Mexican Swine Flu claims first celebrity victim

[+allenjb42 4,232]

 

 

Actually, it's just something I knocked together over lunch to alleviate the blind panic that's starting to grip the world.

 

(No offence intended to any victims of this undoubtedly serious situation).

[Silverbolt 104]

s!

Edited April 30, 2009 by Silverbolt

[Lt. James Cater 62]

This might seem out of line but i don't see what all the fuss is about.

 

In my crew at work we have a couple of African immigrants. In conversation i mentioned to one that i thought all the Flu panic was a joke. He agreed.

 

 

When i mentioned Ebola, his facial reaction was like something out of a King horror novel. He damn near was cringing. Now, Ebola is what you call a real killer disease. Especially the Ebola Zaire strain. The thing has about a 90% kill ratio and there is pretty much not a damn thing medical science can do for you. He said "Ebola is death"

 

 

As we talked you can imagine the things that were mentioned and what he remembered from back in Africa. Marburg, Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Yellow fever, Cholera, Malaria, etc, etc.

 

He described going through an area that had a Cholera outbreak and just shook his head. "Lots and lots of really sick and dead people"

 

 

We openly joke about what we see on TV and scoff at the doom and gloom types.

Edited April 30, 2009 by Lt. James Cater

[+Gunrunner 314]

It's the trouble of our "modern" civilisation, seems we can't understand anymore that diseases, decay, pain and death are a natural part of life, that diseases can kill the weakest individuals, that an unusually cold winter or hot summer will reduce life expectancy of the oldest by several month...

The whole thing is blown out of proportion by the media, the governments trying to prove to populations they are in control and scientists going on record without giving clues on the real meaning of some words and no precise context.

 

Come on, in France, we had a scientist explaining that yes, we might end up with curfews, interdictions to assemble, the whole nine yards... should enough cases be spotted...

Yeah right, almost martial law for what ? A nasty flu ?

What would it be for anything nastier ? Burn all infected individuals alive with a flame-thrower ?

 

Gah... people are morons -_-

[MigBuster 2,884]

Can only think they need to give us something else to worry about to take the minds of the state of the economy :)

[GwynO 16]

So refreshing to see the whole world hasn't gone entirely mad! Flu kills people every year, yet no one really makes this much fuss usually. The government advises weaker people in society to get a flu jab, the elderly, the infirm and so on but no one cares to look into the cases of homeless people who die from this every single year. The fact that some people in a slum dropped down with the flu doesn't surprise me in the least, neither does the cynical news reporting deliberately making more out this just to attract viewers. Channel 4 news had a report of people panicking in Mexico, all with masks like it was the end of the world, and just as an afterthought, the reporter mentions that only 2 or 3 out of the dozens of people rushing into hospital have actually been confirmed as having a virus.

 

Load of old codswallop.

[Syrinx 13]

I think I've got swine flu...I've started to come out in rashers.

[Icarus999 70]

This strain of flu is something to be taken seriously, you should not panic, yet you should take precautions and be prepared for what might happen if this thing takes off like the 1918 flu that killed millions. At this point my biggest concern is the flu's effect on our week economy.

[MigBuster 2,884]

I think I've got swine flu...I've started to come out in rashers.

 

Ouch forget flu ..........that jokes more painful

[Lt. James Cater 62]

This strain of flu is something to be taken seriously, you should not panic, yet you should take precautions and be prepared for what might happen if this thing takes off like the 1918 flu that killed millions. At this point my biggest concern is the flu's effect on our week economy.

This strain of flu is jacks**t****all as far as lethality is concerned.

 

You mentioned 1918? Have you read serious books or seen real documentaries about it? What is going on now is nowhere even close to that era. Hell, the US lost some 600,000 people and IIRC the UK had more than 200,000.

 

So what is this about "Swine flu"?

Edited April 30, 2009 by Lt. James Cater

[+Typhoid 231]

This strain of flu is jacks**t****all as far as lethality is concerned.

 

You mentioned 1918? Have you read serious books or seen real documentaries about it? What is going on now is nowhere even close to that era. Hell, the US lost some 600,000 people and IIRC the UK had more than 200,000.

 

So what is this about "Swine flu"?

 

 

its all about selling news and giving politicians another excuse to impose government "emergency measures" over some bit of nonsense.

[Lt. James Cater 62]

its all about selling news and giving politicians another excuse to impose government "emergency measures" over some bit of nonsense.

 

What kills me is the typical American lack of historical knowledge. My God! History was always my thing since i was a little kid in elementary school and through the years it's shocked me just how ignorant fellow Americans are.

 

Jawdropping stunning ignorance!

 

This "Swine Flu" is minor league BS compared to the real horrors in the disease world but people are panicking about it.

Edited April 30, 2009 by Lt. James Cater

[+Jug 99]

What kills me is the typical American lack of historical knowledge. My God! History was always my thing since i was a little kid in elementary school and through the years it's shocked me just how ignorant about fellow Americans are.

 

Jawdropping stunning ignorance!

 

This "Swine Flu" is minor league BS compared to the real horrors in the disease world but people are panicking about it.

Our President is convinced the Brits didn't use any enhanced interrogation techniques on captured German spies either. A student of history, he is not!

 

Tears shed, RIP, Arrriba, Arrrriba, Ondelay, Ondelay.....................................................no more!

[scouserlad13 0]

R.I.P Speedy, you will be missed

 

He's running around in heaven now

 

Ariba Ariba mate!

[+allenjb42 4,232]

Another one bites the dust:

 

 

And we all know who gave it to him…

[scouserlad13 0]

And we all know who gave it to him…

 

 

Bigbird? That son of a B****

 

*Loads gun

 

Im going hunting for a rare species of bird

[whirlinmerlin 0]

that diseases can kill the weakest individuals, that an unusually cold winter or hot summer will reduce life expectancy of the oldest by several month...

The whole thing is blown out of proportion by the media, the governments trying to prove to populations they are in control

 

I'm going to get a bit boring here, but I can't help it I'm a biologist.

 

One of the reasons that new strains of flu are taken so seriously is the possibility that the new strain will be capable of causing something called a 'cytokine storm' an OTT immune response, this was seen in the 1918 flu which is why it killed so many of the young and fit. Flu strains like can be most harmful to the young and fit (and ecconomically most productive) and not to the 'weakest' in the general sense.

 

New flu strain are also concerning as flu viruses have two properties that make them predisposed to pandemics, they are easily transmissible and they mutate rapidly. Other viruses such as Ebola whilst horrendous tend to be more localised and have less potential to go global.

 

Sooner or later ( I hope the later) there will be a flu pandemic of the sort that happened in 1918, of course we now live in a different world we have better treatment and tracking capability but we also live in a more connected world. It is not scaremungering to treat this with seriousness.

 

The catch 22 with a flu pandemic is that by the time you would have enough evidence to know that it would be 'the big one' it would be too late to do anything about it.

Even though the probability of any particular strain becoming a serious pandemic is low the potential harm if it does is very high, which is why sensible precautions are so important.

 

All that said there is no doubt that the media and polititans just don't get the subtles involved. There has been much misinformation, both inflating and denial of the actual risk. It is also sickening how some have profiteered from the situation.

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Another one bites the dust:

 

 

And we all know who gave it to him…

 

Horrah!!... There IS a god!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I'm going to get a bit boring here, but I can't help it I'm a biologist.

 

One of the reasons that new strains of flu are taken so seriously is the possibility that the new strain will be capable of causing something called a 'cytokine storm' an OTT immune response, this was seen in the 1918 flu which is why it killed so many of the young and fit. Flu strains like can be most harmful to the young and fit (and ecconomically most productive) and not to the 'weakest' in the general sense.

 

New flu strain are also concerning as flu viruses have two properties that make them predisposed to pandemics, they are easily transmissible and they mutate rapidly. Other viruses such as Ebola whilst horrendous tend to be more localised and have less potential to go global.

 

Sooner or later ( I hope the later) there will be a flu pandemic of the sort that happened in 1918, of course we now live in a different world we have better treatment and tracking capability but we also live in a more connected world. It is not scaremungering to treat this with seriousness.

 

The catch 22 with a flu pandemic is that by the time you would have enough evidence to know that it would be 'the big one' it would be too late to do anything about it.

Even though the probability of any particular strain becoming a serious pandemic is low the potential harm if it does is very high, which is why sensible precautions are so important.

 

All that said there is no doubt that the media and polititans just don't get the subtles involved. There has been much misinformation, both inflating and denial of the actual risk. It is also sickening how some have profiteered from the situation.

 

I am going to be horribly callous here and suggest that awful phrase 'Natural Selection'

 

The world (indeed nature herself) needs to (and successfully does) 'kill off' large sections of life... when they get overpopulated... that's just the way of things.

 

For this reason, the pandemic is, as you say.. just a matter of time.

 

We have had no World War to reduce the worlds population..and the world will soon become overcrowded with Human beings. (I don't mean physically overcrowded)...just not enough Food and rescources to go around.

 

Sad, True and Inevitable I believe.

Edited May 14, 2009 by UK_Widowmaker

[TX3RN0BILL 3]

I am going to be horribly callous here and suggest that awful phrase 'Natural Selection'

 

The world (indeed nature herself) needs to (and successfully does) 'kill off' large sections of life... when they get overpopulated... that's just the way of things.

 

For this reason, the pandemic is, as you say.. just a matter of time.

 

We have had no World War to reduce the worlds population..and the world will soon become overcrowded with Human beings. (I don't mean physically overcrowded)...just not enough Food and rescources to go around.

 

Sad, True and Inevitable I believe.

 

I prefer aliens or robots killing us much more over any disease. At least some of us will try to and have the pleasure to shoot back and kick some, even if in the overall picture it won't matter that much... :tomato2:

[SayethWhaaaa 245]

Another one bites the dust:

 

And we all know who gave it to him…

 

So Kermie finally succumbed to his crack addiction... I suppose it ain't easy being green.

[DWCAce 19]

Kermit's last words "That b!tch said she was clean!".

[+allenjb42 4,232]

Bigbird? That son of a B****

 

*Loads gun

 

Im going hunting for a rare species of bird

 

No, it's swine flu, not bird flu. Here's the full story:

 

http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/s...y-in-isolation/