Disturbing stuff.

[baratron]

We were just watching this highly bizarre documentary about "The great smallpox pandemic of 2002", which of course didn't happen. It was a "what if...?" programme, and I'm not quite sure what the purpose of it was other than to panic the sort of person who's likely to get panicked. I fully expect to find my dad stockpiling canned and dried food again like he did at the end of 1999 for the Millennium Bug. (You think I'm exaggerating).

In other news, my mother has learned to use Internet Explorer! It's only taken about 6 months, but today she browsed the web for about an hour, only calling me over 3 times to ask what something meant. I am... amazed.

She has, however, received a copy of the Nigerian scam with a new and slightly disturbing twist. It purports to be from a guy who's a refugee from Zimbabwe, living in the UK, who needs to claim US $15 million from his bank account... you know the deal. Except that this version includes a UK mobile phone number. I'm worried that this addition might cause people to believe it, so have actually forwarded it to the police rather than just deleting it. Hrm.

Comments

[lovingboth]

What I can't understand is the government's response to a smallpox epidemic is going to be 'ring vaccination', giving the vaccine to people around the affected area to stop it spreading.

Fine, but if someone releases it at a London terminus, by the time it's realised what's happening, that area is going to be most of the UK. And France and Belgium if it's Waterloo. So while it's nice that they want to vaccinate Spain, Italy, Germany etc, it's not exactly going to help.

I had a Nigerian-style scam which quoted a UK lineline once. That went to the same place.

[redbird]

"Ring vaccination" isn't around an area--the idea is/would be to vaccinate everyone who was known to be infected (because vaccination within (I think) four days after infection prevents disease, in this case), and everyone they'd been in contact with. This could in fact mean vaccinating the entire population of a city, if someone was known to have been on the Underground--or it might mean putting out the call to "anyone who was on the District Line Tuesday morning".

[lovingboth]

That's not how ministers have used the phrase.

[jhaelan.livejournal.com]

Fine, but if someone releases it at a London terminus

Saw 28 Days Laters when it came out a few months ago; the scenes of desertion in the centre of London kind of reinforced the idea... Together with the mad panic it made for a disturbing film until it just became a zombie-horror-flick...

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Yay for your mom! I don't think my dad will ever learn to use the web, but at least my mom's pretty good with it.

I usually just delete the Nigerian stuff, but I'm actually supposed to forward it on. I'd definitely send it if there were a contact number in this country. Good going.

[hiddenpaw.livejournal.com]

I remeber seeing "The great smallpox pandemic of 2002" thing back at the begining of 2002 when it was more of prediction scare thing than a what didn't happen last year after all thing. It was pretty much what really set the Smallpox vaxination debate going as I recal or at least the pre show hype did.