SURVIVORS tv series 1975 vs Bird flu recent Asian disease outbreaks

Thinking of recent outbreak of Bird Flu in Asia and a fictional tv series
which depicted a worldwide pandemic.................

A fellow called Carl's recent email to me, about the Bird Flu just happened to coincide with my
re-watching of the excellent 1975 UK tv series SURVIVORS

Season one of three was recently released on DVD set and although they're a
shocking price, a video-trading friend of some years standing, from Sydney,
has kindly allowed me to borrow her discs temporarily

Even 30 years on, this series stands up very very well indeed. It's still
the absolute best and, most likely "realistic" treatment of a post
apocalypse story. Even the theme music for this story is scary !

Remember that in SURVIVORS, the disease was first thought to be a version of
the normal FLU.

On tv news last night they said that under their theoretical "worst case"
scenario, Perth hospitals would have 1,000 fatalities and 7,000 recovering
with appropriate medical treatment (assumes satisfactory access to modern
drugs etc)

Yeah well, that actually sounds "quite good" ie not as bad as could be.
However I wouldn't believe any Govt sources if they told me that the sky was
blue. Remember this is the same govt that is trying its best to start
world war 3 just so that the vice Prez's company Halliburton-KBR can make
more profit

......did anyone ever really believe that Iraq had WMD and that
"intelligence" to justify the invasion of Iraq wasn't bogus from the start !
I know I did. Plus why has no-one on Earth had the guts to stand up and say
"The pot calling the kettle black" The Yanks are the guys with the most WMD
on Earth. I heard the other day that they are developing new mini-nukes so
that they can use them willy-nilly without feeling so guilty about the huge
casualties that will ensure amongst the un-armed civilian populations.

Remember a couple of years back, the ANTHRAX powder releases in USA which
killed several postal workers, the independant inquiry got as far as
tracking its original source down to one of 2 US MILITARY
sources........before the US Fed Govt stood in the way and stonewalled the
investigation from going further

After the tragedy of the Sept 11 2001 attacks, the creation of the US Dept
of "Homeland Security" was supposed to be so that agencies like FBI and CIA
communicate better. Yeah good idea, who wouldn't support that.

However recently I heard that the US Federal Govt is funding it's "Homeland
Security" department to research into making diseases MORE RESISTANT to
antibiotics and hospital treatment. Say what ? You've got to be kidding
me, the Asian Bird Flu and Golden Staph *NOT* bad enough for you already.

Well whether it's "Bird Flu" , the Yank's new and improved "Golden Staph" or
whatever else they're working on in the name of "Homeland Security" the
world might indeed be as good as destroyed by a worldwide pandemic.

Certainly having just recently seen the first few episodes of SURVIVORS
again, for the first time in several years, I can only describe this as
....

.....ABSOLUTELY BONE-CHILLINGLY FRIGHTENING......

The tv series scenario was for more than a 99.9 % killed by the virus,
approx one in 5000 survive.

Now, is this current outbreak of the Bird Flu gonna be "the big one" I
think probably not. However will a variant of human and animal 'flu hit us
big-time sometime in the future, to a greater or lesser extent, yes I reckon
that's very likely indeed. Maybe it won't be "sooner" but likely it'll be
"later"

I don't know if seasons 2 and 3 have been released on DVD yet, certainly
some critics say that season 1 was the best (the main creative genius behind
season one only was "Terry Nation" creator of the Daleks, Dr Who and Blake's
7, ) Some folks say seasons 2 and 3 lost the plot somewhat, however my
recollection is that it's all good.

Anyway this fictional tv show certainly makes clear a few of the many
difficulties that any small numbers of survivors of a major pandemic
disaster would face.

Thinking of disasters of other sorts, does anyone see a sort of "poetic
justice" regarding Hurrican Katrina and the damage to New Orleans by the
failure of the Levy-bank dykes around it ? The US Army Corps of Engineers
have done excellent work in a difficult landscape for the last 100 or so
years controlling the Mississippi river and responsible for New Orleans
flood control.

A couple of years back they were scheduled for a further half a billion US
dollars to upgrade New Orleans dykes. However both the money and the
engineering staff were siphoned off for use in the Invasion and occupation
of Iraq. Now the US Federal govt knew that those dykes would not hold in a
category 4 Hurricane, unless they got the upgrade.

Oh well now it's going to cost them some 130 Million plus to repair the
damage......not even counting the social costs, including those people
tragically killed. Another old saying comes to mind "A stitch in time,
saves Nine", and never is this, more-so the case, than with Flood Control.

THIS PARAGRAPH BELOW ADDED 5 Dec 2005

Note that it's recently come to light that it was actually a direct result of the formation of The Dept Of Homeland Security, that caused the previously excellent FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Authority) to be downgraded and basically "gutted". .....and it was directly because FEMA had been so thoroughly gutted, that it's resposnce to the hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was so poor. Independant commentators have warned that, Changes announced recently, intended to improve FEMA, will actually make the situation very much worse !

That's all that comes to mind for now





..."For more 'an a year, I ain't had nuthin' 'twixt m' nethers
that ain't powered by battery" Kaylee ex SERENITY movie (quoted from
memory and slightly paraphrased)

Check out my 'blog
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.....THE TRIBE ep 2:49