This week, heavy demands were put on the World Health Organisation by the world. Well, 14 of the most developed countries. They want to know exactly why the WHO told them that the world would end unless One Gazillion US Euro-Dollars Sterling was spent stocking up on Tamiflu that wasn't really used. And I suppose they're right to ask. We're in the middle of the worst recession for almost 100 years, but swine flu is now officially on the way out in Europe and bird flu never put in an appearance at all despite saying it was 'attending' on Facebook.
So, whose idea was it to buy all this Tamiflu? It is of course, better to be safe than sorry and despite the obvious and much-highlighted flaws of using anti-virals once a virus has already begun to spread (akin to digging a moat to keep the Nazi's out, in 2008), Tamiflu is good at keeping the chattering masses focused on the failures of the financial world. This still doesn't answer how the WHO so massively overshot the mark on this one. An internationally responsible and accountable body falsely predicting the end of the world twice and each time encouraging people to spend all their money on Tamiflu does raise the type of questions that would have Naomi Klein squealing 'Sir! Sir! Sir! Oh me! me! I know! I know!' with her fingertips touching the ceiling in the Political Commentators school of Sceptics.
The thing is, that all this happened in the same week that seven hundred previously secret documents were released by the EU parliament. These documents detail email conversations in which the tobacco lobby was seen to be putting pressure on the various committees of the EU to focus on the economic aspects of policy rather than the social. Needless to say, links were made. Post 9/11 the US has a policy of; "Just because it happened in Europe doesn't mean it CAN'T happen here.'"
So once again, just like in the nineties, the role of 'Big Pharma' in the political world is being questioned. We probably don't realise here, but in the US the stranglehold that pharmaceutical companies have over the population is staggering. If someone on Fox News was to make a passing comment about say... Scurvy, you could guarantee that the next advert break would be for 'Orangozaic!; now with Pro-Scurvical-Ionidotopatoids to Protect You AND Your Family!' Twenty minutes later just about 6 billion units will have sold.
It's a terrifying thing to think that consumerism is based on fear. The fear of flu made world leaders happy to buy enough overpriced Strepsils for an entire planet, Tamiflu were happy to provide, 'the media' (a phrase almost as unpalatable to me as 'the youth of today') were happy to keep the fear pumped around and we were happy to lap it up, bitch and moan about it round the water-cooler and do absolutely fuck all.
But, as one informed reader of the Telegraph wrote: "Swine flu is now a political disease and, as with all things political, one has to be seen to be doing something." Even if that something is just panicking like an impotent, pathetic little worm and waiting for someone to blame. Well now we can all blame the World Health Organisation, an organisation set up to put international well-being, health and happiness before politics, finance and personal resentment. Way to crush every attempt at positive global cooperation.
Anyway, with global warming, economic doom, the failure of dollar imperialism, pandemics and resource shortages, and oh yeah '2012!' (yeah, that's back in the popular press) it's only a matter of time before the whole WHO gives up and just screams hysterically into a massive speaker system that everyone HAS to spend their money on re-enforced concrete, spears, Bibles and those crazy money-spinning cigarettes.
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