   What do you think about the bird flu?
  There's been lots of discussion on the news about the bird flu. What do you think of it? I know seeing as theres some people here from other countries it might already be in there countries.   
  It wasn't nearly as tasty as I was led to believe.   ;  The Avian race will rise again! HEIL HITLER!   ;  Of course it's dangerous.;  I'm glad I'm not a bird. Seriously though, the story isn't going to go away as the news media has already invested too much credibility in it. It also makes a great excuse for declaring martial law. U.S. mulls federal troops for bird flu quarantine, Bush seeks military option on bird flu, Bird Flu Quarantine in U.S.. President Bush signed an executive order Friday authorizing the government to impose a quarantine to deal with any outbreak of a particularly lethal variation of influenza now found in Southeast Asia.;Quote:Bush seeks military option on bird fluSuggests troops should be sent in if outbreak occursIs there actually one single imaginable incident that will not make Americans think about a military option ? I can already see it: "Bush sends troops against Tsunami", "US marines fight locust invasion", or "Victory ! Hurricane surrendered to US forces !"...The major part of the bird flu risk comes from official or not-so-official meat imports from affected countries. By severe control and monitoring of import and food processing companies, one can tremendeously minimize the risk. Unfortunately, doing so will cost money, and make big corporations unhappy. Which in turn makes Bush cry. Get ready for newslines ala "US special forces heroically battle evil poultry"...;Quote:Original post by Yann LQuote:Bush seeks military option on bird fluSuggests troops should be sent in if outbreak occursIs there actually one single imaginable incident that will not make Americans think about a military option ? I can already see it: "Bush sends troops against Tsunami", "US marines fight locust invasion", or "Victory ! Hurricane surrendered to US forces !"...Actually, it makes a lot of sense. Remember that in the US, at least half of the army is not made up of active-duty professional soldiers, but rather national guard "weekend-warriors". Because national guard troops can be called up by state governors, not the president, to (legally) enforce laws and provide support within the US borders (which the regular army cannot legally do), they are an effective response to cases where the regular civilian forces are overwhelmed.In fact, this was the entire idea behind the national guard system. Provide a reserve of soldiers to defend and protect the home front while the regular army takes care of foreign threats. It's a natural, safe, and organized successor to the town citizen's militia which every town in colonial and early north america had. Of course, this was before Bush decided that National Guard troops are essentially extra army soldiers and shipped them all off to Iraq too.   ;  How exactly do they know avian flu is going to be the next pandemic? It has yet to mutate to a human-dangerous form but they've just decided it will do imminently. Who's to say some variant of flu/cold won't mutate instead?It just seems odd to be putting so much effort into stopping a disease which doesn't exist.   ;  I'm opposed to it.   ;Quote:Original post by smrI'm opposed to it.Seconded. The bird flu should be forbidden.   