Swine Flu

This whole thing just reminds me of Pandemic 2.

Hope everything's ok over there Mex, first the flu and now the earthquake. Animo hermano, y que viva Mexico.

Paleocon wrote:
Podunk wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
MaverickDago wrote:
But isn't the CDC just another Federal Government gestapo agency bent on world domination and the perversion of our precious essences?

You should see the boots they get, perfect for stepping on a citizens neck while they rape his family and take his house.

Yeah. They're almost as scary as the ones the Interstate Highway folks get.

You guys are awesome.

Laugh all you want. We'll be the ones laughing when you get brainwashed through your DTV antenna.

HAHAHAHA. Excellent thread.

Update for other Kiwis: the Ministry of Health reports that the group in Auckland have tested negative for type A flu, so we are currently free of Swine flu down here. They just have boring kind of other flu.

JC wrote:

reading some of the news today on this is just infuriating. The press is going to be responsible for causing a widespread panic and making this worse than it currently is. None of their "reports" have any factual information and are just full of crap. From the NY AP...

"The 18-year-old senior was one of a dozen students from several New York City high schools who traveled to Mexico this month, and she thinks she has swine flu."

or this turd nugget from the same article....

"Some of them are getting worse and some are getting better," 14-year-old St. Francis freshman Samantha Cosentino said Monday of her classmates. Cosentino said she came down with aches, pains and a fever last Thursday. She said that she was tested for swine flu but that the results were inconclusive."

Why are these idiots reporting information that has no factual basis? It's worthless and only helps to feed the paranoia.

Ever since the invention of 24 hour news networks, this is all we get from television news anymore in the USA. IMO there's no reason to get any news from any television source as it's all fluff and crap to try and keep your eyes glued to the TV screen.

The number one rule of local news is never put anything on the air that a local TV personality can't stand in front of. The number two rule is, "If it bleeds, it leads." Between these two things, local news can be...interesting.

mrwynd wrote:

Ever since the invention of 24 hour news networks, this is all we get from television news anymore in the USA. IMO there's no reason to get any news from any television source as it's all fluff and crap to try and keep your eyes glued to the TV screen.

You have spoken the truth. My wife and I watch the local news for laughs sometimes. It is amazing what they will spend time on.

But the overreaction of people that are calling the CDC and US government overreacting cracks me up as well. In the end, the outbreak will either be contained, or it will spread. If it is contained, we will be told how silly the precautions were, even though the result is exactly what the precautions are trying to achieve. They are in a no-win situation.

Of course, if spreads and results in massive deaths in the US, Obama and the government will then get blamed by the same folks for not doing enough.

The destruction of local news as a quality product was an inevitable product of media deregulation. When local stations were no longer required to have local ownership mandates, large conglomerates bought them up and replaced actual newsrooms with glorified delivery mechanisms for their canned national propaganda.

Even here in DC where the news product is many times better than about 99% of the country, you'll find that local news, in particular, is pretty toothless. Try to get a hard-hitting investigative report on corruption in PG County law enforcement and you just won't find it. Stories like the ones that were commonplace 20 years ago have gone with way of budget cuts.

Coldstream wrote:
Aetius wrote:

Declaring a state of emergency is not required for dealing with what is, in reality, the fairly routine emergence of a new influenza strain. What's next, we'll declare a state of emergency every year when flu season comes around and we get a new set of viruses, like we do every year?

Okay, now I'm starting to understand where the disconnect is for you. This is not equivalent to the routine evolution of Influenza strains that we deal with every year.

No, it's only slightly more problematic. But influenza is mutating and adapting all the time.

(Lots of good information)

Three conditions must be met for a pandemic to occur:

1) Emergence of a new influenza subtype.
2) The virus must infect humans and cause serious illness.
3) The virus must have sustained human-to-human transmission.

You're missing the fourth, obvious condition: the disease has to actually spread.

So just what constitutes an actual emergency?

You might start with ... you know, people actually being in danger of dying today, not at some point in the predicted future. Which so far, we don't have in this country. Next, you might need to show a threat to a large number of people, which isn't even the case in Mexico.

If we were willing to invade other nations and infringe on our own Constitutional rights because 3000 people were killed in an act of terrorism, how the hell are we balking at declaring an pre-emptive emergency to get our health resources online?

It's not my fault we completely and ridiculously over-reacted to a relatively minor national security event.

Hell, the National Emergencies Act of 1976 specifically limits the powers of the Executive branch during a declared emergency. I just don't get the paranoia. Do we need bodies in the streets before we declare an emergency?

That would constitute an actual emergency, yes, if there were sufficient numbers of them. Until then we need to take reasonable steps to deal with the problem and stop panicking people.

Again, I hope and believe that this Influenza strain will simply peter out as its spread is limited with health precautions. But to not do everything possible to prepare for something that's kicked our butts before? That's crazy.

Doing everything possible is completely different from being counter-productive by causing a panic.

mrwynd wrote:

Ever since the invention of 24 hour news networks, this is all we get from television news anymore in the USA. IMO there's no reason to get any news from any television source as it's all fluff and crap to try and keep your eyes glued to the TV screen.

Not to mention the fact they keep repeating themself every few minutes for people who are tuning in. I remember reading something once that suggested that 24 hour news networks actually decreased the amount of news on TV as normal broadcasts assumed you tuned in and watched the entire news from start to finish wheras on 24 hour channels they have no idea when you will switch on so need to constantly go over the same things.

Not sure how true it is but these channels all drive me mad. There are still some decent news programs in the UK but I tend to get my daily news from bbc radio podcasts and the internet.

According to the BBC the UK has had 2 confirmed cases of Swine Flu now too. I don't feel governments are overreacting to this though (even if many bits of the media are). With outbreaks like this chances are it won't turn into anything truly deadly but there is always the possibility it will. Governments might get criticised for over-preparing (as they were with Bird Flu) but if's nothing compared to what the public would say if it did mutate and ended up killing millions.

mrwynd wrote:

Ever since the invention of 24 hour news networks, this is all we get from television news anymore in the USA. IMO there's no reason to get any news from any television source as it's all fluff and crap to try and keep your eyes glued to the TV screen.

This. In an effort to try to fill 24 hours with what is probably less than 30 minutes worth of hard news, the news networks have resorted to empty talking-heads, uninformed opinion, and, in the case of Fox, yelling at people from what I've seen. I'm with Paleocon: bring back true local news, with real journalism, and deliver it in a content-rich 30-60 minute format, with special reports as needed. And then fire all of the pundits.

Paleocon wrote:

The destruction of local news as a quality product was an inevitable product of media deregulation. When local stations were no longer required to have local ownership mandates, large conglomerates bought them up and replaced actual newsrooms with glorified delivery mechanisms for their canned national propaganda.

Even here in DC where the news product is many times better than about 99% of the country, you'll find that local news, in particular, is pretty toothless. Try to get a hard-hitting investigative report on corruption in PG County law enforcement and you just won't find it. Stories like the ones that were commonplace 20 years ago have gone with way of budget cuts.

This is so true and so sad (I live in DC too).

I find the 24hr. CNN/CNBC/MSNBC/FoxCable to be the worst offenders...along with any local news stations. They just have all that time to fill and 99.9% of it is moronic, sensationalistic and catering to the lowest common denominator. At least with network evening world news they only have a set time to stick to the headlines.

I just stick with NPR/PBS for my news. It's got a liberal stance, but it's the most unbiased/straight-news reporting I can think of. Plus it actually covers international news intelligently, like they are actually real people beyond the US boarders.

Um...yeah.

So, um, back to the story at hand...

In Israel, they're calling this the "Mexican flu."

Because they don't want to offend Jews and Muslims.

I guess Mexicans are kosher.

feeank wrote:

Hope everything's ok over there Mex, first the flu and now the earthquake. Animo hermano, y que viva Mexico.

Forgot to include Hobbes2099 in this too, and to any other Mexican Goodjer I may not know.

feeank wrote:
feeank wrote:

Hope everything's ok over there Mex, first the flu and now the earthquake. Animo hermano, y que viva Mexico.

Forgot to include Hobbes2099 in this too, and to any other Mexican Goodjer I may not know.

Hey, thanks I hadn't seen this =)

I've done a lot of reading and monitoring news all day, I'm a little worried but less than I was over the weekend. Death toll is now officially 149 guys, 1,995 infected as of 6 hours ago. Unofficial toll (couple of medic friends) is 600 dead, unkown infected. It's definitely dangerous but not end of days.

I think it will be contained, I hope so. I'm not actually in Mexico city so Hobbes would know more about it.

BadKen wrote:

So, um, back to the story at hand...

In Israel, they're calling this the "Mexican flu."

Because they don't want to offend Jews and Muslims.

I guess Mexicans are kosher.

You hear that Mex? You've got a great new pickup line if you visit Florida or New York.

I seriously just heard this in a commercial for an upcoming news broadcast:

"Coming up: a pregnant B.C. woman who thought she had swine flu was told that she did not."

Apparently it's news even when people don't have this friggin' disease.

muttonchop wrote:

I seriously just heard this in a commercial for an upcoming news broadcast:

"Coming up: a pregnant B.C. woman who thought she had swine flu was told that she did not."

Apparently it's news even when people don't have this friggin' disease.

Wow. Everything red-blooded Americans ever assumed about Canada is true!

And you guys thought Americans were overreacting:

CAIRO – Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precautionary measure against the spread of swine flu even though no cases have been reported here yet, the Health Ministry said.

Could it have something to do with religious hostility to the awesome taste of the delicious pig?

It's like the bacon apocalypse!

If those pigs have any sense, they'll make a run for the Red Sea. God will surely provide them a path out of Egyptian bondage.

Funkenpants wrote:

If those pigs have any sense, they'll make a run for the Red Sea. God will surely provide them a path out of Egyptian bondage.

Yeah, but then they'll have to wander around the desert for 40 years eating nothing but manna.

And of course, the dumbest place to go for information on the outbreak? Twitter.

Paleocon wrote:
Funkenpants wrote:

If those pigs have any sense, they'll make a run for the Red Sea. God will surely provide them a path out of Egyptian bondage.

Yeah, but then they'll have to wander around the desert for 40 years eating nothing but manna.

Mmmm. Free-range, manna plumped bacon.

OG_slinger wrote:
Paleocon wrote:
Funkenpants wrote:

If those pigs have any sense, they'll make a run for the Red Sea. God will surely provide them a path out of Egyptian bondage.

Yeah, but then they'll have to wander around the desert for 40 years eating nothing but manna.

Mmmm. Free-range, manna plumped bacon.

Hmm. I don't think you've been doing your required reading.

If they follow historical precedence, they get to massacre their neighbors, steal all their property, and take their wives and children as slaves. Dayenu!

Prederick wrote:

And of course, the dumbest place to go? Twitter.

Fixed.

Yet more zaniness from the Mideast:

JERUSALEM — The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday..

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Funkenpants wrote:

Yet more zaniness from the Mideast:

JERUSALEM — The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday..

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Who wants to cough this one?

Paleocon wrote:

Who wants to cough this one?

It wouldn't be a cough. It would be more a skimming thing.

Paleocon wrote:
Funkenpants wrote:

Yet more zaniness from the Mideast:

JERUSALEM — The outbreak of swine flu should be renamed "Mexican" influenza in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, said an Israeli health official Monday..

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman said the reference to pigs is offensive to both religions and "we should call this Mexican flu and not swine flu," he told a news conference at a hospital in central Israel.

Who wants to cough this one?

It's so messed up it deserves a second mention. They feel good calling it Mexican flu because that is more sensitive than than calling it after a dirty animal that they would never eat. It would be one thing if they worshiped pigs like Hindus consider cows sacred. But to feel more comfortable naming it after a country than an animal is just freaking weird.