Below The Beltway

Don Surber injects a little perspective in the increasing panic over Avian Flu.
29 years ago tomorrow, I stood in line in a gymnasium in Darmstadt, Germany, to roll up my sleeves and take a Swine Flu Shot. Surprisingly, it was one of the few times in my brief military career that I didn’t bitch all [...]

In today’s Washington Post, Wendy Orent interjects some much needed sanity into the Avian flu story.
For two years, a deadly strain of chicken flu known as H5N1 has been killing birds in Asia. While slightly more than 100 people are known to have contracted the disease, and 60 of them have died, there is still [...]

Last week, scientists were able to resurrect the virus that caused the 1918 flu epidemic, a disaster that spread worldwide and killed up to 50 million people. Among the more interesting things they found is the fact that the 1918 flu is, like the Avian flu currently causing concern worldwide, a bird flu that mutated [...]

Two stories today about the Avian flu leave little room for comfort.
First there’s this story about the world’s ability to respond to an epidemic
NOUMEA, New Caledonia (Reuters) – The initial outbreak of what could explode into a bird flu pandemic may affect only a few people, but the world will have just weeks to contain [...]

From Winds of Change, comes this story which asserts that the Chinese government is playing a cover-up game over the avian flu, and that this is a bigger problem than the world realizes.
I can’t speak to whether this is true or not, but its certainly more important than a missing woman in Aruba or who [...]