Ni siquiera le dieron tiempo de defenderse

Rafael MORALES MAGAÑA / EL MEXICANOlunes, 07 de septiembre de 2009

TIJUANA.- Sin darle tiempo de defenderse, sicarios que viajaban en una pick up Chevrolet Silverado 2005 blanca sin placas, asesinaron a un hombre al anochecer del domingo, en la delegación San Antonio de los Buenos.

El occiso viajaba en un sedan Honda 1994, azul, con placas de California, quien fue interceptado en la calle Benito Juárez del poblado La Gloria.

Éste recibió varios balazos en cabeza y tórax, pero aún así hizo el intento de contestar el fuego con una pistola escuadra negra, pero expiró antes de disparar.

La camioneta fue localizada poco después en la quinta sección del fraccionamiento Santa Fe , de la misma jurisdicción.
http://www.el-mexicano.com.mx/noticias/estatal/2009/09/07/367068/ni-siquiera-le-dieron-tiempo-de-defenderse.aspx

Ejecutan a dos personas
Hieren de gravedad a otras dos
El Sol de Tijuana 7 de septiembre de 2009 por Manuel Cordero

Tijuana.- Siguen incontenibles las ejecuciones violentas por parte de integrantes del crimen organizado que operan en la ciudad. Dos personas fueron ejecutadas y heridas de suma gravedad igual número al ser atacadas a balazos en dos diferentes hechos ocurridos la noche del domingo.

Un primer evento se registró a las 19:00 horas en calles de la colonia La Gloria, en la delegación San Antonio de los Buenos, en donde fueron acribilladas con proyectiles de arma de fuego tres personas no identificadas, de las que sólo se obtuvo viajaban en una vagoneta de modelo reciente.

Se habla de que sorpresivamente se les emparejaron dos vehículos tipo pick up con varios sujetos a bordo que sin más comenzaron a dispararles con rifles de alto poder y en el momento dejar sumamente malheridos a los tres pasajeros, cuya identidad no fue posible obtener.

Momentos después arribaron socorristas de la Cruz Roja quienes les suministraron los primeros auxilios y de inmediato los trasladaron a sus instalaciones para su debida atención médica, sin embargo, momentos después uno de los lesionados dejó de existir.

30 minutos después fue abatido, aparentemente, con proyectiles de rifle AK-47 conocido como “cuerno de chivo” y AR-15 calibre 223 otro individuo no reconocido, mismo que viajaba en un pick up King Cab de doble cabina y modelo reciente sobre la calle Paseo Alicante, de la quinta sección de la colonia Santa Fe, en la misma demarcación municipal antes citada.

Inesperadamente lo “rafaguearon” por el lado del conductor privándolo de la vida de forma súbita al impactarlo en múltiples ocasiones, por el que el vehículo sin control de proyectó con su vértice frontal derecho contra la parte posterior de un automóvil ahí estacionado.

Cabe resaltar que al cierre de esta edición no se había presentado a la escena del crimen el agente del Ministerio Público del Fuero Común para llevar a cabo la fe ministerial del cuerpo y en ambos casos no se proporcionó ninguna información por parte de las autoridades municipales y estatales.
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldetijuana/notas/n1315154.htm

Salam Ramadhan,

La Gloria, Mexico

An enlightening article from thestar.com.my, regarding the initial outbreak of influenza A(H1N1) in Mexico.

Noted that it first appeared in a commercial pig farming community in a little Mexican village named La Gloria.

A little village of 3,000 inhabitants, but with 72 farms partially owned by US-based Smithfield Foods, Inc. – the largest producer of pork in the world!

And to this day, the first boy diagnosed with the virus, Édgar Hernández is still alive and kicking.

Edgar Hernandez, world's first confirmed A(H1N1) patient.

So it’s got to do with pig right? Read more…

Sunday August 16, 2009

First A (H1N1) victim seen as symbol of hope

By JOSEPH LOH

AS EARLY as February this year, the inhabitants of a little Mexican village by the name of La Gloria started having influenza-like illnesses (ILI) – it was estimated that more than half of La Gloria’s 3,000 residents fell ill throughout the next few months.

According to US-based bio-surveillance firm, Veratect, Mexican authorities only began to take notice of the outbreak on April 6 after more than 400 residents sought medical care for ILI.

The residents who were worse-off than others were diagnosed with acute respiratory infections and given antibiotics and masks. For reasons undetermined, Mexican health officials downplayed the outbreak, and said it was a widespread infection of the regular flu.

Five-year-old resident Édgar Hernández holds the dubious honour of being the world’s first confirmed case of A (H1N1) infection. He came down with the disease on April 2, but his tests were not confirmed until much later on May 17. Interestingly, Jorge Brandy, spokesman for the state of Veracruz, says a statue of the boy will be erected in the central park of La Gloria – not to glorify the dire situation, but as a symbol of hope.

Residents of La Gloria widely believe that the disease was brought about because of surrounding commercial pig farms, and early reports said it could be due to poor farming practices at 72 farms partially owned by US-based Smithfield Foods, Inc. – the largest producer of pork in the world. The company has stated that it vaccinates its herd, and has found no signs of A (H1N1) in its herd or any of its employees in Mexico.

It was only on April 12 that the General Directorate of Epidemiology (DGE) reported the outbreak of ILI to the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the regional office of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Coincidentally, that day marked the death of Adela María Gutiérrez Cruz, 39, in the city of San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca – which was later confirmed to be the first A (H1N1)-related fatality.

However, the new A (H1N1) viral strain had not yet been confirmed, and it was not until April 17 that the Mexican government contacted Canada’s National Microbiology Lab to test samples to determine the cause of the illness.

The hard reality hit a week later when the Canadian Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq held a press conference to announce that they had tested samples from Mexico, and confirmed them to be a novel (new) strain of A (H1N1). At the same conference, Dr David Butler Jones, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, announced that the same strain of virus was found in similar cases in the US.

The WHO followed with an announcement, and the beginnings of a global pandemic was under way.

On April 27, all schools throughout Mexico were mandated to close, but by then the country already had 26 confirmed cases, including seven deaths.

We had a great time at the press event held at Museo Alameda today. La Gloria will be a successful event! The air was full of energy and people are really getting excited!

Gabriel talking with WOAI about La Gloria

Amber modeling Agosto Cuellar's design

Gabriel, the founder and coordinator of La Gloria comfortably made his way around the room. He shared his passion and vision of La Gloria with several media outlets. Here, he is talking to WOAI.

Our saucy Ms. Amber brought the heat in one of Agosto Cuellar’s creations. She is new to the modeling scene but delivers with a powerful punch. You go Amber!

Of course, it can’t be all fun with no work. I caught Mari and Pablo discussing the technical aspects of La Gloria. Preparing for a killer event takes lots of prep time. Mari is assisting Agosto(JiveRefried) with the fashion show, and Pablo Rosalez will be creating a show of fascinating hair. He is one of San Antonio’s most unique stylist.

The planning never stops...

I was able to stop these    two  social butterflies for a quick pic. Agosto from JiveRefried poses with Amber who is wearing Agosto’s very own creation.

Agosto and Amber

Gabriel shares the podium with the councilman from District 5…I should know his name….ohh but look! That is artist Robert Wilkens work behind them! nice

The Fashionistas gather

There was so much going on, but to wrap up the event Amber, Agosto, Regina (fashionshow extrodinare/model) and DeAnna with Deeva Designs pose for one last picture. Great shot guys! To see all the pictures from the day visit my facebook and take a look

Se enfrentan a balazos policías y delincuentes; hieren a 2 civiles

* Luis G. Andrade

Una mujer y un hombre heridos durante un enfrentamiento armado entre policías municipales y delincuentes en Tijuana son atendidos en una ambulancia de la Cruz Roja. (Foto: AP).

TIJUANA, Baja California(PH)
Cerca de la media noche de este sábado se registró un enfrentamiento entre policías municipales y hombres armados en la colonia La Gloria, en el cual resultaron lesionados dos civiles que se encontraban en el fuego cruzado.

La Policía Municipal informó que alrededor de las 23:45 horas del sábado se reportó que en la avenida Padre Hidalgo de la colonia antes mencionada, oficiales que viajaban en dos patrullas fueron emboscados.

Al llegar varias unidades de la misma corporación se entrevistaron con los policías que fueron atacados, quienes manifestaron que al momento de estar atendiendo un reporte varios carros se estacionaron atrás de las patrullas y de ahí comenzaron a realizar las detonaciones.

Los agentes municipales bajaron de las patrullas y repelieron la agresión; pero en ese momento dos personas que se encontraban en un vehículo descendieron de este para intentar cubrirse pero resultaron lesionados, son los de nombre Luis Fernando “N”, de 17 años y Edith Guadalupe Diaz Othón, de 21.

Los agresores al notar que no cumplieron con su objetivo se retiraron del lugar dejando abandonados los vehículos, en cuyo interior había armas de grueso calibre; los oficiales salieron ilesos y sólo las patrullas resultaron impactadas.

Los civiles lesionados fueron trasladados a la Cruz Roja, en donde hasta el momento continúan recibiendo atención médica.

Nota Publicada: 12/07/2009 10:37
http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/12072009/388452.aspx

Deep in the west side of San Antonio there is an uprising coming. A small group of artists numbering no more than 10 gather in an inconspicuous Italian restaurant called Giavanni’s located on S. Brazos. A warm smile and strong hand shake greet me as I am shown to the table where the other conspirators will soon be arriving. See, we all have our day jobs, our professional hats and public faces, but tonight we have decided to gather in the name of art.Our host Gabriel Velasquez has spearheaded this venture to change the way artists are perceived in San Antonio. ( I love a challenge)

I came to see, to observe and to decide if my sparse free time would be justifiably sacrificed to La Gloria.

Gabriel began the meeting by explaining what La Gloria is meant to be, passionately outlining the pitfalls of our current situation as artists. We were not brought together to contribute to this one mans idea of what art is, but rather to contribute to an organically growing idea. What we all think art is.

This unique approach to coordinating La Gloria is what makes it so powerful. There is not one central board or curator to say what is “right” or “artistic” or “masterful” Instead Gabriel has brought together artists from various fields to coordinate part of the event however they interpret it. In fact, it is best to not think of La Gloria as an “event” but as artists making a creative economy.

Stepping out of what is art by someone else’s standards and embracing their talent, marketing it and growing as an artist.

This is not a street celebration of a particular culture, style or medium of art. La Gloria is the evening celebration of the artist’s liberation. The grassroots movement that says our services are valuable and marketable. No longer should an artist be discouraged because key locales will not show our sometimes controversial films or display our paintings.

We have grabbed the reigns of control! Artists can decide how far they want to go. Not based on a particular persons critique, or the exclusion or inclusion to certain venues. Artists can go as far as their will and talent can take them.

The passion for this shift in culture is boiling hot in the blood of so many  around San Antonio. We all want to create, to be part of something.  La Gloria is going to develop into a being all her own. Contrived from the creative collective all so many minds. Helping in her creation will be a work of art that will live on well past my day. She will be born this year, grow and mature annually constantly changing the landscape of San Antonio’s current cultural view. No doubt I will spend countless hours dedicated to La Gloria.

La Gloria is the work of many each giving a little. If you would like to get involved, feel free to visit http://www.myspace.com/lagloriaarts or leave a message on how you would like to contribute. It would be a pleasure to point you to the right person.

http://www.hostallagloria.cl/

Website de Hostal de unos familiares, esta ubicado en Las Termas del Flaco, en San Fernando hacia la Cordillera.

En esta destaco principalmente los servicios del Hostal y también del atractivo que tienen las Aguas termales y sus alrededores inmersos en plena cordillera.

Recomiendo Visitar el lugar 100%

A final word from Pay It Forward, the movie:

“It’s your big chance to fix something–that’s not like your bike…you can fix a person…”

“…Is that what you want for your birthday? For everybody to ‘pay it forward’?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“Sure you can. Why not?”

“It wouldn’t work.  ….I already blew out my candles.”

More now…on the swine flu…

This little piggy went to the market

This little piggy stayed home

This little piggy had roast-beef

This little piggy had none

But this little piggy went “WE WE WE” all the way home…

That’s pig-latin for US, by the way….

The Swine Flu may have originated in February in the village of La Gloria, Mexico

 Yahoo News reports on May 22, 2009   “Some experts say it’s pointless to worry about what happened in La Gloria now that the swine flu virus has spread around the world. But others argue that a thorough investigation could be key to preventing future epidemics.”

“And Mexico has another reason to care: If it can somehow rule out the possibility that La Gloria’s pigs infected humans, then it can tell the world it wasn’t to blame for the epidemic that the never-before-seen H1N1 swine flu virus came from somewhere else.” http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/med_swine_flu_ground_zero.html 

 In La Gloria, Mexico, a four-year old boy’s illness—purported to be the first case of the swine flu—could hold the key in the search for the pandemic’s origin. (The following excerpts were accessed at http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/med_swine_flu_ground_zero.html and at http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124483 )

Sixty per cent of the residents in La Gloria fell ill, making this the convergence of the dis-eased energies—the crisis had begun… The outbreak has now traveled around the world. Edgar Hernandez Hernandez’s illness bore a message. He was treated in a hospital and survived, but two infants died, and 400 local villagers requested medical treatment. They complained of fever, severe cough, and large amounts of phlegm. Ultimately, 1800 cases would emerge from this village from a population of 3,000.

 Let’s dig even deeper. What do the Sabian symbols teach us about this situation? In February, when the first case was reported, the energy of expansion was bringing us this symbolic message:  

 A popularity that proves ephemeral. APPROBATION In its positive orientation, is a gift for bringing the issues of life to a dramatic consummation at a time of crises. However, when negative, it is an energy of prodigal opportunism. Here then is the eternal challenge at every point of climax in experience, and of the swing of the pendulum between an endorsement and a repudiation by the collective. (Marc Edmund Jones)

 So what was going on in La Gloria, you may ask….  Prodigal Opportunism possibly?

 Did you know that the world’s biggest pig meat producer, Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, Inc., has its Granjas Carrol facility just 12 miles outside of the village, where the raw fecal matter from their herds of swine create clouds of flies that come out of the hog barns, and the tons of waste is spewed into lagoons by the Mexican-US company, according to a local newspaper.

A La Gloria resident who spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity yesterday described how illness swept through the village. “Some people started getting ill in February and an eight-month-old baby died,” she said. “After that another baby died on 21 March. Suddenly most of the village got ill. It was weekend and the tiny clinic here was closed. The state health authorities then did send doctors and nurses to look after us, and give us medication.

On 6 April it reported local officials had declared a health alert. According to its dispatch: “Sources characterised the event as a ’strange’ outbreak of acute respiratory infection, which led to pneumonia in some pediatric cases. Officials indicated that 60% of the town’s population, approximately 1,800 cases, has been affected.”

Local health officials established a health cordon around La Gloria and the monitoring company reported that officials launched a spraying and cleaning operation that targeted the fly suspected to be the disease carrier. “State health officials also implemented a vaccination campaign against influenza, although sources noted physicians ruled out influenza as the cause of the outbreak,” it said.

The Sabian symbol for expansion in April explains this humane response in this light:

Nature’s seasonal rhythms imply an oscillation between living and dying. Through creative imagination man can “fly over” the cycle, and discover means not only to escape from the fatality of seasonal decay or deprivation, but to assist other living entities to survive through crises. Here we witness human activity motivated by sympathy overcoming the seasonal phase of impotency. Life potency in nature spirits reaches a higher level in the human being. The theme is THE TRANSMUTATION OF LIFE INTO LOVE.  (Dane Rudhyar)

 Here now is a random chat regarding ‘putting the blame on the other guy’ from http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124483:

These guys are either shitting in their tomato fields or producing infected pigs.

If Mexican food wasn’t one of the greatest things on Earth, Mexico would have to ’splain itself.

I’m glad I grow some of my own veggies. I have six tomato plants started this year. More than enough, last year I was giving them to neighbors.

Yeah I’m getting my garden in now, and in a month or so I’ll harvest my garlic, which I always look forward to.

mmm masitas de puerco ala Veracruzana

Do you raise pigs too?

I’m going to miss my bacon.

Mexican food = Montezuma’s Revenge for this yankee.

Why would you miss bacon. This virus isn’t spread by eating pork.

You need to find a better restaurant.

I was being a smart ass.

my bad

That’s a good candidate for a source.

:vomit

Daisy Cutter?

Was Mr. Burns involved…??? It was reported the farms were partially owned by a U.S. based company.

A majority of Americans likely disagree.

Lax environmental laws and enforcement are a couple of reasons US companies open up shop down there.

 And the twist — the “pig tale” — where it comes back home to roost… what’s happening now? What is expanding now–in May:

 A man turning his back on his passions and teaching from his experience.

 SERENITY  

When positive, this is effective accomplishment through a genuine peace of inner understanding. This is the complete self-obsession which human individuality may exhibit, emphasized here on the side of a sensitiveness to the world and its exactions. Implicit in the symbolism are the values of a generous and broad participation in everyday life, and the necessity that any personal refinement be preserved through the sharing of its rewards. The self assimilates itself to its own higher vision and so achieves an outer selflessness.

 Ruling out the possibility that the swine flu came from La Gloria is not the correct focus—realizing that the swine flu may have come from a US company’s infected swine in La Gloria is. Why? Because the children of La Gloria died to bring a message to light! Out of the mouths of babes. We must be humble and learn to listen to the children of the world… If we try, it appears we can have our bacon and eat it too. Time to start casting pearls before swine, I think.

If you’ve got 10 minutes and 17 seconds, click here:

  Pay It Forward (the ending scenes)

Calling All Angels  

lyrics by Jane Siberry with k.d.lang 

A man is placed upon the steps, a baby cries
and high above the church bells start to ring
and as the heaviness the body oh the heaviness settles in
somewhere you can hear a mother sing

Then it’s one foot then the other as you step out onto the road
how much weight? how much weight?
…then it’s how long? and how far?
and how many times before it’s too late?

Calling all angels, calling all angels
walk me through this one–don’t leave me alone

Calling all angels, calling all angels
we’re cryin’ and we’re hurtin’ –and we’re not sure why…

And every day you gaze upon the sunset
with such love and intensity
it’s almost…it’s almost as if
if you could only crack the code
then you’d finally understand what this all means…

But if you could…do you think you would
trade in all the pain and suffering?
Ah, but then you’d miss
the beauty of the light upon this earth
and the sweetness of the leaving…

Calling all angels, calling all angels
walk me through this one –don’t leave me alone…

Callin’ all angels –callin’ all angels
we’re tryin’, we’re hopin’, we’re hurtin’
we’re lovin’, we’re cryin’, we’re callin’
’cause we’re not sure how this goes…

Rebuscando acerca de los últimos datos de la gripe porcina, he encontrado un artículo muy interesante que me ha creado cierta curiosidad. Son esos datos que nunca salen a la luz por intereses políticos, sociales o económicos que nunca tienen razón de ser, puesto que la población mundial tiene, necesita y tiene derecho a saber de los riesgos a la cual está expuesta.

Siempre se ha hablado, de las posibles causas que han originado la pandemia de la Gripe A o H1N1 denominada Gripe Porcina, se ha hablado fundamentalmente del cambio climático, del mal estado de las granjas porcinas en América Latina, pero nunca han puesto nombre al origen o al punto concreto donde se empezó a originar todo.

Por lo que he podido averiguar, el orgien del virus fue en La Gloria, Municipio de Perote, Veracruz. Un poblado de alta marginación donde están situadas las Gigantes Granjas Carroll de México. En estas granjas, las condiciones son nefactas para el manejo de animales porcinos, una cifra aproximada de 100 mil cerdos anuales. En las inmediaciones de las granjas, existen lagunas de oxidación donde acumulan los excrementos y orina de los cerdos para su degradación a cielo abierto y también contenedores donde queman ciento de cadáveres porcinos, adornando el cielo de grandes humaredas y bailes de moscas hambrientas. Al buscar Granja Carroll por internet, accedí a su página principal donde pone un sello, que se ve bien grande, que señala “Empresa Socialmente Responsable”. Me quedo sin palabras….

Cuentan que el 20 de Marzo, el Alcalde de La Gloria envió un mensaje urgente por la cantidad de enfermos en los hospitales por una enfermedad respiratoria de la cual no se sabía el origen. 15 días después el número aumento a 400 enfermos y muerte de numerosos niños y ancianos de esta población. La Gloria tiene una condiciones climatológicas muy especiales, de noche rozan temperaturas muy bajas y de día las altas temperaturas. Eso hace que los virus, proliferen a grandes velocidades y muten para sobrevivir….

Los habitantes cuentan que cuando sopla el viento, la peste de los cerdos muertos, de los excrementos ,etc.que proviene de las Granjas Carroll , recorre las calles cada vez más desiertas por el miedo a la muerte y al contagio de esta nueva enfermedad. Conscientes del gran problema al que están haciendo frente, lo población de varios municipios cercanos a las granjas, se manifestaron y originaron protestas, pero en vez de ser escuchados, fueron detenidos y encarcelados por acusaciones de las Granjas Carroll.

Ahora el silencio sigue permaneciendo en La Gloria a la espera de ser escuchados para el cierre del origen de la Gripe Porcina. Nadie dice nada, hay un gran vacío al cual nadie quiere hacer frente. ¿Pero por qué este apoyo a las Industrias Carroll? Su aportanción económica al estado de Veracruz ascienden a miles de millones en los últimos meses. Puede que esta sea la respuesta.

Si algo están sacando de positivo el municipio de origen de esta pandemia, es según ellos, la cantidad de puntos médicos que ahora acechan tras sus hogares además de el aporte de alimentos y agua y numerosas atenciones que por ser un poblado marginal antes carecian. Entre risas tristes, cuentan que han colocado a las puertas de pueblo un gran cartel que dice “ Bienvenidos a la Gloria, lugar libre de influencia de la gripe porcina…”

Seguiré contrastando noticias para poder tener una visión más amplia del origen de esta nueva pandemia. No es por sus efectos sino por la gran brecha social que se está creando alrededor de este tema.

Como Peroteño con denominación de Origen, (a mucho orgullo si, soy originario de Perote, Veracruz, visitenlo, conozcan sus parajes naturales), obviamente el siguiente texto me ayuda a justificar la vergüenza que me causa que el señor Dueño del Estado, perdón, Real Gobernador omnipotente del Estado, Sr. Lic. Fidel Herrera Beltrán, siembra día a día con cada manta, lona o anuncio donde repite que vivimos en el Estado del No Pasa Nada.

Actualmente vivo en Xalapa Veracruz, pero cada fin de semana, cada 15 días, visito mi tierra, no hay gente muriendo en las calles, no hay demonios-cerdos babeando sobre la población, no hay niños con tres cabezas y afortunadamente el virus de la Influenza (que si existe) ha sido solo una noticia como la democracia, todos hablan de el pero nadie lo ha visto.

Lo cual no libra a sr. Herrera Beltrán de ser una obra de arte del caciquismo convencional, de la vieja escuela del “¿Qué hora es? Las que usted quiera Sr. Gobernador”.

PARTE DEL TEXTO RETOMADAS DE LA JORNADA DEL DOMINGO 3 de MAYO DE 2009

“La Conversación con Herrera Beltrán se inició luego de que se incomodó por que el fotógrafo de este periódico lo captó cuando de su bolsaa sacaba cinco billetes de mil pesos y entregaba 3 a Jose Vicente Mendoza, habitante de la Gloria, que le pidió ayuda para atender una insuficiencia renal que padece.”

Fidel- “No viene al caso esa foto, A ver, ¿Ustedes de dónde son?,” exigió. Y de inmediato se dirigió al señor Mendoza “No, mejor regrésame el dinero, luego van a poner ahí que yo ando dando. YO TENGO DINERO PARA REGALAR. Esto es parte del gasto del gobierno para contencion de la crisis”: Y luego hizo firmar un recibo para que le devuelva el “préstamo”.

Fidel Herrera punzo “Celebro que traigan tapabocas, porque vienen de la ciudad de México”, y luego ante los gritos de la gente que reclamaba la mala fama de la Gloria, que le atribuyen a la información publicada sobre el brote de influenza dijo “Ya me voy, porque están muy CALEFACTOS todos”. Y se elevo en un helicóptero rojo.

Pulso crítico

J. Enrique Olivera Arce

Una vez determinado por el gobierno de la entidad que el único caso de infección por el virus de la influenza porcina, fue atendido oportunamente, evitando el fallecimiento del niño Edgar Hernández mediante  la aplicación de medicamentos simples y disponibles en cualquier farmacia de pueblo, la calma retorna a Veracruz.

La enfermedad es curable si se actúa oportunamente y en ello debe ponerse el énfasis. Especulaciones y mal entendidos han quedado atrás; el gobernador personalmente salió a pararlas explicando ampliamente a la prensa local, nacional e internacional, de las eficaces medidas de blindaje sanitario adoptadas por su gobierno. Lo de la presunta responsabilidad de  granjas Carroll y la secuela de contaminación en la región de Perote, quedó desmentido: “la empresa porcícola trasnacional contamina en Puebla”.

Visitantes de otras entidades federativas o del extranjero, pueden visitar Veracruz con toda confianza. Así se desprende de lo declarado por el gobernador Herrera Beltrán a los periodistas que le cuestionaran en el ya famoso poblado de La Gloria, en el que por cierto, los programas fieles del gobierno estatal y del DIF, están a la orden del día y al corriente.

El día de hoy, en mensaje telefónico gravado, el gobernador Herrera Beltrán comunica a la población que la contingencia epidemiológica ha sido superada en Veracruz, registrándose saldo blanco. Lo que de inmediato impactó en los veracruzanos, que hasta donde se ha podido observar han bajado la guardia; en Xalapa, capital del estado, el número de personas haciendo uso del “tapabocas”, es sensiblemente menor al registrado la semana anterior. La calma ha retornado a los hogares y las campañas políticas de quienes aspiran a una diputación federal, pueden llevarse a cabo sin la amenaza de la transmisión de un virus desconocido que en Veracruz ha sido dominado.

En el poblado peroteño “La Gloria”, el saldo a favor son los pisos fieles y guarniciones de banqueta de color amarillo, así como la convicción de que la contaminación por el mal manejo de deshechos en las granjas poblanas de la empresa Carroll, no constituye amenaza alguna para la salud de los pobladores.

Así las cosas, se confirma mi percepción sobre la certidumbre de la palabra y liderazgo del maestro Fidel Herrera Beltrán. Aunque sin la menor intención de convertirme en fiel, reconozco que gracias a su acertado manejo de la contingencia no sólo nos ha sido dado constatar el grado de excelencia de los servicios públicos de salud en el estado, nivel cultural de la población en materia de prevención de desastres, excelentes niveles de higiene en el hogar, transporte urbano y espacios públicos, y nuestra natural predisposición a disfrutar de los días de asueto en la playa. También es de destacarse el amplio consenso, gracias a los medios de comunicación,  respecto a que si bien en el resto del país la situación social, económica y política es crítica, en Veracruz, isla de la fantasía, no pasa nada.

pulsocritico@gmail.com

http://pulsocritico.com

WASHINGTON, DC – The growing threat of global pandemic resulting from Swine Flu has health organizations worldwide searching for an origin. But Republicans already have their theory – Pig World Domination!

With even the White House susceptible to the airborne, human-contact-spreading, continually-mutating, dozens-infecting new strain of animal born flu, the World Health Organization raised the threat level of global pandemic to 5, the second highest level.  With this, the WHO declared that the possibility of a global pandemic is not just possible, but so very very likely to happen.

Republicans gathered behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss the issue and how they can best serve their constituents in light of the Senate’s approval of Kansas Governor Kathleen “Oh So Liberal” Sebelius as the President’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Their findings on the origin of the outbreak, while surprising, are well researched and the only logical cause of the disease: a global conspiracy of pigs to undermine the international economy causing panic, famine, war and, naturally, pestilence in order to eventually overthrow mankind, enslaving the human race and assuming top of the food-chain status.

“We are here to say that we are on to your games, porkers, and while you have sickened more than a few dozen people, we will fight you to the death and eat you in victory,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a written statement addressed to “Failed Pig Overlords.”

“It is clear that the pigs are seeking revenge for centuries of satiating humans with their delicious meat, succulent innards, and general finger-lickin’ good suckling roasted piglets,” McConnell’s statement continued.

“We don’t know yet how exactly they first passed their heinous flu virus to humans, but now that we know their intent and the extent to which they are willing to go to achieve their horrible goals, we can better act to stop it.”

McConnell’s statement, undersigned “Righteous Republicans for Human Dominance,” sent a shock wave throughout a world eager for answers and vaccines.

“I have no intention of going to Mexico, or Canada, or Spain, or New York, none of those places where the pigs are already taking over,” Mississippi resident Mary Beth Dingler wrote on a blog dedicated to spreading up-to-the-minute information about the conspiracy.  “My cousin a few towns over had a pig farm, but soon as she heard what they planning, she took care of them pork chops.”

Others however, were not as quick to accept the Republicans claims of a united global swine uprising.

“The Republicans are always on the look out for the latest conspiracy to overthrow mankind,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) told reporters.  “First it was the killer bees swarming en mass from Africa to enslave humans in honey trafficking.”

“Then, Asian birds dropping flu from the skies to make mankind their two-legged land-steeds.”

“I refuse to believe that pigs are behind this latest pandemic.  I’ve read Animal Farm, I know pigs are smart, but why would they even want to enslave mankind?  Pork is delicious, even pigs cannibalize their own, they know they’re totally yummy.”

Durbin added, “Humans aren’t delicious.  Not that I would know.”

The outbreak of swine flu has caused the World Health Organization to steadily raise its alert levels.  But what do they mean?  Weekly World News breaks it down.

Phase 1
Outbreak is contained within a single bedroom.  Ginger ale, chicken soup, and DVDs of Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Princess Bride are readily available.  Recommendation: saying ‘Bless you’ when patient sneezes.

Phase 2
Disease spreads to workplace through prolonged exposure with the infected.  Tissue boxes begin to become exhausted; toilet paper takes up the slack.  Recommendation: use as excuse to miss work.

Phase 3
Virulent agent has demonstrated resilience to all brands of decongestants.  Patients suspect drug company conspiracy to sell placebos for incurable ailment.  Recommendation: loss of patience, profanity.

Phase 4
Outbreak spreads to news outlets and human interest stories.  The public is warned not to be afraid, but ‘pandemic’ continues to be a really scary word.  Recommendation: water cooler conversation, unnecessarily canceling trips abroad.

Phase 5
Virus remains persistent and continues to mushroom in at least three distinct areas.  Symptoms become exaggerated by telephone game effect, and healthy people begin to fear the menace of purple monkey dishwasher.   Recommendation: cut off contact with outside world, barricade doors, stock up on canned goods, drink plenty of fluids.

Phase 6
Mankind is wiped out with the exception of Will Smith and a Brazilian supermodel.  Repopulation of race begins with exciting results.  Recommendation: keep cameras rolling and hope for a better day.

Ce petit Mexicain âgé de 4 ans serait le premier cas confirmé de grippe A

Le village de La Gloria, dans l’Etat dans Veracruz, ne serait probablement pas passé à la postérité s’il n’avait pas été entouré d’un immense élevage de porcs. Pour la mère de l’enfant, le coupable est tout désigné : Granjas Carroll, une filiale de Smithfield Foods, premier producteur mondial de porc, déjà condamnée en 1997 à 12,6 millions de dollars pour atteinte à l’environnement.

Edgar Hernandez souffrait des symptômes désormais classiques de la grippe A : fatigue, courbatures, fièvre et toux sèche continue.
Hospitalisé rapidement, le gouvernement a indiqué un mois plus tard que le petit garçon aurait été testé « positif à la même souche du virus », baptisé grippe porcine, puis grippe A « H1N1 », « et qui a coûté la vie à de nombreuses personnes ». Traité avec un mélange de paracétamol et d’antibiotiques, Edgar est maintenant guéri.

GRAIN news release
www.grain.org

SWINE FLU IS MEAT INDUSTRY’S LATEST PLAGUE

Mexico is in the midst of a hellish repeat of Asia’s bird flu experience, though on a more deadly scale. Once again, the official response from public authorities has come too late and bungled in cover-ups. And once again, the global meat industry is at the centre of the story, ramping up denials as the weight of evidence about its role grows.

Just five years after the start of the H5N1 bird flu crisis, and after as many years of a global strategy against influenza pandemics coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the world is now reeling from a swine flu disaster. The global strategy has failed and needs to be replaced with a public health system that the public can trust.

What we know about the situation in Mexico is that, officially speaking, more than 150 people have died from a new strain of swine flu that is, in fact, a genetic cocktail of pig, bird and human influenza strains. It has evolved to a form that is easily spread from human to human and is capable of killing perfectly healthy people. We do not know where exactly this genetic recombination and evolution took place, but the obvious place to start looking is in the factory
farms of Mexico and the US.

Experts have been warning for years that the rise of large-scale factory farms in North America has created the perfect breeding grounds for the emergence and spread of new highly-virulent strains of influenza. “Because concentrated animal feeding operations tend to concentrate large numbers of animals close together, they facilitate rapid transmission and mixing of viruses,” said scientists from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2006.

Three years earlier, Science Magazine warned that swine flu was on a new evolutionary “fast track” due to the increasing size of factory farms and the widespread use of vaccines in these operations.

It’s the same story with bird flu. The crowded and unsanitary conditions of the farms make it possible for the virus to recombine and take on new forms very easily. Once this happens, the centralised nature of the industry ensures that the disease gets carried far and wide, whether by feces, feed, water or even the boots of workers.

Yet, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “no formal national surveillance
system exists to determine what viruses are prevalent in the US swine population.”  The same is true of Mexico.

COMMUNITIES AT THE EPICENTRE

Another thing we know about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico is that the community of La Gloria in the state of Veracruz was trying to get authorities to respond to a vicious outbreak of a strange respiratory disease affecting them over the past months. The residents are adamant that the disease is linked to pollution from the big pig farm that was
recently set up in the community by Granja Carroll, a subsidiary of the US company Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer.

After countless efforts by the community to get the authorities to help — efforts which led to the arrest of several community leaders and death threats against people speaking out against the Smithfield operations — local health officials finally decided to investigate in late 2008. Tests revealed that more than 60 per cent of the community
of 3,000 people were infected by a respiratory disease, but officials did not confirm what the disease was. Smithfield denied any connection with its operations.

It was only on 27 April 2009, days after the federal government officially announced the swine flu epidemic, that
information came out in the press revealing that the first case of swine flu diagnosed in the country was of a 4-year old boy from the community of La Gloria on April 2, 2009. Mexico’s Minister of Health says a sample taken from the boy was the only sample taken from the community that Mexican officials retained and sent for laboratory testing, which later confirmed that it was swine flu. This despite the fact that a private risk assessment firm in the US, Veratect, had
notified regional officials from the WHO about the outbreaks of the powerful respiratory illness in La Gloria in early April 2009.

On 4 April 2009, the Mexican daily La Jornada published an article on the struggle of the community of La Gloria, with a photo in which a young boy is holding a placard at a demonstration with a picture of a pig crossed out and the words “Danger: Carrolls Farm” written on it in Spanish.

About influenza pandemics in general, we know that proximity of factory pig farms and factory poultry farms increases the risks of viral recombination and the emergence of new virulent flu strains. Pigs held near to chicken farms in Indonesia, for instance, are known to have high-levels of infection from H5N1, the deadly variant of bird
flu. Scientists from the NIH warn “that increasing the numbers of swine facilities adjacent to avian facilities could further promote the evolution of the next pandemic.”

While it has not been widely reported, the region around the community of La Gloria is also home to many large poultry farms. Recently, in September 2008, there was an outbreak of bird flu among poultry in the region. At the time, veterinary authorities assured the public that it was only a local incidence of a low-pathogenic strain affecting
backyard birds. But we now know, thanks to a disclosure made by Marco Antonio Núñez López, the President of the Environmental Commission of the State of Veracruz, that there was also an avian flu outbreak on a factory farm about 50 kilometres from La Gloria owned by Mexico’s largest poultry company, Granjas Bachoco, that was not revealed
because of fears of what it might mean for Mexico’s export markets.

It should be noted that a common ingredient in industrial animal feed is “poultry litter”, which is a mixture of everything found on the floor of factory poultry farms: fecal matter, feathers, bedding, etc.

Could there be a more ideal situation for the emergence of a pandemic influenza virus than a poor rural area, full of factory farms owned by transnational corporations who care nothing for the well-being of the local people? The residents of La Gloria have tried for years to resist the Smithfield farm. And they tried for months to get authorities to do something about the strange illness hitting their people. They were ignored. Their voices did not register a single blip on the radar of the WHO’s global emerging disease surveillance system.

Nor did the bird flu outbreaks in Veracruz trigger a response from the OIE’s global disease alert system. News only broke out haphazardly from private sources. This is what passes for global surveillance.

CORPORATE BIAS

It is not the first time and it will not be the last time that corporate farms conceal disease outbreaks and put people’s lives at risk. It is the nature of their business. A couple of years ago in Romania, Smithfield refused to let local authorities enter its pig farms after residents complained of the stench coming from hundreds of dead corpses of pigs left rotting for days at the farms.

“Our doctors have not had access to the American [company's] farms to effect routine inspections,” said Csaba Daroczi, assistant director at the Timisoara Hygiene and Veterinary Authority. “Every time they tried,
they were pushed away by the guards. Smithfield proposed that we sign an agreement that would oblige us to warn them three days before each inspection.”

Eventually, it emerged that Smithfield had been concealing a major outbreak of classical swine fever on its Romanian
farms. In Indonesia, where people are still dying from bird flu and where many health experts believe the next pandemic virus will emerge, authorities can still not enter large corporate farms without the permission of the company. [15] In Mexico, authorities deflected calls to investigate La Granja Carroll and accused the residents of La
Gloria of spreading infection because “they use home remedies instead of going to the health centres to cure their flu.”

Factory farms are time-bombs for global disease epidemics. Yet, there are still no programmes in place to deal with them, not even programmes of independent disease surveillance. Nobody on high seems to care, and it’s probably no coincidence that these farms tend to be located amongst the poorest communities, who suffer dearly to get the truth out. Worse still, so much of our food supply now comes from this bloated system that the main task of government food safety agencies now seems to be to calm fears and keep people eating.

Smithfield is already on the financial brink and just last week was negotiating for China’s largest agribusiness company, COFCO, to take it over. In the meantime, the pharmaceutical industry is making a killing from the crisis. The US government has already opened an emergency window in its authorisation system to allow antivirals like Tamiflu and
Relaxin to be used more widely on flu sufferers than allowed. This is great news for Roche, Gilead and Glaxo SmithKline, who hold monopolies on the drugs.

But even more importantly, a swathe of smaller vaccine producers like Biocryst and Novavax are seeing their share prices shoot through the roof. Novavax is trying to convince both CDC and the Mexican government that it can come up with a swine flu vaccine in as little as 12 weeks if the testing rules remain relaxed.

SEA CHANGE NEEDED

Clearly, the global system for dealing with health problems brought on by the transnational food industry is completely upside down. Its surveillance system is a bust, frontline public health and veterinarian services are in a shambles and authority has been handed over to the private sector, which has every interest in maintaining
the status quo. Meanwhile, people are told to keep indoors and to keep their fingers crossed for Tamiflu or a new vaccine that they may or may not get access to. This is not a tolerable situation; action for a sea change is needed, now.

In the specific case of the swine flu epidemic in Mexico, change can start with an immediate, transparent and thorough independent investigation of corporate pig and poultry farms in Veracruz, across the country and throughout North America. The people of Mexico need to know the source of the problem so that they can take adequate measures
to cut the epidemic off at its roots and to ensure that it does not reoccur.

At the international level, the expansion of factory farms has to stop and be put into reverse. They are the hotbeds for pandemics and will continue to be so as long as they exist. It is probably pointless to call for a complete shift in the WHO-led global strategy, since the experience with bird flu demonstrates that neither the WHO, nor the OIE, nor most governments are going to take a hard line on corporate farming.

Once again, it is people who are going to have to take the lead and protect themselves. Across the world, there are thousands of communities fighting against factory farms. These communities are on the front lines of pandemic prevention. What we now need is to turn these local fights against factory farms into a global movement to
abolish them.

But the swine flu disaster in Mexico is also about a larger public health problem. The threats to consumer safety that are an inherent part of the industrial food system are compounded by a global trend to completely privatise health care, which has destroyed the capacities of public systems to properly respond to crises, and by policies to
encourage migration to mega-cities where sanitation and public health policies are woefully inadequate. (The outbreak of swine flu hit Mexico City, a metropolis of more than 20 million people, just as the government cut off water supplies for much of the city’s population, particularly the poorest sections.)

The fact that surveillance of disease outbreaks has to come from private consultancy firms, that governments and UN agencies can sit quiet on that information and that we have to depend on a handful of drug companies to produce
half-tested but fully-patented relief for our suffering should tell us that things have gone too far. We need not only food but public health systems that truly have some public agenda and public accountability to them.

Full article with references at www.grain.org/articles/?id=48

Ya está en EEUU, Cánada, España, Alemania, Nueva Zelanda e Israel…pero empezó en México, donde ya ha acabado con la vida de 159 personas. ¿Pero qúién empezó todo esto?…¿Cómo?…La gripe porcina va camino de convertirse en una de las mayores pandemias que ha visto este mundo y la paradoja es enorme cuando se inició en nada más y nada menos que en un niño. La dulzura en la que arrancó la muerte. Él se llama Edgar, tiene cinco años y es de La Gloria, un pequeñísimo municipio mexicano.

Al pequeño Edgar le encantan “los filetes con patatas”. Es revoltoso, divertido y despierto, como la mayoría de los niños de su edad. Y también es pobre, como la mayoría de las gentes de su pueblo, ubicado en las faldas del Cofre de Perote, la octava montaña más alta de México, donde habitan 4.000 personas que se dedican fundamentalmen te a la  siembra de papas y la explotación maderera.

 Y si es su principal fuente de explotación…¿cómo ocurrio?. Pues según la población de La Gloria se atribuye el contagio de este virus -porcino, humano y aviar a partes iguales- a unas granjas porcinas cercanas, a unos ocho kilómetros. Los propietarios lo niegan, claro.

Edgar está bien, unos días en cama y a base de medicamentos ha vuelto a corretear con sus amiguetes. Este pequeño es el primer caso de infectado por el virus del H1N1 de México, aunque fuese la muerte de una mujer de 39 años en Oaxaca la que desató la alarma nacional. En el hospital se temieron que algo estaba pasando en el pueblo, pues entre marzo y abril habían atendido de problemas respiratorios a 1.300 de los 4.000 habitantes, 450 de ellos con gripe.

Lo que parece claro es que Edgar pasará a la historia como el primer caso de una gripe porcina que la OMS califica de “pandemia”.

PD: Por actualizar un poco, España ya sufre 10 casos de gripe porcina. La ministra de Sanidad, Trinidad Jiménez, ha confirmado en el Congreso que hay seis nuevos casos de gripe porcina en nuestro país, todos ellos registrados en Cataluña. Asimismo, otras 70 personas, que podrían sufrir la enfermedad, permanecen bajo observación en 11 comunidades a la espera de que se confirme si están afectadas por el virus A/H1N1.

Un niño de 23 meses es la primera víctima mortal de la gripe porcina en Estados Unidos, informó el director del Centro de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC), Richard Besser.

Se trata de la primera víctima mortal que se produce fuera de México, país donde surgió la epidemia que ya se habría cobrado la vida de unas 159 personas. Los laboratorios de referencia de la Organización Mundial de la Salud también han confirmado que la muerte de este niño se ha producido por el virus de la gripe porcina.