Friday night Pandemic Watch - Swine Flu coming to you?

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Postby crikkett » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:29 pm

Heywaitaminute.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/ ... fluupdate/


Wired Science News for Your Neurons
Swine Flu Genes From Pigs Only, Not Humans or Birds

The deadly H1N1 influenza virus that’s fueling fears of a global pandemic is a hybrid of two common pig flu strains, scientists who have studied the disease told Wired.com Tuesday
. Earlier reports called it a combination of pig, human and avian influenza strains.

The findings may resolve some uncertainty about the nature of the virus, but much is still unknown about its origins and effects.

“This is what we call a reassortment between two currently circulating pig flu viruses,” said Andrew Rambaut, a University of Edinburgh viral geneticist. “Why it’s emerged in humans is anyone’s guess. It hasn’t been seen before in pigs as far as I know.”

Rambaut analyzed the gene sequences of viral samples taken from two infected California children. The samples were collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and made available to researchers through an international database of flu genomes.

His conclusions were echoed by Eddie Holmes, a virus evolution specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Steven Salzberg, a University of Maryland bioinformaticist. Both have looked at the CDC-provided sequences. The CDC could not be reached for comment, but a document released to scientists and obtained by Wired.com affirms their analysis.

The samples from California are the same viral strain as one that’s believed to have killed as many as 150 of an estimated 1,600 hospitalized Mexicans, and caused hundreds more infections worldwide, including at least 64 in the United States.

The two strains whose genes are found in the hybrid belong to influenza families known generally as North American and Eurasian pig flu. The former was first described in the 1930s, and the latter in 1979. The Eurasian strain is generally found in Europe and Asia, rather than North America.

Neither of the strains have ever proven contagious in humans. One of the genes inherited from the Eurasian strain has reportedly never been seen in humans. It codes for the neuraminidase enzyme — the N1 in H1N1 — which controls the expansion of the virus from infected cells.

“The new neuraminidase gene that came in from Eurasian swine is one we’ve never before seen circulating in humans,” said Rambaut. “That’s one of the reasons it’s spreading rapidly. Very few people will have any immunity to this particular combination, which is what gives the concern that this will be a pandemic rather than just a normal seasonal flu outbreak. It remains to be seen how much and to what extent there is existing immunity.”

In medical terms, the genetic origins of the virus may not matter. Whether it come solely from pigs rather than a mix of pigs, birds and humans doesn’t change its immunological novelty.

However, understanding the origins could eventually help scientists determine how the virus evolved and where it originally emerged.

The earliest cases occurred in the town of La Gloria in the Mexican state of Veracruz, not far from a large and notoriously unsanitary hog farm operated by Granjas Carroll, a subsidiary of giant American food company Smithfield Foods.

Vercruz residents and some journalists have alleged that the virus could have evolved in the farm’s pigs, then passed into humans through water or insects tainted by infected waste. Many researchers, including the authors of a report issued last year by the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, have warned that unsanitary conditions at industrial hog farms could prove a breeding ground for new forms of influenza.

The World Health Organization has sent inspectors to the Granjas Carroll farm. The results of the investigation have not been announced. Smithfield issued a press release on Saturday stating that “it has found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine influenza in the company’s swine herd or its employees at its joint ventures in Mexico.” The company declined further comment, though CEO Larry Pope told USA Today that “(The term) swine flu is a misnomer.”

Rambaut, Holmes and Salzberg declined to speculate on whether the new H1N1 virus evolved on a hog farm or specifically in the Granjas Carroll facility.

However, it seems likely that pigs were the original host.

“That’s a logical conclusion,” said Salzberg. “It was probably two different pigs, or one who got co-infected from others. The two strains mixed, and now you have a brand-new strain.”

“Presumably somewhere there was a pig infected with both forms. We don’t know where or when. It could have been circulating in this form for a while,” said Rambaut.

What comes next is anyone’s guess.

“Influenza virus mutates remarkably rapidly so there is no doubt that the virus will mutate and evolve in humans,” said Holmes. “Quite what this evolution will result in is difficult to tell.”
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Postby Percival » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:37 pm

I dont know if any of you guys are familar with Dr Mercola on the internet, real good guy with lots of excellent and free health, diet and lifestyle information, very intelligent guy. This comment from him sort of surprised me though since he isnt really a conspiracy theory type guy:

Mercola: Not one to dabble too deep in conspiracy theories, I don't have to strain very hard to find actual facts to support the notion that this may not be a natural mutation, and that those who stand to gain have the wherewithal to pull off such a stunt.
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Postby American Dream » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:46 pm

http://americasmexico.blogspot.com/2009 ... on-of.html

Mexico’s Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease

Image

Mexico has long been considered the laboratory of globalization. Now a potentially deadly virus has germinated in that laboratory, finding ideal conditions to move quickly along a path toward global pandemic.

Those conditions include: a rapid transition from small livestock production to industrial meat farms after NAFTA established incentives for foreign investment, the failed decentralization of Mexico’s health system along lines established by multilateral lending banks, lax and non-enforced environmental and health regulations as the Mexican government was forced to downsize, the increased flow of goods and persons across borders, and restricted access to life-saving medicines due to NAFTA intellectual property monopolies for pharmaceutical companies.

Mexico under Medical Siege

The swine flu alert in Mexico rose to a level four this week, meaning that it is spreading human-to-human and shows a significant increase in the risk of becoming a pandemic. Schools are closed until at least May 6. The Mexico City government shut down the city’s 35,000 restaurants on Monday. Countries including Canada, Argentina, and several European nations have cancelled flights between Mexico in an effort to contain the spread of the new flu, although Keiji Fukuda of the WHO noted, “closing borders or restricting travel has really little effect in stopping the movement of this virus” now that cases are appearing across the globe.

Here in Mexico City, all public events have been cancelled and people have flocked to the supermarkets in surgical masks to stock up on food. I had to go out yesterday and discovered less traffic (small consolation) but a fairly normal number of people in the streets, many wearing the recommended masks. Traditional practices of greeting each other with kisses and handshakes have been suspended and a cough is seen as tantamount to assault.

But I didn’t feel an atmosphere of panic. Mexicans seem to have accepted the epidemic and changes in their lives with a combination of cultural fatalism and survival instincts although many are skeptical of the government’s claims and the measures taken.

The media has been providing a steady stream of real and generally non-alarmist information out about the risks. The flu is a mutant form of swine flu, human seasonal flu and bird flu. In itself, it is not lethal but it leads to complications of “atypical pneumonia”. It’s atypical because it’s out of season and because victims tend to concentrate in the middle age range. Unlike regular pneumonia that picks off the very young and the very old, deaths of this virus tend to be within the 20-40 range. No-one seems to know exactly why this is. In fact, it is the newness of the virus that has raised the alarm. It can be treated successfully with anti-virals but there is no vaccine for it.

The strategy is to avoid enclosed spaces with large numbers of people. Although people are obeying the measures and following recommendations, increasing doubts exist about the transparency and honesty of government information. A press conference by the Secretaries of Health and Labor on April 29 ended in chaos, with reporters yelling out questions to clear up contradictions between the official version that only 26 cases of swine flu had been confirmed in Mexico and reports of far greater numbers.

Swine Flu and the Smithfield Connection

Because of the population density of Mexico City it continues to be the center of the epidemic. Of the seven deaths from swine flu confirmed by the Mexican government and the WHO, all were in Mexico City—six in the delegation where we live.

However, the first reports came from Perote, Veracruz--home to a huge hog farm co-owned and operated by the U.S. transnational industrial livestock company Smithfield and a Mexican company. In early March, local health officials proclaimed an epidemiological alert due to a flu with the exact same characteristics. La Jornada reported that Perote officials claimed 60% of the population suffered from flu, pneumonia and bronchitis. Federal health officials reportedly ignored the complaints until April 5, when they placed sanitary restrictions on Carroll Farms.
Mexico’s Secretary of Health Jose Angel Cordova discarded the theory that the flu originated in the hog farms of Perote. But the information provided led to more confusion than clarity about that. He noted that a child died there of swine flu but other cases proved negative and inspection of the animals showed no signs of an outbreak. This needs to be independently and seriously analyzed because the fact remains that the people in Perote show high indices of similar and unexplained illnesses and the government information is partial and inconclusive.

Silvia Ribeiro of the ETC Group told the Americas Program that Mexican officials “act like this is something that fell from the sky, but we’ve known for a long time that industrial livestock operations, especially hogs, are a breeding ground for recombinant viruses. Carroll Farms is just one example, an important one in this case, but it’s also true of industrial chicken farms.”
Anybody who has seen an industrial hog farm knows the risk of disease. The unimaginable concentrations of filth, corrals filled with sick and suffering animals pumped full of antibiotics, and buzzing with flies that then carry disease to the human population create a disease paradise.

As Mike Davis points out,
“The paradox of this swine flu panic is that, while totally unexpected, it was accurately predicted. Six years ago, Science dedicated a major story to evidence that "after years of stability, the North American swine flu virus has jumped onto an evolutionary fast track".

NAFTA unleashed the spread of industrial livestock farms in Mexico by creating investment incentives for transnational companies to relocate operations there. The “race to the bottom” –where companies move production to areas where environmental and health restrictions and enforcement are low, is exemplified in livestock farming.

Smithfield has had more than its share of legal problems stemming from its operations in the United States. Most recently it announced a decision to reject a $75 million dollar settlement on claims brought in Missouri by residents complaining of the stench. On August 8, 1997 a federal court judge in Virginia imposed a $12.8 million fine on Smithfield Foods for violation of the Clean Water Act. In September of 1999 an appeal upheld the ruling.

In 1994, the year NAFTA went into effect, Smithfield established the Perote operations with the Mexican agrobusiness AMSA (Agroindustrias Unidas de México S.A. de C.V.). In 1999 it bought the U.S. company Carroll’s Foods for $500 million and began rapid expanision of its operations in Perote.

Banking on Disease

Livestock transnationals are not the only economic interests involved in preserving the dangerous situation that led to this epidemic. In an article entitled “An epidemic of profiteering”, she notes that the epidemic means big business for the pharmaceutical companies who hold patents on anti-viral medicines. “Shares in Gilead rose 3%, Roche 4% and Glaxo 6%, and that’s only the beginning.”

Also to blame is neoliberal globalization and its impact on human health. Ribeiro has in interesting theory on why Mexico City is the focal point of the virus. “People living in the city--and in a way the city itself--suffer from a depressed immunological system. Especially for the poor, the lack of public services, water and health services, stress and poor nutrition means that people die not only from increased contagion but also from low defenses here.”

Mexico’s grand experiment in sink or swim neoliberalism included privatization and erosion of health systems and basic services. Mexican health policy expert Gustavo Leal told the CIP Americas Program that “the notorious delay in the response of the federal government can be attributed in part to the decentralization of healthcare promoted by international finance institutions such as the World Bank. “This broke down the chain of command and the flow of information,” Leal said. Tellingly, the health care network that has responded most vigorously to the Mexican swine flu epidemic has been the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), an institute that conservatives and the same IFIs have been trying to privatize for years. Armies of IMSS healthcare professionals are attending to cases and reporting from the field throughout the country.

SPP: Integrated Risk Management or Integrated Risks?
It’s ironic and inexcusable that the most integrated region in the world responded so poorly to the recent epidemic. One of the main selling points for the extension of NAFTA into the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) was that a working group was preparing integrated response to epidemics that would make all North Americans safer. In fact, this was one of the few publically announced activities of the secretive working groups that primarily devote their activities to making it easier for the Smithfields and Tysons to do business throughout the continent.

The SPP North American Plan declares that it provides a framework to accomplish the following:
* Detect, contain and control an avian influenza outbreak and prevent transmission to humans;
* Prevent or slow the entry of a new strain of human influenza into North America;
* Minimize illness and deaths; and
* Sustain infrastructure and mitigate the impact to the economy and the functioning of society


The Plan supposedly established mechanisms to coordinate actions, monitor outbreaks, and supervise animal farms.

Mexico despite being a poor country with greater risk of disease, had not received the technology needed to immediately analyze flu strains so had to send samples to the Canadian Health Ministry and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta for analysis. About a week was lost in this process. Moreover, as mentioned the CDC didn’t respond quickly or effectively.

Where was this plan when Perote was reporting illness and a local epidemic way back in March? Has this group done serious research on the risks of industrial livestock production? Why did the CDC take nearly a week to respond to reports of the Mexican epidemic?

The answers lie in what Davis refers to as the “global political clout” of the livestock transnationals. Another hint can be found in this phrase from the SPP announcement: “Central to the Plan is a North American approach that undertakes measures to maintain the flow of people, services, and cargo across the borders during a severe pandemic while striving to protect our citizens.”

As is the case with all of NAFTA, the top priority is business as usual. While closing the borders is not the answer, an investigation into the root causes of the epidemic must lead to a full accounting of the risks of globalization and industrial farming. Poor countries with poor health run the greatest risks and yet the current system gives their concerns short shrift and little resources.

A misplaced priority on profits over human health in the context of a globalized world led to this epidemic and its possibilities becoming the world’s latest pandemic.
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Postby whipstitch » Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:47 pm

Jeff wrote:I'm not getting my panic on just yet, but neither am I going to say this is all down to our crackheaded media's fear harvesting.

The 1918 pandemic began as a relatively mild wave of infection in the Spring. In the Fall it became much more virulent. So I think the reasonable cause for concern here is, as usual, the unknown. It hasn't been seen before, it isn't contained and we can't fight it, so what's it gonna do next?


According to the numbers in that article you posted, we have 146 confirmed cases and 8 confirmed deaths. The mortality rate comes to 5.4% (8/146). In 1918, the mortality rate was 2.5%. Granted, our sample size is small but this is something to keep an eye on.
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Postby monster » Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:45 pm

Code: Select all
        1 atggagagaa taaaagaact gagagatcta atgtcgcagt cccgcactcg cgagatactc
       61 actaagacca ctgtggacca tatggccata atcaaaaagt acacatcagg aaggcaagag
      121 aagaaccccg cactcagaat gaagtggatg atggcaatga gatacccaat tacagcagac
      181 aagagaataa tggacatgat tccagagagg aatgaacaag gacaaaccct ctggagcaaa
      241 acaaacgatg ctggatcaga ccgagtgatg gtatcacctc tggccgtaac atggtggaat
      301 aggaatggcc caacaacaag tacagttcat taccctaagg tatataaaac ttatttcgaa
      361 aaggtcgaaa ggttgaaaca tggtaccttc ggccctgtcc acttcagaaa tcaagttaaa
      421 ataaggagga gagttgatac aaaccctggc catgcagatc tcagtgccaa ggaggcacag
      481 gatgtgatta tggaagttgt tttcccaaat gaagtggggg caagaatact gacatcagag
      541 tcacagctgg caataacaaa agagaagaaa gaagagctcc aggattgtaa aattgctccc
      601 ttgatggtgg cgtacatgct agaaagagaa ttggtccgta aaacaaggtt tctcccagta
      661 gccggcggaa caggcagtgt ttatattgaa gtgttgcact taacccaagg gacgtgctgg
      721 gagcagatgt acactccagg aggagaagtg agaaatgatg atgttgacca aagtttgatt
      781 atcgctgcta gaaacatagt aagaagagca gcagtgtcag cagacccatt agcatctctc
      841 ttggaaatgt gccacagcac acagattgga ggagtaagga tggtggacat ccttagacag
      901 aatccaactg aggaacaagc cgtagacata tgcaaggcag caatagggtt gaggattagc
      961 tcatctttca gttttggtgg gttcactttc aaaaggacaa gcggatcatc agtcaagaaa
     1021 gaagaagaag tgctaacggg caacctccaa acactgaaaa taagagtaca tgaagggtat
     1081 gaagaattca caatggttgg gagaagagca acagctattc tcagaaaggc aaccaggaga
     1141 ttgatccagt tgatagtaag cgggagagac gagcagtcaa ttgctgaggc aataattgtg
     1201 gccatggtat tctcacagga ggattgcatg atcaaggcag ttaggggcga tctgaacttt
     1261 gtcaataggg caaaccagcg actgaacccc atgcaccaac tcttgaggca tttccaaaaa
     1321 gatgcaaaag tgcttttcca gaactgggga attgaatcca tcgacaatgt gatgggaatg
     1381 atcggaatac tgcccgacat gaccccaagc acggagatgt cgctgagagg gataagagtc
     1441 agcaaaatgg gagtagatga atactccagc acggagagag tggtagtgag tattgaccga
     1501 tttttaaggg ttagagatca aagagggaac gtactattgt ctcccgaaga agtcagtgaa
     1561 acgcaaggaa ctgagaagtt gacaataact tattcgtcat caatgatgtg ggagatcaat
     1621 ggccctgagt cagtgctagt caacacttat caatggataa tcaggaactg ggaaattgtg
     1681 aaaattcaat ggtcacaaga tcccacaatg ttatacaaca aaatggaatt tgaaccattt
     1741 cagtctcttg tccctaaggc aaccagaagc cggtacagtg gattcgtaag gacactgttc
     1801 cagcaaatgc gggatgtgct tgggacattt gacactgtcc aaataataaa acttctcccc
     1861 tttgctgctg ccccaccaga acagagtagg atgcaatttt cctcattgac tgtgaatgtg
     1921 agaggatcag ggttgaggat actggtaaga ggcaattctc cagtattcaa ttacaacaag
     1981 gcaaccaaac gacttacagt tcttggaaag gatgcaggtg cattgactga agatccagat
     2041 gaaggcacat ctggggtgga gtctgctgtc ctgagaggat ttctcatttt gggcaaagaa
     2101 gacaagagat atggcccagc attaagcatc aatgaactga gcaatcttgc aaaaggagag
     2161 aaggctaatg tgctaattgg gcaaggggac gtagtgttgg taatgaaacg aaaacgggac
     2221 tctagcatac ttactgacag ccagacagcg accaaaagaa ttcggatggc catcaattag


Above: CA sequence

All sequences
"I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline."
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Postby Cosmic Cowbell » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:16 am

monster wrote:
Code: Select all
        1 atggagagaa taaaagaact gagagatcta atgtcgcagt cccgcactcg cgagatactc
       61 actaagacca ctgtggacca tatggccata atcaaaaagt acacatcagg aaggcaagag
      121 aagaaccccg cactcagaat gaagtggatg atggcaatga gatacccaat tacagcagac
      181 aagagaataa tggacatgat tccagagagg aatgaacaag gacaaaccct ctggagcaaa
      241 acaaacgatg ctggatcaga ccgagtgatg gtatcacctc tggccgtaac atggtggaat
      301 aggaatggcc caacaacaag tacagttcat taccctaagg tatataaaac ttatttcgaa
      361 aaggtcgaaa ggttgaaaca tggtaccttc ggccctgtcc acttcagaaa tcaagttaaa
      421 ataaggagga gagttgatac aaaccctggc catgcagatc tcagtgccaa ggaggcacag
      481 gatgtgatta tggaagttgt tttcccaaat gaagtggggg caagaatact gacatcagag
      541 tcacagctgg caataacaaa agagaagaaa gaagagctcc aggattgtaa aattgctccc
      601 ttgatggtgg cgtacatgct agaaagagaa ttggtccgta aaacaaggtt tctcccagta
      661 gccggcggaa caggcagtgt ttatattgaa gtgttgcact taacccaagg gacgtgctgg
      721 gagcagatgt acactccagg aggagaagtg agaaatgatg atgttgacca aagtttgatt
      781 atcgctgcta gaaacatagt aagaagagca gcagtgtcag cagacccatt agcatctctc
      841 ttggaaatgt gccacagcac acagattgga ggagtaagga tggtggacat ccttagacag
      901 aatccaactg aggaacaagc cgtagacata tgcaaggcag caatagggtt gaggattagc
      961 tcatctttca gttttggtgg gttcactttc aaaaggacaa gcggatcatc agtcaagaaa
     1021 gaagaagaag tgctaacggg caacctccaa acactgaaaa taagagtaca tgaagggtat
     1081 gaagaattca caatggttgg gagaagagca acagctattc tcagaaaggc aaccaggaga
     1141 ttgatccagt tgatagtaag cgggagagac gagcagtcaa ttgctgaggc aataattgtg
     1201 gccatggtat tctcacagga ggattgcatg atcaaggcag ttaggggcga tctgaacttt
     1261 gtcaataggg caaaccagcg actgaacccc atgcaccaac tcttgaggca tttccaaaaa
     1321 gatgcaaaag tgcttttcca gaactgggga attgaatcca tcgacaatgt gatgggaatg
     1381 atcggaatac tgcccgacat gaccccaagc acggagatgt cgctgagagg gataagagtc
     1441 agcaaaatgg gagtagatga atactccagc acggagagag tggtagtgag tattgaccga
     1501 tttttaaggg ttagagatca aagagggaac gtactattgt ctcccgaaga agtcagtgaa
     1561 acgcaaggaa ctgagaagtt gacaataact tattcgtcat caatgatgtg ggagatcaat
     1621 ggccctgagt cagtgctagt caacacttat caatggataa tcaggaactg ggaaattgtg
     1681 aaaattcaat ggtcacaaga tcccacaatg ttatacaaca aaatggaatt tgaaccattt
     1741 cagtctcttg tccctaaggc aaccagaagc cggtacagtg gattcgtaag gacactgttc
     1801 cagcaaatgc gggatgtgct tgggacattt gacactgtcc aaataataaa acttctcccc
     1861 tttgctgctg ccccaccaga acagagtagg atgcaatttt cctcattgac tgtgaatgtg
     1921 agaggatcag ggttgaggat actggtaaga ggcaattctc cagtattcaa ttacaacaag
     1981 gcaaccaaac gacttacagt tcttggaaag gatgcaggtg cattgactga agatccagat
     2041 gaaggcacat ctggggtgga gtctgctgtc ctgagaggat ttctcatttt gggcaaagaa
     2101 gacaagagat atggcccagc attaagcatc aatgaactga gcaatcttgc aaaaggagag
     2161 aaggctaatg tgctaattgg gcaaggggac gtagtgttgg taatgaaacg aaaacgggac
     2221 tctagcatac ttactgacag ccagacagcg accaaaagaa ttcggatggc catcaattag


Above: CA sequence

All sequences


I'm sure there's nanothermite in there somewhere....
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Postby barracuda » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:23 am

Mexico Shuts Down Government Over Swine Flu

Mexico's federal government is suspending non-essential activities for several days and is asking parts of the economy to do the same in efforts to stop the spread of swine flu.

At the same time, the World Health Organization raised its alert level for swine flu, saying the virus is unpredictable and can spread quickly around the world.

The new WHO alert level -- Phase 5 -- means a pandemic could be imminent. It is one step below a declaration of a pandemic, which is defined as an illness occurring over a wide geographic area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population.

Mexican Health Minister Jose Cordova said Wednesday non-essential government services will be suspended for five days beginning on Friday. He also called for non-essential parts of the economy to shut down. He said food, medical and transportation sectors will not be affected.
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Postby barracuda » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:55 am

And while you're waiting, you can try your hand Pandemic II over at Crazy Monkey while you play a bit of mood music.

Disturbed - Get Down With The Sickness
The most dangerous traps are the ones you set for yourself. - Phillip Marlowe
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Postby 8bitagent » Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:07 am

I just heard on the news:

WHO raises alert to "Pandemic Level 5"....ouch

Mexico government shuts down

First confirmed US death in Texas


Now either this is all just overhype, or the first phase of "Obama's first year challenge" is underway(with the others to be possibly financial wise or international incident wise)
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Postby monster » Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:40 am

Probable Case Of Swine Flu In Tracy; 14 In CA

A 31-year-old woman in Tracy is being tested to confirm if she has contracted the disease.

"We still continue to see mild cases in California," Chavez said during a news conference in Sacramento. "Out of all these cases -- the 14 confirmed, 17 probable -- we've only had three hospitalizations so far that we know about and no fatalities."

Link
"I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline."
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Postby anothershamus » Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:31 am

Coughing Pig Death,
solutions rather than speculation! Via[url]boingboing.net[/url]


Now that the Coughing Pig Death has finally legitimized your compulsive handwashing tendencies, there's no better time to revisit Etsy seller Foliage's line of hand-soaps shaped like tiny disembodied baby-hands: "You will get at least 10 hands (at least/about 100 grams of soap). This soap is made from goat's milk and vegetable glycerin with a light scent. Your hands come packaged in a pretty bag...all ready for gifting to a friend with dirty paws!"

Image

Buy your own set here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?re ... d=20701852
)'(
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Postby AlicetheKurious » Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:06 am

crikkett wrote:Heywaitaminute. ...


Flying Pigs, Tamiflu and Factory Farms

If we are to believe what our trusted international media report, the world is on the brink of a global pandemic outbreak of a new deadly strain of flu, H1N1 as it has been labelled, or more popularly, Swine Flu. As the story goes, the outbreak of the deadly flu was first discovered in Mexico. According to press reports, after several days, headlines reported as many as perhaps 150 deaths in Mexico were believed caused by this virulent people-killing pig virus that has spread to humans and now is allegedly being further spread from human to human. Cases were being reported hourly from Canada to Spain and beyond. The only thing wrong with this story is that it is largely based on lies, hype and coverup of possible real causes of Mexican deaths. ...
Last edited by AlicetheKurious on Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
"If you're not careful the newspapers will have you hating the oppressed and loving the people doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X
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Postby mentalgongfu2 » Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:30 am

I went away for the weekend last Friday, and disconnected myself from the news. I came back on Monday and all the world was crazy about some thing called "swine flu," and the pitch of the worry kept increasing and soon it read like The End of the World was nigh, as if humanity had never weathered a disease. As I sit here I'm struck by how dependent our perceptions have become on mediated reality; I'm thinking about how and why certain stories become obsessions in the news media and the public mind, and how the ideas and the audience feed from each other; and I'm thinking about automation of reaction, advertising-style suggestive mind control and methods of conditioning.
"When I'm done ranting about elite power that rules the planet under a totalitarian government that uses the media in order to keep people stupid, my throat gets parched. That's why I drink Orange Drink!"
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Postby 8bitagent » Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:46 am

"All Of Humanity Is Threatened", says WHO as it raises alert to imminent threat
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090430/ap_ ... _swine_flu

Wouldnt be surprised if they bring it to 'phase 6' soon

Ive never seen this level of fear promoting by the news regarding a flu before
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Postby stickdog99 » Thu Apr 30, 2009 3:57 am

Jeff wrote:I'm not getting my panic on just yet, but neither am I going to say this is all down to our crackheaded media's fear harvesting.

The 1918 pandemic began as a relatively mild wave of infection in the Spring. In the Fall it became much more virulent. So I think the reasonable cause for concern here is, as usual, the unknown. It hasn't been seen before, it isn't contained and we can't fight it, so what's it gonna do next?

fail?
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