“Hogwash Flu” rallies “Baja Bashers”, on heels of media’s Spring Break fallacy

In the aftermath of Spring Break  2009, there has yet to be a single death of  any US tourist  who visited Mexico related to the media-hyped drug war.  The Press, Politician and Pundit (P-3 ) ploy worked, however, as thousands of spring breakers were pre-emptively deterred from Mexico, and packed US destinations instead!  But without any dead bodies from the tens of thousands who ignored the press, how would this scheme succeed again, given the looming summer vacation season? Enter the “Mexican” Swine Flu”!!!

If the threat of murder hasn’t succeeded, in deterring ALL US tourism, perhaps CONTAGOUS DISEASE….from a PIG, to a human etc. etc. etc. will. And, indeed, it has!  Mexico has been pressured to close their schools, universities, ports, and even curtailed public gatherings in hopes of staving off an alleged pandemic….BUT its all HOGWASH!

FACT 1: WHO estimates 250,000-500,000 people die each year worldwide from the flu. 

FACT 2; 63,000 US citizens die from the flu EACH YEAR IN THE USA!!! 

FACT 3:  Over the course of 3 months there have been 19 deaths, confirmed as related to the A(H1N1), virus.  That’s 19 deaths in a country of 110 MILLION PEOPLE! 

FACT 4:There have been MORE cases of Pig Flu in San Diego County than in all of Baja Mexico.

Fact 5: The only “pig flu”  US death was in SAN DIEGO.  There have been no deaths in either north or South Baja!

FACT 6:  The “bird flu pandemic” of 2005 caused a total of 276 deaths on a planet of 7 BILLION PEOPLE! Yet government backed pharmaceutical companies generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues to research, produce, procure and stockpile vaccine for the anticipated outbreak that never happened.

Analysis;  Remember the last statistic brings into discussion the recent “chicken little” scenarios of this millennium” the Y2K bug (everything was goinna shut down, so don’t go to Mexico—you may not be allowed back into USA); 9-11  the terrorists are all over the place, and must certainly have come through Mexico—so seal the border;  Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction which led to the invasion of Iraq and the insuing quagmire that we still deal address;  the SARS virus; and  2005 bird flu… which probably caused more deaths by those taking the vaccine  than actually died from the virus itself! 

Although all this media frenzy, public outcry and paranoia sells newspapers and advertising, it is unreasonable to conclude that many lives have been saved as a result of the remedial measures demanded by the media and implemented after the fact.  But the spin is rotating, and continues to bash Baja regardless of the facts.

Meanwhile, the economic boon for US tourism, yet again reaps huge rewards.  For instance, as a result of the closure of  Mexican ports to cruise ships–the diverted cruise line traffic–, into San Diego alone, re-directed over $2million/week in tourism revenue!  As for Mexico, they lost far more than San Diego’s revenue as ports throughout the southwest received a much needed injection of tourism revenue during this recession!  God bless the American P-3 spin, as it has successfully brain-washed its readership that Mexico is responsible for this flu, and US citizens should not travel into Mexico except for essential travel.

However, when one extrapolates the ongoing flu-related deaths (separate from the pig flu), more than 120 people died TODAY in CALIFORNIA, than all of Mexico from the pig-flu! 

Bottom-line: You have a greater likelihood of  contracting or dying from the flu in your own backyard than you would traveling to Baja!  As for the silly mask people have been wearing…they don’t deflect flu virus anyway, they only serve to keep the wearer from spreading their infection…. aka “LET THE WEARER BEWARE”