The Tamiflu Taliban

I don't mean this as criticism, but I'm not sure what your point is. Unthinking, unfeeling organisms cannot form alliances. They can mutate, but I don't feel that proves anything.

If you check Celticman, you might find that almost all life is powered by “Unthinking, unfeeling organisms” which were probably formed by just such an alliance.
http://cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/images/origin_of_mitochondria_in_eukar...

or, more technical

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/studies/mitochondria/mitorigin.html

Sorry, if I sound a bit gruff - don't mean to - from your "Hut" pieces I presumed you had some medical expertise and would know about symbiotic relationships.
I'm sure there are countless other examples.

While I'm posting I ought to add that the piece is not meant to offer any judgement on the Taliban or those who oppose them.

I've been so busy rushing about that I've only just got your point, Celtic.
I don't actually make a point do I :-)

The point I meant to make was that sometimes attempting to kill things is not the best way to defeat them.
As an example, trying to irradicate mosquitoes is an ongoing problem but some success was achieved by releasing millions of sterile males (who don't bite) to compete for the attention of the females.

In the case of the Taliban it seems that they have finally thought that talking might help.

In the case of viruses a fine for people coughing and sneezing all over you in buses, trains and planes might make at least some of them stay in bed :O)

Resistance is flutile...sorry, couldn't resist.

LOL

Thinking a bit more about this I wondered if the 'swine' virus could act as a Trojan...
to let in the much deadlier 'bird flu'.

Is it only computers that have Trojan virii or do they exist in real life too?

Thanks Carla.
Nice to know that there are others who still care about more than just themselves!

Lots to read too, great.
Take care and be lucky!

The Path Of a Pandemic by Laurie Garrett Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/195692/page/1

My take on what she says is that our present methods of factory farming is helping breed influenza and our present ecology actually promotes viral evolution and that one day it will spawn a severe pandemic which will dwarf that of 1918, unless we do something about it!

Interesting read, although to be honest I never really understood the hype of Bird Flu or Swine Flu. Every year we get something that "Supposedly" kills us all. Ie The LHC last year, Bird Flu year before, SARS, foot and mouth etc. The media just blow everything out of proportion and now everyone's running to the hills because a baby died outside Mexico and 17 people or so have been infected - and yet treated and nearly cured of it. If it reaches level 6 I will be facepalming WHO for sure.

But again, interesting read and theory :) always nice to read a bit more science.

Still waiting for the H1Z1 virus though ;) Zombie's please :D

Comforting to see others are awake to the orchestration. Did you hear about teh two French Bio-chemists that were murdered last year in London by secret agents because they had traced the birdflu virus back to a us lab and to another lab in the eu. The british media kept it quiet that they were murdered by secret intelligence, although its news in the EU.

Check out Ian Cranes website www.foolmeonce.co.uk

C A Jones
Putting the flu thing to one side, easy for me because I eat garlic and vegetables and chillis and spices, as well of lean meat, carbohydrate and good fats - not because I am a health freak, but because I love food but hate animal fats. Why? Just lucky, I guess.
I don't have central heating and - apart from the bathroom and the washing up - I don't really do regular cleaning. I am rarely ill.
C

I'm sick of farm animal flu's. What we really need is an amoeba flu or a leaopard shark flu or a chameleon flu. We should at least promote research. :) Great stuff - thankyou.

Leopard ie lol

Perhaps what we really need is banker flu :O)
Thanks David.

Here's an interesting link about the probable origins of Swine Flu.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/swineFluVirusFromPigVaccine.php

C A Jones
That is an interesting article indeed.

Here's a worry.

"... experts say that more than any other disease, this 19th-century relic is exposing all the cracks in our multi-billion-dollar global health system."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/225631

and another...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8427399.stm

Here's a real nail in the coffin of antibiotics...

Unless we find something new very quickly we could end up in a far worse position than we were before the discovery of Penicillin as modern medical techniques have helped strengthen many of the deadly bugs that are currently treated with antibiotics.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-10930031

An international group of scientists has today raised further concerns about the lack of evidence supporting the safety and effectiveness of the blockbuster anti-flu drug Tamiflu.
http://www.channel4.com/news/scientists-raise-new-questions-over-tamiflu