H5N1
This virus, also known as the Avian or Bird Flu has been all over the news today, and Doc40 the Uberparanoid really wants to know why. I guess the trigger to the mini-furor it is the story of how researchers have replicated the 1918 Spanish Flu virus that started the historic pandemic that rivaled WWI in bodycounts. (Some girl sent over a concise report –
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/front/2005/1006/620625089HM1FLU.html )
Since then, though, H5N1 has been the scare story de jour with talking heads telling us we’re all doomed, because we’re well overdue for a massive flu pandemic, although making no mention of how part of the doom is in that the Great Global Superpower offers only Third-World health care to its non-wealthy citizens, organized, if at all, by deny-all-claims insurance companies and HMOs. Then Sen. Barack Obama (we hope a future president) warns that, should H5N1 mutate from hens to humans, the US is totally unprepared and lags desperately behind the UK and other developed nations in vaccine readiness. Just to confuse us further, Bush himself makes mention of Bird Flu in some White House al fresco Q&A media opportunity and declares that, if an outbreak happens, he’s real ready for it. He will use the military to quarantine the effected areas. (As some girl noted "him and what army?") Since this is plainly asinine, we have to wonder what the fuck is going on?
Perhaps...
1) Bush’s handlers think macho talk about influenza will smokescreen the general condition of chaos and fuck-up that surrounds the President Inept.
2) Bush’s handlers think influenza panic will provide another stepping stone to their desired Neocon Global Police State.
3) The pharmaceutical companies think influenza panic will smokescreen the fact that they are robbing us blind on a daily basis, and Michael Moore is making a film about them.
4) All of the above.
5) All of the above and more.
I’d write more about this deeply weird facet of homeland security only I don’t feel so good.

The secret word is Poorly

SHINING
HCB has alerted us to the a fabulous faux-trailer for Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining that’s making the rounds. Easy access via this site. Hit the first link to the trailer, but also scroll down because there’s more...
http://www.tatteredcoat.com/archives/2005/09/28/the-shining-redux/

CRYPTIQUE – You wicked bloodsucker, we will annihilate you with a fresh revolutionary upswing!