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| Thread ID: 63767 | 2005-11-22 05:54:00 | Bird Flu | wmoore (6009) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 406389 | 2005-11-23 09:14:00 | It may be even so bad as the previously mentioned Ebola, etc (if you get it you will probably die) - nobody knows. Ebola and Marburg are interesting. They are haemorrhagic diseases caused by a virus, which is the same type of creature which causes influenza and the common cold. Science has learned how to cure no viruses. That is why a bird flu mutation is such a risk. For anyone looking for a good read, I recommend "The Hot Zone" and "The Cobra Effect" by Richard Preston. But the media overlook the little detail that more people die of cholera, TB, and meningitis every day than ebola or bird flu. |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 406390 | 2005-11-23 09:40:00 | CLUCK CLUCK COCKADOODL...COUGH COUGH COUGH ACK I'll take care of "bird flu" WHEN I GET IT! NOT WHEN THE "EXPERTS" SAY |
bob_doe_nz (92) | ||
| 406391 | 2005-12-02 17:34:00 | I run a small business and I've been thinking not just about bird flu but about disasters in general. I've even had a chance to talk to the Emergency Manager of a Regional Health Authority in Canada. Then I read an opinion in http://www.birdfluinsider.com/ that really got me thinking. If a pandemic hits my business won't survive even if I do. I'll go broke. Nobody is offering me any form of assurance that I will be able to pay my bills while my cashflow is on hold. I've got no assurance from the government or from private insurance companies. What does it mean? I will have to have an emergency fund to pay my household bills and an emergency fund to pay my business bills or I am screwed big time. Look at Katrina. How many small businesses were totally wiped out? How many bankruptsies had to be filed? How many people were left starting from nothing? No. It's not just catching the bird flu that bothers me. It's the economic wake it will leave behind. |
certus (9275) | ||
| 406392 | 2005-12-02 18:53:00 | It means welcome to the world of intransience, natural disasters, made made disasters, impermanence, market forces ( :) ), and when the chips are down it's every man for himself. There has been a growing trend, especially in the western world to expect governments to legislate for everyones safety. |
Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 406393 | 2005-12-03 00:49:00 | But those who are most vociferous don't want to be taxed for what that would cost, Terry. "The market will provide", but it won't unless it's profitable. Capitalise the profitable things; socialise the lossmakers. | Graham L (2) | ||
| 406394 | 2005-12-03 01:54:00 | Right, it's a greedy world . I tend towards being a proponent of the concept of mutual support . An example from tramping would be instead of just bowling on ones own across a rather high river, even if you know you can do it ok, cross in a mutually supporting group . Same as in extreme weather conditions, give mutual support . But what do you do if a member of the party has ignored the 'rules' on what gear should be carried, and has put themselves in danger because of foolishness? Do you give them your gear, and so put yourself at risk, or let them face the consequences of their own actions? Hopefully if the party is big enough, enough spare gear could be raked together to provide basic protection for that person . But in the final analysis, and at the end of the day when the chips are really down, we are on our own . |
Terry Porritt (14) | ||
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