Be Afraid, Very Afraid.

I want to talk about the swine flu, but not in the traditional sense. Obviously, I have my views on the media. This is just another example.

To this date, there have been fifty three (that's 53) swine flu deaths, worldwide. To put that into perspective, the world population is estimated at 6,706,993,152 (July 2008, CIA). Here are some other things that kill people:

Each year, 70,000-80,000 people die as a result of fires. That's scary, because those happen every day in every city. Oh boy, we're doomed. International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF), 2005

Traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people every year.* That's 1,200,000. That figure seems much larger than 53. Maybe we should all stay home or walk more.

Diarrhoeal (the European spelling) diseases are responsible for taking the lives of 2.16 million annually.* Oh boy. Now I'm worried. I think I've had that before. I didn't realize how close I was to becoming a statistic. Watch what you eat, and where you eat it.


Lower respiratory infections kill 4.18 million people annually.* This includes pneumonia and bronchitis. Uh-oh. There must be billions on their death beds as we speak.

Why am I saying all this? I guess I'm just confused. I mean, 4,180,000 people die from pneumonia & bronchitis and not a word. Then, 53 people die from an Influenza virus and the media goes to General Quarters! Is it because the CDC and WHO used the word pandemic? People really freak out when they hear that word. All it means is "widespread illness". Everyone calm down. Just because a lot of people get sick, doesn't mean they're all going to die.

This whole thing reminds me of the avian flu. I would have been worried about that if I were a bird. But, I'm human, and as far as I understand, I'm fairly safe. What's going to happen when we really have a major pandemic or epidemic on our hands? Will the world blow it off because the news cried wolf so many times? I think that's a valid concern.

Special thanks to graphjam for the charts.
*World Health Organization statistics

FWD: Fw:Fw: Fwd: Check This Out

Sorry everyone, I think its time I come clean. I seldom, if ever, forward emails. If something is really funny (and I mean I actually laughed), I'll send it along to a few friends. To be honest, I don't even open most of the forwarded e-mails I receive.

You can rest assured that politically fueled propaganda emails are promptly deleted. Barack Obama is not a Muslim extremist but he DOES say the Pledge of Allegiance. There is also nothing to support the rumor that George W has the lowest IQ of any President in U.S. History. Fundamentalist religious messages follow the same fate. Your sending me an email on gay marriage, abortion, communion, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, prayer in school and a myriad of other things will not change my beliefs. I have by beliefs. They're mine, and they're beliefs. They aren't up to you to change.

If I break the chain, nothing bad is going to happen. The soldiers will not come home any sooner because I jammed up someone else's inbox. The children with leukemia will not get better because I clicked send. Nothing to do with God or religion will change because I forwarded some pictures and gigantic purple text. Occasionally I will sign an online petition but I have yet to see any results.

One more thought regarding e-mail. Pornography is available pretty much anywhere on the internet. I don't need it slowing down my bandwith when I get my mail.

As for cell phone texting. Have we had enough yet? I mean really, does anybody truly need to take time out of what they're doing to open some microscopic cartoon of Lisa and Bart Simpson having sex or yet another set of huge breasts? It's not that I don't like breasts, but I don't need a tiny picture of them on my phone. Its just silly. Also, when I receive a text message or e-mail that has "turn your volume up" in the subject line, I make sure my sound is off. I don't need my phone blaring "I'M LOOKING AT PORN!" while I'm waiting in line at the DMV. FYI, I don't send these on, either.

Oh, one more thought. NOBODY IS WINNING A MILLION DOLLARS FOR SENDING EMAILS TO ALL OF THEIR FRIENDS! Microsoft isn't cutting any payroll checks for you using their products. These claims are not true. Don't waste your time.

I think it's worth mentioning that I enjoy some of the junk mail I get, just not all of it. Keep it coming. Just know that it might stop right here on this computer. I hope I didn't offend anyone. However, if you are that easily offended, you might not want to stick around here.