Monday, July 27, 2009

There seems to be a continuation, if not a rising level, of racist hatred directed at Barack Obama. And the Republicans seem to be anning the flames. The attacks now include references to the President's birth certificate, or lack thereof. Some critics use the same language once directed at Martin Luther King Jr. suggesting he was some kind of left wing extremist. These are all code words for racial hatred. The Hillary Clinton campaign used it during the primaries last year. The Republicans used it during the general election. And now the hostility has been ratcheted up.

The GOP has no message so all they have is good ole fashioned racial/nativist hatred. If barack Obama is assasinated the Republicans/Conservatives will be to blame.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gunman Opens Fire on Md. Cookout, Injuring 12

Mass shootings are now just commonplace. Get used to it. Unless, you decide to do something about the number of guns in our society.

At least one gunman opened fire at a backyard cookout, wounding a dozen people, Baltimore police said Monday.

Police spokesman Donny Moses said none of the wounds were life-threatening in the shooting late Sunday night. At least twelve people were hit, including a 2-year-old girl and a pregnant 23-year-old woman.

Moses said the victims were wounded in the legs, arms, shoulders and backs.

Police had no immediate suspects or motive in the attack. Moses says a gunman or gunmen walked into the small backyard of a rowhouse in East Baltimore and opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon before fleeing on foot.

More big city shootings.
Four people were killed yesterday in as many shootings throughout Philadelphia.

According to police, the killings started at 2:15 a.m., when a 28-year-old male was shot in the 3100 block of North Front Street in North Philadelphia. Two minutes later, a 24-year-old man was shot in the 2600 block of Oakdale Street, also in North Philadelphia.

40% of Americans Could get Swine Flu

Are we prepared? I don't think so.

In a disturbing new projection, health officials say up to 40% of Americans could get swine flu this year and next and several hundred thousand could die without a successful vaccine campaign and other measures.

The estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are roughly twice the number of those who catch flu in a normal season and add greater weight to hurried efforts to get a new vaccine ready for the fall flu season.

Swine flu has already hit the United States harder than any other nation, but it has struck something of a glancing blow that's more surprising than devastating. The virus has killed about 300 Americans and experts believe it has sickened more than 1 million, comparable to a seasonal flu with the weird ability to keep spreading in the summer.

Will we have enough vaccines?
Governments are scrambling to buy up hundreds of millions of doses of swine flu vaccine but health experts warn the poor may lose out as wealthy countries corner strictly limited supplies.

The World Health Organisation has unofficially estimated that the world's labs may only be able to produce around 900 million doses for the A(H1N1) strain per year, for a planet that is home to 6.8 billion people.

Global pharmaceutical companies are more optimistic about how much of the drug they can produce but, since each potential victim needs two doses, most of the world's population will inevitably miss out.

And there are already signs that the wealthiest countries will snap up more than their fair share in the rush to halt the outbreak, while Africa, Asia and Latin American will struggle to secure adequate amounts of vaccine.