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H1N1 (swine flu): 'Menace or media hype?'

05/15/2009 11:19:00 Kathlyn Stone, Cartoon by Marian Kamensky

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Illustration courtesy of Marian Kamensky

Now that the country has mostly moved beyond H1N1 stage 4 or 5 alerts from the WHO, nonstop breaking news flashes, knee jerk outbursts from politicians (er, scratch that one), and local officials are no longer closing schools and the more timid are no longer flooding hospital emergency rooms, people are asking what role the media played in creating the panic.

I remember stepping out of my hotel room in Seattle during the height of the scare and being greeted by a 2 inch headline in the sole surviving local paper: "SWINE FLU FOUND HERE." That's enough to cause anyone to gasp.

But we're all to blame for letting our attention be hijacked by the news du jour. Technorati member bloggers tagged more than 12,000 posts with "swine flu."

Marian Kamensky is a professional cartoonist and rascal in Slovakia.

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Comments (7 posted):

JimT on 05/15/2009 17:08:13

Are those the Simpsons? LOL.

gifts for her on 12/04/2009 02:53:43

Thank you for sharing such useful information. I have a question in two parts, First could homeopathy be used for prevention of flu, second your analysis which identify Ars, Lyco, Phos..etc medicine for infected person…with the kind of pendamic..do homeopathy bring the confidence and hope among the people.

Dean Graziosis Scam review on 05/04/2010 03:20:42

I was shopping the other day and ran into some of that old woman who was convinced that I was an English spy in disguise Trying to take over the country, so I followed around the store muttering incomprehensible into my collar. Please wait ... What's the point? Should be a real spy would have blown their cover ...

Shuffle mp3 players on 05/20/2010 03:49:42

I ahve read many articles on H1N1. But this one was quite unique. I liked your way of presenting the things such different way.

m3 real on 05/26/2010 21:28:20

Scary facts and figures about Trans fats and their effect on the body. The reason why SwineFlue and Avian Flu, Sars and other outbreaks or irregular illnesses become big news is that the Spanish flue that came shortly after WWI killed between 50 and 100million people. After Surat's "MOUSE PLAGUE", it is a turn of "SWINE FLUE" in India.

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Thank you for another essential article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a complete way of writing? I have a presentation incoming week, and I am on the lookout for such information.

eurodebt on 07/06/2010 07:21:45