The Bush Coup - Part III




They are anticipating The Avian Flu is more the issue !

Bio-fuels push up feed costs
POULTRY FACTS
There were 2,792 chicken producers in Canada in 2006.
Canada produced 973.6 million kilograms of chicken worth $1.55 billion, 60 per cent of which came from Quebec and Ontario.
The average chicken farm produced 348,700 kilos of meat.
Domestic chicken consumption was 31.8 kilos per person.
Exports consisted of 5.5 million chicks, worth almost $10 million.
SOURCE: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2006 statistics
Pilgrim's Pride cuts output, jobs as feed cost soars
Mar 13, 2008 04:30 AM
Lisa Wright
Business reporter
Go ahead, grab another drumstick.
Canadian farmers aren't counting their chickens, so to speak, as their poultry-producing pals south of the border struggle with sky-high costs for feed and an oversupply of the popular protein.
That's forcing the world's largest producer to close nearly half of its distribution centres in the United States.
There isn't a poultry glut in Canada yet, but the industry is keeping a close watch on the U.S. chicken scene after Pilgrim's Pride Corp. announced yesterday it will slash 1,100 jobs and close a huge North Carolina chicken-processing complex along with six of its 13 distribution centres by June, citing "unprecedented increases" in feed costs.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/345249



Royal Veterinary College uses @RISK from Palisade to combat avian flu
By WebitPR (www.webitpr.com) - March 12, 08 at 13:05
The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is using @RISK risk analysis software from Palisade (www.palisade-europe.com) as part of its research aimed at developing methods for controlling and preventing the occurrence of dangerous and infectious diseases in animals. A key area of research for the RVC, the UK's largest vet school and one of the most highly regarded veterinary research centres in Europe, is avian flu.

http://www.edubourse.com/finance/actualites.php?actu=38219



Conger: Coming up with a flu plan
By Clayton Conger, Syndicated columnist
GHS
Posted Mar 12, 2008 @ 12:17 AM
LEXINGTON PARK, Md. - Interest in avian flu seems to have waned recently, but its threat is still present in several rural areas, principally in the Orient. A previously unknown and dangerous strain of the H5N1 bird flu has emerged from southern China and has spread from birds to people in Southeast Asia, marking a third wave of avian flu and rekindling fears of a global pandemic.

http://www.dailynewstribune.com/opinion/x346135634



Spraying away bird flu?
March 12 2008 at 03:03PM
Tokyo - Japanese researchers said on Wednesday they were in the final stage of developing a painless bird flu vaccine which is sprayed up the nose instead of being injected.
The nasal spray could make it easier to vaccinate people in developing countries with limited medical resources, which have borne the brunt of avian influenza since an outbreak in 2003.
Researchers sprayed the vaccine into the noses of mice and monkeys and found it was effective against H5N1, the strain of bird flu that can be deadly for humans, as well as its subtypes.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31&art_id=nw20080312104728297C146669&set_id=



Government alerts states bordering West Bengal on bird flu
The central government Wednesday alerted states neighbouring West Bengal, where a fresh outbreak of bird flu has left over 190 birds dead over the past nine days.
Tests at the Bhopal's High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) found the presence of bird flu virus in samples from Nayamukundapur in Raghunathgunj block II and Dohapara village in Murshidabad-Jiagunj block of the Murshidabad district, following which the central government alerted adjoining states of Bihar, Orissa, Manipur and Jharkhand.
The Department of Animal Husbandry, after notifying the fresh poultry deaths, said about 90 broiler chicken died in Budhra Village of Jiaganj block on March 5, while 100 birds in backyard poultry in Nayamukundpur village in Raghunathganj-II block were killed due to the H5N1 virus.
Both centres are just a few kilometres from the place where avian influenza was reported last month.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/FullcoverageStoryPage.aspx?id=49fbfe80-1b1e-4433-81d3-1f9a9f7b41d7BirdfluhitsIndia_Special&MatchID1=4663&TeamID1=5&TeamID2=2&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1173&PrimaryID=4663&Headline=States+bordering+WB+alerted+on+bird+flu



Fingers crossed at swannery
By Miriam Phillips
ABBOTSBURY Swannery's boss has his fingers crossed for a normal year' as they open their doors to the public tomorrow.
This comes after a nightmare few months for the famous sanctuary. A bird flu outbreak in January was followed by a storm earlier this week which flooded the grounds and destroyed 80 nests.
The swannery has been sealed off to the public since January 10 when three dead mute swans tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus.

http://www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.2118992.0.fingers_crossed_at_swannery.php



India To Cull 50,000 Birds Amid New Avian Flu Outbreak
March 10, 2008 4:36 p.m. EST
Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent
Kolkata, India (AHN) - Health workers have begun culling of poultry in an attempt to combat a fresh bird flu outbreak in the country's eastern state West Bengal, officials said on Monday. State workers planned to destroy nearly 50,000 domestic birds in two districts where officials found infected poultry.
Culling began in a radius of five kilometers (3.1 miles) around the new area of infection. While 22,400 birds are to be culled in Raghunathganj-II, the culling target in respect of Jiaganj is 27,200 birds.
In January 2008, the H5N1 virus affected hit 13 of the state's 19 districts, including Murshidabad, bringing down poultry sales by more than 70 per cent.
The authorities had to cull more than 3.4 million birds in the state after the World Health Organization (WHO) described January's outbreak as the worst in India.
No humans in India are known to have caught the disease, which has killed at least 235 people worldwide according to the WHO.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010288399



Bird flu shows signs of mutation - China expert
Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:38am EDT
HONG KONG, March 11 (Reuters) - A Chinese expert on respiratory diseases says the H5N1 bird flu virus has shown signs of mutation and urged vigilance at a time when seasonal human influenza is at a peak, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
"When avian flu is around and human flu appears, this will raise the chances of avian flu turning into a human flu. We have to be very alert and careful in March," Zhong Nanshan was quoted by the Ming Pao newspaper as saying.
"People who were killed by bird flu last year and this year were too poor to seek treatment. If you happen to have high fever and pneumonia, you must seek treatment fast," said Zhong, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases in China's southern Guangdong province.
Experts are worried about seasonal flu, because it could get mixed up with a deadly novel strain, such as the H5N1 bird flu virus. Such a hybrid would not only become easily transmissible between people, but packed with great killing power.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSHKG228879



EDUCATION LIBERTY CITY CHARTER
Pioneer Liberty City Charter School faces closure
Liberty City Charter School -- the county's first charter school -- could be shut down Wednesday by the Miami-Dade School Board.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 12, 2008
By KATHLEEN McGRORY
Liberty City Charter School, one of the state's first charter schools and a bellwether for hundreds of others that followed, could soon be closing its doors.
The Miami-Dade School Board on Wednesday will consider pulling the plug on the once-touted elementary school, which played a key role in the political careers of its founders, former Gov. Jeb Bush and current state Board of Education Chairman T. Willard Fair.
The school has been in a state of financial emergency for two years, a problem that Principal and CEO Katrina Wilson-Davis blamed on a legal battle that the school lost to a previous landlord. It contributed to the school now being $1 million in debt.

http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/453143.html


Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow to perform in Sioux Falls
Elizabeth Gorder
egorder@argusleader.com
March 12, 2008
Some big names are coming to Sioux Falls, including Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow, for the Sanford Festival June 2-7.
But don't get too excited just yet - the performance won't be open to the public.
Dr. Michael Saba of Sanford Health said the event is a gesture of appreciation to Sanford employees to thank them for what they've done to put the organization on the international map.
Rascal Flatts and Sheryl Crow will perform on Saturday night. The event will be themed “Imagine.”
Performances on Saturday night are not open to the public due to space restrictions.
Other big names invited to the event are NBC medical coorespondent Dr. Bob Arnot, Catherine Bach, President Bush's brother Neil Bush, Sen. Bill Frist and Ali and AJ.
Not all invited guests have confirmed yet, said Jolene Loetscher, spokesperson for Sanford.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/UPDATES/80312041/1003/business



Bills that don't pass Tuesday essentially dead for session
By ANDREA JONES, BEN SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/11/08
Tuesday is "crossover day" at the Capitol, the official do-or-die day on which bills must be approved in their chamber of the Legislature to have a fighting chance at becoming law…
…A House measure that proposed a constitutional amendment to make English the state's official language was voted down, but a Senate bill that essentially would do the same will be on the floor of that chamber today. That law prohibits a state agency from "requiring an employee to speak or learn any language" to get promoted or to keep a job.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/03/10/crossover_0311.html


Pentagon Dismisses KBR Contaminated Water: Troops Should ‘Just Drink Bottled Water’
On Sunday, the AP reported that contractor KBR has been providing “unmonitored and potentially unsafe” water to U.S. troops in Iraq. According to a Pentagon Inspector General’s report, dozens of soldiers fell sick, suffering “skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses” after using the “discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry.”
In a press briefing on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell dismissed KBR’s gross negligence. He responded by joking about how everyone knows the water in Iraq is unsafe, and advised everyone to avoid drinking it:
You know, we’ve all been to Iraq several times. Everywhere you go they make it perfectly clear that you don’t want to drink the water, so I’m a little surprised myself that this is an issue. As I understand it, the bottled water, which is what you’re supposed to be drinking in Iraq, had no issues whatsoever in the testing that was done. Evidently, there was some issue with some of the other water that was, I guess, primarily meant for washing. […]
But I think our encouragement is always — for journalists and warfighters alike is read the signs and just drink the bottled water.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/kbr-water/


Farmington approves revenue bond for Halliburton
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 03/12/2008 05:42:24 AM MDT
FARMINGTON, N.M.—The Farmington City Council has approved an industrial revenue bond for Halliburton Energy Services, with Mayor Bill Standley breaking a tie to grant the bonds.
Under the bonds, Farmington gives up an estimated $15,000 annually for 30 years in property taxes and about $200,000 in one-time gross receipts taxes.
But Councilor Dan Darnell says the bonds will let the company do more business.
Proponents argued that the breaks are worth it to keep Halliburton's tax money and 200 jobs in the city. But opponents contend the international company shouldn't need help.
Halliburton will use the revenue toward a $24 million facility to combine and expand its Farmington operations.
The company estimates the project will mean $234,000 more in taxes annually once it's finished.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_8544092

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