Once again contagion of Europe starts in Greece. www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 64079.html Is this the beginning of a rebalancing of human populations? This could be alot worse than economic turmoil - a return to the days of huge numbers dying of infectious disease. That's something most of us haven't had in our lifetimes. This was always inevitable - destroying bacteria creates niches for other, potentially more virulent ones. Linking with the Pfizer thread, there isn't enough in it for drug company's to try to develop new wonder drugs. Do governments need to step in, or will capitalism triumph? (PS: Is it those clever Germans who have released the bacteria into the failing member states in order to reduce their pensioned populations?).

Once again contagion of Europe starts in Greece. www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 64079.html Is this the beginning of a rebalancing of human populations? This could be alot worse than economic turmoil - a return to the days of huge numbers dying of infectious disease. That's something most of us haven't had in our lifetimes. This was always inevitable - destroying bacteria creates niches for other, potentially more virulent ones. Linking with the Pfizer thread, there isn't enough in it for drug company's to try to develop new wonder drugs. Do governments need to step in, or will capitalism triumph? (PS: Is it those clever Germans who have released the bacteria into the failing member states in order to reduce their pensioned populations?).

Has anyone checked to see whether the sky is still where it's supposed to be today?

Someone in my office just sneezed.

Am I now allowed to kill them?

Quote ="Dally"Once again contagion of Europe starts in Greece. www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 64079.html Is this the beginning of a rebalancing of human populations? This could be alot worse than economic turmoil - a return to the days of huge numbers dying of infectious disease. That's something most of us haven't had in our lifetimes. This was always inevitable - destroying bacteria creates niches for other, potentially more virulent ones. Linking with the Pfizer thread, there isn't enough in it for drug company's to try to develop new wonder drugs. Do governments need to step in, or will capitalism triumph?'" I'm sure BG can find a bot to replace you?

Quote ="Dally"Once again contagion of Europe starts in Greece. www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 64079.html Is this the beginning of a rebalancing of human populations? This could be alot worse than economic turmoil - a return to the days of huge numbers dying of infectious disease. That's something most of us haven't had in our lifetimes. This was always inevitable - destroying bacteria creates niches for other, potentially more virulent ones. Linking with the Pfizer thread, there isn't enough in it for drug company's to try to develop new wonder drugs. Do governments need to step in, or will capitalism triumph?'" I'm sure BG can find a bot to replace you?

I accept it was a link to a ridiculous newspaper.

I just hope no one in Saturday night's crowd has recently returned from Southern Europe or India.

Thought you liked the Independent, Minty?

A very good example of an answer based on who has written the post, as opposed to the post itself.

a) The [iIndependent[/i can be -poor sometimes and decent on others. It's on a general decline at present, though – and that's not a comment on any editorial political stance, perceived or otherwise.

b) The poster in question has been described as a Chicken Licken character for some considerable time – and it was not something that I first used.

c) The story is not, of itself, new. Concerns over this have been being raised for years. Not only the over-use of antibiotic medicines, but (as I've pointed out more than one, here and elsewhere) the crackpot obsession with 'antibacterial' products of a variety of natures – from chopping boards to soaps to the bleedin' hand pumps [ifor[/i the soaps. But marketing is a factor that has seen countless people buy into an utter terror of germs – and the purchase of antibacterial products. There's a reason that, personally, I absolutely will not have such products in the house.

One of the products that we sell involves all employees placing their hands onto a plastic coated plate at the start and end of their shift, the same plate. We started to notice the appearance of "antiseptic gel" dispensers alongside our equipment a couple of years ago, these apparently were at the request of the employees who were terrified of placing their hand onto something where another person had placed their hand previously.

As a side issue the alcohol in the gel affects the plastic coating on our equipment so we asked if the gel could be moved to the other side, ie AFTER they have placed their hands then they clean them, you'd be surprised how many objected to that.

Anyway, the main point is that this is on building sites, big rough tough builders, lads who have spent all day long touching things that other people have touched, some of whom have probably been digging out sewage pipes or working with foul water in plumbing issues, lads who wouldn't even consider to wash their hands after visiting the toilet, or who sit down and eat their sandwiches at lunchtime without washing their hands - they suddenly, a couple of years ago get absolutely paranoid about the spread of "bird flu" that they demand hand cleansers on building sites, I'd laugh at most of them if they weren't bigger than me, especially when you go inside the portaloos on those building sites.

I can't thin of anything even approaching funny about the prospect of visiting a builders portaloo.

Unless I had an array of antibacterial products.

I always laugh at those "posh" bogs in airports, the ones that use a proximity sensor to flush the bog, so you don't actually touch the flush handle or button. One question to the idiots who think this is more hygenic - how do you then unlock the bog door? Or do you simply limbo under the gap?

And to the even bigger idiots who buy that Dettol handsoap in the automatic dispenser. Just how effective do you think that soap is, if they recommend that you don't touch the dispenser BEFORE using it?

It just plays on paranoia. The mass media spin horror stories (anyone remember how we were all going to be killed by ebola?) and then big companies hoover up the money as people buy increasing numbers of antibacterial products.

...although I draw the line at Eric, the big daft lad from Barnsley who used to stay at the contractors digs that I stayed in during the 1970s in Whitley Bay, he was a builders labourer and at the time his company were constructing a new sewage outfall pipe in W/Bay which occasionally meant him working inside live sewers.

He never even changed his clothes when he came in from the site every night let alone wash his hands - straight in the door, straight to the table and "whats for tea then ?"

Let me guess - it's -poor when it does not confirm your prejudices but decent when it does! Don't make me laugh.

I guess it was -poor when it helped expose all the New International guff?

Same reason your dinner guests don't come back, perhaps?

What an entirely random comment!

The prime mover behind the News International revelations was the [iGuardian[/i. And I don't think that everything in that publication is brilliant – and some of it is downright -poor.

There is no publication that is somehow perfect. But generally these days, I get my news (mostly online) from the BBC, the [iGuardian[/i, the [iFT[/i (to which I subscribe), the [iTelegraph[/i and, to a very much lesser extent, the [iIndependent[/i, plus the [iEconomist[/i on a weekly basis.

I'm in Glasgow, it is always falling down here...

As the world is shortly due to end in 2012, what difference does it make?