As I mentioned in my Diversity post, the US Supreme Court is very homogeneous.

Consider that of the 9 Justices:

• 8 are men
• 8 are white
• 8 are graduates of Ivy League law schools
• 8 have no trial court experience

While Justice Souter is a white, male, from an Ivy League law school, he is also the only Justice who had trial and appellate court experience before being appointed the the US Court of Appeals, and then the Supreme Court. None of the remaining Justices has ever been the judge at a trial, having been appointed to the US Court of Appeals, and then the Supreme Court.

While everyone is talking about many different attributes for a new Justice, I haven’t heard anyone mentioning: they should actually have some real experience, in a real court room.

According to the CBC the circle is complete: Alberta pigs likely infected with flu from worker: CFIA official.

Apparently a farm worker caught the flu during a recent trip to Mexico, and has now infected about 200 pigs on a farm in Alberta, Canada. The pigs are quarantined.

The Beeb tells us of the Mystery surrounds a feline felon. It would appear that the gnome is masquerading as a tuxedo cat, at least in Britain. Of course, everyone knows that some British tuxedo cats are evil.

The CBC reports that researchers in Canada have good evidence that Swine flu roots traced to Spanish flu.

The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic was the big worry for everyone when the Influenza A H1N1 [swine flu] appeared in Mexico, and Canadian researchers have evidence that the two are linked, but this is the Spanish flu that pigs caught from people in 1918, so they are returning the “favor”. The porcine version is a mild respiratory disease for them, and it would appear that it has mutated into the same thing for humans on the return path.

CNN reports that the panic that the media has helped to spread is having its effect: ‘Walking well’ flood hospitals with — or without — flu symptoms.

I noticed that there are approximately 400 schools closed in the US, and around 160 confirmed cases.

The climate of terror created by the Hedgemony is having an effect, and it isn’t good. Americans need to learn to wash their hands with soap and water, just like you were taught as a child when I was growing up. Passing around a bottle of hand sanitizer is not a good idea, as the exterior of the bottle is as contaminated as everything else, but it’s better than nothing.

If you have never read Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, pick up a copy, or get one from the library.

Technically it is a science book, but it tells a version of the history of man on the planet. I read it years ago, but something about the bird/swine flu problems caused me to remember his treatment of the “Germs” in his title. He has a rather convincing explanation for why we are seeing these things, and why our relatively rapid world-wide travel system makes them so dangerous.

Something to think about.