[little jeremiah]

"Communicating the truth will be important to deter civil unrest, several experts told the conference. Up until six months ago, the Department of Health and Human Services was planning privately for a pandemic but saying little publicly, said communications consultant Peter Sandman.

The shift may be due to President George W. Bush reading John Barry's "The Great Influenza," an account of the 1918 influenza pandemic during which government assured the public that it was just another seasonal flu outbreak, Sandman said. At the time, Barry said many communities were brought to a near standstill, with people afraid to talk to each other or care for the sick."

That book that Bush read this summer looks interesting.

[little jeremiah]

I think I got my mini-list.

[satchmodog9]

I can see not planting a carcass near your well, but why not near your septic?

[Mike Darancette]

Make sure to see your doctor.

[statered]

I read Barry's book over Christmas. Interesting point he made was that with even a mild pandemic we would run out of hospital beds, ventilators, and coffins pretty quick.

I had two great grandparents die in the 1918 pandemic - one lived in Philadelphia which was hit really hard. With all the craziness over cartoons and threats of terrorism I think nature might come along and thin the herd. Death rates in underdeveloped countries like the ME would be high I'm sure.

[Semi Civil Servant]

I think my Home Owner's Association bylaws are silent on backyard burial.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

Stetson! You who were with me in the ships at Mylae,
That corpse you planted in the garden,
Has it begun to sprout?

Oh keep the dog far hence,
who's friend to man
Or with his nails
He'll dig it up again.

T.S. Eliot, "The Wasteland"

[RichardW]

I sorta like this new freeze dried technique. They freeze dry the body, then shake it into fine particles, drop the remains into a hole in the ground and plant a tree on top to fertilize it. The last thing I want is a conventional funeral. It is a rip-off and a disgusting custom to come around to view a dead corpse. I told my wife I would haunt her if she gave me one. I'd rather be put on the compost pile before that.

[Publius]

That book that Bush read this summer looks interesting.

"The Stand"?

[jiggyboy]

Best lead sentence ever!

[kms61]

Barry also wrote a book about the great flood of 1927. I hope his writing this book isn't an omen for history repeating itself again.

[mugs99]

Preparations for a global flu pandemic, which many experts believe is overdue, have begun but the grisly details are horrific and the number of sick could quickly overwhelm the health care system.

When the "AIDS Pandemic" broke in 1980, they told us that mankind would be on the verge of extinction from AIDS by the year 2000.

Where are the bodies?
.

[Hank Rearden]

I think I see the makings of Bush's next trillion-dollar burden on taxpaying Americans.