For a fistful of rocks

At the CT Office, “gearing up” for the debate tonight.

A note about my continuous Swine Flu coverage. I know it looks hypocritical after saying that Swine Flu doesn’t seem like a big deal. To be perfectly honest, I’m still not sure if it’s going to end up being anything other than a hyped scare. But the news does get more alarming by the day and this is something that people are thinking and talking about whether we like it or not…And in case I have to eat my own words and this become a serious pandemic, I’d like to keep myself and that One Guy who didn’t read this before stumbling upon this informed.

So, with that in mind, your Swine Flu update:

Nearly a week after the threat first emerged in Mexico, Spain reported the first case in Europe of swine flu in a person who had not been to Mexico, underscoring the threat of person-to-person transmission.

“It is clear that the virus is spreading and we don’t see evidence of it slowing down at this point,” Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO acting assistant director-general, told a news briefing…

…U.S. officials said that a 22-month-old boy had died in Texas — the first confirmed U.S. swine flu death — but they added that he was on a family visit from Mexico, where up to 159 flu fatalities have been recorded.

Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country now had 91 confirmed cases in 10 states from New York to California.

“We’re going to find more cases. We’re going to find more severe cases and I expect that we’ll continue to see additional deaths,” Besser said.

That’s…uplifting.

Multiple countries are now considering travel bans to Mexico and affected areas. Unfortunately, experts and computer models say that won’t work.

In a 2007 paper, Vespignani’s team modelled the spread of influenza pandemics of varying severities in 3100 urban centres in 220 countries. They also looked at the effectiveness of countermeasures including vaccination, administration of antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, and travel restrictions.

A Draconian 10-fold reduction in airline travel would delay a pandemic by only a few weeks and have no effect on its overall health impact, Vespignani’s team concluded. Other measures – particularly widespread administration of antiviral drugs – proved far more effective at limiting the spread of hypothetical pandemics.

Hmm…I believe the models when they say that imposing air travel bans won’t slow the pandemic. But forgive me if I won’t be going to Mexico anytime soon. Or if I wash my hands very thoroughly after hanging out with someone who’s been to Mexico recently. At some point, you can’t help but act according to your own common sense, no matter how flawed science may say that it is.

I still have hopes that this will plateau sooner rather than later. I feel bad for the family of that toddler though. Still, if you want to see overreactions:

Egypt is killing 300,000 pigs out of fear of Swine Flu. Even though there are no cases of swine flu reported in Egypt.

…Okay, you know me. I’m not a member of PETA. I like eating pigs. But I also can’t help but feel that this is somewhat inhumane, in addition to being really stupid. By this logic, they might as well slaughter every person coming into Egypt from the Americas…just to be safe.

I'm not sure if this guy is taking the pig to the slaughter or bravely trying to save it.

You know, Swine Flu is giving pigs a bad name. Maybe we should all get together and remind ourselves what we thought of pigs before this outbreak.

To your sheep, your fleece, your clan be true.

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Military industrial complex watch. Confusing military situation in Pakistan.

Pakistan takes a cue from Egypt and ups the ante against Pigs.

In other news, more signs of the apocalypse…People are getting owned by Rocks.

1) Florida kid gets Nintendo DS box…box is full of rocks.

2) Guy thinks he’s buying Macbook Pro…gets $2165 paving stone instead.

The kid got a happy ending….after both Wal-Mart and Nintendo refused to help, the mother complained to higher ups until Wal-Mart gave her a refund and a $20 gift card. The paving stone guy…not much luck from either Best Buy or Apple.

Still more useful than a PC?...Eh, Apple fanboyism falls flat.

That’s pretty despicable, guys.
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More topics today. Last semester as part of a Videogame Colloquium, I watched King of Kong, the story of Steve Wiebe’s attempts to take the Donkey Kong high score from reigning champ (and general douchebag) Billy Mitchell. Well, Steve Wiebe is still at it, recently achieving a score of 1,139,800 for Donkey Kong Jr.

This guy has world records, a wife, and children. And he plays video games all day. How's your life shaping up?

Is Steve Wiebe becoming the Establishment?

No segue.

CT news reporter Gordon Block made a cool stop-motion video. I like the music myself.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

And as long as we’re on the topic of cute things that take our mind off global pandemics, major retailers boning us, and unrest in the Middle East.

Pandas and Puppies.

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That was a lot of crap I just threw at you, but one more thing. Shameless plug:

Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe, and Brian Moran, Democratic candidates for Virginia governor will be debating tonight, April 29, at the Lyric theater in Blacksburg. The Collegiate Times website will be broadcasting the debate live starting at 6:30 p.m.. So if you have any sort of vested interest in the outcome of the Democratic nomination for VA governor, I encourage you to check it out and listen to the candidates.

I will be filming at the location, but if I can embed the live video onto this blog at 6:30, I will, so stay posted.

Phil the Pill out.

The Specter of Political Gridlock

It’s Tuesday, but it feels like I’m 35.

Ponder that one.
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Here’s your Swine Flu update:

The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States has jumped to 64, federal officials said Tuesday, and states reported at least four more….

…The CDC said there were 17 new cases in New York City, four more in Texas and three additional cases in California. That brings the total numbers of cases confirmed by federal officials to 45 in New York City, 10 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio.

News buzz says that the World Health Organization has now risen us the Phase 4, the FIRST TIME EVAR that pandemic levels have risen so high. BUT keep in mind that the 6-phase system was only instituted in…2004. So, yes, this is the first time this four-year-old system has gotten to this point. But this is post-SARS and Bird Flu.

And to put it in perspective from this article:

Flu deaths are nothing new in the United States or elsewhere. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 36,000 people died of flu-related causes each year, on average, during the 1990s in the United States.

So…it’s good that the CDC and other responsible organizations be watchful and ready. Our government seems to have taken the right steps. But should the people panic? I don’t think so. I still think the media is blowing this out of proportion. Wash your hands. Live your life. Don’t panic and don’t make any voting or economic decisions based on Swine Flu. Just avoid traveling to the hot spots. And don’t listen to Fox News during this time.

Primarily, we should be thinking about the crisis in Mexico, which is being compounded by this disease. People there are scared shitless. What can we do to help them? Let’s think about that.
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In other news, Arlen Specter.

Blah. I usually don’t like to talk about politicians, but this seems like a pretty rare ocurrence.

Frankly, the whole thing reminds me of how stupid our party system is. The fact that a guy has to declare himself a part of a new Band of Corrupt Assholes to accomplish anything in politics is upsetting. So you don’t agree with the Republicans, but your constituents might be a touch conservative? Be a freakin’ Independent…oh, but wait, our system doesn’t really like independents…does it?

Are you straying from the party line? No? That's a good Specter...No sudden movements.

I don’t see how this helps the Democrats much in the long-term. Yes, they get closer to that fillibuster-proof majority, huzzah. Let’s keep trying to game the system and work the numbers so that we don’t have to have any real discussion, just govern on the whims of the party in power. That sounds like America.

In my view, the Republicans now get to claim the coveted persecuted minority status in government. They’ll portray Specter as a corrupt official out for his own interests and seeking political power at the expense of his ideals and those of his constituents. This clearly paints the Democrats as a looming majority bent on squashing discussion. If the Dems don’t play the PR right, they’re going to face a midterm election similar to Clinton in the 90’s…and then we get to get nothing done during a time when we need things done the most.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Reform or abolish the party system. It’s a joke and it’s a joke that’s ruining us. I don’t give a shit what party Specter belongs to. What is he doing for US?!
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And finally, The Internet reminds us what life is really about.

80’s Anthems.

There will be a Gubernatorial Debate tomorrow at the Lyric in Blacksburg from 7 to 9 and I’ll be there covering it, which means: 1) reactions that night and 2) I’ll be missing the beginning of Lost :(. But if you’re in the area, you should come and listen to Creigh Deeds, Brian Moran, and Terry McAuliffe duke it out.