A Disaster for Tourism in Mexico

It really is a disaster that the swine flu seems to have started in Mexico, not least of which is the hit to their economy, a lot of which is fueled by tourism. It's not enough that they already have a ton of problems on the border, with all the violent drug cartels, the kidnappings, and murders in broad daylight.


Not that many years ago, twenty maybe, one could go down to the border and cross it to go shopping or have lunch. Those days are long gone, unfortunately. I wish it weren't so, as I love travel and have never been to Mexico. We live so close to it, but it's really not safe to go there anymore. There are Mexican nationals who travel between the US and Mexico because of work or personal reasons here, and even they won't go to the border towns, they only travel through them, usually early, early in the morning. Indeed it has gotten so bad, that many who live in the border towns have come up here to stay with relatives.

And there's a great danger of the violence spilling over the border. Indeed, earlier this year in Pharr, which is near McAllen, a live grenade was tossed into a bar where off duty police officers frequently hung out.

It's really terrible for the people having to live there, and the Mexican military seems out gunned, and outnumbered. I really don't have an answer on how to stop it all either. Well, I do, but no one will like it. Legalize all drugs and tax the hell out of them. There you go. Perhaps it's not realistic, but in my head it makes sense. All of a sudden the cartels are without business, because you can buy your drugs legally. Of course, no one will like this idea, because it's not "moral" whatever that is. As if it's "moral" to allow people to suffer under the cartels, but whatever. I've always been of the mindset that if one is going to do drugs, they're going to do them legal or not, and if they're not going to do them, they won't even if they're legal. I wouldn't do drugs, even if they were legal. I don't smoke cigarettes, so I wouldn't even smoke marijuana, even though I don't think it's all that bad for you.

I also think that the fact that it's taboo, probably leads some people to do it. I have known people when I was younger, who abused alcohol because their parents were teetotalers, and it was a reaction against that. They drank to spite their parents, or to see if they could get away with it. I on the other hand, had parents who were a bit more open than that, and insisted that if I was going to drink or something, that I be safe about it. I never had an urge to go and get drunk as some of my friends did. I think it's something psychological.

And we're in a huge mess tax wise, with the Republicans screaming they don't want more taxes. Well, here you can have your cake and eat it too. Imagine all the tax money from legal narcotics. Imagine all the money saved by not prosecuting people for damaging their own health. Now don't get me wrong, if you're driving under the influence, or causing a disturbance because you're on drugs then you need to be prosecuted as such, but if you want to sit in your own home and fry your brain, that ain't none of my business.

You know, it was entirely different at the end of the 19th century. I read a really interesting article not that long ago, that many middle and upper class women were totally addicted to heavy duty narcotics because they were marketed as elixirs for their health. But the thing is, they didn't understand how bad it was for them. IMHO, education is the answer, not punishing people for it. You see, this is why we wound up with the mob in the 30's because they outlawed liquor, and the mob filled a niche. As I said, if one is going to do it, the legality of it is generally not a deterrent. Just sayin'

Swine Flu Creates Backlog at Labs

So, the Swine Flu, now being called H1N1 (which isn't even bloody accurate as there are other flu that shares that type) or North American Flu, has turned out to probably not be that big of a deal. However, it has exposed some enormous problems in our medical testing labs. For example, where I live not far from the Mexican border, we have hundreds of suspected cases of flu, but no confirmed cases yet, even though they sent the first test swabs off a week ago. It's no surprise there are so many cases here, as many of the people here, even if they've been here for decades or even generations, have family in Mexico, and with the Easter holiday, many of them went to visit relatives and vice versa.

Texas lab swamped with swine flu samples
© 2009 The Associated Press
May 2, 2009, 12:07PM

AUSTIN, Texas — Only a fraction of the nearly 2,500 nasal swabs sent to the state health department lab have been tested. The Austin lab had tested 181 of the 2,492 nasal swabs received from counties around the state by Friday, Department of State Health Services spokesman Doug McBride told the Austin American-Statesman for Saturday's editions.

The lab's single testing machine became overwhelmed Wednesday when samples began flooding in from around the state. Three more machines are being added, more staff is being trained to run on two more shifts and the lab will work seven days a week to catch up, McBride said. The lack of test results does not change how doctors treat patients, but makes an accurate count of cases impossible.

"I'd like to know how many (cases) there are," said Dr. Pat Crocker, medical director of Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin. "We have heard disappointingly little from the state."

That hospital's emergency room received twice as many patients Thursday as usual. On Friday, the hospital set up three air-conditioned tents with cots to treat overflow patients in a covered parking area. After state labs test samples from counties, they forward possible swine flu samples to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Atlanta for final confirmation. The CDC also is sending supplies to state labs so they will be able to start making their own confirmations.

"Part of what we're trying to do is speed up the confirmation time," said CDC spokesman Scott Bryan. With the additional machines and personnel, the state lab should be able to handle 200 cases per day, whereas now it can do 70, McBride said.

Maybe it would behoove them to take this as a lesson, because if this really were a virulent pandemic that would kill a lot of people, many would be dead before they could even get the results back. But I won't hold my breath. As history has shown, we never learn anything.

Oh, and on that note, so much for Texas being self-sufficient as that gasbag Perry was spouting a couple weeks ago. Instead, he's accepted federal money and federal stockpiles of Tamiflu, and then declared a state of emergency so Texas is first in line for federal aid. We can't even test 10% of the samples of flu in less than a week and a day, much less operate without federal assistance. I dare say that horse won't ride.

Would You Like Some Swine Flu in Your Burger?

I read this article about how despite the Swine Flu outbreak, which probably isn't that bad after all the press hysteria (surprise, surprise), that many people who are sick are going to work anyway because they have no sick time. This was something that I had forgotten. I used to work for various fast food restaurants before I went to college, and there, you have no sick pay and no vacation as far as I can remember.

I have a white collar job now, I get 10 days of sick time and 10 days of vacation a year. I can use my sick time for anything, like if I need to go have my eyes checked, or if I need to take care of personal business. I think that should be standard for every job, but what do I know? I must be a socialist commie (probably throw fascist in there too) because I support worker's rights. It's a terrible thing that a great majority of this country doesn't even realize that they're getting the shaft and they keep voting for the ones who are screwing them over.

Swine flu or not, many workers can't stay home

By JOCELYN NOVECK

NEW YORK (AP) -- You wake up one morning and you're feeling achy and feverish. The directions from health officials battling swine flu are clear: Stay home from work. Don't risk infecting others. And certainly don't send a sick kid to school.

But what if you're one of the estimated 57 million working Americans with no paid sick days?
...
"The problem has really come into sharp relief the past few days," said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, which has long pushed for paid sick leave. "Many people don't even realize that almost half the private sector - 48 percent - has no sick days, not even a single one."
...
Making matters even worse: Those least likely to have sick leave are low-income workers, particularly in fields like food services, child care and the hotel industry - in other words, the people you most want to be staying home if they're sick...

The Associated Press interviewed a number of workers in the food industry. Not surprisingly, most didn't want their names used for fear they would be fired. They told stories of coming to work with a fever or flu in order to keep their jobs, and of seeing sick co-workers sneezing and coughing near food... A study on sick leave found that 68 percent of those without paid sick days had gone to work with a contagious illness like the flu or a viral infection...

Making the problem even thornier: Kids. Children get sick all the time and infect each other. Yet even among those workers lucky enough to have paid sick leave, few have flexible sick days that can be used to care for a family member... Advocates for family-friendly policies point out that the U.S. is the only country out of the top 20 world economic powers with no federally mandated sick days. Put another way, some 140 other countries have them.

No U.S. states have them either, though three cities have passed such measures: San Francisco, Washington and Milwaukee, where implementation has been held up by a lawsuit...

There are two types of people. There's the worker, who apparently is content to be screwed over, and then there's the higher ups, thankful that the workers don't realize that they should be getting the better end of things, especially considering that the CEO of most major companies makes hundreds of times the annual pay of their workers.

And I just want to point out, that I as bad as the evil Wal-Mart is painted to be, they provide a little sick time to their employees, or used to at any rate. I don't know about now.

Oh, and you want to know why the economy is in the tank? Henry Ford, as much of an anti-Semitic bastard that he was, realized that if he would pay his workers enough, they'd buy his product. Well guess what? We don't pay the majority of people in this country enough to afford to live, much less buy anything. But we have a solution for that. We give credit cards to everyone! The working class can then go out and charge it, but they still can't pay for it. So they can file bankruptcy, and get credit cards again. Yes, this really does happen. I have seen it with my own eyes. But now there's no credit unless your rating is sky high, and so the working class can't buy anything, because they didn't have the money for it in the first place. And our economy is in a death spiral because of it.

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?