Swine Fever Outbreak.

[Osteomata]

I just dont get that particular part of your perspective. Cancelling school sports for a couple of weeks is your primary measure of over reaction and loosing our way? That seems incredibly minor. Closing borders, restricting movement, airport shut downs, ceasing mass transit, cancelling MOAB, etc etc, these would be major reactions. Not having high school track meets for a while is not.

Look, Im not saying this is or is not an overreaction, Im saying you can't possibly know. If no mass outbreak occurs, people like you will say "see, it was an overreaction" and people like me will say "see, they might very well have prevented mass outbreak," Its kinda a loose loose situation for them: either "over react" and get called a bunch of pants wetters, or don't "overreact" and risk dealing with pandemic. What they have, which you and I don't, is a whole lot of epidemiologists telling them what to do.

They are afraid of getting lambasted by the media for not doing enough and so they choose to do way, waaaaaay too much. Cancelling all school sports throughout New England for the next 2 week?!?! WTF??? We have lost our way...

[circmand]

their jobs are tied to disease outbreaks. Just like the weather people and every hurricane being the Storm of the Century and every year being predicted as bad. They get no press or money if they say Chill its no big deal.

[Osteomata]

Well, just so I'm clear on this view:
Faced with the whole of the world's numerous and various health agencies saying that there is a major health threat that deserves significant attention and preventaive measure, you have two options:
1. Believe that they are probably expressing reasonable assessments, though they certainly, and appropriately, err on the side of caution.
2. Assume that a massive, world-wide, multi-agency scam is underway in which these agencies have colluded in order to decieve the world regarding a largely made up threat, all for the purposes of securing their agency budgets.

Also, it is helpful to differentiate between the health agencies (CDC, WHO, etc) and The Media.

- Os

their jobs are tied to disease outbreaks. Just like the weather people and every hurricane being the Storm of the Century and every year being predicted as bad. They get no press or money if they say Chill its no big deal.

[vt_maverick]

Well, just so I'm clear on this view:
Faced with the whole of the world's numerous and various health agencies saying that there is a major health threat that deserves significant attention and preventaive measure, you have two options:
1. Believe that they are probably expressing reasonable assessments, though they certainly, and appropriately, err on the side of caution.
2. Assume that a massive, world-wide, multi-agency scam is underway in which these agencies have colluded in order to decieve the world regarding a largely made up threat, all for the purposes of securing their agency budgets.

Also, it is helpful to differentiate between the health agencies (CDC, WHO, etc) and The Media.

- Os

Organizations acting in their own best interest is called capitalism, not a conspiracy.

[Osteomata]

Well, private organizations acting in their own best interest is a aspect of capitalism. These government organizations, by supposedly acting in their own best interest by massively exagerating to the point of coordinated international lie-festivals, might also take as their best interest the risk of being called out by legitimate, qualified specialist that disagree. So far I have a couple of news paper editorial wirters and a quack. I'm going with the CDC and the thousands of epidemiologists that have experience on the subject.

Organizations acting in their own best interest is called capitalism, not a conspiracy.

[vt_maverick]

Well, private organizations acting in their own best interest is a aspect of capitalism. These government organizations, by supposedly acting in their own best interest by massively exagerating to the point of coordinated international lie-festivals...

Point taken on private v. public. Perhaps evolution / natural selection is a better fit. We see it all the time in the government / defense sector. If your agency doesn't stay relevant, you'll disappear. And there's nothing high-level bureaucrats fear more than that.

Again, just because multiple organizations have the same motivations and therefore act in the same way does NOT mean they are part of a "coordinated international lie-festival" conspiracy in the same way that the hundreds of people who flock to a Chevy dealership for an employee pricing sale aren't part of some anti-foreign automaker conspiracy. They just all have the same motivation, and therefore take the same action on the issue.

Btw, I don't think the agencies are overhyping either. Heck, I hope it's the JOB of organizations charged with worldwide disease control TO be paranoid. I agree with others however that the media is recasting cautious statements and actions to create a ratings spike.

[Osteomata]

OK, I can buy that much easier, as I made the distinction between The Media and the multiple health organizations earlier. I don't particularly care what the media is saying, I based my assessment of the threat on the warnings from every (that is, I have found no exceptions) national and international health organization, both government and non-profit.

Also a member of the government /defense sector, and my program looks solid for another five years, heh.

Point taken on private v. public. Perhaps evolution / natural selection is a better fit. We see it all the time in the government / defense sector. If your agency doesn't stay relevant, you'll disappear. And there's nothing high-level bureaucrats fear more than that.

Again, just because multiple organizations have the same motivations and therefore act in the same way does NOT mean they are part of a "coordinated international lie-festival" conspiracy in the same way that the hundreds of people who flock to a Chevy dealership for an employee pricing sale aren't part of some anti-foreign automaker conspiracy. They just all have the same motivation, and therefore take the same action on the issue.

Btw, I don't think the agencies are overhyping either. Heck, I hope it's the JOB of organizations charged with worldwide disease control TO be paranoid. I agree with others however that the media is recasting cautious statements and actions to create a ratings spike.