naked capitalism

Doc Holiday says:

I think The Who were great at one point, but their model is sadly broken and at this fading point — obviously Moody’s is an irrelevant organization that has no basis in reality. Our generation of Supermodel mis-calculations and super-ego abuses has come to an end. This is sort of like the point at the end of Lord Of The Rings, where Frodo relaizes that all this shit he went through was for not…

Here is Tolken on a sequel to The LOTR model and the future fate of humanity:

“I did begin a story placed about 100 years after the Downfall of Mordor, but it proved both sinister and depressing. Since we are dealing with men it is inevitable that we should be concerned with the most regrettable feature of their nature: their quick satiety with good. So that the people of Gondor in times of peace, justice, and prosperity, would be become discontented and restless — while the dynasts descended from Aragorn would become just kings and governors — like Denethor or worse… Not worth doing.” (J.R.R. Tolkien, Letters, #256, to Colin Bailey).

Stupid humans, it’s all over!

Also see and hear: And it’s whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter LOL!

Mrs. Watanabe says:

I would guess that very few people will die from the swine flu in the U.S. I’m guessing that the 7000-8000 foot altitude of Mexico City pushes a lot of sick people over the edge. If people start dying here, then I’ll change my mind.

skippy says:

Here is the new morph of surveillance with a physician social net work.
https://www.ozmosis.com/Public_Health_And_Social_Media_Tools

Skippy…just keep calm, do the right things, health before wealth.

skippy says:

For consideration, kinda like the economic disintegration.

The London Times is reporting this morning (28th April 2009): Mexico outbreak traced to ‘manure lagoons’ at pig farm. A village where residents have long complained about the smell and flies from a pig farm may be the source of the outbreak [Chris Ayres in Mexico City]

The first known case of swine flu emerged a fortnight earlier than previously thought in a village where residents have long complained about the smell and flies from a nearby pig farm, it emerged last night.

The Mexican Government said it initially thought that the victim, Edgar Hernandez, 4, was suffering from ordinary influenza but laboratory testing has since shown that he had contracted swine flu. The boy went on to make a full recovery, although it is thought that at least 148 others in Mexico have died from the disease, and the number is expected to rise.

News of the infected boy is expected to create controversy in Mexico because the boy lived in Veracruz state, home to thousands of farmers who claim that their land was stolen from them by the Mexican Government in 1992. The farmers, who call themselves Los 400 Pueblos – The 400 Towns – are famous for their naked marches through the streets of Mexico City.

The boy’s hometown, La Gloria, is also close to a pig farm that raises almost 1 million animals a year. The facility, Granges Carroll de Mexico, is partly owned by Smithfield Foods, a Virginia-based US company and the world’s largest producer and processor of pork products. Residents of La Gloria have long complained about the clouds of flies that are drawn the so-called “manure lagoons” created by such mega-farms, known in the agriculture business as Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).

It is now known that there was a widespread outbreak of a powerful respiratory disease in the La Gloria area earlier this month, with some of the town’s residents falling ill in February. Health workers soon intervened, sealing off the town and spraying chemicals to kill the flies that were reportedly swarming through people’s homes.

A spokeswoman for Smithfield, Keira Ullrich, said that the company had found no clinical signs or symptoms of the presence of swine influenza in its swine herd or its employees working at its joint ventures anywhere in Mexico. Meanwhile, Mexico’s National Organisation of Pig Production and Producers released its own statement, saying: “We deny completely that the influenza virus affecting Mexico originated in pigs because it has been scientifically demonstrated that this is not possible.”

According reports gathered on the website of James Wilson, a founding member of the Biosurveillance Indication and Warning Analysis Community (BIWAC), about 60 per cent of La Gloria’s 3,000-strong population have sought medical assistance since February.

“Residents claimed that three pediatric cases, all under two years of age, died from the outbreak,” wrote Mr Wilson. “However, officials stated that there was no direct link between the pediatric deaths and the outbreak; they said the three fatal cases were isolated and not related to each other.”

The case of the four-year-old boy was announced yesterday by Mexico’s Health Minister, Jose Angel Cordova, at a press conference that was briefly interrupted by an earthquake. “We are at the most critical moment of the epidemic. The number of cases will keep rising so we have to reinforce preventive measures,” he said, adding that in addition to the 149 deaths another 2,000 had been hospitalised with “grave pneumonia”, although at least half of that number had since made a full recovery.

Mr Cordova went on to say that there have been no new cases detected in La Gloria but epidemiologists want to take a closer look at pigs in Mexico as a potential source of the outbreak.

As the desease spread Greater Mexico City, usually a chaotic, traffic-snarled megatropolis of 22 million – where braised pork or carnitas, is prepared at taco stands on busy street corners – remained at a virtual standstill yesterday.

A majority of people are now wearing surgical masks and or plastic gloves in public. Airport terminals are deserted. Schools and government offices are closed and will remain so until at least early May – creating a childcare crisis for millions of working parents.

Many Mexicans are fearing the economic devastation caused by the health emergency as much as they are the prospect of swine flu. Adding to the misery, several countries including China have banned imports of live pigs and pork products from Mexico (and parts of the US) in spite of claims by farming trade groups that it is impossible to catch the virus from cooked meat.

Is it correct that “The Mexican Government said it initially thought that the victim, Edgar Hernandez, 4, was suffering from ordinary influenza but laboratory testing has since shown that he had contracted swine flu”? If so, when was the H1N1 confirmation made and was the testing in Mexico or at US CDC?

Best regards

Colin Greenstreet

skippy…acountability in systems keep them truthful.

Brick says:

I read the unedited biosurveilance timeline and came to the conclusion that they were dealing with two separate strains of disease. There does not seem to be any evidence that the H1N1 swine influenza came from La Gloria in Veracruz. Tests show that most of those tested for flu there had the normal versions of flu H2N3 and H1N2, yet here seems to be where they had the most problems. The original diagnosis of an unspecified bacterial pathogen which responded to antibiotics also points to two separate things going on. It is my understanding that flu does not really respond to antibiotics so this can not be right if flu is the only thing going on here. The most frightening thing is if we have two separate pandemics at the same time coming from the same region.

DownSouth says:

There was a pertinent article in yesterday’s NY Times:

But even if this virus were to peter out soon, there is a strong possibility it would only go underground, quietly continuing to infect some people while becoming better adapted to humans, and then explode around the world.

What happens next is chiefly up to the virus.~

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/opinion/28barry.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1241010006-Y5oW85oLfb1bsc8AtXjFLg

@Carrick–Mexico lies well north of the equator. Even Colombia lies north of the equator.

Now is the hottest and dryest time of the year in Mexico City. I live about two hours north of DF in what is called the bajio. It is extremely dry here this time of year and yesterday when I went out about 4:00 p.m. the thermometer on my car registered 95 degrees farenheit. Mexico city is about 500 ft. higher in altitude and is therefore a little cooler. But daytime highs are certainly in the 80s.

It usually doesn’t begin to cool off until the rainy season begins, which normally begins in July.

I’m also not sure I agree with your statement that “Mexico City’s sanitation is also abysmal compared to NYC.” While there may be some truth to this, it seems like an exaggeration. And it’s not clear to me, given the way this disease spreads, what relevance this would have. After all, we’re not talking a disease of the gastrinal tract here.

Your comment strikes me as being a polemic, searching for reasons why the epidemic can’t be severe in the U.S.

LeeAnne says:

correction:

Following is a long read –a version of past abuses:

Alex says:

@Dan Duncan: Well said. As a veteran of the SARS “outbreak” in Toronto, where a total of _44_ people died from what could have been any flu, it feels like deja ‘flu’ (sorry, couldn’t resist).

It really is amazing how gullible people are in how effectively panic has been stirred up; either that, or the disconnect between what our news media reports and the reality on the streets and in the minds of people will have decayed to the level of totalitarian regimes, where reports of surpluses and plenty are looked at in puzzlement by people without anything to eat.

If 20-30y old people in good health start dropping like flies in the streets with visible sores on their limbs, then we should begin to worry.

LeeAnne says:

To expand/correct on ‘mobilize the country:’

By ‘mobilize,’ I mean inspire and provide financial incentives for private sector innovation in vaccine distribution systems which are known to be inadequate.

I think the time for change and innovation has been declared at the highest levels as ‘now’ and stimulus funds widely publicized as ideal for that purpose?

Production cannot be decided until a vaccine is developed.

My understanding as a reader is that to complicate things there is a possibility of 2 different flu- like diseases being reported.

Thomas says:

Here’s a particularly rational reaction to the outbreak:

BBC reports that Egypt has decided to immediately slaughter all Egyptian pigs. Reportedly, none of those pigs show any signs of illness, but never mind.

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood approved and issued a statement that “Pigs are more dangerous than hydrogen bombs”. Presumably, it serves the world right to be punished for disobeying the teachings of the Holy Qu’ran…

skippy says:

Hay Doc H.

Chinese agribiz giant eyes Smithfield takeover (Smithfield, the owners of the piggery claimed to be the epicenter).

Check out the photo with caption “want some Chinese dollar reserves in that rations” ROFL

Skippy…swine in the Financial sector, in the Government and Now in us, cough, cough. You are so correct, its a piggy take over!