Just putting this Ebola panic nonsense in perspective for a second. Yes, the CDC, WHO, White House, and Texas all messed up, but people really need to chill out. You aren’t getting Ebola; but it’s telling that when it was just Africans dying of the virus, Washington/London/Paris were expending all their capital on these Khorasan ghosts in Iraq/Syria. Though, mass hysteria and blame are pretty common in our part of the world, and culminate in policy proposals that blend the worst kind of callousness with the worst kind of stupidity — in this case, a ban on all travel to the region. But if you are panicked-type, here are a few more worrying stats: - Lower Respiratory Infections: 2.8 million global deaths - HIV/AIDS: 1.46 million - Heart disease: 596,000 American deaths - Cancer: 576,000 American deaths - Influenza: 54,000 - Gun-related violence: 19,000+ Americans - Furniture falling and resulting in death: 17 I’m more than down to brainstorm any kinds of policy ideas — global health, security, economic development, infrastructure-related, etc — in combatting these kinds of outbreaks, but let’s move beyond this irrational threat inflation.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 02:51:59 +0000
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