Thursday, April 30, 2009

more on swine flu

swine flu fear generates big money for pharmaceutical companies. the associated press reported that at least one financial analyst estimates that Tamiflu sales will jump to $388 million in the near future. Tamiflu, you might remember took a hit in sales because it caused many of the same symptoms as the flu itself. already, companies like gilead sciences have seen a rise in their shares of stocks in only one day! they are making money off of a mild case of the flu because they and the news media are over inflating our cause for concern. this is not the first time the public has been alerted to swine flu. it happened in 1976. their was a panic in this country and talks of forcing people to get vaccinated were bantered about. the swine flu pandemic never materialized but the flu vaccine killed more people then than the flu.

malaria kills about 3,000 people every day but is little more than a foot note on the nightly news, if it gets any press coverage at all. put things into perspective and relax. it is very difficult for a virus to mutate into a strain that is both deadly and easily transmissible. it rarely happens. this really is just another attempt for an elite few to make a lot of money in these hard economic times but they can only do so, if we buy into the fear.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

calming the fear

there is a lot of fear being spread in the media over this so called swine flu. many people like to look back to the 1918 flu pandemic that had death tolls soaring and use it to dredge up new fears. scientists researching that strain of flu have now come out and said that the high death rate was not because of the flu itself but rather as a result of strep infections. it is easy to pick up strep infections in hospitals, which are known breeding grounds for bacteria or in areas where sanitation is not up to par. this may be why mexico is faced with a higher death toll from swine flu than elsewhere. i believe this fear is being spread not just because it makes a good news story but also so that money can be made off future flu vaccines. flu vaccines have not been shown to effectively reduce the risk of contracting the flu and they come with risks of their own, such as paralysis or even death. so, sit back and relax. get plenty of rest and up your vitamin c intake. we will all be just fine.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

late posting on beaten artist

"On the morning of April 10th there was a horrible tragedy in Jackson Square.
One of the artists there, Gang Hu (known to all as Kenny) was attacked and
beaten badly as he was setting up for a day of work.
Many of you know him, a really sweet, talented portrait and caricature
artist that is always ready with a smile and well wishes. The front and
back of his head were beaten in and he was rushed to the hospital where he
has had surgery. The last I heard he was in ICU. He is not conscious and
they won’t be able to tell much for a few days until the swelling goes down.

The police who were called to the scene made ridiculous comments about the
character of the victim, stating he was drunk and probably his fault. This
is an outrage. They did not conduct any sort of investigation as far as I
heard they did not even classify it as a crime scene. When another local
artist insisted that he did not drink and that they should investigate, he
was told he would be arrested if he said anything else!

This artist is a dutiful husband with two small children at home, a dear man
who gives everything he can to help those in need even when he has so little
himself. Jackson Square artists are considered a huge draw for New Orleans
tourists and they should have more support and protection from NOPD. We pay
taxes to the city as well as license and permit fees to set up there. We
should have the right to protection as citizens and as workers at one of the
city’s top tourist attractions.

We are organizing to raise funds to help pay for his medical costs and to
get NOPD to provide patrol for artists in the morning. Please support this
cause, run a story, tell your friends, post to your social networks and do
all you can to help this wonderful person and his family recover from this
tragedy."
thanks to the chicory for originally covering this and helping to get the word out.

hey nagin, the sharks are circling

it looks as though nagin is coming under more and more scrutiny over his all expenses paid vacations. the latest allegation is a trip to chicago that was paid for by a city vendor, netmethods.
well, mr. mayor i hope you are enjoying your time in office because i sincerely hope it is drawing to a close and if there is a higher power, it will end with you doing some jail time. we all know you are corrupt as hell and let's hope the sharks get you!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

what the fuck is going on??

there have been two shootings in the span of two days so that my neighborhood is sounding more and more like iraq with the rat-a-tat-tat of automatic weapons fire. last night's shoot out at the ok corral woke me up and had me rolling off the bed with my dog in tow so as not to be hit by stray bullets. once the dust settled and the police arrived, i went out to investigate and found two bullet holes in my truck. my truck! this, mind you is the new to me truck that i just bought and i bought it to replace the mad max vehicle that i was sporting. does anyone else find this ironic? because now, with two bullet holes, i actually have a damn mad max vehicle. seriously? maybe i should just get a mohawk and everything pierced, dress in black leather, horde water and decorate in bones. i mean really, this has to be the set of some bad movie, right? right? on top of it all, i drove my truck to the french quarter today to show the girl the bullet holes and i parked on esplanade, never thinking that it was tuesday, street cleaning day.street cleaning day!! they tow on those days. they towed my damn truck! seriously? so i had to walk all the way to the lot of shame on claiborne, where they are oh so friendly and pay $125 to get it out of impound. i was like, "it's the bullet riddled silver ford f-150." i need a drink but i have to work tonight. damn!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

what is going on with amazon books.

amazon books has pulled the sales rankings on all gay, lesbian, and transgendered books, as well as some erotica. not all of these books fall into the category of so called "erotica", since a college guide for LGBT students also lost its ranking. something reeks of homophobia at amazon. are these books really to suffer the label of "adult" just because they deal with LGBT issues and yet "playboy" has no such label and has yet to lose its coveted sales ranking. if you are having a hard time swallowing such a distinction, i urge you to contact amazon at their express customer service number:1-866-216-1072. thanks to "queersunited.blogspot.com

bargain hunting

i am all for finding a good bargain but not when it comes the the levee system surrounding new orleans. the army corps of engineers is up to its old tricks again, fretting over dollar signs rather than concerning themselves with the safety of the levee system. their proposed plan relies on miles of faulty levee systems that have already proven themselves failures rather than spend the extra money to replace these structures, which would save more money in the long run. they are cutting cost in the short term but ensuring that billions will be spent after yet another catastrophic flood event. this is the most short sighted plan and it is nothing less than criminal. it is appalling to put the lives and property of new orleanians at risk, not to mention the very real possibility of this city not being able to recover a second time. i believe it is time for the corps to be disbanded. we clearly need an agency that puts the lives of american citizens first and we need it before the next storm.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

the high cost of sin

i grew up in a religious household and thus am intimately aware of the harsh cycle of sin and guilt. i am proud to say that the experience cured me of organized religion. i find it appalling that there are those people who profess that their god is a loving god and yet engage in acts of hate and violence. i guess i'm wondering if christ would really show up to the funeral services of fallen american soldiers to wave anti-gay signs and trivialize the grief of their families. i am horrified when i watch the video of a young man being flogged by the taliban in pakistan because he had homosexual relations. why do these people care? does it really get you into heaven with your horde of happy virgins? my god! it sickens me to watch a young girl being held down while the taliban beats her. i am disgusted by the so called religious rights' signs that god hates fags. i can't even write this. there is no evolution, at least not with man. from all that i have seen of our behavior, we have done nothing but devolve. from the moment we learned to walk upright to the present, we have waged war. we have gorged ourselves on a steady diet of hypocrisy and hate. sure, we have more advanced technology but is it really more advanced to fine tune the art of killing? someone was once asked what they would not take from earth if they were going to another planet and they replied, "humans." i think that would be a fucking safe bet.