paul.nowak wrote: Matt, thanks for the comments. I made an error on the version of Plone. It's 2.5 Plone running on Zope 2.9x.
In regards to the additional products, we have a skin installed and we have a product that we had custom developed for us that connects to a PostgreSQL database. We've looked at slow PostgreSQL queries causing problems and have not been able to find an issue. We've also tested for the case where the PostgreSQL server is down and have not been able to create an issue. We therefor...
WHEAT RIDGE, CO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 04/10/07 -- GeneThera, Inc. (OTCBB: GTHA).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in March it was
reducing its national Mad Cow testing and tracking programs by 90 percent.
The USDA will reduce its cattle-testing level to 40,000 cattle per year
down from an average of about 360,000 cattle. The reduced testing level
will cost $8 million a year. USDA said it will focus on the "most at-risk
animals" that show demonstrated signs of the disease.
The decision on whether to cut back on tests was made after experts
reviewed a draft analysis of data on almost 700,000 animals screened since
June 2004. During that same time span, the United States slaughtered
approximately 100 million cattle.
Currently, the U.S. government tests only 1 percent of the roughly 100,000
cattle slaughtered daily while the USDA's revised plan calls for testing
only 0.11 percent. Many European countries and Japan are testing all
slaughtered cattle. Additionally, the agency has backed off plans for a
mandatory animal-tracking system, which can help identify the source of an
infection and other animals at risk, and now says the program will be
voluntary.
Commenting on the news, Dr. Tony Milici Chairman & CEO of GeneThera noted,
"The USDA decision to greatly reduce testing for Mad Cow Disease is a
matter of great concern. Despite the USDA reassuring statements about the
safety of the US beef, it is far from clear, at the present time, what is
the real impact of Mad Cow Disease on the cattle population in this
country. Several issues also exist about the accuracy of the technology
that has been used to test for Mad Cow Disease. Present techniques may not
be able to detect the presence of the disease in all infected animals
especially in the early stages of infection."
USDA's inspector general has criticized the USDA's testing program, saying
it could have missed the highest-risk animals. The expanded system was
voluntary, so it might not have captured a representative sample of the
nation's herd. "It's as though the USDA was designing a 'don't look, don't
find' system," said Michael Hansen, staff scientist for Consumers Union,
publisher of Consumer Reports. Consumers Union thinks 100 percent of
livestock should be tested. "If you do testing of 100 percent of your
animals, any ones that test positive never go into the food chain," said
Michael Hansen. The agriculture secretary responded by saying that the
people who are saying 100 percent testing "somehow solves the problem
really are misleading you. Consumers should feel better than ever about the
meat that they are buying."
However, the USDA's testing program is not random. The program is voluntary
and beef processors are paid to bring in test samples. Since a diseased
sample would result in serious ramifications for the slaughterhouse, there
is an incentive to pick samples from healthier-looking cattle.
In a letter to the FDA, McDonald's Corporation (owner of the fast food
chain) "...caution[ed] against using the 18 month enhanced surveillance as
a justification to relax or impede further actions. While this surveillance
indicates an epidemic is not underway, it does not clear the US cattle herd
from infection." McDonald's further stated, "[c]oncerning [Mad Cow], the
most effective way to insure [the highest level of safety is] to create a
system that processes cattle that are not exposed to the disease. ...The
exemptions in the current ban as well as in the newly proposed rule make
this difficult if not impossible, as there are still legal avenues for
ruminants to consume potentially contaminated ruminant protein." McDonald's
further stated that according to "the FDA's own statement ... tissues which
are known to have infectivity (such as distal ileum, DRGs, etc) would
cumulatively amount to approximately 10% of the infectivity in an infected
animal. Leaving approximately 10% of the infectious tissues in the system
is not good enough. The proposed rule still allows the possibility for
cattle to be exposed to Mad Cow.
Furthermore, the USDA inspector general found that government inspectors
sometimes allowed cattle that couldn't walk (a potential sign of Mad Cow
disease) to be slaughtered, contrary to department rules aimed at
preventing Mad Cow disease. The report said that at two of 12 slaughter
plants reviewed, 29 non-ambulatory cattle were slaughtered in a 10-month
period. The report also stated that when field scientists recommended
re-testing of a cow suspected of having Mad Cow disease last year, they
were overruled by USDA officials who feared a positive finding might
undermine confidence in the testing program. Auditors from the inspector
general's office intervened, and the specimen was sent to England for
retesting. It produced the second confirmed case of Mad Cow disease in the
nation.
Which leaves the question -- is our beef really Mad Cow safe?
ABOUT GENETHERA, INC.:
GeneThera, Inc. is a molecular biotechnology company located in Wheat
Ridge, CO. The Company provides genetic diagnostic solutions for the
veterinary and agricultural industries with future plans to include the
health-care industry. The Company's proprietary diagnostic solution is
based on a genetic expression assay, GEA(TM). The GEA is designed for a
host of individual diseases, the current priority being Mad Cow Disease,
Chronic Wasting Disease, a disease affecting elk and deer in North America;
E.Coli 0157:H7 and Johnne's Disease, diseases affecting cattle worldwide.
"Safe Harbor" Statement: Certain statements in this release are
"forward-looking" statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to numerous
risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary significantly from the
results expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could cause
actual results to materially differ from forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to meet the terms
and conditions required to obtain its project financing, risks and delays
associated with product development, risk of market acceptance of new
products, risk of technology or product obsolescence, competitive risks,
reliance on development partners and the need for additional capital.