Segacs's World I Know » h1n1

More H1N1 conspiracy theories

segacs — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:39:35 +0000

Why rely on information when conspiracy theories are just so much more fun?

THE swine flu scare was a “false pandemic” led by drugs companies that stood to make billions from vaccines, a leading health expert said.

Wolfgang Wodarg, head of health at the Council of Europe, claimed major firms organized a “campaign of panic” to put pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic, UK tabloid The Sun reports.

He believes it is, “one of the greatest medicine scandals of the century”, and has called for an inquiry.

Maybe Wodarg should go hang out with Jenny McCarthy. I bet they have loads in common.

The decade in review

segacs — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:45:54 +0000

The first decade of the century (the 00’s?) is coming to a close in a little more than a month. A lot happened in the past ten years. Need a recap? Here’s Newsweek’s American-centric but still impressive 7-minute summary of the decade:

Hard to believe that this time ten years ago, we were worried about the Y2K bug, and now we’re worried about the H1N1 bug. Plus ça change…

Weekend update

segacs — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:28:00 +0000

The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall was commemorated with free outdoor concerts and celebrations this weekend.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Obama healthcare reform bill in a narrow vote – a crucial first step towards a complete overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system. But, as the New York Times reports, it came at a heavy price, with pandering to the anti-abortion movement. And the toughest fight may still be yet to come.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, frustrated by his “inability to make peace” (read: his inability to achieve victory over rival Hamas), plans to quit. True to form, he blames Israel for everything. Who’s surprised?
It’s a witch-hunt, as Nidal Malik Hasan, the gunman allegedly responsible for shooting up a U.S. military base in Fort Hood is being investigated for terrorist links. Never mind that he was American-born, had served in the army for years as a psychiatrist, and seemed to have psychological problems. Nope, all it takes is for Americans to hear the word “Muslim” and they think they have it all figured out. Because everything’s always black or white, with no shades of grey, right? *Sigh*.
Quebec is being lauded for having the fastest H1N1 vaccine program. Really? Is it possible that, as disorganized as our program has been, everyone else’s is actually worse?
The Habs fell below .500 with last night’s 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Not only that, but thanks to a certain friend, I will no longer be able to watch Jacques Martin without thinking of The Count on Sesame Street.

Wait your turn

segacs — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Allegations that the Calgary Flames cut in line for the H1N1 vaccine:

The provincial health minister wants to know if swine flu shots were “inappropriately diverted” to the Calgary Flames while thousands had to stand in line for hours for the vaccine.

Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert says he doesn’t know where the NHL team got the vaccine, adding that Alberta Health Services is the only supplier in the province. Team president Ken King says the club contacted the department and asked for the clinic.

[ . . . ]

Alberta’s opposition parties say professional hockey players shouldn’t be getting the vaccine ahead of cancer patients and pregnant women.

Or, more importantly, ahead of other NHL teams like the Montreal Canadiens.

School’s out for… swine flu

segacs — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:10:00 +0000

Ukraine has closed all its schools for a week, trying to prevent the spread of H1N1.

No word on whether Alice Cooper will be releasing a song on the subject.