Watch the un-edited version IMF News Conference (4/25) Finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world met in Washington for the annual spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Following a closed-door session, IMF officials held a news conference to give their assessments on the state of the global economy.
Something BIG is going on
harrynote:
Make sure you catch the comments by several active military.
They are seeing the same thing on many bases, and they see what's going onALL ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS HEADS UP..!!
Here it is folks:
Gentlemen,
US declares public health emergency over spread of swine flu
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Who Will Profit from the Deadly Flu This Time?
The swine flu which spread from Mexico over to the United States has concerned the World Health Organisation (WHO), but also governments across the world. Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not issued an official confirmation, there is suspicion that the virus has occurred in Great Britain, France, Spain, Israel and New Zealand. People who had been in Mexico and have flu symptoms have contacted their doctors.
It is interesting that the new swine flu virus is in fact a mixture of viruses that are typical for birds, pigs and people. The World Health Organisation has expressed concern and warned about a possible pandemic, but for now there is no explanation as to how the virus managed to mutate in such a short period of time that it can be spread from person to person.
Nobody has yet issued any official information about the origin of the new swine flu virus. Some
Rumsfeld made millions on bird flu
The American company made millions of dollars and its shares skyrocketed. The American media called Rumsfeld the bird flu profiteer, having become one of the wealthiest men in America from the earnings from the drug. The Swiss company Roche purchased the rights to the production of Tamiflu, so Gilead made additional profit on that sale. The CNN wrote about that at the time, stating that during the bird flu pandemic, Rumsfeld even intended to sell his shares in Gilead, but was advised to keep his shares and not to make his intentions public.
But Rumsfeld’s name was not just connected with the bird flu, but also with the swine flu in the United States in 1976. The story began when one soldier died in New Jersey from what experts believed to be an identical strain of the swine flu virus from 1918. At the time, Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defence and initiated swift action, convincing the people that the new administration would make sure that every man, woman and child in America are vaccinated. At that time the presidential campaign was underway and candidate Gerard Ford received additional support from this and became the president. The vaccine was produced and distributed across the country at lightning speed. The programme stopped just a month after the elections. The only problem was that the vaccine had been contaminated which resulted in hundreds of people becoming ill from it, while 52 people died.
Shares of two companies went sky-high after the occurrence of swine flu
The question of who will now profit from this deadly virus arises. Reuters conducted a research of who could be the potential manufacturer of a new vaccine and came to the conclusion that since the breakout of the swine flu on Friday, the shares of two companies increased considerably – Biocryst Pharmaceuticals by 26 percent and Novavax by as much as 75 percent. It is also interesting that the shares of the Swiss company Roche Holding went up by 3.48 percent, while Gilead’s shares dropped by ten cents to 45.80 dollars.
But BioCryst officials say they have no intention of producing a cure for the swine flu. It is attention-grabbing that the company’s value plummeted by 90 percent since 2006 when the price of one share was 20.75 dollars.
The value of Novavax also dropped, by 85 percent to 7.98 dollars per share.
Kleiner Perkins known for lucrative investments
Reuter also writes that Kleiner Perkins invested 30 million dollars into BioCryst in 2005, together with Fort Worth, a Texas subsidiary of TPG. The two companies again invested 65 million dollars in BioCryst in 2007. First they bought shares at 13.46 dollars and then at 4.35 dollars. Kleiner perkins also invested 20 million dollars in Novavax in 2006 together with the Paolo Alto company, a subsidiary of the Prospect venture Partners company.
According to pundits, Novavax can produce a vaccine from flu samples in 12 weeks. The company has contacted the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is also trying to get in contact with the Mexican health ministry and offer its assistance. Kleiner Perkins is known for investing into companies that were kicking off their successful businesses, such as Amazon.com, Google, Genentech and Netscape.
Baxter tested the flu virus a month ago
However, the Baxter International Inc. company confirmed on Saturday that it was working with the WHO to produce a vaccine that would prevent the spreading of the virus. The company has sufficiently developed technology to produce a necessary drug in a short space of time.
- Baxter requested a virus sample from WHO to do laboratory testing for potentially developing an experimental vaccine – Baxter’s spokesman Christopher Bona told the Chicago Tribune.
Exactly a month ago, the company’s subsidiary sent a virus which was presumed to be typical for birds to labs by mistake. The samples were intended for lab use and, fortunately, none of the employees who came in contact with the virus became infected. Spokesman Bona said at the time that samples of the seasonal flu were to have been sent to the laboratory, but that a mistake had been made. The interesting thing is that a month before the breakout of the epidemic, Baxter was working on flu virus samples.
Swine Flu Fears Prompt Global Quarantine Plans
Washington D.C. - A public health emergency has been declared to deal with the emerging new swine flu. It's a precaution and doesn't signal a greater threat but the declaration allows the federal and state governments easier access to flu tests and medications.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napilotano says roughly twelve million doses of the drug Tamiflu are being released from a federal stockpile so that states can get it if needed.
Napilotano said at a White House news conference Sunday that the emergency declaration is standard operating procedure, threats were also recently declared for the inauguration and for flooding.
Douglas County Health Director Adi Pour tells Action 3 News there is no reason to panic, health experts are watching the spread of the flu and taking appropraite precautions.
Dr. Schaefer said DHHS has activated it's response plan, "Increasing surveillance, alerting doctors and working with the local health departments are all part of the plan.
Medical Director: Swine Flu Was “Cultured In A Laboratory”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LcKoiTEJKc
Infowars
April 25, 2009
Editor’s note: On Friday, NPR reported that the deadly swine flu “combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before,” thus leading us to suspect it was cooked up in a lab.
Swine flu panic is spreading in Mexico and soldiers are patrolling the streets after it was confirmed that human to human transmission is occurring and that the virus is a brand new strain which is seemingly affecting young, healthy people the worst. Questions about the source of the outbreak are also being asked after a public health official said that the virus was “cultured in a laboratory”.
“This strain of swine influenza that’s been cultured in a laboratoryis something that’s not been seen anywhere actually in the United States and the world, so this is actually a new strain of influenza that’s been identified,” said Dr. John Carlo, Dallas Co. Medical Director (video clip here).
Was this a slip-up or an admission that this new super-strain of swine influenza was deliberately cultured in a laboratory and released?
Alarming reports are now filtering in about people catching the illness who have had no contact with pigs whatsoever. These include a man and his daughter in San Diego County, a 41-year-old woman in Imperial County and two teenagers in San Antonio, Texas. In fact, in all U.S. cases, the victims had no contact with any pigs.
Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County’s public health officer, told KPBS “We have had person-to-person spread with the father and the daughter,” says Wooten, “And also with the two teenagers in Texas, they were in the same school. So that also indicates person-to-person transfer.”
“Dr. Wooten says it’s unclear how people were exposed to swine flu. She says none of the patients have had any contact with pigs,” according to the report.
Although the situation in the U.S. looks under control, panic is spreading in Mexico, where 800 cases of pneumonia in the capital alone are suspected to be related to the swine flu and the virus has hit young and healthy people, which is very rare with an flu outbreak. Despite the danger of a pandemic, the U.S. border with Mexico remains open.
“Mexico has shut schools and museums and canceled hundreds of public events in its sprawling, overcrowded capital of 20 million people to try to prevent further infections,” reports Reuters.
“My level of concern is significant,” said Dr. Martin Fenstersheib, the health officer for Santa Clara County. “We have a novel virus, a brand-new strain that’s spreading human to human, and we are also seeing a virulent strain in Mexico that seems to be related. We certainly have concerns for this escalating.”
The WHO insists that the outbreak has “pandemic potential” and has been stockpiling supplies of Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, a pill that can both treat flu and prevent infection, according to officials.
As we previously highlighted, those that have a stake in the Tamiflu vaccine include top globalists and BIlderberg members like George Shultz, Lodewijk J.R. de Vink and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Indeed, Rumsfeld himself played a key role in hyping an outbreak of swine flu back in the 1976 when he urged the entire country to get vaccinated. Many batches of the vaccine were contaminated, resulting in hundreds of sick people and 52 fatalities.
NWO Health Organization Issues Pandemic Warning
Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu, though admitted sending live pandemic flu viruses to subcontractor
By Lori Price 26 Apr 2009 The OMFG moment of the century. Illinois-based Baxter working on vaccine to 'stop' swine flu outbreak in Mexico 25 Apr 2009. But, looky here! Baxter admits sending live avian flu viruses to subcontractor --People familiar with biosecurity rules are dismayed by evidence that human H3N2 and avian H5N1 viruses somehow co-mingled [!] in the Orth-Donau facility. 27 Feb 2009 Is Baxter International taking a page from the Blackwater playbook? Just as Blackwater/Xe keep on killing to justify their multi-billion dollar contracts to provide 'security' in Iraq and Afghanistan, Baxter International is poised to make *billions* to vaccinate people against their pandemic.
SWINE FLU : ANOTHER U.S. CREATED VIRUS ??? + MORE INFO ???
USDA to post animal-welfare reports, under pressure
By Russ Kick at 16 April, 2009, 11:44 am
From the Humane Society of the US:
In response to a lawsuit filed in January by The Humane Society of the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will again be posting annual reports from registered animal research facilities on its web site. APHIS, which had earlier pulled the online documents at the request of the research facilities, will resume the postings on Tuesday, May 10, in a clear victory for animal protectionists. …
The HSUS filed its federal lawsuit after waiting for years for the USDA to fulfill four separate Freedom of Information Act requests. The first request was filed in 2001, and it asked for the 1999 annual reports from all registered animal research facilities. In 2002, The HSUS requested a list of all USDA-registered research facilities that house and/or conduct research on any ape species for the years 2000 to the present, and information concerning the number of ape species held at each facility. The third request, prompted by a complaint from a member of the public, was filed in 2003 for documents of a specific research institution. The fourth request, filed in 2004, asked for the annual reports from 2000 to the present.
The USDA provided only 24 of the 1,400 documents requested in 2001 (and didn’t provide them until 32 months later), and never provided any documents responsive to the 2002, 2003, or 2004 FOIA requests.
APHIS’ decision to post the annual reports does not settle The HSUS’s lawsuit against the USDA. There are still unresolved issues between the agency and The HSUS, notably the large number of redacted pages in the annual reports so far provided. The HSUS is also waiting on annual reports that the agency must still vet with animal research facilities before releasing.
USDA APHIS: Annual Reports of Research Facilities
Obama greeted by Mexican who died next day of mysterious flu
US Reported To Have Just Completed Pandemic Drill Before Outbreak
Swine Flu & Bird Flu & some other all together ?? !
This starting in Mexico City, The Largest City on Earth 20 Million
People
Coincidence or DePopulation ?
A Cocktail from a Military Biological Weapons Laboratory ?
a swine-flu- a-possible-pandemic -biowar-evnt BIO WAR?
CDC Update On Swine Flu
Saturday
Washington, DC : 45 min.
Telenews Conference On Swine Flu Pandemic Flu Exercise Proves Worthy Drill
Outbreak exercise
Medicine drill
BVI participates in regional pandemic simulation exercise
Pacifica's Community Emergency Response Team rises to the challenge
Local hospital staff trains with FEMA
Sudbury’s Medical Reserve Corps emergency dispensing site practice
Kentucky's Emergency Chief Plans Practice Drill
Swine Flu Outbreak in New Zealand!
Two suspected cases of swine flu reported in France
Killer pig flu threat to UK: Fears grow of Worldwide pandemic as 81 die in outbreak
British Airways cabin crew member quarantined as killer flu spreads
Norwegian health authorities prepare emergency procedures for flu pandemic
Health Ministry prepares for possibility of swine flu outbreak in Israel
Egypt reports 3 bird flu deaths this week
Swine Flu Epidemic in Mexico and US Sets Off Alarms Across Latin America
World on alert as Mexico flu epidemic fear grows
Briton quarantined as killer flu spreads 26 Apr 2009 A British Airways cabin crew member was taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms yesterday afternoon after falling ill on a flight from Mexico City to Heathrow. The Health Protection Agency said it was keeping a close eye on the situation.
New Zealand quarantines 25 amid swine flu alert 26 Apr 2009 Twenty-five students and teachers in New Zealand, some with flu-like symptoms, were quarantined and tested for swine flu after returning from a trip to Mexico, officials said Sunday, as Asia stepped up surveillance for the deadly virus.
Minister: 10 NZ students likely have swine flu 26 Apr 2009 New Zealand said Sunday that 10 students "likely" have swine flu after a school trip to Mexico, as governments across Asia began quarantining those with symptoms of the deadly virus and some issued travel warnings for Mexico. New Zealand Health Minister Tony Ryall said none of the patients was seriously ill and they seemed to be recovering. He said they tested positive for influenza but added that there was "no guarantee" the students had swine flu.
Mexico Takes Powers to Isolate Cases of Swine Flu --The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said Saturday that it had sent a team of experts to Mexico to assist with the investigation cover-up of the outbreak.26 Apr 2009 This sprawling capital was on edge Saturday as... President [sic] Felipe Calderón published an order that would give his government emergency powers to address a deadly flu outbreak, including isolating those who have contracted the virus, inspecting the homes of affected people and ordering the cancellation of public events. The newspaper Reforma reported that President Obama, who recently visited Mexico, was escorted around Mexico City’s national anthropology museum on April 16 by Felipe Solis, an archaeologist who died the next day from flu-like symptoms.
Mexico declares national emergency amid outbreak 25 Apr 2009 President [sic] Felipe Calderon declared a national emergency Saturday, authorizing federal officials to quarantine the sick, shut down public events and businesses, and take other measures to contain the virus’ spread. Many in this crowded capital of 20 million are holing up or fleeing town as Mexico braces for what the World Health Organization warns could explode into a deadly global flu epidemic.
Texas Gov orders 37,430 courses of antiviral medications from Strategic National Stockpile --New possible case of swine flu identified in Texas 25 Apr 2009 A Texas high school where two students are confirmed to have swine flu is temporarily closing after a new possible case of swine flu was identified there, state health officials announced Saturday. Carrie Williams, a state Department of Health Services spokeswoman in Austin, confirmed Saturday that another student in Guadalupe County near San Antonio is now believed to have the illness... Gov. Rick Perry announced Saturday that because of the outbreak he was asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give Texas 37,430 courses of antiviral medications from the Strategic National Stockpile to prevent the spread of swine flu.
11 more suspected swine flu cases in U.S. --Total reaches 19 26 Apr 2009 Kansas health authorities had confirmed two new cases of swine flu in their state, California has confirmed another case in Imperial County and New York City officials have identified eight probable cases, bringing the U.S. total to 19 likely cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously identified six cases in San Diego and Imperial counties and two cases in Guadalupe County, Texas.
Officials: 8 NYC Students Probably Have Swine Flu --Department of Health Officials Tests 75 Students at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens 25 Apr 2009 At least eight students at a high school in New York City probably have human swine influenza, but authorities don't know for sure whether they have the strain that has killed people in Mexico. City health officials say more than 100 students at the private St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens have come down with a fever, sore throat and other aches and pains.
Two swine flu cases confirmed in Dickinson County 25 Apr 2009 The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has confirmed two cases of swine flu involving a husband and wife in Dickinson County. KDHE officials said one had recovered and the other is still being treated, but neither was hospitalized. One of the patients had recently traveled to Mexico, flying in and out of Wichita, the KDHE said.
CLG: Flu Kills The Torture Memos --In a 'Holy convenience, Batman!' moment, a 'unique' flu virus (one likely concocted in US Army labs) overtakes media coverage of revelations that the highest levels of the US government instructed the CIA (and private contractors) to torture terror suspects. By Lori Price 26 April 2009 Guess where the first swine flu outbreak occurred? That's right, Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1976. Thirteen soldiers died, leading the US government to force a questionable vaccine on the population -- backed by a legal liability escape clause mandated by and for the pharma-terrorists. Next, people started dying not from the flu -- but from the *vaccine.* [See compendium of key flu articles here.] Updated!
April 25 (Bloomberg) -- The outbreaks of swine flu in Mexico, California and Texas have the potential to cause a pandemic, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said today. The disease is “sensitive” to Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu medication, Chan said on a conference call with journalists in Geneva. It is “premature” to draw comparisons with the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, she said. To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Serafino in Paris at pserafino@bloomberg.net
Swine-flu outbreak linked to Smithfield factory farms
http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-25-swine-flu-smithfield
BY TOM PHILPOTT
The outbreak of a new flu strain—a nasty mash-up of swine, avian, and human viruses—has infected 1000 people in Mexico and the U.S., killing 68. The World Health Organization warned Saturday that the outbreak could reach global pandemic levels.
Is Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork packer and hog producer, linked to the outbreak? Smithfield operates massive hog-raising operations Perote, Mexico, in the state of Vera Cruz, where the outbreak originated. The operations, grouped under a Smithfield subsidiary called Granjas Carrol, raise 950,000 hogs per year, according to the company Web site—a level nearly equal to Smithfield’s total U.S. hog production.
On Friday, the U.S. disease-tracking blog Biosurveillance published a timeline of the outbreak containing this nugget, dated April 6 (major tip of the hat to Paula Hay, who alerted me to the Smithfield link on the Comfood listserv and has written about it on her blog, Peak Oil Entrepreneur):
Residents [of Perote] believed the outbreak had been caused by contamination from pig breeding farms located in the area. They believed that the farms, operated by Granjas Carroll, polluted the atmosphere and local water bodies, which in turn led to the disease outbreak. According to residents, the company denied responsibility for the outbreak and attributed the cases to “flu.” However, a municipal health official stated that preliminary investigations indicated that the disease vector was a type of fly that reproduces in pig waste and that the outbreak was linked to the pig farms. It was unclear whether health officials had identified a suspected pathogen responsible for this outbreak.
From what I can tell, the possible link to Smithfield has not been reported in the U.S. press. Searches of Google News and the websites of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal all came up empty. The link is being made in the Mexican media, however. “Granjas Carroll, causa de epidemia en La Gloria,” declared a headline in the Vera Cruz-based paper La Marcha. No need to translate that, except to point out that La Gloria is the village where the outbreak seems to have started. Judging from the article, Mexican authorities treat hog CAFOs with just as much if not more indulgence than their peers north of the border, to the detriment of surrounding communities and the general public health. Get this:
De acuerdo con uno de los habitantes de la comunidad, Eli Ferrer Cortés, los desechos fecales y orgánicos que produce Granjas Carroll no son tratados adecuadamente, lo que genera contaminación del agua y del viento en la region.
My rough translation: According to one community resident, the organic and fecal waste produced by Granjas Carrol isn’t adequately treated, creating water and air pollution in the region. I witnessed—and smelled—the same thing in Hardin County, Iowa, a couple of years ago, another area marked by intensive industrial hog production. The article goes on to say that area residents have long complained of “fetid odors” in the air and water, and swarms of flies hovering around waste lagoons. Like their counterparts who live in CAFO-heavy U.S. areas, they also complain of respiratory ailments. Now, with 30 percent of the area’s residents now infected with the virulent flu bug, people are demanding that state and federal authorities inspect hog operations there. So far, reports La Marcha, the response has been: nada.
The Mexico City daily La Jornada has also made the link. According to the newspaper, the Mexican health agency IMSS has acknowledged that the orginal carrier for the flu could be the “clouds of flies” that multiply in the Smithfield subsidiary’s manure lagoons.
I’ll be in touch with contacts in Mexico as this story develops —and I’ll be curious to see whether the U.S. media explores the link with Smithfield’s Mexico operation.
Grist food editor Tom Philpott farms and cooks at Maverick Farms, a sustainable-agriculture nonprofit and small farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
==============
Swine flu & Smithfield foods
I’m posting here a copy of an email I sent this morning to the ComFood listserv regarding the current outbreak of H1N1 swine influenza virus. If you have further information or links, please add to the comments.
———
This morning I’ve been reading about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico which now appears to be crossing the US border, with 5 confirmed cases in CA and 2 in TX. In Mexico, 68 people have died.
According to the swine flu timeline put together by a company called Veratect, who evidently map infection disease events for clients like the WHO & CDC:
Residents [of La Gloria, Perote Municipality, Veracruz State, Mexico] believed the outbreak had been caused by contamination from pig breeding farms located in the area. They believed that the farms, operated by Granjas Carroll, polluted the atmosphere and local water bodies, which in turn led to the disease outbreak. According to residents, the company denied responsibility for the outbreak and attributed the cases to ‘flu.’ However, a municipal health official stated that preliminary investigations indicated that the disease vector was a type of fly that reproduces in pig waste and that the outbreak was linked to the pig farms. It was unclear whether health officials had identified a suspected pathogen responsible for this outbreak.
Granjas Carroll is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. According to the Smithfield Foods website, Granjas Carroll produced 950,000 hogs in fiscal 2008.
So now it looks like Big Ag is not only responsible for poisoning people directly with contaminated foods, but also for unleashing a deadly pandemic.
My question for the list — is this even theoretically possible with small-scale organic hog farming?
Here’s the CDC’s statement about H1N1 swine influenza virus: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/?s_cid=tw_epr_55
CNN: Texas family quarantined with swine flu virus: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/25/swine.flu.family/
———
Hat tip to @hyperlocavore who originally tweeted the swine flu timeline link, which is how I got hold of it.
———
UPDATE: Swine flu subreddit
———
UPDATE 04.25.09 10:00 am: Chinese agribiz giant eyes Smithfield takeover
———
UPDATE 04.25.09 11:54 am: So far nothing at Google News for flu smithfield or flu "Granjas Carroll" or flu Cofco
———
UPDATE 04.25.09 7:49 pm: The company responsible for putting together the flu outbreak timeline, Veratect, has established a Twitter feed for nearly real-time updates on the unfolding swine flu situation.
Fellow Comfoodie Tom Philpott has broken the Smithfield connection story at Grist.
Huffington Post has indirectly made the connection in its own excellent independent piece, which calls for an investigation of Mexican CAFOs.![[end article]](http://peakoilentrepreneur.com/images/article-end.gif){kind=small}
Roche Holding says it can deliver 3 million doses of Tamiflu for swine flu
WHO Says Initial Findings Show Swine Flu Responds To Tamiflu
Donald Rumsfeld makes $5m killing on bird flu drug
Donald Rumsfeld has made a killing out of bird flu. The US Defence Secretary has made more than $5m (£2.9m) in capital gains from selling shares in the biotechnology firm that discovered and developed Tamiflu, the drug being bought in massive amounts by Governments to treat a possible human pandemic of the disease.
More than 60 countries have so far ordered large stocks of the antiviral medication - the only oral medicine believed to be effective against the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease - to try to protect their people. The United Nations estimates that a pandemic could kill 150 million people worldwide.
Britain is about halfway through receiving an order of 14.6 million courses of the drug, which the Government hopes will avert some of the 700,000 deaths that might be expected. Tamiflu does not cure the disease, but if taken soon after symptoms appear it can reduce its severity.
The drug was developed by a Californian biotech company, Gilead Sciences. It is now made and sold by the giant chemical company Roche, which pays it a royalty on every tablet sold, currently about a fifth of its price.
Mr Rumsfeld was on the board of Gilead from 1988 to 2001, and was its chairman from 1997. He then left to join the Bush administration, but retained a huge shareholding .
The firm made a loss in 2003, the year before concern about bird flu started. Then revenues from Tamiflu almost quadrupled, to $44.6m, helping put the company well into the black. Sales almost quadrupled again, to $161.6m last year. During this time the share price trebled.
Mr Rumsfeld sold some of his Gilead shares in 2004 reaping - according to the financial disclosure report he is required to make each year - capital gains of more than $5m. The report showed that he still had up to $25m-worth of shares at the end of 2004, and at least one analyst believes his stake has grown well beyond that figure, as the share price has soared. Further details are not likely to become known, however, until Mr Rumsfeld makes his next disclosure in May.
The 2005 report showed that, in all, he owned shares worth up to $95.9m, from which he got an income of up to $13m, owned land worth up to $17m, and made $1m from renting it out.
He also had illiquid investments worth up to $8.1m, including in partnerships investing in biotechnology, issuing reproductions of paintings, and operating art galleries in New Mexico and Wyoming. He also has life insurance with a surrender value of up to $5m, and received up to $1m from the DHR Foundation, in which he has assets worth up to $25m, and $773,743 from the Donald H Rumsfeld Trust, in which he has assets of up to $50m.
Late last week no one at Gilead Sciences was available to comment on Mr Rumsfeld's sale of its stock. In a statement to The Independent on Sunday the Pentagon said: "Secretary Rumsfeld has no relationship with Gilead Sciences, Inc beyond his investments in the company. When he became Secretary of Defence in January 2001, divestiture of his investment in Gilead was not required by the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Office of Government Ethics or the Department of Defence Standards of Conduct Office.
"Upon taking office, he recused himself from participating in any particular matter when the matter would directly and predictably affect his financial interest in Gilead Sciences."
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