World View-Hepatitis C: Late-Blooming Boomer Epidemic?

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com:

• American bloggers confuse ‘Chechnya’ with ‘Czech Republic’
• Krugman in 2002: The Fed should create a housing bubble
• Hepatitis C: The hidden epidemic for the Boomer generation

American bloggers confuse ‘Chechnya’ with ‘Czech Republic’

In yesterday’s report, “20-Apr-13 World View — Generational analysis of Boston Marathon bombings”, I paraphrased the famous remark by AmbroseBierce as “Terrorism is God’s way of teaching geography to Americans.”Well, apparently the problem is worse than I though, and the educationprocess has begun.

Since the announcement that the two BostonMarathon bombers had origins in Chechnya, dozens of bloggers have beenposting messages to Twitter and Facebook, accusing the Czechs ofterrorism and even calling for US retaliation against the CzechRepublic. Ambassador Petr Gandalovic has posted the following messageon the web site for the Czech embassy in Washington: 

As many I was deeply shocked by the tragedy thatoccurred in Boston earlier this month. It was a stark reminder ofthe fact that any of us could be a victim of senseless violenceanywhere at any moment. 

As more information on the origin of the alleged perpetrators iscoming to light, I am concerned to note in the social media a mostunfortunate misunderstanding in this respect. The Czech Republicand Chechnya are two very different entities – the Czech Republicis a Central European country; Chechnya is a part of the RussianFederation. 

As the President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman noted in hismessage to President Obama, the Czech Republic is an active andreliable partner of the United States in the fight againstterrorism. We are determined to stand side by side with our alliesin this respect, there is no doubt about that.

This isn’t the first time that American bloggers needed educationabout geography. After the 2008 Russian invasion of the SouthCaucasus nation of Georgia, bloggers posted messages about Russiainvading the U.S. state of Georgia. Ria Novosti andCzech Republic Embassy

Krugman in 2002: The Fed should create a housing bubble

In 2002, famous left-wing economics pundit Paul Krugman wrote a columnin which he advocated that the Fed and the Bush administration takesteps to create a housing bubble. His reasoning was that consumerswould be able to refinance their houses and use the money to purchasethings in shopping malls, which would improve the economy. Soapparently Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman specificallyadvocated policies that created the huge financial crisis that’s stillongoing. 

Today he’s advocating the same kinds of policies — create and spendtrillions more dollars, and go into debt with no limits. Having beenan intellectual force in creating one disaster, he’s doing everythinghe can to convince the Fed and the Obama administration to create aneven worse disaster. 

Krugman is not someone that anyone would accuse of knowing anythingabout economics. But no matter. He had one important qualification– his deep hatred of President Bush — and that qualification wasenough for the intellectuals in the Nobel Prize committee to award himthe Nobel prize. Huffington Post

Hepatitis C: The hidden epidemic for the Boomer generation

Among the ways that the deadly Hepatitis C virus are using dirty drugneedles, or by sharing the straws used to snort cocaine. The virusmay do nothing for years after infection, and then attack the liver,causing life-threatening liver disease or liver cancer. 

The HepatitisC virus is an inner-city and drug-user epidemic: Infection among IVdrug users is estimated at 60 percent and in the prison population atabout 50 percent. However, a startling new CDC study shows that thereis a Hepatitis C epidemic in the making among the Boomer generation. 

During the 1960s, and especially during the 1967 “Summer of Love,”many teen Boomers experimented with sex and drugs. Even oneexperiment with drugs can be enough to be infected with the virus, andnow many of these Boomers are developing liver disease, requiring aliver transplant. According to one researcher: 

“This is an iceberg problem. We see only a small partof the problem now — the tip, those ill or needing livertransplants — and that’s very frightening. But probably 10 timesthat number have an underlying, smoldering disease and areasymptomatic. And most of these people are walking around withouta clue they’re infected.”

Boomers are now considered to be a “high risk group” for Hepatitis C,and are encouraged to be screened for the virus. Health Day

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