2 more states report a handful of mild flu cases...Huffington Post utilizes the Bush Fear Tactic..

[percussivemadness]

Huffington Post must be running out of Britney headlines....

Not trying to be cynical, well actually I am, Arianna must be getting a huge pay off from someone to run with sensationalist headlines as Huffington Post is at the moment...Or simply, they have no more Britney headlines to run at the moment.

Here are the facts to date...

1) 81 people have died out of over 1000 infections. However, we do not know anything about the people who have died, other than tests have confirmed that 20 people have died directly as a result. We do not actually know if the remaining 61 died as a result of the flu, or as a result of a lingering illness exacerbated by the flu.

2) 20 people have apparently been infected in the USA. Who has not been infected is President Obama, his entourage, the press corps , the international press corps, all of whom apparently were in close contact with the archaeologist who died a day later from the swine flu on April 16. Allowing for a 7 day incubation period, we would be expecting all of the aforementioned to be coming down with flu left right and center.

3) Online "magazines" such as Huffington Post are fueling this fear with sensationalist headlines that are not backed up by the facts...Take this excerpt from their main feature "Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild _ and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why."

The critical word here is appears.

Huffington Post has long ago sold its questionable journalistic principles to the highest bidder, if it ever had any in the first place, this latest batch of sensationalist fear mongering is as despicable as anything the Bush administration indulged in in making its case for war.

Grrrr...

[DainBramaged]

1. The Huffington Post, Drudge in color

I don't go there any more, They have become a tabloid for the lemmings.

[rcrush]

5. Oh I dont know, I enjoy their nude celebrity articles.

Topless paparazzi shots are important.

[percussivemadness]

7. lol...I am concerned, to a point..but come on, this is starting to remind me of Close Encounters

ironically backed up by the supposed evidence that Mexico has had numerous UFO sightings over the last few years...

[WCGreen]

20. I have little respect for Ms. Huffington....

Not after the way she went after Clinton and Gore on Bill Mahers politically incorrect Show...

[BlooInBloo]

2. All of the media is. And 1/2 of DUers.

[NeedleCast]

6. +1

[anonymous171]

3. This is what the media does. Get used to it. nt

[percussivemadness]

4. This is what RW media does..Huffington Poo has built itself on grass roots ethics

and sold the very people who supported it down the river...

[targetpractice]

8. re: you point #1

An 8.1% mortality rate is extremely frightening.

The official death count appears to be underreported by the Mexican govt; see info from people on the ground:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/8018428.stm

In Mexico, the virus is primarily killing otherwise healthy 20-40 year olds. What makes you believe that many deaths are due to "other lingering illnesses exacerbated by the flu? Do you have a source? This doesn't appear to be the case in Mexico. It's worth noting that the small number of US infections span a wider age group, including children. H1N1 is known to cause cytokine storms in the healthy immune systems of young adults... A healthy immune system may be a liability rather than an asset, in this case.

Sometimes cynicism is healthy, but I think precaution is important in this situation.


ON EDIT: I see you take issue with the word "appears" which I've used several times in the post above. I think it's a perfectly valid word to describe an emerging trend in a dynamic situation while evidence is being collected.

[percussivemadness]

9. no, that is not correct...you are reporting the very same sources Alex Jones is

unsubstantiated posts on a BBC message board. Think about it, if this were really the case, why haven`t the BBC led their front news story with it? Its not like they don`t have reporters on the scene.

[targetpractice]

13. It's not incorrect, either.

The information may not be substantiated to your personal satisfaction, but this isn't a legal trial with burden of proof standards.

All information is cloudy in the early phases of a situation like this, and the Internet has proven itself time and time again as a brilliant invention for percolating and spreading information faster than traditional processes.

In general information is pointing to a trend of more and more outbreaks (with links to Mexico) and fatalities. I don't see the motivation for cynicism. I don't want to appear to be picking an argument with you.

[percussivemadness]

16. You are quoting a mortality rate of 8.1 % when the known confirmed rate is only approx 1.8%

The current mortality rate in the USA IS 0.00%

Just a point...

[targetpractice]

17. PCIntern says is better than I can in another thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5540110&mesg_id=5540159

there's a big difference between 'confirmed cases' and observable phenomena and there are many more sick people who are unconfirmed...

<snip>

Better safe than sorry, believe me. I went thru the AIDS epidemic when it unfolded as a clinician in Ground Zero - 1/3 of my patients were gay males, and listened to many folks wave off the import.

I always err on the side of 'careful'.

[percussivemadness]

18. err on the side if caution, I agree, making up statistics to induce irrational hysteria

is irresponsible, dangerous, insensitive and immoral..

that`s my point....

[targetpractice]

21. I didn't make anything up.. I inferred from your "facts" as you presented them...

Don't call me irresponsible, dangerous, insensitive or immoral for doing so.

Your 1.8% mortality rate figure is a terrible misinterpretation of the information coming in, because it is too low.

[percussivemadness]

23. no it is not...Find me a single report that states mexican authorities have confirmed,with testing

more than 20 deaths....

[northernlights]

19. where did you get a rate of 1.8%?

The reports I've seen on Mexico to date have led to 6-7%. (68 deaths in 850 cases, 80 deaths in 1300 cases, etc.)

And the supposedly factual statements above says: Here are the facts to date...

1) 81 people have died out of over 1000 infections.

That would be 8%, not 1.8%.

[percussivemadness]

22. this is eactly the point...Only 20 cases have been confirmed so far,

the rest is pure speculation....

[targetpractice]

24. It's not "pure speculation"... That's silly.

It's informed suspicion based upon clinical observations regarding the circumstances of their deaths.

However, your contention that "We do not actually know if the remaining 61 died as a result of the flu, or as a result of a lingering illness exacerbated by the flu" is "pure speculation" on your part.

[percussivemadness]

25. yawn....you cannot prove your point, so you focus on my point, which fundamentally is about

your inability to back you with facts your point...which i can demonstrate by your responses and lack of hard evidence ...

[targetpractice]

26. This is pointless. I can't meet your burden of proof (hard evidence).

Nobody can until the dust settles.

You want autopsy results or something, and are discounting officially reported deaths (92 so far) from suspected swine flu without "test results."

So, please stay well... I just hope you are not involved in public health policy or healthcare decision making in any way.

[NRaleighLiberal]

10. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING - sells like fear!

[percussivemadness]

11. I reckon oinkment will be :)

[anigbrowl]

12. I think you're mistaking shallowness for conspiracy

The public taste (which is what Huffpo and most of the MSM caters to) has a low common denominator. Sensation and titillation have always drawn eyeballs since the days of Aristophanes.

[Blue Diadem]

14. On point #2. AP reported the man died a week later, not a day later.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iZbj-IlRB1mRLJeFH0PmTPz88VOQD97PQU700

[madrchsod]

15. christian science monitor has one article on the outbreak

i`ll trust csm before i`d trust the mopes who write the headlines for huffington.