25 February 2010

Humanitarian Resource Institute
Phone: (203) 668-0282
Url: www.humanitarian.net

United Nations Arts Initiative
Arts Integration Into Education
Url: www.unarts.org
Twitter: unarts

Pathobiologics International:
Url: www.pathobiologics.org

HRI:UNArts: Biodefense: Atlantic Storm in Focus - Geoeconomics
by Stephen Michael Apatow: Founder, Humanitarian Resource Institute, United Nations Arts Initiative, Pathobiologics International. [1]

World leaders are now focused on the "One Health" contingency discussion [2] regarding our current capacity to stabilize the global financial system during an infectious disease outbreak, that could impact the international community for a 12-24 month period. [3] The challenge encompasses mass casualties, the closure of roads, airports and waterways causing interstate and international commerce to potentially grind to a halt.

Atlantic Storm, a bioterrorism “table-top” exercise convened on January 14, 2005, was organized by the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the Center for Transatlantic Relations of the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), and the Transatlantic Biosecurity Network. Atlantic Storm Interactive is a web-based, multimedia presentation that takes the briefings, updates, simulated newscasts, and other materials that were prepared for the exercise and integrates them with excerpts from the actual discussions of the exercise participants. The exercise scenario was based on the events that might follow a bioterrorist attack with smallpox, and was designed to highlight the numerous complicated global challenges that would arise in the event of any large-scale epidemic of infectious disease, whether caused by a bioterrorist attack or a naturally occurring outbreak. [4,5]

The medical, veterinary and scientific community are focused on optimization of global surveillance, containment and control [6,7,8] of high consequence pathogens, but the global financial system lacks contingency plans to halt a systemic collapse due to interconnected unregulated market activities, that include OTC derivatives.

Today, an estimated $1.4 Quadrillion of unregulated OTC derivatives [9] exist within the shadow banking system and include insurance protection against default (Credit default Swaps) that would trigger in the event of a large scale incident where countries, states, municipalities and corporations could not meet their debt obligations. Warren Buffet [10] termed these instruments "Weapons of Mass Destruction," part due to an inadequate capitol base to legitimize their existence.  Their creation was facilitated by repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, that allowed commercial banks, investment banks and insurance companies to merge and operate under one unregulated umbrella.  This regulatory failure facilitated the crash of the global financial system in 2008, and regulatory actions to address these variables are yet to be advanced, [11,12] two years into an international economic emergency that has devastated half of the earths most impoverished populations. [13]

This challenge has prompted widespread concern and call for immediate emergency action to assure global market function, in the event of a large-scale epidemic, that presents the logistical challenges outlined in Atlantic Storm.  Our message to the American people and members of the international community, that have been devastated during our current international economic emergency cannot be, "you could loose it all," that is if you have anything left. [14]

References:

1. Stephen Michael Apatow: Founder: Humanitarian Resource Institute, United Nations Arts Initiative, Pathobiologics International. Url: www.apatow.org
2. HRI:UNArts: One Health Initiative Unites Human and Veterinary Medicine: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 23 February 2010. Url: http://www.unarts.org/news/onehealth_2222010.html
3. SARS Down But Still a Threat: Economic and Political Fallout of SARS: National Intelligence Council, Intelligence Community Assessment, August 2003. Url: http://www.humanitarian.net/law/ref/sars_nic82003.pdf
4. Atlantic Storm: A Tabletop Exercise: Center for Biosecurity. Url: http://www.atlantic-storm.org/
5. Weapons of Mass Destruction, Nonproliferation and International Security: Humanitarian Resource Institute, October 2002. Url: http://www.humanitarian.net/law/nonproliferation1082002.html
6. OIE - World organisation for animal health: Url: http://www.oie.int/
7. FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Url: http://www.fao.org/
8. WHO - World Health Organization: Url: http://www.who.int/
9. Remarks by Jill Considine: At the joint European Central Bank/Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Conference on “Issues Related to Central Counterparty      Clearing” Frankfurt, Germany, April 4, 2006. Url:   https://www.ecb.int/events/pdf/conferences/ccp/Considine.pdf 
10. Warren Buffet on Derivatives:  Excerpts from the Berkshire Hathaway annual report for 2002.  Url: www.fintools.com/docs/Warren%20Buffet%20on%20Derivatives.pdf
11. Davos: World Leaders Called to Emergency Action: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 20 January 2010. Includes Nobel Laureates asked to request financial market intervention by leaders in UN countries: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 13 January 2010. Financial Market Legitimacy Critical for Sustainable Global Recovery: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 5 January 2010. Url: http://www.unarts.org/news/gsteagall_152010.html
12. IBAHRI: Government Debt: Default Projections: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 18 February 2010. Includes IBAHRI: G-192: Scope of Global Debt Crisis in Focus: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 10 February 2010. Url: http://www.unarts.org/news/ibahri_2102010.html
13. HRI:UNArts: Hope For Humanity Global Campaign: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 20 January 2010. Url: http://www.unarts.org/news/hopeforhumanity_1202010.html
14. Contingency Planning: Year 2000 Conversion: Global Infrastructure Analysis, Humanitarian Resource Institute. Url: http://www.humanitarian.net/contingency.html