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Donald Rumsfeld Profits From Bird Flu Scare and Bush's Response To It

money.cnn.com — There's a pattern in this Administration where members (or former members) of the Administration benefit financially from decisions the Administration makes. In fact it's routine.

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  • LakeshoreBaby, on 10/12/2007, -17/+9I knew this Bird Flu thing was a hoax. I could just feel it in my bones. Just another ***** story to terrorize us into taking expensive medications and immune-system destroying vaccines.
    • robbh66, on 10/12/2007, -20/+10@ Submitter:

      You DO REALIZE that the article basically says that Rumsfeld did every thing he could for it not to be a conflict in interest? It *completely* contradicts your blurb and doesn't offer a shred of evidence for it.

      Are you going to blame the US Government for bird-flu now? Was it all a huge hoax so Rumsfeld could make a few million? Did they get all the media outlets to report on it to the ridiculous levels they did so the administration could make a few bucks?
    • Keach, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11"You DO REALIZE that the article basically says that Rumsfeld did every thing he could for it not to be a conflict in interest?"

      They always do. It's a scam.
    • geoboy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18Avian Flu isn't a hoax. The threat of it mutating so that it can spread from human to human isn't a hoax. But yes, the government and the media sure did over play it a bit much. But it's not like they created widespread panic and terror over nothing. I think the media handled itself fairly well for being... the media. And the government put money into pockets of corporations by riding on this which benefited a politician or two. What else the ***** is new?
    • KiTchMe, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5@robbh66
      "You DO REALIZE that the article basically says that Rumsfeld did every thing he could for it not to be a conflict in interest?"
      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      I wonder if we even read the same article.
    • bIuebonics, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@geoboy - "I think the media handled itself fairly well for being... the media"

      "fatal contact: bird flu in america," is handling itself fairly well?
    • kcmedic, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3OK, even I think this is lame, and I can't stand the guy.

      "The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world."

      Note the "panicking people around the globe" and the "influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world." This is a global issue, it wasn't his doing. I think this is a bit of a stretch.


      I can't believe I just defended the guy. I have to take a shower now. I feel dirty...so dirty...won't...wash...off.
    • sibbano, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1http://www.proxyhub.co.uk/index.php?hl=0011110001&q=uggc%3A%2F%2Fra.jvxvcrqvn.bet%2Fjvxv%2FCebwrpg_sbe_gur_Arj_Nzrevpna_Praghel
      most of the administrations names are in this group. Does all this come as a surprise?
    • geoboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@bIuebonics

      I wouldn't really expect anything less from the media. Sensationalism and overly hyping everything is what the media does. I personally wasn't too worried about dying next week in a bird flu pandemic. My day to day life went exactly as usual. Maybe someone would say "how about that bird flu" in a conversation once in a while (actually, I don't recall anyone ever bringing up bird flu in a conversation with me), but very few people were actually worried or freaking out about it.

      That's why I guess some people regard it as a hoax... with the way the media and government took hold of it, yet nothing major came of bird flu. But the same exact threat lurks today as it did 2 years ago. Same with shark attacks, car accidents, terrorist attacks, etc. I don't expect the media to care anymore about bird flu until it finally does mutate... then it may be a good idea to start worrying.
    • roosterjm2k2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah, because no other president/administration has done this... I mean, clinton didnt pardon like what, 12 of his very rich (through illegal ways) friends in prison at the last minute?

      Fringe benefits....its a fact of any position of power...
    • robbh66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@kitchme
      "I wonder if we even read the same article"

      Yes, obviously I read the entire article while you read the submitters blurb:

      FTA:
      "Rumsfeld recused himself from any decisions involving Gilead when he left Gilead and became Secretary of Defense in early 2001. And late last month, notes a senior Pentagon official, Rumsfeld went even further and had the Pentagon's general counsel issue additional instructions outlining what he could and could not be involved in if there were an avian flu pandemic and the Pentagon had to respond.

      As the flu issue heated up early this year, according to the Pentagon official, Rumsfeld considered unloading his entire Gilead stake and sought the advice of the Department of Justice, the SEC and the federal Office of Government Ethics.

      Those agencies didn't offer an opinion so Rumsfeld consulted a private securities lawyer, who advised him that it was safer to hold on to the stock and be quite public about his recusal rather than sell and run the risk of being accused of trading on insider information, something Rumsfeld doesn't believe he possesses. So he's keeping his shares for the time being."

      Don't get me wrong, I_DONT_LIKE_THE_GUY, but what exactly is he and the administration guilty of? Being in the riight place at the right time?
    • jamessavik, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I never saw Rumsfeld on the networks or CNN hyping Avian fly. It was always some expert in infectious diseases from a university, the CDC or WHO.

      If Rumsfeld was slick enough to orchestrate that, we wouldn't be in the ***** we're in.

      To my friends on the Left: there is enough real dirt on the right to bury them with. You don't have to make up any.
    • robbh66, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"To my friends on the Left: there is enough real dirt on the right to bury them with. You don't have to make up any."

      THANK YOU.

      I've said this basically a thousand different ways on digg and for some reason or another I never came up with something that's this clear and concise.

      I voted for the guy twice. I was an officer in College Republicans. However, the last few years I've felt he has destroyed what the Republican Party stands for and turned his back on nearly all Americans. However, when I look at the alternative, I see thousands upon thousands of losers on Digg who take every single move the administration makes and make up *ANYTHING* they think people will believe. They have become so twisted with anger and resentment that it is IMPOSSIBLE for him to do anything positive in their minds.

      Honestly, ***** look at yourselves. EVERYTHING that happens is a ***** conspiracy to you guys. If Something goes bad, it's because they willed it and they have a reason unknown, diabolical plan for it being so and if something goes well for one of the members he either lied, cheated, manipulated, etc to get it.

      Do you HONESTLY believe that other administrations have been THAT much better behind the scenes? I'm going to let you guys into a little secret: Part of the reason this administration is so bad to everyone is because of the rise of the internet. The guy can't take a simple ***** in the morning without it being on youtube 5 minutes later being dissected in 15 different ways. The internet has given everyone a way to see everything and thus question, criticize, and tear down everything. Clinton had plenty of Military action against other countries without as much provocation as Afghanistan and Iraq yet he's a hero. I'm not saying what he did was nearly as bad, it isn't, but I seem to remember him bombing a pharmaceutical factory with faulty evidence. Granted a war is a lot worse than that but then again, most of this country was all for it after September 11th.

      Instead of wasting everyone's time- yours, mine, the administrations, everyone on digg, why don't stop going after angles of attack that aren't only not needed, but not there, and do something about it. Get off your fat ass and join a local democrat, libertarian, green, pro-porn, loves god, hates god, socialist, or KKK-Nazi-Jerry Falwell Unholy Triumvirate or whatever else group and get your message out. Keep your neighbors informed, pass out pamphlets, make phone calls, stand on the ***** street at rush hour with a sign for all I care but whatever you do from now on STOP BITCHING AND ***** DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

      /rant
  • paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16"Bush's response to it"? I think part of your 2005 story must be missing.

    Interestingly enough, some Democrats didn't think Bush's plan allocated *enough* money and resources for the potential outbreak.

    http://www.upi.com/HealthBusiness/view.php?StoryID=20051101-013729-8939r

    In other news, politician invests wisely and makes money when the company delivers numerous quality products. Details at 11.
    • littlebylittle, on 10/12/2007, -6/+20
      http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN05/wn112505.html

      President Bush went to Congress early this month to ask for $7B to prepare the nation for a possible outbreak of Asian bird flu (WN 4 Nov 05) . The federal government has since become the world's biggest customer for Tamiflu, produced by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Roche. That was good news for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, who doesn't have bird flu. He doesn't have stock in Roche either, but he does have millions of dollars worth of stock in a company named Gilead Sciences, having been Gilead's Chairman prior to joining the Bush administration. Low-profile Gilead Sciences owns the rights to Tamiflu, which it outsources to Roche. There is little evidence that the antiviral drug would help much in a flu pandemic.
    • paulmike3, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5June 23, 2005 - Gilead Delivers Termination Notice to Roche for Tamiflu Development and Licensing Agreement

      http://www.gilead.com/wt/sec/pr_723430

      Do you actually take time to verify that what you post is even relevant?
    • littlebylittle, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14He made a load of money because the US bought Tamiflu. Now run off to your Shill Hole.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamiflu#U.S._Government_policy_and_oseltamivir
      "In November, 2005, U.S. president George W. Bush requested that Congress fund $7.1 billion in emergency spending for flu pandemic preparedness (the Senate had already passed an $8.1 billion bill)[34]. Bush's plan included $1.4 billion for government purchases of antiviral drugs[35].

      Some commentators (e.g., [36]) question the motives of the U.S. government's endorsement and planned purchase of oseltamivir, noting Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's close ties to Gilead Sciences, rightsholder to the oseltamivir patent. Rumsfeld is a former chairman of Gilead, and federal disclosure forms indicate that he owns between USD$5 million and USD$25 million in Gilead stock (Schwartz 2005 [37]). The rise in Gilead's share prices from USD$35 to USD$57 per share will have added between USD$2.5 million to USD$15.5 million to Rumsfeld's net worth.

      On the other hand, at least one Democratic Senator has criticized Bush for not planning to buy enough antiviral drugs [38]."
  • Infowarmachine, on 10/12/2007, -13/+12can anyone say "CONFLICT OF INTEREST"
    people used to know what that means
    now every politician (except one, Ron Paul! www.ronpaul2008.com) is constantly found to be patting their own backs at the tax payers expense
    • ryanissuper, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11Nobody gives a ***** about Ron Paul.
    • Rickler, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I'm all for Ron Paul, but spamming him doesn't help.
    • origclubsoda, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Can anyone say Diane Feinstein. Or that Rumsfeld i has been fired already. Get a clue - they're free.
    • Markers, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1That's our Government... watching out for the little guy, one penny at a time...
    • Dewhead, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Is there another medicine that would work? If not, how is it a conflict of interest? Anyway, its a free country and anyone is free to buy stocks in this company. The congress had to approve of the purchase was aware of Rumsfield's stock so what is the big deal?
  • geekee, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1deleted
  • noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Glad to see people catching up. You'll notice every year there is a new scare backed by some politician or political group. This year it is Global Warming, before that we had WMDs, Avian Flu, SARS, Anthrax, Mad Cow I, Mad Cow II, Global Cooling, etc., etc., etc.

    Rummy wants you to adopt him as your saviour, Al wants you to adopt him as your saviour. Pick your poison.
    • Dewhead, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Remember the everyone is going to get AIDS scare?
  • origclubsoda, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5All kinds of people are profiting from the bird flu scare. Why are you people so i hateful of people who arent on welfare?
    • origclubsoda, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4The funny thing is that I have that same stock! SUCKERS
    • origclubsoda, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4btw - the newes media,. not the Bush admin are creating the bird flue hype.e. The Bush admin has tried to keep people calm. Most of these transactions occurred after he was fired.
  • SOULEVENT, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2I know how to fix everything, but I am not going to say this time because digg people are mean and HATE the FACT that they have an immortal soul!!!
    • carpespasm, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2does the fix involve inviting jesus christ to be your personal lord and savior?
    • SOULEVENT, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Invite? meh, I imagine for most it would take some beggin of forgiveness once you realize the IMMENSITY of your negative actions on this earth...but you have to KNOW that the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal savior.

      (sarcasm) If anyone thinks they will see that with Donald, Alberto, Bush, Cheney, et. al. you let me know when, cuz I wanna dig up a long line of saints and roll them ver in their graves. (end sarcasm)
    • afx1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@SoulEvent "Invite? meh, I imagine for most it would take some beggin of forgiveness once you realize the IMMENSITY of your negative actions on this earth...but you have to KNOW that the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal savior."

      Are the good, honest people who died before Jesus was even alive going to hell then, since they couldn't possibly take Jesus as their savior?
  • digbird, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6This is a non-story. Why? Because it's been going on forever. I bet if you combed through the Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, and Carter Administrations you'd find similar situations and issues.

    Regarding bird flu, I think it is way overhyped but is undoubtedly a threat. I'd be willing to bet that if the Bush Administration did not do what it is doing in terms of preparedness and a pandemic did break out, the same people screaming about this news story would be raging about Bush's "FAILURE TO ACT!!"
    • Cyberen, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2It's still ***** wrong and should be fought against.
  • rlh1, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1OK, so who really benefited from the e.coli in the spinach ???
  • bIuebonics, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1bah
  • ButterBuddha, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4this is fuking disgusting.....Worst Administration Ever......
    • noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Oh yes, they are the first ones to own stock and profit from it. Certainly the worst people to ever live.

      /s
  • UBomb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Donald Rumsfeld drinks the tears of kittens.
  • JDove6, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Go ahead, call me nuts, I'm not saying I believe it fully, but I wouldn't be surprised if the CIA was behind this "epidemic"... This epidemic started in China...hmm overpopulation at its finest..and communist...And Rumsfeld conveniently knows that the flu-fighting industry is about to take off, like Cheney and Halliburton...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSX9wkpnKQE

    "Depopulation should be the highest priority of foreign policy towards the third world, because the US economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less developed countries"

    Henry Kissinger

  • mehss, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3IT'S ALL A ***** FASCIST CONSPIRACY!!1
  • dupswapdrop, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Hey it's all fair the public gets bird flu, Rumsfeld gets richer.
    What part of this administrations war on the average joe in America don't you understand?
  • appleann1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5O.K. Kiddies, here's how it goes. When posting your headline (forget the story, who cares), make sure you include Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove ,O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Coulter or etc...etc...etc...

    Bingo!!! Front Page.

    But put up......Terrorist to strike Times Square in 30 minutes.........BURIED
    • littlebylittle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Hey what was Coulter doing with J.J. the other night? Did she get some of that "Dy-no-mite!" later on?
  • Ibanezfoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Kind of like Gore's vested interest in all his global warming sensationalizing.... I would think all politicians are dirty bastards and profit by ***** over the rest of us.
  • hdtvdust, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5littlebylittle..seriously..it is time to give up your foolishness. No one takes you seriously. You only get to the front age by gaming the algorithm, and you know it. Your tin foil submissions make only YOU look bad, not hte paople that youa re trying to blast.
  • dingxisxgood, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Another scandal for the Bush administration. I lost count.
  • TriTech, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2This is old news and Rummy is gone. Why bring this up now like it is today's news? There is enough to hang these guys for in current events.
  • chicofaraby, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2What do you expect from criminals like BushCo?
  • rholloway, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2ha! Remember when the Democrats were saying the Bush Administration didn't care and wasn't supplying enough flu vaccine?

    Now they're saying that the hysteria was inspired by Republicans to make a profit? Even I have to call ***** on that, and I'm not a Bush fan.

    Let's see--Bush not only controls weather patterns and hurricane activity, he's also responsible for epidemics--and when the worst doesn't pan out, he's responsible for a hoax! You dopes give him too much credit--no wonder he got re-elected and another Pub will follow in '08.
  • BrittonBK, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2THIS administration is corrupt? THIS administration profits from governmental decisions? Come on. So does every other administration. That's politics. People with money controlling people with "power".
  • rmtatum, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@ afx1 "Are the good, honest people who died before Jesus was even alive going to hell then, since they couldn't possibly take Jesus as their savior?"

    "[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
    [15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." -- Hebrews 9:14-15

    "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." -- Habakkuk 2:4

    "[16] Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
    [17] (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
    [18] Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
    [19] And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
    [20] He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
    [21] And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
    [22] And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
    [23] Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
    [24] But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
    [25] Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." -- Romans 4:16-25

    "[24] By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
    [25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
    [26] Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." Hebrews 11:24-26

    Salvation has always been through the Lord Jesus Christ. The people of the old testament were simply looking forward to the promise of his coming. The believers of the old testament placed their faith in the promised redemption of the LORD's Christ.
  • rmtatum, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"The lack of sustained human-to-human transmission suggests that this AH5N1 avian virus does not currently have the capacity to cause a human pandemic." - British Medical Journal http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/331/7523/975

    http://www.mercola.com/2005/oct/25/rumsfeld_to_profit_from_avian_flu_hoax.htm
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