Oh Lordy-friend of mine called to tell me to watch Oprah & Bird flu show..

[onecent]

Dear God....she already has a gas mask and a car load of bottled water.
Help me rebuttal her bull crap when she calls me back to tell me 'what a wonderful show it was' and HOW we need to stock up stock up stock up....

Oprah's specialist on the pandemic is working really hard - to - SCARE THE BJESUS OUT OF EVERYONE!

[JeffR]

1. Duct tape!

That's the ticket.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Ok, now what?

[JeffR]

7. Uh... I forget that part

If only Tom Ridge were still in charge at Homeland Security.
B-)

[BrklynLiberal]

12. oops wrong place... sorry

[MercutioATC]

9. Duck bondage!

Where's Agent Mike when you need him?

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Tell her all that water bottled in plastic will kill her just as easily as

the bird flu.
:rofl: :rofl:

Remind her that Rumsfeld owns stock in the company that makes Tamiflu.

Actually, here is a good article about this "scare"

http://www.mercola.com/2005/oct/25/avian_flu_epidemic_is_a_hoax.htm

[SoCalDem]

3. Actually, I don't fault Oprah for discussing current events

She has taken on a lot more "serious" issues in the last few years.

poverty
literacy
child predation

I prefer a discussion with scientists (Oprah values education) about real issues, to yet another freebie show or ambush makeovers.

She has a LOT of viewers and is perceived to be middle of the road, so perhaps a few unenlightened folks in her audience might just start paying attention..

[BrklynLiberal]

8. But she should present both sides of the subject, not just those who

are running around yelling that the sky is falling. There are also scientists and experts who feel that this 'epidemic' is not the major event that it is being hyped to be. If she is going to present a subject like this, she should present both sides.

[sui generis]

4. well - maybe not a bad idea to consider the possibility

not from a fear standpoint but practically speaking.

Unless there is a compelling reason to put our heads in the sand, the fact is that global pandemics happen and are more likely to happen in a global transportation environment, and when they have in the past they have been deadly on scales that beggar the imagination. We have to pay attention to our experience and knowledge, not just the more sensational side of it.

The sad part about this one is that it is much more likely to kill off our kids than us older people with experience immune systems if it DOES come to pass.

Whether the bird flu itself is "the one" or something in five years or ten years from now, we need to have real planning in place and being worked on right now. That's not fearmongering, just practicality.

[MercutioATC]

6. There's nothing wrong with being prepared for emergencies. I agree.

Adding a dozen or so N95-compliant masks at $1.25 each to your shopping list is no big deal and COULD save your life someday.

[uppityperson]

27. I have a couple wks worth of food, water, medicine

Being prepared is never a bad idea. You could have earthquake hurricane tornado blizzard wildfires etc etc etc and be on your own for a week or more.

[MercutioATC]

28. It's actually pretty easy to do. I just buy stuff when it's on sale.

Of course I DO have a rather full pantry and cupboards, but it's all stuff with a long shelf-life.

[sui generis]

29. hell I use them to clean the litter boxes

also, any home project that generates dust, sawdust, plaster dust, or any other fine particulate matter.

I also use a solvent mask whenever I go crazy and Tilex the shower at my house.

I hate chlorine gas, silica dust, clay dust, particulate protozoans, etc., even though I occasionally smoke a cig at happy hour after a few boilermakers.

It's funny how much poisonous stuff is around your house just keeping it clean, much less a terrorist attack.

[spuddonna]

10. Maybe she really is concerned and is erring on the side of caution?

I don't usually watch Oprah. But I did watch the Katrina shows she did. They were heartbreaking...

I honestly think Oprah is of the mindset that this federal govt. could care less if we live or die, so I think she feels that it's her duty to help prepare people.

Or it could just all be ratings... :)

[NWHarkness]

11. I thought it was a fair presentation

He said, several times, that this might not be "the big one" but that we needed to be prepared in case it was.

[elehhhhna]

19. "stock up on at least 3 months worth of food"

Right. That's gonna happen.

[1956]

13. I'm glad you brought this up!

I am a frequent patron of health food stores, and hope to never have to be on any kind of prescription medicine, but I asked one very experienced health food store owner and she said... "Pshaw!...Bird Flu doesn't scare me a bit!" She went on to tell me of all these things she'd taken when ill, and how fast and effectively they work. From experience,I also, have a few suggestions for any and all who are reading this:

First of all try to stay healthy with good supplements. I recommend the Garden Of Life line! Keep a daily flow of antioxidents going!

If you get the flu of any kind!- WILD OREGANO!(has been tested effective against bird flu!) GRapefruit seed extract,Olive Leaf, etc. ( consult with a store owner)
Also, I have a great deal of success with the widely available(at drugstores) AIRBORNE- Fizzy like Alka Seltzer, also Oscillium is excellent, too!( take at the first sign!)
Another thing to prevent a cold in your nose from going to your chest is:
XCLEAR( a nasal spray with Xylotol) EXCELLENT!!
I take a supplement called WELLNESS as well, and it keeps me from getting sick a lot.

I know, I know, you think I've just fallen into the trap of buying what they're selling, but I wouldn't go back and get more, if it wasn't working!!!

The only thing that might really scare me about an epidemic, is if I couldn't get these items- if they were sold out. Stock up on them, you can use them for the regular flu!

[BrklynLiberal]

15. You are right. The best thing to fight the flu is a strong immune system.

That is true of any type of illness..

[FearofFutility]

22. Maybe, maybe not

If we do have another pandemic like the one in 1918 that was caused by a virus to which nobody had immunity, a strong immune system does not help. In fact in 1918, it was a detriment. The young and healthy with the strongest immune systems were the ones with the highest mortality rates as their immune systems launched a massive response leading to what we now call Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). An estimated 5% of young adults died. I'm just saying....:hi:

[OzarkDem]

26. Thanks for the reality check

People who sell herbs and supplements want to make a profit, too.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Some common sense about Avian FLu

http://www.mercola.com/2005/oct/25/avian_flu_epidemic_is_a_hoax.htm


http://www.avianfluawareness.org/

[pinto]

21. I always look twice when a source is selling a book. Or a "program".

[BrklynLiberal]

24. http://www.avianfluawareness. org/ not selling anything but awareness

[HereSince1628]

16. I once thought Osterholm was a great public health advocate.

As a surveillance epidemiologist in Wisconsin I worked with his shop in Minnesota on a variety of infectious outbreaks. At the time, I thought he and his shop were top notch.

But listening to Oprah, all I get is fear. I am so, so, disappointed.

I appreciate the manner in which epidemiologists often consider the worse (if not worst) case of everything in order to facilitate planning to meet public needs. It's part of the nature of their jobs.

While the push to get an effective vaccine is essential, the fear that is being sold to the public in order to push the policy making is at or very near the point of irresponsibility.

[Wickerman]

17. I think this little guy would tell her everything she needs to know

[tanyev]

18. Does she believe in the Rapture, too?

Ask her for a set of keys to her car and house.

[Lorien]

20. Oprah's "expert" couldn't praise * highly enough

kept saying "our president has a great handle on the situation" and kept saying that members of the house and senate would be to blame if we weren't prepared. One can just guess which members he was ready to scapegoat...

[earth mom]

23. I'm disappointed in Oprah...

she's obviously close to going over to the dark side. Don't know if she's gone over the edge yet, but I think she's DLC for sure.

Oprahs' bird flu show is just going to get a lot of people in a tizzy for NO reason. :eyes:

[chat_noir]

25. from a non-fan

20. Oprah Winfrey

Charges: Winfrey’s entire life is an exercise in self-aggrandizement, from the TV show which tells us what to read and how to live to her eponymous magazine, every issue of which features her smug countenance on its cover. More than just another insufferable Hollywood egotist, Oprah is something more akin to a housewife messiah, providing false hope and faux spirituality for experience-deprived worshippers. Everything she does is strategically designed to draw more praise, more devotees, and of course more money. Recently had celebrated poet Maya Angelou on her program to promote her new poem, which Oprah read for the audience as if she wrote it herself, as she seems to actually believe.

Exhibit A: Dr. Phil.

Sentence: Crushed by self-commissioned 40-story platinum Oprah statue.

http://www.buffalobeast.com/91/50.htm

[Dorian Gray]

30. Yeah,

there is so much about her that bugs me. From her "The Hermes in Paris was my Crash moment" comments to her current refusal to acknoledge that James Frey's twisting of the truth in an autobiography is unethical, I question her judgement.