bird flu from asia?

[Strangelet]

Originally Posted by Sean

Probably more accurate to say "fuck those assholes for stirring up an opportunistic, ratings-boosting, worldwide panic through wild exaggerations that caused more destruction than the swine flu itself ever did".

Case in point...

"Egypt's decision to ignore U.N. advice and cull its pigs over flu fears has unintentionally fanned sectarian tensions in the mainly Muslim country."

To be fair to cacophony's position, it would be hard to argue that the media was more a culprit than pre-existing tensions towards the egyptian christian minority by the ruling muslims. The culling decision happened quick, it necessarily targeted a particular sect, and it didn't happen in other countries where the christians are not as numerous enough as to pose a threat.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Strangelet

To be fair to cacophony's position, it would be hard to argue that the media was more a culprit than pre-existing tensions towards the egyptian christian minority by the ruling muslims. The culling decision happened quick, it necessarily targeted a particular sect, and it didn't happen in other countries where the christians are not as numerous enough as to pose a threat.

Not necessarily MORE a culprit, but certainly a vital culprit. Regardless of how many factors were at work in this particular story, it was undeniably the media's opportunistic pounding of the swine flu panic button that actually pushed the tensions over the edge.

[Strangelet]

Originally Posted by Sean

Not necessarily MORE a culprit, but certainly a vital culprit. Regardless of how many factors were at work in this particular story, it was undeniably the media's opportunistic pounding of the swine flu panic button that actually pushed the tensions over the edge.

Hmmm.. this might be one of those rare times I disagree with you, Sean. I mean I'm right with you criticizing the media's exploitation, but for this particular example what supports the argument that the media functioned as the tipping point and not a catalyst, or in other words, the excuse?

especially when you've got stories coming out like this....

The government has been clamping down on rubbish collectors for the past two years. Why? Because the value of their land has rocketed in recent years, with new roads leading up to them. For instance, my town, Manchiyet Nasser, has become a destination for tourists. The government now wants to recover these lands. They first tried to get rid of the collectors by transferring them to the desert city of May 15 (the city’s name), which has neither water pipes nor public services. That enterprise failed, so they are now trying to wipe out their livestock.

Since 2000, two companies, one Spanish and the other Italian, have been licensed to handle rubbish collection. But they’re short of qualified workers. The Zabbaleen, on the other hand, have a long experience, but they are self-employed. The government was thus hoping to kill two birds with one stone: to take hold of the Zabbaleen’s land and force them to work for foreign companies as regular rubbish collectors.

http://observers.france24.com/en/con...ish-collectors

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Strangelet

Hmmm.. this might be one of those rare times I disagree with you, Sean. I mean I'm right with you criticizing the media's exploitation, but for this particular example what supports the argument that the media functioned as the tipping point and not a catalyst, or in other words, the excuse?

especially when you've got stories coming out like this....




http://observers.france24.com/en/con...ish-collectors

It could very well have been used simply as an excuse. If so, wouldn't it still stand to reason that providing that excuse through irresponsible, opportunistic "reporting" is pretty messed up? It is to me, but I totally see the point that there was a lot already going on in this particular instance outside of the swine flu factor.

And that aside, there have been other ways that the horrific reporting has hurt people. The pork industry took a major hit, Mexican and American travelers are being unnecessarily quarantined, conservatives are using it as an excuse to crack down on the Mexican border, etc.

[Deckard]

Pandemic 'getting closer' says WHO
(Yes, whoever came up with that 'Fergus on Flu' umbrella needs taking out and injecting with H1N1)

"We are getting closer to phase six," said Dr Fukuda, which would mean that a pandemic had occurred. He divided the global outbreak into three types:

• countries in North America where virus spread is advanced - Mexico, the United States and Canada;
• the group of countries - which he described as being "in transition", some in Europe, some in Asia, also Australia - where a larger number of cases is occurring, many linked to institutions;
• countries where there is no real evidence of spread into communities and cases are largely travel-related.

Dr Fukuda said that the countries in transition are moving towards community-type spread and include the UK, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia. "But we are still waiting for evidence of widespread community activity, so that's why we are not in phase six yet".

Clearly still developing, though the press have mostly moved on to different frenzies and panics.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Should I change my "song of the day" to B. Raitt's Something To Talk About?

Siouxie's Mechanical Eyes is just as fitting. And it's punk! Rock on!

[cacophony]

WHO is also considering changing the terminology since the vast majority of the public doesn't understand what the word "pandemic" means. surveys have shown that most people think it's a portmanteau of "epidemic" and "panic" rather than the application of "pan" to mean "widespread." you can have a mild pandemic, but no one seems to understand that.