On Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:19:48 -0600, Pennyaline wrote:

> wrote:
>> We've put up info on our site (http://foodforu.ca/) about the human
>> influenza originating in Mexico which has been dubbed even by the
>> World health Organization at http://www.who.int/en/ as swine
>> influenza.
>>
>> Mis-information causes alot of problems, the WHO is the place to get
>> credible information on this outbreak of human influenza.
>
> Speaking of that:
>
> Our local FOX station has been running regular updates containing all
> manner of misinformation. I got fed up (OB food) with the station's
> endless harangue about 159 confirmed swine flu deaths in Mexico
> yesterday, and called them up during their evening broadcast. Whoever it
> was that answered the phone insisted that the confirmed flu death toll
> was 159, even when I referred him to the WHO website and read off the
> statistics to him that showed only 26 confirmed swine flu cases and a
> mere seven deaths. He laughed when I urged him to check WHO stats, and
> said to me... yes, he really said that he'd rather trust the Mexican
> government reports because, in so many words, they're there as it
> happens and they know what's going on in their country. He also
> maintained that WHO "gets it's information late" and related that the US
> government had elevated the pandemic alert to Level 5 but that WHO was
> still at Level 4, and told me that I must be mistaken when I told him
> that WHO had also raised the level to 5.
>
> Throughout the interlude, I was reminded countless times of about the
> futility of arguing with idiots.
>
> Before I hung up, I said to the man that I know he works for FOX and
> that this is a FOX broadcast, but that they should at least *try* to use
> vetted data and not promulgate misinformation and panic. I also
> suggested that they try reporting *both* Mexican government and WHO
> figures. The man laughed and told me to have a good evening, and I'm
> certain that will be the end of it forever.

sounds pretty restrained for fox. many of the right-wing blogs are already
proclaiming that the whole thing is being hyped by/was engineered by obama
to seize more power for his socialist state or to distract attention from
his other actions to seize more power for his socialist state.

your pal,
blake