Biden Talking out of his Ass: Swine Flu

Oh, Biden. You say some of the most ridiculous things. Where do I begin? For one thing, according to this article at liveScience.com, flu is spread by droplets that we expel from our noses and mouths when we sneeze or cough. These get on our hands or settle on surface, and someone else touches the same surface, and then touches their mouth, nose or eyes, and they get sick. This can happen in the mall, at school, at work, or wherever. So to imply that you have a greater chance of getting sick on an airplane of flu is not exactly true. Sure, you're in a confined space and you probably don't want to be sitting next to someone for so long if they're sick as they'll probably be coughing or sneezing in your space (have you sat in economy lately?), but you have just as much chance if you're sitting next to someone in the theater, or standing in line next to someone at the mall. Openness has little to do with the spread of disease, it has to do with you getting said virus on your hands and then it getting into your bloodstream.

Now the one thing that I will fault the airlines with, is their sinks. You cannot wash your hands properly at them, and so that might be why it seems you are more likely to get sick after being on an international flight when someone else is sick, which has happened to me. Their sinks suck. There's no water pressure, and you have to hold the little lever down to have water come out, and so you have to touch something that has been touched by others to get water. I think maybe it would be prudent at that point to have anti-bacterial gel to put on your hands before you eat or touch your face. Indeed, maybe it would be a good idea for the airlines to hand out anti-bacterial towelettes when you board and supply them throughout the flight.

What I think this boils down to, is if you're sick, you should really ask the airline to change your ticket if it's possible, most of them are being really lenient right now about waiving change fees. Don't fly if you're sick, it's rude to the other passengers. And if you have to fly, maybe consider wearing a face mask so you keep your water droplets to yourself.

Mexico Slow to Update Swine Flu Statistics

I've been checking the WHO's website every day waiting to see what Mexico was saying after all the hyperbole in the press about 150+ deaths. They have not updated how many are infected or have died in more than two days. So either they have no more cases, or they're not telling us. I am betting on the latter.

Swine influenza - update 5

29 April 2009 -- The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 18:00 GMT, 29 April 2009, nine countries have officially reported 148 cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection. The United States Government has reported 91 laboratory confirmed human cases, with one death. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection including seven deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (13), Germany (3), Israel (2), New Zealand (3), Spain (4) and the United Kingdom (5).

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

That's the same as Monday's update.

Indeed there are supposed to be a bunch of suspected cases locally where I am. This is day three of waiting for the results from the state capitol. They said it would take up to 72 hours, well it's been that long. I'd like to know whether we have cases here or not. Yes I am impatient. Supposedly a bunch of children are ill at some of the local elementary schools, but it's hard to tell if that's just rumor or what. They haven't taken any action to close any of the schools yet. The local paper isn't any help at all, as all they do is parrot the AP, and pass along rumors and misinformation.

Dirty Swine! Flu Name Offensive

I wondered why they had started calling it "North American Flu" in the press this morning. Now I have my answer.

Israeli official: Swine flu name offensive

"JERUSALEM (AP) -- 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.

Both Judaism and Islam consider pigs unclean and forbid the eating of pork products.

Scientists are unsure where the new swine flu virus originally emerged, though it was identifed first in the United States. They say there is nothing about the virus that makes it "Mexican" and worry such a label would be stigmatizing..."

So now we're going to start naming medical based stuff based on religious superstition? Please. I happen to like pigs by the way. They're smart, and I don't understand how merely saying that the flu is 'swine' somehow compromises their religious beliefs. Maybe it's just me.

I fail to see how a exhortation from the Biblical writers to not eat pork, translates into not using the name "pig" or "swine". Are they not allowed to look at pictures of pigs either? I mean, I'm really not schooled on this avoiding all things to do with pigs. I just thought they weren't supposed to eat it. So, if this is the case, does reading The Three Little Pigs to a Jewish kid in a class constitute an infringement on his religious beliefs? Am I correct in thinking that this is about as ridiculous? Or am I missing something?

Sensationalism is the New Press: Or How We're all going to DIE!!!

So, I was checking my email, and one of the links to yahoo!News happens to catch my eye. It screams "Swine Flu epidemic enters dangerous new phase"!!!!! zOMG... it must be terrible, they must have more information, more people must have died, or something... Nope. Same story that I read earlier this afternoon. Nothing had changed, except they felt the need to make the title sensational.

As an aside, I happened to visit the WHO's website. Their latest update says that seven people are dead in Mexico from this. Yes, you read that correctly. There are 26 confirmed cases of swine flu in Mexico, and seven, yes that's seven people are dead. According to them.

Swine Influenza - Update 3

27 April 2009 -- The current situation regarding the outbreak of swine influenza A(H1N1) is evolving rapidly. As of 27 April 2009, the United States Government has reported 40 laboratory confirmed human cases of swine influenza A(H1N1), with no deaths. Mexico has reported 26 confirmed human cases of infection with the same virus, including seven deaths. Canada has reported six cases, with no deaths, while Spain has reported one case, with no deaths.

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

Now the AP is saying it's 160 dead in Mexico, and their numbers keep going up every hour. They have no information though on who is dead, demographics, age, etc and no source for their numbers. The Health Minister of Mexico has said that twenty are confirmed dead of swine flu, but he can't give details because of privacy reasons, and doesn't "have the information" on him concerning their ages or situations. Really? You have got to be fucking kidding me. What are we basing these numbers on? Rumors?!

What I want to know, is when the fuck someone is going to reign the press in and tell them to stop spreading possible lies and causing panic. And when the fuck is Mexico going to get their shit together and figure out what is going on and who has actually died of this as opposed to any other form of flu or illness. It's like, "oh yes, old lady Juarez is dead down the street of something, must be swine flu because what else could it be?"

And again, a public health announcement. Wash your fucking hands!

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"You turn the page, you wash your hands. You turn the page, you wash your hands. You turn the page, you wash your hands."--Filbert, Rocko's Modern Life

God will Save You From Swine Flu

Mexico doesn't have the manpower to send people to interview the families of the deceased who supposedly died from swine flu, but they say they have enough medicine to treat the outbreak if need be. Huh? In the mean time, religion will solve this, so you better start praying.

"For the first time in 300 years, the cathedral in Mexico City's main plaza has pulled an icon of the Lord of Health from storage, and worshippers placed it on the principal altar."

I'm beginning to doubt Mexico's ability to handle the situation, whether this flu is a global threat or not. The people of Mexico are obviously suffering, as usual.

In Toluca, a city west of the capital, one family said health authorities refused to treat a relative Sunday who had full-blown flu symptoms and could barely stand. The man, 31-year-old truck driver Elias Camacho, was even ordered out of a government ambulance, his father-in-law told The Associated Press.

Paramedics complained that Camacho — who had a fever, was coughing and had body aches — was contagious, Jorge Martinez Cruz said.

Of course, this is if you can even believe anything the press is saying at this point. They say over a hundred people have died in Mexico of this, but if you dig deeper you find out that the majority of those cases are *not* confirmed yet. Confirming them requires them to sequence the DNA, which takes days, if they even have samples from these cases. Leave it to the press to spread panic prematurely.

Sure, we should all be careful and wash our hands well, cover our mouths if we cough, and if you're sick you should stay home or see a doctor if you have symptoms, but seriously. On that note, this whole thing rings of Christian Fundamentalism "the-end-of-the-world-is-coming" ideology, also known as "we're-all-gonna-die!!!!!" There's a point where we should panic, and we're no where near that point. So, let's not panic yet, shall we? Turn off 24 hour CNN (or whatever news network you watch) and go do something else. Remember, the press is merely in it for the ratings. I suggest if you want information on this, to look at the CDC's website, which is not in it for the ratings.

Congressman Calls for Mexican Border to be Closed

What an interesting development. After all this time of screaming about having closed borders with Mexico, we finally have an excuse. I find this an interesting development. I wonder if they'll cancel all flights into and out of Mexico as well.

"The public needs to be aware of the serious threat of swine flu, and we need to close our borders to Mexico immediately and completely until this is resolved," Massa said in a statement.

"I am making this announcement because I see this as a serious threat to the health of the American public and I do not believe this issue is receiving the attention it needs to have in the news," Massa said.

Really? Despite the fact that the news has talked about nothing else, it hasn't paid enough attention to it. Would quarantining Mexico even work, considering that people have been coming and going all this time? This just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

As an aside, they'd better not cancel flights to and from Europe, as I'm going next month! Grr.

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"My name is Shackleford, Rusty Shackleford."--Dale Gribble

Republicans, Democrats, What's the Bloody Difference?

In an article from the UK that I stole from The Well-Armed Lamb, it seems that the Obama Administration is taking some pages out of Bush's book. They want to overturn a 1986 ruling (Michigan vs. Jackson) that people have the right to legal counsel before being questioned by the police, and that the police are supposed to inform them of this, and not question them if they want a lawyer. It's designed to protect the mentally ill, the poor, the uneducated, and the young, who may not know that because of the sixth amendment they have a right to a lawyer before being questioned.

If they have any sense, they'll backtrack off this real quick. However, it doesn't do them any favors. If you ever doubted for a moment that this Corporatocracy was run by two parties you have another thing coming. These politicians, on both sides are nothing but lying sacks of shit, plotting on how best they can usurp total control of us all. In the end, that is what both parties want, and they're willing to work together behind closed doors to see it happen. Of course they have to put up the fake fight, it's like a WWE match, so fake you can't even stand it, in public, in front of the cameras, so that we can all see how "different" they are.

And what was that I was saying yesterday about the Swine Flu being used to cover something up... as important as this is, it isn't in any of the American News (yet?), not even on supposedly liberal MSNBC or even on Faux News. Funny that. I would think Faux News would be all over this as much as they hate Obama all. The British report it and it doesn't even affect them. Absolutely fucking amazing.

Swine Flu being used to Cover Up something?

Isn't it odd that all of a sudden we have the press attempting to spread panic over a flu that isn't a pandemic, and probably won't become one, by trying to say it might. There was absolutely nothing in the news about this flu before yesterday morning. A pandemic by definition is a virus that spreads quickly from person to person. The people who came down with it in the United States were sick two to six weeks ago. Two of the high school students who were sick in the United States have returned to school. If it were a pandemic, at least half the high school would have been sick. It would have spread all over the country by now, and we'd be closing everything up in an attempt to contain it. I live less than a hundred miles from the Mexico border, and I don't know anyone who is sick here or has been sick in the last two months. If we ever do have a pandemic, we'll see illness before we see news about it.

Indeed, a doctor at a hospital in Mexico City hasn't even seen a case of it.

"Outside Hospital Obregon in the capital's middle-class Roma district, a tired Dr. Roberto Ortiz, 59, leaned against an ambulance and sipped coffee Saturday on a break from an unusually busy shift.

"The people are scared," Ortiz said. "A person gets some flu symptoms or a child gets a fever and they think it is this swine flu and rush to the hospital."

He said none of the cases so far at the hospital had turned out to be swine flu."

Twenty people as of this morning (they're saying maybe 62 now) dying in Mexico, a third world country of the flu is no surprise. I mean how many people die in Mexico of the flu in any given year? Something is going on, something is happening, and someone doesn't want us to notice, they want it buried by this swine flu panic. Could it be the torture news about Cheney? Or something else? Is Mexico involved in something with us?

Cheney gathering documents?

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Or new torture photos?

Or is it something else we don't know about yet? Or is it merely a coincidence?