On Bird Flu -- by Jude from Political Waves, Oct. 5, 2005 I WAS HOPING TO AVOID IT -- but, the news is abuzz with Bird Flu stuff, it's all over CNN which is going to increase the amount of personal paranoia [and likely worries about the governments ability to deal with it.] The Dub has proposed his "military solution" -- seems like that's his favorite for just about everything. The topic's real ... The timing's suspect. We've known about this for a long time -- why now? A Nice Big Puff of Scary Smoke to blow over the top of a failing government, imploding and at war with itself? My great-grandmother died in the 1918 Influenza Epidemic. It's ugly family lore -- the stories and magnitude of this epidemic make the  horrors of  New Orleans seem like a little local problem. The thing we always forget about these events is the psychological toll -- my g-grama's passing left two little kids and a grieving husband to watch  their loved one carted away [heaven knows where, at least for awhile]  while displaced from a home they were forbidden to enter for weeks; a  heartbroken man who never entirely recovered and two kids who's lives were shaken and tumbled and shaped ... who passed on their fears, anger and dysfunction. It's the same emotional wounding and PTSD, I'd think, that we see emerging on the Gulf Coast, and internationally from the Gulf War.  What happened then shaped our world today, and not forgetting the loss of 20-40 million people. OK -- so this scares us spitless. And, CNN is blaring it -- rather than calm the public with a "plan," Bush is suggesting a takeover -- and those of us who haven't given this any thought are all mouth-breathing. Disaster Consciousness. End Times Rhetoric. Wurra-wurra-wurra! Because this has been of interest to me, I've collected info on earlier  pandemics -- like plague, etc. It's interesting who lived and who  didn't -- and there's a lot of information out there. The first piece  below is a snip suggesting some evidence that there are natural protections and possibilities at your fingertips. The next piece was sent by Eileen, who uses Olive Leaf Extract and is a big fan. If, as she suggests, you google this, you get 404,000 hits; plenty of interest, there. As a savvy group, you may have suggestions as well -- pass them on, and I'll share them. Hysteria and paranoia are useless, under these circumstances -- we already have vulnerabilities with our immune systems in this nation, due to food production, water, chemicals, and let's not forget stress. Let's work together to collect some information ... and let's make sure our representatives understand that public health and international coordinator is of the HIGHEST priority. Oh, and ... just to sweeten the pot -- there's an unidentified virus in Canada taking the lives of old folks [and at least one caregiver], and working people's nerves [bottom]. (Articles here) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Political_Waves/message/4208 -- Jude