Frankly, I'm a little nervous about avian flu. The projected figures for the number of dead in the UK alone are sobering. Be that as it may; this post is not about the flu itself, but about some people's reaction to it. At random, I found the comment below on the BBC's Have Your Say section. My major problem is with his conspiracy theorising, but there are other factual and linguistic errors present, so let's just take it one fuck-up at a time, shall we? (Original quote in dark grey, my comments in maroon)

The media/UK Government are whipping up a tide of hysteria You can't whip up a tide, unless you have a god-sized whisk concerning avian flu. There's a clue in the name - avian. Humans can't catch it. Wrong, smart-arse. At present it can't be spread from human to human – though that may change as the virus evolves; the WHO currently counts the number of dead as 60. From what do you think they died? I think there's something else going on here, the drug companies are seeking to cash in on something that doesn't exist. It fucking well does exist you cretin. The WHO's official estimate for the death toll is between 2 and 7.4 million, with the UN cooridinator talking in terms of 5 to 150 million. Remember WMD and the Millennium Bug? I do, yes. I don't know enough to pass judgement on weapons, but I do know that the reason the Millennium Bug was such a non-story in the event was that companies spent billions verifying and upgrading their systems in time. Like avian flu, the Millennium Bug was A Real Thing.

Besides, he starts off by saying it's the media/government that's behind it all, then he goes on to say it's the drugs companies. Can't even get his conspiracy theories right, let alone his facts. Grrr.