haha
yeah
almost like we "achieved" something
Sars, aids, whats next? and how devestating will it be?
- Thread starter Dr Lou Natic
- Start date
yeah
almost like we "achieved" something
Considering deadly deseases we live in the safest era ever!
Diseases that used to be deadly can nowadays be treated easily.
We got a new diseases now, but they hardly are major killers, compared to other diseases in human history.
Let's calm down and don't get excited too much.
Diseases that used to be deadly can nowadays be treated easily.
We got a new diseases now, but they hardly are major killers, compared to other diseases in human history.
Let's calm down and don't get excited too much.
I recently saw a TV show about SARS. In fact only 5% of those who are ill would die of it because you have to catch lots of viruses to die (doctors, people who lived with sick guys...) and it seems that the viruses are transmitted only when the sick guy is already ill (10 days after he catched it).
So I agree with spuriousmonkey : keep calm...
So I agree with spuriousmonkey : keep calm...
Can't agree with that. Sars is helping to destroy the airline industry, causing widespread quarantining of hospitals, reducing economic growth in Toronto by a predicted 3% over the quarter (ho hum), causing deep political problems in China, diverting considerable medical resources, etc etc.
Whatever the medical truth about Sars it shows us the complete havoc that would be caused by something really threatening to human life, something that is bound to turn up as viruses preying on humans find it ever easier to reproduce and travel around the world.
Sars isn't too bad, but it's another useful lesson in the problems we are going to have to get used to be facing.
Whatever the medical truth about Sars it shows us the complete havoc that would be caused by something really threatening to human life, something that is bound to turn up as viruses preying on humans find it ever easier to reproduce and travel around the world.
Sars isn't too bad, but it's another useful lesson in the problems we are going to have to get used to be facing.
On the bright side of things. Air travel is a major polluter. Reduction in airtravel could actually save more lives because of the reduction in airpolution than the minimalization of SARS infection risk.
the thing about a virus is that its purpose is to live within the host but not kill it. AIDS is highly successful because it can stay in the body for very long periods of time without destroying the host. SARS is fairly successful but people still die. Viruses arent Trying in a manner of speaking to kill people, they are wanting to reach an equilibrium and reproduce, not specifically mutate to destroy everyone...
This makes sense - but I'm not sure that we can say we know it's true. What we mean (I think) is that it's better in evolutionary terms for the virus if it doesn't kill the host. It's kinda doubtful that the virus has worked this out.
All it seems to mean is that we are more at risk from viruses that don't have such a long term view, of which there must always be many. After all there are many humans who seem quite happy destroying their host.
All it seems to mean is that we are more at risk from viruses that don't have such a long term view, of which there must always be many. After all there are many humans who seem quite happy destroying their host.
Asian Bird Flu is next and we're not prepared for it. Unlike SARS it is now spreading throughout many Southeast Asian countries that do not know how to deal with it. The U.S. has the only manufacturer of the vaccine and we're supplying it to these Southeast Asian countries. However, the consensus amongst medical experts is that "it is not a question of how, but when." It is already at pandemic proportions and expanding. Its just that it did not hit headline news yet.
STOP!!!!!
You're pushing into three pages of ressurected threads.
Stop!!!!! For the love of God! STOP!!!
Your enthusiasm is to be applauded, but you're going too far. Far too far. You're pushing any live threads back so that they may end up vanishing. And many of these threads are on identical topics and topics that exist elsewhere.
STOP!!!!!
You're pushing into three pages of ressurected threads.
Stop!!!!! For the love of God! STOP!!!
Your enthusiasm is to be applauded, but you're going too far. Far too far. You're pushing any live threads back so that they may end up vanishing. And many of these threads are on identical topics and topics that exist elsewhere.
STOP!!!!!
You. YOU. Are pushing them into the 'forefront'. But, then you're promptly burying them again. Your name is stretched out three pages long, guy.
That speaks for itself.
If you don't see that you're just making a mess of this forum with your obsessive behavior then.... Well. What can I say to convince you?
Why do I care?
Because you're mangling the forum, that's why.
You've been sitting here for what? 5 hours now? Posting, posting, posting. You're making a mess of this forum.
That speaks for itself.
If you don't see that you're just making a mess of this forum with your obsessive behavior then.... Well. What can I say to convince you?
Why do I care?
Because you're mangling the forum, that's why.
You've been sitting here for what? 5 hours now? Posting, posting, posting. You're making a mess of this forum.
Ophiolite
Valued Senior Member
What utter claptrap. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the function of the forums is to promote discussions. If valich sees a point he wishes to address from an inactive thread, more power to him. If the other forum members think his new point is irrelevant and the thread should have remained dead they will indicate this by not responding.
Get real. Stop saying stop.
Get real. Stop saying stop.
Claptrap?
I can understand him bringing back a thread or two.
But three fucking pages?
Three pages, man.
And he shows no signs of stopping.
And many of these threads are basically duplicates. Talking about the same thing and then he references a thread he just ressurected in another thread that he just ressurected.
Circles within circles.
As I said, I admire his enthusiasm, but it has to end somewhere.
There were threads that were active in this forum, now they're three pages deep. (Most of them.)
And I'll say stop as much as I want.
I think he's making a mess of the forum.
Simple as that.
Three pages and counting.
Hell. Just look at it from a practical standpoint. He's buried threads three pages deep. Notice that I didn't call him a spammer. I don't think he is one. He's making contributions to the threads. Even if some are repetitive. But, they are contributions.
But three pages deep. The threads are dead when they go off the front page. He asks questions in some of those threads. They're not going to be answered because nobody's going to read them. They're three pages deep. He's also addressing forum members and expecting them to answer but these forum members haven't participated for years. FOR YEARS.
All I'm saying is CHILL.
Go dig up some internet porn or something. Come back to tomorrow and see if anything interesting has been brought up in any of the threads. Hell, sit there and think up an idea for an interesting thread. Something which will take time to write and proofread and post.
Anything but please don't push it to 4 pages!!
Yes. And that's my point. Burying threads three pages deep isn't promoting discussion. It's killing it.
I can understand him bringing back a thread or two.
But three fucking pages?
Three pages, man.
And he shows no signs of stopping.
And many of these threads are basically duplicates. Talking about the same thing and then he references a thread he just ressurected in another thread that he just ressurected.
Circles within circles.
As I said, I admire his enthusiasm, but it has to end somewhere.
There were threads that were active in this forum, now they're three pages deep. (Most of them.)
And I'll say stop as much as I want.
I think he's making a mess of the forum.
Simple as that.
Three pages and counting.
Hell. Just look at it from a practical standpoint. He's buried threads three pages deep. Notice that I didn't call him a spammer. I don't think he is one. He's making contributions to the threads. Even if some are repetitive. But, they are contributions.
But three pages deep. The threads are dead when they go off the front page. He asks questions in some of those threads. They're not going to be answered because nobody's going to read them. They're three pages deep. He's also addressing forum members and expecting them to answer but these forum members haven't participated for years. FOR YEARS.
All I'm saying is CHILL.
Go dig up some internet porn or something. Come back to tomorrow and see if anything interesting has been brought up in any of the threads. Hell, sit there and think up an idea for an interesting thread. Something which will take time to write and proofread and post.
Anything but please don't push it to 4 pages!!
Yes. And that's my point. Burying threads three pages deep isn't promoting discussion. It's killing it.
Last edited:
Ophiolite
Valued Senior Member
The threads are not buried three pages deep. That statement clearly reflects the way in which you browse the forum, not the way in which some others browse. If this is a problem for you, an others, simply revise the way you browse. I wasn't even aware that valich was posting heavily till your enigmatic STOP appeared and I had no problem locating threads that were of interest to me.
I understand your argument, I just think it is way overstated and you are highlighting a 'problem' that is more in your mind and methodology than in reality.
I understand your argument, I just think it is way overstated and you are highlighting a 'problem' that is more in your mind and methodology than in reality.
This Asian Bird Flu is really starting to create a bit of a panic. Today there's an article on CNN.com World News:
"On Thursday, Dr. David Nabarro said a pandemic could come at any time and claim anywhere between 5 million and 150 million lives depending on the world's response to bird flu. However on Friday, a spokesman for the U.N.'s World Health Organization said it was impossible to estimate how many people could die."
"On Thursday, Dr. David Nabarro said a pandemic could come at any time and claim anywhere between 5 million and 150 million lives depending on the world's response to bird flu. However on Friday, a spokesman for the U.N.'s World Health Organization said it was impossible to estimate how many people could die."
The panic about Asian Bird Flu is total horse manure. In any given year a few birds and a few people out of the billions alive are going to die of mysterious ailments. Those ailments run their course and die out without causing much problems for the general population.
Isolationism is going to cause us more problems than it is going to solve. Set the barriers higher for disease transmission and that disease will evolve until it jumps the barriers. Then it will jump from a relatively immune population to one that is not immune. Then it will cause devastating plagues.
If we were as scientifically literate as a true 21st century culture should be we would not be fooled by the scams that have become SARS, AIDS, BSE, and Asian Bird Flu.
I have spoken.
Isolationism is going to cause us more problems than it is going to solve. Set the barriers higher for disease transmission and that disease will evolve until it jumps the barriers. Then it will jump from a relatively immune population to one that is not immune. Then it will cause devastating plagues.
If we were as scientifically literate as a true 21st century culture should be we would not be fooled by the scams that have become SARS, AIDS, BSE, and Asian Bird Flu.
I have spoken.
Not according to the facts of history. The 1918-19 flu pandemic after WW1 killed more than 40 million died. The subsequent pandemics in 1957 and 1968 had lower death rates but caused great disruption. The big fear with this virus is that it is mutating. Once the virus mutates to a form that can jump from person to person - bang! One person with the virus gets on an airplane with two to three hundred passengers from twenty different country and you've got an instantaneous killer on the loose that will spread all over the world that we are unprepared to deal with. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that it is not a question of if, but when, and their estimates range from 2 to 150 million deaths. This disease has already spread to five Southeast Asian countries. When they find one case of the virus, they have to locate the origin of the bird that it came from and then you have to slaughter all the birds there (thousands). We do not have the vaccine to control it. The U.S. has the only manufacturer that makes the vaccine and we're sending all our stock to those Southeast Asian countries that currently are struggling to control the virus. This is a whole new ball game to some of them and they don't know what to do or what its all about.
SARS and HIV are certainly not scams. I was in China when SARS broke out and if it were not for the admirable swift viligence by the Chinese government to wipe it out, there would have been a lot more deaths. As it was, it spread from Hong Kong, to China, to Vietnam, to Canada, and one or two cases in the U.S. AIDS is still a growing global problem, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia. It is estimated that about 40% of urban women in Thailand now have HIV. This is second only to South Africa.
Read the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/birdflu.un/index.html
SARS and HIV are certainly not scams. I was in China when SARS broke out and if it were not for the admirable swift viligence by the Chinese government to wipe it out, there would have been a lot more deaths. As it was, it spread from Hong Kong, to China, to Vietnam, to Canada, and one or two cases in the U.S. AIDS is still a growing global problem, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia. It is estimated that about 40% of urban women in Thailand now have HIV. This is second only to South Africa.
Read the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/birdflu.un/index.html