Exactly.

Which is why noone is willing to put down the "toys" first - thinking that if the other sees a weak spot, a loophole (if you will), they will shoot right through it and blast the country to pieces.

But guess what? If we all put down the weapons, noone will blast the other country! We can respect the borders of a country! We can - *gasp* - BEHAVE LIKE MATURE ADULTS!

Please don't call me a naïve fool or an idiot (I'm not the one with the nukes!). I do realize that we are animals with certain instincts (like survival and protecting our home and kin), but one of the things making us superior in the animal kingdom is our ability to communicate like we can; not only like the clicks of the dolphins or the moans of the whales, but through words and empathy. It's in the detail. It's all in the frontal lobes, people! And we have so many ways of connecting.

I know it's something that's not going to happen - not anytime soon, anyways. But here's to hoping.

- and if you cough/sneeze into your elbow joint instead, you don't have to worry about washing your hands before shaking hands with someone else!

EDIT: Here are the articles she mentions:

USA Today: Swine flu vaccine would take months to develop, distribute

Los Angeles Times: Do face masks help prevent swine flu infection?

>> Most were wearing face masks, which are loosefitting and designed largely to help stop droplets from spreading from the person wearing the mask. They also protect the wearer's mouth and nose from splashes. They are not created to protect the wearer from breathing in very small particles.

[...]

Health experts note that face masks and respirators should be used along with other precautions, such as frequent hand-washing, covering coughs, staying at home if ill and avoiding crowds. <<

Bloomberg: South African Rand Falls as Swine Flu May Deepen Recession

Unable to find AP: US Flu Victims May Be Infecting Others

FOX News: Worst-Case Scenario Underlies U.S. Pandemic Plan

>> Take a breath. Even if the new swine flu from Mexico should turn out to be especially aggressive, the worst consequences could be averted.

[...]

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday that the United States is preparing as if the swine flu outbreak were a full pandemic. It is not at that stage and may never reach it.

Disease detectives are following a series of outbreaks, of varying severity, all of which appear to be related to Mexico. A pandemic would spread throughout the world with explosive speed.

The government got serious about worst-case planning during the 2005 bird flu scare, partly as a result of the grossly unprepared state of relief agencies after the August 2005 monster Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed large sections of historic New Orleans, Louisiana.

"We have a playback that was developed and is being followed," said Michael Leavitt, who as secretary of Health and Human Services oversaw pandemic planning for President George W. Bush. "It's a substantially better picture than what we faced three years ago." <<

CNN: Pandemic: What would happen next?

Unable to find Telegraph: UK should expect swine flu cases

BBC: World moves to contain flu spread

>>

• Mexico: 103 dead - 20 confirmed to have died from swine flu, 18 confirmed ill with swine flu
• United States: 20 confirmed cases of swine flu
• Canada: 6 confirmed cases
• Spain: 1 confirmed case, 17 others being investigated
• UK, Israel, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand: suspected cases being tested. Suspected cases in France tested negative
<<

I just have to add that according to one of the articles she includes in this episode, it's not just "a couple of countries". According to her background material, there are only confirmed deaths in Mexico - but confirmed cases of the flu in Mexico, the US, Canada, and Spain - and other countries are testing suspected cases. While googling for one of the articles (from the Telegraph), I found numerous articles stating that cases had been found in the UK; specifically in Scotland.

But I do agree with her on the number of cases in her background material - I just don't think that it's enough to call it a pandemic (but feel welcome to correct me of you have official numbers on what it takes to call it so). In France, all of the suspected cases were tasted negative.

To be honest, I think it's best to be on the safe side. Of course, we COULD end up like France, having no cases where we thought we DID have cases - rather than the other way around. Rather safe than sorry. Still, it's been said that it's too productive to last for too long in many cases - so as long as we take care (washing hands, etc.), we will peobably last just a few minutes longer on this earth.