Comments on: I hear diseased urine is delivered directly into the Great Lakes!

I hear diseased urine is delivered directly into the Great Lakes!

jon_kill — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 12:54:50 -0800

With an increase in the number of cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, Canada now poses more of a direct threat to the American way of life than all of the weapons in Iraq combined. As the relationship between these two North American real estate holders continues to deteriorate, are we Canadians to expect border closings and escalated hostility due to this?

By: linux

linux — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:02:12 -0800

No.

By: stifford

stifford — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:02:24 -0800

Luckily, I think we have enough duct tape left over to seal the Canadian Border.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:04:45 -0800

Yes, the US HATES Canada, all of us, but to speed up the invasion process we are just going to unleash all of our nuclear arsenal and take out all of our cold war pent up aggression and our latent homosexuality on you. What deteriorating relationship? We are the worlds leading trade partners, have been for a while, still are. The US fuels its SUV's on Canadian oil, not Iraqi, need I remind you. Besides that I've ALWAYS been far more harassed entering Canada then exiting before and since 9-11. Its terrible that those children are sick and that many are dying, isn't that enough without using their suffering for an IraqFilter troll?

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:05:45 -0800

The only Canadians who need to worry are French Canadians.

By: soulhuntre

soulhuntre — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:10:39 -0800

You could always whip yourself into a panicked frenzy :) I am sure that would help. I can't tell if this is meant to be genuine or a sort of sideways shot at an anti-war posting. I suppose the latter but who knows? I could be wrong. Lets take it at face value: 1) If Canadian/US tourism flow presents a significant health problem then I would think temporary border closings make sense. 2) Any hostility you may experience is likely to be a reaction to hostility coming down from the North. I doubt (as you imply) that you'll be invaded any time soon. 3) It is HIGHLY suspect to declare that the flu like disease is more of a threat than Iraq. Obviously it makes for good rhetoric - but it is only that. All in all not a bad post - it paints US policies as paranoid, tries to paint the US itself as dangerously aggressive and simultaneously downplays any Iraqi threat. As anti war postings go it is among the more subtle... which gives you an idea how bad the other ones are.

By: shepd

shepd — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:18:17 -0800

I for one think we need to pass anti-SARS legislation. I'm tired of entering bars and having to drink with SARS infected persons.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:42:34 -0800

The country to be pissed off at over SARS is China. They have kept the spread of the disease in a media blackout since November and still haven't allowed the WHO to visit the area where the disease first appeared.

By: Captain Ligntning

Captain Ligntning — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:51:40 -0800

Listen up, Sparky. We'll invade Canada when we're damned good and ready, and not before. Enjoy your Socialist way of life while you can, Comrade. Freedom is coming.

By: freakystyley

freakystyley — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 13:52:51 -0800

Oh no! Saddam set us up the SARS. No bickering between Canada and the States. Only people who have nothing to do than to complain 'bout France, Germany, Iraq... well, everything 'xcept for the US. But God bless America... and God bless Canada for putting up with them :).

By: mcwetboy

mcwetboy — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 14:14:12 -0800

Border closings as a result of SARS? Not even mentioned in the article. Nice troll.

By: toothless joe

toothless joe — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 15:25:31 -0800

"At this writing, SARS appears to have killed 49 people out of 1323 afflicted according to the World Health Organization, a death rate of less than four percent. In Hong Kong, that alleged "worst medical disaster" has killed ten people out of 316 known victims. But since this only takes into account those ill enough to seek medical help, the actual ratio of deaths to infections is certainly far less. In contrast, the 1918-1919 flu pandemic killed approximately a third of the 60 million afflicted. Further, virtually all of the deaths have been in countries with horrendous health care, primarily mainland China. In the U.S., 40 people have been hospitalized with SARS. Deaths? Zero. Conversely, other forms of pneumonia kill about 40,000 Americans yearly. " I hear that shark attacks are up as well...

By: applesurf

applesurf — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 17:25:57 -0800

Deaths reported in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (WHO) Not sure we can use the label "horrendous" on some of these countries.

By: namespan

namespan — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 18:25:27 -0800

toothless joe lines up at the plate... the troll-ball is hurled... he swings ....
~ *SMACK!* ~... folks, that one's going, going... it's outta the park... it may have crossed the Canadian border....

By: FormlessOne

FormlessOne — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 20:33:23 -0800

What a steaming hot pile of post! Granted, Canadians have the right to be angry - the INS has done some fairly odious things to its citizens. But, remember, this is a temporary abberation. Once our electoral process has had a chance to work, it'll fix the primary issue. Besides, we can just jack up the softwood lumber tariffs to cover the increase in medical expenses. (And now, to win some friends...)

By: Slithy_Tove

Slithy_Tove — Mon, 31 Mar 2003 22:27:41 -0800

There are currently more cases of suspected SARS in the US than in Canada. It is HIGHLY suspect to declare that the flu like disease is more of a threat than Iraq. Obviously it makes for good rhetoric - but it is only that. Okay, I'll step up to the plate. I'm more worried about SARS than I am about Iraq. Yes, there haven't been many deaths, yet. But we don't know the true death rate, because the first wave of cases (outside of inland China) hasn't completed its natural history yet. Many of the deaths (again, outside of inland China) have been in areas such as Hong Kong and Toronto with excellent health-care systems. Yes, a lot of people die of pneumonia; but they tend to be very old and have other diseases (end-stage cancer, for example). Pneumonia is simply a terminal event, in a body that is failing for other reasons. SARS deaths are in previously healthy individuals. That's scary. Although middle-aged people tend to be most severely affected, even young people can become very ill: one of the patients on ventilators in Hong Kong is a medical student! The other really scary thing about SARS is that it seems to be transmitted very easily. The thinking now is that it might be a coronavirus, one family of viruses that causes the common cold. Think how easy it is to catch a cold from someone. Hell, most people get colds once or twice a year. Now, imagine that instead of being a trivial illness, that cold can kill you... The public health authorities, IMO, seriously underestimated the transmissibility of this bug in the early stages, and I said so, here, two weeks ago. Cases in Hong Kong are still rising rapidly; cases in the US are still rising, but more slowly. This outbreak has not yet been contained. We may have to undergo some draconian measures to contain this thing: mass home quarantines; locked-down hospitals. I don't think we can predict right now whether the toll of SARS is going to be worse than that of the Iraq war. But it definitely has the potential to be. This is one bad, bad, BAD bug. Don't underestimate it.

By: chandy72

chandy72 — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 07:38:26 -0800

Yeah! SARS & Stripes forever! (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 11:22:53 -0800

Interesting note from toothless Joe's article: >Laurie Garrett rode Ebola onto the bestseller list and talk show circuit with her book The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance.< Our beloved Laurie Garrett of Davos Letter fuck up fame? Never!