Wholesome 8===D

I wrote about Larry Brilliant's lecture on Avian Flu back in 2006. I recommend everyone watch it again. Larry Brilliant is a medical doctor and runs Google.Org, Google's non-profit arm.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4945574855615972381

For those of you who won't follow the first link, or watch the video, here's some points back I took from it back in 2006, during the Avian Flu panic, I'd imagine most it it applies to Swine Flu, but YMMV.

• Lipitor and other cholesterol lowering drugs seem to lower the chance the you'll die from Avian Flu.
• Get a Penumonia vaccine. Penumonia is the most common cause of death in influenza cases.
• Consider the benefits of getting AIDS. Cytokine storm diseases, like swine flu, work by turning your immune system against you. This would cause healthy young people to die more than old people or people with otherwise compromised immune systems. Of course, not all influenza is a cytokine storm.
• Some Avian Flu strains have been sensitive to Amantadine, an all ready available, over-the-counter, and cheap anti-viral. In other cases Relenza, and Tamiflu might work.
• fluwikie.com is pretty cool, though not mentioned in the presentation

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4945574855615972381

That's, Larry Brilliant, giving a lecture on Avian Flu at the Googleplex. I like him, because his name is Brilliant, he says "duck shit" once (and "horse shit" five times) during the lecture, and as of early this year Google made him Executive Director of Google.org (Google's philanthropic branch) -- if you listen to this lecture you'll understand why.

The beginning of the video is a little choppy, but I think the gaps are where they were showing parts the ABC film Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America. The lecture was sort of given in the response to the movie's release.

There's too much information in Brilliant's lecture for me to summarize it here, so if you're just planning on scrolling passed this on your friends list and not watching it you should know this stuff.

• Lipitor and other cholesterol lowering drugs seem to lower the chance the you'll die from Avian Flu.
• Get a Penumonia vaccine. Penumonia is the most common cause of death in influenza cases.
• Consider the benefits of getting AIDS. Cytokine storm diseases, like swine flu, work by turning your immune system against you. This would cause healthy young people to die more than old people or people with otherwise compromised immune systems. Of course, not all influenza is a cytokine storm.
• The President has only given 90 million dollars to deal with an outbreak. Secretary of Health, Mike Leavitt, has conceeded that's not enough to find first cases (necessary to make a vaccine) and not enough for state and county prepardness.
• Some Avian Flu strains have been sensitive to Amantadine, an all ready available, over-the-counter, and cheap anti-viral. In other cases Relenza, and Tamiflu might work.
• fluwikie.com is pretty cool, though not mentioned in the presentation
.

I have to wonder what "agenda" Google has for making Larry Brilliant Executive Director of Google.org. When there is finally a pandemic outbreak of influenza will the vaccine be free and come with a Google logo on it? You are part of the mystery.