Article

2009-04-27

Administrative note on the swine flu story

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Posted by Steve White 2009-04-27 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 I think a 3rd grader is doing the editing for AP now. I read a story that repeated the same information (almost the same wording) 3 paragraphs apart. May I'm insulting a 3rd grader...

Posted by tipover 2009-04-27 01:13|| 2009-04-27 01:13|| Front Page Top

#2 Doc Steve, please contribute Medical Disinfectant to the BS and Fog the MSM will be spreading.

Posted by OldSpook 2009-04-27 01:17|| 2009-04-27 01:17|| Front Page Top

#3 Now that the GWOT is over, the intelligence community can concentrate on more important issues related to national security.

NIPR: http://www.intelink.gov/wiki/2009_Swine_Flu_Outbreak
SIPR: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/2009_Swine_Flu_Outbreak
JWICS: http://www.intelink.ic.gov/wiki/2009_Swine_Flu_Outbreak

Posted by Besoeker 2009-04-27 07:59|| 2009-04-27 07:59|| Front Page Top

#4 A potential pandemic IS an intel community concern. It's quite possible, for instance, that a flu pandemic could bring down the Mexican government or create sufficient chaos in nuclear Pakistan to put their weapons in Taliban hands.

Posted by Boss Thretle4186 2009-04-27 09:06|| 2009-04-27 09:06|| Front Page Top

#5 If decades of corruption and drug trafficing have failed to bring down the "governments" of Mexico and Pakistan, I doubt the flu will have much of an effect.

Never wishing to "let a serious crisis go to waste," Barry is jumping on the issue to once again, make a case for socialized medicine. Sorry, but I'm just cynical enough to believe Barry and Napolitano would welcome the Swine Flu if it suited their desired social-medical outcomes.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-04-27 09:24|| 2009-04-27 09:24|| Front Page Top

#6 For those who are tracking this, please keep an eye out for US military mentions. Apparently this strain of H1N1 is far enough away from the typical that at least in Mexico, it is causing some "cytokine storm" effects. That is, mortality is highest among males ages 25-44.

Importantly, this might be exclusive to Mexico, as while the US frequently gets a flu season, the warmer temperatures in Mexico mean that they have avoided much of the immunity common in the US because flu is much less common South of the border.

This means that in the US, this swine flu might be relatively mild by our standards, but in Mexico, it is much more lethal.

The telling point will be if there are any lethal cases on US military bases, where there is a concentration of young men. If there are reports of military deaths, this strain becomes operationally important.

Posted by Anonymoose 2009-04-27 10:19|| 2009-04-27 10:19|| Front Page Top

#7 The "darn it" moment comes when you consider it less likely a Muzzie will end up getting Swine Flu than we will.

Posted by Jack is Back!">Jack is Back! 2009-04-27 11:17|| 2009-04-27 11:17|| Front Page Top

#8 I am wondering now, if I haven't already had the flu for this year - I felt like death for two weeks, exhausted, feverish, horrible cough and congestion like you wouldn't believe, finally had to go and get treated at BAMC. I did a long essay about the 1918 pandemic here
and one of the curious things that I found buried in Gina Kolata's book was that people who had the flu in the spring of 1918 didn't seem to catch the later version. (There was an Army unit in Hawaii which all came down with it in the spring of 1918, but sustained nary a casualty from the fall version.) Might we hope also that people who have already had this years' flu might be relatively resistant again?

Posted by Sgt. Mom">Sgt. Mom 2009-04-27 13:47|| http://www.celiahayes.com]">[http://www.celiahayes.com] 2009-04-27 13:47|| Front Page Top

#9 Try to think positively Sgt. Mom. Book sales usually skyrocket following an author's demise.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-04-27 14:13|| 2009-04-27 14:13|| Front Page Top

#10 I watched CSPAN call-ins this morning and one guy was certain he had this flu. Another guy was convinced it was a terrorist plot. Another thought it was a prelude to closing the border. There are a lot of notions and rumors out there. Most likely the deaths in Mexico have something to do the availability of quality medical care, sanitation, crowding, and the fact that some people have compromised immune systems and respiratory systems.

Posted by JohnQC 2009-04-27 19:43|| 2009-04-27 19:43|| Front Page Top

#11 John, if the deaths are in Mexico City, I think general respiratory problems could be a contributing factor. The last time I was in Mexico was 1968, and some days you could chew the atmosphere even then.

What I want to know is, the CDC-type flu experts have said that this bug has elements of various flus from (I think) Europe, Asia, and North America, so - do they know why? Any chance it's man-made?

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2009-04-27 21:00|| 2009-04-27 21:00|| Front Page Top

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