Saturday, November 12, 2011

Occupy Wall Street...Is Hazardous to Your Health

It's been a bad few weeks for the Occupy movement - a homicide in Oakland, a suicide in San Diego, two drug overdose-related deaths in Toronto, and one unexplained death in Oklahoma City. Sad, but not unexpected for such a broad movement. However, there is something more disturbing rising from this movement...

Since at least the 19th Century, public health officials have fought hard to educate the public of the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation. It was observed that people living in cramped, unsanitary conditions caused the fast, virulent spread of deadly airborne diseases. As a result, cities and towns set about developing a system of public sewage disposal, indoor toilets, public parks, and the aggressive education of the need for proper hygiene. The simple act of washing one's hands has save more lives than all the antibiotics in the world. In the last 50 years, the Plague, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, tuberculosis and many other diseases have all but been eradicated from the "first world" because of these agressive public health systems. Airborne diseases like influenza, that wiped out nearly 16 million people in 1918, are, today, just inconveniences for healthy people.

So why the public health history lesson? Well, as they say, when one does not understand history, one is doomed to repeat it. And when a group of people who have been raised in a world where major problems of public health have progressed to the dangers of "transfats" and "obesity", it is not even in their thought process that there is a reason for proper sanitation beyond the smell. Okay, I will get to my point - the Occupy movement has become a matter of public health! In the last few weeks, there has been an alarming rise in reported cases of airborne and sexually transmitted diseases running rampant through the Occupy camps. Respiratory ailments are so prevalent at the Occupy Wall Street camp that medical professionals have a name for it - "Zuccotti Lung". More disturbing is the antibiotic-resistant strain of tuberculosis that cropped up at Occupy Atlanta. And now, the occupiers are hunkering down for the Winter. Big military-style tents began to crop up at Zuccotti Park this week and it is rumored that there are bunkbeds coming to fill them. No running water, no proper toilet facilities, and cramped, closed quarters - the only thing left is a an outbreak of cholera, and we will be right back to the 19th Century. The health department has shut down businesses for not keeping soup at the proper temperature. Is it going to take a typhoid epidemic for our Mayor to do something?

208 comments:

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AndrewPrice said...

Zuccotti Lung! Wow. Of course, any sane person would realize there's a reason the rest of us really, really like things like showers and toilets. But I guess that escapes them.

One thing is for sure, the Boy Scouts wouldn't have had this problem!

The STDs don't surprise me either because that was inevitable with this crew. They aren't exactly a particularly "moral bunch" and I don't think needle sharing is helping either.

AndrewPrice said...

P.S. Bev, Do you mind if we hijack your thread later for the debate? (CBS 8:00 PM EST)?

BevfromNYC said...

Please feel free use my thread, but can we not use the H-word? It's so unduly aggressive and it might cause the DHS to shut us down! ;-)

BevfromNYC said...

Andrew - You are absolutely right that the Boy Scouts wouldn't be having these problems. And I suspect that there aren't very many Scouts in the movement anyway. What is surprising is all the medical professionals involved in this movement and who have volunteered their time at OWS who don't seem to know much about public health themselves!

AndrewPrice said...

Sorry Bev, can we please "involuntarily-confiscate-to-another-location" (ICTAL) your thread! Or is it just "man-made-relocationists"? ;)


By the way, I saw a great quote from Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) about the OWS people today:

Everybody’s been too damn polite about this nonsense:

The “Occupy”movement, whether displaying itself on Wall Street or in the streets of Oakland (which has, with unspeakable cowardice, embraced it) is anything but an exercise of our blessed First Amendment. “Occupy” is nothing but a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists, an unruly mob, fed by Woodstock-era nostalgia and putrid false righteousness. These clowns can do nothing but harm America.

“Occupy” is nothing short of a clumsy, poorly-expressed attempt at anarchy, to the extent that the “movement” – HAH! Some “movement”, except if the word “bowel” is attached – is anything more than an ugly fashion statement by a bunch of iPhone, iPad wielding spoiled brats who should stop getting in the way of working people and find jobs for themselves.

This is no popular uprising. This is garbage. And goodness knows they’re spewing their garbage – both politically and physically – every which way they can find.

Wake up, pond scum. America is at war against a ruthless enemy.


Ouch!!

AndrewPrice said...

Bev, That's a really good point. They claim to have help from all kinds of professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.) and yet either no one is offering their skills or no one is listening?

Anonymous said...

Bev: Public health is a major factor. But just remember that most major cities (San Francisco in the forefront) leave homeless people wallowing in their own filth in alleys and encampments, worrying more about offending bums than about protecting public health. I'll be surprised if they use the obvious public health issue as their excuse for removing the trash (human and otherwise), if they remove it at all.

One of the slogans of the hippies in the 60s was "cleanliness is next to nothing." The hippies were hygiene personified next to this generation of filthmeisters.

DUQ said...

Woot woot! A debate tonight!

Bev, Be careful going near those people because soon you'll be hearing about second-hand Zuccotti. ;D

BevfromNYC said...

LawHawk - this movement is just the grandchild of the Haight-Ashbury crowd - mostly overeducated, upper middle class white children who are rebelling against growing up.

BevfromNYC said...

DUQ - I already have second-hand Zuccotti lung...
I thought the smell was just a myth perpetrated by "The Man". But I walked across the street and downwind this week and let's just say, it is sooo not a myth...yipe!

tryanmax said...

Andrew, Bev, what we are trying to do here is build consensus on redistribution of this thread from the Bourgeois bloggers to the Proletariat commenters. You can't see it, but I'm doing Zuccotti jazz-hands right now.

AndrewPrice said...

Zuccotti jazz hands. LOL!

Are you ready for the debate? It looks like it's only going to be an hour long and based on foreign policy. No wonder they dumped it on a Saturday night!

tryanmax said...

You know me, Mr. Saturday Night with my two toddlers.

tryanmax said...

But wait, I thought foreign policy was so important that Cain is automatically disqualified for not having any.

AndrewPrice said...

That sounds like what the debate moderators are thinking... stuck with a bunch of toddlers.

AndrewPrice said...

So it's 90 minutes! My TV lied to me!

tryanmax said...

Notice their little montage ahead of the debate? Nothing inaccurate, but boiling each candidate's platform down like that ahead of the show puts most people in a frame of mind. Just my communications background showing.

DUQ said...

I wonder what the ratings will be with this being a Saturday night?

Anonymous said...

Mine too.

BevfromNYC said...

I think the best thing to come out of the Occupy movement is the "jazz hands". Nothing says "militant anarchy" like good choreography.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, That's true. Everything is set up to make sure you aren't expecting a game show.

Do the podiums strike anyone as a game show?

tryanmax said...

Fosse!

AndrewPrice said...

Forget that, I'm not going on line for the last half hour. Jerks.

Anonymous said...

The last half-hour won't be on the network, you'll have to get it on streaming video from cbs.com

tryanmax said...

"Please state your answers in the form of a question."

AndrewPrice said...

NUKE IRAN, BABY!!!!

Anonymous said...

Cain emphasizes supporting the Iranian freedom movement before any military action. Good thinking.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, "What is nuke Iran?"

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, That's a horrible ideas isn't it? Who is going to switch to their internet to watch the second half?

tryanmax said...

I love the way Cain pronounces "Ohl."

Anonymous said...

Sanctions only work if everybody is in on it. Russia and China make sanctions ineffective, and work to their advantage.

tryanmax said...

Andrew, I give up.

Anonymous said...

tryanmax: I had an office manager from Texas who pronounes it awl.

AndrewPrice said...

Did Romney actually say anything?

Anonymous said...

A moderator admits error. Hallelujah!

tryanmax said...

I can imagine a policy to dump American oil into the market such that Iran can't keep up, but now I'm reading my own fantasies into the answers.

Romney said...

He should have built credible action to create an affirmative zone to encourage others to participate in the medium which might achieve out goals.

Anonymous said...

Romney won't put war on the table, but given where we are and what we know, saying he would go to war is premature.

tryanmax said...

Romney basically said, given the choice, I'll take both.

AndrewPrice said...

How long do you think it take Romeny to order a sandwich? And how many sentences does he use?

Anonymous said...

Newt's turn. He says Romney and Cain both have superior thinking to Obama's.

tryanmax said...

Newt can has LOLZ!

AndrewPrice said...

Newt -- "maximum covert operations."

I have to say I like that answer.

AndrewPrice said...

Oh oh... Paul.

"We should be friends."

Anonymous said...

Good for Newt. Someone who advocates using covert activities.

tryanmax said...

That's an answer that even Dems I know would like. The old, "Do what you must but don't tell me about it."

AndrewPrice said...

Oddly, that made sense.

tryanmax said...

kumbaya

AndrewPrice said...

sanctions don't work... never have.

Anonymous said...

Perry adds sanctioning the Iranian National Bank. Not bad.

AndrewPrice said...

You can't secure Afghanistan.

AndrewPrice said...

Perry doesn't seem drunk tonight.

Anonymous said...

Andrew: I agree (as above). But freezing Iranian assets would help a little. In most other areas, sanctions are a waste of time.

Tam said...

I like that he called O out for lack of support of the military.

tryanmax said...

WTF is "endless stamina for victory"?

tryanmax said...

Perry does seem really nervous, though.

AndrewPrice said...

So Santorum wants to win the Afghan civil war.

Anonymous said...

Santorum thinks the defeat of the Taliban would secure Afghanistan. It won't.

AndrewPrice said...

Howdy Tam!

Tam said...

blah blah blah...Santorum needs to quit.

AndrewPrice said...

If only the world had listened to Santorum, nothing bad would ever have happened.

Anonymous said...

Santorum demand more time to babble. But at least he supports Israel.

Anonymous said...

Bachmann revisits the surge.

AndrewPrice said...

Does Bachmann look like she just got back from a funeral to anyone?

tryanmax said...

Bachmann is being too specific. That's gonna lose many people.

AndrewPrice said...

Publicly Setting a time table pis truly stupid.

tryanmax said...

Give her an analyst job.

Anonymous said...

But Bachmann also raises the issue of absolute withdrawal dates and the problems with insurgents in Pakistan.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, True. The difference between 40k and 30k and which provinces won't mean anything to people.

AndrewPrice said...

I think Huntsman is right... and I hate that.

Anonymous said...

Huntsman channels Obama.

Ripley said...

"Pull out now and nuke the country from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

AndrewPrice said...

We've been negotiating with them for years.

tryanmax said...

Donkeys bray. What does the rino say?

Anonymous said...

Andrew: You're right, and now he is at least adding the intelligence and covert activities necessity, and preparedness for outbreaks. Afghanistan is a problem nobody can solve without careful planning for new eventualities.

tryanmax said...

Timetable, timetable, blah, blah, blah.

AndrewPrice said...

It's a sh*thole that isn't worth any American lives.

Newt is right -- you can't win this!

AndrewPrice said...

BINGO!!!

Anonymous said...

Newt ties the success of the Taliban to the terrorist camps in Pakistan. Realistic.

AndrewPrice said...

This is a huge problem that needs to be solved region wise. We can't solve this by just killing a couple guys in caves.

tryanmax said...

Thank you, Newt, for saying that the Middle East is not solvable by a soundbite.

AndrewPrice said...

Nice work Herm! I concur.

Tam said...

I like that answer...what commitments will Pakistan make. Hold them to it, regional strategy.

Anonymous said...

Cain seems to have prepared well for discussion of Pakistan as it relates to the Afghanistan-area problem.

tryanmax said...

Mr. Perry, can you read minds?

AndrewPrice said...

Huh? Foreign aid?

Tam said...

I like that answer too. $0.

Anonymous said...

Perry wants to cut foreign aid to those countries who oppose us or covertly undermine us. I like that.

tryanmax said...

Romney looks constipated. I had to say it.

Perry said...

Yes, we should stop our foreign aid the Taliban until they get honest with us.

AndrewPrice said...

I too like the idea of $0 in foreign aid, but that's not the answer to the Pakistan problem.

Tam said...

true...but I like the idea :)

tryanmax said...

I agree with Perry that our foreign aid system (if you can call it that) is totally messed-up and sends mixed messages to the world.

Anonymous said...

Perry also says "foreign aid" should emphasize actual work rather than money given to profligate governments who may not even support us. I like that too.

T-Rav Update said...

7 Mississippi
0 Louisiana Tech

(2nd Quarter)

Tam said...

Nice reference to O's "friends"

tryanmax said...

All the candidates are doing well in describing the Middle East as complicated and convoluted.

AndrewPrice said...

Tam, Tryanmax and Lawhawk, I don't disagree. I think the system is broken and should be fixed and I don't know why we're paying anything.

But that isn't he answer to how we fix Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran.

Anonymous said...

Newt agrees with Perry. It's not the only answer, but it's a good start. $0 if you oppose us, help if you support us.

tryanmax said...

Thanks, Tam. I missed that. (Toddlers.)

tryanmax said...

YES! "Arab Spring" is not all sunshine and flowers.

AndrewPrice said...

Good answer Newt.

Anonymous said...

Newt agrees with me (LOL). The Arab Spring is quickly becoming the Anti-Christian Spring.

AndrewPrice said...

Rick... quit.

tryanmax said...

Andrew, you're right, it's no fix, which was the question (sort of). But no fix would be complete without addressing it.

AndrewPrice said...

What is he talking about? There is a HUGE difference between 20 idiots acting as terrorist and a country that hates us and is undermining us.

tryanmax said...

I'm sorry, did that male mannequin they put on stage say something?

Anonymous said...

Santorum is showing at least a basic understanding of realpolitik. We must keep Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in the fold, but he doesn't have a good plan for how to do that.

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, I agree. Rick gets the ultimate issue, but doesn't know how to get there except "keep doing what we're doing, it will all work out."

Anonymous said...

While they're taking the break, I have to continue to be impressed by Gingrich's steadfastness and deep knowledge of another area of presidential power and world politics.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, It definitely is part of the whole package that needs to be fixed.

tryanmax said...

Santorum is doing all the convolution that make it impossible to have a serious discussion about the ME. I didn't expect that from him. That's usually a leftist tactic. I guess the difference is that he's doing it by accident.

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, I agree with that. Newt continues to impress.

In fact, none of them seem really out of their depth here, but I do have to note that few of them have said much more than "get 'em" or and "stop sending them money."

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, That's been his style in the prior debates too, he's 100% acting like a politician.

AndrewPrice said...

Great answer Newt!

Anonymous said...

Newt ain't gonna bite, Mr. Moderator. "Every single one of us is better than Barack Obama."

tryanmax said...

This is why Newt is gaining in the polls.

Anonymous said...

Taking on the "absurdities" of the UN. CHEERS!

tryanmax said...

And that is jobs, and legitimate government.

tryanmax said...

(Talkin' 'bout the navy.)

AndrewPrice said...

That's a good answer by Cain. Very smart answer to an impossible question.

tryanmax said...

Cain's answer: the conservative approach in a nutshell. Nice!

AndrewPrice said...

"I don't hire people who disagree with me."

BAD ANSWER... those are called "yes men."

tryanmax said...

Sadly, we are still confused about what Santorum believes.

Anonymous said...

Cain makes a good argument for having top advisers. But so did Kennedy prior to the Bay of Pigs. They even called themselves "the best and brightest." At some point, a crisis that requires an immediate decision from the Commander-in-Chief will be required, and there may not be time to consult all your advisors.

AndrewPrice said...

Cain says: I want a lot of opinions.

Santorum says: I want an echo.


Who do you trust?

tryanmax said...

Good joke, Perry. Well played.

Anonymous said...

Perry remembers the Department of Energy. Good laughs all around.

AndrewPrice said...

Ok, props for being funny.

tryanmax said...

Good point, Lawhawk, especially in light of how they framed the debate at the outset, talking about crises that occurred in the first 100 days.

Anonymous said...

Perry is right about there being plenty of departments which could handle nuclear issues without relying on the useless Department of Energy. Eliminate it.

tryanmax said...

At the same time, not a bad answer.

AndrewPrice said...

So Perry plans to bring Texans National Guard people to advise him in Washington?

tryanmax said...

Que the gotcha questions.

tryanmax said...

Or is that "cue"?

AndrewPrice said...

Solid answer by Cain on torture.

Anonymous said...

Oh, boy. Here comes the "torture" debate again. I oppose torture, Cain opposes torture. So who gets to define torture? Cain would rely on the military to draw the line. Maybe right, maybe not.

AndrewPrice said...

I think it's "cue".

Anonymous said...

Cain would bring back waterboarding. Good (I know several people here disagree).

AndrewPrice said...

The ACLU runs the CIA?

Anonymous said...

Bachmann: Good line. The ACLU is being allowed to run the CIA.

tryanmax said...

Yeah, this isn't "Do you support torture?" This is "How do you define torture?" Stupid question.

Tam said...

I don't disagree. I have a bumper sticker that says "I'd rather be waterboarding." It's effective.

tryanmax said...

...and proving my point. Thanks Ron.

Anonymous said...

Paul says waterboarding is torture. His definition of torture obviously is at odds with Cain's. I'm with Cain.

tryanmax said...

Siberia is where Huntsman belongs.

tryanmax said...

Again, not asking them if they oppose torture, just asking them to define it. Grrrr!

Anonymous said...

Huntsman agrees with Paul. Uh, oh. We're outnumbered.

AndrewPrice said...

Of course absolutely. If you go to war with the US, you die.

AndrewPrice said...

and the strongest Mutual Fund.

Anonymous said...

Perry would shoot 'em all because this should be the American Century. Huh?

tryanmax said...

Isn't dying torture?

AndrewPrice said...

So many hedgewords, but the sentiment is ok.

Tam said...

Good job Newt!!!!!

AndrewPrice said...

+100 for Newt!

Anonymous said...

Newt takes the ball and runs with "he is fighting against America, so he's not an 'alleged' terrorist." If you engage in war with America, you are an enemy combatant not subject to civilian rules of law.

tryanmax said...

Newt has a clear view on these things. I like.

AndrewPrice said...

Well said Newt!

Anonymous said...

Quoting Reagan ain't gonna help you, Rick.

AndrewPrice said...

Huh? Is virtues like "fluid essence"?


P-O-E

AndrewPrice said...

I can't help but think this would have been done better in a series of interviews.

Anonymous said...

Romney would avoid a cold war with China by making markets accessible. I'm not sure that's a complete answer by any means.

tryanmax said...

What is P-O-E?

AndrewPrice said...

All good points. So what do you do?

tryanmax said...

Perry's is a non-answer, it's a sidestep. Pthzzz.

Anonymous said...

Romney wants China to play by the rules. I agree. Now, how do we get them to do that?

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, It's a reference to Dr. Strangelove.

tryanmax said...

Sorry, I meant Romney.

tryanmax said...

It's been too long. I'll have to watch it again.

AndrewPrice said...

"we can't just sit back..."

great, but WHAT DO YOU DO?!

Anonymous said...

Romney actually thinks the WTO would do anything about China's currency manipulation. He has more faith than I do in international organizations.

AndrewPrice said...

His whole speech about virtue came across as the speech by the insane general in Dr. Strangelove about his fluid essences being sapped by communism, i.e. erectile dysfunction.

tryanmax said...

Huntsman believes the internet is magic, and that it will save us.

Anonymous said...

Huntsman loves small businesses in America, so let's not go into a trade war with China. OK, but give us a plan than doesn't include surrender.

Tam said...

Huntsman: The children are the future! La la la

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, They actually do issue ruling like that all the time, but people ignore it.

Also, most finance people are saying China actually isn't holding their currency down anymore.

So the WTO answer is an evasion -- nothing will happen... after 10 years of litigation.

tryanmax said...

Andrew, LOLZ!

AndrewPrice said...

"integrity" of 60 Minutes?

Since when?

Anonymous said...

Andrew: I agree about them making rulings, but they're rulings without teeth. It's not the the WTO might not act so much as it might act, and it's meaningless. Good point about ten years of litigation coming to nothing.

AndrewPrice said...

Whoops. A lot of people are going to hate that.

AndrewPrice said...

He needs to stop going back to that "I was stupid" point.

tryanmax said...

Actually talking about zero-based budgeting. Unheard of! The conversation really has changed.

AndrewPrice said...

He's channeling George W. Bush right now.

AndrewPrice said...

Wheel of Fortune!! WTF

Anonymous said...

Well, that's it for the debate for much of the nation. Now you'll have to stream the rest, and my download speeds are so bad that I won't even try.

tryanmax said...

Anyone sticking around for the internet part?

Tam said...

I'm still here, if my feed comes back.

AndrewPrice said...

Let me say again, this would have been better handled as a series of interviews rather than a debate. Too little time was given to each person and not enough follow up.

AndrewPrice said...

Ok, I've got it.

tryanmax said...

Nevermind, my feed is unwatchable. I'm out.

AndrewPrice said...

this is a lousy feed.

AndrewPrice said...

Me too.

Thanks for coming everyone.

tryanmax said...

Of course, they save the Israel questions until after the broadcast part.

Anonymous said...

If intelligence, quick wits, in-depth knowledge and unflappability were the only criteria for a presidential candidate, I would be forming a Newt for President committee right now. He stood out above all the other debaters. But practical politics still say he may have too much baggage to be a viable candidate. Still, I would give him much more consideration than I would have just a month ago. And I'd support him enthusiastically if he were to win the nomination.

tryanmax said...

They shoulda done what Hulu does, allow the user to set their own bit rate. Oh well.

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, Same here. I have my doubts about Newt, but he has moved up a lot in my estimation and I would enthusiastically support him in the general election.

Tam said...

Lindsey graham is proud of each and every one of the candidates for running for pres. I'm sure they are all glad for the affirmation.

Tam said...

and, my feed is terrible now. I'm probably going to have to leave.

AndrewPrice said...

Tam, Just he doesn't start handing out lollipops!

T-Rav said...

Okay, first off, who was impersonating me with their faux sockpuppet? Only I can do that. (not really)

Second, the Ole Miss-Louisiana Tech game was Teh Suck. 27-7 defeat for us, against an unranked team we should have beaten, and it was chilly and windy the whole time. Bleh.

Third, I gather from the comments nobody did badly tonight in the debate, but Newt did very well? And I still want to know what idiot scheduled a debate for tonight.

Also, good post, Bev.

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