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But First, Air Force Photo-Op Stupidity

Who was the decision maker behind this staged event over downtown New York City on Monday, done with no warning to the populace of a city still traumatized by the events on 9/11/01? This is the brilliance of our government at work. Does President Obama give any thought to the ramifications of these or any other actions, or will they just blame it all on an underling somewhere down the line. Or maybe 9/11 wasn't that big a deal to them, making it okay to stage an event so eerily similar.

This all seems like a long way to go for the Christmas card picture to send to Hugo Chavez, the King of Saudi Arabia and all of his other new buddies.






Mild Cases In The United States,Australia, Brazil, Canada, Britain, New Zealand, Israel and Spain, Not So Mild In Mexico With A Social And Economic Impact That Is Yet To be Seen Or That Can Be Determined

On Monday travel warning were issued by the EU recommending that all non-essential travel to the United States and Mexico be avoided. The United States, already on alert regarding travel to Mexico due to drug violence, is now also issuing a recommendation to avoid travel there due to the outbreak of swine flu. This recommendation could soon turn into an official warning.

The chart above is from the World Health Organization, and details the various stages that a pandemic will go through. In a significant move, the warning level was raised from Phase 3 to Phase 4. Phase 4 indicates sustained human to human transmission, and a move to Phase 5 would indicate widespread human infection. The WHO made the decision to raise the level on Monday.

What Does This All Mean?

Not to minimize the potential human tragedy that the spread of this disease could have in a world whose economy is already extremely tenuous at best. Border closings, food and agricultural product embargo's, travel restrictions and any other side effects of this disease is exactly what is not needed at the present time.

To summarize the problem as it is known now (which is going to be extremely dynamic and certainly not static, so subject to change at any time):



"A unique strain of swine flu is the suspected killer of dozens of people in Mexico, where authorities closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in the capital on Friday to try to contain an outbreak that has spurred concerns of a global flu epidemic.

The worrisome new virus — which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not seen before — also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S.

"We are very, very concerned," World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human ... It's all hands on deck at the moment."

The outbreak caused alarm in Mexico, where more than 1,000 people have been sickened. Residents of the capital donned surgical masks and authorities ordered the most sweeping shutdown of public gathering places in a quarter century. President Felipe Calderon met with his Cabinet Friday to coordinate Mexico's response.

The WHO was convening an expert panel to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert level or issue travel advisories.

It might already be too late to contain the outbreak, a prominent U.S. pandemic flu expert said late Friday.

Given how quickly flu can spread around the globe, if these are the first signs of a pandemic, then there are probably cases incubating around the world already, said Dr. Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota."(Yahoo)

Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and wash your hands. This is the perfect time for a lesson in manners. Sphere: Related Content