0 comment Friday, June 6, 2014 | admin
Below are several links to stories on the Mexican flu outbreak:
California expects to find more new flu cases
Officials Say 8 NYC Prep School Students Probably Have Swine Flu
More cases of swine flu reported; WHO warns of 'health emergency'
UK crew member in hospital after Mexico flight
BBC Have Your Say: Mexico flu: Your experiences
The last link above is from the BBC website, with readers in Mexico giving first-person accounts of the situation.
Over at Free Republic, there is a thread essentially denouncing all the news stories as so much media hype and propaganda. The original poster scoffs at the whole idea of a new strain of flu, and believes it's media-invented, or some kind of government-generated hype. A majority of the comments agree, with only a few on that thread believing there may be something to all the hype and hysteria.
I am keeping an open mind; I remember well how, a few years ago, there was the flurry of scare stories about SARS, the respiratory bug that seemed to be killing people in China, or people who had lately visited there. Then, starting a few years ago, there has been a constant flow of stories about possible Avian flu pandemics; that has somewhat died down now, but when it was at its height, I wondered why, exactly, the media (or the health authorities, or whoever was feeding the media) wanted to create fear around the possibility. After all, the authorities and the media seemed to say that there was little that could be done to prevent such an outbreak or even to contain it, much less to prevent it. So why generate so much anxiety and concern about something over which, apparently, we have no control?
At the time of the SARS scare, I wondered why on earth there was no effort to control our borders and to assiduously screen anybody who had recently been in the infected areas. Of course since the epidemic happened in 2003, I've concluded that our insane elites' dedication to open borders and 'globalization' override any petty concerns for public health and safety.
The worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918 was aided, so it's said, by the mass movements of peoples associated with World War I.
Considering the differences in mass transportation and the globalizing of our world, plus the huge overall increase in population, I would venture to guess that there are many, many more people on the move around the planet now than at any time in human history, and it is a wonder that we haven't yet had a devastating global pandemic thanks to this widespread nomadism that is happening today. Couple the unprecedented movements of large numbers of people with the poor hygiene and health that prevails in many parts of the world, especially the parts of the world which send immigrants to the First World, and such an epidemic seems highly likely, sooner or later.
And given the fact that we now seem to have a 'thou shalt not close the borders' commandment governing our policies, it would seem that even a deadly epidemic on the scale of the 1918 occurrence would not end our insane openness.
We might say that borders are our country's immune system, and that we now have a seriously impaired immune system, no longer defending against invaders. And what the open borders crowd vilifies as 'xenophobia' is just our psychological immune response to potential threats. Liberalism and the cult of 'diversity and inclusion' is the destruction of our immune system, the equivalent, really, of AIDS in a nation.
Open borders = tempting fate.
So what should be the proper reaction to these flu stories? I don't believe we should panic or become unnecessarily fearful, but on the other hand I can't join the scoffers' chorus and say that it's all hype and nothing to worry about. I think we have to exercise sensible precautions, such as avoiding travel to affected areas, and avoiding contact with anyone who exhibits any suspicious symptoms. It would be bad if this thing spreads, and people resort to panic buying of food, water, and other necessities. It's always sensible, however, to have enough food and water on hand in case of any kind of emergency such as a natural disaster, so many of us probably have such things on hand.
One thing I haven't read in the stories that have appeared is a definite incubation period. It's important to know how long it takes for symptoms to develop once someone has contracted the virus. If the incubation period is short, that makes it worse.
If any of you have information to share or any reports of illness where you are, share them here, please, and of course offer your opinions on this situation.
Update: Apparently, Guatemala is acting to tighten up their border with Mexico,. (H/T Elsinore at Cordelia For Lear)
And there are some informative posts on the flu story, with many good links, here and here.
California expects to find more new flu cases
Officials Say 8 NYC Prep School Students Probably Have Swine Flu
More cases of swine flu reported; WHO warns of 'health emergency'
UK crew member in hospital after Mexico flight
BBC Have Your Say: Mexico flu: Your experiences
The last link above is from the BBC website, with readers in Mexico giving first-person accounts of the situation.
Over at Free Republic, there is a thread essentially denouncing all the news stories as so much media hype and propaganda. The original poster scoffs at the whole idea of a new strain of flu, and believes it's media-invented, or some kind of government-generated hype. A majority of the comments agree, with only a few on that thread believing there may be something to all the hype and hysteria.
I am keeping an open mind; I remember well how, a few years ago, there was the flurry of scare stories about SARS, the respiratory bug that seemed to be killing people in China, or people who had lately visited there. Then, starting a few years ago, there has been a constant flow of stories about possible Avian flu pandemics; that has somewhat died down now, but when it was at its height, I wondered why, exactly, the media (or the health authorities, or whoever was feeding the media) wanted to create fear around the possibility. After all, the authorities and the media seemed to say that there was little that could be done to prevent such an outbreak or even to contain it, much less to prevent it. So why generate so much anxiety and concern about something over which, apparently, we have no control?
At the time of the SARS scare, I wondered why on earth there was no effort to control our borders and to assiduously screen anybody who had recently been in the infected areas. Of course since the epidemic happened in 2003, I've concluded that our insane elites' dedication to open borders and 'globalization' override any petty concerns for public health and safety.
The worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918 was aided, so it's said, by the mass movements of peoples associated with World War I.
Considering the differences in mass transportation and the globalizing of our world, plus the huge overall increase in population, I would venture to guess that there are many, many more people on the move around the planet now than at any time in human history, and it is a wonder that we haven't yet had a devastating global pandemic thanks to this widespread nomadism that is happening today. Couple the unprecedented movements of large numbers of people with the poor hygiene and health that prevails in many parts of the world, especially the parts of the world which send immigrants to the First World, and such an epidemic seems highly likely, sooner or later.
And given the fact that we now seem to have a 'thou shalt not close the borders' commandment governing our policies, it would seem that even a deadly epidemic on the scale of the 1918 occurrence would not end our insane openness.
We might say that borders are our country's immune system, and that we now have a seriously impaired immune system, no longer defending against invaders. And what the open borders crowd vilifies as 'xenophobia' is just our psychological immune response to potential threats. Liberalism and the cult of 'diversity and inclusion' is the destruction of our immune system, the equivalent, really, of AIDS in a nation.
Open borders = tempting fate.
So what should be the proper reaction to these flu stories? I don't believe we should panic or become unnecessarily fearful, but on the other hand I can't join the scoffers' chorus and say that it's all hype and nothing to worry about. I think we have to exercise sensible precautions, such as avoiding travel to affected areas, and avoiding contact with anyone who exhibits any suspicious symptoms. It would be bad if this thing spreads, and people resort to panic buying of food, water, and other necessities. It's always sensible, however, to have enough food and water on hand in case of any kind of emergency such as a natural disaster, so many of us probably have such things on hand.
One thing I haven't read in the stories that have appeared is a definite incubation period. It's important to know how long it takes for symptoms to develop once someone has contracted the virus. If the incubation period is short, that makes it worse.
If any of you have information to share or any reports of illness where you are, share them here, please, and of course offer your opinions on this situation.
Update: Apparently, Guatemala is acting to tighten up their border with Mexico,. (H/T Elsinore at Cordelia For Lear)
And there are some informative posts on the flu story, with many good links, here and here.
Labels: Mass Media, Open Borders, Openness, Public Health