- Mexico City closed schools across the metropolis of 20 million Friday after at least 16 people died and more than 900 others fall ill from what health officials suspect is a new strain of swine flu. World health officials worried that it could mark the start of a flu pandemic.
The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland said at least 57 have died in the outbreak, although it wasn't yet clear if this larger number of deaths was due to swine flu.
"We are very, very concerned," said Thomas Abraham, a spokesman for the agency. "We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human." If international spread is confirmed, that meets WHO's criteria for raising the pandemic alert level, he added.
vendredi 24 avril 2009
Someone Seal the Border
Letters, We Get Letters
- Today on Zone XX, we had two calls dispatch couldn't wait to give out in the middle of a backlog. The first? Assault in progress - with water balloons. The second was an EMS call for a drunk who fell over and cut his hand. They made that one a 1A priority call. Will someone somewhere tell the call takers to stop taking this BS that just buries us. Thanks.
Nothing Better to Do
Call off the dogs. Or rather, the Felony Franks.
Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd) is more than a weenie bit mad over the name and logo of a new hot dog stand that will be opening in his ward in a few weeks.
Fioretti said he fully supports Felony Franks’ mission of providing ex-convicts with jobs, but he thinks the moniker and paintings outside the West Side eatery of googly-eyed hot dogs behind bars are in bad taste.
“This, no matter what anybody says, is not that cute of an idea. It’s a great concept for ex-offenders, but it’s a poor theme for a restaurant,” Fioretti said, emphasizing that the business’ slogans, “Food so good, it’s criminal” and “Home of the misdemeanor wiener” only glamorize criminal behavior.
Even a minimum wage job is a job. And it's someone off the streets working instead of going through garages and homes looking for money.
UPDATE: Spelling corrected
La decadencia de Ríver

Simeone, el doctor traidor.
A la luz de la perspectiva que da el breve lapso transcurrido, el campeonato que logró Diego Simeone con Ríver hace apenas meses cobra un valor tan insospechado como paradójico. Porque corta una racha de 13 torneos sin títulos y porque agravó los males que llevaron a descubrir que Ríver no deja de tocar un fondo que cada vez está más abajo, que aquella racha interrumpida no es sino un tobogán demasiado empinado para el vértigo de sus hinchas.
Simeone viene así a constituirse en el doctor que sacó al enfermo del hospital. Bien sabemos que el prestigio social ganado por la medicina se debe a que los médicos curan. Pero como reverso de la moneda hay que decir que la medicina es crónicamente experimental y evolutiva y que, por ende, los médicos también matan.
En un tiempo (siglos XVII, XVIII) los hospitales no eran lugares de paso. No existía el concepto de “alta” en el sentido de “curado” o “repuesto”. Epidemias y enfermedades tan incurables como contagiosas hicieron del hospital una institución de encierro y reclusión. Quién entraba a un hospital entonces no volvía a salir sino dentro de un cajón cerrado.
Y apareció Simeone, que en medio de su experimentación medicinal, sacó al enfermo a pasear, a ver la luz del sol, el verde del césped y las burbujas de los festejos (campeón). Cosechó aplausos el doctor Simeone: se vio una notable mejoría en su paciente a partir de una importante inyección anímica. Por eso dejaron de proporcionarle los analgésicos ( y Ríver creyó que estaba curado).
Sin embargo el tiempo demostró que la acción de Simeone no fue mas que un breve oasis en la agonía para constatar que las enfermedades más temerarias son aquellas que pueden esconder los síntomas.
La falta de jerarquía es rotunda.
Es indispensable que un punta sepa jugar de primera o tenga remate de media distancia, o tenga un pique corto distintivo o una potencia desigual o algún factor desarrollado de desequilibrio entre sus variantes. Falcao no tiene nada de eso. Falcao sólo tiene una tozuda voluntad que complica el trabajo de sus marcadores.
Fabbiani salvador de Ríver, tomando la posta de un Abreu que tomó la posta de Buonanotte.
Ríver se convirtió en un cementerio de figuritas difíciles (Ortega borracho, Gallardo sin piernas, Fabbiani gordo).
El arquero Vega, de arengas que no se cree ni él, copiando los gestos de los arqueros, porque no hay arquero que se precie de tal si no sale aplaudiendo a los gritos después de una entrada peligrosa del rival.
Este "momento de Ríver" pasó a ser esta "época de Ríver".
Medimos a Ríver y se dice que ni la dirigencia ni la dirección deportiva ni el plantel profesional están a la altura de las circunstancias. Pero ¿cuáles son “las circunstancias”?
¿Una copa Libertadores adulterada con equipos no campeones? ¿Un torneo local empobrecido y físico de irregularidad imperecedera? ¿Una situación económica en default?
Para decir que Ríver está en uno de los peores sino el peor de sus momentos deportivos e institucionales es imprescindible el rango comparativo, el contraste o el paralelo con algo. Y ese algo puede ser externo: su rival (Boca), su performance americana (Copa Libertadores), su performance local (Apertura – Clausura). O interno: en más certera y cruda medida, la comparación con Ríver mismo, volviendo por los pasillos del tiempo hacia su historia.
RELACIONADO: RIVER ELIMINADO
Up 77%?
The CTA has become a scarier place.
Robbery has soared 77 percent on CTA trains, platforms and buses in the past three years, from 246 incidents in 2006 to 436 in 2008, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Theft -- when no force is involved -- is up 6 percent, from 1,173 reported crimes in 2006 to 1,238 in 2008.
Crime is up. Arrests are up. That makes sense, too - more chances to grab an offender.
So what's left to explain the rise? Manpower shortages? If one team is in on an arrest, that leaves larger swaths of the tunnels and platforms uncovered. That's one explanation. Who has the CTA manpower numbers from year-to-year to make the argument?
Nice Pinch in Homicide
An alleged high-ranking Chicago gang member was gunned down Thursday afternoon while standing outside a West Side residence that police believe he was having appraised, authorities said.
Police arrested three suspects after a short chase and also seized two weapons within minutes of the shooting in the 3800 block of West Flournoy in West Lawndale.
Killed was Ray Washington, an alleged leader in the Four Corner Hustler gang for at least seven years, police said. An appraiser who was with Washington also was shot, but he was expected to live.
And taking a bunch of credit?

- "They did a murder in plain view in the middle of day,'' Schmitz said. "And we got 'em. We were on them. That's what our job is.''
jeudi 23 avril 2009
Carnage Continues
- Warren Beauchamp’s body was found by housekeeping staff at the motel in the 9100 block of South Stony Island about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
- A Highland Park man was killed and a second man was wounded after a shooting on Chicago's West Side this afternoon, authorities said.
85 degrees Friday. 80 Saturday before the rain begins. Be careful boys and girls. We have the potential to make up a lot of ground this weekend.

