Fear Pandemic?

[Doreen Peri]

Sometimes I think the media's current job is to keep the public in a general state of fear. If it's not bird flu, it's obesity or sexual predators or terrorist attacks or global warming or carcinegens or car bombs or the dangers of a widely used pharmeceutical or any number of things.

Think about it. Not one newscast goes by without "The Fear of the Day." Every day or two there's something new to be afraid of.

Maybe it's just my overall distrust of the powers that be and the representation of world events by media.

I just don't remember any other era of my life that you could turn on the news and have something new being broadcast which is something to be afraid of....

Is it working? Is everybody scared yet?

Hey, I'm not discounting the reality of any of the things they discuss as potential dangers! All I'm saying is it sounds all hyped up and to me, it sounds like the whole purpose is to create a Fear Pandemic.

Maybe I'm paranoid. I donno.

[whimsicaldeb]

Hi Doreen,

Well, if you're paranoid ... you're certainly in good company.


http://www.schneier.com/book-beyondfear.html

http://www.wolfmanproductions.com/glassner.html

In most communities it is illegal to cry "fire" in a crowded assembly. Should it not be considered serious international misconduct to manufacture a general war scare in an effort to achieve local political aims? - Dwight D. Eisenhower

[gypsyjoker]

I would get a flu shot if it helps. Not sure what else could be done. Hester had a good post on the subject.

Quarantine. Shit. I'm so freaked I spelt it wrong.

http://www.studioeight.tv/phpbb/viewtop ... ght=#31777

Talking a hundred and eighty million possible deaths. I know about the last man to get small pox. Amazing how much I used to believe in progress, in a golden age, in a cure for cancer. Polio was vaccinated when I was a child, TB all but eliminated, small pox elliminated. Now it is one step forward and two steps backwards.

The one thing that won't make much sense is a quarintine. No help at all but naturaly that was Bush's first response. I ran into a good piece on "information anxiety" which is what we got a lot of going around these days. The internet does it help? Good poll ques5tion.

[e_dog]

the problem with the AVIAN FLU coverage is that the two fundamental questions, relating to the poltical regulation of big business are not asked let alone answered.

1) DO FACTORY FARMING CONDITIONS MAKE A BIRD FLU OUTBREAK MORE LIKELY? AND WHAT STEPS ARE BEING CONSIDERED TO ADDRESS THIS.

2) THE SHORTAGE, IF SUCH THERE IS, OF TAMIFLU AND/OR OTHER MEDICATIONS, IF SUCH THERE BE, IS A RESULT OF PATENT LAWS RESTRICTING PRODUCTION OF MEDICINES. MAYBE, since this time it is the US freaked out about disease, and a foreign company holding the patent, just maybe we will reconsidered the wisdom of putting restriction of drugs in the hand of private business when the health of millions is at stake, as is the case with AIDS in third-world countries.

how fast we can propose and pass massive funding for a hypothetical epidemic while very real epidemics are ongoing in Africa and elsewhere!

[gypsyjoker]

1) DO FACTORY FARMING CONDITIONS MAKE A BIRD FLU OUTBREAK MORE LIKELY? AND WHAT STEPS ARE BEING CONSIDERED TO ADDRESS THIS.

That is a good question.
Chicken factories seem like they would make the chance mutation from bird to human more likely.
But there were no chicken factory farms in 1918. Just a crap shot if you ask me. Maybe Einstein was wrong and the creator does shoot craps. man I wish I could think of the right emoticon to use for this one.

just maybe we will reconsidered the wisdom of putting restriction of drugs in the hand of private business when the health of millions is at stake, as is the case with AIDS in third-world countries.

So many bush crimes and cronies, FDA a good example of a corrupt agency.