Will Bird Flu Be The Next Pandemic?

From The Walrus: "The Next Pandemic May Already Be Brewing." A good overview of H5N1 bird flu and its slow spread to humans starting with an outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997 and slow spread from Asia to North America. An excerpt:

    Fortunately, when H5N1 causes illness in humans, it’s a one-off. Humans aren’t spreading it to each other. For a pandemic to occur, there must be sustained human-to-human transmission. The worry is, with so much of the virus around, in animals near to us, a pandemic could strike at any time.

    Angela Rasmussen believes a bird flu pandemic would be catastrophic, far worse than COVID-19. She’s a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, who studies how viruses spill over from one species to another. Looking at the numbers of human cases and deaths since the current strain of H5N1 took hold, Rasmussen doubts the case fatality rate would be anywhere near 50 percent. That figure exaggerates the danger, as many mild cases likely have gone unreported. She estimates it would be closer to 2 percent—but on a global scale, it would mean 164 million deaths. Our health care systems would fall apart. The case fatality rate for COVID—which brought much of the world to a standstill and upended economies, schools, and health systems—was less than 1 percent.

    An H5N1 pandemic could be economically disastrous for agriculture, threatening food security worldwide, Rasmussen suggests. Consider that between October 2024 and March 2025 in the US, 50 million sick hens were culled, causing an egg shortage that nearly doubled egg prices. If pigs got infected, there would be wide-scale swine culling. Seeing so many species of birds and mammals already affected also raises environmental concerns.  

    She acknowledges it’s a worst-case apocalyptic vision. “I’m not saying that would happen,” she says, “but there is a version of this that ends with the collapse of human civilization.” 

Despite the scaremongering, the article goes on to describe the difficulty the virus faces in spreading directly from human to human. It then calls for requiring the wide-spread vaccination of domestic fowl. But, of course, the scourge of illegal immigration may play a role in any future pandemic:

Current US immigration policies may be a factor. Dairy and poultry farms rely largely on migrant workers, who may not report symptoms because they fear being sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centre. She imagines a scenario where suddenly a cluster of people show up in a hospital and it is discovered, too late, that there’s been community transmission. The pandemic will have begun. ...

Guns America: Why You Are Getting Poorer Every Year

You might think you are getting poorer each year because of inflation, mostly driven by out of control government spending financed by debt. But there may be more about it than that according to this article from Guns America: "Why You’re Getting Poorer Every Year." The author begins:

    Every once in a while, someone explains what you’ve been feeling… but couldn’t quite put into words.

    This is one of those times.

    In a recent sit-down with Peter McCormack, macro analyst Lyn Alden didn’t sugarcoat it. She didn’t hedge it, she didn’t dress it up in economist jargon, she just said it.

    “Do you believe we’re living through a slow financial collapse that the majority of people don’t even recognize is happening?

    Her answer, “I do.”

Sip on that for a moment. Because if you’ve been wondering why everything feels tighter (even when you’re making money) you’re not crazy. You’re just living inside the system she’s describing.

    First, inflation plays a role: "It comes from debt, money creation, and whether people realize it or not, debasement." Because that is what is inflation over time: debasement of a currency. And the reduction of your purchasing power. 

    Second: "This is where things go from uncomfortable to outright brutal. Alden explains that the real winners in this system aren’t the savers. They’re the borrowers. The ones who can take on debt, buy assets, and effectively 'short the currency.'"

    Third: It is a form of theft. "Not theft in the traditional sense. No one’s kicking your door in and grabbing your wallet. It’s quieter than that. It’s your dollar buying less. Your savings shrinking in real terms. Your future is getting more expensive."

     Fourth: Some suggestions:

     If the system is slowly eating away at your money, doing nothing isn’t a strategy. You don’t need to go extreme, but you do need to be intentional.

    Start by getting out of pure cash. If your savings are just sitting there, they’re losing value every year. Think in terms of hard assets (real estate, commodities, long-term equities) that hold or grow value over time, not just dollars in an account.

    Understand how debt actually works in this system. Used wisely, fixed-rate debt can work in your favor as inflation rises. But there’s a big difference between leveraging assets (buying something that pays you) and drowning in liabilities (buying something that drains you).

Related:  

• "What Caused Rome to Collapse?" Inflation/debasement of the currency, predatory levels of taxation, unsustainable government spending, and a contracting economy. 

Surprise, Suprise: Having A Wealthy Grandmother Helps You Become A "Winner"

 From the Daily Mail: "Grandmas turn children into winners especially when they're well-off, finds report." It relates:

    Grandmothers are instrumental in enhancing a child's success in life, especially when they are well-off, according to a report.

    The Social Mobility Commission has released new analysis showing the 'grandparent effect' can lead to better outcomes, including educational attainment.

    The Government-funded report found the strongest positive grandparent influence was from the mother's mother.     

    It said grandparents could enhance lives through 'contributing to caregiving' and 'financial and emotional support'.

    It added their involvement would likely 'transfer intergenerational socio-economic advantage' in terms of wealth and educational achievement.  

A Peek Behind The Curtain

Anonymous Conservative has linked to an article that has serious implications. From Raw Story (via MSN): "Epstein reporter 'fleeing the country' as home becomes target of alleged 'attacks'." From the article:

     Journalist Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, whose reporting has uncovered a number of previously unknown revelations about Jeffrey Epstein, said on Thursday she will be “fleeing the country” after claiming her home was targeted in "attacks" by those she believes are "unhappy about" her Epstein reporting.

    Valdes-Rodriguez’s reporting has largely centered around Epstein's compound in New Mexico, formerly known as Zorro Ranch, that is reportedly central to the disgraced financier’s disturbing plot to “seed the human race with his DNA.” The compound is also alleged to be the burial site of “two foreign girls,” according to an FBI tip, and may have been used to surveil two U.S. nuclear weapons labs, Valdes-Rodriguez previously reported.

    “It appears my home has been located by, well, whomever is unhappy about my reporting about Zorro Ranch and the local cover up here and the military intelligence roots of the child sex trafficking operation Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were running here in New Mexico,” Valdes-Rodriguez wrote earlier this week in a post on Substack.

     “This morning, I was hit in my home office by two episodes of what I later learned were likely Direct Energy Weapon attacks. Look up Havana Syndrome. My symptoms are consistent with such attacks, and entirely new. We wasted no time in leaving the house, for good.”  

But even that wasn't enough:

Valdes-Rodriguez said that she would be “staying in safe houses” indefinitely until her move out of the United States. However, on Wednesday, she claimed to observe suspicious vehicles driving outside her home, which she noted was on a cul-de-sac in a rural town that typically saw little traffic.

This is exactly the type of behavior that Anonymous Conservative has documented happening to him after he released his book on evolutionary biology and politics. 

An Enemy Hath Done This: DEI Policies

 The American Spectator reports that "The DEI Business Case Is Falling Apart," noting studies that DEI hiring practices and policies, at best, do not provide any benefit to businesses, and generally harm businesses. 

    For instance, the article relates, influential reports published by McKinsey "claim[ed] that companies with more racially and ethnically diverse executive teams earn higher returns." Yet when researchers attempted to replicate these studies, "the alleged advantage of diverse executive teams largely disappeared." That is:

The replication study found no meaningful difference in profitability between firms with highly diverse executive teams and those with little diversity. Whether using earnings, returns on assets, revenue growth, or shareholder returns, the relationship was basically flat.  

Moreover, the replication study found that the McKinsey data could actually be interpreted not as more diverse boards do better, but that "more successful firms hire more diverse executives later on, not that diversity drives financial success." But even that is not the end of the story, because other studies have found that more diverse boards lead to more monitoring of executives. The result?

One major study of almost 2,000 American firms  finds that when boards increase gender diversity, they impose noticeably stronger monitoring of executives. While oversight is necessary, too much of it slows decision-making, restricts managerial autonomy, and makes firms less responsive to changing conditions. The study concludes that the average effect of gender diversity on firm performance is negative and can reduce value in well-managed firms because heightened monitoring becomes a burden rather than a benefit. 

     And this is for companies that voluntarily diversify their boards of directors. What about when corporations are forced to diversify their boards?

... When Norway introduced a law requiring corporate boards to be 40 percent female, firms had to rapidly appoint new directors from a limited pool of qualified candidates. Stock prices of affected companies fell immediately following the announcement and did not recover in subsequent years. The same pattern occurred when California implemented its board diversity law. Research shows that markets responded by marking down the value of companies forced to replace experienced board members with individuals selected primarily to satisfy demographic quotas. These findings suggest that rapid, mandatory diversification weakens board quality by reducing the emphasis on experience and expertise.

    The results are even more dire for a company that implements DEI practices to its general hiring. Studies show that "[c]ompanies with higher Diversity Scores experience dramatically more workplace accidents" and "face more consumer complaints, more controversies relating to customer health and safety, and lower overall customer satisfaction." Moreover, "[p]roduct recalls, quality controversies, and delays are also more common in these firms. Such problems point to a drop in average employee competence and operational discipline." 

    How to remedy the situation? The CEO of a company called Bolt had a solution:

    When Ryan Breslow’s fintech company Bolt lost $10.7 billion in value, he had a radical diagnosis: HR needed to go. “They were creating problems that didn’t exist,” Breslow, 31, said at Fortune’s Workforce Innovation Summit. “Those problems disappeared when I let them go.”

    Breslow, who stepped down as CEO in 2022 but returned in 2025, cut 30% of the workforce in April and replaced HR with a smaller “people operations” team focused on training.

Fifth Columnists: NY and CA

 From the NY Post: "Nearly 300 illegal migrants with commercial licenses from NY and Calif. stopped, prosecuted in Indiana."

Streisand Looks Like Ozzy, Right?

Perusing the Daily Mail, I came across an article about Barbra Streisand having to appear over video in order to accept an award illustrated with the photograph of Streisand, below:

And here is a photograph of Ozzy later in his life:

 

(Source)

Gun & Prepping News #82

Some links that may be of interest:

• "Silencer Saturday #433: Scout Rifle Silencers"--The Firearm Blog. The primary attribute of the Scout Rifle is that it is to be light and handy--i.e., light weight and a barrel length of 19" or less. Thus, this article looks at silencers that are light weight and compact. 
• "The Long Game: Gear That Actually Held Up"--Guns Magazine. The author mentions:

     The items below didn’t just review well — they stuck. They’re the things I kept using long after the article ran, the stuff that didn’t end up in the closet only to emerge a year or two later: “Oh heck, I forgot I had that!” This gear proved itself over time instead of just making a good first impression.

    Not new or trendy stuff, just durable, reliable and worth giving a second look.  

The products included are: Buck 791 Range Elite Knife,  5.11 Founder’s Jacket, Vortex Razor UHD 10x32 Binoculars, Viktos Range Trainer XD Shoe, 5.11 Aerial Short Sleeve Shirt, Fisher Space Pen, and Clinger Holster Cushion. 

• "HK VP9CC Review: Micro-Compact German Heat"--Guns America.  It looks like a great pistol, but at $1,400 it is out of my price range. Short take:

• Pros: Pure HK feel in a micro-compact package, 800 trouble-free rounds, excellent barrel accuracy, intuitive paddle magazine release, optic-ready slide cut that sits up to 40% lower, clear Vortex Defender CCW optic, ambidextrous controls, safe disassembly design, and 10-round and 12-round magazine options.
• Cons: Small trigger guard, short trigger shoe, potential trigger guard hot spot during longer range sessions, smooth grip side panels, and a base MSRP of $1,049 that will not appeal to everyone.

• "Fudd Friday: Why You Want An SKS For Hunting (And Why You Don't)"--The Firearm Blog. The author goes over the plusses and minuses including its reliable but not particularly accurate; and doesn't use a particularly powerful cartridge. Although, on that point:

The 7.62x39mm round the SKS fires has often been roughly equated to the hitting power of the .30-30. On paper, they’re relatively close out to the 150-yard limit where they both start to lose some steam; the 7.62x39mm actually fares better at longer ranges, thanks to its pointed bullets. We won’t get into the decades-old, tired arguments over bullet construction and everything else that clutters this conversation; we’ll just point out that on paper, the SKS looks like it will work, and that has been proven countless times in the real world, in North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Big deer, little deer, big bears, little bears, big hogs, little hogs and a lot of other wild game has fallen to the SKS. And the gun is a lot easier to shoot than other full-power hunting rifles, thanks to low recoil. 

• "Fudd Friday: Marlin Model 60 - Classic Classy Rimfire"--The Firearm Blog. An excerpt:

    The Model 60 was developed by Marlin’s engineer Ewald Nichol. He had previously developed a rimfire rifle that was an exterior lookalike to the M1 Carbine; this was called the Model 99, and was released in 1959. The Model 60 came along in 1960, with a full-length tube magazine under the 22-inch barrel that held 18 rounds of .22 LR (barrel length and magazine capacity came in different numbers later on). The Model 60 was an adaptation of the Model 99 platform, and while the Model 99 ended production in the 1960s, the Model 60 or other variations of the platform were built until around 2020, with 11 million rifles sold.

     That’s a lot of guns, with production far exceeding centerfire hunting rifles like Marlin’s own 336 lever-action, or the Winchester Model 94. The Model 60 was not going to be immortalized on the cover of a deer-hunting book, but it—and rifles just like it—were the start of many kids’ hunting careers.

    Marlin wasn’t coy about it; the Model 60 was a hunting rifle, with a squirrel factory-carved right into the grip of many of the rifles sold. While millions of Model 60s probably shot an exponentially larger number of rounds at cans and targets in plinking mode, they were intended as a hunting rifle, and they did it well. You could snipe small game with this gun right off the shelf, with Marlin’s microgroove rifling providing excellent accuracy with .22LR ammo.

• It should have been a defensive gun use: "Woman, 50, 'dragged to her death' by neighbor's two bloodthirsty pit bulls as husband fought to save her"--Daily Mail.  Always carry. And it wasn't her husband, but a romantic partner. 
• "Frankford Arsenal’s Turret Press: Cast-Iron Reliability"--The Truth About Guns. 

Eight is the magic number for this turret press. I had graduated from the Lee’s four-holer to the RCBS six-station, and now had eight die stations. That allows some customization… You can add a “powder cop” and separate taper crimp dies if desired, not to mention adding a case-driven powder measure for pistol or practice rifle loads. The tool head is hand-advanced and has positive ball detents at each station, so it locks into place easily and doesn’t wobble. We got an extra tool head with the press, so another caliber can be set up and ready to go.

• Given the tick issues this year, this article may prove useful: "Permethrin: The “Chemical Weapon”
  Every Shooter Should Consider"--Guns Magazine. An excerpt:

    Most shooters obsess over optics, ballistic computers and gear selection while largely ignoring one of the simplest upgrades available for summer shooting comfort: treating clothing and equipment with permethrin.

    If the name sounds vaguely familiar, there’s a reason. Permethrin has been around for years and has long been used by military personnel, backpackers, hunters and serious outdoors enthusiasts. Yet many casual shooters either haven’t heard of it or misunderstand what it actually does.

    Unlike DEET or picaridin, which are applied to exposed skin, permethrin is designed exclusively for clothing and gear. Once applied and dried, the treatment bonds to fabric and helps repel or kill ticks, mosquitoes and other insects on contact.

    In practical terms, it means your pants, socks, boots and shooting mat become far less hospitable to things with too many legs. This matters more than you might realize. 

• "Tecsun PL-330 Review: Compact Shortwave Radio With SSB"--Modern Survival Blog. This is a receiver, Short take:

    ... This compact shortwave radio stands out because it gives you real enthusiast features, including SSB, synchronous detection, ETM+, and broad band coverage, in a very portable package. For preppers, travelers, and everyday shortwave listeners, the PL-330 hits a strong balance of size, capability, and price.

    What makes the Tecsun PL-330 appealing is not that it is the most advanced radio on the market. It is that it offers many of the features people actually want for real-world listening without moving into a much more expensive class. It is small enough for a travel bag or emergency kit, but capable enough for casual DXing, ham monitoring, and international broadcasts.

    That said, the PL-330 is not perfect. Speaker size is limited, the battery type is BL-5C rather than AA or 18650, and charging-port details can vary by version. But if you want a feature-rich portable shortwave radio with SSB and synchronous detection at a reasonable price, the PL-330 is one of the best-value choices available today.

• "The 5 Best Water Filters for Survival: Bug Out, Bug In, and Grid Down Scenarios"--Survival Life.  Short take:

At a Glance: Top Survival Water Filters for 2026

•     Best water filter for Bugging In (Home Use): Waterdrop Gravity Water Filter System
•     Best water filter for Bugging Out (Fast & Light): Sawyer Squeeze
•     Best water filter for Urban Disasters (Chemicals/Viruses): Survivor Filter Pro
•     Best water filter for Hiking & Camping: Katadyn Hiker Pro
•     Best water filter Budget Alternative: LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

• "My 10-Step Guide to Preparing for an EMP"--Modern Survival Online.  An excerpt:

     One of the very best and, somewhat humorously, most commonly overlooked defenses against the ravaging effects of an EMP is simply going analog.

    Basically, any gadget, function, tool, or anything else that can rely on muscle power or something else in order to operate is worth considering, especially if it’s something you need or use all the time.

    In the case of power tools, you could instead go with manually operated equivalents. You might replace a car with a bicycle, or even a horse. Trucks can be replaced with draft animals pulling wagons, etc.

    Get creative, and you might be surprised to learn how little electricity you actually need with the right approach.

• It is always interesting to see how the main stream media treats preppers: "I'm a doomsday prepper. These are the cheap and easy steps you should take to prepare for hantavirus or WORSE"--Daily Mail. Not just a "doomsday prepper" but apparently a well off one:

    The 31-year-old, who lives in Utah, has enough food stored in her house to sustain her family-of-five for at least five years.

    She also has a solar generator, seedling garden, body armor, water filtration system and freezers full of meat.  

And her recommendations?

    Krystal explained that she is already taking extra precaution by stocking up on more gloves, protective masks and medication amidst the surge in hantavirus cases, and she is even avoiding airports. 

But what drugs? The article doesn't say. Also, as the article notes, "There have now been 11 cases (eight confirmed, one inconclusive and two probable cases) and three deaths." So not exactly an epidemic. 

Israel Upset It Has Been Sidelined In Iran Negotiations

If you have been following the news, you will probably have heard that, per the White House, we are close to an agreement with Iran where Iran would turn over its processed Uranium. I'm not hopeful given that Islam has historically used a strategy of pretending to seek peace when it is facing defeat in order to give it time to build strength or otherwise obtain an advantage (aka, the Hudaybiyya strategy). So, over the short term, the Iranians may be negotiating in order to buy time, such as time to move the Uranium to a more secure location, or move weapons around, or some other object. Long term, they might agree to U.S. terms with no real intent on abandoning their nuclear program (or turn to alternative WMD research). 

    Nevertheless, Trump's attempts to negotiate a deal with Iran does not match with Israel's desire to utterly devastate Iran. Thus, I've seen reports of Israeli officials upset that they have largely been excluded from negotiations with Iran (see, e.g., "US has almost completely excluded Israel from Iran negotiations, Israeli defense officials tell NYT" from the Times of Israel). That article relates:

    The United States has almost completely excluded Israel from the negotiations with Iran, two Israeli defense officials tell The New York Times.
    
    Israel was not involved at all in the discussions ahead of the ceasefire and learned of developments in the talks between the US and Tehran from regional diplomatic contacts, as well as through the use of surveillance, the report says.

Someday soon we will need to do something about Israeli spies and hacking of U.S. government computer networks. The article adds:

    The report notes that in the run-up to the start of the war against Iran earlier this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in close coordination with Trump and was leading a discussion in the Situation Room in Washington predicting the fall of the regime in Tehran.

    “The banishment from the cockpit to economy class has potentially significant consequences for Israel,” the newspaper says.

Consequently, Israel has unleashed its loyal Congress critters. The Daily Mail reports, "Trump lashes out at Republican rebels as Cruz and Graham warn his Iran deal could be a 'disastrous mistake'." It begins:

    President Donald Trump angrily lashed out at Republican critics on Sunday after allies including Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham publicly warned his emerging Iran deal could become a 'disastrous mistake' that hands Tehran a massive strategic victory.

    The extraordinary public feud exposed deep cracks inside the GOP as some of the party's most hawkish national security voices openly questioned whether Trump was on the verge of repeating the very same Obama-era nuclear agreement he once denounced as catastrophic.   

Their complaint is that Trump is considering an agreement that would "reopen the Strait of Hormuz, establish a 60-day ceasefire and continue negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program while details are finalized."

    Senators including Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham openly sounded the alarm over the pending agreement.

    Cruz delivered one of the sharpest attacks over the weekend, saying he was 'deeply concerned' by what he was hearing from inside the administration.

    'If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime - still run by Islamists who chant 'death to America' - now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,' Cruz wrote on X.

    'The details are still coming out - and I pray the early reports are wrong - but the fact that Biden's Rob Malley is praising the deal is not encouraging,' he added, referring to the former Biden Iran envoy who helped negotiate the 2015 Obama nuclear deal.

    Cruz's warning then triggered a flood of criticism from other Republican national security hawks. 

It is notable that Cruz has received more money from AIPAC than most any other politician, while Graham ranks very high as well. It is telling that Republican senators will publicly split from the President over this issue just because it does not match the outcome that Israel wanted, even though pursuing a path that would lower fuel prices would benefit Americans.

Very Short Review: "The Mandalorian and Grogu"

Since my kids and I liked "The Mandolarian" series on Disney+ (well, the first two seasons anyway) we decided to go see The Mandalorian and Grogu movie. If you want something with Jedi and flashing lightsabers, or film with a plot and acting with a certain gravitas, this is not the film for you. But if you just want a space opera action flick that seems a cross between Star Wars and John Wick, this is the movie for you. If you have a young son, he will probably enjoy the film as well.