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The first few minutes of the Fox 5 10 pm news on Monday were great. The male anchor, in particular, looked like he was as excited as my kids on Christmas Eve about the prospect of a potential pandemic. He could barely contain his glee when talking about the flu's inevitable spread to every neighborhood in America (and beyond).

 

Honestly, the only concern I have about this crap is for my kids. Especially the little one, since he's not 4 yet and no one has any real idea how nasty this thing could end up being over time.

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After Y2K came and went with no major ill effects, one of my uncles said to me that obviously, there had never been anything to worry about, and the media was just trying to scare us all. I pointed out that perhaps all of the concern prior to event had caused people to take whatever steps were necessary to prevent a major catastrophe.

 

I see the media's role being pretty much the same thing here. Let us know what can happen if we're not prepared. Yes, some folks are taking it too far, but I don't see any harm in apprising people of what they need to do to protect themselves, how to react if they are exposed, etc.

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After Y2K came and went with no major ill effects, one of my uncles said to me that obviously, there had never been anything to worry about, and the media was just trying to scare us all. I pointed out that perhaps all of the concern prior to event had caused people to take whatever steps were necessary to prevent a major catastrophe.

 

I see the media's role being pretty much the same thing here. Let us know what can happen if we're not prepared. Yes, some folks are taking it too far, but I don't see any harm in apprising people of what they need to do to protect themselves, how to react if they are exposed, etc.

 

I agree. Especially if it means more people start washing their hands. It always amazes me how that is the first tip given to the masses when any sickness starts spreading. Why are people not washing their hands???? Really, is it that time-consuming or laborious?

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Why are people not washing their hands???? Really, is it that time-consuming or laborious?

 

I'm trying to use the fear of death by pig flu to get my kids to wash their hands more often. Sometimes it takes drastic measures to repeat as Father of the Year...

 

P.S. As of last night, "Hey, you were just knuckle-deep in your nostril, go wash your hands" is now something I have said out loud.

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When they say “pigs”, are they really referring to Westerners?

I don't think so. Egypt is one of only a handful of Muslim countries that even allow pork in their borders.

 

Edit: This pig slaughtering thing was what I was talking about before. When paranoia hits and they start killing the livestock, there goes the farmers. And outside of outfits like Smithfield, smaller pig farms are pretty important.

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Yeah, the pig slaughtering is a pointless act, and completely confuses the actual risks involved in this situation.

 

I'm under the impression that 300,000-500,000 bloody pig carcasses is probably a larger health risk than half a million live pigs? That's going to be one hell of a bbq they have to get rid of them.

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I don't think so. Egypt is one of only a handful of Muslim countries that even allow pork in their borders.

 

Edit: This pig slaughtering thing was what I was talking about before. When paranoia hits and they start killing the livestock, there goes the farmers. And outside of outfits like Smithfield, smaller pig farms are pretty important.

 

I

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"Hey, you were just knuckle-deep in your nostril, go wash your hands"

They just put up a poster with this exact phrase in the restroom where I work. Well, maybe not the exact phrase, but the sentiment is similar.

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Dude, assuming the worst, quarantining folks is the only viable way to contain the spread of a virus. As for the avian flu, its mortality rate hovers around 60% - think about that, 60-fucking-% - what would you have the government do in the (unthinkable) event that it evolves into a strain that jumps readily from human to human?

 

Christ, and I thought I was cynical.

 

Well I would be more apt to agree with your line of thinking if they actually closed the border and imposed travel restrictions. It mostly seems like an exercise to quell the cartels overthrowing the Mexican Govt. and to get people's eye off the ball in this country, mainly the torture memos and the upcoming bank stress tests, which should be eye opening for all the people who thought the worst of the recession is behind us.

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Well I would be more apt to agree with your line of thinking if they actually closed the border and imposed travel restrictions. It mostly seems like an exercise to quell the cartels overthrowing the Mexican Govt. and to get people's eye off the ball in this country, mainly the torture memos and the upcoming bank stress tests, which should be eye opening for all the people who thought the worst of the recession is behind us.

 

Oh Jesus Fucking Christ

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