Thursday, April 30, 2009

Piglet and Pooh and a walk in the snow




Pillaged from Bond Papers
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Confirmed Canadian H1N1 influenza A cases now stand at 34.
Swine flu deaths worldwide - 13.
Deaths from other flu variants worldwide - 250,000 to 500,000 per year.
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Update : WHO doesn't want us calling it swine flu anymore.
Rick Arnold of Common Frontiers suggests NAFTA flu would be more accurate.
Laura Carlsen at the America Program, Center for International Policy, provides the reasons :
  • a rapid transition from small livestock production to industrial meat farms after NAFTA established incentives for foreign investment,
  • the failed decentralization of Mexico's health system along lines established by multilateral lending banks,
  • lax and non-enforced environmental and health regulations as the Mexican government was forced to downsize,
  • the increased flow of goods and persons across borders, and
  • restricted access to life-saving medicines due to NAFTA intellectual property monopolies for pharmaceutical companies.

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2 comments:

Q said...

Human irrationality is almost at level 6.

I'm surprised Egypt didn't order the death of every first born male pig then Pooh would have to put his little friend in a basket and hide him in the reeds to someday lead his herd to the promised land, away from humans...except of course, they already ordered the death of all pigs in Egypt.

sunsin said...

First you show that the swine flu epidemic is much ado about nothing (though it is useful practice for the Big One that will come sooner or later).

Then you turn around and provide a long, bulleted list of things and people to blame for the epidemic that you just said wasn't really there.

Are you even trying to be consistent any longer? Even NAFTA can't produce an epidemic that is significant and trivial at the same time.

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