Comments on: Swine Flu Epidemic Continues Massive Wave of Destruction http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/ Defending the liberal tradition in history, science, and philosophy. Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:15:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dean Esmay http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172996 Dean Esmay Tue, 19 May 2009 02:59:00 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172996 Today the WHO was discussing whether to ditch standard anti-flu measures and go to full-bore concentration of Swine Flu. Don't tell me that's just the press getting hysterical. Today the WHO was discussing whether to ditch standard anti-flu measures and go to full-bore concentration of Swine Flu.

Don’t tell me that’s just the press getting hysterical.

]]> By: P Mike http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172986 P Mike Mon, 18 May 2009 18:18:36 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172986 and if the avian flu crosses with the swine flu, you might see pigs fly and if the avian flu crosses with the swine flu, you might see pigs fly

]]> By: Mc Kiernan http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172978 Mc Kiernan Sun, 17 May 2009 23:43:23 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172978 Yer, right, Even SF Mayor Gavin Newsom got into the act on May 1st when the SF Health Director confirmed but one case of swine ----check out sentence three: "Newsom also said he would ask the Board of Supervisors to declare a state of emergency in San Francisco, primarily as a means to request federal funding." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/30/MNSB17C80B.DTL&tsp=1 Yer, right,

Even SF Mayor Gavin Newsom got into the act on May 1st when the SF Health Director confirmed but one case of swine —-check out sentence three:

“Newsom also said he would ask the Board of Supervisors to declare a state of emergency in San Francisco, primarily as a means to request federal funding.”

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/30/MNSB17C80B.DTL&tsp=1

]]> By: Hank Barnes http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172976 Hank Barnes Sun, 17 May 2009 22:33:57 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172976 The problem, though, is that nobody has found a way to make money of lightning strikes -- what are you gonna do, double the budget of the <a href="http://www.noaa.gov/" rel="nofollow">NOAA</a> (if Obama hasn't already done so....) With strange new exotic diseases, you can pour research dollars into the NIH and CDC; give grants to pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines, tests and now anti-virals; give bureacrats at 50 state public health agencies something sexy to do for a change.... The pork flu came and went -- 1 month of hysteria at Drudge and nothing more. HB The problem, though, is that nobody has found a way to make money of lightning strikes — what are you gonna do, double the budget of the NOAA (if Obama hasn’t already done so….)

With strange new exotic diseases, you can pour research dollars into the NIH and CDC; give grants to pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines, tests and now anti-virals; give bureacrats at 50 state public health agencies something sexy to do for a change….

The pork flu came and went — 1 month of hysteria at Drudge and nothing more.

HB

]]> By: ArnoldHarris http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172974 ArnoldHarris Sun, 17 May 2009 14:12:31 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172974 Lots of folks will kick the bucket from just plain good old-fashioned death. Happens every day. Happens every minute. Happens every second. No scare headlines. No wringing of hands in government and media offices. I guess death itself is sort of an ongoing never-to-be stopped pandemic. I'm trying not to be any more sarcastic than Dean in this post. Arnold Harris Mount Horeb WI Lots of folks will kick the bucket from just plain good old-fashioned death. Happens every day. Happens every minute. Happens every second. No scare headlines. No wringing of hands in government and media offices. I guess death itself is sort of an ongoing never-to-be stopped pandemic.

I’m trying not to be any more sarcastic than Dean in this post.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

]]> By: Dave Schuler http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172973 Dave Schuler Sun, 17 May 2009 12:23:24 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172973 I believe this is an example of knowledge not being power. At any given moment how many unidentified strains or flu are there floating around in the population? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands. And it's possible that each and every one of them <b>could</b> mutate into something more deadly. If we shut down schools, put people into forcible quarantine (as was done in China), encourage people to go into voluntary quarantine (as was done here), and so on, society will grind to a halt. There's got to be a better way of evaluating risk and communicating it to people than was done in this case. I believe this is an example of knowledge not being power. At any given moment how many unidentified strains or flu are there floating around in the population? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands. And it’s possible that each and every one of them could mutate into something more deadly. If we shut down schools, put people into forcible quarantine (as was done in China), encourage people to go into voluntary quarantine (as was done here), and so on, society will grind to a halt.

There’s got to be a better way of evaluating risk and communicating it to people than was done in this case.

]]> By: willem http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172971 willem Sun, 17 May 2009 04:53:41 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172971 Ran across this: "The swine H1N1 has an avian PB2, which favors growth at high temperatures (41 C), which will offer a distinct advantage over the summer. As seen in the above numbers, the virus spreads easily, especially among students." Wise to not confuse the bug with the reportage. This one has the ability to do some very ugly things. Plus, it looks like this one's already outpacing the traditional flu and the season is still four months away. http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05140902/Swine_H1N1_Scotland_6l.html http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05120903/Swine_H1N1_Seasonal.html http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05150901/Swine_H1N1_Queens.html Ran across this: “The swine H1N1 has an avian PB2, which favors growth at high temperatures (41 C), which will offer a distinct advantage over the summer. As seen in the above numbers, the virus spreads easily, especially among students.”

Wise to not confuse the bug with the reportage. This one has the ability to do some very ugly things. Plus, it looks like this one’s already outpacing the traditional flu and the season is still four months away.

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05140902/Swine_H1N1_Scotland_6l.html

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05120903/Swine_H1N1_Seasonal.html

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05150901/Swine_H1N1_Queens.html

]]> By: willem http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172970 willem Sat, 16 May 2009 23:19:50 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172970 If I remember Balko's numbers, US police SWAT teams have a higher fatality rate erroneously kicking down the doors of innocents. But isn't this really about the collapse of the news? I see scant little difference in poor quality "reportage" whether the topic be Obama, AIDS, WMDs, or the Swine Flu. I've been looking for a new acronym to replace MSM that better describes the continuing decent into banal histrionic mediocrity. What we're really watching in action is unionized corporate media. "UCM" works for me. Cars, public schools, universities, newspapers, hospitals, government bureaus.. why should unionized corporatism be any less pathological declaring itself fit to determine the news? If I remember Balko’s numbers, US police SWAT teams have a higher fatality rate erroneously kicking down the doors of innocents.

But isn’t this really about the collapse of the news? I see scant little difference in poor quality “reportage” whether the topic be Obama, AIDS, WMDs, or the Swine Flu.

I’ve been looking for a new acronym to replace MSM that better describes the continuing decent into banal histrionic mediocrity.

What we’re really watching in action is unionized corporate media.

“UCM” works for me. Cars, public schools, universities, newspapers, hospitals, government bureaus.. why should unionized corporatism be any less pathological declaring itself fit to determine the news?

]]> By: TexasAg03 http://deanesmay.com/2009/05/16/swine-flu-epidemic-continues-massive-destruction/#comment-172969 TexasAg03 Sat, 16 May 2009 22:24:18 +0000 http://deanesmay.com/?p=16002#comment-172969 It's similar to the case people make against having guns in the house with children. More kids die in bathtub drowning accidents than are by a gun. I'm with you on this one, Dean - the situation has been WAY overblown and I fear that, eventually, these scares (mad cow, bird flu, sars, et. al.) are going to cause a "boy who cried wolf" effect. When there really IS a dangerous pandemic, no one will listen. It’s similar to the case people make against having guns in the house with children. More kids die in bathtub drowning accidents than are by a gun.

I’m with you on this one, Dean – the situation has been WAY overblown and I fear that, eventually, these scares (mad cow, bird flu, sars, et. al.) are going to cause a “boy who cried wolf” effect. When there really IS a dangerous pandemic, no one will listen.

]]>