thanks Erin

Consumed: Viral Inflection
by Rob Walker
The New York Times Magazine
May 21, 2009

A design inspired by pandemic paranoia is one way for style rebels to reject the traditional necktie, with panache.

…”Terminal Illness” is the name of one of the most recent designs from Bethany Shorb, a Detroit artist, and the fact that it has a title is a good indicator that it is not a traditional tie. What at first glance resembles an abstract pattern well within the vernacular of the necktie aesthetic is, rather, a repeated image of the swine-flu virus connected by shapes based on international-airport-terminal diagrams.

A tie called “Snoutbreak!” features a simpler graphic that clearly suggests a pig”™s nose; if you order this tie, you get a matching surgical mask free. These offerings from Shorb”™s Cyberoptix Tie Lab were made available in early May, when the swine-flu freakout was at its height and the director general of the World Health Organization had recently warned that a pandemic had the potential to threaten “all of humanity.” … Read the full article here.

Swine Flu + Zombies = Global Ghoul Pandemic!!!
by David Emery
Urban Legends Blog
May 4, 2009

A news story credited to the BBC reports that a new strain of the H1N1 flu virus has emerged, dubbed “H1Z1” by health authorities, or “zombie swine flu.”

“After death,” the article asserts, “this virus is able to restart the heart of it”™s [sic] victim for up to two hours after the initial demise of the person where the individual behaves in extremely violent ways from what is believe to be a combination of brain damage and a chemical released into blood during ‘resurrection.'”

Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch blog labeled the story “hilarious but totally bogus,” an assessment with which I was inclined to concur until I learned that an electronic road sign was spotted over the weekend in Colchester, Vermont flashing the words, “EFF SWINE FLU. ZOMBIE INVASION!!!!! TURN BACK.”

Local authorities say that warning, too, is a hoax, but how do we know they aren’t just co-conspirators in a plot to zombify the entire population of the world?

photo: Burlington Free Press

Related links:

thanks Toni

Swine Flu Spam and Phishing Attacks
By Tony Bradley, CISSP-ISSAP
About.com
April, 27 2009

Attackers May Prey on Fears of Swine Flu Pandemic

You may have seen the ‘Breaking News’ throughout the weekend regarding the deaths in Mexico from the swine flu and the announcement by Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, that the United States has declared a public health emergency after confirmed cases of the swine flu in New York, Texas, and California among other states.

Fears of a pandemic are nothing new. In 2003 we had SARS. In 2006 the world was afraid that the H5N1 strain of the bird flu could become a pandemic.

It may seem a little extreme to stoke fears of pandemic every time someone gets a flu. However, we do expect organizations like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), Department of Homeland Security, and others to be aware of the possibilities and take proactive action to both contain what outbreaks there are and to properly prepare for the potential spread of the virus.

I will exercise an appropriate amount of caution and keep my fingers crossed that this too shall pass. I’ll leave it to the medical experts to decide whether swine flu is a pandemic, or even an epidemic, and how we should respond. But, where I will intercede is to tell you to beware of the words ‘swine’ and ‘flu’ in your email inbox. (more…)