World Health Organization goes to phase 5 on swine flu

The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to Phase 5 for the swine flu. This means that there have been cases reported all across the to world. And the outbreak can not be contained.

What really surprises me is that with todays modern transportation, why would someone think that an outbreak can be contained? People can get on an air plane, and in just a few hours be half way around the world. With this type of mobility its going to be impossible to contain the outbreak of a new disease.

This is one of the reasons why modern survivalist must be prepared on a moments notice. If areas are quarantined within just a day or two, any supplies that you are lacking will not be able to be obtained.

So far, Mexico has shutdown all of its schools, Britain has closed one of its schools and a school district in Texas was closed.

The government of Mexico is talking about shutting down the entire nation. This could have impact manufactured goods all over the world. Some estimates put the financial toll at 50 million US dollars lost every day because of what is going on in Mexico and businesses closing. The one topic that needs to be watched is food production. Until thousands of workers go from Mexico to the USA where they help harvest crops. Its not yet known how this Swine Flu situation is going to impact food production.

There are two major situations here that we need to watch. 1 - the development of the swine flu outbreak. 2 - how this outbreak is affecting production of needed goods, such as food and medicines.

Swine Flu reported in California, Mexico andTexas

On April 23rd, the Texas Department of State Health Services has reported 2 confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Texas.

Here is a link to the Texas DSHS swine flu press release.

Even though this virus has been called "swine flu", its a mixture of flu viruses found in pigs, birds and humans.

Besides Texas, there have been confirmed cases of the Swine Flu H1N1 virus in California and Mexico.

For more information, visit the Swine Flu thread of the survivalist forum.

Even though the people at the Center of Disease say there is no need to panic (and I agree with them), its my opinion that this situation should be watched. So lets just keep and eye on things and see what happens.

Last of the cold fronts

Well, hopefully the last of the cold fronts have blown through. The ground seems still a little cool to plant too much. And these late spring cold fronts sure aint helping.

Its past time to get the potatoes in the ground, but I have been neglecting to do so.

Its still too early to plant the okra. That needs to be planted around Mat, or when the ground temperature gets around 70 degrees or higher. Okra is originally from Africa, so its a hot weather crop.

I guess its time to go ahead and plant the peas and snap beans.

Free Seeds

Well, not really "free" because you pay for the product, the seeds are just an extra bonus.

When buying produce from a local grocery store, do not buy "Seedless" products. Most of those are hybrid and will not reproduce.

Instead of "seedless" buy the regular produce with the seeds. Examples include all types of melons - water melons and cantaloupe. When cutting the melon open, harvest the seeds, dry them for a few days and then store in the freezer.

Keep a couple of seeds out of the freezer, place them between 2 wet towels. In a few days the seeds should sprout. If the seeds have not sprouted within 5 or 7 days, throw them away along with any other seeds that were harvested from that same melon.

Sometimes this same thing can be done with peppers. Buy the pepper, let it dry for a couple of weeks and then harvest the seeds. Keep the peppers in a dry place where mold is less likely to grow.

The concept of reality

An interesting story over on the BBC caught my eye. The article is titled Guantanamo 'fun' - Miss Universe. It seems that Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza made a trip to Guantanamo Bay and described it as "fun" on her blog.

Articles like this make me ask, do some people not have a concept of reality? How can something be on the news for years. And then Dayana Mendoza describes it as "fun"? How can someone turn such a blind eye to crimes against humanity? People have been held at Guantanamo Bay without a trial, tortured, and somehow this place is fun?

Or maybe the government workers did such a good job of pulling the wool over her eyes, that she did not see the "real" Guantanamo Bay?

Maybe that is why agencies like the FBI and the CIA can not catch the terrorist? Because Guantanamo Bay is so much fun, nobody wants to leave. For something to be that much fun, it better be like disney world. Maybe even with an unlimited buffet bar?

The news media might have this whole Guantanamo Bay stuff wrong. But somehow I doubt it.