Jane Burgermeister a reputed “science reporter (who unfortunately thinks that increasing a number from 160000 to 249000 is “almost double“) has been making the blog rounds claiming that she alone has discovered a vast conspiracy by Baxter and the WHO to kill off a large portion of the population by substituting Bird Flu for Swine Flu in vaccinations.
She says she went to the FBI and has charged the WHO which this conspiracy (apparently she thinks she is a federal prosecutor and has the authority to place criminal charges instead of filing a complaint like the rest of us).
In long rambling interviews she fails to name anyone she actually talked with, or explain how the FBI has jurisdiction over a Geneva agency, or what case was opened or in which field office, or much of anything which you could actually check.
Anyone who wants to see a more logical (and entertaining) version of a nearly identical doomsday scenario where a small group of powerful pharma types plot to kill off the world with a new virus should pick up a copy of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 which happily doesn’t also share Ms. Burgermeister’s acceptance of the UFO conspiracy, her call for famines and wars (wars and rumors of wars) or linking the flu pandemic with the economic collapse as part of a vast conspiracy.
Since it is technically and logically impossible to actually disprove something like this where no names are named and no facts are given, I can’t do much more than say that if I were to make such claims and had an opportunity to give a long interview I would actually name the individuals whom I had contacted along with those others who I “knew” had tried to bring this to the attention of their superiors and had been demoted or fired.
If this is really about the end of the world then to heck with keeping the names confidential.
It would seem simple enough to give some detail which could be checked in a few minutes but all I could find were vague claims.
This is sort of like saying that Oswald didn’t kill Kennedy but not naming the person who you “knew” had the real facts.
Yes, the flu is dangerous. Yes, vaccines sometimes fail to give protection – there are excellent reasons for this – the most obvious being that the flu virus can mutate so quickly that we get antibodies for the wrong strain.
That is actually a perverse sign of success – if enough people are immune then a different strain develops and spreads.
And behind every great conspiracy threat is some kernel of truth – in this instance, laboratories do share live virus for testing and it is possible that the swine flu could join up with the more deadly bird flu – not in a laboratory, but in some poor individual’s respiratory system.
People are particularly susceptible to conspiracy stories when the world around seems to be slipping out of their control – for example, when we all see how the world economy is causing so much pain.
But substituting fear and panic for real information isn’t a good solution.
I have always felt comfortable giving the following often quoted advice in such situations, “When in trouble, fear or doubt – run in circles, scream and shout.”
There are variations, all about equally effective.
My main reason for disbelieving this “bird flu” pandemic plot and most conspiracy theories on their face is simply pragmatic.
If “those in charge” are really powerful enough to force everyone to take this vaccine, then what is to stop them from simply doing something else to end life as we know it if the “vaccine conspiracy” exists and fails?
If they are so powerful, how do you fight them?
And, if they are so powerful, why hasn’t floridation of the water supply brought about world-wide communist domination? That one was around when I was younger.
And, BTW, why haven’t the UFO’s landed yet? I’ve been waiting for nearly 60 years. And why are the aliens always so interested in the back sides of some hick?
The older you get the more world-ending conspiracy theories you live through – and “live through” is the operative point.
All those people who carry “end of the world” signs are actually correct – on the day they die the world ends for them.
But like any good conspiracy theory, there is simply no way to disprove the vaccination substitution plot except to look sheepishly in the mirror next summer and say to yourself – “Wow, I guess everyone I know didn’t REALLY die.” What is the next conspiracy I can believe in?
Please, please, please, someone out there think for me, thinking for myself is just so hard.
