Now they have TV reports about people catching flu.
What?
What the fuck?
I just saw a Sky News reporter outside a house where two people had the flu.
What the fuck? TV cameras outside somebody's house because they have the flu. What next — nationwide coverage of a bad hangover?
Woman gets heavy period!
Man trips. Hurts hand!
Couple feel pissed off. Book sun holiday.
Imagine someone with the flu being news. Does this, or does it not, bear out every syllable of my opinion about braindead journalism?
Look. People have died from the flu every year without fail since records began and before.
This is just the flu. It's nothing more than influenza. Yes, it might kill you if you're old and sick, but otherwise it will just make you feel like shit and on the upside, you'll have a couple of days off work.
It's the fucking flu for fucksake.
If you listened to the news, you'd think it was the bubonic plague. The Black Death.
It's not. It's only the fucking flu.
Jesus, what's wrong with people?
Just for a bit of perspective, 2000 people a year die from influenza, not in the whole world, but just here in Canada. The world wide figure is around a quarter of a million, every year, without fail. Braindead journalism just about describes it. Anybody interested in doing an update on Darfur or would that be too much trouble?
They wouldn't have had enough cameras, or interest, to cover the houses of those who died of TB in the early 1900s.
But what if you have the flu and you have no work…..tis a slow news week relax, our criminal fraternity will surely create some news anon – and there's always FF, who are guarenteed to fuck up before the weekend is out. A dog bit a local councillor in Kildare today. "Good boy Rover, your instinct is spot on." Politican was trying to pat him on the head and got snaffled. Reminds me of the great Peter Sellers, who inquires of a hotel clerk, "does your dog bite ? "No", replies the clerk. So Sellers bends down to pat the dog and gets ate. He jumps up exclaiming "I thought you said your dog doesn't bite" ? "That is not my dog", says the porter.
@ Abdul
Love it. Great Sellers fan (professionally not personally).
In the world of twenty four hour seven days a week news channels they have to fill it with something.
It is not really news anymore it is theatre.
What was the film where two generals are fighting in the War Room and Sellers intervenes saying, there's no fighting in the war room……. ?Reminds me of being at the National Stadium a few years, Ireland v Cuba, emotions were running high and the Cuban backroom staff and a few Irish fans were exchanging "pleasantries" only to be told by security that they wouldn't tolerate any fighting in the Stadium……Ireland 6 Cuba 4 that night – and Andy Lee slaughtered world number 2 Yordanis Despaigne to help us on our way.
That movie was Dr Strangelove. Just as bizarre as the times we live in.
Yep, cheers, that's the one.
And we still have Coca Cola ruling the roost.
The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as "Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster
Not to worry we can still have a laugh. Always look on the bright side of life . De Dum de dum..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs4XKzFC_oU
sorry just found this
Didn't the Spanish Flu kill the young and healthy and spare the very old and very young. Bloody unpredictable flu!
I think I got that from Bill Bryson.
That seems to be the case. As it seems to be with the current outbreak. All young and healthy to date.
They didn't have anti-viral medicines in 1918.
In fairness though… would you trust the HSE to cure the flu?!
The media need stories. The politicos pump up the PANDEMIC. Attention diverted. Pass some sneaky legislation & cover up that looming scandal. Job is oxo.
So how does it kill you ? That's what I want to know, the last two bouts of flu I've had made me pass out, but I managed to be laying on the (bathroom) floor at the time so avoided smacking my head on anything hard which I suppose could've killed me. Does it turn your internal organs to dust ? Make your arteries rupture ? What does it do I'm really eager to know.
Is it just flu, but really infectious flu ?
I think the problem is that it can cause fatal respiratory illnesses, like pneumonia.
All flu is bad, but this one is no worse than any other, and according to the experts it's probably less dangerous than last year's bird flu.
You become dis -orientated Saint Ross, and everything kinda slows down. You might start getting double visions an all.
And what about the side effects I hear you ask – well I don't know anything about that.
Meantime, what virus with any self respect would infect an Irishman?
At least its a break from the 'economy stupid' – Unless of course Charlie Bird contracts it ;-) I can see him in a mask and in an isolation room – I wonder if we left him there would the economy recover?
The media no longer report the news they make it, and having whipped the public into a lather they withdraw all mention of it and move on to the next fabrication. Bird flu was to be the death of us all but that never materialised.
The British Government just ordered 32 million face masks, that in spite of A: there is somewhere near 66 million people in the UK, and B: a government spokesperson yesterday said there is no need to wear a mask as they are ineffective against infection.
Charlie Bird flu.
Cheers Bock.
The usual storm in a teacup then……
Abdul – sounds like the end of a night out. Some of them can be really bad !
Surely the large pharmaceutical companies have a hand in the exageration of all these yearly plagues.They make billions every time someone somewhere starts to grunt or grow feathers.
What's next.Rhinoceros farting bug maybe.
Spot on BOCK. There's the little bugger the mosquito quietly killing 1,000,000 every year and not a dicky-bird about it!
I was not sure where to put this. No doubt I shall get suggestions . However I have no intention of doing that!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ee1ehwwYnc
Enjoy.
The World Health Organisation W.H.O. Has declared Swine Flu as Five on a scale of six for a pandemic. However they are probably a shower of Gobshites .The People dead are mostly Mexican so we should be fine. Oh! Yes we do have antiviral drugs enough to treat half the Population of Ireland . I shall be fine, head for the Blackrock Clinic at the first sniffle How about the rest? Well there are too many People in the World anyway. .
A spokeswoman from the WHO, talkin bout our generations, was quoted on the BBC
today as saying in relation to the swine fly -,"It really is the whole of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."
A pandamic? Circa 200 people are dead – worldwide. More people die per day crossing the road. Talk about spreading panic. As said above, "It's only the fucking flu."
Gary — As I understand it, epidemics and pandemics work on a statistical basis. You don't need enough medicine to treat the entire population. Half is far more than enough.
Bock poor death has been given a very bad press. We shall all die sometime. Perhaps Flu may be better than others . Cancer is a nasty way to go.
We have stories here of people rushing to emergency rooms in fear of their sniffles. That's the last place I'd want to be, way too germy. We've had news alerts, with the press giving the spin; anything to keep us from thinking about the economy and the bailouts. There's also the scare of how are we going to control the Mexican border, blah, blah…
…the last in-house hospital news was to just follow 'respiratory etiquette': cover your mouth when you sneeze, wash your hands; with no change to normal routines.
Bock,
you're right, it's the flu going into pneumonia (secondary infections) that's the worry.
…I think ya'll be jest fine in Ireland. (touch wood)
Swear to god i just sneezed reading these posts, could i be infected I'm worried sick, will i phone the tv3 news crew to see what they have to say? although they get most things wrong these days
On the plus side of all of this TV pandemonium, does it help take yer mind off the recession for 5 minutes when its pissing down outside?
I had a problem for a while, my arse would sneeze in my undies. I would like to phone up a journalist to come and take a few photos and interveiw me. I think your being very unsupportive and think that the media would be very interested about the inside of my snutters. I may even offer them to medical research for a price. Take sneezing and colds more seriously. And stop being sutch pessimists.