Jeanine Johnson October 13, 2005 Article title: Pakistan Arrests Chief Spokesman for Taliban

Summary: A report from Pakistan on Tuesday stated that Abdul Latif Hakimi, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, was arrested. There have been many attempts to arrest Mr. Hakimi, the man rumored to be responsible for ordering countless kidnappings and executions of well-known people, but all attempts have failed until now due to his ability to move from one undisclosed location to another. He "operated from an unknown location, contacting news agencies and taking calls on a satellite telephone and, in recent months, on an Afghan mobile telephone." From these locations, Mr. Hakimi sent numerous propagandist messages throughout the world.

Analysis: Mr. Hakimi will no longer be able to tug at the world's heart strings with his disgusting propaganda and self empowerment, but that does not mean that someone else will not take over as head of the Taliban. It is surprising that we were unable to catch him sooner, especially when taking into consideration all of the technological advancements and satellites the world possesses. This question comes to mind: Why? Why was he unable to be caught? Why did he perform such outlandish acts? Why was it possible for a man who has remained aloof for such a long period of time to finally be caught? The answers to these questions will probably never be known due to the secretive nature of government figures.

So why does this matter and what should be done about it? Terrorism is such a key issue in this day and age that being able to catch the chief spokesman of a major terrorist group is of utmost importance. But, it must be remembered that this could and will only cause more problems since the remaining members of the group are still out there, and could choose to strike at any moment. Their leader has taught them well, and they will carry out the plans he has requested of them, with or without his presence. They may go as far as attempting to break him out of jail (or wherever it is that he is being held), or threaten to due worldly harm if he is not released. Terrorism will not end with the removal of one man; it will take the removal of all terrorists and the people who support them to fully cleanse the world of such fiends. However, this is not Utopia. With the extinction of one generation of terrorists, another will arise as there will always be a villain and almost-heroes.

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Summary: (Indian Company to Make Generic Version of Flu Drug Tamiflu) This article relates to the Asia Avian Flu that has been rampant the east. A major Indian drug-making company announced that they were going to begin manufacturing the drug generic version of the drug Tamiflu which will be more cost-effective toward helping those that have the flu. The drug-company stated that they could not manufacture the drug without having to get around some patent issues which restrict the selling of patented drugs in the West. But they do say that they should be able to get the drugs made as there is a national patent law allowing governments to cancel patents during emergencies.

Analysis: We think that it is great that this company is trying to get the drug made in a short amount of time for the victims of the Avian Flu. It is even better to know that they are trying to make it at a “humanitarian price” for those who cannot afford to purchase the shot in developing nations. We believe that in the future there should not even be a need to “get around” patent laws when the possibility that millions of lives could be at stake. We also believe that the companies which manufacture these drugs should be willing to lower their cost when those who need it most cannot afford it. Krista Magill

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Global Literacy Paper three Amber Rose Kottre Freshman Academy Team 10

Title: China Reports Girl Did Not Die Of Avian Flu Author: Jim Yardley

Summary: The worry of Avian Influenza escalated in China last Thursday as health officials investigate the death of a 12-year-old-girl. Later that night though, they had identified that she had died of pneumonia. This past week China had reported that there had been three outbreaks of avian influenza in inner Mongolia. So far there has been no reports of the disease jumping from fowl to humans but health officials fear that China is extremely vulnerable to the mutation that could spread to humans. The girl’s death became a concern after she and her brother feel ill after eating an infected chicken even though properly cooked meat should not carry the infection. The area around where the family lives has been inhabited by ducks and chickens who are among the infected. There has only been 77 human cases of the avian influenza as reported by the World Health Organization and only 30 of those infections became fatal. Of the 77 cases they were only present in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. There have been three avian influenza outbreaks in birds this past week and each one was readily dealt with by culling birds and disinfecting contaminated farms. There are 192 monitoring stations set up nation wide in China to check for outbreaks. The Chinese government was originally criticized for coving up SARS in 2003 and has hence forth agreed to alert international health organizations of disease outbreaks. Also on Thursday in France a 43 year old man was rushed to the hospital after fears of avain flu, the French Health Ministry confirmed he was suffering from a different for of the flu.

Analysis: Bird flu is an infection caused by avian influenza viruses. These flu viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them. However, bird flu is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them. Bird flu viruses do not usually infect humans, but several cases of human infection with bird flu viruses have occurred since 1997. Symptoms of bird flu in humans have ranged from typical flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), and other severe and life-threatening complications. The symptoms of bird flu may depend on which virus caused the infection.

So why is this important and what is being done about it? We are not sure that the virus is deadly it may never mutate into a form that's harmful to people, it could change into a relatively benign bug. Infectious-disease experts fret that the world is overdue for a flu pandemic since for hundreds of years four have occurred every century. In the past 100 years, the world has seen three, of varying deadliness: The Spanish flu of 1918; an outbreak in 1957-58 and the Hong Kong flu outbreak of 1968-69. If The avian flu does end up threatening humans, will probably be quite deadly because of its similarity to the Spanish-flu virus, experts say. Also, doctors have noticed that more people are surviving the infection recently than they were when it was first discovered. That's not necessarily a good thing. It could mean that the virus is mutating into one that is easier to carry and spread. International groups would like to increase surveillance and monitoring in Asia, so that a human outbreak can be quickly identified and contained, with quarantines and aggressive treatment. No vaccine exists right now, although a potential candidate had some early success this summer. The National Institutes of Health is racing to develop one, and the White House is talking to vaccine manufacturers about increasing production capacity. However, if a pandemic does break, it could take six months to produce a vaccine for that particular strain. As for treatment, Tamiflu, made in Switzerland is the only antidote for flu. However, the U.S. has stockpiled enough for only a few million patients.

-- JeanineJohnson - 04 Oct 2005
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