PC Police: “Don’t Call it Swine Flu”
If you thought things couldn’t get anymore idiotic, well hold onto your hats!
Janet Napolitano and some foreign governments are upset at the official name of the flu epidemic that is spreading around the globe.
Apparently it isn’t kosher to say swine 
especially when this strain of the flu has more human and avian components and it is not specifically caused by pork or pork food products.
I say – who cares? Call it the Flying Meatball Virus for heaven’s sake – does it really matter?
What’s in a name? U.S. pork producers are finding that the name of the virus spreading from Mexico is affecting their business, prompting U.S. officials to argue for changing the name from swine flu.
At a news briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack took pains to repeatedly refer to the flu as the “H1N1 virus.”
“This is not a food-borne illness, virus. It is not correct to refer to it as swine flu because really that’s not what this is about,” Vilsack said.
Israel has already rejected the name swine flu, and opted to call it “Mexico flu.” Jewish dietary laws forbid eating pork.
The Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health also objected to the name, saying the virus contains avian and human components and no pig so far has been found ill with the disease.
And there is growing sentiment in the farm sector to call it the North American virus — although disease expert Anthony Fauci told a Senate hearing the “swine flu” designation reflected scientific naming protocol.
Give me a break!
President Sarkozy of France Calls Obama Weak and Overrated
America – are you listening? Who ever though I would agree with a Frenchman?
Mr Sarkozy is pouring cold water on President Obama’s efforts to recast American leadership on the world stage, depicting them as unoriginal, unsubstantial and overrated.
The American President’s call “to free the world of the menace of a nuclear nightmare” was hot air, Mr Sarkozy’s diplomatic staff told him in a report. “It was rhetoric – not a speech on American security policy but an export model aimed at improving the image of the United States,” they said. Most of Mr Obama’s proposals had already been made by the Bush administration and Washington was dragging its feet on disarmament and treaties against nuclear proliferation, the leaked report said.
Personal pique and French politics are also behind the souring of Mr Sarkozy’s self-promoted honeymoon with the United States. On the personal side, the French President is needled by the adulation for an unproven US leader whose stardom has eclipsed what he sees as his established record as a world troubleshooter. “The President is annoyed by what he sees as the naivety and the herd mentality of the media,” said a journalist who is privy to Elysée thinking.
Mr Obama’s favour for Ankara has irked but also helped Mr Sarkozy as his Union for a Popular Movement campaigns for European Parliament elections in June. Mr Sarkozy slapped down the US President on French TV after he publicly called for Turkish entry to the European Union.
Permanent refusal of Turkish membership is one of Mr Sarkozy’s policy planks and one of his most popular with voters. Mr Obama’s venture into EU affairs has enabled Mr Sarkozy to make political capital. He has shown that France can still stand up to the United States despite rejoining the Nato command last week.
Looks like Obama is a Bush retread mixed with a Clinton retread and just politics as usual on the national and international stage. That kool-aid must have been delicious for those sheeple thinking they would get change. The only change that is coming is moving further over to the left by expanding the government, spending more, and not defending ourselves in a time of major global volatility. If the French get that Obama is all talk and no substance why can’t the left?
Obama Pushes for Turkey’s Acceptance to the EU
Obama’s last stop on his European tour was to Turkey. During his brief stint in the country he gave another campaign/stump speech and pushed for Turkey’s acceptance into the European Union.
Some of Obama’s quotes:
“Let me say this as clearly as I can,” Obama said. “The United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical … in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject.”
Calling for a greater partnership with the Islamic world in an address to the Turkish parliament, Obama called the country an important U.S. ally in many areas, including the fight against terrorism. He devoted much of his speech to urging a greater bond between Americans and Muslims.
I seem to remember that in March 2003, the Turks refused to allow the U.S. Army’s 4th infantry Division to disembark there and attack into Iraq from the north. That decision left Saddam and his cronies an escape route once Baghdad fell, and ultimately cost (at least) hundreds of American lives in the insurgency that broke out later that year.
“We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country,” Obama said. (which country? Giggle…)
Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyia, two of the biggest Arabic satellite channels, carried Obama’s speech live.
Upon hearing of Obama’s words, President Sarkozy of France, a long time opponent of Turkey’s acceptance, said “I have always been opposed to this entry and I remain opposed.”
Sarkozy’s love-in with Obama was brief if it was even true to begin with. In layman’s terms he basically told Obama to mind his own business and leave Europe to deal with the European Union.
One of the issues that those in Europe, opposing Turkey’s acceptance, have is that Turkey would become the largest and most populated country in the Union. Their Union acts in much the same way our states do. The more populated the state, the more representatives you can have in Congress. This could mean that Turkey would have more influence over Europe because it would have more MEPs and more power over European decisions and policy-making.
Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, have deep reservations about Turkey’s acceptance. Austria and France are completely and openly against it.
Turkey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected attempts to call Turkey the representative of moderate Islam. “It is unacceptable for us to agree with such a definition. Turkey has never been a country to represent such a concept. Moreover, Islam cannot be classified as moderate or not,”Erdoğan said, speaking at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies last Thursday.
Olli Rehn, the EU Enlargement Commissioner, called last week on Turkey to renew its focus on reforms to meet Union entry criteria for democracy and workers’ rights. “The pace of negotiations depends on the pace and intensity of the reforms in your country,” he said.
The Turkish press said yesterday that the country had secured concessions for dropping its objections to Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, becoming the next Nato Secretary-General.
A Couple of Gaffes From Overseas
Obama calls ‘Austrian’ a language – last time I checked Austrians spoke German… If this were Bush or Palin they would be replaying this gaffe over and over again!
The other gaffe to report on, which may be more aptly called a snub was while the Obama’s were in Prague.
The charms of a wonderful woman and a beautiful city are hard to beat.
So much so that Barack Obama will snub his hosts after arriving in Prague this evening in favour of a romantic Saturday night dinner with his wife, Michelle.
The Czech Republic is a stopover on the US President’s first tour of Europe because it currently holds the presidency of the European Union, which rotates every six months.
But rather than meet the country’s conservative leaders, with whom the President has little in common and who have been rather rude about the United States recently, the Obamas have decided to spend their only night in Prague soaking up the atmosphere.
Correct me if I am wrong here, but isn’t it a president’s duty to meet with leaders and isn’t that the point of this entire trip abroad? This isn’t some temporary gig – this is a full-time 24/7 job – I hope he begins to get that through his head at some point – but I won’t hold my breath.
New Era of Peace in Europe!? NATO Protests Turn Violent
STRASBOURG, France – Black-clad protesters attacked police and set a customs station ablaze Saturday on a bridge linking France and Germany that served hours earlier as the backdrop for a show of unity by NATO leaders.
AP photographers saw other protesters storm a nearby Ibis hotel, setting fires and pilfering alcohol from its bar.
Stacks of old tires were also set ablaze, unleashing thick plumes of black smoke that could be seen from across the river. Near the bonfire was a sign welcoming visitors to Strasbourg.
First lady Michelle Obama and other spouses canceled a visit to a cancer hospital out of concern for security, the French president’s office said. Some 1,000 protesters were staked out near the hospital they were to visit.
Some of the protesters say they want an end to war and call NATO a tool of Western imperialism. Others simply appear bent on causing chaos.
But…But… I thought if we elected Obama we would have a new era of peace and love across the world? Everyone would love each other and the United States?
I know – liberals will never get it – they will just continue to point the finger and blame Bush…
