Worth
Chewing Through The Leather Straps

[ This Message was edited by: SysAdmin on 2002-12-14 10:06 ]

[Anonymous]

Here is an interesting article in the Pure Water Gazette:

http://www.purewatergazette.net/smallpoxoutbreak.htm


Exerpt:

The press has done its job over the last few months reinforcing the belief that an epidemic is about to occur, potentially causing millions of deaths. Americans thousands of miles from Washington will demand the smallpox vaccine, a vaccine with the highest risk of complications of any vaccine ever manufactured and with a dubious track record for success.

However, because you are informed, you will have a different response. You will not panic. You will turn off the TV. You won?t listen to your hysterical neighbors. And more importantly, you won?t rush to be vaccinated. Here?s why:

On June 20, 2002, I attended the Center for Disease Control?s (CDC) meeting of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and listened to one and a half days of testimony prior to posting the recommendations for smallpox vaccination that are currently being considered by the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS.)