Propaganda

Today Alison berated me for not having an emergency kit prepared for bad weather. Therefore, everyone should go out and make such a kit. (This is her "public service announcement".) Apparently, there are four basics things that you MUST have.

1. A snack of some sort. Not only will it come in handy when you are hungry, but in a case where there are others in your same sheltered area, it will help you make friends.
2.Water. This one I understand.
3. A poncho. The reason for the poncho still escapes me. I believe there was talk about forming a tent out of it. I think this was for a situation in which you weren’t trapped in rubble.
4. A flashlight. I suppose it’s so you can find your way out of rubble…

Also, I have been informed that I need to hide money in my car for an emergency. Not for storms, per se, but other emergencies. Like, what if I break down and the tow truck doesn’t take credit cards? Although, I was not given an amount of how much money I need to hide in my car. It probably changes yearly with inflation rates.

Special note:
It’s always good to have duct tape and plastic with you. They are useful tools, although will help little in case of nuclear attack.

Excuse me… Did you just say Nuclear Attack!?

I think someone’s a little paranoid or has fed right into the distorted information that the government spreads and promotes.

Remember after September 11th? We were all to make our own emergency kits to protect ourselves from biological warfare. Same with Y2K and the “fact” that our infrastructure would totally and completely break down creating utter chaos. And now? The government won’t stop talking about the bird flu. Have you noticed that nothing ever comes from these “threats” that are talked about for months?

Wanna know a secret? Every flu starts with birds. Yes, that’s right. All of them.

The life cycle of all flu begins in birds. Some birds (like wild ducks) can serve as hosts for the virus, spreading it to other birds or farm animals without getting sick themselves. These viruses rarely pose a health risk to humans, but if they mutate into forms that can also infect people, the annual human flu cycle begins.

It happens EVERY YEAR. Each year we make a different vaccine for influenza based on what chickens have in China at the time. So, everyone, STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT THE AVIAN FLU!

Wanna know why people are freaking out? Media. Spreading Propaganda.

Robert Webster, a world-renowned virologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, consultant to the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said this in regard to avian flu: "What should the average person do? The average person should be prepared to live in their family unit for three months. You have to have food, dried food, resources to live for 3 months in your unit. And so that's the maximum we can do."

And with all those titles, who wouldn’t believe him? It scares people. But you know what? No one listens when calm, sane scientists talk.

Dr. Dick Thompson, the World Health Organization spokesman on communicable diseases said, "It's very unusual that a virus with pandemic potential actually appear. So, that has us concerned from the beginning. But have we seen any change in the last two years that makes us think that this is on the edge of mutating into a pandemic strain? Definitely not."

And Professor Sir David King, chief scientific adviser to the British government and head of the Office of Science and Technology stated, "Your chances of winning the lottery are about one in 14 million. Your chances of catching bird flu are more like one in 100 million."

Chill out, people. Okay? And if you don’t freak out about the bird flu anymore, I’ll let you hide money in your car without rolling my eyes or beginning another tirade such as this.

End Blog.