From: Scott Chase (ecphoric@hotmail.com)
Date: Mon 28 Nov 2005 - 12:22:37 GMT
>From: Chris Taylor <chris.taylor@ebi.ac.uk>
>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>Subject: Re: Giving a presentation on memetics
>Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 11:27:23 +0000
>
>The bad thing with the bird flu issue is the number of people that have
>gone for _seasonal_ flu jabs thinking that affords some protection against
>bird flu (which it does not).
>
>Flu is flu is flu (apparently). The dominance of one meme over another; the
>flu meme has accrued to itself some of the properties of the bird flu meme
>by some kind of subsumption/recombination; reminds me of the John Carpenter
>version of 'The Thing'.
>
>And again (just like all the antibiotics prescribed for common cold etc.)
>GPs are finding it simpler to just prescribe rather than discuss (given
>limited time, and the independent benefits of the flu jab). This would be
>fine if the seasonal flu jabs were unlimited but now many at risk types
>won't get one and it'll be plain old dull flu that kills them in what is
>shaping up to be a cold winter.
>
The cultural epidemic of bird flu has some possibly serious repercussions.
Just as the 9-11 terrorist attacks brought U.S. the Patriot Act, the
prospect of avian influenza has some people toying with the idea of messing
with the safeguard known as *Posse Comitatus*:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/04/bush.avianflu/
I'm no legal expert (Ray Recchia?), so I'm not sure how this could affect us
in the long run, but I hope it doesn't result in a scenario depicted in that
Bruce Willis/Denzel Washington movie _The Siege_. It just goes to show what
the spread of panic can do and how it can be manipulated by those in power.
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